Um, yea, so, I did it. I washed my ipod shuffle. And the headphones. The headphones still work great. Sadly, I’m not having much luck with the ipod. It’s just so damn small that it fits in your pocket without you even knowing. And it was a Christmas present from my mom no less. Sorry, mom. 
Most of the time, my degree in computer science only gets used as resume stuffing. Recently, all that nonsense has crept into the most mundane of my activities. My workout process is following the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), and I think just about anyone could benefit from a little SDLC too.
I love to rent a movie based solely on the cover art. With no expectations, a good movie becomes a sweet surprise to be savored while the disappointments are quickly forgotten. In Bruges has a cover that caught my attention by contrasting a beautiful, bright town with dark men carrying guns. I was hooked by the time I read the tagline, “Shoot first. Sightsee later.” This movie was fun, entertaining, and somewhat tragic. It definitely did not disappoint.
For the first time in a while, Google has a legitimate challenger: Cuil. (Found via.) Developed by a group of Google alumni, Cuil differs from the other so-called Google-killers. A simple search quickly shows the difference; Cuil actually works pretty well. On top of that, this search engine innovates intelligently.
Query refinement options are some of the coolest innovations Cuil offers. Across the top of search result pages, a series of tabs offer query refinements. To the right of the results, there’s a sliding drilldown menu. Both are great ideas, however, both become much less sparsely populated as queries increase in complexity. [Home improvement] offered some great alternatives, but [how to install a dishwasher] and [stopped up sink] each offered no refinements. Hopefully, the refinement engine will improve with time.
Cuil tries, even dares, to be different. In fact, the search engine practically shouts it with its layout. Unfortunately, daring to be different sometimes feels like being different for its own sake. The homepage, for example, bears a striking resemblance to Google … except it’s laid over a trendy black background. The search result pages differentiate by displaying left to right in a reading layout, but the layout created a confusing hierarchy of results to my eyes (maybe I’ve been pre-conditioned for Google.) They also offer a relevant picture next to the result excerpts, but during my tests, these excerpt pictures weren’t too relevant. Dogs and cats were displaying next to [How to install a dishwasher].
With a claim of 120 billion pages indexed, Cuil would seem to have the technological might to take on the giant. They pose some interesting innovations. Rather than celebrate, however, Cuil’s team should try copying a page from Google’s book and striving for better performance and result relevancy. While Google might not need to quake in their boots yet, it probably wouldn’t hurt to take notice. If Cuil ever does become a threat, I’m sure they’ll quickly be acquired.
Productivity tip: I found simply writing down the things you wan to do, makes it much more likely you’ll get them done. I made a list of projects that I would like to do but probably wouldn’t ever get around to doing. As soon as I made it, I found that I had tackled two of them. Over the weekend, I finally fixed my closet; it had been bothering me forever. Now, I’m desperate to add more items to my list.
Great video on designing a stop sign by corporate committee. Via
Here’s a really cool, twisted, stop-motion (?) video: Western Spaghetti. Via
Anyone who spends anytime on the web or around computers will inevitably have to make and remember passwords. I worked as a contractor to the Corp of Engineers for a while and found my password remembering skills quickly put to the test; we had lots of password with very strict acceptable password rules. In response, I developed a wonderful password method that has worked well for quite some time. People will see passwords I devise and gawk, but they’re actually easily remembered.
In order to devise secure passwords, it helps to know what makes passwords secure. A secure password needs to be at least 8 characters long. (Many experts now say 10 to 12 characters.) It also needs to contain a variety of characters: upper and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters. And finally (the sticking point for most,) it shouldn’t contain more than two instances in a row of the same type of characters. (I.e. no more than two letters or numbers in a row.)
If you follow those rules, you will end up with a very confusing, hard to remember jumble of characters like Mp45Pw$%. It’s also hard to break, but to be honest, any password is breakable. It just takes time. So, theoretically, you should change your password every 3-6 months. (The amount of time it would take someone to brute force through your password; the longer the password, the longer you can wait before changing it.)
Note: I don’t worry about changing my passwords that often … Let’s face it, no one’s going to take 6 months to break into my running log at mapmyrun.com.
