As I have occasionally mentioned, I'm a New England boy. More specifically, I grew up in Massachusetts and then spent high school in Connecticut. In other words, I was in New England during those formative years when a young man first begins to follow sports.
Now, to say I "follow" sports is something of a misnomer. I'm a long ways from being a fanatic. I like to hear about my teams, and if someone leaves the sports section out, I'll occasionally look through it to see how they're doing. It's rare, however, that I'll know without being told what's going on. I'm not really an active fan, but if I hear someone mention one of my teams, I pay attention.
So who are "my" teams? Well, as I mentioned I got my start in Massachusetts. That means anything New England or Boston; specifically the Red Sox, the Patriots, the Bruins, and the Celtics.
That was in the days of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish. It was an easy time to be a Celtics fan. It was also, briefly, an easy time to be a Patriots fan. One of my earliest sports related memories is of the Pats crushing the Dolphins on their way to Super Bowl XX only to be crushed in turn by the Refrigerator and the rest of the Bears. After that it wasn't such a good time to be a Patriots fan anymore.
Then there's the Red Sox. It was never a good time to be a Red Sox fan. They're sort of famous for it.
Or they were. It's good to be from New England again. The Bruins are holding pretty steady. The Celts have made some trades that look to really boost their performance and then there's the other two. The Red Sox made up for all the suffering with one beautiful series in 2004. They took the top spot again this year proving the first one wasn't a fluke. Then there's the Pats who have now racked up more touchdowns in a single season than any other team ever.*
I feel justified in maintaining my loyalty (as low key as it is) through several moves and despite (or perhaps because of) the strong feelings of several of my friends for other teams. I'm not a very enthusiastic fan, but I am a persistent fan. It took a while, but it's paying off now.
Go New England!
*P.S. Add "most touchdowns of any quarterback" and undefeated regular season to their list of achievements. Like I said, it's a good time to be from New England.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Something New to Talk About
Tis the season for traveling. The Atlanta-to-Connecticut trip is a doozy. Fortunately, I have some good friends near DC to help me break it up into two smaller bits. Not small, but at least smaller. The weather was good for my journey north and the first leg at least was swift and smooth. I made good time.
Bruce and Colleen proved gracious and pleasant hosts, offering lots of opportunities to play Halo. Also there was good beer (to be expected in Bruce's house) and a new (to me) lunch place. It turns out I really like fried oysters. Good to know. They even staged a local sporting event for my entertainment!
The second leg of the journey north was less pleasant, including two significant traffic jams (one at each end). I made it in one piece, though, with only mild frustration damage to my psyche.
The return trip should be better. For one thing, Sarah will be with me. Actually, that's the only thing that's certain to be more pleasant about the trip. I was lucky with the weather on the way north, but there are threats of snow and ice ahead. Traffic should be heavier, but hopefully there will be no construction to worry about. The real question, though, is the Diehls. They are taking on the mantle of hosts for our midpoint stopover. Will they be able to live up to the standards set by the Showalters? It's a lot to ask of them. The Diehls have a real opportunity here to step up and excel, but we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. It's a lot of pressure, I won't lie, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
Bruce and Colleen proved gracious and pleasant hosts, offering lots of opportunities to play Halo. Also there was good beer (to be expected in Bruce's house) and a new (to me) lunch place. It turns out I really like fried oysters. Good to know. They even staged a local sporting event for my entertainment!
The second leg of the journey north was less pleasant, including two significant traffic jams (one at each end). I made it in one piece, though, with only mild frustration damage to my psyche.
The return trip should be better. For one thing, Sarah will be with me. Actually, that's the only thing that's certain to be more pleasant about the trip. I was lucky with the weather on the way north, but there are threats of snow and ice ahead. Traffic should be heavier, but hopefully there will be no construction to worry about. The real question, though, is the Diehls. They are taking on the mantle of hosts for our midpoint stopover. Will they be able to live up to the standards set by the Showalters? It's a lot to ask of them. The Diehls have a real opportunity here to step up and excel, but we'll have to wait and see how it turns out. It's a lot of pressure, I won't lie, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Having a Beer, Watching the Disney Channel
I am far enough into my “late twenties” that I’ve reached “almost thirty.” That puts me pretty firmly into the “adult” category. In theory.
What does that really mean? One of my friends thinks she is supposed to have all of her crazy stuff out of the way by the time she gets to thirty and recently expressed concern about how much crazy she has left to do in such a short span. I think she’s nuts. Thirty is the sort of number that scared the hippies. I’m not too concerned about it. It seems a bit young to be having a midlife crisis.
Yet there is that whole expectation of “adult” behavior. There are things that adults appreciate that children do not. I’m cool with that. But there’s also the flip side, things children enjoy that adults are not supposed to. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say there are things children, teenagers, and even young adults can get away with that adults are not supposed to do. Fie on that.
I read a number of webcomics on a regular basis (I don’t get a newspaper so I start my day with webcomics, blogs, and news sites instead). One strip from the comic xkcd captured my sentiment on this subject pretty much perfectly. You can find it here, but for those of you uninterested in pursuing the link, the relevant line is this: “I’m happy to grow up. But I won’t pretend fun things aren’t still fun out of a fear of looking silly.” They also suggest that as adults we can also add our own twist to those same childhood activities (I’m paraphrasing because I don’t want to blow the punch line for those of you who do check it out).
I enjoy this outlook. It means I can do things like have a beer while watching the Disney Channel. Specifically, Kim Possible.
Kim Possible meshes perfectly with my sense of humor. I cannot describe just how entertaining this show is for me. It’s glorious, just the right mix of subtlety and slapstick that I appreciate.
Consider the following:
1. There is a father/son villain team named Senor Senior Sr. and Senor Senior Jr.
2. There is an episode called “Monkey Ninjas in Space.”
3. Kim’s sidekick is named “Ron Stoppable” and the villains can never remember his name.
4. The villains have a time-share set up for their evil lairs.
Now do you see why I (with my particular brand of humor) might find this show so funny?
Also the art style is fascinating – I even went as far recently as to look up the artists’ thoughts on the way they assembled the look (I can’t tell whether that makes me a design dork, or a Kim Possible dork).
I get crap from people for watching cartoons (Penrock thinks it’s because I was never allowed to do so as a child) but I think they’re missing out. Actually, I’m pretty sure that I appreciate this show more as an adult than I would have as a teenager or a tween or whoever their real audience is supposed to be. The creators do claim that it is supposed to be enjoyable for parents and kids to watch together, so maybe I’m not so far out of the target demographic. After all, the episode where Senor Senior Sr. and Senor Senior Jr. steal animatronic animals to use as cage dancers in an evil night club does involve dialogue that consists of lyrics by the Talking Heads. I laughed pretty hard to hear Senor Senior Sr. yell at his son “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around!” Who under twenty would catch that?
Kim Possible is done, no new episodes are forthcoming. Fortunately, I still have a lot of reruns to catch up on. If they ever put the seasons on DVD I will buy them and I will share them with all of you, consider yourselves forewarned. Until then, though, there’s always Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends on the Cartoon Network…
Yeah, I’ll still be watching cartoons well past thirty.
What does that really mean? One of my friends thinks she is supposed to have all of her crazy stuff out of the way by the time she gets to thirty and recently expressed concern about how much crazy she has left to do in such a short span. I think she’s nuts. Thirty is the sort of number that scared the hippies. I’m not too concerned about it. It seems a bit young to be having a midlife crisis.
