Arbitrary Musings

Life has been busy up the yin yang lately. Speaking of that phrase, I looked it up on Urban Dictionary. This definition is accurate, while these are a little bit…off. But anyways, I’ve found that my desire to post has dropped during these times of chaos. My question to you all is this: how do you continue to find inspiration and motivation to write when the world is swirling around you? When some people have a day (whether it be good, bad, or otherwise), they write about it almost immediately in their blog or LiveJournal. I think I’m realizing that I haven’t bridged the gap between real life and blog posting.

Speaking of my blog, they found me. I don’t know how but they found me, and I don’t mean the Libyans. (Man, that was 22 years ago?) “They” refers to the spammers; I’ve been getting tons of comment spam lately. Fortunately you don’t have to see it because I currently moderate comments. In a way, it makes me happy to know that at least someone has looked at a post in order to submit something to say. though it usually revolves around getting viagra, important real estate information, or the fact that some insane amount of money is waiting for me in Vegas. I think I’ll have to try out some anti-spam plugins, but that will have to wait until I upgrade, which I have not gotten around to.

Finally, not that you care, this will be my last post on the 2.2 branch of WordPress. I’ll be jumping into beta territory and moving to 2.3. So, if you don’t see this post, it’s because I did something wrong while upgrading. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to read this since my blog would be broken, and therein lies the paradox. I think I wrote this paragraph just so I could use the phrase “therein lies the paradox.”

So if we tally up this post, I’ve used the following phrases:

• up the yin yang
• have a day
• therein lies the paradox

And I think I’ll wrap this up by wishing you all a great week, and I’ll see you post-upgrade!

If you know anything about me, you know I love Firefox. I’ve used it since the days of Phoenix 0.1, I wear a Firefox t-shirt (though not around the office), and most recently I’ve been alpha testing Gran Paradiso. (Side note: a number of Microsoft employees have complemented me on my Gran Paradiso wallpaper, not noticing the “Firefox 3″ banner being pulled by the airplane). It seems there’s nothing out on the web that I can’t browse with Firefox. Consequently, I was quite surprised when I clicked the link to register at mytravelers.com to pay my renters insurance and received this dialog:

Really? You don’t support a (superior) browser that now holds about 25% market share? What’s the dealio? Not content with that, I checked the FAQ and read this tidbit:

What browsers work best on your website?
For optimal performance we recommend you use one of the following browsers when viewing the site.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0
• Macintosh Safari 2.0
• Firefox 1.0.7

Firefox 1.0.7? You’re shitting me, right? Well, I checked the source code of the front page, and apparently I am not being shitted. (Is that the right phrase?) I’m no JavaScript expert, but check out this crap code:

else if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")!=-1)
{
  //Do logon or registration if using 'Firefox1.0.7' or 'Firefox1.5'
  var vers=navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")+8
  var versionextension=navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")+10
  var versionindex=navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox")+12
  if ((parseInt(navigator.userAgent.charAt(vers))==1)
	&& (parseInt(navigator.userAgent.charAt(versionindex))==7))

I’ll break it down if you don’t want to read all of that. Any Firefox version other than 1.0.7 or 1.5 will get the “unsupported browser” dialog. Apparently the site hasn’t been touched after October 23rd, 2006, since Firefox 2.0 was released the following day.

I know I’m complaining about this a lot, but the fact of the matter is that most users of the web don’t know what a user-agent string is, much less how to change it. Some users may read the FAQ and choose an alternate browser; others may not read the FAQ at all. (I’m sure I’m in a very small segment of users who check out the source code). Regardless, it gives the impression that Firefox isn’t as compatible as other browsers out on the market, all because a web developer wasn’t very forward thinking when writing code.

I’ve tried to do the right thing and have e-mailed the webmaster; hopefully this issue will be resolved shortly, and there will be one less website where Windows users have to rely on Internet Explorer.

While I don’t usually make small posts that link to another web site, this time warrants for an exception. Yesterday, while listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR, who should be on but Neil Gaiman, my absolute favorite author. Listening to him speak is simply delightful. (And come on, how many times have I used the phrase “simply delightful” on this blog? I’ve used the word “delightful” before, but not with the “s” word in front of it, so that should tell you something right there.)

If you’ve got about 17 minutes, go ahead and take a listen. And, of course, right around 10 minutes in, you know who is mentioned. Sadly, the tree scene isn’t in the film. Regardless, I’m definitely seeing Stardust this weekend!

