The Insomniac Coder

Finally got to see one of these out in the open. It is really short, it looks about the size of a classic Mini, a little longer than a Smart microcar . The interior follows the same styling of the BMW Mini (that is, it is fugly). Stylish in a way, but ugly. The back seat is microscopic. That said, it used up about half as much space as a mid-size SUV . In terms of styling, in real life it looks much more like the classic 500, there are some subtle lines that are very hard to appreciate just by looking at photos. For example, from the front it is almost a dead ringer for the original. Related articles Chrysler wants to sell 40,000 cars in China (inautonews.com) Chrysler, the "Imported from Detroit" brand is now officially owned by the Italians, as U.S. Treasury sells its stake to of Fiat (daveibsen.typepad.com) Fiat to buy remaining US stake in Chrysler (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

I am sure that the late Bobby Baccalieri would had loved this: Related articles Knuffingen Airport, World's Largest Miniature Airport, Goes On Display In Hamburg (PHOTOS, VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com) Model Airport of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at) World's largest (model) airport opens in Hamburg (Daily Mail) (seattlepi.com)

First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Fort Jackson, SC, to Highlight Intersection of Childhood Obesity and Military Readiness | The White House This is actually one of the chow halls at my Army Basic Training regiment , the 2nd Battalion of the 39th Infantry. That flag is probably covering the tray conveyor window. How do I know? Look at the chairs, our motto is: AAA-O, Anything, Anytime, Anywhere -- Bar Nothing . When we were in basic training most of us were annoyed by having to use it as a greeting (TRIPLE A OH SIR ) but years later I looked into it and learned two things that made me change my mind about it: AAA-O is recognized as a Special Unit Designation , which means that not only it is official, but it can only be used by the 39th Infantry Regiment .  Truth being stranger than fiction, the Germans in WWII were so impressed with the 39th that they assumed AAA-O designated shock troops and they had expected the Allied landings to be spearheaded by troops sporting the AAA...

The rise of 'we' : "Why modern-day US presidents love the word" I hereby declare today a slow news day. I was ready to say it was the " Royal We " but then it became obvious (as in blinding migraine): that's the first word in the United States Constitution . Wouldn't that render the word as statistically flawed for this study? Just try to visualize President Obama saying the following and tell me it is fair to clump them all together: "We need to get our act together..." "We are going on vacation again, so long, suckers..." "We the People of the United States ..." "We can't decide between Chinese and Indian takeout for lunch, want to weigh in?" "We are living in yellow submarine ..."

Image by pvera via Flickr The Rise and Rise of the Cognitive Elite : "hessian writes 'As technology advances, the rewards to cleverness increase. Computers have hugely increased the availability of information, raising the demand for those sharp enough to make sense of it. In 1991 the average wage for a male American worker with a bachelor's degree was 2.5 times that of a high-school drop-out; now the ratio is 3. Cognitive skills are at a premium, and they are unevenly distributed.'" Maybe I am not awake enough, but the way I read this is "smart people make more money now than 20 years ago, and there isn't that many of them." Is this newsworthy? Unfair? A shock? I really don't get which part of this is newsworthy, unless it is using weasel words to lead people into another "why should college grads make more money" arguments. Or maybe it is trying to be all of the above.  Related articles The rise and rise of the cognitive elite ...

Image by Eexlebots via Flickr Should Younger Developers Be Paid More? : "jammag writes "A project manager describes facing an upset senior developer who learned that a new hire — a fresh college grad — would be making 30 percent more than him. The reason: the new grad knew a hot emerging technology that a client wanted. Yes, the senior coder was majorly pissed off. But with the constant upheaval in new technology, this situation is almost unavoidable — or is it? And at any rate, is it fair?" Sorry buddy, this is why you never want to know what others are making within your company. What you do want to know is how your salary places within the median for your locality for your field. If you are at the median or above, STFU and keep a low profile. If you are under the median, then you are underpaid. You will need to decide what to do about it, be it ask for a raise, make a move for a promotion or get a job elsewhere. What the other guy makes plays nothing into this. ...

