Client Climax

The project climaxed the other night – everything we had been working for came together and they moved from one building to another. I was on the clock for 33.5 hours straight without breaks or rest. What a beating. Now I just have a few more things to do and I am eagerly looking forwarding to going home for a while…..

Canoeing in NY

My g/f flew up here on the 10th of July. She had to motivate me a bit, but we took a train slightly north of here and rented a canoe from Great Blue Outfitters. Great people and a great outfit. They haven’t been open too long, but seem to be doing well. They offer hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and kayaking trips. If you are in the area, look them up!

The rivers were a bit low for kayaking, so we rented a canoe and hit a place called White-something Pond. Pond is a bit misleading as it’s really a small lake. It was a warm day and we loaded up on sandwiches, sunscreen and water. The outfitters dropped us off and we shoved off into the lake. The lake is small so they don’t allow motor boats on it. Fine with me. We quickly paddled to the other side of the lake and ate lunch in the shade of some trees. The water was pretty clear and you could easily see 10+ feet to the bottom of the shoreline. We mostly hung to the shoreline and watched turtles and other fishes scatter as we floated by them. You couldn’t see any buildings and you could only glimpse some traffic of the nearby road if you made an effort to do so. There were a few other people paddling around the lake as well. We mused at a couple that had rented a kayak and had managed to flip it over in the middle of the lake. They couldn’t get back in and quickly sank it under the water (kayak’s don’t’ completely sink). The best part of the day might have been floating in a small cove covered by trees and shade. We both practically fell asleep while dragonflies lit upon our toes.

It was great to get out of the city, even if only for a few hours. I really needed that.

A Plane Flies Overhead...

A plane flies overhead. Cars drive down the street, and people are on the sidewalk eager to get home before the rain, or see a friend, or a loved one. There is a rooftop party nearby. I’m still stuck in NYC and my great aunt Gladys will never see these things – she passed away last night.

She almost made it to her 91st birthday. She developed cancer in the last year. She didn’t want to fight it. As she put it, she had a nice long life and was very grateful for the things she had. She was one of those people that was always positive even in the face of adversity. I can’t say that I am built that way, but it was nice to see it in someone. The last time I saw her she was recovering from a broken hip and we all knew she probably wouldn’t make it another year. It seems that once the cancer got aggressive it was over pretty fast.

She died on a Sunday night, and the funeral was on Tuesday. She had her family around her and died in the comfort of her home. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it and even if I could have it would have been very difficult to get there from NYC in the length of time available. I feel bad that I couldn’t make her funeral, but I also am happy that I got to see her not too long ago.

Afterward – I wrote that the day after her death, on July 11th. I haven’t been able to find the time to post it.

iSuck

Recently, I’ve been more flustered by Apple products than usual. Thinking back, it seems that Apple has just about always been a thorn in my side with regards to my professional career. Even before I started getting paid to be a geek I would get questions from the occasional Apple / Mac user that I couldn’t answer since they were “strange” and did things differently. You say your floppy is stuck in your Mac and won’t respond to dragging it onto the eject button? Sorry, your fooked. My PC’s floppy drive has a hardware eject button so I don’t worry about that shit.

I even owned an Apple ][c for a brief period of time before Apple pulled the rug out from under its user base and went to the Macintosh. I also still worked on dos-based PCs and found them to be more useful than the Apple series.

Later in life, once I got was working professionally in the industry, the Macintosh would pop up from time to time particularly in media-related fields. Everyone else would have a PC or be on the mainframe except for the Mac user….and of course their shit didn’t work like everyone else. Apple thought it would be a great idea to network Mac’s together just like PCs, and mainframes. Only they thought they would do it differently, just like they did everything else so they invented a piece of crap protocol called AppleTalk that was incompatible with everything else.

So now not only did we have Macs in the offices that were incompatible with anything else we also had to start supporting their crappy networking protocol – even though IPX (Novell), SNA (IBM), and IP (open source) was available.

Oh! You are still having problem with your proprietary application and hardware doing something so someone else can see it? Fuck off. Not my problem.

Then it seemed like for a while Apple faded from the corporate world a bit and at the same time began to adopt universal standards like the IP protocol, and other formats that everyone else on the planet except Mac users were using. So even if they were around, they seemed to get along better with everyone else.

