Tralfaz

Author: geoffand

  • What makes me tick – Intellectual Curiosity

    While walking recently (for exercise), I was thinking about me, how I live my life, and what keeps me going. One phrase comes to mind that is pretty descriptive. I would have to say that I am “Intellectually Curious”. That doesn’t mean that I focus to the nth degree, or that I am casual in my interests.

    I have always read widely. If something catches my fancy, I will chase it down the rabbit hole until my curiosity is sated. Some examples will clarify.

    Example 1: US History

    In grade/middle/high school, (largely in the 1970’s) I had the usual classes and instruction in US history. Nothing surprising there, but it didn’t strike me as worth knowing. Of course, as public policy, we learnt the “victor’s” version of history, unbeknownst to us at the time.

    Then my third year of college, to fulfill a general education requirement for graduation, I took a university level US history course. My eyes were opened. My thoughts at the time were that everything force-fed to me via the public school system in California at the time was complete, absolute, and utter rubbish. Key facts were omitted. Atrocities were whitewashed or spun in favorable light. In short, we were not merely misled, we were lied to.

    If I had known or discovered this prior to entering university, I might have changed my academic proclivities to history.

    Now, I read a lot of history, US, European, from the early middle ages, through the colonizing of the Americas to the present. I have learnt to not trust a single source, but to read a few different authors from a few different time periods.

    Very intellectually rewarding. But frustrating. Watching the ignorant, yet very vocal people speak out about things that they know no more of than the brainwashing that was fed us during our public school days is maddening. I have given up refuting, and pointing these poorly educated masses to sources of true information.

    I still read a lot of history, and I still enjoy it. I am not at the end of that rabbit hole yet.

    Example 2: Control Systems

    I work with a technology that is really cool. Atomic force microscopes. We literally can see atoms, and interactions on a scale that is truly mind-boggling.

    The foundation of our technology is something called a PID control loop. PID stands for proportional, integral and differential. It is a system for controlling a process.

    When I started here, I had a fuzzy idea of what a PID control system was, but it was clear that I needed more depth on it. So off to the research section.

    First off, control theory isn’t really electrical engineering, nor is it computer science (as the earliest PID control loop systems were completely analog). It often falls to the physics department, or mechanical engineering.

    Physics. Cool. I got my degree in that. Of course upon diving in, one quickly learns that it is tied to many topics in computer science. And immediately I run into a deficiency. Computers, numerical analysis, and processes modeled or run on them are essentially “discrete” systems. All my education, all my knowledge was centered around continuum mathematics. Yes, I had done some programming and numerical analysis, but I just hacked my way through things that relied on the discrete nature of computers.

    But to truly understand control systems, to really grok what is happening with them, you must understand discrete mathematics.

    Rabbit hole time. Fortunately there are plenty of sources of knowledge. A lot of the basics are around the foundations of mathematics, continuum and discrete alike, have the same or very similar vocabulary. You learn to think differently, you go back to basic definitions like what a function is, and domain/range etc.

    Of course, you quickly delve into topology, and combinatorics, all key subjects.

    But then my intellectual curiosity is quenched. I understand what I need to know.

    Oh, and another of my passions? The history of mathematics. Fascinating, illustrating, and a worthy subject of inquiry.

    Summary:

    These are but two examples, but they are illustrative. At various times in my life, I have been taken by an intellectual fancy. I usually dive in to a surprising depth, but I always get to a level of understanding that satiates my curiosity, and then I back away.

    The real problem is that there are far too many targets that spur my curious instincts.

  • Observations of a brief period of Bachelor-hood

    My wife is away dealing with some family issues, so I have been home alone for almost 2 weeks (and will probably be home alone for another week and a half.)

    I don’t mind doing household chores. I lived alone or with roommates long enough to not quibble about dishes or laundry. But, being in a house alone (with two dogs) is a lifestyle change.

    Getting critical
    Getting critical

    Fact: Men use less toilet paper than women. So, we in general don’t need to restock the bathrooms. My wife kids me about it that I will go to the last square to avoid having to go to the pantry and grab a package. 2 weeks, and I am out. It is critical. I need my wife back.

