If you're using Firefox to surf the web (and if you're still using IE, shame on you), you probably know all about the various toolbars and extensions available to help customize your browsing experience.
Well, if you're trying to keep track of your caloric intake, this toolbar may help.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3357
It's the CalorieKing/Joslin Diabetes Center search bar. Type in the food item you're looking for, and it'll look it up through CalorieKing's database.
Oh yeah, if you are still stuck using Internet Explorer, you can find a link for the IE version on this page:
http://www.calorieking.com/toolbar/
Thursday, January 31, 2008
300 Game
Chel got us a membership to the local Wellness Center. We've been talking about signing up for a while, now, and Chel finally got around to it. Heck, we've lived on the same block as the stupid place for the past year and we've never went. It's about what you would figure for a small-town fitness center: various weight machines, treadmills, stationary bikes, some free weights.
And, of course, the dreaded scale.
I like this scale better than the one at work, and the one over at Grandma's house. The one at Grandma's, which we've been using, is a standard bathroom scale; and it works fine, but with all spring-type scales, there's the problem of warping with age, and at higher weights, they're not as accurate. The one at work is a slider scale (like the ones you might see at the doctor's office). Only problem with that one is the fact that it's only calibrated to 300 pounds. Unfortunately, that's not quite enough for me.
But I stepped on the scale at the Wellness Center; and weighed in wearing a pair of cloth shorts, sweatpants, a T-shirt, socks and shoes. I tickled the scale until the bar balanced on its own in the middle of the range, just like you're supposed to. And to my surprising, I had to move the 50 pound weight back a slot.
At 7:40 this morning, I weighed in between 299.5 and 300 pounds. And that was before the 3/4 mile treadmill and mile bike ride.
I haven't been at 300 pounds since well before my wedding. If I remember right, the last time I had to look up at 300 was shortly before Chel moved to Kinsley, and that was 5 1/2 years ago. Since last Christmas, I'm down 25 pounds. My next goal is to get down to 285. That's 15 pounds, or 5% of my current body weight. It also represents between 12 and 14% of my heaviest weight ("Between" because I didn't weigh myself regularly; so I'm not exactly sure what my starting weight was; though I know it was at least 325 pounds; at Thanksgiving I was probably closer to 330.)
And yes, yesterday's post was accurate. That ham sandwich was all I had to eat yesterday. Today is going to be a little bigger, if not better.
Breakfast (5:30 am): 270 Calories
10 oz Apple Juice: 140 Cal
Kashi Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie: 130 Cal
Lunch (11:30 am Burger and Tots): 769 Cal
Hamburger Bun: 84 Cal
1/4 lb Burger: 320 Cal
Ketchup: 45 cal
Mayo: 90 Cal
Tater Tots: 220 Cal
Dr Pepper (24oz ): 300 Cal
Dinner (6:00 pm 2x Roast Beef Sandwiches & OJ): 676 Cal
4 slices Bread: 180 Cal
Roast Beef (5 oz): 301 Cal
Mayo (1/2 tbsp): 10 Cal
Curly's BBQ (1/2 tbsp): 20 Cal
Orange Juice (12 oz): 165 Cal
Total Calories: 1715
Not a bad day. I'm inside my target range (1500-1800 Cal/day) with a little bit of room to spare. Enough room, in fact, to have a homemade iced coffee (6 oz brewed coffee, 4 oz milk, <1 tsp sugar; ~68 Cal) before I go to bed if I'm thirsty. As for what I could have done better; I probably could have done without the tots at lunch, but other than that, I did pretty good.
And, of course, the dreaded scale.
I like this scale better than the one at work, and the one over at Grandma's house. The one at Grandma's, which we've been using, is a standard bathroom scale; and it works fine, but with all spring-type scales, there's the problem of warping with age, and at higher weights, they're not as accurate. The one at work is a slider scale (like the ones you might see at the doctor's office). Only problem with that one is the fact that it's only calibrated to 300 pounds. Unfortunately, that's not quite enough for me.
But I stepped on the scale at the Wellness Center; and weighed in wearing a pair of cloth shorts, sweatpants, a T-shirt, socks and shoes. I tickled the scale until the bar balanced on its own in the middle of the range, just like you're supposed to. And to my surprising, I had to move the 50 pound weight back a slot.
At 7:40 this morning, I weighed in between 299.5 and 300 pounds. And that was before the 3/4 mile treadmill and mile bike ride.
I haven't been at 300 pounds since well before my wedding. If I remember right, the last time I had to look up at 300 was shortly before Chel moved to Kinsley, and that was 5 1/2 years ago. Since last Christmas, I'm down 25 pounds. My next goal is to get down to 285. That's 15 pounds, or 5% of my current body weight. It also represents between 12 and 14% of my heaviest weight ("Between" because I didn't weigh myself regularly; so I'm not exactly sure what my starting weight was; though I know it was at least 325 pounds; at Thanksgiving I was probably closer to 330.)
And yes, yesterday's post was accurate. That ham sandwich was all I had to eat yesterday. Today is going to be a little bigger, if not better.
