A thought on the New Orleans tragedy

Absolutly terrible.

It just gets more frightening with every other news story you read. Some one who was evacuated to the superdome even said that he'd rather be in Iraq. It made us here inTaiwan, where another trapical storm just passed yesterday, seem like living in paradise. We had high mountains to destroy a typhoon, while they had a bowl shapped land that invites floods.

One good part, though. Yesterday the American Red Cross website was so clogged up by people intrested in the "New Orleans Relief fund" program. Maybe you could check it out when the traffic is a little lower.
link

The Web Revolution 2.0 (part I)

It is frequently mentioned in the news that when the internet came into our life, it changed our lives a lot. Starting with the launch of Netscape and followed by the dot com boom, it totally changed our life style. But it's not over yet, here's a new round of revolution that's under going on the web.
(Please click on the links if you don't know that word)

• Homemade Media

It all started with blogs. People are slowly getting tired of traditional news media, which often contains boring or make belief stuff. Someone eventualy started to set up sites that are a bunch of self written articles, posted in time order. It was called a "web log", which was then abreviated to "blog", and a whole new type of web site was born. All kinds of stuff was written, all sorts of people wrote them, and readers like the style of writing which differs from the traditional stuff. But the biggest blow came when a blog pointed out some thing wrong in a TV news report during the last US presidentual election. The ancher man was doomed and blogs are hotter then ever. Some blogs even feature first-hand news reports that renew faster then the news onTV, and are also mentioned or refered-to from time to time in newspapers.

And came podcasts, which some say are audio blogs. Homemade talk shows were recorded and uploaded to the web. Now people can not only get music from their portable players, but also weekly programing. And since iPods don't come with radio tuners, people are already tuning less to radio shows. With podcasts, there's even less reasion to turn on the radio. When Apple came out with iTunes 4.9 which handles podcast subscriptions easily, traditional radio networks got the message that podcasts were a big threat, and started to make podcasts of their own. But it's not just the fresh feel and convinence of podcasts that made it popular, I particularly love the "homemade" feel of them, which aften contains lots of um's, yeah's, let-me-see's, pauses, sometimes with a little static, friendly tones and best of all, they're in much more flavors that you could find just the flavor you like the most. What's more, no ads that come with long disclaimers. The programs are made because the host love his topic, just as his audiance; not for a profit. Wired once listed some company podcasts which are actualy ads disguised as personal podcasts, which are hysterical and lost the sprit of the original casts.

The underlying thing that made blogs and podcasts to be so special is RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, which automatically sends the latest posts or recording the whoever that subscribes. This reduces the need for the receptant to check by him/herself for new content; instead, whatever new update is actively presented to the receptant in real time.

So what's next of this "grass roots media"(as journalests like to put it)? After the realm of newspapers/magazines and radio shows are tackled, what's left other then TV? When video taking and editing is easy enough, and the bandwidth is cheep enough, I'd guess that homemade TV shows would become more and more common, and of course, published on the web with RSS. By showing the traditional media the power of the mass, we could force them to offer better, improved content then what they offer now.
(To be continued...)

Talim typhoon...

要来了
基隆＆台北都是下午4:00以後停止上班上課
（No~我不要下午4:00後就没公車回家了・・・）
明天八成也不用上班了
(check here)

後面還有一個Nabi耶...

最新動態:
中央気象局
美國海軍聯合台風警報中心

Alright, so searching is the future if computing?

I've recently had some great experience with the "new" way of using a computer: searching, both with Apple's spotlight and Google's desktop search v2.

Both gave instant search results, which gave me a thought of using it to launch applications. Well yeah, it's convenent, fast and simple to launch programs this way. But what's so special about it? What made it be emphasized by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and others so much?

Yeah, is sure's much better then digging in a crowded start menu or applications folder in finder. But, so what? People had always been able to launch programs in this fast and simple manner with command bassed OSs, such as DOS or UNIX. Adding this way of launching programs is just a fix to the crapy GUI(graphical user interface) that someome screwed up in the past.

So don't be too suprised at how this "non-graphical" user interface works so well, it's just taking a page from an old book.

By the way, the start menu is the biggest crap in windows that I hate the most. Could never guess who came up with this kind of junk that wastes precious time of thousands around the world.

Taiwan railroad sucks

Once again, the train from Keelong to Taipei is out of service.(like, is this normal, or is operating smoothly a rare seen?) Anyway, it's not like the usual when they're "just" not on schedule, but they're completely down, I guess.

