www.geoffmitchell.com

Time for a new website header image, and this is a personal favorite for many reasons. This was taken from a single engine Cessna back around 1988 or so. I was working at a company call “21st Century Products”; a distributor of haircare and salon products like shampoo, conditioner and such. My boss was Jack Marks, a man I consider a dear friend to this day. He’d invited me to join his older son and he on a plane flight with his son’s friend who had his flying license, or was racking air miles, or something along that nature. So we met early in the morning at some airport around Fremont, and flew out to some remote airport where we walked through an old Ghost Town to some place for lunch and flew back.

All those details are foggy. But what I do remember are three very distinct events. One of which was the decision to fly into Yosemite Valley and “buzz” Half Dome. It’s apparently not kosher to do so, or perhaps even illegal, but we did it anyway, and it was incredible. We flew right over the top…. close enough that when I looked down all i saw was the granite surface below and a sudden drop as we crossed over the face and looked down into the valley. It remains one of my “deathbed moments” to this day. This photo was shot as we were circling around above it.

The other two distinct memories? Doing a momentary “free fall” that caused my camera to fly out of my hands but be caught by the experienced and aware son of Jack. And buzzing a nearby dam, where we skimmed above the water and pulled up at the last minute to avoid colliding with the cement dam at the last minute.

And yes, I literally did fall to my knees and kiss the ground when we landed :-)

I’ve become fond of referring to my present workload and the related stress level by using the analogy of playing three concurrent games of tennis on parallel courts. Well today I feel like I just froze in place, overwhelmed and beaten down by the sense of futility of it all, while the sounds of the unreturned volleys echoed across the court surfaces and bounced against the long wall behind me. I just stopped running. It became too much. And although the weekend ahead may provide a moment to breathe between sets, the fact that I’ll have the responsibility of walking about to gather all the shots I let fly by me in a moment of frustrated exhaustion weighs heavy on my mind.

Everywhere I look today, around every corner I turn, in the hands of numeous people I see walking about or in meetings or sitting in a cafe, I see iPhones. And it’s not just my imagination or my eyes playing tricks on me. They are everywhere. Some in hands, some in desk cradles, some still in boxes. For today is the first day of the iPhone distribution at work, and by the looks of things, there’s not many waiting until day two. It’s quite an exciting day. So far. Earning have not been announced yet so we’ll see how that goes in a short while.

Everywhere I look today, around every corner I turn, in the hands of numeous people I see walking about or in meetings or sitting in a cafe, I see iPhones. And it’s not just my imagination or my eyes playing tricks on me. They are everywhere. Some in hands, some in desk cradles, some still in boxes. For today is the first day of the iPhone distribution at work, and by the looks of things, there’s not many waiting until day two. It’s quite an exciting day. So far. Earning have not been announced yet so we’ll see how that goes in a short while.

There’s no beginning to describe the chaos that has been the past few weeks at work, and last night, finally, I thought I’d wrapped up the final pieces of an effort that had come unravelled the day before. Unravelled, that is, from the wrapping up of the final pieces the night before that. As happened the day before that. And the day before that day. Seeing a pattern? Same as it ever was…. same as it ever was…

So today, I’m sitting here, going through these all too familiar motions yet again, and I’m in a dower mood. I’ve got my ipod on, headphones in, my office door almost shut and a “LMTFA” look on my face. I’m focused.

Or I was, that is, until the drum beat of “Girlfriend is Better” started playing in my ears. Suddenly, my grim face is atop a pair of slightly bobbing shoulders. The body takes the hint, the mind rewinds to the absolute greatest party I ever held (at which the entire “Speaking in Tounges” CD was on non-stop play while the room danced and shuffled about) and suddenly, the day is not so grey. With a little help from the Talking Heads, I’ll get through another long day.

♬ Stop making sense, stop making sense…stop making sense, making sense. ♬

There’s no beginning to describe the chaos that has been the past few weeks at work, and last night, finally, I thought I’d wrapped up the final pieces of an effort that had come unravelled the day before. Unravelled, that is, from the wrapping up of the final pieces the night before that. As happened the day before that. And the day before that day. Seeing a pattern? Same as it ever was…. same as it ever was…

So today, I’m sitting here, going through these all too familiar motions yet again, and I’m in a dower mood. I’ve got my ipod on, headphones in, my office door almost shut and a “LMTFA” look on my face. I’m focused.

Or I was, that is, until the drum beat of “Girlfriend is Better” started playing in my ears. Suddenly, my grim face is atop a pair of slightly bobbing shoulders. The body takes the hint, the mind rewinds to the absolute greatest party I ever held (at which the entire “Speaking in Tounges” CD was on non-stop play while the room danced and shuffled about) and suddenly, the day is not so grey. With a little help from the Talking Heads, I’ll get through another long day.

