http://marc-abramowitz.com Rocking the blogosphere Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:28:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en #!/usr/bin/env python from datetime import date, timedelta conception_date = date(year=2008, month=11, day=2) today = date.today() babys_age = today - conception_date print "Baby's age" print " from conception" print " in days: %d" % babys_age.days print " in weeks: %.2f" % ... http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/07/01/how-a-geek-handles-pregnancy/ This morning I was trying to pull data off an old 2.5" laptop ATA drive. I popped in a USB/Firewire enclosure and plugged it into my Mac. The Mac popped up a message saying it shut down that USB port because something was drawing too much power. Silly me, I figured ... http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/06/11/usb-device-can-fry-a-laptop/ We just got finished with the annual falling of annoying "cotton" from nearby cottonwood trees. I hate this stuff. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23030157@N02/2557404338/ We do our best to sweep it up, but then it falls again. Eventually it stops after a couple of weeks, but not before coating our yard and even parts of our ... http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/05/19/cottonwood-nuisance/ Was going through old files today and happened upon a bunch of content from 1995 - back when I was doing researchy stuff at LLNL in Livermore, California and NPAC in Syracuse, New York. http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/04/26/blast-from-the-past-npac-reu-1995/ I beat Halo 3 on Legendary yesterday. Woo hoo! Nothing that's never been said before -- Halo 3 is a great game, but the level "Cortana" is really fricking annoying. So many Flood, so little ammo, and so easy to get lost. Also, tons of Cortana and Gravemind moments that are ... http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/04/26/beat-halo-3-on-legendary/ My Xbox 360 had the dreaded RRoD a couple of weeks ago. Much to my delight and surprise, I got it working again this weekend by taking the sucker apart and reapplying a super-thin layer of Arctic Silver thermal compound on the GPU. I even managed to play an hour or ... http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/04/05/through-the-red-ring-of-death-and-back/ Our vacation to Hawaii (Kauai and Oahu) was great. We're back in the Bay Area. http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/04/03/back-in-town-2/ Hawaiian style hot dogs with a wraparound bun, garlic-lemon aioli, and tropical relishes. http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/03/24/puka-dog/ Two readily apparent features of Kauai: red dirt and roosters. http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/03/24/red-dirt-and-roosters/ The Grand Hyatt lives up to its name. We started the day cranky and tired (from getting up at 5:30 for our 9 am flight) and ended it relaxed and happy). http://marc-abramowitz.com/archives/2009/03/24/kauai/