Monsoon Dawn

Dating Advice for Programmer Candidates

2006-07-26T16:17:00.000-06:00

Allow me to impart some sage advice to all you up-and-coming programmers on the subject of dates. If an interviewer asks you for sample source code don't pick the one with all your custom and so-very-fancy date validation functions. Especially if those functions check dates by string parsing. You're going to look like a fool.

If you aren't trying to invent a new programming language then there's no reason your date validation should be more than a few lines of very simple code. I can't think of a modern high-level programming language that doesn't have some sort of basic date object & regular expression syntax.

Snapfish Sucks

2006-07-20T10:23:00.000-06:00

Does anyone know how to view a friend's album on Snapfish without registering? I'll be damned if they're going to scam some personal data out of me just to view my friend's photos.

Stem cells: Bush's shameful first veto?

2006-07-20T08:54:00.000-06:00

Scott Rosenberg at Salon needs to rethink his morals. Mr. Rosenberg has brought forth the argument that Mr. Bush is a morally inconsistent for allowing fertility clinics to produce embryos while disallowing their use for research. Mr. Rosenberg is wrong. Bush's actions are consistent with his stated morals. Mr. Rosenberg contends that since President Bush cannot stop all forms destruction his attempts to stop some is hypocritical. It is in fact Mr. Rosenberg who takes a morally inconsistent and indefensible position.

I'd like you all to note at this point that I am strongly in favor of embryonic stem cell research. I have and will continue to express my support through my words, actions, and monetary contributions. I do not agree with Mr. Bush's position. But at least I am able to recognize that President Bush has in this case constantly applied his stated morality.

Microsoft's Documentation is Borked

2006-07-18T10:28:00.000-06:00

I would like to thank Microsoft for once again completely fucking up my Visual Studio Combined Help Collection. Thanks for nothing asshole. I now get to spend half my day repairing installations of MSDN and experimenting with different combinations of collections. My help collection list now has three listings for Windows SDK and two for .NET Framework 3.0. These are not erroneous listings. This means I actually have 3 versions of the former and 2 versions of the latter documentation installed on my computer. Since Microsoft can't be bothered to display so much as a date and time of installation I have to waste time experimenting and risk completely horking my collection.

If this were just a problem related to installing lots of CTP and beta releases I wouldn't be nearly as angry. Duplicate documentation has been a problem with Microsoft's Combined Help for a very long time. I'm also not the only person that is tired of this shit. I'm not sure if the people in charge of the Combined Help Collection are powerless or apathetic. I know one thing, they've just made me into one highly motivated pain-in-the-ass.

.NET 3.0 July CTP is a waste of breath

2006-07-18T08:43:00.000-06:00

If you are a developer, don't waste your time downloading the July CTP of Microsoft's .NET Framework 3.0. It is only compatible with the latest RC4 Worflow Foundation. There is not and will never be a compatible release of the Visual Studio toolset for the July CTP. The next compatible version of Orcas awaits RC1 of .NET 3.0. When will that arrive? Who can say?

Notice of this incompatibility is nicely buried inside the Overview section of the updated June Orcas release:

IMPORTANT: Visual Studio 2005 Development Tools support is not available for the .NET Framework 3.0’s July CTP release. This June CTP Refresh is the most up-to-date release of the Development Tools for .NET Framework 3.0. Support will continue with the upcoming RC1 release of the .NET Framework 3.0
This refresh to the previously published June CTP bits contains some important fixes for Windows Communication Foundation uses. If WCF scenarios are important to you then you may wish to uninstall your existing June CTP and then install this new version of the June CTP. If you have not yet installed the June CTP of the Development Tools then you can simply download and install this version.

This is a nice trick. If you want the latest version of the Workflow Foundation tools you have to install the July CTP. But if you also need to develop for WPF or WCF then you are screwed.

Update:
After much searching. I found a tiny little para on Channel9 about why the July CTP for .NET was released.

Will a Visual Studio Code Name 'Orcas' July CTP be released to match the .Net Framework 3.0 July CTP?

There will be NO VS Code Name ‘Orcas’ July CTP. The .Net Framework 3.0 July CTP is primarily targeted at enabling some new scenarios for Windows CardSpace customers. So we (Cider Team) decided to continue to work with the WPF team here at Microsoft to focus on features that will appear in future CTPs. The combination of updates to both WPF and Cider in future CTPs will provide much more value for Cider customers to upgrade, so we will continue to focus our efforts there.

U.K. To Outlaw Standby Buttons On Electronics

2006-07-12T09:43:00.000-06:00

Banning the standby mode is not a smart move. This completely ignores why the mode was created in the first place. There are plenty of instances where in the abscence of a standby mode people will opt to leave a device fully powered. Thee are better solutions.

Help manufacturers reduce power consumption in standby mode
Perhaps standby mode could be supported by a battery that is charged while the device is in use

My biggest power hog is my computer & would love to put it into standby but I can't. Why not? My computer is configured to perform numerous automated maintenance operations during non-work hours. My computer must stay fully powered cecuase there is no way to set these operations to power up and down the system on a schedule. Such a capability would be a HUGE power saver.

Dreaming

2006-07-01T06:24:00.000-06:00

I just woke up from a dream in which I was arguing with Arianna Huffingtion about US investment in China.

Really

[ASP.NET 1.x] Storing ViewState in Session State

2006-06-28T13:47:00.000-06:00

Help.Net wants to know if storing the ASP.NET ViewState in memory is scalable...

OF COURSE IT'S NOT SCALABLE!

It's really unfortunate that MSDN Magazine published this method. It's an insanely bad idea to store ViewState contents in memory. In-memory Session objects are subject to timeout and memory pressures. This means that you cannot rely on in-memory Session as a container for critical data. It's also why .NET 2.0 provides two other providers for Session storage, file and SQL. If you're now thinking it would be really smart to store ViewState in Session and Session in SQL. Well then you haven't thought things through. This method would result in the data being serialized/deserialized twice. Not very smart.

If your ViewState is so freaking huge that you are looking for better places to store it then your problem is poor application design. If you really cannot trim the size of your ViewState then write a filesystem or SQL provider for ViewState storage. That way at least your still only serializing the data once.

ADO.NET LINQ rebranding

2006-06-22T07:39:00.000-06:00

This is getting old. First some smart guy decides to rename the WinFX trifecta as .NET 3.0. Now all the subsets of LINQ are getting rebranded as well. Someone inside Microsoft Marketing needs to get slapped. It's one thing when a product is rebranded after living under an obvious code name like Longhorn or Orcas. But when a name like WinFX is used repeatedly for a year, trademarked, and copyrighted then it should stay.

