jcm's blog

The coolest thing about CBI (Community Boating, Inc.) is the randomness of the whole thing sometimes. You go down to the boathouse, change into gear, head to the docks and put a call out for a sailing buddy…then a random guy (or girl, but it’s only been guys so far) with an interesting story to tell comes along and you go out on the water for a while. I do want to qualify for solo sailing this summer, but there are benefits to having a buddy…for one thing, it’s good yaking.

It’s interesting who you meet this way. Take today, for example, the guy I was sailing with (Dave), moved away from Cambridge in 1974 and has sailed in Florida and various parts of the US…and on the Thames in the UK (but obviously called it that Tames – a very common mistake amongst Americans in general…I’ve long since given up pointing these things out, since it just makes me seem like an arrogant ass). He wanted to sail with jib and make the most of what little wind we had…and I was happy to oblige, given that this made for more fun as we dealt with the randomly changing wind direction on the Charles. The guy works with homeless people in Boston, which made for a good discussion about Menino, the Federal government, and US politics in general, and we wound up having a drink afterward. I’d rank this amongst the more successful outings I’ve had to far. Hopefully, we’ll sail again. I probably won’t try going out tomorrow as I’ve stuff to get done…and I’d like to go climbing tomorrow anyway. Trying to do both turns out to be painful.

Ben would definitely enjoy it here – quite challenging tacking from one way to another constantly as you deal with the wind passing around the tall buildings of downtown Boston. I suck. Seriously. But I want to work on it over the summer. My sailing shoes definitely were a good purchase and held up well today – I’ve decided I quite like Gill “stuff”. Oh, and, I need to get a cord for my sunglasses, since I don’t much like the idea of throwing $200 overboard the next time I fall in the Charles.

Jon.

So a couple weeks ago, I ordered some Gill Aquatech sailing shoes. You know, properly designed to get soaked and dry out quickly…and all that jazz. I ordered from a well known online website and received a confirmation, followed by a shipping notification. But the shoes never arrived.

Turns out that “shipped” doesn’t always mean “shipped” (but billed always does seem to mean the same thing…so does calling AMEX to tell them to hold payment) and that the shoes hadn’t actually been dispatched, actually weren’t even in stock, and they won’t be available in the US for a few more weeks as Gill are fresh out. This is, of course, highly annoying as I wanted to go sailing and had been putting it off for the last week or two while I waited for these shoes – because using regular trainers (US: athletic/running/whatever) or similar footwear is a bad idea. We had a little chat just now about it.

So they’re paying for me to have the higher end gripper shoes, and also paying the $60 expedited shipping fees to have them here tomorrow. If they actually turn up, then all will be forgiven. I am hopeful that I will now be able to go out on the Charles again. Failing that (and perhaps anyway), I’m thinking of getting a rental and driving down to the Cape for an afternoon of writing by the ocean.

Jon.

* May 8 – UA7780 12:21 BOS -> 13:55 IAD; UA231 14:35 IAD -> 16:54 SAN.
* May 9-11 – Speaking at the Red Hat Summit in San Diego. Decided to avoid complications going to Mexico for an evening or whatever.
* May 11 – Beach/hang out in San Diego in the evening (extended hotel).
* May 12 – UA710 11:16 SAN -> 12:43 SFO. Hang out in downtown San Francisco with Sven and the guys. Go sailing on the Bay.
* May 13 – Hang out in San Francisco. Potentially more sailing, cycle around and bike the Golden Gate Bridge (again), visit Alcatraz Island.
* May 14 – Pick up Ford Mustang convertible at SFO. Drive to Yosemite on route 120. Go hiking in the park. Stayover in a B&B in Fish Camp. Apple Tree Inn (1110 Highway 41, Fish Camp, CA).
* May 15 – More hiking. Drive back to San Francisco, via a friend’s place to do a little target practice. Hang out in the evening in Palo Alto.
* May 16 – Drive down Pacific Coast Highway. Stayover.
* May 17 – Drive down Pacific Coast Highway. Afternoon surfing scheduled (4 hours, extended) at Silver Strand Surf School. Stay at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ventura Beach (the “Little Miss Sunshine” hotel). Leave early for Los Angeles.
* May 18 – FreedomHEC in Los Angeles. Holiday Inn LA Center. Hang out in LA.
* May 19 – UA1798 19:10 LAX -> 20:25 SFO. Pick up another rental in San Francisco and drive up to Tamales Bay (late). Oysters.
* May 20 – Recover from beer/Oysters. Drive back to San Francisco. Potentially take a short hop up to PDX for the evening.
* May 21 – UA770 12:55 SFO -> 16:28 DEN; UA726 18:33 DEN -> 12:23 BOS.