Breakfast (5:30 am): 270 Calories
10 oz Apple Juice: 140 Cal
Kashi Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie: 130 Cal
Lunch (11:30 am Burger and Tots): 769 Cal
Hamburger Bun: 84 Cal
1/4 lb Burger: 320 Cal
Ketchup: 45 cal
Mayo: 90 Cal
Tater Tots: 220 Cal
Dr Pepper (24oz ): 300 Cal
Dinner (6:00 pm 2x Roast Beef Sandwiches & OJ): 676 Cal
4 slices Bread: 180 Cal
Roast Beef (5 oz): 301 Cal
Mayo (1/2 tbsp): 10 Cal
Curly's BBQ (1/2 tbsp): 20 Cal
Orange Juice (12 oz): 165 Cal
Total Calories: 1715
Not a bad day. I'm inside my target range (1500-1800 Cal/day) with a little bit of room to spare. Enough room, in fact, to have a homemade iced coffee (6 oz brewed coffee, 4 oz milk, <1 tsp sugar; ~68 Cal) before I go to bed if I'm thirsty. As for what I could have done better; I probably could have done without the tots at lunch, but other than that, I did pretty good.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Food Diary 1/30
Considering I've slept most of the day, it's not really surprising that I'm eating fairly light. One decent sized meal is about it today...
Dinner (6:45 pm)
Ham Sandwich: 245 Calories
2 slices, Sara Lee 100% Multigrain Bread: 90 Cal
6 slices, Deli sliced Oven Roasted Ham: 60 Cal
1 tbsp Miracle Whip Light: 20 Cal
1 tsp Hellman's Dijonaisse: 5 Cal
1 slice Swiss Cheese: 70 Cal
Sunchips Harvest Cheddar (~20 chips): 190 Cal
Dr Pepper, 24 oz Bottle: 300 Cal
Total Calories for day: 735 Calories
Dinner (6:45 pm)
Ham Sandwich: 245 Calories
2 slices, Sara Lee 100% Multigrain Bread: 90 Cal
6 slices, Deli sliced Oven Roasted Ham: 60 Cal
1 tbsp Miracle Whip Light: 20 Cal
1 tsp Hellman's Dijonaisse: 5 Cal
1 slice Swiss Cheese: 70 Cal
Sunchips Harvest Cheddar (~20 chips): 190 Cal
Dr Pepper, 24 oz Bottle: 300 Cal
Total Calories for day: 735 Calories
Food Diary 1/29
Well, If I'm gonna do this, I might as well do this right. Gonna keep track of what I've eaten during the day, and see if I can identify problem areas.
First Meal (5:15 pm)
Lean Cuisine Spinach & Mushroom Pizza: 330 Cal
Orange Juice, 1 1/2 cups: 165 Cal
Snack (8:00 pm)
Banana: 72 Cal
2x Starlight Mint: 120 Cal
Snack (Midnight)
Banana: 72 Cal
Hershey Dark Chocolate bar: 60 Cal
Creamy Ranch Dip (1 tbsp): 30 Cal
Lunch (3 am):
Healthy Choice Grilled Turkey Breast dinner: 270 Cal
Dinner (7:30 am)
Breakfast Burrito: 340 Cal3
2 eggs: 120 Cal
Ham: 80 Cal
Tortilla: 110 Cal
Cheese: 20 Cal
Taco Sauce: 10 Cal
Total calorie count: 1459 Cal.
First Meal (5:15 pm)
Lean Cuisine Spinach & Mushroom Pizza: 330 Cal
Orange Juice, 1 1/2 cups: 165 Cal
Snack (8:00 pm)
Banana: 72 Cal
2x Starlight Mint: 120 Cal
Snack (Midnight)
Banana: 72 Cal
Hershey Dark Chocolate bar: 60 Cal
Creamy Ranch Dip (1 tbsp): 30 Cal
Lunch (3 am):
Healthy Choice Grilled Turkey Breast dinner: 270 Cal
Dinner (7:30 am)
Breakfast Burrito: 340 Cal3
2 eggs: 120 Cal
Ham: 80 Cal
Tortilla: 110 Cal
Cheese: 20 Cal
Taco Sauce: 10 Cal
Total calorie count: 1459 Cal.
Losing Weight
I'm losing weight, and I feel like crap.
While both of the above statements are completely true; in this case, the first has nothing to do with the second. I've been sick the last few days, which really isn't surprising if you think about it. The whole damn town seems to have come down with this crap.
But the important thing, at least long-term, is that I'm losing weight. Saturday morning I weighed in at a svelte {that word, I do not think it means what you think it means} 305 pounds. Which means I'm down around 15-20 pounds in the month since Christmas. I'm not losing as fast as Chel is; but then again, I haven't actually been 'dieting'. I've been 'following along', as it were. Am I serious about losing weight? Yes, at least as a long-term goal.
I do have some... misgivings about the whole thing; but nothing I really care to put into words at the moment. Maybe later.
While both of the above statements are completely true; in this case, the first has nothing to do with the second. I've been sick the last few days, which really isn't surprising if you think about it. The whole damn town seems to have come down with this crap.