Designer Bluetooth: Jabra JX10

2006-06-19T08:20:00.000-06:00

"...and after all, if you're going to be wearing something all the time you want it to be great-looking."

I wish companies like Jabra & Plantronics would get one simple fact through their designer's heads. Headgear is for dorks. I don't want great looking headgear. I want headgear that is utterly invisible. Feh.

Let's improve the BizTalk Server documentation!

2006-06-06T21:10:00.000-06:00

"The feedbacks are reviewed promptly, and then the BizTalk Server UE team will response them within 24 hours (usually sooner).
If you have any problems or feedbacks, please don’t hesitate to send them so that you will get the right documentation that you want to see. "

Funny. Until now I've been trying to figure out a way to eliminate that stupid "Documentation Feedback" panel at the bottom of every topic in the BizTalk help files.

BizTalk Server 2006 R2

2006-06-06T20:07:00.000-06:00

There were rumors of a possible BizTalk Server 2006 R2 release. It looks like the rumors were correct. It also looks like one of the major changes is full integration of the WinFx triad. This is excellent news. I'm currently debating whether to use or bounce BizTalk 2006 from my project because of the overlap with Windows Workflow Foundation and the lack of a good adapter for Windows Communication Foundation.

Using DLINQ with ASP.NET (Part 2 of my LINQ series)

2006-06-05T14:37:00.000-06:00

ScottGu has just posted Part 2 of his series on Language Integrated Query (LINQ). If you're a .NET developer and haven't played with or heard about LINQ yet then now is an excellent time to catch up. The rumor is that Microsoft will be releasing a new version with a Go-Live license this summer. You know what that means. If you're building packaged .NET software this is going to be one crazy summer.

I know a lot of developers that are blowing off looking at LINQ until it's gold. That's a huge mistake. LINQ represents a major shift for C#. There's a lot more to LINQ than just an expression syntax for SQL and XML. There's dynamic typing and anonymous variables. This is really another step toward Declaritive Programming. You really don't want to miss out on this.

The Art of Project Management

2006-06-05T09:08:00.000-06:00

I could not agree more with Edgar's characterization of Scott Berkun's "The Art of Project Management". It's a phenominal book. I wish more of my coworkers would read it.

Microsoft Does NOT get RSS

2006-06-05T08:55:00.000-06:00

The MSDN Blogs Main Feed is an invaluable resource for me. The daily blog posts from all around Microsoft & the related developer community are critical to my continuing education as an architect and developer. It's such a shame then that Microsoft cannot seem to keep the feed valid. Today, for example, nearly every post is unreadable in Google Reader due to markup bleeding to the screen. Every post is just one long string with a mixture of markup & text.

Visual Studio Team Suite Trial VPC available to MSDN Subscribers

2006-06-05T08:23:00.000-06:00

Visual Studio Team Suite Trial VPC available to MSDN Subscribers: "For those of you who've been aching to try out the new Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite and Team Foundation Server, but didn't want to spend time setting up the entire environment, MSDN subscribers can now get a Virtual PC image containing Visual Studio Team Suite and Team Foundation Server.

Now all you need to do is download the two parts, extract the image, and run it in Virtual PC. The VPC image includes a demo project to get you started with your evaluation."

Interesting. I'm sure this will help some people a little bit with their evaluation. Personally, I don't find Team Suite a compelling option. In order for Team Suite to really work you have to buy into everything about it and I don't. I think the SCM is still junk and the Unit Testing is just embarrassing. I do use MSBuild seperately but that's really a seperate discussion.

websites as graphs

2006-06-04T19:01:00.000-06:00

This wacky cool visual sitemapping tool has been making the blog rounds for the last week. It amazes me that no one remembers a now discontinued free tool called Astra SiteManager from Mercury. Unless my memory is faulty this online tool that everyone has been praising is a direct rip-off of Astra SiteManager.

Download of the Day: The Free iPod Book 2.0

2006-06-04T15:46:00.000-06:00

iLounge has released 2.0 of their essential iPod book.

Verizon Motorola Q Update - bad news for me

2006-06-04T13:53:00.000-06:00

In the initial release of the Motorola Q by Verizon Wireless, there won’t be any ability to tether my laptop to the Q and use it as a gateway to the Verizon EVDO network. Not only that, the Q will not have a Bluetooth dialup networking (DUN) modem profile.

I guess it will be a cold day in Hell before phone companies realize pissing off their customers is bad for business.

Brian Walker to fly rocket-propelled craft launched with world's largest crossbow

2006-06-04T13:11:00.000-06:00

Brian Walker to fly rocket-propelled craft launched with world's largest crossbow

I wonder if the Darwin Awards committee makes house calls.

John Gibson is a vile disgusting little troll

2005-07-08T13:54:00.000-06:00

John Gibson, host of the Fox News program The Big Story with John Gibson, is clearly a vile little troll worthy of the contempt of our entire nation. Rather than express sorrow for or admiration of Londoners John uses his soapbox to slam France, minimize the scale of the tragedy, and engage in fantasy (see suicide bombers in London), and of course call for a renewal of the Patriot Act.

Someone should remind Mr. Gibson that on September 14th, 2001 the entire nation of France indeed all of Europe stood still for us. They all stood with us then. When has Mr. Gibson or the rest of us done the same for Madrid? For London? Will we even think of doing the same when Paris is hit?

Via MediaMatters.org:

From the July 6 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, guest-hosted by Gibson:

GIBSON: By the way, just wanted to tell you people, we missed -- the International Olympic Committee missed a golden opportunity today. If they had picked France, if they had picked France instead of London to hold the Olympics, it would have been the one time we could look forward to where we didn't worry about terrorism. They'd blow up Paris, and who cares?

From the "My Word" segment of the July 7 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:

GIBSON: The bombings in London: This is why I thought the Brits should let the French have the Olympics -- let somebody else be worried about guys with backpack bombs for a while.

Gizmodo hates old rich women

2005-06-23T10:13:00.000-06:00

I wish I got reader email half as crazy as this.

Eat with your mouth closed!

2005-06-12T11:43:00.000-06:00

There are few habits that are more disgusting than eating with your mouth open. I'm currently sitting at a great coffee house trying to enjoy the day and get some work done. Unfortunately my enjoyment is currently being ruined by a loudmouth directly in front of me that lacks basic public etiquette. This otherwise articulate and clearly educated woman has never learned to eat with her mouth closed or to not talk with her mouth full. What the hell is wrong with people?

Anyone see a problem with this package tracking log?

