kaiyen: pepper

kaiyen: pepper

the life and times of Allan Chen

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educause 2008: oversleeping is the theme so far

This has been a frustrating educause in many ways.  I have met up with many people.  And many of them even remember me from the various times we’ve met in the past, which is in some cases surprising.  And almost all of them have been great with whom to speak and share ideas.  That part has been excellent.

But I have overslept for 2 straight days, missing the first session each, and I didn’t get out to some of the events last night.  And I flat-out forgot a discussion group I meant to go to last night (though I did so while chatting with someone so that’s not a bad reason.

So far it’s been positive, but the oversleeping from jet lag is really annoying.  It’s been hannging onto me like a foggy cloud for at least a day longer than I had expected.

Edit:  I’m actually having a great and productive time here.  Just was grumpy this morning.  I am frustrated about the jet lag.

October 30, 2008 Conferences, , 0 Read more >

Softening up tough female co-stars

One of the new shows this fall that has at least piqued my interest, if not actually capturing it, is Eleventh Hour, starring Rufus Sewell (of Dark City fame) and Marley Shelton (of cute blonde-in-Pleasantville fame and apparently cute-blonde in general fame).  I’m not sure yet if I like the show, but one thing the did appreciate in the beginning was that Shelton played this tough, serious FBI agent.  Admittedly, she was too tough.  Too “I always do my job because I’m bad-ass” throughout the pilot.  I am presuming they were juxtaposing that seriousness with her hotness (she is pretty hot, and there is one “running around in her bra and her FBI dress shirt scene” so it’s kind of obvious). She is also clearly merely tolerant of Sewell’s character Dr. Jacob Hood, who is eccentric but a genius.

However, in the second episode has her as a much, much softer character, and even warning Hood, at one point, to be more sensitive in a particular situation where he’d be working with parents who had recently lost children.  They made her less serious and hardcore, in other words.

A few years ago, I was reading about the rise of the strong female lead in television shows.  I believe Kathryn Morris Cold Case, Marge Helgenberger in CSI, Jill Hennesey in Crossing Jordan and a few others were mentioned.  I would add a few others, such as almost any of the characters in The Womens Murder Club.  Yet here we are, with a show where the female character has been softened up.

The show isn’t that good to be honest, so it’s not a big deal, but it’s kind of sad, too.  Shows go back to being formulaic…

October 25, 2008 Musings, Rants, and Random Thoughts, , , , 0 Read more >

soft towards the light




soft towards the light

Originally uploaded by kaiyen

One of the standard guidelines for composition is the “rule of thirds.” Basically, you divide the frame into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. You then place the subject at one of the intersecting points. This helps you to think about composition other than the middle of the frame, and to fill it more with the subject.

I often go with like a rule of fifths, where I put something even closer to an edge. Another composition method I’ve been using is to have more empty space than not. This one is actually closer to the rule of thirds but I used the big, empty sky which has this subtle yet smooth and rich blue to offset the foliage in the foreground.

Sometimes I don’t think I have a style. That I’m just a mishmash “snapper” that just snaps often enough to get a good photo now and then. And maybe I am. But maybe I do put at least some thought into it. Sometimes.

October 22, 2008 Uncategorized 0 Read more >

OPEC concerned about “protecting” oil prices. Are you kidding me?

Oil, Gas Prices Fall – OPEC Expected to Step In | Daily Fuel Economy Tip

So OPEC is worried that the price of a barrel of crude oil will drop below what would have been an earth-shattering record in the minds of many just a year or two ago (but is lower than it was a month or two ago).  They are worried that the price will be…merely incredibly high rather than astronomically so.

So they are decreasing oil production to maintain and “protect” the price of crude. 

We are so far up the creek on energy dependence that I don’t even know what to say.  I was re-reading the pros and cons of one of the propositions in this year’s election, which would increase the adoption of natural gas as a measure to reduce our reliance on foreign oil.  Even though it’s a pretty blatant prop for the energy plan from T. Boone Pickens, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing unto itself.  It’s still a sound plan. 

Sigh.

October 21, 2008 Articles from the Web 0 Read more >

The politics of the walk to work

I walk to work.  In general, it’s a very pleasant 20 minute walk.  Just long enough to get me going in the morning, get a few steps on the pedometer, and to get my mind in the right place.  Just short enough so that if I’m running late I can hustle and cut it down to about 15-17 minutes.  It’s generally a nice walk.

Depending on when I hit various intersections with traffic lights and crosswalks, I walk along a variety of routes.  I also try to mix things up.  However, there is one route that has become a kind of farcical political maze.

