Friday, April 17, 2009

I've been this way since I started कॉलेज

It may seem funny that it isn't yet Halloween & I'm thinking about Christmas already. I've been this way since I started college. To demonstrate, I decided to make my own Christmas cards this year. They are designed, printed & signed. I just need to buy envelopes, address them, enclose a photo & send them off. Also, I already bought gifts for about half of the people on my list. They are wrapped, labeled & ready to give. I have a good idea what I am buying everyone else. Not only that, but I have been cruising the ornaments at Wal-Mart for weeks.So, I am trying to figure out how I got this way. I remember commenting as a child, that it was not right for stores to have Halloween stuff & Christmas stuff on display simultaneously. There was plenty of time AFTER Halloween to sell Christmas stuff. Here I am now, one of the people the stores are targeting.I think a seed was planted in my head when my grandma died. Needless to say, Christmas was not the same without her. I opened my gifts still numb with grief & thought how I would give up everything I owned to have her back. I later realized that Grandma spent the last few weeks of her life shopping for Christmas gifts for her "grandbabies" & that this would have been a very happy time for her. She was a very giving person & though we did not have much money, she lived for the times when she could splurge & buy things for people. When she died, she had completed all of her Christmas shopping & everyone got one last gift from Grandma. With that in mind, I started shopping earlier & earlier each year.At each of my foster homes, there were different traditions for when & how things happened at Christmas. In some foster families, the tree went up on Thanksgiving & in others, not until a week before Christmas.In the first scenario, it tended to be a fake tree. Its purpose was to get everyone into the Christmas spirit & having fun. It was not the kind of tree you would see in a magazine, but it reflected how the whole family saw Christmas. There were eggnog, homemade ornaments & music. As gifts appeared under the tree, it was okay to shake them & try to guess what was inside. I got really good at guessing. I love this type of Christmas.In the second scenario, it was about appearances & propriety. It was usually a real tree, because they looked better, but that meant having to vacuum up needles every other day & remembering to water the tree regularly, so we had to wait to put it up. Every decoration had to be placed perfectly & nothing got on the tree unless it fit the theme, which may not reflect anyone's idea of Christmas. No one thought to play Christmas music or buy eggnog. The focus wasn't on getting excited about the holidays, but on looking good. Shaking gifts was forbidden. This was not an approach I really liked, but I see a little of it in myself sometimes.It has been interesting trying to combine my experiences with my husband's sense of the holidays. Christmas has never held the kind of magic for him that it always has for me. When we have decorated a tree together in the past or I included him in Christmas shopping, I could tell it was weird for him, but in a nice way. He likes shopping for me & I think he will love shopping for kids once we have them. He will probably take great glee in making the children's gifts appear to be something other than what they are, just as he sometimes tries to do with me (I am too good at guessing, so it seldom works). We have had a blast making gingerbread houses the last couple of years, which is something he did as a kid, but I had not done until we started dating.As I get older, time moves a lot faster. There are obligations as an adult & there is little time anymore to just sit & stare in wonder at the lights, the presents & the snow, as I did when I was a child. Tomorrow is only Halloween, but before I know it, it will be time to take down the tree & how well will I have enjoyed the holidays? I have tried to pick from the best of all of my experiences & make Christmas the way I think it should be. That means cramming the best traditions from my birth family, my husband's family & five foster families into a short period of time. I guess that's why I extended my Christmas season so much. It has become necessary.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

