I was getting gas at an Exxon station yesterday and it had a very short list of instructions.
Pump Operation
1. Follow instructions on screen
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Done Gone and Moved
I mentioned just two posts back that we had no heat in our house. About two weeks later, we had a particularly chilly night where the temperature dropped down into the upper forties or so. The next morning, the house was really, really cold and my mother-in-law was developing a nasty sounding cough. We decided this just wasn't going to do and there was an expected cold snap coming in that first week in December.
Olympia and I tackled some immediate house-hunting. That's way easier when you're seeking a rental because getting into a rental doesn't involve the reams of paperwork that buying a house requires. The first house we found that might work was owned by some people that had had to evict their last tenants. Despite looking for a long-term lease (three-and-a-half years, so we won't be faced with moving again until Elizabeth is done with high school,) which normally thrills landlords, these people wanted the rent to be paid by certified check every month, an "escape clause" that would allow them to turn us out after eighteen months if they decided to move back in, and on and on. Our realtor told us she wouldn't let us rent from them after all even if we wanted to.
Another round of looking at options found us another house, this one a single-family home only a mile from where we living, in all the same school districts and a landlord that was smart enough to employ a property management company. Three days after seeing the house, we had a signed 43-month lease. The next day, moving began.
We got out of the other house just in time. Two days after our first night sleeping in the new house, the old one's temperature was below 45 degrees - how far below, I don't know because the thermostat's thermometer didn't go any lower than that.
Moving is an absolute help and I found myself wishing for a version of The Matrix, but without the oppression by machines. I couldn't be happier that it's done.
Olympia and I tackled some immediate house-hunting. That's way easier when you're seeking a rental because getting into a rental doesn't involve the reams of paperwork that buying a house requires. The first house we found that might work was owned by some people that had had to evict their last tenants. Despite looking for a long-term lease (three-and-a-half years, so we won't be faced with moving again until Elizabeth is done with high school,) which normally thrills landlords, these people wanted the rent to be paid by certified check every month, an "escape clause" that would allow them to turn us out after eighteen months if they decided to move back in, and on and on. Our realtor told us she wouldn't let us rent from them after all even if we wanted to.
Another round of looking at options found us another house, this one a single-family home only a mile from where we living, in all the same school districts and a landlord that was smart enough to employ a property management company. Three days after seeing the house, we had a signed 43-month lease. The next day, moving began.
We got out of the other house just in time. Two days after our first night sleeping in the new house, the old one's temperature was below 45 degrees - how far below, I don't know because the thermostat's thermometer didn't go any lower than that.
Moving is an absolute help and I found myself wishing for a version of The Matrix, but without the oppression by machines. I couldn't be happier that it's done.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
My WarEngine Wiki
I've tackled a new project. I'm taking my WarEngine wargaming system and putting it in the hands of the community of wargamers in the form of a WarEngine Wiki. I signed up for a cheap hosting account that supports PHP5 and MySQL and installed the latest version of the free MediaWiki, the same software used to run Wikipedia. I've added some built-in Google AdSense banners and a donation page as a way to try making the service at least pay for itself and perhaps even generate some passive income.
I've also seeded the site with some content, including the Shock Force setting I developed when I was publishing wargames as DemonBlade Games. By putting all this in a wiki, I'm hoping that the community will then add to it. I've dropped $25 on a month's worth of ads on The Miniatures Page to drive some traffic to the site, too.
This has some similarity to writing to a "monetized" blog site, but I think it has some nice potential from the perspective that I don't necessarily have to (and if it works, shouldn't) provide all the content. I only launched it last week, so it's too early to tell, but if nothing else, it will be a good experiment in whether hosting and building an online community of this sort can be a profitable commercial endeavor, too.
I've also seeded the site with some content, including the Shock Force setting I developed when I was publishing wargames as DemonBlade Games. By putting all this in a wiki, I'm hoping that the community will then add to it. I've dropped $25 on a month's worth of ads on The Miniatures Page to drive some traffic to the site, too.
This has some similarity to writing to a "monetized" blog site, but I think it has some nice potential from the perspective that I don't necessarily have to (and if it works, shouldn't) provide all the content. I only launched it last week, so it's too early to tell, but if nothing else, it will be a good experiment in whether hosting and building an online community of this sort can be a profitable commercial endeavor, too.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Miracle of Heating
My office is cold. It's not yet numbingly cold, and maybe it won't be, but I'm a bit worried about it.
My office is a room off the kitchen in the house we rent in Rockville, Maryland. It's nice because it has windows on three sides that look out onto the backyard, which is quite large and very pleasant. Here's a picture of the view straight back:
The problem is that the house is aging, and not well. Since we've moved in, the pipes in the basement have sprung leaks half-a-dozen times. The landlord sends out a guy to fix them, he repeatedly tells her that she needs to replace the whole pipe system, but she insists he simply patch it.
A couple of months ago, the furnace broke down. Again, our landlord went to discount labor sources, in this case, a tenant at one of her other properties. That guy took awhile to show up, then didn't fix it. The landlord got another guy to come out, who finally replaced the oil pump, but when the furnace started shutting itself down again a few days later, he came back and found that some other part of the furnace was also busted. Basically, the whole thing needs to be replaced.
In the last couple of weeks, we've learned that the landlord doesn't intend to continue renting the house out once we move out, something we are thinking of doing next spring anyway. She intends sell it to a developer who will subdivide the property, tear down this house, and put up four million-dollar-plus homes. Under the circumstances, it seems she doesn't really want to fix stuff.
Instead, she promised us a couple of big free-standing electric heaters. Having seen the one the my friend, Ben, uses at his house, I was willing to give that a try. Yesterday, I got home from taking Gregory to a Cub Scout event to find two small, electric, parabolic space heaters on the front doorstep - one of them very dusty and missing a knob. I'm very skeptical that these (plus the two other heaters we bought ourselves do handle the cold days while they futzed around with fixing the furnace) will replace the normal heating capabilities of the built-in heating system.
We will have to see how this works out, but since the next place we live will also be a rental, you can bet that it will be in a commercially run operation where you don't have to worry about adequate heating being high enough on the landlord's priority list.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Contrast
I've been doing some thinking lately about the value of contrast, primarily about how it is an important tool in developing or marketing a new product. Contrast adds interest, so contrast is common in things to which we find ourselves drawn.
I'm using contrast here in a very broad sense, where it means that there are any two attributes of a single thing that are significantly different. Consider some examples, beginning with what we eat. Almost every meal we eat includes two or more foods. There really isn't any reason beyond getting a wide variety of nutrients not available in a single food for us to prepare multiple foods when we eat. However, even if it covered every element of nutrition you needed, you would be unlikely to feel particular satisfied by eating the same single item with every meal.
Another very basic example is that we tend not to design objects to be of a single color. My laptop, on which I'm typing this now, has a number of buttons that when they are in the "on" position light up with a blue glow. The blue contrasts with the black of the plastic and is therefore pleasing.
Not every example is so trivial, though. While it may not have such a firm grip on its market as it once did, Monster was remarkable in the job listing website business because of the contrast between the generally serious matter of browsing through jobs and the more whimsical nature of cartoon monsters adorning the pages. Similarly, "Amazon" (at least to me) conjures up images of a rain forest where the only inhabitants have little if anything in the way of a written language, which contrasts heavily with the concept of an online bookstore. I've noticed Elizabeth regularly browsing a make-up site called "Beauty Whore." Whatever you might feel about the name itself, it is certainly striking and memorable.
Even the name I picked for my online alter-ego, Dark Tortoise, was picked in part because of the contrast between "dark" and "tortoise." If asked to name a bunch of things that are dark, especially if given the "sinister" definition of the word, it's unlikely that "tortoise" would show up on your list anywhere in the top thousand.
I've been talking to my realtor friend, Ben, about ideas for a real estate website. Most such sites are, in my opinion, largely forgettable. They also tend to highlight the realtor, leaving the houses listed for sale as pretty much a set of photos and some basic attributes, like number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Buying a home, though, is largely an emotional decision with the house itself at the center of that decision. Thinking about contrast and that emotional factor suggests new ideas of how to present homes in an appealing, remarkable, and memorable way.
For example, we could present the homes almost as though they were people themselves so that the website visitor has the opportunity to be introduced to the homes and find one with a pleasing personality. We could include things like video testimonials about the houses given by either the developer or architect for new houses or the previous owners for resales. The presentation could even be made to look much like a typical (but well-designed) customized profile page on social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook. The contrast between an inanimate object and the anthropomorphizing of that object would be unusual and notable.
Contrast, while not the only tool for creating distinction, seems a critical one. How could you apply new contrast to make something in your life more interesting, either to yourself or others as appropriate?
I'm using contrast here in a very broad sense, where it means that there are any two attributes of a single thing that are significantly different. Consider some examples, beginning with what we eat. Almost every meal we eat includes two or more foods. There really isn't any reason beyond getting a wide variety of nutrients not available in a single food for us to prepare multiple foods when we eat. However, even if it covered every element of nutrition you needed, you would be unlikely to feel particular satisfied by eating the same single item with every meal.
