Playing ball with "W"

I've had a wide range of dreams recently and have not been logging them. This one is worth logging though. In my dream, it seemed like I was watching a U of I basketball game. Then, it seemed like I was playing in the game... and on my team was George Bush. At one point, I passed the ball to him, but he didn't make a clean catch. Somehow, the ball ended on his head, but he didn't know where the ball was. Finally it fell off of his head, but he still didn't know where the ball was. I was either thinking or saying to him, "Just listen to where the ball is bouncing..." but poor George, he still didn't know where the ball was. Anyway, it does remind me of what happened in real life to Danny Blammy in a basketball game at Uni High where he managed to have the ball hit him on the head 3 times consecutively... and was called for traveling. And our JV coach, Mr. Ball, tried to convince the ref in vain it was not traveling. Somehow I don't think one of my dreams would be as wild as that.

Rats!

The 1.6TB storage device (over 80% used) I was using (which was a Stardom Sohotank U7-4-B2) to archive my recorded shows is not working anymore. I’ve not had a chance to verify it’s only the hardware device and not the drives themselves which is not working. (I don’t even want to think that it may be the drives.)

_{Good news, it looks like all the data on the drives is ok.}

Anyway, so I’ve now ordered a 4TB storage device which supports RAID5, which means in theory, I should have 3TB of usable storage while still having complete recovery capabilities in case of a bad hard drive (just not two at the same time).

_{OK, it’s not much for looks, but anyway…}

However, RAID5 also means if something happens to the hardware, I would have no way of recovering the data except buying another storage device which supports a 4-drive RAID5 set up…

I decided not on the Drobo as someone had a bad experience losing all data using one… so although it may have been a fluke, it’s kind of sad when the device which is supposed to automatically provide redundant storage capability fails on you. I am hopeful that with future versions of Drobo, they’ll work out this flaw.

See more progress on: set up my home theater PC

External hard drive failure

External hard drive device failed. It was a Stardom U74B2 which I bought in June 2006. This means it lasted one year and 4 months. Warranty for this device was one year.

Moving offices at work

OK, last night I had a dream that we were moving offices. This actually mimics real life except in my dream, the offices were in Dallas. It seemed the office we were moving from was RTC, which was where I worked approximately 15 years ago. We seemed to be moving into a taller building which would be the type of building where the current "office" is now.

I was moving some things on my own. It was nighttime and the office was empty except someone was working late. In my office (which was an enclosed office, not a cubicle), there was a closet and dresser. In the dresser, I already had some clothes there, some clean and some dirty! I was wondering around the offices and discovered that the guy next to me is someone I know... so I was thinking I would be having lunch with him frequently.

Then I am not sure when it was but then it turned out I would be sharing my office with someone and it turned out to be Thomas S!

In another part of the dream, it seemed like I had to go somewhere, but for some reason, it seemed like I was trying to get to a different floor. Unfortunately, I don't remember too much else.

Custom cabinet ideas

From countertop.com, found some custom cabinet stores like:

http://dfwmsp.com/
http://www.qualitycabinets.com

Stock options

Called today to get my password reset. Address they have on file is my home address. I also put in a limited sale order of $108 which would net only $26. Better $26 than nothing. Stock options expire in summer of 2010.

In addition, determined that reporting of incoming through stock option sales are handled through W2.

How much should deck slope away from house

About 1/4 inch per foot. For example, a 10 foot deck should have a 2 1/2 inch drop.

Vanity lights in house

Vanity lights in house are based on:

P3044-15 from Progress Lighting

SKU: P3044-15
Category: Bath & Vanity
Finish: Polished Chrome
Glass: Partially-Etched Crystal Cut
Family: 14
Price: $149.70

http://www.progresslighting.com/search.cfm?currPageNum=112&search=search&category=2&finish_id=&family_id=&minprice=0&maxprice=3000&sku=

In Powder Room:

P3259-06 from Progress Lighting (3 light is P3260-06).

http://www.progresslighting.com/search.cfm?search=search&sku=P3259-06&category=&finish_id=&family_id=&minprice=0&maxprice=3000

Cold?

It's amazing to me to see medical advice given by people who are not professionals. I was looking up whether or not people still advise to put people in cold baths in case of a fever. In general, you don't see that advice anymore, but you see people who say they shouldn't take hot baths either.

From http://www.seattlechildrens.org/child_health_safety/health_advice/fever.asp it suggests sponge baths starting at 90F and then raising the temperature of the water in case the child feels chills. It doesn't seem to warn against the temperature getting too high.

Also, from a cold's perspective, University of Illinois McKinley Health Center, http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/colds_self_care_guide/colds_self_care_guide.html, says that baths may make you feel better and they don't give any warning about the temperature. If it would be a bad thing, I would think that they would provide warnings.

Making a photo look like a painting

To make a photo look like a painting, on an episode of Double Take, they made a photo look like a painting by getting the photo enlarged on flat matt paper for $15, then take a heavy gel medium, a semi-gloss, with small brush strokes dries clear and leaves a texture,

Googling this!

