The Dark Tower - Finally or No, Not Yet!

Stephen King has written the last of the Dark Tower series and I have been reading them as they have come out since the 1980's. What a long time! I thoroughly enjoyed the journey through the books. I have found it difficult to read other books of this type (read as Tolkien and such). Yet, I was attracted to this story and its main characters. It has been a great read.

First, I was excited to learn the last one was done. Finally, we get to the tower! Second, I was sad to think the journey was to end. Roland and his ka-tet traveled far, fought hard, and shared their souls.


Thanks for the trip, Stephen.

Rave - I Figured Out How to Use My Zen Sleek

I have had my Creative Zen Sleek for a few months now, and finally I have learned how to use it correctly. My major mistake was to somehow get my music loaded on to the player where each artist and album was treated as a folder. Thus, the desktop software seemed to suck when it came to looking at all songs for sorting and such. I reformatted and loaded anew. This time I selected all the tracks on the PC tab after selected the various directories within which I may have music and drug them to the "Music" tab on the player. Now, I can slice and dice 'em. Don't know how I started down the folder path, but it sucked. I can also look for the most recently loaded on to the PC. Thus, noticing what needs to be moved is now easy. Yeppee!

Podcast Update

• Andrew Zolli, Z+ Partners, participated in an interview as part of Globeshakers with Tim Zak. During this interview, Andrew talks about the impact of demographic distribution changes on the world and domestic economy. This is a very interesting presentation that I would recommend. Unfortunately, I listened too long ago and didn't take notes so I can't state an specifics about the interview. But, I know I liked it.
• Anne Thomas Manes, APS Research Director for the Burton Group, talked about The Advent of Superplatforms. This information packed and insightful presentation is well worth listening to if you are an architect. Anne correctly notes that the major platform providers like Microsoft with .Net and IBM with WebSphere are including 100's of support applications with their suites. Thus, while the promise of web services, open source, and industry standards would lead you to think that a new world of plug and play is on the horizon, we may in fact, be seeing something entirely different emerge. I can't help but think this is sort of more of the same. That is, the IDE and infrastructure providers build in features that help lock you in to their solution (and their problems). I don't read this as good or bad. It is the nature of things. Anne also notes that Open Source is essentially an alternative choice. One that on a feature basis may not compete directly with the comprehensive suites of the commercial providers. My primary concern with implications of her analysis is that continuing notion of vendor lock-in at the platform level. But, her analysis definitely has merit and for many companies, the information she provides is surely of high interest and value. Thanks Anne for a very thought provoking presentation.

Judith Miller has Balls

Well, not literally. Judith Miller, N.Y. Times reporter that has been in jail for almost 90 days because she chose not to reveal her source for information related to the leaking of Valerie Plame's name as a covert CIA operative. She only relinquished when her source offered his release to do so and the court agreed to limit the questions to the information from this particular source.

Clearly, Judith held her personal principles and her promise to her source paramount. That's integrity! You go Judith! But, I gotta say I hope we never release an agent's name in a context that leads to their death or some other horrible outcome as a result.

Podcast Update

Still catching up on Tech Nation with Dr. Moira Gunn:

• The interview with Dr. David Stretavan about the knifes that cut axons for the purpose of neural graphs was interesting. I assume I don't need to tell you just how small that is.
• Daniel Liebowitz talked about Henry Stanley's last expedition to Africa in the 19th century. Daniel got his insight writing his book The Last Expedition: Stanley's Mad Journey Through the Congo. This interview made Henry's experience sound exciting and surprising and I am sure the Daniel's book is equally so. Given time, I will be reading this one.

Not Running Update

Given the multiple sprained ankles I have suffered over the last few months, I met with a podiatrist for the latest injury. I will be going into physical therapy for 6-8 weeks staring in about 2 weeks. The intent is to build up my ankle strength. At the end of the therapy, I will be fit with an orthorotic and will likely run with some form of support specifically for my left ankle. Not running sucks, but at least there is hope.

Meanwhile, I will log my podcast listening and an occasional rant or rave.

Podcast Update

Well, I guess if I don't run, then I listen to podcasts! Well, I have also traveled a bit lately which offers great opportunities for listening. Here's my latest listening log:

• Sigmund Solares, CEO of DirectNIC, is interview buy Doc Searls about keeping their operation running in New Orleans during Katrina. This is an extremely interesting story. Sigmund talks about how the internet and helpful technicians helped his team configure and manage software to help manage updates, changes, and such. He talks about what they had to go through to get fuel for their generator. This interview is just packed with interesting experiences and highlights how many aspects of today's openness enables technical operations despite adversity.
• I listened to a panel discussion (several times actually) while driving around in New Jersey and New York. The panel discussion was titled Distributed Business and was held at Supernova 2005. I highly recommend listening to this information packed podcast. My favorite part was Dick Hardt's discussion of Identity 2.0 and implications for today's identity management (1.0). Particularly, he describes today's notions as site based and more specifically based on what you have said and done on particular sites. In this context, you can't really take your identity with you.
• Jason Fried, founder of 37signals, talks about his teams creation of Basecamp. This very interesting project (and it sounds like most of 37signals' projects are interesting) brought fresh and insightful perspectives to project management. Some attributes are Extreme Programming like and others are not. I would have to admit that I share many of Jason's views about the false sense of control many traditional development methodology artifacts provide (especially to senior management). Today, agility and comfortably managing change are more important than proving conformance to dictates recorded on paper. Great presentation that I would recommend listening to. It would be interesting to hear Jason and Joel Spolsky discuss methodology.
• Getting through a bunch of Tech Nation with Dr. Moira Gunn too:
• Interview with Andrew Fraknoi, Chairman of the Astronomy Program at Foothill College talks with Dr. Gunn about planets. Particularly, he addresses why we are finding so many and the ambiguous label planet. The label is ambiguous now as astronomers are trying to distinguish between objects that may or may not be planets. For example, is a large object that is not round a planet? We have discovered that at least 14 stars have multiple planets! This is a very interesting podcast. He also noted the startling observations that objects in the universe are speeding up not slowing down as we have suspected for a long time.
  
• Dr. Gunn interviewed Robert Shelton, Managing Director for Innovation at Navigant Consulting. No surprise, the topic was innovation. He talks at length about 7 characteristics of innovation and it is well worth listening to.
• I also recommend these from Tech Nation:
• Doug Kaye interview. Doug Kaye is doing a great service to the IT and podcasting community via ITConversations and this interview is very good.
• Daniel Imhoff interview. Daniel talked with Dr. Gunn about how we should think about our current use of plastic for shopping bags and product packages. For those of us (includes me), that are and should be concerned about human impact on environment, this is an information packed podcast. Good job Daniel.
• More to come....

Podcast Update

I was listening to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code recently when I heard a song titled: MY BACK'S ACHIN, MY BRA'S TOO TIGHT, by the Stepford Wives! I gotta tell you, I think this song is way cool.

Thanks Adam

Podcast Update

• Nathan Torkington and Tim O'Reilly talked about Trends in the Open Source Marketplace. And, in the process provide lots of good fodder for the rest of us. As a result, I will be checking out GreaseMonkey. They did ask an interesting concept about the impact of software as a service on the open source movement. If you are not actually loading or even seeing the source.... Good presentation.
• David Rumsey, President, Cartography Associates, talked the Past and Future of Mapping. If you are into maps or history, this is an excellent presentation. It would be greatly enhanced by access to the pictures, charts, and maps he referenced during the presentation. I thought the most interesting bits were those about the differences in the maps from different periods of history and from different perspectives. David points out how the biases and such of the chartographer are evident in his charts.
• Asa Dotzler talks about why or should Linux find its way to the desktop. Asa builds the case that if Linux is to take significant desktops from Microsoft the time is nigh (before Vista). However, he notes the importance of ensuring a good experience for the user to enable this to occur. Things like making things simple, not moving buttons or changing fast keys from the settings which most users are acquainted. He further says that we should reduce the choices users have to install and use an operating system. Good and interesting presentation.
• Bob Wyman, PubSub, talks Denise Howell about syndication, RSS and copyright. He builds the case that the law is not a far behind technology as many would have us believe. He goes on to talk about some of the practices (good and bad) that are visible today that are taking advantage of opportunities to respect and use the content of others and those that are violating copyright. A very interesting presentation that I would highly recommend.
  

