80 Miles

This is the picture

Wondering why I don’t use something like Posterous or Tumblr. Realizing that really it’s not about the ease of use.

I’ve spent several hours trying to resurrect this blog Blosxom style. It’s taken forever. I still have some tweaks that I want to make to the page, but overall, the simple approach is the very best. I don’t want to fool around with this anymore.

So why did I fool around with it?

Why does a shade tree mechanic fool around with a project car from the sixties when he’s got a perfectly functional 1992 Honda Accord that gets great gas mileage and starts in the morning? It’s the journey, and getting this thing back up and running in a very minimalistic way has been a soul searching and deeply rewarding experience. I wouldn’t dream of foshing this process off on someone who just wants to blog, but for me, it’s the dog diggity.

Speaking of dogs, I wonder where we are with the pup. Hmmmm.. No calls back yet.

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Black Friday was good to us this year. We slept in, had wonderful filled pancakes, and spent the majority of the day wandering around Northpark Mall, rubbing elbows with some of the finest that the QuadCities has to offer. Exhausting yes, but somehow wonderfully fulfilling in an essentially American way.

KK and I woke early after horrifying dreams in our separate ways, and then deliciously and wonderfully drowsed the next hour our two in each other’s arms. There simply is no better way to wake up in the morning.

With more help than she really wanted, Lucienne created filled pancakes (an apparentley Swedish delicacy that I’ve never heard of) that were a big hit.

We’ve visited Best Buy many times over the weekend. We have seen far more of Best Buy than any person has a right to. Quite frankly, we are more loyal to our home company than a normal person would really need to be. We should stop. Soon.

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You’d think it’d be simple, but it wasn’t. There was a number of little hoops that could have been circumvented, but I scrunched down and crawled through them.

That’s done. Now the goal is to simply write.

Black Friday was good to us this year. We slept in, had wonderful filled pancakes, and spent the majority of the day wandering around Northpark Mall, rubbing elbows with some of the finest that the QuadCities has to offer. Exhausting yes, but somehow wonderfully fulfilling in an essentially American way.

KK and I woke early after horrifying dreams in our separate ways, and then deliciously and wonderfully drowsed the next hour our two in each other’s arms. There simply is no better way to wake up in the morning.

With more help than she really wanted, Lucienne created filled pancakes (an apparentley Swedish delicacy that I’ve never heard of) that were a big hit.

We’ve visited Best Buy many times over the weekend. We have seen far more of Best Buy than any person has a right to. Quite frankly, we are more loyal to our home company than a normal person would really need to be. We should stop. Soon.

Bone dry simplicity, removing all of the excess and burrowing down to what really matters.

Develop signifigance Remove irrelevance

Do what matters

Sitting in this curious little corner of my mind and life, I am simultaneously amazed and appalled by my own lack of grace. There are so many elements of importance that I simply ignore in favor of the flash and furious sound of nothing whatsoever. No significance to be found here. That’s ending now.

These are the parts of my life that matter - my relationship with Kathryn, Alex and Delaney. Keeping gainfully employed to keep house and home together. Putting together something new and useful that changes the world even by just a little bit.

Okay - enough wailing - back to this tattered if glorious remains of a life and now on to lead it. And lead it, by god I will.

Bone dry simplicity, removing all of the excess and burrowing down to what really matters.

Develop signifigance Remove irrelevance

Do what matters

Sitting in this curious little corner of my mind and life, I am simultaneously amazed and appalled by my own lack of grace. There are so many elements of importance that I simply ignore in favor of the flash and furious sound of nothing whatsoever. No significance to be found here. That’s ending now.

These are the parts of my life that matter - my relationship with Kathryn, Alex and Delaney. Keeping gainfully employed to keep house and home together. Putting together something new and useful that changes the world even by just a little bit.

Okay - enough wailing - back to this tattered if glorious remains of a life and now on to lead it. And lead it, by god I will.

Sights and sounds Midway (first named after the Midway area in the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago - the first to have a separate area just for amusements)

Before the midway in Chicago, was the first Minnesota State Fair in 1859, one year after the formation of the State of Minnesota.

All time record of 1.7 Million people in 2001.

The first Merry Go Round appeared in 1892.

Pie Powder Courts

In the blink of an eye, a street or two or three is converted to shops, amusements, games of chance, filled with rides, given a lick of paint, and then carpeted with hundreds, thousands, and in the case of the state fair, over a million people in a short period of time.

