simple diet

The following are copied straight from a nice article by Philip Greenspun which does not deal with diets.

Diet #1:

In the 1980s Steve Ward, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, described a sure-fire dieting scheme. “All that you need for my diet is graph paper, a ruler, and a pencil,” Steve would explain. “The horizontal axis is time, one line per day. The vertical axis is weight in lbs. You plot your current weight on the left side of the paper. You plot your desired weight on a desired date towards the right side, making sure that you’ve left the correct number of lines in between (one per day). You draw a line from the current weight/date to the desired weight/date. Every morning you weigh yourself and plot the result. If the point is below the line, you eat whatever you want all day. If the point is above the line, you eat nothing but broccoli or some other low-calorie food.”

Diet #2:

Harry Greenspun, M.D., one of America’s most brilliant doctors, offers his own diet: “Don’t eat anything that a Caveman wouldn’t have eaten; humans have not had enough time to adapt biologically to the agricultural revolution.” What does that mean? “You can eat meat, vegetables that you pick up from the ground and fruits that you pick out of a tree. Don’t eat pasta, bread, corn, potatoes, and other products of modern agriculture.”

network speeds (intervallo)

Useless stats on network speeds using speedtest.net.

• Eni / ??? / Milano
  70932 kbps (download) 16594 kbps (upload)
  ping 13 ms
  
• Wind / ADSL / Bari
  535 kbps (download) 213 kbps (upload)
  ping 126 ms
  
• Alice / ADSL / Pietro Bari
  2696 kbps (download) 251 kbps (upload)
  ping 115 ms
  
• Fastweb / ADSL / Giulia
  4840 kbps (download) 854 kbps (upload)
  ping 14 ms
  
• Alice / ADSL / Filippo
  6796kbps (download) 401 kbps (upload)
  ping 49 ms
  
• BT / ADSL / Londra Giulia
  5760kbps (download) 363 kbps (upload)
  ping 108 ms
  
• Fastweb / Optical
  7440 kbps (download) 6156 kbps (upload)
  ping 7 ms
  
• Fastweb / Optical / wifi no encryption
  7934 kbps (download) 6650 kb/s (upload)
  ping 6 ms
  
• Fastweb / Optical / wifi wep 128bit
  8199 kbps (download) 6222 kb/s (upload)
  ping 10 ms

elastic moduli of alcoholic drinks – help needed

I’m in charge of a very important research project here at Acme Ltd., a major player in the oil business. With the latest state-of-the-art equipment I study the effects of hydrocarbons on seismic data; one way to do that is to model a porous medium filled with fluid which is like a rock filled with oil or shit.

There is a set of equations studied by two guys (Batzle and Wang) that are widely used in the industry to compute the elastic properties of a reservoir fluid starting from environmental parameters such as pressure and temperature.

So far, so conventional.

So what I want to do now is to model the effect that alcoholic drinks have on the seismic response of a reservoir. And I need your help. So if you happen to know bulk moduli and density of the following drinks, well known in Italy as “digestivi”, please send them over:

• Cynar
• Aperol
• Limoncello
• Padre Peppe

The scientific community will be forever grateful.

the future according to google

An interesting piece was published a few days ago on the official google blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/future-of-search.html

Let me quote two passages:

It would be much nicer if we had a device with great connectivity that could do searches without interruption. One far-fetched idea: how about a wearable device that does searches in the background based on the words it picks up from conversations, and then flashes relevant facts?

So what’s our straightforward definition of the ideal search engine? Your best friend with instant access to all the world’s facts and a photographic memory of everything you’ve seen and know.

The first idea is (to me) scary as hell. Do I really want the electronic equivalent of the know-it-all friend that is constantly ‘flashing’ information, little pieces of knowledge when I try to follow the stream of my thoughts or a conversation with a friend ? No thanks, I’d rather be alone and do the search later on (and only on things that I really care about).

I already feel like too much data is around us. This is like calling for information overload, and the risk is that you won’t be able to gather your own thinking, your own ideas, because somebody else in the world has already done that. Well that’s certainly true but then you would become a data collector, or a data linker. A man needs to reinvent the wheel every now and again, otherwise he loses the perception of his inner mental strength, or the ability to think for himself.

The second quotation then: it sounds like the official definition of search engine according to google. Don’t you think that it looks very similar to the idea of the superentity that is present in so many science fiction tales ? The superentity that invariably decides to go against humanity (other scenario: tries to help the humanity in its own distorted way, like for example exterminating 99% of the population leaving only the genetically advanced alive) ?

iPhone a Sauze d’Oulx

Questo finesettimana ho fatto una delle mie solite improvvisate; sveglia alle 8, tempo indecente, cosa faccio allora: vado in Piemonte a controllare se li’ invece il tempo e’ buono. Piemonte significa Sauze d’Oulx, che non ho idea di come si pronunci quindi a voce direi “Salice d’Ulzio” (traduzione ufficiale). Significa anche: September Fest, una sorta di manifestazione di mountain bike con impianti di risalita aperti durante tutto il weekend, stand espositivi di varie marche, eccetera eccetera.