2005-06-10T12:40:00.000-06:00

Date	Time	Location Service Area	Checkpoint Details
Jun 10, 2005	06:11:00 AM	LAS VEGAS NV US	Arrival Scan
Jun 10, 2005	05:55:00 AM	LAS VEGAS NV US	Arrival Scan
Jun 10, 2005	02:21:00 AM	ONTARIO CA US	Departure Scan
Jun 10, 2005	12:07:10 AM	ONTARIO CA US	Out for delivery
Jun 09, 2005	10:43:37 PM	ONTARIO CA US	Arrival Scan
Jun 09, 2005	10:24:00 PM	ONTARIO CA US	Arrival Scan
Jun 09, 2005	09:15:00 PM	MATHER CA US	Departure Scan
Jun 09, 2005	08:25:00 PM	MATHER CA US	Arrival Scan
Jun 09, 2005	08:25:00 PM	MATHER CA US	Arrival Scan
Jun 09, 2005	07:43:00 PM	SPARKS NV US	In transit
Jun 09, 2005	07:43:00 PM	SPARKS NV US	Departure Scan
Jun 09, 2005	06:51:39 PM	US	Carrier notified to pick up package
Jun 09, 2005	06:51:39 PM	US	Carrier notified to pick up package

Yep, my Father's Day present started in Nevada and had to go through California to get back to Nevada. Thanks Amazon!

Kim's Videos busted for bootlegs

2005-06-10T10:53:00.000-06:00

According to a BoingBoing reader Kim's Videos in the East Village should be allowed to carry bootlegs as compensation for promoting lesser-known acts...

Kim's Videos, one of the few remaining landmark music stores of the East Village on St. Mark's Place, just got raided for bootlegs. That they have bootlegs is not news; anyone could see that they've had them for years. But they are also destination shopping for a whole lot of official product,...

Why should I feel anything but happy about this? I've heard all the rhetoric about how the MPAA is evil. The MPAA prosecutes obviously innocent people. The music industry doesn't pay artists a fair cut of the profits. I've heard it all and agree with pretty much every complaint against the MPAA and music studios. The only time I agree with these corporate monsters is when they target actual violators. Here's a question for everyone that thinks artists get screwed by the industry. How much does an artist earn from the sale of a bootleg? Nothing. Not a dime.

Obviously bootlegs are good. We should bootleg every artist we can and sell the bootlegs. That way artists won't get screwed by the MAN anymore. I love this logic. I want to break the law too. I want to fill my kitchen with stolen goods but I promise to tutor the homeless for free. Anyone that arrests me from now on is just a money-grubbing ogre with no sympathy for the homeless or fine kitchenware.

Iraqi weapons in London

2005-06-08T11:05:00.000-06:00

Dear idiot reporters,
The discovery of weapons and "spy gear" locked in a safe in the abandoned Iraqi Embassy in London is not news. It's not notable in any way. It's propaganda to point out how friendly and submissive is the new Iraq when compared with the old bad Saddam Iraq. You've been had. Every embassy has guns and spy stuff. This is normal.

Rescue Me Returns

2005-06-06T19:57:00.000-06:00

Stay home on June 21st and watch the return of Rescue Me.

ASP.NET 2.0

2005-06-05T14:47:00.000-06:00

Today I started learning the new ASP.NET pramming model in earnest. My first impressions are good overall. I like the simplified project file model that does not require every file in a website to be registered with the project file. In my group we've seen more than one crazy merge on project file changes. One of the things I totally utterly disagree with, however, is the "simplified code-behind model" using implictly defined control object references. How that encourages seperation of code from display is beyond me. The new simplified model requires the code-behind editor to know about every control defined in the ASPX page. That's idiotic and hardly improved seperation. In 1.1 I had to declare a private field reference to every server object I wanted to manipulate. The advatage to this is that I can write an manipulate control references that don't yet exist in the ASPX. That allowed the code-behind editor and the ASPX editor to develop in parallel. Now the code-behind editor has to wait for the ASPX editor to add a control. That's not faster or simpler. It's downright stupid and a great example of tight coupling, a.k.a., bad nasty programming.

Nanobrains

2005-05-09T14:26:00.000-06:00

Some people are so stupid they don't even know what they are protesting...

The morons protesting Eddie Bauer's new pants with Nanotechnology clearly don't know that "Nanotechnology" is nothing more than a buzzword meant to grab headlines and grant money. For those of you who are without a dictionary and a single passing grade in any High School Science class - "nano" means really small. That's all - really small. It's not even really a technology and it's certainly not new. It certainly *shouldn't* be new for anyone who payed any attention in High School Biology class.

No more Grandma White

2005-02-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

I recieved word Friday night that my Grandma White has died. She would have been 95 this summer. I'll be out all next week. Know what really makes me mad about this? I have to drive all the way to Las Vegas to get a decently priced flight. I fucking hate airline travel in this country.

Workout

2005-02-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

Total: 1:21:28
Avg: 151
Max:187

Warmup
Time: 5:00
Avg: 93
Max:100
Stairmaster
Time: 30:00
Avg:138
Max: 171
Recovery: 56 @ 2:00
Run
Time: 30:00
Avg: 171
Max: 186
Recovery: 56 @ 2:00
Stairmaster
Time: 10:21
Avg: 160
Max: 176
Recovery: 45 @ 2:00

Workout

2005-02-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Totals
time: 54:03
avg: 143
max: 176

Warmup
time: 5:00
avg: 97
max: 106
Stairmaster
time: 30:00
avg: 131
max: 157
reco: 68 @ 2:00
Treadmill
time: 20:00
avg: 161
max: 176
reco: 63 @ 2:00

Not the best but not bad for ask completely knocked out as I was.

Back in the Saddle

2005-02-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

I was sick for almost two weeks with the honest-to-god FLU. It's every bit as horrible as people say.

Don't over eat

2005-01-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

I like spicy food. Really spicy. I'm a Tobasco on everything guy.

The whole thing takes about an hour to make.Yesterday I decide to make a really spciy rice dish for dinner during the week. Rather than just use red pepper flakes I decided to use the jar of whole pickled habanero peppers that had be taunting me from iside the fridge. The rest of the dish includes a pound of ground turkey, about two pounds of mixed frozen vegtables, brown rice, wild rice, and vegtable broth in place of water. After an hour I have a wonderful rice caserole that will last a week, is very filling, and normally very good for me. Once the dish was finished cooking I immediately scooped out a small bowl to taste. It was really good. Possibly my best effort with this recipie. Very hot and very spicy but great. So good I had a second bowl. That's where I went wrong. I forgot habanero peppers are really edible landmines.

Two hours after the second bowl I'm not feeling so good. Fifteen minutes later I'm hunched over the freshly cleaned toilet bowl staring at my reflection in blue water. After a couple of dry heaves I start to feel my temperature rise. Remember cartoons where a character eats something hot and you see the heat rise like a thermometer? I thought that was joke. Nope.

