The Educated Derelict

Reston Metric Century 2009

2009-08-24T21:07:00.004-04:00

After doing the Reston Metric Century (100 kilometers) last year, I decided that I'd up my goal and do a full century (100 mile) ride this year. Some friends who have done multiple century rides recommended the Seagull Century — a supposedly beautiful ride along Maryland's Eastern Shore and Assateague Island.

Since the Seagull isn't until October, I decided to do the Reston Metric again as part of my training. I'm glad I did because not only was it a lot of fun, but I completed in much better time than I did last year and with much less pain! I'm now confident I'll be in shape for the full hundred miles in October.

The ride was slightly changed from last year, but not much. The main difference I noticed is that it stayed on the W&OD Trail all the way out to Leesburg. Last year's ride left the trail in Ashburn and took suburban and rural streets out through downtown Leesburg. But this year still had the 10% grade up Woodburn Road which was almost as painful as I remembered it!

The weather was gorgeous and the event was very well organized. I had a great time. Now to finish getting in shape for the Seagull!

Reston Metric Century 2009
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Egypt!

2009-03-01T19:58:00.003-05:00

Egypt

Carol, I, and some friends just returned from a fabulous eight days in Cairo and Luxor. We were all visiting some mutual friends, Cris and Alison, who work for the State Department and are living in Cairo. We really couldn't have done this without Cris and Alison who made sure everything went smoothly and who have an amazing amount of knowledge of Egypt and Cairo for only having been there a couple of years. They also arranged for a fantastic tour guide for our first few days in Cairo.

Both Cairo and Luxor were fascinating. There is more history and amazing sights than anywhere I've ever been. Americans like me get overwhelmed with how old things are when we go to Europe. Seeing temples and statues that are 5,000+ years old is almost incomprehensible.

I have to say, though, that of everything we saw, frequently it was the least-known things that impressed me the most. Alison had told us in advance that she preferred the pyramids at Dashour to the more popular ones at Giza, and I definitely agree. They were every bit as impressive and with far fewer crowds.

Similarly, the Coptic Christian district of Cairo was a favorite of both Carol's and mine. In particular, I thought the Coptic Museum was one of the best museums we saw in all of Egypt.

I also enjoyed walking through parts of the Islamic section of Old Cairo, mainly because in some places it retains its medieval look and feel. As you can undoubtedly tell from the pictures, my favorite thing in this part of the trip was Beit as-Suhaymi, a fully restored 17th century house. A few of the mosques were also quite impressive.

As for Luxor, it has some amazing, not-to-be-missed sights, but the town itself is overwhelmingly touristy and you can't walk more than half a block without half a dozen people trying to sell you things or give you a cab or carriage ride. Both the Karnak Temple of Amun and the temple at Mendat Habu were favorites of mine. As for the much ballyhooed Valley of the Kings, I think I preferred the 8 kilometer hike getting there to the tombs themselves. The peaks and rock formations overlooking the valley were far more amazing to me than the tombs it contained. But while it wasn't a favorite, seeing it did give me a new appreciation for the extent to which the pharaohs of the New Kingdom period went to hide their tombs from grave robbers and vandals.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

Christmas in Tampa

2009-01-24T12:46:00.003-05:00

Christmas in Tampa

Carol and I visited my brother David and his family in Tampa for the week of Christmas. It was kind of strange walking around in a polo in late December! Most of the pictures are from the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa, and the Sunken Gardens in nearby St. Petersburg.

Only in DC

2008-10-23T22:47:00.003-04:00

So I'm drinking some Guinness with a friend at the Old Brogue when CNN starts showing coverage of Greenspan's testimony to Congress. I laugh, shake my head, and comment on the irony of the same Congressmen who just a few years ago were singing this man's praises and only too happy to hang on his every word, now pillorying him. As I do, the guy at the next table says, "Tell me about it. I work at the Fed and was on the Hill today. Talk about hypocrites."

Sadly, he was already putting his coat on and getting ready to leave with his two kids. I would have loved to have heard his take on the credit crunch.

Natural Bridge

2008-10-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

Natural Bridge

While visiting Nathan and Kiera, we took a trip out to Natural Bridge. I've lived in Virginia my entire life, including a lengthy stint in southwest Virginia, so it's a crime that it took me this long to take the short detour off I-81 to see it. I was (am) truly in awe. Pictures can not do it justice.

