GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) Public Key

Here: http://kevinschultz.com/schultkl-public-key-gpg-1-4-9.asc

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-12-27

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-12-27
Resting heart rate: 65 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI):
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 4 C
Time: 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
Terrain: flat

Comments: Exercised at the gym this morning. Five minute warmup and cooldown. In between, a 45 minute workout on the arc trainer. Worked hard after warming up and did an interval workout. By the half-way point, I was slowing down on the hard parts and speeding up on the easy parts, which felt good. I tried to stay comfortable. During the second half I watched a program produced by LatinoAmerica.TV and felt a craving for green chile and cheese tamales. I burned about 875 calories today, then went home and ate about 900 calories of tamales (two). I guess that is 900 calories that will not add to my daily total.

Weight (after exercise): 81.8 kg (180.3 lb)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Muscles behind my right knee felt sore a bit after workout.

Wishing Everyone A Patrick Swayze Christmas

For those celebrating today, Merry Christmas, courtesy of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

KYDS Radio Songs

Heard this evening around 5:15 p.m. on KYDS 91.5 Sacramento:

Nutbush, Tennessee native Tina Turner's "Whatever You Need" from her 1999 album "Twenty Four Seven", on the Parlephone Records and Virgin Records labels. Video.

San Diego-based Angels & Airwaves' "Lifeline" from their 2007 album "I-Empire" on the Geffen label. Video.

Running Journal, Thursday, 2008-12-25

Running Journal, Thursday, 2008-12-25
Resting heart rate: 58 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI): 24.0 (upper normal weight)
Weather: mostly sunny, moderately windy, chilly
Temp: 11 C
Time: 4:00-4:45 p.m.
Terrain: flat

Comments: Decided to get some exercise as my Christmas present this year. Apparently, this represents the first time I have run since early November. I walked quickly for five minutes to warm up. The first 15 minutes went by slowly. I ran quickly to warm up against the brisk wind. At the half-way point, 22 minutes, I could not imagine running around the American River College track any longer. The ARC campus became the stage for the next 12 minutes, with two and one-half laps at the track to complete the run. The track has poor drainage. The north end's lane nine always seems to have a squishy section following rain, and the west side collects water in pools between the track and the bleachers. I cannot imagine that is good for the long-term health of the stadium track. A few people were out walking, some with dogs. One person practiced their tennis serve. A soccer player was practicing their foot skills on the fields to the east of the school. Someone had left on the scoreboard next to the college pool, so all the digits were lit up like a Christmas display. As I ran around the campus, I felt like I hit my stride around minutes 25-30. I was running strong and comfortably. It felt very wonderful. It felt even better to finish.

Goal Time: none
Distance (running): ???
Total Running Distance For Year: 64.79 km (32.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): 82.6 kg (182.1 lb)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Sore calves near the end.

Winter Tires

Flat tire on the way home this evening, so investigating tires:

175/65R14 XL Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 Blackwall

Only $550 shipped from TireRack.com (with black steel rims and wheel covers).

Purchasing just the four tires from a local Firestone costs $405 (with tax). x_x

Letters from Iwo Jima

60th Reunion of Japanese and American Iwo Jima Veterans in 2005 (Wikipedia)

Iwo Jima means "sulpher island" in Japanese. Over the course of nearly 40 days, the island became the stage for a pitched battle between 21,000+ Japanese and 100,000+ American soldiers. Only 216 Japanese soldiers surrendered. Close to 3,000 Japanese soldiers remained in hiding in the complex tunnel network of the island after the battle. The rest of the Japanese forces were killed in action or through suicide.

Notes and Thoughts

• General Kuribayashi, through attrition, hoped to deter American forces from invading Japan. I wonder, though, if the losses incurred at Iwo Jima played into the use of the hydrogen bomb at Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
  
  
• The remains of 10,000 Japanese soldiers reported missing-in-action still exist on the island.
  
  
• The movie clearly conveys the Japanese soldiers' desire to protect their families from harm, which resonated with me.
  
  
• General Kuribayashi is the tragic hero of the film (along with tank commander Takiechi Nishi), sent to his death to delay American forces.
  
  
• Desparation, panic, fear, resignation, acceptance, anger, rage, cynicism, horror.
  
  
• Practically speaking, a civilian's best bet of visiting Iwo Jima is through military tourism.
  

Pictures of the island today: http://www.iwojima.com/today.htm

Brown Butter and Pasta Recipe (Old Spaghetti Factory)

Image credit: http://flickr.com/photos/kurtasbestos/2793267607/

Recipe Review

• Trés Bon. One of my favorites. This represents the second time we have made it.
  
  
• The smell of the caramelizing butter represents a heavenly experience.
  
  
• It tastes just as good or better than that served at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
  
  
• We added a bottle of Pinot Grigio, a tossed salad, two tapered candles, and streamed classical music via Shoutcast.com for ambiance.
  
  
• This open source recipe below comes from CD Kitchen: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/23/Spaghetti_with_Burnt_Butter38272.shtml. I did not write anything below unless otherwise noted.
  

Recipe Overview

There is a terrific dish served by The Old Spaghetti Factory chain, called Spaghetti with Browned Butter. It is served topped with shredded Mizithra cheese (a Greek hard cheese). If mizithra is not available (I am able to easily locate it St. Louis at cheese shops and some supermarkets), a blend of ricotta salata and romano is suggested.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup unsalted butter
2. 1 cup mizithra cheese (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizithra)
3. Pasta of choice (spaghetti works great)
   

Directions

1) Brown the butter

• Cut 2 sticks of butter into 8 pieces and place in a 2-quart sauce pan.
  
  
• Place the pan of butter on a burner on medium heat.
  
  
• Bring butter to a slow boil (about 5 minutes).
  
  
• Once the butter begins to boil, stir constantly to prevent residue from sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the butter cooks, it will start to foam and rise.
  
  
• Continue stirring, otherwise the butter foam could overflow (about 5 minutes) and catch fire.
  
  
• Once the butter stops foaming and rising, cook until amber in color (about 1 to 2 minutes). It will have a pleasant caramel aroma.
  
  
• Turn off the heat and remove pan from burner. Let the sediment settle to the bottom of the pan for a few minutes.
  
  
• Pour the brown butter through a strainer into a small bowl. Do not disturb the residue at the bottom of the pan. (Kevin: I used a paper towel over a measuring cup for this step.)
  
  
• The brown butter can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated in a microwave as needed.
  

2) Boil the Pasta

• Boil the pasta of choice until Al Dente (depends on pasta).
  
  
• Drain pasta and divide into four servings.

3) Combine and Eat

• Spread 1/4 cup of Mizithra over each pasta serving.
  
  
• Top with 1/4 cup of hot brown butter.

Serves/makes 4.

Level 60 (FreeRice.com)

Achieved playing normally (not setting the level). 41,860 grains of rice donated, which amounts to 2,093 turns. That is a lot.

I installed two FireFox extensions which aided in word comprehension and retention:

1. Wikipedia Lookup Extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/744
2. Dictionary extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7869
   

Link: http://FreeRice.com

In searching blog posts for others who have played, I came across a suggestion to play http://aidtochildren.com. After all the difficulty with freerice.com, I mastered this one in 20 minutes:

Koji Tamaki

Kouji Tamaki emotes every line.

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdI0OTRYwIo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwnmFFtDEc4

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koji_Tamaki

Let the Right One In

Macabre, tender, violent. "Let the Right One In" shatters the myth of childhood innocence. At the same time, it shows the birth of an unlikely friendship between two desperately lonely 12-year-olds. Vulnerability, honesty, and acceptance prove the foundation for friendship, love, and hope for a world without despair.

If you liked the wintry examination of human frailties portrayed by Fargo, this may appeal to you. Often unconventional, dark, bleak, stark, and gory, I highly recommend it.

Link: http://www.lettherightoneinmovie.com/

Rostropovich

Dawn calls me a Rostropovich fanboy. What can I say? I want to purchase the Bach Cello Suites but have no money. Therefore, blogging about it here so I remember later.

