Chuqui 3.0

back in SoCal again....

haven't been blogging again, sorry. Life's complicated. I'm down in SoCal with the family again, helping out. Unfortunately, dad went in for a medical test a couple of weeks ago, and that led to his admittance into the hospital and a triple-bypass. We've had some complications, and he continues in hospital, and I'm down here helping mom and the family while we work with the doctors to help him get through this.

For now, though, real life is getting in the way of blogging. So it goes, and it puts all of this online stuff in some interesting perspective. I was going to make some commentary on scoble's latest over (horrors!) having a comment deleted, but man, that seems so -- trivial -- right now.

I have plenty I plan on writing, I just need the time (and emotional energy) to write.

until then, stay tuned.

So I'm reading Uncle Walt talk about this new Forrester report, and...

Apple Daydreaming: Report Predicts Move Toward Home Devices | Nick Wingfield | Personal Technology | AllThingsD:

Forrester’s conclusion: While much of Apple’s great successes have been mobile products such as the iPod and the iPhone, the company will seek to colonize rooms throughout the home.

... and I keep thinking "this sounds familiar. Didn't someone else already say basically this same thing?

Oh yeah. Someone did.

Me.

In 2005.

right on the bleeding edge again, Forrester... Way to go. (grin)

(actually, one of their suggestions I love -- I'd love a good digital picture frame with wifi/internet capability that I could program to read either from a local Mac or from flickr for photo sharing. One for my wall, one for my office, and one for my mom's house...)

Chuqui 3.0: Good Morning Silicon Valley: Jobs to Cringely: Thanks, Bob. I haven't laughed that hard in years.:

So just look at Apple the last 18 months: iPod. iPhoto. a growing retail presence. better penetration into other retail channels (and OEM agreements with HP, for instance) -- and then extrapolate into "what's next" -- not the next iPod, but what's the next appliance? and the one after that? and...

Whatever it is, it'll run OS X, but you'll never see it. Just like you don't see LInux in your Tivo.

And no, I"m not suggesting Apple's going to buld a Tivo, or even a Tivo killer. But it might -- and the fight for domination of the living room and the home media aspects of the future home are just beginning. And Apple's already moving into that space -- it doesn't take a dummy to think Apple will keep finding ways to grow into that space. But it would have been a lot tougher doing so with PowerPC driving whatever boxes are going to be built. Intel makes those more affordable and cooler, and more powerful.

So the real fight isn't MIcrosoft (except, maybe, the Xbox), or Dell -- it's Sony and Panasonic and the others also moving into these consumer electronic spaces.

Two for Elbowing: Saying "Thanks" to Peter Magowan

Two for Elbowing: Saying "Thanks" to Peter Magowan:

We interrupt the hockey talk for a minute to thank Peter Magowan for everything he's done for the Bay Area Sports fan.

And for those that don't normally read it, over on Two for Elbowing, I say thanks to Peter Magowan, retiring from his position with the Giants, for all he's done over the years.

Daring Fireball Linked List: May 2008

Daring Fireball: Icahn Launches Yahoo Challenge

The problem with Icahn’s argument is that Yahoo’s stock price remains significantly above where it was prior to Microsoft’s offer. Yes, it’s still below what Microsoft offered, but not by much.

And the problem with this argument is that Icahn has been propping up Yahoo's stock by buying significant chunks of the shares. If you look at Yahoo's stock since the Microsoft deal collapsed, you can clearly see places where automated buying was kicking in every time the stock tried to drop below a given price point, and buying that was grabbing significant chunks of stock. In retrospect, it was clear Icahn (and probably others) were grabbing on weakness, but not letting the stock get too weak so that others might step in first. So the real question is "where would the stock be if Icahn wasn't buying all available shares?", and secondarily, if he changes his mind and liquidates, what will that do to the stock price? answer to these questions is far from positive for Yahoo. And the current stock price is not so much because that's where Yahoo ought to be, but because there are a bunch of investors seeing a profit to be made. If that ability fades and they all liquidate their holdings, watch out. Where would Yahoo's stock be? Certainly not $27 where it is now. Not $19, which is where it was when Microsoft walked in (but which, to me, was an over-reaction down that Microsoft saw as an opportunity) -- but $22? I'd bet on something around there. And frankly, if Icahn wasn't buying up available shares around $25, then some other shark would be buying them at $23 and willing to take a profit at $28 instead of $31. Even if Yahoo fights off Icahn (and few companies succeed there without losing at least an arm), there's another person like him who'll likely step in at the next price point down..

Life in LA LA land...

I've been down in LA again, visiting family. This time, it's because Dad was scheduled for an angiogram on Friday, and I felt it made sense to be here in case anything happened.

Well, the test found three arteries about 99% clogged, so he was immediately admitted into the hospital because the doctors felt he was too risky to allow home. Arrangements were made, and this morning, he went into surgery for a triple bypass. I'm happy to say that he came through fine and was in recovery and from talking to the doctor, there seemed to be no complications. If all goes well, he'll be in the hospital another week or so, then I'll head down to LA again to help get him home and settled.

