Saturday, November 29, 2008

Pitt v. West Virginia

As part of the Thanksgiving festivities I did something I almost never do. I watched football. I know how to play football, sorta, informed mostly by the tabletop fantasy "football" game Blood Bowl. I was never into organized sports and so the concept of paying money to go sit in a stadium and watch football is not something I would consider high on my Top 10 Things to do on a day off list. However, as the Grandparents bought the tickets, and asked so politely for me and the Missus to come with them I couldn't in good conscience refuse.

So, the game we all went to see was played in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and was the old rivalry of Pitt vs. West Virginia. In fact this is the 101'st go round of this game and a good game it was. Sorta.

At times the game resembled a Three Stooges routine with comedic errors that elicited groans and boo's from the assembled throng. Bad passes, interceptions, plays so retarded even I noticed, and calls by the ref that were so obviously bad it made my brain bleed internally.

But in the end it was a fun game. it was a televised game and I swear both teams were playing to the camera, have to make good T.V. you know. Pitt came from behind in the 4th quarter to cinch a narrow lead, but then allowed West Virginia to wander down the filed with less then a minute to play and when Pitt finally decided to mount a defense they were on their own 20 yard line. Not exactly where I would have picked but hey, what do I know.

In the end West Virginia was unable to capitalize and Pitt won the game. However, I can't help but wonder why it even came that close? Twice Pitt was within scoring distance and called boneheaded plays, Pitt missed a field goal that should have been a chip shot, oh well.

As for the atmosphere? Football fans are nuts. I would hazard a guess that in our seats, near the club boxes, the ambient temperature, factoring in the wind, came to a chilling 20 degrees. Yet there were people out with gloves, a hat, and no shirt or jacket painted blue and gold screaming their heads off in weather that had me in a coat huddled under blankets. Insanity, utter insanity.

At least they had a hat on right?

All in all it was a lot of fun and I could definitely be convinced to return next year.

Thanksgiving in Eldred

I spent the Thanksgiving holidays in Eldred PA. It's a little town just over the New York/Pennsylvania line. I was in Eldred with the Missus because my Grandparents did not like the idea of spending Thanksgiving alone and invited the Missus and I down for a few days. The meal was divine, the menu as follows:
* Turkey
* Homemade turkey gravy
* Brussels sprouts with bacon
* Sausage and chestnut stuffing
* Caramelized sweet potatoes
* Mashed potatoes
* Mincemeat pie
* Pumpkin Custard, it was supposed to be a pie but didn't set. We ate it anyway.
* Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese frosting made by the Missus.

All in all it was a fantastic dinner and a fantastic Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

My Uncle May Go to Jail....

My uncle Glen may end up in jail for possession of marijuana. Now I usually am against laws that criminalize victimless crimes. Drug possession, without the intent to sell, is as far as I'm concerned a victimless crime. So why do my views differ for this instance?

Because, Glen refuses to stay under the radar. I've spent most of my life trying to stay off the radar, I don't break the law, play loud music, harass cops, and have never been in court with the exception of a college criminal justice course. In fact one of the only things that makes me pause when considering applying for a pistol and/or concealed carry permit is that I would be on file. Just bothers me I could be tracked. As far as I know it's not so much paranoia as a healthy dose of suspicion.

How does this all relate to Glen? If you refuse to play the game the system will find a way to bring you black in line. He has flaunted the system for years, he has upset practically everyone in the family at one point or another, he is a very visible persona. Now, on their own none of this is a bad thing but when you give a very visible persona the ability to concealed carry, and a marijuana card that's just asking for trouble. Legally he can have marijuana, it's for pain control from a bad fracture sustained from a down hill skiing accident. But if your going to have a privilege like that why would you make a point of it? Keep it under wraps, grow your plants, but make sure your shit is air tight. No slip ups, no screw ups, no half measures. He screwed up and the cops knew him by first name and were more then willing to make a point of making his life miserable.

I wish him the best, he is still family, but at the end of the day I hope he cools his heels for a few years and calms down. Oh well, I guess we can all hope.

