Bringing you all the greatest hits!
My most action-packed dashcam video so far: this is from last November when I was driving back from a performance of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
Wrong Way Driver
We saw this yesterday on the drive home from work.
Facepalm or How Not To Inspire Confidence
Either this person has a great sense of humor or I am in trouble.
Also see most recent Osophy.
Denver-Boulder House Hunt Update: Buyer Be Rich
So the market in the Denver metro area is quite out-of-whack. It’s heavily skewed in favor of the sellers. And the rental market isn’t any better. So I thought I’d start documenting our woeful quest here on my blog. We seek to buy a house nearer to our works.
Osophy on Names, Common Misspellings of
Incompetence is pervasive and silent.
IPv6 or An Experiment in Address Space
The time has come to make this blog IPv6-only. And so it is. As of right… now.
Unless I hear any objections, it’s going to stay IPv6-only.
P.S. I’ve also enabled SSL. Finally, right? I know!
Update: Well, that didn’t last long. But I’m keeping the SSL. 😛
Phil's Guide to Modern Communications Technology Options
It appears that some of you may not know which communication tool to use or when to use it. Here is a helpful guide:
(Note: Sync = synchronous means real-time communication, asynchronous means not real-time.)
| Name | Privacy | Sync | Speed | Form | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postal Mail (Snail Mail, USPS) | medium to high | asynchronous | slow | printed text | This is the original form of written correspondence. It is still useful and relatively secure from eavesdropping, provided you didn’t compose the letter on a computer to start with. |
| Telephone (phone) | medium | synchronous | real-time | voice | What one gains in instantaneous communications, one loses in the ability to compose thoughts before communicating them. Use this method when you have to have a conversation with another person involving a lot of words and back-and-forth. Assume everything you say is being monitored or recorded unless you are using a VoIP service like Ostel. |
| Faxsimile (fax) | medium | synchronous | real-time | printed text | Don’t use this anymore. Just don’t. Stop it. Stop. Stop using fax. |
| none to high | asynchronous | medium-fast | text, multimedia, files | Advantages: the ability to think before you communicate. Also it can (and should) be encrypted with S/MIME or PGP. Otherwise you get the security and privacy level of a traditional postcard (i.e., none whatsoever). Note that when encrypting email, header fields such as to/from addresses and subject lines are not encrypted, but the body (contents) of the message is. Use this when you have a relatively lengthy message to send to one or more people. Not suitable for short, conversational messages or sending large files since most servers still impose a 10 or 20 MB message limit. Use an online file sharing service such as Dropbox to send files and pictures to avoid clogging the recipient’s inbox. | |
| SMS (text, text message) | low | asynchronous | medium | text, images | Best used for short information that needs to go to a person’s cell phone, such as an address or phone number. Do not use for sensitive information as SMS is not secure against eavesdropping. It is also fast to transmit but slow, error-prone, and generally cumbersome to compose. Best to place a phone call or start an IM instead. |
| IM (Instant Message, chat) | none to high | asynchronous | fast | text | Can (and should) be secured using OTR (Off-The Record) encryption technology. If using Google’s service, they will keep your chat messages, possibly forever. Can be very fast, depending on the participant’s speed in typing. Best for interruptible and informal conversations, especially in an office or other quiet environment where talking is discouraged but typing noise is not. Much faster than SMS assuming the users are using real computers with real keyboards. |
| Walkie Talkie (PTT, Zello) | low | asynchronous | fast | voice | The speed of talking with the asynchronicity of texting. The best of both worlds, but unfortunately not secure when using popular apps. Also not suitable for office or other quiet environments. Best used while driving or when ever a two-way radio would come in handy. |
Now let’s look at modern comms from a use-case perspective.
How to Kill the Right House*
Well, I’ve thought about it, and I thought I might have something more insightful or pithy to say on the subject matter. But I don’t. I can, however, tell you how I am approaching the matter in our particular circumstance:
Intensely absorb all available information on all properties in your area, price range, and style, in that order, and as quickly as your neurochemistry allows.
If there are homes already under contract that you would seriously like to own, make a backup offer.
Set up instant email alerts matching your criteria. Be sure to set your filters somewhat outside of your ideal parameters, because a good compromise may arise. But be sure to set the important filters like location and price correctly.