Work is darn near out of control right now, but there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'm just about finished with three of my new server deployments, and I've got a couple more that are going to roll through over the next couple of weeks. I'll know by the end of next month pretty much what my growth target will be for the next year, and when/if I hire another full-timer.
I've had more time for work the last few days, because the Mrs. and boy went down to her parents' house in New Jersey on Wednesday. Or rather, they almost did... about 20 miles from their house Jane's car blew its transmission, and has been in the shop down in Bass River since. She's planning on going to get it tomorrow morning and head home then.
I'll spend the waiting time at my office, filling out rebate forms, installing a couple of hard drives, and worrying about the refurbed transmission she had installed.
May you live in interesting times.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Wait 'til next year!
I'm not used to two consecutive years without a Super Bowl appearance. It's odd. But before I start my adjustment period, I'd like to think about the prospects this team has come next fall of a return. I've got mixed feelings, so I figure I should lay it out there (plus I've got a few minutes to kill before I leave for work today):
Why the Pats have a great shot at returning to the Super Bowl next year:
- $30 million under the cap as of today (assuming no cap increase)
- 2 late-round picks in the first round
- Despite a huge injury problem, and no real dependable receiving corps, still finished 12-4 and made it to the AFC title game
- Any team coached by Bill Belichick and quarterbacked by Tom Brady has a chance
- Very solid defensive front 3, and a quality O-line
- The 2-RB approach can probably last another season
Why the run may be sputtering to an end:
- Asante Samuel is a upper-tier cornerback, but may not be worth to the Pats what he could get on the open market (look for him to be franchised for the 2007 season)
- Rapidly aging linebacker corps - Bruschi and Vrabel have been prototypical linebackers for this whole run, but both are now showing their age. Bruschi in particular seemed to be having trouble playing the run during the playoffs
- The Colts have won the last three meetings between the teams, including yesterday in the playoffs. That's meaningful.
- Not for nothing, but only Troy Brown's amazing play last week stopped the Pats from losing on a Brady pick. Tom Brady is still one of the best, smartest quarterbacks in football, but he may be getting to that point where a quarterback tries to force things to happen around him a little too much. It's happened to plenty of other ones (see Favre, Brett or Cunningham, Randall), but Brady is still young enough to stop it.
Other than that, spring training starts in just over a month, and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe the Sox will even have finished the JD Drew contract by then!
Why the Pats have a great shot at returning to the Super Bowl next year:
- $30 million under the cap as of today (assuming no cap increase)
- 2 late-round picks in the first round
- Despite a huge injury problem, and no real dependable receiving corps, still finished 12-4 and made it to the AFC title game
- Any team coached by Bill Belichick and quarterbacked by Tom Brady has a chance
- Very solid defensive front 3, and a quality O-line
- The 2-RB approach can probably last another season
Why the run may be sputtering to an end:
- Asante Samuel is a upper-tier cornerback, but may not be worth to the Pats what he could get on the open market (look for him to be franchised for the 2007 season)
- Rapidly aging linebacker corps - Bruschi and Vrabel have been prototypical linebackers for this whole run, but both are now showing their age. Bruschi in particular seemed to be having trouble playing the run during the playoffs
- The Colts have won the last three meetings between the teams, including yesterday in the playoffs. That's meaningful.
- Not for nothing, but only Troy Brown's amazing play last week stopped the Pats from losing on a Brady pick. Tom Brady is still one of the best, smartest quarterbacks in football, but he may be getting to that point where a quarterback tries to force things to happen around him a little too much. It's happened to plenty of other ones (see Favre, Brett or Cunningham, Randall), but Brady is still young enough to stop it.
Other than that, spring training starts in just over a month, and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe the Sox will even have finished the JD Drew contract by then!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Well...
They sure as hell earned this one. The Colts came back in the second half, put the Pats on the defensive quickly, and managed to make the game-saving pick that's usually reserved for a Pats player. Give 'em their props, and good luck at the Super Bowl in two weeks.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Decisions, decisions
I've got less than a year to make up my mind - even less if I want to try and do anything other than cast a vote for the candidate of choice. There's so many options this time around:
Obama - the trendy choice
Clinton - the other trendy choice (and the one who's been running for six years)
Edwards - welcome back, mr. Populist!
Biden - it's the Presidency, not the Lifetime Achievement Award...
Dodd - love ya, but no way - same problem as Biden
Kucinich - makes Bernie Sanders look Republican
Clark - still a contender
Vilsack - Who?
Kerry - in or not? who cares this time?
Gore - making up for a screwjob only surpassed by Montreal (a sop to my wrestling fan readers)?