The New Starbucks Trenta Cup Is Bigger Than Your Stomach I am a bit amused that when I saw this my first reaction was not about the price of so much Starbuck's coffee , or the need. I guess that since I am now a bit older and wiser, my mind just went into overdrive with things like: How much would you end up hurting your stomach lining by drinking so much strong coffee in one sitting? Can anyone drink the whole thing before it goes cold? How come it doesn't have a handle? Wouldn't it be too heavy? What about the sleeve? Isn't this against Starbucks' mandate to be douche bags about being a green company? Will they charge companies to advertise in this much bigger sleeve? How come the logos say Starbucks Coffee? Did the logo redesign got canned already? Have the efficiency experts taken into account caffeine rage across the country as caffeine fiends wait extra because of the two douche bags ahead of the line that ordered the trenta half decaf four extra sh...

Image via Wikipedia Ready, Aim, Retire: 7 Top Officers’ Epic Implosions | Danger Room | Wired.com It is very hard for me to say this and part of me doesn't want to jinx it: this is the first thing I have read in Wired in over a month that comes anywhere close to real writing instead of mindless drivel. There, I said it. Yes, it was a good read. We were arguing about the CO debacle yesterday. I am sure some dumbass right now is working himself up due to this, but in reality it is simple: certain people need to be held to a higher standard. When a country spends decades grooming you for a position of high trust and responsibility, then they give you command of a $450 million or more warship that helps project American power anywhere in the globe, you are expected to show some common fucking sense. This is not George Constanza ("should I have not done that? nobody told me..."), this is a Naval Academy and Naval War College graduate with almost 30 years of meritorious...

Image by pvera via Flickr This is a pretty good read. People still have this mindset that military service is where you go to when you can't cut it anywhere else and you only expect three warm meals and a cot. This may have been the truth many years ago, but it is nowhere close to reality . For example, the military is now delaying basic training to some people by up to 14 months. When I enlisted in 1992 my " delayed entry program " lasted about two months. In my case it was simple: they couldn't send me to basic training because I would graduate before my advanced class started, so there was no point in having me pass basic training, only to ride a mop bucket and a lawn mower for a couple months until the next advanced class started. It was a money decision. People don't understand it is a numbers game . Recruiters are sales people with quotas. Notice in the article a recruiter even uses the phrase "quality numbers." The way the quota is structur...

Image by pvera via Flickr Slashdot Politics Story | Just Where Is The Lincoln Memorial, Anyhow? : "'Searching Google Maps for the Lincoln Memorial is returning the location of the FDR Memorial instead. Conservative bloggers smell a conspiracy since Glen Beck is holding his 'Restoring Honor' gathering at the Lincoln Memorial tomorrow (August 28). Notes for the map listing on Google state 'This place has unverified edits'; so, did someone claim the listing and edit the location?'" Let me tell you the extent to which this is simple, pure, unmitigated bullshit: you simply can't get lost looking for the Lincoln Memorial. Here's Pedro's Guide to Not Getting Lost in DC: Think of the DC Mall as a kite. The kite's long axis is East/West The center of the kite is the Washington Monument, you can't miss the thing, it is the tallest structure in the area. The left corner of the kite is the Lincoln Memorial. The line between the Linco...

"Inmates at Cook County Jail are allowed three privileges: television , books, and food . The staff has no compunction about denying its most difficult residents either of the first two, but under the Constitution , correctional facilities can’t withhold food. Nothing in the Eighth Amendment , however, says the food has to taste good. “This is not the Four Seasons,” says Tom Dart , the Cook County sheriff . “Inmates who are injuring people in jail will get their nutritional needs met, but we will not cater to their culinary desires.”"  This is really cool. They came up with a bland meatloaf-like concoction that doesn't taste much but it carries the minimum mandated diet elements you need to stay "healthy." A serving is 1,110 calories, the miscreants in question get two servings of the thing per day. Suing doesn't help much because the "loaf" doesn't taste bad, they mostly complain that it doesn't taste much, and their interpretation is co...

