3rd Re-Lending, July, August loans

I recieved my 3rd repayment from

“Katiuska Gonzalez”

and her pharmacy business (Thanks!!)

I’ve since re-lent the money.

Anyone who has read my previous posts, knows that I’ve pondered different lending patterns to attempt to help a few more people. I have not chosen a set pattern…but I have tried to honor my original aims, which was 4 businesses a month. I was on Holiday for July, so I was slack, but today, I lent out to 4 for July and 4 more for August. Busy day for Lending!!

Check out my lender page if you are curious

See more progress on: Offer a Microloan to someone on the Kiva site

Re-Lending for the 2nd time, Beauty of a micro loan in action!!!

Borrowed part of that title from an entry posted by someone else on this goal. I hope they don’t mind.

This is only my 2nd loan that has been repaid, so it is very exciting to get money back and lend it right back out. The “lending-chain” gets longer!!!

Abberratos is the business that paid me back (Well Done!!) and the funds will be reused to loan to “Mavzuna Abduvalieva”|http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=12712

See more progress on: Offer a Microloan to someone on the Kiva site

Solution to DVD's made with DVD Studio Pro / iDVD that stick or hang

I recently was working on a highlight tape for Girls basketball team, (you can view a very, very, early sample if you wish). Anyways, during the course of this project I had several sequences. The strategy when making the dvd was one sequence per DVD track. I’m not going to get too technical, mostly b/c I’m not 100% sure I’d use the correct terms, this was my first project in the land of video editing.

In the course of editing all of the game tapes into clips and those clips into sequences there were many revisions of sequences. Thus frequent sending the sequences to DVD Studio Pro and then burning the DVD so that the coach could review each different version. Because the content of the sequences changed, i.e. clips were added, dropped, re-organized with the timeline of the sequence, each edit required a re-rendering of the sequence into the DVD format (mpeg-2) so that the track could placed on the DVD. This led to the same track being added and replaced with the latest version in the DVD Studio project. I kept the name of the Tracks the through out the entire project. (to keep each revision organized, I ended up encoding to a directory called v1 for version 1 and v2 for version 2, so I know a file with the name “regular_season_track_1.mpg” in folder v1 was version 1 and same file in a folder v2 was version 2)

In addition to editing the video sequences, I also was using some of the DVD Studio features to program the menu buttons and the transistions between tracks the “jump to” targets at the end of each track, etc. Over time I also changed the order in some of the tracks.

Over time, this was when the problem started to arise and that was the DVD’s that I was burning would get stuck in normal dvd players i.e. they would no longer play through all the tracks, or they would jump to really, really odd things, that I could not explain based what I *thought* I had done.

In the course of trying to troubleshoot this, I basically started clicking around all parts of DVD Studio Pro. When you have a DVD Studio project, DVD Studio Pro, has a view of the Tracks, menu’s slideshow’s etc, in the “Outline Tab.” There is also button that will toggle between the “Type” view and the “VTS” view. I noticed when I reviewed the VTS view of my DVD project, that there VTS folders roughly named in similarly to each track that I wanted. For example VTS 1, VTS 2, VTS 3, etc. When I opened up these VTS folders, that was when I noticed the actual mpeg-2 track in these folder were out of sync with VTS folder name. That is track_1 was in a folder name VTS_3, instead of track_1 being contained in VTS 1.

I manually then moved the tracks around such that the track names were in sync with the VTS Folder names. After burning a DVD with these corrections made it played just fine in all DVD players.

I realize this may not be the correct technical terminology, but if there are any other first timers out there like me hacking their way through video editing, and they have made a DVD that hangs when you try to play it, it can be quite frustrating searching for help on web. I hope this tip solves the issue for you, or at least gives one other thing to troubleshoot, or a nudge in the right direction.

Monthly, Quarterly, can't make up my mind, but I've loaned again

My GTD app popped up a reminder that says “loan to more people on Kiva.” So I have, here are 4 new business, you’ll notice they are all women, mainly because on my lender page, I saw that 60% of the business I lent to were men (http://www.kiva.org/lender/mcmastyLoans). This was not on purpose, so I searched for more gender equity.

Loan Purchase of $25 to Lorng Sram (business id=12533)
Loan Purchase of $25 to Simone Ngakoutou (business id=12416)
Loan Purchase of $25 to Mwanahamisi Hassan (business id=12544)
Loan Purchase of $25 to Nekarnodji Octavie (business id=12406)

Had a discussion with a colleague about length of loans that we are funding. An interesting strategy that came out of that, was to loan to people with shorter loan length because you’ll get your original investment back quicker, thus allowing that same initial investment to be used again sooner, enabling more benefit (loans) to be achieved with a single amount of money. Think I’ll start doing that with 1/2 of my new loans, make sure they are the shortest loan lengths I can find.

