Last night my youngest son came and asked me to help him with his geometry homework. As part of the coursework required for my degree in electrical engineering I managed to pick up a minor in mathematics. I also have a minor in physics but that really wasn't important for last night's assignment.
Geometry is one of those topics that you really only experience at one time during your path to greater mathematical understanding. While you may continue to use one or two geometric formulas, the bulk of geometry is so different from all other topics that I was concerned I wouldn't be able to help my son.
He brought down his homework and we looked at it together. There were three proofs. His whole assignment was three problems that took up a single piece of paper. The first two problems had the hard part done. It was left to my son to label each of the steps required to go from "given" to "proof." He had done a fairly good job at guessing the labels. However the third and final problem required him to develop the steps on his own and that really had him confused.
I pulled out a scratch piece of paper and started working out the proof myself. Half a sheet of paper later, I had gone in a circle and was no closer to a solution than a monkey with a dart. So I put down my pencil and thought about the problem. Geometry proofs are like driving a car. You have a starting point and know your ending point. It is then up to you to use a series of theorems and postulates like roads to reach your destination. While it is possible to get in your car and drive around until you find your destination, a lot of gas can be wasted. It is much more efficient to map out a direct path.
I picked up my pencil and noted a couple of things that would take me from the start to the end as quickly as possible. The whole problem took about three steps and I was done. Then I could explain the problem to my son and help him get the answer on his own.
Even though it has been almost 30 years since I had geometry, I was still able to help my son with his homework. It isn't because I have a great memory and can still remember back that far. It is because geometric proofs teach you how to use simple steps to solve larger problems. That is all computer programming is. Since I have been programming for over 20 years, the skills I learned back in high-school have constantly been used and I was able to help my son. I guess I'd better apologize to my old math teacher from when I said, "I'll never use this."
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
High-tech Software Demos
This morning I participated in a demo of some software I have written over the last year. The demo was to a very large company based on the East coast. The meeting went extremely well and I was glad the software worked as designed. There are one or two flaws that I recognized but I doubt anyone else would see them.
The demo was really kind of amazing. Nobody had to get on a plane to fly to the demo location. Furthermore nobody had to even get in a car to be a part of the demo. Instead we used a product called "GoToMeeting" which is very similar to WebEx. Both products allow you to share the information on your computer screen with those whom you invite to your meeting. Your invitees can then log onto the party from their computers in their offices or homes.
This morning one of my partners on the project brought his Mac computer to my house. We plugged it into the wall, turned it on, and connected it to my wireless network. A couple minutes later we started the meeting and waited for the participants to join. There was no need to use a phone to dial into a conference call because we could use the computer's built-in microphone and speakers. If your computer didn't have a microphone and speakers, you could revert to using your phone. I had a phone ready just-in-case but was glad I didn't need it.
There were a total of six participants in the meeting. A third partner made the drive to my house while another decided to join from the comfort of his home office. Then there were two participants joining us from the East coast in two different locations. If necessary, we could have added many more participants.
The meeting lasted a total of 90 minutes and was a huge success. If we had tried to do the demo in person, it would have required two days of travel, an overnight hotel stay, a rental car, several expensive meals, and a huge amount of worrying. Things went well enough that we will be having another meeting in a couple of weeks. However that one will have to be in person. It's a good thing I have a lot of frequent flyer miles I can use.
The demo was really kind of amazing. Nobody had to get on a plane to fly to the demo location. Furthermore nobody had to even get in a car to be a part of the demo. Instead we used a product called "GoToMeeting" which is very similar to WebEx. Both products allow you to share the information on your computer screen with those whom you invite to your meeting. Your invitees can then log onto the party from their computers in their offices or homes.
This morning one of my partners on the project brought his Mac computer to my house. We plugged it into the wall, turned it on, and connected it to my wireless network. A couple minutes later we started the meeting and waited for the participants to join. There was no need to use a phone to dial into a conference call because we could use the computer's built-in microphone and speakers. If your computer didn't have a microphone and speakers, you could revert to using your phone. I had a phone ready just-in-case but was glad I didn't need it.
