Noah boxes

Bouncing good time.

NASA shares a before and after satellite picture.

a google map showing the location of the live New Orleans blogger.

Update: A description of the buildings seen on the camera.

Wow! I just examined the satellite photos and realized that the levee that broke which shows the massive flooding in New Orleans is actually the levee that I used to ride my bike on as a kid. I used to get on skifs and play with crab traps. I'd "hunt" alligator (you use a flashlight to see their eyes sticking out of the water). I shot my BB gun down there and hiked on a railroad track. Well the breach is the west side of Kenner a stones throw from where I lived and flooded mostly undeveloped land. Yes, there are other breaches and water is coming into the city but as soon as I've met today's deadline I want to spend some time drawing on the sat picture and explaining a few things. More to come!

Our New Orleans blogger has put his feed back up but right now it caps at 50 viewers. It is interesting to watch people casually walking down the same street that cars are driving on.

• ...because I kept my cool as my linux development server slowly died
• ...because I only cursed during the first brown out.
• ...because the two trees that fell in the neighborhood missed houses.
• ...because I was able to feed my family tonight.

It is difficult to be happy as my favorite city sits in ruin with so many dead and displaced. My troubles are so minor.

This live feed from New Orleans shows cars moving about, and people walking on the sidewalks on a sunny day.

Does anyone have anything, a webcam (I know...no power...but that's not entirely true: A blogger in New Orleans), blog, news or anything talking about the Lakeview Levee Breach?

This was posted 5 hours ago according to Google News

Engineers have contingencies for levee breaches such as the one that happened Monday, but it will take time and effort to get the heavy equipment into place to make the repair. Breach repair is part of the corps' planning for recovery from catastrophic storms, but nobody Monday was able to say how long it would take to plug the hole, or how much water would get through it before that happened.

Some photos courtesy of Kim at Bacon and Ehs and a Google Earth picture showing the location of the breach.

Get a DVD Rewinder!

Too many DVDs, and CDs and not enough time to rewind? Are your DVDs running a bit too slow? The DVD rewinder is the perfect solution!
...
The DVD Rewinder will spin discs...

Today Opera is giving away license registrations as part of their 10 year anniversary. So if you want Opera for compatibility testing or just to torment yourself, grab it!

As a web developer my bread and butter are my tools. The most important tools of course being my development servers. My linux server has decided that it is at the end of its life. It has picked a really bad time to get on its ice flow.

"Time to wake the doughnuts!"

Sometimes I think I dread the morning routine during the school year more than the kids. On days like today I would like to be under the covers but I need to be super focused working. I can't sleep, but I can work and get the kids ready at the same time.

• ...because I received my monthly Google check

Try 2

My blood pressure and pulse

Amy having a blast!

Last night my wife and I debated the strength of domed buildings. I watched a History Channel special touting their perfect design. But when engineered wrong they crumble.

CNN.com reports "Section of Superdome roof opens up."

I just sat at a 4 way stop waiting for the light to change

And so it begins...

I feel very bad for the people of New Orleans. I lived in Kenner (2 miles north of the New Orleans International Airport) for 4.5 years. I love New Orleans and its going to be obliterated.

 

Time flies by so quickly. We find our ruts, our routines and our habits.

I want to point out this picture again because it is a favorite of mine and when I posted it this past Thursday I failed to mention that it is one of the only two wedding photos that Cathy and I have.

Cathy and I were married at Gatlinburg's Ye Ol' Tyme Photo Boothe. After I proposed, we couldn't wait. We both had already done the church wedding before. We had the marriage license. And everything felt right. Noah was too young to understand. Tommy would not have understood. But Sarah needed to be included so she was brought along. In hindsight perhaps Noah should have gone too.

We triple checked the legality of the Gatlinburg wedding chapels and drove on up. I forget how we decided which one to use but we certainly chose a fun one. We perused different styles of attire and finally arrived at the image we desired. We slipped into the clothing which was then velcro'd behind our backs. The sleeves were rolled up and secured for an appropriate look. We slipped into a back room where the proprietor performed the ceremony and pronounced us married. Then we went to the front of the store and had our pictures made and with copies for the extended family we pranced out into the real world to begin a most wonderful life together!

• ...because we survived the camping trip.
• ...because I came home with only 2 seed ticks.
• ...because I can hug my wife again.
• ...because my baby coo'd and chattered and was happy to see me; and I held him.
• ...because my puppy exuberantly welcomed us home.
• ...because I was able to give a little to another child and mother.
• ...because I was able to teach some boys how to whistle with an acorn.
• ...because both my boys did things on their own that made me proud.
• ...because my boys learned how to stomp a milk carton to make it explode with a deafening pop and I wasn't the one that taught them!

Tommy joins the rest of camp for the lowering of the flag announcements and dinner

Boys opted out of chapel. Homebound.

Breakfast. Mmm

The boys have learned the stomping the milk carton trick. Expect phone calls from the school.

Another tired child says he slept only 3 hours.

Tired but very helpful child watches flag ceremony.

I was up at 2am and again at 4 and rose at 6:30. Night was calm and uneventful. Time to raise the boys.

Boys asleep. I am going to rest.

