First, Chinese products are found to be tainted with various items that are not safe by current American standard, then Chinese tires are recalled at the request of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Now we have two bombing attempts in England and one in Scotland...all three are related.
Oh, yeah...Paris Hilton has never used drugs, nor does she drink excessively. Right.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Weathermen Suck
I love the whole "scattered thunderstorms" concept. When the radar cannot give them any real idea what is going on, "scattered thunderstorms" always enters the picture. Face it guys...you are just guessing.
It was not raining this morning and I was able to sleep in some before I took Little Man for a walk. After our walk, I had coffee and ate a little breakfast (fruit, yogurt, milk, juice, granola bar) then tried one of the Tai-Bo workout tapes my wife has. I enjoy martial arts and with my ever growing gut (190 lbs this morning), I figured it was a good time to get started. It did not take long before I was sweating (which is a good thing), but towards the end of the beginners workout, the sharp pain in my left gluteus maximus (the proverbial pain in the butt) started acting up. I really think there is more sciatic nerve problems than originally discovered. I had a very sharp, sever attack several months ago but now the only things that cause it are related to working out my lower body (various kicks, Muoy Thai style knee strikes, etc). Normal exercise does not seem to have any adverse affects on it, although some stretching can aggravate it. I guess my dreams of martial arts are going to have to go on hold. Surgery will be the only thing to fix that and I am not in any real need of that...yet.
After that was done I started doing the weekly changing of the bed linens and vacuuming. I was able to get all that done before my wife got back from her workout, her trip to Sam's Club, and a quick trip for gas. While she was out, she picked up the PVC pipe I needed to reroute th AC condenser drain into the gutter downspout. Since this has been such a humid year so far, the AC has been pulling a ton of moisture out of the air and the drainage has caused a lot of water stains on the foundation, driveway, and garage door where it drips.
After a quick lunch I put up the PVC and used some CLR to removed the hard water and rust stains. Over all it did a pretty good job. Just as I was cleaning up it started to rain again. I think it was the second or third time so far and it was really making the weathermen look like fools. "Scatter Showers" my butt.
Once that was done I started on my Sunday School lesson. I did over half of it at work yesterday (we had a very slow day...makes me worried about next week...I am on call then) and I knew it would not take long to finish it.
A little TV (Steven Segal, "Fire Down Below") and I fed the dogs...just as my wife was hinting that she was hungry and not in the mood to cook (like I was...) so I offered to get burgers at Scotty P's. She thought it was a good idea...
After enjoying those, I took care of some Internet stuff and while I was doing that, our former neighbors (originally from Mexico City) stopped by to chat. It was nice talking to them.
It was not raining this morning and I was able to sleep in some before I took Little Man for a walk. After our walk, I had coffee and ate a little breakfast (fruit, yogurt, milk, juice, granola bar) then tried one of the Tai-Bo workout tapes my wife has. I enjoy martial arts and with my ever growing gut (190 lbs this morning), I figured it was a good time to get started. It did not take long before I was sweating (which is a good thing), but towards the end of the beginners workout, the sharp pain in my left gluteus maximus (the proverbial pain in the butt) started acting up. I really think there is more sciatic nerve problems than originally discovered. I had a very sharp, sever attack several months ago but now the only things that cause it are related to working out my lower body (various kicks, Muoy Thai style knee strikes, etc). Normal exercise does not seem to have any adverse affects on it, although some stretching can aggravate it. I guess my dreams of martial arts are going to have to go on hold. Surgery will be the only thing to fix that and I am not in any real need of that...yet.
After that was done I started doing the weekly changing of the bed linens and vacuuming. I was able to get all that done before my wife got back from her workout, her trip to Sam's Club, and a quick trip for gas. While she was out, she picked up the PVC pipe I needed to reroute th AC condenser drain into the gutter downspout. Since this has been such a humid year so far, the AC has been pulling a ton of moisture out of the air and the drainage has caused a lot of water stains on the foundation, driveway, and garage door where it drips.
After a quick lunch I put up the PVC and used some CLR to removed the hard water and rust stains. Over all it did a pretty good job. Just as I was cleaning up it started to rain again. I think it was the second or third time so far and it was really making the weathermen look like fools. "Scatter Showers" my butt.
Once that was done I started on my Sunday School lesson. I did over half of it at work yesterday (we had a very slow day...makes me worried about next week...I am on call then) and I knew it would not take long to finish it.
A little TV (Steven Segal, "Fire Down Below") and I fed the dogs...just as my wife was hinting that she was hungry and not in the mood to cook (like I was...) so I offered to get burgers at Scotty P's. She thought it was a good idea...
After enjoying those, I took care of some Internet stuff and while I was doing that, our former neighbors (originally from Mexico City) stopped by to chat. It was nice talking to them.
Friday, June 29, 2007
What A Fine Kettle Of Fish
Knightmare Duck was kind enough to give me the scoop on Rycherox's 404. While political issues are a daily thing in corporate America, it usually is not as common in the government. Rycherox has been busy trying to work with his new boss and the re-org that has has occurred after the retiring of his old boss. It seems that instead of promoting the second in command to the empty spot and backfilling the second in commands position, they have completely done away with the second in command position and divvied up the duties amongst Rychrox and one or two other people. So now Rycherox suffers just like I usually do with an increase of work and responsibility and no increase in pay. This keeps Rycherox from blogging (he has no spare time at all now) and doing anything with the BSOB gang online. Couple that with M'Wonga's failure to participate and BSOB is quickly beginning to slide back into obscurity. Shame.
I hope that RycheRox can get this all sorted out by Sept 10th when I go pay them a visit. I know that Knightmare Duck plans on keeping part of his calendar clear that week so we can visit...it would be nice to have Rycherox available as well.
I received good news in that Block Head is going to drive from Memphis, TN to meet me at the state park where I usually spend the night during my trip. It is a couple of hours away, but I told him he could meet me there about 5:00-6:00PM and we could set up camp, eat, chat, hike a little (maybe), and he could spend the night. The next morning we would break camp and both be on our way. He likes the plan and may do that both weekends that I travel through TN.
I hope that RycheRox can get this all sorted out by Sept 10th when I go pay them a visit. I know that Knightmare Duck plans on keeping part of his calendar clear that week so we can visit...it would be nice to have Rycherox available as well.
I received good news in that Block Head is going to drive from Memphis, TN to meet me at the state park where I usually spend the night during my trip. It is a couple of hours away, but I told him he could meet me there about 5:00-6:00PM and we could set up camp, eat, chat, hike a little (maybe), and he could spend the night. The next morning we would break camp and both be on our way. He likes the plan and may do that both weekends that I travel through TN.
Mmm Mmm Mmm Tasty
I like my coffee a tad bit stronger than the average American (actually according to those around me, 2-3 times stronger), but I do not like the bitterness, so I tend to put in flavored creamer to make a strong rich cup of love first thing in the morning. A few months ago my wife bought me the International Delights Caramel Chocolate Creme flavored one and WOW...I fell in love, SO I do not wear out my love for it, I only have her buy it every other month or so...and that time has come around and yesterday I was able to enjoy my first cup with my favorite creamer in about a month. Heaven. Well, almost.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Slow And Easy
No, this post is not about my ex-wife...
My day ended very slow...slow enough I told my TL/colleague to go home early. No calls, no issues outside the one that is ongoing and if the customer will not call me back (she has my work and mobile number as well as my e-mail) it is NOT going to get resolved.
I got home and took care of the pooches (which reminds me...I need to walk Little Man in a few minutes now that the torrential rain has finally subsided...) and ate a cheese burrito while I waited for my wife to get home. I was hoping to grab a small cheap bite (not from her...I am talking about food) out, but she did not want to wait so we just ate left overs and sandwiches.
After we had both eaten, my wife hinted that we needed to get creamer from the store (why didn't either one of us pick that up during one of our many trips to the market?) so I walked to Kroger (it is all of 3 blocks away) and picked that up as well as some granola bars and a Chocolate Angel Food Cake (marked down to 50 cents). I realized that Angel Food is incomplete without ice cream and since Breyer's was on sale for a buck a pint...my dessert was a whopping $1.50 and I still have enough to feed 3 more people. Go me.
After walking back (did I mention that it is humid outside?) and getting into some shorts, I dove into my dessert. I savored that while watching the second half of the LA-Miami WCL fight (LA is tough) and then washed up the dinner dishes.
I have really been enjoying the martial arts and mixed martial arts on TV. If I was not so old, I would consider going into training to compete locally. I know a guy who teaches martial arts (he is a 5th dan) who told me he would be glad to train me. I would have to drop a lot of weight, since fighting at 185 (my current weight) as a middle weight would not be smart. Imagine me against Rich Franklin...RIGHT! I realize that it could never happen but if I was 15 years younger I would not even think twice about it. Silly, I know but a boy can dream.
Well, I have procrastinated walking the dog long enough. Time to go back out in the humidity and get this over with. Man, I never though I would see 80% humidity in the summer time in Dallas. I guess Hell must have frozen over...this is NC weather.
My day ended very slow...slow enough I told my TL/colleague to go home early. No calls, no issues outside the one that is ongoing and if the customer will not call me back (she has my work and mobile number as well as my e-mail) it is NOT going to get resolved.
I got home and took care of the pooches (which reminds me...I need to walk Little Man in a few minutes now that the torrential rain has finally subsided...) and ate a cheese burrito while I waited for my wife to get home. I was hoping to grab a small cheap bite (not from her...I am talking about food) out, but she did not want to wait so we just ate left overs and sandwiches.
After we had both eaten, my wife hinted that we needed to get creamer from the store (why didn't either one of us pick that up during one of our many trips to the market?) so I walked to Kroger (it is all of 3 blocks away) and picked that up as well as some granola bars and a Chocolate Angel Food Cake (marked down to 50 cents). I realized that Angel Food is incomplete without ice cream and since Breyer's was on sale for a buck a pint...my dessert was a whopping $1.50 and I still have enough to feed 3 more people. Go me.
After walking back (did I mention that it is humid outside?) and getting into some shorts, I dove into my dessert. I savored that while watching the second half of the LA-Miami WCL fight (LA is tough) and then washed up the dinner dishes.
I have really been enjoying the martial arts and mixed martial arts on TV. If I was not so old, I would consider going into training to compete locally. I know a guy who teaches martial arts (he is a 5th dan) who told me he would be glad to train me. I would have to drop a lot of weight, since fighting at 185 (my current weight) as a middle weight would not be smart. Imagine me against Rich Franklin...RIGHT! I realize that it could never happen but if I was 15 years younger I would not even think twice about it. Silly, I know but a boy can dream.
Well, I have procrastinated walking the dog long enough. Time to go back out in the humidity and get this over with. Man, I never though I would see 80% humidity in the summer time in Dallas. I guess Hell must have frozen over...this is NC weather.
Wait For Sleep
It seems that the weeks that I am not on call, all I want to do in my "spare" time is sleep. Last night I was in bed by 10:00 PM...again. At least I had enough sense to shut down my laptop first.
I spent a couple of hours playing with the 620LX I was given. I was correct in stating that I had a C2032 battery to put in it, so that was task one. Then I worked on getting it to sync with my Windows PC and got it up to date with patches. Once that was done, I worked on getting it on the web, but after about an hour of fiddling with it, I gave up. None of the three wired NIC's worked and the wireless one did not have a prayer. I did not check out any freeware for it, but that can come in time. It will be a side hobby...I still have mistergeek.com to revamp...I am only 11 months behind schedule on that one!
Work was pretty good yesterday. Our arch enemy ($Massive_Enterprise_App and communication with other servers) made a return visit, affecting 3-4 end users off and on yesterday. Of course the team in Europe could not find any problems and now I am wondering if the customer has become hyper sensitive to the issue since they were burned so badly by it a few weeks ago. I cannot get any answers, even after mass e-mails to 20+ people.
**UPDATE** I IM'ed a colleague in Brazil who has the good fortune of sitting near some of the more "vocal" end users (as well as those he works with in IT) and he says that their have not been any reports of issues. While that is helpful, it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
The weather in North Central Texas has been anything but typical. It has rained so much people are beginning to compare us with Seattle, WA. DFW airport has reported over 10 inches of rain so far this month and one area south has reported 18 inches in 24 hours. Who would have thought that we would have this much rain after 2 years of drought. IIRC, we are wetter than Alabama is right now.
I spent a couple of hours playing with the 620LX I was given. I was correct in stating that I had a C2032 battery to put in it, so that was task one. Then I worked on getting it to sync with my Windows PC and got it up to date with patches. Once that was done, I worked on getting it on the web, but after about an hour of fiddling with it, I gave up. None of the three wired NIC's worked and the wireless one did not have a prayer. I did not check out any freeware for it, but that can come in time. It will be a side hobby...I still have mistergeek.com to revamp...I am only 11 months behind schedule on that one!
Work was pretty good yesterday. Our arch enemy ($Massive_Enterprise_App and communication with other servers) made a return visit, affecting 3-4 end users off and on yesterday. Of course the team in Europe could not find any problems and now I am wondering if the customer has become hyper sensitive to the issue since they were burned so badly by it a few weeks ago. I cannot get any answers, even after mass e-mails to 20+ people.
**UPDATE** I IM'ed a colleague in Brazil who has the good fortune of sitting near some of the more "vocal" end users (as well as those he works with in IT) and he says that their have not been any reports of issues. While that is helpful, it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
The weather in North Central Texas has been anything but typical. It has rained so much people are beginning to compare us with Seattle, WA. DFW airport has reported over 10 inches of rain so far this month and one area south has reported 18 inches in 24 hours. Who would have thought that we would have this much rain after 2 years of drought. IIRC, we are wetter than Alabama is right now.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Toys In The Attic
Our security manager was cleaning out a few vacated offices (many have been empty for more than 2 years) and found a few toys that he put in the recycle bin. Before he got there, he asked me to test them for him. One of the items, a Palm Pilot (an older one, not sure which model, but it matches a photo of the original "Palm Pilot") would not power up, even with fresh batteries, so it was put in the bin. The other item, an HP 620LX, powered up with the AC adapter, but the rechargeable battery was dead. Also the back-up battery was dead (it is a CR2032 battery) but I think I have one of those at home.
The HP did not have the synch cable, but I found it lying next to the Palm Pilot's cradle in the bin, so I snagged it. Now I need to see if there are any neat things I can do with it... :)
The HP did not have the synch cable, but I found it lying next to the Palm Pilot's cradle in the bin, so I snagged it. Now I need to see if there are any neat things I can do with it... :)
Let It Rain
2007 marked one of the wettest Spring seasons on record. By the end of May, we had over 20 inches and it is shaping up to be over 25 by the end of June. What a stark contrast to 2006 at the same time.
It rained off and on all day yesterday as well as all night last night. Walking the dog(s) was impossible unless we all wanted to get soaked, so The Golden had to settle for a quick trip out in the yard (she still got soaked) while little man stayed in...holding it until the weather broke. yesterday he held it for 16 hours before he let me take him out. While he was not thrilled to be in the wet mess, he did his business and trotted quickly back to the house with me.
Smart dog.
Yesterday work was slow, but I am not complaining since we will not doubt have plenty of fires during the month end/quarterly end period in a few days. That is usually the way it works. I guess the only good thing is that Europe is on Midsummer and they will have a lot less people using the system, which should keep the major issues from occurring as much during that time.
I was asked by one of my European colleagues when the US took it's midsummer and I told him at age 65. he did not get the joke. Many Europeans take 2-4 weeks off in a row during the summer and do no work related activities at all, unlike American's who tend to take too little vacation and end up working part (if not all) of it anyway.
The drive to work was a soggy one...Pecan Hollow was under water again...it happens every time we get heavy rain.
It rained off and on all day yesterday as well as all night last night. Walking the dog(s) was impossible unless we all wanted to get soaked, so The Golden had to settle for a quick trip out in the yard (she still got soaked) while little man stayed in...holding it until the weather broke. yesterday he held it for 16 hours before he let me take him out. While he was not thrilled to be in the wet mess, he did his business and trotted quickly back to the house with me.
Smart dog.
Yesterday work was slow, but I am not complaining since we will not doubt have plenty of fires during the month end/quarterly end period in a few days. That is usually the way it works. I guess the only good thing is that Europe is on Midsummer and they will have a lot less people using the system, which should keep the major issues from occurring as much during that time.
I was asked by one of my European colleagues when the US took it's midsummer and I told him at age 65. he did not get the joke. Many Europeans take 2-4 weeks off in a row during the summer and do no work related activities at all, unlike American's who tend to take too little vacation and end up working part (if not all) of it anyway.
The drive to work was a soggy one...Pecan Hollow was under water again...it happens every time we get heavy rain.
Hello, I Am Bored Tonight...
the beginning of the latest wave of SPAM I have been getting. The first couple of hundred seemed pretty normal but when you see the name of the sender is masculine and the e-mail continues, "I am a 25 year old girl..."
Gotta love SPAM.
Gotta love SPAM.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
To Do List (Work In Progress)
Inspired by Mykelti Williamson (Detective Bobby 'Fearless' Smith on the short lived NBC crime drama, "Boomtown") I am creating a list of things to do before I die (I seriously doubt "sleep with a hooker" will make my list).
And now, in no particular order...the list:
* Visit in Australia, New Zealand,Sweden, England, Ireland, and Scotland.
* Own a Corvette.
* Sky dive.
* Learn a martial art.
