jaybaz [MS] WebLog : Personal

Meet jbazuzi

jaybaz_MS — Thu, 11 Nov 2004 01:53:00 GMT

Based on feedback I got in email & my post "What's appropriate for this blog?", I've decided to create a personal blog. (I picked this host because google generally rocks, but I don't actually have any opinions on this specific blog host.)

It was a tough decision. I want to thank you all for your passion & energy, both about the political content & the question of what is appropriate to post.

I especially want to thank the folks that sent me messages of support. It warms the heart.

For those who are worried that my blog will become dry & dull now, rest assured that I hear your concerns. I plan to keep a personal touch in this location, as I always have. But I have also always held back, and on my personal blog I won't need to do that (as much).

Now on with the show.

What's appropriate for this blog?

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:29:00 GMT

Concerning my post about funneling my $600 check from the U.S. government to Amnesty International, I've received quite a bit of feedback.

Some of it is a response to my position on U.S. policy, like

"Jay, you're a dumbass. "

"The world is safer with Saddam out of power. "

"there are lots of people out there who do concur with your views"

That’s fine. I know people are polarized on these topics, and expect that any discussion would generate a lot of attention, some of it quite heated. However, it’s not really what I wanted to post about.

Some of it is a response to my decision to give that money to A.I., like

"sponsor 20 little poverty stricken palestine children with your $600 instead of donating it to an organization that hates America

"buy 600 dollars worth of fast food or grocery store gift certificates and every time you see a homeless person give them enough to buy a couple meals"

"That's an impressively selfless thing to do with such a large chunk of money."

This was my real purpose – to talk about what I see as a creative way to take action to support my principles.

Some is specifically about my decision to post this on my blog, which is hosted by Microsoft:

"Wrong forum Jay"

"I commend your courage to put this on your blog"

"You are bound to take a lot of flak for this courageous post "

"Microsoft lets you do this with their resources on their time?"

"people ... consider it to be leveraging the Microsoft megaphone for a personal political view"

This is something I’m worried about. I do want to speak out about what I believe in, but I also want to do the right thing as an employee of the company.

I’m considering creating a second, personal blog where I can talk about stuff as me, not as a rep of Microsoft. I wanted to the opinion of my readers on this, first.

If I move this topic to a personal blog, am I letting myself be bullied by people who don’t agree with me?

When I created my blog, I decided that it should include some personal content. I’m not a robot, I’m a human. I want you to see that, and to see the humanity of all of us at Microsoft. I want us to all see that Microsoft the organization is a collection of humans, with feelings, desires, and mistakes. This post is part of that plan.

Anyway… would anyone object to this sort of thing being moved to a different blog?

Bush supports Amnesty International

jaybaz_MS — Sat, 06 Nov 2004 20:11:00 GMT

I'm pretty pissed off about a lot of things that I see my goverment doing right now. For example, we claim to be fighting a "War on Terrorism", but we're missing a few important facts:

The US is the #1 perpetrator of terrorism world-wide
After Sept 11, the US took steps to increase suffering world-wide
Groups like al-Qaida see no point in negotiating with the US; they believe we will only respond to displays of force.

Since the start of the "War on Terror", the world has become a less safe place. Our use of force sets a precedent for, and distracts attention from terror at the hands of other oppressive regimes. We give them license to commit evil.

In the middle of all this, the Bush Administration announced that the government was issuing a tax refund. We got a check for $600 last year.

What better way to use that money, than to support the human rights that our government's actions are destroying.

So yesterday I went to the Amnesty International web site & made a donation for $600. I hope it helps.

Dear Mr. Bush: Congratulations on your recent re-election. I want to encourage you to continue sending refunds my way, so I can send them right to AI.

[1] Chomsky in October 2001

[2] AI on the War on Terror

Across the sound

jaybaz_MS — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 06:12:00 GMT

In the United States, today is Labor Day. Now that I’m a manager, I don’t labor too hard, but I took the day off anyway.

We’d talked before about taking the little one on a ferry ride, but hadn’t done it yet. Today seemed like the last good chance to do it before the weather turns rainy & cold.

Because we don’t want to contribute to the traffic, pollution, noise, gas consumption, and stress from driving, we decided to take the bus to the ferry. I find transferring busses to be a chore, especially with a small kiddo, so we drove to a Park & Ride first.

