Area runners are conspiring to get me back on the roads -- I must have seen a dozen out today while driving the rural roads of the Brookfields. I guess everyone finds the Marathon inspirational.
As always I took today off, and was checking my email on the blackberry when I saw 3 emails in a row from geocaching.com - 3 new geocaches within a few miles of my house. The types of caches we do as a family are fairly limited right now: roadside hides are the majority, followed by easy walks. Rough hiking is just too hard with the stroller. So when I saw that all three were roadside caches I figured we should dash out and try and record our name first on each one (called FTF, for First To Find).
Of course, with a 10-month old, it's not that simple. Getting packed and changed and ready took a while, but we were soon enough on our way. The first geocache was at the site of the Woolcott Homestead in the Brookfields. The Woolcott family settled there in the 1680s and built a tavern which was often visited by travelers on the road to Boston (remember, Route 9 in Massachusetts was the main way to Boston before the Mass Turnpike was built). The Woolcotts played a small part in the often tragic history of relations between the settlers and the Natives; John Woolcott's wife and two daughters were killed by Native raiders in 1693. Though the family remained in the area, all that can be seen on the site now are marker stones. And near one of them we found the coffee canister which had been repurposed as the geocache. We took from it a trackable coin in the shape of an Easter Egg (appropriate since I startled a rabbit while searching for the cache).
We drove down the road to view another historical marker and turned around; by the time we drove by the cache site another family was signing the log book. We were first, but by less than 5 minutes!
We made our way to the second of the three caches, a few miles away by a pond. As we approached we saw a car pulled over and a man bent over peering through the underbrush beneath the roadside trees. We slowed down and considered joining him, but decided not to interfere with his hunt. After all, the third cache remained a possible FTF target! Bravely onward we went on some of the most beautiful scenic roads in East and North Brookfield to a small bridge that crossed a narrow stream. Hidden on the guardrail was a magnetic hide-a-key with a few folded pieces of paper within. We signed our name second (alas, today was not a multiple-first day) and took in a bit of the view before getting back on the road.
We considered returning to the second cache but with the baby's morning disrupted already and the drive longer than we expected we abandoned the hunt and took a more direct route home. As we headed towards Spencer we passed a field with nearly a dozen deer grazing, and a pair of turkeys, one posing most dramatically. We made it home and fed our daughter and finally got her napping a short while later.
While my wife dozed off and I watched the thrilling finish of the Boston Marathon, I knew I had to write this post. The views we saw today weren't spectacular, but they were beautiful and memorable. And we would never have seen them if not for this new hobby of ours.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Saturday, March 07, 2009
A single mile
My lovely wife has a class this morning, so I'm left with Evelyn on the most beautiful Saturday morning we've had so far this year. Mid-40s, sunny, and headed up another ten+ degrees. Even with huge puddles, tons of sand and mud, and snow lining the roads, I had to get outside. I bundled Evie up and put her in the Jeep carriage, and took the safest path I could come up with for a walk.
We ended up covering almost a mile, most of it along part of what was my regular summer running route in 2007. Usually that was a 3-mile run but sometimes I made it as long as 5.
It's so weird to write that, 2007, as if I have been hiding in the house for years, but it's true -- I didn't run at all in the summer of 2008.
Walking the along the route I used to run every weekend showed me a few things:
We ended up covering almost a mile, most of it along part of what was my regular summer running route in 2007. Usually that was a 3-mile run but sometimes I made it as long as 5.
It's so weird to write that, 2007, as if I have been hiding in the house for years, but it's true -- I didn't run at all in the summer of 2008.
Walking the along the route I used to run every weekend showed me a few things:
- I love being outside
- My body is going to need some retraining
- I can't wait to share this with Evelyn
Saturday, February 07, 2009
A moment of introspection
A few years back, while my wife and I discussed for the hundredth time whether we would have children or not, she said something to me which really reminded me why I fell in love with her. She told me we didn't need to have kids, but if we didn't, she didn't want to be living the same life in a decade that we were then. She was fine with giving up her dream of being a mother, if I would come forward with a much different dream to take its place.
In the end, we decided together that we wanted to be parents, wanted this life. I do not write this because I regret that choice.
But sometimes I wonder what very different life we would have come up with so that our lives in 2017 would be nothing like our life in 2007.
Late last week I stumbled upon the blog of someone who took an approach that called to me from across the "what if" chasm. She ditched a corporate life and is traveling the world as a freelance writer and consultant. You can read her most recent post here.
In the end, we decided together that we wanted to be parents, wanted this life. I do not write this because I regret that choice.
But sometimes I wonder what very different life we would have come up with so that our lives in 2017 would be nothing like our life in 2007.
