For those of you who don't live in the lovely Phoenix, Arizona metro area, let me assure you that it's really quite miserable this time of year. I believe we're in the midst of a 29-day run of consecutive 110+ degree days. That's just disgusting.
It's times like these I thank my lucky stars for one Willis Haviland Carrier. You see, Mr. Carrier invented modern air conditioning, and he also founded the eponymous company that is still a $5 billion/year player in the global air conditioning market.
Air conditioning may be the single greatest convenience invention of all time, at least for those of us dumb enough to live in places like Phoenix. Trouble is, I'm so used to being comfortable inside all the time, when I go somewhere like New York, Seattle, or Portland in the summer, I'm just as miserable there because it's 80 degrees and humid indoors.
Air conditioning has turned me into a weenie, but at this point I'd rather be a cool, comfortable weenie than a hot, miserable anything else.
Friday, August 17, 2007
I'm getting too old for this
It had been a while since I pulled a 20-hour work day. And I was sort of ... fine with that. Since I am a Manager of Geeks instead of a Geek (and have been for a couple years now), I am usually able to con one of my wonderful employees into working all hours of the night to give our website a new feature or perform unfortunately necessary maintenance.
But I'm shy a Geek at the moment, and therefore had to answer the call yesterday. I arrived at the office around 7:30a, and left at about 3:00a the next morning. The commute home was pleasant and free of the usual gridlock, and PartsAmerica.com now has a lovely new keyword search engine, but my personal engine is idling a bit rough this "morning" (it's noon, but I just rolled out of bed a couple hours ago).
My conclusion? I'm getting old. I used to be able to do this all the time, with very little consequence. And I'm going gray, too - that's fun. Of course, I have known that was on its way since I was a wee lad with a rather grizzly (the adjective, not the bear) thirty-something father. A few years back, I naturally launched a preemptive strike against such follicular maladies and shaved the nog. But when I have to pull an all-nighter, it's usually because I've been working like a dog for a few days. And of course, the hair (including the hoary bunch) gets to sun itself for a few days while I eschew the razor to catch a few more Zs.
So I looked in the mirror this morning, on a meager few hours of sleep, and looked and felt a bit older than I probably ever have.
We're all 18 at heart, of course, but my heart is becoming a terrible liar.
But I'm shy a Geek at the moment, and therefore had to answer the call yesterday. I arrived at the office around 7:30a, and left at about 3:00a the next morning. The commute home was pleasant and free of the usual gridlock, and PartsAmerica.com now has a lovely new keyword search engine, but my personal engine is idling a bit rough this "morning" (it's noon, but I just rolled out of bed a couple hours ago).
My conclusion? I'm getting old. I used to be able to do this all the time, with very little consequence. And I'm going gray, too - that's fun. Of course, I have known that was on its way since I was a wee lad with a rather grizzly (the adjective, not the bear) thirty-something father. A few years back, I naturally launched a preemptive strike against such follicular maladies and shaved the nog. But when I have to pull an all-nighter, it's usually because I've been working like a dog for a few days. And of course, the hair (including the hoary bunch) gets to sun itself for a few days while I eschew the razor to catch a few more Zs.
So I looked in the mirror this morning, on a meager few hours of sleep, and looked and felt a bit older than I probably ever have.
We're all 18 at heart, of course, but my heart is becoming a terrible liar.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Think Geek (the website, not me, silly)
Allow me to share with y'all one of my very exspecial favorite-est websites, ThinkGeek. It's a fabulous place, with merchandise and humor for geeks of all kinds. Science geeks, programmer geeks, hacker geeks, sysadmin geeks, gaming geeks, math geeks... all welcome.
Some of my favorite goodies available for purchase:
Some of my favorite goodies available for purchase:
- The Solution
- Resistance is Futile (this one's for you, Dad)
- Version 2.0
- The Power Tie (quite literally)
- Metal Desk Catapult (the ultimate in cubicle warfare)
- The Ex (for those of you who dislike your no-longer-significant other)
- Bluetooth Handset (notice it's not a Bluetooth Headset)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Why I love do-it-yourself home improvement projects, and why I should almost always hire a professional instead
I like ripping things apart and putting them back together. As I'm sure my dad could tell you, as a kid I would delight in tearing into a spent piece of electronic gadgetry in a vain attempt to decipher its innards. I built computers in my early teens (not that hard, really - a very overrated skill), and starting building software professionally a few years later. I am a big fan of buying $200 guitars, gutting them clean and installing $500 worth of electronics, leaving only the original wood of the body and neck. I can't leave my cars alone, either - my beloved '97 BMW M3 has been tinkered with in too many ways, particularly the stereo and suspension.