We saw our bus leave as we got there, so we parked & played in the grass for a little while. As we were walking over to the bus stop, a few minutes before it was due, I realized I had left the bus & ferry schedules in the car. Ran back to the car, and back to the bus stop.

Bus pricing around here is weird. There are peak and non-peak hours. There are 1- and 2-zone rates. Downtown Seattle has a free-ride area. Busses leaving the area have you pay as you get off, instead of paying as you board.

So it’s no surprise that Julie didn’t have correct change. I asked if anyone had change for a buck, but no one responded. Julie braved her way to the front of the bus, now doing 65mph, and told the bus driver she was just going to pay two $1 bills for the $1.25 fare. The bus driver tried to talk her out of it, saying she’d be wasting 75 cents.

Hint: We can afford 75 cents.

He was successful, and Julie sat down to ponder longer.

Finally a woman decided to give us change for a buck, we paid the fare, and we were in good shape.

As we approached downtown, I realized that I wasn’t sure which stop to get off at. I thought about what I’d read on the bus & ferry web sites, made a guess, and got it right. We walked the 4 blocks to the pier. See pic.

Reid doesn’t like too much wind, but his curiosity was stronger, so we walked around the upper deck exploring. We saw a seagull keeping pace with the boat. We saw the wake & the foam from the engines.

When we got close to Bainbridge we watched the docking maneuvers, saw the workers bring the bridge in to place for the cars, etc. They tie off with two large (2in diameter?) docking lines. Each is led to a cleat on the boat. A round turn around the base (the strongest part) and then a series of figure-8s around the horns. This differs from the way I’ve learned to tie up, where the second turn gets a twist, creating a clove hitch around the cleat.

There’s a nice walking path form the ferry to the town of Winslow. It goes through a park & a playground. While my better two thirds were on the playground, I walked the main drag of Winslow looking for chow. Got a bowl of black bean soup & a herb roll (“an herb roll”?) from the bakery. Cool bakery, but I was hoping they’d have some sandwiches or something.

The Town & Country Market, next to the playground, was very cool. Some interesting and very tasty sandwiches. Regular groceries + bulk goods. Julie says she could do all our grocery shopping there.

There’s a tunnel (in airports it’s called a “jetway”) that you walk through to the ferry. The part you wait in is split down the middle, to keep those waiting out of the way of those leaving, I presume. The division is a bit odd. It’s a series of “Delinator Posts” with a nylon rope run along them. That sort of construct seems temporary, right? I would have used clove hitches around each of the posts. It’s a good crossing knot, and easy to tie. Instead, they had reeved the rope through the whole in each post, with a stop knot on either side, and an eye splice on the ends. Odd. (Does anyone else care?)

On the ride back, my son made up songs for other passengers, while I practiced making eye splices in ½” hemp rope. Hemp isn’t as slippery as nylon, so you need ½ as many tucks. I’m going to keep practicing for a while; I think it may be a useful skill some day.

Hiked back up the hill from the ferry to the bus stop. Bus arrived 5 minutes later. Nice timing.

The bus was a new hybrid model, with a low floor. Very nice.

Stepping off the bus at the park & ride, the bus door closed on me. Ow! We yelled at the driver. Then it closed on Julie. I held it open for the other passengers. Crazy bus driver? Malfunctioning equipment? Well, I’m glad my baby didn’t get caught.

He fell asleep before we drove off.

I think he had a great day. So did I.

Rope Boarding Mat

jaybaz_MS — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 00:15:00 GMT

My mom just bought another house. She keeps doing this. Nurse by day, real-estate mogul by night/weekend. I hope it works out for her.

My brother & I were at the hardware store getting stuff to help her fix the place up, and found that they had spools of manila rope for sale. Olde-tyme sailors (like myself) used only natural fibers to make rope. We're talking pre-OPEC here. Natural ropes can rot, while petrochemical ropes decay quickly in ultraviolet. I like the look of manila and hemp; they look like authentic old stuff.

So I bought 30' of the 1/2" stuff and 30' more of the 3/4" stuff, and made a basic rope mat. It now sits in front of her door. It's the first rope mat I've completed, so I'm pretty happy about it.

