nostatic at all...

Well, back to Tai Chi class after missing last wednesday due to travel and monday due to holiday. We started the Tai Chi sword form. Tonight was slow, mostly learning the stances that will be used and a couple of parts of the first section of the form. I've never been a huge weapons guy...in kung fu we used a shinai for the "stick form" and that was fine, but there also is a nunchaku form, and I don't really like chucks. I kinda wish I was working on Yang 24 but I suppose I'll have to do that on my own...which is what I should be doing anyway.

Posted at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, first lunch/parade laps. Then the short track series license. Then a time trial license. Today I found out that I'm in for the POC Race Clinic June 10-11. In short, two days of learning the ins and outs of wheel to wheel racing. Drills going two and three wide through turns, the art of passing, and other things designed to keep you safe when trying to decide if you're going to brake late and dive in for a pass. After this clinic I think I'm in a different TT run group, then after the second Race Clinic (in Dec I think), I get my race license. Then it's really over...stay tuned.

Posted at 04:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another reason to worry about global warming: more and itchier poison ivy. The noxious vine grows faster and bigger as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise, researchers report Monday.

And a CO2-driven vine also produces more of its rash-causing chemical, urushiol, conclude experiments conducted in a forest at Duke University where scientists increased carbon-dioxide levels to those expected in 2050.

Scientists. I used to be one of those...I never grew poison ivy though...only mutated bacteria.

Posted at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

and we answer...

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are obliterated by the feet of skateboarding boys...eventually.

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Proposal done. Boss said it is "redundant." Redundant, redundant, redundant. Get it? Spent the morning meeting new people who matter, the afternoon driving, the evening messing with tools and cursing, and the night nodding off during knockout qualifying.

That's a full day, right?

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stick it in, i'm done. sleep good. soon i hope.

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Can I write fast? 8 page proposal due at noon today. Well, actually more like 11:30am as it has to be reviewed first. I have been thinking about it and have 2 paragraphs done. I have to walk the boy to school, come back home, hop on the bike and should be at work a little before 9am. Can I finish? And have it coherent? Place your bets...

Posted at 07:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All I can say is I'm glad tramadol is now a generic. First the upper back, then this am the mid back. Why? Easy...stress. Major proposal ($1M) due tomorrow by noon. My book chapter needs to be rewritten with bibliography by next Tuesday. I'm in debt, and will sink a bit further before it stabilizes (but eventually should be out).

But what are you gonna do? Easy...stay up late tonight writing, then finish it off tomorrow. Hit the shrink, then the DMV, then pick up the boy. Then try and take a bit of a break. Then pick it back up again. And hope that I get cleared to run the POC race clinic in June. A guy's gotta dream...

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And crankier than ever. Woke up fine, then in the shower the upper back started to tighten. Then some email on even more work being dumped on me. Then taking the bike to the shop. Then getting a call and having an 8 page proposal dumped on me with a Thursday deadline. Then getting back to the shop and finding out they haven't even started work on the bike. Of course I've missed my DMV appt to get a new title generated for the bike I'm selling (I need the $$$). By the time I'm back home I can barely move my upper body. Massage, meds, psych, and accupuncture (in that order) haven't made a dent. Tomorrow I fly to San Jose for another day of long meetings, having to appear "smart", and then fight rush hour traffic from Half Moon Bay to San Jose to fly back home. I'm taking the night off though...I'll write on the plane tomorrow. And if the proposal doesn't get done on Thursday...then it isn't done on Thursday. So far I haven't gotten the data I need to write it anyway. I can't create in a vacuum...unless they just want me to BS the whole thing...

Posted at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, the results from the time trial are up. In the final practice session I ran a 2:01, better by my competitor by a second. But in the real deal, I ended up coming in second by 0.035 seconds. That would be thirty-five thousandths of a second. Oh well. Next time...

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Got a new MacBook? Need to defend yourself from the dark (or light) side? Well, lucky for you the solution is at hand.

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This weekend was the POC Tribute to LeMans race and time trial. Since I don't have my race license (yet), I was doing the time trial on sunday, but served as a pit marshall for the Tribute 4-hour enduro race on saturday. California Speedway was the site, and it is a very fast track...you run the full front straight and turn 2 and 3 on the banked oval. So I was hitting 130mph or so...yow. And quit staring at the skid marks leading up to the wall. Don't know how my 2 hot laps went...they were ok I think, but not my fastest. Managed to drop down to 2:01 in the 5th (and last) practice session of the weekend. Wish I had been able to run on friday...that would have been another 4 run sessions. Oh well, the car and I made it through the weekend unscathed, uber-bud Harry showed up to spectate on sunday and generally keep Calvin company while I was on track. I do love this stuff...

me on the front straight having passed the 944 and dogging the GT3...why is he so slow with twice my hp?!?

on saturday night a team loaded up and left their garage slot empty. when i got there sunday morning my friend Matt saw me and suggested I take the empty slot next to him...nature abhors a vacuum.