♬ Stop making sense, stop making sense…stop making sense, making sense. ♬

My brother-in-law and I exchanged a few “Global Warming” related emails this weekend, and they awoke a sleeping beast within. There’s about 38 at last count, so to be more specific, it awoke the one that has an absolute distain for the “mainstream press” in our society. The primary thread/discussion was around the habit that the press has of running around screaming about the impending doom of Global Warming when there’s a significant spike in a regional temperature, but they fall strangely silent about the issues when the weather turns cool and balmy.

Imagine that.
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A warm summer evening spent at a neighbor’s home for a BBQ. A bag of fresh picked blackberries. A batch of home made Vanilla ice cream. And a (almost) 4-year old with a sweet tooth and little regard for conventional utensils.

“A Spoon? A SPOON?!? No, THIS is how ice cream is intended to be eaten!”

I think it just might be an option to use my iPhone as a writing tool. Seriously. I realize that might seem like a bold statement, given the fact that the keyboard is considered by many pundits to be it’s greatest limitation. But I recently found myself responding to an email on the iPhone, and my response went on much longer than I’d expected, with startlingly accurate results. Was it as natural or easy as a keyboard? No. But it was far easier than I’d ever expected it would be. The predictive typing technology is a huge benefit.

After that email effort I started playing around with typing on it a bit more. It’s definitely not as easy with two hands as one might think. Yet using two fingers of the same hand is actually quite easy to pick up and run with.

I’m going to try working with It further. I’m going to see if I can develop a natural enough feel for the software based experience of the keyboard to be comfortable writing lengthy passages.

This post is an example of the effort. It’s been completely authored on an iPhone. With relative ease. Frickin’ amazing!

Anybody wanna buy an AlphaSmart Dana? :-)

Allow me to preface this with the fact that I’ve made concerted efforts to teach my kids, and to practice myself, a high degree of respect for living things. We don’t crush bugs or hold magnifying glasses over ants, and we capture and release spiders back to the outside. We’re aggressively conscientious in that manner. But a few weeks after we moved in, my wife noticed a patch of dying grass in the back yard. Upon further inspection it became apparent that we had a gopher. Or more. And they were digging up our yard something awful. Once we had to stop watering while having work done, guess what? He popped up in the front yard. And started leaving numerous piles of dirt mounds while burrowing away and destroying our front yard.

Something had to be done.
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Allow me to preface this with the fact that I’ve made concerted efforts to teach my kids, and to practice myself, a high degree of respect for living things. We don’t crush bugs or hold magnifying glasses over ants, and we capture and release spiders back to the outside. We’re aggressively conscientious in that manner. But a few weeks after we moved in, my wife noticed a patch of dying grass in the back yard. Upon further inspection it became apparent that we had a gopher. Or more. And they were digging up our yard something awful. Once we had to stop watering while having work done, guess what? He popped up in the front yard. And started leaving numerous piles of dirt mounds while burrowing away and destroying our front yard.

Something had to be done.
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Now that I’ve got my iPhone, I’m using again. I’ve slipped back into the habit. I’ve got a click-wheel on my back. Yes, I’m using again… an iPod, that is. That makes the span of time I was “podless” just over 17 months. I consider that quite an accomplishment, given that I’d made a resolution back in January 2006 to set down the obsession for awhile and allow myself to focus on more important things. Secretly, I didn’t anticipate going more than a year, and so I’m proud that I was able to hold out for as long as I did.

It feels good to be back, though. I got along quite well with my wonderful trusty treo [Thanks for all the years of support, Jess] and a 2GB memory card’s worth of music, when it comes to MP3 playback the iPhone kicks it’s butt clear across the valley floor. Much of what made using the Treo as an iPod substitute possible, and what makes the iPhone as a music player possible as well, has been a “rating” practice I’ve been using since ratings have been an option. I’ve had an occasional chat with friends about the methodology and I thought I’d take a moment to document it here for all to see and consider.

In addition, after 3+ years of walking by the shop window and envying the potential integration of an iPod into my car stereo, I’ve given into the desires and put a small amount of the money formally earmarked for an iPhone towards buying one, and thought I’d share the experience as well.

For those readers that have read this far without any leanings towards technology or geekdom… God love ya for sticking around this long and I’ll try and write something more exciting next time around. For the rest of you….
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Mr McManus has a weekly “Podcast” on iTunes that you can subscribe to. So far it’s quite entertaining. Even if you’re not a huge fan. Check it out.

