Pogonip Pummelers

$25 of gift certificate glory

Current reigning champions, Dawn and I succeeded in besting all the teams one, potentially drunk team to win the $25 gift certificate at the Upper Crust New Year's Eve Trivia Night. Our win streak stands at one week...we stood-in for out-of-town friends who could not make it this week.

We answered questions like the following:

• Round 1
• What was Hermione's last name in the Harry Potter universe?
• What sport throws salt before competing?
• Kodiak Island represents the largest island of which U.S. state?
• Round 2
• The Gulf War started when Iraq invaded which country?
• What instrument does the leader of an orchestra typically play?
• How many moons does Mars have?
• Round 3
• What three U.S. states border Lake Superior? (such a gimmee, for me)
• What is the eastern-most U.S. state?
• What Kingdom owns Greenland?
• Bonus round: What city housed the first U.S. Mint?

Due to low turnout, the host, Chris, played only one gift certificate challenge (I guess they usually do two or more). No beer chug-off needed--this seems like the customary way ties get decided, based on videos on their Facebook page...seeing who can quaff a beer faster. We got a +5 bonus for best team name (see Subject), due to his preference for the word Pogonip, a Shoshone word meaning "icy fog," which represents a local Santa Cruz city park near the UCSC campus.

Teams get 5 points for each correct answer. If the team provides a wrong answer, but it makes the host laugh, they get 1 point. Teams tear off a piece of paper from a 4"x6" index card and write their team name on one side and their answer on the other, then hand it to the host after each question. The last question represents the bonus round, during which teams must wager between 1 and 35 points. Depending on whether a team answers successfully or not, they gain or lose their wager. So, it can allow a team to win, even if they have a substantial deficit. 

We got all the answers except for the Greenland one. We wagered 10 points and answered the bonus round successfully. So, it seems we had 60 points out of a potential 85 maximum for the round (45 for the regular rounds + 35 for bonus round + 5 for team name). Chris seemed like a very personable and gregarious guy and congratulated the other team with a free pitcher of beer (in addition to their existing one).

Sadly, it looks like we will not have the ability to defend our title next week, as I am out-of-town.

Nerdolescence

Posted without comment, for now:

Finding out that you're not the Rebel Alliance, you're actually part of the Empire and have been all along
http://boingboing.net/2014/12/31/finding-out-that-youre-not-t.html#more-355857

What I believe
http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=2119

Heavy stuff and something I look forward to discussing further.

If a man has not discovered....

"If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Speech on the Great March on Detroit, 23 June 1963

Dell Inspiron 15r teardown and hinge repair

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/how-to-disassemble-dell-inspiron-15r-5521-15-3521laptop/

and

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/19522781

The hinge repair seems like a common problem with this laptop. I used a soldering iron, per suggestion, to heat the metal, then gently pushed it down into the gap. I think I had the iron at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Luckily, the original hinge screws still reached the metal and seem to secure the hinge.

I tore the laptop down in order to see if any cat hair needed removal from the CPU fan. It turned out only a minor amount of hair seemed stuck. Cleaned it up and put it back together. Put all the screws in labeled baggies, which helped with putting it back together. Took about 60-90 minutes, in total, with the hinge repair.

Dell Inspiron 15r teardown

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/how-to-disassemble-dell-inspiron-15r-5521-15-3521laptop/

http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN117599/EN

Warren Buffet's 2014 Memo to Berkshire Hathaway Managers

This biennial letter follows, nearly word-for-word, the format of letters from previous years, with updates to the various statistics (for example, number of employees). Mr. Buffett included the 2010 letter in that year's annual Shareholder Letter: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2010ltr.pdf (via: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html)

Text of the memo:

Memo 

To: Berkshire Hathaway Managers (“The All-Stars”) 

cc: Berkshire Directors 

From: Warren E. Buffett 

Date: December 19, 2014 

This is my biennial letter to reemphasize Berkshire’s top priority and to get your help on succession planning (yours, not mine!). 

The top priority–trumping everything else, including profits–is that all of us continue to zealously guard Berkshire’s reputation. We can’t be perfect but we can try to be. As I’ve said in these memos for more than 25 years: “We can afford to lose money – even a lot of money. But we can’t afford to lose reputation – even a shred of reputation.” We must continue to measure every act against not only what is legal but also what we would be happy to have written about on the front page of a national newspaper in an article written by an unfriendly but intelligent reporter. 