But the important thing, at least long-term, is that I'm losing weight. Saturday morning I weighed in at a svelte {that word, I do not think it means what you think it means} 305 pounds. Which means I'm down around 15-20 pounds in the month since Christmas. I'm not losing as fast as Chel is; but then again, I haven't actually been 'dieting'. I've been 'following along', as it were. Am I serious about losing weight? Yes, at least as a long-term goal.
I do have some... misgivings about the whole thing; but nothing I really care to put into words at the moment. Maybe later.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Video Game Sales Numbers Released
Yahoo News is reporting $17 billion was spent on new video games in 2007.
That's 'billion'. With a "B". For comparison; the 2006 gross domestic product of Iceland was around 16 billion US dollars.
The news wasn't the dollar figure itself; rather, the news was the gap between video game sales and box office returns. It widened again this year. People spent $9.7 billion on movie tickets. And no, I'm not sure either number is worldwide or US only. Y!News didn't feel it was important enough to say.
Doesn't surprise me, really. The National Association of Theatre Owners reported that the average ticket price in the US for 2006 (the most recent number available) was $6.55. Which, by my math, would be around 1.48 billion trips to the movies each year. Taking a look at most of the movies released lately, I'm finding running times between 80 and 120 minutes, so I'm going to figure, at 100 minutes per movie, that's about 2.5 billion hours of movie time per year. Compare $17B, at $60 a head - figuring every game at the high end of the console game-only market - is 283M games sold. Still an impressive number, but dwarfed by the box office trips. But then again, compare the average straight playthrough time of a video game - discarding RPG[2]s which can offer anywhere from12 to over 200 hours of play and MMORPG[3]s - I'd guesstimate 6 hours per game bought, or 1.7 billion hours, which is comparable.
But truth told, I don't know why they are comparing those two (VG sales vs BO return) numbers.
First, we don't know - or rather, the article doesn't differentiate - if that $17B figure is software only; or software and hardware. Which would seem to make a hell of a difference; even discarding the secondary market for accessories (controllers, memory cards, etc.) and the growing gaming-PC market, the cost per console runs about 5-10x more than the software (150-600 per console vs 30-60 per title, discarding for a moment games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the Singstar series which are bundle packaged with specialized controllers), making a significant difference in weighing and comparisons.
But that's not addressing the more fundamental problem with this sort of comparison. A more telling comparison - in my eyes, at least - would be VG sales against DVD sales. Because, quite frankly, a video game purchase is much more akin to buying a DVD than going to the movies. Especially given the movie house's explanation of the rising costs of tickets: you go to the movies for the experience of going out to the movies. Quite frankly, you would buy neither a video game nor a DVD for the experience of buying it, you buy it in order to use it. So, I'd like to see a comparison of the units sold for DVDs vs Video Game software. Quite frankly, I put the hardware in the same category as DVD players anyway. You get the XBox 360 in order to play one format of games and the Wii to play another format; you buy an HD-DVD player to play one format and a BluRay deck to play another. The only reason to choose one over another is limited availability of software titles. That is one place where I'll give the electronics industry some credit. Format wars are decided fairly quickly (the writable CD extension mess notwithstanding). Heck, even the movie rental services have an analog in the MMORPG subscription service.
Where was I actually going with this? Hell if I know. I just thought it was interesting.
First, we don't know - or rather, the article doesn't differentiate - if that $17B figure is software only; or software and hardware. Which would seem to make a hell of a difference; even discarding the secondary market for accessories (controllers, memory cards, etc.) and the growing gaming-PC market, the cost per console runs about 5-10x more than the software (150-600 per console vs 30-60 per title, discarding for a moment games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the Singstar series which are bundle packaged with specialized controllers), making a significant difference in weighing and comparisons.
But that's not addressing the more fundamental problem with this sort of comparison. A more telling comparison - in my eyes, at least - would be VG sales against DVD sales. Because, quite frankly, a video game purchase is much more akin to buying a DVD than going to the movies. Especially given the movie house's explanation of the rising costs of tickets: you go to the movies for the experience of going out to the movies. Quite frankly, you would buy neither a video game nor a DVD for the experience of buying it, you buy it in order to use it. So, I'd like to see a comparison of the units sold for DVDs vs Video Game software. Quite frankly, I put the hardware in the same category as DVD players anyway. You get the XBox 360 in order to play one format of games and the Wii to play another format; you buy an HD-DVD player to play one format and a BluRay deck to play another. The only reason to choose one over another is limited availability of software titles. That is one place where I'll give the electronics industry some credit. Format wars are decided fairly quickly (the writable CD extension mess notwithstanding). Heck, even the movie rental services have an analog in the MMORPG subscription service.
Where was I actually going with this? Hell if I know. I just thought it was interesting.
[1] http://www.natoonline.org/statisticstickets.htm
[2] Role Playing Games. Game genre characterized by the player's characters gaining abilities based on the number and difficulty of enemies faced, see Final Fantasy, Pokemon; compare 'Adventure' games where additional abilities are gained by reaching certain plot-points (Legend of Zelda) or locating 'power-up' items (Super Mario Bros, Halo3).
[3] Massively Multiplayer Online RPG. Sub-genre of RPGs featuring persistent online worlds in which a player's character is able to interact with other players' characters. See Everquest, World of Warcraft.