In no way do I believe that walking in front of a house with a particular lawn sign supporting one candidate or political issue vs. another is in some way endorsing that opinion.  However, in my own little, weird way, I feel like I should not “patronize” the sidewalk in front of a home that supports a cause that I do not (as I write this, I realize how crazy I am).

Well, there is one route where the first house on the right supports McCain/Palin, a ticket which I oppose.  So I cross the street.  To my satisfaction, there is an Obama/Biden lawn sign at the house opposite.  I walk a bit further, and I see a “Yes on Prop. 8” sign, which is to change the California state constitution to ban same-sex marriages.  I am opposed to that, so now I change street sides again.  Two houses down, I have another McCain/Pallin sign or some other thing that bothers me.  So I end up zig-zagging back and forth on each block like a mental patient trying to make a political statement.

I guess maybe it is more like a mental patient than I’d like to think 🙂

October 19, 2008 Musings, Rants, and Random Thoughts, On the Way to and from Work 0 Read more >

LinkedIn Invite – unexpected questions

The other day, I invited someone to join my LinkedIn network (my profile!).  The default message is something along the lines of “since you are someone I trust, I would like to add you to my network.”

The key word is trust.  I believe that LinkedIn means in terms of who they are.  I trust that that person is actually…that person.  A friend, colleague, etc.  However, someone at work took that as meaning trustworthiness, reliability, etc.  She asked me what she had done to earn my trust, since we had only worked on a few projects.

First, she is working with my group on a few projects now so I do know that she is very diligent and detail-oriented.  So far, she seems pretty okay.  So it’s not like I based my response to her query on a complete lack of information.

However, it seemed weird that someone would question the invite anyway.  This has lots of room for misinterpretation but it felt like I was being accused of “do you really, seriously want me to believe that I have gained your trust…?” kind of snarkiness.

Eh.  I’m obviously being sensitive here.  I don’t feel anything negative about it, in reality but it was just weird.

October 18, 2008 Musings, Rants, and Random Thoughts 0 Read more >

Open Source – the lustre finally goes away

Report: Pure Open Source No Longer a Viable Business Model – ReadWriteWeb

When I worked at Stanford, I was able to watch, firsthand, the open source project that has since become Sakai.  This is a multi-university, complex project to develop a learning management system designed for universities, by universities.  This would be in comparison to Blackboard, which is owned by a company and run like one at times.

The idea all along was to offer the application as open source once it was all “done.”  However, the team ran into a number of obstacles, and that’s just what I saw myself.  For instance, the type of back-end database.  Ours was Oracle, but you can’t really launch an open source product that relies on Oracle.  So a mySQL version had to be built. 

This article is different – it’s about offering an open source project and then building a business model around it that will actually make money.  But the truth, and I think anyone that has tried to actually maintain a business around an open source project will second this, is that it’s not easy to build around such offerings.  At some point the effort to continue development overwhelms the benefit of the project and the revenue stream cannot sustain the costs.

I’m still a big fan of open source products.  But I don’t see myself developing an open source business.

October 18, 2008 Articles from the Web 0 Read more >

Getting school over with…or not

I was having the conversation with a classmate the other day about trying to take Capstone, our final class in our MBA program, this spring quarter.  I know a few people who are taking it in spring so there is incentive (it’s a team-based course).  However, I would have to change my schedule a bit and take an extra course next quarter to finish all my requirements in time.  Or, if I really wanted to get in on spring, I could have taken just one of my remaining three required, core courses this quarter and been all set.

However, it makes me wonder about the timing of the program, and the sense of urgency to just get it over with.  This goes hand in hand with previous posts about why I choose certain classes taught by certain professors over the same course by a different one and my progress thus far.  I don’t feel a particular urgency to get the program done, though I will admit that I’m getting a bit jaded lately and the fatigue of going to classes at night after working a full day is not something I will miss when I am done.

But, with a course as important as Capstone, it’s rather important for me to make sure I have a professor from whom I will learn a great deal, and with whom I will be able to create a solid business plan (that’s the real purpose of the course).  So making sure that I take courses such that I can take Capstone at my earliest possible moment…not so sure about that.  I’m pretty comfortable setting myself up for Fall term for Capstone (though I hope I know some folks in the class).

I’m also quite lucky – my work will start paying for up to 2 classes per quarter starting next term, and that is a benefit I want to take advantage of for at least 2-3 terms.  It gives me the freedom to wait until the right Capstone professor comes along.  Few enjoy this option.  But even those that do, many are determined to power through as quickly as possible.

The MBA will come in time.  Instead of 2 years I’m looking at 2.5.  Almost certainly less than 3.  That’s pretty okay with me.

October 17, 2008 Biz School, , 0 Read more >