*Fly in a two seater plane.
*Forgive everyone (even my ex-wife) who has hurt me.
* Be "debt free" (there is a difference between "bills" and "debt").
* Hike (at least part of) the Appalachian Trail.
*Walk behind a waterfall (ala "The Last of the Mohicans").
* Visit, by car, all of the 48 continental United States (22 down, 26 to go).
* Take a cruise to Alaska.
* Watch a volcano erupt in Hawaii.
This is a work in progress.
And now, in no particular order...the list:
* Visit in Australia, New Zealand,
* Own a Corvette.
* Sky dive.
* Learn a martial art.
*
*
* Be "debt free" (there is a difference between "bills" and "debt").
* Hike (at least part of) the Appalachian Trail.
*
* Visit, by car, all of the 48 continental United States (22 down, 26 to go).
* Take a cruise to Alaska.
* Watch a volcano erupt in Hawaii.
This is a work in progress.
Okay, So I Was Wrong...Sue Me
The rest of my day yesterday was rather non-eventful. Only on call came in and it was one of the easiest for us to handle...we called our customer's NOC and let them deal with it (it is a contractual thing). Once that was done, my TL went home and waited for the appropriate time to hand over the phones to my TL. I transferred the phone line and shut everything down. I packed up my laptop and went home to take my wife over to pick up her van.
Traffic was rather heavy and we did not get over to the dealer until 6:15 or so. Once she had her van, she went to go work out and I went home to take care of the dogs, eat, and wash dishes.
Once that was taken care of, I watched a little IFL Battleground (MMA) and then walked LittleMan. My wife cam home with groceries shortly after I started my walk, so I was unable to help her unload the van. She was not bothered by that at all.
I really was not in a talking mood and to be honest I was quite tired. I grabbed the laptop and browsed the web a bit before finally shutting it off and getting some sleep.
I woke up feeling achy, but after a short walk in the mist (it had rained off and on all night), I felt better, and after my morning coffee, even better. The normal routine was completed and I left for work, after saying goodbye to my wife, of course.
I got in to work and my TL said he had a quiet night. I am glad that he had one night of peace...we all deserve that. We chatted on the best way to handle an outstanding issue and created our plan of attack. Since we could do nothing until 9:00 AM, we decided that we would just take things easy until then. It will get hectic here soon enough.
Traffic was rather heavy and we did not get over to the dealer until 6:15 or so. Once she had her van, she went to go work out and I went home to take care of the dogs, eat, and wash dishes.
Once that was taken care of, I watched a little IFL Battleground (MMA) and then walked LittleMan. My wife cam home with groceries shortly after I started my walk, so I was unable to help her unload the van. She was not bothered by that at all.
I really was not in a talking mood and to be honest I was quite tired. I grabbed the laptop and browsed the web a bit before finally shutting it off and getting some sleep.
I woke up feeling achy, but after a short walk in the mist (it had rained off and on all night), I felt better, and after my morning coffee, even better. The normal routine was completed and I left for work, after saying goodbye to my wife, of course.
I got in to work and my TL said he had a quiet night. I am glad that he had one night of peace...we all deserve that. We chatted on the best way to handle an outstanding issue and created our plan of attack. Since we could do nothing until 9:00 AM, we decided that we would just take things easy until then. It will get hectic here soon enough.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Battery, Updated
The dealership just called my wife. They say it is only the battery that is causing the problem. I SERIOUSLY have my doubts, but I am going to let them replace it under the extended warranty (to give me a paper trail) and if I have ANY electrical problems, the van goes back and I am not paying a dime more if I can help it.
The swear they have done a complete electrical system check and everything checks out. The reason I doubt that it is the battery is because of all the other wacky crap that happened when I inserted the key into the ignition, like the wipers doing a complete back and forth with the rear one stopping mid stroke, the fuel, temp, tach, and speedometer all pegging out at the same time and then resetting, a strange clicking noise from the engine compartment, etc. I guess it could be the battery, but it seems weird to me. The van never had a problem starting, ever. It did not act up at all on our way to the restaurant, but it was completely dead when we came out. I know that the Texas heat can mess with a battery, and the battery is at least four years old (on a five year battery)...
Lunchtime update:
I did some Googling during lunch and found that the biz-ahh (for all you current and former Bostonian's) dashboard display can be caused by a bad battery...however I still found plenty of posts saying that the behavior CAN mean something else...usually something that Dodge cannot diagnose. I am not slamming Dodge...I love my 1999 Dakota, but it is hard to digest that a battery, something I could have easily tested, could be the culprit. Not impossible, I understand, but still hard to fathom.
The swear they have done a complete electrical system check and everything checks out. The reason I doubt that it is the battery is because of all the other wacky crap that happened when I inserted the key into the ignition, like the wipers doing a complete back and forth with the rear one stopping mid stroke, the fuel, temp, tach, and speedometer all pegging out at the same time and then resetting, a strange clicking noise from the engine compartment, etc. I guess it could be the battery, but it seems weird to me. The van never had a problem starting, ever. It did not act up at all on our way to the restaurant, but it was completely dead when we came out. I know that the Texas heat can mess with a battery, and the battery is at least four years old (on a five year battery)...
Lunchtime update:
I did some Googling during lunch and found that the biz-ahh (for all you current and former Bostonian's) dashboard display can be caused by a bad battery...however I still found plenty of posts saying that the behavior CAN mean something else...usually something that Dodge cannot diagnose. I am not slamming Dodge...I love my 1999 Dakota, but it is hard to digest that a battery, something I could have easily tested, could be the culprit. Not impossible, I understand, but still hard to fathom.
Uhhh, It's A Dodge.
We had a funny thing happen to us Sunday...our van broke down. God was good and we were close to home so a brother from church was able to come and pick us up. We tried to get a jump (it appeared the battery was dead) but it only ran for a few seconds, then it died. Rut-Roh...sounds like the alternator, Shaggy. One of the employees at the Chinese restaurant where we ate and also broke down, suggested that it was out of gear. Well, that would be fine and good but when we opened the door, the lights did not come on, the dash would not light up, etc so being in gear was most likely not the issue.
We got home and called our insurance company (we have towing included on our policy) and they sent out a local company to come tow our van to the Dodge dealership in the neighboring town. Pay attention because that point is important.
After about 1.5 hours, a polite man with a tow truck shows up and we get the van hooked up. I sign the paperwork and verify that he is taking the van to the $company Dodge dealership at $intersection. He confirms and drives off. He goes his way and I go mine. I stop at the store to get some salad fixin's for the church pot luck (Pastor's last day...retiring) and go home. I am home 20-30 minutes when my wife's mobile rings and it is the towing service. He was calling me to tell me that the closest he could get to the service department was the used car area. This sends up a huge red flag.
"Mr Gee, I have your van in the used car area of the Ford dealership at $different intersection."
I explain to him that I think he is in the wrong area and he agrees. He asks me for the address. I give him the intersection and he says he knows where it is.
15 minutes later he calls back tells me he is on his way. He gives me a different intersection than the one I gave him but he admits he misspoke.
10 minutes later he calls back again telling me that our van is at $correct_dealership at $correct_intersection (we verify this by asking him where he parked it and mentioned the rental agency on site).
The rest of the day my wife and I had a bit of fun by imitating the driver's voice and saying things like, "I just dropped you van off to $various_dealeship in $another_state". She is not as amused as I am since it is her van, not my old truck, but I think she will be okay. Just to be sure, we are calling the dealership to let them know that our van is supposed to be at their repair center and if it is not their, for them to just call around to the other branches of their dealership (they sell every make and model car/truck/van) and it will turn up eventually.
BtW, am I just out of touch or is $107.63 a lot for a 15 mile tow?
We got home and called our insurance company (we have towing included on our policy) and they sent out a local company to come tow our van to the Dodge dealership in the neighboring town. Pay attention because that point is important.
After about 1.5 hours, a polite man with a tow truck shows up and we get the van hooked up. I sign the paperwork and verify that he is taking the van to the $company Dodge dealership at $intersection. He confirms and drives off. He goes his way and I go mine. I stop at the store to get some salad fixin's for the church pot luck (Pastor's last day...retiring) and go home. I am home 20-30 minutes when my wife's mobile rings and it is the towing service. He was calling me to tell me that the closest he could get to the service department was the used car area. This sends up a huge red flag.
"Mr Gee, I have your van in the used car area of the Ford dealership at $different intersection."
I explain to him that I think he is in the wrong area and he agrees. He asks me for the address. I give him the intersection and he says he knows where it is.
15 minutes later he calls back tells me he is on his way. He gives me a different intersection than the one I gave him but he admits he misspoke.
10 minutes later he calls back again telling me that our van is at $correct_dealership at $correct_intersection (we verify this by asking him where he parked it and mentioned the rental agency on site).
The rest of the day my wife and I had a bit of fun by imitating the driver's voice and saying things like, "I just dropped you van off to $various_dealeship in $another_state". She is not as amused as I am since it is her van, not my old truck, but I think she will be okay. Just to be sure, we are calling the dealership to let them know that our van is supposed to be at their repair center and if it is not their, for them to just call around to the other branches of their dealership (they sell every make and model car/truck/van) and it will turn up eventually.
BtW, am I just out of touch or is $107.63 a lot for a 15 mile tow?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Calling Doctor Fudd or "Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet, I'm Hunting Wabbits"
The rabbit population is getting out of hand. This morning on my morning walk, I spotted 11, six within 100 meters of our house. This is not the first morning I have seen more than half a dozen of the furry pests on my short 1/2 mile walk.
"El Gee, rabbits are cute. How bad could it really be?"
First off, let me say that my wife and I lived a few years in the country or just outside the 'burbs so animals in our yard does not normally bother me. In NC, we had owls, rabbits, squirrels, deer, opossum, hawks, chipmunks, raccoons, and even skunk visit us on a daily basis. Once in a while it was a minor problem (the voles were a pain until the owl moved in and the squirrels made a mess in our large 2 story shed) but all in all we had no major problems.
Here in North Central Texas, the developers have encroached on habitat of the critters and they are forced to come into the neighborhoods to look for food. I have seen a wide variety of things you would normally associate with the country wandering the streets of our suburban neighborhood. Rabbits, squirrels, armadillos, skunks, snakes, and even coyotes can be seen traversing in between homes on a daily basis.
In NC we had natural predators that kept things in check. Too many rabbits and the hawks and snakes would take care of them. Here, the predators do not come close enough (very often) to keep the population of rabbits down. Once in a while I will see a hawk or a falcon take out a dove or a pidgeon but the rabbits are chugging along at full force. The eat the green grass and weeds of many yards and leave the droppings in yours. The droppings kill the grass and weeds grow in its place. My yard, at times looks like a weed farm even though me and my wife are working in it constantly.
The coyotes around here have gotten lazy. They will sneak into a yard and get an aging pet rather than hunt down something in the wild.
All this is the fault greedy mankind and I guess I am not helping matters until I get back into the country and not worry about the natural course of nature.
"El Gee, rabbits are cute. How bad could it really be?"
First off, let me say that my wife and I lived a few years in the country or just outside the 'burbs so animals in our yard does not normally bother me. In NC, we had owls, rabbits, squirrels, deer, opossum, hawks, chipmunks, raccoons, and even skunk visit us on a daily basis. Once in a while it was a minor problem (the voles were a pain until the owl moved in and the squirrels made a mess in our large 2 story shed) but all in all we had no major problems.
Here in North Central Texas, the developers have encroached on habitat of the critters and they are forced to come into the neighborhoods to look for food. I have seen a wide variety of things you would normally associate with the country wandering the streets of our suburban neighborhood. Rabbits, squirrels, armadillos, skunks, snakes, and even coyotes can be seen traversing in between homes on a daily basis.
In NC we had natural predators that kept things in check. Too many rabbits and the hawks and snakes would take care of them. Here, the predators do not come close enough (very often) to keep the population of rabbits down. Once in a while I will see a hawk or a falcon take out a dove or a pidgeon but the rabbits are chugging along at full force. The eat the green grass and weeds of many yards and leave the droppings in yours. The droppings kill the grass and weeds grow in its place. My yard, at times looks like a weed farm even though me and my wife are working in it constantly.
The coyotes around here have gotten lazy. They will sneak into a yard and get an aging pet rather than hunt down something in the wild.
All this is the fault greedy mankind and I guess I am not helping matters until I get back into the country and not worry about the natural course of nature.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Off Call, Now I Can Get Some Work Done!
I was relieved of my on call duties at 7:00 AM this morning. Now that I was off call I could get some work done. Trying to run errands and do chores like cutting grass and vacuuming is difficult when you are being called to manage things at work.
I got back to my regular routine with dog walking and coffee but did not check mail until later in the morning. I had a haircut appointment at 9:20 AM and after that was over I started the vacuuming. I was almost finished when I noticed I was beginning to shake from lack of food. All I had to eat for breakfast was a banana.
My wife was bringing home sandwich fixin's so I while I waited, I tweaked her Win 2000 laptop to recognize her mp3 player (Microsoft has a patch, but it was hard to find...) and when my wife got home, we ate.
After the meal was finished, my wife told me to go ahead and get started mowing the yard(s) and she would clean up the kitchen. No need to tell me twice.
I spent the next four hours in the hot sun mowing some rather high grass. I honestly was not sure I was going to make it, but eventually I did. Once all the trimming and edging (and clean-up) was done, I hopped in the shower to scrub away 4+ hours of sweat and grime.
When I got out, I grilled some brats, a steak, and some salmon on the grill while my wife fixed the sides. Once all that was done, we had a feast with plenty of leftovers for the next few days.
I still did not have my Sunday school lesson started yet, so I figured I better get started on it while I was still motivated. For the next 2.5 hours I worked on a lesson about Gideon and his shaky faith. I think we all have something to learn there.
After my lesson was complete and it had been e-mailed to my class, I walked Little Man.
I have had a busy day. I am glad I am off call for week.
I got back to my regular routine with dog walking and coffee but did not check mail until later in the morning. I had a haircut appointment at 9:20 AM and after that was over I started the vacuuming. I was almost finished when I noticed I was beginning to shake from lack of food. All I had to eat for breakfast was a banana.
My wife was bringing home sandwich fixin's so I while I waited, I tweaked her Win 2000 laptop to recognize her mp3 player (Microsoft has a patch, but it was hard to find...) and when my wife got home, we ate.
After the meal was finished, my wife told me to go ahead and get started mowing the yard(s) and she would clean up the kitchen. No need to tell me twice.
I spent the next four hours in the hot sun mowing some rather high grass. I honestly was not sure I was going to make it, but eventually I did. Once all the trimming and edging (and clean-up) was done, I hopped in the shower to scrub away 4+ hours of sweat and grime.
When I got out, I grilled some brats, a steak, and some salmon on the grill while my wife fixed the sides. Once all that was done, we had a feast with plenty of leftovers for the next few days.
I still did not have my Sunday school lesson started yet, so I figured I better get started on it while I was still motivated. For the next 2.5 hours I worked on a lesson about Gideon and his shaky faith. I think we all have something to learn there.
After my lesson was complete and it had been e-mailed to my class, I walked Little Man.
I have had a busy day. I am glad I am off call for week.
On Call, Day Five
All day Friday we worked on a complex issue that a department had reported the day before. We thought the issue was resolved, but the site manager reported back that it was not. We were given two contact names, as well as the site manager. Both of the contacts could help us in tracking down the problem.
We had enlisted the help of a tech in Manilla (actually one of a very few people who could help...the primary support is in Europe and most of the techs are on Midsummer holiday for a month) who was attentive, but not overly helpful. He was available, which at this point was pretty helpful in its own right. The problem was confusing because end user "A" had originally reported that a problem that had cropped up two weeks ago had surfaced again. The reason that was troubling is that this problem was solved and had been running fine for two weeks and now we have one person saying it is back. The site manager had reported that "the whole department" was down and that this had to be made a hight priority.
During this time, end user "B" is designated as a contact for us. We call her and she says the issue has been stable since 11:00 AM. This contradicts what the site manager says and we are now a bit confused. 5 PM rolls around and I am on call. Since this issue has been running all day, I have to follow up with it. The tech in Manilla and end user "B" both agree that the system has been stable.
About 9 PM, I call end user "B" (since she is working overtime to get caught up on some data entry) to see how things are going. She tells me that the system has been stable for 10+ hours. I check with the tech in Manilla and he confirms that the last hiccup came at around 11:00 (our time). I start asking end user "B" some questions, telling her what the site manager and end user "A" have reported and she begins to tell me that end user "A" has a problem, but it is not the same one that end user "B" was having. Aha...two issues were married into one ticket, but only the one problem was understood. End user "B" continues to tell me that the problem end user "A" is having could very well be a operator error...meaning she is entering invalid data that is causing the problem. However, "B" cannot verify this because "A" is not in the office and will not be back until Monday. "B" tells me that she will get with "A" on Monday to try to fix the error and until then, the case can be put into pending. I thanked her and hung up.
I then put on my thinking cap and retraced the issue from the minute I got the original call until I put it in pending a few minutes ago:
End user "A" has a problem when she enters data in $Application. The app hangs, just like it did two weeks ago when $Application was down. She tells me the same problem has occurred. The team that worked on it the last time is called to work on it this time. "A" calls this in at 3 PM and leaves at 5 PM. Tech is willing to work on it during the night but wants "A" available for testing, she refuses so the ticket sits in pending overnight.