Coolness. The cool thing about social networking sites is that friends randomly mail you to say “hey, dude, you should…when you’re…”. This is, of course, the reason I tend to be a little vocal about my plans – you never know when your friend in Dubai is going to mail and say he’s hanging out in San Francisco at the same time. Looks like I get to catch up with Chris, Pete and a few others. I’ve added the following to my itinerary:

* Surfing. I’m stopping en route to LA for some surfing lessons. Called up the surfing school earlier and kicked off that process. I’m looking at spending an afternoon, and if it goes well, the school isn’t far from LA anyway to go back.
* Shooting. I’ve never fired a gun in my life so the option to try target practice just once does appeal. Let’s keep the gun discussion down to “I’ll try it once”. Looks like I might get to try this en route back from Yosemite.
* Palo Alto. Hanging out. I’ll see if I can swing by on my way back from Yosemite before I start driving down the coast.

Jon.

Around six weeks ago, I started a little project. I call it “Brave New Jon” (for various reasons certain colleagues will perhaps find amusing). Essentially, it’s an effort to take radical action to reform what I see as aspects of my personality and lifestyle that needed work, for the better.

So far, I can report that I have:

* Lost over 40lbs. I’ve got more to go, but I’ve gone from a large 36″ to a medium 31″ and am still working on it. I think I can hit 150lbs in the end. I’m looking at joining a gym to complete the final part of this quest. I’m on a raw fruit/veg. diet with some nuts and a soy/whey protein drink. I take supplements and get all I need…but inconsequential fat. My body is thus forced to metabolize the fat that it already has (as a preference over muscle protein, because I address that with protein drinks).

* Taken up running. I bought all the silly Nike+iPod jazz, started taking runs/walks/jogs along the Charles whenever I can. If the weather is bad, I just take a stroll, coffee in hand. The Nike+ features let me benchmark my performance and see how I am improving in my training program.

* Taken up cycling. I’ve fixed my bike (been down to the local bike stores a whole bunch of times), bought some appropriate cycling gear and I’ve been out cycling around town. Certainly helps me figure out the one way system without the hassle of actually being in a car at the time (it’s much easier to stop and get off a bike when you go wrong). Cycling here isn’t such a huge deal as it might be and it’s easy to get around – you really don’t need a car in the cities of Boston and Cambridge, unless you plan on going anywhere outside of the city limits not on the MBTA.

* Taken up sailing. I’ve joined the CBI (Community Boating, Inc.) and can go out sailing on the Charles whenever. I’ve been out a couple of times, but I am currently waiting on some sailing shoes I’ve ordered before I go out again (wearing regular shoes is not a good idea…you quickly discover this when you try it). I used to sail many years ago, but now I actually want to establish some kind of ability…then it was more of an because-I-should after school activity. I’ll aim to get qualified for solo sailing sometime this summer, if there’s time.

* Taken up climbing. I used to climb a couple years ago (before I put on weight due to traveling around and trying all the food I could find) and I decided to get back into it – and use the gear that I own. Comically, my climbing harness is a little on the large side now I’ve been down to Metrorock in Boston and will join the guys in the office at Boulder Morty’s one evening when I have a car, it’s open, and I have the inclination. I’m not sure I’m ready for outside climbing again…even if it is top roping from fairly fixed anchorage points, like they claim.

