Notes from a Fiery Nest

Oh, what the heck...

2008-07-04T00:48:44Z

Meme time again.

Reply with whatever song(s) (or mix(es), or album(s), or artist(s), or DJ(s)) you associate with me, if any; if you have a specific reason, I'd be interested in knowing that too.

World hunger solved

2008-07-04T00:32:55Z

Or at least, soul_diaspora and I have solved our hunger, thanks to a visit with her parents to that bastion of Southern classics, the Cracker Barrel.

Starting at the biscuits and continuing right through to the end of dessert, we went right past "OM NOM NOM" and on into "MWOF MWOF MWOF".

Fed now. Sleep soon. Maybe movie between: soul_diaspora acquired a DVD of National Lampoon's Summer Vacation.

Did I mention that when I take holidays from work, I aim really high on the culture scale?

...and arrived!

2008-07-03T20:22:15Z

We have safely arrived in Virginia. Our layover in Chicago was whittled down from a comfortable 2-hour lunch break to a 15-minute brisk walk, so we're hungry, but aside from that, the trip went smoothly. I did have a few concerns about the Embraer's landing gear making funny noises on the second leg, but it held up okay on the landing.

We didn't even get too much hassle at the luggage inspection point, although the fellow operating the X-ray machine for our suitcase did have to check with his supervisor about something.

Re-departure

2008-07-03T10:58:08Z

Well, after a very pleasant and social long weekend at one cottage, I'm off to another, this time with my in-laws... I'll still be on LJ until Saturday, though!

Ah, la dolce far niente!

Interesting article

2008-07-01T14:33:58Z

An article about women leaving tech fields in their thirties and forties, related to recent discussions. The article's main point is good and seems pretty sound to me, but there's a line that's tossed in about "the hostile macho cultures — the hard hat culture of engineering, the geek culture of technology or the lab culture of science" which doesn't get any further discussion. What are your impressions or experiences of that, and why is it one of "[t]he top two reasons why women leave" work in STEM fields?

Ganked from dracodraconis.

that time of year

2008-06-27T14:59:39Z

Happy b-day in advance, cristofcanada!

3 things meme

2008-06-26T16:45:52Z

Three things I've done that I doubt anyone on my friends list has:

1: Been paid to operate a 1950's-era teletype;
2: Served at an episcopal ordination (i.e., the ceremony in which a person is made a bishop); and
~~3: Successfully taken off and landed a full-motion aircraft simulator.~~ xiphia is a pilot... I didn't know that!
3a: Taken the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn and back.

As per standard, if you've done any of these, reply and I'll come up with a different one.

Life

2008-06-19T20:29:54Z

Life? Is awesome.

The past weeks have been extraordinarily intense, and mostly in a good way. Work is busy, of course, but it's much bigger, and better, than that.

soul_diaspora and I have been exploring new sides of ourselves and our relationship, and that's been terrific. She's leaping out in several directions at once, including LJ-land (although I think most of her stuff is still flocked). I've had more new experiences, spiritual and otherwise, in the past few months than in any similar period over the preceding 5 years.

I'm realizing now that since terminating the PhD, I am showing a lot less signs of stress, and that's coming out in a very intense social life. To you folks I've been spending time with over the past few weeks, thank you! It's been amazing, and shows promise of keeping on in that vein. (I'm running out of synonyms for "great" here...)

(Also, to you folks I haven't been spending that time with: poke me if you want me to spend time with you; I certainly don't mean to leave anyone out. I've simply been following somewhat of a path of least resistance, and spending time with the people who make it plain that they want to spend time with me, and participate in creating opportunities to do so.)

Yes, I know I'm not being long on specifics here; I may put up a flocked/filtered post with more details, though. (The fact that that's the case may give the curious some clues, but if you don't already know, you'll likely have to ask!) One thing I'm actively working on is being more open and sharing more personal things about myself, so that would be a part of it. It's something I've been a bit reluctant about until now, and a number of events and people lately have synchronistically led me towards breaking out of that habit. I think it's a coping strategy that has outlived its usefulness, since I don't have to be quite as terrified of hurting the people around me with my wants and needs as I once did (or thought I did, at any rate).

Again, to all of you who've been close to me and to soul_diaspora over the recent little while, thank you again, very much. (If you have to wonder to yourself whether you're included in that group, then you probably are. If you are soul_diaspora, then you're at the heart of that group!) It's not often that I've felt this happy and at ease, and a lot of it is due to you.

Cool ad

2008-06-07T13:28:28Z

You'll need Flash Player for this one.

Ganked from beable!

Milestone: W00t!

2008-06-05T16:22:27Z

A watershed performance test on my latest new product prototype passed on the first attempt last night!

