Bulb info

Another excellent site regarding bulbs and their sizes that I picked off from brickbroad.

http://www.gelighting.com/na/business_lighting/education_resources/literature_library/catalogs/mini_sealed_beam_catalog/

And this one too

http://www.normanlamps.com/

Path of an Ipod Nano

1. SHENZHEN, CN
2. ANCHORAGE, AK, US
3. LOUISVILLE, KY, US
4. PHILADELPHIA, PA, US
5. LINTHICUM, MD, US
6. BALTIMORE, MD, US
7. GAITHERSBURG, MD, US

This is the path that an ipod took to reach me once I ordered it from Apple. Pretty amazing. It was shipped via UPS. The first 3 might be common to all US customers because I believe there is a core UPS hub in Louisville, KY. From there on it is routed to other hubs within the country for region specific delivery.

Video editing prereqs

http://www.videoguys.com/started.html

Minimimum system requirements are listed here

http://www.videoguys.com/system.htm

Remote debugging with VC++ .NET 2003

The main application is to execute on a machine R and the development environment is on machine H.

H(hh.hh.hh.hh) <---- Remote Debug ---> R(rr.rr.rr.rr)

The following configuration needs to be done to enable debugging the app remotely.
It is assumed that VC++ .NET 2003 has been installed on both machines.

=== Remote(R) machine configuration ===

Login as administrator.

Goto Start--> Administrative Tools --> Computer Management. A window pops up.

Goto ComputerManagement(Local)-->System Tools-->Local users and groups-->Users
Right click and click the "New User" button. Enter username as the same one that is being used on the H machine. i.e lets says user jdoe on machine H is using his/her VC++ 2003 IDE to debug the app on R then we have to create a jdoe user on R. The password needn't be the same though. Enter the user name and password in the boxes. Uncheck "User must change password at next logon" box and check "password never expires". Hit the Create button. The user jdoe will have been created.

Goto ComputerManagement(Local)-->System Tools-->Local users and groups-->Groups

Click on Administrators. Then click Add. In the "Enter the object names to select" type in jdoe or whatever username we have created above. Then click the ok button. Do the same for the "Remote Desktop users" and "Debugger users" groups.

Run the Visual C++ Remote Debugger as follows.
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Common7\Packages\Debugger\msvcmon.exe" -tcpip

A shortcut can be created for the above command on the desktop for convenience.

=== Host(H) machine configuration ===
Create a shared folder on H as follows

subst F: \\rr.rr.rr.rr\C$

In the IDE goto Project-->Properties. Set the values as follows

Configuration

Menu	Field	Value
Configuration properties--> General	OutputDirectory	F:\appdir
Configuration properties--> Linker-->General	OutputFile	F:\app\app.exe
Configuration properties--> Linker-->Debugging	Generate Program database file	F:\app\app.pdb
Configuration properties--> Debugging	Command Arguments	-debug
Configuration properties--> Debugging	Debugger Type	Native Only
Configuration properties--> Debugging	Connection	Remote via TCP/IP (Native only)
Configuration properties--> Debugging	Remote Machine	rr.rr.rr.rr
Configuration properties--> Debugging	Remote command	c:\app\app.exe

After the remote debugger app is run on R start the IDE on H and Goto menu Debug-->Start. See that the app launches on the remote machine.

Worth Winning(1989)

This is a romantic comedy starring Mark Harmon and Madeleine Stowe. Mark Harmon stars as TV anchorman Taylor Worth who is bet by a friend that he cannot make 3 women want to marry him at the same time. As he goes about the bet he falls in love with one of the women(Stowe). Then of course all three of them find out and make his life miserable. It struck me sometime this morning that the title may be a play on the Worth name in that it may be
1. About Worth(Taylor) winning the bet
2. About whether the woman Taylor falls in love with is worth winning inspite of her disgust for him about the bet
The music soundtrack is typical 80s and is brilliant.

Redemption and the Death Penalty

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4520512.stm

Sabrina(1954)

"Democracy can be a wickedly unfair thing Sabrina. Nobody poor was ever called democratic for marrying someone rich"
So says a Chauffeur to his daughter, who is in love with the man's master. The 1954 version of this movie is simply brilliant compared to the 1995 one. There is a sophistication and superb elegance with which all characters play their parts. And of course being black and white add its own richness. Other excellent quotes from the movie can be found here. It was astounded to learn that Audrey Hepburn was 24 when she acted in this movie.

Google and its email system

When Google released its email service to the public(over a year ago) there was(and maybe still is) speculation that its particular way of signing up people only by invitation was a way for the company to generate interest in the service. i.e if one chap has a google email account he can send invitations to a limited number(5 or 6) of people to sign up, and those people can invite their friends and so on. The strategy, no doubt, was a success since gmail accounts are among the most coveted, for those who dont have it. Some days ago it struck me that there might be another logic behind google's move. There is a theory that every person in the world is "connected" to every other person my atmost 5(or 7) people. i.e if you pick 5(or 7) of yours friends and then they pick 5(or 7) of their friends and if the process is continued, then you might "reach" all the known people in the world. I dont know how far this theory is true but it seems to me that google may have wanted to test this or believing in it relied upon it.