* Learned to drive. I was in the right mood – you know, where you just don’t care about anything anyway so I went back to the RMV again and just wouldn’t take no for an answer until they sorted out the paperwork. Then I took the silly theory test, had a couple lessons with a local driving school and took a driving “test” to get the license. Now that I have a plastic license I also don’t need to carry my passport everywhere. And I feel more manly…in the Americanized “but everyone drives” sense of the word…or something…whatever

* Replaced my wardrobe. I’ve gone on a bit of a self-redefining mission. Everything was thrown out and replaced. New image. New me. Right down to the trendy Oakleys and the obligatory assortment of shoes. You won’t see me in vendorware so often – but you might catch me in shorts on a sunny day. And sandals. But not socks and sandals

* Remodeled my apartment. There’s a lot more to be done, but it’s getting there. This was pending on being able to drive since previously it has been very difficult to pick up stuff – this place isn’t geared up for those who don’t even have a driver’s license to get a rental (UK: hire) car just for the afternoon – even the religious cyclists would agree there.

There are other aspects to the work in progress. But these are some of the main things I have achieved over the past month or so. I have a lot more to get done, I have more travel planned, more commitment to my work (I love Red Hat dearly) and I will probably grab a car in due course so I can go a little nuts on the weekends – and even just to go climbing or…shock…drive into the office a bit more often

Jon.

So I’ve been on a personal voyage of discovery recently. As part of that, I learned to drive (on the other side of the road, in an automatic – I’m used to standards (UK: manual), and didn’t drive in the UK anyway) and have been driving rentals (UK: hire cars) until I get around to picking up a car (and the $3200 insurance quotes I have received for the pleasure, thanks MA!…though in theory I’m in favor of state regulation…). I’m not buying a new car (well, it’s not likely yet) but I am thinking about getting something not too crappy. Perhaps a pre-owned Prius, VW Jetta, or maybe an RSX (if the insurance won’t kill me over and above the $3200 minimum). I have seen the light that is driving and I like it too much. I don’t want to destroy the environment though, so no SUV for moi.

Last Tuesday was the first time I’d ever driven alone anywhere in the world (not that unusual amongst youngish technical types who have lived and worked in and around London, where driving is often nuts anyway…US readers, think NYC), and I decided to brave driving down to NYC for the weekend, which I managed (albeit with an unscheduled stayover in CT after I underestimated the amount of time it would take, and left Boston way too late – assembling furniture with more than 100 pieces will do that to you). In the end, I drove around 800 miles last week…just returned the rental this morning…and discovered the addictiveness of random driving. I have a “need” to drive vast distances now. Vast distances. Think transcontinental US road trip distances.

To kick things off, I’m going to take a little road trip in CA. I’ve reserved a Ford Mustang convertible for a week (May 14 to May 21) – picking it up in SFO a week Monday and dropping it back off there a week later. I am at a conference in San Diego Tue-Fri of next week (as a speaker) and then headed up to San Francisco for the weekend to hang out with Sven and the guys (going sailing on the Bay, hopefully under the Golden Gate Bridge again, hoping to also get some time to see Alcatraz…I always miss the last Ferry or something comes up to stop me seeing it). I will drive from San Francisco out to Yosemite for some hiking on the Tuesday, down to Los Angeles for FreedomHEC on the Thursday and back up to San Francisco on the Saturday morning, for some sailing/camping up in Tamales Bay. All that will happen within the space of a week, if things go according to plan. My schedule goes something like this (subject to change, depending on friends I’m meeting along the way):