Running Journal, Sunday, 2008-11-02

Running Journal, Sunday, 2008-11-02
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17 C
Time: 3:00--6:20 p.m.
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: I didn't think about it until we reached the Parkway, but in a strange coincidence I wore my 2006 NYC marathon finishers shirt on the weekend of the 2008 NYC marathon. Noticed a Fleet Feet marking at mile 18.25 indicating a 12-mile turnaround point. It rained here from Thursday evening to Saturday evening, leaving the Parkway in a semi-dried, post-storm state of disarray today. Reflections of the tall, grey and white clouds overhead appeared in large, stagnant puddles along the bike path. The wind created mini-ripples in the puddles that obscured the reflections but remained beautiful in their uniformity. At mile 16, a flock of eight south-ward tracking Canadian Geese flew right over us, the rin-rin-rin noise of their flapping wings and the occasional, punctuating honk the only noises that indicated their presence. Some things never change--at mile 14, the California International Llama Association continues their presence as volunteer stewards of Parkway miles 14--15. About this time I realized I made an error in judgment regarding daylight hours remaining. Today represents the beginning of daylight savings time, so I looked up the time of sunset online. Unfortunately (which I didn't discover until I got home) in my haste I mis-read the sunrise time (6:07 a.m.) for the sunset time (5:04 p.m.). At mile 14.5, a black-tailed deer with antlers bolted across the bike trail and trotted back towards the William B. Pond park. The California sun set impressively, highlighting from behind the profile of a tall cloud on the horizon in beautiful orange and pink hues. At mile 16.75, we passed flocks of chattering birds as they settled in for the night in the branches of a tree near the American River. The contrast of a waxing crescent moon and a bright star became more and more stark as the daylight waned. At mile 17.75, we heard the sound of baying dogs--either coyotes or ferile dogs. At first just one, and we remarked at how one or two dogs might find the moon appealing to howl (somewhat pitifully, to me). Then a group of them began this strange baying, and then the howls began growing louder and louder, as though coming near us rapidly. As we continued to run, the baying dogs became distant. It weirded Dawn out; I'll admit I felt a bit weirded out too by the type of howl. Growing up in the country-side, I know how extremely rare it is for coyotes to attack humans. Most likely, the group had found something to chase and hunt, or they picked a fight with another pack over territory. It was enough for Dawn to want to only run during the day from now on, and I don't blame her. Up until that point, however, the Parkway had become very still and peaceful. At mile 16.75, we passed a small rabbit eating peacefully alongside the trail; it didn't even seem to mind that we stopped and watched it for several moments. As the temperatures cooled, a light mist arose, making the moon and stars look hazy. As we ran past the reflecting puddle we had passed earlier near mile 18.25, this time I saw the moon and the star in the clear waters, bouncing in time with our gait. By the time we made it to the overhanging oak trees at mile 18.5, the darkness around us reduced visibility to a minimum. An occasional early-evening cyclist drove by, bike light strobing through the darkness. At mile 19, we decided to walk the last mile, which provided the double benefit of both alleviating Dawn's exhaustion and providing a cool-down. We held hands to warm Dawn's fingers, first one and then the other. Walking the last quarter mile past the bluffs near the Bridge Street pedestrian bridge, we noticed the large, illuminated peace symbol that shines nightly at a home on the top of the bluffs. Crossing the bridge, we walked under the lone sodium light on the north end of the bridge, got in our car, and drove up the hill. Our reward this week: Jamba Juice for a Pomegranate Paradise and two apple-cinnamon pretzels.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 19.3 km (12.0 mi):
Total Running Distance For Year: 64.79 km (32.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: slightly sore muscles.

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-25

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-25
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17 C
Time: 12:13 PM--2:46 PM
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: Animals seen: Jackrabbit, black-tailed deer, Canadian geese. A bicyclist with a helmet-cam rode past us twice. "Bright Little Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle" represents the name of the protected beetle along the Parkway. Another bicyclist rode past us dinging his bell and tapping his bicycle frame to make a rhythm. We came up with the nonsensical term "first second half" and wondered if such things as couples-straight-jackets exist. This represented Dawn's longest run evar.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 16.1 km (10.0 mi):
Total Running Distance For Year: 45.49 km (26.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: slightly sore muscles.

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-18

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-18
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: partly sunny
Temp: 17 C
Time: 12:00 PM--2:45 PM
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: Today we met a bicyclist by the name of Garland--gregarious to the point of obnoxiousness, he exclaimed "I'm 65 and I know everyone out here" and proceeded to tell us that only one person grew upset with him the entire time he's cycled on the Parkway--the person noticed him sitting on the bench at the mile 19 rest stop and called him "weird"--Garland related that while he'd been tempted to challenge the person in question to a 20-mile bike ride, he didn't and instead waved him off. After introducing ourselves, he waved and exclaimed, "out here, everyone is 'Hey you'". With that we parted ways amicably. A real character--shoulder length bright-white hair, dark complexion, extremely fit, and very, very extroverted. Dawn and I ran nine miles today--well, eight miles, and then walked the last one mile due to physical nausea. At the turn-around point (mile 15.5) we discovered the Soil Born Farms irrigation pump. They've installed a Flexcon Industries Global Water Solutions 119-gallon (450L) Challenger Outdoor storage tank (PC366FR), a cycle-stop valve, and a 25HP, 230V, 65A Baldor Reliance Industrial motor (model JMM2531T, $2,200) from Berkeley Pumps. It seemed idle at around six-PSI. The sign at the pump stated it helped water around 20 acres of crops at their American River farm. Leaving the irrigation pump, we noted our split time of 1:12 and headed back. After walking the last mile and cooling our legs in the water at the Bridge Street boat ramp, we listened as several fishermen shared fishing secrets. One of them had caught a few salmon, which as I thought later, might have represented an illegal act, given the low salmon runs this year. According to the Department of Fish and Game, it seems to be, but I'm not current on these matters. After running, we stopped by the Sunflower Nutburger Stand in Fair Oaks and gorged on great local food.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 14.5 km (9.0 mi):
Total Running Distance For Year: 29.39 km (16.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: slightly sore muscles.

GRE Test Prep, Practice Test Two

Second GRE practice test:

Quantitative: 650 (600, +8.3%, 61st percentile)
Verbal: 680 (620, +9.7%, 93rd percentile)
Total: 1,350 (1,220, +10.7%, )

That's a significant increase from mid-to-late July when I took my first practice test. Onward and upward. I'm significantly better on the Verbal--which according to ETS represents a harder test--getting an 800 (perfect score) on the Quantitative represents only the 94th percentile.

ETS also posts the average scores by degree program. CS applicants have a ways to go in their Verbal--300--390 represents the most populous range (24%), with the majority falling between 300--600 (75%). Only 3.2% (!) fall into the 700--790 range--not unexpected. In Quantitative, it's a different story--85% fall into the 600--800 range, with 700--790 representing the most populous range (46.1%).

I'm studying every day while on the light rail to and from work.

Notes:

• I'm not finishing all my quantitative questions. Both times finished only 27/30 questions, so I have some work ahead of me getting through the questions more efficiently. At the same time, I don't want to rush and get them wrong, so it represents an exercise in patience.
• Finishing with plenty of time to spare in the Verbal section.
  
• I scored a 32/38 both times on the Verbal sections, which suggests I'm plateauing there for the time being. I scored a perfect score on the 27 I did finish on the second Quantitative section.
• I felt really insecure about the second passage--and I ended up getting only one wrong.
  

