Somewhat counterintuitively, the Computer Science department at Brown produces a ton of paper (literally a ton if you choose the Right time scale...). A good portion of our printouts only use one side of the paper (though people are generally good about printing things duplex, 2-up, etc.). Much of this scratch paper is recycled immediately while some is put in a scratch paper pile. After trying to reduce our printouts, what we can do to lower our paper usage? Last year, I made a "notebook" out of scratch paper. a folder, and some clips which worked out very nicely for a course. While I like this method and would like to see it done on a large scale, it seems unlikely to reuse much of our scratch paper supply.
One idea that I'd like to investigate is a "scratch paper printer." This would be a printer stocked entirely with scratch paper. There are couple potential issues. The main issue is that I've been told that printers jam more frequently on scratch paper[1]. I want to find out if this is true for all or just some printers. Ideally, we can find a (potentially slower) printer which doesn't jam as much on scratch paper. A lesser issue is keeping the printer stocked since scratch paper doesn't come as easily as store-brought reams, but since this can be done on demand by users, I'm less concerned. Please contact me if you have any comments on this proposal, since I'll put pitching it to the department in the coming future.
[1] It might be interesting to try to design a printer which is more robust to paper jams (steal this idea, please) but beyond what I'm looking for at this point.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
These version numbers have version numbers!
This product that was on TV was available for four easy payments of $19.95. I would like a product that was available for three easy payments and one complicated payment. We can't tell you which payment it is, but one of these payments is going to be hard.
-- Mitch Hedburg
Version numbers in Ubuntu Linux can get pretty intense. Here is a list of 13 version numbers from Ubuntu packages in increasingly ridiculous order (that is, order of increasing ridiculous-ness (ridiculousity?)).
-- Mitch Hedburg
Version numbers in Ubuntu Linux can get pretty intense. Here is a list of 13 version numbers from Ubuntu packages in increasingly ridiculous order (that is, order of increasing ridiculous-ness (ridiculousity?)).
- 15 (just a number, possibly too simple)
- 1.2-2 (three numbers, reasonably simple)
- 2.6.24.17.19 (standard Linux kernel version number, very simple)
- 2007-12ubuntu3.1 (year, month, and Ubuntu version)
- 1:8.04+20080630 (version with a full date in it)
- 3.0.28a-1ubuntu4.3 (version and Ubuntu version)
- 4.0.1ubuntu5.8.04.1 (package with version and a more complicated Ubuntu version)
- 4.4.0-1ubuntu4~hardy1 (version with Ubuntu version and Ubuntu distribution subversion)
- 3:0.cvs20060823-3.1ubuntu4 (version, CVS date, and Ubuntu version)
- 8.61.dfsg.1~svn8187-0ubuntu3.3 (version, SVN version, and Ubuntu version)
- 20080508+git20080601-0ubuntu0.8.04 (version and two dates in it -- okay, one is a GIT version number too)
- 3.0.1+build1+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.04.1 (version plus some tags then a complicated Ubuntu version)
- 10.0.1.218+10.0.0.525ubuntu1~hardy1+really9.0.124.0ubuntu2 (no comment)
Friday, June 27, 2008
A story told through bullet points
Your order is in progress.
Jun 21 Order placed - Your order was placed with PC Universe. A confirmation email was sent to you by Google.
Jun 21 Order received - PC Universe received your order.
Jun 21 $53.00 charge - Your credit card (REDACTEDCARD xxx-XXXX) was charged for $53.00. "GOOGLE *PC Universe" will appear on your credit card statement.
Jun 24 Seller contacted - You sent PC Universe an email with the subject: What is the status of my order?
Message: "Hi, just wondering what the status of my order is. Thanks! David"
Jun 27 Seller contacted - You sent PC Universe an email with the subject: I'd like to cancel my order
Message: "This level of service is unacceptable. The item was listed as in stock when I ordered it, yet apparently has not shipped yet. I called earlier today and was told that it was pending an incoming shipment (meaning that the website was lying) and that it would ship today (which it clearly hasn't). Additionally, my earlier request for the status of the order was completely ignored. Please cancel my order and refund my money."
Message: "Hi, just wondering what the status of my order is. Thanks! David"
Message: "This level of service is unacceptable. The item was listed as in stock when I ordered it, yet apparently has not shipped yet. I called earlier today and was told that it was pending an incoming shipment (meaning that the website was lying) and that it would ship today (which it clearly hasn't). Additionally, my earlier request for the status of the order was completely ignored. Please cancel my order and refund my money."
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Flying the Sarcastic Skies
Some funny quotes from the pilot on flight UA830, (4.21.2008) to the best of my memory:
(before takeoff) "Well, folks, the baggage handlers said that they were done loading, but they're clearly not. If you're sitting in the back right-hand part of the plane, you probably have a better idea what's going on than I do."