Some interesting sites that use the Google Maps API

http://www.wildindia.org/birds/
http://www.jstott.me.uk/gmapsgeotools/placefinder.php

AC's blog

http://lenscrafter.blogspot.com
http://www.pbase.com/ace

Some excellent essays by George Orwell

An analysis by Orwell of Tolstoy's criticsm of Shakespeare and also his thoughts on Gandhi.

Pioneer KEH 4800

Specs can be found at the pioneer website.

The poem by W.H. Auden

I was watching Four Weddings and a Funeral last night and what struck me particularly this time around was the poem recited during the funeral. Apparently the name of the poem is Stop all the Clocks by W.H.Auden. I found the poem on another site and have listed it below.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone

W. H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

The Temple

It was early in the morning and the priests had just begun cleaning the area around the idols. There was no one else around. How quiet is was, unlike on weekends when the crowds throng the place and the chatter never ends. A priest was chanting near an idol some verses that are read in the mornings. The walls echoed his chantings and for a moment, until the mind became aware of it, one was filled with its vibrations.

Serendipity

The meaning of the word Serendipity is of course explained in the movie but one is apt to forget it after the movie ends as one is not lucky enough to encounter such fortunate instances in real life. From the dictionary

ser·en·dip·i·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (srn-dp-t)
n. pl. ser·en·dip·i·ties

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

The movie by far is a stretch of such fortunate accidents but goes slightly further. It was one of these movies that was released during the holiday season and sort of remained there. The utterly ridiculous happen and they are called miracles, fate and the like. Not even a "feel good" movie than anything else. One can watch it, I suppose, if not for anything else, just for the thrill of watching a movie for the first time or if one likes Kate Beckinsale.

Ben Hur

One of the things that seems to strike people when they see this movie is the depiction of Christ. The face of the Saviour isn't shown anywhere in the movie but His presence is depicted movingly in atleast one place when He gives water to the thirsty Judah Ben Hur even though the Roman soldiers have forbidden anyone to do this. One of the Roman soldiers notices this and come forward to strike the man and then Christ stands up to face him. Something about this person makes the soldier stop in his tracks. The face of the Christ is not shown to the viewers, only the back of His head. We are all too familiar with the stereotype, a man with smooth flowing hair, which is none too long and of course there is an organ playing in the background somewhere when he is present. I remember this scene particularly when I watched the movie many many years ago and I was deeply moved by it now and I was then.

The Matrix

I think the greatness about some movies lies in their sensitivity, in detail and purpose. The Matrix Trilogy can be classified under the same. There is nothing in the movie that is not there for a reason and everything that happens in the movie "fits". The philosophy "behind" the movie has, of course, been the subject of great discussion as can be seen by a number of web sites that have discussion forums on the topic. I was listening to NPR many months ago on the topic and was struck by a comment that the Matrix Trilogy were actually a culmination of public opinion over the past decade or so to have more religious feeling in movies.

Conservative philosophy in the US

I dont know how people who consider themselves conservative cannot sense the contradiction in their positions on abortion and the death penalty. If one feels that abortion should be banned no matter one would have thought that the same people wouldn't be proponents of the death penalty no matter what. However this doesn't appear to be the case. The conservative stand on birth control, abortion and the death penalty can be squared only if one sees that conservative people seem to be more driven by a distaste of promiscuity rather than on genuine concern for human life. It looks as though the whole moral "Christian" argument against abortion was brought in as an after-thought.

Bulb guide for car

This site lists the bulb that are used in cars. Searchable by model/year.

OBD-II tool

Apparently there is a OBD-II to RS-232 adapter and also software to view this on a PC. I got this from a post on saabnet.

How torque wrenches work

A decent soul on saabnet posted this http://home.jtan.com/~joe/KIAT/kiat_3.htm

Harpers Ferry

The Harpers Ferry National park is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah rivers. It is also the intersection of three states, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The photos were taken with a phone camera from the Maryland Heights trail just before sunset.

On the way back down, just as the sun was setting, the tall trees were swaying in the light breeze and seemed to be whispering. If only we could understand what they were saying. The small town still retains some of the "olden days" charm for at dusk there was nowhere an electric light to be seen but in the distance(from the trails).


Presently we came across a rock by the side of the Potomac and sat there for some time absorbing the scene. The waters flowing by, the train moving across the bridge slowly and the light in the distance all seemed to come together into the sacredness of the sunset.

Movie: How I got into College

The movie with that name, along with others, captures, to me, the essence of the 80's in the US. The music soundtrack is simply brilliant. A list containing the name of the songs can be found here.

Views of Catoctin

The Catoctin Mountain Park is a national park situated in Maryland just north of Frederick. From MD-77 Cat rock is a 3 mile hike(both ways) with some steep climbs initially. Nothing too difficult. Some views from that trail.

Saab dashboard mod

This person is a very brave soul. He appears to have modded his Saab dashboard and put a computer in the car to monitor various stuff.

