L.A.B. Unleashed

I was talking to a colleague the other day about all the Instant Messaging clients we use and how it is such a pain to have all kinds of different programs running, getting pinged from every which way, windows popping up everywhere!  Kevin mentioned the new GAIM client has the ability to include Google Talk (good directions here) and AOL, so I downloaded it to take a look.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the new GAIM also includes Sametime as one of its account options.  I have 4 different accounts I can be logged into – 2 Sametime, 1 AOL, 1 google – and I was able to consolidate all my accounts into the 1 GAIM client. 

After feeling pretty good about all that, I decided to keep up the momentum and find a way to use Google Talk on my new Pocket PC.  I had previously downloaded a trial version of IMPlus, but found that it was not compatable with Google Talk – plus you had to pay for it after 7 days!  I found another option called imov Messanger which does AOL and Google!  Good directions here on how to set it all up.  The UI is not impressive, and there are not enough preferences offered ("only show people online" is an obvious one missing), but it works!  And … IT’S FREE … so I really can’t complain too much.

All that being said, I’m not sure that I will take advantage of the consolidated client, because each standalone client (especially Google and Sametime) have their own unique features that are not available in a combined client.  For Google I think of the VoIP calling mechanism.  For Sametime I think of Web Conferencing capabilities.  The GAIM client pretty much implements the GCD ("greatest common denominator" for the math geeks) of all these clients, and there is much to gain in keeping them separate and getting the most out of each one.  It looks like the new Sametime 7.5 will also be providing access to multiple IM accounts, and I fully expect that the GCD of this client will reach far above what GAIM is capable of right now.  At the very least you will have all of the Sametime features which, in comparison to GAIM and even Google, are quite rich.

This morning I followed the usual routine – wake up, shower, take Kobe out.  This morning Kobe strayed from his usual routine of peeing in the long grass on the corner of the other building, then walking down to the end of that other building to "finish up" his work.  Instead this morning, he ran around the corner of the building and headed straight for some bushes.  The very same bushes where the bone burying incident occurred almost 2 month ago!  Sure enough, he popped out of the bushes, bone in mouth, happy as a pig in a pile of mud.  He decided to skip the entire morning routine and sprinted back to the house, where he proceeded to take that old bone down in a matter of minutes.  Notice it’s blackened color ….

He was able to devour the bone at such a high speed I’m sure because the old bone was 1/2 decayed, entirely black, and rotting!  I can’t believe I let him eat it.  But what’s gross to me, is obviously a delicacy in the dog world. 

Kobe’s recipe for blackened raw hide bone:
1) take 1 new raw hide bone (a 6 inch bone works well)
2) bury it under a bush for 8 weeks (or until it reaches desired rottenness, larger bones may take longer.  Also, best to bury it during a massive rain storm or monsoon).
3) dig it up and enjoy!

I have welcomed a new toy into my repertoire.  A Pocket PC device!  One of the perks of having a CIO for a husband … the latest technological toys are bountiful.  The device is one of those XV6700 phones with a keyboard that slides out.  It’s pretty neat.  The keyboard is very nice, and the display quickly changes from vertical to horizontal when you are using it.  I haven’t used a handheld device in years.  Back in college I tinkered with the Palm OS, and enjoyed programming the new Handspring Kevin had bought me for Valentine’s Day.  There is nothing that says "I love you" more than a 1 pound, handheld computer, with a 4 meg hard drive!  I am being completely serious … I appreciate a good geek gift every now and then.  And 4 meg, 7 years ago went a long way on a handheld!  He even got me the matching leather carrying case with my initials (at that time LAS) embossed on the front, for an added touch of thoughtfulness.  Programming on the Palm OS was a lot of fun because it was instant gratification.  You could bang out a simple database program in no time at all, and using an emulator it was easy to create UI and special icons.

In any case, much has changed since I was using and programming on the Palm OS 4.0!  The latest version is over 6.0 I believe.  Everything is in color for one!  I find Windows Mobile impressive … but painfully slow at times.  Not sure what the Palm is like these days.  Maybe it’s just a product of more programs being run on a disproportionately larger system.  I do love the fact that I can sync the device via bluetooth or USB.  No more bulky cradles lying around your desktop.

Some of my favorite old programs to run on the Handspring were AvantGo and Vindigo.  I downloaded both and found that AvantGo has continued to be changed and updated, but I was not so impressed with Vindigo.  Vindigo was great because at the edge of your stylus you had access to movie times, restaurants, shopping, maps, and anything else you would need in a specific city.  I downloaded it, but could not get it installed properly.  I found out by reading some Google groups that there are compatibility issues between ActiveSync 3.7.1 and Vindigo 2.0.  During the initial sync of Vindigo I got errors of "1 unresolved item".  Doesn’t tell you what that unresolved item is, doesn’t say what you can do about it, just that something went wrong.  Gotta love that!  The install process also put two copies of Vindigo on my handheld "Vindigo" and "Vindigo(1)".  Neither worked.  I can’t believe they are charging monthly fees for that!