(after departing about 30 minutes late and landing) "We were able to make up about 10 minutes in the air. Apparently no good deed goes unpunished as someone else has taken our gate."
(before takeoff) "Well, folks, the baggage handlers said that they were done loading, but they're clearly not. If you're sitting in the back right-hand part of the plane, you probably have a better idea what's going on than I do."
(after departing about 30 minutes late and landing) "We were able to make up about 10 minutes in the air. Apparently no good deed goes unpunished as someone else has taken our gate."
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Google Transit now in Rhode Island
A semi-Earth Day related post for Earth Day:
Google Transit now covers RIPTA buses in Rhode Island. I will use it for all my route planning needs. (In fact, I don't have a choice as the official RIPTA trip planner now simply embeds Google Maps.) Unfortunately, while the service is quite useful now, imagine what it would be like if it included systems that actually connect? Currently, the Bay Area appears to be the only area in the US which covers multiple systems (and it already has its own multi-system route planner). I think Google has an initiative to help transit agencies publish their information (which allows us to use alternative route planners).
The trip planner passed my sanity check: I asked for directions to the airport and it was smart enough to know that one should never take the 20 (it always leaves earlier and arrives later than the 14 -- not sure what its purpose really is).
Also, some tiny annoyances involving the walking direction. Walking directions currently lack detail (known bug) and you need to do more searches to get distances or routes for these (though strangely, timing information is given instead). There are also no controls on the preferred amount of walking distance.
Google Transit now covers RIPTA buses in Rhode Island. I will use it for all my route planning needs. (In fact, I don't have a choice as the official RIPTA trip planner now simply embeds Google Maps.) Unfortunately, while the service is quite useful now, imagine what it would be like if it included systems that actually connect? Currently, the Bay Area appears to be the only area in the US which covers multiple systems (and it already has its own multi-system route planner). I think Google has an initiative to help transit agencies publish their information (which allows us to use alternative route planners).
The trip planner passed my sanity check: I asked for directions to the airport and it was smart enough to know that one should never take the 20 (it always leaves earlier and arrives later than the 14 -- not sure what its purpose really is).
Also, some tiny annoyances involving the walking direction. Walking directions currently lack detail (known bug) and you need to do more searches to get distances or routes for these (though strangely, timing information is given instead). There are also no controls on the preferred amount of walking distance.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Tea in Honesty
No, this isn't an article about Honest Tea. Nor is it even a big deal, but as I sit here with my smoke detector having its second false alarm of the day, I thought I would share this.
It's hard to say if this happens more often in the tea industry than others, but there's a certain lack of honesty for many of these tea flavors. Take Good Earth's Red Tea Raspberry. The front of the box (seen here) shows pictures of raspberries, which isn't surprising. Until you look at the ingredients:
Here's another example: Republic of Tea's Wild Berry Plum (seen here). Again, the box shows what appears to be wild berries and a plum in the background. The ingredients read: China green tea, black currant pieces, natural flavors. At first glance, this might seem worse than the first case, but wild berry is another name for black currant, (in case you didn't know) so the only missing item is pear. Also, unlike the previous example, this tea actually tastes something like pear and black currant (I was told that I should add sugar if I wanted the raspberry tea to taste like raspberries).
How widespread is this? Please post your mistitled teas to comments. Also, your thoughts on why the tea companies do this. I guess raspberry teas sell better than "Chamomile Hibiscus Ginger Rose" teas (or whatever the real name should be). Neverthless, I won't be buying it anymore since I was looking for something that actually had raspberries in it.
It's hard to say if this happens more often in the tea industry than others, but there's a certain lack of honesty for many of these tea flavors. Take Good Earth's Red Tea Raspberry. The front of the box (seen here) shows pictures of raspberries, which isn't surprising. Until you look at the ingredients:
Rooibos, Chicory Root, Chamomile, Hibiscus, Ginger Root, Rose Petals, Spearmint, Licorice Root and Natural Flavors.As I see it, even if those "Natural Flavors" are raspberry, they're a bit too far down the list for that flavor to invoke raspberries.
Here's another example: Republic of Tea's Wild Berry Plum (seen here). Again, the box shows what appears to be wild berries and a plum in the background. The ingredients read: China green tea, black currant pieces, natural flavors. At first glance, this might seem worse than the first case, but wild berry is another name for black currant, (in case you didn't know) so the only missing item is pear. Also, unlike the previous example, this tea actually tastes something like pear and black currant (I was told that I should add sugar if I wanted the raspberry tea to taste like raspberries).
How widespread is this? Please post your mistitled teas to comments. Also, your thoughts on why the tea companies do this. I guess raspberry teas sell better than "Chamomile Hibiscus Ginger Rose" teas (or whatever the real name should be). Neverthless, I won't be buying it anymore since I was looking for something that actually had raspberries in it.
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