Another very basic example is that we tend not to design objects to be of a single color. My laptop, on which I'm typing this now, has a number of buttons that when they are in the "on" position light up with a blue glow. The blue contrasts with the black of the plastic and is therefore pleasing.
Not every example is so trivial, though. While it may not have such a firm grip on its market as it once did, Monster was remarkable in the job listing website business because of the contrast between the generally serious matter of browsing through jobs and the more whimsical nature of cartoon monsters adorning the pages. Similarly, "Amazon" (at least to me) conjures up images of a rain forest where the only inhabitants have little if anything in the way of a written language, which contrasts heavily with the concept of an online bookstore. I've noticed Elizabeth regularly browsing a make-up site called "Beauty Whore." Whatever you might feel about the name itself, it is certainly striking and memorable.
Even the name I picked for my online alter-ego, Dark Tortoise, was picked in part because of the contrast between "dark" and "tortoise." If asked to name a bunch of things that are dark, especially if given the "sinister" definition of the word, it's unlikely that "tortoise" would show up on your list anywhere in the top thousand.
I've been talking to my realtor friend, Ben, about ideas for a real estate website. Most such sites are, in my opinion, largely forgettable. They also tend to highlight the realtor, leaving the houses listed for sale as pretty much a set of photos and some basic attributes, like number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Buying a home, though, is largely an emotional decision with the house itself at the center of that decision. Thinking about contrast and that emotional factor suggests new ideas of how to present homes in an appealing, remarkable, and memorable way.
For example, we could present the homes almost as though they were people themselves so that the website visitor has the opportunity to be introduced to the homes and find one with a pleasing personality. We could include things like video testimonials about the houses given by either the developer or architect for new houses or the previous owners for resales. The presentation could even be made to look much like a typical (but well-designed) customized profile page on social networking sites like MySpace or FaceBook. The contrast between an inanimate object and the anthropomorphizing of that object would be unusual and notable.
Contrast, while not the only tool for creating distinction, seems a critical one. How could you apply new contrast to make something in your life more interesting, either to yourself or others as appropriate?
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Halloween Costumes
Last night, like so many others, we walked around begging for candy from neighbors. We did so well bringing home the loot that I suspect we live in a development full of ruthless dentists.
When I say we, I mean me and the little guys, Gregory and Katerina. Gregory was dressed up as the recently quite popular pirate, looking for all the world what I'd picture a young Wesley in The Princess Bride may have looked, but judge for yourself:
When I say we, I mean me and the little guys, Gregory and Katerina. Gregory was dressed up as the recently quite popular pirate, looking for all the world what I'd picture a young Wesley in The Princess Bride may have looked, but judge for yourself:
Katerina, meanwhile was a rag doll, but had no idea why people were asking her if she was Raggedy Ann. I guess she'd never been introduced to the doll after which her costume was modelled. Here she is:
We were also joined by Katerina's friend, Muye, but I don't have a picture of her because I only took a couple of photos at home. She looked quite good as the Queen of Camelot. She told Gregory who she was dressed as, and he exclaimed, "The Queen of Camels! Ha!" A piratical view of things, indeed.
Elizabeth spent the evening at a friend's house, disinclined to have a costume, but happy to have a good reason to further indulge her make-up obsession to create spiderweb eyes. She sent me this picture of her with friends:
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Rockville Volunteer Fire Department
Today was also a trip to the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department with Gregory's Tiger Cub den. Here's my artsy take on one of the trucks.
The boys got a chance to look over all the gear a fireman uses when going out on a call. It was kind of like watching a knight prepare his armor for battle. They were looking at the fire truck when there was an alarm, the boys were quickly moved out of the way, and the firemen and truck roared out to answer a house fire call.
A member of the second team gamely took over and showed the boys all the equipment on the medical rescue truck until a further call for assistance came and the second team roared out of there with the other trucks.
A guy from another station that was filling in for someone off on vacation was just suggesting we wait in the firefighters' common room when the alarms went off for the third time and he had to go, too. At this point, we figured the boys had seen enough and we should probably head out before they got drafted to go on yet another call, and headed home.
What part did Gregory like the best, as evidenced by being the first thing he told Olympia about when we got home? The foosball table.
The boys got a chance to look over all the gear a fireman uses when going out on a call. It was kind of like watching a knight prepare his armor for battle. They were looking at the fire truck when there was an alarm, the boys were quickly moved out of the way, and the firemen and truck roared out to answer a house fire call.
A member of the second team gamely took over and showed the boys all the equipment on the medical rescue truck until a further call for assistance came and the second team roared out of there with the other trucks.
A guy from another station that was filling in for someone off on vacation was just suggesting we wait in the firefighters' common room when the alarms went off for the third time and he had to go, too. At this point, we figured the boys had seen enough and we should probably head out before they got drafted to go on yet another call, and headed home.
What part did Gregory like the best, as evidenced by being the first thing he told Olympia about when we got home? The foosball table.
Call of Duty 2
This afternoon, I completed the last of the missions in Call of Duty 2 on the Xbox 360 and on the hardest level, Veteran. That makes me a true Call of Duty bad-ass. It's amazing what a little free time on your hands can help you achieve!
Next week: Call of Duty 3 hits stores and my copy is already reserved and paid for. Look out, Jerries!
Next week: Call of Duty 3 hits stores and my copy is already reserved and paid for. Look out, Jerries!
Fright Fest at Six Flags
Last night, I took "the little guys" to Fright Fest at Six Flags. I'm really feeling pretty good about getting season passes!
Despite it being chilly and windy, we got out there with (most of) another family, Kevin and his two kids, Preston and McKenna. It was dark, so I didn't really get much in the way of good pictures, but here's one of the four of them lounging around one of the Halloween displays.
We went into the haunted house as the first thing we did there, and it scared the bejeezus out of the three younger ones. Katerina was quite as scared, but it started to get to her by the end, too. Particularly scary for them was being chased out of the final room by a madwoman swinging an actual, running chainsaw (sans chain.)
There weren't many rides to go on, but there was some trick-or-treating, a really bad Monster Mash show, and the Prop Room was open. That's a big room with thousands of little Nerf-like balls and stuff like air-burst ball launchers. I was standing there watching the kids run around and throw balls around when I got hit in the back of the head with a ball. It didn't hurt, it was just startling, so I didn't really care. Then a moment later, I got hit in the back of the head again. It was too directed to not be intentional. I waited about ten seconds, then whipped around and caught some little kid trying to look innocent, about to throw another ball at me.
Trying to be a good sport, I spent the next ten minutes following him around and trying to pelt him with balls, too, apparently to his great amusement. I thought I had him cornered on a platform up a few ramps near the top of the big room, but he flung himself down a slide I hadn't even realized was up there. I tagged him a couple times, though mostly, he was pretty good at eluding me by going in areas not really conducive to adults. And then he left with his mother, who probably would have been none too pleased with him (or perhaps with me) and also probably has no idea that she's raised a hellion.
Leaving after 9pm, there was the usual whining about not wanting to leave, but the park was going to close anyway, so apparently the trip was a winner for the kids.
Despite it being chilly and windy, we got out there with (most of) another family, Kevin and his two kids, Preston and McKenna. It was dark, so I didn't really get much in the way of good pictures, but here's one of the four of them lounging around one of the Halloween displays.
We went into the haunted house as the first thing we did there, and it scared the bejeezus out of the three younger ones. Katerina was quite as scared, but it started to get to her by the end, too. Particularly scary for them was being chased out of the final room by a madwoman swinging an actual, running chainsaw (sans chain.)
There weren't many rides to go on, but there was some trick-or-treating, a really bad Monster Mash show, and the Prop Room was open. That's a big room with thousands of little Nerf-like balls and stuff like air-burst ball launchers. I was standing there watching the kids run around and throw balls around when I got hit in the back of the head with a ball. It didn't hurt, it was just startling, so I didn't really care. Then a moment later, I got hit in the back of the head again. It was too directed to not be intentional. I waited about ten seconds, then whipped around and caught some little kid trying to look innocent, about to throw another ball at me.
Trying to be a good sport, I spent the next ten minutes following him around and trying to pelt him with balls, too, apparently to his great amusement. I thought I had him cornered on a platform up a few ramps near the top of the big room, but he flung himself down a slide I hadn't even realized was up there. I tagged him a couple times, though mostly, he was pretty good at eluding me by going in areas not really conducive to adults. And then he left with his mother, who probably would have been none too pleased with him (or perhaps with me) and also probably has no idea that she's raised a hellion.
Leaving after 9pm, there was the usual whining about not wanting to leave, but the park was going to close anyway, so apparently the trip was a winner for the kids.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Google Docs & Spreadsheets
Google sure is doing some interesting things designed to directly compete with Microsoft. I'm writing this using their beta of Google Docs & Spreadsheets, which seems to have been largely acquired from Writely. The part about which I'm particularly curious is the blog publishing. Of course, if you're reading this on my blog, I guess it works.
(Update: I didn't get a title in my first attempt at publishing this direct from D&S to my blog. I have to see if there's a way to define the title without revising the post.)
