The Brilliance of Southwest

When watching the yearly installation of March Madness, CEOs of all the major airlines not named Southwest must be furious.  Nearly every commercial break during the games features an advertisement touting Southwest's baggage policy.  In fact, most Southwest ads feature ridicule of other airlines.  I fly almost exclusively on Southwest.  Make no mistake - it's not perfect.  Sometimes flights are late.  Sometimes you have to too much taxiing, or to wait a while for a gate assignment.  The difference between Southwest and the rest is clear:  Southwest makes it a bit easier to deal with the stressful travel day by being cordial, helpful, and by performing their jobs professionally and with a smile.  Because of this advantage, Southwest can charge a little more than the bargain carriers, and not charge for baggage.

The CEOs of United, American, et al. can only be furious at themselves.  Jena and I were talking about how the show 'Undercover Boss' (which we love by the way) should feature a CEO of an airline, but then we joked that they would have to shut down the entire operation after all employees in the airport were fired by the undercover boss for being surly, unpleasant, and incompetent.

An example of the rank ineptitude:  'The Rest' has employed a baggage fee policy that encourages people to cram all their stuff into oversized baggage that they attempt, usually unsuccessfully, to cram into an overhead bin.  After being berated by the rude airplane staff (who let them on the plane with the large bag in the first place), the thrifty passengers are allowed to check their bags FOR FREE.  Now the people who played by the rules are mad because they had to pay and the people who cheated didn't.  The people who didn't pay aren't happy because they have been treated rudely by the flight attendants.  All of the people are wondering why they didn't fly another airline, like...hmmm...Southwest maybe?

Lesson to any managers of any company, any size, any industry, any location:  there is no excuse for rude, unprofessional behavior, no matter how hard or stressful your job may be.  If this behavior is tolerated, then it becomes accepted practice, and all of a sudden a few years pass by and you can't watch basketball without your company being made fun of by a company that never accepted that sort of behavior.

Who's Got Two Thumbs and Sucks at Blogging Lately

This guy.

Seriously, I have been a terrible blogger. After really hitting my stride earlier in the year, I find myself with less and less to write lately. Part of it is being just plain busy. Part of it is that it's summer and there is more other stuff going on. Part of it is me just being lazy.

Here's something to write about. Going from someone who is strictly a server-side Java developer who is far more comfortable with tools and databases to someone who writes PHP and uses CSS and HTML to create new pages has been interesting, maddening, and definitely a big change. I finally felt like an expert at something (Java Web Development), and wham - back to the beginnings. Obviously the core concepts of software development carry over, but everything else is different. The good news has been that the codebase I am working with is pretty solid and easy to learn. The bad news is that it's still WAY different from what I am used to. It's hard for me to write a blog post about PHP with a straight face - who the hell I am to try to talk about something I am just learning? It has been a humbling experience, but one that I recommend - in order to really understand this web app stuff, you almost have to use different languages and platforms just to stay on top of your game.

I really have been busy - I wasn't lying about that. We have been doing a lot of family stuff (Jena's cousin's daughter's first birthday party, sailing with Jena and her parents), bought fresh herbs, hung out with some friends at a DC United game, and we just got back from a quick trip to San Diego for Jena's friend's baby shower. Check out the pictures. It was my first time in Southern California - it's a beautiful place, with very striking geography and lovely weather. We spent some time exploring the city of San Diego, walking around in La Jolla, and hiking around Torrey Pines. I can say that the view from the dorms at UC-San Diego is probably a little better than the view from Eagle Hall in Harrisonburg, VA - who the hell has a dorm room with a view of the Pacific Ocean!?!? Wow. The shower was great. The parents-to-be and family are extremely excited, and everyone had a wonderful time stuffing their face and watching gifts get opened.

I really hope to get back to technical blog posts - what's heartening is that this sorry little blog still gets dozens of hits each day - it's nice to know that hopefully people are finding this blog and getting an answer to some obscure question they had about something technical.

Visiting the Grandparents

Well I am back from my trip to Indiana. I went with my mom to go and see her parents, who are a couple of pretty amazing folks. My grandfather just turned 93, and my grandmother is about to turn 91 in a couple of weeks. Let me tell you - they are still going strong! They have been married now for 71 years. That's longer than most people live. I know I have mentioned this before, but I still can't get over it. Every time we go they complain about how they can't do the things that they used to, but they live by themselves still, and with the help of a few pretty great neighbors, get along quite well! I regretfully didn't get any pictures on my trip, but here's a shot of them with my cousin Scott from our trip there for Christmas.

Every night, before they go to bed, they kiss each other five times. It's 'their tradition'. Then grandma tells me that when I am married to Jena for 71 years, we have to have our little traditions too. I think "Gee grandma, if I make 71 years of marriage, I'll be 101 - I don't think that's realistic", but watching them, you can see that if you live well, and love each other, then I suppose anything is possible.