Our family went to the state fair on the waning days of August, and we wore our feet to a nubbin exploring science and art exhibits, filled our stomachs with an endless variety of things on a stick, and spent an amazing amount of money on little slips of paper that were quickly converted to brief if stomach shaking rides and moderately thrilling fun houses. We followed this visit up with a recent visit to our local church fair called Septemberfest. This time we walked far less, preferring to sit and talk with friends, we still ate a variety of foods, and the children literally ripped through a stack of midway tickets.

In the first case, the benefit was to the great State of Minnesota - the great get together that has been running since the state itself was just one year old. In the second case, the benefit was to our church and school, and it only covers a rather large parking lot.

The two fairs are siblings in a long and deep tradition of meeting annually that dates back to Roman civilization. Back then, it had much deeper religious overtones, so with the conversion to Chrisianity, fairs were part and parcel of saint’s birthday celebrations at local cathedrals in England. These town parties attracted people from all over the region, and included many of the things that you’d see at our fairs - food vendors, games, entertainment and lots of walking around.

Security at the Fairs Fairs draw people from all over, and with this variety comes a ›

Parts and Pieces

Meeting places

Sights and sounds Midway (first named after the Midway area in the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago - the first to have a separate area just for amusements)

Before the midway in Chicago, was the first Minnesota State Fair in 1859, one year after the formation of the State of Minnesota.

All time record of 1.7 Million people in 2001.

The first Merry Go Round appeared in 1892.

Pie Powder Courts

In the blink of an eye, a street or two or three is converted to shops, amusements, games of chance, filled with rides, given a lick of paint, and then carpeted with hundreds, thousands, and in the case of the state fair, over a million people in a short period of time.

Our family went to the state fair on the waning days of August, and we wore our feet to a nubbin exploring science and art exhibits, filled our stomachs with an endless variety of things on a stick, and spent an amazing amount of money on little slips of paper that were quickly converted to brief if stomach shaking rides and moderately thrilling fun houses. We followed this visit up with a recent visit to our local church fair called Septemberfest. This time we walked far less, preferring to sit and talk with friends, we still ate a variety of foods, and the children literally ripped through a stack of midway tickets.

In the first case, the benefit was to the great State of Minnesota - the great get together that has been running since the state itself was just one year old. In the second case, the benefit was to our church and school, and it only covers a rather large parking lot.

The two fairs are siblings in a long and deep tradition of meeting annually that dates back to Roman civilization. Back then, it had much deeper religious overtones, so with the conversion to Chrisianity, fairs were part and parcel of saint’s birthday celebrations at local cathedrals in England. These town parties attracted people from all over the region, and included many of the things that you’d see at our fairs - food vendors, games, entertainment and lots of walking around.

Security at the Fairs Fairs draw people from all over, and with this variety comes a ›

Parts and Pieces

Meeting places

While the financial world falls apart, I wonder what’s in store for us in the near future. I have programming projects I’d like to get off the ground that may or may not fly - I think the reservations thing could have some useful. Just a matter of sitting down in my spare time (ha ha) and getting it rolled out.

It’s the one reason that I want to keep the Joyent account. Everything else is moot. Lately things have been harder to keep track of, and the Highrise account is great for that (not to mention free).

While the financial world falls apart, I wonder what’s in store for us in the near future. I have programming projects I’d like to get off the ground that may or may not fly - I think the reservations thing could have some useful. Just a matter of sitting down in my spare time (ha ha) and getting it rolled out.

It’s the one reason that I want to keep the Joyent account. Everything else is moot. Lately things have been harder to keep track of, and the Highrise account is great for that (not to mention free).

15 minutes before the end of the hour before the end of the day. My love is snoozing besides me, and my dog is keeping my feet entirely too warm.

I get the creepy feeling that something is about to happen. I know not what, and I think that it will be dramatic. This could all just be too many feelers out in the air being teased by people who’ve gone through dramatic and emotional changes in their careers. Maybe I’m just looking for something interesting, but I’m really quite happy, not to mention more than excited enough by those who love me most.

Tomorrow morning, the man himself will walk into our office, and it will all be probably mundane and horribly dull, but I’m taking pleasure in basking in the brief and bright sunshine of his visit. No, it’s not the second coming, but it is interesting when someone who’s in charge of one of the largest companies in the world comes by. More on that tomorrow, but I’m actually quite revved by the whole thing.

Reductions continue, and I’m getting a little addicted to open space. We have so very little in our physical, financial and temporal worlds. So very much happens and we have so very little time to keep the stuff together, and I feel like it’s all flying apart sometimes. With that whiney thought in mind, I’m picking away, inch by minor inch, on the basement, starting with one of the worst sections - by the tools and computers. All of that crap simply has to go, the tools have to be put away, supplies stored, sentimental stuff protected and the rest BEGONE! It’d be kind of cool to weigh the amount of materials leaving our basement - how many tons does it take to make something livable?

