Entries from March 2007 ↓

I received a brand new Motorola RAZR V3xx Phone that is branded by Cingular, and they have set the J2ME (JVM) environment so that 3rd party j2me/java applications (such as Google Maps) are not trusted to use the network. Unfortunately, this means that every time I move Google Maps it pop's up a dialog asking me if I want to let it use the network. This completely ruins the user experience.

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One nice thing about the LG CU500 Phone is that BitPim (an application that works on Linux as well as windows) will allow you to edit it's file-system easily. This makes it relatively easy to modify some of the bad things that Cingular has done to the phone.

By default, Cingular locks the phone down so that unsigned Java Apps are forced to ask for Internet access on every single URL they load. Needless to say, this is very annoying when using a network based application such as Google maps.

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The Merchant's Partner by Michael Jecks is the 2nd book in his "The Knights Templar" series. Set in the Medieval West Country of England, it follows the local bailiff Simon Puttock and Sir Baldwin Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace, as they attempt to solve the murder of a local midwife, widely believed to be a witch.

Jeck's historial setting is dead on, and the story is much more engaging than the first book in the series (The Last Templar). If you enjoy historical fiction you will like this book, but as a murder mystery goes, it's relatively cut and dried.

Literary Quality: 7/10

Enjoyment: 7/10 

I am finishing up a Ph.D. in Computer Science, and have been involved in student panels at PhD student recruiting many times. In a lot of cases, the incoming recruits are straight out of undergrad and don't even know the "right" questions to ask about a PhD program/school when evaluating where they want to go. To help people who are evaluating a CS PhD program I have developed a list of the questions that you should be asking. Many of the questions are not specific to CS, and can be useful to ask at any PhD program recruiting event. Continue reading →

How to place a Motorola HS 850 bluetooth headset into paring mode:

1. Close the boom to turn the unit off.
2. Hold down the call button until the blue light comes on.
3. While holding down the call button, swing the boom open.
4. (Now you can let go of the call button.)

The headset is now in pairing mode, and you can search for it using your phone. When it asks for a PIN, use 0000.

Linda Greenlaw's The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey is the true story of a one month Sword-fishing trip interspersed with stories from other trips that Linda has captained. Although this trip is not much different from every other sword-boat trip, the tale still makes exciting and very interesting reading.  It paints a detailed picture of the stresses and exhaustion that a fishing crew faces for the possible reward of the big haul. Although I didn't want to quit my job to become a sword-fisher, the book gave me a very good understanding of why some people wouldn't choose any other job.

Literary Quality: 6/10

Enjoyment: 7/10

Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim is a classic. It's one of the first comic send offs of the English style higher academic system, and tells the story of Jim Dixon, a young lecturer at a small British college. Although Jim drinks too much and is somewhat of a cad, he is less annoying that everybody else in the book, and you find yourself rooting for him despite yourself. I felt an obligation to read this book due to its history and the genre it started, but it really wasn't that enjoyable and I don't recommend it unless you appreciate dry British humor and Jane Austen style dialog driven stories. In fact, Lucky Jim is what would have happened if Jane Austin had written The Big U (which I recommend instead).

Literary Quality: 9/10

Enjoyment: 5/10 

David Poyer's Down to a Sunless Sea is a cave diving thriller. It's part of a series where the protagonist, Tiller Galloway, has a long history of less than legal and self destructive behavior. Tiller is called in to help an army buddy's widow sell his cave diving business when he dies on a dive. In the process, his estranged son Tad shows up and tags along, further complicating his life. The plot offers no surprises, but the story is good and thrilling. Perhaps the best aspects of the book are the realistic portrayal of cave and technical diving. 

Literary Quality: 4/10

Enjoyment: 7/10 

While transcribing, I wanted to use a Sony FS-85 foot control unit to pause and rewind the audio while I typed.

When plugged into linux it appears as a keyboard and gives various key-press codes when you hit the left or right petal. (The right side gives F10 when you press down, F11 when you release, etc). I was able to make this control Mplayer by adding a ~/.mplayer/input.conf file with the following lines in it:

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GeekMafia is self published by Rick Dakan. Right now, you can buy a paperback for 5 USD or download the PDF for free.

I really enjoyed this e-book (aside from reading it on my laptop, time to get an e-ink reader…). It's not a work of great literature, it's a geek escapist beach book. If they made a movie out of it, it would be Sneakers crossed with Ocean's 11. The book follows a group of underground geeks who use their technical powers to pull off cons. 

But isn't this evil you might ask? And there is the basis for most of the plot, as the protagonist attempts to reconcile his overall sense of morals with the lifestyle he has found thrust upon him (while still getting the girl). Did I mention that the girl is pulling a con on him?

It's a great read, and well worth the $5 to hold a physical copy, go buy one.

Literary Quality: 4/10

Enjoyment: 10/10