I had never really noticed this before but after I learned about this I see it all the time. I was slightly shocked that I’d never really noticed this before. I started to think about this. I even noticed myself and the group I work with doing this all the time. Why do we do this though?

My take on this differs slightly from the argument given in Wikipedia. I think we do this because humans like the feeling of accomplishing something. Recently I was involved in a discussion where we were talking about how to implement threads and a thread manager in the application I was building. We spent a few minutes on it and them moved on to the next issue without actually deciding on a solution. That seems strange. Threading is a very complex task to undertake so why wouldn’t we want to decide on a solution? I think this is because coming up with the final solution is very difficult and will take much time and thought. There isn’t much instant gratification in deciding on a solution.

A little while later the group was discussing another feature and we spent probably at least 30 minutes discussing button placement and text. This is definitely trivial in comparison to threading. But after thirty minutes we had decided on a solution; we had accomplished something. This I believe is the key point. We didn’t mind discussing the buttons at length because we knew in the end we would have a solution.

Time to accomplish something is important to us humans. In the threading example it could easily take a day of brainstorming and designing to come up with a solution. The thirty minute discussion about buttons gives us that feeling of accomplishment in 1/16th the time (using an 8 hour work day).

Something to think about next time your group is in a drawn out discussion.

If you want to check out more about STS-129 you can go here.

Ignite Orlando, or any ignite event, is something I would recommend for anyone. It’s a great opportunity to get out and meet others in your community and to learn a tremendous amount. I’m even contemplating putting together a presentation myself. For anyone that wants to see a presentation and learn how to make a good one check out the following video: Why and How to Give an Ignite Talk.

Following Ignite Orlando was Orlando’s first MP3 Experiment based on the MP3 Experiments of Improv Everywhere. We started at Slingapour’s where Ignite Orlando had been held and then made our way to a park less than a block away. Just as the Improv Everywhere site says we had many spectators wondering why we were running around and attacking each other with balloons. By the end of the experiment a small crowd had formed watching us as we wrapped things up. The only problem with this experiment is that it was extremely hot and humid out. By the end I was definitely ready to get inside and get some water; all in good fun though. I’m looking forward to the next one and can only imagine what may be instore.

My truck is approaching 100,000 miles very quickly so I pay a lot of attention to it and the sounds it makes. About a month ago it started to squeak. This isn’t to be confused with the suspension that has been making funny noises for a while. No, this time something under the hood was squeaking. Wasn’t very loud or anything but I could hear it. I decided that the next time I took it in for an oil change I’d have them look at it. It’s probably just a loose belt.

I take it into the shop on Tuesday figuring I’d get it back later that day. In the early afternoon I get a call from the shop. Apparently when I had my clutch replaced 20,000 miles ago, the clutch plate was put in backwards and was causing some parts to wear incorrectly (I won’t bore you with all the mechanical details). This isn’t what I wanted to hear. After making sure I had transportation to and from work I told them to go ahead and fix it which included machining the flywheel and putting in a new clutch.

Thursday rolls around and I get a call from the shop. My truck is ready and I can pick it up anytime. I have my friend drop me off at the shop to pick up my truck. I hop in my truck and before I make it two blocks the clutch goes out. Of course this had to happen to me while I was in the middle of the busiest road around which is completely under construction. I manage to get it off the road and call up the shop. They send someone over who tinkers with the clutch for a bit and then can drive my truck back to the shop. They tell me that it’s going to take them till Friday to tear everything apart to see what’s going on. This isn’t what I wanted to hear.

Friday comes and goes quickly. I do some chores around my place awaiting the call. I hear from them right before they are closing and I tell them I will be there in a few minutes to get my truck. I go and get my truck and head back home.

Since I didn’t have my truck all day I didn’t get to go shopping like I had planned. I call up some friends and we decide to head out and get some dinner. Leaving dinner I hop into my truck and yet again, no clutch. I’m not a happy camper at this point. My friend drives me home and I leave my truck in the parking lot since there isn’t much I can do in the parking lot.

Saturday morning rolls around and I call the shop up right when they open. When the guy answers and I tell him who I am he replies “This can’t be good.” I go on to explain what happened and tell him where the truck is. Since I was heading out of town I had already arranged a ride for Saturday’s trip. This was good because we took a quick detour and dropped the key to my truck off on the way out of town. When I spoke with the guy I told him to keep my truck through the weekend and Monday and drive it a bunch since the truck appeared to be fine when I left but after some driving had issues.

Sunday and Monday went quickly with no truck. Surprisingly I wasn’t too upset about not having it. I was able to ride my bike to the places I needed to go so I didn’t feel homebound. I call up the shop on Tuesday to check on my truck. They tell me they’ve worked on it a bit and have been driving it for the past three days with no issues. I head to the shop and pick up my truck. While I was there I inquired about how they solved the problem. Apparently my truck, a Ford Ranger, has a odd clutch setup which is extremely prone to air getting stuck in the lines. The shop said that they called up the Ford dealer who told them to lift the front of the truck up until the truck was at forty five degrees and then bleed the clutch lines. Whether or not this solved the problem, I don’t know but my truck hasn’t been giving me problems since.

