Information management is a big deal y'all

This was inspired by some discussion of using ChatGPT for Serious Coding
Business(tm)

.github/workflows/twitter.yml

@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
----
-on: [push, pull_request]
-name: Twitter, together!
-jobs:
-  preview:
-    name: Preview
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-    steps:
-      - uses: gr2m/twitter-together@v1.x
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-  tweet:
-    name: Tweet
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
-    steps:
-      - name: checkout main
-        uses: actions/checkout@v2
-      - name: Tweet
-        uses: gr2m/twitter-together@v1.x
-        env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
-          TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET: ${{ secrets.TWITTER_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET }}
-          TWITTER_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.TWITTER_API_KEY }}
-          TWITTER_API_SECRET_KEY: ${{ secrets.TWITTER_API_SECRET_KEY }}

.well-known/webfinger

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+{
+  "subject": "acct:rtyler@hacky.town",
+  "aliases": [
+    "https://hacky.town/@rtyler",
+    "https://hacky.town/users/rtyler"
+  ],
+  "links": [
+     {
+      "rel": "http://webfinger.net/rel/profile-page",
+      "type": "text/html",
+      "href": "https://hacky.town/@rtyler"
+    },
+    {
+      "rel": "self",
+      "type": "application/activity+json",
+      "href": "https://hacky.town/users/rtyler"
+    },
+    {
+      "rel": "http://ostatus.org/schema/1.0/subscribe",
+      "template": "https://hacky.town/authorize_interaction?uri={uri}"
+    }
+  ]
+}

Gemfile.lock

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ GEM
       rb-fsevent (~> 0.10, >= 0.10.3)
       rb-inotify (~> 0.9, >= 0.9.10)
     mercenary (0.4.0)
-    nuggets (1.6.0)
+    nuggets (1.6.1)
     pathutil (0.16.2)
       forwardable-extended (~> 2.6)
     public_suffix (4.0.7)
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ GEM
       ffi (~> 1.0)
     rdiscount (2.2.0.2)
     rexml (3.2.5)
-    rouge (3.28.0)
+    rouge (3.29.0)
     safe_yaml (1.0.5)
     sassc (2.4.0)
       ffi (~> 1.9)
@@ -85,4 +85,4 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   webrick
 
 BUNDLED WITH
-   2.3.8
+   2.3.12

README.adoc

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 = brokenco.de
 
 This is my link:https://brokenco.de[blog]
+

_config.yml

@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ collections:
     permalink: microblog/:year/:month/:title/
 
 lsi: false
+include:
+  - '.well-known'
 exclude:
   - README.markdown
   - Makefile

_layouts/home.html

@@ -76,6 +76,13 @@ title: Home
                 <a href="/podcast-picks.xml">podcast-picks.xml</a>
             </td>
         </tr>
+        <tr>
+            <td>
+                <img src="/images/icons/blank.png"/>
+                <img src="/images/icons/xml.png"/>
+                <a rel="me" href="https://hacky.town/@rtyler">Mastodon</a>
+            </td>
+        </tr>
         <tr>
             <td>
                 <img src="/images/icons/comp.gray.png"/>

_microblog/2022/08/08/776f2614.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+layout: microblog
+date: 2022-08-08 09:45:14 -0700
+title: 776f2614
+---
+The most calories burned in a single ride was over 7,500. Cycling has made me much more serious about my nutrition: https://brokenco.de/2022/08/08/cycling-calories.html

_microblog/2022/08/08/fbb4695a.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+layout: microblog
+date: 2022-08-08 09:43:56 -0700
+title: fbb4695a
+---

_microblog/2022/08/11/d3c3e45f.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+layout: microblog
+date: 2022-08-11 14:31:20 -0700
+title: d3c3e45f
+---
+At what point does "throwback" become "classic" and then "oldies"?

_microblog/2022/10/27/e6671e31.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+layout: microblog
+date: 2022-10-27 13:40:18 -0700
+title: e6671e31
+---
+I wrote some Rust last night. It's been a while but I am still so pleasantly smitten with that compiler.

_microblog/2022/10/28/d9e7595b.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+layout: microblog
+date: 2022-10-28 08:05:19 -0700
+title: d9e7595b
+---
+Which is the fastest way to make &str into String in #rustlang? The results may surprise you! https://brokenco.de/2022/10/28/rust-strings.html

_posts/2022-06-05-alc-day-one.md

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Rode hard and put away wet: AIDS/LifeCycle Day One"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+This is my second year of [AIDS/LifeCycle](https://aidslifecycle.org) and
+the differences are incredible. The ride is different, and **I** am also a very
+different rider. I have put down over 2,500 training miles. I am riding a
+lighter aluminum tube bike, which replaced the bike I broke on ALC 2019. I am
+one of three representing Team Germany, Jens and Ulf flying all the way from
+Berlin to raise money and support the community in California. Today was day
+_one_, 81 miles from the Cow Palace in San Francisco to Santa Cruz. Today was
+**incredible**.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/agentdero/status/1533401290973147137) for
+today with more pictures.
+
+---
+
+June in California is typically dry and hot, _typically_. The hoard of cyclists
+departing the Cow Palace this morning were greeted with an atypical day: it
+rained practically the **entire** ride to Santa Cruz.
+
+Ride out is always slow and stressful, add slick and bumpy San Francisco city
+streets into the mix and my focus was largely on staying safe. Ride safe, be
+safe. Jens, Ulf, and I spent a few miles chatting and meeting Jens' adoring
+fans. The electrolytes I had in Cow Palace got the better of me and I increased
+pace so I could find a bathroom sooner rather than later.
+
+I had also left Cow Palace with empty water bottles, so I pulled into the water
+station ahead of Rest Stop One and got myself situated on both fronts.
+
+Departing the water station I reminded myself of the rules I developed during
+2019:
+
+* Whenever you see somebody drink, you drink.
+* When you see the "1 mile to go" sign for a rest stop, drain your water bottle.
+* Do not pass a rest stop.
+* Do not leave a rest stop until you have gone to the bathroom.
+* Eat at every stop!
+
+As the pack opened up departing San Francisco, I found myself passing people
+with some frequency, especially on climbs. I do a **lot** of climb training
+around Santa Rosa which is flanked by fabulous mountains to the east and west.
+At Rest Stop One I started to realize the benefits of being fast: unused
+toilets, fresh drinks, and plenty of snacks.
+
+My feet were soaked, my front was soaked, my butt was soaked. My thinking
+shifted towards getting to Santa Cruz, or dry weather, as quickly as possible.
+
+The rules of ALC prohibit drafting, which is an important part of the overall
+safety program. The headwinds that started to push against us as we made our
+way towards Half Moon Bay really made me resent the rule however. By the time I
+got into Rest Stop Two I was feeling warmed up, very comfortable, and pleased
+with my progress. I could not stop for long unfortunately, after about 5
+minutes I would start to shiver.
+
+I ended up not being able to stop for more than 5-10 minutes the rest of the
+day, not even at lunch, as the wet weather, wind, and generally miserable
+conditions made me shake uncontrollably. Leaving lunch was an immediate climb,
+at the top of which I was warm again, thank goodness!
+
+Cranking along the coast any other year cyclists are greeted with spectacular
+ocean views along Route 1, this year it was _soup_. I pushed further, passing
+more cyclists along the way. There is _always_ somebody up ahead triggering me
+to ride a little faster and focus a little more on my pedal strokes;
+AIDS/LifeCYcle is a _ride_ not a _race_ but that doesn't keep my competitive
+monkey-brain from pushing me along.
+
+As I arrived into Rest Stop Three, there were five other cyclists in the rack.
+A **stark** difference from 2019 where I felt like i was in traffic the entire
+ride down to Santa Cruz. I took a picture in front of a big rainbow display
+against the side of the Roadies' truck. "Baby Got Back" started to play over
+their sound system, a little dancing helped stave off the shivers, but I had to
+keep on trucking.
+
+Somewhere between Rest Stop Three and Four, I got a flat tire! Angry and
+shivering, gloves and hands wet, I fought the tire off my rear rim and started
+the process of clearing the tire of obstructions. A tall gentleman rode up and
+stopped "I'm okay!" He replied "I can see that, I thought I would just be your
+thumb." Michael stood there to give passing riders and ALC cars the thumbs up
+since we had the situation under control. Making conversation in between the
+shivers, I learned that he's done the ride for **twenty one years**! I used up
+a whole CO2 cartridge, and we rode off.
+
+Unfortunately I lost Michael on a climb, and didn't see him at Rest Stop Four.
+When I arrived they hadn't even set up Bike Parking yet. I knew I was hauling
+ass, but that surprised me. I visited the Bike Mechanic to buy a new tube, new
+cartridges, and make sure I did really clear the tire of whatever punctured the
+tube.
+
+76 miles down. Camp was close.
+
+The last few miles bring us into Santa Cruz city limits where there are a lot
+more cars and a meandering course that brought me and a fellow cyclist finally
+to the park where Day One Camp was busily being constructed. As we dismounted a
+Roadie kindly told me that I was the 23rd cyclist to arrive at camp.
+
+
+I am **so** proud of that. Day One is the only day when we all depart together,
+and while everybody stays at rest stops and lunch for different durations, I
+don't feel like I unnecessarily pushed myself.
+
+My baseline speed is faster, my handling skills are better, my flat repair
+ability is superb!
+
+After Bike Parking, I grabbed gear, setup the tent and _finally_ got a warm
+shower and dry clothes.
+
+
+81 of 545 miles, through the driving rain, blistering headwinds, with a few
+thousand of my closest friends. What a great start to ALC 2022!