Tommy volunteered to distribute the marshmellows

Tommy listens to scouts tell stories while waiting for marshmellows

Noah with friends

Noah tommy jeremy and elizabeth prepare for entertainment

Story time.

Preparing for camp fires

Hamburger and hot dogs for dinner. Good meal.

Tommy gets a bullseye in archery

Lunch

Swim buddies

All 3 of us passed swim test

45 minutes later than the start of checkin but we are not alone.

Campsite 5 scores swimming first! I can feel the rain coming.

Oops. We starve. I didn't bring lunch

Checked in.

Hi ho hi ho off to camp buck tom we go

...because I'm taking the oldest two boys camping.

...because I met some really excellent people.

...because I spent some good time with my family in the evening.

It doesn't validate. It doesn't look that great. It is not what I would use as an example of my codign. It is not what it is intended to become. But, instead of sitting stagnant, CompleteLottery.Info now has functionality. If you have a lottery related website or want a directory of lottery related websites, CompleteLottery.Info now allows to you add and list sites by state for lottery related information in the United States.

It's Friday. This weekend I take the boys to Camp Buck Tom's and upon our return I go to a lengthy scout leadership meeting. My current list of stressors:

• Finish and deliver work to client 1
• Return call to prospect
• Make presentable progress on client 2
• Troubleshoot a problem for client 3
• spend 3-4 hours on something I am neither prepared for mentally or materially which could lead to a major life changing event
• Make progress on the financial paperwork because 1 week ago I was supposed to be talking to my Uncle and I can't even find the letter with the phone number I'm supposed to call
• Balance the books
• Send invoices
• Work on family computers (wife's and 2 children's)
• Clean house
• Grocery shopping
• Pack for camping
• Make sure I have enough money for gas to and from Camp Buck Tom's
• Email client 4

My linux harddrive is failing in a bad way. If it dies, doing my linux/php development becomes a bit more challenging! Granted, I'd prefer to be doing CF.

I have one child that refuses to accept my time management lessons and lacks organizational skills. Of course, perhaps I'm not the best teacher or example. I like the Franklin-Covey system based on Stephen R. Covey's First Things First (book) ( the cd version is great too ).

Today this child decides to sleep in then at the last minute explains that she is taking her roller skate shoes and requests I fix a mechnical problem with one of the wheels.

My first inclination is to say "a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine" and tell her that I cannot do it. But this is a sweet child and I want to come to her aid. No! NOOOOoooo! Not the puppy dog eyes!

Let's see if I can come through and get this wheel fixed.

Update: Shoe fixed.

My wife has declared that I am no longer allowed to go to PTA meetings, Open Houses, Parent Orientations, or other similar group functions. The middle school declared this an open house, and last year it was in the true sense of the word with leisurely student guided tours of the building and impromptu discussions with the teachers, but instead put on a scheduled orientation with a 30 minute meeting in the auditorium and then an hour+ presentation in the classroom by all the team's teachers. So when one teacher addressed how makeup work would be done in conjunction with absenses and cited "obviously if they are out for a week having an appendix removed we are going to work with them" I chimed up and asked "so how many times can they use the appendix excuse?" I miss being a student :) My wife feels I've lost my mind.

Thanks to Michael's August Challenge my google ads to the right have turned down right cheery! Currently showing for me are:

"A Positive Attitude Is Everything. Become Positive and Powerful with this Free new system,"
"Feel good about yourself.Surround yourself with positive, Christian people. Learn how."
and
"Why aren't you happy? The reason's simplier than you think. Find out the answer at Paul's tips."

...because the love between my wife and I is so strong that we are frozen in time. It feels like we married only yesterday!

...because my cold doesn't seem quite so bad.

...because i asked that "one good thing happen" to me today and it did. Overall I'm struggling badly today to not be miserable. I'll turn this around.

...because I did those dumb this you gotta do.

...because I watched the exuberance with which my 3 year old gleefully trotted off to her first day of school.

...because I was knocked down with the love of my daughter when she saw me to pick her up from school.

...because she really had a great time in pre-school.

...because my 11 year old is living to her full potential and excelling despite trying to convince me otherwise.

...because I listened to my 3 year old daughter say "hold on I'm busy" and with my mouth agap as I heard my own words echoed I consciously decided to never be busy again; I will however reserve the right to ask "please allow me a moment to finish my responsibility" and will continue to seek out a succinct phrase that means "I must finish my reasonability so that we can have quality time" which another person of any age would respect.

I would be very pleased to work the phrase "please allow me a moment to use my best judgement" into their minds somehow.

...because I had a date with my wife and son to Greek Fest.

...because I swam in the pool with my kids and watched Amy boldly climb the slide and splash into the pool repeatedly.

...because Sarah had a great time at scouts and with her best friend.

...because Noah is by default happy.

...because Tommy turned it around and lost his grumpy.

...because Evan laughed for the grandparents...while he slept.

Candy factory we knew you well

Fountain

Greek fest

Why yes, that is Depeche Mode I'm playing.

For those of you on RSS feeds, you might want to jump over the Reality Me site for the next hour or so we've got good cat cam.