Sponge Candy is Crack Rock

That's right, sponge candy is to me what crack rock would be if I did drugs. I can not resist the little chocolate covered squares. So good, so sweet, they sit there eroding my will power, destroying my focus and making me lust for more!

I love the holidays!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Feeling Strangely Fine

I got paid last Friday.

My first real paycheck. It covers bills, wedding expenses and spending money with a little left over for savings. It's a good feeling, but it's not just the money, or I should say it's not just the money that's making me feel good. I feel as though a weight has been lifted. I don't worry anywhere near as much as I did, I don't find myself worrying about money, or worrying about gas, or wondering if I'm going to make it to Friday. I'm not exactly rich, but I'm doing well, I have one paycheck to spend on the Missus birthday and one to spend on Christmas. Not the whole paycheck mind you, but a portion thereof.

It's a good feeling.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Why I Love Automated Testing

I love automated testing. I love Extreme Programming(XP) and I love agile programming and the agile methodologies. So why does it seem like every company I work for does not share my love?

The reason is simple. XP is hard. As an organization you have to trust your developers and your developers have to adhere to a rigid and unrelenting standard of repeated testing and quality controls at every level of the software process. In an agile environment customers are directly involved in decisions about the software despite their usual lack of technical knowledge. This poses it's own set of problems as customers need to be kept informed, and need to make good decisions but they also need to be held accountable for their decisions and made aware of the ramifications of their decisions in terms of coding effort and cost. That above all else is the core of agile programming, accountability, and nobody likes to be held accountable. But god I love XP. It's just better, it's a better way to write software, it's a better way to run a software team and at the end of the day it's just better.

Oh well, I'm slowly converting followers, one step at a time.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Prop. 8

Is ridiculous.

I don't think there needs to be much more said on the issue so I won't spend more time addressing the proposition itself and instead I'll discuss a few of the comments I heard and read about Proposition 8.

"Were a Democracy and the majority has spoken"

The "Majority" spoke by 52.2% to 47.8% that's a difference of 4.4%, to put that in perspective of the roughly 12,000 votes cast the "majority" was a majority by roughly 500 votes. Why is this important? The majority spoke, therefore the majority voice should carry right? Well, if the majority voice is all that matters then this country is in for some dark times. Some of our best decisions have been against the incumbent majority! Desegregation comes to mind as a prime example.

I found this.... gem... on Syracuse.com, granted a site whose comment section often descends into the stinking cesspool of the lowest common denominator. But I digress. The comment below was in response to an article asking for the opinion of Syracusains on the passing of Proposition 8. The article was written by Maureen Sieh.

"Maureen;

Congrats on another attention grabber with little actual significance. It strikes me as a bit oblique to ask folks in NY what they think of the actions of voters in California. Why didn't you write a guest editorial in the LA Times and ask the folks in California? But where are my manners, that would make sense.

The sacrament of marriage was codified by the church as a way to legitimize the intergenrational transfer of wealth to heirs. This is where the words legitimate and inheritance spring from.

As gays cannot of their own actions reproduce, referring to their living arrangement a "marriage" is patently absurd. Furthermore as the inheiritance laws have been liberalized to where anybody can leave $$$ to anyone they designate, the entire concept of "gay marriage" has no meaning.

As they comprise by some estimates perhaps 5% of the population, granting homosexuals the same social recognition as a true marriage between a man and a woman simply aids in the illusion that their abberant behavior is somehow normal.

IT AIN'T NORMAL!

Think about this, if the human race was comprised of just homosexuals, it would have died out already. Man + Man = no baby. Woman + woman = no baby. Man + woman = baby.

It's a fairly simple equation Maureen.

Or as Tommy Smothers once said; "If your parents never had any children, chances are you won't either".

I honestly don't know who I feel sorrier for. You with your inane questions, or the paper that blissfully pays your salary."

Let's look at the comment piece by piece.

"Congrats on another attention grabber with little actual significance. It strikes me as a bit oblique to ask folks in NY what they think of the actions of voters in California. Why didn't you write a guest editorial in the LA Times and ask the folks in California? But where are my manners, that would make sense."

