David's Thoughts

You Can Pick Your...

2012-01-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose...

I was out cutting down some large boxes in the garage. I've been cleaning it out to fit the cars in. My car can squeeze in, but it will be a bit before we can get Cheryl's in as well. When I say mine can "squeeze in", I'm exaggerating slightly. The car fits in fine, but there's a mere 6" to open the door, so really, I do all the squeezing. :)

Tangent aside, Cheryl came out, "Hun, can you help Belle? She has a bean stuck in her nose." Derg! I'm thinking ...small hard object in nasal cavity, likely hospital visit, just paid to fix the boiler's gas valve, egads... "I'll be right in" *with a smile*.

You know those foam clown noses you can buy at any reputable dollar store? Belle's now prominent feature was doing a fine imitation. 0.o

"Look up sweety" I said. Pinch, pop, whew! A fully cooked pinto bean popped out. The whole scene reminded me of the nature channel where a snake was eating a rat 3x as large as the snake's mouth... *pat on the back* A job well done. :)

Moments later, Belle (still sounding stuffy) says, "Dad, I still have some bean in my nose."

^^ -> 0.o

Alright... I ask her to tilt her head up and sure enough, I can see a little mashed bean high up in her OTHER nostril. I squeeze as much out as will easily come, then ask her to blow into a tissue. A little more comes out. "Alright sweety, give it a super blow. One. Two THREE!" Blam! Out shoots an entire second bean from far enough up in her nasal passage that I couldn't even see the tip of it! Blagh!

Needless to say, we imparted the gravity of the situation, and I was compelled to show her the slight of hand behind my age-old "poof goes the object, then pull from subject's nose" trick. 0.o

Minutes later she was back to happy-go-lucky, and we were on to bigger and better things like constructing our next live-action Angry Birds stage. :)

Merry Christmas 2011!

2011-12-22T04:57:00.000-08:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmKD6-NxjRo

Johnson Acrobatics

2011-12-18T18:31:00.000-08:00

Link: http://youtu.be/0wNTUgkqbHM

We decided to enter an act into the Crossroads talent show at the last minute... Oh the fun!

Annabelle and Isaac Break it Down in the New House

2011-09-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Annabelle and Isaac love our new place. Check out Isaac's beatboxing and Annabelle's favorite use of the family room! (You can faintly hear Isaac's beatboxing at the beginning of the video.)

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYf8WYRZ4t0

We're Moving

2011-08-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a while but there are a few major milestones this quarter!
Isaac will be turning 1!
Annabelle will be turning 4!
I have turned __!! ;)

Biggest and brightest of all, we're relocating to our first house!!
Would you be interested in lending a hand and hanging out for a bit?

You're invited!!
Check out the morning invite here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=231199600251388

And the evening invite here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=261160237229126

See you soon!!

Kids Being Cute in June

2011-06-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Link: https://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/TheKidsBeingCuteInJune

What a Summer!

2011-06-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a busy summer!! A few of the highlights include:

A road trip to Tennessee that involved the Adirondacks, a crazy frenchman, a crew from nova scotia, and sleeping 8 in a kitchen!
Isaac's first trip to the beautiful Berkshire mountain range.
House hunting
My 29th birthday
Family get-togethers...

We've made more memories in the last 30 days than the previous 3 months combined!! Woo!

Adding to the string of fun and fancy free joy at home, things have been going really well at work. As usual, me and the crew are taking our project to new heights while enjoying our time together. Ha! Today, we had a scooter race. Yes... think 70's, foot-powered scooter.

We did time trials up and down the trail out behind out building. I came in fourth, falling a full 3 seconds behind the leader (Dustin, that was crazy man!), but far from the back of the pack. :) What a blast!! This was a proper scooter with 8 inch wheels and a shock. The first few pumps didn't feel like much, but after that... WHOA! BLISTERING UPRIGHT SPEED!! It was terrifying! While many waivered, we only had 2 major wipeouts. (Not too shabby for the fact that we had 30+ participants). My job is fun, and the people I do it with are even more so.

Speaking of 30+, I'm turning 29 at the end of the month. I'm almost to the land of 30-somethings. It's amazing how the time flew. Bring on the next decade baby!

Annabelle's Ringtone

2011-06-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Zedge for ringtones the other day when I stumbled onto "Papa Fone". The kid was adorable! I thought, "Man, I have GOT to get Annabelle to do this." Today, she did. Click the listen button below or download the mp3 using the download link. Aaah! So cute!

Download Link: http://www.archive.org/download/20110606-AnnabelleRingtone/2011-Ringtone_v1-clean.mp3

Paintball

2011-05-15T18:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I played paintball with Armondo's groomsmen. It was fun. I came home with enough mud on my pants that I had to pre-wash them outside before I brought them into the house. XD Catch the video and photo galleries at the bottom of the post!

Three quick stories:

From 2011-05-14_Paintball

One of my favorite moments was when I was storming the castle with Nathan inside. I saw him scurry around the back and started to move in that direction, then slowed as I came to the corner, waiting for a team-mate to flank around the other way. Pfft, pfft, pfft! Nathan got me in the back after rushing around. Turns out, Nathan had done a stellar job of striking terror into the hearts of my mates, leaving me the only one to approach the building. :D

From 2011-05-14_Paintball

Me and mud get along. In the first round, I ran and dove for some low cover on the side of the field. In quick order, I flanked left, covering the distance to the middle of the field doing a belly crawl. When I popped up over the side, the other team didn't know what hit them. XD

From 2011-05-14_Paintball

In one of the scenarios, Nathan was a VIP and Ryan was his bodyguard. The VIP took up cover in the far corner of the field. I called out for suppressive fire and advanced under cover as much as possible, covering the full distance of the field. 1, 2, 3, Another burst of suppressive fire as I

flanked right, taking them by surprise again and ending the game in a 5 round burst. Woo!

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0lekYF6NFE

Photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/20110514_Paintball

Facebook

2011-04-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

I just downloaded all of the Facebook photo albums I have been tagged in, and albums I've uploaded (think: mobile uploads). ...Talk about a trip down memory lane!

If you're interested in bringing all your memories onto your computer from FB as well, check out the Facebook PhotoGrabber: http://code.google.com/p/photograbber/

Oop! Got to go... It's playtime and Isaac wants me to help him build a train track circuit!

Pretty Pics

2011-03-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

I love going through old photos. Here's an album from Annabelle's last birthday party: https://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/AnnabelleS2ndBirthdayParty2010

I'm so happy Cheryl has a new camera and will continue to provide tons of pretty pictures!

Annabelle's Photography

2011-03-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Annabelle has a digital camera. The battery life only gives it a few days before it needs to be recharged, but man alive, she loves to capture anything and everything!

Here's a quick video from one of her photo sets this week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvZtYyI39SM

Baby Laugh

2011-03-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDmVAb3Rtqk

Wax Paper Skating

2011-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

Do you use wax paper? Well, you have a reason to use it now!!

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8iupODCjMM

Yes (Say It, Mean It, Live It)

2010-12-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend was AWESOME! Belle and I went sledding for 3 hours starting at 7am, then went out and built 3 snow forts with some friends from the neighborhood. The next evening, we played with our forts, then did some tracking (eventually finding a rabbit burrow). Belle wanted to keep the rabbits, but I was firm...

Frankly, at 7am, I was TIRED. I did not want to do ANYTHING, let alone scurry for winter clothes, dress a whirling dirvish, do the cat-herding thing to get into the car, then tromp around all creation for the day... I never want to do anything. Just ask Cheryl. If I was left to my own devices, I'd do nothing but sit at the computer all day/night, watching movies, playing games, and generally zoning out.

The trick is, even though I never feel like doing anything, I say 'yes' out of habit. As you probably know, my mom was bent on the view that variety is the spice of life (I'm with her on that). Opportunity sparks variety, so engaging in more opportunities than I feel like at the moment is key. (Grain of salt: Everything in moderation...)

Props to all you opportunity providers out there! You make my life enthusiastically enjoyable!!

Snow Tires?

2010-12-14T08:45:00.000-08:00

I work in Victor, NY now. I used to work in downtown Rochester...

My old commute was a typical, dull, flat, traffic-packed, eye-bleeding morning scenario. My new commute however, is a lovely drive over beautiful, rolling terrain. During the summer, the birds are out, the village bustles, and there's a lot to notice on the way in to work. I now see that during the winter, there's just as much beauty to behold. Today's drive in was a quiet, deliberate mosey through a misty, snow swept wilderness. Now and again, you'd see a faint light, joined by a partner grow til out of the mist, a car heading the other direction would appear. You could catch a glimpse of patches of the road you were traveling, but only with a good eye and a little luck. For the most part, you just followed the deep tracks in front of you, taking in the mysterious, and somewhat daunting beauty while remaining vigilant for traffic ahead which appeared and vanished as the blustery white vail advanced and receded with the wind.

The road was slick, and my tires are getting old. For the most part, it just took a little convincing to get my sporty red focus to start moving (not unlike myself when the alarm went off at 6:30am), however, the light at the top of a particularly steep one of those rolling hills proved... difficult.

Traffic stopped for the light. So did I.
Traffic waited for the intersection to clear. So did I.
Traffic advanced when the light turned green. I... did not.

I teased the accelerator, attempting to go from stopped to at least a crawl, but to no avail. The front tires would spin, or stop, but no progress was to be made.

Moments felt like minutes as the line of angry traffic behind me began to realize their chance at the fleeting green ahead was getting slimmer and slimmer...

Fortunately, I wasn't going backwards. I opened my door and put a foot out....

With one foot on the gas, a hand on the door, and a hand on the wheel, I used my left foot to PUUUSH against the ridiculously slick incline. Heeaaave... heeeeave... heee.. AHA! It was working! Feathering the gas and pushing the car brought me to 1 mph... 2... 5... YES!!! I WAS MOVING AGAIN!

Me and the 5 cars closest behind me made it through the light. Phew!

For the rest of the drive, I gave myself a LOT of space between myself and the car ahead of me before hills, rushing up the incline to avoid the previous situation. A quick visit to TireRack.com and a grand later, both my Focus and Corolla will be sporting the automotive equivalent of some fancy new Gore-Tex boots for the rest of the season. :)

How has the weather been treating you?

Kids

2010-11-14T19:41:00.000-08:00

Baby Mornings with Annabelle and Isaac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6u84hnEtKs

Some photos from October: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/BelleAndIsaacOctober2010

Kids are such a gift!!

Isaac Slideshow

2010-09-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/20100921IsaacBirth

Welcome Isaac Mitchell Johnson!!

2010-09-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ring ring!! Gah!! I startled out of bed after a few restles hours of sleep. Where did my phone come from? It's dark, why am I awake. Why didn't the rocket work?

Oh, there's no rocket (what a dream). I'm home. Annabelle is still asleep. It's still dark out. Where's Cheryl? Why did I wake up?

Oh! Cheryl is calling me. How did I get this phone in my hand?

After a minute of dashing through the fog between sleep and wakefulness, I was out in the living room... and Cheryl was having conTRACTIONS. Owie owie ooooooh graaaaaah!! Apparently, these were intense... and painful. I called the midwife. Halfway through the call, Cheryl said "I'm pushing!"

"She's pushing?" replied the midwife. Yup. In a mere 4 hours (only 40 minutes of which she thought was serious), Cheryl had gone from relaxing in bed, to a baby who was coming out. NOW...

Annabelle woke up. "Mommy is being too LOUD," she said with a slightly concerned tone. She rolled back over in bed and clamped her arms over her ears. "Daddy, would you please shut the door." And she was back asleep... just like that.

"Oooough" Low, groaning birth sounds were the order of the day. Belle woke up again and asked to join us. I picked her up and brought her to our perch. She looked concerned with Mommy's anxiety, but I smiled at her and told her the baby was coming. Wow! You should have seen the explosive smile that lit her face. "I'm going to be a sister!" She sat and waited patiently on a chair a few feet from us.

Cheryl went to feel for the head to get an idea of how far off we were. "I think I can... is that the head... ? Ow! *another contraction* HONEY CATCH THE BABY!!" *splort* out came the head, I dove. With a quick twist Isaac plunged from the birth canal towards the floor. Due to the odd angle and cramped quarters, I made a blind grab, and caught him on the way down.

Annabelle hopped off the chair to get a better look. With a proud smile, she observed "her baby", then hopped back up to her seat.

"Aaaah..." Cheryl's relief from labor was instant and complete. I quickly unraveled the cord from around his neck, wiped him clean, then verified his heart-rate and breathing. Healthy, happy, and apparently hungry, Isaac joined us in bed where we relaxed til the midwife arrived. :)

Let's Go Fly a Kite... Ack! Annabelle!!

