Monday, February 28, 2005

Humming Bird Nest

Some very cool photos. I especially like the one on the second page which shows both eggs being less than 1/2".

Then there is the fact that the nest is only 30" off the ground. Seems like they'd be pretty accessible to predators. Anyway, some pretty cool stuff.

Church - and yeah, I'm not a hardware guy

First church service in our new location. Loaded ALL my percussion stuff into the Jeep first thing in the morning and then got to the school at 7:20. Was at the wrong doors and realized that when I saw Jacque drive by and head around back. Got back there and everyone was unloading the sound stuff. Got my stuff unloaded and set up in about 45 minutes... Cool. That is how long I figured it would take, and I was maybe a little quicker than that. I've been playing with most the stuff set up for so long, I really wasn't sure how long it would take to unpack it all and position it. (Hmm... how was this boom set up again... ah, move it 1/2 inch this way... no that doesn't feel right, maybe a little over here)... but in the end it was all good. So that is very cool.

Worship was awesome, the sound was great. I've played in a "setup/teardown" situation twice before, but both of them were pretty small. This is our entire (rather large) team and it all came together great. Our sound team ROCKS.

I have to mention that with all the stress and stuff going on at work, and in the "job" part of church, the only time I really feel all that at peace any more is when I'm in worship. Its just a great thing, and I'm very psyched that moving to the school hasn't changed that. If anything, it is better. I have way more room (not scrunched up against the back wall), so I was just having a great time of danching around and worshipping. Great stuff.

So that was all great and then we had to break down, which took about 30 minutes (maybe) so that was good. Took about as long as we had planned. And everyone helped carry my stuff out to the Jeep, which was nice.

So - got all the stuff packed up and then we went and had lunch (which always takes a while with a large group) and then I went to do the deposit. We just moved the offices and the computer was not set up yet. Should only take a few minutes, right? I started it about 2:15 and I think I actually started the deposit and using the computer some time around 5:00 :( I'm not a hardware guy...

First, the computer was sitting where it goes, with the keyboard, mouse and monitor where they go, but nothing was hooked up. Pulled everything out (this will only take a few minutes) and started plugging things in. Hmm... no power cord. Start looking around. None in site. Made a few phone calls. Long and short of it - people knew it was missing but no one had actually moved it, so someone else must have done it. Finally start looking through other people's stuff and found it. Cool. Hooked that up and then went to plug in the mouse. No PS/2 port... must be a serial port. But there is no adapter. So I look all around for a while and nothing. I *seem* to recall one at home, so I head home.

Get home (while I'm here, I might as well unload all my equipment - so I do that). I find an adapter... which I *think* might work. Get back to the office, nope. Not the right kind of adapter. So I head to CompUSA and pick up an adapter. Get it back to the office and hook it up. Great, now things should be working. I boot up the machhine "No mouse detected on your PS/2 port" - Well duh, of course not, there is no PS/2 port. I mess with the mouse, the adapter, and the serial port... for several cycles of rebooting. Nothing.

I then pull the machine all the way out, unhook everything and take a look. Hmm... what is this missing bay on the bottom. So I pick it up and hear something rattling. (Not usually a good sign on a computer). I then take the shell off and see a card that is just rattling around inside the machine with a... yeah, you guessed it, PS/2 port on it. So I get that plugged back into the bay and put the machine back together. Hmm... mouse won't plug into it because the card isn't secure. Pull it all apart again, using a pair of scissors as a fake screwdriver and get it all secure. Put it all back together, attach all the other wires, get everything all put back, and turn it on. WooHoo! It works. Finally... 5:00 and I start the deposit.

Made it home a little after 6:30 (Lucky for me Jacque is dropping the deposit on Monday so I didn't have to drive the extra 30 minutes to get it dropped off).

So... I did better than someone who has NO idea how to hook up a computer, but not all that great. People always say "Oh... you work on computers." I always say "I'm a SOFTWARE architect on mid-range OO systems. I'm not a HARDWARE guy." Kind of like saying to a finish carpenter (or any discipline) "Oh... you work on houses?" ;)

It was a long day, and a bit frusturating at times... but hey, worship was great and everything got done. So all in all, a good day. And we'll be practicing in Teresa and Greg's basement this Thursday, so that is all good too. I'll just be bringing my little djembe - should be enough to practice and avoids hauling all my stuff. Oh, and I'll take one bag of hand stuff as well. Should be very cool.

