Learning patience

My son taught me patience last night. Now, if I were the reader instead of the writer, that would immediately bring to mind two questions.

Isn't that a little backwards? Usually we think of the parent teaching the child.

And aren't you stretching the truth a bit? One doesn't ordinarily learn patience in the space of a decade (for some, a lifetime) let alone an evening.

Well, in the words of either Horton or Dr. Seuss, I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.

We've had this tavern puzzle around for nearly 20 years. The particular puzzle is called Patience. My father brought it back for me after some trip, perhaps one of their visits to the Smokey Mountains. The information sheet that came with it says 1989 and there's no Web site listed, which isn't surprising for that era. I fiddled with it from time to time over the years, but mostly it just sat.

I sent it along on one of the boy's road trips this summer, figuring it might offer a good diversion for a few hours of interstate travel in the back seat while on the way to this or that roller coaster.

And he figured it out. But that's not the best part. Last night, which is just in time because we're taking him back to college tomorrow, he showed me - and then patiently taught me - how to do it.

My son was very proud of figuring it out, I could tell. It turns out the other guys on the trip tried it after he had worked the whole thing out, but they quickly became frustrated. I think he was proud, too, that I stuck with it.

We discovered after my tutorial that the company does now have a Web site, www.tavernpuzzle.com. Now, instead of having to write for a solution sheet, you can view it right online. The catch is that knowing and doing are two very separate things. Trust me: you won't spoil the challenge by looking at the directions.

So, now he says it's just a question of which other puzzle he wants to order. Seems like something has captured his fancy, and again, I'm proud of him.

What's in a name?

My need for definitions is less for absolute fastidiousness than it is for common usage. So I was delighted to discover a little trick in using Google. If you type in "define: " and then a word you're curious about, it comes up with a list of summary definitions and the links to their sources, in case you need or want to pursue them further.

If you want to give it a try, I might suggest the word "inference." (go to Google and type in define:inference) Don't be put off by the array of definitions. Some are quite droll. In this case, be sure to read the one from Cornell, which this afternoon is the sixth on the list.

A little surprise, though - the proper link to the Cornell Rice Genomics glossary has changed, which isn't that much of a surprise. But I was curious about whether there were other droll definitions offered there, so I tracked it down. It's properly linked above, and this one seems to be an anomaly on that score.

Oh, well ... have fun! (try Googling that definition - you just might discover the wonderful Keables Guide)

[cheat sheet version: www.iolani.honolulu.hi.us/Keables/KeablesGuide/PartThree/Letters/F.htm]
New URL for the Keables Guide, Oct. 30, 2015:
https://sites.google.com/a/iolani.org/kg2/a-introduction#TOC-The-New-Keables-Guide-2014-

Two sun things

First, the sun doesn't care if you're sitting down relaxing, cool as can be on that speedy moped with the wind whipping in your ears. It's still going to burn your knees.

And second, the best way to enjoy a sunset is sitting by the water for an hour or more. God is good.

Overdue message

What does a stonecutter do when he reaches the end of the stone before the end of the sentence? Work around; adapt; deal with it. Thus it was done, and has served well all these centuries.

This is actually a throwback to almost a month ago. It should be dated Tuesday, June 26 (or rather, that's when I should have written it).

Walking back from a meeting in the heat of the day, I paused to explore the churchyard of an old church in Norfolk. A slab on the ground marks the spot where Alexander Ross was laid to rest, in September 1760, beneath a few details of his lineage that end with this moving thought:

"Praises On Tombs Are Here But Vainly Spent
For Man's Name Is His Best Monument"

If you look carefully, you'll notice that at the end of the line one must read the last word, "spent," just above the word "vainly" (after the equal sign-like thing).

The expedient little adjustment in spacing doesn't diminished the point these three and a half centuries later. A good message is still a good message. REQUIESCAT IN PACE.

Not impossible

Mom always used to tell me I should try something I wasn't entirely sure I would succeed at. I try to do that from time to time, but I also try to make sure nobody's going to suffer in the process.

So when the lawn mower finally just stopped, the first thing we did was invest in a replacement, albeit an economy model. Then (i.e., this weekend) I did it - dismantled the carburetor for a good cleaning.