I’ve been starting to use the built-in camera on my cell phone to capture scenes that are bizarre, humorous, or stimulate my mind. So, in the first of what I hope to be multiple installments, I thought I’d share a few of those photos and some commentary.

First off, let’s take a trip to Starbucks. I don’t know what the situation is in other areas of the country, but many of the stores here now have flat panel screens on the walls:

I thought this was a great way of integrating technology into a coffee shop without being too obtrusive. It’s obvious that the reason these have been installed is so that Starbucks can sell more of their featured music in the stores. However, there isn’t a downside for users like me, who have no intention of purchasing. I still get to know information that I otherwise wouldn’t know without asking the barrista, the displays aren’t in your face, and the interface is well designed and has a minimalism that’s quite appealing.

On to the next picture. After a meeting in Bellevue, a whole bunch of employees, including myself, took a shuttle back to campus. I spied these boxes above the driver, and the one on the right perked my interest:

Everyone has those small first aid kits, but I wondered to myself, “What’s in a body fluid cleanup kit?” I suppose there are some cloths, chemicals, etc. Are there instructions for particular types of fluids? And what fluids does the kit cover, anyways? Let’s say I was leaking some bile…can this kit help me out?

Last one. I snapped this photo at the company store:

Someone must have obviously tried opening up a box; otherwise, why would they need the sign? To whoever you are: enjoy sharing your music with…oh wait, who else owns one? On a small tangent, I was glad to see that the DRM has been cracked. Down with DRM!’

I think that’s enough for the installment. I hope you enjoyed, and we’ll see you all again for the next round of pics.

There’s a phrase that I say every once in a while, either in my head or to a close friend, and that is, “This reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where [insert character and particular situation].” Sometimes it’s been a stretch, but there were a couple of recent instances that I can relate to situations experienced by some of my all-time favorite sitcom characters:

Circumstance #1: Due to the schedule for the field studies I’m conducting in users’ homes, I tried fitting in my gym time around the lunch hour. Although this energized me for the afternoon, I seem to share the same affliction as George; specifically, the post-workout shower “didn’t take.” During the trip back to the office, my human heat pump ability turned on. Fortunately, there weren’t any meetings during the afternoon hours.

Circumstance #2: Our work group used to share an administrative assistant who ordered supplies for the team. Unfortunately, he’s no longer with the group due to time restrictions on contracts. I made it a nearly daily ritual of shooting the shit in his office, and it worked wonders for my stress levels. Anyhow, this co-worker was quite candid when it came to his voicing opinions on some of the other employees. When someone passed by (who I don’t work with at all), I heard him remark “oh my God, he/she has B.O.!” Of course, he didn’t say, “he/she”, but I’m trying to keep this person as anonymous as possible. One of my first questions back to him was: “Do you think it’s B.O.? Or is more B.B.O.?” Although it made me a bit uncomfortable hearing about the cleansing habits of someone I hardly knew, I did feel good knowing that I was a great outlet for my friend, and in some way I relished that fact that I was one of the first people to hear his rants.

Circumstance #3: There’s been a great deal of construction on the freeway close to my apartment, and a large stretch of the road has become extremely rough. There are construction signs all through the areas undergoing maintenance, most notably two “bump” signs, one where the road goes from smooth to rough, and another where it goes back to being smooth again. For the sake of illustration, this is the sign I’m talking about:

Someone apparently thought the large, colorful, and reflective sign did not convey the message strong enough, as he or she took the liberty of adding an exclamation point after the word BUMP with electrical tape. Now, when I reach the part of the freeway where it transitions from rough to smooth (the second sign, if you paid attention), I laugh to myself as my car passes over the BUMP! on the way to work. Seinfeld fans will know where I’m going with this one:

LIPPMAN: Ah, (reads an excerpt) “It was damp and chilly afternoon, so I decided to put on my sweatshirt!”
ELAINE: Right, well…
LIPPMAN: You put exclamation point after sweatshirt?
ELAINE: That’s that’s correct, I-I felt that the character doesn’t like to be ch-ch-chilly…
LIPPMAN: I see, (reads another excerpt) “I pulled the lever on the machine, but the Clark bar didn’t come out!” Exclamation point?
ELAINE: Well, yeah, you know how frustrating that can be when you keep putting quarters and quarters in to machine and then (prrt) nothing comes out…
LIPPMAN: Get rid of the exclamation points…
ELAINE: Ok, ok ok …

Well, that’s it for this round of Seinfeld observations. I’m sure there are bound to be more in the future.

