Personal

Adventures in Television Viewing

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I am not a huge consumer of television programming. There have been entire weeks where the big glowing box in my living room hasn’t been powered up. I do, however, enjoy a few programs, including True Blood, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones and Mythbusters.

On occasion I hear of a good program from Duane or Rick, so I sometimes I take a look. Both, for example, recently recommended Sherlock. I have a Roku, plus subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu Plus, so I can usually find something I want in addition to the offerings on XFinity OnDemand.

A few shows have caught my eye recently for various reasons:

  • Sherlock.  Although only two very brief seasons long, the show is quite fun.
  • Teen Wolf.  Who would have thought an MTV-based teenage werewolf program would prove interesting? The second season is just wrapping up on broadcast. Although the first season was a bit heavy on the teen emo romantic angst, the plot arcs for both seasons are good for the genre and several of the characters have demonstrated some degree of development. I remember seeing a USA Today write-up of the show last year and laughed at the premise, but after catching the pilot episode I was hooked.
  • Supernatural.  I’m only at the latter half of the first season but I’m really enjoying the slow progression of the major story arc over time. I’m reminded of the X-Files, but with brothers instead of FBI agents and an emotionally distant father instead of an emotionless Cigarette Smoking Man.

Always on the lookout for good programs, but there are so few worth watching.
When I can fit it in, that is.

On a related note, I recently started listening to the TV with headphones. Mostly because the air conditioner, although fairly quiet, is loud enough to warrant turning up the TV volume to higher levels than I’d prefer. The upside is that the headphones really provide significant

Personal

San Diego Trip Report

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I spent a good chunk of last week in San Diego for the 2012 Joint Statistical Meetings. Some highlights:

  • Flew from GRR to SAN via MSP on Monday morning. Remarkably, I was surrounded by infants on the haul to California but, as if by miracle, not one of them so much as burped. No crying, nothing. It was quite tranquil.
  • San Diego is probably the city I’d move to were I evicted from Grand Rapids. Gorgeous weather, wonderful attractions, decent cost of living. And plenty of mooring balls for small sailboats along the Embarcadero.
  • JSM was useful. The conference pickings seemed slimmer than last year’s event in Miami Beach, but I still managed to find a half-dozen major sessions that drew my attention. Good stuff. The San Diego Convention Center is a great venue for something like JSM. Next year’s event will be held in Montreal, which should be fun.
  • I chaired a session on Tuesday morning for the Survey Research and Methods Section, about health surveys. I had seven high-quality speakers who presented some fascinating data and arguments about evaluating aggregate self-reported health data. On Wednesday morning I attended the executive committee session for the Section on Quality and Productivity, for which I serve as webmaster. Presented my social media/Web plan for the section. Seemed well received in concept.
  • Dining options in the Gaslamp Quarter are beyond excellent. I had some of the best Indian food ever and had a heavenly mocha at a cigar shop. Along the bay, I enjoyed fabulous sushi rolls and ice cream. Mmm.
  • The San Diego Hilton Gaslamp Quarter (that’s its full name) is a curious hotel — curious in a good way. Located directly across the street from the Convention Center, the hotel features a lovely modern decor, friendly staff and gorgeous rooms. I stayed in one of the Lofts on Fifth Avenue rooms; it had a desk, seating area, comfortable bed, large closet, bath with shower and tub, floor-to-ceiling windows and a nice view of the Quarter. I’d stay there again, although not if I had to personally pay the $300/night that the hospital ended up covering.
  • Toured the USS Midway during the long delay between the end of my conference activity and my return flight to Michigan. I visited the ship in 2005, when I attended the NAHQ educational conference, and found it to be an excellent investment of $18 and three hours. Just talking to the Navy retirees who served aboard the ship was worth the price of admission. It’s easy to respect our veterans but hard sometimes to picture what their time in service was like unless you listen to them tell their own stories.
  • Flew back to GRR via DTW. Delta Air Lines offers what I call “second class” seating and they call “Economy Comfort” — slightly roomier seats than the folks in Steerage. The night flight was perfect and I even got some sleep (albeit not too much). Had a 90-minute layover in Detroit, then touched down in Grand Rapids by 8:30 a.m.
  • Speaking of Delta: My gate in San Diego was near a United gate. The difference between the two airlines evidenced itself in stark terms relative to the demeanor of the gate agents. The United agent was surly and barked orders over the intercom, including chiding people who didn’t line up according to one of six group numbers. The Delta people give me tasty, tasty cookies. And don’t get me started on the number of times I heard an overhead page for “any Frontier Airlines representative” to help people at Frontier’s ticket counter. Egads.

