Interviewing

A bit over a month ago, my company announced the closure of my entire site (dig what Josh blogged about it here). This is a drag in a lot of ways, not only for those of us at the site but for a lot of people in the community and for the great state of Michigan as well. One of the unpleasant upshots of this closure is that I'm back in the job market, which means that I have to interview.

It's like being in a beauty contest every day. And it kind of wears on you. The uncertainty is the worst. But I was thinking about a book I read recently, "The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America," by T. H. Watkins. Maybe I don't have it so bad. I have the luxury of viewing this whole experience as an opportunity, as opposed to a disaster.

Carbon Leaf in Ann Arbor

My favorite band, Carbon Leaf, played the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor last night (20 Feb 2007). I knew from their recordings that they are phenomenal musicians, but you should see them live. It's just so great to see people doing what they're really good at and really enjoying it.

Carter Gravatt, the lead guitarist, really impressed me. I'm hoping for another "Carter Administration" soon. ;-)

Carbon Leaf started the show by beginning to play along with a recording of The Crane Wife 3, a very cool song by The Decemberists. A nice touch.

Kelly, thanks for getting us tickets and giving up your soccer game to go see Carbon Leaf with me!

A Word About Haiku 1

Haiku 1 has its merits, but it's really not a haiku. Sure, it has three lines, the first with 5 syllables, the second with 7, and the last with 5 again, for a total of 17 syllables. The 5-7-5 syllable (onji) form happens to occur naturally in the Japanese language; a haiku in English can be anywhere from just a few syllables up to 17 syllables (rarely more than that).

What makes a haiku a haiku is that it captures the essence of a relationship between Nature and human nature. Alan Watts characterized haiku as "wordless poems," the idea being that a good haiku is so concise that the reader doesn't even really have to read the words to experience the moment of the poem.

Haiku 1 is more of a senryu maybe, which genre is more about human nature and human relationships and is often humorous. Whatever it is, it's pretty pedestrian, I'd say.

And there's more where that came from!

Matteo, thank you so much for the haiku book, from which I learned a lot of this information. If you'd like a copy for yourself, you might want to look it up: The Haiku Anthology, Expanded Edition. Cor van den Heuvel, editor.

Haiku 1

Japanese Gothic:
MacDonald-san had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.

Amateur Extra

Yesterday morning I passed my Amateur Extra Class exam. I've been in ham radio for a long time, and have held an Advanced Class license for most of that time. I was really happy to finally be an Extra, though. It's good to set a goal for yourself and hit it.

I'm keeping my Advanced-format call, though. It's the only format left that proves you knew Morse code at one time (something I want to pick up again).

Maybe I'll hear you on the air.

73,
N6QXA/AE

P.S. Thank you to the ARROW VEs for giving up their time!

Hello, world!

(print (list 'hello 'world))

Gotta start somewhere!