Reading She’s Such a Geek

Posted December 29, 2006 at 1:48 AM | Tagged as: Books, GHC, People I Admire, Technology, Women! | Just 1 Comment

I’m only a third of the way through She’s Such a Geek but I’m loving and finding something to appreciate in every story. This book is a required read for any woman in (or interested in) science and technology… as well as for any educator or mentor that works with women. Hell, it should just be required for everyone, period.

One thing that has me almost giddy as I’m reading are the stories of how these women got interested in math, science, and technology. So far only one has mentioned a man as their primary mentor; the rest have cited mostly women (sometimes specifically their mothers) as theirs. Woo hoo!

I’m thrilled because this is in stark contrast to what I heard at GHC back in October. There, women repeatedly cited their fathers as their key mentors. Granted, most of the women saying this were of a slightly older generation than those writing in this book… so perhaps this means that the feminist movement did succeed in creating a generation of women that was able to empower their daughters and other women! Still, at GHC, I felt that the speakers should have taken greater care in who they cited as key in their development and achievement; they were addressing a younger audience and the impression I got from some of their statements was that a man is necessary in guiding a woman to success in math, science, and engineering.

I’m sure this is not what these women intended to communicate, but it’s how the message was received on this end. I may be beyond the point where I’m looking for advice on finding mentors and inspiration, but I’m not beyond caring about the messages being sent to young women today! So again I say to all, go read She’s Such a Geek (the book and the blog) and give a copy of the book to young woman or mother of a girl!

Pre-Order Robots of Westinghouse

Posted December 16, 2006 at 1:50 AM | Tagged as: Books, Geekout, Robots, Technology, Things I Love, Westinghouse | Comments Off

Hey! I just noticed that the Mansfield Memorial Museum Web site is up and running. Remember, that’s where you can go see the original Elektro (until April 2007).

And, great news! Scott Schaut’s book, Robots of Westinghouse will also be out soon. You can get it direct from the museum or you can pre-order from Amazon.

I can’t wait to read it and learn all about my favorite robot!

Is IE6 the new NN4?

Posted October 30, 2006 at 5:09 PM | Tagged as: Just Sayin, Technology, Web Standards, Web Stuff | 3 Comments

There’s a interesting and fun post and comment thread about IE7 adoption over at WaSP, and it has me wondering… will IE6 linger like Netscape Navigator 4.x did?

Surely, no browser could take as long as NN4 to be purged from the systems of its dedicated users. Many WinXP SP2 users will be presented head-on with the option to upgrade via Windows Update very soon — and my guess is that most people will accept the upgrade, simply because they don’t know or care enough to learn about what they’re getting. I can already see members of my family just clicking “Yes” or “Accept” on whatever dialog box is displayed… they won’t even bother to call and ask me what they should do.

But if companies and ISPs are really suggesting to employees, clients, and users that they not upgrade to IE7, as one commenter suggests, will people listen? If companies and ISPs are making this recommendation, do they have any reason better than “we didn’t test our site in any of the IE7 release candidates and either we’re too stubborn to accommodate Microsoft or our developers don’t know how to fix the display problems in IE7″?

I only slightly jest in suggesting such an excuse — I’m sure there’s some company out there for which that is their reason. But how ridiculous! Ignorance on your part will only serve to frustrate and alienate users, not Microsoft. Not to mention how bad you, Company X, look for making such a statement.

No, I don’t really think IE6 will hang around as long as NN4. After the Windows Update, and then after the holidays, when many folks get new computers, we’ll see a big drop in its percentage. After that it will slowly decline, until Vista comes out. And by that point its share will probably be less than 20%, I would guess. I could be totally off — I haven’t worked tech support in a long time, but my gut has been right before, and this is what my gut tells me. Regardless, I don’t see IE6 CSS hacks going away, just as IE5 hacks haven’t totally disappeared. CSS is the new proprietary DOM, in that sense… and for a while longer we’ll have to keep forking code to handle specific browsers. IE7 doesn’t solve that problem…

Better Living through Technology

Posted October 28, 2006 at 8:28 PM | Tagged as: Technology, Things I Love | Comments Off

Kevin always likes to talk about better living through chemistry, but for me it’s all about better living through technology. Here are some products that are making my life better right now:

• Tassimo: Despite having worked as a barista during high school and college, it took me until 2005 (during a trip to Italy) to really develop a taste for coffee. I was fearful of spending all my money at Starbucks until I learned about Tassimo, and heard its praises sung by a few coffee lovers. Requiring very little effort on my part, this system makes excellent coffee drinks (I especially enjoy the Gevalia Lattes) as well as hot chocolate and tea. Our local Target recently started selling the T-Discs, but I get mine direct from the manufacturer once a month via auto-replenishment (requiring even less work on my part!). It’s convenient and it’s cheap. Mmmmmm.
• SlingBox: I signed up for NHL Center Ice and I accepted a new job that will require me to travel, all on the same day. How would I get to watch my games while on the road? I’d had my eye on the SlingBox since before last Xmas and decided to give the new Pro edition a whirl. With the ability to connect four devices, I can watch regular cable, digital and HD cable, or whatever’s on the DVD/VHS. How well does it work? Well, Kevin’s on the other side of the globe right now, and he and I watched the Flyers game the other night together. What a way to keep the family together!
• Microsoft OneNote: Despite being a total technology nerd, I love paper. Whenever I have to think something through, I grab a stack of paper and pens write down all of my thoughts. I’m also big on making lists. I carry a little notebook wherever I go, and it’s filled with random thoughts, reminders, quotations, and phone numbers. Now I have a digital notebook that allows me to organize my notes just as I would on paper. I can copy and paste just about any data from any program into OneNote. Checklists, tabbed sections… I can do it all, and I save trees at the same time.

Now all I really need is a high-resolution widescreen tablet PC to replace my high-res widescreen laptop and my slate-model tablet PC. I’m talking about something like the Toshiba Tecra M7, but with a normal keyboard layout. (Who the heck thought that moving the Windows key was a good idea?!?) I don’t care how big the thing is or how much it weighs. I just need a workstation replacement that has tablet functionality, for when my hand injury acts up (which it does frequently) and I can’t use the touchpad. It would also be handy on all those flights, when the person in front of me fully reclines and I can’t keep the laptop open more than 4 or 5 inches. Dammit, Dell, make me a tablet PC! NOW!

Owning It and Appreciating It

Posted July 12, 2006 at 7:46 AM | Tagged as: Computing, Meeeeeeee, Quotations, Technology, Women! | Comments Off

I am a geek, a computer nerd, a technologist, a computer scientist. Since a young age, I’ve been good at tinkering with mechanical and electrical things. I always loved math and computers, writing programs, playing games, and helping people achieve their goals through the use of technology.

I was good at other things too, and when people discouraged me from pursuing my interests in math, science, and technology, I focused on those other things. But, thanks to a liberal arts education (in which I realized my true strengths) and good people who helped reignite my interest in computers, I eventually came back to technology, and have made a career of my passion.

In 2003, just 29 percent of Computer Scientists were female. As Katha Pollitt (and many other feminists) would have me say, my presence here is a victory for the women’s movement!

I will not be scared away by statistics of dwindling numbers of women in the field, or by sluggish job prospects. I will not be intimidated by men in the field, nor will I be swayed by “opt-out feminists” who would want me to believe that my true calling is in the home by my husband’s side. Many women have gone before me, and I will seek to include more young girls and women in the field, and to support them as they traverse this rough and bumpy road.