I’ve had my truck for just about a week now and it hasn’t given me any problems since. I’ve been a bit nervous about it though and am very cautious where I drive just in case my clutch decides to go out again.

My parents had decided that they were going to come visit for a weekend. It just so happens that the weekend they chose to visit was right around their anniversary. Being the good son that I am, I decided I would take them out for dinner. I had been trying to come up with a good place to take them for a while. I eventually came up with the idea to take them to the Yellow Dog Cafe. I ran the idea past a few friends and co-workers and they all agreed that it was an excellent idea to take them there.

Let me start out by saying that they were all correct. Everything about the place was superb. The atmosphere, the food, the staff, the view; all were excellent! To one side of our table we had a view of the Indian river and the other side we could see the kitchen. You could see that they were not taking anything out of a can and throwing it on a plate. We watched as the kitchen worked furiously to create outstanding plates for everyone in the filled restaurant. As time went on we started trying to guess what was on each of the plates and even which ones were ours. Needless to say we were not very good at guessing. Our plates finally arrived with much anticipation and it was even more than I expected. I ate much more than I should have because it was so good that I wasn’t going to leave any behind.

Of course with a meal this good you know their desserts have to be great as well. Needless to say, they do not cut corners on their desserts either. All three of us ordered something different and we all ate every last bite. I left knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to eat anything else for the rest of the night; I was already filled past capacity.

On our way out we decided to take a little self guided tour of the remainder of the restaurant. We went and checked out the deck out back and the other dining rooms. On our tour we found a wedding reception and my parents made a point to congratulate the bride. The bride was all excited since my parents were celebrating their anniversary and she was celebrating her wedding. After our quick tour the valet retrieved our car and we headed off for some relaxing at home.

In short, if anyone ever needs a place to go for a top of the line meal check out Yellow Dog Cafe. You won’t be disappointed.

Well this past weekend at the BBQ there was a video that Tim wanted us to see that Mike had put together. We searched high and low on Mike’s site trying to find it but it was gone. Just on a whim Tim hops on to the social-networking-web and low and behold Mike is online. They exchange a few messages and poof, Mike hooks us up with the video. And as always, it was a GREAT video. Thanks Mike!

Saturday morning rolled around and I was ready to go.  I woke up full of energy and ready to go.  The weather wasn’t looking so good though.  It was very cloudy and overcast although they said there was only a twenty percent chance of rain.  We were going to meet at 8:30 that morning and I wasn’t going to be late.  I got up, got dressed, ate some light fruit (didn’t think my first jump on a full stomach was a good idea) and got on the road to Sebastian.  Everyone met up at Skydive Sebastian but as we arrived the weather had not improved.  The weather wasn’t going to stop us though, we stayed around and watched some videos and chatted a bit with other divers.  Three hours later we heard that the first plane was going up.

Since there were ten of us jumping, all sporting shirts thanks to Long Doggers,  I got placed on the third plan going up for the day.  So we watched the first two planes go up and the divers jump.  Then I heard the call to suit up for my plane.  I got suited up, boarded the plan and we were off.  I knew that it took a bit of time to get to 13,500 feet so I wasn’t very anxious during the plane ride.  I knew as soon as it was time though I would be all nervous.

We reached jumping altitude and then it was time to go.  The pilot had originally told us that we were jumping nine seconds apart.  Well by the time we reached altitude and started jumping I was to busy to get nervous and by the time I knew it I was standing at the door and then jumping out of the plane.  This was followed by a good minute of free fall and then approximately five minutes of coasting down after the chute was deployed.  The free fall was such a rush.  I don’t even know how to describe it.  I remember that it felt like I was falling forever but in retrospect it happened very quickly.  The falling was incredible, the feeling was incredible, the view was incredible.  I have never experienced anything like it.  Since it was my first time though I was a bit disoriented at first, falling out of a moving plane and tumbling for a bit had me a bit off kilter.  I quickly regained my bearings and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

I was also surprised at how difficult it was to do stuff while falling.  I felt that I had no control over my facial expressions and my hand movement was kind of sporadic since any slight move I made was drastically exaggerated by the speed at which the air was passing.  That and trying to follow the instructions while paying attention to the camera, and trying to not look completely stupid, ended being much more challenging than I thought.  The videos make it look simple but there is actually quite a bit of work to keeping things together when you are traveling that fast.  Alright, enough of my babble (yes, I know that is what this site is called) watch the video and then sign up to jump! Oh, and if you want anyone to go with you, feel free to ask me…

This past weekend I was over in Orlando at my friend’s place  and he asked if I would like to go to an Orlando Magic game on Tuesday (the 17).  It was only $20!  I called some friends and by the end of the evening I had secured 3 tickets for Tuesday’s game.  Right after work on Tuesday (a little early actually) we grabbed some food and headed to Orlando.  The game was a blast and the Magic won.

I’ve talked with a few people at work about going and most of them were interested.  I know I’m planning on going to a game in March and I know it would be fun if we had a larger group this time (although the Silver Stars were great fun also).  If anyone is interested in going, let me know.