Computer games have to rank as one of the most time wasting endeavors know to man.

For many (most) computer games, there is no intrinsic value that I can find. You don't learn anything, you don't develop life skills, you just burn time.

Even TV occasionally teaches you something, or at least makes you think.

I guess one can argue that entertainment has by definition some intrinsic value. Even if it does nothing more than allowing you to escape from reality for a while.

I guess maybe some computer games provide a catharsis, which could be of value in times like this. I guess they can also allow you to feel in control - which could be of value in times like this.

Anyway, just because I think computer games are black holes time-wise (scientific / scifi allegorical pun intended), doesn't mean I don't play/enjoy them.

My latest favorite is Endevor.

It is kind of a Diablo II lite.

There is a similar run and kill FPS basic game play, although there isn't the inventory management aspects or character building. There is also some light puzzle solving.

The individual missions are shorter, which is good since there isn't the ability to save the game at will. There are checkpoints in many missions which provide a sort of game-save part way through a mission, so that you don't have to go back to the beginning if you quit or die.

There is more of an embedded linear story than in Diablo, and you do have the choice of a variety of characters to use for each mission. You can also equip the characters with various weapons or spells, and you can replay each mission using any available character, which adds variety.

Overall, if you are looking to waste time, but not in large individual chunks, Enclave might be worth a look.

I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I found myself channel surfing early this morning.

I ran across slamball on "The New TNN."

The Strictly Ballin' site describes slamball as "a hyper-real, next generation sport. It combines the best aspects of basketball, hockey, gymnastics and the X-games."

I have to admit, I found it quite entertaining. The game is fast and novel, and the level of athleticism is astounding.

The official Slamball site has quite a bit of information, plus pictures and video clips, as well as a shockwave slamball computer game.

Highly recommended when you have nothing else better to do in the wee hours of the morning.

Bicycles and cell phones don't mix.

I decided to take a late lunch today and visit the local bicycle shop to look at some quality bikes.

Last week, I bought a $54 mountain bike from Target. For the price, it is a really nice bike. It has eighteen speeds, thumb shifters, and decent brakes. The saddle isn't the most male ergonomic or cushy, but it isn't horrible either. The main complaint I have with the bike is that there isn't enough range in the gearing. The low gears need to be lower, and the high gears need to be higher.

So, I figured I'd do some comparison shopping. I ended up riding three styles of bikes - pure mountain, hybrid, and comfort.

The hybrid is basically a mountain bike modified to use 26" tires. This allows the bike to go faster than a mountain bike with its smaller knobby tires, but sacrifices the ability to go much farther off road then a very smooth, well compacted fine gravel path. The hybrid has a more upright riding position than a standard mountain bike, which I found much more comfortable.

The comfort bike uses a more standard mountain bike frame and configuration, but has a longer front tube and upright handle bars, and a more comfortable saddle.

Well, as I was riding the comfort bike, I got a call on my cell phone. Everything was fine until a moron pulled out right in front of me in the parking lot in the shopping center where the bicycle store is located. Since I had my phone in my right hand, I only had my left hand to brake. The left hand controls the front brake, and this bike (a Trek Navigator 300) had really good brakes. Unfortunately, when you apply on the front brake - hard - and it is a good brake, the bicycle's rear wheel tends to lift. This results in the rider pitching forward over the handle bars and abruptly contacting the pavement.

Fortunately, the sum of the damage was two skinned elbows, scratched glasses, and a scuff on one of the handlebar grips.

The guy who pulled out in front of me was very apologetic, and the bicycle store folks were nice. I insisted on compensating them for the damaged grip. I guess I could have made a big deal out of the guy pulling out in front of me, but the way I look at it, I shouldn't have been trying to use my cell phone and riding an unfamiliar bike at the same time. Actually, I shouldn't have been trying to talk on the cell phone while riding a bike period.

I haven't decided if I am going to purchase a new bicycle. Spending $375 just seems extravagant. It was different when I rode a bicycle every day as my primary mode of transportation. It would be different if I was going to be riding every day, or was racing or a triathlete. But, I just wanted a bike to ride around the neighborhood every now and then.

