| December 30, 2008 - I'm using a program called NVU now for web editing, it is very basic and forces me to really focus on the code. This is a great tool that I will continue using for a while. So far the first class for my masters degree is going good. We are on a break now and will resume on the following Tuesday. Went home for Christmas. I did not tell a lot of people i was coming home. I did this because I wanted, no I needed time to just relax. I did not want to cause drama or create issues, but it did anyway. I have tried for a long time to follow the famous quote: " The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one". For a while this worked well. I was able to make people happy and keep on top of things. But over the past 6 months or so I realized that I have put a lot of things that I wanted to do on hold to do things for other people or to help others do things for themselves. I have tried to be the ear that people could always talk to, I was the hand that would hold people up and often I was the spark of courage that people needed to get things going. But the one thing I was not doing was being fair to myself. I had to take a little time for me and just let all the stress wash away. I had to push things out of my mind and just soak up all of the things around me. I've since heard that some people think I am a big shot or too good to hang out with people now. This is untrue. I simply don't want to be pulled in and beat down by the drama and gossip that some people feel is necessary. I am still out here and willing, but I am also a lot more likely to back off of situations that have a HDF (high drama factor). So if you are upset or worried about things, don't be. |
| December 4, 2008 - I start my masters degree in about 5 days. 10 classes is all that stands between me and a possible break from school. Well......who am I kidding. |
| December 1, 2008 - I decided to escape the windows world as much as possible. I bought a Mac book pro and have not looked back. I also decided to cut out a lot of things that are not beneficial. Things like TV & Cable were dropped and I plan on selling, trashing or packing up everything i don't use. Ideally since i don't get to spend as much time using things there is not a reason to keep them around. Expect some website changes (Design and Usage) as I move into an open source environment for everything i do. |
September 1, 2008 - Classes are done and I have a bachelor's degree. What does that mean? I really don't know but I know its one more thing that i have accomplished and that makes me feel good. |
April 28, 2008 - 3 classes to go GEN/480 INTERDISCIPLINARY CAPSTONE COURSE GRADE = A |
April 17, 2008 - Due Day 7 (Monday) Past, Present, and Future Paper (50 points) Yes assignments from online colleges are tough... |
February 29, 2008 - Welcome to Leap Day 2008! |
February 12, 2008 - Since I have moved into being in quality assurance, I notice that i am taking the time to look deeper at everything. When I was younger I thought that the only to make anything of yourself was to get a good education. I also thought that cars could talk and that walking around saying "Shut up Fool" made me sound cool. Looking back on those times I can see that what i really wanted to do was to fit in. I wanted to be a part of the in crowd and so like any kid I made my mark as an individual, by mimicking everyone around me. I know I could have done things different, I also know that if not for the choices I made (good or bad) I wouldn't be where I am today. The true test of quality assurance comes from the fact that no matter how long it takes, or how many changes are made, or how many times things must be tested; in the end its the result that counts. In the end the only thing that matters is that it works. So here's to Quality Assurance. |
January 30, 2008 - Wow yesterday we had three seasons in one day, 'North Carolina Winter', 'Winter', and 'OMG its Winter'. By 9:30 when I got home, there was a nice layer of snow on the ground. I took a cab home and we did about 35 all the way down the express way. The snow was blowing hard enough to hide the markers on the road. When i got home I was treated to an icy blast of arctic air coming through the window and luckily no snow in the room. It was a cold cold night and I don't think it ever got comfortable in the room. The heat started doing its thing this morning when I turned the valve all the way up. |
January 9, 2008 - Tech- Apparently in 2009 all Tv signals will be digital. This means that the owners of older Tv's which only receive analog signals will need to buy a converter box. The stations that pump the signals out will be required by law to turn off analog signals all together. But the law doesn't apply to the smaller and booster stations. That means some people who are too far from the signal may not be able to watch anything at all, even if they buy the boxes. the other problem arises if they buy the wrong box. That's what MSN says. My thoughts are this: Why does everything always have to be mandatory? Granted it would cost more to support both signal types but you would not potentially lose your audience. Give the customers a chance to decide what they want, stop trying to force everything on them. This brings me to the personal side of the blog. There are two issues that have me on edge right now: 1. Chicago's Smoking Ban- This is the absolute worst thing that should have been done here. Now what you have instead of people in the bar, smoking and drinking, is having people drink faster in the bar to go outside to smoke, these people now are drunk, loud and toss their cigarette butts anywhere they choose. Instead of forcing every bar to do it, It should have been a choice. There are a few bars which were built around the idea of people smoking inside. The dirty truth is the smoke covered up the various smells of other people, the dense haze hid how horribly awful some places look (or people for that matter) and it kept out the snooty "I'm too good for you women", who only want to let you buy them drinks. I for one am a smoker. I enjoy a cigar and drink and I have fun. I watched yesterday as smokers all huddled around awnings and overhangs while it was raining to enjoy there smoke and then quickly rush inside to drink some more. What pops up here is an interesting issue. If these smokers are drinking faster to smoke sooner and then rushing inside and outside constantly what problems are being created? While they are outside if they get into trouble, is the bar liable? If they get back inside to find that some one has stolen their seat or property, is the bar liable? I know that smoking is not a right, but it is not your right to tell me what to do. Fine....... ban smoking, create your utopia, and lose customers. Me personally, I am still going to smoke, I may