wikipedia

I've been avoiding bitching about teh fancy intarpedia lately. But they haven't been disappointing, and have been providing me with plenty to bitch and moan about.




Database error
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A database query syntax error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software. The last attempted database query was:

     (SQL query hidden)

 from within function "Parser::replaceLinkHolders". MySQL returned error "1053: Server shutdown in progress (10.0.0.24)".




This, in addition to the frequent outages on the Wiktionary makes me think that they're aware that they cannot sustain their current traffic and they're giving preferential capacity to Wikipedia over Wiktionary. I could just be paranoid, but I have much more consistent errors with Wiktionary than Wikipedia. At any rate, they've known about this problem at least since February, and they still haven't fixed it. I think they're still trying to figure out why it's so dark with their heads buried in the sand. But, what do I care, right?

Work

In Ithaca for the Cornell Theory Center Windows HPC training. Ithaca is not somewhere I'm going to put on my list of places to hang out for a while. It's a small town with polite people, I suppose. But really, I had to explain that "Washington, DC" was in fact a city, "Washington" and a "state," "DC", which stood for "District of Columbia". It took her a while to figure out. Although in her defense, she did understand that "Wisconsin Avenue Northhwest" is written "Wisconsin Ave, NW". I understand there are streets like that in Chicago, though. So perhaps that wasn't so hard. She is apparently a student at Cornell. There are also precisely six places which deliver to my hotel. Four of which are pizza joints (including one Pizza Hut and three local places). When I saw this initially, I asked her, "am I seeing this correctly, that there is only pizza here to eat?". She helpfully corrected me indicating that there was a buffalo wings place in the stack of menus as well. Thankfully, there's also what looks like a terrific Chinese place, with the authentic-sounding name "Wok Village". I find myself wondering whether I can survive on blue gatorade and vanilla power bars for four days. I suppose since buffalo wings actually originated in this area, I might try it out. Of course, since I can't consume buffalo wings without alcohol, I may be shit outta luck.



I'll actually followup with something meaningful later this week.

Work

I actually caught myself correcting a coworker on some of the more subtle aspects of the NT kernel today. Kind of freaky, but kind of cool. It's really becoming one more operating system that I know enough to really have a discussion about. It's kind of weird to be learning it from the inside out, as opposed to outside in, which is more typical. I started with .NET and Visual Studio. As a developer, I felt those were more approachable. I was pointed in the direction of the excellent Microsoft Windows Internals, 4th ed (a couple people have asked me what I thought of the book as they were not quite ready to buy it -- I think very highly of it). It's interesting to see the forward by Dave Cutler, as it really indicates where NT came from. Anyways, between those two, I have to admit I still don't have a great understanding of the interface. That is, I understand how, for example, Active Directory actually works, but I haven't gotten to the point where I can configure it via the interface.



I am again confronted by the idea that Windows is a well thought out and implemented operating system with an inconsistent and (sometimes, I suppose) ugly interface. It seems plagued by each application having its own idea of how to do things, from dialogs, to file browsers, to fonts, etc. I could be biased, coming from the Mac, but even in X Windows, you've got toolkits like GTK and the GNOME/KDE apps. They all look very similar. I don't know whether this was intentional or not, but the effect is much better than the hodgepodge we are confronted with when we use Windows. Again, this is probably of little relevance to me, as my job isn't to teach people how to use Office, and I would imagine most of the installs I will be working with will be headless.



Still, I say "confronted with", because it's very hard to accept that Windows might have some redeeming value. As a Unix admin, and a Mac user, it's kind of hard to go back on years of vitriole and spite for the OS. It might be a case of MacOS 9 vs OS X -- I don't think I could ever defend the former, and the latter has really changed the image and capabilities of the Mac platform. Most of my work so far has been on current platforms and future platforms (eg SQL Server 2005, VS.NET 2005, VCS 2.0 ...). I could tell you a lot of things wrong with Solaris 6 and 7, but I would hope you would judge Solaris by 8 and (primarily) 9.