So, I am either going to just stick with my $54 bike and make do, or I might end up purchasing a newer, better, stationary recumbent bike.

My existing stationary bike, while recumbent, is about ten years old, and doesn't have any bells and whistles. It uses a friction strap for resistance, which makes a fair amount of noise, and does not allow for any sort of programmed variation of resistance.

Current technology uses magnets for resistance, which makes the bike much quieter, and allows for simple and affordable training programs. These make the exercise more interesting, and provide a better workout.

Whereas I would only ride a regular bicycle every now and then, and then only in fair weather, I could ride my stationary recumbent bike all year long, regardless of weather conditions.

Or, maybe - since I'm cheap - I'll just stick with what I have...

Regardless, I think I'll call it a night and go to sleep.

Like 12:30 AM early.

Security wasn't too big a hassle at the airport, although I did get pulled to have my vehicle searched. That seemed reasonable to me, considering I was driving the Durango, and no one else was in the vehicle.

The timing worked out really well. Jeanie showed up at the curb just as I pulled up.

Anyway, I guess as a result of such a long day Friday, and not having slept well for quite a few days, I was incredibly tired this weekend.

Fortunately, there wasn't anything that I had to do this weekend, and Jeanie has some kind of crud she caught in California, so we ended up spending the weekend in bed - sleeping!

I updated Witsdom. Specifically, I updated the links page.

At this moment, Jeanie is on her way back from her visit to California. I wanted to check the progress of her flight, and I remembered that I had a link on Witsdom to FlightTracker.

For whatever reason, after I had looked at FlightTracker, I decided to Google to see if there were other web based free flight tracking tools.

Turns out there are quite a few!

So, I updated the Witsdom links page to add a few more.

While I was at it, I updated the intra-page navigation links to segment the "Other" section at the bottom of the page.

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life.

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.

At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of." And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill.

His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

***********************************************

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody's watching.

Sing like nobody's listening.

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

***********************************************

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Did a water change for the fishes.
Fixed the outlet tube on the bamboo fountain by trimming and caulking it.
Changed Peanut's litter and wire tied his food dish so he can't overturn it.
Did the dishes.
Watered the plants.
Washed/dried/folded two loads of laundry.

Don't I feel special... ;-)

I always look forward to my Sunday mornings. Just me, a cup of coffee, and the Sunday paper. Jeanie is usually still asleep when I get up on Sundays, and the dogs are more than happy to go back to bed after I let them out. So, I get to sit back in my La-Z-Boy with my coffee and enjoy reading the paper in silence.

Well, this morning when I went to retrieve the paper, I found a soaked log of processed wood pulp and soy ink.

In fairness, it did rain quite heavily early this morning, although had the paper landed on the driveway rather than in the flower bed, it might not have soaked up quite so much water.

So, while I wait for the N&O to deliver my replacement paper, I sit and write... I guess if I can't read, writing is the next best thing, eh?

Last Saturday Jeanie and I went to Duke Gardens.

For those of you who haven't known me that long, you might not realize that the Gardens has special meaning for us - it is where we were married.

Jeanie loves flowers and plants, so that also adds to the attraction.

And, it was a beautiful day, and we hadn't spent much time together since I had been traveling, so going to the Gardens seemed like a "slam dunk" idea.

When Jeanie and I both worked in Durham, we went to the Gardens quite regularly, but since we moved, our visits have been less frequent. The frequency was also reduced because we had grown increasingly unhappy with the level of maintenance the Gardens were receiving.

Well, I am very happy to report that Duke has significantly increased the attention it is paying to the Gardens.

There is a lovely new visitor center just after you drive in fronted by a beautiful fountain. The gift shop has been relocated to the visitor center, and there is a "function area" in the center as well - ideal for garden wedding receptions.

