A Still Verdictless Life

Saturday, August 31, 2002

Reading Tess Gerritsen's newest book today - The Apprentice. After reading her first five, I had to grab this one as soon as I saw it. This begs the question - why do so many of us, ostensibly normal people, read books, watch TV and movies about creepy killers? Why are there so many TV shows about lawyers, cops, and doctors? Of course the answer is drama, and the more drama the better. There's nothing more dramatic than life and death, and the only way to raise the stakes (more drama) is to make the cause of death random, frightening, and painful. So here I sit, reading about serial killers. comment []3:54:52 PM

Warflying ! I found this while looking through the various San Diego blogs. The mental image is actually pretty funny - two guys flying around in a small plane with a laptop and RF gear, looking for network access. I can see Rick Moranis in the role. comment []10:09:27 AM

My college friend Matt always had a great sense of humor.  I wonder if he got any responses to this? comment []8:00:27 AM

Friday, August 30, 2002

Call me unobservant, but I actually haven't noticed many mice using cellphones. I wonder if mice are also invulnerable to cigarette smoke? comment []8:32:07 AM

Another IT improvement here at the western home - got wireless printing to work. Bought a Netgear print server and a separate 5 port (why 5?) 100BT switch. Total price, less than $200. I can remember when a 100BT switch was $5000 - incredible. The Netgear boxes worked perfectly out of the box. No complaints. Getting the MS networking set up properly on my laptop was another matter. To my chagrin, it worked very simply on my wife's XP laptop, but my W2K laptop took forever to configure. Basic problem - you've got to configure the printer as a local printer (versus a networked), even though it's attached to an Ethernet switch and accessible over a WLAN. Windows considers the networked print server ports to be local ports. Right. Net of it all is that we can now jam the printer from anywhere in our house. Should be fun. comment []8:11:22 AM

Saw Road To Perdition last night. Mini-review: great, go see it before it leaves the big screen. Tom Hanks could make a dogfight look like artwork. comment []7:45:01 AM

Thursday, August 29, 2002

True Nyms and Pseudonyms For one of my projects, I've had to take a deep dive into the technology and issues of information security, in particular encryption. One of my sources is the 2001 collection of essays and stories by Vernor Vinge and James Frenkel (editor), True Names and the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier. This is some of the best, most thought provoking reading I've done in a while. If you're interested in understanding the issues involved in cryptography, freedom of information and commerce, and virtual communities, take a look. Highly recommended. comment []2:12:53 PM

I'm writing a paper describing a better model for enterprise computing. Part of that model is a recognition that the 18-year focus on "desktops" as the dominant computing metaphor is now a dead end. In exploring when this all started (exploring the details and dates; I know the general story because I lived it), I ran into this wonderful site describing the history of Apple Computer and lots of the history of personal computing. My, what a long strange trip it's been. comment []9:19:36 AM

Wednesday, August 28, 2002

Got the Archive function activated for ASVL - I like it. Lawrence Lee is the man. It does generate a large file, but for now it's manageable. Now if I could just figure out how to make the Navigator Links XML code render a blank line. Just when I think I know what I'm doing, something that should be simple completely eludes me. comment []10:33:50 AM

Another first - a family member has started her own weblog using Radio Userland. Personal web publishing is a powerful meme. It's interesting - blogging seems to have a binary effect on people. Some dive right in, they gotta do it, and some just don't see any value. I have an ex-coworker and friend who said this in a recent email: "The weblog thing is interesting... I've seen a few of these just in the past couple weeks -- had never heard of them before. They're interesting to read... but I have to admit, I still don't quite "get it"." I have to respect both points of view, but I'm definitely in the "gotta do it" crowd. In two previous posts 1 and 2,  I laid out my reasons for keeping a weblog - they're still valid. comment []6:51:46 AM

Tuesday, August 27, 2002

I still can't get used to the sight of people walking around airports talking to...someone via a cell phone microphone, looking off into space and avoiding eye contact with people in their realspace. It's a little weird, watching people whose attention and focus is so obviously not here. The lady sitting next to me is very quiet for minutes at a time, and then jolts me with a blast of speech for which I have no context. There's got to be a slang word for this. comment []9:17:35 PM