Along this same thought, is lending frequently, if you fund loans monthly does that optimize the chance that your funds will be returned sooner and thus available for re-loaning ?

See more progress on: Offer a Microloan to someone on the Kiva site

Test from the new Google Dashboard Widget

Long ago there was a blogger widget that work for Blogger quite well.  Then google bought blogger, and upgraded to the blogger site.  This broke my old widget.  Today, I was trawling around at google labs website to see if anything was new and exciting.  I happened to noticed there was an update to the blogger widget that was published in June 2007, so I thought I'd download it and see if it works.  So this is my first test widget.

OmniFocus Sneaky Peek Tip

I was finally invited to participate in the “Sneaky Peek” / Alpha / Preview testing of OmniFocus recently, which basically means I have access to Omni Groups internal builds. Here are two tips that I want to share.

1) Restart Quicksilver. (OmniFocus installs a quicksilver action, but you must restart qs to pick it up)

2) Turn on “And when quitting” check box on the Preferences -> General -> Back Up Database panel.

This is very helpful as you install the latest nightly builds, when you quit the current running version, you’ll know that your current GTD landscape will be retained after you’ve installed the new version.


If you have no idea what OmniFocus is (and you use a Mac) visit, www.omnigroup.com and have a look-see at OmniFocus. They have a few screen casts which demo’s the app. In a nutshell, it is an implementation of GTD (see David Allen’s “Book Getting Things Done”, for more info GTD, or online productivity sites like 43Folders for more general tidbits.)

Working on my Swimming

I’m not a great swimmer. In fact I used to downright painful. Sheer effort used to propel me in the water. The last few months I’ve been following the books of Terry Laughlin and the Total Immersion methodologies of swimming. In a nutshell, they say most of swimming is a skill, such as golf or yoga. If you focus on the development of skill you can achieve vast improvement. Well, I am going to one of their weekend clinics this weekend, and working with a coach live, is much easier than than the books. So if you struggling with your swimming ability, I’d recommend checking it out.

See more progress on: get fit

First Kiva repayment, Micro-Credit on Numb3rs

Big week for Micro-credit in my life. Firstly, I received my first repayment of the money I loaned on Kiva.org . So the $25 I originally lent, has been returned to me and I immediately re-lent the money to another business. I’m pretty psyched that $25 has help one business (in Mexico) and is starting to help another (in Ghana). I may try to track the “threads” of a each $25. It could be interesting over the course of few years, where $25 is used.

Secondly, in the Friday, May 11th Episode of Numb3rs, part of the episode was a 90 second blurb about the benefit and efficiency of micro-credit in helping area’s gain economic stability. So micro-credit got some prime entertainment style plug.

Kiva.org, or other micro-credit peer-to-peer lending organizations, could be an interesting way to teach kids (or anybody really) about world issues in a very specific way, here is a person, here is their photo, and they send you emails, additionally it to provide an example charity. Most of the business send updates with their progress, so it would give you something to share, and provide a context to discuss different. area’s of the world.

Drink More Coffee, Support Local farmers in Africa at the same time

We have just passed the 60th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball celebrating the moment when he was moved up the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. I was reminded of a segment I saw on TV regarding Jackie’s son, David, who now lives in Africa. He has married an African woman and has become a coffee farmer. He has started a cooperative of local coffee farmers, called Sweet Unity Farms, and is working toward direct distribution of global marketplace, thereby allowing the revenues and profits of the coffee industry to reach the farmers in Africa.

Anyway, I just bought my first bag of whole-bean Tanzanian. $15 bucks with shipping & handling, pretty much what I pay for my coffee anyway, except now I’m putting more money in the hands of farmers in Africa doing the hand picking, instead of distribution companies. There are many ways to help affect the world, some of them as easy as buying coffee, so next time you need to replenish your supply, check out Sweet Unity Farms.

The Wet 111th Boston Marathon

On Monday I watched the 111th Running of the Boston Marathon. Anyone watching the Weather Channel the last week observed a Nor’easter battering the east coast; a huge storm system reaching from Cuba to Maine. The pre-race forecast on Sunday for Monday’s race was grim. Temperatures were to be in the mid 30’s with winds up to 50 mph, predicted to be a headwind none the less!! Not exactly the weather you want to run 26.2 miles in. On race day, the Nor’easter was still pounding the East coast, there was coastal flooding, rain was pouring down, winds were reaching 20 and 30 mph.