2010-09-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Annabelle and I went to fly my kite. The temperature had dropped from the steamy 92 it had been the week before, down to the low 70's. The drop was accompanied by gale-force winds. (At least, gale-force from Annabelle's perspective.) "Daaad! I need to walk with my head down like this because my hair is going to blow away!!"

We walked to the park and set up my stunt kite. Belle held the poles while I rigged the nylon, then held the handles while I attached the strings.
(See this video for an intro to stun-kiting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ghrrCNRe8)

The launch was successful, and the wind was STRONG. ZZzzzzZZZZZzzzz the nylon sang into the wind as it zipped up and down, doing spirals through the air. Belle was as excited as me! "My turn my turn!" she exclaimed as she pranced around my legs.

At first, I had her stand in front of me. Putting her hands on my hands, she got a feel for how to direct the kite's aerial ballet. After a few minutes, she wanted to drive the kite herself. So, I passed the handles off to her. "Don't let go baby. If the kite gets away from you it will float over the trees into the lake and we won't see it again," I warned.

Taking this advice to heart. She white knuckled the handles and began her flight. Dip! Dive, turn WHOOSH!! Zip! stall... neeeeewwwwwwww bang. After around a minute of successful maneuvering, the kite bit the dust. I asked her to stay there and hold the handles tight as I started to jog towards the downed kite. "Alright baby, 3, 2, 1, LAUNCH!!!" The kite was back up, and Belle was doing a fine job of flying it! She got so excited, she started running towards the kite. Without the wind, it fell back to the grass. I told her to walk backwards slowly this time as she flew. After a quick nod, the kite was back up again.

Just then, the wind doubled or tripled in strength. Whoosh! The wind hit the kite, the kite pulled the string, the baby lifted off the ground!! Ack!! Taking my advice about losing the kite, she held fast, even though she was a foot off the ground. The first crowhop lifter her about a foot off the ground and caused her to travel a yard. The continued bluster picked yanked her off the ground again the second she landed. This time though, the tug was so fierce, she went prone about 2 feet off the ground. Proing! The lines zipped out of her hand and she got a face-full of grass!

Still lying on the ground, scraped and bruised, she looked up to see the kite soaring away, diving and twisting, pilot-less. She pointed and cried, desperate to retrieve it before it hit the lake! I did a 180 (when she lifted off, I started sprinting towards her... halfway there, she pointed and my priority shifted.) She was fine, and she wanted daddy's kite!

I made a mad dash for it, and caught the looping lines a mere 10-15 feet before the water.

I picked up the kite, and brought it back, but Belle had had enough for now. She helped me disassemble the kite, and we started the trek back home...

Next time, I'm going to bring a backpack with rocks, or a stake and string to fasten her to the ground... I can't believe the wind was strong enough to lift my 20 lb kiddo!!!

Belle and Dad for a Saturday

2010-07-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

What happens when Cheryl is away for a whole day?

Find out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtraUVFEpDU

Spazzing Kills

2010-06-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Cheryl just came up the stairs from the garage with an odd look on her face and tidings of confused doom.

An almost dead chipmunk was sitting in the garage, just inside the door to the house. Looking at the mayhem in the garage, it appears to have been trapped when I closed the garage door after playing outside with Belle. It then tried to get out the window, chewing through the strings to the blinds. After little success with that endeavor, it went spastic and just starting chewing things.

One of the things that looked particularly delicious was a grease soaked rag... the rag used to lube my bike's chain on a regular basis. The little guy didn't make it far after that. It crawled about 5 ft from the rag to the place Cheryl found it...

Surgery? What?!

2010-04-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

(WARNING: This post contains several items that are considered to be TMI (Too Much Information), I've tagged those items, so skip ahead if you're squeemish.)

Wednesday I had a lovely filling meal at Sbarro in Eastview Mall. The meal was huge and delicious comprised of a broccolli, chicken strombolli, 2 breadsticks and a medium drink. The company was grand and the walk over in the 70+ degree weather had me in higher than normal spirits.

I walked back to work with my team lead, Peter Pan (a.k.a Matt). The walk back wasn't nearly as great as the walk out, despite the excellent conversation, something was amiss. I thought I had a case of bad gas, and told Brion later in the day that the wonderful meal wasn't sitting well at all.

Two days later, I was still feeling the pain, but the twinge had increased to more of a stabbing and I was starting to see a bulge in my 6-pack... something far more nefarious than mall-food gas was setting my insides asunder.

Friday morning I woke up with the feeling that something wasn't right. I couldn't put my finger on it. It didn't feel different than any other morning, and I (warning, TMI) passed a fair amount of gas during my morning yoga routine (still totally normal). I called in sick to work and raced down to my family doctor. I say raced, because I had thought walk-in hours were 9-10:30, but they were really 8-9:30... the time was currently 9am, and I was 30 minutes away in Webster.

Arriving at 9:29 precisely, I got in to see Dr. Maskiell and told him about my Sbarro experience and the subsequent pain and bulging. (By the way, I would like to note, Sbarro made no contribution to my state of affairs and I will be eating there again next week... soooo good!!)

Dr. Maskiell poked and prodded as doctors do, landing on a very, VERY tender point. Tender enough that it made me yelp and tears sprang forth of their own accord. "Yeah, I need you to go to highland's ER. I need you to get a CT scan for appendicitis," he said.

I headed to the checkout window with the paperwork. The secretary took one look and said, "Oh! You're headed to emergency!? Whenever you come it's something big. Good luck!!" (I have a reputation at this office. Whenever I go in, something drastic has happened. My last three incidents had me: 1. On crutches for a month with a high probability of lowered mobility for years, 2. pass out on the floor of the office on my way to check out (warning TMI) from rectal bleeding (EWWWW), and 3. covered in a case of systemic poison ivy, which is as close to hell on earth as I've come.)

With a hop, skip and a jump (actually closer to a labored waddle, grunt and a thump) I was back in my car and off to Highland's ER. I got in with no waiting. They ran a variety of tests on me which all came back good... really good.... good enough for one of the nurses to comment, "Whoa, you are one healthy dude." The resident commented that the pain was probably bad gas and because everything came back clean, he didn't expect to see anything in the CT scan, but still wanted me to get it. Better safe than sorry.

Throughout the day, I received many comments on my positive attitude. I took a nap during the first bit of downtime, and chatted with the nurses and other patients near me the rest of the time. With the exceptions of the IV, starving from having not eaten since the night before, and the odd hospital stink, I was having a grand old time. This comes in to play later.

My turn finally came at 1:30 in the afternoon (I'd bee at the hospital since 11am), and after downing a litre of contrast solution, I was off to the CT room. I entered and the nurse asked, "Did they tell you that we need to give you rectal contrast?" I laughed. The nurse smiled, but came back with, "No, I'm actually serious. :(" (fast forward) so filled with contrast from the top and bottom, I started in on the bed. They hooked up an IV contrast as well. When the tech told me the list of side effects, I laughed again, but he was serious too: "Hot flashes, a metalic taste on the tongue, a burning smell..." And when the IV contrast shot in, I got to experience these firsthand... It was weird, but not the least bit unpleasant.

(EDIT: There was originally a bit here about my time in the bathroom after the CT scan, but it's pretty much two paragraphs of quite disturbing, TMI content.)

So back in my ER room, the results came back and everyone started scurrying. It was appendicitis and it was BAD. Shelly and Sarah (sweetest nurses ever) came in and gave me the news that I was headed for surgery. All of the nurses were shocked. They had assumed from my grand attitude that I couldn't possibly be experiencing the pain associated with my condition. NOTE: It's the whole dancer and extreme sports thing. I'm almost always in pain from something or other, so my tolerance is pretty ridiculous. Also note, I bring up the tiniest scratch in pretty much the same way I bring up a deep tissue gouge. (I have a high tolerance, but I am also quite sensitive, leading to my edge in sports and thing like juggling.)

Less than an hour later I was in surgery. I came out with a big smile and two thumbs up, much to the delight of the nurses in the OR holding room. I couldn't talk or pee owing to (warning TMI) a full catheter up my woohoo into my bladder, and the respirator tube that was shoved down my throat, but aside from that, I was still doing well.

It took 6 hours to finally start peeing, and when I did, I had to go every 3-5 minutes (irritated bladder). Two hours later, after a full meal, and about a mile of pacing around the hospital to try to work out the carbon gas they had injected into my abdomen (turning me into a human balloon for the operation), I was free to go. The problem was, my bladder didn't agree with leaving. I asked for one of those urine buckets for the trip, and the hospital staff was quick to oblige. Bucket in hand, clothes back on, I set off for the car. I barely made it. It took 2 pee stops to reach the 24-hour CVS (a mere 3 miles away). I had to wait 30 minutes for my Vicodin script to be filled (another 4 pee stops), then it was off to home (20 minutes and 3 pee stops).

We got home at 2am, readied ourselves for bed, then passed out for a great night's sleep. Upon arising this morning, I find I still can't talk right, and using my abs is excrutiating, but all-in-all, I'm none the worse for wear. I'll be taking it easy for the next few days. I'd love to hear from you on Facebook or via Email if you get the chance. :)

Thanks for all the "get well" txts, twitters & emails so far! I love you guys!!

P.S. Here's some more info on what went down: http://www.umm.edu/general_surgery/lap_appendectomy.htm

What is a laparoscopic appendectomy?

The laparoscopic (minimally invasive) surgical technique involves making several tiny cuts in the abdomen and inserting a miniature camera and surgical instruments. As many as three or four incisions are made. The surgeon then removes the appendix with the instruments, so there is usually no need to make a large incision in the abdomen. The camera projects a magnified image of the area onto a television monitor which helps guide the surgeons as they remove the appendix.

In Memory of My Mom

2010-03-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Video Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0OvRWOKB-k

Photo Gallery:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/HelenJohnsonMemorialGallery?feat=directlink

Obituary/Guestbook:

http://obit.johnsonkennedy.com/obitdisplay.html?id=758795&listing=Current

If variety is the spice of life, my mom OWNED THE MILL... She always had something new and interesting to try like octopus salad, fresh figs, all sorts of goat dairy products, the lastest mix from the Mediterranean bar, a new bottle of vitamins that would enhance your night vision and make your teeth brush themselves, golf lessons, groovy dance styles, and all sorts of workshops ranging from high-art to martial arts...

My mom was a distinctly selfless person. Her time consisted solely of assisting someone with something. The things and persons involved shifted rapidly, but her pivotal role remained the same throughout... a testament to her God-centered life.

Rock on, Mom!!

Goodbye Thomson, Hello PAETEC!

2010-02-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

It's official! I'm making the move from my professional home of 5+ years, Thomson Reuters.On the 22nd, I'll join some old friends, and start making new ones with PAETEC (another company that I'm proud to be a part of!!). The work sounds amazing and the people are definitely top-notch. Stay tuned for first impressions in the coming months!

As for Thomson Reuters, It's been a GREAT run!! We did a lot in 5 years, and I've been proud to have a hand in the products and services we offered. Within the fold, my leaders and dynamic peers have shaped the confident professional I am today. I greatly appreciate all the value you've added to my career & life through the years. Best of luck!

Image link: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/EWf71NvEi4Lbz4zKmUGkNQ?feat=directlink

From ThomsonReuters

Annabelle Goes to the Hospital

2010-01-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/AnnabelleVisitsTheHospital

Annabelle broke all of the bones in her wrist last night. Those of you who know Belle, know that she rarely cries and when she does, it's not for long.

She was balancing on top of a climbing tower (not in the climbing part, but actually up on the structure (That's my girl!)). Several adults were in the room, but nobody saw what happened. All we know is there was a loud thump and a distraught Bella-boo sprawled on the floor. After 30 minutes of screaming, she fell asleep for a short nap on mama's lap while mama iced her wrist and kept it steady. I was already on the way as we were planning to hang out at our friend's for the evening. When I got there, Belle woke up and started crying (hard) again. It was pretty obvious that this was worse than the normal spill.

We weren't sure exactly what to do... do we go in and spend the night at the ER, or could this be a bad sprain, is it something we should wait til morning to figure out an action plan for? A few quick web searches and we called in to her pediatricians after-hours line who referred us to several local hospitals. Hospitals? Oooh, I hate the wait! The last time I went to the ER, I passed out on the desk and still didn't get a bed for an hour, narrowly missing the point of no return...

So I asked about after-hours clinics. There weren't any on the list, but the after-hours lady knew of some in the area, so we called one near us. The after-hours clinic said we needed an xray, but because Annabelle is so young, we should really hit the ER. (They expected that Belle would not be able to pose for the x-ray by herself, and the ER was capable of sedation.) Gah! Sedation!? This night just got bad!

After pleasantly presenting the possibilities of the night, much to the alarm of my wife, we talked options. A mere 30 minutes later and we were off to the Park Ridge ER (a 2 minute drive, hooray for convenient location!!).

