I'll get the rest of the report up this weekend.
Friday, July 08, 2005
EMC JavaOne Pic
Think of this as "Part 2.5" -- a picture of the EMC crew.
I'll get the rest of the report up this weekend.
I'll get the rest of the report up this weekend.
San Francisco Trip - Part 2 (w/Pics)
(See part one)
MONDAY
I was at the conference all morning and all afternoon, and had lunch with Jess at the Metreon food court in between. I won't bore you with conference-related stuff, but the opening day was special. The first general session, where they welcomed us all, was very cool in a "relax and geek out" kind of way.
Side note: It was very difficult to balance the two vibes this trip had for me. On the one hand, you spend all day with 15,000 other geeks doing geeky stuff. During off time, there is tons of geeky amusement to be had, which I almost completely skipped to maximize my time with Jess and in the city. It led to some minor feelings of time and energy conflict which took some getting used to.
Moving on: the conference went to 7:00 PM and by then I was pretty wiped out. I didn't feel like doing anything ambitious, so we went for a walk to a nearby Indian cafe that gets rave reviews: Chaat Cafe. The reviews were right: awesome affordable Indian food. Very fun, very relaxing, and my only complaint was that the service was awful. The story here is that they are very busy at lunch, where you give your order at the counter, fight for a table, and scarf down your food with no real service. At dinner they seat you and take your order, but they really don't "serve" you that much after your food arrives. Not much in terms of drink refills, and it took forever to get our check.
TUESDAY
Probably my best day at the conference; lots of interesting sessions, with a convenient one hour break where nothing interested me too much. I grabbed lunch at a noodle place in the Metreon food court and got primo seats at the first session after that. Interesting content, kind of hit my tech groove.
This was the day Jess braved the subway and went to the zoo, which is her own story to tell. Still, way to go Jess!
After the sessions we hopped on the subway and made our way to the financial district, where we had awesome Greek food at Kokkari's. We were a little underdressed; most of the people there were still in their "I work in a bank or ad agency" uniforms. But our waiter was awesome. He made us feel totally at home, answered all our questions without a hint of condescension, and basically made us feel like the only customers in the place. Awesome from top to bottom. On the way back we walked through a neighborhood where wild parrots hang out in the trees, and poked around through various parks and such before heading back to the hotel.
Side note: obviously underlying all these little stories is the current of "city" experiences. Street musicians, pan-handlers, homeless people, insane crowds, busy traffic, stopping in random cafes for soda/coffee/tea, etc. I don't bother to add that in but it was part of the whole experience for us and one which we don't get that often.
WEDNESDAY
A very busy conference day, with no real breaks at all. I created one, though, and spent a little time exploring the vendor booths on the floor, because otherwise I would have felt cheated.
Side story: I had an amusing encounter with a "booth babe." There were not many of them, and even these were not true "booth babes" but probably just "attractive sales/marketing people." Still, it was obvious what this girl's job was, and she did an okay job of it. Now, I was interested in hearing about the product, but really I could have just grabbed their flier and reviewed it later. But I got completely sucked in. I thought I was above this, but once she made eye contact and smiled her huge pretty smile, I was like a deer in headlights. Yes, tell me more! That's fascinating! No, I haven't heard of your product before. Ah....yes, I see how that would be useful. Anyway, the story has a happy ending: I snapped out of it was she tried to hand me off to an engineer for a more in-depth demo of the product. I made my escape and grazed the other booths for minor trinkets, handouts, and brief sales speeches.
All part of the fun.
I don't remember what, if anything, we did Wednesday after my sessions. But we had dinner at a place we had walked by a dozen times, Max's. Their tagline was something like "everything you ever wanted to eat," and it was always crowded. The food was well-executed middle-of-the-road fare, with a slightly quirky but very "safe" atmosphere. The drinks were not the best, though, and the portions were too big. I hesitate to count that as a negative but it's hard not to -- our soups could have been meals in their own right, and each of us left half our dinners uneaten. Still, they were decent dinners and it was a fun, laid back time. We were able to sit in a booth where our seats were kitty-corner from each other, with good views of the streets outside. So we could people-watch and chat about the day.
I think I was pretty beat at this point, but there was one more day of "work" left.
THURSDAY
The vibe of the conference changed on the last day; the vendor booths closed up, the late-night sessions stopped, and I said goodbye to the various EMC folks I had met from across the country.
Side note: I met lots of interesting people at the conference, just random people you'd start a conversation with in line. Where are you from, go anywhere interesting yesterday, etc. Nice times. I am not really an extroverted person but it's interesting to see the contrast between me and truly shy people. I got involved in a 3-way conversation where one guy was really outgoing but the other was totally quiet. It was odd watching him just get quieter and quieter as the other guy and I kind of took over the conversation. Random humanity :).
The general session on the last day was the "here's the future" session, and it was pretty cool and inspiring in its own way. I hit all the sessions I could on the last day, again with no real break, but skipped the last session of the day so I could be out by 3:30. We made plans to meet at the movies at 6 with Ura and another EMC guy
named Steve, and that was that.
After checking and seeing the movie didn't start until almost 7, Jess and I grabbed dinner before the movies. We ended up at a Mexican place that was actually part of a chain, called Chevy's. Still, huge high quality ritas, fresh tortilla chips, spicy delicious food, and Mexican music added up to a great time. We hit War of the Worlds after that, and then wandered around the city with Ura and Steve, ending up back at our hotel bar for a couple drinks and some vague work-related discussion. A solid evening.
MONDAY
I was at the conference all morning and all afternoon, and had lunch with Jess at the Metreon food court in between. I won't bore you with conference-related stuff, but the opening day was special. The first general session, where they welcomed us all, was very cool in a "relax and geek out" kind of way.
Side note: It was very difficult to balance the two vibes this trip had for me. On the one hand, you spend all day with 15,000 other geeks doing geeky stuff. During off time, there is tons of geeky amusement to be had, which I almost completely skipped to maximize my time with Jess and in the city. It led to some minor feelings of time and energy conflict which took some getting used to.
Moving on: the conference went to 7:00 PM and by then I was pretty wiped out. I didn't feel like doing anything ambitious, so we went for a walk to a nearby Indian cafe that gets rave reviews: Chaat Cafe. The reviews were right: awesome affordable Indian food. Very fun, very relaxing, and my only complaint was that the service was awful. The story here is that they are very busy at lunch, where you give your order at the counter, fight for a table, and scarf down your food with no real service. At dinner they seat you and take your order, but they really don't "serve" you that much after your food arrives. Not much in terms of drink refills, and it took forever to get our check.
TUESDAY
Probably my best day at the conference; lots of interesting sessions, with a convenient one hour break where nothing interested me too much. I grabbed lunch at a noodle place in the Metreon food court and got primo seats at the first session after that. Interesting content, kind of hit my tech groove.
This was the day Jess braved the subway and went to the zoo, which is her own story to tell. Still, way to go Jess!
