I've invested in another batch of yoga toys - a dozen blocks or bricks, and ten 8' straps. I've been teaching a series in Bristol (Adult Ed) to a fairly large group (15-20), and my supply of bricks and straps does not cover the entire class. Which takes the props down a notch - from tools to use in my teaching to assists for physically tight ot limited students. I would love to say "everybody grab a block and a strap", and guide them through some ab work, some hip work, etc. - so I picked up enough to cover the class.
Not too pricey - I got them from YogaDirect.com - the small low cost blocks were $3.60 each in bulk, and the 8' straps were under $3 each.
And pretty amazing shipping - I placed the order around 6:00 pm on Tuesday the 7th, and they showed up this morning (4/9). And that was using the lowest cost shipping (Priority Mail). SO kudos to you, YogaDirect!
Now I just need to come up with some way to store and transport these.....I have one of those little plastic office cubes, but it's not big enough, kind of bulky, and falling apart. Thinking of one of those larger carts used for groceries or laundry.....
April 09, 2009
April 08, 2009
Longevity and Focus
I've been knee deep in Excel macros and VBScript for a day or so. A big spreadsheet project for a client, loaded with automation and scripting. I put this together originally back in 2004, and made some big changes in 2006 or so. Now it's time for another go around.
It's kind of interesting to be digging up the past like this. First off, I've been procrastinating on this, mainly because I'm resurrecting 3-5 year old programming skills that I honestly need to retrain myself on. Second, I've never been a particularly careful programmer (it's not my core competency, just something I am naturally pretty good at) so I have not done a good job of documentation and organization - it's kind of like a rambling estate that started off as a two room shack. And lastly, this particular project was not really intended to become a permanent tool - just something I cobbled together for my own purposes (I was assisting them in testing and evaluating the original device, back in the day) that grew into a customer tool / feature. I always envisioned a more permanent, hard coded application (not Excel based) being developed from this, but the product has hovered in an odd limbo - not successful enough to warrant a full rework, but successful enough to be maintained and continued.
It's a spreadsheet for importing, viewing and using (exporting charts and waveforms to other applications) the data from an embedded power monitor. It started off simply in 2004 - a log of sampled RMS voltages, and captured waveforms for specific voltage events. In 2006 or so, they added some features - Min / Max measurements for the voltage monitoring. And now, a more extensive product improvement - adding three channels of current monitoring (RMS measurements and waveforms), adding environmental monitoring (temperature and humidity), and adding calculated KVA (from the RMS voltage and current measurements). So the spreadsheet revision is quite extensive.
I spent a bunch of hours yesterday just going through the old code - cataloging all the macros and code to reteach myself as well as to create a reference document (for the client's use as well as my own use). I can already see at least one redundancy that I think I can streamline. It's also a bit complicated in that the spreadsheet, if left to its own devices, balloons to over 25 Meg (the data sets are very large, and Excel is a bit of a memory hog)- so there is an entire set of code dedicated to emptying the spreadsheet and deleting 1000's of rows of data upon closure, and repopulating things upon opening, to get it down to a more reasonable 5-6 Meg.
I tend to get a little fixated when I am working on a project like this - I'll sit for hours, losing track of time, creature comforts, etc. I work through meals, and late into the evening - I email myself the latest version and put in some hours at home, I show up at the office early to get a few hours in before yoga. There is a bliss in that level of single-minded concentration and focus. Now that I am so deeply into yoga and meditation, into my enlightenment experiences, I can recognize a certain preciousness in being so engaged in an activity as to lose myself .
So, if I have a glazed stare the next few days, I am writing code in my head. I'll return to the and of the living anon.
It's kind of interesting to be digging up the past like this. First off, I've been procrastinating on this, mainly because I'm resurrecting 3-5 year old programming skills that I honestly need to retrain myself on. Second, I've never been a particularly careful programmer (it's not my core competency, just something I am naturally pretty good at) so I have not done a good job of documentation and organization - it's kind of like a rambling estate that started off as a two room shack. And lastly, this particular project was not really intended to become a permanent tool - just something I cobbled together for my own purposes (I was assisting them in testing and evaluating the original device, back in the day) that grew into a customer tool / feature. I always envisioned a more permanent, hard coded application (not Excel based) being developed from this, but the product has hovered in an odd limbo - not successful enough to warrant a full rework, but successful enough to be maintained and continued.
It's a spreadsheet for importing, viewing and using (exporting charts and waveforms to other applications) the data from an embedded power monitor. It started off simply in 2004 - a log of sampled RMS voltages, and captured waveforms for specific voltage events. In 2006 or so, they added some features - Min / Max measurements for the voltage monitoring. And now, a more extensive product improvement - adding three channels of current monitoring (RMS measurements and waveforms), adding environmental monitoring (temperature and humidity), and adding calculated KVA (from the RMS voltage and current measurements). So the spreadsheet revision is quite extensive.
