Jeremy Nickurak

Philidelphia Public Libraries Shutting Down

2009-09-15T04:03:22Z

http://philadelphia.about.com/b/2009/09/14/free-library-slated-to-close-on-october-2-continued-budget-woes-to-blame.htm

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/

If this is a statement of how bad the American economy is going, it's pretty scary. If it's a statement of where their priorities lie, it's profoundly depressing. Odds are it's both.

Google Chrome, doomed to repeat history

2009-08-13T22:01:05Z

Google's "Chrome" web browser is kind of interesting. It's one of the more popular ways to get at the webkit html rendering library, and it's pretty fast. The per-process tabs give good safety and stability. Overall, it's a neat browser.

My only question: WHY MUST THEY INSIST ON REINVENTING THE IDEA OF A WIDGET/TAB/WINDOW?!?

Mozilla tried this about 9 years ago with their "modern" look (). The look and feel of the browser didn't match anything else on anybody's computer. The colors are all wrong. The icons don't look like the familiar icons people get to know. Tooltips may show up with a weird style. Eventually they saw reason and realised fitting in with the rest of the applications on the system is VERY important.

Why then has Chrome not only followed in Mozilla's foot-mis-steps, but taken it to another ridiculous level? Not only is the application's interface totally different from any other application somebody is likely to use (tabs above menu-bars?), but the actual window decoration, the part of the program that lets you control where the window is, and what size it is, is totally different. It makes no sense.

The way a user interacts with windows, desktops, and widgets, is the responsibility of the desktop suite's designers, and the preferences of the user. Over-riding long-studied policies on how users use their computers, and over-riding preferences that users have explicitly set is wrong.

I just want a full-featured browser that acts like a window I'd like to use normally on my system. Firefox happens to do very well in that regard. The fact that it's a slow-witted, memory-hogging behemoth just isn't enough to encourage me to trade the normal expectations of how my computer should work for faster, shinier new toy that will occasionally shoot me in the foot.

Update: A few people pointed out that this is pretty common among Windows applications. Every developer wants their app to stand out and be special, by looking different from everything else. I think this is a key part of what I haven't been able to articulate about why Chrome makes me uncomfortable: It reminds me of using stupid Windows applications. If I wanted that, I would be running Windows. Grmmblle.

Not dead yet

2009-08-06T16:49:00Z

I've fallen off the net a bit for the past few weeks...

For the last 3 weeks of July I was TA'ing a course on "Software Carpentry", which is a fancy way of saying I've been helping to build good programming and development principles in graduate students from other departments (largely chemistry, physics, and engineering), who do a little bit of programming in the course of their research, but haven't had the formal exposure to things like unit-testing, revision control, and modular code that a Computing Scientist takes for granted. It was a really rewarding experience, especially since it was a 7-hour a day program where you could see a lot of material get appreciated at a fast pace. By and large I think all the students found areas they could improve on, and have more motivation to continue learning more in the subject, which is always my first goal as a Teaching Assistant.

As well as that went, I've been somewhat further from 100% healthy than I'd like, and the timing lined up perfectly with my TA'ing schedule. I've picked up a virus and a bacterial infection, and it knocked me on my back quite soundly. I'm about 3 days into a prescription of an anti-inflammatory, an anti-biotic, a steriod, and Tylenol-3. That's returned me quite quickly to a regular sleep schedule, and nearly full energy, se I'm actually looking at getting back into the grind of research (gradually).

Between the course and the illness, my focus on research has been pretty much lost, so I'm making a push to get back into that mindspace asap. (See my other friends-only blog posting for more details on that)

Best bug ever

2009-06-08T19:34:55Z

Ubuntu can't print on Tuesdays.

TLDR: When you print, it generates a postscript file that gets sent to the print system. Postscript files include the date in the headers at the top of the file. On Tuesdays, this happens to look a little bit like an Erlang file, meaning that the print system freaks out and says "I don't know what to do with this!"

Net Neutrality

2009-05-19T22:50:40Z

"As a matter of policy, Transport for London isn't allowed to block us from riding the tube to a rally in support of striking transit workers; British Gas doesn't turn our heat off if they suspect we're housing a benefits cheat; and BT doesn't divert our phone calls if we're ringing up a competitor to change carriers. Giving an ISP censorship powers — and then layering censorship in secrecy and arbitrariness — we make the internet a less trustworthy and less useful place to be."

- Cory Doctorow; http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/19/we-must-ensure-google-garage

My baptism!

