At work I've been needing to do simulation runs using my group's primary software product. Unfortunately I've been having trouble with the runs crashing. Some of them would, some wouldn't. It depended on the random seed I used for the run. Oh, and the specific simulation wouldn't run fast enough on my Windows box to get very far into it, so I had to do my debugging remotely on one of our Linux boxes using GDB, which isn't the quickest debugger to learn. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I finally tracked down the bug. This was one of those crashes that would only occur when the planets were aligned just right (figuratively speaking of course) - my simulation had a few properties that made it more likely that most others. Plus, the location of the crash was about five times removed from the two places where semi-related things had to occur to set the crash up. All in all, I think I spent at least 20 hours tracking this thing down, which is an awful lot of time to spend tracking down a single bug.
On the plus side, I'm pretty confident using GDB now.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Healthy!
Over the past week, I've gotten quite a few updates on my health from multiple doctors and nurses.
Last Friday (one week ago today) I had a full physical. I'm pretty sure the last time I had one was prior to college. The doctor said I was absolutely healthy. As part of the check-up, I had blood work done. I didn't get the results from that until Wednesday, but when they did come, they were very good. In particular, I was pleased to discover that my cholesterol was only 108 (below 200 is considered good)!
On Tuesday/Thursday I finally got tested for TB (the test takes 48 hours). I've been meaning to get that done ever since I got back from India based on certain experiences there. I wasn't too worried about it, but again, I was happy to find that I do not have any TB running through my blood.
Finally, on Wednesday I had my six week checkup with the doctor I've been seeing for my broken arm. After looking at the X-Rays, he couldn't really see the crack anymore, but the healing was quite visible. He told me that in 3-4 weeks, the bone should be back to 100% strength, and that he doesn't need to see me again.
In the scheme of things, none of these are a big deal, but I was happy to hear all of them.
Last Friday (one week ago today) I had a full physical. I'm pretty sure the last time I had one was prior to college. The doctor said I was absolutely healthy. As part of the check-up, I had blood work done. I didn't get the results from that until Wednesday, but when they did come, they were very good. In particular, I was pleased to discover that my cholesterol was only 108 (below 200 is considered good)!
On Tuesday/Thursday I finally got tested for TB (the test takes 48 hours). I've been meaning to get that done ever since I got back from India based on certain experiences there. I wasn't too worried about it, but again, I was happy to find that I do not have any TB running through my blood.
Finally, on Wednesday I had my six week checkup with the doctor I've been seeing for my broken arm. After looking at the X-Rays, he couldn't really see the crack anymore, but the healing was quite visible. He told me that in 3-4 weeks, the bone should be back to 100% strength, and that he doesn't need to see me again.
In the scheme of things, none of these are a big deal, but I was happy to hear all of them.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Identity and Value
Last Sunday at Church the pastor left me with a new insight into identity. He was talking about American materialism, and how easy it is for Americans to place our identity and value in what we have - My mind glossed over that. After all, I don't have all that much stuff compared to most people I know, and I spend very little money on anything other than the basics of living (rent, food, etc) - Then came the kicker... If we don't put our identity in what we do have, then we put it in what we don't have.
As soon as he said it I realized that describes me. I am quite proud of my simple tastes and my ability to live well below my means. I'm glad that there is no TV in my apartment, and I chose my car to be simple and practical. I place part of my identity and value in what I don't have rather than in Christ.
Recently I've realized more and more my tendencies to put my value in my "Christian" behaviors rather than in Christ. This is entirely backwards from what the Bible teaches. God wants me to know that I am valuable because I am loved by him. God wants my heart to be transformed and for me to live in joyful submission to him.
Early every Tuesday morning I meet at Church to spend an hour in prayer with others. These times of prayer have a very different feel than I had ever known prayer before. There is little or no intercession, instead the time is spent praying very relational prayers for ourselves and our Church. We are praying to grow closer to God and to focus ourselves on Christ. Don't get me wrong - I think that intercession is incredibly important - but I'm realizing just how valuable it is to spend that time every week just coming together to focus on God through prayer. That is the center of the Christian life. Everything else flows from there.
As soon as he said it I realized that describes me. I am quite proud of my simple tastes and my ability to live well below my means. I'm glad that there is no TV in my apartment, and I chose my car to be simple and practical. I place part of my identity and value in what I don't have rather than in Christ.
Recently I've realized more and more my tendencies to put my value in my "Christian" behaviors rather than in Christ. This is entirely backwards from what the Bible teaches. God wants me to know that I am valuable because I am loved by him. God wants my heart to be transformed and for me to live in joyful submission to him.