Ho fatto dei fanghi molto salutari; ho passato piu’ tempo a scivolare giu’ per le discese che altro. Ma lo scopo di questo post e’ semplicemente di raccontare quanto mi e’ stato utile il mio nuovo iPhone (courtesy of my brother).

• durante il viaggio in auto, ascolto dei Kinks (Wish I Could Fly Like Superman, Low Budget,) e Woody Allen (The Moose, Oral Contraception) e qualche podcast (NPR’s Science, Berkeley Groks);
• qualche foto, di quelle tipiche da macchinetta usa e getta che si sa, l’iPhone e’ un po’ scarso da questo punto di vista; ma il piu’ delle volte quando sei da qualche parte tutto infangato, impegnato solo a fare discese con la bici, portarsi dietro telefonino e macchina fotografica (anche la minuscola Ixus 60 che uso abitualmente) e’ un po’ troppo. In tal caso, trovo che la possibilita’ di fare ‘istantanee’ al volo col telefonino e’ sufficiente per placare l’animo; e non dimentichiamoci la possibilita’ di inviarle tramite email al volo, mentre sei sulla seggiovia ad esempio !
• guardare un film la sera in albergo (Seasons e Virtuous; ovviamente di mountain bike);
• leggere le news la mattina durante la colazione sul miglior sito ‘mobile’ in circolazione, quello del New York Times;
• controllare la email, ovviamente.

Fatemi sapere come utilizzate il vostro iPhone; usate il modulo qui sotto se volete raccontarmi una vostra giornata tipo in cui avete sfruttato intensamente il giocattolino. I migliori racconti saranno pubblicati su queste pagine (wow).

Nome (richiesto)

Email (richiesta)

Sito Web

Solo Testo. Non sono concessi markup.

cheap GPS for motorbikes

Draft Draft Draft Draft Draft Draft Draft Draft Draft Draft

Introduction

The Garmin Edge 205 is one of the best GPS for biking; it’s small, lightweight (only 88g !), and it’s specifically designed for cyclists/mountain bikers. It doesn’t have any mapping capabilities, featuring only a small (128×160 pixel) grayscale lcd display; but on a mountain bike you really don’t want to bring a flashy, bulkier, battery-devouring gadget while traversing valleys, ascending peaks and freeriding your way down on your typical all-day long mountain epic.

But I was thinking: can I use this little thing also on a motorbike ? Because the cool thing of this Garmin is that it allows you to follow a pre-loaded route; that’s the main use for me when cycling, so I don’t spend too much time on routefinding, and concentrate on riding the technical bits of the trail.

So after scouting around on the internet I have come up with this recipe to study an itinerary on Google Maps, load it onto your Edge, and also add specific location of interests as ‘waypoints’. And all that with free software ! How cool is that ?

The recipe

1. get driving direction in Google Maps
2. export it to KML or GPX format (see below for details on how to do this)
3. use TCX Converter to load the KML (or GPX) file and then save it as .TCX
4. use Garmin Training Center (free software download for all Garmin GPS devices) to upload the .trk to
5. Edge

6. go to bed
7. …
8. …
9. wake up ! the sun is shining and the roads are empty !
10. mount the Edge somewhere on your motorbike.
11. go to “Training”, Do Course.
12. follow the course

How to save Google Maps driving directions as a KML/GPX file

Option A

Straight from this cool post:

• Get your driving directions the way you want in Google Maps
• Click on the “Link to this page” in the upper right of Google Maps. You should get a little window with a long URL. Copy the URL by right-clicking on it.
• Simply append “&output=kml” to the end of the URL
• Select the entire URL and copy it to your paste buffer (CTRL-C for example)
• Paste the URL it into your browser’s location URL pane at the top; append “&output=kml” to the end of the URL, then hit ENTER. This should bring up a window asking what to do with the file; save it somewhere on your computer

Option B

Go to this site: http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/ and follow the instructions.

Additional notes

I don’t really like map-based GPS devices: they make us lazier, people follow the indications of the little machine and have no fuckin idea where in the world are they, where’s the north and where’s home; tell me what happens when the battery dies. Still, I understand that (at least here in Italy), it’s pretty difficult to get lost, at least on our normal backcountry roads. And I understand that not everybody cares too much about basic orienteering skills.

My point is: always have a map with you; it’s the most dependable orienteering device you can have.

I realize that not everybody will go and buy a GPS designed for bycicles for their motorbike trips; not everybody will go though the hassle of preparing their itineraries the day before; so I guess this is a solution for all the nerds out there, Nerds like me that profoundly dislike pre-packaged food.

Also think about this: the retail price for the Edge 205 is EUR250 as of today. I’ve bought mine on ebay for EUR100. All the software that I’ve used is free. I don’t think GPS solutions come cheaper than this.