Here’s a pet peeve which those of us who think with their right mind might related to. Chained pens, such as those found at a bank counter, are a severe annoyance for left handed people such as myself. As far as I see it, it’s just another case of dexti-bigotry against the south-paw. Just like the charge receipt that’s typically slid across the check-out counter at a retail store being habitually turned around to face you for signing, and angled to the left, for the ‘majority’ of the signers, but not for the lefty.

Lefty’s of the world, unite!

….or at least just start yanking the pens off the chains to send a message.

I frequently find myself lamenting that I’ve not “accomplished something important” with my life so far. I’ve not made a massive dent in the universe, per se. I’ve not made a significant contribution. I had a dream many years back that I’d write a prize winning book filled with social commentary and humorous observations, but that has yet to happen. I play a minor roll in helping to make the world a better place for Macintosh users, but I’m a relatively small cog in a very large machine. I took the idea of photographic confetti and helped build a business out of it, but it was short lived, and only a few of the thousands who gazed in amazement when they saw their lives spread out on a party table before them will ever know a thing about who the idea came out of, let alone the personal and financial sacrifices of all those who believed in the possibilities. Next, if all goes well, I might make yet another dash at something substantial, but it’s too early to talk about it, because as we all know that’d just Jinx it, right? Right.

Yet tonight, while cleaning up my email inbox and following up on some communications with family, I stumbled across the following on my Niece Marissa’s myspace page, in her “Heroes” section:

…My uncle Geoff for the breath-taking inspiration he throws out to the world and because he believed in me and encouraged me when I found it the hardest to.

Marissa was my test-daughter in many ways. She and I became close when she was in her late teens. When I’d go visit my brother in Lathrop she’d often hitch a ride back to the Bay Area with me, where we’d talk about life, philosophy, family, or just crank up “Stone Temple Pilots” so loud that our fillings would loosen.

It was a great time and a great opportunity to get a small sample of what being a ‘father figure’ or an influential adult might be. In fact, when she’d written a beautiful story for me and about me (she’s a great writer, and I still have it as a prized possession) for my birthday a few years back, my brother also thanked me for having been there for her in ways he’d been unable to at the time.

She’s since moved to Seattle where she’s been living the self-discovery and self-focused life of her 20’s. We hardly ever speak or write. And that’s OK. There’s no distance, just space. And if all goes well she’ll be living back in the area soon enough, and can be involved in the lives of her cousins as they grow up.

So yeah, I’ve lamented not doing something important. Then I read a simple compliment like that and I start to wonder what could be more important than being an inspiration.

She was one for me as well, and the opportunity to have been an inspiration to her played a strong role in the reasons that I’m a father today.

I know I do it. I know I whine and moan and lament and kevtch and bitch and rant and wallow. But as the adage goes, “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you“. And just because I highlight the hardship doesn’t mean I’m not busting my ass trying to stay afloat. And oh man, I’m in deep. I’ve worked harder in these last 5 weeks then I have in the last 5 months. I’m exhausted. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here for the record… there’s no shallow end in the Apple pool. Although I’ve been told it’s a highly unusual situation that will pass in the next month, the 5 – 6 concurrent projects that I’m working on daily, many of which I’m still learning the ropes on, are making me feel like I’m playing multiple tennis games along adjacent courts. I’ve got no time to be remembering scores or players or even technique… I’m just trying to return volley’s before they bounce twice and still be able to get to one of the other courts and do the same.

I’ve got a week’s vacation looming on the horizon. That (and the stock prices of course) are keeping me going. Oh, and the fact that I really like what I do helps too. :-)

Welcome to the workin’ week.
Oh I know it don’t thrill you, I hope it don’t kill you.
Welcome to the workin’ week.
You gotta do it till you’re through it so you better get to it.
- Elvis Costello : Welcome To The Working Week

I know I do it. I know I whine and moan and lament and kevtch and bitch and rant and wallow. But as the adage goes, “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you“. And just because I highlight the hardship doesn’t mean I’m not busting my ass trying to stay afloat. And oh man, I’m in deep. I’ve worked harder in these last 5 weeks then I have in the last 5 months. I’m exhausted. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here for the record… there’s no shallow end in the Apple pool. Although I’ve been told it’s a highly unusual situation that will pass in the next month, the 5 – 6 concurrent projects that I’m working on daily, many of which I’m still learning the ropes on, are making me feel like I’m playing multiple tennis games along adjacent courts. I’ve got no time to be remembering scores or players or even technique… I’m just trying to return volley’s before they bounce twice and still be able to get to one of the other courts and do the same.

