Musings on Everything from Cross Plains

The BLOG has moved!

2009-09-28T02:32:00.002-05:00

I have moved my blog to www.toddtown.com. Please visit my site where the blogging will continue!

Off To Kentucky and Indiana for Easter

2009-04-09T00:34:00.003-05:00

Ford Explorer loaded up, check. REALLY loaded up. Portable DVD player, check. iPods, check. Easter baskets and other stuff, check. Cell phones and chargers, check. Digital cameras and more chargers, check. Books and homework for kids, check. Electrical inverter, check. Clothes for 5 people for 5 days, check. Swim suits too, check. Cash, I wish :)

So now we are ready to head down to Kentucky and Indiana for an extended Easter weekend to visit family and have some fun! Bye-bye snow, bring on the thunderstorms!

And You Think You Had a Bad Day?

2009-04-08T19:31:00.001-05:00

WHITE HALL, Ark. (AP) -- A deer somehow survived being hit by a car near Little Rock, but that was only the first part of what soon became a very rough day.

On Tuesday morning in White Hall, the vehicle struck the animal on U.S. Highway 270.

Assistant Police Chief Richard Wingard says the injured large doe then charged into the glass doors of a travel plaza, ran about 100 feet through a hallway and crashed through a second set of glass doors, finding itself outside again.

The deer then ran into traffic on Interstate 530, where it was hit by a southbound vehicle. Somehow, the deer managed to run across the median and was hit by a northbound truck.

That proved to be enough for the deer, in Wingard's words, "to meet its maker."

No one was injured.

Back Home Again

2009-04-03T22:19:00.003-05:00

Nope, I haven't left Wisconsin in a while, though we will visit family next weekend. Home this time is the C programming language. I learned C a long time ago, moved to C++ in the early-mid 90's, and then to C# around 2001, and barely looked back. I always missed it somewhat, and occasionally did little projects of my own in C/C++, but C# has paid the bills for years.

Recently however I had the chance to dust off the trusty old C compiler for a project at work, a cross platform email MTA for Lotus Domino. It took a day or so to get back into the language, and quite frankly I am still struggling to quickly recall some of the C runtime functions. but it is coming back quickly. And the application that I am developing is nearly done, and very high quality to boot. I am pleased.

Last weekend we (the family) also bought a new Apple Mac Mini to replace our aging iMac G4 home computer. We sold a bunch of stuff on Craigslist to buy it, and are mostly pleased. If iPhoto 09' would quit taking a crap, all would be great. Apple quality is still very good, though their QA and past history of releasing nearly flawless software is just that, history. I do hope they get back to their old ways.

We copied all of our old pictures and other media from our server to the Mac for testing. All of our pictures and stuff are organized by the year, month and day they were taken. But, when copying the files over to the Mac, those original file time stamps were messed up. I could live it, but with my newly refound love of C, I decided to fix it.

About 800 lines of cross-platform bliss later, I have my first Macintosh program! It scans the media files and updates the dates to match. Nothing hard here, just a first for me. I still coded it on Windows and then ported (cleaned up really) the code to the Mac. First Mac application, first UNIX application in many years, and I am feeling good again. Now I am hunting for a good development environment on the Mac. By good I mean Visual Studio like, anyone? XCode still blows, though I guess I could get used to it.

Boat Seats Nearly Done

2009-03-22T20:11:00.003-05:00

We didn't get quite as much free time this weekend to work on the boat, as we needed to help Missy's brother Josh move today. No biggie there, we still owe him a ton for helping us do the basement construction last summer. But we did manage to get all the vinyl work done for the rear seating and tonight did the first complete test fit. It looks pretty nice, though Missy says she prefers the old seating better. I guess we'll see if it grows on her, and if not, there is nothing to stop us from going back to the older style.

Here are some pictures of what it looks like now.

The Boat Seats are Taking Shape!

2009-03-19T20:46:00.003-05:00

Missy, Halle and I tonight made our best boat seat so far! The picture below is the bench seat, and it came out great. We all pushed, pulled, stretched and contorted the vinyl into shape while I stapled it. This one is truly factory quality!

A couple of days ago I covered the "sundeck". It came out pretty good, though with the results we achieved tonight with the seat (above), I am thinking we will re-do this one.

She Runs!

2009-03-18T22:53:00.002-05:00

The one BIG thing we did not know about the boat was how, or even if, the engine ran. The boys at Rawhide had it running when they did their checks on it, but that was last summer. They did not completely drain the water and winterize it correctly, so we were concerned the block may have been cracked, which would cost me a minimum of $1000 and an entire weekend to fix.

My buddy Bob and his son came over tonight and we hooked the engine up to the garden hose and the Ford Explorer up to the battery leads (the boat has no battery). We primed the carb with a little gas and Bobby hit the starter. BAM!!! It sounded like a shotgun went off right next to my head as it backfired. It took me a couple of seconds to shake that off, so we tried again.

This time the results were much better. She started right up and ran great. There was a small leak from somewhere that I could not see, but Bob tightened it up and it stopped. We let it run for a while until my hands were almost frozen, then Tyler took over and held the hose in the intake. We let the engine run about 10 minutes and it purred quite nicely! Whew, what a relief!

Boat Progress

2009-03-17T22:28:00.010-05:00

We have all been busy with our little (okay, not so little) boat restoration project. The boat itself is a 1990 Mariah 1850XL, which is an 18 1/2 foot open bowrider with a 4.3 liter 175 horsepower Mercruiser V-6. We bought it a few weeks ago from Rawhide Boys Ranch. Our goal is to have it done and in the water in about 6 weeks, or whenever the lakes thaw, whichever comes first :)

As she looked last summer

The seats and all vinyl are shot and will be completely replaced. We started by pulling all the old vinyl off, which revealed mostly rotted plywood that will have to be replaced.

While planning how we would install new seats, my friend Bob suggested that maybe we could update the boat to a much more modern look. The original boat had back-to-back seating, and small jump seats on either side of the "doghouse". Most modern boats have a nice "sundeck" that covers the engine and provides a nice place to sunbathe and chill. A bench seat will provide 3-4 across, all forward facing, seating. That simple suggestion was all I needed to hear, I wanted it!

So I designed and built a new doghouse frame that would enclose the engine.
It is very strong and also very light. I also made similar, but much smaller, sections to go on either side of the doghouse. They all need to be easily removed to work on the engine, battery, etc.
That picture also shows the new front seats, but don't look at those yet :)

Since all seats will now be forward facing, we needed new helm seats. I found a brand new set on eBay for a fair price, and designed and built "boxes" to support them.
The pressure-treated 2x4 on the bottom uses the existing Mariah mounting bolts and brackets. Missy and I then covered the boxes with vinyl, and I installed Garelick 12-point swivels that will allow the seats to rotate 180 degrees. I had to design my own mounting system (4 oddly sized bolts) to get the seats mounted to the swivel, but it came out very nice.

All of the woodwork for the new seats is complete and we are now doing the upholstery work. I started the sundeck tonight and will finish it tomorrow. Here is what it looks like now.

Why Spelling is so Important

2009-03-10T09:26:00.002-05:00

We are having somewhat of a rough time teaching our oldest daughter to spell. She is improving a lot now, but just doesn't "get" why spelling is so important, a real fundamental element of a good education. I don't share this with her (she is 10), but this is a good example of just how important spelling really is.

Happy Birthday Halle!

2009-03-09T12:39:00.003-05:00

Today is Halle's 10th birthday! Wow, double-digits already! Did you ever think you'd spend part of your birthday weekend building boat parts? :)

I'm sorry that you had to go to school on your birthday, but I hope you enjoyed having fun this past weekend. I know this past year has been very rough on you, but you are pulling through like a real trooper! Your mom and I love you very much and hope you have a wonderful birthday!

All About Boats

2009-03-09T12:29:00.003-05:00

It seems that I have forgotten to update my blog lately, thanks dad for pointing that out! :) Actually we have been very busy, but lately our new family boat has been what is taking up our time. We bought a 1990 Mariah 1850XL from Rawhide Boys Ranch and have been working to get it all fixed up and ready for boat season, which we hope will start in about 6 weeks.

The boat is a 18.5' bowrider for fishing and skiing, with a 175 HP Mercruiser 4.3 liter V-6. As far as we know right now, the work we have to do is mostly cosmetic. We are replacing all the vinyl, and converting the standard back-to-back seating to the much more contemporary sundeck with bench seating style. It's a little hard to explain, but I will post some pictures here as we make more progress.

Here is some of the work we did last weekend.

The new "Doghouse" Cover. It supports the sundeck on top and provides the bench seating on the front.

Halle sanding the doghouse.

Halle waterproofing the wood. I supervised.

Get Real America

2009-02-24T21:33:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I just watched President Obama give his speech to congress about the economy and stimulus package. That guy can really put together words! In all seriousness, his speech tonight was very uplifting and encouraging, somewhat naive (though he knows that), and 100% exactly dead on. I like his no BS, tell it like it is approach. That is so refreshing!

One of my lifelong mantras is that I always buy American made product whenever I can. Yes, I know they cost more. Yes, I know sometimes they are not as good as other products, but often times they are far better. It is increasingly difficult to honor this pledge, but it is something we should all do.

It's funny how often I hear politicians talking about Free Trade Agreements, and about how we live in a global economy. Bullshit. What they should be talking about are FAIR Trade Agreements, not Free ones. Is it fair that American companies pay up to 100% tariffs for products sold in China, yet they are allowed to sell their lead-based crap here? Don't we have enough rubber dog crap and Nerf darts here already?

Is it okay for American companies to shut down factories in Detroit, build new ones just across the border in Mexico (or Canada too), and then come to congress with their hands out? Okay, let's just pretend we give them $20 billion, what are they going to do with it? Mismanage it? Develop new products that people worldwide want to buy? Get a clue and get with the times? Fire the entire upper-management that got them into this mess to begin with?

Based on recent history I would say a bit of mismanagement and developing new products. The upper-management is not going to fire themselves, they have too much pride for that. Okay, so I'm an eternal optimist. Let's say they stop laying people off (using our money to pay them of course), and retool to create some awesome new cars based on modern technology. They can do it, Americans can do it. Once these cars are designed, now what? Are they required to build the cars and batteries in this country, or will they be looking to outsource those jobs too? Remember, America and specifically OUR MONEY is what is going to buy them the time to develop these products. Are they going to turn their backs on us when it comes time to build them? They will, and they must be stopped. Stimulus money going to car companies should have more strings attached than a marionette. The jobs MUST stay here, end of discussion.

Likewise, the banks that are receiving billions had better start lending it. Their failure to lend money is one cause of the death spiral we are in. If they are getting stimulus money, they must be required to lend it and stop the cycle. They must be required to loan it to average Americans, not just those with ultra high FICO scores and those that don't really need it. Hell, a revamp of the whole FICO scoring system should be made into law, but this is for a previous blog entry. Any system that rewards people for bad behavior should be abolished.

So that is how things should work, but what about reality? The reality is that we cannot depend on anyone in government, auto execs, or banks to get us out of this mess. Not even President Obama. His intentions are good and he is inspiring, but even as president, his power to actually make change is limited. It is up to us. So how do we turn this country around?

It's quite simple really, BUY AMERICAN. Look at the tags on clothes and the labels on boxes. Commit to only buying American made products. Forget WalMart, until they feel it in their bottom line they will not be offering many American Made products. Support your local companies. Don't always look for the cheapest item on the shelf. The better item will likely cost a little bit more and be made right here. If you cannot find what you are looking for that is made here at your local retailer, find it online, and give UPS or FedEx a few bucks to ship it to your house.

A global economy is bullshit. Like it or not, the entire world follows us. When we are doing good, chances are so are they. Look at the world economy now. We are in the tank, and so is the rest of the world. When we emerge from recession, the rest of the world will too. And if they don't? So what. Think about fair trade, not free trade. It's okay in my mind to occasionally buy products from other countries if those countries have established fair trade agreement with us, tit for tat. Hey, I love a nice Porsche as much as the next guy.

We are the only ones that can break the cycle. Government and banking don't get it, and even if they do, they don't care. Companies understand money, we must speak with our checkbook. Buy a Ford (one that is made here) instead of a Nissan. You just kept a few hundred Americans employed. They can now go out to eat lunch at a restaurant that is still open, and tip the waitress a buck or two. She can spend that money getting here hair done, and the hairdresser can buy a new copy of Windows (wait for version 7) to install on his computer. The programmers at Microsoft can now do some home improvements, and the construction workers and contractors can now buy a new Chevy truck.

No matter how many people are involved, or how big the circle is, we are all connected in this way. Take any one of the people and/or jobs out of the equation, and the economy is exactly what we have today, a mucking fess.

I Am Not Crazy

2009-02-22T18:09:00.002-06:00

A lot of my friends and family tell me they think I am crazy. I like to fly airplanes, ride motorcycles, and have been skydiving and bungy jumping. But today in Madison they did something that I have absolutely zero interest in doing, the Polar Plunge!

They do it to raise money for charity. That's good, but these girls are totally nuts! The picture pretty much sums it up. The fire department breaks a huge hole through the ice covering Lake Mendota. Ambulances, police divers, and firefighters are present in case something goes really wrong. Nothing ever does, thankfully, but I think they should have some shrinks on hand because something is definitely wrong with these girls!

A Very Sad Anniversary

2009-02-20T02:33:00.001-06:00

Today marks a sad anniversary for our family. One year ago this evening, Mike Guillickson (Halle's dad) was killed in a tragic snowmobile accident in Blue Mounds, WI. He was doing nothing wrong, was not drunk, was wearing a helmet, and in fact was stopped or nearly stopped while waiting on some friends to catch up to him. Another snowmobile jumped over a small hill, and struck Mike in the head and chest, killing him almost instantly.

Mike and I were fairly new friends, having known each other for just over a year before he was killed. I liked him a lot, we had a lot in common, and I have no doubt we would have become good friends over the years. I had known his sister Kelsi for many more years, and have gotten to know his other sister Heidi much better since the accident, as well as most of the Gullickson family. I am fortunate for this, but like everyone else, I also miss Mike and his almost always smiling and friendly face, his frequent and funny telephone calls. Mike and I had a really good conversation, about 15 minutes or so, on the phone just 3 hours before his death.

He had called looking for Halle, who had sort of played hooky from school and was shopping with Missy. Mike had played hooky from work to go snowmobile riding, and was making his daily rounds of cell phone calls to his friends and family. We joked about how you should never waste a sick day when you are actually sick. Hell, if you're sick go to work! Take sick days when you feel great and want to do something fun. We chatted for a while about high school, and then he said he was going to call Halle on Missy's cell phone. We said goodbye for the final time.

He did get a hold of Halle and they spoke for a while. One of his favorite sayings was "Never say goodbye without saying I love you". So I have no doubt those are the final words Halle ever heard him speak. This past year has been one of ups and downs for Halle, and the rest of the family too. Breaking the news to her about her fathers death was the hardest thing Missy and I had ever done in our lives. Halle has had a tough year, but she has also shown signs of amazing resilience. She remembers her father in nothing but a glowing light, exactly as she should. He was a very good dad to her for several years, following a rocky beginning. He was a good man, a great dad, and a friend to MANY. It would have been very hard to not like "Gulli".

So today my thoughts and best wishes go out to Halle, Heidi, Kelsi, Chick, Julie and the rest of the Gullickson family. Thanks and wishes also go out to Mark Pattinson for being a best friend to Mike (and us) and organizing The First Annual GulliFest, Dave Best at Throttle Masters (Proved that big tough biker dudes can cry and still be bad ass), the class of Dodgeville High School, Jodie Klare at Park Elementary School, The Crusaders, Loners, and CC Riders motorcycle clubs, and The Ridgeway Riders snowmobile club. Collectively everyone has helped in their own small (or big) way to make this year just a little better for Halle and everyone else that loved Mike.

So tonight, before you go to bed, say a little prayer for Halle and for Mike. I hope that he is looking down upon her and is happy with the awesome young lady that is emerging from the little girl he helped raise. I hope he approves of my step-daddying skills, and knows I am trying my best to raise her well and give her the quality of life she deserves.

We miss you Mike...

Very Beautiful!

2009-02-17T23:17:00.004-06:00

While surfing the web tonight looking for my next great hobby, I stumbled upon Demons Cycles, a company that specializes in manufacturing and selling motorcycle parts for the custom bike builder.

While pouring through their fantastic web site, I stumbled upon this. The sleek lines and classic curves just yelled out to my inner animal. The wide stance and beautiful, bold colors jumped off the page. The smooth and sexy shape just screamed bad-ass! The fit and finish is incredible, the black trim offset nicely by the softer colors.

Oh yeah, the motorcycle is pretty hot too!

25+ Random Things About Me (From Facebook)

2009-02-03T20:06:00.002-06:00

1) I was born in Evansville, Indiana. I consider it a good place to be FROM. I joke that my parents found the hole in the fence when I was young enough to not have been tainted by being born there.

2) I have lived in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Washington state, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Wisconsin.

3) My accent is a strange mix of Wisconsin and Southern.

4) I have lived in St. Louis, Missouri 4 different times in my life, 78-84, 94, 96, and 2001-02. When people ask me where I am from I usually say St. Louis, though I have actually spent more time in Wisconsin than any other state.

5) Despite the harsh winters and short summers, Wisconsin is by far my favorite place to live. I will live the rest of my life, die, and be buried here. I cannot pinpoint exactly what I love about Wisconsin, it is likely a combination of friendly people, low crime, great schools, 4 seasons, and many other little things that just add up. I feel more at home here than anywhere else.

6) I have owned about 10 different motorcycles in my life, but probably rode them less than 5,000 miles total. My daughter Delaney says I only like motorcycles that are broken. There is a lot of truth to that. I enjoy working on them as much, maybe more, than actually riding them.

7) I have been a licensed pilot since 1988, and earned an instrument rating in 2006. I started flying aerobatics last summer.

8) I have started building 5 different airplanes, but sold them all before completing them.

9) I hate the prefixes "ex-" and "step-". I prefer to call Janelle my first wife, not ex-wife. Halle is my daughter, not my step-daughter. I firmly believe that once you are family you are always family. I encourage my family to continue their relationship with Janelle, and vice-versa. This has mostly worked out just fine.

10) My parents divorced after 37 years of marriage. They are both much happier now and we are all very happy for them.

11) I drink very little, usually only on New Years Eve. I probably don't drink a 6 pack the rest of the year combined.

12) When I was young I wanted to be a police officer. This lasted all through high school, I was in the Charlotte Police Explorers for many years. I still often think that I should have done that instead of getting into programming. Usually only during periods of unemployment :)

13) My Grandpa Bill was and always will be my hero. My dad is a very close second.

14) My dad and I are very close now, but we had a pretty rough relationship when I was a kid and teenager.

15) After high school I lived with a very rough group of friends. We (myself included) had some pretty nasty drug habits. Most of them are now dead or in prison. In the end, this experience somehow made me a better person.

16) I enjoy home remodeling, even though I often get very frustrated and cuss a lot when working on projects.

17) I only buy cars from GM, Ford or Chrysler. I will never buy a foreign car, even if they are made here. However, I have owned a couple of Porsche's just because I love them.

18) I prefer pickup trucks to just about everything else, except Mustangs and Corvettes.

19) I do not, and will not, shop at Walmart. I think they are an evil company and refuse to give them any of my business. My wife disagrees.

20) I am a recovering Republican. I voted for Obama this past year, the first time I ever voted for a democrat. I still think Reagan is the best president we ever had.

21) I am a perfectionist in almost everything I do. This often gets me into trouble. I just believe there is a right way and a wrong way to do something and cannot stand mediocrity.

22) I think Windows Vista is a steaming turd, but love the beta of Windows 7. Go figure.

23) I will not buy or use technology that uses DRM (Digital Rights Management). If a CD, game or music download has DRM, I skip it. If I buy something I expect it will always work and don't like to be bothered or harassed by my music player, DVD player, or computer.

24) I am agnostic, not an atheist. I simply do not know if God exists, and quite frankly, neither do you. But that is why they call it faith, right? So I am lacking faith, but not morals or scruples.

25) I am married to my very best friend in the whole world. I consider myself a very lucky man. I have a nice home, a lovely wife, and 3 great daughters. Everyone is healthy and happy. I consider it my greatest life goal to make sure I take care of them. A great man once said that life is not about what you take out of it, it is about what you leave behind.

BONUS

26) I am not rich, and have never been rich. But I have been poor. Trust me, being middle-class is just fine.

27) My favorite motorcycle is the Harley-Davidson Softail FX-STD, though I have never owned one. My favorite of the ones I have owned is the Suzuki VS1400 Intruder. I wish I had never sold it.

28) My all time favorite car is the Ferrari 308 GTSI. I of course have never owned one, nor driven one.

29) My granddad served under General Patton in World War 2 as a tank driver. He did not talk to anyone much about his experiences during the war until a few years before his death. He told me a lot one night while we were watching the move "Patton". Pretty horrible stuff. My dad remembers him waking up screaming in the night when he was a child. He told me that night that he had killed many German soldiers, but the only thing that haunted him all those years was having to shoot a young boy that was going to blow up his tank. He never shook that memory.

30) My Grandpa Bill was the finest man that I ever knew. He was the son of an alcoholic father and both of his parents died when he was very young. He was raised by friends of the family. Despite this beginning, he grew up to be a man that did not drink or smoke, worked very hard for very little money, and raised 2 kids and supported my grandma when she went through some tough mental issues. He never faltered or failed and was always smiling and happy, at least on the outside. He taught me how to drive, play poker, cuss, and shoot a gun. He loaned me money for my first car and my pilot training, and would not allow me to pay him back even though I tried. He was the best grandpa a bunch of us kids could ask for and we all miss him dearly.

31) My dad is also a hell of a good man. I did not understand it when I was a kid why he worked so hard and so long. It seemed like he wasn't around that much, but in reality he was. He had to work very hard to provide the kind of life he wanted for his family, and I had a very good life growing up. I can see this now, though I did not see it then. I understand now what I didn't back then.

32) I think King Kong is the best movie "monster" ever created, but Godzilla is a very close second.

33) My favorite author is Dan Brown, and favorite book is "Angels and Demons". I cannot wait for the movie, May 15th at a theater near you!

34) Other than computer programming books, I read very little, and almost never for pure enjoyment.

35) I think True Blood is the best TV show ever made. Californication is also good, and I love "My Name is Earl".

36) I wish Hollywood would make more G-rated movies. I also wish Missy and I had more time to see R rated ones.

37) I have never seen Star Wars beginning to end, and have never watched a complete episode of Star Trek, much to the dismay of my computer programming friends.

38) I am a master of C, C++ and C#. I also know PHP, Perl, and x86 assembly language. I can program in Visual Basic too, but usually don't admit to it. I consider it a beginners language, and have little (professional) respect for people who making a living out of it. At some point you have to take off the training wheels, even if you fall flat on your face a few times.

39) I hate creating web sites/pages. I can do it, and can do it well, but I hate it, truly despise it.

40) I write too much, like 40+ answers to 25 Random Things About Me :-)

Bye Bye Charter

2009-02-01T08:56:00.002-06:00

On Friday I noticed the headline of the local Madison newspaper said that Charter Communications (our cable, Internet and telephone provider) is almost $7 billion in debt and may be filing for bankruptcy. The primary investor, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, may also be looking to sell the company. I could not help but crack a little smile. I feel bad for the people that work there, but I would not miss Charter at all, they are near the top of my list of companies that I truly hate. They do literally nothing right, or not well enough. They are a television company that has no clue about HD, provide Internet access to the entire city using a single DNS server that often goes down, and generally have way overpriced services because they are a virtual monopoly here.

The DVR (Digital Video Recorder) they offer is pathetic, full of ads while you are trying to find a show to watch or record, service that is flaky (especially during football games for some reason), and has a very small 160GB hard drive. The machine is always complaining that it is full and telling me to delete some shows. This in a day when 2TB (terabyte) drives can be had for less than $100. There is just no excuse for this level of incompetence. When your business is TV, you had damn sure better do it very well. So with half-baked TV, they branched out into Internet service and telephone, which is only marginally better than their TV service.

The icing on the cake came when I opened the latest bill from them on Friday, $255. It used to be $197, which is a lot but included TV, Telephone and Broadband Internet, so it was sort-of worth it. When I called their customer service I was told that my 6 month promotional pricing had expired and this was the new price. The guy offered to put together another similar package for me, but the price was still much more than we previously paid. The bill also included 2 DVR's, though we only have one. Last month I returned an old SD receiver for a HD receiver, which is supposed to be $5/month. The person there much have entered it as a HD DVR, because they charged me $30 for it. The "customer service" guy that I spoke to insisted that I must have 2 DVR's and could not correct the bill. To straighten this out I will have to go to the Charter office on the other side of Madison.

