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Life, in general

That is what is going on.  Got a valve replaced in the basement.  I really don’t like plumbing work, so it is money well spent.  I am sure stopping the leak will save money on the water bill.

Glenn is getting bigger, talking in longer sentences.  Other people don’t understand him much, but we can make out 95% of what he is saying.  We went to the Zoo yesterday, he got freaked out a little over two thing:  Large animals that seem to have no barrier, like rhinos and elephants and waterfalls.  He really hates the sound of waterfalls, to the point he covers his eyes and asks to go back to the car!

 

Posted by on April 19, 2009 in Family, Glenn

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Back in Chicago

Just got back from a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Too long of a drive for my tastes.  Nice seeing the mountains and the local Arts and Crafts people.  Some areas are stunningly beautiful:

cades_cove

Others are tacky.  It was very challenging traveling with an active toddler.  I will post more later, tired.

 

Posted by on March 28, 2009 in Family

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Updates, early March

Well, have not been in much of a blogging mood lately.  I use a computer all day at work, so about the last thing I want to do when I get home is spend even more time in front of the computer.

Glenn is doing ok, a little cold right now, but there is always something new with him.  More words, more communication, louder crying.

Technology wise, I really like the netbook we got for our birthdays.  The price can’t be beat and it can do 99.9% of any computer I have seen.  I would not want to edit video or photos on there, but for everything else, it is just fine.  It is going to be very handy on the trip, for entertainment and photo backups.

Work is ok, nothing too new.  No more layoffs on the horizon, but there is some voluntary time off for some of the hourly workers.  I have never seen the global economy slow down like this before.  Is it the start of a new era, or just a really deep recession?  Time will tell.

Ah, spring is in the air and I pulled the grill out of the garage.  Nothing compares to grilled meat.  I forgot how wonderful the sound of t-bone sizzling on the grill is.  Even it is just a tease, better weather is around the corner.

We are going to have our combo birthday party tomorrow, since Tiff’s and my birthdays are just 5 days apart.  I am sure it will be a fun time.

 

Posted by on March 6, 2009 in Computers, Family, Glenn

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What is old is new

I was thinking about the popularity of Facebook, and what it reminded me of.  Back in the 80’s and early 90’s, before graphical web browsing, there were BBS.  What is a BBS?  It is a Bulletin Board System, a place for people to dial in with their modems and connect to a larger world.  It was text based, allowed you to message other users, share files, play games, and most importantly, it was localized.

This is where Facebook really reminds me of BBS.  It is very local, and a very small part of the Internet.  The problem with the Internet is that it is too global and too large to really understand.  You have a hard time connecting with people in your area.  I love in Facebook, when you are searching for someone, they return the people who are physically closest to you first.  So, Facebook is just old BBS reborn.  Still mostly text, still a place to meet, play games, and like BBS, it is not dependent on real time.  You can post something on your wall (Hmm, sounds like a Bulletin Board), and someone else can comment on it when they have time.  It proves that the BBS system was valid, and people liked how it worked.  Now we have something that does almost the same thing, just with updated hardware and new protocols.

 

Posted by on February 21, 2009 in Uncategorized

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Rough year so far

Haven’t been in much of a blogging mood. The company I work for laid off about 10 to 15% of its workforce Thursday, so that was not a happy day. I still am employed, but we lost one person from our department. It was across the board, salaried and hourly people. At least they offered a decent severance package, from what I heard. Still, sucks to be out of work in this economic climate. The sign of a good company is they cut costs before they start losing money, instead of after. We shall see what the year holds ahead.
In tech news, I have only been using Opera at home for my web browsing and e-mail. I really like the news feed reader as well. Been very stable under Linux. Windows, meh, but I blame the piss poor memory management of Windows for that one.
Glenn is doing OK. Learning a lot and being hyper at times, but very cute at other times. No more crib for him, he looks very cute in his real bed.
Still looking forward to vacation. At least at work I am not the only one still taking a vacation. My cube mate is going down to Florida next month for a week of golf and relaxation. Life goes on. I miss seeing mountains and trees not planted by man. I also love the arts and craft community as well, it is nice seeing locally made things.

 

Posted by on January 24, 2009 in Family, General Comments

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