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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
<title><![CDATA[holon]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/atom.xml" rel="self"/>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/"/>
<updated>2014-08-29T14:29:07-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/</id>
<author>
<name><![CDATA[abel sanchez]]></name>
<email><![CDATA[abel@mit.edu]]></email>
</author>
<generator uri="http://octopress.org/">Octopress</generator>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Cloud Abstractions]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2014/08/22/cloud-abstractions/"/>
<updated>2014-08-22T11:45:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2014/08/22/cloud-abstractions</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Many of us are working on code bases that require high scalability. In this context, there are a couple patterns I have observed over the past year that appear to be formalizing. Both of these could impact our work.</p>
<p>The first is Docker. If you have not used it, the platform abstracts the OS and greatly simplifies deployment. It provides the advantages of a VM, without the weight/size. If a virtual machine is applications+libraries+operatingSystem, then docker is applications+libraries. <br/>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzQfxoMFH0U">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzQfxoMFH0U
</a> <br/>
<a href="https://www.docker.com/">
https://www.docker.com/
</a></p>
<p>The second pattern is abstracting the datacenter into one machine. There are two successful projects. The first started at Twitter, Mesos. The second is from Google, Kubernetes, leverages Docker. <br/>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cby5180Q5_o">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cby5180Q5_o
</a> <br/>
<a href="https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes">
https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/kubernetes
</a></p>
<p>Both Mesos and Kubernetes are open source.</p>
<p>Yesterday Google announced an integration of Mesosphere and Kubernetes. They are focusing on providing the scale and horsepower, previously only available to Google, to the open market. That is, the new startups will have access to the same computing resources as the big players. <br/>
<a href="http://googlecloudplatform.blogspot.com/">
http://googlecloudplatform.blogspot.com/
</a></p>
<p>Food for thought.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Manifest Thought]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/09/01/manifest-thought/"/>
<updated>2013-09-01T14:02:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/09/01/manifest-thought</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>One of the most prodigious powers in science fiction is the power to “manifest thought”. With computer programming, “The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time”.</p>
<blockquote><p>Yet, the program construct, unlike the poet’s words, is real in the sense that it moves and works, producing visible outputs separately from the contruct itself. It prints results, draws pictures, produces sounds, moves arms. The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation at the keyboard, and a display screen comes to life showing things that never were nor could be.</p><p>Programming then is fun because it gratifies creative longings built deep within us and delights sensibilities we have in common with all men.</p><footer><strong>Fred Brooks</strong> <cite>The Mythical Man Month</cite></footer></blockquote>
<p><img src="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/taken.jpg"></p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Particular Becomes the Portal on the Transcendent]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/31/the-particular-becomes-the-portal-on-the-transcendent/"/>
<updated>2013-08-31T12:00:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/31/the-particular-becomes-the-portal-on-the-transcendent</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>In a completely different context to programming, I happened onto an interview that made a great point on abstraction versus the problem. When it comes to teaching programming, I completely agree.</p>
<p>BILL MOYERS: You know, Campbell told me that that was the great appeal to him of Carl Jung. That Jung wrapped his psychology into the stories of what had actually happened in his life and, and in the lives of the people sitting in front of him. And if he could get somebody into a story, he knew that person would discover who he was more likely than if he dealt with just abstract ideas.</p>
<p>MARSHALL GANZ: Boy, it is so true. It’s the particular. See, we often think, we associate understanding with abstraction. It’s just the opposite.</p>
<p>BILL MOYERS: That’s right.</p>
<p>MARSHALL GANZ: The particular then becomes the portal on the transcendent, because it’s through the particular experience that I’m able then to communicate the emotional content of the value that is moving me.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[nothing can serve as money too]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/22/nothing-can-serve-as-money-too/"/>
<updated>2013-08-22T13:34:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/22/nothing-can-serve-as-money-too</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>
I have been enjoying, “The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World”. I was struck by the following section:
<div style="font-style:italic;">money is a matter of belief, even faith: belief in the person paying us; belief in the person issuing the money he uses or the institution that honours his cheques or transfers. Money is not metal. It is trust inscribed. And it does not seem to matter much where it is inscribed: on silver, on clay, on paper, on a liquid crystal display. Anything can serve as money. From the cowrie shells of the Maldives to the huge stone discs used on the Pacific islands of Yap. And now, it seems, in this electronic age nothing can serve as money too.</div></p>
<p>
As bitcoin evolves, I look forward to the evolution of electronic age of money.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[imitate proudly]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/05/imitate-proudly/"/>
<updated>2013-08-05T12:50:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/05/imitate-proudly</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>We are often given negative feedback on imitation. When it comes to learning to program, Salvador Dali said it best:</p>
<p>“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”</p>
<p>As you get started programing, imitate proudly, it’s the quickest way to learn.
