DigitalAnomaly

the Story -
So my wife and I figured we were up for the challenge of going out to breakfast on Saturday.  Anyone with a ten month old knows all too well the adventure in eating out. Nevertheless, with so many choices out there we angled for some basic comfort food and ended up at a local “The Egg and I” restaurant. These places have the comfort of a Village Inn, Perkins, Big Boy, etc. wrapped in a single breakfast track like that of an IHOP (only better). Well our breakfast went uncommonly well, and my daughter spent most of the time hamming it up with the rest of the natives. After we finished our meal, that is when the seemingly innocuous event occurred.  I stood in line to pay, in my Saturday’s best, which for plot points, was jeans and a tee shirt. When, out of nowhere, a woman well in her early sixties darted out from the kitchen smiling, asked if she could see the back of my shirt. Confused, I obliged, and she went about reading the back of my shirt.  I said her, “Oh this is just a computer shirt”. I was in fact wearing a Sun Grid computing shirt that I got for free online.  I then went about my merry way, paying my bill.

the Judgement -
Yes the meal was good and what have you. While standing in line I stood there trying to groke what this lady, hinging on retirement, was gleaning from my back. And then it came to me. I think we all know full well these midnight tech junkies. I am no Columbo, but I could tell by the dent on her head and the dried drool on her chin that she spent the night like many of us, passed out on the keyboard. Yeah, I could see it, row upon row of servers stacked on ol’ doily covered coffee tables, and Window air conditioners sucking the air out of her musty basement. Clearly every dime she makes doesn’t go to some paltry knitting addiction, or to supplement social security, it goes directly to feed her babies. Naturally a discussion on Grid computing, open source, or common language search algorithms would be like asking Stephen Hawking about the origins of the earth. Nevertheless, I ducked out in time to save myself the indignation.

the Lesson -
Watch what you wear, and be either a good runner, or someone that can speak a second language as though you are a foreigner. For me I have mastered the perplexed, in a hurry, gaze, (or more appropriately, ‘deer caught in headlights’).

I haven’t written anything in some time, so I thought I would throw something of no technical merit out there. Be well and take care,

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tekgnu General personal

Alright another personal post, which I promise will be paused soon enough, and I will upload additional JavaFX goodness.  For the int

erim however, I had the opportunity to attend the, “Think of Green Festival” at the Colorado Convention Center on May 2nd.  I was hoping to have more time there, but I must admit I came with one goal in mind, to see Amy Goodman present.  For those that don’t know who Amy Goodman is, she is the reporter for Democracy Now.  For those unfamiliar with Democracy Now, I believe it can be best defined as the news that is

n’t reported, but profoundly impactful.  Amy Goodman is a no holds barred reporter, and passionate proponent of ethical journalism.  She has written several books, and is currently featured on New York Times best seller list under paperback nonfiction for her recent release, “STANDING UP TO THE MADNESS“.  Yes after her speech, or should I say rally I was itching to get my greedy little paws on it.  But I am ge

tting ahead of myself.  When I walked into the conference room where Amy was to give her impassioned speech, I became overwhelmed by the current speakers doom and gloom.  Albeit normally I would be transfixed, and sucking in all of the data from an author spelling out how man is proceeding to undo itself, but not today.  I am not sure if it was the monotone voice, the people cutting in to get a seat upfront waiting for Amy, or just the pure audacity of this guy to say that he was going to take an additional ten minutes, but I was getting a little itchy.  Nevertheless, the wait was tremendous, and instead of just calmly listening in on the beauty of the end of the world, all I could do was psychically bitch slap

this pompous ass off of the stage (once again the impertinent effect of impatience no fault of the author).  Once my telekinetic powers hit fruition and the man was gone, I looked up to see the crowd pulse to easily three times the size.