The gardens themselves have received much needed attention as well. New plant identification signs abound, walking paths have been re-graveled, and the vastly overgrown shrubbery (I can't say that word without thinking of Monty Python) in front of the pergola have been pruned - much to Jeanie's pleasure.

If you live near central North Carolina, I strongly encourage you to visit the Gardens. Admission is free.

I am not very artistic, but I am quite technical.

Therefore, it is important that my camera give me a fair degree of control over the technical aspects of the photographic process.

My new G3 does just that. As you can see from some of the pictures in the gallery, one of the things that interests me is control over depth of field. This is well illustrated in the "Garden Angel" and in the "Nectarine Buds" where I wanted to intentionally blur the foreground or background, and in the pictures from Colorado, where I wanted sharpness both in the foreground and the background for the landscapes.

I also wanted control over exposure compensation as illustrated in the "Nectarine Buds" where I needed to underexpose to retain detail.

One of the few issues that I was unhappy with - the driver conflict between the G3 and my scanner has been resolved. Not directly, but resolved with a little "out of the box thinking." The G3 came with only a 32MB CF card, which was only enough for a handful of photos at maximum resolution, so, I ordered a 256MB CF card so I could store a day's worth of shooting. Along with the new CF card, I ordered an inexpensive USB CF reader. I am happy to say the reader installed with no problem - the "installation" consisted of plugging it in *period*. And now, downloading the pictures is as simple as inserting the CF card into the reader, and then dragging and dropping them from the card to the "My Photos" folder. "Problem" solved!

Now that I have been using the camera for a few weeks, I must say that I am quite happy with it. I think the photographs have great sharpness and color. The camera is small enough to not be a bother. And, it gives me the control that I was seeking. All at a price that didn't require me to cry as I paid...

You can view it here.

I am using the Gallery v1.3.3 application which is pretty amazing.

All I had to do was download it to the Blogdom home directory, un-gzip it, and following the simple installation instructions. There might not be much in the way of hand-holding as far as an included readme or install file, but the web based installation program gave me all the information I needed to edit the httpd.conf file and to add the jhead application to display the Exif information from the jpg file. I chose to compile jhead rather than using the RPM, and then just moved the jhead executable to my /usr/local/bin.

Using the Gallery application couldn't be much easier.

I had researched various options last night, and found four contenders, but now I'm not even sure I am going to bother installing the other three and trying them out.

Let me know what you think of the application. Happy viewing.

This only seems to occur when I am in a Windows command box, i.e. I'll type ls while in Windows, but I don't type dir while in Unix.

Anyway, I found a solution...

I downloaded and installed this wonderful set of utilities from: http://www.weihenstephan.de/~syring/win32/UnxUtils.html. I also downloaded VIM from the link near the bottom of the page, so now I have a decent command line text editor too.

And I added the location of the utilities to my Windows path environment variable.

For those of you, like me, who have never had to change an environment variable in Windows 2000 - which is in my humble opinion not very intuitive, here's how you do it.

Open Control Panel
Click the System icon and the window pops up
Go to the Advanced pane
Click the Environment Variables button
There are two separated windows showing two sets of environment variables. In the lower window, labeled "system variables" scroll down and select "path," then click the "edit" button to edit the "PATH" variable.
Click the "ok" button when done

In Windows 95/98/ME, edit the path line your c:\autoexec.bat using notepad, and then reboot your computer.

those who understand binary numbers and those who do not.

And in the process, I fulfilled a long-time dream.

I have wanted to ski "out west" for as long as I can remember.

All of the skiing I have done has been on the east coast - most of it between New York and North Carolina. To be kind, these are not states known for their great conditions. As a general rule, the bulk of my skiing has been on icy or slushy, crowded slopes.

I was never a great skier, but I was a decent intermediate. In my youth, I skied enough to justify purchasing my own equipment, but not enough to get really good; a lack of general athleticism probably also prevented me from getting really good. I did ski enough to know that I wanted to experience skiing in nice dry western snow.

Since I was going to be in Colorado for the interviews last week, I had toyed with the idea of extending my trip one day and going skiing. Jeanie encouraged me to do so.