Late last week I stumbled upon the blog of someone who took an approach that called to me from across the "what if" chasm. She ditched a corporate life and is traveling the world as a freelance writer and consultant. You can read her most recent post here.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year
As I start this post there are 40 minutes left in 2008. I looked back earlier this evening at what I hoped I would get out of this year and what I really did. It is keeping me from saying too much about what I want from 2009, that's for sure.
I'll forever remember 2008 as the year I became a father. This was life-changing in ways I have only just begun to explore. I cannot put into words the number of things I have gained, nor the things which I have lost (or at least temporarily misplaced). Change is like that.
The biggest result of this of course is that there is a new person alive today who would never have existed if not for me. This is an incredible responsibility, and I feel humbled by it daily.
2008 wasn't just about becoming a dad, but everything else pales in comparison.
As I said, I'm hesitant to make predictions about 2009. But ...
I think 2009 will be about finding out who we are going to be for the next decade of our lives. We survived the pregnancy, we brought a new life into the world, and we made it through the first six months. Now what? Who are we now, in addition to being parents? How do we reframe ourselves as individuals and as a couple in this new context? Where do my hobbies fall in, which ones are forever gone and which ones can and should I rediscover? How do I reclaim my fitness so I can be there to walk my daughter down the aisle on her wedding day? Where am I going in my professional life? Where are we headed financially? How do we adapt our friendships, our family relationships?
How do we grow, while helping our daughter grow too? How does everything get rebalanced now that there's a new priority #1?
If there's anything that Eager Feet was meant to be about, it's questions like that. There's still room for this blog in my life. I just have to find time to fit it in.
No promises, no resolutions, just questions and ideas.
Happy New Year.
I'll forever remember 2008 as the year I became a father. This was life-changing in ways I have only just begun to explore. I cannot put into words the number of things I have gained, nor the things which I have lost (or at least temporarily misplaced). Change is like that.
The biggest result of this of course is that there is a new person alive today who would never have existed if not for me. This is an incredible responsibility, and I feel humbled by it daily.
2008 wasn't just about becoming a dad, but everything else pales in comparison.
As I said, I'm hesitant to make predictions about 2009. But ...
I think 2009 will be about finding out who we are going to be for the next decade of our lives. We survived the pregnancy, we brought a new life into the world, and we made it through the first six months. Now what? Who are we now, in addition to being parents? How do we reframe ourselves as individuals and as a couple in this new context? Where do my hobbies fall in, which ones are forever gone and which ones can and should I rediscover? How do I reclaim my fitness so I can be there to walk my daughter down the aisle on her wedding day? Where am I going in my professional life? Where are we headed financially? How do we adapt our friendships, our family relationships?
How do we grow, while helping our daughter grow too? How does everything get rebalanced now that there's a new priority #1?
If there's anything that Eager Feet was meant to be about, it's questions like that. There's still room for this blog in my life. I just have to find time to fit it in.
No promises, no resolutions, just questions and ideas.
Happy New Year.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Keeping eager feet moving
The last time I talked about a new hobby, it was kayaking. I had gone with some family and really enjoyed it. Fast forward a couple years, and while I've been kayaking a few more times I'd hesitate to call it a new hobby of mine.
Well, these eager feet have found a new way to get moving -- geocaching. I've always thought of geocaching as a pretty niche hobby, for the subset of people who are both hardcore geeks and hardcore hikers. But it's gotten insanely popular over the past few years, and it's easy to be a casual geocacher these days. The price for introductory hiking GPS receivers is pretty reasonable, too.
So, again, after hearing a ton about it from family, my wife and I decided to give it a try. This time, we ended up buying the equipment ourselves and getting more into it.
I'll tell you pieces of three geocaching stories to introduce the various faces of the hobby.
I think this one might be one for the long haul.
Well, these eager feet have found a new way to get moving -- geocaching. I've always thought of geocaching as a pretty niche hobby, for the subset of people who are both hardcore geeks and hardcore hikers. But it's gotten insanely popular over the past few years, and it's easy to be a casual geocacher these days. The price for introductory hiking GPS receivers is pretty reasonable, too.
So, again, after hearing a ton about it from family, my wife and I decided to give it a try. This time, we ended up buying the equipment ourselves and getting more into it.
I'll tell you pieces of three geocaching stories to introduce the various faces of the hobby.
- At a state park, with the baby in a stroller and the sun beating down on us, my wife and I searched for a metallic container the size of the eraser at the tip of the pencil. We were pretty sure it was magnetically attached to a guardrail, and after a lengthy sweaty search I finally found it.
- We drove through a town, on a two-step journey. The first brought us to a small monument we had never seen before, where we found a piece of wood with coordinates carved into it. We went to those coordinates, and found ourselves at a small park we had never visited, though we had seen it from afar. We explored the park, found a trail, zeroed in on the coordinates, and found a container hidden at the base of a tree.