The Internet's a wonderful thing. Somebody was kind enough to write all about how a novice should carefully pay attention to which wire was supposed to go where, and how to remember how the throttle plate lined up before it was disconnected from the shaft (draw a picture!), and Google helped me find it. I must admit that as a little added insurance, I checked out two books on small engine repair from the local library. Turns out the diagrams were helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

The good news is that I put it all back together again - no extra pieces - and the thing is running again! Total investment? About $5 for a T10 torx head driver, another $4 for a can of carburetor cleaner, and a few hours of my time. The pride of accomplishment was well worth the investment (and all the cleanup efforts, too). It's always surprising how quickly one can get really greasy. And now we've got a backup...

Trust your gut

When something seems like it isn't quite right, it's okay to go ahead and question it. In fact, it's more than okay. You should question it. What's the worst that can happen? You'd confirm that yes, it's a little odd but nonetheless correct. On the other hand, you may uncover a series of cumulative errors that lead you to understand it was more than just a little off - and then you'll be glad you raised the question.

I am; therefore, I write

It became abundantly clear to me on Sunday afternoon as I was cutting the yews out front - the second day of this annual marathon - that I must be a writer. Not only was I standing there on the top step of the ladder (tsk, tsk) pondering the best explanation of why it's sometimes best to not have anyone hold the ladder, I was also thinking about how to best convey the story.

If it were as simple as being an engineer, I would have been thinking only about the physics - centers of gravity (of me, and the hedge trimmer, and the combination of me and the hedge trimmer), gravity, force vectors, actions and reactions. You get the idea. But no, I was choosing words and phrases, forming sentences, rewriting in my head even as I stretched for the top of the ragged bush. Come to think of it, I never did trim this particular shrub last year, whether for lack of ambition, oversight, or pure sloth, I do not recall. But it's on a two-year cycle now, by golly!

(to be continued)

Am I blue?

Kickin' around the Internet ... trying to unwind from a rather intense day ... and came across a quiz to find my inner dragon.

A BLUE Dragon Lies Beneath!

My inner dragon is the Water Elemental dragon. If there ever was a draconic example of a supple attitude, my inner dragon is it. Just sit back and go with the flow. *contented sigh* Click the image to try the Inner Dragon Online Quiz for yourself.

UPDATE (June 6, 2012): Try this link instead -- http://www.quiz.dmbh.org/. (And today I'm red.)

39th Floor

Today we visited a high-rise under construction and saw a most amazing way of finishing the floors. A crew of 4 was applying an engineered gypsum-based cap - from 1/16 to 2-1/2 inches in thickness - to concrete slabs that were poured as much as 8 months ago and left with just a darby finish. In-friggen-credible!

These are just a few of the 80 photos I took. Will post more sometime soon. Just remember the name Levelrock.

Tough week

It's been a tough week. It's always difficult relearning that interpersonal relationships are dynamic, not static, and that it always takes two to play the game. I think we're kind of in training, in this life, learning (hopefully) how to get along, how to share, how to bear each others burdens and graciously accept the help of others when it's offered. And how to humbly turn the other cheek when that's what the situation calls for. Perhaps with practice I'll get better at these things.

The answer is ...

Life is short. Enjoy what you can while you can, and make sure people know how much you appreciate them.

The end.

Grim reality

This is actually about Saturday the 30th. A very insightful guy from FMI told us all about the differences in values and motivation between my generation - the baby boomers - and the Gen Xers, i.e., those born in the U.S. between 1961 and 1981. Okay, that stuff I more or less understood.

But then he went on to describe the Millennials, a.k.a. Generation Y and the Internet Generation, which includes those born between 1981 and 1999, more or less. The differences he described in values and motivational factors were stunning. Suffice it to say I need to revisit that explanation in a good book on the subject. Only then will I be able to determine how to deal with these people.

Okay - maybe this is a start - I found a couple of references online that seem to have some promising explanations. What I'm finding is not very comforting, but at least it's a start at explaining why they seem so out of touch. Turns out maybe I'm the one who's out of touch. Anyway, give 'em a look - the Generation Y blog and an article from 2000 in Hotel Online. Or better yet, start with this PDF from late 2006. Come to think of it, peaceful coexistence with these people could be a lot like my living with my '87-vintage son.

