P90x

I was in the best shape of my life from 2000-2002 and since then I have been in a state of rapid decline. I stopped running regularly. I stopped lifting regularly. I stopped biking regularly. I drifted away from soccer and ultimate frisbee. Now I sit at a desk all day and a bathroom scale recently told me I could stand to loose 10 pounds.

I am sick of this.

This morning was my first day doing the P90x Classic workout regimen. Generally speaking, I am wary of products hawked by infomercials but I know several people who have tried the program and liked it. Even if the workouts weren't excellent if you exercise for an hour a day six days a week for 12 weeks you would probably see impressive results.

I've committed to doing 72 workouts over the next 84 days and I'd appreciate being held accountable to that goal. You can track my progress in the sidebar of my blog.

October Sky

Lately, as we finally transition to fall, the trees have grown colorful and the clouds have often been breathtaking.

There is change afoot in my life as well. Today, for example, I got two job offers within 20 minutes of each other. It has given me something to mull over.

Thoughts while on the job

"I wonder how many times I can jump around up here until I hurt myself. Ow. One."

"I'm pretty sure this harness doesn't increase my personal safety."

"I wish I knew what I was doing."

"Solvent hangovers are no fun."

"It's a good thing I'm not afraid of heights."

"Tyvek clothing was not a good idea."

"Why would you pay for overnight shipping if it was just going to sit unopened for a week?"

"Shouldn't I be getting hazard pay?"

"Ah, so that's why burning sulfur is associated with hell."

3 months in under 3 minutes

June: Spent a week in Wales
July: Finished PULSE, missed LDRS because my supervisor left for a better job, moved back to Goshen
August: Spent 10 days in the Pacific Northwest, became CMC MYF sponsor, became an environmental engineering technician, spent 2nd week of work in Toledo, got motorcycle running (fixed starter clutch) only to have clutch problems (slave cylinder?)

pictures and details to follow.

w00t!

IGN has the scoop on StarCraft II. It's only been 9 years since Starcraft was released but it looks like it may be worth the wait. All I know is I may laps back into regular gaming which I haven't really done since Warcraft III...

I'd rather be riding...

I spent the better part of the last 18 months without a motorcycle to call my own. From mid November to Feburary I had been trying to buy a 1976 CB 750F from a guy on craigslist before he finally decided it wasn't for sale. I had wanted a Honda CB 750 from the early 1970s because I was attracted to its legacy. The air-cooled inline 4 was arguably the most influential motorcycle of the 20th century because it showed the world that Japan could produce world-class superbikes not just scooters. They are also, by today's standards, fairly simple mechanically which makes them easy to rebuild to their original form or make them into fantastic custom bikes.

When that option fell through I went looking for something slightly different. I eventually found it in the v65 Magna of the mid 80s - the original musclebike. Although it was overshadowed during the later part of its brief lifespan by the Yamaha V-max its 1098cc liquid-cooled 45 degree V4 engine is still an impressive performer. And what are the drawbacks for having modern power in a bike that is over 20 years old? Cam oiling problems, underpowered breaks, spongy rear suspension, a flaky starter clutch, a front fork brace that is prone to failure, and a carburetor assembly that can only be removed from the motorcycle after you drain the coolant system among other gripes. This is enough for at least one satisfied v65 owner to proclaim:

IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE HONDA EARLY V4 WORLD AND ARE ONLY THINKING ABOUT PURCHASING ONE, DON'T.

I didn't listen to him. I must subconsciously filter out sentences written in all caps as having been written by fools. I'm now questioning my reasoning.

I like this motorcycle. The first time I saw one it was parked by a V-max on a side street in Chicago. I was immediately drawn to it. It is a brute of a machine. It is heavy. It is powerful. It is fast. I have no idea why it has an overdrive - at 70 mph it rolls along at 3000 RPM leaving the remaining 7000 RPM before the redline useful only in extra-legal pursuits.

I rode it from Goshen to Pittsburgh without a hitch but the third time I went to start it after arriving at PULSE house the starter made a very unsatisfying twitching sound. It did not fully engage nor did the engine turn over. I suspected the battery as I had inadvertently discharged it a few days earlier because it didn't occur to me that it would be possible to leave the taillight on after locking the steering column. Today I installed a brand new factory-sealed high-performance battery, replaced side covers and the seat, and expected it to fire right up. Instead I was greeted by a wisp of smoke wafting up from the general vicinity of the rectifier.

I didn't so much say the words "Oh. No." as feel them.