Well I will be visiting their office next week for sure, when I return all of this equipment and cancel my Charter services. I contacted TDS and have scheduled an installation of their telephone and DSL service, with DISH Network satellite TV. The DSL will be a little slower than Charter, but still fast enough. The TV service should be a LOT better than Charter and their DVR is also much more capable and modern. I locked into a 2-year agreement with them for about $130/month, roughly half of what Charter is now charging me.

Some companies are so poorly run that they deserve to go out of business. Circuit City was one of them, Charter is another. I hope they do fail because they priced themselves right out of the market and have been totally and completely beaten by their competition.

Kentucky Ice, Windows 7, and Remodeling

2009-02-01T08:41:00.002-06:00

This has been a busy week around the Osborne house. Last weekend I installed the beta of Windows 7 on my Media Center (DVR) computer and it worked great. So well in fact, that I also installed it on my home development computer, which is also working great. After totally hating Windows Vista (other than Media Center), it is refreshing to see Microsoft making some great improvements as they work closer to the next version of Windows. Windows 7 is much faster than Vista, and quite possible even faster than Windows XP, so far so good.

My family in Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana got hit hard by the big ice storm and have been without power for 5 days now. Those in Indiana are okay now, but my dad in KY is still without power. After not being able to contact him for 2 days I almost drove down to KY myself on Friday, but they were able to call just before I was going to leave. I planned to take them a generator, gasoline and other stuff. Instead, Missy and I were able to locate a generator for them in Champaign, IL and bought it yesterday at a Menards in Madison. My dad is going to drive the 4 hours today to get it, and then 4 hours back home. They have heard that it may be up to 3-4 weeks before they have electricity.

On the house front, I finished painting the upstairs bathroom yesterday, reinstalled the wood trim, a new toilet, replaced the electrical outlets and switches, and installed a new sink drain. Today I need to install the new shower doors and the bathroom will be finished. There are many more little jobs to do as well, but the house is looking very nice now.

Ick!!!

2009-01-26T20:50:00.002-06:00

So yesterday I decided that I would paint the upstairs bathroom, red. Missy had already primed it with a grayish primer and it was calling my name. I applied the first coat and a lot of primer showed through, so I knew a second coat was needed. Missy painted behind the toilet where I could not reach, but neither of us could get behind the tank. I decided to just take the tank off and paint it right.

SON OF A BITCH! The tank only gave moderate resistance to being taken off, one bolt was a little rusty, or shitty, or both, but it came off. I removed the tank and almost lost my lunch. The amount of crap, hair, and generally nasty, funky crap back there made me want to puke. I wiped it a little just so I wouldn't have to see it any longer, and Missy finished it off. The paint then went on quite nicely.

Missy and Halle purchased antique brass fixtures to replace the old wooden ones, and I made a trip to Menards to buy a new light fixture that would match, and some more paint. I am on a first-name basis with the people at Menards at this point. Kelly in plumbing also helped me pick out a new shower door and glass, the old one is shot. It of course matches the new fixtures. I have never installed a shower before, so this should be interesting. I got the painting almost done yesterday, but being a worknight I had to cut it short about 11PM. I plan to finish the job this week so I can enjoy the Packer-less, Panther-less, Jet-less Superbowl on Sunday.

Can You Feel Obama's Change Already?

2009-01-24T09:48:00.001-06:00

I certainly do. Bush is back in Texas, and that is a good start! Here you go Texas, you can have your village idiot back :)

When God Created Wisconsin

2009-01-24T00:30:00.001-06:00

And God Said...

"Today, I am going to create a land called Wisconsin. It will be a land of outstanding natural beauty; a land of countless glaciers, pure lakes, each one full of fish. It shall have tall majestic pines, peacefully flowing rivers, beautiful landscapes, tall grass, eagles, clear blue skies, forests full of bear, elk and moose, rich farmland and fair minded people".

God continued, "I shall make the land rich in resources so as to make the inhabitants prosper and they shall be known as a most friendly people, people who practice being Wisconsin Friendly every day."

"But Lord", asked Gabriel, "don't you think you are being too generous to these people of Wisconsin?"

"Not really", replied God, "just wait and see the winters I am going to give them".

Only 48 Hours Until the Reign of Premiere Bush is Over!

2009-01-18T11:00:00.002-06:00

Yep, exactly 48 hours until Obama is sworn in and we rid ourselves of this pathetic excuse for a president. And possibly the best part, the vice president will be sworn in 10 minutes before that! So, goodbye Cheney, may you retire in private and keep your mouth shut. Check that ego at the door, you're outta here! Maybe you can take George hunting some day :)

I will miss the Bush-isms though, and the nearly daily laughs I received listening to this moron try to sound intelligent. Did he really think he was fooling anyone? I watched part of his farewell speech the other night and he still doesn't get it. He really believes he has been an excellent president. In all fairness he may have done some things right, but I can only remember one of them, deciding to attack the Taliban after 9/11. Yep, I think that's about it. And that has, so far, only been done half-assed. I still have not seen Bin Laden's head mounted anywhere.

Bush is leaving office with us still fighting 2 wars, a national debt over 10 trillion dollars, a yearly budget deficit in the hundreds of billions of dollars and our economy in shambles. I know Obama is not going to be able to fix this overnight, but we all need to give him a longer honeymoon period to prove that he can. I think we will do just that. Things will not turn around in 2009, but I am very hopeful that by 2010 we will be back on track on every front, and I feel condident that will happen.

I also hope that Obama is allowed to serve out his terms in office. There are enough crazies out there that I do fear for him. Hoping for the best, only 23 hours 42 minutes left for Bush, but who's counting? :)

Al Gore Can Kiss My Ass!

2009-01-14T22:34:00.003-06:00

Global Warming? What is this "Global Warming" you speak of? Maybe you need to leave Tennessee for a while and visit, oh, I don't know, WISCONSIN! Holy Crap!

They Get It!

2009-01-14T17:52:00.004-06:00

They get it, my new company "gets it". Granted, I have only been here a couple of days, but that has proven to be enough time to determine that Quest has a much better understanding of "correct" software development than most of the companies I have worked for in the past, especially recent past. The code that I have been reviewing is pretty darn good, has comments, is formatted consistently, and has unit and functional tests written for it. The style is not my own of course, but it is consitent and easy to read and follow.

My manager, like me, very much believes in Test Driven Development. That is developing code using this simple principle to create much less buggy software, giving the end-user a much better experience with the program. It takes a little bit longer initially to create the code, but the end result is high quality code that ultimately took less time to write because it was bug-free to begin with. It is nice to have a manager that see's things this way, instead of one that I have to do constant battle with because he doesn't "get it".

I am just getting going here, but it appears I will soon be able to contribute a lot to the team and add significant value to the product. And the best part is, I don't have to do any web development, ever! I am perfectly fine not creating boring old web pages and "web applications". Give me the low-level grunt code any day and I will be happy.

On the personal front, it's been a while since I have written about finances. I have just been so busy lately, my little hobbies tend to take a back seat. Missy and I did find a nice little gem on the Internet last night, a site called CreditKarma. It allows you to see your credit score and has a FICO simulator. It is not perfect, but it is still a very nice tool. The price is right too, 100% free, paid for my targetted advertising on the site. I highly recommend it.

We are hoping to refinance our house. Yes, already. The rates are nearly 2% lower now than when we purchased the home in July, and we can lower our payments by $250 every month! We are submitting the paperwork tonight and hopefully will have this wrapped up the first part of February, which would give us 2 months without a house payment!

The credit cards are, once again, completely paid off. I know I have said this before, but we (all of us) need to stop using them. However, CreditKarma also did some research that showed people that used 10-19% of their available credit had up to 60 point higher credit scores than people that had 0 credit utilization, literally the difference between a 720 FICO score and 660, which is huge. I think that should be illegal, but it appears that that is exactly how the credit scoring system works. So what is more evil here, having 0 credit card debt and a lower FICO score, or a little credit card debt and feeding those monsters? I don't have an answer, though the new iMac and iLife suite from Apple is looking very appealing! :-)

Home Remodeling Update

2009-01-11T12:00:00.013-06:00

We have been working real hard the last week on completing some of our home remodeling tasks, mostly painting, but also some electrical changes and replacing the old patio drapes with new vertical blinds. So here, in no particular order, is some of what we have been doing.

The Old Dining Room Ceiling Fan. Also note the off-white EVERYTHING paint.

The New Dining Room Fixture and Tan Paint with White Ceiling

We started by painting the ceilings a much better white. The painting project had its "moments". I had just finished painting the hall gray and was half way through the family room when Missy yelled "STOP. It's Purple!" She was right, the "gray" paint was drying purple. Do over...

Purple Hall

Purple Family Room

The purple had to go, so we made a trip to our local hardware store and bought "Papala", a brown-tan color. The results were much better!

Tan Hall

Tan Family Room

We watch a little too much HGTV and TLC, so we had to add an accent wall!

The Kitchen is Now Blue. Missy added stickers to the existing tile to spruce it up.

The New Microwave

So that is what we have been up to. Here are a few more random shots of how it all came together.

Dining Room

Foyer. We don't think the original "green" paint we chose works any longer. That will be a near future project to repaint it and the stairs going down to the basement.

The Old Foyer Fixture and Hideous Wallpaper!

The New Foyer Fixture and Green Paint. It will have to be changed now.

New Hall Fixture Too

Another Magazine Going Down the Crapper

2009-01-06T23:23:00.002-06:00

I just read on Slashdot that Dr. Dobbs Journal, a long-running magazine for computer programmers, will no longer be printed. It will be on the web only. That is a shame, as it is one of the last very good magazines and sources of quality information for professional programmers, and has been printed since 1976.

That means I officially have no magazine subscriptions any longer. I refuse to pay for web based magazines because that is not how I like to read them. I don't sit at my computer and read that kind of stuff online, it's just too hard on the eyes. And let's be completely honest here, I read magazines in two places... in bed and on the crapper, neither of which has a computer anyway. Sure, I could take a laptop in those places, but I don't personally own one, and refuse to buy one for myself until they make them as light as a magazine and don't burn the crap out of my legs when I use them. And no, my Motorola Q or iPhone is not a suitable way to read a magazine either.

Newspapers are in trouble, magazines are going away, and we have the wonderful web to thank for it. Ultimately we will be left only with half-baked, half-assed news and information written by people that have no business writing or teaching. This is sad day in computer history.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T11:12:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! 2008 is finally over, thank God, and 2009 promises to be a great year. We have a lot to look forward to in 2009 and we wanted to welcome the new year in proper Wisconsin style. Missy, June and I headed out for a night of partying at Sheltons and Kurts on Main. It was a little slow early on, but got crazier and more fun as the night grew late. Everyone had a real good time, and despite me having turned 40 at midnight, I am recovering quite nicely this morning. I honestly don't remember everything that happened last night, but we did manage to make a wonderful rap music video and snap some pictures. Enjoy the video!

Final Blog for 2008 and While Still in my 30's

2008-12-31T10:31:00.010-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! This is the final blog entry for 2008, and the last blog entry that I will be able to write while still 30-something. 13 hours from now I will hit the big 4-0! I still cannot believe that. My mind is still a teenager, my body is about 65, so I guess 40 is just an average :-) I suspect that the hangover tomorrow morning will take me just a little longer to recover from than it did last year.

We have been busy in the Osborne house this last couple of weeks, so I will summarize here what we have been up to, starting with the most recent. For those of you that have been to our wonderful home, you know we are still suffering from 85-year-old-lady-itis. That is the need to make our home that was owned by an old lady into a home for a totally cool and hip family. We have been making some nice progress lately, with much more to come over the next 2 weeks.

The biggest thing that has been stuck in our crawl was this horrible abomination of beige and stained steel that was our stove vent. It was a HUGE hunk of metal, with nasty grease and God knows what else permanently stuck to it. I cannot even describe this beast, but here is a picture of it:

The picture does not even do it justice. It was just horrible, and I am sure it was almost as bad when it was new. It had to go. So we came up with a plan. We would move the cabinet above the refrigerator left 2 feet, move the cabinet that was there to go above the stove, and move the existing microwave cabinet down 6 inches. I would also have to move 1 electrical outlet and install one new one. Maybe a picture will help:

Missy was horrified as I started demolishing the kitchen, but in a couple of hours we had made a ton of progress, and she was able to relax.

Missy Horrified

Me telling Missy "I've Never Done This Before"

The "Vent Monster" is Gone!

But we made good and steady progress.

Measure 10 Times, Cut Once

Almost Done

And just like that, it was done! To my complete and total amazement, all of the holes and bolts lined up perfectly on the first attempt. The new microwave itself is a Samsung that we bought with our Christmas and birthday money (Thanks Mom, Dad and Grandma!). Not an expensive one, but a HUGE improvement over what we had before. Eventually all of the appliances will be brushed metal and black, but for now the beast is gone!

We also bought paint to finish the upstairs. I start my new job with Quest Software on January 12, and am officially on severance now from Workflow, so we plan to get some real work done between now and then. We are going to paint the ceilings and all remaining walls upstairs in the family room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. I will post before and after pictures as we go.

In other news... We all had a wonderful Christmas. I found out just before Christmas that I was going to be offered the job with Quest, which took a huge weight off my shoulders. Santa Claus was very nice to the girls this year and brought Delaney and Halle each an Acer One notebook computer they wanted, and got Bug a DVD player and MP3 player that she never puts down!

Delaney Could Not Stop Jumping Up and Down!

Bug Loves Her DVD and MP3 Player

Halle Cried Tears of Joy When She Opened Her Laptop!

The girls of course also got many other great presents from Santa Claus and their grandparents. So everyone got what they wanted, the girls with their laptops and other electronics, Missy got a new digital camera (though we had to return it, but will get another one), and I got a good job! Yes, life in the House of Osborne is very good, even though the King will turn 40 tomorrow! ICK! :-)

Enough Already! Just Kidding

2008-12-19T16:11:00.007-06:00

We had the worst snow storm of the season last night, and it dumped about 16" of fresh snow on our lovely little village. It was rare storm, heavy snow with lightning and thunder. It hit about 2AM, and did not stop until about 10AM. I was up, so I watched the storm roll in, and it was quite impressive. I could not even see my neighbors house, which is only about 80 feet from my window. It even prompted us to go out this morning and buy a snow blower, as I have just barely recovered from shoveling from the storm last week!

So here are some pictures and videos for my redneck, err I mean Southern, family members. If you need just a little help getting in the Christmas spirit, maybe these will help. Or you can at least be thankful that you don't live in Wisconsin :-)

Yes, It IS as COLD as it looks!

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder and Bella

Me and the New Snow Blower. It's Small but Mighty!

My Truck is Under There... Somewhere

Yes, that is a dog driving the plow!

A Drive Through Cross Plains

Missy Playing with Bella and Thunder

The Timex Sinclair 1000

2008-12-19T00:33:00.003-06:00

When I talk about growing up with computers, and my early programming days of my childhood, I usually recall fond memories of the Commodore VIC-20 and Commodore 64. But the truth is, my first computer was the Timex Sinclair 1000.

The one pictured here has the 16KB RAM expansion module. I had nowhere near the money to buy that at 12 years old, so the one I had contained the standard 2KB of RAM, and the BASIC programming language built into ROM. So I had basically 2KB to work with.

It also had a membrane keyboard and common BASIC programming language commands like GOTO and GOSUB could be entered by just pressing one key. These computers were TINY, much smaller than anything out today, and weighed just 12 ounces. They had a Zilog Z80 CPU that ran at 3.25Mhz, and video output using an RCA video connector to hook up to a TV where it displayed text only at 22x32 resolution. There were no disc drives available for it, so you had to store the programs that you wrote or bought on cassette tapes using a standard tape player, or in my case, a ghetto blaster.

This worked more or less, as long as you turned the treble way up, and the bass way down. You did tend to lose a lot of work, but it was better than nothing. The Timex Sinclair 1000 is the North American version of the Sinclair ZX-81, from British based Sinclair Research Ltd. They are nearly identical, except for the name on the front, and minor motherboard layout differences. The first Sinclair computer was the ZX-80, released in 1980 for $200.00. It was still very popular when they came out with the improved ZX-81 in 1981. By mid-1982, Timex was selling the ZX-81, renaming it as the 'Timex Sinclair 1000'.

The motherboard of the Sinclair 1000 had only 4 Integrated Circuit chips, including the Z80 CPU. It would have been easy for even a kid to build from a kit, but Timex never offered the Sinclair 1000 in kit form, though it's predecessor, the ZX80, could be bought in kit form for a $20 savings.

The rest of this entry is from BYTE magazine, the January 1983 issue.

The Timex/Sinclair 1000

Billy Garrett
POB 18806
Greenboro, NC 27419-8806

Many BYTE readers own a personal computer, just as I do. And like many readers, I justify the cost of the computer by using it for word processing, mathematical programs, job-related applications, and even games. But if you're as addicted to computers as I am, you will eventually do something that you may never be able to explain - buy another one.

Sure, I could easily explain such a purchase if my old computer was too slow or unable to do the things that the new one could, but that's not the case at all. That excuse is reserved for some 16- or 32-bit processor that isn't on the market yet. The fact is I suddenly found myself buying a Timex/Sinclair 1000. And what's worse, I already own a Sinclair ZX80! Clearly, this was going to take some creative explaining.

At first, I thought I could convince people that I bought it for experimentation, but that argument is a little shaky. I concluded that the only way to justify the purchase was to write a review of it.

As most of you know, the Timex/Sinclair 1000 is essentially the same as the Sinclair ZX81. What you might not know is that all along Timex has been building the ZX81 for Sinclair. Under either name, the Sinclair people seem to have outdone themselves in designing it. It is similar to the older ZX80, and ZXSO users can upgrade their computers to the full capabilities of a T/S 1000.

In this review, I will first give you a general idea of what the unit is like. I'll then take you on a trip through the inner workings of the hardware. Finally, I'll try to compare the BASIC interpreter against some known standards. When I'm finished, I hope you'll see why the T/S 1000 fascinated me, and why I bought one.

General Characteristics
The T/S 1000 comes completely assembled and tested for $99.95. At one time, if you wanted to save $20 and spend a few hours assembling a computer, you could have ordered the Sinclair ZX81 kit. But Sinclair has now stopped selling the ZX81 and has allowed Timex an exclusive market in the United States. You can expect the new Sinclair Spectrum color computer to be handled in the same way. Sinclair will sell them exclusively for a while, and Timex will then take over the marketing.

The basic T/S 1000 package consists of the unit shown in photo 1 plus patch cords for a recorder, a connection wire and switch box for your TV, a manual, and a transformer. An optional 16K-byte RAM (random-access read/write memory) pack is also shown in photo 1.

The computer is easy to set up and use. Clear instructions show you what to do, and practically anyone should be able to set the computer up quickly. The accompanying manual is well written. Although it is not too simplistic, people with no knowledge of computers will be able to read it.

The T/S 1000 must of course be hooked up to a television set to be useful. The display, made up of black characters on a white background, has 24 lines with 32 characters per line. The two bottom lines, however, are used by the BASIC interpreter. Therefore, you really have only 22 lines. Within the character set are several graphics characters that are useful for games and charts, The cursor on the screen acts as a prompt and appears ar a reverse video K, L, F, G, or S, which shows how the computer is going to interpret the next key entered. It will be interpreted as either a keyword, a letter (or number or symbol), a function, a graphics symbol, or a letter to correct a syntax error (if you make one, that is!).

Photo 1: The Timex/Sinclair 1000 computer with the optional 16K-byte RAM pack, which attaches to a connector on the right rear of the computer. The basic unit powers the RAM pack. (Photo courtesy of Timex Computer Corporation.)

The cassette interface is simple and reliable. You can name programs when you save them, and have the computer search through the tape and find a specific one, or just load the next one found.

The most restricting thing about the computer is the keyboard. I am used to typing, and it is impossible to type on a keyboard as small as this one. Also, each key can signify up to four things (a letter, a BASIC keyword, a function, or a graphics symbol). Although the keys are well marked, it is hard to remember which key does what. Some of the keywords, like Delet'e and Edit, are in awkward places. The keys themselves provide almost no tactile feedback and are closely spaced; you constantly have to look at the screen to see if you have pressed the right key.

At A Glance

Name
Timex/Sinclair 1000

Manufacturer
Timex Computer Corporation
POB 2655
Waterbury, CT 06725
(203) 574-3331

Price
$99.95

Dimensions
6 5/8- inches wide by 7 inches long by 1 1/2-inches high (16.8 by 17.7 by 3.9 cm)

Processor
Z80A, 8-bit, 3.25-MHz clock frequency

Memory
2K-byte RAM standard; 16K-byte RAM optional ($49.95); 8K-byte ROM included

Mass Storage
Cassette I/O, only program storage and loading; no BASIC controlled I/O

Display Used
Standard television set (RF modulator included); 32 black-and-white characters per line, 24 lines; the user cannot use the bottom two lines, which are reserved for the BASIC interpreter's use

Other Features
Membrane keyboard; built-in modulator (for TV); includes ail cables and transformer

Documentation
l54 pages, spiral-bound manual

Software Included
BASIC in ROM

Software Options
Various application programs avaitable on cassette

Hardware Options
16K-byte RAM ($49.95);
electrostatic printer ($99.95);
telephone modem ($99.95)

Audience
Students, businesspeople, or anyone else interested in learning about computers for a very low cost

Also, although it's hard to use the keyboard as you would a typewriter, it is not very easy to use as a calculator either. Most calculators have a Function key that accesses a function written above certain keys. With a calculator, you just press the Function key and then the key you want. The Shift key on the T/S 1000 serves the same purpose, but you must hold it down while you press the key you want. This means you have to use two hands. It would be easier if the Shift key could be used as on a calculator.

T/S 1000 BASIC is fairly easy to use. BASIC keywords can be entered with just one keystroke, but that's the only way these keywords can be entered. Line numbers from 1 to 9999 can be used. Multiple statements per line are not allowed. Error codes and program lines start on the bottom two lines of the display and work their way up the screen. Because the error codes are displayed as numbers, you will have to look them up in the manual to see which error occurred.

A nice feature is that the names of most variables can be any length. LONGNAME and LONGNAME2 are different and distinct variables. The T/S 1000's string- handling capabilities are nonstandard, as will be explained later. All things considered though, T/S 1000 BASIC is powerful.

Finally, the T/S 1000 has a 90-day warranty, which should help most users if they find out that their computer is actually a lemon. Timex also offers a one-year extended warranty for $12. This offer is good only for people whose warranty hasn't run out, or those who have just had their unit in for repair. Timex even provides a computer club, open to all T/S 1000 owners, that will keep them up to date on any new developments, hardware and software products, and special offers. One last thing, because the T/S 1000 is being marketed everywhere, a good shopper can probably find it for a bit less than $99.95. I haven't even looked hard and I've seen it for $87.

The Insides: The Less, The Better
The T/S 1000 uses state-of-the-art circuitry. Only four ICs (integrated circuit chips) are inside the small enclosure, as is shown in photo 2. These four ICs, along with an IC voltage regulator; two transistors; several diodes, resistors, and capacitors; a video modulator; and the membrane keyboard, make up the entire unit. One big change between the ZX80 and the T/S 1000 (ZX81) is a custom 40-pin IC made by Ferranti (a large British semiconductor manufacturer), which replaces 18 ICs that were in the ZX80 and adds additional logic circuitry. This chip is called the SCL (Sinclair Computer Logic). The new logic circuitry inside the SCL allows the T/S 1000 to display a picture continuously on the TV, even when the computer is executing a program. This is a big improvement over the older ZX80 that couldn't display a picture while executing a program; the screen would go blank every time a program was run or any time you pressed a key.

Photo 2: The small circuit board inside the Timex/Sinclair 1000. Note that in this photo some of the chips have been put in backward so that you could read what's on top. The silver plate on the bottom left side is the heat sink. The connector in the right rear is for expansion. The three jacks on the left side are for power, tape in, and tape out. The two small connectors that are part of the right front of the board are where the keyboard is connected. The other parts are clearly labeled. (Photo courtesy of Timex Computer Corporation.)

The Microace company sells a modification for the ZX80 that allows a ZX80 owner to have the equivalent of a T/S 1000. Unfortunately, although the additional logic board is small and contains only seven ICs, the board won't fit inside the ZX80's case. But if you really want the continuous display, the upgrade is only $29.95 from Microace (see table 1). It works fairly well, but the board is not made by Sinclair, and I had problems with it. Microace was prompt in responding to my request for help, but its response was that I must have assembled something wrong or that something wasn't working properly. The latter turned out to be the case. After I replaced a 74LS00 chip, the modification board worked fine.