There were a total of six participants in the meeting. A third partner made the drive to my house while another decided to join from the comfort of his home office. Then there were two participants joining us from the East coast in two different locations. If necessary, we could have added many more participants.
The meeting lasted a total of 90 minutes and was a huge success. If we had tried to do the demo in person, it would have required two days of travel, an overnight hotel stay, a rental car, several expensive meals, and a huge amount of worrying. Things went well enough that we will be having another meeting in a couple of weeks. However that one will have to be in person. It's a good thing I have a lot of frequent flyer miles I can use.
Monday, September 28, 2009
What is Cloud Computing?
Friday I got an e-mail from the Oracle Alumni list of which I am a subscriber. The message had a link to a YouTube video where Larry Ellison and Ed Zander talk about cloud computing as well as a few other topics. The video was interesting to me because I know both gentlemen who are big names in the computer industry. However I think it would be boring for most everyone else and so I won't bother to provide the link.
For those that don't know, Larry Ellison is the CEO of Oracle Corporation. When I first started at Oracle back in January of 1986, it was not uncommon to see Larry walking down the hall dribbling a basketball just after a quick game across the street. He is now one of the richest men in the world and understandable a lot less approachable.
Ed Zander and my Dad used to work together back at Data General in the 80's. I remember going to company softball games and meeting Ed. Every couple of years or so, he goes skiing with my Dad at Deer Valley and I manage to invite myself along for the trip. Ed left Data General and evenutally found himself as President of Sun Microsystems (just purchased by Oracle). Most recently he was CEO of Motorola.
The video was fun to watch as Larry got very animated when the topic of cloud computing was mentioned. Larry pointed out that cloud computing is really the computer industry going in circles. He is right. Twenty or thirty years ago we just called it timesharing, which is different than buying a piece of a condo or luxury apartment.
Five or six years ago there was a big emphasis on how McDonalds was not in the business of selling fast food. Instead they were in the business of real estate. Companies like Google, Salesforce.com, and Amazon have taken a page from the McDonalds playbook and realize that one of their core competencies is in creating bullet-proof data centers. They then provide access to these data centers through the Internet. This is cloud computing. You tell the provider what type of environment you want (i.e., RAM, Operating System, Services like e-mail, database, or web server, etc.) and they set it up for you.
Cloud computing makes it much easier to do things like set up websites. It is also a great way to borrow a computer for testing without having to buy one. So cloud computing makes it easier to create your own BLOG (this one is hosted by Google) but it probably won't directly effect your own home computing environment.
Now if all the cloud computing companies can figure out that McDonalds started loosing marketshare when they forgot they were in the food business, we won't have to watch the decline of our favorite online bookstore.
For those that don't know, Larry Ellison is the CEO of Oracle Corporation. When I first started at Oracle back in January of 1986, it was not uncommon to see Larry walking down the hall dribbling a basketball just after a quick game across the street. He is now one of the richest men in the world and understandable a lot less approachable.
Ed Zander and my Dad used to work together back at Data General in the 80's. I remember going to company softball games and meeting Ed. Every couple of years or so, he goes skiing with my Dad at Deer Valley and I manage to invite myself along for the trip. Ed left Data General and evenutally found himself as President of Sun Microsystems (just purchased by Oracle). Most recently he was CEO of Motorola.
The video was fun to watch as Larry got very animated when the topic of cloud computing was mentioned. Larry pointed out that cloud computing is really the computer industry going in circles. He is right. Twenty or thirty years ago we just called it timesharing, which is different than buying a piece of a condo or luxury apartment.
Five or six years ago there was a big emphasis on how McDonalds was not in the business of selling fast food. Instead they were in the business of real estate. Companies like Google, Salesforce.com, and Amazon have taken a page from the McDonalds playbook and realize that one of their core competencies is in creating bullet-proof data centers. They then provide access to these data centers through the Internet. This is cloud computing. You tell the provider what type of environment you want (i.e., RAM, Operating System, Services like e-mail, database, or web server, etc.) and they set it up for you.
Cloud computing makes it much easier to do things like set up websites. It is also a great way to borrow a computer for testing without having to buy one. So cloud computing makes it easier to create your own BLOG (this one is hosted by Google) but it probably won't directly effect your own home computing environment.
