Hotel Pillows

We seem to have had a similar experience as many others while staying at a Marriott hotel--great pillows.

However, upon looking up reviews of the Hotel Touch of Down Pillow on the Pacific Coast Feather Company website, we found many complaints alleging their purchases did not live up to the pillows they had found at the Marriott.

So, what gives (?):

• From one commenter, on October 17, 2012: "The response I got from PCF was that the pillows in the Hilton have been shrunk down from being washed hundreds of times and are more compact."
• Another commenter, on October 28, 2014: "I called customer service (Robin) and she was extremely helpful. The pillow I wanted is not on the website but can be special ordered. It is called "Double Touch of Down" and is the " Old Hyatt" pillow. The item number in King is 33034. When they arrived I compared the tags and there was only a difference of 5% duck feather in the inner chamber and 5% down in the outer chamber."
• Pacific Down Feather Company FAQ:
• The Down Surround pillow is softer than the Touch of Down pillow.
• The Touch of Down pillow is a super standard size, 20" x 28". Some hotels will put this super standard size pillow into a standard 20" x 26" pillow protector. The 2" difference causes the pillow to plump up more.
• Some hotels will even double the protectors on each pillow to reduce the air permeability of the pillow keeping it fluffier throughout the night.
• Hotel pillows are slept on and washed regularly which accelerates the softening process. If the pillow you order doesn't feel as soft as your hotel experience, it might be that you need to wash and dry it a few times.
• Lastly, pillows are made from 100% cotton. Over time, the washing process can shrink the pillow. A pillow that seems smaller than 20" x 26" even with extra protectors, may have shrunk from excessive washings.
• (?)

Suggested alternatives:

• The Company Store
• One commenter writes, "The authentic Marriott pillows can be purchased at ShopMarriott.com"
• The Sweet Home

The last link had this tip:

It’s a minor point, but Breus also pointed out that sleepers have different support needs over the course of the week. “If you’re typing at a desk all week, by Friday, you’re going to need more support,” he said. “If you’re out and about, you don’t need that type of support; your neck is looser.” Swapping out pillows according to the stresses on your neck is ideal, but due to expense and negligible long-term impacts, we don’t think you need to buy multiple pillows with different support unless a doctor advises you to do so.

Pinot Gris versus Pinot Grigio

Pinot Gris versus Pinot Grigio, courtesy of The Katering Show:

• Pinot Grigio - grapes harvested earlier, Italian wine, so fructose-free 
• Pinot Gris - grapes harvested later, so more fermented sugars, so has fructose 

Same grapes.

Natural Bridges State Beach

Walked to Natural Bridges State Beach today and visited the Visitor Center, where we purchased two magnets and learned a bit about monarch butterflies and various marine organisms. Watched two people bodyboarding.

The woman behind the counter mentioned she had recently visited our apartment complex with friends, in an attempt to see if she might personally hear a young coyote howling (evidently, some of her friends had passed along the news). The fellow residents told her, I believe, that coyote howls occur frequently, as coyotes may use the railroad tracks as a vector for traveling to and fro. Dawn confirmed she also has heard the coyotes, occasionally.

Library card

Obtained a library card today from the Santa Cruz Public Library.

The front desk assistant pointed out to us the web site offers several perks:

• Digital media (for example, "Films on Demand", "hoopla", "indieflix", and "medici.tv")
• Free tickets to regional attractions
• Download books to mobile devices

By the staff offices, they displayed several books about librarians:

• How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell About it
• Due or Die (A Library Lover's Mystery)
• What the Librarian Did

Clos

From Wikipedia:

"Clos, from the French for Closure or enclosed, is a walled vineyard used to protect the grapes from theft as well as improving the mesoclimate. Often founded by Cistercians monks. The word is often used in the name of famous wines even when the wall no longer exists."

 We see this a lot on wine bottles. For example, Clos La Coutale.

Static code analysis

A strong opinion on adopting static code analysis (highlighting added; full article, below):

The most important thing I have done as a programmer in recent years is to aggressively pursue static code analysis. Even more valuable than the hundreds of serious bugs I have prevented with it is the change in mindset about the way I view software reliability and code quality.

…I feel the success that we have had with code analysis has been clear enough that I will say plainly it is irresponsible to not use it. 

-- John Carmack
Co-founder, Id Software; CTO, Oculus VR

(via, via)

Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS (Trusty Tahr) to Dell Inspiron 15r

Learned from my experiences last time:

• Downloaded latest Ubuntu 14.04.2 LTS (Trusty Tahr) ISO from a mirror, using UC Santa Cruz connectivity (1.0GB in ~10 minutes)
• Disk Utility 3.0.2 used to wipe a 16GB USB thumb drive, then reformat the drive as a bootable 2GB FAT16 partition
• Installed unetbootin
• Used unetbootin to write the ISO to the USB thumb drive
• Booted the Dell Inspiron 15r from the USB thumb drive (F12 to select boot device)

From there, I followed the prompts, no problems--wiped the entire drive of Microsoft Windows and the previous Ubuntu install. No need to re-install GRUB. Configured encrypted hard drive and home directory, connected to Wi-Fi, connected to network printer, and so forth.

Success!

Spring Music - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Spring on the edge of the world and all of western civilization - listening to live recordings from Red Hot Chili Peppers:

• 2012-13 LIVE EP
• 06-23-2004 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales - LIVE
• Flea's joke, at the beginning of Emit Remmus, paraphrases Woodie Guthrie's song "Why, Oh Why" (namely, "Why can't a dish break a hammer? ... 'Cause a hammer's a hard head.")
• His jokes at the end might also represent an attempt to paraphrase

They hope to have a new album sometime in 2015.

UC Santa Cruz - Porter Cave

Photo credit: Mike Fernwood

Today I took an hour and tramped down to the UC Santa Cruz Porter Cave (formally known as Empire Cave), for the first time. No flashlight, so did not go down.

Hiked back up the hill on rabbit trails (a bit sketchy, at times, due to an old pair of Simple brand loafers, but we got there), ending up at Kresge College parking lot. Packed out a few items of trash and avoided poison oak and poison ivy. Fun fact: KC the owl represents the Kresge College mascot. Saw the plaque honoring Midas the koi fish, at Porter College.

Leon's Animated Stories

By Pierre-Luc Granjon - https://www.nfb.ca/explore-all-directors/pierre-luc-granjon/

Sacramento Japanese Film Festival Screening - Memories of Tomorrow

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memories_of_Tomorrow

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5eP-RCqlsA

http://www.sacjapanesefilmfestival.net/index.html

Steam Game Migration: Laptop A, Hard Drive, to Laptop B, USB 3.0 external storage drive

Recently moved a Steam installation of "Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth", per the subject of this post.

A few hiccups, but we got there. Laptop B had an existing installation of Steam on the C:\ (an internal SSD). However, due to space limitations on the primary internal SSD, we wanted to install the downloadable content on an external USB SSD (in this case, a Samsung T1 Portable 250GB USB 3.0 External SSD).

• Uninstalled Steam on Laptop B C:\
• Re-installed Steam on Laptop B external USB SSD (D:\Steam) (note: in retrospect, probably could have left Steam on the C:\ and configured Steam to look in D:\Steam as a library location, instead...however, this may not represent much of an issue, moving forward)
• Connect external USB SSD to Laptop A
• Copy Laptop A Steam subfolder "Steamapps" to external USB SSD (note: need to ensure manifest file(s) gets copied...for example, Steam\Steamapps\appmanifest_65980.acf)
• Connect external USB SSD to Laptop B
• Start Steam on Laptop B
• Verify integrity of the game cache on Laptop B

Once verified, proceed with playing the game.

At this point, we need to test whether running the game from the USB 3.0 flash drive will work, performance-wise.

UPDATE: Performance seems quite acceptable.