Not that there weren't hassles in getting ready for the test, or that there aren't any design changes to make, but a hyooge part of the project just became a fairly straightforward project management exercise, rather than a science project.

That time of year

2008-06-04T16:34:17Z

Happy b-day, trippingpossum!

Quick question:

2008-06-02T16:40:18Z

Anybody have inside info on how good or bad working for EMS Satcom is?

(comments screened)

Scary shit

2008-06-02T16:25:47Z

George Orwell, come on down: Big Brother gets things rolling in Eastasia.

Remember the military-industrial complex? It has mutated, and the resulting beast is terrifying. I saw the early signs of this years ago at a conference called "Aerosense," since renamed to the Defense And Security Symposium, but it's grown beyond my nightmares: this is a $200,000,000,000 industry, and people will do a lot for that kind of money.

Ganked from theweaselking.

PhD? What PhD?

2008-05-23T21:34:57Z

I have officially terminated my PhD program. My supervisor and I discussed what remained to be done, and having come to the conclusion that it's somewhere between 1000 and 2000 hours, and that this would require me to spend some 10 to 20 hours per week for the next year to two years in order to complete it in a reasonable time, it's not going to happen.

How do I feel about it? A bit sad, but a lot relieved. That thing has been stressing me out quite a bit, and now it's gone. It closes a few doors: I'll probably never teach at a university quite the way I originally had in mind, for example. However, I am pretty well-established in a successful career, and I like managing, so I'm not too badly hurt. As much as anything, it's a blow to my ego, but one which I can weather.

What now? Well, I've decided to take a few months to rest and let the facts settle in, rather than leaping onto my next project. I'll start thinking seriously about my next major undertaking in late July, after my vacation.

YouTubes!

2008-05-23T21:16:30Z

Three videos, less than 5 minutes each:

If you haven't heard, Bill O'Reilly flipped out on his Inside Edition show (clip and commentary by Steven Colbert is available here). Well, now there's a techno mix of O'Reilly's little episode!

Next up, Adolf Hitler has discovered just how "popular" he is on teh interwebz.

And finally, here's a very well-executed trip-hop track and video built out of Disney's Alice in Wonderland fragments.

Recent reading

2008-05-22T18:15:31Z

Kim Stanley Robinson - Sixty Days and Counting: Sadly, this conclusion to the series which began so well with Forty Signs of Rain and Fifty Degrees below Zero descends so far into Utopian fantasy that I can't maintain suspension of disbelief. Real-life politics just doesn't work as he describes it here, sadly. Of course, we should have seen it coming: any work which explicitly brings Shambhala into play is at risk of this. I applaud the ideals he has, in particular the importance of keeping a connection between environmental sustainability and social justice, but the implementation feels a bit too magical.
Eddie Goldenberg - The Way it Works: inside Ottawa: Well, political realism nuts need look no farther. This is a glimpse (not an entirely unbiased one, it must be admitted) behind the curtain of Canadian big-P politics. I largely agree with his view that politicians are mostly quite dedicated to doing their job well, even though they have very different views on what the job is and how best to do it. He was a key advisor to the Liberal leaders for several decades, and gives a pretty deep insight into some of their personalities and policies, as well as the structures in which they operate. Overall, it's a reassuring, refreshing book in a sea of mudslinging and cynicism about politics and those who practice it. By the way, he makes the point that while Canadians are very keenly aware of the United States, we barely show up on their political radar; more on that below!
Lisa Tuttle - The Silver Bough: Romantic modern fantasy, somewhat outside my usual range. The build-up is drawn out, which produces a pleasant effect in one sense, but I found myself anticipating her direction and wanting it to move just a bit faster. Overall, I enjoyed it up until the ending, which I found somewhat abrupt; I won't give any more spoilers, though.
Madeleine Albright with Bill Woodward - Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership: This is a rather impressive book, being a systematic analysis of the United States' situation in the world, the origins and causes of that, and more importantly, the options (for the president elect, who will lead the country) on where to go from here and how to do so. One would think that such a book would be intolerably dry, but it's not so: it's personal, pithy, witty and direct, a pleasure to read. Albright was Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, and has direct knowledge and stories which she brings out to make her points, along with considerable material from presidents, ambassadors, and other assorted leaders. As a Canadian, I was nonplussed to find my country, which considers itself the United States' largest and most indispensable trading partner and ally, mentioned twice in passing in the whole 300 pages; Eddie, it seems, has a point (v. sup.)! I have considerable respect and affection for the US as a nation, and I hope that whoever is elected acts on her recommendations and undoes some of the damage that the current president has done.
William Gibson - Spook Country: I always enjoy Gibson's work, but in a very different way from how I enjoy most novels. The plot here could fit in a novella, but the book isn't really about the plot, for me. Its beauty is in its textures, atmospheres, images, turns of phrase, characters, and perhaps especially, its implicit cultural and metacultural (hey, maybe it's a word, and I know what I mean, so there!) commentaries. Like good poetry, there's a lot of subtext and layering in there, and it rewards careful reading (although over-analysis, like vivisection, can be fatal). I think I like his current-world science fiction (at least, it's still filed in the bookstore under SF) at least as much as his more futuristic extrapolations: with stuff like this, extrapolating to a more extreme future would just be gilding gold.
Guy Gavriel Kay - Ysabel: Yet another modern-world fantasy; I see a trend in this batch! Thankfully, Kay is much less heavy-handed with his editorializing from the wings than in his recent book, The Last Light of the Sun, and mostly lets the story tell itself this time. Part action, part romance, but mostly growing-up tale, this is a warm, smooth read. The modern fantasy aspect is a bit of a return to his early style, as seem in The Fionavar Tapestry, but in my opinion, much more skillfully executed. The pacing and cast of characters is comfortable, and I would expect adolescent readers to enjoy it, even though it's not specifically targeted at that audience.

