I’ll start with some general observations.
Month: May 2010
Birthday Wishes for kerinda and klellingson
OK, Folks, you know the drill. Allright everyone, let’s gather in front of our large, 13″, Black and White TV set, and watch as a tall, lanky man in a khaki uniform strides out, introduces himself as Sheriff John, and says: “This one is for you, kerinda. He pulls out his accordion, and starts singing the Birthday Cake Polka:
| Put another candle on my birthday cake We’re gonna bake a birthday cake Put another candle on my birthday cake I’m another year old today I’m gonna have a party with my birthday cake |
We’ll have some pie and sandwiches And chocolate ice cream too We’ll sing and play the day away And one more thing I’m gonna do I’ll blow out the candles on my birthday cake Happy Birthday to You |
He then turns to another child in the audience, and says, “I also understand it is klellingson‘s birthday. He’s made a special request for a round. So, those of you on the right, you’re in the “A” group. Those of you in the middle, you’re the “B” group. Those of you on the left, you’re the “C” group. Alright, “A” group, you start, followed by the “B”s and the “C”s. He plucks an “A” note, and sings:
We wish you a happy birthday
A joyous and celebrated birthday
For you Dear klellingson
We wish you a long long life
Birthday Wishes for llennhoff
OK, Folks, you know the drill. Allright everyone, let’s gather in front of our large, 13″, Black and White TV set, and watch as a tall, lanky man in a khaki uniform strides out, introduces himself as Sheriff John, and says: OK, Lunch Brigaders, today we have a special song going out to llennhoff in honor of her special day. He pulls out his guitar, slicks back his hair in the manner of They Might Be Giants, and starts singing:
| You’re older than you’ve ever been And now you’re even older And now you’re even older And now you’re even older You’re older than you’ve ever been And now you’re even older And now you’re older still Time is marching on |
This day will soon be at an end And now it’s even sooner And now it’s even sooner And now it’s even sooner This day will soon be at an end And now it’s even sooner And now it’s sooner still You’re older than you’ve ever been |
That Takes Me Back
Today’s Google logo is an actual playable PACMAN game. Don’t believe me? Just leave up the screen.
Today’s Bike Ride
By the way, using the scale at work, I’m now down to 206½ lbs. When I started this effort at the end of March, I was around 222 lbs.
Thursday News Chum: ATM PINs, Olympic Mascots, Looney Tunes, McDonalds, and Jewish Single-Malt
I was hoping for a theme, but alas, that was not to be. Here are a few items that caught my eye from skimming the papers the last few days over lunch:
- From the “He Made It Too Easy” Department: The Chicago Tribune brings the obit of John Shepherd-Barron, the inventor of the ATM machine. We all know how we are stuck with 98.6 as normal human temperature because the inventor’s wife had an illness when the calibration was done. It turns out there is a similar story on why ATM PINs, and PINs in general, are a relatively insecure four digits: “Shepherd-Barron originally planned to make PINs six digits long, but cut the number to four after his wife, Caroline, complained that six was too many. “Over the kitchen table, she said she could only remember four figures, so because of her, four figures became the world standard,” he told the BBC.” The first ATM machine was installed in 1967!
- From the “Hidey, Howdy, Izzy, Syd, Ollie, and Millie” Department: And the question is: “Who were some of the worst Olympic mascots?” The National Post has a nice article today looking back on some of the worst Olympic mascots, including photographs.
- From the “They’re All A Little Looney” Department: The New York Times has a nice article on the upcoming reincarnation of the classic Looney Tunes on CN. It includes a nice history of other attempts, including Tiny Toons (which was somewhat successful), “The Loonatics Unleashed” (which was horrid), and “Baby Looney Tunes” (the mind just boggles). No mention of “Duck Dodgers”, tho. It will be interesting to see how the new incarnation fares.
- From the “A Force for Good” Department: That’s how McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner characterized Ronald McDonald, who isn’t going anywhere despite protests calling for his abolition. What is going away is the McDonalds physical look, as the chain is introducing an updated look that is significantly more modern. Out will go the iconic red mansard roof and cafeteria-style lighting, and in will come a stone or brick exterior and more modern furniture. There will be zone-seating areas, so the customer has the opportunity to use the restaurant in the manner that fits their lifestyle best, and playlands may disappear from some stores.
- From the “Yet Another Reason To Drink” Department: The Jewish Journal has an interesting column on the changing Jewish relationship with wine, and how single-malt scotch is now the drink of choice. Why is this happening? The poor quality of Kosher wine, combined with the higher quality with no kashrut issues (except during Pesach) of single-malt.
Amazing Students Yet Again
Today was the 2010 California State Science Fair. As in past years, I was the panel chair for the Jr. Math and Software Panel, as well as being a Project of the Year judge.
Math and Software. This year, we ended up with 13 project in the panel. We ended up with six (6) judges, after some perturbations (we had six to start, lost two, gained one, he cancelled at the last minute, and the two we lost ended up on the panel). Every year seems to have a themes: some years it is programming, other years there are loads of projects on π (pi). If there was a theme this year on projects, it was games. We had projects on Conway’s Life, Connect Four, Yahtzee, Chess, and Risk. The winner ended up being the project on Conway’s Life. This 8th grader programmed Life in for both Flash and iPhone platforms, including parameterizing it so different rules could be tried… and came up with a better variation on the rules than Conway’s. He also understood the cellular automata basis behind the game. I’ve heard you can find his app in the iPhone store! Second place was a fellow who implemented a program that calculated the best starting position for Risk. His program was written in Java and well parameterized, making it easy to adapt to other Risk variants. Third place was a C program that played Connect Four, which included a seven-level look-ahead to choose moves. Fourth place wasn’t a game: it was a project on Kaprekar Numbers which explored patterns in the iterations to reach Kaprekar Constants. The honorable mention was a fellow who found some interesting issues related to random Fibonacci sequences.
