The year in blogs: Yours Truly @ CMS Watch

I wrote a number of blog posts for CMS Watch this year (40 in all, which is far more than I remember writing, actually; but Google doesn't lie). As a free service to those suffering from chronic insomnia, I hereby offer this consolidated listing of my 2009 CMS Watch blog posts, arranged chronologically.

1. Time to Tame the Apache Menagerie (Dec 8, 2009)
2. Day sets up shop in Boston (where tech firms go to be ... (Nov 23, 2009)
3. RFI as rich asset (Nov 17, 2009)
4. IBM, Lucene, and the future of search (Nov 11, 2009)
5. Solr heads for an even sunnier future (Oct 28, 2009)
6. Usability still improving -- improvement still needed (Oct 19, 2009)
7. Terracotta offers bolt-on distributed caching (Oct 8, 2009)
8. Where did all the HTML editors go? (Sep 19, 2009)
9. New Course on Web Development Platforms (Sep 15, 2009)
10. Thoughts on the Future of Content Management (Aug 31, 2009)
11. Recommind productizes its categorization engine (Aug 18, 2009)
12. Thinking beyond the RFP (Aug 3, 2009)
13. Day reports sunny results for 1H2009 (Jul 30, 2009)
14. Are we reaching the limits of UI buildout? (Jul 28, 2009)
15. Interest in Lucene continues to accelerate (Jul 14, 2009)
16. In defense of silos (Jul 9, 2009)
17. Clickability shows how not to write a white paper (Jul 1, 2009)
18. The Coming Acronym Crisis (Jun 25, 2009)
19. Vignette bets big on beta-SaaS (Jun 18, 2009)
20. In DAM, Flashy does not always mean Flex (Jun 11, 2009)
21. At Henry Stewart DAM Symposium: A Grey New World (Jun 2, 2009)
22. Open Text buys Vignette: Investment or impulse? (May 6, 2009)
23. Adobe: an elephant in the DAM room? (May 4, 2009)
24. Open Text goes to the (eye) candy store (Apr 10, 2009)
25. We live in interesting DAM times (Apr 8, 2009)
26. Are you investing in technology, or people? (Apr 6, 2009)
27. It's time for seat-based software licensing to end (Mar 25, 2009)
28. OASIS blesses UIMA - What does it mean? (Mar 20, 2009)
29. DAM vendor Ancept under new ownership (Mar 6, 2009)
30. A reality checklist for vendors (Feb 26, 2009)
31. Day releases not-so-sunny financial results (Feb 25, 2009)
32. Software vendors need to understand how the web really works (Feb 17, 2009)
33. Thoughts on Google Monoculture and the Cloud (Jan 31, 2009)
34. IBM, Microsoft, and the patent mess - how to protect yourself (Jan 31, 2009)
35. Day tries pay-as-you-go licensing (Jan 28, 2009)
36. Startup offers commercial support for Lucene (Jan 26, 2009)
37. What next for Interwoven? (Jan 23, 2009)
38. Alfresco unveils a major upgrade (Jan 21, 2009)
39. Vignette Village 2009 cancelled (Jan 14, 2009)
40. Green IT versus blue sky (Jan 12, 2009)

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Manic High

Wow! I am going through a major manic episode today. I have Bipolar disorder and I ran out of my meds. Since I have no way to the pharmacy, I have to wait until tomorrow before I get my meds again. I have been without them for almost two weeks and I am starting to feel it now. I have to admit, I like the manic episodes because I have a ton of energy and can get more things done with housework and writing. So, after this blog post I am going to clean the house and start writing this story that is screaming in my head to get out. I haven't written fiction in a while and it is high time I get back into it.

I can tell I am going through a manic episode because I am talking and typing faster than usual. My mind is racing and I can't get the words out fast enough. I have excess energy and I feel like running a marathon! I would much rather have a manic episode than a low or depressed episode. When I am depressed I don't want to do anything and that includes clean my house.