I spent a bunch of hours yesterday just going through the old code - cataloging all the macros and code to reteach myself as well as to create a reference document (for the client's use as well as my own use). I can already see at least one redundancy that I think I can streamline. It's also a bit complicated in that the spreadsheet, if left to its own devices, balloons to over 25 Meg (the data sets are very large, and Excel is a bit of a memory hog)- so there is an entire set of code dedicated to emptying the spreadsheet and deleting 1000's of rows of data upon closure, and repopulating things upon opening, to get it down to a more reasonable 5-6 Meg.
I tend to get a little fixated when I am working on a project like this - I'll sit for hours, losing track of time, creature comforts, etc. I work through meals, and late into the evening - I email myself the latest version and put in some hours at home, I show up at the office early to get a few hours in before yoga. There is a bliss in that level of single-minded concentration and focus. Now that I am so deeply into yoga and meditation, into my enlightenment experiences, I can recognize a certain preciousness in being so engaged in an activity as to lose myself .
So, if I have a glazed stare the next few days, I am writing code in my head. I'll return to the and of the living anon.
April 07, 2009
Not in Our Town
Apparently, in West Hartford, the police enforce overnight parking bans. But in Hartford, not so much.
I live in the southwest corner, mere feet from the WH town line, and the West Hartford residents, seeking to avoid a ticket for overnight parking, simply park on a nearby Hartford street, where parking enforcement is not taken quite so seriously as the next town over.
This morning, a blue Mitsubishi, "garaged" in West Hartford, but parked overnight within a few feet of a stop sign on Bristol Street on the Hartford side of the line. (an infraction on its own, and a safety issue when attempting to turn onto Hollywood, the street which sits on the town line). On garbage and street sweeping day, no less. Because, well, because they can.
Generally does not bug me too much, but it drives Zippy wild. It was an issue all winter on snow days, and now it will affect the garbage collection and street sweeping. So for the Zipster, a quality of life blog post....
I live in the southwest corner, mere feet from the WH town line, and the West Hartford residents, seeking to avoid a ticket for overnight parking, simply park on a nearby Hartford street, where parking enforcement is not taken quite so seriously as the next town over.
This morning, a blue Mitsubishi, "garaged" in West Hartford, but parked overnight within a few feet of a stop sign on Bristol Street on the Hartford side of the line. (an infraction on its own, and a safety issue when attempting to turn onto Hollywood, the street which sits on the town line). On garbage and street sweeping day, no less. Because, well, because they can.
Generally does not bug me too much, but it drives Zippy wild. It was an issue all winter on snow days, and now it will affect the garbage collection and street sweeping. So for the Zipster, a quality of life blog post....
April 06, 2009
Get a Blog.....
I get a bunch of email updates from various spaces I have visited - yoga studios, arts spaces, shops, restaurants. One such contact routinely sends lengthy (the last one was 850 words, 7 paragraphs) essays on various topics, right at the top of the email.
Needless to say, I rarely scroll down to see what is actually being communicated regarding the business in question. So if there were something of interest going on that I might, you know, actually visit the business and spend some money on, that sales opportunity is lost. In addition, if I were to (for example) grow weary of these updates (perhaps due to length or tone), I might simply unsubscribe rather than have them show up in my In Box each week.
This illustrates, I think, the danger of mixing marketing and editorializing. One is spending the time and money to get your business message out - so focus on that. If you really want to ponder the meaning of life, do so at the bottom of your email. Or better yet, set up a blog, and put your musings there, and then perhaps tease the blog and link to it in your email.
Needless to say, I rarely scroll down to see what is actually being communicated regarding the business in question. So if there were something of interest going on that I might, you know, actually visit the business and spend some money on, that sales opportunity is lost. In addition, if I were to (for example) grow weary of these updates (perhaps due to length or tone), I might simply unsubscribe rather than have them show up in my In Box each week.
This illustrates, I think, the danger of mixing marketing and editorializing. One is spending the time and money to get your business message out - so focus on that. If you really want to ponder the meaning of life, do so at the bottom of your email. Or better yet, set up a blog, and put your musings there, and then perhaps tease the blog and link to it in your email.
Awe, Respect, and Love
I spent a bunch of hours this weekend with the 2009 teacher trainees down at the yoga studio. Friday night, I practiced with them - a 2.5 hour journey into the hips that left me limp as a rag doll. Saturday night they did their first practice teaching, and I worked with them on assisting. Another long practice; they had already practiced that afternoon and then keyed up for their teaching and assisting. And finally, yesterday I was invited to assist during their noon time practice. Another long one, with an hour or so of yin yoga and then stepping up into inversion.
What an incredible honor to be invited in to witness their process, their training. After Friday's practice, I came home thinking "Did we really do that?" Three killer practices, each weekend? Of course we did. I refer back to this very blog a year ago, and I can sense my fatique, my detoxing, my sense of "Will I ever get there?" - tempered by excitement, by adventure, by hope. And looking around the room this weekend, I saw a lot of that same stuff, in process. Bodies and spirits melting, becoming annealed with Barb's particular mixture of practice, training, and love to become something harder, more durable, more lustrous.