* May 8 – Fly out to San Diego. Hang out on the Beach.
* May 9-11 – Speaking at the Red Hat Summit in San Diego. Giving a lecture on “Handling asynchronous driver updates in RHEL5 and beyond”. I will talk about my Utopian visions
* May 12 – Fly up to San Francisco. Hang out downtown. Catch up with Sven and other friends – go sailing (hopefully).
* May 13 – Hang out in San Francisco. Potentially more sailing, cycle around and bike the Golden Gate Bridge (again), visit Alcatraz Island.
* May 14 – Pick up rental at SFO. Drive to Yosemite. Stayover in a B&B somewhere along the way and hike in the park during the day. Avoiding being a bear mauling statistic is fairly important
* May 15 – Drive back to San Francisco. CA Route 120.
* May 16 – Drive down Pacific Coast Highway. Stayover.
* May 17 – Drive down Pacific Coast Highway. Arrive in LA in the evening. Hang out with friends in LA/Anaheim. Depends who’s around.
* May 18 – FreedomHEC in Los Angeles. I will share my Utopian visions for the future of drivers and get beaten with a big pointy stick by Greg for his general pleasure Hang out in LA on Friday evening with friends. Depends who’s around.
* May 19 – Drop off car at LAX. Fly up to San Francisco. Pick up another rental and drive up to Tamales Bay (late).
* May 20 – Recover from beer/Oysters.
* May 21 – Return rental. Fly.

Jon.

For non-US readers:

CA – California state abbreviation. A Long, but narrow state I’ve been to many times in the past. But I’ve never driven over there…not yet anyway.
CT – Connecticut state abbreviation. In this case I had a choice between New Haven and Stamford on the (New York City) MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) Metro North line, and chose Stamford due to its non-stop 30 minute express train service into New York’s Grand Central train station. Not a whole lot of nightlife there…think provincial market town, and don’t try seeing a movie after 10pm
MA – Massachusetts state abbreviation. Where they don’t understand how to paint lane markings on the highways (UK: A roads) or Interstates (UK: Motorways). And where auto (car) insurance is state regulated so the price you pay is not set by free market economics, but by the state. Benefit is that they have to insure everyone equally, but it’s expensive.
NYC – New York City. I wasn’t insane enough to drive in the City itself.
PCH – Pacific Coast Highway. California (CA) State Highway Route 1 (RT1). Only officially known as the Pacific Coast Highway in specific counties along the route…otherwise a mixture of eclectic naming.
RSX – Acura RSX. Think suped up Honda Accord, on steroids. Really.
SFO – San Francisco International Airport (US FAA code).
VW – Volkswagen. Obviously.

A week ago, I decided it was finally time to just get a driver’s license. So I went into the driving school near where I live, and hooked up a couple of lessons and a test. We might have called the DSA, but for the fact that we’re not in the UK and therefore didn’t feel like a utterly pointless 2 month wait on a test. Nah, instead, we booked a test last Tuesday, for Friday. I had a couple of lessons, then passed the road test.

Learning to drive on the other side of the road, in an automatic car, took 3 days. The Massachusetts driving test is laughably ridiculous since it lasts under ten minutes, is only conducted in a residential area, and essentially involves just making a handful of observable driving actions. However, at least I’ve learned elsewhere to use my mirrors correctly (watching for motorized/non-motorized bikes and other at-risk persons). Here in MA, they didn’t even bother to tell me about that. They didn’t bother with the rear view mirror…I could go on, but the point is obvious – there’s a lot of truth to the stereotypes of US drivers that those outside the US may or may not hold true. Oh, and the “correct” way to turn the wheel here is hand-over-hand…sigh.

Not that I care. Here, they’re way more pragmatic than those anally pedantic DSA folks. The UK “Driving Standards Agency” is a government quango that is paid to waste your time. They make vast amounts of money out of offering no customer service, make you wait months for a test, and generally are utterly useless. The testing here is inadequate, but at least it’s possible to book this side of July 4. In the States, they care more about getting you onto the road (to the detriment of public safety, in my opinion) than in whether you screw up on a minor technicality during a reverse parallel park. Did I mention that the UK DSA suck? Those folks just suck…so so much.

So, look out, I’m licensed to drive now.

Jon.