2009-02-27T17:45:30Z

Out of habit, I only posted this to my Facebook last night, but in case anybody here isn't on my facebook page.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25ggh-HGlhk

Coincidences

2008-11-11T06:45:01Z

I've always had a bit of trouble with cosmology as a science. It's very cool, and there some very beautiful explanations for some very big, unfathomable questions. And i really and genuinely do enjoy it, since it's really fundamentally the study of reality. On a certain level, science breaks down to that absolute question, and that's a strength and a weakness. If things happen for a reason, then for what reason is the a universe? Or a multiverse? Or just generally, stuff as opposed to no stuff?

I do believe everything happens for a reason. We like to call things that happen randomly coincidences when we don't see the reason, but there's always a reason, be it one based on some physical law of cause and effect, some cosmological philosophy, or... something else. I believe that it's there, even if I don't or can't know exactly what the reason is, or fully understand it.

NDP - Moderately Less Distasteful

2008-10-09T15:50:54Z

Hmm. Since I moved into this riding, I hadn't paid much attention to the polls here. Apparently the NDP actually have a better chance of upsetting the Conservatives. I'll definitely feel less dirty voting for them than for the Liberals.

Vote-swapping

2008-10-08T05:42:19Z

In the hopes that a vote that would normally go to someone other than the Liberals may have a shot somewhere else, I'm signing up with http://apps.new.facebook.com/ah_vote_swap/ . It's a facebook app to allow you to trade votes with someone in another riding. The upshot is, you and someone else together get to give the same number of votes to the parties you like, and still get to vote strategically against a party you'd rather see lose in either riding. This one in particular is biased towards voting out the Conservatives, but that's fine by me, since as of about half an hour ago, I'm highly biased against them too.

Voting for the Liberals? Me? Really

2008-10-08T05:14:21Z

I don't see as I have much of a choice.

The Conservatives released their election platform today, 1 week before the election. That's dirty pool by itself.

What shocked me is that they snuck re-introducing Bill C-61 into their goals. This bill gives the Canadian government ludicrous power to invade personal privacy to protect the interests of an outdated and obsolete industry, namely the traditional music and movie distribution industry. Huge fines against people who aren't even stealing, and NO provisions for fair-use, educational use, parody, journalism, etc. What the industry decides to lock, you're not allowed to unlock, no matter how justified you are in doing it. In a very real sense, you're not even allowed to talk about how you might be able to unlock it, or do legitimate research on the topic.

Since I'm in one of the few ridings in Alberta where there's actually a possibility of electing a Liberal, and a few votes could actually make a difference, and electing a Liberal means just a slightly worse chance for the Conservatives to get the majority they'd need to push this through, I'm very likely going to be voting for the Liberals. Not because I like them, not because I agree with them, not because I want them to have any power. Simply because I'd rather have an ineffective government than an overtly hostile one.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again. Democracy simply doesn't work."

Personality Defect Test

2008-09-18T15:44:48Z

Best quiz ever. It even threatened to stab me. Take it yourself: http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-personality-defect-test (stolen from Tozetre: http://tozetre.livejournal.com/666391.html)

Your result for The Personality Defect Test ...
Robot

You are 86% Rational, 14% Extroverted, 0% Brutal, and 14% Arrogant.

Robot
You are the Robot! You are characterized by your rationality. In fact, this is really ALL you are characterized by. Like a cold, heartless machine, you are so logical and unemotional that you scarcely seem human. For instance, you are very humble and don't bother thinking of your own interests, you are very gentle and lack emotion, and you are also very introverted and introspective. You may have noticed that these traits are just as applicable to your laptop as they are to a human being. You are not like the robots they show in the movies. Movie robots are make-believe, because they always get all personable and likeable after being struck by lightning, or they are cold, cruel killing machines. In all reality, though, you are much more boring than all that. Real robots just sit there, doing their stupid jobs, and doing little else. If you get struck by lightning, you won't develop a winning personality and heart of gold. (Robots don't have hearts, silly, and if they did, they would probably be made of steel, not gold.) You also won't be likely to terrorize humanity by becoming an ultra-violent killing machine sent into the past to kill the mother of a child who will lead a rebellion against machines, because that movie was dumb as hell, and because real robots don't kill--they horribly maim at best, and they don't even do that on purpose. Real robots are boringly kind and all too rarely try to kill people. In all my years, my laptop has only attacked me once, and that was only because my brother threw it at me. In short, your personality defect is that you don't really HAVE a personality. You are one of those annoying, super-logical people that never gets upset or flustered. Unless, of course, you short circuit. Or if someone throws a pie at you. Pies sure are delicious.

To put it less negatively:

1. You are more RATIONAL than intuitive.

2. You are more INTROVERTED than extroverted.

3. You are more GENTLE than brutal.

4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant.

Compatibility:

Your exact opposite is the Class Clown.

Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Hand-Raiser, the Emo Kid, and the Haughty Intellectual.

4 and a half minutes well-spent

2008-07-22T04:51:33Z

Must-see

For every hero...