As Michael would say "Peace out" - not sure why I said that... just popped into my head. :)

Friday, February 18, 2005

My baby is getting ready to move out

2 days till Jaime turns 18. She has a new job, a new apartment, and she's getting ready to move out.

Way too much talk about this lamp, and which couch, and decorating, and all of that. And then last night at practice,

J: "Do you think my seats fold down so I can take my keyboard?"
M: "I'm not sure. But if not, I can just take it in the Jeep."
J: "That worn't work. I have to take it to my house."

:( - oh yeah, she's moving out.

J: "And lug it up 3 flights of stairs"

and turns and pats Michael on the knee, to which someone states, "I see lugging a keyboard around in your future." (Oh... so when did we transition from the dad fixing things to the boy fixing things... oh yeah, when she grew up.) [By the way, Michael is a great "boy" so "the boy" is a term of endearment used by all of us]

Yeah, kids grow up, and its very cool to see her turn into an adult. But yeah, I'm going to miss my baby being around. Even though Tif is coming home for three months and I'm so syched about that, I'm still going to miss Jaimer.

But we've got church, and practice, and her hanging out here to eat, watch TV, etc... so the transition will be slow, but its still a transition.

At least we still have the dog at home. Oh boy. ;) LOL

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Merrill Lynch: Linux saves money | CNET News.com

Merrill Lynch: Linux saves money | CNET News.com: "Telecommunications provider Verizon Communications disclosed that it saved nearly $6 million in equipment costs by moving its programmers to Linux from proprietary-Unix and Windows workstations"

Yup. I know that we can save something like $2M a year, on one application, just moving it off of Sun boxes to Linux. Which isn't really a Linux vs Solaris thing, its driven by the maintenance costs we are charged. But stilll... a good reason to move.

But yeah, the boxes are so much cheaper.

Valentines day, the church, and being on staff

So... our church is moving. We've been in a building forever that was costing us way too much money to lease, and we don't have enough funds to buy our own place. So we are going into a school. This is a good thing because it means we can pour more money into ministries, staff, etc. and can start saving for our own building.

This decision just happened, so it means that Tina and I spent our Valentine's Day "date" working at the church. But you know, that is what being a member of a church, and being on staff, is all about. Yeah, Tina worked all day, and so did I, and then we went and worked at the church that night. Her helping organize, etc., Me being a "worker bee" :) - But how could we not do that? Like I said, that is what being on staff is all about. Like you are going to ask people to come spend their night working, and you're going to take off to go have dinner or something? No way. I mean, that attitude is so important in secular life, let alone church life. There are plenty of times I work on the weekend because someone on my team is working and needs my help. Like I'm going to say "you spend your saturady working because it is important - but not important enough for me to come in." Yeah right.

And in the church life, where it is all about serving, supporting, and showing the people you care, it is even more important. And I'm happy to say that everyone on staff showed up and set the good example. And it was awesome. We (the church family) got so much done yesterday. Last time we made a "move", Tina spent 21 days straight working on it, without any time off. This time, its been 1 day and it seems like the majority of the work is done and we should be "good to go" this weekend. How very cool. Talk about committed people. Its great.

So... all in all, not a typical Valentine's Day, and not a typical "date" - but it was very cool. And besides, I'll make it up to her some time. :)

Techworld.com - Linux servers safer than ever

"... an unpatched Linux system lasts, on average, three months before it is compromised.... The average survival time for the systems [windows systems] the ISC tests has declined from about 55 minutes in the autumn of 2003 to just under 20 minutes..."

Just under 20 minutes. Nice to know. That means if you are running a Windows system on the internet, and it doesn't have the latest patches applied, it will get hit within 20 minutes. Actually that number is higher than I've read before. I thought I read something that you'd get hit (not necessairly comprimised, but hit) within seconds.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Friday, February 11, 2005

Chili Rellano Casserole

Ok sis - you asked for it, here it is. Love ya!

Chicken Marsala

Sitting at my desk, eating leftover Chicken Marsala from last night. Yum. Easy to make - make sure you get a fairly good Marsala - and great tasting!

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

PC: Age of Empires III -- Designing Empires

I'm a big AOE (Age of Empires) fan. First game I really played real-time, on-line. I've been playing Age of Mythology, lately, but heard the multi-player wasn't that great. AOE::III is coming out the last half of this year (read sometime before Christmas) and should be cool.

Would be fun to get back into playing a game on-line with Dave and Gigs. :)