File Buz

OH SNAP! PICS I dont mean to start anything but is this the new style with Akungba Chicks LOOL

Paparazzi at work eheh. This pics was taken at somassa LT

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On the Effort Meter This Manuscript Is Reading Sisyphean

Is having a good idea for a middle grade novel enough in publishing? What Im trying to find out is at what point is a manuscript considered to be too much work? What does "too much work" mean from an editors perspective? Do you ever encounter situations in which your love of a book makes the "too much work" aspect not as important and insurmountable?

Im not absolutely sure how to answer this question. If you mean, is having a good idea enough to excuse a phenomenal lack of writing ability, the answer is no.

As Ive mentioned before, ideas are not everything. If everything about the writing needs work, then its almost certainly too much work for any editor, no matter how good the idea.

That said, there is wide variety in types of writing strengths. Some writers are great at dialogue; some at setting; some at character; some at plotting; some at mood. The best writers are good at pretty much all of these, but if your writing is hitting just one of these qualities in a way that is particularly compelling to the books audience, then that may in fact be enough. Maybe.

Every editor weighs how much she likes a manuscript against how much work she thinks it will be to edit it. Do you have a bad habit of adding adverbs to all your dialogue tags? Thats irritating, but its also EASILY FIXED. Do you simply have no idea how to show, not tell, and your fantastically plotted novel is by turns condescending and boring because of it? Thats irritating, and ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIX.

And theres also the question of the authors ability to receive one correction and run with it. Ive critiqued first pages that had a pernicious fault, like overuse of adjectives. The author thanked me kindly for my input and asked if she could send me the whole manuscript. Sure, ok. When I got the manuscript, that fault had been fixed on the first page AND NOWHERE ELSE. People like this are a long, long slog to edit.


One of the misconceptions editors meet most often among non-editors is that we can fix anything. No, we cant. We dont have superpowers. Our ability to make anything better depends on our ability to convey to the author whats working and whats not working and why, and the authors ability to apply that knowledge. In order to edit anything, it has to be the author who fixes things, not us.

If an author simply cant write, well, no one can fix that.

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One Thing Ill Definitely Miss When I Leave This Place

Is the commute.

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On The Hurry Of This Time Henry Austin Dobson

(Poem #1900) On The Hurry Of This Time With slower pen men used to write, Of old, when "letters" were "polite"; In Anna's or in George's days, They could afford to turn a phrase, Or trim a struggling theme aright. They knew not steam; electric light Not yet had dazed their calmer sight; - They meted out both blame and praise With slower pen. Too swiftly now the Hours take flight! What's read at morn is dead at night: Scant space have we for Art's delays, Whose breathless thought so briefly stays, We may not work - ah! would we might! - With slower pen. -- Henry Austin Dobson

I remember, back in the nineties when email was just beginning to be
widespread, the flood of articles lamenting the inevitable demise of the
handwritten letter, and the creeping soullessness of the casually dashed-off
email that was replacing it. Come the next decade, and that has been
succeeded by laments for the inevitable demise of the printed book, and its
replacement by soulless e-books, expedient audiobooks and mindless
television. It's rather amusing, then, to read today's poem, and realise
that the hastier time Dobson was writing about was 1882. Plus ça change,
plus c'est la même chose.

martin

Biography:
 English poet, 1840-1921
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Austin_Dobson

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Obfuscate This!

Since we sold out of space here, we’re moving it to the ultra-near…. 

Marriot Hotel Walnut Creek

2355 North Main Street   *  Walnut Creek 94596    934-2000

The event is officially titled (the Marriot knows it by this)

BIKE SNOB BOOK TALK.

It is in the Contra Costa Junior Ballroom. There may be a sign.

Wow.

I cannot wait to see whether or not theres actually a sign.

And if its already not obvious to you that this event is the most exciting thing to hit Walnut Creek since [insert mildly exciting event here], consider that after my talk a ride is also going to happen organically:

After the 4:00 event that will actually start at 4:00, Eben will sign books, and then there’ll be a 60-90 minute totally optional NO HOST bike ride. Bring your own bike, make sure it’s suitable for dirt trails, a few bumps, a few hills. Let’s keep it all low-key. Track stands at stop lights are discouraged. Those no-hands track stands with one foot on the front tire will be punished with a push. No need to next-day-air a new jersey for the event. The first one back wins nothing. You don’t have to be as low key as ME, but I’m trying to make a point.

I am SO going to do a no-hands track stand with one foot on the front tire:




The notion of bicycle engineering is no longer ridiculous and the science behind bicycle design has grown considerably in the last two decades, providing the industry and consumers alike with much more data on the way that a bike performs. Some manufacturers have even resorted to publishing white papers based on the findings of their research so that consumers can better understand the benefits of their products.