Now if all the cloud computing companies can figure out that McDonalds started loosing marketshare when they forgot they were in the food business, we won't have to watch the decline of our favorite online bookstore.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Air Hockey Again
Several years ago I purchased a regulation-size air hockey table for my birthday. The thing is as large as a pool table and is really a lot of fun. I got the table after spending a week at a friend's vacation home in Florida. In addition to a large pool, hot tub, elevator, gourmet kitchen, movie theater, and ten guest bedrooms, the house came with a massive arcade. Of course the arcade had a full-sized air hockey table. My boys spent so much time playing air hockey that I figured if I got one, it would get used a lot.
I was right. Well at least for the first couple of months. Now it seems that the only time the air hockey table is used is when we have guests. That is OK, it still gets played quite a bit.
A couple of months ago, I was walking by the air hockey table and tripped on the power cord. While I didn't do any damage to myself, the table ceased to work. Since then the table has served as a drying rack for sleeping bags after camping trips.
This weekend is homecoming for my kids' high school. My oldest son has a group of friends coming over to make pizza before the dance. They need an activity or two while they wait for the pizza to cook, so I decided to finally fix the air-hockey table.
Yesterday I crawled under the table with my trusty Phillips-head screwdriver. As soon as I was on the ground, the dog rushed over and started licking my face like it was time to play. Once the first layer of skin was completely gone, she decided to circle a few times and lie down with her butt right next to my head. I was free to continue my task.
I located where the power cord enters the table and took off the small plastic cover. This involved removing four small screws. Once the cover was gone, I could see the problem. A single connector had come unplugged and fixing the table was simply a matter of reconnecting it. It took less than a second to fix and I plugged in the table to make sure everything worked. It did and so I unplugged the power while I reattached the plastic cover.
It is amazing at how easy those screws came out. Putting them back in was a bit more difficult. You would think that once I had two screws holding the cover in place, the other two screws would automatically line up. They didn't and so I had to go get a flashlight to see what the problem might be. Then I couldn't get the screws to stay on the end of the screwdriver so I could put them back in the hole. Needless to say, this simple job was getting way too complicated way too quickly.
I have a little computer repair kit that I use around the house with all of my electronics. The screwdriver is not magnetic because magnets have a tendency to wreak havoc on hard drives and other parts of a computer. Had it been magnetic, the screw would have attached itself to the screwdriver and it would have been much simpler to put everything back together. So how do you accomplish the same thing without a magnet? The answer was "gum." I was chewing a piece at the time and so I pulled off an extremely small piece and placed it in the head of the screw. I then mashed the screwdriver into the head and watched the neon green gum ooze out. I gave the solution a quick jiggle and the screwdriver held the screw quite nicely. Ten seconds later, my air hockey table was all back together and working perfectly.
I was amazed at something as simple as a small piece of gum being so incredibly useful for fixing my air hockey table. That definitely is one trick to keep in mind the next time I have a pesky little screw that is seemingly impossible to grasp. Now I just need to use the table to help me fix a leaky air mattress before I turn it over to my son and his friends.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Linux Fixes Another Computer
One of my friends has been having computer problems and was about to go out and buy another computer. Rather than spending a lot of money, I had him bring the computer over so I could see if I couldn't fix the problem. Yesterday he dropped it off on the way to baseball practice when he briefly explained the issues he was having.
Windows XP wasn't recognizing the network card that was built into the computer. He went down to Best Buy where he talked with one of their "Geeks." He didn't have the computer with him and so the Geek asked several diagnostic questions. The conclusion was that the computer needed a new network card and so the Geek quickly found one for a really great price.
My friend brought the card home and installed it. He turned on the machine and installed the drivers for the new card. The new network card didn't work either. This means that the computer could not be used to browse the Internet which rendered it slightly more useful than a boat anchor (as a sailor, computers make really lousy boat anchors). So now it was my turn.
