Josh McHugh

Dragging Arse, prime finish

So, back in April I ran in Muffy's Run, a charity 5-mile race put together by my buddy Chris Husband in memory of his sister Muffy and for a great cause. So check it out - I lost to some formidable characters, as you can see below (extra props to Grosey for finishing so strong after carrying me for the first 2.5 miles). Most interesting, though, is my overall finish. Random? Not hardly!

13. DAVE GROSE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 38 0:39:27 O'All: 20
18. DAVID LINSMAYER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 38 0:44:02 O'All: 29
22. DOUGLAS LLEWELLYN, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 34 0:45:02 O'All: 34
24. NEIL MUNRO, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 36 0:46:06 O'All: 37
28. BRETT JOHNSON, VENICE, CA 36 0:48:00 O'All: 42
29. JOSH MC HUGH, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 36 0:48:00 O'All: 43

Link: On Your Mark Events.

The nailbiting scene at the finish line (photo)
That's Brett Johnson on the right - I let him win so I could come in 43rd.
Note the beagle, apparently not worried about the speed of the creatures approaching him. (Thanks to Bruce Taylor for digging up the photo!)

Technorati Tags: sport

No Job Is Safe

Not sure if this is a case of offshoring or off-worlding, but I am sure that Your Personal Writer is the funniest website I've seen in a while. It's almost as though the writing on the site has been run through a software-based translator and back.

Stop being busy day and night writing your essays and research papers. With our research paper writing assistance you won't need to worry neither about your research paper, nor about your deadline!!
...

It happens sometimes that we have to accomplish assignments we do not understand. Who would be happy to write about literary heritage of Charles Dickens, for instance? Who is this Charles Dickens anyway?!

Link: Custom Research Papers, Essays & Term Papers Writing Assistance.

The Value of Reflection

Daydreaming or spacing out or, as some wise people call it, reflection, gets a bum rap in the go-go life of the modern chap. To all you spacer-haters out there, reflect on this:

I believe one of the reasons why reflection has gradually been excluded from organizational life has more to do with the prevailing “command and control” approach to management than concern for practicalities.

Reflection is dangerous to the authoritarian character, even the petty tyrants that inhabit boardrooms. You never know where it might lead. It may cause people to question what they’ve been told, and encourage them to doubt the wisdom of their “betters.”
...
Reflection opens a pathway to criticism, and that’s never comfortable for those in charge. Far better to make sure people are kept too busy to waste their time in matters that could lead to discontent or awkward inquiries.

Reflection is the enemy of complacency and corruption. It leads to change and threatens the status quo. It’s the basis of all freedom and democracy. Without questioning our actions and purposes through reflection, we are little different than slaves who must do without question what they are directed by their masters.

From the fine, reflective blog The Coyote Within :: The Value of Reflection.

The Kitemaster

A couple of weeks ago, I got to the beach for a dawn-patrol surf check, and there was a tatter-winged black kite swaying ominously above the Great Highway like a manta ray on a chain. The kite trailed lengths of yellow and black "Police Line - Do Not Cross" ribbon from its tail and wingtips. Its line ran down to a 6-foot-high staff, wrapped with more police tape and held by a hooded man. The Grim Reaper, out taking in the morning onshores before getting down to the day's business, I thought.

Today I went down again, and it was a similar morning - dark grey, onshore winds, surf not fit for man or beast. The Reaper was perched in the top of the Lincoln St. sand berm, and he had not one but 4 huge kites – black, blue, and two white – with their lines staked into the sand, meandering around the chilly ocean beach airspace.

If there had been a soundtrack, it would have been a Celtic war horn ensemble, like this:
(carnyx war horn clip from Carnyx & Co.)

With no surf in the offing, I approached him, asked a few questions about the kites, and ended up flying one for a half hour. What a blast. I forgot how much kites can feel like living things, thanks to the unpredictability of the winds, seeming to make their own decisions. The kite I was flying was a swallow-winged white one that flexed a lot when the wind gusted, which made its wings flap.

Before I left, I introduced myself and asked his name. He goes by The Kitemaster. He makes the kites of cast-off plastic, wood, duct tape, and whatever else works and achieves the look he's going for. He referred to his creations as "stealth bats". A glow-skull dangled from a small hoop through his left ear. He offered to sell me one of the kites. I declined. If i see him again, I might take him up on the offer - what a great option to have on a nasty onshore morning.

The difference between the home office and the office

Via 43 Folders, this is great list of the things that are really hard not to do when you're working at home, and somewhat easier not to do when you're at a real office:

52 Projects: A Not-To-Do List

p.s. I'm posting this from home, but I swear I'm about to go to the office. D'oh!

Overclocking Yourself

I used to be able to rely on pulling an all-nighter to finish a story. If the story were up for a cover spot, I could dig deep and pull back-to-back all-nighters. I can't do it any more. I get the "sleeping sickness" going into those nights I used to count on when planning my writing schedule.

But now I find this: Tom's Hardware Guide Columns: Overclocking Yourself - Introduction. It's a rigorous experiment in finding the optimal alertness product (within legal limits, I believe).  Hmm -  maybe I can  get that crazed, wide-eyed deadline mojo back after all.

Seeking Meat and Glory

Ah, the Yankee Doodle Coffee Shop. This one never gets old...

Published Monday, March 23, 1998
Seeking meat and glory, generations lured to Doodle
KATIE LINDGREN
YDN Staff Reporter
...When a Princeton student came to the Doodle and attempted to break the record, Anderson said he and fellow Yale students in the Doodle were skeptical of the Princetonian's eating club education and abilities.
But when the Princeton student was on his thirteenth burgers and close to breaking the current record, Anderson said they realized that Yale's monopoly on the Doodle record was in jeopardy of being lost to their New Jersey rivals.
In an effort to foil the Princetonian's efforts, Anderson said that Josh McHugh '91[editor's note: '92] ordered the Princeton student a complementary [Yale, eh?]chocolate milkshake. The Princeton student did not see through this attempt to derail his Doodle efforts, and he drank the milkshake.
"The guy lost it. He went out the door like five minutes (afterwards)," said Anderson, still laughing years later about this display of defensive Doodle etiquette that kept the Doodle title in the hands and stomachs of Yale students...
(Via The Yale Daily News.) Click onward for the full story...

Technorati Tags: Yale, Yankee_Doodle_Coffee_Shop

Quote of the Wee Hour

"The truth is, that if you're working on a piece at three in the morning, you're not Keats; you're just late." - Anthony Lane

Technorati Tags: New_Yorker

How the Real Heavy Hitters Get it Done

From rodcorp, a great list of links to work-methodology info on many of the finer minds in the game...

We're interested in the habits, rituals and small (and occasionally big) methods people and teams use to get their work done. And in the specific anecdotes and the way people describe their own relationship to their own work. Here's a list of some stories and habits. Not sure it is actually useful for anything. Do any patterns emerge across stories, other than the obvious stories of super-focus, super-dedication?
These examples are mostly "names" because the list so far is mostly from published sources, but everyone's stories and habits are interesting, so go ahead and add yours in the comments.

rodcorp: How we work:

Technorati Tags: work

Heed it!

textually.org: Talking while driving can be deadly
October 27, 2004
Talking while driving can be deadly
An 18 year old girl was killed Sunday night in a head-on traffic collision in Citrus Heights, California. The other driver, an 18 year old boy was moderatley injured, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Witnesses said the young woman did not brake before the accident and that both drivers were using cell phones when they collided.
Be careful out there.
emily | 04:43 PM | Cell Phones while driving/flying/sailing

(Via textually.org.)