One moment I was eagerly anticipating hours of corner-carving in the hills of southwestern PA and the next I had good reason to believe that I would be without a functioning motorcycle, and perhaps several hundred dollars, for the foreseeable future. There is a serious problem, the exact nature of which I have yet to discern, but something has shorted out the battery entirely. They weren't joking about the battery being "high performance" either. It generated so much current that the stainless steel block in the positive battery terminal got hot enough to melt the lead surrounding it.

Oh well, such is life.

49% of americans do what?

A recent study(pdf) by the Pew Internet and American life Project concluded that:

49% of Americans only occasionally use modern gadgetry and many others bristle at electronic connectivity

Being a "Lackluster Veteran" that spends most of my day staring at a monitor I find it difficult to relate to the mindset of several of the other groups named in the findings. During the past few years I have completely removed myself from realm of broadcast television and I can't that I'm any worse for wear. The potential for the internet as a vehicle for delivery of information and entertainment will render all other mediums obsolete in the coming years.

Group name	% of population	What you need to know about them
Elite Tech Users (31%)
Omnivores	8%	They have the most information gadgets and services, which they use voraciously to participate in cyberspace and express themselves online and do a range of Web 2.0 activities such as blogging or managing their own Web pages.
Connectors	7%	Between featured-packed cell phones and frequent online use, they connect to people and manage digital content using ICTs – all with high levels of satisfaction about how ICTs let them work with community groups and pursue hobbies.
Lackluster Veterans	8%	They are frequent users of the internet and less avid about cell phones. they are not thrilled with ICT-enabled connectivity.
Productivity Enhancers	8%	They have strongly positive views about how technology lets them keep up with others, do their jobs, and learn new things.
Middle-of-the road Tech Users (20%)
Mobile Centrics	10%	They fully embrace the functionality of their cell phones. they use the internet, but not often, and like how ICTs connect them to others.
Connected But Hassled	10%	They have invested in a lot of technology, but they find the connectivity intrusive and information something of a burden.
Few Tech Assets (49%)
Inexperienced Experimenters	8%	They occasionally take advantage of interactivity, but if they had more experience, they might do more with ICTs.
Light But Satisfied	15%	They have some technology, but it does not play a central role in their daily lives. they are satisfied with what ICTs do for them.
Indifferents	11%	Despite having either cell phones or online access, these users use ICTs only intermittently and find connectivity annoying.
Off the Network	15%	Those with neither cell phones nor internet connectivity tend to be older adults who are content with old media.

Image search

When you type 'theater' into google image search this picture of Kyle Dean Reinford and Beth Hofstetter shows up on the third page. I wasn't expecting that to happen. I'm not used to seeing people I know on the internets by accident.

myspace makes me feel dirty

Of the last 20 myspace friend requests I've received approximately 1 was from a real person. My track record might be better if I used myspace proactively to 'friend' people I don't already know but that isn't likely to start happening anytime soon.

I don't know too may people who would want to declare their allegiance to someone advertising their adult webcam but apparently there's quite a demand for such things.

As I was writing this post I received 7 friend requests from spam profiles. Some of them looked like effort was put into making them believable but others are obviously fake:

Who I'd like to meet:
No files placed in the folder.

Yeah, that sounds like someone I'd be interested in.

Shutdown Day

World Shutdown Day was yesterday and I participated as best I could. When midnight rolled around on Friday I powered down my file server and turned off my PC and proceeded to leave them as well as my laptop, internet tablet, and iPod in an unpowered state for 24 hours. I included the iPod just for good measure because since it can run Linux one could argue that it is a computer...

Although I did break my technological fast to finish some projected budgets for a grant proposal at the Wireless Neighborhoods office I didn't check my email, brows the web, check my RSS feeds (see graph), or anything else I'd typically use a computer for.

This was an interesting experiment. I channel about 95% of my news, reading material, music, movies, TV, radio programs, and correspondence through my PC. Since I'm also lacking a TV, discrete DVD player, CD player, or radio of any kind -- save the one in my car -- this left me wondering what to do with myself. I ended up spending the day reading, exercising, cooking, cleaning, browsing at Borders, drawing, and relaxing outside. It wasn't bad. Now that spring has arrived I hope I'm going to spend more time doing the aforementioned activities then sitting at my desk watching episodes of Space Battleship Yamato but you never can tell with bees.

