How I Got My Computer to Chime

It all started with a blog post by Sacha Chua that made me think, "I bet there's an app for that."  She described how she set up her smart phone to vibrate every half hour.

Soon after, I found Chime Time, by Hyperfine, which turned my tablet into an Aberdeen mantel clock.  And I loved the idea of chimes and bells so much that I also installed Bodhi Timer, by Yuttadhammo, which can be set up as a timer and play a variety of tones, including singing bowl, when the time is up.

Chime Time starts up automatically when Android starts up.  But Bodhi Timer does not, so I start it in the morning.  I might set it to go off every 15 minutes starting at about 7 minutes after the hour (or any 15-minute interval afterwards), or every 10 minutes starting at 5 after the hour (or any 10-minute interval afterwards), depending on when I can remember to do it.

Having bells and chimes sound off every so often reminds me to live in the present.  When I hear the sound I ask myself whether I'm using time mindfully.

However, my wife absolutely hates it.

Anyway, after enjoying this for a few days on my tablet, I wondered if there were something similar that I could use on my work computer.  I didn't feel like running the tablet just to have it make noise.

That motivated me to search on SourceForge, where I found TeaTimer.  But TeaTimer would pop up an alert box at the end of each interval because it was really intended as a timer for steeping tea.  So I decided to write my own in Visual Basic 6.

I wrote a simple application that would simply play a WAV file whenever it was invoked.  I chose chimes.wav from Microsoft Office, although I'm sure there's an equivalent from OpenOffice, as well.  Then I set a job in Task Scheduler to call it every 15 minutes.  There is a special trick to pulling this off, though, because while my program worked fine when invoked interactively, it refused to work when triggered by Task Scheduler.

I found the solution on the Microsoft Support website: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/86281.

Here's the source code in its entirety, comments removed for clarity:

Declare Function sndPlaySound Lib "WINMM.DLL" Alias "sndPlaySoundA" _
    (ByVal lpszSoundName As String, ByVal uFlags As Long) As Long
Public Const SND_SYNC = &H0
Public Const SND_ASYNC = &H1
Public Const SND_NODEFAULT = &H2
Public Const SND_LOOP = &H8
Public Const SND_NOSTOP = &H10
'Here are explanations for the parameters: (removed)
Private Sub Main()
    Dim SoundName$
    Dim x%, wFlags%
   
    SoundName$ = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\MEDIA\CHIMES.WAV"
    wFlags% = SND_NODEFAULT ' Or SND_ASYNC
    x% = sndPlaySound(SoundName$, wFlags%)

End Sub

Android Tablet -- a GPS Device Poser

I concede that I was exaggerating a bit when I referred to my new tablet as "a GPS device, RF scanner, MP3 player, eReader, camera, digital voice recorder, hand held gaming device, clock, portable translator...." It's the "GPS device" boast that's questionable.

Well it depends on how you define GPS Device. If it's a merely a device that displays a map and shows you where you are on that map using the Global Positioning System network of satellites, then, yes, the tablet is such a device.

But if you expect the device to allow you to enter a destination and provide real-time instruction on how to get there, along with an reasonably accurate estimate of when you can expect to reach your destination, then the tablet is merely a GPS Device Poser.

On my Nexus 7, directions are provided by Google Maps, which does a very good job of routing. But something called Navigator assumes the role of proving the actual turn-by-turn directions and arrival time.

Navigator works fine as long as you follow the initial route and as long as traffic conditions do not change during the trip. For example, if you start out at home while the tablet has an Internet connection, Google Maps will check the traffic conditions and provide both a route and an estimate of arrival time that's fairly accurate. You have the option of downloading a rectangular map that encompasses the route, too, so you can use Navigator offline.

But during the trip when the Internet connection is missing, Navigator cannot adapt to a traffic problem. Well, that's to be expected, and it's no reason to find fault in the app. The real problem is that Navigator does not recalculate the trip when you deviate from the route.

On my 20-minute commute to work, I can take one of four different major routes, two of which are on state highways, both of which are littered by red traffic lights. So I like to take the back roads, which are scenic and have fewer stops, albeit longer. It's reasonable for Navigator to prefer the state highways. But when I ignore the chosen route, Navigator refuses to recalculate. Instead it provides directions to return me to the point where I went off course. So the closer I get to work via the back road, the longer the trip time. I've seen the 20-minute commute spike up to 1 hour and 45 minutes. And when I finally do come to an intersection with the highway, it will actually direct me in the opposite direction, presumably to reach a way point on it's own route.

Well there are other GPS apps, even free ones, that can provide turn-by-turn directions. Right now I'm evaluating Navfree USA: Free. It does a better job of dealing with my willful disregard of the planned route. But it's a little rough. For example, it fails to give you the first instruction at the beginning of the trip. Also you need to have an Internet connection in order to get directions to an address because it queries Google maps.  (That's not an issue if you've saved your destination as a Favorite.) I'm assuming that the same is true for Points of Interest.  The biggest problem with it, though, is that it will crash after 30 to 40 minutes and need to be restarted.

So alas, I'm not about to give up my Garmin Nuvi just yet.  It would provide real time traffic updates in some areas and serve as a backup to the tablet in the event that I needed to follow a detour.

---

Edited on 2013-04-13 to add two sentences to the Navfree paragraph.

My Geeky Reward

Recently I took my stash of credit card rewards and, all at once, I bought a GPS device, RF scanner, MP3 player, eReader, camera, digital voice recorder, hand held gaming device, clock, portable translator....

That's one heck of a reward!

Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I bought a tablet.  I suppose "RF Scanner" might've thrown you off, but with the Scanner Radio app, you can turn an Android tablet into a police scanner as long as you're connected to a Wi-Fi network.  Plus you can listen to the goings on of the LAPD¹ from the East Coast.

The six $50 gift cards that I bought with $240 of rewards allowed me to pay for the Google Nexus 7 tablet, tax included, plus the two-year warranty extension, which I chose because I was not paying by credit card.  I usually decline such extended warranty plans on the grounds that my credit card offers the same coverage.  But since I wasn't using the credit card to pay for the purchase, and I was saving so much money anyway, I figured I might as well go for it.  Although I do realize that the device might be obsolete before it expires.

Anyway, I love the device.   I found an app that works with my public library's downloadable book collection.  So if I'm in the mood to read Dave Barry late at night, I can use the app to borrow Dave Barry in Cyberspace, for free.

---

¹ Los Angeles Police Department. The radio traffic of the LAPD and that of San Bernardino County was very popular a few weeks ago during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner.

Earth is 9000 Years Old!

I did not realize until just a few moments ago that our Earth is 9000 years old, and it was created in six days.  So says Rep. Paul C. Broun, a republican from Georgia.  He is a member of a key congressional science advisory committee,  so he must know what he's taking about.

He also refers to evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory as "all lies straight from the pit of Hell."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/bill-nye-paul-broun-science-space-technology_n_1947125.html

Presidential Candidates' Answers to the 2012 Top 14 Science and Technology Questions

ScienceDebate.org invited thousands of scientists, engineers and concerned citizens to submit what they felt were the the most important science questions facing the nation that the candidates for president should be debating on the campaign trail.

ScienceDebate then worked with leading US science and engineering organizations ... to refine the questions and arrive at a universal consensus on what the most important science policy questions facing the United States are in 2012.

...We call on the candidates for President to also debate these Top American Science Questions that affect all voters' lives.

https://www.sciencedebate.org

Facebook's Illusion of Privacy

...whatever you post on Facebook, you should just assume that the public can see it, because even though Facebook tries to put in protections and permissions and privacy controls, there’s really no way to guarantee that only your friends can see your data.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/telecom/internet/stalking-on-facebook-is-easier-than-you-think

Putting Water Adhesion and Cohesion to Work

I lost the grommet that allows me to attach a drain hose to my air conditioner.  So I decided to see whether water's properties of adhesion and cohesion would come to my rescue.

I suspended the drain hose below the air condition drain opening.  Then I placed one end of a wet, rolled up paper towel in the air conditioner, touching the drain pan.  I placed the other end into the hose.  The set up is shown below.

