Today Was Awesome

New site design

Dan — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:25:24 +0000

Whats this!? A new post on my blog? Your eyes do not deceive you. I’ve been meaning to blog a bit lately but every time I looked at the site I thought it could use a new coat of paint. Please let me know what you think and if you have any issues or ideas! Hit the break to see a list of features.

Responsive webdesign – resize the window and try it on your phone!
Cleaner design and lines
Cool new comment icon
Persistent header that moves down the page

There were lots more code tweaks to match best practices and code convention blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I hope you like it.

Make Facebook Useful

Dan — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 04:33:08 +0000

I’ve never really liked Facebook because there’s always too much noise. No matter how many people I hide from my stream there’s always junk coming in. The problem is that I can’t set my stream to default to a group of people that I actually care about.

Fixing this takes 30 seconds

Here’s an easy little trick to get around it and only see the updates of a specific group. Just right click on the link to the group you want to follow and then set that page as a bookmark.

If you use Chrome, then setup facebook as a “search engine”.

To do that, right click in your address bar then edit search engines. Set the Name to anything you want, then the keyword to facebook and the url to the group you want. Then when you goto facebook, just type “facebook” with a space after it and hit enter. It will take you directly to the page you want.

Now just curate that group carefully for people you actually want to follow. Mine only has 16 people in it.

It’s simple I know but it helped me.

update: Upon the completion of this post Facebook immediately removed this feature. FML.

Comcast vs Fiber

Dan — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 04:42:42 +0000

I recently hooked up internet in a location without Fiber and had to go to Comcast. It’s the first time I’ve used their service since I was in high school so I was hoping it had improved.

Surprisingly they said I could get 20 Mbit fiber which was awesome. My fiber was only 15 Mbit. So I got everything setup and quickly ran a speed test

Comcast 20/5

Advertised: 20/5
Actual: 5/2

Strangely I only got 5 Mbit. I thought it might be the server so I hoped on my old fiber connection and ran the same test:

BroadWeave 15/15

Advertised: 15/15
Actual: 13/10

Traffic Shaping

I was disappointed by the big loss of speed from Comcast. I expected them to fall short of advertised (everyone does) but to fall all the way down to 5? I lost 75% of my speed while fiber sat around 15% loss. That’s awful but at least I should be able to stream video.

I connected to my file server which is where I store my legally obtained digital content and started streaming. Uh-oh, even though the server can pump out 1500 KB/s I can only get 125 KB/s when going through Comcast. I checked from a few other locations and got stellar speeds which means Comcast is traffic shaping. Other locations give me quite a bit better speed, in the 1500 KB/s range but when I hit my server all of the sudden traffic shaping kicks in and my speed tanks.

Monopoly

Enjoy your monopoly now Comcast, or should I say Xfinity, because as soon as anyone has choice it will quickly become apparent that your internet offering is subpar. I don’t need a company deciding what traffic of mine is worth my bandwidth, that’s my business. Further, I think I ought to make a complaint to the BBB about your outrageous speed discrepancies.

Personal Web Filtering Options

Dan — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:06:41 +0000

I love the internet and I’ve always hated internet filters because they block stuff erroneously. However, I do try to avoid certain types of material online and so I’ve done a little work to make sure that I don’t see anything I don’t want to see. Here’s what I do along with some other options.

As a side note, anyone that knows me knows that I hate censorship in a government. What I’m trying to help people do is filter out the content that they personally don’t want to see. I would never impose censorship on anyone.

Site by site plugin’s for Google Chrome

These can be a bit tricky depending on the site but if theres a site you always goto and it often has content you don’t want to see then they can be a great option. I have two installed but more can be found at userscripts.org.

Search around and if you’re looking for a specific site and can’t find it let me know. I can whip one of these up in about 5 minutes so I’m happy to do it.

Active content monitoring with DNS filtering

Don’t be scared of the title! This is a very easy thing to do! There’s a free solution called OpenDNS. You can make a few simple changes to your computer or router (there are complete instructions on the site) and then you can choose which types of content you want to block.

This isn’t a bad solution, I don’t use it personally but will probably start when my Son gets old enough to use the computer on his own.

Using a hostfile to block a large swatch of bad sites

I’m going to get geeky here and explain how DNS works and what it is. Every website has an address, instead of a physical address like 123 Sycamore its an IP address. When you type “todaywasawesome.com” into your browser your computer asks the DNS (domain name server) server for the adress to todaywasawesome.com. That address is 208.75.86.170.

