tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32811832024-03-13T04:17:36.391-07:00ThoughtsWhatever comes to mind, and then the interesting directions that thought will take you on the web.Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-76985335446904232282012-08-20T17:41:00.001-07:002012-08-21T09:58:08.294-07:00Does Square need the Square Device<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Square is a neat way of capturing a credit card transaction on your iPhone. You just plug the device into the audio jack on the iPhone, then swipe the credit card.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I signed up for Uber, and in the process, I was able to enter my credit card details by pointing the iPhone camera at the credit card.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neat!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That got me thinking - is the Square device even needed? Seems a lot more convenient to just use the camera.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe this would cause problems with a subset of the people whose credit cards you are charging. The swipe seems "official", whereas taking a picture of the card seems scary and insecure?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-54841843619372894732012-07-15T10:04:00.004-07:002012-07-15T10:46:50.749-07:00No Original Thoughts<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the weekend I started playing a game in Spotify.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea is to start with an artist, and get to another artist through Spotify's "Related Artists" concept. A little like 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's fun, and you can add to the interest by playing a track as you pass by each artist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As an example, to get from Green Day to Elton John, follow this route.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Green Day</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Damned</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Undertones</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roxy Music</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Bowie</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cat Stevens</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elton John</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also play that you can't use the Beatles, as they're probably at the root of a lot of bands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wondered if anybody else had come up with this game, and found a similar idea <a href="http://community.spotify.com/t5/Music-Chat/GAME-The-Six-Degrees-of-Skrillex/td-p/32909">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-32016644307317995452011-07-05T12:38:00.000-07:002011-07-05T12:56:25.218-07:00Voice Mail PurgatoryMy iPhone 4 power switch broke recently. Apple very generously replaced the iPhone even when it was a few days out of warranty.<div><br /></div><div>The restore from backup worked great. I hadn't encrypted the backup, so I had to re-enter passwords - a minor inconvenience.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, I was continually alerted to needing to enter my voicemail password. I tried the usual suspects for the password, but none of them worked.</div><div><br /></div><div>I accessed the self-service for so-called Premier business customer, and there was a very useful looking menu item: "Reset Voicemail Password"</div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kW8rgRwxPtY/ThNpxgzVq9I/AAAAAAABO-w/PW1SaNPrBZg/s320/voice_mail.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625956658855652306" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, there was the not-so-useful message to call a number.</div><div><br /></div><div>Being the long weekend, I had to endure this extremely annoying popup for 3 days before I could call.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, I called the number, and the voice system gave me the following options:</div><div><ol><li>Activate Wireless Service</li><li>Assistance with an Existing Order</li><li>Assistance with using Premier Website</li><li>Billing Questions</li><li>Financial Liability Transfer</li><li>Repeat these options - press or say 9</li></ol><div>Nothing about Voice Mail, and I couldn't even hit zero to speak to a person</div></div><div><br /></div><div>So I took my chances and pressed "2", gave my phone number, and spoke to somebody who said that was "Business Support" or something, said to call 800-331-0500, and transferred me to that number.</div><div><br /></div><div>After a few minute, spoke to somebody. Gave my phone number, name, employer, last 4 of IMEI number. Then miraculously, I could go to the Voice Mail tab in the Phone App on the iPhone, and choose a password. Heaven - no more alerts popping up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then the support person said "Do you want me to send you information on how to use the Self Service website?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"But I know how to use the self service website" I replied - It tells you to call the (wrong) number"</div><div><br /></div><div>Hence followed a circular discussion - I couldn't make her understand that the self service web site was deficient, and that was why I was calling the number - not that I didn't understand how to use the Self Service Website.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-33398444613881199192011-06-15T16:48:00.000-07:002011-06-15T17:09:15.488-07:00hipmunk<blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>I've been a long time user of <a href="http://www.kayak.com">kayak </a>to do flight comparisons.<div><br /></div><div>However, I recently started using <a href="http://www.hipmunk.com">hipmunk</a>. I remember hearing about it on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZcASzFlrQE">This Week in Startups</a> and <a href="http://techcrunch.tv/founder-stories/watch?id=FoNzhoMjr5nzOailhO1w0XpWVhK3vJUD">Founders Stories</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>It works great. There is something about the UI/User Experience that is beautiful and calming.</div><div><br /></div><div>The concept of scoring based on agony (combination of price, duration and number of stops) is awesome, as is the automatic hiding of "worse" flights.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's close to the experience of asking a personal assistant to book a flight, and having them make smart decisions on your behalf.