Podcast Update

• Alan Ganek, IBM, talks about Autonomic Computing Systems. This brief, but very interesting presentation outlayes a lot of information about self-healing and such that is made possible using the nervous system metaphor. Very worthwhile listening.
• Lisa Williams and Ryanne Hodson talk about Audio and Video Blogging at BlogHer 2005. I only listened to part of this podcast before my schedule interrupted me. It sounded like it was going to be interesting, but I am battling a hectic schedule and a lot of podcasts I haven't gotten to yet. Since it is focused on women blogging and such and I am a man, I will get to it later. From the little I heard this podcast will NOT be boring.

Aborted 9 Mile: Shades Creek Greenway

Well, I started off with Lito and a whole host of others on the first training day for the Mercedes Marathon. At the half way point, my damn ankle gave out and I scraped my knee again. I can't believe my poor luck. That makes 2 major sprains and 2 minor sprains this summer. All on the same ankle. Something is WRONG and this SUCKS. Went to the doctor and the xrays don't show anything. She is going to refer me to a specialist and I asked for one that understands sports medicine.

Before the fall, I was cranking and running strong. I just can't believe my bad luck.

3 Mile Run: Myrtle Beach

Well, I did my presentation yesterday and all went well. Interesting since my presentation included a hip-hop number using music I cut from a Beastie Boys, Creative Commons covered song "Now Get Busy?. I saw a guy walk by that looked a little like Emenim. So, I asked him if he would be willing to participate. As it turned out, he is in a band that does rap. Well, he was great and it really added some pow to my presentation.

The run today was good. The weather was dry and in the 70's.

Data:
Distance: 3.173 Miles
Time: 27:38
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: @8:42 (Cool, first time under 9:00 in a long while!)

5 Mile Run: Myrtle Beach, SC

Hurricane Ophelia is just off shore; it is raining; it is windy;it is dark. But, the run was good. Myrtle Beach is getting prettier and prettier based on my periodic visits. I remember from years ago as old and ugly. But, I never really came here as a tourist and it may have just been related to where I accidentally traveled.

Data:
Distance: 5.029 Miles
Time: 47:26
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: @9:25

3 Mile Run: Myrtle Beach, SC

I am at a business conference on the east coast during another hurricane. Fortunately, it has stayed off shore and hasn't impacted Myrtle Beach in any large way and appears that it will not. Looks like it will cause some havoc north of here, but hopefully nothing too critical. I did get rained on a little during this run, but not bad.

I skipped my long run on Sunday as I had a sinus headache on Saturday night that just knocked me out. So, I skipped supper and last time I tried to run the day after this, I suffered enormously. A break every now and then is good.

Data:
Distance: 3.056 Miles
Time: 28:02
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: @9:10

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Still running with the "Time and Distance" system since the bridges are broken and I am taking alternate courses. Totally enjoying the new Mp3 player, Creative, Zen Sleek.

Data:
Distance: 3.009 Miles
Time: 29:10
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: @9:41

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

No time to smell the roses this week as I am just swamped with work. But, I am getting my runs in. I am a bit distracted by all of this Katrina stuff. I am just so disturbed by so many aspects of this whole disaster including:

• The sluggish response to get help to New Orleans
• The disgusting behavior of some of the folks in the Superdome (rapes, murders, and such)
• The obvious contrast between various groups of our society
• The thin veil of civilization
• The notion that perhaps scarce resources will create a situation where people turn to violence on a much larger scale in general
• The notion that we might be aiding this phenomenon through global warming
  

I hope I find that this was just a huge mistake from which we learn to behave much better.

Data:
Distance: 5.354 Miles
Time: 51:46
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:40

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Back home. A crew is working on the bridges over the coves in our neighborhood lake, so I had to pick an alternate course. I found a very minor modification requiring me to follow a path between 2 of the houses along the lake up to a road that skirts the lake near the bridge.

Data:
Distance: 3.205
Time: 31:09
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:43

10 Miles: Fort Walton Beach, FL

The "Time and Distance" system lost power during the run, so the distance is an estimate based on time. Also, since I don't know exactly when the GPS stopped, I could be off a significant amount. It was a hard run primarily due to the temperature. I felt like I needed more water and I didn't have my usual water stop 1/2 way through the run to top off the my water bottle. I stopped in front of a fire station to see if they had a fountain I could use. The guy out front was not helpful. But, I bumped into a fountain just a few hundred yards along.

Data:
Distance: @10 Miles
Time: 1:30:27
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: @9:00

Don't Confuse Incompetence with Racism

Kayne West apparently believes that George Bush is a racist. I strongly doubt that. George thought Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was a friend to Osama Bin Laden. Oh yeah, he also thought the Iraqis would be dancing in the street after we took over. So, why would we be surprised that he would under estimate the need for federal government to jump in and help the people in New Orleans? Why we would be surprised that his reaction would not be fast enough with the immediate and massive support required.

Like Kayne (I assume this is his real motivation), it breaks my heart to see so many people suffering and the seemingly incredible slow pace of help. Unlike Kayne, I see people screwing up (not helping quick enough) and people suffering. I don't think playing the race card explains or helps the situation. The New Orleans mayor and the Louisiana Governor are also hugely to blame for such a colossal failure to plan for this. It is not like this scenario was never considered. It was considered.

Are New Orleans Police Officers taught how to introduce order and organization? I mean if you put 30, 000 people in a single location with little contact with the outside world, limited resources, and high duress, you need to help them get organized and manage their situation. You need some folks to focus on sanitation, some to focus on supplies and rationing, some to focus on security, etc. The thing that disgusted me the most in this whole situation is the simple and urgent requests from some of those at the convention center and on the bridges. They simply wanted to know "what is happening, what should I expect, when are people coming, where should I go, etc?". Surely, we could have managed some reasonable answers even if there were to admit that we don't fully know yet and here are some things you need to do (like get organized).

As to the looters, if there were looting for food, water and necessary supplies that they intended to share with all, no problem. However, I have NO patience and would not be bothered by the most extreme punishments for those hauling off merchandise that was just for greed (electronics and such). For the rapists that we heard about, the end of their existence would be a welcome change to the planet.

I sure hope we don't let this horrible experience and the inept response by some in authority, illegal and violent behavior of some in the streets of New Orleans, over shadow the pure enormity of the disaster and the Herculean efforts many are putting in to help.

As for Kayne who I know little about, I assume that his ability to get on national TV to make such statements implies that he has the resources to contribute and do a lot. He should quit his f**king bitching and go do something! If he is so torn to help, he should go help. Anybody stopping him from renting a shitload of buses, buying a shitload of food and water, and organizing a rescue mission. As it is, I think he hurt the cause instead of helping it. Just my opinion, your are welcome to your own. I will be so glad when we can STOP separating each other into color groups. We are all people.

3 Mile Run: Fort Walton Beach, FL

We have been planning this Labor Day trip for a long time. Unfortunately, Katrina has put a huge damper on spirits. It is hard to believe that it took so long to get a signficance presence of help in New Orleans. I don't believe the racist charges that are emerging. I think the problem is simple lack of leadership, under estimation, and a storm and aftermath that was just HUGE.

My run, however, went well. I started out trying to run along the beach and discovered that the sand was too soft, the hard part to narrow and winding. So, I bagged that and went out to the street. My wife asked me to tell her were the 1 mile turn around would be since I was using the "Time and Distance" system. I did. But, when she went out she went the other way and never saw the landmark I told her to look for. Too funny.

Data:
Distance: 3.317 Miles
Time: 28:57
Heart Rate: Not Measured
Pace: 9:23

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Our neighborhood is replacing one of the bridges across the a portion of the lake, so have had to alter my course around the lake. There is a path between 2 of the houses near the bridge that leads to the road that ends at an intersection that once one turns left intersects the path around the lake beyond the bridge. Added a little distance, but that is ok. I used the "Time and Distance" system to check the difference in distance. I will have to do so again as my first attempt was to run around the little cove across which the bridge went across. It was not possible.

