Higgy's on Video

Ah the glories of embedding! Well done Pete!
and just to show off :)


Untitled from pharnett on Vimeo.

Update: it seems Vimeo's embed code works in fully viewing a post, whereas Youtube's works there and in a full RSS feed. Not sure if it is an HTML code or image serving difference at this stage...

Higgy's Mindnumbingly Boring Blog

Loving the tranquil biking

Bikepath Overpass
Originally uploaded by Jimski

It's great when the trail gets a bit quieter. In the summer it can get really busy, with whole families charging around on the warm summer evenings. This time of year it is crisp and clear and almost deserted, with the just the keenest cyclists and the dedicated runners out. It really reminds me of a nice autumnal day in Buckinghamshire. I noticed the legs getting a little tired towards the end, but I also went quite a lot faster. I also took a few pictures, which I'll upload tonight.

Frost! A chilly ride into work this morning...

Frost!
Originally uploaded by elliottcable

But so good to get back on the bike. The traffic home last night was truly horrible, and boring, and oil is at $93.53, and the extra exercise will be good for me, so...
It was cold setting off and I should have worn the outer gloves as well, but it was very, very nice - even cycling through Ballston on the Fairfax Drive bike lane on the way to the Custis trail. Joining the trail there was a gigantic traffic backup on the Ballston on-ramp, so of course I felt smug about winding my way along at about twice their speed.
Gradually the sun rose enough to shine on me and it was lovely. The playing field about a 1/3rd of the way along was fully covered in frost - hence the pic and the exclamation mark! Tomorrow I'll bring the camera along and snap what I can see.
I also started to think about how much it must cost to drive those ten miles. Maybe as much as $10-15? Yikes.

The Neutron Bomb of Holiday Photos

That's right, TouristRemover! at Snapmania (via Lifehacker and Photojojo)



Image Editing: Remove Tourists from Photos with Tourist Remover

The image is great, but I couldn't see an attribution. Happy to attribute if it's yours...

Bought my tickets! London and Paris here I come.

Friday 9th November
UA 922:
IAD 0940 am > LHR 10:00 pm

Monday 12th November
Eurostar 9018:
Waterloo 10:40 am > Gare du Nord 2:17 pm

Thursday November 15
UA 915
CDG 12:00 pm > IAD 2:35 pm

Looking forward to seeing family, friends, sights, and some menus :)

Evidence Based Scheduling - Joel on Software

Now this is superb! I know it shows off how geeky I have become in software product management, but so be it.

One item I note probably pushes me even further into geekdom: I notice that Joel Spolsky recommends
"As estimators gain more experience, their estimating skills improve. So throw away any velocities older than, say, six months."
Now we in the Business Intelligence business cannot bear to throw data away, and those out there with an interest in Data Mining and Operations research (you know you're out there), will remind us that one could analyze the increasing accuracy of estimating skills, and then one might choose to reward it. Now if I could only remember the classification of analysis that would do the job...
Either way, bravo Mr. Spolsky, bravo.

Evidence Based Scheduling - Joel on Software

Apple's Leopard is in the stores

So I popped over to the Tysons Corner Apple store for a minute and lo and behold the iMacs are all running leopard.

I'll pop back sometime after 5 .30 to get in line for my copy.
Oh and the store had a sign saying they'd be closed from 4-6 pm...

Travel plans to the UK and France.

Fly out with United on Friday 9th November IAD > LHR.
Stay with Parents at Homemeadow Friday, Saturday, Sunday.


Travel via Eurostar to Paris on Monday after the rush hour. (I may need to move this to Sunday evening, if I have extra Keynote preparations, which is maybe likely).

Monday night at the Hotel, practicing the keynotes some more.
Tuesday Wednesday presenting a lot in French :)

Thursday AM travel back to London via Eurostar.
Thursday PM travel back LHR > IAD.
Maybe this Thursday travel I can do better going direct from CDG > IAD. Hmmm.

Au Revoir Krista

Jeremy.jpg
Originally uploaded by chrisvonsimson

This is actually the estimable Jeremy Billy raising a glass in honor of the departing Krista Townsend - she is off to Charlottesville for some months.

As usual the Liberty Tavern had excellent beer, but man that place is NOISY!

