Archive for July 2nd, 2018

Obit watch: July 2, 2018.

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Donald Ritchie, ultrarunner.

Ritchie set international track records at distances from 50 to 100 kilometers and in timed events that took up to 24 hours, with a particularly successful stretch in the late 1970s. He set two track records at a blistering pace when he ran 100 miles in 11 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds in 1977, and 100 kilometers in 6 hours, 10 minutes and 20 seconds the next year. In 1979 he set a world road record after running 100 miles in 11 hours, 51 minutes and 11 seconds.

…

Ritchie was usually nonchalant when talking about his accomplishments, but he admitted that his 1989 run from Land’s End to John O’Groats, from the top to the bottom of Britain, had been a challenge.
“I developed a feverish cold soon after the start and then faced vicious head winds and sleet,” he told The Independent. “The cold soon developed into bronchitis, and this, together with stomach pains, intestinal blood loss, a sore mouth, regular nose bleeds, chest pains and torrential rains, led me to feel very relieved when I finally reached Land’s End.”
He still managed to set a record, completing the roughly 840-mile run in 10 days, 15 hours and 25 minutes.

I spent some time trying to put this into a different perspective for my fellow Texans. I found several different figures for the east-west distance across Texas, and I’m not sure which is most reliable. But one way of looking at it is: 1-10 from the New Mexico border to the Louisiana border is 877.45 miles. So Richie basically ran something very close to El Paso – Orange in less than 11 days.

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Personal and administrative note.

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog may recall that, almost exactly five years ago, I started working for the IronPort division of Cisco as a contractor.

I am pleased and excited to announce that, almost exactly five years later, and after many ups, downs, and changes, I am no longer a contractor: I am now an official, full time, “blue badge” Cisco employee, with all the rights and responsibilities appertaining to same.

I’m still doing IronPort and email security related stuff: the job hasn’t changed, only my status. This will bring some changes:

  • a hefty pay raise
  • possible yearly bonus pay (not counting those chickens before they hatch)
  • Paid time off!
  • Paid holidays!
  • Better and (I think) cheaper medical/dental/vision coverage
  • Reimbursement for continuing education. Unfortunately, St. Ed’s has apparently discontinued the Master’s program I was considering before I left Dell. But I might be able to leverage this into getting some certifications.

I’m also hoping that this will give me more access to resources, both inside and outside of Cisco, that I can use to pursue some projects that interest me, particularly with respect to computer security. (I’m thinking possibly more Bluetooth work.)

This blog’s policy remains the same: I won’t be discussing non-public matters involving Cisco here. I may point to publicly accessible documents, such as press releases or the annual security report, but don’t look here for anything internal. Anything I do say here is just my opinion: it certainly isn’t Cisco’s, and, you know, I could be wrong.

(Speaking of public matters relating to, in this case, an ex-employer: what the heck?)

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