Today was voting day in the 2008 Canadian Federal Election. I just got back from voting, and thankfully the polling station was nearby (just as with the Ontario Provincial Election last year), being only a five-minute walk away from my building.

I headed over there right after work and was surprised to see that the polling station was not busy at all. It was in the gymnasium of a secondary school and I was the only person voting at the time. (Though I did see people coming in on my way out) Perhaps this was to be expected, as Belleville is a community with quite a few retirees who probably voted earlier in the day.

The staff were quite courteous and made the process as simple as possible, which is especially important for older voters. I’m quite thankful to have Elections Canada overseeing the vote in Canada, and I just can’t imagine why they don’t have such standards in the US, which undoubtedly contributed to the controversy surrounding the 2000 Presidential elections.

This election has also been one with a great presence on the Internet, much to my liking. The Internet is already a place that many turn to for their daily fix of news, information and commentary. Many, such as myself, are already using it as their prime source of news, having grown tired of traditional media. Even my Mom, a self-described computer-illiterate, has taken to using YouTube for elections updates, albeit through the CBC Channel.

Speaking of the CBC, their coverage has been pretty decent, but more importantly, they’ve launched a massive effort to get local with their elections coverage. They’ve nicely put together a page with all the ridings, each listing the riding’s profile, the candidates’ profiles, the 2006 election results and a message board, which they mistakenly describe as a “blog”.

It’s a step in the right direction, but could stand to be more interactive and even more local. For example, a dedicated reporter for each riding could update a real blog about the issues for that riding. A calendar could also provide details about upcoming events, such as candidates’ debates. Of course, all of this information is already available online, but aggregating it could be of some value. People want web sites and services to be local, offering information that’s directly relevant to them and their community, and no where is this more important than during elections.

I actually have not been doing any strict “marathon training” per se, but have just been running my regular schedule for most of the summer, which consists of a 10K run three times a week. I usually run it at a relatively quick pace (for me), finishing it in around 41-42 minutes.

I only learned about this marathon two weeks ago from a co-worker. Since I’d run 20K before with relative ease, I decided that I’d try the full marathon: I knew I could do a half-marathon but didn’t know if I could do a full. Plus, if I failed, I had an excuse to fall back on: I simply didn’t train hard enough. (I like making excuses )

After signing up I decided that I’d have to at least see if I could run 30K; I went for such a run (at a much slower pace than normal) last Tuesday and didn’t have too much trouble except for some expected soreness. If I wasn’t able to complete that run, I think I’d have stepped-down to the half-marathon.

I woke up early this morning and went for a 20K run. It was cool and so the run was also quite easy. I’m starting to feel pumped and upbeat for the marathon, but now I’m worried that I’m getting overconfident. I talked again to my co-worker who gave me a link to Hal Higdon’s marathon training guide, which he himself was using. I’m trying to “slip into” the “Novice 1″ schedule right now and am starting my “taper” to give my body some rest.

I still have some unknowns. First of all, I’ve never ran this distance before. Secondly, the marathon starts at 8 AM but I’ll probably have to get up around 5 AM to get ready properly - this is far earlier than I’ve gotten up on a Sunday in more time than I can remember. Lastly, if the weather is hot and humid on that day, I think I’ll have serious trouble finishing.

Nevertheless, I remain optimistic. If I can complete the marathon, that’ll be one of my life’s goals accomplished!

However, it was a project that I intended to learn from, and in that regard, I think I’ve succeeded - and that’s really what I want to continue doing for the rest of my life. Furthermore, while the project was an exercise in improving my web and software development skills, the end result will also be something that I will actually use myself - not just some pointless academic exercise. Another nice effect was the experience of seeing a self-directed project come to fruition over the last few months - albeit at a slow rate, usually only several hours per week, but nonetheless I’ve improved my self-discipline as a result.

I will say that you can get somewhat of an idea of what this site will be about by browsing through some of my previous posts. But, that’s all I’m going to say at this point.

With the recent rumours that Beatles representatives met with both the makers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero to discuss the possibility of a Beatles-themed game, I’ve been more than a little excited at the prospects of rocking out to these tunes. (See more coverage at Wired and the original FT article)

Whatever the outcome, it could be a deciding factor in what console (if any) I decide to buy. I’m already feeling the pain of no DLC for the Wii version of Rock Band, which is putting doubts into my mind as to whether I should have bought the Wii version.

