General

I found out yesterday that I have to go to Vancouver for work next week. I didn’t find out the details until today. I love Vancouver, but this is very short notice. Luckily my friend will be able to watch my cats, although this will be the longest they were away from me. I’m staying there until WWDC and flying direct to San Francisco. I won’t be home until after WWDC. I’m both looking forward to seeing Vancouver again and at the same time wishing I didn’t have to go on such short notice.

Good as new, originally uploaded by mike3k.

I got my Prius back today. I didn’t expect to have it until Friday, but I got a surprise call this morning to let me know it was ready. It feels good to be driving my own car again.

Via Slashdot:

Toyota’s vice president in charge of powertrain development, Masatami Takimoto, has said cost cutting on the electric motor, battery and inverter were all showing positive results in reducing the costs of hybrid technology and that by the time Toyota’s sales goal of one million hybrids annually is reached, it ‘expect margins to be equal to gasoline cars.’ Takimoto also made the bold claim that by 2020, hybrids will be the standard drivetrain and account for ‘100 percent’ of Toyota’s cars as they would be no more expensive to produce than a conventional vehicle.

I can’t wait to get my Prius back Friday. Another Prius here got hit the other day, this one on the street by someone running a stop sign. His damage was a lot worse than mine.

Absolute Software got a nice mention from ABC News:

(5/10/07 – KTRK/HOUSTON) – New technology is helping local law enforcement crack down on the second most common crime after identity theft, laptop thefts.

Two million laptop computers are stolen every year and all too often the thief walks away — not only with a computer but files of sensitive and personal information. Deputies are now tracking stolen laptops with the help of a laptop lowjack which is built into newer model computers.

Once a laptop is stolen the owner can activate a sensor inside the computer. That sends police information to help track it down. Laptops have been found as far away as Africa.

“It’s certainly easier to find something that’s stolen when it calls us and tells us where it is,” said Langley McKelvy with the Precinct 4 Constable’s Office.

Government agencies are even using the technology because files can be remotely deleted if sensitive information is stolen. The protection costs consumers about $50 a year. (link)

I brought my car in to the shop today and I’m now driving a rental car. It should be ready in about a week, and I can hardly wait. After driving a Prius for almost a year, another car feels strange & primitive. With the Prius I simply touched the door to unlock it and pressed the power button to start. I have the smart key system, so I just have to keep the keyfob in my pocket. Using a key just feels primitive. I’m used to the quiet smooth ride from the ECVT, so the shifting jolt from an old-fashioned automatic transmission is annoying.

Remember the fuss over a certain random 128-bit number last week? You too can own your personal 128-bit integer protected by the DMCA. Princeton prof Ed Felten has come up with a great way of giving out legally protected 128-bit numbers to anyone who wants them. If he gives out 2^128 of these, then all 128-bit numbers will be owned and no one will ever be able to use a 128-bit key without breaking the law. Just go here and let it generate one for you.

Here’s how we do it. First, we generate a fresh pseudorandom integer, just for you. Then we use your integer to encrypt a copyrighted haiku, thereby transforming your integer into a circumvention device capable of decrypting the haiku without your permission. We then give you all of our rights to decrypt the haiku using your integer. The DMCA does the rest.

The haiku is copyright 2007 by Edward W. Felten:

We own integers,
Says AACS LA.
You can own one too.

This is my personal DMCA protected integer. Nobody else can use it legally.
6D BD 18 FE 94 10 A4 CC 22 AB 72 E0 7C B3 04 FF

When I was leaving the supermarket today, an elderly women (who happens to live in the same condo community) plowed right into the front of my Prius. She claims she didn’t see me, even though I blew my horn at her. Since there was someone right behind me, I didn’t have any room to back up. For a fraction of a second, my first thought was “oh shit! she’s going to hit me”. As you can see, the damage is pretty bad. She was driving a large Mercury wagon that just got a few scratches.





Wrecked

Originally uploaded by mike3k.

I just discovered that I messed up my .procmailrc file, so much of the email sent to mcdevzone.com, worldbeatplanet.com, or macmegasite.com ended up in a file sitting on my server rather than my mailbox. I fixed it and I’m now importing that old email into mail.app.

PhotoShop CS3 finally arrived. Adobe shipped two separate packages, the user guide (which DHL delivered with no problem at 1PM today) and the software, which DHL had trouble delivering. Both were shipped to exactly the same address, yet DHL had no problem delivering one of them, but on the other couldn’t locate the apartment number.

Once again DHL failed to make a delivery to my home, in this case my PhotoShop CS3 upgrade. I got a call from them that they weren’t able to find my address, even though what they read was correct, including the apartment number. The guy said they’ll attempt to deliver it again this afternoon.

I’ve never had that problem with FedEx or UPS. They’re always able to find my apartment with no problems.