IndigoFire

We're in need of a BBQ where I work. If you have an extra one, or are looking to upgrade, please let me know either here or by email. Thanks!

Discovered yesterday one of the limitations of the iPhone: a severe lack of push email. RIM's market position makes so much more sense now, since they're the king of this service, and the standard to which everyone else is now going to be measured - whether it makes sense or not. I wasn't looking for push email, since I prefer to use email as a batch tool and IM or SMS for quicker things... or so I did until people started sending emails that resembled text messages.

The good news is that there is push service available for the iPhone through MobileMe. It also offers calendar and contact synchronization, a virtual/web disk, and a photo gallery. All of that sounds great, except that I heard some really terrible reviews of the service last summer. Question becomes: is it any good? If you've used Mobile Me, past or present, how was your experience with it?

mylostmarbles and I headed to Victoria Park yesterday afternoon, and it turned into a great photoroam! I'd expected some nice company for a walk, but the pictures that turned out are pretty good. Well, if you look at hers anyhow, I still have lots of learning to do! It also turned into an adventure. We met a guy with a budgie on each shoulder, found the sensory garden, and saw an osprey catch a carp! Quite the day.



Also: must get better at selects. It took hours to get these right, and still could be trimmed down and better than they are. Not sure whether I'm trying to do too much, not cutting enough, or if I'm just slow.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Dear Intarwebs,

As much as I love you, the world is not a web page. Google doesn't seem to understand this, and it's a real problem for applications like flying robots in remote places.

We need a source of maps or aerial imagery, or anything that can be used to give someone operating a flying robot a sense of where they are and where the thing is going. At this point I'm willing to consider just about anything - especially if it's something I can implement quickly. The trick is that the computer at the point-of-use doesn't always have an internet connection (and no a 3G modem won't cut it). Any ideas?

Thank you, oh wonderful hive-mind!

1. Get an iPhone. I'm using 3G with OS 3.0. Dunno about anything else.
2. Jailbreak. Dunno how to do this, but there's lots of info on the nets on it.
3. Get to cydia. Again, my phone just had this when I got it. If you've gotten the JB done, this should be easy.
4. Install siphon, and configure it with your VoIP settings. It acts just like any SIP softphone.
5. Install backgrounder. Use it to put Siphon in the background

Notes:

• You will have to put the Siphon into the background every time your phone reboots.
• If your phone goes to sleep, you can't receive calls. Once it wakes up, you'll receive calls again.
• There are other apps that don't require being jailbroken. Siphon works well for me. Let me know if you have better luck with them - in particular if you find an app that can deal with calls in the background.
• Despite the name, jailbreaking does not hurt the phone nor is it illegal. All it does is let you run your own applications on your phone. In contrast, unlocking your phone may be against your contract, but that's another story. That said, I haven't done either and don't know how to do either, so I can't help there.
• I've since installed vNetCorp's SipPhone. The interface to Siphon is cleaner, but SipPhone has two advantages: it's in the app store (no jailbreak required), and it receives calls while the phone is asleep. No clear winner yet.

For once, being lied to is a good thing. At the very least, being lied to about what you can and can't do with an iPhone. Future Shop Guy swore up and down that you couldn't use an iPhone for anything without a SIM card, and that it was useless without a data plan. Apple Discussion forum people insisted that you can't use the phone without a SIM card. Everywhere I asked, I was told that using an iPhone without being on a carrier was stupid.

All lies.

I've just made and received a phone call. Without. A. SIM. Card.

Update: I can receive calls, but only when the app is running. Still some bugs to work out
Update 2: Install the Backgrounder, problem solved.

The conversion of faith is complete. I am now owned the proud owner of an iphone. Really my soul wasn't doing me all that much good anyway.

Actually, the opposite is true. The phone is used, jailbroken, and unlocked. At this point it's not even on a cell plan of any kind, just using wifi to try things out. So far it's pretty slick. We'll see how long that lasts after the novelty wears off.

I've heard a rumour that airline tickets for December (i.e. christmas/giftmas/new years) go up in price tomorrow. Is there any truth to that?

On the same subject, any advice for getting the cheapest possible airplane tickets for a whole family (5 people) to Egypt - without flying Egypt Air or going through the US?

