Life

So much can be taken from this

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Napoleon Rutledge, a 67-year-old Chattanooga man and Vietnam vet, was the victim of an attempted robbery in a grocery store parking lot.

Rutledge refused to be a victim.

In fact, he was mad.

When the gunman held the gun up Rutledge said, “Why you wanna rob me? Why don’t you get a job? What I got, what I get, what I spend in this store, I earned it! I said if you gonna shoot me then shoot me. I got a wife and three kids that you’ll have to take care of.”

The gunman apparently got scared and took off, tho was apprehended along with two others.

Rutledge just doesn’t understand the mentality of people like Malone. “What is wrong with them? I got drafted to go to Vietnam, I didn’t have a choice. They got all the opportunities in the world now to make something of themselves but they don’t want it,” he said.

In hearing this story, I think about so many different things.

First, Rutledge is black, and his robber was black. So those of you wishing to inject race or racism as the root of all conflict are just out of luck here… sorry Jesse Jackson, sorry Al Sharpton, go pander somewhere else. Or better, how about you come and support Mr. Rutledge?

But it also demonstrates that race isn’t the issue. It’s an issue of people who work and earn their keep in this world, that are productive, and just don’t like people who come along and wish to take it from them… that expect a handout, or are unwilling to earn their keep, or are otherwise unproductive in society. And yes, the parallel between this robbery and the robbery going on by our government and so much “liberal compassion”, desire to “redistribute wealth”, and so on well… it’s about the same, both in behavior and in the anger it produces in the victim.

The there’s the coda to the article:

It should be noted this is not how the Chattanooga Police Department recommends you react in a similar situation, but in Napoleon’s case it seemed to work.

If you watch the video, it’s slightly different saying “it’s nice to see the good guy win for once”. Folks, if you want to keep seeing the good guy win, then the only way to do it is to stand up to the bad guy. Handling things the way the Police say will always let the bad guy win. No the good guys won’t always win, but if you always permit yourself to be the victim, you’ll never have a chance to be the victor.

 

Getting my geek on

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

When it comes to geekery, I’m more of the “medieval fantasy” type than the sci-fi type. I played Dungeons & Dragons. I played on lots of MUDs, and I just prefer swords and sorcerers to ray guns and aliens. Sure I like some sci-fi, but given a choice I know what I prefer.

But given that, I’m really weak in my geek cred.

I’ve never read J.R.R. Tolkien.

Well, not entirely true. Some years ago I think it was my older sister that bought a copy of The Hobbit for my kids. I realized the shortcoming in my geek world and did set about reading it a few years ago. I’m ashamed I didn’t read it sooner because it was wonderful. And of course, once I had read it, so many things became clearer in my geek world. Tolkien’s influence is vast.

So of course that means I need to read The Lord of the Rings.

But being the tech geek I am, and that I’m enjoying the new Apple TV well…. I opted to buy all 3 LTotR movies. 🙂

Watched “Fellowship of the Ring” last night. Going to watch the other two movies today. So… this is all the blog you get for today.

Really enjoyed “Fellowship”, as did the rest of the family. In fact, Oldest is in process of reading The Hobbit, this is all dovetails nicely. I reckon we’ll buy and read the books down the line, because books are usually always better than the movie adaptations.

Anyways… off to be a geek.

Deer control

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

Waterton Lakes National Park has a mule deer problem. The deer wander into the town because… it’s safe. But that the puts hundreds of deer into the town, which can cause its own set of problems… but then a bigger one happens too, like other animals that prey on the deer wandering into town.

It’s all a big problem.

Parks Canada is taking a really cool approach to working with the problem.

Adapt the natural abilities of… Border Collies.

The whole concept is cool, but it’s also just cool watching Jill (the collie) work. I love watching smart dogs.

First day down

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Don’t worry… I won’t write about work all the time. 🙂

But first day today was pretty cool.

Got right into code, with the project lead explaining the app architecture, which is all pretty sound. Then I dug through the codebase and it’s pretty straightforward. I like it because it’s simple, seems to be well-written, fairly understandable. Not much in the way of documentation or comments, but most is fairly easy to figure out. This is a very pleasant and welcome change compared to some codebases I’ve dealt with in my past.

Lots of process changes too. Using GitHub, Heroku, different bug tracking, different tools (like DropBox), new workflows. Just a lot of new ways to do things. Today was a HUGE dump of information and process, and I know I won’t remember it all. But I’m diving right in… got a few easy bugs assigned to me to help me get my feet wet and start to learn how things work, and in handling those all the process stuff will come to make sense. Slow but sure I’ll get there, and I reckon by the end of the week should start feeling comfortable.

