Google bought out company called SketchUp and now offers their software to the world for free. Basically it is a 3D sketch pad that is relatively simple to use. I have messed around with it a little and it didn’t take long to figure out. I have often had to resort to windows paint to make sketches of something I want to make out of wood. I’ll definately be using this tool since it assists with the 3D aspects of a drawing and allows the user to swing the drawing around to be viewed from any angle. Very handy.

One kinda cool aspect of it is that with a little figuring out SketchUp integrates with google earth so that your models appear on the map where you want them too.

You gotta love when your obsession merges with your job. Here is a news release from this morning:

EMC INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE A HIT WITH
FIRST-PLACE BOSTON RED SOX

EMC’s Leading-Edge CLARiiON Technology Enabling Players, Coaches, Management to
Raise Their Competitive Edge at Home and on the Road

BOSTON, Mass. – April 25, 2006 – Whether playing home games before sold-out crowds at historic Fenway Park or traveling around the American League, the first-place Boston Red Sox rely on their EMC information infrastructure. From the players – including some of the most talented and accomplished in Major League Baseball – to the coaching staff and management team that helped deliver Boston’s first World Series championship in 86 years, the Red Sox have become as information-centric in their approach to competing and winning as any large global corporation. EMC Corporation, a Massachusetts-based neighbor of the Red Sox, is the world leader in information management and storage.

“Information is vital to the Boston Red Sox,” said Larry Lucchino, President/CEO of the Boston Red Sox. “We participate in a highly competitive, rapidly evolving environment that demands access to the freshest information available, in many forms, around the clock. With EMC information management and storage solutions, we operate with the confidence that our executive team has what it needs to make business decisions, our baseball operations staff has the ability to research and evaluate talent in real time, and our coaching staff and players can scout opponents and hone their own performances throughout the season.”

When information comes together, the Sox make their mark

In its role as the Official Information Management and Storage Provider of the Boston Red Sox, EMC provides the systems, software and services that enable a variety of common business applications as well as some highly specialized ones, such as digitized video. Before, during and after every home and away game, Red Sox players, coaches and Field Manager Terry Francona have virtually instant access to several years’ worth of video of every play from every game, to help them prepare for specific opponents, review and evaluate their own performances, or fine-tune their mechanics.

Theo Epstein, the Red Sox’ Executive Vice President/General Manager, said, “We believe in providing our players with the information and the tools they need to be successful. With the EMC system, the players and coaches have information at their fingertips that can help us win games.” The Red Sox use Sydex sports software to digitally capture and log each pitch and at-bat by the team and its opponents, storing the information on EMC CLARiiON storage systems, which are known for unmatched performance and reliability.

Previously, the Red Sox stored this information on a small server-based storage system, which they quickly outgrew and which experienced frequent downtime at critical times during games. After evaluating their options, the Red Sox purchased two fault-tolerant, highly reliable EMC CLARiiON® systems to meet the organization’s networked storage requirements. Storing several years of video footage, this comprehensive system enables players to review, from the dugout, their very last at-bat or their performance history against a certain pitcher or hitter.

“We have some unique IT challenges,” said Steve Conley, Director of IT for the Boston Red Sox. “Our data needs to move dozens of times a year for road games, so we need a durable, scalable and portable system that enables the team to access the information needed and eliminates the risk of downtime.”

In total, the Red Sox have deployed 15 terabytes of EMC networked storage systems. The Sox’ SAN (storage area network) environment includes a new EMC Celerra NAS Gateway. One EMC CLARiiON CX700 system supports Red Sox core business operations, including online editing of video and other content for the broadcast and print news media, photographic and statistical archives, the popular Fanfoto service, and Microsoft Exchange, as well as the digital video system used for home games at Fenway Park. Another, an EMC CLARiiON CX500 system, travels with the team for all away games. To support these systems over the course of a six-month, 162-game regular season and postseason playoffs, the Red Sox leverage EMC Navisphere® storage management software, which collects performance information and analyzes system capacity to configure, manage and monitor all aspects of the CLARiiON system. Additionally, to support its information protection and recovery processes, the Red Sox use EMC PowerPath® to prioritize information access based on business requirements and enhance application and information availability in the event of failure.

