What Matters To Me

My first two slide rules have arrived

2010-09-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

My father had (has, rather) two slide rules that I can remember. One was metal and yellow, pegging it most likely as being a Pickett. Interesting thing about Pickett: they were for a time located in Santa Barbara.I thought that surely the metal rules would be superior to other materials: more durable, easy to clean, etc. I now have two slide rules: a metal Pickett and a mahogany K&E. I'm finding

EduBlogs 2009 Nominations

2009-11-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

It's time for the annual EduBlogs awards nominations. Here are my picks:Best e-learning blog: MPB Reflections -- 21st Century Teaching and LearningBest teacher blog: Computing Education Blog

App Store pricing model defies logic

2009-06-11T13:37:00.001-07:00

In his column dated June 11, 2009, David Pogue detailed the pricing of Mac OS X "Snow Leopard" and suggests that Apple may be taking a page from the App Store playbook.What do you suppose is the difference between the pricing model of the App Store and more traditional pricing models?I recall reading an interview with an Apple ][ developer from the 1980s. I'm afraid in ten minutes of searching

Apple seeks wrath of the Author's Guild

2009-06-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

MacRumors today posted a few screenshots of the upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard release. One of the features in particular grabbed my attention: automatic text to speech with conversion to an iTunes track.Whoa! That's a shot across the bow to the Author's Guild which in February tried to seek an injunction against the Amazon Kindle 2 for its text-to-speech feature. Amazon has since bowed to the

History of Programming

2009-03-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

Programming in the 1980s end; end; end; end;end.Programming in the 1990s } } } }}Programming in the 2000s

How to Shop Online and Stay Out of Trouble

2009-01-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

So-called Internet experts will tell you that to avoid trouble when shopping online, you should only buy from reputable sources. But without prior experience, how do you know who the reputable dealers are?This is my personal list of online resellers who won't try to scam you, they charge reasonable prices, and offer good-quality merchandise.Computer PartsFor things like hard drives, mainboards,

Izumi, 1991-2009

2009-01-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

Izumi, my cat and longtime companion, died today at the age of 18. It was a peaceful death, brought on by old age and steadily deteriorating health due to hyperthyrodism.Izumi joined my family in 1991 while I was attending college at UC San Diego. He was the only cat I'd ever known who liked to follow me around. I understand that's a common characteristic of Siamese cats. Always present, always

Comcast Summary

2008-12-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

Some of you readers wanted to know what became of the Comcast saga. I thought I had made it clear in the last post of the series, but upon reading it I see that I did not. Here's what my setup is now:$12.95 for Basic Cable (channels 2-13, essentially)$1.79 for two CableCardsThe CableCards give me the HD channels 902-913 for "free." I don't have to pay the $8.00 fee to receive them.I'm very happy

Printer resolution, demystified

2008-10-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Someone wrote to me with a question about printing getting a digital photo printed in a magazine:Attached is a photo that blows up very well on screen. However, I keep getting told by journal publishers that they need them with more pixels. Can it really be so that sufficient resolution on screen will not turn out to be sufficient resolution when printed (in the same or even smaller size)?

The Bailout: So Many Questions, So Few Answers

2008-09-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

I can't help but feel that this $700 billion bailout is Washington's last attempt to issue free money to Bush's Big Banking Buddies at the expense of taxpayers. Although the headlines read that lawmakers have reached an agreement today on the terms of the bailout, so few details have been released that I am left with so many questions.Which institutions will be allowed to benefit? The news is

"The Cloud" Saves the Day

2008-09-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

So my iMac went in for repairs. The video card needs to be replaced. I suspect that it's been bad for quite a while, but since I don't play games, it hasn't been an issue. Until I started seeing more and more blocky artifacts scattered about the screen.The computer will be gone for 3-7 days. Am I completely dead in the water until I get it back? Of course not, and here's why.First, I have a

Comcast, Back In My Life?

2008-09-17T16:16:00.001-07:00

Today's Status UpdatesI think Comcast and I have reached an amicable agreement, thanks to good folks like Frank Eliason. About an hour ago I got off the phone with Mary, a regional rep from San Mateo, and we arranged for a very inexpensive HD package consisting of:Basic Limited Cable, $12.35Two CableCards, $1.79Monthly total: $14.14 plus taxes and fees (approx. $19 total).That's good news, and

No Love From Comcast

2008-09-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

Called Herman today and left a message. He hasn't returned the call. So.... I ordered the antenna and mast from Amazon.com. They should be here by Thursday, just in time for my cable to be turned off.

