Stardate 59020.6
Everyone has weighed in on the Super Bowl, so I might as well. My initial reaction was that the Seahawks got the short end. Yeah, some of the penalties were ticky-tack, and on some key plays. But Hasselbeck got a fumble reversed. I watched replay after replay of Roethlisberger’s touchdown, but I can’t say for sure if the ball broke the plane. Hasselbeck personal foul on a block was a bad call. The referees are human, and there is a lot of pressure in this game. Not every one of the Seahawks drives were stopped by a penalty, and the last drive in the fourth quarter was dismal. John Madden said it time and again during the game; the Seahawks played well, and dominated the offense, but were unable to turn that domination into points. If the Steelers had played better, there would not be so much chatter. The Bus has retired with a ring, and the Seahawks can be happy with being removed from the list of teams who have not made it to the big game. Speaking of the list, the Saints are returning to the Superdome. I had thought someone said the dome had to be demolished. April and I, and a lot of friends, would be happy to have that team also removed from the list.
In other sports news, Patrick played his first game in the next set. His team lost the playoff game. They are still moved up to the A list (although this is more because the B-list teams play on Saturdays, and most of the team has basketball or ski team). This means the last set of indoor games will be hard. From what April is telling me, I think the boys are burning out a little.
The basketball games went well on Saturday. Thomas has fun, and is trying hard. Patrick got to take the ball out a number of times, and is now trying to drive in to the basket. He got screened out each time, but at least he tries. Rachel played two games. This is the problem one. The coach’s daughter continues to ignore all but one of the players. Rachel has pretty much given up. She and the coach ignore each other. Most of the other parents are just waiting out the last four games.
Oh, yes, I’ve done some re-arranging. I decided there was no need for a separate blog page. I sent a day redoing the calendar on the right in PHP instead of Perl. I like the PHP code better.
End of Entry
Monday, February 06, 2006
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Basketball
Stardate 59020.2
Basketball has been something of a pain, especially when you add other activities to the same day. Last Saturday, all three kids had a game, Patrick had the Pinewood Derby with Cub Scouts, and Thomas was invited to a birthday party. The day did not go as long I had originally thought, though. Thomas did well with his basketball game. Patrick also did well in his game, although some of his teammates have not picked up the idea there is more than one person you can pass the ball to. Right after Patrick’s game we rushed over to St. Paul’s church for the derby. I had thought this would go about 3 hours, but there were only 18 cars entered. Apparently not as many Cub Scout packs came this time. The derby ran an hour, which was just the right amount of time to get Thomas to his friend’s birthday party. We killed some time at Home Depot. It started to snow pretty good, so I got Thomas a little early.
Rachel’s game got April mad. The coach’s daughter is under the impression she is the team, and won’t pass the ball to anyone but her friend. Her friend does get the ball to who ever is open. At practice Wednesday, I saw the same thing in a skirmish between Rachel’s team and the other team that was practicing. I talked to the coach afterwards. The guy is not happy with this league. I tried to point out that his kid is getting mobbed because she won’t pass, and if she would spread the ball around she could get open a lot more. I don’t know if I did any good, but I guess we will see.
Patrick’s team lost their soccer playoff. I didn’t see the game, but April said they did well the first half, but started to come apart the second, and made some bad mistakes. I think that after 8 weeks of games, they are getting a little burned out. These are 8 year old kids, not adult professionals. I am wondering if they need a little break. Patrick and some of the other players also play basketball, and Patrick does fencing, so that’s a lot. Tuesdays are especially grueling; the kids go to school at 7 AM, to religious ed after school, and to either cub scouts or basketball practice. They don’t get home until after 8 PM. It’s only for a few months, though, and a little suffering is good.
Favorite Quote: “When Googling for information on zeppelins, it really pays to add "-led" to your search terms. Trust me.” – David Morgan-Mar, Irregular Webcomic
Actually, the official site for Led Zeppelin was the first on the list, but the next two were sites on airships.
Weight: 190 lbs I finally replaced the battery in the bathroom scale. I was thinking I would be closed to 200, so this is a pleasant surprise.
End Of Entry
Basketball has been something of a pain, especially when you add other activities to the same day. Last Saturday, all three kids had a game, Patrick had the Pinewood Derby with Cub Scouts, and Thomas was invited to a birthday party. The day did not go as long I had originally thought, though. Thomas did well with his basketball game. Patrick also did well in his game, although some of his teammates have not picked up the idea there is more than one person you can pass the ball to. Right after Patrick’s game we rushed over to St. Paul’s church for the derby. I had thought this would go about 3 hours, but there were only 18 cars entered. Apparently not as many Cub Scout packs came this time. The derby ran an hour, which was just the right amount of time to get Thomas to his friend’s birthday party. We killed some time at Home Depot. It started to snow pretty good, so I got Thomas a little early.
Rachel’s game got April mad. The coach’s daughter is under the impression she is the team, and won’t pass the ball to anyone but her friend. Her friend does get the ball to who ever is open. At practice Wednesday, I saw the same thing in a skirmish between Rachel’s team and the other team that was practicing. I talked to the coach afterwards. The guy is not happy with this league. I tried to point out that his kid is getting mobbed because she won’t pass, and if she would spread the ball around she could get open a lot more. I don’t know if I did any good, but I guess we will see.
Patrick’s team lost their soccer playoff. I didn’t see the game, but April said they did well the first half, but started to come apart the second, and made some bad mistakes. I think that after 8 weeks of games, they are getting a little burned out. These are 8 year old kids, not adult professionals. I am wondering if they need a little break. Patrick and some of the other players also play basketball, and Patrick does fencing, so that’s a lot. Tuesdays are especially grueling; the kids go to school at 7 AM, to religious ed after school, and to either cub scouts or basketball practice. They don’t get home until after 8 PM. It’s only for a few months, though, and a little suffering is good.
Favorite Quote: “When Googling for information on zeppelins, it really pays to add "-led" to your search terms. Trust me.” – David Morgan-Mar, Irregular Webcomic
Actually, the official site for Led Zeppelin was the first on the list, but the next two were sites on airships.
Weight: 190 lbs I finally replaced the battery in the bathroom scale. I was thinking I would be closed to 200, so this is a pleasant surprise.
End Of Entry
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Challenger
Stardate 59012.9
Where was I on January 28, 1986? I was in the North Salt Lake industrial park. I has just finished maintenance on a client’s equipment, and called into the office for the next job. They told me the shuttle had exploded. I thought, yeah, right, that’s not a very good joke. I turned on KSL radio in my truck to find that it was no joke. I was shocked. This was the flight that teacher was on. It would be weeks before they found a cause. A lot of stories went around during that time. Some were true, others didn’t pan out. The one I thought was the worst is that the occupants were still alive as the cabin fell for two minutes to the Atlantic.
It’s been snowing the last couple of days, so I took advantage of it. Rachel and I went sledding in Kaysville. I took the dog along, but he quickly got tired of running up and down a hill. Someone had constructed a small jump. I went over it once, and only once. The impact on my back was very painful. It doesn’t hurt now, so there’s no permanent damage.
We also went back to Clearfield to practice basketball again. The baskets were higher than before, and Thomas could not reach them. I asked if they could be lowered, but the manager wasn’t too happy with the idea. She lowered it a bit. I found another one, and ask the guy there if he minded that Thomas played on the same basket. He didn’t, and his son and Thomas started to play together after a couple of minutes. I guess things work out.
Warning, another political rant. Senator Howard Stephenson and others in the state Senate want to do away with the 17 th amendment. This is the one that removed the ability of the state senate to elect the states senators to the national congress. Worse, they were surprised that voters didn’t like that idea. Every year around the Fourth of July, I watch a BYU production called “A More Perfect Union”. It’s about the Constitutional Convention in 1787. In it, the argument over how the president and congress should be elected is running hot. James Wilson tells James Madison that if state senators are allowed to elect national senators, and those senators are allowed to elect the President (yes, that was considered one of the best ways), then each will get the idea they are important on their own, and they don’t need the people. I disagree with Senator Buttars about his views on gay rights, and his push to amend the teaching of evolution, but at least I comprehend his point of view. This, however, seems to be nothing more than we don’t like the way the people decide things, so we want control. I often don’t agree with the voters in Utah, but I think they should get the right to vote that way.
End Of Entry
Where was I on January 28, 1986? I was in the North Salt Lake industrial park. I has just finished maintenance on a client’s equipment, and called into the office for the next job. They told me the shuttle had exploded. I thought, yeah, right, that’s not a very good joke. I turned on KSL radio in my truck to find that it was no joke. I was shocked. This was the flight that teacher was on. It would be weeks before they found a cause. A lot of stories went around during that time. Some were true, others didn’t pan out. The one I thought was the worst is that the occupants were still alive as the cabin fell for two minutes to the Atlantic.
It’s been snowing the last couple of days, so I took advantage of it. Rachel and I went sledding in Kaysville. I took the dog along, but he quickly got tired of running up and down a hill. Someone had constructed a small jump. I went over it once, and only once. The impact on my back was very painful. It doesn’t hurt now, so there’s no permanent damage.
We also went back to Clearfield to practice basketball again. The baskets were higher than before, and Thomas could not reach them. I asked if they could be lowered, but the manager wasn’t too happy with the idea. She lowered it a bit. I found another one, and ask the guy there if he minded that Thomas played on the same basket. He didn’t, and his son and Thomas started to play together after a couple of minutes. I guess things work out.
Warning, another political rant. Senator Howard Stephenson and others in the state Senate want to do away with the 17 th amendment. This is the one that removed the ability of the state senate to elect the states senators to the national congress. Worse, they were surprised that voters didn’t like that idea. Every year around the Fourth of July, I watch a BYU production called “A More Perfect Union”. It’s about the Constitutional Convention in 1787. In it, the argument over how the president and congress should be elected is running hot. James Wilson tells James Madison that if state senators are allowed to elect national senators, and those senators are allowed to elect the President (yes, that was considered one of the best ways), then each will get the idea they are important on their own, and they don’t need the people. I disagree with Senator Buttars about his views on gay rights, and his push to amend the teaching of evolution, but at least I comprehend his point of view. This, however, seems to be nothing more than we don’t like the way the people decide things, so we want control. I often don’t agree with the voters in Utah, but I think they should get the right to vote that way.
End Of Entry
Friday, January 27, 2006
Stock Market Manipulation
Stardate 59012.7
Stock market heads down, and it’s all my fault At least that’s one person at work’s opinion. When the company stock went down by a dollar a share, he asked me if I had sold any stock. I told him I did, and that I had to or I would lose it. If I had known I had that kind of influence over world and national markets, I would have been having a lot of fun. Bin Laden audio tape, Abarmoff scandal, oil going back to $70 a barrel, NSA wiretapping, Google denying a government request, none of those things matter. But I can make it go up or down by buying or selling a few shares. Amusing.
I dropped the car off to have the damage fixed. It’s done now, and it looks much better. I rented a car from Budget. I got on the freeway to work and noticed a wallet on the floor. I went through it at work trying to find a phone number for the owner. Budget called in about another hour, and I gave them my cell number so that the owner could call me. This poor woman has every possible piece of ID in the wallet, military, UT drivers license, social security card, birth certificate, plus some cash and credit cards. I think I would be on the edge of panic to lose all that. The wallet was reclaimed by the owner Monday night. I kind of wondered how I would have had her prove who she was, considering every acceptable ID was in my hands.
I finally caught the RadioWest interview with Senator Chris Buttars done a couple of weeks ago. I am sorry I could not listen to it live. It would have been fun to ask a couple of questions on his positions. He pushed a resolution that requires teachers to state that not all scientists agree on evolution. He wanted that because they don’t know how life started. That’s true, but it’s also true for most areas of science. Scientists carry their morals and biases with them. To my knowledge, nobody understands gravity, so should it be taught as a simple theory, and Newton’s formulas may not work? Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity threw out some common assumptions in Newtonian physics, and to this day there are detractors. Einstein refused to accept quantum theory, famously quoted as saying he could not believe God played dice with the universe. So should we teach that E=MC2 should not be accepted as fact? I don’t understand why evolution is singled out, other than it does not agree with the Biblical accounts of creation. Why not teach that all of science fact is up to interpretation? That could have some interesting long term consequences. How many inventions were done because the inventor was never told something was impossible? Some kid today could wind up creating a real Heisenberg compensator.
Ford announced a restructuring plan this week that involving huge layoffs and idling plants in many places in the US. Ford blames a lack of sales in gas guzzling SUVs and higher fuel prices. It’s a big topic for NPR, and I have been thinking about it and the similar GM announcement last year during my commute. I wonder if they were among the companies lobbying against better gasoline mileage in cars, and a bigger investment in alternate fuels Congress had in a bill last year. According to another NPR report, GM went out of its way to recall and destroy all EV1s. Ford only reluctantly developed a hybrid engine vehicle. Granted, some of the plants Ford has were built post World War II, and are not easy to change for new types of cars. But it does seem like they stayed on a collision course to sell high profit SUV’s until too late. It worries me that American companies give a inordinate emphasis on short term profit and stock price over long term investments and innovations.
On a similar note, UPN and WB will soon be replaced by a single network to be called CW. I laughed at Leslie Moonves assertion the new network would have hit shows every night of the week. He hasn’t done this with UPN, what changes in CW give him this magical ability? I admit to being bitter that he was in charge when Star Trek: Enterprise was cancelled, but the fact remains that the track record does not back up his claim.
I read most of the books in Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series a couple of years ago. It’s about a Napoleon era British soldier. Wandering on Amazon, I found out the BBC had made the books into a television series staring Sean Bean. I remembered him as the crazy IRA terrorist in Patriot Games, and he played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings. Last week I found that the series was available for rent from Blockbuster Online. I put the first few episodes in the queue. I am looking forward to seeing it. IMDB indicates there are more Sharpe episodes being made.
End of Entry
Stock market heads down, and it’s all my fault At least that’s one person at work’s opinion. When the company stock went down by a dollar a share, he asked me if I had sold any stock. I told him I did, and that I had to or I would lose it. If I had known I had that kind of influence over world and national markets, I would have been having a lot of fun. Bin Laden audio tape, Abarmoff scandal, oil going back to $70 a barrel, NSA wiretapping, Google denying a government request, none of those things matter. But I can make it go up or down by buying or selling a few shares. Amusing.
I dropped the car off to have the damage fixed. It’s done now, and it looks much better. I rented a car from Budget. I got on the freeway to work and noticed a wallet on the floor. I went through it at work trying to find a phone number for the owner. Budget called in about another hour, and I gave them my cell number so that the owner could call me. This poor woman has every possible piece of ID in the wallet, military, UT drivers license, social security card, birth certificate, plus some cash and credit cards. I think I would be on the edge of panic to lose all that. The wallet was reclaimed by the owner Monday night. I kind of wondered how I would have had her prove who she was, considering every acceptable ID was in my hands.
I finally caught the RadioWest interview with Senator Chris Buttars done a couple of weeks ago. I am sorry I could not listen to it live. It would have been fun to ask a couple of questions on his positions. He pushed a resolution that requires teachers to state that not all scientists agree on evolution. He wanted that because they don’t know how life started. That’s true, but it’s also true for most areas of science. Scientists carry their morals and biases with them. To my knowledge, nobody understands gravity, so should it be taught as a simple theory, and Newton’s formulas may not work? Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity threw out some common assumptions in Newtonian physics, and to this day there are detractors. Einstein refused to accept quantum theory, famously quoted as saying he could not believe God played dice with the universe. So should we teach that E=MC2 should not be accepted as fact? I don’t understand why evolution is singled out, other than it does not agree with the Biblical accounts of creation. Why not teach that all of science fact is up to interpretation? That could have some interesting long term consequences. How many inventions were done because the inventor was never told something was impossible? Some kid today could wind up creating a real Heisenberg compensator.