2008-06-30T23:46:23Z

If you like things that are awesome, go HERE NOW. That is all.

What?

2008-06-19T01:04:06Z

Stolen from ntaylor: Cell Phone vs Microwave

I’m not sure how comfortable I am keeping my cell phone in my pocket any more.

Moving and Convocation

2008-06-13T15:20:04Z

So, somehow in the blur of the past couple weeks I managed to leave out a few minor details...

I moved into my new place at the beginning of this month. It’s basically the attic of a 3-story house in the East Campus Village. It’s in pretty good shape, and they cleaned well (with one minor exception that ended with the Edmonton Police taking photographs and blood samples... turns out it was a total false alarm :) ) Moved a bunch of stuff in, bought a bunch of new stuff (much singing of Jonathan Coulton's Ikea was involved). The place is starting to come together, but the living room is still completely unfurnished and full of things I haven’t unpacked yet. But the cable guy was by yesterday! Now that I have internet there, it’s starting to feel like home :)

Monday was my convocation as a Bachelor of Science with a Computing Science specialization at the University of Alberta. I went in figuring it’d be a dry 2 hour thing to sit through, but was actually alot more engrossing than I thought. Some excellent speakers, just the right amount of pomp and ceremony without feeling like it took itself too seriously. I really wish I could have invited more people to this one, but with over 400 people graduants in that ceremony alone (and over 6,000 for the university as whole this year), the Jubilee Auditorium could only fit so many people. If you weren’t able to attend, you can view the ceremony online. (There’s a dvd available to order for $37 if anybody really wants one that badly). Mine was the Monday June 9th, 3pm-5pm ceremony. (Just a note if you’re having trouble viewing it: My first shot seemed to work alot better with Internet Explorer, but that might just be firefox’s popup blocker getting in the way.).

Oh, and I did get my grad photos in! If anybody wants some, let me know. I haven’t figured out the pricing exactly yet, but they came out really nice.

Okay, that’s enough livejournalling for today, I should really be working anyways...

Movin' on out

2008-05-22T15:17:11Z

Picking up my lease agreement today! As of early June I’ll be living on campus in the East Campus Villiage. It’s a one-bedroom unit in the top-floor of a decent looking little house. No more spending an hour and a half on the bus every day!
That said, now I have to start getting set up. In addition to the basic necessities of life (eg, high-speed internet), I’ll need to start collecting some furniture. Some stuff I’ll be bringing up from Calgary, but others I’ll need:

A new mattress
A couch (maybe a sofa-bed/futon?)
Some form of tv for entertaining company
Random kitchen appliances
- toaster/toaster oven
- Possibly a new coffee source
A couple bookshelves/cabinets
Half a dozen things I’m sure I’ve overlooked

I’ll be leaving my car behind for the foreseeable future (not worth paying for parking when I’m this close to everything now! woot!) That’s a couple headaches gone right there.
I’ve got a pretty solid stock of Jones soda right now, so I’m tentatively planning some form of Jones-soda-float-enhanced housewarming, at a time to be announced... stay tuned.

Unemployment!

2008-04-23T20:06:53Z

As of 6:30pm yesterday, I'm officially unemployed, and it's never felt better. I've been working on and off at Grand and Toy for about 5 years, as and much as I enjoyed working with the people there (everyone at a G&T retail store is just a little bit insane in all the right ways), it's fantastic to not be in retail anymore.

Just under 2 weeks until I start my new job, IN MY ACTUAL FIELD. I haven't been working in computing and software development in something about 6 years, so I can't wait to start.

Whoa

2008-04-20T04:56:46Z

I just finished my last final exam as an undergraduate student yesterday. We had a grad banquet over a week ago. (I even made a toast) I'm ordering grad photos. I'm planning for convocation. People are throwing parties. I'm leaving a job in 3 days. I'm looking for a place to live. This... doesn't quite seem real. :)

I started my Bachelor's in Computing Science at the University of Alberta almost 9 years ago. Some time out to work, both in and out of my field, and some time at another school (Grant Macewan) bringing my grades up enough to get back here. Countless new friends, new opportunities, and new plans. I find I cannot quite wrap my head around the concept of it being done.

Maybe it's because I'm going back to school in a couple weeks to spend the summer on a research project with a professor I respect greatly. Maybe it's because I'll be hanging out and working with a lot of the same friends. And maybe, just maybe, it's because I'll be spending the next 2 years or so at the same University with the same people anyways doing a Master's.

One thing's for sure. I'm happy. I think it's going to take a while to appreciate just what it was I finally accomplished this week (maybe untill I actually get that piece of paper in a little over a month), but for the moment I'm happy, if a little light-headed.