After the sessions we hopped on the subway and made our way to the financial district, where we had awesome Greek food at Kokkari's. We were a little underdressed; most of the people there were still in their "I work in a bank or ad agency" uniforms. But our waiter was awesome. He made us feel totally at home, answered all our questions without a hint of condescension, and basically made us feel like the only customers in the place. Awesome from top to bottom. On the way back we walked through a neighborhood where wild parrots hang out in the trees, and poked around through various parks and such before heading back to the hotel.
Side note: obviously underlying all these little stories is the current of "city" experiences. Street musicians, pan-handlers, homeless people, insane crowds, busy traffic, stopping in random cafes for soda/coffee/tea, etc. I don't bother to add that in but it was part of the whole experience for us and one which we don't get that often.
WEDNESDAY
A very busy conference day, with no real breaks at all. I created one, though, and spent a little time exploring the vendor booths on the floor, because otherwise I would have felt cheated.
Side story: I had an amusing encounter with a "booth babe." There were not many of them, and even these were not true "booth babes" but probably just "attractive sales/marketing people." Still, it was obvious what this girl's job was, and she did an okay job of it. Now, I was interested in hearing about the product, but really I could have just grabbed their flier and reviewed it later. But I got completely sucked in. I thought I was above this, but once she made eye contact and smiled her huge pretty smile, I was like a deer in headlights. Yes, tell me more! That's fascinating! No, I haven't heard of your product before. Ah....yes, I see how that would be useful. Anyway, the story has a happy ending: I snapped out of it was she tried to hand me off to an engineer for a more in-depth demo of the product. I made my escape and grazed the other booths for minor trinkets, handouts, and brief sales speeches.
All part of the fun.
I don't remember what, if anything, we did Wednesday after my sessions. But we had dinner at a place we had walked by a dozen times, Max's. Their tagline was something like "everything you ever wanted to eat," and it was always crowded. The food was well-executed middle-of-the-road fare, with a slightly quirky but very "safe" atmosphere. The drinks were not the best, though, and the portions were too big. I hesitate to count that as a negative but it's hard not to -- our soups could have been meals in their own right, and each of us left half our dinners uneaten. Still, they were decent dinners and it was a fun, laid back time. We were able to sit in a booth where our seats were kitty-corner from each other, with good views of the streets outside. So we could people-watch and chat about the day.
I think I was pretty beat at this point, but there was one more day of "work" left.
THURSDAY
The vibe of the conference changed on the last day; the vendor booths closed up, the late-night sessions stopped, and I said goodbye to the various EMC folks I had met from across the country.
Side note: I met lots of interesting people at the conference, just random people you'd start a conversation with in line. Where are you from, go anywhere interesting yesterday, etc. Nice times. I am not really an extroverted person but it's interesting to see the contrast between me and truly shy people. I got involved in a 3-way conversation where one guy was really outgoing but the other was totally quiet. It was odd watching him just get quieter and quieter as the other guy and I kind of took over the conversation. Random humanity :).
The general session on the last day was the "here's the future" session, and it was pretty cool and inspiring in its own way. I hit all the sessions I could on the last day, again with no real break, but skipped the last session of the day so I could be out by 3:30. We made plans to meet at the movies at 6 with Ura and another EMC guy
named Steve, and that was that.
After checking and seeing the movie didn't start until almost 7, Jess and I grabbed dinner before the movies. We ended up at a Mexican place that was actually part of a chain, called Chevy's. Still, huge high quality ritas, fresh tortilla chips, spicy delicious food, and Mexican music added up to a great time. We hit War of the Worlds after that, and then wandered around the city with Ura and Steve, ending up back at our hotel bar for a couple drinks and some vague work-related discussion. A solid evening.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
San Francisco Trip - Part 1 (w/PICS)
Having recently returned home from 8 days in San Francisco for the JavaOne conference, I thought I'd inflict upon my faithful readers (ha) a little summary of my trip. We start with the first weekend in the city and I'll follow up with later days. Background info: this was my second time in SF and my wife's first. I know this will read backwards but such is the life of the blogger.
SATURDAY
We got a ride to the airport in a "shared van" which cost us like 60 bucks each way. Considering the cost of parking for 8 days plus the convenience factor, it seemed worth it. There's a good chance the company will pay for this expense, making it even more worth it. They picked us up at 3 AM, and the only reason I even mention this is that when we left a skunk was chilling out by our back porch (as in, it ran away from me when I came out by running between my grill and my steps). After this little adrenalin rush subsided, the trip there was pretty uneventful.
We got to SF, exhausted, and were checked into our hotel by noon their time. We headed out for our first brief excursion by walking around the immediate area until we found a place that looked about our speed for lunch. We ended up at a place called the Daily Grill, which was quiet, casual (enough), and good. We ate sandwiches and returned to the hotel to nap for a few hours because, you know, getting up at 2:30 AM is tiring.
Late afternoon, we headed out for a little laid-back exploration. We walked to where my conference was held, and I picked up my registration materials. Along the way we got a little lost (Moscone West != Moscone, fyi), but it was no big deal. We poked around downtown a little, bought a weeklong public transit pass (great deal at 20 bucks per person), and settled in to dinner at some jazz bistro that was completely empty. The food was completely average -- I imagine the real appeal was the music, but we were too early for music. Remember, we were 3 hours off schedule and operating on weird sleep too.
Side story: a street musician, later in the week, responded to my friend Ura's question of where to go for some cool music by naming this same jazz bistro.
SUNDAY
This was our real welcome to the city day. We started with breakfast at Sears Fine Foods, a short walk away and evidently a famous breakfast joint. Good food, but I'm not sure I understand how it got so famous. Maybe staying in business for decades and decades has something to do with it.
After breakfast, we headed downtown and walked pretty far down Market St (heading west). This was the Pride Parade day, and the street was blocked off and tons of cops were hanging around to set up. As such, we walked with confidence through some fairly sketchy areas :). We turned around as we got near the civic center, and walked all the way back to like 5th St or so, where we found a gap in the crowd and saddled up to the barriers to watch the parade.
The parade was MASSIVE. It opened with the 600-strong "Dykes on Bikes" and went from there. Jess was moved to tears at the start of it, which I wasn't expecting. She said it was sad to see these people who were so obviously happy with their lives and yet had to fight for the simplest recognition and respect. That gave me a little pause and cast the event in a slightly different light for me.
In any case, it was a freakshow. We saw a couple topless women and a couple bottomless guys, float after float representing various groups, companies, and causes, and just tons of people marching. Overall, though, it was much more tame than we were expecting. I guess growing up in Northampton, living in liberal Massachusetts, and traveling as much as we have, we've already seen a lot. Maybe the Internet has something to do with it too. But it wasn't the "OMG insane" freakshow we sort of were hoping for. It's like we secretly wanted to have our boundaries tested and pushed, and instead we just stood by and watched stuff we've seen before, and applauded with everyone else.
Side note: it was deeply moving to see the very strong anti-establishment crowd applaud as one when the (very few) gay veterans marched by, again when the gay police marched by (with partners), and finally again when the mayor marched by. You see so much stupid "I hate everybody" rebellion that it's nice to see properly directed "I can hate the war but still applaud the vets" energy.