(Update: I didn't get a title in my first attempt at publishing this direct from D&S to my blog. I have to see if there's a way to define the title without revising the post.)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Gregory Goes Camping
This past weekend, I took Gregory camping for the first time. We went with his Cub Scout pack to Greenbelt Park. My first job in Maryland was about a mile away and I had no idea that there was a park this size that supported overnight camping. That area is very urban otherwise. As the website says, it's only twelve miles from the White House.
Here's Gregory in his Cub Scout uniform in front of our tent:
Gregory Goes Camping
The big white and black plastic attachment on the right side of his uniform is his Tiger Cub "instant achievement" badge. He gets beads to attach to it as he completes different activities, fifteen of them in three categories, plus a large selection of electives. He's earned two of his fifteen. His left pocket is where his rank badges will go. He's actually earned the first one, his Bobcat badge, but he only received the badge two nights previous, so it didn't get sewed on his uniform until after this trip.
I was in Cub Scouts, then Boy Scouts for most of my childhood and I think it was the best part of growing up. I didn't quite make it to Eagle Scout, mostly because my troop sort of disbanded when the long-time Scoutmaster left, but didn't shut down entirely. I had plenty of time to complete Eagle, but needed a good troop and didn't switch to the other really strong troop in Fairbanks. So I left with the rank of Life and lots of great experiences.
Getting back into Scouting with Gregory has only just begun, but I'm finding myself deeply drawn to the involvement. I met a Scout leader named Joe this past weekend who reminded me very much of the late Mr. J, the Scoutmaster of Troop 92 when I was a boy. He has patience, respect for the boys, and takes the time to talk to them about the why of things, not just giving commands (except for "Step away from the fire!") He's invited me to join the Boy Scout troop on their camping and hiking trips as an adult chaperone. We were talking about hiking and I'd mentioned how I go alone on some hikes when I want to go on one too long or difficult for Olympia or the kids. I think I'll go.
Back to this camping trip with Gregory: He mixed with the other boys as much as he ever does, which is sometimes distressing less than I might hope, but he had a fantastic time. I'd forgotten to bring a flashlight, but I had a headlamp and a couple of those green glowsticks. I used the headlamp and gave Gregory a glowstick. He was fascinated by it and held onto it that night even when he was sleeping. It also had the advantage of being distinctive and visible from some distance, so I could spot where he was out in the dark pretty easily.
There was a capture-the-flag game that was almost pure chaos, egg races that were a little better, a short walk through the woods, hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on a huge grill that Joe brought, and a campfire with s'mores and skits by the various dens in the evening. It brought back very positive memories and helped build some new ones.
The next Cub Scout activity? This Sunday we take the Tiger Cub den to visit the Rockville Fire Station.
Here's Gregory in his Cub Scout uniform in front of our tent:
Gregory Goes Camping
The big white and black plastic attachment on the right side of his uniform is his Tiger Cub "instant achievement" badge. He gets beads to attach to it as he completes different activities, fifteen of them in three categories, plus a large selection of electives. He's earned two of his fifteen. His left pocket is where his rank badges will go. He's actually earned the first one, his Bobcat badge, but he only received the badge two nights previous, so it didn't get sewed on his uniform until after this trip.
I was in Cub Scouts, then Boy Scouts for most of my childhood and I think it was the best part of growing up. I didn't quite make it to Eagle Scout, mostly because my troop sort of disbanded when the long-time Scoutmaster left, but didn't shut down entirely. I had plenty of time to complete Eagle, but needed a good troop and didn't switch to the other really strong troop in Fairbanks. So I left with the rank of Life and lots of great experiences.
Getting back into Scouting with Gregory has only just begun, but I'm finding myself deeply drawn to the involvement. I met a Scout leader named Joe this past weekend who reminded me very much of the late Mr. J, the Scoutmaster of Troop 92 when I was a boy. He has patience, respect for the boys, and takes the time to talk to them about the why of things, not just giving commands (except for "Step away from the fire!") He's invited me to join the Boy Scout troop on their camping and hiking trips as an adult chaperone. We were talking about hiking and I'd mentioned how I go alone on some hikes when I want to go on one too long or difficult for Olympia or the kids. I think I'll go.
Back to this camping trip with Gregory: He mixed with the other boys as much as he ever does, which is sometimes distressing less than I might hope, but he had a fantastic time. I'd forgotten to bring a flashlight, but I had a headlamp and a couple of those green glowsticks. I used the headlamp and gave Gregory a glowstick. He was fascinated by it and held onto it that night even when he was sleeping. It also had the advantage of being distinctive and visible from some distance, so I could spot where he was out in the dark pretty easily.
There was a capture-the-flag game that was almost pure chaos, egg races that were a little better, a short walk through the woods, hamburgers and hot dogs cooked on a huge grill that Joe brought, and a campfire with s'mores and skits by the various dens in the evening. It brought back very positive memories and helped build some new ones.
The next Cub Scout activity? This Sunday we take the Tiger Cub den to visit the Rockville Fire Station.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Trip to Seattle & Victoria
I mentioned in my last post that I had taken a trip to Seattle and Victoria. I've finally managed to get the pictures off my phone, find the best ones, and get them up here.
The main reason for the trip, my first significant batch of time off since January's well-documented cross-country drive, was to visit friends and family. I pretty much found myself hanging out with other folks every lunch-time and every evening except for the trip to Victoria. That was great, as I've not really had enough time to make many friends in Maryland, and those I have tend to have a different set of interests and backgrounds than those people I know from Microsoft.
I didn't take a lot of pictures of people, but here's one of Trevor (now a Google guy,) thinking hard during a game of Goa we played with Adam and Ally. It's good he did so, since he won.
Trevor Thinking Hard About Goa
The side trip to Victoria resulted in a lot more pictures. I took a seaplane out and back, operated by Kenmore Air. Taking off and landing on water was a new experience for me, although I'd been on small planes before. Both directions, the plane I was on seated about eight passengers, plus a co-pilot seat that was available for a passenger both times. Here's a photo of the plane:
The Seaplane to Victoria
I sat in the co-pilot's seat on the flight back, so I got a great picture of the approach to Lake Union, in Seattle. If you look very closely in the upper middle of the photograph, you can see the Space Needle.
Seaplane Approach to Lake Union
Victoria is a nice little town that is very friendly to the large number of tourists that visit. I'd gone there to go hiking in the area and generally relax, and only had two full days to spend, but I could see spending a week there some time. I pulled a U-turn at one point while driving in town and sort of cut off someone coming out of a side street. He pulled up along side me at the next light and I could see he was trying to get my attention. I thought I was about to get cursed out or something, but once I looked over at him, he said, "Your headlights are off! Have a nice evening!" New York, it ain't!
This guy playing violin on a street corner was very odd, but also not a typical Victoria resident.
Darth Vader Playing Violin in Victoria
I took two hikes while I was there. The first was to Thetis Lake, intended as a kind of warm-up, since I hadn't been hiking in awhile. I bought a book of hikes on Vancouver Island, so I had what I thought would be a pretty good map of the various trails around Thetis Lake, but it proved to be just awful. At one point, I was basically lost, or would have been if I hadn't known which direction was south and after heading that direction for a bit could hear the highway. There was another lake north of Thetis Lake that I'd wanted to find, but I never did.
Here are a couple of pictures of the lake:
Thetis Lake
Thetis Lake
The second hike I took was to the top of Mount Finlayson, generally touted as a fairly difficult one in the area. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't really have any trouble climbing it. So far, no hike I've done has really compared to the one I took up Mt. Dickerson north of Seattle in 2004. It was steep, but not terribly long, so the steepness was very manageable. I snapped a photo of the marker at the top. I also got a pretty good picture of the distant Mt. Baker from the summit of Finlayson.
Mt. Finlayson Marker
Mt. Baker from Mt. Finlayson
Coming down the back of the mountain was much less steep, but the down side was you end up walking some two miles down a winding, narrow blacktop road, which is less than pleasant. I did pass a farm with llamas and a goat, though, so I got a great up-close picture of a friendly llama. He did have two ears, his right one just happened to be folded back.
Hello, Llama
So finally, I'll leave you with this self-portrait I took while on the seaplane. I believe it is fine expression of me having a good time.
A Self Portrait
The main reason for the trip, my first significant batch of time off since January's well-documented cross-country drive, was to visit friends and family. I pretty much found myself hanging out with other folks every lunch-time and every evening except for the trip to Victoria. That was great, as I've not really had enough time to make many friends in Maryland, and those I have tend to have a different set of interests and backgrounds than those people I know from Microsoft.
I didn't take a lot of pictures of people, but here's one of Trevor (now a Google guy,) thinking hard during a game of Goa we played with Adam and Ally. It's good he did so, since he won.
Trevor Thinking Hard About Goa
The side trip to Victoria resulted in a lot more pictures. I took a seaplane out and back, operated by Kenmore Air. Taking off and landing on water was a new experience for me, although I'd been on small planes before. Both directions, the plane I was on seated about eight passengers, plus a co-pilot seat that was available for a passenger both times. Here's a photo of the plane:
The Seaplane to Victoria
I sat in the co-pilot's seat on the flight back, so I got a great picture of the approach to Lake Union, in Seattle. If you look very closely in the upper middle of the photograph, you can see the Space Needle.
