Countdown

Just a few more hours until I'm off to TEC 69. And I'm STILL not done with my wheat. Seriously, I need to concentrate and stop blogging and chatting, or someone's going to be very disappointed. Good thing Northwestern is open until 9 and is just down the street.

I finally joined Facebook last night, but then again, I think all of you know that already. Oh, yes, I know I'm years behind, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Even if that old dog is a computer geek.

Oh, and Cooper cheats at Scrabble. 20 points for sticking the letter 'p' between two 'o's? Seriously? That's an informal abbreviation, and you know it! I'm going to be dumping pop all over the conference room starting tomorrow and then we'll see what kind of words you use against me!

DotD: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Family Pack - $189 - Oh sure, people complain about Mac's costing more. But how about this? The full, no-features-removed-or-disabled version of Apple's next generation operating system, usable on up to 5 computers for less than a single upgrade copy of Windows Vista Ultimate. Or, get a single license for $109. No product activation and no license keys, and everyone gets the full version.

MacDepot

Cooper and I were chatting the other day on the way back from a TEC meeting. We got to talking about websites and it reminded me of my old website from many years ago. It was a chance for me to spread my journalistic wings a bit and write about anything I wanted to. Which, of course, was all Macintosh related. A quick search in Google revealed that the long-forgotten website still existed out in cyberspace, but with many broken links, graphics, and features due to services and websites that don't exist 10 years later. In any case, it was fun to see the product of a young geek that I know very well.

Without further ado, I present to you the great archaeological find: MacDepot.

A couple things worth checking out include the News (including the Archives), Supporters, and Graphics pages. I wrote all of the news articles, gleaning information from tons of Mac-related websites and magazines. The Supporters list was a listing of people who had visited my site and filled out a form to have their name and location added to my list of Macintosh supporters who had visited my site and wanted it recorded, and the Graphics page is a page of various Mac graphics (gifs and animated gifs) from the pre-flash era of the web.

I hope you enjoy your trip into the past as much as I did.

DotD 1: TEC! TEC! TEC! It's coming this weekend! Hurray!

DotD 2: USB Vacuum Cleaner - $5.99 - I guess you can use it for vacuuming between the keys on your keyboard or in your cat's ears or something. But it was strange enough and cheap enough that I had to put it on here.

New Job(s)

This past Friday was my last day at Teradyne. I'm officially unemployed for about 3 weeks until October 22, when I start at my new job at Logic Product Development. Why three weeks? TEC, of course! I really wanted to work this particular TEC for a number of reasons, and since I was fortunate enough to sneak onto the team through the back door, I wasn't going to give it up. I wanted a little time off between jobs since I haven't really had much time off while saving up vacation for the wedding. So, I could either start at Logic, work a couple of days, and then have to burn my only vacation for the rest of the year for TEC, or start after TEC and enjoy a few weeks off. Granted, it's without pay, but I think it will be worth it. The downside is that my first day is now the first day after a TEC weekend, so I'm going to have to grab every last possible minute of sleep I can find during the weekend. Hopefully I can count on a particular Rector to help me out with some of his own bedtime stories, so I can fall asleep faster. ;-)

One interesting twist to this is that in the process of looking for a new job, I got to interview with Bob. No, not just Bob's company, but Bob herself. At my previously mentioned introduction to High Society, at the hands of Bob herself, she mentioned that her group was looking to hire. This was part of our computer geek conversion mentioned in that post. That was probably the weirdest, yet most fun interview I've ever done. I was both relaxed, since it was Bob, and yet not too relaxed, since she had a cohort with her for the interview. However, in the end, Bob's influence and bribes were not enough to overcome the lack of some specific skills and experience that they really wanted for that position. I am no longer speaking to Bob. Well, except for this past Sunday, next Sunday, the Sunday after that.... ;-)

I would like to point out that this was the first time I've ever applied for a position and not been offered the job. And it was all Bob's fault! Never again will I listen to her lies and deceit! Or something like that. ;-)  Actually, the recruiter from her company said the feedback from the interview process was really positive and they thought I would be a great fit for the company, but just not for that position. Which is just dandy. But in the end, I decided that without the special draws of that position in particular, the commute to Eden Prairie from Andover was going to be a bit much (probably about an hour each way, a little longer in the evening), and the Logic position was still a possibility. So, in the end, I chose not to work in the same building as Bob, as crazy as that sounds. I'm not sure that company was ready for the two of us in the same city at the same time anyway.

