thoughts.bjsintay.com

I don’t normally read thrillers.  Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels have, however, become the exception.  One lazy afternoon while backpacking in the wilderness of Virginia I began reading Persuader.  The story read fast and action lurked around the turn of every page.  Child’s depth of research and character development kept me glued to the story.  Reacher is an ex-military cop with sharp instincts and encyclopedic knowledge of weapons.  His character is that of a drifter, a loner.  Child paints the man with good heart and eerie unpredictability.

Persuader takes Reacher deep under cover into a world of crime lords and dirty bosses.  His assignment is to get dangerously close to a powerful family with plenty of secrets.  Reacher must find a missing government agent all the while pursuing an elusive character that he had given two .22-caliber bullets to the head a decade before.  With twists and turns at every corner, this story kept me entertained right down to the last page.  It’s a must for all the men out there.

I have recently acquired a passion for subversion control (SVN) through my work with the SiteX project.  I gave another developer in the SiteX community a charge to figure out SVN for version control and collaborative development.  By the end of the weekend our development process had been taken to the next level.

My SVN client software of choice is TortoiseSVN.  This program installs in Windows and creates a new menu when you right click any file or folder.  You can create your own repository or connect to an existing external repository.  The repository is the place where your stuff is stored and accessed.  Files are “committed” to the repository along with a note.  This creates a revision.  You can “update” you files to download the latest revision.  When you’ve reached an acceptable stable “version” of your software, this can be “tagged” and stored in its current state for easy access later on.  TortoiseSVN also includes a decent diff tool which shows you the differences in two side-by-side files.  This is great for comparing a new file to an old revision or merging two new files together.  Access can be controlled to your SVN as well.  There are so many features and options it is impossible to describe them all here.

Currently, the SiteX project uses Sourgeforge.net for our SVN hosting since it is integrated with some nice project management tools all bundled via their website for free.

SVN is so popular that there are now server hosts that specialize in private, backed up SVN packages which include ticket management (like Bugzilla and Trac).  If I had an extra $30 laying around each month, this would definitely be a good investment.  Many include great features like cluster computing, RAID 5, and 10 minute backups.  I’ve even found one host that has a free account (no tracking or web-based SVN browsing included).

I personally am beginning to use SVN for more than just SiteX.  I’ve now expanded my personal repository to track revisions of documents and other web projects.  That way I always have a record of changes.  If you’ve never tried out SVN and you manage any sort of code that changes periodically, you simply MUST check it out!

It’s tough to predict what Apple will do next in the ever-changing portable media market.  From the iPod, to the iPhone, and even the iBook, Apple is constantly on the move when it comes to developing products that miniaturize and combine technology to meet consumer needs.  So let me be among the first to predict the iScreen - the all new handheld media system with integrated phone, media player, and *cough* DLP video projector.

TI has developed a micro DLP array which is much smaller than your standard projector chip, while maintaining enough quality for smaller screen viewing.  Want to watch a movie on your 2012 flight to Europe?  Forget wearable OLEDs in your shirt.  Project your favorite digital TV station from your iScreen on to the seat in front of you.  Think portable digital TV is far off?  Think again.  That’s already in a new phone developed by Samsung.  The phone includes both analog and digital receivers.

Now, somebody needs to get TiVo in on this and we’ll be all set.

Olympus created one of the world’s lightest voice recorders in its line of WS-3xx devices.  I became interested in this model because of its size and weight.  The WS-310M packs in 512MB of memory for over 138 hours of voice recording (on low quality mode).  At less than 2 ounces including battery, this recorder has replaced pen and paper for recording my adventures out on the trail where lightweight is king.

I initially tested my device by recording about 40 tracks from old analog voice recorder tapes that I’ve made over the past 10 years.  The device is straightforward to use.  After recording, I snapped off the battery case and plugged the recorder directly into my USB port - no cables required.  Copying everything to my computer was easy, but here is where I found the first glitch.  The device had a few tracks that got “stuck”.  My computer reads the files as corrupt disabling me from moving them to my computer.  I unplugged the device and listened from the tiny on-board speaker… no problems on the playback end of things.  So that problem has me stumped.  I read that cutting power to the device while recording can cause problems, but I can assure you that I didn’t do this.  Since this one incident I started using another “folder” on the recorder (there are 5) and have had no problems so far.

I put the device back together after transferring the WMA files onto the computer.  Another glitch.  The device totally lost the time/date.  This is annoying because it tags your files with the time/date.  I would imagine that this could be fairly important for most people.  I have continually found that this device cannot hold the clock for a long period of time of after mucking with it at all in the USB port.  Basically, check your time/date every day that you use this device.  Maybe others don’t have this problem?

The device has mic holes in the front and back and on both sides (stereo).  I found this very frustrating because it is impossible to twist the device to avoid the wind noise when outside.  You have to use it in a windless environment or on a calm day.  Bad for outdoor use.

I am pleased with the device, however, I think mine may have a few annoying glitches (corrupt memory, time/date problem).  If these problems were fixed, I would give this device a 4 out of 5.  With these problems, it gets a 2 out of 5 for total unreliability.

Stuck out in the wilderness about to freeze to death?  Get some ice.

No, really.

Mythbusters ran an episode (#45) about using ice to make a fire.  The gist of the design is to shape extremely pure ice into a large lens a few inches thick and about the size of a small dinner plate.  The ice is then used to focus light from the sun to slowly create a fire.  You’ll need some extra dry tinder finely separated.  One guy on the net has laid out full instructions.

This is one of the more unique survival tips that I found interesting enough to write about.  If you try this out, let me know how it goes.