Month: March 2003

Documents, Changes and Mood Altering Substances

I hate writing documentation. I hate writing concept documents. I hate writing project plans. I like writing code. I’d gladly write code for almost anything over writing the documentation for that code. Unfortunately, I’m pretty good at writing documentation, and that means I get to do it more often than I’d like.

After reading this last week, I’ve decided to start out this week forcing myself to use OS X and finally break my Windows habit. I realized that using my Quicksilver G4 isn’t really an option because I don’t use it all the time. I take my Powerbook home every night and surf for a couple hours after work, and during our blizzard, I worked from home on it and got it in a usable state with jEdit, MacCVSX, NetNewsWire and AOL. I could actually do my job on it without thinking about it. The problem with translating that to work is it’s not very comfortable to use a trackpad and laptop keyboard at work all day. My solution? Plug the powerbook into my KVM switch! It’s great! I usually have the Powerbook open all day with NetNewsWire and Camino open all day anyway. Now, it’s still open with the same apps, but now I have AOL, CVS and jEdit open on my monitor, and can use my regular mouse and keyboard. Bye-Bye XP, may you rot in hell.

Computing is all about habits. Breaking old ones and creating healthy new ones is difficult – just ask anyone who’s ever dieted. Computing habits are sometimes harder to break. I’ve been using Windows for eight years to do my day-to-day job functions. Switching to a new platform, even one I like very much, to perform those functions is not easy. But, I can do it. I really really can…

After the good news, much come some bad. This weekend sucked. We spent all weekend cooped up with a sick Max (he’s feeling much better) and an ailing (sore throat, also much better) and stircrazy Jen has done horrible things to my mood and sleep pattern. I’m exhausted even though I got eight hours of sleep last night. I’m also cranky and out of sorts. I’m hoping everyone and everything getting back to normal will help. I could really use a nap though.

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Categorized as os x

Friday Night TV

Thank goodness for TiVo. There’s now so much good stuff late on Friday night that I can’t believe trying to keep up without having TiVo handle it all for me. Let’s go over the list:

  • Ali G: It’s hard to say which show is funnier, but Ali G is one of the two funniest half hours on TV. The things he gets away with saying because of his outrageous accents are just brilliant. Submersive and somehow innocent, it will knock you on your funny bone, snap its finger in your face and show you its drawers as it walks away.

  • Penn & Teller: My wife hates Penn & Teller, but loves this show. They take the things no one else is willing to take on (but everyone is pretty sure is BS, but either doesn’t have the time or the stones to say so) and debunks them in the funniest possible way. The bottled water one last night was absolutely priceless.

  • Real Time With Bill Maher: I don’t really like Bill Maher. Really, I don’t. But, the panels are usually interesting. Paul F. Thompkins’ segments are very funny, and he’s committed to showcasing stand-up comedians. Sarah Silverman was really funny the first show, and Eric Idle was awesome last week. Worth watching for those alone (especially because you can fast forward through the other parts.

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When The Rambos Do Something…

They don’t kid around. Not only do Dawson and Annie both have blogs, but now step-daughter/daughter Laura has one too. What next guys, the cat?

Pretty soon, they’ll be blogrolling, sitemeterin’, RSS Feedin’ pros. I feel partly responsible for inflicting the addiction on them. Really, I do. This all started with a simple “Hey, how do I get a blog for my wife?” and it’s ballooned into a family obsession (yes, I’m probably hyperbolizing here, but play along). You know this is all my vain attempt to get them traffic, right? It’s like trying to start a fire with a piece of string and a thimble (because how much traffic do I get? Not a whole lot).

Where is this going? I have no idea… all this posting today is my way of avoiding work and staying awake until I can go home (well, go to Safeway and get Max’s medicine and THEN go home).

Three Days Old And Already A Pro

So my pal Dawson started a blog. I told you that already. But, go back. Where there was once nothing, there is now content. Check out his Tips for Husbands. Words to live by, jackholes, words to live by.

Daws’ Movable Type installation is now un-messed up and you should see some more neat-o stuff from him shortly (like an XML feed so you can try to keep up with him).

In completely unrelated news, I’m down to 285. You may say to yourself, “Wasn’t he at 289 like two weeks ago? What took him so long? I can lose four pounds by taking a trip to the can!” Well, I was sick. I was at home. I lost my rhythm. I ate things I’m not supposed to. I was naughty. Since Monday, I’ve lost three pounds, so I’m back on track. In fact, I’m wearing my new smaller belt because I was down to the last hole on the “Middle” belt. I’ll see you at 250, suckers!