Questions I got wrong and the reasons why:

• Verbal section one: 1) didn't understand the word "diffidence" (reserve, timidity, lack of confidence); 2) didn't understand the specific definition of "die" (tool used to form an object); 3) didn't understand definitions of "fawn" (court favor in a cringing or flattering manner) and "imperiousness" (arrogance, or a commanding presence); 4) guessed incorrectly at inference from the passage; 5) Applied definition of "tractability" to problems (e.g., math) rather than a quality of a person (easily changed or molded); 6) didn't understand definition of "noisome" (bad-smelling).
• Quantitative section one: 1) removed large integers and plugged in small ones--turns out this doesn't work for all integers; 2) in haste calculated 3*3*3 as 9 instead of 27. Doh; 3) isosceles triangle--I incorrectly assumed if x was across from a 45-degree angle, then the side across from a 90-degree angle would be 2x. Nope--it's a^2 + b^2 = c^2; 4) In haste, didn't consider the case where p = 1; 5) In haste, I forgot to update my scratch-paper notes to divide both sides by three, throwing off the result; 5) multiplied x by the inside of (x^2)^3 before expanding (x^2)^3, which resulted in (x^3)^3. Doh; 6) Ran out of time and guessed incorrectly.
• Verbal section two: 1) didn't understand the definition of "ardor"; 2) close--the second part of the answer disqualified it as the correct one--thoroughness would have prevented this mistake; 3) close--answer ended up too limited--thoroughness would have prevented this mistake; 4) close--answer ended up going too far--and duplicated a claim of another answer, which represented a warning sign; 5) didn't understand the definition of "hapless" (unlucky, unable to achieve success because of bad luck)--confused it with "helpless"; 6) didn't understand the definition of "sedulous" (applying oneself faithfully to a task)--guessed incorrectly.
• Quantitative section two: No wrong answers.
  

General problem areas:

• Lack of word familiarity--my biggest problem area with Verbal. This taps into my long-term knowledge of words, so not so easily corrected except through additional word-familiarity practice.
• Haste--especially in Quantitative where I'm running out of time.
  
• Lack of understanding relationships among analogy questions--reading the answers helps me understand the thinking of the people who create the questions.
• Failing to complete quantitative sections
• Quantitative deficiencies in some areas (exponentiation, calculation of triangle sides)
  

Dove Chocolate

Apparently the best chocolate per a tasting contest we listened to on PBS radio.

Zen of Car Maintenance

Car maintenance needed:

• Door Window Mouldings, part 20935
• Airflow through the instrument panel weak
  
• HD Radio

KVIE 87.7 Sacramento

Listening to 87.7 KVIE lately and finding the variety of shows interesting.

Last weekend, we listened to the PBS show "Road Trip With Huell Howser #135 - OAK GLEN" which talked about exotic, locally grown varieties of apples. Description:

It's apple season and Huell is off to Oak Glen, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, to take part in a popular fall tradition. www.oakglen.net

Los Rios Rancho 909-797-1005

Wood Acres 909-797-8500
Parrish Pioneer Ranch 909-797-1753
Law’s Cider Mill & Ranch 909-797-1459
Law’s Oak Glen Coffee Shop 909-797-1642
Snow-Line Orchard 909-797-3415
Apple Tree Gifts & Country Things 909-797-3130

Wood Acres in particular seemed interesting.

If that wasn't enough to make me hungry, one of Huell's other shows we heard this weekend dealt with drying persimmons:

California's Gold #10011 - PERSIMMONS

Huell spends the day in Granite Bay California at Otow Orchard to learn the ancient art of Hoshigaki, which is the drying of persimmons.The persimmons are dried each fall in a slow, patient, hands-on process that usually takes three to six weeks...per persimmon. Each persimmon is hand-peeled, strung onto a rack, and massaged every 3 to 5 days for several weeks. Weather conditions are watched carefully. The result is a transformation into a sugary delicacy that is tender and moist. www.otoworchard.com 916-791-1656

From their web site calendar, they offer hoshigaki persimmons from mid-to-late November through January.

Northern California Running Trails

Some locals offer their favorites:

• Eagle Point to D.L. Bliss State Park via the Rubicon Trail.
  
• Big Slide/West Ridge loop in Nisene Marks State Park, Aptos.
• UC Santa Cruz/Pogonip Preserve trails in Santa Cruz
• Truckee River Legacy Trail / Martis Valley / Dry Lake
• Purisima Creek Loop, located in the Purisima Creek Open Space Preserve, San Mateo County.
• Any section of the Diablo 50-Mile course, but one of our favorite sections is from Mitchell Canyon gate over Eagle Peak to the summit of Mt. Diablo.
• Any of the single-track trails around Auburn, but one of my favorite sections is from our home in downtown Auburn to the fire station in Cool on the Western States Trail.
• Ohlone Wilderness Trail, Alameda County. It starts from Mission Peak in Fremont and weaves for 28 miles through the Sunol Regional Wilderness to Del Valle Regional Park near Livermore. I run a solo 100-mile training run on it every May. I finish off my journey with an official race called the Ohlone 50k, from Mission Peak to Del Valle. In the Sierra, I love doing repeats up and down Half Dome starting from Curry Village in Yosemite Valley. Steep single-track granite trails with the most spectacular views.

http://www.adventuresportsjournal.com/html/Articles/36/36_trailRunning.htm

E Clampus Vitus

The New York Times featured E Clampus Vitus today. We passed several chapters of this organization (and I use that term loosely in this case) on the way to Yosemite in 2007.

2008 Sacramento Salmon Festival

Note: random picture of the giant salmon playground equipment at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, from the internets.

The lack of salmon represented the stark reality of this year's Salmon Festival. We arrived at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery at 3:45 PM on Sunday at closing time and talked briefly with a member of the American River Natural History Association (ARNHA). Their newsletter contains an article on the plight of the salmon, written at the beginning of the summer, which discusses the hardships salmon have faced in recent human history (since ~1850). Gold miners most likely killed off runs of salmon with deposits of mud into the river. More recently, dams have restricted the ability of salmon to move upstream (from 160 miles to 23 miles on the American River today).

We also had the misfortune of purchasing burnt caramel kettle corn, filled with a high percentage of unpopped kernels.

Despite the unsatisfactory kettle corn and the lack of salmon in the American, we both enjoyed the atmosphere of the event and the many booths. Arriving late meant we didn't have to pay the $9 parking fee (at the expense of missing many booths).

Running Journal, Monday, 2008-10-13

Running Journal, Monday, 2008-10-13
Resting heart rate: 75 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI): 24
Weather: clear
Temp: 17 C
Time: 11:31AM--12:16PM
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: Fall Sacramento weather makes running easy. This represents the first time I'm using http://mapmyrun.com--pretty cool. It seems to work better than http://www.gmap-pedometer.com. After our run, we used the Bridge Street Pedestrian Bridge's drinking fountain for the first time. A woman waiting to use the restroom asked Dawn how far we ran, then shared that she and her partner planned to bike to the end of the trail (Folsom Dam)--maybe 13 miles distant. When I shared that a big hill lay ahead, she jumped up and down and seemed excited.
Exercise Time: 45 minutes; 13:41 min/mi; 4.38 mi/hr; 389 calories burned. At our half-way point, Dawn and I stopped and read an interpretive sign that talked about the grinding holes used by the native Americans to grind acorns into flour. The holes exist on the northern side of the river at the Sailor Bar boat ramp.

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 5.23 km (3.25 mi): http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ca/rancho%20cordova/397419430686
Total Running Distance For Year: 14.89 km (7.25 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: none

2009 Marathons

Thinking of training for a marathon in early 2009--about six months out.

Local possibilities (no particular order):

• Sunday, March 1: 31st Annual Napa Valley Marathon : mostly flat, downhill.
  
• Saturday, March 28: 19th Annual Napa Valley Trail Marathon : 3,200' of elevation gain.
  
• Saturday, April 4: 22nd Annual Golden Gates Headlands Trail Marathon : 3,000' of elevation gain (4,400' total up/down).
  
• Saturday, April 11: 21st Annual Muir Woods Trail Marathon : 3,400' of elevation gain. Apparently a ladder exists on this trail near Steep Ravine.
  

