suboptimized

Made @altonbrown stuffed pork chops, having Abita Pearl Jam 20 beer w/ @mike_simms_1 & Heather. #goodfood #good friends

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:50:49 -0700

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Kill Room

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:20:04 -0800

I created a dust room for shaping moulding, then I realized: I made a
kill room (à la Dexter)!

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Spotless Mind

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:00:00 -0700

So I have finally pulled the trigger and deleted my Facebook account. After several months of not logging in to the service, and several weeks of being insistent about deleting my account, I finally did it.

But the weird thing is that I almost didn't. I was very hesitant about clicking the actual "Submit" request button, thinking that maybe I would start to use it again... no. Click it. Do it... and done.

So I have given Facebook the Lacuna Inc. treatment. After 2 weeks, they won't even remember me. Or so they say.

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I hate you, APC

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:26:00 -0700

I have two APC uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), a Back-UPS ES 550 oversized-surge-protector-style power strip UPS for my laptop & external drives, and a Back-UPS HS 500 home network panel wall-mount UPS for my structured wiring panel switch / cable modem / wireless base station.

Both UPSs woke me up at 1:45, their beeping indicating that my power went out. I had no intention of shutting down my laptop (which was already asleep) nor my network equipment, since they could run for hours with their very low power draw from a 500 VA UPS. So, I set out trying to shut off the damn beeping alerts.

First, I hate you APC for not using a standard USB cable. No, instead you have to use a proprietary RJ-45 / USB cable. Of course, I only have 1 of them, stashed in my big box o' cables. Let me tell you, rifling through that box at 2 AM with one hand (the other holding a flashlight) was sure fun. I must have found 20 standard USB cables before I finally dumped the entire box to find your fucking "special" cable. I hate you.

Second, I have to carry my laptop to the HS 500 (since it's by the structured wiring panel, not at my desk). Why can't you put a damn switch on the UPS with 2 options: "Annoying as hell" and "STFU"? I mean really, how much do you hate my sleep?

Third, your freaking "PowerChute" software isn't available for Mac OS X Lion (10.7). Apparently, you gave up supporting it around Leopard (10.5). So yeah, go fuck yourself again.

I really hate you. I would dump you before the 4th beep of your goddamned annoying "hey hey, the power's out, just thought you should know. I'll let you know again in 30 seconds in case you didn't hear me just now", but unfortunately, you're probably the "best" consumer UPS out there. *Shudder*

I hate you, APC

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The coffee is tempting, but I'd rather have...

Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:24:19 -0800

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Get out of the way. Please.

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:08:09 -0800

On the way to hunting, near La Veta Pass, Colorado.

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Apple's customer care has taken a nosedive...

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:04:01 -0700

There used to be a day when Apple cared about how they treated their customers, but it appears that they're just phoning it in lately....

(The crack about Apple's customer care is a joke: this is an actual invoice for Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You!" single)

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zip! bang! pow!

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:13:00 -0700

Scott Kurtz created a comic bad guy based on my all-time favorite word: onomatopoeia. Awesome. I love how the character, in a single word, neatly summarizes his entire concept *and* just about every action scene from the Batman TV series. Correction: Scott Kurtz didn't create him. Kevin Smith and Phil Hester did. Tangential: does onomatopoeia itself exhibit onomatopoeia? And can it be spelled using "œ" (oe-ligature)? Yes it can. Update: I didn't notice it before, but if you follow the graphic link to the PvP comic, Scott Kurtz updated his comic because he unintentionally ripped off Kevin Smith's bad guy. He replaced his Onomatopoeia with Palindrome. The new baddie is still funny in the storyline and still works well, but still... anyhow, kudos to Kurtz for correcting it. See also The Webcomic Overlook's rundown of this "controversy".

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"… someone is clearly doing their job horribly wrong."

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:52:21 -0700

XKCD's take on Premier Election Systems (formerly Diebold) screwing up the 2004 Presidential election vote counting, and subsequently blaming it on antivirus software in its machines. Really, is it that hard to build an adding machine? I've built embedded systems, I know the cost of rolling your own system is usually more expensive than going with off-the-shelf solutions... but Windows in voting machines? The first line of defense safeguarding democracy is left to Windows?

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Back by Absolutely No Demand

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:50:37 -0700

I'm trying this blog stuff again. If past history is any indicator, I'll write 5 posts, then forget about it for another year. I'm trying to get organized, and force myself to use todo lists, calendars, whatever it takes. I also would like to be as paperless as possible, so I'm focusing on three tech tools to help me out:

We'll see how well these work out. I will say that the scanner has a voracious appetite, at 18 sheets per minute, with the ability to duplex. I have already used the hell out of it since January, and it's only just dented the stacks of paper I need to input. But so far, it's sweet.