The basic T/S 1000 unit comes with 2K bytes of static RAM (random-access read/write memory). This is the only difference between it and the Sinclair ZX81; the ZX81 had only 1K bytes. In either case, this is hardly enough to do any serious programming because the display shares this RAM with the program. A program that fills the TV screen will quickly run out of display room when the program is run. The BASIC interpreter uses 124 bytes of the RAM for its own internal processing, and the display can occupy a maximum of 727 bytes of memory. That leaves 173 bytes for a program in the ZX81 and 1197 bytes in the T/S 1000. Of course, because the display is not hard-mapped to one location in memory, it occupies only as much memory as it really requires.

In addition to the RAM, there is an 8K-byte ROM (read-only memory) chip in which the character generator for the display and the BASIC interpreter reside. The character generator occupies about 512 bytes of the ROM; the rest is used for the BASIC interpreter and the I/O (input/output) procedures.

The central processing unit not only has to execute the BASIC interpreter, but also must handle the TV display. This is accomplished through a clever arrangement. After each instruction is fetched from memory and executed, the display circuitry accesses the ROM and loads the bits

Information on the flicker-free board for the Sinclair ZX80:

Microace
1348 East Edinger
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 547-2526

Monthly newsletter:
Syntax
The Harvard Group
RR 2, Box 457
Harvard, MA 01451
(617) 456-3661

Bimonthly magazine:
SYNC (Published by Creative Computing)
39 East Hanover Ave.
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
(201) 540-0445

Schematics, etc.:
Heuristics
25 Shute Path
Newton, MA 02159

Table 1: The addresses of some companies that might be of interest to owners of the Timex/Sinclair 1000 or the Sinclair ZX81.

of the character to be displayed on the screen. The bits are then serialized and sent to the TV with that custom-made 40-pin logic chip. The processor must coordinate this activity, which requires a lot of its time. Because of this, the T/S 1000 offers two modes of operation available to the user: SLOW and FAST. When the unit is turned on or when a NEW command is executed, the display enters the SLOW mode. This means that the display is on continuously, even during the execution of a program. If you do not need to have the display on all the time, you can use the FAST mode. In this mode, the display is on only when a program has finished running or when the unit is awaiting input. The manual states that the difference in execution speed of the two modes is a factor of about four, but in every test that I have run the difference is almost a factor of six. I haven't run any benchmark programs, but even in the FAST mode this is about the slowest BASIC interpreter I have ever used.

The design of the circuit board is interesting. The current revision has provisions for different types of RAM chips to be plugged into the board. The ZX81s came with two 2114 chips, for a total of 1K bytes. The T/S 1000 uses a single 2K-byte RAM chip. When you need more memory, you can buy the 16K-byte RAM pack for $49.95.

One of the most exciting things about the T/S 1000 circuit is that the ROM socket was designed so that larger-capacity ROM chips could be plugged in. If you are familiar with the standard ROM pin arrangements, you know that with a 24-pin package the maximum size of a standard, nonmultiplexed, byte-wide ROM chip is 8K bytes. Well, Sinclair has already wired the board for a 28-pin package, which would allow a 16K-byte ROM chip. Although Sinclair has not commented on the possibility of a 16K-byte ROM for the T/S 1000 or its successor, you can be sure that someone is thinking about it. A 16K-byte ROM would increase the capabilities of the T/S 1000 greatly, but it may be a while before we hear anything about that possibility.

Unlike the keyboard in the ZX80, the T/S 1000 keyboard is not an integral part of the main circuit board. It thus can be easily replaced, and Sinclair could design a more conventional "full-travel" keyboard and offer it as a replacement. I, for one, would like a better keyboard; and with more than 200,000 T/S 1000s and ZX81s in existence, Sinclair stands to make lots of money on any good accessories. Current plans, however, include only a printer and a modem.

T/S 1000 BASIC
The new 8K-byte BASIC included in the T/S 1000 is remarkably powerful for being just 7.5K bytes long (remember that the character generator occupies 512 bytes of ROM). Tables 2 through 5 list all the available commands, while table 6 includes some commands that are common for BASIC but not implemented in this version.

Function	Type of Operand (x)	Result
ABS	number	Absolute magnitude
ACS	number (-1 <= x <= 1)	Arc cosine in radians
AND	binary operation AND	A AND B = A (if B<>0) = 0 (if B = 0)
ASN	number (-1 <= x <= 1)	Arc sine in radians
ATN	number	Arc tangent in radians
CHR$	number (0 to 255)	The character associated with a given code
CODE	string	The code of the first character in string (or 0 if x is the empty string)
COS	number (in radians)	Cosine
EXP	number	Exponential function (e^x)
INKEY$	none	Scans the keyboard once and returns the character if a key is pressed or returns the empty string if no key is pressed
INT	number	Integer part (always rounds down)
LEN	string	Length of string
LN	number (x >= 0)	Natural logarithm
NOT	number	NOT x =0 (if x <> 0) =1 (if x=0)
OR	binary operation	A OR B =1 (if B<>0) =A (if B=0)
PEEK	number (0 <= x <= 65535)	The value of the byte in memory whose address is x
PI	none	3.14159265
RND	none	The next number in a pseudorandom sequence of 65,535 numbers
SGN	number	Sign of the number ( - 1, 0, 1)
SIN	number (in radians)	Sine
SQR	number (x => 0)	Square root of x
STR$	number	The number x returned as a string
TAN	number (in radians)	Tangent
USR	number (0 <= x <= 65535)	Calls the machine-code subroutine whose start address is x; on return, the result is the contents of the BC register pair
VAL	string	Evaluates the string as a numerical expression
"-"	number	Negation
Table 2: Some of the functions found in TlS 1000 BASIC.

Symbol	Operation
+	addition
-	subtraction
*	multiplication
/	division
**	raising to a power
=	equals
>	greater than
<	less than
<=	less than or equal
>=	greater than or equal
<>	not equal
Table 3: The binary operations included in TS/1000 BASIC.

The manual does a good job explaining the language, and it is interesting to note how this manual was developed. First, there was a British version for the Sinclair ZX81, which naturally tended to use British colloquial expressions. That manual was much more interesting than the subsequent American Sinclair or Timex versions, although all are equally informative. For example, at one point the author of the British version refers to photo 2 and writes, "As you can see, everything has a three letter abbreviation (TLA)." I thought this was a rather amusing comment, and most of the examples are humorous also. This is a good way of making the novice feel a little more relaxed while he or she is trying to learn what all those darn abbreviations are for. Unfortunately, the humor was carefully excised from the American manuals, even though the manuals are exactly the same in content and number of examples. Any one of these manuals, however, is an excellent introduction to BASIC. The many examples and exercises should make it easy and fun to learn.

The manual is mostly devoted to BASIC, but it also covers some rather intricate details of the BASIC interpreter. One interesting point about the manual is that it not only tells you which bytes in memory are used, but also what they are used for. This documentation is helpful if you are going to write any machine-language routines. This is a useful piece of information for them to include, something that many other companies can't or won't do because of their agreements with the authors of their BASIC interpreter.

T/S 1000 BASIC does differ substantially from the Microsoft variety that many of us are acquainted with. This BASIC was apparently written by a group of Cambridge (England) mathematicians. The biggest improvement that this 8K-byte ROM has over the 4K-byte ROM that was standard in the ZX80 is that this version handles floating-point numbers. Also included are the usual functions, such as SIN, COS, and LN, that are standard with most BASICs. This version, however, suffers from one really bad problem - string irregularities.

Most people who have used BASIC are accustomed to string functions like LEFT$, RIGHT$, MID$, or other functions like these. For example, LEFT$(NAME$) allows you to examine the first letter of a name. But the T/S 1000 uses what they call slicing notation. A few examples will clarify this immediately:

LET A$ = "SINCLAIR"

PRINT A$(1 TO 8)
would print: SINCLAIR

PRINT A$(3 TO )
would print: NCLAIR

PRINT A$(1 TO 1) + "ILLY"
would print: SILLY

Command	Function
AT	Used in a PRINT statement to specify the position of the cursor.
CLEAR	Deletes all variables, freeing the space they occupied.
CLS	Clears the display file.
CONT	Continues if the program has any executable lines left.
COPY	Copies the contents of the screen to the printer. The COPY command will not change the display.
DIM	Reserves enough memory for an array of the given dimension and deletes any arrays already set up with that name.
FAST	Increases execution speed by turning the display off when a program is running.
FOR a = x TO y STEP z	Executes a FOR/NEXT loop and deletes any other variable that will conflict with the loop variable a; will count from x to y by increments of z.
GOSUB	Pushes the line number of the GOSUB statement on a stack and calls the BASIC code starting at that line number.
GOTO	Jumps to the specified line or the next one after that number.
IF exp THEN s	If exp is true, then s is executed, and s must be a statement.
INPUT v	Stops and waits for the user to input an expression.
LET	The variable assignment statement.
LIST	Lists the program on the screen.
LLIST	Same as LIST, except that it goes to the printer.
LOAD f	Loads a program called f. Loads the first program if f is null.
LPRINT	Same as print, except routed to the printer.
NEW	Deletes any program lines and variables, setting aside all memory up to the top of available RAM or to the system variable RAMTOP, whichever is lower. Also enters the SLOW mode.
NEXT	Ends a FOR loop.
PAUSE n	Stops computing and displays the display fiie for n frames (at 60 frames per second) or until a key is pressed.
PLOT x,y	Blacks in pixel x,y and moves the print position one space to the right of that pixel (resolution: 64 by 44).
POKE m,n	Replaces byte at location m in memory with byte n.
PRINT	Prints whatever you specify in the print statement on the screen.
RAND	Seeds the random-number generator.
REM	Makes that line a comment statement, which is ignored by the computer. This is useful for placing machine-language subroutines in REM statements since they don't move about in memory.
RETURN	Pops the number from the GOSUB stack and returns to the line after it.
RUN	Runs a program beginning with the line you specify, or the beginning if you don't.
SAVE	Saves the program, variables, and other system information on tape.
SCROLL	Scrolls the display file up one line, replacing the bottom line with a NEWLINE character.
SLOW	Leaves the display on all the time, even during the program execution. The computer powers up in this mode and returns to the SLOW mode whenever a NEW command is executed.
TAB	Prints at this position, Must be used in a PRINT statement.
UNPLOT x,y	Whitens out the pixel x,y.

As you can see, the slicing notation takes the number of characters that you specify in the range given in parentheses and prints them. If the first or last number is left off, it assumes the beginning or the end of the string respectively. This is not at all hard to get used to, but it is nonstandard.

One really good feature is that the strings can be any length, but string names are limited to one letter followed by the string symbol "$". You can get more than 26 strings, though, by dimensioning them. When you do so, however, you must specify how many characters are going to be in each string. For example, if you type DIM X$(2,20), you get two strings each with a length of 20 characters. This too is nonstandard for BASIC.

One bad point about the T/S 1000 is its lack of compatibility with the old ZX80 programs (written using the 4K-byte ROM). The programs will run, of course, but the user must make some minor modifications, type them in again, and save them on cassette tape.

As a cassette-based machine, the T/S 1000 has certain limitations. For example, this BASIC does not allow you to save values of some of the variables without saving all the variables and the program too. In fact, the entire state of the machine is saved when you execute a SAVE command, so that you can get right back where you were after loading the program and typing CONT. This limitation of the SAVE command makes the T/S 1000 difficult to use with programs that require saving data, but it is convenient for the novice. One limitation is that the SAVE command must not be nested inside a GOSUB. Another limitation is that cassette I/O is slow, and the T/S 1000 is not a likely candidate for a floppy-disk interface mainly because of the expense. Certainly, a floppy disk could increase the capabilities of the T/S 1000, but who would buy a controller and disk for $400 when the basic computer was only $100? But we don't know what Clive Sinclair will be up to next... a microfloppy for $100?

The actual process of entering a program is easy for the novice but exasperating for the experienced computer user, because BASIC keywords can be entered only by using a one-key abbreviation. If you want to enter RUN, you just press the R key and then the NEWLINE key, instead of pressing R, U, N, and then NEWLINE. It will take a while to learn the location of each keyword. Some are in awkward places. The RUBOUT (delete) key is a shifted 0. Frequently, I forget to press the Shift key before I press the 0 key.

Command	Function
EDIT	Edits the current line.
Up arrow	Moves the current line back one.
Down arrow	Moves the current line forward.
Right arrow	Moves the cursor forward.
Left arrow	Moves the cursor backward.
BREAK	Stops execution of a program.
NEWLINE	Terminates every line.
RUBOUT	Deletes the last character or keyword.
GRAPHICS	The next keys pressed will be interpreted as graphics symbols.
FUNCTION	The next key pressed will be the function written below the key.
Table 5: Editing commands found in T/S 1000 BASIC.

AUTO	LINEINPUT
DATA	MEM
DEFSTR	MID$
DEFINT	ON ERROR
DEFSNG	ON x GOTO
DEFDBL	PRINT # (to cassette)
ELSE	READ
FNDEF	RESTORE
INPUT#	RIGHT$
LEFT$	USING
Table 6: Some common BASIC commands missing from T/S 1000 BASIC.

Like the ZX80, the T/S 1000 has 40 keys. The keyboard can be accessed in a BASIC program either through an INPUT statement or through the INKEY$ function.

One more nonstandard feature is that the character code set is totally unique to the T/S 1000; it's not ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange). For example, in ASCII the letter "A" is represented by 41 (hexadecimal); the T/S 1000 refers to the same letter as 26 (hexadecimal). Making this unit into a terminal would take a little hardware and a considerable programming effort.

If you want more information on the T/S 1000, ZX80/ZX81, or the Microace computer (no longer made), see table 1 for addresses of these companies. Also, two other articles on these computers have appeared in BYTE. They are "The MicroAce Computer" by Delmar Searls, April 1981, page 46, and "The Sinclair Research ZX80" by John C. McCallum, January 1981, page 94.

Conclusions
Although T/S 1000 BASIC is different, it is powerful for such a small, low-priced computer. I think that anyone who buys it won't be disappointed. It does, however, suffer from its lack of standardization and omission of powerful BASIC functions. The TV interface works very well, and the display can easily be read on almost any TV. The membrane keyboard makes the computer difficult to work with for long periods of time. The cassette is easy to use for simple program storage, but it is limited and will hamper many application programs. The major use for this computer will probably be for learning about BASIC or computers in general. The computer itself has limited expansion capabilities, and the keyboard is too small and cramped for any serious work.

Snow My God!

2008-12-17T13:36:00.002-06:00

I love snow, really I do. I am still a kid at heart and love to play in snow, ride sleds with the kids, even shoveling it can be fun. When you live in Wisconsin, you had better love snow, it's a part of your life about 1/2 the time. We got a mini-blizzard last week, and have had several 4-5" snows since then. Today is sunny, the calm before the storm. Tomorrow we are supposed to get 8-11" and then 2-4" each day for the next 3. It's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The Definition of Cold Front

2008-12-14T11:35:00.004-06:00

If you've ever wondered what a "Cold Front" is, maybe this picture can help to explain it. It's going to be 47 degrees here in Wisconsin today, so a lot of our snow will probably melt. But look at tomorrow... Our high will be 9! Oh the joy of living here, you just never know what to expect from Mother Nature.
In other news... I am looking for a new job and had several phone interviews and one face-to-face interview last week, and now have many very good prospects. It looks like the career change to driving a truck may be on hold :-)

The one real interview was very interesting. It was with Solidworks, a company that develops 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) applications, something that I have always really loved. I would probably be placed in their Labs group, developing new ideas that may or may not make it into the product, testing new technology and developing it. This would be VERY cool, I am quite sure I would really love this type of work. Development would likely be done in C++ and C#, and I have a friend that has worked there for a year and a half and he really loves it. I may even have the opportunity to learn Macintosh development, something I have wanted to learn for years. It would also be a great chance to hone and develop my own complex math and geometry skills, something I have not used at all since college but was always told "you need to know this stuff". Maybe they were right...

I also spoke with Inacom about an in-house development position. This is where Paul Heuring works and he referred me to this position. It too sounds fun, but we have not yet progressed to the actual interview stage, though I am hopeful that will happen this week. This position would be pretty close to ideal too, working on multiple short-term type projects in a wide variety of fields, using various development tools. It does not sound like it would get boring quickly at all.

After initially being contacted by their recruiter in California over a week ago, I finally did get the chance to speak with one of the two local hiring managers at Quest Software. Quest is where a very good friend of mine works, and they create some wonderful tools mostly to fill voids in major application vendor products (Microsoft, Oracle, etc). This would primarily be a C++ development position. The manager that I spoke with late Friday is not the one that I need to speak with. The manager that is looking for developers lost his voice, but the other one wanted to make contact with me to let me know the other definitely wants to talk to me, hopefully early this week. That was very nice of him to let me know that, and we had a very nice hour-long chat about the company and the type of development they do out of the Madison office. One very positive thing to come out of that conversation was learning that they practice and preach "Test Driven Development". In essence, they practice quality, they do not just preach it!

So that is where things stand now. Nothing concrete just yet, but I am very hopeful that I will ultimately have a decision to make between multiple offers, possibly as early as this week.

In other news, my mom turns 60 tomorrow! That is wonderful, but it also means I turn 40 in 2 weeks! Not so wonderful :-) We went to Bill and Bonnie's Christmas party yesterday. This was the first Christmas without Mike Gullickson, (Bonnie's son, Heidi's brother, and Halle's dad), since he was killed last February in a snowmobile accident. Paul and Heidi Heuring were there with their kids, so Paul and I talked "shop" about the job above, but we also played Ping Pong and had a few "interesting" drinks. Everyone had a real good time, but I know Christmas this year without Mike will be hard on everyone in the Gullickson family, especially Halle.

I do wish money grew on tree's! All of the girls want these new sub-notebook computers for Christmas, like the Acer One. They are real notebook computers, but have 9" screens and run Windows XP. They are very cool! They also cost $350 each, which isn't bad, until you multiple by 3! :-) All I want for Christmas is a good job, and an iPod Touch!

The First Blizzard of the Winter

2008-12-09T09:13:00.004-06:00

My dad says we live in Wisconsin just to prove it can be done :-) Well, today I have to agree with him. We are getting a lot of snow, even by Wisconsin standards. It's wonderful, and the kids are out of school too, something that truly takes an Act of God around here!

We Love Winter!

2008-12-06T16:36:00.004-06:00

Despite a brutal windchill factor, the girls convinced me to take them sledding this afternoon at St. Francis Church. It was cold but we had a lot of fun!

When Did Programming Become So Boring?

2008-12-05T21:17:00.004-06:00

When I was a kid in the late 70's and early 80's I got addicted to computers. Not just computers, but programming specifically. Some of my friends were really into the hardware, contrasting the benefits of the 6809 processor in their Tandy to the "lowly" 6502 in my Commodore VIC-20. I countered that I had the same processor in mine that the great Apple IIe had, so my computer must be just fine. We were all wrong, and in the end all of our little spats amounted to nothing. The Intel 8086 and 8088 CPU were the best, though none of us could afford computers (the IBM PC) that had those chips.

But how we loved our little computers, and spent all of our waking hours (including those we should have been sleeping), hacking on them, learning fast and furious. My best friend Dave was seriously into hardware, so he was always messing with electronics and built his own Heathkit computer. I was obsessed with how to program these little beasts, and buried myself in 6502 assembly language programming and BASIC.

I had a few books and a lot more magazines, and learned how to program by having Dave read source code to me from Compute's Gazette magazine while I furiously typed it into the VIC-20. We even developed our own variant of the English language to make this process go faster. For instance, Dave would say "Set C string to 1", to which I would enter C$="1". The intended end result was usually a simple game we could play on the VIC-20. The actual end result was often a complete waste of time, because either the program did not work, the cassette tape drive failed while I was trying to save our work, or the game was just plain boring. So it was a waste of time, right?

Not at all. Even though the program may not have worked, I was learning to program a computer. As my own knowledge expanded, fixing the bugs became easier, and finally second nature. I learned to recognize them as soon as I typed them and would say "Dave, you sure about that?" To which he would normally respond, "Sorry dude, that should be GOSUB not GOTO". The programs usually worked much better.

Eventually I got bored with typing in other peoples code and started coming up with my own creations. I learned about POKE and various other "advanced" programming concepts including CPU registers and memory mappings. So now I was changing the font that was displayed when I typed letters or making the screen show boobs in 4 colors. Life was good!

Then I learned a little more about hardware and made a circuit board with a relay (all purchased at Radio Shack for pennies of course) that I could send current to via a POKE into a memory address. Some address in the VIC-20 when set to 1 would cause a small voltage to go to the external expansion port. I learned it was enough current to switch a relay, which could then pass 12 volts from a car battery to a model rocket engine igniter. This was cool! Now I had a T Minue 10 Second counter program that when it got to 0 would launch a rocket! I was 12 years old and a freakin' rocket scientist!

The I got my mom to buy me a 110 baud modem so that my computer could calls Dave's, which was located 3 houses down from mine. We had to write our own communications software, so I wrote 2 versions, one for my VIC-20 and another I wrote on Dave's Tandy Model 3. It only took about 1 day to write the software, but probably 3 more weeks before our computers could actually "talk" to each other, but they did. Holy crap this was fun! We had two computers talking to each other over a telephone line! This was crazy stuff back then.

Then Dave got a girlfriend, damn him. Never to fear, my other friend Evan was as big a geek as me, though his area of expertise was in electronics, and bomb making. A couple software changes later, from Evan's computer we could launch a model rocket attached to my computer from the other side of St. Louis!

Could we put one of Evan's bombs in a model rocket and launch it from the Apple IIe lab at our high school? We did not know the meaning of "rhetorical question" at that age. The answer is YES! YES you can put a small bomb in a model rocket that has enough Estes D12-0 engines, and launch it from the football field while safely in the confines of the school computer lab. And yes, when the bomb goes off at 500' you can still REALLY hear it. Yes, even though we were laughing our asses off, we still managed to run all the way to my house before the cops showed up. We never got busted for that one, I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations is up by now.

That summer, probably the summer of 83', I got my first real computer programming job at the age of 14. My dad ran a bunch of jewelry department stores and they needed a way to print those little price tag things that are attached to rings and watches and such. Not only would I get paid $2/hour (probably by my dad, not the company), but I would get to program on the most excellent computer EVER MADE, my dad's company had an IBM PC! I could hardly wait for my first day of work.

My dad gave me the specifications, likely the first "Functional Spec" I ever had. 3 lines of text had to be printed on these little stickers, a stock or item number, some other number, and the price. I was sort of upset, it only took me an hour or so to create the software that would print those labels. I modified it to let people enter the information before printing, be able to print many of them at once, save their settings, etc. But in the end, it really only took me a couple of days before I had achieved what they needed. I fumbled around the office for a few more days, playing with the TTY machine and its thermal printer and 300 baud modem, and made my VIC-20 call the TTY and use it like a remote printer. It was fun, but the goal had been achieved. Back to $1.85/hour at Baskin-Robbins working for the child sex offender, Mr. Burns :-)

In late 84' we moved from St. Louis to Charlotte, NC. Nobody there was into computers. When I went to school I sort of learned why. I was in the 10th grade and they were learning the stuff I had learned in St. Louis in 3rd grade. For whatever reason, depression over moving, new friends that did not share my love of computers, something, I just quit playing with computers. I packed them up and put them away and did nothing with computers until 1988, when out of boredom in college I pulled my IBM PC Jr. out of storage and started banging away on it again. Fast-forward 20 years, I am still banging on computers.

I have often heard "The good old days were not as good as you remember", and this is probably true. I look back at that period of my life as some of the best times I ever had, though at the time it probably did not seem that way. 20 years from now I will likely look back on today and remember it fondly, though that is now it feels right now.

I miss the challenges of constant and rapid learning. Sometimes I even think I lack the desire or even ability to grasp new things. Maybe my brain is full, I cannot fit anymore "stuff" in there. New programming languages come along, new environments to play in, but it is all the same, over and over again.

New ways of doing the exact same thing I have been doing for 20 years. Show a screen, get the user to enter some stuff, validate it, show errors, dump it into a database, repeat. We had DOS with text mode screens. Show a screen, get the user to enter some stuff, validate it, show errors, dump it into a database, repeat. Then we had Windows and Mac OS. Show a screen, get the user to enter some stuff, validate it, show errors, dump it into a database, repeat. Now we have the web. Show a screen, get the user to enter some stuff, validate it, show errors, dump it into a database, repeat.

Where is the fun? Where is the challenge? When Did Programming Become So Boring?