I am continually impressed with Google though.  They have an entire mobile division and Gmail works great!  Also nice is the Google personalized homepage.  Mobile Google Maps looks like a neat program, and it is available on many devices, just not mine … yet!

Despite all of that, my first day using my new Pocket PC leaves me with one conclusion.  They should definitely rename it to the Fanny Pack PC.  I hear fanny packs are coming back and if Microsoft was smart they’d jump on that marketing bandwagon.

I know I said I had had my fill of rice and beans, but I got a strange, very strong craving today.  I think my body is probably going through withdrawal (screaming I NEED RICE AND BEANS), so I had to dig out my Nana’s old recipe for Arroz con Pollo.  It had never been documented until recently.  You can download it here, or check it out in the Junior League of Boston’s cookbook due out this Fall.  Yum!

Two hours slaving over a hot stove will yield 6 servings of the above picture.  Believe me, 2 hours is SO worth it! 

Luckily, I can fulfill my other leftover vacation craving much faster, by hitting that bottle of Bacardi I have tucked away in the cabinet.

I’m back, and what an amazing week I had!  Puerto Rico was absolutely beautiful.  The people were friendly, the food was great, and there is so much to see there!  I have to say, I think I’ve had my fill of rice & beans for the next few weeks.  Every lunch and dinner was served with Arroz con Habichuelas!  So tasty, but SO filling!  I’ve got a little album up on Shutterfly.  I usually use Flickr, but because Kevin is the King of Technology in the house, we put ALL 170 photos on his laptop and uploaded them to Flickr for family to see.  I took a subset of those, just 28 photos, and made a little public album with Shutterfly.

For me, the highlight of the trip was definitely visiting Cayey – the town were my Dad was born.  He lived in this house with his brother, sister, two parents, and Grandmother.  He is always telling us hilarious stories about smoking out tarantulas, sneaking away from school mid-day, and other ways he used to cause trouble.  So, it is nice to finally know what the backdrop of these stories looked like.  He and his sister are pictured below:

Cayey was such a beautiful, lush,  mountain town.  It was much cooler there, and misty on the day we visited.  Actually, it started out as a refreshing mist, but quickly turned into a heavy downpour, leaving me to regret my choice in wearing white shorts.

The signature Spanish plaza in the center of town was gorgeous and a perfect opportunity to get some shots of the entire family:

 Apparently we missed some popular market place in Cayey where you can buy traditional puertorican roasted pig.  Luckily, my cousin had already bought 2 pounds of it off the back of a pick-up truck earlier in the week, so we still got our little taste of heaven.  I know I know … it sounds like it would make you sick, but it was yummy!  I need to find out where I can buy the Cuban bread that goes so well with it. The loaf of bread is so soft and luscious in the middle, it just melts in your mouth.

Other highlights included a trip to Arecibo to see the largest Radio Telescope in the world!  Also a shopping trip to Old San Juan was a nice way to wrap up the week.  All and all, it was a trip of a life time.  What other time will all 11 of us be able to travel to Puerto Rico together?  And, even if we did, we could never recreate this same experience.  It was one of those experiences that will always be unique and the most memorable, because there were no preconceptions or expectations.  It was one of my favorite trips ever.

It never fails.  The last day before you go on vacation is always the craziest.  Tying up all those loose ends at work is one thing, but with all the laundry, and packing, and scheduling of kobe-sitters, things can get out of control.  I think I have managed to cross everything off of my to-do list, although about midday I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it.  For every one item I accomplished, I thought of 4 other things I needed to add to the list.  I moved at a frantic pace all afternoon, and the day ended with me trying to record an away message to my work voice mail.  Because I was so frazzled, I blanked on my VM password.  I recently had to change my password, and being the clever person that I am thought – hey, I’ll make my password into a pattern of numbers on the keypad.  Too bad I can’t figure out what that brilliant pattern I made a week ago was.  After punching in squares and flowers and stars, I ended up locking myself out of my account entirely.  The recorded voice tells me that my voice mail box has been "protected" and that I should contact a system administrator.  Protected?!  Let’s be honest … it was LOCKED DOWN.  God forbid my VM be infiltrated by some malicious person … LIKE ME.  So, when I return in 9 days, to that annoying red light obnoxiously blinking at me, I will first call my system administrator, so that I can actually listen to my messages.  Now THAT is something to look forward to!

Things with Kobe are in order, and that is what is important.  He’s got sitters and walkers and friends moving in to live with his stinky ass for the whole week!  I’ve written about 15 different notes and placed them strategically around the house.  One by the food dish, one by the treat dish, another above a wicker basket states:  "Kobe’s smash bags in basket below.  Hint: if you take him around the corner to the other people’s building, you don’t have to pick up his poo."  Don’t worry, I’m not being malicious, it’s a vacant building and has become the community potty site.  Important information to share with the sitters, of course!

Buenos noches mis amigos, hasta la semana próxima!