Vacation, Spring 2015

FRIDAY

Picked up mom from the Mineta San José International Airport

The Cats Restaurant & Tavern, 17533 Santa Cruz Highway, Los Gatos

• 6 oz. honey-glazed salmon salad: Grilled salmon, house-made honey glaze, mixed greens, pear slices, candied pecans, lime citrus vinaigrette
• BBQ sampler platter: St. Louis style, dry rub, hickory slow pit smoked BBQ: 1/4 chicken, 4 pork ribs, 4 oz. of pulled pork, with sides of coleslaw and burnt-end baked beans (smoked for 6 hours, burnt end beef brisket chunks)
• Corn bread side

SATURDAY

Breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar and banana (home)

Domestic day--laundry, trash, dishes, grocery shopping

Coffee at Companion Bakeshop, 2341 Mission Street, Santa Cruz

Dinner: Las Palmas Taco Bar, 55 Front St, Santa Cruz

• Super Veggie Burrito: large flour tortilla, chile rellano, rice, beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa verde
• 3 Amigos Plate: Any three soft or crispy tacos, with rice, beans, and cheese (we chose shredded chicken)

Discussed family history

Mom suggested Swedish translation of "Thank you very much" as, phonetically, "Tawk Skid-aha"...unconfirmed

SUNDAY

Light rain in the morning, clearing up in the afternoon

She.is.beautiful The Pinkest 5k and 10k (5th annual) - we rerouted around closed roads and exiting participants and spectators

Breakfast at Hoffman's Bistro and Patisserie, 1102 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz (appointment via OpenTable saved us an hour wait, due to after-race celebratory crowds):

• Green Giant omelette: artichoke hearts, asparagus, spinach, avocado, feta & Parmesan cheeses
• Veggie Eggs Benedict:spinach and grilled tomato 
• Short stack, buttermilk pancakes, with strawberries
• Scones to go: Cranberry orange, cinnamon walnut, and lemon blueberry
• June Hoffman assisted with front of house duties and honored her commitment to our reservation, despite the crowds out the door; impressed, big time!

Monterey Bay Aquarium (purchased tickets via Dawn's phone, while we stood in line, which saved us about 15 minutes of waiting)

• Sea otters
• The Jellies Experience
• Tentacles: The Astounding Lives of Octopuses, Squid and Cuttlefishes
• Kelp forest
• Touch pools
• Penguins
• 90-foot window "Open Sea" exhibit

Snack at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Cafe:

• Mission Hill Creamery gluten-free bitter chocolate fudge bar

17 Mile Drive

• Lone Cypress
• Pebble Beach Golf Links (As a gift, Dawn purchased a Pebble Beach Four Course Wave Divot Tool & Ball Markers Set and Pebble Beach Golf Links Tri-Fold Raised Check Golf Towel) 
• Ghost Tree
• Seals at Cypress Point Lookout

Artichokes in the fields along Highway 1

Dinner at KAITO Japanese restaurant, 830 41st Avenue, Santa Cruz:

• Tonkotsu Ramen : Rich pork flavor soup
• Tonkotsu Ramen : Rich pork flavor soup, with extra steamed veggies (cabbage, carrots)
• Tonkotsu Ramen : Rich pork flavor soup, with boiled egg and extra noodles
• Sake sampler (Three kind of Premium Sake) : A ) Kubota B ) Hakkaisan C ) Kanchiku

Dessert at The Penny Ice Creamery, 820 41st Avenue, Santa Cruz:

• Bitter caramel ice cream cookie sandwich, with chocolate cookies
• Scoop of lemon poppyseed ice cream

MONDAY

Breakfast: oatmeal with raspberries and banana (home)

Coffee at Café Ivéta, 2125 Delaware Ave, Santa Cruz (note: they use Lavazza--pronounced, in Italy, as "laˈvattsa"--coffee, for espresso drinks)

Zip line: Mount Hermon Redwood Canopy Tours

• Greg and Theo
• Photo opportunity missed on last segment
• Oldest known tree in zip line use
• Greg pointed out a coastal redwood tree growing on top of another another coastal redwood tree (an epiphyte). He mentioned a specific coastal redwood tree, Iluvatar, in Humboldt County, which represents the only "Class 6 reiteration known on a redwood." (page 15) That is, a trunk from a trunk from a trunk from a trunk from a trunk from a trunk. I think he may have said that tree had over 200 such epiphyte growths...just a massive tree.
• Many people seem to believe National Geographic staff featured Iluvatar in their October 2009 issue, which includes a five-page photo pullout, documenting the height of the tree
• Bridge crossings--mom did OK
• Two bolts hold up each tree platform; suspended mainly by tension
• Petzl zip line equipment
• Harness
• Carabiners
• Pulley
• Helmet
• Tips on zip lining
• Hold dominant hand on top
• Brake with hand flat, on the lower wire
• Knees up, to go faster
• Cross ankles, while in transit
• Watch guide for instructions on braking
• Emergency brake-hands on either side of the pullet

Lunch at Pizza My Heart, by the slice - 1116 Pacific Ave # B, Santa Cruz:

• Fort Point (Monday's slice-of-the-day): Light Tomato & Pesto Sauce with Roma Tomatoes, Chicken, Ricotta, Sausage, Artichoke, Basil & Herbs
• Pesto: Made with Basil, Garlic, Parmesan & Almonds
• Prima: Roma Tomatoes, Feta, Olives & Parmesan
• Mushroom
• Super Veggie

Flip flops purchased at FlipFlop Shops store, 1528 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz:

• Olukai 'Ohana (color: Tiger's Blood / Ice)
• Olukai Kumu (color: Rose Gold / Bean)

UC Santa Cruz:

• The Bay Tree Bookstore: Banana Slug magnet and Banana Slug Slug Buddy Ornament
• Engineering buildings, where Dawn studies
• Porter College Koi Pond (note: I wondered, while sitting on the ledge, whether anyone had attempted to remove the koi--tragically, yes, with fatal consequences for a rare mature Hikari Ogon Japanese Koi, which fraternity members "whacked with a rake and took away to be barbecued"..."Goldie," also known as "Midas," was considered to be a gentle 20 lb. fish, a favorite of children among the pond's 16 koi on the Porter College campus...UCSC permanently revoked recognition of the fraternity and the two students received 500 hours of community service and five years probation...the pond now has a memorial plaque and the two students purchased a replacement fish)

Donnelley Chocolates, 1509 Mission Street, Santa Cruz:

• Ice cream bar: Sea salt and dark chocolate coating, with vanilla ice cream and caramel on the inside
• Liquor bombs: "That was the best liquor - chocolate combo I have ever had" NPR Feb 5th, 2007 chocolate tasting. Fine dark chocolate balls filled with liquid fine liquor centers. Boxes may include chocolates made with Germain Robin brandy, Anejo Patron tequila, raspberry wine, port or mixed drinks. These chocolate bombs are liquid on the inside and must be enjoyed in one bite. (8 piece gift box)"
• Dark chocolate truffle cookie
• Dark chocolate sea salt caramel

Lemon mochi cake

Dinner: leftover ramen from Sunday, grazing

TUESDAY

Breakfast at Hoffman's Bistro and Patisserie, 1102 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

• Chilaquiles (Al Sur De La Frontera): eggs scrambled with jalepenos, green onions, tomatoes, jack & cheddar cheeses, and crispy tortilla strips, topped with salsa verde and sour cream, black beans on the side
• Short stack, buttermilk pancakes, with chocolate chips
• House-made cheese blintzes: light and slightly sweet with our own berry compote
• Scones to go: Cranberry orange, lemon blueberry, and cinnamon walnut

Bunya Pine - missed seeing the 100-foot tall one on Walnut Avenue (note: pre-dinosaur species)

Boardwalk (drove by)

Travel to Napa, via Highway 1 and San Francisco

Kitesurfers

Swanton Berry Farm, 25 Swanton Road, Davenport, CA

• Olallieberry Jam
• Truffle with Tayberry filling
• Strawberry lemonade (thick and very sweet)
• Honor till; cash only
• To try, later: "Jim's famous fruit cake (the real deal)"