New Photos are Up

I finally got the photos from our awesome trip to Italy up on our website. Anyone who wants to look can check em out here. I would post some favorites, but they are kind of my favorite, since it was such an awesome time. Ok, one favorite:

What's Up!

Some ramblings from my personal life and current affairs:

1) Books

Been reading a lot again lately. I went through a bit of a lull there after our trip to Aruba where I wasn't reading much at all, but now I am back on it. This week I finished a David Baldacci book, Stone Cold. Those are always entertaining, if a bit light on substance. I dove right into the next one in the series, Divine Justice, which is as good as all the others so far, though it's mostly set outside of DC, which is a big part of the reason that I enjoy some of his other books.

I also finished Alive, the story of the survivors of the Andes plane crash in the early 70s, where the survivors were able to last 10 weeks in the mountains by eating the dead passengers. Wow. If you ever think your life is tough, just think to yourself "Well this current work assignment sucks, and I hate traffic, but at least I didn't eat my cousin to stay alive today". Just an amazing story of persistence and togetherness, but at the same time a fair account of personal weakness, and how people can behave (or not) in the face of hopelessness. This book was written quite a while ago, and was made into a movie starring Ethan Hawke, but like most other adaptations, the movie doesn't capture the real spirit of the struggle like the book.

My new metro book is The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, by David Landes. I've had this book on my bookshelf for ten years, but just never got around to reading it. It has been staring at me in its familiar position next to its unread compatriot, Guns, Germs, and Steel, calling out to be read, and I am finally obliging. It is an interesting tale of geography, history, and anthropology, and how they combine to make some societies rich, and some poor. I hope it's as good as it has started out.

2) AIG Bonuses

Lots of talk about AIG bonuses. I would say that any sort of 90% tax is silly. The government has bought up most of the company. Now they are doing all they can to ensure that no competent people will go work there. This means the taxpayers will never recoup their bonuses. If some of the employees there will accept revised bonuses, then good, if not, let them go on their way, but let's not make working for AIG such a poisonous experience that the story will end badly. It doesn't have to - there are still important and viable portions of the company. Everyone just needs to chill out and let this play out without trying to tar and feather a bunch of people who in most cases had nothing to do with the irresponsible financial practices that have killed the company.

3) Where is Spring?

Where is it? It's 50 and cloudy every day. I am ready to go for a run outside and a bike ride, and for leaves on trees. Come on Spring, get your ass in gear!

4) World Baseball Classic

Why is this played? Does it matter? Does anyone really care? I guess it's marginally better than watching your players play in Spring Training, but isn't it basically like watching 23 AAA all star games? I just don't feel it. Side note: my new HD TV makes baseball look sweet, so WBC has that going for it, at least. I just think that all this is doing is penalizing the teams that have lots of good players who play in the classic (see the Tigers, whose 4-5-6 is playing for Venezuela). Bah. Bring on opening day.

5) Travel

We haven't done any. Boo. We are off to Massachusetts next month for our nephew's 2nd birthday, which we are definitely looking forward to! We love our nephew (and Mindy and Jayson too)!

6) Rush Limbaugh

Keep in mind that I am not a 'registered' anything. I vote on the issues, and that generally leaves me squarely in the middle. That said, Rush Limbaugh is just terrible. Is there anything he does that is constructive? It really doesn't seem like it. Seems like he's just a terrible windbag who wants to tear down, tear down, tear down everything that he doesn't think is okay. Easy to snipe when you aren't actually responsible for anything. He should really reconsider wanting to be the leader of the RNC, because then he will be accountable, and that will be new for him.

7) NCAA Championships

God I love college basketball. I love this tournament. I love that Michigan finally made it back in the dance, and I love that Syracuse made a great run in the tournament (6 OTs! WTF!?!) to nab a three seed in a relatively easy region. All I was thinking was "well Syracuse hasn't been announced yet, and we know they are in - what if this ends up as Syracuse-Michigan in a 5-12 matchup?" Could be tough on my marriage! Fortunately nothing came of it. Phew!

RUBA!

Just got back from a week in Aruba. Man, what an awesome place. The weather is virtually always perfect, the people are extremely friendly, and the food is delicious. Jena and I were lucky enough to tag along with her parents, her sister and bro-law, their son William (who calls Aruba 'Ruba', hence the title of the post), and her aunt. We had a great time. I spent most of it doing a combination of

1) sitting around doing nothing next to a pool
2) chasing our crazy nephew around the pool
3) floating in circles in the pool
4) drinking a tasty frozen drink in or near the pool
5) reading books next to a pool

I also played the Wii for the first time. Holy crap is that thing awesome. I hate video game systems like XBox and PS - I think that they are the scourge of an entire generation - but the Wii, just for its bare simplicity, amazing gameplay, and interactive nature has really nailed it. Amazing. I am not very good at the Wii games, but it's a good way to knock out 15 minutes. I think even Jena has agreed that we will get one sometime.