My phone bills at Sweet Briar were always outrageous.  Every time your phone bill reached $100, your phone was immediately shut off until you went to the basement of the Chapel to pay the bill.  The basement of the Chapel was a scary place – cold, dark, quiet, and the air was quite stale – pure punishment to even walk down there, let alone write that $100 check.  Unfortunately, I felt punished a lot because my phone was shut off on a weekly basis, mostly due to the calls back home to Kevin.  Back in "that day" the only thing VOIP stood for was Virus Over IP, and there was a lot of that going around!

In a previous post I talked about Google Reader which I use everyday and even have it integrated into my blog.  I also mentioned at that point, that I did not really like the beta Google Talk.  Since then, man have they turned it up a notch.  Probably not because of my blog posting!   In any case, this new Google Talk is amazing!  So much better than AOL.  For friends and family that want to avoid those expensive phone bills, they can simply call each other with a VOIP connection between computers!  The sound is crystal clear. 

My friend Beth and I tested it out Monday night after we went wine tasting … bad idea.  Once we got back home, we both logged on.  The conversation was fairly one-sided, primarily because she did not have a microphone, so she could hear me, but I could not hear her.  That, of course, did not stop me from having a 10 minute conversation with her typing and me YELLING into the computer.  You could not pay me to post that conversation.  Good times. 

I’m excited for the new Sametime 7.5 as well.  I know they are integrating some pretty neat VOIP features and other web conferencing stuff that is going to make it a must in the workplace.

I wonder how much harder it would have been if we were posed with this riddle.  Check out how the addition of fractions was taught during the Renaissance, from a mathematical text book published in 1600:

Addition of fractions and likewise subtraction
Requireth that first they all have like bases
Which by reduction is brought to perfection
And being once done as ought in like cases,
Then add or subtract their tops and no more
Subscribing the base made common before.

The Art of Vulgar Arithmetic, both in Integers and Fractions by Thomas Hylles

I noticed when scootering home from work today, that subconsciously I pick a very calculated route to ride.  When driving in a car, I always pick the shortest route to travel between two points.  When I am in the office walking from one part of the building to another, I again always think about the most efficient route.  In contrast, when I am on the scooter, I feel a little more vulnerable, and I realized that I am factoring in the following criteria when driving my route:

• Least amount of traffic, and I like to travel at odd times – not rush hours, not peak day time hours.
• Safer parts of town – also usually means nicer streets, less potholes, and of course less risk of some mean person chucking a rock at my head.
• Too many intersections, mean more opportunity for people to yell things at you.
• Avoid driving by teenage hangouts such as Main Street Charlestown by Jonnie’s Foodmaster, any schools, the boys and girls club, etc.  Teenagers like to heckle funny green scooters.  Minimizing the heckling factor is extremely important in maximizing the enjoyment factor.

Taking all of that into consideration, this is the route I tend to take.  The dark blue depicts the subtle changes I make coming home to avoid intersections and follow one way streets.

Amazing that following this route, last summer and a few days this summer, I’ve already put almost 200 miles on it!  That makes sense though, because I’ve filled it up at the pump twice now … yep, that’s 2 whole gallons of gas! 

Inspired by one of my perusals last week, I’ve started a new book, "The Golden Ratio – The story of phi, the world’s most astonishing number".  So far, chapter 1 has proven that  this is going to be an amazing read!  I’m sure it is going to touch on all the crazy ways the never ending, never repeating number, phi (~ 1.6180339887….) shows up everywhere – not only in nature, but also in man made objects (paintings and architecture).  I can’t wait to keep reading to find out all the details!  A couple of interesting points have already struck me in the first chapter:

1.  A quote by an American architect, engineer, and mathematician, Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983):

When I am working on a problem, I never think about the beauty.  But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

I can really relate to this in my programming work.  Many times, I find myself wanting to design an algorithm for a feature, or create a solution to fix a bug, and I want to get it done fast.  Often, time constraints and unrealistic schedules force me in that direction.  When I am finished with my implementation, if it feels ugly, hacked together, or is simply missing that element of beauty, I know I could have done better. 

2.  The end of chapter 1 poses a truly interesting question:

What is the reason that mathematics and numerical constants like the Golden Ratio play such a central role in topics ranging fundamental theories of the universe to the stock market?  Does mathematics exist even independently of the humans who have discovered/invented it and its principles?

A number that is integrated into the structure of the universe AND shows up in man made objects??  Fascinating!!!  Questions begin racing through my head: Did Euclid really invent geometry?  Where the axioms that define multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction, really man-made?  Did the ancient Greeks really invent the number pi?  Or where these mathematical constants and principles always part of our world and were not invented, but were instead discovered?  It almost seems offensive to think about.  To answer these questions, I guess you would have to ask if  things exist even though we can not prove they are there, even though they have not been discovered?  We can hypothesize that there is a finite set of mathematical principles in our world.  That all the math already exists, and there is a finite number of math that can be discovered.  Interesting stuff to contemplate, but kind of disheartening as well.  If that were the case, I suppose we, as human beings would not be as genius – and what kind of hope does that leave us with?  I believe the author will attempt to address these theories, while telling the story of phi (pronounced fee), so I will be interested to see how this plays out.