But what really sucks is that all the train takers came over and clogged the bus station to Taipei. Forming long lines of over half a mile(kind of...). They just don't have enough busses to process that much passengers.

I really think that the government should just shut down the railroad company, sell the assists, and set up a whole new rail company.
---
Crap, I'm stuck here.

Google's answer to Konfabulator?

Google just released it's 2nd version of it's desktop search software. Like most other google downloads, it free to individuals. The biggest difference to it is the addition of a "sidebar" (just as in the image in the left), which shows info from the web such as news, RSS feeds, weather, stocks, and a search field for searching files on your computer or googling the web. (Additional add-ons could be downloaded to add more functions, just like Konfab's "widgets")

However, doesn't this seem similar to Konfabulator, which Yahoo just bought? Looks like delivering webcontent to your desktop recently got hot. Konfabulator sort of pionnered that idea, with great eye candy; then Apple built a similar function called Dashboard into the latest MacOS X Tiger; then the concept showed up in sidebar form in copy-cat-Micro$oft's preview of Windows Vista(the next version of windows, which was codenamed Longhorn) Now, Google also did a sidebar and released it.

Look very useful, simple and functional, however, this time, I like Konfabulator's eyecandy better. This is the first time I favor Yahoo's product instead of Google's I guess. But what I chose was bought, not made by Yahoo, anyways. And maybe I could just use the desktop search without the sidebar :D

By the way, Google desktop is for Window$ only, while Konfabulator works for both Windows and Mac.

Spam in comments, now I'm pissed off...

Damn!
Now there's spam in the form of blog comments
Don't make me close down my comments

Now California should come up with a new law against blog-spaming so those guys could be stopped

Leave the web clean!

夜中躺在路中間的野狗

今晚不想做什麼正事
又根據前兩次的經驗知道夜騎貓空比白天快一小時, 又涼又舒服, 於是就把車組一組, 往貓空殺去.

不過一開始就不是很順利
煞車片境有如磁鐵般貼著輪框...花了20分鐘調整;
然後又太久沒充氣, 後輪軟到有雙避振的效果

不過問題解決後基本上都蠻順利的

延軍功路騎到木柵, 再經過政大上山, 一路上狀況都不錯, 也很高興體力比上武嶺時好多了...
直到...

在剛看到頭頂上經過的北二高後沒多久
在窄窄的上坡路段赫然發現一隻野狗在
"路中間"
乘涼...
由於是上坡路段, 牠又剛好在坡變緩的地方
~也就是頭燈照不到, 我也看不到的地方~

當時我正以時速約20以上, 掛中盤死命的往上衝
而且下午剛下過雨, 地是濕的...

我看到牠時, 只跟牠距離不過幾公分而已

結果
不經考慮的動作: 雙手猛按=>前後輪通通鎖死
(德技我對不起你~~你說的煞車技巧在危急時完全忘光了)

車網路邊測滑, 我往反方向滑去
(幸好後面沒車, 否則這個世界就少了一個愛騎山坡的笨蛋...)
兩個膝蓋+一邊手肘+臉頰都擦傷
後燈分解了, 右煞把又彎了
(不過主車體只有小小的"ㄌㄠˋㄌㄢˋ")
眼鏡也掉了一個鏡片(後來裝回去了)

倒是那可惡的狗, 等我摔了才嚇了一跳,
然後悠閒的走開...(怒)
---
不過倒是感謝那很棒的bell安全帽
摔到頭的時候
只感覺"好軟~~"
終於知道上次唯中在陽金上的感覺了XD
不過, 雖然只有小小的刮痕, 摔過的安全帽還是要換
再來一頂bell的吧^^

手套上的刮痕則小到幾乎看不出來

嗯, 護具還是很重要的
下學期參加活動要戴安全帽的規定似乎應該嚴格執行才是

Accessing PubMed on a PDA!

(image from http://www.freewarepalm.com/medical/mdontap.shtml)
I just noticed a PDA freeware (both Palm and PPC supported) from the National Library of Medicine called MD on tap, which is " an interface to the MEDLINE database via a device that you tap"
It is a software for searching the MEDLINE database using the PubMed search engine via wireless net connection. A great way to find papers relating to your research. As it even faster then search from a PC, since it's not a browser, it saves the time of rendering HTML webpages, and only sends the content, in pure text to you, and sometimes with a link so you can also view it by the normal way in HTML.
Had a great pleasure with it, since it's simple yet powerful, and extreemly fast.

