geeking my 15-year-old self

Grok Headline matches for geeking my 15-year-old self

Geeking out

Geeking out 06/09/2004 07:19 PM
Just added an Lucene-enabled search to JSPWiki. Speeds things up by what, 40 times? (Kudos to Mahlen Morris for the implementation). It's in the CVS, but I think I broke something - some tests are no longer running. Also, I had to break API compatibility to the page provider interface. Sorry. (And I know only about 20% of people reading this understood anything. For the rest of you: yeah, I talk like this usually all day. I'm very boring in real life.)

Spent also some time laughing at new entries at http://www.engrish.com/.

My thighs hurt.

And I am up far too late, but as the old saying goes: "Sleep, when tired. Eat, when hungry. Write code, when the time is right."

G'nite and toodle-loo to everyone.

11 More Signs You Need A De-Geeking
Intervention

11 More Signs You Need A De-Geeking
Intervention 11/06/2002 08:26 AM
11 More Signs You Need A De-Geeking Intervention And just as I hit post, a few more occurred to me, so ... When your significant other says "It's spring cleaning time, your mind starts thinking of files you can delete". Your staff calls you on vacation with a technical problem and you give them the fix by telling them to use Debug and patch these 7 addresses (Note -- I used to have someone on my staff who actually did this. Brilliant but strange.). You reject out of hand potential dates when you find they run Windows. You immediately accept a date when someone when they mention using a rootless window manager under OS X. You blow off a date because you'd rather configure your new WIFI network. When your signficant other mentions "Honey we need to decorate X", your mind wanders off to a world of new and exciting Window managers. You can't understand why your significant other doesn't want to watch DVDs in the computer room sitting in an office chair. The newest episode of Buffy is immediately followed by a blog entry discussing where Joss got it right / wrong. You ask someone in Klingon if they'd like to go out. They respond with HISlaH and you understand. [ Go ] Your Google preferences are set to use Interlingua, Klingon or Bork-Bork as the display language. [ Go ] You find articles on factoring large prime numbers to have a beauty all their own. And you find the practical implications of said articles intriguing to say the least. Of course you would never, ever do anything with that knowledge, right ?Bonus ones: The nicknames for your two sons Devon and Patrick are "Dev" and "Packet". There's a penguin on your mantlepiece and no one you know has a) thought you should remove it b) even asked what it symbolizes.

Geeking in your spare time?

Geeking in your spare time? 02/10/2004 02:44 AM
Come on, you know you do! When I turn off my laptop at work and head home, I look forward...

Geeking out over Gehry Organ at LA's
Disney Hall

Geeking out over Gehry Organ at LA's
Disney Hall 12/19/2004 03:34 PM
Xeni Jardin: Last night, I crawled out from behind my laptop to go hear Handel's Messiah at the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, with a few friends. The performance was beautiful, the architecture of the space was beautiful, but the coolest part of the evening by far? Geeking out over the awesome, gigantomongous, french-fry-esque pipe organ at the back of the hall. It's comprised of more than 6,000 pipes, only a portion of which are visible. Some are conical and made of metal, others are shaped like long, slender boxes and are made of wood. The pipes range in size from ballpoint pens to palm trees.

The organ wasn't played last night, but I'm told that when it debuted privately to a group of pipe organ professionals earlier this year -- they all removed their shoes so they could feel the deep bass vibrations in the floor. A couple friends mentioned that when the LA Phil played Richard Strauss's "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (opening theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey) a while back, this thing emitted gut-liquefying bass notes that remind you why that piece of music was selected to open a sci-fi film in the first place. That uber-low opening note doesn't kick you in the innards on a recording the way it does from a huge pipe organ in an acoustically rich venue.

Oh, also, it even smells cool! Many different fine woods were used to construct the pipes, so it emits a magical, cedary sort of fragrance that reminded me of incense in a Catholic mass.

Image: a phonecam snapshot I took of the organ, while standing beneath its tall, sonic stalagmites: Link to full-size.