Marathons I do not plan to attend because they're freaking crazy:

• Saturday, April 11: Diablo Marathon and 50-mile Endurance Run: 7,950' of elevation gain. The pictures of the Diablo 50-mile Endurance Run look gorgeous though.
  

Big Sur, the hardest one I've run so far, had between 1,000'-2,000' of elevation gain.

Apparently Auburn State Recreation Area represents a good trail running resource according to local runner Julie Fingar (I noticed Julie's vehicle back in 2006).

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-11

Running Journal, Saturday, 2008-10-11
Resting heart rate: 71 bpm (after running)
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: clear, smoky
Temp: 17 C
Time: 10:15AM--11:26AM (split)--12:16 pM
Terrain: flat, mild hills

Comments: Perfect fall running weather--mild breezes, cool but not cold, sun at an angle that doesn't shine in the eyes, lots of people for entertainment. We re-visited the American River Parkway for the first time in many months. As we crossed the Bridge Street Pedestrian Bridge, we noticed car tire marks on the slats. It reminded me of the time I saw a car full of lost people drive absent-mindedly across the bridge. New graffiti--on the bridge, "This way to oxygen" (with arrow, plant, flower); also on the bridge, an 'H' inscribed within a circle, with the crossbar of the 'H' at a slant; also on the bridge, the text 'Blind Spot'; on the stop-sign at mile 19.5, someone has written "Don't Move" around the word "Stop" so it reads "Stop, Don't Move"; Around mile 18.5, the words "Get Money" and "Sleek"; on the Sunrise underpass, someone wrote "Swi33". As we walked to the starting point (mile 20) we noticed a fire had destroyed some vegetation along the ramp from the bridge to the trail; a few cages within this area protected interior live oak seedlings. About 1/4-mile into the run, Dawn noticed several bikers wearing purple/brown outfits that she found attractive. The womens' outfits contained the wording "Ophir Milan" which turns out to represent a Sacramento womens' biking club. Apparently they change their jersey each year. Ophir might represent the name of a ghost town in Auburn, CA. I'm not sure how Milan comes into play. The air between miles 18.5 and 17 smelled of smoke. We also noticed inscriptions on the trail reading "x mile MIM" where "x" represented a number (for example, "3 mile MIM"). Not sure what that refers to (maneuver impact mile?). We noticed construction equipment from Restoration Resources at the mile 19 rest stop. They appear to have undertaken a project named "Sunrise Side Channel Project" (PDF news release) to assist Steelhead Salmon with spawning. We both enjoyed returning and seeing the changes since our last visit--mostly broken branches of trees. I noticed the oaks laden with acorns in preparation for the upcoming rainy season. On the way back, we came up with the phrase "commutiny on the bounty" while discussing the sense of community that slowly builds with people that use the parkway. I think "commutiny" represents a spoonerism.
Exercise Time: 121 minutes (2:01)

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 9.66 km (6.0 mi)
Total Running Distance For Year: 9.66 km (6.0 mi)
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: none

Running Journal, Tuesday, 2008-10-07

Running Journal, Tuesday, 2008-10-07
Resting heart rate: 63 bpm
Body Mass Index (BMI): n/a
Weather: clear
Temp: 26 C
Time: 19:26-20:11
Terrain: flat

Comments: First running journal entry in 435 days. Oof. Not the first time I've run/exercised in that amount of time, thankfully. We found the American River College stadium track entrance chained shut; running to the rear of the track, we noticed the ARC track team practicing, so after running around the illuminated soccer fields twice, we finished our run on the track. Various soccer teams practised simultaneously. The boys seemed to kick every shot over the open net. The girls practiced piggy-back drills. Another team used tiny nets as goals. Apparently ARC plans to perform construction between Oct 8--17, though the sign failed to specify details. We caught a bit of the second Obama-McCain debate this evening on 89.3 on the way to the track.
Exercise Time: 45 minutes

Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): ?
Total Running Distance For Year:
Weight (after exercise): n/a
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: none

Sleep Study Equipment

Ever wondered what equipment a sleep study uses?

California Sleep Solutions uses:

• Respironics OmniLab (which includes the REMStar Heated Humidifier) CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) $600--$700
  
• Respironics Alice 5 Diagnostic Sleep System, $3,500--$4,200
  

San Francisco Day-Trip Recap

The day-trip represented one of my favorites to-date: Muir Woods, Ghirardelli Square, Cable Cars, Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, and Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf.

1. We left Sacramento at 6:30AM
2. Muir Woods allowed everyone in without charge on Saturday in recognition of National Public Lands Day. Dawn purchased a Muir Woods patch. 2008 represents the 100th anniversary of the founding of the monument. Arrived at 8:30AM and found ample parking adjacent to the main entrance. We trailed a few people at the start of the loop walk but by Bridge 1 had the trail to ourselves. Silence dominates the early morning in Muir Woods--no animal noises, no people noises, only the sight of the towering trees and the sound of branches shifting in the wind, the trickling flow of water in the nearby riverbed, and the crunch of one's footsteps on the dirt trail. The return trip took us over Bridge 4 and back along the Hillside Trail. Exiting the parking lot around 10:00AM, we noticed streams of cars passing the entrance--the rangers had cordoned off the entrance to our parking lot, directing traffic to the nearby secondary and overflow lots.
   
3. Golden Gate Bridge greeted us with full sun and no fog. We crossed, paid the $6 toll and arrived at Fisherman's Wharf at 10:35AM. Leaving the car in the Beach & Hyde Parking Garage ($25/day maximum), we walked about two blocks to Ghirardelli Square and ate a lunch of packed sandwiches (muenster cheese, mixed greens, and spicy mustard on sourdough bread) and Thomas Kemper cane-sugar root beer next to Andrea's Fountain. Dessert consisted of a Warm Brownie Sundae at the Ghirardelli Chocolate and Ice Cream Shop.
4. Cable Car crowds already encircled the Powell-Hyde line's turntable in Aquatic Park by 11:00AM. Instead of waiting in line, we purchased two $11 one-day unlimited municipal transportation Passports and walked north on Hyde to North Point Street and waited at the cable-car stop. Why do people wait in line? We rode the car up Russian and Nob Hills, exiting at Washington and Mason.
5. Chinatown greeted us around 11:20AM. From Washington, we walked to Grant and proceeded south. Dawn remarked, "It's like Good Orient in person." At the Peking Bazaar, we discovered the Blue Moon Japanese dinnerware set we had drooled over online. Prices online seem competitive (ignoring S&H), especially for sets of plates. Starbucks provided a bathroom break. Dawn found a gorgeous, $150 coat from Old Shanghai (this company distributes fashions to several stores on Grant Street, including Peking Bazaar, Old Shanghai, and Canton Bazaar)--they don't seem to offer the full selection online.
6. Union Square lay just north of our bus stop--#21 line to Golden Gate Park to see the opening day (re-opening, as it turns out) of the California Academy of Sciences building. En route, a fellow passenger informed us that by 8AM that morning, the Academy had already handed out all the free passes for the day. Lines stretching for one-half mile attested to the huge demand for the all-day free event--even at our arrival at 3PM. We walked around the many vendor booths in front of the Academy, then walked to the de Young Art Museum. Dawn noticed the cutest gopher as we walked--it's face appeared in a two-inch hole in the ground, munched grasses, then disappeared into the hole. A small crowd gathered as we watched. After several minutes, the gopher retreated and backfilled the hole with dirt, leaving no trace save the missing grass. The Japanese Tea Garden offered a peaceful respite from the many people, but Dawn decided to press on to the Museum. When we arrived, we noticed the line and decided against waiting. A late afternoon snack consisted of nuts, pretzels, gala apples, water, and a Z-Bar.
7. Coit Tower turned out to represent the next destination. Hopping back on the #21 bus, we traveled back toward Union Square. Unfortunately, due to the heavy traffic from the Academy opening, it dumped us halfway to maintain schedule, leaving us to walk the remaining distance. Arriving at the turntable for the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason cable car lines, we again skipped the lines (why do people wait?) and walked north on Powell several blocks until we reached the first cable car stop. We failed to act fast enough to get on the first car, but successfully boarded the second. The car carried us a significant distance uphill and we exited at Washington, walking the remaining distance to Coit Tower on foot. Tickets cost $5/each, and the 21-story view at the top at sunset included the entire bay and city.
8. Pier 39 represented the final destination around 6:30PM--seals, a bathroom break at the public restrooms, and Na Hoku Hawaiian Jewelry represented the final stops of the day.
9. IHOP on Lombard at Pierce provided a dinner of pumpkin pancakes, apple juice, and hash browns as we drove out of town. Fog streamed violently over the Golden Gate Bridge as we exited the area. Arriving home at 10:30PM, we both felt happy to rest after a long day of playing tourists.

