sol.net

All that makes a blog: dereliction and my lack of organization

// October 30th, 2008 // Comments Off // Everything Else

Poor blog…I have neglected you!

These past few months have definitely been a blur to me in regard to updates and managing my personal web/head space…but I think I’ve reached a point where I can finally consolidate and be consistent.

This blog has seen its up’s and downs over the past few years, usually only seeing a few posts a month.  this will change as I feel like I have a lot more to say and the regular means to say it.

Since I am somewhat starting new with this blog (only importing posts from my last iteration), I think it will be a little fun to at least document the history of my blogging activity so as to also see how my focus has changed as well. (this is more for my own personal documentation)

Blogging, for me, started out of necessity….the need for me to tell the world what I feel and how I view things.

My first ‘online posting’ (10/23/2003) to an actual blogging platform, Xanga, was when I was in a lot of transition personally and professionally (I wasn’t even a professional at anything yet), just getting out of the ‘i’m a college student mentality as well as a life changing break up of then-fiance….I had a lot to say and a lot of idle time as I was unemployed. 

My next big transition (when I moved to Durham, NC – 02/2005) was when I started to get serious about learning technology, specifically blogging and organizing, to which I met 3 wonderful and inspiring people: Brian Russel, Ruby Sinreich , and Lanya.  I became more passionate and was all ‘activist’ (still am on some levels)…which gave me a purpose to write and track my learning via blogging…..these efforts even let to some linkage by MIT’s Technology Review for a post I wrote about Continuous Computing…whodathunk….

After my departure from Durham, I was unemployed again!…so I spent the month or so between jobs really ‘upping’ my computer ‘game’…by purchasing ~$500 dollars of O’reilly books and overhauling my desktop machine to dual boot with VMWare installed.  It is during this time I started self-hosting my own blogging platform as I started to become more adept and actually had time to do it ‘right’….I also started teaching people and I wanted to Podcast, so I did..

Recently ~<1yr…I moved here to Charleston and became a full time internets-worker while also having my previous hosting service contract end.  What a better time to switch and learn/apply more, right?!?  Right….so here we are and I look forward to chronicling my adventures while living in charleston!

I guess the title of this post is that I see a lot of potential for this blog to be useful to others (but as of late has been a derelict)….but in order to do so I need to become more organized and regular.

Some things I want to document are my experiences in learning some technologies for the total newbie because a few of my friend have asked, but also I have been brimming with thoughts related to many other topics that I just want to get out there!

Darren and Sam at house warming…

// April 19th, 2008 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

a must see video!

Rated PG – 13 heehee….

vblog – Backstreet Pub

// January 25th, 2008 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

My good friend Blair came down to visit me this evening; we worked together at Sound to Sea…and we had a blast! First we went to the Trinity Center to be nostalgic, then we ate sushi at California Roll….then, we went to our favorite watering hole in Beaufort called, Backstreet Pub. Here is a short video

I didn’t realize it while I was making this video, but every time I ask Blair a question, I am actually looking at the camera! It looks silly.

animated .gif – fun with darren

// January 9th, 2008 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

Just thought I would put this up for everyone to see

Swim, Bike, Run

// September 9th, 2007 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

As many of my friends know, recently I undertook the task of competing in a triathlon. Of course, being as how I am not really in shape, the obvious question was whether I would survive the task. The answer is I did, and did well…at least for me!

However, the weeks previous to this event, I was a wreck with getting ready, littering my days with nervous tension and half-ass workouts, for sure I was going to fail.

I triumphed in the end, especially with the support of friends and the knowledge that I was helping a foundation that conserves one of our natural resources, the Neuse River.

The Neuse River, as Wikipedia states:

The Neuse River is a major permanent stream rising in the piedmont of North Carolina, emptying into the Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approx. 325 km (195mi), and its drainage basin, measuring 14,582 km² in area, lies entirely inside the state of North Carolina. It is formed by the confluence of the Flat and Eno Rivers prior to its entering the artificial Falls Lake reservoir in northern Wake County. Its fall-line shoals lie submerged under the waters of Falls Lake. The Neuse River has recently joined the American Rivers’ list as the eighth most endangered river.

The Neuse has been plagued in recent years with environmental and public health problems related to municipal and agricultural wastewater discharge, storm runoff, and other sources of pollution.[1] Pollution was particularly bad in the aftermath of Hurricanes Fran and Floyd in the late 1990s.

The dinoflagellate Pfiesteria Piscicida[2][3][4] is present in the river, and is affected by nutrient levels in the river. This organism is sometimes connected to fish kills as well as adverse health effects in humans.