We got to play with our awesome nephew William, and even got to babysit one night. Note to babysitters everywhere, kids sleep much better when they are splashing about in pools for 8 hours before you get them. The diaper changing wasn't the best part of the night, but it was really something to read to him and put him down. He is a real joy to be around, and so smart. Last time we saw him, around Thanksgiving, he was babbling in near English, and now he is talking and repeating everything and learning how to say everything. Just amazing what a sponge he is!


As you can see, we had a really crappy view from our balcony =)

We had a couple of pretty ridiculous meals. One at El Gaucho, an Argentine steakhouse where they try to kill you by serving you insane quantities of meat. We were able to share three entrees to feed four people to the point of absurdity. It was delicious. Friday the whole gang went to Madam Jinette's where everything is awesome. I had a plate-sized serving of Wiener Schnitzel. So very good.

I also read some books. I finished off the book on hyperpartisan politics that I started shortly before my trip (more on that in a future post), read a silly Vince Flynn novel, and finally read Jurassic Park (book way better than movie). I am back on The Stuff of Thought, about humans interaction with language. So fascinating, though a bit heavy. I am also still reading the WW2 book about the Allied campaign in Italy. This has been a delight to read, and were it a bit slimmer, I would have brought it to Aruba, but sized as it is, it's a nightstand-only affair.

Radio-Free Amtrak

Why is it that regional train service doesn't include internet service? Is there any legitimate excuse for this? In an age when there are AIRLINES (not an industry that screams 'Customer Service!') that provide wireless internet service while you fly, where you can go to McDonalds in some places and hop online, you can't take a train (a very business function), and get online.

I can take the $20 bus to New York city, and guess what? I can get wireless internet! They have plugs on the trains, so you charge your computer, but you can't get on the web. Boo.

That said, it's way better than flying. I get to the train station at 6:15 for the 6:30 train, and bam, get a coffee and get on the train. No arriving 2 hours early and going through security. Despite this, I sit here thinking about how much it sucks not to have wireless. I need to go back and re-read A Complaint Free World.

International Drivers Permits Are Weird

I just went to get my 'International Driver's Permit'. It's important, because we want to rent a car in Italy for a couple legs of our trip. I just think it's kind of ridiculous, and I wonder where the money goes.

I go to AAA, they look at me, check my license, write some stuff in a booklet, paste my picture in, and BAM! I am a legit international driver. For their trouble, I give them $15. I wonder if there is someone whose job it is to provide international accreditation to the driver education programs thoughout the world, and that's where this $15 goes? Just have to wonder. It's definitely a curious program. If all it takes is a picture and my license, why do I have to get another document that has the same information? My drivers license already has my name, address, and picture, and signifies that I know how to drive.

Weird.

On the other hand, AAA offices are crazy places! There is a lot going on there. I have been a member for years, and the only thing I ever used them for was towing when I blew a tire or had my radiator die. Who knew there was so much more. Call me crazy, but I think that trip planning is actually one of the fun parts of travel, so I wouldn't want to cede those responsibilities to someone else, anyway, but it's good to know there are options anyway...

Vegas, Baby

That's where I would be if I still worked at Blackboard. In a ridiculous attempt to kill all its employees' virtue (and livers), my former employer is holding its annual convention in Vegas. Ridiculous. I went to the one in Boston last year. Not quite as awesome, though I was able to go to Australia in 2006, so all in all I think I made out pretty good! I hope all my former compadres are enjoying their time there in Sin City. I am off to my bachelor party today. 3-4 days of ridiculousness, Natural Light, reminiscing, and pretending I am 19 years old will culminate in a week-long hangover, I am sure. Should be awesome.

This weekend, Jena and I went out to San Francisco. Her friend Zeena got married. It was a beautiful ceremony in Hillsborough at her parents very nice house, overlooking the bay. The weather was beautiful and breezy. It was also a pretty interesting ceremony - a combined Hindu/Zoroastrian celebration. We sandwiched the wedding with a couple days of R&R, spending Friday exploring Santa Cruz and Capitola, and then Sunday we headed up to Wine Country in Sonoma, drinking and eating until we couldn't anymore. A great time. Monday was a long day of travel, but we made it back and now I am off again...

