The Shape of My Commute, part 3

Starting collecting actual data. After three data points it's not looking good for the estimated times, but confirming my gut feel that the estimated times are too low. I added an "actuals" column of data (shown in red). The spikes show the data points I've collected.

Still, from the estimates I can get the overall shape (e.g., commute times at each slot relative to each other), even if the absolute values are wrong. Overlaying the actual data will then give me the picture I need.

I'm guessing that we will see a wider variation between estimated and actual close to the peak times. We'll see if that guess proves out as I collect more actuals.

What's The Next Big Thing?

www.google.com

http://blogs.denverpost.com/techknowbytes/2013/03/12/whats-the-next-big-thing-in-technology-lets-ask-sxsw-interactive-2013-attendees/9076/

 www.yahoo.com

 http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NEXT_BIG_THING/NEXT_BIG_THING.html

 www.bing.com

 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/what-is-the-next-big-thing.html

www.wolframalpha.com

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Next+Big+Thing+the+album&lk=1&a=ClashPrefs_*MusicAlbum.NextBigThing%3A%3A1ec1d438!-4621!-3769!-8ab4!-2d5590fbd44a-

The Shape of My Commute, part 2

After collecting data for a couple of weeks, and throwing out the worst of the bad data days (why does Selenium in Firefox crash out so often? to be determined...), I now have this:

The blue line is my commute tolerance (currently at 40 minutes).

The actual numbers (e.g., Google Maps estimates) feel low. I realize that time spent sitting in traffic seems longer than it actually is, but I would have guessed +5 minutes at peak times.

In the past I've tried to keep track of my actual commute times, but lost patience after taking a few samples. Maybe it's now time to revive that practice and do some "reality vs. Google maps estimates" validation.


Part 1

The Shape of My Commute

I've been commuting from the east bay to the peninsula for many years, to many different locations. I realized that I've never had any reliable data about the best and worst times to leave home or work.

I decided to use the estimated times that Google Maps provides to try to get a clearer picture. I first wrote code to use the Google Distance Matrix API to get estimated driving times. I got that working, but got a nice (but useless) flat line when graphing estimated commute duration by departure time. I now assume that the API provides the first number shown on the web page, not the second:

I then re-wrote my code to use Selenium to grab the data off the web page. Those numbers made more sense. I don't have many days of data yet. I'm assuming that, as I get more data and average it in, the bumps in my graph will smooth out a bit.

If you want to do this, my code is available from Github. You will need to download a few Java jar files to get it to run.

Kindle stand using GorillaPod and Koala Mount

Ingredients:

• Kindle Fire 1st Gen
• Joby GorillaPod Focus
• Dockem Koala Mount

Even though my Kindle Fire is only 14.6 ounces (0.4 kilograms) I bought the GorillaPod Focus which can handle up to 5 kg.

Steps:

• Hang one of the Koala Mount units on the GorillaPod to determine the "center point".
• Mark that center point. I just scratched the Koala unit.
• Measure the Kindle to find the center point of the Kindle.
• Attach the mount to the Kindle. 45 degrees worked well for me.

Sit up in bed, sit the unit on yourself, arrange the GorillaPod legs as necessary, plug in your earbuds and watch your stuff.

Picture

Copying files directly vs. through the router

I have this much in my music library on one machine:

Started a copy, let it run for a couple of minutes. It reported this:

I then set up a direct connection. I had bought a cross-over cable but didn't need it. Started the copy again, let it run for a couple of minutes. Got this:

Well, it was an experiment.

Hands-free tablet holder, first prototype

One of my current projects is to build a hands-free tablet holder that so I can watch Netflix videos in bed on my Kindle Fire. My first attempt is here.

Using cardboard made it easy to quickly prototype this "head cave", and easy to recycle it (once it had served its purpose). I cut the square notches on the sides of the "Kindle hole" for the ear-bud cable.

This placed the Kindle close enough to my face that I could remove my glasses. I have bad eyesight. If I want to really look at something carefully, I always take off my glasses and hold the item within a few inches of my face. I don't know if there is something optically (as opposed to psychologically) different about looking at things this way. I do, however, feel like I really see what I'm looking at when I do this.

I watched a few hour and two-hour videos this way, but have consigned the box to the recycling bin. My eyes do not have the same prescription, so one eye has to dominate when focusing this closely. This leads to occasional strange effects when (I believe) the dominance switches from one eye to the other.

I'm now working on something using a Joby GorillaPod Focus that rests on my chest whilst in bed, so I can wear my glasses while watching.