<img src="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/dali_500.jpg"></p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[lightning bug and lightning]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/05/lightning-bug-and-lightning/"/>
<updated>2013-08-05T11:50:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/08/05/lightning-bug-and-lightning</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Mark Twain famously said, “The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”</p>
<p>When it comes to naming variables, objects, functions, classes, and namespaces, the same applies.</p>
<p>Clarity and expressiveness come with experience. However, the beginner can still learn a lot by looking at conventions, best practices, reading code from peers, and thinking hard about a word that best express the programmer’s intent.</p>
<p><img src="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/lightning.jpg"></p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Password Firewall]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/06/29/password-firewall/"/>
<updated>2013-06-29T17:24:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/06/29/password-firewall</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I have been working on Negative Authentication(NA) for the past year. NA is an approach that utilizes a form of complement profiles which resembles the censoring and maturation process of T-cells in the immune system.</p>
<p>Practically, NA is an additional invisible layer of password protection to the user. You can think of it as a mathematical plane that leaves small openings for the real passwords and blocks the rest.</p>
<p><img src="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/nas_firewall.png"></p>
<p>In a way, Negative Authentication is a firewall for passwords, a way to detect the anti-passwords.</p>
<p>Below is a short video overview</p>
<div class="embed-video-container"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/98054594 "></iframe></div>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[New Google Maps Are Silky Smooth]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/29/new-google-maps-are-silky-smooth/"/>
<updated>2013-05-29T23:01:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/29/new-google-maps-are-silky-smooth</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I just tried the new Google Maps. Two words, “silky smooth”.</p>
<p>My likes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Silky smooth panning/zooming</li>
<li>Significantly faster load times</li>
<li>Street level photos</li>
<li>Mapping of photos to locations</li>
<li>Modern control icons
(the older ones feel dated)</li>
<li>Good use of transparency and color palette</li>
<li>Improved street and business data</li>
</ul>
<p>I am not going back.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Make Learning Human]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/26/make-learning-human/"/>
<updated>2013-05-26T18:56:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/26/make-learning-human</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>As a teacher, your first and most important goal is to capture the attention of the listener. If you fail, nothing else will matter.</p>
<p>The techniques vary from speaker to speaker but invariable they comprise volume, timing, suspense, and tone. For example, a colleague once told me, “lowering your voice is like using bold on text”.</p>
<p>When it comes to writing, a similar process takes place. I have been reading, “Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing”. Much like in teaching, if we fail to make the human connection, we loose our audience.</p>
<p>Khan was on campus recently. In one of his answers, I heard the same argument:</p>
<blockquote><p>I cannot understate the fact that I was making it for my cousin. The fact that I was their tutor, that I had a human connection when I was making the videos. If I were making these for Bill Gates, I would have messed up. I would have fallen into the trap of high production. I would have needed a team of script writers, a team of computer graphics engineers, and voice over actors. The output of that process looks great but but does not feel very human.</p><footer><strong>Khan</strong> <cite>Key to Success</cite></footer></blockquote>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Case for JavaScript]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/17/the-case-for-javascript/"/>
<updated>2013-05-17T05:32:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/17/the-case-for-javascript</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Why JavaScript? I make a case for the growing importance of JavaScript.</p>
<div class="embed-video-container"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/104729705 "></iframe></div>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Teaching of Formal Programming]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/16/the-teaching-of-formal-programming/"/>
<updated>2013-05-16T10:36:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/16/the-teaching-of-formal-programming</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I read the following last night. It strikes me we could substitute writing for programming and it would hold.</p>