More seriously, I think the top tier is Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, with Gore as the outside shot to step in late this year and sew it up early. Something about open seat elections pretty much guarantees that all the Democratic Senators will at least explore running. I think there's about ten of them this time around either in the race, considering it, or dropping out after testing the waters. Bottom line, though, I'd vote for Dennis Kucinich before I'd support any pantload the Republicans toss out there - at least until the cancer that is the religious right gets cut out and we see a party that returns to the principles of moderation and fiscal discipline that I support.
Then I could re-register as a Libertarian again. Being a Democrat is better than being a Republican, but it still makes me a little queasy.
Obama - the trendy choice
Clinton - the other trendy choice (and the one who's been running for six years)
Edwards - welcome back, mr. Populist!
Biden - it's the Presidency, not the Lifetime Achievement Award...
Dodd - love ya, but no way - same problem as Biden
Kucinich - makes Bernie Sanders look Republican
Clark - still a contender
Vilsack - Who?
Kerry - in or not? who cares this time?
Gore - making up for a screwjob only surpassed by Montreal (a sop to my wrestling fan readers)?
More seriously, I think the top tier is Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, with Gore as the outside shot to step in late this year and sew it up early. Something about open seat elections pretty much guarantees that all the Democratic Senators will at least explore running. I think there's about ten of them this time around either in the race, considering it, or dropping out after testing the waters. Bottom line, though, I'd vote for Dennis Kucinich before I'd support any pantload the Republicans toss out there - at least until the cancer that is the religious right gets cut out and we see a party that returns to the principles of moderation and fiscal discipline that I support.
Then I could re-register as a Libertarian again. Being a Democrat is better than being a Republican, but it still makes me a little queasy.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Holy crap, Apple!
iPhone...
After Apple starts shipping these things, they are going to be filling rooms with cash - they money will be rolling in so fast! Steve Jobs will be rolling around in it, just like Scrooge McDuck.
More seriously, the idea of building it on an OS X foundation was a masterstroke that can pretty much kill the entire smartphone industry off in one blast. Blackberry will remain relevant due to their "special sauce", Windows Mobile will still be around due to sheer hardware diversity, but Apple just basically killed off Palm, Nokia, and half the rest of the market. The only thing between Apple and global phone dominance is the lack of an EVDO version right now. Wow.
I've already got several customers counting down the days until June. And I'll tell you, were it not for the high-speed data need I have, I might be in that line myself.
After Apple starts shipping these things, they are going to be filling rooms with cash - they money will be rolling in so fast! Steve Jobs will be rolling around in it, just like Scrooge McDuck.
More seriously, the idea of building it on an OS X foundation was a masterstroke that can pretty much kill the entire smartphone industry off in one blast. Blackberry will remain relevant due to their "special sauce", Windows Mobile will still be around due to sheer hardware diversity, but Apple just basically killed off Palm, Nokia, and half the rest of the market. The only thing between Apple and global phone dominance is the lack of an EVDO version right now. Wow.
I've already got several customers counting down the days until June. And I'll tell you, were it not for the high-speed data need I have, I might be in that line myself.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
One (huge) step forward, two (little) steps back
So we've had our TiVo Series 3 for a week now. First of all, this is the way to watch HD. The picture quality is amazing, the sound is amazing, and it's got all the ease-of-use that is TiVo's hallmark. Unlike the old one, it can record two shows at once (or record a show while you watch a different live show), and the remote control is more substantial, adds several ease-of-use features, and is trainable. The Series 3 supports 1080i as the maximum HD resolution, but nicely it can also take care of up-rezzing all your content to display at 1080i. If you have an old-school analog CRT HD set (like me, with a 38-inch RCA behemoth), the changing of video modes was really annoying until this.
Why is it not yet perfect? Well, several reasons. Most importantly, the cool new software features that have been added to Series 2 TiVos in recent months (one-touch deletion, unerase, TiVoCast, KidZone, among others) are not yet present in the Series 3. It basically has the software feature set from about a year ago in the Series 2. Also, the greatest features of Series 2 (TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing) are not yet supported - and neither is the eSATA port on the back of the TiVo, just begging for me to attach an external 500GB drive to jack up the storage. This is because of bizarre CableLabs rules dictating that any external connectivity must be certified by them if CableCARD will be allowed in the device. No certification, no CableCARD. CableLabs are terrified that you might try and remove the content from the box.
So it's not TiVo's fault that the connectivity doesn't work, but it still detracts some from the overall experience. With CES this week, hopefully a software update'll be announced to deal with some of it.
But still, we've got TiVo in HD now, and life is definitely looking up!
