-->

Monday, October 30, 2006

White and Nerdy

Stardate 60103.0
Not surprised.

You are 64% white and nerdy.
How White and Nerdy Are You?

Halloween Party

Stardate 60103.0
We had a Halloween Party last Saturday. Rachel and Patrick got to invite friends from school. Thomas had one friend over. It was strange because after sending out the invitations, everyone wanted to know if it was a birthday party. Most of the people invited had been to our kids parties before, and they know we don't have anyone born in October. It seems to be a weird idea to have a party just to have a party.

There were 26 kids altogether. It was out on the back patio. We had a mumy race, where teams of two wrapped each other in toilet paper and tried to run to a finish line. We went to the cornmaze in Syracuse, and let them run around for about an hour and a half. I found out Friday night that the Ticonderoga was going there as well, but we did not see them. After that, we came back to the house and ate. I had made some mummy dogs (hog dogs wrapped in pastry dough) which disappeared in minutes. We also had chili and bread shaped like a pumpkin. Then there was a candy relay. It was between the fifth and third graders. I think the fifth won. They dropped quite a bit on the lawn, much the the delight of Leonardo the dog. I know the stuff is not good for him, but he can find it better and faster than I can. Then it was a free for all. Most of the kids were gone by 8, and April went to an adult party with a friend. She went as Captain Hook, and her friend went as Tiger Lily (you need to watch Disney's Peter Pan for the reference).

Thanks to Jennifer, Mary, and Elaine for helping with transport.

There were five soccer games on Saturday as well. Thomas and Rachel had one, and Patrick had three; an AYSO double header and an indoor game. The cub scouts had a trip to Fort Beunaventura planned, although the times kept changing, so we were never sure when it was. Patrick played well, although he lost to games. The first at 9 AM he scored three goals in quick sucession. The combination of Josh, Tommy, and Patrick as forwards is pretty potent. The last game you could tell they were getting tired (all three had three games).

Thomas's team played ok. Last week they were on fire, and we actually won. This week they played as before. Phillip has come a long way from the whining child to a good goalie and fair forward. Chandler, having missed much of the games, started getting into it. Hunter tried, but he really didn't get into the games. Riley did very well in practice, but seems lost during the games. Sam, urged on by his father, had some good games and was another good goalie. Luke is a natural player, if a bit too agressive. Cooper did well, just a little issue with always having to play with Luke. Thomas kicks well, but has a tendency to run to the goal instead of at the ball. A good team, if they can concentrate on the game. That was the last game for the fall.

End of Entry

Friday, October 27, 2006

Everything Must Go!

Stardate 60102.7
Often, I drive by the Shag-Rug-La store on 35th South and Bangerter. They are or already have moved, and there is a sign that says "Moving, Everything Must Go!". My brain latches on to that for some reason. I know it means they want as much sold as possible before they move. But a voice in my head insists that's not what it says. So this list of possible meanings runs through my head.

1. They are moving everything, and asking for help.
2. Everything is moving, and therefore it has to go.
3. Alternate meaning for go: They have to use the bathroom before moving.
4. They are in motion, and everthing is on the go.

Then I wonder if this thought process is a result of my profession (software development), or my profession is a result of my having thought processes like this.

I know, strange.

Computer programs do what they are told to do, not what they are supposed to do or what you want them to do.


End of Entry

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Politics

Stardate 60102.6
Carl wrote about politics. One of two topics you are forbidden to discuss at FreeMason activities because it is so derisive. I've looked at the Constitution party www.cputah.org, and I found pretty much the same thing. No to this and no to that.
Isn't there a clause in the Constitution that says any powers not specfically outlined here are the domain of the states? They kind of go overboard with the pro-life stuff, and I have problems with parties that refer to the evil New World Order (with the capitals). I will agree with Carl that the Constitution is a living document, and it was intended to be changed. Changing it is not easy, and this was also intended. I also love the way they trot out the "Founding Fathers". The ideas of these gentlemen were all over the place, and rarely did they agree on anything. Edmund Randolph, the man who proposed the plan that was to become the Constitution (Madison is generally believed to be the author, but Randolph introduced it), refused to sign or endorse the final document. Patrick Henry ("Give me liberty or give me death") believed it was evil. They wish to abolish the FDA, to which the drug Thalidomide comes to mind. Labeling of ingredients. At least they don't want healthcare run by the government. I'd like to see universal coverage, but if the government does it then that's one more they can hold over the heads of voters.