Normally, you'd just let the water drip out onto the ground.  But this A/C is installed between a kitchen and a carpeted enclosed porch, and we wanted to keep the carpet dry.

The rig works like a charm.  No spillage.  All the condensate ends up in the bottle, which I then empty into the washing machine or the garden.  In fact it works better than if I'd used a grommet to connect the hose.  With the grommet, the water level had to rise high enough to breach the rim of the grommet.  In fact, I used to put a piece of cotton string in the grommet to help lift the water up over the grommet ledge and into the hose.  Otherwise, the water would leak out all four corners of the pan.

There is some rust forming around the edge of that unfinished knockout.  I'll need to paint that at the end of the season if I don't want the rust to spread.

How I Became Paging System Monitor

One of my unofficial volunteer work responsibilities is that of Paging System Monitor.  This is someone who listens to a page over the public address system and then verifies that the pager hung up properly.  Because if the person does not hang up the phone, no one else can issue a page.

Generally this doesn't happen often.  But when it does, it's inconvenient.  It can be embarrassing, too, if the pager continues speaking, thinking that the conversation is not getting broadcast to all the bosses.

Usually it's an easy job to find the off-hook phone, if the person included the (correct) phone extension number in the page.  When you hear, "Joe Smith please call 73," for example, you can assume that the pager used the phone at extension 73.  Then if the phone was not hung up properly, you (or Joe) can just call it, and that phone should ring on the second line.

But if it's one of those generic announcements, such as, "It's starting to rain.  If you left your car windows open, now's a good time to close them;" or "I'll be rebooting the file server in five minutes.  Please close all open files;" or "Would the janitor please come to the men's room -- it's an emergency.  Please bring a mop," then the process turns into a fun game of deduction.

Well, in the case of the call for the janitor, you can assume that the phone is near one of the men's rooms."  So you can walk over to any nearby office and check the phones.  But if a location isn't implied, then you have to revert to recognizing the sound of the voice and then figure out whom it belongs to.  This is easier than you might think.  In fact, I had a good lesson in grade school in how easy "voice recognition" really is.

We were reading a story out loud, and the plot hinged on a character figuring out who someone was just by the sound of his voice.  I asked the teacher how that could happen, and I expressed doubt that you can know who was speaking to you without actually seeing the person.  So the teacher decided to really convince me.  She invited me to close my eyes.  Then one by one, each of my classmates spoke, and I had to guess who it was.  There were only two out of about 30 voices that I couldn't figure out (and one of them belonged to someone named Joe, in fact).  Yes, the teacher was pretty cool.  But it was Open House Day, and our parents were also in the room.  So I suspect she might not have done this if she weren't showing off for them.

Anyway, once you know who the person is, you can usually resolve the problem by calling his or her extension.  Or you might have to walk around and find the person and then ask which phone was used.  I had to do this recently for an announcement the janitor made about locking up the building.  Usually he locks the building because he's the last to leave.  But since he was leaving earlier than usual, he wanted to let us know that one of us had to lock up.  It's a good thing I found him because he used a phone deep in purchasing that I wouldn't have guessed right away.

All this rigamarole wouldn't be necessary if the phone system's PA mode were designed to "time-out" after 30 seconds.  But again, technology fails us yet again, and we resort to wasteful effort to compensate.

Recalculating

I bought the GPS about one month before driving my family to Washington DC.  In order to get used to it, I would use it on my work commute.  I quickly discovered that it had an undesirable habit of choosing congested roads with many traffic lights.

It didn't seem to matter whether I choose Shortest Route, or Quickest Route.  It was oblivious to the Avoid Highways setting.  Even the intriguing Econo-Route setting made no difference.  It was stuck on an undocumented mode I call "Maximize Encounters with Red Traffic Lights."  And where I drive, at least every 1 of 4 traffic lights will be red on any given commute.  If you know how many traffic lights (L) are on the route, you can get a realistic arrival time (if you obey the speed limit) by adding this many minutes to the arrival time the GPS claims: T = 0.5 * L.  My meager 10-mile commute to work features an amazing 21 traffic lights and is ten minutes shorter at 3am when most lights are either green or disabled.

And unlike Monty Python's Flying Circus, I hate traffic lights, even when they're green.  Because a green light is one that is bound to turn red just as you get to it.  Of course anyone who has read my rant on traffic lights (and the follow up post) knows where I stand.

Computers Outnumber People in our House

With the purchase of the HP laptop a few weeks ago, the number of computers in our home exceeded the number of humans.

I bought the new laptop because the screen on the previous laptop went dead. And while the instructions for replacing the inverter board on the Inside My Laptop site were easy to follow, the screen remained blank. For a while I used this laptop with an external monitor. But then its screen started to work again. Yet, I cannot rely on it working all the time -- it seems to dislike rebooting. It's a shame because I just bought a genuine HP battery for it, and the OS (Vista Home Premium) should be around for a few more years.

And remember the computer that I wasn't sure what to do with?  Well, I loaded Windows 2000 Professional on it.  It turns out that Firefox 12 runs on Windows 2000, so it's a good enough solution.  However, after I installed and updated AVG Anti-virus, the computer failed to reboot.  I guess I'll try the repair option and then reinstall if it doesn't work.

I did try installing XP first.  But it was very slow.  Plus I had the issue of an invalid CD key and no prospect of activating it.  I do actually own XP, but I'm not sure how to convince the computer of that.

Another neat thing I do with this computer is I boot Dynebolic from the CD.  It runs really well, but there is the issue that there's no Flash player for it.  As well I couldn't figure out how to create multiple password-protected user accounts.  So I wouldn't want to use it for any secret, anonymous activity, like updating this blog, without pretending it's a public computer.

Tainted Chocolate For a Scary Halloween

The melamine that was found in tainted milk could be in the chocolate that's passed out this Halloween.

Please watch this "Candy Product Review 2008 of Potentially MELAMINE Tainted Treats, A SERIOUS Warning By Mike Mozart of JeepersMedia on You Tube" and warn others.

And consider giving out stickers, yourself.

Thank you.

Bailout, Schmailout

Congress thinks we need a bailout. Wall Street definitely needs a bailout. What do you think?

I'll tell you what I think. We don't need it.

Our economy is self-correcting. Higher interest rates caused trouble for people who were in too much debt. They could no longer pay back their loans. As well, the ever increasing cost for gasoline and heating oil put an extra strain on the entire working class.

But now, the rates on Treasury bills are ridiculously low. This means the rates on home equity lines of credit and the interest rates on ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) have fallen because they're both usually indexed to one of the Treasury bills.

We're also seeing much lower prices for gasoline. Drivers are practically swerving off the side of the road to stare at the prices. "Wait, did that actually read $3.19? No it must've been $4.19. Let me look again."

One big problem remains. Businesses may start to fire workers because they cannot finance growth projects or even payroll. In this case, the appropriate course of action for our government is to finance projects that lead to new jobs.

Imagine how many jobs $700 Billion could start. You could create a whole oil-free energy infrastructure with that amount of money. People would have jobs, and we'd finally be independent from unfriendly oil-producing nations.

But then, what kind of jobs will the greedy Wall Street CEO's get? My advice is to put them on disability -- essentially pay them to not work. We'll all be better off then.

More USA Election 2008 Resources

Watch the Biden-Palin debate online.

Then skip over to FactCheck.org to find out how accurate each candidate was.

The first Obama-McCain debate also is on Hulu.

Find the FactCheck.org response to it.

I wrote about Science debate two weeks ago.

Check out the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation's "Comparing the Candidates' Technology and Innovation Policies."

Scientists and Engineers for America helps you determine how each candidate voted on energy and technology-related bills while in Congress. (Its database covers all members of Congress):

http://sharp.sefora.org/

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2024-10-01 LG Update links to FactCheck.org. Change SEforA links because it is inactive.

