SteveCook.net

I have to admit that despite all the fanboys and haters alike, I really like the iPad. I think it will replace my netbook shortly…. And definitely if I travel and don’t need to do any real heavy duty programming.

The parts I like are the usual: the interface, the speed, the multimedia, the form factor, and the stuff that everybody else loves too… And even the landscape keyboard is exceptional too!

Despite loving it, there are a few things that bother me:
1: No flash support. Seriously, Steve Jobs must be some sort of sadochist to take pleasure in torturing people by not allowing the most common plugin on the ‘net. Really Mr. Jobs??!?… Really?!?…

2: Wireless synching with iTunes. It’s a mobile device… Let me sync wirelessly too please…

3: No camera/webcam

4: Multitasking..?

5: HDMI support would be nice for watching the HD movies I bought…

6: I should put this as the second complaint, because it’s the easiest to fix and a big omission… Why can’t I print wirelessly?

A few weeks ago I was looking around Amazon.com at various books and went into a “classics” list and saw “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau.  After thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided I should buy it and read it – for two reasons. First, I’ve never read it, and second, I thought I probably should.

After reading the first chapter it occurred to me that this is one of the first “blogs” (forgetting the fact that the “b” is short for “web”) – it’s written just like today’s blogs – if not longer and descriptive.  It’s basically HDT’s public journal of a couple years spent on a pond outside Concord.

And like a blog, it’s got some really interesting chapters (aka posts) as well as some really uninteresting chapters.  I must confess that I’ve skipped some parts that were long winded and boring (IMHO), but found other sections extremely interesting and so read them a few times repeatedly to get all the nuances.

So, if you’re thinking it might be interesting to read a 150 year old blog, pick up Walden.  I enjoyed (most of) it.

Janet and I just returned from a new few days in Las Vegas. Janet was there (along with her sister, Diane) to see U2 at the Sam Boyd Stadium, while I was there to enjoy Vegas (you know, poker and more stuff from the Ferrari Store in the Wynn).  You may ask why I didn’t go see U2, and the answer is that I’d rather not give $250 to commie socialists (e.g. Hey Bono – shut up and sing, monkey boy!)

Anyway, it turns out that Sam Boyd Stadium is a good 10 miles off the strip, through city streets. The net result of that is that during rush hour it takes a good hour to get there from the strip. It also means taxis do NOT want to go out there – no fare for half the trip!  Because of some rules (laws?) they have to take you where you ask – but that doesn’t mean they’ll come back to pick you up… 

So, as you can imagine, a LOT (as in THOUSANDS) of people took taxis out to the concert. As you can also imagine, after the concert there were very few cabs waiting.  Janet and Diane got out of the concert and said the taxi line was LITERALLY a mile long – and by “literally”, I mean that it actually was at least a mile long.  Janet said taxis were coming up about one every 5 or 10 minutes.  Which leads to a LOT of angry and anxious people really wanting to get back to the strip, and no one to take them.

Since I didn’t go to the concert, they called me and said they started walking toward the strip (which you could see way in the distance) with a few thousand of their closest new concert friends.  They got to a gas station and then said to come pick them up.  The plan was for me to get a taxi on the strip, then drive out and get them and come back.  Not a huge deal (just a $60 cab ride since it was round trip). I found a taxi willing (and happy since it was a round trip) to go out there and was on my way.

Janet mentioned that we should be careful – people in the “U2 Concert Refugee Mob” were attacking cabs trying desperately to get back to the strip.  She said they were like zombies and taxis were brains.  I laughed.  I told the cab driver and he laughed.

As we approached the gas station, we saw more and more refugees/zombies. They yelled as we passed, and when we went by, they cursed at us (seriously!). As we slowed to turn into the parking lot, the crowds around the street started toward us so the cabbie locked the doors, turned on the inside dome light, and I lowered my window a little bit so they could see the cab was occupied.  None of this mattered to the zombies – they rushed the cab like it was brain matter. 

We spotted Janet and Diane near the middle of the parking lot and slowed to let them in.  As they were trying to get in, a zombie asked Janet, “Is this your cab? (i.e. living human brains)”.  She said yes as they jumped in as quickly as possible.  At the same time, a woman on my side of the taxi was screaming into the window “Are you going to the strip!? Are you going to the strip!?!? ARE YOU GOING TO THE SRTIP!!!”  (* note, there is no question mark on her last sentence, because I’m pretty sure she didn’t want an answer – she just wanted me to unlock the door so she could eat my brains.)  We unlocked the doors and Janet and Diane were able to jump in and lock the doors behind them. Immediately after we locked the doors, on Janet’s side, another guy/zombie was trying to open Janet’s door, and then the driver’s door.  The driver was yelling “Sorry! This cab is full!”.