Anyway, it was quite an experience. The crowds were huge, and friendly. We saw NO anti-parade protesters, which was another surprise. Plenty of anti-war, anti-Bush signs, of course. Heh. Eventually we grew tired of watching people march by, and it was clear the "big bang" stuff had already gone by, so we moved on. We walked east and ended up at the Ferry Building, Pier 1, Embarcadero. We had lunch at The Slanted Door, Vietnamese food, and just generally enjoyed the atmosphere of the building. Lots of little shops, small farmers' market, lots of people milling about, great views of the Bay Bridge (to Oakland), etc. Then we waited for the restored vintage subway car to take us to Pier 39.
At Pier 39 we just kind of walked around, went into a few shops, checked out the view, the seal lions, etc. We were really kind of wiped out, though, to get much out of this. We took the cable car back to our hotel and rested up a bit, meeting one of my Amazon Basin friends for dinner. It was supposed to be two friends but one never showed. In any case, she took us to the Cliff House, where we waited for an hour to get a table and chatted while admiring the killer views of the Pacific. If you haven't been up there, make a point of it next time you're in SF. It's downright surreal to see the ocean from that angle, and the sunset wasn't half-bad either.
So that was our first big city day; exhausting, long, but awesome.
SATURDAY
We got a ride to the airport in a "shared van" which cost us like 60 bucks each way. Considering the cost of parking for 8 days plus the convenience factor, it seemed worth it. There's a good chance the company will pay for this expense, making it even more worth it. They picked us up at 3 AM, and the only reason I even mention this is that when we left a skunk was chilling out by our back porch (as in, it ran away from me when I came out by running between my grill and my steps). After this little adrenalin rush subsided, the trip there was pretty uneventful.
We got to SF, exhausted, and were checked into our hotel by noon their time. We headed out for our first brief excursion by walking around the immediate area until we found a place that looked about our speed for lunch. We ended up at a place called the Daily Grill, which was quiet, casual (enough), and good. We ate sandwiches and returned to the hotel to nap for a few hours because, you know, getting up at 2:30 AM is tiring.
Late afternoon, we headed out for a little laid-back exploration. We walked to where my conference was held, and I picked up my registration materials. Along the way we got a little lost (Moscone West != Moscone, fyi), but it was no big deal. We poked around downtown a little, bought a weeklong public transit pass (great deal at 20 bucks per person), and settled in to dinner at some jazz bistro that was completely empty. The food was completely average -- I imagine the real appeal was the music, but we were too early for music. Remember, we were 3 hours off schedule and operating on weird sleep too.
Side story: a street musician, later in the week, responded to my friend Ura's question of where to go for some cool music by naming this same jazz bistro.
SUNDAY
This was our real welcome to the city day. We started with breakfast at Sears Fine Foods, a short walk away and evidently a famous breakfast joint. Good food, but I'm not sure I understand how it got so famous. Maybe staying in business for decades and decades has something to do with it.
After breakfast, we headed downtown and walked pretty far down Market St (heading west). This was the Pride Parade day, and the street was blocked off and tons of cops were hanging around to set up. As such, we walked with confidence through some fairly sketchy areas :). We turned around as we got near the civic center, and walked all the way back to like 5th St or so, where we found a gap in the crowd and saddled up to the barriers to watch the parade.
The parade was MASSIVE. It opened with the 600-strong "Dykes on Bikes" and went from there. Jess was moved to tears at the start of it, which I wasn't expecting. She said it was sad to see these people who were so obviously happy with their lives and yet had to fight for the simplest recognition and respect. That gave me a little pause and cast the event in a slightly different light for me.
In any case, it was a freakshow. We saw a couple topless women and a couple bottomless guys, float after float representing various groups, companies, and causes, and just tons of people marching. Overall, though, it was much more tame than we were expecting. I guess growing up in Northampton, living in liberal Massachusetts, and traveling as much as we have, we've already seen a lot. Maybe the Internet has something to do with it too. But it wasn't the "OMG insane" freakshow we sort of were hoping for. It's like we secretly wanted to have our boundaries tested and pushed, and instead we just stood by and watched stuff we've seen before, and applauded with everyone else.
Side note: it was deeply moving to see the very strong anti-establishment crowd applaud as one when the (very few) gay veterans marched by, again when the gay police marched by (with partners), and finally again when the mayor marched by. You see so much stupid "I hate everybody" rebellion that it's nice to see properly directed "I can hate the war but still applaud the vets" energy.
Anyway, it was quite an experience. The crowds were huge, and friendly. We saw NO anti-parade protesters, which was another surprise. Plenty of anti-war, anti-Bush signs, of course. Heh. Eventually we grew tired of watching people march by, and it was clear the "big bang" stuff had already gone by, so we moved on. We walked east and ended up at the Ferry Building, Pier 1, Embarcadero. We had lunch at The Slanted Door, Vietnamese food, and just generally enjoyed the atmosphere of the building. Lots of little shops, small farmers' market, lots of people milling about, great views of the Bay Bridge (to Oakland), etc. Then we waited for the restored vintage subway car to take us to Pier 39.
At Pier 39 we just kind of walked around, went into a few shops, checked out the view, the seal lions, etc. We were really kind of wiped out, though, to get much out of this. We took the cable car back to our hotel and rested up a bit, meeting one of my Amazon Basin friends for dinner. It was supposed to be two friends but one never showed. In any case, she took us to the Cliff House, where we waited for an hour to get a table and chatted while admiring the killer views of the Pacific. If you haven't been up there, make a point of it next time you're in SF. It's downright surreal to see the ocean from that angle, and the sunset wasn't half-bad either.
So that was our first big city day; exhausting, long, but awesome.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Feeling Rejuvenated
My plane landed a couple hours ago, and I'm back home, safe, sound, and not quite tired enough to sleep. Three cheers for time zone changes!
I figured instead of wasting away my energy playing a video game, I'd pop in here and write up a short comment on how this trip has made me feel. The best word I can use is rejuvenated.
My wife and I this past week experienced things both wondrous and mundane, spectacular and tacky. We met new people, saw new places, and learned new things. We were pampered and humbled, awestruck and saddened. It was everything we travel for, and I couldn't ask for it to be more.
In addition, I spent four days with my industry peers and felt my excitement for my industry rekindled. I have no idea how long it will last, but I have realized how out of touch I have become with the state of the art, and how easy it would be to invest just a little more time into staying more in touch. I'm looking forward to sharing with my co-workers everything that I took away from the convention. Someone slap me, I'm losing touch with reality.
I'm thrilled to be home. But part of me is sad knowing that the energy I feel right now will fade over time. Maybe I can find a way to preserve and channel it. Only time will tell.
I figured instead of wasting away my energy playing a video game, I'd pop in here and write up a short comment on how this trip has made me feel. The best word I can use is rejuvenated.
My wife and I this past week experienced things both wondrous and mundane, spectacular and tacky. We met new people, saw new places, and learned new things. We were pampered and humbled, awestruck and saddened. It was everything we travel for, and I couldn't ask for it to be more.
