I admit it, I am a technology junkie. So when my folks and a few other family members asked me what I would like for a graduation gift, I had a list of things with little blinky lights. At the top of the list is a strange little gadget that is not a laptop, a tablet or a pda, but in my mind a combination of all of the features I like about each of them. I like laptops for their size, relative to desktop computers. I use them regularly at work. In fact in the winter I am often accused of heating my office with the three older models I use for testing. They have come a long way from the "portable, but only with a luggage cart" models I remember my dad bringing home once in a while. The problem is they still have a long way to go. I was really excited about the tablets when they were announced. I can communicate more with a quick picture drawn on my steno pad than I can in a long email, so the idea of being able to combine drawing and a computer in a portable device was really appealling to me. The only problem was most of the models available are laptops with a tablet screen that could flip around in an effort to get folk used to the idea. In the end I think those models that try to combine tablets and laptops are just adding a layer of hardware to an outdated platform. PDAs are neat but unless you have a phone contract and an internet connection they are not terribly useful. So what is a poor boy to do?
The new toy at the top of my list is the latest version of Samsungs Q1. This is an example of a UMPC, Ultra Mobile Personal Computer. It is smaller than a tablet or a laptop but bigger than a PDA. It runs Windows Vista and any of the basic software I need in that world. I can connect it to the network via wireless 802.11b/g or via wired ethernet port. It even has bluetooth but since I have nothing else using bluetooth, I keep it disabled. I can use a pen or fingers or a usb keyboard/mouse as input devices. It is the pen I really enjoy. I can finally draw on a computer!
That said, I am still looking for a good sketch program. Something that lets me draw as if I was holding a pencil or pen or charcoal would be great. So far the application that makes it work is Microsofts Onenote. I think they got a good idea with this program. Execution of the idea is in traditional MS manner, take that as you will. What I like about it is it lets me write on the computer like it is paper, and then I can press a button and it attempts to convert it into text. If I am somewhat careful, it works. I can also just leave it as my handwriting. The software can do a lot more but that is what I like about it. I find its "notebook" analogy is a powerful concept. Allowing you to cut and paste from the different pieces of the office suite into this application, as well as pictures, links to web pages and your own handwritten notes and diagrams is pretty useful. But this is not meant to be an advertisement for ms, so on with other thoughs about the Q1.
I do not currently use a keyboard with it, as I am trying to really see what my limits are with just the pen and onscreen keyboard. As one would expect, entering data into it is fairly tedious. I am not writing this on it but only my rickety old desktop up in my office. I do however sit downstairs and surf the web on the Q1. It is perfect for that task. I have taken notes on it during a conference call at work. I even used it when playing DnD with my cousins. I was the DM and I created character sheets on it it and ran the entire adventure from the pdf file as viewed on its fairly small screen. It has nice speakers and built in microphones, so I also set it up to use Skype but I have not had a chance to test it yet. I have streamed internet radio through it over a wireless connection quite nicely.
The Q1, and UMPCs in general, are at the top of my list because I think they are the direction computing is going. This is going to ramble for a bit, even more than I tend to. Computing is in my mind not just a matter of making things smaller but of making them useful. It takes more time and money to have to code and test and everything else for lots of different computing environments. The folk that make their living at this sort of thing have known this for a while. Sorting out how to have the same operating system, or run time environment or whatever, on something that fits in your pocket as what you use at home or work is just a technical hurdle at this point. We already have computer motherboards the size of business cards that can run the same operating systems used on desktops. The larger hurdle is getting folk to use new or different means of interacting with these computers. Voice or pens or fingers or waving of your arms or your gps coordinates are just some of the ways being considered and experimented with. Likely they will all be used in various ways we can not even imagine now. We are already seeing a lot of them in use. The controller for the Wii is a great example. (ok, the Wii was also fairly high on my list as well but go figure.) Even our camera knows which way it is being held and adjusts the picture on its screen so it is always "up" relative to you. This Q1 is one of the steps being taken away from the desktop world that has defined computer use for the last thirty years and towards something new and interesting, at least for me. It is going towards where my imagination took me when I was a kids, seeing my very first computer and reading way too much science fiction.
