Distracting Website #3

It would seem that Google has been at it again. For those of you who are interested in reading parking signs in San Francisco, or browsing lunch menus in New York City, Google Maps now includes a feature called Street View. Street View allows users to tour streetscapes and see 360° images of five American cities. (San Francisco, New York City, Las Vegas, Denver, and Miami.) Google. Is there anything they can’t do?

Google | Street View

More to come soon.

Singularly Blogworthy?

Long time no blog. While the past week has been anything but slow, it has not been filled with events that I would consider to be singularly blogworthy. (“Singularly blogworthy.” You read it here first.) A short cumulative update, however, would seem to be in order. Work, work, work. First game of the season with “Hot Disc Charge.” Dim sum. Frisbee. Absolutely perfect evening running weather. Electric guitar. More electric guitar. “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” “Year Zero.” “Zaireeka.” Council meeting. Dalton McGuinty and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the MaRS building. Work. And now, sleep.

More to come soon.

Mark Lutz & David Ascher :: Learning Python

“Learning Python,” by Mark Lutz and David Ascher, is successful not only as an introduction to the Python programming language, but also as a model of what every introductory programming text should be. Accessible and relevant to absolute beginners and expert programmers alike, “Learning Python” quickly accelerates the reader from simple ‘hello world’ examples, through the core language, and towards advanced features, libraries, and tools.

Clear and concise, “Learning Python” proceeds at a pace that allows for adequate coverage of difficult programming concepts, while not overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details. Additionally, Lutz and Ascher’s tone, often light and sometimes conversational, results in an enjoyable reading experience. Examples are utilized in order to illustrate key concepts, and are, for the most part, simple enough to be read inline with the primary text. Exercises are deferred to the conclusion of each section, where they may incorporate multiple concepts and broader contexts. Exercises, however, are not prohibitively complex, and example solutions are provided to assist the reader. In addition to examples and exercises, the authors provide common coding ‘gotchas’ and ‘why you will care’ blocks, to provide assistance and context for difficult concepts.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of Lutz and Ascher, a small number of sections pertaining to difficult topics remain confusing. These sections, however, are often noted as such, and multiple explanations are given at different levels of abstraction. Perhaps the greatest improvement to the text could be made through the addition of a general reference section. This would greatly simplify the use of the text as a basic reference in addition to an introductory guide.

Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, “Learning Python” is a fantastically written and well-organized introduction to the Python programming language. In fact, “Learning Python” is a fantastically written and well-organized introduction to programming in general. Given its pronounced successes, one must wonder, could “Learning Python’s” authors be persuaded to write texts in other subject areas? Perhaps quantum mechanics? Or electromagnetics?

Strange News from Another Star

I received some sad news this morning, and it has been slowly sinking in all day long. A few years back, I spent my summers working for P.R. Engineering Limited, a small company that specialized in the manufacturing and refurbishment of rock crushers for mining applications. This past Thursday, Joe and Frank Grieco, co-owners and managers of P.R. Engineering Limited, were both killed when their small plane crashed in a wooded area in western New York. Both Frank and Joe were extraordinary people. They will be missed greatly by their families, friends, acquaintances, and employees.

More to come soon.

The Nightwatchman @ The Horseshoe Tavern

Better. Than. Expected. Mediocre opening act. Fantastic sound. Great performance. Broken string. Harmonicas. “Canada’s most important exports are universal health care and the Arcade Fire.” Stage presence. Skipped encore formalities. Covers of “This Land is Our Land” and “Guerilla Radio.” The Nightwatchman @ The Horseshoe Tavern.

More to come soon.

The Nightwatchman :: One Man Revolution

Tom Morello is The Nightwatchman. Tom Morello is also the guitarist behind four Rage Against the Machine and three Audioslave albums. As The Nightwatchman, Morello discards his Telecaster and JCM800 in favor of an acoustic guitar and a microphone. Turbulent riffs and disjoint solos become rhythmic strumming and laid back fingerpicking. However, “you don’t gotta be loud, to be as heavy as s***.” “One Man Revolution” is, in a sense, more reminiscent of such folk legends as Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, than of Morello’s hard rock background. Morello sings in a surprising baritone, and his guitar work is simple but spot on. His lyrics are occasionally poetic, but more often than not, blunt. (“OMR” is, after all, an album about oppression, war, injustice, and revolution.) While effectively conveying Morello’s motives and message, such bluntness can be detrimental to the album’s general aesthetic. For this, I give “One Man Revolution” 5 / 10 tofu hotdogs, and recommend it mainly to those of you who are either dedicated Rage Against the Machine fans, or protest rock kids. “If you take a step towards freedom, it’ll take two steps towards you.”

More to come soon.

The Flaming Lips :: At War with the Mystics

Admittedly, I am a relative newcomer to the music of the Flaming Lips; I was introduced at “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” and my collection only spans as far back as “Zaireeka.” “At War with the Mystics,” however, makes a welcome addition to this collection, and is arguably the most accessible of the Flaming Lips’ recent offerings. Brimming with bleeps, squeaks, fuzzed out bass, and vocal harmonies, “AWwtM” oscillates between being ominous and quirky, profound and superficial. It is, however, this oscillation that makes “AWwtM” so very accessible. Individual songs resonate with unique individual qualities, and the album in no way feels homogeneous, untextured, or dull. While many songs could easily stand alone as singles, their contributions to the album form a picture that is both colorful and complete.

Highlights include; “Free Radicals,” which conjures images of Wayne Coyne wrestling with a Gibson SG double neck guitar, “The W.A.N.D.,” with its fuzzed out bass and “we got the power now, mother******, that’s where it belongs,” “Pompeii am Götterdämmerung,” a bass driven galloping melody about a young couple about to leap into a volcano, and “Mr. Ambulance Driver,” a song about how our lives are “strangely our own.” Downsides are few, but include; uninspired lyrics in “Haven’t got a Clue” and a well recorded but unimaginative cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (To be fair, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is not a part of the album, but is packaged as bonus material.)

“At War with the Mystics” serves both as a fantastic addition to the Flaming Lips’ catalogue, and as an accesible introduction for those new to the music of the Flaming Lips. The music is as vibrant and colorful as the artwork, and is at times both profound and quirky. For lack of a better rating system, I give “At War with the Mystics” 8 / 10 Shanghai dumplings, and recommend it to anybody interested in, or interested in becoming interested in, the Flaming Lips. “The stars are so big. I am so small. Do I stand a chance?”

More to come soon.

Are We There Yet?

So, today at 2:19 AM, I submitted what should be the last component of my Master of Engineering degree. The moment felt a little anticlimactic, there were no fireworks or marching bands, no streamers or balloons, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I am done. Done, done, done. Anyhow, I must apologize to everybody for disappearing these past few weeks. I have been spending my hours either working for “the company,” out of town, or searching for keys in an unlit field late at night. However, I have not forgotten about ROCKET SOUP 2.0. Content will resume, following sleep.

More to come soon.