Why is it not yet perfect? Well, several reasons. Most importantly, the cool new software features that have been added to Series 2 TiVos in recent months (one-touch deletion, unerase, TiVoCast, KidZone, among others) are not yet present in the Series 3. It basically has the software feature set from about a year ago in the Series 2. Also, the greatest features of Series 2 (TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing) are not yet supported - and neither is the eSATA port on the back of the TiVo, just begging for me to attach an external 500GB drive to jack up the storage. This is because of bizarre CableLabs rules dictating that any external connectivity must be certified by them if CableCARD will be allowed in the device. No certification, no CableCARD. CableLabs are terrified that you might try and remove the content from the box.
So it's not TiVo's fault that the connectivity doesn't work, but it still detracts some from the overall experience. With CES this week, hopefully a software update'll be announced to deal with some of it.
But still, we've got TiVo in HD now, and life is definitely looking up!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The year in review
Our son grew up a lot. He also became a charming, energetic pain in the ass with a definite tendency towards pushing the limits until they break. He learned to be kind of nasty to his parents. On the other hand, he managed to potty train himself, developed some skill at drawing, and sticks up for his friends at school, even when other kids try and pick on them. He's one of the more popular boys in his pre-k classroom, and he does have an outsized personality to match. He grew - a lot - 5T clothes are often too short for him now.
My wife got her job well under control for the most part, putting up upper-tier numbers while still managing to be there for us.
My business has grown to the point where I no longer doubt my chances of a long-term career. I am paying myself a decent salary, have hired one full-time employee, recently added a part-timer, and hope to put on another full-time (specializing in the Windows side) come springtime. I plan to continue managing conservatively, paying myself modestly, and working my butt off to try and make the customers happy in 2007.
Life as a one-cat household suits us fine (Danny was dispatched in 2005). David would like us to add a dog because "Gracie would be friends with a dog", but that's not gonna happen.
Gadget lust in our household has slowed down a lot - the only gadget of note this past year (for the house) was a TiVo Series 3 that Jane and I jointly bought as our holiday gift to ourselves. We've had it for a day. It rocks. It would rock more if we could do multiroom transfers to it from the old one, though.
I did buy a pair of Intel Macs this year, though. Both were for work - not home (even though I'm typing this on one). I started out with a 15" MacBook Pro, then when I hired Joey I gave that one to her and bought a 17". Nice (though not a Core 2 Duo model).
We also finally erased the biggest error that loomed over my history of decision-making - I got rid of the minivan. Never should have bought it in the first place (I overestimated how long we would have to drive around with all the Baby Crap in the car, and I thought at the time it was likely we'd follow up David with an encore). The Kia Sorento we bought in its place is a nice small SUV with AWD that gets about the same mileage and is much nicer to drive (and can go on the beach when we go to Martha's Vineyard).
In related vein, we started taking family vacations again this year. I hope to continue the trend.
And we weaseled one final year out of our house's paint job. But that goes come springtime.
Of course there were a lot more things that happened to us, good and bad, and I've opined many an entry about the other things that have happened in life and the world, but that's a nice, stranger-friendly way to put my version of the "friends & family" letter that a lot of families now include in their holiday cards out for your reading enjoyment. If you're one of our friends reading this, I hope you're enjoying the sanitized update. If you're one of my customers - I hope you keep employing my firm to handle your work as we grow. We won't let you down (unless you're one of the deadbeats - you know who you are and in at least one case I won't forget the $200 you've owed us since February! - in that case please send the check and then lose our number). And if you're one of the total strangers who stumbles upon my blogsite, well, hope you enjoyed what you read, but not enough to stalk us. Happy New Year, and have a great 2007!
My wife got her job well under control for the most part, putting up upper-tier numbers while still managing to be there for us.
My business has grown to the point where I no longer doubt my chances of a long-term career. I am paying myself a decent salary, have hired one full-time employee, recently added a part-timer, and hope to put on another full-time (specializing in the Windows side) come springtime. I plan to continue managing conservatively, paying myself modestly, and working my butt off to try and make the customers happy in 2007.
Life as a one-cat household suits us fine (Danny was dispatched in 2005). David would like us to add a dog because "Gracie would be friends with a dog", but that's not gonna happen.
Gadget lust in our household has slowed down a lot - the only gadget of note this past year (for the house) was a TiVo Series 3 that Jane and I jointly bought as our holiday gift to ourselves. We've had it for a day. It rocks. It would rock more if we could do multiroom transfers to it from the old one, though.
I did buy a pair of Intel Macs this year, though. Both were for work - not home (even though I'm typing this on one). I started out with a 15" MacBook Pro, then when I hired Joey I gave that one to her and bought a 17". Nice (though not a Core 2 Duo model).