Enter the iPod – This is the little guy that really put Apple back on the map in my opinion. I was very resistant to the initial iPod. I was just getting into MP3 players and I had already had a bout with Sony and their proprietary format. I also didn’t like the idea of having a real hard drive and moving parts inside of a portable device. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the first gen iPods were pieces of crap, but I was skeptical.

By the 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation iPods I think they really had it down. Simple to use, fairly consistently reliable, and it supports open standards like MP3. But it’s the interface that really made the iPod so great. The form factor is a bit of a bonus but the interface makes owning one worth it. Apple got this one right.

And then the iPhone landed…and the iDiots came running. Not that the iPhone is a particularly bad product. In fact, it’s actually fairly nice. Other companies were doing similar things, but Apple released a product that did it with style even if it is a bit of an alien product to me. Why iDiots? Because, like I just said there were other products and still are other products that do it better. But…and it’s a bit but…they locked their product into the AT&T market place. So not only was it very expensive, but it could only be used with the AT&T network. Sure, you could jailbreak it (hack it) and use it with someone else’s network but you just voided your warranty and all support for it.

Is the AT&T network that bad? Perhaps not, but as far as I can tell the Verizon commercials are very appropriate. They have more coverage and for someone like me that travels all over the place this is very important. I’d rather have some coverage, even if at a slower speed, than no coverage at all.

And for me? Personaly? I just didn’t want something else that tethered me even more securely to work, the internet and other online “social” things like Facebook.

And of course, the whole time you have the iThin notebook and all of the iLaptop notebooks on the market. Never mind that they cost almost twice as much as comparable priced laptops that run PC / Linux, etc. And maybe that’s one of my big complaints with Apple products – they are marketing geniuses. They get iSuckers to pay a significant premium for Apple products that are no better than other competing products.

And so people are still buying them… And I’m still fighting issues with them. Oh, some Dr. buys a MacBookPro and we fight all kinds of issues with it. It won’t connect to the wireless network appropriately, then when it does his VMWareFusion doesn’t work right. And why is he running that in the first place? Because the application that he MUST use isn’t supported on a Mac. Yes, I see that all the time – iDiots that buy a Mac product knowing that the application they have to have for work doesn’t work on their stupid iLaptop unless they emulate a PC. Great, so now we have to fuck with that, too. And they do it in freaking droves.

And then BAM – the iPad comes out. I gotta tell ya, I have no idea why you iSuckers buy ‘em. They start at a price tag of about $450 for the lowest end model they sell all the way to about $1000 for the top-of-the-line with WiFi and 3G. And what do you really get? A glorified, portable web browser, or book reader, and…well that’s about it now isn’t it? Yeah, I know you can d/l an app to do something just like your iPhone but are you really going to be creating presentations and documents on the iPad without some external device? I mean, can you imagine typing this blog entry with the on-screen keypad? Yeah, that’s sweet.
And of course – the wireless sucks. Just like the goddamned iLaptops and everything else. We constantly fight iLaptops, iPhones, and now the iPad because they have typically have more problems that other non-Apple products.

And here is really what kills me – I still hear from the iSuckers how great Apple is and how intuitive it is and how it “just works.” And then they are upset and dumbfounded when you are trying to tell them it’s their fucking iWhatever that is the problem. Really? You think it’s the network when I have 600 other devices connected to it both hard-wired and wirelessly but all 8 of your iPads have the exact same problem so it’s the network? Did I tell you that ALL of my clients have same problems with Apple products? My phone is on Verizon and I get a great signal, but it must be something else because your iPad, and iPhone both can’t get an AT&T 3G signal. Aliens perhaps?

These are otherwise fairly intelligent people but they cannot seem to accept the glaringly obvious answer that Apple products don’t always “just work” and that sometimes, every now and then, they are they problem…. So when I see an iWhatever, I cringe. I hate them.

Happy 4th Of July!

Last night, I sucked it up and went down to check out the Macy’s 4th Of July Fireworks Extravaganza!! (just kidding, that isn’t the official title of the show). It was pretty warm, but I managed to make it to 12th Avenue and 25th where I could catch a breeze off the river.