So I am going to go clean house and write some stuff before I lose all of this extra energy. :)

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When depression really starts?

The depression doesn't start from nowhere. There are usually life experiences that are the cause. Here is the theory I found useful in self-help treatment. It helps to deal with some repeating patterns of your behavior that you may not like and also it may help you to find out what really causes your depression.

In the following theory there are 3 types of states:

- Conscious - things that happen to you and around you that you aware of (you are aware that you're reading this text).

- Subconscious (while reading this text you're also seeing the tip of your nose though after I wrote it the knowledge of the fact that you see it too jumped to your consciousness) - some things that happen to you right now but your mind isn't occupied with them - same with walking or eating - you don't need to think about each your next move - you just put one leg in front of the other or manipulate your fork and knife and food.

- Unconscious. This is going to be a bit long but I hope to explain it. Please ask questions if you find something confusing.

Let's say there's a person who's constantly late to his job. No matter what he does to avoid being late in some way or another he slows down. He blames himself and starts overeating because this helps him feel better. After awhile he realizes he's overweight and blames himself again and promises himself to stop overeating. This causes stress too. He becomes annoyed and starts yelling at his family members and later on he hates this behavior of his too etc etc etc the poor man becomes a time bomb. What he should think about is why he actually was always late to his job. The reason is not obvious. Let's now return to what unconscious state is.

When we're young our mind registers all the incoming signals and tries to classify them. Like our ancestors tried to classify predator/lightning/darkness/... things into dangerous and fire/apples/fresh water/sex into safe things. In a baby's mind mother is in good things because she means safety. On the other hand a dog that scared him will be in bad things. But not just that particular dog but any dog = danger. Let's imagine this child and his parents drove somewhere and suddenly got into a car crash. What would he feel and see? He'll probably feel dizziness and maybe itching in his belly, he'll see his crying mother and also the sun shining and reflecting in a nearby puddle. He'll hear the birds singing. The kid grows up and some day he may go down the street and see a crying woman. He has just had lunch and his belly itches. The day is bright and the sun shines and sun-rays reflect in a puddle and the birds are singing in the nearby park. Suddenly for no obvious reason the man suffers panic attack and runs away. Why? Because just now he's experienced the things that his mind long ago considered linked to danger. This is what his unconscious mind told him.

Now let's get back to the guy who's always late. When he was a kid his mother gave him sweets every day. He had a girlfriend who he always gave half of his sweets because he wanted her to like him and be his friend. One day the little girl was late and the kid was hungry so he waited and waited for her but then ate all sweets. When the girl came and found that out she first burst in tears and then went to the boy's mother and told her he's the one who broke the window. The mother was angry and spanked her son. He never told a girl a thing just stopped seeing her. Now he's a grown up man who forgot this story and now works in the office. He used to be friends with one of his colleagues but once he found out that this colleague has told their boss that the man doesn't pay enough attention to his work. What is the man's reaction? You're right. Each time he goes to job he unconsciously wants to avoid it and that makes him always be late.

Now what should be done in order to break this circle? First of all if you have some behavior of yours that you don't like first of all try to register all the feelings you're having: itchiness, crying spells, etc. Then close your eyes and try to think about your feelings and find any association that comes to your mind. Don't try to seek for it just relax and let your mind show you an answer. If you remembered some situation try to live it again - to feel it. Don't fight your tears or angriness or whatever feelings you have. Express them in the way you should in that situation of long ago. This may make you want to reconsider your feelings about some present situations and thus change the program. Understand that whatever happens to you is not your fault. It is your unconscious mind that dictates your reactions. However now you've realized why and now the things from the unconscious moved to consciousness means you can control them!

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Today is a Better Day

Today was much better than yesterday. I had more energy today and I was able to clean my whole house without forcing myself to. I cleaned everything. Scrubbed floors, cleaned the bathroom, did laundry. It felt good to actually do something positive for once.

