The Marvelous Machine

October 28, 2008 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

I’m visiting Sun’s office in Eagan, MN, this week, where I was delighted to find that my colleague Todd Pisek shares my fascination with antique office equipment. These things are nostalgic for me: my aunt and grandfather were both accountants, so I associate memories of them with typewriters, electronic adding machines and, later, a Tandy computer with 11″ floppy disks.

Sitting in a corner of Todd’s office cubicle is this Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine, a century-old typewriter-calculator used to calculate and type out bills. The big hump in the back contains the mathematical guts of the machine. It was one of only two models which could do direct multiplication (instead of arriving at an answer via repeated addition).

Todd would now like to find a Wahl Adder, a calculating unit which could be added on to a Remington typewriter – these are even rarer than the Moon-Hopkins.

My own background being more in electronic typesetting and word processing, my wants are simpler: I’ve always wanted to own a wooden type tray.

living in the USA

10 Simple Things You Can Do to Reduce Environmental Impact and Save Money (Pt 2)

October 23, 2008 Deirdre Straughan 2 Comments

Tip one – use fewer bottles – was published earlier.
Recycle. We’ve been recycling in Italy for so long that I wince when I see plastic and paper going into the general waste stream. Most parts of the US offer recycling now, and it’s not that much extra effort to do it. This includes composting food waste – your garden will thank you for that.
Go paperless. Most financial organizations and other companies you pay regular bills to will be happy to stop sending you paper reminders – they can send them by email instead, in most cases you can choose how far in advance of the due date you want to be reminded. And most can be paid, automatically or not, directly from your bank, so you don’t have to write out a check and use an envelope and a stamp to get it there. Heck, don’t even send paper Christmas cards. Personally, I’d prefer you called to wish me a happy holiday, and with the phone plans most of us have these days, that call will be free, or at least cost less than a first-class stamp. One online friend has just eliminated the expense and hassle of wedding invitations and formal, mailed responses: she’s doing it all via a website.
Another way to go paperless: Use cloth handkerchiefs instead of kleenex, dish cloths instead of paper towels, cloth instead of paper napkins – all can be used multiple times, then washed and reused. (“Eww gross, I don’t want to wipe my mouth with someone else’s napkin! How do I know which napkin is mine?” Personalized napkin rings.) Strictly avoid all those “convenience” wipes and other single-use cleaning products. Toilet paper and “women’s sanitary supplies” are probably unavoidable uses of paper, at least in American culture (hint: in India, you clean your butt with water, Europeans have bidets). On the other hand, with diaper services, cloth diapers are a viable alternative to plastic ones in this country.
Do you really need newspapers delivered to your door? So many of those pages are just advertising anyway, and you know you’re never going to read it all. Why not just read the news you’re really interested in online? You can get the nation’s best newspapers right on your desktop every day, free gratis.
Be conscious and conservative in your use of plastic. For example, instead of wrapping leftover food in plastic wrap or putting it in a ziploc bag, put it in a reusable plastic container with a lid. You don’t even have to buy those things, so many foods come in reusable containers (although the colorful one-pound margarine tubs of my childhood appear to be out of fashion now).
Use less heating and air-conditioning. I wish the managers of public spaces and offices would practice this. It’s ridiculous to have to take a sweater to cinemas, malls, and restaurants in summer because the air conditioning is so cold you’ll get sick without it. Likewise, it’s silly to arrive at the office in winter and instantly have to peel off layers of clothing because the heating is so damned hot. And the thermic shock of going from outside to inside, or vice-versa, probably isn’t good for you in any season.
Air-dry your laundry. Yes, there are some parts of the country and times of year when this works better than others. Where I’m living now in Colorado, a dryer is absolutely superfluous, even on “wet” days. The local homeowners’ association would probably scream if I put clotheslines in the backyard, and anything I hung on them would blow away anyhow, so I strung clothesline in the unfinished basement. I wash and hang clothes at night, they’re dry by morning. This also saves wear on the clothes, thus, in the long run, money. In Italy we’re still using wonderfully soft linen bedsheets handed down from Enrico’s parents, they must be over 30 years old.
Garden appropriately for your climate and water supply. In Colorado, that means xeriscaping instead of a lush, green lawn, which will cost you hundreds of dollars a month in water, and then you just have to mow the damned thing – and mowers are a huge source of air and noise pollution. If your activities require a lawn, there are plenty of public parks around.
You tell me! What do you do to reduce consumption, pollution, and waste?

about me

The Twitter Diaries: October, 2008

October 21, 2008 Deirdre Straughan Leave a comment

These are nervous times, and my tweets reflect that…

Note: The time stamp is wrong on some of them, no idea why.

cancelled 1.5 hr meeting leaves me time to help with lab cleanup. Lots and lots of cables to pull and coil up… 9:25 AM Oct 1st