With that said, here’s a list of the top 10 songs (in no particular order) I’d like to see in any Beatles-themed game or available for DLC for an existing game like Rock Band. (Top 10 list idea shamelessly taken from the Wired article and others)

1. Rain
2. One After 909
3. Revolution 1
4. Day Tripper
5. Here Comes The Sun
6. Drive My Car
7. What You’re Doing
8. I Wanna Be Your Man
9. A Hard Day’s Night
10. Helter Skelter

Those would provide a good all-around experience for all the instruments in a Rock Band-like game. Actually, those are just the first 10 that came to mind while browsing through my play list. I actually just want all of the Beatles songs to be released for Rock Band DLC, then I’ll finally be able to justify a PS3 purchase…

However, when reading their review of the FragBox II, I came across an interesting quote about failure rates: (Emphasis mine)

So why would Falcon configure RAM in single-channel mode? Falcon gave us three reasons for this decision: There’s only a minimal performance advantage to running dual-channel mode with this box; RAM is the second-most-likely component to fail (the GPU is first), so using just one DIMM cuts the chance of failure in half…

The emphasized part of the statement is wrong in the general case. But why?

Common mistakes

It seems to be common sense that if you have one device, with a failure rate of p (within a given time period), that using two of them will double your chances of failure. However, some quick inspection proves that this isn’t the case. For example, using this line of thinking would mean that having three of the devices in use would triple your chances of failure. Eventually, with enough devices in use, the chances of failure would grow larger than 100%, an impossibility.

Looking at it another way, just because you are using two devices, each with an expected failure rate of 50% within a given time frame, does not guarantee that at least one will fail within that time period.

Looking at it a different way

This leads us to the actual question: What is the expected failure rate with two DIMMs as compared to with just one? First of all, let’s do some quick definitions. Let p denote the probability that a single DIMM will fail within a given time period. Thus, (1-p) is the probability that it will not fail.

Pr(DIMM failure) = p
Pr(DIMM does not fail) = 1-p

Moving to the case of two DIMMs in operation, we want to find the probability that at least one of them fails; since both are required for operation, at least one failing can be considered “failure” in this case. It isn’t readily apparent how we’d figure out the probability that at least one would fail of the two, so let’s break it down:

Pr(at least one fail) = 1 - Pr(none of them fail)

We can obtain the probability that at least one fails from the probability that neither of them fails, since these are mutually exclusive events.

Pr(none of them fail) = (1-p)2
= 1 - 2p + p2

This expression can be derived if we assume that DIMM failures are independent events. Thus,

Pr(at least one fail) = 1 - Pr(none of them fail)
= 1 - (1 - 2p + p2)
= 2p - p2 >= p

From this, we conclude that the chances of failure (at least one DIMM failing) for two DIMMs is indeed higher than for one DIMM, since p <= 1. In fact, the chances of failure for two DIMMs is never double the chances of failure for one DIMM, unless the probability of failure is 0.

For further inspection, let us calculate the difference between the two failure rates, that is, how much more likely two DIMMs are to fail over just one:

Increase in probability of failure = Pr(at least one fail of two DIMMs) - Pr(DIMM failure)
= 2p - p2 - p
= p - p2

Taking the derivative of this function yields the expression (1 - 2p), which has a global maximum at p = 0.5. At this value of p, the increase in the likelihood of failure is:

p - p2
= (0.5) - (0.5)2
= 0.25

Thus, for a single-DIMM failure rate of 50%, using two will dramatically increase the expected overall failure rate to 75%. However I’d expect that failure rates on DIMMs are quite low, and for very low values of p (or very high values), the difference is actually quite minimal.

Going back to the original statement…

So, we’ve ascertained that the failure rates are never double for the situation described. However, in actual practical situations, the results are quite close. I’ve already suggested that failure rates for DIMMs are quite low, that is p is usually very close to 0. In order for the two-DIMM failure rate to be double that of a single-DIMM, we would have to have:

Pr(at least one fail of two DIMMs) = 2*Pr(DIMM failure)

Substituting in the expressions derived above, we have:

2p - p2 = 2*p ?

