Longish Weekend

What the hell does a dried up ol' fat ass do with himself over the Labor Day weekend?

Travel, Hike in the Woods and Swim in the river, perhaps?

Hardly.

Try multiple trips to the hardware store, fix things around house and pull weeds. It is Labor Day after all.

Laboringly,
Gregsta'

Apology

Wow. I just listened to that last Domino Effect Radio. Can I just say that it sucked. I promise show 3 will be better.

I don't normally apologize for anything, especially my own antics. But DAAAAMMMNN that was bad.

Gregsta'

T.D.E. Radio Episode #2: Hank Hill and Rant

Episode 2 in all it's Glory (or lack of)

Click here to Listen!

I admit. I'm cheesy. It's fun to be cheesy. Enjoy the goodies contained within.

Radioingly,
Gregsta'

To be Fair...

New Domino Effect Radio tonight. 9:00PST.

I have lined up Hank Hill from the hit TV show King of the Hill to join me in the studio. This should be interesting - he was rather hesitant, knowing about my "liberal" leanings and all. I think I convinced him to play nice at least for one radio show.

Also tonight - a wrap up on the Oregon State Fair and my experience yesterday.

Last, we'll talk about new Tech Buzzwords and Why you should kill Moose from the Green perspective.

Random? Yes, and proud of it.

Prepingly,
Gregster'

Wax

I remember a time when we meant something. We were wizards, geniuses and everything we said and did was gold. By "we" I mean IT people. There was a time before Best Buy's "Geek Squad" and the iPod. There was a time when someone who knew anything about computers told you something, you believed it and trusted in it.

Now, the times have changed. No longer are we experts. No, everyone thinks they're a technology expert. Instead, we're relegated to the job of fix-it man and procurement specialist. We don't have the time or energy to tinker with new technology - we're too busy trying to keep what we have working right and compatible with what we can't afford.

Remember when we used to buy a new laptop or pc and be excited about it? I do. I havent' been excited about new hardware since Windows 2000. That was 2002. I recall when those of us knew the 50 or so basic DOS codes were gods at everything. Coding was simple because we didn't have libraries upon libraries of custom functions and routines to integrate with.

Security? That consisted of being careful online, back before security vulnerabilities were a reality. We didn't have virus protection, because you could sumarize the majority of security isses on a single sheet of paper (we didn't use email as much back then - printers were all the rage). You didn't put your credit card online too often and the little yellow lock icon in Netscape made you at peace.

When we talked about storage, we were refering to disk boxes, not disk drives. Terrabytes seemed science fiction and useless. We backed up to tape and liked that we could restore a server in an hour.

We were able to configure servers and workstations in under an hour. Configurations were simple, data was sparse and programs just worked. When they didn't, there weren't anywhere near as many places to check for problems.

I don't long for those days now. I do look forward to the next adventure that doesn't involve vast amounts of meaninless, incompetant complexity. I don't think it will be in mainstream computers. I don't know where it will be. That's part of the fun.

Waxing,
Gregsta'

Happy

I am eating a chocolate chip cookie.

I'm happy.

Life is good.

I wish this headache would go away.

Gregsta'

Retire

It must be the economic climate...

There are no less than 3 people retiring this year from the firm I work for. It's ridiculous. Everyone wants out, or is being forced out. The timing is strange. I feel like there's something I don't know going on. Something big.

I long for the day that I can retire and leave this hustle and bustle behind. I can't wait until I can kick my feet up and read the paper, drink coffee and play some low-impact sport all day. No email, no cell phone, no interruptions. I'll just spend my days camped out on the porch when the weather is nice. I'll stay inside on the days when mother nature likes to blow. If I get bored, I'll just hop a plane to Portland and visit family. Did I mention that I intend to retire in the South of France?

Well, enough day dreaming. Time to get back to the grind and make some money.

Far-from-retiringly,
Gregsta'

Dark and Stormy?

Right now, it feels like the middle of October here in Oregon - Rain, overcast and barely 60 degrees. I wore a coat and used my umbrella walking to work this morning. It's AUGUST.

Is this global warming? Is it a fluke weather pattern? WHAT IS IT, MAN!?

Somehow, I must fly away to another place where the sun is shining and the alcohol is flowing. That would be nice.

