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Things have happened
Sep. 1st, 2003 05:48 pmHello all. I figured it's about time I actually wrote something substantial, so here goes:
For the last several weeks I have been in (counting backwards):
Chicago, IL
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Cocoa Beach, FL
Toronto, Ont
Manassas, VA/Washington DC
I've only just arrived in Chicago. I'm at the point in my work now where I know my classes well enough to be able to enjoy the town I'm in and not spend all my "free" time stressing and prepping. So when I'd gotten in and deposited my stuff in my room I had lunch, went to the gym and then went for a walk. It's raining at the moment, but not hard enough for it to be a reason not to go out. In fact, with the combination of rain and labor day, almost noone was on the streets anyway, so it was quite enjoyable. I'm hoping that I will be able to check out a show or something. Chicago the Musical is, interestingly enough, opening on Wednesday but I think Lizbeth might kill me if I saw it without her. =:) I've heard about a place that has a stained-glass museum, but I'd have to take a cab or bus to get to it and I'd prefer to walk, so maybe I'll do that some day after class.
So anyway, I'm back from a walk in the rain, which was refreshing in that way that walks in the rain can be.
A more interesting topic might be Toronto, which is where I was when the blackout happened... you California folks did hear about that, right? =:P It really was interesting. The power went out at about 4:10pm local time, just as my students were starting their last lab of the day. Much groaning ensued as a result. We were going to just wait it out, but apparently the building's policy was to evacuate when the power goes out, so that's what we did. We tried moving class to the Starbuck's next door but it had closed down as well.
It was interesting watching the traffic from my hotel room. I have never seen city streets so crowded, not just with cars, but pedestrians as well. this is what happens when everyone in an entire city goes home at the same time. You couldn't see pavement for all the people and cars. And yes, I saw my share of moving scenes of people helping out their fellows including an instance the now symbolic-of-humanity's-triumph-over-blackouts pedestrian going out into the street to direct traffic.
I must say, though, that I agree with Jon Stewart's take on the blackout which, if anyone hasn't seen it, is an excellent reality check about the whole thing. Specifically, he gets on the case of some of the more... artistic editorial writers at NPR (which, you all know, I love). Something along the lines of: "People, it wasn't a 'poem of human unity in a time of hardship', the #@!$ing lights went out... and what does it say about us when we're so impressed that, given the opportunity, there was relatively little looting. Isn't this what we should be expecing from ourselves? Should we really be saying ' That man is a saint... look at him, over there directing traffic instead of braining me with a bottle at the first opportunity...'"
...I love Jon Stewart. I know others that are... close to me don't, but I think he's wonderful.
Anyway, on with the blackout.
The power at my hotel came on at about 7am the next morning. I headed out to work only to find that (1) The mayor had asked that only emergency workers come in to work (2) all but three of my class hadn't shown and (3) despite the power having been on for longer at the the building I was working at than at it had been at my hotel, they were announcing themselves closed anyway.
Hmm.. Well, the classes I teach are... expensive and I had at least one student who didn't have the option of retaking (he'd flown in from Argentina just for the class!) so, as good an excuse as I might have had to call it quits, the show had to go on. I am still hoping to get copies of some photos my students took that day of me teaching the remainder of the class on the steps of a fountain in the park, using a notepad for a whiteboard and then finishing up in the food court at the local mall, where the students did their final troubleshooting lab on my laptop (rather than the usual time limit of 'when you're done', I told them they had until the battery ran out and let them collaborate. They got it done with about 5 mins of battery left. =:).
There's very few things that I let myself feel unbridled pride about, but this is one of them. How many people can say they gave quality Linux training in the midst of a catastrophic blackout? w00t and all that.
Anyway, there it is, in a perhaps over-large nutshell. I really need to get myself a schedule while I'm on the road now. I've found myself exhausted and depressed often lately because I am constantly moving and not feeling like I'm getting anything done. I mean, I always get good feedback from my classes, but I've got all these other projects: coding projects, linux projects, even games I'd like to play/finish (note the lack of non-computer-centric options, though) but somehow I always end up just watching TV. If I can just get focused and make some use of the privacy and spare time that I have, I really feel that I could get something great done, be it with personal projects or the myriad of non-teaching work-related projects that working at RedHat has presented me with.
Oh well. Going to the gym was a good start. Once I get the momentum going, my body LIKES exercise. I've just always got too much work or too much inertia to get me in there. So hopefully I've started the ball rolling in the right direction today and it will only get better. Here's hoping.
