I've been using my Zaurus SL-5600 primarily as a basic PDA for the past few years. While it's a pretty capable Linux machine as well, the ergonomics didn't work well enough for me to encourage much more than that. The slide out keyboard is cool, and works well enough for PIM applications, but is sometimes awkward. In contrast, my new SL-C3200 is much more natural for me. It's good enough for me to take real notes on, something I generally avoided with the SL-5600.

I always liked the clamshell ergos of my old HP 100 Lx better than any of the tablet PDAs that I've tried. The SL-C3200 display does swivel around to cover the keyboard to convert to a tablet form factor, for those who prefer that, but I don't expect to use it much other than reading e-books and such. Sharp got the dimensions just about perfect for a pocket computer. The biggest flaw in the physical layout is the compact flash port on the right side. It should be in back, as a Wi-Fi or Ethernet card installed in this makes typing awkward.

I'm very happy with the SL-C3200 hardware. I would prefer Bluetooth instead of the IR and built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet, but those things are not show stoppers for me.

Jim Benson is planning to give Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic some competition in the space tourism business. He's completed an initial round of financing and has asked his former company SpaceDev for a quote on several of their Dreamchaser spacecraft. Benson's company is definitely a dark horse in this race, and I wish him luck.

I got a new toy today. My Zaurus SL-5600 is getting is getting a bit long in tooth and I haven't taken to the pocket briefcase, so I've splurged on a new Zaurus SL-C3200. While some may think that it's just a PDA, it has the potential be a true pocket computer.

I love the keyboard and display, and the 6 GB disc drive is certainly roomy enough. Sharp's Japanese language software has been about 95% Anglicized, so it's useful, if not ideal. I'll play with it a while before deciding if I want to install an alternative software stack like OpenZaurus.

Like Glen Reynolds, I'm unconvinced that human activities are a significant contributor to global warming, but I concede that the could be. Given that there is at least a potential risk, it make since to consider alternatives to burning carbon compounds to make electricity. Since it doesn't look like solar and wind power can meet our needs any time soon, nuclear power deserves a fresh look.

Nuclear power has gotten a bad rap, but despite popular hysteria on the subject, has proved to be clean, safe, and economic. New pebble-bed reactors are even better than legacy designs and should be included in our energy portfolio.

pyGTD is a small command line program for implementing David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology. As the name implies, it's written in Python. It provides a bare bones approach based upon text files for your projects that you manage with any text editor. When run, pyGTD scans the project files and generates a todo.txt file with the next action for each project.

VTEC, Variable Timing Engine Control, is Honda's engine management technology for optimizing performance by controlling valve timing and duration, fuel injection, etc. Honda has announced an advanced VTEC engine that produces more torque, lower emissions, and better economy than the current offering. With any luck, they'll put it in a new lighter weight S2000. I love the engine in my 2001 S2000, but it could use more low end torque, and being cleaner and more efficient would be a nice bonus.

Fall came suddenly to Lyons. A cold front came through and the leaves began turning just in time for the Autumn Equinox. It's a brisk, sunny day with a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains. We need to get some chores done in the yard while the weather holds.

John Holland invented Genetic Algorithms or GAs which solve problems using the evolutionary mechanisms of crossover, mutation, and selection. In Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity he explores how these mechanisms lead simple adaptive systems develop into Complex Adaptive Systems. This leads to the beginnings of a general theory of complex systems applicable to ecology, epidemiology, economics, or other complex adaptive systems.

Stackless Python 2.5 is out just after the Python 2.5 release. This Python extension offers lightweight threads and communication channels for efficient and robust concurrent programming in Python.

I've been playing with Python 2.5 and I like it. Generators have been enhanced to enable true coroutines. It promises to be faster and more reliable, has better memory management, and exceptions are new style classes. SimPy 1.7.1 and NumPy 1.0rc1 are working with it for me in preliminary testing.

We camped just outside of Estes Park this weekend. We did some light hiking and checked out the arts fair. Our campsite was visited by a small herd of deer and we heard a couple of elk bugling.

NASA is testing Linux powered robots in the Arizona desert. They certainly have some cool projects.

The Rocket Racing League is starting to stretch it's wings. The competition will demonstrate routine operation and rapid servicing of kerosene/LOX powered rocket planes. A small thing, perhaps, but it's likely to encourage technology and processes that will be useful for future space efforts. It should be fun too.

Something old, something new ...

I have mixed feelings about the Orion design approach. It's good to see a shuttle replacement, but I think we can do much better than an Apollo based design.

On that September 11 five years ago I was on my way to work on a beautiful, sunny, Oklahoma morning with the top down and at peace with the world. Then the radio news announced the first crash of an airliner into the the World Trade Center, and my blood ran cold. It could have been an accident, but I feared that it wasn't. My fears were shortly confirmed when a second airliner hit the other tower of the WTC, and another hit the Pentagon. We were in a terrible war with shadowy forces.

We're in the middle of another Long War. We had tried to brush off the earlier attack on the WTC, the bombing of Marine barracks in Lebanon, and the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, but it seems that the enemy is intent on upping the ante. That day was a wakeup call, but some in the west still believe that they can ignore the danger.

OPFOR remembers another September 11th, five centuries ago. We need to show the same resolve as the Knights and people of Malta.

Audi is putting a derivative of its Le Mans diesel in the Q7. If they import this to the US, it would make a great tow vehicle for the camper.

Gulf of Mexico, that is. The discovery of up to 15 billion barrels of new oil in the Gulf of Mexico is good news indeed. It adds downward pressure to the price of oil and will stimulate the production of more deep sea oil rigs. Advanced deep drilling technology could eventually enable the construction of geothermal power plants where we need them for a long term power solution.

Dune: Battle of Corrin is the third volume of the prequel to Dune. I enjoyed the glimpses it provides into the origins of the major players in Dune.

It's good to be back home in Colorado after visiting family in Houston. Mostly hot and humid, as usual, but we had a couple of really pleasant days. A lot of visiting, a little work, and a little sailing.