@ThinGuy you really want Congress deciding what’s a good business practice? Not that the business folks have a great track record… 9:26 AM Oct 1st in reply to ThinGuy

video: Ben Rockwood on “Storage in the Cloud” http://tinyurl.com/3w7xmp 9:37 AM Oct 1st

@ThinGuy yeah, that’s one thing I hate about politics: no one can stick to the topic 9:38 AM Oct 1st in reply to ThinGuy

let the games begin: http://tinyurl.com/6cvc5v 11:58 AM Oct 1st

almost at the end of a 2.5 hour meeting. Glad I don’t have to do this regularly. Need to develop executive stamina. 5:17 PM Oct 1st

two meetings, both scheduled at 9 am, neither of which I really want to attend… 7:37 AM Oct 2nd

Ross’ first midterms today. Hard to get over my long-standing habit of worrying about her in tests 7:40 AM Oct 2nd

@smaragdis what community summit? 8:50 AM Oct 2nd in reply to smaragdis

(Feeling a bit left out…)

@ThinGuy funny, my business card says I’m a community specialist (as well as videoblogger), but somehow I never hear about these things… 8:54 AM Oct 2nd in reply to ThinGuy

yay, no more meetings today. I can concentrate on editing Andy 9:02 AM Oct 2nd

waiting for last few minutes of video to process so I can get out of here 11:06 AM Oct 2nd

During the Vice-Presidential Debate

(I was following Twitter on my iPhone. Hadn’t realized one of my followers was the opposite end of the political spectrum from me. Made for an amusing evening.)

@giovanni national health yes, thanks and I can give you examples in my own family where it has worked very well 6:34 PM Oct 2nd from

@giovanni sure I also hate everything she stands for and belives in. She’s a fundamentalist wack job 6:35 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to giovanni

@martinwake a really balanced ticket would include a gay person 6:43 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to martinwake

Can we make it a requirement of office that you know how to pronounce “nuclear” 6:49 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific

@giovanni we want a commander who won’t get us into the wrong wars 6:56 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to giovanni

@giovanni Obama wants to use our military in the right place: Afghanistan 7:11 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to giovanni

Dang we should have used “maverick” in the drinking game 7:22 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific

@giovanni the only war McCain was in we LOST – because it was the wrong damn war in the first place 7:27 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to giovanni

@giovanni Obama has an ivy league education and isn’t an idiot 7:30 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to giovanni

@giovanni the most respectful thing anyone can do for our military is to not waste their lives uselessly 7:34 PM Oct 2nd from twitterrific in reply to giovanni

@giovanni there are plenty of very smart conservatives whom I respect. McCain used to be one of them. Palin never woud be. 5:54 AM Oct 3rd in reply to giovanni

@markingegno “Copriti e non prendere freddo” e’ il vero inno nazionale italiano, non solo tra le nonne 5:55 AM Oct 3rd in reply to markingegno

Translation: “Cover up and don’t get cold” is the real Italian national anthem, not just among grandmothers

@giovanni and of course plenty of conservatives went to Ivy League schools, W for one. But, yes, a good education should be a minimum 7:01 AM Oct 3rd in reply to giovanni

@giovanni as to socialized medicine: http://www.beginningwithi.c… 7:07 AM Oct 3rd in reply to giovanni

reality is that most college grads will end up in an office job. But ask a freshman what they want to do, and none imagine about offices 7:23 AM Oct 3rd

Thought while accompanying a high school senior to visit the UT campus.

sitting by the UT campus lawn, enjoying a fresh Texas breeze. Yes, everything in Texas is Texan, including the wind. 8:25 AM Oct 3rd

@timbray re. Guardian – interesting, maybe a bit scary. Never occurred to me that Twits might become news sources. 8:29 AM Oct 3rd in reply to timbray

My colleague Tim Bray was quoted (from his Twitter stream) in a UK newspaper.

McCain’s formative experience overseas was in a war and then as a prisoner of war. Obama lived with family in other countries. 8:32 AM Oct 3rd

Just sayin’: perspectives differ. 8:33 AM Oct 3rd

if you need a laugh about the things in life that really matter: http://tinyurl.com/4a7wem (thanks Dr. Horrible!) 4:50 PM Oct 3rd

I follow links and then I can’t remember how I got there. “Jesus Use Me” by the Faith Tones – there are no words… 4:53 PM Oct 3rd

Apparently all towing companies are assholes 1:08 PM Oct 4th from twitterrific

@gapingvoid Austin tx waiting with a person I don’t even know to get her car out of the tow lot 1:10 PM Oct 4th from twitterrific in reply to gapingvoid

it’s a beautiful morning in Austin. Pity I had such a bad night. Breakfast at Magnolia Cafe should help. 7:33 AM Oct 5th

