I have pleaded to you, my readers, for the S.S. Minnow, a medium-class icebreaker, and a fort – no such luck (thanks for nothing). But here is my chance… our chance…
That dream to own a large seagoing vessel may be a step closer after Malcolm has pointed me to this article about the Navy trying to get rid of a stealth boat and a barge… for free! All I need is a big-ass slip somewhere and S.S. Dave will be a reality.
Look, don’t think you wouldn’t be welcome on S.S. Dave once its mine, no indeed! Help me find this big-ass slip to tie her up and I promise that you will get a cabin of your own! Just think of it!
I think I am going to at least need to name the captain’s skiff after Malcolm, can’t believe I almost missed this one.
These are the suggested words my spellchecker gives me as a replacement for my friend Mark Hershberger’s last name:
Herbage
Hamburger
Hauberk
Hamburg
Homburg
Horseback
Hatchback
Pushbike
Hitchhiker
Humbug
My friend Brad has collected his favorite photos of the year (see mine here). I am duly impressed – some great shots in there.
Hey Brad, my favs are the first and last shots – nothing like a good personal close-up.
My friend Shannon has been making some great blog posts lately (unlike me) – but of particular interest is one she posted today in which she references an article which discusses “planning to share versus just sharing“. That article, and Shannon’s comments are quite interesting in my current employment context (same context as Shannon’s) but I also have the perspective of having worked at Red Hat where sharing was part of the culture… part of the business. At Red Hat it was second nature to just share – whatever it was – no questions asked. At other places I have worked, there was and is a real fear to sharing. That to me is the key – people are afraid to share. Afraid their ideas will be stolen, they will lose business, lose recognition.
But where does this fear come from? I am inclined to think that it is grown out of our society’s obsession with our brand of capitalism. We have 24 hour networks devoted to business and finance which talk endlessly about what people have to sell. We have commercials running day after day which use the word “proprietary” as a selling point. Still, that doesn’t explain why a non-profit would feel the same way until you factor in the academic setting into it as well. Our non-profit grew out of the University of North Carolina and in many ways it still runs like the University (I know, I worked there once too). There is a lot of talk about things such as getting into peer-reviewed journals not as a way of sharing information, but as a way of getting recognition and prestige (academic capital). I’m not putting down either capitalism or academic capital per se, but I do think we tend to forget to drop those mindsets when we need or want to share.
Being naive, I approached the non-profit world with a sense that they all shared… because… they are non-profit. I could not have been more wrong. Shannon is right to equate the article she found to non-profit work – the processes and planning that surround the idea of sharing generally kill the actual sharing. This is most evident to me in a couple of (unnamed) organizations designed to promote sharing of technology between non-profits. They like to use the phrase “open source” a great deal but in actuality they are organizations set up as large NDA’s who share conditionally and do not promote the continuation of that sharing. In reality, technology is now quite simple to share. Pick an open license which suits you and stick it on the web (preferably on a site designed for sharing) – see what happens. As Shannon says: “The key is not to plan to share; the key is to just start sharing and see what happens. The serendipity that occurs is something that cannot be planned.”
There has been a fire burning at the coast of N.C. since June 1st. June-freakin-1. Today however, there was what must have been a major shift in the winds so that the smoke has blown all the way from the coast to l’il ol’ Chapel Hill/Carrboro. The longer the day grew, the worst the smoke.
We are now in a Code Red air quality alert and I am feeling it. I was curious about those winds shifting from the East and John Fleck share with me quite a few links to maps and weather data which only a climate-nerd like John would have (said with the utmost respect, mind you).
My favorite is the NOAA “Fire Hazard Mapping System” image. I guess I didn’t know the NOAA kept such a thing – but its pretty impressive to see the smoke drifts from the current North American fires. Its also interesting to see how many fires are burning too. Amazing.
The following is the real text a friend received in an “e-vite”. Names have been blocked out to protect the innocent:
Why are we doing this? Well if my math serves me correctly on one warm August evening back in “79, a woman and a man came together and discovered each others bodies. Outcome? After a male sperm exited the man’s (XXXX’s Dad) penis and entered through the woman’s (XXXX’s Mom) vagina the sperm then traveled up the vaginal canal to the uterus where it came together and bonded with a female egg…a little XXXXXXX was created. And as thanks for that sexual exploration of her parents and to honor the subsequent birth on May 25th 1979…I cordially invite each and every one of you to celebrate by tipping your glass to a much older 29 years XXXXXXX. Same great attitude, same great spirit, same great looks. Hurrah! Thanks Mama and Papa XXXX!
Yesterday was live-music day here in Carrboro. After a brief spot of work at Carrboro’s own “Open Eye Cafe” and a quick lunch at Carrboro’s own “Akai Hana” sushi restaurant, it was time to hear some tunes. First up was the Obama Early Voting Rally (I only vote on election day thankyou, I like ceremony) featuring Chapel Hill stalwarts Superchunk opening for Arcade Fire. The show was outside at the Carrboro’s own “Carrboro Town Commons” and was packed with people. The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great time. A bunch of us headed to my main man Fred’s (Carrboro’s own) house for grillin’ and chillin’ afterwards.
We left that a bit early to take care of the dog, sit for a moment, and then head out to watch The Pressure Boys play a show at Carrboro’s own “Cat’s Cradle”. The Pressure Boys owned Chapel Hill long before Superchunk ever did and were an integral part of my rock-n-roll education as I used to devour their shows in high-school and college. They were playing this reunion show to raise money for CF research too. It was a great show and once again, everyone had a great time.
However, all this “great time’in” in Carrboro has done wore me out. Crap, I’m actually sore from all that.
Above I share with you a shot from the Superchunk portion of the day – That’s Laura Balance on bass. If you’d like to see some more shots from the rally, look here.
Update: Fred makes the following note in his twitter: “Carrboro should do that every friday.” – Agreed.
I mentioned that Paul Wolfowitz was in Rwanda while I was there. Ran into him in the lobby a few times – shared a plane out with him. But this tops all – he tried to stick Mark with his breakfast bill.
You know… it dawned on me that no one has told me that they are truly supporting Hillary. This isn’t to say that some folks I know won’t be voting for her – but I don’t know any fervent supporters. The most common thread I hear is that someone is voting for her because they think she has a better chance against the Republicans. I completely disagree with that – but its interesting to me that I don’t hear the same level of agreement and support as I do for Obama.
As to who is more electable, last night at a fancy dinner event I actually met a guy who used to work for Rick Santorum. He is an Obama supporter and even said “Obama is making me a Democrat”. Wow!!! Sure, that’s one guy – but my wife, who works in a more rural setting, has heard a handful of republican-leaning folks talking about supporting Obama.
Now, there is this story about McCain’s adviser who says he won’t stay on if Obama wins. He says he wouldn’t feel right about attacking Obama (which is inevitable) because he likes the man and respects him. How amazing is that? Especially since this is the same man who, working for Bush, attacked McCain in 2000. I’m not sure, but I think this says in a backhand fashion that he doesn’t like and respect his current boss.
Update: In his official endorsement of Obama, former Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee is changing his party affiliation so that he can vote for Obama in the upcoming primary.
I took some photos the other night of a friend’s band – for them to use if they like. I think some of them came out quite well. It was a difficult place to shoot but I think I’ve coaxed out some atmosphere.
Enjoy them.
