Re: Re: Idea: "mirror" Tags for RSS Enclosures

Thanks for the feedback. Though nobody has yet answered the questions I
posed.

> 1. How many podcatchers would this likely break? i.e. They would not
> ignore the new tags if they didn't support them?
> 2. Who else should I pitch this idea to and where else should this
> idea get discussed?

At this point the "mirror" tags are just an idea. If I still think it's
worth some time and effort after Christmas, I'll flesh out a full spec,
including a valid and commented XML Schema file. [I find schema files
easier to read and there are tools to convert them to DTDs.]

I had somewhat different purposes in mind for each of the three tags.

The main purpose for the "mirror:location" tag is to enable a simple
fall over and/or bandwidth improvement mechanism. This tag is simply a
discovery method that gives the podcatcher and/or user choices in where
to download from in much the same way that Source Forge uses mirrors.
The primary source, i.e. the one given in the enclosure tag itself, may
not be the most efficient for every user. Addressing this problem has
been the traditional function of mirrors since the early days of the
Internet. It's not meant to replace round-robin load balancing.

The "mirror:format" tag is intended to cut down on the number of
separate feeds that need to be maintained and processed. It came out of
some inefficiencies that the FeedMesh guys were complaining about
regarding the same content showing up in multiple feeds with different
UIDs. So the intent is to more closely connect the the content to the
UID. And yes to make use of "mirror:format" tags, the podcatchers have
to allow the user to prioritize format preferences.

Personally I want my podcatcher to download multiple formats and put
them in different places: low-res audio on my 256mb iRiver; high-res
audio on my desktop; low res-video on my video iPod; and HD video on my
DVR. Then when I've consumed the content in one of those locations, my
podcatcher should delete or archive the content from all those
locations. I think that having multiple formats associated with a
single UID in a single feed makes this easier.

Finally the intent of the "mirror:addMirror" tag if to allow mirroring
of content to be collaborative. For example, if I wanted to promote a
new video co-dec, I could offer to trans code a popular video cast and
provide a mirror in the new format without hijacking the main feed.
Another example might be a service that protects against the
slashdot/DSC effect by mirroring the media file as soon as it is
published expecting little or no traffic unless the primary source
becomes unavailable or too slow.

I've done almost no work with XML-RPC I and am still trying to get my
head around exactly how to spec the "mirror:addMirror" tag. Suggestions
welcome.

TTFN
Tom Sayles

> Please forgive the cross-posting and please don't flame me if this subject got hashed out months ago.
>
> I've been kicking around ideas for how to solve some of the bandwidth issues. What I've come up with is proposing yet another name space extension to RSS. Specifically to add /mirror:format, mirror:location/ and /mirror:addMirror/ tags as sub-elements of the enclosure tag. More info and a quick/dirty example are in my blog post at:
>
> http://www.soot-n-smoke.com/tsayles/2005/12/idea-mirror-tags-for-rss-enclosures.html
>
> So I have a couple of questions:
>
> 1. How many podcatchers would this likely break? i.e. They would not
> ignore the new tags if they didn't support them?
> 2. Who else should I pitch this idea to and where else should this
> idea get discussed?
>
> TTFN
> Tom Sayles
>
>

Idea: "mirror" Tags for RSS Enclosures

This idea proposes a new set of sub elements of the RSS Enclosure Tag to identify alternate locations and formats for an enclosed item. Since the RSS specification is basicly frozen the way to implement this would be through a new name space that defines these tags. I'm not an expert on writing XML specifications, so any suggestions or assistance would be appreciated.
esnecialy
The new tags are all sub elements of the RSS Enclosure tag and would include:

• mirror:format
• mirror:location
• mirror:addMirror

What I'm advocating would look something like the this.

If you have any comments please post or e-mail them.

Lincat coming along

I've made some really good progress with my Linux box in recent days.

I tripled the amount of RAM from 128MB to 384MB and it has made a big difference. I've got the Apache2 web server up and running with php5 and Pear. (This is probably the programming environment I want to be working with in my next job.) I've even gotten IPV6 and network printing up and running.

I'm still working on replicating my user data (My Documents, My Pictures, etc.) so that I have redundant auto-updating copies on both computers. I'm about 30% of the way there, as I can access the files from my Windows machine and work with them on my Linux box.

Snow

Snow
Originally uploaded by TSayles.

Had a couple of inches of snow last night in Woodinville. Had more up in Snoqualmie where I work, but didn't have my camera.

We've had the snow level creeping down the mountain sides for a couple of weeks now.

Guess it must be winter.

Meta Dreaming and Sleeping

Is meta dreaming and sleeping (dreams about dreaming and sleeping) a sign of deep intellectual self knowledge or just a sign that you need more sleep?

Upgraded to Ubuntu

After several weeks / months of hacking around with Debian GNU/Linux trying to get my sound card working, I finally gave up and tried a Debian derivative called Ubuntu. I first downloaded a "live CD" version that allowed me to try Ubuntu without installing it. When Ubuntu booted off the "live CD" it recognized the sound card and correctly configured the network connection. So I downloaded the install CD, wiped out my previous Debian GNU/Linux and installed a fresh copy of Ubuntu version 5.10 "Breezy Badger".
It took longer that the 25 minutes they claimed, but it was still much faster then a full reinstall of Windows, especially since OpenOffice and Firefox are included in the Ubuntu dirtro.

Roast Turkey

Roast Turkey
Originally uploaded by TSayles.

Cooked roast turkey for myself and my housemates. Also made Tom safe cranberry sauce, peas & pearl onions, mashed potatoes and fresh pineapple. Tried gravy, but the consistency wasn't quite right. Guess I still need more practice with gravy. More photos on my Flicker page.

Idea: Potlucks4Progress, Social Networking to Solve Social Problems

Today I got around to listening to the November 20th edition of the Chris Pirillo show where Ponzi was interviewing Andru Edwards, about the recent inaugural Mind Camp. Near the end of the interview it occurred to me that many of the participants at this and similar events, like Gnomedex and the Portable Media Expo, would probably enjoy getting together more frequently even if it was on a smaller scale.
Thinking of my own geeky friends, one thing many of them have in common is that the like to cook and/or eat gourmet food, so we occasionally gather for potlucks. This lead me into thoughts about combining regular gatherings of intellectuals for shared food with some collaborative problem solving around particular topics.
The resulting fusion is an idea I call Potlucks4Progress, Social Networking to Solve Social Problems. What I have in mind is a website, probably Potlucks4Progress.com, where registered users can:

• Suggest problems that social networks of smart folks might solve that would include
• Limited length problem statement
• Links to supporting documents, optional
• Closing date for judged awards, optional
• Offer prize(s) for judged awards, optional
• invitation(s) to judge solutions, optional
• organize a potluck, by
  
• inviting a just few or whole bunch of friends
• mapping location(s) of potluck(s)
• RSVP to an invitation
• Suggest / assign dish(es) to be brought
• Announce what dish is being / was brought
  
• Submit solution / potluck reports, including
• limited length summary of solution(s) proposed
• links to supporting documentation, optional
  
• links to pictures from potluck, optional
• list of guests attending, optional
• list of dishes served, optional
• Nominate proposed solutions for various awards including:
• best solution
• most practical solution
• most humorous solution
• most creative solution
• most tantalizing menu
  
• most humorous menu
• best photo
• most humorous photo
• most diverse guest list
  
• other user defined awards
  
• Sponsor prizes to be associated with various awards
• Vote to confer unjudged awards to specific proposed solutions

At this site anonymous users could:

• Browse problem statements and solution summary reports
• Subscribe to RSS feeds of newly suggested problems
• Subscribe to RSS feeds of proposed solutions
  
• Browse information about Potlucks4Progress.com

I'd like this to be a self supporting website taking in revenue from ads for gourmet food, cooking and hospitality supplies. Perhaps with a major sponsorship or two from a recipe sites or cooking supply chain, it might even be able to support me, as I'd love to quite my day job.
As always if you're interested in working on this or otherwise supporting the effort, please drop me an e-mail.

Emergency Water Supply for People and Horses

Ed & Laura --

The amount of water a horse needs depends on the horse, what they're eating and how hard they're working. But five to fifteen gallons a day is typical. You can probably measure what your horses drink by checking the water meter just before you leave and just after you get back from a weekend away.