Anyways, I've actually been engaged on a couple of accounts, which is nice. It's kind of refreshing in a way. I am hearing the same kinds of arguments for Linux (against Windows) that I heard from people against Solaris. After a long discussion with one of these people (who shall remain nameless), we got down to it and he said, well, yeah, I just really hate CDE. I could make that even broader and say that most Linux users like the gnu fileutils and binutils. It's nice to be able to say "tar xvzf foo.tgz", but it doesn't really take THAT much more time to say "gzip -dc foo.tgz | tar xvf -". So again, we're judging an entire OS by its interface. I think this is Fundamentally Bad. For users, sure. If you spend all day plodding through Word and Visio or Omnigraffle or whatever workware you choose, I apologize. You may complain about the interface all you like. But as a software developer, or a sysadmin, what have you got to complain about? If your code works, it works. If the platform is stable, even better. And, if you can do it cheaper, hey, that's a bonus.



What I'm getting at is I seem to be in the position of mediating discussions where people are ideologically entrenched. I'm happy to come into a situation and dissuade silly (incorrect) beliefs about the platform they're using, or the platform my employer would like them to consider. I'm not going to browbeat anyone into a solution that doesn't work for them. But if you come to me and tell me that, as an example, Linux is a better operating system because the grep is friendlier, the tar understands gzip, and you dislike CDE, I'm going to call it for what it is. Bullshit. And I'll sleep well at night, because I've been doing that for years.

Life

We must really have gotten some virus or something. We've been back from Hawaii for less than two weeks, and we're already planning trips back to the Pacific. This time it looks like we're going to do Oahu again in October and Fiji (or Tahiti, that's still up in the air, waiting on the travel agent) sometime in 1Q06. Can't wait.



Talked to a coworker who is clearly more into photography than I about "going digital." He mostly agreed with me, that I should just keep the celluloid cameras. I'm partial to my SLR's and celluloid. My question for all the people who have really pushed me to move to digital (a Canon 20D) has been "well, what if I want to shoot slides?" Nobody's been able to answer that. I personally like the.... "romantic" color and texture that slides give a picture. You just can't duplicate that with a digital. Sure, you could come up with some filter to do it in photoshop, but why bother? The cost argument only really applies to film processing. If I can do that myself, then my only cost, really, is the film itself. And film is cheap from Adorama. So, I'd rather spend $1400 that I'd be spending on a new 20D on lenses for my EOS and my AE-1P. For that kind of money, I could buy a new wide-angle lens (like an 18) and a new zoom, maybe even a 300. Or, I could buy one really nice lens. The point is, I like film, I'm comfortable with it, and I don't mind getting it developed. Besides, the celluloid will always be higher resolution than the CCD. At least for the foreseeable future.



Lastly, I'd just like to say that I thought my last job had great benefits. This was before they had this meeting telling us what ungrateful shits we were for costing them $XYZ million. At any rate, the current employer pays for everything. I mean, 100%. It's just phenomenal. I don't want to gush or anything, but having gotten off the phone with HR after trying to clarify some stuff on the benefits, I was just shocked. I left the last job feeling like they were lying to us when they told us they cared. It's hard to feel that way here. Time will tell, I suppose.

Work

I've been coming up to speed on the Microsoft platform, which really isn't anywhere near as hard as I thought it would initially be. I've also been spending a lot of time actually using Windows (don't laugh, that wasn't immediately apparent to me, I brought my iBook to work initially), on a Tecra M2 and a Tecra M200. More on that in a minute. So, the more I read, the the more I talk to people, the more I am honestly convinced that Microsoft really does have a solid operating system in Windows. I think the main problem is in their interface. Thankfully, my job is primarily concerned with the DOD and HPC sectors. I would imagine the vast majority of installs in those two organizations are going to be headless anyways.



