Smoking laws ...

Heard a piece on the radio this morning on my way to work. It was about laws that prevent people from smoking and whether the regulators/law makers are going too far by banning smoking outside (e.g., in parks or on beaches). This was then followed by the usual slew of phone calls for and against. While I am generally against anymore laws (I think there are enough laws already), I think it is always a good idea to protect people's health and the environment. I welcome the smoke free indoors in California, because I am a non-smoker, and I have no problem with people smoking outside in front of the buildings. If the smoke bothers me too much I can go around them. What is wrong though is the way many (not all, but many) smokers deal with the remains of the cigarette when they are done smoking. They simply toss the cigarette butt to the floor and step on it to make sure the concrete does not catch on fire ... and there we go. The next rain washes that waste into all the places you don't want it. (I encourage everyone to read this piece on toxicity and environmental impact of cigarette butts litter). It always amazes me how many people just toss their cigarette butts out of their car while driving. Which makes me wonder whether all these cars don't come with an ashtray. I bet they all have one but many smokers seem to think: "It's only a tiny cigarette butt". They are wrong and they should be prevented from tossing their crap into the street. Whenever I see something like it it makes me want to take my trash and dump it into their car or house. I bet you a million bucks that not a single one of these smokers would appreciate it. So if you smoke, be responsible and clean up after yourself. You are already ruining your health, don't ruin the environment more than necessary.

A380 passed test ...

Earlier, I posted about the worlds largest aircraft (Airbus A380), which is still in development and to be put in service at the end of this year. They had to perform an evacuation test and they passed it with flying colors. They squeezed 873 people out of 8 exits in under 90 seconds. And only one person was injured (broken leg). pretty impressive, considering that they were only aiming for 650 people.

A quote I like ...

Found this quote today (from the TV show Babylon 5) reading some commentary in a blog:

"If the primates that we came from had known that some day politicians would come out of the gene pool they'd have stayed up in the trees and written evolution off as a bad idea."

Have never watched the show but I like this quote.

Fascinating aircraft...

Over the last few months I have been following the development and testing of Airbus' newest aircraft, the Airbus A380. Once in operation, it will be the biggest aircraft in service. It is designed to hold up to 853 people ... Now, that's a lot of people. They are currently doing evacuation tests to get certified by the FAA and its european counterpart. Read an article today (in german) that stated that in order to get certified for up to 850 passengers they need to squeeze 110 people out the aircraft in 90 seconds. Per exit door that is. Their goal is apparently 650 people which would still put it far ahead in terms of passenger capacity compared to a Boeing 747. Can't wait to fly with that thing.

Dodged a bullet ...

This morning, on my way to work I dodged a bullet, big time. Was going a slightly different way to work, didn't pay attention and did not see the 25mph sign. Neither did I see the cop aiming his laser gun at me. Sure enough, I was too fast. I slowed down looked on my speedometer and was still going 40mph. This can't be good I thought to myself. I guess the cops thought the same thing and sent a car after me. I got pulled over for speeding. As it turns out I was going twice the allowed speed ... But then miracle happened. The guy just wrote me warning. Don't know why exactly but I don't care. Maybe it had something to do with that I had nothing on my DMV record, that I am driving a stock Volkswagen Golf Diesel and that I am white. Who knows ... All that matters is that I didn't hurt anyone and that I did not get a ticket. But having a cop pull you over and sitting on the side of the road in your car while the cop is writing you up is just way too embarrassing. And I couldn't help thinking that the other people that saw me there were just thinking: "Thank goodness it isn't me ..." So the theme for today should be: Slow down, the 5 seconds you make up by speeding you will lose again at the next light. I should never own a Porsche ...

Running Marathons

I miss running. Which is sort of weird because I wasn't into running that much when I was a kid. I was into soccer way more. Now, a big part of soccer is running around and chasing the ball and people around but it's not that you are just running. Well, later in life though, after I had moved to the U.S. I stopped playing soccer and needed to do something to stay in shape. One New Year's even party I talked to Jeff's sister and her then-boyfriend who had just run a marathon. I decided that night, that I want to do one too. And I did, 4 to be precise. It's not easy, it's even painful at times during training and the race itself and you are questioning your sanity but once you cross the finish-line you forget about that. What I liked the most about the whole process is that I was in such good condition that I could easily run a 10 miler at any time of the day and feel great afterwards. The 4 marathons I did were:

1. 1999, Silicon Valley Marathon, San Jose, CA; 4 hours 13 minutes (boring course, it's better these days, very hot, bonked super hard)
   


2. 2000, Rock'n Roll Marathon, San Diego, CA; 4 hours 18 minutes (very hot, bonked even harder)
   


3. 2001, Big Sur Marathon, Carmel, CA (my favorite, can't beat the views); 3 hours, 54 minutes
   