The family (and myself) are all nicely de-stressing now, too.

So it's been an interesting week or so especially the last couple of days. I've been using the down time to study up on some work stuff, and have gotten out when I can to go out and do some walking and birding (trying to, instead of stress eat, get out and get some exercise. So far, it's worked)....

It's been a positive trip for birding -- spring migration is on, so the migrant traps are busy. I'm about five minutes from Tri-City park in Placentia, so that's where I head when I don't have much time. In researching orange county birding, I also ran across Lakeview Park, which is on the Santa Ana "river", and happens to be literally next door to the kaiser hospital (on Lakeview in Anaheim) where dad had his tests (his surgery is up in San Bernadino at a place that specializes in heart surgery).

I also took some time out Sunday for a more extended trip, visiting Huntington Beach Central Park for the first time, and a return visit to Bolsa Chica and then a quick drive up Newport Back Bay.

All in all, I added 7 birds to my life list:

Warbling Vireo, Orange-Crowned Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo, Least Tern, Elegant Tern, Rufous Hummingbird and Ash-throated Flycatcher, taking the life list to 196 (with a goal of 200 for the year, I've probably set the bar too low. Maybe I'll shoot for 200 species for the year list).

The year list added those 7, plus four more: Wilson's Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Semipalmated Plover, and Bewick's Wren, giving me 164 for the year.

I finally added two problematic birds to my list: Orange-Crowned Warbler and Rufous Hummingbird. OC Warbler isn't all that difficult a bird, but even when I've been in a group and had it called out, I've had trouble pulling it out of trees and identifying it to my satisfaction. This trip, I finally did so, so I can check it off. It was with a large group (20+) flock of warblers wandering Tri-city park, mostly yellow and Townsend's with some Wilson's for spice. And -- I think -- at least one Hermit, but I never got a good enough look to be sure and no photos. The photos I thought might be a candidate are bad pictures of a Townsend's that make it hard to see the facial coloration. Ohwell. I'm pretty sure a Hermit was with that flock, though, but not enough to call it out for sure.

And rufous? they've just been hiding from me, even in places like Ed Levin where they're known to congregate. Adn twice I ran into birds down south that turned out to be Allen's, but I finalyl hit an adult I could sit and study enough to be able to differentiate it from the Allen's.

Here's a hummingbird that looks to be a barely-fledged rufous or Allen's (probably Allen's) -- you can see just the barest hint of the gold/orange on the sides starting to come out, and there's almost no green yet. Teh orange makes it selaphorus, and the general lack of color makes it real young. Doesn't hurt that I saw Allen's at that location, so I'm fairly sure they were nesting there.

More enjoyable, though, was being able to pull out some of the vireos and get good enough looks and photos to get solid IDs. Those birds can be tough; I found a spot at Huntington Central Park where there were a lot of canopy birds and a snag that actually went into the lake, and the birds were using it as a staging point to get down to the water to drink. It almost made it a bit too easy:

One negative: bad light (grey and overcast) so I was shooting with flash, including a Miligrid flash extender, and I'm not thrilled iwth the light catches in the eyes in some cases. ohwell.

This is one where the light catch works well, adn the flash really brings out the faint olive coloring on the side:

And for the Plumbeous, notice the different eyebrow than the warbling:

Newport Back bay was really quiet, and I was running short on time, so I only stopped at the observation parking lot, and wandered across the street into the brushy area up in the hill rather than focus on the wetlands. It's a hangout for swallows and sparrows and stuff, and I was hoping to run into a loggerhead shrike or a blue-grey gnatcatcher (both seen there in the past by people I know); no luck, and it was pretty quiet other than the song sparrows, until the rufous popped up and gave me a good look, and then this bird popped up into a bush and hung out for a minute or two. I immediately realized it was a flycatcher ("Say's Phoebe. Boring. No, wait, not with that head!...."). Those two species made the side trip on the way home more than worthwhile...

I'd originally planned on either a run down to Salton Sea, or up into Carrizo Plain and Morro Bay, but of course, plans changed. maybe next trip, once dad is settled. But I don't think I did badly at all, and I'm starting to get the hang of tracking and seeing canopy birds better, and getting some decent photos.

And I can't not show off the ducks... Came back from the birding trip to the beach, only to say to mom "did you know you have ducks in the back yard?". fortunately, while they like the idea of nesting in the garden and using the pool, Remy had other ideas, and they moved on...

On the other hand, the neighborhood is pretty birdy, if not exotic: two mockingbird nests, a black phoebe couple, and for some reason, a flock of bushtits have moved in and are systematically cleaning all of the bugs and stuff off my mom's window screens....

My entire photo set is, as always, on flickr).