Posted at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So in a previous episode, it was me and Tony Soprano being chased through the streets of Paris. In tonights episode (of the show, not my dreams), Tony's wife goes to Paris for a week. Coincidence? Perhaps Dr. W. knows...

Posted at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm exhausted. But not the usual psychic exhausted...instead its from racing at California Speedway. Today was the "Tribute to Le Mans" 4 hour enduro race. I didn't get to race it because I don't have a cup license (yet), but instead I volunteered as a pit marshal. So it was an early morning, followed by three run sessions practicing for tomorrow's time trial (my first time running this course at speed), the 4 hours of standing around making sure two of the teams didn't do anything wrong during their mandatory pit stops. Then back to the westside to get some groceries and pick up the boy. Then up early again tomorrow to do a couple sessions then my TT. No complaints though...nope. Interestingly enough it was a little over 2 years ago that I first set wheels upon a track..this very one, doing lunch laps in March of '04. My, the slope is rather slippery...

Posted at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting. My and Tony S. were trying to escape from some guys in the streets of Paris. What's up with that? Well, Dr. W. knows. I felt threatened. I always feel threatened. Even if I'm not, I just to that conclusion. And something doesn't want its way of life disturbed. But it will be...sorry mom.

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Today was a surgical strike to Palo Alto to speak with new collaborator Toru at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Looks like we might have a cool project(s). And quite the nice bucolic digs...the peninsula looked pretty nice after months of june gloom in LA. Is there money in them thar hills? Time will tell...

Posted at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No, not that kind. The kind asking for money. Hmm...I suppose that kind could involve money. What ever happened to dowries, anyway? But I digress. I'm on soft money for part of my salary for the next year (and in reality, all of my salary, but that is a semantic trifle). So like all good academics, I need to start looking for the next pot of money to support the lifestyle to which I've become accustomed. Tomorrow a flight up to meet with a very smart guy from Carnegie. Next week up to ISKME again. The week after to New York. Chasin' a livin'.

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Sometimes you get a bunch of great shots, other times you shoot a bunch and get nada. Or at least not what I was "seeing." Here's a crop of one...but it never was quite what I saw...

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Another blast from the past. Perhaps more directly applicable, given the weekend focus on ego...

Fame, (fame) makes a man take things over
Fame, (fame) lets him loose, hard to swallow
Fame, (fame) puts you there where things are hollow
Fame (fame)

Fame, its not your brain, its just the flame
That burns your change to keep you insane (sane)
Fame (fame)

Fame, (fame) what you like is in the limo
Fame, (fame) what you get is no tomorrow
Fame, (fame) what you need you have to borrow
Fame (fame)

Fame, nien! its mine! is just his line
To bind your time, it drives you to, crime
Fame (fame)

Could it be the best, could it be?
Really be, really, babe?
Could it be, my babe, could it, babe?
Could it, babe? , could it, babe?

Is it any wonder I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame
Is it any wonder you are too cool to fool
Fame (fame)

Fame, bully for you, chilly for me
Got to get a rain check on pain (pain)
(fame)

Fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame ,fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame, fame
Fame
Whats your name?

Posted at 05:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't think this one applies to me directly...maybe in some sideways metaphysical way. Used to be a favorite of my long ago ex-roommate and partner-in-crime Tom.

I guess I shoulda known
By the way u parked your car sideways
That it wouldnt last

See youre the kinda person
That believes in makin out once
Love em and leave em fast

I guess I must be dumb
cuz u had a pocket full of horses
Trojan and some of them used

But it was saturday night
I guess that makes it all right
And u say what have I got 2 lose?
And honey I say

Little red corvette
Baby youre much 2 fast
Little red corvette
U need a love thats gonna last

I guess I shoulda closed my eyes
When u drove me 2 the place
Where your horses run free

cuz I felt a little ill
When I saw all the pictures
Of the jockeys that were there before me

Believe it or not
I started to worry
I wondered if I had enough class

But it was saturday night
I guess that makes it all right
And u say, baby, have u got enough gas?
Oh yeah