Ford announced a restructuring plan this week that involving huge layoffs and idling plants in many places in the US. Ford blames a lack of sales in gas guzzling SUVs and higher fuel prices. It’s a big topic for NPR, and I have been thinking about it and the similar GM announcement last year during my commute. I wonder if they were among the companies lobbying against better gasoline mileage in cars, and a bigger investment in alternate fuels Congress had in a bill last year. According to another NPR report, GM went out of its way to recall and destroy all EV1s. Ford only reluctantly developed a hybrid engine vehicle. Granted, some of the plants Ford has were built post World War II, and are not easy to change for new types of cars. But it does seem like they stayed on a collision course to sell high profit SUV’s until too late. It worries me that American companies give a inordinate emphasis on short term profit and stock price over long term investments and innovations.
On a similar note, UPN and WB will soon be replaced by a single network to be called CW. I laughed at Leslie Moonves assertion the new network would have hit shows every night of the week. He hasn’t done this with UPN, what changes in CW give him this magical ability? I admit to being bitter that he was in charge when Star Trek: Enterprise was cancelled, but the fact remains that the track record does not back up his claim.
I read most of the books in Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series a couple of years ago. It’s about a Napoleon era British soldier. Wandering on Amazon, I found out the BBC had made the books into a television series staring Sean Bean. I remembered him as the crazy IRA terrorist in Patriot Games, and he played Boromir in the Lord of the Rings. Last week I found that the series was available for rent from Blockbuster Online. I put the first few episodes in the queue. I am looking forward to seeing it. IMDB indicates there are more Sharpe episodes being made.
End of Entry
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Flu
Stardate 59011.7
I caught the flu last Friday, and spent most of the weekend on the couch alternately freezing or sweating. I did take the kids to their first basketball games. As I said, Saturdays are now spent at St. James Church in Ogden. Thomas’s team lost, mainly due to the one kid on the other team who seemed to know what he was doing. Patrick’s team won, but I don’t remember much of the details of that game. Rachel’s team won their game as well, mainly due to the coach’s daughter who has lay-ups mastered. April suggested I take the kids to Clearfield and practice with them.
Patrick’s game Monday ended in a tie. This was a pleasant surprise to most of the parents because this team wiped the field with us the last go around. Two goals were scored against the goalie the team could not get anything past before. April and I talked about the change that has happened over the last couple of months. Not only has Patrick become an excellent goalie, every player on the team has improved. The other team had some talented players, and I watched them get handled very well. One item the other team did not do well that Patrick’s team does is cover the goal if the goalie moves off of it. This cost them one goal, and almost another.
We used some Best Buy gift cards to get a DVD recorder. It took most of the evening to set up. That was last week, and after a week I’ve come to appreciate the features. All of the VCRs we have support VCRPlus, but I’ve never used it until now. I wasted too much time setting up the system and then trying to find out what was on each tape to make it worthwhile. The recorder can put each program right after the other, and since it is a DVD there is no rewinding and fast forwarding to get to the show. It shows a menu of all the shows on the disc. The only complaint I had is that it warned us that the machine needed to be off for VCRPlus to work. I didn’t think this was a big deal until I realized there was no power light, and the display showed something on or off. It took several tries to find out the OFF meant the current time is in the display and ON shows you the time left to record on the disc. The discs need to be ‘finalized’ to work in any other DVD player (including the computer DVD players), and then erased and formatted to record again. The only missing feature is the ability to record two shows on different channels at the same time. I may actually start watching a few more shows this season because of this machine.
Nope, Carl, I didn’t intend for blog entries to be a means of communicating. I was making an observation and no insult or innuendo was implied. Communication via blog is too slow, especially when there's no comment section.
End of Entry
I caught the flu last Friday, and spent most of the weekend on the couch alternately freezing or sweating. I did take the kids to their first basketball games. As I said, Saturdays are now spent at St. James Church in Ogden. Thomas’s team lost, mainly due to the one kid on the other team who seemed to know what he was doing. Patrick’s team won, but I don’t remember much of the details of that game. Rachel’s team won their game as well, mainly due to the coach’s daughter who has lay-ups mastered. April suggested I take the kids to Clearfield and practice with them.
Patrick’s game Monday ended in a tie. This was a pleasant surprise to most of the parents because this team wiped the field with us the last go around. Two goals were scored against the goalie the team could not get anything past before. April and I talked about the change that has happened over the last couple of months. Not only has Patrick become an excellent goalie, every player on the team has improved. The other team had some talented players, and I watched them get handled very well. One item the other team did not do well that Patrick’s team does is cover the goal if the goalie moves off of it. This cost them one goal, and almost another.
We used some Best Buy gift cards to get a DVD recorder. It took most of the evening to set up. That was last week, and after a week I’ve come to appreciate the features. All of the VCRs we have support VCRPlus, but I’ve never used it until now. I wasted too much time setting up the system and then trying to find out what was on each tape to make it worthwhile. The recorder can put each program right after the other, and since it is a DVD there is no rewinding and fast forwarding to get to the show. It shows a menu of all the shows on the disc. The only complaint I had is that it warned us that the machine needed to be off for VCRPlus to work. I didn’t think this was a big deal until I realized there was no power light, and the display showed something on or off. It took several tries to find out the OFF meant the current time is in the display and ON shows you the time left to record on the disc. The discs need to be ‘finalized’ to work in any other DVD player (including the computer DVD players), and then erased and formatted to record again. The only missing feature is the ability to record two shows on different channels at the same time. I may actually start watching a few more shows this season because of this machine.
Nope, Carl, I didn’t intend for blog entries to be a means of communicating. I was making an observation and no insult or innuendo was implied. Communication via blog is too slow, especially when there's no comment section.
End of Entry
Thursday, January 12, 2006
MS View
Stardate 59011.2
Microsoft has an interesting view of the world sometimes. I installed Visual Studio 2005 on my work computer, and then loaded an old version of a common project (old in terms of it was worked on in September 2005). Rebuilding it resulted in thousands of C4996 warnings. Apparently much of the C standard library functions have been deprecated. In software development, deprecated means the feature is slated to be removed at some unspecified time in the future, so don’t use it. Now, I call attention to the word STANDARD. These have been part of the library for longer than Microsoft has existed as a company. Granted, not understanding them or misusing them opens security holes, and has led to many a critical update or patch. But these are common to millions of programs. MS does provide ‘safe’ alternates, but for projects such as mine and many others that need to port to operating systems besides Windows, these are not an option. My opinion is that this is the same as telling people that driving cars is not recommended because you might get in an accident, and you need to find an alternative because we will be taking them away in the next five years. There needs to be a better solution.
I took Patrick to his first fencing lesson. He loves it. The instructor was nice and very patient. We will see how long his interest holds, but now I have one more thing to do.
Rachel and Thomas have started basketball practices. Rachel’s coach is a little reserved, and seemed to favor his daughter over everyone else. I could be wrong, though, but we shall see. Cub Scouts is the same time as Thomas’s basketball practice, so I didn’t get to see it. I’m told his coach is good. Thomas’s games are all 8 or 9 on Saturday, and Rachel’s is 1 or 2, so I’ll be spending a few Saturdays in Ogden.
April took the car to Young Chevrolet for an estimate. $849 was the total. I figured about $1000. I pay the $250 deductible; the insurance company gets the rest. The other issue is that it will take three days. I’ll need to get a rental since I need a car.
2006 is turning out good so far, in a strange way. The printer started flashing all the lights on Monday and would not print. I checked HP support website, and it said the printer has a hardware failure. April called support, and found out the warranty expires at the end of the month. HP is shipping us a new one. I’ve been pleased with their support, if not the products. We seem to go through printers very fast.
I updated my resume on Monster.com after getting an email that said I’d be entered in a contest. I figured it could not hurt. I’ve had calls from a bunch of headhunters…er, recruiters to use the new century term. Nothing they’ve offered is outstanding yet.
I got message from SmithBarney. They wanted to verify my mailing address. I was a little puzzled since I don’t have an account with them. I called them and gave them my address. They had tried to mail me a check for $3.50, but it was returned. My guess would be it got delivered to the wrong house, since that happens a lot. It turns out they are managing some stock options I was granted in the mid nineties. I had forgotten about it. I checked on them, and found out one grant of more than a thousand shares would expire on the 18 of January. So I exercised them at $61.41 a share. I am in a little bit of shock.
Mood: uncomprehending
Music of the Moment: Rossini’s Overture for William Tell. Besides reminding me of the Lone Ranger, this also conjures Daffy Duck. It was the background music for many a Looney Tune.
End Of Entry
Microsoft has an interesting view of the world sometimes. I installed Visual Studio 2005 on my work computer, and then loaded an old version of a common project (old in terms of it was worked on in September 2005). Rebuilding it resulted in thousands of C4996 warnings. Apparently much of the C standard library functions have been deprecated. In software development, deprecated means the feature is slated to be removed at some unspecified time in the future, so don’t use it. Now, I call attention to the word STANDARD. These have been part of the library for longer than Microsoft has existed as a company. Granted, not understanding them or misusing them opens security holes, and has led to many a critical update or patch. But these are common to millions of programs. MS does provide ‘safe’ alternates, but for projects such as mine and many others that need to port to operating systems besides Windows, these are not an option. My opinion is that this is the same as telling people that driving cars is not recommended because you might get in an accident, and you need to find an alternative because we will be taking them away in the next five years. There needs to be a better solution.
I took Patrick to his first fencing lesson. He loves it. The instructor was nice and very patient. We will see how long his interest holds, but now I have one more thing to do.
Rachel and Thomas have started basketball practices. Rachel’s coach is a little reserved, and seemed to favor his daughter over everyone else. I could be wrong, though, but we shall see. Cub Scouts is the same time as Thomas’s basketball practice, so I didn’t get to see it. I’m told his coach is good. Thomas’s games are all 8 or 9 on Saturday, and Rachel’s is 1 or 2, so I’ll be spending a few Saturdays in Ogden.
April took the car to Young Chevrolet for an estimate. $849 was the total. I figured about $1000. I pay the $250 deductible; the insurance company gets the rest. The other issue is that it will take three days. I’ll need to get a rental since I need a car.
2006 is turning out good so far, in a strange way. The printer started flashing all the lights on Monday and would not print. I checked HP support website, and it said the printer has a hardware failure. April called support, and found out the warranty expires at the end of the month. HP is shipping us a new one. I’ve been pleased with their support, if not the products. We seem to go through printers very fast.
I updated my resume on Monster.com after getting an email that said I’d be entered in a contest. I figured it could not hurt. I’ve had calls from a bunch of headhunters…er, recruiters to use the new century term. Nothing they’ve offered is outstanding yet.
I got message from SmithBarney. They wanted to verify my mailing address. I was a little puzzled since I don’t have an account with them. I called them and gave them my address. They had tried to mail me a check for $3.50, but it was returned. My guess would be it got delivered to the wrong house, since that happens a lot. It turns out they are managing some stock options I was granted in the mid nineties. I had forgotten about it. I checked on them, and found out one grant of more than a thousand shares would expire on the 18 of January. So I exercised them at $61.41 a share. I am in a little bit of shock.
Mood: uncomprehending
Music of the Moment: Rossini’s Overture for William Tell. Besides reminding me of the Lone Ranger, this also conjures Daffy Duck. It was the background music for many a Looney Tune.
End Of Entry
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
A New Year
Stardate 59010.3
News Years Eve was fun, if a little subdued from previous years. I¡¦d like to thank Carl and Erica from hosting. I know the work that goes into it and after it. I'd like to offer one small suggestion, parties like that are not a good venue for videos. You have to turn the volume way up to hear, and that then drowns out the conversation, which is the main reason for attending. We had to leave early because Thomas started to get cranky. That was anticipated. The Bajoran Renewal Scrolls were a great idea.
Patrick¡¦s birthday party on the 30th went well. We went to Davis Lanes for bowling, pizza, and cake. The one thing I did wrong was to take the establishments suggestion that all eight kids could bowl on the same lane. There¡¦s too much time between turns this way, and they all started to get bored. Patrick had his friend Hans stay over for three days. He got his much desired Battlefront II for the PS/2. So they spent the next few days on the game system. I kicked them off a few times, especially when Hans complained of blisters forming.
The family started one of those 3-D holographic puzzles before Christmas, and we finally finished it the night of the 30th. It was one of the more difficult ones I have done. The pieces were a lot alike, and changed color when you tried to fit it somewhere. Once it was done, we put puzzle glue on it.
During Patrick¡¦s party, it started to snow. It snowed pretty well, so I thought I¡¦d take the kids sledding the next morning. During the evening it turned to rain, and by the next morning the snow was gone. It rained all day. A bonfire was planned for the party, but it was too wet. The sun came out on the first, but the second it started to rain again. I don¡¦t like rain in December/January. Snow is much more fun, especially when I don¡¦t have to commute through it.
Monday we took done the tree and the Christmas decorations. The house is back to normal. April took apart the vacuum, and replaced the broken belt. It seems to pick up the dog hair much better now.
I went to dinner with my Dad on Monday. Actually, we stayed at his place and ate the salmon my brother sends to him every year. He had a bad spell last Tuesday. Apparently he could not get his legs or arms to work, and lost his vision for a few minutes. He went to the doctor the next day, but they didn¡¦t find anything. From what he tells me, they mainly checked his heart. The symptoms sound more like a stroke. He is going back to the doctor next week for more extensive testing.
When I walked to my car afterwards, there was a dent in the back bumper. It was not there when I arrived, so someone backed into my car. No note, either. The fiberglass is broken, so the bumper will need to be replaced. I am angrier that no one at least left a contact number or even an apology.
Patrick was so caught up playing the PS/2 he didn¡¦t want to go to soccer. After making him go, he was glad he did. Apparently, the other team was very good. He was not supposed to play goalie, but he was pushed to do it in the second half, and turned in an amazing game with some goal line saves. April told me one kid on the other team was ejected because he got frustrated with his shots being blocked and shoved some of Patrick¡¦s teammates into the wall. Patrick also got some assists in the first half, and April said his teammate Trey also had a good game, scoring a number of goals. Patrick¡¦s team won.
End of Entry
News Years Eve was fun, if a little subdued from previous years. I¡¦d like to thank Carl and Erica from hosting. I know the work that goes into it and after it. I'd like to offer one small suggestion, parties like that are not a good venue for videos. You have to turn the volume way up to hear, and that then drowns out the conversation, which is the main reason for attending. We had to leave early because Thomas started to get cranky. That was anticipated. The Bajoran Renewal Scrolls were a great idea.
Patrick¡¦s birthday party on the 30th went well. We went to Davis Lanes for bowling, pizza, and cake. The one thing I did wrong was to take the establishments suggestion that all eight kids could bowl on the same lane. There¡¦s too much time between turns this way, and they all started to get bored. Patrick had his friend Hans stay over for three days. He got his much desired Battlefront II for the PS/2. So they spent the next few days on the game system. I kicked them off a few times, especially when Hans complained of blisters forming.
