Friday, April 24, 2009

New computers arriving


Posted by ShoZu

At least one department in Clark Hall is getting new computers!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

An April like September

Thunderheads over Tower Hall

Once upon a time I lived a different life

Once upon a time I lived a different life. Eighteen years ago today, in a moment of tragedy (a car accident that took the life of my first wife) that life absolutely changed. John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

April 21st eighteen years ago was a lovely day that seemed full of all the hopes of Spring. I remember looking at the blue sky and thinking, after the tragedy, of the words of the Lakota Sioux before the the Battle of the Little Big Horn, "today is a good day to die."

As we make plans to live we never are really in control of our destiny. I have learned over the years making plans is good and prudent, but it is important to live in the moment; not for the moment, but in the moment.

Do not leave old wounds to fester. Do not dwell on negativity. Do not judge or carry a grudge. There may never come an opportunity to make amends and we all have flaws, after all.

Life can change on a dime and end in a heart beat.

In my opinion; if we make each day a good day to die, we also make each day a good day to live.

The state of spam

According to a Security Strategies Alert by M. E. Kabay of Network World, "95% of all e-mail in the world now consists of rubbish." Kabay has authored a four part series on the state of spam.

Monday, April 20, 2009

How hot is it in San Jose?

Temp sign at 104

This sign was in front of the Martin Luther King library in downtown San Jose, CA. This is an iPhone photo.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Spam and global warming

According to the BBC; A study into spam has blamed it for the production of more than 33bn kilowatt-hours of energy every year, enough to power more than 2.4m homes. The story said:

This amounted to emissions of more than 17 million tons of CO2, the research by climate consultants ICF International and anti-virus firm McAfee found.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

About the bicycle ride I lead and yoga

Brian Farris Eating Ice Cream

I had a blast last night at our Whine and Dine Bicycle Rides. It seems to me the rides are getting more fun each year.

This is the time of year when we start expanding the mellow ride beyond just Kennedy and Shannon. As we start to extend and expand the ride it becomes a bit more challenging, a bit faster and a bit steeper. That, in the past, has lead some whine and diners to think the ride is not for them. I do not want to see that happen. So, I am going to start bringing a second set of route sheets for a super mellow option of the whine and dine rides.

We talked a lot about Yoga last night. A couple of us whine and diners are members of Downtown Yoga Shala, a great new San Jose Yoga studio owned by cyclist, ACTC member and whine and diner Veronica Cruz. What she and Yoga have done for me is almost a miracle. I am feeling better and riding stronger than I have for years. I know downtown San Jose may not be an option for some folks; but for me it is perfect. (Since joining the studio three weeks ago I have lost four pounds.)

They have a couple of limited time, great promotions now, including 10 days for $10 and a third off monthly memberships. If nothing else, this is the perfect time to just check them out. Hey, we can even do Yoga classes together! Veronica is the real deal. She is one of us. She has been in a major bike accident (and used yoga to recover from it.) Anyway, I promised yesterday to pass on some information so here it is:

Monday, April 13, 2009

Be aware: Twitter Virus!

According to a post by Curt Monash at Network World, "Twitter was hit today by the StalkDaily virus." Monash provides a concise overview of the virus.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Message to summer students

The following message is being sent by Enrollment Services to the 29,600+ students who have enrollment appointments posted for Summer 2009.

Please note that because of the state budget crisis, course offerings are limited this summer. Summer term information, instructions and the course offerings are posted at:

http://info.sjsu.edu/home/schedules.html

If you need to meet with an academic advisor, consider scheduling an appointment now. (NOTE: I think now means NOW!)

For qualified students, financial aid is available for the summer term.