Assuming 20 gal/day for the two horses and other animals, and 2 gal/day/person, you're looking at a minimum of 420 gal or about 1600 liters or a little over 2 cubic yards of water to last two weeks.

A third or more of your 140 gallons for five people are probably in your hot water heater. You just have to remember to protect it in the event of a major earthquake. There's also water in your toilet tanks, again if you protect it after a quake.

If any of your neighbors' pools survive you can use that water for both humans and livestock, but you'll probably want to remove the chlorine first. Easiest way is to pass the water through a carbon filter, though you can also use aeration or chemical precipitation or boiling. Again this is a supply that may need to be protected in the immediate aftermath of a major quake. Fast action with a big sheet of plastic might save several hundred gallons of water for later use.

In a disaster situation you can make carbon filters with rinsed charcoal, probably from wood you burn rather than out of a bag. The effectiveness of carbon filters is dependent on chemical reactions so it's proportional to surface area and contact time. Depending on the source of water, carbon filters should generally be used in conjunction with particulate filtration and disinfection. Household bleach, without any laundry additives, is a very good water disinfectant so you want to have plenty in your earthquake supplies.

If you want to be self sufficient and prepared for the worst, you should probably look into getting one of those shipping pallet tanks. They typically have a nice steel cage that protects the tank. You might also look into lighting it with a mercury vapor lamp so the UV will keep stuff from growing in it. If you plumb it in right, you can probably flush the tank a couple of times a year with water you're now putting on your lawn. You also want to make sure that tank's valves are closed most of the time, as you don't want to loose the water if the tank breaks loose from it's plumbing.

Another option would be to plan on evacuating the kids and/or horses to some place with more water after a few days. It's much easier to reopen one or two lanes of a road then it is to repair major water systems.

TTFN
Tom

Edward wrote:

How much water do horses need a day? I need 140 Gallons for people, plus all the animals. That’s a lot of water. That’s 265 two liter bottles just for the people for two weeks

---

From: Tom
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: Why God will Destroy Los Angeles and San Francisco
Mom --

The recommendations I recall for SoCal are two gallons per person per day for at least two days and preferably until the water systems are fixed.

Some of this can be from sources like your hot water heater and toilet tanks, but some of it should be stored in a place you can get to if your home in condemned and you can't go back inside.

If the aqueducts break, the estimates I recall are two weeks to fix. I think most of Glendale's water is from wells, so assuming that the water tables don't shift too much they shouldn't be down more then a day or two. You might have to go a few blocks to get water in Glendale and will probably have to wait in line, but it should be available.

The recommendations are a bit less here in Seattle as much of the year we can collect rain water. Still I keep emergency food, water and shelter in my Jeep.

TTFN
Tom

Carol wrote:

now that's not humorous at all is Jim right do I need gallons of water

Tom wrote:

Mom & Others --

Call me a profit if you must, but God will also destroy much of the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco by earthquakes for pretty much the same reasons.

TTFN
Tom

Idea: Home Shopping Scanner

This is an idea I've been kicking around in various forms for almost 15 years now.

Basically I want a device with a bar code scanner that mounts near my kitchen garbage & recycling containers. As I use up a product and throw away the package, I would scan the UPC code and it would be added to an online shopping list. In up-scale markets this could be linked directly to an on-line grocery delivery service. But in most market areas (including mine), users should be able scan their preferred customer / club / reward card at a kiosk and have a shopping list print out of a receipt printer. A clever independent service provider could even perform price comparison and list display / update through mobile phones.

There are several way that such a Home Shopping Scanner could be designed. The easiest for consumers to install would probably be a stand alone wireless Ethernet device. Cheaper to build, but harder to install include, connecting via USB to a fridge mounted or under cabinet PC.

More quotes

While I'm ticked off at the "Bible Thumpers" and feeling prophetic, I'll throw out a few more choice original quotes.

The Bible is a history book that hasn't been adequately revised in almost 2000 years.

God's truest testament is his creation, the universe. Its laws of physics are his commandments and evolution is one of his most basic tools.

In the KJV, Matthew 5:5 has a typo and should read, "Blessed are the Geek: for they shall inherit the earth." Supporting evidence can be seen in by fixing the same typo in Psalms 25 & 37. Think about it. Persecution. Celibacy. Bill Gates. It makes sense.

Why God will Distroy Los Angeles and San Francisco

Mom & Others --

Call me a prophit if you must, but God will also destroy much of the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco by earthquakes for pretty much the same reasons.

TTFN
Tom

Why God Destroyed New Orleans

Mom --

Self serving BS and misinformation like the Anne Graham quote you forwarded to me [and to many others] is why I don't watch mainstream media any more. 

Katrina devastating New Orleans and the associated loss of life had absolutely no link what so ever with the issues around the separation of Church and State.

The more likely answer is that God was simply punishing the idiots who live in New Orleans for building a city in a stupid place.  The present location of the city should have been abandoned after the 1909 & 1915 hurricanes.  Assuming that the city keeps getting rebuilt in the same stupid location, God will keep destroying it by hurricanes about once every hundred years.

The blessing and protection that God gives us is that the universe obeys the laws of physics.  Those who ignore them/him suffer. Ce la vie, ce la mort. 

No amount of prayer in schools or government sanctioning of a specific religion will over time save the present location of New Orleans from hurricane flooding.  However, prayer in schools and/or government sanctioning of a specific religion will over time lead to repression of basic human freedoms. 

TTFN
    Tom

BTW -- This is going up on my 'blog at http://www.soot-n-smoke/tsayles

Carol wrote:

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her

"How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.She said,

 

"I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are,

but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. 

And being the gentleman He is, 

I believe  He has calmly backed out.

 

How can we expect God to give us His blessing

and His protection if we demand

He leave us alone?"

Idea Preview: GUSoHuC, Dealing with Diametrically opposed Values/Belief Systems

One of the primary goals of the GUSoHuC would be to showcase those areas where there is a strong consensus.

Another, but less prominent goal would be, in cases where there are significant and diametrically opposed values/belief systems, provide a forum for discussion and consensus building. In these cases, GUSoHuC, will/should do the following. First, much like how Wikipedia handles controversial articles, acknowledge and tag that there are opposing points of view. Second narrow the scope of the dispute as much as possible using formal consensus techniques. And finally present concurring and dissenting points of view in a structured way that uses social networking techniques rank the arguments pro and con.

Idea Preview: the Grand Unified Scriptures of Human Culture

Call it divine inspiration or maybe just the logical conjunction of several disparate concepts, but last week I began formulating the following idea:

Humanity needs a living document in which to collect the combined wisdom from the various world religions and branches of sciences.

The Wikipedia is already doing this for human knowledge by applying open source technologies and techniques to the capture and documentation of facts in the form of encyclopedia articles. The time is right for us to begin similar work with human wisdom, probably in some form of scripture.

I'm still working on fleshing out many of the details and committing this idea, along with its associated ideas into words suitable for publication. Hopefully I'll find time to work on this among my many other activities.

Idea: Distributed Family / Home Backup Networks

With cheap used PCs running various flavors of Linux, inexpensive large hard drives and widely available broadband Internet connections, it ought to be relatively easy to set up Distributed Family / Home Backup Networks.

Basically I want to take a $75 used PC, throw a new $100 hard drive in it, plug it in to my home network and boot it off a Linux live CD. I'd like configure this system through a web interface, much like I configure other appliances on my home network. The main task of this system would be to automatically mirror data shared from my desktop and laptop computers.

I'd also like to install an identical node on my parent's home network to back up data from their computers and provide an off-site mirror of my data. (Okay maybe it needs two $100 hard drives.) Scale this up to a few more nodes, say a couple of friends and another relative or two, and we can start doing some RAID like economies by splitting remote mirrors across several nodes, with sufficient redundancy to recover the local node if a remote node or two is lost or off-line.

I think that the configuration parameters would need to include:

• Notification e-mail address and login password
  
• Unique host name (for use with dynamic DNS)
• List of local network share(s) to back-up
• Schedule for local network back-ups
  
• List of remote nodes to with which to peer
  including some sort of out of band encryption key exchange
• bandwidth throttling limits
  

Other interesting little details I've thought of include:

• Connections between nodes should be encrypted
• Provide optional encryption of mirror data on the remote node(s)
  i.e All data destined for remote storage would be encrypted before being sent. Only the local node would have the key necessary to decrypt. This should probably be turned on by default.
  