As usual, travel time afforded me the ability to polish off a couple of the books I have been working on. I polished off the book I was reading about the first crusade, aptly titled "The First Crusade". I found it to be an incredibly interesting and easy read. I was not at all informed on the subject so it was pretty fascinating, although the attack and occupation of Jerusalem seemed to receive short shrift, whle the siege of Antioch got about 75 pages. Still, a great introduction to the First Crusade. I also finally finished The World Without Us. I thought it was a bit unfocused, but still quite entertaining. It was not as doom and gloom as it could have been given the title - it was mostly a broad swath picture of different man-made things that would not persist if man didn't. It was also a rather uplifting picture of how our planet could, if given the chance, bounce back and recuperate. Interesting book - I'd recommend it as a quick read that could get you interested in a few different topics.

What It Is!

Been a while since I did an update on what's what.

Precana was actually a good time. It's a long weekend - I think total we put in almost 30 hours, but it was well set up. Not a lot of endless lectures. Good discussion. It was definitely one of those "Get out what you put in" type things, but I am glad we did it. After that we went to watch the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones series. I have been looking forward to seeing this since I heard about it.

It sucked.

The dialog was bad, the plot weak, the premise sillier than most action flick premises. Harrison Ford was actually still believable, and the action scenes, especially the part with the ants, were pretty sweet. Disappointing though. Ah well.

Reading: I am reading a few books as usual. The two most active are 'The World Without Us', by Alan Weisman and 'The First Crusade: A New History', by Thomas Asbridge. The World Without Us is a pretty popular one, and it kept seeming interesting, so I finally checked it out. It's pretty crazy to think about all the infrastructure that would just crumble if we humankind ceased to exist. While the book has the potential to be really depressing, every time it veers in that direction, it gets interesting enough that you don't feel like you are being preached to or warned. I like it half way through.

I just started the book about the First Crusade, as part of my reading regimen to understand Italian and papal history. I want to be somewhat educated on what I am seeing when I go to Italia. So far the book is written in a pretty accessible way, though as with much early history, I have a problem with the inherent required guessing that takes place due to lacking solid written evidence.

Have I mentioned that I can't freakin' wait to go Italy!?!?

As far as work, I have all manner of code out on the interwebs. The php stuff seems to have solidified enough so that I won't be doing any emergency deployments any time in the next week or so, and I will take that. We are in the midst of ironing out some issues with the latest deployment of sportsvite, and I got to dust off my performance engineering skills. It's good to know that I haven't already forgotten everything. I have to admit that working on those problems is fun, and I am lucky to have worked somewhere that gave me the ability to learn some of those relatively rare skills.

Good And Bad

Well, in the midst of doing an emergency php deployment, Jena and I found out that her parents got us a timeshare in Sardinia for our honeymoon. Makes the dire php ecommerce issues seem slightly less painful. Can't wait to get to Italy. Can't wait!

I leave you with these nuggets of wisdom:

Php deployments on a live ecommerce site from a Barnes and Noble Cafe in Bethesda - no matter what anyone tells you, it's not awesome.

Things I find to be awesome:

• Juno Soundtrack (good movie too)
• Old Alice Cooper music
• Sardinia timeshares
• Tigers sweeping the evil White Sox (about time Cabrera!)
  

Things that aren't great:

• $4 for 2 hrs of wireless access
• Cafes with one available wall outlet where the sun is shining thus making it 200 degrees while doing crazy php debugging
• php debugging
• The nagging feeling that after sweeping the evil White Sox, the Tigers will find a way to lose most of their next 20 games

This weekend is pre-cana for Jena and I. Hopefully we will pass. Peaceout!

Monday, Rainy Monday

Mondays aren't usually the best days no matter what the weather is like, but they are especially lame when it's pouring, dark, and you forgot your rowboat.

The weekend was great. My grandparents had a great time - it's not often that you can get together with your family and help your grandparents celebrate 92nd and 90th birthdays on the same weekend. It's great to have them both still around, and I appreciate all the great times we spent together when I was younger, and the great times we continue to share. It was also great to see all my cousins/uncles/aunts, and even better to find out that they will all be making the trek to D.C. to attend our wedding. Very good news indeed!

What else is new? I slammed through Bringing Down The House on the flights this weekend. Jena had just read it and loved it so I brought it with me. In case anyone doesn't know it's the book upon which the recent film "21" is based. Pretty awesome book - just imagining someone playing 8 hands of blackjack at once with $50K on the table is cool. Vegas is fun. I am on to the Complaint-Free world book, having completed the early baseball history book on the train. So far it's pretty interesting, and the source of some pretty awesome quotes like this one:

We are all self-made, but only the successful will admit it.

That's a good one. I am a big proponent for not whining about things you aren't willing to change, so hopefully this will help me practice what I preach.

In other new, we booked our hotel room in Sardinia for the honeymoon - looks awesome. I doubt we'll want to leave.

