have browser, will travel

MapReduce project on a cluster

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:58:24 GMT

Yesterday during my Advanced Databases class, our prof gave us an alternative final project: set up a MapReduce (Hadoop) system on his new 42-node cluster and implement some database algorithms using MapReduce.

I jumped on the opportunity, but I asked if I could use Disco instead of Hapdoop. He said that was fine but said the documentation may not be as good. I'm so excited about this!

I'm also hoping I can use erlSim for my project in my Discrete Event System Simulation class.

I voted this morning

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:04:03 GMT

This morning I voted, hopefully Stephen Harper won't be our Prime Minister anymore tomorrow, but unfortunately I doubt that will happen.

Thankfully the system in Canada is somewhat sane, so I had no problems voting even though I moved in August and used a voter card with the name of the previous owner of my house on it.

New MacBooks FAIL

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:52:57 GMT

Too Expensive
No Matte Display Option
No Button on the Trackpad? WTF!
No Firewire! OMGWTFBBQ!!!
No 17" model
No 9" model
Starting at $1999? Too Expensive!
Crappy flat keys keyboard even on MacBook Pro

The economy is failing and $399 netbooks are hugely popular, so Apple raises the prices on its computers... (ugh)

Olbermann on Palin and her terrorist pals

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:44:56 GMT

msnbc.com video: Olbermann: Terrorists? It's Palin doing the pallin'

Palin says the gloves are off, so Olbermann lets her have it. The easily-verifiable stories coming out about Palin and her associates ought to be enough to bury McCain pretty soon.

What the meltdown looks like

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:34:19 GMT

What the meltdown looks like, a report on the foreclosure crisis by a Southern California TV station.

Wow. I thought I knew what was going on, but this really made it a lot more understandable. Terrifying.

The piece opens saying Californians are used to seeing homes destroyed by natural disaster, but this is a financial disaster... I thought to myself, that sounds a bit "over the top". Then I watched their report. They weren't kidding.

CNN Laughs It Up Over Sarah Palin Interview

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:49:50 GMT

YouTube: CNN Laughs It Up Over Sarah Palin Interview

I didn't recognize it at the time, but Tina Fey's Sarah Palin said the exact same thing as the real Sarah Palin! It's recursive humour!

Who's the parody now?

Sarah (Silverman) says Jews should visit their grandparents in Florida

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:07:04 GMT

The Comedy Feed: Sarah Silverman Tells Jews To Make The Great Schlep For Obama In Her New Video

Hilarious!

The economy is failing, stop what you're doing!

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:20:24 GMT

The Agitator: What About the Renters?

A great post, here is a great comment I found below...

"I have decided to follow John McCain's lead and suspend all work related activities, so that I can focus my attention on solving the country's financial problems. It doesn't matter that everyone knows that my financial knowledge is extremely limited, or that I'm not on any of the committees tasked with addressing the issue. I just think it's important to show the country that I'm out there doing something."

It's kinda like going shopping was the right thing to do after 9/11. If Bush was smart he would have suggested people buy and read some history books (and presumably let him know what they contained).

GOP: "We do not support government bailouts"

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:04:51 GMT

Straight from the GOP site itself: 2008 Republican Platform

"We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself. We believe in the free market as the best tool to sustained prosperity and opportunity for all."

There ya have it. So if a Republican administration bailed out private institutions, that would be hypocritical, even deceitful, wouldn't it?