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Date Math in Google Calculator?

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:41:56 -0700

On many occasions, I've needed to calculate date/time math operations (such as add X days to a particular date, etc.). I always try to use Google Calculator, and every time I'm reminded that Google Calc doesn't do date math. I then always search for "date calculator", find a website or widget that performs the calculations, and then get frustrated that Google doesn't but *should* do the operation. What's more, I can't seem to find anybody else on the webs who wants this functionality. Lots of people clamored for IMAP access from GMail. I can't be the only person who wants to find something like "6/20/2008 - 60 days", can I?

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with friends like these

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:30:42 -0800

Pardon the circuitous route I'm going to take to get to the subject matter, please bear with me. I was watching Gone With The Wind, #10 in my top 10 movies (#10 only because of its length, making it harder to watch it at any time), and I started reading up on the biographies of many of the actors on Wikipedia. I found out that the actress that plays Prissy ("I don't know nothin' about birthin' babies!"), Butterfly McQueen, was a lifelong atheist and remembered the Freedom From Religion Foundation in her will. I was impressed, and my curiosity was piqued. I had never heard of the organization. So I investigated it, and decided I wanted to support it. And that reminded me that I hadn't yet renewed my EFF membership, and I hadn't gotten around to joining the ACLU and NRA this year either. Then it occurred to me... I applaud and support the ACLU because their purpose is to protect and defend the Bill of Rights... except the 2nd Amendment, which doesn't seem to sit well with them. Ok, fine, so I also support the NRA because it is all about the 2nd Amendment. Except, well... it seems pretty much aligned with right-wing Republicans, conservatives, neo-cons, etc. And all that is appurtenant to those labels, primarily the religious right and evangelical fundamentalists. So I now also support FFRF, seemingly to balance out my guilt-by-association support of the "fluff" that goes along with NRA support. It doesn't matter what group, label, organization, club, or order you belong to — you'll always have to be aligned with others that you really wish you had nothing in common with. Join the NRA, and you have to accept that you'll be lumped together with "gun nuts" who absolutely need to be able to hunt with a .50 caliber rifle or pindle-mounted M2A2 "Ma deuce" machine gun. Join the ACLU, and you have to accept that you'll be lumped together with the Klan and Neo-Nazis who seek ACLU help to protect their free speech rights. Join the FFRF, and you'll be lumped together with "militant" atheists who push just a little too hard to remove "In God We Trust" from currency and "under God" from the pledge of allegiance. It's not that I have problems with any of the positions above. In fact, I enthusiastically agree with them all. But I don't like the militant preaching of those positions by their hard core proponents. Sure, they are mostly lightning rods for media attention, and only represent a very small percentage of their corresponding organizations. But every time they gain media attention, it seems to just polarize the uncommitted middle. Principles suck, sometimes.

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Lucidity: Why I like Apple

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:22:06 -0800

It finally became crystal clear why exactly I love Apple. I have always given reasons that they care more about the user experience, they pay attention to details, or that simply they aren't the mainstream. But those are squishy non-concrete answers. Finally, I have found a solid, hard answer. During Steve Jobs's keynote address at Macworld '07, he commented that everybody hates their smartphones. I think this can be extended to all mobile phones. Sure, there are some people who absolutely adore their phone (or any other chosen object of techno-lust), but when you hear "everybody," think generalizations here. And in general, phones blow. Their address books are always lacking in one way or another — only a predefined and limited set of numbers, no actual physical addresses, whatever. They almost universally have piss-poor calendar functionality. The list goes on. It's accurate to say that most people tolerate their mobile phones, but they certainly aren't excited by them, or particularly fond of them. In his Time.com article, Lev Grossman nails it:

Everybody hates their phone, Jobs says, and that's not a good thing. And there's an opportunity there. To Jobs's perfectionist eyes, phones are broken. Jobs likes things that are broken.

Apple in general, and Jobs in particular, are engineers in the Scott Adams's "Dilbert Principle" sense: to the engineer, the world is a toybox full of suboptimized and feature-poor toys. And that is why I love Apple so much. It is a company after my own heart, staffed with engineers and artists after my own heart, lead by a man after my own heart. I look at something, and see how obviously it could be so much better, so much more useful. Steve Jobs does the same thing. Of course, he has the resources to do the optimization, and the charisma to sell it so well.

