Random thoughts, organized and categorized for your consumption.
Rants
If I have a problem with something, here it will be.
Another Ski Trip in the Can
Dec 11th
I just got back from a ski trip to Heavenly and although its good to hit the snow this trip was a bit of a let down for a couple of reasons.
- Not enough snow
- Temperature was too high (48 F)
- Rocks on the trails
- Too many folks in lift lines
Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful to be up in Tahoe hitting the snow. But I just wish it were good, functional snow. 4 hours each way for crappy snow just isn’t much fun when you think about the time spent. Maybe next time will be better.
More >The Pit and Despair
Dec 10th
I have just completed the first phase of the X-10 light switch install. After two days I’ve swapped out 8 switches and now have all the stairway lights properly wired. It was pretty touch and go there for a while: when things don’t work and patience wears out you can do some pretty dumb things, a bad idea when playing with 110 volts.
In any case, even though it isn’t pretty, things are working. Now the huge task of mess cleanup comes next. I have boxes, wire cuttings, wall remains, and a whole lot of dust and muck to clean up More >
Roku Update
Nov 27th
After about 12 hours of grinding away, my server finally finished its scan of all my music and made itself ready for streaming. For about 5 hours yesterday I had everything working great, searching and streaming songs, playlists, and the like. Great, this is just what I was looking for.
Then I noticed that my laptop couldn’t go to any web sites. And my router appeared to be dead. Hmm, that’s not right.
I discovered that at least twice an hour, for some reason, my router, a Linksys, goes all wonky and stops responding to anyone but the server and Roku client. More >
Holiday Online Ordering
Nov 27th
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 More >
Why Pizza Hut Sucks
Nov 26th
I tried for a third time in as many months to find a Pizza Hut, any location, at any amount of purchase price, to deliver a pizza to my door. They simply won’t do it. The closest one is just 3 miles away, I could probably see it if I stood on the roof of the house. No, they would rather refer me to two other locations that are even further away. And of course, neither of them will drive here, either.
So I’m left with some local shops that do an OK job for pizza and charge through the nose, More >
Post Spam Sucks
Nov 25th
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 More >
As the world turns
Nov 3rd
As I woke up this morning on the far side of the planet (Taiwan) I am saddened to see that 51% of Americans put Bush back in office. The international reaction was predictably muted, but it is obvious we haven’t made many friends around the world with this president.
I look forward to returning home and hearing how it is we ended up with the same guy in charge as when I left.
Back Home Again
Oct 15th
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 More >
In and Around NYC
Oct 10th
I’m spending this week in NYC on yet another press tour stint. Again I’m with the group I went with last week and I’m no better off this time than I was last time. In fact, I’m a bit worse, thanks to sharing a room with one of them.
I also happen to be at the tale end of the same cold that I picked up in Dallas two weeks ago. It may end up that my cold is the only thing that gets me so peace, since no one wants to be around people who cough and sneeze.
It’s a good More >
Sick of It
Sep 28th
I’m back from my Texas trip to a friends wedding and I brought back an old friend: the common cold. I am now coughing up lung cookies and feeling generally really poor. On top of this I have the joy of a splitting headache and one of the worst travel stories on record.
For those of you following my travails as an immanently soon-to-be-unemployed person, take a look at my spiffy updated work history and business network on LinkedIn.