• Create small cross-platform applet to scan the local subnet and discover the newly installed back-up node(s) and launch configuration page in default browser
• Optional daily, weekly, & monthly statistics e-mail / web page.
• Optional merged mirroring for weekend commuters
  i.e. Two (or more) nodes could use a single list of shares to backup and a single two-way mirror set, ensuring that laptops that move from one local net to the other [/another] are protected.
• Nodes could optionally provide traditional file server functionality on their local networks
• Nodes could even provide file sharing services across multiple nodes. [Though this would likely get complicated as it would require a distributed real time locking system.]
  
• Node configuration data, including private keys, should be copied to a .zip file (or .tar ball) and burned onto CDs and stored securely (in say a home safe or safe deposit box). With any configuration changes the node should prompt the owner / admin to create a new configuration back-up file/CD.
  

I'd love to set something like this up on my own, but I'm still too much of a Linux newbie. So if there is anyone that would like to help me with this please let me know.

Once the software is up and running maybe someone like Linksys might be interested in selling a true appliance version off of retail shelves. Maybe a shoe box size device with power and Ethernet connections, hard disk, CD-RW drive, and a configuration CD.

linux poster

linux
Originally uploaded by xxmoexx.

Sex sells, even for open source.

Gnomedex and Woodstock

In a recent mailing list post about planning for Gnomedex 2006, J.D. Lasica exclaimed:

"Four-day conference?! What is this, Woodstock?"

My gut reaction and reply was:

Yes, this is our Woodstock. Announcer: "Don't upload big files." = Announcer: "Don't take the brown acid."

Upon digging a bit deeper, by Googling on "brown acid Woodstock" I found this page talking about the "new sense of community" seen demonstrated at Woodstock. It sounds very similar to what's going on at and around Gnomedex.

So if Gnomedex is the Woodstock of our times, does this imply any or all of the following?

• the hippie movement -- the open source movement
• drugs (medical and recreational) -- the Internet
  
• psychedelic drugs -- file sharing
• LSD -- Napster
• Timothy Leary -- Shawn Fanning
  
• Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Lawrence Lessig
• Civil Rights movement -- IP Reform movement
  
• "The Man" -- "Old Media"
• the Vietnam War -- the War in Iraq
• G. Gordon Liddy -- "“Scooter" Libby
• Richard Nixon -- George W. Bush
• Jimmy Carter -- ???
• ??? -- Chris Pirillo
• ??? -- Adam Curry
• ??? -- Dave Winer
  

I'm sure there are many more, but I'm tired and want to go to bed. So post them in the comments.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
History repeats itself.

Rant Re: Corn Syrup

The %$)(^#s at Sara Lee put #^*($&! corn syrup in my favorite bagels! Their bagels have been my main breakfast food for the past couple of years now.
How much longer do I have to endure before the fall of the Sugar / Corn sweetener lobby?
The only corn syrup free bagels I could find at the store today were the Albertson's brand cinnamon raisin. I got them, but the feel too dense and too soft to really be good bagels.
I'm bumbed because now I have to find a new every day breakfast food, and there aren't many choices that are reasonably healthy, portable, filling and cost effective. I may have to switch back to oatmeal, but that will mean getting up yet another five minutes earlier. :p

Again No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

I'm glad to see it it's not just me, that runs into stuff like this.

The Screwing of the Good Samaritan

About Blogging and Podcasting

I had a friend recently ask:

"I know what both are, but the why is what loses me. I'm not against technology. I like it. I just don't see the point to most of it. I've thought about getting an I-pod just for the days when I miss the NPR programs that I want to hear but, for the most part, CDs do the job for music. And I'm not sure what the blogging craze is all about. So, what's the point? "

Blogging, podcasting and in the not too distant future video-blogging, are all about filling niches. In context of traditional media, content isn't worth producing unless there is an audience of at least tens of thousands if not millions. The media revolution/reformation is about the shift from content production for a few mass markets to mass content production for countless specific markets.

With some of the most recent blogging tools, like Blogger, anyone who has something (or nothing) to say can publish their work on the Internet. This makes it practical to publish content for much smaller target audiences, like say the friends and supporters of my vaulting club. If a blog doesn't yet exist for your favorite passion, you can start one and build a community around it, even if that community is only your friends and family.

Podcasting is, in many ways, doing to radio what blogging has done to the print media. The added twist to Podcasting is that when portable MP3 players are added to the mix, listeners can enjoy content that is highly relevant to their interests while they're away from their computers. This allows listeners to make productive use of time they wouldn't otherwise have, for instance while commuting, working out, shopping at the grocery store, etc. From a content producer's point of view the resources required to put together a basic podcast exist in most middle class homes. For less the the price of a new TV you can obtain the equipment to produce professional broadcast quality audio. So it becomes practical to create content for small, geographically dispersed, audiences. That said Podcasting is still in the very early stages of the technology cycle, so it currently takes a bit of knowhow and willingness to learn to be successful, but it's getting easier every day.

Video-blogging, or as I like to call it "TiVo-casting", is the next obvious step. Small groups will produce full blown TV shows for audiences of a few hundred viewers to download to their set-top DVRs.

Cat Quotes

From Wikiquote:

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." --Albert Schweitzer

and

"Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want." --Joseph Wood Krutch

The Beard Team USA Blog

Who would have thought that beards were competitive?

The Beard Team USA Blog

Made It Home Safely for the Judges Forum

The AVA Judges Forum went well. I learned a great deal about judging vaulting and especially about the technical test.

Had dinner Saturday evening with Connie Geisler, head coach of the Diamond Bar Country Vaulters. Also got to sit and chat with Sue Detol at the airport as we waited for our flights.

Flight back was uneventful, except that it was running about 10 to 20 minutes late. As we landed got some good views of both Tacoma and Seattle. I tried to take some photos but they didn't really come out.

Braised Brussels Sprouts

I saw this article on Cooking For Engineers and thought of all the Brussels Sprouts that my brother was forced to eat. When we were little we each got to choose a vegetable when we were at the grocery store. I tended to choose Brussels Sprouts because I knew that my brother didn't like them. He likewise tended to choose lima beans because I didn't like them.

Eating with Family

Had lunch today with my Grandma Carol. We went out to "Tomato thyme" just a few blocks from her apartment. We had a good long visit catching up on various family happenings.

This evening we got together with my Aunt and Uncle, who live in Campbell, and went out for Chinese. After dinner we returned to my Aunt and Uncle's house as visited for a while longer. During this visit my Grandma was shocked to hear how little TV I've watched in the last six months. And she asked how I got my news, so I showed her My.Yahoo.com page.

Made it to San Jose

Flight to San Jose was withoutincident. Dad was
waiting in the cell phone lot as I got off the plane
and we were at his apartment within thirty minutes.
More in the morning after I sleep and fix his computers.

Is it only Tuesday?

You know your life is way too busy, when you're packing for a weekend trip on Tuesday. [There just simply isn't any other time left before the plane leaves.]

Found on LinkedIn

“Finish your Homework – People all over the world are `hungry` for your job!” - unknown

Keeping Our Elephants at the LA Zoo!

I got a nice thank you from GLAZA for my e-mail about the Elephants.

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	A Message of Thanks From The GLAZA President
Date:	Wed, 07 Sep 2005 12:08:37 -0700
From:	GLAZA <@lazoo.org>

A Message Of Thanks From The GLAZA President

Dear GLAZA Member: Thank you for caring about the mission of the Los Angeles Zoo and its commitment to providing the finest care for all of its animals. We believe that zoos play a vital role in educating the public — especially children — about conservation and the need to protect species such as elephants. All elephants are under siege in the wild, due to habitat loss and encroaching civilizations. Asian elephants, like Gita and Billy, are endangered, with less than 40,000 remaining in the wild. Conservation is the primary reason elephants are at our Zoo and for the majority of our visitors, a trip to the Zoo will be the only opportunity they will have to see an elephant up close. We appreciate your support in communicating your desire to see elephants remain at the Los Angeles Zoo. Sincerely, Connie Morgan GLAZA President

Thank you for your continued support of the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association 5333 Zoo Drive • Los Angeles, CA • 90027 • 323/644-6001

 

If you have received this e-mail in error or would no longer like to receive e-mails from the Los Angeles Zoo click here

Salsa too HOT!!