[2] Role Playing Games. Game genre characterized by the player's characters gaining abilities based on the number and difficulty of enemies faced, see Final Fantasy, Pokemon; compare 'Adventure' games where additional abilities are gained by reaching certain plot-points (Legend of Zelda) or locating 'power-up' items (Super Mario Bros, Halo3).
[3] Massively Multiplayer Online RPG. Sub-genre of RPGs featuring persistent online worlds in which a player's character is able to interact with other players' characters. See Everquest, World of Warcraft.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Competitive Gaming on ESPN?
Out of all the things I've read this weekend, the fact that ESPN is going to be covering Major League Gaming isn't the strangest, but it's close.
Now, maybe I'm biased. The only competitive gaming I've actually watched was an afternoon show on G4 a couple years ago and that Madden video football league that ESPN has shown the last couple years. MLG's got corporate sponsors (XBox 360, natch; and Gamestop) and backing from some big sports name backing (such as Gilbert Arenas).
And you know, depending on the scheduling, I might try to catch an episode or two. My only problem is the games they are playing. Halo 3, Call of Duty 4. First Person Shooters. Not my preference in games to watch people play.
Now, the sports games, I could see televising. You plug into a Madden 08 (or for a better determination of skill, some mid-majors in NCAA Football 08) contest, and it's not going to be that much different - from a viewers standpoint - from watching a real football game. Keep the 'camera' on the 'field', and cut to the gamers only to show celebrations/strategy discussions.
I could even see real-time strategy games - Starcraft, Age of Empires, that sort of thing - getting some airtime. I could see then televising like they do the poker tournaments. Instead of hole card cams, they show a defogged map as your main screen, and use cutaways to particular bases/players to show unfolding strategies; and run interviews after rounds. Pro Starcraft gamers are pretty hot right now in South Korea, actually; comparable in popularity to other major S. Korean athletes.
And no, I have no illusions of being able to compete on that sort of level. But I have to admit, it sounds like it will be a lot more interesting than it probably is.
Now, maybe I'm biased. The only competitive gaming I've actually watched was an afternoon show on G4 a couple years ago and that Madden video football league that ESPN has shown the last couple years. MLG's got corporate sponsors (XBox 360, natch; and Gamestop) and backing from some big sports name backing (such as Gilbert Arenas).
And you know, depending on the scheduling, I might try to catch an episode or two. My only problem is the games they are playing. Halo 3, Call of Duty 4. First Person Shooters. Not my preference in games to watch people play.
Now, the sports games, I could see televising. You plug into a Madden 08 (or for a better determination of skill, some mid-majors in NCAA Football 08) contest, and it's not going to be that much different - from a viewers standpoint - from watching a real football game. Keep the 'camera' on the 'field', and cut to the gamers only to show celebrations/strategy discussions.
I could even see real-time strategy games - Starcraft, Age of Empires, that sort of thing - getting some airtime. I could see then televising like they do the poker tournaments. Instead of hole card cams, they show a defogged map as your main screen, and use cutaways to particular bases/players to show unfolding strategies; and run interviews after rounds. Pro Starcraft gamers are pretty hot right now in South Korea, actually; comparable in popularity to other major S. Korean athletes.
And no, I have no illusions of being able to compete on that sort of level. But I have to admit, it sounds like it will be a lot more interesting than it probably is.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
MotD: Corporate Telephony
In the beginning was the DEMO Project. And the Project was without form. And darkness was upon the staff members thereof. So they spake unto their Division Head, saying, "It is a crock of shit, and it stinks."
And the Division Head spake unto his Department Head, saying, "It is a crock of excrement and none may abide the odor thereof." Now, the Department Head spake unto his Directorate Head, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and is very strong, such that none may abide before it." And it came to bass that the Directorate Head spake unto the Assistant Technical Director, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer and none may abide by its strength."
And the Assistant Technical Director spake thus unto the Technical Director, saying, "It containeth that which aids growth and it is very strong." And, Lo, the Technical Director spake then unto the Captain, saying, "The powerful new Porject will help promote the growth of the Laboratories."
And the Captain looked down upon the Project, and He saw that it was Good!
--from fortunes
I hate to bitch like this, but I don't feel good this morning. I've got a headache from hell, a sore throat that won't go away, and the running commentary in my mind is just plain pissing me off at the moment.
The headache I can understand. My primary symptom of caffeine withdrawl, no big mystery there. I haven't had caffeine of any type since 3:30 PMish Thursday, so that means it's been about 36 hours; that's about right for me. Only another 5 or so to go before it subsides.
The sore throat is a little more vexing. I'd like to blame it on sitting around in the same room with Chel smoking all day on Thursday (since I woke up with it Friday morning); but she has the same deal, so I'm wondering if it isn't a touch of the crud. Just what I need going into my weekend to work, right?
The commentary, though; that's another story. Sometimes, I wish my monkey mind would just shut up with all the chattering. But no; I can't even get my own head to leave me alone. All my fears, failures and regrets; pounding my mind's ear in an unending litany of doubt and self-loathing.