Personal

Photosets: A Walk Along Kent Trails

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Yesterday I took a short hike along the Kent Trails near Millennium Park. Brought along my camera and snapped about 130 or so exposures. Of those, only about two dozen were even salvageable using the basic editing tools in Adobe Lightroom. But in my defense, I set the D3100 to manual mode and set the aperture and shutter-speed settings independently for every photo, as a way of honing my photographic technique. As such the goal wasn’t really on framing a creative shot but in experimenting (mostly) with depth-of-field manipulation.

Takeaway lesson: The theory is easy. The execution, not so much.

I’ve created a Tumblr where I’ll upload this stuff. The link is: http://mildpicsofreason.tumblr.com — enjoy.

Personal

Why I Love 100-Degree Days: An Ode to Michigan

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My fellow Michiganders no doubt appreciate that this is the hottest and driest summer since 1945. Since I got back from Las Vegas five weeks ago, we’ve seen quite a few days above 100 degrees, and most of them have been above 90. With high humidity but almost no rain, unwatered lawns look like a crude approximation of the Mojave.

So I hear the whining: Oh, it’s soooo hot.

Yet I reflect — exactly six months from now we’ll be in the dead of winter and temperatures may well be in the teens. And we’ll be whining about how cold and snowy it is.

I get it: Some people like perpetually lukewarm weather. Those people should get the hell out of Michigan, a state that includes arid, snowy, subzero winters and hot, humid, dry summers. You get the full range of the earth’s climate without ever having to travel more than a mile in any direction.

But if climate variation isn’t your thing — I hear San Diego’s nice.

Personal

The Joys of Photography

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I hauled out my DSLR — a Nikon D3100 — and played with it again. Explored image composition with manual aperture changes. The results:

Flower by Jason Gillikin
Flower 2 by Jason Gillikin
Leaf by Jason Gillikin

I may start doing more photography. Forgot how fun it was.

Personal

Vegas Vacation Recap and Other Items of Note

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Back from Vegas!

I flew to Las Vegas via Minneapolis on Monday the 4th; the rest of my party arrived in The Happiest Place on Earth the day before. I prefer to fly Delta Air Lines. Because I was gone for a full week, I checked a bag for the first time since 2008 (I had to pull the NWA tag off the handle). Funny thing — although I had a four-hour layover at MSP, I got a call from Delta telling me my bag arrived at an earlier flight.

The first day consisted mostly of low-key events. After Tony, Jen and Emilie picked me up from McCarran, they dumped me off at Bally’s, where I checked in then hoofed it over to Bellagio. We had a quick lunch, did some gaming at Aria and Monte Carlo, then enjoyed a hilariously disastrous dinner at Prime at Bellagio. The dinner itself was awesome but there was a mix-up on the restaurant’s part regarding  $750 comp (we were told we had one, but when the bill came the manager said “oops” we meant a different table). After that, some drinking at Yellowtail at Bellagio.

Tuesday started with the fabulous brunch buffet at Wicked Spoon at Cosmopolitan, followed by a podcasting session with our executive casino host. Most of the day is spent doing light gambling and drinking — Jen won $1k on a royal flush at video poker at the bar at Bellagio — punctuated by a tasty dinner at Sinatra at Encore. We gambled a bit at Bally’s, Paris and Wynn but that evening featured a high degree of general crabbiness so we called it a night early. Emilie had to bow out even earlier because she flew out early the next morning.

Wednesday, I checked into Caesar’s Palace then we did our Marathon Day of Gambling at Bally’s (and Diane was working, but she didn’t remember me so now she’s dead to me). The goal was to get Jason “diamond in a day” status with Caesar’s Entertainment. We failed miserably — quarter VP will do that — but I did manage to have just shy of $15k run through under my Total Rewards card that day. Not bad. Dinner that night was at BLT Burger at Mirage, where we met two of Tony’s lawyer friends from Lansing who were in town at the same time.