Let me also make a brief note on .NET. So, traditionally, I've been a perl hacker. This is largely because my development platform has historically been Unix. As I moved my desktops from Linux to OSX back in 2000-2001, I found that I couldn't write a lot of the applications I wanted to write in perl unless I used CGI. So I largely gave up on writing applications with a GUI (or even a CLI/curses interface), and focused on writing daemons, system tools, and contributing patches to software other people had written. Part of my job is to be familiar with the whole platform that Microsoft offers, including their development environment. Now, I'm using the 2005 betas at work, so I can't comment on the older versions. However, I've been very impressed with Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005, and especially Visual C# 2.0 (forgive me if I've gotten the nomenclature off, it's kind of numbers-and-letters-soup at MS). I really see it as C, with a nicer syntax, without going so far as Java did towards the "ruby" end of the spectrum. What I'm missing so far is closures and code references. I also disagree with the notion of "iterators as state machines." (past coworkers and friends alike will know that I am partial to state machines)



There's also the ActiveState perl .NET and Komodo, but I haven't gotten into that yet, and the price of admission ($500!) is a bit steep. We're looking in to whether a site license exists at the office.



So about tablet PC's. I have one, this M200 here (well, actually, I write this on the iBook, but I'm looking at the tablet). I must say that I'm a little disappointed, both with the hardware and the software. The hardware is otherwise rather slick, except for the fact that the screen is unviewable from a "in my lap sitting upright" position, eg, the viewing angle is something like 45^. So I wind up propping it up on something, because if I leave the tablet "open", and try to write on it, it only pushes it closed. And speaking of writing, I refuse to blame my poor handwriting on my failure to get software to recognize what I'm writing. When I write "USAFSPC" (the US Air Force Space Command), in all caps, in print, and then ask it to turn that into "text", it fails with almost 100% certainty. This is because it combines text recognition with a preference for words it can look up in its dictionary. Eek. This makes it useful, perhaps for taking notes in class, but almost useless in meetings, where most companies operate on a foundation of internal jargon with natural language and slang. To say nothing of shorthand. So I think right now it's at best a curiosity. Although I like having 2gb of ram in a space as small as my 12" iBook. Neat, that.



Let me lastly say (and I'm sorry that I have to be so blunt about it, but some recent events have forced it), that while I am an employee of Microsoft, nothing I say here, or on the wikipedia, or anywhere else, is the official opinion of Microsoft. I am here in a personal capacity as the rest of the people here are. If that changes, I will make specific note of it. If you have questions about this, email me.

&c

Finished reading _Broken Angels_ by RKM. Liked it more than _Altered Carbon_. RKM, again, appears to have a predilection for violence and gore, but this time there's a lot more story involved. I'm thinking about buying the next Kovacs book from Amazon UK, along with _The Algebraist_ by Iain Banks, but again, irritated at the transatlantic shipping and paying in GBP. Reading _Threads_ by Joseph Abboud in the meantime.



Still waiting for photos of our trip to Oahu to get back from NGS. Will post when they are done. Also, been working with black and white film some. We'll see how that works out. I think also we're approaching a hundred rolls of film sent through the Canons, and it occurs to me that I really should have my own darkroom. We're paying a fortune in film development.



Thinking of trading the Buick in on a Corvette C6, if you can believe it, in the interest of mileage. The C5 gets 30mpg in 6th gear at 70mph. The Buick is lucky to get 24. Most times when I fill the tank, I get something like 16-19mpg. Supposed to be doing a lot of travel for MS, so it makes sense to get a car with a more efficient engine. Plus, I've wanted a C5 for some time, and the C6 is comfier. It also trounced the 911 in a recent C&D test. Neat. Ironically, I'd have to pay "gas guzzler" tax on it because it's a 6.0L V8 instead of the 3.8L V6 I have in the Buick. Sigh.

Wikipedia

Been adding content. Being in Hawaii, there are lots of places that for whatever reason don't have photographs. I found a List of Hawaii state parks that seemed both not properly linked (eg, broken intrawiki links), and horribly underfilled. So we've been running around taking pictures. I actually looked at the wikipedia, and then a big map of Oahu, and decided to go to the places that needed the most attention. This means Sandy and I got a strenuous hike in today as we tried to catch the last light on Makapu'u. Going to hit some more temples this week and some state parks. It's very rewarding work.



