Lotoja '08

I did it. I finished my first Lotoja. Sept 6 was an awesome day just cloudy enough and not too hot or cold, no rain. It went great, I feel great after having finished it. The day after I was kind of sore. As far as training for it this summer I went on a few 60 mile bike rides, a few mountain climbs, one century, quite a bit of mountain biking and that's about it. I rented the bike that I used and it worked very good for me, no flats. Honestly I wasn't prepared for the 25 miles of uphill to Strawberry Summit, yeah I had looked at the elevation maps but the enormity of it didn't really sink in. That's what slowed me down the most the other two mountain passes weren't bad compared to Strawberry Summit. I credit the six Clif apple flavored energy gels I had with helping me get over both Geneva Summit and Salt River Pass because I had definitely used up all of my energy reserves by the time I got to them. At Alpine Junction I was really tired that's when I resolved to just go on and finish the race. The course wasn't level again until I got to Jackson Hole, just a bunch of rolling hills through the canyon. I skipped the last rest stop at King's Wave pullout because I wasn't feeling thirsty or anything. I got to Teton Village just as the sun was going down, it was a great sight. Bike riding is all about going faster and farther than you did last time, which is why the Lotoja is such a great course because of the challenging distance and three mountain passes.

Summer Plans

I've been riding my mountain bike quite a bit lately. Provo canyon is a fun place to go. I've noticed that there was so much more to the canyon than you can see from just the road. I wish that I didn't have to work this summer and I could spend a lot of time camping and being outside. I want to go to Great Basin National Park and 9 Mile Canyon this summer. I'm definitely going to get to one of those places, I haven't decided which one I'll go to first. I went up to Brigham City last weekend and Promontory.

One Speed is Enough

I'm of the opinion that single speed bikes are the way to go. Pretty much all I ever really need is one gear. One time of stomping down on the pedal just to have the chain fall off was enough for me to look for another type of bike. Bikes with shifters have to be kept in tune frequently. My bike currently has a 4:1 ratio (110" gain ratio) fixed gear and that works for most places I need to go. It's more efficient because the chain is always aligned directly with the gears and not at an angle. Yeah I have to build up speed to make it up the long hill to campus and at the top of the hill on the bike path going from Provo to Orem by the mall I have to make a few switchbacks. Those are the only places I go frequently where a lower gear would be nice. If I want to bike up to the Y or Squaw Peak I flip my rear tire around and that gives me a 2.4:1 ratio, which is pretty high but it still gets me there with a lot of work. I wish they made a 28 tooth freewheel so I could have a 1.9:1 which would be nicer for the steeper hills. So it takes me 5 minutes to change gears, but it's worth it. This gets me in the habit of not slacking off in lower gears and helps build up strength which I can use when I'm on my regular 16 speed and it's speed that matters more. If you think about it cars only have 5 speeds and they go a lot faster, there's really no need to have a bike with 21 or 24 speeds. It's the range of the gears that is more important than the number. Those extra chainrings rarely get used and just add extra weight.

Tour de Cure

I recently got a new fixed gear bicycle. It's nice because I don't have to worry about the gears not changing properly or skipping. I also decided to sign up for the Tour de Cure bike ride this 14th of June in Brigham City. I will be riding 100 miles to support diabetes research. If any of you want to help support the cause click here to donate or sign up to ride, The distances are 25, 60 or 100 miles. I need to raise at least $150 by the 14th of June, any contributions will be appreciated. You might think I'm crazy and that I can't possibly ride 100 miles on a fixed gear bike. I am crazy to be doing this, but I've done it before. Yesterday I rode on the same bike I will be using from Provo to Nephi through Goshen. I stopped for lunch in Nephi at Trish's Cafe a nice little place. On the way back through Genola, Benjamin and Palmyra I just kept going north for a mile and then east for a mile, I thought that the fields would last forever and I'd never get back to Springville. On the way there I went around West Mountain, which didn't involve as many turns. I'll go on a few more training rides before the 14th and maybe put a higher gear ratio on my bike. My goal for the Tour de Cure is to finish with a personal fixed gear record of 5 hours.