Early every Tuesday morning I meet at Church to spend an hour in prayer with others. These times of prayer have a very different feel than I had ever known prayer before. There is little or no intercession, instead the time is spent praying very relational prayers for ourselves and our Church. We are praying to grow closer to God and to focus ourselves on Christ. Don't get me wrong - I think that intercession is incredibly important - but I'm realizing just how valuable it is to spend that time every week just coming together to focus on God through prayer. That is the center of the Christian life. Everything else flows from there.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Quick Snippets from my Week
The "ski" trip last weekend with Church was wonderful. It was a great time of meeting new people and getting to know people better. While I didn't go skiing or snowboarding (because of the risk of reinjuring my arm), I did enjoy going snowshoeing with some other people that weren't interested in hitting the slopes.
The weekend was followed with a poor start of the week - I woke up quite sick on Monday morning. I don't think I've felt this sick since sometime back in high school. I don't know what caused it, but it passed fairly quickly and I was back to work by Wednesday.
Friday night I went swing dancing. This was the second time I've gone since my bicycle accident. Two weeks ago when I went, my arm noticeably inhibited my dancing. This time I didn't notice it the whole night, although I made a point to refrain from anything that would be particularly hard on my arm - basically meaning dips. I had a vision of a woman trying to give me all her weight when I dipped her - and consequently ending up on the floor.
The weekend was followed with a poor start of the week - I woke up quite sick on Monday morning. I don't think I've felt this sick since sometime back in high school. I don't know what caused it, but it passed fairly quickly and I was back to work by Wednesday.
Friday night I went swing dancing. This was the second time I've gone since my bicycle accident. Two weeks ago when I went, my arm noticeably inhibited my dancing. This time I didn't notice it the whole night, although I made a point to refrain from anything that would be particularly hard on my arm - basically meaning dips. I had a vision of a woman trying to give me all her weight when I dipped her - and consequently ending up on the floor.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Am I Small?
I'm headed up to the mountains this weekend for a "ski" trip with my Church. Granted, I won't be skiing, snowboarding or anything like that. I'm at the point with my arm where it mostly feels fine, but where re-injury is still a major concern. I was already signed up before my accident happened, and decided I'd still go just to enjoy the fellowship and a weekend away.
It's supposed to be very cold up there. Forecasts show highs a bit below freezing. With that in mind, I decided to pick up some long underwear. I went to K-Mart, and found where they had it. Everything they had was bottoms only long underwear, but I figured that's where it's harder to layer up anyway. The thing that got me was the sizes they stocked - nothing smaller than a large, which had a wait measurement a few sizes larger than I would have liked. I got it anyway, and with a safety pin it fits pretty well. Still, it got me wondering. Aren't there other people my size or smaller that want men's long underwear? I think of myself as being about average size for an American male - and there are certainly men smaller than I am. Thus it seems strange that K-Mart wouldn't stock a better range of sizes. Oh well, at least these ones will work for me.
It's supposed to be very cold up there. Forecasts show highs a bit below freezing. With that in mind, I decided to pick up some long underwear. I went to K-Mart, and found where they had it. Everything they had was bottoms only long underwear, but I figured that's where it's harder to layer up anyway. The thing that got me was the sizes they stocked - nothing smaller than a large, which had a wait measurement a few sizes larger than I would have liked. I got it anyway, and with a safety pin it fits pretty well. Still, it got me wondering. Aren't there other people my size or smaller that want men's long underwear? I think of myself as being about average size for an American male - and there are certainly men smaller than I am. Thus it seems strange that K-Mart wouldn't stock a better range of sizes. Oh well, at least these ones will work for me.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
The Blessing of Brokenness
This post is about the ways that God has used my broken arm for good. I've noticed it since day one, but I just haven't made the effort to sit down and write about it.
The first and most obvious thing was that my trip to the hospital set up a conversation with someone from work (the man who took me to the hospital), in which we got talking about Church. He grew up in the Church, and used to go to Church, but ever since coming to Santa Barbara a few years ago, he never really bothered finding a new Church. As far as I can tell, he was basically just waiting for someone to invite him to come to Church again. I hardly even had to invite him, he practically did that himself. It makes me wonder how many other people I'm interacting with daily that just need an invite to become involved in a Church.
Second, it reminded me of my weakness and frailty, and hence my desperate need for Jesus. It also forced me to slow down and listen to God more, something I really need to do more often.
Third, and related to number two, God showed me where I place my self worth. I put a lot of my value in my human abilities to do things. Being brought down to a point where I could hardly do anything on my own was very depressing because I suddenly felt worthless. I couldn't drive, type, cook, floss, type, write... Even the simple things that I could do were usually challenging. Through this God reminded me of my true value. I'm not valuable because I can handle life on my own. No, God loves me because I am His, and that's the truth I need to cling to. I'm not sure when I would have realized the extent to which I was doing this if not for injuring myself.
