JohnHrvatin.com

Bing it!

Bing has received some great press recently, and I thought I’d share this one from TechCrunch. 

If you haven’t tried Bing yet, you should.  They do a great job for all queries and an excellent job for certain types.  For example, try ‘american airlines’ or ‘bmw’.  You’ll find categories of results to help you find exactly what you need.

Bing Travel is my favorite, though.  Search for a flight and it’ll tell you whether to buy or wait based on its prediction of how prices will change.  You can then subscribe to email alerts for that search so you know when to buy.  It’s incredibly helpful.

And the homepage pictures are simply beautiful.  I love seeing the image each day and learning a few new things.  Here’s a recent one…

IE8 Developer Tools Resources

I created a new page on the IE8 developer tools.  I plan to use it as a quick landing page for finding all the different resources out there, from demo videos and MSDN documentation to user tips and tricks.

If you know of good resources or have tips and tricks to share, let me know and I’ll add them!

Download IE8!

Today we launched IE8 at MIX!  It’s been an amazing cycle and I think it’s an excellent product.

Try it now: www.microsoft.com/ie8. 

Speaking at MIX09 on Web Performance

Next week Microsoft hosts MIX09 in Las Vegas. As Pete wrote about on the IE Blog, IE will have a big presence, including a presentation I’m giving:

For anyone who’ll be there, stop by and say hi. For those of you who can’t, I’ll post afterward and link to a recording.

BREAKING NEWS: Catholics and Atheists disagree!!!

Shocking!

Not really.

While the title of this article tries to make it seem controversial, it’s not surprising that Christians – who by definition believe Christ is God – don’t agree with atheists who don’t believe any deities exist.

The part of the article I like is that the Cardinal is clear that science, and particularly evolution, is not at odds with Catholicism.  The only part he called “absurd” is the idea that evolution proves there is no God which says nothing about the validity of the theory of evolution.  And I agree with his statement, if only because proving there is no God is just as absurd as proving there is a God.

It’s where that pesky “faith” thing comes in.

Finally a solution for complicated remote controls

Great find by Gizmodo:

 
Fixing Stupidity: Cheap User Interface Hack Finally Solves TV Remotes Stupidity

Evolutionary or Revolutionary?

Sarah Lacy’s TechCrunch post on the future of the Web sparked some thought on evolutionary versus revolutionary changes.  She discusses how the rate of innovation within an area decreases over time and questions if the Internet’s peak innovation rate is behind us.  I think she’s right about the general rule, but “the Web” is too large to follow it and like all important life lessons, this one’s part of a classic movie: Back to the Future II.

I’ve always enjoyed watching depictions of the future since they usually focus on evolutionary changes.  In Back to the Future II, the house in 2015 showed fax machines everywhere.  That made sense at the time: take the technology you have and expand it.  But clearly the future looks a little different.  I guess you can say fax machines followed the path of slowing innovation, but communications technology certainly didn’t.  I think it’s more likely that parts of the Web are past their prime rate of innovation, but the Web as a whole is simply too broad and powerful to follow the same path. 

I find it more interesting to think about how deep change frequently comes from completely new ideas rather than simply expanding on what exists today.  It’s why research, even when its ultimate use to society is unknown, is critical.  A great example is the microwave: if you gave someone unlimited funds to improve the conventional oven, you’re more likely to to build the world’s best conventional oven than the microware.  Sometimes the best innovations happen when you’re not looking for them. 

London Part 2: Tower of London, Shopping, Nightlife, and Rugby

After several months, I’m finally getting around to writing about the rest of my trip.

Tower of London

Before my trip I heard mixed reviews on the Tower of London.  Some called it a must-see and others said it was clearly overrated.  I found the truth somewhere in between. 

The tour guides are Tower guards, or Yeoman Warders, who meet strict qualifications (22 years honorable military service, for example) and live in the Tower with their families where they’re locked in each night.  Primarily hired to protect the Queen and the crown jewels, they also give excellent tours and have wonderful senses of humor.  You may recognize their uniforms from a popular liquor:

Turns out the gin gets its name from the guards who are nicknamed “beefeaters” because of their traditionally large rations of beef.

