Leakage from a Cluttered Mind » Technology http://s-hq.com An eclectic blend of life, Christianity, technology, and outdoor activities. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:59:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Oh, look! My iPhone remembers where I’ve been http://s-hq.com/technology/oh-look-my-iphone-remembers-where-i%e2%80%99ve-been http://s-hq.com/technology/oh-look-my-iphone-remembers-where-i%e2%80%99ve-been#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:50:27 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=1924

Where I've been since July 2010

The big flap right now with the Apple iPhone is that it stores an unencrypted file of locations it has been. Someone quickly threw together an iPhone tracker application for the Mac that reads the iPhone’s backup file. I’m not particularly concerned about this, although if I think about it more carefully perhaps I won’t like the principle of the thing. Here’s where I’ve been in the last few months—at least where my iPhone has picked up cell towers. I find it interesting that I haven’t been in western Nevada, although I was on the summit of White Mountain. And I wasn’t in Eugene, OR, although I was high in the Cascades west of Bend.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/oh-look-my-iphone-remembers-where-i%e2%80%99ve-been/feed 0 Playing around with a new camera http://s-hq.com/family/playing-around-with-a-new-camera http://s-hq.com/family/playing-around-with-a-new-camera#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 01:54:56 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=1842 Some of the first photos I shot with my new Canon camera and lens were of Carolyn and Elizabeth in available light. ISO settings on these photos were 2000 and 3200. Noise is noticeable, but not objectionable to me. The biggest challenge is the shallow depth of field at f/2.8. Check out the PicLens slideshow in full screen mode.

Oh, and the cute models are almost two years old.

  • Carolyn

    Carolyn

    ISO 1600, f/3.5, 1/250

  • Carolyn

    Carolyn

    ISO 3200, f/4, 1/125

  • Carolyn, Elizabeth

    Carolyn, Elizabeth

    ISO 3200, f/3.5, 1/125

  • Elizabeth

    Elizabeth

    ISO 2000, f/3.2, 1/160

  • Carolyn, Elizabeth

    Carolyn, Elizabeth

    ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/80

  • Elizabeth

    Elizabeth

    ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/60

  • Carolyn

    Carolyn

    ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/60

  • Elizabeth

    Elizabeth

    ISO 2000, f/2.8, 1/80

]]> http://s-hq.com/family/playing-around-with-a-new-camera/feed 0 Windows Phone 7 update bricks some phones http://s-hq.com/technology/windows-phone-7-update-bricks-some-phones http://s-hq.com/technology/windows-phone-7-update-bricks-some-phones#comments Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:15:39 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=1642 The first Windows Phone 7 update (and a minor one at that) from Microsoft is failing to install on some phones, in some cases rendering the phones inoperable. I would think Microsoft would take special care as it tries to impress the market with its smartphone OS. I wonder if Nokia is having second thoughts about having bet the farm on depending on MS Windows Phone 7 for its future smartphone offerings.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/windows-phone-7-update-bricks-some-phones/feed 0 Microkia or Nokisoft? The puzzle of the Nokia-Microsoft agreement http://s-hq.com/technology/microkia-or-nokisoft-the-puzzle-of-the-nokia-microsoft-agreement http://s-hq.com/technology/microkia-or-nokisoft-the-puzzle-of-the-nokia-microsoft-agreement#comments Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:35:47 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=1606 Nokia, the giant cell phone manufacturer, is in deep trouble. It’s new CEO (since September 2010), ex-Microsoft executive Stephen Elop, stated that clearly in an all-hands memo to Nokia employees that compared Nokia’s business position to being on a burning oil platform. The only way to survive, he intimated, was to jump to a radically different business model.

Stephen Elop & Steve Ballmer

On February 11 Nokia and Microsoft announced a joint alliance, with Nokia committing to use Windows Phone 7 as its primary smartphone OS. To date, Windows Phone 7 OS hasn’t had much acceptance in the marketplace. Apparently, Microsoft is going to pump “billions” into Nokia to attempt to get more Windows Phone 7 phones into the market.

The stock market reacted negatively to this news, and disheartened Nokia employees left work. The Joy of Tech thinks it’s just Nokia rearranging the deck chairs since the launch of the iPhone.

I’m skeptical this is going to work to Nokia’s benefit. In my view, Microsoft has a dismal record of new product development and marketing outside of its captive Windows OS and Office product lines. Nokia probably jumped off their burning platform too late to catch up with the iOS and Android mobile platforms. By the time Nokia gets its first Windows phone out, Apple will likely have released the next two versions of its iPhone series, pushing down in cost and up in features, and Android phones will continue their stellar sales.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/microkia-or-nokisoft-the-puzzle-of-the-nokia-microsoft-agreement/feed 2 NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Takes the Blame http://s-hq.com/leadership/nasa-administrator-charles-bolden-takes-the-blame http://s-hq.com/leadership/nasa-administrator-charles-bolden-takes-the-blame#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:04:18 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=1086

 

I met Charles Bolden nearly 25 years ago when he was an astronaut. He spoke at a small seminar and I had the opportunity afterwards to briefly talk to him and get his autograph on the seminar program. I recall lamenting that I was born a bit too soon to take part in flying to space and he nailed me with the comment that it was not too late. See, the truth was, I wasn’t driven with the desire and passion and sacrifice that he was.

It interested me that he obviously continued with the hard work and drive to be appointed by President Obama as NASA Administrator. I hope he was not made the sacrificial lamb. Obama just made some drastic changes in NASA’s mission, and the spaceflight team is reeling in shock. The shuttles are soon to be retired, and new launch vehicles and a return flight to the moon are canceled. Morale at NASA, at least for the spaceflight folks, has got to be in the basement. It will take a few years for the NASA employees to be highly motivated again, unless Bolden is a really good leader—if he lasts that long.