It was the beginning of amazing.   When Amy came out, she was immediately adored by quite a large following, (and even though I have never seen her outside of Democracy NOW, I too became a twelve year old choked up on several two leaders of Mountain Dew).  Amy was pretty zen, and I half expected her speech to roll out like her reporting, with calm thought provoking data.  That is not what happened.  For her size she beamed larger than life - she started with a little data, emotional appeal; then rolled into, hard hitting personal stories,  shocking video, sweet, sweet Data; then proceeded to finish the audience off with more stories of personal endeavor, ironic humor, and of course, her unparalleled and unrelenting hard hitting DATA.  Needless to say, she finished in a whirl wind, where the audience themselves were exalted, and pumping their fists.   It was well worth the wait.  I only wish I would have had the opportunity to stick around.  I can only encourage people to check out Democracy NOW and to take the opportunity to see Amy Goodman in person.  Take my word for it, as a strong advocate for human rights, the environment, and ethical reporting, ( why else would there be seven results for Amy Goodman in Facebook, including one title, Smart is sexy–i wanna marry Amy Goodman), it was well worth the trek downtown.

P.S.  The best photograph I could get was this comical little thumbnail on top (as though this validates that I was actually there and I didn’t take a picture of my television).

Be well

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tekgnu General Amy Goodman, Democracy NOW, personal

Let me start by pointing you to my About me page, so that you can get an understanding of my biases and background.  I just finished reading the book, “A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting” by Hara Estroff Marano, and I wanted the opportunity to provide some insight. 
I would like to start by saying if you were alarmed by the title of the book, then you would do well to start with the introduction. I would encourage anyone, even those with out kids to take a look at this book. The facts are truly stunning, and it is reflective in how our perceptions have been changed. The media has sold us a lower quality of life from off-shoring, to germs, to child rapists. This new fear of the world is easy to perceive as untenable for a child, and a parents natural instinct is somewhat overreactive.
This book is more then just a single idea that pivots around a handful of points, that gets re-iterated chapter after chapter.  If that is something you are looking for, then I would point you to just read the covers of a book like “The Happiest Baby on the Block” by Dr. Harvey Karp (alright  you might need to thumb through the book, but it seems to me the thesis was covered in the first chapter, and repeated in the subsequent ones).
That being said, this book appeals to both the emotional and analytical brain.  The theses that are outlined throughout this book are not only intriguing but seem to be the direct reflection of our culture.  Hara Estroff Marano has not only captured the pulse of modern American parenting in witty stories, but also has forty pages in her notes section of supporting research. 
Admittedly, I was immediately captivated by this book, due to the fact that the information was not purely anecdotal.  With other books I have read (from a well known pediatrician), it seemed to me the behavioral aspect was like watching an episode of “The Dog Whisperer” and expecting to be able to dominate your neighbor’s rottweiller by tapping him on the neck (trust me don’t try this at home ); there was inherently data missing (by the way that was anecdotal).  This book contains a lot of real world examples, that I feel I can almost steal and reflect on personally. We have all seen these little parenting events and thought to ourselves, ‘wow that parent seems a little overly protective of their perfectly sterling child’, but this book clearly draws cause and effect relationships from these behaviors. Though in light of how much our lives have changed since we were children, it seems only natural to want to protect our kids from this new host of perceived threats. That being said, I would strongly recommend checking out, “A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting”, and if given the opportunity I would like to sit in on a seminar of Hara Estroff Marano’s (if she does them). If you do get the opportunity to read the book, please stop by and let me know what you think of the book, as I am sure you will find it to be interesting reading.

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tekgnu General A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting, Books, Hara Estroff Marano, Parenting, personal

So it has been over a week since last I have posted.  I actually have been busy getting caught up on some of my home work from Sang Shin’s online courses.  I would strongly recommend any one interested in any of his online training to take a look at these classes.  I am currently enrolled in his Java Programming (with Passion!), and Java FX Programming (with Passion!), classes.  Admittedly, I have been using Java on and off for a few years to create tinkering tools as needed.  With Sang Shin’s courses,  I have found his exercises both interesting and challenging, and I have really been gaining a better core language understanding.  His class structure is quite simple, and open (perfect for someone like me), and if you have any issues there is an associated Google group.  I have been a quite monitor on this list, but you can find some very handy posts out there, (like this one, which I originally followed from Remi Emonet’s posting, but this looks very similar, Installing JavaFX 1.1 on Linux).

Nevertheless, I will get back to the JavaFX Gear article I was working on shortly.

On a personal note, Aramenda has updated our personal site (http://www.perrytribe.com) with links to updated pictures of Anaka (http://picasaweb.google.com/Perrytribe.com).   From the end of January, into the beginning of February, Anaka has transitioned to eating solid foods, which is always an event.

Take care,

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tekgnu General, Programming personal