Author: cdwan

Finally, oh finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel on this benchmarking project.

* I’ve got results that pass the “sniff” test in terms of not being totally skewed by irritating and pointless noise.
* I’ve got the bones, and some meat, on a pretty decent description of the project and analysis.
* I’ve got charts that seem to convey my point … and not too much else.

Tonight, I kill the writing. Tomorrow, gods and demons willing, I ship it and move on to other things.

Wow, I need to, like, triple my time estimates on technical writing.

Okay, now that that enlightenment stuff is passed, I can share these:

(more…)

Yoga again this evening, with a different teacher. She (Shanna) was quite distinct from the guy last time (Tim). Where Tim was athletic and powerful, she was graceful and subtle. Both are amazing instructors.

There is a point, about an hour and ten minutes into the hour and a half class, at which I become slightly ecstatic. The combination of the heat, the exertion, and the continued instruction to focus on my own presence, to exist purely and immediately in each position … they all come together to pop my mind open, just a little bit.

Last time it happened, I had the “meat don’t float” epiphany. This time, I happened to be looking forward, and caught a glimpse of a picture of the Earth, taken from space, at the front of the room. It wandered into my mind that, all over the world, people were performing this same practice … with the same intent: To better themselves and live more immediate, happy, compassionate lives. It occurred to me that with an army of people like that, one could take over the world. Instantly, the answer was in my mind:

So there you go. Straight from the world consciousness. Namaste.

Two things:

1st: Everyone should go check out Super Indie Films. annacallahan made it. It’s a way for independent filmmakers to directly sell their films to individuals. I poked around and (a) it works (b) it sounds like a decent business model.

2nd: My company needs a smart, reliable person who is able to schedule an hour a day (probably splitting the days of the week with at least one other person, so we’re really talking about two or three days a week of one hour sessions) to triage our support ticket system. Duties include answering the dead simple ones: (here’s our FAQ page on that. Here’s our phone number. Here’s how much it costs) and producing a summary at the end of the day listing out those tickets that demand further attention from a developer. Ideally, this person would work for free, simply for the joy of being involved in the industry … and would already know more than me about cluster computing and bioinformatics. We can negotiate either way. We have no office, so they need to be totally independent and already have a stable interweb connection.

It’s a small, part time gig, but we’ll pay well and we’re pretty okay to work with.

If that sounds like you, or someone you know, drop me a line.

People talk about some very weird and very private stuff at Starbucks. Sometimes I sit here with my headphones on, but no music, so they’ll feel more free to talk.

This afternoon’s edition was a rather impassioned argument about female circumcision, also known as “female genital mutilation.” This, is under this cut, and is pretty spectacularly graphic

Back on the essay horse. Here’s a little bit on Health Care in the US. The rest of them are listed out here.

Let me know what you think.

Yesterday, we went out to Old Sturbridge Village to check out life in the 1820s. This sort of thing always gives me new appreciation for the “old masters.” I mean, life was not simple or terribly pleasant when Jefferson, Admas, and Franklin were re-shaping our standards for civilization.

This morning started with very nice pancakes, followed by driving redmed to the airport for her week schmoozing with the high-powered-people in California. I understand that this is some sort of work related activity, but all the stories I hear seem to involve renting a bus to drive a group out to Sonoma to tour vineyards.

So I came home and popped in my old friend the Navy Seals workout DVD. Good times, I’m weak and pathetic. The legs section was fine, but the rest were maybe 60% at best. Darn it … I used to OWN that workout. Now it owned me.

On the other hand, check out the admission standards for the army: 15 push ups, 45 sit-ups in a minute. Oh come *on*.

This afternoon, technolope plans to drive down to join me at a football watching party. Good times! I love a party! Woo Hoo! Who’s playing, again?

Pan’s Labyrinth is unfettered genius. I hope that it wins all the Academy Awards. It totally deserves them.

Art.

Moo. Everyone else is doing it, I might as well do it too:

(A) First, in the comments, recommend to me:
1. a music (or other internet accessible) video that you think rocks:
2. something tasty that I might never have eaten:
3. a song that makes you dance:

(B) I want everyone who reads this to ask me three questions in the comments, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want.