Seaplane Approach to Lake Union
Victoria is a nice little town that is very friendly to the large number of tourists that visit. I'd gone there to go hiking in the area and generally relax, and only had two full days to spend, but I could see spending a week there some time. I pulled a U-turn at one point while driving in town and sort of cut off someone coming out of a side street. He pulled up along side me at the next light and I could see he was trying to get my attention. I thought I was about to get cursed out or something, but once I looked over at him, he said, "Your headlights are off! Have a nice evening!" New York, it ain't!
This guy playing violin on a street corner was very odd, but also not a typical Victoria resident.
Darth Vader Playing Violin in Victoria
I took two hikes while I was there. The first was to Thetis Lake, intended as a kind of warm-up, since I hadn't been hiking in awhile. I bought a book of hikes on Vancouver Island, so I had what I thought would be a pretty good map of the various trails around Thetis Lake, but it proved to be just awful. At one point, I was basically lost, or would have been if I hadn't known which direction was south and after heading that direction for a bit could hear the highway. There was another lake north of Thetis Lake that I'd wanted to find, but I never did.
Here are a couple of pictures of the lake:
Thetis Lake
Thetis Lake
The second hike I took was to the top of Mount Finlayson, generally touted as a fairly difficult one in the area. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't really have any trouble climbing it. So far, no hike I've done has really compared to the one I took up Mt. Dickerson north of Seattle in 2004. It was steep, but not terribly long, so the steepness was very manageable. I snapped a photo of the marker at the top. I also got a pretty good picture of the distant Mt. Baker from the summit of Finlayson.
Mt. Finlayson Marker
Mt. Baker from Mt. Finlayson
Coming down the back of the mountain was much less steep, but the down side was you end up walking some two miles down a winding, narrow blacktop road, which is less than pleasant. I did pass a farm with llamas and a goat, though, so I got a great up-close picture of a friendly llama. He did have two ears, his right one just happened to be folded back.
Hello, Llama
So finally, I'll leave you with this self-portrait I took while on the seaplane. I believe it is fine expression of me having a good time.
A Self Portrait
A Volatile Life
Last night, Adam and I were talking about some stuff that's going in my life, and he described my life as highly volatile. After my initial protest against such a term, another ten minutes or so of discussion had me admitting that, yes, he's right. While a little less volatility would be nice, I don't think I really want to change that.
By volatile, he meant that I tend towards activities that have greater risks, more change, but greater opportunity for reward, as well. It's kind of a, "Bet big, win big" point of view. I do try to mitigate risk and I've become much better at mitigating risk over time, but I'm also much less risk-averse than he is, or perhaps than most people are.
This discussion is a direct result of my recent and abrupt departure from Columbia Books. I can't really go into details here yet, as there are now lawyers involved, but that further illustrates the volatility point.
As an aside, I haven't posted much over the last several months because I've been very busy in my role of President and many of the things I was thinking about involved staff or other internal-only work that I could really discuss. In fact, I found that the work was about all I'd spent any significant time thinking about. Certainly the last ten days or so have had some elements of thinking about much wider subjects.
I'd taken a trip to Seattle with a side trip to Victoria, in Canada, just a couple of weeks ago. Partly because of the expense of travel for a lot of people and partly because I'm the only one that was interested in such a thing at the moment, I made this trip without Olympia and the kids. It seems I need to do that sometimes anyway because I need introspection time. It's very hard to introspect when you are in a house full of people.
As it stood, I didn't really get the usual amount of introspection time I might otherwise have had because I spent most of my time visiting with friends and family. That's also incredibly valuable, but different. What introspection I had time to do had revealed to me that I was actually working too hard and was ignoring too many other things I care about doing. I'd decided to change that when I came back, then a week later I wasn't working there anymore. Not quite what I had in mind, but I suppose it works.
What I'd had in mind was to do more hiking or other exercise, take up my guitar lessons again, get actively involved in Gregory's Cub Scouting, and spend some of the time I was spending in the evenings and on weekends working on Columbia Books stuff on some of the small projects that interest me, too, like developing a new edition of my WarEngine miniature gaming system. I'm starting to do those things, although there is a little short-term distraction as I figure out what form my future income will take. I've read a lot of articles by Steve Pavlina, and I think "a job" is out of the question. I may have to take employment with a company I don't own for shorter-term financial reasons, but if I do, there will have to be some form of profit-sharing involved, because a straight salary just doesn't cut it.
There's a lot to think about, but in a volatile life, there always is. I think that's one of the things I like about it.
By volatile, he meant that I tend towards activities that have greater risks, more change, but greater opportunity for reward, as well. It's kind of a, "Bet big, win big" point of view. I do try to mitigate risk and I've become much better at mitigating risk over time, but I'm also much less risk-averse than he is, or perhaps than most people are.
This discussion is a direct result of my recent and abrupt departure from Columbia Books. I can't really go into details here yet, as there are now lawyers involved, but that further illustrates the volatility point.
As an aside, I haven't posted much over the last several months because I've been very busy in my role of President and many of the things I was thinking about involved staff or other internal-only work that I could really discuss. In fact, I found that the work was about all I'd spent any significant time thinking about. Certainly the last ten days or so have had some elements of thinking about much wider subjects.
I'd taken a trip to Seattle with a side trip to Victoria, in Canada, just a couple of weeks ago. Partly because of the expense of travel for a lot of people and partly because I'm the only one that was interested in such a thing at the moment, I made this trip without Olympia and the kids. It seems I need to do that sometimes anyway because I need introspection time. It's very hard to introspect when you are in a house full of people.
As it stood, I didn't really get the usual amount of introspection time I might otherwise have had because I spent most of my time visiting with friends and family. That's also incredibly valuable, but different. What introspection I had time to do had revealed to me that I was actually working too hard and was ignoring too many other things I care about doing. I'd decided to change that when I came back, then a week later I wasn't working there anymore. Not quite what I had in mind, but I suppose it works.
What I'd had in mind was to do more hiking or other exercise, take up my guitar lessons again, get actively involved in Gregory's Cub Scouting, and spend some of the time I was spending in the evenings and on weekends working on Columbia Books stuff on some of the small projects that interest me, too, like developing a new edition of my WarEngine miniature gaming system. I'm starting to do those things, although there is a little short-term distraction as I figure out what form my future income will take. I've read a lot of articles by Steve Pavlina, and I think "a job" is out of the question. I may have to take employment with a company I don't own for shorter-term financial reasons, but if I do, there will have to be some form of profit-sharing involved, because a straight salary just doesn't cut it.
There's a lot to think about, but in a volatile life, there always is. I think that's one of the things I like about it.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Lunch was Surreal
I went to a Johnny Rockets burger joint for lunch today, but it's kind of surreal at this location. Almost the entire staff are eastern European. They were talking to one another in Polish.
It felt like a Russian 1950s "learn to be American" spy camp.
It felt like a Russian 1950s "learn to be American" spy camp.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Billy Goat Trail Hike
It's been awhile since I went hiking, but I managed to pull one off this past Saturday. I went with Olympia, Gregory, Katerina, and Buck to the Billy Goat Trail, Section A in particular. The trail runs along the Great Falls section of the Potomac River and starts at a trailhead that's only a twenty minute drive from my house.
The Maryland bank has huge rock piles along the edge of Mather Gorge.
Mather Gorge
While the complete circuit is only about 3.8 miles, I ended up as exhausted as on the eight mile hikes I did last year. Some of that is probably from being a bit of a slacker when it comes to exercise lately, but the difficulty of clambering over boulders also had a lot to do with it. However, unlike Cunningham Falls, where I went with Gregory earlier in the year, this hike raised my liking for the Maryland outdoors.
Potomac River
Olympia (with some occasional help from me or Buck) spent a fair amount of the hike helping Gregory up or down the most rugged terrain, although the following picture certainly suggests it wasn't so hard she couldn't get a glamorous smile in at the same time.
Olympia, Helpin' and Grinnin'
It was also nice to have a chance to hang out with Buck outside of the office.
Buck on a Rock
About two thirds of the way through the hike, there's an "emergency exit" that takes hikers that are too tired back to the towpath that leads back to the trailhead along the canal. Olympia took the kids that way, while Buck and I pushed on to what ended up being the much rougher last third. I slipped at one point and came down really hard on my shin on a rock outcropping, turning a hunk of it into a nasty hamburger looking wound that required a stop to clean off some blood and use (for the first time since I bought it) the first aid kit I always carry on hikes. I don't have a picture of that, although Buck took one I probably won't share once I get a copy.
Oh, no activity involving photography and Katerina would be complete without her getting her chance to pose, so here's one of her:
Katerina and the Muddy Creek Bed
All in all, this was a good time, about four hours out in the hot, summer sun. It's a strenuous hike and probably was a bit much for Gregory, but I recommend this one to anyone that can go.
The Maryland bank has huge rock piles along the edge of Mather Gorge.
Mather Gorge
While the complete circuit is only about 3.8 miles, I ended up as exhausted as on the eight mile hikes I did last year. Some of that is probably from being a bit of a slacker when it comes to exercise lately, but the difficulty of clambering over boulders also had a lot to do with it. However, unlike Cunningham Falls, where I went with Gregory earlier in the year, this hike raised my liking for the Maryland outdoors.
