An article on Slashdot about solar panels and the subsequent obvious comments arguing about the impact of these panels vs. fossil fuels got me to thinking: What's the "proper" environmental impact for a human being? We can all agree on the negative extreme. Polluting groundwater with heavy metals or pumping enough pollution into Lake Erie to nearly sterilize it is bad. Hardly requires thought. But as you start getting back away from that, it gets a lot more complicated.

Google video: Beyond Einstein - a presentation on the plans for various satellites to test General Relativity unto destruction. I'd heard about most of them, but this is a fairly good single-source introduction. The video references a NASA website for the project. The video also promises that on Sept. 5, the most likely first satellite will be chosen; the Joint Dark Energy Mission was chosen (as described here). The logic is sound; LISA's design is audacious and the one I really want to see the results from, but probably needs more time to mature.

From the "How Much is a Terabyte" dept: As of this writing, this 320GB external USB hard drive is $80 at Best Buy. If you're willing to work with me a smidge, that's $240 for close-enough-to-a-terabyte. I'm not claiming that the cheapest you can get, either, it's just the best bang-for-the-buck at Best Buy (usually on the expensive side) this week. What do you do with 320GB? Well, I'm mostly using it for backup.

Since I was young, I have seen any number of manufactured products based around chocolate and peanuts or peanut butter. And they have been OK. But I never really understood the attraction. Try this: Take some good peanuts. (Works with other nuts too, but start there.) Take some good chocolate chips; I recommend something darker than semi-sweet. (Hershey's Special Dark chips are surprisingly good for a Hershey product, and full-on dark may be too dark.

So I'm reading the coverage on Karl Rove and it suddenly occurs to me, I don't really get why he's hated. George Bush, I understand why he's hated. (Not asking for examples, that one's been beaten to death, thanks.) Bill Clinton, I understand why he was hated. Congress, I understand why they're hated. But Karl Rove... what exactly did he do to be so hated? I mean, beyond being the scum of the Earth, deserving of every form of execution known to man, and all the other hyperbolic things I've seen today.

I wanted to file this away in my blog where I can find it easily in the future: The Problem with Threads, a rather sedate name for an article that end up calling them insane.... and pretty much meaning it wholeheartedly. I think in coming years this will come to be considered one of the seminal papers in software engineering, if it isn't already. The topic has been covered before, elsewhere, but I don't know of any other single work that demolishes threads as thoroughly and undeniably as this.

I have discovered my purpose in life and it has been fulfilled: I spawned the Lego Genetics entry on the TVTropes wiki. It's been significantly worked over since I submitted it (for the better), but I can still see the basic form of my original entry. It's all downhill from here.

From the "we-don't-say-enough-nice-things" department: I screwed up my Amazon.com order by leaving off the suite number of the destination. After noticing on the package tracking that that there was a problem, I went to the UPS website and got more information, then called the UPS number. Once I got past the initial menu which didn't really have the options I wanted simply by waiting (though I could have pressed 0 as it turns out), the process of changing the address was as slick as could be.

The programmer certification debate seems never ending and I usually never like the arguments in favor of it... but I could totally get behind this certification, a certification largely based on testing and quality control, with some other related concepts. Like the author, I probably couldn't immediately pass either, but I've gotten far enough to know how important it is.

Quick California note: I'm from the Detroit area. On my side, my father works for Chrysler/(whatever Chrysler calls itself this year); on my wife's side an uncle is a well-known race car builder. (If you watch racing on TV, you've seen his cars.) Other relatives are in the car industry. I'm from the car capitol of the world. The last thing I expected was to come out here and hear more car talk than I'm used to.