Beach stop at Pomponio State Beach

Golden Gate Bridge

Sausalito

• Roly Poly Happy Cat Solar Bobblehead (looks like chibi tiger) purchased at Sausalito Ferry Company, 688 Bridgeway, Sausalito: "The Roly Poly Maneki bobblehead uses only a solar cell to power the cat's motion. No batteries. Works just fine with most interior lighting. Toy is 3 1/4 inches tall and across."
• Red "Sausalito" short-sleeve tee shirt purchased by mom, at Sausalito Shirt Company, 676 Bridgeway, Sausalito

Light lunch at Scoma's Sausalito, 588 Bridgeway, Sausalito:

• Cup of Scoma's clam chowder: Boston (white)
• Cup of lobster bisque: creamy bisque with lobster pieces
• Upscale dining, however, they gracefully accommodated us, in vacation attire...felt a bit awkward, for everyone, I think...but definitely not the only ones dressed that way
• Staff removed tableware before we left...not sure if they thought we would take it or just really efficient...I suspect the latter but, at the time, felt awkward, and we laughed about it, after exiting the restaurant
• Very professional, courteous almost to the point of obsequiousness, so not as much connection with out waiter

Hotel: Napa Discovery Inn, 500 Silverado Trail, Napa: room 15; just fine, as we only needed a room for overnight--hot water, quiet, comfy beds, close to dining and grocery. Wi-fi seemed intermittenly inaccessible (?) I tried calling to confirm our reservation and spoke with someone named Meena (spelling?), who seemed to fumble the phone a bit and said to call back in five minutes...we decided to just arrive and sort it out...she seemed very pleasant, in person, and we had no further communication problems

Dinner: Applebee's at 195 Soscol Ave., Napa

• Four cheese grille: "A blend of sharp cheddar, aged white cheddar, Asiago & Parmesan cheeses melted on toasted Tuscan bread. Served with a bowl of tomato basil soup."
• Side of regular fries
• Shrimp & Broccoli Cavatappi: "Spiral-cut cavatappi pasta tossed in a light cream sauce with broccoli, topped with peppered & grilled shrimp then finished with Parmesan cheese blend and fresh lemon." (and ice tea)
• They had E la Carte's Presto tablets on each table, which the waitress showed how to use to pay for the meal...we tried playing games but quickly discovered no free ones...so, we turned it to the wall and ignored it...good idea, looks sharp, but the business use cases seem a bit non-intuitive and too clunky...mom wanted a printed receipt, she said the device offered her an option to get one, but no printed receipt was forthcoming...not sure where the point-of-failure was, there

WEDNESDAY

Hot air balloon, via Napa Valley Aloft:

• Champagne Post -Flight Breakfast - recommended
• Hula (our balloon) and Tango (one other balloon)
• Complimentary coffee and muffin/scone
• $40 photo package - Recommended; comes with some stock photos and all photos on a CD
• Launch: V Marketplace, 6525 Washington Street, Yountville
• Touchdown: Laurel Hills Park (also known as Laurel Street Park), 2999 Laurel St, Napa
• Distance (as the crow flies): ~8 miles
• Time: ~one hour, 15 minutes
• Pilot: J.P. (Jon-Paul) Gagnon: "J.P. has been with Balloons Above the Valley since 1999 when he moved to the Napa Valley to support his wife’s dream of running a Bed and Breakfast. We love men that support their wife’s dreams! He started his ballooning career in the Napa Valley and trained with some of the most experienced pilots available. J.P. is known as the “Jack of all trades” here at the company offering assistance in all areas of the business. In his off hours, J.P. can be found fishing anywhere he can. His smoked salmon is scrumptious!"
• His wife was going to Carmel to run a business for a month, while their child traveled
• Julia Gallo's house on hilltop - was Mondavi's (sold for $23 million)
• JP: "Ha, we are over my friend Harry's house!"
• Two other balloons arose, which seemed unexpected and forced us east
• As we passed near Alston Park, the primary landing location, currents of air shifted and pushed us a bit farther south
• As we drifted a bit, over Napa, JP heard a public address system from a female teacher at West Park Elementary School, below--we waved, and heard her say, to the  students assembled outside, "They are really waving at us, now! I wonder if they want to land here?" JP laughed and yelled, "I would love to land there!" However, we had already drifted too far south
• Skittish horse on the other side of the fence, at Laurel Hills Park
• Scrape, scrape--popped over an oak tree into the park--ground crew grabbed us and secured the landing (after reaching consensus on all pushing in the same direction)
• Attendant had a nice button-down double pocketed heavy-weight navy shirt
• Napa Valley Aloft pin
• Male photographer's face and mannerisms reminded me of Dawn's father
• JP drove us back in a commercial van to the starting point

Two wine suggestions, from the hot air balloon crew:

1. Honig Vineyard & Winery, 850 Rutherford Road, Rutherford
2. Jessup Cellars, 6740 Washington St, Yountville

JP suggested one of these as a "nice little winery", as we floated overhead, but I forget which:

1. Dillon Vineyards
2. Bell Wine Cellars
3. Hopper Creek Winery

Breakfast at Pacific Blues Cafe, 6525 Washington Street, Yountville:

• Three egg omelette: Add your choice of two stuffings - cheese (your choice), mushrooms, salsa - mine came with hashbrowns, I think (?)
• Vanilla Cinnamon French Toast: Fresh baked pain de mie bread (from the Bouchon Bakery, across the street), dusted with powdered sugar, bananas, walnuts, and maple syrup
• Mimosa cocktail, served by JP, with fresh orange juice and sparkling wine, via Domain Chandon Brut Classic, Yountville (directly west of the restaurant, on the other side of Highway 29)
• Changed into nicer clothing, in preparation for the evening meal

Bouchon Bakery - Walnut bread loaf

Chocolate bark sample at Kollar Chocolates...they had some shiny, metallic colored chocolates

Trouble in Napa Valley: "Murder-suicide leaves fate of winery, lawsuits in question"...this occurred on Monday, March 23, two days before we arrived, and involves Dahl Vineyards, in Yountville.

Noticed a clothing store, "Kāne", with the same name as a friend's surname

Castello di Amorosa

• Hogs
• Peacock
• Quail
• Smell of wine casks (vinegar)
• Saw both cats we saw in 2014, though both snubbed us

UC Berkeley

• Drove past the Kleugel House, at 2669 Le Conte Avenue, Berkeley
• Drove up the very steep Le Conte Avenue, between Hearst Avenue and Scenic Avenue
• Walked through UC Berkeley west entrance, on Hearst, and proceeded across to near Telegraph, viewing the library, the quad, and the Sather Tower campanile--failed in our quest to find a UC Berkeley sign
• Drove down Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley

Quickly bubble tea (boba tea)

Original Peet's Coffee & Tea, 2124 Vine St, Berkeley

Epicurious Garden garden public area:

• Sat on the steps for about an hour, while we waited for our Chez Panisse reservation
• Part of the Epicurious Garden take out building 
• Across from the Cheeseboard Collective
• We also passed The Juice Bar Collective

Weird sign (no picture):
As I walked back to Dawn and mom, after parking the car on Cedar Avenue, I spotted, at the opposite side of an alley, some bamboo, and I thought I would see if it represented a shortcut back to them. The alley ran north-south, in parallel with Shattuck Avenue, behind two street-facing businesses, "Chaam Berkeley" and "Dara’s Authentic Thai & Lao Cuisine", on one side, and "Grégoire Restaurant", on the other (map). As I walked, I passed a blue recycling bin, with a flat sheet of brown grocery-paper-like material on top. On this brown paper, in black marker, I read the following (paraphrased): "I am an alien. My name is Adam. Please know you are in extreme danger." (I forget the rest). Weird! Not creeped out, but just curious. I left it, kept going, and found myself at the end of the alley, with one side going onto a private back patio and the other along a very narrow planks to the front of Chaam Berkeley, from which I walked down a few steps and onto the sidewalk of Shattuck Avenue. It turned out I was several stores down from the Epicurious Garden take out building.