The next day site manager hears about it and assumes it is the same issue as before (which has been fixed, but the fix is a workaround until $Application vendor can make a patch). The patch that is in place is a little quirky and causes the system to hang for short periods while it kicks off. This cannot be helped until $vendor updates patch. This quirk is not told to us, we figure it out on our own. About the time end user "A" has this problem again, end user "B" senses the quirk of the patch, but not knowing about the patch, she assumes the system is down. She tells the site manager and "all hell breaks loose". I call the site manager and discuss things with her and she somewhat rude to me, telling me that we need to fix the issue. I tell her that a permanent fix has to be provided by $vendor but she just poo-poo's it off, telling me that it is critical and we (my company) needs fix it. We hang up, neither in a great mood.
Site manager calls back (after talking to end user "A") saying the system has been up and down all afternoon. Our contact in Manilla does not see that. The system has been up and running for 4+ hours at this time and all transactions are processing. Site manager tells us that the entire department has experienced the outage so we must be wrong. This goes on all day until I go "on call".
After I wade through all the issues and the problems, I e-mail everyone involved (there is no way I am calling the site manager at 10:30 PM after the way she reacted to my 8:00 PM call), CC'ing a manager that had been in the loop earlier. I explain my findings and why I believe what I believe. I also mention how helpful end user "B" has been and that since she is my contact and she is not having a problem, I am not going to pursue this case until end user "B" can verify what "A" is reporting. Right now only one person is having this problem so it is looking very much like operator error. I would find it hilarious if all the extra work that is being created by this "error" was actually caused by end user "A" doing something incorrectly. I bet the site manager will have an aneurysm!
We had enlisted the help of a tech in Manilla (actually one of a very few people who could help...the primary support is in Europe and most of the techs are on Midsummer holiday for a month) who was attentive, but not overly helpful. He was available, which at this point was pretty helpful in its own right. The problem was confusing because end user "A" had originally reported that a problem that had cropped up two weeks ago had surfaced again. The reason that was troubling is that this problem was solved and had been running fine for two weeks and now we have one person saying it is back. The site manager had reported that "the whole department" was down and that this had to be made a hight priority.
During this time, end user "B" is designated as a contact for us. We call her and she says the issue has been stable since 11:00 AM. This contradicts what the site manager says and we are now a bit confused. 5 PM rolls around and I am on call. Since this issue has been running all day, I have to follow up with it. The tech in Manilla and end user "B" both agree that the system has been stable.
About 9 PM, I call end user "B" (since she is working overtime to get caught up on some data entry) to see how things are going. She tells me that the system has been stable for 10+ hours. I check with the tech in Manilla and he confirms that the last hiccup came at around 11:00 (our time). I start asking end user "B" some questions, telling her what the site manager and end user "A" have reported and she begins to tell me that end user "A" has a problem, but it is not the same one that end user "B" was having. Aha...two issues were married into one ticket, but only the one problem was understood. End user "B" continues to tell me that the problem end user "A" is having could very well be a operator error...meaning she is entering invalid data that is causing the problem. However, "B" cannot verify this because "A" is not in the office and will not be back until Monday. "B" tells me that she will get with "A" on Monday to try to fix the error and until then, the case can be put into pending. I thanked her and hung up.
I then put on my thinking cap and retraced the issue from the minute I got the original call until I put it in pending a few minutes ago:
End user "A" has a problem when she enters data in $Application. The app hangs, just like it did two weeks ago when $Application was down. She tells me the same problem has occurred. The team that worked on it the last time is called to work on it this time. "A" calls this in at 3 PM and leaves at 5 PM. Tech is willing to work on it during the night but wants "A" available for testing, she refuses so the ticket sits in pending overnight.
The next day site manager hears about it and assumes it is the same issue as before (which has been fixed, but the fix is a workaround until $Application vendor can make a patch). The patch that is in place is a little quirky and causes the system to hang for short periods while it kicks off. This cannot be helped until $vendor updates patch. This quirk is not told to us, we figure it out on our own. About the time end user "A" has this problem again, end user "B" senses the quirk of the patch, but not knowing about the patch, she assumes the system is down. She tells the site manager and "all hell breaks loose". I call the site manager and discuss things with her and she somewhat rude to me, telling me that we need to fix the issue. I tell her that a permanent fix has to be provided by $vendor but she just poo-poo's it off, telling me that it is critical and we (my company) needs fix it. We hang up, neither in a great mood.
Site manager calls back (after talking to end user "A") saying the system has been up and down all afternoon. Our contact in Manilla does not see that. The system has been up and running for 4+ hours at this time and all transactions are processing. Site manager tells us that the entire department has experienced the outage so we must be wrong. This goes on all day until I go "on call".
After I wade through all the issues and the problems, I e-mail everyone involved (there is no way I am calling the site manager at 10:30 PM after the way she reacted to my 8:00 PM call), CC'ing a manager that had been in the loop earlier. I explain my findings and why I believe what I believe. I also mention how helpful end user "B" has been and that since she is my contact and she is not having a problem, I am not going to pursue this case until end user "B" can verify what "A" is reporting. Right now only one person is having this problem so it is looking very much like operator error. I would find it hilarious if all the extra work that is being created by this "error" was actually caused by end user "A" doing something incorrectly. I bet the site manager will have an aneurysm!
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Difference Between
I was comparing/contrasting my new job role with the old one and I think I understand why I am less stressed (and somewhat (although not entirely) enjoy this one. It actually comes down to two things.
The first thing is on call. With the old role, I was "always on". but with the new one I am on call two work weeks and one weekend every month and that may get better if my TL and our manager can get things moving with the LA (Latin America) support team.
The next, and equally important is the fact I have a mentor. My TL/colleague and I are a two man team. He is patient and collected with his words and actions and he never makes me feel stupid when I ere. I cannot stress how important that is to my style.
If I had to say anything "negative" about the situation is that he sometimes grabs things without giving me the opportunity to do them myself. Usually it is the complex issues (such as SAP which has multiple interfaces) but he has jumped in once or twice on the run of the mill issues as well. I noticed that and walked over to his desk to look over his shoulder as he was making notes so I could learn from him.
The other negative is being on call which I am not a fan of, but it is a necessary evil at the moment. I would like to have our 24 hour team in Europe (since the account is a European account) pick up the calls after 5 or 6 PM our time if at all possible but with the amount of work they do around the clock that would be a bit unfair without increased staffing and we know that is unlikely.
All in all this is better for me than what I was doing before. As long as things run normally, I will be off call tomorrow at 8:00 AM and I have the next nine or so days off call.
w00t!
The first thing is on call. With the old role, I was "always on". but with the new one I am on call two work weeks and one weekend every month and that may get better if my TL and our manager can get things moving with the LA (Latin America) support team.
The next, and equally important is the fact I have a mentor. My TL/colleague and I are a two man team. He is patient and collected with his words and actions and he never makes me feel stupid when I ere. I cannot stress how important that is to my style.
If I had to say anything "negative" about the situation is that he sometimes grabs things without giving me the opportunity to do them myself. Usually it is the complex issues (such as SAP which has multiple interfaces) but he has jumped in once or twice on the run of the mill issues as well. I noticed that and walked over to his desk to look over his shoulder as he was making notes so I could learn from him.
The other negative is being on call which I am not a fan of, but it is a necessary evil at the moment. I would like to have our 24 hour team in Europe (since the account is a European account) pick up the calls after 5 or 6 PM our time if at all possible but with the amount of work they do around the clock that would be a bit unfair without increased staffing and we know that is unlikely.
All in all this is better for me than what I was doing before. As long as things run normally, I will be off call tomorrow at 8:00 AM and I have the next nine or so days off call.
w00t!
On Call, Day Four
Thursday was an uneventful day, punctuated by a visitor or two to our new office that Peder the Great calls "the dungeon". There was a little follow up, some admin duties (updating the on call contact list), and conversation...overall a bland day.
About 2:45 PM we received a call that our old nemesis, SAP, was acting up with one of the modules it runs. I quickly call the SAP team on call number and am told that it will be investigated. An hour went by and the ticket was not updated, nor was it assigned. Both my colleague/TL and I thought this was odd, so I called to ask for an undate. The young woman who answered told me that they saw the ticket but could not work on it until t was in their queue. It appeared to be in their queue but she informed me that it was in the L3 queue, not the L1/L2 queue. "Semantics", I think to myself but I do as she asked and move it to the other queue. Well, I did not move it, my TL did...I was on hold so long that my over full bladder (I drink a lot of water each day) begged to be emptied, so I put my phone on speaker and my TL chatted until I got back. This was right before I went home and prepped to go on call for the evening. Going on call also means following up on any issues that are outstanding at the end of business, so those on call need to get home and set up a VPN connection to continue working.
My trip home was graced by periods of heavy rain. I needed to stop and get gasoline (I was on vapors) as well as stop at the grocery store to get some sale items. I put 19 gallons into my 22 gallon tank and headed home to take care of the dogs and set up the PC for on call.
At 4:50 PM I got home and let the dogs out to do their business while I walked to the mailbox to see what bills were waiting. Happy to see only junk mail and coupons, I wiped the dogs down and let them back in to feed and water them.
At 4:55 PM I had my PC fired up and the VPN connection open. I logged onto Outlook and to OVSD and waited for my call. My TL called at 5:05 PM with good news. While the issue was not solved, the L2 tech could not find anything that would indicate a problem. All the SAP modules were running and there were no errors with the module my customer was concerned with. The customer was contacted but she did not have anything to submit to test with, so the Site Mgr was called. The Site Mgr agreed to put the ticket on hold until the morning.
With that bit of good news, I grabbed some quasi-Mexican food (cheese burritos and chips/salsa) and watched some TV. Being on call does not allow me to get into anything that cannot be stopped immediately so I am limited on what I can do...TV being the normal fall back option. However I grow weary of TV easily so I was soon bored.
I wanted until my wife came home and we chatted for a while then I started watching a Val Kilmer movie on My 27 called, "The Salton Sea", which started off kinda weird, but ended very well. I watched that until 9:00 PM and then we took a short walk with the dogs. Once we came back, I was not really into doing much, so my wife just listened to her mp3 players (singing along of course) while I browsed news and read e-mail. After 20 minutes or so, I killed the lights and hit the sack. I slept like a rock, straight through the night.
The following morning my routine went very smoothly and I was able to get all the things done I needed to do before I left, including bringing the cable management loom (to fix a rats nest of cables), WD-40 (to fix a squeaky desk drawer), and my Windows Vista DVD from home, as well as take out the recycleables. Go me!
About 2:45 PM we received a call that our old nemesis, SAP, was acting up with one of the modules it runs. I quickly call the SAP team on call number and am told that it will be investigated. An hour went by and the ticket was not updated, nor was it assigned. Both my colleague/TL and I thought this was odd, so I called to ask for an undate. The young woman who answered told me that they saw the ticket but could not work on it until t was in their queue. It appeared to be in their queue but she informed me that it was in the L3 queue, not the L1/L2 queue. "Semantics", I think to myself but I do as she asked and move it to the other queue. Well, I did not move it, my TL did...I was on hold so long that my over full bladder (I drink a lot of water each day) begged to be emptied, so I put my phone on speaker and my TL chatted until I got back. This was right before I went home and prepped to go on call for the evening. Going on call also means following up on any issues that are outstanding at the end of business, so those on call need to get home and set up a VPN connection to continue working.
My trip home was graced by periods of heavy rain. I needed to stop and get gasoline (I was on vapors) as well as stop at the grocery store to get some sale items. I put 19 gallons into my 22 gallon tank and headed home to take care of the dogs and set up the PC for on call.
At 4:50 PM I got home and let the dogs out to do their business while I walked to the mailbox to see what bills were waiting. Happy to see only junk mail and coupons, I wiped the dogs down and let them back in to feed and water them.
At 4:55 PM I had my PC fired up and the VPN connection open. I logged onto Outlook and to OVSD and waited for my call. My TL called at 5:05 PM with good news. While the issue was not solved, the L2 tech could not find anything that would indicate a problem. All the SAP modules were running and there were no errors with the module my customer was concerned with. The customer was contacted but she did not have anything to submit to test with, so the Site Mgr was called. The Site Mgr agreed to put the ticket on hold until the morning.
With that bit of good news, I grabbed some quasi-Mexican food (cheese burritos and chips/salsa) and watched some TV. Being on call does not allow me to get into anything that cannot be stopped immediately so I am limited on what I can do...TV being the normal fall back option. However I grow weary of TV easily so I was soon bored.
I wanted until my wife came home and we chatted for a while then I started watching a Val Kilmer movie on My 27 called, "The Salton Sea", which started off kinda weird, but ended very well. I watched that until 9:00 PM and then we took a short walk with the dogs. Once we came back, I was not really into doing much, so my wife just listened to her mp3 players (singing along of course) while I browsed news and read e-mail. After 20 minutes or so, I killed the lights and hit the sack. I slept like a rock, straight through the night.
The following morning my routine went very smoothly and I was able to get all the things done I needed to do before I left, including bringing the cable management loom (to fix a rats nest of cables), WD-40 (to fix a squeaky desk drawer), and my Windows Vista DVD from home, as well as take out the recycleables. Go me!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Sad Case Of A Missing Neighbor
While my wife was walking The Golden last night, she ran into "Mrs Mozart", a younger-ish mother of one. While we are not close to the Mozart's, we do speak with them most every time we see them in the yard. They are a young couple from Corpus Christi who have been in the 'hood for about 10 years.
The house beside the Mozart's recently went up for sale and a new family ( rather large one at that) moved in. My wife asked Mrs. Mozart if she had met the new family and she said that she had, but they were not very friendly. Nothing more was said about them. My wife then asked where the old family (a couple with a large dog) moved to and that is when she heard a sad story.
The husband and wife took a two week vacation together. Everything seemed normal. When they returned she was scheduled to go on a week long business trip. When she got back, she found that her husband had moved out...taking a large percentage of their belongings with him. She had no idea anything was wrong and since she could not afford to keep the house one her (pretty good) salary (which seems to be a big problem today...too much debt per household), she was forced to sell. The Realtor was the sister of the woman who was left so the house was able to be sold very quickly. Houses in our neighbor hood tend to sit a little while...that house has been for sale a few times and at one point was on the market for two years before it sold.
I was kinda surprised that the man left his wife and especially since she said she had no idea it was coming. They just invested a ton of money on a new cedar fence and landscaping shortly before he left, which was a couple of months ago.
As my wife was talking to Mrs. Mozart, she found out Mr Mozart and "Dan" who lives across the street both got laid off recently. Both are in the Telecoms industry. Mr. Mozart has stated he wants to go back to Corpus Christi but Dan wants to stay in the area. Jobs are not hard to find, but ones that pay as well as the ones that many of of us are entrenched are rare. Most people I talk to take a 10-25% hit in pay when they lose their jobs. With that in mind, I need to get us out of debt as soon as I can.
The house beside the Mozart's recently went up for sale and a new family ( rather large one at that) moved in. My wife asked Mrs. Mozart if she had met the new family and she said that she had, but they were not very friendly. Nothing more was said about them. My wife then asked where the old family (a couple with a large dog) moved to and that is when she heard a sad story.
The husband and wife took a two week vacation together. Everything seemed normal. When they returned she was scheduled to go on a week long business trip. When she got back, she found that her husband had moved out...taking a large percentage of their belongings with him. She had no idea anything was wrong and since she could not afford to keep the house one her (pretty good) salary (which seems to be a big problem today...too much debt per household), she was forced to sell. The Realtor was the sister of the woman who was left so the house was able to be sold very quickly. Houses in our neighbor hood tend to sit a little while...that house has been for sale a few times and at one point was on the market for two years before it sold.
I was kinda surprised that the man left his wife and especially since she said she had no idea it was coming. They just invested a ton of money on a new cedar fence and landscaping shortly before he left, which was a couple of months ago.
As my wife was talking to Mrs. Mozart, she found out Mr Mozart and "Dan" who lives across the street both got laid off recently. Both are in the Telecoms industry. Mr. Mozart has stated he wants to go back to Corpus Christi but Dan wants to stay in the area. Jobs are not hard to find, but ones that pay as well as the ones that many of of us are entrenched are rare. Most people I talk to take a 10-25% hit in pay when they lose their jobs. With that in mind, I need to get us out of debt as soon as I can.
On Call, Day Three
On call report...no high priority cases were called in! The only calls I received were from our off shore support in Asia. They called me twice looking for the Latin America on call. We only handle that every other weekend with n o weekday support from the US. The locals handle that themselves. Off course this could all change if we get on the one week per month on call rotation we are currently discussing. We shall see.
Overall the day went well yesterday. I got in early yesterday (as well as today) with little impact on our home life. I finished my report by 10 AM and the rest of the day was quiet...probably building up to a heavy week soon. We usually have a week or two of chaos (or so I am told) for every two weeks of calm.
I left at 4 PM, the usual departure time for the on call person. On my way home, my wife called and asked me to pick up a pizza from Hungry Howie's since they were having a special grand opening price on a large (up to) five topping pizza for $7.99. I was able to leave here, go pick up the pizza, go home, and get logged in before I took handover to go on call. Oh, the pizza was not great...palatable, but not tasty. We will not be going back.
