HDD Beware: It's game over...

See this link: CES 2009: New SanDisk SSD G3 is as fast as a 40,000rpm HDD.

In a nutshell:

• Fast as a 40,000 rpm HDD
• Over 100 years of typical user usage.
• Available in capacities of 60, 120 and 240GB, the unit MSRPs are $149, $249 and $499, respectively.

After reading this, I'd sell my stock in traditional HDD manufacturers and buy up some SanDisk. For a drive that fast, why wouldn't you spend the little extra to have that kind of life time and that kind of speed?

The world as we know it....

Last year, I read Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near, where Kurzweil optimistically predicts that we are on the exponential cusp of a technological explosion. Where humans transcend biology. He claims that around the 2045 time frame, we will be so advanced that strong AI will be common, nanotech will be pervasive, and that our existence will be totally changed from what we know it today.

Very interesting topic, with a lot of data to back it up.

Today, I listened to Kevin Kelly, a prolific writer and thinker give a talk on predicting the next 5,000 days of the web.

His discussion is about "the machine", the one machine. All machines now are just windows into the machine. He also calculated that the machine has roughly the power of one "HB" (Human Brain), but is doubling every two years in power. Kelly also makes a comparison with google and how, if we are transparent in our information sharing, google becomes the resource for information. As he says, "I forget my phone number, and so I google it". This changes the way the world works. He equates that to the alphabet, and how it changed the way the world worked.

Kelly comes up with a date of 2040 when the computing power of the machine will be greater than the computing power of humanity.

Interesting correlation to Kurzweil's date, which he acknowledges.

While I basically agree with Kurzweil and Kelly, we do need to consider the aspects of external forces, current computers that are not part of the collective, and basic human nature.

Teaching children to program...

I remember when I was a kid (well, at least in high school) and I first got interested in programming. I was motivated by my physics teacher (who called everyone either "Bruce" or "a blob" - long story) when I asked him if I could ask our new, powerful TRS-80 Model 1 (4K of memory!!!!) when George Washington's birthday was, and he pointed a finger at me as he laughed his ass off. Then, he set about teaching me to program the thing. He even let me take one of the two school computers home over the Christmas break. Fantastic guy, and great mentor.

We started programming in BASIC, because that was pretty much all you had in the PC world at that time (except for assembly, of course - but that is hard to teach a novice).

I was turned on by the computer graphics at the time (which were SO crude to what is available today), and the instant gratification of seeing what you did right away. After learning to program in BASIC, I discovered LOGO, but thought it SO simple and pretty much worthless since it was a self-contained environment that couldn't get at the machine itself (no PEEK() or POKE() functions - at least that I knew of at the time).

I went on from BASIC to assembly, FORTH, FORTRAN, C and all the modern languages, both compiled and scripted like Java, PHP, etc. I found each one had cool features depending on the hardware you were using, but really fell in love with C. It gave you all the rope you needed to hang yourself, and the scissors to cut your way out.

So, fast forward almost 30 years, and I find myself looking to teach my 10 year old daughter to program. She is getting involved in the school Lego club, which uses Lego Mindstorms, the programmable "toy" from Lego.

Using google, there seems to have been at one time a simulator for the older version of Mindstorms, but I can't seem to find one for the NXT. I'm going to have to dig a little deeper to see exactly what the language options are - and see if they are suitable for a 10 year old.

Interesting to note, LOGO is still around, but looking at it now, it seems so archaic. Is it worth pursuing? I'm still not sure.

I still have my Apple ][+, so I could teach her BASIC. This is actually a very attractive option from an introduction point of view. So, I'll have to dust it off again. Note: the floppy disks I have from 1980 STILL work. And some of those were the $0.99 single sided MEI Micro disks that I used a hole punch to make double sided!!

Ahh... the good ole days...

10 PRINT "TORI ";
20 GOTO 10

How fun is that? *cough!*

There are a few Apple emulators out there as well. That's another option. Unfortunately, they are old, and are 16 bit application. My x64 box won't run 16 bit applications, so I'd have to run them on her laptop. Not bad, but just a pain to test and debug before giving it to her. And, most of these are not just click and go... Anyway, I've got my Applesoft manual here, and I'm trying to remember all those wonderful commands. Oh - and there's my 6502 Cookbook. Cool!

Update: Check out http://applewin.berlios.de/ - it is a nicely done Apple ][ and e emulator. Works well on x64 as well as x32.

The problem with America...

Watching The Debate last night was really depressing. So many facts are twisted, so many lies are spoken...

What's really scary is that people like this get to vote. Do you think they can tell what's true and what's not?

I can't wait to watch the Palin - Biden debates.

It's raining again...

Boy, I like nothing more than running 20 miles. Except running 20 miles in the rain. (Well, running 20 miles in the rain that turned to ice and then snow while my shoe's innersole rolled up and over my foot was worse, but that was two years ago, and who remembers that?)

It looks like this weekend is going to be Wet (with a capital "W"). They are talking 4-5 inches of rain between today and tomorrow. Oh joy. That's bad on two accounts. First, my running shoes will be like lead bricks with all the water. Second, the nice, flat, park path will most likely be flooded out, which means I get to run the hills.

Look on the bright side, at least I can come home and jump in the 65 degree pool water in the rain to cool off. Not.

So, what are YOU planning for the weekend?

Mountian Biking Season is just around the corner...

Last night was our last evening ride with the group. I mentioned that it's just about time to break out the MTB. Someone just email that maybe we should hit the trails this Sunday...

So, it looks like it's time to test the GoPro Helmet Hero I bought last year!!

Hmm... I wonder how my shoulder will do with all the falling?

2008 Westchester Triathlon

Sunday, September 21, 2008

My goal: Make the top 1/3 in my age group and qualify to go to the USAT Age Group Nationals.

I opted to skip my NYC 16 miler the day before and try to achieve my goal..

It was cold... Waiting really sucked. I was in the 6th wave. The siren sounded, and the swim began. Oh boy, that water felt good. So good, that I didn't want it to end. I was sighting well, and swimming straight. A real pleasure.

T1 was OK. The wetsuit came off relatively easily, and no one messed up my transition area. It was cold, so I had to take time to put on socks.

Out on the bike, I felt strong. The hills were tough, but my legs kept putting out power. However the roads were really bumpy, and it made it kind of hairy going fast down hills (not to mention that I'm not 100% OK with that yet after my accident). Claire's Climb wasn't bad, and I passed a few people I knew. However, at the top, with my hands and forearms so cold, I hit a bump and my left hand came off the bar. It took every ounce of strength from my right arm to keep me from falling. Damn, that was scary.

Coming into T2, my transition spot was so close to the bike dismount, I opted to to get out of my shoes on the bike and run to T2 with my cleats on. I don't think it made much of a difference either way. T2 was uneventful (which means it was pretty good).

The run is new this year. It goes around Playland. Nice route. I tried hard to focus on turnover, and managed to do a pretty respectable run (for me!).

So, what's the result? 160/865, and 23/75 in my age group. Do the math... Look out Portland - hear I come!!! Wahoo!!!
Results Here

Distance	Time	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run
1.5K/40K/10K	2:37:46	28:57	2:58	1:15:31	1:46	48:36