occasionally go out to a bar or two, but for the most part I wont be going. I know others feel the same way I do. Even when I do go, I'm going to be the guy who sits there and sips water all night, The appeal for me was being able to hang out and smoke and drink with my friends. I didn't like paying 8 dollars for a shot. The bottom line is I can still smoke and drink at home. From now on I will buy what I want and enjoy it at home. 2. Inconsiderate People and people who think they are never wrong. These people have no problem cutting you off in traffic or walking into you. These people think that their problems are the only ones that matter. They have no problem bursting through a closed door in true "Kramer" fashion, even if there is a sign that says something to the effect of "I'm busy". All the time at work I have to deal with people doing that to me. It is really beginning to get on my nerves. Also this morning while I was coming to work, some candidate for some office was campaigning on the train platform. I am sitting there headphones on listening to music. She didn't have the courtesy to say "do you have a few minutes" or "I'm sorry". She felt that what ever she was going to say was more important than what I was doing. |
December 27, 2007 - A lot longer than I thought it would have been. Sorry~~ Personal- Just got back from Vegas. Had a lot of fun. I saw people playing machines with amounts like 40,000 dollars saved up. I kept thinking that I would hit it big and I didn't. That's the lure though. In Vegas, they constantly run commercials on channels that show people who win. But they never tell you how many people have lost. Now that I think more about it, it is really the perfect operation. Sure some people get lucky and win big , But Oceans 11 is right. Either you play all your life and when that perfect hand comes along you take the house or the house will take you. At this moment I am so very tired. Partly because of the long flight, screaming kids, late night, early morning scenario and partly because I just am tired |
November 28, 2007 - Personal- I had fun on my vacation, although it wasn't long enough. I was just getting relaxed when It was time to come back. I can't wait to come down again. Tech- I have been using my Ipod a lot recently. Its 80 gigs and about half full. It is used for videos, podcasts and music. I really enjoy it. The thing i want to discuss today is my impressions of the cost of music and videos. There is a lot of speculation on new taxes for internet use and increased cost for goods in general purchased on the internet. Let me first say that this is a bad idea. cable companies, dial up services and other entities have already increased prices to a degree which is forcing people to reduce the use of these services. As it is now, I am going to be cutting back on services for a while. It is no longer worth the convenience to pay these high prices. If costs are increased I will not re-establish these services. Instead of raising prices, keep them fixed and increase the services offered. this will drive more business and increase your profits without increasing overhead for the consumer. It may cost the company extra in the beginning, but it will be repaid quickly with the influx of new people. |
November 9, 2007 - Personal- FYI North Carolina, Fayetteville, Parkton, Spring Lake and Hope Mills. Be ready for the 17th. Saturday Night, fun times to be had by all. |
November 1, 2007 - Personal- This month I turn 30 years old. Enough said Tech- For all of the years that I have spent around technology, I find it hard to believe that there is still so much we don't know or haven't discovered. I think for the most part we live in quiet protest. I was reading this morning about the torn solar wing panel that is occurring in space on the station now. it seems to me that since there are spare parts stored all over the shuttle anyway, it would be easy to store a couple of hard solar panels to augment things for situations like this. |
October 23, 2007 - Personal- Still considering tons of options. I am not really sure what that means either, only that I don't get all the sleep at night that I should. Tech- Computers put out a lot of heat, but you knew that already didn't you? I currently have 8 computers working in my office at work, and the heat build up is amazing. I have to leave the room every so often to get cooled down and it is really a pain. One think I am thinking of doing is piping in cool air through a mini air conditioner and then creating some airflow if possible. |
October 15, 2007 - Personal- I decided to keep doing weekend support. The extra cash is nice, and it will enable me to stay informed as to what is happening.This weekend was busy. There was an "inadvertent human error" made that really spiced things up. I didn't cause the issue, but I had to deal with the repercussions. Tech- This weekends problem led me to think about things. The issue was caused because the person was tired, lazy or just wasn't being careful. ( I don't know which) My thought is this: Are we demanding too much of people these days? Computers and Technology in general are meant to help make things easier. But as a quote reminds us (see below) we must understand that there is only so much that can be automated before it comes back to the human being. The human being failed not the equipment. "What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Look at the strength in your body, the desire in your heart," -Thulsa Doom, Conan the Barbarian. Other- I watched Stealth this weekend. I liked it a lot. Lesson learned: If we make computers any smarter, we will find out all of our own fallacies. |
October 10, 2007 - Personal- Cleared out the old blog in preparation for my new life. It's official I have been upgraded in status to Quality Assurance Engineer. Does this mean more money? Less work? More responsibility? Well I know its not less work, since I will still be doing everything I am now. However now it means that I can say no to tasks and have a valid reason. Tech- I was reading this article this morning about Terminator 4. All I can think of is that another three stories could be good, But will the directors completely forget the previous story line. I don't want to have everything I loved about the original Terminator movie be completely thrashed like dropping a isa modem card from the top of the empire state building. A lot of people have been talking about the iphone. I personally don't think that I want one as of yet. I mean they already dropped the price once, it will probably happen again, and when it does the next version will probably come out. I got my first ipod right before they went to the new video models and saved a lot. My advice is to wait for greed to kick in. You might be a version behind, but it will still be an iphone. |