Before we part ways, I saw the new T-Mobile ad on TV the other night for their new HotSpot @Home service. I shook my head and thought, “Did they use the third person speaker angle? And not even change the name of the character?” Seems I’m not the only one, as another blogger has taken notice as well. A note to T-Mobile: GSM/Wi-Fi handoff sounds appealing, but can’t you come up with a creative way to market it instead of using a joke from a sitcom? Come on!

On second thought, I better not give the advertisers any more sitcom references in case they decide to use them. Uh oh. I’ve made a huge mistake.

It seems that every time I see an advertisement for a reality show, the basis for the program inches ever so closer to the ramblings of someone in an insane asylum. As I was watching a re-run of CSI on TV last night, I saw a commercial for a new show. Thanks to Google, I found the description of the show online. Here’s the synopsis:

“Each episode will feature one real crime, complete with a gruesome recreated crime scene and real crime footage, ripped from the closed case files of Homicide Departments across the United States. Two teams of real people, comprised of three members each, will compete to be the first to solve the case, correctly, in 48 hours.”

Granted, it’s not the real crime scene, but this premise is pretty f’d up nonetheless. The TV ad I saw even showed a lucky “contestant” retching from the sight of the crime. Since this made the cut, I’m guessing it’s one of the show’s highlights.

If this is what’s airing now, imagine what will come next. In case you can’t, I thought up some great ideas for those upcoming writers who want to break into the lucrative reality TV business:

• Flame and Glory: Two teams of civilians will don firefighter gear and attempt to extinguish a real blaze, saving the men, women, and children inside. Will they save the day, or will countless people die from their ineptitude?
• Not Your Average “Talk” Show: Every week, a random bank will be held up and several innocent civilians taken hostage. A team of real people will be brought in with the leader attempting to negotiate with the suspect. Other team members become snipers and will rise to the challenge if the negotiation turns sour.
• Extreme Coronary Makeover, Trauma Edition: Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and House are among the most popular drama shows on television. With all that medical knowledge, you’d think the average Joe could perform open heart surgery. Well, your assumptions will be put to the test every week. Participants will be guided by a trained surgeon as they perform triple bypasses, septal myectomies, mitral valve repairs, and more! With this much excitement, we guarantee you won’t be flatlining!

I welcome any more ideas. Let’s keep those reality TV shows coming!

Back when I lived in San Diego, I owned a fish. Fish, bettas in particular, are one of those pets that require a minimal amount of upkeep. In return, you’re rewarded with happiness. It’s certainly not as much of a joy as owning a dog, but I think there’s a positive effect.

With that in mind, I thought it was time to care for another betta. I picked this little guy up on Monday, and he seems to be pretty happy:

His name, Shadow, is taken from one of my favorite novels by Neil Gaiman. I hope that the name does him justice.

As I was driving in to work this morning, an advertisement came on the radio (which I’ll describe in a bit). I’ve heard this ad before, but this time it served as a stimulus for a blog post. Beware, oh readers, for this entry is on the technical side of my interests. So, turn away now, or stay and (possibly) learn a bit. There’s even a minor rant about the iPhone. Did I get your attention? No matter…Onward!

The theme for this overall post is about some of the technical information that advertisers (or marketing folks) don’t tell you. Now, normally I’d be all for the hiding of tech talk. After all, “speak the user’s language” is a usability heuristic that has been around from some 20-odd years. However, I’m specifically talking about two recent advertisements that:

a) throw a little technical jargon in, but not enough to give the user a clear picture, or
b) hide the technical background which can give a misleading impression of a product/service.

Let’s start with the first advertising method, which is also what prompted this blog entry. While listening my usual morning radio show, an advertisement for Comcast’s high speed internet service came on. Part of the advertisement mentions “blazing 12 Meg speeds,” or something to that matter. The important thing that stuck in my mind is “12 Meg!” Now, I know what that means, but I’m fairly certain that a non-technical user, upon hearing “Meg”, will think of “Megabyte“. Most people who have downloaded something off the big truck series of tubes will relate the transfer of data relative to a second. Therefore, I’m sure that Comcast wanted to give the impression that their service has transfer rates of 12 Megabytes per second.

The problem is that most people don’t know the difference between Megabytes per second and Megabits per second. Since there are 8 bits in 1 byte, you’ll actually see maximum data transfer rates of around 1 ½ Megabytes per second. (Side note: I use this internet service at home, and I haven’t reached that transfer rate). Now, I will grant you, it’s still quite fast in this day and age.  However, my point comes down to this: if the average user knows about Megabytes per second, then advertise it in that fashion!

