You've reached the internet home of Chris Sells, who has a long history as a contributing member of the Windows developer community. He enjoys long walks on the beach and various computer technologies.
Monday, Mar 21, 2005, 11:53 AM in The Spout
A Coder in Courierland
I always love reading about people that love their jobs. In this case, a Toronto coder gave up half his salary to get out of cubeland and onto the back of a bike as a courier. His descriptions, especially the diary entries at the end, make me pine for the part of my childhood when I'd spend hours on the back of the bike simply because it was the most fun thing I could think of to do. Recommended.
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005, 9:01 AM in The Spout
I want XBOX Live virtual presence for my PC!
Robert points out a hilarious video of what happens in an XBOX Live session of Halo 2 when the other players find out you've fallen asleep. But, even more interesting than that is the ability for that kind of real-world fidelity to make it into a virtual world so that guys from across the country can all haze the guy in his sleep. I want that for my PC!
Friday, Mar 11, 2005, 12:38 AM in The Spout
Some Of My Favorite Books
Here.
I was just putting together a list of some of my favorite books as recommendations for a gift certificate I sent to a friend as a birthday present. If case you're wondering (I know you're all dying to know : ), here's what I sent.
Friday, Mar 11, 2005, 12:00 AM in The Spout
Some Of My Favorite Books
I was just putting together a list of some of my favorite books as recommendations for a gift certificate I sent to a friend as a birthday present. If case you're wondering (I know you're all dying to know : ), here's what I sent:
Thriller/Mystery
- "Angels and Demons," by Dan Brown, is the prequel to the famous Da Vinci Code and much better, imo.
- John Sandford's long series about a millionaire cop in Minneapolis starts with "Rules of Prey." If I were to write my own series of novels, these are the ones I'd emulate.
- "A Time to Kill," by John Grisham, is his first and by far his best book. The movie's really good, too.
- "The Bone Collector," by Jeff Deaver, is the first (and my favorite) in a series about a bitter, suicidal forensics genius that loses his career when an accident turns him a quadriplegic and he has to solve crimes from his bed. Avoid the movie.
- "Tough Guys Don't Dance," by Norman Mailer, is my favorite book by this Pulitzer Prize winner. The first chapter starts with a loser waking up from an alcoholic black-out, going out to look for his drug stash, finding his wife's head instead and spending the rest of the book wondering if he killed her or not. Run, don't walk, from the movie. If you have to be run over by a bus in the process, consider yourself lucky.
Fantasy
- "War for the Oaks," by Emma Bull, is about a punk band leader that falls in love with an elf from the St. Paul, MN parks. No matter how many times I read it, but the end I'm always crying (and yes, I'm just that kind of sap).
- "The Silent Tower," by Barbara Hambly, is the first of a three-part series about a modern day female geek that falls in love with a real wizard from another dimension. The relationship that builds between them is as good as any romance novel I've ever read (which is admittedly a small number...)
- Of course, "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, by J. R. R. Tolkien has to be on anyone's list. If you loved the movies, you'll love the books. I believe that "The Hobbit" is a better book over all; it's tighter and happier and I'm very much looking forward to the movie, especially if Peter Jackson does it. However, my favorite part of the four books is the "coming home" part at the back half of "The Return of the King," which is given a 3-minute scene in the movie (although I admit it's a nicely done scene).
Sci-Fi
- "On Basilisk Station," by David Weber, is the first in a long series about a driven, capable woman rising through the ranks of the space navy in spite of the extreme assholes working double-time against her. The main character is so compelling that I cry at the end of 3 of the first 4 books in this series (did I mention what a sap I was?).
- "Ender's Game," by Orson Scott Card, is about a boy genius coddled by his sister, tortured by his brother and abandoned by his parents to military school where he saves the world from bug-eyed aliens before he's old enough for his voice to change. This book is widely regarded as one of the best pieces of modern science fiction that there is. The sequels in the original series are also excellent, but you can skip the other related series w/o missing much.