Shopping

After spending several days sightseeing, I needed to relax, and I did so by walking around some of the nice neighborhoods and doing a little shopping.  The stores throughout the entire city are incredible, from Harrod’s to Hemley’s.  While the exchange rate was better for the US Dollar than it has been for years, it was still expensive so I didn’t make too many purchases but found a couple nice things and gifts for some friends.  Not surprisingly, if you’re a shopper you’d love London and probably spend more than a day on it.

Here’s Harrod’s…

…a life-size Lego model of Indiana Jones, and a shot of a great shopping area:

Nightlife

London and Barcelona couldn’t be more different when it comes to nightlife.  Barcelona doesn’t start partying until after midnight while London is closed by then except for a few areas of clubs taking advantage of the recent law change that lets them stay open past 11.  However, the same places that are empty by 11pm are packed from 5 until 9.  People come straight from work for a few pints regardless of the day of the week.

And the pubs are great.  Fish and chips, stews, beer…what’s not to like?  

I spent one night out late at a bar/club and met a fun group of people.  They were out for a work party and wearing costumes.  Of course, they didn’t call it a costume party; they were in “fancy dress”. 

I also went to the theater.  I had trouble choosing one play given the endless choices and finally settled on Rain Man.  I figured I’d see something I couldn’t easily see in the US (at least not yet) and it starred someone I knew – Josh Hartnett.  Unfortunately he was sick that night and while they’d gladly exchange tickets for another night, I was leaving soon so I just saw it anyway.  The theater was beautiful and the performance was excellence.  Adam Godley did an amazing job as the rain main .  He’s not quite Dustin Hoffman but for a live performance he was spectacular.

Rugby

Saturday was probably the highlight of my trip.  A college friend who lives in London found tickets to the England/South Africa rugby match.  I’ve seen rugby on TV and watched a few matches in college, but had never seen anything like this.  Twickenham Stadium, the dedicated Rugby stadium and second largest stadium of any kind in the UK, was filled to it’s 82,000-person capacity.  The atmosphere was electric, although more so before the home team started losing badly, the fans were friendly and fun, and they served Guinness and fish-and-chips  Again: what’s not to like?

While the game wasn’t great for England, I’ve built an appreciation for the sport.  It’s physically demanding, fast-paced, and fun to watch.  I need to learn more about strategy but even without background I enjoyed it tremendously.

London is now near the top of my list of favorite places.  The best word I have for it is approachable.  Between the people, the transportation, and the endless activities, I never felt lost or overwhelmed, even in such a large city.  It’s a place I’ll always be happy to visit.

A few of my favorite Christmas movies

I posted this last year on my Windows Live Space but thought a repost here was due. 

Merry Christmas!

Love Actually 

Simply an amazing movie.  While the overall movie is heartwarming, it avoids being overly sentimental with well-placed humor and inclusion of story lines that are far from happy.  The stories also tell of many kinds of love, such as the father and son story (my favorite).  The soundtrack is also a classic.

The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2

If you haven’t seen these, you may wonder how they fit in this list of Christmas classics.  At least that’s what I thought before I first saw them.  After seeing them for the first time a number of years ago, I never miss them.  

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 

One of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.  You need to appreciate off-the-wall antics and the humor of something completely ridiculous, but if you do then you’ll love this.

Scrooge

Of the countless movie versions of A Christmas Carol, my favorite is by far "Scrooge", starring Alastair Sim (I’ve seen this version also called "A Christmas Carol" so just look for Alastair Sim).  My family watches it every Christmas Eve.  Jacob Marley is perfect in this movie (my favorite Marley moment is how he yells "BUSINESS!!" after Scrooge tells him he was "always a good man of business").  The ghosts also do a nice job, although the Ghost of Christmas Past isn’t my favorite.  But Alastair Sim as Scrooge makes the movie.  He captures Scrooge like no one else I’ve seen play the role, particularly in the Christmas morning scene and the day after when he gives Cratchit a raise and apologizes for being such a humbug.  I could watch that scene on loop and smile every time.

