Kendall Giles

Here are four books on writing I just finished reading that you may find of interest. These books give insight into the nuts and bolts of the writing life, fill in the backstory of how writers craft their ideas, show how to read critically, and discuss why books and writing are important.

How to be a writer in an internet world

This book, Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for the 21st Century Writer, by Jeff Vandermeer, is probably the best, single-volume source for how to be a writer today. It contains strategies, tips, plans, advice, guidance, and motivation for almost all phases of life as a writer, from setting up a healthy and productive work schedule to networking to using social media platforms like Facebook to working with editors to dealing with fame and publicity.

Really, this is a useful book.

Reading like a writer

In Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them, Francine Prose walks us through pieces of model stories written by great writers, helping us train our eye for good technique in the elements of writing good fiction, focusing on individual words, sentences, and paragraphs, as well as dialogue, character, and other components important in making a work enduring and memorable.

Listening in as an author writes a story

In Ron Carlson Writes a Story, author Ron Carlson lets us listen in, piece by piece and draft by draft, to his thoughts and motivations as he writes a short story. Kind of like looking over the shoulder of a professional writer at work.

Reflections on the life of a writer

In A Dangerous Profession: A Book About the Writing Life author Frederick Busch presents a collection of essays musing on authors and works he likes as well as insights into the life of a writer based on his own experiences as novelist, critic, and teacher.

A month or so ago I found a little bird in my basement. I wasn't sure how he got in there --- maybe he came in when I had the outside door opened for a couple hours? I am not a biologist, so I don't know what type of bird it was, but if I had to make a guess, I would say some sort of nuthatch? He had brown stripes, and seemed just as happy sitting on the basement floor as he did hanging upside down on the cinder block wall. Very quick movements --- I couldn't see him in flight, but would just see him appear in a new location, much like the X-man Nightcrawler, teleporting from place to place. Oh, there he is. Oh, now he's gone.

Anyway, I felt really bad that this bird was trapped in my basement. So I put out water and food, and opened the door for hours at a time for several days in a row, hoping he would sense the open outside door and fly to freedom. I was in knots, worried the bird would die, trapped in my dark basement.

But after several days of Operation: Rescue the Little Bird, the stubborn bird was still there.

So, finally, in a fit of desperation, I opened the door to the outside and made a big production of stomping and waving my arms, shaking a broom like a Wild Thing, trying to scare the bird out the door. I was willing to be the angry monster, for a short time, if it meant the bird would survive.

But the little bird just looked at me, hopped from clothes line to rafter, then promptly left via the tiny unused dryer vent leading outside.

So then I felt bad that I had scared the bird, who knew what he was doing the whole time.

Weeks went by with no sign of the little bird in my basement, and me with guilt for being the big bully.

So tonight when I went down to do laundry I was happy to see the little bird again, teleporting to and fro in my basement. And this time I didn't stomp around or wave my arms, but quietly walked back upstairs.

Happy 4th of July!

And this weekend I picked up a new (used, new to me) 32 KG DragonDoor kettlebell! Helpfully painted a nice cheery red.

Now the hard part will be figuring out how to incorporate Red into my training, such that I don't hurt myself or damage nearby objects.

So I mentioned that I am evaluating a TRX suspension system, by Fitness Anywhere, via a 12-week fitness program (FORCE). Today was Day 29.

Today I led off with 140 snatches in 10 minutes, which counted as my intense cardio, then jumped into suspended incline presses and the other strength exercises of the week 3 and 4 program. Next week the exercise sets change again --- I suspect there will be more sets, more repetitions per set, and less rest between sets. I.e., no rest for the weary.

By the way, here's an interesting graphic, via Dean Bruner: the scatterplot shows adult obesity rate as a function of per capita GDP by state. It is interesting to see the data of what we suspected (think about Mississippi and West Virginia, versus Colorado, as noted in this WSJ article) --- there seems to be a negative trend --- poorer people tend to be more overweight. Is this a problem of education?

Sherlock Holmes.

Remember him?

If you will recall, he was quite skilled at thinking his way through problems. But he was also no couch potato --- in fact, he was quite skilled in the martial arts, and these skills aided him in his adventures. In specific, he was skilled at the art called Bartitsu, and this was mentioned in The Adventure of the Empty House.

Developed by Edward William Barton-Wright in England in the late 1800's, Bartitsu is what might be considered to be the first MMA, or mixed martial art, as it combined elements from Western wrestling, jujutsu, British boxing, French savate, Western stick fighting (la canne), and a strong physical culture foundation. Some techniques were published in a self-defence article from 1901 --- "Self-defence with a Walking-stick: The Different Methods of Defending Oneself with a Walking-Stick or Umbrella when Attacked under Unequal Conditions".

Although the art fell out of style, it has lately seen a resurgence of interest. The Bartitsu Society has thoroughly researched the history of the art, publishing two books on its history, and Tony Wolf prepared a short documentary:

Bartitsu is also discussed in the book Absinthe & Flamethrowers: Projects and Ruminations on the Art of Living Dangerously, and fighting techniques from that art are said to be featured in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie by Guy Ritchie.

So I took my kettlebell in to work today to show some folks, and someone installed the following End-User License Agreement on my kettlebell:

BY ACCEPTING THIS KETTLEBELL THROUGH YOUR WINDOW, YOU ACCEPT IT AS IS AND AGREE TO MY DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS WELL AS DISCLAIMERS OF ALL LIABILITY, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL, THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE INSTALLATION OF THIS KETTLEBELL INTO YOUR BUILDING.

This was a humorous take on that incident a few years ago with outrage and frustration against SONY BMG for putting spyware on their music CDs --- back then someone had posted about installing an EULA on a brick and sending it to Sony through their window.

So now my wife can't get mad at me if the kettlebell slips from my hands during training and breaks anything --- I'm covered!

OK --- summer's here and school's out --- time to get serious and get back into shape. My plan of attack is to use the TRX Force Kit, a suspension training system by Fitness Anywhere, and attempt their infamous 12-week training program.

I am assessing this system because I have a crazy travel and work schedule, which prevent me from typical gym usage. The TRX system is light and can be taken with you almost anywhere. I think this system will be a key part of the perfect mobile gym/program I am putting together --- thus the assessment.

What is a suspension system? The basic idea is that you attach a set of cables to any elevated anchor point --- door, tree, fence, bar, etc. --- and use your body weight to effect a large variety of exercises. Moreover, because the exercises do not occur in just one plane of motion, like traditional weight training, you develop core strength through functional training.

Will I make it through all 12 weeks? Or will I crumple into a ball of sweat and agony?

Stay tuned...Day 1 starts today.

After being on a lot of travel lately, I was pleasantly startled as I walked out into my backyard last night to hear a chorus of frogs greet me in welcome:

frog talk, mp3, 32 seconds.

How many different critters can you hear?

"The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering." --- Leonardo Da Vinci

The above quote is from a study on the natural form of the foot and proper running form based on the natural biomechanics of the human form. So it's too bad people shove those works of art and engineering into cramped shoes with thick, padded inserts, leading to bad running form, back and leg pains, and poor posture!

Folks who like to stay healthy often participate in a variety of activities --- running, jogging, hiking, lifting weights, kettlebells, martial arts, RKC, crossfit, etc. And then there's just walking around. All of these activities put a lot of stress on our feet, and the type of shoe we wear impacts our performance. In learning how to run, I discussed the problems some may have with squishy running shoes --- complete with inflexible soles and soft inserts --- especially since those shoes tend to promote the heel-strike running form, and are very unstable for use in the gym when lifting weights. In addition, those shoes, and many other shoes in general, prevent the development of leg stabilizer muscles, important for many functional activities, since they keep the toes of the feet trapped in the toe box and the squishy shoe padding prevents proper contact with the ground.

In fact, here's a timely article on running as nature meant, rather than as the shoe marketers want: "Will Running Barefoot Cure What Ails Us?".

So what is best for these activities, while helping us use a form Leonardo would be proud of?

One idea is to do what the body was meant to do --- go barefoot! I love walking in my bare feet, feeling the grass or sand beneath my toes. In some sense, walking barefoot feels like, well, freedom. However, the modern world sometimes frowns on folks in bare feet, and I don't like stepping on things that hurt. But with the Vibram FiveFingers shoes (sometimes called VFFs) my feet are free and safe!

Long a maker of quality soles for mountaineering boots and other footwear, Vibram designed a new type of shoe. This unconventional shoe is winning awards (e.g., it was named one of the best inventions of 2007 by Time Magazine) and gaining notice as fitness professionals and just plain folks are discovering the benefits of these shoes.

The company makes several models, and I've been enjoying the KSO (Keep Stuff Out) version. This version has a mesh covering the top of the foot and a velcro strap to keep the shoe snug. They also make other versions, such as the classic, the sprint, and the flow.

In addition to being a casual shoe that is very comfortable, I also wear them when working out, especially when lifting weights and running. This is one shoe that fits almost all activities (well, except for coat and tie occasions). They feel like your foot is wearing a soft glove, and when walking around you really can sense the ground beneath your feet. When I run, my body uses a more natural running form, where the foot lands on the fore/mid foot, rather than on the heel as when using squishy running shoes. When lifting weights, I am much more stable, especially in squats and overhead presses, and so am able to lift more weight and get a better workout (and am safer doing so, too).

When I first got them, I wore them the entire day without trouble --- no blisters, no soreness. Definitely happy feet! However, some folks have noted muscle soreness when first wearing them, so you may want to ease into them by wearing them just a few hours at a time. This is because your foot is likely not to have the muscle strength and support structure needed to handle long periods of walking barefoot.

What's not to like about them? Well, you may not like looking like a hobbit, but these shoes are certainly no uglier than the sandals, crocs, and basketball shoes that many people wear! In fact, you may find yourself the center of attention --- people *will* ask you what is on your feet!

You can order them on Amazon, from Vibram itself, or from a variety of outdoors and fitness resellers, such as Kayak Shed.

UPDATE: check out this great article from RKC Mark Cheng on the Vibram Five Fingers shoe, and why you should not settle for sub-optimal training (i.e., cheating nature).

Here's a neat idea for business cards --- make your business card the Google business card:

This certainly makes job transitioning and other status changes easier to deal with, since all you have to do is keep your Google profile up to date (as an example, here's my Google profile), and then just always point to your Google profile.

You can order your own Google business cards from, well, Google!

Here are two simple questions:

1. who wants to be healthy?
2. who wants to be rich?

Probably most of you raised your hands to both questions.

But considering that the National Center for Health Statistics reports that more than 34% of Americans are obese (and with another 33% overweight), and considering that the average American has about $10,000 in credit card debt, there seems to be a big difference between what people say they want to be (the answer to the above questions) and what they actually are (unhealthy and in debt).

I'll leave getting fit for another post, but at least there's a great resource you can tap if you actually want to be rich --- the unambiguously titled new book I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

The book contains a six-week program to get your finances in order, get you out of debt, and help you be rich. But it is important to note that this is not the typical "buy hot stocks" or "hedge funds are great" or "to be rich you need to be an expert in finance" investment books. Rather, this book contains basic, fundamental, core principles and steps you can actually implement, today, to get out of debt and save lots of money. For example, regarding credit cards, the author includes actual scripts you can use to turn the tables on the credit card companies (like the scripts the telemarketers use on you to get you to buy things) and get them to waive your finance charges, lower your APR, and resolve missed payments. The book also includes examples, solid advice, explanations and reasons, and practical tips for getting out of debt and becoming rich.