So the previous solution basically looks for websites that have bad content and then will give the wrong address back to yourÂ computerÂ so the page won’t load. Does that make sense?

K, well, a hostfile is sort of like a static DNS that loves on your computer. It tells your computer what the address for websites are without actually looking up what the address is.

Still with me? Great, so theres a public hostfile out there you can download andÂ installÂ that will block most advertisements along with adult content. This hostfile can be downloaded from mvps.org and the have installation instructions on that site.

Plain old ad block

Just about every browser has some sort of adblock that you can grab. I have mixed feelings about them because I don’t actually care about blocking ads, just ads with content that I don’t like. But you may find this to be a better solution.

You can find adblock for chrome here.

For help

If you need any help just leave a comment and I’ll do what I can. If you have an additions or suggestions throw them in the comments as well.

HTC – You Owe it To Us

Dan — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:22:41 +0000

On October 11, 2009 I rushed to get the HTC Hero on the first day it was sold. Eight months later that phone is now considered obsolete. Especially by HTC. First they took nearly seven months to update that phone from Android 1.5 to Android 2.1 now they’ve promised to never update it again.

One update is all they could give us? I really like my phone but when I bought it I thought that it would be updated for a long time to come. I had just come from the iphone where we got all the updates we wanted and when an update was released there was no waiting.

Let me cut to the chase,

Dear HTC,

You have abandoned Hero users. When we buy a phone we don’t just buy it for what it can do, we buy it for all that it will be able to do. Maybe you’ll be better in the future about keeping products updated (and updated in a timely manner) but for now you need to remember the people that made you money just eight short months ago. Here’s what you must do.

Opensource all the drivers for the Hero.

You make a lot of phones, I understand thats a big strain on your dev team to try to keep everything updated. That’s fine I guess. I’m disappointed but the least you could do is release the code for all the drivers. Be honest, there’s not a lot of proprietary value in keeping your drivers secret, especially for what is now considered an “ancient” phone.

Please do this, then I can compile from source myself with a 2.2 rom or a 2.3 rom or whatever rolls down the pipe. You want to abandon us? Fine, at least leave us with the tools to pick up the slack.

Signed,

Dan a, until recently, loyal HTC fan.

BTW, this isn’t a suggestion really, HTC required by law to opensource their kernel. I’m asking nicely but really they’re obligated to.

Solar Power Still Sucks in a Big Way

Dan — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:28:12 +0000

My numerous (and very vocal fans) will remember that I already wrote a post on how much solar panels suck. But someone who “works in the industry” told me how totally wrong I was. That post was from 2008 so technology should be totally different now right? Almost everyday there’s a story about solar panels reaching new and incredible limits inÂ efficiency.

Please Solar, PLEASE!

I want it to work so bad. I would love to get rid of my electricity bill. Understand, I have a vested interest in solar power being awesome, if it were awesome then I could just throw some panels up and free myself of the utility company. Maybe one day that will be possible, please I wish it were. Even if I could cut it in half I would be thrilled.

So, let’s figure out what that would take. Because if it’s cost efficient, I will do it right now. Luckily for me there’s an organization that has done all the work for me and created a calculator using the latest in technology and current industry costs. Great.

Right now I use an average of 37 kwh per day. That’s slightly above average in the US (don’t ask me how my 1800 sq/ft home does that). Now to get half of that, now remember I’m using this calculator, I need about a 4.1 kW array. So how much does that cost? Luckily they have a calculator for that too.

It’s Totally Cost-Effective

So you're an investment banker huh?

So, the grand total is $32,800 to get rid of half my electric bill. But don’t worry, there are tax breaks for this, the federalÂ governmentÂ will give me almost 10,000 dollars so it ends up being 22,960.00 (I said almost 10,000).

Great, so now if I spend $22,960 to save $35 dollars a month I will recoupe my investment in about 60 years. That doesn’t include stuff breaking, or what happens if we get less than the optimal amount of sun. In reality it’s probably twice as much.

Sorry solar, until the cost is low enough that the investment can be recouped in a year, maybe two, you’re just not worth it.

Actually, I’ll go one step further and say that the government should stop paying people to throw their money away on a technology that isn’t ready. I’m all for moreÂ efficientÂ panels and more research but right now it’s just burning money on a technology which probably is way worse for the environment to make than just burning the coal for the electricity.

Prove me wrong and I will love you. Until then, sorry solar, you suck.

