tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:11:23 +0000Various ramblings from Peter Clark about life, coding, parenthood, Java, grad school, and enjoying my mac book airhttp://blog.pclark.net/noreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)Blogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-2990599560404891012Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:07:00 +00002009-12-26T15:58:30.017-06:00Doc Searls has a great post about the hassles and stupidity involved with Hollywood's region encoding. Worth reading. As a bi-lingual family, we have this problem in spades. Finding Region-1-coded movies with German soundtracks that are appropriate for 3rd graders and kindergardeners is a challenge.http://blog.pclark.net/2009/12/dear-hollywood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-465715927896059254Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:52:00 +00002009-12-15T11:55:26.424-06:00 Just noticed this fun little usability problem with the phorum system at the U of Mn computer science department.Assume you really do want to cancel.Do you hit "cancel", or "ok"?http://blog.pclark.net/2009/12/fun-little-usability-nightmare.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-3398048583344121543Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:07:00 +00002009-11-08T22:14:11.559-06:00C programming languages CSci5106I'm taking a graduate-level programming languages class at the U of Mn. One of the problems in the current homework is to implement a binary tree (in C) that initially can hold ints, but can be genericized to hold anything. To show that it can hold anything, I'm implementing a data type for burritos.The crown jewel of this assignment is getting to write this code:typedef enum _burritomeat {veggiehttp://blog.pclark.net/2009/11/fun-in-programming-languages.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-7209174686965601507Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:20:00 +00002009-11-07T09:23:55.643-06:00The new motorola droid handset has a picture of a red glowing eye on the front. For the love of God, don't Motorola already know that technology with red glowing eyes never ends well?http://blog.pclark.net/2009/11/motorola-droid-wtf.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-2273293518963105998Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:52:00 +00002009-10-19T19:53:10.537-05:00I'm a bad person because I find these amusing.http://blog.pclark.net/2009/10/people-of-wal-mart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-4995393122333476103Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:53:00 +00002009-10-15T19:56:59.962-05:00C 32-bit float mathAnyone want to hazard a guess as to what this C program prints as output? I'm running it on Mac OS/X 10.6.1 on an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, but this should be IEEE-754-compliant math and return the same results on any processor you like that uses IEEE-754.#include <stdio.h>int main(int argc, char *argv[]){ float basenum = 16777210.0; float num = 0.0; int counter = 0; for(counter=0; counter < 16http://blog.pclark.net/2009/10/fun-with-float.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-2881179570553964494Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:38:00 +00002009-10-15T15:44:47.248-05:00win7 x86 x64Short post today.I'm generally a mac user, but I need to use windows from time to time. When I have to do this, I use either Vista or WIn7. Using XP feels awkward, and the longer I spend away from it, the less I ever want to see it again.So, I've been running Vista x64 on my main windows box, and recently attended a Microsoft event at which I received a copy of Win7 Ultimate. This was nice of http://blog.pclark.net/2009/10/mac-os-and-win7.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-8588442014051712293Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:06:00 +00002009-08-21T14:10:30.139-05:00void tomsawyer() { try { assertequals(you.say(his_company), you.say(society)); } catch (mist) {} catch (myth) {} catch (mystery) {} catch (drift) {} finally { Runtime.exit(TomSawyer.WARRIOR); }}http://blog.pclark.net/2009/08/songs-in-code.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-6377006955574726100Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:15:00 +00002009-07-21T23:41:22.718-05:00java clojure otug pragprogJust got back from an Object Technology User's Group meeting, where Stuart Halloway spoke on Clojure. Whew - not sure I can get any more hyperlinks into that sentence!Clojure is a lisp that runs on the JVM. It's full of parentheses, like a good lisp ought to be, and it can be difficult to read for developers who are more familiar with C-derived or Coffee-based languages. However, like a lisp, thehttp://blog.pclark.net/2009/07/clojure-talk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-2455339022461157340Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:08:00 +00002009-06-03T18:15:31.805-05:00java javaone scala jruby rubyI've been at JavaOne 2009 for the past few days. Lots and lots of great information, and learning a lot. Many of the talks I've been attending have been about alternate languages that run on the JVM - JRuby, Scala, Groovy, jython. Many of these languages solve problems that are difficult to solve given the constraints of the Java language, or at least are difficult to solve elegantly. Some of thehttp://blog.pclark.net/2009/06/hanging-out-at-javaone.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-975583460871661824Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:59:00 +00002009-06-01T13:03:16.357-05:00JavaoneI'm at JavaOne in San Francisco. I'll occasionally post updates to Twitter. Http://www.twitter.com/pclarkhttp://blog.pclark.net/2009/06/javaone-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-4926328759953433026Fri, 15 May 2009 19:55:00 +00002009-05-15T15:29:48.183-05:00speedstep dell optiplexIntel SpeedStep is a technology that allows the processor to be underclocked when it's not busy. AMD has a similar concept called cool'n'quiet. The idea is that if the processor is slowed, it'll run cooler and use less power. If it's emitting less heat, then the building needs less air conditioning, and everyone is happy.We've got a bunch of Dell OptiPlex 745, 755, and 760 computers at work. http://blog.pclark.net/2009/05/confused-about-eistspeedstep.