Thoughts for next time (not necessarily on the same day):

1. Japantown--the saleswoman at Na Hoku recommended checking it out
   
2. Chinatown--tableware, clothing, and so forth
   
3. California Academy of Sciences in several months when the crowds become less insane
4. San Francisco Zoo
5. Alcatraz
6. Mount Tamalpais sunset
7. Japanese Tea Garden
8. Muir Woods hiking trails
9. Hang on outside of cable cars
10. Wild parrots of Telegraph Hill--Coit Tower operator mentioned they frequent the hill most often between 6AM--10AM.

Total cost: ~$150, of which 33%--$20 (gas) + $25 (parking) + $6 (toll)--related to car expense and another $22 (one-day Passports) related to public transportation expense, for a total of ~50% of transportation. The evening IHOP meal cost $27, so that represents ~20% of the expense. The remaining 30% includes: Ghirardelli Warm Sundae Brownie ($9), Muir Woods patch ($5), tea strainer ($4), slice of Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf bread ($2), Coit Tower ($10), and a hoodie ($22). I'm probably missing something but that's the majority.

San Francisco Saturday Day-Trip Itinerary

Getting out of Sacramento and going to The City:

1. 6AM--7:55AM Depart Sacramento and travel to San Francisco by car.
   
2. 8AM--9:30AM Muir Woods--$5/adult. Open 8AM--~6PM in mid-September.
   
3. 10:05AM--10:30PM Fisherman's Wharf--park, walk to Ghiradelli Square and eat packed mid-morning snacks. Ghiradelli Chocolates?
   
4. Walk to adjacent Beach & Hyde Streets to buy SF municipal transit day passes (Passports)--$11/each, only accepts cash.
   
5. Cable car (Powell-Hyde Line) to Chinatown (Washington & Mason, then walk down a few blocks to get to Chinatown proper around Grant Avenue).
6. 11AM--12:30PM Walk through historic Chinatown
7. Walk south from Union Square to Market & Powell and take #21 bus to 55 Music Concourse Drive in Golden Gate Park.
8. 1:30PM--5PM Attend opening day of California Academy of Sciences (free). Prior to going in, eat packed lunches.
   
9. Eat late-afternoon snacks. Take #21 bus, then F light rail to Fisherman's Wharf.
10. 6:30PM--8:30PM trip home. Eat on the way home (IHOP?) or when we arrive home.
    

• Will this itinerary survive first contact with reality? I think so--I've performed around a half-dozen guided tours of San Francisco. Potential problems--cable car lines and opening day crush of people at the California Academy of Sciences.
• Need to get cash before we go--$18 for Muni Passports, $10 tolls (Golden Gate Bridge, Carquinez Straits)--around $40 should do it.

Things to bring:

• Camera
• Water bottles
• Food
• Map
• Layered clothing (can get chilly by the ocean)
  
• Comfortable shoes
• Contact lens case and solution
• Cash
• Backpack for carrying any purchases
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses

Contact Lenses

I have purchased my first pair of contact lenses since I underwent LASIK surgery in September 2003. The prescription represents a very minor correction--much better than the awful nearsightedness I had five years ago. The minor correction needed in my right eye caused strain over the course of a day staring at a computer screen, causing sickness several times over the course of the past few months. Happily, I don't need correction to drive or perform any daily tasks, so I can wear them when I work, and ignore them when I don't.

Linoleum

Removing it to expose hardwood floors represents a major investment in time. The local hardware store attendant asked me the color of the glue under the linoleum, and I responded "black"--she paused and breathed, "Oh". Not a good sign.

Happily, our next-door neighbor and a handyman and his daughter from the apartment complex near-by chipped-in, and the atmosphere felt light. He returned the next morning and finished the job--removing the tiles seems to inspire compulsion to complete the task.

The man responsible for sanding and sealing the floors arrived today (Friday) and began sanding away the glue, but it turns out the glue gets the last laugh--it completely gummed up his sander, and so he ended up spending the day scraping the glue from the boards anyway. He returns tomorrow to sand again. It will look fantastic when he finishes.

Spanish Adult Contemporary Radio

Listening to 94.3 MAGIA here in Sacramento this past week.

Big Blue Boss

Impossible. I score one point every 10 games or so.

Radio Song

Kingston, New York-based Coheed And Cambria's "A Favor House Atlantic" from their 2003 album "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" on the Columbia and Equal Vision labels. Video.

Guerrila Knitting

I had no idea it existed.

Other videos I'm watching:

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Conference_Recordings/index.html

When You Educate A Girl, You Educate A Community

Heard this quote on a radio interview of Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson:

"When you educate a man, you educate an individual but when you educate a woman, you educate a community."
-- Dr J.K. Aggrey, the late Ghanaian educationist and nationalist.

Radio Songs

Heard in the past week or two:

Venice, California-based Suicidal Tendencies' "Join the Army" from their 1987 album "Join the Army" on the Caroline label. Audio. The second half picks up a bit--I swear I heard a cover of this song.

Montreal, Quebec-based The Arcade Fire's "Rebellion (Lies)" from their 2004 album Funeral on the Merge label. Video.

Manchester, England-based Oasis' "The Shock of the Lightning" from their forthcoming 2008 album "Dig Out Your Soul" on the Big Brother label. Video. This song teaches people "Love is a time machine" which makes it all right--physics for the masses.

ALSA Restart

ALSA failed this evening. Fixed it this way:

1. lsof | grep pcm
2. kill -9 any processes returned
3. restarted ALSA: sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart
4. Didn't work--quit Firefox, then ps -ef | grep firefox
5. kill -9 the firefox process
6. restarted ALSA: sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils restart
7. Sound returns--yippee
   

Thanks to; http://lookherefirst.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/restarting-sound-server-in-kubuntu/

Wish List

Pong Clock: http://hackaday.com/2008/09/14/pong-clock/
Kill-A-Watt: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/7657/
LED Binary clock: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/59e0/

Emacs and Soap

"All the world needs is Emacs and a bar of soap."
--Linux User's Group of Davis message.

Asian Pears Warmed In Late-Summer Sunshine

A sugary-sweet late-afternoon California dessert from our backyard tree.

Downgrading Windows Vista to XP

A laptop purchase made in 2007 appears to have contained a pirated version of Windows Vista. Happily, Dawn purchased a copy of Windows XP last year through her community college for $25.

Downgrading took a bit of effort. We used David Karp's advice (http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a%253D226950,00.asp) to reset the Administrator password and fix the master boot record. XP's recovery console didn't recognize the Vista Administrator password though--to fix this we used ElderGeeks' advice on how to edit the registry to bypass the setting (http://www.computing.net/answers/windows-xp/admin-password-in-recovery-console/156682.html).

Windows is dead, long live Windows.

Posting this from my KUbuntu install.