Thanksgiving and House Pictures

2008-11-29T18:59:00.003-06:00

We had the joy (seriously) of hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our new home this year. We had a very full house and everyone had a great time. We took lots of pictures and I sort of realized after the fact that I never actually posted any pictures here of all the changes we made to the house, so far. We are constantly customizing it and "de-old-lady-fying" it. Here are the highlights so far...

Here is what my office that my dad, Missy's brother Josh, and I built. It is still not 100% done, but is very close.

To get to the office you walk through the new hall, which senses your presence and turns on the lights for you.

The downstairs is our play room, and it lived up to it's name. We have a new TV sectional with dual glider chairs, a new La-Z-Boy Big Boy rocking chair, electric fireplace heater, the 40" LCD mounted on the wall and XBox 360 and Wii games for the kids. Yeah, for the kids :) We ditched the all-white "sterile look" for much warmer colors.

We could not have Thanksgiving dinner on my old table. It was cheap and falling apart, and I purchased it many years ago following the divorce. It was only intended for me and the girls. The new table is MUCH nicer and made a great place for the "adults" to sit.

That's all for today. I will post some more pictures soon. (Soon in Todd time)

Thanks Kris!

2008-11-15T14:25:00.001-06:00

My sister-in-law sent me a link this morning to this video about calling tech support. This is hilarious, and also very true!

Software Quality and Catalogs

2008-11-11T20:12:00.004-06:00

I still find it odd that I write so little about software development in my blog, as this what I do 60 or more hour per week. Maybe that is the reason, I am tired of doing and thinking about it all day that I tend not to write much about it. But anyone that knows me knows how I feel about software quality (or lack thereof) and how much I truly despise the "get it done yesterday" approach to software management.

When I was at Microsoft, we used to joke that "Quality is Job 1.1". Sure, it was funny, and only partly true, mostly said tongue-in-cheek. When you look at the vast majority of the software that Microsoft ships, most of it is quite good. There is the occasional turd (Windows Vista), but mostly it is very good quality. Why is it good quality?

Some think Microsoft hires only the best programmers in the world. I tend to disagree here. True, they have many very, very talented programmers, but the vast majority are of the mediocre variety. The seniors lead the projects and make sure that the juniors fix their mistakes, and teach them better ways. Oversight and code and peer reviews here make all the difference. You cannot stay mediocre forever.

I don't know what the current ratio at Microsoft is between programmers and testers. It used to be about 1-to-1 (1993), that meant, a tester who was not a programmer (at least not paid to code) was responsible for testing all of the code that a developer wrote. They were in nearly constant communication with each other and it was the testers job to find bugs and report them. Sometimes this is easy pickins, when new code is being developed quickly. Other times it becomes increasingly difficult as a project matures.

Microsoft makes a distinction between developers and designers. Every book I have ever seen on development (especially web based) also makes this clear distinction. They are not the same person. One is artistic in nature (the designer), the other very scientific (the coder). The designer likely has a background in good user interface design, graphics, usability and accessibility. The programmer likely cannot draw more than a stick figure and has never used a computer without a mouse, monitor, etc. The designer may have been educated at a well respected design school, while the coder is largely self-taught and has learned by the school of hard knocks.

So if these 2 individuals are so different, and talked about as such at great length in books and education materials, why are they so often considered to be the same person? I have NEVER worked for company, outside of Microsoft, that made this distinction. It's as if a company expects its programmers to be able to create wonderful user experiences, gorgeous graphics, create a consistent look and feel, and make it all work. I have no doubt that those people do exist, but I also doubt just as highly that most programmers make good designers. I have been coding professionally for over 20 years, and non-professionally for many more, and cannot design a nice looking UI to save my ass. I can code it for sure, in about 10 different languages and 3 different operating systems, but I cannot design it. I do not have an artistic touch.

And why should I? I am not an artist, I am a programmer. Since when did having artistic ability become a prerequisite for a developer? If these jobs were intended to be done by one person, why are the development tools so obviously catered to two different people?

As an example, let me look at HTML, the markup language used to make web pages. First there was just HTML, a simple markup language that allowed a designer to make a simple page. By definition, it was never intended to describe how the page looked, only the content of a page. The whole idea was that a HTML page could be displayed on any computer-like device, whether it be a full blown GUI like Windows or Mac OS, a text based browser like Lynx found on UNIX systems without graphics, a telephone, whatever. It was a replacement for GOPHER and America Online's custom page creation software.

And it worked, but only for a while. Designers just could not live without defining, in minute detail, exactly how every page should be laid out. So they added tables, frames, objects, etc. to HTML that did exactly that, allowed the layout of the page to be defined, completely breaking the original design of HTML. But they still called it HTML.

So everyone started creating real fancy HTML pages, with lots of pretty graphics and it was all beautiful. But the beauty was only skin deep. Because somewhere in the dark confines of an HTML coders office was someone breaking a cardinal rule of quality software development. Copy and Paste is NOT good code reuse. What I mean by that is that every page in a site, in order to give the site a consistent look and feel, was probably 90% of the same code of every other page. The content was different, but the look and feel was the same. To get the look and feel consistent, a ton of code was copied and pasted from other pages to create a the new page, and then just the wording and graphics were changed.

Now to an outsider you might think "so what"? And you would be right, in the eyes of a designer. A goal was achieved, the site is consistent and looks nice. In the (good) programmers eyes though you see only slop. All of that code shared between web pages using copy and paste is really annoying. If you change one page, you have to change them all. You have to open each file and change the code, a very tedious, repetitious, and error prone proposition.

So they came up with a new way, CSS. Now you would not define the look and feel in the HTML document, only the structure. A programmer would define the HTML, while a designer would define the CSS, and it would all merge in glorious web page heaven. We have come full circle, back to the original intent of HTML. Now we have a perfect world, right? Don't we wish. CSS is implemented differently by different web browsers, Microsoft Internet Explorer does it one way, most of the rest (FireFox, Safari, Opera, etc) do it another. And somehow Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser out there, despite not being standards compliant, despite being the front door used by many virus' and malware, despite being inferior to FireFox in almost every way.

But does that mean HTML/CSS is broken because of Microsoft? Hardly. The specification alone has a lot to do with it. First, CSS was designed to remove the layout and formatting from HTML code, so why did they let coders put CSS content directly in the HTML file? That is not separating look from content. CSS formatting can be applied in 3 places, an external file that is referenced from the HTML (the way it should be), defined (normally) at the top of an HTML file (which can compliment or override CSS read from a file), or the evil of all evils, added to HTML tags, once again completely breaking structure from layout.

From a designers standpoint, the web is wonderful. From a programmers standpoint, it is a chaotic mess. And who is to blame for the mess? The designer? The HTML/CSS spec writers? No. Programmers are responsible for the mess, and I will explain why.

Just because you can shoot yourself in the head with a Glock, does not mean it's a good idea or that you should. Likewise, just because you can define your CSS style in your HTML pages, or worse in your HTML tags, doesn't mean you should. Like grandma used to say "It's just not right". Yet that is exactly what I see being done everywhere I have ever worked, and on every web project I have worked on that I did not personally control.

Quality. That is lack of quality, pure and simple. As developers we have the best programming tools ever, they make many of our tasks almost mindless. Look at the number of really bad web programmers out there in the world making really nice looking web pages. The code is horrible, but the pages look nice. Sometimes that is just fine with companies, but it is not fine with me.

Maybe I am too old school for this stuff. I learned to write code on a computer that had 4KB of memory. That is 4 kilobytes guys, not megabytes or gigabytes. 4,096 bytes of memory, of which I could use about 3,000 to get all my work done. And I could write some pretty impressive programs in those 3KB when I was 11 years old. I was probably a better programmer then than I am right now.

After all of these years I still enjoy writing software. I do not enjoy creating web pages, or what I call Catalogs, Rouge and Lipstick, or Chrome. Being a "Web Developer" has never been on my resume, and will never be. I can program just about anything I want, operating systems, applications, network protocols, reusable tool kits, etc. But I am not a catalog creator. I don't get my rocks off creating pretty pictures with embedded video. I like writing code, real code. Code that you don't see, but does the work. That is my comfort zone.

And I refuse to write poor quality code just to get something done quickly. I am a firm believer it takes less time to do something right the first time, than to patch and hack it together quickly at first. I thoroughly test all of my code, every single line, and use automated testing tools to make sure that things don't break accidentally when I make changes. I am not saying that I never create bugs, we all do, but I am skilled at finding them early, well before they ever see the light of day in production code.

I have always preached that software development is art and science. But the art in this case does not refer to pretty pictures on a web page. I am referring to creating software as an art form, something that is readable, understandable, and yes, downright pretty, if only in a programmers eyes.

I am now pushing 40 years old real hard, and have begun to question whether or not I am too old for this shit. A young development manager that I know thinks he knows everything. He never used a computer before the web, but thinks he understands quality software. He preaches about it out of one side of his mouth, while simultaneously rewarding those who just slap something together quickly for the sake of adding yet another feature to the software. Never mind they wrote 100% of the code when they could have used 90% that was already written before. Never mind that while the user interface looks pretty, the code behind it is horrible. Never mind they used tools from 10 years ago when newer and better software is available that would have cut the actual time in half, and increased code reuse 10 fold. It works and it looks pretty. That's what makes a good programmer these days? Not in my book.

It's as if quality really does not matter any longer, or is measured differently from how I measure it. Real programmers are scarce, though Web Programmers are plentiful. Maybe the best position for me is to develop the tools that others use. Right the real code and let the kids create pretty pictures from it. But then who will be the real programmers of tomorrow? It's the hardcore guys that make it possible for every other mediocre coder to stay employed. What will happen when the juniors start creating the tools? Will software become even worse than it is today? Is that even possible?

This blog entry is depressing. Maybe I am the old curmudgeon telling the kids to get off my grass, I don't know. I do know there are some great technologies maturing now that are truly incredible. The .NET platform has grown up and revolutionized how code is written and shared. Even the old school C/C++ programmer in me says, "WOW"! Silverlight is very promising, and has the potential to be the death nail of HTML, CSS and Flash. Apple's market share is increasing (while their quality is, sadly, going down) and Mac OS X and FireFox keep Microsoft honest. I am excited by Vista's replacement and hope to see something solid next year. The Linux guys are creating wonderful tools in both the server and desktop arenas.

So I am not sick of software development, only sick of mediocrity. I am sick of programmers that do not take pride in their work, never read the writings of those with much more experience (Code Compete anyone?), don't separate UI from domain or business logic, think it's perfectly fine to have SQL sprinkled all through their code, think unit testing is a waste of time, think HTML and CSS are God's gift to web developers, and think comments in code are useless.

I am sick of not having standards, or having standards that get broken without repercussion, not having time for code reviews, not designing software before you write it, expecting programmers to be designers and their own QA, quantity over quality, and generally writing software without your brain engaged.

Maybe I should drive a truck :-)

THANK YOU AMERICA!

2008-11-04T22:43:00.001-06:00

I have never been more proud to be an American than I am right now. Change is coming, WE THE PEOPLE have elected our new president!

Today is the Most Important Day in Recent US History

2008-11-04T08:53:00.003-06:00

We need change, we need solid leadership, we need a president that cares about the middle class. We need a man that has spent his entire life building community organizations from the ground up, someone that has not spent their entire life in Washington and selling themselves out to the special interest groups. We need a man that will restore the worlds view of the United States, who will carefully and thoughtfully pick the battles that we must fight, and end the fight we should have never started.

He must be able to restore our economy and repair the damage of the last 8 years. Restore pride in America and provide incentives to keep good jobs right here at home, though it is a sad statement to the lack of patriotism shown by many American corporations that monetary incentives must be provided in the first place.

He must be ready and willing to fix our schools and social programs, eliminate programs that do not work and fund those that do. We need a man that knows right from wrong and rules based on his own convictions and morality, not those of the church. He must not pander to big oil companies, PAC's and other special interests. He must be intelligent, an excellent speaker, and able to convey his thoughts and ideas in a cohesive manner. We need a man that can reach across party lines to do what is right for this country, not compromise for what is convenient or easy.

We need our tax system overhauled to make it fair for everybody. And yes, how great would it be to have our first black President? I think that would be pretty cool. Imagine a president that can shoot baskets, dance, but not be able to bowl :) Pretty cool, huh? I think so. If you are a racist and don't agree with me, vote for his white half.

But even if you don't agree with me on Obama, today is a milestone in our country. Even if you support McCain, you must get out and vote today. Failure to do so is very un-American, you are giving up a right that many have died for, a right that many in the world will never know. We should all be upset about elections decided by the Supreme Court. Elections are to be decided by us, "We The People".

Now STOP READING THIS STUPID BLOG and get your ass to a polling station!

Ron's Response Was Equally Interesting...

2008-11-01T21:03:00.004-05:00

Misguided, Uninformed, but Interesting :-) I put Ron's email in italic, my thoughts are in red. His heart is good, and his belief in God and Jesus are without question. I will certainly never dis him on his beliefs, and he is smart and educated. I find it ironic that someone like him can be so equally ignorant of simple facts.

"Wow. I didn't know that a Roman living in 55 BC could generate such response :)

Here's my problem. Principles guide everything that the man in the Whitehouse does--not the Constitution. The Constitution is our basic framework for government. It provides framework--not direction. Our elected officials provide direction.

Principles yes, religion no, certainly there is no mandate that a president be a Christian, though I still believe that Barack Obama is.

There is no doubt that Obama is Muslim--his own family has said that repeatedly! Not conservatives, not Fox News, his own family. That concerns me a great deal considering that nearly every enemy America has in the world is Muslim! I do not want our president to sit down and talk with the President of Iran. I want him to deal with them just like with dealt with Sadaam Hussien. Don't run from bullies--deal with them head on. I don't think that we should look for a fight, but I don't think that we should endlessly try to talk our way out of one either. Only whimps and liberals do that.

No doubt that he is Muslim? I must not have gotten that memo. Sure, I've heard these allegations against him, nothing more than fabricated lies intended to scare uneducated voters. His own family has said that? When? Where? The only reference I ever saw to him being a Muslim was a grade school application completed by his step-father so he could attend a school in Indonesia. He likely would have been persecuted as a Christian, so his step-father lied to protect him. His step-father eventually became an atheist.

And, even is he were a Muslim, does that disqualify him from being President? Being a Muslim does not mean you support radical Islam, no more than saying a Christan supports the KKK. The Klan is a Christian organization, I doubt seriously that you would ever align yourself with them.

Why not talk with Iran? What does talking hurt? If they refuse to listen, then get tough. They cannot be allowed to build a nuclear bomb, under any circumstances. I don't think Ron and I disagree much here, other than I think we talk first, fight only if talking does not work. I certainly would not be opposed to dropping a nuke in the center of Tehran to prevent them from developing their own nuclear weapons.

Regarding the economy. My gas prices are almost dipping below $2.00 per gallon. Not bad. Yes, they climbed up. But why not blame the Muslim nations of the world for sticking it to us per barrel instead of blaming a successful American company for that? I have no problem with Exxon making untold billions of dollars of profit. Why not? That's America. If you don't like, take the bus. Stop consuming. I don't ever want my government telling me that they want me to be successful on one hand, then blaming me for the countries problems when I am successful! And I certainly don't want my government to wait until I have finally worked my way to success, take MY money, and redistribute it to individuals in our country who don't even pay federal taxes!!! That's wrong. But that's what happens when we are guided by the principles of those are a socialists (i.e. Obama).

I absolutely do blame the Muslin nations for the high crude prices. And I don't have a problem with Exxon making a substantial profit either. What I do have a problem with is that the more they pay for crude oil, the more profit they make. They markup of gasoline is based on a percentage of the cost of barrel of crude, not by a dollar amount per barrel. So, the more they pay for crude, the more profit they make. I don't inherently have a problem with this either, but only to a point. When the prices are so high that you are sucking the American economy dry and damn near forcing huge companies that employ hundreds of thousands of Americans out of business, that is just greed, pure and simple. There are not enough oil companies, they can collectively act like a monopoly. And they get huge tax breaks for conducting business like this.

What the McCain camp is calling socialism is far from it. Bailing out the big banks and other financial institutions is far closer to socialism than anything Obama has said. Everyone in this country, individual or corporation, must pay their share. It's simple taxes really, a very Roman idea. But the problem is that many do not. Taxes are structured such that big corporations and the very rich can easily find loopholes to avoid paying their share. The middle-class is who ultimately picks up the tab for this. What Obama is proposing is NOT redistribution of wealth at all, it is simply a plan to close loopholes and make the tax system more fair for everyone. Yes, that includes a middle-class tax break, just like McCain's plan. But it is huge tax increase to those that have dodged paying taxes for years, and that sounds totally and completely fair to me.

Regarding Ford and GM, I say let them go under. That's how America works. If you run your company intelligently and have a product that others want, then you will do well. If not, you go under. Do you think that the government should come along and bail out every business that is on the brink of going under? That's simply not possible and shouldn't be done even if it were. Mark my word, if Ford and GM go under, there will be a new American company out there within a year that can and will compete with our world market. Our ability to produce quality is of legend in the rest of the world. Nobody in the world works harder than Americans.

I most respects, I agree with Ron here. GM and Ford need to make products that Americans want to buy, and foreigners too for that matter. They are hurting now because they are not making what we want to buy, and are too slow and bloated to change quickly. Where I think Ron is misguided here is the economic impact to all Americans if one or both of these companies goes under. Ok, so they have screwed up and are in quite a pickle right now. But should a mistake by a handful of overpaid and under worked executives be allowed to punish all of the hard-working employees of these companies? What about the thousands of companies that are in business solely to serve GM and Ford? The economic impact of losing companies like this is unimaginable and unprecedented in US history. The Republicans are quick to say a company like this deserves to go out of business. I agree 100%, but there are always exceptions. If there weren't, why is the government spending $840 billion right now to save AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and others? It's for the reason I stated above, the economic impact of inaction is too far reaching. Yes, that is socialism, which is apparently ok sometimes when capitalism is ruined by greed.

Back to principles. I think that who you associate with speaks volumes about your character. From Rev. Write, to Ayers, and now a spokesman for the PLO. Then to couple that with the fact that his own wife said, "For the first time in my adult life, I'm proud to be an American." What!!!!!! That in and of itself is enough to lose my vote. The Bible says, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." That simply means that whatever is on the inside will come out sooner or later. She did not mis-speak. She said what was on her heart. In America, she has that privilege. But I also have the right to keep her from influencing my president!!

Rev. Wright is a CHRISTIAN PASTOR, just like you Ron. Well, ok, not exactly like you, but a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ nonetheless. He may also be a racist, and certainly his comments and preachings speak to that. But his background and upbringing is far different from what you and I experienced growing up. We did not grow up as poor black kids on the south side of Chicago before and during the civil rights movement. Now I am not justifying any hate speech, so don't get me wrong. I certainly don't put him anywhere near the class of people such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But he is still free to preach and speak his mind, just like you are. I am sure tomorrow you will preach to your flock about the upcoming election. You may call Obama a Muslim, a socialist, a baby-killer. I don't know what you have planned, but to those who think Obama is exactly what this country needs right now, I am sure your sermon could also be construed as a hate speech, though I know that is not your intention. And I am sure there is some part of your congregation that is planning to support Obama. I am quite certain Jesus was neither a Republican or Democrat.

As for Michelle Obama. I heard what she said, and yes, I did not like it either. But I have also heard her speak to length about her beliefs, views, and faith in Barack. She said she mis-spoke, I tend to give her the benefit of the doubt. Who hasn't said something they wished they hadn't?

Regarding Roe v. Wade. It's legal for now. It was poor law then and it's poor law today. The reality is that Obama said that the the very first thing that he would do if elected is to sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That legislation will remove any and all state level restrictions to abortion. No parental notification, no waiting period, nothing. It doesn't reduce abortion--it provides an express lane! That law can be changed with the appointment of ONE Supreme Court Justice. Oddly enough, the next president will probably nominate TWO. That has the ability to radically transform our nation. Again, principle is everything. Obama is absolutely, overwhelmingly wrong for America. An Obama presidency will spiral this country out of control financially, morally and legislatively.

Like I said, not worth fighting over. There are 3 sides to this, Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, and ENOUGH ALREADY. I am squarely in the Enough Already crowd. Nobody is Pro-Abortion, that would be sick. I am not familiar with Obama's Freedom of Choice Act, so I cannot comment on that. I will assume what you say is true. This is one of those issues that cannot be won, people of both thoughts will never change their mind. We have to agree to disagree on abortion and look to find better alternatives, including education, better adoption systems, teaching of morals to our children, etc. The law is the law. If we as a country want to vote on this every 20 years, fine. Otherwise, the money, time and effort spent fighting this battle on both sides is a tremendous waste.

As for Obama spiralling the country out of control financially. Really? Seriously? What do you call the mess we have right now? Did Barack have anything to do with that? Nope, that was all Bush, and the policies and changes that were put in place during his time in office.

As a great theologian once said, "Beware of the darkside!"--Yoda, Star Wars.

You know what's funny? Here I am a computer geek and I still have not seen Star Wars! I have seen 1/2 the movie about 10 times, but have never seen the whole thing.

Hopefully, the message Sunday will be uploaded by 2:00 p.m. or so. It is our first time to attempt this. We ran through some practice uploads, but had difficulty compressing the video so that it didn't take 5 hours to upload. I think that we have it worked out now. Guess we'll see. The audio will be up and running almost immediately.

I look forward to watching it. Compressing video is as much art as science, and quite honestly, a major pain in the butt. I usually cuss at my computer a lot when doing video compression. I haven't tried prayer yet, guess that could work for you :)

Love you guys--all moderate, don't stand for anything, blow according to the wind, and move by infomercials that you are :)"

Hehe, I take that as a compliment :) I still consider myself a Republican, just not of the McCain variety. I have gotten more liberal as I have gotten older, I realize that. But I think it's as much becoming more tolerant and maturing, as well as understanding more about how the world works and should and could work that has changed my beliefs.

My morals have never been based in religion, but you and I share a common set I am quite certain, via blood, family, and upbringing. You are a good man, and I know that. A good father, a good husband, and a great preacher. Even as an agnostic, I enjoy hearing you preach. You are inspirational, uplifting, and intelligent. You manage to speak to the heart in a way few preachers can. I would likely attend your church myself if you were here, you know, in purgatory :)

My beliefs, or lack of, are not pushed on my children. They do not know that I am agnostic, and they attend church often, though not regularly. When they ask me about God or Jesus, I share with them what I know, which is not a lot, just the basics. I tend to look at the bible as a story, not history, and relate what I can without them knowing that I don't believe it. A true agnostic cannot preach or teach their children one way or the other, I must allow free will to take its course and allow them to choose what they believe is right.

They certainly do know who I support for President, the Obama/Biden sign is proudly displayed in my front yard, and Obama 2008 bumper stickers are on both trucks. Delaney likes McCain, she is the only hold-out. And I support her 100% in her choice of McCain, and have never tried to sway her. She went with us to an Obama rally in February, and was unimpressed :) I was hoping that John McCain would also visit Madison so I could take her to see him as well, but he never came here. I think he knew Madison was a lost cause for him, there is a lot of super-left wing bleeding heart liberal types in Madison.

I do hope that you give Obama a fair shake. Even John McCain admits that Barack is a good and decent man and that there is nothing to fear in an Obama presidency. The rest of the country will speak on Tuesday, and I am looking forward to a major celebration Tuesday night when we all realize that the man that we NEED right now for president was just elected to the position.

A Letter to Ron

2008-11-01T11:09:00.003-05:00

My cousin Ron is a Southern Baptist preacher, and a fine one at that. He wrote me an email this morning that I could not agree with more...

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
-- Cicero, 55 BC"

So I started to write him back. Then it got long, real long, and finally I gave up :-) But here is my response, and my basic take on the election Tuesday.

"And Cicero was right. When Bill Clinton left office we had a $123 billion dollar annual surplus. We had a huge debt of course, but the federal government took in more money than it spent. We had about $4.3 trillion in debt at the start of 2000.

Bush, even though a republican, has run up the national debt to $10 trillion dollars in 8 years. And that is not due to interest, though a part of it is. It is mostly due to the fact that the government has spent far more than it took in the entire 8 years Bush was in office.

And I always thought republicans were supposed to be the fiscally responsible party, and the dems were supposed to spend, spend, spend. It sure hasn't been that way under Bush.

I voted for Bush, twice. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do. I like how he handled 9/11, and have always supported (and still do) the invasion of Afghanistan following it. I supported going into Iraq based on the information we were given at the time, but now think that Bush knew all along that there was no justifiable reason to go to war with Iraq. Yes, I think he flat out lied to us and we should all be pissed off about that, republicans or democrats.

