Author Archives: dunster

So Long, Manny

So long, Manny, and thanks for the trophies.  I was at that train wreck of a game last night, and while I knew intellectually that it might be Manny’s last, I didn’t believe it.  In retrospect I wish I’d watched him a bit more closely, just to squeeze the last drops out of the Manny Era.

I’m glad the trade was done, but I’ll still miss him.  The good parts, that is.  Respect the Tek has it right: “Manny being Manny always was a double-edged sword.”

I look forward to getting to know Jason Bay.  The question now is: Is this the Nomar trade of 2004, the purge that lights the fire?  Or is this 2005, the post-championship year where the team collapsed in injury, age, and indifference in the second half?

Lots of games left to play.

That Was Awful

I’ve been to hundreds of Red Sox games (really, hundreds – you do 10 to 50 games for 18 years, and it adds up). I can’t remember a game as pathetic as tonight’s.

I’ve seen worse pitching before. Beckett wasn’t awful, just not good. I’ve seen worse hitting before. There were some hits, and I’ve seen games with even less “timely” hitting. And the defense has been worse – think about the 90’s, as a whole.

Tonight, the pitching gets a middle grade. The hitting? Awful. The defense? Abysmal. Look at the talent of this team and evaluate the on-field performance tonight.

It may be the worst game that I’ve ever seen.

Google is Safe For Now

The tech community is all a-flutter this week about the launch of a new search engine, Cuil. It’s been a month since the iPhone 3G, and people are a bit starved for content.

Cuil did a good job generating buzz. The preferred version: “Ex-Google employees build a better search engine; David beats Goliath.”

Mike Volpe wrote 3 Reasons Why Cuil is Not Cool. I think he’s right, but his #3 reason is my #1.

#3 Their results suck. Search for “Cuil” in Cuil and you Search in Google for “Cuil” and you get a bunch of results that make sense, including a news article and Cuil itself. Search for “Cuil” in Cuil, and you get results like “Properties for Sale in Cuil Mhuine, Ireland”, “The Shire of Cuil Choluim” and “Download Chase Around the Windmill”. What a joke.

The search results must be good, better than Google, for Cuil to start winning share. That’s how Google got me to change from Alta Vista, back in the day – Google started giving me better results that Alta Vista. Cuil can format the results to their heart’s content, but it’s just lipstick on the pig until they give good results. Examples:

1) Start with the ego search. OK, I know I’m not the most famous Dan Dunn out there, but c’mon, I rate at least a mention! Fine, let’s make it easy, and say Dan Dunn Arlington MA. I know that there’s only one person that matches that search . . . but still, Cuil links to a dead server talking about NHruns.com 6th Annual Millennium Mile. Strike 1 for Cuil.

2) I think a classic search engine test is “broken windows.” Are you talking about your operating system, or the glass between you and the real world? Cuil takes a pass on this daunting question and unhelpfully suggests:

  • a typo. Please check your spelling.
  • your search includes a term that is very rare. Try to find a more common substitute.
  • too many search terms. Please try fewer terms.

Strike 2.

3) This one is, as they say, Not Safe For Work. Let’s say your name is Matt M. Let’s say, just for fun, that you’re a kid, and your parents have carefully made sure that Cuil’s “Safe Search” feature is enabled. And let’s say you do your own ego search for Matt M. You just learned something about gay porn.

Strike 3. (hat tip to Digg)

The Big Picture

A few months ago Alan Taylor of the Boston Globe launched a photo blog called The Big Picture. A couple times a week he posts 10-20 photos on a particular topic. It makes for a quick read.

It is easily the best-looking blog on my reading list.

Kid in fountain

Rush and Child Prodigies

This post has appeal for two very small segments of my blog audience.

1) Fans of Rush, perhaps the greatest Canadian rock band ever.

2) Musical prodigies.

The internet is all about the long tail, right?

Seriously, though, this girl is amazing. There are just enough mistakes to prove that it’s live.

Armed, Coordinated Bicycle Convoys Converge on City Hall

I’m biking to work tomorrow, but I won’t be in the convoy. 6:45AM is . . . not my cup of tea.

bike convoy map

More info from the City of Boston.

RIDE INTO WORK WITH A POLICE ESCORT.

July 25 and August 22

WHAT: SAFE, GUIDED CONVOYS WITH POLICE ESCORT Lead by experienced cyclists and escorted by Boston Police, convoys follow a fixed schedule and route and originate at locations throughout metro-Boston. All convoys finish at City Hall Plaza Boston.

FREE BREAKFAST, BIKE EXPO AND MUSIC Whether you ride in with a convoy or ride along, join us at Boston City Hall for free food and fun, courtesy of 100.7 WZLX, Mass Commute, Mass Bike, and all our sponsors.

DATE: July 25th and August 22nd. Rain or shine.

SCHEDULE:

6:45 AM Meet at convoy start. See locations below.
7:00 AM Convoys depart. See locations below.
7:30-8:30 AM Convoys arrive City Hall Plz, Boston.
8:00-10:00 AM Free breakfast & fun. City Hall Plz, Boston.

WHERE: Rides start from various locations in metro-Boston. Cyclists can join the convoy at start location, or at any point along the route. See map for locations and times. Police escorts only available within Boston.

ROUTES:
Newton, Brookline, Watertown
Lexington, Arlington, Somerville, Cambridge
Dorchester
West Roxbury, Roslindale
Brighton, Allston
Jamaica Plain

Your Laptop Data Security

A few months ago I scanned some news article that talked about the vulnerability of reading memory chips even after the computer has been turned off. I thought it was an interesting idea, but didn’t look at it deeper.

Then I saw this YouTube video from CITP at Princeton. You don’t have to be a crypto-geek or a math major to understand this; the video explains it in plain English.

You know that when you turn your computer off, the RAM (memory) is wiped, right? Think again.

Red Line Expectations

Yesterday morning I woke up, rolled out of bed, and checked the news. Boston.com was reporting a disabled train on the Longfellow Bridge, and lots of busing.

Today the Globe has a story about the summer of discontent on the Red Line. Key quote from Lydia Rivera, a T spokeswoman: “People that choose to take the system do realize that with public transportation, you are going to encounter delays.”

What?! She thinks I should expect delays? She thinks it’s normal that public transportation is unpredictable? What a load of crap!

There are plenty of public transportation systems out there that run consistently on time. Munich and Tokyo come to mind, and I wager there are other examples closer to home.

I think that quote speaks volumes about the attitude of MBTA management and employees. They expect to suck. When they do suck, they’re just meeting expectations.

I don’t know what it takes to turn that around, but until the MBTA expects better of itself, we’re stuck with “expecting delays.”