Yet there is that whole expectation of “adult” behavior. There are things that adults appreciate that children do not. I’m cool with that. But there’s also the flip side, things children enjoy that adults are not supposed to. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say there are things children, teenagers, and even young adults can get away with that adults are not supposed to do. Fie on that.
I read a number of webcomics on a regular basis (I don’t get a newspaper so I start my day with webcomics, blogs, and news sites instead). One strip from the comic xkcd captured my sentiment on this subject pretty much perfectly. You can find it here, but for those of you uninterested in pursuing the link, the relevant line is this: “I’m happy to grow up. But I won’t pretend fun things aren’t still fun out of a fear of looking silly.” They also suggest that as adults we can also add our own twist to those same childhood activities (I’m paraphrasing because I don’t want to blow the punch line for those of you who do check it out).
I enjoy this outlook. It means I can do things like have a beer while watching the Disney Channel. Specifically, Kim Possible.
Kim Possible meshes perfectly with my sense of humor. I cannot describe just how entertaining this show is for me. It’s glorious, just the right mix of subtlety and slapstick that I appreciate.
Consider the following:
1. There is a father/son villain team named Senor Senior Sr. and Senor Senior Jr.
2. There is an episode called “Monkey Ninjas in Space.”
3. Kim’s sidekick is named “Ron Stoppable” and the villains can never remember his name.
4. The villains have a time-share set up for their evil lairs.
Now do you see why I (with my particular brand of humor) might find this show so funny?
Also the art style is fascinating – I even went as far recently as to look up the artists’ thoughts on the way they assembled the look (I can’t tell whether that makes me a design dork, or a Kim Possible dork).
I get crap from people for watching cartoons (Penrock thinks it’s because I was never allowed to do so as a child) but I think they’re missing out. Actually, I’m pretty sure that I appreciate this show more as an adult than I would have as a teenager or a tween or whoever their real audience is supposed to be. The creators do claim that it is supposed to be enjoyable for parents and kids to watch together, so maybe I’m not so far out of the target demographic. After all, the episode where Senor Senior Sr. and Senor Senior Jr. steal animatronic animals to use as cage dancers in an evil night club does involve dialogue that consists of lyrics by the Talking Heads. I laughed pretty hard to hear Senor Senior Sr. yell at his son “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around!” Who under twenty would catch that?
Kim Possible is done, no new episodes are forthcoming. Fortunately, I still have a lot of reruns to catch up on. If they ever put the seasons on DVD I will buy them and I will share them with all of you, consider yourselves forewarned. Until then, though, there’s always Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends on the Cartoon Network…
Yeah, I’ll still be watching cartoons well past thirty.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Getting to the Point
My default writing style is pretty much the complete opposite of that recommended for research papers or other professional and academic communication. My style is, for one thing, a lot less likely to stay on track. I like qualifiers and modifiers. I like a certain goofiness. I like tangents. I like parenthetical asides. I really like parenthetical asides. You can see only a hint of it by reading my previous blog entries but you still have no idea just how many I remove in the process of editing what goes up here. Also, I'm having a very hard time not adding one now.
This particular style works fine for, say, a blog where the essential purpose (whatever else we may claim) is to show off. It's not very useful in a term paper or thesis. I can adapt, however. I don't really have any trouble writing in the style required for such papers. I just don't do it here. Nor, and this is where I'm headed with this entry, do I use a particularly concise style in emails.
I became aware some years ago that my email style was not entirely compatible with the email-reading habits of some of my friends. Only recently, however, have I come to recognize just how prevalent this discord is and, perhaps more importantly, how much it obscures my real message for people with little time.
The first indication came through an off-hand comment from a friend about five years ago. She told me, "Oh I don't usually read your whole email." This was pretty painful for me to hear, although she had no idea. I think from her perspective it was equivalent of telling me "I never quite got around to reading that article you recommended," in other words no big deal. From my end, though, it sounded more like, "I know you've been talking earnestly for the last ten minutes, but I wasn't really listening." It hurt (and clearly still bothers me, to a certain extent) but I understood it wasn't meant to be insulting. It was a fundamental difference in the way the two of us saw email.
I don't just write emails, I craft them. I like writing. If you get an email of a significant length from me (and admittedly my threshold for "significant" is probably higher than most), odds are good that I spent too much time drafting, editing, and tweaking it to get that perfect "casually witty" look (It's sort of like the idea of "artfully mussed hair"). As I pointed out above, however, I have more recently begun to realize that all that "craft" can obscure my original purpose.
In the past few years, more of my friends have made similar comments to the one I mentioned above. It took me a little while, but I finally started to generalize the concept and to realize that, as much fun as I find long emails, my readers don't always feel the same way.
Recently I have also begun following a blog called "43 Folders" which offers advice on being more productive and working more efficiently. It has an Apple focus, so I skip large parts of it, but the general non-Apple stuff is pretty useful. It's helping with my studies already. A large section of this blog is directed at email processing and also at email writing. Seeing the other point of view described there, that of the person who has to comb through all the "casual witty" to get to the actual information in the email, helped me realize just why some people are not inclined to read my whole email.
I have begun now to be more careful of my emailing efforts. If I'm writing an email with a purpose I'm dropping the clever subject in favor of the informative subject. I'm replacing the cryptic-yet-enticing first line with a sentence detailing exactly why I'm sending the email. I'm also discarding all (well almost all) of the irrelevant comments and asides I usually stick in the main body and then I'm signing off with a specific declaration of what I'm asking of them. Recipients should find it easier to figure out why I sent the email, whether they need to read it, and what I expect in return if they do. Hopefully it will make things easier for all involved (maybe now people will actually send RSVPs to my invitations, but efficiency may not actually be the real problem there).
I should point out that this new approach only goes for purposeful emails. I have no intentions of reducing my rambling if I'm just saying hi (I'm not going to let efficiency suck ALL the fun out of my life). Also, almost all B&B emails are exempt (October 27th, mark your calendars). For those we've always had the summary at the end anyway, so people can just deal.
For the rest, though, I'm cleaning up my act.
This particular style works fine for, say, a blog where the essential purpose (whatever else we may claim) is to show off. It's not very useful in a term paper or thesis. I can adapt, however. I don't really have any trouble writing in the style required for such papers. I just don't do it here. Nor, and this is where I'm headed with this entry, do I use a particularly concise style in emails.
I became aware some years ago that my email style was not entirely compatible with the email-reading habits of some of my friends. Only recently, however, have I come to recognize just how prevalent this discord is and, perhaps more importantly, how much it obscures my real message for people with little time.
The first indication came through an off-hand comment from a friend about five years ago. She told me, "Oh I don't usually read your whole email." This was pretty painful for me to hear, although she had no idea. I think from her perspective it was equivalent of telling me "I never quite got around to reading that article you recommended," in other words no big deal. From my end, though, it sounded more like, "I know you've been talking earnestly for the last ten minutes, but I wasn't really listening." It hurt (and clearly still bothers me, to a certain extent) but I understood it wasn't meant to be insulting. It was a fundamental difference in the way the two of us saw email.
I don't just write emails, I craft them. I like writing. If you get an email of a significant length from me (and admittedly my threshold for "significant" is probably higher than most), odds are good that I spent too much time drafting, editing, and tweaking it to get that perfect "casually witty" look (It's sort of like the idea of "artfully mussed hair"). As I pointed out above, however, I have more recently begun to realize that all that "craft" can obscure my original purpose.