Broken Timbuk2 Bag

Dan — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:26:31 +0000

I have sent the following letter to Timbuk2.

Dearest Timbuk2,

About 3 months ago I achieved my life long dream of owning a timbuk2 bag. I had long watched, and planned for the day when my computer would be protected by the best bags in the industry. Pining away, I began to dream of the quality, the unparalleled craftsmanship and the utmost attention to detail and style. Surely, with this bag I could be successful, my wife would love me more, my coworkers offering me more respect. Even my community would finally recognize my achievements.

After I got my bag, I rejoiced. These were the halcyon days. The sun shone through the darkness of winter, piercing and warming my heart with epic success. With my timbuk2 bag in hand there was no stopping me. And then the darkness fell.

I still remember that day, I went to pick up my bag by it’s handle and in horrific slow motion it snapped. I looked on in horror, disbelieving that my golden fleece would be so taken from me. It is with a somber heart and forlorn eyes that I look to you, harbinger of hope. May my bag be repaired? Is it covered by warranty? It is the answers to these questions that brings me humbly before you.

Or in Haiku:
I love my great bag
One day the handle broken
Please fix my black bag

Respectfully yours,

Dan Garfield

History 1700 Midterm

Dan — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:07:31 +0000

I’m diverting from my normal fare to work on a study guide for my History 1700 Midterm.

The book used is “The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People Concise 6th Edition”

Guide after the bump

Manitou: Generic deity for native americans. From the Algonquian language.; pg. 13-14
Shaman: -Spiritual authority for native americans. They we responsible for communicating with theÂ spiritÂ world. Probably considered a healer.
Martin Luther: - A German Friar that criticized practices in the catholic church. His revolt sparked the protestant reformation.; pg. 23
House of Burgesses: -Virginia Company (1619) created this elected assembly and was the first representativeÂ governmentÂ in north america.; pg. 35, 37-39
John Winthrop: -Coined the phrase “City upon a hill”. A puritan that founded the massachusetts bay colony. Wanted to build a utopia and then bring reforms to England.; pg. 46, 53
Jonathan Edwards: -Minister of the great awakening taught that we are “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Kickstarted religious revival in US.; pg. 67, 86-88
John Dickenson: -Published twelve essays entitled “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.” He argued that BritishÂ Parliament had no right to do the Stamp Act or the Revenue Act.; pg. 103-104
Albany Plan of Union: - A plan that would have united the american colonists with a cohesiveÂ governmentÂ under the British Empire. Proposed by Benjamin Franklin and rejected.; pg. 92, 96
Committees of Correspondence: - Used by John Adams to convince the tens of thousands of colonists that their rights were being trampled. They were, small localizedÂ committeesÂ that coordinated the colonies.; pg. 93, 108, 110, 1170
Shay’s Rebellion: -Uprising by Massachusetts farmers that convinced many Americans their government was too weak. Farmers rebelled against taxes fromt he massachusetts legislature. It failed.; pg 137-139
Whiskey Rebellion: -Tax protest by western farmers that gave Washington and Hamilton the opportunity to assert the power of the national government. Essentially from a sin tax on domesticÂ liquor.; pg 152
Alexander Hamilton: -Wrote the federalist papers with James Maidons and John Jay. Powerfully shaped the American vision of government. Washington’s chief advisor. Worked to found the Union’s credit. Believed in a national debt to link the future of the US with creditors that wanted them to succeed.; pg 135, 143-149
John Marshall: -Chief justice of the supreme court (1819). His decisions solidified federal power over states and strengthened the rights of corporations under states.; pg 178, 188
Andrew Jackson: - “Old Hickory” a fierce Indian fighter. A hero against the British in the war of 1828-1830somthing. Became President in 1820s. Believed Indians should be integrated with states, notÂ separateÂ nations. Signed the Indian Removal act -> trail of tears. BlockedÂ nullification.; pg 173, 186-187, 191-197, 215-220
Monroe Doctrine: - Proclaimed the Untied States to be primacy in the new world. Said we would blockÂ europeanÂ governments from being involved in the Americas as rulers.; pg 191
Frederick Douglass: - Escaped slave. Powerful speaker and major figure in antislavery movement. Said ~”Slaves sing most their saddest”; pg. 232
Seneca Falls Convention: -First women’s rights convention. split off from anti-slavery movement by women scorned therein.; pg. 217, 233
American Renaissance: -Burst of american authors and american intellectualism. Included Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau and more. 1840-1860 ish; pg. 249-254
William Lloyd Garrison: -Started “The Liberator” newspaper forÂ abolitionists. Demanded immediateÂ emancipation. Contemporary with Frederick Douglass.; pg. 217, 233-236
Nat Turner: -Leader of largest slave rebellion in US History. Slaughter about 60 slave owners and was eventually hanged. Believed himself to be a prophet and took the eclipse as a sign that it was time for the black man to overcome hisÂ oppressors.; pg. 255-257, 272-277
Proslavery Argument: -Churches took up the charge and argued that slavery was a positive good. They pointed to slavery in the Bible and that proslavery societies had produced thinkers like Plato and Aristotle. They believed that Blacks in america as slaves were better off than as savages in their own countries. To do this, southern churches split from national organizations.; pg 265
James K. Polk: -11th President 1844. Believed in Manifest Destiny. Annexed Texas, Oregon, California, New Mexico. Exapansionist. Very strong president.; pg. 281, 290-293
Stephen F. Austin: -Empersario who founded Texas (originally founded Coahulia-Tejas). Fought against Santa Anna for texas independence.; pg. 286-287
Charles Sumner: -Senator from Massachusetts. He raged against slavery in Kansas and was beat with a cane by a southerner who burst into the Senate.Â VigorousÂ emancipator.; pg. 313, 328

