The Geek Armando

Return of the Natives

Last week I saw Return of the Natives, a really cool improv at the Blue Door Theatre. They did a show based the Armando, a form where a monologist tells a story and then the improvisers improvise on the story, the monologist tells another story, more improv, each feeding into the other until they run out of time. In this show, the monologist was a standup comedian and she started out with a bit from her show (she now lives in LA), the improvisers where originally from Spokane but have moved away to places where they could get paid to do improv.

.NET Rocks #300 and others

In DNR # 300, Richard Campbell tells geeky tales of his early hacking as a kid in the 1970s and 80s. He told stories about how he built an Electronic Rocket Countdown Timer at 10, fixed computers for grownups, solved a difficult hardware problem by replacing the hardware, built a server farm in his house, etc. He even tells “The Goliath Story” (I can’t give it justice, just listen to it). I’ve heard Richard geek out on other podcasts on other podcasts like Hanselminutiae. I’ve heard other geeks tell tales of great geekdom on blogs, podcasts, the speaker’s room at code camps, at work, etc.

Improv in the workplace

Years ago I learned that Infusion Development offers improv classes to their associates. They even have a video on youtube. This knowledge is one of the factors that lead me to start taking improv classes at the Blue Door. Ted Neward gave an improv session at the 2012 Seattle Code Camp. There are countless articles on the business benefits of teaching improv to your employees from sites like businessweek.com, foo.com & careerbuilder.com. I’ve written about my experience with improv.

Fantasy – Putting it all together

I would like to see an Armando style show based on the monologs of a visionary/character of our industry with improvisers who are geeks. This performance could take place at an industry conference, code camp or such.

Richard Campbell would be an excellent choice to be the monologist, but there are others out there who could tell great stories. I’ve heard other geeks tell tales of great geekdom on blogs, podcasts, the speaker’s room at code camps, at work, etc. The monologist must be someone who can get up there and talk and tell good stories. There could be a dialog in the form of an interview in place of the monolog; a good interviewer can help bring out the character if the principal is otherwise shy.

Infusion Improv would be an excellent choice for the players. I hope there are other companies that offer improv training, one of those companies could send their improv all-stars or the geek improvisers from the host city. If a company provided the improvisers, they could get some recruiting PR points.

Healthcare: My Struggles with a Complex System

Earlier this month my decided to be less cooperate and developed a condition that I still don’t understand. So far I’ve been to “the doctor” 3 times and visited the pharmacists’ after each visit. I’ve missed more days this month that I’ve missed in the previous 3 years. I was even tested for Whooping Cough (I don’t have it).

I am dealing with a complex system that I don’t understand. Right now this system is important to me, so I am forced to wade through it the best I can. Perhaps this is the way non-nerds teal with technology and other things that I deal with every day.

First I didn’t know how to enter the system. I had the cough for over a week and things weren’t getting better; I hadn’t bothered to doctor up before the crisis (I should schedule these things better). Now supposed that I was a 75 year old woman who wanted to get a new tablet (my improv skills come in handy here). Do I get an iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Color or some other thing I’ve never heard of? Would I even know of anything other than the iPad? What is it supposed to do anything? How much do I want to bother my son with question about the new thing? Etc.

So, I finally get myself to the doctor’s office. What do I say? What is relevant? What is too much information? Did I leave something out? Am I falling into the “ask your doctor about [sponsored drug name here]” trap? Now suppose that I need custom software to solve some problem. How much does the program need to match my current process? Do I care if it is written in Java, .NET or X86 Assembler? How do I know if the software vender is any good?

As a programmer, Search is my friend; I can Bing with Google and get quick answers to my programming query. I can even tell the good from the bad. When I searched for medical stuff over the last couple of weeks, I would find things to feed my paranoia. (Things like “Lung Cancer”, “Throat Cancer”, anything else with “Cancer” in the name; my perceptions of my symptoms would morph to match WebMD.) When a customer (or friend or family member) finds some article about I’m doing that turns out to be less than relevant or downright dangerous, I should think about my experience with WebMD and deal with them gently.

