Random thoughts, organized and categorized for your consumption.
General
Things so normal as to not fit neatly into any other area.
And so it begins
Feb 21st
Tonight (or this morning) I pack for what is sure to be some kind of interesting adventure. One week of fun filled customer visits in smog filled Taiwan. Then a follow up vacation in Thailand with virtually no planning on my part. I’m on the verge of complete panic, but I’m keeping it together.
If I get time to chronicle things a bit I’ll post stuff up while on the road. Otherwise, I’ll chat with you (or this log) in March.
Traveling again
Feb 14th
I’m out in OK for the weekend for a grandmother’s 80th birthday. For once I chose not to fly AA and I made it here without fear of being denied access to the plane or without waiting for hours in the terminal.
My tradeoff for this trip is that it begins another month of air travel to all kinds of places. And I’m getting over a cold of sorts which has left me with virtually no voice. So I guess I can only type my complaints for now. Joy to you.
Another Social Network
Jan 24th
A friend invited me to yet another social network, this one called Orkut. So far as I can tell, its a more down to earth Friendster. Time will tell if this becomes another Google juggernaut (the guy who did the site works for Google.
I wonder if these sites really work. Thus far I have a good community on the business minded LinkedIn site, but have only connected with a few folks on there. Will Orkut find me love? I dunno, but I’m willing to bet it will find me some additional inbox spam.
Post CES Gadget Meltdown
Jan 12th
Having just returned from the madness that is CES I can say that there are far more cool must have gizmos out there than I have either time or money to acquire. I have to give special props to my old employer Creative for their new, Microsoft driven portable media center. Time will tell if it is the real deal or just another flash in the pan.
As for me, I’m currently holding out for the DirecTV HD TiVo unit coming in April. At $1K it ain’t cheap, but then again this thing records HDTV and SDTV with 4 tuners. If this More >
Xbox Addiction
Jan 5th
I’m the first to admit that I play a lot of video games. But now I have a new one that eats up every spare moment: Project Gotham Racing 2. Its not my style at all; driving virtual cars around a track, beating the clock, your own time, or one of several virtual drivers. But this game adds a twist: you can link up with other humans on Xbox Live! (internet gaming) and have a go.
I’ve never laughed so hard in my entire life. 8 people with Ferrari Enzo’s smashing into the same wall at 100+ MPH, screaming and cursing More >
Opting in to spam?
Jan 3rd
At a friends’ request, I joined a new site called LinkeIn. It’s about contacts, and reaching out to those people’s contacts in order to do business. Looking a bit harder at the news blurbs about the site (and others like them) I wonder if I’ve just signed up (and sent invites to others) to be seriously spammed.
In general, I believe in the idea that “x degrees of seperation” communities will work. I’m just not sure that they can be all business or all personal any more. I have contacts that I work with daily that are both categories, but I More >
Vacation Fun
Dec 30th
I’m sending this quick post from the road in Incline Village (near Tahoe), NV. I’ve just spent the past 3 days skiing until I nearly dropped. Given the ambient temperature (20 F) and the conditions (blinding snow storms and fog) I’ve gotten in some good runs. Pictures to follow later.
In the meantime, enjoy a happy new year. I’ll be crumpled up in a corner somewhere with some Advil
Housework of a different sort
Dec 21st
I spent the last few days assisting some friends of mine work on their house, and I decided to note a few things that are interesting (to me at least):
1. I can still remember how to paint walls w/o wearing as much as I roll on 2. Filling holes and sanding is still not any fun 3. Watch out for bookshelves: some items may shift, could fall, and cause damage to your head 4. Construction dust can and will go everywhere it can, even if you have covers 5. There are never enough hours in the day to get stuff More >
Out with the old… and the new
Sep 21st
Sometimes things get old, dirty, and forgotten. You just have to toss them out. Other times new stuff gets broken and you have no choice but to toss it. Today I had to do both, only it was all RC airplane related. I’m now down to a single flyable airplane, after the total loss of my newest airplane, the spitfire. Why? Lame new batteries. For the second time.
So, rather than complain (who’d of thought?) I’m in the market for a new .60 size plane, and probably some electronics as well. Sucks to be me.
Big Steps
Aug 5th
So I’ve decided to see how much I can scare myself by putting a bid in or a home. When all the costs are final I’m sure it will be the most expensive thing I’ve ever had to write checks for. From what I hear, there are tax benefits somewhere down the line. Funny thing is that all the money out of pocket to get started doesn’t make waiting for a refund/rebate seem feasible.
And before someone asks, no, it isn’t cheaper to live elsewhere and fly in on a daily basis. I checked that math out before I did the More >