And no, I'm not schizophrenic. The whole "voice in my head" thing is just a metaphor; or rather, a framework that internalizes my current predilection for learning aurally (by hearing) opposed to visually (sight) or orally (by speaking). When I was going through a visual phase, I "saw" the thought processes as an internal 'ticker
a la the continuously updating 'crawl' at the bottom of a news, business or sports channel; right now its manifesting as a soft whisper from over my ear. I've even had internal dialogs with the cliche shoulder devils/angels.
And the Division Head spake unto his Department Head, saying, "It is a crock of excrement and none may abide the odor thereof." Now, the Department Head spake unto his Directorate Head, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and is very strong, such that none may abide before it." And it came to bass that the Directorate Head spake unto the Assistant Technical Director, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer and none may abide by its strength."
And the Assistant Technical Director spake thus unto the Technical Director, saying, "It containeth that which aids growth and it is very strong." And, Lo, the Technical Director spake then unto the Captain, saying, "The powerful new Porject will help promote the growth of the Laboratories."
And the Captain looked down upon the Project, and He saw that it was Good!
--from fortunes
I hate to bitch like this, but I don't feel good this morning. I've got a headache from hell, a sore throat that won't go away, and the running commentary in my mind is just plain pissing me off at the moment.
The headache I can understand. My primary symptom of caffeine withdrawl, no big mystery there. I haven't had caffeine of any type since 3:30 PMish Thursday, so that means it's been about 36 hours; that's about right for me. Only another 5 or so to go before it subsides.
The sore throat is a little more vexing. I'd like to blame it on sitting around in the same room with Chel smoking all day on Thursday (since I woke up with it Friday morning); but she has the same deal, so I'm wondering if it isn't a touch of the crud. Just what I need going into my weekend to work, right?
The commentary, though; that's another story. Sometimes, I wish my monkey mind would just shut up with all the chattering. But no; I can't even get my own head to leave me alone. All my fears, failures and regrets; pounding my mind's ear in an unending litany of doubt and self-loathing.
And no, I'm not schizophrenic. The whole "voice in my head" thing is just a metaphor; or rather, a framework that internalizes my current predilection for learning aurally (by hearing) opposed to visually (sight) or orally (by speaking). When I was going through a visual phase, I "saw" the thought processes as an internal 'ticker
a la the continuously updating 'crawl' at the bottom of a news, business or sports channel; right now its manifesting as a soft whisper from over my ear. I've even had internal dialogs with the cliche shoulder devils/angels.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Long Night
I found myself watching the Australian Open this morning.
Watching televised tennis - for me - is a sure sign that I am bored at work. At work, because if I'm bored at home, I'll read, play games, or - if nothing else - stretch out and nap. Unfortunately, sleep is but one activity that is frowned upon while at the workpace. But I usually have the same opinion of tennis that I have of golf and many other sports. If I'm not there, I don't care. If I could have gotten gallery tickets to Prairie Dunes in the past few years, I would have happily walked the course and watched golf. But don't ask me to watch it for too long on television. Same with baseball. If I could get Rockies tickets to Coors Field, I'd be driving to Denver a lot more often. Hell, if I could get seats at Kauffman, I'd be watching the Royals get beat every chance I could; but please don't make me sit through Joe Buck calling another Cards game. Hell, please don't make me sit through Joe Buck calling anything. Even listening to Madden at his worst moments of self-parody is better than listening to Joe Buck's inanity.
But the Aussie Open. It was great. Andy Roddick was taking on Michael; and Roddick hit a perfect smash setup. Berrer steps up to the net, hefts his racket, sizes up the shot, leans back...
and flubs it into the net. It looked like something I had hit -- and there's a reason I haven't picked up a racket in 10+ years. Gave the courtside reporter a case of the giggles that lasted the rest of the set.
Watching televised tennis - for me - is a sure sign that I am bored at work. At work, because if I'm bored at home, I'll read, play games, or - if nothing else - stretch out and nap. Unfortunately, sleep is but one activity that is frowned upon while at the workpace. But I usually have the same opinion of tennis that I have of golf and many other sports. If I'm not there, I don't care. If I could have gotten gallery tickets to Prairie Dunes in the past few years, I would have happily walked the course and watched golf. But don't ask me to watch it for too long on television. Same with baseball. If I could get Rockies tickets to Coors Field, I'd be driving to Denver a lot more often. Hell, if I could get seats at Kauffman, I'd be watching the Royals get beat every chance I could; but please don't make me sit through Joe Buck calling another Cards game. Hell, please don't make me sit through Joe Buck calling anything. Even listening to Madden at his worst moments of self-parody is better than listening to Joe Buck's inanity.
But the Aussie Open. It was great. Andy Roddick was taking on Michael; and Roddick hit a perfect smash setup. Berrer steps up to the net, hefts his racket, sizes up the shot, leans back...
and flubs it into the net. It looked like something I had hit -- and there's a reason I haven't picked up a racket in 10+ years. Gave the courtside reporter a case of the giggles that lasted the rest of the set.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I'd like to think I'd know better....
There's a lot of things you do when you get a call as a dispatcher, and - depending on the situation - there's a lot of things you don't do.
