Thursday, July 25, 2002

Roast Your Own Coffee I just purchased an old hot-air popcorn popper from eBay.  My friend PD taught me to roast my own coffee beans with one.  It's really cool, and the best coffee in the world. For more info, check out Sweet Maria's.  They sell the beans and tell you how to roast them yourself. 1:44:29 PM

Configuration Peculiar to My Work One of the more interesting aspects of working here at Rockwell Automation is that we have industrial control hardware at our desks.  My team develops the software for programming and configuring these systems, RSLogix 5000. When I get a new PC, one of the challenges is to get set up with our current build of software, including the communications software and firmware for the controller, and then to get talking to it.  This morning, it all went smoothly.  Yes, I have experience at it, but our software is getting better at it as well.  I had to install two software packages, create a connection to the controller, and update the firmware.  Fifteen minutes tops. A few years ago, this would have taken many frustrating hours and may have blue-screened Windows NT.  Ahhhhh, progress. And our customers are much happier too. 9:59:55 AM

The Persistent Problem of Migrating Software Configuration to New Hardware I got a new machine at work last week.  I'm on a large software development team, so I can count on a new machine every couple of years, as we continuously upgrade the slowest machine in blocks of about 1/5 of the team every few months. Our desktop support group does a pretty good job of making sure our software is installed, but there is always a period - intense for 2-3 days, lingering over months - where I'm reconfiguring each piece of software to the way I use it.  None of the solutions that Microsoft has touted for configuration migration has ever worked completely - and none of it is "automatic."  In another way, I like getting a new machine and wiping the slate clean.  Over time, I tinker with a lot of stuff, and it's nice to clean out the sand box once in a while.  And all of my project information is stored on central servers, so no need to worry about that stuff. But I still want to log into any machine at any time and see some semblence of my personally configured environment.  Harumph. 9:05:50 AM

The current template I'm using for Radio isn't very accessible.  I hope that the folks at Userland drink the cool aid and start delivering default themes with Radio that are accessible and CSS driven.  I'll be working on my Theme over the next few days, trying to meet all of the guidelines (and relearning all the Radio template programming). 8:39:00 AM

If you haven't already, check out Dive Into Accessibility.  It's the best coverage of accessbility in design I've ever seen.  Approachable, clear, and real-world scenario driven.  Bravo! 8:37:12 AM

Second Law of Thermodynamics Violated [Scientific American] Funny headline... I'd say that we're just not completely clear on how the law works at all scales.  Nature makes these laws, not us. 8:27:44 AM

New Bubble Reaction Findings Make Fusion Claims Unlikely [Scientific American] The path to Cold Fusion is obviously still pretty cold... but these sonic bubbles are really, really cool. 8:25:18 AM

New machine, possibly new personal energy for 'blogging.  Lots of new 'blogging energy in the air considering the Salon deal. 8:08:17 AM