Sometimes your associates will say “Everybody else is doing it.” This rationale is almost always a bad one if it is the main justification for a business action. It is totally unacceptable when evaluating a moral decision. Whenever somebody offers that phrase as a rationale, in effect they are saying that they can’t come up with a good reason. If anyone gives this explanation, tell them to try using it with a reporter or a judge and see how far it gets them. 

If you see anything whose propriety or legality causes you to hesitate, be sure to give me a call. However, it’s very likely that if a given course of action evokes such hesitation, it’s too close to the line and should be abandoned. There’s plenty of money to be made in the center of the court. If it’s questionable whether some action is close to the line, just assume it is outside and forget it. 

As a corollary, let me know promptly if there’s any significant bad news. I can handle bad news but I don’t like to deal with it after it has festered for awhile. A reluctance to face up immediately to bad news is what turned a problem at Salomon from one that could have easily been disposed of into one that almost caused the demise of a firm with 8,000 employees.
Somebody is doing something today at Berkshire that you and I would be unhappy about if we knew of it. That’s inevitable: We now employ more than 330,000 people and the chances of that number getting through the day without any bad behavior occurring is nil. But we can have a huge effect in minimizing such activities by jumping on anything immediately when there is the slightest odor of impropriety. Your attitude on such matters, expressed by behavior as well as words, will be the most important factor in how the culture of your business develops. Culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves. 

In other respects, talk to me about what is going on as little or as much as you wish. Each of you does a first-class job of running your operation with your own individual style and you don’t need me to help. The only items you need to clear with me are any changes in post-retirement benefits, acquisitions, and any unusually large capital expenditures. But I like to read, so send along anything that you think I may find interesting. 

I need your help in respect to the question of succession. I’m not looking for any of you to retire and I hope you all live to 100. (In Charlie’s case, 110.) But just in case you don’t, please send me a letter or email giving your recommendation as who should take over tomorrow if you should become incapacitated overnight. These letters will be seen by no one but me unless I’m no longer CEO, in which case my successor will need the information. Please summarize the strengths and weaknesses of your primary candidate as well as any possible alternates you may wish to include. Most of you have participated in this exercise in the past and others have offered your ideas verbally. However, it’s important to me to get a periodic update, and now that we have added so many businesses, I need to have your thoughts in writing rather than trying to carry them around in my memory. Of course, there are a few operations that are run by two or more of you – such as the Blumkins, the Merschmans, the pair at Applied Underwriters, etc. – and in these cases, just forget about this item. Your note can be short, informal,handwritten, etc. Just mark it “Personal for Warren.” 

Thanks for your help on all of this. And thanks for the way you run your businesses. You make my job easy. 

WEB/db 

P.S. Another minor request: Please turn down all proposals for me to speak, make contributions, intercede with the Gates Foundation, etc. Sometimes these requests for you to act as intermediary will be accompanied by “It can’t hurt to ask.” It will be easier for both of us if you just say “no.” As an added favor, don’t suggest that they instead write or call me. Multiply 80 or so businesses by the periodic “I think he’ll be interested in this one” and you can understand why it is better to say no firmly and immediately.

GSBF Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt

http://gsbf-lakemerritt.org/

From a brochure we picked up at a Cherry Blossom festival in San Francisco's Japantown several years ago.

Mean Gene's Burgers - Tracy, California

Mean Gene's Burgers - Tracy, California, at the corner of North Tracy Boulevard and West Larch Road, circa 2012

UPDATE, 2015-05-18: closed, for all intents and purposes...signage inside and outside remains, and staff will cook a burger for you, but no formal menu, no branded cups/placemats/and so forth.

Mean Gene, of course, represents the WWE announcer Gene Okerlund, a Minnesota native. Wikipedia explains:

His name has been associated with fast food concept, Mean Gene's Burgers, the brainchild of food-distributor Orion Food Systems (headed by two of Okerlund's nephews), which appeared on college campuses including Duke University and his alma mater West Virginia University, as well as a chain of pizzerias located within bowling alleys, Mean Gene's Pizza. These are owned by Hot Stuff Foods, which was headed by two of his nephews. Early in 2006, Okerlund and Hot Stuff split. Okerlund and one of the nephews were planning to start their own food company on the brands, but Hot Stuff sued, claiming they had "Mean Gene" trademarked. Okerlund lost, with the judge saying that Okerlund can't use the name "Mean Gene" for his new food company. Okerlund succeeded in canceling the trademark registrations held by Orion, but remains enjoined from competing with Orion.

The official Mean Gene web site, revamped in early 2014, seems to contain a page titled "Burgers"...however, it fails to have any info, as of this posting.

