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Great Mac Apps including the screen recorder utility I found on Apple’s web site.
Entries from February 2007 ↓
links for 2007-02-17
February 16th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek
links for 2007-02-16
February 15th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek
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on how to stylize a submit button on a web form (or in my use, how to use a standard button when no custom styling is opted for instead).
To be known as an Amateur
February 15th, 2007 — Commentary, History, Running
I struggle with the word professional.
It always comes off to me as superior – and so I have a hard time applying the moniker to myself, despite the fact that 22 years as a working stiff probably qualifies me for the common use of the title in my areas of expertise. Speaking of words that I have some dislike for, there’s another: expertise. I dislike expertise for similar reasons since it implies an end-state and I believe we’re all just at varying stages of acquiring knowledge and wisdom. Who would ever want to stop learning? To me that would imply death.
For these reasons the true meaning of Amateur is most profound for me. I often coach myself to strive for a “Rookie’s verve” in things I do. When I get things right in life I can attribute them to acting as an amateur would. No amount of books, knowledge or schooling seem to make up for what this kind of attitude can have in life. I’m certainly delighted to be an amateur running my first marathon since it captures the spirit of the whole thing…quite so. In business too I would much rather act in the spirit of an amateur. Having started my own business a little over a year ago I feel I’m a step closer to that.
In doing some research for my run I have been watching a bit of Chariots of Fire. The movie has always ranked as one of my favorites and that was true long before I was a runner. As soon as I can figure out the intricacies of video encoding I’ll put up my favorite clip from the movie which shows Scot Eric Liddell winning the 400 meter race.
In the mean time I came across an academic from BYU by the name of John S. Tanner who writes about amateurism beautifully (he ties in Chariots of Fire which is how I happened across his piece). Here are some excerpts but I strongly encourage you to read the whole piece.
“Following my appointment as academic vice president, I received many kind notes from faculty colleagues. As the congratulations came in, I thought of sobering remarks by Hugh Nibley:
Anyone can become a dean, a professor, a department head, a chancellor, or a custodian by appointment—it has happened thousands of times; but since the world began, no one has ever become an artist, a scientist, or a scholar by appointment. The professional may be a dud, but to get any recognition, the amateur has to be good. ["The Day of the Amateur," Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, ed. Don E. Norton and Shirley S. Ricks (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo: FARMS, 1994), p. 303]“
and this
“The word amateur derives from the Latin for “love.” An amateur is at root a lover—a lover of sport, science, art, and so forth. It is this sense of amateur that I believe we must preserve if we are to achieve a more excellent way. There is much to recommend the professional ethic, including rigor, methodology, high standards of review, and so forth. Yet I hope we never cease to be amateurs in our professions—that is, passionate devotees of our disciplines.”
and this from Dr. Tanner on Chariots of Fire
“The film Chariots of Fire is organized around the contrast between the professional and the amateur. The movie tells the true story of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell—both gifted sprinters and both, eventually, gold medalists in the 1924 Olympics. Abrahams exemplifies the spirit of the professional: he is driven, highly coached, obsessed with winning and personal glory. Liddell, by contrast, embodies the spirit of the amateur: he is joyous, heartfelt, animated by the love of running and the glory of God. Abrahams runs on his nerves; when asked why he runs, he says winning is a weapon against pervasive anti-Semitism. Liddell runs from his heart; he says he runs for God.”
Which brings me to my favorite scene from Chariots, which includes a host of poignant moments including the one where American competitor Jackson Schultz, who understands Liddell’s intent and motivation, hands him a hand written note that includes a quote from the bible:
“Mr. Liddell, it says in the old book
“He that honors me
I will honor”
Good Luck -
Jackson Schultz”
To read more about Liddell and a bit about Schultz read this great account from Helen Thomson.
I rather enjoyed Dr. Tanner’s description of my favorite scene from the movie where Liddell narrates to his sister about his reasons for running and his calling to evangelize in China (which he went on to do) as he runs the 400.
“We see this contrast in their respective running styles. Abrahams’ running is technically sophisticated and fierce; he scowls his way across the finish line. By contrast, Liddell runs like a wild animal across the hillsides. At a certain point in each race, Liddell leans back his head, opens his mouth, and turns on the jets—abandoning himself to the pure expression of his divine gift. This accurate portrayal of Liddell’s running style symbolizes that his running is inspired. Inspire literally means “breathed into” by God. Liddell’s inspired passion for his sport is captured by a famous line from the movie spoken to his sister Jenny, who is worried that he is forgetting his higher commitment to God and to an eventual mission to China:
“I believe that God made me for a purpose. For China. But He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure. To give it up would be to hold Him in contempt. You were right. It’s not just fun. To win is to honor Him.”
and this from the previously cited Helen Thomson on Liddell’s life after his gold medal:
“Liddell retired from international athletics immediately afterwards on the grounds that he had now won the Olympics. Four years later he recorded a time far quicker than that of his successor as champion at a small meeting in Asia two weeks after the Games.”
I can think of no moniker that I’d aspire to more than amateur. How about you?
links for 2007-02-14
February 13th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek
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great scene from Chariots of Fire (1981) where Eric Liddell preaches at The Church of Scotland. This page has both text and a mp3 of the scene.
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a great write up by John S. Tanner, BYU academic vice president of the differences between an amateur and a professional and how his model of excellence favors the amateur. Refers to one of my favorite movies – Chariots of Fire.
John’s making nice with the media again
February 13th, 2007 — Family, John
John (Son #3) got photographed by the local paper at his playgroup yesterday. Full story and pics on CLB.