The family started one of those 3-D holographic puzzles before Christmas, and we finally finished it the night of the 30th. It was one of the more difficult ones I have done. The pieces were a lot alike, and changed color when you tried to fit it somewhere. Once it was done, we put puzzle glue on it.
During Patrick¡¦s party, it started to snow. It snowed pretty well, so I thought I¡¦d take the kids sledding the next morning. During the evening it turned to rain, and by the next morning the snow was gone. It rained all day. A bonfire was planned for the party, but it was too wet. The sun came out on the first, but the second it started to rain again. I don¡¦t like rain in December/January. Snow is much more fun, especially when I don¡¦t have to commute through it.
Monday we took done the tree and the Christmas decorations. The house is back to normal. April took apart the vacuum, and replaced the broken belt. It seems to pick up the dog hair much better now.
I went to dinner with my Dad on Monday. Actually, we stayed at his place and ate the salmon my brother sends to him every year. He had a bad spell last Tuesday. Apparently he could not get his legs or arms to work, and lost his vision for a few minutes. He went to the doctor the next day, but they didn¡¦t find anything. From what he tells me, they mainly checked his heart. The symptoms sound more like a stroke. He is going back to the doctor next week for more extensive testing.
When I walked to my car afterwards, there was a dent in the back bumper. It was not there when I arrived, so someone backed into my car. No note, either. The fiberglass is broken, so the bumper will need to be replaced. I am angrier that no one at least left a contact number or even an apology.
Patrick was so caught up playing the PS/2 he didn¡¦t want to go to soccer. After making him go, he was glad he did. Apparently, the other team was very good. He was not supposed to play goalie, but he was pushed to do it in the second half, and turned in an amazing game with some goal line saves. April told me one kid on the other team was ejected because he got frustrated with his shots being blocked and shoved some of Patrick¡¦s teammates into the wall. Patrick also got some assists in the first half, and April said his teammate Trey also had a good game, scoring a number of goals. Patrick¡¦s team won.
End of Entry
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Christmas 2005
Stardate 59123.1
Christmas was good, and I hope friends also had a good Christmas. This year was spent putting electronic gadgets together instead of LEGOs and ImagiNext toys. The better part of the day was spent getting things up and going. One failure was a cheap WinTV USB tuner I got for April. I got the idea because she’s been watching DVDs on the laptop, and I thought this would help with the finding a tape to record on and then finding the show after getting it on tape. I could not get any audio, and the video ended up as a tiny 320 by 200 screen. I had my doubts about it when I brought it. It’s still a good idea, but I need to put more research into it. There are dedicated PVRs and DVD recorders, but that’s one more piece of equipment with remote and hookups and finding a receiver.
I got Patrick his own joystick, which he was thrilled with. I also bought a jet fighter program because he had fun with the F-16 Falcon game when his Cub Scout troop went to the Hill Museum. He got frustrated with the game, though, and hasn’t played it since. He also got a Jedi Lightsaber game you hook up to the TV. This took a little time to figure out that you sweep the lightsaber vertically across the screen for yes, and horizontally for no. He has gotten up a few levels on it, but he commented that it made him tired. Having to stand up and swing your arms is a little different from pressing buttons on a controller.
Rachel got a Dance Dance Revolution for the PS/2 with an EyeToy camera. I watched her play with some similar (but less versatile) games in the store, so I was pretty sure she would have fun with it. I have fun with it. Mike Gibby mentioned playing this one and how physically demanding it is. I have to admit having a lot of fun with it, although I lack rhythm to make it very far. But that’s something I can practice on.
Rachel also got a Disney MP3 player. It only had enough memory for a few songs, but it has an SD slot to expand that. MP3 players are ok, but so far I have not seen one that can fast forward and rewind. Sometimes I like to listen to a particular part of a song. I imagine the more expensive ones would, but I don’t think I need to spend that much.
Thomas finally got his Star Wars: Episode III DVD. He also got a ImagiNext ship, and most importantly for him, LEGO people and Star Wars action figures. He is less into building than putting everyone into one or more vehicles. Patrick is the builder, and he is now enrolled in the LEGO Brickmaster program. He gets small sets and plans for building all sorts of things.
We watched Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume II. I missed some parts of it, but I finally understand why Grevious is wheezing and coughing in Episode III.
Christmas Eve we went to a small party at the Howertons. Janet is the co-leader with April for the girl scout troop, and her youngest son watches our kids a lot. I played some pool and got to socialize. After that we went to see the lights and displays in Ogden’s city park. We went earlier in the week to Layton’s display. Both were good. Layton has added a few new light sculptures.
I found Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has a blog. It’s somewhat cynical for my tastes, but that’s where he gets his material for the comic. Besides, I knew this after reading The Dilbert Future.
In the end, 2005 was pretty eventful. A tsunami in Southeast Asia (ok technically that was 2004, but the effects went well into 2006). My sister Susan lost her job, and didn’t find another one for six months. My Dad fell and cracked his hip, which he still has not fully recovered from. Ray Graham suddenly passed away, to the great loss of his family, friends, and the world. Star Trek: Enterprise was cancelled, leaving me with no new Star Trek episodes to watch. Hurricane Katrina went through New Orleans at the end of August, which meant having my mother-in-law here for a couple of months. I got a call from a friend there last week. She and her family are in a trailer in front of their house now, which she says is a step up from being crowded in with her cousin. There is still a lot of damage to be worked out. There was a devastating earthquake in Pakistan.
Some things have remained constant, like my job. I am still doing the same thing for the last eight years. I have been actively looking for a new job. I had an interview with ATK Space Systems, which would have been cool, but I didn’t get it. I’ve only had one other interview so far, with a company at the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon. That’s even further to drive than I do now, so I was not too disappointed that I didn’t get that job.
I’ve been reading some of the blogs about jobs on Monster.com. The job situation is a source of anger and many posts. This is a little ironic considering the cases of people being fired for blogging about work. The account of one guy who was fired for being a smoker (not smoking on the job) also makes a lot of employees upset. Personally, I think this is backlash for holding companies accountable. I don’t know, it all seems messed up.
There was an article in the Standard Examiner about how most of the people in Davis County don’t work there, and the trend will triple that number in the coming decades. My attention was also caught by a letter to the editor stating that the Ogden mayor’s plan to make the city into a recreation hub would leave the city with low paying service jobs. That’s not a good thing.
I have started reading books in electronic form, and I enjoy it. I am surprised that they are not cheaper than the paper ones. It seems like they should be, considering there is no shipping or printing. I suppose the printing is so down pat that there is not much to save by not printing. Some books, like the S.C.E. series I have become addicted to, are almost all only available in e-book form. The only downsides to reading this way is that it takes more time to boot a computer than open a paper book, and it’s not a good idea to read in the bathtub.
So, for 2006 (sheesh, we are already halfway through the decade), what can I do? One new employee thought our company did not give enough feedback, and I agree. So I think I need to work on doing more feedback for both my job and personal life. It needs to be constructive, though. I need to keep working on my job search. I’ve started working on a Microsoft Certified Applications Developer (MCAD) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), but each of the study guides is 1,000 pages long. This might not get done in 2006.
Other things, such as getting in shape and losing weight, are goals I work on all the time. One of the things that I read somewhere is that it’s a bad sign when you do something because you want to do it, but soon it becomes something you have to do. That takes the fun and interest out of it. There are dozens if not hundreds of things you have to do all the time. The trick is to find some way of turning them back into the category of want to do, like find a new way of doing the task, or changing the task into something else.
And finally,
End of Entry
Christmas was good, and I hope friends also had a good Christmas. This year was spent putting electronic gadgets together instead of LEGOs and ImagiNext toys. The better part of the day was spent getting things up and going. One failure was a cheap WinTV USB tuner I got for April. I got the idea because she’s been watching DVDs on the laptop, and I thought this would help with the finding a tape to record on and then finding the show after getting it on tape. I could not get any audio, and the video ended up as a tiny 320 by 200 screen. I had my doubts about it when I brought it. It’s still a good idea, but I need to put more research into it. There are dedicated PVRs and DVD recorders, but that’s one more piece of equipment with remote and hookups and finding a receiver.
I got Patrick his own joystick, which he was thrilled with. I also bought a jet fighter program because he had fun with the F-16 Falcon game when his Cub Scout troop went to the Hill Museum. He got frustrated with the game, though, and hasn’t played it since. He also got a Jedi Lightsaber game you hook up to the TV. This took a little time to figure out that you sweep the lightsaber vertically across the screen for yes, and horizontally for no. He has gotten up a few levels on it, but he commented that it made him tired. Having to stand up and swing your arms is a little different from pressing buttons on a controller.
Rachel got a Dance Dance Revolution for the PS/2 with an EyeToy camera. I watched her play with some similar (but less versatile) games in the store, so I was pretty sure she would have fun with it. I have fun with it. Mike Gibby mentioned playing this one and how physically demanding it is. I have to admit having a lot of fun with it, although I lack rhythm to make it very far. But that’s something I can practice on.
Rachel also got a Disney MP3 player. It only had enough memory for a few songs, but it has an SD slot to expand that. MP3 players are ok, but so far I have not seen one that can fast forward and rewind. Sometimes I like to listen to a particular part of a song. I imagine the more expensive ones would, but I don’t think I need to spend that much.
Thomas finally got his Star Wars: Episode III DVD. He also got a ImagiNext ship, and most importantly for him, LEGO people and Star Wars action figures. He is less into building than putting everyone into one or more vehicles. Patrick is the builder, and he is now enrolled in the LEGO Brickmaster program. He gets small sets and plans for building all sorts of things.
We watched Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume II. I missed some parts of it, but I finally understand why Grevious is wheezing and coughing in Episode III.
Christmas Eve we went to a small party at the Howertons. Janet is the co-leader with April for the girl scout troop, and her youngest son watches our kids a lot. I played some pool and got to socialize. After that we went to see the lights and displays in Ogden’s city park. We went earlier in the week to Layton’s display. Both were good. Layton has added a few new light sculptures.
I found Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, has a blog. It’s somewhat cynical for my tastes, but that’s where he gets his material for the comic. Besides, I knew this after reading The Dilbert Future.
In the end, 2005 was pretty eventful. A tsunami in Southeast Asia (ok technically that was 2004, but the effects went well into 2006). My sister Susan lost her job, and didn’t find another one for six months. My Dad fell and cracked his hip, which he still has not fully recovered from. Ray Graham suddenly passed away, to the great loss of his family, friends, and the world. Star Trek: Enterprise was cancelled, leaving me with no new Star Trek episodes to watch. Hurricane Katrina went through New Orleans at the end of August, which meant having my mother-in-law here for a couple of months. I got a call from a friend there last week. She and her family are in a trailer in front of their house now, which she says is a step up from being crowded in with her cousin. There is still a lot of damage to be worked out. There was a devastating earthquake in Pakistan.
Some things have remained constant, like my job. I am still doing the same thing for the last eight years. I have been actively looking for a new job. I had an interview with ATK Space Systems, which would have been cool, but I didn’t get it. I’ve only had one other interview so far, with a company at the mouth of Big Cottonwood canyon. That’s even further to drive than I do now, so I was not too disappointed that I didn’t get that job.
I’ve been reading some of the blogs about jobs on Monster.com. The job situation is a source of anger and many posts. This is a little ironic considering the cases of people being fired for blogging about work. The account of one guy who was fired for being a smoker (not smoking on the job) also makes a lot of employees upset. Personally, I think this is backlash for holding companies accountable. I don’t know, it all seems messed up.
There was an article in the Standard Examiner about how most of the people in Davis County don’t work there, and the trend will triple that number in the coming decades. My attention was also caught by a letter to the editor stating that the Ogden mayor’s plan to make the city into a recreation hub would leave the city with low paying service jobs. That’s not a good thing.
I have started reading books in electronic form, and I enjoy it. I am surprised that they are not cheaper than the paper ones. It seems like they should be, considering there is no shipping or printing. I suppose the printing is so down pat that there is not much to save by not printing. Some books, like the S.C.E. series I have become addicted to, are almost all only available in e-book form. The only downsides to reading this way is that it takes more time to boot a computer than open a paper book, and it’s not a good idea to read in the bathtub.
So, for 2006 (sheesh, we are already halfway through the decade), what can I do? One new employee thought our company did not give enough feedback, and I agree. So I think I need to work on doing more feedback for both my job and personal life. It needs to be constructive, though. I need to keep working on my job search. I’ve started working on a Microsoft Certified Applications Developer (MCAD) and Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), but each of the study guides is 1,000 pages long. This might not get done in 2006.
Other things, such as getting in shape and losing weight, are goals I work on all the time. One of the things that I read somewhere is that it’s a bad sign when you do something because you want to do it, but soon it becomes something you have to do. That takes the fun and interest out of it. There are dozens if not hundreds of things you have to do all the time. The trick is to find some way of turning them back into the category of want to do, like find a new way of doing the task, or changing the task into something else.
And finally,
End of Entry
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Rachel is 10
Stardate 59122.2
Rachel is 10. Wow, I’ve been a dad for a whole decade now. We joked about her being double digits or two handfuls now. As our first child, I think we made more mistakes with her, especially being over protective and wanting to have exact control over everything in her life. Over the last ten years I’ve learned to loosen up, much to the relief of both of us. We have involved conversations on diverse subjects including George Washington, governments, and the latest, static electricity. The next ten years will probably be far more interesting and challenging.
Rachel’s birthday party was described by her as the best ever. April organized an American Girl Hawaiian party. Six other girls came over to our house: Audra, Shelby, Sara, Fiona, Liz, and Rachel S. They did a treasure hunt, limbo, had pizza with pineapple, and made monkey tails (bananas with pudding). My only job was to take her brothers away. Patrick wanted to see “Yours, Mine, and Ours”, but the only show time in Layton was 11:40 A.M., which was too early to go and keep them out of the way. So we went to the Nickelcade. This gave me a sense of deja-vu, and another reason for doing blogs. See the 1/4/2004 entry, third paragraph. I thought I was simply repeating what I did last year, but this was TWO years ago. Patrick is not as interested in the arcade anymore, more than likely because he has better games on the P/S2 at home. Nobody was interested in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game.
After a few weeks of temperatures in the teens and single digits, it snowed last weekend. The snow did not stay, because it warmed up into the 40’s and 50’s. After that kind of cold, it seems almost balmy now. Rachel went to stay with her Aunt Susan, and the boys and I went to Kaysville’s Ponds Park to sled. They had fun, but in about an hour both of them were huffing climbing the hill. They’ve been playing a lot of P/S2 lately, but since the neighborhood kids are still in school, they can’t think of what else to do. They did go out and build snowmen, and we’ve had a couple of snowball fights. Rachel and her aunt went to see the Chronicles of Narnia, which they both liked. Rachel had read the book already. She told us she saw the trailer for the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean.
The van went into the dealers on Monday to check out a squeal in the braking system as you back up. April talked to them over the phone, and they told us it was a bad hose, and it was covered under the warranty. When we got it there, they tried to tell us it was the pads, and not under warranty. They called in the afternoon to tell me it was a cracked seal, and that was covered. I thought it was strange one guy was adamant the problem was the pads. It didn’t fit from what I was seeing.
Christmas is almost here. The arguments over how to greet people seem silly to me. Yes, Merry Christmas is Christian in origin, but I think most mean it more as a have a good time, without the religious overtone. Christmas itself is based on replacing pagan rituals, and many of the traditions are borrows from pagan time, or recent commercial inventions. Happy Holidays is more generic. Personally, use whatever greeting you would like, I’ll take it as wishing me well.