@robinbloor wow, I’d forgotten all about that song. It’s not in my 2-disc best of John Prine collection 1:02 PM Oct 5th in reply to robinbloor

finished blog stats for September and notified the winners. They will be receiving cool t-shirts 1:03 PM Oct 5th

remembering an old favorite, thanks to @robinbloor: http://tinyurl.com/3oomnp 1:04 PM Oct 5th

stock price owie. “Down so far it looks like up to me” ? 12:43 PM Oct 6th

photos from Folsom (yes, safe for work) http://tinyurl.com/4ybewr 4:38 PM Oct 6th

it rained in the night, Austin is lovely and fresh this morning 5:58 AM Oct 7th

want to do something really different? teach at Woodstock: http://www.woodstock.ac.in/… 6:05 AM Oct 7th

http://tinyurl.com/3toka3 7:55 AM Oct 7th

is the sky falling? 1:34 PM Oct 7th

Maybe not sorry I missed the [presidential] debate. Heartburn bad enough as it is 7:34 PM Oct 7th from twitterrific

laugh so you don’t cry department: http://michellanea.blogspot… 8:29 AM Oct 8th

@AmandaLorenzani ooh, when? I might have to fly over for that one. 8:44 AM Oct 8th in reply to AmandaLorenzani

Reference to a Girl Geeks Dinner to be held on a yacht!

has anyone from Sun ever spoken at Web 2.0? if so, what about? 10:57 AM Oct 8th

it’s hard to listen objectively to music by someone I’ve known for 30 years: http://www.thesinghsband.co… 11:48 AM Oct 8th

@stoweboyd okay, so I’m going to submit a proposal. Never done this before (talks yes, proposal no). Any pointers? 1:55 PM Oct 8th in reply to stoweboyd

going to work the phones for Obama tonight, a first for me. Should be interesting. the guy who contacted me is from Dehra Dun. Small world. 8:13 AM Oct 9th

I will be either very happy or very unhappy when this campaign ends. Either way, it will be a relief. 8:34 AM Oct 9th

doing something I’ve never done before. 9:37 AM Oct 9th

Writing a proposal to speak at O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 conferene next spring.

how long is a conference abstract supposed to be? 9:37 AM Oct 9th

@tehduh the form says 400 chars for the description, doesn’t specify for the abstract. 500 [words] sounds good, though – thanks 9:43 AM Oct 9th in reply to tehduh

spent ~2 hours on the phone for Obama, wasn’t as scary as I had feared. Mostly polite older women. 7:25 PM Oct 9th

@coffeewithian sentence: “I have got to sleep more now.” 7:30 PM Oct 9th in reply to coffeewithian

He asked for a sentence of seven one-syllable words.

On the Phone for Obama: http://tinyurl.com/3hn8rn – hey, fellow Coloradans – we need you! 8:14 PM Oct 9th

@bicyclemark I so hated that movie [Zorba the Greek]. One redeeming feature of “Mamma Mia” was that it seemed like the anti-Zorba. 7:19 AM Oct 10th in reply to bicyclemark

finally heard from Ironworks BBQ. Usually closed on Sundays, but for our guest list, they’ll open. 7:55 AM Oct 10th

@jowyang my company is. I’d have a few things to say about recent stuff I’ve seen from you guys, though. Offline. 8:56 AM Oct 10th in reply to jowyang

@italylogue if you have an Italian credit card or any card with an Italian billing address, you can use iTunes Italy 8:56 AM Oct 10th in reply to italylogue

the ultimate ZFS Tutorial (video, part 1 of 3): http://tinyurl.com/3g7naa 8:57 AM Oct 10th

@MarketingProfs my daughter is now 19 and has been online since age ~10, pre-Facebook. online communications skills are essential today 12:18 PM Oct 10th in reply to MarketingProfs

She was asking what parents thought of underage kids being on Facebook.

Hate having to write my own bio. It always sounds smarmy to me. 12:48 PM Oct 10th

@jowyang ask first what % of voters even understand the issues. After all, how much do we really understand about the products we buy? 1:14 PM Oct 10th in reply to jowyang

hmm, possible snow on Sunday when I’m supposed to go door-to-door canvassing. 2:49 PM Oct 10th

not an American citizen? You can still vote in the US presidential election… virtually. http://www.economist.com/vo… 7:44 PM Oct 10th in reply to italylogue

@MarketingProfs FYI, I wrote about kids online a while ago: http://www.beginningwithi.c… 7:44 AM Oct 11th in reply to MarketingProfs

a drizzly, foggy day here in Colorado – writing weather! 7:45 AM Oct 11th

!@#$@#$ I write about politics on my blog and I get “a proven maverick” ad from Google. What the hell – let’s cost them money 8:08 AM Oct 11th

actually, that’s kind of amusing since it shows up right next to my photos from the Folsom Street Fair – not the juxtaposition Palin wants 8:09 AM Oct 11th