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All because of some bureaucratic Volgons

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:23:52 -0800

During my efforts to get mail delivery restarted at the condo, it came to light that we were not supposed to have two addresses. Never mind that we had been using them for 30 years. No, if we wanted approval to use our existing unit numbering (1–15 for fifteen units, instead of 101–105 for downstairs units, and 201–210 for upstairs units), we would have to give up 1315 South Miramar Ave. Everything would now become 1321. I was one of the 1315'ers. In addition to letting all my friends, family, and personal contacts know that my address has changed (even though I'm in the same place I've been in for 8 years!), here are the companies and organizations I need to notify (that I know of, at least): 3 banks, 2 credit cards, mortgage, 2 retirement investmest, mobile phone, cable modem, power company, auto insurance, homeowner's insurance, health insurance, condo assocation attorney, Yahoo! Accounts, Google Accounts, Flickr, PayPal, eBay, Amazon, Netflix, FL Div. of Corporations director filing, IRS, FL vehicle registration, Driver's license, concealed carry license, FL Div. of Licensing / DBA, County Tax Appraiser (both for home and auto), homestead exemption filing, County Animal Control, Local home occupation licensing. 33 companies, organizations, or government agencies. Oh, and I almost forgot: I have to explain a change of address on my security clearance form (SF-86), and maintain it for 7-10 years. AND I have to explain to the person submitting or filing said form that no, I will not provide different personal reference contacts for the "old" address and the "new" address (those of you dealing with those particular Volgons know exactly what I'm talking about). Hrm... wonder if it's possible to fly below the radar and eliminate most of this crap. If I had any illusions of anonymity before, they're certainly gone now.

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The Enemy of the Good

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 22:24:53 -0800

With a new year comes new hope of following through on all those promises to oneself. Lose weight... learn a new language... catch up with old friends... keep in contact with family... make new friends... "But I really mean it this year." Oh yeah? What are you going to do to make this year different? Baby steps. I have been reading lifehacker and 43Folders on and off for the last year or two, telling myself I'm going to commit to the GTD style, but never actually getting around to it. I decided to dip my toe into the productivity pr0n fetish waters by buying a Moleskine on Dec. 30. I immediately sat down and wrote a journal entry to myself declaring my New Year's Resolutions. "I hereby RESOLVE that in 2007, I will..." The first baby step was actually buying the Moleskine, and writing in it immediately. And since my first resolution was to write every day (not necessarily in the Moleskine), and I wrote the resolution 2 days before the new year, I was already ahead of the curve by 2 days. Woohoo! (I always have to play these sorts of tricks on myself. Sort of winning by default, I suppose)

I have always hated the aphorism, "the perfect is the enemy of the good." Sure, I understand its point. But I've always looked for continuous improvement in everything I see and do. There's always a way to make something better (usually by removing features -- so sayeth Colin Chapman: "simplicate, then add lightness").I see potential for improvement in everything I see. It's not that I go around looking for nits to pick, trying to find imperfections. My attitude is more "wow, that's great. I can't wait to see what they do with version 2.0! (by the way, might I suggest that they begin with...)." It's almost like everything is in a perpetual beta release. Scott Adams captured my attitude in a nutshell: "to the engineer, the world is a toybox full of suboptimized and feature-poor toys." (Yes, I realize the "feature-poor" part is perhaps in conflict with "simplicate and add lightness". I can only respond that perhaps life is about balancing apparent contradictions and oppositions on the heads of pins, I suppose) So after all this time finding the areas of potential improvement in everything I see, I am finally closing the loop and working on my personal suboptimizations. In a stroke of insight that hit me with the full force of "duh!", I am coming around to the fact that my own attempts at chasing perfection -- the perfect weight loss plan, the perfect organization system, the perfect blog server software, ... -- have prevented me from even getting started at anything (also, there's a healthy dose of not starting for fear of failure. Too much analysis paralysis going on). So I have signed up for a Blogger account. Crank and turn blog posting, cookie-cutter style. There is nothing optimal or perfect about it. But it does have one thing going for it that my previous blogging attempts don't -- I am actually posting, rather than trying to tweak the system so it will be perfect when I start posting. Sort of a simplistic variation of Descarte's Ontological argument, in that existence is more perfect than nonexistence.

A final quotation by Donald Knuth ties in nicely: "premature optimization is the root of all evil." Maybe, beginning with this first post in the new year, I can just work on my own imperfect self. Maybe I can simplicate and add lightness (resolution #7, by the way), and stave off failure by not aiming for perfection from the outset. I can live with perfect's enemy. Plain "good" would be good enough for me.

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