The first thing I did was go back to square one. I removed the new card the Geek had sold my friend and confirmed that Windows XP could not see the built-in network hardware. Then I put in the new card and went into the computer's BIOS to turn off the built-in network card. On his computer, it was as simple as hitting the "F1" key during the boot sequence and going to the "Advanced" menu option. Having two network cards in a computer is possible but sometimes they like to step on eachother's toes. It is advisable to have only one network card active when you are trying to debug problems like this.
Once again the network card was not recognized by Windows XP. This was a huge red flag. How do you know if the machine is bad when the the measuring device isn't working properly. In this case, the measuring device was the Windows XP operating system. I tried a simple experiment. I booted Linux from a CD. When you boot from a CD, it doesn't install anything on the hard drive and so you can test your machine's hardware without overwriting anything.
The CD takes a little bit longer than a hard drive to boot and so I went and got myself a sandwich while the computer thought about starting. Once it was up, I opened a browser window and could get to any number of websites just fine. This confirmed that it was Windows XP that needed help and not the hardware.
I told my friend that he had two options: He could reload Windows XP, which would probably fix everything, or he could install Linux. He picked up the machine this morning and will be installing Linux. I think that is a good decision.
Windows XP wasn't recognizing the network card that was built into the computer. He went down to Best Buy where he talked with one of their "Geeks." He didn't have the computer with him and so the Geek asked several diagnostic questions. The conclusion was that the computer needed a new network card and so the Geek quickly found one for a really great price.
My friend brought the card home and installed it. He turned on the machine and installed the drivers for the new card. The new network card didn't work either. This means that the computer could not be used to browse the Internet which rendered it slightly more useful than a boat anchor (as a sailor, computers make really lousy boat anchors). So now it was my turn.
The first thing I did was go back to square one. I removed the new card the Geek had sold my friend and confirmed that Windows XP could not see the built-in network hardware. Then I put in the new card and went into the computer's BIOS to turn off the built-in network card. On his computer, it was as simple as hitting the "F1" key during the boot sequence and going to the "Advanced" menu option. Having two network cards in a computer is possible but sometimes they like to step on eachother's toes. It is advisable to have only one network card active when you are trying to debug problems like this.
Once again the network card was not recognized by Windows XP. This was a huge red flag. How do you know if the machine is bad when the the measuring device isn't working properly. In this case, the measuring device was the Windows XP operating system. I tried a simple experiment. I booted Linux from a CD. When you boot from a CD, it doesn't install anything on the hard drive and so you can test your machine's hardware without overwriting anything.
The CD takes a little bit longer than a hard drive to boot and so I went and got myself a sandwich while the computer thought about starting. Once it was up, I opened a browser window and could get to any number of websites just fine. This confirmed that it was Windows XP that needed help and not the hardware.
I told my friend that he had two options: He could reload Windows XP, which would probably fix everything, or he could install Linux. He picked up the machine this morning and will be installing Linux. I think that is a good decision.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Mobile Phones
I don't know how we survived in the days before mobile phones. I was thinking back to an experience I had when I was a teenager and didn't have the luxury of being able to get a hold of one of my parents. My kids have no problem getting a hold of me at any time and that is very convenient.
I got my first cell or mobile phone when I was in College. I was doing consulting for a glove manufacturing company in the Seattle area and attending school in Utah. If there was a database problem, I wanted my client to be able to reach me at any time. On more than one occasion the phone would ring while I was in class. I would silence the phone, excuse myself from the classroom, and take the call. It was a great system that got me through school without any student loans.
I was glad to see phones get smaller as my first phone was one of the original Motorola "bricks." It weighed about a pound and was too large to fit in a pocket. I was glad when the next generations of flip-phones appeared. They were much smaller and could be carried discretely.
Eventually my wife joined us mobile phone users when I needed a Christmas gift and didn't know what to get her. I was doing a lot of travelling and it was nice to be able to give her a call when my plane landed. It made it easier to pick me up at the airport. Shortly after that it seemed like the mobile phone craze really exploded.
We waited until my oldest daughter was 15 before we got her a phone. We figured she was learning to drive and would need a phone in case of emergencies. Oh how she loved her phone. For me, the mobile phone had always been just a communications tool. For my daughter, it was an extension of her personality. She would change the wallpaper to match her mood of the day. When there were too many other phones like hers being carried by friends at school, she spent her money to replace the phone's plastic casing. Instead of a plain black cover, her phone sported a pink one with flowers.
