z-kaz

Time and Accomplishments

2011-08-26T23:23:00.002-04:00

It is hard to believe how much time has passed since my last post; almost five years. Where do I begin? A while back I wrote a post titled "V4.0". It was about a change in jobs that I was about to undertake. Just over five years later now, I am on V5.0 of my career. After taking on a challenging problem for the National Archives (NARA) in the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) system, I have moved back into Commercial software development.

While I learned a lot during my 5 years on the ERA system, the overhead of government contract work, and the heavy processes of a federal integrator couldn’t take a back seat to the problem domain. Since the contract was winding down, it was time to find something new. And new, is exactly what I found. A commercial software company using bleeding edge technology to change the way people work. The next year is going to be really exciting.

But even with all the long hours at work over the past few years, I managed to achieve a goal with my two children that I have always wanted to attain; a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Ever since I saw my first martial arts movie and heard the commercials for Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do in the Washington DC area, I wanted to study. When my son came home from school one day after career day, and said he learned about a local martial arts school. I was instantly compelled to take him for the free lesson he had been offered. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw the sign indicating that this was in fact a Jhoon Rhee style school. I was instantly transported back to 1978, sitting in front of a TV, watching his now infamous commercial.

After hearing about the program, I immediately sign him up. After making her wait a few months to make sure she was serious about it, I signed up my daughter. A few months after that I decided to stop being a spectator, and step into the role I wanted since the 70s; that of a martial arts student. This past April, we all tested for our 1st degree black belts, and passed. Part of the process involves writing an essay on our experience, and how it changed us. Perhaps I will post that here.

Where is my iPod!

2006-11-29T10:06:00.000-05:00

There has been way too much going on for me to comment as of late. Long hours at work, a short vacation to Disney World, and the passing of my favorite season. Hopefully I can get to all of that soon.

But this article today struck me as absolutely hilarious. Steve Jobs and his amazing team at Apple have created a product so good, so necessary to own, that it is being used in political combat. Who would have ever thought that Apple would become so powerful and influential in world events?

U.S. Bans Sale of iPods to North Korea

Of course I am only concentrating on the Apple merchandise, but really, do the others matter? Well, maybe the Segway. I certainly don't see the ShitBrickPod being used in this manner anytime soon.

One in Twenty-Six

2006-08-24T20:27:00.000-04:00

That's all it takes. One small stupid mistake and your whole world is turned sideways. Upsidedown wouldn't be fair, but sideways seems about right. I can't walk without crutches, I can't cycle, I can't golf, and I find myself crawling around the house for a glass of water.

One small bone out of twenty-six and I am practically incapasitated. You would think twenty-six is pleanty. To the point that redundancy was built into the system. Or were we created so perfectly, with so little waste, that if you ruin one, you ruin the entire apparatus? That is what it seems like. After four days it feels like I don't even have a left foot; I can't use it. Man, I hate loosing control.

V4.0

2006-07-23T20:38:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I start version 4.0 of my career. After nine years of various point releases in the v3.x sequence I figured it was time for a major overhaul. Stepping into the unknown is always a bit unnerving, but at the same time invigorating. I am excited about experiencing new challenges, meeting new people, and learning from new co-workers.

Although I will be staying in the software arena, I will be moving into large scale government and commercial solutions focused on digital libraries. The amount of information that flows electronically is mind boggling. The need to preserve it, centralize it, control it, secure it, and search it has never been more challenging nor more necessary. Personally, when I heard about this work I was intrigued by the complexities of bringing together data from heterogenous systems into a single repository. The whole project reminds me of a comment I read once on the future of miniaturization. That at some point in our lifetimes we will have devices as small as a watch with the contents of the library of congress at our fingertips. But if you can't find what you are looking for what good is it?

I am hoping that my experience in commercial software development, UI design, human factors, software architecture and my love of searching technologies and everything Google will serve me well. I have had the pleasure of working on some really amazing systems in my career. I feel certain that this is the next one.

Of course with any new challenge there are sacrifices. The largest of which is the completely insane commute that I will have to trek everyday. My hope is to work at home a few days a week or out of a more local facility once I get involved in the project. They seem to have vary understanding telecommuting policy based on other employees I have talked with.