South Fork Canyon

I went up South Fork Canyon today I wanted to see how far the road went and where it would end. It was really dusty out to the point where you can't see the mountains. It gets that way usually once a year when the snow starts melting and the wind kicks up all that dust into the air. It was a nice little bike ride, I was hoping that the road would go farther maybe even to Spanish Fork Canyon, but it ends at the Trefoil Girl Scout Camp. There were three Provo City Parks and a few dirt trails, a few ranches and some houses along the way. The road had quite a few little hills and it was very windy there.

Internet Safety

In my Ethics and Computers in Society Class we discussed the dangers of pornography and how it can be easily accessed over the internet. A few of the students in their position statements suggested that an easy way to filter out pornographic sites would be to give them their own top level domain, like .xxx or .sex. This would make filtering websites somewhat easier, but not by much. Filtering will still need to be done at the IP level and not just by the domain name. Even if we could convince all of the current websites to move their domain names over to a new tld there's no system currently in place that could classify all sites on the internet. cp80.net has proposed a solution that has some merit. They suggest that pornographic sites should stay off of port 80 and use other designated ports. It would be easy to have your ISP block those ports or with slight modifications to the frontend of your browser you could tell it which ports you want to have access to. Another possible solution I can think of is when IPv6 comes out in a few years to have a class of IP addresses designated for adult content. It would be a lot easier to implement something like that before the changeover takes place rather than trying to change something that is already set. Currently the best solution is to have a proxy filter between you and your internet connection to block out content that you don't want.

Unfortunately there is usually going to be a way to get around most filtering schemes. In the future it will be even more difficult to filter the internet, because there will be more and more ways to connect, through cell phones, notebooks, pda's, etc. You can have a filtered connection, but a nearby neighbor or the city you live in may have open unfiltered wifi. The real solution is to teach your children what is acceptable and what isn't and then stay involved in what's going on in their lives. Teach them about internet safety and how to stay safe in chat rooms and social networking sites. The Internet Safety Podcast has some valuable resources and is worth taking a look at. Most children will probably learn about pornography from their friends, whose parents don't care what they view on the internet. What it comes down to is that maintaining open communication with your child is the best way to prevent them from being negatively influenced by media.

Dating

When I first got to BYU I thought that it would be easy to date a lot and get to know quite a few people. I soon learned that dating a lot within your ward was not common practice. There are quite a few girls from past wards that I would have liked to have asked out. I would have if I had found the opportunity to. Since I'm not very social in large groups and a lot of people here aren't willing to take the chance to really get to know you, those opportunities don't come up very often. I know everyone is different and most girls feel like they have to say yes on the first date. I'd rather have them say no if they really didn't want to. The real reason it's the guys responsibility to ask first is because we don't have feelings. I can take rejection and move on without being devastated. Well we do have some feelings, but to a much lesser degree since they originate in a different part of the brain that doesn't interfere with rational thought. I know I'm going to get in trouble for saying that, but it's what I learned when Carla Heesch spoke in my Ethics and Computers in Society class. I learned a lot of other more important things from her about equality in the workplace and what the most important priorities in a career should be which deserves to be mentioned, but that main difference that she pointed out between the two genders stuck with me for some reason. I realize that men and women do have different needs and different ways of seeing things. Understanding more about those differences I'm sure would help me have better dating and everyday relationships.

I like going out to events or getting something to eat occasionally on weekends and it's always good to have female company. A few dates shouldn't be the big deal that a lot of people make it out to be. I've always thought it was best to date a lot of people without getting attached until you find someone you enjoy spending time with. I don't know why dating has to be so difficult a lot of the time. It seems like it's just going to be that way no matter what I do.

Summer

Yesterday was nice out and I went up Provo canyon on a bike ride to a ward barbecue. All the snow had finally melted off of the trail. There's still snow on Squaw Peak Road, on Sunday I made it almost all the way to the top. After walking across a few snow patches I decided to go back. I can't really explain what motivates me to keep going on long rides up mountain roads just to ride right back down again. It must have to do with the adrenaline rush and the high I get when I'm all out of energy but I keep going anyways. Maybe someday I'll get out of this phase, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Cycling is the best way to travel especially out in the middle of nowhere because you can really feel the terrain and soak in the surroundings. Recently I've been studying my map and planning out some routes. As soon as more snow to melts I'll go up to Cascade Springs and Deer Creek and then over to Box Elder Peak.