Beware Bank Phish E-mail

Experts predict Spike in Fraudulent Activity Due to Banking Turmoil

Woking, UK. 25th September 2008 An
increase in fraudulent activity is likely to follow the recent events
in the banking sector according to UK Company, First Cyber Security.
Customers with internet banking accounts are urged to take care if
asked to respond to emails from banks which have been named as being
involved in the recent takeovers and mergers.

- First Cyber Security (FCS)

Read more...

So be very suspicious of e-mail asking you to click a link and login. Okay, that's just about every commerce-related e-mail. But if the content urges you to "login right away and confirm personal information otherwise your account will be suspended," be very suspicious. And never enter personal information into the body of an e-mail itself.

I recommend that you equip your browser with an anti-phishing toolbar. You can learn more about them on the CastleCops website, in the Anti-Phishing Toolbar thread.

Obama's and McCain's Answers to the Top 14 Science Questions Facing America

"Science Debate 2008 worked with ... leading organizations ... to craft the top 14 questions the [Presidential] candidates should answer.  These questions are broad enough to allow for wide variations in response, but they are specific enough to help guide the discussion toward many of the largest and most important unresolved challenges currently facing the United States."

Read the candidates' answers here:

http://www.sciencedebate.org












http://www.sciencedebate.org/news20080830.html

What Should I Do With This Computer?

I have an old computer that I'm wondering what to do with. It's a Pentium III, 500MHz, with 256MB RAM and a 10GB hard drive, with only less than 3GB left.

The case is a low profile style, so there's no bracket for an additional drive, which I do have. If I add the second drive, I'd have to attach it with double-sided tape.

The computer is configured to dual boot into either Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 SP. The NT partition has Office 97 installed on it. It still works. But I'd like to be able to install somewhat modern software on it and use the USB ports.

Three ideas I have:

• Reformat the drive with a single partition and do a fresh install of Windows 2000. It would be comparable to the software configuration on my current desktop. This would get the USB ports working. But some programs, such as iTunes, no longer support Windows 2000.


• Reformat the drive with a single partition and do a fresh install of Windows XP. Not sure how it will perform on this system, though.


• Reformat the drive and install Ubuntu. Not sure what software is available -- maybe just a web browser, Open Office and a PDF viewer. And of course Emacs. Most likely no one else in the house would use the computer. And I wonder if I can get all the drivers I'll need.

The first step is to get the second drive installed, if I can.

What do you think?

Follow Up to "Career Doldrums"

Just a quick follow up to my previous post.

I was a bit unfair in saying that the book advises you to deal with doldrums by changing careers. That's not all it does. It's also great confidence booster, especially for baby boomers who are worried that they're too old to find a new job.

It explains the differences among the Baby Boom, Gen X and the latest generation (Gen Y. See Wikipedia's List of Generations for generation definitions.) This comparison serves as a foundation to convince the baby boomer that his/her contribution at a new company will be valued. Gen Y wants immediate gratification and frequent rewards, but Baby Boomers don't need that. Gen Y doesn't want to waste time giving their boss progress reports -- they just want to dive in to the work and finish it as quickly as possible.

The generational comparisons also help older workers understand their younger bosses, who come in to the workplace and turn it up-side-down.

So I found it interesting. And it ultimately helped me understand that I might be better off staying where I am.

Resources from the "Career Doldrums" Book

I finally got around to reading "Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums: What to do Next When You're Bored, Burned Out, Retired or Fired", which I mentioned in my January 17 post, "Book Recommendations From CareerBuilder.com".

Basically, the Escape involves switching careers. This involves making extreme financial sacrifices and tapping into a vast store of retirement savings. The assumption is that you've already raised your child(ren) and he/she/they've somehow managed to become self-sufficient. For some reason, the book didn't mention playing the lottery.

This is not a book written for my generation.

Anyway, I wanted to record some of the online resources that the book offers:

www.engineeringjobs.com

Occupational Outlook Handbook -- www.bls.gov

www.hotjobs.com

www.jobbankusa.com

www.computerwork.com

www.computerjobs.com

www.dice.com

www.justtechjobs.com


Philanthropy News Digest -- news regarding fundraising and establishing a foundation.
www.foundationcenter.org/pnd

www.idealist.org

www.nonprofitoyster.com


Self Employment

www.betheboss.com

www.money.cnn.com

www.wibo.org "Boot camp" for entrepreneurs.

www.franchise1.com

www.smartbiz.com

www.sbaonline.sba.gov

Enjoy!

How New Blinds and Windows Can Keep You Cool

I've had the new window shades since November, but I didn't start to appreciate them until the warm weather arrived.

The neat thing about these shades is that they open at the top and the bottom. So do the windows. (The picture is of Bali's DiamondCell - Solitaire 3/8" Double Cell Shade, which is the style of shade I bought and installed.)

So that means I can keep the top of the windows and blinds open even at night without compromising privacy. And the hot air that collects near the ceilings can leak out more easily.

It also helps that the window panes are coated to reflect the heat of the sun.

It's simple things like this that prevents us from wasting energy.

Social Networks for Book Lovers

I just learned about LibraryThing from reading Sacha Chua's blog post, "Taking book notes." LibraryThing is a social network for book lovers.

The general idea is that you enter books into your library by searching for a title or ISBN. There's also an import tool that will scan a webpage and pull in the ISBNs it can recognize. I used this to import the 106 books that were referenced on my "List of Books I've Read Recently," which I might decide to replace with some references to my library on LibraryThing.

Once you have books in your library, LibraryThing will provide links to profiles of users that have many of the same books in their libraries. You can navigate to their libraries and leave comments on their profiles.

Well, that's just a brief overview. Check out LibraryThing for yourself.

For a more in-depth discussion of LibraryThing and other such sites, check out NPR's All Things Considered discussion of social networks for book lovers.

Help Our Airlines Save Fuel

Airlines are struggling with the ever-increasing cost of fuel. They've started to charge passengers to check baggage. Let's think of other ways they can stay aloft in this turbulent economy:

1. Charge passengers a fee that's proportional to the total weight of the passenger plus all his/her baggage, both carry on and checked.


2. Offer passengers stationary bicycles and other exercise machines to prevent DVT, but secretly use the machines to drive electrical generators, which can power such non-essential systems as entertainment, lighting and navigation.


3. Offer passengers free refreshments in the terminal. Lace the refreshments with laxatives and diuretics. ^{1, 2}
   

What can you do personally? Why not leave the heavy luggage behind? Just choose baggy clothing to wear at your destination, and put it all on before you leave your home. Better yet, don't even bother bringing extra clothes. Just buy your change of clothes at your destination.

With lots of creative planning, we can yet again save our beloved airline industry.

---

¹ Empty passengers are lighter.
² Whatever they leave behind can be used as bio-fuel.

Driving to Optimize Fuel Economy

In my area, gas prices have jumped beyond $4.00 per gallon over the last couple of weeks. I ranted before about how traffic lights contribute to decreased fuel economy. But I didn't mention that driving technique can dramatically influence fuel economy.

An extreme type of driving that maximizes fuel economy is called Hypermiling. Generally the idea is to minimize acceleration and braking. Unless you're going down a steep hill, acceleration requires more gasoline than just maintaining speed. And braking converts all your car's motion (which came from gasoline) into heat energy. So essentially, braking is like throwing away gasoline.

If this is the kind of topic that gives you goosebumps, you might be interested in the forums at CleanMPG, especially Wayne Gerdes' post "Beating the EPA - The Why’s and how to Hypermile".

And rather than boycotting gasoline for one day, folks should either not drive on that day, or at least drive more efficiently. With the subsequent drop in demand, gas prices would relax.

MySpace Notes

My pre-teen daughter already has a website and just started a blog. So I figured I should start learning more about MySpace. She's not on MySpace right now, but she might be in a few years.

I've just finished reading "Me, MySpace, and I," by Larry D. Rosen. It suggests that parents open an account on MySpace because there are many areas on the website that you can't access unless you're logged in.

Many websites require users to provide a real name and real address when you open an account. This is particularly true of commerce sites like Amazon.com. So I was not alarmed when MySpace asked for my real name and town, "so other members can search for you." It assured me that it wouldn't display my name, but I cautiously provided a bogus name, anyway.