Okay, we’re halfway through. Still with me? Let’s get onto hiding the technology, and I want to relate it specifically to the iPhone. Since I’m sure this is going to be a touchy subject, let me first state that if I wasn’t locked into my current carrier’s plan, I’d buy one NOW. I want one. With that said, let’s talk about those advertisements that are displayed non-stop. They’re wonderful ads, but they never state the fact that everything you see is done when the phone is in transferring data through Wi-Fi mode and not on the cellular network (EDGE). Why does it matter? Here’s a quote from CNET’s EDGE vs. Wi-Fi test results:

EDGE averaged a download time of 15.69 minutes for a 9.4MB file, while Wi-Fi required a mere 1.18 minutes. In the end, our test results indicate that the iPhone’s Wi-Fi connection is about 13 times faster than using EDGE

What difference could it make in real life? Take a look at this video of browsing the New York Times using AT&T’s EDGE connection.

My grievance isn’t with the iPhone in any way here; rather, it’s the fact that the commercial never mentions the conditions under which the video was made. Not even a disclaimer in microscopic text stating “Wi-Fi connection. Actual speeds may vary.”

So, what the hell am I trying to say? Simply put, be honest when advertising products and services to users. I just needed to get all of that off of my chest. Oh, and buy me an iPhone too.

Good morning readers,

I’ve realized that one of the reasons I don’t post to this blog more often is that I feel that each post has to have “enough” content. In the past, I’ve restricted each post to a particular reflection, idea, what have you. However, I’m trying something new with this post: a hodgepodge of little stories, if you will. You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will. Okay, let’s begin.

I was driving yesterday afternoon in Seattle to meet up with some friends. While stopped at a traffic light, I glanced over to my left. There was a woman driving a car, and in the back seat was a bulldog. As if sensing my glance, the bulldog stuck his face out of the window nearest to me. I couldn’t help but smile. If a 30 second encounter with someone else’s dog cheers me up that much, imagine what owning one will do. I can’t wait to care for a dog once I move into a more permanent dwelling.

Next story: This morning started with a common ritual: ordering a drip coffee in the Starbucks across from my apartment. Before leaving, I noticed a flyer announcing a local theater company’s production of Twelfth Night. My mind can jump from one memory to another, and I’ll usually have to explain to whomever I am with how I made the association in my head. Upon seeing this flyer, I was reminded of my English teacher in high school, Mrs. Stern. This was when Birmingham’s mascot was still the Braves (not the Patriots, changed for politically correct reasons), and before everything seemed to go to shit. Anyways, Mrs. Stern was an awesome teacher. Although she was strict, I believe she acted that way in our best interests. She truly wanted us to succeed not only in her class, but in life. I can honestly say that my college writings would have been much worse had it not been for her, and I may not be where I am today. She passed away unexpectedly when she was only 58, and it was quite shocking. Mrs. Stern, you are missed.

Last story: While in Hawaii, my girlfriend and I were witness to some of the most atrocious parking jobs we have ever seen at our Maui hotel. Since returning, I decided to print out some forms from youparklikeanasshole.com. They’re in my glove compartment, yet I haven’t had the gall to actually put one on someone else’s windshield. Coincidentally, the same day that I printed it out, I got the flat tire. I have a feeling that karma is trying to tell me, “Don’t push it.”

Anyways, this post is coming to a close. For those of you that read this blog, let me know your thoughts about the new style of post. If you like it, there may be more in store.

Dusk on Friday was a bit more eventful than I wanted. On the way home from work, my front left tire blew out. Fortunately, there was an area on the side of the road where I was able to turn off and figure out what to do. Sure, I could have called AAA. But there was a perfectly good spare in the trunk with all the tools to boot. And so, I turned on the hazard lights, pulled the spare out, and got to work.

While changing the spare wasn’t very difficult, I was quite surprised by how many people stopped and asked if I needed any help. The first person was walking along the street; later on, a second person drove up alongside me (there wasn’t any traffic behind him) and asked if I needed any assistance. And get this - the third person who wanted to help realized he couldn’t park where I was pulled over. He took the time to drive up a block, find a place to park, and then walked back to ask if he could help in any way. It really was quite something.

Fortunately, I didn’t need any assistance (and it wasn’t because I was trying to be stubborn or act macho). I had replaced a flat before for someone I used to date, and I realized I’m quite good at it. When I told my mom about how many people stopped, she remarked, “Well, that’s because it’s not California!”. I suppose people would only stop back home if I was a hot girl who was attempting to change the tire in her bikini. Then again, more guys would probably stop up here for that matter.