I'll be back sometime next week. There's a lot of things going on this week.
Harry Potter and Quidditch
For instance, they have Keeper tryouts (the Keeper is what we normally would refer to as the goalie position). And out of everyone that tries out, they choose one person to be on the team. That makes no sense. Sure, you might want to use that sort of system to choose your starter, but wouldn't you want to choose at least two Keepers, so that if your starter got injured (or had to serve detention), you would have a backup that has trained all season with the team?
In the books, it seems like whenever a player in a key position has to miss a game, they just choose another person from that house that was great during tryouts, but hasn't practiced with the team. And somehow, it seems to work out, most of the time.
If anyone who happens to fly well could replace any member of the team and do just as well, what is the point of having practices in the first place?
One thing that I have never really understood about Harry Potter is the number of people on each team. There are no where near enough people on each team, it seems.
For instance, they have Keeper tryouts (the Keeper is what we normally would refer to as the goalie position). And out of everyone that tries out, they choose one person to be on the team. That makes no sense. Sure, you might want to use that sort of system to choose your starter, but wouldn't you want to choose at least two Keepers, so that if your starter got injured (or had to serve detention), you would have a backup that has trained all season with the team?
In the books, it seems like whenever a player in a key position has to miss a game, they just choose another person from that house that was great during tryouts, but hasn't practiced with the team. And somehow, it seems to work out, most of the time.
If anyone who happens to fly well could replace any member of the team and do just as well, what is the point of having practices in the first place?
Labels: books
Design for Theft Prevention
I have often noticed that little thought is placed on theft-prevention. Has anyone noticed that the tables at the main library at Case Western Reserve University [case.edu] have no legs?
Two sides of the tables are huge panels that support the tabletop. The result is that there is no where to wrap a security cable around, in order to lock a laptop to something. With theft being such a huge problem in university environments, this is kind of a problem. Whenever I used the library there, I always locked my laptop to the arm of a chair, but that is obviously less secure.
I constantly run into these sorts of problems, which show how little people think about these sorts of problems.
Picture of the Kelvin Smith Library from Virtual Farm Boy's Flickr Photostream [flickr.com].
There is an interesting article on the BBC News [bbc.co.uk] about how things can be designed to deter theft. One of the examples they give is a chair that has slots cut in the seat so that a bag or a purse could be hung from it. The way that it prevents theft is by hanging the purse below the person's crotch. "'..the genital region is the most defended part of the body,' she says. 'If someone puts their hand down there, you notice.'"
I have often noticed that little thought is placed on theft-prevention. Has anyone noticed that the tables at the main library at Case Western Reserve University [case.edu] have no legs?
Two sides of the tables are huge panels that support the tabletop. The result is that there is no where to wrap a security cable around, in order to lock a laptop to something. With theft being such a huge problem in university environments, this is kind of a problem. Whenever I used the library there, I always locked my laptop to the arm of a chair, but that is obviously less secure.
I constantly run into these sorts of problems, which show how little people think about these sorts of problems.
Picture of the Kelvin Smith Library from Virtual Farm Boy's Flickr Photostream [flickr.com].
Remaindered
- I just saw this Time article [time.com] about the decade-long drought that has been seen in Australia. Interestingly, one of the solutions they are apparently going to pursue is cloud seeding. Apparently, there are a few people left who don't believe that it is snake oil, and they will be bring 21st Century tools to bear in order to prove it:
"A project staff of about 30 will use a recently installed CP2 Doppler radar to analyze what's happening in Queensland's clouds before, during and after materials like silver iodide and salt are sprayed into them from planes. Working in tandem with other ground radars and forecasting equipment, the technology will be able to do a three-dimensional reading of the atmosphere — similar to a body scan. Not only will this mean better information about when conditions are right to send the seeding planes, but it will enable scientists to 'watch' how the water and ice particles in the cloud are affected by the chemical."
- This weekend is the Burning River Rollergirls Roller Derby League semi-finals, which will be held at the North Olmsted Soccer Sportsplex.