Well, time to get things together for the first day of the rest of V4.0.

Benefits of Disruptive Technology

2006-06-20T07:34:00.000-04:00

The phrase disruptive technology was coined a while ago by someone who’s name escapes me. Disruptive technology is a technology that is not necessarily new, but has manifested itself in such a way that it can profoundly change how something currently works, the cost of a current good or service, or even access to goods and services.

An article in CIO Magazine mentioned one such incarnation of this phenomenon with regards to photography and the internet. The internet is by no means “new”, but it is still changing how we purchase goods, interact with friends and relatives, our access to information and in fact has become as natural as “looking out the window”.

Specifically the article mentioned a web-based service called iStockPhoto that provides high quality photos, flash, and graphic designs to the masses. Normally corporations marketing departments, PR companies, greeting card companies, or anyone looking for specific photos, design work, or even multimedia would have to hire a professional. A specific example in the article was the hiring of a professional photographer to take stock photos that could be used in a marketing campaign of a large company. This can run hundreds of dollars an hour, plus the cost of the photos purchased.

iStockPhoto provides a digital marketplace where everyone from professional photographers and graphic designers, to the hobbyist can upload their photos for royalty free purchase for as low as $1. Although this certainly has an impact on professional photographers and the prices they can charge, it opens up the doors for smaller companies to create higher quality marketing materials at a fraction of the cost. Some of the photos are of high enough quality that they could be used as artwork (some of the black and white photographs are amazing).

The last time I logged into this site they had approximately 2 terabytes of photos and other multimedia files available for purchase. The site requires that every file that is uploaded be approved for quality, marketability, copyright infringement, and proper legal documentation (such as model release forms when people are visible). This helps protect all three parties that are involved (iStockPhoto, the artist, and the purchaser). This is obviously a time consuming requirement, but the general quality of the available items reflects its value.

The variety of photographs that are available run the gambit. Everything from portraits, to landscapes, to the quirky can be found. You can even find pictures of hot dogs with varying toppings. Clearly someone is going after Oscar Meyer.

Of course I had to sign up and give this a try. Since the acceptance of my application (this is also reviewed by the site including samples of your work) I have had about 5 photos approved for posting on the site (I have about 6 more awaiting approval). So who knows, someone searching for photos of Megan’s Bay or St. Thomas may put one of my photographs on a postcard.

Update: 23 June 2006

I sold my first photo! Whooo hoooo! Of course, it is only a dollar, but now I need to be on the lookout for a large pile of steam crabs that looks familiar.

The Roadrunner and the Hyena

2006-05-21T13:56:00.000-04:00

The roadrunner makes his way over the abrasive ground as though he is slightly levitating. Each left and right change made with purpose and intensity. Clearly he is looking for something. Or perhaps he has found it and is pursuing it across the landscape beyond my ability to visualize it.

As I watch the chase I am amazed as the speed at which this bird can run. It isn’t clear why it is running around after his prey instead of flying, but it is entertaining never the less. As it turns out I am not the only one. In the distance I can hear an odd sound that resembles a laugh. Not a deep, loud, belly laugh, but a high pitched, pointed, almost shrieking laugh. The sound of it alone is enough to make me join in the jocularity.

As I continue to watch out the window I see movement in the distance working its way closure. Turns out a hyena wanted a closer look at the roadrunner weaving its way around the landscape. I am not sure of the purpose of this close visit. Is the hyena simply interested in the entertainment value as am I, or is he looking for a late night snack? What do hyenas eat in the wild? If not the roadrunner, is he interested in the morsel the roadrunner has been pursuing for the past 15 minutes?

In the distance are the most spectacularly naked mountains I have ever seen. Jagged figures thrusting up from the otherwise flat horizon, with their red-orange color in sharp contrast to the blue sky acting as their backdrop. With no vegetation on their surfaces every detail of their carved features is visible. Shadows tracing the various facets acting as a sun dial as the shadows move across the mountain.