Dinner at Chez Panisse,1517 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley:

• Food and drink:
• Smoked black cod and Little Gems lettuce salad with Chioggia beets, chives, and mustard blossoms (mom said she got only one beet)
• Handmade farfalle di farro with wild mushrooms and mint (wow--mint was a winner)
• Paine Farm lamb grilled with anchovies, garlic, and sage; with sweet peas, little turnips, and asparagus sformato
• Rhubarb crostata with tangerine ice cream
• Wine: 375mL half-bottle of 2011 Cahors, Clos La Coutale
• Server: Gianni
• Note: fire damage, from March 8, 2013, "mainly confined to the two-story front porch seating areas," with a re-opening on June 24, 2013 (link)
• We sat in a corner, on the west side of the dining area, to the south of one other table...we seemed to sit on the other side of the wall from the entry way--not that it was any issue, but only to give an idea of where we sat.
• Our fellow guests, to the north: a mother (?) and son, the latter an academic lecturer and advisor to graduate students, who discussed topics of technology, academia, and travel...they explicitly mentioned their Jewish background, which interested me; he seemed to work at Stanford, via MIT, and looked young, while she looked a few years older...he mentioned his father worked at Fermilab, near Chicago
• Gianni mentioned he had worked at the restaurant in 2009, when Dawn and I last visited
• In the entryway, we noticed a poster for the 193 French film "César": "The famed restaurateur and founder of California cuisine, Alice Waters, was so taken by this film that she named her Berkeley restaurant "Chez Panisse". The café upstairs from the restaurant is decorated with posters from the films "Marius", "Fanny", and "César"." (Panisse represents their surname)

Hotel: San Jose Marriott, 301 South Market Street, San Jose, room #824

• Lots of bail bond companies, in the area
• Dawn and I recognized the area, a bit, as the same area we ate at when we attended the Radiohead concert nearby SAP Center at San Jose (note: it was the HP Pavilion at San Jose, at that time: "In June 2013, German software company SAP (co-founded by Sharks managing partner Hasso Plattner, who is also SAP's chairman of the board) purchased the naming rights to the facility in a five-year deal worth $3.35 million per year. The arena was renamed "SAP Center at San Jose" following the approval of the San Jose City Council.")
• Arrived around 9:00 p.m.
• Pacific Coast Feather Company
• Duvet: Hotel White Goose Down Blanket
• Pillows x 4: Hotel Touch of Down Pillow - Super Standard sized, medium firmness (inner: duck feathers; outer: down)
• The San Jose Marriott welcomed:
• Android Builders Summit (March 23-25, 2015)
• Embedded Linux Conference (March 23-25, 2015)
• We noticed a number of individuals talking about technology, near the entrance
• We noticed loading of audio and stage equipment onto a truck near the entrance, presumably for the conference/summit
• Valet parking: $31
• Great hotel experience--reasonable price, in my opinion, via Priceline (thanks, William Shatner)
• Again, our use case involved a hot shower and a bed, for an early morning flight
• Front desk staff seemed professional and helpful, but no connection

THURSDAY

Coffee from hotel

Depart Mineta San José International Airport, 6:15 a.m.

• Wrestlemania 31 marketing in the terminal, including a basket with maps and information, for arriving attendees
• Parking was no problem; five minutes to walk to security...check-in took about 5-10 minutes
• Tearful goodbyes :' o )

Seized mom's jam at security. > : o (   We will send a care package : o )

Getting Things Done, Part the Second

David Allen published a revision:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/03/my-brush-with-best-sellerdom-part-deux/387961/

Amazon Glacier File Retrieval

Downloading a backup I made to Amazon Glacier, back in 2012.

• Remote Desktop to EC2 Microsoft Windows Server instance
• Install Fast Glacier 2.6.1
• Configure Fast Glacier with Amazon Access Key ID and Secret Access Key
• Request last inventory for all vaults
• Wait up to 24 hours to complete retrieval
• Transfer files
• Delete files
• Wait 24 hours or so
• Delete vault

Vuarnet Eyewear

My co-worker highly recommends Vuarnet sunglasses, which have glass lenses for some models. He wears the Px2000 or Px5000 model.

Chi's Sweet Home

Something Dawn and I want to watch: Chi's Sweet Home (Japanese: チーズスイートホーム Hepburn: Chīzu Suīto Hōmu?)

Tak for mad

Danish for "Thanks for food". We saw it on the Kettel Krakkers brand label.

Alfaro Wine

Dawn and I met Richard Alfaro at CostCo on Saturday, of Alfaro Family vineyards and winery.

Richard has a son attending UCLA and who plans to study viticulture in France over the summer. His daughter works locally and created the wine label, below, for $100.

Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.

Dawn's new eyewear

Via Spiga Rosaria Eyeglasses, in color "Tortoise / Light Blue Pearl" (550)

Aromatherepy Diffusers

Looking at these today.

TYPES OF DIFFUSERS

1. Ultrasonic
2. Nebulizing
3. Evaporative
4. Heat

CONSIDERATIONS

• Essential oil consumption
• Ongoing maintenance issues--for example, cleaning, replacement parts
• Initial cost
• Performance (quality of output)
• Length of operation (for example, all night vs several hours)

Note: several warnings that citrus essential oils corrode the ultrasonic components.  

OTHER

• https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
• http://www.mrsmeyers.com/category/product/household-cleaners/pc/2155/2172.uts
• http://www.candle-litecatalog.com/onlinecatalog.asp?Page=Category&CatalogID=3&Catalog=Collections&CategoryID=54&Category=Fresh+Expressions%AE

UPDATE:

I decided I did not need another electronic device to maintain. We chose to start with a simple soapstone model we purchased from a local grocery store. Tea light in the bottom, oil and water mix on the top, it lasts for several hours. Heat, so less therapeutic benefits, if you desire that...we just want it to smell nicer.

Shinto shrine items

At KAITO restaurant in Capitola, the owner has placed a number of items behind the sushi bar:

• Hama Ya, or, evil destroying arrow
• Two clay troll monsters...not sure about these, yet

Ozeki

Dawn and I sampled a 250mL bottle of Ozeki Hana Awaka, over bowls of ramen last night.

Valentines Day 2015

We visited Chocolate the Restaurant on Valentines Day and had the following:

• Olive dipping pool and crusty bread (served room temperature)
• Mixed vegetarian antipasto
• Organic baby greens salad
• Baked pasta rosettes with fresh black Périgord truffles from France (Tuber melanosporum)
• Dessert orgy (advertise as "an assortment of bite sized sweets to share" but presented with chocolate cake with mint chip ice cream and ganache-covered ice cream...tasted like caramel cappuccino...no complaints)
• Optional: we chose a wine, "Cave de Ribeauville Giersberger Cremant d'Alsace Pinot Noir Rose Brut, France" (for example)

Radio songs

KMVQ 99.7 FM out of San Francisco:

Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK-native Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" from his 2014 album "X" on the Asylum & Atlantic labels. Video

KRBQ 102.1 FM out of San Francisco:

??? Inquired with the station...apparently part of a playlist which they have not posted....

Nashua, New Hampshire-native Ray LaMontagne - "You Are The Best Thing", from his 2008 album "Gossip in the Grain" on the label. Audio--that voice!

KKUP 91.5 FM out of Cupertino:

10:15 a.m. - jazzy, sort of Saturday Night Live outro-like

1:50 p.m. - sort of a movie dramatic classical piece

Apparently they only post things in retrospect (?)

GeneTorrent - Building release 3.8.7 on Debian Wheezy stable+backports system

BACKGROUND

The University of Californa at Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, established in 2014, connects many efforts, including the UC Santa Cruz Cancer Genomics Hub, launched in 2012:

The Cancer Genomics Hub (CGHub) is a central repository for the genomics information for three different National Cancer Institute (NCI) programs, including The Cancer Genomics Atlas (TCGA). In addition to providing a repository, CGHub supports the establishment of standards and application programming interfaces (APIs), and provides support to end users.

