Dennis Ritchie (dmr) Passes

Sad to hear about another immensely influential person in Tech passing away. Anyone that currently works in the Tech industry owes a ton to DMR. He not only developed the C programming language but also was very instrumental in the design and development of Unix.

http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2011/10/12/DMR

https://plus.google.com/u/2/101960720994009339267/posts/ENuEDDYfvKP?hl=en Tim Bray originally shared this post:

Fargo Street Climb, Los Angeles

+Jim Speakman (@fixedGigha of Twitter) pointed me to a fun climb that I didn't even know existed in Los Angeles. Funny how Jim, in Scotland, is finding climbs for a guy that grew up in LA. I feel shame. :-/ Enough of my sulking. The post linked below from the LA Wheelmen has links to quite a few images as well. Be sure to check out the pics. They tell a gruesome story. Even with the scary details (32% grade), it's somehow found it's way on to my cycling bucket list.

#cycling #climbs #la Los Angeles Wheelmen Fargo Street Hill Climb 2009

#yosemite #halfDome #outdoors

I know this sounds a bit far fetched, but think about it for a second. Part of the blame for the kind of attitude shown in the article below can be squarely placed on the shoulders of TV shows like Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild), Survivorman..etc. Shows like these, while entertaining (yes I enjoy them too), dilute the very real experience and wilderness sense needed in the situations the shows portray. People see the pros on TV handle extreme situations and think they've "learned" how to handle those situations by sitting on the couch. And yet what they don't realize is the basics that are needed for even very simple wilderness skills and decision making that they come across on their trip to a National Park. Most people don't need to know how to get water out of Elephant dung or build a lean-to out of pine branches. What they really need to know/learn (and I'm including myself here) is wilderness situational awareness and the ability to make sound decisions while out hiking. Just a thought...

BTW, while S&R will gladly jump at the chance to save your foolish butt, it's not the charter of the NPS to save you from putting yourself in dangerous situations. Half Dome Survivors Wish They Had Taken Heed : NPR

#googleReader #g+

I have really been wanting to share articles directly from my Google Reader feeds to G+ but currently Google doesn't have an elegant solution for it (yes there does appear to be an Extension for it but to mixed reviews and extra overhead). I did, however, find one G+ post from +Serge K. Keller that uses a custom 'Send To' link that, while very kludgy and ugly, does work. Here's the steps to take:


"1. Log into your Google Reader account and go to your Settings page (by clicking on the little gear on the top right hand corner)
2. Once there, go to the Send To tab and scroll to the Don't see your favorite site? section, at the bottom
3. Click on Create a custom link
4. Add the following:
Name : Google+ (or whatever you want, really)
URL : https://m.google.com/app/plus/x/?v=compose&content=${title}%20-%20${url}
Icon URL : https://ssl.gstatic.com/s2/oz/images/favicon.ico (or a link to an icon of your own choice)
5. Don't forget to click on Save... et voilà!"
You can visit Serge's original post here: Serge K. Keller - Google+ - How to add a "Send to Google+" option to Google Reader (the…

Johan Hates Humans

This absolutely cracks me up. People (primarily on Twitter) roasting Johan Bruyneel over his decision to get Chris Horner to the line. Does anyone sitting at a desk watching a live stream of the TdF have a clue about the actual pressures involved of being a DS (myself included)? Didn't think so.

While I completely understand people questioning Johan Bruyneel, does anyone actually put themselves in his shoes while making their rash judgments? You would lambaste him even worse if he put Horner in the car and yet he was able to safely ride the next day. I'm sure the people that write his paycheck would have something to say about it too. Concussion symptoms sometimes do not readily show themselves (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/concussion/DS00320/DSECTION=symptoms) and it could very well be that Horner appeared damaged but still "OK" to ride. Also, from what I can tell, the caravan cars in the TdF are not exactly a bastion of peace and solitude where a person is well suited to make critical decisions on whether or not a person has a concussion. The peleton does not stop for crashes. OK, OK...unless you're Cancellara and you have a vested interest in the yellow jersey (see 2010 TdF...I'm not bitter am I?). And while JB's decision wasn't optimal, he had to make one. Refresh my memory but when's the last time you made perfect decisions under pressure? I know for me, I absolutely suck at making decisions under pressure and thus my reason for giving the man the benefit of the doubt.

The best possible scenario would be to ask Chris Horner (as soon as he stops thinking he's Superman in a pink cape eating In 'N Out) how he felt about JB's decision to bring him to the line?

Can you tell I'm tired of the rants? Get well Mr. Horner.

P.S. Actually does anyone know if JB was in the car that stayed behind with him right after the crash? Concussion: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com