Kyle Banerjee's Blog

In a recent blog posting, my good buddy Terry hypothesized that I may be nuts. He reached this conclusion because I’ve been trying to talk him into doing a few especially brutal rides with me this year.

This is going to sound strange, but one thing that’s disappointed me a little is the fact that I’ve never failed to finish a ride. Basically, I think that if you succeed at everything you try, it’s a sign you’re shooting too low.

I like difficult rides, but I’ve never attempted one that I actually had any doubts I could complete. However, last week I think I found one that raised my eyebrows. It’s called the Everest Challenge, and it’s got a bit of everything — over 29,000 feet of climbing, desert conditions, temperatures that range from hot to freezing, and it even has great scenery to boot. Many riders fail to finish.

To most people, participating in events like the Everest Challenge probably sounds like a dumb idea or maybe an effort to compensate for other inadequacies. However, that’s not what’s going on. Life is more interesting if you don’t limit yourself to doing only easy things that people think are sensible.

You learn things about yourself and others when you test your limits. You equip yourself better to deal with future challenges. There’s a sense of accomplishment. You don’t get any of these benefits unless you challenge yourself, even if you can have a lot of fun.

I really like difficult rides because they force you to achieve some very delicate balances. You must expend several thousand more calories than you can possibly consume during the day. You have to subject your body to much more stress than it is designed for. Finishing requires much more than high pain tolerance because effort alone can get you only so far — eventually your body will rebel and shut down if your strategy is all balls and no brains.

Succeeding requires you to constantly adapt to conditions and walk that fine line between operating near or at your limits and pushing yourself over the edge. You must carefully manage your effort, nutrition, and be very in tune with your physical and mental state. In a strange sense, it’s very peaceful and relaxing.

Having said that, I think Terry is nuts too — that’s why I asked him to do these rides. I suspect he won’t be able to resist, and no one else will be crazy enough to want to go…….

For the past several months, I’ve been working on a book with Terry Reese. Basically, it discusses issues and technologies people need to be aware of if they’re thinking of starting a digital repository. We will finish this week. Even though the publisher has already accepted all of the chapters save two (which Terry and I are finishing), I can already see I have to add or modify a few sections that I was feeling pretty good about just last month.

Right now, I’m at a conference. One thing that absolutely blows my mind is that no matter how many skills and ideas I add to my bag of tricks, I always feel like I’m falling further and further behind.

Only a few years ago, a lone programmer could change the world with some code that was written in a couple hours (or days) using a handful of basic technologies. The days when the lone systems generalist could make a difference are ending. Skills that were once considered exotic are now essential for survival. The technologies, workflows, and services become increasingly sophisticated. Keeping up with the basics is like drinking out of a fire hose.

Our goal was to write something we’d want to read ourselves. Despite the fact that it’s on a technical topic, we were also hoping the ideas would be good for a few years. We’ll see how things go. In a worst case scenario, our book may help make some birds happy or prove useful for training puppies.

Regardless of your religious affiliation (or attitude towards religion for that matter), I expect most people would agree that among other things, the holiday season shakes up the normal routine and reminds us of what is real and important.

Its a stressful time, but it’s also a good time to see people at their best. Rather than worrying about what’s going on at the office, we think about others and spend time with people we don’t normally find enough time for. We think of good things people have done in the past and aspire to be better ourselves. People are more generous and tolerant than they are at other times of the year. And it’s just plain fun.

I’ve always been fond of saying that beer tastes best when you’ve earned it. If you work hard and do some good, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in kicking back and enjoying yourself. However, there’s a time when it’s time to get back to business. According to the body fat monitor, I gained several pounds during the holiday season, all of it fat. A publishing deadline on a book I’m working on is looming. And there’s plenty waiting for me when I return to my desk.

In all honesty, I’m looking forward to getting into my regular groove and eating normal food for awhile. Not thinking about work for a few days has been great. However, as much as I like goofing off, I also like to do something useful on a regular basis, if only to keep balance in my life.