Labels: remaindered
More Harry Potter
One of the things that I found interesting were the little details that foreshadowed the ending that I missed when I read them the first time. For instance, when Hermione first attempts to assemble Dumbledore's Army (although they hadn't thought of that name yet), they told everyone to assemble in the Hog's Head bar during a trip to Hogsmeade. When they meet the barman for the first time, the description is:
Now that we know that she is working on a new book [yahoo.com], it will be interesting to see if she can recreate at least some of the magic of the Harry Potter series (proving that the series wasn't just a fluke, and that she is an unusually talented writer). If I were in the position of having the most popular series of books of all time and having more money than the queen of England, I think that a big part of me would want to stop writing and not risk producing a flop.
Now that I have finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows and know how the storyline ends, I wanted to go back and reread some of the earlier books and refresh my memory on some of the minor storylines. This post contains spoilers for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
One of the things that I found interesting were the little details that foreshadowed the ending that I missed when I read them the first time. For instance, when Hermione first attempts to assemble Dumbledore's Army (although they hadn't thought of that name yet), they told everyone to assemble in the Hog's Head bar during a trip to Hogsmeade. When they meet the barman for the first time, the description is:
"The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry."To me, details like this prove that JK Rowling knew the entire time how she was going to end the series. It has been surprisingly enjoyable to reread the previous books, knowing what is going to happen.
Now that we know that she is working on a new book [yahoo.com], it will be interesting to see if she can recreate at least some of the magic of the Harry Potter series (proving that the series wasn't just a fluke, and that she is an unusually talented writer). If I were in the position of having the most popular series of books of all time and having more money than the queen of England, I think that a big part of me would want to stop writing and not risk producing a flop.
Labels: books
Main Battle Tanks
I started reading about the vaunted Merkava tank, and how the space between the inner and outer hulls is filled with diesel fuel (which both efficiently uses space and is a defense against HEAT rounds).
Then, of course, I wanted to know what the difference was between HEAT rounds and other types of main gun ammunition, such as armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot penetrators.
The different types of munitions work better against certain types of armor, although the latest Western main battle tanks all seem to use Chobham armour. Other tanks (such as Russian ones) use reactive armor, which can be defeated by tandem charge weapons, such as TOW or Hellfire missiles.
There is also an extensive article on the M1 Abrams, and its performance in several Gulf War battles such as the Battle of Al Busayyah and the Battle of Medina Ridge.
Then there is an interesting footnote about the performance of the Lion of Babylon main battle tanks in the first Gulf War:
I have been discovering that Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] has a ton of information about main battle tanks.
I started reading about the vaunted Merkava tank, and how the space between the inner and outer hulls is filled with diesel fuel (which both efficiently uses space and is a defense against HEAT rounds).
Then, of course, I wanted to know what the difference was between HEAT rounds and other types of main gun ammunition, such as armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot penetrators.
The different types of munitions work better against certain types of armor, although the latest Western main battle tanks all seem to use Chobham armour. Other tanks (such as Russian ones) use reactive armor, which can be defeated by tandem charge weapons, such as TOW or Hellfire missiles.
There is also an extensive article on the M1 Abrams, and its performance in several Gulf War battles such as the Battle of Al Busayyah and the Battle of Medina Ridge.
Then there is an interesting footnote about the performance of the Lion of Babylon main battle tanks in the first Gulf War:
"The Iraqi Generals wasted tons and tons of HEAT and even sabot tank shells in indirect fire missions from reveted positions,[41] achieving absolutely nothing against coalition troops before being located and wiped out by helicopter or A-10 air strikes..."
"However, the destruction of the Tawakalna Division (the bulk of it comprised of Lion of Babylon tanks) by the US 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions cost the Allied forces too much time, and consequently they were unable to destroy other Republican Guard divisions before ordered to cease-fire. Many authors maintain that the very existence of Saddam's Regime for the next 12 years can be attribute to this fact, since the surviving Republican Guard units crushed the Shiite and Kurd risings right after the Iraqi defeat in Desert Storm.[42]"
Labels: linkage
PDFCreator
Previously, I had some experience with PrimoPDF [primopdf.com], but really didn't like it because it didn't render images nicely. The image rendering is important to me, because most of the documents I want to send to others have some sort of figure or picture in them. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to create a PDF -- I would just send text.
