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April 19, 2005
Peepers!
Everyone has their own "sign of spring", the thing that signals winter is really over. For me it's the Peepers, a.k.a. the Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica. I head them over behind W.C.S., along the bike path, while I was out running. It reminded me that I'm lucky to live in a place where the rhythm of the seasons is signaled by such simple thing. (It also didn't hurt that it was ~70 degrees today...)
I've got my T-shirt, shorts and sandals on (yep, with white socks), and I'm ready for Summer. BRING IT ON!
Posted by pgutwin at 8:57 PM | Comments (3)
April 17, 2005
Random Notes
From the "adapt or die" department, the folks over at Michigan Technology University have proven the Red Queen Hypothesis. If you're not changing with your environment, you're (literally) dead.
I've always been fascinated by BitTorrent. The basic idea of the "Internet" was fault tolerant communication, and BitTorrent extends this to data (read content). The reality of massive data storage and computational power in (almost) every household makes BitTorrent a huge deal - and companies that base their business on old "switch data" type technology (sharing expensive communications channels) like the telephone company, TV broadcasters, Radio broadcasters, etc. probably need to read my first comment ;-). An example of what I’m talking about is Internet TV.
Big news: according to "reliable sources" (that's Don's sister Kathy), the Middlebury Wine Company guy Andy McCabe SOLD OUT to Hannaford. Yep - the really cool wine guy right in front of Hannaford in Middlebury has exchanged his passion for selling good, affordable wine for mere money when Hannaford bought him out. Seems Hannaford's wine business was not doing so well... Darn - now I have to track this guys down, since there was no other place I knew of to get great wine at great prices.
Posted by pgutwin at 7:56 AM
April 13, 2005
You're only old once
I love this ad, and I've seen it everywhere, so I'm guessing others do too. The tile is pretty cool - nice colors, and good design (I'd defer to Beth on all that), but the picture really does it for me. I really like the immediacy of the picture, without pretense.
Maybe why I like the picture is because it represents a kind of antidote or counterpoint to all the "strategic" things I need to worry about - in my job, and my life. The RIAA is suing college kids over music downloads and the Catholic church conclave is struggling to choose the right Pope - I dunno - it just doesn't seem to be all that important.
(sigh) - I suppose it is important. I just wish it all didn't come at you 24x7. I'm looking forward to wading into the waves with Beth R.S.N..
I had lunch with Pete yesterday at Sukura, and I got some of those Wasabi-coated roasted peas. We ate pretty much half the bag, and then I notice the little subtitle under the Kanji letters across the top: A Happy Present From the Earth.
Maybe that's what the title of this picture should be...
Posted by pgutwin at 8:50 PM
April 11, 2005
US Judiciary, a.k.a. KKK
Dr. Dobson claims that the U.S. Judiciary should be compared to the Ku Klux Klan. My recollection is that the U.S. court system is the envy of much of the world, and the Ku Klux Klan is a bigoted, brutal, racist organization build on hate. I'm not sure I see the comparison. Perhaps I should spend more time "preserving traditional family values" as Dr. Dobson does, so I could see the similarity between these two organizations.
Posted by pgutwin at 9:47 PM
April 10, 2005
Breathing Easier
I'm trying to get ready for the Vermont City Marathon, but things haven't been going so well. Between the cold weather, an Achilles injury and my travel, I logged a grand total of 27 miles in January. No worries - plenty of time. February brought a pretty nasty bout of the flu that lasted a good 10 days, and running after that was (ahem) difficult. Total miles for Feb: 32 miles. March brought a number of business trips that seriously inhibited my ability to do any significant running, and I logged a grand total of 52 miles.
However, I could still tuck in some long runs in April and early May and still be OK for the race, but on my first "long" run, scheduled to be 11 miles on March 19th, I was only able to complete 7 miles and then limped home doing the walk run walk thing. Not so good. I tried again on March 27 - a planned 12 mile run turned into a 8 mile run and then more walking.
I had to postpone my next long run attempt until April 6th, and again, a planned 11 mile run got shortened to 9 miles with the last couple including a lot of walking. I was getting pretty depressed.
The problem wasn't being tired, although I did feel the normal drain while running. I just always felt like I had to stop and catch my breath, even when things were "normal" in the first 6 miles or so. Further, when I did stop running, I would get very light headed, and it would take a long time for my breathing to return to normal. The last time I trained for the marathon (a couple of years ago), I had problems with my breathing, but it was never this bad.
