Wi-Fi

It's a changing world and I love it. I'm currently sitting in Panera Bread and, up to a few minutes ago, I was getting some work done. I'm sitting here with my laptop at a small table in the corner with free wi-fi access provided by the restaurant. I had a very nice bowl of soup and I've refilled my soda three times. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was sitting in the Western Michigan University computer lab browsing the web using lynx. Now I can do almost everything I'd do in the office from the comfort of a restaurant, coffee shop, etc. Heck, there's a guy sitting a couple tables over that until a few minutes ago was playing poker online... life is good.

On a separate but related note, I was recently reading about the 802.11n specification which is under development under the auspices of the IEEE. This new version of the wireless spec is supposed to be so fast that it can send uncompressed HDTV signals over the network in real-time. Best yet, they're planning on building it so that they can guarantee a transfer rate. Current wi-fi specs drop speed as your signal weakens... as I understand it the new one won't do that. You'll have a good connection or no connection. The thing I'm most excited about is that this can be used for some outstanding multimedia applications. You could setup whole-house audio/video for a fraction of what it would cost now. Currently it's looking like 802.11n devices could be on the market before the end of 2007. I do love technology.

Evolution

I recently opened my latest Dive Training magazine and found a letter to the editor titled "Evolution Theory". In the letter, the author states, "I note a tendency in science-oriented articles to not precede the word evolution with the qualifier 'theory of'." The author goes on to say, "Evolution is a theory, not a fact. And it's a theory that fails classic scientific analysis, such as being observable. It's not been observed and it's not being observed."

For the record, we are talking about two different things, evolution and the Theory of Evolution. Evolution refers to the scientific fact that populations of a species of organism change over time. One need look no further than new strains of bacterium which are resistant to antibodies which killed previous strains. Another great example is the hawthorn fly.

The Theory of Evolution is based on the work of Charles Darwin as published in The Origin of Species. It states that individuals with desirable traits are more likely to survive/breed and that these traits are, therefore, more likely to be propagated in the gene pool. Many people believe that the Theory of Evolution describes a process through which all life could have evolved from single celled organisms. This is a theory, it's not proven. It relies on some scientific facts, as do most theories, one of which is evolution.

So, let's get this straight. Evolution is a fact. The Theory of Evolution is a theory (hence the name). They are not the same thing. You can have a problem with the Theory of Evolution without denying the scientific validity of evolution. It's unfortunate that that the Theory of Evolution contains the word evolution. If, however, it had been called The Theory of Things Change we would not be having this argument. We would not be arguing that things don't change. We might argue about how we got here. I'd be fine with that argument. I'm not sure how we got here. I'm fine with God using evolution as his tool to create life.

Finally, for those that argue that evolution itself is not valid, I pose a question. If we all are descended from two people (Adam and Eve or perhaps more accurately Noah and his wife) why do we have people with different traits? I've seen people with different color hair, skin, and eyes. I've seen people with differently shaped orbital ridges. I've seen quite a bit of diversity. If things never changed, how did that happen? God may have made it happen - that's cool. Evolution does not argue cause. God can be the instigator of change, but things do change.

For a fine reference I suggest Wikipedia's article on evolution and the science thereof.

Ice Cream

For the holidays, my employer gave each employee a catalog from which they could choose a gift. To be honest, I miss the occasionally corny gifts that they gave before the catalogs but this way I do get something I actually want. Overall, I think it's a good thing. This is the third such catalog I've received and, for the first time, I actually sent away for one of the gifts... an ice cream maker.

Vanilla seemed the way to go but if you're going to make vanilla ice cream you really must go the full eggs/custard route. It was with this in mind that I set out to make my first batch. The recipe was simple:
1 cup whole milk
4oz. sugar (about .8 cups)
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla

I carefully scalded the milk and dissolved the sugar. I added some of the hot mixture to the egg yolks (slowly, oh so slowly). I added the eggs back into the remaining milk/sugar mixture. I cooked until slightly thickened. I chilled (both in the refrigerating the mixture sense and in the hanging out and relaxing sense). The next day I mixed in the cream and vanilla and poured it into the ice cream maker. It's like magic... at first you just have liquid moving around, an hour later you have ice cream. I tossed it into the freezer to get a bit harder and, a bit later, tried it out. I must say it's good ice cream. It's also very rich ice cream. My next experiment will be in making a slightly lower fat version... something I don't need to feel quite so bad about eating.

Overall it was an exciting, hear pounding, adrenaline pumping thrill ride of a cooking experience. Forget skydiving, forget scuba diving, forget rock climbing... it's all about the ice cream!

