Oh Yeah!

Watched a somewhat goofy "World's Funniest Commercials" show last night, and one really stood out: It's about some kids and a train - watch it here.

Definitely worth the time!

It's a Flat World?

One of the first things that struck us about Ohio is how flat it is around here, particularly when we flew in. Our house in NY was on a big hill - so steep, in fact, that the kids weren't really able to ride their bikes. And of course we've been around the Adirondacks for quite a while.

So our house here is on a much flatter place. At least, that's what I thought until I went for a run through the neighborhood.

Turns out "flat" isn't quite the correct word. We're at the top of a bit of a hill after all - and the last few minutes of my run can be pretty rough...

No pain, no gain, right? Whew!

Starting School Again

I spent 12 years getting ready to go to college. By the time I got there, I was pretty much at the top of my game, academically speaking.

It's been 13 years since I graduated, and now I'm back in the class room again. Yes, I picked up my first master's degree doing the night school thing - but even that was 7 years ago.

This will be interesting.

I took a "math assessment" test today, trying to demonstrate how much calculus I remember. There were 50 multiple choice questions, worth 2 points each. By the end, there were 5 questions that I knew I definitely got right... so when I found out I got 18 right and my final score was 36, that meant I "guessed real good" on 13 questions.

Most of the material looked familiar - it's things I'm pretty sure I used to know. But there were a few questions on topics I'd never seen before. There were even a couple questions I wouldn't have been able to read out loud (yikes!). Fortunately, we'll spend the month of September doing refresher courses, before the real stuff starts on 1 Oct.

Like I said, this will be interesting.

Simplicity Cycle Review!

Terry Bleizeffer from the User Experience Soapbox blog wrote a very nice review of my Simplicity Cycle book. Here's a short excerpt:

I also like that it helps answer the question, "Hey, my product is complex AND successful, so why should I worry about design?" There's a limit to how many features you can add to a product before they become self-defeating. When your customers start to request features that are already in your product, it's a safe bet that adding even more features is going to be trouble.

NaNoWriMo 2007?????

I'm not sure how I'll be able to do NaNoWriMo 2007.

They say the academics are pretty intense around here, but that's not the main obstacle. Rather, it's the fact that I have to get B up at 6 to get her ready for the bus, which comes a little after 7. That means I'm up by 0530 on a regular day, just to make sure I have enough time for a shower, shave, etc before I start rounding up the youngsters...

I could try getting up at 0430 to write, but I'm not sure that's going to work.

Yes, I've already completed one Boomer Sisters novel this year (The Boomer Sisters In The City), during DaNoWriMo. It's being illustrated as we speak. But I was sort of thinking I'd do NaNoWriMo again anyway, either to do the 4th Boomer Sister book (final BS book?) OR... to do the sword & sorcery novel I've been thinking about for the past year or so.

I'll have a better idea what my schedule will be like by October, when classes start for real and life settles down a bit. But I should really have a plot outline before November. And that means I should pick which book to write. And as I said, at this point, I'm not sure if I'll get to do it at all... (at least not in November...)

Watch this space.

Sam Adams

I'm sitting here enjoying a delicious Samuel Adams Octoberfest brew, after mowing my new lawn for the first time. I mention this because 1) I don't drink beer very often and 2) There's a reason I'm drinking Sam Adams and not some other kind.

Why did I pass over "Rogue Brew" (!), in favor of Sam? Frankly, it's the commercials.

The commercials are honest, informative, human and engaging. They show the actual brewers, and they talk about how and why they make the beer. Why do they use brown bottles for every brew? Why don't they use screw-top caps? And did you notice the carton for holding the bottles is tall? There's a reason for it all - and I learned it in a 30 second spot.

It doesn't hurt that the beer lives up to the ads. It's good stuff...

85 Copies!

I signed 85 copies of my Simplicity Cycle book last night, and boxed them up to mail to Olin College on Monday. It was fun to see so many copies in one place, and even more fun to know that each one was paid for and destined for a student might actually read it!