I'm giving a lot of thought to the changes that will happen when (OK, if, but I'm an optimist) we've got lots of broadband wireless metropolitan area networks up and running. Then, we get: The ability to jump over the local phone companies and use VOIP to call anyone else with home broadband The ability to jump over the cable companies and phone companies for net access Real location transparency - access to information in every context where we live/work/play Always-on network connections among all our tools and toys - computers, stereos, cars, game consoles, cameras, appliances, dog collars, kids' ID bracelets...lots and lots of great applications come to mind It'll definitely change our lives, and I'm betting for the better. More information is a Good Thing. Again, I hope I'm around to see it come to pass. comment []9:12:25 PM

Unwired and Tired This is another first - I'm online and blogging in LAX Terminal 7, courtesy of Boingo's wireless access point and an $8 connect fee. Very cool - may I never again have to lurk about looking for a spare dial-up access connector. Wifi never felt better. That was the good news. The bad news is getting home at 11pm. But at least I'm online. It only took 5 minutes to sign up for the service and give Boingo their cash, but there was a glitch at the end of the signup screens. I got in a loop where Boingo kept asking me to download some required software; I'd fill in a short info screen and hit the download button; then I got sent back to the main Boingo promo screen where I saw a download option, and hitting that brought me full circle to the info screen. After 2 or 3 abortive tries, I gave up and just launched a brower, and voila, I had access. Good service, horrible service activation interface. comment []8:51:37 PM

Monday, August 26, 2002

The things that Ray Ozzie has to say about his approach to work and life really resonate with me. I too dive into things completely, wholeheartedly - sometimes to my detriment. Early on I found a short quote that I put on my dorm room wall, and it has pretty much governed my behavior since then. "You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed." -- this was John Irving's response to the question "...how to succeed as a writer?", sometime back in the antediluvian '70s. I just don't know any other way to succeed, at life or work. Seems I'm in good company. comment []8:30:08 AM

It's Monday morning. Time for status reports, calendar updates, making the plan for the week. I'm still getting used to the different rhythms of this kind of work. I have to adapt to the rules of multiple clients, yet also get the things that I want or need done. It's very different from the rhythm of working for one employer. In that mode you're in synch with 100s or 1000s of other people, all with the same meta-deadlines and events. You just roll with the big waves. In the indy consultant mode you have to sample the waves more often, a couple of times a week, just to get a feel for what's needed in the short term. Point is, there is no long term in this mode. comment []8:19:18 AM

Sunday, August 25, 2002

I'm having a lazy Sunday. This picture pretty well sums it up for today. comment []5:08:44 PM

Had a bit of a golf orgy this weekend - 3 rounds in four days. For once, I'm golfed out. I think it takes that much punishment to get it through my thick head that I really, really won't ever hit it like Nicklaus. comment []4:57:11 PM

Friday, August 23, 2002

The Web is a wonderful place - something for everyone. And occasionally I stumble across something that's just too bizarre to go unnoticed. Breakfast, anyone? The really frightening thing is that this is not a comedy site; the authors seem to be deadly serious. Women and children first in the lifeboats, please... comment []6:03:14 PM

Here's some shameless pimping for my favorite bookstore. Mysterious Galaxy, seller of science fiction, mysteries, and horror genres, is simply too good to have been around so long. If you're in Socal and can read, visit them. comment []5:30:05 PM

Not much time for the blog the last few days - work seems to be getting in the way of having a life, an intolerable situation. Consequently, here I am late Friday afternoon pecking at the keyboard. A midafternoon ride on Socal's linear parking lot (aka I-5) sucked the life out of me. Stone Pale Ale and some Boz are in charge of resuscitation and doing pretty well, thank you. Friday afternoon and evenings have always been something of an issue for me. I think it's due to operant conditioning started in high school, reinforced in college, and then made permanent in the workfarce. Five days of study/homework/work, then two blissful days of no deadlines, meetings or otherwise importunate events. Friday evening is/was/has been a cause to celebrate, by whatever means you're so inclined. So tonight, with reasons Pavlovian, is a de facto party. comment []5:20:17 PM