In the face of the additional challenges courtesy of Mother Nature some 2,300 runners could not conjure the courage (or stupidity) to run in such conditions, leaving roughly 10% of the bib numbers unclaimed. For the vast majority of the 23,000+ runners, the horrible weather could have sent them home too, yet they ran. The reenactment of the battle of Lexington was cancelled, yet they ran. The reenactment of Paul Revere’s historic ride was cancelled, yet they ran. Many towns and neighborhoods lost power, roads were closed, school day’s were cancelled, yet they ran. Mother Nature, played kindly for about 2 1/2 hours at the start of the race, from about 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.: leaving the temperature mild in the 40’s, pausing the rain and severe wind for a bit. It was a short-lived respite and about 12:30 p.m., the ugly weather reared its head once more. Winds whirled, in fact that brutal head-wind showed up to make Heartbreak Hill and the end of the course even more challenging. Just for fun, the temperature started dropping severely as well. Inspiring; watching runners, particularly the non-elite runners, push through pain and swirling winds in extremely variable weather conditions that on race day added another surprise of temperatures that plummeted around 10 degrees during the race. There were a myriad of reasons to stop, yet they ran. So to all you volunteers, fans, support crews and runners, especially the age-groupers and charity runners, to all who finished the wild, wet 111th running of the Boston Marathon: I congratulate you. In addition to your medals, you will all have a badge of courage with a distinction for gumption, and a great story about how the April 2007 Nor’easter crushed the East Coast, yet you ran.

Haiku at 6:32

A few years ago, I was on a software development team of around 20-25 people. The project manager at the time was a big fan of the 2 hour plus status meeting. He insisted on bringing us all in the room and he'd go around and ask everyone for a quick update on their status. Not a very productive model, as not everyone needed to know what everyone else was doing; except my manager of course, so the plan optimized his time but not his team's. One key benefit of being stuck in a room listening to status that has no bearing on you, is that your mind wanders and craves for some intellectual engagement. A few coworkers and I stumbled upon haiku to pass the time. Before you knew it a Haiku movement was born. We wrote somewhere between 30 and 50 haiku during the remainder the project. The project went live, the manager has moved on, and the Haiku movement lost momentum and sadly petered out.

If you are ever stuck in mind-numbingly dull situation and you need something to pass the time, I recommend haiku. 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. Who knew 17 syllables could be so flexible. As a tribute to the past movement I've decided to craft a haiku, here at 6:32, when I've started this post.

work is drudgery
haiku may be the answer
Meeting Survival.

You need to lookup Terry Fox

I recently moved, ok- so it was three months ago, but the point is I’m still catching up on the back-log of my out of control “to-read” magazine pile. On the top of the pile today was Runner’s World, January 2007. One of the cover stories has a tag-line of “The Most Inspiring Runner Who Ever Lived: The Terry Fox Story”

For those of you you don’t know Terry Fox, and I was one until this article, here is a quick summary of what I learned in the Runner’s World Article. Terry Fox, was a young man who was diagnosed with bone cancer and had his right leg amputated when he was 18. One of his coaches (he was a High-school athlete) provided him a magazine story about the first amputee to complete the New York City Marathon. (This was 1980). This seemed to have set the wheels of destiny in motion, and Terry decided to run across Canada to raise awareness and funds for cancer treatment related research. A unbelievable task for anyone to undertake. The plan was to start in Newfoundland and head west to his native British Columbia. He dubbed this the “Marathon of Hope.” He would run on average a marathon a day for 143 days. He did not know it at the time, but his cancer had metastasized prior to the amputation, on his 143rd day of his “Marathon of Hope” he was unable to continue. He was flown to a hospital it turned out to be tumors in his chest, lung cancer. He would die 10 months later. An amazing fact is that Terry, only had 3 days “rest”, so he ran roughly 140 Marathon’s in 143 days. I believe the article said he raised $27 Million during the Marathon of Hope, which is absolutely unbelievable for an individual achievement, especially without the corporate machinery of modern day fundraising. His goal was to raise $1 from every Canadian. In 2005, the Canadian Mint has issued 1$ silver coin with Terry Fox’s image on it, I think the symbolism is fitting.

The article is a very good read, so if you have access to a Jan 2007, Runner’s World, I highly recommend reading this article, go to the library if you have to, its worth it. ( I tried to find it at the Runner’s World website but was unsuccessful.) If you do not have access to Runner’s World, I suggest a little googling or wikipedia or the CBC Website.

According to the CBC Website, To date, more than $360 Million dollars has been raised in Terry’s name for cancer research.

Inspirational
Recommendation

Aussie Wines

Aussie Wines

My friend posted a few French Wines that he quite enjoys and he laid the guantlet for a responding post with additional recommendations.