My wife had been busy all day with laundry and dog grooming. Our Golden was pretty shaggy and it took 4 hours to properly groom her (it would have taken less, but we all need to stop to use the toilet, let the dogs do their business, and other minor interruptions) and while we could pay someone to do it...my wife does a better job and it does not cost us anything more than her time. That is the trade off of taking care of dogs.
We ate our bland pizza (you had to look very closely to see the 'shrooms and sausage...they were tiny and in small amounts) and chatted for a while, catching up on each other's day. We cleaned up the mess and my wife and I took a break to watch a little "How It's Made" on Discovery. Once that was over and since I had not gotten any phone calls (yet), I took Little Man for a walk while my wife bathed The Golden. I got back about the same time she got finished.
Shortly thereafter is when I started getting calls for Latin America. I would not have minded as much but the young man on the other end of the call would not let me give him the info...he kept interrupting me. His impatience was beginning to make me snappy (my wife commented on that which made me realize I have to work on that more) and it took several minutes just to give him two phone numbers (which were repeated three times). Thankfully he only called twice, 20 minutes apart.
WEC WrECkage was not on as usual, only "Tap Out", the reality show based on it. I am not a fan of reality shows, especially ones with characters named, Mask, Punkass, and SkySkrape (who wear underwear on his afro). Maybe this is humorous to some, but the only good part of the show is the last 15 minutes when they show the fight the rookie competes in. Other than that, it is purely juvenile IMHO.
Since nothing was worth watching, I grabbed the laptop and browsed the web and checked e-mail until I was too tired to stay awake. Sleep came quickly.
Overall the day went well yesterday. I got in early yesterday (as well as today) with little impact on our home life. I finished my report by 10 AM and the rest of the day was quiet...probably building up to a heavy week soon. We usually have a week or two of chaos (or so I am told) for every two weeks of calm.
I left at 4 PM, the usual departure time for the on call person. On my way home, my wife called and asked me to pick up a pizza from Hungry Howie's since they were having a special grand opening price on a large (up to) five topping pizza for $7.99. I was able to leave here, go pick up the pizza, go home, and get logged in before I took handover to go on call. Oh, the pizza was not great...palatable, but not tasty. We will not be going back.
My wife had been busy all day with laundry and dog grooming. Our Golden was pretty shaggy and it took 4 hours to properly groom her (it would have taken less, but we all need to stop to use the toilet, let the dogs do their business, and other minor interruptions) and while we could pay someone to do it...my wife does a better job and it does not cost us anything more than her time. That is the trade off of taking care of dogs.
We ate our bland pizza (you had to look very closely to see the 'shrooms and sausage...they were tiny and in small amounts) and chatted for a while, catching up on each other's day. We cleaned up the mess and my wife and I took a break to watch a little "How It's Made" on Discovery. Once that was over and since I had not gotten any phone calls (yet), I took Little Man for a walk while my wife bathed The Golden. I got back about the same time she got finished.
Shortly thereafter is when I started getting calls for Latin America. I would not have minded as much but the young man on the other end of the call would not let me give him the info...he kept interrupting me. His impatience was beginning to make me snappy (my wife commented on that which made me realize I have to work on that more) and it took several minutes just to give him two phone numbers (which were repeated three times). Thankfully he only called twice, 20 minutes apart.
WEC WrECkage was not on as usual, only "Tap Out", the reality show based on it. I am not a fan of reality shows, especially ones with characters named, Mask, Punkass, and SkySkrape (who wear underwear on his afro). Maybe this is humorous to some, but the only good part of the show is the last 15 minutes when they show the fight the rookie competes in. Other than that, it is purely juvenile IMHO.
Since nothing was worth watching, I grabbed the laptop and browsed the web and checked e-mail until I was too tired to stay awake. Sleep came quickly.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
On Call, Day Two
Yesterday was an interesting day overall. I completed my report on the case I opened and closed and my TL and I kicked around ideas regarding to a problem that a third party to our customer was having. The end result of that was rather amusing...we found that the problem was caused by our customer (inadvertently of course) and now they have to work with the TP (third party) to correct it. The error was something akin to "go head and delete that info, you will not need it anymore" and the info that the TP was told to delete was the current info, not the outdated one. The issue lingered until I went home to go on call, but I did not have to act on it.
I left at 4:00 PM, the usual departure time for the lucky individual who is on call, and stopped by the store to pick up sandwiches for dinner, as well as some milk, fruit, a pint of ice cream, and some SoBe diet beverages that were on sale. I got home and let the dogs out to do their business, checked the mail, fed and watered the dogs and then set up my PC. All I had to do was wait for our handover.
My colleague/TL called for the handover and told me that nothing needed to be done and he hoped I had a good, quiet evening. I hung up and began to channel surf while I waited for my wife to get home from her job. While i was surfing, my mobile rang, but it was my wife, not a customer. She and I chatted for a while and she told me she would be home around 6:30 PM. I nibbled on chips ("crisps" for the British readers of my blog) when the phone rang again. This time it was our help desk calling. They informed me that an exchange server that is heavily used during business hours was not processing mail, even though it was pingable and successfully completed a tracert. The customers listed in the ticket (the ones who decided to call in) did not answer their phones when I called, so I decided to bite the bullet and call the server support team and make the ticket a high priority. It was a "deal with it now or deal with it later" issue and dealing with it in the early evening is better than dealing with it at 2:00 AM.
I called our off shored support in Asia who quickly looked at the issue. The sad thing is that they did the exact same troubleshooting as the help desk did...nothing more. They then called me to tell me that they could not get in touch with the L3 support in the US. Actually that is what he meant. What actually came out of his mouth was much different and after spending a few minutes clarifying, I called the on call myself.
The on call contacted me within 15 minutes (per agreement) but told me that he would need to contact someone else since he was not able to handle the issue for a couple of good reason. I told him okay, and that this was a high priority case. He informed me that he understood and roughly 2 hours later, I was contacted again by the tech and his manager to inform me that the proper person was working on the case. By 10:15 PM, the issue was resolved, but it was too late to contact the customer so I just updated the ticket, cc'd a few people on an e-mail, and went to bed. My night was quiet after that. I even managed to watch a little WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), an MMA league, before I went to bed. While I only saw a few fights...the ones I saw were very good.
I got up to a wonderful light show in the heavens as a storm just east of us kicked in. Little Man did not want to walk in it, but I made him and he eventually did his business. Since my wife was not up yet, I was able to move about and get most of what I wanted to do done before I left. I did however, forget to put the garbage and recycle bins where they could be easily picked up. Most likely the guys on the truck will still pick them up, but I do not want to tempt fate. We have been pretty good about keeping up with that in the past and we even have engaged the crew in conversation a couple of times, although they were not overly responsive. I guess polite people do not talk to them much.
I got to work EARLY...yes!
"Wait a minute, El Gee...you told us you are hardly ever late. Why brag that you were early?"
Well, the new job does not require me to be at work at 7:00, but my TL/colleague told me it works better if we can be there by that time or shortly after. Monday I was here at 7:10 AM, yesterday, 7:05 AM, and today...6:53 AM. Not bad for me, considering I have not changed my wake up time to accommodate getting to work 30 minutes earlier. I still get up at 5 AM no matter when I have to be at work ;) .
I left at 4:00 PM, the usual departure time for the lucky individual who is on call, and stopped by the store to pick up sandwiches for dinner, as well as some milk, fruit, a pint of ice cream, and some SoBe diet beverages that were on sale. I got home and let the dogs out to do their business, checked the mail, fed and watered the dogs and then set up my PC. All I had to do was wait for our handover.
My colleague/TL called for the handover and told me that nothing needed to be done and he hoped I had a good, quiet evening. I hung up and began to channel surf while I waited for my wife to get home from her job. While i was surfing, my mobile rang, but it was my wife, not a customer. She and I chatted for a while and she told me she would be home around 6:30 PM. I nibbled on chips ("crisps" for the British readers of my blog) when the phone rang again. This time it was our help desk calling. They informed me that an exchange server that is heavily used during business hours was not processing mail, even though it was pingable and successfully completed a tracert. The customers listed in the ticket (the ones who decided to call in) did not answer their phones when I called, so I decided to bite the bullet and call the server support team and make the ticket a high priority. It was a "deal with it now or deal with it later" issue and dealing with it in the early evening is better than dealing with it at 2:00 AM.
I called our off shored support in Asia who quickly looked at the issue. The sad thing is that they did the exact same troubleshooting as the help desk did...nothing more. They then called me to tell me that they could not get in touch with the L3 support in the US. Actually that is what he meant. What actually came out of his mouth was much different and after spending a few minutes clarifying, I called the on call myself.
The on call contacted me within 15 minutes (per agreement) but told me that he would need to contact someone else since he was not able to handle the issue for a couple of good reason. I told him okay, and that this was a high priority case. He informed me that he understood and roughly 2 hours later, I was contacted again by the tech and his manager to inform me that the proper person was working on the case. By 10:15 PM, the issue was resolved, but it was too late to contact the customer so I just updated the ticket, cc'd a few people on an e-mail, and went to bed. My night was quiet after that. I even managed to watch a little WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), an MMA league, before I went to bed. While I only saw a few fights...the ones I saw were very good.
I got up to a wonderful light show in the heavens as a storm just east of us kicked in. Little Man did not want to walk in it, but I made him and he eventually did his business. Since my wife was not up yet, I was able to move about and get most of what I wanted to do done before I left. I did however, forget to put the garbage and recycle bins where they could be easily picked up. Most likely the guys on the truck will still pick them up, but I do not want to tempt fate. We have been pretty good about keeping up with that in the past and we even have engaged the crew in conversation a couple of times, although they were not overly responsive. I guess polite people do not talk to them much.
I got to work EARLY...yes!
"Wait a minute, El Gee...you told us you are hardly ever late. Why brag that you were early?"
Well, the new job does not require me to be at work at 7:00, but my TL/colleague told me it works better if we can be there by that time or shortly after. Monday I was here at 7:10 AM, yesterday, 7:05 AM, and today...6:53 AM. Not bad for me, considering I have not changed my wake up time to accommodate getting to work 30 minutes earlier. I still get up at 5 AM no matter when I have to be at work ;) .
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
El Gee's Quirks
Confession time. There are two things that will drive me crazy almost guaranteed (take notes...this could be good).
First, I cannot stand to have a drawer of a desk or cabinet partially open. I have to shut them when I see them. Friends of mine who know this threaten to sneak in and open every drawer in my house about 1-2 inches just to watch me implode.
I have a real issue with the plastic rings that remain around the neck when you twist open a bottle of water or soda. I have to remove it as well and will go to great lengths to do so. Some are on so well that it takes a car key to remove.
You have been warned.
First, I cannot stand to have a drawer of a desk or cabinet partially open. I have to shut them when I see them. Friends of mine who know this threaten to sneak in and open every drawer in my house about 1-2 inches just to watch me implode.
I have a real issue with the plastic rings that remain around the neck when you twist open a bottle of water or soda. I have to remove it as well and will go to great lengths to do so. Some are on so well that it takes a car key to remove.
You have been warned.
On Call, Day One
The work day started off blustery and mellowed out during the course of the day. By the time I was ready to go home, one issue was just being opened...one that would be handed over to me at 5:00PM when I was home and ready to manage it.
I got home and set up my laptop. Since I had a few minutes to spare until handover, I decided to help my wife with dinner. She gave me grill duties and I managed that and handover with little problem. It was one issue and it appeared to be easy enough for the Wintel team to resolve, but as usual, looks can be deceiving.
We ate dinner and I went to check on the progress of the issue. I was called by a tech in Asia who informed me that they needed to reboot the servers in question. They told me they would call me back when this had been completed. Needless to say by the time the next update was due (at 7:00 PM), they still had not called me. I saw that the ticket had been updated and the customer contacted by mail, but nothing else. I decided to try to call the customer on his mobile, but he sent it to VM both times. Since he was my only PoC (point of contact), I had no choice but to put the case on hold until he contacted me or I made it to work the next day.
Since I could not do anything, I washed dishes and walked Little Man. I had not gotten a call back and it was about 9:00 PM, so I watched a littlt IFL Battleground MMA on My27 TV. I watched it for a while and then I noticed I had an e-mail from China stating that the issue that had been reported was affecting them as well. Since this now was considered "global", I notified the Global group (I am not sure why my colleagues in China did not do that) and handed it off to them. With that issue handed over, I went to bed.
I slept all the way through the night, but it was not a restful sleep. I awoke 5 minutes before the alarm went off and I was still tired. I checked my e-mail and noticed the issue was still being kicked around even though I could access the areas that were offline last night. I figured since it was not mine to track, I would just get ready for work and check on things when I got there.
The days that I am on call I need to be at work as soon as possible, which translates to 7:00-ish. I normally get there around 7:30 or so and to get there any earlier I need to alter my routine or get up earlier. Since I get up early enough (5:00 AM) I decided to alter my routine. Less e-mail time, no dish washing and a quicker shower gets me to work at 7:10 or so...close enough for my TL/colleague.
I got in to work and noticed that a case that had been open for quite some time had been finally closed so I started working on the final report that was associated with the case. By the time my TL/colleague arrived, I was mostly done.
So far this morning it has been a beehive of activity here. The phones have been busy and the hallway is full of noise from a group of sales people chatting outside my door louder than I would prefer. Issues are flying aroung but most are under control. When I get time I will have to blog the more ambiguous items.
Back to work!
I got home and set up my laptop. Since I had a few minutes to spare until handover, I decided to help my wife with dinner. She gave me grill duties and I managed that and handover with little problem. It was one issue and it appeared to be easy enough for the Wintel team to resolve, but as usual, looks can be deceiving.
We ate dinner and I went to check on the progress of the issue. I was called by a tech in Asia who informed me that they needed to reboot the servers in question. They told me they would call me back when this had been completed. Needless to say by the time the next update was due (at 7:00 PM), they still had not called me. I saw that the ticket had been updated and the customer contacted by mail, but nothing else. I decided to try to call the customer on his mobile, but he sent it to VM both times. Since he was my only PoC (point of contact), I had no choice but to put the case on hold until he contacted me or I made it to work the next day.
Since I could not do anything, I washed dishes and walked Little Man. I had not gotten a call back and it was about 9:00 PM, so I watched a littlt IFL Battleground MMA on My27 TV. I watched it for a while and then I noticed I had an e-mail from China stating that the issue that had been reported was affecting them as well. Since this now was considered "global", I notified the Global group (I am not sure why my colleagues in China did not do that) and handed it off to them. With that issue handed over, I went to bed.
I slept all the way through the night, but it was not a restful sleep. I awoke 5 minutes before the alarm went off and I was still tired. I checked my e-mail and noticed the issue was still being kicked around even though I could access the areas that were offline last night. I figured since it was not mine to track, I would just get ready for work and check on things when I got there.
The days that I am on call I need to be at work as soon as possible, which translates to 7:00-ish. I normally get there around 7:30 or so and to get there any earlier I need to alter my routine or get up earlier. Since I get up early enough (5:00 AM) I decided to alter my routine. Less e-mail time, no dish washing and a quicker shower gets me to work at 7:10 or so...close enough for my TL/colleague.
I got in to work and noticed that a case that had been open for quite some time had been finally closed so I started working on the final report that was associated with the case. By the time my TL/colleague arrived, I was mostly done.
So far this morning it has been a beehive of activity here. The phones have been busy and the hallway is full of noise from a group of sales people chatting outside my door louder than I would prefer. Issues are flying aroung but most are under control. When I get time I will have to blog the more ambiguous items.
Back to work!
Monday, June 18, 2007
S-S-S-Saturday Niiiight And The Rest Of The Weekend
I decided to go with my wife to help serve the kids at the "boot camp" weekend at our church. The taco salad was a hit and there were not as many leftovers as I had expected. As we were finishing up our part (cooking/serving/cleaning up) the youth were loading up the cars to go home. I think it was a success.
Tired, but not very sleepy, I sat in front of the PC watching IFL Battleground on my TV Tuner. Two hours and a several good fights later, I went to bed. With all my chores done and some relaxation in front of the TV behind me, I headed off to bed.
I got up tired, but I slept well. I completed all the tasks I needed to and headed off to church to lead my weekly Sunday School lesson. This week was on Deborah and Jael and it turned out to be as gory as the previous lesson (based on Ehud and Shamgar) was. The women in my class loved that...NOT. While they did not recoil completely, they admitted that it was rather gory.
With the class over with I headed off to the sanctuary were I saw some new faces, so I introduced myself. With the membership dropping (I am not going to air dirty laundry here) some fresh blood may be the thing we need. We have always been a very diverse group with people from all walks of life, nations, and backgrounds blessing us with their presence and their insight.
After service (which was themed for Father's Day), we went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, La Finca. We ran into the Elder and his wife and they asked us to join them, so we obliged. We had a good meal and conversation and after that was concluded, we returned to our respective homes to take naps. Great minds think alike.
After waking up from my nap, I took the dogs out to use the bathroom before any major rain hit. The weather has been pretty odd this spring with all the rain we have gotten so far. It has to be one of the top 10 wettest springs we have ever had in north central Texas.
The rest of the day was relegated to rest and TV. I try to make sure that I do not go overboard on Sunday since I tend to work pretty hard most of the week.
By 10:00 I was too sleepy to stay up so we went to bed and fell into an immediate slumber. I remember dreaming, but the subject matter eludes me...I was not able to recall any of my dreams even when I first woke up. All I do recall is that I wanted to see how they turned out. I guess I will never know.