First my arms got weak. Then I started to feel heat in my abdomen. The heat quicly rose from my abdomen to the top of my head. It was like a feaver breaking. I was sweating and I was shivering. My whole upper body was pink like I has just gotten out of a shower.

I swear I'll only eat one bowl next time.

Need a new cellphone

2005-01-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

I really need a new cellphone. Or at least I really want a new cellphone. But I can't find one that fits my requirements:

Must not look like a dork when holding it up to my ear
Internal antenna - no crotch pokers please
Must not produce an obscene buldge in my pants
Decent camera - 640 x 480 at least
Full PDA capabilities
Mobipocket support - I like to read books on the train
Personal Finance app that sync's with MS Money
Bluetooth
SD or MMC memory slot - I've a bunch of these cards lying around
12bit or better color screen

It's the first two that are the real killers. If not for the antenna I'd run out and get a Treo 650. For those of you who are thinking "headset", stop thinking. Headsets are for dorks. There isn't a single headset out there that doesn't look like a mistake. Headsets are to worn but not seen.

I've thought seriously about the Motorolla mpx220. The antenna is external but it's horizontal not vertical. I'm not quite convinced that I'd be satisfied with PDA capabilities without a full keyboard.

Official Rules Of The Gym

2005-01-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

I really couldn't have said it better myself. #9 is one I'd like imprinted on a bat so I could smack people with it.

"While someone is concentrating on working out, don't go bugging them." Or I'll be really tempted to get off my treadmill and smack the shit out you.

Unusual Activity

2005-01-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

I go through periods of strange inactivity where I really don't get anything done outside of work. The periods aren't depressive just aimless. With no pressure to accomplish something I do nothing. I rush home from work only to spend time doing absolutely nothing. Strange.

One of two things will eventually happen. I either get sick of doing nothing or an event will occur that I cannot ignore. Then suddenly I'm accomplishing tasks and setting goals. Suddenly I'm productive away from the office.

I'm organized again.

Stone blames 'moral fundamentalism' for US box office flop

2005-01-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

I've got a little inside knowledge on Oliver Stone. Oliver & I attended the same prepschool. I was there when he came to visit right before the opening of The Doors. There was a huge crowd. Our sister school in New England brought down their entire student body. I'll never forget that night. Oliver Stone is a dick who blames everyone else for his failures. I mean everyone else. He was also insanely arrogant and rude.

I particularly remember a girl from Indonesia trying to ask a question. Her command of English was not perfect nor was her voice very loud. Other students attempted to relay her question but were cut off by Mr. Stone. Rather than be patient he told her to sit down and moved on to another student. That's the great Oliver Stone.

The next day Oliver participated in several more intimate Q&A sessions with students. The man would not shut up about how everyone in Hollywood but him his crazy. Everyone else is hiding something. Everyone else is phobic or emotionally unbalanced or downright crazy.

The guy was a dick then and he's a dick now.

New Years Charliehorse

2005-01-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

News Years weekend was very crowded. Thursday prior I received a call from my friend Charlie who I've known for three years. Charlie is the very definition of "a handfull" at the best of times. Charlie has finally taken my advice and decided to leave Utah. I suspect this is the first time Charlie has taken anyone's advice. She's decided to transfer to Duke University and go for a Masters. Good for Charlie.

Bad for me. Or at least very exhausting and very nearly permanently crippling for me. One of Charlie's favorite games is "keep Kevin awake." I lasted from Friday 9:00 PM to Saturday 2:00 AM. A post-collegiate record for me.

Good Luck Charlie and stop calling me after 9:00 PM.

Today's workout

2005-01-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

Time: 1:10:03
Distance: 7.75 miles
HRavg: 146
HRmax: 184
Recovery: 53

Workout

2005-01-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted my workouts in a while though I have been faithfully recording them. It's amazing how much I've changed in a year and a half. 155 to 120 lbs. When I started working with my trainer Jess I couldn't even run a full mile without puffing. Now I can run seven in an hour. I can bench more than I weigh. I can even do dumbell presses with 45lbs. on each arm. Of course no one makes XS shirts and 28" waist pants are hardly easy to find.

iTunes bad taste

2005-01-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the top 100 list of songs and albums on iTunes. It looks like the Internet is pervasive enough that everyone with seriously bad musical taste is online. Yuck.

Damnit - I almost forgot

2004-12-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Gynelle & I talked while I was driving down to Vegas on Thursday. I apoligized for not being more concerned about how her divorce was affecting her. I admited that I was worried she was not ready to start dating but I didn't want to ask. I felt awkard asking about it - no one really wants to hear about the ex and I was afraid of the answer. She thanked me but still really wanted to take all the blame.

I realized something at that moment. We both wanted to take part of the blame because neither one wanted to feel helpless. If it's all Gynelle's fault then there's nothing for me to do. But if even part of the blame is mine then I'm not helpless. I can at least fix that part. I can do something. I think she feels a bit the same.

Oh well - we're going snowshoeing just as soon as I can arrange it. Gynelle's idea. We can be friends even if we can't be lovers. We kinda skipped that part the first time.

31

2004-12-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

Another Christmas gone and I'm now 31. Happy Birthday to me.

And the fun never stops

2004-12-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

There I was desperately driving around the city in an attempt to get everything ready for the evening. I had to

get the truck washed

deliver a care package to a co-worker & his family

buy presents

retrieve my pants from the tailor

get my haircut

Lot's to do and not much time.

11:54 AM Gynelle calls. I'm driving around trying to remember where my co-worker lives when she calls. She says she's "stressed out". I not sure what's coming but I know it can't be good so I pull over to the side of the road. It doesn't take long for me to figure out which way the conversation is heading. After a few minutes of Gynelle trying to explain without actually saying anything I cut her off and tell her I'm coming over. No way am I letting her do this over a phone. Less than five mintues later I'm knocking on Gynelle's door.

She's made a mistake. She's scared and not ready to start dating again. Her divorce isn't even final yet. That's news to me. She want's to back-off for a while. Things are moving too fast... She looked really stressed. I believe her. I told her I understood her need even if I couldn't fully understand her feelings. I admited I was disappointed and upset but respected her decision. Then I walked out and got on with my errands.

Here's what I didn't say - what I still need to say.

I'm not going to push. I'm not going to pine. I want you to make a decision. I hope you make it in my favor. I hope you make it in time. You let me know when you want to see me again and I'll try to be there.

That's really all I can do.

Two days

2004-12-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

Two days to the big party with friends
The pants are paid for
The shirt is bought
The gifts are still a mystery

Hazelnut

2004-12-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

She drinks hazelnut coffee. I was desperate.