4. 2002, SF Chronicle Marathon, San Francisco, CA; 3 hours, 51 minutes
   

The first two were painful and I did not reach my goal to stay under 4 hours. The next two, I ran all the way through without walking. And even though the course profiles for those two are much harder, I managed to get under 4 hours. Not great times, but I am 6'1" and 200 lbs, so not too bad for a clydesdale ... And then, after those 4 I didn't do any more. Why? Well, my wife Sonja and I started having children, we bought a house and work took over a little more than it should have. Whenever I now see an ad for a marathon I get this urge to sign up and train again but I am not quite sure where to find the time without neglecting my wife, the kids and the dog ... I guess I miss running. I am going to have to settle for something less than a marathon. But I should really go running again. If I were to run one again, I would want to break 3 hours 30 minutes.

It's been 3 months now ...

... that I have left IBM and started working for Yahoo! And thankfully, I haven't regretted that move at all. Let's be realists, it's still a job and I have yet to solve world hunger and acieve world peace. But it is fun for the most part. The biggest differences are that I am working on something completely different now than at IBM. It's pretty interesting for now (Javascript, PHP, AJAX), eventually, I think I want to go back to more backend type stuff. Remember, I still have a PhD to finish. There is tons of stuff in that area to do as well at Yahoo!, but it's nice to learn on how to write stuff that can show of cool backend functionality. The other big difference is culture. Even though the Almaden Research Center was a pretty relaxed place for IBM standards, things feel less serious at Yahoo!. And just by the nature of the work, I feel more connected to what people actually do with the stuff that Yahoo does. Heck, I use Yahoo products every day but who of the ordinary people uses a Bluegene? Don't get me wrong it was always interesting work at IBM and technically challenging but I never could escape the feeling that what I am doing is useful to only a handful of people. Overall, it's a nice change for now.
Things I don't like about Yahoo!? Well, I'd have to say the stock price ... needs to go up ... a lot! Other than that, things are good.

A true Masterwerk ...

Check out the Porsche Masterwerk (you need Flash). It is about this:

I so want one of these ... Who knows maybe I will be rich at some point and then I will have one of these ... Time will tell.

Yahoo! Social Media Tool ...

For those of you that have been here before, you will notice that my blog now has a set of buttons at the end of each post. Those are provided by the Yahoo! and provide little shortcuts that let you share my stuff with others while you read my posts. I hope you find this useful. You can add this to your page as well, go to the Yahoo! Publisher Social Media Tool page to learn how to do it.

Jonas is 1 year old ...

Happy Birthday, your Dad!!!

Jonas is 1 year old ...
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

It had to come down to this ...

Just read on CNN's page that "South Dakota law bans nearly all abortions". According to the article, it will become a crime to do an abortion and the only exception is on when the woman's health in danger. Anything else (e.g., rape, incest) will be ok. The article quotes the South Dakota governor Rounds as follows: "In the history of the world, the true test of a civilization is how well people treat the most vulnerable and most helpless in their society. The sponsors and supporters of this bill believe that abortion is wrong because unborn children are the most vulnerable and most helpless persons in our society. I agree with them".

Now, whether one agrees with that assessment or not, a law like this (which will take years in court to be decided) once in effect, will drive women and doctors into illegality and across state borders. Laws like this take away a woman's right to choose and put control over their bodies into the hands of some politicians. How women can vote for people like Gov. Rounds is beyond me but I can't help but think that this is another example of where state, politics and religion are not separated enough. If you believe abortion is wrong, don't do it. If one wants an abortion (for whatever reason) provide help not threats. Instead of wasting millions of tax and donor millions now on a lawsuit, the state of South Dakota should rather provide women with appropriate aids. But something tells me they won't. Welcome back in the medieval ages, where women soon will have to go some dark cave to have an abortion done, because what this thing won't do is to cut the number of abortions, it will just make it harder for women and I don't think that is what most of those women need.

All in all, this is the first step of the ultra-conservative people that hope to benefit from Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court. Anyway, I know this post is somewhat unusual for my blog, but things like this bug the hell out of me. And the irony of all of this is that once the child is born, the protection from the government pretty much ends. Just take a look at the state of public schools and education in general. I know it's a naive hope, but I wish the states and all these people would direct their effort into more fruitful endeavors like protecting the environment and bettering education. Imagine what you can do with the millions of dollars you could save by avoiding the lawsuits over abortion, given that the highest court in the nation has already ruled on this.

snow

snow
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

MacBook Pro Comparison ... I almost want one ...

Just read a review of the new Apple MacBook Pro at Ars Technica. Seems like it's kicking ass for native apps, not so much for apps that also run on the G4 versions. I currently have a 15" G4 powerbook but I doubt that after only two month Yahoo! will replace my laptop ... ;-)