It was so sweet to watch them teach their class - to see them move through the room and perhaps for the first time touch a student, make an adjustment, feel OK about piercing that invisible curtain of propriety and personal space that surrounds each of us. We're yoga teachers - this is what we do. Communicate. Be present. Make contact.
Sunday afternoon, to assist in their practice, to lay my hands on exhausted bodies, to witness and encourage the breath, to feel tissue softening beneath my hands - so very powerful and sacred. To share a smile with a yogi too tired to think straight, to try to pass along through my eyes and my hands "this too shall pass, you'll get through this"
It has been truly a blessing to get to know these folks - even before the training started I began to connect with individuals asking questions, feeling me out about the process they were about to submit to. And after this weekend, I am all the more blessed; I look forward to seeing these folks down at the studio, in classes, in the coming weeks, and to watch them continue this incredible process.
What an incredible honor to be invited in to witness their process, their training. After Friday's practice, I came home thinking "Did we really do that?" Three killer practices, each weekend? Of course we did. I refer back to this very blog a year ago, and I can sense my fatique, my detoxing, my sense of "Will I ever get there?" - tempered by excitement, by adventure, by hope. And looking around the room this weekend, I saw a lot of that same stuff, in process. Bodies and spirits melting, becoming annealed with Barb's particular mixture of practice, training, and love to become something harder, more durable, more lustrous.
It was so sweet to watch them teach their class - to see them move through the room and perhaps for the first time touch a student, make an adjustment, feel OK about piercing that invisible curtain of propriety and personal space that surrounds each of us. We're yoga teachers - this is what we do. Communicate. Be present. Make contact.
Sunday afternoon, to assist in their practice, to lay my hands on exhausted bodies, to witness and encourage the breath, to feel tissue softening beneath my hands - so very powerful and sacred. To share a smile with a yogi too tired to think straight, to try to pass along through my eyes and my hands "this too shall pass, you'll get through this"
It has been truly a blessing to get to know these folks - even before the training started I began to connect with individuals asking questions, feeling me out about the process they were about to submit to. And after this weekend, I am all the more blessed; I look forward to seeing these folks down at the studio, in classes, in the coming weeks, and to watch them continue this incredible process.
April 05, 2009
Hard Work
Teaching yoga that is. And assisting. I'm partway through a 4 day marathon in the studio. Friday I taught two classes, Friday night I practiced with the 2009 teacher trainees. Saturday evening, I assisted as the teacher trainees taught their first class. Sunday, I taught a class, and assisted during the teacher trainee class. And today, two more classes to teach.
Teaching and assisting like this is a lot of work. A lot of time being present - attentive to students, attentive to the sequence. A lot of body stress - moving through the room, kneeling, sitting, crouching, bending, demonstrating postures that I am not fully warmed up for. And a lot of mental stress - just being "on" for an hour or two in a way that is even more taxing than a strong practice.
I need a good hot shower (a bath would be nice too, but maybe later) and I'll be on my way. I lie awake this morning for a bit, planning my 10:45 power class. The 12:15 gentle class will come as it does, depending upon the students and the energy in the room. Already, I am pondering the wisdom of a nap this afternoon, just to recover from the long weekend. And tonight, I may grab some time on the mat with Barb myself (if she is teaching) - to bring my body and my spirit back to center, and reconnect.
Teaching and assisting like this is a lot of work. A lot of time being present - attentive to students, attentive to the sequence. A lot of body stress - moving through the room, kneeling, sitting, crouching, bending, demonstrating postures that I am not fully warmed up for. And a lot of mental stress - just being "on" for an hour or two in a way that is even more taxing than a strong practice.
I need a good hot shower (a bath would be nice too, but maybe later) and I'll be on my way. I lie awake this morning for a bit, planning my 10:45 power class. The 12:15 gentle class will come as it does, depending upon the students and the energy in the room. Already, I am pondering the wisdom of a nap this afternoon, just to recover from the long weekend. And tonight, I may grab some time on the mat with Barb myself (if she is teaching) - to bring my body and my spirit back to center, and reconnect.
My Kind of Radio Host
Dr. Joy Browne that is. According to her bio, Dr. Browne "....keeps herself inspired by dancing and practicing yoga and pilates (when she is not hot air ballooning, that is)."
Gotta love it. When I have caught her show I've always been impressed.
Gotta love it. When I have caught her show I've always been impressed.
April 03, 2009
Yoga Marathon- Spring Edition
I'm in the middle of a string of yoga busyness.
Thursday night, yoga with an old/new teacher, an interesting exercise. He gets into deep places very subtley, and I am finding a lot of freshness and energy in my practice there that I think, will nicely season my own teaching. So far so good.
Today, I taught two classes. A power I class to a smallish group, wherein we went into the hips. I'm not a big hip teacher normally (they challenge me so much) but I took the class down - knee down lunge, pigeon, lizard, and culminating with a sweet little sequence (thanks JD) - a pigeon quad stretch, janu sirsasana, twist, knee pile, and then reverese. All about the hips! And my gentle class, filled with yoga rookies, was a little quieter and a little less strong. Not a bad thing - a rainy day and good to just simmer in the body.
