Lost in translation, or google checkout

Speaking of Google Checkout.. I just went on a spending binge.. for better or for worse. I purchased 30 feet of repeater USB cables and a USB computer remote.. then a 250 gig external hard drive unit and now I'm bidding on an audio/video switcher that is 6-2, which means 6 inputs switchable to 2 different outputs. This will make watching TV shows from my computer easier.. and a lot easier to dub them to tape for people who want copies (which is more and more frequent). Plus I love technology. I had coupons and everything is so cheap.

This week improved heartily when the snafu of last week was less-bad then I had feared. Less my fault any way. Maybe even not my fault. We can only hope. And combined with the fun events at Scare Fair today at RRL, and the short class for tonight, and the fun costumes and buckets of candy... today has been an excellent day. Though I am avoiding the trick or treaters it seems. I got out of class around 8:30 and there are a ton of people going to my neighbor. You'd think it would be too late by now. And how old are these people, anyway?

On the suggestion of David, I am going to watch the TV show "Brothers and Sisters" and give it a try. Additionally, by the looks of the TV schedule on the right side of this page, I have also given several new shows a try.. including Robin Hood (UK BBC), Weeds, Six Degrees, Nine, Heroes and Vanished. Too much TV, but its good for a lazy Sunday evening, I guess. We'll see if I follow each series too much further. Though I really like Heroes. I watched a couple episodes of "Nip/Tuck" this season and am thoroughly confused. Why does that kid have two dads and a mother who is married to one of them? It doesn't sound like an adoption/divorce thing. So confused.

But Thursday is a big day for me. I am volunteering for a vaccine study (have already been tested, examined, EKG'd and approved) and get my first shot on Thursday. Additionally, I am also giving a presentation at a conference in Rochester for one of my projects. Plus I'm smack dab in the depths of work for a new project we have going on in our office to move completely paperless. I'm already dreaming of my 2 week vacation in June.

Photo courtesy peterpolaroid.

Back to the basics.. of life...

FYI.. I upgraded my blog template to the new system. It took awhile, but now I have so many new fun features which I'll try to roll out in the coming weeks. unfortunately, that means old comments are gone until I figure out how to bring them back.

Had a fantastic lunch with Molly and my mother today. They're in town doing checkups and doctor visits for the many things wrong with Molly. Quite enjoyable. Not the many things wrong with Molly part. She's spending most of her time now picking the dead skin off her hand. It's very lovely. But the lunch was great and we got caught up on all the upcoming plans with my extended family and the drama that has become the relationships with several friends of the family. We are very boring people in that regard, nothing that can be used against us. I think.

I was supposed to visit Remi this weekend. We planned in a month ago. I started calling him about 11 days ago to confirm our meeting. I left six voicemails. I started feeling needy and stopped calling him. Then I called his mother. Heh. I haven't changed in the 10 years I've known him. But she hadn't heard from him either, so nobody knows anything about him. Suffice to say, I didn't go to Albany and I ended up watching horror movies all day Saturday. FX had this great marathon thing going. I was Jake's date to a picnic on Sunday and we spent another 3 hours afterward geocaching in Black Creek Park. It was actually quite scary once it started getting dark.

The trees were moaning, the wind was really strong and I was covered in mud from my boot tips to my waste. We ended up finding our way in "Cattail Swamp" next to "Honey Sickle Grove." Suffice to say... it was fun, tiring and painful as we bushwhacked our way through hedges and thorn trees.

Last week's HighEdWebDev (which has been getting me a lot of hits to the blog recently it seems) was OK... I had a better time last year, but that might have to do with how FREAKING difficult it is to drive through downtown Rochester during rush hour. Streets are one way and there's no left or right turns onto main street. Hello!? So I ended up getting stuck going one way OUT of the city on more than one occasion. Plus I had to park in the Parking Garage that is under construction since IT COLLAPSED last year. Yeah, I felt comfortable. But I did end up sitting at a table where the discussion topic was Battlestar Galactica. Can you guess how nerdy the conference was?

But a big snafu happened when one of my programs I had written was released to my company and the reaction was all but positive. With over 600 hits in under 7 hours, I was ordered to remove the application from the TEST server after significant complaints made their made to my boss's boss. So we're re-evaluating the program's purpose and hopefully will re-release it in the coming weeks. I hope 9 months worth of work isn't thrown away. But now I've been contracted to do 150 hours worth of work between now and the end of the year for another project. Can you say busy? And who would think things were calming down?

Why I love BSG...

One of the best scenes ever on television...

and the destruction of the Pegasus...

Awesome TV, if you ask me.

HighEdWebDev 2006

This year's conference went really well. I got to attend all the sessions I wanted to, learned several new neat things for me, and several key things that will be invaluable in the weeks to come in my office. We're moving paperless, and I attended several sessions on moving all forms online and linking PDF to databases and workflow management. Very interesting.



This year we were at the Hyatt in downtown Rochester, NY. Click the link for a neat sky view of our hotel. It was very spiffy, and the conference was split between two hotels. We used the Skyway inter-building walkway to get between place to place, which was a new experience for me. The hotels were glitzy and we were well taken care of.



