Through great blessings and a wonderfully understanding family, I find myself once again in Portland for the O’Reilly Open Source Convention. It’s just such an honor to participate in such a cutting edge conference.

I’ve posted the results of my first day over on the O’Reilly Broadcast blog. I’ve also uploaded a new set of photos from the OSCON Cloud Summit over on Flickr.

Overall, it was great to see some old friends and in general be in the company of a lot of really smart hackers. Today, the conference officially kicks off with Tim O’Reilly’s keynote speech, which is always intriguing to witness. Then it’s into the maul of the beast with hundreds of sessions anf the always jam packed exhibit hall. Sounds like a great day ahead of me.

While I was in high school and college, I always enjoyed listening to Devo. Hey what was not to like, catchy riffs, techno/punk rock, with a geeky concept? With smash MTV hits like “Whip-It”, “Satisfaction”, & Through Being Cool” they were always fun to watch and listen to. When I was off at college my brother Alan, who has always been a big influence on my musical tastes, turned me on to “Oh No! It’s Devo,” (1982) which was a masterpiece of prog-rock/punk fusion.

Now fast forward some, umm, well, a lot of years. Again, my brother Alan re-introduced me to Devo. You see, he’s picked up the drums and has been pounding on those things like it was the bosses head. And you guessed it, one of his favorite bands to jam to is Devo. We each rediscovered Devo’s greatness. Through the deep well that is BitTorrent, I was able to score their discography as well as some videos of complete concerts. After seeing them perform live, well at least on video, I was totally blown away.

Now I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my day. Some bands, just don’t transfer well to the whole reproduce their recorded sound, live. Well that’s certainly not the case for Devo. I guess essentially being a punk rock band helps. As my brother and I have come to realize many mainstream bands start off as punk bands, then evolve musically into more complex genres. Incubus and the Police are two such bands. My conclusion was that, when you get right down to it, punk rock is about the most simple type of rock there is. Sure there’s a big difference between the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, and Devo, but I think they all share a certain pureness that emerges from their simplicity.

After “Oh No! It’s Devo,” Devo only released three more Cd’s, the last coming in 1990. Now after 10 years, they’ve released “Something For Everyone.” Ladies and Germs, let me tell you, it is another masterpiece. Check out this brilliant video from one of the singles “Fresh” If anything, I’d say they sound better than ever. They’ve also picked back up where they’ve left off and are pimping the new CD all over late night television talk shows and have also hit the road for a new 2010 tour. Of course, they’re going to be performing in Indiana, and I hope Alan’s going to go, but the closest they’re coming to Puerto Rico is Atlanta, Georgia.

It’s easy to say that after watching them perform live and the total awesomeess that is “Something For Everyone,” I now want to see them more than ever. I remember them playing the 9:30 Club back when I was living close to Washington DC, but I’d have to say that was about the only opportunity that I can remember. So I’ve started to make some noize locally with a local promoter and will soon ratchet up the noize to see if there are any other Devo fans stuck on the island. My mission, and I’ve defnitely chosen to accept it, is to raize enough stink to get them to come to Puerto Rico; something which I don’t believe has ever happened. So how about, “Are we not men?”

On September 11, 2001, I, like millions, watched in horror as the worst terrorist bombing in the history of mankind transpired. As I watched, I felt a change come over me, and in the weeks to come, the world seemed to reflect that change. The world seemed like a smaller place, and for a fleeting moment, people begin to speak of the change this event meant.

However, in the months to follow, I saw our unity disappear. I saw the United States react exactly as it had always done. It was difficult to watch as the speech of change, devolved into speech of revenge. As the Bush war machine began to pick up steam, all sense of the great change the attacks on 9/11 had wrought were forgotten.

It made no sense to me, for I had changed. I had a new perspective on things, as well as new priorities in my life. I couldn’t understand how I had changed but the world hadn’t. In my confusion, I turned to God to ask for guidance. I asked for the knowledge to understand how everyone’s hearts seemed to have hardened, while mine seemed to cry out for peace, for love.