This book is best for those people in their 20's and 30's -- those most likely to make naive finance mistakes (like going into credit card debt) and those most able to take advantage of the long-term view to money management. But everyone can learn something from the book, from how to negotiate, how to automate your bills and investments, and how to make investment decisions that won't require you to spend a lot of your own time managing them and won't require you to become a finance expert beforehand.

From the current state of the economy, it is clear that a lot of people do not have a basic understanding of how to manage their money. If they really want to become rich, then they should buy the book and actually do something about it, starting today.

Currently available from Amazon in paperback or kindle editions.

One basic theme of the book Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life is the simple question: what will you do in an emergency?

For example, consider the reaction of most people --- if they see a car wreck, their response is likely to be "call 911". Or if the power goes out they will likely say "call the power company". Or if they hear someone breaking into their home, they could say "call the police".

But how do you handle an emergency if there is no one else to cry to for help? What if the responsibility for the response falls onto your shoulders?

For example, after Hurricane Katrina, where local, state, and federal agencies where simply not up to the task of dealing with the disaster, "call 911" was not enough.

Or consider man-made disasters --- just this morning the news headlines read that North Korea fired a long-range missile, against international condemnation. What will you do if a war breaks out?

What will you do in a riot, natural disaster, attack by religious extremists, economic collapse, or other event where you must act in order to save your family and yourself?

Author Neil Strauss considers these questions in an entertaining description of how he transformed himself from a typical "city slicker" into someone who knows how to respond to each of the above scenarios. He describes how he learned to protect his assets, how to "disappear" in a crowd, how to defend himself, how to find water if stranded at sea, how to travel unhindered through police/emergency barriers, how to remain "invisible" as an American when traveling abroad, and even how to turn a credit card into a knife.

This book is not a how-to manual for all of the above, but by considering the experiences and questions raised by the author, it may lead you to consider increasing your skills and knowledge so that you can save yourself rather than depend on someone else to come to your rescue, especially in the event that no one else can or will.

From the book:

When the shit hits the fan, you're going to want to find me. And you'll want to be doing whatever I'm doing. Because I've learned from the best.

You can call me crazy if you want.

Or you can listen to the story of the eight years it took to open my eyes, realize my country can't protect me, and do something about it.

It just may save your life.

What will you do in an emergency?

Available from Amazon: Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life.

UPDATE [November 25, 2009]: There have been a lot of improvements to the Kindle 2 since this post was written: the Kindle 2 now has support for viewing PDF files, allows for manual screen rotation, and provides for *global* wireless access.

The Kindle 2 shipped on Feb 23, (and now that mine has arrived, here is my review of the kindle book reader), but here is a roundup of a few interesting pre-reviews:

• http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/02/amazon-unveils.html

  A little more than a year after the Kindle made its debut, Amazon announced a new, updated version of its popular e-book reader Monday with a big endorsement from Stephen King.

• http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2009/id2009029_980088.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story

  Kindle 2 is more than just a prettier version of its Kindle 1. Though the 10-oz. machine is only one-third of an inch thick--that's 25% thinner than an iPhone--it stores up to 1,500 books vs. 200 in the original. And it offers sharper on-screen images, with 16 shades of gray to offer graphic nuances. Amazon added these based on e-mails from Kindle customers, says Laura Porco, director of Kindle Books. "We're always listening to customers," she says. "We took their feedback to design some things: They said, We want Kindles to hold more books, and we want crisper images."

• http://www.macworld.com/article/138722/2009/02/kindle2_handson.html?lsrc=rss_main

  The Kindle 2 now powers up from USB--a boon for all of us who hated carrying an extra charger with the original device. The mini-USB port at the bottom works not only for power but also for allowing the Kindle 2 to act as a USB mass-storage device, in the event you want to drag and drop files to the handheld.

• http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2340721,00.asp

  So, yes, there are many reasons to dislike the Amazon Kindle 2, but as I see it, the benefits still far outweigh the disadvantages. Trust me, you're going to want a Kindle 2.

• http://ireaderreview.com/2009/02/09/kindle-20-review-should-you-buy-kindle-20/

  WhisperNet and Amazon's great range of book titles (over 230,000 titles including 7,000+ free public domain classics etc.) are still the 31 feature and make the Kindle 2.0 the best eReader available.

It is interesting to hear about Google's mobile book service, just days before Amazon's rumored announcement of a new Kindle:

Today we are excited to announce the launch of a mobile version of Google Book Search, opening up over 1.5 million mobile public domain books in the US (and over half a million outside the US) for you to browse while buying your postage. While these books were already available on Google Book Search, these new mobile editions are optimized to be read on a small screen.

The OCR'd text looks pretty good on my iPod touch.

Our cat had kittens, in a box. Here is a short video of her new babies.

Here is a short video I made of a trip to Daniel Island, South Carolina.

It was a little icy in Richmond this morning.

If you like wine, want to learn good ways to tell the differences between all those grape varieties, or maybe even want to know which wines to pair with which foods, then you might want to check out The Wine Guy : Everything You Want to Know about Buying and Enjoying Wine from Someone Who Sells It, by Andy Besch.

Andy, a former television executive, turned his love of wine into a very successful Manhattan wine store called West Side Wine. In The Wine Guy, he condenses his passion, knowledge, and love of wines into a very readable and useful book. You will learn not only about the different grapes, the different wine regions, and how to taste the wines, but you will also gain the confidence and knowledge you need to buy the wines you like, pair wines with foods, and try new wines you might enjoy. In a sense, this book trains you to be your own Wine Guy.

In addition, the book contains handy charts and tables so that you can learn to decipher wine bottle labels, pick wines according to desired flavors, decide which lesser-known wines to try based on your current preferences, pick which wines to try based on which grape, and determine which are the primary grapes of the different geographic wine regions. Amusing stories and insightful tips---from how to buy wine in restaurants to how to calculate the number of bottles of wine you will need for a party---add to the useful tables and wine knowledge, resulting in a very enjoyable book.

Cheers!

Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World

There is much wisdom contained in the sayings and writings of our ancestors. Unfortunately, especially as evidenced by today's many crises, this wisdom has been forgotten.

If you care to learn some of this ancient wisdom, then you might want to see the new application I wrote for the iPhone and iPod touch called Wise Words.

Now the ancient wisdom of the Havamal, from the Poetic Edda, can always be at your fingertips, for quick inspiration and guidance, or for long-term study, meditation, and growth. The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems written in the 13th century from oral traditions, and the Havamal gives practical advice about life, love, and living.

Available now on the iPhone App Store.

One night a raccoon came to our window in Richmond, VA. Note the cat ears at the bottom of the pic and the raccoon hand against the window - it was quite the stare-down - neither party knew what to make of the other.

So I've long had "learn to play the guitar" on my list of goals. However, despite several attempts at learning such, life, travel, work, and other higher-priority items have jumped ahead in the queue. I know a couple of chords, and can probably pick my way through some simple tablature, but I can in no way say I know how to play the guitar.

Of course, the ideal way to learn is probably to find a professional instructor and take classes on a regular basis. Alas, the major difficulties of frequent, weekly travel and intense work schedules remain a constant in my life, so the luxury of finding an instructor is out.

And I've tried learning from a book before---that doesn't work, for me, either (or maybe I just haven't found the right book). However, perhaps the perfect storm of software, high-tech, and computer-controlled LED goodness offered by Fretlight is the missing key.

There are a couple of things different about the Fretlight system. First, there's the FG-421 guitar:

While their first models from years ago evidently had some quality issues, their current 400 series are solid and seem very well made. In fact, I bought mine from Ebay and it is just like new.

It looks like a regular electric guitar (they have acoustic models as well). However, here's the same guitar, with the lights dimmed:

As hinted by its name, the fretlight guitar has LEDs embedded in its polymer fretboard, and the lights can be controlled to indicate chord and note finger placements.

But if that were all the Fretlight guitar promised, then this would be not much better than a digital version of the old analog system for learning guitar promoted by Roy Clark, where stickers placed on the fretboard indicated where you put your fingers.

Perhaps it is the second differentiator in the Fretlight guitar that is most significant---the guitar jacks into the computer (in addition to the normal amplifier connection in typical electric guitars), allowing for software control of the LED lights. Interactive software lights the LEDs, steps you through complicated finger patterns on lead and rhythm guitar selections, and converts tablature songs into tempo-controlled patterns so you can learn any song you like. Loops, chord progressions, lessons on music theory, lessons on different music styles, video lessons, comprehensive chord charts, improvisation lessons, song editing, and even a GarageBand plug-in round out their offerings. Downloading new lesson packs and songs is painless, and their website interface seems well done. And, they support Macs!

So we'll see if this method works, or if this is just a Guitar Hero for adults.

Snap-Apple Night, was painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833. Supposedly he painted this after attending a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The group on the left are playing divination games, the group in the middle are playing "Snap Apple", a game where an apple is dangling from a string and people, with their arms tied behind their back, try to bite the apple. The first person who bites the coin in the apple wins. The group on the right are bobbing for apples. The caption in the first exhibit catalogue:

There Peggy was dancing with Dan
While Maureen the lead was melting,
To prove how their fortunes ran
With the Cards ould Nancy dealt in;
There was Kate, and her sweet-heart Will,
In nuts their true-love burning,
And poor Norah, though smiling still
She'd missed the snap-apple turning.
On the Festival of Hallow Eve.

Halloween is a great tradition, born in Europe and celebrated all across the world. Falling between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, Halloween is significant in many ways, most notably as it marks the change in the seasons from the brightness of Summer and Fall into the darkness of Winter, and as a chance to reflect on our departed ancestors.

Upon that night, when fairies light
On Cassilis Downans dance,
Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
On sprightly coursers prance;
Or for Colean the rout is ta'en,
Beneath the moon's pale beams;
There, up the Cove, to stray an' rove,
Amang the rocks and streams
To sport that night;

Amang the bonie winding banks,
Where Doon rins , wimplin , clear;
Where Bruce ance rul'd the martial ranks,
An' shook his Carrick spear;
Some merry, friendly, countra-folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nits , an' pou their stocks ,
An' haud their Halloween
Fu' blythe that night.

Many other countries in Europe celebrate the traditional customs of Halloween under festivals of different names. For example, the Roman Catholic Church moved All Souls Day to the time of Halloween in order to put a Christian spin on a traditional Heathen festival (as the church has also tried to do with Yule/Christmas and Easter). And the traditional Halloween festival is also known as All Saints Day in England, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico. St. Martin's Day, Allerheiligen, and Martinmas are also names associated with the Halloween tradition.

In Scotland they hollow out turnips to use as lanterns, bob for apples, and make Dirge Loaves out of oat flour to keep the souls of the dead safe. In Ireland, there lived a man named "Stingy Jack" who was so mean that we couldn't get into Heaven or Hell, and so was forced to walk the earth for eternity carrying a turnip candle with an ember from Hell inside. Today, we carve Jack O'Lanterns to ward off the ghost of Stingy Jack.

From Italy, here is a recipe for Fave dei Morti, or Ossa dei Morti (bones of the dead), which is a type of cookie made with pine nuts, almonds, spices, flour, and sugar, and baked in commemoration of the dead. This tradition and cookie is thought to have originated from the Roman indigenous religious traditions, and then adopted by the Catholic church.

Even Japan has a festival, called o-bon (pronounced like "oh bone") where the spirits of their ancestors are invited back into the homes - in rural areas they even sweep a path from the gravesites to the home, where the spirits are welcomed with 'welcoming fires'. There are also dances and other festivities, as well as getting together with family.