_posts/2022-06-06-alc-day-two.md

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Pounded on the rural roads of California: AIDS/LifeCycle Day Two"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+The second day of ALC is the **big** day, by the cue sheet it's 109 miles, but
+yours truly ended up clocking 112 miles. The road is rough but fortunately the
+tailwinds are generous almost the entire way from Santa Cruz to King City. I
+woke to my alarm at 4:15am and started today's journey.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/agentdero/status/1533792305957588992) for
+today with more pictures.
+
+---
+
+Being with the first group leaving camp was absolutely delightful, I highly
+recommend it if you want to avoid traffic with all the stop signs scattered
+throughout Santa Cruz. As the sun rose it shined through the fog adding an
+eerie feel to the morning. Coming to the south side of Santa Cruz there's this
+little kick up, it's probably no more than a hundred feet but it happens in a
+quarter mile or so. The first year I struggled with everybody else around me up
+the hill, my legs are different this time around, and I jaunted up to the top
+and kept plugging away on the route towards Rest Stop One. Fogged in and barely
+set up, I quickly followed the routine of:
+
+1. Bathroom
+1. Cleanse
+1. Snacks
+1. Refill bottles
+1. Ride out
+
+Back on the road we started to leave the foggy urban and suburban parts of
+Santa Cruz and headed out into the country where the road quality turns to
+utter shit. In 2019 I ended up breaking my bike, and I believe it was due to a
+stress fracture caused on day two. Today I focused on keeping my butt from
+getting too beat up as I rolled across the landscape.
+
+Day Two is also notable for the unofficial "artichoke stop" which I planned on
+attending since I was so early, lo and behold there wasn't a line! I sat and
+enjoyed my fried artichoke breakfast with a fellow from the Air Force who had
+been trying to catch me.
+
+It feels _really_ good to be chased, rather than _just surviving_. After the
+artichokes I found myself with a group stuck at an intersection. The air force
+guy was chatting with somebody behind me and said "I've been trying to catch
+this guy, but he's going crazy fast." That also felt pretty damn good. All the
+hard work I did training, over 2,500 miles has really paid off!
+
+Rest Stop Two was more of the same, but for the first time I took my sleeves
+**off** and applied sunscreen. Sunshine!
+
+Rest Stop Two to Lunch was quite short, so I spent some a little bit of extra
+time eating and relaxing before departing once again. Leaving the little town
+of Gonzales the winds really picked up, which from any other direction would be
+miserable, but these were _tailwinds_ and they were **strong**. I powered over
+the atrocious roads at speeds of over 30mph.
+
+Alone.
+
+In 2019 this stretch of road I made a friend with a woman who was a spin
+instructor in San Francisco. Our paces were about the same and we hammered down
+the road to King City together which was one of my highlights from the year,
+and one of the more memorable experiences I have had on a bike. While we
+continued to ride together the remainder of that ALC, I lost touch with her
+after the event.
+
+I ran into her by chance at Orientation this year. She recognized me before I
+recognized her, and we started chatting. She hated her job and left, before
+finding a job working on ALC full time as a staffer. Before wishing each other
+well as we returned to our respective Staffer and Cyclist duties, she shared
+that day two in 2019 was one of the best days of cycling she's ever had. 
+
+That's the power of a great tailwind.
+
+I skipped water stops between Rest Stop Two and Three, no need, I was
+*cruising*. Leaving Rest Stop Three, the cruising continued as the road
+ meandered through the valley. I continued alone with nobody in front or behind
+ me. The downside of being alone is that there's nobody to follow, but at least
+ there's also nobody to lead astray.
+
+ Rest Stop Four was mostly set up when I got there, some rural community park
+ through which the wind gusts. Anything not weighted down will soon fly away.
+ I follow the routine again and on my departure I confidently line up to turn
+ left, wish the Roadies a good day and continue on through the small town.
+ Crossing the highway I wonder why Traffic didn't put up yellow arrows. There
+ have been a couple spots along today's route where I feel like an arrow would
+ be helpful, so I figure "straight" is a safe default. On the east side of
+ town, the road travels off into the countryside and I cannot see any cyclist
+ in sight.
+
+ This cannot be right. Fortunately I also grab a route sheet every morning! I
+ study it for a bit but decide that I cannot make heads or tails of where I
+ went wrong. In lieu of better information, I head back to Rest Stop Four, a
+ couple miles back through town. At the intersection where I turned left, I
+ asked a different Roadie where the exit is, turns out it was a **right** I
+ needed to make. I was surprised the Roadie I saw previously didn't shout out
+ to me, but I suppose being one of the faster in the group, if you move with
+ confidence they're going to just assume you know what you're doing. They
+ could not be more wrong!
+
+ Once back on the route, I found some more tailwinds and hammered hard to make
+ up for lost time, passing other cyclists at an extremely high rate of speed.
+ During this section my top speed was 42mph, which I still cannot believe.
+
+ Arriving into camp, only a few racks had even been set up yet. I was 34th,
+ despite my silly detour.
+ 
+
+ 112 miles, some amazing tailwinds, and a dose of humility. Day Two of riding
+ completed.

_posts/2022-06-07-alc-day-three.md

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Bustin': AIDS/LifeCycle Day Three"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+
+Riding from King City to Paso Robles is short, 63 miles, but challenging for
+two reasons: "Quadbuster" and the heat. Attempting to avoid either giving me
+too much trouble, I woke early at 4:15 and was able to be one of the first 20
+riders out of camp. Shivering in the cold and foggy pre-dawn air, I was
+reminded of my stiff legs, stiff after almost 200 miles in two days in the
+saddle. For a number of reasons Day Three can be brutal.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/agentdero/status/1534137811841929216)
+for today with more pictures
+
+---
+
+
+Last night I was considering a tweet I had posted a week ago. My fundraising
+had stalled at 11k and I wanted to raise a little more in the last week before
+ride out. With my training this year, I figured I could do Quadbuster multiple
+times, I suggested that I would do it up to five times.
+
+I did not expect my friend Harley to come through with rallying a *lot* of
+last-minute fundraising on my behalf, which bumped me up to over **17k**.
+
+I pondered whether Harley's fundraising meant that I should or should not keep
+to my original solicitation.
+
+I remember Quadbuster being brutal during my first year, and the subsequent
+heat of the day making the day just awful. I decided to try it at least two
+times and see how it would feel.
+
+---
+
+I ended up doing Quadbuster **five times**, adding 13 miles and a bit over a
+thousand feet of elevation gain.
+
+The climbs weren't that bad, but the last climb I started to feel just like I
+did in 2019, it was **tough**. Yes I committed myself to it, but I realy ended
+up doing the climbing for me. Quadbuster was so intimidating to me, I was
+genuinely concerned about the climb. I wanted to _conquer_ Quadbuster for me.
+
+With the climbing complete, I screamed down the other side and cranked along to
+Rest Stop Two where I ran into my team mates Jens and Ulf. They laughed at my
+self-inflicted challenge and told me I shouldn't be such a cheap prostitute and
+next time require $1k per trip up Quadbuster. We rode out of Rest Stop Two
+together and after a while together I pushed on ahead. The cool breeze was
+getting warm and the heat of the day swiftly approached.
+
+Rest Stop Three was uneventful, I lathered up in sunscreen and rolled out into
+the heat.
+
+The special thing about Day Three is that we stop in Bradley where the local
+school works with ALC to do a fundraiser for the students. They offer a veggie
+burger option which pairs nicely with shady spot against a wall. I chatted with some
+folks from Team Colorado, where I inquired as to how well fundraising out of
+state goes. Eventually my lunch had all disappeared and I had to lumber back to
+a standing position before trundling off into the ever rising temperatures.
+
+The stretch between Bradley and Rest Stop Four traverses a military base which
+is _interesting_ but the US Army has definitely not optimized their roads for
+bicycle use. The bouncing around and gravel made me concerned about getting a
+flat, so I spent much of the stretch thinking about whether you can actually
+stop to change your tire on the base. My question was answered when I saw a guy
+changing a tire underneath a tree, with a small white base security car and a
+man in camouflage looking on.
+
+I never skip a Rest Stop so I rolled into Rest Stop FOur for some ice, fluids,
+and pictures with the Spice Girls. The first time around I sat at Rest Stop
+Four for what felt like a half hour feeling like a shit sandwich cooking in the
+sun. This time around I still felt like I was cooking in the sun, but had a bit
+more confidence that I was going to swiftly make it back into camp. From Rest
+Stop Four there are pleasant rollers, light tailwinds, and some nice scenery.
+
+Much of the scenery went unnoticed in 2019, this time around however I can
+really enjoy the sights much more as I hammer down the road.
+
+Closing in on Paso Robles I ran into my tent mate
+[Kohsuke](https://twitter.com/kohsukekawa) and we were able to finish together.
+Despite the extra climbing, heat, and general leg stiffness, I proudly arrived
+into camp as the 168th cyclist.
+