Hey...

2008-05-02T13:20:13Z

Anyone interested in getting together this evening?

[ETA: Booked!]

RoboRally Sunday!

2008-05-01T18:49:51Z

The votes are overwhelmingly in favor of Sunday afternoon, starting at 2:00 p.m., so that's what we'll do; otherwise, usual protocols apply. RoboRally newbies are welcome, but should arrive at 1:30 for a basic rules explanation.

Non-RoboRally-ers welcome to come and join for hanging out, more gaming and/or dinner; we will hopefully be done the RR game around 6:00.

RSVP, etc! Reply here with questions if you have any!

Robots! In! Spaaaaace!

2008-04-29T19:31:17Z

I will run the playtest for my CanGames RoboRally game this weekend! If you're interested in playing, please let me know which of Saturday and Sunday you're available; I'll go with whichever day I have more takers for as of Thursday. I expect it to take about 4 hours, and we can do a dinner excursion and/or more gaming afterwards.

Thesis

2008-04-27T23:53:34Z

Yes, the crowds are muttering "huh? what? ironphoenix actually meant it about his thesis?" I hear them now...

I tried out some of my latest ideas on handling the acoustic side of my thesis experiments this weekend. There were a couple of surprises involving the dynamics of periodically driven pendulums and acoustic impedances, but even with all that, I have a way ahead. Hopefully, this summer, I can get the balance of the experimental work done and then write the thing this fall. I might end up taking a week or so of time off work for the experiments; first, though, I'll discuss strategy and requirements with my supervisor.

In other news, for those who have been assailed with news of the open-source boob train wreck, here's a pretty good take on it by Ursula Vernon.

Reflection: Earth Day

2008-04-25T21:53:43Z

Reflection for 19-20 April 2008
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Earth Day (observed)
Text: Acts 6:1-7, 1 Peter 2:4-9, John 14:1-12
Delivered at St. Joseph's Church

Good morning! This coming Tuesday is Earth Day, and so I’ll talk about three things in relation to that and to today’s readings: reverence, mindfulness, and humility.

First, on reverence. Today, we hear Jesus say “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,”¹ and that we are to come to the Father through him. John also talks about going through Jesus in another place: at the beginning of his Gospel, he says of Jesus, the Word made flesh,² “Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.”³ As we go through Christ to the Father, we are sanctified and made pure; so too is all of creation, having been created through Christ, also sacred, and an inspiration for wonder and joy. In Genesis, we read that we are called to “fill the Earth and conquer it, [and] be masters of the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the Earth,”⁴ but we are to cherish it as stewards, not despoil it as tyrants. All creation is useful to us, but it is to God’s glory that it exists, and not to ours; it is not for us to take from the sacred body of the universe anything which does not glorify God. Pope John Paul II related this specifically to the ecology and the environment when he wrote that “Man thinks that he can make arbitrary use of the earth, subjecting it without restraint to his will, as though it did not have its own requisites and a prior God-given purpose, which man can indeed develop but must not betray.”⁵ When we act with reverence for the dignity of all that is created, we follow Peter’s admonition to “proclaim the mighty acts of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light,”⁶ and claim our place as God’s trusted servants.