Kai Hansard and the House on Main Street

2008-10-05T22:00:00.006-04:00

Carol and I finally met my best friend Nathan's 10-week old baby, Kai! It's cliche to talk about your friends' babies as "the most beautiful and well-behaved baby I've ever seen". In this case, it's true. No, really! Who couldn't adore those chipmunk cheeks!

As always, we had a wonderful time visiting Nathan and Kiera in beautiful Buchanan, Virginia. Since Carol is a light sleeper under the best of circumstances, we decided to stay in a Bed & Breakfast this time. Fortunately, a new one had recently opened. Nate and Kiera hadn't stayed there but they had been to the restaurant and love the very friendly owners, so they suggested we try it.

It was a fantastic suggestion! The room was beautiful, the meals (dinner and breakfast) excellent, and the owners were every bit as friendly as Nate and Kiera said.

If you are looking to visit southwest Virginia (anywhere between Lexington and Blacksburg), we highly recommend The House on Main Street.

100 Kilometers From Reston To Purcellville And Back

2008-08-25T18:34:00.005-04:00

I finished the Reston Metric Century yesterday. I had been training solely on the W&OD trail itself which, with a few exceptions, is relatively flat. The actual course, though, went mostly along roads parallel to the trail. Those roads were not so flat! One hill in particular, on Woodburn Road just west of Leesburg, was a quarter mile at a 10% grade. I realize that for a pro cyclist, that's just getting started. For me, it was 3 or 4 minutes of torture.

Below is a map of the course that someone posted to Map My Ride. On the way out the course goes along the W&D trail from Herndon to Ashburn. It then turns north in Ashburn to Rt 15 in Leesburg. And then southwest from Leesburg before turning back north and hitting the rest stop in Hamilton — the "W" on the map. (The rest stop had yummy Gatorade snowcones!)

Leaving the rest stop, it heads west on a loop out to Purcellville and back. It then goes east on an access road next to Rt 7, drops south on Paeonian Springs, and then picks the trail back up in Leesburg. The relatively straight line from Leesburg to Reston is the W&OD trail which we took the whole way back.

If you click the "View Full Screen" button and from there select "Show Elevation" you can see the hill I was talking about around mile 22 (kilometer 36.5). If you want a good work out, I recommend trying it! ;-)

2008 Reston Century [metric]
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Reston Metric Century

2008-08-04T00:39:00.004-04:00

I've been training all summer for the Reston Metric Century bike ride in three weeks. I've meaning to post something about it but keep forgetting to. I picked up a new Surly Long Haul Trucker a few months ago and absolutely love it. And I'm even mostly used to my clipless pedals (despite one minor knee scrape and a corresponding blow to my pride today).

I did 50 miles today without any trouble. Next Sunday I'm going for 55 miles. Then I'll scale down for the next couple of weeks in prep for the 65 mile ride on August 24th. Wish me luck!

Morocco downloads

2008-08-04T00:33:00.002-04:00

I can't believe the response Morocco is getting. Although after three weeks it has now slipped out of the top 25, it is still currently ranked #36 for the free games and it has an average review rating of 4.3 out of 5. I posted to my Bayou Games site my estimates for the number of downloads, along with information about the next update.

Now available from iTunes!

2008-07-10T21:43:00.002-04:00

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can download Morocco here.

Morocco

2008-07-07T22:48:00.006-04:00

Sadly, not another vacation post. (Although I'd love to go!) Instead, it's the name I've given to the port of my Othello game to the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Othello is a trademark of Mattel in the US and of Anjar in the rest of the world, so I couldn't use it. And my favorite alternative, Iago, has been taken by several other Othello programs. Wanting something slightly original, I went with a name reminiscent of the North African Moors on whom Othello was supposedly based.

You can find more info on my Bayou Games website.

And if you have an iPod or iPod Touch, look for it on iTunes and the iPhone App Store when it opens on July 11th. It's being distributed for free so give it a try and let me know what you think.

A place for his stuff...

2008-06-25T01:46:00.005-04:00

Wherever you are, George, I hope there's a place for all your stuff.