I made a batch of fruity salsa this afternoon and I failed to carefully read the can of diced peppers before I added them. It turned out that instead of chopped green chilies [mild] they were chopped jalapenos [hot]. The resulting salsa is really good but has a slow burn that's about a full star hotter then what I really intended, and is just barely within my tolerance.

It's so good. But... but ... but... it's so hot.

In the salsa is:

• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• one 4 oz can diced jalapenos
  should have been diced green chilies
• one 14.5 oz can petite cut diced tomatoes
• one 14.5 oz can petite cut diced tomatoes with zesty jalapenos
• one nectarine, chopped
• two packets Splenda
• 1/2 cup fresh blue berries
• 1/4 cup dried chopped onions
• splash lemon juice
• two pinches garlic salt
• dash Old Bay

Mix ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Serve with corn tortilla chips. Refrigerate unused portion.

Photos on Flickr

IMG_0511
Originally uploaded by TSayles.

I've finialy started to post photos to my Flickr account. I'm still learning about it. But so far it's way cool.

This will be my first test post to one of my blogs from flickr.

Peak Oil and Energy Prices [was: Gasoline prices]

My geology prof at VT spend a good chunk of a not one but a couple of
lectures talking about the reality of and likely economics of peak oil
production. His basic prediction was that the peak rate of oil
production would occur at some ill defined time in the following 20 to
30 years [that was about 12 years ago]. And that the fact that oil
production had peeked would only be apparent a few years later due to
several factors I've since forgotten. As I recall the economic
ramifications that he presented were: assuming a linear growth rate in
oil demand and a linear/moderately elastic demand curve; and given the
exponential energy costs of finding and recovering reserves; that the
price escalation of oil would shift from more or less following
inflation to exponential growth above the rate inflation as the existing
reserves get tapped out. In all he painted a very pessimistic picture
of high energy prices and crumbling western economies.

I also had an econ prof give a similar lecture about the timing and
economics of peak oil. Though his interesting insights were what
happens when the price of energy from oil starts to exceed those from
renewable sources like wind, solar and biofuels. As I recall this
started to kick in at about $4/gal in 1990 dollars. When these were
added to basically the same economic assumptions, he ended up with about
the same results for the price of oil but only a small bump in the
overall price of energy as the world shifts to renewable forms of energy
generation and the associated distribution and storage infrastructure.

So far what I've seen in the reports of world oil production and
expected total earth reserves still puts peek oil somewhere between 2010
and 2020. So with an useful life of five to ten years you should still
be able to afford gasoline for your 2006 H2 when it dies. But by then
you'll probably want to replace it with hydrogen fuel cell / electric
version.

As for refining capacity, I expect that Mexico may end up as a major
source of refined fuels for the US in coming years. And if Afghanistan
can achieve some sense of political stability then they could well
become the major refiner for China, assuming that China's environmental
movement grows faster then it's refining capacity. Which is likely
given, the speed of modern Internet communication, China's rapid and
rather dirty industrialization and their government's likely support /
tolerance of environmental activism in lue of political activism.

TTFN
Tom

Sayles, Charles wrote:

>Tom
>Last night at one of the low price gas stations I filled up the Buick at $2.999 gallon. All of the rest are $3.05 or more. It will be interesting to see what Ed and Laura pay on their drive up today. I have noticed in the last couple of times driving to Glendale from here that the traffic has been a little less and I attribute that to the higher price of gasoline is keeping the rift-raft off I-5.
>
>This morning an expert on TV was saying that cost of refining oil to gas, plus distribution, plus taxes is about $1 per gallon. There are 42 gallons per barrel. $3 gas translate into about $80 oil. To get $4 gasoline oil would have to go about $120 per barrel. He went on to say that those kinds are price are not likely. Currently the world demand is a 80 million barrels per day, and the supply is about the same. Over the next couple of years an additional 15 million barrel per day supply is coming on line and that will drive down oil prices.
>
>The higher price of gasoline is due to reduce refining capacity and with Louisiana refineries out of service there is a net flow go gasoline to the east and the prices all over the country go up. And since natural gas can be used in some cases as replacement for oil and gasoline its price is going up.
>
>I suppose Californians are going to be pretty adamant about fixing this problem. However new refineries in California or drilling off the coast are off the table.
>
>Dad
>
>Charles W. Sayles
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Tom Sayles
>Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 8:13 PM
>To: Sayles, Charles
>Subject: Re: Bring Your Laptop
>
>
>Regular unleaded is already hitting $3+ at some to the stations up
>here. [I'm not really gona worry until it hits about $4.]
>
>TTFN
> Tom
>
>Sayles, Charles wrote:
>
>
>
>>Ed-Laura
>>
>>If you bring your laptop, you can wirelessly connect to the internet at Uncle Barry's and use a T10 connection at my place. We both have DSL.
>>
>>Looks like gasoline might cost $3 per gallon.
>>
>>Dad
>>
>>Charles W. Sayles
>>

Keep Our Elephants at the LA Zoo!

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa --

    I grew up visiting the LA Zoo on a regular basis and always loved seeing the elephants.  Seeing large mammals, like the elephants, in the flesh are critical for the area's youngest citizens to develop an understanding of real animals. Seeing elephants on TV or in the movies isn't enough. They have to be seen, heard and and even smelled. 

    While the LA Zoo's elephants and keepers have faced some very serious challenges in the recent past, I believe that the City should support GLAZA in making any necessary changes at the LA Zoo so that our elephants can lead long, healthy, happy and productive lives educating the future citizens of Los Angeles for generations to come.

Thank you,

    Tom Sayles

100th Post

Blogger says that this is the 100th post to TomS Words of Wisdom.

Mom started Blogging!

I'm not sure if my mom is really a geek or if blogging has really gone mainstream. Either way she's started a blog called "I've Noticed" all on her own. When I pointed out that she had used the same tools, aka Blogger, that I had tried to get her to use to manage a few pages called "Carol's Contemplations & Conversations" on my Dad's CSayles.com hosting account, she went wild and is posting stuff faster then I've had time to read.

I guess my mom found her online voice.

Love and hugs to her.

Having fun at Nationals

So far all is well at nationals. I've been having fun catching up with many friends in the vaulting community including several coaches and vaulters from Region IX (the East Coast). More info is on the Cascade Vaulters web site.

Trip to Nationals

Hauling with Tammy is always an adventure.

After a delay of three days we finally got on the road Thursday morning about 10:00 AM. Unfortunately we didn't have any vaulters that were able to make the trip with us. In addition to Tammy and I in the truck, back in the trailer were Money, Lady, Cali, Logan and Days loaded in a combination of stock and shoot styles. We were transporting Money to Denver for Ded Dyer (one of the coaches / trainers I knew from my days on the east coast) Lady and Cali are the two vaulting horses that we're using in competition at Nationals. Logan and Days are both curlies from Tammy's breading program that we were bring to new owners in Colorado.

Cali was a bit restless and didn't seem to be pleased about the prospect of a long trip and about being stuffed with four other horses in the trailer. So she kicked a bit as we started out. Everyone seemed to be fine when we made a quick stop at the top of Snoqualmie Pass. But when we stopped for fuel in Cle Elum, we found that Cali had been beating on the back door and that she had bent the hinges on the door by three inchs or more. Worse yet I noticed that she had also kicked poor Logan several times and that he was bleeding. After a brief discussion with a local person we found an empty parking lot where we could unload the horses and rearrange the partitions so that Cali couldn't kick the door or other horses. This operation required removing all the horses from the trailer. We also took time to clean up Logan's wounds as best we could, none of which looked life threatening. We also knew that there was an equine vet next door to our horse hotel in Deer Lodge, MT so we made plans to have Logan checked out the next morning.

The new partition configuration seemed to work out and all the horses seemed to settle down for the rest of drive to Deer Lodge. We stopped several times to check on the horses and made sure that they had all the water they were willing to drink.