Incidentally, there is an interesting table of the U.S. generations accompanying the Wikipedia entry for Generation_Y.

In the Smokies

They've grown to love Thomas Wolfe here, although it seems they were a little touchy about it at first.

I look down from room 321 on the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville. Not knowing anything other than that I should probably read one of his books, I Google him. It turns out his memoir-like novel "Look Homeward, Angel" was too frank and graphic for the locals in 1929, so the public library here originally banned it for seven years.




Learn more at the Thomas Wolfe site and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial site.

Character

When I was in eighth grade one of my new friends and I decided to work together on a project. It got to be the day before it was due and things weren't going as well as we had hoped. We were working in my friend's basement, and he was getting more and more cranky - and less and less helpful - as we got into the evening. As it got later and there was still work to be done, my friend threw a tantrum and went up to his room, leaving me to finish the project with his older sister and his mom, both of whom had been helping on and off. I don't remember what the project was, but I sure learned a lot about my friend that night.

Returning to this century, my travel plans again today did not go as planned. Joe and I were traveling together. A two-hour delay in the first leg of our flight meant that we missed the connection in Detroit. Throughout the next seven hours it was impossible to get an answer about whether or not the late flight would be a "go" or be cancelled. Finally we left sometime after 9 p.m. and arrived at the hotel in Asheville shortly before midnight.

Does it count as learning something if you previously strongly suspected it was true? I'll put it this way, then: What I now know is that Joe is a really good human being.

Knowledge and wisdom?

First, the knowledge: I learned a whole bunch about Douglas MacArthur today by visiting his memorial and museum for a little while this afternoon in Norfolk. I never realized how long he had been a soldier, how much he wanted to be remembered for things other than soldiering, and what precipitated his dismissal by Harry S. Truman in April 1951.





I also discovered that Norfolk is just loaded with wonderful masonry structures. It's everywhere you turn. So is the humidity, but like the breeze, that's just something to be expected in June along the coast.

And now about the wisdom (no photo to illustrate): When you're in a military town, it may not be prudent to tell the barber you think the time has come for a "summer" cut. (It'll grow back in time...)

Big tugs

Today for the first time I noticed that the big jets – the ones that dwarf the normal planes, like the Boeing 747s that have two levels of windows on the forward section that bubbles up, and that when you see them start to roll away from the gate you wonder how that building is going to take off – are being towed way down the taxiway.

I’m certain they used to just get pushed back, like normal planes, and then proceeded under their own power. But these days a big tug pulls the aircraft quite a ways down the taxiway. It’s larger but there also is no visible push bar; it appears to somehow wrap around the front landing gear. Definitely something for further investigation.

I was also reminded of a number of things today. For examples, 10 hours is a lot of time to kill at O’Hare. You see, the air passenger system doesn’t work the way it used to, at least not when you’re flying the skies of United. They’re flying full these days. So if you’re not there when they finish the first wave of boarding, watch out. Even though you have already checked in and are high-tailing it to the gate, if your seat is unclaimed 15 or 20 minutes before takeoff, you’re likely to lose it. That was a rough reminder.

I also was reminded that there is no shortcut from the far reaches of the parking lot to the tram. And there’s no such thing as a short security line. And, most importantly, there’s no express route from the switchbacks of security to the most remote gate on the outer concourse (C2 for those of you who know O’Hare). I thought it was a long walk when I helped build the "new" United terminal back in 1987. But then I was being paid by the hour rather than rushing to catch a plane.

Revisiting old friends

Edward Tufte knows how to make a point. And he knows how information can be obscured, as well, which he says is expedited through the use of PowerPoint. (I agree.) An expert in the visual presentation of information, Tufte provides myriad examples of both good and bad presentations on his Web site.

I revisited his site today in search of the link to a PowerPoint example showing how badly this tool can mangle words and thoughts - Lincoln's Gettysburg Address ala PowerPoint. Take a look - it makes the point (no pun intended) faster than you can say "Four score and seven years ago..."

But the thing I learned today, in revisiting these old friends, was that Peter Norvig, the author of the aforementioned PowerPoint version of Lincoln's thoughts, is the director of research at Google. Hmmm...

Bad timing or planning?