Potomac River
Olympia (with some occasional help from me or Buck) spent a fair amount of the hike helping Gregory up or down the most rugged terrain, although the following picture certainly suggests it wasn't so hard she couldn't get a glamorous smile in at the same time.
Olympia, Helpin' and Grinnin'
It was also nice to have a chance to hang out with Buck outside of the office.
Buck on a Rock
About two thirds of the way through the hike, there's an "emergency exit" that takes hikers that are too tired back to the towpath that leads back to the trailhead along the canal. Olympia took the kids that way, while Buck and I pushed on to what ended up being the much rougher last third. I slipped at one point and came down really hard on my shin on a rock outcropping, turning a hunk of it into a nasty hamburger looking wound that required a stop to clean off some blood and use (for the first time since I bought it) the first aid kit I always carry on hikes. I don't have a picture of that, although Buck took one I probably won't share once I get a copy.
Oh, no activity involving photography and Katerina would be complete without her getting her chance to pose, so here's one of her:
Katerina and the Muddy Creek Bed
All in all, this was a good time, about four hours out in the hot, summer sun. It's a strenuous hike and probably was a bit much for Gregory, but I recommend this one to anyone that can go.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Agreeing to Stupid Things
Buck just left the office, headed to pick up a directory that's being returned to us by a customer that doesn't want it. They asked if someone could pick it up, probably just to save themselves the shipping cost to return it, and since it was over on Capitol Hill, near Buck's home, he agreed. Of course, just two minutes later, he realized that was not a very cost-effective way to handle the problem. Telling them to throw it away (or better, keep it with our compliments) would have been better. But Buck said that since he agreed to go pick it up he feels obligated to do so.
Sometimes we agree to do stupid things. Following through anyway is what shows character.
Sometimes we agree to do stupid things. Following through anyway is what shows character.
Monday, June 19, 2006
The Reason for Employment Law
We have had the unfortunate need of late to engage the services of an employment attorney, in this case to resolve a dispute with a disgruntled employee. This led, among other things, to this exchange:
Me: Is all employment law about covering your ass?
Attorney: Much of it is, I fear.
Me: Is all employment law about covering your ass?
Attorney: Much of it is, I fear.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Incentives
Buck and I have been having a lot of discussions about incentives in the workplace, such as bonuses, awards, and the like. It started from an article by Joel Spolsky on his Joel on Software website in the midst of a lot of changes in the company, include attrition of most of the staff.
My first reaction was "Bah!" Spolsky has lots of internal motivation, so the idea that he is not motivated by stuff like bonuses or awards. My recollection is that in addition to being a hotshot programmer, including at Microsoft for awhile, he's been an Israeli paratrooper or some such thing. His view of what motivates people has to be skewed from the majority.
Buck's pushing came in handy. He went on to read some of the references Spolsky listed. The main guy behind the "rewards are bad" movement is a research named Alfred "Alfie" Kohn. He's written plenty on the subject, including the fairly good synopsis, "For Best Results, Forget the Bonus."
I won't go into all the nitty-gritty detail here, but the essence of where we've settled is this:
I like where this is going. A year or two from now, we'll see if Kohn is right.
My first reaction was "Bah!" Spolsky has lots of internal motivation, so the idea that he is not motivated by stuff like bonuses or awards. My recollection is that in addition to being a hotshot programmer, including at Microsoft for awhile, he's been an Israeli paratrooper or some such thing. His view of what motivates people has to be skewed from the majority.
Buck's pushing came in handy. He went on to read some of the references Spolsky listed. The main guy behind the "rewards are bad" movement is a research named Alfred "Alfie" Kohn. He's written plenty on the subject, including the fairly good synopsis, "For Best Results, Forget the Bonus."
I won't go into all the nitty-gritty detail here, but the essence of where we've settled is this:
- The average base pay is significantly higher than it was six months ago.
- There is no annual performance review. Instead, we have weekly one-on-one's and make sure that performance, good and bad, is addressed no less frequently than that. Usually, it doesn't have to even come up, but that assures there's a forum for it when needed.
- There is an annual salary adjustment discussion where cost-of-living, changes in responsibilities, and changes in skills, training, and experience are addressed and a new salary is set for the next year.
- There are no bonuses or awards.
- Celebrations, like a company-wide party for the shipping of a new book, make a lot of sense, as they are not tied to individual performance.
- An employee dividend will be proposed to shareholders (and I believe there is substantial support for it,) but again not tied to individual performance, but instead to company performance. A share of profits will be set aside to distribute to all (salaried) employees. Since salary already addresses varying individual contributions, this is split equally.
I like where this is going. A year or two from now, we'll see if Kohn is right.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Jon Braman at Columbia Books
Jon Braman at Columbia Books
I saw this guy at a Potbelly's sandwich shop near work a week or so ago and asked him to come in to our office on a Friday afternoon and play a few numbers. Buck was kind enough to share this photo with me. Everybody in the office was grinning in the first minute.
Jon Braman plays an old ukulele he found in the trash many years ago and his original tunes are incredibly intelligent hip hop, which, when combined with the ukulele, is pretty darn unique. You can find him at http://www.myspace.com/jonbraman.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Getting to Yes
I've just finished a much-recommended book, Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton of the Harvard Negotiation Project. It turns out to be as good as expected, which is fantastic, since expectations were suitably high. I've previously read Difficult Conversations, another HNP book, and found it similarly valuable.
For those that haven't read the book, it lays out a method of what they call "principled negotiation." This is an alternative to the classic "positional negotiation" that's little more than starting at two extremes and haggling to some center point with little regard for what makes sense. They also point out that positional negotiation can also be less adverserial, although possibly just as destructive, when one or both negotiators are falling over each other to make concessions in the interests of protecting the relationship, such as when a boyfriend "gives in" to his girlfriend, despite what he really wants.
The authors cover four basic aspects to the method then relate how to use the method even if others in the negotiation aren't. As with Difficult Conversations, they include plenty of examples and one of the impressive aspects is that those examples range from a husband and a wife figuring out a floor plan for a custom home to the Camp David Accords.
Like many of the best books in the self-improvement and business categories, much of what's in the book will be familiar. ("I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little further down our particular path than we have gone ourselves." - E M Forster)
We've all negotiated with others many, many times and had varying levels of success. The successful negotiations often included inadvertent or instinctive reliance on some aspects of these methods. But the complete method described in Getting to Yes brings it all together, explaining why some negotiations have failed and how others could have gone better.
In just the last few days, I've already had several opportunities to start practicing the techniques from figuring out what to have for dinner to improving the possibilities for two deals that my company is seeking to make with other companies - one as a vendor, one as a customer. As such, I can't help but pile on the bandwagon and recommend this book as what ought to be required reading. If you haven't read it, you need to, and not just for work. If you have kids, you need to get them to read it, too, as I think it will be one of those things that prepares them for adulthood more than anything they will learn in school.
For those that haven't read the book, it lays out a method of what they call "principled negotiation." This is an alternative to the classic "positional negotiation" that's little more than starting at two extremes and haggling to some center point with little regard for what makes sense. They also point out that positional negotiation can also be less adverserial, although possibly just as destructive, when one or both negotiators are falling over each other to make concessions in the interests of protecting the relationship, such as when a boyfriend "gives in" to his girlfriend, despite what he really wants.
The authors cover four basic aspects to the method then relate how to use the method even if others in the negotiation aren't. As with Difficult Conversations, they include plenty of examples and one of the impressive aspects is that those examples range from a husband and a wife figuring out a floor plan for a custom home to the Camp David Accords.
Like many of the best books in the self-improvement and business categories, much of what's in the book will be familiar. ("I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little further down our particular path than we have gone ourselves." - E M Forster)
We've all negotiated with others many, many times and had varying levels of success. The successful negotiations often included inadvertent or instinctive reliance on some aspects of these methods. But the complete method described in Getting to Yes brings it all together, explaining why some negotiations have failed and how others could have gone better.
In just the last few days, I've already had several opportunities to start practicing the techniques from figuring out what to have for dinner to improving the possibilities for two deals that my company is seeking to make with other companies - one as a vendor, one as a customer. As such, I can't help but pile on the bandwagon and recommend this book as what ought to be required reading. If you haven't read it, you need to, and not just for work. If you have kids, you need to get them to read it, too, as I think it will be one of those things that prepares them for adulthood more than anything they will learn in school.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Wikis
Trevor clued me in to using a wiki for managing things like specifications at work. That's the collaborative software behind sites like Wikipedia. His team at work uses one (and it he talks about it a bit on his blog.) I'd pushed for one for specifications on my team at Microsoft and met with enormous resistance. We'd been using FlexWiki, a system built on ASP.NET by some Microsoft people, but open source. It was amazing to me that my team at Microsoft, intent on designing a website designed for community building, was resistant to a wiki and preferred Word documents posted on a SharePoint server.