So, now that I am seeing things that were only imagined thirty years ago, and I have worked in the industry for the last ten, I am curious where they will be when my son is old enough to need a computer of his own. Will it be more like the UMPC model or something else? What will he need to use it for? I fully expect to get him some sort of entertainment device that is built on top of a computer, but that is more so I can play with it. I wonder what he will do his homework on and how his schools will use computers to teach him and how I can make sure they do it right so he has a chance of understanding how the things are actually working. I guess that is what it comes down to, I want him to understand it and be able to work with the technology like the tool it is and not to be afraid or in awe of it. At least not more than anyone should be of any powerful tool. A healthy respect of its capabilities and a working knowledge of it limits can take one far I feel. Or something like that.
*smiles*
20070714
20070621
lunch time update
Have I mentioned that summer is the busiest time of the year at work? No students on campus lets us work on the various services/servers we maintain. Then throw in to the mix the fact our vacation count resets on July 1st so there is an annual scramble to use up the last of the vacation days as there is no rollover or similar options. Lots to do and random staff members are unavailable for weeks at a time. Definitely keeps things interesting.
The garden at home is moving along. The 3 sisters experiment is only at 66% as the beans have not been working out for me. The corn and squash are going just fine. The beans planted when the squash were planted never came up. Waited for two weeks, saw nothing, went back, read the packages, soaked the seeds overnight and tried again. I think a grand total of three sprouted (of at least 20 planted). Now I am concerned the three will not survive as they are shaded by the squash leaves. In other parts of the garden, the tomatoes are doing well. The five store bought plants are coming along, as well as the two volunteers transplanted from the mulch pile. Two of the store bought plants lost their main trunk and are no longer growing up. Otherwise they are healthy. The spinach and lettuce are starting to look like they intend to actually grow but, as with the pole beans, not nearly the number seeded are coming up. I think I need to purge the bag of seeds I have accumulated over the last two years. The various bush beans are growing. Last years sage plant became a bush, bloomed and had to be dramatically cut back before it took over.
And everything I do in my little vegetable garden pales in comparison to the flower garden my wife has done this year. Four trees have been planted. Two different dogwoods, a japanese maple and a weeping corkscrew thing whose name I am blanking on. Add to the list the tree Chinese red wood we got last year and I think have finally broken even with the number of trees we have removed or lost since we moved in 5 years ago. There are flowers and shrubs in three different beds in the front yard, and in the back there are two starter beds and the 3/4ths of the perimeter getting filled in with various plants and shrubs. Planting books have overtaken cook books in her bookshelf. I really need to get some pictures of it all. Hopefully I will also remember to post some. *grin*
The garden at home is moving along. The 3 sisters experiment is only at 66% as the beans have not been working out for me. The corn and squash are going just fine. The beans planted when the squash were planted never came up. Waited for two weeks, saw nothing, went back, read the packages, soaked the seeds overnight and tried again. I think a grand total of three sprouted (of at least 20 planted). Now I am concerned the three will not survive as they are shaded by the squash leaves. In other parts of the garden, the tomatoes are doing well. The five store bought plants are coming along, as well as the two volunteers transplanted from the mulch pile. Two of the store bought plants lost their main trunk and are no longer growing up. Otherwise they are healthy. The spinach and lettuce are starting to look like they intend to actually grow but, as with the pole beans, not nearly the number seeded are coming up. I think I need to purge the bag of seeds I have accumulated over the last two years. The various bush beans are growing. Last years sage plant became a bush, bloomed and had to be dramatically cut back before it took over.
And everything I do in my little vegetable garden pales in comparison to the flower garden my wife has done this year. Four trees have been planted. Two different dogwoods, a japanese maple and a weeping corkscrew thing whose name I am blanking on. Add to the list the tree Chinese red wood we got last year and I think have finally broken even with the number of trees we have removed or lost since we moved in 5 years ago. There are flowers and shrubs in three different beds in the front yard, and in the back there are two starter beds and the 3/4ths of the perimeter getting filled in with various plants and shrubs. Planting books have overtaken cook books in her bookshelf. I really need to get some pictures of it all. Hopefully I will also remember to post some. *grin*
20070528
Memorial Day 5k
My time for the 5k was 33:27! This is by far the best time time I have run in months.
With a mile average of 10:46.
56th overall, out of 122.
11th in my age group, out of 15.
Overall, a great day for a race. The weather was cooperative. A bit cloudy and humid but nothing oppressive and the temp was in the 70s.
Very good community support. People along the course came out and encouraged the runners.
