Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/08/31/all-roads-lead-to-san-jose/
Monday afternoon I biked down the Guadalupe trail past the airport to San Jose Diridon Caltrain and rode a comfy baby bullet home to Mountain View.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/08/29/everyone-believes-in-dogs/
I have been writing most days at 750words.com. This is a little like Sy Safransky’s Notebook, as published in The Sun Magazine.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/08/25/steve-jobs-is-a-wise-man/
Personally, I am not fond of Apple products, but I can not help but admire Steve Jobs. I am enjoying a compendium of Steve Jobs quotes from the Wall Street Journal. This one hits close to home:
“The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.”
I work for an Information Technology bellwether, which is both highly profitable and obsessive over maintaining its profit margins. Costs must always be contained. While we have a variety of interesting technology we are working to develop, we are presently completing our latest round of workforce reductions. I wish our leadership could be a little more like Steve Jobs:
“This is not a one-man show. What’s reinvigorating this company is two things: One, there’s a lot of really talented people in this company who listened to the world tell them they were losers for a couple of years, and some of them were on the verge of starting to believe it themselves. But they’re not losers. What they didn’t have was a good set of coaches, a good plan. A good senior management team. But they have that now.”
You know what John Chambers might say to that?
“The problem with the Internet startup craze isn’t that too many people are starting companies; it’s that too many people aren’t sticking with it. That’s somewhat understandable, because there are many moments that are filled with despair and agony, when you have to fire people and cancel things and deal with very difficult situations. That’s when you find out who you are and what your values are.”
Really, the whole collection is worth a read.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/08/10/san-jose-tube-map/
I am a fan of transit maps, but in San Jose, the light rail system is two lines and a little stub. There doesn’t seem to be much consistent bus service, either. Instead, San Jose is a city built around a set of highways. So I built this Harry Beck-style transit map of San Jose’s transportation system.
It is designed for printing on a sheet of US letter paper as a quick reference. I’m confident that a better resource would opt for a display of the major roads that comprise the irregular street grid, so you can see what flows to where, turning in upon itself and changing names along the way. I might even build a map like that, but for now, I just wanted to blow a mind or three by rendering highways as if they were a transit system in a clearly iconic fashion.
Incomplete interchanges have been omitted, and I’m sure there’s an error in there somewhere.
The fare? An automobile and a licensed driver!
Links: PNG: 3300×2550, PDF: 8.5x11in, Inkscape SVG (source)
Update 2011-08-19: Dixon Landing moved North of CA237, San Tomas spelled correctly.
Update 2012-06-26: For a future project, check out code by Andrew Godwin for his “Twin Tubes” map.
Update 2013-05-23: John Galantini has rendered a Tube Map using HTML and CSS, which is utterly amazing. For example, the little wheel chairs are a list of items, each representing say, the wheels, the back, the arm, all rendered using the CSS box model.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/08/03/heck-yeah-google-plus/
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/25/one-word-autonomous-cars/
I don’t have a well-structured argument ready to post, but here’s a little rant I just made on IRC:
Danny: Talking to a guy at Google, he suggested that the plan is to introduce autonomous cars into an environment with less restrictive regulations.
Danny: I think autonomous cars are just a matter of time. Possibly the majority of new cars in 20 years, hopefully a lot sooner. The safety issue will become “why would you want a car controlled by fault-prone humans?”
Response: I expect there will be piles of social and political resistance.
Danny: Well the biggest resistance might be taxi drivers. That’s an effing industry in India. But I could picture the military going for it. “The road is mined and full of ambushes, yet the the supplies must go through. We can pay mad money for insane truck drivers or we can send robots.”
Danny: What interests me will be the impact on public transit. I think if cars can pick you up at your house, car ownership will drop, and people will use inexpensive autonomous car hires as the “last mile” connection to high-density transit services.
Danny: . . . the autonomous cars will happen. I swear that industry is like the Internet circa 1989. I would love to get a foot in the door! If Google nixed that program they are effing dunces–Like HP telling Steve Jobs that the PC is just a little too “out there.” I would buy the effing Apple I Autonomous Car Kit and install it myself.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/19/saq-corporate-communication/
Q: “What would help make communications more clear, simple, and transparent for you?”