When I look back down, I find the roadrunner and hyena have both moved on. Looking back up at the mountain I expect to see a trail of dust and small nuclear explosion caused by a failed use of an Acme explosive device against the roadrunner.

Portrait Wanna Be

2006-05-20T18:52:00.000-04:00

For several years I have wanted to get back into photography. I used to love taking pictures throughout my college years and missed it. About 8 months ago I broke down and bought a new digital SLR camera. Nothing too fancy, but one that would allow me to change lenses, take control when I wanted it, and something that was getting good reviews.

Since getting the camera I have taken over four thousand pictures. Although most have been of activities or family events, a lot are more artistic. Shots of nature or people where I was trying to capture a little something extra. As I reviewed these shots over the past few months, the desire I had years ago to get a portrait light kit resurfaced. After about 3 months of research and struggling with the continuous versus strobe question I finally got the kit a few days ago.

Although I still have a lot to learn, and haven't purchased a light meter yet, I posted a few of the first pictures for your review, comments, feedback, and/or constructive criticism. I am still getting the hang of positioning the lights, especially the background light, but I seem to be improving little by little. I will post additional ones as I have time. These photos will be accessible to those of you setup as as friends and family within Flickr.

Slide show.

Surfing Internet Gets You Fired in NYC

2006-05-06T09:26:00.000-04:00

So, NYC has decided to fire a 14-year department of education employee for surfing the internet at work. My first thought was that the sites he visited were suspect. Turns out he was surfing news and travel websites. Sure, he wasn't working while he was doing this, but neither are people that are taking personal calls or even taking a smoke break. Do you think the management team determined how much time was spent surfing and compared it to other employees taking personal calls, extending their lunch, or going out for a smoke? Should they all be fired as well?

Sounds like this was a political firing, or a setup for some new law or policy that needed a legal precedent. Sure, when you are at work you should be working, but everyone takes care of personal business from time to time. The real question is, was his supposed "abuse" of internet access above and beyond normal work place behavior? Although the articles I have read don't provide specifics, I doubt that appropriate due diligence was performed. Either that or we will be seeing a lot of NYC firings in the next few months.

Hypermedia

2006-03-22T11:17:00.000-05:00

I was pontificating on the confluence of media, gaming, digital music, cell phones, PDAs, Blackberries, and text messaging. For some reason the term “Hypermedia” came to mind. Wasn’t sure if it was really a term or not, but it seemed to fit the bill. A quick search on “define:Hypermedia” on Google confirmed that it is a widely used term, and it in fact means pretty much how I was applying it myself. In short it represents all of the above elements that have been coming together over the last 3 years in ways that no one imagined just 5 or 10 years ago.

These technology applications are enabling us to multitask in increasingly new and innovative ways. We are constantly connected to work, friends, relatives, hobbies, the media, and our music. It is possible to talk to anyone through multiple digital channels at any time. If we aren’t using our cell phones for conversation we can use them to chat via Text Messaging or even send email. We can even get video content on our phones with services such as Verizon’s V-Cast.

This explosion in stimulation is causing a social addiction that has never been seen. A new article in Time magazine by Claudia Wallis titled “The Multitasking Generation” talks about the social impacts of this phenomenon. Attention spans are being challenged and the need for social interaction with other humans is exploding. The article discusses the need for college students to use their cell phones between classes, or the need to be chatting with several friends while working on a paper. How can you write a coherent paper when it isn’t your primary focus? It is hard enough writing this post while sitting in a Starbucks.

We have seen similar leaps in enabling multitasking before, but not to this level, and certainly not coupled with what we are already capability of achieving via technology. When windowing-based user interfaces were introduced it was possible to work on several tasks at once. You could monitor your email while working in your Lotus 123 spreadsheet, or write a paper while playing minesweeper. Now we have this capability juxtaposed with messaging, cell phones, and portable music.

However, even with all of these caveats laid out on the table, there are several positive implications of Hypermedia. Advances in internet connectivity and the pervasiveness of broadband access are exposing us to music, art, and movies that we wouldn’t otherwise have access too. Digital artwork (e.g. music, print, and video) from individuals that wouldn’t otherwise have an audience is easily accessible.