The reports from the disaster zone are just unbelievable. Some are just incredible. It just irks me that these situations can bring the worse from so many. The thugs in the streets of New Orleans need to be stopped. Can you imagine being stuck there with your family and just trying to make you way to a safe area. Of course, I am sure it brings out the best too. I just find it incredible that civil society can disintegrate so quickly. Worse is knowing that before the storm some of these folks ignored the warnings from the experts.

Data:
Distance: 5.31 Miles
Time: 53:34
Heart Rate: Not Measured
Pace: 10:05 (yuk! I did have to stop to see the distance on the watch, but I doubt it took this much time off. Sure would be nice if they had designed the display to be readable at dusk, dawn, and at night.)

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Unfortunately, Katrina packed the punch the experts predicted. This is an incredible disaster and will be just horrible for those affected. And, poor New Orleans. This was a therapeutic run if anything.

We lost a tree in our back yard and several around the neighborhood lake. Our neighbor lost a shutter. We also found a roofing shingle in our front yard that we assume came from our roof. Still trying to determine if so, from where. If the ferocity and frequency of these storms is being fueled by the behavior of humans, then I sure hope we change our behavior and clean up our act.

Data:
Distance: 3 Miles
Time: 29:27
Heart Rate: 159
Pace: 9:49

Podcast Update

Listened to yet another one while mowing the yard. I listened to Werner Vogels,CTO at Amazon.com talk with Halley Suitt. The is the second podcast within which Werner speaks that I have listened to and it is clear that he gets it. This time he focused on talking about the relationship between Amazon and its customers and search. He provided several examples of where search today just doesn't cut it (like the top 10 returns for "digital camera" may be commercials and not what the user was looking for). Good presentation.

10.5 Mile Run: Brownell Circle

6:30 am and I am at Brownell meeting Lito for our Sunday morning ritual. He chose to run 7 today, so we only ran the first 3.5 miles together. He went back along the Shades Creek Greenway while I continued along the big loop. Felt like a good run and the Creative Zen Sleek Mp3 player didn't SFR. So far, I am liking the player and accommodating the nuisances I don't like in the desktop software.

Big worry today is New Orleans. That is our favorite party town and it looks like it is going to get bashed by hurricane Katrina.

Data:
Distance: 10.5 Miles
Time: 1:40:58
Heart Rate: 162
Pace: 9:37

Podcast Update

Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine talks about The Long Tail (he wrote an article in Wired on the same subject too). This is a very interesting topic. The long tail refers to the long and thin area under a sales curve. The items under this curve are many and distributed individually to few. Amazon, eBay, and other net based distribution models are finding profitable ways to deal with thelong tail. Traditional distribution channels do not fare so well.

Jory des Jardins, Heather B. Armstrong, Ronni Bennett, and Koan Bremner talk about blogging "naked". In other words, exposing one's real self and personal details via one's blog. I guess I am sort of doing this. They talk about folks revealingthings about themselves that can potentially lead to bigger backlashes then I would expect (e.g., revealing that one is changing one's gender). Interesting discussion.

Scott Kriens talks about the relationship between applications and the network. He basically builds the case that the network should have more intelligence to help deliver richer behaving applications.

Alan Zelicoff and Michael Belloma talked about fighting virus outbreaks and bioterrorism. Specifically, they talked about the importance of tracking symptoms instead of diseases. Currently, doctors are required to submit information based on the diseases they diagnose. But, they grossly under-report.

Joshua Schachter (del.icio.us), Stewart Butterfield (Flickr), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia) and Clay Shirky talk about folksonomies. If you have an interest in opening up a taxonomy to "folks" then I recommend this podcast. We are using Wiki to collect documentation for one of our product frameworks at work. I liked this presentation.

Brian Dear, founder & CEO of EVDB.com talks about EVDB, a database for events. Imagine one stop to learn about events with views that change depending on whether you have registered or not. Further, what if you can register for an event and have the registration site update your calendar. Very cool and great presentation.

Jerry Weissman, Media and Presentation Coach, talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about well, making presentations. He offers advice about how to use (or how not to use) PowerPoint. Specifically, he recommends using slides to support the presentation not to contain lots and lots of details on each slide. Each slide should have nothing much more then a graphic and a few words to support the content be presented by the presenter.

Dennis Bakke talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about having fun at work. He indicates that it is more about having a work environment where folks can take a stake in what they do and be accountable. It is not just about freebies and benies.

Darwin Prockop,Director of Tulane's Gene Therapy Center, talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about adult stem cells and how they may prove to provide benefits for a variety of medical uses in the future. Very interesting presentation.

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Finally running at home again. The new Mp3 player, Creative Zen Sleek, works well while running. I am still learning how to use the software. The only thing I really miss is the ability to view all tracks at once and sort them by virtually any column of information. The Creative software doesn't seem to support that or they hid the feature really well. Anyway, the run was good (if you ignore the pace). I guess I am going to have to accept that I am 1 minute per mile slower then I was 5 years ago. Damn!

It is good to be home. My son had taken to talking to my picture. :(

Data:
Distance: 3
Time: 28:37
Heart Rate: 157
Pace: 9:32

5 Mile Run: Columbia, SC

Early morning run with the new Creative Mp3 player. It is working very well. The desktop software sucks as compared to that of the Rio Carbon. For example, you can't view content on the player as a long list of tracks sorted by date loaded. This is my preferred view for clean up after listening to Podcasts. But, it is very easy to delete directly on the player itself, so not so bad and I am sure I will accomodate.

Data:

Distance: 5:087
Time: 47:36
Heart Rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:21

3 Mile Run: Columbia, SC

A few time zones later.... Back from Australia on Sunday, off to Columbia, SC on Monday. Hectic schedule and I don't get a run until Wednesday (last one was on Saturday). I dropped and broke the Rio on the way here. So, I bought a Creative "Sleek". 20GB, great sound, with horrible desktop software.

Anyway the run was fine with the exception that I am discovering that the new Time and Distance watch I got as a replacement to my original is hard to read while running in between dawn and dusk. The print is too small and the contrast is not sufficient for my old eyes. It's always something, eh?

Data:
Distance: 3.119 Miles
Time: 28:21
HR: Not measured
Pace: 9:19

Podcast Update

Adam Curry talks with Rob Greenlee, the host of webtalk about podcasting and a wide number of other topics including podsafe music, Adam's personal history, bittorrent, and all of the subjects that Adam frequently talks about on the Daily Source Code. Since I am a regular listener to the Daily Source Code, there was nothing new in here. I wasn't bored and listened to the whole podcast anyway. Rob also interviewed David Coursey who slammed Adam without using his name. Adam maintained the higher ground. If you don't listen to the Daily Source Code, this is a good way to get a sense of should you.

Podcast Update

Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet (Not to be confused with Al Gore), talks with Larry Magid, of Larry's World about the Internet what he might have done if he could have more accurately predicted how itwould be used. He also builds the case for IPv6. A good listen.

John Seely Brown talks about off-shoring during which he talks about how suppliers influence the design decisions of some companies through a process that focuses more on cost then price. He elaborates this case to imply that this bottom up approach influencesa style of design and construction that is similar to or useful for computer science topics like open source.

Kris Lichter talked about the Genographic Project. IBM and National Geographic are collecting DNA from a large number of people via a participation package. Others are solicited because they are indigenous to particular and identifiable areas. Then, the volunteers DNA is analyzed to determine is geographical history. I can't wait to search the net and become a participant. Yes, participants get to see their own history. Very cool.

Found it and the kit costs almost $100, ouch. I might still do it, but some how I was expecting less expense. I won't be doing it right away.

Joel Spolsky talks with Phil Windley about writing skills and their importance for programmers. He and Phil also talked about a collection (a book I think) that Joel put together. The collection contained artices thatJoel and others nominated as some of the best writing examples on the web.

Buzz Aldrin talks about space flight. Particularly, he talks about some ideas about how to make it more feasible for more of us. He also talks a hearing aids and why those that need them should be less concerned about social stigmas and those of that don't should create fewer stigmas. It is amazing that Buzz is still as energetic and youthful, but is also hope creating. May I be so lucky. Keep it up Buzz.