When I finished entering the required information, it showed me the profile page that it created for me. And there was the bogus name and town displayed in nice bold type. Thanks for preserving my anonymity, MySpace.

Well, anyway, I'm there now, and no harm was done to me.

Some things from the book I thought worth mentioning. This quote, for example:

"Some MySpace young people have told me that they like to pretend to be dumb just to see what other people do and say. One guy got a date with a girl by pretending to be a "C" student and when she met him and found out he was a "brain" she canceled the date."

- page 70

Check out http://www.ypulse.com for trends in the lives of tweens, teens and young adults.

Other resources:

http://www.isafe.org
http://www.parenthood.com
http://www.allianceforchildhood.net
http://www.kids.getnetwise.org
http://www.cybersmart.org
http://www.netsmartz.org
http://www.besafe.com
http://www.protectkids.com
http://www.webwisekids.com
http://www.internetbehavior.com
http://www.safeteens.com
http://www.blogsafely.com
http://www.commonsensemedia.com
http://www.safefamilies.org
http://www.wiredsafety.org
http://www.netfamilynews.com https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/privacyhub/guide-to-sharenting/

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2025-07-07 LG Add link to www.cyberghostvpn.com and target="_blank" param to a tags

Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness Month here in USA. Would you be able to recognize the symptoms of autism if you saw them? Probably not.

The latest estimate of the prevalence of autism is that 1 in 150 people in the USA have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD).

If you're in the fields of engineering, computer science, physics or math, the chances are even higher that you, your children, your coworkers or their children could be diagnosed with this disorder. And you should check out http://firstsigns.org/, which is dedicated to the early identification and intervention of children with developmental delays and disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The diagnostic criteria for ASD in children concern development and ability in the areas of social interaction, communication and play. Please see "Diagnosis and Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders," by Lee Tidmarsh, MD, Fred R Volkmar, MD.

Early detection of an ASD is crucial because when interventions are tried at an early age (say at 3 to 5 years of age), they seem to be more effective than when tried later on.

Those who have an ASD and who can communicate say that they don't want to be cured; they just want to be accepted. Thus, it's not they who have the problem, it is society. Nevertheless, interventions can make things easier for children and the autistic adults they grow in to.

What kinds of interventions can reduce the symptoms of an ASD? A change in diet -- avoiding wheat and dairy productions, for example -- can help those with Leaky Gut Syndrome, which can manifest as symptoms of ASD. Another effective, diet-related approach is supplementation with mega doses of vitamin B6, or its active co-enzyme, P5P. Play therapy or Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) has been proven to help. In some cases, mercury detoxification may help. There are many more interventions for a parent to choose from. Then there are interventions aimed at easing the secondary symptoms that accompany ASD such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Depression.

Scientists can spend entire careers looking for signs of intelligent life in the Universe. Meanwhile, medical researchers have overlooked signs of intelligence in people with autism. They assume that people who can't talk and who respond differently to stimuli must be lacking in intelligence.

If you don't believe me, consider the amazing website, Getting the Truth Out, which was originally written in response to an objectionable Autism Awareness fundraising campaign called "Getting the Word Out." Be sure to follow the presentation completely to the end.

If you suspect that you or a loved one is struggling with an ASD, visit the Online Asperger Syndrome Information & Support (OASIS). (Asperger Syndrome is an ASD, and is sometimes referred to as High-Functioning Autism.) As its name suggests, you can get a great deal of information from the site. You can find most of the support by clicking on the Message Boards menu choice and registering for the "OASIS: Asperger Syndrome Forum".

How to Avoid a Recession

There's a lot of talk about what to do about the economy. One group of economists believes that Federal Reserve Board Chair Ben Bernanke made a mistake in cutting interest rates recently. They think that will lead to inflation.

Most politicians agree that we need some form of tax cut. Some say that the middle class should get a tax break. Others say no, the middle class will just use it to pay down debt, and that businesses need tax breaks in order to hire more workers.

Some suggest that saving sub-prime mortgage borrowers from bankruptcy is the key to bringing about economic recovery.

Many of these opinions have merit, but they fail to address the cause of the faltering economy. The real problem is the rising cost of energy.

The economy depends on energy for growth. You cannot manufacture items unless you use energy. You cannot transport these manufactured goods unless you use energy. And consumers cannot afford to buy these goods if they're spending most of their disposable income on energy.

You might think we'd've learned a lesson from the oil crisis of the 1970s. But our favorite energy source still seems to be based on oil. And as the oil supply tightens, our economy falters.

Imagine this scenario: It's the distant future, and our world is without oil. Where does our energy come from for manufacturing, transportation and consumer use? Solar and nuclear.

Equatorial countries are the world's energy movers and shakers. They get the most intense solar radiation. They produce the most electricity per photo-voltaic cell. Their biofuel is the richest and most abundant on the planet.

So perhaps it's time to cut taxes on oil, gasoline and electricity. Maybe it's even time to think about subsidizing energy costs? It depends on how serious our government is about maintaining economic growth.

Engineers Week

Engineers Week was last week. One reason the organizers put effort into making and promoting Engineers Week is to get kids interested in engineering. So why does it take place during winter vacation week?

So I'll be belatedly "celebrating" Engineers Week this week by visiting my daughter's elementary school class and talking about electricity. My presentation is titled, "Watt is Electricity?" Get it?

I made a little electromagnet kit for each student. All I did was wind about four feet of solid 22 gauge copper wire around a nail. I placed this in a bag with a D battery, some paper clips and a sheet of paper with this text:

Electromagnet Test Kit
Contains:

• 4’ 22 AWG Solid Insulated Copper Wire
• Steel Nail
• D Battery (1.5V)
• Paperclips (to test electromagnet)
  

When electrical current flows through a wire, a magnetic field develops around the wire. By winding the wire into a tight coil around an iron core, the magnetic flux is concentrated, and the magnetic attraction is strong.

Touch the bare wire ends to the battery terminals.

Watch Out – it gets HOT.

How many paper clips can you pick up?

What do you think would happen if:

• You unwrapped some of the wire?
• You used a 9V or 12V battery?
• You wrapped the wire around a pencil?

Science Links for Kids
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/
http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/
http://www.discoverengineering.org/

Those links are pretty cool. Check them out when you get a chance!

More on Traffic Lights

I was too tired to continue my previous post. So I'll add some comments here in a new post.

I wrote:

If the number of cars on the main road is so great that you need to interrupt the flow in order to let yet more cars on it, you're contributing to yet more traffic congestion.

Actually, about 16 years ago, traffic lights were introduced on entrance ramps to the Long Island Expressway. The idea was to prevent cars from entering the highway during rush hour. That demonstrates an appropriate use of traffic lights -- to improve the flow of traffic rather than to impede it.

I wrote:

It's inefficient to force several cars to stop for the sake of one or two cars that are already stopped. Forcing a car to stop and then accelerate back up to cruising speed is a significant waste of gas. In fact every time a driver applies the brake, he or she "throws away" the fuel that was used to accelerate the car. And acceleration is what uses the most fuel.

And...

Many of these intersections are so small that when cars turn onto them from the main road, the cars trigger the Hall effect sensor that causes the light to cycle. Thus, the light turns red for those who navigate the main road even when there's no car to yield to! More waste!

You can solve both problems simply by installing (or moving) the sensors farther back from the intersection and decreasing the sensitivity. That way the light won't cycle unless there are a few cars queued up. It might be a good idea to change the mode to blinking red-yellow during non-peak hours to allow cars to enter the main roadway whenever it's clear, but then have the light switch to give the right-of-way to the smaller roadway when enough cars are waiting.

I can imagine the day when every intersection will have a traffic light. Hopefully I'll be dead by then. Or perhaps traffic lights will be part of a Intelligent Vehicle System that's designed to route traffic for maximum efficiency. Lights will be used to tell motorists when it's safe to enter the intersection rather than stop other cars to allow them to enter.