Belle was so sweet. It was obvious that it hurt a lot. She shielded her arm at every turn, and would whimper at the mere thought of contact. :*( I tried to put her coat on and she was distraught. She put one arm in and was softly crying "No daddy, no daddy" as the other arm's turn came up. She didn't pull away, she just knew it would hurt. :*0 Ahh! Poor baby!

I didn't put her arm in the sleeve. I zipped it into the coat against her ribs, and she was much happier about that.

Side note: When Cheryl and I were discussing options, I told Belle that we were going to take her to the doctor. She asked why. "Well, because the doctor will be able to look at your arm and make it feel better," I said. Her immediate response was, "Really?" with a HUGE smile on her face. I assured her it was true and she told us "Let's go!" It took us a full 10-20 minutes to get out the door. Belle was prodding us the whole way, "Go now! See doctor. Make my arm better! Hurts huuuurts. Go now! Come on. :)"

When we arrived at the ER, we registered and sat in the waiting room. 2 things to note:

1. Registration took less than 3 minutes

2. The receptionist was EXCEEDINGLY friendly

We took our seat amid the sick and broken people. Belle asked what was wrong with each of them, smiling and providing reassurance to each while coddling her own arm. She was definitely a hit.

By the time we made it in to the triage nurse, Belle was in high spirits and excited that the doctor would now fix her arm. (Major props to Park Ridge, we only waited 30 mins for the triage nurse.) The nurse took her temperature, checked her heart rate and O2 level, then examined her arm. Annabelle took a little convincing to stick the thermometer in her mouth, but after mama demonstrated the proper technique, Belle followed right along.

Now for the scary part. The nurse started to examine the arm and wrist. I flinched with each movement, but Belle, thoroughly filled with faith in the nurse's skills, submitted to a thorough exam and didn't make a peep. So much so that the nurse was convinced that nothing was broken. (So was I! Belle didn't flinch or make a sound despite the acute pain that was, without a doubt, shooting through her limb.)

They asked us to have an xray, and we asked if it would make a difference in the treatment. The triage nurse totally understood where we were coming from (minimal unnatural intervention since birth), so she asked the dr to see us before the xray. The doctor took a look and recommended the xray without a doubt.

Belle posed well for all of the shots, sitting on daddy's lap and holding her wrist very still in the x-ray's cross-hairs. I asked the tech if we could see the pictures (as I had been telling belle that we were imaging her insides, so she was very curious). The tech was really nice and pulled the shot back up on the computer, though he told us in no uncertain terms that we could not ask him any questions about them for legal reasons. :) Belle thought the pics were great! She held her hand up towards the screen and told the tech "Pictures of my insides! Those are my bones!" *big awwww! moment*

The doctor came back with the, now surprising, news that Belle did indeed have broken bones. Bone(s) plural I asked? Yes, she broke all of the bones in her wrist.

Ow! Poor Annabelle! Her pain tolerance must be amazing. The nurse splinted her arm and we were on our way with a number to call in the morning to get a hard cast. Belle had waited patiently between doctor moments in the ER for about 3.5 hours total, and had waited patiently through mom & dad's decision making process, and the car travel. She is such an incredibly patient and trusting child! I love my little gymnast!!

Selling the Drums

2010-01-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I'm going to be in an apartment for a while. For 5 years, I felt that purchasing a house was just a few months away. Allan's offer to help me sell the stuff I've had laying around has really snapped me out of my stupor and had me re-evaluating the acceptance criteria for what I really want to fill my precious 100 sq ft of storage with.

A few of the things to go?

PS2, Gamecube, Gameboy Micro, 2x old P4 gaming computers and the big kicker, my drum set.

Selling the drum set is a BIG step. I paid a lot for that kit, and I've loved it dearly. Unfortunately, like my PS2 with DDR MAX 2, it's too loud for apartment living. 5 years of sitting neglected in my parents basement is enough for me to realize it's time to move on.

It goes beyond that, I expect to clear out a lot of old clothes, 6 of the 7 crappy frisbees I've got in the garage, and nearly everything under $20 that I haven't used in a year (lots of computer cables & equipment, some sporting goods... ). I'm expecting this year's spring cleaning to be a big one, and I'm really feeling good about shedding some of my history's weight. :) The move has left me profoundly attached to my family, profoundly unattached to my belongings, and distinctly more peaceful. :D

Annabelle's Happy Feet

2010-01-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnJYhmALvbw

Annabelle, like Cheryl and myself, loves to dance. Often when we pass by the computer, she'll ask for music, or pretend to turn the music on using her keyboard, then ask for help when the PC doesn't spring to life. Once the music is it, the festivities begin. Ska-like dancing, scarves, ring-around-the-rosie and more are soon to follow.

Sometimes, Belle takes a quick break and Cheryl and I get to cut a rug, serving up some fresh 6-count, or westcoast lindy... Man! I love my dancin' family!

Catch the Bus - Are You Up to the Challenge?

2009-12-15T06:41:00.001-08:00

Here's what I wrote on the "contact us" section of the rgrta.com website today after a very frustrating morning. True story below. My backpack is intact and so is my arm (though a little sore from being jerked).
-------------
Funny story: My bus broke down, so I hoofed it to the next stop (corner of main and winton). Busses kept whizzing by my stop. I couldn't flag them down. :( I even went so far as standing in the middle of the road, but to no avail. (NOTE: the driver didn't even slow. The impact from the bus hitting my bag almost took me off my feet. If I had been any closer, hospitals and lawyers would have been involved :/)

So, I called the rgrta phone number to figure out where I could catch a bus that would stop. (888-288-377). The schedule option couldn't understand me (odd, I've never had trouble with an automated phone system before.) After 10 minutes looping through the phone system, I decided I'd have to bother an operator.

I called the number above again and hit 0 to get an operator. I was put on hold in the queue and waited. And waited... 20 minutes later, one of the busses actually stopped! I boarded and spoke with the driver. Turns out the other busses were headed for the garage (1100 E Main was displayed)! I figured busses that wouldn't stop would be labeled "Not in Service". Haha!

Is there a flowchart for how to navigate your phone system? It would be great if I could get schedules using the phone's keypad instead of voice because the system just doesn't understand me.

I don't think there are operators though... I've tried dialing several other times today and after 30 mins in the queue each time, I've never reached an operator.

Cash Money Money

2009-11-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

I had a crazy day today. It started well! I was productive, had a great lunch with some developer buddies, and was enjoying the sun...

Out of my window I saw a car accident. It's kind of unreal when it happens right there in front of you. A car tried to pull a u-turn on main street across three lanes and ended up meeting head on with a pickup truck. They had to pry them apart...

That wasn't the crazy part though.

An hour later, around 2:30pm, I saw two guys stash something in a nook by my building. It's a really difficult to see nook, unless you happen to be on my floor, in my building. I called the cops and they sent someone down to check it out. The officer arrived just as someone else arrived... the other guy smacked the railing and kept walking. I didn't assume anything. The officer asked me what it was, and I didn't have a clue... I just pointed him to where it was. The officer carefully kicked the leaves off to reveal a bag. The officer then opened the bag and muttered, "whoa". "Whoa what?" I asked. He replied that it was a bag full of money. A LOT of money. There were only a handful of people that walked by while the cop and I were there. He was photographing the area and waiting back to hear from dispatch if the money was related to any downtown robberies. Eventually, I went back to my office and the officer went back to his car.

No sooner had the cops left, then the people who stashed it, and the people who had come to pick it up, came back to the site. Seriously?! Who the heck comes back to the scene after something like that? The bad news? They had each walked by individually while the officer and I were talking. They've been walking up and down my street since... I called the cops again, but they are always gone by the time the officer is there. Carazy day man... I'm not waiting at the corner bus stop (they keep walking by) or taking my bus home today.

Magnetism

2009-11-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

The left side of my body has recently become highly magnetized. Maybe it's the fact that I consume plenty of iron and work in front of a computer, maybe it's the fact that I sleep north-south, or maybe, it's because I love my ladies and they adore me. :)

Annabelle is on a solid, mixed diet of food and milk. This morning at around 6:30am, she had exhausted the milk supply. Cheryl, spectacular keeper of the watch that she is, struggled out of bed to fetch some more rice milk from the fridge. No sooner had she left the bed than I felt *bumbadum jiggle jiggle oomph*. The baby slid all the way from the other side of the bed, firmly attaching herself to my left side... still asleep. :D We slept for another 20 minutes then got up for breakfast, books, and the wonderfully creative world of our two year old. :)

Night before last, I went to bed before the ladies. This happens fairly frequently because Cheryl is usually on a project or enjoying the downtime by the time I resign, so she stays up 20-30 longer. She had been working on a sewing project, so she made it to bed well after I was asleep. When I woke up in the morning, she was fast asleep in the crook of my arm, (the same area that Annabelle frequents). (Side note: between the period and this side note, Annabelle called me over for a brief tower building session on "Daddy lap! Daddy lap. :)".)

I love that my ladies like to cuddle whenever I'm around. :) I'm one happy dude. :D

Windows 7 - Virtual XP Mode

2009-11-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a screenshot of my work PC's desktop from my home computer. I'm viewing my work PC via remote desktop over a VPN using Cisco's VPN client (v 4.7, yes, that's right, a program that definitely will not run under Windows Vista) running in Windows 7 VXP. http://screencast.com/t/5WzOVFZabv8

Unfortunately, since the vpn client requires direct access to the network card, I can't use seemless mode.

Read more about Windows 7's VXP (Virtual XP Mode) here: http://techpp.com/2009/10/20/download-windows-7-xp-mode-usage-guide/

A Few Moments from September

2009-10-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/TheJohnsonsSeptember2009

I Switched to 7, Should You?

2009-10-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is a long post, so I'll sum things up here at the beginning. I like Windows 7 because it disappears. The new interface is intuitive, snappy, and doesn't get between me and what I want to do on the computer. I don't have to do anything tricky to get my old programs to work, and I don't have to worry about tricks to make my programs run faster. Everything just works. Period. My second major bullet point is DELL does a GREAT job of making driver installations and finding the right software easy. Just hit their website with your tag number (sticker on your Dell machine) and you have instant access to everything that came with your computer. You never have to worry about losing OS and driver discs again!

That said, keep in mind, Windows 7 is just an operating system. Computers aren't about operating systems, they're about the programs you run and ultimately, the need you meet and people you interact with.

Windows 7 is many things. To the average, minimally tech-savy user, it's intuitive and straight forward. To the business user, it's fast and lightweight (holy crap, lightweight windows!? It's true! At only 333MB of RAM, Win 7 is a major winner). To the power user, it's integrated backup, search, libraries, powerful admin tools and more. Here's what ZDNet has to say about Windows 7 vs Vista vs XP performance-wise: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=22006&tag=col1;post-22006

Now for my system specs and personal Windows 7 experience.

===================================

David's Machine (DELL branded 435 MT)

Use: Video editing, photo editing, gaming, work, programming, daily use

Budget media workstation, mid-range gaming PC in 2008

Value/Price Paid: $2,200/$1,200 (scratch & dent deal)

Processor: Intel Core i7-940 Nehalem, 45nm, 2.7 GHz clock, Quad core w/ Hyperthreading (8cores)

RAM: 4GB (4x 1GB) Dual channel DDR3 1333MHz

Graphics: ATI Radeon 4850 HD, PCIe 16x, 521MB GDDR 5 (b-b-b-blazing)

Disk: 1TB SATA 2 (not sure what the manufacturer is), 7200 rpm

Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (Formerly Vista Home Premium 64-bit)

Internet and Quick Use PC (Asus EEE 701)
Use: Internet browsing, portable media player, hulu, vacation, note taking
Ultra-portable in 2007
Value/Price Paid: $399/$399 (yup, full price)
Processor: Intel Celeron, 65nm?, 900 MHz clock
RAM: 1.5 GB (512MB onboard + 1 GB), DDR2 667
Graphics: None
Disk: 20GB (4GB onboard SSD + 16 GB SDHC Class 6)
Operating System: Windows XP Professional N-Lite 32-bit

Family Media Center (DELL branded 531c Slim)

Use: Media library (photo/video), Light photo editing

Mid-range budget class PC in 2005

Value/Price Paid: $500/$350 (refurbished)

Processor: AMD 64 3200+, 90nm, 2.0 GHz clock

RAM: 2GB (2x 1GB) DDR2 667MHz

Graphics: None

Disk: 1TB WD Caviar Green SATA 2 (silent)

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit

Guest Gaming Computer (Soltek QBIC from Scratch)

Use: Gaming when friends visit, host for data recovery

Cutting-edge gaming PC in 2004

Value/Price Paid: $900/$400 (Ray is a kickass friend)

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 Prescott, 90nm, 3.0 GHz clock

RAM: 1GB (2x 512MB) 533MHz

Graphics: ATI x1600, AGP 8x

Disk: 120 GB WD Caviar Black

Operating System: Windows XP Professional 32-bit

Now on to the good stuff!