So while it may not be called "Halloween" in Japan, the spirit of the tradition is very similar. Most countries have strong spiritual traditions that recognize that, during certain times of the year, the "veil" between our world and other worlds, between this life and the afterlife, becomes very thin, allowing for certain, um, transitions, and sometimes disturbances, to occur. During those certain times of the year we are more apt to hear the floor creak unexpectedly, or see something out of the corner of our eye. Or we might even get an unexpected chill when walking outside at night. It could be a departed ancestor trying to reach across the veil to a family member, or it could be something else entirely...

So have a Happy Halloween, eat a candy apple, drink some cider, bob for apples, wear an interesting costume, think of your ancestors, protect yourself from Stingy Jack, and prepare for the coming Winter.

Oh, and don't forget to say "BOO!".

As noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 27, Thomas Jefferson writes, after touring through the vineyards of France:

There are four crops of them more famous than all the rest. These are Chateau-Margau, Tour de Segur, Haut-brion, and de la Fite. They cost 3 livres bottle, old: But are so engaged before hand that it is impossible to get them.

Jefferson brought back his knowledge and love of wine to America to try to "elevate the tastes" of America by instilling in them a love of fine wine.

Some of these efforts can be seen by visiting Jefferson's main estate, Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia:

Larger but very similar to his summer retreat, Poplar Forest, Monticello is where, among other pursuits, Jefferson cultivated and promoted his love of wine---trying to establish the Virginia region as a center of wine-making in the Americas.

Here is a portion of the vineyard at Monticello:

Though the Europeans have had many hundreds if not thousands of years to develop hardy and tasty grape varieties suitable for wine-making, Jefferson had to start mostly from scratch in Virginia. But while initial efforts were frustrated by a harsh climate and ruthless insects, today Virginia boasts some 108 wineries, producing great wines.

If you are in the Virginia area, you may be interested in taking a wine tour through Monticello. The "Jefferson and Wine Tour" gives information on Jefferson and his wine-making efforts, even allowing for some unique access to Monticello not available on the standard Monticello tour package. The tour ends with a wine-tasting, hosted by Barboursville Vineyards---an award-winning Virginia winery located on the grounds of the former estate house designed by Jefferson for Governor James Barbour.

Cheers.

It is clear to most that the politicians of today are no where near the caliber of our Founding Fathers, and we have been reminded of this fact quite frequently during this campaign season. For example, even John F. Kennedy knew where to tip his hat: in 1962 the former President was entertaining forty-nine Nobel Prize winners at the White House, where he said,

"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House---with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

If you find yourself needing a reminder of those who helped forge our nation, or want to gain some small insight into their lives, one suggestion is to visit their former homes---even the homes of Jefferson himself, perhaps.

While many know of Jefferson's main retreat in Charlottesville, Virginia, called Monticello, fewer know of his summer home about 90 miles South in Forest, Virginia, called Poplar Forest.

Jefferson, also an architect especially excelling in the Palladian style, designed Poplar Forest to be his private retreat to get away from the constant interruptions and visitors at Monticello, and work began on the home in 1805. Jefferson wrote of his home in 1812:

"When finished, it will be the best dwelling house in the state, except that of Monticello; perhaps preferable to that, as more proportioned to the faculties of a private citizen."

Visitors to the home today can see the progress being made in restoring the house and grounds to what they would have been like in Jefferson's time.

So if all the hot air in Washington gets you down, you may want to consider retreating to Poplar Forest, as Jefferson did, for some contemplation and rejuvenation.

So, I had a plan for the last free month of the summer before school starts: exercise four hours per week for four straight weeks. I accomplished this, but along the way I found that I didn't know how to run.

Especially in light of the Olympics, four hours of exercise per week is nothing compared to what real athletes do. For me, however, with my middle-age lifestyle and Type A work and travel schedule, getting four hours of exercise time per week, for four straight weeks, was a bit of a challenge. I finally accomplished this goal (one on my 101 Goals in 1001 Days project) this week.

I've been trying to do more functional strength training and cross-training---lifting weights, working the heavy bag, and jogging, and had been using an old, typical pair of running shoes to do all these different activities.

The first thing I learned is that typical running shoes are horrible for any type of non-running activity. And when I say "running shoe", I mean the ugly, moon-boot shoes that the salesman will try to sell you in a mall athletic store. You know, the shoes with lots of gaudy colors, often including the word "gel" somewhere in the name or sole, with squishy heals at least an inch thick, and often costing over $100. The walls of your typical sports store are covered with them and the salesman, paid on commission, will swear that these are the best shoes to exercise in.

Basically, for a cross-training shoe, these moon-boot running shoes are not good to use---in fact, they can be quite dangerous. The reason is that when lifting weights, the nice squishy soles on typical running shoes give you an unstable lifting platform, which can cause injuries like toppling over when doing squats, for example, and reduce the lifting effectiveness of your muscles, since your muscle force gets absorbed by the squishy sole rather than being used to actually lift the weight.

So I tossed my running shoes until I could find a replacement. And when I began to exercise in my bare feet, I learned I didn't know how to run! More importantly, I learned that typical "running" shoes are not only not good for cross-training purposes, but they actually are not good for running!

As expected, my lifts became much more stable after giving up my old running shoes, but running in bare feet was a bit of an eye opener. You see, most people who wear those "running" shoes run heel-to-toe. This means that the heel is the first part of your foot that strikes the ground, and then you roll to your forefoot as your step progresses. But if you try to run this way in just your bare feet (try this outside on a sidewalk, for example), you will soon realize that your foot is not engineered to strike heel first! Your foot was engineered to strike with the forefoot first, letting the pad of your foot, arch, and other foot muscles absorb the impact of the step---the heel contact with the ground comes after the foot has settled, if at all.

This site shows an animation highlighting the differences between the forefoot and heel-to-toe running techniques.

So, those squishy running shoes promote running with bad form, with the heel jarring against the ground and sending much of the impact force to the knee. No wonder so many people give up running due to shin splints, sore knees, heel spurs, etc.

When I re-engineered my running form to a more forefoot-first step, I noticed less knee soreness and greatly increased muscle development in the calf and foot muscles. Based on this insight, I chose a shoe with minimal heel, allowing for lifting stability as well as promoting proper running form. Some shoes I've seen recommended as being more suitable for cross-training include the Nike Free, Puma H-Street, Asics Tai-Chi, Asics Bukokan, Vibram Five Fingers, and Addidas Samba, if you insist on wearing shoes at all.

In case you are interested, there are a lot of resources online about this sort of running technique, such as information on the POSE method, Vibram Five Fingers running shoes, and just plain old running barefoot.

But if you've given up running or even walking due to certain injuries, such as those caused by a heel-to-toe step, then you might consider how your foot was engineered and adjust your form according to your fitness needs, while possibly ditching the squishy running shoe.

HOWEVER, note that what works for me might not work for you. In fact, I recently heard from a friend who suffered from plantar fasciitis when running on the balls of his feet, but was fine when running heel-to-toe.

So, for a bit of a running/health pun: your mileage may vary.

There are a number of tools that have become available recently that overlay population features on top of geographic maps (thanks NumbersGuy). The data is from government surveys, crime logs, census logs, etc., and have been available for a very long time. However, by adding the geographic component and a web interface, the data is suddenly much more accessible and useful, especially to the individual.

For example, are you going to buy a new home and want to check out neighborhoods for various factors, such as crime, income, education opportunities, neighborhood walkability, etc.? Or are you interested in checking out your current neighborhood? Do you want to open a business and so want to target specific markets?

Below are a number of online tools that you may help you answer these questions:

• SpotCrime: shows crime statistics for a given address
• PolicyMap: shows census, real estate analysis, crime, mortgage origination, education, income, demographic, job, energy, and other statistics
• Walk Score: rates a given address on its walkability - a measure of the quality of life around a given address when walking
• Criminal Searches: search a given neighborhood or even people for crimes and offences.

As the first of several examples, here is an image of the distribution of household incomes around VCU in the year 2000, using the PolicyMap service. The free version unfortunately only gives access to old data (e.g., year 2000 for incomes), and the resolution is a little course (does not give block-by-block resolution), but you still can see overall trends. In the figure, the regions shaded with the darker colors indicate higher median household incomes.

The image below, from SpotCrime, shows the various crimes that were reported and logged by police from March 4, 2008 to May 4, 2008 around VCU. The different icons indicate different types of crimes, such as assaults, thefts, arson, arrests, robbery, burglary, vandalism, etc. While the number of crimes over just a two month period might seem high, VCU is an urban university in the middle of a low-income part of town (see previous median income image) with a dense population, so some amount of crime is unfortunately probably to be expected without better enforcement and more security.

Finally, on the bright side, VCU does appear to be a neighborhood that is quite walkable, as seen in the following graphic, where WalkScore gives VCU a walkability score of 88 out of 100, where 100 is the best walkability score you can get. Each icon represents a grocery store, restaurant, coffee shop, bar, movie theatre, school, park, library, bookstore, fitness center, drug store, etc., that are good to have within walking distance - the more of these establishments there are, the higher the walkability score.

You might be interested in checking out a post I made on my university blog, where I discuss a table showing numbers of degrees being produced versus projected job demand in several disciplines. The results may surprise you (and may give insight into why the U.S. keeps outsourcing high-tech jobs).

Hint: where are the students?

If you want a fun day trip, don't mind being overwhelmed by cute, and want to get up close and personal with a camel or perhaps an ostrich, then you should consider a visit to the Virginia Safari Park, located off Interstate 81, just south of Lexington and northwest of Lynchburg --- right beside Natural Bridge.

They have a variety of land mammals and birds, such as llamas, giraffes, pot-bellied pigs, bison, emus, elk, zebras, camels, and some endangered African animals.

You can either drive through the three-mile trail or you can ride in a wagon, pulled by a tractor. As you drive along, the animals will come up to the car and you can feed them special food from plastic buckets. We bought four buckets of food for $10, and that was about the right amount for the three-mile trip.

Some of the critters will be happy to relieve you of your bucket if you aren't careful:

You also have to be careful that you don't get an additional passenger in your car:

In addition to the safari trail, they also have a giraffe feeding station, a kangaroo walk-about, a lorikeet landing, primates, tigers, warthogs, an aviary, and a petting area.

So it was a nice day trip up in the beautiful Virginia mountains, where the buffalo do roam and the antelope do play. Camels too.

Time has a way of warping when you are not looking. Blink, and you'll soon realize that years have gone by, as you struggle with work, paying bills, and just making ends meet. But as you get older, you need to be more careful about these large lapses in time. And without proper care, the body will quickly degrade if not kept in shape, as can be seen by America's expanding waistline and the fact that the U.S. Obesity Epidemic Continues to Grow.

We'll see if I caught mine in time, but for now at least I can begin the process of getting back in shape. Towards that goal, we recently completed setting up a home gym.

Why set up your own home gym? Why not just join a local fitness center? Well, for me, my biggest constraint is time, and so having a gym at home really pays for itself when you consider the overhead of travel to and from a fitness center. Also, as I learn more about what is involved in fitness and proper exercises, I have found that most local fitness centers just do not have the right types of equipment there to be worth my time and money. And I really shouldn't have to mention awful music, OPS (Other People's Sweat), and hefty fees commonly found at the local fitness centers.