Tonight, a long (2.5 hours maybe?) practice with the master, the yoga goddess Barbara who laughed as she told me tonight was all about hips (seems like every time I step into the studio with her of late we are going into the hips). An awesome practice, just wiping me out. I forget how freaking hard the teacher training practices were, and how much I miss 'em.
Tomorrow, an off day (although you know me, I may figure out some way to sneak in a quiet practice) and then the teacher training practice class at 6 - I was planning to go and practice but I've been asked to come to assist and work with the trainees. Honored, to be sure. And a little nervous - my assisting is pretty intuitive and on the fly - so to have 5 trainees tagging along, looking to learn and role model - going to be interesting.
Sunday, teaching a 9:00 am gentle class (subbing for the studio's queen of gentle, Sharon) and then coming back at noon to assist the teacher training practice. At least this time I won't be collapsing on the mat like tonight.....
Monday, I'm teaching two classes - my new Power I class at 10:45, and then subbing for Sharon again at 12:15. Working at the studio in the afternoon, and with any luck, practicing Monday night.
So if you want me, I'm on the mat.....
Thursday night, yoga with an old/new teacher, an interesting exercise. He gets into deep places very subtley, and I am finding a lot of freshness and energy in my practice there that I think, will nicely season my own teaching. So far so good.
Today, I taught two classes. A power I class to a smallish group, wherein we went into the hips. I'm not a big hip teacher normally (they challenge me so much) but I took the class down - knee down lunge, pigeon, lizard, and culminating with a sweet little sequence (thanks JD) - a pigeon quad stretch, janu sirsasana, twist, knee pile, and then reverese. All about the hips! And my gentle class, filled with yoga rookies, was a little quieter and a little less strong. Not a bad thing - a rainy day and good to just simmer in the body.
Tonight, a long (2.5 hours maybe?) practice with the master, the yoga goddess Barbara who laughed as she told me tonight was all about hips (seems like every time I step into the studio with her of late we are going into the hips). An awesome practice, just wiping me out. I forget how freaking hard the teacher training practices were, and how much I miss 'em.
Tomorrow, an off day (although you know me, I may figure out some way to sneak in a quiet practice) and then the teacher training practice class at 6 - I was planning to go and practice but I've been asked to come to assist and work with the trainees. Honored, to be sure. And a little nervous - my assisting is pretty intuitive and on the fly - so to have 5 trainees tagging along, looking to learn and role model - going to be interesting.
Sunday, teaching a 9:00 am gentle class (subbing for the studio's queen of gentle, Sharon) and then coming back at noon to assist the teacher training practice. At least this time I won't be collapsing on the mat like tonight.....
Monday, I'm teaching two classes - my new Power I class at 10:45, and then subbing for Sharon again at 12:15. Working at the studio in the afternoon, and with any luck, practicing Monday night.
So if you want me, I'm on the mat.....
April 02, 2009
Thanks for Nothing
So my iPod Touch has arrived. Finally. Note to self, cough up the extra bucks for two day shipping in the future. Truthfully, I am happy and excited to have it - I've already accessed the WiFi at my office, my home, my yoga studio (there is WiFi at the yoga studio? Indeed there is....) and I'm slowly starting to insert my life into the box.... Already, I see that Apple is not infallible, my $80 Palm and it's associated software can handle "2nd sunday of every month" sorts of recurring events but the apple software can not.
That being said, if I wanted a few days of emptiness to play with my new toy, shop for apps, etc. - well, maybe in May.
* It's the beginning of the month, and I have my March invoicing to crank out.
* It's the beginning of April, and my taxes need to get done. I've got a pretty decent system worked up after 15 years or self employment, so I can crank 'em out in maybe a day and a half, but I need to sort through a few piles, enter all my expenses and receipts into a spreadsheet, and get it all done.
* My website client dropped a "we'd like to totally redesign the site" note on me two weeks ago, and it's been a roller coaster ride since then. Slowing down now but still waiting for lots of content, cleaning up loose ends, and ramping up for their opening day, May 2. And there is one bit of PHP programming that I stll need to finish, a minor pain in the butt.
* Another client has ratcheted up long overdue revisions and updates to a spreadsheet project. Just gotta get back into the vbscripting....after many months away from it. My procrastination has been multiply rooted - stuck on a particular technical aspect (I think I've figured out a solution), needing a hunk of time to devote to it, and the pain of opening up a big, convoluted programming project that I have not dug into for a while.
* I'm teaching yoga - 5 and possibly 6 classes between Friday and Monday. Plus assisting at the teacher training on Sunday. Going to the teacher practice session on Saturday. Perhaps practicing with them on Friday.
* A friend's master recital on Saturday. The Real Art Ways Odd Ball on Saturday night.
So the little iPod Touch is not going to get much of a workout the next few weeks....