Digital Copyrights

Given current advances in the internet and communication technology, paying for content is such a thing of the past. I bought a ruby on rails book a while ago and that was a mistake. By the time the book arrived through the mail it was already outdated with the release of Rails 2.0 and none of the examples would work. Sure I could install the older version just so the examples would work but it doesn't do me any good to learn the old version not after all the new advances that have been made in that language. I'd do better with online tutorials. People don't really want to wait until the next morning anymore for their newspaper to arrive they want their news now when it happens. I think there will still be a place for creative works, but authors and distributors are going to have to change their business models. Video clips can be viewed online and there are plenty of radio stations streaming music that I like. I record my movies from cable and have my computer cut out the commercials for me. With all these ways of getting free content legally I don't need to resort to the file sharing of copyrighted works. I can watch what I want and then if there's something that I really like I can buy it in order to have a high quality copy.

Tangled in the Web

Tangled in the Web has a good example of how easy it is to allow the internet to take time away from other, more important priorities.
The internet has many valuable resources and information, however it can also facilitate the wasting of a lot of time. It's easy to let online games and chat rooms take up hours of time that should be used for more important things. For example facebook can be a great resource to keep in contact with friends and allow you to see what new crazy pictures they've taken and what's going on in their lives. It's still not as good as having a conversation in person. I think that having balance in your life requires setting limits on how much time will be spend online.

The Cathedral and the Bazaar

Eric Raymond's essay "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" gives insights into the software development process. He argues for the effectiveness of the bazaar model of software development where the entire community can participate in the development of the software at every stage and new releases are made frequently. In the cathedral model the development process is restricted to a small group of developers and only made available to the public after each release. Clearly the bazaar model has the potential to turn out new releases faster and get more people involved in a project with a desire to work on it. Eric Raymond pointed out the importance of the social side of developing an open source project. The manager has to lead the development in the project and put everyone's contributions together. This seems like the obvious way to get quality software, but there are many challenges that keep the ideal development methods from being put into action. The biggest obstacles to quality software development are most likely to be getting people interested in working on your project and putting everything together to make the software do what you want it to.

Saturday Rides

Saturday I biked to Salt Lake City and back. I went by way of Suncrest Ridge up by the U and then to the City Library. There's this sweet hill at the end that made the whole trip worth it. There's not really a direct route through from Draper to SLC so I'm still trying to find one that I like. I really like my new bike. I just need to figure out how to raise the gear ratio on it some. The Shimano 8-speed internal hub is pretty nice, but not completely maintenance free. I couldn't get into the 8th gear on the way back because I needed pliers to tighten the shifter. When I got back I got in the hot tub and it felt so good to just relax there. This is what weekends were made for and now that the snow has melted off of the mountain roads the fun can really begin.

The World is Flat

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman explains many of the changes that the world is going through as a result of globalization in the 21st century. The world is changing so fast I don't think Mr. Friedman can even keep up with it in his book. Markets are changing at such a rapid pace it's only the businesses capable of adapting that will succeed in this new global marketplace. We see this with Microsoft needing to buy Yahoo in order to maintain competitive with Google in online ad-based revenue. Outsourcing is a wake up call for people in America that have been dependent on the same old business practices for such a long time. In order to stay on top of all of this innovation we need to continue to invest in education.

Open source software is changing the way businesses work. People are only beginning to realize that media, software and new technology can't be locked down to the point where users have to pay a fee every time they want access to it. Companies like Microsoft have benefited from piracy in that it has given their software a greater share of the market. There are also some serious drawbacks for businesses in a flat world. If a company doesn't stay on top of the latest innovations in its' area of business in many cases the entire company can be replaced by a cheaper version of itself. We see this happening in China all the time. A company will set up business there to sell products to the developed western countries. A cheap clone company will set up right next to it to reverse engineer their product and do business with the developing countries where patent and trademark laws are less stringent. This simply follows rule #1 of what companies live by, "When the world is flat, whatever can be done will be done. The only question is whether it will be done by you or to you."

I enjoyed reading the book and it gives a taste of what to expect with business in the 21st century. I think it's important not to get all caught up in what's the newest thing in technology and to let it take over our lives. Outsourcing is usually beneficial to the countries in which it takes place. For example the Harvard students that started a business in Cambodia provided jobs that are twice the minimum wage there as well as scholarships and an opportunity to learn English. No matter how much the way of doing business changes the basic necessities in life will always be the same like food, shelter and having meaningful relationships.