</div><div><br /></div><div>I remember thinking about how business travel should work:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Tell the system where you need to be and when (eg actual meeting locations), and have the system optimize flights, taxis, trains, hotels, buses, rental cars, visas</div></blockquote><blockquote><div></div></blockquote><div>This should be the next step for Hipmunk</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-83773514221137154512011-04-07T17:13:00.000-07:002011-06-28T07:42:10.540-07:00ProsperI've <a href="http://blog.fothergill.com/2009/07/prospercom.html">written</a> about <a href="http://www.prosper.com/">Prosper.com</a> previously.<div><br /></div><div>I'm really excited that after nearly 3 and a half years of using Prosper, I am near to making a positive return! That's right, I am now only $100 down, but I am trending to positive returns! There are so many charge-offs, that so far, all the interest I've made - $1,024.89 has been reversed by the charge-offs $1,125.76. If Prosper ever holds <a href="http://www.prosper.com/help/topics/lender-debt_sale_history.aspx">another debt sale</a>, I might be positive sooner than I think.</div><div><br /></div><div>It got me thinking - it's tough to make money lending to consumers. No wonder credit cards have to charge exorbitant fees and charges.</div><div><br /></div><div>One strategy that I've been following is to monitor loans that become overdue. Then, immediately that they become Current, list in the Notes Trading section, with a tempting 1% discount.</div><div><br /></div><div>Luckily (and purposefully??), Prosper allows you to see what happened to the Notes that you sold:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><table class="table_body" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" border="0" id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid" style="width: 925px; border-collapse: collapse; "><tbody><tr class="table_data_odd"><td class="table_cell table_check" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 20px; white-space: nowrap; "></td><td class="table_cell align_left" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><b><a id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl04_lnkViewNoteListing" href="http://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/buy/note_listing.aspx?rslid=208074" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">43714-8</a></b></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">9.20%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">A</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">700-719 <span id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl04_cmpCreditGradeTrend_lblArrow" tiptitle="Increase of more than 20 pts" class="hasTooltip" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: default; border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/trade/images/icons/arrow_rise.gif" class="icon_image credit_score_change_icon" alt="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 7px; " /></span></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><span class="loan_current" style="color: rgb(0, 128, 0); ">Current</span></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; ">36</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">29</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$32.33</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$32.00</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">8.99%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">1.0% disc</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 24px; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/Images/Icons/fixed_price_icon.gif" alt="Fixed Price" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " /></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 58px; "><a href="https://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/secure/account/trade_confirmation.aspx?d=2011-03-17&t=1" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">Sold</a></td></tr><tr class="table_data"><td class="table_cell table_check" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 20px; white-space: nowrap; "></td><td class="table_cell align_left" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><b><a id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl05_lnkViewNoteListing" href="http://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/buy/note_listing.aspx?rslid=165926" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">39019-202</a></b></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">11.00%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">AA</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">800-819 <span id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl05_cmpCreditGradeTrend_lblArrow" tiptitle="Decrease of 100 pts or more" class="hasTooltip" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: default; border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/trade/images/icons/arrow_fall.gif" class="icon_image credit_score_change_icon" alt="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 7px; " /></span></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><span class="loan_two_mpd" style="color: rgb(250, 67, 2); ">Late (61-90d)</span><div class="small" style="font-size: 11px !important; ">In collections</div></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; ">36</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">22</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$16.40</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$16.20</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">11.17%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">1.2% disc</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 24px; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/Images/Icons/fixed_price_icon.gif" alt="Fixed Price" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " /></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 58px; "><a href="https://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/secure/account/trade_confirmation.aspx?d=2011-01-13&t=1" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">Sold</a></td></tr><tr class="table_data_odd"><td class="table_cell table_check" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 20px; white-space: nowrap; "></td><td class="table_cell align_left" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><b><a id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl06_lnkViewNoteListing" href="http://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/buy/note_listing.aspx?rslid=156195" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">44162-275</a></b></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">8.25%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">AA</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">740-759 <span id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl06_cmpCreditGradeTrend_lblArrow" tiptitle="Same" class="hasTooltip" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: default; border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/trade/images/icons/na.gif" class="icon_image credit_score_change_icon" alt="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 7px; " /></span></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><span class="loan_one_mpd" style="color: rgb(250, 176, 0); ">Late (31-60d)</span><div class="small" style="font-size: 11px !important; ">In collections</div></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; ">36</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">33</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$37.30</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$36.90</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">7.98%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">1.1% disc</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 24px; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/Images/Icons/fixed_price_icon.gif" alt="Fixed Price" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " /></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 58px; "><a href="https://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/secure/account/trade_confirmation.aspx?d=2010-12-28&t=1" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">Sold</a></td></tr><tr class="table_data"><td class="table_cell table_check" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 20px; white-space: nowrap; "></td><td class="table_cell align_left" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><b><a id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl09_lnkViewNoteListing" href="http://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/buy/note_listing.aspx?rslid=145871" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">40755-27</a></b></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">12.04%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">A</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">740-759 <span id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl09_cmpCreditGradeTrend_lblArrow" tiptitle="Decrease of 100 pts or more" class="hasTooltip" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: default; border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/trade/images/icons/arrow_fall.gif" class="icon_image credit_score_change_icon" alt="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 7px; " /></span></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><span class="loan_two_mpd" style="color: rgb(250, 67, 2); ">Late (61-90d)</span><div class="small" style="font-size: 11px !important; ">In collections</div></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; ">36</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">27</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$20.17</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$19.90</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">12.15%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">1.3% disc</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 24px; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/Images/Icons/fixed_price_icon.gif" alt="Fixed Price" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " /></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 58px; "><a href="https://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/secure/account/trade_confirmation.aspx?d=2010-12-09&t=1" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">Sold</a></td></tr><tr class="table_data_odd"><td class="table_cell table_check" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 20px; white-space: nowrap; "></td><td class="table_cell align_left" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><b><a id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl10_lnkViewNoteListing" href="http://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/buy/note_listing.aspx?rslid=145868" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">40755-55</a></b></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">12.04%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">A</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">740-759 <span id="M_MainContent_cmpNoteListingManageGrid_grid_ctl10_cmpCreditGradeTrend_lblArrow" tiptitle="Decrease of 100 pts or more" class="hasTooltip" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); cursor: default; border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/trade/images/icons/arrow_fall.gif" class="icon_image credit_score_change_icon" alt="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 7px; " /></span></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; "><span class="loan_two_mpd" style="color: rgb(250, 67, 2); ">Late (61-90d)</span><div class="small" style="font-size: 11px !important; ">In collections</div></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; ">36</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">27</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$20.17</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">$19.95</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">11.91%</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; ">1.1% disc</td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 24px; "><img src="https://www.prosper.com/Images/Icons/fixed_price_icon.gif" alt="Fixed Price" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; " /></td><td class="table_cell align_center" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center !important; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 6px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 6px; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(222, 221, 217); vertical-align: top; width: 58px; "><a href="https://www.prosper.com/invest/trade/secure/account/trade_confirmation.aspx?d=2010-12-09&t=1" style="color: rgb(52, 64, 173); cursor: pointer; text-decoration: underline; ">Sold</a></td></tr><tr class="table_data"></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">So, from this evidence, being late once is a good indicator of being late again! It would be good to test this with more data.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Anyway, the process of trying to do this is a drag. It means logging in to Prosper regularly, bookmarking new delinquent loans, and checking on the status of previously bookmarked delinquent loans.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">I was beginning to think about scripting in Selenium, then I suddenly thought to myself - Prosper should have an API.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">I was thinking of the email I would send to the "Contact Us" link, and I was imagining the response "Thank you for your great idea. We'll discuss within the team", or some such platitude.