Creative Zen Review, Part 4

Previously, I had described some of the experiences I have had with my new Creative Zen [creative.com] portable media player (PMP). This is part 4. [Go to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

I've had a few chances to watch some videos on the Zen. The screen is just large enough to be able to watch a movie and read the captioning, holding it at about the same distance you would normally hold a book. Unfortunately, the process converting videos could be better. Bundled with the Creative Zen is a program that can be used to convert videos from one format to one that can be played on the Zen. It is pretty self-explanatory -- the program asks you to select a bunch of files, and after you do, you will see the following screen while all of the files are converted:


Click for larger version.
The unfortunate thing about this program is that (in my experience) it takes forever to convert a group of files, and it frequently fails to convert them properly (reporting errors).

So, I have switched to using eRightSoft's SUPER [erightsoft.com] to convert videos for my Zen (scroll to the bottom of the link for the download section). Use the following settings in the screenshot below to correctly convert videos for the Zen:


Click for larger version.
When you drag and drop movie files onto it, they will be added to the queue. Once you hit the "Encode (Active Files)" button, you will be prompted for optimizer settings, in which you should choose the DIVX option (like in the below screenshot).


SUPER converts videos much faster (although I haven't actually measured times), and I have yet to have it report an error.

[Go to part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

Wiser in Battle

I have recently finished reading Wiser in Battle, by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq.

In it, Sanchez recounts his military career, with the vast majority devoted to his experiences in Iraq. In particular, he feels that he was made a scapegoat for the development of a coordinated insurgency in after the Iraqi regular forces were defeated, and for the prisoner abuses that occurred at Abu Ghraib.

The book is especially damning of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for micromanagement of the military, for various political decisions that set up the military for failure, among other things. It is also damning of Ambassador Bremer, when he was head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, for failing to properly manage post-war Iraq and not attempting to achieve military, economic, and political tasks simultaneously. Furthermore, the way that Sanchez tells it, Bremer went out of his way to prevent progress from being made among the Iraqis and encourage reconciliation among the major tribal groups.

On one hand, it is a pretty convincing narrative. Each accusation is described in detail and with plenty of evidence. On the other hand, this is only one side of the story, and you would expect any author to paint themselves in the best light. To his credit, Sanchez does criticize himself for many decisions made in Iraq, and does not find himself completely faultless for the development of the insurgency or Abu Ghraib.

One of the more interesting points in the book was that Abu Ghraib was a blessing in disguise, because it pushed the treatment of prisoners to the forefront and forced similar institutions to abide by the Geneva Conventions.

Overall, it was a very interesting read (albeit dry in many sections). Particularly interesting are all of the details of the Abu Ghraib fiasco, most of which were not covered in the mainstream press.

Trivia Answers, Part 2

Last Thursday, I posted a bunch of trivia questions. On Tuesday, I posted the answers to the first four questions. Here are the answers to the final four:

5. I once was within 30ft of an Olympic torch being carried through a city, but missed actually seeing it because I was:

a. fussing over my hair

b. playing an on-line role-playing computer game

c. tending to a head wound after having a bicycling accident

d. selecting porn to rent in a video store with friends

Yeah, after hours of waiting around on Coventry Road (in Cleveland Heights) for this damned torch to be carried by, my friends and I decided to pop into Vidstar for a minute. After all, what were the chances that after several hours of waiting, the torch was going to go by in the next minute?

6. What organization (of which I am currently a member) have I been a member longest?

a. National Rifle Association (NRA)

b. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

c. US Underwater Basket-Weaving Association (USUBWA)

d. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

They can pry my gun out of my cold dead hands... after I manage to buy a gun.

7. When I was a small child, my older sister trained me to constantly do what?

a. run around on all fours, barking like a dog

b. parrot "Where's the beef?"

c. devise innovative ways to total our parents' cars

d. beg our parents to take us through the Burger King drive-through

You would not believe the number of people who came up to me at my sister's wedding and said, "Wow, you're her little brother? The last time I saw you, you were running around on all fours, barking like a dog." ... which would be funny, if it wasn't such a good example of how stupid I was as a child. Next to me (when I was a child), even Jessica Simpson would look like Einstein.

Totaling our parents' cars were completely unplanned events (that thankfully did not happen constantly).

8. Identify which statement is not true about me:

a. I had managed to do such a good job of concealing the real date of my birthday from everyone that when Heimlich and I met, she proclaimed a random date that my birthday would be celebrated on.

b. I have seen Johnny Mathis live in concert (on purpose)

c. I have a three inch scar on my head from a vicious llama attack when I was little

d. My only major near-death experience involved my mother closing an electric car window on my neck, which blocked my windpipe. This was ostensibly an accident.

