This Works Great - Let's Stop Using It

A de facto standard is where you create something that meets with wide ranging acceptance. For many companies it's a coveted if unstated objective. For example, Adobe PDF has become a standard for viewing documents - make something available in a PDF form and most anybody can access it.

The folks at Intuit, makers of the checkbook software Quicken, had that going for them with their QIF format. Basically it was a way to export and import information into your electronic checkbook. It was pretty simple and worked very well - so well in fact that many financial institutions began to offer their customers the ability to download their account data in this format. So well that Microsoft made it available in their own checkbook program. It was a de facto standard for importing or exporting checkbook transactions.

So imagine my surprise when I bit the bullet and did a Quicken upgrade a few months ago only to discover that QIF was no longer supported by the folks at Intuit. They have elected to support only the OFX (Open Financial Exchange) standard. While a more broad and useful method for exchanging financial it is also more complex - and as a result most financial institutions are not about to expend money to implement this new standard. Perhaps even more amazing is that Microsoft Money continues to support QIF as well as OFX, even in their "bare bones" product (which I'm running a trial version of now - and like so far as I really do not need a ton of bells and whistles).

Anyone want to buy a used copy of Quicken?

Why Can't Our Presidential Elections Have These Sort of Contestants?

Monday my alma mater, Johns Hopkins, met Duke University for the NCAA Division I lacrosse championship. Now while a lot of folks get damn near rabid when their college is in a championship game I'll confess that I'm not quite that excitable. Yet when I stumbled across the game on cable I had to stop to witness the drama.

Hopkins was in the lead by 1 point with under 5 minutes to go. A penalty put them a man down, then another penalty put them down yet another, and the Blue Devils took advantage scoring a goal to tie things up. Fate seemed on Duke's side but to their credit Hopkins went right back up the field and reclaimed a one point advantage. Some heart-stopping shots by Duke that careened off the goal followed, and it was not until Duke's last second shot went wide that Hopkins could say they'd claimed a second title in three years.

I had to feel good about JHU coming through - not just because I attended the place but because this team was pretty well written off by everyone a few weeks back after losing a few games. They showed great perseverance and were definitely a classic case of the underdog coming out on top. But had one of those Duke shots been a centimeter closer to the goal and the outcome different, I'd have been truly happy to see Duke wear the crown. They have had their own story of overcoming adversity played out on the national stage over the last year, and it would have been seemingly devine providence had they gone all the way.

So congrats to the Hopkins guys and three cheers for the Duke players - two great teams that gave us a fantastic championship game.

CMAP Code Camp

Last weekend was the first CMAP Code Camp, and it certainly seems to have been a success. For those who are not within the inner circle of programming, CMAP is a local group of developers who get together to share their experiences and learn new techniques from one another. And a "Code Camp" is a free, full day of lectures focused on code tips & techniques. It truly is a great testimony to people in the profession that there are folks willing to volunteer their time and talent to help put on such an event (special kudos to Christopher Steen). One of the most striking similarities between dentistry and programming is the tendency for people to "specialize" in certain areas of the discipline, and a chronic desire to learn more skills. Like our code camp, we had "study clubs" where we took turns presenting a topic to our peers.

For my part I ended up providing a talk on using the ReportViewer control in local mode. Reporting is becoming increasingly important to business - from documenting compliance to presenting management with timely information. While Microsoft has an excellent solution for facilitating reports with SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, many places are not yet at that release. But using the control in local mode where you are responsible for providing the data for the code programmatically is a good solution that should not be overlooked (and most reports developed for local use can be readily ported to server mode if SSRS becomes available).

There's talk of another Code Camp in the fall, which may be a little ambitious but certainly a welcome indicator of how well this one went. Hopefully CMAP will continue to be able to use facilities at UMBC even though we do not have an official sponsor. You'd certainly think that the university would welcome an affiliation with a group that promotes continuing education in technology.

Banking on Apathy

A couple of weeks ago it came to light that Bank of America had quietly started marketing a credit card for illegal immigrants. The card carries a significant interest and requires a deposit, but social security number is optional. The obvious target audience is the flood of undocumented workers that have invaded this country whom would have no verifiable SSN.

I've really had it with this issue, one that the majority of Americans agree has to be fixed, yet our two political parties basically thumb their noses at us. The Republicans are loath to angry big business which loves having cheap labor, while the Dems look at it as a ticket to power (if only they could figure out how to let them vote - give 'em time, I'm sure they'll make the case for it). For the stability and security of this nation we have to stop this uncontrolled stampede of people into the country and replace it with a sound guest worker program.

But in the meantime Bank of America is betting on our apathy and hoping it all goes away. They've spun their their motto to "bank of opportunity". Right --- come on guys, the only opportunity you're interested in is making a buck, whether at our expense or the person being charged the card's rates and deposit fees. But I'm not apathetic about this issue, and like a lot of others we cut up our BoA "LLBean" cards this week, sending one half to the bank and one half to L.L. Bean letting them know of our unwillingness to patronize institutions that put profits ahead of the welfare of this country. It'll cost our family a little - there were some nice perks associated with the card - but unless we all start demanding more of our politicians and corporations, we're going to pay a hell of a lot more down the road.

Baltimore Blues

It was a few years ago when I began working in Upper Marlboro that I first noticed it one evening. Heading northbound from I-97 approaching the Harbor Tunnel one has a sweeping view of Baltimore. Amid the glittering lights there were a couple of intensely blue sparkles. It might not catch your eye as there were only a few, and being football season I attributed it to someone displaying Ravens colors. A couple of months later I figured out that they were likely security cameras that the city had installed as part of their crime effort (article).

