Russ Nelson

I really like retrophotos. That's where somebody goes to a location with an old photo, and takes a modern version of the same photo. Here's my contribution to the genre. This is Potsdam, NY's old water plant, built in the 1800's. The 2008 photo has the modern water plant in the foreground.

Old photos courtesy of the Potsdam Public Museum, 2008.

It has come to my attention that there are some people running around, falsely calling themselves Russ or Russell Nelson. Do not be fooled! Accept only the genuine article! I am the One True Russ Nelson, forever and always the first and the best.

While I was on a bike ride along the Black River Trail, I heard various loud noises coming from the direction of Fort Drum, just across the river from the old railbed, now a paved trail. Well, it's a paved trail part-way. The pavement and indeed, the trail itself, just stops in the middle of nowhere. The reason for that is that a state employee was killed operating a front-end loader while constructing the trail. They basically walked away from the trail at that point. UPDATE 8/08: The trail will be paved soon

I got to thinking about the contrast. On the one side of the river, we have people training to fight a war. Of course they don't mean to give up their life for their country, but that's a risk. On the other side of the river, you have (in essence) a memorial to a person who did give up his life for his county, building a trail for people's pleasure.

Is the one sacrifice to be compared to the other? We all respect the soldier's sacrifice as "the cost of freedom, buried in the ground." And yet should we respect the worker's sacrifice any less? The concept is less grandiose, dying to build a trail. And yet the trail is used for good benefit on a daily basis by the people of the worker's community.

I'm thinking that taking a risk so that you may please the people around you is a risk worth taking. So it just annoys me when I don't get to see the pictures of Chicago that Doc Searls was going to take. In return for what? An immeasureably lowered risk of dying that morning? Fortunately for you, now, nobody tried to stop me when I took this photo of Central Park.

We should take our pleasure when and where we get it and not worry that life is short and people are fragile.

My contribution to the Chuck Norris never/always meme:

Chuck Norris is never wrong, even when he changes his mind.

Everyone -- friends, relative, acquaintances, and total strangers on the street -- will offer you advice on how to raise your child. Listen to everyone, because you never know what advice may be helpful, but remember that it's you who has to stay up with the kid, not the advisor, so only take the advice your heart tells you to.

Naturally, you are required to take this advice; it doesn't apply to itself.

Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.

It can be done on handbells.

It must be done on handbells.

[ I don't know why I posted this on October 14th 1990, when the product was really available on April 1st of that year. -russ ]

FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION OCT 14, 1990

ESP Software

11 Grant St.

Potsdam, NY 13676

ESP Software would like to announce their newest product, NFSper. NFSper is a NFS server with an order of magnitude better performance than any existing NFS server. NFSper uses a proprietary technique to cache NFS requests on the client before they are transmitted to the server. Lab tests have shown that the NFS packet are available on the client an average of 100 microseconds before the client sends the request. Under test conditions, we have observed packets a full 250 uSec before the request transmission!

NFSper avoids paradoxical effects by caching the packet rather than actually upcalling it. If the request packet falls on the floor, or the client fails to carry out its intent to send the request, then the client will never request the packet from the cache. Of course, in the case of high network loads or indecisive software, NFSper will rapidly fill your cache, removing any performance advantage.

NFSper comes with programmers guidlines for stern, decisive coding. The sooner a decision is made to request a packet, the sooner NFSper can start sending the reply. We have found that most software makes this decision soon enough, but new software should of course take advantage of this new technology.

We are currently working on TelePathWay, "All the Network without all the wiring." TelePathWay does away with the need to run coax or twisted pair. TelePathWay plugs into the AUI port found on most Ethernet equipment. You must supply your own telepath. Deliveries are expected by 4Q91.

Direct all inquiries to:

Russell N. Nelson, President

ESP Software

11 Grant St.

Potsdam, NY 13696

(315)265-5655

My daughter Rebecca and her fiance Adam Jacobs graduated from SUNY Potsdam yesterday. Here's a picture of the happy grads and their collection of academic honor cords and pendants:

So I was down in Pok visiting Eli Dow and his grilfiend Jessie, going out to dinner, stopping by Best Buy, and who should we run into in Target but Kyle Smith!

So, after tonight's Tai Chi power training session, I was stoking up the furnace with some scrap wood. I had a too-long piece of 5/4" square hardwood. Not something easily broken. I tapped it on the door of the furnace and said "You're not going to break that with your arms".

Thought about what we learned today about compressive and expansive force and remembered Dragon's Back. Not exactly part of the form, but we practice it as much. It's a Chi Kung movement which slowly whips the back forward and backward like a snake, while the arms follow the whipping motion out in front of the head. So I generated power from the legs, through the Dragon's Back, and out into my arms, moved it down about 6" and snapped it clean in half.

Now that's the way to break a piece of wood. None of this karate breaking of pine boards with the grain for me. :-)