- My brother-in-law asked for my help in solving a puzzle cache, the only clue to which was the name of the cache, a passage from a fantasy novel, and an image of an item from those books. After days of struggling down dead-ends, I ended up figuring out that the clue was hidden inside the image via a simple Steganography technique. I did all this without leaving my desk. He will go to those coordinates and hopefully find the cache (and hopefully give me credit for solving the puzzle!).
I think this one might be one for the long haul.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
What I believe
Some well-meaning extended family member recently sent around a link to an article written by a well-known conservative, listing "what he believed." I found it very hard to read, because I disagreed so strongly with what he said, and it bothered me to think that my own family didn't know what I believed. I became scared that I would never be able to tell them about my beliefs without seeming to be spitting on their values (the same way I felt that the article spit on mine).
I decided to try. What I found is that it's very hard for me to come up with a clean bullet list like he did. And maybe that's for the best.
See, I believe very few things.
Belief is a scary word to me, because it denotes an attachment to something which isn't known for sure. I try to avoid that kind of attachment, as it can create an unnecessary resistance to change and growth.
If I tell you I believe something, I will usually be able to tell you why. There are some exceptions - statements of value which are very difficult to explain. But I can try. If you ask if I believe something, the answer will often be "I don't know," because up until I was asked it wasn't necessary for me to form a belief.
Most things I believe, I believe because I have seen sufficient evidence of their truth. For example, we know that usually introducing diversity into a system makes it hardier. This applies in a trivial way to food sources (a disease which targets a single strain of plant cannot wipe out your civilization's food supply if you eat a variety of foods) and financial investments (a single market's failure cannot ruin your portfolio), among other systems. You can extend this out into many areas. A team can solve a variety of problems if people on that team bring a variety of perspectives to that problem. So, an ideal workforce (of people who are trying to solve diverse problems) is made up of diverse backgrounds. So, I "believe in diversity." Any situation where you want me to believe diversity weakens a system, you must try very hard to convince me.
As such, I "believe" that societies should not restrict human diversity. The USA has benefited in the past from its diverse population, and will benefit more from a more diverse population. If you want to justify a limitation in diversity, you must be able to demonstrate the extraordinary benefit to justify the opportunity cost of eliminating that diversity. For example, it is easy to make a case for limiting the number of languages you print road signs in, once the percentage of people who speak a language drops below a certain number (based on unreasonable cost to create extra signage and a lack of readability). I do not believe the same argument can be made against gay marriage, bilingual education, or ballots printed in a language spoken by a sufficiently sizable minority of a local population.
We also have sufficient evidence for me to "believe" our current understandings of gravity, magnetism, relativity, and evolution. I like to think I have no emotional investment in these beliefs (you could say I believe I have no emotional investment in them!), but until that is tested, it's unclear if it's true.
Some statements I find attractive, perhaps due to their simplicity or some similarity to my own view of the world. I do my best not to hold any attachment to these, but it certainly is tempting to believe them. Mathematically, for example, it's tempting to believe that there are an infinite number of pairs of twin prime numbers. On a similar line, some statements I would like to be true, but that doesn't mean I believe they are true. I hope that societal progress on a grand scale is positive, and that society in five thousand years will be fundamentally "better" than society now, just as our society now is fundamentally "better" (for the average person) than it was five thousand years ago. I tend to say "I like to think," as opposed to "I believe," for things like this. I certainly wouldn't feel like my world had been crushed if we found there were a finite number of twin primes, but it does make me sad to see local regression in standards of living for society (such as the situation in much of Africa today).
I do believe a small number of statements because they align closely with my deeply held values. I believe that it is wrong to hurt someone just because you can, for example. I believe that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I believe that clarity in chosen words is important in avoiding misunderstandings. I hesitate to even call these beliefs, because I can't picture something which could change my mind on them. I have trouble understanding people who have that same level of clarity about beliefs like "eating meat is immoral" or "homosexuality causes societal collapse," and yet I know they exist.
When I read an article written by a man who has dozens of "beliefs" that he wants to share with me, I find it distasteful, even offensive. And when I realize that politicians are making policy and trying to change the world based on those same beliefs, I find it frightening.
So you'll have to excuse me as I delete your email. Maybe some day I will show you this post and you'll understand why.
I decided to try. What I found is that it's very hard for me to come up with a clean bullet list like he did. And maybe that's for the best.
See, I believe very few things.
Belief is a scary word to me, because it denotes an attachment to something which isn't known for sure. I try to avoid that kind of attachment, as it can create an unnecessary resistance to change and growth.
If I tell you I believe something, I will usually be able to tell you why. There are some exceptions - statements of value which are very difficult to explain. But I can try. If you ask if I believe something, the answer will often be "I don't know," because up until I was asked it wasn't necessary for me to form a belief.