Thursday, August 22, 2002

From an article in the Harvard Business School journal: "So is firing the CIO the answer? That's not the right question, says Belmont, Massachusetts-based consultant Clayton Hubner. "A decade ago, you rarely heard about the CIO role. A decade from now, companies' understanding of how to use information to enhance business effectiveness will be more ubiquitous, and you won't hear about the CIO anymore. Companies don't require chief telephone officers or chief electricity officers. Before long they won't need an officer-level position for information either." The point made by this consultant is just asinine. Does anyone really think that information and the processing of it is even close to electricity and it's processing/use? Give me a break. Companies need more/better information management leadership, not less. At least HBS got the theme back on track by the end of the article. I'm not sure why they quoted this numbskull, unless it was to get our attention (worked). comment []9:54:45 AM

Having just gone to a show at the SDSU Open Air Theater, I'm anxious to do it again. Next target looks like Bonnie Raitt in September. I saw BR with Keb Mo about three years ago in a small venue, and it was one of the best shows ever. This time she's with Lyle Lovett - should be good. I contacted my ticket scalper, and it seems the markup on these will be much higher. Painful, but not a deal breaker. My philosophy is if it's worth doing, it's worth doing really well (spend the money and buy great seats). comment []9:47:21 AM

Wednesday, August 21, 2002

This story from Wired is pretty wild. Is it real or an urban myth? To a very amateur poker player like moi, these guys seem like something from an Ian Fleming novel. comment []11:44:28 AM

I'm doing a lot of writing these days. It's amazing how I can be stuck on a page or topic yesterday, go to sleep, and upon waking the page is ready for what can only be called transcription, as it has appeared fully-formed in my sleep. I hope I'm around long enough for us to get a real understanding of how the mind works. Amazing. comment []6:48:06 AM

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

Here's an excerpt from a paper I'm working on. Writing the paper is giving me some new insight into why corporations are so screwed up. It's one thing to know something; it's another to think through to the root causes. "One of the drivers for this study is the fact that many computer users now have a richer, more effective computing environment at home than at work. Many professionals now have their home PCs connected to the Internet via a broadband connection, and that connection is available at any point on their property via an 802.11b wireless network. The PCs are of modern vintage, with Windows 2000 or XP, >128 MB RAM and CPU speeds in excess of 1 Ghz. These simple components create a better, richer end user experience than anything they have at work. This is a paradox. Why can’t corporations maintain a better computing environment than individuals, given their relatively larger budgets and expert staff? The answer is complex, but can be summarized by the following three general observations:   Corporations, particularly corporations who have chosen to outsource their IT functions, view user computing as an expense to be minimized. They see no incentive to create a richer “experience” for end users, and only do so when the cost of supporting a “grade B” infrastructure exceeds the cost of upgrades. Corporations design end user computing for the least common denominator. That is, the design point is not the most knowledgeable or sophisticated employees, but is the low-average employee who must be supported. Since every CIO has bought into the economy of scale argument (standardization of all infrastructure), the standard is set as low as possible. Corporations purchase capital assets, including IT infrastructure, assuming at least a three year useful life. More likely, it will be 4-5 years before many components in the end user computing chain are upgraded. Compare this with the rate of change in PCs and peripherals: PC performance has doubled every year lately, as has the capability/cost of major peripherals (printers, disks, network components). So in many situations, the corporate environment is 3-4 performance generations behind what users can buy at any given moment. To even unsophisticated users, this is a very noticeable gap. Given this, are computer users in corporations doomed to a sub-standard set of tools?  Perhaps not – but it will require a change in the way end user computing services are procured and managed." comment []7:39:22 PM

Got the Denon. First impressions - as good as I'd hoped. Pure, clean sound, loads of power for my PSBs. I tried DPL 2 on The Matrix, and heard things I'd never heard before. Just what I need - a reason to watch The Matrix for the (n+1)th time. comment []7:36:18 PM

Monday, August 19, 2002

Movie Alerts Have seen a few movies lately, both in theater and on DVD. Here's my very quick take. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Great, funny, cool, really funny. Proof yet again that there's no correlation between production budget and quality. Go see it. The Royal Tennenbaums - One of the worst ever. Amazing - how did such a good cast make such an awful movie? Basically, no redeeming values. Signs - Good, but definitely not great. Shyamalan's movies are all starting to feel alike. This one had some interesting moments, and an unusual creepy feel for a mainstream flick, but wasn't the blockbuster I'd hoped for. It reminded me a lot of Romero's 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. I'm sure it would've been better on home theater and DVD with all house lights off and no irritating teenagers giggling during the quiet parts. comment []9:00:49 AM