I’ve got a week’s vacation looming on the horizon. That (and the stock prices of course) are keeping me going. Oh, and the fact that I really like what I do helps too. :-)

Welcome to the workin’ week.
Oh I know it don’t thrill you, I hope it don’t kill you.
Welcome to the workin’ week.
You gotta do it till you’re through it so you better get to it.
- Elvis Costello : Welcome To The Working Week

I had a couple of comment related experiences a few weeks ago that I feel compelled to, well, comment on. One of them was in response to a post of mine, which started a brief volley of comments between myself and the author of the comment, or as he’ll be referred to from this point forward, the ‘defendant’. The second was actually the result of my own desire to post a comment on Endgaget, and the subsequent replies to my comment.

Both of these have served to cement my firm opinion that comments are far from a functional component of most websites.
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I fancy myself the inventor type. Several years ago, while driving back from MacWorld in San Francisco with Jon F, I related my vision of a key-fob sized wireless network detector. I got tired of seeking a network by going into a coffee shop or other establishment, sitting down, opening the computer and seeing if I stumbled across something. It was hit or miss, and typically miss.

We decided to try and bring it to market. It didn’t go well. We both had significant other demands on our time and no capitol with which to fund the prototyping. About a year later they started to appear on the market. And most of them sucked. The biggest shortcoming was a failure to identify closed vs open networks. Something ours would have done.

Along the same time a practice called ‘warchalking‘ caught on. Geeks would mark the sidewalk with symbols that told other geeks where to find open or closed networks. In addition, software became available that detected signals from your laptop. But that required opening and driving about with your computer secured in the passenger seat. Not effective either.

Well guess what? Along with being everything from a phone, ipod, email client, web browser, camera, photo album, cheese grater, floor wax and dessert toping, my new iPhone functions as a wireless divining rod! A click on Settings, a click on WiFi, and you’re able to not only see all available networks, but their lock/unlock status as well. In addition, as you drive or walk, it updates along the way!

We took the kids to downtown Los Gatos today for the 4th of July celebration. The last time we went was 2004, and the event was far more vibrant and with far more attendees. The gathering today had all the excitement and enthusiasm of a bathroom break between shuffleboard games at a convalescent home. Come to think of it, about 2/3 of the people there would have fit into that scenario quite naturally.

Perhaps it was the heat that peaked at 94 degrees. Perhaps it was that we got their too early. Or perhaps it was the complete and utter distain the majority of the community has with the current president and administration, combined with an embarassment at things that have been done in the name of the United States without majority support, that instilled an apprehension to “strike up the band” and wave old glory.

I suspect a mixture of all three.

Do I believe our system is highly flawed, that our government is driven by special interests and greed, the our leadership is the worst we’ve had during my lifetime, and that we blindly accept more inequity then was cause for our revolution in 1776?

Most certainly.

Yet do I appreciate that I have the freedom to say this, to express my opinion, to exercise my freewill and to rouse the rabble without fear of severe retribution from a governing body?

Most certainly.

Independence. Although I’ve never been a patriotic person, it seems worth celebrating to me. I’ve never viewed the day as one tied to the government or administration of the time, but as a remembrance of a break from tyranny, and the principles of justice and freedom that were the basis of a new nation. Come to think of it, nothing about my view of being grateful to be living in the US changed in the last 10-20 years. Just my views of the leadership. And that’ll change soon too.

Meanwhile, being far from a flag waver, it seemed sad that there was such a small turn out today. The flag’s still the same one that there was a shortage of during the latter part of September 2001. As are the principle’s it’s intended to represent.

Ideological? Perhaps. But is that necessarily a bad thing?

I’ve posted a new header image. I try to rotate in a photo I’ve shot myself every month or so. Sometimes there’s a backstory to it and sometimes it’s just something to stick into the top of the page for the sake of ‘art’. This has no strong significant meaning. It’s a photo I shot after enjoying a refreshing salad and iced-tea on my recent father’s day outing in Santana Row. I had my camera with me, the table looked interesting, and I took a photo. That’s all there is.

I will say this; I really like the symmetry and lines of the header image, while the original is pretty dull. That’s a good example of how cropping an image can make a difference.

You say it’s your birthday? It’s my birthday too, yeah! And no, this isn’t some thinly veiled attempt to nudge and guilt anybody into feeling an obligation to buy me iTunes credits, fulfill my Amazon wishlist dreams or contribute to my iPhone Accessory fund. I simply want to reflect for a moment or two on birthday’s past, and in general, while I still have the mental faculties to remember them :-).
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Coming up on the kids “nap time” is like riding in a car with no shock absorbers on a dirt road, and hitting a mile long stretch of smooth fresh pavement. The problem is, you know it’s only for a mile.