Favorite quote: “Only you would remember the band Quiet Riot” - April
End of Entry
Rachel is 10. Wow, I’ve been a dad for a whole decade now. We joked about her being double digits or two handfuls now. As our first child, I think we made more mistakes with her, especially being over protective and wanting to have exact control over everything in her life. Over the last ten years I’ve learned to loosen up, much to the relief of both of us. We have involved conversations on diverse subjects including George Washington, governments, and the latest, static electricity. The next ten years will probably be far more interesting and challenging.
Rachel’s birthday party was described by her as the best ever. April organized an American Girl Hawaiian party. Six other girls came over to our house: Audra, Shelby, Sara, Fiona, Liz, and Rachel S. They did a treasure hunt, limbo, had pizza with pineapple, and made monkey tails (bananas with pudding). My only job was to take her brothers away. Patrick wanted to see “Yours, Mine, and Ours”, but the only show time in Layton was 11:40 A.M., which was too early to go and keep them out of the way. So we went to the Nickelcade. This gave me a sense of deja-vu, and another reason for doing blogs. See the 1/4/2004 entry, third paragraph. I thought I was simply repeating what I did last year, but this was TWO years ago. Patrick is not as interested in the arcade anymore, more than likely because he has better games on the P/S2 at home. Nobody was interested in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game.
After a few weeks of temperatures in the teens and single digits, it snowed last weekend. The snow did not stay, because it warmed up into the 40’s and 50’s. After that kind of cold, it seems almost balmy now. Rachel went to stay with her Aunt Susan, and the boys and I went to Kaysville’s Ponds Park to sled. They had fun, but in about an hour both of them were huffing climbing the hill. They’ve been playing a lot of P/S2 lately, but since the neighborhood kids are still in school, they can’t think of what else to do. They did go out and build snowmen, and we’ve had a couple of snowball fights. Rachel and her aunt went to see the Chronicles of Narnia, which they both liked. Rachel had read the book already. She told us she saw the trailer for the sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean.
The van went into the dealers on Monday to check out a squeal in the braking system as you back up. April talked to them over the phone, and they told us it was a bad hose, and it was covered under the warranty. When we got it there, they tried to tell us it was the pads, and not under warranty. They called in the afternoon to tell me it was a cracked seal, and that was covered. I thought it was strange one guy was adamant the problem was the pads. It didn’t fit from what I was seeing.
Christmas is almost here. The arguments over how to greet people seem silly to me. Yes, Merry Christmas is Christian in origin, but I think most mean it more as a have a good time, without the religious overtone. Christmas itself is based on replacing pagan rituals, and many of the traditions are borrows from pagan time, or recent commercial inventions. Happy Holidays is more generic. Personally, use whatever greeting you would like, I’ll take it as wishing me well.
Favorite quote: “Only you would remember the band Quiet Riot” - April
End of Entry
Monday, December 12, 2005
Slow Commute
Stardate 59121.2
Last Tuesday it took about 2 1/2 hours to get home. I'm not really complaining, because going any faster than 5 miles an hour on I-215 would have been bad. As it was, I skidded twice. But it's times like these I wished I worked closer to home. Okay, I could MOVE closer to work, but that means April has to commute further. Besides, I went to a Microsoft launch for Visual Studio 2005 in Sandy. It got out at 5:15 PM. It took another 30 minutes to get to the freeway. The entrance is about the same distance from my home, maybe a little more. The amount of traffic was horrendous. I got out of there thinking I would NOT want to live down here. Anyway, I plodded along I-215, lazily thinking about having a job close enough to walk to work. Maybe about a 20 or 30 minute walk. Enough to get some good excercise without taking too much time. There are a number of businesses that close, but none hiring for what I do. Still, it's a pleasant dream.
I missing Patrick's Cub Scout meeting, since I did not get home in time. His soccer team placed 6th, and plays a tournament tonight. He's Star of the Week for his class this week, which means he had to put a poster together of his favorite things, and tell about his family. I printed out a bunch of pictures for him to choose from. Oddly, I could not find one of the dog, or at least him and the dog. I took one last week of the dog and cat curled up together in the sun, but I haven't gotten it off the camera yet.
Christmas means lots of shipments. Not a big deal normally, but UPS will no longer just leave packages if we are not home. A shipment was lost early this year, so apparently we are required to sign for all packages they deliver. Again, not a big deal. Except they deliver only when we are not home. Someone has been here the majority of the time last week, except at 3 PM to pick up the kids from school. This is the time they try to deliver things. We requested they do not deliver during this time, and also to not deliver at all, but instead notify us to pick it up. So far, neither request has been heard.
April and I went out for our 11th anniversary. The plan was to do nothing much, because we always need to be somewhere or do something. We succeeded, which made for a great weekend. Carl Stark stopped by Sunday with the stocking makings for my kids, and an anniversary card from the crew of the Ticonderoga. Thanks, guys, that was great!
Favorite quote: "I like the Borg. They make the best bad guys." - Patrick, watching me play the Elite Force Demo
The battery is out on the scale, so I have no idea how much I weigh.
End of Entry
Last Tuesday it took about 2 1/2 hours to get home. I'm not really complaining, because going any faster than 5 miles an hour on I-215 would have been bad. As it was, I skidded twice. But it's times like these I wished I worked closer to home. Okay, I could MOVE closer to work, but that means April has to commute further. Besides, I went to a Microsoft launch for Visual Studio 2005 in Sandy. It got out at 5:15 PM. It took another 30 minutes to get to the freeway. The entrance is about the same distance from my home, maybe a little more. The amount of traffic was horrendous. I got out of there thinking I would NOT want to live down here. Anyway, I plodded along I-215, lazily thinking about having a job close enough to walk to work. Maybe about a 20 or 30 minute walk. Enough to get some good excercise without taking too much time. There are a number of businesses that close, but none hiring for what I do. Still, it's a pleasant dream.
I missing Patrick's Cub Scout meeting, since I did not get home in time. His soccer team placed 6th, and plays a tournament tonight. He's Star of the Week for his class this week, which means he had to put a poster together of his favorite things, and tell about his family. I printed out a bunch of pictures for him to choose from. Oddly, I could not find one of the dog, or at least him and the dog. I took one last week of the dog and cat curled up together in the sun, but I haven't gotten it off the camera yet.
Christmas means lots of shipments. Not a big deal normally, but UPS will no longer just leave packages if we are not home. A shipment was lost early this year, so apparently we are required to sign for all packages they deliver. Again, not a big deal. Except they deliver only when we are not home. Someone has been here the majority of the time last week, except at 3 PM to pick up the kids from school. This is the time they try to deliver things. We requested they do not deliver during this time, and also to not deliver at all, but instead notify us to pick it up. So far, neither request has been heard.
April and I went out for our 11th anniversary. The plan was to do nothing much, because we always need to be somewhere or do something. We succeeded, which made for a great weekend. Carl Stark stopped by Sunday with the stocking makings for my kids, and an anniversary card from the crew of the Ticonderoga. Thanks, guys, that was great!
Favorite quote: "I like the Borg. They make the best bad guys." - Patrick, watching me play the Elite Force Demo
The battery is out on the scale, so I have no idea how much I weigh.
End of Entry
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Aargh!
Stardate 59120.6
Aargh! (I still can hear "No, that's a different game". It's an inside joke I'll get to in a minute.) It's getting hard to be a Star Trek fan. Star Trek Enterprise is cancelled after only four seasons. Now Star Trek: Communicator has ceased publications. And this! No new TV series, no new movies, no publications, and possibly no official web site? What do I do online now?
Now to explain. It not all that funny, as retold stories often are. Back in 1987, I worked at a small games company doing all sorts of odd jobs. I list it on my resume' as 'Assistant Manager'. I burned EEPROMs for Nintendo and Atari ST, copied artwork for the game developers, and occasionally got to test games. When I messed up on something, I would always say 'Arrrgh!'. Not sure where I got it, probably from Charlie Brown or Monty Python (no, no, back of the throat). The company was finishing up a Rampage clone called Arrrgh! So everytime I said it, my manager Hal would say, 'No, that's a different game". See, I warned you it was not all that funny. Enough about my past, we now return you to the present, already in progress.
I went out to dinner at Sizzler with my dad on Monday. Service at the Bountiful location is getting poor. I have to ask at least twice for refills or A-1 steak sauce. Not sure where else to go, though.
End of Entry
Aargh! (I still can hear "No, that's a different game". It's an inside joke I'll get to in a minute.) It's getting hard to be a Star Trek fan. Star Trek Enterprise is cancelled after only four seasons. Now Star Trek: Communicator has ceased publications. And this! No new TV series, no new movies, no publications, and possibly no official web site? What do I do online now?
Now to explain. It not all that funny, as retold stories often are. Back in 1987, I worked at a small games company doing all sorts of odd jobs. I list it on my resume' as 'Assistant Manager'. I burned EEPROMs for Nintendo and Atari ST, copied artwork for the game developers, and occasionally got to test games. When I messed up on something, I would always say 'Arrrgh!'. Not sure where I got it, probably from Charlie Brown or Monty Python (no, no, back of the throat). The company was finishing up a Rampage clone called Arrrgh! So everytime I said it, my manager Hal would say, 'No, that's a different game". See, I warned you it was not all that funny. Enough about my past, we now return you to the present, already in progress.
I went out to dinner at Sizzler with my dad on Monday. Service at the Bountiful location is getting poor. I have to ask at least twice for refills or A-1 steak sauce. Not sure where else to go, though.
End of Entry
Monday, December 05, 2005
Rats
Stardate 59120.5
Rats, I messed up. The last entry was done offline with a text editor because the online version does not handle cascading style sheets. It puts a font directive in front of every line, which disables the style tag. Well, it's fixed now. Thanks to Carl Stark for pointing it out to me.
The Amazing Race had a pit stop at the downtown library in Salt Lake City. It was interesting seeing places I've been to many times on a network show. It was funny that the teams went from Heber City to Park City. All but one team took hwy 42. The Florida team, who complain and whine alot, and didn't like southern Utah, took hwy 92. If memory serves, this goes through the Alpine Loop. They are in a big SUV towing a RV trailer. That must have been fun to navigate.
There's a lot going on, but at the moment I can't remember it. Last Thursday I got a new boss. It's unclear whether the previous one quit or was let go. My opinion is that he quit. The evidence I have is that he came in two weeks ago and cleared his desk out, and the job he had would drive anyone insane. He was in Phoenix the last week, and was crowing about it being 72 degrees. I lived there a couple of years. It's 72 in the winter, but 115 in the summer. I remember watching weather reports that gave the next days' LOW as 101. The lower temperature was still three digits.
This has been making it's way around the net. I might as well do it to.
That's no moon..., wait, my mistake, it is a moon...
Yes, it's the moon Mimas. The full description is here.
End of Entry
Rats, I messed up. The last entry was done offline with a text editor because the online version does not handle cascading style sheets. It puts a font directive in front of every line, which disables the style tag. Well, it's fixed now. Thanks to Carl Stark for pointing it out to me.
The Amazing Race had a pit stop at the downtown library in Salt Lake City. It was interesting seeing places I've been to many times on a network show. It was funny that the teams went from Heber City to Park City. All but one team took hwy 42. The Florida team, who complain and whine alot, and didn't like southern Utah, took hwy 92. If memory serves, this goes through the Alpine Loop. They are in a big SUV towing a RV trailer. That must have been fun to navigate.
There's a lot going on, but at the moment I can't remember it. Last Thursday I got a new boss. It's unclear whether the previous one quit or was let go. My opinion is that he quit. The evidence I have is that he came in two weeks ago and cleared his desk out, and the job he had would drive anyone insane. He was in Phoenix the last week, and was crowing about it being 72 degrees. I lived there a couple of years. It's 72 in the winter, but 115 in the summer. I remember watching weather reports that gave the next days' LOW as 101. The lower temperature was still three digits.
This has been making it's way around the net. I might as well do it to.
That's no moon..., wait, my mistake, it is a moon...
Yes, it's the moon Mimas. The full description is here.
End of Entry
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Goblet of Fire
Stardate 59113.0
We went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Sunday. It was good. Thomas covered his eyes at the more scary parts. The question on my mind is if Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint will go for the next three movies. Rupert especially looks eighteen or nineteen now. One idea April has is to do a Peter Jackson and film all three at once. It would still need to wait for J.K Rowling’s last book.
Brannon Braga’s Threshold was cancelled by CBS last week. One review wondered tongue in cheek if he was going to blame viewer fatigue. I personally am getting that with Lost. The series seems to go nowhere, but adds new plotlines.
I loaded the log4net test project with the intention of figuring out what was wrong. I ran it to see where I was at, and it worked just fine. I changed some settings in the config file, and it picked them up. Weird. My guess is VS.NET was not copying the .config file I added until I restarted. This would not be the first time I found that sort of problem. I also played around with Craig Andera’s DirectX tutorial. The C# samples that Microsoft put out with DirectX 9a have a few problems with methods that don’t exist.
Ok, and I wanted to show off some more improvements in the style sheets. I like the spiral notepad on the left. This is strange, since I don't the real thing. Writing left-handed, I end up bending the wire because I lean my hand on it.
At least with his I can get a spinning triangle. Ok, it’s not much, but learning something new is best started with basics.
End of Entry
We went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Sunday. It was good. Thomas covered his eyes at the more scary parts. The question on my mind is if Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint will go for the next three movies. Rupert especially looks eighteen or nineteen now. One idea April has is to do a Peter Jackson and film all three at once. It would still need to wait for J.K Rowling’s last book.
Brannon Braga’s Threshold was cancelled by CBS last week. One review wondered tongue in cheek if he was going to blame viewer fatigue. I personally am getting that with Lost. The series seems to go nowhere, but adds new plotlines.
I loaded the log4net test project with the intention of figuring out what was wrong. I ran it to see where I was at, and it worked just fine. I changed some settings in the config file, and it picked them up. Weird. My guess is VS.NET was not copying the .config file I added until I restarted. This would not be the first time I found that sort of problem. I also played around with Craig Andera’s DirectX tutorial. The C# samples that Microsoft put out with DirectX 9a have a few problems with methods that don’t exist.
55 public bool InitializeGraphics()
56 {
57 try
58 {
59 presentParams.Windowed=true; // We don't want to run fullscreen
60 presentParams.SwapEffect = SwapEffect.Discard; // Discard the frames
61 presentParams.EnableAutoDepthStencil = true; // Turn on a Depth stencil
62 presentParams.AutoDepthStencilFormat = DepthFormat.D16; // And the stencil format
63 device = new Device(0, DeviceType.Hardware, this,
64 CreateFlags.SoftwareVertexProcessing, presentParams); //Create a device
65 device.DeviceCreated += new System.EventHandler(this.OnCreateDevice);
Error 1 'Microsoft.DirectX.Direct3D.Device' does not contain a definition for 'DeviceCreated'
\Tutorial5\texture.cs 65 12 Tutorial5
66 device.DeviceReset += new System.EventHandler(this.OnResetDevice);
67 this.OnCreateDevice(device, null);
68 this.OnResetDevice(device, null);
69 pause = false;
70 return true;
71 }
72 catch (DirectXException)
73 {
74 // Catch any errors and return a failure
75 return false;
76 }
77 }
Ok, and I wanted to show off some more improvements in the style sheets. I like the spiral notepad on the left. This is strange, since I don't the real thing. Writing left-handed, I end up bending the wire because I lean my hand on it.