Most things I believe, I believe because I have seen sufficient evidence of their truth. For example, we know that usually introducing diversity into a system makes it hardier. This applies in a trivial way to food sources (a disease which targets a single strain of plant cannot wipe out your civilization's food supply if you eat a variety of foods) and financial investments (a single market's failure cannot ruin your portfolio), among other systems. You can extend this out into many areas. A team can solve a variety of problems if people on that team bring a variety of perspectives to that problem. So, an ideal workforce (of people who are trying to solve diverse problems) is made up of diverse backgrounds. So, I "believe in diversity." Any situation where you want me to believe diversity weakens a system, you must try very hard to convince me.
As such, I "believe" that societies should not restrict human diversity. The USA has benefited in the past from its diverse population, and will benefit more from a more diverse population. If you want to justify a limitation in diversity, you must be able to demonstrate the extraordinary benefit to justify the opportunity cost of eliminating that diversity. For example, it is easy to make a case for limiting the number of languages you print road signs in, once the percentage of people who speak a language drops below a certain number (based on unreasonable cost to create extra signage and a lack of readability). I do not believe the same argument can be made against gay marriage, bilingual education, or ballots printed in a language spoken by a sufficiently sizable minority of a local population.
We also have sufficient evidence for me to "believe" our current understandings of gravity, magnetism, relativity, and evolution. I like to think I have no emotional investment in these beliefs (you could say I believe I have no emotional investment in them!), but until that is tested, it's unclear if it's true.
Some statements I find attractive, perhaps due to their simplicity or some similarity to my own view of the world. I do my best not to hold any attachment to these, but it certainly is tempting to believe them. Mathematically, for example, it's tempting to believe that there are an infinite number of pairs of twin prime numbers. On a similar line, some statements I would like to be true, but that doesn't mean I believe they are true. I hope that societal progress on a grand scale is positive, and that society in five thousand years will be fundamentally "better" than society now, just as our society now is fundamentally "better" (for the average person) than it was five thousand years ago. I tend to say "I like to think," as opposed to "I believe," for things like this. I certainly wouldn't feel like my world had been crushed if we found there were a finite number of twin primes, but it does make me sad to see local regression in standards of living for society (such as the situation in much of Africa today).
I do believe a small number of statements because they align closely with my deeply held values. I believe that it is wrong to hurt someone just because you can, for example. I believe that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. I believe that clarity in chosen words is important in avoiding misunderstandings. I hesitate to even call these beliefs, because I can't picture something which could change my mind on them. I have trouble understanding people who have that same level of clarity about beliefs like "eating meat is immoral" or "homosexuality causes societal collapse," and yet I know they exist.
When I read an article written by a man who has dozens of "beliefs" that he wants to share with me, I find it distasteful, even offensive. And when I realize that politicians are making policy and trying to change the world based on those same beliefs, I find it frightening.
So you'll have to excuse me as I delete your email. Maybe some day I will show you this post and you'll understand why.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Compressing My Interests
Part of being a huge geek is knowing all sorts of up-to-date information on tons of subjects.
Part of being a new Dad is having very little time to get said information.
It provides an interesting conflict, the result of which is that I have to pick and choose what I want to stay up to date with, and what information I'm fine with falling by the wayside. For example, I'm staying current with Rock Band 2 news, but I have no idea what's going on with the Star Wars franchise. Today I made a conscious choice to stop reading forum posts on the PS3, getting condensed news via a couple PS3 blogs instead.
The second part of this story is that I have a new set of interests, relating to parenting. So not only do I have less time to deep-dive into my interests, but I should have more interests competing for my attention as well.
I have a newfound respect for parents of all varieties - athletes, geeks, musicians ... combinations of all the above. Whatever. Kudos to you for being able to balance it all. Looking forward to making it work for me, too.
Part of being a new Dad is having very little time to get said information.
It provides an interesting conflict, the result of which is that I have to pick and choose what I want to stay up to date with, and what information I'm fine with falling by the wayside. For example, I'm staying current with Rock Band 2 news, but I have no idea what's going on with the Star Wars franchise. Today I made a conscious choice to stop reading forum posts on the PS3, getting condensed news via a couple PS3 blogs instead.
The second part of this story is that I have a new set of interests, relating to parenting. So not only do I have less time to deep-dive into my interests, but I should have more interests competing for my attention as well.
I have a newfound respect for parents of all varieties - athletes, geeks, musicians ... combinations of all the above. Whatever. Kudos to you for being able to balance it all. Looking forward to making it work for me, too.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Please like what I like
Yesterday evening, I downloaded some of the new songs available for Rock Band (two master tracks by my favorite band, Rush). I was eager to try them out, and our daughter was quiet and content after a bath. So my wife and baby sat together and I plugged in my fake plastic guitar.