    I don’t feel the need to wash sheets every week. They were a week “used” when she left, so they are now three weeks old. Today, I felt it was time. Washing the sheets. Probably time to ditch the comforter since it will be in the upper 80’s this weekend…

    My wife is a master of not doing dishes during the day. She will let them all accumulate until I get home from work. Here is where I am more diligent. I load the breakfast dishes before I head to work, and the dinner dishes before I go to bed. (She will hate me for this though).

    I can go 2 full weeks without doing whites. Good to know.

    The Dishwasher. My wife will spend hours re-arranging it to get one more meal in before running it. It is like an adult, real-life Tetris game to her. Funny thing is, I need to run them every three days, about 1/3 empty. I find that I run out of spoons in three days.

    I use a lot less milk. The gallon we had when she left is still 2/3rds full, and it is spoiling. Oh well.

    Grocery shopping is a lot easier (and cheaper). Of course I do several smaller trips, but in total it is a lot less expensive for one person.

    Having a dog that requires medicine 4x a day is tough. It means I have to go home at lunch time (I can do the 5:00AM, the 5:00PM, and the 9:00PM fine, but the interruption of the work day sucks.) Just having Barb around at lunch time to handle that mid day pills is a huge thing.

    A lot of little errands get delayed. I need to pick up prescriptions. I need to pick up my dry cleaning. I need to hit costco (as our TP is wiped out).

    I am ready for her to get home.

  • Back in the Saddle – New Shoes too!

    Today I got back out cycling. First time since the Christmas shutdown. I had three weeks of travel, and then came back with a gnarly chest cold. that kept me down for more than two weeks.

    I know, I know, lots of excuses.

    Today, I felt pretty good. Not much expectoration, and I have not needed any cold medicine for two days.

    I also took the opportunity to mount the cleats on my new shoes. Back in December, I splurged on a new pair of riding shoes. Since I have wide feet, there are limited choices that fit. Pretty much the Sidi’s or the um, Sidi’s. (gulp, they are also about $200) My old shoes I bought with my bike, back in 2002, so they were 11+ years old, and were really not very supportive anymore.

    I also bought new cleats. I have been a long time Look pedal and cleat user. But the cleats I bought are a little different They are designed to float a bit (several degrees). There are some that are more rigid, so you can tune your ride.

    The new cleats mounted up easily, and the shoes fit well (still need to break in a bit).

    The new cleats are a bit strange. It is much easier to get into the pedals with these cleats. Big bonus. But the floating feels weird. It almost feels like you are not clipped in. But you are, and you can stand up and pump the pedals.

    I am going to have to get used to them, but I think I am going to like them.

    The ride was an easy 15 miles. I felt pretty good, I didn’t push too hard. I probably could have stretched it to 20 miles or more, but I thought that caution was in store.

    I can hardly wait to get out again.

  • Bad TV – Columbo

    To be fair, this isn’t really bad TV.

    Lieutenant ColumboI love Netflix streaming. It is a great way to while away the hours. I have enjoyed many classic TV series, from Rockford Files, Hawaii 50, and the early Twilight Zones. I get great enjoyment watching these.

    I watched all the original Hawaii 50 episodes. I think it was the 8th season when they finally showed it raining in Hawaii (but, ironically, every time McGarrett (Jack Lord) when to the mainland, it was raining there.

    Lately, I have been watching the old Columbo episodes. It ran from 1971 and had 7 seasons. The episodes are 1:15 long (so it was a 90 minute show).

    What I love:

    • Peter Falk – man, he was a character. Always disheveled, waving that nasty green cigar around. Driving that wreck of a car. An amazing character. In the 3rd season when he picked up the dog (with no name), a bassett hound, I loved it.
    • Interesting plot twists. Of course, they telegraphed the twist up front, so you got to see Columbo work it out.
    • Well shot. For the time period, it was really good cinematography.
    • “There’s one more thing …” – gotta love that line…

    What I hate:

    • The criminals are idiots. They all make really basic, stupid mistakes. Of course, you expect criminals to be less than brain surgeons, but they do so many things right, but then do completely bone headed things that trip them up.
    • It all unravels with one pull of the thread. Invariably, there is one piece of incongruent evidence. And bang, Columbo gets them.

