Monthly Archives: July 2006

Got nothing on this Monday besides going to work and having hardly anyone return my emails. Kind of pathetic, but there’s a lot of open source software out there that just is too complicated for my brain to figure out quickly, so I ask questions. When nobody answers me, I have to make up answers. Also, my boss gave me the stink-eye today, so who knows what’s happening with me or my job. So there you go, another day in the life of a high-tech goofus. Now if I could only figure out WHY I got an SSL certificate for my web site. You can probably read by blog with … Continue reading →

Well, I suppose I did a couple of hours of gardening including shoveling the output of the wood chipper, cutting branches, starting up the wood chipper, and then shoveling the new output of the wood chipper. Not great planning, that. But after all the chipping and eating lunch, I wanted to take a nap. And that nap ended up being a couple of hours long! I suppose it might have been the weather. It was 103°F last Sunday, and only 71°F today. I was even thinking of going to the gym, but I figure the shoveling was as close as I got.

I spent most of the day in Lake Zero, putatively repairing my old explorer post advisor’s computer. He needed to access some ham radio devices, and get a beat up old digital camera working. I think we succeeded in most of the tasks. This evening I attended a birthday party for Melissa, who is married to a guy I’ve known since before kindergarten. He lives just down the street, in a house he bought from his mom and then remodeled. It’s her second 39th birthday, and I got her some flowers. I had to get kicked out when the party was officially over. I spent a lot of time talking … Continue reading →

First, let me tell you that I sent some heated emails today, because I work in Linux Standards. Well, I can back up and say I work with Linux ANYTHING and you should figure that heated emails are probably par for the course. I had to get very blunt and rude because the German guy I was corresponding with just plain doesn’t get it, and if he keeps up his behavior while I expect him to be a normally functioning human being, I’m going to get fired. Anyway, he seems to like forwarding my emails around without thinking of how it would affect me, so I shouldn’t have said, “You’re … Continue reading →

I left work early to hit the Open Source Convention (i.e. geek day number 2) and it was much more productive than I thought it would be. I met old acquaintances, old teachers, and several people who I talked to about work. In fact, the people I talked to about work helped me understand some more of the stuff I’m supposed to be doing. It was worth going, and I’m going again tomorrow. Now I’ve forgotten what else I was thinking about. Certainly not squirrals.

Not only did I wear my MIT hat, but I also watched Eureka today. I like all the fake geek talk. I heard this story today from a co-worker that his buddy used to ride the TriMet bus (our public transportation) and had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple of meth-heads and overheard their conversation. The best I ever did was sat behind a guy writing a manifesto that included: Have sex with as many women as possible, but only blondes and sometimes redheads. Learn to kill. Start with squirrals. (sic) Ok, so I’m not quite sure about that list, but I’m sure I have it written down … Continue reading →

I blame the heat. So Saturday was only in the mid 90′s here, but it was also about as humid as it could get. It even started raining at one point. And then Sunday was a another scorcher with a high, at the airport which is several degrees cooler than in town, of 101°F, and yesterday was 97°F. Out at my co-worker’s fancy weather station near Megacorp it was 104.4°F and 99.4°F. Meanwhile, at Megacorp, I’m in trouble for voicing my opinion on the technical aspects of the project I’m working on. Pie-in-the-sky estimators think everything is fine and working, but I’m convinced that people are ingesting controlled substances. Well, … Continue reading →

It was supposed to be 106°F today, but it only got up in the 90′s. Unfortunately, it was also quite overcast and humid. I stayed inside most of the day and read a book my sister gave me, Summer of the Big Bachi but nothing seemed to go right for the protagonist in the end. I did leave the house to get my hair cut. The woman who usually cuts my hair is leaving, so this is my last haircut from her. Either that, or I have to drive out of the neighborhood to get it cut. I suppose it’s only fair, since she drives in from Damascus (far away) … Continue reading →

Last night my buddy said he wanted to go out and have a beer. I knew this was a bad idea on a school night. I didn’t stay out that late, nor did I have many beers. However, it did mean that after I got home I stayed up for a bit and that meant I was kind of late to bed. So Monday a guy sent me an email asking, “Are you going to be at the ham radio club meeting on Thursday?” I didn’t think much about it, but I figured as the treasurer I should show up more than twice a year. Tuesday I cancelled my Thursday … Continue reading →

Hmm. Come to think of it, I’m a bit late on this. But I was late on the resolutions in the first place. Let’s see how I’m doing. Attend more parties. I think I’ve gone to just about everything I’ve been invited to. Movie nights and etc. I even went to a barbecue that I didn’t want to. I don’t get invited to too many things, so this one has been easy this year. Haven’t eaten nor have I even found anyplace that has Turducken. Last time I even mentioned Turducken was in the elevator at the Omni Parker House in Boston. The guy I was rambling at said, “Come … Continue reading →

We had our “block” party today where the neighbors on my street from several blocks descend upon one neighbor’s pool and then go across the street for a potluck. We had an incredible turnout, so the food actually ran out. I felt like an incredible cheapskate because I brought a quart of potato salad. The trick with the potato salad is that people like the $0.99/lb stuff from Fred Meyer. In fact, it was the salad that ran out first! My buddy Greg even did a side-by-side comparison between the $0.99/lb stuff and the roasted potato stuff, and people hardly touched the expensive stuff. The cheap stuff was all gone. … Continue reading →

Everyone has certain things that make them nervous, and as a geek I feel like there should be a graph of nervous, and if you’re likely to do it. For example, I’m never completely comfortable talking to my boss about my performance. It’s something I always will do, because I have to do it. Higher up on the scale is like getting up out of bed and telling the loud kids to go the hell home. I just ran off some kids who were way too young to be out this late (I know, it’s only midnight) and were talking too loudly while hanging out by the school. I’ll do … Continue reading →