Here are some wonderful photos, Link, and an Organ FAQ, from the LA Phil's website: Link< /a>. NPR did a cool segment about the organ's construction and sound, here: Li nk. And Link to a San Diego Union-Trib article. Here are upcoming organ performances at the WDCH: Link (thanks tons, Shawn Sites, and Michael and Cynthia Perry!)

Update: BoingBoing reader Bill B. says,

"I live in the Kansas City area, and have been to a concert at the huge Latter Day Saints Church in Independence, Missouri. The organ is unbelievable there as well but not designed like the one you reported on. I have been an afficiondo ever since seminary when I was a radio host for the 'Organ Hour'. One note: with organs like the one you described, you don't just feel it in your feet but all through your body. The harmonics will literally vibrate your insides when the proper notes are played. Now I must make plans to come and hear the one out in LA."

Sony's profits slide 23 per cent for
year; expects bounce this year

Sony's profits slide 23 per cent for
year; expects bounce this year 04/27/2004 10:22 AM
National Post Apr 27 2004 2:06PM GMT

"How do the members of a string quartet
play together and tour together year in,
year out, without killing each other?"

"How do the members of a string quartet
play together and tour together year in,
year out, without killing each other?" 01/25/2004 03:03 PM

Forward Concepts Forecasts a Very Good
Year for 3G Cell Phone Shipments, but a
Down Year for Those of Older Te

Forward Concepts Forecasts a Very Good
Year for 3G Cell Phone Shipments, but a
Down Year for Those of Older Te 04/11/2005 10:52 AM
Business Wire UK Apr 11 2005 2:12PM GMT

Q1 Internet sales rise 59%
year-over-year at Williams-Sonoma

Q1 Internet sales rise 59%
year-over-year at Williams-Sonoma 05/25/2004 11:41 PM
InternetRetailer.com May 26 2004 4:11AM GMT

Digitally Unique reports December sales
up more than 100% year-to-year

Digitally Unique reports December sales
up more than 100% year-to-year 01/03/2005 05:55 PM
InternetRetailer.com Jan 3 2005 9:36PM GMT

Apple U.S. market share declines year
over year

Apple U.S. market share declines year
over year 01/16/2004 11:33 AM
Apple captured 3.2 percent of the U.S...

Web sales at J.C. Penney rise 40%
year-over-year in first half

Web sales at J.C. Penney rise 40%
year-over-year in first half 08/17/2004 05:43 PM
InternetRetailer.com Aug 17 2004 9:36PM GMT

2004: Year of the Blog; 2005: Year of
RSS

2004: Year of the Blog; 2005: Year of
RSS 12/19/2004 03:36 PM

Paddling Out to Catch the Enterprise Wave

"From the shore, they look like tiny dots slowly making their way out past the breakers. They're the software vendors positioning themselves to catch the Enterprise RSS wave. My, that's a lot of tiny dots...." [MoonWatcher]
RSS was big in 2004, but next year is going to be something else. It's killing me that I can't say more, but I know of two major library vendors that will make big announcements about RSS in 2005. It's going to be a fun year!

Five-year-old girls are smarter than
five-year-old boys!

Five-year-old girls are smarter than
five-year-old boys! 06/26/2004 02:54 AM
NewKerala.com Jun 26 2004 5:49AM GMT

Chinese New Year - 2002 is Year of the
Horse

Chinese New Year - 2002 is Year of the
Horse 01/22/2004 10:20 AM
¨§‡ … ˆ ˆ… †Š†Œ€Œ‡§ ¨§Œ §„ †ˆ .. Chinese New Year - 2002 is the Year of the Horse .. Welcome to 4700 .. Monkey .. 4700

chinapage.com/newyear.html
track this site | 5 links

1 year performance video - please watch
for one year

1 year performance video - please watch
for one year 02/07/2005 01:27 AM
one year performance video .. filmpje dat 1 jaar duurt .. zulke video’s .. ver durante um ano

turbulence.org/Works/1year/performancevideo.php
track this site | 4 links

3-Year-Old Shot by 4-Year Old Brother

3-Year-Old Shot by 4-Year Old Brother 11/18/2003 08:57 PM
Reuters via Wired News Nov 18 2003 8:29PM ET

A year ends, a year begins...