I've been toying with the idea of taking my miniature wargaming system (The WarEngine) and putting it into an open source environment via a wiki. I'd tried starting on that using FlexWiki, but wasn't really all that satisfied with the experience. The reason for doing this is that there are fans of the system still actively playing it some five to six years after I'd left the business who want a new edition, but I've finally confessed to myself that it's unlikely I'll ever do it. This would put it in their hands. If I host it and include some advertising, perhaps I can even generate a little revenue while still doing right by the fans.
In a kind of trial of this concept, I've set up a wiki site (that I will leave undisclosed for the moment, since I want to get the very basics fleshed out before I make it too public) using MediaWiki, which is the same software behind Wikipedia. It's probably total overkill for the WarEngine and I do feel a little weird using software based on PHP and MySQL, but then it seems like the best tool for the job, and after all, I still use a Palm-based Treo rather than a Smartphone.
The site for it is coming together really nicely and I'm finding the experience of contributing to the wiki rather compelling in and of itself. I'm looking forward to sharing the site with the fans within a week or so. And in the meantime, I've contributed my first edits to Wikipedia, too.
I've been toying with the idea of taking my miniature wargaming system (The WarEngine) and putting it into an open source environment via a wiki. I'd tried starting on that using FlexWiki, but wasn't really all that satisfied with the experience. The reason for doing this is that there are fans of the system still actively playing it some five to six years after I'd left the business who want a new edition, but I've finally confessed to myself that it's unlikely I'll ever do it. This would put it in their hands. If I host it and include some advertising, perhaps I can even generate a little revenue while still doing right by the fans.
In a kind of trial of this concept, I've set up a wiki site (that I will leave undisclosed for the moment, since I want to get the very basics fleshed out before I make it too public) using MediaWiki, which is the same software behind Wikipedia. It's probably total overkill for the WarEngine and I do feel a little weird using software based on PHP and MySQL, but then it seems like the best tool for the job, and after all, I still use a Palm-based Treo rather than a Smartphone.
The site for it is coming together really nicely and I'm finding the experience of contributing to the wiki rather compelling in and of itself. I'm looking forward to sharing the site with the fans within a week or so. And in the meantime, I've contributed my first edits to Wikipedia, too.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Should I Keep My Blockbuster Subscription?
I've decided to write down the thought process behind an example of questioning assumptions. I may do more, but since this is the first time, I figured I'd start with an easy one for the first. I have an account with Blockbuster Video for the mailed service, similar to NetFlix, where I pay a flat monthly rate and have up to three movies out for as long as I want.
Lately, as long as I want has been something along the line of "ages." I asked for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" over a month ago and it's been sitting there ever since. I'd decided I wanted to have watched all the top 25 movies from IMDB's Top 250, so I have "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" sitting there now, too, both for almost two weeks.
I believe I pay $14.95/month for the service. If I rented movies only when I wanted to really watch one that night, that'd be about three per month, so the rate that I'm watching them seems to be about the same at best. I don't have to go to the store to get them, but that's only a small inconvenience as there's a Blockbuster store directly across from the Dunkin' Donuts where Olympia sometimes likes to get a donut and coffee. Picking a movie while she gets her stuff is no big deal. I've also noticed that there's a new Blockbuster that's opened up a little closer to my house, so even going to that one isn't necessary.
Getting the movies by mail has a down side in that the movies that have arrived may not be the ones I want to watch when they are there. Like right now, if I were to pick a movie to watch tonight and I didn't want it to be something I'll end up watching alone ("Fear and Loathing") or a Hitchcock thriller (the other two) then I'd probably just not bother or end up renting something at the store anyway. I know I've returned movies unwatched because of this.
I just remembered that the mail-order subscription does include two in-store rentals monthly to attack just that last problem. However, I think I've used that only twice in the last year or so I've had this service. It's kind of an extra barrier to a rental to remember to print out coupons before heading to the store. I could fix that by putting it on my calendar to print them on the 1st of each month and keeping the coupons in the car, but I'm generally loath to add additional recurring tasks to my calendar.
The biggest factor I can think of at the moment is that last year I bought quite a few TV show seasons on DVDs. Those are a great deal, I think, because they often work out to about $2/episode or so and if I don't want to keep the season after I've watched it, I could always sell it on eBay and get some or even most of my money back, especially since I picked up many of them with discounts. I have 3 seasons of "X-Files", two of "24", one of "Alias", and several others I still haven't watched. I could probably just stick to those (and maybe a few new ones I don't have yet) for months without ever renting anything.
Finally, I wonder if I don't spend too much time watching stuff like movies and TV DVDs anyway. There are many other things I could do with my time that I'm not doing and sometimes I'm not totally comfortable spending so much of my time in this way.
So, after laying all this out, it seems like a mail-order Blockbuster subscription is not the right idea for me at this time. I will cancel the account today. That's the first result of my questioning assumptions, and I feel confident in the decision. I'm glad I picked a relatively easy one, because now I'm much more excited about the next.
Lately, as long as I want has been something along the line of "ages." I asked for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" over a month ago and it's been sitting there ever since. I'd decided I wanted to have watched all the top 25 movies from IMDB's Top 250, so I have "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" sitting there now, too, both for almost two weeks.
I believe I pay $14.95/month for the service. If I rented movies only when I wanted to really watch one that night, that'd be about three per month, so the rate that I'm watching them seems to be about the same at best. I don't have to go to the store to get them, but that's only a small inconvenience as there's a Blockbuster store directly across from the Dunkin' Donuts where Olympia sometimes likes to get a donut and coffee. Picking a movie while she gets her stuff is no big deal. I've also noticed that there's a new Blockbuster that's opened up a little closer to my house, so even going to that one isn't necessary.
Getting the movies by mail has a down side in that the movies that have arrived may not be the ones I want to watch when they are there. Like right now, if I were to pick a movie to watch tonight and I didn't want it to be something I'll end up watching alone ("Fear and Loathing") or a Hitchcock thriller (the other two) then I'd probably just not bother or end up renting something at the store anyway. I know I've returned movies unwatched because of this.
I just remembered that the mail-order subscription does include two in-store rentals monthly to attack just that last problem. However, I think I've used that only twice in the last year or so I've had this service. It's kind of an extra barrier to a rental to remember to print out coupons before heading to the store. I could fix that by putting it on my calendar to print them on the 1st of each month and keeping the coupons in the car, but I'm generally loath to add additional recurring tasks to my calendar.
The biggest factor I can think of at the moment is that last year I bought quite a few TV show seasons on DVDs. Those are a great deal, I think, because they often work out to about $2/episode or so and if I don't want to keep the season after I've watched it, I could always sell it on eBay and get some or even most of my money back, especially since I picked up many of them with discounts. I have 3 seasons of "X-Files", two of "24", one of "Alias", and several others I still haven't watched. I could probably just stick to those (and maybe a few new ones I don't have yet) for months without ever renting anything.
Finally, I wonder if I don't spend too much time watching stuff like movies and TV DVDs anyway. There are many other things I could do with my time that I'm not doing and sometimes I'm not totally comfortable spending so much of my time in this way.
So, after laying all this out, it seems like a mail-order Blockbuster subscription is not the right idea for me at this time. I will cancel the account today. That's the first result of my questioning assumptions, and I feel confident in the decision. I'm glad I picked a relatively easy one, because now I'm much more excited about the next.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Some Childhood Pictures
I just scanned these old pictures of myself, so why not share them?
Baby Aaron
Baby Aaron
Child Aaron
Baby Aaron
Baby Aaron
Child Aaron
Friday, April 21, 2006
Questioning Assumptions
A big part of my role at Columbia Books, especially during these early days (it's so hard to believe I only started 11 weeks ago!) has been to question assumptions. These have been big things, like whether or not we should continue elements of our existing product line or whether we really need to be located in DC, and little things, like whether we have the right phone service or need to have a stamp machine. It's exciting stuff and whether I look at the assumptions and decide that a particular one is good and leave things at the status quo or decide it's bad and initiate a change, the result produces confidence that we're doing the right thing.
An example: We have a Pitney Bowes stamp machine, but around the time I started, it had broken down. It was brought to my attention as something that we needed to fix, but by questioning the assumption as to whether we needed such a machine and the associated costs, I decided to let it sit for awhile. After a month of the machine sitting there broken and with not one complaint, it seemed likely we didn't really need it. We had a big mailing that we did for renewals on one of our products around then and prepared it with stamps and the help of my daughter, Katerina, and Debra's daughter, Natalie. We only do three or four of those a year. I've cancelled the contract and we're returning the machine, saving the company a small but significant amount of money.
This questioning of assumptions and the accompanying review of a given status quo is something I've always done regularly in my work. The decisions I make today will be questioned again, by me or whoever might be delegated responsibility for the subject matter, at appropriate intervals, whether months or years.
In my personal life, though, I'm not sure I've done enough of this. Obviously, I must have done some questioning, since I've moved from small business to big business and back again, as one of the larger examples. But when I think about other assumptions I have, I realize there are many that have gone unquestioned. For example:
An example: We have a Pitney Bowes stamp machine, but around the time I started, it had broken down. It was brought to my attention as something that we needed to fix, but by questioning the assumption as to whether we needed such a machine and the associated costs, I decided to let it sit for awhile. After a month of the machine sitting there broken and with not one complaint, it seemed likely we didn't really need it. We had a big mailing that we did for renewals on one of our products around then and prepared it with stamps and the help of my daughter, Katerina, and Debra's daughter, Natalie. We only do three or four of those a year. I've cancelled the contract and we're returning the machine, saving the company a small but significant amount of money.
