Creation Museum

Looking around the web (hey, it is almost 1 AM and I am having fun programming and surfing the web), I came across this wonderful description of the Creation Museum (link missing not accidentally).

Behold, mere mortals! My prophetic powers show themselves all seeing once again

Some time ago, I wrote a post about the Oyster card; I also mentioned some privacy concerns from a fellow blogger. Well, in this article it is stated that it is being discussed whether the government should be able to access those records. A very smart comment in Slashdot shows how stupid this idea is, since a not-completely-stupid-terrorist will still use single tickets (hey, you are going to blow up yourself, you are not going to need that pension fund)

Hi to Indonesia and the Netherlands

Looking around the web (let him who has not used Google on himself cast the first stone) I found Pelopor, an interesting blog that quoted my post about being a Mac Convert. Hi to Bonnie2405 and her/his/their fellow writers!

PS: even though using Google as a verb would have sounded better in the initial phrase, it would be a blatant trademark violation, and you certainly don't want to do that (especially against your employer)

If you visit Orlando don't miss Busch Gardens

Last weeks I was in Orlando (that's why I didn't write, not because I am lazy). Besides missing the Dublin weather, I was enjoying Busch Garden's roller coasters (and others). I especially liked SheiKra; it is smooth and soft (yes, you can say that of a roller coaster with a vertical drop). Unfortunately, due to Earth's high gravity field, a vertical fall cannot last long, unless you parachute; even the 200 feet fall cannot last more than 3.5 seconds (even less if you take into account friction with the rails and air). It is quite scary before you go up; afterwards, wooden roller coasters like Gwazi are way scarier.

You are old when you are a part of a museum...

Last few months I've been to a couple of “Living History” museums. What I mean by “Living History”? These were historic museums, but some parts are so recent that actually people who lived through that age are teachers themselves. Last weekend I went to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. It was really interesting, especially where they showed a Railway Post Office; in this car mail was sorted while the train was riding, so letters could be delivered as soon as the train arrived to the destination! The guy who explained all this, now in his seventies, was actually a clerk, so he explained how he did his job. Actually, since the last wagon was retired in 1977, I was alive when this kind of cars existed!
In addition, 6 months ago, I went to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. They have a restoration project for a PDP 1, and the teacher has actually worked with the computer when he was at university. He told the story how they found the data for a music program, but not the program itself. Amazingly this guy had written the original program, so he reconstructed it from the data! As if that wasn't enough, one of the first Google servers was on display... if you thought turning forty was a crisis, being a part of a museum is way worse!
I can imagine in thirty years being a teacher in a museum explaining the history of the Internet.
I: “So, when I was young, we communicated our computers with modems over a phone line... (young girl raising her hand) Yes, darling?”
Young girl: “What is a phone lane?”
I: “A phone is what we used to talk before we had iBlackBerry's, but the difference is that it was connected to the wall.”
Young girl: “My daddy connects my iBlackie to the wall one night a month, and it is terrible, I cannot use it at that time”
I: “Well, actually, phones had to be connected to the wall to be used....”
Young girl: “But how did you carry it to the playground, to school?”
I: “We didn't” (young girl looks perplexed, not understanding the concept of being out of touch)
Young boy: “How fast were these “phones”? How many Gbps?”
I: “My first modem was 2400 bps”
Young boy: “Ohh, 2400 Gbps is quite good”
I: “No, no, sorry for not being clear: I meant bps. That's like 1 billionth of a Gbps” (the boy refrains from asking me how we hunted mammoths)

The power to change Google

So, you assumed you had to be a major player to change Google results, like Oprah or China? Think again. You can write a small stick figures cartoon and make results jump with just one picture. This picture is way beyond being worth a thousand words; it is more like thirty nine thousand seven hundred (and going up). Will this entry have the same result?
On related news, I've been watching The Big Bang Theory; I have never seen such a thing happening in real life (except the time I've played ONE board game from 1 pm to 10 pm on a Saturday, random discussions about the theory behind moving a couch upstairs and the fact that I will not allow my children to have any inheritance if they even think of using derivation to get the area below a curve).

The customer is always right, as long as you can rip him off

I am starting to get tired of hotels not offering free WiFi. We all know the cost of the service... U$S 99 for a router you can share among different rooms, a broadband connection that you can cap per user and some technical support. Instead, you get U$S 500 flat screen TVs and cable, that nobody really needs or wants. Amazingly, cheap hotels and hostels realize that it is a useful service they can easily provide, and give it away more often than upscale hotels. I can think of three reasons why that happens: the first two are convenient and the last one, sadly, is the most likely.

