Day 6 - Is this a habit or a compulsion???

Working towards a habit with this here writing thang. I should really pursue better sleep habits, but whatever. Gotta hit the hay early tonight to be fresh for hockey tomorrow. It's really hard to concentrate when one hasn't had enough sleep. The worst part is that internal censor tends to go on extended leave when you're more tired.

Had an interesting team meeting today - my manager outlined what is going to be happening this year, as well as he knows it now. Like most things, the year has begun and the plan isn't finished, so we start with an outline and work our way towards having it done. Anyway, he gave some interesting insights to our "big boss", basically drilling into us that he likes to 'manage by data' instead of 'managing the data'. See that subtle difference there? Slick!

I really can't do sarcasm when I'm this tired, or when I'm writing - lacks the whole tone-of-voice and eye-rolling-boredom look that is necessary for sarcasm so obviously weak that it can do nothing but become an instant parody of itself.

Anyhoo, I've met this particular 'big boss' and really liked what he's had to say at various meetings. It didn't hurt that he was the one that delivered the "despite this whole market kablamo, every one's job is safe" talk. It's nice to be using the internet in your own house that one can continue making payments on. Nice. (Wow this sarcastic parody of this blog post keeps cropping up - my subconscious must be trying to tell me something...)  That wasn't behind my good opinion of him because I decided on that a long time ago.  He has an excellent track record working for highly technical companies and he started from an actual engineering position.  Plus he's sat on IEEE standard's committees, which is something I can respect.  Especially since he sat on the 802.11 series of committees.  Lasting through one of those would be quite an accomplishment simply because of the competing money, er companies that are trying to come up with something that is standard, but more like their standard than anyone else.  Everyone should be amazed that something emerges that everyone pretty much agrees to.  Anyone that can help move that kind of crazy mess forward seems like the kind of person that can sort out the mess that is the relationship between our customer & owner (they are the same entity).

I'm hoping that this 'big boss' can help our owner provide us with the information we need to create the products they want in a timely fashion.  There is lots of communication happening, but something is missing to make the whole thing really click.  Our company needs to change too and the fact that the 'big boss' is addressing both sides of the problem at the same time is really encouraging.

Did I mention that when I'm tired, I ramble on with crazy segues around the topic I was on?  I saw that Qnx has an embeddable Java VM that runs with its microkernel OS.  What I wouldn't give to slap that into some of the hardware we have at work...

As I was saying before, looks like the 'big boss' will be looking towards hard data to determine what is going on.  I think this is a good thing because it will bring us closer to repeatable and coherent processes.  This is the kind of thing that could be done in a scary way, but as I mentioned above, I like what the 'big boss' has done before and I'm optimistic.

I think some at my work may be worried about this 'big boss' because he isn't a big proponent of Agile - in fact, many of the ideas he's expressed are decidedly non-Agile.  I'm thinking of the 6-month product cycles as an example.  First, I'd like to point out that just because the entire company isn't 100% Agile doesn't mean our corner of it can't operate in an Agile fashion.  Secondly, I've made mention of processes a few times already and the Agile manifesto does say "value people over processes".  Some read that as "process == BAD", but I think that's limiting.  Processes can enable people - just like learning certain martial disciplines.  A student begins by copying the precise set of forms and movements.  Once those become instinctual, then the student is encouraged to explore the reasoning behind the precise steps.  Finally, the student moves beyond simple instruction and adapts the movements to themselves, expanding and refining.  Processes in an agile environment should serve the same purpose - to provide enough structure for people to operate in with the understanding that one day they may outgrow it.

Okay, guess it's going to be time for that whole sleep thing.  Soon.  Because if I keep this up much long and I'm just gonna pass out here and what little semblance of sense that these words have will evaporate.

Day 5 - What a game!

Well, the Canadian Men's Junior team won their 5th straight gold medal tonight.  The game was much better than I expected, after watching the Canada vs USA and hearing about the Canada vs Russia game.  Canada tied Russia with 5 seconds left and won in the shoot out to make it to tonight, so I was wondering what the play would be like.

When Canada played the USA, they won, but both teams play a similar style - fast and loose, lots of checking and dump-and-chase play.  Plus there was no love lost between the two teams, so it was exciting hockey.  An excellent game.  However, I watched the Sweden vs Russia game earlier that day and the Swedes played a very skillful puck-control game.  The Russians were not able to take the puck off them in the Swedish zone, making their attacking play pretty abrupt.  Given those two examples, I expected Sweden to dominate play.

Thankfully, I was wrong!  A quick goal early on put the Swedes back on their heels.  As the game wore on, it was clear that team Canada was trying hard to force bad passes, stay in the passing lanes and prevent the stretch passes and quick play that marked the Swedish play earlier in the tournament.  It looked like things were going to fall apart for Canada after they started getting a lot of penalties in the 2nd, but the Canadian netminder Tokarski played a great game, keeping Sweden off the score board through 2 periods.   I think it was a critical step that Team Canada start the third with no goals against, and a power play to boot.

In spite of the many penalties, Canada played a disciplined game, especially a few times when emotions looked to boil over, but the players stayed away from team Sweden after the whistle to make sure no calls would be made.  I thought the Canadian players did a good job staying away from the Swedish goaltender, who spent most of the game trying to draw penalties.  

An excellent game and I'm glad I watched it.  Hopefully that same discipline can be applied next year to try and bring home gold again!

Day 4 - Prepare for...

Wow - four posts, four days! It must be some kind of... pathetic attempt at something. Anyway, today is the day I'm preparing to get back to work and preparing to try out some new hockey equipment.

It's a new year at work. We've shipped product into an actual market, we have loose ends to tie up and I have to endeavor to make things better for all. Complacency is an enticing and dangerous state - we're an "agile" workplace, but I don't think I did enough retrospecting. Now is a good time to look back and think about I could have done better. Team-wise, I think things went quite well, except for a lack of retrospectives. The team is cohesive, adaptive and gets things done. We've tried, in our own silo fashion, to develop practices and methods that result in better output. Towards the end of the year, I gave a presentation on one of these practices. Another team member gave a presentation on the technical details of the features our team maintains. This kind of outreach is the type of company-wide connection that I'd like to promote. I haven't done enough to make that happen, other than complain - something I know I'm pretty darn good at already. It's time to branch out from complaint to action.

Optimistic words for an optimistic time of the year. Now on to my other preparations - hockey related. I got myself a new helmet and a new pair of skates. My current helmet, although quite nice, was beginning to react poorly during the course of a game. I suspect, (but can't prove), that certain pads were absorbing sweat and slowly crushing my head. Not good. I have the dents to justify these suspicions and the cage was getting rusty, so it was time to move on. I bought a cheaper version of the same helmet, with nice smooth pads. Hopefully this will provide the protection and lack of soft padding that was SQUEEZING MY BRAAAIN!!!