Susan Crawford and Phil Weiser talk about the "Brand X" decision from the Supreme Court involving broadband and cable. The built a good case for why this may be more important then the "MGM vs Grokster" decision. This decision gave the FCC the power to choose when to intervene by declaring certain uses of the cable systems for Internet traffic (e.g., e911 for VoIP). If you are interested in legal stuff as it applies to the Internet, you will like this. For me, a bit too legalistic.

Podcast Update

• Anna Nagurney gave a presentation about networks of all types. She was well prepared and brought many perspectives to the subject including consideration of traffic patterns and the influence of the acts of individuals on the performance of a network.Networks. This is a very interesting, but heady presentation.
• Tim O'Reilly delivered the closing session at the MySQL User's Conference. Tim delivered a great presentation talking about what is coming around the corner (his radar talk). He offered very insightful observations about open source and notions of "small parts, loosely joined". A meaningful presentation I intend to quote at presentations of my own.
• Jimmy Wales, President & Director, Wikimedia Foundation delivers a talk about wikipedia and the wiki phenomenon in general. His talk includes content relevant to people sharing and the impact of the web. An excellent presentation.
• A panel of CIO's met to talk about software vendors and how the recession has influenced their behavior. More importantly, they talk about changes that are still required. The variety of perspectives provided made the whole presentation quire interesting.
• A group of pundits (analysts) participated in a panel talked about IT budgets, consolidation and the impact of open source on IT companies and their work. A very interesting presentation with some humor between the panelists. One panelist sees open source projects leading to the emergence of new companies. He believes that open source is challenging existing companies as it is not held down by existing legacy and compliance. He sees both cost and innovation offering opportunity for business models to be defined to leverage some of this innovation. Off shoring was another topic discussed. They pointed out that this offers opportunity and threat. Another pundit suggested that automation will cause more job loss.
• Only Connect was a panel discussion about how broadband and wireless is affecting the telecommunications industry. For example, rulings indicating that VoIP providers must supply support for 911. This will potentially add all kinds of demands and introduce new innovations. This was an interesting and worthwhile listen.
• Andrew Morton, Lead Maintainer for the Linux Production Kernal talked about the processes and procedures behind managing the large numbrer of changes to the Linux Kernal. He is a very relaxed and calming speaker, but delivers a lot of content. He made a very interesting comment about Steve Balmer's comments about open source development and its comparison to communism. Since the Linux kernal is managed from the bottom up (unlike Microsoft development), he thought Steve's comment was laughable.
• Werner Vogels talked about eCommerce at Interplantary Scale. This very interesting presentation talked about mimicking the patterns observed in nature to achieve scale for computer science problems. The main one Werner referenced was the epidemic pattern. Very, very interesting presentation.
• Mark Carges, CTO, BEA Systems talked about service-oriented archiecture (SOA). He built a good case for composability and how one achieves it. This is an excellent presentation and I would highly recommend it for those interested in SOA.

10 Miles: Sydney, Australia

I basically added the other 2 runs I have done here into 1 and added a little more distance on the other side of the Harbour Bridge. Great run.

Data:
Time: 1:42:34
HR: Not measured
Pace: 10:15

3.233 Mile Run: Sydney, Australia

The temperature was 50 degrees. This time I ran across the Harbour Bridge. Very cool views of the city. It felt like I was running in an European city.

Data:
Time: 30:24
HR: Not measured
Pace: 9.24

5.5 Mile Run: Sydney, Australia

The temperature was 50 degrees. Great run along the Quay in downtown Sydney, Australia.. It took the Garwin a few minutes to lock in to the satelites, but it did. So, I actually ran something more like 5.5 miles. Started right next to the Sydney Opera House. I walked across the famous bridge (so, famous I can't name it), but you would recognize it. I thought I was in shape, but I tell you all of the people that were just walking home, were passing me like I was standing still. I didn't see too may obese folks.

This place is packed with runners too. Unbelievablely full of 'em. What a great atmosphere for a run.

Data:
Time: 50:59
HR: Not measured
Pace: 9.27

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Today, I ran in 99 degrees. Man it was hot. Tomorrow, well sort of, I should be running in temperatures in the 50's in Sydney, Australia. That should be cool eh! Well, the technical gremlins were at it again. And, they were attacking the Rio again. Except, this time I think I may have spotted what has been happening. Namely, that the stop button is somehow getting pressed while I am running. The SFR is a result of button presses. But, I am not certain by any means.

Data:
Time: 30:44
HR:153
Pace: 10:15

10.5 Mile Run: Brownell-Shades Creek Greenway

I did the "Lito Loop" again (see July 31, 2005 run). However, Lito was out of town. So, I was alone. I took the Garwin, Time "Speed and Distance" system with me this time. It worked flawlessly. However, Lito's 12 miles, is 10.5 miles. Amazingly, the distance is the same as my original loop. I, too, thought this route was longer.

Damn technology failures strike again. I update my Rio Carbon to the latest versions of the desktop manager and the flash for the player itself. In addition to the published fixes and access to online purchase systems, I was hoping that the SFR problem would be fixed. I know you are asking what is SFR. Spontaneous F**king Reboot. On long runs, I have had several occasions where the Rio, just SFR's. Well, it did it again. Gees, technology just keeps chugging and choking eh?

The run was good except for that. I would say great if not for the pace.

Data:

Distance: 10.5
Time: 1:45:20
Average heart rate: Not measured
Pace: 10:03 (yuk!)

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Damn technology failures strike again. I bought Missy Elliott's song "Lose Control" on iTunes only to discover I should have read the fine print first. It is some format not supported on my Rio Carbon. OK, it was just a buck. But, that is not the end of it. I went out and bought the CD. I ripped it, copied the folder to the machine I use to load my Rio, stuck the player in the pouch for running and took off. Well, I listened to the entire contents of the CD's folder on the Rio and never heard "Lose Control". Don't know what happened, but the song didn't make it to the machine from which I loaded the Rio. Arghhhhhhhhhhh.

The run was great except for that.

Data:

Distance: 5
Time: 48:46
Average heart rate: 156
Pace: 9:45

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

My legs were a little sore from the 13 miler, so just took it slow and easy. Nice comfortable run.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 29:26
Average heart rate: 153
Pace: 9:49

13 Mile Run: Shades Creek Greenway + 6 Mile Loop

Lito overslept, but showed up before 6:30 am. That was ok with me as I needed to visit the Shell station down the road anyway (as in use their restroom). Lito wanted to do 13, so we went from Brownell to the end of Shades Creek Greenway and back (7 miles) and did a 6 mile loop through Mountain Brook. I caught on Adam Curry's latest Daily Source Codes and Dawn and Drew's shows on the mp3 player.

The mash up with Dolly Parton doing Stairway to Heaven was awesome (on one of the Daily Source Codes)!

Data:

Distance: 13
Time: 2:05:23
Average heart rate: 161
Pace: 9:38

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I heard that some nearby county was getting hail and the day was nearing the end, so I took off for my run. The skies were overcast, but no problem. I had a good run. But, about 15 minutes after I got home, I heard hail outside. Sure glad I wasn't still out there! We lost power as did the restaurant we had planned for dinner with the usual group. Alas, we went across town and ate with them there.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 28:52
Average heart rate: 154
Pace: 9:37

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Extremely hot day! And, man I was not on the top of my game as is obvious by my pace. I am nearly embarrassed. But, hey, I ran.

Data:

Distance: 5
Time: 50:12
Average heart rate: 159
Pace: 10:02

Podcast Update

• Michael Tiemann delivers a great presentation on Defining Open Source. Highly Recommended.
• Ron Gula talks about security. Good presentation.
  
• Roger McNamee talks about the "New Normal". Interesting presentation that synchronizes a variety of today's trends into a cohesive and meaningful presentation.
  
• Joseph Fuselier talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about proteins and DNA. Brief, but very good.
  
• Frank Martinez talks about Web Services. This is an excellent presentation that helps make sense out of the milieu of information about web services.
  