What I'm Asking For

2008-09-15T00:41:00.001-07:00

Let's be clear about a couple of things: I'm not asking for Comcast to lower their rates. I'm not asking for them to make any undue sacrifices. They are free to charge whatever rates their customers will pay.What I am asking for is the absolute cheapest HDTV package. After looking through their website at all of the packages available, I believe that the following combination is possible:Limited

Comcast Continues to Respond

2008-09-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading the comments on my original blog posting about Comcast, you've seen that they've responded. Apparently they have employees who scan the net and look for disgruntled customers. Kudos to them, I say. Note that I'm not disgruntled with Comcast -- I just don't feel like paying $75/mo anymore.I also received a voicemail on my home phone. (I included my phone number in the email

Comcast's First Response

2008-09-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

This morning, a semi-automated response was waiting in my inbox. Clearly, they missed the point.Dear Mr. Brown,Thank you for taking the time to write to the Comcast Office of Rick Germano, Senior Vice President of Customer Operations. My name is Robert and I thank you for this opportunity to assist you regarding your Billing inquiry. We apologize for the delayed response.We need to hear about

Dear Comcast

2008-09-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Comcast,After six years as a customer, I have decided to end our relationship. I have found myself watching less and less TV. Consequently, I felt that the $75 per month I sent you was simply not giving me enough of a benefit. The numbers don't add up anymore. Let me explain.What does $75 get me? Local broadcast channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.), over one hundred cable channels in your "Digital

My close call with greatness

2008-07-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

I was thiiiiiis close to greatness last night. The workshop had ended and a bunch of us were getting ready to go to Chinatown to get dinner. Goeff Knauth (instructor at Lycoming College in PA and one of the attendees) asks, "shall I call Richard Stallman and invite him to dinner?" Can someone really turn down an invitation like that?A phone call was made; message left; and shortly returned.

2008-06-15T21:16:00.001-07:00

I'm a stickler for quality. And a cheapskate at heart. Conflict arises, especially when I'm getting into a new hobby or activity.A couple of cases in point:About a year ago I wanted to buy one of these new digital oscilloscopes. They have LCD displays, can capture signals, and do real-time analyses on the inputs. Neat stuff, and much better than their analog predecessors.Like most things, they

Finding the median value in SQL

2008-03-12T21:04:00.001-07:00

Most SQL dialects don't come with a median function. But one can be cobbled together using the procedural programming language that accompanies most databases.They work like this:1. Sort the list of values.2. Count the number of items in the list.3. Select the element at position n/2.A function like this can't be expressed purely in SQL because SQL is not procedural.I've come up with a median

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!

2008-03-09T23:34:00.001-07:00

As you know from one of my previous posts, I have a list of things I'd like to do during my lifetime. My upcoming sabbatical is going to give me some elbow room to get a few of the items checked off!During my spring break, I'm going to make a hologram. I've already got all the raw materials: laser, holographic plates, chemicals. After a quick trip to Home Depot, I'll have the pieces needed to

Time Machine: not just for backups

2007-10-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Time Machine occupies just a few bullet points in Apple's list of 300+ new features in Leopard. But it has the ability to fundamentally change the way you and I use our computers.Disclaimer: I have not actually used Time Machine. My only knowledge of it comes from the public videos and demos and from reading the Mac sites like MacInTouch and The Unofficial Apple Weblog.From the Apple literature,

Lifetime To-Do List

2007-10-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Doesn't everyone have a list of things they'd like to accomplish/do/see before they die? Here's mine, in no particular order.See a space shuttle launch.Experience weightlessness.Visit Antarctica.Visit Alaska.Visit China.Write an application that gets used by more than 100 people.Make a hologram.Make a daguerreotype.What's yours?

iPhone features I'd like to see

2007-08-21T10:51:00.001-07:00

OK, I'm thiiiis close to getting an Apple iPhone. I'd have to break my contract with Verizon. But there have been so many times that I've been out and about and wanted to quickly look up something on the web. Or check my email to see if I've been outbid in the last 10 seconds on a digital oscilloscope auction, again.I've used my friends' iPhones and played with them in the store. As a result, I'm

Airport Extreme Cripples Write Throughput

2007-08-18T16:19:00.001-07:00

There is a major problem with the Apple AirPort Extreme involving its "AirDisk" feature. I have the "older" 100BaseT model to which I have attached a USB hard drive to share among my various Macs. There have been many postings on the Apple Discussion Boards about poor disk performance when the Airport Extreme is used to share disks. While some users report slow throughput, others claim to have no

Mobile phone myths

2007-08-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

I've been a mobile phone user since 1999. I started own on Pacbell PCS, which later became Cingular. In 2004 I switched to Verizon.Over the years I have learned some of the ins and outs of the mobile phone trade. These are all based on my personal experience and from reading the fine print. Here are four myths about mobile phones and their rate plans. I'll debunk each myth with the plain, simple

A new teaching tool for CS

2007-08-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching full-time for five and a half years. Before that, part time for a couple of years. I love interacting with students and inspiring them to learn more than they expected. It's been a wonderful experience and I wish to continue it. My area of interest, as you can imagine, is in education. Specifically, how to inspire a new generation of students who have grown up using iPods,

Backups, pt 1

2007-07-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

We all need to do backups of our computers. Most of us don't. Let's take a brief look at the typical backup options available to us.1. Manual backup to removable media, such as tape, CD, DVD, etc. This has been the traditional way of doing backups. The rationale (at least, until recently) is that removable media can store more data than hard drives. For example, about ten years ago, a high-end