February 2005 Archives

  If you create a technology for one purpose, why not see where else it can be used?

workers for Microsoft Research said they have been using database and antispam software to identify previously unseen patterns in genetic mutations of HIV. Working in collaboration with doctors and scientists from the University of Washington in Seattle and Australia's Royal Perth Hospital, the researchers plan to propose designs for new HIV vaccines based on the newly discovered patterns.

  Well, a couple of bad pit strategies kept Mark from winning today. He may have finished back in 7th, but he moved up 4 spots to 3rd in points.
  I signed up for track pass today and followed the race online and on the TV. I really enjoy listening to the drivers radios. It gives another whole dimension to the race.

  Mark Martin is starting out well this year. He may have only placed 6th in the Daytona 500 (better than the 43rd from last year), but he won the IROC race at Daytona. Tonight, he won the Busch race in California. I'm hoping he can carry the momentum into a win in the Nextel Cup race tomorrow!

  My work shut down for today due to the snow. I'm not sure why, the roads weren't bad but if they're giving a free day off I'll take it!!

  I haven't really had time to go through all the pictures and create a good page for them, so I have just put them all up on my MSN Groups page.

  Well, I have returned from Florida. It was a FANTASTIC long weekend. It may take me a few days to recuperate (and get back to work), but I'll try and get some pictures up soon.

  in the mean time, there have been plenty of other things to see :)

  Well, I'm leaving tomorrow for Daytona!! I can't wait! It will be good to see Dad and Marsha again and we ALWAYS have a good time, especially when racing is involved.

  DEMO is a conference for launching emerging technologies. There are no long drawn out PowerPoint presentations here. Each presenter is given EIGHT MINUTES of stage time. There are a lot of cool products here. They range from Blogging products (surprise surprise!) to a product that will let you play your own instrument with a full orchestra right in your own home! And of course, someone was nice enough to blog all the demos for us as it was happening. Check it out at Blogging DEMO

  PC Magazine has published a list of their Top 15 Firefox Extensions. It's an interesting read. I added the About This Site Firefox Extension v.0.1.2 extension.
  A couple of others that I like that are not listed in their top 15 are:

JustBlogIt! - Right click on any web page and select "JustBlogIt!". It will open up your blog and put the link in the Entry. It will also pick up on any trackback URLs specified in the meta data and add a ping entry. I use it with Movabletype and it works quite well.

Web Developer 0.9.2 - This adds a ton of items interesting to web developers to the right click menu. You can disable things, Gather information (including viewing the response headers), edit the CSS on the fly to see how it affects the page, run all different types of validation and much much more. If you only want the CSS piece, the "Edit CSS" plugin works well too.


  There are many extensions for firefox. Most of them can be found by going to Tools -> Extensions -> Get More Extensions.

  Now that I'm home and have access to my scanner, here is the picture of the whole crowd at Paradise Cove on 2/9/05.

Wired magazine has a cool article on creating a "virtual you" to find out what ails you and to test treatments. They will take a DNA sample and a quick CT scan and model your body and internal organs. No longer will you try this medication or have that operation until it's been put to the test virtually in the computer. Very Cool. It's well under way, but still a long way off from hitting the mainstream.

Wired 13.02: START

  Well, I'm home. It may seem odd to leave Hawaii and be GLAD to be back in Maryland, but I really do enjoy coming home (even if it is only for a few days). Hotel rooms get old no matter where you are.

  On Sunday, I had planned on leaving Bellows AFB beach and heading up to Turtle Bay to watch the sunset. Well, as we left Bellows, I noticed that the dark clouds had rolled in to the north. So, we took the Pali back across the island and went to PUU UALAKAA state park to watch the sunset instead. Here's a picture of the view.

  I've climbed Diamond Head before, so I didn't plan on taking pictures when Kyrie and I climbed on Sunday. I did bring my camera though and I'm glad I did. When we reached the top, there was an elderly lady who had heat stroke (I'd guess anyway). On our way down, there was a firefighter with a small med kit running up to help and another firefighter with a BIG pack on his back hiking up. Shortly thereafter, a helicopter flew in and landed on one of the bunkers up top. They flew the lady back down and put her in an ambulance. I don't like to see anyone not feeling well, but rescues are always interesting to watch.

  Yesterday, we finally got a day of sunshine. It's rained pretty much every day since we arrived. We drove to the north shore and came back around as far as H3 where we crossed back over the island. Here's a picture I took from the hotel room yesterday morning.

  Kyrie and I met up with my friend Maghan again tonight. We also got to meet her boyfriend Poncho. We went to Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner and had a great time chatting and eating. Then we walked down the beach from the Hilton to Dukes where we sat in the bar area and had drinks and shared some Hula Pie. SOOOOO GOOD!!!! Tomorrow, if the weather is nice, we are going to head up to the north shore.

  Tonight was a good night. I went to airport after work and picked up my friend Kyrie. We came back to the hotel and dropped her stuff off.
  Then we went and met up with my friend Maghan. It was SO good to see her again. It's been FAR too long!!! We went to dinner at the Brew Moon. Their food is SO good. We ordered three PuPu's and shared them. We have Vegetarian Quesadilla, Kalua Quesadilla (my personal favorite) and the fish and chips. Good friends and good food, what more can anyone ask for?

We went to the Cheesecake factory for dinner last night. I've always loved the food there. I've also always loved the Kalua pork here in Hawaii. So I thought I would try their Kalua pork sandwich. I should have known better than to try a local dish at a chain restaurant. It was awful. I only ate a few bites of the pork and some french fries. It's the only time I've ever had a bad meal at the Cheesecake factory. Oh well, live and learn!

I'm in Hawaii. The flight was long, but uneventful. We have the rental cars and are all checked in to the hotel, which thankfully has high speed internet access! We went to Outback for dinner tonight. I know, travel all the way to HI and then go to outback. It was convenient and we were hungry. Work starts tomorrow...