• JD Lasica talks about Darknet and Hollywood's desire to stop digital copying. Good presentation highlighting the growing distance between technical innovation and Hollywood's attempted choke hold.
  
• Hossein Eslambolchi talks about intelligence and whether it occurs on the edge or on the network. Excellent and technical presentation.
  
• Meyya Meyyappan talks about nanotechnology and NASA. Very interesting presentation and it generating much contemplation and thought for me.
  

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I ran another early morning in anticipation of Betsy's upcoming evening run. I jammed to the Police's Reggatta De Blanc. Sometimes, this old stuff just brings back young memories and makes me feel good. Today was just such a day.

Data:
Distance: 3

Time: 28:31
Average heart rate: 156
Pace: 9:30

10.5 Mile Run: Brownell-Shades Creek Greenway

I ran with Lito again. He suggested we change the course and we did. First, we ran it in reverse order to help shade the sun from our faces and backs on the last part of the run. This put us in the shaded neighborhoods and Jemison Park at the end of the run. Second, we went on down Broadway to Montevello (I think it is a different name at the Homewood end). Lito believes this added 1.5 miles to the course. I am a bit skeptical, but I didn't have the GPS with me, so I didn't get a measure. I will measure it in the future.

OK. Got a measure on August 14th. It is 10.5 miles! So, I updated the information below.

Data:
Distance: 10.5

Time: 1:40:50
Average heart rate: Not Measured
Pace: 9:36

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I ran in the morning with my new Timex Ironman Speed + Distance System watch. It worked! Despite my frustration getting here, I am satisfied now. I am still disappointed that anytime the battery goes on these devices, I seem to have to replace the watch. That's $39 instead of $2. But, I like the GPS based tracking for my runs on the road or on picking a new route. So, it is worth it.

Data:
Distance: 3

Time: 29:00
Average heart rate: Not Measured
Pace: 9:40

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I ran in the evening and collected data this time. We had an afternoon shower so temperatures were in the lower 80's. I jammed to Vertical Horizon. I forgot how much I liked this CD. I nearly caught up with another runner then collide with her at the end of a cul de sac when she turned as I was about to pass. She cut the cul de sac short.

Data:
Distance: 5

Time: 48:53
Average heart rate: 154
Pace: 9:46

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Ran in the morning to permit Betsy, wife, to continue on her new training program with an evening run. I neglected to save the data or make this entry before the next run. So,

No Data:

10.5 Mile Run: Brownell: Shades Creek Greenway Circle

I ran the my favorite long run with Lito on warm and humid morning. We were so wet from sweating that we left tracks on the pavement. Lito is running strong and pulled me most of the way. As usual, I started out in front. When will I learn to slow down and the beginning and pick it up at the end?

Data:
Distance: 10.5

Time: 1:40:44
Average heart rate: 165
Pace: 9:36

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Another very hot run. Jammed to Hoobastank which is an excellent running CD. But, good to get it done and knock off some more miles...

Data:
Distance: 3

Time: 28:44
Average heart rate: 159
Pace: 9:35

Podcast Update # 7

More ITConversations

• JonathanSchwartz, president of Sun Microsystems, participates in an interview during which he talks about how technology has influenced more and more decentralization thought the work place and society. He also talks about blogging. In fact, he doesn't see how one can lead these days without it. Interesting idea. I know there are many executives that do not blog today. Good presentation.
• Zoe Trippi, former campaign for Howard Dean, talks about how blogging and the internet has created more opportunities for grass root political movements. Some surprises include his reference to overloading the accounting folks when a campaign has to comply with a law that indicates you have to provide paper evidence for each contribution. That system works well, perhaps, when all the donations are large and from a relatively small number of contributors. What happens if the they are small and from many contributors as was the case with Dean's campaign.
• Gurinder Shahi talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about biotech in India. Interesting demonstration of India's continued movement into high tech and industry.
• David Coursey, tech journalist and author, was interviewed by Rob Greenlee. David had some rather terse and negative comments about the future of blogging and podcasting. Basically, he believes they will become domains for what will essentially become part of the main stream media staffed by "pros". Further, he does think RSS and its use to support a subscription model is all that innovative or new as it applies to podcasting. I think David speaks for a few. Yes, a few folks will put their toe in the water and find that it's too cold to continue. But, I suspect he is missing the mark in general.
  
  Equally interesting in his presentation is where he refers to the over exuberant, naive promoters of podcasting If he isn't thinking specifically of Adam Curry, I would be extremely surprised. David also mentions how most of the things he have been involved in ceased to exist, hum... Anyway, Adam commented on this podcast during one of his podcasts as well. Obviously, he disagreed. However, he did not get defensive or offensive. Adam does a very good job responding to criticism if you ask me.

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Took off in very hot temperatures (90+) listening to Velvet Revolver. Good CD, but difficult run. It was definitely a mental run.

Data:
Distance: 5

Time: 49:28
Average heart rate: 157
Pace: 9:53

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Well, I ran 3 miles in the neighborhood, but I failed to log or save the data before my next run. I was a good run that took around 29 minutes.

Garwin/Timex news: I finally gave up and called Timex. It is going to cost me $37.50 plus state tax to send the watch to Arkansas for a replacement. But, I am convinced that will fix it. At least, I didn't have to replace the whole lot including the GPS unit.

9 Mile Run: Birmingham: Shades Creek Greenway

Well, I'm back home and this run was with Lito. One glance at that pace will tell you that he is a positive influence. And, no walking. Good strong run on a humid morning. It felt great to be running back home. The Rio Carbon did spontaneously reboot during the run. Technology just can't consistently perform well while running it seems. :(

Data:
Distance: 9

Time: 1:17:57
Average heart rate: 159
Pace: 8:39

3 Mile Run: Columbia, SC

The Garwin/Timex was dead (predicatable). I failed to run in the morning and I had to fly in the evening, so I went out at 3:00 pm. Man it was hot. Then, at 1.25 miles, a downpour started. But, it was great it cooled the air and me. Ran to Rage Against the Machine. They jam! Good run, and I can't wait till I get home.

Data:
Distance: 3

Time: 28.00
Average heart rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:20

5 Mile Run: Columbia, SC

I am on a business trip in Columbia, SC. So, I used the Garwin/Timex thing again. The screen was still blanking out, but was usable enough to actually record data. I think the problem is moisture. I will be trying to figure out how to remove it. My current thought is air pressure and evaporation. The run was good just went along an interstate frontage road.

Data:
Distance: 5.155
Time: 47.39
Average heart rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:14

PodCast Update #6

More ITConversations...

• Annalee Newitz talked about Sex Laws and Technological Change. Now, this one is not o-safe as may be obvious. But, it is very interesting. Annalee builds a great case for how porn has created a climate for a variety of technologies to flourish although not always sponsoring their initial development. She is clearly motivated to protect personal freedoms and judging by some of her comments is on the activist side of this stuff. I don't lean that far, but someone should look out for us and I trust her after listening to this podcast.
• Nicholas Negroponte of the Media Lab at MIT, Ian Morris of AMD and Teresa Peters of Bridges.org discussed Globalization of Technology. Given my recent and continued readings of Jared Diamond's work, interest in Thomas Friedman's writings, and such, this was made for a very interesting presentation. Good points were made by one and all, but I must say Teresa Peters seemed to be the most in tune with the real situation in the world. But, I was swayed (forgive me for forgetting which speaker), but one of the men did speak very specifically to hands on experience in Cambodia. So, none of these speakers were a slouch in terms of being informed and dedicated to helping alleviate the vast gap between the haves and have nots. There were some comments about colonization via technology that were terse and sarcastic. But, I thought they may betray a sentiment worth thinking about.
  