That being said, if I wanted a few days of emptiness to play with my new toy, shop for apps, etc. - well, maybe in May.
* It's the beginning of the month, and I have my March invoicing to crank out.
* It's the beginning of April, and my taxes need to get done. I've got a pretty decent system worked up after 15 years or self employment, so I can crank 'em out in maybe a day and a half, but I need to sort through a few piles, enter all my expenses and receipts into a spreadsheet, and get it all done.
* My website client dropped a "we'd like to totally redesign the site" note on me two weeks ago, and it's been a roller coaster ride since then. Slowing down now but still waiting for lots of content, cleaning up loose ends, and ramping up for their opening day, May 2. And there is one bit of PHP programming that I stll need to finish, a minor pain in the butt.
* Another client has ratcheted up long overdue revisions and updates to a spreadsheet project. Just gotta get back into the vbscripting....after many months away from it. My procrastination has been multiply rooted - stuck on a particular technical aspect (I think I've figured out a solution), needing a hunk of time to devote to it, and the pain of opening up a big, convoluted programming project that I have not dug into for a while.
* I'm teaching yoga - 5 and possibly 6 classes between Friday and Monday. Plus assisting at the teacher training on Sunday. Going to the teacher practice session on Saturday. Perhaps practicing with them on Friday.
* A friend's master recital on Saturday. The Real Art Ways Odd Ball on Saturday night.
So the little iPod Touch is not going to get much of a workout the next few weeks....
April 01, 2009
What Do You Do, Anyway?
For those who might be interested, a press release from one of my clients.
FlightSafety's Hawker 900XP Simulator Receives FAA Level D Qualification
I've been assisting in the design, rating, and prototype evaluation of the the power and grounding for this simulator.
FlightSafety's Hawker 900XP Simulator Receives FAA Level D Qualification
"SimPWR is a key component of our new simulators. It provides power conditioning, voltage conversion and distribution, impedance control, high-energy filtering, surge suppression, ethernet control and monitoring, and TEALwatch remote power monitoring."
I've been assisting in the design, rating, and prototype evaluation of the the power and grounding for this simulator.
March 30, 2009
Tell Me How This Makes Sense
Date Time Location Event Details
March 30, 2009 01:03:00 PM NEWINGTON CT Arrival Scan
March 20, 2009 08:29:00 PM HEBRON KY Arrival Scan
March 23, 2009 01:36:00 PM HARTFORD CT Shipment received by carrier
March 23, 2009 11:28:00 AM HARTFORD CT Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit
So my iPod Touch traveled from Hartford to Newington, by way of Kentucky....
March 30, 2009 01:03:00 PM NEWINGTON CT Arrival Scan
March 20, 2009 08:29:00 PM HEBRON KY Arrival Scan
March 23, 2009 01:36:00 PM HARTFORD CT Shipment received by carrier
March 23, 2009 11:28:00 AM HARTFORD CT Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit
So my iPod Touch traveled from Hartford to Newington, by way of Kentucky....
Weekend Warrior
It was one of those sorts of weekends that one needs a weekend to recover from, a Monday morning that makes one reach for the Advil. I'm not a pain med person - I think the last time I took a pill for body ache was back in teacher training; a year ago, and I tend to want to feel my blody (aches and pains and all) rather than doping it into silence. A frame of reference for my state of being this morning.
Thursday night was yoga with JD; not a killer practice by any means but he is someone I have not practice with in eons and he works on minute little places buried in the body, so I felt it on Friday. Friday I taught my 12:15 gentle class (not all that strenuous, but I do get a workut when teaching), and Friday night was the HSO Connections concert. Not physically demanding but a bit of walking, some vino, and a later than usual evening.
Saturday, morning practice with Nykki (always a good workout) and then a walk round the reservoir with my friend Kimi. Been a while since I laced up sneaks (note to self, get a decent pair of running shoes, Saucony maybe) and so the walk put a little ache in my body.
Sunday morning, gentle yoga instead of Shankara (wise move, but not enough) to loosen things up, and then Shake Your Soul with Daniel Leven. My soul has been shaken, but I tend to forget that it's connected to the musculo-skeletal system. So even though my spirit may be that of a 20 year old wood nymph, it's connected to a 48 year old body with a fair number of limitations, injuries, and weight issues. So now that it's Monday morning - ow ow ow ow ow!
And of course, I teach today; I'm starting my Monday / Friday mid-morning power classes. And the suck part is that both studios will be full prior to class, so no chance to lay out a mat and loosen up a bit before class. Oh well.....
Thursday night was yoga with JD; not a killer practice by any means but he is someone I have not practice with in eons and he works on minute little places buried in the body, so I felt it on Friday. Friday I taught my 12:15 gentle class (not all that strenuous, but I do get a workut when teaching), and Friday night was the HSO Connections concert. Not physically demanding but a bit of walking, some vino, and a later than usual evening.
Saturday, morning practice with Nykki (always a good workout) and then a walk round the reservoir with my friend Kimi. Been a while since I laced up sneaks (note to self, get a decent pair of running shoes, Saucony maybe) and so the walk put a little ache in my body.