FARK.com: (5577392) Theme of Farktography Contest No. 277: "The Book of Armaments" Details and rules in first post. LGT next week's theme My three entries are from my visit to the Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum (right after 9/11) and a much more recent visit to the Dulles annex of the National Air & Space museum (the Udvar-Hazy center ):  Image by pvera via Flickr Model of the Fat Man nuclear weapon  Bell AH-1 Cobra Curtiss P40-E Warhawk Curtiss P-40E Warhawk , it is painted as "Lope's Hope" in memory of USAAC/USAF pilot and World War II ace, Donald S. Lopez (former Deputy Museum Director at the same museum). At the National Air and Space Museum , Smithsonian Institution , Udvar-Hazy Center (The "Dulles Annex"). Related articles by Zemanta World War II Divebomber Lifted From The Depths (luxist.com) Divers work to lift WWII plane from Calif. lake (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

X-37B unmanned space shuttle   This is really cool. Instead of trying to build a new shuttle, somebody actually figured out how to take the parts of the process that work (reusable vehicle that is blasted off like a rocket , then glides down like a plane) and made it smaller (read: cheaper) and unmanned. They also added some interesting capabilities, like the way it scoots in and out of the atmosphere to switch directions, which totally screws with anyone that is relying on basic orbital tracking calculations to figure out where it should be. Related articles by Zemanta Amateur Astronomers Spot Super Secret X-37B Space Shuttle Replacement [X-37b] (gizmodo.com) Secret X-37B space plane lost by sat-spotters for 2 weeks (go.theregister.com) Secret X-37B Space Plane Has Changed Orbit (space.com)

Image via Wikipedia That traffic is almost as bad as the DC Beltway . The article is a good read, notice how the locals didn't waste time making a bit of cash on the side by selling things to the stranded drivers, who are reportedly spending their time playing cards. Had that happened here in DC there would be cries of outrage because the traffic jam would violate our constitutional right to interstate commerce (it's true, you can't keep us from crossing state borders for business, it's in the friggin US Constitution ) and the news coverage would be the most irritating thing ever aired on TV in this country.  My worst encounter with the DC Beltway had to be Thanksgiving 1997. We decided to visit my ex-Army-boss and his family in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey . We left Thanksgiving Wednesday around 3 PM. It took us 4 hours to drive from Reston to the north junction of I495/I95, and over 4 more hours from there to Eatontown , NJ . Horrible doesn't begin to describ...

( AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Would somebody please explain to me wtf is the logic behind spending over half a billion (with a "b") dollars on a public school that services just 4,200 children? How was this project even allowed to be completed in the middle of California 's worst fiscal crisis ever? I don't get it. That's $138,000 per seat . The end result is going to be a jazzy school staffed with the same underpaid staff, attended by the same kids that are not getting the teacher ratios that they deserve, being peddled drugs and weapons on campus , etc. The only real benefit here is that some asshole gets to brag about how LA has an artsy looking public school building. It is almost incomprehensible.  What's the expected life of this school? What's the operating cost of this school over its intended life? Wouldn't this fat wad of cash better be spend sending those 4,200 to private schools?  Can anyone prove that the outcome of this $578 ...

Image via Wikipedia G ood luck with that. If they can get away with it, maybe I could rack in some quick cash by suing Garage Games for addicting PJ through Marble Blast Ultra , or Playdom for addicting Ivette through Sorority Life . I wouldn't need to sue for myself because I am not an addict. Sure, I have played certain games for hundreds of hours, but I can stop any time I want so in reality it is not an addiction, just a healthy way to pass my idle time. Related articles by Zemanta NCsoft sued for making Lineage II too darned addicting (massively.com) Man who played Lineage II for 200,000 hours sues creators (destructoid.com) Addicted Gamer Sues, Says He is 'Unable to Function' (wired.com)

Image by pvera via Flickr BBC - Newsbeat - MP3s 'to blame' for hearing loss : "Up to six and a half million teenagers in America struggle to hear whispered conversations or leaves rustling in the wind." I blame walkmans, Iron Maiden and working in loud NOCs with industrial-sized HVACs and no hearing protection. I know this because we were marked as high risk for hearing loss while I was a chairborne ranger in the Army , and we were forced to have hearing tests much more often than other soldiers. After the first few years they noticed gaps in my hearing frequency response charts, I bet those match the frequency for the dull roar of these air conditioner units. What makes that partial loss annoying is that it makes it difficult to hear dialog in movies unless using a multi-channel system that lets you separate a center voice channel that can be boosted without increasing the overall loudness of the movie. Related articles by Zemanta Are MP3 players behind teen h...