So, why the potential plural in the post title? I just found out yesterday that big brother is also getting a new job. Neither of us knew that the other was in the process of looking, so we surprised each other with new jobs at almost the exact same time. His last day was yesterday. Little sis got a new job a couple of months ago as well. I guess I should expect some news from my parents in the next few days...

DotD: Superman keyboard and mouse - Free! - Newegg again has the Superman keyboards and mice in various colors for free after rebate. I picked up the red and blue keyboard and mouse awhile back when they were also free and really like them. They're not the highest quality, of course, but I think they just look pretty cool and they've worked fine for me. The keyboard is available in blue, black, or silver, and the mouse is available in red/blue, blue/black, and silver/black.

What have I done?

Well, that'll teach me to try to get people involved...

I just got a sad email about the next TEC. I'm on the waiting list. This, of course, comes after convincing some other adults to apply to work. And then they take my spot! Sheesh!

And then Cooper has to rub in the fact that Baron is overall Rector (read the candidates a bed time story!). Stop with the heaping coals already!

Okay, so I'm not exactly down in the dumps here. I just need to ham it up a little to get some attention, since you guys and gals have left my comment section dry recently (yep, and my posting has been too, I know). So I'm trying for a virtual hug here, and pity seemed like the best tool.

I am excited about those that get to work. It'll be a blast. And hey, if a couple adults have some unfortunate run-ins with Tonya Harding, well, it wasn't me. Mostly. ;-)

High Society

It's time for me to hang up my blogging cleats.

Oh sure, I've had a good run these past couple of months. Okay, actually I've bored you to tears in the process, but that's not why I'm moving on. Blogging just doesn't fit into my new lifestyle. You know, the rich and famous.

In a short period of time, my place in society has risen from the dung heap to my rightful place among the stars. I am speaking, of course, about being invited over to Bob's house for a cookout. That's right, not begging to be invited, not sleeping on the doorstep hoping to be invited in, but actual "won't you please come over" invited.

My hubris has attained new heights!

Ms. Fiance, Little sis, and I joined the famous Bob for some delicious grilled meat, fresh fruit, and skinny cows. Bob was good and didn't eat the skinny cows, but I have no such control. It was a ton of fun, reliving our memories from TEC 68 and just chatting into the night. I also found out important information such as the number of M&M's consumed by Bob during the last TEC. I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. Or at least tickle you.

Bob and I even managed to talk computer geekiness for about ten minutes before Ms. Fiance and Little sis started to poke themselves in the eyeballs and bang their heads on the table in boredom and disgust.

All in all, a great relaxing and fun evening.

A word to the wise: If you ever find yourself in high society as I did, don't use the front door. It's forbidden. Those who wish to not perish by Chinese water torture should use the side door instead. I was the only person to make this grievous mistake last night.

Oh, and I was kidding about the end of the blog thing. I'll keep blogging. But I'm not the one that's going to suffer!

DotD: An empty gas tank for the grill - $19.99 - Someone went to the gas station to get a new tank of gas, since hers was empty. The station attendant was busy with customers, so he told her to take whichever one she wanted. She picked one out and brought it home to use at a particularly high-society cookout. Mac Man saved the day by both pointing out that the new tank was awfully light, and by driving back to the gas station to retrive a full tank. Understanding that this could be quite embarrasing if anyone ever found out, he has chosen not to divulge the name of the individual who made this hilarious mistake. ;-)

We talked about what you talked about...in your talk

TEC 68 has come and gone, and my sleeping patterns have not righted themselves yet. It was a great weekend, though draining and frustrating at times. It's so easy to slip back into that atmosphere of love and fun, and just want to remain suspended in it.

I was an ATL this time around, and my table was challenging at times. It was a much different experience than my last go-round as an ATL. There were times when we had some really deep stuff come out from half the table all at once, and other times when it felt like we were getting nowhere. By the time we got to closing, I was blown away by the changes I saw and the comments from the candidates. Truly God was working through the team this weekend to reach these candidates!

Yes, the title of this post was an actual comment made by someone while sharing after a talk. Yes, it was an ATL. Yes, it was me. I got part way through the sentence (right where the elipsis is), and decided I might as well go all out and add the last one for good measure.

The talent share was good times as well. My table was the very first act, and we did a short little skit. Since the Anderson's were pretty much having a family reunion, we did a skit together (which I titled Anderson* on the sign-up sheet, since Ms. Fiance was involved). Chicken Farming at its best! Kelly and Ms. Fiance made excellent chickens, and my Dad made an excellent chicken farmer. Me, I just played narrator/chicken seller.