In the past few years, more of my friends have made similar comments to the one I mentioned above. It took me a little while, but I finally started to generalize the concept and to realize that, as much fun as I find long emails, my readers don't always feel the same way.
Recently I have also begun following a blog called "43 Folders" which offers advice on being more productive and working more efficiently. It has an Apple focus, so I skip large parts of it, but the general non-Apple stuff is pretty useful. It's helping with my studies already. A large section of this blog is directed at email processing and also at email writing. Seeing the other point of view described there, that of the person who has to comb through all the "casual witty" to get to the actual information in the email, helped me realize just why some people are not inclined to read my whole email.
I have begun now to be more careful of my emailing efforts. If I'm writing an email with a purpose I'm dropping the clever subject in favor of the informative subject. I'm replacing the cryptic-yet-enticing first line with a sentence detailing exactly why I'm sending the email. I'm also discarding all (well almost all) of the irrelevant comments and asides I usually stick in the main body and then I'm signing off with a specific declaration of what I'm asking of them. Recipients should find it easier to figure out why I sent the email, whether they need to read it, and what I expect in return if they do. Hopefully it will make things easier for all involved (maybe now people will actually send RSVPs to my invitations, but efficiency may not actually be the real problem there).
I should point out that this new approach only goes for purposeful emails. I have no intentions of reducing my rambling if I'm just saying hi (I'm not going to let efficiency suck ALL the fun out of my life). Also, almost all B&B emails are exempt (October 27th, mark your calendars). For those we've always had the summary at the end anyway, so people can just deal.
For the rest, though, I'm cleaning up my act.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Some Useful Addons
My girlfriend recently got herself a new laptop. This is a vast improvement over the Flintstone's era thing she was using. I've seen abacuses (abaci?) with more processing power than the computer she just got rid of. Fortunately for her, this new one actually runs software.
With that in mind, for her benefit and your own edification, today I will be describing (and linking) several programs I find particularly useful. Each should offer a nice little way to improve your computing experience. Now, I don't have Vista yet, so I don't know how these programs actually interact with that system (or even if it makes some of their functionality obsolete), but they all do fine for XP. If you can make your computer do these tricks without downloading anything additional, so much the better for you. If not, well here they are. Added bonus: they're all free.
Without further ado, the programs:
EULAlyzer
This one analyzes End User License Agreements, flagging any particularly alarming clauses. It beats trying to read through those things on your own, and it certainly beats not reading them at all. I'm putting it first, since some of the programs that follow might have EULAs that you might want to test it out on.
Adblocker
It does just what it claims to do, blocks ads. It even prevents banner ads and those irritating pop-up ads that expand on the webpage to get in your way. I'm pleased with it, if only for the reason that I haven't seen a dancing silhouette in a long time.
Autocopy
This firefox addon is pretty clever. It operates on the principle that the only conceivable reason you would select text on a webpage is so you can copy it. This cuts out the Ctrl-C aspect of the operation. Just highlight text in your browser and it's automatically copied to the clipboard. It's not all that dramatic, but it is a nice feature.
Panorama
Dave Click first showed me this program in 1997 and I've been using it ever since. It rotates your computer background through a set of images you select. You have control over just how often and in what order they change, among other options.
del.icio.us addon for Firefox
This is one of my favorite new addons. I mentioned del.icio.us once before. Well, this addon increases its usefulness dramatically.
For starters, del.icio.us is a means of storing and tagging links online. The tagging system is more versatile than the folder system and having it on the web means you can access your links from multiple computers. It also has a public/private option so you can share useful inks with other people and hide those you don't want them to know about.
This addon allows you to access your links through the firefox toolbar. It has completely replaced my bookmarks toolbar. The whole system permits me to manage far more bookmarks as well. It's currently tracking over 200 links and with the addon I have no problem getting quickly to the one I want. I also installed the addon in my profile at school, so now I have a synchronized list of bookmarks that's identical on all computers I use.
The addon, upon setup, will automatically import your current bookmarks if you like (they all start off set to private). So that part won't take any effort. However, if you're new to del.icio.us arranging your tags will take some time, but I promise it will be worth the hassle.
If nothing else, check out my collected links. You might find something useful or amusing.
With that in mind, for her benefit and your own edification, today I will be describing (and linking) several programs I find particularly useful. Each should offer a nice little way to improve your computing experience. Now, I don't have Vista yet, so I don't know how these programs actually interact with that system (or even if it makes some of their functionality obsolete), but they all do fine for XP. If you can make your computer do these tricks without downloading anything additional, so much the better for you. If not, well here they are. Added bonus: they're all free.
Without further ado, the programs:
EULAlyzer
This one analyzes End User License Agreements, flagging any particularly alarming clauses. It beats trying to read through those things on your own, and it certainly beats not reading them at all. I'm putting it first, since some of the programs that follow might have EULAs that you might want to test it out on.
Adblocker
It does just what it claims to do, blocks ads. It even prevents banner ads and those irritating pop-up ads that expand on the webpage to get in your way. I'm pleased with it, if only for the reason that I haven't seen a dancing silhouette in a long time.
Autocopy
This firefox addon is pretty clever. It operates on the principle that the only conceivable reason you would select text on a webpage is so you can copy it. This cuts out the Ctrl-C aspect of the operation. Just highlight text in your browser and it's automatically copied to the clipboard. It's not all that dramatic, but it is a nice feature.
Panorama
Dave Click first showed me this program in 1997 and I've been using it ever since. It rotates your computer background through a set of images you select. You have control over just how often and in what order they change, among other options.
del.icio.us addon for Firefox
This is one of my favorite new addons. I mentioned del.icio.us once before. Well, this addon increases its usefulness dramatically.
For starters, del.icio.us is a means of storing and tagging links online. The tagging system is more versatile than the folder system and having it on the web means you can access your links from multiple computers. It also has a public/private option so you can share useful inks with other people and hide those you don't want them to know about.
This addon allows you to access your links through the firefox toolbar. It has completely replaced my bookmarks toolbar. The whole system permits me to manage far more bookmarks as well. It's currently tracking over 200 links and with the addon I have no problem getting quickly to the one I want. I also installed the addon in my profile at school, so now I have a synchronized list of bookmarks that's identical on all computers I use.
The addon, upon setup, will automatically import your current bookmarks if you like (they all start off set to private). So that part won't take any effort. However, if you're new to del.icio.us arranging your tags will take some time, but I promise it will be worth the hassle.
If nothing else, check out my collected links. You might find something useful or amusing.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Freezing Time
It is time for another entry. Actually it is time for bed, but fie on that. I shall instead stay up to compose something specifically for your entertainment. What better way to procrastinate than by addressing something that has already been procrastinated.
So, I’ll put off sleep in favor of putting something down in writing. Smart? No, not really. I have to be at school a good deal earlier than usual tomorrow for work. We’re setting up an exhibition for the Common First Year class of work done by previous Common First Year students so this particular batch can get a look at what they’re in for. Set the bar, establish expectations, also maybe give them something to look forward to. Some will see the display and be frustrated by it: “You expect me to be able to do that?” Others, those less inclined towards pessimism, will hopefully be more impressed: “I’ll be able to produce that?” It’s a subtle but important distinction.