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-5377488990019033918Wed, 13 May 2009 20:25:00 +00002009-05-13T15:26:33.796-05:00A couple of days ago, Bea was annoyed that Laurel wasn't respecting her request for Laurel to keep her hands to herself. Bea complained to her mom "sometimes I think Laurel doesn't know what listening means".http://blog.pclark.net/2009/05/from-mouths-of-babes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-1174933772915979884Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:15:00 +00002009-04-08T16:21:56.096-05:00mac mail amusingI love Mac OS/X Mail.app. The latest bit of love is this - the message list will tell you how many attachments there are in a message - for instance, "3 items".Unless there are too many for it to count quickly. Then, it just displays "lots":http://blog.pclark.net/2009/04/fun-with-mailapp.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-4864828021317584447Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:03:00 +00002009-04-05T19:05:04.590-05:00Thought for the day - when writing checkin comments, consider that your audience might be your boss, reviewing your past checkins, while said boss is writing your annual performance review.http://blog.pclark.net/2009/04/subversion-and-performance-reviews.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-4216123620263505482Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:00:00 +00002009-03-12T22:06:05.588-05:00apple backupApple has recently released an update for the Airport Extreme and the Time Capsule. I've got a 500gb time capsule, and for backing up over my wired ethernet network, it's great. Fast, efficient, and just what you'd want. It's slower than backing up to a firewire-800 drive, but my macbook air doesn't have a port for that.However, backing up over the wifi network was painfully slow. In fact, it washttp://blog.pclark.net/2009/03/hooray-for-time-capsule-741-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-5255216395003988040Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:48:00 +00002009-03-10T11:51:09.734-05:00Great picture of a sandstorm coming into Riyadh. Wouldn't it be cool if Minnesota blizzards worked like that?http://blog.pclark.net/2009/03/itd-be-cool-if-blizzards-worked-like.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-349343853797562904Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:58:00 +00002009-02-24T11:59:24.872-06:00Oh boy - this is beautiful.http://blog.pclark.net/2009/02/mac-mini-hack-apple-disk-enclosure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-8187623642925616692Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:41:00 +00002009-02-15T15:42:00.714-06:00And the answer is, None. None more black.http://blog.pclark.net/2009/02/truly-news-you-can-use.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-1987005602476066334Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:30:00 +00002009-02-13T20:43:41.573-06:00maskenball jokerLast week was the Maskenball fundraiser for the Twin Cities German Immersion School. My wife worked long and hard on it, and I'm glad to have her back. It was a splendid party. I'm not much of one for big events like this - as a friend recently commented in his "25 random things about me" response, "In a group of more than 5 people, I'll probably feel like the odd man out". True for me too. http://blog.pclark.net/2009/02/maskenball-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-8683388448455185330Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:44:00 +00002009-01-04T16:59:01.659-06:00pc windows intel shuttle barebones AHCI SATAI just finished up building a new intel-based box from parts. This is the first time I've tried to assemble my own, rather than buying a whole one. However, my brother has made several machines out of Shuttle cases, and they seem to work well. All the parts came from newegg - here's what I got:Shuttle SP45H7 barebones caseIntel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0ghz processor, 65 watts4 Gb Corsair DDR2 800 http://blog.pclark.net/2009/01/new-intel-box.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-7474543970644284814Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:21:00 +00002008-12-29T22:23:09.577-06:00TSA airport securityWonderful posting, Linked to by Bruce Schneier. Wow.http://blog.pclark.net/2008/12/gunpowder-through-tsa-security.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-7397262669515440777Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:53:00 +00002008-11-11T11:57:38.892-06:00I'm in Groß-Gerau, a bit southwest of Frankfurt. I recently finished up a workshop at Schloss Dagstuhl about the Data Documentation Initiative. Rather interesting (if you're in my line of work...).I'm now visiting friends, and I head home tomorrow. Somewhat bittersweet - I've had a great trip and I've quite enjoyed visiting people I haven't seen in months or years, but I also miss my wife and http://blog.pclark.net/2008/11/last-day-in-germany.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-5317361867104777505Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:07:00 +00002008-10-23T14:16:53.930-05:00java tomcat ssl tlsInternet Explorer painA consulting client of mine has a website with some security requirements that mandate the use of encrypted communications. The site had been running on Tomcat 4 on a Win2K server machine, with no particular tuning of how tomcat dealt with crypto. We kinda just dropped in the server-side cert and ran with it, back in 2003 or so.We recently ran a nessus scan on the machine, http://blog.pclark.net/2008/10/fun-with-ie6-sslv2-and-tlsv1.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5798716.post-4003808401961391030Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:03:00 +00002008-09-19T21:10:20.325-05:00introspective ramblingsIt's been ages since I've posted, so this is maybe not the deepest thing I've put up here.I had a great 5-mile run today, despite getting rained on at the beginning. I did 5-mile runs on monday and tuesday too. Thursday I got stuck cleaning up a user's computer (he managed to find a new virus that Symantec had only heard about as of thursday AM), and left work late, so I had to bike rather than http://blog.pclark.net/2008/09/running.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Peter Clark)0