The Fool on The Hill

I Feel Icky

Jan 22, 2009
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I decided that I should probably install the Windows 7 Beta on my iMac and see what all the fuss is about. I am an exclusive Mac user but I like to be informed about all of the different options available. My philosophy is, you don't know what you like most if you don't know what all is out there. For this same reason, I have installed and tried Ubuntu Linux.

First, let me just say that installing Windows on a Mac is like cheating on your supermodel wife with a crack whore.

The install was relatively painless. I hit a couple of snags but they were my fault. First, I thought I could use the 64-bit version on my 6 month old iMac....nope 32-bit only. So I ended up downloading the installer ISO a total of 3 times (first one was corrupted). The other snag that I hit was when I tried to install the boot camp drivers after the Windows installation is done. I put the Leopard install DVD in and ran setup.exe and it failed saying "Boot Camp requires you running Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Vista". I Couldn't figure out why the guide that I was following didn't document the same issue. I had a different, newer Leopard DVD so I thought I would try that one. Sure enough, no problems.

My sound still isn't working but I have spent about all the time I am going to on this one.

All in all, Windows 7 seems OK, although I didn't really put it through the paces yet. It seems a little cleaner and better organized than previous versions of Windows. However, I'm definitely not switching any time soon. Really, only time will tell after this leaves Beta, if it will be a better, more stable OS than Vista which is actually not as bad as it has been made out to be (post SP1). That's right, I will defend MS when they deserve it.

When it was all said and done, exercises like this one make me appreciate Macs even more, I guess that's kind of why I do it.

Work Update

Aug 23, 2008
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So, I haven't posted in a really long time. Not because I have lost interest but since I started my new job, I have been crazy busy and haven't set aside time to stuff like this. I really miss it.

I started my new job back in late Feb. I was doing some knowledge transfer with a great guy from Austria who was getting near the end of his temporary stay in the US (2 years). At that same time I was helping to work on a very large project that had started before I did.

When I started at this new job, I told them that I had a vacation scheduled the 3rd week of June and they assured my that it was not problem. As it turns out, Franz was heading back to Austria a week and a half before the project implementation was scheduled which also happened to fall right on my vacation. After speaking with them regarding the scheduling conflicts, they decided it would be a good idea to implement the project in 3 phases, the first the week before my vacation and the 2nd phase to be put in the week after my vacation. I had no choice but to agree, otherwise I had to cancel a vacation that I had already paid for.

They called me EVERY single day of my vacation with issues. I am not exaggerating, it was every single day. Some days I worked an hour, others I worked 9. I estimated that I worked about 30 hours that week. Here's the kicker, none of the issues were mine, but I was left as the "point man" for this application, nobody else could troubleshoot the problems.

After I returned, I continued to get called on off hours for a couple of weeks, it seemed like every night they called me about something. I was pretty unhappy because I told them in my interview that I have 2 young daughters and I was not willing to work 50+ hours a week on a regular basis. Now that Franz was gone, it seemed as if that would be the norm. I even spoke with my old boss about the possibility of going back to work for him, at a job that I was REALLY bored doing. At this point I would rather be bored out of my mind than completely stressed out and working all the time. It really concerned me that after only 3 months of working there, I was relied on so heavily without any sort of backup person.

I am happy to say that after a couple of more months, things are much better. They have hired a backup for me and the problems from the implementation of this large project are slowly diminishing. My boss and I have put in place several measures to help improve the stability of the system and reduce production problems. Don't get me wrong, I am still crazy busy but in a good way, not in a "put out fires" kind of a way. I am really happy that it worked out because the type of work is exactly what I want to be doing (web development).

In the end, my company gave me my week of vacation back and even paid for a weekend get-a-way for me and my family next month. So, I got that going for me...which is nice.

Flickr Video!

Apr 9, 2008
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Kai learns to surf

This post will server two purposes. I wanted to test the Flickr embedded video feature as well as show off my little girl's new found skill. A proud moment in any geek father's journey. I can't get enough of watching the proud look on her face at the end. Note her favorite site and savvy choice of browser.

Evernote (Cont'd)

Apr 3, 2008
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Thank you so much, haruszpapa for the Evernote invite. Ask and ye shall receive. I am loving this new version. I still have nine invites if anyone else wants in the beta. Cheers.

Evernote

Apr 3, 2008
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Does anyone have an extra invite for the Evernote Beta? I really want to get in on that.

Butterflies

Feb 20, 2008
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So, I'm sitting here in a local coffee shop waiting until time to go in for my first day at my new job. I am always apprehensive about major changes like this, I guess that is somewhat normal. Well, I'd better head in. Wish me luck.

Knock-knock....

Feb 13, 2008
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Daughter: Knock knock.
Me: Who's there?
Daughter: Light Ball Sheet
Me: Light Ball Sheet who?
Daughter: Light Ball Sheet Stinky Feet

Toche, Kai. Touche.

Spongebob does the classics

Feb 12, 2008
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I saw this on Boing Boing today. Really funny.

Via CartoonBrew.com — Annie Award Movie Dubs

Genius

Feb 8, 2008
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Stuff like this makes me realize just how severely uncreative I am.

http://producten.hema.nl/

New Job

Feb 5, 2008
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I accepted an offer yesterday for a new job. I have been at my current job for a year and a half and it's never felt like a good fit for me. I am very excited to start this new phase of my career. I will be working for a large company again. It is a global company with 1,200 employees at the facility here in my town. I will get more money and better opportunities for expanding my skill set. I can't wait to get started.

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BrenBart said:
22 month old: knock, knock me: Who's there22 month old: knock, knock me: Who's there22 month old: knock, KNOCK me:... read more
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[this is good]
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I thought so too until I realized how hard to come by GH3 is for the Wii. read more
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