Advances in gaming are exposing us to rich media fantasy worlds that aren’t as static as Pong, as two dimensional as asteroids, or even as mundane as our own everyday lives. Faster computers and more sophisticated gaming engines are exposing us to entire worlds that are shaped by our own actions in the gaming environment. These digital role playing games exercising both sides of our brains by challenging us with puzzles at the same time we are exposed to complex visual designs. We become aware of the visually stunning backgrounds, the use of negative space, and the innovation within those worlds. We are also challenging our own belief systems by choosing from right and wrong within the games and dealing with the repercussions of those decisions.

As with everything in life, moderation must be kept in check. Families need to communicate face to face and deal with everyday issues. Social skills are still important to learn and foster. The way someone writes an email, or chats online, isn’t the same as speaking face to face with someone. We may be entering a new world of social need and interaction, but it can’t come at the expense of humanity.

Change

2006-03-13T08:57:00.000-05:00

For those two or three people that are actually reading my entries, you have probably deduced that I am going through a period of change. For the most part this has been around my job and career. Throughout my working years, I have endeavored to work with really smart people, with people whose company I enjoy, for companies that I believe in, and creating solutions that could change the world.

Pretty grand, I know, but without at least a few of those I wouldn’t enjoy what I do. Since you spend more time at work than with anyone else in your life you have to make sure you are mentally and spiritually satisfied with what you do.

Over the years the place where I am currently working has gone through massive changes itself. We don’t seem to have a goal any longer. We have lost touch with our customer’s needs, and frankly the market in general. We can’t decide on a path forward to rectify the situation, and hope doesn’t seem to be in sight. To compete in the “global economy” we started to outsource engineering. We have been doing layoffs off and on for about 5 years. In that time I have seen a lot of colleagues and friends leave.

I have actually stuck around longer that I think I should have. This all goes back to my criteria above. For the most part, those all still hold true. I know that no matter where else I go I don’t be able to work with a group of individuals quite like the ones I work with now. It would almost be easier if I was forcibly thrust out the door.

The last few weeks have truly been enlightening. It is become more and more clear that there really is no game plan or master plan. Perhaps it involves things they can’t discuss in public yet, or perhaps they truly don’t have a clue. Either way, I think this lack of information should be my wake-up call. The market isn’t in the same state it was two or three years ago when technical jobs were scarce. I guess it is time to take advantage of that and move on. If I can’t find a team of people that share the same goals I outlined above, perhaps I can help create one.

Is Mother Nature a Tease?

2006-03-13T08:42:00.000-05:00

In short, yes. Of course her tempting nuggets of weather come by many names including: Indian summer, favorable weather patterns, pockets of paradise, and milder than normal conditions. All in all it means that for some too short a period of time you will experience the ultimate weather conditions, and then be thrust back into the normal routine. For now, that means unnaturally warm and humid free weather until winter raises it ugly head again. I do enjoy all of the different seasons. This is one of the primary reasons for living in the area of the US that I do.

However, I have had enough of winter. I enjoy the beauty of snow, and even don’t mind shoveling it out of my way from time to time. But when I get to the back nine of its presence I have had enough. I am tired of the lack of color, and the chillingly cold breezes. It is like nature slips into a state of hibernation and everything stops. I need color, I am actually craving it. I want to see leaves on trees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and the various activities that are associated with the emergence of nature and life.

We have all been hibernating too long now; time to wake up.

Fog Light

2006-02-23T19:24:00.000-05:00

No, not in the car sense. It was really foggy here the other evening. The orange glow coming from the community street lamps was really haunting. Of course, that made me think to leap from my comfortable chair, leave the television behind, hunt down the tripod and run outside with my handy digital camera.

Unfortunately, I don't have a remote shutter release (yet that is), and my digital camera doesn't have a "Bulb" setting (so you can't hold the shutter open), but the pictures convey a bit of what it was like. Albeit, not exactly what I hoped for, but that is why you practice.

Slide Show.

