After a little summer vacation from blogging, I'm back. Hello World! as they say in C Sharp, Powershell, and every other beginner programming class. After you say "hello world" what happens next?
Well, that's for us to make happen I guess.
A few things stand out over the last month.
Cycling: The kid is back!
Well, at least in my own mind:) Still, I recovered from being blown out at the state crit championship in Olympia and went on to finish well in my next 3 crit races. Crits tend to be the fastest of all cycling races and usually feature courses around several city blocks. They are intense, a little dangerous, but thrilling nonetheless. They're spectator friendly, which is good for Amy and the kids. They are over quickly and usually close, which is also good for Amy and the kids.
There's no one better to give honest feedback than a four year old. I asked my daughter Lucy if I looked okay at the state crit in Olympia, hoping she might say "Sure, Daddy you looked great."
Instead, she simply hit back with a simple "No." And she was right. It was one tough race, eventually won by a 16 year old up and comer. I lasted a few laps before calling it a day. It was a good chance to explain to Lucy the value of participating rather than winning.
Still, I felt extra motivated after that race. I knew I needed to get back into the sport and prove, I guess, to my daughter that I could still ride with the best of them.
And since then I have done that, finishing decently in the lead group of guys in each of the crits since then. No blowouts, no getting dropped.
Reading: relaxation and reflection
In this day of lightening fast information delivery, I realized I have missed the simple pleasures of reading a full length book from cover to cover. Reading is a refuge from kids, interuptions, and the noise that has become commonplace in everyday life.
Since returning from a management IT conference in Vegas last April, I have been on a tear, reading up on business management topics and getting through a few novels. I have been able to reflect on some important issues at work and in life overall.
Plus I finally got some reading glasses and that has made a difference too. I didn't realize I was straining my eyes so much.
Here I am in Second Life making a plug for Windows Server 2008.
I rode into work today thanks to some nice weather and a little inspiration from my friend Mike Doherty, who has started riding 25 miles each way to work and back. Mike and I chatted down at the Seward Park bicycle race Sunday, where I showed up with my daughter Lucy for the kid's race. Mike, who is about my same age and has 4 kids, has been commuting now for a month. We joked about both making cycling comebacks next year. There's always next year!
Anyhow, I'm hoping to get back into more consistent bike commuting. I rode through a stretch of about 5 years, riding both ways -- until the birth of my second daughter and subsequent purchase of a second car, a high performance Ford Focus. Don't laugh. The car rips around corners. It also gets somewhat less mileage than advertised. Costs look destined to go higher -- in what can only be a motivator to ride to work more.
Plus, I reach the office energized -- "fired up and ready to go!"
It's not often you get to see your own dad in a documentary playing at a film festival. On Friday, I joined my dad, Robert Blair Kaiser, as he introduced the film "RFK" at Seattle's Truly Independent Film Festival.
Every time I watch footage related to the Kennedy assassinations, I half hope maybe this time it will turn out differently. They won't get shot. Something will intervene. Please don't make me watch this over again. It's too painful.
My father was featured prominently in the film and looked great! He spoke about his book "RFK Must Die" which was just re-released last week. I have started to read it again and bought four autographed copies to hand out to friends.
Seeing my father on film, reading his book, hearing and seeing all the great things people say about it, makes me proud. Helps me keep the faith. Gives me energy to help carry on RFK's vision for justice in America. His campaign lives on, lives on today, in Barack Obama and each of us. RFK's time is here!
Tonight, I wandered across the street to my new neighbors, the Artspace Hiawatha Lofts, and checked out the open house.
The project "consists of 61 one and two-bedroom rental units of affordable live/work studios plus six commercial storefronts for artist-related businesses."
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels was here along with numerous other VIPs who said a few words to officially open the Artspace center. I missed all the speeches though.
Many residents opened their doors and invited people in to check out their homes. I managed to hand out my cards with my blog address, my very modest contribution to art or at least as close as I come to making art. Plus I mentioned I am running for PCO in our local 37th District Democrat precinct. Well running maybe a little bit of an overstatement as I don't believe I have any opposition. Although I do need to do my opposition research. Who knows? I could be facing stiff competition. I might need to commision signs, buttons, momentos, cookies, branded bottled water;) Actually, what I hope to do is just go around the neighborhood, help register voters, introduce myself, and get to know my neighbors more. Maybe I'll find ways to help that I haven't thought of.
Sometimes the best work training is just to sit down and read a book from cover to cover. Today, I waded through a text that had circulated among senior managers in my organization at work. All about getting things done. This was less of a how to book than a glimpse into the rarefied world of senior executives -- how they win and how they lose. The authors zero in on failed projects and offer their opinions of why they failed. At the other end of the scale, I wondered if the champions feted in the book might have possibly also been in the author's good graces. Maybe that's part of what made them great ...they pitched their stories well to the writers.
I found a number of sections with direct relevance to the challenges I face at work. I especially like the section on the "Importance of Robust Dialogue"
"You cannot have an execution culture without robust dialogue one that brings reality to the surface through openness, candor, and informality.....When people express candidly, they express their real opnions, not those that will please power players or maintain harmony. Indeed harmony sought by many leaders who wish to offend no one can be the enemy of the truth, It can squelch critical thinking and drive decision making underground."
There's something a little forboding about picking up an Ian McEwan novel. If it's not dark at the beginning, it will very likely end up so -- with bizarre twists along the way. This Booker Prize winner was no exception. After reading most of his early work from the 70s and 80s, my appetite to read more has returned. Lately when I finish reading something or watching a movie, I invariably look up relevant topics on Wikipedia. There I learned that McEwan himself has perhaps experienced a little life imitating his own art. An older brother given away for adoption by his mother during the War traced adoption papers and discovered he was the brother of one of Britain's most powerful novelists. McEwan, the writer meets his brother, the bricklayer. There is apparently a novel in the works, this time by the brother. Next up: Black Dogs.
The director of this fun movie about bike messenging in NYC spoke about how he was a messenger years ago and it forever altered the way he viewed the city. I thought this was an interesting perspective that I had not considered. I too was a messenger years ago, in Seattle. But I'm not sure if it forever altered the way I see the city. I remember almost getting hit by a car and almost hitting an old guy on the sidewalk. It probably made me a better urban cyclist although I had long been used to riding in the city.
Anyhow, after watching the film, I felt inspired and justified enough to finally buy a messenger bag. I no longer have to ride to work with my broken yellow back pack or my free Windows Server beach bag. I can't quite match the look of the guy in the poster yet, although I could proabably manage to do the stare reasonably well.
I recently heard Congressman Jay Inslee speak about his book Apollo's Fire. Good ideas here. Maybe a tipping point is happening for renewable energy. When I read the book, maybe I'll have more to say. But at least Inslee signed it for me. I had him write it to my daughters Lucy and Ella. They're the ones with the greatest interest in the outcome of this after all.
As I nursed a cold over the weekend, I had to slow down. I couldn't smell the roses or ride my bike but I could at least try editing videos from the recent MMS conference. I thought I could combine several segments with takes of my avatar in Second Life -- introducing each from a high tech locale. Easier said than done. It will take a little longer than just a couple hours. This will either end up looking pretty cool or a little silly. I don't know. Anyhow, if it motivates me to dink around on the computer and learn more about video editing, that is a good thing.
Here I am in SL on a Microsoft User Group island, wearing my Bjorn Borg top -- the one he made famous at Wimbledon.
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