A year ends, a year begins... 01/07/2004 04:50 PM

Wow. What a long time it has been since I last posted to plasticbag.org. And what have I done in the meantime? I've been back to Norfolk to see my family, experienced the wonders of Christmas, seen Return of the King, watched ten hours of videos with my little brother, watched the snow come down and get washed away, struggled through lots of music television, had my first frank conversation with my little brother about being gay, opened and given lots of gifts, battled back to London via bus and train, gone back to work for a few days before late-night driving off to Cornwall for New Year with a selection of friends and friends of friends wherein was had much late-night drinking, (indoor) swimming, fondue-ing, walks in the wet and the dark, eating of beef and roaming around. Since I last posted I've travelled about eight hundred miles in total, including trips to Penzance for shopping, Newquay for boots and Bath for Sally Lunn's. I've driven through Indian Queens, passed by Splatt and circumnavigated Pityme. I've also read a lot of The Social Life of Information (more on how much I want to burn that particular waste of headspace later), thought a lot about Tivo and Social Software, played a lot of Knights of the Old Republic and both been bought and bought for others some of the most wonderfully entertaining porcelain cups I've ever seen. All in all, an eventful and entertaining couple of weeks.

Next up is trying to get my head together to start a new project at work (interesting one this - should have really positive, interesting and coincidentally weblog-friendly effects on BBC Radio sites), trying to assemble my thoughts for a conference at Olympia in a couple of month's time, trying to work out whether to propose a participant session for this year's ETCon (which I'm still hoping I'm going to attend), while apparently also trying to score maximum points on self-created, self-destructive and highly non-fun-for-all-the-family games like, "How quickly and effectively can I alienate everyone I work with?", "Be an arse!" and "How fat, weird and bearded can one man become?". What did you guys get up to?

Read the comments

LynuxWorks Announces Consecutive Year
Over Year Growth and Profitability;
Company’s Fourth Quarter Success Fuelled
by Growth in the Military/Aerospace
Market

LynuxWorks Announces Consecutive Year
Over Year Growth and Profitability;
Company’s Fourth Quarter Success Fuelled
by Growth in the Military/Aerospace
Market 05/31/2004 02:07 PM
Embedded Software Leader Continues to Demonstrate Success with New Design Wins Plans 35% Growth in Workforce [PRWEB May 21, 2004]

Research And Markets - The Western
European PC Market Has Continued To Go
From Strength To Strength In The First
Half Of 2004, Capitalizing On The
Recovery Of 2003 To Record An 18.3%
Shipment Growth Year On Year

Research And Markets - The Western
European PC Market Has Continued To Go
From Strength To Strength In The First
Half Of 2004, Capitalizing On The
Recovery Of 2003 To Record An 18.3%
Shipment Growth Year On Year 12/19/2004 03:31 PM
Research and Markets (researchandmarkets.com/reports/c11048) has announced the addition of Personal Computing in Western Europe, Forecast and Analysis Update, 2004-2008 to their offering. [PRWEB Dec 17, 2004]

64 Bits and AMD, A Year Later
http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Computer-
Processors/64-Bits-and-AMD-A-Year-Later/

64 Bits and AMD, A Year Later
http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Computer-
Processors/64-Bits-and-AMD-A-Year-Later/ 12/29/2004 01:45 PM
DevHardware Dec 29 2004 4:44PM GMT

A year in viruses It's been a vintage
year for malicious computer viruses

A year in viruses It's been a vintage
year for malicious computer viruses 12/31/2003 05:02 AM
BBC Dec 31 2003 4:53AM ET

15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgages

15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgages 03/30/2005 11:34 AM
The mortgage you have in mind may not be best for you.