[CheapStingyBargains] Dell Monitors from Dell Small Business

Dell Small Business has new Coupons for Monitors Dell SP2008WFP 20″ WFP Display w/Webcam $224 after $75 Coupon discount using Coupon Code PZZ0K3WNTBCLD5 at check-out for 25% off (ends after 100 uses) Resolution: 1680 x 1050, Contrast Ratio: 2000:1, Response Time: 2 ms Dell E248WFP 24" WFP LCD Monitor $337 after $112 Coupon discount using Coupon Code PZZ0K3WNTBCLD5 at check-out for 25% off (ends after 100 uses) 1920 x 1200, Contrast Ratio: 1000:1, Response Time: 5 ms Dell E207WFP 20" WFP LCD Monitor $185 after $65 Coupon discount using Coupon Code 594RKQ263SS63H at check-out for 20% off (ends after 100 uses) 1680 x 1050, Contrast Ratio: 800:1, Response Time: 5 ms Dell E228WFP 22" WFP Monitor $217 after $72 Coupon discount using Coupon Code 594RKQ263SS63H at check-out for 20% off (ends after 100 uses) 5ms response time, 1680×1050 resolution Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP 24" WFP Monitor w/Height Adjustable Stand $509 after $170 Coupon discount using Coupon Code 594RKQ263SS63H at check-out for 20% off (ends after 100 uses) 1920 x 1200, Contrast Ratio: 1000:1, Response Time: 6 ms Dell UltraSharp 2707WFP 27" WFP LCD Monitor w/Height Adjustable Stand $749 after $250 Coupon discount using Coupon Code 594RKQ263SS63H at check-out for 20% off (ends after 100 uses) 1920 x 1200, Contrast Ratio: 1000:1, Response Time: 6 ms Dell UltraSharp 2007FP 20" Flat Panel Monitor w/Height Adjustable Stand $329 after $110 Coupon discount using Coupon Code 594RKQ263SS63H at check-out for 20% off (ends after 100 uses) 1600 x 1200, Contrast Ratio: 800:1, Response Time: 16 ms Dell E198WFP 19-inch WFP LCD Monitor $178 after $31 Coupon discount using Coupon Code ?HRCDBQ8NMFV1V at check-out for 15% off (ends after 100 uses) Resolution: 1400 x 900, Contrast Ratio: 1000:1, Response Time: 5 ms Dell UltraSharp 1908WFP 19" WFP LCD Monitor w/Height Adjustable Stand $329 after $110 Coupon discount using Coupon Code ?HRCDBQ8NMFV1V at check-out for 15% off (ends after 100 uses) Resolution: 1440 x 900, Contrast Ratio: 1000:1, Response Time: 5 ms

ASUS P5K-E / WiFi-AP Socket 775 Motherboard $107 at Frys.com

Frys.com has the ASUS P5K-E / WiFi-AP Socket 775 Motherboard for $100 $7 shipping = $107 shipped. It supports the newest 45nm CPUs, plus it has Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi-AP, and Conductive Polymer Capacitors for increased reliability. [BizRate]

TaylorMade r7 Draw Golf Driver at Dick's - $120 shipped ($115w/FC) and bonus $5 PG Rebate

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Philips 42" 1080p LCD TV at Costco $999.99

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ASUS P5K-E / WiFi-AP Socket 775 Motherboard $99.90 (outpost.com)

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华硕笔记本再登珠峰

2007年5月24日早晨7点,华硕笔记本随珠峰业余登山队登顶珠峰,成为世界上第一台登顶珠峰的笔记本电脑。
2008年4月,奥运圣火将第一次登上珠峰,华硕将继续为中国登山队提供全程IT技术支持。

"在珠峰上用笔记本,这本本的质量可够好的呀!"——这是我(或许还有不少人)的第一反应。珠峰太高了,封顶的最低气温常年在零下三四十摄氏度。山上一些地方常年积雪不化,冰川、冰坡、冰塔林到处可见。在这样的低温条件,本本能受得了吗?

首先是本本的液晶屏幕。很多材料在低温环境下都会变得很脆,容易损坏。液晶也不例外。温度太低,液晶冷却成为晶体,液晶屏就变成黑屏。都黑屏了,本子还能正常使用吗?