Thursday was fun: After a farewell breakfast for Joe at Cafe Bellagio, Tony, Jen and I drove to Mandalay Bay to see the shark aquarium and buy Davidoff cigars, then we drove to Red Rock Canyon national park and did the 23-mile driving loop through the park. We made frequent stops to take pictures and climb upon the rocks, and if I end up headed back this autumn I may take a full day at Red Rock Canyon to hike the various trails. From there we went to Red Rock Casino — a lovely destination — then I got dumped off at Caesar’s while Tony and Jen left the Bellagio and checked into Golden Nugget downtown. I used the remainder of my evening to sit for a few hours at the Casa Fuente cigar bar at the Forum Shops, enjoying a Fuente orange label and sipping Auchentoshan and an Old Cuban while reading the news.

On Friday I sat off the gaming floor of Caesar’s and completed my annual performance review. I must say, self-evaluations are more fun with a huge breakfast, a Bloody Mary and slot machines in the background. I left Caesar’s and checked into the Cabana Suites at El Cortez. I met Tony and Jen for lunch at Binion’s Cafe then we strolled Freemont Street before deciding to tour the Mob Museum. After drinks at The Long Bar at The D, we cruised more casinos downtown then settled down for dinner at Oscar’s at Plaza. From there we toured a few more casinos then settled down for drinks at Insert Coins, a lovely video-game bar.

Saturday revealed the extent to which Vegas is great for a three-night stay. We were all fairly exhausted, so after we met for a late breakfast at Hash House A Go-Go — of course, I was up way earlier than Tony and Jen so I not only did some writing but also spent an hour or so cruising the gift shops on Fremont and even did the oxygen bar — Tony and I did some podcasting at Golden Nugget and we just sorta chilled. Ended up spending a few hours at Bar 47 at Golden Nugget, then dinner at Red Sushi. We spent a long time at the Chicago Brewing Company cigar lounge at Four Queens: I put $20 in the video poker terminal and cashed out for $70 three hours later, having consumed my weight in premium microbrews that were comped because we were playing full coin. After a quick greasy pizza run — in which I sat down with the wrong woman — we retired for the evening.

Sunday was Departure Day. Tony and Jen picked me up, then we drove to McCarran. We were on different concourses, so I had a light breakfast alone and did a bit of writing. Had a very brief layover in Minneapolis, then got back to Grand Rapids a bit early that evening — enough time to catch the season premiere of True Blood.

Excellent trip. Only catch: For longer visits, we need to do a better job of pacing ourselves so we don’t burn out so quickly. You can only eat and drink so much without sleeping before everything crashes home.

A few other quick hits —

  • The FCC has now granted my callsign: KD8SOI. I’ve already received my license in the mail.
  • Installed a 12,000-BTU window air conditioner yesterday. Despite the temperatures hovering above 90, the interior of my apartment remained comfortably cool. I couldn’t turn the inside into an icebox, but the A/C unit will keep me from sweltering during the mini heatwave predicted for early next week.
  • I’ve been asked to become a co-facilitator for NAHQ’s ambulatory care special-interest group.
  • Looks like I’ll be in San Diego instead of Italy next month. Too much has popped up that requires me to attend the 2012 Joint Statistical Meetings instead of the hoped-for Italy vacation.
  • Had an interesting end-of-the-fiscal-year celebration last Thursday: Our department director took all of her teams out for an afternoon of mandatory bowling at The Clique. “A good time was had by all.”
  • A few weeks ago I welcomed my mother and grandmother over for dinner (salmon, asparagus, rice) and hoofed it to Lansing for dinner and drinks with The Gang for Tony’s birthday.
  • I’ve been working for the last six weeks or so on a special project for Demand Media, as a featured writer for eHow Tech. I get assigned several articles per week at a significantly higher than average per-piece rate, working directly with DM staff and a single assigned copy editor. Interesting experience.

Personal

Amateur Radio License … Check.