PodCast Update #5

More ITConversations…

Catching up as you can tell

• Ernest Miller, Denise Howell, and C.E. Petit bandy various ideas and insights about the Supreme Courts ruling in the MGM vs Grokster case. Very interesting! Hollywood and the various media giants want to control your digital publishing/copying/sampling rights. They are worried about getting poorer. And, while they are rich they will be lobbying.
• Ken Berryman, McKinsey and Company, reviews various factors affecting those selling and buying software. Very interesting, but more at a business level then I normally deal. I lean a little to the technical side. But, he does deliver a good presentation.
• Ana Marie Cox talks about blogging and her life. She is WAY interesting. I have been checking out her blog. If you have checked out my liberal leaning rants, you know I am right at home there.
• Alva Noe talks about perception and various cognitive science topics. Given my psychology training, I had to check him out. It was a great presentation. I especially liked the part where he responded to a question about something Dr. Phil said. His first statement was “Who is Dr. Phil?”
• Harry Dent talks to Dr. Moira Gunn about his work within which he analyzes the association between demographic trends. He discovered that there it is not just coincidental that that the shape birth rate curves and some economic curves are similar if not the same. His goes on to discuss the nature of these curves and what the associations mean. Very interesting, indeed.
• Todd Cochrane talks about podcasting. He wrote the first book on podcasting. Interesting presentation and I am interested in his book now.
• Wendy Seltzer and Jason Schultz talk about endangered devices. Refer to the MGM vs Grokster cast reference above. DRMI is coming and you will not be able to rip, share, alter, sample, and other gloomy things are coming. OK. Seriously, we should be attending to the issues these folks are raising. Unfortunately, it seems that we get to hear the extremes and it is hard to find the middle/truth. However, the comments in the presentation about the law in these later cases may, in fact, negatively impact technical innovation seem to ring true to me.
• Shane Robison,CSO and CTO of HP, talks about current and emerging technology trends and how HP has been and is responding accordingly. He makes builds a very good case for GRID and open source use. I recommend this one highly.
• Tim O’Reilly talks about the new Make magazine. This is an interview podcast and is peppered with some of Tim’s history. A good listen.
• John Hagel talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about his new book about the “sustainable edge”. Very interesting presentation that builds the case for why some should continue to push the envelope on technology to help drive innovation.
• William Vollmann talks with Dr. Moira Gunn about his many years of studying violence. A very interesting presentation. He definitely drives home the importance of context in the evaluation of behavior. I highly recommend this one too.

3 Mile Run: Dallas, Texas

I am on a business trip and hanging out near the Dallas-FortWorth airport. So, I used the Garwin/Timex thing again. Well, it measured and worked fine during the run. But, screen is sometimes blank and sometimes faint since the end of the run. Argh!

The run was good just went along an airport frontage road. The scenery was lack luster (hey Dallas ain't exactly scenic), but I did have a plane fly just a few hundred feet above my head. That was cool. Jammed to the Stokes and they jam.

Data:
Distance: 3:
Time: 27:56
Average heart rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:18

10.5 Mile Run: Brownell Circle

Well, the Garwin/Timex worked today and I finally got an accurate measure of the loop. It is not 11 miles (darn, that means all those runs are even slower then I thought). But, it is good to have the watch and GPS working again. I listened to the rest of the 2 Black Eyed Pea CDs I purchased. I sure don't regret buying them. Good stuff.

As to the run, well I fell asleep before eating supper and the wife said I wouldn't get up. It is all due to my 2 1/2 year old son wanting to cuddle. He fell asleep and I couldn't help but follow. So, when I woke up and it was time to run, I went for it. Before running, I thought I should probably shoot for 9 miles and not 11 miles (ok, 10.5 miles). But, my ego and the desire to measure the distance got in the way and I went for the longer run. Unfortunately, I started dying at about 8 miles. So, I walked-ran the last 1.5 miles as can be seen by my pace and time below. I feel confident that I will my fitness back to the level where this is run is not so challenging and my pace returns to where it was 6 months ago.

Data:

Distance: 10.54 (according to the GPS)
Time: 1:53:26
Average heart rate: Not measured
Pace: 10:45

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I put the latest CD from the Black Eyed Peas, Monkey Business, on my mp3 player and jammed to this while running. Good CD, but I haven't heard it all yet. I also had a successful run with the Garwin/Timex device. It was the battery in the watch. And, I have to tell you fixing that was very interesting. First getting the back of the watch off is tricky as there are rubber flaps that overlap the back on each side of the watch that has a band connected. These may have a purpose I am not sure. Second,the screw that holds the piece of metal on top of the battery is so tiny and goes into such a tiny hole, that I found it nearly impossible not to lose the screw. But, I was able to pull it off. Oh! I spoke too soon.

Here I am using the various features of the watch to scroll through the display to collect the statistics and some displays have gradient displays (varying crispness). In other words, some parts of the display are faint. This mirrors my experience with my first heart monitor. God forbid the battery goes dead. Opening the watch to change the battery, kills the watch. This is simply not forgivable. Users MUST be able to change their own batteries. I am getting pissed off now.

I am not sure why I am running so slow these days. I am guessing that the time off for my recent injury decreased my fitness and that the heat is having impact. I hope some speed comes back! But, maybe age is just catching up. :(

Data:

Distance: 3 (2.972 according to the GPS)
Time: 29:22
Average heart rate: Not measured
Pace: 9:52

Podcast Update #4

More ITConversations...

I listened to another Podcast within which Lawrence Lessig talks about remixing and its fit within culture and law. He makes the case what we can do with paper based content, we can not do with digital content. For paper, we established practices and rules that permit quoting, read as copying, content of other authors. For digital content, we are still exploring what the rules should be and we have big business stress their muscle to protect their revenue streams. Lawrence builds a great case for accelerating the pace of change. Lawrence is a great speaker and this is another content rich presentation.

Kim Polese delivers a convincing and informative presentation about modern IT shops. She builds the case that the IT person in a company is a super hero (and she is right). More importantly, she talks about the impact of open source and other innovations on the way IT and companies view putting together their infrastructure. Her observations are insightful and she delivers a great presentation.

Tod Maffin, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, talked about podcasting and its use within public radio. He delivers a informative and interesting presentation.

Joel Spolsky, Joel on Software, delivers a very interesting and insightful presentation talking about modern software development trends. He has some interesting viewpoints and criticisms on Extreme Programming. Further, the talks about why customers don't know what they want. This one is a must listen to! I looked up The Joel Test which lists 12 questions you should ask at the end of a job interview. He also builds a great case for daily builds. Very interesting and provides good fodder for shaping ones development processes.

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Limp Bizkit cranks. Well, I guess you figured out what I listened to while I ran. Cindy, the tropical storm, was still around. So, I ran in a down pour. But, it felt good to get the run in. I had to rush as we had dinner plans with Kaye's twin. I was a bad boy and got a slightly heated, but friendly discussion about George Bush. I am essentially the only liberal in the group.

Data:

Distance: 5
Time: 49:06
Average heart rate: 151
Pace: 9:49

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

Well, we're back home. I took off in the rain and ran fine. Nothing spectacular and it took several days to get to the log book here. So, I forgot all the great stuff I would have likley entered if I had logged right after the run.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 28:52
Average heart rate: 157
Pace: 9:37

9+ Mile Run: Demopolis, AL

We visited my in-laws for the July 4th weekend. So, I ran around the north south side of town. The Garwin/Timex GPS system screwed up again. This time before I even started. I went out way early to buy new batteries for the GPS unit thinking this was the problem last time. When I returned from the store, I put on the watch and noticed a totally blank screen. Hum. Maybe, it's the watch.

Anyway, it was very humid. So, humid I dropped the singlet at about half-way. I walked a little towards the end of the run. I probably walked 1/4 to 1/2 a mile. I didn't time the walk so the time reported below was all running. If I had run the entire way, I think it would have been a 10 mile run.

I caught up on the Dawn and Drew Show and Adam Curry's Daily Source Code podcasts. CastBlaster is apparently available for public beta, so I am excited about giving it a try.

Data:

Distance: 9+
Time: 1:27:00

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood

I had to just crank this one out and get ready to meet friends for dinner. I didn't get to enter this until July 5th, so I don't remember the particulars (how I felt, what I listened to, etc.) for the run.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 28:52
Average heart rate: 157
Pace: 9:37

Podcast Update #3

More ITConversations...

I listened to Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine in an interview. He talked about some of the latest and greatest technology and why it was selected for showcasing at NextFest 2005 (more at Wired.com). Since I subscribe and had read the article, the podcast didn't really add much for me. But, if you haven't read the article, this podcast is very interesting. And, in fairness, it was an interesting interview.