Monday Development Log

Monday:

1. ToString() goals: 1) Implement call signature "sprintf(stdout, "%s\n", a_class.ToString());" 2) Deallocate returned char * within the object implementing ToString()--the caller doesn't have to worry about deallocating the returned char *. 3) Reduce memory bloat and handle arbitrary string lengths. 4) No streams (Google prohibits C++ streams (except for logging)). 5) If possible, avoid declaring extra class member variables.
2. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch in C++, however. Deallocation occurs two ways--first, when variables declared on the stack go out-of-scope; and second, when variables declared on the heap get freed. The callee, in this case, deallocates the memory. The callee can deallocate the memory in these ways: 1) new within ToString(), delete within the object destructor, 2) statically declare within ToString(), deallocate at end of run-time, and 3) automatically declare within ToString(), deallocate when variable goes out-of-scope. The last choice fails because automatic allocations get reclaimed on the stack immediately when the callee returns. The first choice requires maintenance of a pointer to the new'd memory. The second choice requires a compile-time allocation of memory.
   
3. Of the options, the first choice allows unlimited flexibility at the cost of additional overhead, while the second choice eliminates the overhead but requires a compile-time allocation of memory.
4. Estonian Arvo Pärt's "Spiegel im spiegel", from his album Alina. "Spiegel im spiegel" (from Wikipedia): "can mean both "mirror in the mirror" as well as "mirrors in the mirror", referring to the infinity of images produced by parallel plane mirrors."
   
   

Sunday Development Log

Sunday:

1. Neat: http://www.google.com/codesearch
2. SymbolStorage maps Word Tokens to Identifiers.
3. Flex maps strings to Word Tokens.
4. Bison parses Word Tokens using a LALR engine.
5. A way to convert "a_class.ToString().c_str()" to "a_class.ToString()" for use in sprintf()--statically allocate a fixed character buffer within ToString() and return a pointer to it. No memory management, no extra class member variables, no repeat allocation. The only catch--this technique only works for predictable string lengths. For example, sprintf()'ing an integer into a string--2^64 fits into a null-terminated string of 21 bytes.
   
   Unrestricted string lengths necessitate dynamic memory allocation.
   
   Google prohibits C++ streams (except for logging), which seems to rule out std::string--I haven't seen or thought of a way other than std::ostringstream.

Monday Development Log

Monday:

1. Didn't do anything this evening.
   

Hacker Test

A treasure trove of stuff I want to learn about:

http://linuxshellaccount.blogspot.com/2008/08/hacker-test-more-linux-and-unix-humor.html

Sunday Development Log

Sunday:

1. Jia Peng Fang's "Winter River"
2. Began implementation of classes Expression, Node, and Identifier.
3. object.ToString().c_str() it is--failed to find a clean way to implement ToString() without new/malloc.
   

Monday Development Log

Monday:

1. C++ introduced references in 1983 (C lacks references--instead, C uses pointers to implement pass-by-reference).
2. Compiling class SymbolStorage--on Tuesday I'll begin testing it thoroughly.
3. const_cast removes or adds the const label to a variable.
   

Sunday Development

Sunday:

1. Google's C++ style guide demands fprintf() over streams. Current inconsistency results in code like this: (*a_sibling_iterator).first->ToString().c_str()--Token.ToString() returns std::string.
   
2. Kasper Peeters' Tree(std::pair) might work as a syntax tree container class, but as a symbol storage container it fails to offer key-based retrieval through std::find(), even if nodes contain container std::pair. On a secondary note, it also seems to fail to support equality functor assignment at the time of declaration.
   
3. Researching the Standard Template Library's Associative Containers for alternatives--std::map tests out acceptably.
   
4. Schwarz Stein's "Rise To Heaven" from their album "New Vogue Children"

Saturday Development

Saturday, picking up after six days off:

1. Implementing class SymbolStorage with Kasper Peeters' Tree project.
2. Researched Standard Template Library class (STL) std::pair (/usr/include/c++/4.2.3/bits/string) to hold Token/Identifier pairs.
3. Installed VIM
4. Annihilator's "Crystal Ann" from the album "Double Live Annihilation"

Sunday Development Log

Sunday:

1. Reviewed the Google C++ Style Guide for formatting, naming, and comment considerations.
2. Adiemus' "Adiemus" from their album "Songs of Sanctuary"
3. Installed Valgrind suite of profiling and debugging.
4. Installed kcachegrind which provides "visual support for the cachegrind skin of the memory analyzer Valgrind."
5. Ludovico Einaudi's "Passagio" from his album "Le Onde"
6. Implemented ToString() using std::ostringstream code from http://bytes.com/forum/thread62153.html
7. Very cool: this mimics Java's "public final static" class feature: "newl_parser::parser::token::NUMBER". Namespace "newl_parser" contains class "parser" which contains public struct "token", the public struct containing enumerated type "yyTokenType" which (finally) contains all token types (for example, NUMBER, IDENTIFIER, ASSIGN).

Saturday Development Log

Saturday:

1. inifile-->newl_parser
2. inifileLexer-->newl_lexer
3. inifile_driver-->newl_driver
4. nm views symbols of object files
5. To remedy error "multiple definition of `yyFlexLexer::yywrap()'", remove option %noyywrap--then manually redefine "int yyFlexLexer::yywrap() { return 1; }" in file lexer.ll. Flex defines yyFlexLexer::yywrap() in both %.cc and %.hh--the linker encounters multiple declarations if two objects (lexer.o and driver.o, for example, if driver.cc includes lexer.hh).
6. Bond's "Duel" from the album "Born"
7. Arvo Pärt's "An den Wassern zu Babel", from the album "Arbos"
8. Yann Tiersen's "Le Moulin" from the album "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain"
9. parse() handles both char * (filename) and std::istream (stdin) depending on the signature of the call.
10. Max Richter's "Sarajevo" from his album "Memoryhouse"
11. Completed fully object-oriented Flex+Bison simple calculator.
    

Friday Development

Friday:

1. Implementing Jan's suggested Bison/Flex C++ implementation that I discovered last night. Download example.tar.gz failed to contain files referenced by the Makefile: validate.cc, update-individual-policy.cc, combine-multiple-policies.cc. Commented-out references to them (targets "validate", "update-individual-policy", "combine-multiple-policies", "validate.o", "update-individual-policy.o", and "combine-multiple-policies.o") and modified target all to read "all: scanner.o inifile.o parser.o dump.o". I also commented out "COPTS= -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc". It compiles.
2. Why don't GNU projects Bison and Flex figure out how to get compatible on C++ object implementation? It's really awful, in my opinion--it could be so much better.
   
3. Eluvium's "After Nature" from their album "Copia"
4. Ludovico Einaudi's "Primavera" from their album "Divenire."
5. Pachobel's Canon in WTF
   

Thursday Development Log

Thursday:

1. "I now understand why the Bison C++ example uses Flex in C stdio mode: because getting it to operate using C++ is nigh-on impossible." Link: http://ioctl.org/jan/bison/

Wednesday Development Log

Wednesday:

1. Refreshed my memory of the Bison manual's section on generating a C++ scanner: http://www.gnu.org/software/bison/manual/html_mono/bison.html#C_002b_002b-Language-Interface
2. Referenced Google Style C++ Guide: http://google-styleguide.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/cppguide.xml#Conditionals

Sunday Development Log

Sunday:

1. Finished reading the white paper "Recursive Make Considered Harmful"
2. Consulted the Flex manual: http://flex.sourceforge.net/manual/
3. Compiled small Flex program in anticipation of testing new non-recursive make harness.
4. Discovered O'Reilly's online book "Managing Projects with GNU Make Managing Projects with GNU Make, Third Edition" at http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596006105/book/index.csp , part of their Open Book Project.
5. It seems the nonrecursive harness uses implicit compiles for all the C files it encounters.
6. Getting my head wrapped around the targets and dependencies of the nonrecursive make harness.
7. Successfully modified the nonrecursive make harness so it compiles GNU Flex code into a binary.

Compiling Bison into a binary using the nonrecursive make harness represents the next step.

With all this talk about nonrecursive make, one might get the wrong impression that I'm doing this solely to learn about it. In fact, I'm finishing up a summer project for my CSC-251 compiler class, which is why GNU Flex/Bison come into play.

Saturday Development Log

Application development represents a game of inches.

