12-03-2010 - The times they are a changing

We love DNA made of nucleotides
Sugar, phosphate ___, and a base bonded down one side
Adenine and thymine make a lovely pair
Cytosine without guanine would seem pretty bare

10-14-2010 - Some Android apps

Several people have requested a list of good Android Apps from me. This is not a top ten or any other kind of ranking list. Many human disciplines are covered by the apps listed and not all of them are relevant to all readers. This list will be comprised of apps one may get in Google's Android Marketplace for free. No pirating, jail breaking, no porn store etc... (besides the porn store was lame).

Facebook 1.3.2: Still not as good as Facebook for iPhone but a good update to get if your phone is like the original Droid, you would not have been alerted to the update, so just manually install it to get the added functionality. Image browsing is much improved. Using http://touch.facebook.com/ is better for most other functions at this point.

MotoTorch: This app turns on the LED(s) of a phone and keeps them on. This makes for a brighter flashlight than an app which turns on the screen. At first I thought it would be a good thing to run when capturing video, but the LED light makes the light sensor think it's daytime. Unexpected behavior: If the task is killed, the LED will stay on (you would have to run the app again in that case to turn it off). This app isn't compatible with all phones that have LEDs.

Instant Heart Rate: When run, app turns on a phones LED on and the user is asked to gently put their finger over the LED and the camera lens. The App tells you your heart rate in a few seconds! It's accurate! It works best in well lit conditions.

Google Sky: The perfect fusion of GPS data, mobile internet, compass data, in a portable device. Run the app outside. App will show you an accurate a map of the night sky that changes as the phone is moved. Search for objects as diverse as 'Mars' or 'M37' and the app will direct you to where they are.

RealCalc: The stock android calculator is lacking the functionality of a higher end calculator. This calculator has trigonometric functions, exponents, and different bases such as binary, octal, and hex.

Aloqa: Uses GPS position to determine what there is to do around that location. Program has 'channels' like food, events, shopping, sight seeing, dating etc... Choose the channels relevant to you and you're good to go. You can launch directions/navigation from within the app.

Google Translate: Want something translated from one language into another? This app will do that for dozens of languages. Including the option to speak into the microphone in English, french, Italian and Spanish. Bonus, when speaking, it gets the naughty words of other languages correct. I can still swear in Italian effectively!

Gmote: Install the app on your phone. Install the companion application on your PC. If your phone and PC are connected to the same wireless network this will allow you to use your phone as a wireless mouse and keyboard. Great for a media PC. App will also allow you to set default folders on the PC which the phone may play music and video files. (Anything VLC can play it can play, though you may have to add additional file extensions in the settings)

Voice Recorder (by Mamoru Tokashiki): There are many apps for voice recording, I use this one because it will record for any length of time. It has inexpensive additions, like recording calls – that sounds illegal in some states, which makes it even cooler.

Movies (by Flixster Inc): Showtimes, ratings, and reviews tailored to your GPS location. You can also manage your Netflix cue with this app.

Kindle: There are over 20,000 free books waiting to be read on that tiny screen via the Amazon store. I didn't think I would use a book reading app, but it's good to have an app that will run for hours without using a lick of data, say on a plane.

Gstrings: Get your mind out of the gutter, this app will tell you the tone that is currently playing. G# B flat etc... Wish I had this back when I was playing musical instruments.

RTA Audio Analyzer: Measures and displays the frequency spectrum of audio from the microphone in real time.

Ringdroid: Cut mp3 files into ringtones then assign them to specific users or the default all without leaving the comfort of your phone.

Congress: GPS location is used to tell you who your representatives in congress are and what bills they have been voting on along with what bills are currently on the table.

Astro: Android doesn't come with a file manager, if you want one, here's a good one.

Scanner Buddy: A Police Scanner. App may not cover your area but it covers mine.

Metal Detector: Detects metal based on the rotation of the internal compass, so only magnetic metals. This app is not especially functional, because the phone has to be so close to the metal, but it's fun to see the technology work.

Stopwatch: has come in handy a few times.

IMDB: Easier to use than the website (on your phone that is).

---Games---

Phones aren't particularly good at hand held gaming in general, and Android in particular simply doesn't have the user base for development companies to invest in making games for the platform. Additional hindrances for smart pones have a small screen, the in-game buttons are often placed on the touch screen, and and the user is expected to cover the field of play with their hands to play. Nevertheless there are some that are interesting and free.

Jewels: Think free bejeweled. This is a turn based puzzle game ported from Linux. It sports HD graphics for phones that support them so it looks beautiful.