_posts/2022-06-08-alc-day-four.md

@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Pulling trains along the central coast: AIDS/LifeCycle Day Four"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+Most of my training and cycling has been solo, but today was **so much fun**
+because it was all about _teamwork_. The day starts with a good steady climb
+known as "the evil twins", includes a gorgeous and long descent to the coast,
+and finishes outside the town of Santa Maria. For one reason or another I found
+myself cycling in largely small groups of 2-4. Teamwork means coordination,
+communication, and _speed_.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/agentdero/status/1534501199570825219)
+for today with more pictures
+
+---
+
+The alarm peeped at 4:15 and I immediately started marching over to the
+breakfast tent shivering like a little dog. Hustling to take the tent down and
+drop off gear before scurrying off to bike parking I had stopped shivering
+which is a good sign, but also an indication that the day will be quite warm.
+
+The route today was meandering through Paso Robles and had me riding next to
+some fixed gear cyclists. They're known for their siren call of "Fuck yeah
+rider!" Pulling up alongside them at a stop light I ask if they were riding
+freewheeling hubs or true fixed gears. Freewheeling hubs are effectively single
+speed which allow you to coast if you stop pedaling, while truly fixed hubs
+means that the cyclists legs have to keep moving as long as the wheels are
+spinning. The curly mustachioed man smiled and said "Freewheel? Never heard of
+her!" and then laughed exactly the laugh you'd expect from a man sporting curly
+Qs and covered in tattoos. I watched them descend a small hill and it was
+mesmerizing as their legs pumped almost in unison, quite like cylinders of an
+engine. As we approached the evil twins, I gave them a "fuck yeah riders" for
+good measure and commenced climbing.
+
+It's not a race, it's a ride.
+
+But I'll be damned if I don't get competitive on the climbs. En route to Rest
+Stop One I started passing people on some of the rollers,
+jumping out to the side "on your left!", standing out of the saddle, and really
+pushing as much power into the pedals as I could. In Rest Stop One a fellow
+cyclist told me that it was a lot of fun to try to keep up with me on those
+climbs. I felt quite flattered! We chatted for a bit, turns out we were both former members
+of Team ALCaholics. We parted ways and I fell in with a woman I had met and
+rode with over the past couple days,
+
+Despite her insistence of not being a strong cyclist, she very truly is, and
+for whatever reason doesn't ride with clips. You see that more than you'd
+think at ALC. Cyclists of all skill levels and with all kinds of equipment load outs
+riding the route, raising money for a great cause. What you don't typically
+see are such strong cyclists riding without clips and this year I have ridden
+with two _very_ strong riders, mashing pedals with their street shoes.
+
+The two of us chatted as we climbed before I pushed onward from evil twin one
+to evil
+twin two, where I ran into the Triathelete. I had chased him a couple of days
+prior, but this was the first time I caught him. He was obviously taking it
+easy.
+He's probably 6 inches shorter than I am and can absolutely smoke me on the
+route. We climbed together and chatted, passing people as we went up evil twin
+two. As we went by the Googler I had met on Day Two, he called out "well don't
+just have a full on conversation while I'm struggling here." Sharing a laugh we
+continued to push to the halfway point.
+
+There's a pull-off on the side of the highway at roughly half the mileage
+between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I was pushing hard so I could get heir
+early, get my pictures, and start the long descent to the coast with as little
+traffic as possible. We all arrived around the same time, got some great
+pictures, and started down.
+
+In 2019 this descent _terrified_ me. I had never lost so much elevation or
+ridden at these speeds before. Most of my training had been indoors and I just
+didn't have the exposure to massive climbs like I do now. I also had rim brakes
+which I knew could heat up and would require lots of feathering. This time
+around I am a *much* more confident rider and actually pedalled downhill most
+of the way. At one point I approached a fellow who helped me out on day
+one. "On your left!" I shouted at full volume, as we rounded a curve I saw his
+head shake. I assumed he didn't want to move over because he felt unsafe or
+saw some hazards up ahead. I gently braked, waited to until after the turn and
+then came into the lane and sped past him, returning to the shoulder after I
+was clear.
+
+We caught up later and I apologized if I came up onto him too fast or made him
+feel unsafe. He didn't even remember it and had no problem with my passing. "I
+must have hit a fly or something." I shared with him how much that descent
+terrified me and how important it was to be respectful of other cyclists
+boundaries, he smiled, wished me a good ride and I departed Rest Stop Two with
+the Googler and somebody from Twitter.
+
+The Googler offered to "pull" for a while, which basically means push at the
+front through the headwinds for the benefit of the others. After a couple miles
+it was my turn, and so I pulled in front, set the pace at about 20-21mph and we
+all rocketed along towards lunch. I was happy to pull and they were happy to
+let me! I stayed up front pulling them through the mild rollers along the
+highway along the coast towards San Luis Obispo. The sights were stunning;
+the central coast of California is _definitely_ worth a visit.
+
+Parking at lunch, the Googler says "when you asked if I wanted to ride
+together, I didn't think you meant that you would drag my ass all the way to
+lunch!" No complaints were tendered however, I was happy to challenge myself,
+and worked up an incredible appetite in the process!
+
+I sat around in the shade at lunch so long that most everybody I knew had left,
+my bike computer timed out the ride, and I had to ride out solo. The cycling
+was nonetheless great and as I closed in on city limits I caught a couple of
+folks at a stoplight.
+
+A new group of bike friends, hooray!
+
+After pulling all the way to lunch, I figured the karma of cycling owed me
+and I happily accepted a free ride towards Rest Stop Three. My post-lunch
+efforts I have been doing low effort segments, which seems to work
+out well, so I may continue that in the future.
+
+Closing in on Rest Stop Three the bike in front of me popped and psssssssssssh
+went flat. They both stopped off and needed no help so I continued onward to
+Rest Stop Three which ended up only being about a hundred yards ahead. As I was
+wrapping up with my business I saw him walk up with his bike over his shoulder,
+the sidewall of his tubeless tire had a tear in it, but the bike techs believed
+that he'd still be able to ride with a tube in the tire.
+
+I rolled out again solo.
+
+The segment from Three to Four includes a water stop, which I skipped, and an
+unofficial cinnamon bun stop, which I also skipped. Unfortunately I spent all
+my day's fun money supporting the lunch fundraiser, so I pressed onto Rest Stop
+Four.
+
+My right knee started to nag. I could not figure out what sequence of behaviors
+would lead it to hurt, but it was intermittent so my pace took a hit as a
+precaution.
+
+Still, I cannot pass up a good riding group. When I came across a strong wheel
+I met on day two, I decided to hop on and not let him go. I wanted to get to
+Rest Stop Four with as little energy as possible. We picked up a first timer
+along the way, who was also quite happy to have a group to raise his spirits
+and pace.
+
+Closing in on Rest Stop Four, pop! Psssssshhhhhhhh. Our strong wheel had a
+flat! The two stayed back as I continued to Rest Stop Four which was roughly a
+mile ahead. When I arrived I just sat in the shade, stretching my knee.
+The stop was still being set up and my knee was the first priority.
+Somebody from Medical came over unprompted "you look like you could use a bag
+of ice." "Yes, thank you!"
+
+The first timer rolled into camp looking for a car to pick up the strong wheel;
+his sidewall was shredded and he had two flat tires.
+
+I am not good luck today.
+
+With some much needed ice and rest, I departed Rest Stop Four with two older guys who kept making jokes about being
+slow. I left them behind at some point and found myself alone.
+
+"Damnit, I cannot believe I made a wrong turn again!"
+
+I must get real stupid after Rest Stop Four, two missed turns after Rest Stop
+Four on this ride.
+
+I backtracked and only lost a couple blocks. Eventually I caught up to the
+older timers, shared a laugh at my missing a turn. They had hollered at me but I
+clearly didn't hear them. Oops.
+
+Rolling into camp, the very nice Roadie who has been there every day at the
+finish line called out "30!"
+
+Despite all my goofing off, I am proud to have arrived 30th to camp.
+
+It's not a race, it's a ride. But cycling is all about competing with myself
+and am enjoying the challenges of each day of the ride.

_posts/2022-06-09-alc-day-five.md

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "A fabulous forty: AIDS/LifeCycle Day Five"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+Roughly 275 miles ridden in the past four days and it's time for a rest day of
+only 43 miles. _Only_. The things cyclists say sometimes never cease to astound
+me. Day Five on AIDS/LifeCycle also has the honor of being Red Dress Day, a day
+which brings out make up, costumes, and of course dresses.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/agentdero/status/1534876321456611328)
+for today with more pictures
+
+---
+
+If you are in the market for a good cycling dress, I advise the following
+criteria:
+
+* Breathable and airy, to enhance evaporation
+* Close to the body, to reduce drag
+* Short, to avoid messing with your pedal stroke or wheels
+
+Following these criteria I ended up with a trashy little backless number with
+criss-crossing straps which I am confident have left "X" tan lines down my
+back.
+
+Dresses are of course not compulsory, which adds to the fun of the day. In
+addition to the cheerleaders, pirate wenches, and bombshells there are Waldos,
+Lobsters, Marios, Ketchups, Santas, and so much more. For those who have lived
+in San Francisco, it has a very Bay to Breakers vibe.
+
+I departed camp late for two reasons: first the final destination didn't open
+until 1pm, so there was no sense in leaving early. Secondly, wearing a tiny
+dress is **cold**.
+
+The last time I did a century I rode around 40 miles before my first rest stop.
+While that was foolish, a comfortable pace and a hearty breakfast can take me
+quite a long way. Today I needed to hit up two rest stops, a water stop, and
+lunch. I _needed_ to stop because I knew I was going to have some time to kill.
+
+Getting to Rest Stop One was through the streets of Santa Maria. Leaving later
+meant a lot more cyclists on the roads ahead of me, and today is _not_ a fun
+day to compete with traffic since we're all squeezed onto bike lanes during
+rush hour traffic.
+
+Despite it being a recovery day, I still popped out into the lane to crank it
+past some slower cyclists. Everybody is entitled to their own pace and
+rightfully so, but I get particularly anxious in traffic like that since the
+risk of accidents goes up quite a bit. Generally speaking the safest place to
+be is often in front of other cyclists, regardless of speed. Another cyclist
+followed my initiative and ended up riding with me for a while, before I lost
+him in the pack again.
+
+"Ho, ho, ho!" proclaimed the Santa as we rolled into Rest Stop One. I parked
+and went about my routine, albeit in slow motion so that I would eat up more
+time.
+
+The segment to Rest Stop Two takes us out into the country on nearly
+shoulder-less country roads. I cannot imagine the thoughts of the folks driving
+by seeing hundreds of fabulously dressed cyclists. As I passed two men working
+on some utility cabinet, I noticed that one was holding his phone up. I should
+have yelled or catcalled at him, but I'm really not good at thinking of those
+things in the moment. Oh well.
+
+Rest Stop Two is on the other side of a couple little rural climbs and tucked
+in the field behind a small country school. There I ran into Sister Tutti, one
+of the [Sisters of Perpetual
+Indulgence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisters_of_Perpetual_Indulgence) that
+does the ride. I had helped her with a computer problem on Day One and we've
+greeted each other every day since. She is an elementary school teacher and has
+incredible energy. For Red Dress Day she was also in her garb, so I _had_ to
+have a picture together. I also ran into the woman who I had cycled with
+previously, and she shared more of her face glitter with me. It looks very
+pretty highlighting my cheekbones, but after the next time I apply sunscreen it
+turns into just my whole face glitter.
+
+We climbed out together towards Lompoc and lunch. My right knee keeps
+stiffening up. The quad muscle that comes over the inside has been tender since
+yesterday, and while I'm sure the foam rolling I did helped, it's still slowing
+me down.
+
+Like a big stupid dog chasing a rabbit around a track, I cannot seem to just
+_chill_ and sit in. As I see more cyclists ahead that I can pass, I crank
+onward.
+
+This segment is the one in 2019 where my frame broke. The memories are still so
+vivid to me, the climb where I hear the snap, the straight away where I could
+hear a clanging when I put power down, and the shoulder where I stopped with a
+team mate to figure out what was making that noise before tackling the big
+climb that lay ahead. Almost exactly at mile 25 of Day Five, I thought my ride
+was going to be over.
+
+I considered stopping for a picture, but the new miles of that climb was in
+front of me, and I wanted to get to it!
+
+We don't have a name for this climb, but we probably should. It's a long and
+gradual slog up the hill towards what I would come to learn is _now_ called
+[Vandenberg _Space_ Force Base](https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/).
+
+Space. Force. Base.
+
+I caught a red light right at the entrance and took a number of pictures. It is
+just as funny in real life as it is in that documentary with Steve Carell. I
+still cannot believe it's a real thing.
+
+Anyways, I grab a wheel to follow to the water stop, and kill some more time.
+Before leaving I was complimented again on the strappy dress, which I'm sure
+made me blush under the glitter that was by now smeared across my face.
+
+The dress also turned some heads as I passed by the federal prison on the
+outskirts of Lompoc. _That_ I was not as thrilled by, but I could only chuckle
+to myself as I entered the cross winds after the facilities. Bright yellow
+helmet, smeared face glitter, backless red dress, and celeste colored bicycle,
+I would turn my head and stare too.
+
+The ride into lunch was quick thanks to a nice little tailwind to scoot us into
+town where we took over some city park. Still quite early, I decided to have
+two lunches while I nursed my knee in the grass. Basking in the sun, there just
+wasn't much to do other than eat, tan, and socialize. Camp sits only a few
+miles beyond lunch, and those would be very easy miles.
+
+
+I don't know what number into camp I was today, but it also doesn't matter. We
+were all getting into camp early. Over 2,000 cyclists have each put down over
+275 miles this week, their legs acclimating to the demands on them, their minds
+knowing what they're now capable of.
+
+43 miles is a short day.