A good guide on how to set up your own home gym, with pointers to proper equipment and possible vendors, can be found here in the September 1, 2002 issue of the CrossFit Journal. Our current home gym is a first-pass at their prescribed configuration, and includes a multi-station exercise center, plates and dumbbells (and a couple kettlebells), treadmill, striking dummies/bags, pullup station, and some tumbling matts. There are a few pieces of equipment I am lacking, such as a climbing rope, rings, and a rowing machine, but for the most part the current configuration allows for a reasonably effective and useful workout.

Note that the above-linked CrossFit Journal article also contains a list of things you can do to get kicked out of your local gym (I think they were being humorous) - maybe that's a way to get your gym to refund the remaining balance of your gym membership if you want out?

Day 1
Bring your own music - use a boom box - and turn it up to inspiration levels and start working out. ACDC's "Thunderstruck" should do the trick.

As for how to structure your exercise workouts, I can't think of a better program than CrossFit - there you'll find a WoD (workout of the day), videos on how to do each exercise, nutrition information, and lots more. They stress functional fitness, and their workouts will help you get into the best shape of your life.

If you want more of a tactical workout, then you might want to try The Pit Workout and The Pit Workout - CrossPit. I am currently working through The Pit Workout and, well, let me just say it's not yoga down at the Y or tae-bo. Once I get The Pit Workout under my belt, I'll move to CrossPit.

Finally, if you need some motivation to get back in shape, whether you stick with your fitness center or build a home gym, and want examples of how effective the CrossFit program is, you may want to watch this video of one of the CrossFit workouts.

Note that setting up this gym completes one task of my 101 Goals in 1001 Days project.

If you think that you make rational, reasoned decisions, or that you are the master of your domain, etc., then you might consider reading Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely.

This book provides a very interesting glimpse into just how humans make decisions in real life---it turns out that in a variety of situations, humans are not the masters of rationality that we assume them to be.

Economics is very good at making lots of models to predict supply and demand, though a core assumption is that humans will always make rational decisions. One look at the current economy gives weight to the statement that economists have a very hard time with getting their complex models to reflect, in any reasonable way, reality. Dan's take on economics is that humans, more often than not, make irrational decisions, leading to a new field called Behavioral Economics. Through a series of very interesting experiments, Dan shows that his suppositions are correct---humans make irrational decisions a lot, and the results of his experiments give insight into why and how people respond as they do to life situations.

Example experiments include testing human decision making when we have lots of options, how our decision making is distorted when we are sexually aroused, why we are dishonest, and how we are influenced by the placebo effect and the power of suggestion.

I found this book very entertaining---now I know why a 50-cent Aspirin works and a 1-cent Aspirin doesn't---and I do think Dan has done a great service in highlighting and investigating how humans really make decisions, as opposed to how traditional economists assume we make decisions.

Finally, reading this book finishes one of my 101 goals in 1001 days.

I just created a set of 101 resolutions/goals/things-to-do that should keep me occupied for the next 1001 days.

I first read about the project, called 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days, on Robert Talbert's blog, and then visited the triplux site for more information. It seems like an interesting way to structure getting things done, so I figured it is worth a shot.

Remember, 1001 days is equivalent to about 2.75 years, so I'll be (hopefully) ticking off tasks as I accomplish them for some time to come, but if I go too long without accomplishing anything, feel free to ping me.

Also, you might want to consider joining in on the fun by creating your own set of 101 Goals or things you want to do and then, well, doing them.

Just yesterday I paid $4.09/gallon for 87 octane gas in Baltimore. Many people, lured into buying bloated, inefficient cars, trucks, and SUVs made and marketed by Detroit, are now feeling similar pains in the wallet. An ABC news story suggests that gas may soon cost $7/gallon.

But it is not just the high price of gas that is causing concern. All across the U.S., hundreds of thousands of people are losing their homes to foreclosure or are unable to sell their homes, and the crown jewels of the U.S. are being bought up by unsavory foreign governments taking advantage of the weak dollar.

Everyone wants to just throw their hands into the air, but if you have wondered why these events are happening, then you might consider reading The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash by Charles R. Morris.

This book won't help you get out of debt, sell your house, or improve the degrading quality of the education system. But what it will do is put the current economic crisis into context, give insight into how economic and personal spending practices contributed to the problem, and help us understand what can be done to improve our national situation. It will also help you realize why and how the much heralded Alan Greenspan and his Chicago economics theories may have actually led to our current economic downward spiral, as did the lack of critical thinking skills by the millions of Americans who tried to buy houses when they could not afford to, assisted by greedy banks, other lenders, and Wall Street. It will also show how the follies of the current Presidential administration led to the decline of American economic standing in the world, with potentially dire implications for us all going forward.

There are no quick fixes for the current situation we voted and spent ourselves into, but this book at least paints a plausible explanation for why we are here. Where we go from here depends in large part on the resilience and fortitude of the American peoples, and this book at least helps show a reality clearly the result of causes and effects rather than from forces outside our control.

Actually, a terrapin. Undertook a massive relocation effort to save this little guy from a subdivision of cars, lawn mowers, and dogs. He seemed to like his new country digs.

So, there was this turtle, going the wrong way on a busy street. Naturally, having swerved to miss him, I pulled off the road, ran through traffic, and rescued him.

I put him in the floorboard of the car and drove home. We have a small pond, so he was quite happy to get out of the car and into the water!

Yesterday was a little busier than normal. In the morning I gave a research talk, "Text analysis with Iterative Denoising," at the spring meeting of the International Biometric Society, Eastern North American Region.

The conference was in Arlington, Virginia and my hotel was overlooking the Reagan National Airport. In the photo below (taken on a cloudy morning), you can see some of the airport structures, and just above the horizon you can see a plane taking off.

Immediately after presenting I rushed to Baltimore for a research meeting. I was interested to see some of the changes to campus since the last time I was there. This building below, just south of Garland Hall, is completely new, and serves as the university's new visitor center. That whole area used to be a gravel parking lot where I parked when on campus. Below the field is a new 600 car underground parking garage.

After my meeting, it was back to Richmond, and grading papers and preparing lectures awaited my return.

Technorati Tags: academia, living, virginia

WHEN: Saturday, May 10th, 2008

One hundred thousand welcomes to Maryland's Scottish Event! Enjoy bagpipes, Scottish and Irish dancing, shopping, traditional food and afternoon tea. Watch kilted, professional Highland athletes compete for victory - tossing trees and throwing heavy weights. Enjoy bagpipe music as you stroll through Vendor's Row featuring Celtic goods and delicious foods from across the pond and America as well. Free genealogy service will be available as well, with over 30 clans on hand to further assist and educate about your family's heritage and tartan.

For more information, go to their website: http://www.sasmm.com/celtic_festival.htm

Technorati Tags: culture, living, spirit

It is sometimes interesting to investigate history a little in order to determine the context of modern events.

Take Easter, for example.

While many Christians view Easter as the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, Easter as a religious event goes back much farther than that.

"Easter" comes from the ancient Germanic Goddess of spring, nature, and renewal, Eostre, or Ostara. This Goddess was symbolized by the hare and eggs, for reproduction and fertility during a time of year when the Germanic folk celebrated the coming warmth of spring and the planting of new crops, at a time marked by the Spring Equinox.

People would often color these Easter eggs, give them as gifts, eat them for good luck, and even hang them from trees to welcome good spirits:

The display and gift-giving of colored eggs was a common springtime practice among ancient Saxons, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians, and other pagan peoples.

This celebration continues today as the Ostara Rite, or Easter, though the Christians have adjusted the storyline a bit.

Even the Easter Bunny comes from the ancient Germanic religions:

Germans brought the legend of the Easter rabbit to America, though Easter itself wasn't widely celebrated in America until after the Civil War.

So give thanks to Eostre by coloring an egg (and you can refer to a previous post on some egg coloring ideas for the computationally inclined), eating a chocolate bunny, and welcoming the warmth of spring. These rituals are much more traditional than you might have previously thought.

Technorati Tags: culture, spirit

I just thought these links might be of interest for those wanting to decorate eggs, perhaps using your computer:

• with Mathematica: http://www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/2008/03/who-among-you-a.html
• ovals and egg curves: http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/eggcurves.htm

Technorati Tags: culture, spirit

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, has died:

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

As I write, more homages to Gary are coming in:

• BBC
• CNET
• Salon
• Boing Boing
• io9

For me, playing Dungeons and Dragons started in middle school, and we used the first set of rulebooks - a volume of three stapled pamphlets that came in a small white box: "Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargame Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures." D&D's 4th edition is set to come out this year.

"Critical hit!"

We played for hours, day and night, learning to explore, expand our minds, marshal creativity, develop problem solving skills, dream, love, live. We entered tournaments, designed campaigns, read, and learned about history, culture, and how the world worked.

We laughed. We cried. Relationships with girlfriends who hated it didn't work out; we married the girlfriends who loved it. We realized that the potential of the world was limited only by our imaginations.

Even now, throughout my travels, I still meet people, young and old, who cut their teeth on Dungeons and Dragons. With a knowing nod, we share a common bond. An instant party, of a different kind.

So I lift a horn of mead to Gary Gygax --- to the power of imagination, and to many adventures ahead!

Technorati Tags: culture, living

Now this is a heritage celebration: the largest fire festival in Europe, Up Helly Aa, takes place each year in Shetland the last Tuesday in January.

"Guizers" form a torch-light procession and proceed to ceremonially burn a full-size replica Viking longship.

I think most folks in the U.S. are too short-sighted to try something like that here.

Technorati Tags: culture, living, spirit

I've been on walkabout since June, and have finally returned. Now I know a little what Bilbo & c. felt like after finally coming back to the Shire. And just in time too, for the trees are turning their fall colors -- here's looking down my driveway:

Technorati Tags: living, travel, virginia

One of my friends is a falconer, and so I got to see some of her raptors up close.

A Saker Falcon.

A Goshawk.

A Harris Hawk.

Technorati Tags: culture, living

No doubt, by now you have heard about the fires ravaging Southern California at the moment -- having consumed an estimated hundred thousand acres so far. By Monday, hundreds of thousands of half a million people had fled or been ordered to evacuate their homes [this is now the largest internal evacuation since hurricane Katrina].

In September I drove through Malibu, admiring the homes there. One home in particular was built like a castle. Today, that castle home is ashes. Many of the movie stars live in Malibu, and so folks like singer/actress Olivia Newton-John and director James Cameron have had to evacuate.

The satellite image above is from NASA and shows how quickly the fires grew yesterday, October 21, 2007.

Planes flying into L.A. from Sacramento had to pass through a massive layer of dark smoke. The captain of the aircraft warned passengers that the smoke they smell is outside the plane and that their plane was not actually on fire.

And though the media is fixated on Malibu, with all the Hollywood stars, San Diego is thought to be in much worse shape.

Below is a map someone created showing the current fires. I am in Los Angeles, the spot in the ring of fire.

More up-to-date information on the fires can be found here http://calfire.blogspot.com/.

From BoingBoing: San Diego Union Tribune fire blog, KPBS on twitter, Red Cross "Safe and Well" list.

Technorati Tags: living, travel

Before you get too excited, no, it is not a museum of hammers. When I first saw the museum in Los Angeles' Westwood area, I thought how great to have a museum on hammers - battle hammers or maybe even Thor's Hammers!

Alas, that was not the case, but you should visit it anyway if you are in the area. The Hammer Museum houses some of the art collected by the late Armand Hammer, who was an American industrialist (no, Armand Hammer did not create the Arm and Hammer baking soda). He collected art his entire life, and amassed a very large collection. This museum displays some works from his collection and rotates through other exhibitions. On Thursdays there is free admission, so this is a prime time to visit.

