Willie Walker's Weblog

I like to do lots of things. Blogging currently is not one of them. I have already had two false starts at blogging, and I'm now on my third. I think I'm ready to succeed this time.

People continually tell me I should blog: I take notes on almost everything I do, and I usually share these notes with others. They might be useful notes, they might not, but I'll still share them if they can help. I find that when I "Google" for help on topics, the help I find is usually in the form of an e-mail list archive or in someone's blog. I'm happy to be part of half of this ad-hoc "help community" by frequently communicating and sharing actively in e-mail lists (especially for Orca). I suppose I might as well try to participate in the other half by sharing things here.

For this third attempt at blogging, I've decided to structure the content around my daily bicycle ride. Sun Microsystems is a wonderful company to work for, and it provides me with the privilege of working at home. With the work at home solution, Sun get many more hours a week out of me. In return, I don't have to sit among the road-raging Lexus, BMW, Saab, VW, and Acura self-entitled fighter pilot wannabes from Massachusetts on Route 3 (Me bitter? No. Their attitude is just not my cup of tea). My stress level is lower, and I can spend more time with my family and riding my bicycle. I put more miles on my bicycle last year than I did on my car.

On these rides, I tend to mentally process my day, think about my week, or ponder a difficult problem I'm trying to solve. Many of my rides, especially in the winter up here in New Hampshire, are on my Kreitler Poly Lite Rollers with a Killer Headwind Fan. I've put thousands of miles on these rollers, and I'm to the point where I'm now riding "no hands" and working on my laptop at the same time. I don't condone this behavior, but it works for me.

I look forward to sharing.