So, yes, school has started. Last week was the first week of the new year. New classes, new teachers, a newly revised studio, some cool new people… It’s going to be a good year. It is also, as was the last, going to be a very full year. I have been preparing. Not unlike some small mammals and certain species of insect, I have been storing food for the coming winter. While the principle is the same, my process is somewhat more sophisticated than the smaller mammals and the insects. For example I am using a freezer, something most of them do not have access to.
By using my time to cook now and freezing some of the leftovers, I am essentially storing time for later use. Technically, yes, I’m storing the food, but symbolically that food represents time. Unlike the small mammals and the insects I do not expect a shortage of materials as the cold weather moves in, I expect an abundance of assignments, which will in turn eat into that other resource: time. My girlfriend was exceptionally good to me last year and in several instances substituted her time for mine, going so far as to package individual leftover meals for me to reheat at school. I appreciate this immensely, but at the same time, recognize that it is something of an imposition. So now, before the school season has quite ramped up (and it’s ramping up quickly), I am packaging some of my own time so I do not have to depend quite as much on hers.
So far I have managed to set aside shrimp creole, honey-mustard pork chops, mashed potatoes, and quite a quantity of tomato sauce (perhaps the most important, or at least prevalent, staple of my diet). This is all something of an experiment. I’ll be curious to learn the answers to the following questions: How much longer can I find the time to cook enough to put away? How much longer after that will it be before I find myself starting to rely upon the stored foods? How long then will those foods last? Perhaps most importantly: which of the foods that I choose to store will actually emerge from the freezing process in a palatable state? And yes, I will know they at least start that way. My cooking is not that daring, but it is effective and usually enjoyable.
Great, now I’m hungry. And tired. For now I’ll focus on addressing the tired, and procrastinate the hungry until tomorrow morning. Here's hoping my winter-storage efforts mean I don't have to trade food for sleep later in the year.
So, I’ll put off sleep in favor of putting something down in writing. Smart? No, not really. I have to be at school a good deal earlier than usual tomorrow for work. We’re setting up an exhibition for the Common First Year class of work done by previous Common First Year students so this particular batch can get a look at what they’re in for. Set the bar, establish expectations, also maybe give them something to look forward to. Some will see the display and be frustrated by it: “You expect me to be able to do that?” Others, those less inclined towards pessimism, will hopefully be more impressed: “I’ll be able to produce that?” It’s a subtle but important distinction.
So, yes, school has started. Last week was the first week of the new year. New classes, new teachers, a newly revised studio, some cool new people… It’s going to be a good year. It is also, as was the last, going to be a very full year. I have been preparing. Not unlike some small mammals and certain species of insect, I have been storing food for the coming winter. While the principle is the same, my process is somewhat more sophisticated than the smaller mammals and the insects. For example I am using a freezer, something most of them do not have access to.
By using my time to cook now and freezing some of the leftovers, I am essentially storing time for later use. Technically, yes, I’m storing the food, but symbolically that food represents time. Unlike the small mammals and the insects I do not expect a shortage of materials as the cold weather moves in, I expect an abundance of assignments, which will in turn eat into that other resource: time. My girlfriend was exceptionally good to me last year and in several instances substituted her time for mine, going so far as to package individual leftover meals for me to reheat at school. I appreciate this immensely, but at the same time, recognize that it is something of an imposition. So now, before the school season has quite ramped up (and it’s ramping up quickly), I am packaging some of my own time so I do not have to depend quite as much on hers.
So far I have managed to set aside shrimp creole, honey-mustard pork chops, mashed potatoes, and quite a quantity of tomato sauce (perhaps the most important, or at least prevalent, staple of my diet). This is all something of an experiment. I’ll be curious to learn the answers to the following questions: How much longer can I find the time to cook enough to put away? How much longer after that will it be before I find myself starting to rely upon the stored foods? How long then will those foods last? Perhaps most importantly: which of the foods that I choose to store will actually emerge from the freezing process in a palatable state? And yes, I will know they at least start that way. My cooking is not that daring, but it is effective and usually enjoyable.
Great, now I’m hungry. And tired. For now I’ll focus on addressing the tired, and procrastinate the hungry until tomorrow morning. Here's hoping my winter-storage efforts mean I don't have to trade food for sleep later in the year.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Wisdom for the Ages
My high school ten year reunion should be happening this year. Odds are good that it won't, but I could be wrong.
In any case, I found myself thinking about high school recently. More specifically, I found myself contemplating the lessons I learned there about the confluence of meetings and pizza. I was reminded of one particular lesson at a recent research meeting and realized that this lesson still applies (and that my boss never learned it himself). Because I happen to have this forum, I think I'll share the wisdom in case some of you didn't have the same opportunity I did to pick it up.
Lesson 1: If you want people to attend your meetings, offer them pizza.
Corollary to Lesson 1: If you want to make sure attendance is limited to those serious about the meeting, don't offer pizza.
In other words, for those meetings where quorum or general numbers are important, you can increase attendance by offering to feed people. However, if you accept a certain cynical (realistic) viewpoint and are not worried about making people do their fair share, you might be better off not offering food (or at least not publicizing it). The slackers won't bother to come, and those who are dedicated to the cause will actually be able to get work done. If you're really cynical, the last group does not exist, so you'd better offer pizza.
Lesson 2: Do not serve the pizza until the general business of the meeting is concluded.
This was an actual rule established (and written down) in one of the organizations in which I served in high school (This is also the rule that was neglected in my recent research meeting.) In high school, we found that once pizza became available, nobody paid any attention any more. Even those trying to pay attention were constantly interrupted as people passed around the boxes, requested napkins, and generally participated in the business of eating. We also found that people were more likely to leave early if food had already been served. So we made the rule. Pizza still arrived at the same time, it just sat in the boxes until we got through the agenda. It's amazing how much faster our meetings became. Then again, fewer people showed up on time. Meh, everything is a trade off.
In any case, I found myself thinking about high school recently. More specifically, I found myself contemplating the lessons I learned there about the confluence of meetings and pizza. I was reminded of one particular lesson at a recent research meeting and realized that this lesson still applies (and that my boss never learned it himself). Because I happen to have this forum, I think I'll share the wisdom in case some of you didn't have the same opportunity I did to pick it up.
Lesson 1: If you want people to attend your meetings, offer them pizza.
Corollary to Lesson 1: If you want to make sure attendance is limited to those serious about the meeting, don't offer pizza.
In other words, for those meetings where quorum or general numbers are important, you can increase attendance by offering to feed people. However, if you accept a certain cynical (realistic) viewpoint and are not worried about making people do their fair share, you might be better off not offering food (or at least not publicizing it). The slackers won't bother to come, and those who are dedicated to the cause will actually be able to get work done. If you're really cynical, the last group does not exist, so you'd better offer pizza.
Lesson 2: Do not serve the pizza until the general business of the meeting is concluded.
This was an actual rule established (and written down) in one of the organizations in which I served in high school (This is also the rule that was neglected in my recent research meeting.) In high school, we found that once pizza became available, nobody paid any attention any more. Even those trying to pay attention were constantly interrupted as people passed around the boxes, requested napkins, and generally participated in the business of eating. We also found that people were more likely to leave early if food had already been served. So we made the rule. Pizza still arrived at the same time, it just sat in the boxes until we got through the agenda. It's amazing how much faster our meetings became. Then again, fewer people showed up on time. Meh, everything is a trade off.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Tooting My Own Horn (Lighting My Own Lamp?)