Nononono, I Don’t WANT TO!!

Max has pink eye. I probably gave it to him. He went to bed last night at eight, like he always does. He woke up at one and was up all night. I got up with him initially, but he, of course, didn’t want me. I got him some juice (spiked with PediaCare – shhhh, don’t tell him), and asked if I could lay down with him instead of going to get Jen. So I went and got Jen. After making sure they were settled and had everything they needed, I went back to bed. It took two hours to get back to sleep. Then, I woke up at 8:30 so I could get Max to the doctor at 9:30. I got ready, got him ready, and headed out the door. As soon as Max realized where we were going, he lost it. “I don’t want to go to the doctor!!! Nononononononononononono!!” He, thankfully, sat quietly in the waiting room, but as soon as it was time to go back, he lost it again. There is no worse feeling than having to bear hug your little boy while the doctor does stuff. It sucked holding him still when he got shots as a little baby, and it sucked this morning holding him still so the doctor could look in his nose, ears and throat and listen to his chest.

We went home, and here I am at work, exhausted. I’m trying to be productive, but it’s just not working. I did get what I needed to get to QA on time, with a couple last-minute added bonuses. I learned some scary stuff about Windows Update (ok, this time I’m switching for real – and, wouldn’t Windows Updates “Checking for updates – no information is being send to Microsoft” be fraud?). I fixed a friend’s Movable Type installation (it’s a lot harder than I remember it being – I think it’s just his hosting company). I should read some more of my Java and JSP books, but I can barely stay awake reading them normally. I should play some more with a random number generator, but that’s boring (I mean, how hard is it to call Random()?).

There are, of course, things I’d like to talk about right now that might actually be interesting. I just don’t have the energy for it.

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Categorized as family

Another Lawver Google Appearance

Not sure how this happened, but I’m up at the top of the results on Google for “how does google make money”. My post about Google’s Acquisition of Blogger is number one, above TechTV, ABC News and Motley Fool. Ummm, I don’t know whether to be afraid that Google got this so wrong, or proud that Google thinks I’m more relevant than the big boys.

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Categorized as computing

Ucking Ick

Max has some bug that makes him sound like Darth Vader. For a three year-old to sound like Mr. Vader is a feat. He’s coughed into wakefulness the past two nights. Jen, being the trooper that she is, stayed up all night with him. He’s OK during the day except for his voice. At night, it gets worse and the coughing starts.

Doing my part to help out, I have become the Family Medicator. I left work early to go get drugs. I got those neat-o new vapo-rub patches for him, some more PediaCare cough and cold and lots of “I have a cold, pamper me” snacks for him. I’m taking him to the doctor tomorrow morning.

As you can see, I’m not really doing much. Max doesn’t like me when he’s sick. He only wants mommy. He won’t let me put him to bed. He doesn’t want to take his medicine, which means I get to play “bad cop” when it comes time to give him his medicine. Yeah, I looo-oove playing bad cop. Let’s hope the doctor gives him something wonderful that clears this crap up soon.

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Anal Fissures Are Funny

Mr. Kottke’s post about early web art got me prevaricating off down memory lane. I posted a big list in his comments (which I will post below this). But, what came rushing back after I posted my comment was Bob the Anal Fissure. Of all the horribly gross and funny things that showed up on the web in the “early” days of the my experience with it (1995). I remember sitting there at work, trying to stifle giggles as I talked to people on the phone and tried to fix their horrible 9600/2400 modems. Not for the faint of heart.

And the original list:

  • All those “X Ate My Balls” sites

  • Birdhouse.org and all those great early art pieces.

  • Art.net – one of the first online galleries that I ever saw. It blew me away.

  • Netscape 3.0 Beta 3 (I think) that allowed you to have animated gifs as your background. I personally crashed dozens of browsers with my original site (‘lo those many years ago).

  • The SGI Cool Zone in Netscape 2.0.

  • All those cool things that didn’t last – VRML 1.0, Virtual Places and The Hub (one of the first 3D avatar chat systems).

  • AOL 2.5 with its horrible web browser (booklink), but with the buddy list, which revolutionized IM.

  • GNN – Global Network Navigator was a site (think early Yahoo) that was once more popular than Yahoo.

  • Webcrawler

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