It’s A Wonderful Life 

This is my favorite.  The story is excellent and it’s put together beautifully.  As with the final scenes in Scrooge, I never tire of watching George Bailey run down the street yelling, "Merry Christmas you wonderful old building and loan!", the police and bank examiner sing "Hark! The herald angel sing", and the inscription from a dear old friend: "no man is a failure who has friends." 

Merry Christmas!

London Part 1: British Government, Museums, Hyde Park, and the Queen!

I spent last week in London on vacation.  The city is incredible and I enjoyed every minute.  It’s clean, lively, full of things to do, friendly, and well-dressed (I felt like the only person in the city wearing the Seattle uniform: fleece and jeans).

My bed and breakfast (www.bb-belgravia.com) was not that expensive and yet nice – full English breakfast and free Wi-Fi – and in a great neighborhood, which I judge by the numerous Ferraris and Bentleys parked on the street.  

The first half of the week was spent sightseeing and I’ll focus on the first two days in this post and the next two will continue the trip.  Some pictures are linked below but the full collection is here.

I started with sights of the British government: changing of the guard, Big Ben, and Parliament. 

I was excited to see the changing of the guard since I had heard so much about it and Buckingham Palace is beautiful, but the changing itself was a little long and just rows of people looking through a fence.  The highlight for me was the cavalry who rode by and looked like something from Lord of the Rings:

Big Ben and Parliament were beautiful buildings.  The detail and complexity of the architecture kept me staring up the entire time I walked around them. 

My next stop was the surprise of the week: Westminster Abbey.

I paid the entrance fee and started the audio guide without high expectations.  I thought I’d see another beautiful old church, but shortly after starting the audio tour and walking to the high altar I realized the history involved in the building.  Every king and queen since sometime in 1300 was crowned there and many have their tombs there, from King Edward I or Longshanks (whom I know best from Braveheart) to Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.  Besides royalty, many famous English writers and poets are buried in the church such as Geoffrey Chaucer.  I spent years in school studying this people and the time they lived and now I stood where much of it happened.  It was quite a moment.

The Queen!

I was in London for a week and somehow managed to see the Queen.  Leicester Square houses a huge movie theater (I saw Quantum of Solace there later in the week) used for royal premieres.  Monday night much of the square was blocked off and a red carpet laid out in front of the entrance.  After asking around, I found the Queen was coming to a premiere that night and sure enough she drove up a couple hours later.  The picture isn’t great, but they kept the light on inside the car so you can see her. 

I was surprised by the relative lack of security.  They had the square blocked off and an escort of a couple police motorcycles, but it’s nothing compared to what would happen in America if the President came through.  Bill Clinton spoke at Princeton my freshman year and the buildings had snipers on them, his helicopter was preceded by two military helicopters, and all rooms with windows looking out on his route were emptied.

Museums: National Gallery and Imperial War Museum.

The National Gallery is a free museum with an excellent collection.  Visitors can use a computer cluster to explore the collection and plan a specific tour to print and follow.  The system is excellent.  I followed an Impressionist tour and saw a wonderful collection of Monet, Manet, and Cezanne.  A nice surprise is that while most food courts in museums should be avoided, the National Gallery Dining Hall is quite good.  It serves traditional British Food (I had a beef and ale pie with pumpkin).  The seating is cafeteria style but with servers.  I wound up having a nice conversation with a woman from London who told me about attending the Myra Hess concerts during World War II. 

The Imperial War Museum came highly-recommended and didn’t disappoint.  It’s also free (the audio guide is not) and most of it could use a touch-up, but the collection is excellent.  The war-time posters encouraging people to support the war effort and the German surrender papers caught my eye (click the image to see larger sizes on Flickr).

They also have a new Holocaust exhibit.  Here you’ll find the look and feel of a modern museum.  It’s a beautiful exhibit and well done, although I don’t think it competes with the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. 

I ended Tuesday with a walk in Hyde Park.  Wow, it’s a big place.  I tried to follow my Lonely Planet’s suggested route, but underestimated the size and didn’t see everything.  It was a beautiful day, though, and the park is wonderful.

I’ll write more about the rest of my trip later.

Happy Thanksgiving!