To help the rope settle into shape, I used the age-old technique of driving a rental car over it. To test it, I put it on the ground & stood on it.

Fallingwater

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 17:33:00 GMT

While in PA, we visited two Frank Lloyd Wright homes. The first was Fallingwater. I didn't go inside, instead spending the time roaming the grounds.

One of the neat things about the design is that it's hard to see. You can never really look at the whole house at once. Each angle looks completely different, and it's not really clear where the boundaries are between the house & nature.

In this picture you can see how the balconies & rock formations have similar shapes. That's my gnome in the foreground.

Losing it all

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 15:41:00 GMT

2 days before the trip to the Far East, I lost my wallet. Looks like it fell out of the luggage on my bicycle on the way home.

That’s a tough time to lose a wallet, because I really wanted that stuff for the trip. There was also a lot of cash, a lot more than I usually carry. Cheers to whoever finds it, I hope you enjoy it.

I managed to cancel cards & get a temporary driver’s license before we left. I needed a new wallet in a hurry, so I grabbed an Altoids tin from Biliana. It was a unique wallet, but it was also uncomfortable & noisy. That probably contributed to me forgetting it in the rental car at the PIT airport on the way back.

Now I’m just carrying cards in my pocket, bare, trying to figure out what to do next. Perhaps I can carry much less, thereby reducing the cost of losing it all. Ponder ponder…

Return from the Far East*

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 15:34:00 GMT

The weekend was spent in rural Pennsylvania, celebrating the wedding of a dear old friend from college. Sunday was to be brunch + visit Kentuck Knob + drive to airport + go home.

We left the hotel late, got hung up waiting for the slowest sandwich we could find, dealt with snippy staff at Kentuck Knob, took the tour, and finally hit the road.

At this point we were at least 30 minutes behind schedule to get to the airport. There was also the possibility that our schedule was wrong, because it didn’t allow for time to drive from Kentuck Knob back to the main highway.

So, here I am feeling a bit stressed from the snippy staff + time stressed because we’re running late for an airplane. I’m driving, with my wife and son in the back seat of the rental car. Wife asks if we should stop & get the directions out of the trunk, or if I remember the way back.

Hmm.

Directions are a good idea, but we’re a bit short on time. Stopping to rummage through the trunk could make us later. Anyway, the directions weren’t very detailed, so they probably wouldn’t help much.

I could get the Tablet PC out of the trunk instead, and use Streets and Trips. But that would take an extra 10 minutes to work out.

Better to just keep driving.

Half an hour later, we realize that the town we’re driving through doesn’t look familiar. It takes 10 more minutes of driving just to figure out where the heck we are. Then we plug it into Streets and Trips, and realize that we missed an important turn at the beginning of the journey.

Doh.

Feeling more time stress, we pick a new route, and try to get to PIT airport again. Now we’re driving some country highway that drops down to 25mph every few miles. This doesn’t look good.

Eventually we pass I-70. Aha, this I recognize! Ignoring Streets and Trips instructions, I hop on the interstate. I don’t know why it kept me on back roads, but I wanted the comfort of a road that I could understand.

Finally we get to the airport. We’re late, but you already knew that.

We jump out of the rental car & load all the luggage on our backs. We do our best to jog through the airport to checkin.

Then I realize I left my wallet in the car. My wife insists that we don’t have time, and that there’s nothing critical in it. (She’s right). So we press on, with the plan to call the rental agency to have them send it to us later.

The e-ticket kiosk doesn’t recognize us, so we have to get a human to check us in. Then we get to carry all the luggage across to the bag security check. There we drop it off & take off running for the human security check. Finally we arrive at the gate, where they have just started boarding the plane. Whew, we make it.

The flight is less fun than usual because we entered it after a long, stressful drive. But we cope.

Arriving in Seattle, we go to the baggage claim. Our luggage doesn’t show up.

Turns out we were too late getting to PIT, and our luggage is on the next flight. We get to wait 2 hours in SEA for it to come.

Why didn’t we just miss the PIT flight ourselves, and save all that stress?

At least we got to see Port of Seattle fire & rescue folks come deal with a “bag in question”. They wear retro looking silver fire pants, presumably because jet fuel fires are really hot.