Installation

I popped the disc into the DVD drive and restarted my computer. It booted the install disc and asked me if I wanted to upgrade, or do a custom install. I chose custom install (I always like starting fresh). I selected the partition to install on and hit the next button. Whoa! It's already installing... that's it? Aha! It tells me that another version of windows has been detected. Since I didn't want to upgrade, the old version of windows will be placed in a folder C:\windows.old. Cool, I think to myself as I hit the next button. It's off again and running. There's a message that says the machine will reboot a few times during installation. Rather than watch the pot boil, I'll go get some food and watch a quick show on my media center.

About 30 minutes into my show, the OS is installed. I plug in my serial number and create an admin account and presto, I'm on the windows desktop. It's only been 34 minutes since I started the install... could this possibly be right? Yes, it is. I'm up and ready to roll.

Ok, so now what? I'm presented with the windows 7 desktop. It doesn't look like a windows desktop. The start menu is gone and the taskbar has mac-like icons on it. Oh no!! I'm clueless and I don't know where the system tray and quick-launch tray went!? The panicky moment quickly subsides as I hover over the icons and am presented with tooltips on the new start menu and taskbar. The interface is responsive and smooth even though I haven't installed any of my drivers yet.

I opened up IE and took the windows 7 tour: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/tour (Thank you microsoft.. very straightforward)

Then I went to support.dell.com and downloaded all the relevant windows 7 addons from Dell. The download and install went smoothly and all I had to do was provide the service tag number from my PC.

2 hours later and all my programs (video editing software, games, chrome, various utilities) are installed, I've checked my email, watched an hour of hulu, and... haven't restarted the computer... WHA!?!?!?

Windows 7 didn't make me reboot the computer after any of my program or driver installs. This is crazy. It's running smoothly, and I can verify the new video drivers are being used through ATI's catalyst control center.

Sweet, so now I should probably restore all of my data from the backup. I check the hard drive and find that it's still got 600GB of data on it. That can't be right, I must've, oh, wait. A quick run of TreeSize Free tells me my pics, videos, documents and everything else from my old PC is in windows.old. Awesome! I drag the folders to where they belong on the new PC. The folder relocation is almost instantaneous (no data actually got copied, the location just got updated) and I'm back where I was before the install. The system is fully functional, I've got my picasa albums and itunes library... wow. That was easy.

Interesting. The My * folders are now called libraries. This works out really well for me because I can add multiple locations. My "Family Media Center" does a file-by-file backup for recently updated data to "David's PC"\data. Now on David's PC, I can add those doc folders to the document library and have access to all my media center files for read-only access without traversing the network. Slick.

By the by, I use SyncToy 2.0 to echo my computer's files (videos, music, documents) to the media center's Data directory, and echo the media center's content to my data directory. It's handy to have a 1TB drive in each computer. SyncToy does a great job of keeping the shadow copies in sync.

I launched DDO to play with my Thursday night gaming buddies, and the windows firewall immediately prompted me to set the access level for that application. My choices are to disallow, allow internal network only, and allow internet access. I click internet (Public) and poof. That's the last time it asks and my game works like a charm.

The uber startmenu is so fast, I've decided not to install Launchy. (Essential app launcher for XP machines).

So that's that. My computer feels a little faster, and I like the snap effects for window placement. I didn't have to go in and do all the post-install tweaks I'm used to with XP and Vista. (Er, I did disable the pagefile... force of habit.)

Questions? Comments? Flaming Mac Banter? Questions/Comments on the machines I run in my network? Why do I need 4 computers?

Leave a comment and I'll get right back to you!

Park and Ride

2009-10-08T05:35:00.000-07:00

Y'all know I take the bus. This morning, I got out of the shower and checked my watch, noting that the bus was, at this very instant, passing my bus stop. Yipe! I hopped into my car and drove to the wegmans parking lot at empire and creek st... Then waited for 20 minutes!! As it turns out, it takes 5 minutes to drive directly to the lot, but 25 minutes (due to the winding route) for the bus to reach it.

This reduces my overall drive time on the bus to a mere 20 minutes instead of the 45 minute long-haul that has tried my bladder daily. (All the bumping and jostling directly after a full breakfast is... hard to bear).

I plan to meet the bus at the new stop on a regular basis, giving me a full 40 extra minutes of home time per day!! (Belive me, there's a lot I can do with 40 minutes a day...)

Sent from my iPod, on the Bus

iPod and Other Musings

2009-10-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't bring a computer on my business trip this week. Instead, I relied on my trusty palmtop, the Apple iPod Touch. Business email, cell phone activation, directions, and restaurant selections remained simple, with the screen size and touch keyboard. I was very surprised by the high level of functionality retained, and I highly recommend the experience!

After visiting the Eagan campus and rubbing elbows with some of the big names, I'm left with a strong sense of pride in my company, faith in the middle and upper management, and eager anticipation of the events in the next few years. The strongest and most swiftly growing feeling that I passionately embrace, however, is the sense of opportunity presented with my new team. I've met my peers, and let me tell you, THEY ARE MY PEOPLE!!

Sent from my iPod

Certain Experiences

2009-09-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

There are some experiences that you don't get to experience in your day to day routine. Today, I got to watch the clouds zip by at eye level. We passsed through a turbulent pocket, livening up the ride in an amusement park sort of way. The adorable child who had been babbling contentedly behind me, got quiet... Another quick drop and pow, her infantile digestive system had had enough. The inflight cookies quickly rejoined us in the cabin along with the smell and sound we associate with the most disgusting of body misfires. Fortunately, the flight attendant was quickly on the scene, spraying a scent neutralizer and mopping up breakfast.

I have to say, the kid had the right idea going for the cookies instead of the pretzals. I followed suit and man oh man! The vanilla wafers were sublime!

I have a window seat by the wing. I watched the wing buckle and release with each new pressure pocket, so I had fair warning before the cabin actually dropped or pressed us onto the seat. :)

As we climbed, we quickly entered the clouds where everything faded between different shades of white and grey. Breaking slowly through the top, I was greeted by a beautiful sunny cloudscape with a new, beautiful, and foreign coastline, the most beautiful of the grey and white terrain resembling the Rockies.

I fell asleep shortly after that. :)

I woke to a quick Yelp! As the flight attendant accidentally emptied a can of juice into a passengers lap. Hahahaha!

Oh wow! Looking out the window, I see that we're past the clouds and I can see a long strip of beach bordered by farmland. Chching! add that to the list of amazing things I would never see without technology. (My favorite on that list is the deep blue of the deep, deep ocean.)

Speaking of tech, our plane was delayed slightly due to a flat tire. I don't know about you, but that tickled the ironic side of my funny bone.

The captain just announced that we're plowing through a strong headwind, so we're only doing... 490 MPH!!! Geez that's fast! I'll be touching down in no time. :)

Sent from my iPod, inflight

9am and the Day is Golden!!

2009-09-11T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's 9am, and I'm already exuberant!

Last night, I hit up the hardware store and radio shack, assembling tools, then replaced my wife's cell phone screen... SUCCESS!!

It was another quick sprint for the bus today, but I caught it in the nick of time. My heart racing, I settled in for the ride. Hysteria by Muse was the leading song on my iPod's Genius mix. The song's frantic bass matched the tempo of my body. It was a zen moment. At peace with the work I'd done the night before (and the excellent, if short, gaming session with Brion, Ray & crew), I got off the bus. I LOVE stepping off the bus. The bus windows (like any car) are visibility tinted (around 15%). When you get off the bus, it feels like the day greets you fresh (a brighter, more ambiently noisy day than the one that you struggled out of bed to only 30 minutes prior).

Today was special though...

Today, the light cloud cover disperses the light. No sun glasses are required and with the 60 degree weather your view is crisp. The typical wind noises, rustling tree leaves, a piece of paper scrapping down the street, and our constant *shhhwwoshshehshshh* were absent. The day was still. It's like in the movies when someone is in a memory and time is frozen. I could hear EVERYTHING! My ninja-like footsteps on the concrete sounded like a runner's *trat trat trat*. Swiftly, and stealthily, a chipmunk darted out for a bread crumb, well, normally it would have been stealthy; today, however, the *skitter skitter* was plain as day, drawing the attention of the other folks walking down the street with me.

A quick conversation with our lovely security guard, Stefanie, and a chance encounter with Murthy (the new me in my old job) then up to my terminal. The Westlaw setup routines are running, so I've got time to *ticka tap calick* out this post, excitedly anticipating the feats I can accomplish today... *AIAIAIAIAI*!!!! (P.S. You can ask Mike, I actually made that sound :)

Ups and Downs

2009-07-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

My life is incredibly interesting to live! I love it!!

Some major ups this week:

Super-hacky-sack company picnic with some guys that are just impossible to over-appreciate! (wow, some people rock...)
Watching movies on my iPod on the bus! (Catching up on non-family-friendly kung-fu action flicks)
New team potential! (Oh, my, word... there is so much I can learn on this new team!!)
Ultimate-frisbee-disco-funk-super-sushi bash! (EXCITING individuals that I really feel at home with)
Grad school!

Some major downs:

I am REALLY far outside my comfort zone right now at work. Being the new guy on the team, I have a LOT of questions and suggestions regarding well-established processes. I haven no street credibility on this team so far. I could easily find myself where I was with my old team just two years ago... suggesting changes that later get implemented, but looking like an idiot in the meantime. (Not to mention suggesting changes that are indeed, idiotic.)

I updated my resume last month, then sent it out to be critiqued by some highly qualified individuals. They ALL suggested changes. None of the changes conflict (miraculous), but I am struggling to find the words... the eloquence to implement them. It's a harrowing experience and has left me banging my head on the keyboard (hence this blog entry as an escape from the writer's block).

I'm writing a "Personal Statement" for my graduate school application. It's one of those "Who are you? What do you bring to the table? Why should we teach you?" sort of things...

I graduated with a VERY poor GPA. It's below the minimum required for RIT's graduate programs, yet I'm still applying because I WANT TO IMPROVE. I feel this personal statement may be the gentle whisper that tips the scales towards acceptance, or denial.

In all three areas, I have extended myself beyond the realm of safety...

There is the potential for moderate acceptance and gratification but I feel it's overshadowed by the possibility of meaningful, bitter rejection both socially and professionaly. I never play the safe game, but at the moment, I'm tense... nervous. My ethos and pathos are in the pot and I'm not holding a single ace.

I have butterflies in my stomach! It's the same stage-fright feeling that used to overwhelm me before putting on a show, starting a juggling contract, or facing the Eagle Scout board of review...

The curtain came up and the house.. is.. FULL..

Back to the Bus Again?

2009-07-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

Has anyone noticed how frequently I change transportation methods? I'm all about change. Sometimes I'll waffle back and forth between things, each time appreciating a new aspect of the activity, driving me to a new conclusion.

Speaking of driving (nice segway... no I didn't buy a segway, I'm talking about... gah, never mind), I've decided to go back to the Bus.

Bus Pros:

Daily commute time is hands-free... I can watch a movie, read a book, study my bible... it provides some good think time
Weather doesn't matter... (It's nice to relax on bad winter days)
There are people to talk to (I have a lonely, solo commute in the car)
The schedule keeps me consistent (leaving work at the same time, getting up at the same time)

Bus Cons:

The seats can hurt (especially if you're wearing a coat and carrying a bag)
There aren't a lot of routes out to Webster (though I'm now up to 4 morning options!! woo!!)
You have to wait at the bus stop... A LOT (the bus can be 5 mins early or 30 mins late... that can be a lot of standing around.)
Start & stop (50 minutes of start & stop jiggling right after I eat breakfast usually leaves me sprinting for a pee by the time I've made it downtown)

But the biggest concern of all is cash. It's not just a matter of how much I spend, but where my cash is going. Can I really feel right about sending $50 a month oversees for oil?

Here's what I've worked out:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tYwH6UFOtr2qL-CDyAFcKTA&output=html

The bottom line is, I can easily save $40-70 per month by only commuting a few days a month by car. At some point when I'm doing more than just keeping afloat financially (currently most cash is going to savings, retriement accounts... future goals), I may consider going back to driving daily.

For now, I'd preffer an extra $50 a month in my pocket that I can use for wonderful travel events like our trip to the lake:

Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/ConesusLakeJuly4th2009

Bliss!!

2009-06-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ever have a period of time where you question if life can possibly get any better than the dizzying peak you're at right now? My head is SPINNING with exuberant satisfaction, exciting opportunity, and blissful joy from the events of this last quarter!!