UPDATE: 2015-05-02, stopped here on Friday, May 1! They told me they had closed the grill at 3:00 p.m. due to lack of people...so, will have to stop by another day, before 3:00 p.m.

Soldering tips for shaky hands

From my supervisor, Dan:

• Wooden toothpick, frayed end, to apply solder paste
• Heat gun at 630 degrees
• Touch hand poke
• Tacky flux
• Paste solder
• SMD stands for Solder Mask Defined
• Tip tinner

The Style Rookie

A wise-beyond-her-years Tavi Gavinson, interviewed in February 2014 on Marketplace.

Daruma Doll

Daruma Dolls and their origins:

The Daruma doll (達磨 daruma?), also known as a Dharma doll, is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. 

The current popular symbolism associated with Daruma as a good luck charm in part originated with the Daruma-dera (Temple of Daruma) in the city of Takasaki (Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo). Josef Kyburz, author of "Omocha": Things to Play (Or Not to Play) with, explained that the founder of Daruma-Dera would draw New Year’s charms depicting Bodhidharma. The parishioners would keep these charms to "bring happiness and prosperity and ward off accidents and misfortune".[3] 

It is believed that the Daruma figurine then originated from this region when the ninth priest, Togaku, found a solution to handle the constant requests of the parishioners for new charms. The charms were always given with an effectiveness of one year, so the people required new ones every year. He solved this by entrusting them with the making of their own Daruma charms near the beginning of the Meiwa period (1764–72). The temple made wooden block molds for the people to use. The peasants then used these molds to make three-dimensional papier-mâché charms.[4]

“Who said “north” was up?

"Upside-down" world map

A specialty map published by Oxford Cartographers. The first panel, in the lower-left, reads:

“Who said “north” was up?
The world, like a ball, has no top.
We can look at it from any point of view.
Top is a matter of habit, convention, and emphasis. The map (1st picture, top) teaches us to question our assumptions.”

Available (note: I have no knowledge or experience with this vendor; caveat emptor).

Green Camel Company, Japan

Cute: http://www.greencamel.co.jp/property/property03_05.html

Dawn found these San-X plush cute:

Cactus

Yummy Lemon

Cecily Strong's Go-To Wine

Cecily Strong, in Glamour magazine:

DO pop a bottle of vino—you’ve earned it, sister.My first job after college was selling wine at Greenblatt’s Deli-Restaurant & Fine Wine Shop in Los Angeles. I was 22 and broke and had to wear a humiliating blue apron, but I left knowing which Bordeaux blends I liked most (those from the Saint-Emilion and Pomerol region, if you ever want to bribe me). A great bottle of wine—and, trust me, you can find one for 10 bucks—can make any night feel extra special. (Sorry if you don’t drink. This suggestion sucks for you. I’d bet you can research up on another staple of the good life, like steak or cheese or something.)

Sam's Market, Sacramento

I occasionally purchase an egg salad sandwich on a toasted soft roll for $5--one of the best lunch deals in town.

Sam's Market uses Raymond's Sweet French Bread.

Rotten Robbie

Here in the Bay Area, a company called Rotten Robbie sells gasoline:

The “Rotten Robbie” moniker was a fun (and inexpensive) way to have a name customers would remember and associate with the company’s competitive fuel prices and well run stores.  Rotten Robbie seemed to work, so we continue to be Rotten Robbie today, and hopefully well into tomorrow.

Fluency Illusion

Benedict Carey writes:

Psychologists have studied learning long enough to have an answer, and typically it’s not a lack of effort (or of some elusive test-taking gene). The problem is that we have misjudged the depth of what we know. We are duped by a misperception of “fluency,” believing that because facts or formulas or arguments are easy to remember right now, they will remain that way tomorrow or the next day. This fluency illusion is so strong that, once we feel we have some topic or assignment down, we assume that further study won’t strengthen our memory of the material. We move on, forgetting that we forget. 

Often our study “aids” simply create fluency illusions — including, yes, highlighting — as do chapter outlines provided by a teacher or a textbook. Such fluency misperceptions are automatic; they form subconsciously and render us extremely poor judges of what we need to restudy or practice again. “We know that if you study something twice, in spaced sessions, it’s harder to process the material the second time, and so people think it’s counterproductive,” Nate Kornell, a psychologist at Williams College, said. “But the opposite is true: You learn more, even though it feels harder. Fluency is playing a trick on judgment.”