I got there at about 5-til-9:00 and the people just kept coming and packing it in. Before I knew it, I was deep in a crowd of people I didn’t want to be in, but I had a breeze so I felt fairly lucky. The fireworks kicked off at about 9:20 and lasted until about 9:45. It was quite an impressive show and I just happened to have a view that put all of the fireworks in my entire field of vision (including my perhiphial). I have seen a few internet videos where people clearly didn’t have as good of a view. I think I just got lucky.

I’m glad I took the time to go down there, but I as I was there I was thinking that the people that really deserved to see the show were the folks that were thousands of miles away in a desert land. While we celebrated our independence the men and women in foreign countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan were carrying on with their duties. I hope they got to celebrate some and I hope that they got to see some fireworks. We take things for granted far too often.

Happy Birthday America!

Stuck in NYC - ammendments

I almost forgot two very important reasons I don't like it here that much:



NYC is dirty and it smells - the stench of decaying garbage is everywhere. It's the first thing I notice when I arrive in NYC and now that the summer is heating up it is particular offensive to my olfactory sense. The people also tend to smell, and I'm not referring to the homeless. I don't know if it's because there are a lot of foreigners here and their hygienic habits aren't as fastidious as typical Americans or what, but I constantly keep catching very strong BO from people while walking around.



In comparison, Tokyo has over 13 million people living in it (compared to 8 for NYC) and it's so clean you can practially eat off the sidewalk.

Our Country is in Serious Trouble

Recently the US Supreme Court upheld the Second Amendment in the Washington, DC case by a very narrow 5-to-4 vote. Let me say that again, 5-to-4!!! This is our second amendment right granted to us via the constitution from our founding fathers. It should not be that close. If anything, it should be a 9-0 vote.

Just think about it for a moment. A few more liberal appointees and you would have just lost your second amendment rights as interpreted by “the law.” I’ve often said that I think the most powerful thing a president can do is appoint a judge to the US Supreme Court. It’s a lifetime appointment and there isn’t any way to remove a judge from the bench – only death or retirement removes them from the bench.

These judges shape our lives and the course of our country in untold ways. Look at things like the commerce clause – a very poor decision by the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) has allowed virtually unlimited power of the federal government through this clause.

Now, Obama is trying to appoint even more liberal judges. I suspect that one or two more of them will ride the bench for a while. You will see a shift and that shift will not be good if you believe in liberty, democracy, and the Bill of Rights.

Was it any real surprise that Justice Sotomayor was one of the judges that dissented in the recent decision? This is the person that not only said that they would respect previous SCOTUS decisions as law (she lied and dissented anyway):

SEN. PAT LEAHY (D-VT): “Is It Safe To Say That You Accept The Supreme Court's Decision As Establishing That The Second Amendment Right Is An Individual Right? Is That Correct?” JUDGE SOTOMAYOR: “Yes, Sir.” LEAHY: “Thank you. And in the Second Circuit decision, Maloney v. Cuomo, you, in fact, recognized the Supreme Court decided in Heller that the personal right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the Constitution against federal law restrictions. Is that correct?” SOTOMAYOR: “It is.” LEAHY: “And you accept and applied the Heller decision when you decided Maloney?” SOTOMAYOR: “Completely, sir. I accepted and applied established Supreme Court precedent that the Supreme Court in its own opinion in Heller acknowledged, answered the -- a different question.” (Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate, Confirmation Hearing, 7/14/09)

She finds nothing in the second amendment that grants us the right to bear arms for self defense:

DISSENT JOINED BY JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: “I Can Find Nothing In The Second Amendment’s Text, History, Or Underlying Rationale That Could Warrant Characterizing It As ‘Fundamental’ Insofar As It Seeks To Protect The Keeping And Bearing Of Arms For Private Self-Defense Purposes.” (“Otis McDonald, Et Al., Petitioners V. City Of Chicago, Illinois, Et Al.” Justice Breyer Dissent Joined By Justices Ginsburg & Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court, P.180-1, 6/28/10)

And now the Chicgo dick-cheese of a mayor (is that libel or slander?) wants to pass new legislation that insofar as I can tell is in direct conflict with the second amendment. He expects “legal battles” which to me says he knows he’s violating the second amendment and just doesn’t care. What happens the next time these laws are challenged and reach SCOTUS?