I'm getting closer with some exciting new friends. We took a camping trip, 5 kids, 4 couples, 3 days in Adirondack paradise. We had such a great time with the kids, hiking, exploring, examining the tensile properties of frog legs (oops!) that I'm still warm & fuzzy from the experience a month later! I really missed campfire songs. When was the last time you were out with folks who spontaneously burst into song? (Ok, ok, I live with someone who does that on a daily basis, but it's so much better when you're with 13 people who do it!!!)

Cheryl and I have been streamlining our daily home-time process so cooking and cleaning get done without getting in the way of the massive quantity of playtime we can afford as people with no regular commitments and no housework. A day rarely passes without an exciting new outdoor activity or trip to a fantastic natural playground! (...webster beach for example... there are a lot of rocks out there that need skipping!!!)

Things are going well at work too! I've got the most ridiculously fitting job lined up for next quarter! I'll be doing co-located programming on a massive system using several programming languages. This will fill that void on my resume, giving me enterprise programming experience in not only Java & related techs, but the dark side of Microsoft Visual languages (like C#) and C++!

When I make a life transition, it's usually spontaneous with decisive and swift action following the decision. In this case, the team transition at work was made for me, so I have 2 months of knowing where I'm headed as the business makes preparations for me move. The looming change doesn't feel like impending doom, or even an event to cause mild anxiety... I'm ecstatic about the new team and the work I'll be accomplishing with them! As for the old team... since I know I'm leaving, I'm starting to notice all of the things I love so much about them. It's seriously a 2 month period where I get to savor all of the tidbits, quirks, and synergies that make us so productive, happy, and skillful as a unit!! I really hope this euphoric mindset sticks with me as I move to my new team, so I can revel in the benefits of my comradery even as I'm still in the thick of it.

Ah! I'm living such a great life! I love what I'm doing and love what's coming next.

I go to sleep looking forward to waking up,

I wake up looking forward to the day

I love to work, then love playing at home.

I love the work week then love the weekend.

There's a lot of time to enjoy, and I'm not wasting a moment!

My Bosses

2009-05-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Image Link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2331948&l=e42767526d&id=722541360

I've had a lot of bosses. This post focuses on the bosses I've had within Thomson Reuters as they are the ones with the notably positive characteristics.

Dave

Details, details, details! Coming out of school, I was a decent programmer, but I made a lot of small errors that the compiler would usually catch. In the testing department, a lot of these small errors in artifacts that didn't have such a robust syntax checker (word docs, XML artifacts, test data), these small errors were catastrophic. Dave drew me in to an appreciation for detail that has caused me to be a very uniquely talented developer. Frank calls me the human parser for my ability to glance at a page and immediately state what will fail where, why it will fail, and how the machine interprets the code. This principle is also manifest in my attention to detail in design. Because of Dave's gift, I'm able to quickly learn and understand design, process, and social patterns because I notice and take the details to heart.

Judy
With a quiet strength and easy guiding hand, she quickly brought me from co-op to fully functional developer in a very passive, laid back manner. She set me in the right direction, then let me take any path to get there. Her guidance set my expectations and opened up my creative potential at Thomson, right from the get-go so brilliant minds like Tod, Mark and Christina could easily and freely add to my potential.

Allison
To this day I miss my one on one's with Allison. She was bold and direct, leaving me free to discuss my musings and emotions regarding the job and positively shaping my motivation to fully unleash the passion I have for the work I do. She got me rolling in the soft-skills arena. This has been improving my marriage (which was already doing well), as well as helping me reach a level of understanding for the emotions that are such a tight part of influencing a project's outcome.

Rich
Research and intrigue. He renewed my passion for development and design half way through my current career, tweaking my interest and opening doors I didn't even see before. I appreciate the projects he had me work on and the constant advice he continues to provide whenever I run into him.

Nik

As my team's 'Fearless Leader', Nik has always kept our deadlines as reasonable as possible. He argues strongly with the intent of finding the best possible solution. The first solution, or the solution he immediately presents isn't the only solution and he is always willing to talk about an alternate solution, and welcomes improvement from any direction. He shines in making sure we have the resources we need and holds high standards for quality in all areas (not just the code).

Matt

Diffuser of all situations, Matt is adept at reading people, understanding workplace politics and finding the best route for everyone. His tips have greatly influenced my career path and his leadership as provided opportunities that have improved my effectiveness as a developer beyond anything I could have imagined even two years ago. His parting gift was a roadmap that will probably affect my career greatly within the next 5 years.

All told, I've never had a boss at Thomson Reuters that I thought I could do without. At every transition point, I've felt like I could never get someone to top my last boss. As it turns out, there are a LOT of really amazing higher-ups here and each one has a unique skill set I admire and from which I can benefit.

2009 United Way Day of Caring

2009-05-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKS9Udyjf8E

Saturday with the Kashoreks

2009-04-26T06:19:00.000-07:00

Album link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/SaturdayWithTheKashoreks

"Hey, would you guys like to go for a bike ride?" Kim asked over the phone. "Definitely!" Cheryl replied. And that was that. The rest of the day was biking, playing at the playground, sloppy joes, counter-strike and the movie "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler.

Counter Strike Source Server is up for the evening

2009-04-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

My Source SN: Ultimadj

Server IP: 74.74.224.83:27015

Counter Strike Source LAN Party

2009-04-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

My father in law is hosting a LAN party this Friday (4/17) starting around 6:45pm. Actual space for the party is limited, but I'll be posting the server IP if you're interested in joining us remotely.

We'll be playing Counter-Strike:Source.

If you own the game, add me to your steam friends list "ultimadj" and join us this Friday!

Made Up Statistics

2009-04-08T06:25:00.000-07:00

Personal thoughts regarding my last month of activities.

Passion for Work

- The awesome 5% of the work I'm given makes up for the other 95%.

- The awesome 95% of co-worker interactions far outweighs the frustrating 5%.

- The awesome Joe, Vis and Christina completely tip the scales towards joy regardless of circumstance.

Project Scheduling Breakdown

- Tasks where I have enough time: 1%

- Tasks where I may barely have enough time if nothing goes wrong: 70%

- Tasks where I wonder what magic button generates these timelines: 29%

Goods Consumption

- Desire to constantly explore new foods, technology and physical feats: 97%

- Fear of allergy/cancer/disability: 3%

Interactions at Home

- Ecstaticly happy days: 80%

- Happy days: 15%

- Bad Days: 4%

- Really really bad days: 1%

Happiness/Joy Factors

- Cheryl: 40%

- Annabelle: 30%

- Physical activities: 10%

- Computer related activities: 5%

- Friends/Family: 5%

- Work related activities: 5%

- Parties and random occurances: 3%

- Other: 2%

Commuter Bike Tips

2009-04-02T08:02:00.001-07:00

Today I made my first full commute to work by bike for the season. I averaged 17 mph over the 13 mile ride to work. When I got in to work, I felt great! No saddle sores, my knees felt normal, my muscles were taught but not weak... I felt ...*Unreal tournament 2004 announcer voice* UNSTOPPABLE!!

Here are some tips I have from what I learned over the last season:

Take 15 minutes to stretch and warm up first (for long rides > 5 miles, your neck, hips and knees will thank you).
Keep your legs warm (it really matters to your knees)
When you hit a hill, go slow enough that you think you can take it easily, then back off another 10% (if you go anaerobic, you won't recover for the rest of the ride)
Don't downshift on a hill until you're 30% below your target cadence (shifting down too soon will kill your momentum)
Take it easy. For rides longer than 5 miles, don't push the entire ride. If you're like me, pushing too hard will cause damage to your knees and ankles after only a few weeks.
If you have pain on top of your knee caps, your seat is too low.
If you have pain in the back of your legs, under your knees, your seat is too high.

I wore 2 layers of pants and shirts to make sure my core and legs were warm. I overheated by the time I got to work, but I didn't have all the aches and pains I typically associate with a long ride. Staying warm and find the right seat height make a really big difference.

Link to my bike routes map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114876327314207992279.000001127b564eb78c315&ll=43.188907,-77.510948&spn=0.176223,0.298691&z=12

Miller-Johnson Jiminy Peak 2009 Slideshow

2009-03-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/JiminyPeak2009

Craigslist Sales -> What a day!! :D

2009-03-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

I tend to do a lot of buying through Craigslist. Usually, it's small items like CDs, clothes, crappy furniture... but I noticed this post for a monitor.

Here's the email chain that ensued from me noting my interest in the item ($165 22" acer X widescreen):

me: I'm interested. Any dead pixels?
seller: It is brand new in a sealed box...never opened
me: I see. Thanks for the offer, but I'm anxious about putting down cash on an untested product with no chance of an RMA. Good luck with other offers!
seller: one year factory warranty
me: Oh, interesting. What was the original purchase date?
seller: Jan 2009
me: Thanks for continuing to humor my questions. Why do you have it, unopened still after two months?
seller: Forget it, dont bother people when they are selling something
me: Good luck with your sale, regardless.
seller: Thats ok, I don't need you. I already sold plenty and I'll sell this one

My "good luck" statements must have been taken as "good luck making a sale without me" *harumph-type-of-thing*...

What do people usually say these days? Best wishes?

Does this interaction seem scam-like or is a usual transaction on a no-questions asked basis?

Ah well...

I'm excited about my new computer! Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow (snafu with the delivery today). I bought a Dell, Studio XPS 435, Core i7-940, 4GB, 1TB, ATI Radeon 4850 for $1k from delloutlet.com. It's going to be roughly 8x faster than my currently outdated P4 rig, so hopefully my video editing won't be as tedious.

I biked into work this morning for the first time this season! IT WAS AWESOME! As a side note, I had a flat tire in the rain (which I swapped out on the side of the road), but the ride was beautiful! I love the speed involved in cycling, the effortless glide... I was happy by the time I'd reached work, and that feeling hasn't subsided all day! I'm headed to bed now, happy with the day, happy with the work I got done at work, happy that the pantry is now fully stocked after a trip to wegmans, happy that I got to hear the Smokin Hot Pipes live, happy that I have a new computer coming tomorrow, happy that Cheryl is happy that I'm happy, and overjoyed by Annabelle's constant stream of affection, attention, and creativity. Booyah! What a day!!

TKS Recording Session

2009-02-23T03:12:00.000-08:00

My band, The Kitchen Sinks, got together this weekend for a blitzkrieg recording session. Here are a few clips from the fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYRjA58-Wv4

Annabelle Photos 15-17 Months Old

2009-02-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/Annabelle1517Months

Snowboarding with Tim and Melodee

2009-01-26T04:38:00.000-08:00

I went snowboarding with Tim & Melodee this weekend. Aah!! I love these folks!! What a great time! Here's some footage of the fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC6QY2Arv8c

Aaaaah! I Love Vacation!! (Follow-up Video)

2009-01-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a long video showing very, very short snippets of what we did during Christmas break this year.! I love the part that shows Annabelle's first sledding trip!

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAu6k-VBDfg&fmt=6

Aaaaah! I Love Vacation!!

2009-01-02T18:05:00.000-08:00

This very instant marks roughly the 792,000,000th millisecond I've been on vacation. During that time, I've been to the grand canyon of the northeast, crossed a 30ft precipice via a fallen tree, been to 6 holiday parties, watched 9 movies (one of them 4 times... I LOVE Iron Man!!), watched 12 television shows, shot 3 hours of home video footage, edited 2 photos of lovely ladies, packed for two vacations, been winter camping, gone sledding, been to the bank twice, played 3 hours of video games, slept A LOT, and played with my daughter often.

For the next ~259,200,000ms, I'll be enjoying a Shaker village, hiking Mt Greylock (map: http://tiny.cc/greylock), and enjoying a jacuzzi with my ladies.

The time has been refreshing and I have more than a few new friends to show for it. W00t!

Now for a few short stories:
Annabelle is getting used to having me around. Every day, we play for hours, inside and out. After the winter camping trip, it's hard to keep her inside. She always wants to be outside, roaming the paths, bathing random objects in light with our gigantic MagLite. A MagLite is more than a flashlight... it's daytime in a can. You turn the thing on, and POOF you can see everything... and the people on the receiving end of the beam are blind... Needless to say, with a 1 year old handling the flashlight, I've been on the receiving end more than a few times. :D

I'm keeping active. It's not for the sake of being active... it's just a habit I haven't bothered to kick. ;) While winter camping, I took a 7 mile hike up and down the wall of the Grand Canyon of the northeast. This hike involved a multitude of small pleasures, including a 3 mile run down a very narrow, winding trail, jumping across small creeks, climbing a 30', nearly vertical hill, standing 4 feet from a waterfall's edge with no railing between me and the 100' drop, a little tree climbing, and a LOT OF FRIGGIN GEESE. I'll probably post some of the footage over the next 6 months.

