Category Archives: General

Things so normal as to not fit neatly into any other area.

Job Search Speed Up

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I am now in the mode of serious job searching. From a meeting yesterday I have a clear mandate to go off and find a new job as soon as possible and I need to make it my top priority. Right up there with buying Christmas gifts and paying mortgages, that is.

There are several ways at looking at this decision, but at the moment I find myself wondering how I can rationalize my need to be passionate and engaged in my next job while balancing my need for steady income. I see many opportunities before me if I’m willing to seek them out and wait, but the strong desire to keep a roof over my head tends to take precedence these days. I suppose I will see if principle or payment wins out in the end.

Holiday Online Ordering

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I spent a good part of today doing some online shopping for Christmas gifts. Much to my surprise, after doing research this past week, capturing prices and URLs, I go back and find that most of the prices change quite dramatically. A combination of local taxes (thanks California!) shipping costs that aren’t known, and just plain bait-and-switch tactics by the web sites have conspired to raise just about every price.

So when you do your shopping and you see a price that is just too good to be true, be sure you verify it by going down the purchase path until the tax, shipping, and availability questions get answered. And watch out for those restocking fees… they’ve gone up to nearly 20% on some items this year.

Post Spam Sucks

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Just after I posted that last story I went to look at comments. I found that I have been spammed about 200 times since I last checked, basically once for every time the blog gets updated. This really bites, so I’ve turned off unmoderated comments again until I can find a better way to do things.

That is just poor behavior and I find it difficult to believe it does anything more than upset people. I certainly won’t be going to any casino mortgage gaming web site for my favorite interest rates again.

EDIT: I have found an excellent site that has many possible solutions for spam comments. If you run WP like I do you’ll want to visit the WP Spam Comments site and get some help. Highly recommended.

Roku SoundBridge 1000

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I just picke up one of these Roku SoundBridge 1000 boxes to fiddle with. So far, I’ve found it to be pretty cool and relatively easy to setup. This version is WiFi (b) enabled, so I just find some speakers and a power plug and I’m up and running anywhere. It is reasonably easy to go, now with the Windows UPNP functions working.

The downside, as it always is for me, is that none of the server software that talks to the Roku can handle the volume of music I want to play. Simply put: they choke. Currently the Windows Media Connect service running on my home server is pegged at 100% CPU utilization and over 163MB of memory usage. This is after it has been trying to digest my music for the past 6 hours or so. Guess there is still room for improvement with these devices. On the other hand, iTunes and SlimServer do work with smaller quantities of music, so it isn’t all busted dreams.

Podcast = Poor Man's Audible?

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Because I have nothing better to do than poke around on the web during the mornings on weekends, I found this small but growing phenomenon: podcasting. For those who are uninformed (including me, evidently) this is the ability for the common man (and some more special folks) to create their own audio broadcasts to go along with their blog.

I have to say that its still pretty early days, but it seems to me that this is the poor mans solution to Audible, with more uneven talent. There is some interesting stuff out there to listen to, but if I need bite size nuggets of technology info, I will get my tech news from someone who has been doing it a long, long time and does it for a living (he is a friend and very funny).

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Back Home Again

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After a bit of a travel streak out promoting some new products for the company, I am back in town for a few days. Looks like there is more travel on the horizon, however, thanks to a large amount of folks who just haven’t seen the technology or heard the pitch. Bummer for me.

I hope to be able to get at least a little laundry done and do those important but mundane things like pay a few irregular bills, get the car tag renewed, get smogged, buy groceries, etc. If not I think I’ll have a wave of notices stuck to my door in the coming weeks.

Back in town for now

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I just got back from Dallas after a week long press tour, random travel, and way too much time hauling PCs in and out of vehicles and boxes with people that are slightly annoying. I get to spend one whole day here at home before heading back out on the road to NYC for another round of press previews.

Here’s to hoping that things stabilize next week and I get some more sleep while on the road. I’m about to konk out just sitting here.

Wedding Number 2

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Today I head off to Sonoma for another friend’s wedding. Thankfully I will be in the same time zone and climate as I am used to. Unthankfully, I will be on an airplane and on the road again in just under 48 hours.

I imagine that this wedding will be very different from the one just attended in Dallas. For one, I’m being placed at a table deliberately with single women, all friends of the bride. It remains to be seen what I will do with this opportunity. It should be an interesting experience nonetheless.

For now I plan on sitting back and taking it all in, and I’ll try to leave the typical self-analysis to a post event think session, long after everyone is gone.

Off to Wedding #1

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I’ll be out in Dallas, Texas this weekend to visit an old friend and attend his wedding. It should be an interesting trial run for another wedding I will attend next weekend. Being the grand socialite that I am (not) it should serve as an interesting experience for all involved.

All I hope is that: a) the wedding gifts have arrived and b) there is something to drink. Without a bit of libation I am about as talkative as a shrub at social gatherings. Fun!