But my vote this election is not really based on any of these things. John McCain is a good and decent man, I have no doubt about that. I just believe Barack is a better man, a more decent man, and the type of person we need in office right now. We need some young blood in Washington, someone that has not spent a lifetime there. We need someone that has proven time and again that people are far more important to him than money or job title. Obama has spent his entire life working in community and political organizations with little monetary gain, even though with his credentials he could have been making some serious bucks.

Obama is a Christian, but that does not dictate how he will lead. I know you would like to see a president that leads by his moral belief and teachings of the bible, and I respect that. I don't agree with it, but I do respect it. I would rather have a president that actually leads this country based on the Constitution, and I doubt anyone in government knows and understands the US Constitution better than Barack Obama.

Leadership based on the Constitution includes separation of church and state, and I believe extends to separation of church FROM state. Not every citizen of this country is a Christan. We have Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Scientologists, and every other religion known to man living here. And some good Americans are atheist and many more, like me, are agnostic. It is perfectly fine for a US president to have strong religious convictions, but those must remain personal to him, this country is not ruled by religious law. The ones that are appear on the State Departments Travel Warnings list, or the Axis of Evil. We must be better than them.

The way other countries view the US must change. We must be respected again abroad for all the good that we do in the world. We cannot be the worlds police, and always sticking our nose where it doesn't belong serves nobody.

We need to get out of Iraq and let them govern themselves. They will likely never be a democracy, nor look anything like the United States. They will continue to be governed by Islamic law, and as long as they don't harm us or our allies, they should be left alone.

Our efforts should be concentrated on Afghanistan for right now, specifically Taliban and Al-Quida. They must be crushed, because they have attacked us, in their typically cowardly way. Iran must be watched, same for North Korea and Venezuela. I am all for a strong military and support military action when justified. We just have to pick our battles much better than we have in the past 8 years.

I see in Bush the same flaw that I saw in his father, the reason I also voted for Bill Clinton, twice. His head is so far outside this country that he seldom looks in to see what is happening right in his own backyard. Our economy is a mess, big banks and financial corporation are collapsing due to greed, and now the US government is going to bail them out. They will do this with money we DO NOT have, and do you think anyone will ever be held accountable for the mess? I don't. And the republicans are accusing Obama of being a socialist? Exactly what do they call this?

Did we ever think and oil man from Texas would ever do anything to curtail rising gas prices and record profits by the oil companies? Trace the cost of gasoline to all the other industries that are now hurting and the damage is truly amazing. Our food prices have gone way up, air travel is so expensive (and annoying) that airlines are hurting, Ford and Chevy cannot sell a truck and factories are closing down. Exxon is posting record profits while GM and Ford are trying to figure out how they are going to survive.

On the environmental front, Bush barely acknowledges that global warming exists, certainly not recognizing it as a serious and potentially catastrophic problem. Now I can hardly be accused of being a tree-hugger, so I am not really in a position to cast stones here. I quite happily drive my Ford F-150 and Ford Explorer all over the place, even though they get pretty dismal gas mileage. I still feel like a better American sitting at a stop sign next to a Toyota Prius. I may be burning more gas, but at least my ass is inside an American made truck! So I am part of the problem (we all are), but I am doing things to change as well. I am not going to give up my truck, but I do use CF light bulbs throughout my house, and try to cut the power to things when not in use.

My point here is that I don't know a lot about the problem, and barely understand the affect of inaction. I do know that the US needs to change drastically, and the leaders on the environmental front come from the democratic party.

The conservatives keep hounding about Roe V. Wade, gay marriage, and Obama's ties to Ayers. Ok, 1 out of 3 of those may be worth fighting over, but seriously... Who really gives a damn if homosexuals marry each other, if you are straight like us it does not have any bearing on our lives. Personally, the republican side of me says that I don't believe gays should be allowed to marry, that is just my view. But I don't think it's worth 1 minute of fighting over when we are facing the problems that we are right now. Ayers? Seriously, is that McCain's only talking point? A guy Obama met a few times, it's not like they were buddies or Ayers is up for a cabinet position. Pretty lame talking point, and only serves to hurt McCain more, though they don't realize that.

Roe V. Wade was decided decades ago. It's done, over with, let it sleep. Nobody is Pro-Abortion and I think everyone can agree that the need for abortion should be curtailed, through education and public programs. But it's legal, and there is no point arguing about something that is legal in this country. It is not up for the courts to re-rule on this every time a new justice is sworn in.

Ok, I could go on forever, but I am just tired of typing... :-)

I love you guys, all bible-thumping, right-wing conservative, preaching and moral high ground takers that you are :-)

Love Todd"

30 Second Web Video Ads and Exxon

2008-10-30T12:16:00.002-05:00

Missy and I tend to watch quite a few videos on the web, mostly on CNN and MSNBC, but also YouTube and FunnyOrDie. I don't mind short commercials before watching a video, I understand this is how these companies pay for it. What I don't like is the new standard, 30-second commercials, just like on TV.

I don't like watching a 30 second commercial before a 17 second video clip, or being shown the same commercial over and over again between several different clips. It is annoying as hell, and I just end up not watching the video, or the commercial.

Last night I saw the best, total bullshit, commercial I have ever seen. I was trying to view a video from CNN or MSNBC, I forgot which one, and Exxon had a commercial about how they care about the common man, care about our economy, blah blah blah.

Now this would have been funny enough on it's own, because anyone with half a brain knows that Exxon doesn't give a shit about anything except profits (people, environment, etc), but the video I was going to watch was about how Exxon just set record profits for the last quarter, over $15 billion!

Gee, thanks Exxon. Our nations economy is in the shitter mostly because of companies just like you, and you have the balls to run an ad claiming otherwise just before a news report about your record profits? Do you really think we are all that stupid?

Andy, Opie and Fonzie Can't Be Wrong

2008-10-28T21:42:00.001-05:00

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Aim High Microsoft

2008-10-28T16:21:00.003-05:00

I remember a long time ago, when I was employed at Microsoft, we used to joke about what the Windows 95 slogan would be. We debated calling it "The Excess Hard Drive Capacity Reduction Utility" and several other things before deciding on "Windows 95, It Sucks Less".

So I was amused to see this headline today on MSNBC's web site, referring to Windows 7, the ultimate successor to Windows Vista. It's nice to see Microsoft shooting for the moon. It appears that their biggest goal is to make it less annoying to use than Vista. That is a nice goal, don't get me wrong, but is that really the greatest thing to look forward too? That it will piss you off a little bit less than Vista? Will you pay over $200 to be annoyed less?

How about this Microsoft. When Windows 7 comes out, you send me a free copy, with a nice little note attached apologizing to me for Vista annoying the shit out of me for 4 years. Really, just make Windows 7 Suck Less and all will be good.

Todd's First Skydive Video!

2008-10-25T19:50:00.003-05:00

I received the DVD in the mail today from Sky Knights in East Troy, WI. Shue did an absolutely wonderful job of creating the video, and I have not modified it at all. Enjoy!

I Still Hate Her (But Less)

2008-10-24T19:29:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I cannot stand her politics, and will be really hating life if McCain actually gets elected. But, she does seem like a good sport, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her last week on Saturday Night Live.

Thanks Obama and McCain!

2008-10-24T19:19:00.002-05:00

See, now look what you have gone and done. Split a perfectly good family right in half! :)

These boys are family of ours, and it saddens me to see them split like this. Can't we all just get along? I wonder if they sneak out at night to steal the other one's sign?

Stand strong Will in the face of adversity, I am with you brother. Rock On Obama!!! :)

I Survived Skydiving! And Loved It!!!

2008-10-11T14:33:00.014-05:00

So I can officially scratch this one off the Bucket List. I did it, I actually jumped out of a perfectly good airplane! Actually, that was the airplane's name, painted right on the side, "Perfectly Good Airplane".

What a rush! An insane rush, but a rush like I have never had before. I had an absolutely great time this morning at Sky Knights in East Troy, Wisconsin. Everyone there is super nice and very fun people. I was assigned to "Hooche" as my tandem instructor. He is the best!

In addition to just wanting to experience skydiving for the first time, I also wanted to learn how to steer, stall, and generally control the parachute in case I ever needed to bail out of a not-so Perfectly Good Airplane. Hooche said that would not be a problem and he would teach me whatever I wanted to know.

I did not get nervous at all, except right before we jumped. I was on my knees leaning out of the plane, looking down 13,500 feet at Milwaukee below. Only then did something in my brain say "Umm, hello... what the hell are we doing?" That thought only lasted for a second, because I heard Hooche say "1, 2, 3 GO!" Then you are not nervous, no reason to be, you are either going to die in 2 minutes or not :)

I had a smile on my face within 10 feet of leaving the plane, as evidenced by the pictures below. What a rush! You don't actually get the feeling that you are falling, you just feel an incredible amount of wind. The scenery does not change all that fast, so you really don't get the sensation that you are falling out of the sky like a brick.

The cameraman was only several feet away from us and managed to get some really great pictures. The video will be mailed to me in about 10 days or so, and I cannot wait to see it.

The freefall lasted about a minute, though it did not seem that long. At 5,500 feet Hooche showed me the altimeter on his wrist, which was my queue to pull the ripcord. I waved "bye bye" to the cameraman and pulled the chord, thinking I would soon get a severe jolt.

To my surprise, there was only a slight feeling of slowing down, then slowing down more and more. Finally slowing down rapidly followed by a light jolt as the chute was fully deployed. Then total, I mean total, silence. It was beautiful.

Hooche let me enjoy the moment by not saying anything. Then I said "It's Quiet" and then he spoke, saying "Now is when you look up to make sure you have a parachute up there". I did, and we did have a chute, and everything was perfect.

Now is when the lesson began for me. He taught me how to turn left and right, and how to not do it like a girl! My first couple of turns were real shallow but he soon had me making steep turns as we aimed towards a house near the airport. He then let me stall the parachute, as if we were landing, so I feel a lot more comfortable now if I ever needed to use one for real. He then took the controls and landed us safely about 30 feet from where all this started.

I slid in on my butt, real gentle across the ground. Not only did I not get hurt at all on my first skydive, I didn't even get a grass-stain! It was a beautiful day in Wisconsin, and I am pumped. This was my first skydive, but I can assure you it will not be my last! Sorry family :)

A Reason to Like McCain, and Off to SkyDive!

2008-10-11T06:17:00.003-05:00

Today is a rare day. Not only because I am going skydiving for the first time, but because I am actually awake at 6AM on a Saturday and did not work all night first! I will be leaving here in about 10 minutes for my drive over to East Troy, WI.

I was checking out CNN.com as I do most days and was reading this page. It talks about the questions and comments John McCain was receiving yesterday in Minnesota and Wisconsin from people angry that Obama is leading in the polls, and that his lead is getting larger.

One person said "I don't trust Obama. I have read about him and he's an Arab.". Anyone with half a brain knows this is not true, but it was nice to read McCain's response to her "No ma'am, no ma'am. He's a decent family man...[a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about." So even though I am not a big fan of McCain, I do appreciate his answer and not just laughing off this lie about Obama.

One man at the rally said he was "scared of an Obama presidency." McCain later told the man he should not fear Obama. "I want to be president of the United States, and I don't want Obama to be," he said. "But I have to tell you, I have to tell you, he is a decent person, and a person that you do not have to be scared as President of the United States." Thank you Senator McCain.

Ok, enough about politics, it's time to go skydiving!

Bucket List Item #1 Off the List Tomorrow at 9AM

2008-10-10T16:03:00.004-05:00

Like most people, I have a Bucket List of "10 Things to do Before I Die". Or in my case, because of most of the things on the list, the bucket list might be called "10 Things Most Likely to Kill Me". I have already scratched off several of these items:

1) Go Skydiving
2) Learn to SCUBA Dive (Did that in 2004)
3) Learn to Fly Aerobatics (Started that this year)
4) Get my Instrument Pilot Rating (Did that in 2006)
5) Spend Time in the Rocky Mountains
6) Meet a Great Girl and Raise a Wonderful Family (Did/Doing that, twice)
7) Own a Crotch Rocket (Did that, several times)
8) Buy a Boat (Had a couple, they don't count)
9) Finish Building an Airplane (Started many, never finished)
10) Become Rich Enough to Retire Young

Well it's finally official. Tomorrow morning at 9AM at Sky Knights in East Troy, WI I will go skydiving for the first time. This is a slightly early 40th birthday present to me. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be near 80 and probably the last time for a long time it will be that warm. Since my birthday is in January, that is FAR from an ideal time to go skydiving in Wisconsin!

Like a lot of first time jumpers, I will be doing a tandem jump. That is where I am hooked up, very securely I presume, to a very experienced jump master. We will climb to 13,500 feet above Milwaukee and jump out of a perfectly good airplane. We will free-fall for about 1 minute to a few thousand feet above the ground, and be under the chute for about 5 more minutes. The entire jump will be videotaped and photographed, and you can bet I will post that online!

I am nervous just writing this blog entry, but excited too. This is something that I have wanted to do for a VERY long time and it will finally happen tomorrow! This has been a "hell week" at work, actually a "hell 3 weeks", so I really am looking forward to relaxing tonight and getting a good nights sleep before #1 comes off the list!

PS: If you are family (especially Dad), pretend you did not read this until tomorrow when I post the pictures!

Well Since Aunt Deb Asked...

2008-10-05T03:26:00.002-05:00

Yes, I did watch most of the Vice-Presidential debate. Like a lot of people I tuned into to view the train wreck that Sarah Palin was likely to create while bringing down John McCain. I was surprised, and occasionally impressed by her. I find it very difficult to agree with her politics, and some of things she has done truly disgust me. But she held her own against Joe Biden, and that is saying something.

I do think Biden won the debate and appears much more intelligent and experienced that Palin. But she did a good job. I was really hoping for a modern day version of the Dan Quayle debate, but it was not to be.

Tired But Not Ready for Bed

2008-10-01T01:35:00.002-05:00

Today has been a long day, and a tough one. It seems that every computer I own, and some I don't, were out to get me today. They must have been talking to each other, because they really ganged up on me. In the end I win, of course, but I have been sitting at this computer for over 16 hours and should be on my way to bed.

But I failed to mention that I am also sitting in my new office! There are still a few things to do before I post pictures, touch up some paint here and there, move more furniture and stuff in, but I am working in my brand new space. It is clean, roomy, and has no cat or dog hair. They are not allowed in here. I am still debating whether or not kids are allowed, I think not.

I moved the computer and desk in late last night, after spending 2-3 hours cleaning everything. Since the computer was in the workshop side of the basement for the last 2 months, everything had collected quite a bit of dust and construction debris. It was actually pretty hard to get it all clean, but I managed.

Since I have not written in my blog for a week, I guess I should catch up a little. I worked a lot last week which you can always tell because I neglect the blog.

I did take time out to watch the Presidential Debate last Thursday and the Packers 2nd loss in a row on Sunday. At least the Bears (who I hate) beat the Eagles (who I hate more). I think I shocked my sister when I told her I was actually rooting for the Bears.

I thought McCain did pretty well in the first debate, and I am hoping Barack shows some teeth in the next one. Either way I think we will be just fine, unless we all go broke because congress wants to hand out $700 billion dollars to banks and financial institutions that apparently don't know how to handle money. I think the better plan would be to force the oil companies to pay it out of their profits. I cannot even imagine what $700 billion dollars looks like, or could buy. I am sure several countries and a tank full of gas.

I have also been really sick for 10 days, but am feeling better the last 2. It really sucks when you have to work 12-14 hour days when you are coughing up a lung and running a fever constantly. I only really crashed one day, a week ago Sunday, never left the couch. That was a good day :)

What is Up with Laptops?

2008-09-24T17:15:00.003-05:00

Maybe I am just too old, or maybe nobody makes a decent laptop computer anymore. I have an Apple MacBook Pro, arguably the finest notebook computer ever made. It runs Windows Vista and Mac OS X, has 4GB of RAM, and rips through most tasks very quickly.

It will also burn the shit out of you. You cannot use it on your lap, your legs will get too hot. Sometimes it is so hot it actually hurts to touch the bottom. You cannot put a pillow or anything between it and your legs or the computer will overheat. I just had the logic board (as Apple calls it, the rest of the world calls it a motherboard) replaced, probably due to heat. Had my company not purchased AppleCare, this would have cost me over $1300! A $3,500 1-year old notebook dead from heat exhaustion.

So my question is this. If you cannot use a laptop on your lap, should they have ever made it in the first place? The old laptops didn't run that hot. They didn't run that fast either, but they were LAPTOPS!

Sometimes high technology is just plain stupid.

Another Funny Headline

2008-09-16T14:21:00.005-05:00

"Bush lands in Texas; Residents urged to leave" - Can we all go? Why just Texans? :-)

Even though I am a big fan of Barack Obama, I have also always liked John McCain. He seems like a good and decent man, is not afraid to go against his party on major issues, is a true war hero in every sense of the word, and an all around good American. I was never planning to vote for him, but have always felt that no matter the outcome of this election, our country will be in good and capable hands.

Then McCain did something I cannot explain, he picked Sarah Palin for Vice-President? What? Who? She is a hard-core, extreme right-wing, bible thumping Jesus freak with about as much experience in politics as me. She's an extreme conservative, you know the moral majority (which is neither by the way) family values type woman, that just happens to have a pregnant 17 year old daughter. Her total experience in politics has been as mayor of a small town in Alaska, and now as the governor of Alaska. That's it, nothing else.

She is Pro-Life to the point that the only time she feels abortion should be legal is when the mother WILL die giving birth, not in cases of incest or rape, or apparently when the hockey stars condom breaks while banging your 17 year old daughter.

She even voted to make women who are raped in her town pay for their own rape kits so that police can investigate the crime. Those are between $300-$1200 each, and even if they were $.50, seriously, charging a rape victim for the kit so police can investigate a felony? WTF. No, I'm not even going to abbreviate that. WHAT THE FUCK!

Women across this country should be appalled at her, and at John McCain for picking her. Men too. I am looking forward to the Vice-Presidential debate when Joe Biden (who I also don't like much) will pick her apart. Maybe by then she will actually know what the Bush Doctrine is? Seriously, she did not know.

Now, she does have some good points in my book. Being a hunter and lifelong member of the NRA is a good thing, as is being from a small, almost insignificant little town and not having spent a lifetime in DC. She's kind of pretty, in a Tina Fey sort of way. Not like Cindy McCain (who's freakin' hot), but she is easy on the eyes. Yep, I think that sums up her good points. Anyone else think her husband looks like Tim McGraw?

I am a good American, and totally support her rights to have her views, as whacked and crazy as I think they are. But she is NOT the type of person that should be leading this country. John McCain would do just fine, but he is an old man. Is Sarah Palin really ready for that job? HELL NO!

I usually support John McCain's decisions, but the choice to pick Palin as his running mate was one of the dumbest things I have ever seen in politics. McCain is a middle-of-the-road republican, not an extreme conservative. So why did he pick her? To appease the far right? As if they were going to vote for Obama? Give me a break. That showed that maybe McCain is not capable of making good decisions, and is a major blow to his campaign in my mind.

Out of all the perfectly good VP candidates to choose from: Rudy Guiliani, Mit Romney, Charlie Crist, he chose Palin? John, John, John... You almost had me rethinking my Obama vote, instead you just sealed it.

"And That Is All I Have To Say About That" - Forrest Gump

2008-09-11T10:20:00.002-05:00

A Week's Gone By

2008-09-10T11:38:00.003-05:00

I am starting to get lousy at updating this blog, I must improve. This last week has been insane. There was a block of over 80 hours that I slept less than 20 minutes, working constantly in the middle. A short break, and then another 20+ hours in a row. Then came a blessing in disguise. Seems construction crews in Cleveland cut my company's fiber optic lines, giving us developers a much needed afternoon off yesterday.

Even though I was tired, I decided to install the laminate floor in the cat room and hall. Most of it is quite easy, though tight spaces are very hard. You do have to get creative sometimes, and I have a couple of small repairs to make, but I like the look of it very much. Our custom built hall was square within 1/8", which was sort of surprising to me :)

I almost finished the hall last night before bed, leaving just a couple more boards to install. The office will be next. Missy and I did manage to get everything painted in between, so just the floor and trim remains. One more solid day, looks like Saturday might work.

So anyway... Green Bay won their first real game of the season, beating the Vikings. I must admit, Aaron Rodgers looked pretty good. Brett Favre and the Jets (aka Bretts) also won their first game and Favre looked good.

The last time we went to Menards they were closing out their patio furniture, so we bought a nice two seat slider chair with a small table in the middle and a matching glider bench seat. Hard to believe but those actually took about 6 hours to assemble, but they look nice. Much better than having a bar stool and office chair on the back porch. That was so ghetto.

So that's about it for the last week, I'll try to post here more often.

Enough is Enough

2008-09-03T21:30:00.002-05:00

Let me preface this blog by saying that I am not a racist, not at all. I don't care what color you are, what your ethnic background is, your religious beliefs (as long as you keep them to yourself), etc. Now, with that little disclaimer out of the way...

What the hell is up will all the Indian call centers? I had to call Capital One to update my address. Indian call center. Then I called HSBC to do the same. Indian call center. Then it was CitiFinancial's turn, since they financed my truck. Indian call center.

Now I wouldn't have a major issue with this, if these people could freakin' speak English. Maybe it's me, but I cannot understand hardly anything they say, and have to ask them to repeat things over and over again. If you are going to be working in a call center answering calls from American's, you need to speak fluent and clear English, or Spanish. But what they hell do they speak? And why do all of these companies think it's such a great idea to have their call centers there? Yeah, I know the answer, it's cheap.

So that is what Capital Once, HSBC, CitiFinancial, Dell, Microsoft and all the others think we as customers deserve. Before I open my next credit card or take out a loan, I am going to call the potential creditor's customer support number. If I cannot understand them saying hello, I will look elsewhere.

And that is not something wrong with India, that is something wrong with America.

The Real Reason for Global Warming

2008-08-30T00:55:00.003-05:00

See the problem? It is almost 1AM and it's sunny outside, at least according to Yahoo! Weather :) I just looked. It's dark.

I have worked about 40 of the last 48 hours on getting my online ePrescribing software running well. We have just over a week to go until we start certification, and I am excited, but also have a lot more to do. Everyone at Workflow is working some serious hours these days getting a lot of new features written. We are doing some great work, but it is starting to take its toll on the developers too. But we are a resilient and talented bunch, and will make it through this push just fine.

I can only work about 10-12 hours at a time, and then I need a break. Not to sleep, I am quite good at avoiding that, but to grab a bite to eat and put 30 minutes or so into my basement project. I think it helps clear the mind to do something totally unrelated to your work every now and then.

I usually take these breaks when I get to a point where I am stuck, a mental block brought on by frustration or fatigue. It's funny, but I take a break and pick up a paintbrush, or run more electrical wire, and I start thinking about the problem at hand. I almost always come up with the solution when I am doing something other than sitting in front of the computer.

I am sure there is a scientific explanation for this, same for when you wake up at 4:15AM out of a dead sleep and know how to solve a problem. The brain works in mysterious ways.

I did a short break last night and watch Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. I enjoy hearing him, he is inspirational and a joy to listen to. Imagine what it would be like to have a president that is smart and personable. Sounds like a great idea to me. Plus, I just don't think I can handle any more old white guys. It is time for a change.

I am impressed by the Packers new 2nd/3rd string quarterback Matt Flynn. We went 1-3 in the preseason, but I don't put much weight into that. It was obvious the coach was trying some new things, it just didn't work out that well. Flynn looked rough in the first games, but in game 4 he really shined, and threw a couple of incredible passes and scrambled like mad. I guess he got tired of getting leveled. He sort of reminded me of another Packers quarterback... What's his name... Number 4... Broke every record known to man... 38 years old... Retired and then wanted to come back... Oh well, it will come to me.

Seriously, this kid has a long way to go before I even consider putting him in the same league as Favre, but he was impressive. Much more so than Aaron Rodgers. All the media talks about Flynn competing with Brohm for the 2nd string. Don't be too surprised to see Flynn getting some serious field time this year while Rodgers sits on the bench, he looked much better than Rodgers.

So I am guess I am done rambling. It has been a long week, and will be a long weekend. I am hoping to score a block of about 6 hours somewhere, I think I can get my office almost ready to move in if I do. But work matters are pressing, so some things in life may just have to wait.

We Are Outta Here!

2008-08-25T09:30:00.000-05:00

This was a very busy weekend. Missy and I finally got all of our stuff out of the old duplex and over to the new house, and that was a lot of stuff! We are both wiped out and worked very hard and long hours, but we are officially moved out now. I wonder how long it will be until we are moved in?

