Ravings of an Intermittent Fool

Sorry for being gone for such a long time, but we had some serious hosting problems. First, Billy's DSL providers made lots and lots of changes and had a really long outage. Terrible customer service if you ask me. Then once connectivity was reestablished, we had problems with DNS and the new IP addresses. Hopefully things are squared away for now.

My latest fav podcasts have to include The Onion Radio News. These short 1 minute pieces are the kind of classic comedy you'd expect from The Onion. How can you pass up gems like Hidden Valley Ranch Bombed By Balsamic Extremists?

This site was offline for two weeks and yet I still received a bunch of trackback spam this morning. What a great thing to wake up to.

Ski Jumping has never been one of my favorite sports to watch. The runs appear all too similiar and since everyone competes seperately, it gets boring after awhile. Furthermore, to the casual observer, its really hard to understand why some guys go further than others. Oh and lets be honest, almost all of us are casual observers of this sport since its on tv in the US once every four years.

That changed tonight when I saw a camera that traveled with the skier down the hill, thru the air and to the landing. It was a compelling piece of tv, much like its summer games companion, the diving camera that falls in sync with the athlete. The only disappointment was that NBC didn't use this footage nearly enough.

I've been experimenting with running a Subversion repository on Windows. The SVN 1 Click Setup project makes it drop dead simple to confiure svnserve as a service on a Windows box. The 1.3 Suversion code stream now includes out of the box granular read/write permissions for the whole repository. This facility is called authz. I did run into a wrinkle in trying to configure the repository to not allow any anonymous access. Apparently, the root of the server needs to have anonymous read access if you intend for anyone to write to a subdirectory of the repository. Not ideal, but more is explained in this work around.

Over the weekend, the friends had a discussion about why cowbells seem so popular at the winter olympic sports. We were at a loss to explain the why and we could only agree on the fact that it is annoying. I have found the answer and it is a simple one. You can't clap your hands in mittens.

Here is a picture of the most cute nephew ever. This picture and the others were taken when Angela and I babysat Collin over night for the first time. Collin got us up at 2am and 7am for feeding and for entertainment respectively. I really have a new respect for all parents and what they have to put up with.

More pictures are of course available.

Over the weekend, we took what is fast becoming an annual ski trip. This time it was to Snowshoe Mountain in Snowshoe, WV. All and all it was a great trip. The runs were long and if you planned things out, the slopes weren't very crowded.

We stayed in a house about 15 minutes away from the resort. It was a very well appointed house with a large kitchen and dining room. The downstairs featured a bar, a pool table and a foosball table. The only bad thing that you can say about the house was that for such a big place, why such a small hot tub. :) In any case, we are all good friends, so we made do with the close quarters.

As for the resort itself, it was strange in the sense that all of the facilities are located on the top of the montain instead of the bottom. This makes using the resort supplied maps a bit confusing since the trail maps and the resort maps are depicted from different perspectives. Further complicating matters is that the resort features slopes on three different faces of the mountain including two faces that are directly opposite each other. That is just difficult to express on the map.

As mentioned, Snowshoe is really three different skiing areas. The main section has the bulk of the runs. It has a few long blue and black runs but the majority of the area is either green or short black/blue runs that empty into greens at the bottom of the hill. I spent the majority of my time on the Widowmaker which is at the far extreme left of the resort. Its remote location kept the lift lines very reasonable all day.

The next area, The Western Territory, is located across the street from the main area. This is the place for the most technically challenging skiing that the resort has to offer. It only features two 1.5 mile runs, both black (with one containing a double black section at the bottom). These were the most challenging slopes that I faced all weekend. Thankfully we got there early when there was no crowds. This let me slowly fumble my way down the mountain. If I ever get to ski this area again, I hope I can do a bit better on this section.

The last area is called Silver Creek and is accessible via a short, free shuttle bus ride away. This is the section of the resort that features their night skiing, their main terrain park and their snow tubing. Tucked away in the back is two very nice black runs. One of which was my favorite run of the whole trip since it wasn't too steep for me and it had some nice soft powder. I am not sure if it is because it is away from the main resort or people intend to hit this area after dark, but the lines here were never long. Furthermore, on the lift serving the blacks, there was never more than a 2 or 3 minute line. Most of the time, you could practically ski right onto the lift. Here is a piece of advice, the two best black runs at Silver Creek aren't lit so they aren't available for night skiing.

Besides the aforementioned confusing maps, the only other flaw I found was outside the control of the resort. Cell phone coverage is pretty awful. This is undoubtable due to the National Radio Free Quiet Zone. My phone didn't work anywhere and a few Verizon customers got service only at the top of the mountain. This makes organizing large groups really difficult. If you really need personal communication, you will have to invest in some small 2 way radios that use unlicensed spectrum.

More pictures are of course available.