The Chinese mobile phone industry's
shipment volume rose 64.2% year on year
to reach approximately 65.2 million
units as the PAS mobile phone shipment
broke a record high

The Chinese mobile phone industry's
shipment volume rose 64.2% year on year
to reach approximately 65.2 million
units as the PAS mobile phone shipment
broke a record high 06/11/2004 03:15 AM
Research and Markets are delighted to announce the addition of The Chinese Mobile Phone Industry, 1Q 2004 and Beyond to their offering [PRWEB Jun 11, 2004]

Constructech Magazine Names ELAN™ as One
of Technology’s Hottest Companies
Leading Construction Automation
Technology Magazine Recognizes ELAN as
One of the Year’s Most Innovative and
Exciting Companies in the Home Building
Market for Second Consecutive Year

Constructech Magazine Names ELAN™ as One
of Technology’s Hottest Companies
Leading Construction Automation
Technology Magazine Recognizes ELAN as
One of the Year’s Most Innovative and
Exciting Companies in the Home Building
Market for Second Consecutive Year 07/28/2004 02:37 AM
Leading Construction Automation Technology Magazine Recognizes ELAN as One of the Year’s Most Innovative and Exciting Companies in the Home Building Market for Second Consecutive Year [PRWEB Jul 28, 2004]

While the Taiwanese router industry
declined in the first quarter of 2004,
Taiwanese router shipments are
anticipated to grow by 30.9%
year-on-year in the second quarter of
2004

While the Taiwanese router industry
declined in the first quarter of 2004,
Taiwanese router shipments are
anticipated to grow by 30.9%
year-on-year in the second quarter of
2004 07/10/2004 03:15 AM
Research and Markets are delighted to announce the addition of The Taiwanese Router Industry, 1Q 2004 and Beyond to their offering [PRWEB Jul 10, 2004]

3G: Where Will It Be a Year from Now?

3G: Where Will It Be a Year from Now? 12/28/2004 07:42 PM
eWeek Dec 28 2004 8:45PM GMT

What A Year It's Been

What A Year It's Been 12/19/2004 03:15 PM
An all-new Probe Droid has just been launched; this week we're searching for the letter grade collectors would give 2004. With only two weeks left it's that time of the year again. While we've seen some interesting items come down the pike, overall how would you rate the year in collecting? Look for the new Probe Droid ballot now and cast your vote today!

New Year, New Gig

New Year, New Gig 01/01/2005 02:57 PM
Happy New Year to all. May this one be an improvement on the one we've just ended. As many of you know, I've left the Mercury News to work on a project to help citizen journalism. I've started a new blog where we can discuss that topic in some depth. I'll post here as well periodically, though the future of this blog is not entirely clear right now. I'm incredibly grateful to you for your support, or at least your readership and involvement in a normally valuable conversation here. We haven't always agreed, but we've been able -- with a few exceptions -- to disagree without being disagreeable. Again, happy new year, and let's keep talking.

The Year That Was

The Year That Was 01/01/2005 02:26 PM
TechTree Jan 1 2005 6:38PM GMT

Oh Well, Maybe Next Year

Oh Well, Maybe Next Year 06/30/2004 07:45 PM
I don't know what really went on between Apple and the makers of Konfabulator, but neither do you... Is anyone aware that the makers of Konfabulator were also the makers of Kaleidoscope, and that back during their Kaleidoscope days, they got into some kind of legal tussle with Apple for purportedly lifting the Aqua interface and using it in Kaleidoscope? By Bill Palmer (via MyAppleMenu)

New Year

New Year 01/01/2005 04:55 AM

New Year to all of you. I hope this year will be better than the last. With the tsunami and all of the uh-oh's of last year, I don't think I can really say "happy" anything right now. :-|

Comment - TrackBack

$14 into $1,000 in one year

$14 into $1,000 in one year 04/29/2004 04:16 PM
I'm not a fan of followup posts, but this is cool enough to mention. Remember the challenging question of how to turn $14 into $1,000? BirdD0g has taken that noodle-scratcher of a problem and turned it into his personal challenge, and he's taking everyone along for the ride at 14bucks.com. He's got until April 15, 2005 to turn it over into a grand, which sounds like plenty of time, but that's a lot of profit to turn over (7000% return on investment). Who wants to take my $14 bet it doesn't happen?

