Failing Forward

Trying to find the exact passage of scripture you’re looking for can be tough.  Most biblical search tools don’t bother to return results by relevance (preferring instead chronological order) and offer only direct keyword matching modes.  So finding the verse you want (when you can’t recall the reference) can be really, really hard.  Or [now] it can be easy.

For a long time I’ve marveled at how poorly the Old Guard of scripture dissemination has adopted new technologies.  I’m not claiming that these organizations don’t do useful (needed?) work, or aren’t good at what they do – all I’m saying is that they simply don’t do technology.  And that’s a shame.

So I’ve put my dissatisfaction to work rectifying this deficiency.  The scripture search website I launched yesterday [while still a young, rough draft] is a step in the right direction to creating a relevant, modern, usable, useful tool for finding the verse you’re looking for.

Some time soon, I’ll be posting a contest to come up with a name for the site/service.

John Stewart wreaked havoc on Apple last night over the leaked iPhone prototype. If you haven’t seen this, it’s worth a watch.

For a few weeks now, I’ve been boggling my mind over the fact that my the Remote App on my iPhone no longer works with iTunes.  I’m running iTunes on Windows 7 (all updates are current).  Here’s the sequence of frustrating events for anyone not familiar with this particular pain:

1. Configure iTunes to look for Remotes.
2. Run the Remote App (you need to be on WiFi; the same network as the computer) and select your Library.
3. Enter the 4-digit pass code into iTunes.
4. The App will connect.
5. Enjoy.
6. Some time later, re-open the Remote App to… ya know… use it.
7. Discover that the Remote will no longer connect to your Library; it gets hung up “Looking for Library ______.”
8. Become frustrated (or more frustrated, if you already were).
9. Configure iTunes to forget all Remotes.
10. Shut down iTunes.
11. Remove the Library from your Remote’s settings.
12. Shut down the Remote App.
13. Restart iTunes.
14. GOTO 1.

Long story short: Windows 7 doesn’t like the French.  ”Bonjour” (the messaging service used to support the Remote App) was blocked by the Windows 7 Firewall.  Bonjour didn’t even show up on the list – I had to locate it manually.  On my system, it’s located at

C:\Program Files (x86)\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe

but your mileage may vary.  Allow this executable in the Windows Firewall rules, and you’ll be all set to go.

Someone in my Facebook circle joined another one of those Join-this-group-to-stop-Facebook-from-charging-us-to-use-their-service groups earlier today.  Out of pure morbid curiosity (read: I was stalling for time because I didn’t want to continue writing the paper that goes along with my senior project), I clicked through for kicks and giggles.  What I found there was simply too scary/comical not to share.  The group description says,

Facebook has announced they will be charging for the use of uploads, video streaming and instant msging as of july 10th 2010, help stop this from happening!! join the group to keep facebook free!!

I pulled from the group page the first wall post that popped out at me.  Yes, the author seems to have had a bit of trouble regarding the Caps Lock key, but I invite you to give him a sporting chance and consider his argument:

IF YOU THINK THIS IS A HOAX YOU ARE STUPID!!! THINK ABOUT IT IF 1,000,000 PEOPLE USE FACE BOOK AT 3.98 PER MONTH. NOW THAT IS CLOSE TO 4,000,000 A MONTH. NOW 4,000,000 X 12 MOS. = PRETTY CLOSE TO 50,000,000 A YEAR WITH OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ENTERPRISE YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE AN IDIOT TO THINK THAT ADVERTISING IS THEIR PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME BESIDES AT 50,000,000 A YEAR I THINK I WOULD EXCERSIZE MY RIGHTS IF I COULD. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PAY THEN YOU BETTER STAND UP AND SAY SO OR JUST LIKE THE OIL COMPANY PULLING 8,000,000,000 PROFITS IN 1/4 OF A YEAR AND NO ONE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT THE AMBASSADORS OF FB WILL FOLLOW SUIT. THIS IS WHAT THEY DO PULL YOU IN FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS FOR FREE THEN SLAP A SMALL MINIMAL FEE ON SOMETHING BECAUSE WE THE PUBLIC THINK PLEASE DO NOT CHARGE FOR FB OR I WILL BE GONE.