The Problem With Traffic Lights

"'See, I can time them perfectly,' the [traffic] light said with satisfaction. 'I get hundreds of them each day. No one gets through my intersection without paying his tax in gas and rubber.'"

"'Go blow a bulb!' the car growled at the light.

"'Go soak your horn!' the light flashed back."

- from pages 187 to 188 of "Centaur Aisle," by Piers Anthony

I've had this quote in my "Quote du Jour" for several weeks, ready for the day I finally rant about traffic lights.

In my town, traffic lights are installed indiscriminately as a feeble response to town growth. The rich folks flock to buy McMansions in new developments. Then they complain that they can't get onto the main road without waiting a minute or two for a break in the traffic. So up goes yet another traffic light.

There are intersections where traffic lights are needed, such where two main highways intersect.

But why install one at a "T" intersection on a busy main road for a tiny side street? Here's why it's not a good idea:

• If the number of cars on the main road is so great that you need to interrupt the flow in order to let yet more cars on it, you're contributing to yet more traffic congestion.
• It's inefficient to force several cars to stop for the sake of one or two cars that are already stopped. Forcing a car to stop and then accelerate back up to cruising speed is a significant waste of gas. In fact every time a driver applies the brake, he or she "throws away" the fuel that was used to accelerate the car. And acceleration is what uses the most fuel.
• Many of these intersections are so small that when cars turn onto them from the main road, the cars trigger the Hall effect sensor that causes the light to cycle. Thus, the light turns red for those who navigate the main road even when there's no car to yield to! More waste!
• Finally, traffic lights waste electrical power all day and night. In fact, they remain powered up even in the wee hours of the morning when no one needs them. At night they're so bright you could read a large-print book under them. Why not reduce the light intensity after dark and save money? True, some lights are set to blink red-yellow, and thus they require half the electricity to light the lamps. But the controllers that run them also waste electricity. So just shut them down completely and get that power consumption down to zero. Drivers know anyway to stop before they enter a main road in the absence of traffic control.
  

Book Recommendations From CareerBuilder.com

The CareerBuilder section in our December 16, 2007 newspaper featured 16 career guidance books in its list of "this year's most interesting career books." A few of them look as though they'd be really helpful for me. Unfortunately I couldn't find the article online. I'll list the book titles with links....

• "The IT Factor: Be the One People Like, Listen To, and Remember" Maybe?
• "Winning Nice: How to Succeed in Business and Life Without Waging War" Maybe?
• "Lessons on Leadership: The 7 Fundamental Management Skills for Leaders at All Levels"
• "Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate With Power and Impact"
• "Get Your M.B.A. Part-Time, Fourth Edition: For the Part-Time Student with a Full-Time Life"
• "Buzz: How to Create It and Win With It"
• "Work Like You're Showing Off: The Joy, Jazz, and Kick of Being Better Tomorrow Than You Were Today" Maybe?
• "Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers for an Era of Interdependence"
  This sounds like a good one!
• "Get Ahead by Going Abroad: A Woman's Guide to Fast-track Career Success"
• "Saving the Earth as a Career: Advice on Becoming a Conservation Professional" This sounds like another good one!
• "Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums: What to do Next When You're Bored, Burned Out, Retired or Fired" Yes, this is what I need!
• "Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible" Bingo! (But I suspect the authors don't advocate Spending an hour blogging about career books.)
• "Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-how for Business And Career Success"
• "College Majors Scorecard" The self-assessment tool sounds interesting.
• "The Girl's Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business"
• "Career and Corporate Cool" Maybe?

Anniversary Dates for Engineers

When an engineer picks a wedding date, chances are it has some numeric meaning. It's a fun challenge to come up with a sequence of numbers that forms a date that falls on a weekend. And afterwards, it lessens the likelihood that the anniversary will be forgotten.

Here are some simple weekend dates in MM/DD/YY format that are based on simple multiplication facts: 02/16/08, 12/08/96.

Here are dates based on sequences: 06/07/08, 05/10/15, 09/16/xx. With that last one, the month and day are so good, we'll ignore the year.

Some other nice dates: 08/16/08, 03/14/15, which are the first five digits of Pi.

Are you an engineer that married? What date did you choose?

Emacs: Yet Another Cool High-Tech Thing

Two years ago, I wrote about Servant Salamander. In that post, I described how Servant Salamander substituted nicely for Norton Commander when I made the switch from MS-DOS to Windows NT.

The other software substitute I made was to replace my favorite text editor, Brief. When I started using Brief, it was by a company called "Underware." When I stopped using it, it had been taken over by Borland. They had no plans to make it Windows-compatible.

I loved Brief's ability to record and playback keyboard macros. It had undo. Its regular expression search and replace capability was powerful. It could cut and paste columns of text. It could be scripted. It supported multiple windows.

I continued to use Brief on Windows NT, even though its cut and paste didn't work with the Windows clipboard. And I recall having display problems at certain video resolutions.

So I set off in search of a new Windows text editor. The minimum requirements were:

• Column marking, cutting, pasting.
• Undo.
• Regular expression search / replace.
• Keystroke macros.
• Windows compatible.
  

I wanted an editor that could be scripted. And even better, one with the same keystrokes as Brief, or with a reconfigurable keyboard.

I came across Crisp, Zeus and then Vedit a bit later.

I rejected Crisp almost immediately, even though it seemed to be the ideal replacement. The problem was that it was unstable. Or, more accurately, it made my computer unstable. So I dropped it quickly.

I was mostly happy with Zeus. But sometimes I needed to edit binary files, and one thing I did not like was that Zeus could not handle null characters. (And it wasn't 100% Brief-compatible.) That's why I got Vedit. Vedit did a great job with all kinds of files of all sizes. I was even able to edit EBCDIC files, which helped when I was writing an EBCDIC to ASCII translator. But I never got comfortable with Vedit, so I continued to use Zeus primarily.

One day I decided to try another search for the Ultimate Text Editor. Someone recommended Gnu Emacs.

Emacs was "sort of" Brief compatible. In fact, it was Crisp-compatible with its Crisp-mode Lisp add-on. But in reviewing Emacs, I came across the advice that it's best to learn the native key-mapping. So that's what I did, back in 2001.

It was a bit hard to get used Emacs, and I did have to remap the keyboard a tiny bit. For example, back then, Emacs would interpret the Del key as Backspace, which deletes the previous character instead of the next character. (This is not true of more recent versions.) Also, I stumbled over Emacs terminology. For example, it's not "Cut" and "Paste" but rather "Kill" and "Yank."

But all the effort I put in to it was well worth it. Now, I don't bother to write text-manipulation programs because it's easier (and more fun) to script Emacs to perform that kind of work. I enjoy using Emacs Planner to keep track of tasks and notes that pertain to numerous work projects. And at one time, I enjoyed using the newsreader Gnus with it's wonderful ability to score message threads based on any number of regular expression filters I could come up with.

Emacs is licensed under the GNU General Public License, which means that it's free, not only in the sense that you can obtain it without cost, but also that you are free to modify and distribute the software, provided you pass along this same freedom.

Emacs is amazing. It is constantly being improved by intelligent people who demand great things from their programs. It can run on many different platforms. Try it out!

The Personable Computer

We call them Personal Computers. But why can't they be Personable?

The other day I was typing an e-mail. I thought I had on-the-fly spell checking enabled. Then I typed the word "triennial" and didn't see the red squiggly underline. I wondered, "Did I really spell that right?" and "Is spell check really turned on?" I decided to run the spell check manually. And it ran, finishing with a disappointing absence of fanfare over my correctly spelled word.

Why couldn't it respond, "Hey, great job at spelling triennial, big guy"? I am an engineer, after all, so I'm supposedly disposed toward bad spelling.

How should that response have worked, exactly, without actually being annoying? Certainly a focus-stealing pop-up would've been downright annoying. And a little checkmark after the word might not have been effusive¹ enough. Perhaps a message in the status bar would've afforded the best trade-off between noticeability² and interference.