As we got into Montana we discovered that a section of I-90 between exit 33 [SR-135] and Missoula was closed due to a forest fire. This meant that we had to follow a detour around the fire that added about an hour to our travel time. We also lost an hour to the time zone change from pacific Time to mountain Time. We pulled into the Mountian View Arena about 1:30 Friday morning. It took us a little over an hour to get the stalls set up and the horses unloaded, fed. etc. It took us about another forty minutes to again clean up Logan's wounds and to walk him to helpreduce the swelling. We were relieved to find that despite his injuries Logan seemed to be walking well. We finally made it to the Motel 8 and got bedded down by 3:00 AM.

We slept for about six hours before checking out and returning to the barn. We found out that the Vet was waiting for us before heading out on his rounds, so our first task was to walk Logan around to the back door of Valley Veterinary Clinic. The vet reaffirmed our initial assessment of the injures and recommended a couple of additional treatments to help reduce the swelling and manage the pain. He also gave Logan a tetanus booster and sold Tammy some supplies, including those we needed to treat Logan, at very good prices.

After the vet visit we walked Logan some more and finally got some breakfast (at about noon). We returned to the barn, worked the vaulting horses a little and again walked Logan, this time on a lunge line. During this session he was obviously feeling better and he even volunteered some trot. We then loaded up the gear and horses, getting back on the interstate about 2:30 PM.

On our way to Sheridan, WY, we made only a few quick stops, but were slowed down by some rough roads. It was 11:30 PM when we pulled into the B&B that also serves as a horse hotel. We ended up putting in nearly an hour of stall preparations before we could unload all the horses, and another hour to treat Logan's injuries and get a the horses fed for the night. So it was nearly 1:30 AM Saturday by the time we got to sleep.

We got up and had breakfast about 8:30 AM. After breakfast we treated Login's injuries and I walked him as Tammy loaded the various buckets and hay bags back in the trailer. We got back on the road about 10:00 AM. Due to some construction we missed the turn off to I-25 and ended up going through Gillette before turning south. This added an hour to out drive time so we opted to eat lunch on the go rather than stop for any longer then it took to refuel and check on the horses. We pulled into Jodi's place, Atlantis Farm, in Ft. Lupton CO about 7:30 PM interrupting the Mile High Vaulters practice.

Watch the Cascade Vaulters Website

I'll be making posts both here and on the Cascade Vaulters website while I'm on the road and at Nationals. So you'll want to watch both sites for the latest info.

Nationals Departure Update

The latest on Tamea's truck is that the parts arrived mid-day today [Teus.] and the work should be finished mid-day tomorrow [Wed.]. However we still have to get the truck from Sumner to Lakebay and load gear, hay and horses; and then drive truck and trailer back to Buckley to load more gear and Cali. Trying to do all this on Wednesday afternoon would get us on the road too late to make Dear Lodge, MT Wednesday night. So the plan is to leave Thursday morning, hauling out of Lakebay about 8:00 AM and out of Buckley as soon there after as bridge traffic and loading time permits. [About 9:30 or 10 AM?]

Also Bonnie's farrier John was able to put Cali's thrown shoe back on. So she should be good until we get back from nationals, when she'll need to be checked again.

Nationals Departure Update

The latest from Tamea is that the parts for the truck should arrive late afternoon / early evening on Tuesday, and the truck should be ready Wednesday evening. Which means that we'll be hauling out no earlier then Thursday morning. Thus arriving in Colorado Saturday evening.

As if the truck problems weren't enough, Cali also threw a shoe. Tamea and Bonnie are working to get this fixed ASAP. Cali went just fine this morning for two rounds of team style compulsories, four individual freestyles and a standing contest in only three shoes. [Danielle stood at canter for over 100 strides and Sandy stood for over 75 canter strides.]

Nationals Departure Delayed

Got a call late this afternoon from Tamea. When she took her truck in for the pre-nationals servicing and checks, they found that the torque converter is nearly blown. Up shot is that we will not be able to leave mid-day Monday as planned. Our actual departure will likely depend on how quickly replacement parts can be shipped to our area and installed in the truck.

Moves Completed

Both my personal move and my vaulting team's move have been completed. I got the last stuff out of the house in Bellevue last weekend and am now resonably settled into the house in Woodinville.

Note that my mailing address hasn't changed and is still PO Box 27664, Seattle, WA 98165.

Blogging as Social Tool

At Gnomedex this morning I experienced a truly moving
presentation by Julie Leung, that I really enjoyed.

Gnomedex Going Well

The Gnomedex conference I went last night [Thursday] and all day today [Friday], is going very well. I've met plenty of interesting and influential people in the Blogging and Podcasting community. More importantly I've gotten my name and the name of my blog / podcast heard by the entire audience several times, mostly by asking interesting and relevant questions.

For more information about what's going on at the conference check out the Wiki.

I'd also like to remind anyone from the conference that's visiting my site this weekend that I'm just in the early stages of developing my vision for TomS Words of Wisdom and that they should be sure to check back this Fall when I plan to have some interesting and compelling content. Listen for promos on some of your favorite podcasts.

I'm a podcaster!

I finally got my first podcasts posted, here. I'm still working out some of the various details, like what bitrates are best. I'm also hoping to automate much of the post-processor so that I can get my podcasts up within a day of when I recorded them.

Very busy week/weekend

Been very busy getting ready for a competition down at DevonWood this weekend. Still have lots to do before I head out, hopefully some time mid-day Friday.

Looks like the vaulting may take somewhat of a break over the Memorial Day weekend. So I'm hoping to do some major web site updates, including the launch of my podcasts.

Feature Request: structured Blog Entries for Hello/Picassa

I've been using Google's Picassa to manage my pictures for the past several weeks. It's really cool tool. Highly recommended.

This evening I posted a couple of pictures right from Picassa using their Hello product/service. It left a little to be desired so I sent folks at Hello/Picassa/Google a feature request that more or less said the following.

I'd like the next version of Hello to include a more structured way to post pictures to my Blogger blogs. I'd especially like the ability to give posts a title and more options for posting multiple images. I'd also like to see more formatting options for the resulting posts. Maybe by adding a CSS reference to my template pointing to some Hello/Picassa/Google defined styles used in posts via Hello.

No reply required, just pass this on to your development team.

Oh yah... a Linux versions of Picassa, Hello, etc. would be nice too. [I'm using Debian w/ Gnome.]

New Hat

Grandma safe version of me in my new hat.

Me in my new navy blue "Gangster" fedora. 

More info on Podcasting

Daily Source Code
A daily audio blog post by Adam Curry in mp3
This podcast tends to have some good information and perspective form some of the early movers and shakers in podcasting. I've been listening to Adam's show for a bout a week now and I think he presents an interesting perspective on podcasting. (Skip over the flying stuff.)

Podshow Strategy Cast 2.0

The Podshow Strategy 'cast 2.0, recorded on location in New York by Adam Curry and Ron Bloom present a very good (though not concise) assessment of where podcasting might be going in the near future.

Podcast Alley
Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts (as voted on by the listeners). You will also find podcast software, the podcast forum and great podcasting info.

Other interesting related links.
iPodder The default podcasting client / downloading tool.
Download iPodder software

RSS and Podcasting

As I've been spending plenty of time in my Jeep driving to and from composite team practices, so I decided to look into this thing I heard about called "podcasting". It turns out to be a really amazing confluents of technologies, primarily portable digital media players (like the iPod) and Really Simple Syndication [RSS]. It feels like a "killer app" on the up swing to me. [By a "killer app" I mean a wildly popular application looking for supporting technologies, not cool new technology in search of a use.] So I'm setting out to become an expert in it, in the hops that it will lead me back into being a well paid professional computer geek.

As soon as I get a few more bits set up, I hope to start a podcast version of this blog (that I can create content for while I'm driving) and maybe a "PunFight" podcast.

Insanely Busy

Sorry that it's been over a month since my last post. I've been insanely busy, both at work and coaching vaulting as many as five times a week.

In addition to my normal work at the toothbrush factory, for the past five weeks I've been covering for at least two of my coworkers. Which has lead to a couple of long days. One is out on maternity leave. Two others have vacation time they have been needing to use or loose.

Since my last post I've successfully lead the Cascade Vaulters have through our first two competitions. Check the club web site for photos and details. Many thanks to Tamea Denault and the Emerald City Vaulters for their help and the use of their horses.