再次是本子的电池。电池能供电,靠得就是里面的电化学反应。温度低了,反应就慢了,离子也跑不动了,电量就不足了。启动慢,屏幕暗,这些问题也就来了。
电池的待机时间也是个问题,在户外充电是不方便的吧。

然后是本子的抗震性。登山时有太多不确定性因素,身体可不像平常走路时那么平稳,偶尔摔跤也是正常的。笔记本这样晃荡来晃荡去,硬盘等部件是很容易损伤的。

最后,笔记本在低温环境使用后,放入包包里面,会不会产生水汽。如果有水汽,发生短路,烧坏笔记本也是有可能的。

上面是从物理、化学、机械振动方面,分析了笔记本在珠峰这样恶劣的环境下会碰到的一些问题。这让我想起了SMT方面的一些知识,都快全忘了。

华硕笔记本确实不错,能在这样恶劣的环境测试通过,肯定花费了很多工程师的不少心血。

我的习惯性观念是:在这种环境还能正常工作的笔记本,在平常环境下的表现肯定很稳定,甚至更出色。

以上只是我的观点,朋友们请自辩!


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Pete Wentz Mercedes Blunder




After popping into a local Rite Aid today, Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz had a little luxury mix-up.

Pete tried to get into a big black shiny Mercedes before realizing it wasn't his!

Apparently, the car was a Mercedes S550 (*scoff*).  Pete quickly headed over to his nearly identical Mercedes S600 (aaaaah, that's better), smiling and laughing the whole thing off before heading out.

Who hasn't been there?  Except with us, we mistook a wood-paneled Dodge Caravan for our wood-paneled Chrysler Town & Country.  Wow.  That was embarrassing.











Photos by JRI/CHRIS


Eric Dane Brings the Steam to 3rd Street




Eric Dane lived up to his Grey's Anatomy nickname today by looking totally swoon-worthy (or, steamy, if you prefer) while grabbing lunch with friends at celebrity stomach-filler, Joan's on Third.

Is it just us, or does Dane look strikingly like Brad Pitt in the (above) photo on the left?  Like, circa Cool World minus 3 vertical inches of hair?

Eric must be a fan of Joan's.  We spotted him and his Porsche there not so long ago.  At least he wasn't eating a bowl of JOS's finest nacho cheese like this guy.

Click any image to browse the gallery of America's second favorite hottie doctor (opinions are like a**holes, people).











Photos by MATEI/DANIELLE




Eric Dane lived up to his Grey's Anatomy nickname today by looking totally swoon-worthy (or, steamy, if you prefer) while grabbing lunch with friends at celebrity stomach-filler, Joan's on Third.

Is it just us, or does Dane look strikingly like Brad Pitt in the (above) photo on the left?  Like, circa Cool World minus 3 vertical inches of hair?

Eric must be a fan of Joan's.  We spotted him and his Porsche there not so long ago.  At least he wasn't eating a bowl of JOS's finest nacho cheese like this guy.

Click any image to browse the gallery of America's second favorite hottie doctor (opinions are like a**holes, people).



Photos by MATEI/DANIELLE


Wednesday, May 14, 2008

What Do Nick Lachey and Peter Frampton Have in Common?




An escalator.  That's what.

The former Mr. Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, returned to Los Angeles today.  After landing at LAX, who did the crooner run into whilst riding down the electric staircase?  Peter Frampton!  (Remember Frampton's hi-larious Geico commercial?  He also made famous the voice-distorting Talk Box recently used by David Cook on American Idol.)

After shaking hands with  Frampton, Nick headed to the curb where his  lady love Vanessa Minnillo picked him up and headed off.

Fancy that.











Photos by MO


An escalator.  That's what.

The former Mr. Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, returned to Los Angeles today.  After landing at LAX, who did the crooner run into whilst riding down the electric staircase?  Peter Frampton!  (Remember Frampton's hi-larious Geico commercial?  He also made famous the voice-distorting Talk Box recently used by David Cook on American Idol.)

After shaking hands with  Frampton, Nick headed to the curb where his  lady love Vanessa Minnillo picked him up and headed off.