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Yesterday morning I successfully passed Element 2 of the FCC licensing requirements for amateur radio. Short version is that I’ve passed the test for a Technician class radio license and should get my call sign in the next week or so. I went to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department emergency-management office, took the 35-question test, and passed with 31 correct (I think 27 was the fail point).

While out with friends yesterday, Joe inquired about the practical value of ham radio. I think the point is threefold: First, to connect with others; second, to become adept at a different communications technology less subject to disruption during times of emergency and less dependent on fixed infrastructure; and third, to serve the community during crises (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service), severe weather (SKYWARN) or complex activities like parades or festivals.

The Federal Communications Commission requires an amateur radio license for any transmission on various frequency bands with a few very narrow exceptions like CB radio. For the most part, ham operators have access to longer-distance frequencies than citizens’ band, marine VHF or short-range “family radio services” can use. The mix of people who participate in amateur radio is astonishing — the ranks of licensed hams is at an all-time high with several hundred thousand hams in the United States alone — with remarkable diversity within the craft. Yesterday, for example, I tested with a rather attractive woman younger than I, and the exam proctors ranged from grizzed old men to younger professionals.

When people think “ham radio” they often think “nerd.” But hams perform a vital service (who do you think managed communications in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina leveled all the cell towers, or notify officials about tornado touchdowns all across the country?) and they need an astonishing level of competence in electrical theory to do their work. The Technician license — the lowest tier of three currently recognized by the FCC — requires applicants to understand electrical equations (e.g., “if you put a 10-ohm resistor on a 5-amp circuit …”), read complex schematics and understand federal regulations in addition to the basics of actually picking up a mic and talking.

Ham radio was on my bucket list. This particular item bumped up the priority list by happy fortune; while I was browsing for typewriter ribbon in eBay I noticed a can’t-miss deal on an HF radio, and I won the auction for an absolute steal. Can’t use the radio without the license, so … yeah.

Anyway, I look forward to getting involved in the local ham community. I understand there’s a “hamfest” in Hudsonville next weekend; I might visit.

Stay tuned for updates on this subject.

Personal

Misk-uh-LANE-us Observations

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It’s been a while since I’ve done some general-purpose updates, so here you go:

  1. Life on the home front is progressing smoothly. I’ve added a few extra things to the apartment, including a pair of lovely oak bookcases from my mother and a self-built chalkboard with magnetic primer in my office. Not bad, although I may sand the chalkboard and repaint it just to smooth it out a bit more.
  2. Two recent neighborhood additions: A new person in Apt. 3 — a “mid-20s guy” as my landlord put it — and a 1-year-old German Shepherd puppy. The latter belongs to my neighbor, a police officer, who has now joined the K9 unit with his new little bundle of black furry yipping. Which isn’t bad, actually, and I give Todd credit for bringing me cigars to defray the dog’s occasional noise. He’s more bothered by it than I am, I think.
  3. The writing group seems to be flowing well. They’re a fun(ky) bunch and although we don’t do a whole lot of writing, we do socialize and pass witticisms in lieu of generating work product. So it works out in the end. Plus there’s pizza.
  4. Time flies. It wasn’t that long ago that I sat down and thought out what I wanted to accomplish in the spring/summer seasons … and now we’re in mid-May. I won’t hit a few goals as soon as I had planned, but others are actually ahead of schedule. For example, in a few weeks I’m heading to Kalamazoo for FCC amateur radio license testing.
  5. Saw The Avengers yesterday, in 3D. It was a fun movie. The brief scene with Hulk and Loki at Stark Tower was, all by itself, worth the admission price. From a cast perspective, I have cautious optimism that Chris Hemsworth could be more than just another brainless beefcake actor and I rejoice that Robert Downey Jr. found his way again after a rough spot a decade ago.
  6. Last week I met my old college friend Matt for cigars at Grand River Cigar, but because the smoke shop was hosting a Xicar event the place was packed with more than 30 people, including a local priest, a biker with a home humidor the size of my office and several upstanding citizens engaged in local GOP politics. I lingered for more than four hours and had a couple of cigars, a few drams of Dalwhinnie and so much great conversation that I ended up a bit hoarse.
  7. A few weeks ago I attended a fun and oh-so-nerdy game night in DeWitt with a group of guys. Picture it: Three rounds of a game focused on the Constitutional Convention, with three lawyers and me. Woohoo.
  8. In a week or so Rob is hosting the next cigar night; we’ll have grilled steaks and Brad is tentatively scheduled to bring his homebrew. Should be a grand old time.
  9. Work has been crazy — I’ve had so much contract stuff crossing my desk that it’s a challenge keeping up. Nice problem to have.
  10. So … Barack Obama was outed by Joe Biden. Cute.
  11. The Vegas trip is coming up. I’m excited. We’ll start the week on the Strip and end up downtown — on Freemont Street, I hope, instead of the hoosegow.
  12. It’s still not clear where I’ll be in early August — I’ve been invited to an Italy trip with my church choir, but I’m also required to chair a session at this year’s Joint Statistical Meetings in San Diego. Of course, the two events overlap. I thought I might be able to get out of the JSM commitment, but now it appears I will be presenting a new Web strategery for our section at the executive committee meeting, so … ugh.

