Tralfaz

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  • Mountain bike buyers guide – the internet disappoints

    In just about every way, the internet has improved life. From booking airline tickets, to looking up local businesses in the yellow pages, the internet has streamlined the process, and upset business models everywhere.

    $9,000 of dreaming
    $9,000 of dreaming

    But I found something it didn’t improve. I am moving back to the bay area, and I am contemplating getting back into mountain biking to explore all my old haunts. I had to sell some things so I have some cash, so I thought I would do a little research.

    A google search for mountain bike buyers guide returns a huge number of hits. Cool, right? Not so much. Unfortunately most of them are either for true noobies, or for the extra elite (bikes that cost $7,000 or more).

    Nothing for that mid range that I might be able to afford (note to my wife, I am just browsing). So, I figure I will just go to the maker’s sites, and look around. Giant, and Specialized are the big players. There are a lot of smaller marques that are interesting, but for a full line, these two will give a lay of the land.

    Unfortunately, their product lines are complex and confusing. From inexpensive good starter bikes (which I am not interested in) to elite bikes.

    But to figure out what I should look at, I am still as confused. Lots of questions. Unfortunately not really easy to find definitive answers.

    So, I guess I will go back to how I used to shop for bicycles. Go to a couple of different dealers and talk to the staff.

    Seems like I have gone full circle.

  • Simple pleasures – Going back to vinyl

    Early in my life, I became a music buff. Sometime in High School (probably by my sophomore year), I pieced together a simple hifi system, saved my paper route money, bought a decent turntable and the best needle I could afford, and started buying records.

    A vinyl LP recordLots and lots of records. I could be found at Tower Records in Campbell California at least once a week. When I started driving (at 16) we would trek over the hill to the record stores in Santa Cruz (can’t for the life of me remember the names) to buy exotic, rare, used, and even ahem, bootleg albums.

    Then in 1982, Sony and Phillips rocked the world with the introduction to the audio compact disc. Clean, clear, digital perfection. A format that didn’t wear out. I bought an early player, and started accumulating CD’s instead of LP’s.

    Somewhere along the line, I sold or gave away all my vinyl. The turntable failed to make one of my (many) moves, and I was all digital.

    Fast forward to today

    My father in-law passed away a couple weeks ago, and we’re all gathered for his memorial, and to sort through the lifetime of memories and ‘stuff’. Sitting on an entertainment center (that doesn’t have a TV) is a simple component stereo. Amplifier, receiver, CD changer, and a turntable all setup.

    My father inlaw’s tastes ran to a lot of big band from the 30’s and 40’s, some jazz, and classical. But lots and lots of vinyl instead of the ubiquitous CD.

    Firing up the turntable, dropping on some Glen Miller or Miles Davis (including an album where John McLaughlin) was the axe slinger). Some great background, and nostalgia is in the air.

    I won’t lie, I can’t hear the sound being any “warmer” than a well encoded/digitized CD, something that vinyl freaks swear by. But there is something tangible about removing the album from the sleeve, cleaning the accumulated dust off, getting the speed right on the turntable (it has a stroboscopic speed gauge), and dropping a needle.

    Having to get up and walk across the room to flip the album, something that I had forgotten about, is a nice way to break things up. And then the ritual of replacing the album, and selecting another disc of black plastic to repeat the ritual.

    I have become so cocooned by the digital world. Playlists on my iphone that run for days, streaming via Spotify or iRadio, really good sound that never degrades from over playing, that a trip to the past is a bit of delight. Delight I thought I would never succumb to.

    No, I am not likely to give up my digital library. I have enough music to fill a room with albums. I am not going to hunt down vinyl for all my purchases (but I will probably buy some). But having an old school system will allow me to indulge in my origins.

    I am just bummed that all those boxes of LP’s are long gone. Sigh.

    I have hinted to my wife that I wouldn’t mind if she claimed the LP collection and the gear to play it.

  • Going legit. Real photoshop

    I have an admission to make. I have long been a scofflaw. I have been a Photoshop pirate. I am not proud of this. And indeed am somewhat ashamed. But to be fair, I haven’t used it for professional purposes, and mostly have used it to re-sample images for use on the web.

    I have not felt too guilty, as I have purchased Photoshop Elements a few times. So Adobe has gotten money from me for my photoshopping in the past. I also have a version of Acrobat pro that I have bought (with my cold hard cash). Yes, I use that just about every day for my job.

    Photoshop is one of those programs that you love to use, and is probably the most pirated program apart from Microsoft Windows.

    What tipped me over the edge?

    Well, I have been less than thrilled with the direction Apple has taken Aperture. Aperture was/is the Apple “pro” package for photography workflow. It does work well. Or at least it did.

    Lately, Apple has spent more time updating it to be more iCloud friendly, working with streams, and sharing. All things I don’t give a rat’s ass about.

    So, I was going to the Adobe site, looking for a evaluation version of their photography workflow product, Lightroom, when I was hit with a banner. Get the Adobe photographer’s creative cloud package for $9.95 a month. Get access to both lightroom, and photoshop. Install it on every computer you own.

    Yes, I know that it is ~ $126 a year perpetually. But no longer do I need to buy two licenses, one for my PC and one for my Mac’s. It seems like a no brainer to me.

    So I am now up with Photoshop. I have wiped off the uhm, non returnable versions of Photoshop that I had, and I am beginning to migrate from Aperture to Lightroom. I have it installed on both my Macs and my work PC. So I am ahead (no, my work PC never had an illicit version of Photoshop. I am not that crazy)

  • When Sarcasm Doesn’t Work

    I like to post funny memes to my facebook page. Often they are real, and poke fun at some situation that is bizarre. Sometimes they are complete satire.

    There is one class of meme that when I post, inevitably a handful of friends can’t grasp the humor. They make comments like “Who creates these? Who thinks this is right?”

    Truth and sarcasm collide
    Truth and sarcasm collide

    A typical one is this gem. This is sarcasm. I often post sarcasm involving Michelle Bachmann, because it is damn funny.

    Of course, a lot of people get butthurt by my obvious sarcasm posts (hint: Anything by the facebook page “Christians 4 Michelle Bachmann” is sarcasm, is patently obvious sarcasm, but is damn funny, so I post it. Even funnier are the people who are on that page who think it is serious.)

    Michelle Bachmann is probably the greatest gift, as well as the greatest curse to meme writers and people who practice extreme sarcasm. The reason why is that she says so many batshit, insane, dumb, completely made up (and untrue) things that the reality is far worse than the humor. Every time she opens her mouth, odds are excellent that something completely idiotic will come out.

    And people keep putting her on TV, and recording what she has to say.

    I guess that makes it hard for people who actually like her to differentiate between the things she says in real life, and the made up sarcasm. BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE.

  • 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.