A: I come from a startup culture, where the Fearless Leader will once a week stand up an a table and enthusiastically explain what new deals and products are in the pipeline, in terms his Grandma would understand. Then we drink cool-aid.
Compared to that, most corporate communication is Kremlinology.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/14/cuddly-maxwell/
Maxwell cuddles up on the couch for a belly rub.
Usually he avoids me but Mei is out of town.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/12/google-hangout/
Mei says hello to Sean, in London.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/07/twins/
Danny and Curtis sport a Silicon Valley fashion sensibility.
. . . and matching glasses!
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/06/vta-cup-holder/
A hand hold on VTA's light rail makes a convenient place to hook a travel mug
I usually have my coffee at work, but on this morning I brewed at home and took it with.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/05/wordpress-upgrade-php53-centos/
If you have a self-hosted WordPress blog, you really ought to keep it up to date. Popular software is a popular security target, and as new exploits are discovered, new patches are deployed. Fortunately, WordPress makes this super-easy. Just go to Dashboard > Updates and you can update with one click. I basically get a free update any time I get it in my head to write something.
Except this morning, when I was told that an update was available, but:
On my CentOS VM, this was addressed by:
sudo yum update sudo service httpd restart
Actually, it was a little difficult, because we’re replacing php with php53:
0-13:11 djh@www0 ~$ cat /etc/redhat-release
CentOS release 5.6 (Final)
0-13:11 djh@www0 ~$ rpm -q php
php-5.1.6-27.el5_5.3
0-13:11 djh@www0 ~$ yum list installed | grep ^php
php.x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed
php-cli.x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed
php-common.x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed
php-gd.x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed
php-mysql.x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed
php-pdo.x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed
1-13:11 djh@www0 ~$ sudo service httpd stop
Stopping httpd: [ OK ]
0-13:11 djh@www0 ~$ yum list installed | grep ^php | awk '{print $1}'
php.x86_64
php-cli.x86_64
php-common.x86_64
php-gd.x86_64
php-mysql.x86_64
php-pdo.x86_64
0-13:12 djh@www0 ~$ sudo yum remove `!!`
sudo yum remove `yum list installed | grep ^php | awk '{print $1}'`
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Setting up Remove Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package php.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 set to be erased
---> Package php-cli.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 set to be erased
---> Package php-common.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 set to be erased
---> Package php-gd.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 set to be erased
---> Package php-mysql.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 set to be erased
---> Package php-pdo.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 set to be erased
--> Finished Dependency Resolution
Dependencies Resolved
================================================================================
Package Arch Version Repository Size
================================================================================
Removing:
php x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed 6.2 M
php-cli x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed 5.3 M
php-common x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed 397 k
php-gd x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed 333 k
php-mysql x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed 196 k
php-pdo x86_64 5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 installed 114 k
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Remove 6 Package(s)
Reinstall 0 Package(s)
Downgrade 0 Package(s)
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Erasing : php-gd 1/6
Erasing : php 2/6
Erasing : php-mysql 3/6
Erasing : php-cli 4/6
Erasing : php-common 5/6
warning: /etc/php.ini saved as /etc/php.ini.rpmsave
Erasing : php-pdo 6/6
Removed:
php.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 php-cli.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3
php-common.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 php-gd.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3
php-mysql.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3 php-pdo.x86_64 0:5.1.6-27.el5_5.3
Complete!