Last Thursday I attended the Vista launch in Washington so it was already night by the time I began the trek home. The city is now thoroughly punctuated with these neon-like blue points of light - even a casual observer would have to notice it now. It's a sad statement on how crime continues to plague cities like Baltimore, but even more distressing perhaps is this method of "combating" it. We continue to cede our privacy in frighteningly Orwellian ways, growing more accepting of government and industry's desire to monitor (and influence) our lives. While I can't define a solution to our crime problem, I really doubt that security cameras are going to offer any true security for our citizens. More likely they mainly offer security to our politicians who can point to them as tangible evidence of their concern for our safety at election time.

It's a Beautiful Morning

The cold front last evening brought more than seasonably appropriate temperatures - the skies this morning when I stepped outside at 6:30 AM were crisp and delightfully transparent. Scorpio was climbing above the neighbor's roof with Jupiter flanking Antares to the north. Normally I can just about make out the head when this constellation transits, but here with the first glow of dawn approaching I can easily see down to 3rd magnitude as evidenced by sigma Scorpii. It's clearly one of those somewhat rare skies of excellent transparency.

As I turn to unlock the car a bright, slow & steady moving light cuts a path to the northwestern horizon - clearly a pass of the International Space Station sporting its newly equipped solar panels. I wait and watch, anticipating that it might enter the unseen Earth's shadow but it's claimed by the treeline first.

Beginning the first leg of my morning commute along the beltway the eastern horizon is deeply exposed. And there in the deep blush of the dawn is an incredibly thin crescent Moon less than two days from new. The road curves north and it slips from view. By the time I turn South toward DC the unseen Sun has changed the skyline hue from burnt orange to a cheery yellow which camouflages the lunar sliver.

It's been a great start to the day - and I wonder how many others have taken note of the celestial show this morning?

Soul Sounds

Got the opportunity to spend a little time on the back deck with the "yard sale" scope this past week. While observing is predominantly a visual activity there's also the auditory aspects of the evening that can be special as well.

Last night I was quite surprised to hear the distinctive call of an owl from the woods in back of our home. It was a shock simply because in all the hours and hours I have spent in the evening air of Towson I've never heard one before. It was a sound that immediately brought a connection with observing from Tuckahoe park during a DSG star party where we often hear them calling in the distance. It also was encouraging to think that perhaps the local environment is now more hospitable to them.

The other interesting moment was hearing the clock tower at Towson University (nee Towson State Teachers College) chime the 8pm hour. It immediately brought back a flood of memories - as kids the chimes of that clock tower were as constant as the sunrise. Lying awake on a late summer night and hearing the clock toll the hour, depending on it to be home for dinner on time while playing with your friends - it was an integral part of growing up. But then somewhere along the line, amid the school's frenzied expansion, the charm of the clock tower's bells fell silent, perhaps intentionally or through budgetary neglect. It was like running in to an old friend and reminiscing about growing up.

How amazing the connection between our senses and our soul, our memories!

Stellar Flimflam

Just when I think they've gone out of business, there they are on the radio again - the "International Star Registry", offering to let you name a star in honor of a loved one for the unheard of low price of $54 (of course, if you really care to send the very best you can spend $139.00 plus shipping and handling for the ultimate star naming package). True adherents to Barnum's "there's a sucker born every minute", these folks offer to give you a certificate declaring that some obscure star in the heavens is named after you. Of course somewhere in the small print it's stated that no one really will know that it's "your" star - they'd be locked up for fraud if they didn't.

Why should I care? Because as an amateur astronomer, when doing street corner astronomy or outreach, we inevitably come across someone who has purchased a star and wants to see it. We're left with two choices - perpetuate the illusion or break it to them gently. I'm left to clean up the mess. So when the holidays come and these hucksters emerge from the woodwork hawking their modern day snake oil my stomach tightens into a bit of a knot.

Do me a favor - if you know anyone who's even thinking about doing this folly - please enlighten them their $54 really will mean more if donated to a worthwhile charity in the loved one's name rather than purchasing a piece of paper from this outfit.

2007 Resolutions

Time for the annual exercise of self assessment that we've come to know as "New Year's Resolutions"... although for a lot of us it might as well as be April 1st. Why do it? Well I guess because there's that little voice inside urging us to become a better person, and we inately know that we can't judge our success without objectives. So here are some things I'm hoping I can accomplish in 2007 (not necessarily in order of probability or importance!)

1) Get a passport. No, I'm not a big international traveler - quite the contrary. But with the fact that it now requires a passport to even visit Canada I want to have one in the drawer ready to go.

2) Pass another .NET exam. Got to keep staying abreast of the technology, especially given the age discrimination that exists in IT for anyone over 50.

3) Transfer at least one VHS to DVD. We have these family VHS tapes with precious memories lying around. Time to figure out how to get them converted for posterity.

4) Do at least 36 observations in 2007. I've allowed my scope to slide into mild disrepair and inaccessibility due to "lack of time". I know I can not get to starting digital imaging like I would like to but I can certainly carve out the time to get the equipment functional and taking me to inspiring vistas once more.

5) Take a vacation this summer. Last summer ended up being shortchanged by the job changes - can't allow that to occur again this year hopefully!

Now there are lots of other things I could put on the list - painting the living room, straightening the basement, waterproof the porch, etc. But those things, while needed and might happen, are not really inspiring or necessarily gratifying.

Well that's my list - we'll see how I've done come next Dec 31st!