_posts/2022-06-10-alc-day-six.md

@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Helping hands get the job done: AIDS/LifeCycle Day Six"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+After Red Dress Day it's easy to think "we're almost to LA!" This part will be
+easy!" and then **BAM** you wake up at 4:15 and realize that there's almost 90
+miles until the next camp. Lompoc to Ventura is one of the most beautiful days
+along the route, taking us through Goviata pass, Goleta, Santa Barbara, and
+down the coast line towards Ventura. _Beautiful_ but not _easy_.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://twitter.com/agentdero/status/1535224124829597696)
+for today with more pictures
+
+---
+
+When I woke up and bundled up to begin the morning routine, porta-potties,
+breakfast, change, tear down tent, gear truck, and bike parking, the air was so
+cold I could see my break in the light of my headlamp. The grass was wet, my
+flipflops got wet, my little toesies got wet, and top to bottom I was _fucking
+cold_. Shaking while I wolf down my breakfast, I would occasionally look over
+at some bear wearing shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt comfortable as can be;
+suffice it to say with my build I don't "winter well."
+
+By the time I had wrapped up with the morning business, I scuttled over to the
+gear trucks, discarded my jacket and proceeded along to bike parking.
+Today was the day when apparently everybody else finally figured out that being
+early to bike parking means an easier roll out and less traffic to deal with.
+As such, there were huge lines before bike parking even _opened_, queues once
+we were in bike parking, and then lots of standing around in some gopher-holed
+Lompoc field.
+
+A roadie told me to tighten my helmet before I left. It was tight enough, but
+there's no sense arguing with roadies who are trying to keep everybody safe. I
+pulled aside, made a show of tightening it, and then clipped in and sped off.
+
+Leaving Lompoc was tedious residential street cycling with lots of traffic from
+other cyclists. My training in criteriums has made it such that I have gotten
+pretty good at quick bursts of power, which came in very handy as a tool to get
+away from the packs of cyclists that would bunch up at stop signs and red
+lights. Nothing against them, there's just a much higher likelihood of
+something going wrong when you put enough moving people close enough together.
+
+As we left the city, the hills started to roll towards Rest Stop One. I caught
+a fast wheel and we took turns puling. He would shout "left!" as we would come
+upon slower cyclists. His tone sounded harsh, which is probably how I sound too,
+so I made a point to say "good morning!" in a cheery voice as we passed.
+"Left!" "_Good morning!_" "LEFT!" "_Good morning_!" "**LEFT!**" "_Good
+morning riders!_"
+
+The system was working well until I was pulling up a hill and could feel the
+front wheel sinking every time I would pump my arms. Flatted! My harshly toned
+compatriot moved along as I pulled to the side to change my tube. I cleared the
+tire and pulled the tube out of it's little box, started to unscrew the valve
+and the damn think came apart! Fortunately a Training Ride Leader (TRL) stopped
+to give me a hand, and an extra tube. While I was putting his tube into my
+tire, he kept his thumb out to try to get a pump from a sweep vehicle; I had
+already burned through one of my two CO2 cartridges.
+
+I didn't pay enough attention and pinched his tube, tearing it. _Fuck_. Once
+Sweep arrived with a pump, we gave my original tube a try and it was able to be
+pumped, so I asked the TRL to change the tire since we didn't have another tube
+between the two of us. He managed it successfully into the tire, and the tire
+onto the rim, and I was back in business! I thanked him and we both joined the
+column of cyclists off to Rest Stop One.
+
+Riding without a spare tube makes me anxious.
+
+At Rest Stop One the bike techs were swarmed so I didn't buy another tube, and
+instead did my routine, lined up to leave, and figured I would take my chances.
+Departures from the stop were staged because we were going to climb up the
+Goviata pass which is a strong climb following by a _swift_ descent. Sister
+Tutti was in line with me and clamored to be on the right "where the slow
+people are going to be!" I stayed left and pushed hard up the pass.
+
+Passing on the climbs during ALC is probably 50% competitiveness and 50%
+safety. I want to be away from people during the descent because speed
+increases the risks of somebody doing something unexpected, or stupid. My top
+speed on the descent was about 47mph, which is fast but no longer scary for me.
+Fountaingrove Parkway in Santa Rosa, which is my backyard lunchtime training
+route has me hitting between 45-50 on the downhill segments with regularity.
+The only difference is that I never have to compete with other cyclists for
+space.
+
+Suffice it to say, everybody made it down in one piece, and I continued to
+push hard along the coastline towards Santa Barbara. The rest stops on day six
+typically have limited bike parking, so the more people I pass, the less
+bullshit I have to contend with in the rest stops.
+
+50% competitiveness, 50% safety.
+
+Rest Stop Two was extremely foggy. Some day I'll see the coastline north of
+Santa Barbara, but to date I have not been so lucky. In Rest Stop Two I stopped
+by the bike tech and ask for **two** tubes. He hands them to me, and when I go
+to give him cash he says "uh, can you do Venmo?" "No." "Well, we can't accept
+cash...uh, can you just pay for them at lunch?" Honor system works well for me,
+so I thanked the tech and left.
+
+After my departure I continued my "on your left!" routine. I spotted a cyclist
+who was off to the right and asked "do you have everything you need?" "Do you
+know how to change a tire?"
+
+I pull over, the karma of cycling dictates that:
+
+* If somebody pulls you, you either trade pulls, or pull somebody later.
+* If somebody changes your tire, you better change somebody else's tire later.
+
+I was due. Fortunately he did have everything he needed, and was running the
+same Continental race 28s that I run, except his were _brand new_. Mine have
+had some miles put on them and they're still a pain in the ass to get off the
+rim, when they're brand new they are _incredibly_ annoying. My pretty red nails
+took a little bit of damage getting that bastard off the rim. We chatted as I
+changed his tube, he asked some questions and was obviously paying good
+attention to how it worked, so I did my best TRL impression and trying to make
+it a Learning Opportunity ™.
+
+Once he was sorted, I sped off into the fog. Twice now a tire change has undone
+all the hard work I had done passing cyclists!
+
+I made good time heading into lunch, but may have pushed myself too hard up the
+climbs since my right knee started nagging me once again. Not content with
+slowing down, I instead started to focus my stronger strokes on the left. The
+woman who gave me a massage on Day Three noted the stronger muscle development
+in the right leg, so I figured left-leg training was in order anyways.
+
+Lunch was...calories. But unfortunately not much to gush about, I put the
+calories down, headed to Medical for sunscreen, and rolled out.
+
+The Funky Monkey I met in bike parking that morning and a buddy of his left
+around the same time, and so we worked together a little bit trying to escape
+the menagerie of stop lights Santa Barbara presented. "Stopping!" Foot down,
+green light, "Rolling!", clip in, damnit, get in the clip you bastard, sprint a
+bit, settle in, well shit another red light, "Slowing!", "Stopping!"
+
+Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
+
+The route comes along the bike path right by the beach in Santa Barbara, which
+is where I can see the pier so often used in B-roll shots of "Psych", one of my
+favorite shows. Instead of Shawn and Gus, we end up having to dodge joggers,
+other cyclists, surfers, and tourists pedaling these four-wheeled pedal-car
+contraptions. I was happy to find make it to Rest Stop Three because it meant
+at least a break from the avoidance drills.
+
+A number of people skip Rest Stop Three, because there is an unofficial Ice
+Cream Stop hosted by Santa Barbara a few miles down the road. This is a
+mistake. Rest Stop Three is at a cute little beach side park and if it's not
+foggy, which it was, it can offer some really beautiful views to sit and enjoy
+while you eat trail mix and poptarts sliced in half.
+
+Of course I stopped at the Ice Cream Stop. I ate plenty and then thought to
+myself "now that I've got a couple scoops of ice cream, and a cup of berries in
+my stomach, how about a bike ride again!" There's a little kicker right as you
+resume the route which I took nice and easy for fear of losing my ice cream and
+berries. But after a mile or so I was clear to resume riding like a lunatic.
+
+Weaving along the coast line through bike paths, frontage roads, and
+underpasses, I finally made it to some of the scenic oceanside riding that I
+had been looking forward to.
+
+The views are simply spectacular. The waves crashing into the beach, pelicans
+flying together across the water, and people wading into the water. What the
+pictures won't show you is that the waves are crashing into the beach because
+there's a very strong cross wind pushing them into the coastline, that same
+wind is also pushing against _me_.
+
+My pace slows. My knee is hurting, my left leg is feeling tired, I'm thinking
+of Santa Rosa and just feeling a little deflated.
+
+Then **Eli** powers past me.
+
+_Fuck yes!_
+
+I will _never_ let a strong wheel pass me. Eli is a giant of a man. I don't
+actually know him, he just has a license plate that says "Eli." I stand at
+about 6'4" and he's definitely a few inches taller than me.
+
+I pop out of the saddle and sprint to catch up to him. It is not very often
+that I will catch a wind breaker like Eli, and I feel invigorated to fall into
+his draft. "Thanks for the ride!" I shout up to him. He turns his head to the
+left, revealing the gold piercings in his ear and his mustache "I just love the
+ocean."
+
+You know what Eli, you love it, I love it, let's hammer.
+
+I'm just thrilled as the dickens to have a draft to pull me along.
+
+Eli drags my sorry ass all the way to Rest Stop Four where I go through my
+routine. He must know lots of the roadies here because I lose him at some point
+while he's giving out giant-man hugs.
+
+Spirits lifted, it's something like 10ish miles to home, and I'm eager to get
+there.
+
+A couple miles out of the rest stop I pass a couple cycles and hear "I love
+your pace!"
+
+I've gotten some compliments this year, especially in my slutty red dress, but
+ones like this are my favorite. I turn back and there's another cyclist doing
+to me what I did to Eli.
+
+The karma of cycling dictates that:
+
+* If somebody changes your tire, you better change somebody else's tire later.
+* If somebody pulls you, you either trade pulls, or pull somebody later.
+
+
+It was my turn to pull, and I was happy to oblige. I turned on my phone's
+screen so that I could maintain a steady pass for us both and we sped along at
+about 21mph. My new bike friend was as happy to see me as I had been to see
+Eli, so I was delighted to pull him home to camp. Dodging tourists along the
+board walk we finally rolled into the Ventura camp, 61st and 62nd.
+
+Working together with a fellow cyclist makes me forget about my nagging knee.
+It makes me forget about my legs and butt sore from a long week of cycling. It
+makes me forget just about everything that isn't what is happening right now in
+the moment. Working together with a fellow cyclist reminds me how much I really
+do enjoy riding bikes!
+
+We chat a bit as we grab our gear. He does endurance racing, I talk about crit
+racing, we geek out on cycling a bit before I head off to the showers.
+
+Tonight is the last night of camp. We're 70 miles from the finish line, which
+really doesn't feel so far. 84, 109, 76, 88, 43, 88. There are 545 miles from
+San Francisco to Los Angeles and only 70 of them remain.
+
+The guy I finished the ride with today asked what other races/rides I'm doing
+this year. I have some ideas on that, but honestly nothing can hold a candle to
+this one.
+
+Tomorrow will be bittersweet.
+
+We will have accomplished what we set out to do. We raised the money that
+needed to be raised, pedalled the miles that we marked out for us, and made the
+memories that only an event like ALC can provide. But it will be all over.
+
+All over until AIDS/LifeCycle 2023.
+
+I can't wait.