The best was one block where at least four houses all got together and were banging on pots and otherwise making a great noise to keep our spirits up, which it did.
The 2 mile mark happened to be in front of our house. Some of our neighbors even had hoses and sprinklers out to help folk cool off if they needed it. One pair of neighbors stopped and got their Great Dane when they passed their house and she finished the race with them.
A lot of fun and I am already looking forward to next year!
ok, now I have to go shopping for grilling later this afternoon.
And while I might not think highly of the current administration, I am taking a moment to remember those that had served in the Armed Forces today.
With a mile average of 10:46.
56th overall, out of 122.
11th in my age group, out of 15.
Overall, a great day for a race. The weather was cooperative. A bit cloudy and humid but nothing oppressive and the temp was in the 70s.
Very good community support. People along the course came out and encouraged the runners.
The best was one block where at least four houses all got together and were banging on pots and otherwise making a great noise to keep our spirits up, which it did.
The 2 mile mark happened to be in front of our house. Some of our neighbors even had hoses and sprinklers out to help folk cool off if they needed it. One pair of neighbors stopped and got their Great Dane when they passed their house and she finished the race with them.
A lot of fun and I am already looking forward to next year!
ok, now I have to go shopping for grilling later this afternoon.
And while I might not think highly of the current administration, I am taking a moment to remember those that had served in the Armed Forces today.
20070525
Graduation itself, plus plans for Memorial Day
Here is a link to the graduation ceremony:
mms://146.186.87.22/archive/wmv/comm2007.wmv
If you jump to 01:04:25 you can see yours truly with a grin that goes twice around my head.
In other news, our little borough is having a 5k run/walk as part of its Memorial Day festivities this year. I signed up for it and am planning on running. Well, shuffling to be more accurate, as my time for a mile is still stuck at 12 minutes on average. I found a workout plan/schedule designed to improve, decrease, this time but did not want to start it with only two weeks before the race as it spans months. The short version is to calculate the pace I want to achieve and then run at that pace for short distances. The distances are then gradually increased each week until the distances are race length. We have a nice track here at work so the plan is to start at half a lap increments and go from there. The goal is for a ten minute mile average for a five mile run. This is requires changing from ~90 seconds for a half lap to ~75 seconds. Sounds simple doesn't it? We shall see.
mms://146.186.87.22/archive/wmv/comm2007.wmv
If you jump to 01:04:25 you can see yours truly with a grin that goes twice around my head.
In other news, our little borough is having a 5k run/walk as part of its Memorial Day festivities this year. I signed up for it and am planning on running. Well, shuffling to be more accurate, as my time for a mile is still stuck at 12 minutes on average. I found a workout plan/schedule designed to improve, decrease, this time but did not want to start it with only two weeks before the race as it spans months. The short version is to calculate the pace I want to achieve and then run at that pace for short distances. The distances are then gradually increased each week until the distances are race length. We have a nice track here at work so the plan is to start at half a lap increments and go from there. The goal is for a ten minute mile average for a five mile run. This is requires changing from ~90 seconds for a half lap to ~75 seconds. Sounds simple doesn't it? We shall see.
20070509
garden update, plus freezer
Note: I started this post a week ago, so that is what was written in part 1. More recent stuff in part 2:
part1
I did not get as much done in the garden this past weekend. Only the spinach and two lettuces got their seeds planted. Not quite half of one raised bed. So two and a half to go. Should be nice this weekend. Hopefully there will be time.
The reason the garden did not get the attention it deserves was due to a sudden purchase of a freezer at a yard sale on Saturday. Suddenly it had to be gotten home, space made for it, space made for the shelves it was displacing, smaller shelves to fill in the gap moved from the attic, every thing removed from all of these shelves so they could be moved around the house. And it all had to be done when the little one was napping. Dropping a freezer on him would be bad and keeping him from wanting to be in the middle of the action is a trick we have not mastered. I still have to replace an outlet and get an extension cord for this freezer to actually get used.
Now my darling bride can stock up even more at the bulk super store. Which is good as it will let us cut down on the number of trips going to the bulk super store. We dream of only going once a month rather than our current weekly visit. Fully half of what we get is juice for the thirsty little one. I can only imagine what it would be like if we did not cut the apple juice with water.
part2
I got the seeds planted for the bean bushes, chives and corn portion of the three sisters. Bernadetta got the tomato plants into the ground and started on the stakes. Our little vegetable garden is starting to come along. The spinach and lettuce plants are starting to show.