Playing the Market

The company stock was up a bit today and there's been a good run on the blue chip stocks over the last five days or so. Knowing this, I thought I'd go check out my 401(K) account to see how I'm doing. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. For the first time I have cracked the six figure barrier (not including the pennies). I'm sure that in the coming days market fluctuations will erase some of my immaterial wealth; however, I'm imbued with a sense of happiness and success to actually see the dollar value this high, even for a moment. According to my projections, I need another million dollars or so to retire so I'm not breaking out the champagne quite yet but I am excited. I'm thinking of framing the screenshot of the statement... is that geeky or just materialistic? Also, is spending money on a frame a sign that my financial acumen is still lacking?

It's Pronounced "JIF"

There has been a longstanding debate regarding the proper pronunciation of the GIF image type. For the record, GIF is an acronym and therefore has no "right" or "wrong" pronunciation outside that described by the creator, in this case CompuServe. The great inconsistency has been annoying to geeks for some time and has finally been put to rest. This page describes the correct pronunciation, right from the creator's mouth.

Scuba Purchases

In preparation for my trip to Florida, during which I will be taking an Advanced Open Water class, I am contemplating two additional scuba purchases. The first is a dive light. Since we'll be doing a night dive, a dive light is mandatory equipment. I could probably rent a light somewhere but I would very much like to buy one. After some research there appear to be two contenders. The Princeton Tec Shockwave LED sells for around $80 with discounts, is very durable, has long burn life, and outputs an impressive amount of light. Since it uses three LED bulbs there is little need for replacing them (5000 hour life on the bulbs).

The UK Light Cannon 100 is a HID light with the greatest light output of the handheld lights I looked at. It is a bit more expensive than the Shockwave but not dramatically so. The big problem I have with the Light Cannon is that since it's a HID the bulbs are extremely expensive, fragile, and prone to burning out in about 1/5 the time of the LED. Based on this, I think I'm going for the Shockwave. I'm feeling good about the Shockwave and the Light Cannon in part due to the review at Scuba Diving Magazine which included a handy test score chart. I'll be checking with my LDS tomorrow to see if they carry the light. If they carry it, and they recommend it, and they can give me a reasonable price, it's a done deal.

The second purchase I'll be making is a 3mm wetsuit. I'm planning on getting the Bare Velocity 3/2 Full Suit. Bare makes their suits in a variety of sizes, one of which is perfectly suited to me. The big question I need to answer now is, what color should I buy. The blue/blue/black suit is nice looking and not too flashy. The yellow/blue/black suit is quite a bit more flashy but I'm thinking that the yellow could be handy for increased visibility by other divers. The only question is, what do I think of the yellow? I've heard yellow really helps others pick you out. I've heard that yellow looks "unprofessional" or "gaudy". I've heard that yellow attracts sharks. That last one kinda sounded like BS but it's hard to tell. I don't believe there are any hard statistics on increased shark activity around divers wearing yellow accented wetsuits. The Internet knows much but even it seems confounded by this question. So dear readers, I need your opinion. Which color looks the best? What do you think I should do?

Rainy in January

It's raining today... very much as it has for the last several days. In fact, yesterday we had a fairly impressive thunderstorm. Now, I'm normally a big fan of thunderstorms and I have nothing against rainy weather in general but this is January. In Michigan. Now is the time for skiing, for using my new snow thrower, and for generally marveling at the fabulous winter wonderland which is Michigan in January. I have complete faith that the snow will come again but in the interim I remain disappointed by the lack of cold white stuff on the ground.

This attitude is quite different from the one I had a few short years ago. What happened you ask? Well, I embraced the season. I read an article once that said that if you're going to live someplace with a long cold winter you needed to find things that you like to do in the winter. It was for this reason, among others, that I took up skiing. Now, as fall comes to a close, I look forward to winter and to the promise of doing things, like skiing, out in the cold.

On a more positive note, I've put into motion plans to visit Dave and Susan in Florida. I'm headed down on February 9th for a five day visit in warm and sunny Florida (which I don't find bothersome as Florida is supposed to be warm and sunny). Susan and I will be taking an Advanced Open Water class through ProDive, a diving outfit based in Fort Lauderdale. During the course we will have an opportunity to do six dives including a deep dive and a night dive. I'm eagerly anticipating the diving but am even more eager to see my friends again. They have been MIA for the last several group get-togethers we've had (Laboween, Thanksmas, New Year's) and their absence has been a bit sad. It'll be great to be back with them to catch up and to just hang out.