All weekend long I thought of retirement and what I would do if I was retired. Now I am a long way off from doing that (thanks in part to me not saving more money sooner)...I have about 25 more years to work...but if I were retired, how would I spend my time? This weekend I decided I would give a chunk (prolly a large chunk) of my time to church projects. I have no problem volunteering my time to a worthy cause like our local church. They really are suffering because they cannot afford to hire full time the type of person they need. Most of the qualified people already work full time jobs and do not have time to dedicate to running an organization that could really benefit from professional full time leaders.
Well, if it is meant to be, God will put me in the position to help. I gotta follow his lead...not mine.
Tired, but not very sleepy, I sat in front of the PC watching IFL Battleground on my TV Tuner. Two hours and a several good fights later, I went to bed. With all my chores done and some relaxation in front of the TV behind me, I headed off to bed.
I got up tired, but I slept well. I completed all the tasks I needed to and headed off to church to lead my weekly Sunday School lesson. This week was on Deborah and Jael and it turned out to be as gory as the previous lesson (based on Ehud and Shamgar) was. The women in my class loved that...NOT. While they did not recoil completely, they admitted that it was rather gory.
With the class over with I headed off to the sanctuary were I saw some new faces, so I introduced myself. With the membership dropping (I am not going to air dirty laundry here) some fresh blood may be the thing we need. We have always been a very diverse group with people from all walks of life, nations, and backgrounds blessing us with their presence and their insight.
After service (which was themed for Father's Day), we went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, La Finca. We ran into the Elder and his wife and they asked us to join them, so we obliged. We had a good meal and conversation and after that was concluded, we returned to our respective homes to take naps. Great minds think alike.
After waking up from my nap, I took the dogs out to use the bathroom before any major rain hit. The weather has been pretty odd this spring with all the rain we have gotten so far. It has to be one of the top 10 wettest springs we have ever had in north central Texas.
The rest of the day was relegated to rest and TV. I try to make sure that I do not go overboard on Sunday since I tend to work pretty hard most of the week.
By 10:00 I was too sleepy to stay up so we went to bed and fell into an immediate slumber. I remember dreaming, but the subject matter eludes me...I was not able to recall any of my dreams even when I first woke up. All I do recall is that I wanted to see how they turned out. I guess I will never know.
All weekend long I thought of retirement and what I would do if I was retired. Now I am a long way off from doing that (thanks in part to me not saving more money sooner)...I have about 25 more years to work...but if I were retired, how would I spend my time? This weekend I decided I would give a chunk (prolly a large chunk) of my time to church projects. I have no problem volunteering my time to a worthy cause like our local church. They really are suffering because they cannot afford to hire full time the type of person they need. Most of the qualified people already work full time jobs and do not have time to dedicate to running an organization that could really benefit from professional full time leaders.
Well, if it is meant to be, God will put me in the position to help. I gotta follow his lead...not mine.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Thanx, 'Preciate It!
Short post. Durham prosecutor Mike Nifong has been disbarred. Good riddance...Durham can do better.
I was going to go into details but the local/national press, CNN, et al are all doing a enough to cover the story.
* Nifong admitted he was wrong.
* He won't appeal the decision.
* He considers the punishment appropriate.
* Attorney admits to making multiple mistakes.
* Admits he got " a little carried away".
"I've talked with Mr. Nifong, and he has told me [that] in light of the findings of fact this commission has made -- and he's told me that he believes this has been a fair and full hearing of the facts -- that he believes that disbarment is the appropriate punishment in this case," defense attorney David Freedman said (CNN) - Emphasis, El Gee.
That means what they discovered makes him guilty...I wonder if there was more?
I was going to go into details but the local/national press, CNN, et al are all doing a enough to cover the story.
* Nifong admitted he was wrong.
* He won't appeal the decision.
* He considers the punishment appropriate.
* Attorney admits to making multiple mistakes.
* Admits he got " a little carried away".
"I've talked with Mr. Nifong, and he has told me [that] in light of the findings of fact this commission has made -- and he's told me that he believes this has been a fair and full hearing of the facts -- that he believes that disbarment is the appropriate punishment in this case," defense attorney David Freedman said (CNN) - Emphasis, El Gee.
That means what they discovered makes him guilty...I wonder if there was more?
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Mid Weekend Update
Friday at work ended well for me. I completed all my required training, bought my wife an MP3 player as a VERY early birthday/late Mother's Day gift. Yeah, she really shocked me by wanting one. She told me a year or two ago that it was a waste of money. I was blessed when I got this because Fry's had them on sale for $129.99 with a $30 rebate. Not bad for an 8 gig flash memory mp3 player with all the features it has. So after contemplating buying it, I bit the bullet and got it. I got it home and loaded it with all the songs I have ripped from her CD collection (it is a small collection...she is picky like I am) and gave it to her. She liked it immediately.
We went to bed after I was done loading it and she played with it for while and I slept all the way through the night. I woke still rather tired (I got to bed at 11:00 PM) but coffee and a short walk with Little Man (who has started chewing on his paws due to his separation anxiety) corrected that. Little Man did not want to walk because his paws were RAW from his constant chewing on them when we leave. We have an e-collar (AKA "the lampshade") but he cans still reach his paws. I feel sorry for him...he is old (13 years dog / 80 something human) and is really showing it. This past year has been hard on him...he has aged so much in such a short period of time. I once thought that he would outlive The Golden (she is 7 years old) but now I am rethinking that prediction. I have a feeling that we are going to have to put him down with 12 months if things do not improve. He reminds me of a person who self-mutilates for attention.
After switching up my morning routine some, I went to the Men's breakfast where we served the youth attending their "boot camp". Many of us wore BDU's (some civilians call them "fatigues") and it was fun to cook and serve them. The number of men that attended was very low...eight to ten or so...but it was enough. I did my customary duty of breaking down tables and washing all the dishes and was out by 10:00 or so. The amount of help I received cleaning up was pretty minor, but I am used to it and have learned to let it go. I am not going to get upset by something like other peoples willingness to serve.
I came home and realized I still had to vacuum the house and prepare my Sunday School lesson. I started reading it but soon grew very sleepy. I told my wife that I felt lazy taking a nap on Saturday but she told me to lay down and get some well deserved rest and she headed off to go serve lunch at the youth "boot camp". I think I failed to mention she was the meal coordinator this year...I was planning to help as much as I could but she knew I had stuff to do here.
After a 60 minute nap, I ate some leftover "poor man's stroganoff" and then started vacuuming the house. I pulled a lot of Jazzie fur out of the carpet (I am sure I will for a few weeks...her fur was everywhere) and the Dyson was really full...much more full than normal. I finished just as my wife was coming back home.
After I was done and my wife and I chatted, I started my Sunday school lesson while she fell asleep listening to her Zen V Plus mp3 player (I think she likes it). I finished my lesson and mailed it out to my students before I went in to wake up my slumbering bride.
I need to find out if I should go with her or not tonight to help with the last meal of the "boot camp". Most likely I am not needed but my wife never turns away free help.
We went to bed after I was done loading it and she played with it for while and I slept all the way through the night. I woke still rather tired (I got to bed at 11:00 PM) but coffee and a short walk with Little Man (who has started chewing on his paws due to his separation anxiety) corrected that. Little Man did not want to walk because his paws were RAW from his constant chewing on them when we leave. We have an e-collar (AKA "the lampshade") but he cans still reach his paws. I feel sorry for him...he is old (13 years dog / 80 something human) and is really showing it. This past year has been hard on him...he has aged so much in such a short period of time. I once thought that he would outlive The Golden (she is 7 years old) but now I am rethinking that prediction. I have a feeling that we are going to have to put him down with 12 months if things do not improve. He reminds me of a person who self-mutilates for attention.
After switching up my morning routine some, I went to the Men's breakfast where we served the youth attending their "boot camp". Many of us wore BDU's (some civilians call them "fatigues") and it was fun to cook and serve them. The number of men that attended was very low...eight to ten or so...but it was enough. I did my customary duty of breaking down tables and washing all the dishes and was out by 10:00 or so. The amount of help I received cleaning up was pretty minor, but I am used to it and have learned to let it go. I am not going to get upset by something like other peoples willingness to serve.
I came home and realized I still had to vacuum the house and prepare my Sunday School lesson. I started reading it but soon grew very sleepy. I told my wife that I felt lazy taking a nap on Saturday but she told me to lay down and get some well deserved rest and she headed off to go serve lunch at the youth "boot camp". I think I failed to mention she was the meal coordinator this year...I was planning to help as much as I could but she knew I had stuff to do here.
After a 60 minute nap, I ate some leftover "poor man's stroganoff" and then started vacuuming the house. I pulled a lot of Jazzie fur out of the carpet (I am sure I will for a few weeks...her fur was everywhere) and the Dyson was really full...much more full than normal. I finished just as my wife was coming back home.
After I was done and my wife and I chatted, I started my Sunday school lesson while she fell asleep listening to her Zen V Plus mp3 player (I think she likes it). I finished my lesson and mailed it out to my students before I went in to wake up my slumbering bride.
I need to find out if I should go with her or not tonight to help with the last meal of the "boot camp". Most likely I am not needed but my wife never turns away free help.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Teacher, Teacher
I was able to finish by quarterly required company training yesterday afternoon. We are given 4-8 hours of computer based training to complete each quarter and so far I have been able to keep up. The courses vary by business unit and mine have been rather bland and not directly related to my job. There have been a few that were interesting (we had one on problem solving that I enjoyed even thought it was long) but most are rather bland.
Work has been mostly slow this week. My TL, who is on call, has gotten about one call per night, but they were quick and did not keep him up late. I hope that next week when I am on call that God blesses me the same way. However I am more likely to be tested like I normally am when I take on a new responsibility.
Tonight I am going to help my wife serve the youth meals for the "boot camp weekend" they are having. I did not sign up for it, but my wife is feeling the stress associated with what she does and she will need the support that I should be providing.
My son is getting his 15 minutes of fame via an article he wrote for a local magazine. It makes a dad proud.
Work has been mostly slow this week. My TL, who is on call, has gotten about one call per night, but they were quick and did not keep him up late. I hope that next week when I am on call that God blesses me the same way. However I am more likely to be tested like I normally am when I take on a new responsibility.
Tonight I am going to help my wife serve the youth meals for the "boot camp weekend" they are having. I did not sign up for it, but my wife is feeling the stress associated with what she does and she will need the support that I should be providing.
My son is getting his 15 minutes of fame via an article he wrote for a local magazine. It makes a dad proud.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
I Just Don't Give A Hoot
But this guy does. Not to be outdone by Spork in the Eye's (SitE) blog entry, El Gee posts his own "owl shot". I have no idea what kind he is.
I took this picture a few months before we moved from NC to Texas in 2001. I think he was living in the woods west of our house until he came to dine on the voles that were burrowing in the soft top soil on the south west corner of our wooded lot, causing it to collapse. Once he moved in, our vole problem was gone. Thanx, Mister Owl.
Word to the wise. Getting close and attempting to take a flash photo of this owl was a bit unnerving. After I took it, he flapped his wings and I was a bit nervous that he might attack the geek with the Olympus D-460 in his hands.
I took this picture a few months before we moved from NC to Texas in 2001. I think he was living in the woods west of our house until he came to dine on the voles that were burrowing in the soft top soil on the south west corner of our wooded lot, causing it to collapse. Once he moved in, our vole problem was gone. Thanx, Mister Owl.Word to the wise. Getting close and attempting to take a flash photo of this owl was a bit unnerving. After I took it, he flapped his wings and I was a bit nervous that he might attack the geek with the Olympus D-460 in his hands.
Rycherox Pulls a 404
Not sure what has happened to him. His blog is ofline and I have not seen evidence of him reading my blog in some time. Last thing I heard from him was that he bought a house and had moved...but he was still local. I hope all is well. Are we going to have to change his nickname to Houdini?
Part of the no contact has been my fault. I have not been keeping up with the BSOB boys as much as I should part is work and home life related, the rest is just laziness on my part.
It is going to be a shame if our favorite Queensryche fan has decided to stop blogging...I liked reading his quips.
Part of the no contact has been my fault. I have not been keeping up with the BSOB boys as much as I should part is work and home life related, the rest is just laziness on my part.
It is going to be a shame if our favorite Queensryche fan has decided to stop blogging...I liked reading his quips.
Hodge Podge
A few random thoughts:
* I read this article from CNN and thought to myself, "That is fascinating". Man is so set on "Mother Nature" providing natural solutions that he fails to see the hand of God in all of this.
* Iran is looking to kill porn stars (CNN)...I guess that is one way to solve the problem...sort of like using a cannon to hunt mosquitoes.
* I am thinking about getting a flash based mp3 player for my wife. If you are not aware, I am a "more bang for your buck" kind of guy so name brands are not nearly as important was quality versus price. I like this one...comments?
* I read this article from CNN and thought to myself, "That is fascinating". Man is so set on "Mother Nature" providing natural solutions that he fails to see the hand of God in all of this.
* Iran is looking to kill porn stars (CNN)...I guess that is one way to solve the problem...sort of like using a cannon to hunt mosquitoes.
* I am thinking about getting a flash based mp3 player for my wife. If you are not aware, I am a "more bang for your buck" kind of guy so name brands are not nearly as important was quality versus price. I like this one...comments?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Dog Gone
Tonight we took Jazzie back to her owner's house. I can say that my morning walks will be much more serene without her. I realized that I do not have the patience to train dogs, especially mega hyper 2 year old retrievers.
I can see why her owners don't walk her. She has never been leash trained and as I have blogged before, a real handful to boot. They just turn her loose outside and their teen daughter lets the dog do anything it wants. I am so glad our dogs are better behaved. I may complain about them, but they are light years ahead of Jazzie..but I think it has to do with maturity...we have old dogs and Jazzie is just a pup.
I can see why her owners don't walk her. She has never been leash trained and as I have blogged before, a real handful to boot. They just turn her loose outside and their teen daughter lets the dog do anything it wants. I am so glad our dogs are better behaved. I may complain about them, but they are light years ahead of Jazzie..but I think it has to do with maturity...we have old dogs and Jazzie is just a pup.
Day One
Today marked the beginning of new chapter in my work life. Today I worked my first full day in the office with my new TL.
The way we work it is that one person (the one on call) comes in early and they person who is not on call comes in 30-60 minutes later. The on call person (the early bird) goes home first (4-4:30 PM), sets up his PC and takes any calls that come in after 5:00 PM. My TL is on call this week and I am the "late guy". I came in at 7:30ish and left at 5:00 PM while my TL came in at 7:00 AM and left at 4:00 PM. It worked out pretty well.
The crux of my new job is this: We get calls from the help desk regarding issues that the customer requests high severity on. We determine whether or not a high severity is warranted and if it is, we change the severity, dispatch the ticket to the proper team, and call them to let them know they have it. We document the ticket with any info that is pertinent and track the ticket until it closes. We also have to update a web site that our customer uses to track priority cases with any new info that the customer needs to know about the issue.
Once the ticket is closed, we have to write a summary that the customer can digest and post it on the web as well. If we were properly staffed, that would be the end of the tasks, but since this region is shorthanded, we also are responsible for the issuing of Problem reports. Part of our contract is that we issue a "problem report ticket" to the team who worked on the issue that includes a template for the team to fill out. In this report, the team has to list what happened, how it was fixed and what can/could/should be done to keep it from recurring. We not only have to issue these to our teams but also third parties that work on cases as well.
Sounds pretty cut and dried, but since I have been training with my TL, I have seen a few of the things that can go wrong. One thing that can and did go wrong (on one of my first cases) is that the customer wouldn't let us close the ticket because she wants assurances that the problem will not occur again. Since our process says we cannot close a ticket until the customer gives us the okay to do so, we have a ticket in pending until we can get either her or her mgr to agree to let us close the case. It has been a week now since the case was solved...it was actually solved the same day as it was opened. The customer has not returned any of our e-mails and her manager has not responded either.
Outside of documenting everything, we also have to know who to dispatch to in case the HD puts the case in the wrong queue (which is frequent). With about a billion queues to sort through, it takes a little getting used to.
So far my biggest problem has been jumping on things before I verify that they are truly high severity cases. I tend to go by what the ticket says instead of calling the end user to verify the accuracy of the ticket. I guess I do not want to let an issue set too long.
Another issue we have been having is with third parties who provide support on the account. While they are held responsible for their support, we "own" I/T and the processes, we get the hit even if it is one of the other companies who blows it. Most of the time the third parties are direct competitors and it makes it difficult to get friendly cooperation.
At 5:00 PM, I forwarded our hotline over to the programmable "follow me" number so my TL could pick up the after hours calls. Once I did that and tested it, I logged off my PC and went home. Since I am not on call, I could enjoy my night off. The freedom is short lived though. Next week I am oncall and I will be called whenever an issue comes up that needs immediate attention. I hope I am ready to fly solo by then.
The way we work it is that one person (the one on call) comes in early and they person who is not on call comes in 30-60 minutes later. The on call person (the early bird) goes home first (4-4:30 PM), sets up his PC and takes any calls that come in after 5:00 PM. My TL is on call this week and I am the "late guy". I came in at 7:30ish and left at 5:00 PM while my TL came in at 7:00 AM and left at 4:00 PM. It worked out pretty well.