I had planned on another long run this past Saturday (4/9), and in getting running to run I was thinking a lot about my breathing. I simply couldn't face another run like the last one - I had to do something different. I had talked with Beth about it a couple days earlier, and she had made some suggestions which were all rattling around in my head.
I stepped out of the house and began running, and the first 100 yards are always so easy and joyful - "Why can't the whole run be like this?" I was thinking. And then it hit me - those first few yards I was very relaxed, and hadn't settled into my "breathing rhythm". What if my breathing rhythm was all wrong? It was a very weird experience: instead of thinking about my pace and the traffic and all, I concentrated on holding onto that good feeling I had the first 100 yards. My idea was simple - just try to keep the running feeling good. A mile went by without problem, the two, four and finally I completed the 6 mile loop I was going to run twice - still feeling pretty darn good, and no breathing problems at all! The second loop was as enjoyable as the first - no breathing problems.
After thinking about it, I realized that I had picked up my breathing rhythm in Junior High, and never thought about it again. The problem appears to be that I was breathing slightly too rapidly, and irritated my lungs to the point that it caused asthma-like symptoms. What I had done Saturday was to decouple my breathing from my pace, and this allowed me to breath much more normally.
I'm not out of the woods yet. I suspect I can improve my non-paced breathing to something more rhythmic but not so rapid to create problem. Further, I still need to do a lot more distance running. But with a clear strategy now emerging, I'm in a way better position to get ready for the race.
Posted by pgutwin at 6:30 PM
April 6, 2005
Close, oh so close
The new Google map engine has a very cool satellite feature, but when you try to locate something in, say, a shopping center, it gets just a little confused. But despite that, this is a wizard application.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:29 PM
April 4, 2005
Totally Cool
Dan Gilmor pointed out The Annotated New York Times. Check it out...
Posted by pgutwin at 10:00 PM | Comments (1)
Becca's World
Becca's back safe and (mostly) sound, and It's not like I can add much that Becca or Niki haven't said - I just love this picture.
Posted by pgutwin at 9:41 PM
April 2, 2005
Terri Schiavo, the Pope & Beth’s Client
There has been a lot of death in the news lately, and some at home here. The Schiavo story has been picked over way too much. I have found it very hard to get by the fact that Michael was fighting to preserve some dignity in carrying out Terri’s wishes, and a big chunk of the U.S. political establishment was fighting to use the tragedy in his life for their own ends. Anyone who stuck their nose into the Shivo’s business should be ashamed.
The Pope’s decline and anticipated death is on the other end of the “worthy of news” scale. I don’t agree with all of Pope John Paul’s theology or choices, but I have a lot of respect for him. He made some significant changes in the Church, and that is notoriously hard to do. He focused on kids, and gave them hope and encouraged them to faith. That was, and is, a very wise investment. And he traveled like a madman and reached out to people of little means and much need, and offered them something that would help lift their hearts and souls out of the internal poverty they live in. It takes courage and conviction to do that, and I am very grateful to the Pope for that. He was a vital, compelling voice in our collective world dialog, and when he dies, he will be missed.
One of Beth’s favorite clients is near death. He has cancer, and it not expected to last many more days. Beth has spontaneously burst into tears as she grieves for his anticipated death. His life has been a model of generosity, compassion and responsibility. His death will be a loss to many in the community.
We all agree what Life (with a capital L) is when we see it, and clearly we want to protect that. We all know death when we see it as well, and there’s consensus on how to treat that with dignity. Its the boundaries between life and death where we have trouble. Is it possible for someone to have a pulse but be dead? Is it possible for “someone” to be alive and not have a pulse or even a body?
Western (American) civilization is obsessed with a literal and factual world view, and that poses a significant barrier. It requires a concise definition of Life and Death, but these subjects are mainly informed by philosophy and psychology and these disciplines often rely on metaphor to define and explain concepts. So we arrive full circle at the problem – we seek a concise definition of life, and our language and understanding has not matured enough for that, so we must rely on metaphor to discuss and understand the subject.
Certainty in this area will not be available any time soon. In the mean time we need to listen with our hearts and heads as we discuss this important subject. Jumping or clinging to any conclusion right now will not help the discussion much.
Posted by pgutwin at 9:50 AM
New England Suffers Maple Woes
NPR reported yesterday on New England's Maple Woes, citing the 87 deaths this year due to un-tapped Maple tree explosions (due to sap build up). They offered an unsentimental look at this deadly Vermont problem - well worth a listen.
Posted by pgutwin at 8:27 AM