TheFranciscos.Net

Quiet day today with almost everybody taking off Good Friday. Nice lull especially after this crazy workweek we’ve had. I found out that Juliet (coworker who just gave birth) has a ton of bugs in the web reporting software that she was working on. So guess who was asked to try his hand at it? In the two weeks that I have before we do a the final build of release 6.0. I need to learn to work with the Crystal Reports API, slash through the seemingly senseless maze of code done by a woman who was on medication for the last two months before giving birth, and fix all the incidents outstanding. Thanks to the internet and newgroups in particular, I’ve been able to work my way through a lot of the problems.

So what else is going on with us? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Aileen successfully passed her USMLE Step 3 board exams. Passed is actually an understatement – she actually aced it and got a 90 (out of a possible 100 I think). All the while she was so worried that she did badly on the test. This has been a trait of hers that goes way back to high school. She always got the highest scores out of all of us even when she swore that she was going to flunk it. This one was no different. Aileen, being ever so humble only told people that she simply “passed”, but when everybody found out her actual score, they were praising her. Way to go, babe. Take a bow!

I dropped off Zoe at daycare this morning without her shoes. Sometimes, when we’re running late, we tend to put Zoe in the car first then put on her shoes. Obviously though, when you’re pressed for time with a million other things in your mind, you tend to forget some things. It’s quite funny given the fact that Aileen did this the other day. I think I asked her how she could forget something like that…. now I know how. It’s going to be funny when I tell her later today about this.

Anyway, gotta get to work now. Happy Easter!

It’s always the quiet ones….

Over the past few days, chaos has erupted in our company. It started when a co-worker of mine found a working webcam strategically hidden in the ceiling of the women’s bathroom. This issue escalated to upper management at a blazing speed. The very next day, the corporate director of security flew in from San Francisco to deal with this. A company meeting was called and everyone was told that the perpetrator had been caught and removed from the premises. With that being said, the next question on everybody’s minds was the identity of the person. Naturally, the people running the meeting could not divulge the name while a criminal investigation was being done, so people started to do some snooping around of their own to look at empty seats in the building. Among our team, suspects were put on a short list and cross-examined with the other people’s guesses. Then this morning, through deduction (and confirmation of team members of the culprit) we all found out who it was.

It apparently was the manager of one of the software development teams, which came as a surprise to me. I don’t know this guy on a personal basis, but did have some interaction with him during meetings and such. He seemed to me like the kind of guy who would not hurt a fly… think Ross Geller (from “Friends”) with glasses and that would pretty much sum up what I thought his personality was like. He seemed quite intelligent (especially when it came to IIS and internet security) and was also soft-spoken. The thought that this guy could do such a thing was so remote, he wasn’t even in my short list of suspects. After talking to some folks that worked with him from another company though, it seems that he does have a history of this sort of thing – stalking, obscene phone calls, etc. Very, very creepy.

At any rate, I hope the company decides to press criminal charges against him. I think that being fired is too good for him, and it’s only right that he do some jail time for what he’s done.

A couple of things since my last post on 3/27

– We celebrated Zoe’s birthday last weekend by having a couple of parties for her. Check out the carnage in our photo gallery or click here Album 1, Album 2 and Album 3)

– I bought a new PC, a Medion Titanium MD 8000 (P4, 2.66GHz, 120GB HD, 256MB RAM, 16x DVD, CD Burner, GeForce4 Graphics Card, Windows XP) at Aldi’s. I figure that with some additional RAM and a DVD burner, this would be a great machine to do some video editing on, especially with the audio/video input ports being located on the front. It has built-in slots for every media card available on the market. The best thing about it is that it cost only $699 + tax. Click here for some pictures (not my actual machine): 1, 2, 3, 4.

– Saw Daredevil the other week… I thought it was da bomb! Even better than Spider-Man! What makes it so great? Well, Ben Affleck aside, the acting was superb. I especially loved Colin Farrell’s interpretation of Bullseye. Jennifer Garner was also very good as Elektra Nachios (“that sounds like some kind of Mexican appetizer”). Her Erin Brokovich-like costume was extremely hot. And what can I say about the choice of Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin? Great, great job on that one. What I really love about the movie though – they opted for a gritty “Frank Miller”-esque feel to this particular movie, which was excellent since every true hornhead fan sees that as the true golden age for the character. Lastly, I thought that the cameos by Stan Lee, Kevin Smith and Frank Miller (as the guy with the pen in his head) was a nice “wink, wink” to the comic fans in the audience (like me).

– What in the world is up with the weather? Snow in April? Yep, it snowed, albeit lightly over here last Monday. Crazy.

– I need to get our lawn under control. Weeds are sprouting up all over. I’m contemplating whether or not to get it done professionally, but don’t have a clue as to how much it will cost. I also need to get new mulch for the plants because those areas are starting to become weed-infested as well.

If anybody still has any doubts about whether or not Iraq supports terrorists, here’s some irrefutable evidence for you –

From the New York Post



Two U.S. Marines avert their eyes as they pass the sickening tribute to the 9/11 terror strikes painted on the wall of Iraq’s abandoned military headquarters at Nasiriyah.

– Joe Raedle/Getty Images

From Howard Stern this morning – “You know the world has changed when the best rapper is white, the best golfer is black, and the Germans don’t want to go to war.”

War is imminent – at this time everybody should just stop debating whether or not the actions that will be taken is right or wrong. It’s going to happen, whether you like it or not. The best we can do is hope that Saddam comes to his senses and realizes what everybody knows – that there’s no way he will win and decide to step down. May God protect our soldiers who are about to do battle.