Obviously, this expression is never true, unless p = 0. However, for very small values of p, the expression is close to being true, that is, the difference approaches 0:

lim(p -> 0) 2p - p2 - 2*p = 0
= lim(p -> 0) p2 = 0

Thus, for very small rates of failure, the statement of failure rates doubling is approximately true.

Update: More details

More specifically, this is a case of figuring out the probability of the union of two events. For any two events, A and B, the probability of their union is:

Pr(A ∪ B) = Pr(A) + Pr(B) - Pr(A ∩ B)

Where Pr(A ∩ B) is the probability of the intersection of the two events, that is, the probability that both occur. For the above problem, the expression reduces to:

Pr(A ∪ B) = Pr(at least one DIMM fails)
= Pr(DIMM failure) + Pr(DIMM failure) - Pr(Both DIMMs fail)
= p + p - p2
= 2p - p2

Which is the same expression we arrived at before. As noted before, for very small values of p, this is approximately equal to 2p, or double the original failure rate.

The good guys over at Site5 are busy fixing the problem and my site appears to be have been safely restored from a backup. It appears that there was an unexpected catastrophic failure of the file system and as a result, they had to reformat and restore from backups. Hopefully the restoration goes well.

I recently got an IKEA FREDRICK work station desk as part of my new furniture ensemble after moving into a new apartment and though I liked it a lot for its clean, open approach, I wished it had some sort of keyboard shelf. I didn’t use to be a fan of keyboard shelves, but after four years of university with an $80 Wal-Mart desk that had a surprisingly good keyboard shelf, I’ve been somewhat hooked. (As hooked as one can get to a particular furniture feature)

IKEA has their own SUMMERA keyboard shelf, which is meant to be used with this desk. However, it wasn’t wide enough to accommodate my keyboard and mouse, something I believe is necessary for good ergonomics. Additionally, it didn’t feel too sturdy when I checked it out in-store. So, I had to resort to an online search to find the keyboard shelf I needed.

Big problems

The keyboard I’ve been using for well over a year has been the excellent Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard. Though I’m not a huge gamer, I like the keyboard for its traditional layout, backlighting and the LCD screen, which can run not only Logitech apps, but also some excellent third-party apps developed with Logitech’s SDK. While I don’t use the extra macro keys, they’re nice to have in case I need them. As I’m very picky about keyboards - once I find one I like, Hell will freeze over before I switch to another - this has some unfortunate downsides. The G15, with all its extra features, is a very wide keyboard - about 55 cm at its widest. Couple that with a mouse, and most keyboard shelves weren’t large enough for me.

Looking around

I figured that I’d need a keyboard shelf around 75 cm (close to 30″) wide to accommodate both keyboard and mouse. Checking out some local retailers, I was disappointed to find that most weren’t this big. At best, I could hope to find one that would hold the G15, but not a mouse. Since the whole point of getting a keyboard shelf was for ergonomics - I find it most comfortable to have the keyboard lower than the desk height to keep my elbows close to a 90-degree angle - putting the mouse at a different height away from the keyboard was just not an option. The CDC guide to ergonomics seems to agree with me on this.

I did more searching on the Internet and was finally able to locate the Bush Universal Keyboard Shelf. While looking somewhat plain, it fit the bill - it was around 29-30″ wide, and so would be able to hold everything I needed. Finding it from a Canadian supplier was a little bit harder, but I was able to get it from Office Depot for a fair price with free shipping. They even shipped it using a local courier who was able to deliver it after-hours, when I’d be home from work.

Installation

Installation took about one and a half hours, mainly because I have little to no workmanship skills when it comes to this sort of stuff and wanted to make sure I did it right the first time. The installation guide included all the proper measurements and drill locations, so all I had to do was measure it out and drill. Measuring and marking the correct locations took longer than expected, since I only had a tape measure and a small ruler. But in the end, things were fairly straight. Drilling itself only took a few minutes with the cordless drill I borrowed from my helpful superintendent. After that, I just needed to screw the rails onto the underside of the desk, and then attach the shelf to the rails.

Overall, I’m happy with the results. The keyboard shelf is feels sturdy and quality-made; it’s covered in a nice grippy-texture that prevents things from slipping, but this means you must use a mousepad with it. No problems - I’ve always used one. It might have been a bit pricey, but getting things just the way you want them often does cost a bit.