Sunday morning, gentle yoga instead of Shankara (wise move, but not enough) to loosen things up, and then Shake Your Soul with Daniel Leven. My soul has been shaken, but I tend to forget that it's connected to the musculo-skeletal system. So even though my spirit may be that of a 20 year old wood nymph, it's connected to a 48 year old body with a fair number of limitations, injuries, and weight issues. So now that it's Monday morning - ow ow ow ow ow!
And of course, I teach today; I'm starting my Monday / Friday mid-morning power classes. And the suck part is that both studios will be full prior to class, so no chance to lay out a mat and loosen up a bit before class. Oh well.....
March 28, 2009
CRRA Electronics Recycling
In Hartford, next Saturday (April 4th, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.) at the CRRA Trash Museum at 211 Murphy Road. Info here
Home electronics, including: computers, monitors, cell phones, TVs, VCRs, copiers, fax machines, printers, radios, stereos. (Electronics from businesses and institutions are not acceptable.)
Keep some heavy metals and various other toxic industrial byproducts out of the landfills or the incinerators.....
New Yoga Classes
Starting next week, I pick up two more yoga classes. I will be teaching WHY POWER I classes on Monday and Friday - 10:45 a.m. (although starting at 10:30 a.m. this week before getting pushed back)
I'm kind of excited (it's a full price class, not a $5 class, and it's power, and it's my class) but also a little nervous (these are newish class times, have not been going gangbusters, and are at an odd time)
We'll see how things go. Drop in to these, or my Friday gentle class at 12:15, at West Hartford Yoga.....
I'm kind of excited (it's a full price class, not a $5 class, and it's power, and it's my class) but also a little nervous (these are newish class times, have not been going gangbusters, and are at an odd time)
We'll see how things go. Drop in to these, or my Friday gentle class at 12:15, at West Hartford Yoga.....
Reprieve
My new iPod Touch, with 16Gig of memory and a touch screen and WiFi access, and all the bells and whistles, did not show up on Friday. Off because the USPS tracking shows it leaving the Hartford CT facility on 3/23 (uhm, that was Monday) - they (the USPS) must be deliberately sitting on it. Can't let the surface shippers get Priority service lest they come to expect it or not buy the higher cost shipping options....
Probably all to the good, because I got a lot of work done this week, and once I get this puppy I am sure I am gonna be running around to all the various WiFi hot spots in my life to test it out - home, office, yoga studio, coffee shop. I am not sure I will use it (much) as an actual iPod, maybe a few tried-and-true "put me to sleep on the airplane" sets of music. (16 Gig is not that much memory) - I think its mostly a replacement for my PDA, a way to access all the cool apps, and a way to web surf and check email on the go.
In any case, I get a weekend reprieve from techno-crack. So I can enjoy the weekend.
This morning - yoga with Nykki. I ought to be fresh, took yesterday off (just taught a class). This afternoon, a quarterly visit to the local support space. And perhaps a walk round the reservoir afterwards.
Tomorrow, Shake Your Soul workshop with Daniel Leven at the yoga studio. And probaby squeeze some more web-coding in there as well....
Probably all to the good, because I got a lot of work done this week, and once I get this puppy I am sure I am gonna be running around to all the various WiFi hot spots in my life to test it out - home, office, yoga studio, coffee shop. I am not sure I will use it (much) as an actual iPod, maybe a few tried-and-true "put me to sleep on the airplane" sets of music. (16 Gig is not that much memory) - I think its mostly a replacement for my PDA, a way to access all the cool apps, and a way to web surf and check email on the go.
In any case, I get a weekend reprieve from techno-crack. So I can enjoy the weekend.
This morning - yoga with Nykki. I ought to be fresh, took yesterday off (just taught a class). This afternoon, a quarterly visit to the local support space. And perhaps a walk round the reservoir afterwards.
Tomorrow, Shake Your Soul workshop with Daniel Leven at the yoga studio. And probaby squeeze some more web-coding in there as well....
Leonard Bernstein at HSO Connections
Wandered over to The Bushnell last night for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra "Connections" series with Colin McEnroe. I was able to get a single seat last minute (I am the procrastinator to whom Colin speaks), right up front (3rd row) and it was pretty amazing being that close to the orchestra. Although being that close, I could not see past the string section. So I kind of watched the violins, violas, cellos, and basses all night.
The spotlight composer was Leonard Bernstein - and there was a selection of his work over the years. West Side Story, of course, with a wonderful ensemble of Hartt School of Music theater majors. Pretty fabulous (especially to be so close to the stage). They also performed Bernstein's Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion, which is reputedly a tough piece for a soloist (and in fact, an orchestra) to play - Leonid Sigal was pretty amazing on violin, shredding horsehairs as his fingers flew.