From Hammer's private collection, we saw paintings by French 19th century masters, other European master paintings, and 18th-20th century American artists. There were van Goghs, Monets, a Rubens, and very nice Rembrandts, including Rembrandt's Juno and Portrait of a Man Holding a Black Hat.

There was also an exhibition of 17th-19th century advertisements called broadsides that depicted showings like Toby the sapient pig, a dulcimer player with no arms, the real-life Tom Thumb, and fortune telling ponies.

There was also a modern art media exhibition showing, for example, a guy pushing a block of ice through a city until it melted.

There are many events held at the museum throughout the year, and the museum itself is managed by UCLA.

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living, travel

Snap-Apple Night, was painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833. Supposedly he painted this after attending a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The group on the left are playing divination games, the group in the middle are playing "Snap Apple", a game where an apple is dangling from a string and people, with their arms tied behind their back, try to bite the apple. The first person who bites the coin in the apple wins. The group on the right are bobbing for apples. The caption in the first exhibit catalogue:

There Peggy was dancing with Dan
While Maureen the lead was melting,
To prove how their fortunes ran
With the Cards ould Nancy dealt in;
There was Kate, and her sweet-heart Will,
In nuts their true-love burning,
And poor Norah, though smiling still
She'd missed the snap-apple turning.
On the Festival of Hallow Eve.

Halloween is a great tradition, born in Europe and celebrated all across the world. Falling between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, Halloween is significant in many ways, most notably as it marks the change in the seasons from the brightness of Summer and Fall into the darkness of Winter, and as a chance to reflect on our departed ancestors.

Upon that night, when fairies light
On Cassilis Downans dance,
Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,
On sprightly coursers prance;
Or for Colean the rout is ta'en,
Beneath the moon's pale beams;
There, up the Cove, to stray an' rove,
Amang the rocks and streams
To sport that night;

Amang the bonie winding banks,
Where Doon rins , wimplin , clear;
Where Bruce ance rul'd the martial ranks,
An' shook his Carrick spear;
Some merry, friendly, countra-folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nits , an' pou their stocks ,
An' haud their Halloween
Fu' blythe that night.

Many other countries in Europe celebrate the traditional customs of Halloween under festivals of different names. For example, the Roman Catholic Church moved All Souls Day to the time of Halloween in order to put a Christian spin on a traditional Heathen festival (as the church has also tried to do with Yule/Christmas and Easter). And the traditional Halloween festival is also known as All Saints Day in England, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico. St. Martin's Day, Allerheiligen, and Martinmas are also names associated with the Halloween tradition.

In Scotland they hollow out turnips to use as lanterns, bob for apples, and make Dirge Loaves out of oat flour to keep the souls of the dead safe. In Ireland, there lived a man named "Stingy Jack" who was so mean that we couldn't get into Heaven or Hell, and so was forced to walk the earth for eternity carrying a turnip candle with an ember from Hell inside. Today, we carve Jack O'Lanterns to ward off the ghost of Stingy Jack.

From Italy, here is a recipe for Fave dei Morti, or Ossa dei Morti (bones of the dead), which is a type of cookie made with pine nuts, almonds, spices, flour, and sugar, and baked in commemoration of the dead. This tradition and cookie is thought to have originated from the Roman indigenous religious traditions, and co-opted by the Catholic church.

Even Japan has a festival, called o-bon (pronounced like "oh bone") where the spirits of their ancestors are invited back into the homes - in rural areas they even sweep a path from the gravesites to the home, where the spirits are welcomed with 'welcoming fires'. There are also dances and other festivities, as well as getting together with family.

So while it may not be called "Halloween" in Japan, the spirit of the tradition is very similar. Most countries have strong spiritual traditions that recognize that, during certain times of the year, the "veil" between our world and other worlds, between this life and the afterlife, becomes very thin, allowing for certain, um, transitions, and sometimes disturbances, to occur. During those certain times of the year we are more apt to hear the floor creak unexpectedly, or see something out of the corner of our eye. Or we might even get an unexpected chill when walking outside at night. It could be a departed ancestor trying to reach across the veil to a family member, or it could be something else entirely...

So have a Happy Halloween, eat a candy apple, drink some cider, bob for apples, wear an interesting costume, think of your ancestors, protect yourself from Stingy Jack, and prepare for the coming Winter.

Oh, and don't forget to say "BOO!".

Technorati Tags: culture, living, religion, spirit

There will be an an event held at Virginia Tech titled "Bellerophon to Beowulf to Batman: The Image of the Hero", Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 7-9pm, in 113 McBryde Hall. Free and open to the public.

Motivating questions include: What is a hero? Has "heroism" changed? Does Buffy have anything to do with Beowulf?

It sounds like undergraduates will be presenting some of their research, followed by a faculty roundtable, including:

* Terry Papillon (Classics & Honors Program) - ancient world 
* Karen Swenson (English) - Norse sagas 
* Charlene Eska (English) - King Arthur 
* Stephen Prince (Communication) - modern pop culture 
* Kaye Graham (English) - Harry Potter and children's literature 
* LtCol. William Stringer (Corps of Cadets) - modern military 

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living, virginia

A Viking ship that was built in 1892 and sailed across the Atlantic, down the Erie Canal, through the Great Lakes and to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, is currently in need of your help. The image above is of this ship moored in front of Manufactures, Chicago, in 1893.

This 76-foot ship, known as The Viking, is currently housed in Geneva at Good Templar Park (near Chicago). Left to neglect, this ship is doomed unless a restoration project receives funds.

From an article by the Norwegian National League:

The "Viking" was built at Framnes Shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway in 1892. It was copied after the ancient Viking ship "Gokstad". Excavated in 1880, the "Gokstad" had been called the most beautiful ship ever built. The "Viking" is approximately 76 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 7 feet high from the bottom of the keel to the gunwale. Clinker built with planking hand split from green logs, the "Viking" made 11 knots and the hull was observed to flex with the waves.

Most importantly, the Viking ship was declared one of ten most endangered historic sites in Illinois by a statewide historic preservation group.

American Express is running a competition for projects to receive funds, and the Viking ship is in the runoff. Some of the other projects and buildings in the competition might be nice things to do, but are not in as imminent danger of being destroyed --- the Viking ship will decay into the water unless we take action now to preserve this important cultural icon.

How can you help?

Go to: the partnership in preservation site, register, and VOTE FOR THE VIKING SHIP - you can vote ONCE A DAY, EVERY DAY, until voting ends on October 10, 2007.

Other links of interest on Vikings and Viking Ships:

• http://www.vikingship.us
• http://www.stigombord.dk/index_uk.html
• http://www.abc.se/~m10354/bld/viking.htm
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/ships.html
• http://sio.midco.net/danstopicalstamps/gokstad.htm
• http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/vikingteacher.htm
• http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/norse.html

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living, technology

Curled up behind the bookcase, it looked like one of our kittens. But the snout and tail gave it away!

Technorati Tags: living, virginia

The full report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel regarding the massacre of students and faculty members by Seung Hui Cho has been released.

On April 16, 2007, Seung Hui Cho killed 32 students and faculty, wounded 17, and shot himself. While clearly the fault lies with Cho, an independent investigation was conducted to see if there were any lessons that we could learn so that these tragedies might be prevented in the future.

This BBC article gives a good summary of the results of the report, but some findings seem to be that:

• Cho's parents did not make clear to the university his mental health problems
• Virginia Tech and state health workers did not intervene effectively to take corrective action when repeated evidence of Cho's problems were exhibited
• There was a critical failure of the emergency communication process by the university and campus police
• Virginia's mental health laws are flawed and mental health services are inadequate
• emergency medical care was very effective

Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher asked a very reasonable and pointed question regarding privacy laws that do more harm than good:

Here's what I don't get. In the hundreds of interviews the panel conducted, why didn't they ask all those people whose job it is to care for students one question: How would you have handled Cho if you had let your conscience, not privacy laws, guide you?

It also seems unfortunate that Cho's high school, which recognized his mental health problems and intervened to give him special assistance, tutoring, and programs so that he could graduate high school, did not tell Virginia Tech about Cho's situation. As quoted in this article about Cho's early childhood:

"What the admissions staff at Virginia Tech did not see were the special accommodations that propped up Cho and his grades," including private sessions with teachers that spared him public speaking...

Strangely, the report did not talk about religion.

Hopefully the report's findings will be heeded by universities, governments, and mental health workers, to help prevent something like that from happening again. But we all should not forget what happened on that tragic day.

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, virginia

A colleague just gifted me with the book Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People, by Jane Bryant Quinn.

Unlike complex financial strategies based on timing the market or spending inordinate amounts of time and energy tracking various stocks and funds, Quinn's advice is motivated by the desire for simple strategies that anyone, with any schedule, can implement. Anyone has time to follow her advice and reap the rewards. Topics include buying insurance, buying a house, getting rid of debt, and how to invest money.

Technorati Tags: academia, income, living, review

So I happened upon this herd of cows. As they saw me approaching, they wondered if I had some sweets with me.

But I didn't, so they bolted.

Except for the bull, who wasn't happy that I scared everyone away, and that I didn't have any sweets.

Technorati Tags: living, virginia

It is easier than ever for anyone in the world to get a good education. Many top universities are placing their course content online, for free. There are also other educational resources put online by universities and organizations (like podcasts from NASA).

For many of the courses, not only do you get the syllabus for the course, but lecture notes, assignments, and sometimes even audio and video of the lectures!

Popsci.com recently posted a survey of many of the online resources, and I have included some below, including one that popsci missed.

• UC Berkeley Webcasts
• MIT OpenCourseWare
• Stanford Center for Professional Development
• University of Illinois' NetMath
• NASA Podcasts
• AstronomyCast
• Quirks and Quarks
• The Naked Scientists
• Harvard Extension School

So now it is easier to realize your dream, learn something new, or chart a new career. Best of all, you do not even have to get off your couch to take a class, since everything is online. Why wait until tomorrow to learn that language, write that book, solve that problem, or write that code?

Technorati Tags: academia, living

Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio.

While the shiny labels on bottled water make us think we are doing the right thing by buying and drinking it, this story lists 5 reasons not to drink bottled water:

• Bottled water costs more than gasoline
• Is regulated by the FDA less than tap water
• The containers are plastic: 80% are thrown away each year, entering oceans and filling garbage dumps
• More bottled water means less improvement to the public water supply
• Fosters the corporatization of the water supply

Also, many investigations have shown that expensive bottled water is often little more than regular tap water with a fancy label.

While it is unfortunate that probably most people think bottled water is somehow better for them than plain tap water, as a valid reason for drinking bottled water I can see that bottled water might be useful when traveling to different towns, since you would not be accustomed to the bacteria strains present in the local tap water systems. Some also like bottled water when exercising.

As a resolution to the dilemma, I have found that buying a reusable bottle, such as the Colored Lexan Wide Mouth Bottle (32 oz.) - Nalgene Water Bottle, and re-filling it with filtered water or tap water, seems to be a reasonable compromise between not being wasteful with all the plastic throw-away yet having water convenient when exercising or traveling.

The bottles pictured above have a wide-mouth, making it easy to add sports-powders or ice cubes to the bottle, and the lexan material means that the bottle will last for many years of rugged use. Note that the bottles comes in a variety of colors, and there are also narrow-mouth versions.

Technorati Tags: living, science, technology, travel

If you are filled with the D.C. Beltway Blues, or are tired of all the big-city grime, crime, and lack-of-time, then a trip to the Marriott Ranch might be just the escape you need.