On Tuesday night we had an excursion to the Rochester Museum and Science Center which is five floors of a ton of stuff to do... especially when you're drinking. I remember going there back in college with a couple people and not much has changed. Except they had food on every floor and an open bar. That I don't remember last time. I walked around, hung around several people and eventually headed over to the planetarium they have on the grounds.



That was a cool experience. I try to keep myself knowledgeable about as much science as I can, and one of those has always been the sky, stars and universe. Well, that's a lot to keep track of. But we had a full review of constellations and information and images of the universe, mars from the rovers and even recent pictures by Hubble on a GIANT 4 story tall screen. Very cool. The image above is the device which displays all the stars onto the ceiling.

I had fun, I just wish work back at the office didn't explode and cause me grief while I was away.
Photos courtesy of dmolsen

All in the life....

Good god.. Luke is posting! Hello! I missed you too. Been busy. Been helping my sister through her recovery.. been going to school and doing a lot of homework.. been working and finishing up projects... even quit one of my many jobs after they cheated me one last time. But it's been quiet.. and I've just been enjoying being outside with the colors, inside with the cocoa... and the rest of the time on the road traveling.

Molly is doing well. A couple of you have asked about her. She got some bad news this past week about her back, but in general she's improving at a rapid clip. She can get around by herself with the help of her walker.. and she is starting to be able to take care of herself. That means my mother will be returning to work in the next couple of weeks.. much to her dismay. But my entire family gets together at least a couple times a week now for dinner and catchup.. it's really all brought us that much closer.

I was supposed to go to DC this weekend, but those plans fell through. Then I was supposed to go to a Corn Maze last night.. and those plans fell through. I was gonna help my sister.. those plans fell through. So instead, Nola and I went apple picking yesterday and I made 5 apple pies last night. I'm an apple-pie making maniac. But my coworkers have been hounding me for pie.. so to get them off my back here I go...

This coming weekend, Halloween weekend, either I am headed to Albany or Remi is headed here. He's having a hard time with a lot of things and our last conversation lasted 3 hours. I was confused that he and I hadn't talked for 2 months, but it turns out he turned inward and stopped talking to pretty much everyone. Things aren't going well in his life.. he lost his car, lost his liscence and things compounded. But he's on his way back up, and I want to cheer him up. I'm gonna try to convince him to come out to Rochester by bus or car (he just purchased a beater). If he can't, then I'll head that way.

This coming week is HighEdWebDev 2006, that conference I go to every year. I am very much looking forward to it, as I do every year. I will try to blog throughout it, just for no other reason than to have fun and be more techy. It is after all a web IT conference.. in my home town! Tonight I'm headed 200 miles to Turning Stone. Wish me luck. I'll try not to go 3 weeks without a post again.. but I hope you enjoy my photos in the mean time.

Images of fall and all things outside (where I am)

Do I see grapes or grape pies?

Don't blow me away

Meme not so much

Cynthia wants me to do a meme... and I will do anything to please that woman.. so here we go...

ARE YOU:

1. A Cuddler? No
2. A morning person? No
3. Are you a perfectionist? No
4. An only child? No
5. Catholic: No
6. In your pajamas? No
7. Currently suffering from a broken heart? No
8. Okay styling other people's hair? No
9. Left handed? No
10. Addicted to MySpace? No
11. Shy around the opposite gender? No
12. Loud? No

DO YOU:

12. Bite your nails? Yes.
13. Get paranoid at times? No
14. Currently regret something that you have said/done? Yes
15. Curse frequently when you get mad? No
16. Enjoy country music? No
17. Enjoy jazz music? No
18. Enjoy smoothies? Yes
19. Enjoy talking on the phone? No
20. Have a lot to learn? No
21. Have a pet? Yes
22. Have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person? Yes
23. Have all your grandparents died? No
24. Have at least one sibling? Yes
25. Have been told that you are smart? Yes
26. Have had a broken bone? No
27. Have Caller I.D. on your phone? Yes

HAVE YOU:

28. Changed a diaper? Yes
29. Changed a lot over the past year? No
30. Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color? No
31. Had surgery? Yes
32. Killed anyone? No
33. Had your haircut within the last week? No

LAST PERSON WHO:
1. Slept in the bed beside you? Molly
2. Saw you cry?: Molly
3. Went to the movies with you? Jake
4. You went to the mall with?: Nola
5. You went to dinner with? Nola
6. You talked to on the phone? Molly
7. Said 'I love you' to you and meant it? Molly
8. Broke your heart? Never broken.
9. Made you laugh? Kittens

WOULD YOU RATHER?
1. Pierce your nose or tongue? Nose
2. Be serious or be funny? Funny
3. Drink whole or skim milk? Skim
4. Die in a fire or drown? Drown
5. Spend time with your parents or enemies? Parents


See, not so hard.

Bring on the kittens

These guys have the full run of the house... and they're adorable.

Rolling in the wind

Such a good time for pictures...

Ready for fall and catchup

Sorry. Been really busy and have had no motivation to blog. Happy fall! I love the colors.

Meliora Weekend

Had a blast driving golf carts and being outside all day Friday!