We locked the doors when the girls were in, and we headed for the exit. As we stopped to merge with traffic, even more zombies approached the cab yelling “Send More Brains!”  (or maybe it was “Taxis”, but it could have been either).  We took off and headed for the strip – feeling a little sorry for all those hungry zombies stumbling through the night looking for brains the strip.

The lesson I take away from this adventure is two-fold. First, never see U2. Second, when there are hundreds of people wanting your cab, you should be well armed and ready - because they come at you fast and non-stop!  They’re willing to kill for your brains cab.

Who:  Steve Jenkins, Harlyn Jenkins, Me
When: summer 2001
Where: Seattle, Washington. SteveJ’s home office. Locked in.
What:  CheatCodes.com re-opening development and redesign HACK session for 5 days straight.

You know, your garden variety pre-release testing and final touches for your major website; entailing 10-15 hours at a time of working to make the site live.

When we all arrived, we set up our computers and made a “supply run” to the local supermarket. All of us being 20-something’s, our cart was filled with a LOT of the following:

• Energy drinks
• Mountain Dew (a LOT of it)
• Chips (sweet maui onion, Cheetos, Tostitos, sea salt & vinegar, etc.)
• Beef Jerky
• More Mountain Dew
• Cookies (sugar coated animal crackers, nutter butter, oreos, etc.)
• More Mountain Dew
• More chips (esp. Sweet Maui Onion.. Mmmmm)
• More Mountain Dew
• Chocolate candy bars (many assorted)
• More Cookies
• Misc. stuff I don’t remember, but we filled a full grocery cart with sugar and trans-fat.
• Oh, and did I say Mountain Dew?

And over the course of the week, we went through all of it – just the three of us. And if I remember right, we went back to get more Dew and sugar-coated-animal-crackers (man, those things are good).  We finished the site, opened, and the rest is history.  We had no problems working until 5 in the morning, getting up at 9 and continuing right where we left off.  I fell asleep a couple times on the floor of the office and got up and continued working. We all did.

Day 2 - CheatCodes 2001 Redesign.

Fast forward 8 years.  October 2009.

SteveJ and I plan 4 days of solid work (I bought Harlyn out of his shares last year). We set everything up in his office and head to the grocery store.  Our cart consisted of:

• 2 cans of sugar free Red Bull. (yeah, two).
• 1 can of Whoop Ass (energy drink)
• A variety of low calorie drinks and flavored water (SJ proclaimed that the Smart Water “Fuji Apple” was “AWESOME”)
• A small bag (single serving) of Sweet Maui Onion chips
• Medium bag of baked organic crackers (low fat)

We looked down at the cart and realized how sad things have become…. we were content with our purchase… yikes…

We did work a lot. And we even stayed up until 4am one evening, but the next day we were really tired and had to take a mid-day break (we watched “Old School” in SJ’s theater room).  We decided that, for productivity’s sake, we stop working at midnight or 1 next time.

What a couple of wimps we’ve become.

Although, Janet said I should title this post, “What happens when geeks get old, and their loving/caring wives don’t want them to blimp-out or get high-cholesterol.”

In the magazines/school-supplies/cleaning-supplies aisle of Albertson’s down the block, they have a rack of paper-back books.  Over the past couple years, they consistently have a David Sedaris book.  I know this because I remember seeing “Me Talk Pretty One Day” for months – and laughing every time I saw it.  But I never bought it.  I also saw “Naked” and “When Engulfed in Flames” – and I never bought those either.

When Uncle Alan would visit us here in Albuquerque, he’d occasionally ask (okay I think twice in 5 visits, but  he did ask) if I read any David Sedaris.  My response was the same both times he asked: “Oh yeah – I’ve seen those books – but no, I haven’t read any.”

A few weeks ago I was at a Barnes and Noble and they had a sale (buy 1 get on at half price) and I picked up a book that I wanted, and searched for one that I’d get for half price.  BOOM – When Engulfed In Flames.  I started reading it the next day, and laughed my (large) butt off.  He’s really funny – in a sometimes subtle, sometimes blunt way.  He uses words to give a very funny picture of situations and events.

I finally picked up “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and read it quickly as well – and I laughed more than I did reading WEIF.

The next time I see a David Sedaris book at the grocery store – I’ll pick it up

Over the past couple weeks I was recommended a couple of shows, and I finally decided to check them out.  I had actually never heard of either one (or more likely, I’d seen their ads multiple times, but was reading or working or just not paying attention), so I never even thought of watching/tivo-ing them.  Thanks to NetFlix (and a couple other online “methods”), I was able to see the first couple seasons of each, and they were very entertaining.