In addition, I spent four days with my industry peers and felt my excitement for my industry rekindled. I have no idea how long it will last, but I have realized how out of touch I have become with the state of the art, and how easy it would be to invest just a little more time into staying more in touch. I'm looking forward to sharing with my co-workers everything that I took away from the convention. Someone slap me, I'm losing touch with reality.
I'm thrilled to be home. But part of me is sad knowing that the energy I feel right now will fade over time. Maybe I can find a way to preserve and channel it. Only time will tell.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Connectivity in San Fran
My time in San Francisco is almost at an end. There's so much I could write about, but right now I'm thinking about connectivity.
My hotel room has an ethernet port, through which I am currently connected. To use it, I must activate a service for a period of up to 24 hours (actually it's from "now" until 3 PM the next day), at a cost of ten dollars. Compared to my home broadband fee, this is highway robbery. Compared to being offline, it's a bargain.
Like many of us, I have begun to take it for granted that "cyberspace" is an always-reachable extension of my own mind. I don't need it 24 hours a day, but day after day it really starts to add up. What was that movie, what was that trivial fact, what was that restaurant I read about, how far is it from point A to point B, and what's the buzz on that microbrewery/tapas joint by the Moscone center? I am so used to being able to answer questions like this within seconds, that being unable to answer them even after a whole day has gone by is painful.
Not to mention that I find myself completely unable to absorb news from my surroundings without it. I see something in a headline, see a piece of a news report, and my first thought isn't "turn on CNN" it's "I wonder if there's a thread about this on Ars or Slashdot." I need to know not just what is happening, but what "my peers" think about it.
Don't get me wrong. I am not sitting there consumed by my lack of connectivity while taking a slow walk through Muir Woods. And as I enjoy a great Greek beer and dip my grilled pita bread in an eggplant and garlic spread I am not thinking "I wonder what today's Penny Arcade was." There's a place for being disconnected, and certain states of mind which only seem to be reachable when you're out of touch. Not only that, but I recognize and value the experience of sitting down for a meal at a restaurant you've heard nothing about and being blown away by the surprise -- of reading a book nobody told you was going to be good and thrilling at making a secret discovery.
But the fact is, those times, places, and experiences are few and far between. I need my cybernetic brain add-on more than I need to be without it.
And apparently I am not the only one. Today I saw a street musician with his hotmail email address written down on a piece of paper in his guitar case, among the nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills. It was surreal, but at the same time I kind of identified with him.
My hotel room has an ethernet port, through which I am currently connected. To use it, I must activate a service for a period of up to 24 hours (actually it's from "now" until 3 PM the next day), at a cost of ten dollars. Compared to my home broadband fee, this is highway robbery. Compared to being offline, it's a bargain.
Like many of us, I have begun to take it for granted that "cyberspace" is an always-reachable extension of my own mind. I don't need it 24 hours a day, but day after day it really starts to add up. What was that movie, what was that trivial fact, what was that restaurant I read about, how far is it from point A to point B, and what's the buzz on that microbrewery/tapas joint by the Moscone center? I am so used to being able to answer questions like this within seconds, that being unable to answer them even after a whole day has gone by is painful.
Not to mention that I find myself completely unable to absorb news from my surroundings without it. I see something in a headline, see a piece of a news report, and my first thought isn't "turn on CNN" it's "I wonder if there's a thread about this on Ars or Slashdot." I need to know not just what is happening, but what "my peers" think about it.
Don't get me wrong. I am not sitting there consumed by my lack of connectivity while taking a slow walk through Muir Woods. And as I enjoy a great Greek beer and dip my grilled pita bread in an eggplant and garlic spread I am not thinking "I wonder what today's Penny Arcade was." There's a place for being disconnected, and certain states of mind which only seem to be reachable when you're out of touch. Not only that, but I recognize and value the experience of sitting down for a meal at a restaurant you've heard nothing about and being blown away by the surprise -- of reading a book nobody told you was going to be good and thrilling at making a secret discovery.
But the fact is, those times, places, and experiences are few and far between. I need my cybernetic brain add-on more than I need to be without it.
And apparently I am not the only one. Today I saw a street musician with his hotmail email address written down on a piece of paper in his guitar case, among the nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills. It was surreal, but at the same time I kind of identified with him.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Aching for more time in San Francisco
So I'm in San Francisco for the 10th JavaOne conference, and every day is full of exciting stuff I want to write about -- but time in front of a PC is not a common commodity. There's a big part of me that wants to write a blog entry for each day, detailing everything I'm seeing and doing, but I just don't have the time.
We'll see. Maybe I'll get some free time today and will be able to write something at least....
We'll see. Maybe I'll get some free time today and will be able to write something at least....
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Burning Political Issues
The US House of Representatives has approved a constitutional ammendment making it legal for Congress to create a law banning the desecration of our flag. It now has to be approved by the Senate and states.
Some links:
Yahho News
Wikipedia
Flag Burning FAQ
This has happened in the past, but each time the Senate has overturned it. Many observers expect this time around to be different. For example, 49 of the 50 states (thank you, Vermont, and fuck you, New Hampshire - live free indeed) have expressed non-binding support for this amendment.
Regardless of how you feel about burning the flag in protest, let's look at some facts:
I'll wrap this up by stating that I feel this is the single most frightening step this administration has taken against our freedoms, and that's saying a lot (USA PATRIOT act, anybody?). If we do this, we create a nation where it is now actually possible to commit a thought crime.
Let me put it this way. Our Contitution is more sacred than our flag, and our nation as a whole will desecrate it by passing this amendment. That desecration is not worth the benefit of giving our cops another way to harass the dirty hippies whose flag-burning protests don't convince anybody of anything anyway.
I'm ashamed of every single vote in favor of this amendment.
Some links:
Yahho News
Wikipedia
Flag Burning FAQ
This has happened in the past, but each time the Senate has overturned it. Many observers expect this time around to be different. For example, 49 of the 50 states (thank you, Vermont, and fuck you, New Hampshire - live free indeed) have expressed non-binding support for this amendment.
Regardless of how you feel about burning the flag in protest, let's look at some facts:
- The Constitution has been in effect since 1789
- It has been amended only 18 times in those years (the first ten amendments arrived all at once)
- In the past century, only 12 amendments have passed. These include our system of taxation, women's rights, and various voting and representative technicalities.
- Two of those amendments "cancel each other out" -- Prohibition and its removal.
- The flag is already hevaily protected: you cannot even use in it advertising (someone tell car dealers this, please).
- Congress estimates 7 flags are burned in protest each year.
- Our elected representatives do not have the power to tell us what to hold sacred.
- Most flags that are burned are burned in protest of flag-burning laws.
- A theoretical law protecting the flag will be impossible to enforce equitably.
- Our "old" laws against flag-burning were terribly written and we cannot assume new ones will be better.
I'll wrap this up by stating that I feel this is the single most frightening step this administration has taken against our freedoms, and that's saying a lot (USA PATRIOT act, anybody?). If we do this, we create a nation where it is now actually possible to commit a thought crime.
