I can’t believe Lawrence isn’t all over this like a fat man on a Chinese buffet.
Time, time, time, see what’s become of me…
July 31st, 2013Bookmarks.
July 30th, 2013The camera that shot Che. And a bunch of other people, too.
I’ve been going to Precision Camera about once a week to poke around and drool over the used Leicas. One of these days…
Everything you wanted to know about SQL injection (but were afraid to ask). My only complaint about this article is that the author failed to include the XKCD link required by Internet Law.
Random notes: July 30, 2013.
July 30th, 2013Latest update on the “Rebecca” case (previously):
Memo from the Department of “Here’s a Shocker”:
More:
Some bars in West Hollywood and other cities are boycotting Stolichnaya vodka over Putin’s “anti-gay” regulations, “banning ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,’ including gay pride events and providing children with information about homosexuality.” Fair enough; a boycott seems like a reasonable response, though I don’t know how much good it will do. (I’m not convinced boycotts work against the batshit crazy.) But:
Wouldn’t this be a more effective protest if they actually dumped the vodka? If they are worried about the environmental impact of dumping vodka into the gutter, couldn’t they pour it down the sink instead, like they do with unfinished drinks? Is the environmental impact of dumping vodka that great, especially since I suspect much of the alcohol will evaporate in the storm sewers?
And what are they going to do with the vodka that was in the bottles? Or have they been saving empties for this protest?
A couple of random bits for July 27, 2013.
July 27th, 2013This one goes out to Lawrence and a couple of other friends.
I have written previously about NASA’s “System Failure Case Studies” site, where the organizations posts brief analysis of significant failures and the lessons learned from them.
NASA recently redesigned the site: I find it slightly more aesthetically pleasing than I did previously. And one of the things they’ve covered recently is the Piper Alpha disaster.
Some other recent SFCS articles of note:
- the crash of a F-22A Raptor, apparently due to a combination of pilot hypoxia and bad ergonomics (especially when pilots were wearing night vision and cold weather gear).
- The Halifax explosion. It seems to me that this event is mostly forgotten today, but I vividly remember reading a first hand account from one of the survivors in a really old Reader’s Digest at my grandmother’s house:
The Mont-Blanc drifted toward the Halifax shore and then blew apart, with a shockwave equivalent to 2,989 tons of TNT expanding across Halifax at more than 4,900 feet per second and reached across 325 acres. The pressure and temperature (in excess of 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the origin) pushed a fireball of hot gas and debris into the sky that rained shrapnel on people in the streets below. The water around the Mont-Blanc was immediately vaporized and a 52-foot tidal wave swept three city blocks deep into Halifax’s Richmond neighborhood. Windows were reportedly shattered over 50 miles away from the epicenter.
- And the Xcel Energy fire, which comes across as just total all-around incompetence:
Although Xcel and RPI recognized the penstock as a permit required confined space, neither treated it as such during the recoating work…Entry procedures were not developed and the required daily permits were incomplete and lacking detail pertaining to the hazards of the day‘s work activities. Air monitoring was performed almost exclusively at the entrance, about 1,450 feet away from the actual work area within the penstock. Neither RPI nor Xcel provided the CSB with a documented basis for declassifying the penstock space as non-permit required…Xcel and RPI managers did not plan or coordinate the immediate availability of qualified confined space technical rescuers and equipment outside the penstock, although the use of flammable solvent in the open atmosphere of the permit space created the need for immediate rescue because of the potential for Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) conditions
Xcel and RPI killed five workers because of these failures.
On another note, I greatly enjoy the Priceonomics blog, which has covered topics like how does SkyMall work (and their questionable ties to Xhibit Corp), what charities do with those donated cars, and the economics of starting a bike shop.
The latest article has some ties to something I wrote about previously – the pot growers of the Emerald Triangle. Or, as Priceonomics puts it:
Legal Weed is Hurting San Francisco’s Hippies
Some quotes:
Don’t be evil. Again.