The RAID Calculator is nice little web app that helps you calculate the amount of usable disk space you can get depending on the RAID level that you choose. It also gives some details about each RAID level which is certainly helpful because I can never keep them straight in my head.

Today's Word of the Day: Attestation - It means among other things "To affirm to be correct, true, or genuine".

From the Hill-Rom Latitude System:

At last - an arm system with the flexibility of a ceiling boom and the practicality of a headwall! The telescoping arm with Teleglide™ technology gives caregivers the flexibility they need, especially in the ICU, ED or NICU! The simple design also makes it easy to use and install. Click on the navigation to the left to find out more about the Hill-Rom Latitude™ arm system and other Hill-Rom offerings.

I don't know about you, but I've always been on the lookout for an arm system that has the flexibility of a ceiling boom and the practicality of a headwall! Thanks Hill-Rom!

I use Gallery to power my photo albums. I recently discovered some features that are helpful yet hidden. On the Admin page there is a way to deal with comment spam. However, there isn't a way to find all the comments that have been made on your photos. This is important because you need to see those comments in order to populate the blacklist in order for the "find comment spam" functionality to work.

What I found in the "statistics" page is a way to list all the comments that have been left in the stage in order of newest comment first. This will definitely be helpful for me to cut down on photo comment spam. The other nice feature is that it allows you to see a list of the most viewed photos.

I love GMail, but if more and more of my mail is not delivered to recipients because of this problem the service becomes less and less useful to me. Its very irritating. I wish there was some easy solution to this problem.

I wrote last week about our Ski Trip and I thought I would take some time to jot down some of my thoughts on what it takes to pick up this sport. It is after all a good (although somewhat expensive) way to exercise in winter.

Equipment
Skiing or Snowboarding is one of those sports that does require a lot of specialized equipment. Fortunately, you might have a lot of what you need already and the things that you don't are surprisingly cheap to rent. The first and most important thing that you are going to need is proper clothing. A dry and warm skiier (and from now on I am just going to use that term instead of adding boarder each time) will be a happy skiier. Nothing will ruin your will to stay outside if you get too cold and wet.

To counteract this, you need waterproof pants and a jacket. If you already have these things from playing outside in the snow, then you are already set. The pants come either as normal pants or as overalls. The later ensures that you won't lose your bottoms regardless of how you tumble down the mountain. The only nice to have special feature is some elastic at the bottom pant legs to keep snow from getting under your clothes. The good thing about pants is that basic models are pretty cheap...in the $10 - $20 range.

Next up is the jacket. This has the potential to be a budget busting affair. However, you can find bargains if you look at the right times. If you can find a jacket that is relatively tame looking (this is the trend now but it wasn't so much before) you can use this ski jacket as your heavy winter coat. That certainly takes the sting out of a major purchase and provides some insurance if you find out that you hate skiing. The jacket is an infinitely more complex thing that then pants and there are a lot more things you should look for when buying a jacket. The first thing to look at is the zippers. Are they long enough that you can work them easily while wearing gloves? Do all the pockets have zippers on them? (Even if you don't carry something in each of the pockets, you will want to keep them zipped up while on the slopes). Next look to see if the jacket sports an inside, zippered pocket. This is perfect for stashing car keys and other things that won't be used much during the day. One optional thing to look for is if the jacket has vents. These allow you to let cool air into the jacket in the case that you are overheating. Its a nice feature, but definitely not a requirement.

Next on the list is a hat and waterproof gloves. Do not go cheap on the gloves or try to use gloves that aren't waterproof. Having cold, wet hands is absolutely miserable. Any hat is good but avoiding cotton based fabrics in all your gear is a good idea. Last on the list is something for your face. The sun can be blinding, espacially with all the white, reflective snow around. The wind in your face can also be problematic. It pays to have some goggles or throw away sunglasses around in order to cover up. Thankfully both of these options are pretty cheap. Last for the face is some kind of covering for the lower face. If it is going to be very windy, this will keep the only exposed piece of flesh on your body from being abused.

You'll note that I didn't really include any actual skiing or snowboarding equipment in this list. If you are just starting out, you really should rent from the ski resort or an independant dealer. Skis, boards, boots, bindings and poles are very expensive and you shouldn't make the leap unless you know what you are getting into. Plus, rentals are pretty cheap in comparison. They usually run about $10 - $20 a day. When compared to what the gear costs and how often I go skiing, I will gladly pay those prices rather than locking me into one set of gear that I have to store and travel with.

Picking your sport
For the longest time, I've always posited that skiing is easier to learn but I am not so sure about that now. I think a lot of it has to do with what other types of activities you have done in the past. I think roller skating or ice skating is very similiar to skiing in sense of how you shift your weight. Snowboarding of course gets a lot of its pedigree from skateboarding. Use this as a basic guideline when picking out your sport. It has been said that it takes a good two days of pain and self-punishment to learn to snow board properly. Your ramp up time on skis is probably a bit faster. However, in the longer term, managing two independantly moving planks strapped to your feet can be more difficult than the one involved in snow boarding.