Yes! I terrorized the Girl Scout Office! With two sleeping children in the car and Cathy needing to run a quick errand I decided it best not to stop because naturally there is a direct correlation between a stopped car and open eyes. So when we pulled into the parking lot to discover only 3 cars I pulled up parallel to the sidewalk inside of into a parking space and dropped her off. I then took my foot off the gas and let the car drive itself around the parking lot as slowly as possible. I made a couple of loops then decided to check out the back side of the building. There I found too many cars to circle without doing a three point turn and a LARGE unattended moving truck blocking most of those cars into their spaces so I returned to the front.

Now this would have been a quick trip for Cathy but she couldn't find anyone in the office. They were too busy hiding behind doors and furniture because of the terrorist in the parking lot. We all know what a strategic target Girl Scouts of America is to Islamic fundamentalists. When she did find someone, she guessed what was going on and made a preemptive strike cheerfully declaring, "That's just my husband trying to keep to children sleeping." Instead of laughing it off though, my wife was unloaded upon with all guns about what a safety hazard I am and how I'm not allowed to do that. I'd say someone has forgotten what it is like to have kids.

People! Get a grip! Bin Laden won. His simple goal was to change the American way of life and you have played right into his plan by signing away your freedoms, introducing Big Brother into your lifes as if Orwell was producing your life, teaching our children to spy on their parents, undermining the confidence of those who lead us during our retirement years by locking them in their classesrooms in the deluded name of "safety," and obeying fanaticism instead of rationale.

Do not blindly follow your religious and government leaders from democracy into a paranoid fascist state.

A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

Do you need religious references to make sure your thinking is not out of line with conservative America? Then quit following and start thinking for yourself for even the Bible warns that leaders, religious and government, can be wrong in Luke 6:39, 40:

He also told them this parable: 'Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will not they both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.'" Perhaps we could paraphrase it this way, "The followers will invariably be like their leaders, and rarely will a follower rise above his leader.

Let's get back to the Girl Scouts. That truck hidden in the back of the building was more of a risk than I was. It could have been poised to strike down communications on Sharps Ridge. Or filled with fertilizer. But in the end, they were simply moving boxes into the building. Quit looking for trouble! You won't find it; you are creating it!

Look for the good in people. If you tell a good person they are bad enough, they'll start believing you. Beat a nice dog and it will turn mean. You've forgotten to love each other and be nice to one another! Worried about sleeper cells doing another 9/11?! Get out there and love them; remove their hate. Show them how great American was!

In the meantime you can find me doing doughnuts in the parking lots of restaurants, offices, grocery stores, and government buildings to show that
I live in the land of the free!
I will walk up to strangers and have conversations and end them by saying, "I love you!" I will help my neighbors. I will take pictures of my city. I will fly model rockets. You will not steal my liberties without a fight!

...because I'm just crazy that way.

...because I sent off another proposal.

...because I feel like things are about to take an upswing.

So I was faced with a new abbreviation today: IPTC-NAA tags sometimes seen as IPTC/NAA parameters. It didn't take long to find but I did have some confusing misses so I thought I would answer the question here. What are IPTC-NAA tags? The answer comes from someone's personal web page:

The parameter interchange model is defined by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) and the International Press Tele- communications Council (IPTC). The model defines a tagged file format, similar to TIFF in its design, but focussed on newspaper and newsphoto usage. It defines a large set of parameters, including copyright, captions, restrictions, photographers, publishing details, and much much more. The most common subset is called "IPTC/NAA Digital Newsphoto Parameter Record".

As with most other standards from ISO and related bodies, the IPTC/NAA documentation is distributed on paper only, and must be obtained directly from the IPTC or the NAA. The following addresses may be used:

International Press Telecommunications Council
10 Sheet Street
Windsor, Berkshire
SL4 1BG
UNITED KINGDOM

or

Newspaper Association of America
The Newspaper Center
11600 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston
VA 20091 USA

As a footnote, the IPTC/NAA standard itself includes a well- designed standard for image transfer, which in some respects are more comprehensive than TIFF. IPTC/NAA files can also be used to wrap TIFF, JFIF, Illustrator, and several other file formats.

...because I get to be fatherly tonight.

...because I was able to help solve someone's problem today.

...because I hit a major milestone and set another one.

...because my kids seem happy (well, most of them).

Today I am sporting a snazzy number my brother and his wife bought me. On their visit, they brought 3 shirts and were supposed to take 6 but only took 1 so I owe her 5.

Here's the deal. I have enough t-shirts in my closet to wear one a day for most of the year and then there are my polos, shirt sleeves and dress shirts. Some of these date back to high school. Most are very 80s and several promote defunct radio stations. So, for each new shirt that comes in, two shirts go out. You can help make me stylish by trading one new, hip shirt for two older shirts of your choosing.

I'll have to photograph the closet.

Noah scores a redux.

Dad, looking at the wet ground and murky sky: "Noah, do you need a ride [to the bus stop]?"
Noah, chipperly: "Nope, it's only 7:09."

Today's contorted English "chipperly" because it just doesn't get any better than that!

No guy in his right mind is going to stick this in his pants! You aren't getting anything near Mr. Dangly that has blades and says "3 speeds!"

