Blog Archives

Back in the Code Again

It’s good to get back in touch with what got me into this business in the first place. This time the recipe includes these ingredients: Groovy Grails jQuery Amazon’s Elastic Beanstalk, RDS and S3 JetBrains IDEA 10 Groovy just continues to satisfy me as a language more than any other these days. And more than [...]

Un-Triathlon

I love to bike. I discovered that I love to swim. This winter I’m discovering that I love to run. It’s ironic on lots of levels because those always struck me as such unappealing, boring activities. But I found moving meditation in each, fantastic satisfaction, relaxation, conditioning and a boundless appetite. Running a triathlon isn’t [...]

Back in the saddle again

3 months off was long enough that without realizing it I forgot about that feeling, that appetite for riding that makes me think about jumping on a bike and just going. One ride was all it took to get it back.

Getting along with the iPad (1 week in)

Up front I’ll just state that I’ve been a fan of tablet computers for years, having used a Fujitsu Stylistic since 2003. The form factor, handwriting recognition, pen interface — all good. So I’ve been more than eager for a tablet Mac since coming back over to this side a year ago. And of course…the [...]

Don’t Actually Try to Explore in the Apple Store

Yesterday, while waiting with my daughter for our Genius Bar appointment, I was looking at one of the laptops on the table. The Ethernet cable seemed unusual, had a reddish glow emanating from it. Without thinking about it, I pulled it out to take a closer look and triggered a massive alarm. Beefy, serious security [...]

Titanium and TSA Scanners

Turns out the plate in my shoulder is made of Titanium. Not clear whether it will set off the airport scanners, but I’m now carrying a little card from my surgeon to help explain if it does… Guess I’ll find out the hard way the next time I get on a plane.

Stainless steel and 8 screws on the inside

That’s my clavicle and its new best friend. For what it’s worth, I hate it. Definitely better than having those bones shifting around, but I really don’t like this.

The truth about bones…

…is they break if you hit them hard enough. I think it is required, given my previous posts on all the benefits of cycling, to disclose that a few days ago I went out on a snowy morning when I probably shouldn’t have  and broke my collarbone in two places. While this has provided lots [...]

Commuting Alien on Park Avenue

Earlier this week I stopped for a red light on Park Avenue. Like most mornings, it was a school of yellow taxis and me, and a few other hardy bikers. Temperatures were in the 20′s and I was sporting a functional but perhaps hilarious look. I snapped this after fumbling my camera out and raising [...]

Carpe frigidum diem

Not sure if my Latin is correct, but my meaning was to seize the coldest day. I just got into the office after a fantastic but normal morning commute. My bike is leaning against the wall by the window, and I’ll feeling way too warm under all the layers I’m wearing. Hard to believe I’m [...]

Going back and going forward at the same time

Through achingly slow steps over the past …who knows… I have finally gotten myself to the point of writing some new code in an area I’ve wanted to explore for awhile. I want to create richer UIs for interacting with information, like the old days in a way that’s been lost to me since I [...]

Winter in NYC at last and still loving the bike

This week finally brought the feel of winter to NYC streets. The wind reached inside and straight to the bones. The light was thin but blinding in the mornings, fast and short in the late afternoons. It’s tough when the sun’s setting by 4:30 and the avenues are filled with edgy taxis. The steam from [...]