It turns out that I do have an enormous scar on my head, but it was not caused by a vicious llama attack. I just added that for comedic value. The scar was actually caused by a boring, old, run-of-the-mill knife fight. No, really, the scar was caused by surgery I had shortly after I was born.

3 Years Ago...

3 years ago, Heimlich and I got married. It seems like only yesterday that people were getting royally pissed off for not being invited to our reception...


Really, though, the past three years have allowed me to fully appreciate how compassionate, patient, and loving that Heimlich is. Even when she is insisting that I seek help from a mental health professional (which is frequent), I still love her.


Oh year, and it seems like only yesterday that I was completely embarrassing myself out on the dance floor due to my total lack of rhythm. If audio had been recorded during the below picture, I'm sure that I would have been saying, "No. REALLY. I don't know how to dance. Why can't I just do The Robot all evening?"


I later learned that all of my friends joked that me dancing reminded them of those old, really bad Frankenstein movies.

Anyway, I love you, Heimlich!

Trivia Answers, Part 1

Last Thursday, I posted a bunch of trivia questions. Here are the answers to the first four:

1. In college, I earned a varsity letter in what sport?

a. table tennis (fear the paddle!)

b. cycling

c. fencing

d. shuffleboard (Announcer: "...and Twinkle Toes Terence steps up to the line again.")

Yep, I was able to help prove that anyone who can yell sufficiently loudly and carry a big sword can earn a varsity letter at a Division III school.

2.I have a completely irrational fear of:

a. getting bitten by a dog

b. getting eaten by a shark

c. the dark

d. bald people

I saw the movie Jaws at exactly the wrong age when I was growing up. And as a result, whenever I am in a body of water (even a swimming pool) and my head is submerged, all my brain wants to do is visualize an enormous man-eating shark rising up out of the depths to attack me. With big pointy teeth.

3.What was the REAL reason that (in 2003) I sold the only motorcycle I have ever owned?

a. the color of the bike didn't match my helmet

b. I was nearly involved in an accident

c. I kept breaking my nails

d. the helmet kept screwing up my hair

As Birch [livejournal.com] pointed out recently, I am "very serious about my hair." I have DEFCON levels to handle when things get close to touching my hair. The "helmet hair" canceled out any cool factor there was to having a motorcycle, in my mind...

4. One of my closest friends constantly accuses me of once trying to kill him in the process of teaching him what activity?

a. mountain biking

b. a keg stand

c. live action Dungeons and Dragons

d. lighting a barbecue ("See, the key is to use A LOT of lighter fluid...")

Birch and I made the mistake of taking two of our friends (who were not mountain bikers) to Vulture's Knob, which is described by this site [trails.com] as "one of the most technical... rides in the state... Even the fast and seemingly easy sections have jumps and drops that can catch an unsuspecting rider off guard."

At the time, it was a roughly 6 mile loop, and it took our group over 2 hours to complete. I had described the steepness of the slopes of the descents and climbs to them before we went, but they thought that I was exaggerating until they saw it for themselves. We probably should have started out on an easier course (this is a gross understatement, if you didn't catch the sarcasm). I recall that on my first time around Vulture's Knob, I broke both pedals on my bike.

Linkdump #597

Here are a few interesting links:

• Here's a video of NBA star LeBron James getting beaten in a game of horse. Some of the shots are incredible!
  
  
  
  If the embedded video doesn't work, use this link [youtube.com]. link via kottke.org.
  
  


• The Freakonomics Blog has some interesting graphics [nytimes.com], which simplify the explanations of McCain's and Obama's tax plans.
  
  Apparently, under either plan, you will get a tax cut -- unless you are in the top 1%, in which case Obama will make you pay more.
  
  


• There have been a ton of comments on the new Microsoft ad (the one post-Seinfeld):
  
  
  
  As stated by tons of other people, there is no shortage of problems with these ads. But I think that the bottom line is that as long as the product is terrible, having a good marketing campaign for it is, well... like putting lipstick on a pig. *rimshot*

Terence Trivia

At a recent bachelor/bachelorette party, there was a trivia contest, where the subject of all of the questions were the bride and groom. I think the scariest thing was how little we (ostensibly their closest friends) knew about the guests of honor.

I thought that it was a really funny idea. So, I'm stealing it. As an attempt to inject some humor into this site, I've made the questions multiple choice. Here's a list of trivia questions about me (easiest to hardest):

1. In college, I earned a varsity letter in what sport?
   1. table tennis (fear the paddle!)
   2. cycling
   3. fencing
   4. shuffleboard (Announcer: "...and Twinkle Toes Terence steps up to the line again.")