Apple Sued Over iTunes Technology

Yahoo news has an article about Apple being sued over iTunes technology. ZapMedia applied for two patents back in 1999 that were just recently granted. The patents cover a way of sending content from servers to media players over the internet. There are some things that are so obvious they shouldn't be allowed to be patented and this sounds like just one of those cases. Even though ZapMedia may have worked with Apple before the iPod was released this idea of distributing media over the internet couldn't have been their original idea. The internet has been around longer than that and people have been selling media online from its' beginnings.

Women in Computer Science

Paul De Palma in his article "Why Women Avoid Computer Science" published in the June 2001 issue of Communications of the ACM gives some suggestions for what can be done to get more women interested in studying computer science. When the article was written women were only earning 28% of the undergraduate degrees in that major. The author explains how computer science is in many ways similar to mathematics, an area of study pursued by nearly an equal number of men and women. He argues that university computer science programs need to emulate what their fellow math programs have done right in order to attract more women. The author points out that the student of mathematics relies mainly on drill and repetition of similar problems in order to gain proficiency. Another important similarity between math and CS that was left out in the article is that algorithms analysis in computer science and math proofs are both focused mainly on problem solving. Computer science is applied mathematics where theories are put into practice to get out a program that performs a given task. Computer science also involves the learning of many different languages. Problem solving and learning languages are both areas in which women are equal if not better at than men. I think the main reason fewer women choose to study computer science is based on past perceptions. There is really no reason as far as I can tell that more women don't get involved in computer science.

Another Internet

Patrick Dempsey has an interesting article explaining why we need to create another more secure internet. He explains that the internet has become a haven for cybercriminals so this seems to be the only solution. I agree that cybercrime is a major problem and since it almost always crosses international boundaries it's become a major challenge for law enforcement. I think that there are better ways to go about solving this problem than creating a whole new internet. Even if it were possible to create another more secure internet what would happen when criminals figure out how to get around its' security. It would be better to start by trying to fix a few things that are wrong with our current internet. The real problem though maybe just that law enforcement is not evolving fast enough in order to keep ahead of all the new criminal exploits brought about by the growth of the internet.

The Cuckoo's Egg

Cliff Stoll in his book The Cuckoo's Egg makes several important observations about the role of computers in society. In the beginning of chapter 56 we read, "The computer has become a common denominator that knows no intellectual, political, or bureaucratic bounds; the Sherwin Williams of necessity that covers the world, spanning all points of view." Computer security should be a top priority for everyone regardless of whether their main concern is to protect national interests, maintain their privacy or avoid monetary loss. Cliff Stoll has been involved with the internet from its' beginning and quite a few things have changed since the book was written, but the main points are still relevant today. Fortunately software updates are more easily obtainable now over the internet preventing network-wide exploits from being easily taken advantage of. Reading the book helped me realize the importance of protecting important data from outside intrusion. Maintaining the integrity of a network depends on every user protecting his or her password, a task that becomes increasingly more difficult as the number of users goes up.

The internet as a system is based on trust. Password crackers, virus writers and spammers only violate that trust. Arguing that a virus that spreads over the internet is only a small prank helping to improve security is just like a thief that breaks into homes in a small rural town in order to impress on the residents a need to buy large locks. Regarding viruses that cripple network resources, "Perhaps you'd thank the person who let the air out of your tires--award him a medal for raising your consciousness about automotive security." Cliff Stoll spent months doing nothing but tracking Markus Hess and after all of that lost work time Markus is only sentenced to a three year prison term for espionage. It might be interesting to hear the story from the side of Markus Hess and the intelligence agencies involved especially what they thought of the phony SDInet files.

It would be nice if such malicious internet users didn't exist. The biggest problem, however, is how we deal with these annoyances and how we implement computer security. It's important to keep the networks open while at the same time not allowing ourselves to become consumed with mutual suspicion and surveillance. Ideally the protection of sensitive data would be ensured while at the same time allowing for the free flow of information, which is what makes the internet so great.