About 45 miles outside the beltway, Marriott Ranch is a working cattle ranch in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Hume, Virginia. The ranch has about 4,200 acres, and, in addition to cattle, has a bed and breakfast called the Inn at Fairfield Farm. You can also go horseback riding, hiking, off-road jeeping, and fishing. In addition to people wanting to get back to nature, the site is also a popular destination for company retreats and weddings. Around the ranch there are vineyards and wineries, fishing, rafting, canoeing, Civil War Trails, the Shenandoah National Park, and the Skyline Drive.

We went on a guided trail ride and had a great time. We have been to other destinations for trail rides, but this one was much better---the horses were healthy and well-kept, and the trail ride was more relaxed and natural than some other rides I have been on.

My horse was not too thrilled with having his picture taken.

Saddle-up!

Here's one happy camper.

Here we are, heading out.

This is an active cattle ranch, so sometimes you see some of the other residents.

Great scenery too!

And an old timey saloon is a great place for a picnic after a hard day's ride.

They also offer other rides in addition to the basic trail ride: you can go on overnight rides, mountain rides, cattle drives, and even learn how to be a cowpoke.

Technorati Tags: culture, living, review, travel, virginia

Be more than just the master of your own domain:

• Find exactly what you are looking for on the web
• Outbid everyone on eBay
• Share one WiFi connection with multiple computers
• Learn how to make your own blog and wiki

Your friends will be amazed!

Seriously, if you are looking to turbo-charge your online experience, then you should pick up the new book Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet---Better, Faster, Easier by Mark Frauenfelder.

I went to Mark's book signing in Santa Monica tonight, held at the Barnes and Noble in the 3rd Street Promenade. There, Mark entertained a room full of people with talk about the origins of BoingBoing, the future of the music industry, the future of the publishing industry, lots of examples from his book, and insight into how the book came about.

Mark is a really nice guy and has lots of insight into how to use the Internet and Web effectively to increase your productivity and, well, happiness.

And Mark was wearing a Scott eVest shirt like I was also wearing, so not only is he smart, but he's cool too.

Technorati Tags: book, culture, review, technology

I guess now I have had the official California experience---last night we had a small earthquake:

The 4.5 preliminary magnitude quake was centered 4.1 miles north-northwest of the suburb of Chatsworth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was extremely shallow, at only 3 miles deep.

It happened a little before 1AM, and woke me up---the bed was shaking and at first I thought someone was in the room moving the bed around.

It is very disorienting to wake up to an earthquake.

Technorati Tags: living, travel

How many of you are a little tired of all the really long, complex, rights-waiving, non-negotiated licensing agreements foisted upon us when we install software, buy products at Best Buy, or download songs from an online music service? My guess is that you really don't read those agreements, but if you did, you would see how silly these companies are getting.

However, the good folks over at reasonableagreement.org have the right idea. They have an anti-EULA that they suggest you put on your credit card slips when you sign them, or include with your warranty cards when you mail them back, or put them at the bottom of your emails.

So, while you can go to their site and see how this agreement can be customized for your particular use, here is a reasonable agreement for this webpage:

READ CAREFULLY. By reading this webpage you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies (”BOGUS AGREEMENTS”) that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.

Technorati Tags: culture, living

Ever wanted to read more, but never seem to have the time?

If so, you may be interested in DailyLit, a site that will break up a book you want to read into easily-digestible chunks and send you one chunk per day (or more, if you like). The chunks are small enough that you can read them in less than five minutes, and so by reading a little each day, in between your moments of busyness, you can complete books that you have been meaning to read, but never quite have the time for.

The books you subscribe to can be sent to you via email or RSS. The service is free, and the books are free too.

Because if you are like us, you spend hours each day reading email but don't find the time to read books. DailyLit brings books right into your inbox in convenient small messages that take less than 5 minutes to read. This works incredibly well not just on your computer but also on a Treo, Blackberry, Sidekick or whatever the PDA of your choice. In the words of Dr. Seuss: Try it, you might like it! (Oops -- it would appear that the actual quote from Green Eggs and Ham is "You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may.")

Do you believe in elves? They are not just for Tolkienites, you know.

As an Icelander, I am aware that invisible creatures are lurking about all around us. Growing up in the countryside, I lived on a farm at the foot of a mountain, where consideration toward the hidden world was as common as the courtesy you pay any other farm denizen.

"Don't touch the cows while they're milking!" 
"Don't handle the lambs or the ewes won't take to them!" 
"Don't climb up on that rock because you'll disturb the
 elves!"
"Don't feed the horses before you ride. It'll make them
 gassy."
"Don't make so much noise by that hill there. Someone 
might be trying to sleep inside it!"

I've been to Iceland, and I believe!

Note that it's never to late to pursue your dream.

Recently, the famed guitarist for the music group Queen, 60-year old Brian May, handed in his PhD thesis, 36 years after interrupting his studies to play in the band.

His area of study is Astronomy at the Imperial College, London, and the title of his thesis is "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud". He still has to defend his thesis, which will happen on 23 August of this year. Nevertheless, the completion of his thesis, especially with such a significant gap in this studies, is a significant accomplishment.

From the BBC article:

The rock star is also preparing a concert to mark the inauguration of a telescope at the Observatory of the Roque de Los Muchachos in La Palma, Tenerife, where he completed his studies last month.

Finally, for a bit of Lord of the Rings humor, you may find the following animated gif amusing:

Technorati Tags: academia, book, culture, living, spirit

A friend has gifted me with a new book: Are We Rome?: The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America.

Recently published, this book takes the reader on a tour of the last several thousand years, specifically analyzing the comparisons between the United States and Rome---as cultures and as models for nations. The arguments advanced by the author, Cullen Murphy, who was the editor of The Atlantic magazine and is now the editor of Vanity Fair, seem to be thoughtfully put together, rather than the alarmist and shallow chatter so often heard on talk radio and in Washington D.C.

So, I am definitely looking forward to reading this!

Technorati Tags: academia, book, culture, living, review

Viking treasure found in Britain!

"We were astonished when we finally discovered what it contained."

The ancient objects come from as far afield as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.

The hoard contains 617 silver coins and 65 other objects, including a gold arm-ring and a gilt silver vessel.

Dr Jonathan Williams, keeper of prehistory in Europe at the British Museum, said: "[The cup] is beautifully decorated and was made in France or Germany at around AD900.

"It is fantastically rare - there are only a handful of others known around the world. It will be stunning when it is fully conserved."

There are many responsible approaches countries can do to help decrease dependence on polluting petroleum products and move a country's industries and population to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Italy has answered this noble challenge by...banning ties:

"Taking your tie off immediately lowers the body temperature by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius," the ministry said in a statement. "Allowing a more sensible use of air conditioning that yields electricity savings and protects the environment."

However, Italy's tie-makers aren't taking this well:

"Italy confirms that it is a strange country," Flavio Cima said in a letter to financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore under the headline: "I, tie maker, am responsible for global warming".

"We can now happily continue with our lifestyle, using cars, consuming fuel, heating and cooling our homes at leisure. On one condition: we should not wear a tie while we do so," he wrote.

Remember, all you need to do is write.

Josh Catone over at Read/WriteWeb has posted a self-publishing toolkit---how to write and publish a novel.

Follow his approach, using 100% online tools, and you will have something, guaranteed. His best idea is to check out the National Novel Writing Month as a strong motivator to get yourself writing, and Sitepoint, where you can take bids on your novel's book cover designs, for example.

Finally, sometimes you just never know what you are going to see when you look outside your bedroom window.

Technorati Tags: academia, book, culture, living, religion, spirit

On the southeast corner of the UCLA campus lies the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden. On seven acres, this oasis contains tropical and sub-tropical plants from all over the world.

I took a pleasant walk through the garden over the weekend, and plan to return, since it is a restive spot that calls for quiet meditation and attention to nature amid the city jungle of Los Angeles.

Technorati Tags: living, travel

The Vikings were some of the best sailors, ship-builders, and explorers the world has known.

The remains of a Viking warship was found in 1962, and has been rebuilt using traditional Viking tools and building methods by a dedicated team.

From the BBC news article, The return of the Viking warship:

More than 7,000 iron rivets, 2,000m of rope and 300 ancient Danish oaks were used in the reconstruction. After four years of painstaking work, the Sea Stallion from Glendalough was launched on 4 September 2004.

Now, the team behind the project wants to know whether the reconstruction is capable of making the kind of journeys the Vikings once undertook. To find out, the ship is being taken over 1,000 miles (1,600km) across the North Sea to Orkney and on to Dublin.

UPDATE: You can follow a diary of the voyage at the BBC site.

Here is probably the best way to hide your iPod or iPhone from theft---disguise it as a Microsoft Zune:

Ever wanted to watch a book being made? Here is a link to a short movie of a paperback book being printed and bound.

And just because this is where you go a lot when in Los Angeles:

Technorati Tags: book, culture, living, travel

So today I decided to make a tour around the UCLA campus.

The University of California, Los Angeles, or UCLA, has the largest enrollment of any university in the state and consistently ranks as one of the top universities in the world.

The campus is large (about 419 acres) and the buildings have a detailed, solid architectural style (Romanesque Revival?). As an example, the building below is the Powell Libary, which is the main undergraduate library. Interestingly, it was one of the original four buildings on campus.

In 1995, according to wikipedia, of the 36 PhD programs that were examined by the National Research Council, 11 departments made the top ten list.

Also, since 1998, no American university has had more applicants -- out of 50,732 applicants for fall 2007, 11,860 (23.38%) were admitted.

The building below is the IPAM building, or the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics. The mission of IPAM is to serve as a collaboration center for mathematicians, engineers, and scientists to work on a wide variety of interdisciplinary problems. For example, during the summer IPAM organizes RIPS, which is a research program for talented undergraduates to solve a variety of problems for a variety of companies, such as Symantec, Pixar, and some of the national labs (LANL, LLNL, JPL).

The IPAM building, though a break from the main architectural style of the campus, was designed by noted architect Frank Gehry in the mid-1970s. Inside there is an open design with large windows that provides a lot of light and helps foster collaboration spaces for visiting researchers.

Another building that moves to the minimalist end of design is the Ronald Reagan Medical Center, below.

Finally, on my way back to my room after touring around the campus, I stopped by a small cafe for some food. Of course, I was riding my folding bike, so when I went in to order my food I naturally carried it with me.

While I was waiting for my food, this man and woman had pulled up on a large BMW motorcycle. The lady rider, in leather jacket and helmet, came into the cafe through the door as I was exiting through the door, still carrying my little folding bike. She saw it and gave me an "All right!". So either she really approved of me and my bike, or she was greatly amused -- I am not quite sure which.

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living, science, travel

I took my first real ride on my Downtube Mini folding bike over the weekend. I mentioned earlier that I had brought the folding bike with me to Los Angeles, since I wouldn't have a car while I was here.

Someone at work had mentioned that San Vincente Boulevard was a nice road to take to the beach, so I thought that would be a nice way to test out the new bike and to see some of the sights. The route I ended up taking is highlighted in purple (UCLA is in the upper right corner; Santa Monica pier is in the lower left corner).

The first task was to find San Vincente Boulevard. So I started at UCLA, headed South on Westwood Boulevard, and followed the Bike Path signs west on Wilshire Boulevard. The first ten minutes of my trip went fine.