July 25th, 2013A while back, I wrote about the Knife Depot and their battle with Google’s Adwords people over selling “assisted opening” knives. The Knife Depot lost their Adwords account because they refused to cave in to Google’s demand that they stop selling (not just advertising, but selling) “assisted opening” knives, which are legal in every state of the Union.
Dan Lawton over at the Knife Depot was kind enough to share a couple of his followup posts with me. Adwords restored the Knife Depot’s account in May, but imposed a requirement that the Knife Depot couldn’t have “assisted opening” knives on any of the landing pages.
Then Google yanked the Adwords account again…this time, because Google has a problem with “throwing knives”.
I have no joke here, I just wanted an excuse to post this:
But wait, there’s more! You know who else doesn’t like knives? Yes! Facebook!
But surely Google has learned their lesson, and these policies are being applied equally to all vendors? Unlike the “assisted opening” advertising ban, in which Google allowed big vendors like Amazon and Walmart to advertise those knives, while cutting off the Knife Depot and smaller vendors? Right?
Hahahahahahahaha. Nope. Google is still operating on the same double standard they had back in March – the same double standard that was openly called out by a Google employee in internal communication – and refuses to offer any explanation of why certain vendors are allowed to advertise “assisted opening” knives, “throwing knives”…or “herbal incense”, for that matter.
Thanks to Mr. Lawton for bringing my attention to these posts. And, as a side note to people who want me to write about their stuff, this is the way to do it: Mr. Lawton sent me a nice, personalized email summarizing his posts, politely suggesting that I might want to write about them based on my previous coverage, and even provided some evidence that he’s actually read more of the blog than just that one post. He had my curiosity when I saw the email; by the time I finished reading it, he had my attention.
(For the record, the Knife Depot hasn’t given me anything – money, knives, gift certificates, or anything of value – in exchange for this post. Nor have I asked for anything.)
Squee!
July 25th, 2013Donald Norman, along with a couple of other folks, is teaching a series of courses based on “Design of Everyday Things” through Udacity.
Let me repeat this: Donald freakin’ Norman, one of my personal heroes, is teaching free online courses based on his most famous and influential work. My mind, it is blown.
Seriously, Donald Norman’s work was a huge influence on me when I was younger, and the idea of being able to take design courses from him, online, for free…well, “squee!” is the only word I can find to express my feelings on that subject.
Random notes: July 24, 2013.
July 24th, 2013Man, this is a day for sad sports stories in the NYT.
George Sauer Jr. passed away in May.
What makes this story interesting is that Sauer, according to people who knew him, was a really smart guy who may have never wanted to play football in the first place; what he really wanted to be was a writer.
On a slightly more upbeat note, there’s an interesting piece by Frank Bruni in the paper of record. Vetri, a very well regarded Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, transformed itself for three nights into Le Bec-Fin, a legendary restaurant that closed (temporarily?) in 2012.
I like the idea of recreating legendary restaurants for a few nights. I’m not sure what Austin restaurant I’d like to see do this; I think that needs some more consideration than I am currently able to give it.
And since this isn’t behind the paywall, i’ll link to it: the Austin Police Department has fired another officer. What did he do? Well…bad guy broke into someone’s home and stole their pickup and gun. Police chased the bad guy. Bad guy wrecked the truck, fled on foot, and broke into another house.
This has gone to the arbitrator:
And the arbitrator said:
I think the take-away here is: hit what you aim at. And always be sure of your target and what’s behind it:
Obit watch: July 24, 2013.
July 24th, 2013This is an incredibly sad obit: Emile Griffith, boxer.
Mr. Griffith boxed professionally for nearly 20 years, from 1958 to 1977. He is perhaps best remembered for his fight against Benny Paret on March 24, 1962.
Mr. Paret died ten days later as a result of brain injuries received during the fight.