Addictive Technology

New Scientist has an interesting article on a group of researchers from Northampton University studying the effects of habit-forming technology. "We need to pay attention to how people react to potentially habit-forming technologies and respond with appropriate education and policies," explains Nada Kakabadse. It's true that advances in technology may often come with unwanted side-effects. With the constant connectivity they offer Blackberry's, iPhones and other PDA's definitely have the potential to be overused and take time away from more productive activities. I wonder what kind of warning label these products should start coming out with. Maybe a section of the user's manual could be dedicated to recognizing the signs of addiction to this particular technology and ways to prevent it from taking over your life. Video game console manufacturers should certainly look into doing something like this so they can avoid the blame for all the wasted time their products have helped bring about. Most people wouldn't read the additional material anyway, this way at least the company could say they've done their part. I agree that more research should be done on the effects of technology in people's daily lives. I also hope that there will always be a few people with enough restraint to prevent technology addiction from becoming an epidemic.

Family History and the Internet

familysearch.org offers access to 4 databases and is a great resource available to those seeking to research their family history. The biggest challenge for family history research today is getting the word out and making those resources more accessible and easier to use. I found the resources helpful when researching my own family history. The confusing part is deciding which database to search and understanding the results and limitations of each one. Searching ancestral file will bring up several pedigree charts for the same person. These charts may each contain different branches from a given family. The IGI is helpful for putting all these charts together into one big list. It's difficult sometimes to find what has already been researched in a given area and where more research can be done. More improvement could be made in family history forums and making them more searchable. A lot of work has been put into these databases and hopefully improvements will continue to be made towards improving the user interface and facilitating collaboration among individuals.

Technology and Religion

"The continued expansion of technology will only bring the messages to us. … [But it is] the challenge of each individual and family … to internalize the messages of the gospel." L. Tom Perry, Ensign, May 2000, 23.

Technology has provided us with floods of quality information. Gospel messages can now be accessed from almost anywhere in the world in hundreds of different languages. Scriptures can be read online as well as talks by men of God. Using technology to learn more about the gospel can help us draw closer to God. How we choose to use the resources available to us will define our beliefs and priorities. I feel that it is important to make good use of these technology resources by internalizing the information out there and then letting others know what it means to me, so that they can also learn from whatever insights I may have received.

Writing about Writing

Writing is very useful in many instances for getting your ideas out there to the general public. There are quite a few instances where well thought out and well written words can mean the difference between failure and success. An example where good writing is important would be the President's State of the Union Address. In a situation where you're leading a country in which times certainly could be a lot better and you can't please anyone, the truth really isn't your friend. Political speech writers want to paint a new picture and outlook with every speech and shrug off accountability for all those failed promises of the past. Forget about how that hydrogen economy is coming along and all of the other "solutions" to our problems that have been proposed. Instead let's focus on diversions and blame all of our woes on terrorism and other forces beyond our control.

In order to be taken seriously writing should be well thought out and nicely written. In many situations, however, unscripted honesty is more interesting. I occasionally tune in to Off the Hook with Emmanuel Goldstein. The subject catches my interest since it's about technology and how it affects us today. Listeners call in with questions or something interesting to say about what's going on in our world involving technology. In one episode the hosts were forced into another studio that didn't have the ability to screen calls with the usual five minutes in advance that most live shows require. They just improvised and gave the entire show without callers. Emmanuel often blamed mistakes or bad content on the writer's strike. which is hilarious given that the show is obviously not scripted. The subject of the content is more interesting and important when you can tell that it's genuine.

Technology promises to bring floods of information to our fingertips, facilitate social networking and provide previously unheard of conveniences. Will these advances really revolutionize the way we live our lives? No matter how much our surroundings change we will still have the same basic needs. Henry David Thoreau's words "All our inventions are but improved means to an unimproved end," are even more applicable today. Taking in and adapting new technology to one's advantage without letting it distract us from what's important is certainly a challenge faced by todays generation. In his article "Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change," Neil Postman says, "For every advantage a new technology offers there is always a corresponding disadvantage." For example television has brought us distance learning and hours of entertainment with all sorts of programs. Are these shows only serving to provide us with watered down versions of the real thing? One can watch shows about survival, outdoor adventures or wild animals all they want and still not know much about those subjects. Changing technology will require us to adapt, but a lot of things will stay the same.

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