- "Snow Crash," by Neal Stephenson, is a classic tale of a pizza delivery man/samurai named "Hiro Protagonist" and his virtual reality gear. It's also one of the seminal works in the "cyberpunk" genre.
- "The Running Man," by Steven King, is about a man that can't tolerate his place in the society of the future, so rams a commercial airliner into the top floor of an evil television network responsible for man's downfall (you can see the ending coming a mile away, but it's still very satisfying). Much, much better than the movie.
Misc.
- "Shipping News," by Annie Proulx, is an actual Pulitzer Price winner and as such, is different from your average "reading" book. However, I love its quirkiness and the movie ain't bad, either.
- "One L," by Scott Turow. This is Turow's first book chronicling his first year in law school. I read this one once every few years or so and it always makes me want to go to law school.
Wednesday, Mar 2, 2005, 1:09 PM in The Spout
IT Industry's Own Jobs Training Program
My brother graduated from college with a BS in EE in 2000 and was, predictably, unable to find a job competing with certified, experienced engineers willing to work for the same money after the bubble burst. He was fortunate enough to be able to move into his Mom's basement and get an interest-free loan for an MS in EE that lead to a wonderful job, but if you're not so lucky (hey! I've got next dibs on my Mom's basement!), then check out TechEngage:
"TechEngage is a community-based non-profit organization founded to provide unemployed and under-"employed technical professionals with an affordable opportunity to obtain the high quality training they need to be competitive in today's tough job market."
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005, 10:51 AM in The Spout
On Being Socially Re-engineered
Here. The one where, despite my best efforts, the lame "High Risk Driving" course actually changes my driving habits.
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005, 12:00 AM in The Spout
On Being Socially Re-engineered
I do not consider myself weak-minded. For example, even though I've tried to let it happen, I've never been able to be hypnotized. Also, I'm often considered to be close-minded (although I do change my mind when valid arguments are presented, but most folks don't argue very well, I find). So, why did a terrible "High Risk Driver" course change my driving habits?
The course started as you'd expect: a room full of 18-25 year olds that did not want to show up anywhere on a Saturday morning, least of all at the local level 1 trauma center for 8+ hours of lecture. The main instructor was a high-energy trauma nurse that professed an vast personal experience with all things alcoholic. The traffic cop drove a motorcycle, which he made great pains to point out was the most dangerous vehicle to drive, and told a story about how he let a friend of his drive while they were both too tired in spite of his personal expertise in all matter of influence while driving, e.g. alcohol, drugs, cell phones, sleep deprivation, etc.
Of course, there was the obligatory "Faces of Death" presentation through-out the day, but they were slides, not videos, so didn't compare to the movies I saw in driver's education class at age 16. Even the stories of the people in the pictures, while sad, seemed as much about capricious bad luck as about actual bad decision making. Some of the people from the stories even came to speak to us in their wheel chairs (except one guy that came in a suit and passed his business card around), but by far the most convincing and articulate of this bunch got his injury from a diving accident (that's diving not driving).
The crowning event for the day was the tour of the trauma center itself. It was filled with people who'd suffered traumas, but the vast majority of them were there for non-traffic related injuries (unless you count the guy that rode a sled into a parked car on the one day we had any snow this year). How looking at the new, state-of-the-art MRI machine or seeing nurses drink coffee on a raised platform in the middle of the room helped us learn to drive more carefully, I have no idea.
And yet, despite my best efforts to avoid engaging with the materials of the class, I find that I am driving more carefully. I was always good at keeping my eyes on traffic and watching for kids and animals on the road, being quick to slow or swerve when necessary and rarely getting mad at the other drivers for bone-headed moves (unlike my wife, who curses every 3rd driver : ). However, now I find myself nearer the speed limit more often, sometimes under but always within 5 or 10 miles. And now, while I do still change lanes, it's most often when I'm behind something large that gets in line of sight and not to get ahead a car length of two.