Whee!

gehrehmee @ 2007-11-15T22:42:00

2007-11-16T05:46:35Z

"If you're unclear on the main reasons the WGA is on strike, allow one of the writers from The Daily Show to explain it.

Uh, you should actually watch it, uh, anyway, even if you already understand the issues behind the strike, because it's the closest we're going to get to The Daily Show for quite some time, I fear:" - Wil Wheaton"

Towel Day

2007-05-25T05:09:41Z

Tomorrow is the 7th annual Towel Day, in memory of Douglas Adams' passing on May 11th 2001.

Carry/wear your favourite towel throughout the day, hopefully using it as an opportunity to meet other fans of Adams, and the chance to make more fans of people who won't understand the towel's significance.

Passing of friends

2006-12-16T07:47:38Z

Lest I forget, on a less positive note, our last family pet, Weebles, past on yesterday. She was quite an old cat, and had a full life full of love and attention and getting horribly spoiled on a daily basis. Obviously some of our family is hit pretty hard by this. Any encouraging words, links, etc would be appreciated.

Desperately grasping at flying time

2006-12-16T07:29:32Z

The semester's over. Unbelievable.

It was almost 4 months ago that I got back from Scotland, and I still haven't properly documented it. I suspect I never fully will, partly because some of the details are starting to evade me, but mostly because the most memorable parts of the trip were so utterly indescribable. I definitely have to go back again. Absolutely amazing time, amazing places, amazing people, both those we travelled with and those we met along the way.

There was a moment on our bus, driving through twisted roads through a lush green set of hills, when Donnie (our bus driver/tour guide/trivia master/full-time private entertainer) put on a CD of traditional Scottish songs (with none too little bagpipes). Everything just crystallized at that moment. The sounds, the sights, the emotions, all just utterly overpowering. I can't thank our hosts (my aunt Carla and her husband of 10 years Bill) enough for making this happen.

When I got back, I threw together a fairly quick-and-dirty, but basically functional website for the trip and everyone on it. A number of us have been sharing a few of our best photographs there. Just hit 71 pictures, with a little over 10 of them mine. You can view all of them, or just mine (Browse by photographer.)

They're all available at http://scotland.rifetech.com/. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

That also means I've been back at school for 4 months. A course in web technologies, a course in non-procedural programming (Lisp, Prolog, and Crystal, a pet project created by our prof), a course in databases, and a random history of physics course. I had alot of fun, even if I was utterly exhausted from time to time. I spent alot more time with UACS, the undergraduate computing science social group on campus. We hang out anywhere and everywhere, geeking it out, gaming, coding, and occasionally drinking. This has been a very social semester, and I'm pleased to find out that I can actually have a life on campus without sacrificing my education.

Two exams I wrote in class last week, both of which went very well. (A+ and A- for final grades). I wrote my last two finals of 2006 today. My Lisp/Prolog/Crystal test went great, I know that stuff way better than I thought I could 4 months ago. My database test was tough, but fair. Depending on how the rest of the class did, I may be looking at A- as my lowest grade this semester. Whoohoo!

Now for a few Christmas events, a few New Years events, and before I know it I'm going to be back in the thick of it again. Expect another approximately 4 month hiatus from blogging :) I can't wait to be in Calgary again for New Years. Still not sure what my plans are going to be that far ahead. Right now I'm just happy letting my brain decompress a bit. Watched Short Circuit 2 today (Johnny Five is Alive!), and will probabbly go on to watch more Babylon 5 tonight before getting a good nights sleep. Lots of shopping to do tommorow!

Good night, and in case I actually don't get around to posting again in the next week, a merry Christmas and a fantastic new year to everyone!

LJ Talk

2006-12-15T01:43:03Z

LJTalk rules. it rules partly because it lets me get updates as they happen. it rules secondly because it's jabber, and jabber is awesome. it rules thirdly because it's providing yet another way for me to procrastinate about studying for my database final tomorrow

gehrehmee @ 2006-08-28T12:33:00

2006-08-28T11:39:08Z

About alfway through our Scotland trip now. Been through Edinburogh (where we stayed at the Caladonian Hilton with Sean Connery, who a couple of our party actually bumped into!), Inverness, Potree, and countless other little towns and hamlets. There's just over 30 of friends and family on our bus, not counting our driver Donnie, an exceptionally friendly, funny and knowledgable Highlander who's keeping us all very entertained.

I'm in a little net cafe in Fort William at the moment, so I'll not be too picky with my spelling. :) Lots of pictures to come. The trip has been amazing and everyone's having a blast.

See you all soon!

Progress

2006-08-19T05:29:20Z

2 weeks down. Bones appear to be healing well. They took the cast off, and I'm now on just a moulded splint and a tensor. Typing is much easier, and it'll be much easier to get through the check in at the airport on Tuesday.

Hooray