Well, another Halloween over and done with. The boys did pretty well this year, for the first time since we moved to Seatac we stuck around the house for Halloween. We've always known that our street doesn't get hit much by trick-or-treaters so around 6pm we took off for some of the side-streets closer to the school. It took about 1.5 hours to fill 2 plastic grocery bags (one for each boy), but they seemed to enjoy it.
The fun part is that they surprised me and actually trekked for that much after spending the day working in the yard with me. We cut up, then split and stacked a 60+ foot tree that came down out of the neighbors yard last weekend. The tree was cut down and laid across our backyard because it was dead and that was the safest place to drop it. Let me tell you the little boy was tired, he almost fell asleep before we headed out trick-or-treating. Big borther on the other hand didn't feel the need to work quite as hard and so he wasn't quite as tired.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A change in attitude
There was a time, at one point in my time with my current employer, that I wondered if I would ever get through all the projects and tasks I have assigned to me. I kept really wondering if they would ever add someone to my team that adds value to what I do. Then it dawned on me that I am that value added to my team. Sounds weird, I know, but everytime I let the projects and tasks get me down I brought myself down and that brings IT down. This is especially true in an environment where it's 2 people, the IT Manager and myself.
What this boils down to is that the high-level planning and general (easy) operations/maintenance is always going to be done by the IT Manager. This also includes the visible projects; he wants to be seen by the management and executive team, that's why he is the IT Manager. I prefer to be much more technicial and the preferred support person by the people actually doing the work, that's why I am the Systems Administrator.
Where this leads is alot of fun projects that I get to control and run without much interference. A couple that are currently in the works are the System Center Operations Manager 2007 and deploying Windows 7. Then there are the ones that are even less visible like System Center Virtual Machine Manager and general infrastructure cleanup. Then there are the day-to-day operations and support for our user base, which can be boring yet interesting.
What this really means is a change in focus for me. I may not always like the people I work with, I may even have trouble respecting the skills they bring to the table to perform their duties; I always try to be the IT Professional and do the best damn job I can on my tasks and projects. If I play my cards right, every project and task will lead to new skills and knowledge; these in turn lead to new opportunities and even more growth. All of this really just leads me to enjoying life more, it's not about how much money I earn but instead how much I enjoy my time at work and my time at home with my family/friends.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Breaking out of the shell...
Well, I have always been seen as kind of an extrovert. The funny part of that is, usually I am very shy and uncomfortable around people whom I don't know and trust. This also means that I don't blog as often as I would like to. Along with that is not doing things like creative writing, which I love but usually I am too concerned with criticism to write anything down.
I am now trying to break that shell and expand my horizons more, and I have my sons to thank for helping me to see things clearer. It really is different when you see things through the eyes of a child. My older boy who will be 10 next month pointed out that his reading teacher is a Nerd but continued on to say that it was ok because his dad is a Nerd too and is very successful.
If we re-wind back to when I was his age, we were just getting ready to move from Bothell, WA to Renton, WA for my dad's job. I remember that my parent's had 2 computers about that time, one was the IBM XT, dual 5.25" drives at the time (no hard disk) and the other was a TRS-80 Color Computer with 32KB (Kilo Bytes) of memory. I could run either computer by myself with minimal help from my parents. I was also using basic word processors and spreadsheets for doing things like writing short stories. I was also the biggest Nerd/Geek around (or so I thought) and that wasn't a good thing back then, at least not to most of the kids I knew.
Jump into college and all of a sudden I am everyone's best friend, at least the night before a big paper is due and I am currently fixing their word processor/computer or letting them use mine. Then they start coming out, people who think it's cool to be into computers because it might pay big when they get out of school. About this time I started taking pride in being a Geek and a Hacker. I didn't break into any systems, I usually had access or could get access to whatever I needed. I was an old school Hacker (capital H), I could hack together code and make the computer do what I wanted for the most part.
Now, we are on to a new stage in life. Being in my early 30's with 2 boys that are learning right and wrong from my successes and my failures, it's time to shed my fears and open the door to new opportunities. I may end up really failing at creative writing, then again I could turn it into a living. Either way, at least I will have tried.
On a side note, my 10 year old revealed the other day that he is thinking that someday he wants to be a video game programmer or working in fields like Archeology/Geology/Palaentology. I wish him the best of luck in anything he wishes to become.
I am now trying to break that shell and expand my horizons more, and I have my sons to thank for helping me to see things clearer. It really is different when you see things through the eyes of a child. My older boy who will be 10 next month pointed out that his reading teacher is a Nerd but continued on to say that it was ok because his dad is a Nerd too and is very successful.
