Random thoughts, organized and categorized for your consumption.
Rants
If I have a problem with something, here it will be.
The Tale of the Harmony 880 Remote
Mar 26th
I recently became the owner of a new smart remote control, the Logitech Harmony 880 via a friend of mine who will remain nameless (he knows who he is). After months of pain with the previous remote, the Philips Pronto NG (I think the NG stood for “not good”) I was ready to switch to something better. The Harmony 880 looked to be the ticket.
To be fair, I was warned that the setup process for the 880 would be a little, um, rough. The warning was correct. It was an unholy terror to setup the remote due to a few factors, which More >
Long Ride Up and Back, with Good Ski In-Between
Mar 15th
There was good skiing to be had last weekend, but a lot of pain on the ride to and from Tahoe made it bittersweet. It was the first time I’ve ever seen snow in Placerville, a town located at 1800 feet above sea level. It’s rare to find snow that low in California, so out came the Caltrans chain crews and down goes the speed limit.
It took just over 7 hours to get to Tahoe that Friday evening.
On Saturday and Sunday there was a bit over an inch of new snow, really cold weather, and very light crowds. Slopes were More >
Old Dog, New Tricks, Sort of
Feb 26th
Today I took a lesson and attempted to snowboard for the first time. To be sure, I’m hurting as I sit here and type this, and it was a real chore to try to learn how to do something so unnatural as boarding.
To be fair, I’ve skied for longer than I can remember so I’m used to not falling down all the time. I’m also not accustomed to sitting in the middle of a trail, waiting to get hit, yet after my lesson and some further practice, this is something that boarders are taught to do.
I think I’ll keep to More >
The Long, Dark Road
Jan 24th
I don’t normally write about work, but things have been getting a bit rough these days. After spending some serious time over the last year getting a product built and shipped (even though I didn’t approve of shipping it) the public reception left a lot to be desired. And that is putting it mildly.
Now there is a full-on, wholesale re-org coming and where things end up no one is quite sure yet. The engineering team isn’t in the best of spirits, and I can’t say that I blame them, given this situation. My only hope at this point is that More >
Back from CES
Jan 7th
I have just returned from CES, that large consumer electronics and computer show in Las Vegas, and I am just beat. Why people must insist on smoking so much I will never know, but I now have the smell to remind me of the time spent there this past week.
It was 4 days of meetings, endless walking, dinners, drinking, and for some (not yours truly) gambling. 2006 will be the year of both big screen (hi-def) and small screen (portable video) given what I saw there. Plenty of reasons to go out and buy that HDTV or new phone / More >
The snow trip that wasn't
Dec 31st
Yesterday I got up before dawn, staggered around the house, and gathered up all of my skiing possessions in the hope of a day of snow induced bliss. This sadly did not happen.
Quite the opposite happened, actually.
After it was all finished, the people going spent about 9 hours in transit to-and-from Tahoe only to be taught a recurring lesson: Ski resorts lie about their weather conditions. It was raining and windy, and 50 F at the mountains, completely unsuitable for skiing.
I will wait for the weather situation to improve before trying to travel up to Tahoe again, that is for More >
Home at last
Nov 29th
I pushed on through and drove direct from San Diego to San Jose tonight (or today). It took longer than I had hoped, starting at around 7pm or so, and ending at 12:45am. The car is finally in a home garage again, extremely wet, and slightly dinged, but in pretty good shape all things considered.
It was 4 days and 2000 miles of driving, but I’m glad to finally be home. Next time I will definitely take the plane. When I wake up sometime today I’ll try to post some new pictures of the ride in the gallery area.
More >California Drivers are the Weakest Link
Nov 27th
I had always believed that Californians were poorer drivers than the rest of the country since moving here 10 years ago. However, I now have definitive proof that they are the worst. Take this sampling of data, for instance:
- States travelled through: 5 (OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA)
- Worst roads encountered: New Mexico (washboard consistency)
- Fastest speed limits: Arizona (75 MPH most freeways)
- Least traffic encountered: New Mexico (desolate in most places)
- Dead wildlife leader: Texas (nearly every 10 miles something was toast)
- Most stop and go traffic: California (starts at the border near Interstate -8)
- Most police on road: California (from mile 3 onward)
- Largest percentage of More >
Don't Tempt Fate
Oct 30th
Today I had one of those moments that I try so hard to avoid, the one where the rational brain and impulsive brain are fighting it out for control. Let me give you the rundown:
- I had two good flights on my largest R/C airplane
- There was no real damage, save for some gear scraping, making it a good day
- The wind was just starting to pick up, so it would had been good to pack it in
- No one around was pushing me to fly again
So with all of this known, my rational brain told me to call it a day and go More >
Tired and Out of Sorts
Oct 10th
I’ve entered month two of very little to no sleep during the week, thanks to a grueling and completely unrealistic product shipment schedule. In a move I will forever regret, I volunteered my services to be both product manager and UI/layout developer, ensuring that I work the same crazy hours I normally assign to the engineering team.
I have to say now that I don’t know how the tech folks live like this, because on weekends all I do is get up around noon, watch a little TV, do a little more work, then head back to sleep. I really hope More >