Timing

2006-02-21T10:48:00.000-05:00

Timing is everything. At least that is what they say. I have always had a fascination with time. An artificial horizon that divides the past, future, and right now. Artificial in the sense that man (or woman) could have divided up in really any way. The fact that we have so many days in a year, or days in a week, or even minutes in an hour is somewhat arbitrary. Nevertheless, whatever has transpired is in the past, and what is yet to come is completely up to you.

This is where the concept of timing comes into play. What do you decide, and when should you decide it? Two fairly simply questions that can have huge ramifications on your quality of life, health, financial position, and overall future. For me, timing has worked out fairly well in my professional life. I have been able to work on interesting projects, learning very cool technologies, and work with fun and brilliant people. Other aspects of my life haven't always worked out so well. For example, I bought a car once because the one I had needed a lot of work and I didn't have any money. At the time it was literally cheaper for me to buy a new car than get the one I had fixed. Of course, I ended up hating the car I bought, and 5 months later went out a bought a new version of the one I originally tossed out. In the end, this whole episode ended up costing a lot more than getting the original version fixed.

Of course, as time passes your life is constantly changing. The number of variables that help you determine your course of action when answering the questions above change, and in fact are almost always in motion. These changes can have a profound impact on you as a person. For example, once you have a family decisions don't just affect you anymore. Perhaps the chances you take with regards to work can't be as risky. Not only in terms of financial issues, but in terms of your health and well being. This includes your quality of life and your ability to balance work life with family life. As you age you start to worry more about your physical health, getting ready to retire, getting your final wishes in order, and hopefully ensuring that you have no unfinished loops to close with friends and loved ones.

So, the complexity of all of this is how do you make the best possible decisions, at the most appropriate time? Chaos theory and non-linear equations would dictate that you can't determine an optimal time. Is this true? Are we really out of control in some respects all the time? Can't our sub-conscious help tell us when we need to act, and in what direction?

What have I forgotten?

2006-02-13T10:13:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel that you have forgotten something? At times, usually when I am attempting to fall asleep, I get this overwhelming feeling that I have either forgotten something important, or failed to do something I was suppose to do.

It seems to be centered on the past, sometimes the distant past, and sometimes some event that was fairly recent. The strange thing is I am not sure what triggers this panic. Have I really forgotten something important? Have I neglected to finish something I had planned to complete? I am starting to think that it is my subconscious telling me that I made a horrible decision. It always seems to occur when I am trying to sleep, so this could make sense. As I relax, my subconscious starts to process recent events, or even really old events. It starts to look at the decision trees and determine, based on all the possible outcomes, how the one that materialized weighs in as the better outcome. In short, my subconscious is trying to file events into “well done”, or “you’re a moron” folders.

The scary thing is I am not sure I always am aware of the final outcome. I mean, I feel the “panic” that I forgot something, but I never get the warm fuzzy that I figured out what it was. How am I supposed to go through this filing cabinet when I don’t know something new has been filed?

Paradise - Dominica

2006-02-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

Overall, my cruise experience was up and down. In a lot of cases that is a literal interpretation as the boat was rocking a lot. However, the islands we saw were beautiful. One in particular stood out as an almost un-touched rain forest paradise playground. The island is called Dominica and sits between St. Thomas and Barbados.

In an attempt to share some of what I saw, I have uploaded a slide show to Flickr. You can view the slide show by clicking on the "Slide Show" link I have provided at the end of this posting. Unfortunately several of these photos are out of focus. This was caused by our rapid decent out of the mountains in a somewhat runaway death bus.

Please enjoy and try to escape.

Slide Show.

The Ocean

2006-01-31T12:52:00.000-05:00

I recently returned from my first cruise. I found myself spending a lot of time on my cabin balcony or in locations of the ship that afforded me a nice view of the ocean. I seemed addicted to the emptiness that the ocean view provided for me. Looking out in all directions and seeing absolutely nothing was amazing. As someone who lives in a community of houses and has a horrendous commute each day to work, seeing absolutely nothing is a rare thing.

However, it really didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't actually looking out into emptiness ... although that is what I was seeing. My thoughts started to turn more into the activity that was living below the surface. How many species of animals and plant life were down there? How deep was the deepest creature able to survive? What kinds of cures for disease were below the ship that have yet to be discovered?