15 minutes before the end of the hour before the end of the day. My love is snoozing besides me, and my dog is keeping my feet entirely too warm.

I get the creepy feeling that something is about to happen. I know not what, and I think that it will be dramatic. This could all just be too many feelers out in the air being teased by people who’ve gone through dramatic and emotional changes in their careers. Maybe I’m just looking for something interesting, but I’m really quite happy, not to mention more than excited enough by those who love me most.

Tomorrow morning, the man himself will walk into our office, and it will all be probably mundane and horribly dull, but I’m taking pleasure in basking in the brief and bright sunshine of his visit. No, it’s not the second coming, but it is interesting when someone who’s in charge of one of the largest companies in the world comes by. More on that tomorrow, but I’m actually quite revved by the whole thing.

Reductions continue, and I’m getting a little addicted to open space. We have so very little in our physical, financial and temporal worlds. So very much happens and we have so very little time to keep the stuff together, and I feel like it’s all flying apart sometimes. With that whiney thought in mind, I’m picking away, inch by minor inch, on the basement, starting with one of the worst sections - by the tools and computers. All of that crap simply has to go, the tools have to be put away, supplies stored, sentimental stuff protected and the rest BEGONE! It’d be kind of cool to weigh the amount of materials leaving our basement - how many tons does it take to make something livable?

A number of things are coming together in from numerous angles of the compass right now that make me feel like General Washington surrounded by the British on many sides. While convinced of the correctness of action, it’s still hard not to be scared and worried that any of the possible ways off of this hill could result is dire consequences.

Having just read “The Art of Possibility” by the Zanders, I’m inspired to think that I could be a better person on so many different levels, and that this metamorphosis into the future butterfly-Nick could be attained not in day, week, month or even year, but perhaps only at the very end of a long and desirable life. If this is what being in your Forties means, then I’m all for it.

Reduction. Satisfaction. A delicious sort of savoring of life. Dropping off the endless series of crappy stress inducing attitudes. All of this is for the good, and I’m convinced that this is in large part due to “The Art of Possibility”

The idea that things can more or less go right, and when they go wrong, “How fascinating!”, drops a load of right there. So - in the long run, there’s a whole world of stressful situations that can now be dealt with - for example, biggest stressor of all: OUR FINANCES. That drives almost everything else, or rather it slows everything else down because we don’t have any damned money. We never had the money in the first place, and now I’m willing to sit down and say, “Okay, this is what we’re pulling in, this is what we’re expending - something has to go.”

To help meet that end, a whole lot of stuff has to drop off of my habitual plate - eating habits are a good start (diet coke, junk food, massive lunches without need, etc…). All of this is habitual and partially driven by my reaction to stress. Well kids, it’s time to get off of this wagon, and start walking - both metaphorically and in actuality.

Mr. Merlin Mann of 43Folders has given deep and meaningful direction to the concept of focusing the bright light of personal potential on the things that I am designed by a higher soul to create, accomplish and distribute. A more recent phenomena is the reduction in distractions, mostly physical. My work space is slowly reducing down to the bare essentials, often resulting in a blank desk. Those constant quasi spam messages are continually being “unsubscribed” and while that process is similar to digital whack-a-mole, I find that

A number of things are coming together in from numerous angles of the compass right now that make me feel like General Washington surrounded by the British on many sides. While convinced of the correctness of action, it’s still hard not to be scared and worried that any of the possible ways off of this hill could result is dire consequences.

Having just read “The Art of Possibility” by the Zanders, I’m inspired to think that I could be a better person on so many different levels, and that this metamorphosis into the future butterfly-Nick could be attained not in day, week, month or even year, but perhaps only at the very end of a long and desirable life. If this is what being in your Forties means, then I’m all for it.

Reduction. Satisfaction. A delicious sort of savoring of life. Dropping off the endless series of crappy stress inducing attitudes. All of this is for the good, and I’m convinced that this is in large part due to “The Art of Possibility”

The idea that things can more or less go right, and when they go wrong, “How fascinating!”, drops a load of right there. So - in the long run, there’s a whole world of stressful situations that can now be dealt with - for example, biggest stressor of all: OUR FINANCES. That drives almost everything else, or rather it slows everything else down because we don’t have any damned money. We never had the money in the first place, and now I’m willing to sit down and say, “Okay, this is what we’re pulling in, this is what we’re expending - something has to go.”

To help meet that end, a whole lot of stuff has to drop off of my habitual plate - eating habits are a good start (diet coke, junk food, massive lunches without need, etc…). All of this is habitual and partially driven by my reaction to stress. Well kids, it’s time to get off of this wagon, and start walking - both metaphorically and in actuality.