Next, on mindfulness. This is a principle well-expressed in the words of the poet George Herbert, who wrote, “Teach me, my God and King,/ In all things Thee to see,/ And what I do in any thing/ To do it as for Thee.”⁷ It is not only in great matters, but also in small ones, that we serve God’s glory. The details of equitable distribution of food in a particular community may seem trivial, but they were not beneath the notice of the Apostles. By addressing the matter efficiently and fairly, they helped the community live as a model of the community of God’s Kingdom, and drew others to join them.⁸ In the same way, we too are to take into account details and act righteously, both because of the direct material consequences of our actions, and because of the witness this gives to the universality and generosity of God’s love. This is, of course, difficult and demanding: every choice we make becomes an intentional, moral action, from the traditional realm of the Ten Commandments down to such minute actions as saving water by turning off a tap while brushing one’s teeth. Much of what we can do for each other and for our world is made up of small things which are as drops of rain; these drops come together to make the mighty rivers of the promised great works. This mindfulness is our best praise to God, who says that “in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”⁹

Third, on humility. As we become more aware of the complexity and interconnectedness of the Earth, and the inertia of our entrenched social structures and economic systems, we realize the truth of Jesus’ saying that “the harvest is rich but the labourers are few.”¹⁰ There is simply too much for any of us to do! The Apostles realized this, and quickly called upon the first resort of competent managers everywhere: delegate! Jesus finished his saying with the words, “so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest,” and that is what the Twelve did, with good results. In like manner, we can entrust others with the authority and the resources to act on our behalf; this is most obvious in our political votes and in our contributions to dedicated organizations, but we can also be mindful to do this in more subtle ways, for example through our purchases and through our encouragement of each other. Even acting in concert, however, our human strength is not enough. Jesus says that we will do our greatest works because he is going to the Father,¹¹ implying that it is from the Father and through Jesus that we draw strength to do these things; if we work without God, we will exhaust ourselves and accomplish little. Pope Benedict writes, “There are times when the burden of need and our own limitations might tempt us to become discouraged. But precisely then we are helped by the knowledge that, in the end, we are only instruments in the Lord’s hands; and this knowledge frees us from the presumption of thinking that we alone are personally responsible for building a better world. In all humility we will do what we can, and in all humility we will entrust the rest to the Lord.”¹² It is through Christ that we go to his Father, and through Christ that God works in us; we do nothing on our own. We can take to heart Christ’s words, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.”¹³ When we confront the many challenges of the world, let us not despair, but put our faith and trust in God’s transforming love.

Having talked about reverence, mindfulness and humility, I’ll read a short poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins to sum up: “God’s Grandeur.”

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil,
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And bears man's smudge, and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights from the black west went
Oh, morning at the brown brink eastwards springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast, and with, ah, bright wings.¹⁴

1: John 14:6
2: John 1:14
3: John 1:3-5
4: Genesis 1:28
5: Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 37.
6: 1 Peter 2:9
7: George Herbert, “The Elixer.” Reprinted in The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, edited by Bernard McGinn (New York: The Modern Library, 2006), p. 299.
8: Acts 6:2-3, 7
9: Matthew 25:40
10: Matthew 9:38
11: John 14:12
12: Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 35.
13: John 14:1
14: Gerard Manley Hopkins, “God’s Grandeur” Reprinted in The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, edited by Bernard McGinn (New York: The Modern Library, 2006), p. 301.

Apologies, and life

2008-04-17T21:22:48Z

This phoenix has been insanely busy at work, and therefore largely unresponsive here; please understand that I don't mean any offense by it, and I am still valiantly trying to keep on top of at least skimming posts by actual humans whom I know. My new product has been announced, so we are very much under the gun to actually produce the thing, and the schedule targets are, to say the least, ambitious. It has also been made clear to me that I am being judged on my work intensity and on my ability to meet, or at least come very close to meeting, these targets, so I'm feeling a bit pressured. Another week or so, and things might be a bit saner, but even so, it'll be fairly stressful for me until the fall, I'm guessing.

On top of that, I'm sharing a reflection at this weekend's Masses, and it's still not completely written. It's complicated by the fact that I've been asked to address the subject of Earth Day, but the readings are the standard ones for the week; linking all this together requires extra effort and research. (Currently, it's way too heavily footnote-laden, so I'll have to cut back on the quotations, but they are interesting!)

On another front, I'm finally getting to play Long Live the King this weekend! It's a pretty substantial undertaking, and a rather unique game; I hope we all find that it fulfills its promise of being interesting and enjoyable.

Tonight?

2008-04-08T15:52:10Z

Anybody up for doing something tonight? My RPG only starts up again next week.

[EDIT: Plans made; I win again!]

Games Sunday!

2008-04-02T17:31:54Z

Games will be held at my place this Sunday afternoon, astarting at 1:00 p.m. as usual; rsvp, etc. as usual!

I have a few new things to boast about: the Abbey & Mayor expansion for Carcassonne, Brass, Micro Mutants Evolution, Kingsburg, and Niagara; come check 'em out!

Comments screened in case you need to leave contact info so that I can get you directions or whatnot; comments without such will be unscreened except by request.

Link!

2008-03-26T16:25:32Z

And now... The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra!