I know of a manager who chewed out an employee because this little embedded computer he was using was on the fritz. The employee didn't feel he should be blamed so quickly, but the manager disagreed, yelling, "New computers do not just break down! If you're alone in a room with a vase and the vase breaks, you either accept responsibility for it or you prove that an earthquake occurred!"

I was reminded of this last week, when I read a PC Magazine article about the rampant customer dissatisfaction with HP and Compaq. A lot of consumers were complaining about the failure rate of their desktop computers, and while not all of them were so unfortunate, a large number were. Heck, my own HP Pavilion laptop broke down four times -- twice during the first year, and all before 15 months were up.

In fact, last summer, I did some research for my then-employer on PCB testing, speaking to both circuit board manufacturers and a professional testing firm. They all confirmed what I knew all along--namely, that boards and components are fairly reliable, but that there are any number of ways in which they can fail. In fact, there are a lot of ways in which they can slip by the testing procedures, since there's simply no way to test them completely.

The idea that the user of a new computer should be blamed for its failure--guilty until proven innocent--is simply misguided. A visceral reaction, rather than a rational one.

I'm kinda depressed today. Rats.

I've also been watching Cocoon: The Return on video. Darn, Courteney Cox looked good back then. (The link in question isn't from this movie, but it does contain some mighty nice-looking pics of Courteney.)

While I'm at it, I'd like to mention Stacey Williams as well. Another stunningly beautiful woman. What I wouldn't give to be with a gal like that.

I've just discovered SciWeb .

Okay, so I'm watching the TVLand award show, and its tribute to classic TV. This reminds me of how incredibly horrid television in my home country was. Ugh. People may complain about how insulting American TV is to one's intelligence, but despite all the dreck, there's a lot of clever and classic stuff out there.

The TVLand tribute itself is pretty darned clever, and entertaining. I've really got to hand it to them.

Some would be quick to say that this is due to economic limitations and our relative lack of technology. Balderdash. Look at the Dick van Dyke show, which was groundbreaking and clever despite ancient technology, simple sets and meager production values. No, TV back home was bad because of a lack of creativity and a general striving for mediocrity.

This is one of the reasons why I feel very uncomfortable amongst my own people. It's almost as though they're unwilling to seek excellence. Heck, I was often ridiculed for wanting to do things well.

I like my job. It's a lot of hard work, but I like it, and I like the people.

The boss is a nice guy, too -- the kind of fellow who's quick to show his appreciation. Not like a lot of other managers, who think that their job is to catch people screwing up and correct them. He actually has heart, and he wants to treat his employees well.

Did you ever have one of those days where you feel like writing something down, but can't think of anything? This is one of those days.

I plan to read about the different types of cytokines today. Maybe that'll get my brain going. Perhaps I'll also read a bit about apoptosis.

Someone very dear to me is dying from an autoimmune disease. It's so painful. So very painful.

I wish I were immune to the pain.

Cheryl Holdridge was so cute. At least, when she was a Mouseketeer. Based on what little I've seen, she started to lose some of her appeal as she left her teens.

I recently learned about

Search Popdex:

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Check 'em out! They're worth visiting.

I just got a fancy new Toshiba laptop. Very nice.

I've also been reviewing some stuff I learned a while back about robotics and agile manufacturing.

The technology involved is fascinating. It would be really nice to develop some more of the robotic techniques which make agile manufacturing bloom into fruition.

I've been reading more about Jan Smithers. Doggone it, why did she have to drop out of the public eye? What a disappointment.

I had to buy a new laptop last night. My HP Pavilion ZE4125 was only fifteen months old, and yet it had failed four times during that period. I didn't want to dig so deeply into my wallet, but I really need to have a laptop that's more reliable. Having a computer which fails frequently and suddenly is worse than having no computer at all.

Oh, and I've also been doing more reading into the different types of immune system cells. Very helpful info for me.

I've been reading more and more about immunology. I want to understand the terminology, and to have a better grasp of what occurs at the cellular level. Why? Because it's interesting, that's why.

I saw some nifty animated graphics today, describing the interactions between lymphocytes, antibodies and antigens. I wish I could copy these animations, but they're copyrighted, I'm sure.

I've also been reading about Jan Smithers. Sigh. The very image of wholesome good looks.

I like robots. Robots are so cool.

I got to play around with an ELISPOT reader today. Also read about the differences between humoral and cellular immunity. Laypeople naturally think of antibodies when the subject of developing immunity comes up, but there's a lot more to it than just that (think: lymphocytes, cytokines).

There's a book on immunology that I borrowed from the library last month. I think I'll check it out again.

I also want to point anyone reading this to a list of clean jokes here.

Last night, I was reading about the hardware and software involved in ELISPOT analyzers. The applications for machine intelligence in these vision routines are interesting. Doing this properly also requires a pretty good understanding of camera design and machine vision techniques.

I'd say more, but I've got a whole bunch of other writing to do.

Okay, so I've just done some intensive reading on immunology -- cytokines, assays, interferon, lymphocytes, B cells and T cells, humoral immunology and the like. Very interesting, and very nice. I almost wish I could reinvent myself as a biologist.

Not really, though. I like the work that I do.

Earlier, I mentioned that I had an opportunity to learn about some ELISPOT analyzers. I've also been reading about immunology. Speaking as a techie, I'd say that the adaptive mechanisms behind immune systems are far more complex than any man-made system I've ever encountered -- indeed, against any ever built. Some info on immunology and ELISPOT can be found here and here.

The humble beginnings of immune therapy are something to behold.

Valentine's Day sucks.

I was recently re-united with someone that I love very dearly.

Yes, my laptop just came back from the shop. Its power circuitry had failed, and it took seven weeks to repair the thing. It didn't help that the power circuitry also blew out my battery, which had to be replaced.

Actually, I'm a little sore at the CompUSA technician that I spoke to, when I brought my laptop in for repair. He said that if I paid $30 extra, it would only take about four days to repair my computer. I think he must have been a new (and still under-trained) employee, since other CompUSA employees later told that this wasn't the case. But enough of that.

I've had opportunities to see the ELISPOT analyzers and software from a company called CTL. I was immediately struck by how well-designed the user interfaces were. If only more programmers would develop a proper understanding of user interface design principles!

Their programmers seemed to be sharp blokes as well. A lot of programmers don't understand software design disciplines and the elements of object-oriented programming, but these people seem like they're on the ball.