Matt O’ Rama

Free trip to San Francisco? Um, yes please!

I wanted to take a Java programming class for work so I signed up for one here in Albuquerque. A week’s intensive class in a new language sounds like a good time to me, as weird as that sounds. So I was surprised and for a minute I was sad when they called me and said the class here was canceled due to low attendance. Of course I brightened up when the woman continued talking and said if I wanted to go, they would pay for my flight and hotel to take the class in San Francisco. Uh, sure, yeah, I can do that. Whoohoo!
San Francisco is one of my favorite cities, I fell in love with the place after taking a bus tour with my family when I was younger. I’m going to be in class most of the time I’m there so it’s not really a vacation or anything but the free trip is just an awesome opportunity. Besides being away from Kim and the kids for the week (the longest I’ve ever been gone), I can’t wait just to be back in SF for awhile.

Trying for the triathlon

I’ve been doing my triathlon training, although my inability to get up early enough in the morning has been hindering my attempts somewhat. I’ve been swimming and running more than I ever thought I would, but I haven’t been back on my bike much. I’m bringing it to work tomorrow and I’ll get a chance to do a good ride since we get to leave early (a guy I didn’t know passed away so we’re closing early).

I’ve decided to do either the Socorro Triathlon or the Bottomless Lakes Triathlon. The Bottomless Lakes race is in a big lake I visited once before and I’d like to do that but being my first tri, I think it might be a good idea to do the Socorro one since it’s in a pool. I’ll have to decide soon so I don’t miss my chance. Both of these races are Sprint distance, which is good with my lessened training schedule.

I’m excited. I think I can do it, with my least confidence being in the running. The Sprint tri includes 3 miles of running, about 3 miles more than I’ve ever run at one time. :) I’m getting better but it’s going to take a lot more pavement pounding.

Flickr is not Yahoo

This topic is going to interest approximately 0% of people who read this blog but I have to say something. Flickr, one of my favorite websites, was acquired by Yahoo a year or so ago. This is fine, I have no problem with this and I’m glad the creators/owners of Flickr got fat checks for their work. Yay for them. The problem is that part of the deal with the Yahoo acquisition was that they now have merged the signin for Flickr with Yahoo’s account system. This is lame. Flickr had its own feel, its own vibe/mojo/whatever. Yahoo has none of that. I remember using Yahoo back before Jerry and David even owned yahoo.com but I have no place in my heart for Yahoo. They are, to me, the new AOL. A do-it-all-for-you “portal” for people very unlike me. Granted, Yahoo is opening up a bit and now owns 2 of my favorite sites and gives money to people I like and respect (as much as you can like and respect people you don’t know) but still, I never wanted a Yahoo ID and still don’t want one. Never the less, I now have one (or rather, found out that I actually signed up for one at some point and had totally forgotten about it. I probably got it to try out some service I never went back to.).
Signing into Flickr now, you’re sent to a Yahoo login page. This is like asking your dad for the keys to the car. “Please, annoying authority figure I’m only passing near to get where I want to go, will you please let me move along as quickly as possible and go hang out with the cool kids?” So now I’m logged in to Flickr but every time Yahoo times out my sign in, I’m going to be reminded that now I have to get the keys from Dad. Lame.

Find a new triathlon

So it looks like the triathlon I was planning on attending is cancelled. I found this out in the newsletter for a New Mexico based Triathlon club, The Outlaws. So that sucks, but I found a triathlon club I might want to join so that’s a silver lining. Although from reading about some of the members, I don’t know if I’m up to snuff. One of them does 150+ bike rides, for pete’s sake. I’ll keep an eye on them though and see how my training goes. I’m going to sign up for one of the other triathlons around the same time as the defunct one soon.
Speaking of training, I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would. I’m swimming a lot farther already and I’m getting better at breathing. I’m trying to keep to the techniques I read about in the book Total Immersion, which I recommend if you’re into swimming and want to get better, or if you’re like me and have no old habits to break and want to get better. I’m also running more and walking less in my training runs. Next is to get my flat bike tire fixed and see how much of that fitness I’ve lost not riding for 6 months. It’s probably going to be pretty pathetic. And I’m anticipating my ass hurting, a lot. That’s the price you pay for not riding.

On Africa and Africans

How to write about Africa In Granta by Binyavanga Wainaina

I finished reading The Wizard Of The Crow a few weeks ago and can only now really appreciate this essay I think. Everything we in American seem to hear about Africa and Africans comes directly from what he says here. I was really blown away by the portrayal of everyday Africans in that book since I never see that. If you have any interest in Africa, I encourage you to read books by native African authors, you get a completely different sense of the place, as a setting instead of as a character itself like most non-natives seem to want to write.

Words as video

‘What does Marcellus Wallace look like?’

This is a completely awesome video of a speech from the movie Pulp Fiction. They’ve made the words just as riveting as the scene in the actual movie. This is both a testament to the power of video and to the just plain coolness of the Quentin Tarrantino’s script for the movie (and actor Samuel Jackson’s forceful speaking style as Jules, the hitman who gives this speech).

It’s 100% Not Safe For Work but do yourself a favor and watch it anyway, when you won’t get fired. :)

Buzz about Co-Working

Well, this is a good sign I’d think: BusinessWeek is covering co-working, which I’ve written about before. The first time I saw an ad featuring a reference to the internet without specifically explaining what it was, just assuming you’d know, I knew that was a marker for the future. Even though I doubt I’ll ever get to do my own co-working place here in Albuquerque it sure is fun to think about and hopefully this article is a sign of things to come.

Also on that note, a friend of my wife’s (thanks Kevin!) sent me a link to a local place here in town that is sort of a cross between a co-working place and a regular executive suite and when I was at the gym the other day I saw an ad on TV for the place. It’s called Office Alternatives and while it’s a little more high end than I was thinking for co-working (they have receptionists and a lot of other amenities that I’m sure are musts for people in suits but not for geeks who need a place to put their laptop), it’s a step in that direction.

I Endure

I found a site called We Endure through a typical internet round-a-bout way (a comic book writer whose forum I used to frequent’s wife had a link to it on her site) and I’m really happy with it. While the site’s name is kind of strange, it’s for endurance sports training so it fits. You add all your training to it: how far you ran, what much you swam, etc. It also does a countdown of days until the events you specify so now I know I only have 149 days till the Triathlon. Yikes. But anyway, if you’re interested in training for some endurance event, I’d recommend using We Endure, it really helps to see all your training laid out in front of you.

My site is available here, if you’re interested.