Well, today was the 2007 Ontario Provincial Election, and though voter turnout was light early on, things are expected to pick up as people show up to vote after their workday. Besides being a provincial election with all the usual major issues, there is another important decision facing voters - the referendum on whether to change the electoral system from the current first-past-the-post riding system to the mixed-member proportional system that’s being advocated.

Mixed-Member proportional would aim to have the number of seats a political party received be closer to the total number votes they received; in this way, the elected body would better represent the votes of the total population. However, this may present difficulties in geographically diverse areas, or areas where the population densities widely vary.

Overall, voting went well, at least in my electoral district. Though I recently moved and hadn’t received updated ID with my new address or a voter registration card, I was able to register to vote at the polling both using photo ID and a paystub made out to my new address. The process was pain-free. Additionally, the polling station was located in the lobby of my apartment, so not voting would’ve really been an affront to the electoral system, or an extreme bow to laziness on my part. I still don’t understand why some countries would want to use electronic voting, when here in Canada paper-voting has always been used and hopefully will continue to be used. Sometimes marking an ‘X’ on a piece of paper is just so simple that it works.

This is also the first time that candidates’ political parties are being listed on the ballet besides their names, something that strikes me as odd. Though, I guess you should be informed enough as to know which candidate represents what political party.

You know the feeling - you arrive home from school or work to find a slip posted on your door advising you that an attempted delivery of your package failed. The slip will often also say that one or two more attempts will be made, but barring that, you’ll have to make a trip to a shipping depot that’s usually located in the middle of no where to obtain your goods.

I’m willing to bet that 90% of adults aren’t home between the hours of 9 AM - 5 PM, the time that deliveries usually occur at. So, why do most shipping companies only delivery parcels at these times? I understand that likely a majority of their shipments are to business addresses, making the current operating hours suffice for those situations, but certainly a significant number of packages are addressed to homes as well. While online shopping has slowed in recent times, it still accounts for $116 billion (USD) in the United States alone, and all that merchandise has to be shipped.

After hours shipping

So, why not offer “after-hours” shipping for the majority of consumers who are working during the day? After all, there are many other services, such as banking, that are starting to be offered into the evening when they’re more accessible to the general population. While this would undoubtedly cause some hassles with shipping companies, they’d save trouble in some respects, as there would be less missed deliveries and fewer repeated attempts. Additionally, when ordering items, one should be able to indicate whether day or evening service is desired - this would effectively help separate shipments into “business hours” and “after hours” categories.

It’s not all bad

What prompted me to think about this are a few recent experiences I had with local delivery companies. When I ordered furniture from IKEA for my new apartment, they used a local delivery service to ship the items to me. Thinking there was no way I’d be able to catch them, I let the superintendent of my building know about the shipment so that he would let them in on my behalf. Surprisingly, the delivery man called me and left a message on my answering machine asking what time would be best for me. Thankfully, after 6 PM worked for both of us. Maybe this is standard practice for furniture deliveries, but it was still nice not to have that hassle.

I also recently ordered a keyboard tray for my new desk from Office Depot. I hate having the keyboard on the same surface as everything else, and the new desk I got from IKEA didn’t have a keyboard tray. Shipping was free for the item, and again, the local delivery company (a different one from before) had the courtesy to call me before dropping off the item. As before, I was able to schedule an after-hours drop off time.

Perhaps I’m just biased because I don’t yet have a car and going to out-of-the-way shipping depots is a lot of trouble for me. However, judging from the amount of people I saw picking up items at the Purolator shipping depot the last time I was there, I think the service would be warranted.

As from its information page, the white-tailed jackrabbit (or Lepus townsendii), is mainly a nocturnal creature, though they’ve been seen quite a bit during the day here. In colder regions like here, they will moult to change colours with the season, and keep up the camouflage. Though mammals, they do have a range of body temperature in hot, arid climates, and “voluntary hyperthermia” allows their internal temperature to rise to 41 C.

They have insatiable appetites, and feed off plants like grass. (Homeowners, beware!) They are apparently extremely mobile, being able to run up to 55 km/hr, and will run in zig-zag patterns to lose predators. They can also swim and can leap up to 5 m! Thus, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to catch one yourself, unless you’re quite clever.

See the rest of the photos here.