I guess this really brought to the forefront the stories you hear regarding the amount of money and resources we have spent surveying space versus our own oceans. The oceans truly are the final frontier until some other scientific breakthrough can take us beyond our solar system more efficiently. You would think that if we can make a case for exploring space and the universe, that it would be easier to make a case for exploring the oceans. Perhaps the scientific hurdles to concur the oceans are to vast for us to solve at this time.

Chaos

2006-01-16T19:08:00.000-05:00

Chaos

Reflected Vision

2006-01-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

Reflected Vision

This picture is a reflection off of the water since it was so still. I then rotated the image 180 degrees so it would be upright. If you look closely at the larger version you can tell that the "canvas" is water.

Things that fly...

2006-01-16T18:46:00.000-05:00

I have always been fascinated by things that fly. Of course, that usually meant staring in awe at really large aircraft that should fall out of the sky due to their sheer weight, but animals are equally amazing, if not even more so. Creation or Evolution aside, the development of flight without the knowledge of engineering is amazing.

One day at the park I think I really noticed with just how much ease birds seem to fly. In this case it was watching ducks land and take off from the water. What an amazing sight.

Songs that change the world

2006-01-15T13:15:00.000-05:00

"Change the world" may be an overstatement, but it is certainly true that every once and a while a song comes out that moves you in some particular way. It could remind you of a first date, a last date, or even a mood you where in. It could inspire artistry, raise your temper, or cool you down. Whatever the effect, it usually hits the first time you hear it.

Over the course of my life, I have had this happen a few times. I would be curious if anyone else has every been hit so hard that they had the buy the song as soon as possible. For me, the top 10 (in no particular order) are probably:

Avalon - Roxy Music
Old and Wise - Alan Parsons Project
Soul Meets Body - Death Cab for Cutie
Everything you Want - Vertical Horizon
Clocks - Coldplay
Forever Young - Alphaville
Noah's Dove - 10,000 Maniacs
Prophecy - Remy Zero
Eye in the Sky - Alan Parsons Project
White Flag - Dido

Of course there are others. And there are complete albums that just blow me away such as "Strong Persuader" by Robert Cray or even "The New Edge" by Acoustic Alchemy. It is funny that no matter how different cultures are or how people vary in their spiritual beliefs, there is always music living as a common thread.

Riding a Bike

2006-01-13T08:58:00.000-05:00

Went to a surprise birthday party last weekend for a college friend. Well, actually we met in High School, and like most high school friendships it died right after he graduated. We ended up at the same community college trying to figure out what we were interested in and that is when we started to form a bond. A bond that has lasted for the last 20 years; admittedly through less frequent contact over the past 10.

The interesting thing with this friendship is the club we formed at this community college called "lounge". An interesting name, but really not that clever given that is where we hung out. It wasn't anything formal by any stretch of the imagination. Just a group of friends that met from semester to semester and decided to spend free time together. On some days this lasted from 7am until 7pm. Interesting since most of us didn't have classes before 9am, and got out by 4pm.

It is hard to describe what "lounge" was like, but I do know it had a profound impact on who I am today. More so than the 19 years of my life before it. It was a place where everyone was equal. All ideas were worthy of discussion, and anyone was welcome. We talked about our futures, our past, poetry, books, music, movies, and even what would happen if the government facility next door accidently released some kind of pathogen. Which by they way I am certain happened. Sheep in fields just don't multiple, disappear, and then multiply like that without some kind of unnatural intervention.

One of my favorite pastimes was referred to as "talk about a subject". A simple game, but one that exercised your mind as you did mental acrobatics. A person in "lounge" was selected as the speaker (usually when they weren't there), and someone else would yell out a topic (such as why do slugs dissolve when engulfed in salt). So, when I walked into lounge after class one day I was hit with this topic and told to defend and/or discuss my thoughts on this issue. Quickly I came up with some stupid story that slugs don't actually dissolve, they simple bury themselves because they think it is snowing. Dumb, I know, but entertaining for all involved none the less. If nothing else my anxiety of speaking in public was dissolved in "lounge".