The crux of my new job is this: We get calls from the help desk regarding issues that the customer requests high severity on. We determine whether or not a high severity is warranted and if it is, we change the severity, dispatch the ticket to the proper team, and call them to let them know they have it. We document the ticket with any info that is pertinent and track the ticket until it closes. We also have to update a web site that our customer uses to track priority cases with any new info that the customer needs to know about the issue.
Once the ticket is closed, we have to write a summary that the customer can digest and post it on the web as well. If we were properly staffed, that would be the end of the tasks, but since this region is shorthanded, we also are responsible for the issuing of Problem reports. Part of our contract is that we issue a "problem report ticket" to the team who worked on the issue that includes a template for the team to fill out. In this report, the team has to list what happened, how it was fixed and what can/could/should be done to keep it from recurring. We not only have to issue these to our teams but also third parties that work on cases as well.
Sounds pretty cut and dried, but since I have been training with my TL, I have seen a few of the things that can go wrong. One thing that can and did go wrong (on one of my first cases) is that the customer wouldn't let us close the ticket because she wants assurances that the problem will not occur again. Since our process says we cannot close a ticket until the customer gives us the okay to do so, we have a ticket in pending until we can get either her or her mgr to agree to let us close the case. It has been a week now since the case was solved...it was actually solved the same day as it was opened. The customer has not returned any of our e-mails and her manager has not responded either.
Outside of documenting everything, we also have to know who to dispatch to in case the HD puts the case in the wrong queue (which is frequent). With about a billion queues to sort through, it takes a little getting used to.
So far my biggest problem has been jumping on things before I verify that they are truly high severity cases. I tend to go by what the ticket says instead of calling the end user to verify the accuracy of the ticket. I guess I do not want to let an issue set too long.
Another issue we have been having is with third parties who provide support on the account. While they are held responsible for their support, we "own" I/T and the processes, we get the hit even if it is one of the other companies who blows it. Most of the time the third parties are direct competitors and it makes it difficult to get friendly cooperation.
At 5:00 PM, I forwarded our hotline over to the programmable "follow me" number so my TL could pick up the after hours calls. Once I did that and tested it, I logged off my PC and went home. Since I am not on call, I could enjoy my night off. The freedom is short lived though. Next week I am oncall and I will be called whenever an issue comes up that needs immediate attention. I hope I am ready to fly solo by then.
Comfortably Numb
While work was not hard, it was busy with the office shuffle in the afternoon. After that, not much went on. My TL left and at 5:00 PM I forwarded the phones over to him since he was on call. When he got in this morning, he stated his evening was quiet.
My morning e-mail had a pleasant surprise in it. Corporate security had an article on employee blogging that was a lot more positive than I figured. While I have been careful with my personal opinions/comments, it is not unacceptable or even against company policy to post them. All that the company asks is that we follow our rules of business conduct when doing so. Of course any good lawyer can spin company policy any which way he/she wants, but it is good to know that simply having a blog is not a firing offense.
My morning e-mail had a pleasant surprise in it. Corporate security had an article on employee blogging that was a lot more positive than I figured. While I have been careful with my personal opinions/comments, it is not unacceptable or even against company policy to post them. All that the company asks is that we follow our rules of business conduct when doing so. Of course any good lawyer can spin company policy any which way he/she wants, but it is good to know that simply having a blog is not a firing offense.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Office Shuffle
The facilities people finally brought me a desk for the office that my TL and I will share. With that done, all I had to do was get the security/phone guy to move my phone. Good thing I checked the LAN drops first...mine were not activated. The security/phone guy doubles as a network guy on the side, so this issue was resolved quickly.
The plan was for me to move in first, then my TL. This seemed to make a lot of sense since the hotline had to be manned every minute. I had just started moving when security/phone and part time network guy asked me when my TL was moving. S/P/PTN guy tells me that he is out of the office until next week and if my TL does not move today, then he cannot move until next week. This idea sucks and my TL does not like it. Since the hotline has to be covered and we both have to move at the same time (and since the Swede has not been removed from the hotline yet), we enlist the Swede to cover the phones for a couple of hours. He does so without complaining until we get moved in.
The office is not too bad. We both had to give up our window offices but that is to be expected. The bigger window offices are for mid to upper level managers and the ones that are not taken have horrible cell phone coverage. We settled on one that gives so-so coverage for me and good for my TL. Actually it is the same size and the office I had when I was with the Unix group...I get half of this one just like I got half of that one (the other half of the Unix office was a lab).
I turned in my old office key and was given two for my new office. I gave one of them to my TL and we were finalized.
It is going to be weird for me to share an office and work more in a line type organization...I seem to jump back and forth from coming and going when I want to having a set schedule. The best part of this is the scheduled time off. While being on call every other week is not something that I am looking forward to, at least I only have to be on call during the weekends once a month.
I started thinking back and counting how many offices/desks I have had since I came to this shop. There was the first office, then a seat in the NOC. I moved from lower to upper row in the NOC, then to another office. I moved from that office to the office/lab then back to an office on the other side of the building. Today I moved again. Seven desks in six years. and with that eight job roles in the same time span. Incredible.
The plan was for me to move in first, then my TL. This seemed to make a lot of sense since the hotline had to be manned every minute. I had just started moving when security/phone and part time network guy asked me when my TL was moving. S/P/PTN guy tells me that he is out of the office until next week and if my TL does not move today, then he cannot move until next week. This idea sucks and my TL does not like it. Since the hotline has to be covered and we both have to move at the same time (and since the Swede has not been removed from the hotline yet), we enlist the Swede to cover the phones for a couple of hours. He does so without complaining until we get moved in.
The office is not too bad. We both had to give up our window offices but that is to be expected. The bigger window offices are for mid to upper level managers and the ones that are not taken have horrible cell phone coverage. We settled on one that gives so-so coverage for me and good for my TL. Actually it is the same size and the office I had when I was with the Unix group...I get half of this one just like I got half of that one (the other half of the Unix office was a lab).
I turned in my old office key and was given two for my new office. I gave one of them to my TL and we were finalized.
It is going to be weird for me to share an office and work more in a line type organization...I seem to jump back and forth from coming and going when I want to having a set schedule. The best part of this is the scheduled time off. While being on call every other week is not something that I am looking forward to, at least I only have to be on call during the weekends once a month.
I started thinking back and counting how many offices/desks I have had since I came to this shop. There was the first office, then a seat in the NOC. I moved from lower to upper row in the NOC, then to another office. I moved from that office to the office/lab then back to an office on the other side of the building. Today I moved again. Seven desks in six years. and with that eight job roles in the same time span. Incredible.
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
The rest of my afternoon went well. Only one call and it was an easy one...all I had to do was call a guy in Europe who handled the issue...90% of what I normally do was done by him (it is a political and contractual thing). With that little thing behind me, all I needed to do was transfer the phones over to my TL who was on call and I could go home.
I got home and could immediately tell my wife was upset. She finally gave me a run down of what happened, we talked, then hugged and things were better. Sometimes (okay, most of the time) all we men have to do is listen and it "solves" the problem. Go figure :) .
I ate a sketchy dinner of cheese burritos and juice while I downloaded the docs I needed for the Trustee meeting to my USB memory stick. I was going to take my "new" old laptop to take the minutes on to save wear and tear on my work laptop.
I left the house to head towards my meeting a few minutes before my wife went to her (women's ministry) meeting. Since the trustees were early, we started and (eventually) ended early. The subject matter frustrated me but due to the nature of it, it will not be blogged. All I will say is that being on that board is a real test considering my personality and my veiw on money.
I got home by 9:00 PM and took Jazzie and Little Man for walk. My wife took The Golden after I got back and when she returned, we chatted a bit more. She was not in the mood to talk so I grabbed the laptop to check mail and the news. Nothing looked interesting, so I told my wife I was going to bed. I was actually enjoying my first night of not being on call...but I know that I will start a weekly rotation next week (one week on / one week off) for on call, with being on call on the weekends just once a month. Not too bad...
I slept like a rock (I did not even hear my wife cone to bed) but I had a lot of trouble waking up in the morning. The constant pulling of Jazzie as I am trying to walk her is annoying, but only a couple of more days of her super-hyperness will have to be endured...then we get to calm down some...just in time for me to go on call :-) .
I made it to work and found my TL had gotten his car running. It was only a battery, but both his and his wife's car were out of commission yesterday so he had to rely on relatives for rides and that was not fun or easy for him. I gave him the run down of what was going on and what I hope will be happening today and he was okay with it.
The facilities people closed my ticket stating that the desk I had asked to be moved into B30 was taken care of but as usual, it has not been done yet. Rather than getting all upset, I will give them until the end of the day and if it is not done by then, they will hear from me. This is just silly. It will take one man 15 minutes with a furniture dolly to complete this task. If my back would allow it, I would just do it myself, but I am not that foolish to try it.
I got home and could immediately tell my wife was upset. She finally gave me a run down of what happened, we talked, then hugged and things were better. Sometimes (okay, most of the time) all we men have to do is listen and it "solves" the problem. Go figure :) .
I ate a sketchy dinner of cheese burritos and juice while I downloaded the docs I needed for the Trustee meeting to my USB memory stick. I was going to take my "new" old laptop to take the minutes on to save wear and tear on my work laptop.
I left the house to head towards my meeting a few minutes before my wife went to her (women's ministry) meeting. Since the trustees were early, we started and (eventually) ended early. The subject matter frustrated me but due to the nature of it, it will not be blogged. All I will say is that being on that board is a real test considering my personality and my veiw on money.
I got home by 9:00 PM and took Jazzie and Little Man for walk. My wife took The Golden after I got back and when she returned, we chatted a bit more. She was not in the mood to talk so I grabbed the laptop to check mail and the news. Nothing looked interesting, so I told my wife I was going to bed. I was actually enjoying my first night of not being on call...but I know that I will start a weekly rotation next week (one week on / one week off) for on call, with being on call on the weekends just once a month. Not too bad...
I slept like a rock (I did not even hear my wife cone to bed) but I had a lot of trouble waking up in the morning. The constant pulling of Jazzie as I am trying to walk her is annoying, but only a couple of more days of her super-hyperness will have to be endured...then we get to calm down some...just in time for me to go on call :-) .
I made it to work and found my TL had gotten his car running. It was only a battery, but both his and his wife's car were out of commission yesterday so he had to rely on relatives for rides and that was not fun or easy for him. I gave him the run down of what was going on and what I hope will be happening today and he was okay with it.
The facilities people closed my ticket stating that the desk I had asked to be moved into B30 was taken care of but as usual, it has not been done yet. Rather than getting all upset, I will give them until the end of the day and if it is not done by then, they will hear from me. This is just silly. It will take one man 15 minutes with a furniture dolly to complete this task. If my back would allow it, I would just do it myself, but I am not that foolish to try it.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Party 'Til You Puke
My TL did not come in today...he is having car problems (which I hear is common -- his car is at least 20 years old). The Swede came in but he said he was not feeling very well. He later admitted that he was hung over. Oddly enough could not tell...he looked perfectly normal to me. Nonetheless, he is going home...sick. I hope he has things covered. Sig's "Battle Buddies" post comes to mind ("not fair"), but I know the drill. Life is not fair. I can accept that.
With my TL out, that means I am running solo today. It has been okay so far. But I still have 2.5 hours to go...a lot could change. With last week being slow I expect this one to be busier. How much, I do not know. The hard part is sitting still. I hate sitting at a desk for hours on end. While there are little things I can do, I do not want to start them if my TL is not here to help cover. I have a lot of training I need to catch up on and a report that needed to be started soon.
I ate lunch at my desk, which is nothing unusual, but I would like to get out more. I have the feeling while I will be on call less with the new job, my life still will not be my own. At least I am still employed.
My wife and saw a motor home for sale on the way to church yesterday. It was just about the perfect size for us, but we have no place to store it. Having an RV and living in the burbs is not easy. You cannot park them on the street and my driveway is not big enough for that and to get my truck and my wife's van in and out of the garage.
Seeing the RV sparked a conversation about retirement and one asking "what if" one of us died...what would the other do. My wife states that she does not want to get married and hopes that the money from life insurance would allow her to survive a few years until she knows what she wants to do.
I mad e a lousy single person. I hate to be alone and actually like the idea of roommates at one time. I am not so sure I could deal with roommates now, but the idea of an empty house is not appealing. When my wife leaves town for a week or so to visit friends, I start having trouble sleeping the second or third night. The first night is not a problem...I am not sure why unless I am so exhausted that I just collapse, but the second or third night my sleep is fitful and I only grab a few hours at a time...waking often. It is funny how the house seems so different when it is empty. I actually slept on the floor one night next to Little Man when I could not sleep.
I realized the other day that I have never lived by myself before. I lived with my parents until I was 19 or so and then moved out with a girlfriend. I did not stay away long until I moved back. I was not ready to be on my own. I lived with mom and dad until I married my first wife and when we split (the first time) I found a room mate. A few months after that my (then wife) and I reconciled. My next living arrangement had me sleeping on the couch of a colleague for about a month until I found a room to rent. Still, I was not living by myself. I continued to have room mates until I remarried and moved in with my wife. In the 20+ years of living away from home, I have never lived by myself. Maybe that is why I have so much trouble when my wife visits friends in other states for 5 or more days.
With my TL out, that means I am running solo today. It has been okay so far. But I still have 2.5 hours to go...a lot could change. With last week being slow I expect this one to be busier. How much, I do not know. The hard part is sitting still. I hate sitting at a desk for hours on end. While there are little things I can do, I do not want to start them if my TL is not here to help cover. I have a lot of training I need to catch up on and a report that needed to be started soon.
I ate lunch at my desk, which is nothing unusual, but I would like to get out more. I have the feeling while I will be on call less with the new job, my life still will not be my own. At least I am still employed.
My wife and saw a motor home for sale on the way to church yesterday. It was just about the perfect size for us, but we have no place to store it. Having an RV and living in the burbs is not easy. You cannot park them on the street and my driveway is not big enough for that and to get my truck and my wife's van in and out of the garage.
Seeing the RV sparked a conversation about retirement and one asking "what if" one of us died...what would the other do. My wife states that she does not want to get married and hopes that the money from life insurance would allow her to survive a few years until she knows what she wants to do.
I mad e a lousy single person. I hate to be alone and actually like the idea of roommates at one time. I am not so sure I could deal with roommates now, but the idea of an empty house is not appealing. When my wife leaves town for a week or so to visit friends, I start having trouble sleeping the second or third night. The first night is not a problem...I am not sure why unless I am so exhausted that I just collapse, but the second or third night my sleep is fitful and I only grab a few hours at a time...waking often. It is funny how the house seems so different when it is empty. I actually slept on the floor one night next to Little Man when I could not sleep.
I realized the other day that I have never lived by myself before. I lived with my parents until I was 19 or so and then moved out with a girlfriend. I did not stay away long until I moved back. I was not ready to be on my own. I lived with mom and dad until I married my first wife and when we split (the first time) I found a room mate. A few months after that my (then wife) and I reconciled. My next living arrangement had me sleeping on the couch of a colleague for about a month until I found a room to rent. Still, I was not living by myself. I continued to have room mates until I remarried and moved in with my wife. In the 20+ years of living away from home, I have never lived by myself. Maybe that is why I have so much trouble when my wife visits friends in other states for 5 or more days.
Let's Get It On!
After I was finished blogging Saturday night, I realized Bodog Fighting was on. It is an MMA league similar to the UFC only not as flashy. I was able to watch three really good bouts before I decided to go to bed.
Sunday was typical for me. I went through my normal routine and led a Sunday school class before the main service started. Nothing really noteworthy other than the fact we were going to have a special guest for the evening service. Duncan Holmes, a pianist who has been blind since birth, would be blessing us that evening with stories and song.
My wife and I had lunch at Arby's before we went home to take our normal Sunday afternoon siesta. Getting old is tough :) .
I was woken up from my slumber by a call from our son serving in Kuwait. He was in the mood to chat until he accidentally knocked over something and had to cut the call short. Whatever it was must have been funny to him...he was laughing so hard it was difficult to understand him. he promised to call / e-mail me with an update.
Now that I was up I ate some of the leftover pizza before we headed over to church for the service that was going to be led by Duncan Holmes. As expected, the music and stories were entertaining. The man has quiet a bit of talent. He does not let his lack of eyesight keep him from giving his all.
After the service we stopped over to Tom Thumb to pick up some specials they had. Add the coupons on top of the sale prices and for less than $25, we had our cart well stocked with lunch food, tortillas, cereal bars, milk, yogurt, and bananas. One of our better trips thanks to the coupons.
Now that we were back home we needed to take all three dogs for a walk. The were in the mood to run so I took two of them to the school yard and turned them loose. After 15 minutes of acting like puppies, I gathered them up and brought them home where they consumed a quart of water in short order. Once they cooled down we all got ready for bed.
I woke up a bit more tired than usual and my left hip (the one that gave me trouble when I had sciatica) was hurting. I shrugged it off and went through my typical morning routine. I wanted to leave a bit early since I had to stop and get gasoline. When I got to Kroger's to get the gas, I was pleased to see the price had dropped to $2.86 (not a bargain but better than the $3.00 I normally see) so I filled up the tank and was on my way.
I got to work and noticed that my partner in crime (my new team lead) was not at work and neither was the Swede I traded jobs with. After a while the Swede came in and told me that the TL was having car problems. I was only slightly concerned since the Swede was in and I figured unless things got very ugly, I could handle it. The worry started creeping in when the Swede told me he was hung over. That made me think that he could go home and try to leave me with both jobs with no one to assist (almost surely a suicidal situation). I will remain hopeful and keep chugging along.