I've also been playing a much more central role coaching the NW Ladies composite team. I'm the primary technical person for the composite team preparing music, etc. We've also been recording digital video at the end of each practice for review at the start off the next practice and by doing so really accelerated our progress. But it means an additional hour or so of prep time between composite team practices [twice a week], dumping the video off my camera, editing the segments together and burning them on CD.

To top this all off I've decided that it's time to look for a new job outside the toothbrush factory, so I've been posting resumes, applying for jobs and going on interviews.

Mt. St. Helens

I took some time out of my very busy schedule a little over a week ago to visit Mt. St Helens. Evidence of that week’s eruption and ash fall were still evident as a gray dusting on the east side of the mountain’s crater and east slopes. Steam rose almost continuously from the lava dome and the dome was noticeably bigger than my last trip.



In other news, I’ve been getting the Cascade Vaulters ready for our first competition on March 19. It was just a barrel fest, but had competitors from most of the clubs in our region. I’ve been spending time editing music, composing freestyle routines, and developing lesson plans.

Also one of my vaulters, Sandy, is participating in composite team with the Emerald City and Mt. Rainier Vaulters. I’ve been active in coaching this composite team and preparing the team’s music. As part of this effort I’ve been attending a practice in Buckley, WA every Monday after work.

On Feb. 26th we had Penny Maydack came up from Scapoose, OR and gave a clinic for the Cascade Vaulters. After practice Penny and I had lunch at Ixtapa (the Cascade Vaulter’s official after practice meeting location) and spent several hours working as the Ad Hoc Bylaws Committee on revising our region’s bylaws and rules.

Best Sandwich = Reuben

A good Reuben is everything a sandwich should be and more.


The problem is finding a good one, as not all Reubens are created equal. Those who have tasted this holy grail of sandwiches are compelled to undertake the perpetual hunt for the best Reuben. In my twenty plus year quest, the best I've found was at Padows in downtown Richmond, VA back in '96.


Anybody know a good Reuben in the greater Seattle? Or even western Washington. (A really good Reuben is worth the drive.)

Is G-Mail good?

Got the following question from my Dad, and figured a reply was worth posting here.

Tom
As I recall you were beta tester for G-Mail. Is it any good? Should Mom and I sign up? IF it is free, how do they make money?
I got an invitation from them this weekend.
Dad

I've had an account on Google's g-mail since their early beta testing last year. To be honest I haven't used it very much, as it's yet another place I have to check for new messages.

What I have seen doesn't seem that particularly better than Yahoo's free mail service. Google does have a larger mail box, 1000 MB vs Yahoo's 250 MB. But Yahoo has more integrated services, like calendar, groups, virus scanning, etc.

At this point I wouldn't make any particular recommendation one way or the other for Yahoo vs G-mail, unless you're trying to protect a particular user name.

These days I'm using Mozilla's Thunderbird, for most of my e-mail and Yahoo as a secondary.

If I decide at some point that I don't like Mozilla's Thunderbird, I may direct more of my soot-n-smoke.com e-mail to g-mail and give it a better testing.

As for how does g-mail make money, the short term answer is they sold a whole bunch of stock last year. The longer term answer is that they will probably sell search keyed advertising when you search your e-mail. I suspect that they'll also offer various premium services much like yahoo does.

Microsoft in decline.

Ever since my visit to Comdex in 1999, I've noted that the buzz / feel / smell around Linux and the open source movement is very reminiscent of the early days of Microsoft and Windows [circa 1985]. Evidently I'm not the only industry watcher that seems to think that Microsoft isn't doing as well as it once was. I tend to agree with Michael Malone's recent article that there is a faint smell of rot about MS. I see definite similarities between where Microsoft and Longhorn are today with where IBM was in 1987 with it's ill-fated attempt at industry remonoplization, the PS/2 and Micro-Channel Architecture.

If nothing else Big Bad Bill and company have lost the coolness that is the hallmark of the up and coming in the tech world. The real innovation is not in OS upgrades, security patches and the pathetic myth that is digital rights management. [Does anyone else remember copy protected software flop of the 1980s?]

Cool today are Slashdot, Google, Mozilla/Firefox LAMP and the blogosphere.

Sorry for the lack of posts.

It's been a busy couple of weeks getting the Cascade Vaulters ready for our first public event. Which hasn't left much time to blog.
There have been many things that I've wanted to post about but never seem to have enough time. Things like: Installing a new stereo in my jeep.; Dog Sitting; CD-R Drive dead?; and my comments on a host of technology news items.

Hard Core Programming

I spent most of Friday and Saturday cranking out code for the FAQ page I mentioned in my last post. I ported it to other parts of my web site, but there are still some essential features to implement before I can release it. It is the first serious database / software project I've done since beginning this blog. It felt really good to spend the better part of two days hunkered down and hacking out code. It's nice to know that the skills are still there, even though I haven't been using them much over the past couple of years. And the experience makes me think I should spend some more time trying to find a job where I can do this professionally again.

Database driven FAQ page

I have created a database driven FAQ page for the Cascade Vaulters web site. I'm planning to make it portable to most websites running PHP & MySQL. This project is the first in a series working toward RaceWriter.

RaceWriter

While I was down in LA, I worked with my Dad to make some improvements to his web site. I taught him how to use a Cascading Style Sheet (.css) file to give his pages a little better look and feel. I also tried again to get him to start using Blogger as his main publishing tool, but too much of his site is non-liner / non-chronological. [The over all navigation is a mess.]
On the way back to Seattle, I conceptualized a new blogging tool specialized for runners, like my Dad. The result is a new web project that I'm working on, RaceWriter.

Back In Bellevue

Arrived home safely at 5:40. Traffic from Salem north
was heavy but moving.
I found out from my housemate that the recycling truck
knocked down the cable connection again. So no
Internet until Monday.

Around The Snow

After sleeping in Eureka, got a good start about six
AM. Stopped in Crescent City for gas just as it was
getting light. Found about two miles of slushy snow
near the OR state line. Rest of drive has been
uneventful, with light rain. ETA 1800

Made It To Eureka

Left LA about 1045. Drive so far has been uneventful,
except for a little light rain.
Expect to get about eight hours of sleep then back on
the road. Should get to Crescent City about first
light.

Heading back to WA via cost route

I'm headed back to western Washington via the coastal route due to snow forecast for the Siskiyous. Will be heading up I-5, then out to US-101 near the SF Bay area. Will overnight in Eureka. I plan to get an early start Sunday getting to Crescent City about first light, then over to Grant's Pass, OR hopefully before the snow level drops below the pass level.

TSOed

Last night I went to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra performance at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, CA, with my Mom and my niece. Was a wonderful performance. I especially liked the electric violin, keyboards and the special effects (lasers pyrotechnics, etc.). The ending / encore was truly amazing.
The audience was overly sedate, given the amount of heavy metal / rock concert look and feel that the show had. I've seen more animated audiences at philharmonic performances back east.
After the performance we managed to briefly hook up with Michael Lanning, a long time friend of my Mom's, and got to visit a little back stage.
If you like classical music and/or heavy metal, I would highly recommend catching a the when it comes to your city.

Showing off how I post blog Entries

Spent much time today working on my parent's computers and their web site.

In LA For Christmas

Arrived in Glendale about 4:30 this afternoon. Very soon after I got to my parent's condo, we headed out to my brothers place for dinner with Ed, Laura, Nicole & Jack.



After dinner we hung out at their house until Jack's bed time.

On the Way to LA

Left Bellevue about 1100. Made it to Redding in just
under twelve hours, including stops for food, fuel,
etc.
ETA 1800ish

Tom & The Trencher

Here's a photo that my housemate(s) took this past summer as we were replacing the drain pipe that runs along side the driveway.



I like working with big tools!