Now it may seem improbable, which I think is at the root of our discontent, but God spoke to me. He told me that if the world had promised that 9/11 changed everything, that they needed to be reminded of the change they had weeped for on September 12th. I played the humble servant and tried to remind the world, and, at least for me, my world did change. I became ostracized, feared, and shunned. Indeed, my life changed on 9/11 and eventually resulted in me becoming disabled by Crohn’s Disease, a ticking time bomb I had carried inside me since I was 25 yrs old.

Deepwater Horizon

Again on April 20, 2010, I watched as the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. At first it seemed like a minor catastrophe, but as the wellhead 5,000 feet below the ocean continued to gush oil into the gulf. I had that inescapable feeling once again. The world had changed. Only this time, no one else seemed to share my opinion. It wasn’t until two months of oil had spilled into the gulf, that I finally heard someone say: “The Gulf of Mexico will never be the same.”

Now a month later, we are still a month away from stopping the oil leak caused by the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. I’ve watched in horror as the greatest environmental disaster in the history of mankind continues to transpire right before our very eyes, and yet, there are still very few who recognize the travesty that has taken place. It’s difficult to predict what the long term effects of this disaster will have on our ecosystem, but we’re witnessing the elimination of a major component of that ecosystem and very few seem to care.

Conclusion

Now forgive me for swinging for the low fruit hanging off of this rant, but it should be just as obvious to everyone else as it is to me. In July of 2008, crude oil hit a record high of $147 a barrel. Now the oil shortage is not factored into the economic collapse of 2007-2010, but I do believe it is relevant and contributed to the crisis.

So we have three crises within 10 years, which, for many, if not everyone, has changed the world indelibly. So I argue that they are are all linked to one root cause, our dependence on fossil fuel, especially crude oil. For me, the obvious change needed after 9/11 was a discrete change in the policies of the United States which extricated us from the Middle East, or rightfully, eliminated our need for oil supplied by the Middle East.

In 2008, the $147 per crude oil barrel should have caused us to form the same conclusion. During the duration of the shortage, there was frequent talk of developing clean energy, but by December of 2008, crude oil had dropped down to $32 a barrel. At that point, the crisis had ended. Except for the looming economic meltdown, everything was business as usual.

Now in 2010, we have yet another messy reminder that we are too dependent upon fossil fuel, yet very few people are recognizing the dire need for us to change. For me, when the Deep Water drilling rig exploded, our world changed, we’re just in denial that it means that we have to change as well.

As a technologist, and an aspiring author, artist, poet, publisher, I’d have to say the biggest dilemma I face is deciding whether to stay abreast of the latest whatever or focus on my projects. No kidding, I bet on a daily basis I come across at least ten articles to read and two or three themes that require additional investigation.

However, the mysteries of our minds, our subconscious, and our free will continue to confront the same truism. Only those who are able to rid themselves of all distractions and apply the strictest dedication to their selected tasks are the ones that break through and achieve the celebrity or success they desire.

A while back I started to use Twitter as a pressure release valve for this information overload. Whenever I came across something appealing or interesting, or requesting my attention, I simply posted it to Twitter and tried to bring my attention back to where it needed to be. That strategy works pretty well, at least until I find the next shiny new article full of the promise to complete the puzzle I have in my head. Actually, it’s more like puzzles.

You see, I have these theories, and they’re nearly complete. They are just not fleshed out enough to be able to document them with enough authority for them to gain traction. Although, to be honest, when I look at other successful technologists they have some distinct advantages. First, they are not crippled my a chronic disease. It’s cruel but true, while my body is ravaged by Crohn’s, my mind remains clear and active. Second, they are not stranded on a island in the middle of the ocean. Ideas are like plants. They require the cross pollination that only comes from frequent contact with other deep thinkers. Unfortunately due to the oppressive force of zero-sum thinking in Puerto Rico, there is absolutely no meetings of smart people doing interesting things.