1. Inertia: hotel chains take a long time to make a decision, since they have to check with their technical departments, ask for several quotes, discuss the quotes, negotiate an order, get it delivered, etc. while a small hotel owner just goes to the neighborhood store and buys U$S 2000 worth of equipment and some network access
   
2. Not understanding the market requirements: Nobody needs Internet Access in a hotel... it will take only a couple of years until it is an absolute barrier of entry, just give it time.
   
3. Cuts into their profits: this is the sad truth. Do hotels really want to replace their U$S 10.95 movies and U$S 5 a minute calls with free movies (and porn) and 3 cents Skype? I don't think so.
   

DHL delivers WORLDWIDE

We are used to ads showing DHL vans, airplanes, motorbikes, etc. but this picture shows they REALLY deliver everywhere. So, if you are in Venice, how do you think they deliver? Some other company has made a whole movie about how great they are, that they deliver a parcel even several years after, but this is really amazing (mind you, I liked Castaway) but the blatant advertising took all the magic out of it)

Another reader for my Blackberry comment

It seems my original post about the Blackberry is quite popular. Besides the post I have already mentioned, I have found another post about it. If you can't read German, the brief translation is "the deep and insightful blogger delights us with some wonderful perspectives about technology" (hey, don't blame me if you can't understand German, it is not that difficult :-) )

Mirror, Mirror in Dublin Airport

Usually arriving in the Dublin Airport is a bit chaotic. It goes as follows:
-You arrive to the gates in the A14 area, where Ryanair passengers are crowding so the can run to get a good seat.
-You go through passport control in a breeze. Irish citizens just show their passports from 1 meter away; any other EU citizens have to wait for a full 5 seconds while the guard controls that the passport is not a blatant forgery.
-You wait for ten hours until they start dispatching the luggage.
-You go outside and you wait for 20 minutes for a taxi.

Today, after some well-deserved holidays -hey, it is tiresome to eat all that food and to walk your dog- the airport was just the opposite (except for the taxi part): the terminal was absolutely empty; the guards, feeling very bored checked every single passport for 10 seconds, and then, when I went to pick my luggage, it was already there!

PS: Bonus Geek points if you knew what the title meant without checking the wikipedia

I am hooked on English TV and movies

I have to say that these days I am completely hooked on English TV and movies. Besides Dr. Who, which is one of the most amazing "recent" (or old, since the first version is from 1963) Sci-Fi shows, along with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I have recently seen Hot Fuzz, an amazing mix between a customary movie AND a police action film. Of course, you have other wonderful classic pieces like the Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, The Benny Hill Show and Monthy Python. So, for make benefits Glorious Broadcasters of Amerikaskhstan, write one hundred times in the blackboard: I will not make clones of every single successful show. To be fair, BBC also copies some awful stuff, but I'd say a bit less than other broadcasters.

Oyster Card: privacy nightmare, UI design disaster or both?

I have recently been to London and used the Oyster Card to pay my Tube journeys. At first glance, the Oyster Card seems to be a great concept: an electronic purse used to pay small amounts. When you get in the Tube you put the card near the sensor and when you get out you put the card near another sensor, and the correct amount is deducted.

However, it has two huge drawbacks:
Privacy concerns:
you fill a form to get a card (even though you can avoid that), and then there is a complete record of every single trip you make, including origin and destination. If you combine that with the fact that there are cameras all around London, Big Brother (the one from the book, not the TV show) comes too close to reality for comfort (no way the TV show will ever be within an AU from reality).
UI Design:
Matt Stephens points an extremely good issue. If you forget to get your card to the exit sensor you get charged the maximum amount. It is understandable that they don't want people to avoid paying by tailgating (or should it be back-gating), but during the rush our you don't have much time to check if the correct amount was deduced. I don't think it would have been to problematic, as Matt Stephens suggests, to install sensors in the exits (damn, the sensors work in toll stations!), or using all the spoofing^H^H^H data collection for something useful. Nope, big fine for you Mr. Cheater!

PS: It is a sad state of affairs that if you look for Big Brother in Google, the book is only the tenth result.

Worst flier ever?

It seems I am trying to qualify to the worst flier ever. In my last 6 flights, only 2 were incident free (and all of them were in full service airlines). This time, I was about to seat and there was another passenger in the same seat AGAIN (seems to be becoming a habit). Fortunately, this time I was in the right flight. Here are the events that happened in my last flights:
Dublin to Buenos Aires: Late departure, missed connection in London, stayed 1 day in London, bags misplaced and only arrived 2 days later
Buenos Aires to Dublin: No incident
Dublin to San Francisco: Bag lost, arrived the following day
San Francisco to Dublin: No incident
Dublin to London: Boarded the wrong plane:
London to Dublin: Seat changed, complained, good seat assigned, seat double-assigned.
PS: it was pretty impressive to see in the London Science Museum that the buildings I flew over and even the airport were I landed last time were just docks 25 years ago.