I’ve been reading a really rather unexpectedly snarly book about English use and abuse, but the contents leave me scratching my head. In all my years in West Michigan, for example, I can’t recall ever hearing miscellaneous enunciated as misk-uh-LANE-us.

All for now.

Personal, Philosophy

Degrees of Financial Freedom

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Funny how impending death or long-term incarceration focuses the mind.

In the moments when their lives are laid barest, the sick, dying and imprisoned fall into two camps. The first remembers happy memories and remains at peace with whatever lies ahead. The other obsesses about things left undone or sentiments left unsaid. But the latter group’s obsessions relate to people or to experiences — almost never to each person’s material condition. I have yet to meet a person in prison or in a hospital who spent much time thinking about property or money or financial histories or credit scores.

The life lessons I’ve gleaned from ministering to the sick and imprisoned came into sharp relief this week, subsequent to a casual conversation with a few friends over cigars and adult beverages. The TL;DR version: Financial freedom as a concept is important to a fully flourishing life, but there’s remarkable disagreement as to what the idea entails.

I thought about it and it seems like we can put “financial freedom” on a scale of sorts:

  1. No income, no assets, no or bad credit. Significant life constraints.
  2. Limited income or assets. Bad credit. Routine difficulty in meeting life needs.
  3. Limited income or assets, but average or good credit. Holding one’s own.
  4. Adequate income, bad credit. Potential for comfort demolished by personal financial mismanagement.
  5. Adequate income, average/good credit. Lives a comfortable, if not luxurious, lifestyle.
  6. Above-median income or assets. Bad credit; does fine day-to-day but options for major purchases (mortgages, auto loans) reduced.
  7. Above-median income or assets, good credit. All needs met and can “splurge” without really thinking about it.
  8. Significant income/assets. Life’s an oyster.

As I think about my friends and family, I see them falling all over my eight-point scale. I know one person who makes due on surprisingly little income. I know another who spends every penny of the many, many dollars he makes. I also know a well-off lawyer who won’t spend to save his life.

I also think about Steve, a guy I knew from the Herald. He had one life goal: To get his degree, buy an old Airstream trailer and head for the West Texas desert. He wanted a motorcycle, a dog, a shotgun and the freedom to explore his art and photography without worrying about keeping up with the Joneses.

Inasmuch as people stress over money, when you’re on your deathbed you don’t generally lament that you didn’t have a higher credit score.

Perhaps the truth is more Biblical: Financial freedom isn’t something that Dave Ramsey confers, but rather it’s a state of mind. If you can meet your needs, you’re free; if you can’t, then it’s time to change your life plan.

Just remember: At the end, no one cares.

Personal

The Experts Speak: Style for a 30-Something

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Last weekend I enjoyed a lovely 15-minute coffee-shop conversation with a pair of GVSU students. The girls had been giggling about a patron who had just left; he was a fairly short and pudgy male, probably in his late 40s, with thinning hair. The girls thought his attire was grossly age-inappropriate — he was dressed head-to-toe in too-tight Aeropostale clothes, including a teal polo with the big “A” logo on it and a bit of chest hair flashing over the top. He also wore tight, ripped light jeans, flip-flops and a clamshell necklace. And you can’t forget the gold hoops in each ear. A veritable walking stereotype.