I listened to a 2-part podcast within which Steve Wozniak, co-founder, Apple Computer essentially talked about his life history (part 1 and part 2). It was very interesting. He details how he acquired an interest in electronics and some of the details behind his innovations as he and Steve Jobs created Apple Computers. Thanks Steve.

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood - June 29, 2005

It was very hot (90 degrees) and I ran out of steam, but pushed on. I was disappointed to see how slow I went, but felt good when I was done. I did come back hard after laying for 2 weeks for the bum ankle. So, I should just relax and know the pace will return.

Data:

Distance: 5
Time: 50:26
Average heart rate: 161
Pace: 10:05

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood - June 28, 2006

It was a hot 85 degrees with clear skies at 4:30 in the afternoon. I took off from the house feeling great. I played the Cars on the mp3 player. Man, this CD brought back some great memories. I love to jam to this old stuff sometimes. It was a pleasant run.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 28:43
Average heart rate: 158
Pace: 9:34

Bob's Rant #4 - Mission Accomplished?

So, members of Congress want George Bush to set a timetable for leaving Iraq. He says no timetable until mission accomplished. Huh. Wait a minute, don't I remember a large banner claiming mission accomplished on the deck of ship behind Mr. Bush? So, why aren't the troops home. OK, I'm sure that for Mr. Bush that the major combat and post major combat missions are 2 different missions and he can explain them away. But, Mr. Bush is also quite guilty of arrogance and myopic thinking. His way or the highway.

I am sure that he means well and that he really believes everything he says (or least I hope so). However, we would all do well to keep reminding ourselves that this war is about more then Mr. Bush would have us believe. His WMD and Al Queda link postulates from the pre-war build up were crap then and now. But, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he believed these 2 premises. I think the bigger picture goes back to positions he had established for himself before 9/11. Thus, 9/11 provided the vehicle to act on already existing biases for Mr. Bush as it applies to Iraq.

The Afghanistan mission was well justified and would appear to have been above board and honest. Good job here George.

So, the biggest problem with our Iraq policy is simply the continued failure to just be honest with ourselves. The mission isn't and wasn't accomplished. The mission hasn't even been clearly spelled out most of the time. Not to mention the degree of failure for us to predict outcomes. The dancing in the street sure didn't last long or occur in many places. So, perhaps the "real" reasons we are there are a little more complex and covert. Maybe, George wanted to give those with a Will and a Way to kill Americans a place to go where we could kill them? That may not be such a bad idea. Why fight them here, if we can fight them there? I might even support this policy. It is not based on hate or discrimination based on religion, creed, gender or anything else. If you have the Will and a Way to kill Americans, then we should mercifully and ruthlessly eliminate you. Our survival may depend on it.

But, to build a case for killing and dying on false premises, is an unforgivable act, so we better be sure first. We went too soon and for the wrong reasons, in my humble opinion. I do support our troops. But, I think their efforts could have been better invested.

The whole mess reminds me of previous thoughts I have had after reading Thomas Merton, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and other pacifists. The more we divide and classify humans, the more easily we can excuse, explain the reasonableness for one group killing members of other groups. Shame on us. All of us. The extremists are wrong. We are wrong. Killing is wrong. One planet, one people, please. That said, I can tell you this is obviously more easily said then done. And, until we can find a way to justly deal with all people and wars do not take place, I hope I stay on the "most right" side. America is probably as close as one can get to most right. And, I do not support setting around waiting for the extremists.

So, Mr. Bush let's take the fight to the extremists. But, let's be extremely careful to avoid the innocent, choose our targets well, and by all means, tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

9 Mile Run: Shades Creek Greenway - June 26, 2006

This run starts at the Brownell building like my big 11 mile circle. And, it is starts at 6:30 am too. Although, I was about 15 minutes late today. From Brownell, I run down lakeshore towards the Brookwood Village mall. Once past the mall, the entrance to the Shades Creek Greenway. At the end of the Greenway, I run left through the parking lot, then left again. At the end of the street, I turn around and run the same route back.

Since I was late, I saw all the other runners returning on my way out. I listened Third Eye Blind, Blue and Toad the Wet Sprocket, I don't remember the CD title. Both were perfect for the run today. It was humid and I sweat a mighty amount. But, all-in-all a good feeling run.


Data:

Distance: 9
Time: 1:21:32
Average heart rate: 162
Pace: 9:32

Podcast Update #2

This and all future podcast updates will simply be new posts; no more moving content to comments and updating the same post each time. I am not sure why I started out thinking that was better. Silly me.

I listened to the following podcasts from ITConversations:

Tom Hoffman and Tim Lauer talked about Remixing Wikis with Rendezvous, Web Services and SchoolTool. This was an interesting podcast about how they used Wiki and the other technologies listed in the title to help teachers assign work to students who subsequently used the same technologies to complete their work. Very innovative and interesting. They also mentioned a term called Instiki (corrected spelling thanks to Tom Hoffman, tks) that I will have to learn more about before I can say much.

James Goodnight, CEO SAS, talked about growing and sustaining a business perpetually. If you don't know much about the culture at SAS, this is a very interesting podcast. I am already familiar, not from first hand experience. Still, it was interesting to hear straight from the horse, if you will. Two take-aways: 1) Take care of your people, 2) charge for your license to your software. Interesting comments in these days when open source is so popular.

Bob Cox, Media Bloggers Association , talked about setting up and managing the Media Bloggers. I found the political implications and his discussions about the interaction between some of the mainstream media giants and his bloggers very interesting. He talks about the interaction between bloggers and mainstream media from a variety of aspects. Mainstream media is not always warm to the criticism from these bloggers. And, given the financial assets of existing media giants, they can apply legal pressure directly to individuals and in the shape of legislation. Let's hope it doesn't ultimately mean less free speech. Excellent podcast.

Finally, I am taking Tracks Up a Tree off of my subscription list. I subscribed to check out Indie music. This podcast doesn't pick music that matches my taste in general. I don't think that is a negative criticism, just not a match. I also think there is too little music and too much talk. That can be OK if I find the talk interesting. In this case, I don't. Sorry, Funtime Ben. I am sure many disagree with me. That's cool.

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood - June 24, 2006

I picked up the pace today. I did have to consciously attend to the pace while running to do so. I guess I was just getting to relaxed and stuck into a rhythm. Time will tell, eh? Anyway, it felt good despite the hear (90's).

I listened to the latest Tracks up a Tree podcast. I am gradually discovering that this particular podcast just isn't my cup of tea. I just have a different taste for music. More significantly for me, this podcast was my only subscription dedicated to music. And,well, music is what I want. They talk too much. Sorry guys (funtime Ben and crew). No slight, cast-on, just not for me.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 28:36
Average heart rate: 163
Pace: 9:32

5 Mile Run: Neighborhood - June 22, 2006

I am still running slow, but I did break the 10 minute mile barrier. Now, that I have had a few runs at a 10 minute per mile pace, I am reminded of my own arrogance as a youth. I can remember when I thought I would never run that slow. I am appropriately ashamed. Pace does not matter if you wish to run. The important part is simply the run. Your pace, distance, and time are just artifacts. Enjoy the run!

I listened to the Blackeyed Peas, Elephunk. Damn, I love this CD. I plan to get their new this weekend. I hope it is at least nearly as good.

Data:

Distance: 5
Time: 49:46
Average heart rate: Neglected to record
Pace: 9:57

3 Mile Run: Neighborhood - June 21, 2006

The ankle seems to be healed. Yeppee! I am still running slow, but expect the pace will pick up as I get my condition back after a few more runs. I am going to jump back in to the old schedule, but hold back a few miles on the long run. I was considering running the Peavine Fall run on July 4th. But, given the rugged terrain and such, I have decided not to run it to give the ankle more time to heal completely.

Temperature was hot, of course. But, clear skies. I caught up on a couple Dawn and Drew podcasts.

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 30:05
Average heart rate: 158
Pace: 10:02

Note: I have decided to just add entries to this blog rather then constantly copying the most recent entry into a comment prior to making a new entry for podcast and running log entries.

