X-Git-Url: https://codewiz.org/gitweb?p=wiki.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=MayBlog;h=ccacee5a33065c663d1247e2d5a35763160a90cb;hp=2e1d03c286a384f868437d44c126724068a42ca1;hb=a54da33cf03d8290fb46a92ddfea6746d8d64050;hpb=b450e88b5a390694f9ac35ae7171587aff7b74b7 diff --git a/MayBlog b/MayBlog index 2e1d03c..ccacee5 100644 --- a/MayBlog +++ b/MayBlog @@ -1,13 +1,708 @@ == May 2007 == -'''Tip:''' as always, start from the bottom and proceed bottom up to keep time flowing in one direction. +=== Thu, 31th === +==== News Feed ==== + +Today Rasky suggested that we could use an RSS feed to notify +about new articles in the blog. + +I wanted to fulfill the same purpose, but with a totally +different approach: use git-send-email to notify a mailing-list +and tell people: "hey, just subscribe to the list!". + +My version is surely too complicated because it employs +a chain of 4 different programs (pikiwiki -> git -> git-mail -> mailman). +But I like that it can be done without even touching the wiki +engine. + +A middle-ground solution could be using gitweb's own +RSS feed: + + http://bender.codewiz.org/wikigit/wiki.git?a=rss + +But as Rasky notes, this would send notifications +also for minor edits: real blog apps would only +bother you for new articles. + +So, maybe we should filter only changesets that +contain a new level 3 header... Hmmm... This +can't be done with gitweb, I'm afraid. + +We live in an era where we can make very cool +things with very little effort. I could hack +this versioned wiki engine in just 2-3 days +because I could pick the existing PikiPiki and +combine it with the existing Git versioning +system. + +This brings me to the point: the really hard thing +in software design is choosing the right ingredients +for your sausage. Because there are many ways to +bake a pizza, but only a few of them have the +quality of being tasty, healty, dietetic, cheap +or whatever. And usually, even a good design... +err... receipe requires you to choose a few of +these qualities you care more. + +'''Q''': What do you think is the most elegant way to +obtain useful notification from this blog? + +You can choose whatever technology to deliver some +kind of "notification". You can also use any +sensible definition of the words "useful" and "elegant". + + +==== Hop hop! ==== + +Today I typed {{cvs up -dP}} to update Gnash from CVS. +And I got the prompt back in less than 1s. + +"Something must be broken!", I thought! In fact, it's +blazingly fast because we're just 2ms away from Savannah: + +{{{ +PING cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69) 56(84) bytes of data. +64 bytes from cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69): icmp_seq=1 ttl=58 time=2.31 ms +64 bytes from cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69): icmp_seq=2 ttl=58 time=2.21 ms +64 bytes from cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69): icmp_seq=3 ttl=58 time=2.00 ms +}}} + +And it's not even in MIT: + +{{{ +traceroute to cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets + 1 passport-9-16.media.mit.edu (18.85.46.1) 1.756 ms 1.695 ms 1.845 ms + 2 amtgw.media.mit.edu (18.85.0.1) 2.230 ms 1.248 ms 1.150 ms + 3 EXTERNAL-RTR-1-BACKBONE.MIT.EDU (18.168.0.18) 1.409 ms 1.435 ms 1.374 ms + 4 EXTERNAL-RTR-2-BACKBONE.MIT.EDU (18.168.0.27) 1.391 ms 1.389 ms 1.426 ms + 5 207.210.143.109 (207.210.143.109) 1.428 ms 1.505 ms 1.414 ms + 6 207.210.143.138 (207.210.143.138) 12.756 ms 2.162 ms 1.998 ms + 7 ge-2-1-0-000.ar1.qcy1.ma.gnaps.NET (199.232.44.142) 4.879 ms 2.592 ms 2.485 ms + 8 cvs.savannah.gnu.org (199.232.41.69) 2.713 ms 7.476 ms 13.328 ms +}}} + +Boston sure has a very fast WAN backbone! + + +=== Wed, 30th === + + Ciao Berni!!! Te tu sei un grande, qui dalla OTE ti si saluta con affetto!!! + +Grazie ragazzi! Il sentimento e' reciproco! Uno di questi giorni +dovete proprio venire a bere una birra qua a Boston! + +==== More Graphics Headaches ==== + +Hehe, more graphics problems keep sprinkling: XorgGraphicsCorruption. +CosmicPenguin was kind enough to offload me of the graphics related bugs. + + +=== Tue, 29th === + +==== Tracking ==== + +And if you really have too much time on your hands, try helping me out on some of +these tasks: + + * XorgOlpcTasks + * http://dev.laptop.org/query?status=new&status=assigned&status=reopened&status=closed&owner=bernie&order=priority + + +==== Weekly OLPC Reports ==== + +If you're interested in our progess at the OLPC lab, we +publish weekly executive summaries here: + + http://laptop.media.mit.edu/laptopnews.nsf/latest/news + +This is the report that mentions me volunteering for +the project: + + http://laptop.media.mit.edu/laptopnews.nsf/2e76a5a80bc36cbf85256cd700545fa5/6709ac0696003ee3852572e00083567f?OpenDocument + + +=== Fri, 25th === + +==== 60 Minutes ==== + +In this episode of the popular American show SixtyMinutes, +our founder NicholasNegroponte reveals a lot of details +about the humanitarian role of the OneLaptopPerChild project: + + http://bender.codewiz.org/wikidata/60_minutes_2007-05-20.avi + +The part about us starts approximately at 1/3 of the show. + +You may also find the last part interesting as it specifically +addresses the controversial problem of private medical centers +trying to save on assistance to homeless people. Marco, you +should see it! + + +==== GreenishBitmaps ==== + +'''Warning''': This article is rated PG0xF00F, parents discretion *not* advised. + +I've been struggling for the last few days on a the damn X server. + +In the RedHat builds, we're still using a pre-release of 1.2, +labelled 1.1.99. Now, we need to leverage some upstream work +for input rotation that is landing on the Xorg tree right now. + +Backporting is not an option, and we want to stay up to date +anyway. We'll soon be moving to Fedora 7 anyway. But even +the just-released 1.3 that will be in Fedora 7 is not enough, +because it has been branched some time ago, we must work +from the tip of the git tree, which of course has become +very unstable recently. + +I've been fighting all the week against all sort of bugs +and build problems and, believe me, it's a very energy +consuming exercise. + +The funniest thing I'm still trying to track are +these GreenishBitmaps that nobody else except me +is seeing. + +It's probably a miscompilation of some kind, but I've +long ago ran out of obvious and less obvious ideas to try +and I'm now far in the land of impossible things. + +All this time I've been in contact with a few X +hackers on IRC, including the author of the AMD +driver, but even them couldn't come up with a +magical solution. + + +==== Chat Line ==== + + Bernie, I'm Easy... + +'''Bernie''': Hello Easy!!! It's good to be chatting here in the blog! + +I saw this two photo some row below... + + But all those OLPC at the roof, what doing?? Only for furnishing or for specific utility?? :) + +'''Bernie''': Hehe... they're part of the WirelessMesh, for testing +purposes. An hispanic guy called Miguel (not the same of De Icaza) +sometimes fiddles with them. He's lucky because he's very tall. +I'd need a ladder :-) + + The office is very beautiful and the Apple Cinema Display is really very big... + +'''Bernie''': Yeah, that's the personal screen of my boss/team-leader ChrisBall. +It's 30". One day or another I'll bring here my 24" wide-screen from home. + + Do you have some new news about your new work?? + +'''Bernie''': Sorry for not updating the blog... I've been *extremely* +busy. I will do it shortly... Promised. + +=== Sat, 19th === + +==== Trip to work ==== + +I still couldn't solve the problem of getting to work +quickly. I can't afford to waste over 2 hours every +day like this. + +By now, I've tried any possible solution: + + * Car: the office doesn't have a parking lot and there's + no way to park within one mile from KendalSquare for less + than $18/day. Monthly fees start from $250. + + * Bus: I need to commute in Dudley and take line no. 1 to + MassachusettsAvenue, then walk 15 minutes to KendalSquare. + + * Bus + subway combo: The red line would get me directly + to KendalSquare, and there are several routes to get there, + but all of them require commuting at least twice. The + monthly link pass costs $75. + + * Car + subway combo: there are some cheap parkings next + to the terminal subway stations where you can leave your + car for $5/day. Unfortunately, to get there I must + travel in the opposite direction. And the whole thing + will cost $75 + $5*30, about the same of the monthly + parking fee. + + * Taxi: Costs $11-$14 * 2 every day, which makes the + monthly