By the time our tenure ended at this community college (which took longer than it should have), we had professors stopping in each morning to read the thought or poem posted on the blackboards for the day. We all took turns, and they were all brilliant.

Fortunately, several of us ended up at the same 4 year institution to finish out our degrees. A new social group was quickly formed call Beta Phi Delta (or BFD for short). This was our way of snubbing our noses at the fraternities and sororities of the university. Not that we didn't think they were valuable in their own way, but the whole idea of a "closed" club and hell week didn't fly with us. Anyone was welcome to join BFD; male or female, any race, any religion, or any background. It got to the point where we were mostly made up of members that belonged to other frats and sororities. Of course, that had to be kept a secret in fear of loosing their status. To really dig in the idea of a free social club we even had t-shirts, hats, and sweaters done with Greek letters. That got under everyone's skin and made us feel even better. By the time I graduated, there were BFD franchises in 2 other neighboring universities.

For the most part I haven't seen the majority of these individuals since graduation about 15 years ago. This is where the b-day party I mentioned earlier comes in. We had a blast! We talked about old times, shared stories of wives, kids, jobs, trials and tribulations. We all knew exactly how to talk with each other like we were together yesterday. It was just like riding a bike.

Death to a 7 year old

2005-12-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

I find it hard to answer a lot of questions from my 7 year old. One of the oddest was around death. As we passed a cemetery the other day he asked what all the stones were for.

Obviously at 7 years old he knows that people die, so my response seemed more than adequate. "When people die, they are placed in a cemetery with a stone that marks where they are. The stone can say different things, but usually has their name, birth date, date they died, and perhaps something they did, or a favorite phrase."

I get really thought provoking questions all the time, and didn't think this one was very hard. It can be really difficult to explain something "adult" to a child using language and metaphors he will understand without a common reference to build on. Some are like trying to explain the color green to a blind person; this wasn't one of those ... So I thought.

As he goes to church with his Mom, I should have expected the follow-up. "So, when they go to heaven, their skin is put in the ground?" Interesting. "No", I said, "their bodies are put in the ground". "Oh, their bodies are in the ground and their skin goes to heaven?", he replied. So, now what? With one last gasp I tried to just say it all goes in the ground.

Thankfully, he didn't reply. Something else attracted his attention, much like the passing of a cat to a dog.

Who watches the watchers....

2005-12-29T10:20:00.000-05:00

It is getting increasingly concerning the amount of leverage our government is getting in "watching" us. From smart cameras, to phone taps, to now Cookies.

The worst part of it is that I am sure this has been going on since surf tracking technology was envisioned. The other scary part is how many other sites are doing this, regardless of whether they are government sites or commercial sites. Anyone who uses the web on a regular basis should scan the computer for cookies, AdWare, and malicious processes. The freeware available for this is enormous. Personally I would recommend the use of at least two different providers in order to get the best possible coverage.

... permissum superficies caveo ... (a little too literal, but you get the point)

Are you kidding me?

2005-12-22T16:00:00.000-05:00

Imagine a land where you can exchange files of any nature for free. No need to worry about steeling money from a hard working film producer, director, actor, actress, or musician. Simply place any item you have on a peer-to-peer network and start swapping with others. Clearly this land would have to be special.

This increasingly hypothetical land would have to recognize that the creation of technology to store and copy material clearly erases any silly copyright laws. Well, apparently such a country has stepped up to the plate and batted one out of the park. Unraveling a tapestry that has been carefully cared for and meticulously folded by nations around the world.

Yeah, you guess it. France!

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20051222/D8ELFHC0B.html?PG=home&SEC=news

Unbelievable...

The first post

2005-12-22T15:53:00.000-05:00

Strange how empty a blog is at the start. All these thoughts and ideas and a large infinite canvas on which to write.

Let this post be the first in a long line of posts about anything and everything under the sun. Let some be silly, some be intelligent, some be thought provoking, some be poetic, and some downright stupid. Of course that latter will always be the easiest.

Let the writing begin ...