--Brad
For the last several weeks I have been in (counting backwards):
Chicago, IL
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Cocoa Beach, FL
Toronto, Ont
Manassas, VA/Washington DC
I've only just arrived in Chicago. I'm at the point in my work now where I know my classes well enough to be able to enjoy the town I'm in and not spend all my "free" time stressing and prepping. So when I'd gotten in and deposited my stuff in my room I had lunch, went to the gym and then went for a walk. It's raining at the moment, but not hard enough for it to be a reason not to go out. In fact, with the combination of rain and labor day, almost noone was on the streets anyway, so it was quite enjoyable. I'm hoping that I will be able to check out a show or something. Chicago the Musical is, interestingly enough, opening on Wednesday but I think Lizbeth might kill me if I saw it without her. =:) I've heard about a place that has a stained-glass museum, but I'd have to take a cab or bus to get to it and I'd prefer to walk, so maybe I'll do that some day after class.
So anyway, I'm back from a walk in the rain, which was refreshing in that way that walks in the rain can be.
A more interesting topic might be Toronto, which is where I was when the blackout happened... you California folks did hear about that, right? =:P It really was interesting. The power went out at about 4:10pm local time, just as my students were starting their last lab of the day. Much groaning ensued as a result. We were going to just wait it out, but apparently the building's policy was to evacuate when the power goes out, so that's what we did. We tried moving class to the Starbuck's next door but it had closed down as well.
It was interesting watching the traffic from my hotel room. I have never seen city streets so crowded, not just with cars, but pedestrians as well. this is what happens when everyone in an entire city goes home at the same time. You couldn't see pavement for all the people and cars. And yes, I saw my share of moving scenes of people helping out their fellows including an instance the now symbolic-of-humanity's-triumph-over-blackouts pedestrian going out into the street to direct traffic.
I must say, though, that I agree with Jon Stewart's take on the blackout which, if anyone hasn't seen it, is an excellent reality check about the whole thing. Specifically, he gets on the case of some of the more... artistic editorial writers at NPR (which, you all know, I love). Something along the lines of: "People, it wasn't a 'poem of human unity in a time of hardship', the #@!$ing lights went out... and what does it say about us when we're so impressed that, given the opportunity, there was relatively little looting. Isn't this what we should be expecing from ourselves? Should we really be saying '
...I love Jon Stewart. I know others that are... close to me don't, but I think he's wonderful.
Anyway, on with the blackout.
The power at my hotel came on at about 7am the next morning. I headed out to work only to find that (1) The mayor had asked that only emergency workers come in to work (2) all but three of my class hadn't shown and (3) despite the power having been on for longer at the the building I was working at than at it had been at my hotel, they were announcing themselves closed anyway.
Hmm.. Well, the classes I teach are... expensive and I had at least one student who didn't have the option of retaking (he'd flown in from Argentina just for the class!) so, as good an excuse as I might have had to call it quits, the show had to go on. I am still hoping to get copies of some photos my students took that day of me teaching the remainder of the class on the steps of a fountain in the park, using a notepad for a whiteboard and then finishing up in the food court at the local mall, where the students did their final troubleshooting lab on my laptop (rather than the usual time limit of 'when you're done', I told them they had until the battery ran out and let them collaborate. They got it done with about 5 mins of battery left. =:).
There's very few things that I let myself feel unbridled pride about, but this is one of them. How many people can say they gave quality Linux training in the midst of a catastrophic blackout? w00t and all that.
Anyway, there it is, in a perhaps over-large nutshell. I really need to get myself a schedule while I'm on the road now. I've found myself exhausted and depressed often lately because I am constantly moving and not feeling like I'm getting anything done. I mean, I always get good feedback from my classes, but I've got all these other projects: coding projects, linux projects, even games I'd like to play/finish (note the lack of non-computer-centric options, though) but somehow I always end up just watching TV. If I can just get focused and make some use of the privacy and spare time that I have, I really feel that I could get something great done, be it with personal projects or the myriad of non-teaching work-related projects that working at RedHat has presented me with.
Oh well. Going to the gym was a good start. Once I get the momentum going, my body LIKES exercise. I've just always got too much work or too much inertia to get me in there. So hopefully I've started the ball rolling in the right direction today and it will only get better. Here's hoping.
--Brad