0-13:13 djh@www0 ~$ sudo yum install php53 php53-mysql php53-gd
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
* base: yum.singlehop.com
* epel: mirror.steadfast.net
* extras: mirror.fdcservers.net
* updates: mirror.sanctuaryhost.com
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package php53.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 set to be updated
--> Processing Dependency: php53-cli = 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 for package: php53
--> Processing Dependency: php53-common = 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 for package: php53
---> Package php53-gd.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 set to be updated
--> Processing Dependency: libXpm.so.4()(64bit) for package: php53-gd
---> Package php53-mysql.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 set to be updated
--> Processing Dependency: php53-pdo for package: php53-mysql
--> Running transaction check
---> Package libXpm.x86_64 0:3.5.5-3 set to be updated
---> Package php53-cli.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 set to be updated
---> Package php53-common.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 set to be updated
---> Package php53-pdo.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 set to be updated
--> Finished Dependency Resolution
Dependencies Resolved
================================================================================
Package Arch Version Repository Size
================================================================================
Installing:
php53 x86_64 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 updates 1.3 M
php53-gd x86_64 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 updates 109 k
php53-mysql x86_64 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 updates 92 k
Installing for dependencies:
libXpm x86_64 3.5.5-3 base 44 k
php53-cli x86_64 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 updates 2.4 M
php53-common x86_64 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 updates 605 k
php53-pdo x86_64 5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 updates 67 k
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install 7 Package(s)
Upgrade 0 Package(s)
Total download size: 4.6 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/7): libXpm-3.5.5-3.x86_64.rpm | 44 kB 00:00
(2/7): php53-pdo-5.3.3-1.el5_6.1.x86_64.rpm | 67 kB 00:00
(3/7): php53-mysql-5.3.3-1.el5_6.1.x86_64.rpm | 92 kB 00:00
(4/7): php53-gd-5.3.3-1.el5_6.1.x86_64.rpm | 109 kB 00:00
(5/7): php53-common-5.3.3-1.el5_6.1.x86_64.rpm | 605 kB 00:00
(6/7): php53-5.3.3-1.el5_6.1.x86_64.rpm | 1.3 MB 00:00
(7/7): php53-cli-5.3.3-1.el5_6.1.x86_64.rpm | 2.4 MB 00:00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 12 MB/s | 4.6 MB 00:00
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Installing : php53-common 1/7
Installing : php53-pdo 2/7
Installing : php53-cli 3/7
Installing : libXpm 4/7
Installing : php53 5/7
Installing : php53-mysql 6/7
Installing : php53-gd 7/7
Installed:
php53.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 php53-gd.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1
php53-mysql.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1
Dependency Installed:
libXpm.x86_64 0:3.5.5-3 php53-cli.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1
php53-common.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1 php53-pdo.x86_64 0:5.3.3-1.el5_6.1
Complete!
0-13:14 djh@www0 ~$ sudo service httpd start
Starting httpd: [ OK ]
And now I have successfully upgraded via the web UI.
Most days, I am not a CentOS admin, so if there is a better way to have done this, I am keen to hear.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/05/book-donations/
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE BOOKS OUTSIDE ON GROUND OR DRIVEWAY
We eased this situation by providing foster homes for some of the books left on the ground.
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/07/03/breakfast-party/
Florentine, waffles and fruits! Oh my!
Link: https://dannyman.toldme.com/2011/06/29/pricing-truck-rentals-budget-vs-penske/
[Notes from my move from Brooklyn to Mountain View, CA in July 2010. We rented a truck and towed a car. We drove via I-80/I-70. We stayed at Motel 6 when we could, and I asked my Android GPS to avoid tolls, especially East of the Mississippi.]
When I moved from California to New York I went with Budget Truck rental, based on price. It went well enough. This time I’m going with Penske, based on my sweetheart’s AAA discount. Penske’s web site is more polished, especially the “enter make and model of car to be towed” interaction. Today I received a 20% discount coupon for Budget. I made my reservation and was pleased that the price came out lower, until I reviewed my Penske reservation and saw they had included tax in their total. Budget did not. It also looks like Penske applies the AAA discount per-item, where Budget’s discount was only on the truck itself.
| Item | Budget | Penske |
|---|---|---|
| Discount | 20% coupon | 12% AAA + web discount |
| 10-day one-way 16′ truck rental | $1,291.20 | $1,250.06 |
| Tow Dolly | $185.00 | $264.00 |
| Hand Truck | $35.00 | $17.60 |
| 2-dozen furniture pads | $54.00 | $26.40 |
| “Cost recovery fee” | $33.00 | |
| Total | $1,598.20 | $1,558.06 |
Notes:
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