Latest Books, Frustrations, and Awesome Weather

Well it's been a few since I've written. Since we last checked in, I have completely given up on reading Midnight in Sicily. Life is too short to read books that suck. I have finished The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, which was excellent. The author, Richard Zimler, seems to have a few other books out, so I will definitely be checking those out. Also, in celebration of the Tigers ability to finally string together a few wins, I have decided to read A History Of Early Baseball, which is a short, easy ride about baseball's rise in the middle of the 19th century. So far so good. Reading about baseball is not as fun as watching, and watching isn't as fun as playing, but it's better than slogging through Midnight in Sicily! I also finished The Wisdom of Crowds, which was an interesting read, but probably could have been about 100 pages long. So many of those types of books seem to be centered around a crystallized but very simple premise, then proceed to spend 200-300 pages to 'prove the hypothesis' using (hopefully) entertaining and enlightening real-world stories. Wisdom of Crowds was well written, and was a good follow up to Made To Stick.

I recently ordered 7 more books from Amazon. It's not my fault - their recommendation system works so well that I just HAVE to do these things. As Jena says, if my worse vice is to buy too many books, we can work with it. I am especially excited about one of the books - A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted. As someone who tends to be put off by what I see as the increasing incompetence and apathy in our world, I would love to see how to transcend that and focus on what I can control. Hopefully it won't be a bunch of self-help mumbo-jumbo. I'll let you know what I figure out.

In other news, I am frustrated by web applications. I think that there are too many frameworks, not enough examples, and that JavaScript is terrible. That said, I am definitely learning a hell of a lot right now - being at a small company like Sportsvite definitely allows you to be a jack-of-all-trades, and we really are doing a lot of interesting stuff right now that I think will really improve the site. That's the end of my little techno-driven rant.

The weather outside is beautiful. And I am sitting here programming and blogging. Anyone know of a world where I can sit outside every day and make money programming? Sign me up. Headed to Indiana this weekend for my grandmother's 90th birthday party. It'll be great to see the family! Hopefully I'll have some great pictures.

Tigers! Books! Travel!

Tigers Win!

1-7. In the standings, it isn't much of a difference, but man does it look better than 0-7. Seriously. WAY BETTER. Bonderman got a win for the first time since roughly 2004, and the bats woke up a bit. Clete Thomas continues to impress. Happy day(s) are here again, for now at least.

In other news, the Nats stink.

In other news, I finished reading America's Three Regimes, by Morton Keller. This was a good read, interesting and informative. Keller describes the evolution of the political system and parties in particular through the life of the American Nation. Reading it makes me even more upset about the two-party system and it's inability to serve national interests, especially at the end of the book, when Keller talked about the rise of special interests in the political arena. Sigh. I would definitely recommend this book - a shade under 300 pages, and while packed with information, doesn't read like a textbook.

I have moved on to the Wisdom of Crowds. So far so good. I'll write more about it shortly, as it's gotten me thinking a bit. As I read more of these sort of sociology meets technology meets economics books, it's interesting to contrast the ideas and concepts across each of them. Surely they overlap and become sort of repetitive, but each book does have its own interesting and usually valid message that it conveys.

I am also STILL reading Midnight in Sicily, albeit slowly. I have read too much of it to turn back now, and with some weekend travel looming (more later), hopefully I can finally finish it. I am also continuing with my historical fiction. The latest book that Amazon recommended me is The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, by Richard Zimler. It's a well-written and eye-opening account of the plight of the Jews in Portugal around the time of the Inquisition. I am not sure why I keep ending up reading historical fiction about converted and secret Jews (David Liss books as well), but they are all fascinating, and satisfy my craving for history while still being light and easy reads.

The next couple weeks are going to be busy - here at Sportsvite, we are getting ready to do the first release that will include my work. That's exciting, but pushing code into production is always stressful. The weekends are for travel. This weekend, we are off to Massachusetts to celebrate the first birthday of Jena's nephew William. That ought to be a blast! He's a joy to be around, and it will be great to see Jena's family as well. Next weekend, it's off to Philly to catch a baseball game and hang out with college friends. Then the following week, it's off to the bustling metropolis of Crawfordsville, IN, to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday! So exciting! She's still amazingly full of life, and it will be great to see them and the rest of my family. Lots coming up - hopefully I'll have some good pictures to post.

Sail On...

Well, it's finally come. I am moving on from Blackboard. It might seem like a crazy move, considering I just got promoted, and have a team under me, and a high profile position doing some pretty cool work, but it's true. I am sailing on. For reasons that I don't really need to discuss, I am just ready to go. I have learned a lot, and grown my skill set and confidence level enough that I am ready to move.