The reason computers don't provide this kind of feedback is because of how intensely users loathed Clippy, the default Microsoft Office 97 help mascot. Clippy was best known for saying, "It looks like you're typing a letter. Would you like some help with that?"³ Of course users loathed that. We know how to type a freaking letter. We don't appreciate being patronized by something with half the intelligence of an earthworm. Whoever designed that hadn't ever held a door open for a feminist.

But if Clippy had offered praise instead of assistance (or perhaps in addition to assistance), he/it might've been accepted or at least tolerated. And it would've been better if it weren't so dorky looking.

I'm sure we'll see a return of something like Clippy, albeit well-disguised. It's just too tempting a feature to ignore for long.

---

¹I spelled this correctly the first time, too!

²But alas, I did not spell this correctly the first time.

³And there are wonderful parodies⁴ of this too, such as, "It looks like you're typing a suicide note. Would you like some help with that? Okay, first tell me, how do you plan to kill yourself? Choose one: Gunshot to the Head; Slash Wrists; Overdose; Jump Off Tall Building or Bridge; Step In front of a Moving Train, Truck or Automobile. Great! Thanks! Next, tell me the reason why you're killing yourself: No One Understands Me; My Lover Left Me; I'm Broke; I Can't Stand This Asinine Clippy... And so on.

⁴See, for example, One Egg Shy's Clippy's Guide to Suicide Notes, or his Clippy’s Guide to Ransom Notes.

Hey buddy, can you spare a few CPU cycles?

Do you leave your computer running and connected to the Internet? If so, why not donate its idle CPU cycles to scientific research? You could help figure out the cause of Alzheimer's disease, predict climate, or search for evidence of gravitational waves or extraterrestrial intelligence.

The Folding@Home distributed computing project is committed to exploring protein folding. Its goal is to gain an understanding of:

• Alzheimer's Disease
• Cancer
• Huntington's Disease
• Osteogenesis Imperfecta
• Parkinson's Disease
• Ribosome & antibiotics

All it takes to get started is to download and run a small program. Click here for more details. Other protein research projects include Rosetta@home and Predictor@home.

Other things your computer could work on:

• CPDN: climate prediction.
• SETI@home: the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
• Einstein@Home: find spinning neutron stars.

Download an installer and join the research!

The True Meaning of Christmas

It finally clicked in me -- the True Meaning of Christmas.

It was when I heard the Christmas story retold for the fourteenth consecutive time, at last night's Family Christmas Eve service, at our local church. The Pastor had read Luke's Gospel, and then he expounded on it.

He started by describing Luke 2:1-7 in more detail. The reason that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were staying in a stable is that there was no room at the inn. That I've known since I was a child, but nothing more.

The rest of it needs to be appreciated against a backdrop of adult experiences. The child I was did not bother to wonder why they needed to find an inn.

The Pastor explained that Joseph needed to haul himself (and the pregnant woman he was engaged to) 80 miles, by foot, from his home in Nazareth back to Bethlehem in order to be counted in the census. So he could be taxed.

That's my wife and me, Joseph and Mary. Not only do we have to undertake some pain-in-the-ass journey for some poorly-planned government bullshit, we have to do it when we're about to give birth. All for the ultimate pleasure of paying taxes. This is jury duty on a Grand Scale.

To make the story more interesting, Joseph is caring for a woman whose child she carries is not even his.

And this is the way the Universe works. Even God's Children cannot escape suffering the idiocy that this world has to offer.

Time Magazine Person of the Year (What Else?)

As soon as I heard that Time Magazine's Person of the Year (POTY) was "Me," I knew I had another sarcastic blog entry to write. By now, this entry is but one of many that pokes fun at Time. And if you want to listen to great commentary on the topic, redirect your browser to today's commentary by Bill Langworthy on NPR's All Things Considered.

I'd rather not waste much content on Time. POTY noise actually rewards Time in the end, even if it's criticism. I just want to point out that choosing me as POTY (along with hundreds of thousands MySpace teenagers who are either horny or lonely or both) was plain laziness. If Time had done a little research, they'd've discovered the term blogosphere, which might've led them to this special issue of Communications of the ACM. And somewhere in this two-year-old, well-researched set of papers would be the person or team responsible for creating the technology that enables us POTY winners to blog.

If it sounds like I'm angry at Time, it's because I am. Aren't I supposed to receive some monetary award? Because I didn't. Hello?

Build My Own Universe? Are you Joking?

Okay, I finally accept that my elementary-school-aged daughter can design her own web page and probably make it look a whole lot nicer than this site. But could the next generation one day build its own universe?

Incredibly, some physicists think so, according to this feature on NPR's All Things Considered:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6545246

This is a cool page, not just for the feature article, but for the related links. The one bit of disappointment I feel is that I wish this came out nearer to April Fool's Day. That way I could fool people into thinking that something is a joke when, in fact, it's actually real.

So I wonder if our Universe was once created by a team of ambitious physicists in a higher level universe? What if they have to shut down their experiment due to lack of funding? Or what happens if a student overheats a Twinkie and in the process accidentally destroys the lab while attempting to redo one of the Twinkie Experiments?

Recommended Website: Pandora

When I was a kid, my favorite thing was to buy a new record from the music store and play it on my home stereo for the first time. Discovering new songs, or hearing played-out songs anew, was magic to me.

So I was thrilled when I found out about Pandora. (Thanks, Tirsden!) This site helps you find music you like. You give it the names of a few of your favorite songs, and it creates a playlist of similar songs. As you rate the suggestions, the resulting "Radio Station" starts to provide you with fresh, enjoyable music.

Curious to know what kind of music I'm into? Check out Hard to Pin Down Classical / Progressive Folk Rock Radio. Some of Pandora's choices are pretty cool. Others are quite a stretch, although it's usually fun to hear them. I guess I can sense some similarity between Blue Oyster Cult and Renaissance. And I had no idea Todd Rundgren jammed like that (The Ikon).

Edited on 2006-10-11 to add this list of Radio Stations...

1. B-52's Radio
2. Funky Electric Bass Radio
3. Hard to Pin Down Classical / Progressive Folk Rock Radio

Promoting the Field of Engineering

The website TryEngineering.org touts itself as a resource that should help pre-college students decide whether engineering is good career choice for them.

The link that immediately caught my eye was Engineering Life Profiles. The target page is titled "Life of an Engineer," and it sports a list of links to the job descriptions / professional biographies of seven practicing engineers.

As an eletrical engineer, I was curious to read the profile of Carl Allison (Electrical Engineer).

Mr. Allison is employed by Walt Disney Imagineering, which is hardly a typical destination for an average engineering graduate. I'm glad that he's happily employed producing things that entertain people. Unfortunately, many engineers wind up in a cubicle dungeon, spending days just poring over one parts list after another in order to identify and replace pure tin-leaded components with components that have leads plated with palladium silver. And this is for some space hardware hardly anyone will ever see. There are engineers that spend their entire careers studying the long-term reliablilty of resistors, or think of ways to reduce the cost of an assembly by a few cents.

If you're a pre-college student who thinks engineering might be a good career, make sure you talk to a few engineers first. Don't just read glitzy promotional websites and think that's how your life will be. Try to shadow a few real engineers during the summer before your final year of high school. Although the summer camps that TryEngineering has listed are probably too oriented to having fun, they're probably better than nothing. They at least help you determine whether you have the aptitude for cool design and problem-solving aspect of engineering.

The Highs and Lows of Being a Luddite Geek

It isn't easy being both a Luddite and a Geek. Each encounter with new technology evokes a Dr. Jeckyll / Mr. Hyde response. Sometimes it's quite strong, like the day my new, computer-controlled boiler was installed.

The old boiler was installed when the house was built, about 1950. It still was heating water very well, but over the last few winters, it wasn't maintaining pressure. And a few weeks ago, it started to leak intermittently from the circulating pump.

Here's how both the Luddite and the Geek in me responded to the new boiler.

Luddite:

So the guys took out the 60-year-old furnace yesterday. It was still delivering steaming hot water, as it had always done faithfully (except for the times that the igniter and transformer had to be replaced).