Google has the tendency to remove duplicate pages. Therefore, using Blogger for the home pages has a fault that once Google finds the Blogger version of the home page, it may delete the reference to the home page itself.

So here's how I've set URL forwarding:

@ home.comcast.net/~japanese_tutor_in_texas/temp URL forwarding
www japanese-tutor.blogspot.com URL frame

Then in Google webmaster tools, I listed japanese-tutor.com (without the www) as a separate website for the home page for Japanese Tutor in Flower Mound.

Ideas for sconce

Hampton Bay
1 Light Sconce in Brushed Nickel with Etched Opal Glass
Model 28046

HomeDecorators.com and LampsBeautiful.com also have some interesting choices.

Daiyoukin (大腰筋)

On an episode of Tameshite Gatten! , they showed the current technique in improving running is utilizing the muscle named daiyoukin (大腰筋). In English, this muscle is the “Psoas major” muscle. Web site which shows this muscle is http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/muscularsystem/thighmuscles/anteriormuscles/psoasmajor/tutorial.html

Now that Blogger supports labels

I can consolidate all my blogs into one blog. That means I'll need to move everything here, but I think that will help me to have everything in one place.

No golf in 3 weeks

It seemed I was in Dallas between business trips... And it was my third weekend back in Dallas but so far, I have not had the chance to play golf. It seemed like every weekend, including this one, it would rain. However, it was then Sunday afternoon and was sunny, so I thought I could at least get in 9 holes. However, I was walking down a sidewalk on my way to eat something. I stopped in a small restaurant. There really didn't seem to be any other customers there. I sat at a table and it seemed like the manager or owner was sitting at the same table. A waitress came by and I was given a glass or something. I then asked where I could sit and they said anywhere. I don't really remember much after that. I don't know if that was the end of the dream or if my dream jumped around. In my dream, I did think about postponing my next trip to Vienna so that I could play golf.

GWT (Google Web Toolkit): New alternative for learning Java

Many of us are interested in keeping up with the latest technologies, and even though my job does not require me to learn Java, I am still interested in learning as much as possible. However, the thought of downloading and utilizing a developer's kit can be intimidating. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. Regarding learning Java, many know that one of the benefits is that it is platform independent, and to be consistent with IBM's client application development standard, we should not be developing applications for specific platforms. Learning Java can take the following forms. One can start with IBM's or Sun's Java developer kit. Of course, the one available internally within IBM is the recommended SDK (Software Development Kit). The Sun website also provides good tutorials on learning Java. Initially, SDKs were not GUI-based. You can also download the development environment from Eclipse or obtain Websphere Studio Application Developer and use these as your development environment for Java. However, besides learning Java, then you will need to also get familiar with the tools you have downloaded.

Google has provided a new choice. Google has provided what they call the Google Web Toolkit or GWT. Through use of GWT, you can develop Java programs which run from within your browser. Without GWT, it is possible to write Java programs that can run from within your browser but these would have to be developed as Java applets, in which case you would use one of the above methods of developing Java programs. It is also possible to write JavaScript programs to run from within your browser, but JavaScript is not true Java. Therefore, if your interests lie in learning Java, then JavaScript does not contribute much to your objective. However, GWT allows you to write Java programs, and GWT converts your Java source into JavaScript so you can run your code from your browser. There are some limitations with GWT but as a method for learning Java, it provides a new alternative.

This is not a recommendation to use GWT in place of writing a Java application using one of the mentioned Java development environments, rather it is just pointing out that an alternative exists and that after you have been able to begin writing Java programs using GWT, you should feel confident to transition to one of the Java development environments.

How to get started

One of the advantages of GWT is that it is easy to get a program up and running and get immediate feedback. Immediate feedback can provide motivation for continuing to advance your skills. Writing Java programs with GWT still requires a prerequisite knowledge of Java, so if you are learning Java from scratch, I would recommend the tutorials on the Sun website.

How to get and install GWT
You can download GWT as a zip file. There is no installer application. You just unzip the file where you would like the files to reside. (Upon opening the zip file, one of the tasks which appear on the left is to "Extract all files".)

To use GWT in command line mode, you'll need to navigate to where you have extracted the toolkit. When you're in the right directory, you'll find applicationCreator.cmd

Use this command to create your application structure. For example:

> applicationCreator -out . myprog.client.HelloWorld

This will create a new project HelloWorldwith the main class of the same name. The package name is myprog.client. You'll then find that myprogis created in the GWT directory structure under the src directory:

The client subdirectory is for the source code. The public subdirectory is for other files which you can place other files which you need to run your code, such as your html files, graphic files, and so forth.