_posts/2022-06-14-alc-day-seven.md

@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Finishing: AIDS/LifeCycle Day Seven"
+tags:
+- alc
+- alc2022
+- cycling
+---
+
+Waking up on the last day of big gay summer camp is always a downer. In the
+warm and muggy air of Ventura, the love bubble starts to pop and you're left
+with one last bike ride before returning to the real world. This year was my
+second AIDS/LifeCycle, and I was _not_ excited to wake up for day seven. Once
+the tent and gear were dropped off, my breakfast consumed, there was nothing
+but a measly 70 miles remaining for ALC 2022.
+
+---
+I also posted a [thread to
+Twitter](https://twitter.com/agentdero/status/1535594559471685633)
+for today with more pictures
+
+---
+
+Camp closes up _early_ on day seven, so everybody is awake early. The alarm
+rang at 4:15 and there was already a flurry of activity to hear outside. People
+rustling in their tents, zippers zippering, flip-flops slapping against heels,
+the deepened morning voices of tired cyclists and roadies. I followed my usual
+protocol of going straight to the porta-potties before heading over to
+breakfast, but since everybody was waking up, there was quite the queue for
+number two. I decided I could wait, scurried back to my tent to get dressed,
+tear down, swung by the gear trucks, and then found a block of line-less
+porta-potties en route to the food tent.
+
+In the food line I did not grab "The Daily Spin", the little camp newspaper
+that's printed every day, like I normally do, and therefore miss a key
+instruction: gear trucks will not arrive at the finish line until 1pm.
+
+Methodically chewing eat bite of my breakfast I planned my day: my knee was
+doing okay, but this is the last day and the last chance to go fast with some
+of these other riders. I figured that either way I was going to sit around at
+lunch to wait for the finish line to open at 11am, so why not try to get to
+lunch as fast as I can!
+
+I have some short-circuit in my wiring that prevents me from "calming the fuck
+down" as Ride Director Tracy puts it. Riding fast with a group of other
+lunatics really is quite a lot of fun, and getting away from the main pack of
+cyclists has allowed me to enjoy the scenery much more than I had in 2019.
+Either way, this is the last chance to pedal hard with these folks until 2023,
+so I'm going to make every mile count.
+
+Bike parking opens early and I roll out with the first 40-50 riders. We cruise
+along the boardwalk and into the city of Ventura for a little bit before
+meandering through some fields and suburban sprawl. I do a lot of the usual "on
+your left" routine before I get separated from some folks due to my speed and
+some red lights. As we ride by some naval base a bunch of fast riders come
+up, including the Triathelete, and I catch their wheel.
+
+Bike friends!
+
+The group is probably 9 people large and it includes some of the fast riders
+I've been chasing all week, plus a couple of new faces. We all cruise along
+together towards Rest Stop One, each keeping the pace and trading off pulls.
+After a while of keeping up at the number 3 or 4 position, I figure it's my
+turn to pull for a bit, pop out to the left and throw down some power. My back
+wheel pops up a little bit as I do so, a bad habit I'm trying to break myself
+of, since a wheel in the air is not transferring power to the road.
+
+The way I have found myself passing people has been to basically do a
+mini-sprint, something I've found useful in criteriums. The downside of this
+approach is that if the group is chugging along at 22mph or so, and I'm all of
+a sudden pushing 26mph, I'm going to push _too far_ out in front. I
+accidentally turned "my turn to pull" into a breakaway. _Oops_.
+
+The fun thing about this group of cyclists is that somebody _follows_ my
+breakaway, and that just makes the whole effort feel very much like a normal
+crit or road race. I can feel the lactic acid building in my quads, thighs, and
+glutes. 545 miles of cycling has given me a lot of time to focus on getting
+every watt of power out of my legs, and leading out this group I'm acutely
+aware of each muscle involved. After a mile or so we all bunch back up and
+rocket onwards to Rest Stop One.
+
+The Triathelete comments in the rest stop that he really enjoys following
+behind me. I'm able to push a strong pace, and I'm tall, so at his shorter
+stature he can tuck in behind me for a free ride. Somebody else comments how
+fun that bit of teamwork was, and that we're all _maybe_ a little competitive.
+
+Once my routine is done, I leave the rest stop alone and push through the wind
+between the Santa Monica mountains and the Pacific.
+
+At some point a cyclist I will come to know as Nils passes me, and as is my
+customary response, I sprint to catch his wheel and start to work together with
+him to keep a strong pace towards Rest Stop Two.
+
+Nils is dutch, is about as tall as I am, has been cycling seriously since
+sometime last year, and is **fast**. He is inexperienced though, and I learn as
+we cruise along working together that he hasn't really had much of this
+teamwork experience on ALC thus far. We trade off and on into Rest Stop Two,
+and then depart together to continue flying towards lunch.
+
+Between Rest Stop Two and Lunch is Malibu. I hate Malibu. The Pacific Coast
+Highway is flanked on the east side by mountains, and on the west side by
+expensive homes and cars parked ever-so-slightly off the road. Everybody in
+Malibu drives like they're the only ones on the road, and cyclists can get
+squeezed between aggressive drivers, and the door-zone from parked cars. The
+city is basically 20+ miles of coastline, and it _sucks_.
+
+Fortunately the flying dutchman and I are making insane time. We spot a number
+of large cycling groups riding together on the PCH, which is genuinely cool to
+see. It seems like every cyclist north of LA has come to engage in battle with
+motorists for who should really get to own this stretch of beautiful highway.
+
+At a stoplight some local cyclist with some aero kit, a fast looking carbon
+bike, and stacked legs pulls up next to us. When the light turns green, Nils
+takes
+off, followed by me, followed by the local. No more than a quarter mile down
+the road, the local flies by Nils and I.
+
+Rabbit!
+
+We have probably ridden 45 strong miles at this point, but I'll be damned if
+I'm not going to give chance. I pop out of the saddle and put in the best
+sprint I can muster to chase him down. I get within a few bike lengths but
+cannot get into his draft. Nils later told me that I had left him in the dust
+on that sprint too!
+
+Disheartened I settle into cranking at my 21-22mph pace, which is meager
+compared to the local. Nils comes flying by me and says "why don't I give it a
+shot!" So of course now I have to keep up with Nils in his sprint. His effort
+falls short as well, but we fall into a tight rotation and chase this local,
+less than couple hundred yards away, for the remainder of the PCH until we pull
+off for lunch.
+
+I haven't been smoked like that all week. Good lord was that dude fast.
+
+Reviewing my app over lunch, I had put down 55 miles at a 20mph average speed.
+That's not a straight 55 either, there were a lot of little rollers, headwinds,
+and stoplights in between mile 0 and lunch.
+
+We talk a lot about racing, triathalons, and what motivated us to get into
+cycling while killing time at lunch. From here there are about 15 miles to the
+finish line, and we roll out at about 10:15.
+
+The pace is slowed due to traffic, more climbing, and the general mayhem that
+comes with riding through Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. At one point a car
+almost turned right into my, leading me to loudly share some profanities.
+
+The last couple miles of ALC are some of the more dangerous ones in my opinion,
+a very hectic urban environment with tired cyclists and weekend drivers.
+
+I crossed the finish line at almost exactly 11:00am and ALC is over.
+
+---
+
+As luck would have it, I forgot to pre-arrange shipping for my bike. I just
+kind of forgot that I had to register ahead of time for it to be put on a truck
+and driven back to San Francisco. Instead I had to pay a bunch of money so my
+bike could be packed and that I could safely take it home on the plane with me.
+
+I also didn't realize that gear wouldn't be there until 1pm, so I had to sit
+around in the shade chatting and napping until gear trucks arrived.
+
+Once I had everything collected, my gear, my giant bike box, my sweaty ass,
+trying to get a giant car to carry all of my stuff to a hotel proved to be
+equal parts annoying and time-consuming. I ended up leaving Fairfax High School
+at about 3pm, and didn't get find a shower until after 4pm.
+
+The beauty of ALC as a cyclist is that you kind of just have to wake and ride
+your bike. Life on the ride is simple: eat, pedal, eat, sleep, repeat. Once ALC
+is over however, you are quickly reminded at how much _other shit_ there is to
+do other than cycling.
+
+From a cycling perspective, day seven might have been the most "put together"
+of the days on ALC. Great teamwork, good legs, and high speeds. I felt
+challenged and like I left nothing "out on the road" when I was done. The
+change in skill and perspective from 2019 to 2022 was significant, I can only
+hope that I continue to improve and 2023 that much better!

