Jason’s Random Thoughts

Today made for an interesting read in the papers, as many articles related to the Chinese stock market decline were posted and commented on by people around the country.  At one point, an article on The Globe and Mail said:

In addition to the exchange’s woes, data providers that carry buy and sell orders to the NYSE failed to keep up with selling programs in place at brokerage houses and institutional investors such as hedge funds. Dow Jones & Co. Inc., which runs the benchmark American index, saw its computers stretched past their limits, with the speed of the decline outpacing the index’s ability to track falling stocks.

From a developer’s standpoint, this is pretty cool.

The stock exchanges in operation around the world have some of the most sophisticated computer systems on the planet.  Not only are the servers incredibly powerful, but the databases and data pipes in use are so engrossing that I can have wet dreams just thinking about them.

Elaborate data structures.  PIT (Point-in-Time) Databases.  Fat fibre channels transporting gigabytes worth of financial data every second.  I couldn’t imagine having the luxury of building one of these systems from the ground up.  It wouldn’t matter where my office was … be it a tiny cubicle shared with someone who never bathed, or an elaborate corner office on the 40th floor of an elaborate sky scraper.  Constructing a system capable of handling the demands of a stock market (espescially the NYSE) would be a worthy challenge.

I remember reading several articles a while ago about this electronic system that was put into place, and it was made to handle more work per second than my employer handles each quarter.  The people that developed the systems in place were incredibly talented and it shows in the background.

So to hear that it slowed down to the point that some organizations had to throw more servers into the fray … that’s just amazing.

In the coming years I’m sure that these systems will be scaled up a bit to handle such market corrections.  Though the question would always remain; just how big of a market change could happen before the systems couldn’t keep up again?  Fortunately, this is not a question I will ever need to answer.  It would be an exciting project to work on, though.

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This is pretty exciting.  New Horizon has reached it’s closest approach to Jupiter, and now it will accellerate away en route to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt beyond.

One of the many interesting things that this craft photographed was an eruption on the moon Io.  This tiny world is under constant tidal stresses from Jupiter and, because of this, is quite active.  I would love to see the effects of such a massive body like Jupiter causes to the surrounding moons.  The tectonic movements alone would be enough to keep me occupied for days while mentally envisioning the entire process.

At one time I thought that I had been born too early.  We’ve barely left our own protective atmosphere and know next to nothing about the universe around us.  However, as I see the information from NASA and other great observatories around the world, and as I learn of the theories and posits of various scientific masters, it’s clear that this is one of the most exciting times to be in.

We learn more day by day.  And the simplest things can both amuse and excite us.  The things we’re learn today will be boring and common knowledge to children in the next few centuries.

Our future generations may find it harder to be impressed by the things we have yet to learn about the universe.

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I recently enjoyed an episode of the Discovery Channel’s Future Car where they discussed Tesla Motors’ Electric Roadster.

What a sexy car.  Starting at about $91K USD, these machines look better than a Ferarri and move just as fast.  The best part is the lack of emissions, as these are 100% electric.

Electric cars have been around for quite some time (the first being manufactured by Thomas Davenport in 1830’s … that’s right … almost 200 years ago).  One of the biggest problems with these vehicles was the limited range they offered.  The Tesla Roadster has a range of about 400 km, and can recharge in about 4 hours give or take.  This would be more than adequate for most people’s commute to and from work.

Unfortunately, these are way out of my price range.  But while researching which vehicle might provide the best cost of ownership, I just had to include this one and run it through some numbers.  Based on the amount that Reiko and I would likely use a vehicle, and assuming that gas prices remain constant at $1.07 CDN for the next twenty years (not likely), this car would pay for itself through fuel savings in 19 years 9 months.

That almost worth it … by the time the vehicle pays for itself, it will be a classic :P

Unfortunately, I don’t think this will be the car for Reiko and I.  But it’s fun to imagine having a sexy little sports car in the driveway that can beat a Porsche off the line.

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For almost five years, I’ve relied on my feet and public transit to get me from place to place.  This was for several reasons, including a vehicle’s return on investment and my environmental responsibilities.  I could never justify owning a vehicle in Vancouver as everything I need is either within walking distance (within 12 km) or easily accessible via public transit.

However, it’s time to change this.

In just over a year, Reiko and I will be married and living in Canada.  With two people using a vehicle, the cost of ownership is now a little more in line with what I prefer to see.  Also, in the event that we have children in the first few years of marriage, it would be nice to have a vehicle to get from place to place.  I would never want my Reiko to go through the hassles of bringing a stroller and a child onto a transit vehicle … it’s just way too much trouble.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed far more … how should I put this … “stupid white guys” on transit.  I’m sure we all know the type.  These are the people that have more braun than brain.  They curse more in 30 seconds than Eminem does in an entire album.  They make women uncomfortable with their idiotic come-ons.  And they lower the average intelligence level of the entire bus or train by a solid 50 IQ points.

I can’t stand these fools anymore.  Seriously.

In the last few days I’ve seen these fools get on the bus with the smelliest slices of pizza you could imagine.  They talk with their mouth full, spewing forth explicit language and partially digested globs of filth.

You’ll never see anyone but a dumb white guy do this.  I try not to judge people based on their appearance, but seeing these idiots makes me uncomfortable to be caucasian.  I’ve seen drunken asians and delerious aboriginals carry themselves with more self-respect.

So to that end, I’ll be in the market for a decent hybrid car in the next few months.  I’ll have to talk it over with Reiko, of course, but having a car here and at the ready will be one less thing we would need to worry about after starting our lives together in Canada.  It would also give me one less thing to actively ignore.

I stopped fighting when I was 12 years old.  It was no longer worth the hassle of getting hauled into the principals office and being sent home after the phone call to my father.  But it’s awfully tempting to stoop to the same level as these fools and forcibly evict them from a moving bus.

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Some good news has come out of NASA this week, where scientists are able to determine the molecules found in the atmospheres of some known exoplanets (worlds outside our own solar system).

This is great news for any young scientists planning on creating an incredibly fast satellite that might be sent off to another solar system in search of habitable worlds.  If we can determine the chemical compositions of atmospheres from light years away, then we can be sure to aim highly advanced space probes in the right direction.

I am consistently impressed by the incredible genius of the people at NASA and observatories around the globe.  Only a few years ago people would have laughed when someone theorized that planets might exist outside of our solar system.  Now we know of 182 that circle nearby stars.  If we can determine the likelyhood of habitable worlds, then we can begin to work on the machines that would let us study these worlds for both life, as well as their viability as a colony site.

That is, of course, assuming that the world in question doesn’t already have a sentient species in place.

I believe that we will find sentient life out in the cosmos.  Hopefully they will be just as curious about us as we are of them.  And hopefully we will have learned from our past mistakes with indigenous peoples of this world, before making the same mistakes somewhere in the expanse of space.

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