Today I boarded the wrong flight

Yes, I mean what you understood. I walked through the gate and got into the plane, but it wasn't the right one. Fortunately, another passenger had the same seat; otherwise, I would have flown in blissful ignorance, while my baggage was being unloaded from the right flight, searched and probably destroyed.
It was a short hop, Dublin to London City, traveling by Air France. I went to the gate and found an Air France flight leaving at the same hour and same plane model. I gave my boarding pass to the stewardess at the gate, and went through. I realized that it was a different gate, but heck, same company, same destination, same plane; gates change, shit happens.
I was about to sit down, and I found this other guy at my seat. We checked both our stubs, and both had the same seat. The plane was empty, so I asked the stewardess if I could change my seat (come on, seats might get double assigned too). At first, the stewardess looked baffled at the other guy's stub, since she was not used to see that kind of stub, but after a brief check, she started looking at what codes that flight had (at least two codes). Suddenly they realize I was in the wrong plane. I disembarked and everything went well; I just wonder what might have happened if the seat was empty (and if the destination weren't the same)
PS: part of this post was written on board the right plane

The mistery of number 42

OK, I have to apply for a job writing misleading titles; I just wanted to get numerologists to read this article.
I have finally found one advantage of having multiple measurement systems: you can break arbitrary barriers twice as easily if you have two systems. For instance, i am trying to lose weight. Today, I've broken the 200-pounds barrier, so I am elated. In a few days I'll probably break the 90 kg. barrier, so I'll be happy again (of course, I'd be happier if I weren't dieting).
In related news, the EU has dropped it's plan to force UK to use the metric system. On the practical side, it is quite a loss (I don't think anyone can say the imperial units are better). In the legal side, even for a staunch unionist like me, it was crossing the line a bit too much, especially since there are laws already in effect for that in the UK. Finally, from a traditionalist point of view, it is a pity to see these quaint measures disappearing (good luck trying to change the pint for beer).

Oh, about the number 42, it is the point where Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees are the same (to be exact, is minus 42, but it makes a less striking point). In addition, it is the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything (check with Google if you don't believe me), and is the result of 6 times 9

PS: I am a pretty sorry case

Tall buildings representing the city main business

Every city has tall buildings representing its main business. New York has the Empire State, that represents the trading performed in the city. San Francisco, being the Wall Street of the West, has the Transamerica Center and the Bank of America Center. Frankfurt has the Commerzbank Zentrale, a landmark in the banking center of Europe.

Dublin has the Guiness Storehouse.

Watching a Rugby match in Ireland

Or any sports in general, means beer. Lot's of beer. Every pub becomes crowded, and everybody watches the match. The Irish, not a people keen on violence (no matter their viking origins), don't get aggressive while drunk, so it might even be fun seeing them. And, surprise, surprise, who sponsors the national Irish Rugby Team: Guiness.

Finally Back in Dublin

It's nice to be back in Dublin. Amazingly, even a short time driving in Ireland (5 days) really screws your driving instincts. In California, where you MUST drive, I was all the time wondering whether I was in the right side of the road. Amazingly, it took me 2 days to get used again in Argentina, but the association English_Speaking_Country-Driving_on_the_Left is forever screwed.
In addition, an Irish colleague of mine proved his linguistic (and national) ties with Oscar Wilde by stating that he prefered Irish weather to Californian: "It is not so boring; in California you always know it will be sunny"

Last day in San Francisco

Today is my last day in the city. It is really a beautiful city (just check the pictures). If you ever want to follow my steps, just use the link.

German trains might not be what you expect...

A surprising fact is that German trains might be unpunctual; that's not really what you expect. I once boarded a train 10 minutes later than expected, in a 2 hour trip. In addition, S-Bahn (commuter trains) are really bad in Munich. They come every 20 minutes, but after heavy snowing they can be delayed almost 15 minutes!
On the other hand, subways are precise. I still don't understand how, but the time table is precise to the minute, and you are certain that the subway will be there at that time. I used to take the 8:42 S-Bahn, and I had a 6 minute trip in the underground plus 2 minutes for walking between them. Every time I managed to arrive to the subway station at 8:32, I got to the S-Bahn in time. If I arrived 2 minutes late, I missed the 8:33 subway and was only able to catch the S-Bahn if I ran and nobody was standing in front of me in the escalators.