worst banana ever

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.

perfect sailing weather

Paul Ip

the ride back

On my way back home on the MS Connector. It definitely seems to take
longer, but I also get to do things like browse the Internet, do
Facebook, twitter, and blog. I also get a much better view of the lake.

It does seem to be taking MUCH longer. I'm still on the bus but my
guess is that door to door it'll take an extra 20-30 minutes, which
really sucks. Friday I'll try taking the public bus home. It should be
more direct, and therefore faster. There's a transfer though, but
there's on with the MS service too.

To be continued...

taking the microsoft bus home

Paul Ip

connector

Today I am trying out the Microsoft Connector bus to get to work. I
think I got to the stop way too early, but I'm curious to see how much
faster/slower it is door to door in the am and pm. I do have to say
that I've been getting to and from work pretty efficiently though -
usually 30 to 40 minutes.

Friday I'll experiment with taking the city bus home. I like options.
(-:

work

update

It's been a while since I've actually *written* something, right?

I actually don't even have anything that I feel like writing at this
point. I'm just bored, sitting on a plane, with nothing to read. I
knew I forgot something!

So tomorrow starts my second real week in Seattle, and I'm looking
forward to it. Tomorrow there'll be this fun event at work, with a
"variety of beverages" that I'll be joining in on. Hopefully it'll be
a good opportunity to meet others in my org and just have a good time
in general. Also, with any luck, I'll have as much fun after work this
week as I did last week. (-;

good morning

520 says hi

jersey

transportation

What to do... despite making it back home in record time today (40 minutes), I have a feeling that there must be a better way than to drive to and from work every day. I'm close to city bus routes as well as the Microsoft Connector shuttle. But, city bus would still take forever because of stops and the Microsoft bus, from what I hear, doesn't go to the buildings where I work.

Solution? Tell me if this is crazy.
1) Rent a $15 locker at the transit center over by Microsoft where I can keep a bike. Then, take the Microsoft shuttle there and ride my bike the remaining mile or two to where I work. There's a bike trail that takes me right there. This means that I'll probably have an east side bike for work and a west side bike for um... when I'm on the west side. Two bikes. Overkill? The other bonus is that I would be able to ride my bike to the gym. Last year I never went to the gym because it was about half a mile away from work. Waaaaay too close to drive there, but too far to walk. Perfect biking distance though.

2) Motorcycle. Seems like a great way to exploit the HOV lane in the evenings so that I can get home reasonably fast. Plus, it's another machine for me to play around with... as if the car weren't enough... Downside is the cost of a bike, effort to get a license, and also insurance. Wah.

3) Do both. Who knows if I can get a seat on the Microsoft bus at all?

4) Car pool. This will be trickier since there aren't 60 interns living in the same complex. I'm not counting on it. I would need to find people who live by me and work by me and have similar hours. Ick.

5) Work from home a lot. YES.

holy shit that's a big tv

Five digital channels off the air with no antenna. Maybe I should tell
comcast to f themselves.

homemade speaker stands done!

Two Target lamps + parts from my old dresser + a set of conduit clamps
+ black spray paint = custom speaker stands for under $5. And less
clutter!

This is the ugliest view.

eta

Arrival of items:
TV - ETA 7/23
Couch - ETA 8/2

Removal of items:
Boxes - 7/18
Crane that's been blocking a small part of my view - TODAY

bookcase

I went to IKEA today in search of a sofa, coffee table, TV table, dresser, a desk lamp, shelves, random kitchen stuff, and another chair. I only got the TV table, shelves, random kitchen stuff, and the chair, but that's probably a good thing. My car was completely full. Miraculously I played tetris with the boxes and got everything to fit. I could even see out my back window and my side mirrors.

Anyway, it's all assembled. I just need to new TV to show up and perhaps get cable. Oh... and get the sofa, dresser, and coffee table.

New bookcase is built and loaded, meaning that I have yet another room that is almost *complete*. I got a fancy looking one. 16 cubes in a 4x4 arrangement. It was actually interesting to build. Very repetitive, which is great for later in the evening.