Please continue to be careful out there.
July 23rd, 2013A while back, I wrote about Sutchi Hui. Mr. Hui was crossing a San Francisco street when he was struck and killed by Chris Bucchere, who was on a bicycle at the time. The San Francisco DA charged Mr. Bucchere with felony manslaughter.
Mr. Bucchere has now pled guilty to that charge.
However, according to the article, Mr. Bucchere will not serve any time in prison. Or perhaps I should say the DA is not requesting any under this plea agreement. Mr. Bucchere will not actually be sentenced until August 16th. The SF Chron says that Mr. Hui’s family agreed to the plea, and that Mr. Bucchere will serve three years on probation. And:
After six months, Gascon said, a judge could reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.
Leadership Secrets of Non-Fictional Characters (part 8 of a series).
July 23rd, 2013Apropos of nothing in particular, there’s a story in Theodore Rockwell’s book, The Rickover Effect
The setup for this is that Rockwell and another member of Rickover’s team have been aboard one of the nuclear subs, doing an inspection and quizzing the crew about what they know and remember from their training. In this particular case, the inspection wasn’t perfect; the chief they’re talking to in this excerpt spent several minutes trying to find the answer for a problem he could have solved with basic math and a slide rule in seconds.
I turned to walk away, but the chief called after me, hesitatingly. “Sir, I have to tell you something.”
“Yes?”
“I want you to know something. I was in the Navy for nearly fifteen years before this program came along. I was a typical sailor like in the movies. You know the type. If the average human being uses 10 percent of his brain, I was using 1 percent. Everybody figured sailors were supposed to be stupid, and who were we to argue? Now I’m working my tail off, but I’m alive. Y’know, I’m actually a thinking human being. And I think about how I just threw away fifteen years of my life because nobody kicked my ass. You know what really woke me up? On my old ship we didn’t have toasters, ’cause sailors are too dumb to work toasters, right? So we had cold, hard, dry toast from the galley. Then one day we had toasters on the tables. And I asked around, How come? And you know what I found out? They said Captain Rickover had told the top Navy brass that if sailors were smart enough to run a nuclear power plant, they could damn well run a toaster. [Emphasis added – DB] And I said, There’s a guy I want to work for. And I – well, I wanted you to know that you’ve done that for a lot of guys, ’cause I wasn’t the only one. Thanks.”
He turned away, and I was really touched. But all I could say was, “Thanks, Chief. I really appreciate your telling me that. Good luck to you.”
What do I want you to take away from this? Well, here’s a question for you: those people you ask to work on equipment that costs tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands or even millions? Do you think they’re too stupid to run a toaster? Or do you trust that they can make their own toast?
(“Toaster” is not a metaphor here. Except to the extent that it is. But as I said, this is apropos of nothing in particular.)
Also: “I just threw away fifteen years of my life because nobody kicked my ass.” That’s worth thinking about, too; are you letting people throw away their lives, or are you kicking their asses and challenging them to be great? Even if it means they might be great someplace else?
Banana republicans watch: July 23, 2013.
July 23rd, 2013Do you remember the “Bait Car” incident? In brief, an LA County sheriff’s detective swore under oath that he’d read a suspect his rights; that testimony was contradicted by video taken of the arrest for the “Bait Car” TV series.
Now:
And what is the DA’s office going to do about this? Not a damn thing.
Meanwhile, in the notoriously corrupt city of Vernon, Bruce Malkenhorst used to be the city manager. He resigned (and was later convicted of misappropriating public funds). As city manager, he took home $911,000 a year; his pension was the largest in California, more than $500,000 a year.
At least it was until the California pension board cut it back to $115,000 a year, stating that some of his salary was improperly obtained.
Obit watch: July 23, 2013.
July 23rd, 2013Cause.