Spring semester of this year I served as a teaching assistant for a class called "Professional Practice." For my first trick, I learned the names of about fifty students within a week. I'm pretty sure the professor never did learn them all (but then again, he didn't have to, because I already had). I also graded papers, answered questions, maintained the class web page (someone else did the basic creation), tracked grades, and served as something of a go-between for the professor and the students (who did not always understand each other).
Apparently my efforts were appreciated. At the end of the semester the students voted me the Best TA in the ID department and awarded me a golden light bulb trophy. It's not a very big department, so I can't be too arrogant about this, but still, I'm honored and pleased.
Unfortunately, I was not able to accept the award in person as our graduate presentations were only in their fifth hour and still had an hour to go. This was also hour thirty-five of my forty hour day which, I suspect, strongly contributed to my failure to post about this in a more timely fashion.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Book-camping
As I write this blog entry, I am sitting on Sarah's porch waiting for the postman to arrive with our copies of the final Harry Potter book.
So I guess I am book-camping after all, it's just not a very public sort of camping. This is a little less goofy than what you might find at Barnes & Noble or Borders. Then again - I did get bored beforehand and dyed my hair blue, spiked it, and gave myself a tattoo (all temporary) so avoiding goofiness does not seem to be a high priority for me.
So why am I out here?
Pleasant anticipation, I guess. It's a beautiful sunny summer day. It's cool for Atlanta which means pleasant for me. There's a cold lemonade to my right and just a little further past that, a hot girl. So I'm in a good place.
If I wanted the book as soon as possible, I suppose I could have camped at one of the midnight parties. But those can be weird and are not entirely necessary. There is some fear of a sell-out, yes, so if you're shopping at the official bookstores, the midnight parties at least lend a certain peace of mind. If you can stand to wait about 8 hours longer (perhaps using that time for sleep), you're better off getting the book at a grocery store. Yes, that's correct, a grocery store. They tend to stock popular books and people rarely think to check them. It's usually a reasonable price and unlikely to sell out. KaCee deserves the credit for pointing this phenomenon out to me. Thanks to her I got book four without any trouble. I could have gone that route for this book if I needed to. Indeed, there was a nice front-of-store display of Harry Potter books at Publix when I did my shopping this morning.
So I could, theoretically, be several hundred pages in by now. That's okay, though. I think I like this better. I'll get the book today eventually, and in the meantime I get a pleasant afternoon on the porch with my girlfriend. Good times.
So I guess I am book-camping after all, it's just not a very public sort of camping. This is a little less goofy than what you might find at Barnes & Noble or Borders. Then again - I did get bored beforehand and dyed my hair blue, spiked it, and gave myself a tattoo (all temporary) so avoiding goofiness does not seem to be a high priority for me.
So why am I out here?
Pleasant anticipation, I guess. It's a beautiful sunny summer day. It's cool for Atlanta which means pleasant for me. There's a cold lemonade to my right and just a little further past that, a hot girl. So I'm in a good place.
If I wanted the book as soon as possible, I suppose I could have camped at one of the midnight parties. But those can be weird and are not entirely necessary. There is some fear of a sell-out, yes, so if you're shopping at the official bookstores, the midnight parties at least lend a certain peace of mind. If you can stand to wait about 8 hours longer (perhaps using that time for sleep), you're better off getting the book at a grocery store. Yes, that's correct, a grocery store. They tend to stock popular books and people rarely think to check them. It's usually a reasonable price and unlikely to sell out. KaCee deserves the credit for pointing this phenomenon out to me. Thanks to her I got book four without any trouble. I could have gone that route for this book if I needed to. Indeed, there was a nice front-of-store display of Harry Potter books at Publix when I did my shopping this morning.
So I could, theoretically, be several hundred pages in by now. That's okay, though. I think I like this better. I'll get the book today eventually, and in the meantime I get a pleasant afternoon on the porch with my girlfriend. Good times.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Harry Potter and the Journey's End
I am a Harry Potter fan. I won't be standing in line at midnight, wearing my Gryffindor colors, talking about Quidditch, or discussing what animal my Patronus charm might produce but I do know what all those words mean and I am going to be receiving a copy of the final book the day/moment it becomes available. Book 7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The end of a long and fascinating journey.
The first book came out almost exactly 10 years ago. I discovered them sometime between book 3 and book 4, thanks to a mother who works with both children and books. After this coming Saturday, I will own all 7 in hard cover and will strongly encourage my children (many many years after this coming Saturday) to read them all.
I have read each book at least three times (the first thing I did each time I finished one of these books was to turn back to the beginning and start over - I've never done that before with any other book). I just finished my most recent reread of the series a few weeks ago, in time for movie number 5 and well in time for book number 7. I am a voracious reader (who else is ever voracious? Technically eaters should be, but I think I've only ever seen it applied to readers) and the books are fast reads. I average about 100 pages an hour (that's just for Potter though, other books don't always read nearly as smoothly). That was a mistake. I have promised myself I'm going to break this coming reading into smaller chunks - take occasional long breaks, let things actually process a bit as I go. I'm even going to try to sleep before I finish the book. We'll see how well I hold to that. These books have been incredibly addictive and arresting. I doubt the final one will be any exception.
If you have not read it, you are missing out. I mean it. Those of you who refuse because you don't want to get caught up in what everyone else is doing are being foolish (everyone else breathes oxygen...). If you're militantly opposed to fantasy, do not like reading in general, or have religious reasons for avoiding the book - I can't help you. Everyone else needs to read these books. I'll lend you my copy. Actually, I even recommend these to people who don't like fantasy (Harry might prove the exception) or who do not enjoy reading (they're easy and fun, I promise). I will not try to convince the religious opponents, and there are many - the Potter books are claimed to be the most banned book in America, although that may be apocryphal.
Okay, I'm done pushing.
I am looking forward to this final segment. I have my opinions and theories. I think I know who RAB is, I think I know whether Snape is truly friend or foe. I even think I know where some of the missing Horcruxes may be found. We'll see. I have enjoyed the journey through J. K. Rowling's world, and I'm excited to see its final stages. I am a bit saddened that this will be the end of the story, but I'm a firm believer that fictional story arcs need to come back to ground eventually - the never-ending storyline rarely seems to work as well as the more traditional beginning-middle-end approach. I am, however, really curious to see what Rowling does next, if anything.
I can't wait for Saturday.
The first book came out almost exactly 10 years ago. I discovered them sometime between book 3 and book 4, thanks to a mother who works with both children and books. After this coming Saturday, I will own all 7 in hard cover and will strongly encourage my children (many many years after this coming Saturday) to read them all.
I have read each book at least three times (the first thing I did each time I finished one of these books was to turn back to the beginning and start over - I've never done that before with any other book). I just finished my most recent reread of the series a few weeks ago, in time for movie number 5 and well in time for book number 7. I am a voracious reader (who else is ever voracious? Technically eaters should be, but I think I've only ever seen it applied to readers) and the books are fast reads. I average about 100 pages an hour (that's just for Potter though, other books don't always read nearly as smoothly). That was a mistake. I have promised myself I'm going to break this coming reading into smaller chunks - take occasional long breaks, let things actually process a bit as I go. I'm even going to try to sleep before I finish the book. We'll see how well I hold to that. These books have been incredibly addictive and arresting. I doubt the final one will be any exception.