“From day one, EMC has been there to implement our solution and support us with any of our needs,” said Conley. “We now have the foundation needed to deliver data quickly, efficiently and securely to support the Red Sox on the field and off.”

The Red Sox are a model of modern success among professional sports franchises. They have qualified for the postseason playoffs for the past three consecutive years for the first time in franchise history. They have renovated historic Fenway Park with numerous enhancements and improvements, including the construction of the new EMC Club for 2006. When they return to Boston next Monday to face the archrival New York Yankees, they will add to the longest active streak of consecutive sold-out games in Major League Baseball: now at 236 games and counting. Quietly in the background, their ability to manage, access and protect their information assets is helping to keep the momentum going.

Its also great when you go to your quarterly meeting and they show a video of interviews with the Theo Epstein and some of the Red Sox players. One thing I learned is that between every at bat David Ortiz goes into the clubhouse and watches tape of his last at bat and the pitcher, to be more prepaired for his next at bat. One of the things they pointed out was how Ortiz shows huge improvement every single game from his first at bat to his last at bat. That is why he is always able to come up with clutch hits and home runs late in the game. Very cool.

So if it wasn’t satisfying enough to know that my work here at EMC is helping David Ortiz come up with huge clutch hits late in games, then there is also the fact that the 406 club was renamed the EMC club, and you can see EMC’s logo in several placed in Fenway Park. Very cool.

Comming up next, a little bit about EMC’s fantastic relationship with NC State. (for real!)

Here is why the Yankees are going to pay way too much this year for another pitcher in his 40s. This is from Buster Olney’s ESPN blog:

The Yankees will go headlong after Roger Clemens, George King writes.

What is becoming increasingly apparent is that the Yankees almost certainly don’t have the kind of starting rotation needed to win the World Series. They might be good enough to make the playoffs, but here’s the problem with the Yankees’ staff: There is not a single member who is going to get better through development this summer.

The group is so old or and bears so much injury risk (Carl Pavano, Chien-Ming Wang, Jaret Wright) that what the Yankees are really hoping for is diminished regression.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, have a core of young pitchers — Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Hansen — that could get better, and so does Oakland (Joe Blanton, Dan Haren, Rich Harden) and the Angels (Jared Weaver, Ervin Santana) and the Jays (Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett). The pitching of those teams, as currently comprised, has a chance to get better by year’s end; the Yankees’ pitching, as currently comprised, is probably not going to get better.

And so increasingly, it makes sense for the Yankees to pursue Clemens essentially bearing a blank check.

The Red Sox could use Clemens, but they don’t have to have him to win the World Series; it’s hard to imagine them staying at the table for round after round of bidding. But if Houston owner Drayton McLane does not make a take-it-off the table bid on Clemens from the outset, the Yankees will keep jacking up their offer; they need Clemens or another pitcher of his caliber, if they’re going to make good on George Steinbrenner’s guarantee of winning the World Series this year.

Going after Clemens makes more sense in that the Yankees wouldn’t have to part with any prospects to get him. They have shifted their philosophy in the last year and hung onto youngsters like Philip Hughes and Eric Duncan, and if they were to make a bid on the best pitchers available for a trade in midseason, they would have to part with someone like Hughes. But all they need to land Clemens is cash, and the Yankees have plenty of that.

With most other acquisitions, the Yankees would have to weigh their concerns about how the player would adjust to New York — and just about every major star, including Clemens, has initially struggled in adapting. With Clemens, the New York factor would not be a problem; he had a good relationship with the fans by the end of his tenure with the Yankees, and has maintained a strong relationship with the organization.

The Yankees are going to throw out a big number in the bidding, and if money is a major factor how Clemens makes his choice, they are going to win.