July 22nd, 2013I haven’t gone crazy since I got the new job. I did purchase a few things: I bought a couple of DVDs during the Criterion 50% off sale. And I bought myself a snazzy new lunchbox, because I really needed one to take my lunch to work in. (I can’t use one of those plastic grocery bags, after all.)
I haven’t bought any guns, yet. (One of our local gunshops had a really nice US property marked Mossberg 44, at a reasonable price. But first I had to leave town, and then I dithered some when I got back, and when I went back Saturday they’d already sold it.)
There are a few other things I have on my agenda, but those may wait either until I get paid or until I empty the change bank. (I don’t really need the money in the change bank that badly, but it has actually gotten so full that the coins in it are interfering with the mechanism and keeping me from adding more coins.)
There’s one thing that I was glad to be able to do before time ran out: donate to the Evict Lyme FUNdraiser.
I don’t know Bonnie of Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease. I’ve never met her in person, and if I did, I suspect she’d want to punch me in the nose. But she has a problem of the kind that requires expensive and extensive surgery, and she needs help paying for it.
I don’t know Jennifer, of In Jennifer’s Head, either. I’ve never met her in person, and if I did, I suspect she’d want to punch me in the nose. (If you think you’ve detected a theme here, you’re right. I pretty much assume everyone wants to punch me in the nose until proven otherwise.) But I feel pretty confident in saying that Jennifer is a good and decent person. Why? Because she’s running a raffle to help Bonnie out.
Not a charity, a raffle. With some pretty nice prizes. I like that leather range bag from Brownell’s (and I like the fact that Brownell’s donated it; it makes me feel all squishy inside when I think about them. Or that may be the enchilada burger making me feel that way. I can’t tell.) And that’s a swell looking holster from Dragon Leatherworks. (If I don’t win that one in the raffle, I’m planning to order a holster from Dragon soon-ish.)
There’s other nifty prizes as well. Would you like a shot at a pen and a bottle opener made from spent 50 BMG brass? A nice rifle sling? Wind chimes?
Go over and check out Jennifer’s post for rules, instructions, and a full list of prizes.
As I’ve said before, I don’t like using this blog to beg folks for money, so I try to keep the number of charitable solicitations down. I also don’t like asking you to give to a cause I haven’t given to myself, which is why I waited until I had a job and could chip in before posting here. In a way, I kind of feel that being employed now is sort of like being touched by grace, and giving money for Bonnie is kind of a thank-you prayer, or a way of paying that grace forward.
(Yeah, my theology is probably a little messed up. But this is the theology I have, and which is mine.)
Personal and administrative notes.
July 22nd, 2013Those of you who have been following this blog know that I have been unemployed since late last November.
I am pleased to announce that things have changed. I started working today (on a contract to hire basis) for the IronPort division of Cisco here in Austin. I will be doing support for their email security products.
I’m pretty happy about this. So far, the environment seems better, and this puts me closer to where I would like to be in terms of personal and professional goals.
What this means to the blog:
- There’s going to be a period of adjustment while I figure out my blogging schedule. I think I can blog in the morning before work, but we will have to see how things go.
- I won’t be discussing Cisco on this blog, per my policy of not discussing non-public matters involving my employers.
- This does mean that I will not be attending DEFCON 21. Sorry, Borepatch. (For some reason, I can’t post on his blog: neither Google nor OpenID work for me.) I am hoping to attend both next year’s DEFCON and the S&WCA convention, though.
My thanks to everyone for their support during this difficult time.
Ad astra per aspera.
July 21st, 2013I was busy yesterday (the fun kind of busy, shopping for guns and drinking saké) so Lawrence beat me to posting about Apollo 11. Let me see if I can trump him.
From PetaPixel, here’s NASA video of the first few seconds of the Apollo 11 launch, originally shot on a 16mm camera at 500 frames per second.
From Wired, a tribute to the Hasselblad camera used by NASA.
(If I ever get a little ahead, I’d like to pick up a used Hasselblad. And a used Leica, too.)