I hope they find it useful on their journeys of design...

Hummingbirds!

We've got a family of hummingbirds living in our backyard. I know a group of crows is called a murder and a group of finches is called a charm. What do you call a group of hummingbirds? A chorus? A choir? Anyway, I've seen as many as 3 at once - guess it's a trio of hummingbirds.

I haven't figured out how to edit photos on my Mac yet, but I figured I'd post this shot anyway. It's through a screen, so sorry for the fuzziness.

At any rate, I'm really enjoying watching these little guys.

Code Monkey

I just heard a song titled Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton on the radio the other day, and it's a lot of fun. Found a few different videos on YouTube, but my favorite is this one (so bad, it's good).

Do check it out... I'm not even a coder and I love it. :)

Polymaths

I tend to agree with Heinlein when he said "Specialization is for insects," and I think I even mentioned that concept already.

So, I was delighted to learn a little more about the diverse skills and accomplishments of a true polymath whose work I have admired for years. I'm talking, of course, about the remarkable John Lithgow. I still remember seeing him receive an Emmy for his work on Third Rock From The Sun - with great joy and enthusiasm, he noted that he would never be taken seriously as a dramatic actor ever again, a fact which did not seem to disturb him in the slightest. I recently found out he actually has four Emmy's, two Tony's, etc, etc. And in addition to movies, plays and television, he's also a musician and a writer. His books for children are fantastic - I'm particularly fond of The Remarkable Farkle McBride. He's got a new book of poetry coming out soon. Wow!

Check out the Q&A on Lithgow's website.

I'd put Mr. Lithgow right up there with the multi-talented Will Smith, who does comedy, drama and action, television and movies, music... and for all I know has written a book or two...

And of course, my admiration for these men is in line with my admiration for a couple of other, much older polymaths - G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis. While their accomplishments were primarily literary, Chesterton was actually a fantastic artist in addition to a writer, and both wrote in a bewilderingly diverse range of genres, from theology to children's stories, fiction and mysteries and travellogues and academic tomes.

Yeah, that's the kind of stuff I want to do.

Books, part 1

Got a big-ish shipment of copies of my Simplicity Cycle book, to send around to a bunch of people (Andy - they're coming your way). Still waiting for the remaining 81 to show up, so I can autograph them all before sending them off to my first "big" customer!

Whee!

Look, Ma - No Wires!

After a somewhat-longer-than-expected delay, our wireless router showed up, and after somewhat-more-work-than-expected, I got it hooked up last night, so we're wireless!

I still need to go pick up a receiver/wireless card or something to get our PC online (It's way upstairs, and the cable doesn't reach that far), but at least we're not limited to working at the kitchen counter anymore (I'm on the couch in the TV room now - whew!).

One of the reasons for the delay is we went with Vonage for our phone service, so I couldn't monkey with the modem and wireless router while the phone was being used...

But we got it done. So, for those of you keeping track at home, that's 382 tasks completed, only 2,542,345,927 left to do!

Comment Spam

For some reason, a company named Gateways International Movers offered to help me move - by leaving a comment on a blog post that talked about the fact that we'd already moved (Dan Is In The House). They wrote:

Gateways International Movers will guide your relocation effectively.

At Gateways International, we understand that shipping your belongings is one of the most complex and sensitive concerns, while moving worldwide...

blah, blah, blah.

What Gateways International Movers apparently doesn't understand is when I write "I'm in the house," that means I've already moved, so I don't need their services. Also, as a general rule, I tend to think a blog's comments section is a lousy place for a commercial advertisement, but if you're going to do it, at least read the post...

But really, this is a place for people to have a conversation. If your only contribution is "Moving? Did someone say moving? At Gateways International, we understand that shipping your belongings..." then you're not really part of the conversation, are you? If you're not listening/reading and understanding, with all due respect, please butt out.

