February 15
My goal was to run the race in less than 30 minutes. Earlier in the month I was able to run 3.1 miles on the treadmill in just under 30 minutes so I figured it being a race and being pretty flat this was a reasonable goal. Anyway, I almost did it. My official time was 30:09, unofficially I timed myself around 30:05.
Average, my pace was about a 9:42 mile but I know I ran the first mile in around 9:18 so I slowed alot after that. I'm not exactly sure what my second and third mile splits were. I think I'll go buy a cheap watch that track that. I also think I need to do more outdoor training running on the treadmill is helpful but not quite the same thing.
It was a little annoying that at the very end of the race, the course narrowed and got crowded so that it was a little hard to just sprint it out. In reality, without that, it probably only would have saved me 2 or 3 seconds, not quite enough to make my goal...
Not sure what my next race will be but sometime this summer I want to run a 5K in under 30. Maybe after that I'll work on under 29 :)
January 13
I've read a few books over the past couple months. Figured I'd give them a short review here.
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult
Recommend but only if this is not your first Jodi Picoult book. I really like Jodi Picoult as an author. I think she has really engaging stories that also manage to be very thought provoking. I liked this book but not as much as I've like some others of hers so if you haven't read anything else by her you should probably start with My Sister's Keeper. Typically in each book Picoult chooses a social issue and writes a story around that issue. In Second Glance the issue that she chose was the history of eugenics in the United States and how eugenics relates to the modern day issue of pre-implantation genetic counseling. Personally I tend to get sucked into books like this and this was almost no exception. I did get sucked in although it took a chapter or two longer than usual. The main problem I had with this book is that I didn't really understand the conclusion and I also though there were a few too many amazing coincidences and random connections in the book for my tastes. It made it feel less believable then the other books of hers that I've read.
The Girls by Lori Lansens
Recommend for a thought provoking read. This book is an "autobiography" of two women who are conjoined twins, attached at the head. The book is a novel but it feels amazingly real. I knew the book was a novel when I started reading but after the first two chapters I had to doublecheck just to make sure I hadn't made a mistake. The book is written from both twins perspectives. Rose originally started the book but then Ruby decides that she wants to share her story as well. The different perspectives are very interesting and very different. The really interesting part of the book is how these women can have such normal experiences while facing such an extreme situation. Ruby gets grounded and can't watch TV, but Rose gets rewarded for getting good grades and gets to go to the zoo. Of course Rose can't watch TV when Ruby is grounded and Ruby goes to the zoo when Rose does.... Anyway, very interesting and different read. Just keep reminding yourself it's a novel.
Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
The first few chapters are interesting, after that just skim it. The book is an analysis of how various factors play into the decisions that we make. How good defaults can have positive and negative affects on the choices we make (or don't make). I liked the first few chapters which I found pretty interesting but after that it got kind of boring. I found it somewhat thought provoking to compare the concepts in the book to some of the decisions we make at work when designing the product.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Recommend for a fun, quick read. I had been curious about this book for a while. Several people had recommended it. I picked it up at the airport although I slept through the flight instead of reading it then but I think it would be a great airplane book. If you don't know, the book is a romance story between a human and a vampire, both teenagers who go to high school, fight with their parents, go to the prom, and everything else that typical teenagers deal with. I'm not sure if I'll read the entire series but the first one was good and I recommend. (Haven't seen the movie yet. Possibly I'll rent it.)
December 04
I got an iPhone yesterday.
Really, I was in desperate need of a new phone. The phone I replaced was close to 5 years old, old for most electronics, ancient for a cell phone. Given that the battery would go dead after just 15 minutes of talk time, it really needed to go.
So... why an iPhone?
Mike and I went wedding venue shopping last week. The whole week we used his phone to navigate around the area, look up hotel information, look up information in the meeting invites I had sent, and so on. The iPhone worked great. We could not have accomplished nearly as much without it.
I also looked at one of the newer windows mobile phones when we went to the store but I couldn't even figure out how to use the browser address bar.
I hope windows mobile has something better available when I'm readdy to upgrade next time.
Incidentaly, I typed this on my iPhone :)
November 17
Swansea Council contacted its in-house translation service when designing a bilingual sign barring heavy goods vehicles from a road in the Morriston area of the Welsh city.
But as the translator was not available, they received an automated e-mail response in Welsh saying: "I am not in the office at the moment. Please send any work to be translated."
Unaware of the real meaning of the message, officials had it printed on the sign under the English, which correctly reads: "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only."
Localization issues can be really hard to deal with but this is pretty clasic.
October 16
The other night, after dinner, Mike is standing in the kitchen at the sink flapping his hands.
Me: What are you doing?
Mike: I'm watching water evaporate.
That is one special duck
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