If we re-wind back to when I was his age, we were just getting ready to move from Bothell, WA to Renton, WA for my dad's job. I remember that my parent's had 2 computers about that time, one was the IBM XT, dual 5.25" drives at the time (no hard disk) and the other was a TRS-80 Color Computer with 32KB (Kilo Bytes) of memory. I could run either computer by myself with minimal help from my parents. I was also using basic word processors and spreadsheets for doing things like writing short stories. I was also the biggest Nerd/Geek around (or so I thought) and that wasn't a good thing back then, at least not to most of the kids I knew.
Jump into college and all of a sudden I am everyone's best friend, at least the night before a big paper is due and I am currently fixing their word processor/computer or letting them use mine. Then they start coming out, people who think it's cool to be into computers because it might pay big when they get out of school. About this time I started taking pride in being a Geek and a Hacker. I didn't break into any systems, I usually had access or could get access to whatever I needed. I was an old school Hacker (capital H), I could hack together code and make the computer do what I wanted for the most part.
Now, we are on to a new stage in life. Being in my early 30's with 2 boys that are learning right and wrong from my successes and my failures, it's time to shed my fears and open the door to new opportunities. I may end up really failing at creative writing, then again I could turn it into a living. Either way, at least I will have tried.
On a side note, my 10 year old revealed the other day that he is thinking that someday he wants to be a video game programmer or working in fields like Archeology/Geology/Palaentology. I wish him the best of luck in anything he wishes to become.
I am not a pet person, really!
Ok, so I will be the first to admit that I am not much of a pet person. In fact somedays I am not much into anything or anyone other than me and my wife, which both of our kids don't always like. But that's for another day, I bring up the pet situation because of an incident concerning our 9 year old cat that started on Sunday.
George, short for Curious George, is roughly 9 years old and has been an indoor/outdoor (mostly outdoor) cat for the last 6 - 7 years. We've known for the last 4 (or more) years he has also been getting into fights and such but he always came home and usually if he spent a night outside was waiting to be let in for food/water at 6am.
Sunday, Sept. 20, George wasn't waiting to be let in when I got up. Figured not a big deal, it was warm out so he might just be hiding out somewhere since I slept in rather than getting up early. Starting shortly thereafter, periodically we would hear an animal howl, just once. Mid-day we went out looking around the yard to see if we could find the animal in pain. That's when we found George lounging on the front porch back in a corner. Again, not thinking much of it, he normally would find a cool place on the porch or out front to lounge during the day, we left him be. An hour or two later, when he moved, I realize he was the one making the noise. Not being able to catch him, he took off into the back part of our property and the vacant lot behind us. Not a big deal except that we couldn't find him buried in the blackberries.
Finally, Tuesday evening he came out and crossed the street to hide in a culvert. After a couple hours of trying to get him out we were able to grab him and get him into the house. Some food, water and a trip to the Vet Hospital ER ($400 later) he is drugged up and at home again. No broken bones, just in pain and needing rest.
Moral of this story, according to my wife, I am a pet person. I can deny it all I want, but I actually am kind of fond of the cats, bird, lizard and any other animals the kids try to bring home.
George, short for Curious George, is roughly 9 years old and has been an indoor/outdoor (mostly outdoor) cat for the last 6 - 7 years. We've known for the last 4 (or more) years he has also been getting into fights and such but he always came home and usually if he spent a night outside was waiting to be let in for food/water at 6am.
Sunday, Sept. 20, George wasn't waiting to be let in when I got up. Figured not a big deal, it was warm out so he might just be hiding out somewhere since I slept in rather than getting up early. Starting shortly thereafter, periodically we would hear an animal howl, just once. Mid-day we went out looking around the yard to see if we could find the animal in pain. That's when we found George lounging on the front porch back in a corner. Again, not thinking much of it, he normally would find a cool place on the porch or out front to lounge during the day, we left him be. An hour or two later, when he moved, I realize he was the one making the noise. Not being able to catch him, he took off into the back part of our property and the vacant lot behind us. Not a big deal except that we couldn't find him buried in the blackberries.
Finally, Tuesday evening he came out and crossed the street to hide in a culvert. After a couple hours of trying to get him out we were able to grab him and get him into the house. Some food, water and a trip to the Vet Hospital ER ($400 later) he is drugged up and at home again. No broken bones, just in pain and needing rest.
Moral of this story, according to my wife, I am a pet person. I can deny it all I want, but I actually am kind of fond of the cats, bird, lizard and any other animals the kids try to bring home.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
They stole the lawn mower?!?
Yup, that's right someone stole my lawn mower. Not sure exactly when it happened because we don't water the lawn which means we don't mow it that much over the summer, only in the spring/fall. We think it was while we were gone on vacation through most of July, but don't really know.
What really pisses me off about this is that we have been known to forget to lock the cars leaving electronics and other stuff vulnerable. We have left the kids' bikes outside over the weekend. The Thule cargo box, Yakima basket and hitch basket are all left outside pretty much year round and what do they steal, my damn mower.