At least with his I can get a spinning triangle. Ok, it’s not much, but learning something new is best started with basics.
End of Entry
Monday, November 28, 2005
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Stardate 59112.7
One thing I forgot from the last entry. Patrick and I went to see Zathura about a week and a half ago. The movie is along the same lines as Jumanji, just set in space. I think the bigger difference is that there is not a big name star, which is something of a plus. For a show that takes place entirely within a house, it was pretty good. I liked the message of the show, although it could have used a bit more humor.
We had Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, due to April working on Thanksgiving. This made the next day pretty relaxed, which is nice. Patrick had a soccer game Wednesday afternoon. He played goalie for a big part of the game. He was not too happy about it, but everyone talks about how good he is at it. We will have to talk to the coach and see if he can play the last part of the game as goalie, and other positions earlier in the game.
Thanksgiving day, as I said, was relaxed. The kids got bored pretty quickly, so I dug out all the Imaginext castle parts, and built a three story one. This occupied the boys for the rest of the afternoon. We made a bridge, too. I also put up the Christmas lights. This year the icicle lights actually make it all the way around the front of the garage, and I bought a snowman for out front. All in all, it’s the most elaborate display I have done.
Rachel received an early Christmas present in the form of a clock/radio/CD player. The alarm has been going off at 8 AM every morning, but at least it is getting her out of bed.
We bought an artificial tree Saturday. After 10 years of real trees, we decided to change. This one is also pre-lit. The kids, especially Rachel, were against the idea, but once we got it up, they warmed up to it. I grew up with one, but they have changed. Instead of the colored stems of branches that you plug into the pole, you fold out the branches. The tree was a little more expensive than what we have paid for a real one, but the fact we can use it year after year makes up for that. The ornaments give a history of Christmas past. Mulan, Harry Potter, Buzz Lightyear, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mike from Monsters, Inc, Scooby Doo, Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Worf from Deep Space Nine (whom Rachel referred to as the bad guy when I got it), and Captain Archer. My Scorpion from Star Trek: Nemesis again does not fit the light socket for the tree. This year Thomas got a Clone Trooper and Darth Vader, Patrick Anakin’s starfighter, and Rachel got a polar bear. The Star Trek ornaments this year are Khan from the TOS episode Space Seed, Locutus of Borg, and the Enterprise –A. The Hallmark site lists Locutus as from First Contact, but Locutus was not in the movie.
It snowed a few inches Saturday night, so the kids and I went out to play. The paper says the snowfall is showing drought again. It seems early in the year to predict that.
End of Entry
One thing I forgot from the last entry. Patrick and I went to see Zathura about a week and a half ago. The movie is along the same lines as Jumanji, just set in space. I think the bigger difference is that there is not a big name star, which is something of a plus. For a show that takes place entirely within a house, it was pretty good. I liked the message of the show, although it could have used a bit more humor.
We had Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night, due to April working on Thanksgiving. This made the next day pretty relaxed, which is nice. Patrick had a soccer game Wednesday afternoon. He played goalie for a big part of the game. He was not too happy about it, but everyone talks about how good he is at it. We will have to talk to the coach and see if he can play the last part of the game as goalie, and other positions earlier in the game.
Thanksgiving day, as I said, was relaxed. The kids got bored pretty quickly, so I dug out all the Imaginext castle parts, and built a three story one. This occupied the boys for the rest of the afternoon. We made a bridge, too. I also put up the Christmas lights. This year the icicle lights actually make it all the way around the front of the garage, and I bought a snowman for out front. All in all, it’s the most elaborate display I have done.
Rachel received an early Christmas present in the form of a clock/radio/CD player. The alarm has been going off at 8 AM every morning, but at least it is getting her out of bed.
We bought an artificial tree Saturday. After 10 years of real trees, we decided to change. This one is also pre-lit. The kids, especially Rachel, were against the idea, but once we got it up, they warmed up to it. I grew up with one, but they have changed. Instead of the colored stems of branches that you plug into the pole, you fold out the branches. The tree was a little more expensive than what we have paid for a real one, but the fact we can use it year after year makes up for that. The ornaments give a history of Christmas past. Mulan, Harry Potter, Buzz Lightyear, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mike from Monsters, Inc, Scooby Doo, Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Worf from Deep Space Nine (whom Rachel referred to as the bad guy when I got it), and Captain Archer. My Scorpion from Star Trek: Nemesis again does not fit the light socket for the tree. This year Thomas got a Clone Trooper and Darth Vader, Patrick Anakin’s starfighter, and Rachel got a polar bear. The Star Trek ornaments this year are Khan from the TOS episode Space Seed, Locutus of Borg, and the Enterprise –A. The Hallmark site lists Locutus as from First Contact, but Locutus was not in the movie.
It snowed a few inches Saturday night, so the kids and I went out to play. The paper says the snowfall is showing drought again. It seems early in the year to predict that.
End of Entry
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Puzzles
Stardate 59112.2 (11-22-2005)
The fun part about the Internet is that you can find solutions to things when you are not looking for them. I had a bad time formatting the code solution to a puzzle I was given a month ago. I stole some CSS from Phil Haack as I was looking at his code for a class factory from a description in an app.config file. The solution is at the bottom so you don’t have to scroll past it to read the rest of the entry. Config files have been a big source of frustration this last week or so. I have been working with log4net and NHibernate. I can get log4net working with a default configuration, but if I add setting to the config file, I don’t get anything. Same with NHibernate. I am feeling rather stupid at this point.
This last Sunday morning I woke up with a bad stomachache. Most of the day and Monday I spent running to the bathroom every hour or so. I was also running a fever. It’s passed now, much to my relief. Since I didn’t eat anything those days, you would think I might lose a little weight, but no such luck. It’s been sneaking up slowly but surely.
Patrick’s indoor soccer team has been doing well. They lost their game on Monday, but he played really well. I go out to dinner with my dad on Mondays, so I don’t get to see the games. I cancelled last Monday since I could not eat anyway, and took the opportunity to see a game. Patrick was on offense most of the time, and I was impressed. He can control and handle a soccer ball as good as any player on his team. Several times I saw him take the ball away from an opponent. He seems a long way from the five year old I coached.
Patrick has also taken an interest in playing catch with some baseballs we got at a game in Ohio. He is pretty good with throwing and catching, but he needs more practice with a bat. Even more interesting, the first time we played catch, it ended with my throwing one to him that bounced out of hit mitt and off his upper lip, cutting and bruising it. He wanted to go back out and do it again the next day.
On Mondays, as I said, dad and I usually go to Sizzler for dinner. It’s cheap, fast, and pretty good. He won’t go to many other places, and seems to think the only thing I want is steak. There’s a restaurant called El Matador opening up just outside of where he lives. It’s an established name, but Costco bought the land the old place was on. It looks like they got a good deal out of it, the new place is elaborate. It’s Mexican, as I keep pointing out to my dad as we pass. He has said he’ll try it. Anyway, last Monday, the server at Sizzler told us she hadn’t seen us there is a long time. We got a confused look, and told her we had been here every Monday for the last month or so. I guess it’s good that someone remembers us, but I don’t remember her, and I have seen the same faces.
Rachel was honored with a Student of the Month award. Her GPA is 3.95. She is doing very well in school this year. April and I went to Parent-Teacher conferences two weeks ago. Everyone is doing well in school. Thomas is having a little trouble paying attention and stop talking when he needs to, but Mrs. Platz says he fine otherwise. Apparently he is now comfortable with school. Patrick isn’t pulling the wool over his teacher’s eyes like I thought might. Mrs. Fenton is also the Vice Principal for the campus and I imagine she has seen his tricks before. He has also admitted he can’t see the board very well, and he has started wearing his glasses again. Rachel seems to like Mrs. Key. She not frustrated this year as she was last year. Not that Mrs. Higgs is bad, but her style of teaching did not work with Rachel.
Bob Allen’s fiftieth birthday was celebrated at the last Senior Officers Meeting for the Ticonderoga. Lori got the blame, but it was more Tonya’s idea. Next year the business meetings will move from Saturday afternoon to Wednesday night. This leaves us free to play activities for different days and times. The 3 PM time on Saturday left us with no time to do some things such as go swimming or to a museum.
Speaking of museums, Patrick went to the Hill Air Force Base Museum the Saturday before last with his Cub Scout troop. He was not too excited since he has been there before. This time the flight simulators were open, and the boys were fascinated with the F-16 cockpits attached to an F-16 Falcon software.http://beta.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=35868783
That’s about all I can remember for the last couple of weeks. I am sure there is much more, but this is long enough.
Music: The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini
Mood: Ambidextrous (Latin for hopelessly confused)
Favorite Quote: “Agile programming does not just mean doing more work with fewer people” Scott Adams/Dilbert
The fun part about the Internet is that you can find solutions to things when you are not looking for them. I had a bad time formatting the code solution to a puzzle I was given a month ago. I stole some CSS from Phil Haack as I was looking at his code for a class factory from a description in an app.config file. The solution is at the bottom so you don’t have to scroll past it to read the rest of the entry. Config files have been a big source of frustration this last week or so. I have been working with log4net and NHibernate. I can get log4net working with a default configuration, but if I add setting to the config file, I don’t get anything. Same with NHibernate. I am feeling rather stupid at this point.
This last Sunday morning I woke up with a bad stomachache. Most of the day and Monday I spent running to the bathroom every hour or so. I was also running a fever. It’s passed now, much to my relief. Since I didn’t eat anything those days, you would think I might lose a little weight, but no such luck. It’s been sneaking up slowly but surely.
Patrick’s indoor soccer team has been doing well. They lost their game on Monday, but he played really well. I go out to dinner with my dad on Mondays, so I don’t get to see the games. I cancelled last Monday since I could not eat anyway, and took the opportunity to see a game. Patrick was on offense most of the time, and I was impressed. He can control and handle a soccer ball as good as any player on his team. Several times I saw him take the ball away from an opponent. He seems a long way from the five year old I coached.
Patrick has also taken an interest in playing catch with some baseballs we got at a game in Ohio. He is pretty good with throwing and catching, but he needs more practice with a bat. Even more interesting, the first time we played catch, it ended with my throwing one to him that bounced out of hit mitt and off his upper lip, cutting and bruising it. He wanted to go back out and do it again the next day.
On Mondays, as I said, dad and I usually go to Sizzler for dinner. It’s cheap, fast, and pretty good. He won’t go to many other places, and seems to think the only thing I want is steak. There’s a restaurant called El Matador opening up just outside of where he lives. It’s an established name, but Costco bought the land the old place was on. It looks like they got a good deal out of it, the new place is elaborate. It’s Mexican, as I keep pointing out to my dad as we pass. He has said he’ll try it. Anyway, last Monday, the server at Sizzler told us she hadn’t seen us there is a long time. We got a confused look, and told her we had been here every Monday for the last month or so. I guess it’s good that someone remembers us, but I don’t remember her, and I have seen the same faces.
Rachel was honored with a Student of the Month award. Her GPA is 3.95. She is doing very well in school this year. April and I went to Parent-Teacher conferences two weeks ago. Everyone is doing well in school. Thomas is having a little trouble paying attention and stop talking when he needs to, but Mrs. Platz says he fine otherwise. Apparently he is now comfortable with school. Patrick isn’t pulling the wool over his teacher’s eyes like I thought might. Mrs. Fenton is also the Vice Principal for the campus and I imagine she has seen his tricks before. He has also admitted he can’t see the board very well, and he has started wearing his glasses again. Rachel seems to like Mrs. Key. She not frustrated this year as she was last year. Not that Mrs. Higgs is bad, but her style of teaching did not work with Rachel.
Bob Allen’s fiftieth birthday was celebrated at the last Senior Officers Meeting for the Ticonderoga. Lori got the blame, but it was more Tonya’s idea. Next year the business meetings will move from Saturday afternoon to Wednesday night. This leaves us free to play activities for different days and times. The 3 PM time on Saturday left us with no time to do some things such as go swimming or to a museum.
Speaking of museums, Patrick went to the Hill Air Force Base Museum the Saturday before last with his Cub Scout troop. He was not too excited since he has been there before. This time the flight simulators were open, and the boys were fascinated with the F-16 cockpits attached to an F-16 Falcon software.http://beta.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=35868783
That’s about all I can remember for the last couple of weeks. I am sure there is much more, but this is long enough.
Music: The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini
Mood: Ambidextrous (Latin for hopelessly confused)
Favorite Quote: “Agile programming does not just mean doing more work with fewer people” Scott Adams/Dilbert
using System;
namespace MissingValue
{
public class MissingValue
{
private int[] n;
private int[] a;
private int sum_n;
private int sum_a;
// No default constructor
private MissingValue()
{}
public MissingValue(int array_length)
{
// Allocate array of ints to requested length
n = new int[array_length];
// Allocate 'missing' array as one less
a = new int[array_length - 1];
// Fill array with unique values from 0
// to length of array
for (int x = 0; x < n.Length; ++x)
{
n[x] = x;
}
// Seed a random value
DateTime d1 = DateTime.Now;
Random rand = new Random(d1.Millisecond);
// Get a random value in the range from 0
// to array length
int num = rand.Next(0, a.Length);
for (int x = 0; x < a.Length; ++x)
{
if (x < num)
a[x] = x;
else
a[x] = x + 1;
}
}
public int FindMissingValue()
{
sum_n = sumArray(n);
sum_a = sumArray(a);
return sum_n - sum_a;
}
private int sumArray(int[] a)
{
int sum = 0;
foreach (int x in a)
{
sum += x;
}
return sum;
}
///
/// The main entry point for the application.
///
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)
{
MissingValue mv = new MissingValue(100);
Console.WriteLine("the missing element is {0}",
mv.FindMissingValue());
}
}
}
// Output:
// the missing element is 35
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
What Action Hero Would You Be?
Stardate 59110.8
I like the results, although I would wish Captain Jack Sparrow were higher. It's probably due to the fact I don't have to have flamboyant clothing.
Members of the Ticonderoga, Kelly, and others went to the Space Education simulator last Saturday. I brought along the CD for Spamalot, the Broadway play with Tim Curry and David Hyde-Pierce with roots in Monty Python. My passengers enjoyed it. I'd love to see the whole play. I hope they make it on DVD.
The simulator was fun, although I think we would have done better if we understood the controls and who did what. I was wishing for a stop button, or some feedback from the computer when I hit the thruster controls. But that's beside the point. I was impressed by how well we worked together, and the acting on the part of the people running it was great. I felt like it was real. The options given at the end were perfecty valid, although I admit they did not occur to me. That's a little embarassing, but it was a good learning experience.
I have watched a few movies over the last few weeks. Wallace and Grommit was good, although I was a little bored. Thomas loved it. Chicken Little was better, I got a few laughs out of it. I tried to watch Bewitched with Will Farrell on DVD, but stopped about halfway through. I.Robot was interesting, but I think Issac Asimov's original stories were better.
Yes, I have not posted the solution to the problem. Formatting code for a web page has turned out to be difficult.
End of Entry
 | You scored as Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones is an archaeologist/adventurer with an unquenchable love for danger and excitement. He travels the globe in search of historical relics. He loves travel, excitement, and a good archaeological discovery. He hates Nazis and snakes, perhaps to the same degree. He always brings along his trusty whip and fedora. He's tough, cool, and dedicated. He relies on both brains and brawn to get him out of trouble and into it. |
| Indiana Jones | 63% | ||
| Batman, the Dark Knight | 58% | ||
| Maximus | 54% | ||
| Lara Croft | 46% | ||
| 46% | |||
| Captain Jack Sparrow | 46% | ||
| The Terminator | 42% | ||
| Neo, the "One" | 38% | ||
| James Bond, Agent 007 | 38% | ||
| El Zorro | 25% | ||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | 25% |
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com
I like the results, although I would wish Captain Jack Sparrow were higher. It's probably due to the fact I don't have to have flamboyant clothing.