There’s a lesson in all this. It’s the same lesson as Sustainable Pace. When stress increases, I start to make decisions poorly. When the stress is time related, I try to take shortcuts, which then cost me even more time.

I think I need to focus on skills to manage stress, so I can make clear decisions even when time is short. So, if I’m going to be late for a plane, just accept that fact and don’t worry about it.

*Far East = Virginia & Pennsylvania

My blogroll

jaybaz_MS — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 23:38:00 GMT

I don't have a blogroll listed in the sidebar. I read in SharpReader, and maintaining two lists seems tedious.

So, I've saved an OPML file that you can import into your reader if you're curious. Be sure to use “Save Target As”.

Geek Nirvana

jaybaz_MS — Fri, 09 Jul 2004 19:33:00 GMT

Yesterday I got it to work. All of it, at the same time. Even though I was outside, I was still connected.

Tablet PC -> USB -> Bluetooth dongle -> radio -> cell phone -> GPRS -> internet

So, it's not fast, but it does work.

This morning I sat in the waiting room at the dentist's office & got my email.

I dig it.

Three days of boats and music

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 07 Jul 2004 04:17:00 GMT

This weekend was the Wooden Boat Festival on Lake Union. Of course, we had to be there.

Saturday

Wake up at 6:30am, decide to start getting ready right away, before the family wakes up. End up reading EPAiC# for a 1/2 hour, miss my window; they are up & active.

Before going to the docks, we need a good breakfast. Clean the kitchen, cook a meal, eat, clean, play with son. 3 hours have gone by. Start packing stuff for the day. Consider taking the bus; sit down at computer to research bus schedules. Help son poop. Start working on food to pack, realize that family is hungry. Clean the kitchen, cook a meal, eat, clean, play with son. Finish packing, planning, researching, and preparing. Son falls asleep for afternoon nap. Father, exhausted from a day of getting ready, falls asleep, too.

After nap, wake up, diaper son (chase naked child in circles), dress, eat more food, load up the car, and go. Arrive at CWB at 6:15pm. Festival ended at 6:00pm.

Walk around the now-empty festival. See beautiful boats on empty docks. Sit in Puffin & chat with crew for an hour, eating sandwiches.

Drive around Lake Union to Gasworks Park. I've never seen it from the land-side before. Explore park. See barge & tugboat anchored in Lake Union, surrounded by a no-go zone marked with bouys. 2 police boats guard the area with flashing blue lights. Note to self: park is great for kids. Bring mine back some day.

Go home. Watch Queer as Folk. Go to sleep.

Sunday

July 4th = really bad traffic in downtown Seattle. Committed to not being part of the problem, I print out bus schedules & maps. After cleaning / cooking / eating / cleaning / packing / etc., we hop in the car & drive to a Park & Ride. Arrive 5 minutes after the bus left. Sit around talking. 8 minutes before next bus arives, son announces “I got poopers coming!” Hike 1/4 mile in hot 2pm sun to a park with restrooms. We're carrying son, full backpack, 1gal of drinking water, and a copy of the Marlinspike Sailor so people know I'm salty. While waiting for son to poop, bus goes by. Afterwards, walk back to the bus stop to wait again.

Catch bus. Ride across Lake Washington into the city. Get off at last stop, walk 0.7 miles to festival. Only 6 hours from wake up until arrival!

I bum around at the docks while wife & son explore. Eventually offer my help to the volunteer coordinator who puts me to work. In the height of irony, I am assigned to direct parking.

After festival closes, I work security for another hour. My job is to stand in front of a fence and make sure no one crosses it, unless they have a good reason.

Meet wife & son. Son has built a toy boat, and wife says she's had a great time. Dinner at a restaurant with rowdy son. He hasn't napped and is fighting sleep. My apologies to the other patrons. Traffic outside is atrocious.

We walk back to the docks, arriving at the end of CWB dock B around 9:45. It's getting dark & cooling off. Water lapping on the docks makes a pleasant sound, as the dock gently rocks back and forth. Just before the fireworks start, son says he's going to sleep, and then goes to sleep.