Despite our growing sophistication, there is at least one aspect of the bike has yet to be defined with such clarity: ride quality. It’s an evocative term that can used to refer to the mystique of any given bike, yet it’s not critical for its performance, and in practice, is largely open to interpretation.

So what do we know about the nature of ride quality?

We know a lot, actually.  "Ride quality" of course is how comfortable your bike is.  Furthermore, its a pretty straighforward affair: get a bike that fits, put on a saddle and bars that feel good to you, use the right tires at the right pressure, and youre done.

However, were talking about bikes here, so "ride quality" is something that gives bike reviewers an excuse to say stuff like this:

--"Laterally stiff yet vertically compliant"
--"Leaps out of corners like a ninja monkey on Adderall"
--"Springs to attention like Cipollinis member at a cocktail party"

And so forth.

Anyway, despite the almost boneheaded simplicity of "ride quality," this article takes a deep dive into the concept and manages to over-complicate it even further than the marketing departments and the bike reviewers who work for them already have:

THE DEFINITION OF RIDE QUALITY

In keeping with its elusive, even esoteric, nature, there is no clear definition for ride quality. The spectrum of opinion ranges from vague, artistic notions to precise engineering terms.

Ben Serotta is a well-known framebuilder with a long history in the bike industry that has worked with every frame material. Despite his experience, he believes there is an element to ride quality that continues to defy our understanding:

“I’ve thought about this phenomenon during my rides. You might give the same sheet of music to two musicians. One plays it perfectly, but when the other plays you get goose bumps. How? It’s impossible to define. With the bike, it’s part technology, but I’m pretty sure it’s also part magic that infiltrates the bicycle.”
Theres no doubt whatsoever that Ben Serotta knows his way around a bike, but how does this analogy make any sense?  He seems to be saying two musicians can interpret the same music differently, and this in turn evokes a different feeling in the listener.  Well, of course this is true.  But how is this comparable to the "part magic that infiltrates the bicycle?"  Hes not claiming the difference in the music is because one musician is playing a Stradivarius and the others playing whatever the equivalent of a BikesDirect violin is.  Hes just saying its because they play differently.  So wouldnt it make more sense to say the "part magic that infiltrates the bicycle" is attributable to the rider and not the bike?  You know, just like Peter Sagan can wield his soulless plastic Specialized as artfully as Leonardo da Vinci handled a paintbrush, but youre like a two year-old with a crayon regardless of what youre riding?

Its all pretty simple, really.  Bikes are bikes, but some riders just suck ass.

Therefore, I far prefer this explanation:

By contrast, Damon Rinard, an engineer who has worked for Trek and Cervélo, and is now manager of road bike engineering for the Cycling Sports Group (which owns Cannondale, Schwinn and GT) is far more pragmatic:

“To me, many bicycle characteristics that some might include in ride quality are better characterised on their own. There’s a list: handling, stiffness, weight, aerodynamics, etc. are a big part of what we experience when riding (thus they affect the quality of the ride, thus may be considered part of ride quality), but to me, these other characteristics are well understood technically, which leaves ride quality as mostly bump and vibration isolation.”

Makes complete sense.  Yet heres some guy in Canada whos been studying "ride quality" for over ten (10) years:

Professor Jean-Marc Drouet is an engineer and head of VÉLUS, a research group at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada that has been studying ride quality for over a decade. He’s ready to admit that he’s still not clear on what ride quality is, but he draws an important distinction between it and the comfort offered by the fit of the bike.

“The fit of the bike, or its static comfort, depends upon the position of the handlebars and the saddle, and how well each suits the rider. That is quite different from ride quality, or dynamic comfort as I’ve come to refer to it, which seems to depend upon energy transmission to the rider.”

Are you freaking kidding me?  How do you get a job "studying ride quality for over a decade?"  Im a bike blogger for chrissakes and even I cant believe it.  What this guys doing is the equivalent of getting paid to compare different strains of marijuana, or to experiment with different masturbatory handholds.

Next, the article explores what determines ride quality, and--SURPRISE!--its mostly tire pressure and which bar tape you use:

WHAT DETERMINES RIDE QUALITY?

Any rider that has ever compared different bikes or noticed what kind of effect a change in wheels, tyres, or even tyre pressure can have on the comfort and/or feel of the bike will understand that every part of the bike can influence ride quality. Even minor components like the handlebar tape have a role to play.

Duh.

