Blog Feed for Blog of Allan Jude

Starting a new project

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

I am starting work on a new project, which actually means I'll be back at the college, even after I quit teaching at the end of the December. I'll be working with the applied research department, via a start-up like infrastructure they have called iDeaWorks. I can't get in to the details on the project just yet, as it is confidential, but look for more news in a few months when it goes public.

Putting together the outline

Wed, 7 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Stefan and I started tossing titles back and forth and brain storming about content, sounds like it will mostly consist of some background on the technologies, some cool stories and anecdotes from our experiences, and case studies on different traffic patterns and how to best optimize your infrastructure for them. We haven't decided on how we're going to publish it yet, but we know some people that might be helpful in that department. Hopefully I'll be back soon with a start on the outline.

It is much easier to not do it, than it is to actually do it

Tue, 25 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Been very productive the last week, but not very good at getting out to run. Today was hot (30c) I really need to get out there before noon, as it makes it that much harder.

Warmup Lap
Lap 1: walk
Lap 3: walk
Lap 2: 3:16
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 20 minutes

Nice weather all this week

Sun, 16 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It seems the next 7 days are all going to be 20-25C and sunny, so no excuses, going to try to be out every day this week.

Warmup Lap
Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:15
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:06
Lap 5: walk
Lap 6: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 45 minutes

A nice day for a run

Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It was very nice out today, 18c with a light westerly breeze. Things went rather well today.

Warmup Lap
Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:05
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 2:57
Lap 5: walk
Lap 6: 2:47
Lap 7: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 50 minutes

Another cool day

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It was cool again today, only 9c with a 25km/s east wind, which does make things a bit more difficult, hence being 10-15 minutes shorter than usual. Was also delayed till later afternoon today due to rain.

Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:03
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:01
Lap 5: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 30 minutes

A cold day

Tue, 11 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It was quite cool today, only 8c with a 25km/s wind, but I managed to work through it, quite chilled now though. Really liking the new active wear shirt though, breaths much better and doesn't get heavy or cling, although today the cotton shirt would have been warmer.

Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:16
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:00
Lap 5: walk

Results

Wed, 5 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Forgot my watch today, so no times for the laps. Noticed today that I don't feel as stiff in my legs after the run, and especially the next morning. Nice to see some positive results.

Warmup lap
Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: run
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: run
Lap 5: walk
Cooldown lap

"I will work harder"

Mon, 3 May 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Nice and warm today, 22C with a nice breeze, mix of sun and cloud and you sure do feel the difference when the sun disappears for a minute.

Warmup lap
Lap 1: 3:04
Lap 2: walk
Lap 3: 3:04
Lap 4: walk
Lap 5: 3:00
Lap 6: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 45 minutes

too many days off, but it couldn't be helped

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Finally back into the routine, been a mess with finishing up the semester and then dealing with some denial of service attacks against our gear.
Today was a bit cool, 13C, but in was the wind at 30km/h gusting to 45 that made it feel so cold. Finally got proper running shoes, Reebok Quest size 12, plus a pair of Reebok Dmxmax Ultimate Walk size 13s.

Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:08
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:00
Lap 5: walk

Keeping at it

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Another beautiful day, 16C. I really need to work on getting started sooner though, didn't get started until 12:20 today, the original plan was to start the day off right, not break up the middle of the day :).

Warmup lap
Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:17
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:17
Lap 5: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 40 minutes

Back at it

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

I've been slacking the last few days, but I am back into the groove. Was a bit cooler today, 10C, but I'd rather have that then when I expect will be coming in the next few months. I hate humidity.

Warmup lap
Lap 1: walk
Lap 2: 3:24
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:20
Lap 5: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 40 minutes

24C today for once

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Now much to report, except for the record lap.

Warmup lap
Lap 1: walk
Stretching
Lap 2: 3:40
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 3:00
Lap 5: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 40 minutes

A more organized approach

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

After some reading I did last night I took a slightly more systematic approach to the run this morning, and the results are encouraging. The breathing technique also seemed to make a big difference, a ratio of 3 steps of inhale then 2 steps of exhale.

Warmup lap
Stretching
Lap 1: 3:20
Lap 2: walk
Lap 3: 3:18
Lap 4: walk
Lap 5: 3:30
Lap 6: walk
Cooldown lap
Elapsed Time: 45 minutes

A new week, a new commitment

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Weather was perfect today, and I made some decent runs, but I sure as shit hope this gets easier eventually. I really need to get some better shoes too. Looks like I should be good to go all week, except friday, I have my last day of regular teaching at 0800.

Lap 1: 3:08
Lap 2: walk
Lap 3: 3:18
Lap 4: walk
Lap 5: 3:17

More rain

Thu, 8 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

My attempt to avoid the rain by staying indoors didn't work so well, so I decided to brave the rain anyway. Again it was cold, 7C with medium rain and dense fog.

Lap 1: 3:06
Lap 2: 3:54
Lap 3: Aborted due to rain and fog

Was a bit worn by the attempt indoors, and couldn't be bothered, because of the rain, to do a few laps of walking to regroup for another run, so I'll try to do better tomorrow. I also have to work on getting my ass in gear in the morning. The idea was to use this to get me awake in the morning, to shake it loose, but it was noon today, and on Tuesday before I managed to get out the door.

No run today

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Legs felt pretty stiff last night and this morning, so I didn't go out, plus it was thunder storming. Will be back at it tomorrow though, don't want to lose my steam already. Probably will work out some system of taking a day every few for the first while, to rest my under used muscle groups.

Day 2, and it rains

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

It was cold this morning (8C instead of the 23C we had yesterday), which made things a bit harder than I expected, a bit of a runny nose from the cold, as well as skin and muscle tightening due to the temperature, made things a little tougher but I stuck it out, until it started raining...

Lap 1: 3:40
Lap 2: 3:28
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: aborted due to rain

It looks like it is going to rain again tomorrow, so maybe I'll see what it's like doing some laps indoors instead of out.

Starting in ernest soon

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

After a few false starts I think I might actually get somewhere with the textbook I am trying to write. Now that I'll have the summer off from teaching and some time to focus, I hope to make some real progress. I have a big list of things I want to cover and I am working on turning that into an outline. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew and the original plan calls for a single text book to cover Unix Fundamentals / Unix Admin 1 & 2 / Unix Security, rather than a separate textbook for each. We'll just have to see how it goes, the issue being that I don't want to start at the beginning. All the good meaty stuff is in the latter half of the courses, and I'd like to start there, as that is where I feel I can make the biggest impact.

First Day

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Things didn't go as well as I had hoped, it seems I am less fit than I thought my self to be, all these years of sitting still for a living seem to have caught up with me. Hopefully things will get better soon.

Lap 1: 3:22
Lap 2: walk
Lap 3: walk
Lap 4: 4:00
Lap 5: walk
Lap 6: aborted

Approximate Elapsed Time: 25 minutes

The goal is to be able to do a few laps without falling apart, and then to gradually get the times down. I'll have to do up a google map of my route, and figure out how long it is.

Starting Out

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

I started my new fitness routine today. Nothing special, just making sure I get out of bed at a reasonable time each morning, no more sleeping in until noon, and a bit of jogging/running. I plan to start off fairly light, and then ramp it up as I get in better shape. Results from this morning soon.

A beginning

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

For a long time I spurned the idea of having a personal blog, I didn't feel I had enough to say to bother making one let along keeping it up to date. After some consideration, brought on by pondering about a tool Cory Doctorow had made to track what else was going on in his life while he was writing, I decided it was time to open the doors on this domain i'd been sitting on for a while now.