The JJW Blog

View from my run - Thanksgiving Day.

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:33:52 -0700

View from my run - Thanksgiving Day.

"Truly smart software shows me some respect by letting me tackle the task at hand with minimal..."

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:38:41 -0700

“Truly smart software shows me some respect by letting me tackle the task at hand with minimal interruption. Instead of confronting me with a myriad of settings and customization options that I’m unlikely to need, it helps me focus by giving me less choices and fewer reasons to have to make those choices in the first place.”

- Nick Bradbury: Smart Software Should Get Out of Your Way

There is no greater sign of a nerd than a guy who tucks in his...

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:03:35 -0700

There is no greater sign of a nerd than a guy who tucks in his shirt and wears sweat pants while playing basketball.

South Boulder Loop

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:27:00 -0700

My run today was this loop in South Boulder. It had some really nice little segments:

My house to the Marshall Mesa Trailhead (2.8 miles) - this run alongside broadway and involves some road running. It’s not my favorite part but it takes me to the Marshall Mesa trailhead without me having to drive.
The Marshall Mesa Trailhead to the South Mesa Trailhead via Doudy Draw (2.5 miles) - I love the dirt road on the other side of highway 93 that connects the Marshall Mesa trail to Dowdy Draw. I always have really good thoughts on this segment for some reason. I love dirt roads but running in the shadow of the flatirons with the front range peaking over and on a beautiful day made me feel very alive today. I stopped thinking about where this run was going to take me and all the good things that are going to happen later and just enjoyed those exact moments. The rest of the run was very relaxed because I relaxed on this part.
The South Mesa Trailhead to the top of NCAR (2.5) - I had never run this before today and my plan was to loop back home. I have always planned to do it. It’s a very easy trail with lots of options. I chose the Upper Bluestem that gradually climbs back to the Mesa trailhead. I felt very strong climbing up here, I barely felt like I was working, which I might not have been. Here is a picture that was taken just before I hit the juncture with the Mesa trail (yes it snowed this morning)
NCAR back home (2.5 miles) - I like running down from NCAR past Renee’s school. I don’t like so much running on the road but I came in about 1:40 or something feeling great.

I needed that run to clear my head.

(I hate the formatting on this blog. Sorry)

Estimating how long it takes to do something

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:22:00 -0700

David Allen emphasizes in his GTD system to break down projects into manageable actions by doing a little bit of thinking all at once so you don’t have to do it later and can just do. Part of becoming a GTD jedi is to be able to quickly face an onslaught of new information, ignore everything that isn’t applicable to you, filter the rest into actions that are in places where you will be notified later.

One additional thing I have been doing is using a simple estimation system around 5, 15, to 45 minutes. I chose these numbers because 5 minutes seems like a good baseline for something that could be done really fast like responding to an email. 3 times that is 15minutes for a longer task like writing a blog post and applying the same factor of 3 yields 45minutes for tasks that work better with a little session of concentration, such as a programming task. This breakdown works well for me. I append tasks with a time estimate at the end.

E.g.

Research a Python library for handling iCal files t=15
Email R.J. the comps for the new client t=5
Implement parsing tags out of new entry call t=45

This gives me an idea. Perhaps I should have 5-15-45 minute blog posts for my tumblelog. 5 minute blog posts are simple little things to share, like links with a description. 15 minute posts are like this one. And 45 minute posts where I format a bunch of screenshots and do tutorials or longer opinion pieces and the like. It might be a good way to decide what kind of blog post I want to write.

Here is a great little timer to set a reminder 5, 15, or 45 minutes in advance. I have been using it a lot. It’s called Tiny Alarm.

"Bearman and Brückner have also identified a peculiar dilemma: in some schools, if too many teens..."

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:24:52 -0700

“Bearman and Brückner have also identified a peculiar dilemma: in some schools, if too many teens pledge, the effort basically collapses. Pledgers apparently gather strength from the sense that they are an embattled minority; once their numbers exceed thirty per cent, and proclaimed chastity becomes the norm, that special identity is lost. With such a fragile formula, it’s hard to imagine how educators can ever get it right: once the self-proclaimed virgin clique hits the thirty-one-per-cent mark, suddenly it’s Sodom and Gomorra”

- Sounds fun. I took this pledge once. Embarrassingly I kept it.