We went to the John Mayer concert last night. I have so many conflicting reactions to it - I'll just do the engineer thing and write them as a list. 1. It was a bit strange being 3 dB older than anyone else there (twice as old, for the technically uninclined). 2. Our 3rd row seats were great, but again weird. We were smack in the middle of the "oh-my-god-I-love-you-John" section, populated with screaming, writhing 19 year old females acting like, well, 19 year old females. 3. Mayer was much, much geekier than I expected. 4. The music was good - even great at times. 5. The SDSU Open Air Theater is a great venue - I can't believe I've never been there. It's a very steep ampitheater with great acoustics. Recommended. 6. I'm really pissed about not bringing my camera. I didn't because the show website and the show itself was plastered with warnings against bring cameras or any recording device, and I didn't want the hassle of arguing with some security person about holding on to my Canon. But it turns out that we may have been the only people in 10,000 who didn't have a camera. Hell, the security guards took pictures for people. All in all, I'm glad we went, but I think the jury is out on young Mr. Mayer. He wrote and performed a superb first disc, but I wonder - will the rock star syndrome set in and cause him to lose the wide-eyed wonder that's so obvious in his first song collection? If so, that'll be bad news for him and us. comment []8:09:14 AM

Sunday, August 18, 2002

DRM Wars I am truly, truly sick of the record industry's assault on digital media. This article, found on Yahoo, tells how the record labels are taking on US-based ISPs because they provide consumers access to a China-based P2P site that contains unauthorized, unlicensed music. While I'm sympathetic to the rights of content owners and creators (music artists, writers, etc.), how can this be productive? What's next - the Christian right suing ISPs for allowing US citizens to access content they find objectionable? The media industry needs to wake up and come up with a protection solution that is inherent in the media itself - a form of digital watermark. Suing access providers is asinine. comment []1:40:05 PM

Not Optional Going to the show tonight reminds me that The Boss is on tour. In fact, he's playing out here on the Left Coast for the coming week, starting in Las Vegas tonight. Here's the schedule - one way or another, you gotta go. comment []1:23:35 PM

Better Living Through Firmware Have finally decided on two key tech toys for the home A/V system. Am buying a Tivo 2 and a new A/V receiver, the Denon 2802. Shopped/compared forever for the receiver, and I'm pretty convinced the 2802 is a winner. Can't wait to hear movies in Dolby ProLogic 2, not the pseudo-surround I've had so far. And the Tivo is all about not watching commercials. Without commercials, I can see my favorite evening shows whenever it's convenient for me, in about 2/3 the time. Not to mention being able to see a college basketball game in half the time. comment []1:10:41 PM

Eponymous Concert Yesterday I learned that John Mayer, he who supplied the inspiration for this blog's name, is performing in San Diego tonight. After considering it for about a nanosecond, I called my friendly ticket scalper and acquired four great seats at a ridiculous price (about 3x face value). But that's what scalpers are for - people like me who wait till the last minute and decide to go, and who also want the good seats. So we're going, in 4th row seats. Not all the reviews are positive, but I still expect the show to be great. comment []12:40:33 PM

Friday, August 16, 2002

I'm working on / thinking about a new model for management of end user computing, and I think Ray Ozzie is really on the right track with the Groove security model. It's the only thing that makes sense - if we live in a world where we collaborate/communicate with many people across many geo/corp/org boundaries, and we have the complication of wireless, mobile computing devices, then we must protect information at the edge, not at the transport layer. End-end encryption is the only reasonable answer. I've often wondered what we'd do with 2 Ghz laptops, 80 GB disks and 512 MB RAM - now I know. We'll protect our data at the application and data store layers with on-the-fly encryption, all the time. comment []9:06:47 AM

Thursday, August 15, 2002

If you're interested in the progress of broadband access in America, check out the Pew Internet and American Life Project. We've gone from 6M broadband homes in 2000 to 24M in 2002. It's happening. The report describes "an evolving broadband lifestyle", which sounds like hype but, IMHO, is factual. Working and living with a constant net connection has certainly changed how I spend my time, and for the better. comment []8:44:46 PM

Offsetting the view out the window, I'm subjected to United's presentation of Spider Man for the third time this month. It was OK the first time, but Jerry Maguire it's not. comment []8:24:35 PM