As for me, I didn't see the point in wasting money on something I kept hidden in my pocket. In fact I continued to use the simplest model phone even when they started getting all sorts of new features. After all, who needs a phone that is also a camera?
Last year I finally made the switch to an iPhone. I was hired by a company that would require me to have constant e-mail access and I figured I would give the iPhone a try. I thought about the Blackberry and the Blackjack but heard so many good things about the iPhone and decided on it. I would have to say that I haven't been disappointed.
My mobile phone is primarily a mobile phone. I also need it to work where I am. That includes at my house as well as at Snowbird Ski Resort where I spend most of my free time. The iPhone does that quite well. It also has a great e-mail program that is easy to use and has been crucial for work. I have been able to respond to important e-mails while riding the chairlift and that was the main reason from switching from a simple phone to a smart one.
I never thought I would use the iPhone's camera. However it comes in handy to help document a Scout campout or take pictures of a tire for an online classified ad. I also use the map application when I find myself looking for the closest Home Depot on the opposite end of town. Furthermore the map shows traffic conditions so that if there is an accident, I can avoid it. Finally, there are all those other applications that you can get from the app store. I have a couple of games like Risk and Air Hockey that keep me occupied when I find myself waiting somewhere.
I still don't consider my mobile phone to be an extension of my personality. However it is nice to carry one device can do more than just be a phone.
I got my first cell or mobile phone when I was in College. I was doing consulting for a glove manufacturing company in the Seattle area and attending school in Utah. If there was a database problem, I wanted my client to be able to reach me at any time. On more than one occasion the phone would ring while I was in class. I would silence the phone, excuse myself from the classroom, and take the call. It was a great system that got me through school without any student loans.
I was glad to see phones get smaller as my first phone was one of the original Motorola "bricks." It weighed about a pound and was too large to fit in a pocket. I was glad when the next generations of flip-phones appeared. They were much smaller and could be carried discretely.
Eventually my wife joined us mobile phone users when I needed a Christmas gift and didn't know what to get her. I was doing a lot of travelling and it was nice to be able to give her a call when my plane landed. It made it easier to pick me up at the airport. Shortly after that it seemed like the mobile phone craze really exploded.
We waited until my oldest daughter was 15 before we got her a phone. We figured she was learning to drive and would need a phone in case of emergencies. Oh how she loved her phone. For me, the mobile phone had always been just a communications tool. For my daughter, it was an extension of her personality. She would change the wallpaper to match her mood of the day. When there were too many other phones like hers being carried by friends at school, she spent her money to replace the phone's plastic casing. Instead of a plain black cover, her phone sported a pink one with flowers.
As for me, I didn't see the point in wasting money on something I kept hidden in my pocket. In fact I continued to use the simplest model phone even when they started getting all sorts of new features. After all, who needs a phone that is also a camera?
Last year I finally made the switch to an iPhone. I was hired by a company that would require me to have constant e-mail access and I figured I would give the iPhone a try. I thought about the Blackberry and the Blackjack but heard so many good things about the iPhone and decided on it. I would have to say that I haven't been disappointed.
My mobile phone is primarily a mobile phone. I also need it to work where I am. That includes at my house as well as at Snowbird Ski Resort where I spend most of my free time. The iPhone does that quite well. It also has a great e-mail program that is easy to use and has been crucial for work. I have been able to respond to important e-mails while riding the chairlift and that was the main reason from switching from a simple phone to a smart one.
I never thought I would use the iPhone's camera. However it comes in handy to help document a Scout campout or take pictures of a tire for an online classified ad. I also use the map application when I find myself looking for the closest Home Depot on the opposite end of town. Furthermore the map shows traffic conditions so that if there is an accident, I can avoid it. Finally, there are all those other applications that you can get from the app store. I have a couple of games like Risk and Air Hockey that keep me occupied when I find myself waiting somewhere.