There is not one piece of truth in that entire rant except that there are, in fact, 12 months in a year – so I won’t waste my time (or yours) blowing it to tiny pieces.  Alas, I feel honor-bound right now to invoke one particularly pointed XKCD:

The takeaway: If it was in print 500 years ago, we’re likely still discovering just how awesome it is.  If it was in print 100 years ago, it may have some intellectual worth or it may not, but you can bet it will sound pretty.  If it’s in print today (including digital formats), learn to exercise caution.

For those interested in a real cause to rally behind, see the petition to ban Dihydrogen Monoxide.

Update: Since I began drafting this post, over 13,000 new members have joined the group.

In the beginning of March, I set about to convert my typing habits to the Dvorak* layout.  It’s been quite an experience so far, but I’m not looking back even considering that I could touch-type on QWERTY at over 110 words per minute and I’m only back up to about half that (with a much higher error frequency).

I’d been considering the switch for about a year, but with no real motivation to do so.  Then, into the winter, my left pinky finger began to feel prickly, and even sometimes go a bit numb.  It didn’t take much to correlate this with the massive amount of typing I do, and so I decided the time was rife to pick up a different keyboarding layout – not for speed (it’s still not certain that Dvorak is faster, although the evidence points that way) but for the sake of my hands.  Just starting out my career, I can’t be subject to repetitive strain injury already.

The layout is certainly a lot different than QWERTY (although the a- and m- keys are in the same location)

It took only a few hours to memorize most of the key positions.  I didn’t purchase a Dvorak keyboard (a waste of time and money, IMHO), I just changed the key bindings in my operating system.

While memorizing the layout, I kept a special browser window open to an image not unlike the one above.  Learning on a standard QWERTY keyboard forced me to learn touch-typing from the word “go,” and the friction of switching to my special browser window led to a fairly quick memorization of the configuration.

All of that was easy-sauce.  Far more difficult, of course, was retraining my muscle memory.  As I said, it wasn’t easy.  To go from 110+ WPM to a three second recall pause between every keystroke was agonizing at first – when I forgot that most things worth doing are worth doing because they aren’t easy (a mindset that Seth Godin explains elegantly in his book The Dip).

The most testing aspect of the transition, however, was the temptation to change back to QWERTY “real quick – I need to get this email out” or “just to send this hurried IM” or “because this paper is due tomorrow.”

The self-control to resist those temptations was the #1 reason (I feel) that I’ve been able to adapt so quickly, and I would warn anyone considering the switch about that particular challenge – stick it out, and it’ll come.  Not fast.  Not easy.  But it’s worth it.  I haven’t experienced any discomfort or loss of feeling in my hands for the better part of two months now.

The transition also brought one very unexpected albeit welcomed side effect.  I’m much more apt to think before I type now because I’ve yet to regain full speed.  This translates to more concise emails, more coherent papers, and vastly cleaner code.

NB: If you can’t touch type, and want to learn, I’d urge you to earnestly consider the merits and demerits of different (read: non-QWERTY) layouts before you proceed.  If you can touch type on some other layout, but want to switch to Dvorak, I’d advise you to have a good reason for doing it – at times, that reason will be the only thing to keep you in touch with your sanity.

*I use the term “Dvorak” throughout to describe the Simplified Dvorak Layout, as opposed to the Original Dvorak configuration.

I’m sure you recall the terrible, horrifying, mind-bogglingly apocalyptic Y2K bug.  When the clocks rolled over from year 1999 to 2000, it was predicted that outdated software (built only to handle years in the 1900′s) could crash, leading to global outages of all sorts of computer-based services.

Turns out it wasn’t so bad.  There were a few problems of course, but nothing horrific as far as the average Joe was concerned.

It was called the “Y2K” phenomena because “Y2K” is a lot faster than saying “year two thousand,” “second millenium,” or “turn of the century.”  It’s the same number of syllables as “two thousand” but is shorter to type by one whole character.  And it sounds really catchy.  Okay – they had me sold on that.

Turns out, a similar situation will occur about 18 years from now.  On Tuesday, January 19th, 2038 at 03:14:07, the internal representation of time for many current computers will experience a rollover much like the 99->00 bug in the Y2K scenario, sending them back to midnight on January 1, 1970.

Now, there are lots of reasons why this is unlikely to be an issue at a large scale.  Nevertheless the event has its own Wikipedia page and a whole host of folks with nothing better to do than predict it’s direct contributing effect to the end of the Universe.

Okay – that’s cool.  Everyone needs a hobby.  But I can’t stand the “historical” appellation this event is being given.  Why in the name of HTTP would you perpetuate the use of the term “Y2K38″?  It doesn’t make any sense!