Where The Rose Is Sown

Big Country

We’re at war, the papers say

We will win, I read today

We are strong, It wasn’t us

We are right, Who started this

Leave your work, I just left school

Leave your home, I am no fool

Take up arms, It left me strong

Sound alarms, The school bell rings

Chorus:

Sons of men who stand like gods

We give life to feed the cause

And run to ground our heathen foe

Our name will never die

This time will be forever

Join up here, I wave good-bye

We need you, Oh my breast sighs

Have no fear, Now I must try

God will be, With braver men

Take the vow, I know it’s right

Praise the flag, The good fight

We’re at war, I’m on my way

We will win, Why do I pray

(Repeat chorus)

I wait here in this hole

Playing poker with my soul

I hold the rifle close to me

It lights the way to keep me free

If I die in a combat zone

Box me up and ship me home

If I die and still come home

Lay me where the rose is sown

(Repeat chorus)

My New Car

Call me insane – but after much deliberation and thought, I’ve decided to replace my old, wrecked, and totalled Dodge Intrepid with a 2003 VW Jetta GLS TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection) with automatic transmission. When I was choosing a new car, it came down to a couple of factors – first, it must be fun to drive. Second, it should be European because I love the build quality. Third is fuel efficiency since my daily commute to work is pretty long . Another pretty important consideration was that I wanted my car purchase to be under $28,000, preferably in the low 20s. Needless to say, not too many European cars fall into that category, so I was pretty much looking at pre-owned cars. This was fine since most car dealers, especially the luxury brands, have great warranties on used cars nowadays anyway. I’ve always wanted to own a Jaguar, so I started looking at used 2002 X-Types – the only Jag within my price range. After test-driving one though, I felt a bit disappointed because it didn’t really have that luxury “feel” to it. Sure, it had that distinctive Jaguar look, but the drive seemed like more of a small Japanese car to me, maybe a Civic or Corolla. It just wasn’t the right fit, so I moved onto other cars.

After about two weeks and several visits to different dealers in the Pitt area, I narrowed it down to either a 2000 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro or a late 2000 BMW 328i, both of which matched my first two criteria, but not so much the third. I was actually very close to sealing the deal for the Audi when on a whim, I just decided to take a look at these TDI Jettas. A local dealer let me borrow one of their loaners for a few days and I was just hooked. It was three for three – it was a lot of fun to drive, German-designed (although I think it’s actually assembled in Mexico), and extremely fuel-efficient. Yes, it’s a diesel car, but it doesn’t emit the black smoke that diesel engines are known for. It also handles almost as well as the bimmer. The suspension is just a bit stiffer than the Audi. Of course, it’s less luxurious than the Audi or the BMW. It’s also a lot smaller than what I’ve been used to with the Dodge, but overall – it’s a great and enjoyable ride, and the mileage you get out of it can’t be beat. When it came down to it, the veedub (slang for VW according to the JettaOwners.com site) was clearly the overall winner.

Actual pics of the other two cars I was considering:

The picture of the Jetta is not a pic of my actual car. I’ll post real pictures of my car sometime this week.

Every once in a while, Aileen asks me if I think she looks old. I’ve known her for almost 15 years now, but she doesn’t seem any older to me than she did in high school. Of course she doesn’t believe me when I say that to her. The thing that really makes her look so young is her wonderful smile. It’s the kind of smile that’s expressed by her whole face and not only by her mouth. It’s also the type of smile that can’t be changed with age, so to me I think she’ll always look young. I’ve always said that this song is so appropriate for her:

Your Smiling Face

by James Taylor

Whenever I see your smiling face

I have to smile myself

Because I love you, yes I do

And when you give me that pretty little pout

It turns me inside out

There’s something about you, baby

I don’t know

Isn’t it amazing a man like me

Can feel this way

Tell me how much longer

If it grows stronger every day

Oh, how much longer

Thought I was in love a couple of times before

With the girl next door

But that was long before I met you

Now I’m sure that I won’t forget you

And I thank my lucky stars

That you are who you are

And not just another lovely lady

Sent down to break my heart

Isn’t it amazing a man like me

Can feel this way

Tell me how much longer

If it grows stronger every day, yeah

No one can tell me that I’m doing wrong today

Whenever I see you smile at me

No one can tell me that I’m doing wrong today

Whenever I see your smiling face my way

If you hate cats, you’ll LOVE this video clip. Click here to download it.

The calm before the storm… that’s how it’s like here at work right now. We just found out that during integration testing, our product managers were not happy with the results of our efforts for the past three months. They say that the filling and restocking process is more tedious than before… maybe they should have figured that out when they were doing our requirements! So they want to reevaluate things and possibly think about reengineering the process again for the next release. I’ve got no problems with redoing the whole thing, because in my opinion, the whole design sucked in the first place. I’m just ticked off that these people had a WHOLE YEAR to do designs for this release, and they waited until everything was done until they figured out it was horrendous. I’m pretty sure the crap is going to hit the fan sometime today, and I can’t wait to see who they put the blame on.

Anyhow, on a brighter note… Aileen finished up the invites for Zoe’s party. This year, we decided to have a real kids party and not make Zoe’s birthday an excuse for us older folks to party. We’re doing this one at the Center For Creative Play, and I’m pretty sure Zoe will have a blast. We’re still not sure what to give her for her birthday though. We’re thinking of getting her a play car because since I started looking for a new car to replace my dearley departed Intrepid, she’s also been telling me “mommy’s going to buy me a new car”. So we’re thinking of either a Leap Pad or a play car, or maybe even both.