I am headed to a startup called Sportsvite. It's a social networking site (yes another social networking site), but one that actually serves a purpose - to connect recreational athletes with leagues, games, and each other. I will be part of a small team doing all kinds of Java web application development. I am extremely excited to get going, and I already have a lot of ideas about how to make the product even cooler than it already is. I think there is a lot of potential there, and it will be refreshing to get into a smaller more dynamic place where process and 'best practices' don't overrule common sense and client needs.

So the turnover at Blackboard will pretty much envelop the remainder of the month. Hopefully once March comes around, things will start settling down as I get into the new job. In other news, I went skiing this weekend. I did pretty well for my third time out, despite the rough conditions. Slopes alternated between closed, slushy, and icy. Not ideal, but still a lot of fun, and always great to get away. While there, I managed to knock through The Second Horseman by Kyle Mills. It was good like all his books. Nothing earth-shattering. Now, I have moved on to a few books. I am still working on Music and the Brain, which is really fascinating, but not light reading by any stretch. I am also tackling 'The Career Programmer', by Christopher Duncan, about how to work as a programmer and not go crazy. I have to say that after finishing part one of three on the train this week, I can't say I have experienced much of what the author describes. He comes off as so cynical that it's hard to take anything he says seriously, even though there is valuable wisdom sprinkled thoughout. I am also reading Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb, but it's off to such a slow start, it may not make the cut. I will provide an update in the next installment.

What's New, 2008!

Well, since I last wrote, it became 2008! I went to Denver, where I did some sightseeing, and a whole lot of snow shoveling. It was great to finally get out to Colorado. My mom, myself, my Aunt Mary, Uncle Al, cousin Stacey, and her husband Tony spent a lovely White (10 in) Christmas together. Sadly, it was too cold and windy to get any skiing in, but we still had a good time and it was good for my Mom to be around family. Before we left, Jena and I had Christmas with my mom in Arlington. We got a lot of great gifts (not least of which was a bunch of stuff to get us ready for our Italian honeymoon), and had a great dinner. Once I returned, it was finally time to have our Christmas. We exchanged gifts, figured out we both went WAY over our predetermined spending limits for each other, and had a great night.

I have always loved Christmas. It's a great time to think about how you can really make the people around you smile. My dad always loved Christmas, and I think it really rubbed off on me. Watching him every year as he started the shopping ritual, and kept on buying little stuff here and there, right up until the stores closed on Dec. 24th. Then coming down in the morning, seeing all those presents, some of them from Santa, some from the Elves, and some from Rudolph himself (my dad took great license signing the to/from cards). The stockings filled to the brim with gimmick gifts, bizarre stuff, odd foods, and the like. The smell of breakfast and coffee. I hope to be the kind of dad and husband who makes Christmas great for his family like it was for me every year.

We got an awesome Christmas tree this year. It rivaled the awesomeness of the tree from last year. We are lucky because the guy who sells trees at Eastern Market has reasonably priced, fresh trees, and he's a really nice, friendly and helpful fellow. I will continue to buy trees from him as long as we're here and he keeps coming to the Market. The tree was still completely alive when I finally took it out last Saturday.

What else is going on. Geez, I have read a lot of books...I finished Manhunt - great book, I really enjoyed it, and it's no often I read a history book where I don't know the ending - definitely an added bonus. I also knocked out a couple of Pelecanos books, and DC Noir, a collection of Noir short stories that take place throughout DC, edited by Mr. Pelecanos himself. I also finished Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain on the airplane on the way back. I am now reading a book by an old fave of mine, Dick Francis, who writes mysteries that center around racehorses, and a book by David Baldacci, The Winner, which I must say hasn't been the page turner that the others I have read were. Can't win em all. I am also most of the way through the programmer management book Herding Cats, which is reasonably educational.

Jena and I settled on a band for the wedding, which is exciting. Radiant is their name, and they survived the grueling selection process that included four booking agencies, a few trips to some odd places to watch bands play weddings and holiday parties, and quite a few hilarious sample DVDs. I am excited, as I think they will keep things fun, and they seem to be good singers and musicians. In a perfect world, I would have just packed my Nano full of old favorites from my music collection, but I have to admit that having a band just adds some cool factor to a wedding.
Geez, what else - the primary season is in full swing, and Hillary has already been beaten out of the race and won New Hampshire in the same 24 hours. The press is really something to behold during the election year. I for one can't wait til the contenders emerge and we can get the election done. I am not sure who I am for, but I do know who I am against, and that's a good start (please no Hucklebee theocracy for this guy). My resolutions this year include learning enough Italian not to be a complete buffoon when we travel there, and to keep learning guitar, and to get married without screwing it up!

In my nerd life, I have been doing a bunch of scripting language exploration, diving into Scala, Groovy, and Ruby. I must say that Scala doesn't seem to quite be 'there', but it is really nice. Ruby and RoR are fantastic, but I have to admit a predisposition to Groovy, as it runs in a JVM and can be mixed and matched with Java code.