1. “Y2K38″ is hard to type (and longer than 2038)
2. “Why-two-kay-thirty-eight” is a mouthful and a half

I propose we stick with “2038.”  Or even simply “38.”  There is no circumstance under which we need to pay any homage to the wannabe catastrophe of ten years ago.

Many things in technology are the way they are due to their historical context.  Take the QWERTY keyboard layout, for example.  Many of these types of things would take loads of time and money to rectify on a large scale, and simply aren’t worth the effort.  What we can easily do, however, is actively prevent ourselves from creating more of these bass ackwards situations for the future.

I think that studying our history is extremely important – how are we supposed to understand what is without understanding first what was?  But this is simply ludicrous.  Please, as a responsible Netizen, do not perpetuate the use of this terribly anachronistic abuse of linguistic freedom.

I ran across potentially the best geek love poem I’ve ever seen the other day while slacking off on Stack Overflow (from this thread).

Roses are #FF0000,

Violets are #0000FF.

All my base are belong to you.

The president of the University [at which I'm a senior] this morning broadcast an email to the student body outlining some details of a budget deficit.  Long story short, over the next five years or so, revenues are expected to increase an average of two percent while expenditures are expected to rise an average of six percent.

In response, several academic departments are on the chopping block.  The electronic media, nursing, philosophy, and theater programs are all under “review” for “possible restructuring.”  The saddest part of this email, though, came next.

Though final decisions have not yet been made, I want to assure you [The University] is committed to providing the proper resources, capabilities and staffing to allow you to graduate within your chosen program or field.

And then the president continues later on with this nugget:

Our options to balance our budget are very few — we must reduce our personnel (both faculty and staff) and our programs.  It is clear we have never faced anything of this magnitude or longevity in recent history.

This, to me, is an abysmal attitude for a number of reasons.

1. I take issue with the use of the term “allow.”  How very generous of the University to allow the affected students to hold the institution accountable for it’s obligation to provide an education, as agreed upon when said students first enrolled.
2. The term “graduate” here bothers me as well.  We’re not here to learn?  We’re not here to stretch ourselves?  We’re not here to better society?  No… evidently we’re here only to graduate.  This is merely a diploma factory.  The fact that this administrator believes the mission of the institution to be “graduating” it’s students is indicative of sub-par thinking and poor vision.  This announcement was uncannily timed, as just this afternoon I read an article on TechCrunch about three qualities of leadership that I found fairly well written.
3. Who cares when this has happened before?  What are you going to do to keep it from happening again in the future?  Cutting a few programs is a temporary patch; it only cures the immediate symptoms and does nothing (expressed or implied) for the future.  Revenues will always drop, and expenditures will always grow over the long term, unless you do something about it – that’s business.

Now, all this was bad enough, I thought.  Until the president continued to say:

Again, I want to reiterate that students enrolled in the programs under review will be able to complete their degrees. We will also be working hard to protect our core academic programs and providing the excellent education for which we have become so well known over the years.

1. You should not be working hard to protect your core academic programs.  You should be working extra hard and extra smart to advance them.  To better and improve them.  To continually refine the process.  As an academic institution, first of all, your core programs are your life blood.  Their integrity should never come to question.  Ever.
2. Second, the entire concept of protection – as used here – is defensive, reactionary.  Sometimes things go wrong, and that’s fine.  Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn.  But I don’t want a reactionary, apologetic memoir when things turn South and tough calls need to be made.  You made a mistake?  Fine.  Own it and move forward.  When you tell me about it, tell me short and long term solutions, not some non-deterministic crap about how the world works and by how much pensions will increase by 2014.

All that having been said, though, I do commend the administration for identifying those programs which were “core” to it’s strategy (their hedgehog concept), and seeking to eliminate other departments.  At least they got that right.

A big disappointment, overall.  And on Pi Day, to boot.

Art Williams’ speech, “Do It,” (from 1987) will never get old.  Here’s part one and part two.

I’m just a glutton for punishment.

I decided this evening to undertake the vaguely daunting task of learning the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard layout.  It’s already been a trip and a half, let me tell you.

After researching the topic (I’ll admit predominantly on StackOverflow) after a conversation with a friend (a DVORAK user himself), I’m hoping to be at least quasi-proficient by the end of next week… or at least enough so that it doesn’t take a year and half to write a follow up message!

Update: Follow-up post