Members of the Ticonderoga, Kelly, and others went to the Space Education simulator last Saturday. I brought along the CD for Spamalot, the Broadway play with Tim Curry and David Hyde-Pierce with roots in Monty Python. My passengers enjoyed it. I'd love to see the whole play. I hope they make it on DVD.
The simulator was fun, although I think we would have done better if we understood the controls and who did what. I was wishing for a stop button, or some feedback from the computer when I hit the thruster controls. But that's beside the point. I was impressed by how well we worked together, and the acting on the part of the people running it was great. I felt like it was real. The options given at the end were perfecty valid, although I admit they did not occur to me. That's a little embarassing, but it was a good learning experience.
I have watched a few movies over the last few weeks. Wallace and Grommit was good, although I was a little bored. Thomas loved it. Chicken Little was better, I got a few laughs out of it. I tried to watch Bewitched with Will Farrell on DVD, but stopped about halfway through. I.Robot was interesting, but I think Issac Asimov's original stories were better.
Yes, I have not posted the solution to the problem. Formatting code for a web page has turned out to be difficult.
End of Entry
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Halloween
Stardate 59110.1
Gotta get going on pictures and such. But Halloween was good. We went the same place as last year. Lots of kids running around, lots of costumes. Rachel was a gossomer ghost, Patrick was Darth Vader, and Thomas was Anakin the padawan. The sitter commented that the boys costume reflected their personalities. Patrick and his friend ran from house to house, with Thomas close behind. Rachel and her friend tagged behind.
Back in our neighborhood, all but a couple of houses were dark. We were actually invited to the trunk or treat this year, but I favor the traditional Halloween of going house to house. The other way seems boring.
The kids and I carved pumpkins on Sunday. Thomas's was the most elaborate, although I craved it. I roasted the seeds, and they turned out to be pretty good. Rachel carved her own design (well, it was from a pattern, but she did the holes and the saw). Mine was really simple this year, mainly because by the time I got to it, I had a splitting headache. It's muscle spasmed where my neck muscles enter the skull, which cause pain to shoot across my head. The doctor put it down to tension. A little heat, and it's better.
Yeah, the array puzzle. I have a solution, but it is sitting on my work 'puter, and I just don't want to go get it. I did make another small discovery: it's pretty hard to make a random set of unique numbers.
Gas is down by almost thirty cents a gallon. This is still nowhere close to what it was last year. The positive point of view is that it puts pressure on the administration to fund alternate energy. I've never been a fan of increasing the supply of oil to lower the cost. I'd like to move to a more environment friendly transportation source.
End of Entry
Gotta get going on pictures and such. But Halloween was good. We went the same place as last year. Lots of kids running around, lots of costumes. Rachel was a gossomer ghost, Patrick was Darth Vader, and Thomas was Anakin the padawan. The sitter commented that the boys costume reflected their personalities. Patrick and his friend ran from house to house, with Thomas close behind. Rachel and her friend tagged behind.
Back in our neighborhood, all but a couple of houses were dark. We were actually invited to the trunk or treat this year, but I favor the traditional Halloween of going house to house. The other way seems boring.
The kids and I carved pumpkins on Sunday. Thomas's was the most elaborate, although I craved it. I roasted the seeds, and they turned out to be pretty good. Rachel carved her own design (well, it was from a pattern, but she did the holes and the saw). Mine was really simple this year, mainly because by the time I got to it, I had a splitting headache. It's muscle spasmed where my neck muscles enter the skull, which cause pain to shoot across my head. The doctor put it down to tension. A little heat, and it's better.
Yeah, the array puzzle. I have a solution, but it is sitting on my work 'puter, and I just don't want to go get it. I did make another small discovery: it's pretty hard to make a random set of unique numbers.
Gas is down by almost thirty cents a gallon. This is still nowhere close to what it was last year. The positive point of view is that it puts pressure on the administration to fund alternate energy. I've never been a fan of increasing the supply of oil to lower the cost. I'd like to move to a more environment friendly transportation source.
End of Entry
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Last Soccer game for Fall
Stardate 59102.9
Today was a day. It started up well enough, but things went south fast. Today was the last soccer games for the fall. I got Thomas ready, and we arrived for his game ten minutes early. The only downside was the black mass in the sky to the west. It didn't stay west that long. By the time the game started, the rain was coming down. Not a sprinkle, but a hard, cold rain. I am proud to say none of the kids that played complained. A grandmother of one who refused to play most of the games told me I should call off the game. I almost lost my patience then. Her grandson was dry and warm in the car, the rest of the team was soaking wet but toughing it out. I managed to politely inform her games were played unless there was lightning. April was picking up soccer ball balloons for the kids, so I wanted to hang around. We got through the game, and handed out the goodies.
I headed home to change, and got a call from Rachel's coach that her game was cancelled, and Patrick's soon after that. I had guilty feelings during Thomas's game, but the rest of the teams were playing, so I hung on. I headed back out to get Rachel from a friends house, met April and the boys. They went home, I stopped to get something to eat. After I had ordered I realized I left my wallet in my other pants. Now head home, and back out to get the food. Head back home, only to find out it's the wrong food. Back to the fast food, who had figured out someone got the wrong order, but they had no idea who. I've taken a little nap, and things seem to be back in order now.
Patrick and Rachel had a piano recital Thursday. Patrick was very stressed about it, but he did fine, as did Rachel. It was a short version of Peter and the Wolf.
I was given a problem on Monday to find a good programming solution to. If you have an array of unique numbers from one to one hundred, and another array of unique numbers that have all the numbers from the first array, what's the fastest way to find the missing number? I didn't have the answer at that time, but I do now. I'll post the solution, and the code, but for now I need to jet.
End of Entry
Today was a day. It started up well enough, but things went south fast. Today was the last soccer games for the fall. I got Thomas ready, and we arrived for his game ten minutes early. The only downside was the black mass in the sky to the west. It didn't stay west that long. By the time the game started, the rain was coming down. Not a sprinkle, but a hard, cold rain. I am proud to say none of the kids that played complained. A grandmother of one who refused to play most of the games told me I should call off the game. I almost lost my patience then. Her grandson was dry and warm in the car, the rest of the team was soaking wet but toughing it out. I managed to politely inform her games were played unless there was lightning. April was picking up soccer ball balloons for the kids, so I wanted to hang around. We got through the game, and handed out the goodies.
I headed home to change, and got a call from Rachel's coach that her game was cancelled, and Patrick's soon after that. I had guilty feelings during Thomas's game, but the rest of the teams were playing, so I hung on. I headed back out to get Rachel from a friends house, met April and the boys. They went home, I stopped to get something to eat. After I had ordered I realized I left my wallet in my other pants. Now head home, and back out to get the food. Head back home, only to find out it's the wrong food. Back to the fast food, who had figured out someone got the wrong order, but they had no idea who. I've taken a little nap, and things seem to be back in order now.
Patrick and Rachel had a piano recital Thursday. Patrick was very stressed about it, but he did fine, as did Rachel. It was a short version of Peter and the Wolf.
I was given a problem on Monday to find a good programming solution to. If you have an array of unique numbers from one to one hundred, and another array of unique numbers that have all the numbers from the first array, what's the fastest way to find the missing number? I didn't have the answer at that time, but I do now. I'll post the solution, and the code, but for now I need to jet.
End of Entry
Friday, October 21, 2005
Armored Elephants
Stardate 59102.1
Playing with Rome: Total War for the last few days, I came to a number of conclusions:
1. Standing around waiting for the enemy to attack is not a sound strategy.
2. Don't concentrate on a single unit during battle.
3. Suddenly, without warning, you will lose the campaign mode. Save often.
4. Quick Combat is not random. Example combats I have done are Egyptians (me) vs. Seleucids (with armored elephants), Parthians (me) vs Seleucids (with armored elephants AND onagers, Greeks (me) vs Seleucids (with armored elephants). I sense a pattern here, and it is that I am a little tired of dealing with elephants.
5. Lost one battle because my archers apparently ran out of arrows and charged the last enemy phalanx. Archers do not good close combat make.
5. Campaign mode again, you start the pre-Imperial game about 15 years after the death of Alexander the Great. The phalanx is the premier formation. Learn to deal with it.
April picked up Age of Empires III for me. It's in a huge box, which contains a book of artwork, a music CD, and players handbook. I think this is a little overboard. The game is set in the early colonial times, and from the manual all the settings are in North America. I played the prerelease trial version for a while.
End Of Entry
Playing with Rome: Total War for the last few days, I came to a number of conclusions:
1. Standing around waiting for the enemy to attack is not a sound strategy.
2. Don't concentrate on a single unit during battle.
3. Suddenly, without warning, you will lose the campaign mode. Save often.
4. Quick Combat is not random. Example combats I have done are Egyptians (me) vs. Seleucids (with armored elephants), Parthians (me) vs Seleucids (with armored elephants AND onagers, Greeks (me) vs Seleucids (with armored elephants). I sense a pattern here, and it is that I am a little tired of dealing with elephants.
5. Lost one battle because my archers apparently ran out of arrows and charged the last enemy phalanx. Archers do not good close combat make.
5. Campaign mode again, you start the pre-Imperial game about 15 years after the death of Alexander the Great. The phalanx is the premier formation. Learn to deal with it.
April picked up Age of Empires III for me. It's in a huge box, which contains a book of artwork, a music CD, and players handbook. I think this is a little overboard. The game is set in the early colonial times, and from the manual all the settings are in North America. I played the prerelease trial version for a while.
End Of Entry
Friday, October 14, 2005
Stardate 59101.4 (10-14-2005)
It’s interesting what you come across on
the World Wide Web while searching for something else. I was looking for a
solution to creating an instance of an object based on the description in a
config file.
Tim, the right jobs for you would allow you to be
April says I am a little to analytical, though.
I find lots of stuff on management. One quip that caught my
attention was about adding more people to a project to get it done faster,
described as if one woman can have a child in nine months, nine women can have
the same child in one month. It captures the absurdity beautifully.
Rachel finished the mile run in P.E. in her goal of under 9
minutes. She is very pleased with it. I don’t think I can do better. I hate to
run. The pounding on the knees and the boring nature of it get to me. I love to
walk, though. I was getting on a treadmill and walking a mile and a half at
four miles an hour. I could have walked a lot farther, but if you do the math
that about twenty minutes, which all the time I could afford.
This minimal amount gets me a nice endorphin
rush, and I am not tired. I just need to
find some way of doing it on a regular basis.
I have tried setting my alarm for 5 AM, but I
end up thinking “ten more minutes” and hitting the snooze button.
After hitting the snooze twice I give up and
turn the alarm off. I also think how it
would be nice to combine this with walking the dog. That has the problem of
keeping a regular pace because he wants to stop and sniff something every five
steps. I need to think of something else.
I love to ride a bike. I’ve already mentioned that I find it
scary, though. One of the goals we did not get to this summer was getting
Thomas on a bike. I don’t mean a two-wheeler, just a bike with training wheels.
When that is accomplished, I have this idea we can pack up a bunch of bikes and
hit a trail. I have no idea what trails there are, and mountain biking is out,
so this is really a pipe dream.
End Of Entry
It’s interesting what you come across on
the World Wide Web while searching for something else. I was looking for a
solution to creating an instance of an object based on the description in a
config file.
Tim, the right jobs for you would allow you to be
Analytical and Creative
With your
skills, you could be earning up to $111,000
per year. (For the record, no, I don’t come close to this
cap.)
skills, you could be earning up to $111,000
per year. (For the record, no, I don’t come close to this
cap.)
As an Analytical type, you don't want to
be limited by established rules and regulations. Your inquisitive nature
demands that you sometimes question authority. Otherwise, you might not be
able to find fresh approaches, or come up with new solutions to a problem.
It's not that you act without weighing the pros and cons of a situation —
it's more that you're more willing than others to take justifiable risks if
they'll further your career success.
You're smart enough to know when you need help and are confident enough in
your abilities to ask for it. You understand that sometimes there are no
clear right and wrong answers, and that's just fine with you because you
tolerate gray areas better than most. In fact, pondering potential outcomes
can sometimes be more interesting than coming up with the definitive solution
for you.
Your right job doesn't have to be about self-expression, but it needs to be a
job you can be proud of.
<![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]>
<![endif]>
be limited by established rules and regulations. Your inquisitive nature
demands that you sometimes question authority. Otherwise, you might not be
able to find fresh approaches, or come up with new solutions to a problem.
It's not that you act without weighing the pros and cons of a situation —
it's more that you're more willing than others to take justifiable risks if
they'll further your career success.
You're smart enough to know when you need help and are confident enough in
your abilities to ask for it. You understand that sometimes there are no
clear right and wrong answers, and that's just fine with you because you
tolerate gray areas better than most. In fact, pondering potential outcomes
can sometimes be more interesting than coming up with the definitive solution
for you.
Your right job doesn't have to be about self-expression, but it needs to be a
job you can be proud of.
<![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]>
<![endif]>
April says I am a little to analytical, though.
I find lots of stuff on management. One quip that caught my
attention was about adding more people to a project to get it done faster,
described as if one woman can have a child in nine months, nine women can have
the same child in one month. It captures the absurdity beautifully.
Rachel finished the mile run in P.E. in her goal of under 9
minutes. She is very pleased with it. I don’t think I can do better. I hate to
run. The pounding on the knees and the boring nature of it get to me. I love to
walk, though. I was getting on a treadmill and walking a mile and a half at
four miles an hour. I could have walked a lot farther, but if you do the math
that about twenty minutes, which all the time I could afford.
This minimal amount gets me a nice endorphin
rush, and I am not tired. I just need to
find some way of doing it on a regular basis.
I have tried setting my alarm for 5 AM, but I
end up thinking “ten more minutes” and hitting the snooze button.
After hitting the snooze twice I give up and
turn the alarm off. I also think how it
would be nice to combine this with walking the dog. That has the problem of
keeping a regular pace because he wants to stop and sniff something every five
steps. I need to think of something else.
I love to ride a bike. I’ve already mentioned that I find it
scary, though. One of the goals we did not get to this summer was getting
Thomas on a bike. I don’t mean a two-wheeler, just a bike with training wheels.
When that is accomplished, I have this idea we can pack up a bunch of bikes and
hit a trail. I have no idea what trails there are, and mountain biking is out,
so this is really a pipe dream.
End Of Entry
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Mitnick
Stardate 59101.1
Hackers' poster boy, Kevin Mitnick, gave CNN an interview. I remember the story of the guy who caught him, although now his name escapes me.
I went out to dinner with my dad last night. It was one of those nights when he is feeling good. He walked without his walker, and told me he has been trying to walk around a bit. This is good, he needs to try and strengthen his legs. He asked about my kids and my mother-in-law, which he almost never does. Most of the time he tells me stories I have heard fifty times over, or he complains the President Bush is ruining the country. (His case on that is based in part on selling his house for $142,000, when he brought it for $44,000. The inflated value is because Bush printed too much money. The fact that he bought it in the 70's and sold it in the 90's, when Clinton was president, does not affect his stance.)