Learning
The first thing I would do is take a group lesson. Unless you have a very patient friend that is willing to expend the time teaching you, I would take the lesson. I think this is best for everyone since it cuts down on the pressure the "teacher" will often put on the student to progress to more difficult slopes. After all, the teacher probably doesn't want to ski on the bunny hill all day, but rather the more challenging hills. Taking a lesson will give you the time to learn on your own pace with someone that has done this hundreds of times before. And don't think that lessons are just for kids. Most places feature lessons for all ages and have lessons that are specially targeted for just adults.

Pride
Even on the bunny slopes but more specifically afterwards, you need to dispense with your Pride. You are going to fall down. It is natural. Fortunately with loose bindings and the relatively low speeds that you are traveling at, it probably won't hurt physically too much. You however must get over the fear that you are making a fool out of yourself. Everyone falls, even the most experencied skiiers. And if you are a snow boarder, you are going to fall a tremendous amount of times in the beginning. Suck it up and just remember that you will be able to laugh at yourself later on in life.

Other considerations
Most of us don't get to go skiing every week or even every month so there is a great pressure to maximize your investment. After all, you did spend a pretty penny on a lift ticket and prehaps accomodations and maybe a plane ticket. It is only natural that you want to get in as much skiing as possible. With that said, don't over do it. If you are starting to feel it in your legs, you might want to give skiing a break. Getting down the mountain can be challenging in itself without having to factor in fatigue. What this also tells you is that you should consider trying to challenge yourself to try harder terrain in the mornings after your initial learning experience. The fresher legs will be an asset to you as you try to conquer the slopes.

You might also consider having each person in your party carry a cell phone. (This is where having good pockets in your jacket is nice). This will allow people to split up for a bit so they can take on the terrain that is most suited to them. It also lets the novice skiier a chance to hit the lodge for a bit to rest up those weary legs (and they will be after falling down and getting back up so many times.

Another thing to keep in mind after your first successful skiing experience is to be wary of hubris. If there is a significant chunk of time between skiing, it will take some time to get back in the swing of things. For those first few runs, take it easy and let your muscle memory kick in. After all, the body isn't used to gliding and sliding across the earth and you aren't used to moving around with big stiff planks strapped to your feet.

You should also be wary of night skiing. Keep in mind that the artificial lights on the side of the mountain is no substitute for sunlight. It will be harder for you to see the surface of the snow ahead of you. This is important as you will want to anticipate the conditions ahead so that you can take proper action. Also, your sunglasses or tinted goggles will be a hinderance as well.

Another thing to keep in mind as you progress to skiing at a different locations is to remember that the grading scale of Green, Blue and Black terrain is relative at each resort. What is a blue at one resort might be a green or black at another. Assess each run's width, steepness, smoothness and snow conditions before tackling them. Don't be scared off of runs that you can do just by their color designation. Likewise, don't blindly go down a hill just because you have "done blues before".

Traveling with non-skiiers
Let's face it, there are going to be spouses and friends that just aren't going to like skiing. This can pose problems for people who like to ski. After all, you want everyone to enjoy themselves and sitting around a house or a hotel room all day isn't likely to appeal to most. Fortunately, there are other outdoor activities that non-skiiers can do. One great souce of activities is the resort's Nordic center. If your resort has one, this is where you can do cross country skiing and snowshoeing. Personally, Angela and I found cross country skiing to be horrible. It felt like you had zero control and turning was awful. On the hand, Angela, an adamant non-skiier, reports that snowshoeing was a lot of fun. You can think of it as hiking in beautiful snow covered scenery. It is also supposed to be fabulous exercise on par with running.

Summary
So get out and try some winter sports. Invest in a bit of decent winter clothes, and be patience. Eventually you will find something outdoors in winter that you will love.

We took the Killer Run to a whole new level today. Today's route was basically the same as before but we tacked on a run across the river into Kentucky and back. The route as planned is 17 miles and if you tack on the 3/4 miles each way for me to get to the starting point, I did 18.5 today. Its a great feeling of accomplishment, but at the same time it was very tough going. The cold weather made my hip and knees feel real stiff. This is even more so for the last hour of our run which was during dusk. This really makes it chilly out. Note to self, don't start a 17 mile run at 4PM in winter.

If you have used Cygwin before you have undoubtable come across an issue where the backspace key doesn't work properly in vi. This has bothered me for a long, long time, but I finally did something about it. With some searching and some experimenting, I have found that adding set backspace=2 to my ~/.vimrc file fixes the problem.