Edit: Changed the headline. What seemed like a funny George Carlin quote after a couple of beers and an hour of reminiscing and watching his skits on YouTube and iTunes, seemed less funny as an obscure reference while sober... Although, as George might say, WTFCCSMF&T.

A Weekend On The Bay

2008-05-27T11:55:00.003-04:00

Ok, actually on the Severn River. Either way, a trip to Annapolis was a perfect getaway for the Memorial Day weekend.

Annapolis

Why I love my iPhone

2008-05-07T23:34:00.005-04:00

My friends seem very divided on whether the iPhone is the coolest thing ever or just excellent marketing that plays to the non-technical yuppies who absolutely must have a combined cell phone and iPod, no matter the cost. I can concede some of their points but the bottom line is the iPhone is the best cell phone I've ever owned, bar none. Why do I love my iPhone? Let me count the ways...

As usual with Apple, the user interface is unbeatable. Why is the iPod the most popular portable music device in history even though there are *many* less expensive MP3 players that can hold just as much music? Because no other MP3 player makes it as easy to get music on your device and play it than the iPod. The same is true of the iPhone. Absolutely everything I want to do takes just a few taps of the finger, and the look-and-feel of the interface is light years beyond Windows Mobile and light centuries beyond Nokia's Symbian.

Wifi access. Yes, there are other phones out there with wifi but they are all more expensive than the iPhone. A reasonable complaint about the iPhone is its lack of support for 3G networking support which provides high-speed internet access even when a wifi network isn't available. But the opposite is also true... if you spend most of your time in an area without access to a 3G cell phone network, you're better off with wifi access which is available almost everywhere. My apartment in Fairfax, VA is at the outer edge of AT&T's Washington, DC 3G coverage. But I can easily connect to my own wifi access point. Similarly, my office at work has very spotty 3G coverage but the office wifi is always available. Yes, I'm looking forward to a 3G iPhone (coming in June), but in the meantime I'd much rather have wifi for high-speed internet access than be limited to spotty 3G cell phone coverage.

Internet access in general is simply amazing. The large screen and ease of access makes the iPhone the first cell phone I've ever used where I actually enjoyed using it for accessing the internet. I'm not a huge fan of Apple's Safari browser on the PC but it's by far the best browser I've used on any cell phone, including the techno-geek favorite, Opera. (I do prefer Opera to Safari on desktop computers, though.) I regularly use the Google map application to help me when I need directions (which is all the time since I can't find my way out of a paper bag without a map); read email using Google's iPhone interface for Gmail; read articles on CNN; and, most importantly, play Freeverse's excellent web-based Sudoku game!

I also want to answer some of the complaints I've heard about the iPhone. First, and most common, is the touch screen keyboard. I guess this is either a love-it-or-hate-it thing. Some people seem to prefer a regular push-button keyboard where you have tactile feedback that you've pressed a key. Personally, I find I type much faster on the iPhone's touch keyboard, which has relatively large buttons, than I do on the tiny buttons found on most cell phones. In particular, Samsung's BlackJack, which I think is very nice in many ways, is virtually impossible for me to type on without constantly using the delete key to correct mistakes caused by the tiny keys. My favorite cell phone keyboard is HTC's Tilt. But the phone itself is larger and heavier than the iPhone, and the screen is smaller. I'll take a *much* nicer display and easier to use interface for a slightly nicer keyboard any day.

Another complaint is the fact that the iPhone doesn't support cut-and-paste. I guess I don't consider a cell phone to be a computer replacement. Yeah, it's nice to be able to read emails and search the web on my phone, but I don't expect to do major document editing. I've *never* used the cut-and-paste feature on any phone I've ever owned, nor do I think I'd ever want to. If I'm editing a document to the point that I need to cut-and-paste stuff, I'll use a PC thank you very much.