I am down to 2 days from having the office and new hall complete, I think. I have to cleanup from all the sanding, primer the hall and touch up the office, paint everything and install the floor. If I can grab some hours this coming weekend I hope to get it done, and post some pictures of course.

Spelling Matters (NOT)

2008-08-22T10:52:00.001-05:00

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Happy Birthday Delaney!

2008-08-21T02:50:00.001-05:00

Wow, I cannot believe it has been 10 years since my first daughter was born. I know everyone says that, but it literally seems like last week I was holding her in my arm (one arm) and napping with her on the couch.

We have been through a lot in these 10 years, including our move to Wisconsin in 2000 and the divorce of Janelle and me in 2003. I know this was, and still is, very hard on you, but you were conceived in love and truly are the pride and joy of both of us.

The changes in our family are also a blessing, because now many more people have gotten to know and love you. Missy loves you just as I do, and Halle is a best friend as well as a sister.

It has been truly amazing watching you grow up. I see so much of myself in you and am very proud of the sweet young lady you have become.

You are even more beautiful today than you were on your second birthday, and I don't even know how that is possible.

You are certainly getting older and the number of years that you and I can go Trick-Or-Treating dressed up as dalmations (some thought we were cows) is getting fewer. But I will always have these memories and pictures to remind me just how special you are.

You definitely got my whacky sense of humor, and have had it for a long time. I have never laughed so hard in my life as when you came down the stairs in February 2001 with a bowl on your head and Mickey Mouse ears around your waist yelling "Buzz Lightyear, To Infinity and Beyond!"

I hope that you will always love your daddy as much as you did in March 2001.

You have always been a little daring, willing to try new things. That is something that I love about you and something you got from me.

Like father like daughter.

At 3 years old, I knew I was in trouble!

Halloween 2001 sure was a fun night too.

You probably don't remember this day, but we visited Zenith Aircraft company in Mexico, MO in February 2002. That was the first time you sat in a small plane. I remember that day well, and was impressed by how well you flew the little Cessna 152 last month when I let you have the controls for the first time. You definitely have your fathers DNA. And yes, one of your birthday presents from me will be an hour flying around Madison so you can show off your Red Baroness skills to me!

And then life got really hard for a while, but you were a real trooper. When I moved into my own apartment, even though it was just down the street, I felt very alone. I loved the nights you and your sister would spend with me. You were only 4 and Haley was just 18 months when this picture was taken, but you helped me out a ton taking care of her. And even today, though you may fight and Haley sometimes may drive you nuts, you are still a wonderful sister and an even better daughter.

We didn't have much in 2003, but we still had each other. The love we shared was the only thing that got me through this terrible year.

From Eminem: "Have you ever loved someone so much you'd give an arm for? Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for?"

I tell you girls everyday how much I love you. Sure, this tattoo is kind of silly, but it's what I felt I needed to do at the time, a constant reminder to myself that there is much more in this life than me.

And then you turned 5, the age I told my grandpa I never wanted to leave. That was half your life ago, and yesterday to me.

And since you were 5, it was time to start school. You were very brave that day, but I was a basketcase. I put on a smile, and didn't let the world know, but I just could not believe my little baby was getting on a school bus for her first day.

Most of 2003 you were my best friend. I mean, you were always my "bestest buddy", but especially in 2003. Even though times were very tough, we still managed to hang out a lot together, and get into just a little trouble too!

And then "POOF", all of a sudden you turned 6.

Definitely not a baby anymore, though you will always be my baby.

And when did you learn to sucker me into everything? I mean seriously, 2 ferrets, 2 lizards, a couple of cats, a dog and 2 guinea pigs? Yeah, you have your daddy wrapped all around your little fingers.

What? Did something scare you? It sure surprised me, you went and turned 7!

It was sometime around then you developed your love of horses. I don't know where you got that from, it certainly was not me. But you love all animals, even the creepy kind, but I guess horses are still your favorite.

A year later, and now 8 years old, and still have horses on the brain!

This picture was taken July 4th, 2006, around the first time you met Halle. Who knew she would become one of your best friends? Could you have imagined that just a little over a year from this date, she would be your sister? Me neither :)

So here you are, almost 9 years old, reading to dogs. Yes, life was getting much better now. The family was coming together nicely and everything just felt more like home.

Yep, everything is coming together real nice.

And then came the big day. Just a month shy of your 9th birthday. You were so beautiful in your dress, and performed your job of helping your dad and Missy get married flawlessly. My little girl was becoming a young lady then, and I could not have been more proud of you than I was on this day.

And we sang and danced "We Are Family". And we are, and it is very good.

And then you turned 9, and apparently into a cowgirl!

And you still loved horses. By now you were taking real riding lessons. I am always amazed when I see you ride, you really do know what you are doing, and it is great that you have something like this that is uniquely "Delaney".

Here is the latest picture I have of you, taken on August 1st, 2008. What! We have owned this home for less than 24 hours and you are covering the walls with graffiti! You are so punished little Munch! :)

But back to being serious one final time. I cannot express in words how much I love you. I do try to be the best dad that I can be, but you kids don't come with owners manuals. So far you have been easy, a downright delight to raise. I sure hope this does not mean you are saving up all your bad mojo for your teenage years!

I guess when I wake up in the morning you will be about 16, 21 by lunch time, and married by dinner. Or at least that is how it will feel to me. I do hope you have a wonderful birthday and enjoyed our little shopping spree last night. I love you more than words and pictures can say, and wish you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Time Flies

2008-08-18T14:45:00.004-05:00

I used to be so good at keeping my blog up to date, but things are still crazy around the new house. I am still managing to work about 55 hours a week on my normal job, while slowly tackling the ever-growing "Honey Do List".

The office and new hallway are coming together nicely, I think I am finally ready to paint and am planning to do the primer coat this evening. I have never sanded so much drywall mud in my life, and I sure won't miss that job! God is laughing hysterically at my original plan of 3 days total :)

We had to buy a lawnmower and found a sweet deal at Sears on a lightly used Snapper self-propelled. My grandpa used one of those for many years so I am hoping for the same luck.

I stumbled upon an even sweeter deal Saturday. I had planned to take the girls garage saling for a while to kill time while Missy was at work, and had not planned to buy anything myself. That was until our first stop. A lady was selling a pillowtop Sealy Posturpedic California King mattress, box springs, and frame for $25. It had only been slept in a few nights, she did not like it, and they put it in storage for 2 years. Missy and I needed a new bed very badly, our queen size bed is only a year old but we both wake up with back pain and it sags in the middle. The girls and I decided this would be a nice surprise for Missy and we brought it home. The lady I bought it from warned me that the frame might not be the right one, and she was right. But rather than buying a frame to fit it, I just modified the existing one using left-over 2x4's from the office project. An hour later we had the most awesome bed we've ever owned, and yes, Missy was very surprised and very happy with us.

I installed a new garbage disposal this morning, at 7AM. The cats woke me up around 5:30 and I could not get back to sleep, so I made a Menards run very early and bought a new GE disposal, made in China of course. Dang, even GE makes their stuff in China. So $69 and a pretty nasty cut on my finger later and we can now shove all kinds of crap down the sink.

I bought a cat door, which is still in the box waiting for me to install. I have a plan for making a "cat house" in part of the basement. Their litter pans and some toys will go in there, and it should be sufficiently sealed off from the basement that the smell is contained. If they wake me up tomorrow at 5:30 AM, their dead rotting carcasses can also be found there.

On August 9th we attended the first annual GulliFest, honoring the memory of Halle's dad, Mike Gullickson, who was killed in a snowmobile accident February 20th. Everyone had a great time and there were no problems at all. The bands 4 Below and 4xDaily performed until late in the evening. We are all looking forward to next year!

So that's what we've been up to lately. Painting, removing wallpaper, eating and breathing drywall mud and dust, mowing the grass, and putting stuff away. We still have a solid day of work to get out the duplex and that will have to happen this coming weekend. We are hoping to get a good chunk of our security deposit there back to put up a fence for the dogs. I say that will only take 1 day :)

Holy Cow!!!

2008-08-07T14:08:00.030-05:00

Today is August 7th, 2008 and the last week is a blur. It seems like we closed on the house a few hours ago, but it has already been an entire week since that day. I have never had time go by so quick in my life, but I have the battle wounds to prove we all had a very busy week. This blog entry will probably be long, since I will summarize everything we have done, and try not to forget too much.

As expected, we did in fact close on our home last Thursday at 2:00 PM, right on time. It took about an hour and a half, and other than a very minor typo on one of the many forms we had to sign, everything went very smooth (the typo was corrected within a few minutes). Once we were done with the closing, we headed back to the old duplex and started moving things we would need right away to the house, like tools, etc. My dad made it into town about 5:30 or so and we all went to Shelton's for dinner. The calm before the storm :)

We went to bed pretty early Thursday night, and I awoke first just after 6AM and got my truck loaded with more tools. We headed over to the house around 8AM to start our work. The girls started by painting in the bedrooms.

The hard work was starting downstairs :) My dad and I started with the wiring. We had to pull several new runs of coax and ethernet cable, as well as the high voltage 12 gauge wire for the new office and computer closet (aka the brain center).

Not too long after this, Uncle Pat (the electrician) came over to lend a hand as well. I thought we would be done with the framing and rough electrical at this point, but reality was we had barely just begun. He did move a poorly located air conditioning switch and doorbell wire for us, as well as prepped the overhead light for what will become a ceiling fan.

Missy's brother Josh also came over, delivered to us by his sister Kris, who also lent a helping hand. Josh had planned to stay one night, but we needed him and he stayed until Wednesday. Thanks Josh!! We would never have gotten as far as we did without him, and it was a lot of fun having him around as well. We started the framing.

And around 2 or 3 AM, day one came to a close. Saturday started for us about 9AM, and we kept on framing.

It doesn't seem like it should take as long as it should, but because of tons of tiny little problems, they add up to kill a lot of time. Smoke breaks also cut into your time :) At some point, Saturday ended and Sunday began, but I don't remember exactly when. So these pictures were taken at some point on Sunday, probably in the middle of the night. The framing was completed and we started hanging the ceiling drywall.

We didn't think Sunday would ever end. Dad had to get to bed around midnight, Josh and I stayed up until about 3:30 AM completing the framing of the hall. There was not supposed to be a hall, it was originally planned to be a foyer. But there were just too many pipes, vents, wires, and other stuff hanging around in our way to make this practical. We decided to build a hall instead, and the existing "stuff" was positioned just right to allow this to happen.

Monday began about 4 hours after Sunday ended, and we started the bulk of the drywall hanging work. We tried to each do our own thing, Josh and I would cut and hang the drywall and my dad would tape and mud it. Sometimes this worked out well, but the office is small and we were often in each others way. But we managed to make good progress.

Monday ended very late too, and Tuesday was my last day off work. It was obvious to me at this point that my previous schedule was just a dream. This was not a surprise to me, I knew my self-imposed schedule was very optimistic to the point of being humorous, but a boy can dream, right? So Tuesday was all about drywall and mud, and hanging the final door.

Even pushing 40, you can still learn a lot from your dad.

Papaw teaching Halle too about the finer points of drywall mudding.

So there it is, the last week in a nutshell. I also wired my server closet yesterday and managed to get everything back online in pretty short order, no thanks to Charter, they sent me a bad cable modem and I had to drive to the other side of town to get a new one. Murphy's law was always present on this project with gas lines and other plumbing being in the way, outlets that refused to sit flush against the drywall no matter how many times we moved them, a nail gun that tried to kill us, "standard" door knobs that don't fit our "standard" doors, electrical wire that arrived as underground wire which is a total PITA to work with, cuts and stab wounds, and a bunch of other stuff I am trying to forget.

Lack of sleep and the feeling of being beat up constantly took its toll on us, but we still had a lot of fun doing this. As rough as it was, this is what good family memories are made of. I cannot express how thankful we are to my dad and Josh. You guys were real troopers and we very much appreciate all the time and effort you put into this project. THANK YOU!!!

And our friend June too, don't think I am going to forget about her! She helped Missy out a ton with the upstairs painting and wallpaper removal, and I am sure a bunch more stuff. She was around as much as she could be and her hard work is also appreciated!

A special shout-out too to Uncle Pat for stopping by to check my electrical work and get everything properly hooked up. I did not get shocked even once this week, even though I did manage to grab a hot wire.

On Monday, Two Men and a Truck also moved a majority of the household goods. They should be sued for false advertising, they actually sent 3 men :) Seriously though, they did a fantastic job and all of the guys were terrific.

So that's it, back to work now... I am actually working now in the unfinished part of the basement next to my office. Once it is complete, in a month or so, I will move in there. Even this is far better than the duplex!

4 Hours Until Closing...

2008-07-31T09:45:00.002-05:00

But who's keeping track? :) Today should be a very good day, we are buying our house in just over 4 hours. Nothing can wrong at this point, right? I thought I would not be able to sleep last night, but thankfully I was wrong and slept like a rock. I feel good this morning, better than I have felt in a week and energized, ready to tackle the construction and moving. I have a few loose ends to tie off at Workflow.com this morning and will then have until next Wednesday off work to do our stuff.

My dad should be on his way up here from Western Kentucky, tools in hand. Our friend June and her daughter Renee are coming over after work and Saturday to help, and Missy's brother Josh is also going to come down Saturday to help, presumably with the drywall. All of the cables, wiring and computer stuff I needed did in fact arrive yesterday from CablesForLess and NewEgg. I got the cashiers check for closing, the $100 for Lucille to buy the pool table from her, and Bug and I went to the hardware store to pick out a few last minute things last night. Knowing my access to my computer and Internet will be limited, I already paid all of the upcoming bills and made sure the checkbook was in balance. We had so much time to spare, we even went swimming for 30 minutes last night.

Bug and I also bought a new mailbox and stickers to put our name on it. The mailbox that is at the house now is old and says "Grosse". Nothing stakes your claim to a place like replacing their mailbox with your own :)

I did visit the house yesterday to check on the status of the roof repairs. Something has been done, there was new tar on the roof, but I could not tell if the rotted plywood underneath was actually replaced. I have not yet heard from my realtor about a final walk-through, but at this point it doesn't matter. If the plywood was not replaced, I will do it myself, I am not that afraid of heights.

We did have a minor scare earlier in the week when I received the final HUD settlement document. The numbers did not seem to add up. In a panic, I emailed our mortgage broker, Jules Stewart at iFreedom Direct, and she immediately called me back. There was actually no problem at all, and we verified this in Excel, just the layout of the form is confusing. She has been absolutely wonderful to work with, THANKS JULES! I highly recommend anyone considering either an FHA or VA mortgage to give her a call (800.891.5785 x6624 or 801.682.9907). Jules is also good for entertaining stories and Zen-like precision and thoughtfulness.

Well, that's all for now. Missy and I will soon be homeowners and I will be posting updates to the blog as time allows during the construction and move. Kind of like HGTV, but in our own home :)

T Minus 24 Hours

2008-07-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

We are just a shade over 24 hours now before we are homeowners! Or to look at it another way, deep in debt :) The optimistic me prefers the former, and Missy and I are both very much looking forward to having our own place, a house we can truly turn into OUR home.

We haven't even closed yet, and we've already spent over $2,000 on "stuff" we need, and we are not done yet. Most of this was on construction materials for my office (which I often slip and call my bedroom) and basement foyer, but some is also for paint, pictures, computer networking, tools, and other items needed to truly turn this house into our home, with our own taste, etc. We will start our journey tomorrow afternoon, right after closing.

My dad will arrive tomorrow, construction will start on Friday, and I will post pictures here of our progress. We lost (literally, it disappeared) our new Kodak camera we bought on Woot a while back, but I scored a nice cheap camera from a guy on Craigslist and bought it this morning. Stuff that I ordered online from CablesForLess and NewEgg are supposed to arrive via UPS later today, and UBC will be delivering all the building materials first thing Friday morning. It is going to get real busy here real quick, but I am ready for it and VERY much looking forward to this work.

At the Workflow.com company meeting last week, I discovered my personality type, ESTJ. Translated that means I am Extroverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging. I am a guardian, a level-headed, do it right, well planned and on time type of person. Let's see how well that holds up :) Just to prove the test valid, I have created self-imposed deadlines for the construction:

Day 1 (Friday) - Framing and Electrical. Missy's uncle Pat is an electrician and is going to stop by Friday after work to hook up our wiring to the service, and of course check my work. So the real deadline for this is actually about 5:30 PM Friday, not midnight :)

Day 2 - Hang all drywall and mud.

Day 3 - Sand mud, paint everything, hang ceiling fan and light. Start wood laminate floor installation in free time :)

Day 4 - Finish wood laminate floor, paint and install all trim. Have a beer, go to Ho-Chunk with dad, etc.

Day 5 (Tuesday) - This is my last day off work for about 2 weeks. Tie off all loose ends, unpack, organize, complete move, wire the network, etc. In bed by 4:00 PM :)

So that's the plan. Hear God laughing?

PS: Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart, Jules Stewart

51 Hours and Counting

2008-07-29T11:00:00.001-05:00

We will be homeowners in 51 hours, but who's keeping track? :)

I made it back from Cleveland, just barely thanks to Continental Airlines. They suck, scaled back so much they had no pilots in Cleveland to fly the plane to Madison and had to fly some in from New York, making me about 4 hours late getting home. After a fun but tiring weekend in Cleveland, I was hardly in the mood for airline delays, but what can you do.

Missy and I purchased almost everything we need to complete the basement construction project yesterday, and will have a huge load of materials delivered by UBC to the house on Friday morning. I had some down-time in Cleveland Sunday waiting for the plane, so I did manage to get all the utilities changed over, or scheduled to be changed.

We are still waiting on the final settlement documents, but were told that they may not be ready until the morning of closing, Thursday. Should be getting real busy here soon, but will be a lot of fun as well. The movers will be here next Monday, so I will be able to concentrate on the office construction with my dad Friday through Monday, which should be enough time.

When I get back to work next Wednesday, it will be major push mode for about 2-3 weeks while a major portion of my code gets certification. Having my new office will make a huge difference I am quite certain, and it will be super nice if we actually get it completed while my dad is here.

Also, don't drink a huge variety of local microbrewery beers at Rocky River Brewing Company in Cleveland. Don't ask me how I know, just don't do it.

One Week and Cleveland To Go

2008-07-24T09:02:00.005-05:00

Wow, this has been a busy week. Missy and I have be kid-less all week so you'd think we would be wild'n out, but no, we have used this week to enjoy some quiet time and lazy evenings. On Monday we went out for a nice Anniversary dinner and Tuesday we started packing the basement, but mostly it has been chillin' out before the upcoming move.

Today marks one week before closing, and everything is still on track. I submitted what I hope is the final document to the mortgage lender today, and will be making a few phone calls this morning. My company agreed to pay for movers if I would cut my time off by 3 days, so I will only have 6 days off to build the office and get moved, but it will be worth it to have others move the bulk of the household contents, including our newly found free piano!

I am off to Cleveland, OH later today for our annual company meeting. Normally I would be looking forward to this trip, the guys I work with are crazy and a lot of fun, but I really just want this trip over. We have a lot to do to get ready for next week, but I suppose making time to throw back some Buds on Packy's dollar is not a bad idea either. I just wish my company was located in Las Vegas, Miami, New York, or someplace really cool. Cleveland is the taint of the USA, the ABC if you will, you know, the gouch. Detroit takes the cake for being the armpit.

There is definitely an air of optimism and hope around the house, and nobody is really dreading the hard work that is coming up. Just the opposite, we are all looking forward to it. Papaw (my dad) will be arriving next Thursday to help me with the basement construction, and Missy and I have already been to Menards to make the first round of purchases for the house. I suspect before my dad leaves my truck will be able to drive itself between Cross Plains and Menards :)

Happy First Anniversary Missy

2008-07-21T12:12:00.015-05:00

Happy Anniversary Missy! It was one year ago today that we tied the knot and started our lives together. That is almost hard to believe, the time has gone by so quickly, and it seems like we have already been through a lot in this time.

We have a lot to be proud of and have accomplished a lot in this short time. While we have achieved our financial goals, our biggest accomplishment is the one that we seldom give ourselves credit for, even though we have at times had to work very hard at it. We have built a family, not just merged two of them.

I used to say 3/5 + 2/5 = 1, meaning Delaney, Haley and Me plus Halle and you make a family. It was goofy, I know, but it's also true. We truly have built a wonderful family out of two. It has not always been easy, and has certainly had its share of ups and downs, but that is true of every family. That is what family is.

We have had a wonderful first year together, but have also been tested with financial strains, a lost job, and a new one that takes a lot of my time and attention. And the most trying of all, the untimely death of Halle's father. Through the good and the bad, we have gotten closer and stronger.

You are a wonderful step-mom to Delaney and Haley, even when they know exactly what buttons to push. I know that I will never replace Gulli in Halle's heart and mind, and that is not my place nor desire, but she and I have also grown much closer. I can feel a strong and lasting relationship developing between us, and I love that. I love my role in our family and wouldn't change a thing.

My life is much better with you and Halle in it. There was a time, not that long ago, that I swore I would never get married again. I was down on marriage and enjoyed just being "me". You changed all of that. I can still be me, and be a good husband and father, at the same time. You bring that out in me, and I thank you for it. What I once saw as a choice, between a life of being tied down versus a lot more freedom, was never needed. There is no reason to choose when you can have both, and I have both.

You have been a wonderful wife, and I hope I have been a good husband to you as well.

I consider myself a very lucky man, and am looking forward to many more years sharing my life with you, most definitely my better half.

Happy 1st Anniversary Missy, I LOVE YOU!!!

Version Control and Microsoft

2008-07-18T03:47:00.000-05:00

I think this may be the first blog entry I have created directly related to my profession, developing computer software. That is somewhat odd, at least to me, but out of all the things that really piss me off, software is always right at the top of the list.

My pet peeve of the day is version control software. Not all version control software, Microsoft version control software. For all that they do right, they just cannot create a decent system for managing multiple versions of source code. First they had Visual SourceSafe, which they bought many years ago from One Tree Software. It sucked when they bought it, and many years later they have hardly enhanced it at all, and it still sucks.

Now they invented Team Foundation Server, to replace SourceSafe. Problem is, it sucks almost as bad as SourceSafe! It loves to give totally meaningless SQL error messages, and has completely lost data on me more than once. My biggest complaint about TFS though is that it is integrated into Visual Studio. I mean, that is the ONLY way to use it, there is no standalone TFS client you can use, you have to use Visual Studio.

SourceSafe has a basic client application you could use, as well as integration with Visual Studio. TFS dropped the client all together. The problem I have with this is that I really, really hate having version control integrated into my development environment. In my opinion, integration with Visual Studio gets in my way. Some developers that have never used a good version control system may think I am crazy, but I know exactly what I am talking about.

In modern version control software, you should not have to "check out" a file to edit it. There should be no locks on files. You should just be able to edit away, working on whatever files you want to, whenever you want to, in the development environment and outside of it, and depend on the version control software to figure out later what you did, and merge your changes, as well as changes made by other developers. That way it does not get in your way. TFS does not work like this.

Now before "real" programmers start screaming at me about CVS and Subversion, save your breath. I am an avid user of Subversion at home, and love the TortoiseSVN shell extension for checking in changes, and managing Subversion and versions of files in general. It does not get in my way, I just check in my changes whenever I feel like it from Windows Explorer, and it always figures out exactly what I did throughout the day and merges my changes perfectly.

It also scales very well. I have many years of source code in my Subversion repository, somewhere around 15GB's of data, and have worked on large teams that used it as well, and never once had a problem. No corrupted data, no missing files, just pure version controlled bliss. It does what it is designed to do perfectly, and does not hinder a programmer trying to get work done quickly.

And best of all, it is all free. Yes, Subversion and TortoiseSVN are open source software and completely free to use. They are mature, but also actively developed and supported by a large community. The documentation is also quite good, I have installed and configured Subversion many times in my career and never had a problem getting it up and running quickly.

Way back in 92-96 I worked for Microsoft. Even though we had SourceSafe, nobody used it. We used a totally custom built in-house version control system called Source Library Manager, or SLiMe. I was talking to a friend of mine a few days ago that is still a developer at Microsoft and mentioned how bad TFS is, and to my surprise he said "Yeah, it blows chunks. We still use SLM.". I about dropped a load. After all these years, multiple versions of SourceSafe, and now TFS, Microsoft STILL does not use their own version control software. That alone should tell you more than you need to know.

That is why I am writing this blog entry at 3:47AM. I just spent 5 hours trying to tell TFS to give me a copy of an old file so I could look at it. I finally gave up, TFS lost it. I would have been screwed, but I also check my "real job code" into my home Subversion repository, which brought back the file in about 3 milliseconds. That's the way source control is supposed to work.