So, what, I don’t understand this whole medical stuff. What I am trying to do here is suggest that I can use this pain to emphasize with my customers. I mean I can’t forget all the things that I know about programming and technology and even if I did, I would still think different. So when they appear to struggle in my area, I need to remember what it was like to struggle in someone else’s area.

Improv @ Seattle Code Camp

Ted Neward is doing a session on Improv at the 2012 Seattle Code Camp. So I am excited to go to a code camp to take a tiny Improv workshop. As I said here, I have been doing improve for the past couple of years. My worlds come together.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about how Improv would benefit many of us nerds and geeks (Geekprov anyone?) You know the classic stereotype of a computer programmer: a socially awkward recluse who spends whole nights in a dark room coding with a 2 liter of Mountain Dew and cold pizza. I am the poster child.

Since I have started to improvise, I have been braver; I have spoken in public several times. I feel that I listen better and feel better equipped to deal with change. I can better deal with fear and failure. When I find myself in a Dilbertian situation, I think about how I would use it in a scene. I believe other geeks could benefit from Improv.

I have toyed with the idea of bring Improv to the unwashed developer masses. I’m not sure how I would do it in an hour session. Would it be lecture or practice? What would I do for the hour? I am looking forward to seeing what Ted has in mind. Ted Neward is Cool!

On Not Writting

For the past month I have struggled to finish what I've started. I think too much about what I'm trying to say and nothing comes out. Or my inner critic edits it before I can finish the bloody sentence. It can always be better.

It once was better: I start thinking about something, say on the way home from work, walking through Riverfront Park (doing laundry, driving to nowhere, etc). Regardless of what I was doing, it was brilliant. The kind of thing that changes the world. Everyone would recognize ME as the guru of whatever. So on and you know the rest… Then I get home, open up Word and… The phrases that sounded good in my head look terrible on the screen (if I can even remember them).

As the Improv Gods would say, I am in my head. I am thinking too much about things that are not important, at least not in the present moment. If I can get the words down, I can fix the style later. If I can't get the words down in the first place I have nothing. Ok, Mr. Critic it ain't perfect but it's on virtual paper.

Ok, I let Mr. Critic silence me. The only way I can grow is to put myself out there and risk being the fool. I can’t succeed if I don’t risk failure. This post, like the others, is a disappointment. It had so much promise when I was thinking it over in my mind. .. It may not meet my impossible, I'll post it anyway.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Punxsutawney Phil, some rodent 2,000 miles from me sees his shadow so we get 6 more weeks of winter. Had he not seen it, winter would only 42 days left. I will have my traditional Groundhog Day dinner of pork sausage.

My Play

In this week’s This Developers Life, they discussed Play. Not to be out done, I thought I would write about my own play patterns. It was fun to hear about the race car driver and the home manufacturer, I want to hear more. To promote dialog, I am presenting my story.

Improv

Almost 2 years ago, I started taking Improv classes at the Blue Door Theatre in Spokane because I heard about some consultancy in New York City that provided Improv classes to all their consultants. The local NPR station announced the class on their arts calendar and I just said what the F# and I took the class. At that point I had never even seen live Improv.

Like many programmers, I have an Aspergers personality. This serves me well when I am actually doing my core job; for the rest of my life, not so much. Improv gives me a chance to play at being in the world where everyone else lives. It gives me the opportunity to playing at being an extrovert.

Through something we call “Yes, And”, I am learning to accepting the current situation and adapting to the current situation. And I am learning to do it quickly. As a programmer, I like to work carefully and look for the perfect solution; in Improv I just don’t have the time. (The programmer in me is telling me that this blog post isn’t good enough; if it wins, no one else will ever read this.)

Am I taking Improv to become a great actor and become famous? No. My chances of ever performing Improv in public: about 50/50 (based on the fact that most of us underestimate our own talents). Do I really care? Do you take Kung Fu to fight? If memory serves me right, Cane was able to avoid fighting as much as he fought. I have presented at Code Camps 5 times since I started Improv.