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">I went to the <a href="http://blog.prosper.com/">Prosper Blog</a>, and noticed an <a href="http://www.prosper.com/about/academics.aspx">Academics Tab</a>, and lo and behold, a link to </span><span class="Apple-style-span">the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><a href="http://www.prosper.com/tools/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; ">developer tools and data mining resources page</a>. And on the Developer Tools and Data Mining Resource page, a link to the docs for the API's. I felt like crying - they had done the right thing.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; ">Now, to try using them. Maybe I'll still be crying, but for the wrong reasons.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px; "> </span></span></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-28597772650361022222011-03-08T11:42:00.000-08:002011-03-08T11:58:42.325-08:00FrequencyI enjoyed listening to the Jason Calacanis <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g97E_20VFhA">interview</a> with Blair Harrison of <a href="http://www.frequency.com/">Frequency</a> on This Week in Startups.<div><br /></div><div>Frequency is a very good idea and product. For me, the key feature is "Auto Scan", which Frequency describes as:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 21px; "></p></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 21px; ">Auto Scan mode is the same as "Autoscan" on a car stereo.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 21px; ">In this mode, Frequency will play you a 15 second excerpt of each video in the feed you're tuned to before automatically advancing to the next clip. It's the fastest, simplest way to quickly watch a series of videos to find one you want to watch in its entirety, without having to click around endlessly.</p></span></div><div></div></blockquote><div>However, it was not quite working as I expected.</div><div><br /></div><div>For example, I searched for my current favorite thing - "<a href="http://www.frequency.com/search?q=khan+academy">khan academy</a>". This is the page I got back:</div><div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lK01YUmnZ60/TXaIg5PL2CI/AAAAAAABNUE/gKH3G8tVq7Q/s320/khan_academy_frequency_search.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581798886874011682" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px; " /></div><div>Unfortunately, the Topics are not related to the Khan Academy. Some of the clips are, and it would be nice to have Auto Scan on the clips in the search results.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly, when I clicked on the PBS clip about the khan academy, I got this page:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFAXvvPOzWw/TXaJhrN28II/AAAAAAABNUU/b_02gt9CDiw/s1600/khan_academy_pbs.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFAXvvPOzWw/TXaJhrN28II/AAAAAAABNUU/b_02gt9CDiw/s320/khan_academy_pbs.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581799999801847938" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This page does have a <a href="http://www.frequency.com/topic/khan+academy">khan academy Topic</a>, and I can then do Auto Scan, but it would be good to see the topic directly on the Search Page. (either that, or my mental model of how Frequency works is missing something)</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-74005316477869667372011-02-23T16:45:00.001-08:002011-02-23T16:51:06.421-08:00Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in EarthquakesLooking at pictures from the <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/christchurch_earthquake.html">Christchurch Earthquake</a>, I was struck by the number of brick buildings.<div><br /></div><div>Searching on the internet, I found this <a href="http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/demolish-all-unreinforced-masonry-buildings-everywhere-victoria-professor-129527">interesting article</a>, written after the September 2010 Christchurch earthquake:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; "></p><blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; ">Some of New Zealand’s older buildings need to be knocked down before another quake does it for us, says Euan Smith Professor of Geophysics at Victoria University’s Institute of Geophysics - and more so because a bigger jolt could be on the way (keep reading).</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; ">Professor Smith said the country needed to learn several lessons from the Saturday’s earthquake in Christchurch.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; ">The first lesson, for local authorities and policy makers, concerns what happened to the unreinforced masonry (URM) structures in this earthquake, Professor Smith told the Science Media Centre.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; "><br /></p></blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word; "></p></span></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-85101625138911572262011-02-11T09:52:00.001-08:002011-02-11T09:55:23.572-08:00Omen of things to come<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9cnNS_iFEWw/TVV3m17IApI/AAAAAAABM0k/YIVXmMykdQE/s1600/bloomberg.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9cnNS_iFEWw/TVV3m17IApI/AAAAAAABM0k/YIVXmMykdQE/s320/bloomberg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572491623134659218" /></a><br />I was checking out <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates-bonds/government-bonds/us/">Bloomberg's Bonds page</a>. <div><br /></div><div>Check out the 30 Year. A coupon of 4.75% and a price of 92-10/32.</div><div><br /></div><div>We'll see that soon, but not just yet!</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-65813990313321097512011-02-05T15:33:00.000-08:002011-02-05T15:46:37.189-08:00Billion Prices ProjectMIT's <a href="http://bpp.mit.edu/daily-price-indexes/?country=USA">Billion Prices Project</a> attempts to measure inflation from a basket of prices scraped from the web.<div><br /></div><div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_whJbDkQJZLk/TU3fiqCcGFI/AAAAAAABM0c/5L6z9S-Trb4/s320/bpp.png" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 303px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570354100620236882" />It seems to follow the CPI fairly well.<br />Clearly, it seems to be predicting a big increase in CPI. Looking forward to seeing how accurate this is when January CPI comes out on February 17th.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-49649345237941773502011-01-24T15:56:00.000-08:002011-01-24T16:14:22.583-08:00Finding things on amazon.comOn amazon.com, the search box searches only for products that amazon sells. Obviously, this is a conscious decision made by amazon for some reason.