They put this new, computer-controlled thing in its place. After it's all connected, filled with water and pressurized, they flip the switch, and guess what. Nothing. The burner doesn't fire up. Nada. Zilch.

The guy tinkered with it for three hours, until 7:30pm actually, and then said the piece of crap module was bad.

My wife was especially upset. Not only did she not have hot water last night and this morning, her formerly-white kitchen floor is filthy, the light beige carpet on the stairs and landing is smudged with greasy, sooty footprints, and our daughter has a cold and needs a nice, steaming bath.

What on Earth compelled me to buy a boiler with a computer in it? All it has to do is switch two relays on and off -- one for the burner and one for the circulating pump. How hard can it be? I can't believe I spent more on this than my car.

If you ever want to ruin a good, reliable piece of equipment, add a computer to it.

Geek:

Things didn't go too well yesterday, that's for sure. Well, the owner came today. He couldn't believe there was anything wrong with the computer. So he tinkered with it for a while. When he realized he wasn't getting anywhere, he tried to jury-rig it to bypass the computer controller. Fortunately his helper noticed something peculiar about one of the jumpers on the controller. It was not connected! Bingo. Connect it up, it fires right up, and we have burning hot water.

[days go by...]
Over the past few days, I got to go through the manuals that came with this feat of engineering. I navigated the menus and chose one of the week-long day / night programs and altered it to our family's schedule. This will ensure that our boiler won't turn on at night during "summer mode" when it's not needed. And in "winter mode," it will govern at what times the temperature setback should kick in / out.

With its temperature sensors for outdoor and indoor air, plus knowing what the room setpoint temperature is, it's able to taper the boiler temperature as the room temperature reaches the setpoint. It follows one of a few pre-programmed heating curves that adjust based on the outside temperature. And the outdoor temperature sensor can be used to switch the unit between its summer and winter modes. The temperature at which it makes the switch also is programmable.

It delivers hot tap water the same way it heats the house. As the water in the tank reaches the setpoint (which, of course is user-adjustable) the boiler can shut down since it has enough remaining heat to finish heating the water.

I tried lowering the hot water setting to 125F, but I noticed that the dishwasher's heating element was coming on. So I set it back up to 130F (where the installer had left it) to keep the dishwasher's electricity use down.

The first time I took a shower, I was really impressed. It's just like at the health club. No more turning the faucet toward the hot position as the shower progresses. I set it, and it stays. Wow. And forget about turning off the heat ten minutes before taking a shower. The computer will give priority to heating tap water over heating the radiators.

You want to know a secret? I paid more for this boiler than my car. But it's worth it. I'm not queer or anything, but I really want to invite my buddies over for a shower.

OpenOffice 1, Microsoft Office 0

Today was not a good day, computer-wise. Thankfully, the problem was with my work computer and not my home computer, even though the two are very similar in setup.

First I noticed that Excel wasn't able to use the "Save As" dialog box. I was trying to save a CSV file as an XLS file, something I do regularly. But Excel would just hang when I tried it this morning. It would also not import text files.

It was nearly lunchtime, so I mentioned it to the IT guy. He gets in the driver's seat and I go off to lunch. But first I use another computer to do the Excel job I couldn't do on my system.

After lunch, I see that he's still at it. He says it's not just Excel, but all the Office apps are messed up. And Windows Explorer Tree View doesn't expand network branches, so it's not just Office. But he doesn't know what to do about it.

We've already tried to "Repair Office" and uninstall and reinstall.

So I decide to test his theory that it's more than Office. I tried the Save As in NotePad, Adobe Acrobat 6.0 and Visual Studio 6.0. They all work. So Office is messed up, I'm sure. I don't care about Explorer -- I don't use it anyway.

But then I notice that I can't send inter-office e-mail, whereas before I could. I can receive it, but not reply. And I can't download from my ISP's POP mail servers. So whatever fix the IT tried to apply, it probably broke the mail client. Oh well -- I can live without e-mail for a short while. After all, I am part "Luddite."

But I can't even *save* a Word document, and I need to use it. So I downloaded and installed OpenOffice and easily created my "Word" document with it.

I can get by with OpenOffice only for a short time, though. I do need to create new Excel documents that contain VBA code, something I doubt can be done with OpenOffice.

As I wonder what caused this, I can only guess that it was the new scanner driver and software that I installed on Friday afternoon. Maybe if I uninstall it I might get MS Office to work again. But I'm guessing the mail client is thoroughly hosed....

Cell Phone Angst

What is it that spurs people to get a cell phone? In our case, it was separation anxiety. More precisely, it was my wife's concern over losing our daughter to School.

As the dutiful family provider, I made sure that this new vital piece of technology was in our hands and working properly before the first day of school.

And I did a great job. I had come across a great online deal from AT&T Wireless back in 2001. I ordered the phone and service sometime during Labor Day weekend and received the phone on Tuesday. I was impressed with this ... er ... impressive service.

The only problem was that AT&T didn't own any base stations in our area. Nor did they have any stores nearby. And customer service was reluctant to give us the address of the nearest base station, perhaps as a security policy. So activating the phone was tricky. Eventually, I drove through various towns until I happened to cross into home territory. When the phone finally connected, it registered itself on the network, and I was able to use it.

The phone worked extremely well in our home, and I saved lots of money on long distance by using the cell phone instead of the land line. I liked the idea of calling my wife from the supermarket to ask her whether Land-o-Lakes Swiss Cheese would be okay to substitute for Finlandia Swiss. Unfortunately, there was no signal at our daughter's school and at our church.

The phone's battery out-lasted the contract, but it did fail. Rather than buy a new phone or get an upgrade, I canceled the service and got a new plan, along with a new free phone. Even though the separation anxiety was gone, the cell phone had become indispensable, at least to my wife.

Eventually, AT&T was forced to give up its wireless service. SBC's Cingular service took over. By then our contract had already expired. But we continued with the new phone and the same service on a month-to-month basis.

By this time, my wife was using the phone as a pager for her new on-call job. She was not hesitant to point out its short-comings, the biggest of which was that she couldn't get a signal inside certain buildings. But it gave her some freedom away from home and allowed her to respond to work calls while gardening or walking the dog.

One day in May, her work place complained that when they called the cell phone, they got a message that the number was not in service. When I called Cingular, they traced the problem to a billing issue. Specifically, the credit card that they were charging to every month had expired. Rather than notify us, they did the sensible thing and shutdown the service. (That's sarcasm, BTW.) After I pointed out that they should've called us before shutting off the service (which is used to provide on-call medical service) I was told that I wouldn't need to pay the $25 reinstatement fee.

So with that behind us and the contract expired, we had only to wait for the battery to fail on this new phone. I was intrigued when Cingular (now owned by AT&T) sent us a upgrade offer. We could replace the phone and increase from 120 to 400 minutes for a one-time fee of only $19.99, probably less than the cost of a new battery. I could see the catch, though. They were hoping the new phone's additional features would cause us to use the service more. The new phone was capable of Internet access and could do IM, both of which require premium service.

It was Independence Day weekend. As I mulled this offer over, my wife's work place called our land line number to tell us that they couldn't connect to the cell phone. Instead of ringing, they would get our voice mailbox, as if the phone was turned off or out-of-range. At first I thought that maybe the voice mailbox was configured to intercept the call. But after navigating the voice mail menus, I couldn't find a problem.

Customer service remarked that there were service problems in our area. They expected that it would be cleared up within 24 hours. But in order to add our account to the list of the ones needing service, I had to give them three phone numbers that failed to ring the cell phone. Well, the work place was One. And our land line was Two. Cingular also tried (and failed) to ring the cell phone. Could they be Three? No. I was supposed to call someone right away and ask them to call me back. On a lovely summer Saturday afternoon. On Independence Day weekend.

The one person I was able to reach directly couldn't actually hear me because of all the noise at the pool. I gave Cingular the number anyway.

After twenty-four hours, the problem still was not fixed. I encouraged my wife to turn her hostility away from me and direct it instead at Cingular. They placated her by telling her it would be fixed on July 5.