Technology

My work project is frozen to the technology that existed when it was started. I like to play with the new stuff. I have Windows 8 installed on my laptop. I am slowing working my way through WPF 4 Unleashed. I am looking into writing for the Android Tablet. No, this is an extension of work.

Music

I have a guitar, a bass and a keyboard that I attempt to use to make sounds with. In the past I found that the guitar to be a great stress reliever. On second thought I haven’t really even touched these things since I started Improv. Since classes don’t start up again until next year, I would take out an instrument and …

Christine

I have a 1982 Supra that I have tried to keep alive for the last dozen or so years. Due to some poor financial decisions on my part, I haven’t done much with her for the past couple of years. My dream is to restore her on YouTube. Yes, her name is a reference to the Stephen King book.

Going to St. Louis

Nine years ago, my sister Susie was run over by a bus and killed. I am going to St. Louis to help my mother plant a tree in her honor.

I both look forward to and dread this trip. After all, it is the place of her death. It is a city that looms large in my mind even though I have never been there. I should have gone years ago and face the demons, now is as good a time as any.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Traditionally we have pork sausage for dinner. I leave it as an exercise to the reader to work out the bad pun.

The Seahawks and the Playoffs

If the Seattle Seahawks win their football game against the Rams early next year, a team with a losing record will make the NFL playoffs!

If I were the King of Football (or any other sport), I’d make a rule that a team would have to win at least as many games as they lose to make the playoffs.

If a division winner had a losing record, that playoff position would go to an additional wild card team. The New York Giants and Tampa Bay (both have 9-6 records and would lose tie breakers to Green Bay) may be home watching the Seahawks. Under my scheme New Orleans could host a game.

In College Football, a team must have an even record to qualify for a bowl game. There was a big deal around here about the Washington Huskies having to win the Apple Cup in Pullman to get to 6-6 to qualify for a bowl.

Back in Time

I took this picture this year on Indiana Street in Spokane.

 

Unscientific polling in the internet

I see the following tweet:

@ChrisLove: Do You Prefer a Stick Shift or Automatic? 
[Stick Shift: http://twp.li/6lbj || Automatic: http://twp.li/p8y4 ]
#twittpoll

(I really like the way he used “||” instead of “or”.) Being a stick shift enthusiast (ok weirdo), I clicked on http://twp.li/6lbj without thinking about it; when the page loaded I saw that the stick shift was beating automatic 80 to 20. This doesn’t match what I see in the world.

The problem is that people who prefer stick care deeply, but people who prefer automatic don’t feel strongly about their preference (unless they are forced to drive a stick).

This example is probably harmless. However, both the Republicans and Democrats in the US are using this kind of polling to push their point of view.

Earn CEO Pay Level from Home

As I was riding the bus to work I saw the sign above. I didn't make the call because I know that it some sort of a scam; I am still curious as how you would do this. Since some CEOs are now earning the princely sum of $1, I thought I would share some of my ideas:

• Go to several convience stores and look for the little cup that says "Give a Penny, Take a Penny" and take all of the pennies. After 10 or 20 stores, you may earn your CEO's pay


• Rummage through your couch for change.
  
• Rummage through your car for change.
  
• Rummage through your friend's and family's couchs and cars.
  
• Use your God given talents, for example:
  1. Get your trusty old Marine Band Harmonica, a hat, cardboard and a Sharpie.
  
  
  2. With the Sharpie, write "Give me a CEO's Pay Level and I will stop playing" on the cardboard.
     
  3. Get on a bus, subway or some other place where it diffcult to leave, display the sign, put out the hat and start playing.
  
  If you play like me, there is a high risk of incarceration; with Correctional Industries pay rates, you can earn your CEO's pay in 5 or 6 hours of work

Trying to get socially modern

What I'm doing, part 1.5

Besides Stack Overflow, I've been trying to actually write the blog and use twitter.  I'm actually writing to this blog (sort of) and I have created over 15 updates in twitter as jrcs3.  I'm following almost 10 people and have more than 2 people following me. So far I've taken a lot more than I've given.