Brett Favre

2008-07-17T06:24:00.000-05:00

For those of you not in Wisconsin, you may not realize that something is happening that is tearing us apart. We are bordering on total civil war here, pitting brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, and Packer fan against Packer fan. Brett Favre wants to come out of retirement and play for the Packers again, or be released from his contract so he can play elsewhere.

The problem is that Aaron Rodgers has already been chosen to replace Favre as the quarterback of the Packers, and we drafted a new kid to eventually take over for Rodgers. The Packers have said they accepted Brett's retirement and "have moved on", they don't have a place for him on the team, unless he wants to be a backup QB. Brett never signed retirement papers and if he wants to come back, the Packers must take him back or release him to play for another team, possibly the Vikings or even the Bears.

Now I can see everyone's side of this story. The Packers had to make a decision to move the team forward without Brett, and have done just that. Now he wants to come back and there is no room for him on the team. Brett claims that he was forced to make a retirement decision immediately following last season, and takes responsibility for the bad decision to retire early.

Now, for my take on this whole thing, and I think I am in the minority with my choice here as there seems to be a lot of bad blood going around. I say take Brett back, as the starting quarterback, and let him play. I base this on many factors:

Brett deserves it. He was always a solid player, quite possibly the best quarterback that ever played the game.
He is a good guy. This is something seriously lacking in the NFL. He has good morals, is very giving to his community, charities and other civic organizations.
He gave the Packers a Superbowl title.
He is a staple here in Wisconsin. We watched his kids grow up, his wife battle cancer, and the death of his father. He is a much-beloved son of Wisconsin.
He's a really bad actor, remember "Something About Mary"? We don't have to worry about him not giving 100% because he is tired from filming a movie.
Aaron Rodgers is a whiny bitch. He is fragile and cannot take a hit. Hell, that would actually be a vote for bringing Brett back as the backup quarterback, Rodgers ain't gonna make it through the first game without sitting down with a pinky finger injury. Brett plays through broken bones, concussions, etc. Aaron is still young, can learn a lot still from Brett, he just needs to chill out and keep his whiny mouth shut. Dude, I have seen Brett Favre play, Brett is a friend of mine, and Aaron Rodgers, you are no Brett Favre :)
Brett has, at best, 3 seasons left in him. The younger quarterbacks can use this time to learn from the master. They should welcome this, not complain about it.
Everyone in Wisconsin loved Brett for many, many years. Do we really want him to leave with all of this bad blood between him and the Packers fans? I don't.
This one is simple. Who is likely to get the Packers to the Superbowl? Brett, and only Brett. We made it to the final 4 last year. Yeah, I know we lost that game because Brett made a stupid bonehead pass, but give him a break. I mean seriously, the Giants went on to beat possibly the best team ever in football, they deserved it.
Just thinking about how much it would suck to see Brett in a Vikings or Bears uniform makes me want to puke. Seriously, I am thinking about barfing just writing this :)

Ok, so I guess that's my Top 10 List. Everyone screwed up here, we just need to admit that. Brett made a bad choice to retire early. The Packers have to take some responsibility here to since they pressured him to make that decision too soon after the season ended. Brett Favre is a Packer through and through, the best quarterback the NFL has ever seen, he is the Number 1 Adopted Son of Wisconsin, a very good and decent man, a wonderful father and husband.

Regardless of what happens, I will forever be a Packer AND Favre fan. I will remember Brett for the many fine years he gave us, and the great joy he gave me watching him on and off the field, not for how it all ended. If he ends up playing for the Bears or Vikings I will cheer loudly for them, as long as they aren't playing my Packers :) It will take a long time for Aaron Rodgers to make me believe in him, but I will give him a fair shake too.

Prove me wrong kid, prove that you are ready to take over for a legend. Or better yet, sit your pansy ass down on the bench for another couple of seasons and soak up whatever knowledge you can from the master.

Oh So Very Close....

2008-07-15T15:30:00.005-05:00

Whew! There is a huge sign of relief echoing around our household right now. We got the home appraisal back yesterday, and this time we didn't get screwed! It came back with only $100 to spare, but that is good enough for us. Having that done is like a huge weight has been lifted off us.

Since we are pushing the dates on the contract pretty hard at this point, I called Dave Haack at Haack Homestead and scheduled the inspection for this morning. He had a cancellation so the timing worked out great. I met Dave at 8:30AM since I wanted to be there for the inspection, and also to take a few more measurements for the upcoming basement construction project.

Dave is a super nice guy and appeared to do a very thorough inspection. I debated whether or not I wanted to shell out another $355 for the inspection, but like most people, I sure am glad that I did.

Within 15 minutes he had found a substantial, but easily correctable, problem. Water had gotten under the shingles in the back of the house, over a soffit. The plywood underneath had rotted and was destroyed. Since this is over a soffit, no water got into the house and no interior damage was done. There is extra plywood and shingles in the garage, so a repair should not cost too much, just a little time. We are asking the seller to have this repair made. Her son built the house, so he will likely be the one making the fix.

The other problem Dave found was that the window frames in the basement windows had rotted to the point they are falling apart. These are near the ground and protected from sunlight by tree's, so in all likelihood snow built up there and the moisture could not evaporate. The windows themselves are fine, just the frames need repaired or replaced. We are also asking the seller to fix this, though even this should not be an expensive repair.

Overall the house is in excellent condition. Even the air conditioner was so clean you could eat off it, no dust or anything. Dave was surprised at that, he thinks the owner must have had yearly maintenance performed on all of the mechanicals because they were so clean and well maintained.

I had found a place in the vinyl siding where there was a hole and had planned to fix it myself. I was pleased to locate several long sections of siding still in the home, so making a near perfect match will be easy. Dave even mentioned that I should take an existing piece from a not-so-visible place on the house and use it to replace the broken piece, and then put the new piece where the old one was. The older aged piece will match exactly. After he said it, it made perfect sense, but I had not thought about that before.

So, back in the basement I figured out that my original plan for my office didn't work, the placement of the door just would not go where I planned it. That is no biggie, I already had a backup plan in mind, so will have to go with that. On the plus side, there is more already framed and insulated than I had planned, so there will be even less materials that I have to buy.

iFreedom Direct's underwriter only came back with 2 conditions for final loan approval. The first was some document that we signed but was missing, they are getting that from our Realtor. The second is proof of funds for closing. Nobody yet knows the real final closing costs, but are hoping to be able to calculate that pretty accurately in the next day or two so that we can submit our proof of funds for closing and get this baby sealed up.

It really looks like this is going to happen! I cannot say enough nice things about our mortgage broker, Jules Stewart at iFreedom Direct. She has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She's professional when she needs to be, and friendly and goofy at times when things get crazy. She always calls me when she says she will, and often times when she doesn't. She responds quickly to her emails and actually answers her phone when I call her. I highly recommend anyone considering either an FHA or VA mortgage to give her a call (800.891.5785 x6624 or 801.682.9907).

She is like the Anti-Jon Barca at RLCA. As crappy as he is, she is that on the good side. Ok, bashing of RLCA, Jon Barca, and Lynette Richter is done. Poof, you are out of my life :)

An Oil Man That I Like

2008-07-11T09:55:00.002-05:00

Happy real Birthday Lisa!!

I've been seeing T. Boone Pickens a lot on TV lately talking about his plan to reduce or eliminate our dependency on foreign oil. I watched the video on his web site and he certainly makes some very valid points about why we need to do this, and while his plan seems overly simplistic and incomplete, it is a start. Read more about it at http://www.pickensplan.com. It is time to get serious about this folks, we've got to figure out a way to tell OPEC to go to hell.

Did you know that the USA has 4% of the world population, but uses almost 25% of the oil? Do you know we send $700 billion per year to Arab and other oil producing countries? This is the largest transfer of wealth in world history, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that we are not transferring this money to friends of the United States. The nations that receive this money are either outright enemies of the US, or at best, nations that maintain neutrality with us because of oil and other economic reasons. They are not our friends, they do not like us, they only like our money, and we need their oil. Wouldn't it be nice to have all those oil ships from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela show up to one of our ports one day and be able to say "Nah, not today boys, go home". That would be a great day.

Hell Week is over, Missy an I have made it through an entire week without smoking! Heck Week starts today, but I am not too concerned about that. The appraisal is going to happen today too, though we won't know the result until the middle of next week. I've thought about going over to the house today to see how interested the appraiser would be in a free tank of gas :)

Happy Birthday Lisa!!!

2008-07-10T10:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Lisa!!!
I am publishing this blog entry a day early because I want to be the first to officially welcome my sister Lisa to her LATE 30'S!!! Yep, no more mid-30's, you have now crossed into late-30's and will soon join me in the "pushing 40" crowd!

We all love you and hope you have a relaxing and wonderful birthday! Statistically, you are now mid-life :) Welcome to the 2nd half!!! Damn I'm cruel :) :)

Hell Week Almost Over, Appraisal Tomorrow

2008-07-10T07:49:00.001-05:00

Right now is the start of day 7 without cigarettes and "Hell Week" will be over when we wake up tomorrow. Most of the time, quitting has not been that hard, but it sure has its moments! The mornings are the toughest for me, I always want that first smoke when I wake up. Missy brought home Chipotle burritos for dinner last night, and that really triggered a craving. But we did not give in. I am feeling a WHOLE LOT better than I used to!

The home appraisal will happen tomorrow, so we are really sweating that now and hoping all goes well. We are showing our rented duplex tonight to the next possible tenant, and really need an answer on the house tomorrow. I sure hope we do not have to wait until Monday!

I completed the drawings last night for the office addition in the basement and put an estimate together for all the materials I will need to build it, less than $1,000 including hardwood floors. It looks like it will be a fun project, I sure hope I get the chance to actually build it!

5 Days Down, Appraisal Coming

2008-07-08T23:27:00.001-05:00

I have now made it through 5 days without smoking, pretty close to a new record for me. Missy has too, other than one small slip today that doesn't really bother me. She said it was terrible, almost made her sick, so I don't think it will be a problem. My cravings are manageable and I have not had any real strong desire to smoke. I have had dreams about smoking for the last 2 nights, which is strange, especially since I am not smoking in the dreams, but trying to not smoke.

Delaney, Halle and I also visited the new house today. This was mostly for me to get measurements so that I can start planning the basement remodeling that will need to be done, but also because neither of the girls had seen the house. Haley went with us when we looked at it. Fortunately, both girls approved :)

My mortgage lender did tell me that the appraisal has been scheduled for Friday of this week. We are hoping to know that day what the dollar amount is, but fear we won't know until Monday. This is making getting an inspection done in time quite difficult, but the biggest hurdle to get over right now is the appraisal. We are only 3 weeks from closing and are showing our duplex to a potential renter Thursday night, so we are flirting with the possibility of not having a place to live at all if we do not close on this house. Stress is building daily.

On a wonderful note: Make-A-Wish granted our nephew Devin his wish and we had a great party at their house this evening. He wanted a Nintendo entertainment center, and they delivered in a big way. They delivered a 40" Sony Bravia LCD TV, Sony Surround Sound System, a Nintendo Wii with TONS of games, Nintendo DS Lite, 2 X Rocker video gaming chairs, and a bunch of other gifts and video game items. They also brought him clothes and Culvers catered the event with tons of chicken planks and all the side dishes, including a yummy ice cream cake!

Super-special thanks go out to Make-A-Wish Foundation, Best Buy, Circuit City, Nintendo and Culvers. Devin had a wonderful evening and will be enjoying his "rig" with the rest of his family for many years to come. If you are interested in learning more about their family, my sister-in-law Kris maintains a blog located at mama4jesus.blogspot.com.

3 Days Down, A Lifetime To Go

2008-07-07T13:33:00.004-05:00

We made it through our 3rd full day of not smoking and are now beating up on day 4. "Hell Week" will be over soon and we are hanging tough. Today is the first day back at work for us, and also the first day where the "oxygen high" really kicks in. Apparently when you quit, your carbon monoxide level falls to a normal level, and oxygen molecules replace them in your bloodstream. You feel normal, well, normal for a non-smoking person, as a former smoker you feel stoned. This is a nice side-effect :) We are both light-headed and feeling a bit clumsy, but I am feeling very good. It is sort of nice actually.

I cannot really concentrate today, so I am doing other things I need to do for work that don't require much brain power, like planning my upcoming flight and reservations to Cleveland, downloading a bunch of software from the office that I will need later this week, organizing my inbox, and coming up with a way to nicely secure a web site. I am hoping this will pass by tomorrow, since I have a very busy week planned and need to get a lot done.

A somewhat funny (and money-saving) side-effect of quitting is that Missy no longer likes Mountain Dew. She has been drinking it everyday for years, sort of like her coffee, but she cannot stand it now. That is funny. I noticed at Denny's that I no longer like hashbrowns. Strange...

Still hoping to hear about the appraisal any day now...

2 Days and Counting...

2008-07-06T12:44:00.003-05:00

We have now officially crossed into day 3, with more than 48 hours free of cigarettes. Yesterday got a bit interesting, but we made it. Missy and I were both short-tempered. We went to Harbor Freight Tools (one of my favorite stores) to do some window shopping and then stopped by West Town Mall so Missy could see the new Sephora store. It was amazing, a brand new store full of nothing but cosmetics, and yet they were sold out of the only thing Missy was looking for! Halle also got a Water Massage.

We had lunch at Denny's, I noticed the hash browns did not taste right. Missy doesn't like Mountain Dew anymore (yes, hell froze over). I hope this is not our taste buds waking up after years of smoking related paralysis. When we got home I took a short nap and then cleaned and vacuumed the inside of the Explorer, I will do my truck tomorrow.

I don't want to jinx our quit, but it does not seem that hard this time around. I'm not sure why, but my cravings are not that bad and I can easily deal with them. The lozenges help some, and I like to chew on straws. This makes me look like a tard but I don't care, it's working.

Missy and Halle just left to go see a princess movie, I had to pass. I am working on some AutoCAD drawings for the basement of the new house. I wonder if the home appraisers know their life may be in jeopardy this week? :)

One Day Down

2008-07-05T11:06:00.002-05:00

Well we made it through our first full day of not smoking, 24 hours. I did revise my plan just a little and allowed myself to buy a box of nicotine lozenges that I can use when the cravings are real bad and won't go away. They are mint flavored and I went through 4 yesterday. I also bought myself a large Ice Tea container, a new cup and straw to drink from, and cut up some straws for something to chew on. Seems that little things like that may make a difference.

We also took it pretty easy yesterday. Missy and Halle went horseback riding and I did a little shopping in the early afternoon. We both took a nap in the late afternoon and I finished the evening playing Grand Theft Auto 4 and then watched the movie Vantage Point. It was a nice day, and not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I'm not sure yet what we will do today. It is a very nice day for flying, so maybe that will happen later. I am only sure of what will NOT happen today, we will not smoke.

Not having the appraisal back yet on the house adds stress, so we are hoping that is done by mid-week. I hope we are worrying about something that is not an issue. 26 days to closing right now if all goes well!

Independence Day

2008-07-03T07:55:00.002-05:00

The picture to the left is the amount of money we have spent SO FAR this year alone on cigarettes at Kwik Trip. It was taken out of Quicken today, $1,474.18 year-to-date. It says Groceries for Category, and sometimes this includes Coke or Mountain Dew, but the vast majority of that money is cigarettes. And we don't only buy smokes at Kwik Trip, we buy them at other places as well. $1,474.18 is likely LESS than we have actually spent on them. It's hard to read, but every 2-3 days we spend about $20-$25 on cigarettes at Kwik Trip.

Everyone in the US knows that tomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day. Tomorrow is also Independence Day for Missy and me. We are quitting smoking, for good, no more. I smoke much more than Missy, between 1 and 2 packs per day, she smokes about a 1/2 pack. I have been smoking since I was 15 years old and am pushing 40 pretty hard now, so I know that I NEED to quit.

I am writing this blog entry for me to read tomorrow, this weekend, next week, and next month. Even 6 months or more down the road, to remind myself why I am quitting and what it is like to be a smoker. My reasons are quitting are many, here are just a few...

Delaney, Haley, and Halle. My daughters need me to be around for a good long time. They need my financial and parental support for many years to come. And I need them. I want to be around to walk each of them down the aisle at their wedding, and want to have many good years of playing with my grandchildren.
Missy needs me too. I'm not sure why :-) I know I need her in my life, things are much more in balance since I have known and loved her.
Everything I enjoy doing for fun is so anti-smoking it's not even funny. I love to SCUBA dive, but go through air so fast that I can only stay underwater about 1/2 as long as my non-smoking friends. I have recently taken up flying aerobatics, which is physically as well as mentally challenging. To perform aerobatics well you have to be in good physical shape.
Flying in general. Aviation is my passion, and part of being able to fly is passing an FAA required medical examination every 1-2 years. A heart attack can, and likely will, ground a pilot for the rest of his life. I would like to become a flight instructor some day, but will have to have at least a 2nd class FAA medical, something that would be almost impossible to get should I suffer from any of the smoking related health issues.
I enjoy boxing. Not competitive boxing so much, though I have tried that, but getting a good cardio workout punching a heavy bag. I hate exercise in general, but do enjoy boxing. Right now I get winded walking up the stairs in my house, and the heavy bag has not even been mounted in over 2 years.
I am tired of coughing. I cough a lot, smokers cough. The mornings are the worse, when all the crap in your lungs has a chance to settle overnight. It is sometimes so bad that I get into a coughing fit in the morning for several minutes and have a hard time catching my breath. Remember that Todd, how your chest feels right now. Gooey, for lack of a better word, like your lungs are full of snot. Not a pretty picture is it? Remember that next week, as your lungs start to clear out, and the nicotine cravings are real bad. I've done this before, I know I feel MUCH better just a few days after I quit. My lungs clear very quickly and I notice the difference. There is near immediate payment for my struggles, don't give up!
I've heard that quitting smoking increases your sex drive. Hell, that should be reason enough!
Thanks to our Communist governor Jim Doyle, and equally Communist Madison Mayor Dave, a pack of smokes cost $4.50. So that's about $9 a day for me and $2.25 for Missy. $11.25 per day to kills ourselves real slow. Over $330 per month so we can shave 10-15 years off our lives? There are a lot of things we could spend $330 per month on. Or to look at it another way, $3,960 a year, that is a real nice vacation for Missy and me, as well as all of our kids! $3,960 would probably pay for ALL of the home improvements we would like to do to the home we are hoping to purchase later this month. We might even be able to fill up the Explorer and my F-150! :)
Just feeling better in general. Sure the first week will be tough, but that week will pass.

I have tried to quit many times in the past and failed, but that was due to me not "really" wanting to quit. Other people wanted me to quit, I thought it "would be nice to quit", but was never committed to it. I am now, and I know we NEED to quit. This blog entry is part of my plan, writing down the reasons that I want to quit, so that I can review them later. Another part of the plan is rewards for good behavior. I will let Missy create her own rewards, and whatever she comes up with will be fine with me. But here are my cookies:

At 1 week, next Friday, I am going to rent a Cessna 152 and fly the hell out of it for 1 hour, solo, just flying around Madison doing whatever I feel like. Even money vs. smoking.
At 1 month I am going to order the Acro Sport 2 airplane plans. I have wanted a set for some time and they cost $125. Smoking would have cost me $189 in this time frame, so I will already be $64 ahead.
At 2 months, I am going to buy a bandsaw. The one I want costs $190, so I will then be $144 ahead.
At 3 months I am going to order some Sitka Spruce to build the wings of the Acro Sport. I will spend about $250 on this, $20 less than smoking that month, and $164 more in my pocket than if I had smoked.
At 6 months I am going to buy my own parachute. A used one runs about $600, and over the previous 3 months I will have saved $810 by not smoking. I will still be $374 in the black.
At 1 year I am going to go skydiving. That only costs about $150, and it's not worth keeping track of the money saved anymore by not smoking, that is just my reward for 1 year of not smoking. Do something that I have always wanted to do.

So there, I have listed some of the reasons I want to quit, and the rewards I will give to myself when I reach milestones along the way. I am going to quit Cold Turkey, which I know will make for 2-7 days of hell, but will also get the nicotine out of my system completely and quickly. I don't want to do this slowly. I don't want to use a patch, gum, inhaler, or anything else. To me those just prolong the misery, cost money, and I have tried them in the past. Just quit. Like Haley says "Just stop doing it". She's right, there is a lot of wisdom in a 7 year old.

Haley's Birthday and Immelman Turns

2008-07-01T21:49:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday Bug! It's hard to believe you are 7 years old already! We all love you very much!

Today I flew my 5th aerobatic lesson with Mike Love. We started out with the normal aileron rolls on our way out to the practice area. We actually went a little farther north, just beyond the Wisconsin River near Sauk City because other students were practicing to the south. Once we got there, I did several loops, pretty nice ones too. So now aileron rolls and loops are old hat, not really a challenge to me anymore, and they don't make me sick. Time to move on!

When you are learning aerobatics you start of with rolls and loops because they are the building blocks of more complex maneuvers. I was hoping for some Cuban 8's today, but those will have to wait, the Immelman Turn is the obvious next step. It is named for the World War 1 German ace that invented it. The object of the Immelman is to reverse direction by 180 degrees while gaining altitude and losing airspeed. It is the nearly opposite of a Split-S. If the animation below does not work, just click it.

To perform the Immelman in a Cessna Aerobat you start by diving to get your speed up to 130 knots, about 10 knots faster than when doing a loop. You then pull up to about 3.5-4 G's and hold that until you are near the top of the loop. At the top, you provide a little gentle forward pressure, just enough to hang there for a short second. This is real easy so far, now on to the part I had trouble with.

To roll the wings level you can roll either left or right, but have to initially provide opposite rudder. So if you roll left, you need some right rudder, and vice-versa. But you only use opposite rudder for a second, then switch to the other foot. It is similar to doing a crosswind landing, but upside down. I had a problem with this. I just could not seem to roll left and use right rudder, or roll right and use left. It actually became quite humorous, I just could not convince my feet to do what I wanted them to. The result was dubbed "The Osborne Turn" by my instructor, it is like an Immelman, but instead of turning 180 degrees, you turn either 90 or 270. Quite interesting :)

The first one I did actually resulted in me being pinned to the ceiling of the plane. I did not have my seatbelts tight enough, and the hang-time at the top of the loop made my head hit the ceiling. It was not comfortable, but it was funny. I tightened the seatbelts :)

Mike also warned me about the possiblity of spinning out of the top of an Immelman, that it is sometimes called the Immelman Spin because of the good likelihood of this happening. I guess I just had to prove it to myself. I did spin out of one unintentionally, but even that was fun.

I never really got the hang of the Immelman, at least not yet, so I will be back to face these again next week. The rest of the flight was real nice, a beautiful morning to fly.

A Virtual Tour

2008-06-30T12:09:00.002-05:00

No news to report yet on the house, but I did find a virtual tour online that has a lot of really nice pictures.

Appraisal, Part Two

2008-06-28T22:30:00.002-05:00

Well after going back and fore several times with the owner of the house, we have all agreed on the final terms and signed the required contracts to purchase. All of the paperwork will be delivered to the mortgage company on Monday or Tuesday, at which time the FHA appraisal will be ordered. It already seems like we have come very far in this process, but we are acutely aware that had the last appraisal been done correctly we would already have been in our new home for almost a month now.

So we are back into waiting mode, hoping that everything goes well. If it does, we will close on our new home the end of July, just a little over 4 weeks from now. If it doesn't, we will either close the end of August with a different mortgage company (non-FHA), or will be stuck in our rented duplex until the spring. We don't even want to think about that right now. So we will just wait and see what happens, and try not to get our hopes up just yet. I did instruct the mortgage company that I absolutely will not pay for an appraisal done by Lynette Richter.

Though we are trying to keep emotion out of this right now, we did hit Menards this afternoon and looked at ceiling fans, cabinet hardware, pre-hung door frames, paint, and other stuff we will hopefully need to purchase very soon. Keeping our fingers crossed....

Counter the Counter and Aerobatics Part 4

2008-06-25T14:46:00.004-05:00

As expected, the lady that owns the home we made the offer on has countered our offer. It seems we are not that far apart, but we did submit a counter to her counter. I guess this can go on forever :) One of the things she requested was some information about our family. Seems she is careful about who she sells the house too, and this is something that I actually like and welcome. I wrote her a nice letter to introduce her to our family, and also extended an invitation for her to visit the home once we get settled in. I realize that she has many memories here, and would welcome her visit if she cares to come back from time to time to visit those memories. I also enjoy talking to older people, so that would be fun.

We should find out this evening if she is planning to accept our counter offer, and are of course hoping that she does. I am not looking forward to the appraisal, since this is what killed the last deal, but I know it has to be done.