An aside: Dawn says she thinks of the 1990's-era television series MST3K when she hears the name "Genomics Institute," because the name sounds like Gizmonic Institute, the fictitious cover organization of the show's antagonists. They send bad movies to the show's protagonist, Joel Robinson, as part of a psychological experiment. Note: Of course, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute staff do not compare, to my knowledge, to the antagonists in MST3K! : o )

CGHub staff provide "binary and source distributions of the GeneTorrent client software for downloading sequence data from CGHub's repository. The distribution contains two main programs: gtdownload and cgquery." Note: CGHub staff have a few other packages available at their bitbucket repository.

From my very limited, outsider experience with the project, it seems UCSC CGHub staff contracted with a private vendor, Annai Systems, Inc., to obtain the GeneTorrent client software and the other architectural components needed to store and transfer the terabytes (possibly petabytes, now) of cancer genome data.

From a 2012 press release, it appears UCSC CGHub licensed technology from Annai Systems Inc. to support the acquisition of a "new 5-petabyte-capacity data repository." The press release indicates the UCSC CGHub deployment represented the first release of the Annai Systems, Inc. architecture. Dr. David Haussler, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering at UCSC, who leads the CGHub project, stated, "Annai has been an exceptional partner in the development of CGHub." This seems to imply UCSC CGHub staff paid Annai Systems staff to create and maintain the system, at least initially, in combination with some on-campus dedicated operational support. From commit logs, it appears CGHub staff maintain GeneTorrent. Less likely, to me, they may only apply patches from the vendor. (?)

For what it's worth, Annai Systems staff seem to have sub-contracted some or most of the development work, at least on GeneTorrent, to private vendor Cardinal Peak (for example, see GeneTorrent repository file headers ./README, which states, "Created under contract by Cardinal Peak, LLC.  www.cardinalpeak.com"--the header reads "Copyright (c) 2011-2012, Annai Systems, Inc.")

Annai Systems, in a 2013 whitepaper, describes GeneTorrent as follows:

"Whole genome sequence data files range from several hundred gigabytes to over one terabyte in size. GeneTorrent enables accelerated transfers of terabyte-scale data. It employs a proprietary variant of the popular BitTorrent algorithm to securely transfer files at speeds limited only by the base network bandwidth. 

Technical Specifications 

GeneTorrent’s key functionality is as follows:

• High-fidelity parallel file transfer at up to multi-Gbits/sec (speeds as high as 200 Mbps are routinely achieved) 

• Highly resilient to in-network and computing failures with automatic recovery

• Highly secure 256-bit encrypted file transfer"

Whitepaper notwithstanding, it seems to me the GeneTorrent client's ability to operate within the larger ecosystem of the Annai Systems architecture represents the main selling point of the client. It does seem they have extended libtorrent in some minor ways, but I have not had time to investigate fully.

GENETORRENT INTERNALS

The source code reveals GeneTorrent version 3.8.7 relies primarily on release 0.16 of package libtorrent, which seems to represent the version extant in March 2012, during initial development:

"libtorrent is a C++ library that aims to be a good alternative to all the other bittorrent implementations around. It is a library and not a full featured client, although it comes with a working example client."

Currently at release 1.0.3, libtorrent originates from Swedish programmer Arvid Norberg, which also explains the origin of the word rasterbar, which I noticed frequently while building GeneTorrent. Rasterbar represents the name of a Swedish company, Rasterbar Software, which was founded in Umeå, Sweden. This further explains the shout-out of libtorrent developers to Umeå University for "providing development and test hardware" for the libtorrent project.

The source code also relies on project xqilla (which requires xerces-c) for XML parsing, OpenSSL for encryption, libcurl for file transfer, and boost (used for building libtorrent and GeneTorrent).

BUILDING GENETORRENT

First, install prerequisite packages:

• autoconf
• devscripts
• gettext
• libboost-all-dev
• sudo apt-get install libp11-kit0/wheezy (note: "/wheezy" overrides installing from backports repository, to prepare the way to install libcurl4-openssl-dev)
• libcurl4-openssl-dev (note: override backports, as above, first)
• libtool
• libxerces-c-dev
• libxqilla-dev
• lsb
• python-openssl
• xqilla

Second, download the source:

Go here, then select link "Download repository" (currently; all versions)

Optionally (if not the first go-round): rm -rf cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985
unzip cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985.zip
cd cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985

Third, customize for Debian Wheezy (7.8), as the source code currently seems to only support Debian Squeeze (6.0.6), out-of-the-box:

# Make Wheezy dpkg the same as squeeze...
ln -s squeeze dpkg/wheezy

# grab all ./dpkg/Makefile.am lines with squeeze, modify them to wheezy, fix the spacing of backslashes,

# then insert the modified lines back into ./dpkg/Makefile.am

export _cghub_file=./dpkg/Makefile.am && \

export _cghub_text=$(grep squeeze ./dpkg/Makefile.am | sed 's/squeeze/wheezy/g;s/\\/ \\/g') && \

awk '/squeeze/ && !done { print ENVIRON["_cghub_text"] ; done=1;}; 1;' $_cghub_file > ${_cghub_file}.new && \

mv ${_cghub_file}.new $_cghub_file && \

unset _cghub_text _cghub_file

# NOTE: Manually patch ./Makefile.am as follows ... too complicated to script, for now

# line numbers precede the actual line contents

# Note: the name--in this case, wheezy--must match the results of command "lsb_release -cs"

128 .PHONY: deb deb-builder deb-trusty deb-saucy deb-raring deb-precise deb-quantal deb-oneiric deb-lucid deb-squeeze deb-wheezy

161 

162 # Debian wheezy (7.8)

163 deb-wheezy:

164   $(MAKE) DEB_DISTRO_TAG=debian${DEB_PACKAGE_VER}-${DEB_RELEASE} deb-builder

# Rebuild Makefile.in ....
./autoregen.sh

Fourth, start building dependencies:

# Build dependencies
deps/boost/buildGeneTorrentBoost.sh && \
deps/openssl/buildGeneTorrentOpenSSL.sh && \
deps/xerces-c/buildGeneTorrentXerces-C.sh && \
deps/xqilla/buildGeneTorrentXQilla.sh

Fifth, fix what seems like a non-git bug in the configure script, which causes configure to not generate file src/gt_scm_rev.h:

# Fix missing header file src/gt_scm_rev.h (?)
# The GeneTorrent 3.8.5 release's NEWS file, dated March, 2014, states:
# "Generate gt_scm_rev.h during configure instead of make. That way it is included in the source
# distribution, make clean doesn't remove it, make install doesn't skip its creation."
# However, configure seems to fail and not create it (?) This needs verification.
# First, touch .git file, per scm-rev-update, which requires it to proceed to generating the file
# Second, re-run scm-rev-update to produce the file
# Possibly, this validation step prevents the creation of the file in non-git source builds (?), causing
# the error (?)
touch ./scripts/.git
./scripts/scm-rev-update

Sixth, configure with dependencies (optionally, with debug/verbose):

# Configure
# Note: To enable verbose logging, configure with --enable-logging=verbose
# Note: To create a debug build, configure with --enable-debug --enable-logging=verbose
./configure --with-boost=$PWD/deps/boost --with-openssl=$PWD/deps/openssl --with-xerces=$PWD/deps/xerces-c --with-xqilla=$PWD/deps/xqilla

Seventh, build the Debian packages (optionally, make install?):

# Build
# Note: make deb seems to represent a wrapper around make dist
make deb

Done, hopefully, without errors.

TO-DO

Try running gtdownload and cgquery and gtupload and cgsubmit programs.

NOTES - LIBCURL4-OPENSSL-DEV INSTALL ERROR

I got to a certain point and saw this configure error:

checking curl/curl.h usability... no
checking curl/curl.h presence... no
checking for curl/curl.h... no
configure: error: curl headers required but not found

So, who provides curl.h?

