Face Time

I had to get to Boston early for training next week. Fortunately, the hotel is almost next door to the berth for the USS Constitution, aka Old Ironsides.
Ever since I was a kid, I'd read about this great ship and its adventures from the days of the undeclared war with France in 1793 through the Barbary Coast wars and into its amazing victories int he War of 1812. Walking on those hallowed decks was a great thrill. it also took me back to my youth, when I read books about American history avidly.

What a show! I hope some of you had a chance to go, or have seen her, or will see her. First time for me to see her, but she was fantastic!
Not bad for an ex-Richmonder!

Girl in http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifa Blog Last night we had the great fortune to meet mystery author Sujata Massey. She read from her latest book, Girl in a Box, about industrial espionage and Japanese department stores...featuring her great character, Rei Shimura.
Sujata was engaging, delightful, open, and helpful. Accompanied by Annapolis mystery author , Sujata joined Marcia in reading and chatting about writing and answering questions and signing books. All in a great evening...and K. and I both won door prizes!

Truth Be Told I've been traveling by air more this year than I have since I returned from Germany in December, 2001. Most of my flying is with JetBlue, a great experience. But flight attendants and pilots still persist in blatthering the typical inanities that all airlines do.
Wouldn't it be great if they just told the truth?
Enjoy.

Arrgh, Matey! I don't know how I almost missed Talk Like a Pirate Day, but here it is.

What's your pirate name?

They Get It Over At COMCEN The Colbert is brilliant...and these guys let you get in the act. Waaay too funny!

New User Experience Designs The results are in: Winners of a Leopard preview are in. Nicely done. I especially like the fact that the winner won on the basis of his user experience-concentrated design, not on any visual gymnastics.

Have They No Shame? Keith Olbermann serves it up best, and in this case, he hits one out of the park. Mr. Rumsfeld, dissent is critical to democracy.

The candidate and, it is hoped, the next junior senator from Virginia, speaking.

Quite a lot of folks attended the opening of the Jim Webb headquarters in Richmond. Bob Annandale and I ran into Ivan Appelrouth, Henry Morse, Errol Soman, and Rob Murphy. it was definitely an overflow crowd, much bigger than had been anticipated.
And I still got a hot dog, cookies, and a soda.

Fallout from Macaca The best I've seen so far is from Salon.com. Wow. I chould have been so lucky. Still, it is the best in writing--three words that say it all.

Another Month Goes By It seems I can't post on a regular basis. It's not that I don't think things. Sometimes it's just that I don't feel like blogging them.
On the other hand, I've been pretty busy—traveling to Boston/Cambridge and Milwaukee and Chattanooga/Lookout Mountain. Fun stuff, but also some work stuff. More later...
Certainly I've been amazed at the minimal fallout to the Allen campaign for his horribly jingoistic remarks. Then again, why should I be surprised? Allen is certainly an embarrassment to this commonwealth, indeed in comparison to its fine Senator Warner.

Avoiding a 2.0 DotBomb Crash Heiko is always good for a quick link to new things in the Web 2.0 world. Here's some good advice.

720 Megapixel Picture! Sydney Harbor by night. Man! What a cool shot!

Working with Me Rules Although I didn't write these rules, I certainly think they apply to me. Thanks to Donna for expressing what I feel about myself....

* I may spend a long time seeming to do very little. Don't panic - I'm thinking. Exactly what you pay me to do.

* I spend a lot of time with earphones in. That means I'm trying to think and concentrate amongst the chatter of an office, not that I'm anti-social.

* If you give me a gantt chart all arranged in linear order, I'll nod and get to the end on time and budget, but not by the path you set.

* I spend a long time gathering information and thinking, and little time producing towards the end. Once I have nailed an idea, all else is straightforward and fast. So if you think I'm going to miss a deadline because I haven't produced much, stop worrying.

* Outputs need inputs - I have experience, but I can't design a good system out of nothing. I need to base it on something. Don't stick me in a corner and not let me research and talk to people.

* Teams are good - I have lots of experience at what I do. But so do you and the team. Let's work together to create something great. Don't make me work by myself and expect me to produce miracles.

* I'll occasionally rant and get passionate. That means I care.

* Give me challenging work, give me time to work through it and we'll get there. Don't expect me to to hard work in the same time I do easy work. That's just dumb.

* If there isn't enough work, I'd genuinely prefer to be at home. I'm not hanging around to chase dollars.

* I hate banging my head against a political brick wall. I'd prefer to be anywhere else - that's just a waste of time.

On a Jetblue flight last month out of Boston, we had megadelays. Yet the captain (Captain Dave!) kept us well-informed: he told us about the brake light that was coming on, he told us throughout the process what they were doing about it, and he apologized sincerely for the delay. Ultimately, we had to deplane and board another plane...but throughout the process, we knew what was going on, what to expect, and what the resolution was.
Too bad most companies as well as technological devices & software don't have the same ethics and behavior.

Went to Western NY and picked up my new Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. Scheweet!

Been Busy Listening to "The Ipcress File"'s main theme...what a great movie, and what a great John Barry score. Anyway, haven't been blogging much atall. Geez...and so much going on: Haditha and militarized borders and defence of marriage (is divorce now going to be illegal? Hardly...ask Newt about that) and the beginning of hurricane season (go to www.spencerbohren.com and click on the image listed as "Spencer's Newest Music"...Get his song "The Long Black Line" for free) and Idol worship and...well, it's just been all out there.
Maybe after I pick up my new Guzzi I'll get back to blogging.

Grand Funk Railroad ...especially Closer to Home, reminds me of 1971-1972 in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. I remember when my brother Ray brought the album home, its stark black-and-white tower of the heads of Mark Farner, Don brewer, Mel Schacher offset by blood-red "GRAND FUNK" across the left side of the cover. We used to listen to "Mean Mistreater" over and over, and we of course glommed onto "I'm Your Captain"'s nine minutes and fourty-seven seconds of paintive story.

Now, in the CD, I can hear not only the whole 1970 album, but an alternate mix of "Mean Mistreater" along with three live tracks. The true beginnings of heavy metal in the late '60s/early '70s....

Black Cash Go see 'em!