March 19, 2008
links for 2008-03-19
-
ffmpeg is the ginzu knife of audio / video codecs manipulation. Often the backend for many of trusted GUI tools (ie DVDRip, sound-juicer, mplayer, etc)..
March 16, 2008
Renewed Spirit
We had an outstanding Tang Soo Do seminar yesterday last weekend. Though the attendance was slightly less than our October meeting, I would have to believe that this one was perhaps the best in recent years. The late Grandmaster Jae Joon Kim used to lead all of our seminars and Dan(black belt) examinations. However, his son, Saul Kim has done a very good job of adding certain nuances to the traditional format. We typically conduct Ho Sun Sool (Self-Defense) and Il Soo Chee (one-step sparring), along with several basics (punches, kicks, blocks) up and down the training hall.
Though I arrived shortly after the noon start time, I did notice some of the new faces. I am grateful that our Tang Soo Do family is still growing, as we continue to embrace new groups of TSD practitioners. In fact, there were some students who traveled from Ohio to participate in this seminar.
It does appear that Grandmaster Saul Kim is open to subtle change and perhaps even some nuances that perhaps did not exist during the beloved Jae Joon Kim era. For instance, during one-step sparring he mentioned that certain techniques may not have been at the root of Tang Soo Do, but adaptation is possible. Another example of this point occurred during our hyungs (forms). He told everyone not to get so "caught-up" in the technical definition, but instead understand the application. If you wish to know the origin of that technique, you'll need to find the originator of the form? Seems logical and amusing too.. For some years we had been taught to execute the Naianchi Forms (Cho-Dan, Ee-Dan, Sam-Dan) separately. There was not very explanation as to why they were taught separately. During seminar Saul Kim linked them together, and did so quite well. He emphasized that these forms were at one time linked. He also made sure everyone new that Bassai and Nianchi forms were animals forms. Cobra and Horse respectively. He also mentioned the lineage to Shotokan. I really enjoy listening to philosophy of TSD and the Grandmaster is more than willing to indulge us. In my mind, this is very important, and not something that I am exposed to everyday. Hopefully, I will be able to sit down with Grandmaster Saul Kim and learn more of the history and TSD philosophy.
Probably, need to make arrangements to train at his school in Florida.
As usual we spend time working on focus drills.. One of my favorites is the flying side kick directed at the face of your partner. The exercise teaches control and distance. Both areas which I clearly need to improve. For whatever reason, I still seem to pull back on my techniques. Perhaps this because I'm worried about injuring myself or my partner. Must get better.
We did a fair amount of calisthenics, finger tip push-ups, squat thrusts, sit-ups, jumping jacks. The people who were participating afterwards in the Dan testing were sufficiently warmed up during the 2.5hr seminar. Regarding testing... I witnessed what happens when you attempt to break petrified or sap ladened boards. Luckily for me (as the photo suggests) I got standard pine. Some of my senior instructors weren't so fortunate. Lots of cuts and bruises.
We had just been told about the importance of conditioning our hands. Not sure how much this would have helped on this day.
Perhaps one of the most lighthearted moments was watching the sparring during the Dan testing. There really are not very many female practitioners in our school; hopefully this will eventually change. Nonetheless, many of them train very hard. In this particular instance we had male and female sparring. Apparently, the guy began to strike her harder than expected. So during the contest the guy made a fatal mistake by getting his leg caught by the female student. You can only guess what happened next... *Thwack* to groin area, with a well-placed front kick. I felt his pain and I was watching at a safe distance. Hopefully, he had the common sense to wear a cup. Let's just say his strength and chutzpah was diminished.
Once I resolve a disk space shortage, I will post pics to the photo journal and flickr.
March 15, 2008
Meanderings
Today I'll participate in another Tang Soo Do seminar conducted by the President of our federation, Kwang Jang Nim Saul Kim.
Eventually, photos and videos from my 3rd Dan testing will be uploaded to the usual places. In truth, I have exhausted my alloted disk space on my webserver. It could be time to begin looking for another hosting solution. I really need at least 1GB of space. Much of the space is occupied by my netcast content. The high quality ogg audio files are quite large. I am considering using a service like libsyn to host the ogg audio, I would then finally be able to have a permanent ogg feed.
Additionally, my MT publishing engine is very long in the tooth and it is time to upgrade. However, I won't upgrade until I get the disk space resolved and the feeds corrected. Perhaps, I'll get to this in the next couple of weeks. I do have a show episode (AG Speaks) in the cue, but I simply must sit down and do the post-processing.