I wasn't a third of the way through Closer to the Heart before Evelyn was crying and fussing.
I hope this isn't a pattern :).
I want at least a few years of my child enjoying what I enjoy before she turns into a terrible teenager who hates everything I like just to spite me.
Maybe I should give her longer than three weeks, eh?
I wasn't a third of the way through Closer to the Heart before Evelyn was crying and fussing.
I hope this isn't a pattern :).
I want at least a few years of my child enjoying what I enjoy before she turns into a terrible teenager who hates everything I like just to spite me.
Maybe I should give her longer than three weeks, eh?
Saturday, July 05, 2008
I'm a Dad ... and my Dad's a grandfather
My daughter Evelyn was born on June 23. She's nearly two weeks old. The hours race by (except when they crawl) and the days all blend together.
Today, my father and my daughter met for the first time. My father was not a big part of my life when I was growing up. My parents divorced when I was young. The situation was complicated, and neither he nor I made a big attempt to stay in touch as I grew up.
New lives come into the world, and old lives are thrown into disarray. My Dad and I have a lot of catching up to do.
I hope he makes an excellent grandfather.
And I hope I make an excellent father.
Today, my father and my daughter met for the first time. My father was not a big part of my life when I was growing up. My parents divorced when I was young. The situation was complicated, and neither he nor I made a big attempt to stay in touch as I grew up.
New lives come into the world, and old lives are thrown into disarray. My Dad and I have a lot of catching up to do.
I hope he makes an excellent grandfather.
And I hope I make an excellent father.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Stop eating so much (oh, wait)
Short post from work today. As I sit in a meeting with some out-of-shape engineers, we have someone visiting from another site who I know is a triathlete. During the course of our two hour meeting she has eaten twice. The rest of us are getting hungrier and hungrier. We'll go gorge at our late lunch because our meeting will run over.
Someone has a better plan than the rest of us.
Someone has a better plan than the rest of us.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Withering on the vine?
This blog needs an injection of life.
When I started this, I wasn't sure what I was going to write about. Over time, I've had a few periods where the blog has been very focused, and a few where it's been more meandering. More than anything else, it's served as a semi-anonymous diary (while failing to be truly anonymous). As such, it follows the ebbs and flows of my own life and my need to write.
What I need to decide is whether I want to keep this blog for that purpose (knowing that when I blog about something interesting work-related, it goes in a different blog, and when it's family-related and safe for public consumption it goes in yet a third blog), or whether I should focus more aggressively on a more coherent theme. The problem is that my life is pretty consumed by family and work right now, and I'm blogging about those things elsewhere.
Now, if I would just get off my ass and start running regularly again, I'd have a steady theme. But there are other ideas I can focus on here, and might.
When I started this, I wasn't sure what I was going to write about. Over time, I've had a few periods where the blog has been very focused, and a few where it's been more meandering. More than anything else, it's served as a semi-anonymous diary (while failing to be truly anonymous). As such, it follows the ebbs and flows of my own life and my need to write.
What I need to decide is whether I want to keep this blog for that purpose (knowing that when I blog about something interesting work-related, it goes in a different blog, and when it's family-related and safe for public consumption it goes in yet a third blog), or whether I should focus more aggressively on a more coherent theme. The problem is that my life is pretty consumed by family and work right now, and I'm blogging about those things elsewhere.
Now, if I would just get off my ass and start running regularly again, I'd have a steady theme. But there are other ideas I can focus on here, and might.
- Running and fitness (obviously)
- Tracking down and linking good travel writing (eager feet always travel, and I'll be doing less with a baby in the house soon)
- Following Hobbit movie news (Tolkien inspired the blog name)
- Writing exercises (A writer friend loaned me some books on writing and I never got past the first few exercises ... perhaps now that I'm writing so many blogs, I should try and improve my skills)
Friday, April 18, 2008
In which I profess my undying love for Rock Band
I got into rhythm games pretty late. Like "this year" late. But I think I may have waited just long enough to discover the golden age.
I was never a musician. I hung around with a lot of them, though -- I sat in dungy basements as my buddies wrote and practiced metal mayhem, I went to shitty high school band battles and cheered on the losing bands, and I waited outside all-ages nightclubs to get a chance to skirt around the edges of the mosh pit while people screamed into microphones and played heavily distorted guitars. My ears rang, and I kept coming back for more.
It influenced my choice in music for years to come. I fell in love with Rush, often described as musicians' musicians. I bought every Black Sabbath tape my local store carried, knowing they invented what other bands were stumbling over themselves to imitate. I bought blank tapes by the dozen to copy my friends' albums, and picked up new music as often as I could afford it.