So that pretty well sums up what's been happening from this guy for the past month. I turn (gulp) 30 in one week, so next weekend promises a bunch of fun and festivities (and annoying jokes). Enough rambling for now...

Favorite Pictures From My Travels

Under the Space Needle - Seattle, WA


Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA


Heaven Lives in Woodinville, WA (at the Red Hook Brewery)


Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA


Coit Tower - San Francisco, CA



Big, Incredible Redwoods - Muir Woods, CA


Down the Waterfall, Capilano River, North Vancouver, BC


Melbourne Skyline from the Yarra River, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia


Tidal Pool, Diagonal Tree - Mallacoota, NSW, Australia


Sydney Tower at Dusk, Sydney, NSW, Australia


Opera House, Sydney, NSW, Australia


St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, NSW, Australia

December Blues

Well, been a while, so here goes.

First, an update on where I have been and what I have been doing. Last weekend my fiancee ditched me to meet up with her friend in Austin, so I celebrated by...catching a cold. So last week was pretty rough. I didn't feel like much the whole week. Lucky to have such a great fiancee to take good care of me. I have been taking guitar lessons finally. Jena got me a guitar a couple of years ago, and after some self-teaching, I figured out I can't teach myself very well, so I have been going to a great teacher for a few lessons now, and it's amazing how far I have come. Someday I will be able to rock like a true guitar god...or at least be able to play a few songs...preferably Led Zeppelin or Tom Petty or something good that's not too challenging and doesn't require 12-strings. We went to New York City this weekend and braved the cold wet weather. It's a crazy place - I never know how people live there, but there must be something to it since both of my college roommates and some other good friends are either moving there or have been there for a while. Too much action for me...

We took the bus there, which was good...cheap, had wireless internet, and gave me time to read! I finished The Ethical Assassin, by David Liss. I had read his first three books, which were historical fictions based on a family of exiled Jewish merchants in England from 1500-1700. I love history, and have been getting more into historical fiction. Liss' fourth effort, however, jumped to the other end of the spectrum, diving into a mystery about an encyclopedia salesman in the trailer parks of Northern Florida. It was really a good quick read like the others. The pace and rhythm of the storytelling is always pretty uncanny in his books.

Not much else to add. Still working through Manhunt and the Alexander Hamilton bio, and also through three chapters of Herding Cats, a book about programmers being promoted to lead other programmers, which is where I find myself these days, often cluelessly. I have already noticed ample quantities of advice that I can use in my day to day work.

More on Christmas shortly, along with some good pictures we have taken lately during our travels!

Thanksgiving

I had a great holiday. My mom and I drove up to good old Crawfordsville, Indiana, to spend the holiday with my grandparents. My grandfather hasn't been doing so great lately, so it was really good to see him again. We had a nice quiet turkey day where everyone ate a lot and then napped. My cousin came into town on Friday from Illinois. It was great to see him. On Saturday, we helped my grandparents celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. To understand how incredible this is, let me give you a rundown on average life expectancy in some select nations:

United States: 77.1
United Kingdom: 77.7
Peru: 70.0
Mexico: 71.5
Canada: 79.5
France 78.8

So this means that my grandparents have been married for almost as long as most people can reasonably expect to live. Wow. Each day, the mail carrier came with a giant stack of cards from all over the country. Their local newspaper carried a small story about them (on the heels of a much longer story about their 65th anniversary), and the local radio guy gave them a quick shout-out! A nice thing about living in a small town. The flower man showed up Friday and had to make three trips to the van to bring in all the goodies. It's so nice to see such an outpouring of love and support for people who have spent their whole life spreading love and kindness to their family, friends, and community.

While I was there, I got a chance to do some reading. I took in another book by George Pelecanos, Drama City. It's another story based in the underbelly of Washington DC. This time it's about people and whether or not they can change. If you get past the grit, it's an interesting and thought provoking plot. Can people change? If they think they can't, is it because they are scared to change, or just that they really are "born a certain way". It's an interesting way of looking at the nature vs. nurture debate in the context of a crime novel. The other book I got through last week was 1812, The War That Forged A Nation, by Walter Borneman. This was a fast paced read about the War of 1812, a conflict that is really underserved by traditional history classes as taught in high school and college. I learned a lot about the causes of the war, the major players, and the incredible ineptitude on both sides that marked much of the battlefield 'strategy'. To be sure, the leaders of the early 19th century can certainly be seen in their early careers - Winfield Scott, the leader of the military campaign against Mexico, Andrew Jackson, who later ascended to the presidency, William Henry Harrison. Pretty impressive group. It was a decent book - I would recommend it.