<div><br /></div><div>However, when it comes time to search amazon for something about the site, rather than a product, things become very tough. </div><div><br /></div><div>For example, you want to find amazon's return policy. Type return policy into the search box, and you get a list of products. I'm not the only one to try this, as the "Related searches" pulls up things like <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=return+policy&x=0&y=0#/ref=sr_kk_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Areturn+policies+for+amazon&keywords=return+policies+for+amazon&ie=UTF8&qid=1295913609" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">return policies for amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=return+policy&x=0&y=0#/ref=sr_kk_2?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Areturn+policy+for+amazon&keywords=return+policy+for+amazon&ie=UTF8&qid=1295913609" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">return policy for amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=return+policy&x=0&y=0#/ref=sr_kk_3?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Areturn+policy+for+amazon+com&keywords=return+policy+for+amazon+com&ie=UTF8&qid=1295913609" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">return policy for amazon com</a></span>. Helpfully, in this case, amazon has now added (I think recently) the following: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; ">Trying to find the online <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/css/returns/homepage.html/ref=amb_link_5936402_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-sparkle&pf_rd_r=0HH0RTW0HKY8A22Z54HT&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=1267831242&pf_rd_i=return%20policy" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">Returns Center</a> or our <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html//ref=amb_link_5936402_3?ie=UTF8&nodeId=901888&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-sparkle&pf_rd_r=0HH0RTW0HKY8A22Z54HT&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=1267831242&pf_rd_i=return%20policy" style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: underline; ">returns policy</a></span>. But type "<a href="http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=amazon+return+policy">amazon return policy</a>" into Google, and you get an amazon Sponsored Link that takes you to the wrong place, but the top of the search result list takes you to the correct place.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_whJbDkQJZLk/TT4VXHA26HI/AAAAAAABM0E/VS2bcS_uHUE/s1600/return_policy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 174px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_whJbDkQJZLk/TT4VXHA26HI/AAAAAAABM0E/VS2bcS_uHUE/s320/return_policy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565909676240332914" /></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I remembered seeing a list of the Kindle's Most Highlighted books, type the term "kindle most highlighted books" into amazon.com, and not helpful at all. Type that term into <a href="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=kindle+most+highlighted+books">Google</a>, and you are taken to the <a href="https://kindle.amazon.com/popular_highlights/books_all">correct place</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-30134817622566549942011-01-18T17:27:00.000-08:002011-01-18T17:33:20.083-08:00PG&E Email NotificationsI <a href="http://blog.fothergill.com/2009/02/duh.html">wrote</a> before on crazy email notifications from PG&E.<div><br /></div><div>I should have pointed out another annoying aspect of the email. Here's another example.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: medium; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></p><blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Dear Valued Customer,</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">A new energy statement for your PG&E account ****** is now available to view online. You can also pay your bill online, or print a copy of your statement.</p><strong>PG&E energy statement (e-Bills) information</strong><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="50%"> </td><td width="50%"> </td></tr><tr><td width="50%"><strong>Amount Due:</strong></td><td width="50%">$0.00</td></tr><tr><td width="50%"><strong>Bill Date:</strong></td><td width="50%">January 6, 2011</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">To view or pay this bill, login to <strong>My Account</strong> at:</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.pge.com/">www.pge.com</a><br />You will need to enter your user name and password.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Click below to view the most recent bill inserts including any legal and mandated notices. </p></blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Note the amount due figure of $0.00</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">I'll hazard a guess that the reason for this is that I have autopay set up. So, as an autopay customer, I am being penalized. I will have to drill into PG&E site to find out what the actual bill amount. If I wasn't on autopay, I guess that I would see the bill amount, and could decide to drill into the details if it seemed abnormal.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Please PG&E - show me the bill amount!</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p></span></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-75429387614524195772011-01-10T21:16:00.000-08:002011-01-18T17:57:33.272-08:00The English Language needs the Polite form of "you"As a kid in school, learning French and German, that words like "ihr" and "vous" were the polite forms of "you".<div><br /></div><div>Problem was, as a early teenager, I couldn't understand what was impolite about regular "you".</div><div><br /></div><div>As I've got older, I've come to recognize the failings of English in this regard. Oftentimes, I'm in a situation where it just seems too familiar to call somebody "you". </div><div><br /></div><div>I was on the train at Denver Airport last week, and an automated voice said something like "Please stand clear of the door, YOU are delaying the departure of this train". That seemed really offensive to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>After writing this, I found this very detailed Wikipedia article on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%E2%80%93V_distinction">T-V Forms</a>. Who knew that Thou/Thee were the familiar/singular forms of you in English, and ye/you were the polite/plural?