There are a ton of topics: Energy, Copyright, Economy, Education, Environment, Privacy, Technology, Social Security, Taxation. I've already spent too much time revising and trying to sort out my opinions, all to no avail. Maybe I should take one topic at a time.

End of Entry

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Auto replies

Stardate 60101.9
I found these on a Monster blog. Their source is a podcast, so I can't exactly credit it. I'd love to use them at least once for my out of office auto replies.

* I am currently out a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.

* You're receiving this automatic notification, because I'm out of the office. If I were in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.

* I will be unable to delete all the unread worthless emails you sent me until I return from holiday on the 4th of April. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

* Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $4 for the first 10 words and $1.95 for each additional word in your message.

* Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. Your email is important to me, and you're currently in 352nd place. You can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

End of Entry

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Indoor Soccer

Stardate 60101.7
Patrick is on an indoor soccer team. I was going to coach a team if there were no other volunteers, but the St. Joes PE teacher set up a team. It's a little more money, but I think he's beyond amateur coaching, which is all I can provide. The team will go competitive in the spring.

The try-outs were last Saturday. Apparently they were just short enough players that everyone got in. I think he would have made it anyway. It'll be interesting to see where this goes.

End of Entry

Monday, October 16, 2006

Gospel according to Star Trek

Stardate 60101.6
Futurama had a fourth season episode called “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”. This has to be my favorite Star Trek and Star Trek Fan parody. In it, Star Trek became a religion, and was banned after the Star Trek Wars (not to be confused with the fan pilgrimage known as the Star Wars Trek). Some seem to want TV to be reality.
'STAR TREK GOSPELS' REACH OUT TO WORLD

You can read about the church here. And before any asks, no, I am not converting.

End of Entry

Friday, October 13, 2006

Kid's Rooms

Stardate 60101.3
Thomas had his new bed installed yesterday. He slept there last night. Now all the kids have their own rooms. We have gone from a purple room to green, and from blue to olive green. The bunk bed went to Patrick’s room. His room is smaller than the one he shared with Thomas, but the shear fact he doesn’t need to share it makes up for it.

Rachel is complaining that she has to go upstairs to use the bathroom. We warned her about it, but at the time she was too excited about a new room to care. It won’t change, so she needs to accept it.

Favorite Music at the moment: “Wheel of Fortune” – Hans Zimmer, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Soundtrack

End of Entry

Thursday, October 12, 2006

SQL Joins

Stardate 60101.2
Got a phone interview on Tuesday night. I really prefer face to face, and that I know ahead of time. This one also came in the middle of getting the boys ready for scouts. Needless to say, I didn’t do well. But I did get a succinct definition of the difference between an inner and outer join. An inner join is the standard

SELECT TABLE_A.COLUMN1, TABLE_A.COLUMN2, TABLE_B.COLUMN3
FROM TABLE_A, TABLE_B
WHERE TABLE_A.COLUMN1 = TABLE_B.COLUMN1

This will only return rows where COLUMN1 matches in TABLE_A and TABLE_B. If there are entries in TABLE_A that do not have a match in TABLE_B, these rows are not returned. This is where an outer join comes in.

(ORACLE Syntax)
SELECT TABLE_A.COLUMN1, TABLEA.COLUMN2, TABLEB.COLUMN3
FROM TABLE_A, TABLE_B
WHERE TABLE_A.COLUMN1 = TABLE_B.COLUMN1(+)

This will return COLUMN1 and COLUMN2 in all rows from TABLE_A, and any matches from TABLE_B COLUMN3.

So an inner join only gets rows where the tables have matches, and the outer join will return rows from TABLE_A whether a match exists with TABLE_B or not. I know it, but this is a nice, simple explanation. I gotta remember it.

End of Entry