Abduction: you're a cow and your buddy was abducted by a UFO, the goal is to get your cute little cow to the UFO. The only in-game controls are tilting the phone. Supports a variety of frame rates depending on how fast your phone can process.

ProjectINF beta: Its an MMORPG, think Team fortress with near constant micromanagement of abilities. Styles of play include deathmatch and Capture the flag.

Replica Island: A good side scroller with a ridiculous story. If you have a trackball or other swipe tech on your phone the game will be quite fun. The Droid's 4-way key pad is not as compelling.

Angry Birds: A well executed fling stuff at a structure game. This game is wildly popular on the iPhone, now it's on Android.

Chess (by Aart Bik): The game will kick your but on 1 player. Good thing it has 2 player local.

Deep Green Reversi: A functional reversi/Othello game, the only reason it's on this list is that it has 2 player local, I think I tried 4 others before finding one with this feature.

---Music---

Pandora: listen to new music in the style of an artist or song you like, just like the website only on your phone.

I Heart Radio: Not to be confused with "Heart Radio," I Heart Radio is an alliance of 750 terrestrial radio stations, bookmark all your favorites or just pick a city and a station and listen.

Shazam: The App records a small section of a song, sends it to a database and usually returns with the correct title and singer. This app does not work for classical music or even some indie bands, but it's still amazing how often it does work. A must when you're in your car.

09-04-2010 - One Take Gold? 05-15-2010 - Formative Moments: Positivity

The school year was 1993-94. Sixth grade was in full swing at Washington Elementary. Reading assignments consisted of writing new endings to two of the books we had read. John Christopher's first book in his scifi Tripod Trilogy, and a book who's name escapes me about a obese and inattentive mother having her youngster taken away. The new endings we were told could be anything we wished.

I wrote a couple Hollywood endings. The free kids in the Tripod story got a little older and mounted a successful rescue attempt complete with a diversion while keeping a Tripod at bay! For the fat mom, she buckled down, lost weight, and started seeing her kid again.

Not long after turning in the assignments, the teacher convened a special parent teacher conference. In which she told my mother and I that my writing was overly positive, consequently lacking an understanding of peoples limitations and the real world. The teacher continued on stating my work needed to be changed as a result. Instead of having to rewrite the endings, my mother defended my right to unbridled positivity citing examples from the best of humanity and that was the end of the issue.

02-18-2010 - PS2 Backwards Compatibility

PS2 slim only plays PSX games with the coax/composite/s-video cable but I upgraded to a component cable. Now I must use both so I can play games that the PS3 won't emulate.

01-23-2010 - Further Research

In the interests of further research on core math, here are some authoritative sources I found on the topic

Professor of math at Wayne State Gregory Bachelis conducted a study in which a public high school using Core Plus Math was compared to one teaching traditional math from the same district (Bloomfield Hills, MI). Link

Bacheils finds that traditional math alumni were twice as likely to consider their coursework useful. "Core-Plus appears to have created a new category of students who land in remedial math courses - courses that were not designed with such students in mind."

All respondent comments are available to read!

The Congressional Testimony of Stanford mathematics professor James Milgram: Link

01-17-2010 - Formative Moments: Core Math

I received outstanding marks in ninth and tenth grade, including Core Math 2 and Honors Chemistry. The next year I decided to try my hand at Trig-Based Physics, in addition to the general trig class. I struggled with the material immediately. What I was lacking most was a fundamental understanding of algebra. It became clear that getting A's while learning about matrices, Euler circuits, and box and whisker plots as performed with the aid of a TI-82, was not a sturdy base for Physics or Math in general. In my free time I found myself reading a traditional Algebra book! Once I knew enough, I finished Trig Functions and Analysis with honors, and did fine in Physics. Core Math was a failure in execution and in concept.

The idea behind Core Math was to show beginners that there were lots and lots of ways to solve the same problem. And to use a disproportionate number of ethnic sounding names in story problems. But, the fastest solution to virtually all the work, the TI-82, didn't provide crucial apprehension when the numbers were punched and the enter button pressed.

This led to numerous crutches being developed and tried in situations where they did not apply. Misuse of calculator functions, FOIL, and SOCATOA all come to mind when encountering other Core Math alumni.

I eventually found the practical applications of matrices and Euler circuits in my study of college-level computer science coursework. How many Core Math students never went to college, or never went past the last required math class: Core 2? The study of such things in ninth and tenth grade seems comical compared with the usefulness of straight algebra.

In closing, I can recall a Core 2 Math period where all Mrs. Rice did was read lines of assembly code for a TI-82. She directed the class to enter each line on their calculators for the purpose of rotating a flag about the xy origin. There were of course assembler errors because no one, not even the teacher, knew assembly code!