LET’S START WITH THE TYRES

As the sole interface for the bike with the terrain, it’s not surprising that tyres have a profound effect on the ride quality of a bike. Most riders will already have an intuitive understanding of this notion, and have probably experimented with it by testing different air pressures and/or brands of tyres.

I couldnt agree more.  When adjusting your air pressure, its always a good idea to start with the tires.  And getting it exactly right is really important, which is why you need a $450 pump.  Yet people still cant let go of this whole frame material thing:

According to Silca, “a 10% change in tyre pressure at 100psi can have a greater effect on ride quality than changing frame materials.” That’s because the change in vertical compliance is equivalent to the difference in vertical compliance for carbon and steel frames. Of course, there is more to ride quality than just vertical compliance, but it serves to illustrate the magnitude of influence that tyre pressure can have on the feel of the bike.

Oh come on.  A 10% change in tire pressure is pretty noticeable, whereas the "difference in vertical compliance for carbon and steel frames" is an illusion, a phantom sensation in the scranus of only the most terminal Freds.

So lets get back to that French-Canadian masturbator, whos now experimenting with vibrators:

RESEARCH ON RIDE QUALITY

The majority of academic research on ride quality has focussed on the vibrations that arrive at the cockpit and saddle when the bike is in use. Such vibrations can be measured with sensitive strain gauges and accelerometers, but to do so in a reproducible manner is quite challenging.

Do you really need to conduct research in order to confirm that selecting the right saddle and bar tape for you is whats going to make your bike feel good?

Evidently yes:

The raw data resemble a seismogram, where the various peaks and troughs reflect the magnitude of vibration over a range of frequencies. Any reduction is presumed an improvement in the comfort of the bike, where low frequencies (less than 50Hz) are especially significant since they are generally the most unpleasant. Higher frequencies (up to 100Hz) can be generated, but it’s not clear what kind of effect they have on the rider. VÉLUS has not published an exhaustive comparison of materials but the results from one study demonstrate that it is futile trying to generalise on the effect of different materials. For example, while 3T’s alloy Ergonova Pro handlebar transmitted more vibration than the carbon version, FSA’s carbon K-Wing behaved more like the alloy Ergonova than the carbon version.

Oh please.

Get a handlebar with a shape you like.  Wrap it in some shit that feels good to you.  Now ride your bike and shut the hell up.

During the course of this study, the team experimented with various ways of expressing their results, and found that the amount of power absorbed at the saddle and cockpit was the most robust. Thus, a small bump transmitted 1.5-4W to the rider’s hands and buttocks, and some components differed by as much as 0.5W.

No shit.  Furthermore, it turns out much of the energy transmitted to the riders buttocks can be attributed to the Fred-fucking being administered by the bicycles marketing department, which I think is an interesting footnote.

Oh, and they also did a #whatpressureyourunning study for good measure:


The VÉLUS group has been studying how this threshold applies to cyclists with a small survey on how well a group of seven riders could detect a drop in front tyre pressure. Each rider spent about an hour on the same bike fitted to a treadmill where a dowel rod (9.5mm diameter) served as a bump. Matching front wheels with different tyre pressures were swapped throughout the test to determine what kind of pressure difference each rider could reproducibly identify.

So what happened?

The data collected from this study showed that the amount of energy absorbed at the brake hoods was directly proportional to tyre pressure. Therefore, not all riders will notice a change in the ride quality of a bike in terms of the energy absorbed, and those materials and/or components that have little effect on energy transmission are likely to go unnoticed (see this brief study by Cervélo for a little more data on this phenomenon).

In other words, blindfold a typical Fred, swap his Cervélo for a Nashbar mail-order special, and hes not going to know the difference.

And if all of this wasnt obvious enough, consider the blinding revelation that (and youre not going to believe this) RIDER POSITION IS IMPORTANT:

One other interesting observation to come out of this work is that the position of the rider can have a profound impact on the transmission of vibration. Any rider that has tackled rough roads will immediately understand this point: riding in the drops and/or with a sharp wrist angle generally exaggerates road chatter, and this is exactly what the group observed. Furthermore, variations in stem weighting and wrist angle could reverse impressions of the relative comfort for two different wheelsets because of their influence on vibrations travelling to the stem and seatpost.

Thanks to STI and all the rest of it, Freds almost never take their hands off the brake hoods anymore.  Consequently, people have now forgotten what drop bars are for, so it takes a 10-year study from VÉLUS to explain to them why these bars allow for multiple hand positions in the first place.

And because the false notion that "ride quality" is mysterious and elusive is so vital to bicycle marketing, the article would have you believe that after a 10-year study we still dont understand it:

Regardless, our understanding of ride quality is far from complete. One important concept that bears upon our understanding of the phenomenon is that individuals vary in their sensitivity to vibration according to a sensory threshold. Some riders will notice a small change in energy transmitted to the handlebars while others will be unaware of it until it is much larger. This goes a long way to reconciling variation in opinion on the ride quality of any given bike or component, and likely extends to other traits.