I'm not entirely sure what it means but I know I'm getting some micro fiber!

Thank you Victor! We had a great time.

Monkey

What kind of karate is this?

Amy likes karate

...because the wolves are knocking yet I am not shaken.

When I posted Good Hoax? referring to Christopher Walken for President 2008 I jaunted over to my favorite place to verify information before I haphazardly forward it on or publish it, Snopes. Yesterday Snopes had nothing which totally surprised me and gave some potential validity to the possibility; today Snopes reports Walken for President a hoax.

So, these guys that tracked down the bogus trail of information in the domain registrations deserve a kudos for calling it as it was. Kind of a shame. He would have been a fun president.

Cheat Notes blog has turned us onto the Internet Slang Dictionary and Translator helping me to feel old and broken today by pointing out that I didn't know PAW stood for "parents are watching." I guess the kids as they get older will learn about RLO and KSTDA, "router logs on" and "keystroke tracking device attached."

My Zipfizz arrived yesterday! Thank you Shae!

Over the years I've tried a variety of stimulants to get a false second wind. In high school it was Cokes, Mellow Yellow and Mountain Dew. In college, I discovered coffee since it was free and the Coke machine at my night job was eatting my paycheck. I became a caffeine junkie. In addition to coffee, ephidrine, white cross and jolt cola occasionally came into the mix but often would over-stimulate me into being completely unable to focus on the studying or cramming.

Post-college was a diet of coffee and cokes and I mean gallons! At my peek, I was drinking two pots of coffee a day - one in the morning and one about 8pm at night. The world constantly shook until one day I cut cold turkey. Zero caffeine! Even my herbal teas were decaf. After experiencing the pleasures of a caffeine free world I allowed myself to return to a maximum of 400mg of caffeine a day but typically staying around 150mg.

I intentionally stayed away from energy drinks because the enourmous amounts of caffeine and sugar brought back sickening memories of chugging jolt cola after jolt cola. Then Zipfizz came. It has a minor amount of caffeine in it from the guarana seed and a couple of sweetners I haven't checked out yet but everything else looks very healthy! The taste has some acridity to it but not as bad as other health drinks I've sampled. I personally find it pleasant and easy to drink; my wife didn't like her first taste of the berry flavor; the 3 year old demanded a sip and said, "it tastes pink." I did feel good, energized and focused after each drink of Zipfizz and it was long lasting. Physiological or psychological? I don't know.

I give Zipfizz a high recommendation.

I just upgraded AIM to version 5.9.3861 and received the following option:

AOL Explorer - The next generation in Internet browsing helps stop spyware, block pop-ups, save time with tabbed browsing and thumbnail navigation so that you can enjoy a more secure and convenient web surfing and AIM Today experience.

I did not install it on this machine so I cannot evaluate AOL Explorer yet but you can bet it will be on my development workstation!

PCMag covers the review.

...you may find yourself tempted to adopt AOL Explorer. It's prettier than Microsoft Internet Explorer, easier to use than Firefox, and cheaper than Opera.

On the negative side of things it looks like us web developer types are going to have yet another brower to support and test for compliance. Or not!

...it requires Internet Explorer 6, the core beneath the glam front end...

The Library of Congress Copyright office wants to make Internet Explorer specific websites and seeks information:

...as to whether persons filing the electronic-only preregistration form prescribed by the Copyright Office will experience difficulties if it is necessary to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser in order to preregister a work.

The are accepting comments, paper not email, until August 22.

Comments are due no later than August 22, 2005. Reply comments are due no later than September 7, 2005. ... an original and five copies of any comment should be ...

To me it reads like the developers have fallen behind schedule. It seems they want to support all browsers.

To comply with this time frame and to facilitate efficient processing of preregistration claims, inter alia, the proposed rule calls for filing such claims by electronic means only. At this point in the process of developing the Copyright Office's system for online preregistration, it is not entirely clear whether the system will be compatible with web browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5.1 and higher. Filers of preregistration applications will be able to employ these Internet Explorer browsers successfully. Support for Netscape 7.2, Firefox 1.0.3, and Mozilla 1.7.7 is planned but will not be available when preregistration goes into effect. Present users of these browsers may experience problems when filing claims.

So, is Christopher Walken really running for president? (see also)

"IF...I..I might say...say that if, someone, someone like Bush could scare you into, you know, giving up your freedoms. Just imagine, what I, Christopher Walken, could do..."

These guys call hoax.

Find more references to "walken for president" on Blingo!

...because when my daughter chose to climb her chest of drawers and it fell over, it missed her.

Noah spars

...because my desk is clean(er).

So would you beat someone with a chair for an ibook?

Jesse Sandler said he was one of the people pushing forward, using a folding chair he had brought with him to beat back people who tried to cut in front of him.

"I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam,'" the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station.

"They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said.

Umm.. You know that thing about 2 wrongs don't you?

Say Uncle has a post regarding pay phones that prompted the following memories and comment from me:

Several weeks ago my wife and I went to a restaurant to meet her parents and both assumed the other had brought their cell phone. The inlaws were late so we wanted to call and see if the plans had changed but didn't know what to do. I pondered asking to borrow a cell phone. Finally I took a chance and discovered a pay phone near the bathrooms. I inserted my money--no I don't remember how much but I think it was $.50--and suddenly was sucked back in time. The influx of thoughts was overwhelming!

