A night at the ballpark

Image006.jpg
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

My buddy Dan and I went to the ballpark in San Francisco last night. Giants 10, Arizona 2. Was a good game, a local guy from Los Gatos, Kevin Frandsen, had three hits in his first Major league game ever. Pretty cool. Only downer of the night were the beer prices. $8 for one beer is simply ridiculous. But we had "the best kosher hot dog", according to the vendor. I'd say it was at most average ... ;-)

Who would have thought ...

... that Linux is evil. If you read this you may be tempted to believe this. Of course it isn't and part of me wants to believe that the person who wrote that was just trying to make fun of the whole thing but more likely, the author meant every word. What's even more tragic is that he/she also believed that crap and that there is a even more people out there that will do the same. This is utter garbage, half facts, wrong facts and of course the bible and God are mentioned. Scary ... Read it and let me know what you think. Sometimes you wish the internet was less open ... so that not everyone could post their crap but I guess we will have to live with it.

Patent Stuff

While I was at IBM, part of the job of any research employee was to create intellectual property. Over the course of the 7+ years I was there I submitted roughly 10 or so patent applications. When I returned from my last vacation, my buddy Jan gave me a frame from IBM commemorating my first issued patent, 3 and a half years after it was filed with the US patent office. This is pretty cool. The patent itslef was a collaboration of a few people related to my old project, WebFountain. Pretty cool.

flood waters

flood waters
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

flood waters
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

The two pictures show the water levels of the river "Elbe" in my parent's hometown. It was at 8 meters and 30 centimeters, already down 40cm from the highest level this season. Normal water levels are around 5 meters. For the Americans among you, this is a difference of almost 10 feet. So far the levees have held steady.

nice rainbow

nice rainbow
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

We took this picture while in Germany, watching the river Elbe flow by. Teh water levels were pretty high. It was raining and the sun was shining and we caught this nice rainbow. In case you are wondering where this is in Germany. The city in the background is Lauenburg which is roughly 30 miles upstream from Hamburg. The side of the river we were standing on is the small village of Hohnstorf, where I grew up.

Digital SLR ...

After hearing Sonja complain about the response time of our digital camera (canon powershot) for too many times I decided to treat her for her birthday and get her a better camera. I opted for the Canon EOS Rebel XT Digital SLR. Since we had a Canon SLR before and two lenses, all we had to get was a body. And man, it is nice. it has 8 MegaPixels and it behaves like any SLR camera. We really liked out own traditional SLR camera but in the times of digital photography who has the time to get their films developed. Really annoying. So I went and ordered one and Sonja really likes it. Me too ;-)

Our vacation so far ...

So here we are in Germany, ready for a relaxed time and it turns out that relaxing will be the last thing we will do for quite some time. Now, we weren't quite hoping for spectacular weather so we were fine with the rain but we weren't quite prepared for the nasty stomach virus that hit us after three days. To recap, instead of hanging out and enjoying my Mom's good food, we spent our time in bathrooms, doctor's offices, sleeping, vegetating and feeling miserable. On top of that we got my brother, his wife and their little son Frode (15 months) sick as well. Our little guy Jonas (13 months) took the worst hit, he had to spend two nights in the hospital due to dehydration. the whole things was not a pretty sight. Slowly though, we are getting back on our feet and the kids are starting to smile again. On top of that, my vacation will be over in two days when I have to head back to the U.S., Sonja and the boys will stay a little while longer. I just hope that the remainder of their vacation will feel like one. Big thanks to my parents who have been nurturing all of us through these very sucky last seven days. Although it wasn't quite the vacation one had hoped for, it was still great to see the family. I just need to figure out where to find the time to recover from this vacation ... ;-)

where we are staying

where we are staying
Originally uploaded by jmeyer.

The house in the picture is the place where we are staying most of the time in Germany. My brother Axel and our parents built this house about 3years ago. The interesting part about this house is that it is partially built with a wood frame recovered from a farm building built in 1879, which was still in very good condition and gives the new house an antique look and feel. Inside it is state of the art construction though. Very cool. Flight to Germany was ok, with its ups and downs that travelling with small children brings. At least our kids weren't the noisiest and most annoying on the plane. ;-)
Weather has been great today. Warm (by northern German standards) and sunny. First day and a half were kind of shitty, same as in California, or so I hear. More later.

Visiting Family

It's time again, we are going to pack up some stuff, grab the boys by their ears (not really, but it sounds good) and hop on a plane to Germany. Visit the parents/grandparents and not cook, clean or do anything remotely strenuous for a few weeks. Well, except for the flight that is. Sitting for 13 hours in a confined space with a three year old (Ben) and a one year old (Jonas) will be no walk in the park. Sonja and I are trying to be as prepared as possible to keep the boys happy and entertained. Wish us luck and may the temper tantrums be rare. Germany is going to be great, there is floods everywhere, the bird flu has struck already and the weather forecast doesn't look to exciting either. But hey, neither it is here in CA right now. Why are we going then? Because it's family and living 6000 miles away from your parents makes you want to go, regardless of weather. We are excited. Alright then, off to packing.

Drive-Through Ordering over the internet ... Simply ridiculous

Now, even McDonalds is outsourcing ... According to this article McDonalds is experimenting with a system that frees individual McDonalds restaurants from having a person take the orders locally. Instead an order outside the restaurant will be routed over the internet to a call center. I can't imagine a job in a call center anyway let alone taking orders for super-dollar menus and chicken mcnuggets or whatever they are called over the phone. Makes you wonder though what's next, that you will actually call someone in India when you are using a drive through ? Or that FedEx or UPS will actually deliver the burger from the restaurant to your car? This is crazy.

Firefox market share ...

I just looked at a web page that reports web browser market share. Assuming those numbers resemble reality, Only Firefox and Safari are gaining market share while Internet Explorer is losing market share. How long 'until Firefox will catch IE. Well, pretty simple. Over the last 12 months, IE has been losing roughly .27% market share. Assuming this trend continues and that all of IE's losses will go mostly to Firefox, it will only take approximately 136 months (that's 11 years and 4 months) for Firefox to get equal market share ... Something to look forward to. Why am I worried about browsers? Well, I am working on some frontend stuff (PHP, JavaScript, DHTML) and it's still a pain in the butt to make things look equally great in all kinds of browsers.

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.