I still don't consider my mobile phone to be an extension of my personality. However it is nice to carry one device can do more than just be a phone.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure
Yesterday I decided to clean out my food storage area in my basement. As a scoutmaster I live by the Boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared." This means I have a store room of about two to three months worth of food. The idea is that if there is a major snowstorm or a swine flu outbreak that causes me to be quarantined, I won't run out of food.
I started organizing things and realized that I was running low on a few items. My only problem was that spending a bunch of money to augment my food storage is not in the budget this month. So I decided to try an experiment. I set the goal to raise $50 from some other means than my usual computer consulting. At the end of the day I wanted to be able to add $50 of canned goods to my existing supply.
I knew I had a set of old studded snow tires in my garage taking up space. The car they were used with was sold a while ago and so I decided to list them on an online site. I first thought about eBay but didn't want to pay their fees nor did I want to have to worry about shipping them to some far-flug location. I thought about craigslist because it is free and has the ability to define items by location as well as category. In the end I decided on KSL which is a local news company that has TV, radio, and web outlets. They allow you to post classified ads for free. More importantly they are generally only used by people in my geographical area.
I logged onto their website and saw that they currently have close to 3,000 wheels and tires listed. My heart sank. Who was going to look through that many listings for a pair of old snow tires. I decided to give it a try anyways.
I went to the garage and pulled out one of the tires. I made sure to hose it off so it looked clean. I let it sit in the sun while I ate lunch and then took a picture of it with my iPhone. I made sure to get in close so you could see the condition of the tread as well as the gnarly metal studs that really grip the ice. I pulled the picture off my iPhone and shrunk it down to 640x480 pixels using Gimp (KSL's requirement for picture sizes). Then I attached the photo to my ad where I talked about how those tires could climb a greased telephone pole. I then went back to work with crossed fingers.
At 7pm last night I got a call from a guy looking for tires for his daughter's car. I explained that these tires had been used for my daughter's Buick and that they were very safe when driving in the snow. With all the skiing we do, we never got stuck with those tires. An hour later he came by the house, looked at the tires, and paid me with cash.
As soon as his car was down the street, I jumped into mine and headed to the local supermarket where they were just finishing up their case-lot sale. I managed to pick up the items I needed to round out my food storage. Now it is time to go through my house looking for other junk to unload. Maybe I can get myself a new TV.
I started organizing things and realized that I was running low on a few items. My only problem was that spending a bunch of money to augment my food storage is not in the budget this month. So I decided to try an experiment. I set the goal to raise $50 from some other means than my usual computer consulting. At the end of the day I wanted to be able to add $50 of canned goods to my existing supply.
I knew I had a set of old studded snow tires in my garage taking up space. The car they were used with was sold a while ago and so I decided to list them on an online site. I first thought about eBay but didn't want to pay their fees nor did I want to have to worry about shipping them to some far-flug location. I thought about craigslist because it is free and has the ability to define items by location as well as category. In the end I decided on KSL which is a local news company that has TV, radio, and web outlets. They allow you to post classified ads for free. More importantly they are generally only used by people in my geographical area.
I logged onto their website and saw that they currently have close to 3,000 wheels and tires listed. My heart sank. Who was going to look through that many listings for a pair of old snow tires. I decided to give it a try anyways.
I went to the garage and pulled out one of the tires. I made sure to hose it off so it looked clean. I let it sit in the sun while I ate lunch and then took a picture of it with my iPhone. I made sure to get in close so you could see the condition of the tread as well as the gnarly metal studs that really grip the ice. I pulled the picture off my iPhone and shrunk it down to 640x480 pixels using Gimp (KSL's requirement for picture sizes). Then I attached the photo to my ad where I talked about how those tires could climb a greased telephone pole. I then went back to work with crossed fingers.
At 7pm last night I got a call from a guy looking for tires for his daughter's car. I explained that these tires had been used for my daughter's Buick and that they were very safe when driving in the snow. With all the skiing we do, we never got stuck with those tires. An hour later he came by the house, looked at the tires, and paid me with cash.
As soon as his car was down the street, I jumped into mine and headed to the local supermarket where they were just finishing up their case-lot sale. I managed to pick up the items I needed to round out my food storage. Now it is time to go through my house looking for other junk to unload. Maybe I can get myself a new TV.
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