mjm wired :: Random

Saving Resources Wastes Time

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:02:24 -0400

So anyone who has worked closely with me know that I like to write small. Small because, I think personally I can see "more" at the same time, and also, keeping small saves resources - mostly paper (trees, environment, ...). Sometimes I take it too far. Usually if I have an email or message I need to print that just would not fit on one page because of 2 extra lines, I would use the "book" feature that most printers have where each page would be rotated and fit on 1/2 the page - 2 pages on 1 sheet. This has always worked well for me.

So today I received an updated software spec. Previously it was about 20 pages, but now it had exploded into 30. I knew entirely what was in it, but for implementation I still found it easier to have a hard copy print-out next to me. The new finely detailed diagrams included took up whole pages, so my "2-for-1" trick would not help. Skimming over the document, I often saw 1 title on one page and because a diagram was so big it would jump onto the next page leaving sometime 95% of the previous page blank! This irritates me to no end! So I thought, "I am the one implementing this and it is only a temporary copy, so why don't I just tweak the spec layout?" And, so, I did. I reduced the bulky header and footer. I removed the ownership details. I removed the revision log. I tweaked the margins and brought it back down to almost 20 pages again. And it was good ... and I was just about to print it ...

Then my mind starts thinking. I don't like to have multiple hard copies, so I will have highlights and notes all over this. I'll probably use it in discussions and point out things to other people - all of whom will wonder why my spec looks so "unofficial". Then the page numbers will be all mismatched and I'll confuse other people. And when I need to point out errors or changes, I'll need to double check my locations. And what if I have to print this again? Should I save a "temp" print copy? So many questions. Why do I torture myself?

I printed it out, all 30 pages, untouched, exactly as I received them. My amalgamation of OCD, faux pas environmental awareness and over-thinking has gotten the best of me once again. Sometimes my petty attempts of saving resources just wastes time and, had I followed through with my original thought and later re-printed, would have wasted even more resources. Do I value my time? Maybe not enough.

Happy Leap Day

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:57:48 -0500

All is well. Today it snowed. Then it melted. I think it is snowing again.

Louisiana elects first nonwhite governor since Reconstruction

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 11:48:20 -0400

I copied the title of this post directly from the CNN news article. To me, I find it very misleading. My first impression to "nonwhite" is that they were trying to say "black" as in African American, but did not want to use those words. After reading the article however, you find that they are referring to an American born Indian: Bobby Jindal.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal became the nation's youngest governor and the first nonwhite to hold post in Louisiana since Reconstruction when he carried more than half the vote to defeat 11 opponents.
...
Jindal, the Republican 36-year-old son of Indian immigrants, had 53 percent with 625,036 votes with about 92 percent of the vote tallied. It was more than enough to win Saturday's election outright and avoid a November 17 runoff.
...
"My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American Dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana," he said to cheers and applause at his victory party.

I actually find the set of circumstances a little unique. Apparently he's a Republican Indian who was born Hindu but converted to Catholicism ... to become a Governor in the United States? What are the chances?

Story of My Life

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 22:06:15 -0400

Let's see. I need to get from here to there.

Well I'm pretty sure I need to go. But I really don't know how to get there. It's pretty far from here. I guess I could use a map. Perhaps? Yeah, that would help. Well the map ... the maps seems to be a bit old. Not sure if I'm making an informed decision to travel that distance based on outdated information. Well it appears as though the route to get there involves some travel on unfamiliar roads. Look at that, it requires the freeway. Hmmm, freeway always has plenty of issues. There might be lots of traffic ... for all I know there could be construction ... or worse I might have to go through some less-than-friendly neighborhoods. Better check the tires, don't want to get a flat. While I'm at, should also check the oil and transmission. Driving with a full tank is also safer. It could rain or worse it could snow, should err on the side of caution. Right? Probably a good idea to give myself some extra time so I don't feel rushed. But that means getting out a little earlier. That can be rather inconvenient. But coming home could be just as bad, better try to return while its still bright outside. Don't want to be on the road with drunk drivers. Looks good, nothing to worry about, I think I should get there just fine.

Hmmm, well it is a bit far and I guess I really didn't have to go. Probably shouldn't bother. Probably better to stay home.

Yeah, sounds like the right decision.

Mauriat is Dead

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:53:20 -0500

Mr. Mauriat has just died - Mr. Paul Mauriat that is.

Paul Mauriat, a French conductor whose arrangement of "Love is Blue" topped U.S. charts in the 1960s and who garnered a large following in Japan, has died. He was 81.

I never downloaded the "Love is Blue" MP3. Coincidentally a fan of Mauriat (not me) happened to email me the file, just because he liked it so much, he thought I would like it also.

The sentiment was nice, and so was the music.

The New 7UP

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:39:55 -0400

The New 7UP is now 100% natural. Somehow it doesn't taste any better. If you let it sit for a few minutes it's worse than club soda.

How about that Sprite? I see very bizarre Sprite commercials with multi-color sumo wrestlers.

Remember in 1991 when Cindy Crawford unveiled the new Pepsi logo? Well, I remember it. Why couldn't 7UP (or Sprite) just do that?

Or they could have somehow utilized the stolen Coke formula. But I've always preferred the taste of Pepsi over Coke (nothing to do with the aforementioned supermodel).

Ahh the mysteries of the carbonated refreshment world.