One of the very, very few benefits of business travel is that occasionally I get to see sights out the window that are breathtaking. In all of human history, only a few of us have lived in a time when we can see the clouds from above, sun shining in pink and gold across them, the occasional thunderhead rising miles above like some improbable Everest. I wonder what Keats or The Bard would have said about a sight like this? You've gotta take your inspiration where you find it, even in coach. comment []6:26:46 PM

Not sure what the difference is now, but offline posting is working again. This post happening at 35,000 feet in route from Chicago to San Diego. Thank God for United's Economy Plus seats - no other coach seat has enough room for laptop use. Yesterday's crisis - the imminent un-employment of my friend - has been resolved, happily. The resolution was simply that he got busy and found another project within the company that wanted his help, so the layoff notice was miraculously rescinded. It's a really, really crummy way to treat people - in fact, it begs the question "why be an employee at all?". Any company that is managed poorly enough to put a family through the threat of unemployment, casually, with no real attempt to look at alternatives, does not deserve the loyalty typically given by employees. Lest I digress into another rant, let's just say that The Firm is not my favorite organization lately. comment []6:17:36 PM

There's a great article in this month's Fast Company describing IBM's push toward "autonomic computing". I like the concepts; they seem right to me. This is the kind of thing I wonder if I'll be around to see in practical use. comment []5:17:48 AM

Evan Williams hits it on the head: "Email gives you the ability to feel guilty about not communicating with people you would have never felt guilty about before." I guess that's why they call him Evhead... comment []5:11:47 AM

Wednesday, August 14, 2002

Posting from Chicago, after another exciting day in the Friendly Skies. Best news of the day - my mid-grade hotel, the Wyndham Garden Inn Naperville, has Wayport-supplied Ethernet access in all their rooms. Score! I've said it before, broadband is a drug. Call me an addict. My mission tomorrow is to absorb several years worth of product development information, make sense of it, and come up with a way to install said product for a client more efficiently than the product originators. Maybe I'm just tired, but it feels like a fool's errand. comment []8:12:59 PM

Today started badly. I got a message from a lifelong friend in Cincinnati. He just got his two-week notice from The Firm. This is a guy who works hard and is effective; who had 90+% billed time for over 3 years running; has kudo letters from every client he's worked with/for; has traveled EVERY week for 3 years; and is in his 2nd week between "assignments". This is a guy with a wife and two kids, who isn't a corporate "player", but is a simple, hardworking, effective project management type willing to kill himself for his job. A soldier, and a good one. And he gets a two-week notice out of the blue? Those of you who know me in realspace know that I was once a fairly senior person in The Firm, before becoming disillusioned with the place. I made a choice of personal control and happiness over money. Sounds sane, but it was harder than you might think. I can't stand it. There's got to be a better way to run a company. It's just criminal - both the stupidity and the result. Why does a company not recognize the difference between people who work hard and are effective versus those who don't (but who happen have a charge number today)? This has really upset me. It makes me want to start a company where this behavior isn't possible or tolerated. I just don't understand how this behavior has allowed the growth of a large, seemingly strong company like The Firm. Perhaps this is my wakeup call - most businesses have nothing to do with being fair or ethical. They're simply money producing machines, not really human cultures. If they're to succeed, people are expendable units, cattle to be made comfortable until the eventual slaughter. I don't buy it. And I'm not sure what I can do in the short term, but longer term I've got to do something about it. comment []9:08:28 AM

Tuesday, August 13, 2002

Saw this linked into Dave Winer's site, and it's just too good not to share. Check out the ever-bizarre evolution of Michael Jackson here . Enjoy. comment []9:42:43 PM

I forget where I got this picture, but I think it's pretty funny. Perhaps this is how I'll represent the new system architecture. I now like the Radio picture tool, so I plan to use more graphics in the blog. comment []8:54:10 PM

I've acquired a pretty interesting assignment. I have to write a paper describing a new model for outsourcing, based on a "service aggregator" concept. This feels a lot like the ASP craze that hit corporate America a few years ago, but unlike most ASPs, I need to come up with something that will actually work. Think Jamcracker . I think the right way to approach this is sketch out the ideal enterprise architecture, then look for services within that architecture that can be supplied by third parties, across a network. The notion of a federation of services also makes sense to me - some services are naturally mandated from the center (user authentication, for example), and others can be part of an optional menu. The bad news is I've only got three weeks to come up with this. I could think about it for three weeks, but getting a final design on paper in that time will be tough. comment []8:47:20 PM