Project of the year. This is always interesting: we get to see the best projects in each category. Some of my favorites were:
- Junior Biochemistry/ Molecular Biology: “Effects of 3-Membered Heterocycle-Derived dTTP Analogs on the Inhibition of Nucleic Acid Polymerases Using Docking”. This was a project by an 8th grader, whose knowledge of chemistry amazed the PhDs on the panel. To give you an idea, here’s her objective: “The objective was to determine the inhibitory effects of novel three-membered heterocyclic compound-derived analogs on several nucleic acid polymerases in silico using molecular docking.”. Her findings? “Several potential inhibitors have been identified through this experiment: for DNA polymerase kappa, Ligand 102 with a binding energy of -6.09 kcal/mol; for HCV NS5B polymerase, Ligand 35 with a binding energy of -5.67 kcal/mol; and for HIV reverse transcriptase, Ligands 15 and 96 with a binding energy of -6.03 kcal/mol. The majority of ligands had a greater binding affinity than the control ligand, dTTP. Analysis of data found that three-membered rings increased binding affinity through both hydrophobic interactions and through an extensive network of hydrogen bonds. The decreased steric repulsion of three-membered rings relative to the five-membered rings of dTTP also contributed to increased binding affinity.” Yeah, I have no idea what this means either, other than it deals with developing medicines for HIV.
- Junior Microbiology: “A Conductometric Biosensor for the Detection of Food-Borne Pathogens”. Another 8th grader. Her project was developing a rapid (30 minute) test for salmonella that could be used in the field. How did she do it? “First, I built a conductometric biosensor by preparing the individual membranes of the biosensor and placing them over a copper wafer fabricated on a microscope slide. I serially diluted a liquid culture of Salmonella enterica from 10^6 to 10^1 CFU/ml. I applied the sample to the application pad of the biosensor and recorded the resistance at 15 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, 2 min, and 3 min intervals. I also tested the biosensor with a mixed culture of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Salmonella. For the FDA method, I plated each concentration of Salmonella onto McConkey plates and incubated overnight. The conductometric biosensor showed significant resistance reductions from about 10 K-ohms (negative control of broth) to 2-3 K-ohms from the concentrations 10^3 to 10^6 CFU/ml, confirming the presence of Salmonella. At concentration of 10^2 CFU/ml, only one sample showed a decrease in resistance; the other sample showed resistance above that of the negative control sample. During the mixed culture experiment, the biosensor could detect Salmonella even in the presence of non-target antigens.”
- Junior Electronics & Electromagnetics: “The Levitating Train”. This 7th grader devised an experiment to achieve the process of YBCO superconductors steadily levitating above a track of neodymium magnets when cooled using liquid nitrogen, as well as testing how much the amount of the liquid nitrogen effects the levitation height of two YBCO superconductors mounted on a small balsa wood box (the train).
- Junior Product Science (Physical): “The Effect of Reusable Bag Type on Tensile Strength, Liquid Retention, Stability, Washability, Compactness, and Capacity”. After this 8th grader’s mom plastic bag broke, spilling milk, she investigates what was the strongest type of reusable bag, including building her own tensile strength rig. Her method? “Seventeen reusable grocery bags were collected, which varied in fabric, make, and design. These bags were tested to determine if they would withstand the maximum 30 lb. weight given in tensile strength (machine used), retain liquid without leaking, be stable in a moving automobile, wash without wear to the bag, compact into a small form, and have a great capacity. These aspects were individually investigated through six in-depth tests. Tensile Strength: 100 lifts each, with varying weight loads, 5 trials. Liquid Retention: 57 grams of liquid in each bag, 15 minute duration, 5 total trials. Stability: 10 defined maneuvers in a moving vehicle, avg. 1:12 min each. Washability: wash and dry per instructions, 5 trials. Compactness: 8 different size drink cups, bags compacted to fit with lid secured. Capacity: 6 distinct trials, different grocery item groupings.” Her findings: “The three leading reusable grocery bags were the iTySE Ripstop Bag, the OBOE Pongee Poly Bag, and the ACME Bag Earthtote.”
Mind you: this was Junior division work. Impressive kids—think about this when you hear about the poor quality of California’s schools and kids. Our kids can do great… if we just give them the opportunity!
How Not To Treat A Customer: A Continuing Series
Today, in the mail, I received a love note from the United States Bankruptcy Court. Forms B9E and B10, informing me that I may be a creditor of the debtor, “The Pasadena Playhouse State Theatre of California”, and that I need to file a Proof of Claim. It also informed me (in 8-point legalese) that there will be a meeting of creditors on June 21, 2010 in downtown Los Angeles at 2:15pm. There was no explanation of how to fill out the forms, or what was even happening.
Now, I’m aware of what was happening because I read the Los Angeles Times. I knew the Playhouse was filing for bankruptcy (Chapter 11). But I’ve had no communication from the Playhouse. No letter from them indicating “here’s what we’re doing, here’s why, and here’s what you need to do”. Nope. Just an 8-pt legal form. This continues their record of poor communication.
If the Pasadena Playhouse is to succeed in its new post-bankruptcy incarnation, it can’t do it on single ticket income alone. It needs season subscribers… and the most likely base of those are were the current subscribers. I say “were”, because the Playhouse is rapidly alienating them and showing they won’t even make the effort to pretend to care. I know the good-will we had towards the organization has been lost, and we’re sending our subscription dollars to theatres that care about their subscribers.
Presuming I can figure it out :-), I’ll send in their proof of claim, with a reworded version of the letter I sent to the Playhouse, the charge date, and proof that they originally promised seven (7) plays [not six (6) as they later claimed] but only delivered one (1), “Camelot”.