Fancy that.



Photos by MO

Claudia Schiffer, Now SHE is a Ski Bunny




Ah, Claudia Schiffer.  Somehow, bundled up in all that insulated clothing, you still radiate sexiness.  It's unfair, really.  Add on top of that, that you have given birth to two children, and the unfairness level just skyrockets.

Today, the supermodel was spotted in Verbier, Switzerland on a little skiing vacation with her husband Matthew Vaughn, and two children (Caspar and Clementine).

There was skiing, wearing of goofy hats, and building of snowmen.  Luckily, Claudia's snowman was significantly less scandalous than the one seen here (read: Claudia's snowman's carrot actually formed a nose).

Click any image to see Claudia and Clementine build a snowman in between trips down the slopes.




Ah, Claudia Schiffer.  Somehow, bundled up in all that insulated clothing, you still radiate sexiness.  It's unfair, really.  Add on top of that, that you have given birth to two children, and the unfairness level just skyrockets.

Today, the supermodel was spotted in Verbier, Switzerland on a little skiing vacation with her husband Matthew Vaughn, and two children (Caspar and Clementine).

There was skiing, wearing of goofy hats, and building of snowmen.  Luckily, Claudia's snowman was significantly less scandalous than the one seen here (read: Claudia's snowman's carrot actually formed a nose).

Click any image to see Claudia and Clementine build a snowman in between trips down the slopes.

More Stone, Less Weiner (dog)




Yesterday, we brought you highlights from a biker chic Sharon Stone shopping in Paris with her weiner (dog).  (We know, we know.  We're about 5 years old.)

Today, Sharon stepped out in a more demure outfit, but with equally amusing eyewear.  Sadly, her weiner (dog) did not accompany her today.  Ms. Stone dropped into Dior today, presumably to buy another pair of bizarrely fashionable sunglasses, big enough (of course) to necessitate that ginormo (real word) bag.

Click any image to see the pics of Sharon Stone's Parisian Dior (and Starbucks) excursion.




Yesterday, we brought you highlights from a biker chic Sharon Stone shopping in Paris with her weiner (dog).  (We know, we know.  We're about 5 years old.)

Today, Sharon stepped out in a more demure outfit, but with equally amusing eyewear.  Sadly, her weiner (dog) did not accompany her today.  Ms. Stone dropped into Dior today, presumably to buy another pair of bizarrely fashionable sunglasses, big enough (of course) to necessitate that ginormo (real word) bag.

Click any image to see the pics of Sharon Stone's Parisian Dior (and Starbucks) excursion.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Keep your eyes on the ball

These kinds of articles from the New York Times and Wired about the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo acquisition really get to me. Why? They’re premise is all wrong. When it comes to whether Microsoft will acquire Yahoo, it’s not about winning and losing the deal. No matter what happens, the next day will come, and the next, and the next. And it’s what Microsoft does with these days that’s really at issue–whether with Yahoo or not.

The trouble signal is not whether Microsoft tries and fails, but whether they are hungry enough to do anything at all. Lack of hunger is the killer of most every tech enterprise I’ve been around. The engineers have to be hungry. The sales staff has to be hungry. The executives have to be hungry. You have to have the drive to try. You have to have the capacity to keep going despite all odds. Tomorrow’s success will quiet the fiercest fortunetelling naysayer.

What I see that’s so promising about all of this is that Yahoo is expressing their hunger right now as it tries to position itself better and Microsoft is expressing their hunger as they try to find the sweet spot on the web. I see losers in neither of them.

Would you give up Outlook?

Robert Scoble twitters: “My Microsoft Office trial is over. I am not spending $450 just to get Outlook. Gmail and Google Calendar win this game: big time.”

and:

“I’ve been watching my usage. In two months I’ve only used Outlook out of the entire Office Suite. Everything else? Moved onto online servcs.”

Yep, the bells are tolling for Office–at least the 1990s Office.