Low coolant indicator light

I finally mustered the courage, and the will, to hook up a coolant level sensor for my 92 940. The idea is that when the coolant level is low there is an indicator on the dash which lights up to warn the driver. Apparently some years for the 940 had this indicator panel setup already. All that was needed was a bulb for that panel and the wiring to the coolant sensor. The excellent installation instructions for the same can be found here on the brickboard. I was expecting something like the indicator as depicted on that website, a fan and a radiator with less fluid. What I got instead is shown below and caught me completely by surprise.


It looks pretty cool though.

Control panel lights 940

The control panel lights on the 940 use a 12V 1.2W bulb with volvo part no 1363149-4. Called the local volvo dealer. He says that the bulb costs $10.32 a piece. There are atleast 3 such lights on the control panel. The light is distributed to different controls by means of an optical guide. A picture of these bulbs can be found here .

Volvo technical info

Visit this site for all volvo technical manuals. They are from volvo directly and so beat the pants out of all other manuals. Expensive though!!!! The other best place to get volvo help is on the excellent site http://www.brickboard.com

Installing a programmable thermostat

My previous "programmable" thermostat had the problem of not turning off the heat even when the set temperature was reached. So in the middle of the night in the winter the house would feel almost suffocating with the heat with temperature exceeding 80F when the set temp was around 72-74F. A quick look at the thermostat section at Home depot showed me that one could get a very good programmable thermostat for around 100 bucks. Not willing to risk installing the thing myself I thought I could get my warranty company(HMS) to get it replaced(after deductible $100). Well I put in the call and an "expert" from a Baltimore based heating company made a visit. After checking with his instruments at the base unit etc he concluded that the thermostat was bad. Installing a new programmble one would cost $250 of which the warrant company would only pay $75!!!! Out of that $250, $150 was for the part and $100 was for the labor. When I insisted that one could get a very decent thermostat for <$100 at Home Depot the lady at the heating company coolly told me install it myself if that was the case. After calling the warranty company I also found out that if I were to install it myself the warranty company would cover my expenses up to $94. Not a bad deal so I decided to dive into installing the thing myself. Taking off the cover plate of the thermostat reveals the following wiring.

A quick search on google gave me this useful website. The only problem was I couldn't find the "C'" which was the transformer common. A call to the gentleman listed on that site got me the valuable info that 'X' on this diagram was actually the 'C' common. This particular gentleman praised the Hunter thermostats so much that I went and got one from Lowes for around $85. It was cheaper than the best Honeywell theremostats($100) and had more features than it. It is the Hunter 44760 (auto temp heat pump thermostat) with 7 day programmable interface. It also has this neat feature where it changes between heating and cooling mode with change of seasons. Once I got that it was a simple matter mapping the symbols for the Hunter thermostat to my old one. The following are the symbols for the Hunter Thermostat from the manual

1. R - 24AC supply
2. Y1 - Compressor Stage 1
3. W2 - Auxiliary heating
4. E - Emergency heating
5. O - Reversing valve(cooling mode)
6. B - Reversing valve(heating mode)
7. G - Fan
8. L - System monitor
9. C - 24 AC common

Mapping the old terminals to new one was straight forward except for the "C" and that info was given by the the gentleman mentioned above who said that "X" was the ground which is equivalent to "C'. That was enough for me to get started. Actually the manual gives a table of Hunter symbol mapping to the terminal mapping of other systems. So I didn't need the guy's help after all. With that I was able to get started with some reasonable confidence. I did have a problem with the length of the wires. Some of them were not sufficient to cover the length to the new thermo(and of course I broke some by mistake). Some new wire and electrical tape did the job. The new thermostat now works like a charm.


Note: I am not a certified heat pump expert or installer. The knowledge provided is for informational purposes only. Standard disclaimers apply. HVAC Mechanic seems to a decent website for posing questions regarding heating/cooling units.

Volvo 940 review and specs

http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2115/

Some decent online shops for volvo/saab parts

FCPGroton
eEuroparts
IPDUsa
SwedishEngineering
Taliaferro

Tirerack is a very good source for tires.

SAAB WIS

The SAAB Workshop Information System(WIS) on CD has information about saab servicing. Not to be confused with the parts manual.

Volvo S70 and V70

This review has specs about S70 and V70s. Most of the info below is from there

S70 ~ FWD
V70 ~ FWD/AWD

Both have dual front and side airbags standard
Body styles for both - Base, GL, GLT, T5
'R' is only for the wagon. XC serves as alternate to SUVs

All are 5 cylinder engines

Base and GLT have 2.4L engine
Base ~ 168HP
GLT ~ 190HP (base + turbo )

T5 & R have 2.3L engine
T5 ~ 236HP
2000- V70R ~ 247HP
2000+ V70 R ~ 261HP

Base and T5 have 4 speed auto or 5 speed manual all others are automatic only.
TRACS std on AWD wagons

A brilliant article on US state schools reform

This article by Harold Evans in his "A Point of View" column for the BBC.

Sony VAIO FX170 2001-2005 R.I.P

On 07/24/2005 my sony laptop caught fire when its internal battery exploded. I was using it and just put it down on the sofa to wash my hands upstairs when within a minute or so the incident occurred. Lucky escape for me but it kind of destroyed my sofa and part of the bamboo flooring.


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