How many rings before voicemail kicks in and takes my money? Remember the old collect call trick where you'd use a code name to jingle the folks to let them know you were ok? You know, the one where the operator says, "will you accept a call from Mr. I. M. Fine?" and they say "no" to avoid the charges but can now rest easy? The thrill at checking the coin return and finding change. The digust at finding moist, chewed gum. The scare of a prick of a need (ala pre-Internet urban legends). That smell! Holding the phone close to your ear and mouth but dare not touching it. Remember dialing numbers without using the dial or buttons? Anyone carry a pocket tone generator? Remember the secret combination of digits that would let you dial anywhere in the world for free? Remember the fear of the FBI dropping down on you? The unusual feeling of being tied down by the leash of the cord which is always positioned between two busy restroom doors.

One voicemail and a second call later reveals the inlaws to be in the parking lot and then we see them walking into the restaurant with cell phone to ear. Life is normal again.

A big special thanks to Tim for helping me clear up my stereotypical views of Australians and Kiwis. I will definitely bring some hobbits should I ever visit.

I read the article completely and could not come up with a more elegant summary than Ray Kurzweil.

Business 2.0, September 2005

A trail of hidden clues suggests Google is building its own Internet using WiFi blanketing major cities and might be looking to let everyone connect for free.

...because I made cup cakes.

...because I got off my duff.

...because the sun is shining.

In a belated tribute to Douglas Adams, over 1,500 dolphins have recently gathered off the coast of Pembrokeshire. Echt has the picture.

I am not certain that I can live up to Michael's challenge this week.

1. Go to Google's Language Tools.
2. enter the following line into the translate textbox:
   Susan Hughes's mom is nice and cool
3. Translate from English to Spanish
4. Copy the translated text, and translate it back from Spanish to English

With apologies to Susan. Thought you might enjoy a little Internet fame.

I am well on my way to becoming a bitter old man. Due to economics and time constraints I continue to see opportunities and be unable to act upon them.

I owned a beautiful domain name once and because I was dead broke at its renewal time I let it go. A squatter grabbed it up and sat on it for years until someone purchased it and turned it into a beautiful example of what I intended it to be. I should move forward and use it as a lesson to not procrastinate on developing the domain names that I do own. I still have a hard time not being bitter about it.

My wife and I were in Ohio and visited a franchised store that we thought would be extremely successful in West Town Mall and fun to run to boot. I even made a phone call on it however the startup costs were out of my league. That store is now in West Town Mall and I bemoan it.

I see a real estate oppportunity. I'd need tens of millions to make it work. I'd quadruple the money.

So why not get some venture capital? Why not find a backer or angel? Why not get investors? Because it takes money to get money. You have to be politically active and know people. You have to do due diligence and write business plans and presentations all the while feeding your family.

I don't think I've made a big enough deal about Blingo. I now use Blingo 80% of the time reserving my trips to Google for speciality things like money conversions.

Blingo now has a blog. What is Blingo? Blingo is a search engine that returns the exact same results as Google (since it is powered by Google) but gives out prizes (currently limited to the United States, I think).

You don't need to sign up to search. But if you sign up as a Blingo Friend when you win, so does your friend!

Spy Journal Tech Tips alerted on Blingo in December of 2004.

(reprinted from Spy Journal Blog Tips)

...because last night I had a date with my wife.

...because, disquieting as it is, I'm facing my demons.

Album is done and I nary made a dent in the mail. This Friday is an evil deadline. The world shall try to crumble under my feet.

Next album for productivity: XTC: Skylarking. Task: quote a job.

Got behind on the mail again. 

Let's tackle the mail to the sounds of Black 47's Fire of Freedom. When the album ends I change task. While the album plays I am not allowed to slip off task.

Thank you Rasita! Had she not mentioned that my feed was down I never would have fixed the problem. Turns out my feeds to the Rocky Top Brigade had stopped and many readers went without my life influencing bits and bytes.

The probem turned out to be laziness. In one post I decided to turn on Blogger's Compose tab and cut and paste from MS Word to Blogger. MS Word's xml is horrible! And conflicted with Blogger's Atom feed. The MS gibberish has been removed and everything returns to "normal."

...because Tommy had a fantastic birthday party at Ben & Jerry's. Tommy is thrilled! The manager ran the party and did an exceptional job! We tie dyed t-shirts (and they all came out great! Matching the personalities of the makers.) When we took out our rubber gloves I spoke up, "So, any of the adults thinking Howie Mandel?" to which the store manager said, "Howie who?" We all laughed and he said, "No, seriously!" And my mother-in-law laughed and called me an "old person." Good moment!

...because I made major headway on fixing a closet that has been neglected since September 1997.

...because we are getting some pleasant and much needed rain.

Celebrating tommy at ben and jerrys

...because I have the most loving, understanding and supportive wife in the world.