The girlfriend

2004-12-12T19:58:00.001-07:00

I think I have a new girlfriend.

Gynelle and I just passed the all critical third date threshold on Saturday. That's three dates in two weeks. Two in one weekend. Short of an engraved card I think that's about as official as it gets. Date four is going to be high pressure. My friends Elizabeth Bellit and Erin Bolton are holding their annual Christmas party on the 18th. Gynelle has agreed to go with me. It will be the first time she has met any of my firends. It's also probably the last time we will be together before I head to Vegas for Christmas. I'll be back for New Year's though.

Wish me luck. Wish me calm.

DotNetNuke

2004-10-21T15:17:00.000-06:00

I was really looking forward to using the DotNetNuke CMS on a future project until I noticed it's all written in VB.NET. There are a bunch of projects trying to port it over to C#.NET but all the official development is in VB.NET which is useless to me. Oh well.

Tough return

2004-10-21T08:18:00.000-06:00

My first week back from vacation and it's like nothing has changed. There is still entirely too much work to do and no real organization. I'm already anticipating working the entire weekend because a project manager can't find his balls.

How I love this job.

Back from Vacation

2004-10-16T20:28:00.000-06:00

My week off was great. Exactly what I needed.

I spent most of the time with my family in Las Vegas. I drove down on Tuesday and drove back on Friday. It was wonderful. I really didn't do that much yet I wasn't bored. My only real accomplishment was breaking in my new pair of running shoes. I may hate Vegas but I love running in my parent's neighborhood.

There's nothing like seeing the whole valley come awake with the sunrise. Plus there's a really good coffee shop at the end of my loop. A few sweaty dollars get's me a fine cup of java after a hard run. Of course I always over do it with the running while I'm there. Normally, I only do two 5+ mile runs a week and of those is an interval session. When I'm in Vegas I run 5+ miles every day. It's that much fun. I won't be able to walk again until Monday but it was worth it.

On vacation

2004-10-12T11:24:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm on Vacation! There were a few days last week when I thought I'd have to cancel. My boss kept pressuring me to delay my vacation. It was really frustrating which is why my posting has been so spotty. I came home every day last week wondering if I had saved my vacation or not.

My boss is convinced that I am the key person. That the other programmers and project managers just can't handle things while I'm gone. I'm irreplaceable. I hate being irreplaceable. It's the worst position to be in. It's nothing but stress. The only way to prove that I am not irreplaceable is to take a vacation. Of course even the smallest fuck-up while I'm gone will prove that I'm irreplaceable.

About three months ago, this co-worker was given too much responsibility on a project. The client complained and the project almost tanked. My direct involvement saved the project. That's how I became irreplaceable. This co-worker bares some of the responsibility. He shouldn't have accepted a role he knew he couldn't fill. But he does it because he thinks it will please the boss. But it never does. This guy constantly allows people to put him in bad situations and then complains. It never occurs to him to not allow people to put him in unwinnable situations. Now no one trusts this programmer to work on his own. I not just a programmer. I'm not just a leader. I'm a grown man's babysitter.

Friday, I sat this co-worker down and laid it all out for him. Our boss has never been as direct with this guy as I was on Friday. I explained the whole situation. I explained that no one but me thought he could be trusted on his own. I made it clear that my vacation was his chance to prove everyone wrong. I really hope he listened.

Kerry's probably screwed - The debate

2004-10-03T13:36:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the BBC's live webcast I was able to watch the first US Presidential debate Thursday night. I was impressed by Kerry. I thought for sure Kerry was going to duff it. I would have lost that bet. My man John was impressive. Both erudite and clear - an incredibly difficult combination to achieve. Kerry showed people that he can be clear and decisive when he wants to be. If he campaigns like that over the next few weeks then I think Bush will be toast. That would make me very happy.

The torture is on vacation

2004-10-02T18:23:00.000-06:00

This past week has just as ridiculous as the week before. But it may finally be over. At least for a while. The hated project finished last night. There was a possibly I would be called in today but it looks like I'm in the clear. I've got just one more week till I go on vacation for a whole week. A whole week of nothing. I have no idea what I'll do and I don't care.

What an awful week

2004-09-26T19:14:00.000-06:00

What an awful week this has been. I've been working every day from last Saturday to Friday. I don't think I made it home before 7:00 any night in the past week. This is all due to a set of mistakes made in August.

In August, my employer bid on a new corporate website for a client. The client had a site but wanted a new CMS that would allow for central management of all their geographic sites. They wanted it by the end of September. Without going into great depth, the project was poorly planned, scoped, and budgeted.

Mid-July saw the first crisis. The client had lost faith in the single developer we had assigned to the project. Never mind that no one had given this developer any clear definition of goals or even a simple list of items to build and tasks to accomplish. I was forced onto the project to augment the single developer. I couldn't believe how much work was left.

One developer my ass.

The two of us have worked late and long every week since mid-July. Two weeks ago we finished primary programming and moved to content development. This required even more developers and even later hours. This past week we had five people working ten hour days. Three of us didn't leave until 9:30pm Friday night.

And it's not over yet. The main US site and two of the localized sites are released for review. We'll be getting feedback in a few days. Everything has to be "perfect" by the end of the month.

I'm too old for this shit.

Photo journal: America's uninsured

2004-09-16T07:02:00.000-06:00

BCC News online photo journal of American's that lack health insurance.

Stories like this really upset me. My degree is in Economics so I'm ignorant of the benefits of free market captialism. I'm also aware that sometimes the free market fails to allocate resources in the most productive way. I cannot agree with a system that does not provide universal healthcare. To force people to work just to stay healthy is immoral.

No Yoga today

2004-09-15T07:24:00.000-06:00

After waking up this morning and weighing myself I decided to get to work early instead of going to yoga class. I've dropped three pounds in the last three days due to working so late that I couldn't eat dinner. That is way too much weight loss way too fast. Three pounds in three days is not healthy. Some of that loss is almost certainly muscle. I have put too much time money and effort into my physical health over the last year to accept this type of loss. So I decided to bag yoga in the hope that I can get enough work done to go home on time and eat dinner for once. I spent half of Sunday making chili and I haven't had one spoonful yet. Maybe tonight I will finally make a dent in something other than my belly.

Home late again

2004-09-14T21:06:00.000-06:00

I got home late again tonight. Too late for a decent dinner again. It may be like this all week. My only stress-free time seems to be while riding on the train to and from work. Hopefully Yoga class tomorrow morning will push some of the stress out.

I'm going to put a Chieftains album on repeat and read until bed.