I have a new toy! It rocks. Period. Here's something I put together with my new toy, about my new toy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mAi2hsFx0A&fmt=6

The new year is here! This is the first year I've kept a budget. Hitting the end of the year and seeing where all the money went and knowing that there was plenty left over was a spectacular feeling!! My car needed a few hundred dollars worth of work last month. Normally, I would just have taken the money out of an account buffer that was already running perilously low, but not this time. This time I had the money saved specifically for car work, and the bill didn't affect my normal spending one bit. My debts (all good debt) are dropping like flies. Keeping a budget feels like pulling money out of thin air. *happy sigh*

We went to Curtis' place for the new year. What a party! We talked MOBOs, Kentsfield vs Wolfdales, watched movies, and had a whooping good time. Getting to and from the party was insane though. There were high winds, and the corolla has a very tall profile for a compact. We were headed down the road at a very moderate pace (40mph) approaching the 104 bridge in webster. Some of the other cars near us weren't nearly as conservative... until they got a few feet onto the bridge where they were no longer shielded from the spectacular crosswind... The SUV in front of me shifted nearly 4 feet sideways into my lane. I slowed further as the cars to the left and right of me suddenly slowed and started sliding. I narrowly avoided an accident, as did the rest of the pack.... it was harrowing. As we continued down the highway, was saw pile after pile of snow pushed up where cars had spun off the road into ditches and guard rails. The road before Curtis' was completely flooded. I think someone must have hit a fire hydrant as there were several feet of water in the ditch and across the road, but fortunately, it hadn't seeped onto the street we needed. Getting home was a similar experience.

Looking back over my last 6 months of posts, it seems like no one is commenting anymore. Is anyone still reading this? Have I gone boring? Say it's not sooo! Agh!

All I Need is a Mugging

2008-12-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

Today, I came in to work and noticed that my drawer was open. Someone had ruffled through my desk drawers and found my small cash-stash ($50 in ten dollar bills and quarters) that I keep around for pizza lunches on Fridays.

The list of theft's that I've been a victim of now include:

Cash ($50) from desk at work
MP3 player ($20) from coat pocket while playing indoor soccer
Wallet, glasses and keys ($130) from church while attending a potluck
Bicycle & snowboard ($970) from apartment (they ripped the door off)
Backpack (Wallet, Thomson Portfolio, MP3 player, reading glasses, portable game system - $430) from my car's trunk while packing up from a LAN gaming party
Ironman watch ($40) from pants pocket at gym

I'm averaging a theft every 10 months for the last 5 years.

How about you? Any stories?

The Johnsons Set Up a Christmas Tree!

2008-12-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/v/1aOYi-4loIE&fmt=6

With the scent of freshly baked cookies hanging heavily in the air after an afternoon of baking, we set out to put up our christmas tree. Pandora Radio set the mood with hits from the "Rockin Holiday" station: http://pandora.com/stations/574a57ea7384db17645cedeeb33c1e25425ba2910f7abf8b. I marched box after box of tree trimmings, decorations and other such flair up the entry stairwell from the garage under the approving eye of my 14 month old daughter. With each box came an inquisitive look followed by a pointed exclamation and bubbling laughter. Annabelle was getting quite excited!

I opened the first box, and immediately Annabelle was touring the contents. Each item was observed, moved, poked then discarded for the next item. We started to assemble the tree. When I unfurled the lower branches, Annabelle didn't quite know what to make of the bouncing branches, and stared for a few seconds til Cheryl asked her what she thought of that. As you saw in the video, Annabelle promptly did an interpretive dance to display the awkward excitement of the event.

Soon after, came lights, ribbon and ornaments. Annabelle put up the plastic ornaments near the bottom, while Cheryl and I adorned the upper sections of the tree. When the angel topper came out, Annabelle lept into my arms, ready to assist in its placement.

The tree was finished, so we tossed the boxes back into the garage then laughed, played tag, and danced around in the living room til we were all exhausted enough to hit the sack. What an excellent Sunday!!

Productivity and Curiousity

2008-11-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

I'm a curious guy. When a thread piques my interest, watch out!!

What happens in between topics of interest? Laa dee da dee da, skipping around, eyes wandering in a lackadaisical fashion... dee dee doooo... Cheryl to David, "Honey, why does salt make ice melt?" *Poof, alert, interested* "Hmmm... I don't know" *gears revving, BAM!!, sonic boom, David flies through wikipedia and google scholar to related links, topics and visualizations* *crack-azapers* *the yellow brick road bursts into a million pieces as David's wake follows him past Oz...* "Aha!! ..."

I tend to drift while I'm between topics of interest, but when I'm interested, I fly. Time seems to do the same, passing slowly when I'm bored and cheating ahead when I'm interested.

Topics that caught my eye this weekend:

.NET and C#'s amazing catch-up to Java (including multi-platform runtime, open source support for projects like xStream, Spring, JUnit, and the frickin amazing new & free Web Developer Studio by Microsoft... http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/default.aspx)
Java EE design patterns, security approaches, scalability concerns...
NetLibrary's stunning varienty of technical refferences
The drama involved in crowning Solomon king of Israel and Judea.
The relationship between water phase changes and solutes
Mind mapping tools as a solution for writing technical documents, authoring presentations, composing emails, keeping track of work... (see FreeMind: http://freemind.sourceforge.net)

What did you find interesting this week? Pique my interest with something cool!! I'll love you for it. :)

The Content of My Blog

2008-11-22T09:40:00.001-08:00

Here's a visualization of my last six months of blog posts:

http://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/334931/Untitled

Moments with Annabelle 8-10 Months

2008-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrg4wDAaNlA&fmt=6

All the Small Things

2008-10-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

I love my life. :)

Yesterday, Cheryl was out with some old friends. I started the day with an hour face-to-face chat with my brother via Skype. (P.S. If you have a skype account, email or facebook me your skype account sn so I can talk to you too...)

Allan's friggin brilliant and proving it at school. I love hearing about the ridiculously awesome things he's up to.

After our chat, I watched a B-movie on the sci-fi channel, then drove over to North Ponds park, strapped on my roller blades and went for a five mile jaunt up the path.

After that, a trip to wegmans, another B movie, some video games... It was a very relaxing day.

The beautiful thing about being me though, is that even with such an uneventful, relaxing day, I learned a lot and honed my existing skills...

My average day activities are what I love so much about my life. Right after waking up, I played blocks with Annabelle, had a delicious breakfast, danced around the apartment to the foo fighters, muse, blink and system of a down, juggled, stretched out, did hand stands, practiced balancing on one hand... The things that are novel to me include my trip to Wegmans where I visited each isle 1 or 0 times... the research I did on wood-working and how to build the shelves for our garage... the whitepaper I read on agile data management... the design patterns I investigated... service oriented architecture approaches.

All that's a heck of a lot of fun to do and learn, but it certainly doesn't make for good lunch-time conversation. I'm making headway in so many ways!! I've got our finances under control. I have a new method of approaching difficult topics with Cheryl and we're closer because of it. I've got a system for preparing great meals on a regular basis. They're all fantastic things!!! But how much of that is interesting to blog about? Believe me friends, my lack of blog posts recently doesn't mean that my life is slowing down... I'm simply filtering out the stuff that's not of general interest.

P.S. Here's the photo gallery of the Johnson-Herring annual apple picking trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/BerryPicking2008

Johnson Moving Day

2008-09-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

Album Location: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimadj/MovingDay

The night before the move, Cheryl, Annabelle and I brought our sheets, toiletries, a few blankets to our empty new apartment. We slept on the floor without a mattress after playing a few games and chasing Annabelle through various rooms and closets. We were all so excited that we could barely sleep. The evening was wonderfully cool, a luxury made possible through the central air conditioning. Our old apartment didn't have an air conditioner of any sort. Cheryl's dedication to living within our means can be attested by the fact that she went lived in the tiny apartment with no air conditioning and shoddy heat for the entirety of her pregnancy.

We woke the next morning feeling refreshed, sizzling with excitement about the task at hand. I drove out to Henrietta to pick up the moving truck. Trying to rent a truck only a week in advance had proven to be an issue... Budget and UHaul had no trucks of ANY size available in the area. Fortunately, AAA sent me to Penske where a truck was not only available, it was less than half the cost of either competitor.
I drove the truck to the old apartment where Cheryl's closest friends were already starting to gather, preparing the apartment for the move to come, putting knick-knacks and cleaning supplies into the final few boxes. I missed having Nate with me. For our last move, he was the first there, helping me to get the truck and the last to leave, chilling with us after the move was over.

Soon, others started to arrive. The first heavy lifters assisted me in placing furniture onto the truck though eventually, the movers were so efficient that I ended up managing placement of items in the truck more than actually carrying myself.
The truck was loaded swiftly and we headed off to the new apartment. The contrast between old and new was stunning. The truck was unloaded quickly, and it was time for pizza. After pizza, beer, soda and slides, the crew members gradually left 'til Cheryl and the final few unpacked the essential items. In the following days (two or three), Cheryl not only established an organizational system for the new space, she managed to unpack and reorganize the available space into a livable apartment.... her skill in such matters in unrivaled in my opinion.

The move was a blast, and the helpers a joyful blessing. Thanks to all involved!!

The Johnsons Went to Camp Tamar

2008-08-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjzfmu_E254

The Johnsons Moved! And I Got Lost...

2008-08-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

We moved to our beautiful new apartment yesterday. So many team players showed up that a full 16' truck, 2 vans, and several personal vehicles got packed in only an hour and thirty minutes!! It was insane!! The ladies cleaned out the apartment and met us over at the new place where we unpacked in the record-breaking time of... 1 hr.

There are so many stories to tell!! We didn't have any of the usual heavy lifters (Brian, Toby, Nathan, Adrian, Rob), but we still managed to get everything onto the truck. The craziest moment for me occurred about half way down the third flight of stairs... with a piano. I was on the bottom (good leverage) with Chris and Curtis hunched over on the top (how they managed to hold the piano up while stooped over is yet to be explained by science). My foot slipped on one of the steps and the piano slipped an undetectable 1/2 inch. In that moment, my life flashed before my eyes.... having your life flash by rapidly is apparently very hard on your heart, because mine was thumping like a speedcore gabber. Nothing happened, but you know how terrifying the indication that something COULD happen can be. :)

Anyhoo, this morning, I woke up, gathered by bike gear (which was all easily findable thanks to our dear friend Alicia) and hit the road. Well, the road hit back. I completely missed a major turn and ended up in Greece before I recognized anything. Take a look at this link to see the ridiculous zig-zag I did to get to work: http://alnk.org/1fatsnake

All told, that trip took nearly 50 minutes. I can't wait to see what the ride home looks like... :D

Moments with Annabelle 3-5 Months

2008-07-22T04:34:00.000-07:00

Moments with Annabelle 3-5 Months

Whoa... That's a Crazy Bug

2008-07-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at my computer desk, happily perusing the internet for funnies, when out of the corner of my eye... AH!! What's what?!?!

A 4 inch long creepy, wave-like shadow goes flying down the hall. I frantically call to Cheryl for a paper-towel as I follow the shadow into our project room. Such a creepy thing wasn't going to get away from me so easily...

Boof boof boof Cheryl came rapidly pounding down the hall as I continued to follow the now well-lit terror that was rapidly weaving through the room.

Slack, crackly-crunch! I threw down the paper towel on top of the terror and smashed it firmly with the spare change jar, leaving a 3 square inch blob of goop on the floor and wiggling legs/feelers in the paper towel.

After some internet research, I found what the crazy creepy was... Scutigera Coleoptrata

(Image from http://cordially.narod.ru/album/en.html, Copyright Eugeny Kornienko)

My Shared Items

2008-06-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't added me as a friend in Google reader, you can access my shared items (funny videos, interesting articles, fun flash games) at the following URL:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/05663508976928265738

Add me as a friend in google talk so I can read your shared items as well!!

Camping in Ithaca

2008-05-22T10:42:00.001-07:00

Jacky graduated from Ithaca College (possibly soon to be University) this last weekend. We decided to skip the hotel costs in favor of an outdoor romp in Buttermilk Falls State Park and Campground. ($40 for a weekend instead of $80 per night...) This strategy worked for us quite well before when we attended Juliana's wedding last summer.

We packed when I got home from work on Friday (5:30 ish), hung out, watched some TV and ate dinner. Annabelle had done her best to fend of the sandman, but succumbed to a rocking chair and some warm milk, dozing off around 9pm. We quickly loaded the car (well, loaded the rest of the stuff... Cheryl had done a brilliant job of preparing the day before), made our last minute ID10T checks and plopped the baby into her car seat. The trip up was filled with enrapturing conversation, joyful rock, and a beautiful dusky set of scenery.

We arrived at the site around 11pm... at which point I pitched camp in the dark (Insert thunderous applause here). The craziest part was errecting our 3 man dome tent... friggin crazy. After 20 minutes of tent poles, flashlights, and stakes, it was time to unroll the sleeping bags and go to bed... which we did without hesitation. As we finished up and started to change for bed, I mentioned that we'de need hats to sleep. Cheryl thought that was a little weird, but we popped them on and hit the hay.