I did fly my 4th aerobatic lesson yesterday over my lunch break. Mike and I did 4 or 5 aileron rolls to warm up, followed by 4 loops, and 2 spins. Mike was right, I am building up a tolerance quickly to aerobatics, I did not even feel slightly sick following these maneuvers. I flew the plane quite well and Mike was very happy with my performance. I almost messed up one of the loops by letting the back pressure on the yoke go a bit early, which almost resulted in a tail slide, but I was able to correct that.

I had not done a spin since the late 80's, so I told Mike I wanted to spin it, and without any coaching from him. I wanted to see if I still remembered how to get out of a spin. I did, too well. The first spin I let loose of the yoke too early and broke the spin before we completed 1/4 turn. That was bad, so I went for another. This time I let the spin fully develop and we completed 1 rotation before I broke it, only about 15 degrees off from my chosen heading. Not bad.

We had a very fun flight and these maneuvers are not scaring me at all any longer, they are just plain fun. Possibly the lack of fear is also making my stomach handle the flights a bit better as well. Now don't think for a second that my lack of fear means lack of respect or complacency, far from it. I am just feeling more and more comfortable flying like this, which makes it even more enjoyable.

My approach was high and my landing long, the only thing I guess I can ding myself on yesterday. But the landing was soft and good. I told Mike that it reminds me of my instrument training. You work so hard in a short period of time that you are mentally, and somewhat physically, tired when it comes time to land. This was my first bad approach in a while, so maybe it was just a fluke. I will hold myself to my normal tolerances next time. Mike is a stickler for good approaches and landings, he literally wrote books on the subject, so I do appreciate his input in correcting any bad habits I have picked up over the years.

Making Another Offer

2008-06-22T11:04:00.004-05:00

As expected, the first home we looked at yesterday was our favorite, so we have decided to make an offer on it. Our Realtor was going to write it up yesterday and will bring it over later today for us to sign. The sellers will then have until Tuesday to accept or counter the offer, and we expect a counter.

We looked at two other houses as well. The house on Martin Street we ruled out because it did not have air conditioning, and would need a lot of updating and other work. It did have an excellent hot tub room, but that could not make up for the other many shortcomings.

A rebuilt home on the corner of Church and Brewery was very cool. It had a ton of woodwork and, at least to me, felt like a very large cabin style home. I loved the house since I am always partial to a lot of woodwork, but the location is terrible. It almost touches the house next door and has a horrible yard. In addition, when they rebuilt the home, they kept the original stone basement and added a crawl-space under the new addition. This means the basement is like a dungeon and has no usable area at all.

As for the home we are making an offer on. It does need some updating because it is owned by an older lady that has lived there since the house was built in 1992. There is some wallpaper that must come down, but not too much. We will have some substantial painting to do, both interior and on the rear sundeck, but the deck is a major selling point, very nice. The carpet is in good condition and the kitchen will only require removal of a hideous stove exhaust system and updated hardware for the cabinets. All walls are basic white and without crown molding, so a few dollars and a few weekends of work will totally overhaul the upstairs and make it very nice. I would also replace all of the overhead light fixtures with ceiling fans in all bedrooms, something I have a ton of experience doing.

The basement is about 1/3 finished, which is perfect for me. The part that is finished was done very well and creates a large family and game room, with a 1/2 bathroom. When I walked into the unfinished section is when I fell in love with the house.

There is probably 800-900 square feet that is studded in and insulated already, all exterior walls. An additional 150 or so square feet is provided as a cold storage room, with built in shelves. In the main basement there are beefy hand-made shelves along an entire wall, and a great space to build in. I will be able to add a workshop and office for me, as well as another play/family area. Another bedroom, or one shared with my office, would also be quite easy to build.

Having the exterior walls studded and insulated will save me a lot of money when I finish the basement, which would be right after the closing (at least my office). I haven't yet drawn up my plans for how to finish it, but just guessing I would need about 75 2x4", 20-30 sheets of drywall, 3-4 interior doors, electrical wire and outlets, tape and mud, trim, paint and misc. hardware. Carpet will likely be the most expensive single item, so will probably wait just a little while.

Even though I am just dreaming at this point, we are hopeful that we will have an accepted offer and a closing date set by the end of this week. Then we will sweat yet another appraisal. I have already told the mortgage companies that I will not pay for an appraisal done by Landsafe and/or Lynette Richter, because they totally suck. See the previous home offer for more information on Landsafe and Lynette Richter.

More House Shopping

2008-06-21T09:43:00.005-05:00

After a couple of months off from house shopping, we are back at it this morning. I was able to get us pre-approved for a new mortgage, possibly two, this week. The best one may be through Jules Stewart at iFreedom Direct, but it also looks like our local State Bank of Cross Plains may have a good one too.

The problem is there are not many homes we like for sale in Cross Plains right now, and we are limiting our search to the village, or at least the township, so that the kids will not have to change schools. Did I mention that we love Cross Plains? :) There is one home that seems nice and we are going to look at it this morning. It is on Thinnes Street, just a couple of blocks from my ex-wife (our only nearby babysitter), which of course means my daughters.

We are looking at homes considerably less expensive than before, about $50-60k less in fact. I am hoping that the lower priced homes will have an easier time appraising, and if not, that the owners, who are typically older, may be able to make up any shortcomings in a low appraisal. The home this morning is on the market for $234,500, and has been on the market a little over a month.

There are 3 other possibilities as well, but this home is our favorite so we are going to look at it first. Our lease has expired, but the landlords are allowing us to stay here month-to-month. But that is only until the end of August, so we either have to buy a home by then, or sign a new lease that will take us into at least spring of 2009, something we are trying hard to avoid.

Officially Addicted

2008-06-18T01:35:00.002-05:00

I was warned, by my aerobatic flight instructor Mike Love, that once I started learning aerobatics I would be addicted. I am. I had my third aerobatic lesson today, and added the barrel roll to my fledgling aerobatic arsenal of aileron rolls and loops. I pretty much have aileron rolls down to a science, and they are the most fun for me to perform. I still get a bit sick each time I go out for a lesson, but it is getting less and less each time.

The last two lessons I took Dramamine, which may have helped just a little bit. But from my SCUBA diving experience I know that TripTone works well for me, as I also get sea sick quite easily. I could not find it locally, but Walgreens ordered me two boxes today, so I will have them for my lesson next week.

Nobody in my family wants to know when I am flying aerobatics, so I tell them after I am done. I am looking forward to being able to practice solo in the near future, but will have to purchase my own parachute. Legally, a parachute is not required when doing aerobatics solo, but I sure like the peace of mind it provides, even if a somewhat false sense of security. The rental units are "seat" type parachutes, which means there is about 2" of padding on your butt. This is just enough that my long legs cannot comfortably fit under the instrument panel, making the use of the brakes on the ground quite difficult. Mike handles this for my comfort, but I am looking for a used emergency parachute that is of the backpack variety, without the part that goes under your butt. Mike won't be there to handle the brakes for me when I am solo!

I am also discovering a newly re-found love of the Cessna 152. It is small and uncomfortable for someone my size (6'5"), but it sure is fun! I usually fly 172's, which are fun and easy, but the 152 is a wonderful little airplane. Especially the Aerobat, pictured above. It has minimal instruments and no gyro's, very different from the planes I normally fly, which are decked out for full IFR flight. Getting in and out of the 152 is a challenge, especially with the parachute, but it sure is a blast to fly. I had almost forgotten how great these little airplanes are!

So when I win that lottery, I will of course still purchase a twin-engine Beech Baron, but I will also pick up a Cessna 152 Aerobat. These ugly old birds just put a smile on your face so fast I just won't be able to resist having one in my hanger.

The Price of Oil and Grain

2008-06-16T09:54:00.003-05:00

So today the price of crude oil is about $140 per barrel. I got an email from my dad that seems to make sense. OPEC sells oil for $140 per barrel to the U.S. OPEC nations buy U.S. grain for $7.00 per bushel. Solution, sell them our grain for $140 per bushel. Just make grain and other items we export to them the same price as oil, problem solved :)

Windows Vista Sucks Less

2008-06-13T17:08:00.002-05:00

I have been very critical over the last couple of years of Microsoft Windows Vista. It took them 5 years to get XP really ironed out into a nice operating system, just to kill it with Vista. My first several experiences with Vista lasted a few weeks each, before reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling XP in disgust. Vista was slow, everything was in a different place, and finding stuff even for an experienced computer user was frustrating. Video drivers were bad, printer drivers impossible to find, and most of my software, even from Microsoft, either did not work on Vista or had some other "issues". I short, Vista was a piece of shit.

When I started working for workflow.com last September, Vista was thrust upon me. At least during my working hours (which is most of the time) I used Vista Business on a decked out MacBook Pro. I appreciate the irony in the fact that the best notebook computer to run Vista is a Mac, and to my surprise, Vista runs pretty darn good on it! Not as fast as XP, but it was prettier and usable. Had this been my personal computer, I would have installed XP, but since I had to use Vista, well, I had to use Vista.

I'm not sure at what point I really started liking Vista, but I did. Several months ago, just for giggles, I installed Vista Ultimate on my home server. I wanted to test out Windows Media Center as a possible replacement for Beyond TV, software I use like a TiVO to record television shows on the computer and then send them to my TV to be watched later.

I drank the Kool-Aid, I was hooked. Media Center totally and completely rocks! Within a week I had configured my entire home network around the Vista "server" machine, bought an XBox 360 to act as a Media Center Extender (and a damn good Grand Theft Auto 4 and Rock Band engine), and finally bought my first LCD HDTV, a 40" Toshiba Regza to connect to the XBox via a HDMI cable. Everything is working great, something I will blog about later. The entire setup is quite impressive really, though a bit on the complicated side for my non-geek family members.

So what prompted my complete 180 on Vista? Hardware, lots and lots of expensive, cutting edge computer hardware. When Vista came out, the hardware to run it on was just making its way to market. My personal computer was a 3.0gz Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading, 2GB of RAM, ATI 9200 video card, and several IDE hard drives. XP ran great on this setup. Vista ran "ok", but nothing to write home about, in fact, I had to upgrade the video card to an ATI X700 to make Vista usable at all.

With some changes, this computer is now my home Vista "server". The CPU is the same, but the memory was upgraded to 3GB (I could add one more gig if I want to), the slow IDE hard drives are now used for hosting the operating system and backup purposes only, a 320GB Seagate SATA drive holds my important data, and another 500GB Seagate SATA drive is used for the television shows that are recorded by Media Center and the Windows swap file. Since this is a "server" I turn off all the "rouge and lipstick", read Aero, and disabled all services (a bunch) that I don't use. Configuring Vista is still a bitch, there are tweaks and settings hidden everywhere, but a careful and slow audit of everything in the GUI allows me to run Vista on this machine quite well, as a server. I don't think I would want to actually sit in front of it and use it, but as a server it is performing great.

Now if you think this server is just for Media Center, you would be waaaaaaay wrong. This computer does Media Center, runs the WebGuide software that allows access to Media Center from a web browser, hosts my Subversion version control server for my source code, CruiseControl.net for automated software builds and integration testing, contains all of our family's important files, performs backups, and here's the kicker... It runs www.toddtown.com. Yep, this machine also hosts a VMWare Server installation of Windows Server 2003 that runs Internet Information Server 6.0, SQL Server 2005, our eMail server, and SPAM filtering software. This old Pentium 4 is REALLY earning its keep!

The average CPU load runs about 2-40%, and will occasionally hit 80-90% when a lot is going on, and memory usage runs about 65% on average. One trick to this is my use of Hauppage PVR-150 video capture cards for the Media Center. These cards do all of the video capture encoding on their hardware, and do not tax the CPU for these tasks. If they did not, this setup would not be possible.

Well Missy just got home, and for the first time in MONTHS, we are going to have a date without kids. That new Adam Sandler (Zohan) movie BETTER BE GOOD! :)

Flying to Appleton

2008-06-01T23:00:00.004-05:00

Today Missy, Halle, Haley and I flew Cessna 172 N75706 from Middleton to Appleton, Wisconsin. Last week I bought an older Lowrance AirMap 300 handheld GPS (to use as a backup) off eBay and wanted to test it out. The flight was originally going to happen yesterday, but it was very windy so I moved the flight to today, and that was a good decision.

I had not done a cross-country flight in a while, so I sort of obsessed over the planning the last few days, checking and double-checking all of my calculations and notes. Normally I am not this meticulous (anal), but considering almost my entire family was in this plane (only Delaney was missing) I wanted to make sure everything went perfect, even though the entire flight was less than 100 miles each way. My biggest concern was not busting any controlled airspace in Madison, Oshkosh and Appleton.

Doing something that I have not done since my private pilot check-ride in 1989, but something I should always do, I filed VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flight plans with the FAA. This is optional for VFR flights, but is a free insurance policy. Basically if you don't show up at your destination within 30 minutes of when you say you will be there, the FAA starts looking for you. It's a good idea to file, and only takes a couple of minutes.

I got up a little earlier in the morning and took my first weather observation, I looked out the window of my bedroom. Finding the skies critically clear with calm winds, I logged onto the AOPA Flight Planner and recalled my previously planned route, which took us from Middleton to Madison to Oshkosh to Appleton. I requested weather information, which showed forecast surface winds out of the west at 5-15 knots and winds aloft at 6000' out of the northwest at 22 knots, indicating we would have a crosswind on both legs of the flight, slowing us down a little in both directions. Winds at 3000' were lighter, but I did not want to fly that low, I had filed for 5500'. I left for the airport a little after 9AM, Missy would bring the kids about 10:30 or so.

I hung out at the airport just talking to Rich Morey for a while and watching the other planes practice in the calm morning air. An old Pietenpol open-cockpit plane was taxiing out on the grass runway when I pulled in and I watched him take off. That would be fun! I was quietly trying to persuade Rich to sell the 152 Aerobat and buy a Super Decathlon. He is trying to sell one of the 172's to buy a Super Cub, which would be great, but I told him I thought the best thing would be to sell a 172 and the Aerobat, then buy the Super Decathlon. He would get a great aerobatic plane and a tail-dragger all in the same plane. I doubt he will do it, but I could see the gears turning in his head :)

A little after 10AM, the girl that was practicing in my plane landed and I asked the lineman to top off the fuel, taking much more than we actually needed. We could have flown to and from Appleton about 3 times with that much fuel, but it's one of those things that I would rather have in the wings than on the ground. I did a thorough preflight inspection and got the plane set up for our flight, which included borrowing 3 extra headsets from Rich for the family. I mounted my new GPS and called up the flight plan on it. I found the previous pilots digital camera on the floor and took it back to Rich to return to her. About 10:45 the girls showed up, everything was looking good.

I pulled the girls into the pilot lounge for a last minute briefing. We covered my rules of no talking below 1000' and to always listen when air traffic control says "Cessna 706..." and shut up immediately, don't even finish your sentence. And the second to last rule, when my hand goes up, the mouth goes shut. The final rule of course is to have fun and enjoy the flight. We climbed in the plane and took off about 15 minutes late, about 11:15AM.

Initially climbing west, away from Madison's airspace and towards Cross Plains, I opened my flight plan with Green Bay Flight Service and showed the girls Cross Plains. I contacted Madison Approach Control before climbing through their airspace up to 5500'. We had a great view of Madison, Lake Mendota and the Madison airport, which we flew directly over. As we were flying over, a RegionalJet was taking off directly below us, that was cool to watch. The air traffic controllers were pretty busy this morning, but there was no traffic near us, and after crossing Madison we turned directly on course, V341 to Oshkosh.

About 35 northeast of Madison, air traffic control told us to contact Milwaukee Approach control on 127.0. This caught me by surprise, I was expecting Chicago Center on 133.3. I asked the controller to repeat that was for us, and she said yes, Milwaukee would take us from here. So I called up Milwaukee and they provided VFR flight following until we were a few miles north of Oshkosh, and only about 13 south of Appleton. I didn't know their RADAR reached that far, but apparently it does!

The flight was perfect, the air was calm and there were no advisories for other aircraft that came our way, the skies were nearly empty. Quite a surprise to me considering how good the flying conditions were. The only advisories were about parachute jumpers near Fond Du Lac and Fort Atkinson, a long way from us. We started our decent about 5 miles north of Oshkosh, with 13 miles to go.

I contacted Appleton tower and told them we were 13 miles south and had the runway in sight. He told me to expect runway 21 and winds were calm, so I planned to keep flying my present course, go past the airport, and then turn around and land on runway 21. About a mile or less from the airport and still at 2500' the controller asked me if I could land on runway 29. It was quite literally right in front of me, just a 90 degree left turn, but I was high. I should have said no, but I said yes, chopped the power and dropped the flaps.

I could not get the speed down quick enough and was doing about 75 knots (65 is perfect) over the numbers, meaning the flare would be long, and it was. It took a long time to bleed off the extra airspeed. The gentle "porpoising" of the plane to kill airspeed did not bother me, but I was not thinking about Missy. She did not like it at all, so I will keep that in mind next time, and either turn down an approach like that, or make the final approach longer. A stable approach not only makes for good landings, but makes your non-pilot passengers feel better. The landing itself was fine, but the winds were not calm as the controller stated, they were shifty, from all directions, about 5 knots. On landing they were from the left.

I was in the middle of telling the controller I was going to taxi to MaxAir and did not know where it was when I saw it, right next to the airline terminal, which was right next to our plane. He told me to make a "half-turn on taxiway Bravo", and voila, we were there. Taxiing in, MaxAir had a lineman providing directions and wheel chocks. Very professional, and much appreciated. We could see Paul, Heidi, Natalie, Will and Joel waving to us through the window at MaxAir. I parked the plane and shut it down, telling the lineman we did not need fuel, just needed to borrow some tarmac space for a while.

We were greeted by the entire Heuring family, and they told us that another plane had landed just before us. Thinking it was us, they gave them the same welcome! :) After a short break, I climbed back in the plane with Paul, Will, and Joel for a scenic flight around Appleton. All the other girls left with Heidi to go to their home. Will and Joel had never flown before, in any plane, so this was really a first for them. I told the controller our intentions and we taxied back to runway 29 for takeoff.

We had a real nice scenic flight. After taking off we headed east about 10 miles at 2500' (1600' above the ground) which took us over the city of Appleton. We turned south towards Lake Winnebago, and then west towards the airport while skirting the very northern edge of the lake. The visibility was literally 80 miles or more, terrific, and only a couple of small bumps along the way. We landed back on runway 29 and headed for their home. The boys loved it, they talked about the flight the rest of the day.

Paul grilled brats and hot dogs while Heidi worked on the side dishes in the kitchen. We had a real nice visit and a great lunch. The kids played in the backyard and we finally got to meet the nearly-famous dogs, they were real cool. I hung out with Paul on the back porch while he was grilling, noticing the cumulus clouds that were now starting to form in the otherwise blue skies. This is a warning to pilots, so I kept and eye on the sky the rest of the afternoon.

I knew we were not going to make our 3PM departure, so I called Flight Service on the phone and pushed it back to 3:30 and also got an update on weather conditions in Madison. 4500' scattered cumulus, light winds out of the west, good flying reported, pretty much exactly what the weather in Appleton was. We finished our (late) lunch and headed back to the airport to come home.

I warned everyone we would likely encounter light turbulence until we were about 1/2 way to Madison. I was half-right, we did encounter light turbulence, but it did not end until our wheels hit the runway in Middleton :) The route home was the reverse of the arrival, and was uneventful.

Well there was one small event, Haley's lunch paid us a return visit. This was only her 2nd flight in a small plane, and apparently the hot dog and Kool-Aid she had for lunch's first airplane ride. She said she was going to throw up and I told them to look for Sick Sacks in the panel behind my seat. There were none. Damn, I knew I should have included that in my preflight check! Missy had a cheap WalMart jacket that had to take one for the team. So Bug emptied her stomach and then to everyone's relief, fell asleep. Poor Halle had to deal with the vomit jacket the rest of the trip, but she pulled through for us!

The landing at home was good, and everyone was glad that leg of the flight was over, including me. We all had a great time. A wonderful flight up to Appleton, a great scenic flight with the boys, a perfect Wisconsin lunch, and terrific people to spend the afternoon with. The return flight could have been better if we had some calmer air, but it was safe, and we all made it back just a little tired but happy after having such a nice day.

The old $65 eBay purchased Lowrance AirMap 300 GPS also worked flawlessly and was a joy to use. It is simple and provides just the right amount of information. I cannot for the life of me figure out why they make panel mount GPS's so damn complicated, and they do. The way I see it, I am a pilot and computer programmer, and if I cannot figure out the panel mount GPS then they have designed it wrong. This plane has a multi-thousand dollar Garmin 530 mounted in the instrument panel. I used it for the communications (radio) and VOR tracking, but did not touch the GPS navigation part of it. Too many dials, buttons, screens, settings, etc. I need to look outside the plane (or at the other instruments), not at this screen for 5 minutes trying to get it to do something. The $65, 8 year old, handheld GPS worked flawlessly.

Aerobatics Are SICK!!!

2008-05-27T17:44:00.000-05:00

Now that is FUN! I had my first aerobatic lesson today with Mike Love at Morey Airplane Company in Middleton in a Cessna Aerobat. It lasted all of 30 minutes, but was some of the best minutes of my life! This also marks the first time I ever wore a parachute, but fortunately did not have to use it.

The Cessna 152 with 2 guys and parachutes is a pretty cramped place to be, but is workable. Thankfully Mike is much smaller than me, but we only carried a minimal amount of fuel for the hour we planned to fly. Even though I was having some serious fun, my stomach told me to head for home after 20 minutes. I don't get sick on planes (when they are flying properly), but do get sick on boats, and know that when you start feeling queezy that is your body telling you it's had enough. I am sure my endurance will improve as I get more and more used to flying like this. I was warned that aerobatics is like crystal meth, do it once and you're hooked! I am officially an addict!

We only flew about 8 miles from the airport, just west of Cross Plains, using highway 14 as our major landmark. Mike demonstrated the aileron roll first while I followed him through with the controls. Then it was my turn. Two rolls to the left, then one to the right, each slightly better than the one before it. I honestly never knew the yoke would twist that far! I feel like I am getting the hang of this, but also know the aileron roll is probably the simplest of all aerobatic maneuvers. My stomach was only slightly pissed off following these four rolls.

Mike wanted to try a loop. Like before, he demonstrated the first one to me and then offered to let me do one. My stomach said no, and an uncontrolled "I want to go home" came out of my mouth. I was not sick, and did not get sick, but was REAL close and had had enough for today. Mike said this is totally normal and I will quickly build up a tolerance for the G-forces and unusual attitudes. I can't wait to test his theory :)

The flight home was short and simple and the crosswind landing pretty good. I was all smiles on the outside, but my stomach was still doing aileron rolls. The total flight from engine start to stop was 30 minutes. Next time I will go for 45. Mike was kind enough to videotape this experience for me and now I will share my facial contortions with the world. Yes, that is the look of fear on my face, but also the look of tremendous fun and education.

High Winds and Aerobatics

2008-05-27T11:25:00.003-05:00

Early this morning I had a flight with my instructor, Harold Green. The wind was nasty, Madison calling it 15 knots gusting to 25, and being out of the north-north-east meant we had a perfect crosswind at Middleton. But it was from the left, and I seldom have problems handling a left-crosswind. Harold knew this, so we headed for Sauk Prairie where the wind would be from the right, something I do have problems with.

The first landing was pretty good. The 2nd was what Harold called "interesting". I will leave it at that, it was interesting, to say the least. The 3rd and final landing was similar to the first, fair to good. We didn't have much time this morning so we headed back for home. Along the way Harold demonstrated a chandelle, a maneuver I need to perfect for my commercial pilots license. It does not seem that hard, but I am certain when I actually start doing them myself I will change my mind.

After landing I spoke with Mike Love about some aerobatic training. Mike has been teaching for over 25 years, has written 3 books, and is considered one of the finest flight instructors around. Everyone has the utmost respect for him. He is also unique in being one of the very few instructors that not only teaches aerobatics, but loves it. Morey Airplane Company has a Cessna 152 Aerobat that is used for akro instruction, as well as parachutes for the pilots to use, and Mike owns his own aerobatic plane himself, but cannot teach in it.

This is something I have wanted to learn for a long time. Not simply to learn so that I can go out and do loops and rolls all day long (though that will be fun), but because it makes you a better pilot. You learn much more precise control of the plane, lose your fear of unusual attitudes, and build a level of confidence you just don't have without the training. Of course, it is also FUN, FUN, FUN!

So that is what I am doing over my lunch break today, going to roll and loop a Cessna with Mike. I am sure I will be starving by dinner time, but skipping lunch before this flight is probably a good idea. Less to come back up, ya know :)