Just passing along some interesting tidbits I found this weekend, both web related.
(1) Sun is offering a free white paper on cloud computing. It is, as expected a bit basis towards Sun w/ MySQL, but is does provide a good definition of what cloud computing can and cannot due. Search the Sun site for "Introduction to Cloud Computing Architecture", provide some contact information, then it is free download.
(2) From the Gooogle Earth Blog,, a handy way to share a location, http://www.earthurl.org allows you to create a short URL to a place on Google Earth. I guess it is a TinyURL for Google Earth, here is an example from D.C.
06 July 2009
20 June 2009
DAZ 3D Studio Start
I have purchased and installed DAZ Studio, and have been struggling with content management. Thank the maker for cellarstudio3d.com, they have a great video series of videos on getting started. Hopefully, I will successfully create some art for this rather plan blog.
Now I have to find some time to do this stuff.
Now I have to find some time to do this stuff.
02 June 2009
Programming thoughts found on the Web
Some thoughts for the day care of S. Lott
* "Quick And Dirty == Guaranteed Rework"
* "He Who Codes First Loses"
* "Think Once -- Code Twice"
* "Admin's Law: It's Always Permissions"
* "Programmer's Law: If it's not permissions, it's the path"
* "If it seems hard, you're doing it wrong"
* "One-Off == The First of Many"
* "Requirements Translation: Never == Rarely, Always == Mostly"
* "Things Change: Generalize and Parameterize
21 April 2009
Happy Earth Day
This weekend, between the rain drops I mowed my yard. I am not the green thumb, play in the dirt, perfect lawn kind of guy, so mowing is a chore. While mowing, one question did come up.
Why, in the week of Earth Day, am I mowing the lawn with a dirty, polluting, gasoline engine, tossing green house gasses into the air, while I am systematically removing the very part of plants that could cleans it from the air?
Sometime ago it was decided by the powers that be, marketing, that every suburban yard should look perfect, with mowing, watering, and chemicals, to create a clean green carpet. Maybe we should put our mowers away and not care about how our yard looks to someone else.
Of course, maybe this is just looking for a reason to not mow.
Now I have considered the go natural approach recommended by some, especially in the Southwest, where the desert climate means you should not be pouring tons of water into your yard, just for Kentucky blue grass. The problem is that I live in the Midwest, near major rivers, where the natural habitat would be forest (which I do love) and maybe some prairie grass. All I have to do is let nature take its course and before long I would live in a nice field of tall grass. Cool! Well except for the wildlife which would move in to stay, bugs, raccoon, opossums, etc., and then I have the problem of my dogs and kid getting bitten, worrying about West Nile and rabies.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, but what else is new. Maybe when my daughter gets older I'll switch to an old fashion push mower, with no engine, and make her cut the grass.
Why, in the week of Earth Day, am I mowing the lawn with a dirty, polluting, gasoline engine, tossing green house gasses into the air, while I am systematically removing the very part of plants that could cleans it from the air?
Sometime ago it was decided by the powers that be, marketing, that every suburban yard should look perfect, with mowing, watering, and chemicals, to create a clean green carpet. Maybe we should put our mowers away and not care about how our yard looks to someone else.
Of course, maybe this is just looking for a reason to not mow.
Now I have considered the go natural approach recommended by some, especially in the Southwest, where the desert climate means you should not be pouring tons of water into your yard, just for Kentucky blue grass. The problem is that I live in the Midwest, near major rivers, where the natural habitat would be forest (which I do love) and maybe some prairie grass. All I have to do is let nature take its course and before long I would live in a nice field of tall grass. Cool! Well except for the wildlife which would move in to stay, bugs, raccoon, opossums, etc., and then I have the problem of my dogs and kid getting bitten, worrying about West Nile and rabies.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, but what else is new. Maybe when my daughter gets older I'll switch to an old fashion push mower, with no engine, and make her cut the grass.
17 February 2009
GrandPa
My grandfather on my father's side of the family passed away before I was born. I knew he ran a service station but never new much more about it.
It appears that my brother found a photo of it in a recent home town paper.
View Larger Map
It appears that my brother found a photo of it in a recent home town paper.
View Larger Map
A bit lost
I have been overwelmed as of late, too many things do too soon, to the point that I am not getting anything done. I have used remember the milk, but with limited success. Now I am moving on to toodledo, lets hope it works better.
The idea of goals with subtask may make things easier. It is a start.
The idea of goals with subtask may make things easier. It is a start.
02 February 2009
pleasing the eyes
I have been looking for ways to get more people at work to use Python. Lots of Perl hacks there, so the sale has not been too easy. The best approach may be the old marketing approach, eye candy.
Where I work is a conservative group of math and computer geeks, so while a normal eye candy would work, but would not be appreciated by management, so I have found the following works okay:
Where I work is a conservative group of math and computer geeks, so while a normal eye candy would work, but would not be appreciated by management, so I have found the following works okay:
These are from matplotlib http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/
I hope to post some examples of matplotlib generated from Python in the near future. I have some orbital paths go generated for school, and I may try that in Python/Numpy.
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