The poster begins by berating the author of the article, he, I assume it's a he, feels that the author has no call in asking New Yorkers their opinion on a proposition that occurs on the other side of the nation. This strikes me as simply ridiculous. I do not need to live in a poor community to know we have need for social welfare programs, I do not need to live in a manufacturing town that is watching the manufacturing all pack up for cheaper berths overseas to know we need to stop outsourcing. I do not need to loose my job to know we need unemployment insurance. So why should I need to live in California to know how I feel and how we should handle Proposition 8?

"The sacrament of marriage was codified by the church as a way to legitimize the intergenrational transfer of wealth to heirs. This is where the words legitimate and inheritance spring from."

Legitimate, coming from the Latin legitimus legitimate, from leg-, lex law. Not marriage, law. While the common use may be in regards to a child born in wedlock, or having full filial rights and obligations by birth the original meaning had more to do with an act in accordance with the law rather then with any idea or marriage.

Inheritance, coming to us from the 14th century and meaning to inherit property. Inherit, coming to us again from the Latin, meaning to receive from an ancestor as a right or title descendible by law at the ancestor's death. Again, no mention of marriage.

Now, let's look at marriage from a Sociological context. In social grouping theory a diad, or two person grouping, is the least stable. Yet monogamous pairings are inherently diads. So, knowing that this grouping is inherently unstable we as a society have tried our best to shore up this inherently weak arrangement. Marriage, the vows, the ceremony etc. is nothing more then a way to bring as many people into the relationship as possible as a support network for an inherently unstable pairing! The act of marriage has no Sociological context for property or reproduction. It is simply a way to help a couple build a support network in the community.

Back to the comment....

"As gays cannot of their own actions reproduce, referring to their living arrangement a "marriage" is patently absurd. Furthermore as the inheiritance laws have been liberalized to where anybody can leave $$$ to anyone they designate, the entire concept of "gay marriage" has no meaning."

Marriage as a living arrangement is only patently absurd if you assume that the only purpose of marriage is to have children. Given the legal ramifications of marriage in many cases having children is not even a thought. Insurance will cover your spouse, not your significant other. Your spouse can make medical decisions for you in the event your incapacitated without a designated health care proxy, your significant other can't. This is just the tip of the iceberg. In this day marriage is a legal institution, religion hardly has a place in marriage anymore. The posters comment on inheritance also makes little to no sense. Inheritance can be designated to any recipient, yet this can be challenged by family unless your beneficiary is your spouse! Legal ties of marriage are incredibly powerful in this society and reproduction, or the ability to reproduce has absolutely nothing to do with it.

"As they comprise by some estimates perhaps 5% of the population, granting homosexuals the same social recognition as a true marriage between a man and a woman simply aids in the illusion that their abberant behavior is somehow normal."

How can behavior that is exhibited in all mammals be aberrant? How does allowing two people, irregardless of gender, the ability to legally marry somehow effect their behavior? This segment is simply a logical fallacy. It just doesn't make sense.

"IT AIN'T NORMAL!"

But, it is. Homosexual behavior has been documented in all mammalian species. If everybody does it, how is it abnormal?

"Think about this, if the human race was comprised of just homosexuals, it would have died out already. Man + Man = no baby. Woman + woman = no baby. Man + woman = baby."

This is true, homosexuals by themselves are unable to reproduce. However, marriage is not about reproduction. Marriage is a legally binding contract with far reaching implications in our modern society. Not allowing two people to marry based simply on their inability to reproduce is ridiculous.

"It's a fairly simple equation Maureen."

Only if we assume your fallacious arguments above are in fact true.

"Or as Tommy Smothers once said; "If your parents never had any children, chances are you won't either"...."

Tommy Smothers also said: "There's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action."

Article, and comments can be found here.

Thoughts on the 2nd Amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

This is the 2nd amendment as passed by the House and the Senate. Given the current political climate I've been reading a lot of debate about the place of the second amendment, is it still valid in a modern context? What did the founding fathers truly intend when they drafted the second? What rights does the second guarantee an individual citizen? Etc.

Now, it seems to me that there are two very distinct interpretations of the second amendment.

