bike

free berries

Every day when I leave work I pass through some berry bushes on the
way to the bus stop. Today I decided to eat some. Yum!

skynet - eta 2050

The creation of SkyNet is inevitable. It didn't happen in 1998, and the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems delayed it, but as we saw in the prophecy AKA Terminator 3, it will happen anyway. But when?

Intel CTO says 2050.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20080821comp.htm

Intel Corporation's chief technology officer took a fascinating look at how technology will bring man and machine much closer together by 2050.

Justin Rattner, during his keynote today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, predicted big changes are ahead in social interactions, robotics and improvements in computer's ability to sense the real world. He said Intel's research labs are already looking at human-machine interfaces and examining future implications to computing with some promising changes coming much sooner than expected.

"The industry has taken much greater strides than anyone ever imagined 40 years ago," Rattner said. "There is speculation that we may be approaching an inflection point where the rate of technology advancements is accelerating at an exponential rate, and machines could even overtake humans in their ability to reason, in the not so distant future."

Interesting... especially given the following quote from Terminator 2...

Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.

Maybe I should plan out my investment horizon as if I would have no expenses after 2050...

frontier

I'm flying Frontier for the first time. So far they seem competent.
Perhaps my positive impressions comes from the new, clean plane or the
empty seat next to me. Amazing... I haven't gotten an open seat next
to me in years. I like it. I'm less of a fan of the pay TV and movies
(Virgin had TV for free), but at least the bevs are free, unlike US
Airways.

I just glanced out the window and miraculously recognized a random
landscape. It was the Beaver Valley in western Pennsylvania. How did I
know? Rolling hills + river + a coal and nuclear power plant in one
unit gave it away. (-;

a good night's rest

So I've finally made it to DC. Unlike my last set of flights, I was
able to get some good sleep on the red eye.

Three hours of sleep from Seattle to Charlotte, and an incredible two
hours of sleep from Charlotte to DC. So you may be wondering how it's
possible to get two hours of sleep on a half hour flight. Stretch your
mind a little...

9:10am - we board the plane, I start sleeping

9:40am - instead of taking off, we start taxiing

10:10am - instead of landing, we are still waiting in line to use the
runway. Looks like US Air has a shitty hub.

11:15am - we land, an 65 minutes late.

I have to admit that I had a great experience with US airways in 2004
when I got a brand new airbus to take me home from Rome, but that
doesn't make up for putting me on a plane where my seat was literally
missing, stranding me in Pittsburgh, and almost stranding me in
Charlotte in 2007. You guys really suck.

angry

I'm in Charlotte's airport right now sitting across from the angriest
looking infant I have ever seen. He's pretty fussy too.

His parents both look fairly angry as well.

this plane does not sound right

you have got to be kidding me

I was planning on not checking any bags in, but I just read the e-mail from US Airways and it looks like they've started charging for any checked baggage. I bought my ticket berfore July 9th, so I should be OK anyway, but I don't like the way this is going.

The other thing is that I need to pay for drinks - even water. WTF? I can't bring my own drinks into the airport since it's a liquid, and now I can't even get a drink on the plane for free? Dammit.

Third thing is they're charging $5 to choose a window or aisle seat. Thankfully I chose seats before they decided to be super cheap pricks. I have a fancy window seat.

I hope they go bankrupt again and disappear. That way I wouldn't be tempted to fly them ever again just because they're cheaper or have better schedules.

plans for the week

Tuesday: Hang out (-:
Wednesday: Float down a river with work peeps drinking beer and
acting like idiots
Thursday: Sailing
Fri-Sun: DC, the place to be!

On a side note, I've been seeing this couple a lot on the bus. I've
seen them on this bus (the 545 at least three times). They work at
Microsoft and live down the street from me, so I see them on two buses
followed by the walk home. And no, I'm not stalking. I'm a busy man
and I have better things to do with my time.

I do have to say I was amused one day when I worked from home and saw
them walking home from work when I was walking the opposite way
carrying some food and a bottle of wine. (-;

i enjoy abusing google's search tools

Tits vs. Ass

There are some interesting geographical differences, but it's a close battle.

now passing mount hood

That was a great hike. Along with Mount Hood I can see Mount Adams and
the massive dome of Mount Rainier in the distance. I still haven't
made it to Rainier this summer. )-:

No worries, I'll make it! I would want to miss my nearly annual visit
to the park!

my virgin virgin flight

Paul Ip

flying again

I'm on a flight up from LAX back to Seattle right now. We're going
straight up the Cascades so I'm enjoying my window seat. It's kind of
fun to see places that I've been from the air.

The first spot was Pepperdine University's georgeous front lawn that I
spent an hour on this afternoon. We then passed by beautiful
Bakersfield followed by Sequoia National Park, Kings Canyon National
Park, and Yosemite National Park. From the air I can tell that the
entire region is spectacular. The Yosemite valley is just a very small
part of it. We just passed Lake Tahoe.

Oh... So how do I know where I am? I'm taking my first flight on
Virgin America. The plane features power ports (120v and USB) as well
as satellite tv, and a google map showing where we are. It's a bit
buggy, but working enough to tell me where I am. With any luck we'll
get NBC back so that I can watch the Olympics (or Comedy Central for
Scrubs).

The key missing feature is Internet. They were supposed to have it,
but either failed to get the software right or didn't get approval
from the FAA or FCC. My loss. )-:

pepperdine

Paul Ip

pepperdine

Paul Ip

i am easily amused

http://www.iphonesavior.com/2008/08/i-am-rich-buyer.html

Paul Ip

no diving into the sand?

hanging out by the pool

Paul Ip

hanging out by the pool

is it a subway, or is it a bus? it's the bus tunnel!

Paul Ip

working from home

I went downtown for my 9am appointment for getting my driver license, thinking that I'll be out of there by 9:30 and get to work a little after 10am.  Well...  it didn't exactly go as planned.  I don't think I got out of there till 10am or maybe a little later.  Instead of heading over to the east side to work from the office, I opted to head back to my apartment and work from home.  After all, I don't have any meetings today anyway and most of the stuff I was planning to look at today was on the Web instead of being on the intranet.  If that wasn't the case, I'd be in bad shape.  I left the power adapter for my work laptop at work.  Good thing I have at least an hour of battery left!

Anyway, I think I'll enjoy this arrangement.  I get to sit in my comfy chair and listen to music as I work.  And I save two hours of commuting - two hours that I can spend working instead.

Final note:  I think I've become too lazy to go to blogger.com to write my blog postings.  I'm going straight e-mail even when I'm on my laptop.  Yeah...  LAZY!

race results

The 242 wins by 2 minutes. Both missed the 5:50 connection to the 43.
End result: no difference.

Paul Ip

today's commuting experiment

It's simple. Is the 545 faster than the 242? The 242 has a two minute
head start. We shall see.

Either way, it's good to have options. Today is warm so illtake the
545's a/c. The crowds are a bit annoying though, but I guess I'm on a
bus.

It's early, but I think the 242 is going to win.

emissions testing

Paul Ip

sunset

Paul Ip

lunch at jade garden

Paul Ip

this is a new iphone phenomenon

Paul Ip

rockin the bus

I know it's early, but so far the 242 is rocking the MS connector in
the afternoon. Easier to get to, smoother ride and more comfortable
seats. The only thing is that it's running late. I'll have to see if
the 545 has the same issue. Either way, it seems like I'm finding
myself a decent communting routine. Cool.