2. I have a completely irrational fear of:
   1. getting bitten by a dog
   2. getting eaten by a shark
   3. the dark
   4. bald people


3. What was the REAL reason that (in 2003) I sold the only motorcycle I have ever owned?
   1. the color of the bike didn't match my helmet
   2. I was nearly involved in an accident
   3. I kept breaking my nails
   4. the helmet kept screwing up my hair


4. One of my closest friends constantly accuses me of once trying to kill him in the process of teaching him what activity?
   1. mountain biking
   2. a keg stand
   3. live action Dungeons and Dragons
   4. lighting a barbecue ("See, the key is to use A LOT of lighter fluid...")


5. I once was within 30ft of an Olympic torch being carried through a city, but missed actually seeing it because I was:
   1. fussing over my hair
   2. playing an on-line role-playing computer game
   3. tending to a head wound after having a bicycling accident
   4. selecting porn to rent in a video store with friends


6. What organization (of which I am currently a member) have I been a member longest?
   1. National Rifle Association (NRA)
   2. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
   3. US Underwater Basket-Weaving Association (USUBWA)
   4. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)


7. When I was a small child, my older sister trained me to constantly do what?
   1. run around on all fours, barking like a dog
   2. parrot "Where's the beef?"
   3. devise innovative ways to total our parents' cars
   4. beg our parents to take us through the Burger King drive-through


8. Identify which statement is not true about me:
   1. I had managed to do such a good job of concealing the real date of my birthday from everyone that when Heimlich and I met, she proclaimed a random date that my birthday would be celebrated on.
   2. I have seen Johnny Mathis live in concert (on purpose)
   3. I have a three inch scar on my head from a vicious llama attack when I was little
   4. My only major near-death experience involved my mother closing an electric car window on my neck, which blocked my windpipe. This was ostensibly an accident.

Answers next week.

[Answers part 1, part 2.]

Creative Zen Review, Part 3

Previously, I had described some of the experiences I have had with my new Creative Zen [creative.com] portable media player (PMP). This is part 3. [Go to part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

Previously, I had alluded to the bookmarking leaving a lot to be desired. Allow me to explain in more detail. First off, you can set a total of 10 bookmarks at any one time. I really only use one bookmark (overwriting it every time I need to set a new one). The bookmark screen shows the title of the song that each bookmark is set in, along with how far into the song the bookmark was set:


Anyway, let's say that you have told the player to play all of the MP3s in a particular genre or by a certain artist, etc. It will then create a playlist on the fly (as expected):


Then, in the middle of playing a file, you decide that you are going to set a bookmark, intending on coming back later. It turns out that when you use the main menu to select a bookmark to resume from, it will create another playlist on the fly with only the file that contains the bookmark:


What I really would like is the ability to tell the player to load all of the files of a particular genre or from a particular artist, and then tell it to start playing that list from the bookmark that I have set. But I haven't been able to figure out how to do that (and the documentation is TERRIBLE). As a result, whenever I want to resume from a bookmark, I do the following:

1. Load up the list of files that I want to play,
2. Look at the bookmarks screen (which tells me which file and how far into the file the bookmark is set),
3. Make a mental note of where I was,
4. and then manually fast-forward through the file to get to where the bookmark was set.

It really shouldn't be that difficult or user-unfriendly.

[Go to part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

Hurricane Damage Predictions

A lot has been made of forecaster's predictions that Galveston's residents who don't evacuate would face "certain death" [kgbt4.com]. The thing is, that the storm was only measured to be a Category 2 hurricane [marketwatch.com].


In the wake of the storm, what are the lessons that we can learn from this experience? Clearly, despite the warnings, large numbers of residents did not choose to flee when warned, and are now requiring a massive search and rescue operation [usatoday.com].

How many of those residents chose to stay because Ike was only measured to be a Category 2 hurricane? In the grand scheme of things, a Category 2 hurricane doesn't sound that bad. Wikipedia's description of Category 2 [wikipedia.org] is the following:

Storms of this intensity damage some roofing material, and also produce damage to poorly constructed doors and windows. Considerable damage is caused to vegetation, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Mobile homes, whether anchored or not, are usually badly damaged, and many manufactured homes also suffer structural damage. Also, small craft in unprotected anchorages may break their moorings.

That certainly contrasts with the warnings of certain death. That also contrasts with the windows that were blown out in skyscrapers all over Houston (assuming that those weren't "poorly constructed").