However, my first mistake was to ride in traffic along Wilshire Boulevard. I am not a bike rider, but I knew that it is best to ride in the right-most lane. And after all, I was following the Bike Route signs. So all was fine, until I discovered suddenly that my lane, and the one to my left, turn into feeder lanes for the 405 San Diego Freeway.

Luckily, the Downtube Mini has a sharp turning radius, and after a bit of dodge and weave, I managed to get out of that situation.

Once I got west of the 405, I turned right onto San Vincente Boulevard. This was a much nicer road -- with a real bike lane, lots of nice houses, and being generally a pleasant place to ride a bike, as the following pictures show.

My second mistake was to not apply sunscreen. There is quite a bit of sun in L.A., especially at the beach. So about six miles into the trip, which put me near where San Vincente hits Ocean Avenue, I was starting to feel the heat. However, all discomfort was forgotten once I saw the view:

Note that in the second beach picture, the pier in the distance is Santa Monica Pier.

Also note that these pictures were taken from Ocean Avenue, which is on top of a small cliff, above the Pacific Coast Highway and above the beach.

However, when you have a folding bike (which weighs 24.5 pounds), cliffs are not a problem. No, I did not fall off the cliff, for once, but I did find some stairs going down the cliff. This picture is looking back after I carried my bike down the stairs and crossed the bridge over the Pacific Coast Highway:

However, by this time I realized my third mistake. On my next trip I will leave my backpack containing my laptop computer and some textbooks in my room. Evidently these sorts of things aren't really needed at the beach.

The fourth mistake dawned soon after -- riding a bike a long distance in the sun makes one thirsty and hungry.

Nevertheless, I rode my bike along the beach until I got to the Santa Monica Pier. There were the usual things one finds on a pier -- people fishing, people walking, people selling trinkets, people playing musical instruments -- though this was the first time I have seen a 9-story ferris wheel on a pier before:

My return trip was similar to my outbound trip, except that I rode back to San Vincente along Ocean Avenue instead of along the beach, so that I would not have to carry my bike, backpack, laptop, and books back up those stairs.

The round-trip was about 15 miles.

Technorati Tags: bike, culture, fitness, living, travel

So, iPhones have been available for a couple of hours now on the East Coast, and in just a few minutes will be available on the West Coast. As expected, the demand is great, and there are lines.

Here is the situation on Westwood Avenue in Los Angeles, where there is a line in front of the AT&T store (limit 1 per customer):

Technorati Tags: culture, living, travel

Well, at least using my experience with one trip, it works.

In my previous post, "In theory: how to survive when on travel without a car - the folding bike", I discussed this idea for staying in a city without a car. I showed a picture of the bike and a picture of the bike folded in a suitcase.

Here is a photo of the bike, unpacked from the suitcase, after a trip of 2,329 miles via airplane:

Technorati Tags: culture, living, travel

So for a period of time in the near future I will be working and doing research in a place where I will not have a car. This might not be so bad if it were not for the commute back and forth to the office.

So my solution, perhaps with my engineering background showing a bit too much, was to buy a folding bike.

The bike I chose: a Downtube Mini.

In theory:

wake up --> ride folding bike to office --> fold bike and carry into office --> work --> ride folding bike back to where I am staying --> fold bike and carry inside.

This way, I have convenient transportation, the bike won't be stolen by leaving it outside chained to some bike-rack, and, perhaps best/worst of all, I will be able to carry my bike with me on the airplane!

So here is the bike:

And here is the bike in my suitcase:

But, airports being what they are these days, hopefully I will not suffer the same fate as Stephen Orsak who, upon riding his bike from the Minneapolis St Paul International Airport, enjoined discussions with the police that did not end in his favor:

As I lay still on the pavement, Officer Wingate walked over to my glasses and smashed them into the ground with his boot. I was handcuffed, body searched and baggage searched. Reinforcements were called in, a total of (4) squad cars and a paramedic unit.

Note: If you thought this article was interesting or useful, please help it be more visible to others by clicking on "digg it" below:

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, job, living, travel, work

I thought John Wesley's Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life were pretty good:

• Live Below Your Means
• Put Your Money to Work
• Educate Yourself
• Develop Lasting Personal Relationships
• Work Towards a Dream You're Passionate About

The scientists who died and are in heaven
decide to play hide-n-seek.

Unfortunately Einstein is the one who is it first...........
He is supposed to count up to 100...and
then start searching.....

Everyone starts hiding except Newton.........

Newton just draws a square of 1 meter and stands in
it right in front of Einstein.

Einstein's counting:
1,2,3......97,98,99.....100........ He opens his eyes
and finds Newton standing right in front of him........

Einstein says "Newton's out..Newton's out....."

Newton denies this and says "I am not out........I am not
Newton......"

All the scientists come out to see how he proves that
he is not Newton.

Newton says "I am standing in an area of 1 sq
meter..... That makes me Newton per square
meter...... Since one Newton per square meter is one
Pascal, I'm Pascal, Therefore Pascal is OUT.......!

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living, science, travel

Jesse Byock: Viking Age Iceland

I read this book prior to my trip to Iceland, and it really served to give me a good sense of the country, how it was settled, who settled it, and how the population grew over time. It also explained the desolation of the countryside - when you travel from the airport to Reykjavik, the land is like much like on the moon - treeless crags abound. The book explains how this came to be. In addition, the book gives a good background to the sagas and other adventures of the people of Iceland, and those who came to its shores.

NB: I saw this guy while in Iceland - how cool is that?

Technorati Tags: book, culture, living

If you want to get up-close and personal with the events in Iraq, you really should check out Michael Yon's Online Magazine. Mike is reporting on Iraq by embedding with the troops there, on the ground, with the bullets and bombs. Thus, he brings a perspective unmatched by any news broadcast from New York or the Green Zone. Not only his stories, but his images too capture a previously unseen view of life and war in Iraq. From his "A Memorial Day Message" article:

Yet Mosul is still dangerous. In January, a Humvee with five passengers rolled over a massive IED. The vehicle was completely destroyed. My first mission with James Pippin was the recovery of the five men killed. CSM Pippin set the leadership tone that horrible day and demonstrated moral strength far above and beyond what I believe most men could bear. CSM Pippin and I had just been swapping some emails within the past week, when a message came less than 24 hours ago that he, too, had been shot in Mosul.

As we toured the bar, a man approached, got uncomfortably close, and snarled his contemptuous opinion of our short haircuts in Steve's face. A brown belt with an Indian head buckle marked the border between his blue pants and beige shirt. He wore a white metal necklace, and on his right arm was a tattoo, which seemed to be a marijuana leaf. I'd experimented a little myself during the waning months of high school. It confused me-but not enough to celebrate with a tattoo. On his left arm he had taken pains to emblazon in red: Death Before Dishonor-a clear warning to all of dangerous waters, like a sign that says "No Swimming-Crocodiles".

Technorati Tags: academia, book, culture, defense, guns, living, security

OK, so maybe I made a mistake.

Maybe I totally missed out on one of the best TV shows to come along in, well, forever.

I mean, who ever heard of a vampire slayer named Buffy?! After all, I was in the middle of watching The X-Files and Babylon 5 when Buffy aired on TV - who had time for a high-school girl in red leather pants with a vampire problem?

But after watching just the first two episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I am enjoying every vamp patrol and all the resulting vampire slayage goodness.

Of course, having one of the main characters have the same surname as I do helps, as does lots of vampire killing action, plus well-written scripts, great acting, and interesting characters. And, well, the leather pants turned out to be, how should I put this, assets to the characters who wear them. I mean, I've commented on Buffy's, and my wife has commented on Angel's, so I guess there's asset-admiring all around.

Currently we are in the middle of season 5, and tonight I hope to catch up on Buffy and the gang. You can see what you have been missing too - best to get the whole series (or at least the first seven seasons) and plan on not getting much else done for a couple of weeks.

Just don't say I didn't warn you.

"What can I tell you, baby? I've always been bad."
     ---Spike, "Fool For Love".

Technorati Tags: book, culture, living

Now this is a house.

Architect:
Archer & Buchanan Ltd.
West Chester, PA 
610-692-9112
www.archerbuchanan.com

Builder:
Richard Owens Construction
Chester County, PA
610-827-0972

Custom doors and windows:
Premium Grade Cabinetry Inc.
Newark, DE.
302-369-1982

Hardware:
Michael M. Coldren Co, Inc.
North East, MD
410-287-2082
www.coldrencompany.com

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. Though Europeans had visited this land long before, Jamestown, settled in 1607, was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Many festivities and events are taking place this year. This weekend, for example, sees a replica of the boat that settler John Smith used to explore the Chesapeake Bay set sail on a 121-day journey to retrace his voyage. This past Friday saw Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II return to Virginia, revisiting Richmond, Jamestown, and William & Mary.



Just in case you are wondering, that's the Queen, on the right, and Former Supreme Court Justice and current W&M Chancellor Sandra Day O'Connor on the left, at W&M.

Technorati Tags: academia, culture, living, virginia

The killer of yesterday's massacre at Virginia Tech has been identified as Cho Seung-hui, 23, a native of South Korea and in the US as a resident alien.

Evidently he was an English major at Tech. A former classmate commented on a playwriting class with Cho:

When we read Cho's plays, it was like something out of a nightmare. The plays had really twisted, macabre violence that used weapons I wouldn't have even thought of. Before Cho got to class that day, we students were talking to each other with serious worry about whether he could be a school shooter. I was even thinking of scenarios of what I would do in case he did come in with a gun, I was that freaked out about him. When the students gave reviews of his play in class, we were very careful with our words in case he decided to snap. Even the professor didn't pressure him to give closing comments.

After hearing about the mass shootings, I sent one of my friends a Facebook message asking him if he knew anything about Seung Cho and if he could have been involved. He replied: "dude that's EXACTLY what I was thinking! No, I haven't heard anything, but seriously, that was the first thing I thought when I heard he was Asian."

Technorati Tags: academia, living, virginia

Virginia has a lot of things going for it: four distinct seasons, diverse climates and countryside, thriving economic centers, strong colleges and universities, and rich and interesting historic sites and museums.

However, now Virginia has another feather in its cap. A new Forbes survey of all 50 states ranks Virginia as the Best State for Business:

Four hundred years after Captain John Smith established the first permanent English colony in Jamestown, the Commonwealth of Virginia is leading the way once again. Virginia grabbed the top spot in Forbes.com's first ever Top States for Business thanks to its strong economic growth, low business costs and excellent quality of life.

In fact, Virginia dominated the rankings in each of the six examined categories: business costs, economic climate, growth prospects, labor, quality of life, and regulatory environment.

As for institutions of higher education:

One of Virginia's strongest attributes is its two highly ranked institutions of higher education. The University of Virginia and College of William and Mary spit out up to 5,000 graduates a year, many of whom stay in-state. They help contribute to Virginia's college attainment rate of 34% which is the seventh highest in the country. Life sciences businesses have popped up in and around Charlottesville because of UVA's highly rated medical school.

In addition to UVA and the College of William and Mary, Virginia also boasts the well-known Virginia Tech university, the growing George Mason university, Virginia Commonwealth University (the largest university in the state), and a College that Changes Lives, Lynchburg College.