I also got new skates, which I've been promising myself for a long time. I wanted to get a pair of high-quality, modern skates. I asked around and Graf was touted as the best, so I've been investigating for a while now. I went to Pete's Sports to see if I could find someone that could fit skates properly. Graf is not a volume brand, so I was confident that any store that actually carried them would have suitably trained staff, and I was not mistaken. Graf is known for their comfortable skate and their range of shapes - capable of accomodating a very wide range feet. I have small feet, so they are hard to fit. Because they are so small. Anyway, this turned out to be an advantage as I fit best in a Juniour size, which cost less than the Senior sizes. Also, I ended up choosing a pair that I probably couldn't break in if they were a Senior pair. Turns out, it's not a great idea to go into the nearest sports store and buy the top-of-the-line skate. Usually they are so stiff that you'd have to play in a competitive league to break them in properly. So remember that when buying your next pair - save yourself some money and some pain!

Anyway, buying was good, but today I prepare to actually use them. It's going to be different because they are a size-and-a-half smaller than my old ones, so the blade area is much decreased. On the other hand, they are lighter, so maybe I'll be able to pump those legs a little faster. Now I just have to look into that extra padding 'round the middle...

Day 3 - Edu-ma-cation

Fun topic, that whole education thing. I spent a lot of time in the education system and I have many ideas and opinions about it, so it's a good topic to write about. I just read this article on the CBC website and thought I'd throw out some points on the topic.

I agree with one of the major points that there is an obsession among parents to send their children to university. Like many things in life, higher education is something that a person needs to commit to and have some facility with to see real benefit. That's a fancy way of saying that some people aren't cut out for university. The author (Robert Smol) indicates the cost of higher education as something that should be considered. That is sensible advice - does it make sense to struggle for 4 years at something that you don't get much out of and pay all that money? That time and money could have been put to better use.

I guess the first problem is one of perception - namely the best/wealthiest careers come out of university and the smartest people are university educated. Both these ideas are flawed in many ways. The example of Bill Gates comes to mind - he started, but never finished, an undergraduate degree. However he has been very successful and seems to be a pretty smart guy all round. Many people involved in the early days of personal computing followed a similar path - self taught and now very wealthy. The opposite condition is also true - some university educated people are not terribly smart. They may be hard working, or they may be smart but chose a discipline that doesn't capture their imagination, so they don't come across as the best in their field.

I present a two-pronged conclusion: tine one is that it is more important to find something that captures your imagination. Your child may not have anything like that, so helping them discover that will have the most benefit. The second conclusion tine is that the obsession with university degrees is diluting the meaning of them. So many people have degrees now that many companies will not consider applicants that do not have post-secondary education, even for positions that don't need them. I don't have an examples off-hand, but it's like requiring a degree in computer engineer to sell electronics at Best Buy. Sure, that person could understand everything they sell from the circuit level up, but why would it matter? Does that make them a better salesperson?

The requiring of university degrees for positions that don't require post-secondary skills is a disease that is probably impossible to stem at this point. I know that my degree is worth less than my father-in-law's undergraduate degree. I think he had to work harder than I did, but I think that people going through my program now have an easier time that I did. I'm sure there are people out there that may disagree with me and I welcome their observations.

Not a bad start. This is a topic that I can mine for some time, so keep watching this space.

Day 2, Ought Nine

It's a start - I remembered to log in again! Whoo! Okay, I'm not really that excited, but starting is important. I think it's three weeks to start a habit - three days will be good for me. First hockey game of 2000 + 9 and I've already scored the best goal of the year. Point shot, high on the short side, off the post, off the far post and in. Very pretty. Not sure what I'm going to do to follow that. Not that it matters - I don't get paid 10 million a season like some Swede who's two years older than me and waltzes in to Vancouver half way through the year. Then my goals would matter. Goals in hockey - that thing I do for fun.

Now's as good a time as any to throw some gasoline on the John Tavares pyre-of-worship. I really enjoyed the World Junior game on New Years Eve between Canada and the US. Looked like trouble in the first 10 mins of the game, with Canada down 3-0. Then Mr. Tavares shows everyone where the net was and away went team Canada. Really open two-way game and very nice to watch. I'm still mooning over Tavares' goal in the pre-tournament game against Solvakia. Enjoy! I think the kind of play that goal epitomises will be the future of hockey. There are generations of players that have increasing hand-eye coordination skills and there will come a time when enough people show that level of skill that a significant portion of the game will be played in the air. Maybe it'll look like lacrosse around the net - little flip to the crease then bat-bat-bat and in. Just a thought I had after watching that Canada-US game. Nothing will beat the certainty and control of smooth on-ice, tape-to-tape play when moving the puck around.

A new year - a time for...

I guess it is time to write up something here. I find it hard to believe that it was August when I last posted. Then again, maybe that isn't so hard to believe. We've started a new year - 2009, last of the 'oughts'. Probably it will be a year of reflection (I aught to have done this, I aught not to have invaded Iraq, I aught not to have create a fiscal device which crashed markets around the world). Hopefully that kind of thinking won't weigh on consciences too heavily. What I aught to have done was write more. Gonna try and change that here - 'tis a simple habit, but a tough one to keep up. Well, some seem to have an easier time than others. Kimota94 even had to branch out to 2 and even 3 blogs. I have trouble keeping up and I'm jealous that I can' t even compare to that output. Then again, I always wished I could write like Isaac Asimov at 90 wpm on a manual typewritter. There was a mind that could make things work the first time through, on the fly.

Well, the new year brings renewal - hope, possibility and some third thing which I'm not going to tell you. Maybe later. When I get into writing as a habit. Always seems so easy during the dark cold months of the year when I'm on vacation. When I stop talking to so many different people, I guess I have more to write about. The experiment comences!

Happy New Year! Remember, the media likes to say a lot of things, but that doesn't always reflect what is going on. The stock market crashed, but it hasn't erased a large portion of the jobs. Statistics Canada's latest unemployment numbers (check out this chart) show Canada's unemployment rate at ~6.5%, lower than the 7% in 2005. This means the economic crises is no Great Depression, at least not yet. On the other hand, all the frank discussion that claims that my spending (as a consumer) is responsible for keeping everything going, seems like a pretty asinine thing to base wealth and species success off of.

Ahhhh...

First post! From the beach anyway. These new "mobile" devices
certainly make it easier to beach-blog. It's a nice day, if a bit
windy. My eldest son is hoping that I'm watching Roblox Gone Wild
videoes, but he is wrong. It's not as licentious as it sounds. Too
bad I can't spell. Anyway, time for frisbee!

Two days in a row

Sitting on the couch, tap-tap-tapping along. Well, at least I got something working. Got my first bill for this mobile-dealie. It was shockingly correct. I know I was surprised. And now the big deal on the homefront - the fence is coming!

Got home and saw the poles, sticking out of the ground and everything. We're getting cast iron fence. I talked to a friend of my parent's and he told me that his iron fence cost about 30% more than what I'm paying. And that was 30 years ago! I hope this fence lasts as long as that one, uh, does.

My dad got himself a nice new bike. Got a sweet comfy seat and seven internal gears. No deraileur for him! I guess I'll get a report on how well it's working in a few days.

So I the idea is slow and steady. Guess we'll see where this goes too.