Mr. Merlin Mann of 43Folders has given deep and meaningful direction to the concept of focusing the bright light of personal potential on the things that I am designed by a higher soul to create, accomplish and distribute. A more recent phenomena is the reduction in distractions, mostly physical. My work space is slowly reducing down to the bare essentials, often resulting in a blank desk. Those constant quasi spam messages are continually being “unsubscribed” and while that process is similar to digital whack-a-mole, I find that

Happy Independence Day!

We celebrate with kids in the parade, preferrably 50 to 1 ratio between in versus out, drinking iced tea, making BBQ ribs, napping, planting, splashing in the pool in the backyard, sleeping in, eating good breakfast, kissing, savoring time in the sun. Believe in all that can be with this country, and you’ll have a future laced with opportunity to live, thrive and survive. Corny is as corny does, I say.

Happy Independence Day!

We celebrate with kids in the parade, preferrably 50 to 1 ratio between in versus out, drinking iced tea, making BBQ ribs, napping, planting, splashing in the pool in the backyard, sleeping in, eating good breakfast, kissing, savoring time in the sun. Believe in all that can be with this country, and you’ll have a future laced with opportunity to live, thrive and survive. Corny is as corny does, I say.

Waiting for the instructor to get done talking. My little DG buddy has got the twitchies again. Oh boy.

Had lunch with Barry and Tim today. Very odd to get together with someone you haven’t seen in many, many, many years. In an oddly reflexive way, I found myself trying to fit back into a mold that I outgrew many years ago. I’m happy that that model is broken in many different ways, but it’s a little like trying on shoes that fit when you were a teenager. Obviosly, they’re too small, but not small enough to completely prevent trying them on. They’re uncomfortable yet familiar, and that is a dynamic I haven’t experienced in a while. It’s almost an internal discomfort.

Waiting for the instructor to get done talking. My little DG buddy has got the twitchies again. Oh boy.

Had lunch with Barry and Tim today. Very odd to get together with someone you haven’t seen in many, many, many years. In an oddly reflexive way, I found myself trying to fit back into a mold that I outgrew many years ago. I’m happy that that model is broken in many different ways, but it’s a little like trying on shoes that fit when you were a teenager. Obviosly, they’re too small, but not small enough to completely prevent trying them on. They’re uncomfortable yet familiar, and that is a dynamic I haven’t experienced in a while. It’s almost an internal discomfort.

While riding in to school tonight, I watched for any social confirmation that what I was doing was worthy as a HD rider. This included scanning the roads for other HD motorcycles, and scorning any scooter that came my way. The heavy bikes were numbered very few so as a consequence, my heart was heavy as I pulled into the small motorcycle section of the parking lot.

But yes, my heart leapt in a paroxism of joy as another motorcycle approached. And, glory upon glories, it was another HD. A BIG HD. And a very casual rider with no helmet or jacket, but cool nonetheless. Foolish perhaps, but cool.

I greeted the rider in the tradition of all motorcycle riders, remembering to inflect properly. “Hey.”

He said, “Hey.”

I said, “Nice bike.”

He said, “Thanks”

I said, “What is it?”

“A Fatboy,” he grunted.

“Ohh. I’ve been thinking about getting a Dynaglide one of these days, ” I nattered.

“Thinking maybe’ll never happen. It’s got to happen.” And he left with that.

Ouch. It can’t be a maybe, it has to be a “gotta”. There is so little of my life that’s a “gotta” and a large part of it that’s a “shoulda”.

Pretty black and white view of the world, but damnit, that’s pretty close to reality. Most of what really happens is because it’s got to happen. Be committed.

While riding in to school tonight, I watched for any social confirmation that what I was doing was worthy as a HD rider. This included scanning the roads for other HD motorcycles, and scorning any scooter that came my way. The heavy bikes were numbered very few so as a consequence, my heart was heavy as I pulled into the small motorcycle section of the parking lot.

But yes, my heart leapt in a paroxism of joy as another motorcycle approached. And, glory upon glories, it was another HD. A BIG HD. And a very casual rider with no helmet or jacket, but cool nonetheless. Foolish perhaps, but cool.

I greeted the rider in the tradition of all motorcycle riders, remembering to inflect properly. “Hey.”

He said, “Hey.”

I said, “Nice bike.”

He said, “Thanks”

I said, “What is it?”

“A Fatboy,” he grunted.

“Ohh. I’ve been thinking about getting a Dynaglide one of these days, ” I nattered.

“Thinking maybe’ll never happen. It’s got to happen.” And he left with that.