Technorati Tags: academia, income, job, living, lynchburg, virginia

A while back I took a snapshot of my morning schedule - getting myself and all the critters ready for work. While the distribution of critters has changed a little since then, the essence of the schedule still holds to explain why I may appear a bit disheveled in the mornings. Or, as someone else so eloquently put it: 'What's that on your shirt?':

• 6:45 am: Alarm goes off. Cat digs claws in leg.
• 6:48 am: Turn off alarm. Try to stop bleeding. Go back to sleep.
• 7:25 am: Get up. Cat wants food.
• 7:28 am: Find shower. Take one. Cat opens door and takes a free peep show.
• 7:40 am: Cat rubs against my wet legs. Need to shower off.
• 7:53 am: Look for clean clothes. Cat wants food.
• 8:02 am: Uncover birds. Birds want food. Birds scream at the sun. Birds scream at the birds outside. Cat wants food. Birds scream at the cat.
• 8:07 am Go to kitchen. Dogs jump on me, knocking birdy water onto floor and my pants. Prepare birdy breakfast. Dogs run around. Cat wants food. Dogs bark at cat. Birds scream at dogs. Cat runs away. Dogs chase cat.
• 8:20 am: Feed birds. Birds stop screaming. Cat wants food.
• 8:25 am: Let dogs outside. Dogs run, sniff, pee, bark.
• 8:45 am: Convince dogs to come back inside/catch dogs. Feed them.
• 8:55 am: Feed fish. Plecostomus thinks he is a goldfish and feeds from the surface. Cat wants food.
• 9:00 am: Poop kitty litter. Feed cat. Cat happy.
• 9:10 am: Let birds out. Birds fly around. Birds scream.
• 9:20 am: Put birds back in cages. Hopefully I notice strange droppings on shirt, thanks to bird. If I notice, change shirt. If I don't notice, my students always point it out.
• 9:30 am: Feed self. Dogs want more food.
• 9:32 am: Birds start screaming. Cat wants attention. Dogs want more food.
• 9:34 am: Give my breakfast to dogs, pet cat, give birds a treat.
• 9:45 am: Rush to whatever I am late for.

Technorati Tags: living

This past weekend my wife and I took the Basic Rider Course, offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, which is sponsored by the U.S. manufacturers and distributors of BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Piaggio/Vespa, Suzuki, Vengeance, Victory, and Yamaha motorocyles.

If you are thinking about riding, or currently ride, I would recommend this course. It is over three days, and contains knowledge as well as skills portions. But the emphasis is on skills - especially learning to ride effectively and safely.

The instructors were very experienced riders and knew what they were talking about. Since the class is aimed at new riders, we started out just learning how to get on the bike properly, but by the end of the course we were doing figure 8's and hard stops while in a curve.

It was a very challenging course and not everyone made it through (my wife and I did). But I would rather someone fail the course than fail out on the street. Motorcycling is not for everyone, and it is better to learn in a safe and structured environment (on someone else's bike :-) than on your own.

But even if you don't ride, I would recommend the course because it would help people who only drive cars appreciate the need to watch out for motorcyles and their riders.

If you want more information, check out www.msf-usa.org.

Technorati Tags: living, virginia

The word must be out around the neighborhood: if you are a down-and-out or hurt little animal, come to our house and you will be saved! Over the last few weeks we've saved four little puppies; a few weeks ago a hurt kitten.

Three of the puppies were found barely alive by my mother-in-law. We have a large part of our yard fenced-in so that we can let our dogs have a good run. Behind the fence is a small overgrown field and behind that some woods. We put a small pond on the outside of the fence so that various critters - deer, groundhogs, possums, snakes, rabbits, etc. could come for a drink without coming into the fenced-in area (where the dogs are). We've had a wet, rainy summer here in Virginia and the area back there has really become pretty wild.

So one day my mother-in-law happened to be walking near the back fence and she heard this pitiful crying coming from the weeds. She went back there and found this little puppy, about 5 weeks old, screaming at the top of his lungs. He was barely alive and struggled to move. Worse, he had open wounds in various places over his body, and maggots were crawling all over. He was too small to defend himself, but could only cry for the pain.

So he was first given a bath to clear off some of the maggots and then rushed to the vet. The vets were horrified and suggested just killing him. But after several hours of pulling out all the maggots and in general cleaning up his wounds, he stopped crying and managed to go to sleep. He was given an I.V. and several doses of antibiotics and de-worm medication.

After taking him home and putting him up to bed, my mother-in-law found two more puppies in the same general area as the first puppy, in the same condition. One had crawled under a log, but couldn't fit all the way - the leg that was exposed was a Swiss cheese of maggots.

All three are currently alive and doing well. They've had to go in for more anti-worm and antibiotics treatments, but the wounds are healing, they are eating, and they are starting to act like puppies. We are trying to catch the mother dog to get her spayed so that she doesn't have more puppies in the wilds around our house, but so far no luck.

Here is a pic of two of the better ones. You will notice that the smallest still has an I.V. in his paw, which we have since removed.

Here is another one we rescued: Some lady had rescued a stray pregnant dog who had been SHOT in the stomach by someone else. The lady let the stray have the litter in her garage. Then, she proceeded to help raise the resulting 8 puppies. Once the puppies reached 8 weeks of age, the lady decided they needed homes. She is fixing and then keeping the mom. She brought all the puppies to the local supermarket; all were taken except the runt, who was promptly grabbed by my wife. Isn't she adorable (the puppy and the wife)?

Finally, we rescued a kitten that had a gaping wound in her neck - so deep that when she breathed, air would come out of one of the punctures. I found her on our doorstep - not sure how she got there since we live quite far from the road and she had not eaten in a very long time. We have nursed her back to health and have found her a good home.

Here she is, healed, but scared of the camera:

Technorati Tags: living

Winery in Virginia has come a long way since the early colonists struggled to replicate the wines they produced and loved in Europe. It was much harder here, since the Virginia climate has harsh winters, hot summers, and plentiful rains that cause a host of problems for tender grape vines.

But the struggles of the good people of Virginia paid off, as today Virginia produces world-class wines: they have cultured vine hybrids that are rugged enough to thrive in the climate, have experimented with the soil types and elevations to know which terrains and locations are most suitable for plantings, and through many years of experience and support of fellow Vintners have developed the know-how to produce wines that everyone can love. There are more than 80 wineries scattered across the state, in scenic settings run by good, friendly people.

I think Thomas Jefferson would be proud.

Technorati Tags: culture, living, virginia

Unlike my last cicada song entry, here is a short sample of just one cicada - up close and personal. I tend to pick up wayward ones who have missed the trees and found themselves on the sidewalk or parking lot - not a strategic spot for a cicada. So twixt the sidewalk and the tree, we stopped by the microphone, one cidada and I.

There is a brief period of silence at the beginning - my little friend decided to crawl away from the mic, so it took some time to retrieve him. Little did he know the tape was rolling when he decided to take a break - performers are like that sometimes.

Technorati Tags: living, virginia

In the Northern parts of Virginia and in Maryland in general the 17-year cicadas are in full force. While the talking heads on the local tv stations caution people about the cicadas flying into your hair and other hysteria-mongering (as is usual for tv-type news), they are in actuality a miracle to behold.

I've taken a simple sound recording of them just to show how awesome they are - I simply opened my window in Falls Church, Virginia (where I work) and held out a microphone (actually I didn't even clear the window because of the screen, but you get the idea). In the mp3 clip (about 1.2MB) you can hear normal outdoors-in-the-city sounds, such as cars passing on the road or birds chirping. But if you listen closely you will hear a definite background hum, kind of like the sound of an original Star Trek phaser firing constantly. This hum is the sound of thousands of cicadas way up in the trees trying to attract a mate so that they can breed, die, and let the 17-year cycle start anew. The audio might have been better had I actually gone outside the window, perhaps climbing to the top of a tree, but I think from the sample you can get the idea.

Technorati Tags: living, virginia

Since we have two mother cats, each with litters at the same time, I also wanted to give a shot of the other litter. Here's one taken around lunchtime.

Technorati Tags: living

A while ago we had a major addition to the household - kittens! Here is a pic of a couple of them.

Still working on getting them to sleep at the same time as the humans. As it is now, human bodies under the covers seem to provide a perfect playground for little ones who seems to want to romp and pounce at all hours of the night. Sigh.

Technorati Tags: living

Today we planted 4 trees: 2 Blue Spruces, 1 Leland Cypress, and 1 Magnolia (Southern, of course). This comes to 14 trees we have planted this year, along with 60 bushes. At least in the microclimate around our house, we have made changes for a better environment. So while the winter winds blow across the fields, the plants sleep and the earth gets renewed. Come spring, we should see lots of healthy green.

Technorati Tags: living

Here's an interesting quote from Noam Chomsky about people who like to wring their hands about this or that problem, but then don't follow up with action.

To tell you the honest truth, when I see a huge mob, which is pretty common these days, I have a mixture of feelings. Partly, I'm sort of depressed about it, for a lot of reasons. For one thing, there's just too much personalization. It doesn't make any sense. It's worrisome. The other thing is that the ratio of passive participation to active engagement is way too high. These were well-arranged talks. For example, they did what a lot of people don't do and ought to do. Every place I went there were a dozen tables outside with every conceivable organization having leaflets and handouts and sign-up sheets and telling what they're up to. So if people want to do anything, there are easy answers to what you can do in your own community. The question that comes up over and over again, and I don't really have an answer still -- really, I don't know any other people who have answers to them -- is, 'It's terrible, awful, getting worse. What do we do? Tell me the answer.' The trouble is, there has not in history ever been any answer other than, 'Get to work on it.'

There are a thousand different ways to get to work on it. For one thing, there's no "it." There's lots of different things. You can think of long-term goals and visions you have in mind, but even if that's what you're focused on, you're going to have to take steps towards them. The steps can be in all kinds of directions, from caring about starving children in Central America or Africa, to working on the rights of working people here, to worrying about the fact that the environment's in serious danger. There's no one thing that's the right thing to do. It depends on what your interests are and what's going on and what the problems are, and so on. And you have to deal with them. There's very little that anybody can do about these things alone. Occasionally somebody can, but it's marginal. Mainly you work with other people to try to develop ideas and learn more about it and figure out appropriate tactics for the situation in question and deal with them and try to develop more support. That's the way everything happens, whether it's small changes or huge changes.

If there is a magic answer, I don't know it. But it sounds to me as if the tone of the questions and part of the disparity between listening and acting suggests -- I'm sure this is unfair -- "Tell me something that's going to work pretty soon or else I'm not going to bother, because I've got other things to do." Nothing is going to work pretty soon, at least if it's worth doing, nor has that ever been the case.

Technorati Tags: culture, living

Today I finished installing a small pond for wildlife in my backyard. It took a while - digging clay soil is never an easy task. But the reward was almost instantaneous - even before it was finished all sorts of creatures discovered it and made use of it. Birds regularly stop by for a fill up. I found some chicken bones in the bottom, likely from a raccoon who dug some chicken out of someone's garbage and came by to wash it off before having a feast. (And no - the chicken didn't come from my garbage, since I don't buy dead animals to cook in my home). I am not sure who left corn in the bottom, since my birdfeeders are a good 60 yards away from the pond. And I'll have to investigate further, but there are now what appear to be some sort of fresh water mollusk in the bottom. How did they get there? I also expect to see frogs soon - it's about time for them to do their thing in the water.

I used to see deer visit for a drink, but not lately. The County took a significant part of my land so that they can turn a nice country road into a 4-lane behemoth. The nice meadow and woods that were across the street from me are being razed to turn into row-house apartments. So the hawks don't fly over much any more, and I no longer see deer prancing in the yard. I also no longer see the cranes who used to have a flight path directly over my house. So much for progress.

But at least the pond will help the various furry, feathered, and otherwise friendly creatures who want to visit, take a sip of water, and be on their way.

Technorati Tags: living