Thursday, March 31, 2005

Boredom to boom for India's software-testing market | CNET News.com: "Sohrab Azad, an executive at head-hunting company eQURA Consulting, told Reuters that industry estimates say Bangalore alone would need 10,000 testing engineers in the next six months.
The city is pulling talent from northern cities such as Delhi and Pune by doubling annual salaries to $18,265-$22,831 (800,000-1,000,000 rupees) for those with six to eight years' experience, he said. This is still only a fraction of what U.S. counterparts earn.
Russia, China and Ireland are among potential competitors, but India is seen as being ahead in the race.
'Once China crosses the language barrier, it is likely to pose a threat due to cost advantage,' said Pradeep Waychal, head of quality at Patni Computer Systems. "

testing is pretty boring... but pretty essential in order to maintain quality. Maintaining tests and keeping everything running in will take at least 1/2 of the development effort... but ensure a higher level of quality....

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Yahoo! News - Too Sleepy for Sex?: "Most people -- 77 percent -- complained that their partner has a sleep-related problem, usually snoring.
'In my practice, I've found when couples are forced to sleep apart because of one partner's sleep problems, it often has a terrible effect on the relationship,' said Dr. Meir Kryger, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at St. Boniface Hospital Research Center at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and a director of the Foundation. "


oh no!!! snoring!!!!

Monday, March 28, 2005

Chihuahua Terrorizes Ind. Postal Workers: "have nonetheless ticketed the dog's owner, Vicki Seber, twice in recent weeks for violating a city ordinance requiring pet owners to keep their animals restrained.
Hobart police officer Ron Schalk said he had no option but to cite Seber for allowing the dog to run loose.
'The biggest thing I was concerned with is there were a lot of residents that week who couldn't get their mail,' he said. 'The little Chihuahua was running around being aggressive and trying to bite people's ankles.'"

these small dogs are pretty agressive. I've actually been bitten a few times!

Friday, March 25, 2005

The Home School Conundrum / Parents' real estate decisions often based on kids' education needs: "So, what's the real value of buying in a good school system? My teacher friends assure me that test scores are a poor way of assessing a school's quality, but that doesn't eliminate the influence of such numbers. It is now a real estate reality that houses located near a school with high test scores get a substantial price bump. In the Cupertino Union School District, where one school scored a nearly perfect 993 out of 1,000 and virtually all the elementary schools scored above 900 (by comparison, not a single elementary school in San Francisco scores that high), the price of a generic ranch-style home can be several hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than those in nearby cities.
According to one East Bay real estate agent, a home in Oakland identical to one across the street in Piedmont might cost $150,000 less. Now, with our education system forced to use testing as a measure of success -- fallaciously marking some schools as failures and other as models -- it's not so hard to imagine that such price margins will only swell, making the real estate market a glaring mirror of our social inequities and our individual hopes to escape them. "

so sad.... this is why i went to private school.
Yahoo! News - Octopuses Seen Walking From Predators: "Two individuals of O. marginatus from Indonesia wrapped six arms around themselves, looking like a coconut on the sea floor. They then used the two rear arms to move backward.
In Australia, O. aculeatus was seen raising two arms above its head before lifting four more and moving backward on the two remaining arms. The researchers described it as looking like 'a clump of algae tiptoeing away.' "

I wonder if this will work on mags.
Trading places: Real estate instead of dot-coms | CNET News.com: "In Naples, Fla., some houses have been bought twice in a single day, an early 21st century version of day trading. Buying stocks on margin has morphed into buying homes with no money down. The over-the-top parties of Internet start-ups have been replaced by flashy gatherings, in which developers pitch condos to eager buyers. "

scary!
Trading places: Real estate instead of dot-coms | CNET News.com: "In Naples, Fla., some houses have been bought twice in a single day, an early 21st century version of day trading. Buying stocks on margin has morphed into buying homes with no money down. The over-the-top parties of Internet start-ups have been replaced by flashy gatherings, in which developers pitch condos to eager buyers. "

scary! i should buy a house someday!

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

THE TERRI SCHIAVO CASE / Her condition: Doctor explains the 'persistent vegetative state': "A person in a vegetative state is defined as one who is arousable -- which means merely a reflexive response to a stimulus -- but unaware. It is not necessary to wake up to be aroused. If a vegetative state exists for six weeks to three months, it is deemed a 'persistent' vegetative state.
A person in a persistent vegetative state is not in a coma. A person in a coma is unconscious, and unable to be aroused.
There is a similar distinction defining stupor. A person in a stupor shows some response to stimulation but will easily slip back into a state where he or she cannot be aroused.
Sleep, strictly defined, is a state of unconsciousness from which a person can be aroused. But there is another halfway state -- somnolence -- where a person can wake up enough to carry a brief conversation before falling back into sleep.
The strange limbo of people in vegetative states poses "

whew.. confusing stuff....

sometimes people i know are in these type of states when i see them in front of computers....