It was nice outside too so the dogs were able to stay out most of the day. Which was a relief to me. I also wrote two articles for ehow and got one accepted for Associated Content. Demand Studios wants a re-write, of course so I have to work on that tomorrow. All in all it was a great day!

Tomorrow, I get paid from some of the programs I am in so I am going to do a bit of Christmas shopping online. I am going to buy my mom, dad's and husband's gifts online. Hopefully, it will be nice out so the dogs can stay out tomorrow too.

I hope this good feeling lasts a bit longer. I think my energy level came from the diet pills I am taking. I started taking Slimquick to help me lose a little weight and I think they are working finally. I hope so because they weren't cheap! :)

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Remembering the VIC-20

Does anyone else remember the VIC-20? Am I dreaming? Did this $299 consumer appliance (the first "personal computer" to ship a million units) really transform people's lives? Or just mine?

I wonder if William Shatner remembers being in this ad?

Commodore's computer-in-a-keyboard, you may recall, came with a grand total of 5 KB of RAM (enough to run the operating system and leave 3583 bytes left over for you, the discerning consumer, to play with). Fear not, though: RAM was expandable up to 40 KB with an add-on memory cartridge.

Does anyone else recall logging onto CompuServe with a 300-baud modem, using the VIC-20 wired to a TV as a monitor? Or am I showing my age?

On second thought, don't answer that.

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One of those days

It is one of those agitating days. I feel like I am going to lose my mind. I have seven dogs and 6 puppies. Four dogs are in the house because of the rain and then there are the six puppies. At least they are still young enough to sleep all the time.

I knew what I was getting myself into when I took all these dogs in but geez, they can sure drive me nuts sometimes. Imagine living in a small trailer with a husband who likes to sit there and pick at you for fun and seven dogs to take care of. Five dogs sleep in the house at night until we get the fence up and I am still waiting on my husband to get off his butt and put it up. It is a nightmare right now.

On top of all of that I got my denial letter from Social Security the other day. I was planning on getting another bigger trailer brought in here to add on to this one so we can have more room. Now that I am not getting my money I thought I was going to get, no bigger trailer.

Christmas is right around the corner and I have been working my butt off online to buy Christmas gifts. I will only be able to buy everyone one thing this year. Itis really no different from last year and the year before.

I just need a break big time. I need someone to lend me some money so I can get a bigger trailer brought in here. Not only is it too small, but we are heating with one small heater in the living room, one small heater in the bedroom for the puppies, and the oven. I really hate Winter. I wish it was Spring or Summer all year round. That is why I would love to move to Florida someday. I wouldn't miss the snow or cold weather one bit since I have been living here in Ohio in the cold all my life.

I pray to God every day and night to give me one small break. This doesn't help my depression one bit. Sometimes it feels like everything happens at once and everything is falling down around me all the time.

Back to fighting with Social Security again. I even had a lawyer this time and still didn't win. I am so tired of fighting them but I will not give up. In the meantime, I will be writing articles until my eyes bug out.

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SSI woes!

I applied for SSI 4 years ago and have had two hearings already. This time I had a lawyer and I still got denied. I am so sick of this crap with them. I am ready to give up but social security said not to. They said I will eventually get it. I was hoping I would have gotten it in time for Christmas but that isn't happening now. I am just tired of messing with them.

I suffer from social anxiety disorder and Bipolar disorder. My husband got it for being Bipolar and it only took him seven months. I have been fighting them for 4 years now. My brother-n-law got it for having a seizure disorder and it only took him two months. Neither one of them had to go to a hearing and they didn't have to get a lawyer. The lawyer I had was supposed to be one of the best in this area. When I went to the hearing, I had to do almost all of the talking. She was a half hour late and she mostly just sat there. When I appeal this time, I am getting a new lawyer.