parking cheap in comparison. + +And even worse, the red line stops running at midnight +and bus no 1 at 1AM. Which forces me to leave from +the office very early (for my standards). + +If you want to play with the possibilities, I just +discovered that the transportation company has a very cool +web service that would have saved me a lot of time: + +{{{ + http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner/default.asp + From: 66 Maywood st., Roxbury MA + To: Kendall/mit Station, Cambridge +}}} + +At the end of the day, the ultimate solution is moving +closer to the office or at least close to the red line. +Maybe I could afford to spend $600 for a room, but I +don't feel like moving right now. I already have enough +things on my hands. + +''Have you considered to put a bicycle in your combo? You may replace a 10 km walk with it and open up new combinations (and ways to get wet...) -- PiroPiro'' + +==== Awful Weather ==== + +Today it's raining lightly. Yesterday I took an extra shower +in the evening :-( + +The WikiPedia was definitely right: weather in Boston can +change very rapidly. Must remember to buy a raincoat like +RichardStallman's and keep it in my backpack. + + +==== What Next? ==== + +{{{ +1. Get employed at OLPC +2. ??? +3. World domination! +}}} + +Just joking, but the truth is that I still need +to face a lot of new challenges now. + +My next problem will be improving my communication skills. +After one month of full immersion, I can still barely +understand people talking quickly to each and I clearly +express myself using an inadequately poor vocabulary and +too slowly in some cases. + +These things will improve over time, while my strong +Italian inflection is likely to remain forever. If +only I could find one, I'd attend to a course to +correct my diction now. Actors do them. + +Another crucial problem I need to solve quickly is +getting a visa that allows me to work here permanently. +There are many possibilities, but none guaranteed to +succeed. For now, I'm not thinking about it: my +employer knows better than me and will help as much +as possible. + +Last but not least, my job is not easy and requires a +good amount of commitment. All my colleagues are extremely +smart and more experienced than I am. So I need to work +twice as hard to keep up with them. + +A very nice workplace and very interesting assignments helps. +And, most importantly, I know that what we're doing here is +going to have a huge impact on the world. + +'''Andrea Grandi''': Your words give me no hopes for my future :( + +'''Bernie''': Are you planning to come here? Cool! :D + +> All my colleagues are extremely smart and more experienced than I am + +More than you? It's not a place for me then :D + +'''Bernie''': It's worth trying even if you currently think you're +not up to the job. It's a very valuable experience even if you +end up returning to your home country for some reason. + +'''Rasky''': But can you get a perm visa even without an university +degree? I thought that was absolutely out of question... I knew that +people without a degree could just get some 1-year temp visa. + + +=== Thu, 17th === + +==== More Pics ==== + +Here are some more pics of MyOlpcDesk. + +=== Wed, 16th === + +==== Office Space ===== + +Here are a few pictures of the OlpcOffice! + +==== Hack Hack Hack ==== + +I've been assigned a problem with an invalid serial port baud +rate after resume from software suspend. + +I started investigating the hard way, until ChrisBall pointed +me on IRC to talk with the KernelHacker DavidWoodhouse, who +obviously had a solution in a few seconds. Unfortunately, +it didn't work as we expected and MitchBradley of OpenFirmware +joined the conversation to help. + +Having all the subsystem gurus available to fix your bugs makes +things a lot easier... Hehe, I think I like it ;-) + +And so tomorrow I'll get back to work on a MandelBug with the Xorg's +driver for the AMD chipset. When XVIDEO is enabled and you +rotate the display with XRANDR, sometimes the X server crashes, +sometimes it just hangs and sometimes it survives with a corrupted +display. And the bad news is that gdb also hangs. + +How will I fix this? Easy: I'll go looking for the driver authors +first thing tomorrow and beg them to send me a fix :-) + +By the way, lately I've been hanging regularly in #olpc on FreeNode. +My nick is _bernie. Come over to see what's going on! + + +=== Mon, 14th === + +==== All Night Long ==== + +At 9PM, I'm still here and plan to stay as long as I can :-) + + + + +==== Buried In Work Already ==== + +'''WARNING''': Technical AbraCadabra ahead! + +Today I met most of the team members and bothered a few of them, +starting from DanWilliams who helped me debug a problem with a +simple mesh networking scenario involving three laptops. + +Today I've also been assigned some work from ChrisBall, who also +helped me out with many small things such as a dead battery, +accessing the serial console, etc. I'm currently adding a +KernelDebugger command to display the ModelSpecificRegister's +of the AmdGeodeCpu. + +But it seems like I will also refer to RedHat's ChrisBlizzard +to be assigned more work. We talked about optimizing the +video driver for the AmdGeodeCpu, getting the resistive +tablet to work and maybe adding "tapping" support to the +capacitive touchpad. + +As you know, I like it even more when I'm allowed to ramble +through a zillion different things like this! + + +==== Sneaky Preview ==== + +I'm writing this from within the OLPC headquarters. I came today for +a second interview and to get a few tasks assigned to me :-) + +I have no time to be more specific. Will tell you the details a little later. + + +=== Sun, 13th === + + '''TODO''': will tell you later + +=== Sat, 12th === + + '''TODO''': will tell you later + +=== Fri, 11th === + >MUM< creepy mummy virus it's taking control here.... :-) WRITE SOON OR IT/SHE WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING! +==== Quite a Trip ==== + +Today I'm leaving the safe and familiar BostonCity to boldly go where I've +never been before. + +The current plan is to drive south to ProvidenceCity, BrdigeportCity, NewYorkCity, +PhiladelphiaCity, BaltimoreCity and, finally, WashingtonCity. Maybe I'll even +push myself down in FloridaState to go see the SpaceShuttle! + +I could use a GPS. I've seen a few TomTom's, but $299 seems way too +much to me for a talking map. Maybe I'll buy a traditional map for +$10. + +Ah, and I will sleep frugally, of course. Hostels and motels when I find +them. So, over the next few days I'll be lucky if I have intermittent +Internet access and, consequently, I won't probably be able to sync the +BrainDump. + + +=== Thu, 10th === + + '''Babbo''': Ma fino ad oggi con quali danari hai vissuto dato che sei partito con 10€ liquidi? + + '''Bernie''': Ho prelevato i soldi dall'ATM... con il bancomat delle poste! E vedo dai movimenti + sul conto che hanno applicato un buon cambio e nessuna penale strana. + +==== Car Rental ==== + +Today I finally rent a car. It's a SaturnIon, a brand and model I never heard +of before. + +http://www.edmunds.com/media/seo/500/2006.saturn.ion.jpg + +I felt very comfortable driving all over Europe: Italy, Swiss, Spain, France, +Germany, Belgium, and even Greece... But, for some reason, I was quite afraid +of driving a car here in the States. + +Maybe it's because the road signs are somewhat different and there are a few +subtly different rules, such as turning right on red, not parking in front +of hydrants, etc. Most probably, it's because I've seen way too many movies +where people get stopped by police and thrown in jail quite easily! + +Well, so far everything went very well. I mean, except for parking. Parking +in downtown is easy if you're willing to pay $10-12 for a few hours. +It's a big pain in the ass otherwise... The best way I've found so far +is to park near a minor T station and then get the T to downtown :-( + +And, of course, the car has AutomaticTransmission, which I managed to learn +quickly: the trouble comes when you switch the other way around ;-) + +Ok, today I've driven all around Boston just to get used to it. Tomorrow +I'll probably dare getting on the highway to see around. + + +==== Business Visa? ==== + +Today I've re-read detailed information on the +available US visa options: + + http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html + +Looks like a ''B-1'' Business Visa would do. To get one, +I should go to a US ambassy, and ambassys are usually +located abroad. Instead of returning to Italy, maybe +I