Common sense says that one of the things you don't do when taking a '91-home' call (breakin at a residence in progress) would be to ask to talk to the intruder. Now, I don't have a copy of SanFran's priority continuum handy. But you'd think a home invasion would be near the top of the list, with or without weapon confirmaiton.
As a computer guy - and having used different Windows versions - I also find it funny that our code for a "fight in progress" is 95, while a "mass disturbance" is 98.
Common sense says that one of the things you don't do when taking a '91-home' call (breakin at a residence in progress) would be to ask to talk to the intruder. Now, I don't have a copy of SanFran's priority continuum handy. But you'd think a home invasion would be near the top of the list, with or without weapon confirmaiton.
As a computer guy - and having used different Windows versions - I also find it funny that our code for a "fight in progress" is 95, while a "mass disturbance" is 98.
Sunday Morning Blues
This is a throwback, I tell you what.
One of my coworkers called in sick today, so I'm sitting up here at work, collecting an extra 11 hour shift of OT for the week. Not that I'm really complaining, mind you, the money is definitely welcome. But this was my weekend off; I had planned on spending today doing very little.
Actually, that's not quite true. Though I may have planned on doing very little, Chel had planned for me to take down the Christmas tree. Yes, our Christmas tree is still up. I don't feel too bad; as long as it's down by Valentine's day, I'll be happy.
I'm glad I have one of those jobs where I don't actually do much "work", per se. I'm not out there making things or moving things or selling things. I've said before that my job is to wait, and that's pretty accurate, really. Now, if I were in a bigger town, it'd be different; but here in Kinsley, all I really do is wait. I wait for a lot of things. I wait for my shift to be over, mostly, but I don't know of anyone who's working on their scheduled day off that doesn't feel like that. Part of that is I rarely get to talk to people who are in a good mood.
Noone calls me at work because their happy, ya know? I don't get to hear from people who are having a good day. I hear from people because their house is on fire, because their car is wrecked, because they're sick, because someone they love is stuck in jail, because something has happened they can't deal with by themselves; because - in a way that is unique for every caller - some sort of hell has broken loose in their little corner of the world, and they need help to deal with it. So, yes, I'm more than happy to sit up here and wait entire shifts never having to talk to anyone on the phone.
But I'd still rather be home with my wife.
One of my coworkers called in sick today, so I'm sitting up here at work, collecting an extra 11 hour shift of OT for the week. Not that I'm really complaining, mind you, the money is definitely welcome. But this was my weekend off; I had planned on spending today doing very little.
Actually, that's not quite true. Though I may have planned on doing very little, Chel had planned for me to take down the Christmas tree. Yes, our Christmas tree is still up. I don't feel too bad; as long as it's down by Valentine's day, I'll be happy.
I'm glad I have one of those jobs where I don't actually do much "work", per se. I'm not out there making things or moving things or selling things. I've said before that my job is to wait, and that's pretty accurate, really. Now, if I were in a bigger town, it'd be different; but here in Kinsley, all I really do is wait. I wait for a lot of things. I wait for my shift to be over, mostly, but I don't know of anyone who's working on their scheduled day off that doesn't feel like that. Part of that is I rarely get to talk to people who are in a good mood.
Noone calls me at work because their happy, ya know? I don't get to hear from people who are having a good day. I hear from people because their house is on fire, because their car is wrecked, because they're sick, because someone they love is stuck in jail, because something has happened they can't deal with by themselves; because - in a way that is unique for every caller - some sort of hell has broken loose in their little corner of the world, and they need help to deal with it. So, yes, I'm more than happy to sit up here and wait entire shifts never having to talk to anyone on the phone.
But I'd still rather be home with my wife.
Friday, January 11, 2008
A New Way of Working with Computers
When you first buy a new computer, you're pretty locked in to one of two choices to run the basic system: OS X (Apple) or Windows.
Well, that's not quite true. If you're willing to put in a little time and effort, there is another choice. Actually, there are a hundred choices out there, but it boils down to one family of OSes: *nix. You'll usually hear them all referred to one of the more popular branches, Linux.
You can look up the history of Linux (and the difference between it and BSD, and all the other OS options) if you're interested, but suffice to say, the basic impetus is that of all innovations at college: perceived necessity, available time, and relative poverty.
FLOSS Regularly
Free/Libre Open Source Software is a movement within the software industry away from proprietary software. Basically, it's a move to make computer science more of a pure science than an applied science: more like astronomic research and less like pharmaceutical research. The basis of FLOSS is the dissemination of knowledge; so that what one person knows, everyone can know. In software, the basic knowledge is the "source code", the behind-the-scenes programming that tells the computer's processor what to do. Share the source code - the building blocks of the program - and let people use it to build on your ideas. The upside to this mindset is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you want to build a wheelbarrow. The downside is that such dessemination makes it much harder to make money off of the initial work.