Well my hopes of going to see a Celtic rock band free in the park this evening have been dashed since I have forgotten that the Trustees meet tonight. Oh well. I guess it was not meant to be. Maybe some time later.
Sunday was typical for me. I went through my normal routine and led a Sunday school class before the main service started. Nothing really noteworthy other than the fact we were going to have a special guest for the evening service. Duncan Holmes, a pianist who has been blind since birth, would be blessing us that evening with stories and song.
My wife and I had lunch at Arby's before we went home to take our normal Sunday afternoon siesta. Getting old is tough :) .
I was woken up from my slumber by a call from our son serving in Kuwait. He was in the mood to chat until he accidentally knocked over something and had to cut the call short. Whatever it was must have been funny to him...he was laughing so hard it was difficult to understand him. he promised to call / e-mail me with an update.
Now that I was up I ate some of the leftover pizza before we headed over to church for the service that was going to be led by Duncan Holmes. As expected, the music and stories were entertaining. The man has quiet a bit of talent. He does not let his lack of eyesight keep him from giving his all.
After the service we stopped over to Tom Thumb to pick up some specials they had. Add the coupons on top of the sale prices and for less than $25, we had our cart well stocked with lunch food, tortillas, cereal bars, milk, yogurt, and bananas. One of our better trips thanks to the coupons.
Now that we were back home we needed to take all three dogs for a walk. The were in the mood to run so I took two of them to the school yard and turned them loose. After 15 minutes of acting like puppies, I gathered them up and brought them home where they consumed a quart of water in short order. Once they cooled down we all got ready for bed.
I woke up a bit more tired than usual and my left hip (the one that gave me trouble when I had sciatica) was hurting. I shrugged it off and went through my typical morning routine. I wanted to leave a bit early since I had to stop and get gasoline. When I got to Kroger's to get the gas, I was pleased to see the price had dropped to $2.86 (not a bargain but better than the $3.00 I normally see) so I filled up the tank and was on my way.
I got to work and noticed that my partner in crime (my new team lead) was not at work and neither was the Swede I traded jobs with. After a while the Swede came in and told me that the TL was having car problems. I was only slightly concerned since the Swede was in and I figured unless things got very ugly, I could handle it. The worry started creeping in when the Swede told me he was hung over. That made me think that he could go home and try to leave me with both jobs with no one to assist (almost surely a suicidal situation). I will remain hopeful and keep chugging along.
Well my hopes of going to see a Celtic rock band free in the park this evening have been dashed since I have forgotten that the Trustees meet tonight. Oh well. I guess it was not meant to be. Maybe some time later.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Hot In The City
According to the weather forecast, it will be 95 tomorrow...it was 91 today and I was out mowing grass in it. While it was uncomfortable, I completed the task quicker than I expected. The only hitch was just as I was finishing up. I received a call on the escalation hotline about 10 minutes before I went in to clean up. It was not anything major and by the time I called him and the contact in Europe, it was resolved. With that out of the way, I was able to get a shower and scrape off the layer of crud I accumulated working in the 90 degree heat for 3 hours non-stop.
I got out of the shower and my wife asked me if Little Caesar's Pizza was okay for dinner. It had been a while since we had pizza and the price is right ( about $9.00) for a two topping deep dish. My wife called it in and I went across the street to pick it up. 15 minutes later we were savoring deep dish mushroom and sausage goodness.
The first task of the day was my normal vacuuming and the changing of the bedding in our bedroom. I broke that task up into three parts, to allow my wife to run her errands without either one of us getting in the other's way. The plan worked. I was done about the same time she was.
After the vacuuming, mowing, and eating, it was time for me to work on my Sunday school lesson. Judges 3 (Ehud and Shamgar) was the base of the lesson and it was pretty easy to write up. It only took 1.5 hours to read, research, and write the lesson.
By 7:30 I was done with all my tasks, so I decided to walk the three dogs (one at a time). It was a long hot walk (times three)...one that I am glad is over. Once I got back I grabbed a bottled water and checked the TV to see what was on. Nothing looked good, so I grabbed the laptop to check the news. Nothing interesting was found, so I figured it was as good a time as any to check e-mail and blog a bit.
It sure is hot and humid outside.
I got out of the shower and my wife asked me if Little Caesar's Pizza was okay for dinner. It had been a while since we had pizza and the price is right ( about $9.00) for a two topping deep dish. My wife called it in and I went across the street to pick it up. 15 minutes later we were savoring deep dish mushroom and sausage goodness.
The first task of the day was my normal vacuuming and the changing of the bedding in our bedroom. I broke that task up into three parts, to allow my wife to run her errands without either one of us getting in the other's way. The plan worked. I was done about the same time she was.
After the vacuuming, mowing, and eating, it was time for me to work on my Sunday school lesson. Judges 3 (Ehud and Shamgar) was the base of the lesson and it was pretty easy to write up. It only took 1.5 hours to read, research, and write the lesson.
By 7:30 I was done with all my tasks, so I decided to walk the three dogs (one at a time). It was a long hot walk (times three)...one that I am glad is over. Once I got back I grabbed a bottled water and checked the TV to see what was on. Nothing looked good, so I grabbed the laptop to check the news. Nothing interesting was found, so I figured it was as good a time as any to check e-mail and blog a bit.
It sure is hot and humid outside.
All's Well That Ends Well
For Friday, at least. My day working both roles went mostly well. It ended with a meeting by our regional account manager (RAM) outlining the changes that are coming our way in the organization.
Long story short, we used to work for company A and when company decided to outsource IT, we were absorbed by company B. We stayed. The few employees still left (telecoms guys) with "A" left the building, "B" assumed the lease and we worked as usual (albeit with a second network connection to "B". Mostly everything stayed the same except the name on the paycheck. The past four years have not really given me a taste of what working for a top 5 IT company is actually like because we still do most of our activities like we were with "A".
By the end of the month, that will begin to change.
The guys who provide DLS (Deep Level Support ... the really smart guys) will move (structurally) into "B"...it only took four years and the rest of us (account specific) will remain. I most likely will have a new boss (my fear is that Teflon will be chosen) and since I am officially in my new group Monday, a new job.
The meeting was comical in a couple of areas. The first is that the RAM did a hard sell on why it is good to go to this new model (for the people moving into the "regular" organization of the IT company) but failed to give a "warm and fuzzy" to those who remain. Half of those who are remaining are managers of decent standing (although not overly learned of the way or why we work) and the rest of us are "lifers" who have been in service for the company for at least 8 years (most are in the 10-12 year range). I guess those (which includes me) really do not need a warm and fuzzy but mgmt usually gives a token showing of it anyway... but not this time.
The change will be transparent to our customer (company A) except there will be a larger talent pool to draw from. Drawing from "economies of scale" (buzzwords are the theme in IT), "A" will get all the expertise of the BIG, established "B". People who will be moving into the normal structure will get to work on other accounts, ergo gain more knowledge.
The change will be hardest on about 5 of us (approx half, the non-mgmt part). We are the ones who coordinate tickets and have a preferred contact list of people we can ask quick questions to when needed. Teflon has a habit of dropping low severity bombs on my team and disappearing and having those contacts helps. Of course Teflon also has a habit of not giving us pertinent e-mails until after they have been sitting in his inbox festering for two weeks as well, but that is a completely different topic.
After the meeting we all chatted about the changes (the meeting was a ConCall -- conference call for all you lucky non-corp folks) and we all agreed that we are just going to roll with the changes. There was an underlying sense of "absorb and spit out" of the talent once this takes place, but know one knows for sure.
The other interesting thing is the timing of this. The contract we have with "A" is up for renewal in July of 2008.
"So what? That is over a year away?" You quip.
Contracts of this size are usually worked on for more than a year...the details are mind boggling. Company B actually "owns" all of IT, even though we do not control it and it is provided by at least three other companies besides us. There is a help desk component, software support, desktop support, local area network, wide area network, process mgmt, account mgmt, security, storage, server support (unix, windows, mainframe, etc)...this kind of thing takes time. We all have been made aware of the give and take that the parties work with and the final product will not be known until a couple of months before the current contract expires. We are not even guaranteed we will get an extension.
Enough rambling about that. A dinner of grilled Caribbean-style chicken (jerk seasoning), fresh corn on the cob and fresh (albeit leftover) string beans was prepared and enjoyed. Dishes were washed and a little rest was taken before a two mile walk with the three dogs was started. As usual the mosquitoes were thick but we managed it. All along the walk my wife was laughing at my impersonation of the guy from "Man versus Wild" on Discovery (Bear Stylls, I think). I love the Brits, so my impersonation was not derogatory. Their pronunciation of aluminum, glacier, and crevasse is quit amusing to a Yank's ear. Of course my wife will laugh at things I do not find as overly amusing...take my comment I made about Jazzie, the very puppy-ish retriever we are pet sitting. She is not leash trained and tends to do some very silly things while we are (make an attempt at) walking. Last night, I remarked, "Jazzie, I am going to donate you to the Bat family and change your name to Ding". My wife must have laughed for a 1/5 of a mile...I was worried she was going to have an asthma attack.
Me made it back home without incident (no snakes spotted) and watched a tad more TV while I munched on a Klondike bar (Reese's flavored) and browsed the web on the new(er) Omnibook 900b (I am beginning to like it a lot...but it does not provide as much lap warmth as the 4150b did). A little after 10:00 PM, I hit the sack...and surprisingly enough, so did my lovely wife. Sleep came quickly.
Long story short, we used to work for company A and when company decided to outsource IT, we were absorbed by company B. We stayed. The few employees still left (telecoms guys) with "A" left the building, "B" assumed the lease and we worked as usual (albeit with a second network connection to "B". Mostly everything stayed the same except the name on the paycheck. The past four years have not really given me a taste of what working for a top 5 IT company is actually like because we still do most of our activities like we were with "A".
By the end of the month, that will begin to change.
The guys who provide DLS (Deep Level Support ... the really smart guys) will move (structurally) into "B"...it only took four years and the rest of us (account specific) will remain. I most likely will have a new boss (my fear is that Teflon will be chosen) and since I am officially in my new group Monday, a new job.
The meeting was comical in a couple of areas. The first is that the RAM did a hard sell on why it is good to go to this new model (for the people moving into the "regular" organization of the IT company) but failed to give a "warm and fuzzy" to those who remain. Half of those who are remaining are managers of decent standing (although not overly learned of the way or why we work) and the rest of us are "lifers" who have been in service for the company for at least 8 years (most are in the 10-12 year range). I guess those (which includes me) really do not need a warm and fuzzy but mgmt usually gives a token showing of it anyway... but not this time.
The change will be transparent to our customer (company A) except there will be a larger talent pool to draw from. Drawing from "economies of scale" (buzzwords are the theme in IT), "A" will get all the expertise of the BIG, established "B". People who will be moving into the normal structure will get to work on other accounts, ergo gain more knowledge.
The change will be hardest on about 5 of us (approx half, the non-mgmt part). We are the ones who coordinate tickets and have a preferred contact list of people we can ask quick questions to when needed. Teflon has a habit of dropping low severity bombs on my team and disappearing and having those contacts helps. Of course Teflon also has a habit of not giving us pertinent e-mails until after they have been sitting in his inbox festering for two weeks as well, but that is a completely different topic.
After the meeting we all chatted about the changes (the meeting was a ConCall -- conference call for all you lucky non-corp folks) and we all agreed that we are just going to roll with the changes. There was an underlying sense of "absorb and spit out" of the talent once this takes place, but know one knows for sure.
The other interesting thing is the timing of this. The contract we have with "A" is up for renewal in July of 2008.
"So what? That is over a year away?" You quip.
Contracts of this size are usually worked on for more than a year...the details are mind boggling. Company B actually "owns" all of IT, even though we do not control it and it is provided by at least three other companies besides us. There is a help desk component, software support, desktop support, local area network, wide area network, process mgmt, account mgmt, security, storage, server support (unix, windows, mainframe, etc)...this kind of thing takes time. We all have been made aware of the give and take that the parties work with and the final product will not be known until a couple of months before the current contract expires. We are not even guaranteed we will get an extension.
Enough rambling about that. A dinner of grilled Caribbean-style chicken (jerk seasoning), fresh corn on the cob and fresh (albeit leftover) string beans was prepared and enjoyed. Dishes were washed and a little rest was taken before a two mile walk with the three dogs was started. As usual the mosquitoes were thick but we managed it. All along the walk my wife was laughing at my impersonation of the guy from "Man versus Wild" on Discovery (Bear Stylls, I think). I love the Brits, so my impersonation was not derogatory. Their pronunciation of aluminum, glacier, and crevasse is quit amusing to a Yank's ear. Of course my wife will laugh at things I do not find as overly amusing...take my comment I made about Jazzie, the very puppy-ish retriever we are pet sitting. She is not leash trained and tends to do some very silly things while we are (make an attempt at) walking. Last night, I remarked, "Jazzie, I am going to donate you to the Bat family and change your name to Ding". My wife must have laughed for a 1/5 of a mile...I was worried she was going to have an asthma attack.
Me made it back home without incident (no snakes spotted) and watched a tad more TV while I munched on a Klondike bar (Reese's flavored) and browsed the web on the new(er) Omnibook 900b (I am beginning to like it a lot...but it does not provide as much lap warmth as the 4150b did). A little after 10:00 PM, I hit the sack...and surprisingly enough, so did my lovely wife. Sleep came quickly.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Grrrrr - Memento
I am not a very happy camper right now. The Swede that I am switching jobs with decided to take the day off and leave me doing double duty, just like yesterday. I would understand if he actually had handled high severity issues last night, but he didn't. There were no new cases and no updates to the ongoing one. I called and e-mailed him but he never responded. He did call the TL at shortly after 8:00 AM, though...I guess that is a plus.
Going backwards in time...getting started this morning was hard...I did not get a restful sleep. Jazzie was her usual hyped up self and I was not in the mood. Thankfully I did not get too mad at her.
The city council meeting lasted more than 3 hours last night. During the meeting, I began to ache in my joints...all over. I personally do not think that is a good sign. I could not get comfortable and I was very sleepy. I guess it did not help that the meeting was boring...really boring...even more boring than usual. Why did I offer to the trustees to go there every month?
I got home from the meeting and my wife was very upset...the dogs were giving her problems...Jazzie with her normal exuberance and Little Man with his separation anxiety. When my wife leaves, he will lick his paws RAW until she comes back...unless I am home to pay attention to him. Doggie Prozac, anyone?
Work went well yesterday overall. It gave me a chance to test my skills a bit with the new job. It was actually kind of fun, but it would be better if the Swede would not be so selfish.
Going backwards in time...getting started this morning was hard...I did not get a restful sleep. Jazzie was her usual hyped up self and I was not in the mood. Thankfully I did not get too mad at her.
The city council meeting lasted more than 3 hours last night. During the meeting, I began to ache in my joints...all over. I personally do not think that is a good sign. I could not get comfortable and I was very sleepy. I guess it did not help that the meeting was boring...really boring...even more boring than usual. Why did I offer to the trustees to go there every month?
I got home from the meeting and my wife was very upset...the dogs were giving her problems...Jazzie with her normal exuberance and Little Man with his separation anxiety. When my wife leaves, he will lick his paws RAW until she comes back...unless I am home to pay attention to him. Doggie Prozac, anyone?
Work went well yesterday overall. It gave me a chance to test my skills a bit with the new job. It was actually kind of fun, but it would be better if the Swede would not be so selfish.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
A Little Taste Of My New Job
Today has been interesting. I have been involved in a couple of incidents that actually gave me a taste of what it is like to be on this team. While neither have gone smoothly, I handled them pretty well, if I do say so myself.
Issue one - a server on the customer extranet is not responding to one of their external customers request. Investigation turns up the HDD are nearly full. The server is not monitored (customer declined this feature) so it was not noticed until it was pretty much too late. To add insult to injury, the server is owned by a global group in Europe and our contract states we cannot make any hardware additions (Read: Storage) unless they order it via their ordering system (and all the red tape that goes with it). All the while our customer's customers cannot do any file transfers to this server. They are dead in the water. About 2 gigs of files are transfered each day to this machine.
I switch hats and call the mgmt team in Europe to inform them of the issue. They are aware, but due to the hour, they assure me the order will not get approved until tomorrow morning CET. Well, this info is not pleasing to the local customer and they begin to get upset. Eventually, we get an agreement and the additional drives are scheduled to be installed and configured later in the morning/early afternoon.
Just when things are looking up, the server team notices that for whatever reason, there is no current backup of the data. 1/3 of a terabyte of data needs to be back up BEFORE the drives can be configured or installed. The backup is scheduled immediately.
Issue two - Every printer on a specific printer server somewhere in North America fails to print any type of document. Panic sets and and a tech investigates. Adding and removing the networked printer from the end user's PC fixes the issue...but what caused it? A over zealous server tech decides to upgrade the print drivers for printers managed by that server OUTSIDE the change window...during business hours. Somebody's in trouble...glad it is not me.
Issue one - a server on the customer extranet is not responding to one of their external customers request. Investigation turns up the HDD are nearly full. The server is not monitored (customer declined this feature) so it was not noticed until it was pretty much too late. To add insult to injury, the server is owned by a global group in Europe and our contract states we cannot make any hardware additions (Read: Storage) unless they order it via their ordering system (and all the red tape that goes with it). All the while our customer's customers cannot do any file transfers to this server. They are dead in the water. About 2 gigs of files are transfered each day to this machine.