<blockquote><p>For decades researchers have been telling us that “the teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or … even a harmful effect on the teaching of writing” (Richard Braddock, Richard Lloyd-Jones, Lowell Schoer, Research in Written Composition, 1963). I agree if by “the teaching of formal grammar” is meant memorizing the parts of speech or rehearsing the distinction between dependent and independent clauses or listing the uses of the subjunctive. That kind of rote knowledge is merely taxonomic. It explains nothing; students who acquire it have learned nothing about how to write, and it is no surprise when research demonstrate its nonutility.</p><footer><strong>Stanley Fish</strong> <cite>How to Write a Sentence</cite></footer></blockquote>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Network Upgrade for Home Cloud]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/01/network-upgrade-for-home-cloud/"/>
<updated>2013-05-01T21:59:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/01/network-upgrade-for-home-cloud</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I recently put together a <a href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/01/building-a-home-cloud/">home cloud</a>. Of course, now I need to upgrade my home networking. None of my Ethernet cables support gigabit and my router is two orders of magnitude behind current capabilities. It does not support jumbo frames either.</p>
<p>With recommendations from colleagues, I went to newegg and purchased a new batch of networking equipment.</p>
<p><a href="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/networking_equipment.jpg">
<img src="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/networking_equipment_500.jpg">
</a></p>
<p>Most home Internet service is delivered through cable companies. Luckily, in my area I can get FIOS, fiber directly to the house. As great as that is, the default installation converts to coaxial cabling using the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) at the house. Doing some more research, I found the ONT could use Ethernet instead of coaxial.</p>
<p>I had the fun experience of calling tech support and asking, “Can you change my ONT’s connection to the router from coax to Ethernet? Oh, while you are at it, I also need you to break the router’s DHCP lease.” It took a few tries but Kudos to FIOS tech support; they were knowledgeable and on the ball.</p>
<p>After running cable through the house, installing my new router, testing the connections, and making the ONT switch to Ethernet I was up and running.</p>
<p>I am very happy. My internal transfer speeds are screaming fast.</p>
<p>What is taking the most time is integrating 10 years of data. Most of my old drives are brutally slow. I am currently transferring data from two old external drives. The transfer is in its 38th hour!</p>
<p>Once I am done with the transfers, I will the face the scary task of sorting through the data and giving it some sensible structure. I am living my own personal Big Data challenge (grin).</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Building a Home Cloud]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/01/building-a-home-cloud/"/>
<updated>2013-05-01T19:36:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/01/building-a-home-cloud</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I knew it was coming. Over the past 10 years. I have been collecting data in CDs, DVDs, external drives, old machines, memory sticks, SD cards, you name it, I have it.</p>
<p>Finally, I reached a crisis point. I had data spread over a multitude of devices in addition to Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon’s Cloud Drive, and SkyDrive.</p>
<p>I needed to build a proper storage solution. I needed to bring together all of my data into one location. I needed to integrate years of research data, books, publications, proposals, lecture materials, talks, designs, source code, email, graphics files, among many more.</p>
<p>I looked at several offerings in the market. I was looking for a minimum of 10 terabytes. I also wanted redundant drives for recovery. I wanted to gracefully survive drive failures – hot swappable being the ideal. Furthermore, considering I would be working on a lot of the data, I wanted good performance and transfer rates. Taking the previous requirements into account, my short list included ReadyNAS, Synology, QNAP, LaCie, and Asustor.</p>
<p>In the end I choose Synology, the DS413 model. Mainly because the reviews touted the simple setup – they were right.</p>
<p>The installation and setup was a breeze. It took me about 20 minutes to load my drives and fire up the NAS</p>
<p><a href="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/home_cloud.jpg">
<img src="http://mit.edu/doval/www/assets/img/blog/home_cloud_500.jpg">
</a></p>
<p>In my next entry I will talk about <a href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/05/01/network-upgrade-for-home-cloud">upgrading my home network</a> to improve data access.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[JavaScript Memory Profiling]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/04/15/javascript-memory-profiling/"/>
<updated>2013-04-15T13:06:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/04/15/javascript-memory-profiling</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I just watched “Memory Profiling with Chrome DevTools”. I enjoyed the video a lot. You can see the building blocks for great debugging coming together in the browser. Kudos to the “Developer Tools” team at Google.</p>