It was cool to see a lot of my peeps there this weekend, but sad to know that a bunch of them were there for the last time AS YOUTH. Emphasis on the youth part, because working as an adult is pretty much wonderful as well. You just have to have a little bit of patience.

DotD: TEC - $35 for candidates, $40 for team - May be the best $35 or $40 you've ever spent.

Great Outdoors

I can't wait until the work day is over. Immediately afterwards, I'm heading home quick, packing a few last minute things (like food), and then Ms. Fiance and I heading to Interstate Park. It's going to be a short camping weekend, but it should still be quite fun.

This is our alternative to the SonShine Music Festival which is going on right now. I had to take a bunch of vacation days during the school year to get various projects done, and I need to save some vacation for next year, meaning that SonShine got the axe. It was sad, but we're doing the next best thing, which doesn't require about 3 days of vacation.

We're coming back Sunday just in time for the last TEC meeting. Can't believe next weekend is TEC already! These past couple of weeks have flown by. I need to get my little body in gear to get stuff ready for next weekend.

Oh, and there's going to be a card night on Tuesday, which means Monday night I need to make some decks. It's going to be a busy week!

DotD: Norton Internet Security, Norton Partition Magic, and Norton Ghost bundle - $0.00 - Pretty sweet deal if you ask me, and easy on the wallet (after mail-in-rebate). This bundle has it all: Antivirus, Antispyware, Antiphishing, Firewall (incoming and outgoing), partition management, and disk imaging and backup. Did I mention free? 

My short career as a uniform salesman

I just got back from Boston yesterday. It was a really short trip. I flew out on Sunday night after leaving early from the TEC meeting, had an all-day UML training class to attend on Monday, and then flew back Tuesday morning.

The class itself wasn't really worth the trip, since we've covered UML in my undergraduate and graduate level courses quite a bit, but the entire software team was required to go. I could have condensed the useful-to-me training from 8 hours to 30 minutes. Basically all I learned was the new changes to UML 2.0 (which are actually quite nice). I did, however, get to have dinner with a former coworker who lives out there now, and I got to play with his new iPhone on Monday night. That was fun. 

I did have some travel-related quirks to the trip, however. Because of the storms that rolled through on Sunday, instead of arriving in Boston at 10:30, we were delayed and arrived at the hotel at 2:00 am. Then, when I went to check in, they couldn't find my reservation. As I was searching for my confirmation number, they desk clerk found my name, but said I'd already checked in.

Say what?

Yep, according to their records, I had checked in early that evening, and that person was in my room. Furthermore, when that guy checked in, he said he worked for a company that sells uniforms, not exactly my company's line of work. That room was already switched from my credit card to direct billing to the uniform company, so I didn't have to worry about being charged for their stay. But still, very odd.

The guy at the desk was very apologetic, however, and was joking with me about my career change and my apparant multiple personalities. He also upgraded me to a room with a jacuzzi. 

Now, since I had to be up in about 4 hours for the class, I didn't get to take advantage of it that night. But I did try it out the next night. It was nice, but a big small for my legs. There was no way to completely stretch out my legs, so either my feet or my knees had to be out of the water. Such poor living conditions, I know... ;-)

And thus, Tuesday morning, my career as a multiple personality uniform salesman came to an end while I checked out of the hotel. It was a nice run while it lasted.

Oh, and watching episodes of Star Trek: Voyager on an iPod is an excellent way to pass the time at the airport and on the airplane. I decided to start watching the series from beginning to end, since I've only seen a few of the epidodes up till now. I made it through about the first 5 on my trip. Favorite moment so far: the doctor slapping Tom Paris in the face to show that holograms aren't just images. It was hilarious!

Oh, and Baron thought I looked very manly at the TEC meeting when I ran into him in the hall. It made my day. I'm not sure if it was because of my handsome good looks, or because I was holding onto Ms. Fiance's purse for her. Or it could be because he was so excited to see me that that's the best compliment he could think of as his brain shut down in wonder. I'm going to assume the latter.

DotD: Free Squishee (Slurpee) at 7-Eleven today-only to celebrate the 80th birthday of 7-Eleven.

Here we go!

I begin my new adventure as a member of the worship team this morning (approximately 2 hours). Hopefully that goes as well as Baron's day at KT.

Also, today is the first team meeting for TEC. My sister, fiance, and I will be in the conference room, and my Dad will be in the Support room. Can't wait!

DotD: iPhone - $499 or $599 - Couldn't resist. Buy one already!