I wonder how fast the transition might be for many of us from Office to some other product. Remember Wordstar in the 80s? And WordPerfect in the 90s? Will we soon be saying the same for Word/Outlook in 2010? Sure is going to be interesting to see how things unfold. I’m voting on change. Who’s change, I don’t know yet. In the past, I would have given the edge to Microsoft, but hmmm… The calculation isn’t as easy as it once was.

I rarely use Office apps too, except for OneNote. The rest of Office I use most often when I have to interact with others in large companies. For the little things, or when working with others I use Google Docs.

If you use C#, do you need spec#?

Scott Hanselman talks to the spec# team at Microsoft.

What is spec#? It sits ontop of C# and according to its website provides:

“The Spec# programming language. Spec# is an extension of the object-oriented language C#. It extends the type system to include non-null types and checked exceptions. It provides method contracts in the form of pre- and postconditions as well as object invariants.
The Spec# compiler. Integrated into the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment for the .NET platform, the compiler statically enforces non-null types, emits run-time checks for method contracts and invariants, and records the contracts as metadata for consumption by downstream tools.
The Spec# static program verifier. This component (codenamed Boogie) generates logical verification conditions from a Spec# program. Internally, it uses an automatic theorem prover that analyzes the verification conditions to prove the correctness of the program or find errors in it.
A unique feature of the Spec# programming system is its guarantee of maintaining invariants in object-oriented programs in the presence of callbacks, threads, and inter-object relationships.”

Here’s an overview in PDF form.

I haven’t taken more than a couple minutes to see what spec# is, but I can see where the general idea of programming by contract is a reasonable one for some cases. Is this implementation discoverable and valuable enough not only to the human, but the computer? I’m not so sure. Worth checking into.

[Found via thred.com\msdev]

The iPhone isn’t what I want

I hope you’ll indulge me for a few minutes. I have something I need to take care of. It’s rather personal, so I hope you don’t mind.

I need to talk with my iPhone.

iPhone?

You’re beautiful. You’re a wonderful device and a pleasure to be with out on the town. And it’s not just me that admires you. You know the looks you get wherever we’re traveling around. And you’ve made a difference in my life too. I appreciate that. With you I’ve stayed more connected with family and friends. You’ve shown me how to enjoy TechMeme and Twitter and Thredr on the go. And with no other device have I enjoyed so much checking the weather, or stock prices, or using the stopwatch, or alarms. Plain and simple, you’ve been there when I needed you. (OK, minus a few dropped calls.)

However, no matter how much I enjoy our time together, I’ve come to realize that it’s not working out. It’s time for a change.

I know there’s not much I can say at this point, however, please understand it’s me not you. Simply, I need more.

I’ve come to realize I need a larger display. Your display is gorgeous and fine for infrequent web browsing, however, since I’ve known you I’ve come to realize how important browsing is to me and now I accept the fact that your display is not for me.

I also need a good camera. Life is too short and too fast not to capture photos of what I want. Just an example: You know I’ve had some issues keeping track of my various medications this past year. I know I could have typed them into your notepad, however, I really wanted to take pictures of the medicine bottles and labels so I’d have all the information with me all the time. However, your pictures are just too blurry. I can make out some of the details on the labels, but I know now I need more.

I also need video. Yes, I’ve seen an app online that looks promising, however, I don’t know if this will ever be something we can use together….you know, jailbreaking makes me uncomfortable. And even I were to get over the jailbreaking part, I see now that I need direct connectivity to the Internet so I can broadcast live. I want to experience Qik with my device.

I also know now that I need more of a browser. You’re cute and all and a blast to surf with. And I never realized how much I enjoy pinching just for the fun of it. However, I miss Flash. When we first got together you knew how important Flash was to me, however, for whatever reason I realize you couldn’t adjust. And, frankly, I’m tired of you cutting out all signs of Flash and just leaving tiny blue boxes. Truthfully? It just seems so petty to do this to Flash. I don’t understand why we couldn’t just get it to work out.