Posting from the mobile device

Got around to upgrading my mobile phone. Now I have a mobile device. There finally is a device that does all the things that I wanted - specifically music, organizing stuff and phone. The iPhone was the one I'd been looking for. I find it hilarious when people suggest that I'm being trendy, given that I've had 3 phones in 9 years.

So far, I've been pretty happy with device. I'm glad that I didn't wait in line or anything. The screen is awesome, and the multi-touch is well done. I've done some neat things, but not what I'd consider outstanding. I suppose that jailbreaking would make it outstanding,
but not yet anyway.

Tonight marks what I hope will be the start of a couch-blogging trend. Maybe even a porch-blogging or two. I feel like I have to fill the breach left by a recently departed co-worker. And by co-worker I mean Kimota94. And by departed I mean retired - you know "departed" from work, not to return. I know my jokes are weak, but somehow you're still reading... Anyhoo, Kimota94's prodigious output might be stifled by lack of portable device to publish with. Seems like he may
be spending more time away from the ole kybard during retirement. I suppose there is some kind of joke involving retirerees and editorials...

So let's see how things start off with this here post and see if the couch will inspire greater, uh, something.

A post

Every time I get around to producing another post, I realize how long it has been since the last one. And every time I think to myself (and write in the post) that I should try writing more frequently. History has shown that it hasn't happened. As an optimist, I guess I should say that it won't come easily, but consistency will arrive.

Catching up on some of the backlog in other blogs, (there's only one that I visit that could possibly post faster than I can keep up with), prompted me to imply post to "The Studio", which in turn, started this post. As I was writing that post, I realized that I should make notes some how, organize my thoughts a bit better, so I would have something to write about. That must be part of getting more consistent - making sure that there is a supply of material.

My problem is never with the act of writing (talking, dominating conversation) as I can always come up with something. The ideas, kernels of subject, notions, setups, and angry rants are the hard part. That's not to claim that such off-the-cuff rambling is always cogent or coherent, but it can fill a page. Twas an excellent skill to have in high school. Probably would have pulled me through several liberal arts degrees, but alas I had to study that which is best expressed in concise precision - math. Such flourishing embellishment was not required for my CS degree (BMath, Hons CS, minor in C&O - really there was alot of math involved), but I still enjoy rattling the keyboard with a few unnecessarily lengthy words every now and then.

See? I prattled on about how I the ideas are most difficult part for a nice solid paragraph. I should use this handy outlet more frequently.

This is a blog?

This just seems to be an online protestation that I'm not writing online with every new entry. Still... I keep coming back. I guess it's all okay because no one really reads any of this stuff anyways.

Got around to posting on The Studio again, mainly because of my recent DVD haul. I got "Shake Hands With the Devil" (my review), "Eastern Promises", a four-in-one Steven Segal special ("Glimmer Man", "Fire Down Below", "Under Siege" and "Above the Law"), the wrong version of "Blade Runner" The Final Cut" and, my special weakness, a Criterion 2-pack version of "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro".

The "Blade Runner" I wanted, and didn't realize I didn't have until I got home, was the special edition that has all four cuts of the film (European theatrical, US theatrical, director's cut and the director's "final cut"). I hadn't seen Blade Runner at all until 1999 when a good friend from university hauled out the director's cut (the one without the voice-over). He helped me along, which was great in the limited time I had to digest it the first time. I've wanted to watch it again, but I haven't searched out the film. I saw the special edition and thought the time was nearly right. As is standard with such discoveries, not acting on them can lead to hassle later on. I postponed the purchase, but the internet informs me that the correct version is in stock somewhere near by.

The Kurosawa films "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro" recalled the "Blade Runner" find - once I found them I had to get them. I ignored the price and just carried it to the checkout. I am looking forward to watching "Sanjuro" as I haven't seen it, but "Yojimbo" I know well. I have seen it a couple of times but also in its other incarnations "A Fist Full of Dollars" and "Last Man Standing". Oliver Stone gives a writing credit to Kurosawa and does an excellent job transposing the ronin with mob gunman-for-hire in the '20s.

Gotta get my act together and send off my tax return. I'm hoping for a decent refund, but then again who isn't? Guess it is very Canadian - pay your taxes and wait for the government to grudgingly return a few bucks. Don't get me wrong - I don't begrudge paying my taxes. I get many things, large and small, tangible and intangible, for that money. But it would be nice if I could keep more of that money to pay my own debts, rather than the debts run up by people now long gone.

Now that the spring-tax-rant is done, I have to get my act together a little more and get myself to bed and (later) off to hockey.

Some increase

I thought that I'd be on the computer posting more thoughts - you know "a headache with pictures" (Phillip J Fry, "A Taste of Freedom", Season 3, Futurama) - but it's more like stress relief. I find myself playing lots of games online now that the reliability is back, rather than typing up blog posts. Not so good.

Been a tough slog at work recently though - deadlines approaching and all that. I mean it's always there but it's looming more impressively with each passing day. Like that Far Side where two cave men are standing outside of a cave with a glacier an arm-length away and says "Thag, wall of ice closer today?" The last iteration was one where the feature our team worked on was probably larger than originally sized, so there was much scrambling to finish. These kinds of iterations will probably become more frequent as the ice-wall encroaches, but hopefully we can alter our plans so we proceed more evenly.

Well, there goes another yawn - I suppose that means I should be in bed rather than forcing onwards. Mayhap soon there shall be posts with a more hasty cadence.

Fallen flat

Nice daily streak, eh? It's been almost a full month since my last posting - pretty pathetic really. Oh well, there is room for improvement and boy do I need it. I really hope to write a little more often because I obtained a new computer! My old computer was nice and all, but the reliability was not good - it would occasionally lock up hard to a black screen. This does not make it conducive to blog writing, posting, reading or what have you. I spent a lot of time trying to diagnose and then fix this problem, but to no avail.

Looks like there are two things left to test - re-installing XP or a new CPU. I don't think the first will work as I have had locks when running liveCD versions of linux, but I can't remember when the last time that happened was. I don't know if I'll get around to that. The more I put it off the less likely it will be because I won't be able to find the proper CPU (Socket-939) .

Well, Friday is fast approaching, so I need to sleep. There is hockey to be had tomorrow - at least I'm assuming there is. I haven't seen an email about it though, but I guess there will be something. I'm going there anyway, or at least checking my email when I get up. That's no longer the chore it was with the new computer! Ahh, sweet juicy reliability. I'll talk about my purchase in the near future.

Repetition

Well, back to work it was today. Took the first week of the year off and it was quite relaxing actually. The real frustration was trying to get the ole desktop PC fixed, but that's another story. The spouse went to work for half the week, so it was just me and the boys hanging out and playing games, reading magazines - whatever. Very pleasant and relaxing, as I mentioned already.

I really do want to make a habit of posting more regularly, but that hasn't been terribly easy recently. In the last few months the various time-suck devices that popped up have stood in my way. That should be a reason though, so here I am wondering about what to write about. I still lack focus in that area - topic. I always enjoyed writing stories when I was in school, but I was always at a loss for ideas. Once I had the kernel of an idea, I could twist that into something enjoyable, but alas I don't get paid to do that now. What I should be doing is coming up with ideas and writing them here.