I really liked the format (Colin would come out and rap with conductor Edward Cummings about the music, Bernstein, etc.) The funniest bits were:
a) That West Side Story started out as a bit about the East Side of Manhattan, and the Jets and Sharks were to have been Irish Catholics and Jews. Colin noted "America would have been a klezmer song". He insisted this was true (though I was not convinced), but wikipedia confirms it. Heh.
b) He also sang a few chorus of "I want to be on Medicare...." (as opposed to America) which was funny (get a new knee on Medicare!) and also kind of ironic in the blue haired theater crowd.
And the orchestra introduced the 2nd half with the horns in the mezzanine, playing the mambo prelude from West Side Story. Awesome to be surrounded by music that way.
Lots of fun - I am a closeted classical music fan (I minored in music in college, not so impressive at an engineering school, but still) and musical theater geek (I never met a Sondhein score I did not love). Ran into a mini posse there - a foursone from the Real Art Ways / OPM crowd. Friends Kim and Kapil. And I wandered over to the Bushnell with friends Alison and John; Alsion lives nearby so it was nice to actually walk somewhere in Hartford on a mild spring evening.
The spotlight composer was Leonard Bernstein - and there was a selection of his work over the years. West Side Story, of course, with a wonderful ensemble of Hartt School of Music theater majors. Pretty fabulous (especially to be so close to the stage). They also performed Bernstein's Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion, which is reputedly a tough piece for a soloist (and in fact, an orchestra) to play - Leonid Sigal was pretty amazing on violin, shredding horsehairs as his fingers flew.
I really liked the format (Colin would come out and rap with conductor Edward Cummings about the music, Bernstein, etc.) The funniest bits were:
a) That West Side Story started out as a bit about the East Side of Manhattan, and the Jets and Sharks were to have been Irish Catholics and Jews. Colin noted "America would have been a klezmer song". He insisted this was true (though I was not convinced), but wikipedia confirms it. Heh.
b) He also sang a few chorus of "I want to be on Medicare...." (as opposed to America) which was funny (get a new knee on Medicare!) and also kind of ironic in the blue haired theater crowd.
And the orchestra introduced the 2nd half with the horns in the mezzanine, playing the mambo prelude from West Side Story. Awesome to be surrounded by music that way.
Lots of fun - I am a closeted classical music fan (I minored in music in college, not so impressive at an engineering school, but still) and musical theater geek (I never met a Sondhein score I did not love). Ran into a mini posse there - a foursone from the Real Art Ways / OPM crowd. Friends Kim and Kapil. And I wandered over to the Bushnell with friends Alison and John; Alsion lives nearby so it was nice to actually walk somewhere in Hartford on a mild spring evening.
March 25, 2009
%$*(&$# HTML and Javascript
I picked up a javascript HTML menu a few weeks ago, to implement on a client's site. Just cheaper to buy a bit of code than to write something.
Unfortunately, the code was being flaky on IE; not launching reliably, so last night I started digging into it. The script itself was inaccessible, and after a 1/2 hour or so of tearing apart the HTML, looking for some issue, I punted. Went and hunted up a different script.
Then spent an hour or so merging the new script with the old menu, and reformatting the menu (colors, fonts, etc.)
Finally, took a look at it in Firefox (I usually use IE on the laptop at home, Firefox at the office) and the page barfed. So another hour of troubleshooting. Turned out I had left rogue "/li" commands at the end of each menu item (the old script made submenu choices a separate list item, the new one did not).
So, problem resolved, pages up and happy, all is right with the world. And I killed 3 hours on a Tuesday night wrestling with this stuff, did not get to bed until close to midnight. Yech.
Unfortunately, the code was being flaky on IE; not launching reliably, so last night I started digging into it. The script itself was inaccessible, and after a 1/2 hour or so of tearing apart the HTML, looking for some issue, I punted. Went and hunted up a different script.
Then spent an hour or so merging the new script with the old menu, and reformatting the menu (colors, fonts, etc.)
Finally, took a look at it in Firefox (I usually use IE on the laptop at home, Firefox at the office) and the page barfed. So another hour of troubleshooting. Turned out I had left rogue "/li" commands at the end of each menu item (the old script made submenu choices a separate list item, the new one did not).
So, problem resolved, pages up and happy, all is right with the world. And I killed 3 hours on a Tuesday night wrestling with this stuff, did not get to bed until close to midnight. Yech.
Gigger
I rent space at an office condo.....a former corporate headquarters that was purchased as an investment, and is rented out piecemeal to smaller companies. Some suites are larger, others (like my office) are a good sized executive office (with windows, curtains, and glass facing the hallways), and still others are small internal rooms fit for a desk, a chair, and a phone. Kind of interesting mix of clients - self-employed folks, local offices for the trades, lawyers, therapists, body workers, a few tech companies.
The office next door was vacant for a while, and a guy recently rented it. He came by to borrow some push pins, and we got to talking about what we each did. "I'm a gigger" he said. I had heard he was in demolition, so I assumed "gigger" was the term for someone who set the explosives or something.
But no, he went into some detail - a gigger was someone who did whatever one could to make money - which in his case involves demolition, stripping and recycling materials from abandoned buildings, etc.