With the tax season just around the corner, we're provided with a rather prominent example of how this works. The IRS distributes a set of static (unchanging) calculations, and instructions on how to work the calculations. And that information is available freely; anyone can go down to the local library or to http://www.irs.gov/ and pick up a copy of the calculations and instructions and do their taxes themselves. Or, they can go to a vendor who specializes in doing taxes (an accountant), give them the information to plug into the calculations, and no-muss, no-fuss the taxes are done. It's the basic premise of open source software. {OSS is slightly different than FLOSS, if taxes were "Free as in Libre", you would be able to change the underlying calculations in order to get it to work better for you. Try that with your taxes and you're looking at an audit.} The same situation with closed-source - or proprietary - software would be analogous to the IRS setting up kiosks, making you enter the information at a kiosk, and then printing out a bill or check. Yes, it gets the job done; but not disclosing the underlying methods prevents the taxpayer from being able to question or confirm that the calculations were made correctly.
Now, the next observations and comments I make solely on my own experiences with Linux. And a little effort and a little time was exactly what it took for me to get up and running.
A Little Effort
No matter what we're talking about, learning a new system takes some work. And a computer running Linux isn't running Windows, and it isn't a Mac. It's Linux, which is probably a system that's new to you, and so will require a little effort on your part to learn. And probably a little more than the first time running Windows.
Why? Well, the biggest reason is that you can change nearly everything. Which is why the mantra of back up anything you change should be running through your head constantly. Of course, the same is true when you are tweaking the workings (like the registry) of Windows.
A Little Time
Everything you do will take a little more time the first time through. Because customization is so prevalent in the Linux mindset, you can spend a more time getting things to work exactly like you want; and, well, that's just the way things are. The flipside of the coin is that because things are so customizable, once you have things set up how you want them, you're golden.
The second "time" factor comes into play when you buy accessories or upgrades. Now, in my less than humble opinion, the purchase of computer accessories and upgrades should never, ever be undertaken without first researching the part and confirming that it will work with your current computer. You wouldn't buy a program without first making sure your computer could run it; likewise, you shouldn't buy a camera, a printer, a new video card or a DVD burner without at the very least googling it to see what kind of problems you should expect and that you're going to have to deal with.
For Linux users, the step goes from optional, but recommended to absolutely necessary. It should be understood; as far as most hardware manufacturers are concerned, providing support and drivers for Linux take a distant second to making sure their product plays nice with Windows. {Drivers are the code/programming that lets the computer 'talk' to the new device.} Some manufacturers provide their own drivers for Linux; others offer nothing except well wishes. Still others will provide the specs to the Linux community and let them write their own drivers.
A Little (less) Cost
Even something that purports itself as "free" isn't. There really is no such thing as a free lunch. So what (other than time and effort) is the cost of installing Linux? Well, let's take the distro (version of Linux) that I installed, Ubuntu.
You can get Ubuntu Linux in a variety of ways. The first is to download a disc image from http://www.ubuntu.com/ and burn it to a disc yourself. If you're using Windows, you'll need a program like Nero or ImgBurn -- Windows XP doesn't handle ISO files natively -- and a CD to burn it to. You can get the download in two different install modes (LiveCD, a bootable CD that lets you try Linux without removing your existing Windows installation; and the Alternate install CD, which works on older computers, those with less memory, and select computers like HP/Compaqs that really don't want you to remove Windows) and two releases (the current 7.10 and the Long Term Support version 6.6).
The second is to actually buy the CD or DVD. Various retailers, including Amazon.com for the US, sell the DVDs. The difference between the CD and DVD is the amount of "extra" programs that are included. Of course, if you don't mind waiting 6-10 weeks, you can get single discs shipped free of charge from Canonical (the company that distributes Ubuntu); or packs of 20 for around $34 per pack.
Which is where I should probably let you in on the secret how companies expect to make money off of it. It's the same way an accountant does. The rules and regulations, the policies and everything else are out there for everyone to use if they want. Canonical - and Debian, Fedora, and all the other Distro vendors - put it together in an easy-to-use package, and are making their money by showing people how to use what's there, and providing support for companies who can't justify a full-time staff to fix things. For around $900 per desktop and $2750 per server (or $4000 for a thin client and cluster setup) per year, Canonical will provide 24/7 phone and email tech support. Compare that to anywhere from $70K-$130K/year for a senior systems administrator (Careerbuilder.com, for Dallas, TX area), and you can see why there's a market for it.
So, should you switch to Linux? Maybe, maybe not. The choice of which operating system to use is a personal one, and if you don't have a problem running Windows, there's no real reason to switch. I would suggest, though, that you at least try a LiveCD version of one of the popular Linux distros. Yes, an OS running strictly from CD will be a bit slower because you don't have access to a swap partition/virtual memory (an area of the hard disc used as/mimicing additional RAM) and because you're limited by the optical drive's capabilities (which are going to be considerably slower than your HDD). You may find that you like it better and - more importantly - can get more use out of your computer when it's running Linux.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
MotD
So, what does MotD mean?
Probably the most common translation is "Message of the Day." From the BSD help page
The file /etc/motd is normally displayed by login(1) after a user has logged in but before the shell is run. It is generally used for important system-wide announcements.
MOTDs appear pretty much everywhere you go on the internet, but it's not often they're identified as such. The Yahoo! Messenger Insider is a form of MotD; basically any "welcome screen" that shows up when you log on to a service would be a MotD.