    Still, I enjoy watching these.  I just started the 4th season, so I will probably keep watching them.

    If you haven’t seen it, the movie that makes Peter Falk’s career is “The Inlaws” with Alan Arkin. Totally worth the watch.

    I am saddened that Peter Falk passed in 2011, apparently in an advanced stage of Alzheimers. A shame.

  • Ewww – The gross things I stumble across

    Walking or cycling I come across a lot of things on the side of the road that gross me out. Of course, there are different levels of gross-ness, but some are worse than others.

    The grand prize of gross is the used condom on the sidewalk. This morning, walking my dog, I found one of these. Yuck.

    I guess I should be happy that young people who park in our neighborhood for a quick snog are using protection. But for f*cks’ sake, don’t just toss the used rubber out the window.

    Ewww

  • Out of State Drivers (Californians in Arizona)

    Living in Arizona we are exposed to plenty of home grown insanity on the roads. I have come to expect that people will often do dumb, dangerous maneuvers at will. Speeding excessively, unsafe left turns (often to deliver their spawn to school), and even some running of red lights that are more than just blushing.

    But in the last few days, I have seen some of the worst driving by people with out of state plates. While the locals will whinge about the New Mexico transplants, the trophy goes to California drivers.

    There are plenty of examples but a few that I have seen are:

    • Going under the speed limit on the freeway. I suspect this is due to concern that they are targeted by the po-po for extra enforcement. Alas, this is Arizona, where the only state that people driver faster in is Texas. If you are not doing 5 – 10 MPH over the posted speed, even in the slow lane, you are likely to be run over by a big rig. Seriously, keep up with the flow of traffic.
    • Using the HOV lane as a single occupant. I know that in California, your Prius entitles you to a sticker that allows you to use the HOV lanes without being a carpool (2 or more occupants), but here that don’t mean shit. I see lots of driver only, California plate, hybrids risking the HOV lane, and jumping out when they see a cop. Just don’t risk it.
    • Slowing down to merge. One of the things that drove me nuts about living in California was the fact that people accelerate on the on-ramps, and then jam on their brakes before merging. Here is a clue: use the on ramp to match your speed with the traffic, then merge into the traffic smoothly. Yet, yesterday, coming back from the airport, I was behind a pickup with California plates that accelerated up the on-ramp, and then slowed to 20 mph below the traffic speed. Argh, asshole, just f*cking merge dammit.
    • Running red light for left turns. I know in California that intersections plan for there to be 2 – 3 cars to turn left after a left turn light goes red. But here, that just doesn’t work. Us redneck hillbillies like to jackrabbit start and we don’t have patience for idiots blocking the intersection trying to not have to wait a full cycle. Of course, the Californian believes they can just “make it through” and all will be OK. Yet I see lots of gnarly accidents on my way to work, often caused by this practice.

    The key to driving with out of state plates in a foreign state is to blend in, and not do dumb things. While most of the rules of the road are shared among the states, there are enough formal differences, as well as enough cultural differences to trip up even the most savvy driver.

    Learn to blend. If you are used to being aggressive, stop being aggressive. If you are used to some “slack” by the local authorities, don’t expect that courtesy.

    And most importantly, don’t be an asshole driver.

  • Movie Review: Rush

    I rarely watch movies on airplanes, but on my last trip, I noticed the person seated next to me wathing a Racing movie. It piqued my interest, so I dove into the inflight entertainment.

    The movie was called “Rush” and it was about a rivalry between auto racers in the 1970’s. I had heard about this tangentially and thought I would enjoy it. But it would be a “Netflix” movie for me (I can’t recall the last time I sat in a theater).

    Anyhow, the movie starts with Formula 2 racing, where James Hunt and Niki Lauda got into a (more than) friendly rivalry. Dogging each other at all the races, it was a classic rivalry.

    The film does a fabulous job capturing the essence of the racing mindset (talent, determination, grit, and uber competitiveness) and showing the inside story.

    Great story, and I thought it had to be fabricated, but alas, the characters exist, and the rivalry happened.

    I won’t spoil the story for you, but I will assure you that it was a thoroughly enjoyable romp, and I highly recommend adding it to the Netflix list.