I've been struggling with the photography. I have a Canon AE-1 (circa 1984), and a Canon Rebel (circa 2004), both celluloid. I'm getting grainier pictures from the AE-1 and I can't tell whether it's because the camera needs a thorough cleaning, or whether my own focusing is incorrect (the Rebel does it automatically, whereas the AE-1 is manual focus). I've also got a real lens disparity. The AE-1 is usually employed in telephoto (70-210) modes, while the Rebel is employed in mid-range (35-80). The Smithsonian offers photography classes, I may go and take one this summer to see if I can improve the quality of my photos.

Life

Yep, we got married. My wife is sleeping next to me while I read email, publish to the wikipedia, and post to advogato (jebus, it's 0130!). Sandy is okay with this. I think this is probably why we're married. :-)



Let me also say that I have been to christian weddings, and I've never really been moved by them. The whole "big crucified dead guy" hanging out in the room, the standing/kneeling/singing, everything made me uncomfortable. I cannot even put in to words how important it was for us to have a Buddhist ceremony. I had no idea going into it just how significant an event it would be. I thought I did, but I just don't think there's any way you can prepare yourself for the life changing effects of a marriage. I firmly believe that buddhism will influence every aspect of our lives: professional, personal, social. Tough to explain.



But, we did it! I miss all of you on the mainland, but I'll be back soon enough. I'll even have details on the Microsoft position. I've been getting lots of questions about it.

life

Swimming in the ocean at night. Big black swells roll in. I swim under them, feeling the pacific in my hair, ears, nostrils, and eyes. The stars are above me; I can make out the big and little dipper, Orion, and parts of the pleiades. The waves push and pull, bringing me back to the sand; yet their troughs bring me out further, to the coral, and the sandbars.



A black ocean and a black sky.



Baptism in the Pacific.



The wedding is in two days. I am ready. This land, these islands, they are a part of us. Mililani, Honolulu, Aiea, Waikiki, they are in our blood now. Our lives are not complete without the sand and surf between our toes. They call to us when we sleep. When we wake, the first thing we hear is the Pacific beakoning to us again. Come, bask in the glory of gravity and wind. Be a part of something huge.



Reverend Mari is excited for us. We got the rings and put them on today. We burned incense. We bowed to the buddha.



I have more news to share, but nothing can compare to what I have right here beside me.

Software can wait. Technical expertise means nothing when you are where we are. We look today, from our spot on the Pacific, to the rest of our lives. Everything else is trivial and small in comparison.

We. Have. Us.

life

Friends,


I leave at 10am monday (11 April) morning, eastern time. The first leg is up to Cleveland on a 737, then out to Honolulu on a 767. Both are miserably cramped planes. We will be staying at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider (warning, flash) in Waikiki. Sandy and I are to be married on Thursday, the 14th of April. We will be married at the Mililani Hongwanji Temple. We will be staying until the evening of Friday April 22nd, when we catch a redeye back to Virginia, and recover Saturday (same 767-737 combination).



I start work at Microsoft on Monday the 25th.



The Moana Surfrider doesn't really have internet access to speak of, so while we will be frantically taking pictures, we will probably not be uploading them until we get back. Additionally, this means neither I nor Sandy will be reading much email (yeah, yeah, you're not supposed to read email on your honeymoon anyways, right?). I'm excited about the photography this time around, we're bringing two different Canon SLR bodies so Sandy can shoot B&W and I can shoot color (neg and slides), as well as the digital. We average 600 pictures per week in Hawaii. This should be an interesting trip.



Unfortunately, due to time and cost concerns, we won't be able to make the big island this time around. We are, however, already planning a trip for later this year to the Kona side of the big island, with a trip to Lanai for some deer hunting (by then the aforementioned Nightforce scope should be mounted on an AR-50 or maybe a Barrett 99).



If you'd like to get together for some sushi to celebrate two hackers getting married, we will be eating at Sushi Sasabune in Honolulu (yes this is an open invitation) on Thursday night. Seating is limited. Either call Sasabune and ask when the Avriette reservation is or email me and hope I read it before then.



Life changes so rapidly. I just don't know what to say. New wife, new job, vacation, learning the MSFT way... It's almost too much to digest. And to think some people yearn for a boring life.

TTFN...