<div class="videoWrapper">
<!-- Copy & Pasted from YouTube -->
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/L3ugr9BJqIs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Never-Ending Fight for Privacy]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/04/10/the-never-ending-fight-for-privacy/"/>
<updated>2013-04-10T20:52:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/04/10/the-never-ending-fight-for-privacy</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>I recently switched my phone account to TMobile prepaid services. I liked the freedom of not being tied to a carrier and limiting my information disclosure. I did everything online. I went as far as not giving them my credit card and using a disposable visa card each time.</p>
<p>Everything went well my first time.</p>
<p>The second time, the payment page kept complaining about my disposable visa. After many tries and phone calls it worked.</p>
<p>My third time did not work. Frustrated, I used my standard card. TMobile placed a hold on my transaction three times in a row.</p>
<p>I called TMobile and they requested my birthday, my car model and year, and SSN. I complained. I got no sympathy.</p>
<p>At that point I had two choices. Cancel my account or handover my information. I cancelled my account.</p>
<p>I am so happy I use a Google Number, the abstraction allows me to change my phone service at will.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Are We The Music Industry?]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/04/08/are-we-the-music-industry/"/>
<updated>2013-04-08T19:25:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/04/08/are-we-the-music-industry</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>A few people have asked me about the changes taking place in education. In the posting below, Clay Shirky does a good job capturing the disruption taking place in academia<br>
<a href="http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2012/11/napster-udacity-and-the-academy/">http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2012/11/napster-udacity-and-the-academy/</a><p>
<p>
I was struck by the following paragraph
<div style="font-style:italic;">We have several advantages over the recording industry, of course. We are decentralized and mostly non-profit. We employ lots of smart people. We have previous examples to learn from, and our core competence is learning from the past. And armed with these advantages, we’re probably going to screw this up as badly as the music people did.</div></p>
<p>
I am more optimistic. I see a lot of enthusiasm and exciting experiments being done internally. Will our institutions react in time to take advantage of these new ideas? The established pattern has been to let the innovators prove their worth in the marketplace.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[New Browser Features]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/03/17/new-browser-features/"/>
<updated>2013-03-17T21:29:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/03/17/new-browser-features</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>
Experimental features that may be comming to the browser, <a href="https://plus.google.com/118075919496626375791/posts/f5HnXFDzoRR">follow the link</a>.
</p>
<p>If you care about browser developments, both <a href="https://plus.google.com/118075919496626375791">Eric Bidelman</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/113127438179392830442">Paul Irish</a> are excellent sources for the latest and greatest.</p>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[What is Cloud Computing?]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/03/17/what-is-cloud-computing/"/>
<updated>2013-03-17T14:39:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/03/17/what-is-cloud-computing</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>What is Cloud Computing? The answer can often be cloudy (pardon the pun).</p>
<p>The students of my class did a great job answering the question in video form. They are Rory, Pierre, and Rachelle – see below.</p>
<div class="embed-video-container"><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/104726260 "></iframe></div>
]]></content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title type="html"><![CDATA[Makes a lot of sense]]></title>
<link href="http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/03/10/makes-a-lot-of-sense/"/>
<updated>2013-03-10T22:27:00-04:00</updated>
<id>http://abelsan.github.com/blog/2013/03/10/makes-a-lot-of-sense</id>
<content type="html"><![CDATA[<p>Great article by a group that has been creating scaleable sites for many years - they did <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/">WhiteHouse.gov</a>.</p>
<p>Their idea is simple, CMS’ are too complex and expensive to be sustainable over the long run. They claim the can achieve the same with static pages and a <a href="http://developmentseed.org/blog/2012/07/27/build-cms-free-websites/">light tool for production</a>.</p>
<p>I have been thinking about the same but using <a href="http://octopress.org/"></a>Octopress instead of the Prose.io tool they mention.</p>
<p>Makes a lot of sense, we have come full circle.</p>
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