Me: "Taz, here kitty, kitty, kitty!"
...
Two pigeons take off in a hurry
Two squirrels run by in a panic
Taz jogs up to the deck.

Yup, she runs this neighborhood.

For zanate and quingawaga




At the very least, I think it's a hawk. I'm not much for ornithology, but I can recognize a bird of prey.

Just in case you heard about the airplane crash at Waterloo Airport today, Adam and I are okay. I don't know yet who it was, but we were not involved. Also, I don't think it was an NFA or WWFC aircraft, but I can't confirm that.

ETA: Just heard that it's a Europa kit-built aircraft, which effectively rules out anyone I know.

Dear Intarwebs,

I checked out an iPhone today - or more correctly, I had my ear talked off about the iPhone at FS today. It looks awesome, but I don't want to sign up for a plan based on talk. Is it possible to get an iPhone without actually signing up for a plan - or any cell service at - just to see how it works? The FS guys couldn't get that one today, and insisted that it's impossible, but they've said that before.

Thanks!

A contact of mine, who I've done work with in the past, is looking for someone on a very cool project to collect and analyze images for engineering data. I can't describe the project any more than that here, but I can give a quick description of what they're looking for:

• Intermediate to senior
• Controls or hardware background helpful
• Image processing knowledge necessary
• .Net necessary
• Someone who is a good developer but thinks like an engineer

The project has offices in both Toronto (Vaughan) and London, with the possibility of working remotely part of the time. If you know of anyone that fits that description, please either comment below or send me an email. Comments are screened, and anonymous comments are accepted.

Thanks!

Maximum A/C Mr. Scott.
I'm giving her all she's got, Captain!

The A/C went in yesterday. It's a window unit, which suffices to make the bedroom bearable without running it all night. That said, it was on full yesterday and didn't make things all that cold. Any ideas for tweaking or maintenance on a window air conditioner?

Also, the landlord and I disagreed last year on how much extra the A/C should cost for hydro. Anyone have a power meter, or know where to get one? Specifically, this unit will (or is that now should?) cycle itself on a thermostat, which makes power measurement difficult unless the power meter can be left on it for a night.

Thanks!

One of the things that saw a lot of attention while at the cottage this past week was meditation and reading about Buddhist thoughts. It only took about 10 minutes a day, but that's about all that was needed to start. As much as I identify with a lot of the Buddhist ideals - in particular, the principles of the Shambhala warrior - "being present" is very much a challenge. It's amazing how very easy it is to not be present - to have your mind wandering away from the present situation, skipping from thought to thought. Sitting down for a little while each day just to try and be in one place for a little while reveals a lot that way. You get a chance to watch yourself and learn exactly what "state of mind" you're in. This isn't anything new - it's both something that's been well known for a while, and something that I've been exposed to for years - but it was refreshing to see it again this past week.

The difficulty comes from two things. First, our society as a whole seems to emphasize and reward not being present - "multitasking" being the best example. This has been well described by many other people, so I'm not going to hammer it here. At the cottage this was not a big deal, since the relative isolation and calmness rendered outside pressure moot. It does make a difference to everyday life, but that's a subject for another time.

The second difficulty is much more subtle: I'm really good at thinking of one thing while doing another. Often some of my best ideas come from thinking while doing something simple, like dishes or showering. It's obvious in many ways that being present is a good thing, but is it necessarily a good thing all the time? If so, when do you plan ahead? Do you have to sit and take specific times for doing so? Admittedly, that's something I need to do anyway, but the need to do that all of the time seems a little much.

One idea that horsetraveller came up with while we were discussing this is that "being present" frees you from the constant story-telling of past or imagined situations so that you can either focus on the here and now or workout things that are really important. There's a lot of merit to that: by having a well-tuned and well-focused mind, you keep it on the right task at the right time.

Another idea, very similar to this one, is that it's a learning curve. Like most skills, you have to learn it in isolation before you can learn how to use it moderately or in combination. For example, when learning to throw a frisbee you start by throwing it flat and level, teaching yourself not to angle the disc one way or another. Later, you start to angle it intentionally in order to get it to curve and go on a particular route for you. Perhaps it's the same thing here: you start by learning to be fully present, and then you can learn when to be present, and you can learn how to guide your thinking.