How to create and run your first program
Upon creation of your application structure, by default, the initial source file will contain the following HelloWorld program:

package myprog.client;

import com.google.gwt.core.client.EntryPoint;
import com.google.gwt.user.client.ui.Button;
import com.google.gwt.user.client.ui.ClickListener;
import com.google.gwt.user.client.ui.Label;
import com.google.gwt.user.client.ui.RootPanel;
import com.google.gwt.user.client.ui.Widget;

public class HelloWorld implements EntryPoint {

public void onModuleLoad() {
final Button button = new Button("Click me");
final Label label = new Label();

button.addClickListener(new ClickListener() {
public void onClick(Widget sender) {
if (label.getText().equals(""))
label.setText("Hello World!");
else
label.setText("");
}
});
//
RootPanel.get("slot1").add(button);
RootPanel.get("slot2").add(label);
}
}

With this program, a new button button is created and initialized to "Click me" and a new label label is created which is initialized to a null value. The button is located in slot1 and the label is located in slot2.

You'll find in the public directory, the html file has a table defined with slot1 and slot2.

<table align="center">
<tbody>
 <tr>
  <td id="slot1"></td><td id="slot2"></td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table>

Therefore, the button and label will appear within the browser corresponding to where the table cells slot1 and slot2 appear.

To run your program within the Google GWT Development Shell (simulated execution environment), you would enter in the command line:

> HelloWorld-shell

The result is the following appearing. By clicking the button, then the "Hello World!" message appears.


Once you have tested your program and would like to place your files on a web server so you can run your files, you would enter in the command line:

> HelloWorld-compile

Note that applicationCreator created the HelloWorld-shell and HelloWorld-compile commands for you based on the project name you specified when you created your application structure.

The compile command will create all the files you need to load onto the web server to execute your code. These are placed in a project directory in the www directory.



One advantage of a product like GWT is that there is an endless supply of people who are willing to share their knowledge of how to use GWT.

As you see, GWT is very easy to start using. Although easy to use to create a simple client application, GWT also supports client/server applications.

Dreams for Home Entertainment System

For many of my goals, I’ll probably take the “Disney” approach, which is to:

1. Dream it
2. Plan it
3. Criticize it (ie, become more realistic about it)

So first, I have to dream it.

• Family room
  • HD-TV, ability to view from back porch
  • Closed caption, support realtime translation to other languages (in particular Japanese)
  • HD-DVR, ability to archive to PC
  • Archive (at least 1.6 TB)
  • Backup of archive (another 1.6 TB)
  • Central library for video, photo, music
  • Region-free DVD player/recorder
  • Internet radio
  • Security camera
  • Home automation
  • Video/photo/audio streaming to any room / outdoors, separate control panel in each room
  • Place-shifting (both inside of house and outside of house)
  • Internet surfing, weather
  • Remote control with display, also can be used for surfing
• Media room
  • HD Projector, 16×9 native mode
  • Closed caption
  • Approximately 120” screen
  • Surround-sound
  • Golf simulator :)
  • Remote control with display, also can be used for surfing
• Game room
  • ???
• Bedroom and other rooms
  • Access to central library for video, photo, music
  • Comfortable position for viewing from bed
  • Home automation / security camera
  • Internet surfing
• Outdoors
  • Projector for projecting “drive-in” movie on garage door
  • Closed caption
  • Appropriate screen for projector (sheet?)
  • Outdoor sound system (speakers which look like old-time drive-in speakers)

Plans for Home Entertainment System

Family Room

Item	Target year	Comments
HD-TV	Long term	Currently have 42" plasma but not true HDTV
Closed caption	3+	Currently have CC device but it frequently causes TV picture to become distorted
HD-DVR	?	Currently using ReplayTV, no HD recording. DNNA introducing TV card with ReplayTV software
Archive	<1	Currently over 1 TB of storage but need device with fan. Stardom Sohotank is good candidate, available from PC Pitstop ($129). Update: Bought it and it failed after 1 year + 4 months. I have now replaced it with a Buffalo TeraStation Pro II.
Backup of archive	3+	No backup. Need at least interim backup in short term--Media room PC?
Central library	?	Will this end up being the same as the Archive? Currently using media room PC
Region-free DVD player / recorder	?	Currently would prefer not to support BluRay and HD-DVD
Internet radio	?	Should be part of whole house streaming strategy
Security camera	?	Should be visible as part of HTPC set up, should be expandable to support additional cameras
Home automation	?	Should be integrated as part of HTPC
Streaming	?	Should be integrated as part of HTPC. Should each room have a PC? If each room has PC, this can replace ReplayTV unit
Place-shifting	?	For outside of house, is Slingbox the answer. For inside the house, a video streaming router...?
Internet surfing	?	Should be supported by HTPC
Remote	1	Should be able to support ReplayTV, also use to navigate PC. Gyroscopic mouse would be most intuitive for navigating

Took me a while to find the next "must have" item...

But here it is... Supposedly, it will help you find a golf ball in a 600 square foot area, potentially by being able to recognize the shape a dimple, I am guessing...

Now 600 square foot area is not THAT big of an area, but it would be useful especially if you are looking into the sun...

Of course, this gadget costs $260 which would actually pay for probably 3 years worth of golf balls, but hey, that's not the point!! (I forgot what is, though...)

Another "must have" item... This one for the car...

With so many "must have" items, I may have to cut back on some frivolous purchases, like food...

Anyway, a wheel which can show images with LED lights...

Click on above image for video. Worth checking out!