I also suffer from depression and this time of year it is worse. The days are shorter and it is cold and snowy and rainy most of the time. We don't have a car and even if we did we couldn't go anywhere when the roads are bad. I really hate Winter and as much as I like Christmas, it looks like we won't have much of one because I don't make much money online. I make enough to get by. I will just have to work a little harder, as usual.

Anyway, I am a little depressed today because of getting denied and decided I would write it down and maybe feel a little better. I hope I get it next time.

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NoSQL Required Reading

I've been trying to follow the fast-moving world of NoSQL lately, and -- like a visit to the carnival funhouse -- it has left me with double vision, queasy stomach, and a staggering gait. (And it's not even Saturday morning...) Yet I find myself coming back for more.

If you're new to NoSQL, you'll want to do a bit of background reading. I'll keep this quick and limit my recommendations to just the essentials:

1. The Amazon Dynamo paper is classic. Almost everyone in the NoSQL world has read this paper.

2. Google's Bigtable paper. Again, very widely read.

3. Werner Vogels's "Eventually Consistent" (originally published in ACM Queue) is absolutely the one article you should read if you're not clear on the rationale behind "eventual consistency."

4. Brewer's CAP Theorem (a foundational bit of scalability theory) is well-explained here. Also see Brewer's original slides from his famous July 2000 PODC keynote.

5. The slideshows from the June 11, 2009 NoSQL meetup in SFO bring to mind adjectives like classic, influential, seminal, pivotal, memorable. Ignore these decks at your peril.

6. SQL Databases Don't Scale is short, basic, and to-the-point. Essential background info if you're not already a battle-scarred DBA with scalability wounds.

7. For a tabular overview of major distributed databases and how they compare with each other, see NoSQL Ecosystem by Jonathan Ellis. A similar effort is the Quick Reference to Alternative data storages page. Ellis's post is noteworthy for its clueful, concise, helpful narrative (in addition to the tables). The Quick Reference page is mainly tables -- but the tables are more complete than Ellis's.


Other Essential Resources

http://nosql-databases.org/ -- This site bills itself as "Your Ultimate Guide to the Non-Relational Universe!", and also self-assuredly calls itself "the biggest nosql link archiv in the web." It's worth knowing about, certainly.

IMHO, all fully conformant NoSQL geeks MUST follow @nosqlupdate on Twitter.

Conformant geeks SHOULD follow @al3xandru (creator of the excellent MyNoSQL blog and NoSQL Week in Review). NoSQL Week in Review is new. I'm hoping it will be updated regularly. It's excellent.

You MAY want to read recent blog posts by Ricky Ho that aptly summarize key aspects of distributed data-store technology. Two noteworthy examples: Query Processing for NoSQL Databases, and his widely read NoSQL Design Patterns post.

That SHOULD be enough to get you started. ;)

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Hadoop and Solr popularity continue to scale well

Blue lines: Hadoop
Red lines: Solr



A quick check of Google Trends shows that Apache Solr (the search server based on Lucene) and Hadoop (the open-source implementation of MapReduce) are popular query terms -- and becoming more popular by the day. (For links to the news stories labelled with flags 'A', 'B', 'C', etc., go to this Google Trends page.)

Likewise: Job trend data from Indeed.com leaves little doubt that Hadoop and Solr skills are increasingly in demand:

hadoop,solr Job Trends

hadoop jobs - solr jobs

Bottom line? If you're a developer, enrichening your Hadoop and/or Lucene+Solr skills can only be considered a good investment.

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Will HTML5 be SQL-free?

The Los Angeles Times story about Google deprecating Gears in favor of "HTML5" got quite a bit of attention in the Twitterverse yesterday, and has the blogosphere abuzz now, as well.