    5 stars

  • Family Tech Support

    A couple of days ago, as I was fading into a jet-lag induced foggy sleep, my wife complained that her laptop (A 13″ MacBook Pro, probably 4 years old) was getting slow on email. I  knew that it had about 1/3 of the disk free (about 90 gigs) so it wasn’t running out of space.

    The next morning came this conversation:

    Wife: “Uh, I need DiskWarrior to see if I can make my laptop better.”

    Me: “Sure, let me get it for you”

    (DiskWarrior is a mac utility that does wonders to fix inconsistent file systems caused by clutter, or entropy over time. It has been a miracle worker in my experience.)

    Wife (sheepishly): “Uh, I dropped my laptop a few days ago…”

    Me: “Again?”

    Result:

    • The 4 year old HD that had been dropped at least three times that I know about is dead as dillinger. All my whiz bang utilities couldn’t bring it back to life.
    • The MacBook Pro is remarkably resilient to clumsy handling. Dented, dinged, it has withstood the punishment my wife gives it.
    • A spare 750G  7200 RPM hard drive is in there, the laptop is up on 10.7, and is running well.

    Fortunately, most of the important documents are on her iMac, and the laptop was really a roving computer.

    Unfortunately, I couldn’t use migration tools as the disk was totally hosed. So it is a fresh start.

  • Travel Notes – Going Home Edition

    It has been a long two weeks in Europe. A good set of meetings, and less hectic that trips to the continent commonly are (6 countries in 4 days, all by car is standard fare).

    I got to spend almost a whole week in England, for the most part based in London. The last three days were in a itty bitty hotel room near Paddington Station. Convenient, but cramped (the bed took up the whole width of the room, there wasn’t a proper desk to work on). Fortunately I barely had time to sleep in this room.

    There is nothing like getting a text at 3:00 AM telling you that your flight back is canceled. That gets the adrenaline flowing right quick! Fortunately, I am NOT stuck for another day.

    Pro-Tip: Having status, and being a million mile flier means that even in these times of crappy customer service, and fees out the wazoo, United did rebook me automatically

    This trip was chaotic, and changed several times while I was en route. From changing meetings and agendas, to different cities, and expectations, it wasn’t boring, but it did make it tight.

    I originally packed with the intention to do some laundry on Monday. Unfortunately, I had two more hotel changes before that so I was a bit cramped for clean clothes. Finally, on Wednesday, I was able to get some clean clothes to finish the week, and to have clean jeans for the flight home. Whoopee!

    I am a bit disappointed in the number of hotels that charge for internet. My cheapest room here was about $170 a night (up to $250) and two of the hotels gouged me for another $14 – $25 for internet (or had internet that was so slow as to be useless, thus guiding me to pay for the faster service.

    I don’t know how people can afford to live in London. Not just the cost of a flat, but even a tube fare is like 4 quid (about half price if you have an oyster card). That is stupid expensive. Cabs? Fuggedaboutit. I will say the system is efficient, and mostly clean, even during rush hour. Meals are expensive. I tried my best to get to out of the way places, but it was not uncommon for a simple meal to be $40 or more without alcohol. Sigh.

    Well, I am at LHR, waiting for my gate to be announced, and then to head home. Instead of arriving at 7:30 PM, I will get in at midnight, so I will be home late. But I will be home. Yay!

  • Travel Notes – Luggage

    I am rapidly approaching the need for new baggage. I am pretty hard on my luggage, so it’s not surprising that it wears out. However, all the zippers are failing, and it is looking like it has been dragged through a war zone.

    I have had Tumi bags, and they wore well, but the hardware failed spectacularly one trip. It literally disintegrated before my eyes.

    I replaced it with "Travel Pro". Endorsed by flight attendants and airline employees, it seemed like a safe bet. Snort. Of course their bags last a long time because they NEVER have to check their bags. Both my carry on sized roller, and my big roller looked like hell almost immediately. The first trip with my big bag, the big zipper pulls were lost. And it has gone downhill from there. My current trip is probably the last with this bag.

    Not sure where to go next. But, I am certain whatever brand of luggage I buy, it will have a finite lifespan before the rigors of travel shred it mercilessly. I am tempted to go hard shell, but much of that looks and feels cheap as well.