Cant wait for that study in how individuals vary in their sensitivity to vibration according to a sensory threshold.

Meanwhile, speaking of weenie-dom, Wired explores whether or not expensive bike wheels are worth it:


I skipped right over the physics part:


Because obviously the answer to the question posed by the headline is a resounding "No."

Lastly, heres that Horner video from yesterday in regular speed, and I was amused to note he uses the "F" word:



Guess he wasnt happy with his ride quality.

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Oscar Season is Over And So is This Blog

I didnt really know how to appropriately title this post so I just went for the plain and simple truth. I was going to spend this post writing about the Oscars but considering I couldnt rustle up that many readers for my predictions, why bother with a whole lot of other stuff that other people will already be writing about which means Id get cancelled out? Pardon me for my bitter tone, but this is pretty much the reason why I have to stop blogging so I can focus my energies on something that will be appreciated.


Anyway, as for the Oscars: pretty exciting. Apart from the Jennifer Lawrence win. That just dragged down everything. Dont get me wrong, I love her. I liked her in Silver Linings Playbook. But you cant tell me thats the best female performance of the year. Honestly. It is so weird that shes an Oscar winner now. I was so happy that Christoph Waltz won, though, that I actually cried in front of my class mates. I adore him. That made my year.


What also made my year was Jessica Chastains dress. It wasnt as amazing as last years dress but she looked like a total angel. Plus, Amy Adams looked like a total angel too. Must be the red hair that makes people instantly perfect.

Seeing Jean Dujardin again was nice, too. I cant believe it has been a whole year since then, I swear Im still in 2011 mode.

This Oscars has made me a little sad, though, since this will be the last one where Ill be writing away about it and running home from school to watch it and stuff like that. It is just the little things that make this day special. Hopefully, though, next year Ill be celebrating a Chastain win (for The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) or maybe even Leonardo DiCaprio being recognised. I can dream.

For now, Im shutting up shop here. Sorry to anyone who has commented in the past week - I literally have not had any time to reply and everythings a bit irrelevant now, isnt it? Alas, Ive said plenty of thank yous in the past and I honestly cant repeat them enough. Im really thankful of anyone who has taken the time to read the blog and comment and stuff. I am looking forward to having some free nights with lots of sleep and a few more movies in my life. Maybe Ill be back here again. Just keep an eye out in your feed.

If not, hopefully youll see me at the Oscars in 20 years time.

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Over a 100 perspectives on L D at this blog Part 1

"Its easy to sound smart, when you parrot the wise" - Someone I cant remember.

I have absolutely no remorse in saying that most of my ideas are not original. In fact I dont even believe in originality. To me originality is the fine art of hiding the source, which unfortunately Im crap at - so I like to give credit to the sources I steal from. After all, isnt synthesis one way of way of expressing your creativity? Im stealing another idea today, but before I tell you what that idea is let me tell you what Im trying to do. Until sometime in 2008, my blog was just a catch all for everything that made its way into my stream of consciousness. Since then, Ive made a concerted effort to focus this blog on issues related to modern learning and development. Were halfway through 2010 now and before I write anymore, I wanted to provide my readers a map to this blog. This is also my way to reiterate the how I think about L&D and where I as a practitioner see things going.

So whats the idea Im stealing? I loved Tom Kuhlmanns format where he provided answers to frequently asked questions about rapid elearning. I have no pretensions to being an expert like Tom, but I do get into a lot of conversations in the community and I often get asked questions too. So Id love to use a similar format to explain how I think and to give you a map for the content on this blog. Given how much of a common man I am in the learning industry, this is as close Ill get to an interview! Incidentally, I have over a 100 links that Im sharing through this and the next blogpost - so keep track of them! In fact for your browsing ease, Ive also catalogued them on my delicious bookmarks. Allright, these are going to be fairly long blogposts so I wont waste any of your time - lets get going.


I confess to being an L&D industry common man. I work at ThoughtWorks, a company that defies traditional theories of management, as director of workplace learning. Of the many things I do, I run one of the best graduate induction programs in the IT industry - ThoughtWorks University. As part of my technology education background, I have a strong bias for free and open-source software, though Im also a hard-core Apple fanboy. Youll often see me as a participant on various webinars. I tweet using the handle sumeet_moghe and heres my Linkedin profile.