No dinner

2004-09-14T08:09:00.000-06:00

I had to work late last night to help a junior developer fix a problem. I didn't get home until 9:00 PM. Since I go to bed at 9:30 - no dinner for Kevin last night. Luckily my trainer cancelled my session this morning so I did an easy workout and got to work a bit early.

I'll have to find something big and nasty for lunch to make up for skipping dinner. There's a Baltic restaurant around the corner that makes an insane hamburger with creamy imported feta and a delicious vegetable spread called Ajvar that is amazing. Very bad for me but so very good.

Update: Some nice co-worker deposited a huge basket of freshly picked yellow cherry tomatoes in the kitchen. I'm saved!

Morning Workout

2004-09-13T08:19:00.000-06:00

Distance run today:

Miles: 6.8
Time: 60 minutes flat
HR_avg: 163
HR_max: 192
Recovery₁₂₀: 38

Still not real happy with that Recovery but my speed is increasing yet my HRavg and HRmax is pretty constant. Plus my weight is still holding at 126lbs.

Storm moving in

2004-09-12T20:09:00.000-06:00

I just got back from the bookstore and noticed there is a storm moving in from the West. The prevailing wind here is from the South. Only strong nasty lightning-filled storms move in from the West. It might still turn South but I doubt it. The radar track indicates I'll at least catch a piece.

Update: I'm boned. Here comes the nasty stuff. I'll be dreaming about wind tunnels and banging pots tonight.

Light

2004-09-12T19:31:00.000-06:00

I just read John Vandemeer's glowing review of M. John Harrison's Light. I'm off to the book store.

Old photo of me

2004-09-12T10:43:00.000-06:00

Okay, here's a slightly old photo of me. I look a fair amount different now. I'm in color. I'm 20 pounds lighter. My hair is red not black.

Actually my hair is really a mess of brown, black, red, blond, and four strands of gray that I'm sure no one noticed but me. I colored it red to get rid of the gray....

Now If I would only spend some time to hook up my cameraphone to my computer.

Firefox ate my bookmarks - Update

2004-09-12T09:55:00.000-06:00

Remember when I said I had a backup of my bookmarks file?

Crap.

Headgear is for dorks

2004-09-12T09:42:00.000-06:00

I don't understand why people are so hyped over bluetooth headsets. Every single one that I've seen is a bulky mess that looks set to tear off an ear. Every time I see a person walking or driving with a headset I immediately think "dork". If you are so busy that you can't stop to concentrate on what another person is saying perhaps you should delay the conversation. Not giving your full attention to a conversation is rude.

Gmail's Spam Policy

2004-09-12T06:23:00.000-06:00

It looks like Gmail has instituted a new policy to delete spam messages after 30 days. This is great for me since I get about 50 spam emails a day from my old college address.

Firefox ate my bookmarks

2004-09-11T18:05:00.000-06:00

I use my iPod mini to store my FireFox bookmarks. This way I can have the same bookmarks at work as I have at home. Pretty smart I thought. Except that Firefox occasionally eats bookmark files.

I Obviously Don't Know What I'm talking about

2004-09-11T17:52:00.000-06:00

I received the following comment from capsandxfilesfan1242 who apparently likes hats and X-files. Not sure what the 1242 is all about though.

The petition to bring The X-Files back to Sci-Fi is a great idea! You obviously don't know what a quality TV show is supposed to be like. In a recent TV Guide article it ranks The X-Files at #2 for the top 25 cult TV shows of all time, and let me tell you The X-Files has a huge following. Gillian Anderson is great and her acting is fantastic. You probably haven't seen the part of the series when Mulder gets abducted or when he "dies", Scully is very emotional then, which Gillian does a great job acting. Scully was not a sidekick, but a partner, scientist, and a loyal friend. There are also X-Files references all the time like on the news, radio, TV shows, and songs. You can go to http://mywebpages.comcast.net/injoke/xfoutsid.html to see just how many references there are of The X-Files, and even that isn’t correct because there are more shows all the time that have X-Files references in them like the Navy NCIS episode “The Truth is Out There.” I don’t think that any other show has this may references because no other show is as good as The X-Files.

I'd like to hear what you favorite show is because I bet its something really stupid.

Well that must be it. I'm stupid for having a contrary opinion. That's what I get for going against the rabid fans of a cult show.

Yup. Me's a dummy.

This is what happens

2004-09-05T15:50:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when you have a President that doesn't give a shit about what half the country thinks of him. Because Bush is so dismissive his opponents are desperate to get their message across. Innocent people get dragged in by mistake.

Don't be a dick. Don't elect a President that thinks half the country is wrong and not worth caring about.

Did T-Mobile block TxTMOB messages during Convention?

2004-09-05T08:11:00.000-06:00

There's a lot of speculation that T-Mobile, my carrier, blocked text-messaging during the RNC convention to hamper protestors. If this is true, wouldn't it violate T-Mobile's status as a common carrier?

My next phone

2004-09-05T08:05:00.000-06:00

will be a Treo 650. But short-sighted crap like no WiFi support really makes me wonder.

Beer sales down in Ireland: Guinness blames the iPod

2004-09-05T08:01:00.000-06:00

Not that I care since all the Guiness around here is 3.2%, but Guinness should partner with Apple to provide free downloads with every glass.

The case of Turkish İ & Turkish I

2004-09-05T07:20:00.000-06:00

This reminds me of a problem I had with a current developer-client. I am part of a team that is co-developing a new website CMS for a client. The lead developer for the client is also the designer of the application. The trouble is he's a terrible designer that is not very familiar with the .NET Framework. He's especially unfamiliar with the i18n portions. That's a big problem when the website is in six languages.

The client developer took the time to develop his own i18n facilities in the CMS. He completely bypassed the built-in objects. That was until I needed to change the format of a date by culture. To do this I created a table in the database to associate a custom date format string with specific cultures. I then set the executing thread to the culture provided by the client's custom objects. Finally, I set the date format provided by the database table. Simple.

Well, the client saw this and immediately wanted to set the ThreadCulture for the entire site. Now that would have been the right thing to do at the begining of the project. But we are only three weeks from testing. It took me a long time to explain to the client developer that ThreadCulture has an effect beyond data format.

Sometimes I really hate clients.

Je ne regrette rien

2004-09-03T21:30:00.000-06:00

Last week The Economist newspaper published an excellent survey of George Bush's first term. The article is incisive and critical. While it appears that the Economist board still favors Bush they are very troubled about how things have progressed so far. The editors are particularly concerned about his handling of the Economy, meddling in citizen's private affairs, constant need for secrecy, and audacious manipulation of the truth boarding on bald lies. There are some very positive bits as well but I let you dig them out. It's a very well done and chilling article.