I’ve got one other disadvantage (well, it’s really a blessing). I’ve decided to be a home maker for my wife and our three daughters. Which as my good friend Gil tells me, places me in a really unique position. There are many resources available if you want to be an entrepreneur, a freelancer, or an artist, but I’m basically making things up as I go. For there is no play book for an expatriate living in Puerto Rico, disabled by Crohn’s, home maker, who wants to heal the world. I guess that’s the reason I’m so tempted by each shiny new article to come out; I’m hoping it holds some information that can help me navigate these uncharted waters.

I’ll admit it, I like Twitter. It’s a great tool to keep your fingers on the pulse of what’s going on in the world. While comments range from the inane to the minute details of people’s every day lives, it also is a utility built just for the short attention spans of the 21st century. I’m still weighing the overall impact of getting more news, but it is coming with a small cost. As I’ve come to rely on Twitter as my primary news feed, it also means that I have stopped drilling down into that news. Since my primary interface to Twitter is my unlimited SMS phone, I get a whole days worth of tweets, but rarely follow up on any of the more interesting comments.

However, I’d have to conclude that after relying on Twitter on my cellphone for several months, I believe I’m staying more abreast of what’s going on in the world, of course, that depends heavily on who you follow, and then even more selectively which of those feeds I send to my phone. Like most new technologies, there is a growing encroachment of spam and snake oil peddlers populating Twitter, and their presence is hard to avoid, but there are many people working hard to add value to this global thought stream. One of my favorite aspects of Twiter is the rare nugget that comes through that really causes you to re-evaluate yourself and how you’re conducting your life.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this, when I read the following quote from F. Matthias Alexander, “People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” The quote came through the stream by author Johnathan Carroll, who I happened to start following at some point (by the way, I think Twitter could provide much better utilities surrounding the follower – followee relationship, such as when you/they started following, being able to sort by that date, etc.). When I read this quote, it was like a slap up beside my head, telling me to wake up.

In the development of any expertise, there is one essential truth. In order to achieve expertise, one must put in the time. Unless, someone is super-naturally gifted in some endeavor, there is no way to achieve expertise without practice. So after reading Mr. Alexander’s words, it finally sunk in. I had become lackadaisical when it comes to writing. While mastery of my art and cartooning skills remain many years ahead of me, I’ve been writing for well over the 10 years necessary to call myself an expert writer. Now I’ve got to focus my efforts on writing and develop my technological skills (and habits) into publishing what I’ve already written, and capturing the writing that’s spilling out of me to become lost amongst the many notebooks I use to preserve my ideas.

Therefore, this post is a testament to my renewed effort to develop some new habits. Which is to say, not entirely comprehensive enough to recognize the discipline that lies behind establishing and sustaining a habit. New habits are hard to build, but wither and cease to exist with such quickness, that one must always be on guard to ensure that your habits remain in support of your goals.

From a new book I just started called “What is poetry?” by John Hall Wheelock, I came across a real beaut. It’s one of those old “out-of-print” books that boils down a subject to its’ essence. I’m often reminded of the classic lyrics by Pete Townsend from “905” on "Who Are You", when I come across a book like I this, I hear “Every sentence in my head, Someone else has said.” I’ve come to believe that the best advice that mankind has to offer has already been written, and the last 50 years has been nothing but repackaging it, renaming it, and ultimately over-complicating it.