For the purpose of this demonstration, I’ll use the seemingly random example I mentioned above: Mp45Pw$%. While that may look impossible to devise or remember, it only took me a few seconds.
First, I divide my 8 character password into 4 two digit chucks. I use the same basic password for all applications while changing just one of these two digit chunks.
In the above password example, my first chunk is Mp. I always use an uppercase, lowercase first chunk. It’s something personal that I can remember. In this case, I used the phrase “My password” to come up with Mp.
The second chunk needs to be a different type of character. I switch to numbers and try to choose two numbers that are positioned next to each other on the keyboard. In this case, 45.
This is the chunk that I change each time to make it application specific. In this case, I want to remember “password” and use the letters Pw. I try to use letters derived from the specific application. For instance, if I were making a password for my website (nicholasroussos.com,) I might use Nr or maybe I just think of it as “My website” and use Mw. Remember, for most applications, this will be the only part that changes … and thus the only part you have to remember.
Finally, we need to throw in some special characters. I use the same method as I use for numbers. I take two special characters that sit next to each other on the keyboard. In fact, in this example, they are the same keys as the numbers I used (just hold shift.)
Sometimes, you might want an additional layer of security. In those cases, I recommend these alternatives:
Most of the time, you will only have to remember the two letters of the third chunk. It really is that easy. In fact, I’d wager that after reading this article, you’ll be able to remember Mp45Pw$% tomorrow morning, the week after that, and the week after that. (Just remember My password Mp, 45, Password Pw, 45 with shift $%)
Have fun devising and remembering passwords.
A video of some guy dancing all over the place. Gitchy, but entertaining none the less. See also Where the hell is Matt?
Tssssss… (That’s my snake sound.) National Geographic tells you how to deal with an anaconda bite (happens to me all the time.) Via
WordPress app for the iPhone. [Thanks]
Update: I just installed it, and I’m posting this from my iPhone. Very cool/well-done app.
Here’s a picture of my completed digital picture frame. I used McDPF (built on DSL Linux) for the project. It works nicely with wireless administration controlling uploading of pictures, shutdown and reboots, as well as some other features like a scheduled screen power down and up every night and morning.
I found these videos of the inner working of a Lego factory to be oddly hypnotic. I especially liked video 3 where the Legos get packaged.
I’ve always put ketchup on my potato chips … To me, it makes perfect sense and tastes like ketchup on french fries. So, I’m not suprised to see ketchup flavored chips. Via
I’ve been hooked on watching Dr. Horrible (Act I and Act II.) Unfortunately, I can’t find anyone who shares my interest. Everyone I know refused to sit through more than a few seconds.
I just updated to iPhone 2.0 … Coolest un-talked-about feature? Sync iPhone contacts with Google contacts.
I wrote a co-worker a round-up of some great Google/SEO articles that I’ve seen lately and thought it was worth sharing with the rest of the world. There’s just been a bunch of good articles lately on SEO and how Google works.
Google doesn’t like to share the inner working of Google very often. And when they do, it’s usually a very bird’s eye view. But when they do speak up, it’s well worth listening.
Favorite Quote: “We make about ten ranking changes every week …”
People always ask me, “How exactly will this piece of information effect ranking?” Of course, I usually answer, “I’m not completely sure.” One of the reasons why it’s so hard to nail down exactly how things are ranked is because it’s constantly changing! On top of that, it actually is extremely complex. I doubt there’s any one person who can actually answer all the questions about Google–including anyone at Google.
This is article does a great job of expressing the complexity of Google in layman terms. It basically follows the path that your search takes as it goes through Google and back to you with results.
Favorite Quote: “The query is then executed, simultaneously hitting 300 to 400 back-end machines representing Google’s verticals, advertising and spell check among others.”
Told you it was complicated.
… is that it’s a slow, deliberate process that you perform over time. I’d compare it to losing weight. When you see that magazine headline that says “Lose 17 pounds in a week,” guess how reliable that is.
This article has a great graph illustrating his search engine growth, slowly and steadily over time. Pretty much the only way to do it. I also like how the author dilutes it all down to 2 simple rules.