Annabelle woke up around 2am for her early morning feeding. She did her usual soft-cry-half-asleep thing then noticed something was up. Bonk her eyes popped open and she started looking around the tent...

Wow! Tents are so cool... Annabelle certainly seemed to apprecite it. :D

The weather was much cooler than the last time we went camping... instead of 80 degree days with 50 degree nights, we saw a high of 60-something and a frigid low of ~30 degrees at night. We cuddled in a set of sleeping bags we'd zippered together for a nice cozzy sleep time.

The next day, there were campfires to be built, sticks to play with, caterpillars to meet... ROCKS TO EAT... Annabelle had such a great time! ...and so did we!!

Chat As You Read

2008-05-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've added a chat widget to my blog and web page. As you're reading, feel free to strike up a conversation. :)

http://manunderdamoon.blogspot.com/
http://www.isajohnson.com/david

Another Band I've Gotta See

2008-05-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

The list of live shows I've got to get to has just doubled in size!

It's now Blue Man Group and the newcomer "The Pinker Tones"

Baby Heartbreaker?

2008-05-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

Annabelle didn't want me to go this morning. She never wants me to leave for work, but today...

I was off in the bathroom, brushing my teeth after my nice hot shower which came after my breakfast of cocoa crispies and yogurt (typical routine), when I heard "Ohhh, daddy's getting ready for work. He's got to get going."

Annabelle said something unintelligible back, so I decided to check in. I was greeted with a squeal of delight and an arm wave, followed directly by open "Daddy, pick me up!!" arms. When I picked her up, she laid her head on my chest and hugged me. A nice, long "goooood morning daddy, I love you" hug.

I smiled at her and told her I had to get to work, then put her down where she quickly turned to Cheryl with a big smile like "Aha! See! Daddy's here!!", then I left the room to fill my water bottle and leave... but this was far from what Annabelle had in mind. She wimpered a bit from the other room, then convinced Cheryl to bring her to the living room. When Annabelle made it into the living room, she let out a quit, gasping "Dad" and watched intently as I readied my bag. My sunglasses are always the last step before I leave the house and when Annabelle saw them come out, she franticly scrambled across the floor to grab my leg in a desperate attempt to keep me from leaving.

I played for a minute or two longer, but then I really had to leave... Work needs a better schedule.

Why an ASUS Eee PC?

2008-04-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is a summary of my purchasing and usage decisions with the $360 Eee PC laptop I just purchased.

Here's what I use it for:

Remote data recovery (I fix a lot of dead hard drives, the eee is much lighter than my 12 lb gaming laptop)Vacation photos/video (I have a 20GB portable drive I ues to copy my camcorder's and camera's flash cards to)
Google Docs/Calendar anywhere with WifiTimeshare Travel (There's always wifi, but I've been afraid to take my $1k laptop with me... not to mention 12lbs is a lot for a day bag. The Eee PC is shockproof and weighs in at 2lbs.)
Open office docs & spreedsheets (I can view and edit my budget and personal notes(songs in progress, bible studies, tips & tricks for ...) anywhere.)
Daily mail & news (I open up and sync Thunderbird before I leave the house in about 30 seconds from boot to shutdown. On the bus and at lunch I can read and respond to all of my rss feeds and mail offline.)
Around the house Cloud Computing (I want to use the media center, so I pass the Eee to Cheryl so she can read her mail, surf facebook, and do all that non-resource intensive stuff she likes to do)
Random Entertainment (For trips or Dr's offices, I can watch the DVDs I've ripped to Xvid, or play flash games online)

Why the 4G instead of the 8G or 900? Price point and battery life. The 8G is $500 where the 4G is only $360 (Windows or Linux). The 900 has a 9" screen instead of a 7" screen, but that takes the battery life from 4 hrs to 2.2 hrs.

Why Asus Desktop (Xandros derivative) instead of Ubuntu or Windows? Speed. Plain and simple... With Asus Desktop, the Eeepc boot time is 17 seconds from off to surfing the web. Asus desktop recognized my A-HD camcorder, Canon 700is Camera, 3 different USB flash drives, portable hard drive, and every wireless network I've put it on so far without a hitch (including WPA).

Why the 4G 701 instead of the 4G Surf (401)? I wanted the webcam to talk with my brother via skype. In the 701, you can upgrade the RAM to 2GB, where the 401 (Surf) has soldered RAM.

Why scale the processor back to 667 MHz from 900? Apps launch slowly (2-3 seconds), but I get 4.5 hrs of battery life with wifi instead of 3.

Eee PC & Skype

2008-04-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

I've got a crazy new laptop on which I'm writing this blog. This 2lb wonder gives a whole new meaning to ultra-portable. My nifty new toy has a webcam. If you have Skype, send me an email with your user, or call me. My SN is 'ultimadj'.

Vacation

2008-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Injuring my leg was a great thing. I've had a solid two weeks of royal treatment. Cheryl's been taking care of all the running around, while I've been left to enjoy her cooking and entertain Annabelle while Cheryl's busy with stuff like... the dishes GASP!!!

I've had a productive streak at work that has been unparalleled... one that has been enhanced by the brilliant streaks of my coworkers. I LOVE WORKING WITH BRILLIANT PEOPLE!!!

Cheryl recently purchased a walking toy (kind of like a shopping cart) for Annabelle. I put Annabelle behind the toy and placed her little paws on the padded bar. It was as high as her head, but she didn't mind. She stood there for a while, laughing and smiling at us to let us know what an excellent new trinket we'd given her. Then she leaned in to grab the little spinner near the middle of the toy. It started to roll forward.. her eyes got wider and wider as the toy rolled further from her! She stood there for a full 5 seconds, willing her little arms to hold her weight as she avoided succumbing to gravity... but... ooooh... sliiip thump. She just wasn't strong enough. (Actually, no one is. Try putting a chair out in front of you, then holding your own weight near vertical with your hands outstretched over your head... you'll see what I'm talking about). She gave me the pouty face (ie: Daddy, I didn't like that) but when I set her up again, she was right back to smiling with enough joy for every man woman and child in New York. The toy started to roll again... oh boy, she nipped that one in the bud! She placed one foot in front of the other til she'd run into the sofa on the other side of the room. Amazing! My 6mo old says Mamamama, Dadadadada and semi-walks like a pro!! Booyah!

Another Bad Injury??

2008-04-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

What the heck!? I'm not an injury prone guy, I've just had the weirdest streak of ugly... the food poisoning, rectal bleeding, hitting a bus on my bike, and now a severe hematoma...

Yesterday, my soccer team played against the Xerox team. The last time my team played this team, the goalie broke his foot. This time, Tim ended up in the hospital, with a broken wrist and 7 staples to stop his head from bleeding. (He opened up that back of his head pretty badly.) Me? I got kicked in the thigh so hard that my body dumped nearly a pint of blood into it. My leg was so swollen that I couldn't even pinch the skin (it was stretched so tight). After speaking with the doctor, I'm on a tight icing regiment. Unless the healing process goes well, I'm headed to the permanent disability list. There's a reason this team is on the bottom of the stack. They're clumsy. Oh the drama...

So send some love as I'll be on the couch for the next 3 days (moving as little as possible, including rationed bathroom stops). Email me with good flash games, send me a message telling me how awesome your schooling, teaching, and general tom-foolery is going, and I'll keep you posted on the progress I'm making with my miraculous recovery ;)

Behold the Mighty Strawberry

2008-03-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

I love food... I mean REALLY LOVE it. My ideal day is a 40 mile bike ride, followed by a basketball game, followed by a few hours of disc golf, followed by a good meal involving steamed artichokes and a variety of little tasties (salty snacks, sweet sauces)...

My darling daughter also loves to eat. Here's a picture of her tasting a strawberry for the first time:

From Photo Gallery: Annabelle 3-6 Months

Notice the crazed look of ecstasy (which was immediately followed by a frantic scramble for the bowl from which the strawberries came... Cheryl was only a split second faster).

Oh, Mr. Adams

2008-03-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

Code monkeys need more endorphins.
This one hits the nail on the head: http://dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20080317.html

In dance, there was a lot of criticism, but it all helped you improve. When the ballet was over, there were compliments, flowers, chocolate and newspaper articles.

In software, there's a lot of whining. I feel like I spend a decent amount of time disproving the blanket excuses that my tools, projects and plans are assailed with. When a project is completed successfully, that's it. The project is over "yeah team!"... even the dead weight is associated with the project's success.

Software and its development are currently a little depressing. I really need to be surrounded by the sea of positive/creative people I miss from high school and college. (Thank God for the random excellent people from work (Christina, Matt, Tim, Ed, Dean, Brian...) that make lunch times so pleasant.)

Meh, I'll ride my bike in tomorrow and remind myself of why I love being me sooooo much!!! Toodles!

Auto-Dialer

2008-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This isn't an exciting post. (WHOA)

I've been receiving calls from 770-242-8446 a few times a day for the last week. I typed the number into Google and found that it belongs to Spectrum Services which is a company that contracts with Toyota, Verizon and a number of other prominent companies for feedback surveys. There seems to be a slight glitch in the system, so it kept calling me back, but then not connecting me to a rep (possibly because I had already completed the survey so surveys.length == 0).

I went to: http://www.spectrumservicesusa.com/contact.html
...then called the 800 number and explained my dilemma. The very courteous lady on the other end removed my number from the list and poof. No more calls.

Round trip, this issue took about 1.5 minutes (including search and phone time) to remedy. I really appreciate how well this company handles their business!!

Baby Steps

2008-02-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Do you or your friends have a child? Are you tired of awkward situations due to not knowing how to properly package/handle the tiny tot? We've got what you need: http://www.c00lstuff.com/1133/Do_s_and_don_ts_with_babies/

My Weekend (3 Big Events in 1.5 Days)

2008-02-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE-Bw_kpNtk

Blogs & Such

2008-01-30T05:18:00.000-08:00

I don't have many blogs on my frequent reading list. If you have a blog, would you send me your url so I can add it?

Annabelle Knows Kung Fu

2008-01-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m04rBHxDUWE

Laptop

2008-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

My next laptop: http://www.apple.com/macbook/

Every 4 yrs, I spend about $1000 for a new laptop. My needs have shifted since I purchase my last laptop (in 2005). I'm now less interested in having a half-million options for video editing programs, free video games, and operating systems. I really want something I can just power up, edit my photos, video, and music, then power down without having to worry about an update changing a driver or incompatibilities that make these tasks difficult, impossible and/or time-consuming.

My sister bought a macbook. I scoffed at first, wondering how you could spend so much on so little (imagine the PC laptop you could get for $1.4k)... She smiled, laughed, then proceeded to edit 720p high-def h.264 video in realtime on her cute little laptop... the sound of my jaw hitting the floor echoed through the house.

She gave me a quick tour of her macbook, including the integrated webcam, combo drive, iLife suite and ease-of-use including the installation and execution of that christian-pop dance-dance revolution game. I'm now a believer. My next laptop will be a macbook. (The 13.3inch 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo macbook w/ Leopord is only $900 direct from apple via the refurbished mac sales system. Shipping is free.)

New Movie for My Collection

2008-01-22T06:36:00.000-08:00

I only purchase movies if I'm going to watch them again, and again, and again. I saw "Live Free or Die Hard" this weekend and liked it so much that I watched it again the next day... then liked it so much again that I wanted to restart it right after I finished... I've gotta get this movie. :)

link: http://www.youtube.com/v/QZ9Q1EGge7Y&rel=1

GTK 2+ and Soccer

2008-01-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

I've been getting back into sports! Over the last month, I've played a game of football, rugby, and nearly 10 soccer games! I'm a little sore, but my balance is back to ridiculous. Oh, what fun can be had with feet that move faster than expected... :)

My car is fixed and beautiful! Turns out, the work was covered by a recall, so I'm only out $180 for brakes! I'm still going to sell my precious *ahem* my ZX3, but I'm now selling it in top condition.

I shaved my beard off on Friday. It was an arbitrary decision, just like the previous decision to grow it was. Cheryl likes me better with the beard and I strongly agree that it gives me a certain bonus regarding the perception of respect. I'm going to grow it back. I walked in to the sports garden Sunday to play with my team, but no one recognized me without my beard. :D Imagine that!

For those fine few using WorkRave, Pidgin, Gaim, Gimp or any other GTK based tools, I strongly recommend updating to the latest GTK. It's prettier than ever.

Farewell My Sporty ZX3

2008-01-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't used my lil red sportscar for 8 months. It's a sad sad thing. In 2 years of service, the only maintenance it has required (despite my race car-like driving) has been oil changes and a set of tires.