I don't honestly know why I never tried to make music, but that ship sailed long ago. But that's okay. Harmonix wants to let me be in a Rock Band anyway. Whether alone or with my friends, in person or over the internet, I can pretend my frenzied mashing of buttons somehow produces the guitar track for Limelight, Tom Sawyer, or Sweet Leaf. Never mind that I can do the same thing with drums and singing when the mood strikes. And you don't just play the music, you customize your musicians, who you watch play the music in time with your actions.
Not only that, Rock Band isn't a game, it's a platform. Millions of dollars are being made selling playable versions of songs from a wide range of decades and genres of rock. Entire albums and possibly entire discographies are going to be made available. Motley Crue has released a single on it!
I may be almost 35, about to become a dad, drive a compact sedan and work in an office ... but whenever I want, I can strap that plastic guitar on and make magic.
I just hope we don't lose a whole generation of real musicians....
I was never a musician. I hung around with a lot of them, though -- I sat in dungy basements as my buddies wrote and practiced metal mayhem, I went to shitty high school band battles and cheered on the losing bands, and I waited outside all-ages nightclubs to get a chance to skirt around the edges of the mosh pit while people screamed into microphones and played heavily distorted guitars. My ears rang, and I kept coming back for more.
It influenced my choice in music for years to come. I fell in love with Rush, often described as musicians' musicians. I bought every Black Sabbath tape my local store carried, knowing they invented what other bands were stumbling over themselves to imitate. I bought blank tapes by the dozen to copy my friends' albums, and picked up new music as often as I could afford it.
I don't honestly know why I never tried to make music, but that ship sailed long ago. But that's okay. Harmonix wants to let me be in a Rock Band anyway. Whether alone or with my friends, in person or over the internet, I can pretend my frenzied mashing of buttons somehow produces the guitar track for Limelight, Tom Sawyer, or Sweet Leaf. Never mind that I can do the same thing with drums and singing when the mood strikes. And you don't just play the music, you customize your musicians, who you watch play the music in time with your actions.
Not only that, Rock Band isn't a game, it's a platform. Millions of dollars are being made selling playable versions of songs from a wide range of decades and genres of rock. Entire albums and possibly entire discographies are going to be made available. Motley Crue has released a single on it!
I may be almost 35, about to become a dad, drive a compact sedan and work in an office ... but whenever I want, I can strap that plastic guitar on and make magic.
I just hope we don't lose a whole generation of real musicians....
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Spring is ... springing!
We had two great days last week, sunny days where the temperature spiked into the 60s and threatened 70. Days where you drive with the windows open, days where the sun sets and you don't instantly shiver, days where the birds sing and the frogs croak and the earth is soft under your feet.
Spring, ladies and gentlemen, may finally be here.
And as I drove past the pond the other day, watching the bright sunlight play off the water, I missed running.
All winter long, my fitness has dropped -- I've eaten worse, my exercise has slowed (as in, working out every 2 weeks), and I've often been down about the results. But having a pregnant wife makes for a great excuse, and so does having lots of work in the house. After all, nailing up bead board for a few hours is exercise, isn't it?
While I've missed feeling healthy, I haven't missed it enough for it to drive me into making lifestyle changes. But I miss running. I don't necessarily miss eating salads for lunch and saying no when someone brings in cookies to work, but I miss knowing that I can run out my front door, past that pond, on a three-mile journey that connects me with nature and reality in a way that nothing else I do can.
I don't need to be a marathoner, but I think I need to be a runner.
Spring, ladies and gentlemen, may finally be here.
And as I drove past the pond the other day, watching the bright sunlight play off the water, I missed running.
All winter long, my fitness has dropped -- I've eaten worse, my exercise has slowed (as in, working out every 2 weeks), and I've often been down about the results. But having a pregnant wife makes for a great excuse, and so does having lots of work in the house. After all, nailing up bead board for a few hours is exercise, isn't it?
While I've missed feeling healthy, I haven't missed it enough for it to drive me into making lifestyle changes. But I miss running. I don't necessarily miss eating salads for lunch and saying no when someone brings in cookies to work, but I miss knowing that I can run out my front door, past that pond, on a three-mile journey that connects me with nature and reality in a way that nothing else I do can.
I don't need to be a marathoner, but I think I need to be a runner.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
The Digital Nesting Instinct
While the home gets more and more child-ready (this weekend we painted a ton of bead board, last night we were up late nailing it to the basement walls), my mind is turning to a different kind of nesting. The digital kind.
This blog and my picasa space are great for talking about my generic life and hosting/posting pictures of various things as they come up. But the future isn't that simple. I'm going to be collecting photos at a much higher rate, and taking video as well. I want to put all that in a place where my family and friends can access it safely.