Graduation went well this past Friday. The only hitch was that our camera went MIA over the weekend and the pictures were never downloaded. I have a picture of me from a friend also graduating, but not much for the family shots. So my big plan is to recreate them. I just want pictures of me with my folks and my family while in the graduation rob. I can live with the minor detail of not having the pictures actually taken at the event. My neighbors might think we are a little odd when I running around the yard in the graduation robes etc, but there is nothing new there.
*smiles*
part1
I did not get as much done in the garden this past weekend. Only the spinach and two lettuces got their seeds planted. Not quite half of one raised bed. So two and a half to go. Should be nice this weekend. Hopefully there will be time.
The reason the garden did not get the attention it deserves was due to a sudden purchase of a freezer at a yard sale on Saturday. Suddenly it had to be gotten home, space made for it, space made for the shelves it was displacing, smaller shelves to fill in the gap moved from the attic, every thing removed from all of these shelves so they could be moved around the house. And it all had to be done when the little one was napping. Dropping a freezer on him would be bad and keeping him from wanting to be in the middle of the action is a trick we have not mastered. I still have to replace an outlet and get an extension cord for this freezer to actually get used.
Now my darling bride can stock up even more at the bulk super store. Which is good as it will let us cut down on the number of trips going to the bulk super store. We dream of only going once a month rather than our current weekly visit. Fully half of what we get is juice for the thirsty little one. I can only imagine what it would be like if we did not cut the apple juice with water.
part2
I got the seeds planted for the bean bushes, chives and corn portion of the three sisters. Bernadetta got the tomato plants into the ground and started on the stakes. Our little vegetable garden is starting to come along. The spinach and lettuce plants are starting to show.
Graduation went well this past Friday. The only hitch was that our camera went MIA over the weekend and the pictures were never downloaded. I have a picture of me from a friend also graduating, but not much for the family shots. So my big plan is to recreate them. I just want pictures of me with my folks and my family while in the graduation rob. I can live with the minor detail of not having the pictures actually taken at the event. My neighbors might think we are a little odd when I running around the yard in the graduation robes etc, but there is nothing new there.
*smiles*
20070504
lunch time update on loads of stuff
So I passed my final class. I get to Graduate!
I am going to attend the graduation ceremony for this degree. I did not walk at my undergrad graduation, so this is a big deal. When I finished my undergrad I did not see the point of spending that many hours of suffering just so I and my three thousand or so closest friends could stand as a group to be told we were done. This one is a bit different. I was much more committed to this degree than I was to any other scholastic endeavor in my life. And it shows in my grades. Amazing how that works. And it has given me lots to think about for when our little one starts school.
In other news, our little one has started day care. It is for two hours two mornings each week. More a chance for him to socialize and Mom to get some errands run without having to deal with a toddler. Getting to the point of sending him to day care has been more stressful on Mom than on child. He has taken to it like a fish to water. The two ladies running the program never fail to mention how surprised they are that he adapted so quickly. The only time he fussed was when I was a little late in picking him up and that was only becuase he saw the other kids leaving without him. And in the short time he has been going we have seen a huge increase in his speaking. While he still only has a few words, he uses them and a growing number of signs much more often. It really seems as if he wants to talk, so we are really excited.
And I finally figured out what to call it when he mixes his two languages. "Ponglish" I thought I was being really creative and trendsetting when I came up with that one late at night. Then I found it is already a slang term in Polish, with a polish language wikipedia entry and everything.
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponglish Granted, my wife did not know it, so at least I am figuring out new slang before she is, in her language, which is funny as my Polish is pretty minimal.
On the music front, I found the music for "Sto Lat" and took a stab at transcribing it so I can play it on the concertina. I have not actually started practising as yet but be assured I will be posting anything that does not sound like cats in a blender. "Sto Lat" is the traditional Polish song sung at all happy gatherings. It serves in place of "Happy Birthday", "Auld Lang Syne" and "100 Bottles of Bear on the Wall" as best as I can tell. Further info as well as music and words can be found here: http://www.polishamericancenter.org/StoLat.htm
Please note the English version is not a translation of the Polish, but something of the same spirit.