BERKELEY / Professor rips Caltrans over maze rebuild / He says work was too hasty and costly

BERKELEY / Professor rips Caltrans over maze rebuild / He says work was too hasty and costly:

But Astaneh said Caltrans should have taken the time to do the job right. Instead of simply repairing the fire-damaged portion of a concrete column, he said, all four support columns should have been torn down and rebuilt from scratch. And, said Astaneh, the work could have been done in 21 days for $1.5 million instead of the $5.9 million it cost, including bonuses for early completion, to get it done in 17 days.

and I wonder what four days of the traffic disruption and the economic cost of that disruption would be worth... Just looking at the cost of the repair exclusive of the costs of not having the repair in place is a biased analysis.

The Real Upgrade Apple Should Make To .Mac: Set It Free

The Real Upgrade Apple Should Make To .Mac: Set It Free (AAPL) - Silicon Alley Insider:

With .Mac and the iPhone, Steve Jobs has a chance to get people even more tied in to Apple services. Which is what Apple is all about. (See: iTunes.) But until .Mac is free -- at least the mainstream stuff like email, calendar synching, photo galleries, etc. -- we think it will continue to be a small, niche service at best.

Small? Niche? a year ago, it had over a million paying customers. What .Mac doesn't have is panache among the echo chamber of the geek elite. For the general non-geek consumer, it's doing just fine, thanks.

of course, to some people, if it's not hot among the bleeding-edge scouts, it doesn't matter, though, even if it has a large audience and is making money...

How many reasons do you need to not blog?

In theory, only one, if it's good enough.

But it's been one of those busy, complicated times the last while, but less than 24 hours after the Sharks ended their hockey season (and, of course, the hockey talk is over at Two for Elbowing), I'm jazzed to be able to say that at work, we've launched a new application that I think is really neat:

Introducing Laszlo Calendar:

Our Webtop family has grown to include a personal Calendar, a perfect complement to Laszlo Mail and Contacts. As we said earlier, Calendar is the most requested application and, while we’ve taken a lot of time to get this right, we have decided to release it a little early — as a Preview — because we want to know what you think.

Getting my parts of the beast ready has been a challenge, but also a lot of fun, and I'm really happy with the results. And we might even get a minute or two to catch our breath, but to be honest, there are some more fun things coming soon, and I have a bunch of work over on the openlaszlo.org site I need to wrap up.

But things will likely get livelier here again soon. Towards the end of the week, I'll be headed down to LA to visit the family again, because dad's going in for a medical test and I wanted to be around and get in the way; taking a day of vacation on the way back, and I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing -- Carrizo Plain and Morro Bay is the most likely, but I'm also thinking of Salton Sea for some birding and exploring the desert a bit, or perhaps a run up 395 to Bishop and up the back of the Sierras to Tahoe via mono lake. It'll come down to weather and how much driving I want to do...

Lots of stuff pending time to blog about. But until then...

4 million iTunes songs disappear, speculations abound

4 million iTunes songs disappear, speculations abound - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW):

Now the blogosphere is buzzing with the fact that Apple said they had over "10 million" songs in their library, then later changed the page to say "6 million." That's a difference of 4 million songs unaccounted for

Oh, good lordie. The blogosphere needs a life some days.

I'll bet that the first number is the total number of songs in all of the iTunes stores globally. And the second number is the U.S. iTunes list only, because someone realized that they do have that many songs, but nobody can actually access them all because of licensing restrictions. both numbers are probably correct, the larger number is one that opens Apple to "inflation criticism", so someone probably made the call to go with the U.S. store number.

Nothing to see here. Back to your parent's basement, you people who actually care about this...

Cool Tools Mac Power Block Hack (mine's better)

Cool Tools 08 Test:

Every Mac comes with a long, bulky power cord and a small 2-prong nub. You can interchange them, but both are far from optimal for travel and field work (i.e. conference/convention blogging). Here's my fix: use a power cord from a Sony PlayStation. There are other cords that will also fit into the Mac power brick, but the PlayStation cord is easy to find. Where the Mac power cord is too thick to easily coil or toss in a bag -- and has a ground prong so it's limited to those types of AC outlets -- the PlayStation cord is ostensibly perfect. It fits into the Mac power brick, coils up nice and small and has two prongs.

nice hack, but there's an even easier one: I always toss the three-prong cord and use the stubby two-prong connector on my blocks, and then I carry a 6 foot, white, two prong extension cord (about $2 just about any place). Has all of the advantages of this hack, but you end up with three outlets, which has come in exceptionally handy in hotel rooms (I use it for my CPAP, for instance, or when I'm in a room with wired internet access for the airport express as well as the mac) and in meetings where a couple of us can plug in and recharge on the fly easily. And it's a standard off the shelf part you can grab at a drug store if you for some reason forget to pack it...

I'm a fan of Alton Brown's advice: no uni-taskers. Carrying a lightweight extension cord in your computer bag gives you options beyond just plugging in your laptop.

Oh, and my solution doesn't void my warranty. This -- probably doesn't -- but if there's a problem of some sort, it could lead to disagreements. I'm always for not creating situations that lead to those kind of arguments unnecessarily...