Bob's Rant #3 - Parents - Don't Let Your Children Have Sleepovers with Adults!

OK. Michael Jackson was found "Not Guilty". Adam Curry, in a recent podcast, rants that we Americans are violating our own ideals if we reply to that as "Not Guilty" does not mean "Innocent". Good point and I agree in principle. He has met Michael. He doesn't believe from his personal experience with Michael that Michael could be guilty of the charges against him. I don't know Michael personally. I don't know anyone involved in the case personally. But, I am assuming that the pornagraphy that the police found was there before they got there. Michael has some kind of interest in sex. Apparently, he had some elaborate warning system to let him know if someone was approaching his bedroom. And, a few more such details, ignore the fact that children slept with him, imply that he is not asexual. If it were as simple as that, then I would say "so what". A grown man with a ton of money wants to buy and use porngraphy in his bedroom and not get caught doing so. I am ok with that.

I am even ok with that this same person being around children in all reasonable contexts. An interest in porngraphy does not a pedophile make. Plenty of non-pedophiles have an interest in porngraphy. Personally, I suspect that Michael has an unusual and potentially dangerous interest in children. It has not been proven in court.

But, what really burns my ass is this: what reasonable parent would knowingly permit their child to sleep with an adult male who is not an extremely close family member. Even then, one would assume that typically there is no reason for such arrangements for most children. Especially if the place where the child is staying has many, many rooms. I don't care who the adult male is. It ain't right; it ain't normal. Those parents are GUILTY of child endangerment. You just don't put children at risk in this regard.

There is some kind of symbiotic and disturbing relationship between Michael and these families if you ask me.

Bob's Running Log

Lest you think all I do is speak geek, let me get the running log going.

June 1, 2005: Birmingham, AL - 3 Miles: Neighborhood
This is the first run since the ankle/knee injury 2 weeks ago. The run went good despite the 90 degree temperatures. It is good to be running again. I listened to a Dawn and Drew Show podcast and just took it easy. No pain!

Data:

Distance: 3
Time: 30:13
Average heart rate: 165
Pace: 10:4

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Format: I will always post the most recent log entry here on the main page. I will copy the last post and add it as a comment to this post. When I run in new places, I will Bold-Color the name of the place in the entry and describe the route.

Bob's Podcast Log

Podcasting is cool

I read about podcasting and Adam Curry's (yes, from MTV history) contribution to it in Wired recently. I found the idea of putting content I selected based on my interests on my mp3 player for listening when it is convenient for me attractive. So, I have started subscribing to some podcasts and listening regularly. I am enjoying it immensely. I highly recommend it. My favorites so far are:

Keepers:

• Adam Curry's Daily Source Code : Entertaining and packed with podcasting info
• ITConversations (o-safe) : Straight up tech speak frequently from the so greats
  
  June 18. 2005:
  
  Brendan Eich, Mozilla Foundation spoke about Building and Surviving Remixable Applications. This presentation will most interesting to those using and, most particularly, contributing to Mozilla based browsers.
  
  June 16, 2005:
  
  Stewart Butterfield, Flickr on Web Servvices as a Strategy for Startups. This was a reasonably good presentation. Short, sweet, but not much new for me.
  
  Tim O'Reilly and Rael Dornfest, O'Reilly Media, deliver a great presentation titled O'Reilly Radar: News from the Future. The talk about design patterns and one of the ideas they play with is the influence of open source on these patterns. Based on looking at what is a common practice and turn that into a prescriptive patterns:
  
  * Design for participation
  * Small pieces, loosely joined
  -- Architect software or service so it can be added as a component
  -- Document interfaces
  -- Be modular
  -- Using licenses that don't hinder recombination
  * User-centered development
  -- Release early, release often
  -- Set up feedback loops - bug reports, patch submissions
  -- Promote most active participants to more roles of more responsibility
  * Glue together pieces of other and share
  * Perpetual beta - show to the users frequently, react frequently
  
  They deliver good examples and illustrations around each of these.
  
  Doug Engelbart, Bootstrap Institute, on Large-Scale Collective IQ. A very interesting presentation on how we acquire, use, and transcend knowledge. Doug was heavily involved in some of the cornerstone developments of computers like the invention of the mouse. This is an excellent presentation.
  
  
June 4-5, 2005: Catching up on some podcasts!


1. Thomas Malone, Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management -- offers us a Perspective on how the reduction in costs to communicate offer interesting opportunities for business. Namely, that the modern technology offers the opportunity for small groups and individuals to behave as they do best in regards to control (small, autonomous, creative, etc.) while interacting and behaving on the behalf of a larger organization. It is the speed at which information is shared that drives such innovation with in a large enterprise. Interesting perspective and a recommended listening.
2. Don Katz, Audible.com talks about voice-based web content during a Web Talk. You can almost read this as a talk about podcasting. He talks about Audible's experience and about the future of this type of experience. Good talk.
3. Charles Phillips, President, Oracle Corporation talked about, you guessed it, Oracle at Software 2005. This is an interesting presentation if you are interested in Oracle's on-going strategy or ERP architectural concepts in general.
4. Paul Graham talks about Hackers and Painters. A good presentation, but after listening I found I was less interested in his thesis and its support. Others, could easily disagree with me.
5. Alex Steffen and Bruce Sterling talk about fixing ecological problems at South by Southwest Interactive 2005. Extremely interesting presentation. One of my favorite points made in this presentation is how situations like Philadephia's experience with public wi-fi and Verizon's lobbying may take innovation to so-called developing nations where they would welcome the innovation. Don't get me started on stem-cell research and George W.'s arcane position.
   
• The Dawn and Drew Show! : Just hilarity
  
  May 1, 2005: They have joined PodShow. This was announced by Adam Curry during his PodShow podcast. Apparently, a number of their listeners think they have sold out. There is nothing wrong with making a living from one's art. There is nothing wrong with being shaped by the receptiveness of others to your work (read as market forces). I find it amazing that some folks place so much credence to some notion that one must take a vow of poverty to be creatively "pure". Money is the medium by which we barter. There is no free ride and to earn a living doing what one loves is cool.
  
• Tracks Up the Tree: Indie music, good variety and generally good choices.

Not for Me'rs:

• L0Life : The author and I share similar social/political bias, but our analysis styles differ. No slight intended at all, just not my cup of tea.

Warning: Some of the podcasts contain language and content some would find objectionable. I thought I should just warn you just in case. I put "o-safe" by those I suspect will never contain content some would consider objectionable.

Bob's Rant #2 - Don't Try to Control Me!

In the May 2005 issue of Runner's World, Vera "Somebody" authored a letter in response to an article in the previous issue about good musical stuff to run to. She began with "As a RRCA-certified" (man, can hear it coming already....). Of course, she proceeded to provide an unwanted tirade on the dangers of running with headphones. Does she and similar minded people really think they have a "snowball's chance in hell" of winning over those of us that simply disagree with her. NO. I don't care who she is certified by. If I was asking her for running advice, I would apply it after screening it through my own evaluation.

Does she really think it is as simple as "headphones are dangerous if you run on the road"? She states 2 primary reasons: need to listen to surroundings and breathing, and need to protect our ears from hearing loss. To add insult to injury, she is offering her admonition because of the likelihood that blessing use of headphones sends the wrong message to beginning runners. Those damn impressionable new runners are so easily perverted. Give me a break!

Such an unbalanced, I am holier than thou attitude would never earn much credibility in my book. Hearing loss is not caused by headphones. It is caused by volume and duration. Mp3 players have controls to allow us to control volume and duration. As to the notion that running on streets is dangerous if you can't hear everything in your surrounding, is Vera suggesting that if you have hearing impairment you are restricted to the treadmill? I wonder if she drives in a convertible with no radio, CD, Tape player, cell phone.... etc. I mean, come on, you want to make sure you know what's going on around you! Riding in a car while distracted, now that's dangerous.

Vera, put some balance in your life. Not every run is for training and requires attending to breathing. Some, yes. I bet you offer good advice for serious running. But, if I choose to just run for fun while jamming on streets I estimate to have low risk of dumbass drivers, that is none of your freaking business! Don't shame me just because I don't agree with you. (Her letter included "Shame on you").