Ouch. It can’t be a maybe, it has to be a “gotta”. There is so little of my life that’s a “gotta” and a large part of it that’s a “shoulda”.

Pretty black and white view of the world, but damnit, that’s pretty close to reality. Most of what really happens is because it’s got to happen. Be committed.

The Mendota Bridge Project is reaching a fermentation statge for my ideas. This sounds really corny, but I think that this should beable to connect a whole lot of didfferent sources in a very simple, very easy to use way. The end user hould be able to gaterh information from almost any kind o fd dataabase, do what they wan twith it, and make it roll. Transofrmations such as crosstabs classifications, and so on should be deasd simple. Aggregateing date is even cooler. You could gather a series of files names and treat it as one contiguous source. This would be a huge win for working with data across directories or even servers. With a little tweaking, this could become a sort of streaming technology, where you could be gathering small bits of information from multiple sources.

(HOLY SHIT) That’s the solution to the multiple resources problem. Instead of of having one monolithic server, have many smaller, weaker servers combined to provide data. Of course this is exactly how Google works, but it sure could be fun if it performed. Another idea for the stack.

The Mendota Bridge Project is reaching a fermentation statge for my ideas. This sounds really corny, but I think that this should beable to connect a whole lot of didfferent sources in a very simple, very easy to use way. The end user hould be able to gaterh information from almost any kind o fd dataabase, do what they wan twith it, and make it roll. Transofrmations such as crosstabs classifications, and so on should be deasd simple. Aggregateing date is even cooler. You could gather a series of files names and treat it as one contiguous source. This would be a huge win for working with data across directories or even servers. With a little tweaking, this could become a sort of streaming technology, where you could be gathering small bits of information from multiple sources.

(HOLY SHIT) That’s the solution to the multiple resources problem. Instead of of having one monolithic server, have many smaller, weaker servers combined to provide data. Of course this is exactly how Google works, but it sure could be fun if it performed. Another idea for the stack.

Brutal cold is forcing us to stay inside. KK is brewing up her famous February baked beans, and they’ll be welcome with this weather. K102 has made the morning switch to modern country, which means that we’ll soon be migrating back to Kool 108.

The dishes are done, with the exception of deeper cleaning that has to happen every weekend. The stove needs de-gunking, and the fridge needs another go at the mold producing farm. The shelf in the cupboard needs replacement. I need to get wood and some new pegs, preferrably metal, to hold it in. I don’t know if the new saw is quite big enough to cut that width of wood, and I’m not sure if I really want to brave the cold of the garage right now.

We have a newer car in the garage. We’ll never be one of those families who always buy a new car however many years. This is good and bad. It’d be nice to once in a while have something that special be absolutely brand spanking new.

I’m still wondering why we bought that car. I don’t mean the sort of rational reasons that make sense in the long haul: cargo space, visibility, four wheel drive, roof rack, reliability. The ones that count right now are absolutely meaningless to the bottom line: the comfort, control, prestige, self respect. We’re out of the Mercedes game for now, and that’s a shame. But really, that’s a choice we’ve made everytime we splurge when we should constrain. So - we’re deep, deep in debt. We cannot afford those shiny wheels.

Oh well. Build a bridge, eh?

Brutal cold is forcing us to stay inside. KK is brewing up her famous February baked beans, and they’ll be welcome with this weather. K102 has made the morning switch to modern country, which means that we’ll soon be migrating back to Kool 108.

The dishes are done, with the exception of deeper cleaning that has to happen every weekend. The stove needs de-gunking, and the fridge needs another go at the mold producing farm. The shelf in the cupboard needs replacement. I need to get wood and some new pegs, preferrably metal, to hold it in. I don’t know if the new saw is quite big enough to cut that width of wood, and I’m not sure if I really want to brave the cold of the garage right now.

We have a newer car in the garage. We’ll never be one of those families who always buy a new car however many years. This is good and bad. It’d be nice to once in a while have something that special be absolutely brand spanking new.

I’m still wondering why we bought that car. I don’t mean the sort of rational reasons that make sense in the long haul: cargo space, visibility, four wheel drive, roof rack, reliability. The ones that count right now are absolutely meaningless to the bottom line: the comfort, control, prestige, self respect. We’re out of the Mercedes game for now, and that’s a shame. But really, that’s a choice we’ve made everytime we splurge when we should constrain. So - we’re deep, deep in debt. We cannot afford those shiny wheels.

Oh well. Build a bridge, eh?