Let me put it this way. Our Contitution is more sacred than our flag, and our nation as a whole will desecrate it by passing this amendment. That desecration is not worth the benefit of giving our cops another way to harass the dirty hippies whose flag-burning protests don't convince anybody of anything anyway.
I'm ashamed of every single vote in favor of this amendment.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Morbid family
Why are our families so morbid and uninformed?
So, evidently there have been a few earthquakes in California recently. And it's got my family rattled, pun intended. See, my wife and I are headed there soon, and after having never mentioned it in the past both our parents recently asked us if we had wills set up.
After all, they both said, you don't want your stuff to go "to the state."
First off, yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence. I fully expect to come home safe and sound from this trip.
Second off, what "stuff" do we have? Barring items of sentimental value, we're talking about a very small savings account, a life insurance policy, a car which is mostly still owned by the bank, a couple pieces of jewelry which are more sentimentally important than financially, and some substandard consumer electronics. We're not talking about real estate, substantial savings, or a hidden sack of precious gems.
Third, "the state?" Come on.
But, you know, just to be safe I did a little research. My life insurance policy goes to a list of beneficiaries in the order I specified when I signed up. I don't even remember what I did, but I'm sure I made the right choice and didn't somehow accidentally list "the state" as one of the recipients of my death loot. Even if the only recipient was my wife, according to the plan if all my beneficiaries are dead when I die, the benefits are paid out to a surviving family member in order of spouse, child, parent, etc. So, no worries there.
But what about all my stuff? Who gets my substandard consumer electronics?
Evidently, the body of law dealing with what happens if you die and leave no will behind is called Intestacy Law. According to the wikipedia,
So, yeah. I know I "should" have a will, so I can determine that Clint gets my D&D books and my mom gets my cat and Jess's cousins get her jewelry, or something. But, really, at this point? Give me a break.
On second thought, maybe I should make up a will. I'll leave everything to charity.
So, evidently there have been a few earthquakes in California recently. And it's got my family rattled, pun intended. See, my wife and I are headed there soon, and after having never mentioned it in the past both our parents recently asked us if we had wills set up.
After all, they both said, you don't want your stuff to go "to the state."
First off, yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence. I fully expect to come home safe and sound from this trip.
Second off, what "stuff" do we have? Barring items of sentimental value, we're talking about a very small savings account, a life insurance policy, a car which is mostly still owned by the bank, a couple pieces of jewelry which are more sentimentally important than financially, and some substandard consumer electronics. We're not talking about real estate, substantial savings, or a hidden sack of precious gems.
Third, "the state?" Come on.
But, you know, just to be safe I did a little research. My life insurance policy goes to a list of beneficiaries in the order I specified when I signed up. I don't even remember what I did, but I'm sure I made the right choice and didn't somehow accidentally list "the state" as one of the recipients of my death loot. Even if the only recipient was my wife, according to the plan if all my beneficiaries are dead when I die, the benefits are paid out to a surviving family member in order of spouse, child, parent, etc. So, no worries there.
But what about all my stuff? Who gets my substandard consumer electronics?
Evidently, the body of law dealing with what happens if you die and leave no will behind is called Intestacy Law. According to the wikipedia,
In most contemporary common-law jurisdictions, the law of intestacy is patterned after the common law of descent. Property goes first to a spouse, then to children and their descendants; if there are no descendants, the rule sends you back up the family tree to the parents, the siblings, the siblings' descendants, the grandparents, the parents' siblings, and the parents' siblings' descendants, and sometimes further to the more remote degrees of kinship.So, again, if we both die in a terrible accident, our "stuff" goes to our families. Only if it becomes impossible to identify such an individual does the mysterious "state" get my mad loot. I guess there's some concern that the person dividing up the loot belongs to the impersonal "state" but, really, is that enough to lose sleep over? Some further research into Massachusetts law brings up a lot of arguments in favor of a will, but most of them revolve around making sure your "assets" go to the "right people" in your family or in expediting the process (counting on the courts to divide your assets can take over a year).
So, yeah. I know I "should" have a will, so I can determine that Clint gets my D&D books and my mom gets my cat and Jess's cousins get her jewelry, or something. But, really, at this point? Give me a break.
On second thought, maybe I should make up a will. I'll leave everything to charity.
Monday, June 20, 2005
I Built God's House
Ok, not really. But I did lend a hand in turning what used to be a golf store into a church this weekend.
Now, obviously, I am not a church guy. I am not what you'd call a god guy. But I'm surrounded by family who are god people, church people, even "pray for your broken appliance" people. This weekend, as part of a Father's Day "present" from my wife to her Dad, I contribued a ton of untrained manual labor to some family work. Some of that was basically demolition work on a house, and some of it was helping put their storefront church together in time for yesterday's services.
We moved a few dozen chairs from one place to another. We built a podium and carpeted it. We took down blinds and hung them up, curtains, decorations, A/V equipment, signs, even an American flag. We cleaned, we climbed ladders, we carried all manner of heavy objects around, and in the end it looked almost respectable.
And there's a small part of me that felt strangely satisfied yesterday knowing that somewhere, a few people were praying, singing, and listening to a sermon in a building that was once a golf store and was now "God's house" as far as they were concerned.
Of course, the sign on the street still says "Al's Caddy Shack." And I'm still an atheist stuck in an extended family of fundamentalists. And I try not to think about the fact that the people who get sucked into that church are being handed a belief system which cripples them and sends them back into the Dark Ages.
Because I say take your satisfaction where you can get it, people, and don't overanalyze it :).
Now, obviously, I am not a church guy. I am not what you'd call a god guy. But I'm surrounded by family who are god people, church people, even "pray for your broken appliance" people. This weekend, as part of a Father's Day "present" from my wife to her Dad, I contribued a ton of untrained manual labor to some family work. Some of that was basically demolition work on a house, and some of it was helping put their storefront church together in time for yesterday's services.
We moved a few dozen chairs from one place to another. We built a podium and carpeted it. We took down blinds and hung them up, curtains, decorations, A/V equipment, signs, even an American flag. We cleaned, we climbed ladders, we carried all manner of heavy objects around, and in the end it looked almost respectable.
And there's a small part of me that felt strangely satisfied yesterday knowing that somewhere, a few people were praying, singing, and listening to a sermon in a building that was once a golf store and was now "God's house" as far as they were concerned.
Of course, the sign on the street still says "Al's Caddy Shack." And I'm still an atheist stuck in an extended family of fundamentalists. And I try not to think about the fact that the people who get sucked into that church are being handed a belief system which cripples them and sends them back into the Dark Ages.
Because I say take your satisfaction where you can get it, people, and don't overanalyze it :).
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Rampant Consumerism - Food Edition
Who needs movie reviews when you can read FOOD REVIEWS?
I've tried 2 new food products this week:
Nabisco Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits
It's kind of a weird dark secret of mine that I can't get enough rosemary. It's like I discovered this herb about 2 years ago and am catching up on a lifetime of not using it. I try to sneak it into foods we cook when my wife's not watching, and every time I manage to enjoy some restaurant food with it as an ingredient I'm happy like a little kid who found "Chocolate Bread" on the menu.