I switch hats and call the mgmt team in Europe to inform them of the issue. They are aware, but due to the hour, they assure me the order will not get approved until tomorrow morning CET. Well, this info is not pleasing to the local customer and they begin to get upset. Eventually, we get an agreement and the additional drives are scheduled to be installed and configured later in the morning/early afternoon.
Just when things are looking up, the server team notices that for whatever reason, there is no current backup of the data. 1/3 of a terabyte of data needs to be back up BEFORE the drives can be configured or installed. The backup is scheduled immediately.
Issue two - Every printer on a specific printer server somewhere in North America fails to print any type of document. Panic sets and and a tech investigates. Adding and removing the networked printer from the end user's PC fixes the issue...but what caused it? A over zealous server tech decides to upgrade the print drivers for printers managed by that server OUTSIDE the change window...during business hours. Somebody's in trouble...glad it is not me.
Minor Upgrade
I have blogged before about my hunk o junk HP Omnibook 4150b laptop. While it will win no beauty contests, it does work and it doubles as a very good lap heater in cold weather. Well last week when my old TL retired, he was cleaning out his office and I noticed a laptop in the mix. I ask him about it and he told me that it was destined for the recycle pile since it was outdated and was not supported any longer. I looked at it and it was an HP Omnibook 900b (our customer has been through several stages of hardware...HP, Gateway, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Dell) in near mint condition. The only thing I could see "broken" was one of the doors on the PCM/CIA card slot was missing (and later on I noticed on of the rollers in the DVD-ROM was broken...causing it to stick sometimes). It did not have a NIC, but it did have all the other accessories. I asked him if I could have it and after we talked it over with my boss (the HD had been thoroughly wiped) he said I could have it. Sweet.
Now some of the specs on the 900b are the same as the 4150 (650 mhz speed step processor being the most important). The 900b however is a "travelers" laptop...thinner and lighter (not to mention a .5 inch smaller screen) than the 4150b. Also the CD/DVD-ROM and the floppy drive are external (and are the same as the ones for the 4150b), connecting via SCSI port and it has 64 meg of RAM built in where the 4150b does not. However it only has one RAM slot and since I have two 256 meg sticks of laptop RAM at home, I can only have a total of 320 megs. Not great, but more than the 4150b.
I have been putting the 900b through the paces for the past week. Like the 4150, it has Simply MEPIS Linux on it and I easily connected it via wireless "b" to my home network. Oddly enough, network manager, which seemed to choke on the 4150b (with the same NIC and wireless card) seems to work on the 900b. I can plug and unplug either NIC and plug in the other with no ill effects.
The 900b, just like the 4150, has two batteries. The 4150b can run two batteries (running about two hours on wireless) if you remove the CD/DVD-ROM/Floppy, but since the 900b has no internal bays, it can run only one battery at a time. The batteries for the 4150b are in so-so shape. Running WiFi, one only lasts about 30 minutes while the other lasts about 1.5 hours or so. The batteries for the 900b last one hour for one and about two for the other...but only one at at time.
My old TL stated he never ran it on battery power and left the AC plugged int all the time. Since the batteries have not been used on a regular basis, they may very well give me 6+ months of use before they lose their usefulness. I have been trying to condition the batteries by alternating them and only charging them when they get below 50%.
Related to battery life, I noticed when I tried charging the battery the first time that the charging light on the 900b would only come on if a small amount of pressure was place on the left side wrist rest. Once the pressure was removed, the light would not flash any more. This worried me since a short could mean a fire hazard. I left it plugged in and when I came back to check on it, the battery light was on solid, not flashing...indicating a fulling charged battery. I fired it up and sure enough, it was charged. I tried the same thing with the other battery and the scenario was duplicated. I have not researched this much yet, but it appears that the charging circuit is functioning, although the external indicator fails to indicate it unless pressure is applied to the left wrist rest. No major worry for me...if that is all that is wrong with the 900b, then it will make a good replacement for my decrepit 4150b. I am sure it will make it back into the recycle bin...where it belongs.
HP Omnibook 900b
CPU - Intel Pentium III, 650 mhz Speedstep processor (500 mhz on battery, 650 mhz on AC)
HDD - 12 gig
RAM - base 64 megs, one DIMM slot (320 total RAM)
Video - ATI RAGE Mobility - AGP 2x (4 meg RAM)
Weight - 4.6 lbs
Display - 13.3 inches
More later.
Now some of the specs on the 900b are the same as the 4150 (650 mhz speed step processor being the most important). The 900b however is a "travelers" laptop...thinner and lighter (not to mention a .5 inch smaller screen) than the 4150b. Also the CD/DVD-ROM and the floppy drive are external (and are the same as the ones for the 4150b), connecting via SCSI port and it has 64 meg of RAM built in where the 4150b does not. However it only has one RAM slot and since I have two 256 meg sticks of laptop RAM at home, I can only have a total of 320 megs. Not great, but more than the 4150b.
I have been putting the 900b through the paces for the past week. Like the 4150, it has Simply MEPIS Linux on it and I easily connected it via wireless "b" to my home network. Oddly enough, network manager, which seemed to choke on the 4150b (with the same NIC and wireless card) seems to work on the 900b. I can plug and unplug either NIC and plug in the other with no ill effects.
The 900b, just like the 4150, has two batteries. The 4150b can run two batteries (running about two hours on wireless) if you remove the CD/DVD-ROM/Floppy, but since the 900b has no internal bays, it can run only one battery at a time. The batteries for the 4150b are in so-so shape. Running WiFi, one only lasts about 30 minutes while the other lasts about 1.5 hours or so. The batteries for the 900b last one hour for one and about two for the other...but only one at at time.
My old TL stated he never ran it on battery power and left the AC plugged int all the time. Since the batteries have not been used on a regular basis, they may very well give me 6+ months of use before they lose their usefulness. I have been trying to condition the batteries by alternating them and only charging them when they get below 50%.
Related to battery life, I noticed when I tried charging the battery the first time that the charging light on the 900b would only come on if a small amount of pressure was place on the left side wrist rest. Once the pressure was removed, the light would not flash any more. This worried me since a short could mean a fire hazard. I left it plugged in and when I came back to check on it, the battery light was on solid, not flashing...indicating a fulling charged battery. I fired it up and sure enough, it was charged. I tried the same thing with the other battery and the scenario was duplicated. I have not researched this much yet, but it appears that the charging circuit is functioning, although the external indicator fails to indicate it unless pressure is applied to the left wrist rest. No major worry for me...if that is all that is wrong with the 900b, then it will make a good replacement for my decrepit 4150b. I am sure it will make it back into the recycle bin...where it belongs.
HP Omnibook 900b
CPU - Intel Pentium III, 650 mhz Speedstep processor (500 mhz on battery, 650 mhz on AC)
HDD - 12 gig
RAM - base 64 megs, one DIMM slot (320 total RAM)
Video - ATI RAGE Mobility - AGP 2x (4 meg RAM)
Weight - 4.6 lbs
Display - 13.3 inches
More later.
When You Wish Upon A Star
I have been praying that this week would go smoothly and so far it has. Work, while in constant flux, is not too bad. Home life is pretty good, albeit full of activities. It seems that before I know it, it is time for bed.
My wife was at aerobics when I got home. There was no "honey do" list, so I just took care of the dogs (food/water/potty) and put some corn on the grill to roast. I did not get it quite done enough, but it was edible...a bit crunchy perhaps, but edible. My wife made it home right as the corn was finishing up.
We ate fried chicken salad with ranch dressing and chatted about our day. I washed the dishes while my wife took a breather. She was on the run all day long running errands and going to the grocery store. When I was done, I let the dogs back out for a little while and when 8:00 PM rolled around, I let them in and turned on VS TV to watch WEC WreCkAGE. Some might call it "UFC Lite" but I think it can stand on its own. A few of the names I recognize from the UFC (Frank Mir is one of the announcers) but most are new to me. I am seeing a level of talent that is sometimes lacking in the UFC.
When that was over I went in to the living room to see what my wife was watching. I honestly cannot remember since I kept falling asleep, so I just went to bed. My wife followed, but I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The morning routine was pretty normal. Just as I was pulling in to the parking lot at work, my BiC who I have been counseling, called to give me an update on the interview he went on. It was his third interview with the company (one on the phone, one local, and one at the main office). What he described to me was pretty weird...it may be better if he does not get the job. Too much personal detail to elaborate on...you will have to take my word on it.
As I got settled in at work, the Swede called me to let me know he was going to be in late. It seems the issue he was working on kept him up late (that and the fact that a lawyer from Sweden called him at 3 AM our time) and he asked me to track this one until he came in. I made a few phone calls and updated the ticket and the threat board with the pertinent data and will do so until he comes in.
During this incident, I got a phone call from another Swede who works in our building. He forgot his passport in his office and needed someone to bring it to him. I was flying solo here, so I could not leave but I was able to find someone to help. While the guy I found is not very happy at this moment (getting to and from DFW from here during rush hour takes about 2-3 hours), he is doing it. He most likely will be a bear when he gets back from that little excursion.
My wife was at aerobics when I got home. There was no "honey do" list, so I just took care of the dogs (food/water/potty) and put some corn on the grill to roast. I did not get it quite done enough, but it was edible...a bit crunchy perhaps, but edible. My wife made it home right as the corn was finishing up.
We ate fried chicken salad with ranch dressing and chatted about our day. I washed the dishes while my wife took a breather. She was on the run all day long running errands and going to the grocery store. When I was done, I let the dogs back out for a little while and when 8:00 PM rolled around, I let them in and turned on VS TV to watch WEC WreCkAGE. Some might call it "UFC Lite" but I think it can stand on its own. A few of the names I recognize from the UFC (Frank Mir is one of the announcers) but most are new to me. I am seeing a level of talent that is sometimes lacking in the UFC.
When that was over I went in to the living room to see what my wife was watching. I honestly cannot remember since I kept falling asleep, so I just went to bed. My wife followed, but I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The morning routine was pretty normal. Just as I was pulling in to the parking lot at work, my BiC who I have been counseling, called to give me an update on the interview he went on. It was his third interview with the company (one on the phone, one local, and one at the main office). What he described to me was pretty weird...it may be better if he does not get the job. Too much personal detail to elaborate on...you will have to take my word on it.
As I got settled in at work, the Swede called me to let me know he was going to be in late. It seems the issue he was working on kept him up late (that and the fact that a lawyer from Sweden called him at 3 AM our time) and he asked me to track this one until he came in. I made a few phone calls and updated the ticket and the threat board with the pertinent data and will do so until he comes in.
During this incident, I got a phone call from another Swede who works in our building. He forgot his passport in his office and needed someone to bring it to him. I was flying solo here, so I could not leave but I was able to find someone to help. While the guy I found is not very happy at this moment (getting to and from DFW from here during rush hour takes about 2-3 hours), he is doing it. He most likely will be a bear when he gets back from that little excursion.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Times Are A Changin'
We have a desktop computer about 4 years old or so, a 3 ghz Pentium with Win XP. When we acquired an older (Toshiba Tecra 9000 - 1.2 ghz, 512 RAM with Win 2k) laptop,I planned on using it as a Linux laptop. I was going to let my wife use the desktop and I would be mobile. Well, my wife had hinted (very strongly at times) over the past year or so that she was thinking that she might like a laptop. I thought about it and decided rather than spend money and get a laptop that she may or may not like, I would let her try the Tecra and see what she thought. Six months later, she is in love with the freedom wireless and mobile computing offers. The only out of pocket expense for this freebie was a slimline battery to augment the aging main battery that only gave about 30-45 minutes of wireless time. That battery we purchased was a refurb that only cost us $30, shipped (btw, Tech4less.com seems to be a very good company) and gives her at least 2 hours wifi time. She now only needs to fire up the big PC when she wants to print (using it as a print server) or grab files from the second hard drive we use as storage for documents, music, video and photos (Maybe we should get a NAS with print server capability).
Now, I find my self needing the desktop PC less and less. I was given an old HP Omnibook 4150b that was in pretty bad shape (keyboard was screwed up, display is scratch and faded), but it did have all the accessories (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, floppy, power supply, spare battery) and what it was missing (NIC and WiFi) I already had or I was able to scrounge from the scrap pile at work (memory and a power cord come to mind). Even though it looks like crap and eats batteries at an alarming rate (both batteries together give me about 2 hours of wifi access), it works for what I need the most from a laptop...internet and document creation. It maybe ugly, but it is portable.
"Hello, my name is El Gee and I am a netaholic."
"Hi El Gee"
When I get bored, I tend to find things to entertain myself on the web. Youtube, tech news sites, MMA blogs, friends blogs, all get perused. I would go into the office and sit for hours sometimes while my wife watched TV...normally shows I was not interested in watching. She would beg me to come sit with her (she really wanted my companionship), but I just cannot get into some of the cutesy shows she likes (animal shows, funniest videos, etc).
Having access to a laptop had helped me crawl out of my cave and at least sit near my wife when she needs the company. While this may sound geeky, we have (on more than one occasion) sat at the kitchen table, in bed, or on the patio, each with our laptops, checking e-mail and commenting on things we were reading at time. In a bizarre sort of way, two laptops have brought us closer. We actually spend more time together now than we did 12 months ago.
When I got the Omnibook, my wife asked me how it compared to her Tecra. I told her that the OB 4150 was junk compared to hers. She then asked me why I gave her the better laptop. "Your the geek..how come you did not take this one for yourself?" she asked.
That got me thinking. I used to take the nicest of the "toys" we had, simply because she did not need the features and I would most likely make more use of them than she would. However, the last two items in the tech arena we got (mobile phones and used laptops), SHE got the nicer of the two. To top that, I have plans on getting her a laptop for Christmas (barring major expenses) and I will take her Tecra.
"El Gee, are you nuts? You have stated many times in the past she is a noob...why give her the latest and greatest?"
One, love others as you love yourself...Christ's second commandment to us.
Two, I do not need all the bells and whistles on a laptop...yet. I have proven that, time and time again. If I can browse the web and create documents...then I am mostly happy. If it plays DVD's, even better.
Three, I use Linux, not Windows like my wife does. Linux tends to run better on hardware that is a few years old.
I envision the day when my wife and I both have more modern laptops and our office does not have a PC in it, but a "media and print appliance". I find my reliance on Windows waning fast, but the need for networked printing and storage growing at about the same rate.
I envision the "office" being more of a spare bedroom or "quiet room" when one us needs to do some serious work. I realize that this option is available today, but it is not in our price range...yet. We have greater needs (getting out of debt being the primary one) that need to be met first.
Now, I find my self needing the desktop PC less and less. I was given an old HP Omnibook 4150b that was in pretty bad shape (keyboard was screwed up, display is scratch and faded), but it did have all the accessories (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, floppy, power supply, spare battery) and what it was missing (NIC and WiFi) I already had or I was able to scrounge from the scrap pile at work (memory and a power cord come to mind). Even though it looks like crap and eats batteries at an alarming rate (both batteries together give me about 2 hours of wifi access), it works for what I need the most from a laptop...internet and document creation. It maybe ugly, but it is portable.
"Hello, my name is El Gee and I am a netaholic."
"Hi El Gee"
When I get bored, I tend to find things to entertain myself on the web. Youtube, tech news sites, MMA blogs, friends blogs, all get perused. I would go into the office and sit for hours sometimes while my wife watched TV...normally shows I was not interested in watching. She would beg me to come sit with her (she really wanted my companionship), but I just cannot get into some of the cutesy shows she likes (animal shows, funniest videos, etc).
Having access to a laptop had helped me crawl out of my cave and at least sit near my wife when she needs the company. While this may sound geeky, we have (on more than one occasion) sat at the kitchen table, in bed, or on the patio, each with our laptops, checking e-mail and commenting on things we were reading at time. In a bizarre sort of way, two laptops have brought us closer. We actually spend more time together now than we did 12 months ago.
When I got the Omnibook, my wife asked me how it compared to her Tecra. I told her that the OB 4150 was junk compared to hers. She then asked me why I gave her the better laptop. "Your the geek..how come you did not take this one for yourself?" she asked.
That got me thinking. I used to take the nicest of the "toys" we had, simply because she did not need the features and I would most likely make more use of them than she would. However, the last two items in the tech arena we got (mobile phones and used laptops), SHE got the nicer of the two. To top that, I have plans on getting her a laptop for Christmas (barring major expenses) and I will take her Tecra.
"El Gee, are you nuts? You have stated many times in the past she is a noob...why give her the latest and greatest?"
One, love others as you love yourself...Christ's second commandment to us.
Two, I do not need all the bells and whistles on a laptop...yet. I have proven that, time and time again. If I can browse the web and create documents...then I am mostly happy. If it plays DVD's, even better.
Three, I use Linux, not Windows like my wife does. Linux tends to run better on hardware that is a few years old.
I envision the day when my wife and I both have more modern laptops and our office does not have a PC in it, but a "media and print appliance". I find my reliance on Windows waning fast, but the need for networked printing and storage growing at about the same rate.
I envision the "office" being more of a spare bedroom or "quiet room" when one us needs to do some serious work. I realize that this option is available today, but it is not in our price range...yet. We have greater needs (getting out of debt being the primary one) that need to be met first.
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