_posts/2022-08-08-cycling-calories.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: Cycling through calories
+tags:
+- cycling
+---
+
+I never really paid attention to the calories burned during cycling until
+recently, and it's still somewhat shocking when I look at it. With my love of
+cycling rekindled by [AIDS/LifeCycle](https://aidslifecycle.org) I have spent a
+lot more time in the saddle this year. Between short criterium races, my
+longest at 140mi, or the most elevation with the [Death
+Ride](https://deathride.com/), I have needed to be very mindful of my nutrition
+before, during, and after these rides. In short, cycling can burn a **lot** of calories.
+
+The "nutrition facts" panel on commercially sold food typically accounts for a
+2,000 calorie daily allocation. This is a rough approximation of what the
+average American should eat. Reasonable I suppose, but let me share some of the
+calorie _expenditures_ estimated on my recent rides:
+
+* [Patterson Pass Road Race](https://www.strava.com/activities/7599724946), 43mi, 4,400ft elevation: **2,400** calories
+* [Sonoma Parks tour](https://www.strava.com/activities/7599724946), 140mi, 6,700ft elevation: **5,122** calories
+* [Death ride](https://www.strava.com/activities/7481018521), 103mi, 14,000ft elevation: **7,557** calories
+
+The numbers are insane! I expect that I need almost 3,000 calories a day just
+to keep my weight and activity levels normal. That means for these more
+significant rides my body requires 3-4x the average daily suggested intake.
+
+"I wish I could eat like you!"
+
+I will frequently get comments about my appetite. Eating 3-5k calories a day is
+quite the challenge! Are you sure you're up to it? 😄
+
+Because I have no idea what a thousand calories look like, I have had to enlist
+the help of a calorie tracker. In doing so I have learned a few things:
+
+* Making each meal ~1k calories is *hard*, especially challenging when eating vegetarian.
+* The day needs four meals, not three.
+* Feeling hungry during the day is a sign that I'm behind.
+* "Palate Fatigue" is a thing.
+
+Nutrition science is something I am learning more serious athletes
+spend a *lot* of time thinking about and experimenting with. Logically it makes
+sense: if your body is the engine, food is the fuel and something you should be
+optimizing to improve performance. As a lay person it is still surprising to me
+how rudimentary my own nutrition education was, remember the food pyramid?
+
+There's still a lot to learn and tune with my own nutrition as it relates to my
+weight and performance. I wish I had useful tips to share, but the experience
+is so individualized that I think you may be best suited exploring what works
+best for you. Keeping track of calories, macronutrients, and expenditures is a
+start, but there's a _lot_ worth exploring!

_posts/2022-08-09-death-ride.md

@@ -0,0 +1,238 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The Death Ride"
+tags:
+- cycling
+---
+
+Endurance athletes have a misconfiguration in their brain, one that compels them
+to pursue increasingly foolish goals, for me the [Death
+Ride](https://deathride.com/) was as foolish as it was ambitious. The
+[course](https://www.strava.com/segments/25280359) is 103mi, starting at ~5k
+feet elevation, with a total of about 14k feet of elevation gain. It is not a
+_race_ per se, though I'm sure somebody is "first" back to the finish line.
+What is celebrated are _completions_. If you can survive all six passes, you're
+a winner! The mountains are steep, the road largely exposed, and the heat is
+oppressive, but hey! Good luck! Have a great ride!
+
+I managed to [complete all six passes](https://www.strava.com/activities/7481018521) in 7:58:50.
+
+Enough time has passed for me to reflect on the event, almost a month now, and
+both my brain and legs have forgotten enough that doing it again doesn't seem
+so ridiculous.
+
+---
+
+Around 5am I rolled up in my car to the starting point outside of
+Markleeville. A CHP officer was directing cars to park on the side of the road.
+Cyclists were already passing by, having ridden from their nearby campgrounds.
+Aside from [ALC](https://aidslifecycle.org) I had never seen this many cyclists
+in one spot. "If these old geezers can do this, so can I!" ran through my head
+as I put my shoes on, topped up my tires, and ate the last of my food in the
+car.
+
+The Death Ride is very well supported, there are aid and water stations along
+the way but with a new event I trend towards more self-sufficiency; better to
+have too much food instead of too little.
+
+Picking up my number the dawn's light is starting to creep over the mountains.
+The air is cool and the feeling is electric. I am **excited**! What an
+adventure! Look at all these old geezers, I'll be fine!
+
+The first mile is a coasting downhill through the town of Markleeville. The
+makeup of the course means that the _last_ mile will then be an uphill slog to
+the finish line. Something to worry about later!
+
+## Monitor Pass
+
+As I turn to start the ascent of Monitor Pass I find myself passing cyclists
+and have to intentionally slow myself down. I know that my adrenaline is making
+me all antsy in my pantsy. I don't want to use up my legs on the first climb.
+At this stage of the ride the mental effort expended is about **discipline**.
+Don't be stupid, pace.
+
+The sun streaks over the mountains as I grind up to Monitor Pass and some of
+the views are simply spectacular! Despite wildfire which had recently burned
+through the area, the landscape is still something to behold.
+
+As I crest the climb I see the first aid station and remember: "oh right, I
+have to go down the other side and _then_ back up this bastard!" I pass by the
+aid station, I'll hit it on the way back, I will need it then.
+
+Coming down the southeast side of Monitor Pass is genuinely **awesome**, the
+view opens up in a _big_ way and the massive valley is on full display in the
+morning sun. There is precious little time to enjoy the view because I am
+_accelerating_ and the descent is fucking insane. 40+ mph rocketing down a
+mountain with certain death should you be stupid or unlucky and go off the
+side. I have to remind myself a couple times to relax my grip on the
+handlebars. At one point I exceeded 49mph, which was _not_ the fastest I would
+go during the ride.
+
+Approaching the Topaz Lake rest stop the descent slows through a rock walled
+canyon, which gives me the opportunity to see the slog being endured by
+cyclists heading _back up_ to Monitor Pass.
+
+
+![Descending towards Topaz](/images/post-images/deathride-2022/monitor-descent.png)
+
+
+I don't take much nutrition in at Topaz because I intended to stop at the rest
+stop back up topside. I drop some gear in a drop bag and start my ascent.
+Falling in with a couple of doctors I intentionally chat them up a bit. If I'm
+talking, I won't be tempted to pass people on the climb as much. Eventually
+they fall back because my pace is too aggressive for them. Climbing solo my
+pace picks up as I constantly find new people to chase. My legs feel good, it's
+not too hot, the view is gorgeous, what a wonderful ride!
+
+Stopping topside at the Monitor Pass rest stop again I stuff myself full of
+food. It's basically all downhill from here until the lunch stop. My neighbor
+gave me the advice to not fill up at lunch since that's at the base of the
+Ebbett's Pass climb. As I finish chewing and drinking a pepsi (sugar water!) and prepare to leave the rest stop, somebody knocks over a rack of bikes. Oops!
+
+The descent down from Monitor Pass to the fork was **fucking fast**. I chase a
+couple people down the hill, hug my top tube, and enjoy the big straightaways
+and gradual sweeping turns. My top speed for this segment is the fastest I will
+go all day: 55.4mph. According to Strava, the [fastest person on this
+segment](https://www.strava.com/activities/7565854108#2989258323047473166)
+topped out at 70.4mph which is absolutely insane.
+
+At lunch somebody who was descending with me mentions that they saw me narrowly
+miss a rock on the road and were anxious that I wasn't going to see it in time.
+Fortunately I did see the rock coming, which could have been disastrous, but at
+high speeds it's important not to make sudden corrections!
+
+I nibble a bit and pack a sandwich in my back pocket from lunch for later. Time
+for Ebbett's Pass, the biggest bastard climb of them all.
+
+
+## Ebbett's Pass
+
+The top of Ebbett's Pass is at 8,703ft and has a variable gradient from around
+6-7% at the outset and then it gets steeper between 10-15% towards the summit.
+
+To be honest I don't remember much of this part of the ride. It was simply a
+slog, but if these geezers can do it, so can I! Honestly, much of the ride is
+really just a mental test of how much you can grind it out. All said and done,
+it was about an hour of sitting in and mashing pedals.
+
+The rest stop is perched right at the top and a welcome reprieve. They were
+serving instant ramen, sprite, pepsis, and all manner of snacks with salt and
+sugar in them to replenish the tired muscles. As I sat in one of the graciously
+provided camp chairs eating my ramen I overheard a couple other cyclists
+talking about how many passes they were going to do. One geezer said "nope,
+this was it, I'm just doing this one."
+
+I vaguely recalled registration where you selected the number of passes. I was
+signing up for the Death Ride, so I said "six". I'm going to do them all
+damnit! The nuance of that registration form was lost on me. A _lot_ of
+cyclists do shortened versions of the ride, picking and choosing which passes
+they're going to do, enjoying their ride, and going home! A lot of these
+geezers were going to do six passes, but not all of them. I had to re-orient my
+motivational tactic slightly 😄
+
+![Ebbett's Pass](/images/post-images/deathride-2022/ebbetts.jpg)
+
+
+Either way, I had summitted Ebbett's Pass, that was the "hard one" in my head.
+Three of six passes completed. "I'm practically done!"
+
+## Pacific Grade
+
+Cycling is a constant lesson in humility. The distance between the Ebbett's
+Pass rest stop and the turnaround point was only 14 miles, but four of those
+miles were painfully steep. After 50 miles of work already, the steep climbs up Pacific Grade were brutal, for the first time of the day I started to see cyclists stopped taking a breather.
+
+One of the punchier sections of the climb is a brief stint at 32%.
+
+My bottles were full as was my stomach so I passed some water stops and decided
+to keep my momentum pressing onwards to the turnaround at 69 miles.
+
+Upon arrival I found some shade where other cyclists were sitting on rocks
+hiding from the sun. I took my spot and started eating my warm sandwich.
+Despite those climbs there was a *lot* of downhill that was about to turn into
+uphill on the return.
+
+The sun was in full effect, it was only going to get hotter. I filled my
+bottles, saddled up, and started to climb back up the backside of Pacific
+Grade.
+
+## Long road home
+
+Ebbett's Pass is a mother fucker.
+
+The rapid descent from Pacific Grade is followed by 5-6 miles of 8-10%
+gradient, exposed in the full afternoon sun, with little wind, and nothing to
+do but look at the road in front of your handlebars. Letting your eyes drift
+any further ahead and you'll be reminded of just how hopeless it all is.
+
+I slowly crank by cyclist after cyclist hiding from the sun under the few trees
+providing some shade near the narrow mountain road. The previous climbs had
+conversation and sometimes even laughter. The climb back up to Ebbett's Pass is
+silent. Nobody is talking, nobody is following, nobody is happy, we're all just
+surviving. I have difficulty deciding whether it's better to drink or douse myself with
+hot water in my bottles.
+
+Thinking about the geezers doesn't help.
+
+My legs feel fried, it's hot as shit, the view doesn't matter, what a miserable
+ride.
+
+Getting closer to the top I hear echoes of what I think are cowbell and
+shouting, the rest stop must be just up ahead! I fooled myself more times than
+I can remember with that mirage. By the time I finally arrived at the rest stop
+I was almost surprised it actually existed this time.
+
+Give me water, give me electrolytes, give me a couple of these sprites, I'll
+take some of that watermelon too. I need to sit in one of those alluring camp
+chairs and reconsider the erroneous decisions which led me here.
+
+As I sit and contemplate whether I'm hot enough for cartoon steam to shoot from
+my ears, I see people finishing the _first_ ascent of Ebbett's. Those poor
+souls, it's just going to get hotter, the climb back up from the turnaround is
+a already a bastard.
+
+Once my core temperature lowers a bit, I pull myself up and back into the
+saddle for the "easy" descent to the finish line. My plans change slightly, I'm
+confident I will finish, I now want to get off this route as quickly as
+possible.
+
+The descent off Ebbett's back towards the fork has some hairpin turns which
+slow me down quite a bit. I've come too far to eat shit on some mountain road
+just before the finish line. But as the road straightens out, I speed up,
+pushing my top speed for this segment of 44.9mph. I also fall in with a couple
+other guys and we start a paceline towards the finish. Teamwork always makes
+for fun cycling and high speeds, both of which I'm glad to have at this point
+in the afternoon.
+
+Climbing into Markleeville I somehow fumble my water bottle when trying to
+return it to its cage. While I'm fatigued, I'm not about to leave my water
+bottle! We've come so far together! Of course, the problem with a cylindrical
+bottle on a _hill_ is that as I dismount it starts to roll away from me. Water
+bottle no! Come back!
+
+Clickety-clack go the bike cleats as I jog downhill 15 yards to capture the
+bottle. I cannot help but laugh at how ridiculous the scene must have been as I
+sprint back to try to catch my group.
+
+
+The last three miles are uphill. Only a 5% grade, but fully exposed with a
+headwind, and after 100mi of absolutely mind-warping riding. I don't think I
+have ever hated a stretch of road like I hated that one.
+
+
+## Completion
+
+The relief of crossing the finish line was delayed. My core temperature was
+high, my heart rate was high, i felt dehydrated. There was live music, beer,
+ice cream, and food. That would all have to wait. I sat on a bench shirtless
+for probably 30 minutes slowly taking in water and electrolytes before I
+started to become functional again.
+
+![Finished](/images/post-images/deathride-2022/finish.png)
+
+At a rational level I understand that the Death Ride was a brutal slog which
+was more of mental challenge than a physical one. Did I enjoy it? I think so.
+
+The brain of an endurance athlete seems to have a misconfiguration, one which makes
+it difficult to distinguish between a challenge, punishment, and fun. The Death
+Ride was all three, so who knows, maybe I will be back next year.