We'll see how it turns out. I have just been pre-occupied with self-imposed deadlines that seem to slip on a regular basis.
March 10, 2008
links for 2008-03-10
-
Good stuff on the venerable awk, sed, and ed
-
Interesting discussion about the tremendous premium accessed by wireless carriers.
-
Not sure why people believe that the only softphone available is Skype, sorta like AOL in 21st Century. Article speaks to a workaround for these Skype headz who need to speak SIP.
March 9, 2008
Participatory Government
Now that people have begun to understand that Barack Obama is a very serious candidate for President, I thought it would be good to take share some thoughts I have been struggling with lately.
In truth, I had become very disenchanted with the politics, particularly since the debacle that was the last presidential election. I'm still smarting from that nonsense. However, I have decided to become part of the solution and bellyache about a broken electorate process. In reality, I still am somewhat disconnected.. Case in point, for whatever reason MI. delegates decided to hold their primaries earlier than prescribed by both parties; hence several of the candidates were missing from the ballots. Being the rebellious warrior that I am, I decided to write in my candidate.
To my chagrin, I discovered later that I was _not_ supposed to do this. Instead, I was supposed to select "uncommitted" on the ballot. Oh well, go figure.. I'll have another shot at getting it right come November. So I have decided to 'educate' myself by watching the primaries on YouTube.
There are plenty of interesting angles which for the coverage that you cannot find using traditional media outlets.
*Sigh* I struggle to re-create this post, as I accidentally lost all that I had written while trying to save the entry. I wonder if Anil has had a similar experience.. I digress.. Regarding the Youtube coverage. It would seem that it provides an interesting cross-section into the American psyche. That is it attempts to give you a glimpse into what average folks are really thinking about Obama and the other Presidential hopefuls. You still see race as a prevailing undertone, despite the fact that mainstream media has not really addressed it.
The Tavis Smiley interview raised this issue and a few others that have been on my mind lately. I would imagine that others have thought deeply about these as well. The media has labeled the euphoria surrounding Obama as mania. Judging from some of the YouTube banter folks are confused by Obama. Some have questioned whether he is Black. Indeed he is bi-racial (Father is African and mother Caucasion), and is rather fair-skinned. Some would probably go as far as to say he could probably pass for white. Now, to this I say ridiculous. However, I do wonder if he would be embraced by millions if he had the Nubian features of KRS1? Nonetheless, I have never heard Obama utter that he is Afro-Caucasion or anything remotely conflicting. He understands who he is an does not seem to worry about appeasing for the sake of mainstream appeal.
Another thought that I cannot seem to get out of mind. Obama's personal safety has also been downplayed in the media. Once again the interview touched on this subject. I cannot help but to draw comparisons to Jesse Jackson's run for the White House in 1984. Yes, I know that the effort was merely symbolic, but it was clearly a defining moment in my Generation X archives. Jesse had the full support of the FOI and the Nation of Islam under the Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan. I am not clear that the Nation had offered to protect Obama, but I still worry about his safety. It is does appear that the Secret Service has been providing people to protect Barack. Yeah, I know that this is all so 1960's, but my vision is not blurred. I know what time it is. I still remember Farrakhan speaking in the aftermath of Jackson's scuttled Presidential campaign. I'll try to paraphrase here.. 'I know that during Jesse's run that his life was in danger, and I said publicly that if the brother's life were taken, he would be the last one you killed'... You're probably wondering, what the hell does this have to do with issues that matter most - Failing U.S economy ; Extraction of our military troops, and Balancing our Trade Deficit. Well, in truth not much at all. My only point is that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Yes, I am cynical, but history has only disappointed me. When I was a youth, I remember discussing with my friends the odds of witnessing a African-American elected president before a white female. All of us thought the chances were rather remote at best. The Obama's tenacity and outflowing of public support have provided many with hope. After listening to much of Obama's conversation, it has become clear that he very much wants to reduce the bureaucracy and flatten the government. It appears that bi-partisan politics will not be tolerated. It would not surprise me to see an Obama led administration publish a government wiki, which would take the top 5 ideas about how we could improve foreign policy. Now that would be innovative ;)
The odds do not look so dire anymore.
I have waited nearly four decades to see this coronation, others have waited 40 decades. I cannot predict the future but somehow it does look a bit brighter.