Monday, August 12, 2002

OK, one more thing to add to the list of Things I Hate. You're sleeping peacefully on the flight that just took off, taking advantage of the extra comfort yielded by the acceleration. Suddenly, without warning, the advertisement for the flight's stale movie blares through the PA system, so loud that only someone on serious drugs could continue sleeping. You try to regain the alpha state, but the movie trailer screams on. It's one more exquisite torture in the friendly skies. comment []1:40:47 PM

Sunday, August 11, 2002

Just in case RU "stories" don't work - a report from the Haggin reunion. It was really, really nice to see the 14 or 15 guys with whom I worked 25 years ago. It's amazing how little we've all changed - physical changes, yes, but personalities basically the same. As said before, I'm not much of a reunion fan, but this one was special. comment []12:15:42 PM

Experimenting with Radio "stories". They're supposed to be used for long essays, where you see only a synopsis of the story on the home page, and link on through to the entire story. So far, I can create a story but cannot see the story index on either the local or public home pages. Add that to the odd networking problems I'm seeing, and troubleshooting becomes problematic. We'll see. comment []12:05:43 PM

Saturday, August 10, 2002

Strange things happening with my network connections and Radio. I use at least 3 different network connections (client LAN, home WLAN, on-the-road dialup), and this seems to have confused either my Win2k IP stack (likely) or the Radio app itself. Right now I cannot do offline posting, one of the key features of Radio. Each time I try to connect to the local web server, my machine insists I must connect via dialup to access Radio and post. Nuts. comment []3:16:27 PM

Context switch - have moved from left coast to the heartland, Cincinnati, America's most conservative city. Home of strange chili <skyline> and the Proctor and Gamble <p&g> devil towers. Today's journey was an affirmation of several of my most sacred travel rules: 1. Don't travel on Fridays - you get families plus business folks. 2. Don't take the first flight out - the security lines are the worst. 3. Don't travel on summer weekends - families again, plus thunderstorms, plus the hordes of travel rookies stuffing vast shopping bags of dubious contents into my overhead compartment. In spite of all this, we made it. And we get to do it all over in reverse on Monday. comment []3:08:56 PM

Thursday, August 08, 2002

Just because I can. Here's my wife, the beauteous Kathryn, in full dress-up mode. I'm a lucky guy...         comment []3:53:35 PM

I've got to go buy a Tivo (or equivalent). Not because I need to watch more TV (I don't), but because one of my new projects is helping "a major consumer device company" design the service infrastructure for their next-generation PVR (personal video recorder). I've considered buying one for a while, but now it's (1) market research and (2) deductible. As a bonus, the project should be much fun. Doesn't get much better than this. PVRs are interesting beasts. They're at the nexus of computers, entertainment, media, advertising, digital rights, and networks. It's just too great an idea to hold back, in spite of the stranglehold the advertising model has on TV. So getting a chance to affect their evolution, for better or worse, will be worthwhile. comment []3:37:08 PM

Figures. After a long drought in new projects, now a third project opportunity has gotten a green light this week. It's not raining, it's a damn monsoon. I'll go from working 20 hours per week networking/marketing, to 75 hours/week delivering the goods. Welcome to the stochastic life of an "independent" consultant. comment []11:44:49 AM

If you still don't think 802.11 and wireless access has reached critical mass, take a look at this www.whizboat.com/ . You've gotta love it - a business that installs wireless access and service on boats off the east coast. Thanks to Ray Ozzie www.ozzie.net/blog/ for pointing this out. If all these 802.11 clients were configured as peering points, how strong would the resulting mobile mesh be? Move it to land, change to automobiles, and you've got the biggest, most robust data network in North America. I want one. comment []8:54:15 AM

I've been reading Bruce Sterling's science fiction forever (highly recommended and not well known: Dream Baby), and this rant www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2002/08/05/sterling.html?page=1 from the O'Reilly Open Source convention is a strange but accurate depiction of the software industry today. Read it if you've got time. comment []8:14:40 AM