1) The second let's citizens of the United States keep and bear arms, period. This is an absolute right and should not be infringed.

2) The second let's citizens of the United States keep and bear arms, as part of a militia, and as we no longer require a militia the second is no longer an absolute right and therefore can be regulated by acts of Congress and by local law.

These views hinge on whether you view the first part of the amendment "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..." or the second part "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." as gospel.

Let's look at the first view point. people in this camp feel that the second line in the amendment is most important. They feel that the right to bear arms should not be regulated, in other words any "Arms" they want they should be able to purchase, keep, carry, etc.

Persons ascribing to the second view point look at the right to bear arms as anything from antiquated to dangerous to a nuisance. often this camp feels that strong gun control is the only way to curtail gun violence and that there are certain classes of weapons that no citizen should own.

I find myself stuck in the middle. I strongly believe that gun control does no good, and the only way to control violence is with violence. I firmly believe that if students could have carried concealed then the school shootings of recent years would be mere footnotes in the paper as opposed to national tragedies. Yet I can see little to no need for a citizen to carry a fully automatic weapon. Yet I also see no need to regulate single shot, or even semi-automatic firearms be they pistols or rifles. I could even see a rigorous screening process enabling a citizen to purchase fully automatic weapons, I just see little need.

So, I find myself torn. I believe that the right to keep and bear arms is an important one and one that should be carefully preserved. I feel that gun control is ridiculous with a proven track record of failure. Yet I find that voicing these same opinions is unpopular at best. I guess all I can say at this time is I'm going to keep watching and hope that the politicians realize the same truths that seem so plain to me.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

An Oncoming Train it is Not!!!!

As of 3:00 today I am done.

That's right, I have graduated. All finals are in, all classes have been taken, all requirements, I hope, have been fulfilled. I never have to step foot on RIT's campus ever again. It's a good feeling.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

C# is Awesome

I'm on my third day at InfoDirections. I'm quickly remembering exactly why I love C#. It just works. I'm quickly shaking off the lethargy that comes over a developer when he plays with Legos, I mean Java for too long.

More on InfoDirections to come.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

So Then She Said....

Me: You know, as of today I'm worth more to you dead then alive.
Missus: Why's that?
Me: Because I have a $100,000 life insurance policy. But you can't kill me for another thirty days.
Missus: Your worth more to me alive then dead right now.
Me: Why's that?
Missus: Because right now you're a continual source of income, so when you're six months from retirement, that's when I'd kill you off.

I love my Missus!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

I Went to Church Today.....

It was a Baptist service at First Bible Baptist Church. I went not because I am Baptist, but because a good friend asked me to come to church. I rarely think about, or discuss religion. In fact I would only self identify as a Humanist if I thought anyone I dealt with on a daily basis would understand. Truth be told I'm not even sure that's the proper label so, for convenience, I stick with Unitarian Universalism.

But, back to church.

The service was made up of two sections, the first part was made up of singing, prayer and music. While the presentation at First Bible Baptist was incredible, a large orchestra, choir, and stage accompanied by several large projector screens make for an awe inspiring spectacle. They definitely get a 10/10 for presentation but it's not the presentation that I took offense to. Almost without exception the message contained in the music and prayer was one of subservience to Christ, and subservience to God. There was a common thread running throughout that we, the congregation, were not good enough, faithful enough, could not love enough to truly be worthy of God yet he loved us anyway. This just seemed wrong to me. Why would I pray to someone while fervently believing I was not good enough? Would not I, who is made in God's image, be worthy to pray to the force that ostensibly created me? In my mind it was akin to saying a child was not worthy to ask a parent for a favor. It just seemed wrong. Yet I behaved myself and made it through to the sermon.

Now, the pastor of First Bible Baptist is a fantastic speaker. I've always said that a Minister/Pastor's principle job is to put on a show Sunday morning. All else is window dressing. Well, he put on one hell of a show. He spoke on what qualities made a good leader and interspersed his talk with short quotes from the Bible, Solomon to be specific. I did not find these quotes to be offensive or to interrupt the flow of his sermon. He used the stage well, moved well, spoke clearly and enunciated well. In short he was a fantastic speaker and gave a really good sermon.

