Back to School

Well, the Florida State Bar is certainly more worried today than it was yesterday. I have gone back to school. I started my first class today (we had a makeup for a snow day). Not law school yet, but it is a start to a Business degree with an IT focus. Believe it or not, I am looking forward to financial analysis classes! I know...you always knew I was weird. This class is to get people back to studying. I had my previous credits transferred and in only 2 short years, I can then start the next phase of my education: Law School!

Toastmasters speech on RFID

Here is a speech I gave recently at Toastmasters. The purpose of the project was topresent a technical paper. I wrote the paper and then made it into a speech. It is from the Advanced manual, Speeches by Management. This is written in a script format as it was part of the project to give iit from a script.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC - March 26 - April 10

Rarely was there a better and more colorful excuse to come to the Nation's capital! I am so looking forward to this. I hope my friend's take advantage of having a place to stay :)
Official Website of the National Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC

TGIF?

I was in the elevator this morning where I overheard a conversation. Once person said "Today is my Friday". Presumably, he is taking tomorrow off so this Thursday was his Friday. While this is something that many people say (along with many other euphemisms for hoping the weekend gets here faster), what he said next struck me as odd. He said, "Now I can be happy". I must assume this means that now he can be happy because it is Friday (to him). Does that imply he was not happy the rest of the week. Could his job be that much a drudgery that he is not happy? I tend to hear this attitude in the facility in which I currently work. People say, "Only 2 more days", or "Is it Friday yet?". I understand that they want to get out of work to do the things they truly enjoy, but if there is not some joy from what they do, can that be considered a life? If you work 1/3 of your life, is it worth it to not be happy. Of course I understand not everyone has their dream job. Lord knows there are days I wish I was a pastry chef! But, ultimately, you either have to be doing something you enjoy, or you have to be doing something to get you to a job you enjoy. School, training, Toastmasters...whatever it takes to get you into that job which will make you not feel like the only reason to get up on Monday is that it gets you closer to Friday! So, as you read this, please consider what you are doing, and figure out how to get where you want to be. It is a journey worth taking - I guarantee!

The Washington DC Metro and Sheep

First off, if you are not living and commuting in Washington, this may seem of little interest, but I encourage you to read on. The DC Metro (subway) is a nice system. They, like many mass transit systems, are forever looking for maintenance dollars to keep the things running, but they seem to do alright. Our story today concerns two lines, the yellow and the blue. So, you now have to go look at the map and pay particular attention to the Yellow and Blue lines - especially their southern ends. Go ahead, we'll wait. Map

OK, so you have it open in another window. If you look at the Yellow line, it starts at a station called Huntington (where I get on). It passes Eisenhower, and then there is a big black circle at King Street listed as a transfer point. Note that these stations are outdoors until you get to the Crystal City station (my stop). Very important for our story. Notice that this is the first place the blue line meets the yellow line. Now, since King Street is listed as a transfer point between the Yellow and Blue, you would think if you needed to get on the blue line from Huntington, you would go to King Street, get off, and get on the blue. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, imagine a day like today where it is about 19 degrees F, and I watched people get off the warm yellow train at King Street, to wait in the cold for the blue train. This would seem to be a necessary evil. Here is the sheep part...the blue and yellow trains follow the exact same path and track between King Street (outside) and the Pentagon (inside). The trains occupy the same track and run right behind each other. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why people would get off a warm, dry train to go stand in a frigid, blinding snowstorm just because some map says "King Street is the transfer point". Do people just not think? Maybe I look at things from an efficiency standpoint. Maybe I simply put too much thought into these things, but it would seem to live in a city, you need to have some common sense about things. Am I missing something? Do these people just like the cold?

Rack'em Up!

Well, I finally joined a pool league here in Virginia. The local poolhall has both 9 ball and 8 ball leagues. For those that do not know, I really enjoy playing. I have been playing on and off for the last 33 years. Some could say my ability in pool is directly attributable to a mis-spent youth, but it is a fun game. The APA has a good format because they handicap the players so players of lesser skill can win. I played the other night in 8 ball and I had to win 3 games, but the other person only to win 2. Incidentally, I ran out from the break but scratched on the 8 ball Argh! If you like the game of pool and want to have fun during the winter, find a local league. Your skill level doesn't matter. Just get out there and have fun. You can get more information about local leagues at the American Poolplayers Association website.

Test of Faith

While I am convinced there is a power greater than ourselves in this world, I find I need the patience of Job to see what possible plan there could be to kill thousands of innocent children. MSNBC had an article talking about how people keep their faith in the different religions effected by the Tsunami. I have always believed that God created the universe but the day-to-day events were up to the people and nature. Events like the Tsunami only serve to reinforce the idea that God is an absentee landlord. How could a just and engaged God let so many children die? Hard questions.

Toastmasters

As most of my friends know, I am a member of Toastmasters International. This organization's purpose is to enable better communication among people including speaking and listening skills. I normally write out most of my speeches, so I thought it would be fun to archive them. I have attached a link to a speech I gave about the assassination of President Lincoln. You can see all my speeches in a page I will add in the future.

Third World Commanders-in-Chief don't count?

The Washington Post has an article about President (and General) Musharraf's refusal to step down as chief of staff of the Pakistani Army. Musharraf had promised a return to a more democratic form of government where he would trade-in his fatigues for constitutional changes required to legitimize his presidency. He has apparently reneged on this promise. Without casting aspersions on his chosen form of leadership, it occurred to me that the US has exactly this form of government. We have a civilian president that is elected (more-or-less) by the electorate, and is the absolute Command-in-Chief of the military structure. As a recent Justice department memo said, the President has absolute authority to wage war (that is their interpretation). What I find fascinating, is that there would be a question about Musharraf being a third-world dictator when he is actually using a play straight from Article 2, Section 2 of the US Constitution. I do realize that the main difference is while Pakistan's leader came to power in a bloodless coup, the US President came to power in a bloodless Supreme court coup (We are still in the first term :) ) -- Let the flames begin!

Life's little uncertainties

I was speaking to an old friend and it got me thinking how interesting life's little curves can be. Sometimes our past is never really in our past and sometimes we don't know what we want until we don't have it anymore. I guess that is a verbose way of saying "We don't know what we have until its gone". But, I am not talking about the reason you all may think. I guess I was thinking that while life can open doors and close doors, the ones we have to be careful of are the doors where we stay neither "in" nor "out". Then again, they say the best place to sit out a hurricane is in the door jamb, so maybe there is some safety there. I was thinking that life is a series of constant re-evaluations of our motives for change. Why did I leave the job that I never realized how much I enjoyed, why did I leave the town I now to which I now long to return; why did I leave the girl I now miss. I know the obvious answer is that grass always looks greener on the other side, and without fail, things are always better than you thought they were. Deep thoughts to ponder during a long, hard winter.

I read yesterday that you should update your blog as often as you eat, so I am endeavoring to update my blog more frequently.

Ciao

Arlington National Cemetery - Field of Heroes

I had to go to a bowling center on Ft. Myer today. The GSA division I work in had a holiday party there this afternoon. I took the Metro to the Arlington Cemetery stop and walked through the cemetery. I asked the guard how to get through to the base and she told me a shortcut up past Arlington House. This was Robert E. Lee's home. If you know the history, you know that the North ceased his estate and started to use it as a cemetery during the Civil War. That is how Arlington came to be. In any even, as I was walking among the markers of brave men and women that have served our country in the military. How petty and small our day to day concerns seem to be in comparison. How late the train was running or how long we had to wait in line for that Christmas gift seems like a small price to pay in the face of individuals that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Without hesitation, nor duty to sense, they gave their lives in service to not only a nation, but to an ideal. And yes, they served to protect my rights and I feel that I honor their memories every time I exercise those rights -- even the unpopular ones. Regardless of the circumstances of their deaths, whether during an unpopular war or in peace time, they still gave their lives. Walking among those honored dead; one cannot help but be reminded that the people that serve our country by wearing a uniform make a choice. They, in many cases, give up a much easier future in other walks of life. While I may disagree with the policies of occasional megalomaniac in the White House, I truly hope that no one ever doubts that I and each and every American not only owe them everything, but we also owe them the duty to exercise the very freedoms they give us. For just as faith without works is dead, so falls citizenship without action.

Put on your dancing shoes!!!

I went Swing Dancing on Saturday night. There is a park not too far from Washington DC that holds dances. I went (with a friend) this weekend. You get there at 8:00 PM and they give lessons for an hour. Once you get "Triple Step, Triple Step, Rock Step" into your head, then the fun starts. We were doing twirls and all kinds of stuff. It is a workout but it is the most fun you can have while working up a sweat -- well, almost ;). Christmas Cards are on the way...

On a personal note...

Hi All...Happy Holidays! Things are going great out here in Washington. On a personal note, I decided to stay on with my current company rather than convert over to be a Unisys employee. The pay was better :) I hope everyone has a great holiday season and if you are in Washington area, do call me 202-359-9766. Stay tuned for my most daring expose yet...the secret lives of the NSA!

West Wing recovered?

It is back! It is back! I was pleasently surprised Wednesday night to see the West Wing very close to its old form. The story by Lawrence O'Donnell actually had me wishing the show wouldn't end. No high profile car chases, or silly ER-related stunts (Here that Mr. Wells?). The story was character-driven and provided the right balance of plot and view of how the Chief of Staff's office works. It was once said that the West Wing was a weekly civics lesson. We who watch the show like that aspect. I hope this continues...

We, the disorganized, minority party

Will Rogers is credited with saying, “I belong to no organized political party. I'm a Democrat." Obviously with the recent election, those are words to consider carefully while performing the inevitable post-mortem on the results. What strikes me however is that I actually said that line just a week before the election. The Kerry-Edwards made quite a lot of noise about its Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign. This included the use of volunteers staffing call centers to call other volunteers. The interesting thing is that when I went to the Kerry-Edwards call center in Washington DC, most of the people we were calling to volunteer fell into one of three categories:
• already volunteering as a result of a prior phone call
• had been called 12 times before
• could not help
The former two items were very disconcerting. The system worked as follows: the local call center was sent a script with a list of names and numbers to call. We were supposed to write the status of the call on the sheet and this was supposedly recycled back to the National Party. Presumably, the people that were already volunteering would be entered into a database so their names would not show up on the next call list. The most egregious example was the person that said “We needed to get our act together — I have been called 12 times”. While obviously enthusiastic about making calls, there is clearly a demoralizing factor to facing our own incompetence as a party squarely in the face. How are we supposed to run the country when we cannot be relied upon to update a basic database?

Campaigns of today are clearly about information. Managing that information is an important role and to a large part, the party that manages its demographics, will win. This holds particularly true with an essentially evenly-split electorate. So, the best way to help is to get involved. I will certainly contact whomever I need to in the party and see what I can do to make the next election better.

Speech Contest

Under the Toastmasters heading, I went to a district 27 convention this past weekend. There was a speaker there named Craig Valentine. Craig won the 1999 Toastmaster's World Championship of Public Speaking. Craig had a great style and an upbeat message. One thing I took away was his task: describe your perfect day. How many of us go through life without knowing why we are doing it. What is your perfect day? For me, I am still working on it, but I am sure it has to do with having a son I love and that loves me, and a law degree somewhere on the wall. I am also sure it does not involve the New Jersey Turnpike!

Et tu, West Wing?

They killed it! They killed it! Middle East peace in an hour! Argh!

I have always loved the West Wing, but I am afraid its time has finally come. The dorsal fin is circling and the water skis are ready (Click the link for the explanation of that if you are not familiar with Jump the Shark). This show used to rely on characters and exceptional writing from Aaron Sorkin. Now, regretfully, its time has come. Don't get me wrong. I will still watch it, but it has progressed a slow, downward path towards simple formulaic television. Not surprisingly, it is just like when ER decided they needed to start showing car crashes for ratings. It had to create drama that people without little tolerance for the nuance of politics and intrigue could understand. I think longingly back to a time when a meeting between its characters discussing the fundamentals of some arcane fact of Presidential history was great TV. John Wells (the common link between ER and West Wing) has really screwed this show up. He seems to have a modus operandi of being a part of a show with great writers and turning it into a vehicle for all that is bad about television. I just wish they would get Aaron Sorkin to write a couple of episodes so we can remember how it used to be. Until then, we will either suffer through this dribble, or simply watch the reruns my trusty steed, Tivo has recorded for me.

West Wing

Google's GMail - The Killer Internet App at last?

I found a story on Slashdot today discussing Google's new GMail service. Well, it has actually been out awhile but just not released to the general public yet. The only way to get into the system is to be invited to it. I have 4 more invites left so email me if you want one. I have used free web-based email systems like Hotmail and Yahoo before, but they always left me wanting more. With GMail, I continually find myself wondering how they do the things they do. The aforementioned article talks about this. On its most basic level. GMail handles SPAM very well. Most of the things in the SPAM folder are really spam. Most of the things in my inbox are valid. Additionally, you do not have to ever delete anything if you do not want to delete it. You can archive all your mail then search against the archive to find it. You get 1GB of storage to save mail. So, if you have a Hotmail account and find you have to constantly delete it because it gets full, then this is for you. TTFN. - Tom

The Magic of RFID

Slashdot had a reference to this primer on RFID. For those that do not know, RFID is a method to place a tag on something and have an external scanner read it. The most interesting thing about the technology is how the device itself does not have a battery. it absorbs radio frequency (RF) energy and that powers its internal transmitter to allow it to send back its IDentification. Get it? This is the basic concept behind things like EZ Pass, and my license plate system idea (See earlier entry). How long before we plant one of these in every driver's license. Long live the Fourth Amendment!!!

The Magic of RFID

Yet another trip to New Jersey

Well, I took off again to New Jersey this weekend to see my son, David. We went to a rather odd attraction called Northlandz. This place is a giant model train museum. It is hard to describe and the scale is very large. Well, the scale of the exhibits, not the trains :)

David and I also took a ride down the Jersey shore to Sandy Hook. It is a beach area not too far from NYC. Unfortunately, I think its proximity to NYC gives the waves that special brown hue only found near large population areas. I actually made the drive in 3.5 hours each way. All made possible my the wonder that is EZ-Pass. More on that later.

I also made it to NYC. It is actually lots of fun to take the train into the city, leave Penn Station (33rd Street and 8 Avenue) and look up to see the Empire State Building. David and I were trying to find museums to see. I tell you one of the nicest things about Washington DC is the museums and attractions are generally free. In NYC, everything costs money!