Now people in the bio/medical field have another reason to get a wireless PDA :D

Sync folders on your PC with your mobile storage device!

A new beta download from Micro$oft:
SyncToy for Windows XP

Would be really useful for PDAs, memory cards and USB thumbdrives. You can keep all the files on those stuff the same as the files on your harddrive by syncronization. Said to be a preview of a function in the next version of Windows (Vista), but what's important here is that it's really useful, wither it's a preview of what-so-ever.

I'm getting it now, really excited to give it a try.

Korean played Starcraft to death

Read it on BBC news

Well yeah, it's quite shocking and sad to Europeans or Americans, but we're already used to seeing this in the news from time to time here in Taiwan.
However, the previous ones dies of those new internet RPGs from Korea, which I wasn't quite intrested in, while this one died playing my favorte PC game.
But, here's how I keep alive: I kept being killed/defeted in the game that the lack of accomplishment overwhelms me and I soon loose intrest. But since it's a game of good quality, I come back once in a while to be defeted and back off--again. By the way, it's the only PC game that I play in the past 5 years. Newer computer games are becoming more and more sophisticated that I am simply too lazy to figure out how to play. I now only play games on my PC on an average of about once every 2 months.

Games on my Palm are becoming more satisfying to me. Due to the limited resources on a handheld, most of the games are easy and simple. Games like Bejeweled are easy and can always be finished in minutes. Now that's what I call "instant gratification". Thus, I play Bejeweled more often then any other game on any platform.

ptt2 掛了XD

批踢踢兔大爆炸啦!
預計約近 00:00 才能重新開放 Orz

另外批踢踢兔預定在 8/10(三)
上午
03:00停機進行維護作業，
預計在晚間 18:00之前可以完成重新上線 :)

批踢踢兔站長群
Wed
Aug 10 07:14:05 2005

Thoughts on the PSP

After playing with the PSP for some time now, I think it all makes sense to me now: The PSP is what killed the Clie.

Many theories have been made on why Sony dropped the Clie line. The Palm and PPC fans always like to say "bacause the Clie's crap, no one wants them." I really don't think so. If so, then why did the line live so long? Why didn't Sony drop it earlier? I've always thought Sony is a troubled company, figuring out where's their profits. It's a big complex of thousands of divisions. So it's now cuting the smaller ones (eg. the Clie line) to save money.

But also, I think it's more of a problem of products with over lapping markets. The PSP was actually what the Clie was ment to be: a portable media center. The Clies did what it was ment to do, beautifully. However, labling it as a PDA made it's market limited, since most people don't think of PDAs as media devices. They're thought of as organizers or handheld computers instead, which only business man should need. But the PSP is a gaming device, which would be connect to a reputation of an entertainment hub. And it's also more affordable and acceptable by most people.

Thus, I think Sony must have seen the PSP as the succeeder of the Clie, and much more. Under this stratagy, of course the Clies should be cut and make everybody move to the next big hit, the PSP.

Finally found some meaning in my life

Have been pretty down for the past year.
But now, after a month doing experiments in a lab, I guess I found just what I'd like to do for a living: doing research. Actually, I'd be looking forward to this day since elementry school, but never expected I'd be so attracted, excited with and enjoying these lab work that seem to be constructed by a bunch of highly repetitive work. However, once you know about the whole big picture, make sure what you're doing, what's your approach, what's your goal, the whole thing sort of sucks you in. Every failures and success, no mater which, makes you more excited with the whole thing. It's all about tackling problems, finding one, pinning it down and conquering it. Failures are not set backs, but rather clues to what you should try next. You find a stratagy, try it refine it and slowly close in on your goal. Even that part of taking notes and organising your progress is an exciting jorney through a new world waiting for your discovery. By just focusing on the experiments, you get to forget all your worries and woes of other parts of your life. Lab work entices your adventurous sprit.

So now, research as a carrier, cycling as a sport, guess that it for my future life^^

明天到底是怎樣?

台北照常呼?
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/050804/39/254e5.html
台北放假呼?
http://tw.news.yahoo.com/050804/161/254sa.html

怒
亂報一通

好啦,以這邊為主
http://www.cpa.gov.tw/

好了,我今天overnight incubate的菌要怎麼辦?
(其實不想放假)

10th planet discovered?

-News from NASA JPL
-News from ABC News

(Artist's concept image, with the Sun in the far distance. From NASA/JPL's website)

Do not say "the 9 planets of the Solar systen", from now on, make that 10.