As I recall, I made some pithy comment to one of them about their observations that started our shared conversation. Short version: They thought that “older people” (defined, as best as I could tell, as folks over 30) shouldn’t try to dress like college students. I was more agnostic about it.

On their major point, I am sympathetic. On one hand, it’s not my business to tell people how to dress. If a 90-year-old wants to rock out a faux hawk with his Volcom T-shirt, leather bracelets and tartan Vans, more power to him. Just like the 19-year-old with the tweed jacket and bow tie is free to dress as he likes.

But people are people, and our clothes help tell the story about who we are. They’re an immediate visual indicator of our tastes and socioeconomic status. They identify any sociocultural tribe to which we voluntarily associate. So, although one’s apparel isn’t anyone else’s business — clothes do send a message. There’s a degree of prudence in playing the game.

As it happens, the conversation last week coincided with the the arrival of a few magazines, including Men’s Health and Details, that shared their own perspective on what men ought to wear in the summer 2012 season. Me being me, I then spent the better part of a week thinking through the somewhat insecure question of what message my own clothes send, and what a 30-something guy should or shouldn’t wear. I even scoured some style magazines and websites (well, briefly — I was interested in the subject, not obsessed by it).

Observations from the self-appointed guardians of male style:

  1. Despite the comments about “men in their 30s,” the real age bracket is more like 27-to-37, although a person’s weight and visual signs of aging (grey hair, wrinkles) affect the sorting. A 35-year-old who worshipped the sun during his college years may well fall into the over-40 bucket if he looks like a wrinkled prune, whereas a 35-year-old athlete with great teeth and good hair can still pull off the 20-something look without difficulty.
  2. Men who are clearly adults and no longer in their extended adolescence should wear clothes that fit. Well-tailored clothes send a message of competence. Too-tight or too-loose equals too sloppy. As do hoodies.
  3. Avoid no-name “uniform” clothes, even if you’re married with children. The Gap jeans and T-shirt (or polo), or the khakis and button-down, that are worn often enough to constitute an informal uniform are a sign of surrender. Vary it up.
  4. Brands matter more. Certain labels are associated with — indeed, are iconic of — youth. Think Abercrombie or Hollister, then avoid them. Some stores, like The Buckle, cross age brackets (especially if you’re a Nickelback fan), but the older you get the more ridiculous you look when you peacock. Trendy clothing for the urban chic look for the 30-somethings — the kind that gets you a pass to the front of the line at an upper-tier Vegas nightclub — usually cannot be acquired at an average suburban shopping mall, although if you’re into the vintage scene a local consignment store may prove useful. Guys with the physique to pull off a closely tailored look may find Express or its equivalents an good choice.
  5. Accessories count. An expensive watch, a well-designed belt or a couple of pairs of high-quality shoes matter and can set off an otherwise routine wardrobe selection. As do jewelry choices: The clamshell should permanently retire, as should the 60-gauge spacers, but a couple of subdued bracelets or a ring or two are fine.
  6. If you wear hats, substitute the ratty, backwards-turned baseball cap for something like a newsboy or a thin-brimmed fedora.
  7. Hair styles convey station. If your hair says, “I could only get a job in an indie records store” and you’re in your 30s, you’re telegraphing a future of lifetime earnings in the lower quintile. Not an attractive prospect for potential mates. And if you’re thinning on top, for heaven’s sake, lose the ponytail. No one likes looking at Gallagher.
  8. Tattoo with caution. When skin sags, so does the ink.
  9. Always dress a half-step more crisply than everyone else, regardless of the situation.
  10. Watch color palettes. If (like me) you’re brown-haired and hazel-eyed, you will look better with earth tones like browns and greens and oranges. This rule governs accessories, too — I’d look better with golds than silvers, which is unfortunate since I think black/grey/blue/silver makes the prettiest color combo. Find a way to flash color, like a pocket square or a tie or bold socks or something.

The core message that today’s style sentries share makes a lot of sense: As you age, your clothes serve as at-a-glance proxies about your socioeconomic status and cultural affiliations. Dress how you like, but the guidance seems to favor fine things — watches, shoes — and well-tailored clothes set off by bold colors.

Decent advice … that I usually manage to ignore.