Lack of third-party software support. I used to think this was a big deal. I bought my Nokia 6682 because I longed for all of the cool applications that seemed to be available for download, and because I wanted to write my own apps to run on it. Then, when I got it, I realized that 99.9% of all of those applications didn't really do what I wanted and/or were buggy as all get out. And the Symbian development environment didn't exactly make it easy to write my own software for it. To be fair, Windows Mobile phones have much better third party applications than Symbian. And the Windows development environment, based on Microsoft's Visual Studio and .NET framework, makes it *much* easier to write software. That said, I'm extremely happy with the applications already available for the iPhone, which provide almost everything I actually want to do. And the SDK, while not as nice as Windows Mobile in some respects, is a far cry better than Symbian and provides better support for "cool" things, like accessing the camera and getting location data, than Windows. But this is the one area where I do think Apple needs to do more work. While there are many things I like about their SDK API's, for the most part I still find developing software for Windows Mobile phones to be easier. Hopefully that will change once the SDK is out of beta and they've had a chance to improve their documentation and support.

Finally, the last big complaint I've heard is the lack of support for push/Exchange email. It would be nice to have support for Exchange so I could check my email from work. But, frankly, work didn't pay for my iPhone and I can check my personal email on Gmail just fine on my iPhone, thank you very much. Anyway, Exchange support is coming in June so this complaint should go away. But for me, it never factored into my decision to buy my iPhone in the first place.

The bottom line is the iPhone is the first cell phone I've owned that's lived up to its promise to be more than just a cell phone. It is a pleasure to use and has almost everything that I've looked for in a cell phone. No, it won't replace your laptop as a computer for editing documents on the road. But for keeping in touch and making sure you don't miss something on the road, I've never had a more convenient device. And with the upgrades coming out soon, including 3G networking, Exchange email support, and, supposedly, built-in GPS, I can't imagine any reason not to use an iPhone (assuming you want all of those things).

Godspeed, Gary Gygax

2008-03-06T21:37:00.004-05:00

Sometimes when I see how rarely I actually get around to posting news here, I wonder why I continue to maintain this blog at all. Today, however, I'm glad I've kept it even if I'm not so good at updating it.

I received an email from a friend I haven't heard from since 8th grade! He found my blog thanks to Google and got in touch after hearing about the passing of Gary Gygax. I had introduced him and his brother to Dungeons & Dragons, a game we played a lot during middle school.

So, a few things I've been meaning to post here, in no particular order:

I recently left RTI to join Reality Mobile. They write software for sending real-time video between cell phones and PDAs. It's pretty sweet stuff and gives me a chance to work on something new.
Although I haven't done any better at keeping up Advice from the Swamp than this blog, I am totally psyched about the upcoming Xbox Live Community Games launch. I absolutely intend to have Snowball Fight ready for distributing there.
I've become totally addicted to Warfish. If you enjoy playing Risk and want to play it online, give it a try!
NPR had a nice tribute to Gary Gygax yesterday. Godspeed, Gary. I owe you for many years of games and good friends.

Video Games

2007-07-12T22:54:00.001-04:00

Two quick items related to my current ~~obsession~~ hobby writing videogames.

First, I've been meaning to mention that I submitted Snowball Fight! to Microsoft's Dream-Build-Play competition. If you want to try it out, you can download the latest version here.

Second, following some links from a commenter on Advice From The Swamp, I ran across the following wonderful list of quotes.

Game Design as a Hobby

Un Américain à Paris

2007-06-05T07:41:00.002-04:00

Paris

Paris is beautiful. And our week-long vacation, as fabulous as it was, really only whet my appetite. There is so much to see and do —I could have spent a solid week in the Louvre alone, or the gardens at Versailles, not to mention the many things we missed, such as touring St. Chapelle and seeing more of the Marais.

Of the things we did see, the highlights were the Louvre, the Luxembourg garden, the Rodin museum, and the Montmartre area. But as nice as all of those were, my favorite part of the vacation was just wandering around the streets of Paris, soaking up the sights and sounds, and stopping in random cafes for a carafe of Medoc or Pouilly Fuisse before rambling down another side street.

Enjoy the pictures.

Advice From The Swamp

2007-03-23T12:37:00.002-04:00

I've decided to create a new blog for sharing information and resources about game programming with Microsoft's XNA Framework. The first post is an introduction to understanding the importance of algorithmic efficiency during the design phase. Part two will be out this weekend and will discuss tools and tips for benchmarking and profiling code after it has been implemented. I plan to add new material every week or so.