I finally got out the Halloween stuff. We have yet to get costumes for the kids. We also were notified of a trunk or treat, so I am wondering if there will be any trick or treaters this year. Times change.
End of Entry
Hackers' poster boy, Kevin Mitnick, gave CNN an interview. I remember the story of the guy who caught him, although now his name escapes me.
I went out to dinner with my dad last night. It was one of those nights when he is feeling good. He walked without his walker, and told me he has been trying to walk around a bit. This is good, he needs to try and strengthen his legs. He asked about my kids and my mother-in-law, which he almost never does. Most of the time he tells me stories I have heard fifty times over, or he complains the President Bush is ruining the country. (His case on that is based in part on selling his house for $142,000, when he brought it for $44,000. The inflated value is because Bush printed too much money. The fact that he bought it in the 70's and sold it in the 90's, when Clinton was president, does not affect his stance.)
I finally got out the Halloween stuff. We have yet to get costumes for the kids. We also were notified of a trunk or treat, so I am wondering if there will be any trick or treaters this year. Times change.
End of Entry
Monday, October 10, 2005
Star Wars: Battlegrounds
Stardate 59101.0 (10-10-2005)
Just a quick entry. The school play was good, but I thought the first one Rachel was in was more entertaining. Both Rachel and Patrick had a good time with it, although they were getting tired of rehearsals. Spending 12-13 hours a day at school gets old quick. It's impressive that two guys can get 30 odd kids to memorize lines and act in one week. Rachel was a little stilted, and she was initially disappointed she did not get to speak, but then found out she did get one line and a group song. This made her happy. Patrick was more relaxed, and maybe a little to much. He was an evil fly trap, and got to chase flies and knights around. He enjoyed being one of the bad guys, and did a little dance walking off the stage for the last act. Everyone thought it was funny, except for April.
I bought a cheap desk for the old computer, and got it set back up again. The bearings on the CPU fan are wearing out, because it screams when you power it up. The fan runs for a couple of seconds, stops, and starts running again. If I hold my finger on it just enough to let it turn, it runs fine. I'll have to see about getting a replacement.
I bought Star Wars: Battleground cheap at Walmart. It's basically Age Of Empires II with Star Wars units. Patrick and I had a good time teaming up against the computer in multiplayer mode with two computers. I could see him getting into MMOG's, but not yet.
End of Entry.
Just a quick entry. The school play was good, but I thought the first one Rachel was in was more entertaining. Both Rachel and Patrick had a good time with it, although they were getting tired of rehearsals. Spending 12-13 hours a day at school gets old quick. It's impressive that two guys can get 30 odd kids to memorize lines and act in one week. Rachel was a little stilted, and she was initially disappointed she did not get to speak, but then found out she did get one line and a group song. This made her happy. Patrick was more relaxed, and maybe a little to much. He was an evil fly trap, and got to chase flies and knights around. He enjoyed being one of the bad guys, and did a little dance walking off the stage for the last act. Everyone thought it was funny, except for April.
I bought a cheap desk for the old computer, and got it set back up again. The bearings on the CPU fan are wearing out, because it screams when you power it up. The fan runs for a couple of seconds, stops, and starts running again. If I hold my finger on it just enough to let it turn, it runs fine. I'll have to see about getting a replacement.
I bought Star Wars: Battleground cheap at Walmart. It's basically Age Of Empires II with Star Wars units. Patrick and I had a good time teaming up against the computer in multiplayer mode with two computers. I could see him getting into MMOG's, but not yet.
End of Entry.
Friday, September 30, 2005
TV Viewing
Stardate 59093.0 (9-30-2005)
Obviously, I am just not into the things normal people are. This comic borrowed from PVP illustrates the point:
I looked at a TV Guide preview of the returning fall shows about a week ago, and realized I don't know a few of them, and don't care to watch most of them. I fell asleep on the season premiere of CSI:, and never finished with the season premiere of The Simpsons. I tried Desperate Housewives because April watches it, and was bored. I did catch Lost, but I am getting impatient with it. The Amazing Race 8 looks to be fun, though. It's about the only show I will go out of my way to watch.
On the other hand, C# for LEGO Mindstorm looks fun. Patrick and I could waste a lot of time on that. We could build robots to do tomorrow what we do every day, TRY and TAKE OVER THE WORLD! (Paraphasing The Brain from Pinky and The Brain.)
Mood: Good
Music: 1985 (No idea who the artist is)
End of Entry
Obviously, I am just not into the things normal people are. This comic borrowed from PVP illustrates the point:
I looked at a TV Guide preview of the returning fall shows about a week ago, and realized I don't know a few of them, and don't care to watch most of them. I fell asleep on the season premiere of CSI:, and never finished with the season premiere of The Simpsons. I tried Desperate Housewives because April watches it, and was bored. I did catch Lost, but I am getting impatient with it. The Amazing Race 8 looks to be fun, though. It's about the only show I will go out of my way to watch.
On the other hand, C# for LEGO Mindstorm looks fun. Patrick and I could waste a lot of time on that. We could build robots to do tomorrow what we do every day, TRY and TAKE OVER THE WORLD! (Paraphasing The Brain from Pinky and The Brain.)
Mood: Good
Music: 1985 (No idea who the artist is)
End of Entry
Monday, September 26, 2005
MountainCon 1
Stardate 59092.6 (9-26-2005)
Random notes: Kibizt (or kibbitz) is indeed Yiddish in origin, but it is an English word. I used it at dinner Saturday, and Drama wanted to know if I was Jewish. No, I'm not. English is a polygot language. I remember back in the mists of time reading that English absorbs words from other languages at a phenomenal rate. 10,000 new words were introduced within 50 years after the Norman invasion in 1066 A.D. (or C.E.), mostly synonyms. The example given was that before, there was only one word meaning "Of the king", kingly. The French speaking Norman persons added Majestic and Royal. This is
a good thing, since 'What a kingly view!' and 'You are a kingly pain in the behind'
just don't have the same ring. Just be glad I didn't drop into Techspeak (The words are English, but I have not idea what you said.)
Vaughn Armstrong talked about his obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child. I think just about every child has some sort of OCD. Patrick will ask how many minutes it will take to go from one place to another, and will expect an exact number. (I do the same thing, I just learned not to do it out loud.) That's probably not OCD, but I do it anyway.
Thomas scored his first goal in soccer Saturday. April was stuck with ferrying the kids from one game to the next, along with a birthday party and Cub Scout function. I got to read my ebook at the con.
I got a new laptop at work last week. This week I found what I had failed to transfer off the old one, all of the training manuals I have been working on for the past month. Not a big deal to lose, but annoying.
Someone sent me this:
Weight: 192.5 lbs
Mood: Strange (which is normal for me)
Music of the Moment: None. One of the wires pulled loose from my headphones. It bugs me to listen to music in one ear only.
Random notes: Kibizt (or kibbitz) is indeed Yiddish in origin, but it is an English word. I used it at dinner Saturday, and Drama wanted to know if I was Jewish. No, I'm not. English is a polygot language. I remember back in the mists of time reading that English absorbs words from other languages at a phenomenal rate. 10,000 new words were introduced within 50 years after the Norman invasion in 1066 A.D. (or C.E.), mostly synonyms. The example given was that before, there was only one word meaning "Of the king", kingly. The French speaking Norman persons added Majestic and Royal. This is
a good thing, since 'What a kingly view!' and 'You are a kingly pain in the behind'
just don't have the same ring. Just be glad I didn't drop into Techspeak (The words are English, but I have not idea what you said.)
Vaughn Armstrong talked about his obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child. I think just about every child has some sort of OCD. Patrick will ask how many minutes it will take to go from one place to another, and will expect an exact number. (I do the same thing, I just learned not to do it out loud.) That's probably not OCD, but I do it anyway.
Thomas scored his first goal in soccer Saturday. April was stuck with ferrying the kids from one game to the next, along with a birthday party and Cub Scout function. I got to read my ebook at the con.
I got a new laptop at work last week. This week I found what I had failed to transfer off the old one, all of the training manuals I have been working on for the past month. Not a big deal to lose, but annoying.
Someone sent me this:
Stress Management 101
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water? "
Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."
"Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"
And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
--Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
I'd rather be neither.
--Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
But then many will not hear.
--Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
--Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
--If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
--If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
Not if his friends show up.
--It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
I always thought my purpose was to insult everyone in the Universe in alphabetical order. Wait, that's Wowbagger.
--Never buy a car you can't push.
Then what's AAA for?
--Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
--Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
--Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
Depending on whether you are the worm or the bird. POV means a lot.
--The second mouse gets the cheese.
For the life of me, I can figure this one out.
--When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
A variation on: "The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlamp of the oncoming train."
--Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
See below.
--You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
--Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
--We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
--A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Major Premise: Man is mortal.
Minor Premise: I am a man.
Conclusion: I am mortal.
Loophole: If I act like a child, I'll live forever.
Acting like a child is good, but I'd love to EAT like a child again. The effects of a bad diet
show up this week:
Weight: 192.5 lbs
Mood: Strange (which is normal for me)
Music of the Moment: None. One of the wires pulled loose from my headphones. It bugs me to listen to music in one ear only.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
MountainCon 1
Stardate 59092.5 (9-25-2005)
Mountain-Con 1 went off, thanks to a huge effort from a dedicated group of fans lead by Carl Stark. It was a hit with every attendee I talked to. It was a little smaller than was hoped, but that did lead to a side benefit. Every convention I've been to over the years has always pushed you through a long line to get autographs. You were not allowed personalized autographs, and in some cases, you were not allowed to speak to the person signing. I didn't stand in a long line, and everyone got to talk to the guests.
Vaughn Armstrong gave a good show, and Bill Blair's after show "costume" was amusing.
After the Switchblade Kittens did their show, I got to play Roadie and help them load up the equipment. I enjoyed their show, especially the tribute to "Theasarus" Kitten, and watching 1 year old Kaylee getup on stage and dance. We went to dinner where I had fun listening to Tonya and Drama reminisce.
I think we should do this again.
End of Entry
Mountain-Con 1 went off, thanks to a huge effort from a dedicated group of fans lead by Carl Stark. It was a hit with every attendee I talked to. It was a little smaller than was hoped, but that did lead to a side benefit. Every convention I've been to over the years has always pushed you through a long line to get autographs. You were not allowed personalized autographs, and in some cases, you were not allowed to speak to the person signing. I didn't stand in a long line, and everyone got to talk to the guests.
Vaughn Armstrong gave a good show, and Bill Blair's after show "costume" was amusing.
After the Switchblade Kittens did their show, I got to play Roadie and help them load up the equipment. I enjoyed their show, especially the tribute to "Theasarus" Kitten, and watching 1 year old Kaylee getup on stage and dance. We went to dinner where I had fun listening to Tonya and Drama reminisce.
I think we should do this again.
End of Entry
Saturday, September 17, 2005
FEMA Respone
Stardate 59091.7 (9-17-2005)
A Shadow did a post about FEMA, and the flak they have been taking from the media. To put a comment on there, I'd need to create an account, which I don't want to do just to reply. And I have a blog as well. So here's my comments:
Could I have done a better job? No.
Did FEMA do the best it could with the resources it had? Yes.
Were the resources totally inadequate for the task? Yes.
Was the scope of the disaster unanticipated? Nope. The fact that a cat 4 or 5 hurricane would hit the Gulf Coast has been talked about since before warnings of a major earthquake on the Wasatch Front.
The damage Katrina did dwarfs Andrew and Camille. But the fact that FEMA and others were overwhelmed by the relief efforts is frightening. They had several days of warning. An earthquake or volcano generally does not give that.
I heard a commentator a couple of days after Katrina say the evacuation of New Orleans was the fastest, most efficient, and well done of any major city. So long as you had a car and money. That was an unanticipated problem. I heard and interview with the director of the SuperDome say the Sunday before the building could easily withstand a category 5 hurricane. Now I am hearing it will need to be torn down.
There are a lot of lessons here. The communications breakdown hampered relief efforts. Air efforts were overwhelmed with rescues, and unable to do anything about dropping food.
From the media coverage, no one was in charge. The President was in San Diego. Mike Brown admitted he did not know anyone was at the NO Convention Center until CNN reported it.
As I said, there are a lot of lessons. FEMA takes the heat over it, because this is thier responsibility. The media is slanted to the sensational, but it does drive the need to make reforms to handle future issues.
Weight this morning: 189 lbs
End of Entry
A Shadow did a post about FEMA, and the flak they have been taking from the media. To put a comment on there, I'd need to create an account, which I don't want to do just to reply. And I have a blog as well. So here's my comments:
Could I have done a better job? No.
Did FEMA do the best it could with the resources it had? Yes.
Were the resources totally inadequate for the task? Yes.
Was the scope of the disaster unanticipated? Nope. The fact that a cat 4 or 5 hurricane would hit the Gulf Coast has been talked about since before warnings of a major earthquake on the Wasatch Front.
The damage Katrina did dwarfs Andrew and Camille. But the fact that FEMA and others were overwhelmed by the relief efforts is frightening. They had several days of warning. An earthquake or volcano generally does not give that.
I heard a commentator a couple of days after Katrina say the evacuation of New Orleans was the fastest, most efficient, and well done of any major city. So long as you had a car and money. That was an unanticipated problem. I heard and interview with the director of the SuperDome say the Sunday before the building could easily withstand a category 5 hurricane. Now I am hearing it will need to be torn down.
There are a lot of lessons here. The communications breakdown hampered relief efforts. Air efforts were overwhelmed with rescues, and unable to do anything about dropping food.
From the media coverage, no one was in charge. The President was in San Diego. Mike Brown admitted he did not know anyone was at the NO Convention Center until CNN reported it.
As I said, there are a lot of lessons. FEMA takes the heat over it, because this is thier responsibility. The media is slanted to the sensational, but it does drive the need to make reforms to handle future issues.
Weight this morning: 189 lbs
End of Entry
Monday, September 12, 2005
Thomas first baby tooth lost
Stardate 59091.2 (9-12-2005)
Thomas lost his first baby tooth yesterday. It was the bottom, on the right (as you look in his mouth) of the two center teeth. Not much else to record, but I thought I'd better get this down before I forget.
End of Entry
Thomas lost his first baby tooth yesterday. It was the bottom, on the right (as you look in his mouth) of the two center teeth. Not much else to record, but I thought I'd better get this down before I forget.
End of Entry
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Venting over
Stardate 59091.0 (9-10-2005)
Venting is over. The issue with Qwest is not resolved, but I am at least online, and I have been able to address some web issues. So I am in a better mood.
School is now in it's second week. Thomas is doing great and seems to enjoy it. He's had some rough spots though. The first day, the teacher lined the kids up in the hall to go to lunch. Thomas lined up, but lost his shoe. He stopped to put it back on, and when he looked up, the class was gone. The poor kid had no idea where they went, so he went back into the classroom and sat down in his chair sobbing. April was at the school doing some volunteer work, and happened to glance in the room and find him. Last week the teacher lost him again at the end of school. This time he simply went out with the other class.
Patrick is doing well in school, although he is complaining of being bored. I think that will change, but I am not sure.
Rachel is hating school, at least that's what she tells me. I don't think she hates it, but she definately does not like some of the subjects, including math. Not sure what to tell her, except that she will learn it.