Top row - Personal stuff:
1 - Good books worth re-reading + my queue (2 books... one that I've started... over half a year ago)
2 - Books that I've read (or planned to read) that are "meh"
3 - History (history books, yearbooks and the like)
4 - Travel and language

Second row - professional stuff:
1 - Good readable books + queue (10 books, 3 that I've "started")
2 - Good useful books
3 - Good but irrelevant books, or relevant books that suck that I keep "just in case" [someone throws some meaningless marketing term that I've blocked out of my memory]
4 - Dated, irrelevant, or otherwise dead to me

Third row - TBD
1,2 - empty
3 - records that aren't in my file. why is it on paper anyway?
4 - misc. Yale stuff

Fourth row - Class materials
1 - Useful stuff from CMU, and random stuff from training at PGR
2 - The good stuff from Yale
3,4 - The good but irrelevant, or relevant but not good stuff from Yale

18 year old coors light died during the road trip. sadness.

i will try to not fall out of my window

thanks, melanie!

I haven't gotten cable yet, but I'm enjoying this free internet. My $50 badass WiFi antenna is paying off.

Download: 1023kbps (or 128kB/s)
Upload: 656kbps (or 82kB/s)

I'm getting a bit tired of packing. Maybe I'll post a few stories from the epic road trip.....

wtf?

another nice lunch spot... sadly, the last of the trip

bear. still alive

the clouds looked nice before dumping near blinding rains on us for 15 miles

oh. hi.

collective soul, live, blues traveler, and fireworks @ red rocks

denver

Denver has done well. OK downtown, had a great time at the Rockies
game, and so far I'm enjoying Red Rocks. I'm even going to check out
Little Asia tonight. Only issue: diversity. In a random sample of 1000
people at the concert:
2 people of SE Asian descent
1 of S Asian descent
1 of African descent

WTF?

live at red rocks

the smoke beginning to clear from our section

fireworks so close, I'm getting rained on

the outfield seats are now... in the outfield

dammit. i could be watching the fireworks from the field

game over, man. game over.

extra innings

coors field

living room and kitchen

another day, another great lunch spot

curvi

straight

nice spot at eagle lake for my birthday lunch

giant sequioas

death valley is HOT!!!

progress

today

Today:
Going to Death Valley today. It's supposed to be 117F there today. So
far the a/c has been holding up great and the radiator has also been
holding up very well. No problems yet cruising at 80-95mph in 100+
degree heat so far. If we're good, we'll even make it to Sequoia in
time for a hike!

Yesterday:
Yesterday I tool the time in the morning to change the oil in the
hotel parking lot. I was curious if anyone would come out and yell at
me, but no one did. Activity of the day was hiking The Narrows at
Zion. Zion is still my favorite park. After four days there over two
years I have still not been disappointed. I have to say that my
favorite hike there is the Observation Point trail. Many people love
The Narrows, but I enjoy Observation Point Trail's variety.

Prior day:
Did a nice hike at Grandview at the Grand Canyon, then went to
Monument Valley. After visiting both the North and South Rim, I think
the South Rim is superior in terms of scenery and trails. And, I no
longer think the Grand Canyon is overrated, as I did before. But -
Zion is still my favorite.

Another day back:
Did the drive from Tucson to the Grand Canyon, passing through Sedona.
I wasn't planning on passing through Sedona, but I went based on
Dana's recommendation. It definitely has some fantastic scenery. I
can't say that I'm a huge fan of towns like that, but the location is
spectacular. We finished up the day by walking most of the Rim Trail
at the Grand Canyon and catching the sunset. Good times.

Day before:
Checked out the sand dunes at White Sands National Monument before
heading over Tucson where we took a stroll through the desert at
Saguaro Na... SNAKE!!!

first entry of the trip

So if you haven't noticed, I've been doing a pretty poor job this trip
in keeping this blog update. Usually I do my updates while ridng the
bus, but this time I'm driving.

So what am I doing right now? I'm sitting on the edge of a cliffat
the Grand Canyon waiting for the sun to set. It's been a great trip so
far.

OK. Sun is setting, so I'm gonna get up.

sunset at the grand canyon

grand canyon

souvenir cup