The first show, Leverage, with Timothy Hutton, is a “Con-Artists go Good” show (ala A-Team), that is a LOT like the U.K. show “Hustle”. I enjoyed Hustle, but I think the back story for the characters in Leverage is better, and the shows stick together a bit more.  I enjoyed both seasons.

The second show is Sons of Anarchy.  How in the WORLD did I miss the first season of this show?!  It’s like a Sopranos meets Hell’s Angels.  It’s an amazing show – very well written and very well acted – on par with Breakin’ Bad – I don’t know why they don’t have any Emmy nominations.    If you liked The Sopranos, you’ll really enjoy Sons of Anarchy as well.  The second season started a few weeks ago, and it’s getting very intense.

On a side note, my half-day on the set of Breaking Bad went swimmingly. As an “Extra w/ car”, my job was pretty simple – walk down the street a bunch of times – sometimes talking (without making any noise), and sometimes alone.  And definitely not taking notice of the two DEA agents discussing something in a Jeep.  So, on episode 3 of season 3, keep an eye out for a dude in khakis and a light blue shirt walking with a back-pack and talking (but not).  You may even be able to see the back of the 355 in the distance.

The crew of Breaking Bad – totally awesome.  The set I was on only had a couple of the famous actors (Just Hank and Gomez pretty much) and the rest of the crew, but it was very well organized.  The AD (that’s movie speak for an assistant director) in charge of “herding the extras” was really nice and helped us a lot. She mentioned that I’d be surprised at how many people can’t walk and NOT look at the camera and actors. She also answered a lot of questions and was really nice throughout the morning.  If the casting company calls for more extras – I’m there.  Janet was a bit sad that she didn’t get called, but they’ve got more episodes to shoot, so hopefully she’ll get the chance.   Oh, and I made a whopping $89 bucks!  BOOYAH! PURE PROFIT!

Could someone explain to me why I’m obsessed with paper notebooks and pens?

I’ve moved just about everything I work on and play on to an online equivalent. For my personal todo list I use rememberthemilk.com and for my work related tasks I use such things as mantis, various wikis, Outlook folders/Calendar, and  my iPhone notepad and voice recorder, just to name a few..

I used paper notebooks for years. Starting with the cool brown Physics laboratory/Engineering computation notebooks, and then on to smaller hardcover blueline notebooks and weatherproof mini-notebooks (which I still use at the gym by taping my ID card to the front cover so I don’t forget it).  I also bought a variety of 3×5 cards for notes, with monogram from Levenger. But I go for weeks and months without ever using any of them.  I’ve had the same notebook for all my CheatCodes work since we opened in 2001 – and It’s not even close to half filled. I put reference items in my wikis, since they’re availble from “anywhere.”  RememberTheMilk keeps my todos organized and available at all times (with a great iphone app).

So, why on Earth do I keep buying various paper methods?  I can’t go through a store without checking the “notebook” aisle.

My latest is buying Moleskine notebooks of various sizes.  I have several right here in front of me, and I rarely write in them – and the reason – they’re too nice and I don’t want to “spoil” them.  Seriously.  The paper is such great quality I really don’t want to mess them up! Plus, I keep all my notes online ANYWAY.

What kind of idiot pays $19.95 for 192 pages of ruled 7.5×10″ paper and then refuses to write in it?  Me, that’s who…

Wow, it’s been a while since I updated my blog…  I guess it would matter if anybody read it heheh.

I heard a really funny quote about Wall Street today… It goes something like this:

On Wall Street there are two different sides of the street.  The buy side, and the sell side. And it’s really easy to understand the difference. If you’re on the sell side, you have to slam down the phone before you can say F#!@ You!  If you’re on the buy side, you can say F#!@ You before you slam down the phone.

On a recent trip up to Seattle (for SJ’s Wedding Reception) I took along “Little Brother” by Cory Doctorow. It’s a YA near future novel about a young hacker out to change the world from an oppressive government agency that’s gone on a rampage.

Politically, I try not to classify myself as anything – I have my own opinions and beliefs so I don’t stick with just a single party. If anything I’d be an objectivist libertarian with republican tendencies (well old-republican fiscal leanings). I’m even liberal on a few select topics, but don’t tell anyone. Basically, I’m as from from being a hippie as you could imagine.

The book does delve into the hippie/yippie sub-culture a bit – and even makes it sound great and wonderful. There’s also some demonstrations, discussions, political dissidents, etc.

You’d most likely assume I didn’t like the book - but you’d be completely wrong. It was enjoyable and a quick read. It is classified as “young adult”, so it’s not overly complex, and I would probably recommend it to any 14-18 year-olds that are interested in hacking and/or freedom.  I’d also recommend it to anybody else too – it’s an enjoyable book that makes you think.