The good news is that Home Depot had a reconditioned model on the floor for $124.99 so it came home and does a fine job of mowing the grass. Next up, garden shed to lock the mower and other stuff in...
What really pisses me off about this is that we have been known to forget to lock the cars leaving electronics and other stuff vulnerable. We have left the kids' bikes outside over the weekend. The Thule cargo box, Yakima basket and hitch basket are all left outside pretty much year round and what do they steal, my damn mower.
The good news is that Home Depot had a reconditioned model on the floor for $124.99 so it came home and does a fine job of mowing the grass. Next up, garden shed to lock the mower and other stuff in...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Spring cleaning, a little late...
Well, we finally are getting around to getting rid of junk. Over Labor Day weekend we held a garage sale, then took a full car to GoodWill. Now we are going through even more junk and cleaning out even more.
So we got a little behind over the years, and life does just seem to happen. The interesting thing is, when you start to really look at the junk and really think "do I really want to keep this?" or "is this really a project I want to spend my time on?" it makes it really really easy to let things go. Who knows, maybe by the new year I will be able to sit in my home and relax and not wonder why I have to move so much junk to relax...
Spring cleaning just came a little later than it should have, but it is coming in full force.
So we got a little behind over the years, and life does just seem to happen. The interesting thing is, when you start to really look at the junk and really think "do I really want to keep this?" or "is this really a project I want to spend my time on?" it makes it really really easy to let things go. Who knows, maybe by the new year I will be able to sit in my home and relax and not wonder why I have to move so much junk to relax...
Spring cleaning just came a little later than it should have, but it is coming in full force.
Monday, June 15, 2009
and How was your week(end)?
Well, my great adventures started last week when my motorcycle decided to die on the freeway. I believe it's one (or more) of the 4 carbs that needs to be cleaned. Then there was trying the new water system in the tent-trailer (overpressurized the tank inlets on the faucet). This was kind of cool until I realized that the drain hose was kinking and not draining all the water being pumped into the sink.
There was the Microsoft test that I took on Friday and failed, by 6%, but a failure is a failure and time to buck up, sturdy harder and pass the second time. Then leaving about 3 hours late for the camping trip meant putting up camp in the dark.
Saturday started off pretty good, given that we were camping on the East side of the cascades just West of Yakima. Saturday mid-day brought on a nasty thunderstorm with hail and pounding rain (think flash flood). Saturday evening turned out really nice, same for Sunday morning. Thinking that I might want to not try Chinook pass where I have no cell coverage on a steep winding 2 lane mountain pass I opted to tow the trailer into Yakima, up to Ellensburg and across the mountains that way... Got to Highway 18 & I-90 where the Blazer finally overheated and stopped forward momentum. Did I forget to mention that the trailer still has a roof problem and apparently during the pounding rain it took on more water.
Then there was the dowtime Sunday night where I had to be at the co-location (4 miles away) to do a memory upgrade. To start it off I locked my keys in the car, then the memory didn't fit (physically) as not all Server DDR2-PC4200 memory modules are not made equal. Of course, after the day I had, it didn't occur to me to catch the bus that runs right out front or call a cab; instead I walked the 4 miles back home to get a key to the car at 9:30pm!
Well, today I get to go to work. Figure out a starting problem on my Blazer, resolve a fuel problem on my motorcycle, solve weight and water system problems on the tent-trailer and live life to the fullest...
There was the Microsoft test that I took on Friday and failed, by 6%, but a failure is a failure and time to buck up, sturdy harder and pass the second time. Then leaving about 3 hours late for the camping trip meant putting up camp in the dark.
Saturday started off pretty good, given that we were camping on the East side of the cascades just West of Yakima. Saturday mid-day brought on a nasty thunderstorm with hail and pounding rain (think flash flood). Saturday evening turned out really nice, same for Sunday morning. Thinking that I might want to not try Chinook pass where I have no cell coverage on a steep winding 2 lane mountain pass I opted to tow the trailer into Yakima, up to Ellensburg and across the mountains that way... Got to Highway 18 & I-90 where the Blazer finally overheated and stopped forward momentum. Did I forget to mention that the trailer still has a roof problem and apparently during the pounding rain it took on more water.
Then there was the dowtime Sunday night where I had to be at the co-location (4 miles away) to do a memory upgrade. To start it off I locked my keys in the car, then the memory didn't fit (physically) as not all Server DDR2-PC4200 memory modules are not made equal. Of course, after the day I had, it didn't occur to me to catch the bus that runs right out front or call a cab; instead I walked the 4 miles back home to get a key to the car at 9:30pm!
Well, today I get to go to work. Figure out a starting problem on my Blazer, resolve a fuel problem on my motorcycle, solve weight and water system problems on the tent-trailer and live life to the fullest...
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