So, armed with the knowledge that I was helping The Neuse River Foundation and Duke’s Coastal Society Chapter, I felt ready to give it my best!

It all started with the swim (pictured I am in the middle with the red shorts)

Then, the bike ride

Then finally, with some help from my friend June, the run!

Finally! I finished!

It feels good that I finished and am now entertaining the idea of doing one in Emerald Isle next month! After this triathlon, I went surfing because of the tropical depression offshore pushed up some waves! What a productive weekend!

Marc’s ‘Blowback’

// September 9th, 2007 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

In a recent submission to the Jacksonville Daily News in Jacksonville, NC…my friend Marc writes…

To the editor:

The political process that the Bush administration says is necessary for a secure and stable Iraq continues to be derailed by the ethnic, political and religious enmities within Iraqi society. The mainstream media, even the supposed “liberal” media conservatives whine about, has largely failed to place Iraq’s civil war into any type of historical context that includes the well-documented support the U.S. gave to Saddam’s tyranny in the 1980’s, a simple task for those who possess the research skills of a high school student. Never is there any mention of how U.S. interventionism over the last thirty years may have exacerbated the sectarian animosities that are destroying Iraq today. While the Shia/Sunni schism exists within most Islamic societies, nowhere has it expressed itself as violently as it has in Iraq, where a Sunni minority viciously preserved its power over a majority Shiite population, all with the help of the U.S. In Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Shiites are repressed minorities who have little or no freedom to worship or political representation. Although they receive vast amounts of U.S. military aid, sectarian violence and state-terrorism in all of these countries put together has paled in comparison to the brutality of Saddam’s regime, and are perfect examples of how the two sects can coexist fairly peacefully. (Read the State Department’s 2006 “Country Reports for Human Rights Practices” regarding these countries.) Consequently, there is less retaliatory violence of the kind seen in Iraq. The level of U.S.-sponsored state-terrorism under Saddam is directly related to the retributive violence now that tables have turned. However, the fact that today’s conflict is religious and sectarian is incidental, given the demographic nature of tyranny in which an overthrown minority loses its monopoly on violence and, as in many other countries, reaps what it has sown. That Saddam tortured and filled mass graves with Shiites because they were Shiites is secondary to fact that they threatened his power. Accordingly, if facts matter, the violent sectarianism that the U.S. military has been facing in Iraq can accurately be described as the “blowback” created by subsidizing the genocidal policies of Saddam’s regime during the Reagan and former Bush administrations, and the devastating U.N . sanctions, kept in place by the Clinton administration, which knowingly strengthened Saddam’s hold on power and killed thousands of civilians. This “blowback” is apparent in the fact that Kurdish and Shiite politicians have largely ignored U.S. pressure to include more Sunnis in the political process despite the “breathing room” produced by the latest escalation/”surge”. This should come as no surprise; just twenty years ago the U.S. was backing the same Sunni/Baathists who now lead the insurgency that targets them! The Kurds and Shiites might forgive the Sunnis for the ethnic cleansing and mass murder of their friends and relatives, but it seems unlikely that they will do so at the behest of the superpower complicit in their oppression.

Marc Warren

flat tire!

// March 14th, 2007 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

Luckily, I don’t get flat tires that often, but while driving home this past evening, I got one! Managing to make it to a local restaurant parking lot, I parked and proceeded to unload the tire change kit. What made my change interesting, is the gentleman Sam, who lived across the street from where I was changing my tire. As soon as I got out of my truck, Sam came out of his house and walked over to see if I needed help. What a great guy! It is very nice to meet people like Sam for the simple reaffirmation that people help each other and are inherently kind.

Sam is interesting; while I started getting out my gear, he just busted out into a stream of conversation about what he was just watching on television, which had something to do with federal budgets and the war in Iraq. Sam didn’t even introduce himself, but merely asked what I was doing, then started talking. He is a pretty built older gentleman who likes to share his opinion.

And share he did! He was feeding me his personal convictions regarding government spending, the existence of our current occupation in Iraq, and how he likes baseball. Amazing! I don’t even know Sam or his name till much later in the conversation.

There was a point in the conversation when I began lifting my truck that he started talking about immigrants…with Sam trying to relate to me because I am viewed, in his eyes, as Mexican. He said ‘we’ Mexicans are very hard workers and that everyone is basically an immigrant. For those that know me, just so you know, I am not Mexican, but Fillipino/Caucasian. However, I am honestly not bothered by his assumption; it actually happens on a regular basis.