But a house is just ever-so-much more permanent and expensive than all of those things. And consequently, big home improvement projects are more intimidating. But for reasons I can't explain, I hate paying people to do something I can theoretically do myself. Sure, it might take me 3 weeks instead of the 3 hours in which a licensed, bonded, and insured contractor could accomplish the task. But what's the fun in that?
Are my time, higher blood pressure, and reduced lumbar vertebrae life expectancy worth it? I mean, after all, I have an extra lumbar vertebra, along with a solid 20% of the likely-ignorant population. Perhaps that common sense gene (you know, the one that sits on the other leg of that second X chromosome we dudes don't possess) would come in handy next time, right before I dive wallboard-saw-first into my hallway computer niche.
Let's see - I obviously need to run some electrical, some RG6, some Cat5e. Clearly a wireless network isn't going to cut it, and I can't use an extension cord to reach around the corner. Of course not; that would be silly.
So over the last few weeks, I've been installing a few extra electrical outlets, a wired Gigabit network, some cable TV outlets, and some wall cabinets. I've cut some 30 square holes in the wall, lost every last bit of my right index fingertip's skin to a pair of 12" needle nose pliers, shocked myself to Tennessee a couple times (may have been Kentucky - wasn't paying much attention at the time), partially succeeded in drilling a hole in my other index finger, and had two wall cabinets rip themselves and their drywall anchors right out of the wall. Naturally, both finger bloodying episodes and the cabinet tumbling incidents came to pass literally within 5 minutes of being done with the respective projects.
So maybe next time I'll call a pro to spare myself the trouble. But then again, I always forget my home improvement history, and am therefore doomed to repeat it, as the fella says. I'm convinced that the same cells that control my brain's DIY memory are responsible for healing my ailing DIY body parts, and they eventually forget all when the bruises, scrapes, abrasions, and subluxations subside.
Oh well, I better stop typing - I need to go start replacing doorknobs.
But a house is just ever-so-much more permanent and expensive than all of those things. And consequently, big home improvement projects are more intimidating. But for reasons I can't explain, I hate paying people to do something I can theoretically do myself. Sure, it might take me 3 weeks instead of the 3 hours in which a licensed, bonded, and insured contractor could accomplish the task. But what's the fun in that?
Are my time, higher blood pressure, and reduced lumbar vertebrae life expectancy worth it? I mean, after all, I have an extra lumbar vertebra, along with a solid 20% of the likely-ignorant population. Perhaps that common sense gene (you know, the one that sits on the other leg of that second X chromosome we dudes don't possess) would come in handy next time, right before I dive wallboard-saw-first into my hallway computer niche.
Let's see - I obviously need to run some electrical, some RG6, some Cat5e. Clearly a wireless network isn't going to cut it, and I can't use an extension cord to reach around the corner. Of course not; that would be silly.
So over the last few weeks, I've been installing a few extra electrical outlets, a wired Gigabit network, some cable TV outlets, and some wall cabinets. I've cut some 30 square holes in the wall, lost every last bit of my right index fingertip's skin to a pair of 12" needle nose pliers, shocked myself to Tennessee a couple times (may have been Kentucky - wasn't paying much attention at the time), partially succeeded in drilling a hole in my other index finger, and had two wall cabinets rip themselves and their drywall anchors right out of the wall. Naturally, both finger bloodying episodes and the cabinet tumbling incidents came to pass literally within 5 minutes of being done with the respective projects.
So maybe next time I'll call a pro to spare myself the trouble. But then again, I always forget my home improvement history, and am therefore doomed to repeat it, as the fella says. I'm convinced that the same cells that control my brain's DIY memory are responsible for healing my ailing DIY body parts, and they eventually forget all when the bruises, scrapes, abrasions, and subluxations subside.
Oh well, I better stop typing - I need to go start replacing doorknobs.
I have a blog?
Why, hello there. I'm Dave, and I will be your pontificator this evening - can I start you off with a lame intro? This is my first foray into the blogosphere, which is quite pathetic given my penchant for all things geeky and/or (usually and) technology-oriented.
I have long resisted such a depredation on the self-publishing clique, as I was quite confident I wouldn't have a thing to say that anyone would read. Of course, that's probably still the case, but having rather enjoyed perusing the bliggity-blogs of my family members and friends, I suppose it's my turn to spew forth a few thoughts locked away in the ol' nog.
Stay tuned - perhaps I'll conjure up something slightly more coherent shortly.
I have long resisted such a depredation on the self-publishing clique, as I was quite confident I wouldn't have a thing to say that anyone would read. Of course, that's probably still the case, but having rather enjoyed perusing the bliggity-blogs of my family members and friends, I suppose it's my turn to spew forth a few thoughts locked away in the ol' nog.
Stay tuned - perhaps I'll conjure up something slightly more coherent shortly.
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