Heimlich and I have been looking for a new free PDF tool to use at home, where we only need to make PDF files occasionally. So, we'll be evaluating it, and I'll probably be writing a review post here soon. So far, it seems to render images better than PrimoPDF.
And of course, I still use FoxIt PDF Reader [foxitsoftware.com] to read PDF files at home.
On Nelson's Weblog [somebits.com], I saw a link to PDFCreator [pdfforge.com], which is a free tool to print files to a PDF.
Previously, I had some experience with PrimoPDF [primopdf.com], but really didn't like it because it didn't render images nicely. The image rendering is important to me, because most of the documents I want to send to others have some sort of figure or picture in them. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to create a PDF -- I would just send text.
Heimlich and I have been looking for a new free PDF tool to use at home, where we only need to make PDF files occasionally. So, we'll be evaluating it, and I'll probably be writing a review post here soon. So far, it seems to render images better than PrimoPDF.
And of course, I still use FoxIt PDF Reader [foxitsoftware.com] to read PDF files at home.
Labels: computers
Convergence of Car Designs
I hate how every sedan has a very high beltline (the line formed by the bottoms of the car's windows) that goes into a high trunklid:
I don't mean to single Lexus out on this, because every manufacturer seems guilty of this, but when I am following cars on the highway, there are a lot of vehicles where I can only see the top half of the driver's head over the trunklid. It's getting to the point where the average 6-year-old could probably stand directly behind a car, and the driver would have no chance of seeing them while backing up.
I hate how high trunklids make it very difficult to parallel park a car. I consider myself a very good parallel parker. But when you aren't even into the space yet, and cannot see any of the hood of the car behind you, how are you supposed to know how much space you have left?
Above image from Ian Muttoo's Flickr Photostream [flickr.com]
It seems like almost every sedan that is on the market nowadays looks almost exactly the same. There are a few exceptions, but it seems like there has been a significant convergence in sedan styling of late. Certainly, some of that is fuel-economy driven, but not all of it.
I hate how every sedan has a very high beltline (the line formed by the bottoms of the car's windows) that goes into a high trunklid:
I don't mean to single Lexus out on this, because every manufacturer seems guilty of this, but when I am following cars on the highway, there are a lot of vehicles where I can only see the top half of the driver's head over the trunklid. It's getting to the point where the average 6-year-old could probably stand directly behind a car, and the driver would have no chance of seeing them while backing up.
I hate how high trunklids make it very difficult to parallel park a car. I consider myself a very good parallel parker. But when you aren't even into the space yet, and cannot see any of the hood of the car behind you, how are you supposed to know how much space you have left?
Above image from Ian Muttoo's Flickr Photostream [flickr.com]
Politically Incorrect Truths, Part 2
Here is another one of the truths that they list:
At the same time, I can't help but wonder whether I had wasted my most productive and creative years tinkering with computers and playing Dungeons and Dragons...
Yesterday, I linked to an article [psychologytoday.com] listing several politically incorrect truths. Then I proceeded to go off on a tangent about one of those truths.
Here is another one of the truths that they list:
7. What Bill Gates and Paul McCartney have in common with criminalsTheir claim is that this curve is related to men's attempts to attract women -- their productivity and creativity peak, and then rapidly decrease after marriage and having children. And I can certainly see validity to their claim. I have long noticed that many of my sports heroes' careers (John McEnroe, Pete Sampras) have gone straight into the toilet after they have gotten married.
For nearly a quarter of a century, criminologists have known about the "age-crime curve." In every society at all historical times, the tendency to commit crimes and other risk-taking behavior rapidly increases in early adolescence, peaks in late adolescence and early adulthood, rapidly decreases throughout the 20s and 30s, and levels off in middle age...
The relationship between age and productivity among male jazz musicians, male painters, male writers, and male scientists—which might be called the "age-genius curve"—is essentially the same as the age-crime curve. Their productivity—the expressions of their genius—quickly peaks in early adulthood, and then equally quickly declines throughout adulthood.