I might have responded more positively if they'd 1) found a post that said "I'm moving in a few months," and 2) Posted something along the lines of "Hi, I'm Bob from Gateway Movers. We're a new/established/big/small/whatever moving company, and we'd love to help you move..."

That's what the blogosphere is about.

Bad Designs!

I really like the new area, love the house, and am thrilled with the assignment (getting paid to learn? Are you kidding me? Does it get any better?)

But my house is haunted by several instances of Bad Design.

The built-in microwave, for example. I have to push the "cook time" button, then turn a knob (?!?!) which advances the time in 15 second increments. Apparently I'm not allowed to cook something for 10 seconds. Nope, it's gotta be 15 seconds. Then I push the knob to "select" the cook time. Then I push the start button. Figures the microwave is built-in...

I needed to adjust the hot water heater temperature. That meant cutting the power to the water heater, then unscrewing two different panels, both of which were held in place by phillips head screws. Underneath the panels, apparently next to high voltage lines, was a flathead screw I could turn to adjust the temp. At our old place, there was just a knob... Oh, and it's not like it's an old heater. It was installed in 2005.

There are others, but the Colbert Report is on...

Good news!

The drier is all set! The coffee maker is set! We found the toaster (in a box labeled "toyes")!

Oh, and we figured out why the washing machine always seemed so hot. Turns out the blue knobbed faucet is the hot water, and the red knob is cold water. Of course it is!

Get 'er done...

I imagine I'll be unpacking boxes, repairing/replacing household things, attending briefings & classes, etc for many more days to come.

That means I won't be sitting down at a computer very regularly, often, or for very long.

That also means I'm not sure when my blogging will get back to normal. But as things get settled I'll find a new pattern and will pick up the blog thing again like before. No worries.

For now I'll just mention that I'm a section leader here at AFIT, responsible for watching over 15 other students, including two from Turkey. I've also met officers from Argentina and Australia. I'm having a great time, and am looking forward to the real work beginning.

As my lovely wife put it, things are going slowly, very fast. :)

Mental Bandwidth

I'd forgotten how much mental bandwidth is eaten up by moving, settling in, etc. My brain is full of Things To Do, like fix the #$%^$# drier vent (again and again), install/replace window shades, change the addresses on everything (credit cards, magazines, utilities), find schools, pizza joints and figure out how to get from A to B when the main road is closed down... whew! You'd think I didn't know anything at all about simplicity.

I know I'll do some serious writing again some day, and I know it only feels like it's been forever, but wow, I suddenly realize I didn't really appreciate my job in NY and how much mental freedom I had...

But we'll get the boxes empty and the routine established again sometime soon. Well, maybe not soon, but sometime.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs...

I didn't plan it, but I seem to have taken a series of photos of signs, which I now present for your viewing pleasure:

"Wait for green light?" Um, isn't that always the rule?

Saw this one in a little coffee shop - it made me laugh.


Mmmmmm, warm soda! (Did they really think that sign makes sense?) And what's even funnier, the sign is right above jugs of juice!

Found these three signs in a shop, arranged just like this. They sort of sum up my life philosophy.

Moving Is Like War

It struck me the other day that moving is a bit like war.

It's exhausting.
It's destructive and expensive. We've thrown away, left behind and otherwise had to replace a LOT of stuff that was perfectly good (trashcan, pooper-scooper, salad dressings, propane tank, etc)
It should not be done lightly, and should be avoided if at all possible.
It's sometimes absolutely necessary and unavoidable.
It's an adventure.
It involves painful losses and opportunities for heroics.
Even when it's over, there's a lot of cleaning up to do.
You feel so much better when it's over.

Next week: How Moving Is Like Hitting Yourself In the Head With A Hammer

Firsts...

I cooked our first dinner-in-the-house last night (chicken, tortellini and broccoli with pesto - even the kids like it!). This morning I went for my first run (in a long time). Tomorrow is B's first day of school. Wed is my first day of real inprocessing.

We've got chairs, a coffee maker, silverware and (just in time for dinner last night) real plates!

Now if I could only find the toaster...