We also finally erased the biggest error that loomed over my history of decision-making - I got rid of the minivan. Never should have bought it in the first place (I overestimated how long we would have to drive around with all the Baby Crap in the car, and I thought at the time it was likely we'd follow up David with an encore). The Kia Sorento we bought in its place is a nice small SUV with AWD that gets about the same mileage and is much nicer to drive (and can go on the beach when we go to Martha's Vineyard).
In related vein, we started taking family vacations again this year. I hope to continue the trend.
And we weaseled one final year out of our house's paint job. But that goes come springtime.
Of course there were a lot more things that happened to us, good and bad, and I've opined many an entry about the other things that have happened in life and the world, but that's a nice, stranger-friendly way to put my version of the "friends & family" letter that a lot of families now include in their holiday cards out for your reading enjoyment. If you're one of our friends reading this, I hope you're enjoying the sanitized update. If you're one of my customers - I hope you keep employing my firm to handle your work as we grow. We won't let you down (unless you're one of the deadbeats - you know who you are and in at least one case I won't forget the $200 you've owed us since February! - in that case please send the check and then lose our number). And if you're one of the total strangers who stumbles upon my blogsite, well, hope you enjoyed what you read, but not enough to stalk us. Happy New Year, and have a great 2007!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Happy whatever, 2006...
Santa brought a bunch of goodies to David (even though he really hasn't done much lately to deserve a visit). David is accordingly happy, if underappreciative. And that's about as much enthusiasm as I'll muster for that part of things for the moment. If he keeps it up, within a season or two we'll whack him upside the head with the Truth About Santa early!
As for us, Santa (in the form of my credit card) bought a single gift for Jane and I to share (with her full consent) - a TiVo Series 3 box. It'll be hooked up over the weekend (Comcast is coming with two CableCards for it on Saturday), and I am happily using TiVo Decode Manager (a wonderful free Mac utility) to download and archive the best stuff from our Series 2 before we replace it. The Series 2 will live on, though - with a year's subscription to continue on before we decide any further fate.
I do have some stuff archived on the horrid Comcast DVR that I will try and watch this week before I take it back to the local office. If Comcast didn't make such a horrid DVR I'd have kept it, but as far as I can tell the programmers responsible for this beast studied TiVo and then asked themselves: "How can we build a DVR that is completely unlike TiVo yet still can occasionally record television?" Once they had the answer coded, they issued forth the Comcast HD-DVR box. It sucks.
Having changed out original plans due to health problems, Jane is now going to visit her folks with David in tow for the rest of the week, leaving tomorrow. I will use the opportunity to work my butt off and end 2006 on a big note (by the way, check out my revised website - now with CSS!). Woodge owed me a favor and built it to update my look a tad.
As for us, Santa (in the form of my credit card) bought a single gift for Jane and I to share (with her full consent) - a TiVo Series 3 box. It'll be hooked up over the weekend (Comcast is coming with two CableCards for it on Saturday), and I am happily using TiVo Decode Manager (a wonderful free Mac utility) to download and archive the best stuff from our Series 2 before we replace it. The Series 2 will live on, though - with a year's subscription to continue on before we decide any further fate.
I do have some stuff archived on the horrid Comcast DVR that I will try and watch this week before I take it back to the local office. If Comcast didn't make such a horrid DVR I'd have kept it, but as far as I can tell the programmers responsible for this beast studied TiVo and then asked themselves: "How can we build a DVR that is completely unlike TiVo yet still can occasionally record television?" Once they had the answer coded, they issued forth the Comcast HD-DVR box. It sucks.
Having changed out original plans due to health problems, Jane is now going to visit her folks with David in tow for the rest of the week, leaving tomorrow. I will use the opportunity to work my butt off and end 2006 on a big note (by the way, check out my revised website - now with CSS!). Woodge owed me a favor and built it to update my look a tad.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
That'll teach me
We took David out to dinner tonight - we brought a book, which helped. But then he was troublesome again at mealtime, and capped it off when I got up to go to the bathroom. He tagged along, and spent way too much effort on figuring out how to close the stall door.
He succeeded beyond his wildest imagination. And locked himself in. After many attempts to get him out the easy way, I finally made him crawl out. Fortunately the floor was pretty clean right there.
And a happy festivus to you, too.
He succeeded beyond his wildest imagination. And locked himself in. After many attempts to get him out the easy way, I finally made him crawl out. Fortunately the floor was pretty clean right there.
And a happy festivus to you, too.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The rat finks
Announcement this morning - the station switch here from Progressive Talk to Latino is going to be tomorrow. Which really sucks.
The only mitigating factor at all is that Al is in reruns this week and next for his annual USO tour, and Steph is on vacation as well.
The only mitigating factor at all is that Al is in reruns this week and next for his annual USO tour, and Steph is on vacation as well.
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