NC State baseball is really good this year, and here is some dater to back that up. If only we can take 2 of 3 from UNC this weekend!

On Tuesday I went to see NC State play ECU in baseball, and enjoyed a very good game. For the 3rd time out of 4 games that I have been to this year NC State came from behind to win. They were down 3-2 for most of the game, and in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs they scored one to tie it, and in the bottom of the 10th with two outs they scored one to win it. Very very exciting.

On top of the excitement of the game there was the ECU factor. For every ECU game tons of ECU fans come out and completely fill a couple sections of the stadium. We were sitting next to one of these sections and there was a little crowd of rowdy ECU fans standing down a little ways in front of us. They were doing chants and taunts for almost anything that the NC State players did, and generally being obnoxious. To make up for it all of the State fans in our area picked up their noise a couple notches and eventially we started doing the ECU chears too, just to make fun of them. It was a lot of fun. On top of that, comming from behind to beat them felt so much more satisfying because of the fans.

The play of the game occured in the top of the 7th. ECU had a man on 1st and 3rd with no outs. The batter hit a fly ball to the outfield which was caught for one out. The runner at 3rd tried to tag up and score but couldn’t get ahead of the cannon from the outfield, so he tried to go back to third and got caught in the rundown for a second out. Meanwhile as the runner at 3rd is getting caught, the runner at 1st decides no one is paying attention to him and tries to make it to second. Unfortunately for him someone was paying attention, and he got caught in a rundown as well for the third out. Pretty awesome to go from runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs to getting out of the inning with no runs scored, in one long play. Very exciting.

I read Romans 12 yesterday for devotions and it was really good. I guess when I have read Romans before I have focused a lot on chapters 8 and 9 since those are so packed with theology. Chaptor 12 is neat though, because its more like a collection of one liners to live your life by. My new “life is good” frisbee has one liners like “radiate good vibes,” “play ultimate” and “brush your teeth.” Those are good but Romans 12 is even better:

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

20 Therefore

“ If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

How much happier would we and the people around us be if we lived in accordance with this passage consistently!

Many of you have been asking me about how my new shoes did camping over the weekend. (Just kidding, actually no one has asked or even cares.) One of my goals for the weekend was to give them a good test in all different kinds of use. The shoes passed most of the tests with flying colors, though there are some notable deficiencies.

The running test: The campground was very big, and the farthest sites were probably close to a mile from the parking lot. This gave me a chance to jog a little on gravel when I was going out to check out the farthest sites. The shoes felt very comfortable running in them. The sole did not flop around at all but felt just like a pair of running shoes. The only problem was that running kicked up pieces of the gravel that got in the shoe now and then since they have openings on their sides. Of course this would not be a problem if you were running on pavement. Grade: A-

The setting up camp test: The shoes felt great for wearing around camp and were very easy to slip in and out of when getting in and out of the tent. Much nicer then having to wrestle with boots or lace sneakers. Grade: A+

The hiking on trail test: The shoes felt good on the trail as well, and I didn’t have any problem with things getting in them like when I was jogging. The trails we hiked on were your average packed dirt trails. On the trail they did not have any real advantages or disadvantages. One thing to note is that if you wear them with bare feet over long distances then they would probably cause some chafing, just like if you wore boots or sneakers with bare feet. Grade: A

The hiking off the trail test: Here I experienced similar problems as when I tried jogging on gravel. Because they are open on the sides sometimes things would get in them when I was hiking through brush off the trail. Of course they were very easy to take off and put back on when removing this stuff. Grade: B

The in the water test: Of course this is the one everyone has been holding their breath for. Since the trail circled a lake I got several chances to wade into the lake with them. They were very nice to wear in the water since they protected the bottoms of my feet from rocks and slime, and they did not weigh me down at all, since water flowed right through them. Grade: A+

The after the water test: After getting out of the water we continued hiking and the shoes dried on my feet within 20 or 30 minutes. The only problem is for that 20 or 30 minutes they chafed my foot a little. Also there were a couple of spots where the fabric touched my foot that took longer then 30 minutes to dry. To avoid the chafing and have them dry completely I put on dry socks with them after getting out of the water the second time, and that worked like a charm. Grade: A

I enjoyed the simplicity and versatility which they afforded. For the reasons mentioned above I wouldn’t take them if I was planning on doing a lot of off trail hiking. As I mentioned in my original blog they also do not provide enough support for heavy backpacking. However from my use of them so far I consider them very capable for light weekend backpacking on trails.