At the same time, I can't help but wonder whether I had wasted my most productive and creative years tinkering with computers and playing Dungeons and Dragons...
Labels: remaindered
Politically Incorrect Truths
One section deals with the role of polygyny in the creation of suicide bombers:
And to just completely go off on a tangent, I wonder what defines a "complete reproductive loser". I mean, does the fact that I have chosen not to have any children make me the reproductive loser, or my parents?
There are a lot of other thought-provoking ideas in that article besides reproductive loserdom, by the way.
On rodcorp [typepad.com], I saw a link to Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature [psychologytoday.com]. It is an interesting read, although I certainly find fault with at least some of the claims in the article.
One section deals with the role of polygyny in the creation of suicide bombers:
What distinguishes Islam from other major religions is that it tolerates polygyny. By allowing some men to monopolize all women and altogether excluding many men from reproductive opportunities, polygyny creates shortages of available women...The access to virgins in heaven is something that I have always wondered about. That idea has never sounded particularly appealing to me, but I always wondered if that was because I'm not a "real man" or something.
The other key ingredient is the promise of 72 virgins waiting in heaven for any martyr in Islam. The prospect of exclusive access to virgins may not be so appealing to anyone who has even one mate on earth, which strict monogamy virtually guarantees. However, the prospect is quite appealing to anyone who faces the bleak reality on earth of being a complete reproductive loser.
And to just completely go off on a tangent, I wonder what defines a "complete reproductive loser". I mean, does the fact that I have chosen not to have any children make me the reproductive loser, or my parents?
There are a lot of other thought-provoking ideas in that article besides reproductive loserdom, by the way.
Labels: remaindered
Stupid Weather
Now, I've seen weather radar on the internet before. I was just used to seeing it in a fixed view. I had no idea that information from multiple weather radars were being assembled in such a slick interface.
When I let on that I had never seen that before, the response that I got was, "You? Mr. Computer Guy hasn't seen this before?" -- The implication being that as a computer savvy person, there is the expectation that I should have knowledge of literally every web page in existence, I guess...
Anyway, there is a simple reason why I wouldn't know about these sorts of things -- I never check the weather. Ok, well "never" might be an exaggeration, but I check the weather extremely unfrequently. It just doesn't change anything that I do.
On my way to and from work, I always have an umbrella with me, regardless of the weather. If we are going to have an unusually heavy rainstorm, I'm not going to not go to work. And I don't plan to do things outdoors in my free time (seeing as how I hate being outside). Even if it didn't have questionable accuracy, the weather forecast would be a useless piece of information to me.
The other day, someone showed me that if you go to The Weather Channel's website [weather.com], you can use a Google Maps-like interface to view weather radar information. When I say Google Maps-like, I mean in the sense that you can drag to scroll or pan, or zoom in and out quickly.
Now, I've seen weather radar on the internet before. I was just used to seeing it in a fixed view. I had no idea that information from multiple weather radars were being assembled in such a slick interface.
When I let on that I had never seen that before, the response that I got was, "You? Mr. Computer Guy hasn't seen this before?" -- The implication being that as a computer savvy person, there is the expectation that I should have knowledge of literally every web page in existence, I guess...
Anyway, there is a simple reason why I wouldn't know about these sorts of things -- I never check the weather. Ok, well "never" might be an exaggeration, but I check the weather extremely unfrequently. It just doesn't change anything that I do.
On my way to and from work, I always have an umbrella with me, regardless of the weather. If we are going to have an unusually heavy rainstorm, I'm not going to not go to work. And I don't plan to do things outdoors in my free time (seeing as how I hate being outside). Even if it didn't have questionable accuracy, the weather forecast would be a useless piece of information to me.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows
When I finished the 2nd last book, I thought to myself: How in the world is Harry going to find all of the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort all in one book. And when I was halfway through the last book, I still had the same question. I was really worried that the ending would be rushed, and therefore really disappointing.
It wasn't, though. The ending was surprisingly satisfying. There were a ton of loose ends from a bunch of the previous books, which they wrapped up nicely. There were a few twists at the end that I never would have seen coming.