Kerry's probably screwed

2004-09-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

I really want John Kerry to be the next President. I live in Utah so my vote doesn't count but I'll still vote for Kerry. He's probably screwed. Kerry has been doing nothing but reacting. Bush is doing what I expected, what he's done in every campaign, he's attacking Kerry's strength - service in Vietnam. This is where Bush is weak and Kerry should be strong. Yet Kerry has been able to do nothing but defend his war record. That shouldn't be happening.

Bush should be explaining why there are gaps in his record. Bush should be explaining why he claims to want government out of people's lives yet can't help meddling. Bush should be explaining why his deficit spending is necessary. Bush should be explaining but he's not. Kerry's probably screwed.

Next on the list will be Kerry's Senate record which is a weakness. People want a decisive leader but legislators aren't decisive. Legislators try to see all sides. They compromise to make deals. They vote for something distasteful in exchange for support on something they want. No legislator leaves office with a clear record. That's why Congressmen almost never get to be President while Governors cruise right in.

Kerry's service record should have been his ace. It's damaged goods now. By the time Kerry gets around to brining up Bush's lack of a service record the electorate will be tired of hearing about Vietnam. This is what happens when you pick a legislator for a candidate. Kerry's probably screwed.

What to do this weekend?

2004-09-03T20:33:00.000-06:00

I have no plans for the glorious three day Labor-Day weekend. None at all. My family would love it if I drove down to Vegas for a visit. They want to see the new truck but I really don't want to drive six hours each way in three days. The truck will keep.

What should I do?

I can't go hiking, the weather's going to be sketchy.
I will not be playing computer games.
I could work on a personal project that's sitting for a while.
I have to build a simple tool for a friend's site so I can maintain my free all-you-can-eat yoga pass.
I need some new clothes for Fall.
I was going to get my hair cut but my hairdresser realized it was a three day weekend and took off.
I could see a movie.

I know! I go to sleep early and figure it out in the morning.

PHILES UNITE!!!

2004-09-03T20:27:00.000-06:00

Someone has started a petition to bring back the X-files on SciFi. Why? It was a terrible show. Really terrible. The wooden acting. The idiotic plots. Gillian Anderson was nothing more than the typical side-kick help-meat.

Does anyone really want to see the FBI running around chasing ghosts & aliens anymore?

Doom 3

2004-09-02T21:12:00.000-06:00

I recently started playing Doom 3. It was nice a scary for the first night. The sound is great and the graphics are amazing. But the gameplay sucks. It's boring! It's easy! I'm on the highest difficulty setting and I'm breezing right through. Not a challenge at all. I don't think I'll be playing for much longer.

Morning Workout

2004-09-02T20:55:00.000-06:00

I hate interval workouts. I really hate them.

Total Time: 1:20.36

HR_avg: 158

HR_max: 194

Distance: 5.7 miles

Warmup

Time: 10:00

HR_avg: 116

HR_max: 151

Intervals: 5:00 / HR 145

HR_avg: 158
HR_max: 165
Reco: 28
Speed: 6mph
HR_avg: 161
HR_max: 172
Reco: 42
Speed: 6mph
HR_avg: 162
HR_max: 172
Reco: 28
Speed: 6mph
HR_avg: 166
HR_max: 178
Reco: 33
Speed: 6mph
HR_avg: 168
HR_max: 179
Reco: 56
Speed: 6mph
HR_avg: 170
HR_max: 182
Reco: 1:12
Speed: 6.5mph
HR_avg: 171
HR_max: 179
Reco: 1:08
Speed: 6.5mph
HR_avg: 173
HR_max: 187
Reco: 1:40
Speed: 6.7mph
HR_avg: 167
HR_max: 191
Reco: 1:22
Speed: 7mph
HR_avg: 177
HR_max: 192
Reco: 1:34
Speed: 7mph

As much as I hate Intervals (really alot) I have to admit those are really good times. Plus I don't ache at all. Usually I'm a mess for at least the day after but I feel fine.

Yoga Day!

2004-09-01T20:54:00.000-06:00

Nothing beats Yoga Day!

Someone's singing

2004-08-31T08:48:00.000-06:00

in the company breakroom. It's really scary and really awful. I don't dare go in there to see who's responsible. I'd never be able to look the person in the eye without cringing. Please, if you value your co-workers respect, don't sing at work.

Cancelled my Well Account

2004-08-30T19:19:00.000-06:00

I cancelled my Well account today. I had placed the account on hold about four months ago because I was spending too much time with it. After four months I think I'm cured for good. No more Well for me.

Morning Workout

2004-08-30T08:46:00.000-06:00

Total Time: 1:14:59

Running Time: 60:00

HR_avg: 162

HR_max: 193

Recovery₁₂₀: 36

Running Distance: 6.6 miles

Zone₃: 13:32 / 13:51 / 47:36

Zone₄: 27:23 / 47:36

Total Kcal: 687

Weight before: 126.5 lbs.

Weight after: 125 lbs.

Well, the Recovery time still isn't great but I increased my average speed so that's to be expected. The fact that the Reco time is no worse than last week at a lower speed is encouraging. My left calf is still a bit sensitive though. I'll have to make a special effort to include more dedicated calf stretches in my warmup. I also bought new shoes with a bit more cushioning. Those two changes should relieve the soreness in my left calf. If not, I'll have to back off for a while.

CSPI's Nutrition Action

2004-08-29T19:31:00.000-06:00

I just renewed my subscription to Nutrition Action. Over the past year I've tried very hard to improve my health. I wasn't sick, in fact I was in good health for 5' 3" and 150 lbs. In other words I was overweight and sedentary. Nutrition Action is one on of the key ingredients in my physical transformation. There are a lot of sources for nutrition information but almost none of them are credible. Most health & nutrition books are more useful as a source of dead weight than information.

Nutrition Action is different. It's the Consumer Reports of health. Every piece of information is based on solid clinical studies. The articles are very balanced and very honest. There is no advertising and there is no agenda beyond providing good nutrition information. Plus the recipe's are simple and very handy.

Guardsman Pass

2004-08-29T19:20:00.000-06:00

I didn't even have my new truck for an hour before I decided to try the 4-wheel drive on Guardsman Pass. :-) What better way to drive to Park City than up Big Cottonwood Cayon and down a 8% grade gravel road?

Hosting bye-bye

2004-08-29T19:15:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Gmail & Blogger I've decided to cancel my hosting account with Xlan. Google's free offerings are all I need right now. Xlan has been a great provider but over the last six months I haven't used my hosted sites at all. My email activitiy is minimal as well. In fact the only thing I was using the account for was to transfer files between work and home. My new iPod Mini effectively eliminated that need. No reason to pay $24.95 a month for something I don't use.