College reunion coming up this weekend. I've never been much of a reunion person, but I'm looking forward to this one. I think it's because it's a real group of friends, people who had a connection way back when, as opposed to just everyone with the same graduation date. Lots of fun planned, including golf here http://opera.cincinnati.com/golf/coursedisplay.asp?id=26. Amazing - this course will cost $23 to play on a weekend. An equivalent course in Socal would be at least $80 on the weekend. comment []7:42:12 AM

We survived the visit of the Ancient Relative and his 7 (!) multi-generational dependents last night. It was both better and worse than I thought it would be. I found my self feeling sorry for this odd, a little-too-loud 60-something cousin of mine who has now inherited a second and third generation to raise. I can ignore all his Archie Bunker-ish traits when I consider the nightmare it must be to see no end in sight, raising four young grandchildren while at the end of life. Good luck, George. comment []7:24:39 AM

Wednesday, August 07, 2002

Wow. I wasn't kidding about posting frequency suffering. Have operated at a dead run all morning - no time to think, just do. Fortunately, the two projects complement each other, else I'd be really strung out. One is a marketing pursuit, requiring very little in the brains department, just good organizational and communications skills. The other is a more meaty technical assignment, wherein we (I'm part of a team, no solo effort this one) try to do a better job of product concept/design than the client's staff. This one will really take some creativity and later, some technical rigor. Could be worse... comment []1:07:40 PM

Lots happening today - two projects starting up. When it rains it pours. Posting frequency will likely suffer. comment []7:49:22 AM

Tuesday, August 06, 2002

Could it be? At long last, I seem to have gotten the RU Picture Tool to work. At least now I'm seeing the image in my workspace. This picture is a satellite photo of our neighborhood in Encinitas, CA, courtesy of http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/default.asp. In spite of the MSN part of the address, it's a pretty cool site. If this imagery is freely available, imagine what our intelligence agencies have. comment []3:06:20 PM

As I think about the issues associated with the new gig, I'm finding some impassioned writing about the media and digital rights. Here's a very cogent essay and book review by Richard Koman www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2001/12/21/lessig.html, discussing Lawrence Lessig's 2001 book The Future of Ideas. comment []9:54:25 AM

Looks like I'll be doing an interesting job soon, helping design a next generation content on demand system. Lots of interesting technical and business issues to deal with, including DRM and the media companies' pathological hatred of p2p architectures. Lots of p2p references possible, but I like this one www.openp2p.com/ . There is so much possible with the convergence of broadband access and cheap digital home gear, this should be an interesting exercise. comment []8:54:51 AM

Have seen two rental movies on two consecutive nights. First up, "The Royal Tennenbaums". I had high hopes for this one, but it was tragically, completely, inarguably awful. I can't remember a movie this bad (thankfully, the mind blocks memories of intense pain). Second movie, "John Q", was much better though a bit sappy. I'd give it a B. Great soundtrack, surprisingly; excellent use of low frequencies during the dramatic bits. Denzel Washington freaks will really enjoy this, as will anyone who favors nationalized health care. comment []8:48:55 AM

Had one of those character building days yesterday. The projects that should have started did not, plus I was contacted by an ancient relative who was in town and wanted to "re-bond" after almost 30 years. Said Ancient Relative turned out to be a pretty nice guy, but a bit quirky. I'd like to think I'm the kind of person who would welcome any blood relative with open arms, as is the custom in my home state. But I'm really not - I like my distance. One of my favorite quotes is "Houseguests and fish have this in common - after three days, they begin to smell." - Unknown (I looked here www.quoteland.com but could not find any attributed with this bit of wisdom). In spite of all this, the Ancient Relative and his considerable brood are coming by for a cookout tomorrow. I fear the worst, but hope for the best. comment []8:41:30 AM

Monday, August 05, 2002

This article from The Register www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/26517.html is another example of why I'm so anti-Windows XP and anti-Microsoft right now. They've got to be kidding. Like I'm going to sign this: "You acknowledge and agree that Microsoft may automatically check the version of the OS Product and/or its components that you are utilizing and may provide upgrades or fixes to the OS Product that will be automatically downloaded to your computer," Bottom line - I want the freedom to control my computer, or designate who I give that control to. That's true whether I'm an individual or a corporation. What the MSerfs propose is absurd, and irritating. This might be the thing that pushes me to Apple and/or Linux. But what about the masses...? The whole DRM thing has got me worried. The Internet has done great things in freeing up public expression and making rational thought available to people across the world's antiquated boundaries. If MS-style digital rights management gets into the hands of Congress, I really fear for our future. Two hundred years of progress toward free speech could be lost, in Internet time. comment []9:44:58 AM