Seriously, I’m pretty sure they are morons.  Again they sent my package to “delivered” land, but it’s nowhere in sight.

It’s happened several times in the past few months, with a couple boxes turning up at a neighbors house (with an address NOTHING like mine – it was a couple streets over), but a few times the box is just gone.  I called their customer support and they said they’ll send the driver out to the house he delivered it too. I’m not holding my breath, since last time the driver said it WAS my house – and the next day the neighbor brought my package that had been left at his door… Niiiiice.

My house is not hidden or complicated to find – Fedex has never had an issue finding it – ever.

If you can avoid using UPS, use ANYTHING else… cuz they still suck.

For being such a geek, it took me a “very long” time to upgrade to HD.  A few years ago, all my friends had new DLP 720 TV’s, but they were limited in the channels as well as the additional equipment to make use of their then-new technology.

It was a conscious choice I made to wait until the TV could:

1. Easily (without additional hardware) get broadcast reception 
2. Connect to satellite (DirecTV)
3. Be bright enough for our living room (it has 2 floors of big windows so it’s bright during the day) 
4. Be “safe” to use with the XBox 360/Wii/PS3

Near the end of last year, it was getting close enough that I bit the bullet and bought a very nice and large LCD tv with plenty of HDMI, composite, RCA, and DVI inputs. I’m glad I waited, as the TV has everything I need.

And, after upgrade DirecTV to their HD DVR, I have to say that 1080 ROCKS!  Although not everything is transmitted in 1080, whenever it is, it looks amazing.  I watched the first Formula 1 race, and it is SOOOO much better.

The past couple days we’ve been watching the Olympics on the various NBC channels (Universal HD, etc.) and the picture is simply awesome. It makes a huge difference, not only in the clarity and crispness of the picture, but also the additional text “overlays” that have informaiton – due to the better resolution, more useful info can be displayed.

If you don’t have an HD set yet, I would have to say that now is the time – bite the bullet and do it (even you SJ!)

Janet was laughing at me…

I found out today that Star Trek: The Experience is closing! I really am sad to see it go – I’ve been on it at least 4 times that I specifically remember, and probably a couple other times just to go with somebody else. So, Janet thought it was funny that I was actually sad to see it closed. Mean Janet! *heehee*

Fond memories of CES and Comdex always included stopping at the ST:E ride, then down to Quark’s bar for a nice Warp Core Breach.  Hanging out with Kevin, Larry, and Kevin’s friend from work – me and Kevin splitting a WCB.

So, I’m dragging Janet to the ride before it closes – we’ll stop by later this month when we go to see Craig Ferguson live at the MGM Grand. I’ll be sure to take as many pictures as possible.

So, last week HJ asked about any software to help track a weight loss competition (you know, like the Biggest Loser on NBC). He looked and couldn’t find a free one, then I looked around and couldn’t find a free one. There’s a couple out there that “look” free, but once you try to do anything (like actually have competitors in a challenge), they want to charge you.

So, I had an old diet domain that I bought a couple years ago called TrackDiet.com and though hmmm… this might be fun, so late last week and this weekend I finished the beta version of TrackDiet.com Weight Loss Challenges.  It’s just the basics for now (with some ajaxy jquery goodness thrown in), but I’ll add more features as more people sign up.  Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think.

About a month ago I was looking for a new book to read and found “The Lost Fleet: Dauntless” (Jack Campbell) from a few reviews on Amazon and Audible. I started with the audio book, and enjoyed the story quite a bit. It’s basically a story of a soldier that has been in hibernation/suspended-animation sleep for 100 years.  He was the commander of a ship that was destroyed in a sneak attack from the “syndicate” worlds – that starts a war that’s still going on after he wakes up.

It examines what can happen to a society (and the military) after 100 years and multiple generations of war have decimated both sides. It does take things to the extremes a little bit beyond what I’d think would be likely – I don’t think military tactics would be completely gone…  But aside from that, it’s entertaining and an enjoyable read. I’ve read the first three books (of the series of 6), and the final three have yet to be written.  They’re all enjoyable and so far the story arc includes some interesting thoughts as to the reason for the war and what’s causing it to last so long.

The only thing I didn’t really enjoy was the amount of repetitious descriptions of time-delays. The first book constant reminds you of how long it takes to communicate at great distances. I think most readers “get it” after the second, if not the first, explanation – but the first book brings it up repeatedly. It’s less in the second book, and even less in the third, which is good, because it seriously would have put me off if it continued.

If you enjoy sci-fi, and space battles in particular, I’d recommend the series, either on Audible or paperback.

I also finally read Ender’s Shadow, and it was very, very good.  If you’ve read Ender’s Game and then were not impressed with Xenocide, I’d still recommend Ender’s Shadow. It’s great.