Anyone remember in the hayday of the Dukes every 4th car had a horn that sound just like the Genneral Lee? Da na naa na Naah nah Naaaah Na I find it ironic that as the Maryville Board of Education tries to make history disappear by banning references to our heritage that a cheesy movie will undoubtly bring rise to the sale of confederate flags and custom horns for your cars. Yes, beeping your horn may be illegal in Tennessee but sounding a charge will become just a friendly hello from one good ol' boy to the next. Road kill anyone?

Btw, the horn law is Sec. 17-382. Horn; bells, sirens, etc.; warning devices on emergency vehicles.

(a) Every motor vehicle, when operated upon any road, street or highway of the city, shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred (200) feet, and it shall be unlawful, except as otherwise provided in this section, for any vehicle to be equipped with or for any person to use upon a vehicle any siren or exhaust, compression or sparkplug whistle or for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning or to make any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device.

...because the kids are excited to be off to school.

It appears I missed my happy thought yesterday. I wonder if not looking for a happy thought contributed to how unhappy I was yesterday.

Tommy is off to school. 

Tommy's bus arrives at 7:10am. Last year the bus and Tommy were very much in sync. As the year went on Tommy would be more and more difficult to wake giving himself less time to prepare. Often he would go to school without breakfast. We tried sending him with a poptart on the bus but it seemed like too much of a reward plus he makes such a mess that he'd have food all over him, his face and the bus. Ironically as his wake time became later and later so did the arrival time of the bus eventually moving from 7:10 to 8:00.

Noah's bus arrives at 7:22am. I spent 3 years fighting to get the bus off of Northshore Drive, a busy 45mph road frequently traveled at much higher speeds. Last year the street sign marking their offical bus stop was knocked down by an out of control driver. The stop sat just over the peak of a hill and at a blind corner, most blocked by overgrown honey suckle, where cars zip into the neighborhood.

Noah is off to school. 

In the past years other issues with this bus had been eratic pickup times and sometimes ignoring the stop all together. Officially the bus can be 15 minutes on either side of the noted pickup time. At one point this bus arrived as early as 7am and as late as 8am. Schools starts at 7:45am.

This year the bus arrived on time and at the right stop! Here's hoping for a hassle free school year!

Sarah is off to school. 

Last year was Sarah's first year in middle school. Her stop was across Northshore, so I thought. I was bothered by her crossing Northshore but at first I would take Noah and her to Noah's bus stop where I was watch over the elementary students. Her official bus time was the same 7:22 as Noah's and since I could not be in two places at once I would let her walk up the block, cross Northshore and wait for her bus.

Over time I became uncomfortable with her crossing that busy road so I changed my route and would drive Sarah to her bus stop and drop her off. I'd then take Noah to his stop and stand watch over the elementary students. Soon another parent joined the watch.

Stories surfaced that a white pickup truck was cruising Northshore trying to pickup middle school girls a few miles from Sarah's stop. I left the watch of the elementary stop to the other parents and have changed to being at Sarah's stop. Occasionally I let her walk. Oh, I learned that her official stop is on our side of Northshore but all the kids like to gather together on the other side. The stop is down to Sarah and one other friend and I'm sure my presence has nothing to do with that.

• Fight with a toddler.
• Clean desk.
• Reconcile accounts that have not been reconciled in 5 years.
• Phone interview.
• Install TurboTax for 2002.
• Make a business a website for free.
• Make another business a website for free.
• Write a specification.
• Make a low dollar website.
• Work on the house.
• Sales calls.
• Work on my own websites.
• Pull $2500 from thin air.

Ham 

So here I sit. Unable to go to my computer and work for need to stand guard over a bawling toddler. There she stands. Night gown pulled over her face as she forces tears, sniffles and sobs. Why do we do this? Because I came home from taking two of the children to their bus stops to find that Cathy and Evan had returned to bed while Amy woke and dumped clean clothes from the folding basket to the floor.

Angry. 

She's gone silent. That means she is trying to sneak away from her responsibility. Responsibility at three?! Yes. All she had to do is pick up the clothing from the floor and put it back in the basket. What will power!

We are in a stand-off. If I help her am I teaching the wrong lesson? I certainly cannot let her go without picking up any clothing. She cannot have her cartoons.

For you privacy buffs out there and for those of you that don't think our government is acting like Big Brother, have a read of this Williamette Weekly article. It's four pages long with some redundancy but worth the time. If you find yourself starting to bail, skip to the concluding paragraphs on page 4.

Portland's top brass said it was OK to swipe your garbage--so we grabbed theirs.

So I had this somewhat embarrassing email for which I was very thankul. I used to write very properly. I was one of those human dictionaries that could pop out a correct spelling of a word I'd never used. Create whatever reason you want - age, laziness, too much in my mind, whatever - my spelling and grammar have deteriorated. My resume has a line that reads:

· Writing: Well written, exceptional grammar, technical writing skills

And then it is followed with this line:

· Organizational: very spatial oriented, structured, can work equally well with hierarchical or abstract concepts and organization, 5 years practical experience in Software Quality Assurance and associated training compliment organizational skills

I keep my resume at the Perfect Job. It needs updating badly. Now I've always been hardnosed when evaluating candidates' resumes for proper spelling and well formed sentences so I was quite surprised when someone took the time to send an email pointing out my horrid error of using "compliment" when I obviously meant "complement." I wonder how many times this was noticed and not mentioned.