That said, the taste on these was a little overdone. It tasted (sort of) like rosemary (kind of like bacon bits taste sort of like bacon), but it was a little greasy and heavy for what I wanted. I think they could have gotten away with a lighter taste and still teased the edges of my rosemary craving.
Don't get me wrong; we still ate them. But they aren't the next big thing....
Side note: how did Thomas Cutter end up with the triscuits.com domain?
Coca-Cola Zero
Yes, another diet coke variant. This one is made with asparteme and Ace-K, a relatively new sweetener which has been in use in Europe for a few years but has only recently showed up in the US. You may have seen Ace-K previously as a "filler" sweetener when products who intended to use just Splenda ran into a shortage. In any case, Coke Zero tastes a hell of a lot like regular coke. That same somewhat-heavy taste you get when you drink sugar soda is there -- but there's no sugar. It's a very odd sensation.
In any case, I've been drinking plain-old-diet coke for so long that I associate that sugary flavor with "bad" instead of "good." So, I'm not sure if this new potential flavor will win me over or not. It might work well in a rum&coke drink, where the heavier sugar-like flavor is more desirable....
I've tried 2 new food products this week:
Nabisco Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits
It's kind of a weird dark secret of mine that I can't get enough rosemary. It's like I discovered this herb about 2 years ago and am catching up on a lifetime of not using it. I try to sneak it into foods we cook when my wife's not watching, and every time I manage to enjoy some restaurant food with it as an ingredient I'm happy like a little kid who found "Chocolate Bread" on the menu.
That said, the taste on these was a little overdone. It tasted (sort of) like rosemary (kind of like bacon bits taste sort of like bacon), but it was a little greasy and heavy for what I wanted. I think they could have gotten away with a lighter taste and still teased the edges of my rosemary craving.
Don't get me wrong; we still ate them. But they aren't the next big thing....
Side note: how did Thomas Cutter end up with the triscuits.com domain?
Coca-Cola Zero
Yes, another diet coke variant. This one is made with asparteme and Ace-K, a relatively new sweetener which has been in use in Europe for a few years but has only recently showed up in the US. You may have seen Ace-K previously as a "filler" sweetener when products who intended to use just Splenda ran into a shortage. In any case, Coke Zero tastes a hell of a lot like regular coke. That same somewhat-heavy taste you get when you drink sugar soda is there -- but there's no sugar. It's a very odd sensation.
In any case, I've been drinking plain-old-diet coke for so long that I associate that sugary flavor with "bad" instead of "good." So, I'm not sure if this new potential flavor will win me over or not. It might work well in a rum&coke drink, where the heavier sugar-like flavor is more desirable....
Monday, June 13, 2005
Monday Grab Bag
I had hoped to update this blog twice a week. Instead, it's being updated every two weeks.
Bi-weekly vs. semi-weekly.
I guess I could just say I intended to publish bi-weekly and let the confusion over the term rule the roost. Reference this quote:
I was going to sit down and write some kind of thoughtful entry, but instead I'll just dump some random thoughts down for perpetual safekeeping on the internets.
Bi-weekly vs. semi-weekly.
I guess I could just say I intended to publish bi-weekly and let the confusion over the term rule the roost. Reference this quote:
Be aware that these terms have come to mean either twice a year, month, or week, or every other year, month, week. To avoid confusion, use either twice a or every other, according to need.Why can't I use both? "Twice an every other week." Yeah, figure that out. You'll be so busy you won't notice I'm not updating.
I was going to sit down and write some kind of thoughtful entry, but instead I'll just dump some random thoughts down for perpetual safekeeping on the internets.
- Probably four times in my life I have bought non-dairy flavored creamer, expecting it to make my coffee taste like mildly sweet flavored coffee with creamer in it. Instead, it consistently makes it taste like someone dumped a ton of sugar and some heavy cream into my coffee, and it's a struggle to get it down. And yet, I keep trying, every couple years. It just sounds so good.
- I watched Along Came Polly yesterday. It's nothing. Hank Azaria's small role as a nudist SCUBA instructor is damn funny, though. The guy's a chameleon. He can play anything.
- I ate "healthily" six days out of the last seven. It was a welcome change and reminds me how good it feels to eat right. And how good it can feel to skip off for a day, binge on margaritas and tortilla chips, and come crawling back.
- On a related note, I had no idea we hadn't started cultivating blueberries seriously until the early 20th century. Hot damn, I love blueberries. Peak season for blueberries starts now and lasts until mid-August. Indulge today!
A one-cup serving of fresh blueberries will give you 5 grams of fiber, more than most fruits and vegetables and 15% of your daily value for vitamin C at a cost of only 80 calories.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Weekend Trip Report
We spent the weekend at Hollister Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast, in Vermont.
Our weekend was the uber-relaxer. The drive to the place we stayed was a bit over 4 hours, and we didn't rush it either. Once you clear Lowell things get nicer, and once you get onto Rte 89 it's just beautiful driving. I was already feeling pretty good by the time we got up there.
I won't bore you with a play by play, but it was a nice change of pace. The innkeepers are folks who gave up their day jobs back in the 70s and moved up to Vt to try and raise their families and be self-sufficient, live off the land. Now they run what they call a "diversified farm," a farm where they know they can't live off what the farm provides, so they add to the income in little ways. The B&B is one of those, selling honey and maple syrup is another, selling their own meat is another, breeding golden retriever puppies, etc. They get by, but they live very simply.
It's interesting to meet people like that, with strong convictions, who have really put their money where their mouths are, so to speak. To stay with them for the weekend was a peek into a totally different way of life.
The location they have for themselves is amazing, by the way. I mean, you stand with your back to their house or barn and just rotate in a semicircle and see nothing but hills, fields, and trees. No planes flying over, no sounds of nearby highways, nothing. At one point we realized we could hear the cows chewing grass. Pretty wild.
We didn't do a lot; our main recreation was driving into Montpelier for some light shopping and exploring. Montpelier is the capital of Vt, but it feels more like a small town than a capital of anything. I think it's got, what, 8K people in it? No McDonalds, no Starbucks, etc. Lots of interesting people, very diverse in a Vermonty way (meaning, all kinds of white folks - heh).
We capped off the weekend with a long drive home, taking mainly 2-lane highways and avoiding most of the holiday weekend traffic. We got held up in one small town when their Memorial Day parade went through, so that was a little piece of Americana :).
In the end, we did a lot of nothing in a very quiet place, but met some characters which have enriched my internal "cast list" and gave us some pause in terms of looking at where our society is going and what people are doing who feel strongly about changing it, at least for themselves and their communities.
Two thumbs up.
Our weekend was the uber-relaxer. The drive to the place we stayed was a bit over 4 hours, and we didn't rush it either. Once you clear Lowell things get nicer, and once you get onto Rte 89 it's just beautiful driving. I was already feeling pretty good by the time we got up there.
I won't bore you with a play by play, but it was a nice change of pace. The innkeepers are folks who gave up their day jobs back in the 70s and moved up to Vt to try and raise their families and be self-sufficient, live off the land. Now they run what they call a "diversified farm," a farm where they know they can't live off what the farm provides, so they add to the income in little ways. The B&B is one of those, selling honey and maple syrup is another, selling their own meat is another, breeding golden retriever puppies, etc. They get by, but they live very simply.