My most enjoyable fireworks show ever. The perfect setting. Various fireworks shows in a 270deg arc around me, including a great one right in front of me. Beatiful wooden boats all around. Family. A nice time. Too bad my country is carrying on large-scale terrorism around the world, on my behalf.

After the show, hike back 0.7 miles with full backpack and a fresh gallon of water on my back, and son on my front. It's easier when I'm balanced. Catch the last bus out of Seattle back to P&R. Drive home. Guess what, I'm tired.

Monday

Seems like we know the routine by now. Eat, clean, pack, etc., drive to CWB. The festival is quieter today. We explore together, as a family.

Son & I sit in the cockpit of Dominion (picture) with a mom+son. Our sons argue about relative rank (“I’m the captain.” “No, I’m the captain.”), until they finally decide that one is captain of the radar, while the other is captain of the steering wheel. I’m assigned to be captain of the throttle.

We explored the inside of the Mallory Todd, which is amazing.

We eventually end up at the CWB docks & rent a Peapod. We don’t go far, but we do explore the boats from the water side, which is very cool. Lots of floatplanes go by, too. After an hour of rowing my back is tired. Glad we won’t have to carry the little one 0.7 miles to the bus.

At the end of the day, we head home. Dinner, more QAF, and sleep.

I had an excellent time, and I’m very glad to know that my family enjoyed it, too. It’s odd that after spending all that time at the center, I didn’t go sailing at all. The festival is about exploring things on land, and (for me) about helping other people get the most out of their experience there. I’ll have to take a weekday off soon & go sailing when the lake is quiet.

Books

jaybaz_MS — Mon, 28 Jun 2004 23:31:00 GMT

Object Thinking

I think I'm giving up on Object Thinking. I enjoyed it for a while, and it has had an important impact on my thinking:

The four fundamental assumptions in Object Culture. (e.g.: “Everything is an object”)
When designing a language, deciding that “everything is a XXX“ is an important decision to make early on, including deciding not to.
I learned the difference between (object) composition of the solution space and (object) decomposition of the problem space.
That matching the decomposition tool & method to the nature of the problem space is a really good idea.

#3 has inspired me to pick up Domain-Driven Design to read soon.

Now I’m stuck in Chapter 7 (“discovery”). Every time I pick it up to start reading, I quickly get distracted & start daydreaming. Maybe my brain is too scattered, or maybe the writing is too bland. Either way, it’s not working.

I still have an important question to answer. Given that Object Thinking applies to decomposition of the problem space, where is the object thinking guidance on composing the problem space? If I figure out the answer, I guess I’ll write a book!

Ashley Book of Knots

I’ve had less time for knots the last couple weeks, with family in town. Most recently I’ve been practicing some exploding knots & coiling techniques.

Extreme Programming Adventures in C#

I actually haven’t picked it up in a while, but I think it’s time now to get back to this one.

Next?

What else should I be reading?

What are my goals?

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:45:00 GMT

Today one of my tasks is to state my goals for the coming year.

I did something unusual today. I showed my goal list to the people who work for me, and asked them for feedback. This is an opportunity for them to say what we should be working on as a team, and what I should be doing as their manager.

I want to carry it a step further. I want your input on my goals. You can say what you want me to be working on over the next year, which should have a big impact on your experience with Visual Studio and with Microsoft.

Here's what I'm working with so far:

Drive developer satisfaction with C#
Drive the team to meet stated goals & deliver Whidbey
Track & report status & progress of the team
Develop a culture of energy, productivity, and learning on the team
Drive dogfooding prepare a roadmap for writing the C# compiler/IDE in C#

I great day to blog.

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:13:00 GMT

So far, I've had a heated discussion of the value of TDD, an enjoyable lunch, chatted with my team, and had a meeting with some other managers about our execution of Whidbey plans. I'm now writing this blog.

What I haven't done is started my review, which is what this day is set aside for.

New hair, step 1

jaybaz_MS — Wed, 23 Jun 2004 00:17:00 GMT

I did it. I cut my hair. It's long enough to rest on my shoulders, but that's about it. I also shaved the back & sides of my head, just above the tops of my ears.

If I had the time, I would keep it in a french braid. But that's just too hard to keep up with, so mostly I wear it down or tied up.

It sure is easier to take care of, and much cooler in this warm weather.

What's next? Who knows?