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Parker Bowles Doesn't Want to Be Queen: "Several newspapers in Britain, where the public is warming to the royal wedding but still oppose the idea of Queen Camilla, on Tuesday carried headlines reading 'Camilla will be Queen if Charles is King,' and 'Camilla will be Queen.'"

All hail king squid!

Monday, March 21, 2005

Yahoo! News - France Dismantles Its 35-Hour Workweek: "
According to a 2003 OECD survey of 25 industrialized countries, only Norwegian and Dutch employees worked less time each year than the French, who worked an average 1,431 hours. German workers put in 1,446 hours, British 1,673 hours, Americans 1,792 hours and Koreans 2,390 hours.
Last year, a parliamentary committee reported that the 35-hour week cost France more than $13 billion a year, casting doubt on a labor ministry study that suggested it had created 350,000 jobs between 1998 and 2002.
Still, many French workers are loath to give up their shorter hours, even for more cash. Some 56 percent of salaried employees oppose the government's plan, according to the CSA survey, while 36 percent approve. "

those koreans work crazy hours!!!

35 hours a week... gosh... imagine having every wednesday off!
Yahoo! News - Calif. University Says 59,000 Affected by Hackers: "California State University, Chico in northern California is alerting students, former students, prospective students and faculty that their personal information, including Social Security (news - web sites) numbers, may have been compromised in the attack three weeks ago, said spokesman Joe Wills.
'It looked like it was illegal access to do some, perhaps, some downloading of files,' Wills said. 'In investigating it we realized the hackers had some access to a great deal of personal information.' "

oh no! this is a bit scary... they'll probably hit ucla and csus soon....
MP3 Insider: The iPod phone is here - CNET reviews: "I had an MP3-playing phone back in 2001: the Samsung Uproar. It was available before the iPod was, and it didn't rule out the iPod's success, obviously. Likewise, the Motorola E399/ROKR and the Sony Ericsson Walkman will not eclipse the MP3 player category because people need two portable devices: one for fun (music, movies, and games) and the other for responsibility-related activities (keeping in touch, making appointments, and storing contacts). The reason for this is battery; people don't want to entertain themselves to the point of losing their cell phone. Think about it: Would you listen to music if you knew that meant you'd lose all cell phone functionality after a few hours?"

Interesting... battery life... maybe I should upgrade my phone to a 5 megapixel one instead, this battery problem is a big deal!

Friday, March 18, 2005

Study: Internet use in U.S. homes dips | CNET News.com: "time, on average, people spend online at home. Average usage time for U.S. citizens dipped by 2 percent from a year ago, to 13 hours and 44 minutes a month, the study showed. Hong Kong, conversely, topped the list with its per-person average almost reaching 22 hours a month. The year-over-year growth for Hong Kong was 25 percent."

gosh. Shoudn't people be running aroudn instead of being in front of their computer?

need more sleep. i was dreaming of the odr pricing last night... yawn.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Survey: Techies stressed over job insecurity | CNET News.com: "But there's also been evidence that techies have reason to fear for their jobs. Technology companies sent out 23 percent fewer pink slips in 2004 than they did in 2003, but they still laid off more than 175,000 workers last year, according to a report from employment services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas"

oh no! no job security any where!

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

The Buzz Report: Good-bye, computer; hello, world! - CNET.com: "OK, next question: bandwidth. Yes, it'll be a problem, for a little while. But the pipes are getting fatter. Just last month, Cisco announced that it will deliver gigabit broadband service to houses in Hong Kong--over existing copper wiring. A California group is working to ensure gigabit broadband to all Californians by 2010. Fiber optics are snaking across the world. We've all been talking about Web 2.0--well, this is it. We all know it needs to be faster, and it will be. Google can only help drive the rollout. Truth be told, the biggest challenge will be supporting the graphics you'll need to deliver a truly dynamic desktop environment in what was formerly known as a Web browser--but that's for another column."

geez... gigabit ethernet... i really need more broadband access! my bit torrent clients suck up all my bandwith right now. my laptop and desktop only hold about 80 hours of videos, which isn't enough. I manage to max it out every time I get a show off my replay.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005


My visit to china.... watch out! Yu Gardens! Posted by Hello

Monday, March 07, 2005

Real estate investors cast watchful eye on Las Vegas' high stakes housing game: "Doncov, a 57-year-old engineer who was a victim of the technology flame- out, was one of thousands of investors who hoped to turn a quick profit by buying and selling Las Vegas property within a few months. Early last year he bought two new houses from Pulte Homes for $515,000 each.
By the end of the summer, he said, the houses were worth well over $600, 000, based on Pulte's prices for the same models. Then Pulte cut the price by about $180,000.
Doncov sold the two properties in December and January for $480,000 and $490,000; after closing costs and sales fees, he estimates he lost $100,000. He is working with a lawyer to try to recoup the losses from Pulte, on the grounds Pulte misled investors by systematically raising new home prices, then abruptly lowering them. Many people in Las Vegas shrug at tales like Doncov's, saying any plan to get rich quick is fraught with risk. "


oh no! don't let this be you!
Jeff Yang's Asian Pop Diary: Live in Tokyo: "Indeed, some of the coolest devices aren't particularly futuristic at all. In Japan's elaborate coin-op culture, everything from underwear to pornography to ramen noodles is available for purchase through largely unsupervised public vending machines. The only reason coin-ops survive in the United States is that the items being sold -- candy, cigarettes, soda -- are so cheap that the reward for breaking into them isn't worth the effort it requires. "

hmm... wacky stuff!