@rosso at least you’ve got a name they can spell. I have seen Italian magazine articles misspell the same foreign name 3 times in one page! 11:01 AM Oct 11th in reply to rosso

lunch was homemade rajmah dal and basmati – the Indian equivalent of good ol’ red beans and rice. Yum. Time for a nap. 1:14 PM Oct 11th

new rule: I will not follow you back on Twitter unless I know you, or you send a private message explaining why I should. 7:06 AM Oct 12th

got Palin off my website, now Bob Barr is advertising there. 7:10 AM Oct 12th

just back from 1.5 hrs of canvassing for Obama on a cold, dreary Colorado day. Very tired and hungry now. 1:00 PM Oct 12th

unAmerican activities: http://tinyurl.com/4zeonz 1:24 PM Oct 13th

argh. I really don’t need to be getting sick right now 4:13 PM Oct 13th

complete wardrobe failure. These cords looked black at home, turns out they’re navy 8:07 AM Oct 14th

today’s laugh/cringe, courtesy of another Deirdre: http://dsmoen.livejournal.c… 8:36 AM Oct 14th

the song “This Old House” always makes me grieve for my aunt Rosie. Catharsis on the morning commute is tiring 8:02 AM Oct 15th

then my daughter calls to tell me she’s desperately craving a dosa in Austin, perhaps because the weather is monsoony. Only my kid! 8:02 AM Oct 15th

trying to sort out November travel, plans are changing too rapidly 3:02 PM Oct 15th

a tool I’m using more and more as I move my life into the cloud: http://passpack.com 4:18 PM Oct 15th

@smaragdis Just don’t watch TV, or use Tivo to skip all ads. That’s the only way to avoid heartburn. 7:20 AM Oct 16th in reply to smaragdis

just finished reworking travel arrangements for November. Now I actually get a Sunday off – yay! 9:44 AM Oct 16th

playing with a Facebook election app http://zembly.com/mypicksus/ 10:20 AM Oct 16th

in his own words: http://www.brasschecktv.com… 12:29 PM Oct 16th

laugh at ourselves: http://cuddletech.com/blog/… 1:23 PM Oct 16th

@lskrocki mine’s campaigning for a Mac. Told her full-time school + 3.5 GPA = new Mac 3:43 PM Oct 16th in reply to lskrocki

the HPC student/community party I’m planning for SC08 in Austin is looking like it’ll be a blast. if you’re an HPC developer, write me 7:36 AM Oct 17th

living in the USA

10 Simple Things You Can Do to Reduce Environmental Impact and Save Money

October 20, 2008 Deirdre Straughan 2 Comments

I’ve been back in the US for six months now, and here, as everywhere I go, I’ve been observing the local lifestyle.

Americans are increasingly concerned about their impact on the global environment, which is great, but many focus on expensive, grandiose solutions like “trade in your gas-guzzler for an expensive hybrid car”. In these cash-strapped times, there are far simpler things you can do. Yes, these are small steps, but if we all did them…

1. Reduce the number of beverage cans/bottles you buy

I see people buying boxes and flats of cans of soda, shrink-wrapped 24-packs of beverages in plastic bottles, etc. That’s an awful lot of packaging – which must be produced and then discarded or recycled – for you to drink a single serving of a beverage.

If you must buy packaged drinks, buy them in gallon jugs. If you must take such a drink with you, pour a portion into a reusable bottle.

“But that won’t preserve the fizz in my soft drinks,” you say. Myself, I rarely drink fizzy drinks except carbonated mineral water in Italy (and I’m doing perfectly well without that in the US). I don’t need the calories in “regular” soft drinks, and can’t stand the taste of artificial sweeteners (which, according to some reports, may be bad for you anyhow).

I mostly drink water, coffee, juice, and tea. I like plain iced tea in summer, but that can be hard to find; the bottled stuff you commonly see at convenience stores etc. is sweetened to an extent that curls my teeth. I make iced tea at home myself, boiling it on the stove and funneling it into an empty gallon orange-juice jug.

The only single-serving drink I can really see a use for is beer, and that comes in recyclable glass bottles.

A few months ago, some friends and I went for a hike in a California park. It was a warm day, and after a long, dusty walk I slurped eagerly at cold, fresh water from a park fountain. A child in a stroller gestured urgently at it, alerting his mother that he, too, was thirsty.

“Oh, no, honey,” she said. “Here, I’ve got water in a bottle.”

Yet another single-use plastic bottle filled by a bottler with filtered tap water that was probably less healthy and tasty than the tap water I was drinking.

…This is getting long. I’ll have to spread these tips over several posts. More soon!