_posts/2022-10-28-rust-strings.md

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: The fastest way to make Rust Strings
+tags:
+- rust
+- software
+- software development
+---
+
+A friend of mine learning how to code with Python was complaining about the
+myth that "there's a Pythonic way" to do things. The "one true way" concept
+wasn't ever taken seriously in Python, not even by the standard library.
+Practically speaking, it's impossible _not_ to have multiple ways to accomplish
+the same outcome in a robust programming language's standard library. This
+_flexibility_ jumped out at me while hacking on some Rust code lately: how many
+ways can you turn `str`
+into `String`?
+
+In Rust `"this thing"` is a [primitive `str`
+type](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/primitive.str.html#) and will have the
+`&'static` lifetime. Without diving into lifetimes and how Rust ownership
+works, this is basically read-only memory that exists for the duration of the
+program. They're _static_ and you can't do much with it. In _most_ APIs you'll
+need the [`String`
+type](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/string/struct.String.html), which will give
+you an allocated bit of data you can play around with.
+
+Without much effort I came up with five different ways that I have written Rust
+code to perform this conversion:
+
+1. `String::from("The boring way")`
+2. `"Using a trait".into()`
+3. `"This is actually a trait too".to_string()`
+4. `"Lol, this is also a trait".to_owned()`
+5. `format!("Wake up and choose violence")`
+
+---
+If you have some other nifty ways to create `String`s, let me know on
+[Twitter](https://twitter.com) or via email (`rtyler@` this domain)!
+
+
+---
+
+
+But which is the most fastest?! I wrote the following very important, and very serious microbenchmarking code:
+
+```rust
+use microbench::{self, Options};
+
+fn into_trait() {
+    let _s: String = "Rust is cool!".into();
+}
+
+fn to_string() {
+    let _s: String = "Rust is cool!".to_string();
+}
+
+fn format() {
+    let _s: String = format!("Rust is cool!");
+}
+
+fn owned() {
+    let _s: String = "Rust is cool!".to_owned();
+}
+
+fn string_from() {
+    let _s: String = String::from("Rust is cool!");
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    let options = Options::default();
+    microbench::bench(&options, "String::from!", || string_from());
+    microbench::bench(&options, "Into<String>", || into_trait());
+    microbench::bench(&options, "ToString<str>", || to_string());
+    microbench::bench(&options, "ToOwned<str>", || owned());
+    microbench::bench(&options, "format!", || format());
+}
+```
+
+I compiled the program with `rustc` version 1.63.0 and after running some truly
+rigorous and scientific tests on my workstation, I am thrilled to share the results:
+
+```
+❯ cargo run
+   Compiling rust-strings-are-silly v0.1.0 (/home/tyler/source/github/rtyler/rust-strings-are-silly)
+    Finished dev [unoptimized + debuginfo] target(s) in 0.25s
+     Running `target/debug/rust-strings-are-silly`
+String::from! (5.0s) ...                 278.552 ns/iter (0.991 R²)
+Into<String> (5.0s) ...                  286.293 ns/iter (0.983 R²)
+ToString<str> (5.0s) ...                 292.736 ns/iter (0.987 R²)
+ToOwned<str> (5.0s) ...                  290.276 ns/iter (0.985 R²)
+format! (5.0s) ...                       300.144 ns/iter (0.995 R²)
+```
+
+
+**HOW INTERESTING!**
+
+Well, not really.
+
+Microbenchmarking like this has **lots** of flaws,
+especially when sampling on a single machine running many other concurrent
+processes. After executing the tool a few times, one common pattern that I did see was that
+the `format!` macro is consistently the slowest way to create `String`s. In
+fact `cargo clippy` will complain about you using in this way, not because it's
+slow, but because it's a "useless use of `format!`", which I can agree with! :)
+
+
+Choosing between the rest of them probably is nothing more than a style choice
+of the developers working on any given Rust project. With these types of things
+it's typically best to adopt one consistent way of doing things _within the
+codebase_ to improve readability, but they're all functionally equivalent..
+
+In Rust there's no "one true way" to create a `String`, but my personal
+preference is `.into()` for no other reason than it is the fewest
+characters to type!

_posts/2023-01-02-introducing-buoyant-data.md

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "Meet Buoyant Data, and let me reduce your data platform costs"
+tags:
+- databricks
+- software
+- deltalake
+- aws
+---
+
+One of the many things I learned in 2022 is that I have a particular knack for
+understanding, analyzing, and optimizing the costs of data platform
+infrastructure. These skills were born out of both curiosity and necessity in
+the current economic climate, and have led me to start a small consuhltancy on
+the side: [Buoyant Data](https://www.buoyantdata.com/). Big data infrastructure
+can be hugely valuable to lots of businesses, but unfortunately it's also an
+area of the cloud bills that is frequently misunderstood, that's something that
+I can help with!
+
+[Mike Julian](https://www.duckbillgroup.com/about/) from [The Duckbill
+Group](https://www.duckbillgroup.com/) once made the proclamation that the way
+to _actually_ save money in AWS is to design your infrastructure to be
+cost-effective. "Optimization" techniques can only take you so far, and once
+you've burned through all the optimizations, you may find yourself needing to
+further reduce the cost of your infrastructure and have no more "fat" to trim! In the [first blog post](https://www.buoyantdata.com/blog/2022-12-18-initial-commit.html) I outline a "reference architecture" for a data platform which I **know** is cost-effective, easy to manage, and lends itself well to growth.
+
+Planning for sensible, cost-concious growth is _very_ important. With most data
+platforms as they start to prove their value, the organization will bring even
+_more_ workloads to them. [If you give a data scientist a good
+platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_You_Give_a_Mouse_a_Cookie), they
+will find themselves wanting ever more from that data platform, and Buoyant
+Data can help make sure that growth is sustainable **and** the value to the
+business is easy to identify as well.
+
+
+Please add the Buoyant Data [RSS feed](https://www.buoyantdata.com/rss.xml) to your reader, as I have a number of blog posts queued up already with some gratis tips and tricks for understanding the cost of your data platform! 😄
+
+---
+
+The technology stack for Buoyant Data is something I cannot wait to write more
+about. After funding the creation of
+[delta-rs](https://github.com/delta-io/delta-rs) as part of my day job, I am
+utilizing the library in a **big** way to build extremely lightweight and
+cost-efficient data ingestion pipelines with Rust and AWS Lambda. There's still
+plenty of space for [Apache Spark](https://spark.apache.org) on the querying
+and processing side, but as
+[DataFusion](https://github.com/apache/arrow-datafusion) matures, I'm looking
+forward to exploring where that can fit into the picture.
+
+
+There's a lot of evolution happening right now in the data and ML platform
+space, I'm really looking forward to growing [Buoyant
+Data](https://buoyantdata.com) in my spare time!