Maybe it is time that the classification of hurricane strength be revamped to more accurately show the expected damage, by taking into account additional factors and metrics. Clearly, these have already been defined, as forecasters knew that this hurricane was going to be devastating.

More pictures of Hurricane Ike damage on The Big Picture [boston.com].

Picture of Hurricane Ike's damage via Coast Guard News' Flickr photostream [flickr.com].

House Moving

My old PhD advisor is moving a house (as in the house itself, not the contents). I would never have the confidence to wheel around a house without worrying that it was going to tip over in the process... The big hole in the following pictures is where the old foundation was.





More pictures on Flickr [flickr.com].

America's Addition to Saving Money

I recently saw an interesting article: Is Our Addiction to Saving Money Destroying the Real America? [zenhabits.net]. The premise is simple: by trying to save money, people are spending more and more money at chains, driving family-owned businesses out of business.

This is a premise that I have been arguing about for a long time now. But I think that it goes far beyond just the chain/family-owned business choice. For instance, when people buy computers and consumer electronics, price is almost always the key spec that makes or breaks a purchase decision. People don't go to the trouble of finding out whether one company or another makes products that are more reliable. And as a result, with everyone voting with their dollars, companies that used to make consumer electronics that were very reliable (which are, of course, more expensive to produce) are forced to make cheap crap just to survive. These days, it is almost impossible to find a network router that is expected to last more than a year. How often have you heard of people complaining that their DVD player quit after only a year of use?

And as more and more buying shifts to stores like Walmart, it of course has a cascading effect of shifting more and more manufacturing overseas. You're not going to find many American-made products at a Walmart (especially in areas like clothing). It's our obsession with saving money (combined with ignorance, I suppose) that is dooming us.

Creative Zen, Part 2

Previously, I had described some of the experiences I have had with my new Creative Zen [creative.com] portable media player (PMP). This is part 2. [Go to part 1, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

I use my PMP mostly to listen to talk radio. I have my computer record hour long chunks and covert them to MP3s. New ones are constantly being uploaded to my PMP, while the ones I have already listed to are being deleted. So, there is a constant churn of files on the device. I know that a lot of people use theirs to listen to e-books (which I consider to be a very similar usage pattern), but there wasn't a lot of information out there for people who use PMPs like this (most focused on playing music).

Because the files that I listen to are so big, it is important that the resume function on the PMP work properly; that is, when I turn the player on, I want it to start playing at the exact point in the file where I was when I turned it off. Unfortunately, the Creative Zen fails in this regard.

There appear to be two different shutdowns for the Zen. If you turn it off (or allow it to turn itself off after a configurable period of inactivity), and then turn it back on after a few minutes, it will almost instantly come back on (takes about 1 second). It will start up at the "Now Playing" screen, displaying the file information, and it will be exactly at the point in the file where you last left off:


However, if the player stays off for an extended period of time (say, a few hours), then the Zen will really shutdown. When you turn it back on, instead of almost instantly turning on, it will take about 10 seconds to boot up. The duration required for boot up really doesn't bother me. The thing that DOES bother me is that when it starts up and goes to the "Now Playing" screen, it will start at the beginning of the file (see below image). So, if you don't remember where you were (and hadn't remembered to set a bookmark), you're going to have to manually seek through a big file to find your place again.


And unfortunately, the bookmarks and fast-forward/rewind functions leave a lot to be desired (more on this in another segment of the review).

Similarly, if you connect the PMP to your computer to upload files to it, the player will forget where it was and start you off at the beginning of the file again. THIS IS INCREDIBLY ANNOYING. There have been resume functions built into MP3 players for nearly a decade now. There is absolutely no excuse for having not implemented it correctly in this unit. And yes, I am running the latest firmware (version 1.21.01).

[Go to part 1, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

Autocross

I have mentioned here and there about participating in autocross, which is an amateur form of autoracing that is relatively safe and economical. You are racing against the clock, not wheel to wheel. And whenever I try to explain it to people, I can just tell that what they're imagining doesn't match reality.

Below is a well-produced news segment explaining what autocross is. I need to remember to link to this every time someone asks me to explain autocross.



If the embedded video doesn't work, use this link [racingfilm.com].

Oh, and the 2008 Autocross National Championships [scca.com] is next week.

Shooter

I had previously mentioned reading War of the Rats, which has kind of put me into the mood of reading about snipers. War of the Rats [amazon.com] and Kill Zone [amazon.com] (which are both about snipers) are some of the best novels that I have read in a while.