So, what changed my habits? It wasn't the lame course as a whole, but it might have been one or two moments. It might've been when the traffic cop, when asked for the most dangerous driving habits, listed speeding and aggressive driving, which I'd previously considered the least dangerous.
It might've been the statistics. It's not like they showed many convincing statistics at all, but the mere fact that they had been giving this lame course 4-6 times/year for the last 17 years spoke to me about the need for some kind of intervention. Obviously, the sponsors of this course thought it was having some kind of effect, else why continue it?
Or it might've been the company. I mean, their were some real losers in the room, including a 16-year old that admitted to a long list of bad decisions right out of your favorite gang movie. Frankly, to be lumped in with this crowd was just plain embarrassing.
However, when all was said and done, I think it was the math. The traffic cop timed himself doing his 10-mile commute going the speed limit and going 15 miles over the speed limit. The difference w/ zero other traffic on the road? 2 minutes. Do I really need to engage in what are considered the most dangerous driving habits, risk my insurance, my car, my license, my life and the lives of the people around me for 2 lousy minutes?!? That's a bet I can only lose.
Saturday, Feb 19, 2005, 8:37 PM in The Spout
I'm with Shawn -- Constantine was Good
Here. After a movie dry spell that's lasted since Thanksgiving, I agree with Shawn and was pleasantly surprised with Constantine. I liked it enough that I'd see it again. It's not great, but it's good and the guy playing Satan is fabulous.
Wednesday, Feb 16, 2005, 11:30 AM in The Spout
Hitchhiker's Guide Might Not Suck
Here. After watching the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trailer on Amazon.com, I have to say, it might not suck. Any Portland Nerds that want to join me for the first show on 4/29 (but don't tell my boss, he thinks I'm working that day... : )?
Monday, Feb 14, 2005, 2:56 PM in The Spout
Experimenting with Windows Alternatives
Here. The one where I give thumbs up to three Windows alternatives and a thumb sideways to another.
Saturday, Feb 12, 2005, 12:32 PM in The Spout
Airing The Dirty Laundry
I was sitting at Jim Blizzard's going away party the other night when my phone rang. This was the side of the conversation that the Portland nerds heard:
"Hello?"
"What?"
"Well,why don't you have any underwear?"
"Put your brother on."
"Why doesn't your brother have any underwear?"
"Well, why does he think he doesn't have any underwear?"
"OK. Put your brother back on."
"Are you sure you don't have any underwear?"
"Look in your hand; is there any underwear in it?"
"Then check your other hand."
"OK, how many pairs of underwear are you wearing?"
"And how many pairs do you need between right now and the time I get home?"
"Good. Bye."
About halfway through the conversation, the nerds around me could no longer continue their conversations and were laughing openly. Ah, the joys of parenthood...
Saturday, Feb 12, 2005, 12:00 AM in The Spout
Experimenting with Windows Alternatives
When I used to teach COM, we would brag about its cross-platform-ness, i.e. it worked across Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT 4, etc. So, when I'm talking about Windows alternatives, of course I mean Windows XP, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows CE and Windows XP Tablet Edition:
Windows XP: This is the workhorse of my day and with SP2, it's even more wonderful than it was before. Love it.
Windows XP Media Center Edition: The mix of a pleasing 10-foot UI, picture, music and video playback, content and UI extension, PVR, Windows-based expansion and MCE extenders makes this a fabulous media client and server. Love it.
Windows CE/SmartPhone 2003 Second Edition: The 10-inch UI, the built-in apps and services, the extension apps, the internet access and a set of apps optimized for 9-key + joystick input all make this a fabulous user platform that's replaced my phone, my mp3 player and even my laptop in some cases. Plus, I can build my own apps! I haven't felt this way since my first laptop freed me from the tyranny of the desktop. Love, love, love it!