1. Configured PDF viewing
2. Installed and configured Subversion client kdesvn
3. Installed IDE kdevelop--profiling and memory leak tools look promising. Will stick with Kate for now.
4. Configured Konsole colors, font
5. Added directory test and source file test/full-test.n.
6. Added Makefile stubs in trunk using white-paper "Recursive Make Considered Harmful" (http://www.xs4all.nl/~evbergen/nonrecursive-make.html) as a guide.
   
7. Installed Adobe Flash: sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree
8. Installed Amarok: sudo apt-get install amarok
9. Installed g++: sudo apt-get install g++
10. Installed dlocate: sudo apt-get install dlocate (initialize before using each time with sudo update-dlocatedb)
11. Installed libldap2-dev: sudo apt-get install libldap2-dev (and in doing so learned the value of finding which packages contain header files via http://packages.debian.org/)

Steam Locomotive

It's hard to say how much this has enriched my life. Thanks to Brian Lavender for sharing it on SacLUG. Screen captures courtesy KSnapshot (very intuitive).

Installation: sudo apt-get install sl

Images

The default ("sl"):



Note: The default, it travels across the screen from right to left, with animated smoke and wheels.

"-a An accident seems to happen. You’ll feel pity for people who cry for help.":


Note: the same as the original except it shows two engineers saying "HelpHelp!".

"-l shows little one.":


"-F It flies.":


Note: the same as the original "sl" but it moves from the lower-right to the upper-left.

Brilliant. From the man page:

NAME
sl - display animations aimed to correct users who accidentally enter sl instead of ls.

SYNOPSIS
sl [ -alFe ]

DESCRIPTION
sl Displays animations aimed to correct users who accidentally enter sl instead of ls. SL stands for Steam Locomotive.

OPTIONS
-a An accident seems to happen. You’ll feel pity for people who cry for help.

-l shows little one.

-F It flies.

-e Allow interrupt by Ctrl+C.

SEE ALSO
ls(1)

BUGS
It rarely shows contents of current directory.

AUTHOR
sl was written by Toyoda Masashi . This manual page was written by Brian Ristuccia and
Kenshi Muto for the Debian GNU/Linux system but may be used by others under the same license as sl itself.

Deleted My Task Manager

Playing with KUbuntu and I accidentally deleted my task manager. All the icons on the widget bar's task manager went away, and all the other widgets flowed left.

I re-added the task manager widget but it appeared on the extreme right, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to rearrange them. :(

The solution: remove everything, then re-add every widget in the correct order.

A stiff penalty for an easy mistake.

Linux PDF Issues

Firefox failed to load a PDF I typed into the address bar.

After a bit of trial and error, I discovered the PDF Download add-on, which makes it all simpler when one clicks a link.

I first downloaded FoxIt PDF reader for Linux (binary) and told Firefox to use that to open PDFs. Unfortunately, it opens the ReaderLinux binary, not the PDF. And once I associated the file type with the binary, the Linux Firefox fails to provide an easy way to disassociate itself from that.

The solution: edit file ~/.mozilla/firefox/profile.default/mimeTypes.rdf, and delete the XML sections dealing with ReaderLinux. Restart Firefox. The next time you attempt to open a PDF, Firefox will prompt the user again for what to do.

The final solution? Associating Okular (/usr/lib/kde4/bin/okular) with PDF file types instead works great. And PDF Download add-on works great too.

Late Night Subversion

Recording for future use:

1. Create a Subversion repository: ubuntu:~/src/csc-251$ svnadmin create ///home/user/.subversion-repository
2. Import the initial file hierarchy: ubuntu:~/src/csc-251$ svn import newlc file:///home/user/.subversion-repository/newlc -m "Initial import"
3. Create a branch: ubuntu:~/src/csc-251$ svn copy file:///home/user/.subversion-repository/newlc/trunk file:///home/user/.subversion-repository/newlc/branches/my-branch
4. Checkout the project: ubuntu:~/src/csc-251$ mkdir newlc && cd newlc && svn checkout file:///home/user/.subversion-repository/newlc/trunk && cd trunk
   

Most notably, these commands seem to differ:

• ubuntu:~$ svnadmin create ///home/user/.subversion-repository
• ubuntu:~$ svnadmin create .subversion-repository

Why? It's a horrible user experience, in my opinion.

Under The Bridge

Walking home music today: Under the Bridge by RHCP:

Sometimes I feel
Like I dont have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I drive on her streets
cause shes my companion
I walk through her hills
cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie

I dont ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way

Its hard to believe
That theres nobody out there
Its hard to believe
That Im all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I dont ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way

Under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away

It's a great urban walking song. On my way to work on Wednesday, I noticed a man taking shelter under a bridge at Watt and Longview, which triggered this song in my head. Video.

Sleep Debt

I read an article on Wednesday stating a simple experiment:

Starting on a Sunday, do not drink alcohol or caffeine; do not smoke; go to sleep about the same time every night; and get an uninterrupted seven to eight hours of sleep for the next six nights. Then, on Saturday morning, sleep in. See how long your body will let you sleep. If you sleep longer than you did during the week -- then you have a sleep debt. So you should consider getting more sleep each night to replenish that sleep debt.

It sounds easy enough so I've decided to try it out starting on Sunday.

Energy Breakthrough

"Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past."

A breakthrough: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html

Wubi, Part Two

My first attempt using Wubi crashed and burned. I attempted to use the automatic updater to update a boatload of packages and it froze. I rebooted this evening to continue with programming, but ack, nothing loaded.

Ninja Moustache

Brilliant:



Via Wired: http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/multimedia/2008/07/gallery_comiccon_10things

If you don't get it, it's a ninja with a moustache. If you still don't get it, you probably won't find much interest in Shawnimals: http://www.shawnimals.com/

Bike Links

KDVS 90.3 featured Jean Jackman of Davis, CA and she recommended Adventure Cycle (http://www.adv-cycling.org) as a great bicycle tour company. They offer guided tour maps, including one a TransAmerica route: http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm.

She also recommended the Davis Bike Club (http://www.davisbikeclub.org/) as a resource.

Sacramento Badminton

Dawn and I both like badminton:

1. CSUS badminton club: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bleachers/2418/
   
2. Folsom badminton club: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/folsom_badminton/
3. UC-Davis badminton club: http://www.ucdbadminton.com/
   

Dr. Patricia Chen

Dr. Patricia Chen took over as Dawn's primary care physician today.

The conversation went like this:

*Dawn explains the ear pain and how she thinks it's an Effexor discontinuation symptom*

Dr. Chen: I agree with you

*Dawn chokes up with relief*

We discussed Dawn's previous treatments under her previous primary-care physician, which involved quite a few looks of shock and silent groaning from Dr. Chen. She explained several things:

1. Effexor, especially after being taken for nine years, deposits itself into the tissues and takes quite some time to get used up. Though it has a short half-life, when very small amounts get into the tissues it takes some time (six to eight weeks) before it's used up.
   
2. The ear pain represents a discontinuation symptom Dr. Chen witnessed with other patients. The solution involves going back on a low dose of Effexor to get rid of the ear pain, then gradually introduce the SSRI fluoxetine (Prozac, Ladose) for about a month. Once the body accepts the fluoxetine, gradually eliminate the Effexor, then stay on fluoxetine until the body uses up all the Effexor in the tissues. Then taper off the fluoxetine gradually enough so no problems occur (that is, no ear pain).
3. Dr. Chen made the same mistakes as our previous primary care physician. The difference--she took the initiative to follow-up with a psychiatrist and pursued information on effective best-practice treatments for tapering off Effexor. Our previous primary-care physician seemed to have such a high workload that he failed to make (have?) time to do this legwork.
4. Dawn began taking the lowest dose of Effexor (37.5 mg) today and already feels reduced pain in her ears.
5. Dr. Chen said that Dawn suffers from eustachian tube dysfunction, but that dysfunction does not account for the severe pain in her ears. Typically, eustachian tube dysfunction manifests itself as reduced hearing levels, echoes of one's voice, sort of like being underwater. I didn't ask her about our uneducated norepinephrine theory.
6. If Dawn doesn't respond, Dr. Chen's more than willing to refer us to an ear-nose-throat specialist.
7. Dr. Chen failed to have an explanation for why Effexor produces this discontinuation syndrome symptom--we don't think many people do know why it does this.
8. We weren't sure why having Effexor sticking around in the tissues might cause the ear pain--wouldn't having bits of it in the tissues be a good thing in the case of discontinuation? Obviously not, but we're not sure why. There's probably a simple explanation for this.
9. Dawn will finish out the course of prednisone--it might have minor side-effects but nothing serious.
   