One of the authors (Jack Coughlin) of Kill Zone actually wrote an autobiography called Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper [amazon.com], which I decided to read next. In the book, Coughlin recounts his role in several conflicts, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Coughlin spends a bit of the book on top of a soapbox, describing his ideas on how the role of the sniper can/must change along with the recent changes in warfare. The authors seem to think that the role of the sniper is being marginalized in mobile, fast-attack forces; but that snipers are now needed more than ever and can be better utilized in these kinds of military operations.

Many of the chapters of the book focus on conflicts in which he was given greater flexibility to demonstrate how snipers could be better utilized, to devastating effect.

Of course, one of the most interesting aspects to me was to hear the accounts from the ground (especially in Iraq), which sound very different than how they were reported by the media.

Creative Zen Review, Part 1

Previously, I had mentioned that I was buying a new Portable Media Player (PMP), and that I had basically narrowed it down to the Creative Zen [creative.com]. Well, it has arrived and I have a lot of comments about it. This is part 1 of my review. [Go to part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

There are a plethora of reviews of this device out there. So, I will try to skip the basic stats, which are repeated everywhere. The things that are hard to find reviews are on specifics on the usability of this device. That's why my multi-part review is going to focus on the usability with respect to my specific usage patterns.

First off, I was going from possibly the largest PMP to one of the smallest. Below is the Creative Zen (left) and my old Archos 504 (right):


The Archos unit was really a portable video player that I was using mostly as an MP3 player, whereas the Creative Zen is really an MP3 player that happens to play videos. That works for me, because my highest priority right now is durability. I really only watch videos on my PMP when I travel (which isn't all that often these days). Anyway, the Creative Zen is really about the size of a credit card (but thicker):


It has physical buttons (instead of touchpads or touchscreens that are not great for usability while driving, IMHO). The buttons are also pretty "clicky" -- you definitely know when you have registered a click, both from the tactile feedback and an audible clicking noise -- which many users have complained about, but I actually like.

It does fall flat in many areas. For instance, why doesn't the resume function work properly? More on this later...

[Go to part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.]

Red Light Cameras

Like many other cities, Cleveland has deployed several red light cameras, that are designed to automate ticketing for people who run red lights at intersections.


It is readily apparent to everyone that these devices are there to generate revenue for the city, not encourage driver safety as most cities argue. But I had not seen actual data to back up this assertion until now. It turns out that there have been several studies that show that red light cameras actually increase the rate of crashes, instead of increasing public safety. For instance, an article on Science Daily [sciencedaily.com] cites a study performed by Florida researchers. Here is a quote from the article:

"'The rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don’t work... Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections.'"

"Traffic fatalities caused by red-light running are not increasing in Florida and account for less than 4 percent of the state’s yearly traffic deaths. In contrast, more than 22 percent of the state’s traffic fatalities occur at intersections for reasons other than red-light running."

What's even more aggravating is that 6 cities have been found guilty of shortening yellow light durations [motorists.org], in order to increase revenue from red light cameras. The cities are Chattanooga, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; Springfield, Missouri; Lubbock, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Union City, California. And you can bet that they're not the only ones who are guilty of this practice.

Picture of accident at intersection from Scoobyfoo's Flickr photostream [flickr.com].

War of the Rats

Out of all of the books that I have read this year, War of the Rats [amazon.com] has to be my favorite.

Ok, imagine that you're transported back to the middle of World War II. The Germans are rolling over everyone in Europe. The Russians have to make their stand in Stalingrad, which German bombing has reduced to a pile of rubble at this point. Due to the overwhelming German air superiority, the Russians tried to keep their front line as close to the Germans as possible (so that the Luftwaffe couldn't support their own troops). So, they're running around in a maze of rubble (like rats), fighting a ferocious battle house-to-house. More on the Battle of Stalingrad [wikipedia.org].

Now that you know the backdrop, the book is a novel about a Russian sniper who is wreaking havoc on the Germans inside the city. He gets permission to start up a sniper school, so that he can teach his skills to a new breed of snipers who will continue the havoc on a larger scale.

The Germans become so worried that they bring in their best sniper to try to take out the Russian sniper. This is the concept that was eventually turned in to the movie Enemy at the Gates [imdb.com].

A lot of the book focuses on the tactics of the Russian sniper. In that era, snipers took hours and hours to set up a kill. And you would think that it would be boring to follow someone who spends hour after hour waiting for their prey to make a mistake. But it's not. It is actually really exciting the way the battles and individual hunts are portrayed.

This is a book that I am considering buying, because I enjoyed it so much that I will definitely want to read it again.

Detroit-Superior Bridge

Over the long weekend, Heimlich and I took a tour of the Detroit-Superior Bridge (otherwise known as the Veteran's Memorial Bridge) in Cleveland.










More pictures on Flickr [flickr.com].