Marriage Requires Risks and ... Public Nudity

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:28:35 -0400

So the best way to convince your girlfriend to marry you is to run across the street naked.

The man responded that taking risks is an important part of life and, to prove his point, jumped out of a first-floor window and ran naked across the street. Before he could return, he spotted a couple walking and hid in some bushes to avoid them. A 28-year-old man noticed the bushes rustling and bare feet underneath, then drew a .40-caliber handgun and ordered the naked man out, police said. The naked suitor ran away, but the armed man gave chase and threatened to shoot, police said. The gunman fired a shot and the naked man fell to the ground, suffering minor injuries.

Other serious questions are also raised, can I shoot at any unclothed person on the street? Did his girlfriend say yes? Was the gun man shooting at anything in particular? Would a woman do this to convince her boyfriend? Would she be shot? ... Or maybe this only applies in Ann Arbor. I'll have to think about that.

End of the World

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 18:02:46 -0400

Apparently today should be the end of the world or something like that. Seeing as the 666 is the mark of the beast or something like that and today is 06/06/06 based on some gregorian calendar or something like that. To that effect the remake of the 1976 classic horror movie The Omen was released today. I just thought it would be funny to note that I watched the original movie for the first time exactly 66 + 6 days ago. Imagine that. And if I am so lame, I could also wait a few minutes or so and post this at 6:06 Central Time! But I think I made my point.

Long Live MJM!

Tue, 09 May 2006 08:22:51 -0400

The "real" Mahesh Reddy started blogging ... again. When I was chatting with him he mentioned that he happened to stumble upon a link to my site, by accident. I thought that was cool. Its funny what we find by accident on the web.

Apparently those who read my resources on my website are very appreciative. Some much more than others. Often I get some messages from overseas. I so very much want to publish my "fan" mail (or email rather) but I don't want to humiliate or make fun of people who may not speak english as their primary language.

I stumbled upon this by pure accident and apparently it is an old post, but it made me smile. Someone from Burma: Nyein Chan

Cheer MJM! Long Live MJM.

So to pay my respects: Free Burma!!!.

But one of my favorites will always be from a Chinese student last year:

I am boy come from China , I am major in computer too , So I get your website from www.google.com. I am fall in love with Linux too.

There was more, but I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. Why can't more females contact me??? I would say free China or something to that effect, but I would hate to be blocked out by the "Great Firewall of China". Ahh well, it is good be appreciated.

Back from Germany

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:38:35 -0400

What a trip!

I went to Germany last week on a business trip and it turned out to be quite an interesting experience filled with fun, stress, food, booze, late nights and women. Okay, maybe not the last one, but I had a great time (ignoring work). The Germans are a funny bunch. I can't recall all the differences I saw between them and American culture, but I want to mention some of the things that I observed.

Food. The main components of German diet are pork and beer. The menu's consist of 75% 'swine' meals and the remaining is beef (with a little fish and fowl). But the fowl was scarce due to fears of the avian flu. They love the juicy bacon, not the crisp stuff. Even the veggies are sprinkled with bacon!! ... And the portions are huge! Well if you run a meal at 15 euro, that's almost $20 US (ie. everything was just a tad bit expensive -- tip and tax are automatic). The odd part of the meat is that it's seldom seasoned. Just huge slabs of meat. Just huge.

Drink About 5 yrs ago, someone told me that once you get used to German beers you won't like anything else. Hmmm, some truth in that maybe. ... They prefer hefeweizen which to me was a 'misty' beer that seemed a lot thicker. Odd at first, you develop a taste for it rather quickly. Although the dark beer ('dunkel') did have a nicer taste. Curious though, the bars did not have much variety with the harder drinks. Maybe it was their lack of understanding my english?

Toilets The men's standing toilets seemed like little bowls mounted on the wall. No privacy. Just everybody standing friendly next to eachother. Of course, the Germans aren't as uptight as Americans (which explains a lot). ... Toilet tissue leaved a lot to be desired. Interestingly most of the restrooms I saw always had lots of open TP laying around. In the US you have to lock it up so people won't steal it. And the final kicker: the TP is like sand paper!!! Go home and hug your Charmin and tell it how much you appreciate it.

Sex Again, the Germans are open and free. Driving to the hotel, there are posters and billboards all over with ads for "erotic materials". Absolutely no big deal. You can find a 'Sex Shop' in the middle of other stores. Buy some groceries, try on some clothes, pick up some XXX magazines. Curious. And the television isn't much different. After 10 (or maybe 11) the commercials on several channels are littered with all sorts of ads for 'erotic' things. See I couldn't quite figure it out. I thought it was possibly phone sex or something. But it was also SMS messaging, and other weird stuff. But, you see the girls are totally naked. And that's only the commercials. Very odd. --- Don't worry, I was almost never in my room except to sleep.

Lots of other interesting things. ... The autobahn was a bit wild. I saw our cabby pull 165km/hr more than once. ... Lots of absolutely tiny tiny cars. ... No such things as 'non-smoking areas'. People smoke everywhere. And there are cigarette vending machines, with not a few varieties - but 40. Clothes smell. I even saw ashtrays in the stairwells at work. ... Impressive how the restaurants and bars have many english speaking waiters (and attractive waitresses). ... Airport security is about 3x times more intense than in the US. ...

It was a very fascinating trip. I'll bet most of the above isn't too specific to Germany and maybe Europe as a whole, but still hard for me to guess either way. Anyways, I'm glad I got the opportunity.