I spent the entire day and evening trying to install Apache 2, PHP 4.4.0, and MySQL 3.23 on my workstation. I'm mentally fatigued. I succeeded in installing Apache 2 and PHP 4 but my installation of MySQL 3.23 is not cooperating. I've thrown in the towel but this has been a gratis day when I need to be maximizing my returns.

I basically followed this document and summarized it with:

STEP 1: Go to Start->Control Panels->Add/Remove Programs and Remove PHP 5 (do NOT remove Apache2).

STEP 2: Download PHP 4.4.0 from http://us3.php.net/get/php-4.4.0-Win32.zip/from/a/mirror ( you can get to that link from http://us3.php.net/downloads.php and choosing PHP Installer under Windows 4.4.0 binaries ) Use the ZIP package NOT the installer.exe.

STEP 3: Install PHP

STEP 3.1: Extract the files to C:\ This will create a folder called C:\php-4.4.0-Win32.

STEP 3.2: Rename the folder C:\php-4.4.0-Win32 to C:\PHP

STEP 3.3: Copy the file C:\PHP\php.ini-recommended file to your windows folder: c:\windows (might possibly be c:\winnt)

STEP 3.4: Rename C:\windows\php.ini-recommended to C:\windows\php.ini

STEP 3.5: Copy the file C:\PHP\php4ts.dll to your windows system folder. For XP and ME this is c:\windows\system32\

Now you have PHP 4.4.0 installed and Apache 2 installed. Next we will change some configurations.

STEP 4: Edit httpd.conf (find this file by going to Start->Program Files->Apache HTTP Server 2.0.54->Configure Apache Server->Edit the Apache httpd.conf Configuration File OR go to C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\conf\ and locate the file httpd.conf) to change the line that reads

DirectoryIndex index.html index.html.var

To be

DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm index.html.var

STEP 5: Open httpd.conf for editing. Find the section with references to “LoadModule” and after the last LoadModule line add

LoadModule php4_module “c:/PHP/sapi/php4apache2.dll”

STEP 6 Open httpd.conf for editing. Anywhere after the LoadModule line from STEP 6 add:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

Next you will edit the php.ini file which contains setting that control the behavior of php.

STEP 7: Open php.ini for editing. This file should be in c:\windows\ and find the line that says

doc_root =

Change it to read

doc_root = C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\htdocs

Now we will test.

STEP 8: Open Internet Explorer or Firefox (or browser of choice) and go to http://localhost/html/phpinfo.php If you see a screen that shows the php version and lots of variables then you have successfully installed the apache web server and PHP.

Next you will install the MySQL database server.

STEP 9: Get MySQL 3.23 (Note: The production server uses MySQL 3.23.39 which is why we aren’t using 4.1) from http://downloads.mysql.com/archives/mysql-3.23/mysql-3.23.58-win.zip saving it to a temporary location.

STEP 10: Unzip mysql-3.23.58-win.zip

STEP 11: Run setup.exe choosing the Typical installation.

STEP 12: Run C:\mysql\bin\winmysqladmin.exe to set a username and password for accessing mysql (don’t forget these).

Author unknown. Thanks to Shae Leighland for publishing it.

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car
keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking.

I’m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye–they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn’t washed.
The bills aren’t paid.
There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter.
The flowers don’t have enough water.
There is still only one check in my checkbook.
I can’t find the remote.
I can’t find my glasses.
And I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.

Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I’m really tired.

At one point in my life I had roughly 700 CDs all categorized and alphabetized and not a scratch on a single CD. Now, as important as music is to me, I barely listen to music anymore. When I do I listen to the same CD over and over and over until it is no longer music but a drone slightly more pleasant than the static and other white noise that engulfs me.

Today I just spent 5 minutes trying to find a specific CD that I've wanted to listen to for the past several days. After digging through a disarray of CD cases I found the CD case I was seeking. Naturally it was empty. In the process of trying to find the case, I experimented and open several CD cases in a row. I went through 20 cases before finding one with a CD in it.

I might quit consulting and go back to work just so I can afford to shop at iTunes and once again fill my ears with music.

Update:Found it!

...because, despite all that could fall apart at a moment's notice, I don't feel stressed.

C|Net brings us Top 10 tech we miss An enjoyable read with memories.

Technology evolves. Good technologies and products usually survive; poor ones usually go extinct. But not all of the technologies and tech products that have swirled down the drain of the tech gene pool deserved their fate. Here are some big, and some small, ideas that we thought we'd have with us forever, but that unfortunately have gone the way of the dodo.

I have a client taking their dynamic site to a trade show on a laptop since they don't want to rely on the trade show's wireless connectivity. So, I say, "It's easy. Just install PHP, MySQL and Apache on your laptop [windows XP]." After 5 hours of hair pulling yesterday I realize that versions on this stuff are as important as they say. Turns out version PHP 5.04 installer for windows does not automatically configure apache. Also apparently apache 2 is better for windows but php likes apache 1.3 better.

I'm returning to PHP 4 for this install.