Daniel Webster: -Secretary of state for President John Tyler (Betcha didn’t know there was a President Tyler). Advocate for new technology and industry during the turn of the century. Helped settle dispute around Texas annexation.; pg. 238, 289

John Brown: -RadicalÂ abolitionist. Tried to start rebellion at Harpers Ferry.; pg. 301-302, 313-318
Stephen A Douglas: -Senator of Illinois organized Nebraska Territory. Proposed Missouri compromise; pg. 309
William t. Sherman: -General for the North, he believed in total war. Sherman’s march burned everything in it’s path. Set aside land for freed blacks on the South Carolina sea islands.; pg. 368, 371
Robert E. Lee: -General of the southern rebellion. Orginally an officer for the Union but resigned. Surrendered April 1865.; pg. 296, 301-352
Ulysses S. Grant: -General for the Union. Appointed over the army of the Potomac and eventually defeated Robert E. Lee.; pg. 335-359, 370
Freedmen’s Bureau: -Government bureau tasked with helping freedmen (former slaves) adjust to free life. Built schools and helped freedmen find homes.
Sharecropping System: -Sharecropping allowed large land owners to lease part of their land to other farmers who would then pay a part of their crop to the owner.; pg. 369-378
Ghost Dance: -Ritual that the prophet “Wovoka” promised would restore Indians to control of their lands. Basically a return to the Indian ethics. Alarmed army and led to wounded knee massacre.; pg. 381, 386, 402
Andrew Carnegie: -Scottish immigrant who build a large steel company. Started off on the railroad, cutting costs. Sold his company to J.P. Morgan for 1/2 a billion dollars. Rags to riches story. Wrote “Gospel of Wealth” which argued for little government interference from the govt.; pg 404, 407-410, 418, 423, 425, 473
Standard Oil Trust: -Formed by Rockefeller to join all oil companies in the US and eliminate competition. Led to the Sherman anti-trust act (1890).; pg. 407, 409, 413, 425
Jane Addams: -Established “settlement houses” and won the Nobel prize. Settlement houses were like community centers for new immigrants.; pg. 429, 439-440, 450, 473, 476, 480, 505, 514, 521, 532, 540
Salvation Army: -Religious group that helped the poor. Established by a methodist minister William Booth. Helped people get jobs, food and learn to live like middle class.; pg. 429, 438, 440, 450
New Immigrants vs Old Immigrants: -New immigrants are the wave of Italians, slavs, greeks and jews migrating after 1880. They came from southern and easter europe. Poorly viewed by most old immigrants. Used by politicians to get votes.; pg. 429-440
Victorianism: -Strict code of gentility that permeated late 19th century society. Rejected by Twain and Frank Lloyd right. Contrasted with the rowdy new immigrants.; pg 444, 450
Populist Party: -Agrarian based party that challenged Â Republicans and Democrats.; pg 451, 461-467
Open Door Notes: -Sought to trade with China. Secretary of State Haye’s attempt to keep trade open in China.; pg. 507-511, 530
William Jennings Bryan: -Orator, champion of farm interests, anti-imperialist, three time Democratic presidential candidate.; pg. 451, 453-475
W.E.B. Du Bois: -Black sociologist, later one of the founders of the NAACP. Civil rights leader author of “The Sould of Black Folk”. Kick started fight for equality.; pg. 432, 445, 449, 476, 490, 494, 503, 505, 516, 532
Booker T. Washington: -Clashed with Du Bois. A leading black figure who stressed education and acommodation; pg. 451, 463, 475-476, 497
Robert A. La Follette: -ProgressiveÂ political. First aÂ governorÂ in wisconsin and later a senator. Antiwar. Called an “unhung traitor” by Roosevelt.; pg. 476, 483, 495, 503-505
A. Mitchell Palmer: -Attorney General. Led the way in the first Red Scare to out communists.; pg. 505, 528-529
