my tweets skh:tec
I just heard about the fit-PC Slim Linux
It’s a 500Mhz, 512M, 60G, 8W, 14oz computer about the size of a set of car keys. Looks like it’s be a near-ideal answer for a really light-weight web server for a home.
As quoted from David Pogue:
‘Software version numbers are pure marketing concoction. The upgrade from System 7 to System 7.5, for example, was a baby step compared to the leap from 7.5 to 8.0. If anything, it’s the tiny increases that really count, because that’s when a program goes from “4.0″ buggy to “4.0.1″ usable.
Of course, then there’s the numbering leap from Word 6 to Word 98. That one seems about right.’
Last Friday night, on the Brooklyn Bridge, in the rain (sounds like the answer to Clue, doesn’t it?) I officially asked my girlfriend to marry me.
Me living in Singapore means that’ll not be as soon as either of us would prefer, but at least it’s in the works. 
She told me the rest of the night was a blur, which is probably just as well since it sheeted water on us for the couple blocks back to the hotel, so we were thoroughgoingly drenched by the time we got there.
Anyways, that’s my fun news for the year
While certainly not as exciting as Tarus’ achievement, I did just roll to Gold status with Delta – and had I never cashed-in flier miles in the past, I’d be sitting in the neighborhood of 250k instead of 150.
So yes, like him I’m in that group that everybody else hates – the folks who get on first if we want
I’ve been reading recently abour various “unusual” power-generation methods. One of those that I’ve seen mentioned in several places is the solar updraft tower.
After having read about that, I wonder why more industrial steam stacks don’t utilize something similar: if you’re throwing away the steam, couldn’t you put a VAWT or other energy-capturing device in the tower to collect some chunk of that energy back either to the plant itself, or to the grid?
This week I have the pleasure of working in Jersey City.
No, that’s not sarcasm. Getting the PATH from my hotel in Manhattan to work is a cinch, and cheaper than taking the subway anywhere (fares on the subway are $2.25; the PATH is $1.75).
It would’ve been nice to be at the hotel across from work rather than having to take a train, but it’s not a big deal.
However, I am discovering that while cities offer a great deal of convenience, I have to agree with my fiancee that it’s nice to have space. Something that is sadly lacking in Manhattan, Jersey City, and Singapore (to name a few).
Being able to walk to everything is fantastic – certainly it’s cheaper than driving. But being all squished-up with everybody else isn’t really my speed. Maybe in a smaller city, like the one I grew up in, but not a big one.
In a few hours I get on the first of several planes to get back to the US for a couple weeks. It’s slated to leave at 0540 SGT on 09 July. That’s 1740 EDT on 08 July. I get done flying (on that trip) at about 2145 EDT on 09 July.
I’m really looking forward to all the fun activities and busyness of the next several weeks.
Tonight I get to do the “turnover” on my Singapore residence. That means one last going-over before I officially move in on 15 July.
Of course, on the 15th of July I won’t be in Singapore, so my helpful coworker whose wife is my apartment agent will be taking care of my keys whilst I am gone.
When I get back to Singapore after a few weeks in the US, I’ll be able to snag my keys from them and start to settle-in better than is possible in the very-nice-but-temporary location Barclays put me up in for my first month.
I’m in need of guests from the US (or elsewhere if I know you) to come and experience Singapore and update me on what’s going on in the States beyond just Google News and emails and phone calls from friends and family.
So, if you’re looking for something to do, and I know you, feel free to drop me a line and come on over.
Just wait till August so I’m there, too
I arrived in Singapore during the Great Singapore Sale, or GSS. It’s advertised everywhere. It’s the one time of year when [nearly] every store, restaurant, service provider, etc offers big discounts for shoppers.
In Plaza Singapura, the mall next to where I work, they’ve been having different vendors taking-over the concourse area on the first floor every week.
This week it’s one of their anchors, Carrefour (the French hypermart chain). They have all sorts of stuff – most of which you can also get inside the Carrefour store, but of course it’s more fun to browse out in the open.
In the refrigerated container area I saw something I never thought I’d see in my life. They had fruit for sale.
Specifically, they had fruit from Japan for sale. One of them was S$199. That’s about $125 US.
It’s a watermelon.
Yep.
That summer stand-by: the watermelon.
Course, these are square and grown in Japan, and stack nicely.
But really? Two hundred dollars for a watermelon?
