Wednesday, April 17, 2002

At a recent Job Interview I said basically the same thing.  He was a Java guy and didn't see it my way but at least others do!   One of the most concise statements on SOAP that's been written. One of the most concise statements on SOAP that's been written This is probably the best description of SOAP for mere mortals that I've seen anywhere. And one of the smartest sites I've ever seen. Period. disenchanted.com: "It might be poetic justice, then, that a better alternative to Java (for writing programs that can be used from anywhere) has been invented in a partnership that included Microsoft. It's called SOAP, and instead of trying to make a program run on any computer, it's meant to make it easier for a program to talk to any computer across the Internet and make that computer behave like a component. In the past, if you built a word processor and wanted to add a spell-checker you'd have to buy that part, include it with every copy of the word processor that you shipped, and plan on hiring an employee to keep the dictionary updated with new words. SOAP means you don't have to; you just have your program talk to an online dictionary hosted somewhere else. The program you ship loses the fat, reduced to a bundle of signal genes, because all the libraries are stored elsewhere and maintained by someone else." [disenchanted.com] [www.davidwatson.org] 6:32:36 PM    comment []

Scoville. Scoville. When you accidentally chew one of those strange red things that P.F. Chang's mixes into their Kung Pao Chicken and your mouth turns into an electric superkiln of volcanic fire, you can say “Oh wow, that musta been 200,000 scovilles!” (right after you've finished the fifth glass of water) and it's all because of Wilbur Scoville: a chemist who invented a way of measuring just how hot a pepper can get, way back in 1912. Scoville's method to determine the heat of a pepper is based on dilution. You grind up the pepper into a paste, then dilute it in a gallon of water. Then you keep adding sugar to the solution until a panel of about 5 taste testers don't burn their tongues anymore. The amount of sugar you had to add will be used to calculate the pepper's Scoville rating. Namby-pamby Tabasco sauce is a paltry 2,140 scovilles, while the hottest naturally occurring pepper is the Red Savina Habanero, which clocks about 577,000. That's baby food. A food additive called “Chet's Gone Mad” registers 1.5 million scovilles and, when added to your chili, shall put Grandma in the hospital. But that's only for beginners and amateurs, because Blair's 5am Reserve—of which only 999 bottles were made—makes the sun jealous at 5.5 million scovilles. Should one obtain the permits and necessary safety equipment to handle it, it should be disclosed that pure capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that makes them hot, marks the top of the scale at 16 million scovilles. Put a teaspoon of this in a gallon of barbeque sauce and you'll be incarcerated under the terms of the comprehensive test-ban treaty. [Disenchanted Dictionary] [www.davidwatson.org] 6:27:09 PM    comment []

Dating Rules for my daughter Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up. Rule Two: You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them. Rule Three: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips.  Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist. Rule Four: I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you. Rule Five: It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early." Rule Six: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter.  Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry. Rule Seven: As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge.  Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car? Rule Eight: The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better. Rule Nine: Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me. Rule Ten: Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine. 12:22:51 PM    comment []

One World Computing has released Workout Wizard (4/8/2002) PocketPCWire article [update] One World Computing has released version 1.6 of Workout Wizard, which is used to manage workouts of any kind. From aerobics to weights, you can enter your workout goals before the workout starts and update your progress after completing each exercise. The latest version has been updated to list workouts in chronological order. $14.95 7:54:03 AM    comment []

Magnets See the Light A 'plastic' magnet that responds to light could lead to new ways of storing and reading large amounts of computer data. Light would be used to store information in cheap, fast and high-capacity 'magneto-optic' memories. The light-switchable magnet is the first to be made from organic (carbon-based) molecules. www.nature.com article 7:48:28 AM    comment []

New Era of Plant-Based Plastics and Fibers a Reality Minneapolis-based Cargill Dow LLC announced today the grand opening of the world¹s first global-scale manufacturing facility capable of making commercial-grade plastic resins from annually renewable resources such as ordinary field corn. eWire article (Source: E-Wire News) Also see BFI's Trimtab article ŚThe Carbohydrate Economy¹ at www.bfi.org 7:46:05 AM    comment []