No good deed goes unpunished

Toady I was informed, in a somewhat formal meeting with my supervisor, that my initiative to develop and deploy an open source barcoding tool for my co-workers to use has been rejected because our legal department is fearful about using software that is covered by the GNU Lesser General Public License. This despite the facts that: 1) Another division of our company (like many other companies) manufactures and distributes a Tivo which includes many software components covered by the exact same license and even the more restrictive GNU General Public License. And 2) that our upper management has historically been strong supporters of open standards such as the compact disk and the universal serial bus. Oh well, this in and of itself is simply an example of the old adage that the quickest way to kill a good initiative, is to consult the legal department.
As if simple rejection weren't enough punishment, I was also informed that my web site included or contained inappropriate "self promotion" using the {Employer’s Name Removed} name [and/or trademarks?]. While parts of my web site, including TomS Barcode Bonanza, are blatant self-promotion, I thought that my referential use of the {Employer’s Name Removed} name was typically editorial in nature. And I certainly haven't tried to pass my self off an official spokesman for {Employer’s Name Removed}. I've even tried to link to official {Employer’s Name Removed} sites for those who are looking for that kind of information and stumbled across my site instead.
For the most part I've been proud to be an employee of {Employer’s Name Removed}. So I am somewhat disheartened, that I feel I need to censor my web site to keep from offending my employer. So in the coming weeks, I will be updating various past posts to my blog and other pages to reflect this paranoia.

Been Busy !!!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Big news items are:

• The vaulting team has been trying horses.


• I've been helping my housemate rewire the bathroom.


• I got and have been setting up a Linux box.


• We been in the big christmas push at the toothbrush factory.

Hope to write more soon, but I won't make any promisas.

Real Postcards from Online!

I found this cool service through the USPS website. I was able to upload a photo I took with my digital camera compose a message, have it all printed and sent to 10 recipients for under $5. Assuming that the printed quality turns out to be reasonable, this looks like a good deal and a great way to earn brownie points with that Grandma that doesn't do e-mail.

Barcode Bonanza

This evening I whipped of a barcode generator application for my web site. This was my first public PHP project. The more I use PHP the more I like it. At some point I want to learn how to generate PDF files with PHP.

Vaulting Photos

In case you missed it, I posted a couple of cute photos from the Devonwood Vaulting Harvest Fest on the Cascade Vaulters' blog / public web site.

Volcano Visit 2

Today turned out to be a sunny but cool day so I drove down to Mt. St. Helens again. Again I got all the way out to the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center. Unlike my visit on 10-8, this time the Volcano was in spectacular view.



When ever the few scattered clouds would move out of the way I could clearly see the steam plume rising from the creator. At one point the plume got very gray. I couldn't tell if it might have had some ash in it or more likely that it was just a rather dense puff of steam.



It was really neat to see this kind of geologic activity first hand. The proximity of active volcanoes was one of many factors that influenced my decision to move to the Pacific NW back in 2000/2001.

For more info on the current activity at Mt. St. Helens and the other Cascades Volcanoes click here.

I again spent time with my laptop in the Cafe of the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center watching the various clouds and the steam plume waft about. And while I did I worked more on the Club Bylaws and Rules for the Cascade Vaulters.

As I was leaving I found out that the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center will be open a few days a week through out the winter, so I plan to make some trips back if the activity keeps up.

Soot (the Cat) 1993 - 2004

I got the following bummer of an e-mail from my friend Jen today.

Dear Tom,

I'm sorry to have to tell you that Soot passed away last week, on October 19. He'd been having some trouble walking and the vet thought he had hurt his back, but it turned out he had a rapidly-growing brain tumor. The neuro-specialists we took him to were very good and I don't think he had any pain or fear - he just got duller and quieter and then he slipped quietly away only a couple days after we learned there was a problem. We will be putting his ashes in the back yard.

Smoke seems to be doing OK; he's been very sociable and clingy, but doesn't seem to be sad.

Sorry to relay the bad news. Josh and I were pretty in pieces about all this but we are recovering and remembering the 11 years of joy Soot gave us.

Love,
--Jen

Soot and his brother Smoke were the inspiration for my domain name, Soot-n-Smoke.com. I certainly enjoyed the time I spent with him over the years and I will miss him.

RE: Flame: FW: Special Alert regarding P&G boycott! Pls forward

I got the following reply from my Uncle.

Tom,

I am very sorry to have offended you. It is
certainly not my desire that your bonus be reduced, but we serve a God who can
increase our bonus in ways we never thought possible. Everything I
have, including all pay and bonuses, I considered as having come from the
Lord. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
(James 1:17).

I have a lot of compassion for people who are
involved in homosexual relationships because I know that God loves them. I
believe that God's Inspired Word, the Holy Bible, tells us that He views
homosexual behavior as sin (Genius 19:5-7, Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13, and
Romans 1:27 [all of these should be read in context with the verses around
them]). Our God is a Holy God and a Just God and therefore, we deserve
death for the things that we have done that are against His
Law. But "Christ loved us and gave Himself up
for us" (Eph 5:2). Jesus paid the price for our
sin so that If we repent and turn to Him, we can be forgiven and be
healed. There are also a lot of sins in heterosexual behavior that God
also views as immoral (e.g., adultry) and therefore as sin. All of these
sins God can and will forgive through Jesus Christ.

I respectfully
decline to debate this issue and hope that you will understand I hold
nothing against you for what you believe -- that is between you and God.
You are part of our family and we love you. If you have
accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then we pray that He
will guide you into all Truth. If you have not believed and received
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we pray that you will. After I
received Jesus as my Lord and Savior (I was about 34 years old), I found that in
knowing and loving Him, I have come into a wonderful relationship with a
Awesome & Mighty God and I will be spending the rest of eternity
worshiping Him.

It was good to hear from you and hope that all
is well. Again, I am sorry to have offended
you.

Love,

Uncle Rodney

It's too bad that he declined to debate the issues at hand. But it is understandable as most arguments based on blind faith don't hold up when examined rationally.

My Uncle references several Bible verses and implores that they should be "read in context with the verses around them". But he seems to forget that they should also be taken in the context of when, where and by whom they were written.

Saga of the Heater Valve: Epilogue

The new heater valve, battery and starter seem to be working well. My Jeep hasn't had any more starting troubles or leaking coolant.

In case you missed them, due to my back posting, parts 2, 3 and 4 of the saga are now online. The original part 1 is here.

Words of Encouragement

I got these comments by e-mail to my Flame: FW: Special Alert regarding P&G boycott! Pls forward entry. (Charlie is my Dad and Joanie is my Mom’s cousin.)

thanks for the forward Charlie

RIGHT ON TOM!!

thanks for having the courage to speak your mind.

Take Care,
Joanie
@}--}---

As of the time of this post I haven't heard anything back from my Uncle Rodney.

So I’ll simply add that now is the time for Moderate Christians to stand up, speak out, and take back our churches, our communities and our nation.

Flame: FW: Special Alert regarding P&G boycott! Pls forward

Note: This entry was censored on 2004-12-07. See this entry for details.

Uncle Rodney –

I am deeply offended at your call to boycott Procter & Gamble. And so I challenge you to an open online debate of these and related issues in front of God, our family and the Internet. I will be posting this message on my blog and invite you to designate a location online for your comments and rebuttals.

First, to the best of my knowledge, you do not live in Cincinnati nor do most of the individuals that you are asking to join the boycott. So a local ballot measure in Cincinnati is, quite frankly, none of your business and none of ours. Procter & Gamble is headquartered in Cincinnati, and thus a corporate citizen of Cincinnati. P&G is also large employer in the area. Their $30k donation may simply be a reflection of the concerns of their employees or for the economic well being of their home city and thus their shareholders.

Second the ballot measure in question simply repeals a section of the city charter, and says:

Be it resolved by the people of Cincinnati that Article XII of the Charter of the City be repealed. This amendment to the City Charter shall in all respects be self-executing. Article XII shall be null and void and of no force and effect

It in no way grants any special rights to homosexuals, lesbians or bisexuals as alleged in your e-mail. A detailed analysis, including full texts of the existing City Charter Amendment and the ballot measure to repeal it, can be found by clicking here.

Third on October 1st my employer, {Employer's Name Removed}, announced {link removed} a major partnership with P&G and released a new co-branded product line, the {Employer's Product Name and Link removed} from {Employer's Brand Name Removed} and Crest. So the boycott of Crest products that you’re advocating would likely adversely affect my bonus next year.

Finally what makes you so sure that God shares your views that attack the loving and supportive relationships of homosexuals, lesbians and bisexuals. As with slavery, women’s suffrage, and the rights of the disabled, shouldn’t a truly Christian community seek to provide equal protection under the law (both civil and ecumenical) for any minority group that is attacked by bigoted individuals in positions of power or influence.