Even better, I want to do it in place where the content is safe for my mother-in-law, online friends, co-workers, bosses, etc. In other words, it's not the same as a semi-anonymous blog. In an earlier post I talked about my "two" identities -- the one that's attached to everyone I work with, and this one. Now I'm looking at a third identity -- the Real Me (is it odd that I find it so easy to think about my life in these weird slices? Do other people?). A domain name based on my actual real name. A blog with pictures of my family and posts about family events, that I wouldn't be freaked out if my boss read.
This is a new world for me. I can accomplish this with a domain name and another google apps install -- hosting the images on, say, flickr, or picasa web, hosting the blog content here on blogger, the web pages on google pages, etc. Or I can pony up the cash to buy some hosting and have full control over it all. I honestly don't know what I am going to do, but I feel this strong urge to get acting on it soon.
Now I know how Jess felt when she was looking at cribs and wall colors. Must NEST! Can't decide how! Can't wait!
This blog and my picasa space are great for talking about my generic life and hosting/posting pictures of various things as they come up. But the future isn't that simple. I'm going to be collecting photos at a much higher rate, and taking video as well. I want to put all that in a place where my family and friends can access it safely.
Even better, I want to do it in place where the content is safe for my mother-in-law, online friends, co-workers, bosses, etc. In other words, it's not the same as a semi-anonymous blog. In an earlier post I talked about my "two" identities -- the one that's attached to everyone I work with, and this one. Now I'm looking at a third identity -- the Real Me (is it odd that I find it so easy to think about my life in these weird slices? Do other people?). A domain name based on my actual real name. A blog with pictures of my family and posts about family events, that I wouldn't be freaked out if my boss read.
This is a new world for me. I can accomplish this with a domain name and another google apps install -- hosting the images on, say, flickr, or picasa web, hosting the blog content here on blogger, the web pages on google pages, etc. Or I can pony up the cash to buy some hosting and have full control over it all. I honestly don't know what I am going to do, but I feel this strong urge to get acting on it soon.
Now I know how Jess felt when she was looking at cribs and wall colors. Must NEST! Can't decide how! Can't wait!
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
What do I want to do when I grow up?
This year, I turn 35. This year, I will be a Dad. At 20, I could conceive of neither of these things.
In fifteen years, I will be 50. And I will have a 15 year-old daughter, unless the ultrasound tech is seeing a very girly-shaped-boy-part, in which case I will have a 15 year-old son with issues about showering after gym class (sorry son).
I can picture neither of these things either. At first this worried me. But then I realized that this is how reality works. We constantly do things which surprise the hell out of us. Before we bought our home, I could not visualize the everyday life of a homeowner. But now, it's just how we live. I snowblow, mow the grass, worry when a branch falls on the roof in a thunderstorm, paint the rooms wacky colors, and watch movies with the volume cranked up so the walls all vibrate without anybody complaining (except Jess, but that's nothing to do with the house). When I was in college, I couldn't picture going in to work every day and writing software. When I was writing software, I couldn't picture managing a team of developers.
I don't know what I'll be doing in 15 years, or even in 2, when it comes to being a parent. But I know I'll figure it out somehow. I imagine there are people who have their lives all mapped out, visualizing their futures, and are never surprised. I wonder if it's as boring as it sounds :).
In fifteen years, I will be 50. And I will have a 15 year-old daughter, unless the ultrasound tech is seeing a very girly-shaped-boy-part, in which case I will have a 15 year-old son with issues about showering after gym class (sorry son).
I can picture neither of these things either. At first this worried me. But then I realized that this is how reality works. We constantly do things which surprise the hell out of us. Before we bought our home, I could not visualize the everyday life of a homeowner. But now, it's just how we live. I snowblow, mow the grass, worry when a branch falls on the roof in a thunderstorm, paint the rooms wacky colors, and watch movies with the volume cranked up so the walls all vibrate without anybody complaining (except Jess, but that's nothing to do with the house). When I was in college, I couldn't picture going in to work every day and writing software. When I was writing software, I couldn't picture managing a team of developers.
I don't know what I'll be doing in 15 years, or even in 2, when it comes to being a parent. But I know I'll figure it out somehow. I imagine there are people who have their lives all mapped out, visualizing their futures, and are never surprised. I wonder if it's as boring as it sounds :).
Friday, March 28, 2008
Evolution of a (RSS) reader
It used to be, I couldn't understand the appeal of RSS. Now, I can't imagine staying up to date with reality without it.
I don't have to check sites to see when they update -- they tell me. And for many sites, I never have to go there at all. I apologize to all the graphic designers of the world, but sometimes I just enjoy reading the text in plain old black on white.