Dept. of Disputation: Red Sex, Blue Sex: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Watch this because it’s very smart and funny at the same...

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:55:09 -0700

Watch this because it’s very smart and funny at the same time. My friend Matt asks “how do they keep up this quality.” One of the best creative peer review processes in the business or something like that, but we all benefit, that’s all I know.

Book Memery

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:52:00 -0700

def addlinkref(self, urlFrom, urlTo, linkText):

via Collective Intelligence by Toby Segaran

Grab the nearest book.

Open it to page 56.

Find the fifth sentence.

Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

Beer and Mussels via dockera

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:56:21 -0700

Beer and Mussels

via dockera

gone -via dockera

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:53:41 -0700

gone

-via dockera

Quote Of The Day

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:07:15 -0700

mattpayton:

“…a broad coalition is emerging, where none existed a year ago, in favor of New Deal-style expenditures on roads, bridges, broadband lines, alternative energy, and the like, to support economic recovery and future growth. Such investment could strengthen the economy for a generation, as Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System did.”

-The Test

Funny, I was just having a conversation the other day about how so many people in my town are closed off to the idea of light rail or any alternative modes of public transit and I wondered how people reacted to the highway system in the 50s at first. I’ll bet there were a lot naysayers then who didn’t think it would make any sense either. Steve Coll makes a very convincing case here for making health care a huge priority for the new administration.

mattpayton: A Good Question - Andrew Sullivan

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:06:36 -0700

mattpayton:

A Good Question - Andrew Sullivan

Go Jacob!

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:17:00 -0700

My uncle from Texas: Congrats to all you Obama voters. I hope you enjoy this administration and the extreme left turn our country is about to take..

and so it begins..

Report - Hamas says its officials met Obama aides before U.S. election

My brother Jacob: What's wrong with left? It is sure better than right!
One could very easily accuse Jesus and the prophets of Israel of being left-leaning, bleeding heart liberals who attacked the wealthy, but no has ever accused them of being from the right. The right is where fascists like Hitler and Mussolini stood.
And by the way, the right-leaning direction of idiots like Bush got us into a bigger mess than the US has probably ever been in.
Is Texas still in denial?

Video

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:12:20 -0700

Photo

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:04:17 -0700

"and I just went to yr blog to see it and JOHN get that pic off now MOM said"

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:50:43 -0700

“and I just went to yr blog to see it and JOHN get that pic off now MOM said”

- Claudette Wright

"gotcha is a Sarah Palin phrase, JOHN"

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:46:29 -0700

“gotcha is a Sarah Palin phrase, JOHN”

- Claudette Wright

indieporn: www.dockera.com ..: sex | drink | fun :..

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:40:00 -0700

indieporn:

www.dockera.com ..: sex | drink | fun :..

Corrupting the youth

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:11:00 -0700

Yesterday I went out for dinner by myself to one of those “Sun” hippy restaurants that only take cash. When their ATM was broken for my $10 tab I went across the street to the ATM and was accosted by a kid wanting me to buy him beer at the corner liquor store. So that solved my $10 cash need.

"We’re not at sea almost ever, as a writer on ‘The Daily Show,’” Mr. Ross said. “We know exactly what..."

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:27:02 -0700

““We’re not at sea almost ever, as a writer on ‘The Daily Show,’” Mr. Ross said. “We know exactly what we need to get done at any period of time.” He added: “We‘ve seen the video. We know there are four good sound bites for the story. It’s pretty laid out for you.” Mr. Havlan said, “You get good at knowing what you need to attack.” “They’re really fast and real good about it,” said Mr. Albanese, the producer, who said that comedy writing requires constant practice. “You get better at it. It’s a muscle and you work it out. It gets stronger.””

- Deep Secrets of ‘The Daily Show’ - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com