So, Thursday morning, I awoke reasonably early, grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed for the slopes.

I had done a fair amount of research on-line, talked to my friend Andy who has skied alto at a lot of nice resorts, and then talked with an avid skier in between interviews in Boulder.

The consensus was that the best place for me to go was Eldora. It was the closest area to Boulder, it had a high percentage of intermediate runs, and it had the least expensive lift tickets.

Even though it was only twenty-five miles from Boulder, it took almost an hour to get there, mainly because almost the entire drive was up-hill on a twisty-turny sometimes snow-covered road. Fortunately, the Hertz supplied Ford Expedition was totally up to the challenge.

The place was really nice. On the small side for a colorado ski resort, but more than large enough for me. I was very pleased with the rental equipment. I decided to go with the "sport" package which included a pair of fisher curved skis, poles, and the most comfortable ski boots I have ever worn. Due to my extremely wide feet, wearing a pair of ski boots has always been a painful experience. I didn't ask them what brand of boot that they gave me, but I was amazed that they fit my "duck feet." Even the ski pants they rented me were really nice.

I had promised Jeanie that I would start on the "bunny slope." So, my first run, at around 9:30, was down a baby blue via a rope lift. I was absolutely amazed at how comfortable I felt on the skis. It was just like riding a bicycle. It had been ten years and twenty pounds since I had last skied, but it felt like it had been last year. I have to imagine that the improved equipment helped. I was very pleasantly surprised at how easily the curved skis turned.

After that one run on the blue, I was ready to hit the chair lift.

Eldora is very logically laid out, with the runs getting increasingly steep and long as you arc from left (facing the mountain) to right.

I caught the first open chair lift to my right, and it felt great. I had no trouble getting on the chair, getting off, or making the run.

I skied until around 11:30, when I decided to go in to the lodge for a soda and a break. After the soda, I did a few stretches, and then went back to the slopes.

The slopes were in great condition. They had received five new inches of snow two days earlier, the temperature had stayed below freezing, and they had nicely groomed the slopes. Since it was a Thursday - a work day and not a holiday - the slopes were almost empty. The slopes were uncrowded, and there were no lift lines.

The only thing that made the skiing less than perfect was the fact that it was very windy. In fact it was so windy, that they had to close the two "larger" lifts around 1:00 PM.

Anyway, I spent until around 3:00 skiing the greens and having a blast. I had forgotten how much I enjoy skiing. Fortunately, I guess I have become a little wiser with age, and I decided to stop before I wiped out, rather than pushing myself for that "one last run" that I had always done in the past - and which always resulted in a bad fall that left me bruised, sore, and wishing I had stopped one run earlier.

I was really surprised that I didn't get more tired than I did. I'm not saying that I didn't get tired, but, I was pleased with my relative "shape." I had thought that being at almost ten thousand feet, I would get easily winded, and that my legs would "give out" relatively quickly. My legs did get tired, but I guess the lunges I had been doing for the week or so preceding the trip really did help.

I thought for sure that my legs would be really aching on Friday, but I'm glad to say that they felt fine yesterday and today.

If I still kept a list of things that I wanted to accomplish / experience in this lifetime, I'd be able to cross another one off the list. I feel so blessed that I was able to do this.

I think they went well - but how can you really tell?

I had two interviews today, with two other TSM managers. Each interview was 1-on-1. The first lasted about an hour, the second about half an hour.

There were a number of other candidates in for interviews, so it appears that not only am I competing with myself, but with other candidates as well.

Hopefully, I'll hear something within a week or two.

Between only getting about four hours of sleep, working a full day, and going through two interviews (which I find extremely draining), I'm about brain dead.

I would normally just go back to my room and go straight to bed, but two of the managers I interviewed with (one today, one last week) asked if I wanted to join them for dinner - and I sure wasn't going to decline their offer.

Hopefully, that's a good sign...

Please keep your fingers crossed for me, and say a prayer if you are so inclined.