First on my list is a wine from Majella Wines, a called "Malleea", it is outstanding red blend wine, bold flavors, strong body, but incredible smooth. A true joy to drink. However, I've never seen it states side. However, I've had all the Majella red's and they are good. So I'd recommend them all from this winery. (If I had to choose, the Shiraz is probably my second favorite after the Malleea from Majella)

In case, Majella does not have an Importer in America, I'll provide a broader recommendation, Currently , South Australia has a stretch of two wine regions that are making some of the best reds I've had, it is very hard to make a bad choice from these two regions. So look for any red from Barossa or Coonawarra (Preferred Choice), and you'll fine a very quality wine. Some wine expert was telling me that in this region the vines are finally old enough to start producing the outstanding wines and that starting from 3 or so years ago and continuing for the next 30 years, this region is at its prime for producing reds.


My next recommendation will be a broad one as well, as I really like boutique wines and there is a good chance that specific one won't have an importer, so the recommendation is a Sparkling Shiraz or Sparking Chambourcin. I've had several from the Hunter Valley region in New South Wales, an there many excellent ones. Since there My advise here, is spend at least $25 US. Sparkling red-wines are little new to most peoples palates, and (trust me) you don't want a below average one. (Apthorpe, and Tambourline wineries each have very good ones if you stumble across them)


Now for a drink-able white. On warm sunny afternoons, a good chilled glass of Verdhelo is quite satisfying. Again, I've had many, many from mostly boutique's. (Tambourline is very good one, as is the Gartelmann's) Verdhelo's can range from super dry, to fruity and tad sweet. My favorites are a hint of fruit, not sweet, but very, very crisp. The wine regions I'd recommend are again Hunter Valley in New South Wales, and this, Margaret River or another Western Australian winery. These make for a very nice table wine, great with a summer meal, or just have a glass or two with friends.

while on the topic of Australia, if you ever go to Hunter Valley, you MUST, MUST, MUST stop at the Binnorie Dairy, and buy (you can try it first if you must, but it'll be a waste of time, just buy it) the Binnorie Marinated Feta, it is other-worldly. Rumor has it that the cheese maker (sp?) spent 5 years in Europe learning from the masters, and he moved to Australia and started this Dairy. Apparently, he took some of this Marinated Feta to a cheese expo in Europe, and internal taste test of the cheese makers, not the critics, it was voted, best cheese at the show.

So in summary, my basic recommendation is anything red from Coonawarra Valley or Barossa Valley, very helpful I'm sure

Claiming myself on technorati
Technorati Profile

Oddman once again

Last Saturday I competed once again in the Oddman Duathlon. The course was the exact same as last years, and feel and management just as pleasant. For a few more details, have quick read of last years blog post . All the logistics are the same.

As you can tell from reading last year’s entry, I was not very fit and learned a fortnight of training is not enough for me anymore with out a base level of fitness. This year, I signed up about a week earlier, so I had a potential of 22 days to train, which is like a 50% increase of training time off of last year’s preparations. In addition, I was much more active this winter than last, so I was hoping my base fitness was also significantly higher. All told, my goals for the race were simple. 1) Finish (no one likes a DNF or DFL for that matter) 2) Beat Last years time and a stretch goal for number 3) Break 2 hours.

Very happily, I comfortable achieved all three goals, with a time of 1:54:45 (ok, so maybe I didn’t “comfortable break 2 hours”...) I was very much satisfied with these results. My splits were (from my wrist watch, not official splits)

(the course was a 5k Trail run, two loops of a 5mi bike course followed by the another 5k)

R1: 26:49
T1: 01:36
B1: 28:15
B2: 28:00
T2: 02:05
R2: 27:57

So this was 15 minutes faster than last years time, so that made me very happy.

The winner ran it in something like 1 hour and 20 minutes, which reinforces something I’ve thought for quite awhile now....most races are structured to provide an unfair advantage to those who train and are in super fit. Not fair I tell ya !!!

Hopefully I’ll repeat the other two races I competed in last year (a sprint triathlon, and 67km charity ride) to hopefully show that this year, so far is much better year for fitness. I hope it continues!!!

A separate idea kicking around in my head is try an olympic distance triathlon, but I’m such a weak swimmer that 1.5km swim might kill me...(especially when the 800m swim in the sprint last year took me over 22 minutes!!!yikes...I’m sure I could go faster if I just would have floated...)but the olympic distance tri idea is lingering...
race report

Test with MacJournal Take 2

There’s now been updates to MacJournal, and Blogger.com has upgraded/merged with google...so I thought I’d try this again.

"Wise men talk becaue they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."

-Plato