Little red corvette
Baby youre much 2 fast, yes u r
Little red corvette
U need 2 find a love thats gonna last

A body like yours (a body like yours)
Oughta be in jail (oughta be in jail)
cuz its on the verge of bein obscene
(cuz its on the verge of bein obscene)

Move over baby (move over baby)
Gimme the keys (gimme the keys)
Im gonna try 2 tame your little red love machine
(Im gonna try 2 tame your little red love machine)

Little red corvette
Baby youre much 2 fast
Little red corvette
U need 2 find a love thats gonna last

Little red corvette
Honey u got 2 slow down (got 2 slow down)
Little red corvette
cuz if u dont u gonna run your
Little red corvette right in the ground

(little red corvette)
Right down 2 the ground (honey u got 2 slow down)
U, u, u got 2 slow down (little red corvette)
Youre movin much 2 fast (2 fast)
U need 2 find a love thats gonna last

Girl, u got an ass like I never seen
And the ride...
I say the ride is so smooth
U must be a limousine

Baby youre much 2 fast
Little red corvette
U need a love, u need a love thats
Thats gonna last
(little red corvette)
U got 2 slow down (u got 2 slow down)
Little red corvette

cuz if u dont, cuz if u dont,
U gonna run your body right into the ground (right into the ground)
Right into the ground (right into the ground)
Right into the ground (right into the ground)

Little red corvette

Posted at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While I've played "Turning Japanese" quite a few times, I think in fact I'm actually Chinese. Previous lives burbling through? Wishful thinking? Not really sure, but too many personality traits and feelings of comfort and ease associated with things Chinese. Well, except for the damn language...but I'm working on that.

我们都是中国人

Posted at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We thought we had a bad monoball on the 911. Turns out the monoball might have been ok...it was the spacer and nut that was whack. After 3 hours of fun, and another car to scavange from (hey, I've got a time trial coming up and that car is on the lift for another 2 weeks), she's back on the road. Tight fit between the bar mount and the monoball, but looks like it won't bind. We'll see on Saturday...

Oh, and the right rear sway bar mount was hanging off. What's up with that?!?

Posted at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CBS...they suck. They broadcast 4 Formula One races a year. And their coverage blows. But what blows more is that I forgot they were covering this weeks Spanish GP, and didn't tell Tivo to look for the race. So I watched practice and qualifying, then settled in Sunday night to an empty recorder. Oh well, I still don't know who won, and SpeedTV will broadcast their version (with announcers who don't suck) next weekend. At least I got to make a dent in my backlog of Sopranos episodes...

Posted at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today (and part of last night) was spent sitting. And sitting. And then some more sitting. Interspersed were discussions about ego at Shambhala. Not that I have a problem with ego...well, truth be told we *all* have trouble with it. Do you suffer? Thank ego (along with a number of other causes, but I digress). I had two "takeaway" thoughts (even though you're not supposed to grasp things).

The first is that for any particular moment or issue, it only lasts for a moment...then if it is still around, it is our mind recreating it. And we can stop our mind from recreating it. Second, without space there can be no form. So stop trying to fill up all the empty space inside and out.

Posted at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

of the dance that is...

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Well, not quite in the army, but instead the ICB Army-Industry Collaboration Conference at UCSB. I spent the last two days there absorbing science and tech...the main thrust being the concept of looking at natural systems for solutions to unnatural problems. You wouldn't believe how much time and money gets spent on technology related to food in the army...

The trip was made much more fun though by the transportation mode (as well as the company):

Posted at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Women can work out whether a man will make a good father just by looking at his face, research shows. Simply studying a photograph can give them subconscious clues that he likes children - and would therefore be a good long-term partner. Scientists behind the discovery believe it adds an important dimension to knowledge about mate selection among humans. Experts say women judge a man on his genetic quality and also his willingness to be a good parent for her offspring.

more @ Daily Mail

Posted at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Instead of a cut and paste job, I'd like to actually get a discussion and perspective on what is wrong (and also what is right) with post secondary education in the US today. I'll preface this by saying that I know this arena well: as undergrad, grad student, postdoc, faculty, administrator, and now research fellow (on soft money). I have argued with and to colleagues that the system is pretty broken and we are at a tipping point wrt higher ed: digital technologies and the network have forever changed the way that we consume and produce content (and by extension, knowledge from information). Unfortunately most of education and associated industries (most notably publishing) either are in denial or don't fully comprehend the implications.