The Buddhists would probably frown on the idea of having any goal or desired outcome of meditation, insisting that it's good in and off itself and should not have any expectations. They're right in a way: everything should be done for itself. For example, going to the gym and pushing weights around to get a better body is unlikely to work out unless you actually enjoy going to the gym. At the same time, no matter what you practice it has to fit into the rest of your life. Practice doesn't mean getting ready for a presentation, no, practice means doing something to get better at it and to better yourself. It doesn't matter what you're doing, whether playing an instrument, speaking a language, flying, or meditating, each of these will effect the way that you think and approach your life.

I'm looking forward to trying to be more present and seeing how it affects my life. I just hope it can fit in well with what's already there.

I've just picked up a floor-cushion (what we used to call a "poof" when I was a child... though I'm a little more careful with that word now). It could use a lot more stuffing. Any suggestions for what could material could be used?

Back from the cottage, though technically still on vacation. Some interesting points:

• Have several job inquiries... amazing how those don't stop. If you know of anyone in controls engineering or software looking for work, let me know.
• < 50 items in my inbox. Not sure if that means I'm good at coordinating things, or just that nobody loves me :P
• Amazing how easy it is to fill a day with errands. Today consisted largely of going from Cottage to home, and yet that took more than 6 hours, with 6 stops on the way.
• Many thinky thoughts... might actually stop and post about them.
• Listened to Siddhartha again on the way home. You know it's a great book, and an excellent audiobook, when you can listen to it so many times and get more meaning from it every time.
• Going to play Ultimate soon-like. Wouldn't go if we had enough players but others are depending on me so gotta go. Reason I wouldn't go tonight:
• Celebrating horsetraveller's birthday tonight.

Just got literally a dozen email, timestamped between 12:39 and 12:45, mostly from LJ. If you've commented, or replied to a comment, and I haven't gotten back to you, that's why. Right now, gotta run to Toronto. Might check things tomorrow if there's a chance.

In other news: Ultimate was tons of fun. 3 on 3 makes for a lot of running, but also some good short passes. It never ceases to amaze me how it really doesn't matter your skill level or background, you can still have a fun game of ultimate.

If you're reading this, then you should seriously consider getting out and enjoying the good weather. It's not too hot, and not too cool, just right for ultimate! The pickup Ultimate game is at 13h at Columbia Lake. Bring a light and a dark, and we'll pick teams over there. If there aren't enough people, then we'll throw a disc around and do some light and fun drills for skills like throwing and marking (no wind sprints unless you really want to do them!).

Parking: From Columbia go N on Hagey Blvd, turn left at the first roundabout, follow to Open Text and turn left on the gravel road.

See you there!

Item	Whey Protein Blend	Whey Protein Isolate	Boiled Egg	Egg Whites	Cottage Cheese
Serving Size	28 g (1 oz)	28 g (1 oz)	1 Large Egg	100 g	100 g
Protein [g]	22	25	6	11	12
Carbohydrates [g]	1	1	1	1	3
Total Fat [g]	2	<1	5	0	1
Cholesterol [mg]	22	8	215	0	4
Package Size	2.27 kg (5 lbs)	2.27 kg (5 lbs)	12 Eggs	465 g	500 g
Package Cost	$60	$90	$2.39	$3.79	$3.69
Cost Per Protein [$ / g]	0.034	0.045	0.033	0.074	0.062

Bottom line: Eggs are a cheaper source of protein than protein powder, and eggs whites are more expensive.

The Gotcha: Fat and Cholesterol. Eggs make a great snack, but unless you're in a position to completely ignore both fat and cholesterol, they're not a good idea in larger quantities. Egg whites solve that problem, but are more expensive and more difficult to transport and eat. Another caveat: whey protein blends contain lactose. If you're sensitive, then the isolate might be an option, since it contains less but not zero lactose.

The Verdict: Whey Isolate for building lean muscle mass. Boiled eggs for snacks.

The question: can raw egg whites be used in a smoothie of some kind?

Update: It's been pointed out that $90 is actually expensive for a whey isolate. Healthy Planet in Toronto has it for $60, which changes things drastically. I guess that shows that there's greater differences within a category than between categories, and as usual, YMMV.