It's interesting to meet people like that, with strong convictions, who have really put their money where their mouths are, so to speak. To stay with them for the weekend was a peek into a totally different way of life.
The location they have for themselves is amazing, by the way. I mean, you stand with your back to their house or barn and just rotate in a semicircle and see nothing but hills, fields, and trees. No planes flying over, no sounds of nearby highways, nothing. At one point we realized we could hear the cows chewing grass. Pretty wild.
We didn't do a lot; our main recreation was driving into Montpelier for some light shopping and exploring. Montpelier is the capital of Vt, but it feels more like a small town than a capital of anything. I think it's got, what, 8K people in it? No McDonalds, no Starbucks, etc. Lots of interesting people, very diverse in a Vermonty way (meaning, all kinds of white folks - heh).
We capped off the weekend with a long drive home, taking mainly 2-lane highways and avoiding most of the holiday weekend traffic. We got held up in one small town when their Memorial Day parade went through, so that was a little piece of Americana :).
In the end, we did a lot of nothing in a very quiet place, but met some characters which have enriched my internal "cast list" and gave us some pause in terms of looking at where our society is going and what people are doing who feel strongly about changing it, at least for themselves and their communities.
Two thumbs up.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Cat Humor
Data point 1:
For graduation, my grandmother sent Jess a wonderful hand-knit/crocheted/something blanket. Very nice. It's on our bed now.
Data point 2:
Last night, shortly after midnight, we were awakened by a loud crashing noise followed by the cat tearing ass out of our room. I got up, looked around, saw nothing unusual. I walked to the top of the stairs, and saw Smokey at the bottom, looking up. Without my glasses on, I couldn't make out the details, but it looked like he might have had something in his mouth. Squinted, shrugged, went back to bed.
This morning, I woke up, went to work, etc. I had forgotten data point 2.
I get a call from Jess as I'm walking out of an early-morning meeting with my boss. "Yeah, the cat threw up last night, on the blanket your grandmother gave me." Oh, boo-hoo. "There was blood in it." Oh, crap, our cat is sick. He's vomiting blood. This is bad, right?
Ah. See, no. It wasn't his blood. Jess, in the process of cleaning up the vomit, solved the mystery -- evidently our cat not only caught, but ate, an entire small mouse last night. And then proceeded to barf up the resulting chewed up corpse.
So, yeah, go Smokey. Poor Jess. "I mean, there was a foot, a tail, pieces of a head, intestines, ... " Oh, damn. So glad I somehow managed to wake up, get ready for work, and go to work, without seeing that.
We've been very pest-free in this apartment, but we have seen evidence of mice in our attic before. We have seen exactly one mouse outside the attic, in our bedroom, and smokey chased it back under the door that leads to the attic. This one clearly will not be returning to wherever he came from.
For graduation, my grandmother sent Jess a wonderful hand-knit/crocheted/something blanket. Very nice. It's on our bed now.
Data point 2:
Last night, shortly after midnight, we were awakened by a loud crashing noise followed by the cat tearing ass out of our room. I got up, looked around, saw nothing unusual. I walked to the top of the stairs, and saw Smokey at the bottom, looking up. Without my glasses on, I couldn't make out the details, but it looked like he might have had something in his mouth. Squinted, shrugged, went back to bed.
This morning, I woke up, went to work, etc. I had forgotten data point 2.
I get a call from Jess as I'm walking out of an early-morning meeting with my boss. "Yeah, the cat threw up last night, on the blanket your grandmother gave me." Oh, boo-hoo. "There was blood in it." Oh, crap, our cat is sick. He's vomiting blood. This is bad, right?
Ah. See, no. It wasn't his blood. Jess, in the process of cleaning up the vomit, solved the mystery -- evidently our cat not only caught, but ate, an entire small mouse last night. And then proceeded to barf up the resulting chewed up corpse.
So, yeah, go Smokey. Poor Jess. "I mean, there was a foot, a tail, pieces of a head, intestines, ... " Oh, damn. So glad I somehow managed to wake up, get ready for work, and go to work, without seeing that.
We've been very pest-free in this apartment, but we have seen evidence of mice in our attic before. We have seen exactly one mouse outside the attic, in our bedroom, and smokey chased it back under the door that leads to the attic. This one clearly will not be returning to wherever he came from.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Lazy Feet?
These eager feet of mine have been a bit lazy in the past couple weeks. Things have been so busy with "real life" that I haven't had much energy to focus on maintaining fitness. As such, my exercise has dropped way down.
Watch this space: I'm sure I'll write more about how I'm struggling to stay regular with fitness. How exciting for you, eh?
Another aspect of having eager feet, though, is my constant desire to be traveling. We indulged this last Friday when we took an impromptu day trip up to Maine and enjoyed hanging about our haunts in Ogunquit for an afternoon. I'd post a picture but it was so impromptu I didn't even bring a camera :).
Watch this space: I'm sure I'll write more about how I'm struggling to stay regular with fitness. How exciting for you, eh?
Another aspect of having eager feet, though, is my constant desire to be traveling. We indulged this last Friday when we took an impromptu day trip up to Maine and enjoyed hanging about our haunts in Ogunquit for an afternoon. I'd post a picture but it was so impromptu I didn't even bring a camera :).
Friday, April 29, 2005
Memo to U-Haul: Join the 90s, plz, kthxbai
So, I dunno, 10 days ago I reserved a UHaul truck using their website for Sunday. I had to provide credit card info during the process on a page called "payment" and so I assumed I was, you know, paying for the truck.
Well, no.
I called today to double check, and, no, you can't prepay. It's impossible. Not online, not over the phone. Gotta pay in person.
So I had to scramble to Western-Union the money to my uncle down there, because they can't front the cash.
So, yeah, how hard is it to manage this process? Oh well, at least we didn't have to do it on Sunday when he was picking up the truck....
Well, no.
I called today to double check, and, no, you can't prepay. It's impossible. Not online, not over the phone. Gotta pay in person.
So I had to scramble to Western-Union the money to my uncle down there, because they can't front the cash.
So, yeah, how hard is it to manage this process? Oh well, at least we didn't have to do it on Sunday when he was picking up the truck....
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Book Review: Guns, Germs, and Steel
First, the book: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Binary review: thumbs up!
Every time I sat down with this book, I learned something that made me grin somewhere in my head.
The idea behind this book is pretty simple: try to explain how throughout history various cultures have advanced at different rates and in different ways than other cultures, how they conquered or squeezed out those other cultures, and how that led us to where we are today. It does so using all the branches of historical science and does an excellent job tying it all together.
I think I feel in love with this book when I read a line about how the difference between two primitive grain crops could explain much of the way our world was today. Manifest destiny my ass -- we're just lucky.
To point out some flaws, I guess I would say that the book has trouble finding an audience it really wants to talk to. As a serious scholar, I would need to dive into more detail. You could probably write a book based on each chapter in his book. But as a casual observer, I could probably have used less detail. The book could have been half its length and I would still have believed him :).