It's also the Mind of the Dingo, or now, Mind of the Deege. Is it something important? Probably not. A relic from when I actually could look at what I wrote and be proud of it; from when answers were simple, and all you had to do to change the world was make enough people believe in the idea that was right. So why bring it back?
Who knows. Maybe, just maybe, something I write will touch someone's mind or heart, make them feel good about themselves, or convince them to believe that a good idea is the right idea. Or maybe its just more verbal diarrhea clogging up the internet.
Probably the most common translation is "Message of the Day." From the BSD help page
The file /etc/motd is normally displayed by login(1) after a user has logged in but before the shell is run. It is generally used for important system-wide announcements.
MOTDs appear pretty much everywhere you go on the internet, but it's not often they're identified as such. The Yahoo! Messenger Insider is a form of MotD; basically any "welcome screen" that shows up when you log on to a service would be a MotD.
It's also the Mind of the Dingo, or now, Mind of the Deege. Is it something important? Probably not. A relic from when I actually could look at what I wrote and be proud of it; from when answers were simple, and all you had to do to change the world was make enough people believe in the idea that was right. So why bring it back?
Who knows. Maybe, just maybe, something I write will touch someone's mind or heart, make them feel good about themselves, or convince them to believe that a good idea is the right idea. Or maybe its just more verbal diarrhea clogging up the internet.
Lorem Ipsum
"…neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?"
Lorem, lorem ipsum
"Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?"
Yes, that's what (the original of) that odd little lorem ipsum placeholder you see occassionally in layout templates means. If anyone wants to send me a copy of the original - Cicero's De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum - as a birthday gift (next month, BTW), I would gladly accept it. I don't read Latin, though; so an English translation would probably be appreciated more. The title translates as The Purposes of Good and Evil (loosely; literally it's On the Ends of Goods and Evils). Actually, the more I find about Marcus Tillius Cicero, the more I'd like to read his work; especially De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of Gods), De Officiis (On Duties/Obligations), Laelius de Amicita (Treatises on Friendship and Old Age), and De re pubicla (On the Public Matter [Government/the Republic]).
Hell of a way to start a new blog, eh?
Well, that's what happens in the mind of the Deege. I tend to go wikisurfing. Basically, I look up something I'm curious about on Wikipedia, and the read applicable article. While I'm reading, I middle click (that is, open in new tab) interesting-links, making a tree of sorts that gives me new and (usually) interesting things to read about. Kinda like googlesurfing, only I tend to end up at fewer pictures of boobs. But that's how I got from the Lorem Ipsum placeholder text to typewriting monkeys.
That would be the infinite monkey theorem, you know... "An infinite number of monkeys sitting at an infinite number of typewriters hitting random keys will -- over time -- almost surely type a particular chosen text", usually the combined works of Wm. Shakespeare. Since the odds of randomly producing even a sequence of 20 letters (discounting spaces and punctuation) would be the equivalent of hitting 4 consecutive lottery jackpots (1 in 26^20th); the IMT is usually used as a way to express that something is so far-fetched as to never happen.
Tonight's Wikistring:
Lorem Ipsum -> Cicero -> De Natura Deorum -> Infinite Monkey Theorem
Tonight's Games:
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS)
Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2)
La Pucelle Tactics (PS2)
Lorem, lorem ipsum
"Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?"
Yes, that's what (the original of) that odd little lorem ipsum placeholder you see occassionally in layout templates means. If anyone wants to send me a copy of the original - Cicero's De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum - as a birthday gift (next month, BTW), I would gladly accept it. I don't read Latin, though; so an English translation would probably be appreciated more. The title translates as The Purposes of Good and Evil (loosely; literally it's On the Ends of Goods and Evils). Actually, the more I find about Marcus Tillius Cicero, the more I'd like to read his work; especially De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of Gods), De Officiis (On Duties/Obligations), Laelius de Amicita (Treatises on Friendship and Old Age), and De re pubicla (On the Public Matter [Government/the Republic]).
Hell of a way to start a new blog, eh?
Well, that's what happens in the mind of the Deege. I tend to go wikisurfing. Basically, I look up something I'm curious about on Wikipedia, and the read applicable article. While I'm reading, I middle click (that is, open in new tab) interesting-links, making a tree of sorts that gives me new and (usually) interesting things to read about. Kinda like googlesurfing, only I tend to end up at fewer pictures of boobs. But that's how I got from the Lorem Ipsum placeholder text to typewriting monkeys.
That would be the infinite monkey theorem, you know... "An infinite number of monkeys sitting at an infinite number of typewriters hitting random keys will -- over time -- almost surely type a particular chosen text", usually the combined works of Wm. Shakespeare. Since the odds of randomly producing even a sequence of 20 letters (discounting spaces and punctuation) would be the equivalent of hitting 4 consecutive lottery jackpots (1 in 26^20th); the IMT is usually used as a way to express that something is so far-fetched as to never happen.
Tonight's Wikistring:
Lorem Ipsum -> Cicero -> De Natura Deorum -> Infinite Monkey Theorem
Tonight's Games:
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS)
Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2)
La Pucelle Tactics (PS2)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)