Overall Grade: A

This past Friday night Jillian and I camped out at Falls Lake, just north of Raleigh, and had a very enjoyable time. I got off work early and we headed out there around 5:30. There are three different areas to camp out at Falls Lake, and we stayed at Shinleaf. It was good because it had a bathhouse and the conveniences of car camping, but you had to walk a little ways to get to the sites, instead of being able to pull your car right up to the site. A good transition between car camping and backpacking.

Here are some pictures from camping:

Our site was nice, shaded and looking down on the lake. I am guessing it was about a third of a mile from the bathouse. It was clear all evening, but the forecast said there was a chance of thunderstorms overnight so i had the fly on the tent.

This was my view when we woke up in the morning and poked our heads out of the tent. Perfectly sunny blue sky. We both slept in till around 9 or 9:30.

Here is the tent the next morning without its fly. It was 60s overnight and with the fly on it was hot in the tent, so around 2 we woke up and took it off, since by then we figured out it wasn’t going to rain.

This is the first time I have used this tent and it performed beautifully.

We had oatmeal and fruit cups for breakfast and lazed around a little, read a book together for devotions, and packed everything up. Packing up was surprisingly quick. By 10:30 we were back in the car and driving out to the eastern part of the lake to do a small section of the mountains to sea trail that runs through the Falls Lake park. The trail was nice, but would have been nice if it had spent more time down by the lake. A lot of times we would hike for a while without seeing the lake and then we would come back to it for a little stretch, then hike for a while without seeing it then come back to it. We enjoyed the walk though. Here are some pictures from our hike:

This is Jillian looking beautiful as usual.

In this one you can see we hiked through a section of the woods where they had controlled fires the week before to burn out some of the brush that builds up. It was so weird walking through it, it felt sort of like in the Lord of the Rings when Frodo and Sam were journeying through Mordor. As you can see all of the small stuff close to the ground is burned, but the bigger trees were not effected at all and still had their leaves and everything.

Another adventurous sighting was this snake. Although it looks like a black snake its tail was rattling, so neither of us were sure if it was a rattler or not. Does anyone know if black snakes rattle thier tails?

Finally here are some close-ups of some of the flora (corrected) that we saw.

Overall we had a very enjoyable time and would like to try camping there more in the future, though perhaps we will explore other areas to hike.

In the 1800s a set of tunnels were constructed in Nelson County Vrginia, for a planned railroad through the mountains. The railroad was never constructed and the tunnels are still around, and they are now being renovated and opened to the public for hiking. Here is a good article about it. In the article they mention that in other similar projects they do not light the tunnel with electricity, but they set up a series of mirrors that reflect the light all along the way. This way the tunnel feel is preserved and you dont feel like you are in a shopping mall after its closed. Definately sounds like a great project and something fun to explore down the road. Reminds me of the days when my brothers and I would spelunk in the eaves of our house. Oh for the good ol’ days.

Jillian and I have been enjoying spending time down at lake crabtree lately. The park closes at 8 and since nowadays it it is still light at 8 it has been a great place to enjoy our evenings. It has a field jutting out into the lake where you can throw the frisbee or lay back and enjoy the 80 degree weather, and it has more then 10 miles of trails great for running.

One very cool thing from tonight is that I tried out the panorama function of our digital camera, and with the help of some downloads put one together. Here is what I came up with, and be sure to click on the picture to get the full size version. Ahhh, I love sunsets on lakes…