Anyway, you can see what kind of changes life has brought me by looking at my RSS feeds. The standard geeky fare is still there and always will be, but what's supplemented it over time? Well, the most recent changes are in the area of personal finance and parenting, and the intersection of the two.
When did I go from reading about new user-created maps for online FPSes to researching baby strollers?
And why doesn't it bug me?
I don't have to check sites to see when they update -- they tell me. And for many sites, I never have to go there at all. I apologize to all the graphic designers of the world, but sometimes I just enjoy reading the text in plain old black on white.
Anyway, you can see what kind of changes life has brought me by looking at my RSS feeds. The standard geeky fare is still there and always will be, but what's supplemented it over time? Well, the most recent changes are in the area of personal finance and parenting, and the intersection of the two.
When did I go from reading about new user-created maps for online FPSes to researching baby strollers?
And why doesn't it bug me?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
First Gygax, now Clarke
Today, a true legend passed away. Arthur C. Clarke, best known for authoring 2001, died at the age of 90.
I was introduced to Clarke in high school, when I went on a classic science fiction kick, starting with some of Heinlein's work. I think I read 2001, 2010, Rendezvous with Rama, Childhood's End, and one of his short story collections all in the same year. Childhood's End sticks with me the most, all these years later.
Clarke was not just a brilliant writer, he was a scientist and a revolutionary.
I am sad to see him go.
I was introduced to Clarke in high school, when I went on a classic science fiction kick, starting with some of Heinlein's work. I think I read 2001, 2010, Rendezvous with Rama, Childhood's End, and one of his short story collections all in the same year. Childhood's End sticks with me the most, all these years later.
Clarke was not just a brilliant writer, he was a scientist and a revolutionary.
I am sad to see him go.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Blogging at work and at home
I've written in the past about my "split identities" at work and at home. I caught myself today, while folding laundry, thinking about work. More specifically, I was thinking about my work blog. I am going to be taking a trip to a conference in May, and the prep work for that conference will make a great recurring topic for days when I don't have something fundamentally cool to say at work.
It's odd to make the shift from thinking about "I should totally blog about the movies I watched this weekend" to "I have a great topic for my work blog." But while one or two people might find my movie reviews interesting, a hundred co-workers or more will see my new blog post's headline and I know at least a half-dozen or more will read it. It might not be as fun, but it's reaching a larger audience and from a totally selfish standpoint will get my name mentioned in circles I'd never be in otherwise.
But it eats at the same pool of writing energy. So instead of thinking about a clever way to package up my weekend's activities into a blog post, I'm thinking of a way to stretch 8 weeks of prep for a conference into a series of posts. And as a result, you get to read about, well, why I find that whole process interesting....
It's odd to make the shift from thinking about "I should totally blog about the movies I watched this weekend" to "I have a great topic for my work blog." But while one or two people might find my movie reviews interesting, a hundred co-workers or more will see my new blog post's headline and I know at least a half-dozen or more will read it. It might not be as fun, but it's reaching a larger audience and from a totally selfish standpoint will get my name mentioned in circles I'd never be in otherwise.
But it eats at the same pool of writing energy. So instead of thinking about a clever way to package up my weekend's activities into a blog post, I'm thinking of a way to stretch 8 weeks of prep for a conference into a series of posts. And as a result, you get to read about, well, why I find that whole process interesting....
Friday, March 07, 2008
Video Game Geek Moments
True video game geeks know what I'm talking about -- a sense of accomplishment and pride that comes from battling against a given level/task in a game for a long period of time until it's finally beaten. It is even more fun if it's a cooperative multiplayer game. I have many happy memories of getting past difficult parts of tons of games with various friends through the years.
Tonight, my wife and I finally got a rainbow on the "Special 1" level in Pixeljunk Monsters, a budget "tower defense" game, for the PS3. This means nothing to the vast majority of you, but it was the culmination of daily play for some time, and it was a shared accomplishment. In fact, it was Jess's idea to try a variation on our strategy that I think led to the victory.
It's pretty cool to be able to share that specific geeky feeling of accomplishment with the mother of my future child, I must say :).
Tonight, my wife and I finally got a rainbow on the "Special 1" level in Pixeljunk Monsters, a budget "tower defense" game, for the PS3. This means nothing to the vast majority of you, but it was the culmination of daily play for some time, and it was a shared accomplishment. In fact, it was Jess's idea to try a variation on our strategy that I think led to the victory.
It's pretty cool to be able to share that specific geeky feeling of accomplishment with the mother of my future child, I must say :).
Thursday, March 06, 2008
15 weeks to go
Our wonderful baby is still growing and getting stronger and bigger by the day. Jess feels frequent kicks and moves, and today's doctor's appointment and ultrasound showed everything going according to schedule. Here she is trying to call me a loser by making an "L" on her forehead.
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