Jim Lewis for the New York Times on prison design.
[Photo from the accompanying slide show.]
2009/06/19
2009/06/11
2009/06/09
Helpful Processor Benchmarks
Slashdot linked to a great processor comparison today from The Tech Report, with this helpful scatterplot. I need a new computer and I’ve been thinking about whether to go Mac or PC. The introduction of the cheap 13″ MacBook Pros yesterday at WWDC complicated things. I like that form factor a lot, my 12″ Powerbook is a great size (but too heavy). I use a tiny ~10″ Sony VAIO now as my primary computer with Fedora, but that’s not very good for doing real work (OpenOffice and GIMP leave a lot to be desired). The 13″ MacBook Pro (2.53 gHz, 4GB RAM, 250GB hard drive) will run me around $1,399 with my university staff member discount. But, as the Tech Report benchmarks show (and further down on the page they compare whole systems, not just processors), I could get an Intel i7-920 with 6GB of RAM, a Radeon 4870 512MB, and a 640GB hard drive for about $820, or a great AMD system, similarly spec’ed and slightly slower for $200 less. Performance would probably be better than the MacBook Pro (with the Intel 2.53gHz P8700 processor), and even with peripherals and a good display, this option would still be cheaper than the MacBook Pro.
What’s the problem? Well, Windows and portability. I am averse to using Windows, and it would be nice to take the computer to the coffee shop and do real work. I haven’t had a desktop computer for years now. So, Hackintosh is an option but it’s dodgy to run an unstable, unsupported OS X on a production system. I can always keep using the VAIO for basic, fiddly stuff, and for displaying work to clients (and not being able to edit it on the spot, which I guess I shouldn’t be doing anyway). It’s a tough choice, but not one I have to make immediately. We’ll see what happens, and how Windows 7 turns out.
Success Brings Rewards
To teach myself a lesson for getting an “A” in a class I did not expect to get an “A” in, I bought some red shoes.
“A brief guide to scientific literature”
“It has long been known == I haven’t bothered to check the references.
It is known == I believe.
It is believed == I think.
It is generally believed == My colleagues and I think.
There has been some discussion == Nobody agrees with me.
It can be shown == Take my word for it.
It is proven == It agrees with something mathematical.
Of great theoretical importance == I find it interesting.
Of great practical importance == This justifies my employment.
Of great historical importance == This ought to make me famous.
Some samples were chosen for study == The others didn’t make sense.
Typical results are shown == The best results are shown.
Correct within order of magnitude == Wrong.
The values were obtained empirically == The values were obtained by accident.
The results are inconclusive == The results seem to disprove my hypothesis.
Additional work is required == Someone else can work on the details.
It might be argued that == I have a good answer to this objection.
The investigations proved rewarding == My grant has been renewed.
Synthesized according to standard protocols == Purchased.”
[Also readily applies to the Humanities. I'm done with college. This list is from Rich Chin's "Rules of the Lab"]
2009/06/02
Breach
“Uday’s Palace, Jebel Makhoul, Iraq 2009″ from Richard Mosse’s 2009 project “Breach“
Tesla Model S
I just found Tesla’s collection of photos of their cars on Flickr. This is the Model S, their sedan. It looks a lot like the Quattroporte.
[Photo via Tesla Motors Image Library]