I was struck by something when looking at some website analytics today.

This is the image I was looking at:

Notice that line of dots across the middle of the state? That’s no accident. Here’s why:

The Erie Canal was a major engineering feat of the early 1800s and was a key transport path for over 100 years, although after around 1950 or so it stopped being a significant part of the commercial transportation network.

It’s kind of neat that the canal is visible from cyberspace.

We, the United States of America, your top quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service. The technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage has been located, and the software responsible was replaced November 4.

Early tests of the newly installed program indicate that we are now operating correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional on January 20, 2009. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage.

We look forward to resuming full service and hope to improve in years to come. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I’m going to try my hand at creating a New Year’s Meme & see if it catches on. Here it is:

The Three Threes

First, write down:
1) Three things that have changed since the beginning of the year
2) Three things that didn’t change
3) Three things you want to change next year

Next, tag either three, six, or nine people.

To start the ball rolling (or dropping as the case may be) here’s mine:

Three things that have changed since the beginning of the year:
1) New job! I can’t possibly overstate how much of my life this has changed (and for the better).
2) Finally got a smartphone. I still wish my Blackberry had a better web browser but otherwise it rocks.
3) New haircut. This one is not as life changing but it’s been way too long since I had a decent stylist.

Three things that didn’t change:
1) Still living in San Mateo. I’d like to move back to SF at some point.
2) Still renting. But at least I am not underwater on a mortgage.
3) Still not exercising regularly. Working 12-hour days makes finding the time hard, but even so, it’s a failing of will more than anything.

Three things you want to change next year:
1) Stop listening to my fears.
2) Take a photography class. I love photography but don’t know jack about doing it right.
3) Do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I was going to sign up last year and didn’t. This time I’m going for it.

Feel free to jump in if you’re so inclined. I’m also tagging a range of folks:
Jennifer Leggio
Michelle Oshen Feldman
Warren Sukernek
Mike Rohde
Michael Ashby
Craig Froehle
Seamus
Laura
and BTC

Blogging has been scarce around here lately. I’ve been busy, but it’s not just that — I’ve lost the habit of remembering to blog. I do have a shiny new iPod Nano that I’ve just loaded with a batch of music, so in honor of that, I might as well dig out an old meme: the Friday Random 10.

Superman — Five for Fighting
Time of Your Song — Matisyahu
Silent Legacy — Melissa Etheridge
Following — The Bangles
In Your Eyes (Live) — Peter Gabriel
Born To Run — Bruce Springsteen
Find A Way To My Heart — Phil Collins
Starry Eyed Surprise — Paul Oakenfold
Tikvah — Subliminal & the Shadow
No Woman No Cry (Live) — Bob Marley & The Wailers

The rules are simple: Randomize your iTunes and write down the first 10 songs in the playlist. Feel free to add your own 10 in the comments.

A little earlier today, in the Adobe MAX Day 2 keynote, was the formal launch of Adobe Groups, the project that’s been eating my life these past 4 months or so.

I’m exhausted and thrilled and really proud of what the team and the user group community has in Groups. More than 400 groups and 2000 members are on the site as I write this, and the number of registered profiles is increasing every time I look.

There’s a lot more that the site needs and I’m sure it will be keeping me very busy in the weeks and months to come, but it’s also good to take the time to stop and admire how far we’ve come just to get to this point.

Viva Groups!

This piece comes from chef Shuna Fish Lydon’s blog Eggbeater, written by a working chef about the workings of a restaurant kitchen, but if you look past the jargon of the chef you’ll find the advice is relevant to any team that has to produce, on time and under pressure.

The Weeds.

It’s an expression for line cooks by line cooks, but it is also something much larger. A euphemism. It’s an in-the-moment, during service expression.

But it can also refer to your whole career.

The Weeds

can take a whole department. A station. A restaurant. A person and their career.

On The Line the weeds will usually let you out of its stranglehold after the last table is out.
But if you’re really stubborn, The Weeds might have a lesson for you that takes a week, or five years.

When I train cooks I say the same thing over and over.

There are no cowboys on islands in kitchens. If you can be smart and honest enough to see The Weeds getting near, and you can ask for support before The Weeds claim you altogether, I and we can help you push through. But if we don’t know you need help until you’re drowning, not only is it too late to help you, it’s too late to save the food from merely being banged-out. And I don’t know about you but I have more pride in my food than to allow it to be banged-out.

Go, read the rest, share it, bookmark it.

Hat tip, Ruhlman.

There’s something wrong with this picture … would anyone care to guess what it is?

1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don’t change your clothes, don’t fix your hair… just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.

I’m a Mets fan, only rooting for the Yankees once the Mets have been knocked out of the running for the playoffs, but this is a bit of a bummer nonetheless:

What began with a Babe Ruth home run on an April afternoon in 1923 ended Sunday with Mariano Rivera retiring Brian Roberts on a grounder to first baseman Cody Ransom, completing a 7-3 victory over Baltimore on a warm September night ….. Appropriately enough, the final Yankees player to bat was Derek Jeter.

Farewell, Yankee Stadium. I went there a few times over the years; the first time on a field trip with my Hebrew school class to see the then brand-new team called the Blue Jays play, the last time a couple of years after college to keep my friend Shari company as she (brave girl) made the trek to the Brronx to root for the Red Sox.

Yes, I know, there’s going to be a shiny new Yankee Stadium and the Yankee tradition will continue, but there’s something not quite right about tearing down a ballpark that has been home to so much baseball history.

Comedy is hard. Good political commentary is also hard. Here, though, newly-naturalized American citizen Craig Ferguson does both very well:

Hat tip, GearBits.