As an aside, I feel like the fear of being racist towards someone else hinders the very same communication needed for mitigating the effects of racism. This is why I like Sam. He is sincere and was trying to relate to me. More people need to reach and relate, even if ethnicity is mistaken.

Anyways, being amused, I tried to break loose the nuts on the wheel to take of the flat tire, but ended up breaking the iron that torques the nuts off, effectively rendering my tools useless in taking off the tire. Well, Sam immediately ran to his house and tried to find tools to replace the one that is now broken. Meanwhile, while Sam is searching for tools, a Sheriff pulls into the parking lot to see if I need assistance, and after examining my newly broken iron, suggests I get one from home and offers me a ride.

Well, as he was telling me he would give me a ride, Sam also offers to take me to my parents to get a new iron. You could tell that he really wanted to help me, so I thanked the policeman and accepted Sam’s offer. While I am waiting for Sam to get his car, I start to think about what the cop said about keeping my cell phone on me, ‘just in case’. So I do, but am really not worried that Sam will do anything to me.

Sam picks me up and starts talking about how he just cleaned his car, then introduces himself and tells me his name. Right after that, he asks where I am from, where I finally tell him that I grew up mostly here in Carteret County. He asks, after me telling him my dad is in the Marine Corps, where my dad is from, which I then tell him, “Boston, MA” He gets excited (he is a really big baseball fan) and points to his Red Sox cap in the middle of his dashboard, propped up with a pen, when he tells me not to touch it, but that he got it from a guy named Calvin. He shares his life dreams of going to Fenway park and seeing a game and also tells me that his other lifelong dream that he wanted to join the Marine Corps. Amazing! He is so talkative!

Well, I finally get the working tire iron from my parents, and Sam keeps chatting me up, when we get finally get back to my truck. As i reposition the car jack, he starts talking about his former narcotic and alcohol addictions and the process of AA and NA, while expressing how everyday is a hard struggle. During this time, however, while I am attempting to take off my flat tire, the jack falls and that corner of my truck smashes the ground. I literally almost had my truck fall on me, and Sam jumps back in suprise. Sam then profusely apologizes for distracting me, but I reassure him that it was my fault for my car jack placement under my truck.

After we rectify the jack and everything is looking fine, I start the final process of tightening the screws. I thank Sam for his company and how I really appreciate his help in which Sam retorts, “I haven’t done many good things in my life, but maybe I am changing, so now what i know what it feels like to give back.” This hit me pretty hard and is the reason I am writing this post.

Altruism…I am so touched that this person, who has had such a rollercoaster life, has decided to change by helping me! Call it karma, kindness returned, whatever, but I am deeply moved by this man who I have only known for 45 minutes.

thanks Sam for your help and for changing your worn tire as well!

Koji and Naazli have a new wedding site!

// February 25th, 2007 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

I am excited to say that I recently finished the site I made for my 2 friends, Koji and Naazli.

they are getting married and lending from the idea that Brian and Ruby came up with, I decided a nice way to congratulate them was to make them a website.

here is the site, for your viewing pleasure: http://www.kojiandnaazli.com

While not as robust as Brian and Ruby’s version of an ‘open source wedding’ site, I utilize a simple main page linking to a wordpress blog. I just cannot get enough of using wordpress lately! it rocks!

marriage, engagement, and babies

// October 16th, 2006 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

Well, this has been an exciting weekend!

My friends Darren and Kim got married this past saturday, my little sister Michelle has a healthy baby, and my cousin got engaged!

When good things happen, they happen in groups…..Im exhausted!

Between driving and riding a lot this weekend, keeping a nervous groom at ease and helping getting a wedding together, having a million phone calls, and hearing lots of good news, it seems this definitely is harvest season!

I hope to post pictures in the near future, but until then, I am super excited for everyone.

I guess it’s time for me to meet someone too…sheesh

marriage, engagement, and babies

// October 16th, 2006 // Comments Off // Uncategorized

Well, this has been an exciting weekend!

My friends Darren and Kim got married this past saturday, my little sister Michelle has a healthy baby, and my cousin got engaged!

When good things happen, they happen in groups…..Im exhausted!

Between driving and riding a lot this weekend, keeping a nervous groom at ease and helping getting a wedding together, having a million phone calls, and hearing lots of good news, it seems this definitely is harvest season!

I hope to post pictures in the near future, but until then, I am super excited for everyone.

I guess it’s time for me to meet someone too…sheesh