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-60779543829022240682010-11-04T20:09:00.001-07:002010-11-04T20:17:05.569-07:00Photoshop Elements can't save .PNG as .JPGHad a very frustrating time with Photoshop Elements. <div><br /></div><div>My image was in .PNG format, and I wanted to save as a .JPG</div><div><br /></div><div>In the "File, Save As..." dialog, there was no option to save as .JPG</div><div><br /></div><div>After a lot of surfing on the web, I found that this is generally due to the original image having layers, in which case you need to "Layers, Flatten Image", or the image has 16 bits per channel, in which case you need to convert to 8 bits using "Image, Mode, 8 bits/channel".</div><div><br /></div><div>In my case it was the bits per channel issue, and after switching to 8 bits I was able to save as a .JPG</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>My Usability Suggestion to Adobe</b></span></div><div><blockquote></blockquote>Always have the .JPG option in the "Save As" dialog. If the user tries to save as .JPG, and there is something about the original image that is incompatible with .JPG, then either warn the user, and explain how to resolve, or silently do the Flatten Image, or convert to 8bits.</div><div> </div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-314354119256651932010-10-22T19:04:00.001-07:002010-10-22T19:06:45.522-07:00Netflix Watch it InstantlyNetflix Watch it Instantly is an awesome service to enable on demand watching of movies over the Internet.<div><br /></div><div>However, whenever I want to recommend a movie to somebody, it's quite a mouthful to say "you should watch it on Netflix Watch it Instantly".</div><div><br /></div><div>Seems to me that Netflix needs to become a verb, and I can just say "you should Netflix it"</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-5849162745954395402010-09-24T11:13:00.000-07:002010-09-24T11:44:09.574-07:00Frustrating iPhone User ExperienceThe iPhone User Experience is close to perfect.<div><br /></div><div>However, I have been frustrated a few times in the last few months, and here's the scenario.</div><div><br /></div><div>I see the badge on App Store that there are apps to be updated.</div><div><br /></div><div>I tapped on Apps Store, selected "Update All", entered my iTunes Password, and then am harassed by the message:</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>iTunes terms of Service have changed, you must agree, blah, blah. I then have to scroll to the bottom of the screen, press "Agree", then press Agree in an alert box. I then end up back on the home screen, and have to remember what I was doing, go back into the app store, and click Update All again.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Very annoying</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Reminds me of the Terms of Service for the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://blog.fothergill.com/2004/02/very-interesting-discussion-about.html">Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); ">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-42724403684710885292010-09-08T17:15:00.001-07:002010-09-08T17:28:15.718-07:00If it can go wrong, it will go wrongI my first job out of college in 1988, I worked on a Microsoft Windows system that downloaded rainfall radar bitmaps over a modem from the Met Office in the UK. These systems were used by Water Companies.<div><br /></div><div>Each radar image was saved to a file, and the file was given a name with the following format:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>YYMDDHHM.MSS</div><div></div></blockquote><div>ie 2 characters for the year, 1 for the month, two for the day of the month, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>Note that there was just 1 character for the month. The idea was that 0-9 was used January through October, then "A" for November, and "B" for December.</div><div><br /></div><div>The customer had got the system in the Summer, and I has scheduled Customer Training to start on November 1st 1988. I distinctly remember thinking that I should verify my "A" is November logic - but never got around to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, early on November 1st, 1988 I took the early morning train from London to the customer in Leeds. Imagine my embarrassment when I arrived at the customer's site to hear that their system, and the systems at all the other water authorities had stopped working at midnight. </div><div><br /></div><div>I knew exactly what the issue was, and quickly fixed it.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-86299838021937952462010-07-15T15:00:00.000-07:002010-07-15T16:36:53.189-07:00iPhone Antenna issuesTomorrow, Apple is holding a Press Conference to discuss <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/14/apple-antenna-press-conference/">iPhone 4 Antenna Issues</a>.<div><br /></div><div>The iPhone 4 Antenna Issue is real - I can speak from personal experience that of I hold the phone such that my hand touches near the bottom left, then I lose reception. Not a big deal for me, the Voice Feature of the phone is not that important, and I've learned to hold the phone differently.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, I'm not a civilian, I've read a lot of blog articles and discussions, so I'm aware of the situation.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, how does the antenna issue affect a civilian? Here's an example. I was speaking to a Contractor, and all of a sudden I couldn't hear him for a few seconds. I asked what happened - "this new iPhone sucks" was his reaction. Lesson - civilians aren't aware of the known antenna issue, so do not know how to hold the phone, which results in them thinking the phone sucks.</div><div><br /></div><div>This whole affair reminds me of the Intel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug">FDIV</a> issue in 1994. Intel initially (and in my opinion, correctly) claimed that this was not a significant issue. However, the bug took on a life of its own, making it to the chat show circuits, and spawning great <a href="http://www.netjeff.com/humor/item.cgi?file=PentiumJokes">jokes</a> like "At Intel, Quality is Job 0.99989960954". Eventually, Intel caved, and organized an "on request" replacement. I feel that Intel ultimately benefitted by the fact that the bar had been raised in consumers' expectations of the product. Intel's smaller competitors were forced to spend proportionately more on QA of their products.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, what will Apple announce tomorrow...?</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:monospace;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></span></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-46282003869988043702010-06-23T10:22:00.000-07:002010-06-23T15:31:09.451-07:00Google Street View carI saw the Google Street View car this morning at approximately this point.