Kartalkaya'da kayak - Varan 2

Bu kış sonunda ikinci kez gidebildik Kartalkaya'ya. Yine günübirlikti. Bu sefer Tempo Tur'la gittik. Biraz endişeliydim çünkü hava durumu Kartalkaya'da rüzgar ve kar yağışına işaret ediyordu. Ama korktuğumuz gerçekleşmedi ve güzel bir havada (tabii ki biraz soğuk, ne de olsa dağ başı) kayak yaptık.


Sabah altıda Tunalı Hilmi'deki Tempo Tur önünden otobüsümüze bindik, yolda mola vermeden 09:30'da Kartalkaya'ya ulaştık. Bu sefer biraz daha yükseklerde, rüzgarlı kısımda kaydığımızdan kar maskelerimiz işe yaradı. Akşam 5'te de dönüş yoluna düştük.

The constant e

e (mathematical constant):

"The number e is one of the most important numbers in mathematics, alongside the additive and multiplicative identities 0 and 1, the imaginary unit i, and π."

"...an account that starts at $1, and yields (1+R) dollars at simple interest, will yield e^R dollars with continuous compounding."

"In contemporary internet culture, individuals and organizations frequently pay homage to the number e. For example, in the IPO filing for Google, in 2004, rather than a typical round number amount of money, the company announced its intention to raise $2,718,281,828, which is e billion dollars to the nearest dollar."

"In another instance, the eminent computer scientist Donald Knuth let the version numbers of his program METAFONT approach e. The versions are 2, 2.7, 2.71, 2.718, and so forth."

d/dx (e^x)=e^x

e^(i*x) = cos(x)+i*sin(x)

Trolls

Trolls:

"If you disagree with something, it's easier to say "you suck" than to figure out and explain exactly what you disagree with. You're also safe that way from refutation."

"...anything becomes art if you do it well enough"

For tips to defend yourself from trollish behaviour, see How to detect bullshit.

Lezzetli bloglar

Güldürürken düşündüren güzel bloglardan bir demetçik:

* The Answer to The Ultimate Question Of Life: "Şimdi amacım bir an evvel yaşlanmak ve girdiğim sunumlarda milletin sözünü kesip "Bize ne lan bundan", "Ne biçim sunum bu" diye yaşıma sığınıp çıkışlar yapmak, sunumun sonunda gurur kırıcı eleştiriler getirmek ve tabii ki sıkıcı prezentasyonlarda, en ön sırada adamın yüzüne baka baka uyumak."

* Ümit'in Seyir Defteri: "Sıcak bir yaz günü, kısacık şort, uzun topuklu ayakkabılar ile önünüzden yürüyerekten geçen Hollandalı bir kızın kalçalarının yaptığı harekete "Dutch Roll" denirmiş"

* eleğimsağma

Yazı yazmasını bilen insanlar güzeldir netekim. Elemanlar benden iyi yazıyorlar, öyle söyliim.

Lobbyist Morgan Reed On Slashdot

Lobbyist Morgan Reed Answers Questions:

"People tend to avoid and denigrate subjects they don't fully understand or feel comfortable with."

"Most Slashdot readers prize themselves on being knowledgeable, especially about tech issues. Many readers depend on knowledge for their income. Yet on issues involving the government, these same "knowledge workers" treat politics like the technophobes treat computers."

"I would suggest that before any reader makes a blanket statement about either party or any bill or any political issue, that you take the time to think "how much do I really know about this bill?" Am I reading the full text, or am I being spun? Be aware that much of what you read on the editorial page of the newspaper, or what you hear on talk radio, is spin."

"It is essential that you not turn off from politics. Instead, take the time to embrace it for a few weeks, learn what you can, then check your gut. Don't be the kind of person you hate to meet who attacks your work, or calls it trivial, because they don't understand it, and are slightly fearful that they will look ignorant."

"You must demonstrate to members of Congress and other government officials how your position will benefit their constituents and demonstrate that many of their constituents feel the same way. This is the key to effectively lobbying government even without deep pockets."

First Principles of Interaction Design

First Principles of Interaction Design

"...which of the following takes less time? Heating water in a microwave for one minute and ten seconds or heating it for one minute and eleven seconds?

From the standpoint of the microwave, one minute and ten seconds is the obviously correct answer. From the standpoint of the user of the microwave, one minute and eleven seconds is faster. Why? Because in the first case, the user must press the one key twice, then visually locate the zero key, move the finger into place over it, and press it once. In the second case, the user just presses the same key–the one key–three times. It typically takes more than one second to acquire the zero key. Hence, the water is heated faster when it is "cooked" longer."

"Information resource departments often fall into the trap of creating or adopting systems that result in increased efficiency and lowered costs for the information resources department, but only at the cost of lowered productivity for the company as a whole."

"Having 49 options on the screen that lead directly to destruction of the user's work, along with one or two that just might help is not an explorable interface, it is the interface from hell."

Sevdiğim Filmler

İzlemeyenler izlesin diye kısa bir liste:

* The Matrix: Mutlak gerçek var mıdır, bilebilir miyiz, yoksa sonsuz fantazi sarmalları arasında vakit mi geçiriyoruz? Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is...

* The Second Renaissance: Makinaları severim, gerizekalılığı sevmem.

* Der Untergang: Karikatürize edilmemiş bir Hitler profili, anti-savaş. Mutlaka Almanca'sı izlenmeli, yoksa filim etkisini yitiriyor. Steiner wird kommen...

* El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan'ın Labirenti): İç burkucu, tuhaf, güzel... Bunalımdayken izlemeyin. İspanyol dili güzel tınlıyormuş meğer.

* Sin City: Fantastik, şiddetli

* The Usual Suspects (Olağan Şüpheliler): Keyser Söze, gerek yok söze :P

* Aliens: Biri insanlara dersini vermeliydi zati

* Kibar Feyzo: Komik

* Fight Club: Enteresan, şiddet-şinas

* Saving Private Ryan (Er Ryan'ı Kurtarmak): Çarpıcı, savaşı romantik birşey zannedenlere tavsiye olunur.

* Forrest Gump: Duygusal

* Groundhog Day: İyimser

How to be more productive

HOWTO: Be more productive by Aaron Swartz:

"Assigned problems are problems you're told to work on. Numerous psychology experiments have found that when you try to "incentivize" people to do something, they're less likely to do it and do a worse job. External incentives, like rewards and punishments, kills what psychologists call your "intrinsic motivation" -- your natural interest in the problem. (This is one of the most thoroughly replicated findings of social psychology -- over 70 studies have found that rewards undermine interest in the task.) People's heads seem to have a deep avoidance of being told what to do.

The weird thing is that this phenomenon isn't just limited to other people -- it even happens when you try to tell yourself what to do! If you say to yourself, "I should really work on X, that's the most important thing to do right now" then all of the sudden X becomes the toughest thing in the world to make yourself work on. But as soon as Y becomes the most important thing, the exact same X becomes much easier.

So the secret to getting yourself to do something is not to convince yourself you have to do it, but to convince yourself that it's fun. And if it isn't, then you need to make it fun."