Something I did listen to on the way home from work was part of a continuing series on the World At Six (CBC radio 1) about modern spirituality. Today they talked about a couple of people who moved and tried different things until they arrived at meditation-based practices. One was a form of Japanese Buddhism and the other was a rabbi who also uses transcendental meditation as part of what he does. The appeal of Buddhist meditation was that it is in stark contrast to typical "daily life" - quiet, still, peaceful. However the article brought in another view which suggested that the greatest spiritual benefits, changes, advancements - seemed to happen people practice in groups.

I always find it odd that the views are always laid out as distinct and (possibly) opposing. I'm sure that aspects of individual and group practices would be combined to achieve the greatest whatever. Balance doesn't arrive through concentration on one thing. The appeal of meditation and stillness is obvious. People feel encroached upon and need to create that mental space around them. They need to realize that mindset is what the meditation is helping to bring. If you believe you can create an oasis of calm (not clam) then you can. Meditation provides a framework to feedback that sense to you, so you can believe. Being alone is something I have always enjoyed. I think that I've been lucky that there have been times in my life when I can wander away and be alone - that I live where there are calm, peaceful spaces all around.

I have two distinct memories of calm that help me. I felt like the places were occupying me - I was the observed. The first at the lake near my parents cottage. This is no puddle - it was Lake Huron. It was heading towards sunset and I came out at a beach with large rocks right at the waters edge. I sat down on a large rock and stared into the lake. I don't even remember how long I was there; eternity perhaps. It didn't matter. The sun, the wispy clouds, gently lapping water. Everything just was. I realize this is a poor description, but description doesn't work well. It seems like it may sully the experience-that-was, for it was physical, immersive, singular.

The next time was at my parents house during a perfect winter's night. The moon was full and the house was dark. Looking into the front ward, the blue-black of the trees and their shadows criss-crossed the perfect white stillness. I had to go out there and just stand. The moon was so bright and that blue-white hue of the trees and the snow was compelling. The air was still and cold - each breath weighty with the chill - denser than normal. Have to be quiet - movement would shatter the moment. Just be. Cast a blue and purple shadow and exist. It was hard to go back inside, but it was perfect. I can't say what made it different than other times - I'd gazed upon the same scene for so many years - but this time it was quiet and I was alone with it.

That is what I wish I could give to someone who feels overwhelmed. Replace it with those feelings. I guess it's the opposite of agoraphobia.

Ought-8

New year, new blog entry, new... something. Re-new-all? Something like that. I haven't really been effective at using this space much in the past few months. There are a couple of reasons really - mainly I haven't really been enthusiastic about trying to use my computer. That and other toys have shown up at home (a DS Lite, the Wii from Santa) and the computer has been getting short shrift.

Soon should change. The biggest issue with my computer has been an electrical instability problem that really came to the fore after my original video card gave up on me. That card, a BFG6800GT-OC was an excellent card when I bought it. Plus it came with a lifetime warranty. So mid-2007, it's RAM died and it was replaced. The replacement wouldn't boot into WinXP properly, so I got a 7600GS to replace it. It worked well but the computer would suddenly shutdown in the middle of games. That is the electrical problem - when the CPU/GPU/Fans/HD draw a certain level of power, the motherboard can't take it and dies. I suspect that this was a manufacturing defect, given the quality of the parts and power supplies I used. I had problems from the first day setting up the machine, but the problems are really noticeable now. So I've ordered a new replacement AMD Socket 939 motherboard. Turns out there are very few choices of new 939 motherboards, with an AGP slot, left. This is an MSI with a VIA chipset. I'm hoping that the performance is similar but more stable.

The other thing I did to improve computer usage was to buy a nice LCD monitor during the "boxing week" period. Got a nice (21") but not cutting Samsung SyncMaster216BW. Spent less than half of the old 17" CRT it replaces, but certainly looks better. This thing looks much better than what I had. Gaming - I didn't notice the difference. Except it is brighter and sometimes the colours don't appear to converge properly in CS:S, but that's okay.

So hopefully the posts will be more frequent. It is a good thing to write a little every day. It would be good if that writing had a specific purpose or some other redeeming (monetary) quality to it, but one can't have everything.

Raised Patio: The Result

Well, it's done. Really it was done October 6, 2007 but it's still finished now, so no big deal. The first picture is of the whole deck. Gives you a nice overview of what it looks like all together. I had one neighbour comment that it reminds him of a castle wall - fortress-like. I prefer to think of it as "solid", but I understand what he meant. If it had been deeper or much wider, it would have cut a very imposing chunk out of the backyard. It would have started to dwarf the house. Not that it would have been bigger, but the look of the finished product.

Next there is a closeup of the stairs. The stairs are narrow enough that, by code, we only need one hand railing. What you see in profile is actually a solid wall, which forms a little nook on the ground. That's the last picture - the items on the ground are extra precast deck pieces. That's where the BBQ is now, in front of the access area. There's no door because it isn't someplace I want to go in and out of often. Or at all. So it's easier to remove the idea that there is anything under there by not putting a door.

Anyway these extra slabs are used as a landing for the stairs and to cover that area between the railing and the deck. That area is nice and sheltered - keeps the BBQ out of the wind. A few shrubbery and we're done (surplus that my parents were getting rid of).

So ends the saga of the raised patio and my big construction project. Next summer will be when the fun begins - the enjoyment of the deck. But there is also the obtaining furniture for the deck and so on. Currently, it is what it is and that is quite good. We have a few patio chairs, but really we need a table and maybe a lounge, but that'll arrive when it arrives. For now, the important part is done.

Simulation - not likely!

The stalwart Kimota94 posted this little gem about that philosophy paper making the rounds on the ole inter-weeb. You know - this one - that claims that this may all just be a simulation. Kimota94 does a good job refuting that idea with an excellent argument. He also asks "if this is a simulation, what would you do different?"

What would I do different? One argument would say "nothing - it's not possible to do things differently than the simulation would predict." Another would say "nothing - the simulation theory is nice but doesn't really impact me." A third would be "nothing - the amount of computing power necessary would require more operations per second than atoms in the universe so it would be unlikely to reach that level of computational power."

I'll start with the second one: it doesn't impact me. Even if I were to exist within a simulation, what I perceive as a "mind" is what I perceive. As a corollary to self-awareness, that would me the simulation created life (me) and I'm operating within it. Ipso-fatso, I am the simulation, but it is no different than what I was before.

The first answer justifies my view that "what would you do differently?" is the wrong question. I think I would rather ask "what would you simulate if you were in charge?" That would be interesting. The simulation described would have the power to simulate any possibility so changing your behaviour would be accommodated. Setting up different startup conditions or end conditions and running the simulation would be more interesting.

Another interesting aspect of the paper that I didn't see addressed was the time scale of the simulation. Would the simulation be in real-time or at some accelerated rate? I would hope that it would be accelerated as real-time would be a bit of a drag. I suppose if it is accelerated than we, as the simulacrums are thinking faster than the items being simulated. If indeed we are simulated, then is every single possible activity being simulated, or are short-cuts being taken? Computer modeling (as I know it) is discrete and therefore leaves out some information in the interest of producing a useful model. If the proposed machine is not modeling, then it really is new life in a novel media - AI if you will.