Lisa and Mum in Alexandria

Lisa and Mum.jpg
Originally uploaded by chrisvonsimson

It was great to have my Mum and Dad over for a few days last week. We had a superb time! Great to know they got back to the UK OK.

Travelling to Paris soon

I am off to present at the MicroStrategy event in Paris in mid November. I'll be back just in time for Lisa and my first anniversary. Happy thoughts :)

Something new in News (Scripting News)

Keywords for News. Another huge leap forward :)

So RSS makes blogs and subscription easy by dates, but not by subject. Now there are keywords :)

OPML rules concepts. It owns knowledge, particularly at a user scripted level.

Something new in News (Scripting News)

I wonder if you can see this map?

View Larger Map

I made this random collection of local stuff, including a map of the bike ride Lisa and I did with Jochen and Astrid to the Solar Decathlon and the Berlin Cafe up on Capital Hill. Made me think of visiting Tim and Sharon next year. More tomorrow. Yawns - goodness I am tired. Beer and a nice ride home through the monuments makes for a happy Chris :)
Goodnight.

Getting excited for the weekend

Forest Path (Afternoon)
Originally uploaded by Rice Matters

Just a very quick post, as I have to leave work in about 60 minutes. Lisa and I am meeting up with Brian Fabio and a friend, and going camping in Prince William Forest Park.
The car is packed, the autumnal weather has arrived, and I'm getting excited for the weekend.
On Saturday we should be back in Arlington at some point in the afternoon.
On Sunday were going down to the Solar Decathlon on the national Mall; and with a bit of luck will meet up with Jochen and Astrid :)

Florida Mum tagging photos superbly

Summer2007 102
Originally uploaded by demikfl

And a lovely shot of the North Carolina trees in late summer - looks like a glorious place to sit.

Abra on the Potomac Heritage Trail, VA

Potomac Heritage Trail, VA
Originally uploaded by abragrace

Great pic of the trees and the streams running down tothe river. Whereabouts on the trail is this I wonder? Maybe upstream from Potomac Overlook (from where Lisa and I walked from downstream towards the Key Bridge)...

Wonderful to see Amy Blake blogging away

And to think it was just last week that I told Lisa I'd love to see Amy blog.

Yes, the URL does capture some of the spirit of the content:

http://www.babiesonline.com/journal/journal_view.asp?be=b/blakebaby

Happy Birthday Heather Martin!

Happy Birthday Heather, lots of love from Washington D.C. from Lisa and I. Here's hoping Neil broke out some of the Chablis, or a yummy Muscadet.

Congratulations to the multiple Harnetts of Sacramento

Lili is here! How Cute!

Full(er) details here.

Two reasons to celebrate today

It is my brother Tim's birthday: Happy Birthday Tim!
...and having just spoken to the Happy Berlin couple via skype he tells me that he and Sharon are pregnant! Congratulations to both!! (Due in April)
Now I'll be smiling for a long time :)

The Strength of Weak Ties

No I'm not talking about a badly knotted four-in-hand...
What a wonderful world we live in, where a Harvard Business School professor can blog about the impact of weaker social links on business productivity The Ties That Find and link to a superb and hugely influential paper on The Strength of Weak Ties from 1973!
So maybe it's the fostering of weaker ties in a community that brings the greater benefit. Part of that good feeling of people in a neighborhood saying "Good Morning" as one walks by :)
...or maybe I've just been watching too many Frank Capra movies recently...

Steve Ballmer still doesn’t understand social networking « Scobleizer

I think Scoble provides a good way of thinking about the value of online communities (and identities). Just like in the real world it is hard to have a strong, significant, or meaningful presence in many places at once. You have to choose, and then you build, and invest...

Money Quote:
"It is NOT about the technology. It’s about the community, and unless you have something that’ll convince them all to switch all at one moment you’ll never be able to take the market. Translation: it’s too late, people won’t leave the community even if you demonstrate 5x better technology."

And one last thing about the dismissive line of "I could do that if I wanted to", whether applied to software, Art, or cooking, or gardening, or almost anything. The best riposte is simply, "But you haven't"...

Steve Ballmer still doesn’t understand social networking « Scobleizer