File Packages
/usr/include/curl/curl.h libcurl4-gnutls-dev, libcurl4-nss-dev, libcurl4-openssl-dev
/usr/include/discover/curl.h libdiscover-dev
/usr/include/lua5.1/lua-curl.h lua-curl-dev
/usr/include/rheolef/curl.h librheolef-dev [not armel, armhf]
/usr/include/rheolef/s_curl.h librheolef-dev [not armel, armhf]Attempts to install libcurl4-gnutls-dev, libcurl4-nss-dev, or libcurl4-openssl-dev results in errors:

Attempts to install libcurl4-openssl-dev:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libcurl4-openssl-dev : Depends: librtmp-dev but it is not going to be installed
Conflicts: libcurl-dev
Conflicts: libcurl4-gnutls-dev but 7.26.0-1+wheezy12 is to be installed
Conflicts: libcurl4-nss-dev but 7.26.0-1+wheezy12 is to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

Seems like they all depend on package librtmp-dev. Drilling down into this:

sudo apt-get install librtmp-dev
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
librtmp-dev : Depends: libgnutls-dev but it is not going to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

Uh-oh...going further...

sudo apt-get install libgnutls-dev
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libgnutls-dev : Depends: libp11-kit-dev (>= 0.4) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

Erm...almost there (?)

sudo apt-get install libp11-kit-dev
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
libp11-kit-dev : Depends: libp11-kit0 (= 0.12-3) but 0.20.7-1~bpo70+1 is to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

So...it has come to this. libp11-kit-dev depends on libp11-kit0. What? : o \ Let's dig a bit more:

sudo apt-cache policy libp11-kit0
libp11-kit0:
Installed: 0.20.7-1~bpo70+1
Candidate: 0.20.7-1~bpo70+1
Version table:
*** 0.20.7-1~bpo70+1 0
100 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy-backports/main amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
0.12-3 0
500 http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ wheezy/main amd64 Packages

Wheezy backports provides a later version...ah! So, learning something new, I have to tell apt-get to use wheezy target instead of backports:

sudo apt-get install libp11-kit0/wheezy

This works! Now "sudo apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev" succeeds. Ta-da. : o )

NOTES - GT_SCM_REV.H

Running make fails.

libtool: compile: g++ -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -I. -I/usr/include -I/usr/include -I/usr/include/xercesc -I/usr/include -DGT_RESOURCEDIR=\"/usr/local/share/GeneTorrent\" -DGT_BUILD_NUMBER=\"undefined\" -DGT_BUILD_TYPE=\"undefined\" -DGT_BUILD_TARGET=\"undefined\" -DTORRENT_CALLBACK_LOGGER -DTORRENT_MINIMAL_LOGGING -DTORRENT_USE_OPENSSL -DTORRENT_DISABLE_GEO_IP -DTORRENT_DISABLE_DHT -DBOOST_ASIO_HASH_MAP_BUCKETS=1021 -DBOOST_EXCEPTION_DISABLE -DBOOST_ASIO_ENABLE_CANCELIO -DTORRENT_LINKING_SHARED -I/usr/local/include/GeneTorrent -I/usr/local/include/GeneTorrent/libtorrent -I../libtorrent/include -g -O2 -Wall -MT libgenetorrent_la-gtBaseOpts.lo -MD -MP -MF .deps/libgenetorrent_la-gtBaseOpts.Tpo -c gtBaseOpts.cpp -fPIC -DPIC -o .libs/libgenetorrent_la-gtBaseOpts.o
gtBaseOpts.cpp:41:24: fatal error: gt_scm_rev.h: No such file or directorycompilation terminated.
make[2]: *** [libgenetorrent_la-gtBaseOpts.lo] Error 1

It can't find header file gt_scm_rev.h.

Touch .git file in top directory...expected by ./scripts/scm-rev-update, line 11: 

11 if [ -d .git -o -f .git ] # in git >= 1.8, .git is a file if the working copy is a submodule

This should probably handle source code builds, in addition to git source code builds.

QUESTIONS

• Do CGHub maintainers eventually foresee providing 64-bit Microsoft Windows binaries?
• ./dpkg/squeeze/control lists Maintainer: Matt Lupfer <mlupfer@cardinalpeak.com>, but he no longer works there
• make deb triggers re-downloading of boost package, even after running deps/boost/buildGeneTorrentBoost.sh, which downloads the tarball (?)
• Other (?)

RANDOM OTHER ERRORS

A bunch of random errors & warnings from the build process (?) Not sure whether worthwhile to review, or not....

10287 ../configure: line 20168: #: command not found
10348 ./config.status: line 2384: scripts/scm-rev-update: No such file or directory
10516 sed: can't read include/libtorrent/version.hpp: No such file or directory
10713 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:421:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::feed::m_title'  of NULL object [-Winvalid-offsetof      ]
10714 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:421:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10715 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:422:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::feed::m_description'  of NULL object [-Winvalid-of      fsetof]
10716 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:422:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10717 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:423:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::feed::m_last_attempt'  of NULL object [-Winvalid-o      ffsetof]
10718 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:423:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10719 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:424:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::feed::m_last_update'  of NULL object [-Winvalid-of      fsetof]
10720 ../../../libtorrent/src/rss.cpp:424:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10725 ../../../libtorrent/src/session_impl.cpp:519:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::aux::session_impl::m_settings'  of NULL o      bject [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10726 ../../../libtorrent/src/session_impl.cpp:519:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10727 ../../../libtorrent/src/session_impl.cpp:523:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::aux::session_impl::m_proxy'  of NULL obje      ct [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10728 ../../../libtorrent/src/session_impl.cpp:523:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10729 ../../../libtorrent/src/session_impl.cpp:528:3: warning: invalid access to non-static data member 'libtorrent::aux::session_impl::m_pe_settings'  of NUL      L object [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10730 ../../../libtorrent/src/session_impl.cpp:528:3: warning: (perhaps the 'offsetof' macro was used incorrectly) [-Winvalid-offsetof]
10751 ../../../libtorrent/src/torrent.cpp: In constructor 'libtorrent::torrent::torrent(libtorrent::aux::session_impl&, const endpoint&, int, int, const libto      rrent::add_torrent_params&, const sha1_hash&)':
10752 ../../../libtorrent/src/torrent.cpp:433:60: warning: large integer implicitly truncated to unsigned type [-Woverflow]
10753 ../../../libtorrent/src/torrent.cpp:433:60: warning: large integer implicitly truncated to unsigned type [-Woverflow]
10814 In file included from ../../src/gtBase.cpp:75:0:
10815 ../../src/gtBase.h: In constructor 'gtBase::gtBase(gtBaseOpts&, gtBase::opMode)':
10816 ../../src/gtBase.h:245:19: warning: 'gtBase::_bindIP' will be initialized after [-Wreorder]
10817 ../../src/gtBase.h:242:19: warning:   'std::string gtBase::_resourceDir' [-Wreorder]
10818 ../../src/gtBase.cpp:92:1: warning:   when initialized here [-Wreorder]
10825 ../../src/gtDownload.cpp: In member function 'void gtDownload::extractURIsFromTSV(std::string, vectOfStr&)':
10826 ../../src/gtDownload.cpp:528:38: warning: comparison between signed and unsigned integer expressions [-Wsign-compare]
10827 ../../src/gtDownload.cpp: In member function 'void gtDownload::performSingleTorrentDownload(std::string, int64_t&, int&)':
10828 ../../src/gtDownload.cpp:834:21: warning: deprecated conversion from string constant to 'char*' [-Wwrite-strings]
10829 ../../src/gtDownload.cpp:836:21: warning: deprecated conversion from string constant to 'char*' [-Wwrite-strings]
10830 ../../src/gtDownload.cpp:839:18: warning: deprecated conversion from string constant to 'char*' [-Wwrite-strings]
10866 /usr/bin/ld: warning: libboost_system.so.1.48.0, needed by /home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/deb-build/libtorrent/
10870 /usr/bin/ld: warning: libboost_system.so.1.48.0, needed by /home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/deb-build/libtorrent/
10876 /usr/bin/ld: warning: libboost_system.so.1.48.0, needed by /home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/deb-build/libtorrent/
1
10944 libtool: install: warning: remember to run `libtool --finish /usr/lib/GeneTorrent'