A year later

A year later 01/25/2004 01:57 PM

Yesterday, we celebrated the anniversary of our arriving here one year ago and today I remembered why I don't get drunk very often...the day after. :)

When we left Boston last year, both Iceland and Helsinki were warmer at the time even though friends and family were joking about how cold it would be in Finland. I was filled with both relief of getting everything done in time and anxiety for relocating to the great mostly unknown. It has been an interesting year with something new nearly every day. Relocating from Denver to Milwaukee isn't like expatriating to a place where everything including the language is utterly different than anything you're used to. It's a radical change even when you know what to expect. I had prepared myself for most of the issues that face expats though it was still a year of difficult times and difficult language classes. I remain optimistic about learning the language, but I think it will take a bit longer than I had originally anticipated.

I rode with Jarkko's father, HB and the bags from the airport in a borrowed van while Jarkko and his mother took a cab. I hadn't seen the apartment prior to our arrival and when Erkki turns to me as we were climbing the stairs and says, "It was a bit of a compromise." I braced myself for the worst-case scenario and the apartment was a lot better than I had feared after he said that. The wind howled and whistled through the bedroom window that night and I started to wonder why I couldn't have married someone from the British Virgin Islands or Fiji. :) We spent the next six months renovating the apartment and taking Finnish language classes so I didn't really have a lot of time to ponder the depths of the insanity of moving to Finland until midsummer and by then I found that I had grown quite fond of this small corner of the Nordic lands.

I don't really have any words of wisdom or insight on being an expat because I have seen that nearly everyone has a different experience. Adjusting to Finland has been difficult at times and easy at other times, but it hasn't been dull. You can prepare yourself for the larger obstacles, such as the language barrier, but the little things like not finding peanut butter where you expect to find it in the grocery are what will send you into bouts of petty despair. The dark, foggy days of November sneak up on you when you aren't looking, too. It has been a year of challenge and adjustment but I am be curious to see how long it will be before Finland becomes as familiar and comfortable as home. I hope it isn't terribly soon as I'm still enjoying the newness of everything which people don't get the opportunity to enjoy very often in life, especially now that world is becoming a smaller, more familiar landscape all the time.

3G by the end of the year?

3G by the end of the year? 06/23/2004 09:17 AM
iafrica.com Jun 23 2004 12:36PM GMT

One Sun Year

One Sun Year 03/17/2005 03:17 AM
Today, March 15th, is my first anniversary at Sun; an opportunity for discourse on how I think we’re doing. There’s a unifying theme which may come as a surprise: The important stuff, well, it’s boring. Which is both good and bad...

One Year Ago

One Year Ago 07/11/2004 08:39 PM

If you check the left sidebar under the recently commented entries, you'll see a new section called "One Year Ago." These are the entires that were gracing the site one year ago today...sort of. I think it's a little off due to the time zones, so it may be a day early or late. Via Brad Choate's OnThisDay plugin.

Click here to comment on this entry

$3 gas within a year

$3 gas within a year 06/22/2005 02:20 AM
If oil hits $3 a gallon, people will demand that the government focus on domestic problems and the economy. It...

Not again...this has been going on for a
year!

Not again...this has been going on for a
year! 12/02/2003 01:26 AM
GAH FUCKING KILL SKATE CANADA. They are so doing this to spite me. Finally, they called and told me that...

5,000,000,000 per Year

5,000,000,000 per Year 09/22/2004 07:15 PM
I had a talk today with Make Technologies, I’ve known them a long time and I have some shares. They’re doing a lot of work on legacy conversion, both methodology and technology; helping people who have mission-critical applications that they want to move to modern infrastructure, specifically J2EE. I knew that this was an interesting space (even post-Y2K) but I was flabbergasted when Mike Hagerman (Make’s CEO) told me two numbers: There are five billion new lines of COBOL getting created every year, and there (wait for it) 220 billion lines of COBOL in production. (Holy cow, now that I think about it, I bet I wrote ten or twenty thousand of them). Mike got the numbers from Gartner. That’s... scary.
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geeking my 15-year-old self

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