Finally I would say ('cause I really ought to be getting some sleep now) that I do not think such a model is possible. Let's take one of the better known systems used to model the world around us - mathematics. It has been demonstrated that any mathematical system is incomplete. As a corollary, the simulation system described would be incomplete, no matter its power. It would not be able to simulate life exactly, by the same argument. Therefore the simulation would be something different than the previous existence it is attempting to simulate, which implies that such a simulation would not be stable. It would crash soon after starting. Maybe it is a new religion - we are all just waiting the Great Blue Screen of Existence. The Reboot is Near - REPENT! Yes, sleep is needed. By me - maybe you, but definitely me.

Raised Patio: Closer to Done

I haven't posted any updates to the raised patio for awhile, so here are some more pictures. First we have some details as to how the deck slabs were setup. The slabs rest on the masonry wall on the outside edge and the cast-in-place beams. Each slab rests on some caulking - specifically NP-1. This compound hardens, but never looses its elasticity. This allows the slabs to float a little - to have some room to play. Most of the deck slabs were put in place Sept 8, but there are still 3 left to place as of this weekend. The pictures above show how most of the slabs were laid. Then there was the column "customizing" work that was done to make one fit near the stairs.

Between the 8th and today, more balusters were added. The longest runs (out from the wall) were finished, with a few missing at the front near the stairs. One pictures shows the railing waiting to be installed. This piece of pre cast is the largest (and heaviest) piece in the project. It is nearly 10 feet long and about 6"-8" wide. This will tie the balusters together and provide excellent stability. Similar, but smaller, pieces will complete the railing near the stairs, as well as become the railing beside the stairs themselves.

Finally, there is the start of the last holes to dig. This will be where the footing for the stairs will go. Still have a few more feet down to dig, but that will have to wait. I have some stitches and the doctor told me not do things like digging until they come out next week. Oh well - more time to post on the old blog page.

Movie-licious

It's been a while since I've seen a movie in the theater (which, as some of you may know, means I haven't seen the Simpson's movie yet). However I was able to complete the Bourne series with a theatrical viewing. I have really enjoyed this series - for the same reasons that Matt Damon has indicated in interviews. The main character is not a typical action hero - he does incredible things, but things that are grounded in possibility. No catch phrases or snappy comebacks, although I almost uttered one in theater: "He tried to blow me up." I am such an influenceable, weak-minded fool. And closer to the end, there was a lolcats moment, but I don't think Bourne had the time to find a suitable cat picture "I'm in joor ofiz stealinz ur secrets".

Okay, enough pandering to computer culture. It was a good film. I found myself caught up in it several times - always a good sign. I'm starting to think that another good sign is the sparse dialog. Several movies I consider excellent feature characters that say little. Everything they do say is important.

Detractions from the movie are the use of "shaky-cam" to convey tense emotions (at the very beginning). I was going to say the flash-backs, but I understand why they are needed. I just wish they didn't have to be so repetitious.

Favorite line:
"He just drove off the roof, sir."
"He WHAT?"

Delivery was perfectly timed.

The action sequences were excellent - they are fast-paced and will stand up to repeated viewings. The story was good, but it wasn't exactly clear what Bourne was trying to do, although he did get to it in the end. This didn't take away from the enjoyment of the movie - one of those things you think about later when you are writing up what you thought.

Summary: Good movie. Liked the structure, the action and the characters. Recommend you go see it.

Raised Patio: Inspection 2

One thing that happened Wednesday (Aug 29) was the arrival of the building inspector. He arrived because I asked him to, so that wasn't really a shock. What we did find out, however, was some information that changed our plans.

The inspector took a look at our walls and the beam that was to be cast. We told him about the reinforcing in the walls (the durowall, the rebar drilled into the bricks) and he was satisfied with that. We showed him the two balusters we had and how far apart we wanted to place them. He indicated that the regulations required that there be "no gap greater than 4 inches". That was slightly different from what we understood before, but not hard to fix. The only problem was that we will need 10 more balusters.

Next came the stairs. First, he wasn't impressed with the idea of having stairs that were built up with dry-laid blocks filled with dirt. "That's going to move," he said. Well, we can fix that when it happens was our response, but he really wasn't happy with that. So now we'll have to make a footing under the stairs and tie it to the deck so they will move together. Next was the railing - it was going to need a railing because of the height. I asked if we could make wider steps and do away with the railing - make each step closer to the ground wider. No good - if the steps are wider than 42", you need two. As it is, the opening is 40", so he'd be happy with one railing.

And then he left. I don't have to call him back until all that's done (I suppose - he really didn't say at the time). But we were left with a problem - a railing. The balusters don't really work out on the stairs, so some other idea was needed. Eventually, we came up with the idea of using the same precast pieces as the deck, but texture them so they aren't slippery. Next build a wall down one side and put some paving stones in the area between the railing and the deck. Maybe put the barbecue there. The wall would carry a small length of the same railing as the deck, but on top of blocks instead of balusters. The only thing left is to see if we can get some double-sided splitface, or 4" splitface blocks (back to back) and whether to leave some vertical spaces on the way down. More updates as information becomes available.

Meanwhile, I'll have to do some more digging for this new footing. Ah well - I'm getting practiced now.

Raised Patio: Post holidays

Today is Labour Day, so I thought I should catch up with my labour report. Friday we finished up a bit early and I've left out a report from Thursday as well, so the information is lacking. As of Friday evening, there are four beams poured in place, two (of four) columns up to railing height and the main pile of dirt in front has been moved.

The dirt that was left was my main task over the last few days, as it needed to be moved and my dad was making the forms for the pour-in-place beams. Wednesday saw the completion of the interior support pillars and the pour of the first cast-in-place beam. Thursday was the second and third beams while Friday saw the last of the beams poured, plus the columns. Plus there was the removal of the precast sill under the back door and the chopping of holes in the bricks to rest the outer two beams.

The first hole was done with a Quickcut - a Stihl product that is essentially a saw blade attached to a gas motor. Used by firefighters to cut people out of wrecks, it can cut through lots of things easily, with the appropriate blade. The cuts were not all the way through as the blade was two large a diameter to prevent unwanted scoring around the hole, so a hammer and chisel were used to finish the job. The next day, the precast sill was removed by chopping out the mortar on the sides, cutting the caulking on the top and then easing it out. Of course "easing" part was "maybe" and since my dad put it in, it wasn't meant to be removed. So I had to chop all the mortar out from under it before it let go. Then a few courses of bricks were removed as they were going to be replaced anyway. The last hole was done with a drill and went much smoother. A really nice cordless Hilti hammer drill that moves through masonry like, like... okay butter, but really easily whatever the metaphor. Melted margarine might be a more modern version. A good idea that, typically, was arrived at on the last one. Oh well.