The first time I finished the book, I was on the fence about how I felt about it. It was touching, but at the same time, I wasn't totally sure that I had understood everything that happened. It wasn't until a day or two after I finished it that I really started thinking that it had been ended well. And then I reread the ending, just to pick up all of the loose details I might have missed.
So, was Harry really the Deathstick's master, as he claimed? Or was Harry just bullshitting? The part that doesn't make sense to me is how it would have chosen Malfoy as its master (and how Harry could have guessed that). I think that was a pile of steaming bullshit. And Harry was just using it to delay or confuse.
And what was the screaming creature that Harry encountered in King's Cross station? Was that Voldemort? Or was that something completely unrelated? I'm not sure that I understood the symbolism.
So, I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows. I've kind of been Harry Potter obsessed lately. Warning, the following post has SPOILERS.
When I finished the 2nd last book, I thought to myself: How in the world is Harry going to find all of the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort all in one book. And when I was halfway through the last book, I still had the same question. I was really worried that the ending would be rushed, and therefore really disappointing.
It wasn't, though. The ending was surprisingly satisfying. There were a ton of loose ends from a bunch of the previous books, which they wrapped up nicely. There were a few twists at the end that I never would have seen coming.
The first time I finished the book, I was on the fence about how I felt about it. It was touching, but at the same time, I wasn't totally sure that I had understood everything that happened. It wasn't until a day or two after I finished it that I really started thinking that it had been ended well. And then I reread the ending, just to pick up all of the loose details I might have missed.
So, was Harry really the Deathstick's master, as he claimed? Or was Harry just bullshitting? The part that doesn't make sense to me is how it would have chosen Malfoy as its master (and how Harry could have guessed that). I think that was a pile of steaming bullshit. And Harry was just using it to delay or confuse.
And what was the screaming creature that Harry encountered in King's Cross station? Was that Voldemort? Or was that something completely unrelated? I'm not sure that I understood the symbolism.
Labels: books
Model T
It's beautiful. And at the same time, so much simpler. No special, expensive tools required. No lights on the dashboard programmed to come on at predetermined intervals to trick you into bringing your car back to the dealer.
More pictures here [flickr.com].
Heimlich's family got out their Ford Model T over the weekend.
It's beautiful. And at the same time, so much simpler. No special, expensive tools required. No lights on the dashboard programmed to come on at predetermined intervals to trick you into bringing your car back to the dealer.
More pictures here [flickr.com].
Labels: cars
Airlines and Wrongful Imprisonment
Many airlines apparently will drag one of those huge staircases around to the plane and allow passengers to deplane in order to comply with the "fresher air" portion.
I can only hope that those measures are adopted outside New York state as well. With the percentage of flights that are delayed going up, it seems like travel horror stories are becoming increasingly common.
The trip that I took to Europe in March turned into a huge debacle [fluggart.com], in part because once our flight was canceled, the airline didn't do much to put us on another flight or offer us many options.
I had heard that New York had passed its own airline passenger Bill of Rights [iht.com] recently. One of the included items is that you are on a flight that is delayed for more than three hours, the airline is required to provide passengers food, water, clean toilets and fresher air.
Many airlines apparently will drag one of those huge staircases around to the plane and allow passengers to deplane in order to comply with the "fresher air" portion.
I can only hope that those measures are adopted outside New York state as well. With the percentage of flights that are delayed going up, it seems like travel horror stories are becoming increasingly common.
The trip that I took to Europe in March turned into a huge debacle [fluggart.com], in part because once our flight was canceled, the airline didn't do much to put us on another flight or offer us many options.
Labels: travel
Harry Potter
At the end of book 6, I thought to myself: Harry has set off to do a ton of things, and they could easily get several books out of them. How are they going to wrap all of that up in one book? And halfway through the last book, there is still almost everything left to resolve, which leaves me wondering whether the ending will be satisfying or rushed.
Adam has been posting [livejournal.com] some amusing observations about his readings of the previous books. These books are no doubt riddled with plots holes.
For instance, in one of the previous books, Hermione is given a time-turner so that she can go back in time to attend a class that conflicts with another class that she had. First of all, it seems ridiculous that they would give an object like that to a child, just for the purposes of attending some classes.