<div><br /></div><div>I will return later to see if I can see my car!<br /><br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=las+vegas,nv&daddr=37.256566,-113.098755&hl=en&geocode=FdYQJwIdMJoi-SnRffWkgre-gDGjebPV5tXMOg%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=8&sll=38.298559,-111.51123&sspn=3.495906,4.938354&ie=UTF8&ll=38.298559,-111.51123&spn=3.495906,4.938354&layer=c&cbll=37.47147,-122.421682&panoid=2pPqdmoEJHWXSWmaEMU3Mw&cbp=12,21.57,,0,5&output=svembed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=embed&saddr=las+vegas,nv&daddr=37.256566,-113.098755&hl=en&geocode=FdYQJwIdMJoi-SnRffWkgre-gDGjebPV5tXMOg%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=8&sll=38.298559,-111.51123&sspn=3.495906,4.938354&ie=UTF8&ll=38.298559,-111.51123&spn=3.495906,4.938354&layer=c&cbll=37.47147,-122.421682&panoid=2pPqdmoEJHWXSWmaEMU3Mw&cbp=12,21.57,,0,5" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-53761224570560268692010-05-03T09:30:00.000-07:002010-05-04T10:42:55.570-07:00My Next ComputerMy current computer is a 15" pre-unibody MacBook Pro.<div><br /></div><div>I upgraded the memory to 4GB, and the hard drive to 640GB.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was thinking about what will be necessary in my next machine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the list:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>No DVD</b></div><div>I don't want my next machine to have a place to put plastic disks into it. This will save weight, smooth out the lines of the computer, and stop the occasional mechanical sounds that come even when there is no disk in the player.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Higher Resolution Display</b></div><div>The current MacBook Pro is available with a 1680x1050 display. I'd like to get even higher resolution, and possibly OLED??</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Solid State Drive and Large Capacity Hard Drive</b></div><div>I'd like a Solid State Drive to speed up access to files. However, it's likely that the combination of SSD and large capacity is going to stay expensive, so I'd like a large capacity hard drive to store infrequently accessed files. It would be best if this works transparently, and the SSD acts like a large capacity cache for the hard drive.</div><div><br /></div><div>This cache should be smart. eg mp3 and movie files never need to be in there (unless I'm editing them), so leave the cache for swap, programs, system files.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>HDMI Output</b></div><div>Ability to get video and audio output to a HDMI TV.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Needs to look Sleek and Minimalistic</b></div><div>As few buttons and flashing lights as possible.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-67394936313763320982010-05-01T08:01:00.000-07:002010-05-01T08:42:14.609-07:00SurvivorI'm a big fan of the TV show <a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/">Survivor</a>.<div><br /></div><div>The show is often <a href="http://blog.mlive.com/survivorfromhell/2008/03/cbs_plays_the_editing_game_wit.html">criticized for its editing</a> - ie the producers pick the story they want to tell, and then edit in clips to support that.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here's my suggestion: create a web site that has all the raw content available, and web based tools to edit and publish that content. This would enable fans to create their own edits of shows. These could then be published on You Tube in episode form. You could imagine that celebrity editors would emerge out of the community - people who put a new perspective on the show, and grew an audience.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's the principle - some details would have to be worked out for the implementation. Seems like a revenue stream. As a pilot, make the raw content available from the first season, and see the perspectives that fans could create out of that content.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-17472906953297895182010-03-17T14:51:00.001-07:002010-03-17T15:12:08.981-07:00Philip M Parker<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I came across </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_M._Parker"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Philip M Parker</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> while digging into the "</span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/tag/amazon%20oddities?ref_=tag_dpp_cust_itdp_t"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">amazon oddities</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">" tag on Amazon.com</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What Philip M Parker has done is find a way to generate books based on databases. The books are targeted at the long-tail, and include irresistible titles like:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><h1 class="parseasinTitle" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; "><span id="btAsinTitle"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/2009-2014-Outlook-Toilet-Seats-Greater/dp/B001T44Z0W"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The 2009-2014 Outlook for Wood Toilet Seats in Greater China</span></span></a></span></h1><div><span id="btAsinTitle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span id="btAsinTitle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">He has 107,000 titles on Amazon.com - I would be fascinated to see how many sales he makes.</span></span></div><div><span id="btAsinTitle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What about </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/2007-2012-Outlook-Smoothies-United-States/dp/0497687410"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The 2007-2012 Outlook for Smoothies in the United States</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> - that sounds fascinating! Have executives at Jamba Juice bought that one?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This mashup approach seems to be similar to what <a href="http://blockshopper.com/">blockshopper.com</a> is doing with press releases. Taking a feed of rel estate transactions, and concocting a press release by adding in information from linkedin, and other sites.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-84235544811982266242010-03-16T17:11:00.000-07:002010-03-17T09:40:19.971-07:00How much fuel is consumed on a flight?How can you work out the amount of fuel consumption that you are responsible for when you take a flight? This is very significant - does all the fuel you saved driving the Prius to the airport get used up on your flight coast to coast?