If you have not read it, you are missing out. I mean it. Those of you who refuse because you don't want to get caught up in what everyone else is doing are being foolish (everyone else breathes oxygen...). If you're militantly opposed to fantasy, do not like reading in general, or have religious reasons for avoiding the book - I can't help you. Everyone else needs to read these books. I'll lend you my copy. Actually, I even recommend these to people who don't like fantasy (Harry might prove the exception) or who do not enjoy reading (they're easy and fun, I promise). I will not try to convince the religious opponents, and there are many - the Potter books are claimed to be the most banned book in America, although that may be apocryphal.
Okay, I'm done pushing.
I am looking forward to this final segment. I have my opinions and theories. I think I know who RAB is, I think I know whether Snape is truly friend or foe. I even think I know where some of the missing Horcruxes may be found. We'll see. I have enjoyed the journey through J. K. Rowling's world, and I'm excited to see its final stages. I am a bit saddened that this will be the end of the story, but I'm a firm believer that fictional story arcs need to come back to ground eventually - the never-ending storyline rarely seems to work as well as the more traditional beginning-middle-end approach. I am, however, really curious to see what Rowling does next, if anything.
I can't wait for Saturday.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Cannonball Run
Most of the following entry was written in the car. For reasons that will become obvious shortly, the final section was added later.
The Setup:
My girlfriend and I have made a number of trips between Atlanta and DC this year, most of them by car. The Penrocks, having lived in Atlanta longer, have even more experience with this trek. They have a favorite route which they insist is the fastest way to make the trip. We're not so sure. It certainly appears to be the most direct, but it involves Route 29 and, in so doing, many stoplights. Sarah got a tip from a friend at work about another route that just might beat it. It's more circuitous than the Penrock's route of choice, but possesses fewer stoplights and higher speed limits. In the past we have tried the 95 to 85 route and while it suffices, we believe there is room for improvement. The Penrocks use a 29 to 85 variant. Today, Sarah and I are testing something else - 81 to 75. Which truly is the fastest? There's only one way to find out: have a contest.
The Race:
We both started in Northern Virginia, although the Penrocks start a little south and west of our position. They are travelling west on 66, then south on 29. In North Carolina, they will get on 85 and take that all the way to Atlanta. Sarah and I are using Rt 7 to get to 81, and then following 81 all the way through Virginia to Tennessee where we pick up 75 to Atlanta.
We're both timing our trips from start to finish, including any and all breaks for food, fuel, or "other." The loser, the couple with the greatest total time, owes the winner a bottle of wine. So there's more than just bragging rights involved.
Handicapping:
Penrocks - Fewer miles, possibly less traffic
Drawbacks - Rummy is with them and he requires stops of greater duration and more frequent occurrence.
Added Bonuses - 29 can be very pretty. Also they get to pass the giant peach in Gaffney, South Carolina.
Sarah and I - Higher speed limits, no stop lights
Drawbacks - Lots of trucks.
Added Bonuses - The Shenandoah valley
The Results:
The Penrocks pulled in after approximately 10 hours, 10 minutes. Sarah and I arrived at 10 hours, 30 minutes. The Penrocks win by 20 minutes. Close, but not close enough to call it a tie. We owe them one bottle of wine. Well played, Penrocks, well played.
Now, I think we need to have a word with Sarah's informant...
The Setup:
My girlfriend and I have made a number of trips between Atlanta and DC this year, most of them by car. The Penrocks, having lived in Atlanta longer, have even more experience with this trek. They have a favorite route which they insist is the fastest way to make the trip. We're not so sure. It certainly appears to be the most direct, but it involves Route 29 and, in so doing, many stoplights. Sarah got a tip from a friend at work about another route that just might beat it. It's more circuitous than the Penrock's route of choice, but possesses fewer stoplights and higher speed limits. In the past we have tried the 95 to 85 route and while it suffices, we believe there is room for improvement. The Penrocks use a 29 to 85 variant. Today, Sarah and I are testing something else - 81 to 75. Which truly is the fastest? There's only one way to find out: have a contest.
The Race:
We both started in Northern Virginia, although the Penrocks start a little south and west of our position. They are travelling west on 66, then south on 29. In North Carolina, they will get on 85 and take that all the way to Atlanta. Sarah and I are using Rt 7 to get to 81, and then following 81 all the way through Virginia to Tennessee where we pick up 75 to Atlanta.
We're both timing our trips from start to finish, including any and all breaks for food, fuel, or "other." The loser, the couple with the greatest total time, owes the winner a bottle of wine. So there's more than just bragging rights involved.
Handicapping:
Penrocks - Fewer miles, possibly less traffic
Drawbacks - Rummy is with them and he requires stops of greater duration and more frequent occurrence.
Added Bonuses - 29 can be very pretty. Also they get to pass the giant peach in Gaffney, South Carolina.
Sarah and I - Higher speed limits, no stop lights
Drawbacks - Lots of trucks.
Added Bonuses - The Shenandoah valley
The Results:
The Penrocks pulled in after approximately 10 hours, 10 minutes. Sarah and I arrived at 10 hours, 30 minutes. The Penrocks win by 20 minutes. Close, but not close enough to call it a tie. We owe them one bottle of wine. Well played, Penrocks, well played.
Now, I think we need to have a word with Sarah's informant...
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Sadness
On Thursday morning, I received a phone call from Traci letting me know that our friend Matt Hodges had died the previous night.
I met him at the same time I met Holly and in the same way, at the trivia nights Diehl and I attended at Fado's my second year in DC. The trivia group was already fairly well established, but Matt welcomed us easily and made us feel part of the group quickly. It was a talent he had. When the trivia group lost its momentum, Matt became one of the core members of the dinner group that made up my social life during those years I lived with Diehl and for some time after. He hosted the last dinner event I was able to attend before I moved to Atlanta (an able griller, it was a good dinner). We teased him about his age (as did he), but it was with tongue in cheek, he was only a few years older than the rest of us.
When we weren't doing dinner together, we would go swing dancing. He had learned some steps in his Aggie days, Diehl and I had learned some at UVa. We combined forces, taught other members of our group, and then went out to find places to dance. We also took some dancing classes together to broaden our repertoire. All great fun.
Matt was also a regular attender of our parties, the New Years semi-formals and, of course, the Blades and Booze Party (his costumes were always entertaining and I believe he won more than one honorable mention). At one particular party, he used his welcoming talent for my personal benefit. I had known Sarah for maybe three weeks and invited her to the party. She had no idea what she was in for and, thanks to a series of forgotten props and missed messages, I was not at the party when she arrived. She knew no one at the party, although I had my brother looking out for her. My brother did a good job, but Matt did a better job. He made Sarah feel comfortable and got her involved in the party (initiating her into both the rumpling tradition and the newly formed ice luge tradition). His ability to make Sarah feel comfortable is even more impressive considering that Matt was wearing a large pair of fake breasts at the time as part of his "girls gone wild" costume (Matt's girlfriend Kourtnee was there as the photographer). By the time I got there, Sarah had gone from "what the heck have I gotten myself into" to "This is awesome." I owe Matt a huge thanks for that.
Matt and Kourtnee got married shortly afterwards (they came to the next B&B party as a shotgun wedding couple, complete with t-shirt tux and beer hats). Holly moved away and the dinner groups started to fade out. I did not see Matt as often but he continued to remember and give me birthday cards. He also gave me a number of tips on getting a girl's (favorable) attention, tips that proved remarkably effective. The man knew what he was doing. In the picture above, he is actually sprawled across three women. He managed to end up in quite a few of those poses at picture time.
I have not seen much of Matt lately, the last was at Bonnie's wedding where I spoke briefly to him. There were other people at that wedding I had known longer and seen less recently, so I spent more time with them.