And I also can't help but think that these books would have a completely different outcome if either the good or evil side had a time-turner, and used them to good effect.
I'm about halfway through the latest book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows.
At the end of book 6, I thought to myself: Harry has set off to do a ton of things, and they could easily get several books out of them. How are they going to wrap all of that up in one book? And halfway through the last book, there is still almost everything left to resolve, which leaves me wondering whether the ending will be satisfying or rushed.
Adam has been posting [livejournal.com] some amusing observations about his readings of the previous books. These books are no doubt riddled with plots holes.
For instance, in one of the previous books, Hermione is given a time-turner so that she can go back in time to attend a class that conflicts with another class that she had. First of all, it seems ridiculous that they would give an object like that to a child, just for the purposes of attending some classes.
And I also can't help but think that these books would have a completely different outcome if either the good or evil side had a time-turner, and used them to good effect.
Labels: books
How to Check My CEL
Anyway, this site [k-series.com] tells me exactly how to do it. It involves shorting out pins on the OBDII connector, then turning the ignition key to the "on" position (just like on my last car). Then you watch for a light to blink on the dashboard, and the number of blinks tells you what code has been thrown (in a kind of roundabout way).
Uh, this is a totally boring post, but I needed to post it so that I can find it the next time I need it.
I always am forgetting how to determine what code is being thrown on my car when the check engine light (CEL) comes on. I don't have a scan tool, and the nearest Autozone (which will check CELs for free) is pretty far away.
Anyway, this site [k-series.com] tells me exactly how to do it. It involves shorting out pins on the OBDII connector, then turning the ignition key to the "on" position (just like on my last car). Then you watch for a light to blink on the dashboard, and the number of blinks tells you what code has been thrown (in a kind of roundabout way).
Uh, this is a totally boring post, but I needed to post it so that I can find it the next time I need it.
Labels: cars
Winter Olympics
You don't see this with all sports. Like, you don't see shot-putters carrying around shots that are worth way more than their weight in platinum.
I suppose that excessive costs will occur in almost any sport that requires you to have something to compete, though. Say that they add Office Chair Racing to the olympics (you know, where one person sits in an office chair, and another person pushes them around, trying to go faster than another group of suicidal maniacs).
You just know that if they added that to the Olympics, pretty soon you would see unobtanium office chairs, with specially-designed bearings, and over-sized, lightweight wheels. Then at the next Olympics, it would get even crazier. The guy sitting in the office chair would have to wear a special neoprene suit and aerodynamic helmet, to reduce drag. The chair and the helmet would have to be designed using CFD and a wind tunnel, of course (isn't that a hilarious image?). And at some point, you just know that they would start adding spoilers to the office chairs.
It would be sweet to watch those guys train, though. Imagine driving to work one day, and you get passed by a guy pushing around a $20 million office chair with a spoiler...
I was reading an article about the next Winter Olympics, and it just occurred to me how stupid some competitive sports are. Unless you have a $20 million bobsled or whatever, there might not be a point to showing up. And don't even get me started on how stupid figure skating is...
You don't see this with all sports. Like, you don't see shot-putters carrying around shots that are worth way more than their weight in platinum.
I suppose that excessive costs will occur in almost any sport that requires you to have something to compete, though. Say that they add Office Chair Racing to the olympics (you know, where one person sits in an office chair, and another person pushes them around, trying to go faster than another group of suicidal maniacs).
You just know that if they added that to the Olympics, pretty soon you would see unobtanium office chairs, with specially-designed bearings, and over-sized, lightweight wheels. Then at the next Olympics, it would get even crazier. The guy sitting in the office chair would have to wear a special neoprene suit and aerodynamic helmet, to reduce drag. The chair and the helmet would have to be designed using CFD and a wind tunnel, of course (isn't that a hilarious image?). And at some point, you just know that they would start adding spoilers to the office chairs.
It would be sweet to watch those guys train, though. Imagine driving to work one day, and you get passed by a guy pushing around a $20 million office chair with a spoiler...
Labels: exercise