Windows XP Tablet Edition: I love reading text on this OS. The ClearText, the form factor and the scroll-specific buttons near the screen make it a wonderful reading experience. I also look forward to reviewing articles and book chapters with my tablet. However, I doubt I'll get to it because I dread picking it up and being faced with all of the text input I'm forced to perform. Unlike the MCE or SP OSes which have been optimized for remote control/keypad input, the tablet is more general purpose and therefore supports far more general purpose applications. This means text input for dialogs and passwords and URLs and all kinds of other things where my poor handwriting is often painful. Of course, handwriting is faster than joystick/keypad input, but because there seems so much more input required in an average tablet session, it seems slower. I with the apps for the tablet were more special-purpose and optimized for stylus-only input. Love it and don't so much love it.
BTW, I paid $6000 in college for my Mac IIcx that I used to log into the Unix machines in the lab, so I've had a full range of computer UI experiences. I do truly love Windows best.
Friday, Feb 11, 2005, 11:53 PM in The Spout
i-mate SP3 Smartphone: How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways:
- Pocket-sized and no bigger than my old dumb phone and tons smaller than tricorder-sized PDAs
- Synchronized calendar, contacts and inbox every 10 minutes everywhere I go
- IM and web browsing everywhere I go
- 512MB miniSD upgrade (for $60), giving me room enough for 300+ minutes of songs/audio books, making the phone a wonderful mp3 player, both for personal use (via the included stereo headphones) and in my car (via a $3 Radio Shack part, the Audio Adapter 274-373)
- Bluetooth headset, freeing me from untaggling wires all the damn time and letting me answer the phone while it's still in my pocket
- Voice tags, letting my dial the phone while it's still in my pocket
- Extensible with inexpensive custom apps of all kinds, including ones I can build myself in native or managed code (and a wealth of development information)
- Backlit ebook for darkened movie theaters during the commercials and the slow bits
- A quicky flashlight in a pinch
- Theoretically acts as a modem for my PC to give it an internet connection via my cell phone's GPRS service, although I haven't gotten that set up yet : )
That's not to say that all is well. The following mars the i-mate's perfection:
- When the keypad is locked and a notification pops up, the screen remains dark, but the Unlock button turns into the Dismiss button, which dismisses the notification w/o showing it first
- Notifications can only be snoozed for 5 minutes
- No WMP10 and WMP9 on the smartphone has terrible playlist management
- A dearth of web sites targeted at the smart phone. I've only found msnbc.com so far. I really miss a decent movie showtime info web site (imdb.com works, but it's a pain)
- Cramped screen and keyboard (I've heard the Motorola MPx220 flip phone solves this problem)
- Doesn't use Wi-Fi when it's available
- No FM radio
It's my understanding that some of these flaws are fixed in the later smartphones (like the Audiovox SMT5600), but even with the issues I mention, I can't imagine that someone with a cell phone wouldn't pick a smart one over a dumb one, nor can I imagine that more then a relative few would prefer a PDA to a smart phone. The smart phone represents a perfect storm of form factor, capability and developer tools. Keep your hands and feet inside the ride, boys and girls, it's going to be a wild ride.
Friday, Feb 11, 2005, 12:30 PM in The Spout
Local Boy Does Good
Microsoft's own Robert Scoble has broken his way into the secular press, with an article in both Fortune (Why There's No Escaping the Blog) and The Economist (Chief humanising officer). Way to go, Robert!
Wednesday, Feb 9, 2005, 9:12 AM in The Spout
I Think VSLive Is *It*
It's become apparent to me that for Microsoft-focused non-Microsoft hosted conferences, VSLive is it. I know that in the past that they've had financial problems, but I haven't heard rumors of that for a while. Even more importantly, their attendance numbers and their coverage is top notch for 3rd party Windows developer conferences. If I was going to speak at a wide-reach Windows developer conference that wasn't a TechEd or a PDC, VSLive would be it.