So in short, God brought someone back into the Church, and drew me closer to Himself. The only price I had to back was a little pain and a lot of inconvenience. Not a bad tradeoff when you think about it. All things are worked for the glory of God. Even my broken arm.
The first and most obvious thing was that my trip to the hospital set up a conversation with someone from work (the man who took me to the hospital), in which we got talking about Church. He grew up in the Church, and used to go to Church, but ever since coming to Santa Barbara a few years ago, he never really bothered finding a new Church. As far as I can tell, he was basically just waiting for someone to invite him to come to Church again. I hardly even had to invite him, he practically did that himself. It makes me wonder how many other people I'm interacting with daily that just need an invite to become involved in a Church.
Second, it reminded me of my weakness and frailty, and hence my desperate need for Jesus. It also forced me to slow down and listen to God more, something I really need to do more often.
Third, and related to number two, God showed me where I place my self worth. I put a lot of my value in my human abilities to do things. Being brought down to a point where I could hardly do anything on my own was very depressing because I suddenly felt worthless. I couldn't drive, type, cook, floss, type, write... Even the simple things that I could do were usually challenging. Through this God reminded me of my true value. I'm not valuable because I can handle life on my own. No, God loves me because I am His, and that's the truth I need to cling to. I'm not sure when I would have realized the extent to which I was doing this if not for injuring myself.
So in short, God brought someone back into the Church, and drew me closer to Himself. The only price I had to back was a little pain and a lot of inconvenience. Not a bad tradeoff when you think about it. All things are worked for the glory of God. Even my broken arm.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Details
I'm starting to feel better, so I figured I'd give a little more details. My arms still aren't 100%, but I can use both of them to type.
I was biking to work on Wednesday, and was almost there when I fell. I didn't hit anything, nor did anything hit me. I've got about twenty different theories about what caused it, but my best guess is just operator error. All I know is that one moment I was biking and the next I was falling. I hit the ground, slid, and then as quick as I could, pulled myself and my bike off of the road. I laid there in a daze for a bit, trying to get up my strength to get out my cell phone and call someone at work. Before that happened, someone pulled up in a truck and took me and my bike the rest of the way to work. People at work helped clean my wounds, then one guy took me to the hospital. As I was waiting, both of my arms began hurting a lot, and I was afraid that I'd broken both of them. Fortunately the x-rays showed only a single crack in the right arm. My left arm was just severely bruised. They put me in a splint and sent me home. I spent the rest of the day watching DVDs, one of the few things my half of a capable arm was able to do. Seriously, I could hardly do anything that day. It was only with a ton of pain that I could even use the bathroom on my own.
On Thursday morning I saw a specialist who told me I couldn't be put in a cast because the proximity of the break to my elbow meant that scar tissue would lock up the elbow if I didn't keep moving it. At the advice of both the doctor people at work, I took the rest of the week off, returning on Monday.
I've been having to get a lot of help, including people to drive me everywhere, but all in all it hasn't been too bad. I have an appointment to see the specialist again, and I'll see how the healing has been going according to x-rays. Right now I have most of my full range of motion back in each arm, they are just weak, particularly the broken one.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers and your help as I'm on the road to healing.
I was biking to work on Wednesday, and was almost there when I fell. I didn't hit anything, nor did anything hit me. I've got about twenty different theories about what caused it, but my best guess is just operator error. All I know is that one moment I was biking and the next I was falling. I hit the ground, slid, and then as quick as I could, pulled myself and my bike off of the road. I laid there in a daze for a bit, trying to get up my strength to get out my cell phone and call someone at work. Before that happened, someone pulled up in a truck and took me and my bike the rest of the way to work. People at work helped clean my wounds, then one guy took me to the hospital. As I was waiting, both of my arms began hurting a lot, and I was afraid that I'd broken both of them. Fortunately the x-rays showed only a single crack in the right arm. My left arm was just severely bruised. They put me in a splint and sent me home. I spent the rest of the day watching DVDs, one of the few things my half of a capable arm was able to do. Seriously, I could hardly do anything that day. It was only with a ton of pain that I could even use the bathroom on my own.
On Thursday morning I saw a specialist who told me I couldn't be put in a cast because the proximity of the break to my elbow meant that scar tissue would lock up the elbow if I didn't keep moving it. At the advice of both the doctor people at work, I took the rest of the week off, returning on Monday.
I've been having to get a lot of help, including people to drive me everywhere, but all in all it hasn't been too bad. I have an appointment to see the specialist again, and I'll see how the healing has been going according to x-rays. Right now I have most of my full range of motion back in each arm, they are just weak, particularly the broken one.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers and your help as I'm on the road to healing.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Short Post
I broke my right arm on Wednesday. There's a lot more about it that I'd like to write, but I'm too impatient to type much with one hand.
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