We’re turning corners, my love and I. There are fiendish roadblocks ahead for those who fear not the treading of a heavy footed future. But we labor on, we struggle on, fighting our silly foibles and inaccuracies, and still, we swim in a love unknown to mankind, and yet celebrated in every written word of the best romance writers, be they seriously Shakespearian or the fluffiest fronth to grace the grocerie stores’ racks.

I now know that I need to finish this project. I can’t do it all in one shot - that time has last passed many a year ago. Oportniites will comea nd go, but I will always have that slice of 15 minutes, maybe a full 30 that I cna sit down and ocnenctrace and let the celbration of thought come tumbling out.

This new product with do simple yet effective data analysis and movement all with a direct connection to the user. The right data in the right place is like a long digital lever - you can lift the edge of the world up and peer into its deep mysterous workings. As any good analysis should show, life is series of intertwined stories, and this tool will help you separate the many skeins of information into useable skeins of reality. A slice here, a nick there, and whatever story can be told in the little bits and bytes, never ending, and always fascinating.

We’re turning corners, my love and I. There are fiendish roadblocks ahead for those who fear not the treading of a heavy footed future. But we labor on, we struggle on, fighting our silly foibles and inaccuracies, and still, we swim in a love unknown to mankind, and yet celebrated in every written word of the best romance writers, be they seriously Shakespearian or the fluffiest fronth to grace the grocerie stores’ racks.

I now know that I need to finish this project. I can’t do it all in one shot - that time has last passed many a year ago. Oportniites will comea nd go, but I will always have that slice of 15 minutes, maybe a full 30 that I cna sit down and ocnenctrace and let the celbration of thought come tumbling out.

This new product with do simple yet effective data analysis and movement all with a direct connection to the user. The right data in the right place is like a long digital lever - you can lift the edge of the world up and peer into its deep mysterous workings. As any good analysis should show, life is series of intertwined stories, and this tool will help you separate the many skeins of information into useable skeins of reality. A slice here, a nick there, and whatever story can be told in the little bits and bytes, never ending, and always fascinating.

Taking a page from Quicksilver - wu wei wu. Data should flow like water, easily and simply, ending up in a useful configuration Data should be easy to rotate, summarize and cross tab XML feeds should be easy to incorporate Syncronization is not important, though it would be nice. This is about flow. Smart ETL. Speed and power are not of the essence - there are larger, faster products out there that can handle this. Data folding = origami?

Mapping

Taking a page from Quicksilver - wu wei wu. Data should flow like water, easily and simply, ending up in a useful configuration Data should be easy to rotate, summarize and cross tab XML feeds should be easy to incorporate Syncronization is not important, though it would be nice. This is about flow. Smart ETL. Speed and power are not of the essence - there are larger, faster products out there that can handle this. Data folding = origami?

Mapping

Daylight savings time is coming very late this year. Oddly, today, we had a late meals all the way through, so come time for the set back on the clock, our bodies will be more than prepared.

This day was joyfully free of any sports practices - tomorrow, our son will visit the first basketball practice of the season. he’s still sidelined with a broken finger in splint, so he’s out until next Sunday, but at least it’s starting up again. In another week or so, Delaney will dive into soccer at the dome in Augsburg. I know that come spring, we’ll be heartily sick of that dome, but I’m kind of excited to see it. Whoopeee!

I’m wrestling with the idea of purchasing an Apple Macbook Pro. While it’s aesthetically very pleasing, it’s also hideously expensive. For the same price, I could get a reasonably decent Lenovo, load it up with Linux and rock and roll for about half the price. Ouch. Playing with (k)ubuntu reminds me of how well it works. But then again, I’d like to have something that’s just nicely integrated. Heck. Maybe it’s worth waiting for.

Daylight savings time is coming very late this year. Oddly, today, we had a late meals all the way through, so come time for the set back on the clock, our bodies will be more than prepared.

This day was joyfully free of any sports practices - tomorrow, our son will visit the first basketball practice of the season. he’s still sidelined with a broken finger in splint, so he’s out until next Sunday, but at least it’s starting up again. In another week or so, Delaney will dive into soccer at the dome in Augsburg. I know that come spring, we’ll be heartily sick of that dome, but I’m kind of excited to see it. Whoopeee!

I’m wrestling with the idea of purchasing an Apple Macbook Pro. While it’s aesthetically very pleasing, it’s also hideously expensive. For the same price, I could get a reasonably decent Lenovo, load it up with Linux and rock and roll for about half the price. Ouch. Playing with (k)ubuntu reminds me of how well it works. But then again, I’d like to have something that’s just nicely integrated. Heck. Maybe it’s worth waiting for.

KK is rolling into the tub, soon to arrive in our bower of love, soft, warm and pleasantly soapy smelling. Arm tangled in arm, soft breath on my chest as we float off into delicious nothingness, another day of heaven on earth will be consumated with the best of all possible endings. Frankly, my dear, I really do give a damn.