Would I go back to First Bible Baptist? Probably not, however I would love to see their Pastor speak in a different setting. His sermon made the trip worth it for me.

Thanks Molly!

I just wanted to take a moment to that my cousin Molly and her significant other Pete for being amazing, wonderful, gracious hosts this past weekend while I was in Pittsburgh. I don't even know if they read this blog but they went out of their way to make the Missus and myself welcome. Thanks a bunch guys and if your ever in Rochester we owe you one.

Silver in the Steel City!

Yep, that's right I took second in my division in the PA Open. Out of two. I fought a 275 orange belt. He was just a little bit faster, more aggressive and skilled then me. But it was enough. He pinned me the first round after I gave up a pin and a submission. We were playing double elimination and due to the fact he was the only other competitor in my weight class I fought him again loosing a handful of seconds into the round from an Osoto-Gari. I didn't even see it coming.

Overall I thought the tournament was well run, a little discombobulated with a wide variance in the quality of the judging but overall it was well attended and well run. I would gladly drive to Pittsburgh again next year.

As a personal reflection, I need to loose some weight, a lot of weight. I need to improve my ground game especially my pin escapes. I've known this for a month or two now but I really need to focus on it. I may see if one of the Sensei in my club can work with me and really focus on escapes, once I got caught in the pin the first round I panicked and I need to not do that. My standing game.... I need a standing game. I know throws yet I find it hard to execute them in both practice and competition. But most importantly I need to get used to the higher intensity of competition play and the only way to do that is to go out and fight in another tournament.

Overall, I thought it was an amazing experience and I'm looking forward to my next fight.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Fighting in the Steel City!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

I'm heading to my first Judo competition, the Pennsylvania Open in Pittsburgh. I received my USJA (United States Judo Association) membership last night and the quote above was on the back. I liked it, liked it a lot.

I don't have any huge expectations. I've competed before, I ran track, I threw shot put and discus in High School yet never before have I wanted to compete. I find myself waking up in the night these past few days nervous, excited and thinking about fighting. I should say playing, Judo is a sport, you play Judo but hell at the end of the day I fight. Play seems far too tame a word to describe several hundred pounds of muscle and sinew, two trained athletes trying their level best to slam their opponent to the mat with considerable force or barring that, a choke, or lock on the ground.

I don't expect to win, yet I expect to learn, to play, to have a hell of a time in the Steel City and hopefully get it all on video.

Monday, November 3, 2008

On Gnomes

I lost my rings the other day. My class ring and my promise ring. It was my own dumb fault I took them off in the bathroom at RIT and forgot them sitting on the sink.

Hours later when I realized I didn't have them they, of course, were gone. I ran to the Cage, the office in the Gordon Field House at RIT and they told me that they had not only been turned in to the office, but the office had turned them over to Public Safety for safe keeping. So off I went to Public Safety who had no record of any rings being turned over to them. Zip. Nada. Zero.

Suffice to say I was getting worried. So, I kept at it I made phone calls I talked to Public Safety a half dozen times over four days, I called the Cage, I spoke to the supervisor of the Cage, he talked to all the student managers and nobody knew anything.

Suddenly out of the blue they reappeared at the Cage. They had in fact not been turned over and had been sitting in the lost jewelry bin for days.

I got a phone call and they were returned to me.

How do Gnomes fit into this you ask? It's quite simple.

Everything we see is painted in frames. One frame at a time, by Gnomes. Small hairy Gnomes, with hats and jackets. Now, these Gnomes are not perfect and sometimes they forget things. Every notice how once you buy a replacement thing the old thing shows up? Well, it's not because you lost the old thing it's because the Gnomes forgot to paint in the old thing and when you went and got a new thing they remembered the old thing and then had to "paint it back in" this happens quite frequently. So, when my rings did not turn up the Gnomes had to paint them back in, yet they couldn't just paint them back somewhere out in the open, it had to make sense. So, they painted them back into the lost jewelry box so nobody would suspect they forgot. They keep their job this way.

So remember, when something goes missing... Blame the Gnomes!