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Amazon.com: Cell Phones: Motorola A630 Phone (T-Mobile): "When coupled with the built-in keyboard, you've got a mobile communication powerhouse. The phone features support for AOL Instant Messenger (T-Mobile messaging charges apply) and there's a built-in web browser for t-zones downloads and mobile web browsing. T-Mobile's t-zones service lets you receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more.
With the A630's built-in keyboard, you've got a mobile communication powerhouse.
Traditional text messaging, as well as picture, sound and video messaging, are also supported by the phone. When used in combination with the phone's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. iTap text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is supported if you want to use the outer keypad for text entry."


My one year contract is over! anyone have a recommendation for a new phone?
Needs a keyboard and integration with outlook.

spicysquid pet of the week! it's like a little dog or cat! Posted by Hello

killer tofu dish of the week. please.... only one shrimp..... one honey walnut shrimp please...... Posted by Hello


This is the spicysquid people photo of the week. Congrats Waync and Becky! Best wishes!!!

What an exhausting night... mad props to snooks for running around and figuring out where all the extra layers of cake should go.
Posted by Hello

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Turkey mating games challenge theory of 'survival of the fittest' / UC biologist finds young males help top tom get sex: "The male, approaching a female in a courtship ritual with two or more of his brothers, will blush brilliantly red and blue about his face and throat, fan his broad brown and white tail, lower his outspread wings and emit loud thrumming noises through his air sacks as he prances in a shuffling strut.
And while he engages in his display, his brothers do so, too -- but silently and without the strut, in a kind of cooperative semi-courtship -- and they also turn to ward off any hostile interlopers seeking to court the same female. "

I need some turkey wingman!

gooble gooble!

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Slashdot | QA != Testing: "Having worked in a CMM 3 company for a couple years, my opinions of the thing are quite different: CMM, and processes in general, are a tool that managers use to offload their work on the engineers.

We used to spend vast amounts of time peer reviewing all sorts of useless documents, making estimates for project planning, and so on, additionally to the architecture and coding work.

This didn't do anything at all for quality. Deadlines slipped like always (often more, because of the time lost to irrelevant stuff). Spec documents were just as Ground-Control-To-Major-Tom-like as usual.

It did, however, give the managers the warm fuzzy feeling that overcomes control freaks everywhere when they're sure they can track, number, file and index everything that goes on around them. Without having to do any actual work. Without even knowing the first thing about the product we were making (without CMM, a prerequisite for anyone attempting to write any sort of project plan).

One of our line managers admitted all of this quite openly, one of his favourite sayings was 'Since we have processes, I can go home at four every day'. We didn't. We got to stay till 8."

someday i'll be manager and with cmm level 5 and make all my engineers stay until midnight!
TechDeals.net - Your Guide to Technology Bargains - Updated Daily: "And line up for the Canon Powershot SD500 7MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom for just $499.99 shipped. Release date 3/25."

release date of 3/25.... hmmm 7 megapixels.. my casio ex-55 is already outdated!

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

No Butter for Bubba, the 22-Pound Lobster: "He could be older than Warner Bros. studio, General Motors, the Boy Scouts and the states of Arizona and New Mexico. He could have survived two world wars and Prohibition. He could have been dinner.
He's Bubba, a 22-pound leviathan of a lobster pulled from the waters off Nantucket, Mass., and shipped to a Pittsburgh fish market. The lobster has been kept in a tank near a fish counter in Wholey's Market since Thursday while owner Bob Wholey tried to figure out what to do with it."

hmmmm 22 pounds! anyone down for some lobster!
Amazon.com: Camera & Photo: Canon Powershot SD500 7MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom: "With a host of new features and a unique 'perpetual curve' contoured design, the brushed stainless steel titanium grey 7.1-megapixel PowerShot SD500 continues the PowerShot tradition of pushing compact camera design into new territories.
Driven by the same DIGIC II image processing architecture that propels Canon's EOS-1 pro-series digital SLR cameras, the camera features a 3.0x optical zoom, large 2.0-inch LCD, high-quality VGA video clips at 30 frames per second up to the capacity of the memory card, high-speed USB 2.0 connection, 'My Color' in-camera color editing, and a Print/Share button for easy PictBridge direct printing and fast file uploads. Its 7.1-megapixel sensor allows detailed enlargements up to 15 x 20 inches."

wow! 7 megapixels!!! gosh. my pictures with my 5 megapixel camera are 2 MB each already... gosh.