The KBB for this car is here: http://alnk.org/radham

Because I let it sit, it needs new brakes and calipers all 'round and a right coil spring. I got it on the cheap 2 years ago and it's performed solidly since. It's slick and zippy, has a phat 200watt MP3 CD player, carries up to 16 pairs of skiis/snowboards all the while handling like a porsche. 'nough said.

If anyone's interested, I'm offering a friend rate of $3.5k before I post it to craigslist, the kbb classifieds for $5k. If you're a skilled mechanic, the parts for the jobs above come to $500. If you're not, I can have the guys at East Ave auto do parts and labor for $1k (would add a 1 year warranty).

This car is a golden egg and I'm having a really, really hard time letting it go. It's cheaper than a beater and more reliable than most new cars. I've never been in a car that's more fun to drive (including a porsche boxtser, bmw 5 series, audi and a nice little mini). It gets 27 city, 33 highway.

Hahaha Money and Effort

2007-12-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, what's on my mind? It's a little frustrating that annual raises are so unrelated to personal effort. Manager's get a pool of money allocated to raises for your entire department, so if you've got a great team, it may be difficult to get a decent raise...

Thomson's great about that and it really doesn't seem to be "I get more if they get less", but it's still a lot easier to pull a few extra bucks via sites like rentacoder.com. I'm looking into doing a little side contracting. Does anyone use a site like rentacoder.com?

Another Blog Question

2007-12-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

Just a quick question: Is anyone enjoying the new mixed content in my blog? Would you like to continue seeing embedded video, or should I keep it text-only?

Baby Annabelle Can Sit Up!!

2007-12-05T06:34:00.001-08:00

Ooooh! Look at what Annabelle learned to do the other day! (http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-zdXahkZ9I)

Annabelle in the Snow

2007-12-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Cheryl and I took 'lil bug out in the snow in her pink ewok suit. It took a fair amount of time to truss her up, but she was patient. As she lay watching us prepare for the cold. Movement was a distant memory due to the massive number of layers she was wrapped in, but that was ok; Mom and Daddy were obviously up to something interesting...

The first wall of cold took her breathe away and brought out a very cute poutty lip. She blinked the snowflakes out of her wide-open eyes and started to look around, gathing info regarding her new and highly modified surroundings.

We set her down so she could stand in the snow, but she really didn't like that idea. Annabelle: buuuuuWAAAAAH!!!!!
Me: Yipe!! Ok, ok, let's go fly around some more... cute lil kiddo.

Baby Annabelle is Adorable!!

2007-11-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

Food and Fun

2007-11-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

I love food. I love fun. Thursday-Today was all that and more. Four solid days of Thanksgiving with over 60 family members brought warmth to my heart as the contagious smiling of my baby brought joy to all involved.

Food can really make a difference (as can sleep). Over the past two weeks, I've enjoyed a steak, prosciutto wrapped mozerella, chocolate cake, home-made macaroons, assorted cookies, 2 pies and a cheese-cake. Oh, that was all at work. The feasts at home were far more grand.

It looks like my band is getting together for a show around New Year's Eve. I'm looking forward to playing with everyone again. The Kitchen Sinks have a powerful chemistry. The opposite of the black, stinky kind. That's Joe's kitchen sink...

I'm still riding my bike. The black ice made it a bit of fun the other day. Whenever there was a strong wind, me and my bike would drift about in the lane like a leaf. I've removed the toe-clips for the winter, and purchased myself a nice, light (but waterproof) set of boots. They work best when you're not pouring water into them from the top (or riding through 1ft of standing water built up under the RR bridge).

If you read this, leave me a comment with your favorite passionate music band. If you have a song in mind, list that too. Right now, I'm thinking of 'Hysteria' by MUSE.

Baby Video

2007-11-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

Be the first to check out the fresh new clip of baby Annabelle on my Facebook. I'm happy with my new camcorder and still on the verge of exploding with excitement about my baby girl!!

New camcorder? Yes indeed!! I purchased the $140 Aiptek A-HD. The mic is terrible, there's no hardware buffer (so pans skew) and colors are oversaturated, but it still exceeds my needs. It's small enough that I can carry it in my pocket (which is where it lives), and it's cheap enough that I don't have to be completely paranoid about where I take it and how I handle it. PERFECT!! Since the video is in 720p, I find myself downsampling the footage I take all the time. It's been hard for me so far to wrap my head around the possibility that I would want to record at a lower resolution than I can because I rarely need the ability to pan and zoom around in my shots... then comes the issues involving the editing and rendering of such ridiculously high quality video... bleah!!!

My standard video workflow at this point is:

Copy the video off the SD card to my secondary computer
Use SUPER to re-encode the file to an MP4 (from a h.264 AAC-L in a .MOV container) 'cause Sony Vegas 8 doesn't like the A-HD
Copy the rendered files to my video processing machine
Apply audio filters

Audio

Compress anything above -5 at 40x (the mic peaks a LOT, it's way too sensative)
Increase the gain on 4KHz+ by 4dB
Decrease the gain on 500Hz- by 4dB

Add a soundtrack
Burn the resources to DVD

All told, it takes about 15 minutes of manual work and 2-4hrs of automated work per filled memory card. If I just take downsampled video in the first place, I can just copy the card straight to DVD and not worry about converting and such... oh the dilemma this causes!!

Anyhoo, Annabelle is worth it, and the clip I posted today was well worth the price of the camcorder. Life rocks!!!

Ouch! School Buses Hurt

2007-10-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

I've had a variety of accidents involving traffic while commuting on my bike. Usually, this involves moving traffic, which generally doesn't hurt to badly because I'm moving as well and I've only had 1 head-on, but after the initial bump, I was in the air for that one (and hitting the ground isn't bad).

Today, I got cut off by a school bus while I was trying to change lanes. I slowed down, then cut behind the bus to get over to the next lane. Just then (good 'ol murphy) the bus stopped abruptly as the driver had missed the fact that the light was red. I glanced off the rear bumper of the bus with such force that my handlebars broke off, my wheel got demolished, and the trunk attached to the back of my bike ended up in the intersection. I also caught some of the bus. My shoulder took the full impact, knocking me off my bike, in the air, and landing me flat on my back. Fortunately for me, the SUV behind me was able to brake quickly enough to avoid running me over. Parts of my bike were scattered for 20-30' from behind the bus to the intersection. I picked myself up, quickly collected the pieces of my bike, then hobbled to the side of the road where I reassembled my bike. I made it in to work only 10 minutes late, searched for 20minutes to find a first aid kit, then treated my wounds and started the day. My socks are a little bloody. My shoulder and ankle are swollen. Overall, I'm doing quite well. If the bar-ends on my handlebars hadn't been there, I would have received a debilitating wound as my fingers were crushed at 23 MPH against the bus' bumper. Thank God for small favors.

The moral of the story is: Don't underestimate the affect of differential velocities.
-or-
When traveling fast, the bigger object wins.
-or-
Bar-ends aren't just for looks.

Quick NOTE

2007-10-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in receiving my blog posts via E-mail, add your address to this group: http://groups.google.com/group/davidsblognotifications

Side note: Sprint, Verizon or TMobile?

Sprint
Pros: Unlocked phones, cheap data, cheap plans, early evening calling
Cons: ...

Verizon
Pros: Excellent reliability
Cons: ridiculous plan cost, terrible data, slow custom phone OS

TMobile
Pros: Good internetwork communication, Home Hotspot, WiFi calling
Cons: Plan costs, few available features

Thoughts? Preferences? Trials? Tribulations?

Christmas Presents

2007-10-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

It's usually very difficult to buy Christmas presents for me. If I know what I want... I get it myself. Well, this year I have a very LARGE want that I can't just up and get for myself (so money would be a good gift this year). I want to get a camcorder to record the daily cuteness of my little girl and snippets of daily life that people may find interesting.

What does that involve?

Panasonic SDC-HD5 ($700 after employee discount)
Vegas Movie Studio Platinum ($130)
2x Class 6, 8GB SD Memory Cards ($60 each)
Battery of Ridiculousness ($170)
VW-PT2 or Similar Portable HardDrive w/ SD Quickcopy ($150-200)

Summary:
Essential parts: $1k
Essential parts+: $1.2k

What do I get with all this? Family videos that will last.

Baby Baby Baby!!!

2007-10-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

Oooooh my word. I have the most beautiful child I have ever seen. She has a smile that will liquify your heart and make it come out your eyes... hm, maybe I should jump on that. Maybe I could get some HD video of her and use it for heart transplants... far less painful. ;)

So, what is it like to be a father? WHY DOES EVERYONE ASK ME THAT?!?!?!? It's like breathing. It's natural, feels good, and if not controlled properly, ends up giving you a really hard time. Annabelle is beautiful and happy. She's the happiest baby I've seen. She doesn't cry through hiccups, she tolerates a fair amount of jostling when we're changing her diapers (which I then have to rinse out because they are cloth), and, just like her papa, she LOVES the outdoors. She can be pitching the worst fit ever, but take her into the sun and BOOM... happy baby.

She's doing all sorts of cute baby-type stuff. Her delicate (and amazingly well-formed/intricate) hands are always exploring. She touches my face and smiles, then wiggles a little and clenches, then opens her tiny little fist. I took her out to the bushes in the backyard and played with the leaves for a while in front of her face, then she, with great effort and many failed attempts, reached out and took hold of the branch, then wiggled it a little and withdrew, staring at the magic of our typical greenery.

When I stroke her head, or touch her little nose, she smiles with her papa's big smile to let us know that we're doing a good job. She eats a lot... every 4 hrs or so. It's amazing.

Also amazing is the number of times she pees and poos. Somehow, 1 oz of milk turns into 15oz of waste product. Friggin amazing. Another thing that is amazing, is the fact that I don't mind the stinky poos smell, nor did I have a hard time helping Cheryl deliver. Blood, poo, pee, and other bodily fluids associated with birth and babies really don't bother me. All this time, I thought blood was my issue, but it turns out it's the sterile smell of hospital plastic. Since we had the birth at home, I had no problems. I even cut the umbilical cord myself.

Sleep isn't an issue either. She sleeps like I did all the way through my homeschool experience. Tons of high energy activity followed by a nap... repeat all day and through the night. I've been getting plenty of sleep at odd hours and feel better than ever!! (Though I'm not sure how this is going to work once I have to work around Thomson's "core hours".) I may just need to extend my lunch period for a mid-day nap...

It's a Girl!!

2007-09-28T04:33:00.000-07:00

http://ultimadj.googlepages.com/birthannouncement

Kickit!!!

2007-09-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Seriously, you guys rock. I love all the comments you've been responding with both on the blog and via e-mail. I feel like I'm still connected to you.

Here's a nifty UI enhancement for those of us using windows XP: Royale Noir Theme for XP

Cheryl has been nesting recently. The apartment is BEAUTIFUL! Everything is in its place. I have so much space to move around. Our relationship is at a peak right now. Last night while we were cuddling before bed, Cheryl told me that she felt like our relationship had really blossomed over the last few weeks. When I thought about it, it was incredibly true. We're still like honeymooner's. I think about her on and off all day, same with her for me. We do each other cute favors, get gifts and can't resist a quick kiss or caress here and there. I get to go out with the boys and I get to spend quality time with Cheryl and our couple-type friends. Sometimes we'll be relaxing and talking in the living room and my cup will just overflow with a spontaneous explosion of joy with a magnitude that simply makes it impossible not to dance. You know... the kind of joy that gives you goosebumps, butterflies and makes you smile like a 2yr old with a shiny toy car.

I'm really looking forward to the birth. Baby is coming soon. Very soon.
Check out the birth announcement page here and sign up for the e-mail list if you want to get the announcement.

One last thing. I LOVE MY NEW BIKE!!! I just trued the rims, cleaned the chain, switched the rear tire for the winter, added a suspension seat-post, added a gel-seat, and installed a mirror on my helmet. All told, it's a beautiful thing...

Oh yeah. I used to have the worst squeaky brakes ever. I read online about how to properly install brake pads and sure enough, the squeak is gone. To get rid of the squeak, you have to use a toe-in alignment. When you're adjusting the brake pads, put a piece of cardboard or folded paper under the rear of the brake pad. (The rear of the brake pad being the side that touches the rim last as the wheel is rotating...) That 1 mm gap causes grit to get cleaned off the rim, giving you better braking power while preventing chatter (which causes the squeaking). Nifty tip, eh?

Bible Blog

2007-08-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

I've started a blog for my own stupid questions regarding my study of the christian bible. I wasn't sure that I wanted to share this because I feel foolish... unable to come to a conclusion myself...

Plus, this opens me up for a world of self-worth issues as people can debate or mock my core beliefs.

Anyhoo, in hopes of saving time and getting a wealth of input to curb my lack of wisdom, please check out: http://davidlikesthebible.blogspot.com/