Amusing - I guess I've been a "gigger" for 15 years or so. People ask "What do you do?" and I reply "What have you got?" - I've done graphics, coding, powerpoint, writing, and all sorts of engineering.
Kind of funny, this guy was all puffed up and proud of his tough economic times hustle, as if he invented the concept of working freelance, and I've been living in that space for 15 years.
Gigger, huh? I've googled the term; it's certainly not in common usage or urban slang. But...whatever.
The office next door was vacant for a while, and a guy recently rented it. He came by to borrow some push pins, and we got to talking about what we each did. "I'm a gigger" he said. I had heard he was in demolition, so I assumed "gigger" was the term for someone who set the explosives or something.
But no, he went into some detail - a gigger was someone who did whatever one could to make money - which in his case involves demolition, stripping and recycling materials from abandoned buildings, etc.
Amusing - I guess I've been a "gigger" for 15 years or so. People ask "What do you do?" and I reply "What have you got?" - I've done graphics, coding, powerpoint, writing, and all sorts of engineering.
Kind of funny, this guy was all puffed up and proud of his tough economic times hustle, as if he invented the concept of working freelance, and I've been living in that space for 15 years.
Gigger, huh? I've googled the term; it's certainly not in common usage or urban slang. But...whatever.
March 24, 2009
Recycling
The good part about living in Hartford is that most things we put out to the curb to be collected as bulk waste gets picked up before the sanitation trucks come around. Last night after 11, I heard a truck out front, and a dude hefted the fridge (sans doors) into his pickup, along with the wire racks, and the freezer door. Oddly, he left the fridge section door (maybe there was a space issue, and not that much metal to recycle. The fridge door and a few plastic bits look somewht forlorn out there; on the way out the door I plan to toss the plastic bits into the garbage bin.
A week or so back, the dehumidifier met a suitable fate; although it took a few days - placed it on the curb on Saturday, and it was gone by Monday morning. And many months back I hefted an old water heater (which may have been lined with copper, for all I know) out and that too was scrounged.
I'm assuming the scroungers are seeking the metals to recycle - copper, aluminum. Even though prices have fallen since they peaked out a few years back, they are still worth something. I would not know how or where to start on finding a place to for that stuff - do they take appliances in total, or must one strip the good bits out? I just hope the unrecyclable bits end up in a landfill or waste recycling, and not in the river or stream somewhere.
In any case, I'm happy to provide something for the scavengers to earn a few bucks and keep some metals out of the landfill. It makes me feel kind of interconnected, like an industrial food chain where materials and technology flow downstream, to be reused and re-enter the commercial stream.
A week or so back, the dehumidifier met a suitable fate; although it took a few days - placed it on the curb on Saturday, and it was gone by Monday morning. And many months back I hefted an old water heater (which may have been lined with copper, for all I know) out and that too was scrounged.
I'm assuming the scroungers are seeking the metals to recycle - copper, aluminum. Even though prices have fallen since they peaked out a few years back, they are still worth something. I would not know how or where to start on finding a place to for that stuff - do they take appliances in total, or must one strip the good bits out? I just hope the unrecyclable bits end up in a landfill or waste recycling, and not in the river or stream somewhere.
In any case, I'm happy to provide something for the scavengers to earn a few bucks and keep some metals out of the landfill. It makes me feel kind of interconnected, like an industrial food chain where materials and technology flow downstream, to be reused and re-enter the commercial stream.
March 23, 2009
New Fridge
Unusually flush, I suggested to Zippy that we invest in a new refrigerator. Our fridge is probably 20 years old, and a bit worse for wear - veggie bins busted, gasket worn, a little louder. Although we looked at some new models over at Home Depot, Zippy thought a used model would do fine. (And cost perhaps 1/2 the price of a new model)
So a net gain for the environment (no doubt a more efficient model, and reusing an appliance rather than purchasing a new one) and a mixed blessing for the economy. We're moving some money around but not sending it as far as the manufacturer. We did buy a new dehumidifier recently, so we're doing our part to get the economy moving.
The new box is a little larger, with nice glass shelves (the old one had wire racks), in very good condition. And I took advantage of the upgrade to swap the door around (an interesting and not so difficult project, although the star drivers might have stymied someone with fewere tools). The old one opened away from the counters, sink, and cabinets, so maybe a little more ergonomic as well.
A completely mundane blog post, I know. But it's the little things.
So a net gain for the environment (no doubt a more efficient model, and reusing an appliance rather than purchasing a new one) and a mixed blessing for the economy. We're moving some money around but not sending it as far as the manufacturer. We did buy a new dehumidifier recently, so we're doing our part to get the economy moving.
The new box is a little larger, with nice glass shelves (the old one had wire racks), in very good condition. And I took advantage of the upgrade to swap the door around (an interesting and not so difficult project, although the star drivers might have stymied someone with fewere tools). The old one opened away from the counters, sink, and cabinets, so maybe a little more ergonomic as well.
A completely mundane blog post, I know. But it's the little things.
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