I personally didn't pray that I get the job, but rather that the decision makers make whatever decision is best - looking at "the big picture."

I am one of those (rare?) folks who actually likes the IBM track point notebook mouse control (as opposed to a touch pad).

For some reason, touch pads and I just don't get along. Every touchpad I've ever tried - and I've tried many, from many different vendors - seems to be possessed when I try to use it; the mouse cursor randomly jumps all over the screen, either clicks or missed, or occur spontaneously.

On the other hand, the track point does exactly what I want - no more, no less.

The only issue I have - and this occurs with every notebook I've ever used that has a built-in palm rest (which is a requirement for me) is that my heel of my hands (base of my palm) sweats profusely.

Maybe I should invent some sort of absorbent, replaceable insert... some nice terry over gel thingie that could be replaced / washed whenever it gets nasty. Sure would make typing on the notebook less messy.

I had forgotten how painful a slow dial-up connection is.

My current 24k connection has served as a reference to remind me of just what a blessing high speed access is.

It has also reminded me of the impact of lots of graphics on a web (like this one) page.

Now granted, most folks accessing this site should be connecting at more like 48k, but, I wonder... do I need to remove some of the "fluff" to make the page loads faster for those who have slow connections?

It has also confirmed that should I loose my job, I will forgo food before I give up my cable modem ;-)

So, here I sit in Boulder CO, making what I believe is my first remote blog entry.

I flew in yesterday. I left Raleigh at 8:16 AM, and arrived here at around noon local time.

It was fourteen degrees and snowing...

Hertz must think I needed all the help I could get, because they decided to upgrade me to a Ford Expedition with full time 4WD.

The flights were uneventful, and I was able to finally make a large dent in getting my e-mail caught up. My Koss "The Plug" earphones worked quite well on the plane, allowing me to listed to some of the MP3's I downloaded to my notebook for the trip.

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep very well last night. Probably a mixture of jet lag, a different (and empty) bed, and excitement / nerves.

Over what you might ask?

I'm here in Boulder for a second (or third depending on your perspective) interview for a new position within IBM. My first interview was a telephone interview, which led to a face to face interview with a local hiring manager. The first two interviews were pleasant, informational type interviews. Now it's time for what I expect will be the tough interviews. I still don't have a schedule of exactly who / what / how many interviews there will be today... I only know that they will start at 2 PM. I think I will be interviewing with multiple people - but I don't know if it will be a group interview, or multiple individual interviews.

If I get an offer, this will be a major career shift for me. The position I am interviewing for is a commissioned sales position in the Strategic Outsourcing group within IBM Global Services.

I say it is a major career shift, but that is not entirely accurate. I truly believe that everything I have done to this point has been preparing me for this sort of position. The specific position is titled Technical Solutions Manager (TSM). The TSM is the person who acts as the focal point / coordinator between the prospect, the salesperson, and the IGS Delivery organization.

The position requires the TSM to be equal parts salesman, technical architect, leader, negotiator, and diplomat.

Looking back at my career, I have served in each of these roles at some point. This opportunity should be culmination of these discreet experiences, allowing me to integrate them all into one position.

I think it would be a great position for me, and I think I would be really good at it.

I guess that's why I am nervous... it is the first job in quite a while that I am really interested in. Therefore, I risk the possibility of not getting it - and the resulting feelings of rejection, disappointment, and loss.

While I truly am interested in this job for its own sake, the fact that I see my current assignment ending sometime this year adds additional urgency to today's interviews.

So, wish me luck... I guess I'll get back to hacking away at the e-mail monster...

We were in the attic looking for some stuff, and on a whim, I decided to try on some "too small" clothes. Guess what? I've dropped a size!

The bad news is that I have wardrobes in five sizes.

The good news is that I have wardrobes in five sizes, and now I can exchange the existing one for one that's a notch smaller.

My goal is to have the now "too large" wardrobe rot in the attic before I ever have to wear it again.

Seems like a worthy, and attainable, goal.