The pouring of the beams involved the making of the form and the addition of concrete. We used a bucket to fill each of the forms, with about 2 wheelbarrows of concrete for each beam. Each beam has 3 rebars, two at the bottom and one at the top, with a piece of durowall sideways to tie the top and bottom together. Except the second beam where the durowall was forgotten until too late. To help tie a few of the beams to the outer wall, some wires were added to the beams during the pour. This was added because the rebar was too short, despite the custom ordering. Some people may not think 1" is much, but if there is a 1/2" overlap at each end, 1" short is a lot.

Anyway, I leveled dirt inside the walls and started hauling away the excess soil. Friday I got a screen and I put the topsoil through it. My wife came to see what I was doing and said "Oh, you're sifting the dirt" (as in "sifting" flour). I said "Sifting is not manly-sounding enough for outdoor work - this is screening." I was going to conduct a lecture series on the manliness of the heavy machines that "screen" gravel, but the eye-rolling kinda held me back. I originally kept the topsoil separate because I figured I could use it somewhere and the first place will likely be on the lawn to help repair it. The lack of watering and heavy traffic at the back of the house has left some rather barren patches. Judging by the sod I pulled up, I think there is a viable root system there, but it is a matter of coaxing it to grow.

Raised Patio: 2fer

Well, the last few days have seen the wall finished and the arrival of some of the precast beams. With the walls done, four more holes had to be dug to support cast-in-place beams. These beams will support the deck slabs, while the precast pieces that you can see on the walls go underneath the balusters. Two sample balusters can be seen - now it is a matter of determining how far apart they should be. These two are visual aids for this process.

The top row of blocks underneath the beams are filled with concrete to prevent water from getting inside the wall through the holes in the blocks. Water will still be able to get through the blocks themselves, but not nearly as much as would get in through the top. The beams on the wall are there mainly to ensure that the railing is high enough to meet local code.

The columns that will support the cast-in-place beams consist of a concrete base with 8" blocks cut in half. These are filled with mortar as they are added with a rebar in the center. The rebar will stick into the beam above and tie everything together.

The precast beams on the top of the walls are sitting on mortar, which I had to mix by hand. Turned out okay - made some "ready-mix" by dry mixing the sand and cement. Then mixed half by slowly adding water. This left half the wheelbarrow dry, giving us enough time to put the beams on one side in place without worrying about the mortar hardening.

Anyway, that's it for now. Today we have to put the last beam on the wall, get the columns finished and start the forms for the cast-in-place beams.

Raised Patio: The Friday Edition

Friday was a pretty straight-ahead work day. Started around 9am and finished by about 5pm. Only did two mixes, but the labourer is inexperienced (read: slow) and the bricklayer was taking his time (read: doesn't do this every day anymore). Ran into one small problem with the white pipe you can see in some of the photos above. That pipe carries rainwater from the downspout over to the west side of the house. There is meets up with pipe that heads out about 20 feet into the lawn, into something the builder describes as a pipe with a sock stuffed with styrofoam peanuts. This is to help let the rainwater soak back into the ground, although the builder isn't impressed with it - more on that later.

The reason it was an issue was that once the blocks got closer, it was obvious that the pipe was sagging at the joint. I found it was wet under the joint after I excavated it but didn't really notice the slope was funny. The probable cause was the person that backfilled the foundation of the house - they dumped a load of earth right on the pipe. You can tell this because the side that heads toward the middle of the house has a hollow under the pipe. Plus the pipe in the other side of the trench had rocks above and below it, meaning that they had been pushed towards the foundation. The rocks are another sign the back fill was done without much care - rocks rise to the surface as you move dirt or dig. If one takes care, the rocks would be spread out evenly, instead of collected by the foundation (the last place to be filled).

Anyway, the concern was that if there was an issue with the pipe leaking or not draining, the fix would involve either working under the completed deck or removing the deck surface. The time to fix it was before the deck was complete and access to the foundation area was easy. Called the builder and he was able to show up that day. He went on about how he disliked the drainage system, clarifying how everything worked. I originally thought that the weepers and the downspouts were tied to the storm sewers, as this subdivision has a special storm overflow pond to collect excess rain. The system that the downspouts tie into is like a simple septic bed. The difference is that there is one outlet instead of a trunk with smaller tiles coming off it.

The builder is not happy with this solution for a few reasons - one it doesn't work and two it is an expensive solution. The pipe is 4" and that isn't really big enough to handle the roof water of a big downpour, let alone a storm. The downspouts backed up before we moved in, according to our neighbours, last year. This spring the builder quietly installed an overflow valve, which is essentially a standard downspout that drains onto the lawn. This works better than the underground drain pipe because it can handle the volume better and the ground in this area is sandy. Water drains away quickly whether it is on top or not. The overflow valves aren't supposed to be there, but the builder is reluctant to criticize the existing system. If this system isn't working, the next step would be to put something like a septic bed in the ground, which would be quite expensive. Also it would make it impossible to build things in the back yard without a hassle. Things like a pool.

One of the columns is clearly visible in a picture above. There will be four of them, one on the front corners and on either side of the stairs. One solid day of work should bring the other 2 sides up to the level of the highest side, which is the top of the masonry wall. Note the picture with the vent in it - this is secured with mortar, no anchors or caulking necessary. My dad was annoyed when we were working last year because the various holes necessary (gas, exhaust vents, etc) weren't known until after we was done. If the final pipe that was to go through the wall was available, he could have finished the surroundings with masonry and it would look better than it does now. Although it is a small detail that most wouldn't notice, much like the sills and lintels on the house. The sills are at least twice as thick as the other precast sills, but smooth. The lintels are also smooth precast pieces, instead of concealed metal ones. Finishes the doors and windows nicer than the others around here. Again a small detail that most wouldn't notice unless it was pointed out.

Raised Patio: Thar be masonry a foot!

The started off slow enough - managed to get a post in this morning showing the previous day's work. Rain on and off all morning, finally ending around 11am. Got some stuff setup to be ready to get some blocks on those footings. After lunch - we were off! As you can see, the day ended with one side high enough to start with the above-ground blocks. These are a textured block known as a split-face block.

Figured out why they are called "split-face" blocks yesterday (and it is so simple you'll probably be as upset at yourself as I was). The blocks are cast with two facing each other and then a machine splits them apart. This is done in such a way that where the blocks are split it becomes a rough, textured surface. Since is the side that points to the world (the "face") we get "split-face". Fun.

Anyway, it wasn't all sunshine and heat stroke (though I came close). The first course (masonry term for "row of whatever") was made up of some left over 10" blocks my dad had. Many jobs are setup so that the trade is responsible for ordering the materials, so anything extra is theirs (they paid for it). Sometimes some demolition has to be done, so the debris is discarded. However if some is salvageable, the owner doesn't mind if someone takes it away as they have to pay to remove it. So this is how we had some odds-and-ends.

Just realized that most people probably don't know what I mean when I say 8 inch or 10 inch blocks. The measurement is the width of the block, so the resulting width of wall made out of the block. A standard 8 inch block has two holes in the middle, with bits sticking out of each end. Back in the day, there were three holes (so the gaps were smaller) and the blocks weighed more. There were also solid blocks which, as it sounds, had no holes at all. My dad said that working as a labourer and piling 12 inch solid blocks onto a plank above your head makes you tired really fast. Yah.

