Another day, another run. This time, I crossed the 10-minute mile mark. Probably not a big feat for some of you, but it was a first for me. Yay me 
Unfortunately, the pizza I had for dinner made the run quite difficult. Boo me 
3.00 mi in 33:45
Now for a shower and sleep…though not at the same time. I think that’s called drowning…don’t wanna do that…
Think you’re a computer guru? Not just someone who ‘knows a bit about computers’, but someone who lives, eats, and breathes the world of computers? Take the quiz and see how you do. Okay, InfoWorld didn’t call it the Computer Nerd Test, and I normally don’t think of them as the type that would put out a quiz with this level of nerdiness required. There’s an answer guide at the end.
Out of a possible 100 points, I got 55…guess I’m not as big of a nerd as I thought! Leave your scores in the comments!
Today’s run got me to the 3-mile mark! I feel pretty good, though a little dehydrated. It seems like a lot of the runs at this point are more of a psychological achievement than physical achievements. Certainly the 20-minute continuous run from last Thursday did a good job of making me feel more like a runner than someone who is just trying to make his way through some running program.
Running for me is somehow strangely relaxing. I don’t really know how to explain it, but I enjoy it. Just under 5-weeks until the Cheetah run, and I’m thinking about adjusting my personal goal…but I haven’t really done any running outside yet. So I’m gonna hold off on that one
I finally got around to making my garage look nicer. It’s something I’ve been meaning to get around to since I’ve moved in over 3 years ago! The previous owners (not sure which one) decided to build a huge (over 5′x5′) shelf of sorts in the back corner, and store some old cabinets – not under the shelf mind you. Under the shelf was reserved for a few cardboard boxes. I never stored anything there because I couldn’t get to it, and I’ve wanted to tear it out since day one. Today, the ginormous shelf finally came down, and the old cabinets made their way to the dumpster!
Additionally, there were several boxes of hardwood flooring and tile on the floor. These I’m sure were form the immediately previous owner, who was a home builder (though I’d never buy a home from him again based on the experience I had with the negotiation process with him, and the subsequent signing). These are now stored in the wall – that’s right, IN the wall. Well, kinda anyway. One wall of my garage is exposed studs, and all but one of the boxes is shallower than the studs. So the perfect solution: put then in the wall, and a 2×4 across the front to make sure they don’t fall out! The tile was just super-heavy, and is now in a location out of the way!
After a little sweeping, setting up some new, USE ABLE, shelving, and organizing several things I intend to keep in the garage, I now have a garage which is almost they way I want it. I need to run some power to the walls as the only outlet is on the ceiling for the garage door opener which is just silly. But most importantly, I now have space for something else in the garage. (and a few others – I ran out of words…all in no particular order
I enjoy being a HAM. I feel like it ties my modern-day activities as a computer scientist to the hard engineering roots of the past that gave us many of the technologies we have today. But many of today’s HAMs are the same HAMs of the past 30+ years. And in no knock to them at all, the pushing-the-edge technology is kinda hidden behind outdated looking (or just plain not updated) websites. And many times, there’s virtually no presence on the web at all – even from vendors! What’s a HAM to do!?
Well, luckily there are a bunch of us who are looking to bring the world of HAM into the 21st century. I just ran across Ham Twits, a list of HAMs on twitter. Granted, not a pushing of the technology, but certainly a group of individuals who are merging modern technology trends with a beloved hobby (and they’re listed alphabetically by last name, so KC8APF, you can make the top of the list!).
I’ve been trying to think up something that might make my HAM hobby have a wider acceptance in the general community. Something that has a some ‘Wow’ factor with it. Simply put, kids are so used to long-distance communication, and most of them don’t even care to think about how the connection happens to impress them with satellite communications (though moon-bounce can be kinda cool still). If you have any ideas for something that has some wow-ness, leave a comment!