Unicode, UTF-8, Ken Thompson

Ken Thompson, boss:

https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs/utf-8-history.txt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Bell_Labs#Unicode
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicode#Unicode_Transformation_Format_and_Universal_Character_Set

Also, the Internet has confirmed I am not the only one who thinks Dennis Ritchie looks like Adam Savage. ; o )

Note: Unicode originated a bit differently and does not mean the same thing as UTF-8.

Simón Wilson Music for Film and Video Gamers

Saw an ad for Mr. Wilson's SoundCloud account in the Jack Baskin School of Engineering.

Good stuff; sharing the love. If you need some music, check him out.

Comic Papyrus

Oh dear...someone went there (via):

Fictional (as far as I know) example font of typeface "Comic Papyrus", a combination of typefaces Comic Sans and Papyrus

Note: wondering about the difference between typeface and font, as I was?

Physics World Top 10 physics announcements of 2014

A listicle from the web site Physics World, outlining, in their determination, the top 10 physics announcements of 2014:

1. Comet landing named Physics World 2014 Breakthrough of the Year
2. Neutrinos spotted from Sun's main nuclear reaction 
3. Laser fusion passes milestone 
4. Data stored in magnetic holograms 
5. Quasar shines a bright light on cosmic web 
6. Lasers ignite 'supernovae' in the lab 
7. Electrons' magnetic interactions isolated at long last 
8. Disorder sharpens optical-fibre images 
9. Physicists sound-out acoustic tractor beam 
10. Quantum data are compressed for the first time

I felt inspired reading about things such as the tractor beam and the laser fusion. Note: UC-Santa Cruz researchers assisted with "Quasar shines a bright light on cosmic web". 

What color is it?

Clever and educational: http://whatcolourisit.scn9a.org/

Reference: web colors

Bring them inside - Grey alien

Laughed out loud when I saw this:

Caption reads: "If you're cold, they're cold; Bring them inside," with picture of Grey alien looking in through window pane

In all seriousness, consider helping out your fellow community members this year.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing: Chocolate Pumpkin Porter

Dawn tried this beer last night at 99 Bottles in Santa Cruz:

#58: Santa Cruz Mountain Chocolate Pumpkin Porter - 6%  Draft
(Santa Cruz, CA) Brewed with TCHO cacao nibs, 150 lbs. of organic sugar pie pumpkins, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, this dark and luscious porter is the perfect fall treat.
$5.75/pint 8.75/25 oz. 16.25/pitcher

It turns out Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing tap room lives just a few blocks from our apartment.

Debian Wheezy + Logitech Mini Boombox

A friend recently gifted me a Logitech Mini Boombox (Model F-00003, p/n 880-000243). Logitech introduced this product in the United States market in 2011 at a price point of about $100.

This product supports Bluetooth 2.1 and can play music up to 33 feet away. It supports four Bluetooth profiles:

1. Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)
2. Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP)
3. Hands-Free Profile (HFP)
4. Headset Profile (HSP)

GNU/LINUX DEBIAN WHEEZY CONFIGURATION

Initially, I successfully paired the device to my IBM Lenovo X201 laptop...no problems. However, the device did not appear under "Sound Settings" tab "Hardware" (that is, GNOME control center - Sound)

After a bunch of web searches and unsuccessful configurations of /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf (note: I eventually reverted it to default and it was fine), it turned out installing pulseaudio-module-bluetooth seemed to allow the device to appear:

sudo apt-get install pulseaudio-module-bluetooth

pacmd load-module module-bluetooth-discover

Note: I may have ran "pulseaudio -k" to restart audio...and the sound comes through with static...some fine-tuning still needs to occur.

UPDATE: to improve audio quality, access control panel "GNOME control center - Sound" (that is, "Sound Settings"), select tab "Hardware," then select device "Mini Boombox", then, under section "Settings for the selected device," select profile "High Fidelity Playback (A2DP)" from the pull-down list. (Via)

UPDATE: after a reboot, ran pulseaudio -k again before I could get it to work

UPDATE, 2015-05-03: Fresh install of Debian Jessie and everything works after installing pulseaudio-module-bluetooth and running pacmd.

UC Santa Cruz - Banana Slug Sighting

Dawn found this one while walking from McHenry Library to the Jack Baskin School of Engineering: a banana slug...on a banana peel. : o )

UC Santa Cruz - Slug mascot for Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS)

The UC Santa Cruz Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) uses the following image for their mascot.

UC Santa Cruz - Hitchhiking at the bus stop

On several occasions, I have noticed UCSC students hitchhiking at bus stops, attempting to more quickly move farther up the hill.

Have only noticed this along Heller Drive, on campus.