What's right? I still believe in a liberal arts education. I think that the most important thing we can teach students is to learn how to learn. With the ferocious rate of change in fields these days, there is no way that a college can teach all of the "facts" and have them be relevant...in other words, a college can't be a trade school. Instead, it needs to teach critical thinking skills and analysis. This is often found *outside* of the major however. I was a chemistry major in undergrad, but found that some of the most important classes were symbolic logic (a philosophy course), catholic theology (religious studies), and intro to anthropology. Each got me to think differently about me and my surroundings, and showed me how to question accepted reality. Had I opted for nothing but "meat", I surely would not have progressed as far and wide as I have.

What's wrong? Glacial reaction time wrt change of curriculum and delivery. Intellectual property concerns in academia are based on very old models, and stymie innovation such as remixing content. Projects like open content are making small dents, but uptake is hampered by academic departments that refuse to change. Digital disseratations still number in the single digits, in part due to the archive repositories that refuse to accept them (due in part to technical and content issues). Tenure has created an atmosphere in some institutions that can best be described as "comfortable" and at worst, lazy. Pay disparities between academia and the "real world" still hamper getting the best and brightest, especially in technical fields where the skill set is much better paid in the private sector.

What to do? Abolish tenure. This has to be done carefully though, as one of the driving forces for tenure in the first place still is an issue: having faculty and their research interests potentially at the whim of senior administration. I would prefer rolling contracts (5 year?) with a modified peer/administrative review process.

Revamp IP. Some university has to take the bull by the horns, and either partner with Hollywood or take them on. Students need to be able to quote in the vernacular (video, image, audio). Fair use needs to extend to rich media, with an accepted "quotation" system in place.

Overthrow traditional publishers. Text books are ridiculously expensive. And it isn't the authors getting rich here. It costs $500K to bring a new book to market. That is insane. Digital publications can be cheaper/faster/better, and more important, remixable and viral. The system used to judge faculty, based almost soley on peer reviewed publications, needs to change to recognize blogging, wiki contributions, and other "new" forms of publication.

Posted at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Create your own South Park character. Does this violate copyright?

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Well, my nagging hip injury finally got the better of me, and I decided (in consultation with Larry, sifu and friend) that I might need to chill on kung fu for awhile and try alternatives. So tonight I started back at ground zero in a beginning tai chi class. I suppose it isn't really ground zero as we're all a product of the experiences that brought us to this point in time, but in some ways it also is also more frustrating. As I began my journey learning the Yang 8 movement form I found my hands going to spots and motions ingrained through the last 2 years of kung fu. But that is part of the lesson...learning to "empty my cup" so I can have more tea.

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It's never a day off if you have the shrink. Sometimes you get kicked in the gut. Other times you get sad. On those rare occasions, you get a bit fortified (like MD 20/20?). One of those days today. It turns out that I actually can question people and push back...you don't automatically lose with everyone. Well, you do if you let them, so I have to think very clearly. Decisions made have long lasting repercussions. As much as I try to not worry about getting it right, I need to get it right.

Posted at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A video that I did a soundtrack for about 3 years ago resurfaced, and of course led me to some lyrics (again). Funny, that...

Home in the valley
Home in the city
Home isn’t pretty
Ain’t no home for me

Home in the darkness
Home on the highway
Home isn’t my way
Home I’ll never be

Burn out the day
Burn out the night
I can’t see no reason to put up a fight
I’m living for givin’ the devil his due
And I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’ for you
I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’ for you

Time is the essence
Time is the season
Time ain’t no reason
Got no time to slow

Time everlasting
Time to play b-sides
Time ain’t on my side
Time I’ll never know

Burn out the day
Burn out the night
I’m not the one to tell you what’s wrong and what’s right
I’ve seen suns that were freezing and lives that were through
And I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’ for you
I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’ for you

Posted at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just what we need...a female android. South Korea debuted an android featuring a woman’s body and capable of expressing human emotions, following movements and communicating in Korean. The 160 centimeter-tall EveR-1 weighs 50 kilograms and has facial and physical features of a Korean woman in her early 20s, KITECH said. It can recognize 400 Korean words, and can answer questions both verbally and through facial emotions, according to KITECH.

Posted at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A long, involved dream. An argument with an usher, small pipes on the organ, no signal on the cell phone, and a lot of walking. No wonder I'm tired...

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Give rides to girls on toys with wheels. As we get older, only the price of the wheels change...

Posted at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, proof that it was all a big hoax...

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