TTFN
Tom

Saga of the Heater Valve: Part 4, The Starter

Fortonatly I didn't have to work on Friday (10/22). I checked the web and was able to get a replcaememnt starter at a local Schucks Friday morning. Their web site showed that almost all the local stores stocked starters for 1992 Jeep Cherokees.

It took a little over two hours to put my Jeep up on jack stands, pull off the old starter, mount the new starter and set my Jeep back down on it's wheels. It probably would have been about a 30 minute job, if I could have thrown my Jeep up on a lift. The most time consuming task seemed to be the repeated crawling under my Jeep to do something then back out to get a part or tool I needed.

By early afternoon I had finished up the repair, returned the old starter for the core depost and was on a long test drive.

Saga of the Heater Valve: Part 3, The Battery

Once I got back from Devonwood, my Jeep continued to have starting problems. By Tuesday the battery seemed to be having trouble holding a charge and I was having to bump start more often then I could get the starter to turn over.

So after work I stopped by my local Les Schawb and had them test the electrical system. Of course they found that I needed a new battery. And since batteries cost less than starters and my jeep's battery was getting up there in miles, I let them sell me a new one. This seemed to fix the starting problems, at least for a few hours.

By Wednesday after noon I was back to the point of having to bump start most of the time. Fortunately most of the places I park my Jeep are on hills so this wasn't a particular inconvenience. Though I did end up getting gas at a station I don't normally stop at because it had a nice slope away from the pumps.

By Thursday evening the starter wouldn't turn over at all.

Saga of the Heater Valve: Part 2

On Friday morning (10/15) I found the time to pick another heater valve from Eastside Chrysler Jeep and install it in time for my drive down to the Devonwood Vaulting Harvest Fest in Sherwood, OR that afternoon. I again used the plastic bag trick to catch the escaping coolant. And when I got this new valve installed did not leak. :)

With respect to my Jeep, the drive down to Devonwood was warm (but not hot) and rather uneventful. While in Oregon, I continued to have moderate trouble getting the starter to turn over. Most of the time it would require several turns of the key, and a few times I gave up and just bump started. On Saturday I got a call from a guy at Shucks letting me know that replacement valve I ordered had arrived early. The drive home on Sunday was much like the drive down.

On Monday I stopped by Shucks and picked up the valve I had ordered (and had pre-paid). So now I have another one on hand when the current one starts leaking.

Saga of the Heater Valve: Part 1

For the past few months, the heater control valve in my Jeep [1992, Cherokee, 4.0l, 5 spd] has had a small leak. Until a couple of weeks ago this was barely noticeable, just requiring a little topping off of the coolant when changing the oil.

Over the last couple of weeks the leak has been dripping onto the starter / starter solenoid and has become a real nuisance. While the solenoid engages with each turn of the key, it requires several tries or a blow from a hammer / the clutch before the starter will turn. I think that the coolant has contaminated some of the electrical contacts in the solenoid and/or starter.

On Monday I bought a replacement heater valve at the local Shucks auto parts store. The “Four Seasons 74777, Fact Air Heater Valve” was the only one in stock. On Tuesday I swapped out the old valve for the new one and found that the new one leaked much worse then the old one. The new valve leaked around shaft that rotates the butterfly plate where the shaft enters the housing.

TIP: When swapping out this valve place a 1-gallon plastic freezer bag stuffed with paper towels under and around the valve before you disconnect the hoses. The bag should catch the coolant that drains out of valve and the heater core.

I couldn’t leave the new valve in as it would leave a good size trail of coolant everywhere I drove and a puddle when I stopped. I couldn’t put the old one back in as it was killing my starter. Correctly figuring that it would take several days to find a better replacement, I got a lift down to Lowes and picked up a couple of brass hose butt connectors and simply bypassed the heater core.

Today returned the defective “Four Seasons” heater valve, and ordered a “Ready Aire, 5941 Heater Valve”. As expected it won’t arrive until the 18th. So until then I have no heater. Or if it gets unexpectedly cold I can swap the connectors around and have heat that is always on.

This is the third time I’ve had to replace this valve and I think that it a underlying problem is a design flaw. The OEM part and the replacements have all had plastic housings that I suspect have been cracking from the hot and cold cycling experienced in about 50k miles. So I’m also looking for a better long term solution, like a better designed valve meant for some other vehicle or some other application entirely. The valve has four hose attachments for standard 5/8” heater hoses and is actuated by a small vacuum servo.

Cascade Vaulters Visit ECV

The Cascade Vaulters went on their first "field trip" toady, visiting the Emerald City Vaulters and participating in a joint practice. Highlights included Beth and Sandy getting experience on a "green horse" and goes at canter. Also Adrianna go to practice on Storm in preporation for Devonwood Harvest Fest next weekend. In all it was a very fun and sucessful event.

Please Don't Buy a Compaq

Please, please, please, pleeeeeeease, don't buy a Compaq if you want me to help support it. Recently a few people I know have acquired Compaq laptops and all of them are having troubles.

Twenty years ago Compaq made really good, state of the art, portable computers. Fifteen years ago their products were okay. But IMHO their systems have continued to go down hill ever since.

The basic problem is that Compaq tries to put too much of their own software between the hardware and the OS. This wouldn't be a problem except that hardware companies are notorious for writing bad software.

Back when operating systems were relatively small and simple, implementing software between the hardware and OS was a relatively small, simple and safe task. But with today's multiple operating systems, that tend to incorporate everything including the kitchen sink, this is nearly impossible to do well.

Good laptop brands these days are: Toshiba, Sony & IBM.

Volcano Visit

I drove down to Mt. St. Helens today. I got all the way out to the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center. This was the second time that I got to the locked gates protecting tourists from an active Mt. St. Helens. The first time was in the summer of 1980 when traveling with my family on summer vacation. That tile we drove up to the the edge of the "Red Zone".

unfortunately the weather today wasn't the best for Volcano viewing. The entire time I was there most of the mountain was obscured by clouds. It did clear enough at times to see much of the pumice plane and lower flanks. And at one point I may have seen the lowest part of the crater. But I never did see the upper portions of the crater, the lava dome or the rim.

For more info on the current activity at Mt. St. Helens and the other Cascades Volcanoes click here.

While I waited at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center to see if the weather would clear up, I was able to find a seat in the cafe with a power outlet. So I got some work on the Club Bylaws and Rules for the Cascade Vaulters done on my laptop.

Cascade Vaulters

The Vaulters formerly known as Redwing held their first practice away from Faith Farm today. The vaulters warmed up by running down to Meydenbauer Beach and back up the hill. After stretching the vaulters then worked on their freestyle routines on the Region III Barrel. As the vaulters worked on the barrel, the vaulters, parents and the coach (me) discussed various names and chose "Cascade Vaulters" as the new club name. We also selected royal blue [#2b60de], navy blue [#000080] and silver [#c0c0c0] as the new club colors. We adopted a set of bylaws, and selected officers so that we can get our non-profit paper work turned in to the AVA by the October 15th deadline.

Recycling vs. Cable TV/Internet

When I got home from work Friday afternoon I again found several Comcast (CATV) and Quest (phone) lines had been knocked down along our street (400 block of 98th Ave NE). This is the third time this summer that the Rabanco Recycling truck has apparently torn down these lines.

Like several of the neighbors I reported the incident to the Bellevue PD and they alerted Comcast & Quest. But it took almost 24 hours for our internet can cable TV service to be restored.

Tom as Head Coach!?! w/ New Vaulting Club in 2005

Well it's official. On October 1st. I'll be taking over as the head coach of the Redwing Vaulters and shepherding the club through a major reorganization. Thankfully one of the parents, Therese Rogers, has agreed to serve as interim Club Manager.

After many wonderful years of support, Katy and the Duppongs have decided to take a few years off from vaulting. They have agreed to let us continue under the Redwing Vaulters name until the current AVA registration expires at the end of this year. This will give us time to finish the 2004 competition season and organize under a new club name and structure starting the first of next year.

From an equipment stand point we seem to be doing well. Unless there is an unexpected objection from the region, the new club should be able to take over the custodianship of the Region III barrel. Furthermore, Katy and the Duppongs have agreed to a long term loan of their black surcingle (complete with back pad)!

Our biggest challenge of the moment is that we're still looking for a practice venue.