Today I learned without a doubt that the last 5 minutes of the working day is not the time to set aside for blogging. Nor is 5 minutes enough time, except in this case. What to do ... ? Perhaps setting aside the first 5 minutes of the following day would be better. It would allow some time for reflection on the previous day's highlights - which is a good thing - and I might be able to stick to it, too. We'll see. (Speaking of which ... other images are here.)

Write it on the board a hundred times

Today I learned there will be days when coming up with something notable to blog about will be very difficult. Today was evidence that some days are filled with nothing more than hard work, and that just because an ongoing project seems mundane doesn't diminish its importance. However, if you are starving for a look into my day-to-day concerns as a journalist, you might be interested in perusing the document at the end this link: http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/journalism/index.htm.

UPDATE (06 April 2012): The URL for the document is now www.america.gov/publications/books/handbook-of-independent-journalism.html. Still a good reference to be aware of.

UPDATE (27 October 2014): A working URL for this document
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2011/05/20110503105056su0.5914205.html#axzz3HMEFsggk (sectionalized and in html)
Another online source: https://archive.org/details/HandbookOfIndependentJournalism
Use this one to download a PDF: http://www.ait.org.tw/infousa/zhtw/DOCS/journalism.pdf

Time's up

A brief Saturday entry. I couldn't help myself. The answer to the question (righthand column - who said this?): It's attributed to Dr. Edward Hallowell from one of those quote-a-day desk calendars for Tuesday, November 28, 1995. (It's been hanging on my bulletin board for a long time.) Hallowell specializes in ADD and at the time was on the Harvard medical school faculty. He has written several books, from which I suspect this was gleaned. Now, back to the weekend!

The kick-off meeting

My description of the project is still on its way to getting into print, but Colin Milberg's sexy research project got its official start today. The two of us who joined in on the kick-off meeting by phone had to imagine what the charts and photos looked like, but the research team and the sponsor's representative all seemed to be enthused about the preliminary work that has been done.

It's simple, but amazing: they're going to use a laser guided scanner to gather great gobs of as-built data on new concrete construction projects, compare that data to the designs, and find out how close we are actually coming to building what the plans call for. Only with this new application of scanner technology has collecting the necessary amounts of data become economically feasible. Dr. Milberg's research is a result of the fortunate alignment of technology, opportunity, funding, and somebody who has managed to get them all to work together.

The scanner itself looks like a very high-tech surveying instrument - it just sits on a tripod and does it perusal. But what really makes the data worth having is the software processes the raw data. Right now Trimble (left - to them it's spatial imaging) and Leica (right - they call it High Definition Surveying) offer commercial versions.

So the coolest thing in the meeting was when Colin floated the question about an appropriate grid. He said he was thinking of data points an inch apart, which brought a combination of gasps and tight little chuckles. One of the contractors present said he thought every six inches would be plenty, so Colin suggested he would probably go for either a three-inch grid, or maybe even every inch, if they had time. Apparently scanning a floor on a one-inch grid takes 5 or more hours, while a three-inch grid could be done in less than half the time. The reality of the project scope begins to sink in.

For more details on the project and the technology behind it, see the July 2007 issue of Concrete Construction when it comes out in a couple of weeks. Or, shortly thereafter, on the Concrete Construction Web site.

Does doing this on your day off count?

This blog is a little like a cross between a prototype and an exercise room. They say the capability is coming to our magazine Web sites before long, and when it does I want to hit the ground running. So, a pre-official launch test run is in order, I should think. (Actually, we did one long ago, too, but were at that point a little ahead of ourselves. Still might be interesting, though - a sneak peek of sorts.) (Even had Susan Clancy enthused about it, but, alas the timing was bad for her efforts, too.)

The idea behind what you are now reading is this: When we editors stumble across something really cool, and put together an informational package to share with our readers, there's a lag time before that actually happens. It's sort of like buying a Christmas present in the middle of the summer - you almost forget about it until somebody opens it, and then you're both surprised and delighted.

Well, that's the hope, anyway. But with this end-of-the-day communication, I hope to be able to share the neatest thing I've come across every day without having to wait for it to come out in a magazine 6 weeks later. Today, of course, it's the simplicity of starting a blog. Ta-da!

(Go ahead - click it and set yourself up as a blogger!)

Wish me luck, and the same to you! I'll see you tomorrow.