Palm Beach Post Thumbnail
Marathons are methaphors for enduring and I’m running in this one
February 11th, 2007 — Noteworthy, Running
A week from today, on February 18th, 2007, I’ll wake up around 3AM and strap on my running shoes, then don my shorts and race number in preparation for my first marathon. Sometimes a marathon is just a really long run, and at other times it is an expression of something very important to the runner. For me, the latter is true. The way I look at it, the most important thing I’ll take along to my race is you – in the form of a tune. Yes, a song that I will listen to on my run. To me and many people, a song is a gift, and in this case, one that I hope will conjure up your image in my mind’s eye, where I will see you helping me to endure my race and my journey.
I am dedicating this run to my brother Lorenz Gude, Shannon’s Aunt, Mary Seery, and my dear friend David Ordin. They all have something in common for me. They all left this world before their time, leaving behind family and friends who miss them deeply. Although their lives were short, they all left an indelible impression on this place and in our hearts. Heart ache is often used to describe the loss of a love, but in this case my heart aches for loss of a brother, a family member and a friend. All of us who have been fortunate to love and be loved, have also lost someone terribly important and close to us, and I know you feel this heart ache too. Among many goals with the running of this Marathon, from the mundane to the spiritual, I hope more than anything to endure the difficulties of this race to honor their memories and their names. I want to run this marathon for them because they no longer can, and I hope I can connect with each one and remember them in the fullness of their beauty. In reaching out to you I am asking for your help in making this run. Many times when I run I connect with very important things in my life – people, memories, ideas, and often enough, great inspiration. Music for me is central to this experience and many others in my life. You might say that music is like a best friend to me. Music has held deep meaning in my life through all the good times and the bad. No matter my mood or place in the world, I can rely on music to echo and enrich my feelings in the moment, and just as easily, alter my emotions in a profound way. Music for me is life, part celebration, joy, sorrow, pain, reflection, meditation, a connection with the past, and a looking glass in to the future.
So will you please play a tune for me as I run? I would greatly appreciate it if you could think of one of your favorite songs (perhaps your most favorite) and let me know what that song is. I will then make it my goal to find that song and put it on my marathon play list. I have in mind to call on your help to keep running while I listen to your song as I also enjoy memories of our times together and also hopes for renewed friendship and connection. You need not concern your song selection with how fast or slow it is, the music genre, or time that it is from. From classical to punk, folk, oldies, rap, hip hop, electronica, soul, r&b, blues, latin, jazz, bluegrass, metal, folk, country, rock, acid, house, swing… you get the idea – I’ve listened to it all, and in all of the genres there is greatness. All that is important is that this song represents YOU. I have no doubts that the song you choose will be the right one.
Although I’m reaching out to you in e-mail I have also posted this on my blog. You can find me on the web at http://blog.julians.name. I would like to capture your song with your name on my blog. You can do this by leaving me a comment on this blog post: http://www.blog.julians.name/2007/02/11/marathons-are-methaphors-for-enduring-and-im-running-in-this-one/. If you run into any difficulty with this, please feel free to e-mail or call me. I will then post your song and your name on my blog for you (unless you request otherwise). If you would also like to dedicate your song to someone you have lost, please feel free to do so on your comment. Don’t worry about song duplicates, just because someone may have posted the same song doesn’t mean you can’t. There aren’t any rules here that you need concern yourself with. I will take all the help I can get.
One last thing. I don’t know if my message will reach all the right people. In fact – I’m sure of it. I don’t even have contact information for all of my family – never mind all the people who I may call a friend. As I write this I am still searching for addresses of people that I would like to include but that I’ve lost track of. If you would also do me the favor of forwarding this message to any family member I’ve missed unintentionally, or a person you feel I would call a friend, please do so. I would hardly want my lack of an accurate or complete address book to come between me and someone I would happily connect with.
Celebrate life!
Jules
p.s. By happenstance I made my final decision to do all this on Sunday. My sister-in-law Kristen Seery was actually the first to nominate a song for me because we had a chance to catch up on the phone as I heard about her adventures as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia and I talked about my Marathon. Her choice? Old Crow Medicine Show’s, Wagon Wheel. Just before turning in for the night my oldest son Max contacted me on IM and he quickly nominated The Stones, Gimme Shelter. So the process has begun and it is great fun already!
p.p.s. I’m going to provide some text updates during my run from my mobile phone. If you’d like to follow those updates in real time you can view my twitter.com profile here:
music by deus
February 10th, 2007 — Cool, Music
I found this deus song called There’s nothing impossible by watching a great video about web 2.0 on YouTube. Nice beat.
Listen up:
links for 2007-02-10
February 9th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek
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Cameron Moll’s latest blog job board. Features design focus for both FT and freelance jobs and resources.
links for 2007-02-09
February 8th, 2007 — Daily NetTrek
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tool to check your rss feed
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ran into Chris on Twitter – a friend of Jeffrey Zeldman. Posts to alistapart and has written books on web standards. Works at Yahoo! U.K.
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cruxt blog called people with ideas.
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a tool to convert video files into the format of your choice (e.g. Flash to Quicktime). Very cool
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a great roundup of ideas to build traffic on your blog. Links and ideas from many different sources (bloggers). Great diversity of thought here on this post and a good blog to boot.
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WordPress 2.06 feedburner issues
The stars were there all the time
February 8th, 2007 — Australia, Blogs, Commentary, Internet, Online Community, Social Media, Technology
The online social network reminds me of the stars in the Outback I saw once on a trip across the Nullarbor plain. The stars were so many and so close you could touch them, but it took the change of venue and the piercing clear skies to realize that they were there all the time. Hello stars.