On July 5, she called again. This time they explain that the problem is with the phone. It's obsolete. "How old is that thing, anyway?" they ask, oblivious of the fact that they gave it to us less than three years ago. We would need a new phone, and it just so happens that we have an upgrade offer to take advantage of. Isn't that nice? (More sarcasm.)

We complained about the coercive tactics used to get us to upgrade, which pissed off the customer service clerk and got us a reduced upgrade fee. If it were up to me, I'd've canceled the service. But my wife has been brainwashed into thinking that she cannot live without a cell phone.

The new phone, BTW, has only a few ring tones, two wallpaper images, and no free games (other than demos). Of course we're welcome to buy additional content. This is the epitome of progress -- develop new ways of getting more money from the customer.

Outlook "Signature Code" Added

Back in June of 2005, I bragged about how I spent a few hours to write Outlook VBA code that eliminates a few keystrokes. I had a request for that code a few days ago, so I decided to edit that post to add the code. This link will take you to the edited post.

I should point out that I no longer use that code. I had lost it when my work computer was upgraded, and I failed to back up the source in a reasonable location. Too lazy to re-invent the wheel, I deigned to add signatures the MS Outlook way, using Alt-I S M X Enter. Besides, after a security patch was applied, Outlook would force me to respond to a warning every time I ran that macro. And anyway, when adding the signature to replies, I would always have to move the signature from the very bottom of the message to the point just after the end of my response and before the quoted message. (I'm pretty sure I can fix that, actually.)

So the code you see in the edited post came from an hour-and-a-half session I spent to recreate the code -- a Saturday night pursuit of geeky leisure.

The Ideal Career Path

I just read Sacha Chua's "On programming as a career" post and had to stop what I was doing and write about it.

I understand the feelings that went into her post. I've been trying to strike a new career path for myself -- something with more of a human element. The thing that thrills me is computer automation, especially applied to design processes, data processing and administration. The thrill has two sources. The first is from overcoming the challenge of making the automation succeed. The second is from seeing smiles when my coworkers experience the relief that comes from knowing they don't have to repetitively point and click through several silly menus to accomplish something.

My ideal Masters Degree would be in "The Automation of Computers to Make Life Easier For the Poor People Who are Stuck Using Them."

It doesn't have to involve computers, actually. I plan to involve them in my career path only because I believe I can make more money in a field that incorporates them. I could be nearly as happy serving as an efficiency expert, helping people to live better.

Suppose someone is intent on making a fried egg for breakfast before going to work. I might suggest that she take the eggs and butter out of the refrigerator first thing in the morning. Then after she has showered and is ready to cook, the eggs aren't as cold and will cook more quickly and will be less inclined to stick. And the butter will be soft enough to spread easily.

But I've learned that not everyone likes being told how to do something. If my wife has any say in the matter, I would be better off staying out of her kitchen and woking on a computer.

How would this play out on a computer? Well, if I knew someone who enjoyed instant messaging with friends on different servers and who liked to keep up with a few RSS feeds, I might suggest they use Miranda IM, the Swiss Army Knife of IM clients. It can work with ICQ, AIM, MSN, YIM, IRC, Jabber and GoogleTalk. Plus there are numerous add-ons, one of which can make it report feed updates. And it's Open Source. The only reasons it's not today's killler app are that it lacks marketing push and it doesn't require a hardware upgrade to run it.

Anyway, good luck to Sacha, and to myself. If you have any advice for either of us, let me know!

---

2025-03-05 LG Fixed two broken links. BTW, the Miranda IM project was abandoned in 2018. Folks are encouraged to use Miranda-NG instead.

Net Neutrality

The US Senate is debating S 2917: Internet Freedom Preservation Act, which would prevent ISPs from giving preferential treatment to content providers that pay. They are also debating S 2686: Communications, Consumers' Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006, which would greatly reform telecommications laws and allow for a tiered Internet.

Apparently, telecom providers want to compete with cable television providers, and they want content providers to subsidize their effort. The first bill mentioned above would seek to prevent that. The second would facilitate it.

For a really well-fleshed out article on the subject, check out "Speed Bumps on the Information Highway," by Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer. This FreePress page provides more arguments in favor of Net Neutrality.

I recommend this sarcastic article, called "Net Neutrality Has Ruined the Web," for those who understand something about electronic communications.

Recommended Website: Arachnoid

"Should I have an award for good websites?" I asked myself. If I did, I'd want to give the first to Paul Lutus. Eventually, I decided that giving out awards to good websites should be left to someone a lot more prestigious than myself. So I'll just humbly recommend my favorites. The first one, Arachnoid, was created by Paul Lutus.

I first came across Arachnoid when I was looking for software to perform time synchronization. I think this was way back in 1997. A quick search brought up AboutTime, which I downloaded from Arachnoid. Other interesting downloads include the web page editor Arachnophilia, and his personal finance program, PLCash, both written in Java to be useful on many different platforms. Most downloads are neither shareware or freeware. They are Careware, an idea I very much favor.

Articles abound on Arachnoid. Find out Why are computers so hard to use?. Discover Creative Problem-Solving. Read his opinions on psychology, which include a comparison of Asperger Syndrome and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Learn more about humans from this Interview with an Extraterrestrial.

Downloads are not all you can find at Arachnoid. Check out the tutorials, which cover Calculus, HTML, C++ and even an explanation for why the night sky is dark.

What makes Arachnoid so great is the sense that its author cares a great deal about our world and its inhabitants. He works hard at making the Internet, and the world at large, a better place. Visit now!

Update on Firewalls

In my post Free Computer Security -- Firewalls, I raved about the free Sygate Personal Firewall (SPF) last year. Since then, Symantec bought Sygate. Unfortunately, this means that the free firewall product is no longer available.

I still have the old SPF install file. I could've installed it on my new computer. But using unmaintained security software is like building a fence with rotten wood and letting it fall apart.

What firewall did I install? I settled on Outpost Firewall Pro. I haven't heard many endorsements for it, but I heard no negative comments, unlike Zone Alarm. One thing about Outpost is that it is not free, although you can download it and try it for free for 30 days. The initial license fee is $39.99, and annual updates after one year is $19.99. (But if it turns out that Germany has the most shutout games in this year's World Cup, I'll get the annual updates for free. See this promotional page to understand why.)

If you're committed to using a free product, you can try Zone Alarm. You can also try Jetico Personal Firewall, which I discovered after installing Outpost. Version 1.0.1.61 of Jetico was given the Gold Award by Firewall Leak Tester on March 11, 2006, based on its ability to pass leak tests. One thing Firewall Leak Tester doesn't do is give any indication of how stable each product is.

While I'm at it, let me give you some firewall testing resources.

• Again, there's Firewall Leak Tester, which not only publishes test results, it also offers a directory of tests that you can run on your own system. And there's plenty of advice, too.


• The home page of Gibson Research Center, and their Shields Up test in particular.


• Various tests on the PC Flank web site.

Amazing New Game Under Development : Spore

I read about Spore on Brad Neuberg's blog, "Coding In Paradise." This is what he posted about Spore back on April 12:

Spore is shaping up to be one of the most amazing games ever; it's like a serious work of art and science mixed together, artificial life. Check out a video.

Why can't I just quit work and volunteer as a beta tester?

Broadband Internet Access at Last!

I haven't felt this great since ... since ... since ... I don't know when. The reason is that I successfully installed DSL service on Monday. I verified the download speed to be 2.4Mbps at DSL Reports using their Speed Test. I no longer have to spend about half my online time downloading updates to all my security programs.

The service is provided by AT&T / SBC in cooperation with Yahoo. I signed up at a promotional rate of $17.99 for 1.5Mbps service for twelve months ($29.99 thereafter). The modem was free after a $45.00 mail-in rebate. Installation was a snap. The computer already had the NIC, so all I had to do was install filters on all the analog telephone devices (including the dial-up modem) and connect the modem. The most difficult part was reading the 18-page membership agreement.

I hope this means I'll have more time to post. But I suspect that I'll just goof off and get back into online gaming.