There are several interesting aspects to the story. One is that the name Microsoft doesn't come up at all. Instead, Apple figures rather prominently in the Times story. In fact, the Times's depiction of Google, Apple, and W3C deciding the fate of the post-2.0 Web evokes images of the Big Three debating Europe's postwar reorganization at the Yalta Conference. One gets the (fanciful) impression that Microsoft's future is, to some extent, being decided without anyone from Redmond being present. Of course, that's not quite true. ;)

Another interesting aspect of the Times story is that it talks about HTML5 wrapping the various technologies that will (ostensibly, soon) make Gears superfluous, when technically speaking, many of the functionalities being attributed to HTML5 in the Times story are, in fact, not part of the HTML5 specification at all. They are part of various other WebApps Working Group specs.

Be that as it may, the decision facing the browser-makers at this point is what kind of offline storage to use for browser-mediated web apps. Specifically, will the underlying store support SQL, or not?

This is (trust me) a Huge Hairy Issue -- HHI(tm) -- and don't let the Times or anybody else tell you otherwise: It's far from being settled yet.

HTML5 talks about SQL quite openly. And it appears Opera, Safari, and (soon) Chrome are implementing WebDB, which is a SQL database in the spirit of the (emerging) Web SQL Database spec. But that's not to say WebDB is a traditional SQL database. It implements SQLite, which is another beast entirely.

Know well, though, not everyone wants SQLite -- or SQL, for that matter. In fact, Microsoft's Adrian Bateman has stated that Redmond probably will not go that route. In a WebApp WG teleconference, Bateman said:

Microsoft's position is that WebSimpleDB is what we'd like to see
... we don't think we'll reasonably be able to ship an interoperable version of WebDB
... trying to arrive at an interoperable version of SQL will be too hard

WebSimpleDB, also known as the Nikunj proposal (in deference to the author, Nikunj R. Mehta, of Oracle Corporation), proposes a key-value store of the NoSQL variety. And interestingly enough, this approach is getting serious consideration not only from Microsoft but from Mozilla as well. (In the aforementioned teleconference, Mozilla's Jonas Sicking said: "We’ve talked to a lot of developers, the feedback we got is that we really don’t want SQL...")

It's too early to know how it will all play out. About the only thing that's certain at this point is that Google has (thankfully) decided it's more important to back-burner proprietary approaches to web-app infrastructure than to stay on board with mainstream industry standards, even if those standards are (in some cases) still quite fluid and ill-formed. One hopes Microsoft will learn this lesson too. Otherwise? Yalta will decide.

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Where Google's power goes

Ever wonder where all the electrical power ends up being used in a Google data center? This is the approximate breakout according to a recent book by Google engineers Luiz André Barroso and Urs Hölzle‌.

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Unexpected relationship between hard-drive life and temperature

Today, I was reading Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population [PDF], a February 2007 paper by Eduardo Pinheiro, Wolf-Dietrich Weber, and Luiz André Barroso of Google, containing lots of great data on hard-drive failures and the difficulty of predicting same. The above graph depicts one of the more interesting findings, which is that the effect of operating temperature on disk reliability appears to vary with disk age, such that younger drives tend to be more susceptible to low-temperature failures, whereas older drives tend to be more susceptible to failure at elevated temperatures. Results are grouped by age of disk at failure, then broken out into subgroups (histogram bars) based on their operating temperature. So for example, among disks that failed at 3 years of age, the Annualized Failure Rate (AFR) was about 15% for those disks that had had operating temps of 45 deg. C or more, versus a fail rate of 5% for those that had seen temps of less than 30 deg. C.

Many people have assumed that high temps are bad for disks. And indeed maybe they are bad for 3-year-old disks, but disks that fail at younger ages tend to be much more traumatized by cold than by heat. Pinheiro et al. give additional data for this, and it's pretty convincing. For example, if you have a look at Fig. 4 of the paper, you'll see a bathtub curve, showing that extremes of temperature are deleterious to disk life expectancy. Ironically, the bathtub curve reaches its lowest point at around 38 deg. C -- very close to human body temperature.

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