10990 libtool: install: warning: relinking `libgenetorrent.la'
10997 libtool: install: warning: remember to run `libtool --finish /usr/lib'
11000 libtool: install: warning: `/home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/deb-build/libtorrent/src/.libs/libtorrent-rasterbar.
11001 libtool: install: warning: `libgenetorrent.la' has not been installed in `/usr/lib'
11002 libtool: install: /usr/bin/install -c .libs/gtupload /home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/debian/tmp/usr/bin/gtupload
11003 libtool: install: warning: `/home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/deb-build/libtorrent/src/.libs/libtorrent-rasterbar.
11004 libtool: install: warning: `libgenetorrent.la' has not been installed in `/usr/lib'
11005 libtool: install: /usr/bin/install -c .libs/gtdownload /home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/debian/tmp/usr/bin/gtdown
11006 libtool: install: warning: `/home/k/Documents/Code/cghub-genetorrent-476d7bd44985/GeneTorrent-3.8.7/deb-build/libtorrent/src/.libs/libtorrent-rasterbar.
11007 libtool: install: warning: `libgenetorrent.la' has not been installed in `/usr/lib'
11111 dh_pysupport: This program is deprecated, you should use dh_python2 instead. Migration guide: http://deb.li/dhs2p
11137 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-common/usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_regex.so.1.48.0 was not link
11138 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-upload/usr/bin/gtupload was not linked against libboost_regex.so
11139 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-upload/usr/bin/gtupload was not linked against libboost_filesyst
11140 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-upload/usr/bin/gtupload was not linked against libssl.so.1.0.0 (
11141 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libboost_rege
11142 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libxerces-c-3
11143 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libtorrent-ra
11144 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libboost_file
11145 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libxqilla.so.
11146 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libcrypto.so.
11147 dpkg-shlibdeps: warning: package could avoid a useless dependency if debian/genetorrent-download/usr/bin/gtdownload was not linked against libssl.so.1.0
11150 dpkg-gencontrol: warning: package genetorrent-upload: unused substitution variable ${python:Depends}
11164 Now running lintian...
11165 E: genetorrent-download: binary-or-shlib-defines-rpath usr/bin/gtdownload /usr/lib/GeneTorrent
11166 W: genetorrent-download: hardening-no-relro usr/bin/gtdownload
11167 W: genetorrent-download: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/bin/gtdownload
11168 W: genetorrent-common: package-name-doesnt-match-sonames libgenetorrent0
11169 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_filesystem.so.1.48.0
11170 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_filesystem.so.1.48.0
11171 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_program_options.so.1.48.0
11172 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_program_options.so.1.48.0
11173 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_regex.so.1.48.0
11174 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_regex.so.1.48.0
11175 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_system.so.1.48.0
11176 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libboost_thread.so.1.48.0
11177 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libtorrent-rasterbar.so.6.0.0
11178 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/lib/GeneTorrent/libtorrent-rasterbar.so.6.0.0
11179 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-relro usr/lib/libgenetorrent.so.0.0.0
11180 W: genetorrent-common: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/lib/libgenetorrent.so.0.0.0
11181 W: genetorrent-common: extra-license-file usr/share/doc/GeneTorrent/LICENSE.gz
11182 W: genetorrent-common: binary-without-manpage usr/bin/cgquery
11183 W: genetorrent-common: binary-without-manpage usr/bin/gtocheck
11184 W: genetorrent-common: binary-without-manpage usr/bin/gtoinfo
11185 W: genetorrent-common: non-dev-pkg-with-shlib-symlink usr/lib/libgenetorrent.so.0.0.0 usr/lib/libgenetorrent.so
11186 E: genetorrent-dbg: extended-description-is-empty
11187 W: genetorrent-dbg: wrong-section-according-to-package-name genetorrent-dbg => debug
11188 W: genetorrent-dbg: empty-binary-package
11189 E: genetorrent-upload: binary-or-shlib-defines-rpath usr/bin/gtupload /usr/lib/GeneTorrent
11190 W: genetorrent-upload: hardening-no-relro usr/bin/gtupload
11191 W: genetorrent-upload: hardening-no-fortify-functions usr/bin/gtupload
11192 W: genetorrent-upload: binary-without-manpage usr/bin/cgsubmit
11193 E: genetorrent-upload: python-script-but-no-python-dep usr/bin/cgsubmit
11194 Finished running lintian.

Angry attacks

Two of my favorite people have started attacking each other:

Phil Yu, publisher of the internet news blog Angry Asian Man: "I Am Being Threatened With An Angry Asian Lawsuit"

Lela Lee, creator of Angry Little Girls: "Why the "Angry Asian Man" is pissing me off."

As you might expect, it's...angry?

Background: I most definitely fall into the casual observer category. I follow Phil's blog feed. I have admired Lela's Angry Little Girls creations for years. Watching this public confrontation interests me roughly as much as the regular updates to blog 11-foot-8, which documents the completely avoidable demolition of over-sized vehicles attempting to pass under a bridge.

In my opinion, Lela seems to have a kernel of truth on her side. It sounds reasonable, to me, to assume she attempted to communicate her preferences to Phil, on a few occasions...I am guessing, given the casual context, Phil heard her preferences but didn't "hear" Lela's irritation/fear and her larger need to protect herself and her family's source of income.

Thus the "whoa, where did that come from, I-thought-we-were-friends" tone of Phil's post. It explains the corresponding escalation of tension and fear in Lela's actions and communications.

Rather than having it play out in public, this seems exactly the type of situation a skilled mediator might resolve, to begin de-escalating things and more quickly ensure each party gets their needs met.

However, first things first: each side needs to clearly articulate their needs and hear the needs of the other side.

Phil's attempt to formalize his blog with a trademark seems to represent the proverbial straw which broke the camel's back, for Lela. Therefore, it seems reasonable to infer Lela may want to protect herself and her family financially. She has also seemed to mention a need to be heard, especially in a timely way...stated a different way, perhaps a need for predictability in her interactions with Phil on this matter. It also sounds like, maybe as a secondary issue (?), Lela wants more recognition and appreciation from Phil, for her efforts and contributions in building her business and the inspirations it provided to the work of many people, Phil included.

Phil's needs seem a bit less clear, to me, but that's probably only because it's late and I am struggling to stay awake. I think it would make a lot of sense to ask and see if he can articulate his needs. If I had to guess, I would say Phil probably needs more trust from Lela about his intentions in operating his site, and that he only wants to operate his site if he can do so without significantly impacting Lela's financial situation. He seems overwhelmed with the implications of this issue and other, unmentioned, issues, of late, so I am guessing he needs more flexibility and consideration and autonomy in deciding the future of his site. Phil also seems to want recognition and appreciation for the years of time and energy he has invested into his site.

Things to avoid when identifying needs: evaluation, blame, criticism, labels, moralistic judgments, diagnoses, strategies, demands.

Then, stay with that discussion, and, once each side hears the other's needs and can repeat them back, it's most likely only a short hop to finding a way or ways to meet those needs...it usually follows naturally and quickly.

We are all human beings; we all share the same needs. Given Phil and Lela share so, so, so much common ground, I'm confident a mediator might help them not only reach an agreeable solution that meets everyone's needs, but also exit with a renewed commitment to work toward the larger goals of the community at large.

CoeLux

Beautiful.

CoeLux: Artificial Sunlight That’s Real Enough to Trick Your Camera and Brain
http://petapixel.com/2015/02/09/coelux-artificial-sunlight-thats-good-enough-fool-cameras-brain/

Slug life

University of California, Santa Cruz McHenry Library

Dehumidifier

Researching a dehumidifier for a small apartment bathroom with only overhead fan ventilation (that is, no exterior windows).