_posts/2023-01-04-the-problem-with-ml.md

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The problem with ML"
+tags:
+- software
+- ml
+- aws
+- databricks
+---
+
+
+The holidays are the time of year when I typically field a lot of questions
+from relatives about technology or the tech industry, and this year my favorite
+questions were around **AI**. (*insert your own scary music*) Machine-learning
+(ML) or Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being widely deployed and I have some
+**Problems™** with that. Machine learning is not necessarily a new
+domain, the practices commonly accepted as "ML" have been used for quite a
+while to support search and recommendations use-cases. In fact, my day job
+includes supporting data scientists and those who are actively creating models
+and deploying them to production. _However_, many of my relatives outside of the tech industry believe that "AI" is going to replace people, their jobs, and/or run the future. I genuinely hope AI/ML comes nowhere close to this future imagined by members of my family.
+
+
+Like many pieces of technology, it is not inherently good or bad, but the
+problem with ML as it is applied today is that **its application is far
+outpacing our understanding of its consequences**.
+
+Brian Kernighan, co-creator of the C programming language and UNIX, said:
+
+> Everyone knows that debugging is twice as hard as writing a program in the
+> first place. So if you're as clever as you can be when you write it, how will
+> you ever debug it?
+
+Setting aside the _mountain_ of ethical concerns around the application of ML
+which have and should continue to be discussed in the technology industry,
+there's a fundamental challenge with ML-based systems: I don't think their
+creators understand how they work, how their conclusions are determined, or how
+to consistently improve them over time. Imagine you are a data scientist or ML
+developer, how confident are you in what your models will predict between
+experiments or evolutions of the model? Would you be willing to testify in a
+court of law about the veracity of your model's output?
+
+Imagine you are a developer working on the models that Tesla's "full
+self-driving" (FSD) mode relies upon. Your model has been implicated in a Tesla
+killing the driver and/or pedestrians (which [has
+happened](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-probing-fatal-tesla-crash-that-killed-pedestrian-2021-09-03/)).
+Do you think it would be possible to convince a judge and jury that your model
+is _not_ programmed to mow down pedestrians outside of a crosswalk? How do you
+prove what a model is or is not supposed to do given never before seen inputs?
+
+Traditional software _does_ have a variation of this problem but source code
+lends itself to scrutiny far better than the ML models. Many of which have come
+from successive evolutions of public training data, proprietary model changes,
+and integrations with new data sources.
+
+These problems may be solvable in the ML ecosystem, but problem is that the
+application of ML is outpacing our ability to understand, monitor, and diagnose
+models when they do harm.
+
+That model your startup is working on to help accelerate home loan approvals
+based on historical mortgages, how do you assert that your models are not
+re-introducing racist policies like
+    [redlining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining). (forms of this [have happened](https://fortune.com/2020/02/11/a-i-fairness-eye-on-a-i/)).
+
+How about that fun image generation (AI art!) project you have been tinkering
+with uses a publicly available model that was trained on millions of images
+from the internet, and as a result in some cases unintentionally outputs
+explicit images, or even what some jurisdictions might consider bordering on
+child pornography. (forms of this [have
+happened](https://www.wired.com/story/lensa-artificial-intelligence-csem/)).
+
+Really anything you teach based on the data "from the internet" is asking for
+racist, pornographic, or otherwise offensive results, as the [Microsoft
+Tay](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/microsoft-shuts-down-ai-chatbot-after-it-turned-into-racist-nazi/)
+example should have taught us.
+
+
+Can you imagine the human-rights nightmare that could ensue from shoddy ML
+models being brought into a healthcare setting? Law-enforcement? Or even
+military settings?
+
+---
+
+Machine-learning encompasses a very powerful set of tools and patterns, but our
+ability to predict how those models will be used, what they will output, or how
+to prevent negative outcomes are _dangerously_ insufficient for the use outside
+of search and recommendation systems.
+
+I understand how models are developed, how they are utilized, and what I
+_think_ they're supposed to do.
+
+Fundamentally the challenge with AI/ML is that we understand how to "make it
+work", but we don't understand _why_ it works.
+
+Nonetheless we keep deploying "AI" anywhere there's funding, consequences be
+damned.
+
+And that's a problem.
+

_posts/2023-01-09-chatgpt-and-your-ip.md

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "ChatGPT and your intellectual property"
+tags:
+- software
+- ml
+- opinion
+---
+
+There is an excessive number [ChatGPT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT)
+screenshots littering social media right now, and not nearly enough critical
+thinking about feeding data into this novel new chatbot. An anecdotal survey of
+my timeline includes people asking ChatGPT to solve math equations, write
+emails for them, create short story prompts, identify bugs in code, or even
+generate code for them. Behold, the power of AI!
+
+ChatGPT is created by [OpenAI](https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/), which despite
+the name is *not* any form of "open" organization, but rather a startup which
+has been [considering funding at a pretty monstrous
+valuation](https://siliconangle.com/2023/01/05/openai-startup-behind-chatgpt-discusses-tender-offer-value-29b).
+In essence, ChatGPT is an AI tool trained on a large corpus of public and
+proprietary information, packaged up as a kooky chatbot.
+
+Fine. Setting aside my own annoyance with ML developers co-opting data from
+"the commons", fine.
+
+The zeal with which most people are dumping information into ChatGPT really
+concerns me however. I have seen a number of people feeding their own source
+code into ChatGPT to ask it to find bugs or security holes.  It would be
+foolish to assume that the inputs into ChatGPT are not _also used to train
+ChatGPT_, or at least the next generations of the model.
+
+I am certainly no lawyer, but the two primary problems here are:
+
+* Most developers are not authorized to disclose proprietary information of
+  their employers. Pasting source code into _any_ browser window creates a
+  liability, but a browser window with ChatGPT increases the likelihood that
+  the source code disclosed will be _reproduced_ in the future, for some other
+  user of the system. Uh oh!
+* Can the code _generated_ by ChatGPT could be considered _yours_? Who actually
+  owns the copyright to machine generated code, or machine generated anything
+  for that matter? Do the architects of the system own it, or the users
+  supplying the inputs? This particular wrinkle isn't unique to ChatGPT, but
+  any ML tool generating data which occupies a space adjacent to human created,
+  and copyrighted works.
+ 
+ 
+My concerns with what OpenAI is doing with this data is not tin-foil paranoia.
+[Adobe is catching
+grief](https://news.yahoo.com/adobe-using-photos-train-ai-001413408.html) for
+opting Lightroom users _in_ to train their AI with those users copyrighted or
+proprietary works.
+
+I am sure the legal system will catch up to the rapid evolution of these ML
+robber barons, but until then I think we should all be _very_ weary of feeding
+intellectual property to these systems.
+

_posts/2023-01-19-eng-leadership-info-management.md

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "A lot of engineering management is actually information management"
+tags:
+- software
+- leadership
+- management
+- opinion
+---
+
+Are you an organized person? Do you understand information flow in your
+organization? The importance of categorization and taxonomy? You might be a good
+fit for Engineering Management! Having now spent a number of years in management
+and leadership positions, I have noticed a number of successful patterns, and
+unsuccessful patterns. In this post I want to focus on one of the more
+successful patterns: good information management.
+
+Engineering managers are expected to have loads of information ready in their
+at all times. The architecture of the systems their team is responsible for,
+current project priorities, cross-team points of dependence or collaboration,
+and a myriad of other snippets of information. It's a _lot_, but I don't think
+it's reasonable to expect a person to maintain so much information in their
+active memory. That's why information management is _very_ important for a
+management role, I don't need to _remember_ everything, but I do want to
+remember where everything is _documented_.
+
+Some of the productive patterns that I have seen and utilized:
+
+* **Decision Log**: it's great when a team can make decisions quickly, but an
+  inventory of decisions made is increasingly important as the team grows or
+  evolves over time. This should include a synopsis of the decision being made,
+  the alternatives considered, the trade-offs discussed between options, and
+  the reasoning behind the decision ultimately made.
+* **Link everything**: [Tim
+  Berners-Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee) wants you to
+  hyperlink all your hypertext! Creating a meeting invite? Link to the meeting
+  notes page in the agenda. Creating a meeting notes page to discuss a project?
+  Link to the project in the issue tracker. Creating a ticket in the issue
+  tracker? Link to the decision made to implement that solution, or the
+  customer support ticket(s) it relates to, or the other projects that this
+  ticket blocks. Creating a commit to complete a ticket, link to the ticket in
+  the commit and pull request. Every link created is a breadcrumb for the
+  manager and the team to tap into this web of useful and related information.
+* **Research must produce documentation**: frequently a manager or engineer needs
+  to answer a question, that's it. "Can this technology be used to solve this
+  type of problem." That research work doesn't usually result in a direct code
+  or systems change to a production application, but the _output_ of that
+  research should be documentation in the wiki. In essence **every bit of work
+  in engineering should produce an artifact**. Most tasks will produce a pull
+  request, but research tasks should produce a document which outlines what was
+  learned, or create a new decision in the decision log. This allows the
+  manager to benefit and reference back to knowledge gained during a project
+  that did not lead to tangible code changes.
+* **Metadata is crucial**: At least in the Atlassian suite of tools there are a
+  myriad of ways to categorize pages and tickets. _Use them_. A good taxonomy
+  of labels can go a long way. In the case of documentation in the wiki, this
+  allows for creating aggregations of pages around a particular topic. These
+  aggregation pages can provide a quick overview for all resources relating to
+  a specific technology or project. In the issue tracker labels can provide a
+  useful point to query tickets relating to a point in the ticket lifecycle, a
+  project, or even a specific customer's needs.
+
+
+From my perspective it is not the project managers job to add the necessary
+links or information hierarchy, it is not even really the engineering managers
+job. It is however the managers job to build the culture of information
+management that allows them and the team to quickly recall or re-discover
+critical information about the projects that are being worked.
+
+
+Some managers I know use running Google Docs or Spreadsheets to manage their
+workload, which may work for personal task tracking, but I typically discourage
+their use. They're not linkable and discoverable enough!c Many spreadsheets are
+write-once and read-once. By building and collaborating with a shared
+information management scheme, the team and the managers can benefit from the
+on-going "gardening" of information.
+
+Regardless of the system you use or consider, if you are a manager, please
+consider that a large part of your job relies on managing _information_, and
+institute the practices and systems necessary!
+

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tag/alc2022.md

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+---
+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: alc2022"
+tag: alc2022
+robots: noindex
+---

tag/dataeng.md

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+---
+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: dataeng"
+tag: dataeng
+robots: noindex
+---

tag/software development.md

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+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: software development"
+tag: software development
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+---

tweets/2022/08/08/776f2614.tweet

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+The most calories burned in a single ride was over 7,500. Cycling has made me much more serious about my nutrition: https://brokenco.de/2022/08/08/cycling-calories.html

tweets/2022/08/11/d3c3e45f.tweet

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+At what point does "throwback" become "classic" and then "oldies"?

tweets/2022/10/27/e6671e31.tweet

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+I wrote some Rust last night. It's been a while but I am still so pleasantly smitten with that compiler.

tweets/2022/10/28/d9e7595b.tweet

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Which is the fastest way to make &str into String in #rustlang? The results may surprise you! https://brokenco.de/2022/10/28/rust-strings.html