A recent posting on the Joyent blog brought home the illogical necessity of working at the operating system level. The O/S is merely plumbing now, and while I like connecting the pipes together, I’m at the point now where I know that they’ll probably fit together pretty well, and with a little googling, I’ll solve the worst of the road blocks, and soon I’ll be toddling along with the latest and neatest distributions. With all of their best intentions, developers are removing the need to futz. It’s all so, well, automatic.

That leaves me in an odd quandry with the desktop. While it’s not powerful enough to be a top level server, it’s a great dev box for working on the next best application. I hate to get rid of it, and I can’t quite justify it. It’d be kind of cool if I could set up a remote desktop, but I haven’t quite figured that one out. Not sure if I really care.

I have two major projects on the plate - desk-clerk and the Mendota Bridge. Both are worthy and interesting, and both are utterly different. Neither of which I have any time for. Ouch. I have an image of data bound in Origami paper. The paper gets folded in multi-dimensional ways, exposing interesting sides and dimensions that aren’t obviously available. This takes the metaphor of the cat’s cradle strings being shaped into something unrecognizable and yet beautifully related. I think that this is the secret to where I’m going with it. I really don’t know how it’s going to come about, but it has to work, and I have to resolve it.

KK is rolling into the tub, soon to arrive in our bower of love, soft, warm and pleasantly soapy smelling. Arm tangled in arm, soft breath on my chest as we float off into delicious nothingness, another day of heaven on earth will be consumated with the best of all possible endings. Frankly, my dear, I really do give a damn.

A recent posting on the Joyent blog brought home the illogical necessity of working at the operating system level. The O/S is merely plumbing now, and while I like connecting the pipes together, I’m at the point now where I know that they’ll probably fit together pretty well, and with a little googling, I’ll solve the worst of the road blocks, and soon I’ll be toddling along with the latest and neatest distributions. With all of their best intentions, developers are removing the need to futz. It’s all so, well, automatic.

That leaves me in an odd quandry with the desktop. While it’s not powerful enough to be a top level server, it’s a great dev box for working on the next best application. I hate to get rid of it, and I can’t quite justify it. It’d be kind of cool if I could set up a remote desktop, but I haven’t quite figured that one out. Not sure if I really care.

I have two major projects on the plate - desk-clerk and the Mendota Bridge. Both are worthy and interesting, and both are utterly different. Neither of which I have any time for. Ouch. I have an image of data bound in Origami paper. The paper gets folded in multi-dimensional ways, exposing interesting sides and dimensions that aren’t obviously available. This takes the metaphor of the cat’s cradle strings being shaped into something unrecognizable and yet beautifully related. I think that this is the secret to where I’m going with it. I really don’t know how it’s going to come about, but it has to work, and I have to resolve it.

P-berry - the man who could multitask in an effective, if disgusting manner. The Somalian skater

P-berry - the man who could multitask in an effective, if disgusting manner. The Somalian skater

After two shows of “Heroes” in a row, it’s hard not to write like that. So I’ll enjoy the moment of nobelss oblige, and get along with it.

THere’s a scrap of the paper from a millenia or two ago where Jesus essentially says a very Eastern philosophical approach to the location of god. His feeling was that god and heaven are among us. We are the living flesh of god so to speak, and in a very real sense the reality of religion expressed.

To bring it back to the show, each character has a purpose and in many cases more than one flaw. Some flaws are endearing others annoying, but they all counter balance the ability of the person to save the world. For the rest of us, our abilities and flaws aren’t perhaps as extreme, but that doesn’t make them any less endearing to the god within and without us.

Once a person crosses that 40 year mark, some odd changes take place in the psyche. Grumpiness deepens, but also a blossoming sense of compassion. I think for the rest of my days, that’s what my flaw is - reached through my self-centered obnoxious desire to control everything that’s not controllable, and concentrate on that gray zone of the barely controllable. Those things that are inherently controllable like, say, expenditures can and should be controlled within simple sets of bounds. Flossing my teeth. Cleaning the house. Doing the dishes. These are a few of my favorite things. And they can be taken care of.

The rest is details or simply not controllable at all, and my mission, should I decide to resign myself to it, is to accept that which God puts in my hands to create, and run with it.

After two shows of “Heroes” in a row, it’s hard not to write like that. So I’ll enjoy the moment of nobelss oblige, and get along with it.

THere’s a scrap of the paper from a millenia or two ago where Jesus essentially says a very Eastern philosophical approach to the location of god. His feeling was that god and heaven are among us. We are the living flesh of god so to speak, and in a very real sense the reality of religion expressed.