Henry Cabot Lodge: -Expansionist Senator. Fought the league of nations.; pg. 451, 469, 505, 527
Aimee Semple McPherson: -Fundamentalist preacher. Big on the radio who used theatrics to attract people, like a score board.; pg. 550
Harlem Renaissance: -Outgrowth of black culture. Involved Jazz, writers and more.; pg. 505, 523, 532, 545-548
Eleanor Roosevelt: -Wife of FDR. She redefined the role of the first lady as a humanitarian. Influence social change and the New Deal; pg. 557-558, 562-563, 568, 585
Rosie the Riveter: -Symbol for women workers during WW2. Kick started some of modernÂ feminism.; pg. 604-605
Atlantic Charter: -Signed by FDR and Churchill. Basically said that the water needed to be a safe place and free of agression. After German sub fired on the US, set the stage for the war with germany in WW2.; pg. 593
George Kennan: -American diplomat to Russia. Led the Cold War idea of “containment”; pg. 622, 637
Fair Deal: -Massive change in government and reforms designed to pull US out of great depression.; pg. 632, 637
Benjamin Spock: -Dr and author thatÂ stronglyÂ urged women to be fulltime mothers and to worry most about their children.Â InfluentialÂ after WWII.; pg. 638, 652, 660
Earl Warren: -Chief Justice thatÂ broadenedÂ individual rights and ruled in “Brown Vs the board of education”. One of the judges to order desegregation of schools.; pg. 638, 641-642, 660-662
Beats: -Ginsberg and Kerouac led the beat movement. With Howl and On the Road. Scorned conformity, celebrated the outcasts and counter culture.; pg. 660-661
Rosa Parks: -Civil rights leader who refused her seat on a bus to a white man.; pg. 656, 651
Betty Friedan: -Author of “Feminine Mystique” that argued strongly against mother’s being locked into the “housewife trap”; pg. Â 662-663, 665, 678
Black Panthers: -A violent wing of the black civil rights movement. Argued black power. Led by Malcom X.; pg. 665, 673, 677, 683
Cesar Chavez: -Mexican immigrant who fought for labor and civil rights.
Moral Majority: -Founded by Jerry Falwell. The Moral Majority was a political evangelical group that tried to promote christian ideals and elect Pat Robertson to president.; pg. 715, 723
Reaganomics: -Idea that if you reduce taxes the economy will boom and generate more revenue. The tax breaks to businesses would trickle down among the people.; pg. 724-725
Iran-contra scandal: -Reagan administration illegally sold weapons to Iran to finance contras.; pg. 711, 729-733
“Me” Generation: -

Egypt Sucks

Dan — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:05:43 +0000

For those that have already seen this, I apologize, I posted it in Reader a few minutes ago.

Today was the first day non-latin tlds have gone live. TLD = top level domain eg: .com .net .org .us .whatever

The first one to go live is .egypt, which is in arabic Ù…ØµØ±
I wanted to find the domain and see how it wokred in my browser so I did a search but apparently if you remove the last character (the one furthest to the left) it means something else entirely
Ù…Øµ = sucking
Ù…ØµØ± = egypt
so all this porn came up in the search results because I copied and pasted it slightly wrong.

I thought for a minute that the BBC got punked and was provided dirty words in arabic for their news story.

The moral of the story? Egypt is only one character off from “sucking”

April Fools Day Background 2010

Dan — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:53:46 +0000

People are always coming up to me and asking “How is it that you never get tricked on April Fools day?” The answer is simple! I make a desktop background that reminds me that nothing I see or hear is real, sort of a one day mind bend toÂ solipsism!

Anyway, you can download the background below!

Or check out last years.