And then there’s Silverlight. As a developer I have to keep trying out new technologies and seeing what they can do. I need Silverlight. And I’m not going to accept more cut out blue boxes whenever Silverlight shows up. I’m not going to live that way.

And while I’m being completely honest, I need to be up front and tell you that I need a device which is more connected. WiFi is great at home, but on the go, you’re not the same. Sometimes when we’re searching the web at a store or in the car, you just sit there. I can’t tell if anything is happening. You show a little bit of blue in your address bar, but I can’t read you. I can’t tell if I’ve done something wrong or what. It drives me crazy. I need more.

Where am I going now? Well, despite the fact that I still think you’re the best “MID” out there, I’ve decided I need a MID. A real MID. For me, a MID is just the right size, with just enough connectivity and power to give me the browser experience I want, and to provide me with a camera I need. I realize I’m giving up something great for the hope of something better, but as an early adopter I have to.

And as a programmer, I need the freedom. I know theoretically I can add whatever features I need to you. However, you come with so many rules and restrictions, I always feel like I’m being held back and wearing a straightjacket. I don’t think you trust me. I don’t think you appreciate what I can do for you. I enjoy writing programs that make our lives better and help people. With you I feel like I’m being held back. MIDs are offering me the freedom I want.

I’m sorry about this, iPhone. I realize I committed to another year with you, but I think we need to reconsider this. I’m willing to share our settings for another year if you like, but it can’t be an exclusive. I need to move on. Well, take some time, recharge yourself, and let me know what you think.

I know I’m going to kick myself for letting the best thing go, however, I need to try something different. I’m not going to be happy staying here and it’s not fair to you if we stay together and we don’t get along.

It may be tough for awhile, but give it some time. I know it’ll be the best for the both of us.

Translating the Obvious

DRUDGE REPORT FLASH 2008®

Hillary Clinton’s inner circle now fears a stinging defeat is likely in North Carolina.

“Look, we worked hard and gave it our best shot, but the demographics, well, they are what they are,” a top campaign source explained to the DRUDGE REPORT as voting began Tuesday morning.

The campaign now believes a 15 point loss, or more, would not be surprising. Her team will work hard throughout the day to lower all expectations in North Carolina.

Here’s what this “leak” to Drudge really means. Hillary now expects to lose North Carolina by five points or less. What her people are trying to do is manage the expectations to make that loss look like a smashing victory (which, in reality, it probably would be).

Today is not going to be a good day for Barack Obama. But I doubt it will change the ultimate outcome. The media, so thoroughly in the tank for Obama, won’t let it.

Blabberwhacky from the WSJ

The Housing Crisis Is Over - WSJ.com

Since then, house prices have fallen 10%-15%, while incomes have kept growing (albeit more slowly recently) and mortgage rates have come down 70 basis points from their highs. As a result, it now takes 19% of monthly income for the average home buyer, and 31% of monthly income for the first-time home buyer, to purchase a house. In other words, homes on average are back to being as affordable as during the best of times in the 1990s. Numerous households that had been priced out of the market can now afford to get in.

This is just more of the usual rah-rah bullshit from the WSJ, always jawboning economic blemishes into invisibility.

What this article misses is that the “housing boom” didn’t occur nationally. It occurred locally, in major urban areas. Places like my home town, Muncie, IN, had a high affordability rating right through the boom. It was places like my current hometown, San Francisco, where affordability plunged to levels like 12 percent. And it’s still low. In fact, it remains quite low for most of California.

We are still in the earlier stages of the great housing bust. Two years from now, re-read this article, and have a good laugh at the author’s expense.

only in california

Major drug bust at San Diego State University.

Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master’s degree in homeland security.

“A sad commentary is that when one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as (to) whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on him becoming a federal law enforcement officer,” said Ralph Partridge, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego.

Yep. You’ve got to wait until after you become a Fed to break the law.