<div><br /></div><div>Here's the methodology. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's take the paying WEIGHT that a plane transports from A to B. </div><div><br /></div><div>The paying weight is made up of passengers, their baggage, and any cargo that the plane carries.</div><div><br /></div><div>As an example, let's take an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A320_family">Airbus A320</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Typical 2 class configuration is 150 passengers. Take a <a href="http://www.virginamerica.com/va/press/2009/Dec/Virgin_America_Reports_Third_Quarter_Financial%20Results.html?title=Virgin%20America%20Reports%20Third%20Quarter%20Financial%20Results">load factor</a> of 86.6%, so 130 passengers </div><div><br /></div><div>Consider a trip of the maximum range (3,700 miles), uses maximum 6,400 US Gallons of fuel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Weights:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Empty Weight of A320 </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">94,000</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Weight of 6,400 US Gallons of Jet Fuel 42,624</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Weight of 130 passengers plus their baggage 26,000</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 19px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Weight of cargo (subtract above from Max Take off Weight of 170,000) 7,376</span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div>So, each passenger consumes approximately (200/(26000+7376)*6,400=38 US Gallons to travel 3,700 Miles. (not bad!)</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-70137185346478347922010-03-16T16:14:00.000-07:002010-03-17T14:36:23.120-07:00The Secret Origin of WindowsI enjoyed reading this <a href="http://technologizer.com/2010/03/08/the-secret-origin-of-windows/">article</a> about the early days of Microsoft Windows Development.<div><br /></div><div>In my first job out of college, I worked for Logica, and was involved in writing an application that plotted lightning strikes. The Met Office in the UK had a feed over a modem that provided lightning strike locations, and this application would plot them on a map of the UK, allowing the user to zoom in, and see the exact location. This app was aimed at Electric Companies to help them find downed power lines.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first version was built using Windows 1.x (don't remember the value of x). I do remember that it did not support overlapping Windows - I think that was due to litigation with Apple.</div><div><br /></div><div>Relatedly, I really like this <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/larryosterman/archive/2005/02/02/365635.aspx">article</a> about the Skunk Works project that made Windows 3.0 run programs in protected mode.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-84106869672036899752010-03-15T10:12:00.001-07:002010-03-15T10:13:29.433-07:00Spell checking in Google Wave<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; "><div class="NQB" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 13px; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 13px; position: relative; zoom: 1; font-weight: normal; direction: ltr; text-align: left; "><div class="editor" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-height: 33px; position: relative; line-height: 1.35; z-index: 0; text-align: left; direction: ltr; "><div editabledocmarker="true" class="document wave-editor-off" spellcheck="false" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap; -webkit-user-modify: read-only; "><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">I remember in the demo of Wave at Google IO, I was very impressed with the spell checker. </p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Its statistical approach meant that a word that was a valid dictionary word could be signalled as a spell error because statistically it didn't fit into the context.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">The example that was shown at Google IO was "Icland is an icland"</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">The spell checker was smart enough to recognize that the first "Icland" should be "Iceland", and the second "icland" should be "island"</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Interestingly, the spell checker is not highlighting any word in "Icland is an icland". I'm guessing that "Icland is an icland" has now appeared in so many blogs, that statistically it is a valid phrase.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">"Icland is cold" correctly gives "Iceland" as the suggested correction.</p></div></div></div><div class="PQB" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "></div></div><div class="BTB" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; position: relative; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; z-index: 2; "><div class="NSB" title="Continue this thread" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; z-index: 1; position: absolute; left: 0px; right: 0px; top: -9px; bottom: -9px; opacity: 0; cursor: pointer; -webkit-transition-property: opacity; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: linear; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; "></div></div></span>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281183.post-66206686436481692752010-03-12T13:16:00.000-08:002010-03-12T14:23:08.047-08:00Civilians might have trouble understanding thisA "civilian" is a non-technical computer user.<div><br /></div><div>I was prompted to upgrade to Firefox 3.6, I said "Yes", and was presented with the following dialog:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_whJbDkQJZLk/S5qvzbLvhDI/AAAAAAAARRk/YB7DWk9osdo/s1600-h/integrity_of_the_incremental_update.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_whJbDkQJZLk/S5qvzbLvhDI/AAAAAAAARRk/YB7DWk9osdo/s320/integrity_of_the_incremental_update.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447859997263234098" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote></blockquote></div><blockquote><div>Firefox was unable to verify the integrity of the incremental update it downloaded, so it is now downloading the complete update package</div><div></div></blockquote><div>I find the dissonance of the <b>up</b>date and <b>down</b>load quite funny, but why does a civilian care about this message? A simple "Upgrading" message would have sufficed. See this <a href="http://blog.fothergill.com/2009/03/swingers-scene.html">post</a> about overcomplicating communication.</div><div><br /></div>Alanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09746377909510505730noreply@blogger.com0