It really represented everything we hoped for from a first visit. I called just after 8AM, got an appointment for 10:45AM, got the prescription from Costco by 12:00PM and home by 1PM.

If everything goes as planned (and it seems reasonable to expect that it might) we will only have these SSRI/SNRI medications around until roughly the end of September.

I've found the human cost in extricating oneself from Effexor alarming. Dr. Chen argued Effexor works in some situations--for example, post-menopausal women. She mentioned it represents one of the most difficult anti-depressants to discontinue.

Even worse--paroxetine (Paxil), which exhibits many of the same problems as Effexor but for which Dr. Chen doesn't have a tested discontinuation plan. Since paroxetine represents an SSRI, using it in combination with fluoxetine (another SSRI) proves problematic. Dawn used Paxil for one year many years ago, then her doctor switched her to Effexor. So that represents one lucky break.

In my opinion, doctors exhibit reckless behavior by putting patients on SSRI/SNRI class medications without extensive knowledge of discontinuation effects and how to successfully manage them. Dr. Chen learned the hard way--doctors like our previous primary care physician of two years still don't know even after watching a patient like Dawn endure three exceedingly painful attempts at discontinuation.

Even more alarming--Dawn's far from alone. Google returns 424,000 hits for "effexor withdrawal". A sharp contrast exists between horror stories on the Internet and the level of awareness in the four out of five doctors we interacted over the last three months.

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Dawn's suffering from eustachian tube dysfunction right now. It's an awfully painful condition where the middle ear fills up because the eustacian tube closes due to inflammation (see above image).

A healthy eustachian tube (named for Eustachius) opens to equalize pressure in the middle ear. That popping feeling when you gain or lose altitude? That's the eustachian tube opening to equalize pressure in your ear. See this EarDoc advertisement for an explanation of what happens: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XdqrGaUF5EQ (I love the duck).

Dawn tapered off of the anti-depressant Effexor on Wednesday, July 16th and began experiencing symptoms on Thursday, July 17th, with the pain gradually increasing in severity. Dawn experiences the ear pressure pain each time she tapers off Effexor, this being the third time. It's not listed as a common side-effect on the Effexor patient information leaflet. Since she's experiencing considerable, chronic pain, we visited her primary care physician on Friday, July 25. He assured her there's no danger of rupturing of the eardrum and noticed a bulge in her right eardrum (where most of the pain occurs).

Since we don't have a good track record with her primary care physician, we're switching doctors immediately to a highly-rated female doctor closer to home, Dr. Patricia Chen. On Saturday, July 26, we visited Med7 and got another opinion. He prescribed prednisone, a steroidal decongestant, and recommended seeing an ear-nose-throat specialist if it didn't work.

Well, it's not really working, two days in--though seven days remain, the bulk of the prednisone is taken in the first three days. So, we're guessing that we'll have to see an ENT specialist as soon as we can.

Our latest theory here takes into consideration the fact that Effexor acts as an SNRI (seratonin-norepinephrin reuptake inhibitor) boosting the levels of norepinephrin in the body.

Since pseudo-epinephrine aids in reducing swelling, we theorize that increased levels of norepinephrine (adrenaline, basically) possibly aided with reduction of swelling in Dawn's ears (caused by allergies, most likely, the Central Valley being the allergy capital of the world), thus keeping the eustachian tubes open and draining/equalizing the pressure in her middle ear. This theory has the support of some empirical evidence--each time Dawn goes back on Effexor (even temporarily) the pain diminishes immediately. Dawn's a bit skeptical, since she felt even worse pain when she tapered the first time--she thinks it might be a possible side-effect.

We guess that once the boosted levels of norepinephrin disappear (as Dawn ceases taking the SNRI), the swelling increases, shutting the eustachian tubes, filling the middle ear with fluid and causing the painful pressure on the eardrum.

Thoughts? I'm pretty ignorant in this area but have been reading as much as I can. We may be completely off-base. The doctors we've talked to have no clue about the correlation between Effexor discontinuation and the ear pain though, so perhaps our opinions make at least a bit of sense.

If worse comes to worse, an ENT can perform a myringotomy--but obviously we're hoping it doesn't have to go that far. There seem to be some devices on the market (like the EarDoc, http://eardoc.info, and the EarPopper) but they're expensive and we're skeptical without knowing more. On Monday we make an appointment (hopefully for as soon as possible) with Dr. Chen. We're hoping that we can get an immediate referral to see an ENT specialist ASAP.

Dilbert Ultimate House

The Dilbert Ultimate House: http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/duh/tour.html

I first read about this in 2005. Coming back to it this past week, I begin drooling again at the thought of doing it for real.

Scott Adams also built the ultimate cube with IDEO: http://www.ideo.com/portfolio/re.asp?x=50099

(also: http://www.ideo.com/dilbert/)

Caturday

Agence France-Presse Photo Feed

I'd love to have FlickrFan for Windows, but for now it's Mac-only. So I'm using Google Screensaver, which accepts RSS feed enclosures as a source for images.

FlickrFan feeds I subscribe to:

http://static.flickrfan.org/afp/rss.xml

And the AP photo feed:

http://static.flickrfan.org/ap/rss.xml

GRE Test Prep Baseline Score

Without any training, I scored a 620 Verbal (88th percentile) and 600 Quantitative (53rd percentile) on the GRE practice test 1.

Verbal words to review:

1. Spate: a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring: a spate of angry words.
2. Provident: having or showing foresight; providing carefully for the future.
3. Credulity: willingness to believe or trust too readily, esp. without proper or adequate evidence; gullibility.
4. Boon: something to be thankful for; blessing; benefit.
5. Inexorable: unyielding; unalterable: inexorable truth; inexorable justice.
6. Confounding: To cause to become confused or perplexed
7. Appropriate: to set apart, authorize, or legislate for some specific purpose or use
8. Profligate: utterly and shamelessly immoral or dissipated; thoroughly dissolute.
9. Myopic: unable or unwilling to act prudently; shortsighted.
10. Rueful: feeling, showing, or expressing sorrow or pity; mournful; doleful: the rueful look on her face.
11. Antithetical: directly opposed or contrasted; opposite.
12. Evanescent: vanishing; fading away; fleeting.
13. Gaffe: a social blunder; faux pas.
14. Decorum: dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
15. Dissuasion: persuading not to do or believe something; talking someone out of a belief or an intended course of action [ant: persuasion]
    
16. Opportune: appropriate, favorable, or suitable: an opportune phrase for the occasion.
17. Convenience: anything that saves or simplifies work, adds to one's ease or comfort, etc., as an appliance, utensil, or the like.
18. Whet: to sharpen (a knife, tool, etc.) by grinding or friction.

Quantitative areas to review/improve upon:

1. Ratios and recognizing trick questions regarding graphs
2. If the initial answer seems obvious, it probably warrants additional attention. For example, x^2 is larger than x^3 with the constraint that 5x fall between 0 and 3.
   
3. Systems of equations
4. Double-check answers close to other possible choices.
5. Trig review

The computer adaptive test doesn't allow calculators, only scratch paper. No reviewing of questions.

I've met my goal on the verbal (600, 85th percentile), but meeting the goal on the quantitative (750, 85th percentile) will take effort.