New Truck

2004-08-29T19:12:00.000-06:00

I'm now the proud owner of a brand new Toyota Tacoma 4x4. Not only is this the first new car I've ever owned it's also the first truck and the first 4x4. Wow!

MBE withdrawl

2004-08-26T21:19:00.000-06:00

It's been two weeks since I've been able to listen to MBE. I've got serious withdrawl symptoms. I've started browsing iTunes in the hopes of stumbling on something good. I need my MBE!

No workout this morning

2004-08-26T08:20:00.000-06:00

I needed to catch some extra sleep and catch up on some work. My left calf is still a little tight as well. I'll make up for it tomorrow by running a couple of miles before lifting.

Yoga Day!

2004-08-25T21:43:00.000-06:00

Today's and every Wednesday's workout is Yoga.

No Heart rate montior
No iPod
No Water bottle
No Distractions

Asana
Asana
Asana
Vinyasa
Shivasana
Namaste

Rock soup

2004-08-25T21:10:00.000-06:00

The Mineralarianism thing from yesterday reminds me of an event from my early childhood. I must have been really young because I can't remember much clearly. It was at school but I'm not sure if it was at my school or if I was even in school at the time.

The goal of the day was to make and eat "stone soup". I remember a big rock, a big pot, and lots of likely soup ingredients. I don't remember any of the prep or any of the actual cooking. I do remember the eating though. The soup was served in a white plastic disposable cups. The soup was very good and very hot but there was a problem. There was no rock in my soup.

I didn't get a piece of the stone in my soup. The teacher kept telling me to look for the stone. It was supposed to be soft because it was cooked. Obviously a stone get's soft when exposed to chicken broth and carrots. I don't remember how old I was but I knew that stones don't get soft and they don't end up in white plastic cups of soup.

I remember the teacher being very disappointed that I didn't believe her. I wouldn't play her game. I cheated her out of some fun. Now I realize I cheated myself too.

I Call Shenanigans!

2004-08-24T19:43:00.000-06:00

"This is because every one of the several dozen nutrients the human body requires - carbohydrate, amino acids, fats, vitamins, and of course minerals - can be synthesized or extracted from air, water, and rock without the involvement of any life form,..."

Shenanigans!

We are long long way from a complete catalog and understanding of vital chemicals available only from eating other forms of life. Nor do we understand how most of these chemicals are absorbed by the body. Quite often, we isolate a chemical only to find that it's of no benefit by itself. Isoflavones are a great example of that. We're pretty sure they have a great benefit but we're not sure exactly why and the benefits disappear in pill form.

Let's not forget the need to synthesize really seriously complex structures. A protein is not just a string of amino acids in a specific order, it's also a specific three-dimensional structure. We don't even know the structure of many proteins. Cells can fold proteins because of millions of years of Evolution. We barely think we might understand the folding process.

Shenanigans

I really need to post some photos

2004-08-24T09:05:00.000-06:00

I really need to post some photos to this blog. I took a whole bunch of pictures of myself last night intending to post them all. But I just remembered that I haven't bothered to re-install the software that transfers data from my camera-phone to my PC.

I promise I'll get around to it before the weekend. Maybe.

Morning Workout

2004-08-24T08:54:00.000-06:00

Took it easy on the warm-up this morning because of my sore left calf...

Warmup - Treadmill & Step

Time: 24:51:80

HR_avg: 107

HR_max: 124

Recovery₁₂₀: Didn't bother because of the low HR_max.

Weights - Free Weights Stability series

Time: 53:56:7

HR_avg: 123

HR_max: 213

That second HR_max may be suspect. My Polar monitor tends to pick up bad measurements when I am lying down and lifting. The good news is I am maintaining my 126 lbs. weight from yesterday. That makes over 20 lbs. I have lost in just over one year. Now if only I could find clothes that fit. No one seems to make men's jeans in a size 28 inch waist.

German film breaks Hitler taboo

2004-08-24T08:39:00.000-06:00

"It is not the first time that they have shown Adolf Hitler on the screen, but it is certainly the first time that they have tried to discover the human touch in that monster,"-Dr Rolf Giesen, from the Film Museum in Berlin

It is unfortunate though certainly understandable that German Cinema had yet to portray a humanistic Hitler. It's important for people to understand that Hitler was a human monster. Evil can come from the most mundane of people. There was nothing super-natural about Hitler and his followers. They were disturbingly average.

Peter Watts - ßehemoth

2004-08-23T19:45:00.000-06:00

I just received the newest book by Peter Watts, ßehemoth: ß-MAX . The book is the first of a two-part conclusion to the Rifters series that started with Starfish and Maelstrom. ß-MAX is amazing. Every bit as good as the first two.

ß-MAX has an interesting author's note that explains how Watts really wanted the book to be released as a single volume but it would have been "professional suicide." It seems the publishing market has decreed that:

"Henceforth, books by midlist authors will not receive wide distribution if they cost too much—that is, if they weigh in at more than about 110,000 words."

An author that has never written a wasted word is forced to chop his novel in two for the sake of marketing. Yet the meanderings of Robert Jordan and Neil Stephenson are practically given their own sections in bookstores.

I hate my car

2004-08-23T19:38:00.000-06:00

My car's alternator died sometime between Friday evening and this morning. I'm pretty sure it was Friday evening - that's when the battery warning light appeared. By Saturday afternoon the ABS warning light was on. By this morning the headlights were really dim.

I should have driven it right to the mechanic. It would have been done Saturday. But no, I had to tough it out because I'm buying a new car soon. $267 for a new alternator in a car that I won't even own in a month.

Crappy Morning Run

2004-08-23T19:30:00.000-06:00

Total Distance: 6.6 miles
Running Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 1:15:00
Running Time: 60:00:00
HR_avg: 158
HR_max: 189
Recovery₁₂₀: 35 (That Sucks!)
Zone3 Times: 16:43 / 17:25 / 40:52
KCal: 656
Weight @ start: 129 lbs.
Weight @ end: 126.5 lbs.

That Recovery Time is awful. The worst I've had in months. It damn well better be a fluke.

More Adventurous

2004-08-22T09:56:00.000-06:00

Have you purchased a copy of Rilo Kiley's new album, More Adventurous? It's easily the best rock album this year. No shit. The best rock album of the year.

The Scream is gone

2004-08-22T09:49:00.000-06:00

A pair of armed men have stolen Edvard Munch's iconic painting, The Scream.

The museum had essentially no security beyond guards. The painting was hung by thin wire that was not connected to an alarm. The security cameras were useless since the men wore ski masks. The whole thing is really ridiculous when you consider that is not the first time that an original version of this painting has been stolen.