This questioning of assumptions and the accompanying review of a given status quo is something I've always done regularly in my work. The decisions I make today will be questioned again, by me or whoever might be delegated responsibility for the subject matter, at appropriate intervals, whether months or years.
In my personal life, though, I'm not sure I've done enough of this. Obviously, I must have done some questioning, since I've moved from small business to big business and back again, as one of the larger examples. But when I think about other assumptions I have, I realize there are many that have gone unquestioned. For example:
- Do I care about whether I own or rent?
- What time should I go to sleep?
- When should I get up?
- Do I have the right hobbies, too many hobbies, too few?
- Should I really have a television or an Xbox?
- Is my car worth the payments?
- Should I plan my future more? How about less?
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Visiting Other Countries
I visited a bunch of other countries today. It was remarkably easy. My office is in a building on Connecticut Avenue in northwest Washington, DC. The area is sometimes called "Embassy Row" because so many embassies are within a short distance of one another.
I went to lunch with Buck about ten blocks away, so we walked by a bunch of them. As we were doing so, I recalled that embassies are considered foreign soil, part of the countries they represent, so as we passed each I made a point of stepping onto the first step or driveway or whatever of a bunch of them, then quickly stepping back into the United States. That's right, sneaking back and forth across the border with no more documentation than my driver's license and not even showing that.
I visited Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Estonia. I would have visited more, but I didn't think of it until we were on our way back from lunch. Too bad I didn't even get stupid T-shirts.
I went to lunch with Buck about ten blocks away, so we walked by a bunch of them. As we were doing so, I recalled that embassies are considered foreign soil, part of the countries they represent, so as we passed each I made a point of stepping onto the first step or driveway or whatever of a bunch of them, then quickly stepping back into the United States. That's right, sneaking back and forth across the border with no more documentation than my driver's license and not even showing that.
I visited Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Estonia. I would have visited more, but I didn't think of it until we were on our way back from lunch. Too bad I didn't even get stupid T-shirts.
When Do We Get to the News?
Over at Timberlake's, where I was having my lunch, there are televisions tuned to CNN. Just as I was leaving, a headline that went something like, "High Gas Prices Cause Reductions in Usage."
This is news? Does CNN think this is the first time that the basic market forces of supply and demand have acted? Rising prices are supposed to lower demand to meet supply, by definition. I thought of a few other things CNN could report on in similar dog-bites-man manner:
This is news? Does CNN think this is the first time that the basic market forces of supply and demand have acted? Rising prices are supposed to lower demand to meet supply, by definition. I thought of a few other things CNN could report on in similar dog-bites-man manner:
- Sun Rises in East
- Katrina Photos Show Counter-clockwise Spin
- Howard Dean Declares Bush Bad for America
- Thrown Ball Follows Near Perfect Parabolic Arc As It Drops
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
On Cell Phones
I found myself wondering today, "How many minutes do people use on cell phones discussing possible reasons for their last call being dropped?"
Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now?
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
So Much for Clever
They seemed so clever. OK, the cleverness was only noticed because my stuff broke and that detracts from the clever part, but still, clever came through.
My Xbox 360 is apparently one of the "rare" ones that was in some way defective. I'm betting it has a bad cooling fan. Whatever it is, it stopped working and after following the suggested steps on the Microsoft support site, it became clear it was going to require repair. I called them, they confirmed it, and a box arrived in the mail so I could send it in.
The clever part is that inside the box was an insert designed just so to hold the Xbox, a UPS label that even has the correct weight pre-printed, and a piece of tape for sealing the box. This isn't the first time I've seen this kind of clever, but it's always kind of cool to me to see such things thought out in advance.
Unfortunately, it was blown by the instructions. I don't have them in front of me, but in essence they went like this:
Below the pictures, it read something like, "To expedite processing your repair, please fill out the form below and enclose it with your Xbox 360." Then, there was a form with stuff like name, address, and serial number. Of course, I'd been following the directions from top to bottom and you'll notice that at step 7 above I'd sealed the stupid box already with the tape. I thought about slipping the form in folded, since there was room to do so that wasn't sealed, but the form wants the serial number that's on the back of the unit, inside a bag, inside an insert, inside a box sealed with tape.
They should have put a step 10 that read, "Notice the form below you should return, cut the tape, take everything back out, fill in the form, put it in the box, and do steps 1 through 7 again. You'll need to go find your own tape, because the tape provided should be ruined by now because you've either cut it or torn it back off the box. You should be grateful that where you put the label doesn't require that you somehow put that back on, too. Do this whole step before UPS arrives, since you've already called them."
So much for thinking it through and being clever.
My Xbox 360 is apparently one of the "rare" ones that was in some way defective. I'm betting it has a bad cooling fan. Whatever it is, it stopped working and after following the suggested steps on the Microsoft support site, it became clear it was going to require repair. I called them, they confirmed it, and a box arrived in the mail so I could send it in.
The clever part is that inside the box was an insert designed just so to hold the Xbox, a UPS label that even has the correct weight pre-printed, and a piece of tape for sealing the box. This isn't the first time I've seen this kind of clever, but it's always kind of cool to me to see such things thought out in advance.
Unfortunately, it was blown by the instructions. I don't have them in front of me, but in essence they went like this:
- Open the box
- Remove the insert
- Put your Xbox 360 in the enclosed bag
- Put the Xbox 360 in the insert
- Close the insert
- Put the insert back in the box
- Seal the box with the enclosed tape
- Put the label on the outside of the box
- Call UPS for pickup
Below the pictures, it read something like, "To expedite processing your repair, please fill out the form below and enclose it with your Xbox 360." Then, there was a form with stuff like name, address, and serial number. Of course, I'd been following the directions from top to bottom and you'll notice that at step 7 above I'd sealed the stupid box already with the tape. I thought about slipping the form in folded, since there was room to do so that wasn't sealed, but the form wants the serial number that's on the back of the unit, inside a bag, inside an insert, inside a box sealed with tape.
They should have put a step 10 that read, "Notice the form below you should return, cut the tape, take everything back out, fill in the form, put it in the box, and do steps 1 through 7 again. You'll need to go find your own tape, because the tape provided should be ruined by now because you've either cut it or torn it back off the box. You should be grateful that where you put the label doesn't require that you somehow put that back on, too. Do this whole step before UPS arrives, since you've already called them."
So much for thinking it through and being clever.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
FairTax, Continued
This evening, I received an update from the FairTax folks, addressing the exact point I mentioned on this blog and emailed to them just six days ago. A quick search of their website via Google shows not one incidence of the word "immigration." Here's the first bit of their update:
Buck mentioned to me all of an hour ago that he woke up to a talk radio show the other morning where the subject was illegal immigration and a caller had mentioned FairTax in passing, but didn't make the connection. Instead, he went on about the economics of building a 700 mile wall. Buck and I agreed that's just a silly point to debate. Neither amnesty nor unenforceable rules are going to fix the problem. The incentives for coming here illegally are just too high.
The wider media doesn't read my blog, but I bet they get the FairTax updates. It'll be interesting to watch and see if something big gets rolling from this.
It certainly appears that someone over at FairTax.org actually read my message and was moved by it, although some attribution would have been nice.Hello FairTax supporters,
Given the current debate on immigration laws, we have been asked repeatedly how the FairTax relates to this issue. The answer is that the FairTax will for the first time tax undocumented workers who now evade U.S. taxes. That is just one more reason to support the FairTax. Under the FairTax all residents contribute to the tax base, whether they are living in the U.S. legally or illegally.
Buck mentioned to me all of an hour ago that he woke up to a talk radio show the other morning where the subject was illegal immigration and a caller had mentioned FairTax in passing, but didn't make the connection. Instead, he went on about the economics of building a 700 mile wall. Buck and I agreed that's just a silly point to debate. Neither amnesty nor unenforceable rules are going to fix the problem. The incentives for coming here illegally are just too high.
The wider media doesn't read my blog, but I bet they get the FairTax updates. It'll be interesting to watch and see if something big gets rolling from this.
TV Interview
Today I was interviewed by Channel 1's Russian TV on the subject of print-on-demand. They came to the office, asked me a couple questions in the conference room, then filmed stuff like bookshelves and people working. My understanding is that it will be in a segment on POD tomorrow broadcast in Moscow. They've told me I'll get an emailed or DVD copy of the spot.
I guess there will be a Russian voice-over of what I say, but I'm not sure.
I guess there will be a Russian voice-over of what I say, but I'm not sure.
Thinking Hourly
One of the things I find the most frustrating in a work environment is when people are paid a salary, yet think hourly. "Thinking hourly" results in work schedules that have all kinds of contortions in them, like short lunches, early arrival, early departure, time out of the office, and the largely ineffective "work from home."