That doesn't mean the book is too long. Nor is it too detailed. It's just a very hard market to nail. I, personally, didn't need as much information as he gave. But I'm glad it's there, because it reassures me that he isn't some quack just out to make a buck.
The other flaw with the book is that I sometimes feel, reading it, as if he's preaching to the choir. He isn't just documenting history here, he's trying to change the minds of people who feel that somehow the fact that western civ has conquered the world shows some kind of "specialness" on the part of our culture (or worse, our people). What he doesn't realize (or chooses to ignore) is that the people he's railing against are the people who will turn around and say that "God"
granted XYZ culture dominance over the others and that his scientific mumbo jumbo is just the mechanism for that. In other words, it's enlightening and educating, but I don't think he's "converting" any closed-minded racists or xenophobes with his work. Meh, I don't know.
I should also be fair and point out the fact that the author comes across as a bit biased, both towards his own theories and perhaps against western civ at large. Hard to explain, but you'll see what I mean if you read it. Something of an overcompensation, perhaps?
Anyway. I only point these flaws out because I feel the need to be complete. I would recommend this book without reservation to anyone with a critical mind.
Binary review: thumbs up!
Every time I sat down with this book, I learned something that made me grin somewhere in my head.
The idea behind this book is pretty simple: try to explain how throughout history various cultures have advanced at different rates and in different ways than other cultures, how they conquered or squeezed out those other cultures, and how that led us to where we are today. It does so using all the branches of historical science and does an excellent job tying it all together.
I think I feel in love with this book when I read a line about how the difference between two primitive grain crops could explain much of the way our world was today. Manifest destiny my ass -- we're just lucky.
To point out some flaws, I guess I would say that the book has trouble finding an audience it really wants to talk to. As a serious scholar, I would need to dive into more detail. You could probably write a book based on each chapter in his book. But as a casual observer, I could probably have used less detail. The book could have been half its length and I would still have believed him :).
That doesn't mean the book is too long. Nor is it too detailed. It's just a very hard market to nail. I, personally, didn't need as much information as he gave. But I'm glad it's there, because it reassures me that he isn't some quack just out to make a buck.
The other flaw with the book is that I sometimes feel, reading it, as if he's preaching to the choir. He isn't just documenting history here, he's trying to change the minds of people who feel that somehow the fact that western civ has conquered the world shows some kind of "specialness" on the part of our culture (or worse, our people). What he doesn't realize (or chooses to ignore) is that the people he's railing against are the people who will turn around and say that "God"
granted XYZ culture dominance over the others and that his scientific mumbo jumbo is just the mechanism for that. In other words, it's enlightening and educating, but I don't think he's "converting" any closed-minded racists or xenophobes with his work. Meh, I don't know.
I should also be fair and point out the fact that the author comes across as a bit biased, both towards his own theories and perhaps against western civ at large. Hard to explain, but you'll see what I mean if you read it. Something of an overcompensation, perhaps?
Anyway. I only point these flaws out because I feel the need to be complete. I would recommend this book without reservation to anyone with a critical mind.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
I should post more often, I know.
Tuesday is weigh-in day, right? Up a pound, unfortunately.
If I'm good I'll write a book review later....
If I'm good I'll write a book review later....
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Progress Report
One week into my "new beginnings" in mid-April and I've somehow managed to lose a couple pounds despite all the sabotage.
Apr 12: 190.5
Apr 19: 188
The exercise is steadily increasing and the diet is improving but still up and down.
In other news, it's going to hit 85 today. It was 70 when I got to work. I'm wearing shorts. Hope nobody complains!
Apr 12: 190.5
Apr 19: 188
The exercise is steadily increasing and the diet is improving but still up and down.
In other news, it's going to hit 85 today. It was 70 when I got to work. I'm wearing shorts. Hope nobody complains!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
New Beginnings in Mid-April?
Got on the scale this morning and saw a number which I wasn't happy to see. I started this whole thing last July and weighed 231. I have been as low as 183 and told myself I wouldn't let myself top 190 again, even though I've hovered between 183 and 188.
Today I hit 190 again.
It just hammered the point home which someone so kindly pointed out to me last week -- you can always find a reason it's not a good time to focus on this stuff.
So I've decided to set some spring goals and work towards them.
My goal is to drop ten pounds by July 1. That will put me at a 50 pound loss in one year.
I will accomplish this goal by returning to Calorie counting (FitDay, here I come) and maintaining a healthy Calorie deficiency. I will increase my activity so that I am exercising 5-6 days a week, even if running is only 3-4 of those days. This is what I did last year, and what I've been lazy about since January.
I am posting this because by coming out and saying it, I'll push myself to actually do it.
11 weeks. A pound a week would beat my goal.
It starts today. I actually measured my cereal this morning, looked at the bowl and said, "Yep, portion control." Funny how you get comfortable and just assume you're still giving yourself one serving when in fact you're more than doubling it....
I'm heading to the gym for some elliptical and bike work, since I ran last night and need to "rest".
Today I hit 190 again.
It just hammered the point home which someone so kindly pointed out to me last week -- you can always find a reason it's not a good time to focus on this stuff.
So I've decided to set some spring goals and work towards them.
My goal is to drop ten pounds by July 1. That will put me at a 50 pound loss in one year.
I will accomplish this goal by returning to Calorie counting (FitDay, here I come) and maintaining a healthy Calorie deficiency. I will increase my activity so that I am exercising 5-6 days a week, even if running is only 3-4 of those days. This is what I did last year, and what I've been lazy about since January.
I am posting this because by coming out and saying it, I'll push myself to actually do it.
11 weeks. A pound a week would beat my goal.
It starts today. I actually measured my cereal this morning, looked at the bowl and said, "Yep, portion control." Funny how you get comfortable and just assume you're still giving yourself one serving when in fact you're more than doubling it....
I'm heading to the gym for some elliptical and bike work, since I ran last night and need to "rest".
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Toilet Humor
I sent this to a friend in email but realized it belonged here:
I don't usually bitch about people's bathroom habits, because while it's a limitless source of amusement, we've heard it all before. Don't talk to me while I'm in there, don't talk on the phone, blah blah blah.
So, yeah. This one was bizarre enough to send on. A guy humming "My Country 'tis of Thee" the entire time he's in the stall.
Weird enough, but now I have it stuck in my head, and every time I think of it I wonder, "Why is that stuck in my head" and the answer is "Oh yeah, that guy in the fucking bathroom." Thanks, humming in the john guy.
I don't usually bitch about people's bathroom habits, because while it's a limitless source of amusement, we've heard it all before. Don't talk to me while I'm in there, don't talk on the phone, blah blah blah.
So, yeah. This one was bizarre enough to send on. A guy humming "My Country 'tis of Thee" the entire time he's in the stall.
Weird enough, but now I have it stuck in my head, and every time I think of it I wonder, "Why is that stuck in my head" and the answer is "Oh yeah, that guy in the fucking bathroom." Thanks, humming in the john guy.
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