The most important thing you need to know about me is that I hate being a one trick pony. In fact, I prefer being a learning generalist, more appropriately a versatilist. Having said that, you cant take me too seriously because Im neither a researcher nor an academic. I cant vouch for the statistical accuracy of what I write or profess. All I can say is that what I write is true for me and my experience.

To be very frank, theres only so much I can do as an individual. I think theres heaps of interesting stuff happening all across the industry and Im particularly interested to see how people are using their skills to solve real business problems. So thats the reason I like attending webinars. Now the reportings a completely different story. You must remember that Im not the only live blogger out there. In fact, Ive taken inspiration for this from Cammy Bean, whos just fantastic when live-blogging events. Shes just so good that its impossible to match up the number of events she reports and the quality she brings to her reporting. Im just following her lead trying to share what I learn in each of these events with the rest of the world.

Theres a lot of interesting stuff youll see on my webinar reports and conference reports. Theres over 30 different events where Ive learnt interesting stuff ranging from Ruth Clarks approach to scenario based learning, to Jane Harts approach to selecting a social learning platform. And then there are brilliant experience reports by folks like Steve Ash and Lars Hyland, so I think that theres a lot going on with the webinar circuit that deserves reporting.


I dont think I do a very good job of keeping up. I have a 12 hour day at work on the best days and theres very little time I have otherwise to stay abreast with everything in the industry. That said, I think over time Ive learned how to learn and all the informal networks Im part of, are helping me grow as a professional. In addition, some thought around how to structure my personal knowledge management framework has helped, so when I do dip my toe into the river of information, I end up making the dip fruitful!


First things first, I like to believe that theres a shift happening in the way we collaborate on teams. This is not to say that things have turned on their head, but I definitely think that theres a change in the control structure and the dogma around the best ways to collaborate. I still love face to face communication (who doesnt), but I like to believe that if you cant collaborate without being colocated, youre perhaps not agile enough. There are so many great tools that can help your team collaboration soar, that you need to keep your eyes open for things that are changing in the technology space.


Well my views on presentation skills have evolved over time. To me, the McKinsey Mind quote, “Presentation is the ‘Killer Skill’ we take into the real world. It’s almost an unfair advantage.”; is an indication of how important this craft is. To contrast that with the amount of slideumentation we see in the corporate world, is depressing to say the least! This said, I dont think its rocket science to do good presentations. If you plan effectively, choose the right tool for your presentation, use simple techniques to create meaningful visuals, and avoid some of the common mistakes, you should be well and truly on your way to matching Steve Jobs!


Yes and no! I started off my career as a training facilitator and thats perhaps my strongest skill even today. I look at training as a distinct discipline from presentations, so while media skills are crucial to training, they arent all trainings about. As a trainer, the biggest virtue you can have is patience - you need to believe that your learners can do it! You need to know how the brain remembers, the effective use of language patterns in the class, ways to encourage participation and to handle QnA. There are various subtelties in being a trainer. For example, competition lends momentum to training, but how do you ensure that people learn to collaborate amongst all the fun? Another example I love to talk about is around the issue of entertainment in the classroom - how much is enough? As a trainer Im always looking to improve my skills in leading socratic discussion, eliciting well formed outcomes, reviewing concepts effectively -- and student feedback always helps. After all, its a performance of sorts and we need to ensure that its of the highest quality.

Again, most of this is experiential and I cant vouch for the academic authenticity of my opinions. Im big on rapid design of any kind. Back in the day, I was thinking about rapid instructional design with Powerpoint and Ive come down that road thinking how we can apply Agile principles to elearning design as well. Theres however an aspect of this which Im extremely passionate about - the role of an instructional designer. I strongly believe that its not about the tools - creativity is key. The typical elearning projects are late, poorly designed and just dont solve performance problems. We need a breed of passionate instructional designers, who have more skills than just writing. When we start leveraging our SMEs effectively instead of looking at them as barriers to our instructional process, were likely to produce high quality outputs.

Why just elearning? If were creative enough we can not just apply them to transactions such as simulation design, but also solve complex problems like induction. But coming to the topic of elearning - I like to apply the rapid paradigm. On this blog Ive demonstrated that it is possible to produce elearning on a shoestring. Its important to remember that you dont need to do everything within elearning - you need to find a way to integrate all of the rich media from the web. If youre big on rapid elearning just in the same way that I am, you should take a look at my 6 tips for rapid elearning success. In addition, pay attention to meaningful interactivity, your navigation scheme and your information architecture and youll find that it isnt rocket science to create high quality, yet low cost elearning.

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This brings me to the end of this blogpost - in my next post, Ill cover off other stuff that I usually write about. Do let me know if you like this map to my blog. Ill look forward to your commentary.

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