I personally prefer people take normal lunch hours, for example, and take at least some of their lunches with coworkers, especially coworkers that don't do the exact same job. That's the kind of thing that can spark new ideas, new enthusiasm, awareness of a bigger picture, and so on. People thinking hourly often shorten their lunch hour to a lunch half-hour or even less, then eat at their desk, all in an effort to thereafter leave early.
Of course, not everyone cares about their job enough to want to minimize their actual hours. Plenty of people only go to work to get the check and get out. I happen to not be one of those - I love my job and it's an important part of my life. I respect the point of view of those where it's not that way.
The real kicker, though, is when bonus time comes and the hourly thinker is surprised or angry that he doesn't get one. Hourly thinking also results in a clear exchange of labor for money. A person very careful to only give the exact amount of arranged labor should only receive the exact amount of arranged pay. Bonuses should be in recognition of something more from the employee.
I wonder how many people approach their jobs with hourly thinking and how many don't.
I personally prefer people take normal lunch hours, for example, and take at least some of their lunches with coworkers, especially coworkers that don't do the exact same job. That's the kind of thing that can spark new ideas, new enthusiasm, awareness of a bigger picture, and so on. People thinking hourly often shorten their lunch hour to a lunch half-hour or even less, then eat at their desk, all in an effort to thereafter leave early.
Of course, not everyone cares about their job enough to want to minimize their actual hours. Plenty of people only go to work to get the check and get out. I happen to not be one of those - I love my job and it's an important part of my life. I respect the point of view of those where it's not that way.
The real kicker, though, is when bonus time comes and the hourly thinker is surprised or angry that he doesn't get one. Hourly thinking also results in a clear exchange of labor for money. A person very careful to only give the exact amount of arranged labor should only receive the exact amount of arranged pay. Bonuses should be in recognition of something more from the employee.
I wonder how many people approach their jobs with hourly thinking and how many don't.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Illegal Immigration and FairTax
I haven't seen anyone else tie these two issues together, so I'm going to jump in there with it myself on my dusty, barely-read blog. That'll make a splash!
Pretty much every way I'm hearing to deal with illegal immigration seems very weak. Amnesty plans simply reward criminal behavior and new rules around deportation seem destined to fail because our government either can't or won't enforce the rules we have already. The biggest problems we face with the massive influx of illegal aliens is the drain they cause on schools, hospitals, and other services that are funded by the law-abiding, tax-paying citizenry.
FairTax, a proposed national sales tax that would eliminate and replace our national income tax, effectively combats that problem. FairTax gets paid by anyone that buys anything, regardless of citizenship status. Illegal aliens pay the FairTax. Only citizens, though, get rebate checks covering subsistence spending. If you haven't played by the rules, you don't get the check. Of course, there will be those that figure out ways to game the system, but for the vast majority of illegal aliens, they will be forced to contribute that something extra by not getting the rebate.
A congressman who jumps out there with a solution to both complicated taxes and illegal immigration stands to attract a heck of a lot of attention, and the FairTax (and the American people) stand to win an awful lot. If the Americans for Fair Taxation organization were to tie FairTax to a workable, believable way to limit illegal immigration, they would have way more muscle behind the effort.
Pretty much every way I'm hearing to deal with illegal immigration seems very weak. Amnesty plans simply reward criminal behavior and new rules around deportation seem destined to fail because our government either can't or won't enforce the rules we have already. The biggest problems we face with the massive influx of illegal aliens is the drain they cause on schools, hospitals, and other services that are funded by the law-abiding, tax-paying citizenry.
FairTax, a proposed national sales tax that would eliminate and replace our national income tax, effectively combats that problem. FairTax gets paid by anyone that buys anything, regardless of citizenship status. Illegal aliens pay the FairTax. Only citizens, though, get rebate checks covering subsistence spending. If you haven't played by the rules, you don't get the check. Of course, there will be those that figure out ways to game the system, but for the vast majority of illegal aliens, they will be forced to contribute that something extra by not getting the rebate.
A congressman who jumps out there with a solution to both complicated taxes and illegal immigration stands to attract a heck of a lot of attention, and the FairTax (and the American people) stand to win an awful lot. If the Americans for Fair Taxation organization were to tie FairTax to a workable, believable way to limit illegal immigration, they would have way more muscle behind the effort.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Polar Opposites
I was in an Indian restaurant at lunch the other day. The kind that have the all-you-can-eat buffets. I ordered a diet Coke with my buffet. When I asked for a refill, I was informed that refills cost extra. I asked the guy if it made any sense that for one price I can go back and take, say, eight whole chickens, but if I'd like another (microscopic!) glass of diet Coke to go with it, that's extra. This just doesn't make any sense to me.
After a minute of thinking about it, he agreed that didn't make sense. Then he went elsewhere to help other customers and I drank water for the rest of the meal - probably just as well for my health, but still. I thought about refilling my glass with sauce from one of the buffet dishes, but then that would be vengeful.
Buck was with me and I asked if he minded that I tried to make my point with the waiter. He said he didn't and that everyone needs a cause where they can pull out their soapbox for a few minutes every once and awhile. That's why it's cool that he's becoming a program manager by day focused on new product development, but is a poet in his spare time. More polar opposites.
After a minute of thinking about it, he agreed that didn't make sense. Then he went elsewhere to help other customers and I drank water for the rest of the meal - probably just as well for my health, but still. I thought about refilling my glass with sauce from one of the buffet dishes, but then that would be vengeful.
Buck was with me and I asked if he minded that I tried to make my point with the waiter. He said he didn't and that everyone needs a cause where they can pull out their soapbox for a few minutes every once and awhile. That's why it's cool that he's becoming a program manager by day focused on new product development, but is a poet in his spare time. More polar opposites.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Publisher
I've found out that in addition to my title of "President" I also get listed as "Publisher" on the title pages of the books we publish. The first one under my new tenure goes to the printer on Monday, the State and Regional Associations book. How cool is that?
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Cunningham Falls
Today, I took Gregory and went hiking in the afternoon. Since he's only five and I haven't been hiking in quite some time, we picked something pretty easy, a hike out and back to Cunningham Falls that's just over a mile and only about 300 feet of elevation change. These falls are the highest in Maryland at something like 78 feet, which just doesn't seem like very much after the kinds of scenery I'd see in Washington.
They are in the Catoctin Mountains, part of the Blue Mountains, which are themselves part of the Appalachians. It's hard to believe that these were mountains that had once been similar in size and grandeur to the Himilayas some 200 million years ago as they've been worn down to nubby little hills that hardly count as mountains.
Not that I mean to be down on the Maryland countryside - it's beautiful, too - but I really like the sweeping majesty of high, craggy mountains. I choose to take this as an opportunity, reason to travel more often than I might otherwise.
Cunningham Falls
You can see in the photo above that there was a bit of snow around the falls, although the daytime temperature will in the mid-40s. The left-hand cliff face, doesn't get much sunlight, so there were a couple places where some secondary water trickles had created interesting icicle formations that reminded me of the flowstone formations I saw in the Cave of the Bells in Arizona.
Icicles
Gregory did great. The last trip I took him on was Sugarloaf Mountain, also in Maryland, back in June of last year. Climbing up the rocks along the side of the waterfall was the most challenging part and not part of the 1.2 mile hike. One particular rock started with a jagged step up about at his chest height. I gave him some pointers about where to put his feet and he struggled with that first bit, but after he got past that, he scrambled right up to the top of it before I could even think about following him up. He got to the top and sat down, so I got a picture of his success.
Gregory Conquers a Big Rock
Finally, Gregory seemed to really enjoy it and was telling me even in the parking lot that he wants to go again. I think this shot of him really sums up his excitement. Or maybe it doesn't, and it's just funny.
Gregory's Big Mouth
They are in the Catoctin Mountains, part of the Blue Mountains, which are themselves part of the Appalachians. It's hard to believe that these were mountains that had once been similar in size and grandeur to the Himilayas some 200 million years ago as they've been worn down to nubby little hills that hardly count as mountains.
Not that I mean to be down on the Maryland countryside - it's beautiful, too - but I really like the sweeping majesty of high, craggy mountains. I choose to take this as an opportunity, reason to travel more often than I might otherwise.
Cunningham Falls
You can see in the photo above that there was a bit of snow around the falls, although the daytime temperature will in the mid-40s. The left-hand cliff face, doesn't get much sunlight, so there were a couple places where some secondary water trickles had created interesting icicle formations that reminded me of the flowstone formations I saw in the Cave of the Bells in Arizona.
Icicles
Gregory did great. The last trip I took him on was Sugarloaf Mountain, also in Maryland, back in June of last year. Climbing up the rocks along the side of the waterfall was the most challenging part and not part of the 1.2 mile hike. One particular rock started with a jagged step up about at his chest height. I gave him some pointers about where to put his feet and he struggled with that first bit, but after he got past that, he scrambled right up to the top of it before I could even think about following him up. He got to the top and sat down, so I got a picture of his success.
Gregory Conquers a Big Rock
Finally, Gregory seemed to really enjoy it and was telling me even in the parking lot that he wants to go again. I think this shot of him really sums up his excitement. Or maybe it doesn't, and it's just funny.
Gregory's Big Mouth
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)