Of laptops and bricks

Well, I did it. I finally bought a bright shiny new MacBook Pro. It's very, very nice. And fast. I'd say it's cool, but the Intel Core Duo cpu actually runs rather hot. Apple really calls this a portable, not a laptop. Feeling the bottom of it I know why - it would be rather uncomfortable on your lap. Anyway, me like.

Setting up the laptop portable led me to crawl under my desk at work in order to connect/disconnect various power cords etc. As I tangled with the maze of wires under there it occurred to me that every device has a power brick nowadays. Here's what is currently residing under my desk - power bricks for:

• USB hub
  
• External hard drive used for backups (I'm such a good little nerd)
  
• Inkjet printer
  
• Powered computer speaker system (I like my iTunes)
  
• Cordless phone
  
• Voice over internet phone converter^*
  
• Answering machine
  
• Charger for my PDA (nerd, nerd, nerdy, nerdy, nerd)
  

Just imagine the heat these put out! I guess my feet won't be getting cold in the winter... And it was worse - I disconnected an external CD burner, with associated power brick, this morning because I don't use it much now.

I think there's a fortune to be made here. If someone could invent a universal power brick that you could plug several devices into simultaneously, I would buy it.



^* This sounds cooler than it really is. Voice over internet phone (VOIP) service is okay, but not wonderful. We didn't have a choice. The University, in it's wisdom, decided that the new building we're in had to be all VOIP. Of course that causes a few issues with things like fax machines (which don't work with VOIP) and emergencies with power outages (how do we call for help?). Minor issues according to the University hierarchy...

Irony defined

Compare:



to:



Enough said.

Pondering an Imponderable

How did I get here?

Not how did I get here. After three children, and having witnessed all three births, I think I have a handle on that one.

Rather, how did I get here? Here, in this place, typing this.

Ever wonder about that? How you ended up where you are, doing what you are?

So, how did I end up in this country with a beautiful, wonderful wife and three incredible children? How did I end up at this university working as a professor studying protein folding? How did all this happen?

Buggered if I know.

Every now and then I find myself asking this. Out of the blue.

I distinctly remember when I was postdoc in Pennsylvania. One winter night, sometime after midnight, I was walking back to my apartment after a party or something. I was stopped in the middle of the road by this overwhelming thought. "How the hell did I get here? Right here. Right now. How?"

I didn't know then.

Still don't.

I don't suppose it really matters.

Sounded like fun...

...so I stole it from thatgirlygirl.

Open iTunes/iPod or Windows Media Player to answer the following. Go to your library. Answer, no matter how embarrassing it is.

How many songs? 1400 (exactly!)

Sort by artist:
First artist: Aaron Neville
Last artist: Zero 7

Sort by song title:
First: (Do The) Instant Mash - Joe Jackson (Look Sharp!) - apparently parentheses come first in iTunes...
Last: Zoo Station - U2 (Achtung Baby)

Sort by time:
Shortest Song: Nr. 3 G Dur Adagio - J.S. Bach (Brandenburgische Konzerte 1-6) - yeah, I'm a dweeb (it gets worse) (0:13)
Longest Song: Symphony No. 9 I. Andante - Mahler (Symphony No. 9) - told you it got worse... (29.27)

Sort by album:
First: 1978-1990 (The Go-Betweens)
Last: World Reggae (various artists)

First song that comes up on Shuffle: Dominos - Office (Q&A)

How many songs come up when you search for "sex?" 0
How many songs come up when you search for "death?" 15 (is that healthy?)
How many songs come up when you search for "love?" 81
How many songs come up when you search for "you?" 83
How many songs come up when you search for "why?" 15
How many songs come up when you search for "God?" 4
How many songs come up when you search for "crazy?" 13
How many songs come up when you search for "f**k?" 0


Your turn.

Wide open Vista...

Remember this? I mentioned it back in June. Not surprisingly MicroSoft were just a little too cocky...

Video games "failing" women?

I find this interesting. The videogames industry believes it has failed women because far fewer of them play videogames. Those that do play tend to play games like The Sims.

My take on it is that it's a good thing that women don't waste enormous amounts of time playing uber violent games. And that when they do opt to play, they play what could be considered far more intelligent games. More men should be that way.

One of the smartest things ever said...