To bring it back to the show, each character has a purpose and in many cases more than one flaw. Some flaws are endearing others annoying, but they all counter balance the ability of the person to save the world. For the rest of us, our abilities and flaws aren’t perhaps as extreme, but that doesn’t make them any less endearing to the god within and without us.

Once a person crosses that 40 year mark, some odd changes take place in the psyche. Grumpiness deepens, but also a blossoming sense of compassion. I think for the rest of my days, that’s what my flaw is - reached through my self-centered obnoxious desire to control everything that’s not controllable, and concentrate on that gray zone of the barely controllable. Those things that are inherently controllable like, say, expenditures can and should be controlled within simple sets of bounds. Flossing my teeth. Cleaning the house. Doing the dishes. These are a few of my favorite things. And they can be taken care of.

The rest is details or simply not controllable at all, and my mission, should I decide to resign myself to it, is to accept that which God puts in my hands to create, and run with it.

Tonight’s midterm was evil. Not in the sense of some sort of intelligent and malevolent force working against me, but rather in the bigger biblical sense of my sins coming to haunt me. I didn’t study or practice nearly enough, and it showed. Or didn’t show when it came time to answer questions.

I’ve got one goal, and that’s to make it through this class with a “B”. This will require near herculean effort in terms of homework, studying and getting ready for the final exam, but I’m confident that if this is truly the only thing that’s happening, then by God it’s going to happen.

In the meantime, a number of things have to go by the wayside. The whole Mendota Bridge has to back burner. Not that it was particularly front burner, but then… The Team Snapshot has to be done and simple. This is nearly there - it’s a matter of putting together the final reporting now, and thinking about moving data into the db. That’s going to require versioning, but that should be kept as brutally simple as possible.

The whole sync my life with Outlook has to wait.

On other fronts, the money situation needs to be ironed out and simplified for the next month.

Tonight’s midterm was evil. Not in the sense of some sort of intelligent and malevolent force working against me, but rather in the bigger biblical sense of my sins coming to haunt me. I didn’t study or practice nearly enough, and it showed. Or didn’t show when it came time to answer questions.

I’ve got one goal, and that’s to make it through this class with a “B”. This will require near herculean effort in terms of homework, studying and getting ready for the final exam, but I’m confident that if this is truly the only thing that’s happening, then by God it’s going to happen.

In the meantime, a number of things have to go by the wayside. The whole Mendota Bridge has to back burner. Not that it was particularly front burner, but then… The Team Snapshot has to be done and simple. This is nearly there - it’s a matter of putting together the final reporting now, and thinking about moving data into the db. That’s going to require versioning, but that should be kept as brutally simple as possible.

The whole sync my life with Outlook has to wait.

On other fronts, the money situation needs to be ironed out and simplified for the next month.

Due to an enthusiastic reroute from Grandma Candy, we changed our annual visit to the pumpkin patch to a much more distant location. Normally, we hit up Whistling Well Farms in Afton, feed the chickens, maybe pet the dog, buy some popcorn and slog off for the picked over pumpkins. Whistling Well is a wonderful in its own right, but we have been there many a time now.

This year saw us trekking to the land of the swedes in Wisconsin - Maiden Rock, Stockholm and Pepin. Western Wisconsin is without a doubt one of the most glorious patches of god’s country, and the fact that it can shine even through drizzly rain is a testimony to the geological architecture that we rolled through. We had lunch at the over popular but ever tasty Harbor View, and then drove back up the lake shore and into the hills to the Maiden Rock Apple Farm. This little orchard is barely ten years old and featured an intense variety of apples, a corn maze, the requisite small but highly variegated pumpkin patch and a general feel of newishness that I haven’t seen in relation to this kind of entertainment in a long time. The main building is very new. The large house down the road, looks very new. The staff working here appear to be um, very new. Very odd.

The pumpkins varieties are wonderful - whereas Whistling Well had a somewhat predictable set of regular and very small sized pumpkins, these folks had very red (Alladin), very large, very small, very white, very oddly shaped, and all neatly labelled with end-row signs showing the prospective visitor just what he or she was in for. Delaney selected a pumpkin that very likely could not be picked up by a robust forklift, and declared that we must bring it home because it was the runt of the litter.

Last and very not least - we did the corn maze. The deceptively large corn maze was really built with Halloween in mind. There were lovely pockets of scary hidey holes for older folks to yank the bejeebers out of the younger on a dark and stormy night. Our kids developed in intricate and effective pattern of “whooping” or “wheeping” depending on the nature of the path that they took - be it a road to the future or a dead end.