TERMS

• Humidity = amount of water vapor in the air (measured in grams?)
• RH = relative humidity, the percentage of water vapor present, relative to the maximum amount a given space can hold, at a given temperature
• Hygrometer = only measures and displays humidity (via)
• Humidistat = both measures and controls humidity...may or may not have a display (via)
• Adsorption = water molecules stick to the surface
• Absorption = water molecules enter material
• Hygroscopic = (of a substance) tending to absorb moisture from the air

HUMIDITY BASICS

• Fundamentals, including an image showing how relative humidity decreases when the amount of water vapor remains constant while increasing temperature
• The recommended average relative humidity level is between 35% and 45% (via)
• RH above 50% can promote bacteria growth (via)
• Misconception: Amount of water vapor which can enter a space depends on temperature and not on contents of the space...for example, a vacuum can hold the same amount of water vapor as air, at a given temperature...it depends on pressure of water vapor at a given temperature...not that we have a vacuum in our apartment...

BATHROOM DEHUMIDIFIERS

• 1 or 2 pint-per-day models not enough (via)
• 25 pint-per-day models seem to represent the next step up...really over-kill, however (via)
• Humidistat allows unit to remove water quickly, then stay off the remainder of the day (via)
• Drains
• Bathtub
• Toilet
• Tank
• Under seat
• Sink
• Other (?)

TYPES

• Desiccant, passive (for example, DampRid)
• Calcium chloride flakes, anhydrous
• Desiccant, powered (for example, EcoSeb DD122EA)
• Refrigeration

DESICCANT VERSUS REFRIGERATION DEHUMIDIFIERS

• At colder temperatures, desiccant works a bit better, as getting down to 40% RH requires chilling refrigerant coils to around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which causes frost build-up, which means more costly anti-frost measures needed (via)
• Climates in which temperatures typically fall below 65 degrees Fahrenheit may require the purchase of a dehumidifier designed for low temperature operation (via)
• Refrigerant dehumidifiers work more efficiently at higher temperatures and higher relative humidity (via)
• Desiccant dehumidifiers may consume more electricity
• Reddit
• "How to dehumidify your room without an expensive dehumidifier?" (via)

OTHER

• Nothing on TheSweetHome
• Top 10 Reviews seems to only review larger, 70 pint-per-day models
• Ecoseb is made by Ecoair, which is based in London, UK (via)
• Ecoseb Simple and Ecoseb Classic differ in the control mechanisms: manual and electronic, respectively

BRANDS

• Keystone
• DeLonghi
• Soleus
• Comfort-Aire
• Friedrich
• Danby
• Haier
• Frigidaire
• Sunpentown
• GE
• EdgeStar

UPDATE:

We went with the EcoSeb DD122EA-SIMPLE Desiccant Dehumidifier, 15-Pint, White, 120V. I liked the idea that it does not need refrigerant. It has a lot of high reviews. Also, a simple plastic tube to the toilet tank means no maintenance. I actually preferred the simple version, since it has a simple turning dial and functionally seems about the same, save for the electronic shut-off timer. I do not care for the ionizer. For our use case, we put it in our bathroom, run it on high while taking a shower, and turn it back to normal after a bit. We leave it on eco-mode the rest of the day. The warm air blowing out the top feels pleasant and the barely noticeable smell does not bother us, at all. Runs reasonably quiet. Very pleased--would highly recommend, if your use case seems similar.

An idea is not a design...

An idea is not a design
A design is not a prototype
A prototype is not a program
A program is not a product
A product is not a business
A business is not profits
Profits are not an exit
And an exit is not happiness.

Via: http://www.eugenkiss.com/b/the-story-behind-true-fool/

Marshall Rosenberg has died

Heavy news. Imagine the face of (what I imagine as, at least) a beardless Abraham Lincoln, the philosophical non-violence and grounded-ness of Gandhi, and the consistent gentleness of Fred Rogers--you have Dr. Marshall Rosenberg.

I heard about it from Miki Kashtan, who passed along an e-mail from the CNVC announcement.

Feelings-wise, the news did not seem to affect me much...no personal grief or sorrow. My thoughts are with his children and other family members. On two occasions, several years apart, I attended free beginner NVC group sessions hosted by Dr. M.R. (mentally, I came up with "Dr. Mr." a while back, as a joke) in Oakland, California. One in 2007, I think, and one before that, perhaps in 2005 or 2006. So, I got a first-hand perspective of listening to him.

These last few months, driving long distances, I have revisited his audio recordings. I have more to say about that in another post. For now, I only want to say his focus on teaching empathy has helped show me ways to connect and understand those around me. His ambitions went beyond just active listening, encompassing social change, restorative justice, and more.

That's all, for now.

Riding light

Alphonse Swinehart visually displays the journey of a photon from the Sun to Jupiter: http://vimeo.com/117815404

Music: Steve Reich "Music for 18 Musicians"

Particulates

Renting, above an occasional cigar smoker.

GENERAL CONCEPTS

• Air exchanges per hour
• CADR (clean air delivery rate)
• Particulate removal differs from removing odor/VOC/gases

SEALING

• Cracks
• Silicone bathroom caulk (via)
• Electrical face plates
• Pre-cut foam insulating plates (via)
• Spray foam insulation (via)
• Exhaust/fresh air supply
• Charcoal filter for exhasut/fresh air supply grills (via) ... additional
• Wikihow
• Vents
• Smoke detectors (hard wired)
• Light fixtures
• Window frames
• Doors
• Door excluder (via)

ODOR REMOVAL

• "...the odor and many of the carcinogenic gas-phase pollutants from tobacco smoke will remain in filtered air." (via)
• Febreze Air Effects Air Refresher (via)
• Renuzit Subtle Effects (via)
• Plain white vinegar in open bowls (via)
• Coffee beans (via)
• Fan venting out your window (via)
• Fan blowing into apartment to create positive air pressure (via)
• Tobacco Flower Home Fragrance Oil (via)
• Soapstone Oil Burners (via)
• Few drops of vanilla essence on your light bulbs...or in bowl of water (via)
• Ozium (via)
• Zeolite (via)
• Activated charcoal (via)

PARTICULATE REMOVAL

• "Coway AP-1512HH Mighty" air purifier (recommended general-use pick, via SweetHome)
• Big names (via Sweethome)
• IQAir
• Coway
• Blueair
• Winix
• HealthMate
• Austin Air
• Rabbit Air
• Sharp

UPDATE:

We purchased the Coway AP-1512HH Mighty Air Purifier with True HEPA and Eco Mode. It's cheap to operate, small, and seems to operate just as effectively. Since all seem to work reduce particulates pretty much the same, after an hour or so, the extra money only seems to buy speed to reduce particulates and odor absorption/adsorption. Neither of these seemed worth the hundreds of dollars of extra expense and much higher ongoing operating costs. We have used it for about one month, now, and have no problems with it. Runs quiet--it never bothers us in the bedroom. Would recommend.

Moving away from feedly

Looking for something that does not hijack bookmarks.

For example, https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Category/Internet-application/newsreader

NULL - The Billion Dollar Mistake

Tony Hoare:

"I call it my billion-dollar mistake. It was the invention of the null reference in 1965. At that time, I was designing the first comprehensive type system for references in an object oriented language (ALGOL W). 

My goal was to ensure that all use of references should be absolutely safe, with checking performed automatically by the compiler. But I couldn't resist the temptation to put in a null reference, simply because it was so easy to implement. 

This has led to innumerable errors, vulnerabilities, and system crashes, which have probably caused a billion dollars of pain and damage in the last forty years. 

In recent years, a number of program analysers like PREfix and PREfast in Microsoft have been used to check references, and give warnings if there is a risk they may be non-null. More recent programming languages like Spec# have introduced declarations for non-null references. This is the solution, which I rejected in 1965."

Via: http://programmers.stackexchange.com/a/120372

Judy arrays

Had first heard of these over 10 years ago...nice to see they still seem competitive:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_array

Note: "The Judy array was invented by Douglas Baskins and named after his sister." : o )

Unicode minimal perfect hash

Wondering if this might exist (?)