There’s a lot of things I’m going to have to get used to and adapt to, not just in terms of the work itself, but the new people, new environment, new everything. I’m the FNG, and all that comes with that. 🙂

But I can say… I really am liking the people. The other 2 devs that I work directly with, we seem to be hitting it off fairly well already. They’re both wicked smart guys, funny, laid back, and just good geeks. At one point one of them pulled out the old iPhone lightsaber app… and then I pulled out mine, and we geeked out for a bit. In so many ways, the people you work with make all the difference as to whether the job is good or bad… and I think this is going to be good.

I’m debating if I should bring my Nerf Raider in….

To you, my readers, thanx for the support. Things will be different, but I’m just going to enjoy the ride. 🙂

A new journey

/ hsoi / 10 Comments

Today I begin down a new road.

I spent the past (almost) 12 years working for one software company. It started at a small house, which was acquired some years ago. The small house was great. I remember choosing it for the intangibles it offered, because while the pay and some other options were less than some other offers I had, the fact it was so “family” just drew me in. But then, acquisition, and corporate culture changes as it always does. And while all things weren’t bad, the road the company is going down and the road I wish to go down are no longer the same path. So it’s time for me to move on.

I’m joining a small company here in town doing iOS programming. I’m quite happy about that. The future is mobile computing, and I’m happy to be a part of it… especially since I can continue to be an Apple fanboy (been one since I was a kid, with Apple II’s… learned to program on a //e). 🙂

It’s going to be a lot of changes in a lot of ways. I think one of the more interesting ones will be joining a small company. I’ve been part of “large” companies for the majority of my career, companies with at least 3 digits worth of employees. This will be the smallest I’ve ever worked at… maybe 15 employees. It’s going to be different, it’s going to be some adjustment. But I think it will be great to be able to make more impact and not have to fight such a tide of corporate red tape all the time.

This is part of what I was alluding to in a prior post about a big change in my life. Schedule changes… I’m working with people all in my time zone, instead of west and east coasters. Have to adjust to these differences and so yeah… maybe my workout plan will have to change. We’ll see. There’s just much to figure out.

I’m nervous. I’m excited. A little scared too. I’ve had a lot of “known comfort” for many years. Most people I know have changed jobs numerous times while I stayed at the same job for 12 years. In some ways, I just don’t know how to be the “FNG“, other than to shut up, do my work, prove myself, and exceed their expectations. It’s going to be weird in a lot of ways… but I am hoping the changes will all be for the good, even if right now it may not seem it. There’s always something to learn, something to gain, some way to grow. Just have to seek it.

We’ll see where this leg of my journey takes me.

 

Quote(s) for today

/ hsoi

There are two kinds of people in the world: the ones that protest and complain and want fairness despite never having earned it, and the ones that fight their asses off to be important and make a contribution. You have to earn the right to be treated fair. The people that have a problem with that are the scrubs.

– Jim Wendler

Read the whole article. It might be in the context of football, but it’s all about working hard(er) and achieving goals.

There’s two other passages I thought were excellent:

Adopt a winning attitude that understands you will fail but allows you to achieve your goals.

If possible, have someone in your life that won’t coddle you, but call you out on your bullshit. Whenever I faltered from this attitude my father set me straight.

  • Complained about school? Suck it up and study.
  • The coaches won’t look at me? Quit crying and get better.
  • I don’t like my job! Change your attitude or quit and do your own thing.
  • I don’t make enough money! Find a way to make more.

and

The important thing is that you make yourself indispensable at what you do. Work as hard as you can to be the best at your given role. If that’s protecting the punter, do so with such precision that no one can take your job. Do not take your job for granted. Make it hard on the coaches to take you out. Fight like hell to do your job better than anyone.

That’s one I’ve known and done my best with in my own life and career, and one I’ve been working to pass on to my kids.

A year of veggies

/ hsoi

I can’t believe it’s been about a year since we started doing the CSA veggie box from Johnson’s Backyard Garden. In fact, I just renewed for another year. They were running a special of a year subscription at 20% off, and I just couldn’t say no to such a heavy discount. Plus I know it helps them a lot to have some solid cash in the bank, and it’s great to be able to support what they do.

So what do I think about the first year?

The Good

The veggies, no doubt. Oh my gosh, it’s fantastic. First, that there’s so much variety. We get forced to try new things, different things. I had no idea what kohlrabi was until it came in the boxes, and I’m totally sold on it. I love all the greens. There’s no rut of just eating the same old thing that you get at the grocery store, because it’s shipped in from wherever all year round. There’s much to be said for eating what’s local and seasonal too.

The quality is high as well. I’m not a tomato person, but after eating theirs? I’m sold. As well, who knew carrots could have such deep flavor! But when they’re able to stay in the ground until they reach their peak, then picked and you eat it within days of coming out of the ground? You’re going to get better tasting food. Plus I can see the care the JBG group puts into seed and variety selection, to make it not only something that will grow and flourish here in our climate and soil, but also that’s just darn yummy.

The price is reasonable too. I was not going to sign up for it if it was going to be really expensive vs. the grocery store. But after pricing it out as best I could, I could see it works out fine. I have to say “as best I could” because I’ve never seen kohlrabi at the grocery store. Oh I’m sure Whole Foods has it (I don’t shop there, too expensive), but that means JBG will be an ever better deal. Furthermore, when buying in bulk, they offer these discounts and so that’s even better. Sure it’s a bunch of money up front, but it pans out over the long term.

And you know what’s fun? The box. The surprise of “what is in there this week?”, and getting excited when you see what’s coming. Oh geez… as I write this, I just remembered that pattypan/sunburst squash are going to soon be here…. another new thing from the box, that I just LOVE and can’t wait for. See what I mean? No you can’t see how truly silly excited this makes me… but it does. And that’s part of what’s cool, because you can read about what they’re planting, what they’re trying, and thus what you have to look forward to. It’s fun!

The Bad

The box policy annoys me. I totally understand why they have it, and I do respect it. But it sucks when responsible people have to be penalized for those who aren’t.

The pick up. Wife and I did pick-up until recently. We actually kinda enjoyed it, calling it our “Veggie Date” because just she and I would go to pick them up. A little time with my honey is good. 🙂  But it kinda got old and sometimes we just didn’t want to drag out to do it because it didn’t fit the schedule. Or we’d have to schedule things around the pickup. So… we opted to change to home delivery. It’s $5 more per box, but frankly, it’s worth it. With the price of gas, when you account for the 30-60 minutes it takes (normally not 60 minutes, but if the truck is running late…), all that time and money adds up. The $5 for delivery ends up being worth it. And we don’t have to deal with the box issue. 😉

But the one downside is there’s no more trade box. The trade box was awesome and we took advantage of that a lot, not necessarily because we didn’t like something in the box (I think only arugula has ever been the flat out “no” to us), but because there might be something better or more fitting for us in there… like one time there was a HUGE bag of spinach in the trade box and that was a win!  But in talking to the JBG folk, they are working hard towards having more “up front” box selection, which would be really cool. Either to be able to pick and choose your box contents would be neat, or to be able to buy more of something some week would be nice. They’re working on it, and I eagerly await that.

Happy Are We

All in all, we’re really happy with this. It works out well for the grocery bill. It makes life a bit easier at the grocery store. We’re getting high quality food. We get to support local business. We get to expand our palettes. What’s not to like?

Looking forward to the next year.

SpotCrime – because crime is (unfortunately) all around you

/ hsoi / 1 Comment

Clearing out the inbox and I came across something I’ve meant to write about for some time.

SpotCrime.

It’s a crime website and database.

It’s kinda like KrimeLabb, but for the whole US, not just Austin, Texas. In fact for those of us living in Austin, you might find both resources useful because KrimeLabb is more detailed, and both provide unique and different ways of viewing the data.

Go ahead. Check it out. Plug in your home address. Plug in your work address. Look at areas that you frequent in your daily life, like the grocery store, shopping mall, movie theater, parks, schools. Whatever.

You’ll find that no where is immune to crime. Sure some places have more, some places have less. Some places may see more of one type of crime. Heck, I even punched in the address of the Austin Police Department Headquarters, and look at all the crime that happens within a stone’s throw of it!

I don’t point this out to make people scared or paranoid. I point this out to make people aware of the reality. Statistically speaking, you probably do live and frequent “safe” places. But do those statistics make you feel any better after your home has been ransacked? Do numbers bring any comfort to the rape victim? Use this knowledge ahead of time. Take steps to minimize your chances of becoming part of the statistics. Do things to minimize making yourself look appetizing. Keep the exterior of your house well lit. Get and use an alarm system, and a big and useful dog. Don’t live in “code white”. The list goes on, and it’s not necessarily difficult to do… you just have to do it.