The first soccer games were today. I am coaching Thomas's team. Their first game went pretty much as expected, in that most of the kids didn't get it. One boy, whose brother plays, did very well. Thomas got upset when the other team scored, crying that his team was going to lose. He calmed back down in after a minute. Patrick's game was at the same time, so I didn't get to watch it. But when I went back to pick him up, the other parents told me he did a outstanding job as goalie the last half of the game, blocking all but one of the kicks. Rachel scored a goal, and again I was not there. She does play well, even though she wanted to quit during the summer.
Mood: Better
Weight: up a little
Song of the moment (the one that is going through my head): "Knights of the Round Table" from the Original Soundtrack to the Broadway play Spamalot!
"We're Knights of the Roundtable.
We dance when 're we're able.
We do routines, and chorus scenes,
and footwork impecc-able.
We dine well here in Camelot.
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot."
"We're Knights of the Roundtable.
Our shows are for-mid-able.
But many times, we're given rhymes,
that are quite unsing-able.
We're opera mad in Camelot,
we sing from the diaphragm a lot."
"We're Knights of the Roundtable.
Although we live in a fable,
We're not just bums, with royal mums,
We've brains that are quite able.
We've a busy life in Camelot...
I have to push the pram a lot."
End of Entry
Venting is over. The issue with Qwest is not resolved, but I am at least online, and I have been able to address some web issues. So I am in a better mood.
School is now in it's second week. Thomas is doing great and seems to enjoy it. He's had some rough spots though. The first day, the teacher lined the kids up in the hall to go to lunch. Thomas lined up, but lost his shoe. He stopped to put it back on, and when he looked up, the class was gone. The poor kid had no idea where they went, so he went back into the classroom and sat down in his chair sobbing. April was at the school doing some volunteer work, and happened to glance in the room and find him. Last week the teacher lost him again at the end of school. This time he simply went out with the other class.
Patrick is doing well in school, although he is complaining of being bored. I think that will change, but I am not sure.
Rachel is hating school, at least that's what she tells me. I don't think she hates it, but she definately does not like some of the subjects, including math. Not sure what to tell her, except that she will learn it.
The first soccer games were today. I am coaching Thomas's team. Their first game went pretty much as expected, in that most of the kids didn't get it. One boy, whose brother plays, did very well. Thomas got upset when the other team scored, crying that his team was going to lose. He calmed back down in after a minute. Patrick's game was at the same time, so I didn't get to watch it. But when I went back to pick him up, the other parents told me he did a outstanding job as goalie the last half of the game, blocking all but one of the kicks. Rachel scored a goal, and again I was not there. She does play well, even though she wanted to quit during the summer.
Mood: Better
Weight: up a little
Song of the moment (the one that is going through my head): "Knights of the Round Table" from the Original Soundtrack to the Broadway play Spamalot!
"We're Knights of the Roundtable.
We dance when 're we're able.
We do routines, and chorus scenes,
and footwork impecc-able.
We dine well here in Camelot.
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot."
"We're Knights of the Roundtable.
Our shows are for-mid-able.
But many times, we're given rhymes,
that are quite unsing-able.
We're opera mad in Camelot,
we sing from the diaphragm a lot."
"We're Knights of the Roundtable.
Although we live in a fable,
We're not just bums, with royal mums,
We've brains that are quite able.
We've a busy life in Camelot...
I have to push the pram a lot."
End of Entry
Friday, September 09, 2005
Qwest
Stardate 59090.9 (9-9-2005)
Qwest is full of idiots. Saturday email stopped, and I could only sporatically get web pages. It was Labor Day weekend, so I decided to wait until after the holiday to call tech support. I did ping the router, and the modem. The router responded fine, the modem kept getting 50 to 100% packet loss. I took the router out of the setup, and pinged the modem again. Same thing. Tuesday, out of curiousity, I pinged the DSL modem from work. It responds fine. My conclusion: the Ethernet board on the modem is damaged. I call Xmission Tuesday night (I learned the first time, Qwest techs will not talk to me unless I call the ISP first). After 20 minutes, the Xmission tech reaches the same conclusion (another lesson learned even farther back, don't give the call center techs a clue, at least initially, that you have any idea how this stuff works. Apologies to the tech call center readers, but it seems to put them in a defensive mood. Besides, a good tech will go through the steps again just to be sure.) I call Qwest. After holding in the queue for 30 minutes, the guy on the phone notes I do not have QWEST.NET as my ISP. He tells me to call my ISP. I told him I have already done that. He grumbles, then asked if they had me look at anything. I said yes, the standard cycle the power on the modem, cycle the power on the computer, check settings, etc. Grumble again. He's going to get them on the line. HANGS UP ON ME! They asked for my phone number at the beginning of the call in case they needed to call back because of a disconnect. I needed to get the kids to bed anyway, so I waited a while. No callback. Called again, 30 minutes in the queue again. A lady with an Indian accent answers. She at least walks through the diagnostic steps. The annoying thing is she insisted on being very clear, like 'P as in Pirate, I as in India, N as in Nancy, G as in George, now press the space bar, then 1, and 9, and 2, DOT, 1 and 6, and 8, DOT, 0 , that's a zero and not an Oh, DOT, 1.' Long pause, and I already typed it out or up-arrowed while she went through the litany. 'Now type Enter.' One and a half hours of this. She finally concludes the ISP's server is down. WTF? Time to let her know I am not stupid. I tell I can ping the ISP's server, although I get the same loss since it has to go through the DSL to get there. I tell her I can hook a router up, and it responses perfectly. I can put other computers on the modem, and they all have the same issue. I calmly tell her I don't agree. Every piece of equipement has been swapped except the modem, and the problem persists. I already talked to the ISP, they are up and running. The modem is faulty, and it's probably the Ethernet board. No, she can ping it, it's fine. Qwest must have some magical version of PING out of Star Trek that reports all sorts of diagnostic info.
Anyway, Xmission loaned me a modem, and lo!, it works. Nothing else on the system has changed. They are going to find someone at Qwest with brains who will RMA the modem.
Normally, I wouldn't care that much, but this month I need access to the internet.
Weight this week: 188 lbs.
Mood: Fucking Pissed Off (No cute icon for this)
End of entry
Qwest is full of idiots. Saturday email stopped, and I could only sporatically get web pages. It was Labor Day weekend, so I decided to wait until after the holiday to call tech support. I did ping the router, and the modem. The router responded fine, the modem kept getting 50 to 100% packet loss. I took the router out of the setup, and pinged the modem again. Same thing. Tuesday, out of curiousity, I pinged the DSL modem from work. It responds fine. My conclusion: the Ethernet board on the modem is damaged. I call Xmission Tuesday night (I learned the first time, Qwest techs will not talk to me unless I call the ISP first). After 20 minutes, the Xmission tech reaches the same conclusion (another lesson learned even farther back, don't give the call center techs a clue, at least initially, that you have any idea how this stuff works. Apologies to the tech call center readers, but it seems to put them in a defensive mood. Besides, a good tech will go through the steps again just to be sure.) I call Qwest. After holding in the queue for 30 minutes, the guy on the phone notes I do not have QWEST.NET as my ISP. He tells me to call my ISP. I told him I have already done that. He grumbles, then asked if they had me look at anything. I said yes, the standard cycle the power on the modem, cycle the power on the computer, check settings, etc. Grumble again. He's going to get them on the line. HANGS UP ON ME! They asked for my phone number at the beginning of the call in case they needed to call back because of a disconnect. I needed to get the kids to bed anyway, so I waited a while. No callback. Called again, 30 minutes in the queue again. A lady with an Indian accent answers. She at least walks through the diagnostic steps. The annoying thing is she insisted on being very clear, like 'P as in Pirate, I as in India, N as in Nancy, G as in George, now press the space bar, then 1, and 9, and 2, DOT, 1 and 6, and 8, DOT, 0 , that's a zero and not an Oh, DOT, 1.' Long pause, and I already typed it out or up-arrowed while she went through the litany. 'Now type Enter.' One and a half hours of this. She finally concludes the ISP's server is down. WTF? Time to let her know I am not stupid. I tell I can ping the ISP's server, although I get the same loss since it has to go through the DSL to get there. I tell her I can hook a router up, and it responses perfectly. I can put other computers on the modem, and they all have the same issue. I calmly tell her I don't agree. Every piece of equipement has been swapped except the modem, and the problem persists. I already talked to the ISP, they are up and running. The modem is faulty, and it's probably the Ethernet board. No, she can ping it, it's fine. Qwest must have some magical version of PING out of Star Trek that reports all sorts of diagnostic info.
Anyway, Xmission loaned me a modem, and lo!, it works. Nothing else on the system has changed. They are going to find someone at Qwest with brains who will RMA the modem.
Normally, I wouldn't care that much, but this month I need access to the internet.
Weight this week: 188 lbs.
Mood: Fucking Pissed Off (No cute icon for this)
End of entry
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Confessions
Stardate 59082.7 (8-27-2005)
Confession, it has been said, is good for the soul. Elden Nelson, the Fat Cyclist blogged his confessions this week. Some of them were very funny, such as spending Saturday watching the hit statistics on his site, and There is no single entry in this blog that is entirely honest. I found the blog through Eric Gunnerson, and I have been reading it regularly. I just have not added it to my blogs page. It seems pretty popular. There are even references to him from the UK. Why a guy who publicly posts his weight each day to shame himself into losing it is so popular, I don’t know. He is funny, though.
So, in that vein, some things I confess:
* I have been on a Weight Watchers diet for the last four months.
* I am not sure this is a confession, though. I think I mentioned I was dieting. I don’t think I mentioned the method. I have tried a few others, such as eDiets. I like Weight Watchers because of the Flex Plan. You log everything you eat, and the exercise you do. There are suggested menus, but you don’t need to follow them. eDiets had menus you needed to follow. I like that, because there are foods I don’t like, and I have to prepare these things in advance. Some things I did not recognize, so how would I buy them at the store? Not to mention that I would not be someplace convenient to eat them.I have tried this before.
* In 2000, I got all the way down to 175, and hit a plateau. I got sick and made it to 168 one day, but that was it. I was not exercising, though, and if I had been I might have lost a little more. The problem was that I could not keep it up. I was too hungry.I don’t ride a bicycle.
* At least, not on a regular basis. The one I have is covered in dust. When I was young, I used to ride a few miles to the mall every Saturday in the summer. By high school that was uncool. I miss it now. I have tried to ride again, but I find it very scary now. There are a lot more cars now. And some of the drivers are oblivious to bikes. I do like to exercise.
The company I work for has a fitness room. There are weights, a universal, bike machines, and treadmills. I confess I like walking on a treadmill. It makes me feel good. I like to lift weights.
As of last Friday, I weighed 191 lbs.
End of Entry
Confession, it has been said, is good for the soul. Elden Nelson, the Fat Cyclist blogged his confessions this week. Some of them were very funny, such as spending Saturday watching the hit statistics on his site, and There is no single entry in this blog that is entirely honest. I found the blog through Eric Gunnerson, and I have been reading it regularly. I just have not added it to my blogs page. It seems pretty popular. There are even references to him from the UK. Why a guy who publicly posts his weight each day to shame himself into losing it is so popular, I don’t know. He is funny, though.
So, in that vein, some things I confess:
* I have been on a Weight Watchers diet for the last four months.
* I am not sure this is a confession, though. I think I mentioned I was dieting. I don’t think I mentioned the method. I have tried a few others, such as eDiets. I like Weight Watchers because of the Flex Plan. You log everything you eat, and the exercise you do. There are suggested menus, but you don’t need to follow them. eDiets had menus you needed to follow. I like that, because there are foods I don’t like, and I have to prepare these things in advance. Some things I did not recognize, so how would I buy them at the store? Not to mention that I would not be someplace convenient to eat them.I have tried this before.
* In 2000, I got all the way down to 175, and hit a plateau. I got sick and made it to 168 one day, but that was it. I was not exercising, though, and if I had been I might have lost a little more. The problem was that I could not keep it up. I was too hungry.I don’t ride a bicycle.
* At least, not on a regular basis. The one I have is covered in dust. When I was young, I used to ride a few miles to the mall every Saturday in the summer. By high school that was uncool. I miss it now. I have tried to ride again, but I find it very scary now. There are a lot more cars now. And some of the drivers are oblivious to bikes. I do like to exercise.
The company I work for has a fitness room. There are weights, a universal, bike machines, and treadmills. I confess I like walking on a treadmill. It makes me feel good. I like to lift weights.
As of last Friday, I weighed 191 lbs.
End of Entry
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Work, PHP, and Paypal
Stardate 59081.3 (8-13-2005)
Okay, it's been a while. I've been very busy, mostly with work, but some time has been spent with Mountain Con. Work is mainly busy because my boss quit, and I've been taking up some of the work. Someone in another group told me walking in one morning that they were told I was the new supervisor. Flattering, but not path I want to take. The problem is I would be doing what I have been doing for the last ten years. I want something new, something different. I feel a little stagnate mentally, and I'd like a different view of software development. I am doing some training next week, and I will be pushing an agenda for the group I have suggested before, only to be dismissed. There is no one to dismiss it now, so I might as well go ahead.
The Paypal stuff for Mountain-Con was interesting. It took a while because they have two methods of doing online payments. The documentation does not do a good job of delineating the differences between them. It took a lot of searching to find the right information. But it works now. The PHP language is pretty fun to work with, and the site, PHP.net, is well organized. They have version 5, and the stuff on Xmission is version 4. I'd like to see if they have 5 or not.
April has been busy with getting ready for school. She's into in more this year because she is president of the Parent-Teacher Group. So there is a lot of organizing, meetings, and other work for her to do. And there is still Girl Scouts and a full time job. We have given up all the soccer jobs. I will coach Thomas, but that's it. This year will be interesting for that, too. Three kids playing soccer, which means three practices, and three games. Rachel also has tennis lessons, and Patrick needs to start religious education classes. I don't anticipate a night off for a while.
Thomas and Patrick are doing swimming lessons. I think this will be Patrick's last set of lessons. He dog-paddles around the pool now, and can dive under objects. Thomas can duck his head underwater, and is working on floating.
End of Entry
Okay, it's been a while. I've been very busy, mostly with work, but some time has been spent with Mountain Con. Work is mainly busy because my boss quit, and I've been taking up some of the work. Someone in another group told me walking in one morning that they were told I was the new supervisor. Flattering, but not path I want to take. The problem is I would be doing what I have been doing for the last ten years. I want something new, something different. I feel a little stagnate mentally, and I'd like a different view of software development. I am doing some training next week, and I will be pushing an agenda for the group I have suggested before, only to be dismissed. There is no one to dismiss it now, so I might as well go ahead.
The Paypal stuff for Mountain-Con was interesting. It took a while because they have two methods of doing online payments. The documentation does not do a good job of delineating the differences between them. It took a lot of searching to find the right information. But it works now. The PHP language is pretty fun to work with, and the site, PHP.net, is well organized. They have version 5, and the stuff on Xmission is version 4. I'd like to see if they have 5 or not.
April has been busy with getting ready for school. She's into in more this year because she is president of the Parent-Teacher Group. So there is a lot of organizing, meetings, and other work for her to do. And there is still Girl Scouts and a full time job. We have given up all the soccer jobs. I will coach Thomas, but that's it. This year will be interesting for that, too. Three kids playing soccer, which means three practices, and three games. Rachel also has tennis lessons, and Patrick needs to start religious education classes. I don't anticipate a night off for a while.
Thomas and Patrick are doing swimming lessons. I think this will be Patrick's last set of lessons. He dog-paddles around the pool now, and can dive under objects. Thomas can duck his head underwater, and is working on floating.
End of Entry
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