Navigation now working - only took 30 minutes of research/debug. Next task is to get the Life/Tech category templates to either look just like ASVL homepage, or with a unique look/feel. But that can wait. Thanks to The Shifted Librarian www.theshiftedlibrarian.com for good Radio tips. comment []8:58:34 AM

Trying to add categories back in on the Navigator bar on left. I've got the XML rendering properly, but don't have the file references working. Radio's file structure is still pretty opaque to me. Arrrgh! Back to the RU discussion group for help. comment []8:25:29 AM

For well over a year, I've struggled to finish a screenplay idea called Emergence. I made some real progress during this year's Cabo trip, but lost momentum (again) upon returning to reality. The problem is a strange one - the idea is just too big, too rich for me to fit everything into script format. Getting all the ideas I have for the story told in just pictures and dialogue in 110 pages doesn't seem possible. Or perhaps I'm just not a strong enough scriptwriter, but that's another story... Every week I look at it, make some half-hearted notes, and despair of putting it down on paper. The right thing to do is to jump in and restart the story as a novel, wherein I can be as verbose as I like. But that's an intimidating leap. But I've got to make it. comment []7:46:16 AM

Sunday, August 04, 2002

Another golf first. Just saw Steve Lowery make a double eagle on #17 at Castle Pines. First one I've ever seen. Double eagles are much, much more rare than hole-in-ones; I'd guess by 100:1. Whoa. comment []3:55:54 PM

A milestone was passed this week - this blog received its first comments from someone other than immediate family. Internet publishing is an amazing thing. Perhaps this will make me more likely to comment or email the authors of other blogs. comment []10:17:42 AM

On Friday, I had an interesting phone conference with the old gang from The Firm. Subject was what Firm is doing to establish paper trails and checks/balances to avoid Enron-type 3rd party shenanigans. They needed me to help re-discover all the relationships and transactions with business partners from last year. The interesting part was that it was just like old times - I haven't talked to most of these people in 6 months, after being in pitched battle with them every day for a year, and they seemed quite happy to pick up the conversation as if it never stopped. Weird. I think for them, the time has flown by and little or nothing has changed. I suppose it just shows how far I've moved away from being a corporate animal the last months. comment []10:13:04 AM

Saturday, August 03, 2002

Wasted day today. Maybe wasted isn't the right word, but certainly decadent. Golf at 7am; then dropped by Terry and Julie's at 1pm; then drinks and late lunch with my wife at Charlie's www.charliesbythesea.signonsandiego.com/2.html; and finally an extemporaneous visit to our friend Mary Beth. Extreme nugacity. comment []7:25:56 PM

Friday, August 02, 2002

It's been a good week, professionally. I've been offered three different advisory board positions, two with startups and one with a tech industry giant. Plus, the many threatened consulting projects for Aug-Sept have resolved into at least two that will in fact happen. Getting paid for my time is A Good Thing. comment []3:00:31 PM

This is just too cool.  Wish I had done it: www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2002/08/01/highway_lan.html This is also the best reason I can think of to preserve the SUV - more room for gear. comment []2:11:37 PM

Just heard about a new WISP OEM called Cowave (www.cowave.com ), out of San Francisco. Thanks to Werbach for the tip. Looks like a pretty strong startup - their management team in particular. This space is really starting to heat up. What I'd *really* like to do is buy an ISP, outfit it with gear from Cowave or Meshnetworks, and become a player in metro WLANs. I really haven't run the economics yet, but something tells me this is going to be large, and is probably the model for a new kind of phone company. Solves two really tough problems at once: (1) last mile broadband, (2) simple way to bring VOIP to the home. I want one... comment []11:03:25 AM

One of the coolest things my mother-in-law did on her recent visit was show up with a bag of books. That's like showing up at the Ford Clinic with a baggie full of white powder. So far, I've discovered (OK, I've been led to) at least three new authors whose writing I like. Tess Gerritsen