]]> http://s-hq.com/leadership/nasa-administrator-charles-bolden-takes-the-blame/feed 0 Aerobies: from flying rings to coffee http://s-hq.com/technology/aerobies-from-flying-rings-to-coffee http://s-hq.com/technology/aerobies-from-flying-rings-to-coffee#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:32:39 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=1020

Aerobie flying ring

Some years ago, in addition to our Frisbee disks, we acquired an Aerobie flying ring. It was the champ for long distance throws. In fact, it has been thrown over 400 meters. We didn’t come anywhere close to that, but we sure could throw it farther than a Frisbee. I never developed the ability to throw it accurately, however.

It was thin, with minimal wind resistance, and it sometimes disappeared on approach when it was just exactly edge-on. Even though it had a soft rubber edge, it was a little scary. I haven’t seen ours for years—it has either wedged itself into some dark place in the garage, or it was banished to the island of unused toys.

Aeropress coffee maker

I recently bought another Aerobie, but it doesn’t fly. In a remarkable break with its tradition as a toymaker, Aerobie invented a coffee maker, and I have to say, it makes really good coffee. Technically, I guess it is a coffee press. The filter goes at the bottom of a plastic tube, ground coffee goes into the tube, add a bit of 175° water, stir for 10 seconds, and press the brew through the filter with a rubber tipped plunger. What comes out is rather like espresso. I add more water for a nice Café Americano. It takes me about four-and-a-half minutes to make a cup, and I could do it faster but I’m lazy. One down-side is that it can only make two cups at a time (and pressing the brew through two cups worth of grounds is a bit more effort than for a single cup). Another down-side is that I need to use more coffee grounds, but I get a richer, less bitter coffee than using a drip coffee maker.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/aerobies-from-flying-rings-to-coffee/feed 0 Pre-PC computing http://s-hq.com/technology/pre-pc-computing http://s-hq.com/technology/pre-pc-computing#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:41:50 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=917
IMG_0001 IMG_0002

As I was cleaning out the garage, I ran across this old book. I think it was an English book—now why would I keep an English textbook. Anyway, I noticed the advertisement for Pickett slide rules and remembered that there were two camps for slide rules, just like Mac vs. PC. Pickett’s were metal: sturdy, precise, didn’t swell with changes in humidity (important in San Luis Obispo), but were this garish yellow color.

Scan

I had a Post Versalog (still do in fact—another discovery from the depths of the garage). It was shiny white and the core was made of bamboo.

Which was better? It was simply a matter of personal taste. I’m still amazed at what was accomplished with these engineering tools.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/pre-pc-computing/feed 0 NIF major milestone completed http://s-hq.com/technology/nif-major-milestone-completed http://s-hq.com/technology/nif-major-milestone-completed#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:19:38 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=497 This is an amazing photo of an amazing facility–the target chamber of the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In late February, all 192 laser beams were fired simultaneously, basically completing the construction of the facility. The pride and sense of accomplishment the engineers and scientists who built it must feel is well deserved.

NIF composite photo

The photo of the 10 meter diameter target chamber and laser beamlines is clearly a composite stitched together from several images.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/nif-major-milestone-completed/feed 0 My unasked for future birthday present http://s-hq.com/technology/my-unasked-for-future-birthday-present http://s-hq.com/technology/my-unasked-for-future-birthday-present#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:23:21 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=342 I was scanning a few blogs for examples of great communicators and ran across a reference to Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium. The following video was given as an example.

I was particularly interested in the description of the asteroid Apophis and its close approach to earth on April 13, 2029 and again on April 13, 2036. In 2029, Apophis will come closer to the earth than our communcation satellites in synchronous orbit. The measurement errors are small enough that it is known that the asteroid will not hit the earth. But, seven years later according to Dr. Tyson, an earth strike is possible, at least at the time this video was recorded. This NASA paper, published in early 2008, may shed some better light on the possibility of an earth strike.

In the event that I’ll still be celebrating birthdays 30 years from now (the mortality tables are against it), an earth strike from a 300 meter diameter rock would really rain on my parade. I hope future measurements resolve the orbit so that we don’t have to worry about April 13 in 2036.

An asteroid strike off the coast of southern California, as Dr. Tyson surmises about Apophis, reminds me of the book “Lucifer’s Hammer,” by Niven and Pournelle. A chilling book, I found it interesting not only for the human struggle against natural catastrophe and evil men, but for a couple of locations that were mentioned in the story. The little southern San Joaquin Valley town where I grew up was drowned in flood waters, but was the site of a scavenging expedition with diving gear to recover food from a submerged supermarket.

The location of the band of survivors that are central to the story was near Springville, east of Porterville, CA. I’ve spent a couple of enjoyable days in that area, exploring and geocaching, and one of these days intend to go back.

]]> http://s-hq.com/technology/my-unasked-for-future-birthday-present/feed 0 Thinking about the possibilities of micro-UAVs http://s-hq.com/technology/thinking-about-the-possibilities-of-micro-uavs http://s-hq.com/technology/thinking-about-the-possibilities-of-micro-uavs#comments Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:28:16 +0000 Phil http://s-hq.com/?p=338 Wired’s Danger Room points out a blue-sky video produced by the Air Force Research Laboratory (hosted by the Chicago Tribune). The video points out that micro-UAVs not only have reconnaissance abilities, but offensive capability as well. This fulfills the “precision application of force at a distance” in my previous post.

The sticking point, in my view, is how to power these devices. Of course, in the right circumstances beamed power might suffice. Or maybe anti-matter, but that’s a topic for another post.

So, what are the countermeasures? Might be worth thinking about.

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