Month: October 2011

Day in brief – 2011-10-20

  • I can't understand people who demand search in their calendar app. My calendar consists of "Pet the cat" repeated every Thursday. Search? #
  • I've tweaked #MySQL on my #VPS so much that it now eats way more memory than it should. Trying to solve with the stock my-medium.cnf . :) #
  • Sometimes I feel that all my friends are freaking alcoholics. But more often I feel that I am the only alcoholic among my friends. #
  • @jppmarketing I have way more respect for what Google does than what most SEO people do. From this perspective reactions seem pathetic. :) #
  • @jppmarketing Google said that they will provide top 1,000 search keywords/phrases via Webmaster Tools. That should sufficient, I think. #
  • @jppmarketing Historic data and segmentation can solved with custom variables, I think. At least partially. #
  • Shared: Matt: Programming and Writing http://t.co/KEOTF9qJ #
  • Shopping is not the worst way to fight boredom, but it's probably the most expensive one. Yesterday's Amazon order has been shipped… #
  • Blogging is my other weapon against boredom. But it annoys other people. Nobody expects Spanish Inquisition and 10 posts a day on my blog. #
  • When I try not to blog too much, I tweet. There must be a reason why they call this microblogging. :) #
  • I favorited a @YouTube video http://t.co/IsgJX7v8 ULTra PRT sustainable transit 2 #
  • I favorited a @YouTube video http://t.co/2KPN9apq Introducing the DROID RAZR by Motorola #
  • Thanks to my blog archives, I know for sure that this is not the first time I have a boring and slow day on October 20 http://t.co/Z4uFpXNt #
  • @photomatt Automattic became domain registrar a year ago. Were there any further developments in that area? http://t.co/ZuP1VrgE #
  • Hands-Only CPR – Create Your Own Hands Symphony http://t.co/GpZm8MQw #
  • @photomatt Did I miss something or you haven't announced it yet? :) #
  • I'm at The Ship Inn w/ @alex_mamchenkov http://t.co/eafny9Rk #
  • I've seen 3 episodes of House's new season so far. It's crap. Same goes for 5 episodes of Two and a half men. Pity. #

What are possible applications of a barometer in a smartphone?

Google and Samsung recently announced a new smartphone – Galaxy Nexus. Among all the bells and whistles there is something that you don’t see that often on a mobile computing device – a barometer. Pretty much each and every technology website mentioned the new piece of hardware, but nobody really explain why it is included and what it is good for.

I’ve searched a web a little for the ideas and realized something. Not only that most people have no idea good a barometer can do in a mobile phone, but too many of them don’t even know what a barometer is. In general, besides the mobile phone. That’s where I thought I’d help them out a bit.

First things first. Here is how Wikipedia defines barometer:

A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. It can measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere by using water, air, or mercury. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Numerous measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis to help find surface troughs, high pressure systems, and frontal boundaries.

With that and some more reading and browsing the Web, I can list the following possible applications of a barometer in a mobile phone:

  • Weather forecasts. While we do have those now even without barometers in our phones, barometers can help the device provide a much more accurate, up to the minute weather forecast. Atmospheric pressure paired with the general forecast for the air can warn of you upcoming rains and such, minutes in advance. Also, what works one way, can work the other way too – hundreds of thousands or even millions of devices with barometers spread across the globe could help distributed data collection on atmospheric pressure and its changes, thus improving weather forecasts for everyone.
  • Atmospheric pressure change warnings. This is somewhat related to the previous point. Many people, especially older ones, and people with a variety of health conditions, are very sensitive to the changes of the atmospheric pressure. Some need to take certain pills, others need to lay down. Now, the mobile phone will be able to warn them slightly in advance.
  • Altitude positioning. Most smartphones these days are equipped with GPS. GPS can tell the altitude as well, but it is not very accurate at it. Barometric sensor can improve that a lot. Practical applications can vary from sports like parachuting and paragliding, through hobbies like remote control airplanes, to navigation and location service inside buildings (which floor am I at?).

What other applications and uses can you think of for a barometer in a mobile device?

Parenting a terminally ill child

New York Times runs a story by a mother who is parenting a terminally ill child. It is, obviously, very sad, but it is also encouraging and inspirational. Whether you are a parent or not, you should read this. You’ll have a glimpse on one more perspective.

How do you parent without a net, without a future, knowing that you will lose your child, bit by torturous bit?

Depressing? Sure. But not without wisdom, not without a profound understanding of the human experience or without hard-won lessons, forged through grief and helplessness and deeply committed love about how to be not just a mother or a father but how to be human.

Parenting advice is, by its nature, future-directed. I know. I read all the parenting magazines. During my pregnancy, I devoured every parenting guide I could find. My husband and I thought about a lot of questions they raised: will breast-feeding enhance his brain function? Will music class improve his cognitive skills? Will the right preschool help him get into the right college? I made lists. I planned and plotted and hoped. Future, future, future.

We never thought about how we might parent a child for whom there is no future.

Via Matt.