He was in law school (he went back to school the same time I did), working hard, but still playing hard. Matt has always been an active guy. We went hiking together several times. Recently he trained for and ran in the AIDS marathon in 2005. More recently he joined a recreational flag football league. This is what he was doing when he collapsed Wednesday night. They called an ambulance but he died at the hospital, a result of a hereditary condition known as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) or thickened heart. Kourtnee called Traci the next day and Traci spent a fair amount of time calling friends from the dinner crew to let us know initially, and then to keep us informed of the details of the funeral arrangements. It was a shock and then just weird and difficult to contemplate. I'm still not sure I've quite taken it in.
Matt was a good friend. He and his family (and most especially Kourtnee) are in my thoughts and prayers.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Adaptating
"Adaptating" is the sort of word you get when you have been awake too long. In my case the specific time involved was probably around 20 hours when I made the slide that contained the offending word. Spellcheck occurred, or rather did not occur at around Waking+28 hours. I finally made the discovery at Waking+30 hours, in the middle of my presentation. That's not a fun time to discover such an error. The misspelled word was highlighted in blue just to make it more prominent. Also, it repeated since I had copied that slide for use towards the end of the presentation.
Oops.
Next time I'm working harder to get things done ahead of time so I can actually sleep before my presentation. Thank goodness for my experience with midnight shift transitions. I'm pretty sure that's a large part of how I managed to actually stay coherent enough to give a presentation after 30 hours without sleep.
Oops.
Next time I'm working harder to get things done ahead of time so I can actually sleep before my presentation. Thank goodness for my experience with midnight shift transitions. I'm pretty sure that's a large part of how I managed to actually stay coherent enough to give a presentation after 30 hours without sleep.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
My Other Life
This is one of the projects that has absorbed my attention this month (and which, you should infer, are preventing any serious blogging):
It's for my 3D Computer Modeling class. I made everything you see in there and then added and modified skins as necessary. I still have a few to go (the book covers to the right, for instance, aren't supposed to look like cardboard) and some general tweaking to get the look right.
Here is the other:
It's a heads-up-display built into a pair of safety glasses to assist the homeowner with repairs and upgrades.
This one is actually the bigger of the two projects. It looks less impressive here because most of the work is going into the physical model. Also, I need to work on designing the interface and creating the presentation to go along with it.
I did get a chance to play with the laser-cutter today when making the goggles depicted above. Now that is an impressive piece of equipment. It was my first experience with a machine that is NOT from the project-ruining family (or at least hides its connections very well). I loved every minute of it. Having that victory early in the day helped me get through my actual encounter with real project-ruining machines later (the bandsaw version claimed at least two models today and would have claimed my third if I hadn't realigned my intentions to more closely match what I actually produced).
EDIT:
This is the final version of the desk scene.
(Bruce you might recognize that top book...)
It's for my 3D Computer Modeling class. I made everything you see in there and then added and modified skins as necessary. I still have a few to go (the book covers to the right, for instance, aren't supposed to look like cardboard) and some general tweaking to get the look right.
Here is the other:
It's a heads-up-display built into a pair of safety glasses to assist the homeowner with repairs and upgrades.
This one is actually the bigger of the two projects. It looks less impressive here because most of the work is going into the physical model. Also, I need to work on designing the interface and creating the presentation to go along with it.
I did get a chance to play with the laser-cutter today when making the goggles depicted above. Now that is an impressive piece of equipment. It was my first experience with a machine that is NOT from the project-ruining family (or at least hides its connections very well). I loved every minute of it. Having that victory early in the day helped me get through my actual encounter with real project-ruining machines later (the bandsaw version claimed at least two models today and would have claimed my third if I hadn't realigned my intentions to more closely match what I actually produced).
EDIT:
This is the final version of the desk scene.
(Bruce you might recognize that top book...)
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Another List
A load of laundry
Load my dishwasher and run it
Wash the dishes in my sink
A second load of laundry
Unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher and set them out to dry
Check to see if the dishes are dry
Make my bed with clean sheets
Download Turbotax
Make a to-do-list and cross off the items I had already finished (I seed my to-do-lists with finished items the same way salespeople sometimes seed tip jars with their own money)
A third load of laundry
Research how to make windchimes
Set up music list to “work” to
A fourth load of laundry
Check to see if the dishes are dry
Put dishes away
Read a short story
Read another because the first one was only so-so
Make lunch
Read my friends’ blogs and respond “appropriately”
A fifth load of laundry (I’ve been putting off my laundry in favor of homework)
Wander around the apartment to see if there’s anything that needs to be put away
Prepare trash to go out
Check to see if the dishes are dry, remember I already put them away
Do a sixth load of laundry (my laundry machine is tiny)
Color in a photoshop image I conceived of yesterday
Write a list of everything I’ve done today and post it on my blog
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Appropriate Measures
Penrock recently established a metric for judging the quality of my blog. It was, however, not a very good metric. He's measuring quality by number of entries. Fortunately for you, I can see past the actual metric to the ultimate goal. Whether I am meeting that goal is debatable, but so far I have refrained from taking the easy way out by pandering directly to the metric.
Metrics can be useful; with a good set of metrics you know where you stand and how far you have to go. Metrics give you something to aim for, which is sort of the problem. It's too easy to just aim for the metric and ignore the overall purpose. Thus it is important to make sure that your goals and the metrics that support them are completely aligned. Metrics that are poorly defined can be met without actually bringing you any closer to your goal. In extreme cases, poorly defined metrics can act counter to the original goal.
For example, consider my friend Dave. Dave designs software that is intended to help get species off the "Endangered Species List." Now, as it turns out, there are two ways in which a species can be removed from that list. The first is for the animal to increase in numbers until it is no longer considered endangered. This process is what Dave's software is intended to track.
Dave, who is a very helpful person, claims that he is so dedicated to this cause that he uses his spare time to help remove species from the list. He's doing what is within his power as a private citizen, so instead of a computer he claims to use a rifle (or in the case of baby seals which may or may not even be on the list, a club). He figures it is easier to get animals off the list by pushing them out the bottom than by attempting to carry them up to the top.
Now before you start sending Dave hate mail, it is worth pointing out (for those of you who are not familiar with my friend) that Dave's stories have roughly the same relationship to truth as Penrock's. So odds are good he's not actually spending his weekends trying to tip endangered species into extinction. However, that's technically a valid response when the goal is to reduce a metric solely defined as "number of species currently considered endangered."
So, metrics are important, but it is more important to have the right metrics. Faulty metrics can be ruinous. Dave's example might be a little extreme, but there are plenty of actual cases of such dangerous metrics (the No Child Left Behind Act springs immediately to mind). This is true for personal projects and it is certainly true for public policy . Unfortunately, since the ultimate metric in public policy is the vote, we may be in trouble.
Metrics can be useful; with a good set of metrics you know where you stand and how far you have to go. Metrics give you something to aim for, which is sort of the problem. It's too easy to just aim for the metric and ignore the overall purpose. Thus it is important to make sure that your goals and the metrics that support them are completely aligned. Metrics that are poorly defined can be met without actually bringing you any closer to your goal. In extreme cases, poorly defined metrics can act counter to the original goal.
For example, consider my friend Dave. Dave designs software that is intended to help get species off the "Endangered Species List." Now, as it turns out, there are two ways in which a species can be removed from that list. The first is for the animal to increase in numbers until it is no longer considered endangered. This process is what Dave's software is intended to track.
