July 10, 2012

There were 5 posts published on July 10, 2012 (this is page 1 of 1).

Letters to Grandma: 13 August 1989

[Note: Read this post first for an introduction.]

I sent this letter a month before my first deployment, PACEX 89. I had just completed my first foreign port call at CFB Esquimalt, outside of Victoria, though I never updated Grandma on that visit. Probably because I remember so little of it.

You can see me already griping about sea life, but by the end of my tour I became quite attached to it. I simply didn’t care much for being the low man on the totem pole or living in a cramped, crowded berthing area all the time. You can also see my discomfort with California though, like life at sea, it would also come to grow on me.

I had forgotten that at this point I thought I would study law. That didn’t last too long (as did studying anything in college – besides the women!).

From:
J.M. Turner
USS Elliot (DD-967) OZ
FPO San Francisco, CA 96664-1205

13 August 1989 [age:20]

Dear Grandma,

Sorry it’s been so long since you heard from me. Last week marked the beginning of “refresher training,” three weeks of drills, drills, and more drills – the biggest test I’ve had since boot camp, I guess. The first week didn’t kill me so there’s hope. I must say I’ve learned (or “remembered”) more last week than I have since I got to San Diego.
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Cheap thoughts: treadmills

I was walking on our treadmill today and wondering why it has such a big-ass motor on it. What does a motor really add to a treadmill, anyway? Besides a hundred pounds?

Shouldn’t the act of walking or running on the tread be enough to simulate a walk or a run? Do you ever see stationary bikes with motors on them? No, you don’t, because the pedaling is what makes things move.

It seems all a motor does is enforce a certain pace. When you run on the road, you don’t do that with a pace car riding right behind you, threatening to run you over if you don’t keep pace. You can speed up or slow down as it suits you. So why use a motor to set a rigid pace when on the real road this doesn’t happen?

I don’t see why a treadmill couldn’t simply have a tread on a low-friction set of rollers and perhaps an odometer to tell the user her speed. It sure would be a hell of a lot easier getting it up and down stairs!

Wade CAC heats up again

Things heated up again in the Wade CAC last night. Accusations are flying and fingers pointing. It’s crazy and hard to figure out. I’m not choosing sides, I’m not going to sort out the he-said-she-said, but I’m simply trying to carry out a fair election. While some have asked me to put things off, I will make no decision on my own but will submit to the direction of the CAC. It’s really all about the citizens.

The whole event is stressing the hell out of me, truth be told. I wish there was more harmony but wishing alone ain’t gonna make it happen. Whomever does win the election will have to contend with the big job of patching up the community. I wish them well!

redhat.com | The first [open source] American

Back in 2006, Red Hat Magazine published an article on Ben Franklin from Amy Anseim which claims that Franklin was the first open source American. Franklin would’ve been right at home with the open source movement that we know today. Not only today’s open source proponents, but all of society owes a debt to Franklin for his devotion to the free exchange of knowledge and information.

Kids know him as the guy flying a kite in a lightning storm. Adults know him as the face on the hundred dollar bill. Historians know him as"The first American." His achievements and contributions to mankind, particularly to the fledgling United States of America, have shaped much of what we do on a daily basis, from the clauses of the Constitution to the maxims of Poor Richard’s Almanack.

But all of Ben Franklin’s ideas, actions, and contributions can be linked back to his own ideals. An appreciation of community. A love of truth. His belief in an inherent responsibility to his fellow man.

Franklin was truly ahead of his time. He wasn’t just the first American, he was the first open source American.

Freedom. Transparency. Collaboration. Accountability. Sound familiar? This was how he lived his life and impacted society.

via redhat.com | The first [open source] American.