So it turns out that if you want to get directions to my home home (in Chino Hills), online mapping services are always wrong. For some reason, they put my house up the street from where it actually lies. What’s up with that? More importantly, how do I get it fixed? Mapquest, Yahoo! Maps, and Google Maps all put my house in the same location, so it can’t be them that’s the problem. From whom do they buy their mapping data, and how can I get this problem solved? Anybody have any tips?
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jMinder 0.8
I’m releasing a new version of jMinder today. You can now send a text message to your cell phone as well as an email address. Check it out!
(If you run into any errors, please let me know…I’m still trying to work out the kinks…)
If you’re not familiar with jMinder, it is simply a service that allows you to send an email to yourself (or anybody else) in the future. Simply write a message, enter an email address and/or cell phone number, choose a date you would like the message to be sent, and press submit. The message will be automatically sent on that date!
Next goal: time-of-day based messaging!
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Is it just me…
or has the London Underground bombings been getting a lot more media coverage than the Madrid bombings did? What does that mean?
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Moi et ma soeur
tam & josh
Originally uploaded by josh.ev9. -
The lessons of paintball
So I went paintballing today with all five of my college roommates. It was pretty entertaining, but at the end of the day, I think I took a lot more away from the experience than simply shooting balls of paint at my opponents.
See, the paintball course we went to was in Camp Pendleton, one of the largest Marine Corps stations in the country, and immediately one is confronted by soldiers with (real) guns upon entering the facility. Not 30 minutes later was I holding my own (fake) gun, prepared to shoot at all the people standing around me. All of a sudden the “referee” starts the “game” and I’m shooting to kill.
In truth, I was shot and “killed” far more times than I shot anyone else, and in the moments the paintball struck me, I had an overwhelming feeling of fear. After a few seconds the pain subsided and I was able to relax, realizing that I would live to play another game.
It doesn’t work that way for a real soldier. The guys on the other side are trained, and instead of soft paintballs their guns are loaded with live ammunition. The point of their “game” is not to capture the other team’s flag, but to take out (read: kill) as many of their opponents as necessary in order to take a piece of land, or fulfill some other objective.
It’s kind of corny, but as of today I have the utmost gratitude for all the soldiers out there defending our country, and all countries. They say war is hell, and today I experienced that hell, if only for a moment.
I have always wished the fighting that goes on in this world didn’t happen, but today I have a deeper understanding of why I feel that way.
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Map of my morning ride
Here’s a map of my morning ride.
I’ve been looking for a widget like this for months…for the same reason as the creator of the website. While training for the marathon I always wanted to be able to simply go to a map, click points where I ran, and have it calculate the mileage. Finally it comes out, but only after I’ve run the race…Check out the Gmap Pedometer.
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My body is made of plastic
Had a wonderful ride into work this morning. It’s a 2.5 mile ride from home to office, probably 2 miles of that is pretty flat, but right at the start there’s a huge huge huge hill that just kills every time. Tuesday I made it a little more than 2/3 of the way up before I absolutely had to get off and walk. I remember looking out at this sign post thinking to myself, “Ok Josh, just make it to that sign, then you can walk.” Miraculously, today I was able to make it to that sign without even noticing, and rode nearly the entire hill. At the end I started dying (probably because I ate breakfast right before walking out the door), so I walked again and rode the next 2 miles into work.
Yesterday at the climbing gym I was actually able to do some climbing. Everything before yesterday was basically just a warmup routine. I’d get on an easy traverse path, pick some relatively simple problems, and climb until my body was sore. Yesterday, however, I was actually able to climb around until I was sweaty and tired overall, because my body is now able to support me.
I love getting in shape, if for no other reason than the fact that I get to witness my body adapting to change. I see my muscles adapt to the demands and stress, and I can actually feel the plasticity in my brain. That’s right, I can intuitively notice how the neurons in my brain are talking to each other in new ways, and know that new neurons are being generated to support the old ones so I can learn become a more adept athlete. I love the feeling of learning, especially when the learning is in the form of tacit knowledge, the kind where I don’t have to worry about learning the stuff. I just have to keep doing it and my body will eventually take over. Next time you take on a new task check up on yourself every week or so, and realize that your body is changing in ways you’d never normally think about.
A little over a month ago my body was primed to run a marathon. I am simply amazed that in so little time it can begin to change its form from runner to climber to cyclist and back again.
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All of a sudden…
everything is starting to come together. I got a bike yesterday. Work is fun. I have plans for July 4 weekend. I’m coding. I’m designing. I’m having fun! Slowly but surely, things are looking up 🙂
(Not like they were ever really looking down in the first place…) More on the bike & 7/4 plans later…
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Google Indiana
Google Indiana
Originally uploaded by josh.ev9.So I was playing with Google Earth today and I noticed that the state of Indiana is grey. Why is that?
My suspicion is that Indiana has more detailed maps than the rest of the country. When you take a satellite picture close to the ground it is likely that there is more grey than green in any given shot. The green on the map is due to artificial coloring in areas that are not yet imaged up-close. Any other guesses?
Mad props to Indiana for being well mapped. Woo woo.