It’s not probably the way of things that you guys with the BMW will enjoy; too cheap. But I’m thinking to the people riding Suzuki DR350, or Yamaha Tricker, or any type of offroad bike; or people that do touring on a budget; or the maniacs doing the Valentino Rossi on the passes — think about this, you can also skip the preparation part, mount the Edge on the [piastra di sterzo] of your 999, hit the start button, and then ride the 50km of the ss67 from [...] up to the Muraglione pass; then you export the track back home, email it to your friend that will load it as a route to follow. He will then have also a shadow of you, pulling away because you’re obviously faster than him. And while he tries to catch the little white arrow on the tiny display of the GPS he crashes into a truck. Ok, one biker down, who’s next ?

There’s actually two models of the Edge; the 205 and the 305. The 305 is exactly the same, but also has a heartrate monitor (and is more expensive). Pretty useless if the exercise you’re doing it’s just opening the throttle.

References

• very useful FAQ (in italian) on the Garmin Edge here:
  http://www.bike-board.net/community/forum/showthread.php?t=84541

• TCX Converter by DDAAXX (both windows and mac versions available):
  http://www.visivaworld.it/blog.php/tcx-converter-by-ddaaxx/album/download

version 10.0 climbing partner

I have recently subscribed to Alpinist, a truly wonderful magazine; there was this very funny cartoon here that I just had to share with my climbing friends. So I took my D70s, grabbed a picture and here it is: version 10.0 Climbing Partner.

By the way, I wonder why there is no such thing here in Italy as Alpinist or Dirt Rag ?

24-talk

Situation: you are in the train with no ticket. The ticket inspector asks for your ticket. You lower your voice, and say:
“My name is Jack Bauer, I am following a suicide bomber who’s right now on this train. Walk away and don’t look back”.

Situation: you need a car to do your shopping for the weekend. You spot a guy entering his Corvette, so you punch him in the face and while he’s down, shout:
“Stay down !”

Situation: you need to check if your son is going to school or not. You call CTU, and ask:
“Chloe, Give me satellite coverage”.

Situation: You are in a meeting to discuss some business strategies, but you fall asleep. You wake up and there’s your boss asking your opinion on somebody. You reply is:
“Sir, we have to find him. Right now, he’s our only chance of finding ( Sahid / Ahmed / Nazir )”.

Situation: you wife has been mistaken for Abu Asham (an islamic terrorist) and therefore killed by FBI agents, so you swear to God you’ll never ever work for the government again. Then the President calls you asking to help his kid since he can’t find his dog Bernie anymore. Your reply to the President:
“Yes, mr. President”.

Situation: you are tortured by chinese agents. Special forces agents come to rescue you, then they give you to russian terrorists because if they don’t these terrorists will detonate a nuclear device in Santa Barbara. The President calls you to say how sorry he is and that your sacrifice will not be in vain. Your reply to the President:
“Thank you, mr. President”.

isight

Playing with my iSight.
Have a look at this set on flickr for a few more (some funny ones, some angry ones):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aadm/sets/72157594415951730/

breviario di inglese tecnico

Le fonti da cui ho attinto sono “senior professionals” dell’azienda presso cui lavoro.

Grammatica di base

Verbi: uso arbitrario della terza persona singolare e selezione casuale degli ausiliari (es.: “it doesn’t goes”).
Sostantivi: abolizione della rigida distinzione tra forme singolari e plurali. La ’s’ finale va messa a seconda delle fasi lunari.

instead to+verbo: lett. per “invece di” (e.g., “instead to have”)
before to+verbo: lett. per “prima di” (e.g., “before to start”)

Alcuni verbi cambiano rispetto all’old english:
to send: regolare (I sended a letter).

Si introducono nuovi verbi, a piacimento dell’oratore:
to posseed = to have (the istrument possiids two sensors)

Poi non mancano le bellissime forme mutuate dall’inglese francofono:
what’s mean (what it means is…)
what’s happen (what happens is…)

Immancabili vocaboli tecnico-manageriali da usare a mitraglietta nelle riunioni:
niz: needs
no’ au: know-how

Frasario tecnico

The saignal can arrives at the surface where is storied in digital format.
The tool generates currents that’s goes into the rock.
Sometime it generates a vrong response.
If you don’t performs this step.
It detect the diameters (o “diameter’s”; non so bene, mancavano i sottotitoli) of the borehole.
We have logs that posseeds different property. So before to start we …
Forced agan the wall.
Must necessary falls on this calibration line.
The neutron logs is a logs that…
So if you goes in the chart and you take a points there…
(filofosico) Remember, the matrix is speed, the water is slow.
Assolutely no.
Disposition of points on the graph.
Saimbols.

Per finire una citazione direttamente dal libretto con le procedure di evacuazione distributi alla divisione di recruiting/addestramento interna:

Italiano:
In caso di allarme abbandonare immediatamente in maniera ordinata l’edificio usando le uscite di emergenza.

Inglese:
Please leave the building immediately in orderly fashion using the emergency exits.