Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Bad Skillz

Steve Curtis

Wed, 12 Sept 2007 20:56:09 +1200

Regarding the deaths coming out of Iraq, with different numbers from the Pentagon and other sources.
Apparently the US counts a bullet through the front of the head as "criminal" and not counted as a "sectarian" killing. That requires a bullet through the back of the head.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090502466.html?hpid=topnews
tip :Dailykos…

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 23:15:37 +1200

Heh, love NRT's description of bloggers "sad bastard at computer keyboard picks nose, has opinion". Can't say that MSM opinion seems much more deep than that, ...

Mind you, is it sadder to sit at the keyboard picking your nose and not having an opinion? I don't think there's much…

100 Word

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 20:43:40 +1200

Heh, love NRT's description of bloggers "sad bastard at computer keyboard picks nose, has opinion".
dunno how in the hell he got a webcam in my office....

He's looking through your window (hope for his sake you were wearing pants)!

Ben Austin

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 19:32:12 +1200

There's a good test of any London Underground automated map – ask it how to get from Chancery Lane to Farringdon. They're about 5 minutes walk apart but can only be reached by tube through three changes of train.

I can verify that, I just this and the…

Felix

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 19:00:45 +1200

I don't recommend walking down the middle of the road as maxx suggests.

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 14:02:48 +1200

Robyn, I'm only guessing, of course.

Leigh, the angry truck drivers all wanted a piece of me until they saw me. Then they wanted someone bigger to have a piece of me for them. But when I put maps in their hands every day they calmed down a lot, except…

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 13:57:08 +1200

Tom, keep at it. It'll be useful, even if it's never perfect. Human directions and guesses are certainly no less prone to error.

I feel your pain on the data capture. I spent 4 weeks on my hands and knees labelling and measuring the first customer's stuff (hence the data…

Che Tibby

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 13:24:02 +1200

Heh, love NRT's description of bloggers "sad bastard at computer keyboard picks nose, has opinion".

dunno how in the hell he got a webcam in my office....

Tom Beard

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 13:13:18 +1200

I've been working on some routing software, and while the core algorithms (Dijkstra, A* etc) are well-known and easy to implement, it's data capture that makes it a really curly task if you want to make it as accurate as possible.

For driving, you'd have to use speed limit and…

Leigh Kennaway

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 13:05:42 +1200

Ben – did you use your own software to plot an escape route from the hordes of angry truck drivers? Was it refined enough to select a route that a Kenworth could not access??

Robyn Gallagher

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 13:01:44 +1200

Robyn, I'll bet your walking route was by roads, and there wasn't one going the way that really made sense, it was a footpath?

The Maxx site does actually seem to pick its walking routes to include places pedestrians can go but cars can't.

For example, when I figured out…

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 12:26:16 +1200

Paul, you may find they are not the same place as far as the software is concerned. Britomart Place is a street with 2 ends, for starters. It's a small difference but does the computer know that?

If you think that's bad, I can tell you I made a much…

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 12:15:57 +1200

I used to write software to plan routes for milk collection. It's a damned hard job, so I'm always interested when I see other commercial examples. Working out best paths from point to point is part of it, a much easier and better solved problem, but still not without difficulties…

Paul Rose

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 12:13:45 +1200

Thanks Ben. When I walk I do go through the park. As a dedicated user of public transport I do find the MAXX site really clunky. I needed to get a train to Henderson yesterday, so I entered "Britomart" as my starting point and "Henderson" as my destination. I was…

Robyn Gallagher

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 11:45:18 +1200

Actually, I was let down once by Maxx when I tried to figure out how to get to Sylvia Park.

The bus route there seemed fairly straightforward, but at the end bus stop it marked out a walking route that seemed to direct me around a block, almost to where…

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:35:13 +1200

There's a good test of any London Underground automated map – ask it how to get from Chancery Lane to Farringdon. They're about 5 minutes walk apart but can only be reached by tube through three changes of train.

On the alleged Chinese hacking, Helen Clark was rightly nonchalant on…

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:32:57 +1200

There's another option again, which is actually a slightly shorter distance. At the end of Jervois Road there are stairs down to Cox's Creek. Less car fumes to inhale that way, and a better view. I'm curious why their route takes a sharp left off Westend Road up quite a…

Leigh Kennaway

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:26:05 +1200

That's a nice walk, and one I've enjoyed a number of times. Even nicer if you detour off that route and walk through Bayfield Reserve, Jaggers Bush and Seddon Fields.

The blue dots stop at the Garnet Rd shops – did Paul run out of steam at the Meola Kitchen,…

Brent Jackson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:17:29 +1200

Thanks for the heads up on Riverbend.

And also on the netdisaster site (the chainsaw option is way cool ...).

I am not sure why the Maxx map makes you giggle, unless its because they have a 20 minute walk timed to take 43 minutes. But the route is the…

Kirsten Brethouwer

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:13:56 +1200

Last year we tried to get Maxx to show us how to get to Auckland Airport by public transport from downtown. It suggested you walk from Onehunga (with the precise distance in metres!)..
that was the ONLY option.

they seem to have remedied that now.. phew!

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:10:23 +1200

Heh, love NRT's description of bloggers "sad bastard at computer keyboard picks nose, has opinion". Can't say that MSM opinion seems much more deep than that, but their actual news does have a bit of 'research' behind it. Which pretty much appears to me to be 'they used Google News…

Robyn Gallagher

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 10:04:24 +1200

Yes, that's right, it was the walk, you fat lazy bastard option.

I don't know if it's officially meant to be used for generating walking routes, but I find that function of the Maxx route planner to be quite useful.

Especially in Auckland where there's usually a volcano or a…

Craig Ranapia

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 09:54:49 +1200

The Dominion Post's story about the hacking of New Zealand government computer systems — resulting, it appears, in actual theft of sensitive information — is a good scoop.

Also rather interesting to see the context – an interview with Security Intelligence Service director Warren Tucker ! Let's just hope that…

BenWilson

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 09:49:52 +1200

I remember Klaw, when he was resurrected by Dr Doom in the first Secret Wars. 1984 I think. Dr Doom dissected him and used him as a weapon against the Beyonder and stole his beyond-infinite power, which he promptly used to kill all the Marvel Superheroes in one blast.

But…

Paul Brislen

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 09:23:39 +1200

Public Address

Tue, 11 Sept 2007 09:23:39 +1200

Discussion from blog post.