It was reported that the 10th planet of the solar system was found, farther from the Sun then Pluto, the 9th. It is now called "2003UB313", with a size bigger then Pluto, and a similar icy, rocky surface. It was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, CA. The discovery was announced on July 29 by planetary scientist Dr. Mike Brown of Cal-Tech in Pasadena, Calif., whose research is partly funded by NASA.

However, some may say that this is the "real" 9th planet since Pluto is considered by some as an "astroid" instead of a planet.

今天晚餐的談話...

跟一群社上的朋友去吃飯, 聊著聊著, 講到誰誰誰電腦裡很多蘿莉圖, 誰誰誰又有點色; 不知怎樣, 就有人說: "松智的電腦應該很乾淨吧?" 學長就說: "我用過, 真的很乾淨"
然後一個女生就問說: "難道你真的是木頭嗎?"...

嗯. 被大家這樣討論真不知道該高興還是傷心?(原來我在大家眼中的形象是這樣...)

當木頭, 算是受過傷之後, 不得已的選擇吧.
為了防止自己傷的更深, 全力清除生活中會讓我想到傷心事的事物. 卻無法徹底清除心中的慾望, 只能把它封印到最深處. 成為木頭, 是個讓希望能自己生活快樂一點的嘗試, 卻也是個無法完美達成的目標.

看著身邊朋友一個一個找到那個值得關懷, 付出, 守護的人
心裡非常混亂
有祝福, 有羨慕; 也有忌妒, 憤怒, 和一份自悲的無力感
自己卻已經失去去尋找那個人的動力與衝勁了, 而開始懷疑她的存在
我唯一能做的, 就只有繼續壓抑自己的情緒, 每多一分鐘不去想它, 就多少一分鐘的痛苦.
只是不知到這樣不斷的壓抑, 抑制, 是否會有什麼不好的結果.
---
"請你暫時不要理我, 我只是一塊在無情的大海中浮浮沉沉的木頭."

石門水庫探路之行

-3個人一起騎, 卻都分別來自3個不同的學校.
-美聿要借的車剛拿到就已經爆胎了=>一天的早晨從換胎開始.
-一路聊天過去, 每停一個休息點, 又聊至少十幾分鐘以上才走.
-又吃到思樂冰了^^ 中途經過三峽時為了思樂冰特別鑽入小巷找7-11; 回程時邦尼又再去補了第2杯(辦活動時就以這個為收對點, 來個思樂冰團吧XD)
-里程破百, horray!!!
-除了石門水庫風景區內以外, 全程緩上緩下. 之前一直很虛的體力終於恢復正常了. 我全程有80%以上都掛大盤. (飆車真爽)
-石門水庫好髒啊~~
-大家團購了2瓶2.2L礦泉水, 再加上思樂冰, 午晚餐麵湯, 額外飲料, 單日每人攝取水分超過2公升. 夏天騎車的開銷真的很大.
-發現我有一個跟清大邦尼一個相同點: 肚子餓了就開始飆車, 看可不可以早點到達有食物的地方.
-赫然發現, 桃園好近, 而石門水庫的南方就是新竹縣界了. 所以, 新竹也很近, 修推來新竹玩吧:D

其實今天的最大收穫是多了一個可以聊得很開的朋友/車友, 並在談話間更了解清大車社(原來他們專門在情人節辦活動的...好人的怨念...我們台大聖誕節也排一個吧!). 期待學期中跟清大一起辦大活動會師^^

Statistics:
Max speed: 58.5km/hr
Odometer : 1982.7km
Distance : 111.05km
Time : 6:20
Avg speed : 17.5km/hr

Sony to make SLRs with Konica Minolta

Intresting what they might come up with to take on the much acclamed Nikon and Cannon DSLRs.
Hope this means better choices for all consumers.

However, the name might be a tounge twister.
Lets say the guy in the store told you that there's cammeras from "Sony Konica Minolta" and Nikon, and you now try to guess wither there's 2 brands, 3 brands or 5 brands.

Tech in our Lab...

One thing that impressed me when I first met our professor of our lab, was that he used a clie and an iMac G4.
But what's intresting is that a professor seems to have some kind of influance on the others in the lab.
Lets see, there's a total of 3 clies that I knew of in the lab (mine would be the 4th)
Even more impressive is that there's another iMac in the lab as a public computer, and amoung the graduates, an iBook, 2 powerbooks. There's even more people saying that they are planing on buying an Apple as their notebook computer.

So when you have good products, I guess it's good marketing to let leaders use them, and the people that he leads might follow suit. :D