Garden update: I never got replacements started for my tomatoes that decided not to start but I have gotten started on prepping the garden beds. I weeded some, ran the garden weasel over them and added some nice dark stuff from the bottom of the compost pile. I only got a few buckets full of the good stuff, where you can no longer tell what it once was, so we also turned the pile a few times and have been adding everything since to a new pile. I have all my seeds and am planning on getting as much into the ground as I can this weekend. This is what I really hope to get done: plant the spinach, lettuces, bush beans, tomatoes, sun flowers and get the mounds made and corn planted for the Three Sisters experiment. That is all I can remember from my big plan, so I should also take a look at my diagram and see if I am leaving anything out. Things like cucumbers come to mind...
Ok, lunch hour is coming to a close and I need to get back to other things.
*smiles*
I hope all is well with you and yours!
I am going to attend the graduation ceremony for this degree. I did not walk at my undergrad graduation, so this is a big deal. When I finished my undergrad I did not see the point of spending that many hours of suffering just so I and my three thousand or so closest friends could stand as a group to be told we were done. This one is a bit different. I was much more committed to this degree than I was to any other scholastic endeavor in my life. And it shows in my grades. Amazing how that works. And it has given me lots to think about for when our little one starts school.
In other news, our little one has started day care. It is for two hours two mornings each week. More a chance for him to socialize and Mom to get some errands run without having to deal with a toddler. Getting to the point of sending him to day care has been more stressful on Mom than on child. He has taken to it like a fish to water. The two ladies running the program never fail to mention how surprised they are that he adapted so quickly. The only time he fussed was when I was a little late in picking him up and that was only becuase he saw the other kids leaving without him. And in the short time he has been going we have seen a huge increase in his speaking. While he still only has a few words, he uses them and a growing number of signs much more often. It really seems as if he wants to talk, so we are really excited.
And I finally figured out what to call it when he mixes his two languages. "Ponglish" I thought I was being really creative and trendsetting when I came up with that one late at night. Then I found it is already a slang term in Polish, with a polish language wikipedia entry and everything.
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponglish Granted, my wife did not know it, so at least I am figuring out new slang before she is, in her language, which is funny as my Polish is pretty minimal.
On the music front, I found the music for "Sto Lat" and took a stab at transcribing it so I can play it on the concertina. I have not actually started practising as yet but be assured I will be posting anything that does not sound like cats in a blender. "Sto Lat" is the traditional Polish song sung at all happy gatherings. It serves in place of "Happy Birthday", "Auld Lang Syne" and "100 Bottles of Bear on the Wall" as best as I can tell. Further info as well as music and words can be found here: http://www.polishamericancenter.org/StoLat.htm
Please note the English version is not a translation of the Polish, but something of the same spirit.
Garden update: I never got replacements started for my tomatoes that decided not to start but I have gotten started on prepping the garden beds. I weeded some, ran the garden weasel over them and added some nice dark stuff from the bottom of the compost pile. I only got a few buckets full of the good stuff, where you can no longer tell what it once was, so we also turned the pile a few times and have been adding everything since to a new pile. I have all my seeds and am planning on getting as much into the ground as I can this weekend. This is what I really hope to get done: plant the spinach, lettuces, bush beans, tomatoes, sun flowers and get the mounds made and corn planted for the Three Sisters experiment. That is all I can remember from my big plan, so I should also take a look at my diagram and see if I am leaving anything out. Things like cucumbers come to mind...
Ok, lunch hour is coming to a close and I need to get back to other things.
*smiles*
I hope all is well with you and yours!
20070419
down the home stretch...
Only three more classes to go and I am done the Masters program!
Granted, the group presentation for Monday is not done yet and I have not done more than select a general topic for the individual research paper due the following Monday, but they will get done.
And all four starter pots of tomatoes went and died on me last week. Still time to get another set started, which will probably be something I do to avoid working on papers etc. Weather getting nicer each day, so I might be able to do more to get the garden started.
After my school work is done, of course.
*smiles*
Granted, the group presentation for Monday is not done yet and I have not done more than select a general topic for the individual research paper due the following Monday, but they will get done.
And all four starter pots of tomatoes went and died on me last week. Still time to get another set started, which will probably be something I do to avoid working on papers etc. Weather getting nicer each day, so I might be able to do more to get the garden started.
After my school work is done, of course.
*smiles*
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