Archive for August, 2007
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31 Aug 2007
A web-based energy audit tool. Everyone should give it a try. -
31 Aug 2007New work machine
Macintosh SE/30, courtesy of Justin. It's got an Ethernet card, but System 7 is essentially useless. I think it's going to get NetBSD.
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29 Aug 2007
Boston has been considering linking the two halves of its weird bus/subway hybrid Silver Line for a while now. The so-called Phase III project has gone through several designs and redesigns, one of which called for a 0.6-mile long tunnel for a cost of $780 million ($1.3B per mile). More recent proposals were saner and cheaper, but people who live downtown complain about the added traffic and noise of articulated buses that hardly anyone uses anyway.
But that got me thinking: That’s just a bus tunnel. How does that cost (nearly a quarter-million dollars per foot!) compare to historical Boston subway projects? The red line was extended in the early 80′s from Harvard Square to Alewife. That 3.2 mile extension cost $579 million, including three new stations. In today’s dollars, that’d be about $459 million per mile, or about one third the price of that Silver Line plan. Sure, a tunnel through downtown would be a more complex project, but that seems extreme.
And for the anti-drivers in the audience, for the cost of the Big Dig ($14.6 billion, and it’s not yet done), Boston could have built 31.8 miles of subway including 30 new stations. That’d reach to Nashua.
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28 Aug 2007
Perfect patterns for every level, including the 9th key hiding spot pattern.
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27 Aug 2007
Facebook has a lot of good things going for it, but openness is definitely not one of them.
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27 Aug 2007
Recently listened to: CAKE – Prolonging the Magic, a-ha – Analogue, Red Hot Chili Peppers – One Hot Minute
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26 Aug 2007
Western Massachusetts has several notable mountains. The highest mountain in the state (Mt. Greylock) is there. More interestingly, Mt. Frissell, whose southern slope contains the highest point in Connecticut (Bear Mountain, the highest peak in CT, is about 50 feet lower) is in the Southwestern corner. There is another summit nearby that induces the exact same reaction from every single person. That mountain is Mt. Everett. [pause for audience pun] No, Mt. Everett.
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The hike from Jug End Rd in Great Barrington to the peak of Mt. Everett is a moderate 9.2-mile round trip (it took us just under 6 hours). The beginning of the hike features some rock scrambling and some confusing switchbacks. Enough people have missed the switchbacks that the ground is worn in a trail-like manner going in the wrong direction. For the first mile or so, make sure to pay careful attention to the white blazes. You’ll get to the top of a ridge that would have had some great views if it wasn’t the hottest, humidest, haziest day of the year. At about the 4-mile mark, you arrive at Guilder Pond, a really fantastic swimming hole. If it’s a hot day, bring a pair of trunks and a towel and a water filter. You’ll be glad you did. (We didn’t.)
The top of Mt. Everett is actually pretty dull. The fire tower was torn down in 2003, and all that’s left is the foundation. By the time you get to the pond, you’ve already climbed most of the way up. The 360-degree view looks like it’s probably pretty great on clear days.
Note: I realized the other day that M and I do a whole lot of hiking. I want to start writing up some of them here 1) for posterity, 2) for future reference, and 3) so you and random Googlers can use our experience to plan hikes.
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23 Aug 2007
See how your car performs in a test crash. Me? I hope I don't get T-boned.
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23 Aug 2007
Intricate and carefully planned monuments to an obsessed mind
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22 Aug 2007
It's like magic
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21 Aug 2007
I respect the political tightrope they had been trying to negotiate, but a Jewish organization not recognizing it seemed particularly hypocritical. Better late than never.
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20 Aug 2007
Recently listened to: Daft Punk – Human After All, MUM – Summer Make Good, Apollo Sunshine – Apollo Sunshine
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18 Aug 2007
Dear Plutor of the future: I know that the crumbling economy, skyrocketing gas prices, and warming climate trend has likely made the world of 2008 a bleak Mad Maxian landscape. If the grocery stores are even open anymore, the selection is likely poor — jicama and tomatillos being among the very few surviving produce. But I have good news for you. I know of a place where, ideally in August, you can pick and eat delicious ripe blackberries until you explode. I will leave the task of fashioning a boat out of household materials to you[1] — I’m certain that as the world spun towards chaos, the last issue of Make Magazine was particularly helpful. You’ll need to boat straight out from the end of South Boston to Spectacle Island. Once there, hope that the trails have not yet been completely overgrown, and follow them to the north drumlin. Along the path, you’ll see the plants, but the mother lode is just before you get to the hilltop, on the left.
Bring a few containers. And good luck.
[1] – I don’t envy you this task. In 2007, there was a Ferry that you could pay $12 to bring you to Spectacle Island and the many other harbor islands. It was fun for a number of reasons other than the fruitful bounty.
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17 Aug 2007Chris Columbus
In the North End near the waterfront
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17 Aug 2007Marilyn, $40
Justin at the fantastic Philip-Lorca diCorcia exhibit at Boston's ICA.
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16 Aug 2007
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15 Aug 2007
Because XPath is too verbose and DOM manipulation is missing too many features, and they're both too browser-specific.
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14 Aug 2007
Shoot falling numbers with their prime factors!
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14 Aug 2007
Phenomenal. Matches up "anonymous" edits to IP addresses owned by Fox News, WalMart, the Democratic Party, etc.
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13 Aug 2007
A great summary article covering (and linking to Jeff Atwood's other articles on) trojan spamware, rootkits, anti-virus, and running Windows as Administrator.
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13 Aug 2007
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12 Aug 2007Full garden
Those things sure do grow.
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11 Aug 2007
SCO's ridiculous lawsuit against all Linux users is all but dismissed.
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10 Aug 2007Apples and grapes
In the parking lot next door. M stole a whole bunch and no one was the wiser.
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7 Aug 2007
$63 for the whole set, or $5 for the Commander Keen series, $27 for all of the Quakes and map packs, or $36 for all of the Dooms.