Ah! Same error:

Sorry, the software to automatically ocnfigure the Apache httpd.conf file has not yet been written. You will have to configure Apache manually. See the install.txt file for more details.

Installing as an Apache module

You should add the following lines to your Apache httpd.conf file:

Example 2-3. PHP as an Apache 1.3.x module

This assumes PHP is installed to c:\php. Adjust the path if this is
not the case.

For PHP 4:
# Add to the end of the LoadModule section
LoadModule php4_module "c:/php/php4apache.dll"

# Add to the end of the AddModule section
AddModule mod_php4.c

For PHP 5:
# Add to the end of the LoadModule section
LoadModule php5_module "c:/php/php5apache.dll"

# Add to the end of the AddModule section
AddModule mod_php5.c

For both:
# Add this line inside the conditional brace
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

# For syntax highlighted .phps files, also add
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

So the instructions in the install.txt continue to make no sense with Apache2 referencing files that aren't there, lines of the httpd.conf that are non-existent and finally I find an exceptional answer that points out:

the problem is that the instructions that come with the php distrubutions only cover installations for Apache 1.3.x and not the 2.0 versions

And further directs us to "Installing Apache 2.0, PHP 4.2, MySQL 3.23, and PHPMyAdmin" by Jeffery F. Hill This looks like an excellent guide!

...because Evan really enjoys sitting in my lap. We need a dads chair and a larger television.

...because my daughters' room received a beautiful paint job, my brother and sister-in-law were here, and I survived, without cardiac arrest or conniption, my 12 year old daughter's "boyfriend"'s father calling to discuss their first [group] date (and a chaperone).

Aunt and uncle visit

...because Tommy gets to show off his riding skills and it makes him so confident that he beams with glee. I am also very happy that my brother and his wife are coming to town to see the kids.

...because I finally took some time to post on Spy Journal Blog Tips, Spy Journal Tech Tips, and Reality Me from links I've been keeping in open browser windows for weeks. Now my work environment feels less cluttered and I had fun!

The Martian Anthropologist points out that my post on Xena as the 10th planet could actually be the 11th planet.

In my post Anti-coffee - Man I could use a cup right now! I listed some Caffeine alternatives and included a link to http://www.zipfizz.com/ as a Caffeine alternative with a warning "WARNING! Some evil web developer thinks it is ok to resize your browser window." Shae of Zipfizz paid us a pleasant visit yesterday which prompted me to revisit her site. I was pleased to find that it no longer resizes your browser!

I have avoided the energy drink craze. Perhaps I'll have to try one of these. They certainly make it tempting. The store offers a single for free (you pay $1.79 shipping).

I've been slowly introducing clients to Blingo over time as an alternative to Google. I was shocked yesterday to find out I had not told my wife about Blingo.

I told one friend and two hours later he had won a music CD. Apparently they either didn't have the refer a friend program or I didn't know about it or I would have one also. Just incase you missed that, if you refer a friend to Blingo and your friend wins so do you. For example, yesterday Busy Mom won an iPod Shuffle which means that Lauren's Mommy also won an iPod Shuffle.

The following is reprinted from a post I made on Spy Journal Blog Tips:

Blingo now has a blog. What is Blingo? Blingo is a search engine that returns the exact same results as Google (since it is powered by Google) but gives out prizes (currently limited to the United States, I think).

You don't need to sign up to search. But if you sign up as a Blingo Friend when you win, so does your friend!

Spy Journal Tech Tips alerted on Blingo in December of 2004.

Today we have an orange alert Air Quality Action Day. That means that you can ride KAT Buses for free and carpooling is encouraged. Things you can do:

• Conserve electricity and set your air conditioner at a higher temperature.
• Choose a cleaner commute—share a ride to work or take a KAT bus or other public transportation. Bicycle or walk to work or for errands.
• Wait until another day to use gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment.
• Refuel cars and trucks after dusk.
• Combine errands and reduce motor vehicle trips.
• If you’re going to stop your car for more than a couple of minutes, turn it off. It saves gas and reduces pollution!
• Wait until another day to use household, workshop, and garden chemicals.

...because I realized the reason we aren't buying diapers isn't due to lack of money but because we are using drastic measures to potty train Amy.

I woke this morning to the feel of panic
Laid in bed and tried to handle it
Started thinking what had to be done
Ain't it funny how the panic grows
When you seem to have everything to lose
Strange because you can't move
With the walls closing in.

taken from Bob Seger's "Night Moves"

I woke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves
When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in

I could have fun doing the rest of the song.

...because I am accepting my challenges head-on. I am confident that everything will work out.

...because I chose honesty over making a white lie.

On Sunday I wanted to list multiple reasons I was happy but for some reason felt compelled to focus on one. I wanted to add on Sunday that I was happy because:

• Noah had a great time on the camping trip
• Noah made friends and got to be a regular 9 year old boy
• I was able to impart knowledge on several boys and hopefully was a positive influence in their lives.
• I had adult conversations!
• No major tramas, dramas or injuries
• I still having camping skills
• I was home
• I was with my wife and family again!

Today I can feel the self-flagellations coming so I may need to post several reasons I am happy just to keep the negative thoughts at bay.