Space Invasion

2007-02-12T18:53:00.002-05:00

I've been fooling around with Microsoft's new XNA Framework for developing videogames for Windows and the Xbox 360 since they released it last fall. Shortly before Christmas, I finished up a Space Invaders clone. It's pretty sweet playing a game I wrote on my own Xbox!

I finally got around to packaging it up and making it available for download. The package contains an installer for Windows, as well as source code for both Windows and the 360.

Download Space Invasion

Now I'm working on another project for Microsoft's Dream-Build-Play contest. Wish me luck!

Quack!

2007-01-04T18:17:00.002-05:00

I just returned from my annual New Year's excursion to the Outer Banks. Enjoy the pictures!

Duck 2006-2007

Radford High School Class of '86

2006-10-31T15:16:00.001-05:00

Cassie and I finished our class reunion web site and went live with it last week. It looks to be pretty popular so far, especially the picture albums. We'll see if the message boards and other features get more use. Hopefully so.

BTW, I never would have been able to get it done so quickly if I hadn't found MyEvent.com. Although the templates they provide are a little limiting, they make it very easy to get class reunion and other event-type web sites up and running with a lot of great features. I highly recommend them.

Catching Up

2006-10-09T11:05:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in quite a while because I had a crazy busy summer, and much of that crazy busyness was fairly personal. My point with this blog is to share pictures and event information with friends, not to have an online diary, so there were several things I didn't feel like writing about here. But now that the summer is over, I do want to get back to updating this site, and the best way to do that is to catch up on a few major things that have happened.

The biggest event of the summer, and one of the main things I had avoided writing about, is that my father succumbed to lung cancer in August. I'm not going to say much about it except that the experience gave me an immense respect for Hospice. His Hospice nurse ensured his final weeks were as comfortable as possible and the entire organization was efficient and remarkably helpful.

One good thing that came as a result of my father's passing is that Radford University's College of Education and Human Development has started the process of creating an endowed scholarship in his name. I'll get more information about it up here when I have more myself. Considering his lifelong love of teaching, it's a fitting tribute.

In other news, the company I work for, Ricciardi Technologies, Inc. (RTI), was recently purchased by Science Dynamics. The biggest change in the short-term is that it makes us a publicly traded company, albeit on the OTC bulletin board. Last year, Science Dynamics purchased Systems Management Engineering, Inc. (SMEI), another company about our size that is based in Reston. We'll probably be merging offices with them soon, although it's not clear where that will be. We're apparently also going to have a new name that won't be Science Dynamics, RTI, nor SMEI.

Finally, the summer ended last week with my 20 year high school reunion. We had a great turnout and it was fantastic to catch up with friends I hadn't seen or heard from in a very long time. I got roped into creating a web site for our class to share pictures and keep in touch. I'll put a link to it here once it's up and running.

Congratulations Jim & Kate!

2006-06-12T16:33:00.001-04:00

I just returned from a fantastic wedding down in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Unfortunately, due to my incredible stupidity, I didn't get any pictures. I'll link to other folks' web sites as they put some up. Best wishes, Jim and Kate, and thanks again for the invite and a wonderful weekend!

Gaelic Storm

2006-05-16T10:33:00.001-04:00

I have a new favorite Irish band. Gaelic Storm absolutely rocked The Birchmere last night with a blend of their own songs and high-energy renditions of classic Irish folk music.

I had listened to some of their CDs before and enjoyed them, but these guys have to be seen live to be appreciated. While introducing songs, singer Patrick Murphy delivers stand-up lines and short stories with a mischievous Irish wit. (Think of a singing Graham Norton.) The entire group obviously has lots of fun on stage and puts on an amazing show.

Also, Ellery, the lass pictured here with the fiddle, is my new girlfriend. Although that might come as a bit of a surprise to her...

Edit: Had to change the picture since Gaelic Storm redid their web site a week after I posted this.

San Diego

2006-05-12T02:15:00.001-04:00

I've spent the week out in San Diego on business. I was supposed to fly back this morning but was asked to stay an extra day. Sadly, that meant I missed WMZQ night at Nick's. On the other hand, I got a chance to explore the San Diego harbor. It's a tough life.

1/4/2007: Changed link to point to PicassaWeb album.