I weep for America

Now, I realize that politics has a nasty tendency to bring out the worst in people but this is ridiculous. Oh yes, and geosynchronous satellites are a lie. At least the web design adds to the author's obvious credibility.

instant dissemination

like most internet junkies i come across interesting things every now and again that i would like to share with others. however i feel somewhat silly posting every link i find individually just to say 'look i found this'. this friday google, as it often does, came up with an elegant solution to this problem. Google Reader, my RSS aggregator of choice, now has a blogger template element for shared items (you could subscribe to the feed as well should you so desire). this frees me from posting about random internet things, unless they are particularly mind blowing, and provides some level of new blog content on a regular basis. oh google how i love thee.

perspective

actually working with computers every day rather than just playing around with them in my spare time has led me to some conclusions about what they can and cannot do:

computers can:

• take you to Google -- an important step on the path to enlightenment
• entice you to waste ungodly amounts of paper
• cause bouts of disarmingly intense impatience in otherwise normal people
• infinitely expand the amount of time it takes to perform mundane tasks

computers cannot:

• maintain themselves and thus:
• be trusted in the hands of most users
• bring you joy no matter how much time you spend configuring them, playing games on them, overclocking them, or downloading things with them

they are, at best, tools that help us accomplish otherwise complicated tasks with ease. at worst they are a bulky steel and abs boxes filled with heavy metals that are incapacitated by malicious software.

I've been feeling a lot like this lately

2007

I'm sick of being just a consumer. Ultimately, I would like to take an active role in the creation of all things I use on a day to day basis. This is a tall order but an easy first step is that since I read blogs -- which I do often -- I should be blogging -- which I will do, (less) often. We'll see how this goes.

Bike Tour

From May 14th-20th I will be biking to Indianapolis as part of the third annual Cover Indiana Bike Tour. The event is primarily a fundraiser for the 71 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Indiana. Each rider is to find sponsors for their 350 mile journey to raise money.

Now is the time where I implore my faithful readership to help out. Even though you may only number in the single digits your assistance would be greatly appreciated. When you break it down on a per mile basis there is sure to be a rate you can afford:

1¢	per mile	$3.50
2¢	per mile	$7.00
5¢	per mile	$17.50
10¢	per mile	$35.00
25¢	per mile	$87.50
50¢	per mile	$175.00
π¢	per km	$17.69

All donations collected go to local affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International to help them in their mission to eliminate poverty housing worldwide. It is an ambitious goal but over 200,000 homes have built so far providing over 1,000,000 people with simple, decent, affordable housing. So please:

Thanks,
dan

ding 23

I turned 23 last week. It was ok. If I learned anything in the past year it is that I don't really know how to take care of myself -- i.e. stay healthy, keep the kitchen clean, etc. I still kind of act like I'm in college. I suppose I'll adjust soon enough.

bah!

So, it turns out that the internship I had this past summer paid me as an independent contractor rather than as an employee. That means that I got a 1099-MISC rather than a W-2 from my employer meaning that the IRS knows that I earned money without it being taxed. This ensued. Ok so my reaction was a bit more subdued but you get the point.

Oh, this news made me sad. Batman was one of my favorite superheroes...

i tag. do you?

del.icio.us is a 'social bookmarking tool' that has been getting a lot of press recently -- on the web at least. The first several times i saw it mentioned it didn't really pique my interest but when the del.icio.us Firefox extension showed up as the 'featured extension' at mozilla.org i thought i'd give it a chance.

After several weeks i am completely sold. I frequently bookmark sites while browsing and i can't see myself going back to keeping them in a hierarchical collection of folders anymore. del.icio.us allows you to 'tag' bookmarks with keywords and then subsequently group related keywords, a process they call bundling. Flikr uses a similar scheme for tagging photos. Additionally, you can see who else has bookmarked the same site as you, search popular bookmarks, search by tag, send and receive recommendations, and so on.

You can also access your bookmarks from anywhere because they are hosted for you. Previously, i had been playing around with Portable Firefox so i could have this capability. This solution is much simpler.

Feel free to check out what i've bookmarked. i'm adding more all the time -- way more often then i post.

frak!

This post contains BSG spoliers. You have been warned.

Season 2, Episode 16.

So I didn't see that coming. Billy frakin' died. He was frakin' shot by a thug. That sucks. What a waste of a well-mannered well-centered future politician. I guess Dee and Lee can continue with that ambiguous relationship they've been having but this will shake things up.

And the President -- frak! She has been having a tough enough time already what with having just recovered from terminal cancer and having a traterous, mildly-insane vice president nipping at her heels. Now she's lost the only other person in the government that is really on top of things. Good luck holding the fleet together.

Starbuck shot Lee? Frak! She really needs to get her act together.