Anyhoo, some of these 10" blocks were of various types, some even being split-face blocks. The thing with a split-face block is that the face is twice as thick as a standard block, so it is much heavier. And 10" means more volume and so on and so forth. Some were old enough to have 3 holes instead of two, but luckily there were not many of those. Plus they got put in first, so no ones back was aching by the end of the day.

Also had much fun with the second mix of the day (we did only two). Got the proper instructions on the measurements needed, but we both forgot that there was already some water in the mixer. So I followed the instructions and the mixer looked like soup (not a good sign). I was wondering what I should do when all of a sudden it just tips the load onto the ground! The mixer reject the mix! How could I screw up so bad??? Looking at what happened, the pin that holds the mixer at the proper angle fell out, causing the load to force the barrel of the mixer over. That in turn was likely caused by the mixer being too low on one side. Luckily, we were able to rescue some of the truant mix and, using alchemy and experience, my dad was able to create a workable result. It wasn't soup, but rather pasta-sauce quality. Picture if you will, a wall held together by last nights dinner.... Dumping shovelfuls onto a mortar board resulted in something that looked like ladles of sauce blopped on a plate. The magic of hot direct sunlight saved the day, reducing the sauce back into mortar within about a half-hour.

Tomorrow is set to be a full day of blocks. Hopefully we can get lots done before the weekend...

Raised Patio: Footings and More

As promised (well, written, blogged, whatever) I have new pictures with the completed footings. Plus, there are pictures of the blocks we'll use underground and the brick sand.

Getting the sand was eye-opening in several ways. We drove to a local gravel pit and asked for a minimum load (ie put it in the bed of my dad's pickup). They charged us $10 for a cubic yard of fine screened sand. Nice stuff - the kind you'd want to put in a child's sand box. My wife informed me that a bag of "play sand" costs about $2 for about 20kg of sand. Doing some quick online checking, the density of dry sand is about 3000 lbs/cubic yard or 1780 kg/m3 (where 1 m3 == 1.308 cubic yards). That gives about 68 bags of play sand for $10. Only problem is that you have to find a gravel pit, bring a truck and shovel it into all 68 sand boxes by hand. Oh well.

Anyway, today we will start with the laying of the blocks, if the weather cooperates. Looks pretty overcast right now, so we'll see.

Raised Patio: Footings

Tuesday was the day to get the footings done. That means the trench was finished and my dad leveled it, added a few boards as forms and we started pour concrete. But first things first - what's a footing? A footing is a small (~10" wide) , thin (~4" thick) slab of concrete that supports a wall above it. Kind of like a sidewalk, but it has to be put under ground on undisturbed soil. In places like here, (Southern Ontario), it has to be undisturbed soil that is beneath the frost line, so 3 to 4 feet down. This is to prevent the footing from shifting or buckling. Footings can be, as in this case, poured directly onto undisturbed soil inside a form. The form here consisted of planks on onside of the trench, with the other side chopped straight, the soil forming the side. The footing will be buried so finish is not important.

As you can see in these pictures, part of the problem with building this deck is that the footing needs to go right up against the existing wall. The ground near the house is back-filled and has not yet had the necessary amount of time to settle. Excavating within about 5' of the house meant that we were not on undisturbed soil. To counter-act this problem, 2 holes (3-4 inches deep - about half the thickness of the basement wall) were drilled in each section that met the house. Into each hole went an 8 foot long piece of rebar. This effectively ties the footing to the house, so any movement has to move the house and the footing together. Note that this is not a challenge, as I like the house and footing where they are.

The pictures also show some of the footing. To pour the footing to this point required about 2/3 of a cubic yard of concrete. My dad and I mixed the concrete and brought it on-site. This resulted in a vast monetary savings and a lot of work. A yard of concrete, from a company like CBM or Lafarge, would cost about $400 delivered. The cost of the materials in this case was about $40 of aggregate and gravel and $100 of cement, although that last number is probably high. However, we did have to shovel the gravel into the mixer and then from a box into the trench. The weight of 1 cubic yard of concrete is about 2400 kg, so this was about 1600 kg. Shoveled twice. But cheaper than the big spin-y truck.

We ran into problems when we got the concrete on site - it was hardening quicker than expected and was difficult to shovel. As in it was almost one solid mass. The pickaxe did the trick however and loosened it sufficiently.

Also present are some concrete blocks, sometimes known as "cinder blocks", but in this case 8" standard concrete blocks and 8" split-face blocks. The split-face blocks are what will form the walls above the ground on the outside. Other, older, left-over 8" blocks will be used below ground.

That's all the pictures I have right now, but tomorrow I will take pictures of the finished footing, the extra blocks and the pile of brick-sand. Tomorrow is when the blocks start getting laid.

Raised Patio: EnTrenchMent

Yes, weak pun, but at least it is something. Went out this morning (as promised - all you that like to read this blog in real-time). Only stayed out about 1/2 hour because of the rain, but I was able to make some progress. The rain is being really half-assed about it - a little drizzle here, a few drops there, five minute rush - no commitment! I may be able to squeeze in another session later. But I was able to snap a few pics before I went in and here they are.

Again with the...

I have title-block today, probably because I shouldn't be here, but rather outside and digging. It's supposed to rain today, probably just after noon, and I have to get a bit done of my trench, er footing. I asked the building inspector to show up tomorrow so there is a tight deadline...

Anyway I have not been posting this week, though I promised it. I really did want to record in pictures the progress I was making digging my deck footing, but it is (un)surprisingly tiring. I set aside about an hour each morning an evening (skipping the mornings with hockey commitments of course!) and when I was done, I was DONE for the day. Showered, sat down and that was about it. Today I shall have to take more pictures.

Fret not, however. The pictures and posts shall increase in frequency as will the pace of work. A couple of weeks off of work will allow me to blather on about whatever AND help assemble the deck. I am under no illusions about who is in charge of that. It is the guy who cast all the concrete - my dad. Anyhoo, I should get out that and start shoveling.

Raised Patio: The Hole Beginning

Why must I use bad puns for blog titles? I feel it is some sort of obligation, but I can't really put my finger on it. Anyway, I promised pictures and here are some. The first one shows the lines staked out - 10'x16'x10' will be the final surface area of the deck. The second one shows the progress I've made closest to the house. The white pipe is the downspout runoff that hooks up with a weeper that empties at the end of the property. The last picture shows how much more I really need to do.

This isn't too bad - I've only been out 3 times for about 1-2 hours each time. I'm planning on going out twice a day (morning and evening) for about an hour each time and that should show some real progress.

Everyone asks me "Why are you doing this by hand?" Two reasons:

1. Bringing in a small backhoe will ruin the grass. Although it is not green, let me tell you the roots are quite large and holding things down nicely.
2. I need the exercise. It's one of those things - doing it by hand makes me feel like I've put more into the whole endeavor. Also lets me practice skills that don't involve machines or some-such. There was a time that everything was built using simple tools, so it is simply a question of how much time you have to finish.

Anyway, if I don't make enough progress, we can hire someone to come and do it with a machine. Would take more than 1 hour I think. Will take me a solid week, but whatever. Anyway, more updates will appear as things keep progressing.