could get an appointment in MontrealCity, which is +near to the border and also an interesting place to see. + + +=== Wed, 9th === + +==== Zip Car ==== + +Yesterday I applied for this great service: http://www.zipcar.com/ . +Isn't it a good idea? Costs less than renting a car and is almost +as versatile. + + http://www.carsharingfirenze.it/ :) + +Today I walked to their offices to give them my documents +and get the magnetic card. They said they will enable it +first thing tomorrow *if* the "insurance risk declaration" +I got from Italy suffices. + + +==== Simple shopping ==== + +Consumers must be very simple minded here. First, most +shop names are simply dumb: '''Pay Less''', '''Save-A-Lot''', +'''Big Deal''', and so on. + +''Sounds very '''meno tasse per tutti''' to me... -- PiroPiro'' + +Second, they try to subtle deceptions such as: "take 2 for $24.xx", +and, next to it: "take 3 for $21.xx", Which of course is +impossible. It's a trap! The little figures placed +exactly where you would expect to see the cents, are +indeed a small notice: ''EACH''. + +Today I bought a dozen of razor blades ($1.50), a +bottle of shampoo ($1.50) and shower gel ($1.50). +But I spent $12 for adjusting the two pair of +trousers I had bought a few days ago in the mall! +$12 ''EACH'', I mean. + + +==== Bad Neighborhood ==== + +Walking home alone in the night, I may encounter some ''bad'' guys: + +http://bender.codewiz.org/FunWithWeapons.jpg + +Better be careful :-) + + +=== Tue, 8th === + +==== Veni, Vidi, ???? ==== + +This morning I shown up at OneLaptopPerChild's headquarters. It's again next to KendallSquare, +in OneCambridgeCenter. + +JimGettys was very kind: he took me to LegalSeaFood for lunch, repaired my ExOh's keyboard (two +keys were dead) and introduced me to the team members. + +They left me with the usual Hollywood formula: "don't call us, we'll call you". +But in this particular case, I felt they were sincere :-) + +I hope to be soon a member of the OLPC core team! + + +=== Mon, 7th === + +==== Alea Iacta Est ==== + +As promised... Yes, indeed. Everybody please cross their fingers. + +Babbo:Pregherò perchè tu possa ottenere quello che cerchi. + +Camy: Mannaggia a voi due ( Bernie e Alberto ) siete cosi..."teneri". Come ho già detto tante volte a Bernie, è fortunato ad avere un babbo cosi! Lo so, lo so che non c'entra nulla con lo stile di questo blog, ma io sono cosi, impulsiva e Bernie lo sa e mi perdonerà. +A dire il vero anch'io sto in ansia per lui :-) speriamo bene... + +Bernie: Via, non fatemi venire il magone voi due :-) + +=== Sun, 6th === + +==== International Dinner ==== + +FedericoLucifredi and his wife Irena were so kind to invite me at their place for a +fine dinner with appetizers, SirloinSteak (see pic below), several side +dishes and... Even a PinotNoir! + +http://www.fairburysteaks.com/images/bci-sirloin-round-bone.gif + +There were also Mauro -- Federico's colleague at Ximian -- and Irena's +friend who's a physics professor from Providence and could speak perfect +French and, surprisingly, even Italian! + +What can I say? I think I got a pound or two that night, but it was +worth it! :-) + + +=== Sat, 5th === + +==== Cinema ==== + +There's a cinema in building 26 @ EmAiTee, and it's cheap. +I'm going tonight. + +==== Cursious? ==== + +If you're curious, my room rent is $500 per month. Utilities, + forniture and DSL Internet access are included. + +It's not cheap, but it's also not too expensive for Boston. +They told me that only Manhattan is more expensive here on +the east coast. + +==== CurriculumVitae ==== + +...is almost ready. A friend told me that I'd better have +also a synthetic resume of 1-2 pages for the impatient. +I think he's right. + +Well, I said I'd be finished by last Monday, but then I +managed to slip past my own deadline visiting NewYorkCity, +moving in my current room and in other frivolous ways. + +Now I have no excuses: the time has come. Next Monday I +''will'' write my proposal. Seriously. === Fri, 4th === -Massimo: Visto che Bernie non ci degna di una foto, ho usato flickr: ecco delle foto che ho scovato! + +==== Exchange Rates ==== + +Looks like I'd better convert all my money to dollars *now*: + + http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/EUR/graph30.html + +What do