I developed tunnel vision over the past few years. Get the code out and get on with my life. I work mainly in C# 2.0 in both ASP.NET and WinForms (no WPF yet). I also have a client that needs me to work in Access 97 and a SQL 200 ..... enough all ready

Anyway, with the ecomomy really freaking out, I need to look outside of my formally safe world of oldtime geekdom and look out to the wider world. I can go on about the scary stoff, but I am also intereted in the new opportunities that the ecomonic stress can create.

What I'm Doing

The problem: I need to write to learn, but when I write, try to hard to make it perfect and eventually give up. The words get in the way of the idea. In fact, I spent several cycles trying to get this paragraph right and I am not satisfied with it even now.

I need to write to get over the hump of the perfect. I need to write %$#! so I can eventally write well. One way to learn is to explain it. Yada Yada Yada.

So I'm going to write a series of blog posts about what I'm doing. Mabie something will stick . . .

Waiting ...

I hate to wait!  I hate uncertainty!  I hate being chained to the phone.

Yesterday I got a phone call from one of the headhunters that I have been working with telling me that I was on a list of three coders for a job in Des Moines.  The department wanted all three but Management had only approved two.  I was not told my position on the list.

This morning I received a couple of phone calls from a couple of headhunters on this same requirement.  I was asked about my commitment to going to Iowa to do the work and ability to get there quickly.  I was also told to be available for the whole day.  I feel like a caged animal pacing around in my apartment all day.  And I didn’t get the bloody phone call.

Right now I still don’t know how the whole thing played out.  Was I #3 and they would only take 2?  Are they going to wait until both 1 and 2 accepted to tell me I am the odd man out?  Did the client resent being pressured by the headhunters?  Will I find out tomorrow that everything’s groovy?

Normally I hate cell phones: I like the idea of being out of touch.  This is a time where it would come in handy.  The problem with cell phones is that you have to buy in to the whole thing.  I can’t just get a cell phone for a day or two and not drink the cell phone cool-aid.  If I give someone my cell phone number, they would expect to be able to use it any time.

I guess I could get a cell phone and have my land line forward it when I want to play that game, but I really can’t justify the expense being a free agent programmer who hasn’t paid off the dot com bust yet.  I will put up with the dark side of not having a cell phone to avoid the dark side of having one.

Now I have to get ready for an early phone interview with a company in Cleveland.

Christmas time is here!

Christmas time is here, and it’s time to for us to go out and max out our credit cards.  As a free agent programmer, I’m really concerned about my budget.  Every time I see an ad suggesting that a 72” high-def plasma TV would be the “perfect gift” for the caretaker of my building, I am reminded of the fact that I don’t have much $$$, and I won’t have much $$$ until I can find my next gig.

It seams to me that Christmas was all about guilting me into buying stuff that no one needs for all my casual relations.  The whole retail economy is based on our buying ridiculous gift for our family, friends, co-workers, enemies, etc.

I see ads on the tube that suggest things like big ass TV’s, monster computers, luxury cars, etc.  I’m surprised that I haven’t seen ads for real estate (wouldn’t you love to get a Des Moines bungalow this year).

I know some people who give as a competitive sport (and I can’t figure out how to become the target of their giving).  I knew two guys who were life long friends and they would try to give the other person the better gift; that is a contest I could enjoy loosing.

I refuse to take Christmas gifting seriously.  I do give everyone in my family something for Christmas (I even wrap up junk for my ma, she likes to open presents); I just don’t go overboard.  If I were ever in a position to be generous, I would give for other occasions.  I think this holiday overload corrupts the whole idea of the holiday.

Thanksgiving Heresy

It’s Thanksgiving and I’m not having turkey.

I know that it is un-American.  With this confession, I am risking W’s black helicopters coming to my apartment and taking me to Guantanamo Bay.

How did I loose faith in such an important American Institution?  Well, my mother didn’t like to cook.  The only thing she cooked well was Lasagna, so that is what we had for Thanksgiving.  We were thankful to have food that tasted good instead of carbonized turkey, dressing stew, etc.

(I don’t have Lasagna every year; I’ve also had pizza, lamb, salmon, steak, more pizza, etc.)

My other un-American confession: I will not do any shopping on Friday.