Sunningly,
Gregsta'

Attack!

How lame am I?

Don't answer that unless you want me to blog about it.

It's Saturday again, and this week, I find myself working on computers in Salem from my home in unpredictably sunny Portland. I'm to the point where I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that everything goes well so I don't have to actually spend 1:30 on the road traveling between said computers and home.

The Domino Effect Radio will be back this weekend with yet another edition for you to love and loathe.

I spent over an hour installing a new projector screen and cleaning up the cabling in the living room (there's still more to do, sadly). The things I do for my less-than-an-hour television viewing habit. I now have 108 inches of neglect.

It's great for movie night, though.

Pathetically,
Gregsta'

Bust it up

I'm to the point again where the coffee only has a minimal effect on how awake I am. Case in point - I'm about ready to pass out over my keyboard at any second.

Note to Self: Writing a To-Do list without constraints is depressing.
What am I talking about? You should never include big picture items such as "Remodel Living Room" on the same list as "Pickup Laundry". It's akin to prioritizing checking your MySpace over sending out invoices. Bad idea. It only leads to perpetual procrastination. I should write a new book - 10,000 Habits of Severe Procrastinators. I could outline all the things you shouldn't do, rather than focusing on what you should do. After all, my generation is that of a bunch of people asking "why not" instead of "how do I".

The podcast has been a moderate hit. The next will be better. The one after that may be the series finale. If you haven't listened to it yet, do so by clicking the "Listen Now" link on the last posting.

Time to get ready for Dim Sum. I have to stretch my belt in preparation.

Sumingly,
Gregsta'

T.D.E. Radio Episode #1: Kittens and Bunnies

The Domino Effect Radio
Episode #1
Kittens and Bunnies

Listen - Streaming MP3 80kbps

Featuring Friend Ship Pagota from Talent, Oregon!
On this virgin, pilot edition of The Domino Effect Radio, Gregster tackles the big issues - Puke inducing flashlights, The Bite of Portland and Offramp Beggars.

Call in at 503-334-3176 and leave a message for The Domino Effect Radio! We'll more than likely feature your comments or questions on the next show!

Links, as promised in this episode:
Slashdot Article - Puke Saber
The Bite of Oregon
Friend Ship Pagota

Listen. Comment. Love it.

Blabbingly,
Gregsta'

An experiment is coming

I'm going to try an experiment. Stay tuned. More to come. Watch for my next blog post.

Plottingly,
Gregsta'

Content Expired: A long frickin' time ago

It's time to go to work. I don't have a lot of time to type anything this morning. I had hoped to conjure up some big fancy, quick and witty blog. Instead, I leave you with an excuse and a reason to keep coming back for more. Ha ha! Wait, what was that reason for coming back? Uh...

Dorkingly,
Gregster

Breakfast of Champions

There's nothing better than a cookie for breakfast. I even brought a relatively healthy breakfast, but after seeing the homemade choco chip cookies in the break room at the office, there was no way I was going to turn it down.

I'm starting to feel a little sick now. Turning green. Now Purple. Oh, wait. Back to normal.

Happy Birthday to Julee!

Gregsta'

Office Pics

Well, we finally did it! The office got officially "put together" today. Things are organized, pictures on the wall, final hardware installations are complete, etc. It took all day, but it was certainly worth it. Ikea should come in and take pictures and use it for their promotional materials.

Thanks to Gooch and Amy for stopping by today! We had a great time!

Gregsta'

Saturday = Work Day

I'm here at the office rebooting a server. I precarious sort of task for a Saturday. But then again, I am cursed with my IT Manager powers. When things break, I'm incapable of saying "Oh, I'll deal with that on Monday." No, I'm compelled and perhaps pushed towards the office to ensure that harmony in technology continues to be taken for granted.

Question of the Day: Why does Greek food make you gassy?

Answer of the Day: Gregster, everything makes you gassy.

Passingly,
Gregsta'

SOAP it up

I sit here, pear shaped in my Aeron chair - a Coldfusion reference guide in one hand, a white flag in another. I give up. I am, as they say, obsolete.

So, I am retiring my Coldfusion skills for something far more mainstream and cost effective: PHP, SOAP, Java and CSS.

Feel my pain.

Gregsta'