you think about it? + +Babbo:penso che $ continuerà a svalutare. Perderai soldi. + +==== StataCenter ==== + +I forgot to tell you about the kewlest building in EmAiTee: + + http://www.eecs.mit.edu/images/big-stata12.jpg + +See also: http://www.eecs.mit.edu/stata-link.html + +==== Fast night ==== + +After a long time, I finally get to (ab)use MIT's wi-fi and +barf my short-term brain buffer into my BrainDump. + +Tonight we went to an Irish pub next to Kendall, where I got +to know a few more Ximian employees. I got rumors that +the famous kernel hacker RobertLove would be there, so after +a while I turned to the guy next to me and asked: "Is +RobertLove really going to come?". And he replied: "Speaking." + +Another guy told me: "Hi, I'm BAHB". "Pardon?". "BAHB!". +"What???". Federico promptly helped me out: "Ha detto che si +chiama BOB :-)" + +The beer was good. I discovered that a BlueMoon is the +nearest approximation of a WeisseBeer I can find here, +and I'm not at all displeased by its taste. + +==== Slow day ==== + +My landlord has recently switched DSL provider and Internet +doesn't work any more: the sync light on the modem flashes. +It seems that crappy ISPs are a common disease in the States +as well. + +Yesterday, he called for service and, finally, they told him +they would send a tech today from 8AM to 18PM. They refused +to be more specific. And so I've agreed to wait here to let +the guy in... I care about it for myself too! + +==== Weight ==== + +By the way, today I'm exactly 150 pounds (use GoogleCalculator +to get it to SI units). + +150 pounds = 68.0388555 kilograms + +=== Thu, 3rd === + +==== Roxbury ==== + +They told me Roxbury is quite an infamous suburb of Boston. +And my first impression confirms that: shops are uglier, +parks and streets are somewhat dirtier (but not as much as +in NewYorkCity!) and, most importantly, some of the neighbors +look creepy. Especially in the night, streets are crowded by +people with criminal faces and many homeless. + +You know I'm not the type who's easily scared off by a bunch +of zombies, but I'll feel much better when I'll drive a car. + +==== Moving In ==== + +I've finally settled in my room. There's no need to describe the house +in detail, as it's the most typical colonial design: two floors plus +basement, front and back yards, sliding windows, wooden floors +everywhere. You've come to know them very well from the movies. + +Today I went to the mall to gather the essentials: a blankets, +a pillow case and some bath towels. The bed is comfortable and +I was quite tired already, therefore I fell asleep early in the +evening and kept on until 8 AM. + +'''WARNING: TIME WARP OCCURRED''' + +----- + +'''WARNING: TIME WARP IMMINENT''' + +=== Fri, 4th === + +Alberto: Attento a convertire € in $ perchè € si sta apprezzando,e quindi $ svalutando rispetto a €. + +Belle le foto scovate da Massimo. Have a good stay in Btn. + +Massimo: Bernie, you taught me: http://www.google.com/search?q=100+USD+in+EUR + + +Massimo: Since Bernie could not give us any picture, I had to use flickr: here they are! http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=bernardo+innocenti +Piro: what in the heaven is RMS doing dressed like a camp tent? :D === Wed, 2nd === @@ -68,9 +763,9 @@ some international friends here and none of them could read Italian. Writing in English is also what I need to improve my writing skills. For the few of you who barely know English, some more reading surely won't hurt! If you're real lazy, -[[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbender.codewiz.org%2Fwiki%2FMayBlog&langpair=en%7Cit&hl=en Google Translator]] +[[http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbender.codewiz.org%2Fwiki%2FMayBlog&langpair=en%7Cit=en Google Translator]] is your friend. As always, I'd very much appreciate being told about any mistake I make. -''Massimo: ok, let's start with those horrible contractions my poor eyes had to read: '''Won't''' and '''I'd'''. Hey Bernie! You already went back home from NYC. Ain't gonna play with ya 'nymore!'' \ No newline at end of file +''Massimo: ok, let's start with those horrible contractions my poor eyes had to read: '''Won't''' and '''I'd'''. Hey Bernie! You already went back home from NYC. Ain't gonna play with ya 'nymore!''