Bender Brau

I just had to record this somewhere - someone in New Zealand is building a life-sized Bender. Not impressed? It's also a brewery! Neat! Maybe one day I'll have my own Bot-wiser chilling in the fridge too...

Starting groups

My workplace moved to Agile development methodologies more than a year ago now, though it hardly seems that long. One of the techniques that was used in a few situations was to form a group and then allow the group to create the parameters, purpose and direction for the group.

This idea works well when used in the appropriate situation, but I think it had a less-than-optimal effect in some cases I was involved in. I'll describe those situations, propose an alternative group-start and finally end with where the "self-determining group" technique should be used.

The first time I encountered this technique was in the early introduction stages of Agile methods at our company. Some of the meetings were held using this technique to get the group to direct the presenter to the items that the group needed more information about. This did not work for two main reasons:

1) The audience was mainly people who knew nothing of agile methods, so had a poor understanding of the technique. Not knowing how to use the technique made things awkward.

2) The purpose of the meeting was deliver information to a group that is used to logic and structure (software developers). Going into the meeting, they all knew that they would be getting more information. Being asked to discover what the information was without knowing what it was seemed redundant.

Together the impasse is clear - the attendees were obliged to attend a presentation but were confronted with an unfamiliar process. I think such a meeting would work better a year later - the patterns are comfortably familiar.

The second time I encountered this technique was in the formation of an Agile "group". In this case, the technique was applied pretty successfully, but looking back I do not believe that it is the most efficient way to proceed. In the first meeting, this group had a purpose and dove into that head-long. By the second meeting, a split in the purpose became apparent. This was handled in an open fashion, quickly addressing the difference and the group moved on with an adjusted purpose. I think that the initial problems came partly from the fact that the group wasn't entirely self-selected. That is, some members were asked to attend instead of choosing to attend. The other reason for the slow start is that it seemed to take several meetings to work out all the details of what needed to be done.

What I hypothesized this was that a middle ground is needed to make things more efficient. The concept that the group needs to be self-determining is essential, so nothing should interfere with that. The only place left is in the initial group setup. Instead of proposing a group, organizing a meeting and then having the group decide everything from there, I think the initial proposal should include a sample framework. This would give more clarity to the purpose of the group and possibly save time if the group likes the initial ideas straight-away. If not, the group proceeds as before. I'll give a high-level example and a more concrete example.

The high level example is the idea of democracy. Some would like all decisions to be determined by vote, much like the earliest democratic ideals. Each citizen would have a vote and all decision would be taken based on voting results. Operating a modern democracy in this manner would be difficult because of the overhead. Instead, representative democracy allows representatives to work at some proposals and refine them before bringing them before the people. The one-vote-per-topic idea is like the self-organizing groups.

More concretely, let us say I'd like to start an Agile book club. The self determining method would see me send out a message saying "Agile book club is starting. First meeting Monday." The group would meet and begin the proposals for what the book club is about. Using the "proposed structure" method, I'd send out a message saying "Agile book club. Initial idea: Critique of sci-fi/fantasy books during weekly round table meeting. Please bring your proposals and ideas to the meeting Monday." This message conveys more information than the first, although it may bias what people think the purpose is. However I submit that if the attendees are comfortable in the Agile process, this would not prevent them from bringing their own proposals.

I think that the "proposed structure" methodology would work good in transition from a traditional work environment to an Agile one. With enough experience, the "self determining" method would work well, but until some additional skills are learned and techniques refined, it could be slower. The idea would be to encourage dialog and participation, but the mere lack of structure may turn many off. You need people there before you can accomplish anything.

If you've made it this far, you may have noticed how loosely tied this all is. I'll try and refine this idea in subsequent posts, but I apologize for my late-night incoherency. I did, however, feel it necessary to record the outline of the idea anyway.

Foaming at the nest

Yesterday was another lovely civic holiday. Not a vacation for Honda owners, but rather a Monday with no work. No work that involves leaving home anyway. I undertook some mundane chores - vacuuming, cleaning the furnace filter, buying food. The filter was the most interesting however. I decided that the best place to dry off (and generally cleanse) the filter would be in direct sunlight, so I brought it out back and headed back in to wait for dryness to set up it. I was not in 30 seconds before my wife indicated a wasp had gotten in. Urgently indicated, with overtones of alarm (she don't like wasps). It longed to pass through the glass in the door, so I helped try to push it out. Alas, the glass proved too substantial and it was merely crushed by the whole ordeal. Heading out a few minutes later, I picked up the clean and dry filter and head in. I paused at the door to survey the air for any manner of flying fauna. Seeing nothing, I entered the doorway. Just as I began that little dance out of the way of the door, I felt something encouraging my calf to just keep moving. It was another wasp, hitching a ride to the great Indoors. Once inside, it too wished to join its' sisters on the far side of the glass and again, glass provide transparent but tangible.

At this point, my wife suggested there may be a nest under the stairs at the back door. I ran out, found the problem and wandered to the front door to contemplate my next move. Evidently that mostly full can of wasp/bee foam was in for more than just shelf-sitting.

Since I had discarded the little red straw this time, I was not in fear for my life when I strode forth after dark. Being close to ground level also made this a tad simpler, but I brought my flashlight anyway. The nest was barely started - several adults clung to the outside. Probably 2 or 3 days old - barely a wasp-body deep, but expanding rapidly horizontally. Foamed up the nest. Some of the adults tried to leave - the poison made them stumble about. They fell free of the nest to the ground below. Since I really couldn't have that, I foamed everything under the stairs. As more fell or wiggled free, they got wrapped in foam too. I'm guessing I created a nice deadzone under the stairs. I'm hoping that I avoided creating a dead zone in my lungs though.

Regaling my co-workers with said story lead to the out pouring of different insect-nest perspectives. There was the "it's under the deck, but I can't see it. So I grabbed a screwdriver..." Several advised that if something wrenched the screwdriver from your hands, that was the signal to start running. Next was the "it was hanging near the basketball net, but too awkward to spray. After throwing the basketball as hard as I could, I quickly ran away." Like Brave Sir Robin, he ran away and only the curious dog from next door found out that wasps don't like to be disturbed.

Raised Patio - The Deckening

Yes, it is probably the weakest pun-like title you've had the misfortune to read. I know it - you know it, and probably some search engine spider knows bit, but they don't say much. Today was another milestone day for my deck-like-object. My dad came over and we staked out the deck. Now as I mentioned here, this is not simply wooden platform floating out back of the house. No, that would be cool but I lack the super-conducting technology to make insulators hover. No, this is something more... concrete.

Yes concrete. Precast slabs, balusters, split-face block - it has it all. The first step, as with any structure, is to setup a good foundation. In this case it means me digging a trench for the foundation. Before I can do that, I needed something to show me where I should dig and it happens to be a bunch of string and wood. I'll add a picture soon, but for now imagine that there are some stakes, 4 pieces of string, and some nails, marking a 15'x10' area (okay, 16'10"x 10'6" if you want outside measurements). So over the course of the next few days I'll have to start digging. I will record my progress here and, well, that is that.