"The public has an insufficient understanding of our ignorance."
Susan Hockfield, president, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

'Tis true. I just came across this quote today, but have been thinking along these lines for the last couple of weeks. Not coincidentally, I started this semester's teaching about two weeks ago. Here's the thing, we often teach out of textbooks, giving the impression (albeit not purposely) that this is gospel. It's not. My postdoc mentor, a very smart man, is fond of telling students that if they want to find a really good research project, just open up a textbook and find somewhere with a sentence that starts "It is well known that..." There's a research project. We really know so very little. I spend much of research time learning just how little. In fact, I've spent the last nine or so years working on an area of proteins where "It is well known that..." I get funded to do this, publish papers on the subject, and have begun to gain a (hopefully positive) reputation for my work. If it's really "well known", really all worked out, then how could that be so? Perhaps "It is well known that..." should be replaced with "We currently believe that...but we could be wrong. Again." At the very least we should be honest about what we do know and what we don't.

Ultimately the people we think are smart and wise aren't that way because they know so much more than we do. The difference between them and everyone else is that they recognize just how little we know.

Making the world a better place, one smile at a time

Baby J has learned to smile. The real thing, not those gas-induced half smiles we parents delude ourselves into thinking are the real thing. There's nothing like a baby smiling at you. They are innocent. They know nothing of the larger world. They don't know about dangerously dim-witted presidents, suicidal terrorists, mid-East strife, global warming, rising gas prices, or any of the thousands of things that stress out adults. The smile of a baby is given without strings attached. It's pure. It lifts the heart and makes you forget, at least for the moment, that some aspects of life can really suck. They cause you to remember that life, for the most part, is actually pretty damn good (at least for me). A baby's smile brings pure, unadulterated joy.


Daughter J: "Mommy, baby J just smiled at me! Fifteen times! And twice with dimples! Okay, maybe just eleven times. But twice with dimples!"




It's contagious. Try it - you actually don't need to be a baby.

Not the stark reminder he thinks it is...

I'd say this was a stark reminder that Bush's war on terror isn't working...

From the "Only in the US" file...

He must have had a HUGE litter box somewhere... Probably has a few rabbit bones in it.


Honestly, how far out of whack can this society get?
(I'll probably regret asking that.)

Mild cheddar cheese

Why?

What's the point? If I'm going to eat something so laden in fat, I want it to at least have some flavor.





Spot the sleep deprived...

Setting sail on another journey into the unknown

There's an old cliche about life being a journey. It isn't really. It's multiple journeys undertaken simultaneously. This week I started a new journey into unknown territory. My son, baby J, was born. I have two daughters, so I have no experience with sons. In fact I had grown comfortable with having daughters. And I was convinced this one would be another girl.* That was going to be my fate - me in a house full of women.** Don't get me wrong - it's not something I was unhappy about. I have never had this pressing need for a son. So I was surprised when out came this perfect little boy. And he is perfect. It was an amazing moment. I cried. With joy. Joy from having witnessed this miracle. Joy from having another wonderful child. Joy from having the most incredible, beautiful woman as my wife and mother of my children.

So now I have a son. This poses a few issues, some of which are dealt with by our wonderful friend ThatGirlyGirl. Another is circumcision (WINCE). And then there's sports. I grew up in Australia. I know cricket, Australian Rules football and soccer. I guess baby J is going to learn soccer - the former two sports aren't much use here. I'm sure DocStymie, a great friend and husband of ThatGirlyGirl, will be able to give me some advice on all things sport.

I'm not how I'm going to explain my older brother JollyRgr, the pirate policeman, but I'm sure baby J will be delighted to have a piratical uncle. And a musical aunt who tends to speak with her Mouthfulofpancake. And a scientific geek uncle (my younger brother who does not have a blog as yet so I can't link to any pithy posts by him). And those are just my siblings. He has wonderful aunts and uncles (from both my side and my wifes) and cousins who can't wait to meet him. And two older sisters who fight over who gets to hold him. And doting grandparents. And good friends. And the world's greatest Mom. So you're going to be alright, baby J, despite a clueless Dad.

Welcome to this journey baby J. This one we take together. With lots of good company. L'chaim.




* We had decided not to find out the gender prior to the birth.
** My wonderful wife knew better. She believed it was going to be a boy.

Note that these are just for the 2nd quarter of 2006...

Ya gotta laugh. Unless you have money invested in the offending companies. In which case, might I suggest having a box of tissues handy?

Killer kangaroo and the demon ducks of doom

Sounds like a good name for a bad band... Instead, they're a part of Australia's distant past. What a weird world we live in.

Weekend blatherings

1) World Cup:

I didn't watch it - as I said in my last post, it held no interest for me. I must say though, Italy deserved the win after the French captain's head butt...

2) Library:

My wife and I went to the public library this weekend. They have a second-hand book store in the basement that sells used CD's for $3 each. I was browsing through the offerings and noticed rather a large number of Spice Girls CD's... I guess some teeny-bopper has grown up. Then I found something that almost made me lose my lunch - the CD that goes with THIS!

I did escape with Midnight Oil's "Blue Sky Mining."

3) Bookstore:

We went to a great bookstore here called Joseph Beth Booksellers. While hanging out with the kids in the children's department I spotted "The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen." All I could think of was the sweating and chafing.... Ugh!

World Cup Final

I'm having a hard time getting excited about the upcoming Italy-France game. I suspect it's going to be one big flopfest. Both teams boast world class actors. Every time an Italian player gets close to a French one they're going to fall over clutching their ankles and writhing in (pretend) agony... Even if there's been no contact.

My bet is the game will be decided by one or more penalties rewarded to the "best" floppers by an exasperated referee...

Bracing myself

I got the ceiling fan installed without electrocuting myself, or anyone else for that matter. It was a bugger though. You need to install a ceiling fan brace to hold up the fan. It's basically a metal bar that spans two joists in the ceiling. They are expandable, generally from 16 inches to 24 inches. Old houses in the US tend to have joists 16 inches apart and new houses 24 inches (I'm guessing to save money). We have an old house, so the joists are 16 inches apart. With one exception. The two joists either side of the ceiling fan site? 13.5 inches apart... Fortunately, I found a brace that started at 13 inches and could be expanded to 24. Of course it took a trip to two large home improvement stores, opening the boxes to about six different braces and measuring them. And I forgot to take a tape measure, so I had to wander the aisles looking for one, or a ruler, carrying boxes of various braces... Still, I got it done. And it works. Doesn't even wobble when on high speed. Much.

Squirrels can't swim...

...and other random observations.

Well, the birth of my third child will be occuring sometime soon. Two weeks until my lovely wife's due date. That means it could happen pretty much anytime in the next three or so weeks. I'm not entirely ready, but I'm not sure I ever will be. Too many things at work need to be put in order - I don't suppose it would be fair to ask my wife to keep her legs crossed for another month or two, would it?

At least I'm on track for getting the painting etc. of our spare bedroom done within the next few days. It's actually going to be my (current) youngest, J's new room, with her old room becoming the nursery. We'd better have a girl - the nursery-to-be is currently pink...

One thing I need to do this weekend is install a ceiling fan in J's new room. I've done this before. Three times in fact. Most important thing is to remember to turn off the electricity. That's not a mistake you'll make twice. I hope.*

I'll bet at this point you're wondering about the squirrel. We found one yesterday in the kids' inflatable pool in the back yard. This one clearly couldn't swim. I guess the more correct description is that he is an ex-squirrel. He has ceased to be. I'm not sure how he got in there in the first place. I suspect he was teenager, egged on by other teenage squirrels.

Squirrel 1: "Go on. Jump in! It's not that deep."
Squirrel 2: "Yeah, Bob. Do it! Bet ya can't make it to the other side!"
Bob the Squirrel: "Well, I don't know..."
Squirrel 1: "What are ya, some kind of wussy chipmunk?"
Squirrel 2: "Yeah Bob, I double dog dare you. Jump!"
Squirrels 1 & 2: "Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!"

SPLASH!!!!

Squirrel 2: "You go, Bob! You the squirrel!"

Long pause...

Squirrel 1: "Well whaddya know. I guess it's deeper than it looked."

Short pause...

Squirrel 2: "I know where Bob has his stash of nuts. I don't guess he needs them now..."
Squirrel 1: "Right... Off we go then."




* Only joking. I've remembered to turn off the power every time. So far. That I can remember.

Use a laptop on your lap?

Or on a plane? Is it a Dell? Hmmmmmm....



Sorry Doc Stymie. I just couldn't resist.

Big Brother Governer

Our state governer, Ernie Fletcher, has got himself into a lot of hot water recently. This has led to a lot of criticism in the press, particularly in blogs. His response? Today he's had the most vocal blog-critics blocked on state computers... To make matters worse, the agency responsible is claiming ignorance of the blocks. Fletcher has lost his mind if he thinks he can get away with this!



A big thanks to Doc Stymie for alerting me to this.