Anyway, I was browsing the library shelves today and bumped into this quaint tome. It looks like a fast read, but I’ve a sense that it’s faded cover and yellowed pages offer treasures untold. So I crack open the old book and that comforting mildewy scent of old books wafts up to my nose. It already feels like a long lost friend. On the very first page it contains, what I might even consider a manifesto:

“Habit, routine, our daily humdrum apathy and indifference, this is the shield we put between us and reality, the shield with which we protect ourselves from life while we were engaged in the business of living. It is the function of the arts to pierce that shield, to re-awaken in us a forgotten knowledge.“

I woke this morning and I was perusing my emails, I found one from Seth Godin telling me that “I rock!” And so I’m like finally, someone recognizes the awesomeness that is me. ….I’m sorry, what?…He sent that out to everyone subscribed to his email update list?….Oh….Bu, bu, but, he said “I rock,” and then I was thinking “Oh yeah” and then feeling like totally awesome. Well anyway, don’t matter casue I know that I, in fact, do rock. You’ll see….

Nah, all kidding aside, as a long time fan of Seth’s writing, today’s post ends a little bit on the snarky side: “And five minutes of rocking would be enough, because it would be five minutes more than just about anyone else.” Back in my previous incarnation as an artist, I became convinced that I was slowly building momentum, safe in my belief that I was outperforming everyone else I knew in the amount of time I was being creative. My thinking was that if I kept outproducing any of my potential peers, I would eventually obtain the attention and recognition I sought.

For me, Seth’s post reminds me of this mindset. I think too often we think that obtaining our goals is a sprint, but with everything I’ve read (and witnessed) I’m certain that reaching our dreams is a marathon. Reaching your dreams is left to those who keep their goals in front of them and consistently put one foot (or five minutes) in front of another, whether it’s second after second or day after day. With writing, most accomplished writers clearly identify a direct correlation between a writer’s “success” and the amount of time they are sitting in front of an empty pad of writing paper, a typewriter, or word processor.

At times knowing that you’re in a marathon is de-motivating. Especially when we see the rare and extraordinary shooting stars break this rule and blast their way to their dreams, it becomes even more difficult to accept. However, what we miss is that even though some bright stars seem to give us a glimpse that achieving our dreams can be obtained through a sprint, I bet if we did the research, we would discover that even those shooting stars didn’t achieve their dreams without putting more time into their passion than anyone else. Of that I’m certain, there are no shortcuts. Whether you finish the marathon in world class time of 1 hour and 56 minutes or 6 or 8 or 10 hours, achieving our dreams IS a marathon.

In a long list of things I have to do to complete X-cito’s resurrection, perhaps one of the most critical is done. It looks like I’ve successfully upgraded WordPress. While I couldn’t go with the latest release 2.9.1 (I was blocked because my 1&1 hosting service of MySql did not meet the requirements for the latest WP version, using this chart I was able to find out which was the latest Wp version I could use with 1&1’s MySQL4.0 installation), I was at least able to get version 2.8.6 installed, which meets the minimum requirements for adding the Comic Press Plug-in

So, new WP version installed, check. Now onto re-familiarizing myself with the latest plugins available for WP, especially how to link to my Flickr gallery, and how to combat comment spam. Then I’ll be moving on to installing Comic Press, including actually getting started at drawing some comics. I need to update my resume to reflect my retiree status

Since a search for my name ranks this blog right behind O’Reilly then, I’m wasting valuable SEO, by not using it. While it may have to go through a couple of metamorphosis, I really think it’s worth the effort. I’m not sure if I’ll redo the objective, but two things are clear. I’m grossly behind in my version of WordPress, so I’ve got to upgrade. Plus there’s way cooler templates out there. Who knows, maybe that cartoon based theme, might be the ticket.

Plus there’s a lot of link cloud marketing to do to get this linked up to my different social network sites. I also have to reinvent my resume to reflect my medically retired status. Oh man, here we go again, but unlike before. I think I know where this is going. “Straight to the moon Alice.” This time it’s real. More soon.

“In the long run it is far more dangerous to adhere to illusion than to face what the actual fact is”

In the category of most profound quote read this year, David Bohm, physicist, Univeristy of London from the book “The Holographic Universe”, by Michael Talbot.