Dave, who is a very helpful person, claims that he is so dedicated to this cause that he uses his spare time to help remove species from the list. He's doing what is within his power as a private citizen, so instead of a computer he claims to use a rifle (or in the case of baby seals which may or may not even be on the list, a club). He figures it is easier to get animals off the list by pushing them out the bottom than by attempting to carry them up to the top.
Now before you start sending Dave hate mail, it is worth pointing out (for those of you who are not familiar with my friend) that Dave's stories have roughly the same relationship to truth as Penrock's. So odds are good he's not actually spending his weekends trying to tip endangered species into extinction. However, that's technically a valid response when the goal is to reduce a metric solely defined as "number of species currently considered endangered."
So, metrics are important, but it is more important to have the right metrics. Faulty metrics can be ruinous. Dave's example might be a little extreme, but there are plenty of actual cases of such dangerous metrics (the No Child Left Behind Act springs immediately to mind). This is true for personal projects and it is certainly true for public policy . Unfortunately, since the ultimate metric in public policy is the vote, we may be in trouble.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
The Project-Ruining Machine
We have a number of fascinating and useful machines in our shop. Today I wish to talk about a personal favorite: the project-ruining machine. This particular machine performs a variety of tasks but its chief purpose is to completely ruin your project at exactly the wrong time. Actually, it’s not a very difficult job. Sometimes you can even get it taken care of without a machine, but the machine adds a certain finesse. There’s something elegant and efficient about the way the project-ruining machine can turn a simple twitch of the hand into complete devastation.
When I was first introduced to the project-ruining machine, I thought “That looks remarkably like a belt sander.” I was, however, assured by my professor that while it could function as a belt sander from time to time, it was in fact a project-ruining machine. It has a remarkably intuitive interface: simply apply your project to the sander at the wrong angle (easy to do since there are so many wrong angles compared to correct angles), or fidget on your approach, or press a little too hard on one side. The only way to cause the machine to malfunction such that it fails to ruin your project is to approach it at just the right angle, without jitters, and with even pressure. Fortunately, even if you do mess things up and fail to ruin your project the first time, the project-ruining machine generally gives you plenty of chances and really, it only needs to succeed once.
If the belt sander version isn’t what you’re looking for, the project-ruining machine actually comes in a wide array of shapes. For instance, our shop has project-ruining machines that look like table saws, band saws, chop saws, orbital sanders, jig saws, milling machines, drill presses, lathes, and of course several varieties of belt sander. Once I knew what to look for I discovered that the project-ruining machine is pretty much the only machine our shop offers – one machine, nearly infinite varieties.
I have not quite got the knack of it yet. So far I have (mostly) failed to ruin my models, but I look forward to the day when I, too, get to hear that minor change in pitch, sense that brief twitch, and experience that tremendous sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realize I have successfully used one of the project-ruining machines to nullify more than thirty hours of work in a single instant. What an impressive machine.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The Phrase of the Day: High-speed Delamination
Yes, this really is the sort of thing one has to worry about in shop, specifically on the lathe. If you have prepared well it shouldn't be an issue. But a phrase like that sticks with you. It's the sort of thing that pops into your head as you turn on the lathe and make your first approach, "If I'm not careful, my project could undergo high speed delamination, and that would be bad." "High-speed delamination" is just one way to explain the event in question. Others include "coming apart explosively and flying about the room" or, for those pressed for time, a string of expletives will also do.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
An Example
Here's a quick look at something I'm learning to do at school.
I drew the outline by hand, smoothed it out in Adobe Illustrator, and then rendered it in Photoshop. If any of my dear readers have something similar they need or would like to see, let me know. I need all the practice I can get.
I drew the outline by hand, smoothed it out in Adobe Illustrator, and then rendered it in Photoshop. If any of my dear readers have something similar they need or would like to see, let me know. I need all the practice I can get.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Michael Says
Mike P. has begun keeping track of my blog updates. He now has a marker in his side bar that indicates when my last post was updated, and does the same for the other Mike as well. He claims this is a public service for those people who want to read all three blogs, but don't want to waste their time checking if there have been no updates. His blog will tell them if there have been updates so readers only need to visit "Completely True" to also see the status of "Contemporarily Insane" and "Rocky Mountain Wahoos."
Also Mike has taken the liberty of evaluating our updating habits. At the moment of this writing, my ranking is "disappointing." This is not acceptable to me.
So you can thank Penrock for my renewed determination to update this blog on a regular (read: not disappointing) basis.
While my semester continues at its current pace I will not be able to produce anything too extensive, but I am determined to produce something (on the assumption that it's better than nothing).
I recognize that acquiescing to Mike's demands may send him the wrong message, but in this case his desires happen to coincide with my own (and presumably yours) so I'm going to risk it.
Also Mike has taken the liberty of evaluating our updating habits. At the moment of this writing, my ranking is "disappointing." This is not acceptable to me.
So you can thank Penrock for my renewed determination to update this blog on a regular (read: not disappointing) basis.
While my semester continues at its current pace I will not be able to produce anything too extensive, but I am determined to produce something (on the assumption that it's better than nothing).
I recognize that acquiescing to Mike's demands may send him the wrong message, but in this case his desires happen to coincide with my own (and presumably yours) so I'm going to risk it.
Monday, January 08, 2007
BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID
My family enjoys grab bags. I am not sure why I’m presenting this topic today, there’s no way I can adequately convey this experience. Which is probably for the best, really. But it seems I’m not actually letting that stop me.
Grab bags are a bit odd to even before you do something foolish like involve my family. Everyone’s family is odd. There is no such thing as a normal family. I make no claim that mine is any odder than any other family. Actually, for the most part we’re pretty well balanced. But one manifestation of our particular brand of oddness, well we can be a bit goofy.
For those of you who need help with subtext that last sentence was an understatement.
The annual Christmas grab bag is a distillation of that goofiness, refined and delivered in its purest form. I believe it was my grandmother who started the tradition, which explains a lot. It actually started within my life time. I remember Christmases when we did not do a grab bag, and now it’s a tradition. I don’t, unfortunately, remember the exact year it started. I do not believe it will stop any time soon, though. It’s well on its way to becoming legend.
The first few years, my grandmother bought all the gifts. Eventually, though, I think she got tired of shouldering all the blame, so this year she empowered each of us to purchase or otherwise acquire our own “contribution.” My brother remembered this (curse him) and reminded all of us about our obligation shortly before Christmas.
He used phrases like “hopefully significantly increase the Grab Bag gift quality,” “perfect opportunity for regifting,” and “Don’t spend more than five bucks!” My grandmother was a bit irritated by that first line, especially when combined with the last one. Then my uncle reminded her that the last grab bag had provided him with a plastic deer that “offered jelly beans in a novel manner” (again for those of you who have difficulty with subtext, “novel manner” means “pooping”). And that is one of the gifts that was fought over.
Fortunately, for comic value at least, my brother’s prediction did not come true. If anything, things got worse. I left with a pink Barnes & Noble t-shirt and a book of etiquette, and I was one of the lucky ones. My cousin got a cat statue made of real rabbit fur that is supposed to look like a sleeping kitten. I do not think I’ve ever seen anything creepier. My uncle, to go with his deer, ended up with a lamp. It is a leopard print lampshade sitting on a woman’s leg (in fishnets no less). I love the holidays, and I really love my family. We have so much fun.
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