Now I have moved on to reading Manhunt, The 12-day Chase For Lincoln's Killer, by James Swanson. I kept on seeing it in the bookstore, and coming off of reading Team of Rivals, I was drawn to it as a natural sequel. That, and still trudging through Alexander Hamilton. It's a great book so far, but still a long way to go before I can give my final report.

Lots to talk about

Since I just started this blog, it never really occurs to me to write. So as to avoid the untimely and premature death of my blog, I better get on the horse. To that end:

I have been all over the past few months. Jena and I visited my grandparents in Indiana, which is always fun. I have an amazing pair of grandparents. They are 91 and 89, and still live at home by themselves, no problem. They are a great source of inspiration. They are both so sharp and love each other so much. They live in a little town between Indianapolis and Lafayette, surrounded by a bunch of really nice people who take care of them, taking them to the grocery store, to church, to doctor's appointments, and so on. Nobody lets them do yard work. I guess that's the difference between living in the Midwest and living on the East Coast. Anyway, we had a great time. Like everyone else I know, they LOVE Jena, and Jena loves them, so it's great to get her out there to spend time with them. My grandmother taught Jena how to crochet, and we took them out on rides (they can't drive anymore). Every time I go out there, I come back more aware of just how lucky I am to have special people like that in my life.

After returning from Indiana, it was back to work, then off to New York City to do some recruiting at Columbia University. I hadn't done a career fair before, so it was fun to get out there and do some selling (hopefully I can get some help for our team too). I also, as an added bonus, got to take the train (always nice) and see my college roommate and great friend Billy, his new wife, and my friends Tyran and Kareem in Brooklyn. That was fun, although I wasn't feeling great. The career fair went well, although my feet were definitely killing me after 9 hrs of standing. The campus is beautiful, and the ride there along Central Park West was definitely enjoyable. Of course, I forgot my camera, so no pictures. Then back on the train and back to DC.

The next morning, time to drive to Hilton Head for a week of R&R with Jena and my mom. The drive was uneventful, if a little long. Once we were there, it was vacation time. We did the traditional things that you do at the beach. Sit at the pool, sit at the beach, play putt-putt (I won, extending my dominant winning streak to 3 ), eat yummy seafood (if in Hilton Head, DO NOT leave without eating at Redfish ), relax, sleep a lot. We took day trips to Savannah and Charleston, such cool cities with that old Southern charm and nifty historic districts. It was a good time had by all, and a nice way to recharge.

So, what have I been reading lately? A LOT, thankfully. My schedule has finally opened up, and while the act of traveling can be stressful and time consuming, it also affords me with a lot of downtime where I can get some reading done. So what have I read?

Free to Choose - Milton and Rose Friedman - This is Milton Friedman's 1980 rant about the pernicious nature of government's attempt to 'protect you'. It's an assault that reeks of libertarianism, while toeing the line with reality. When I was in school, I really really wish that this had been required reading. I took a couple classes in Public Economics and this would have tied together a lot of the concepts we were looking into without getting buried in graphs. Sometimes real world examples are required to make complex things clear. What I really enjoyed about this book was the discussion of government regulation, and how the only people who actually win are big business special interest groups. Ahhh, so true. It's definitely an infuriating book to read for all the silliness that it exposes. The prescient discussion of the privatization of social security is obviously very relevant 27 years later. Just sad that a paternalistic government that has failed to educate its citizens uses that same excuse when telling us that people can't handle their own money because they don't know enough. Ahhh. Anyway, it's a fantastic book. You don't need a background in economics to get the concepts in it, as it's written in a very lucid non-academic manner. Bravo, Mr. Friedman.

I also finally got around to reading Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. By now, lots and lots of people have seen the HBO miniseries by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, which was amazing. I have been meaning to check out the book, and I finally got around to it. Amazing stuff. I am something of a military history buff, and a history buff in general, but this book took you further. The amazing camaraderie and fearlessness that these men displayed during a war that wasn't driven by smart bombs and unmanned drones is absolutely striking. I simply can't imagine jumping out of an airplane, much less into a firefight behind enemy lines, then having to fight your way back to your reinforcements. Now imagine doing it repeatedly. Incredible. A very easy book to read and a great view of what it took to be a soldier in those days.

Dogs of God - James Reston - Ever read a book that made you think "Man, that was a lot of great information but who the hell was the editor?"? That was how I felt when I was reading this one. It was a book filled with interesting facts about Spain during the inquisition and the age of Columbus. All the right information was there, but instead of choosing to follow a timeline or a theme (Columbus, the exile or forced conversion of Jews, and the final showdown with the Moors), Reston skips around in time and in theme. It made the book far more confusing and far less satisfying than it could/should have been. Ah well, you can't win em all.

I also read a few guilty pleasure-type books, none of which are really worth discussing here (I was at the beach!).