And folks, this is ONE very small instance – look at the expansion of government and encroachment upon our rights by the government since Obama took office. These are troubling times indeed.

Once in Lifetime Fireworks?

Most years, Macy’s has their fireworks on the East side of Manhattan. I’m about 2 blocks from the e. side. However, this year they are having them on the West side of Manhattan – about 2 miles away. That’s not that far and I’ve walked over in the general area several times already.

I’m a bit on the fence about going tonight. I’d really like to see the fireworks as it’s supposed to be pretty incredible. On the otherhand, I have absolutely ZERO desire to be stuck in the throng of the other 2 to 3 million people that will also be crowding the public areas. The papers all say to show up four to five HOURS early to get a good spot. Fuck that. I mean, hey, it’s just fireworks!

Years ago, we would take the boat out on the lake on the 4th. A few of the people that lived on the lake were filthy rich and would bring in semi-trailers of fireworks with professionals to set them. I’m not kidding and I’m not exaggerating. These people would then try to out-do each other, but they never launched them all at the same time. Rich person-A would do theirs, then rich person-B would do theirs and so on. We’d float on the water for hours watching some pretty incredible shows from right underneath the fireworks. Sometimes you could feel the ash lightly raining down on you. So for me, the fireworks would have to be pretty freaking incredible to beat that experience and being stuck in a crowd of people in my current state of mind is not it.

I looked into some rooftop parties or a boat cruise or something. Rooftop parties start at about $90 and the pictures show people stuck on top of each other…. The boat cruises are mostly sold out, but they also started at about $100 and went up from there. One cruise is $270, not including taxes, fuel surcharges, boarding fees, etc. I figure that’s about $300 and while it includes a buffet it does not include your beverages – and then you are stuck on the boat for five hours. Might be different if I had a friend to hang out with. In any case, I don’t feel like spending a bunch of money to be stuck in a throng of people watching fireworks – I’d spend the money to NOT be stuck with a bunch of people and see some good fireworks.

And let’s face it, if I ever decide I really have to see the NYC fireworks I can simply come back. So I don’t see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. I see it as a big pain in the ass. I’ve had a few people ask me if I can watch them from the hotel rooftop. I don’t think there is any roof access – I already tried to go all the way up and the elevator doors wouldn’t open. Even if they did have access tonight the w. river is about 2 miles away and it’s NYC – there are a ton of skyscrapers in the way and you wouldn’t be able to see anything anyway. I’ll probably just head that way this evening and when the crowds start to get thick I’ll stop and chill. If I can’t see anything, I’ll head back.

Stuck in NYC?

I’ve now been in NYC for about a month and a half. My only venture outside the city was to Las Vegas for a couple of days to attend Grashopper’s wedding. I’ve had a lot of people ask me “why don’t you go home for the weekend?”

Well, quite simply it’s almost more stressful to do that than to just stay here. If I have to work Friday, that means I don’t get to fly home until late Friday night or early Sat. morning. I then have to return back to NYC by Sunday so I can be working on Monday morning. That means I basically get ONE day (Sat) at home for all of the hassle of traveling back and forth. Is that really worth it?

My g/f was having a conversation with a friend and associate of hers that lives here in Manhattan. She mentioned how I was still stuck in NYC and her friend exclaimed “Stuck in NYC?” as in she lives here and this is her home and it’s so great how could anyone feel like they are stuck here?

I’ll tell you how. I realize that some of you (about 8 million) live here and call NYC home. Please try to understand that while it may be great for you, that it is not great for me. I’m not a “big city” person. I never have been. Sure, I like to visit but that’s about it. For me:

• There are too many people. WAY too many people. And going to events where people are on top of each other is just not enjoyable. I don’t care if it’s a bar, a museum, or a block party. I don’t like having people on top of me.

• It’s too noisy – yes, the city that never sleeps. And along with that comes constant noise. You are always attacked by nose. Large trucks and buses driving by on the street, sirens all day and night long, people talking on phones, people talking to themselves, chicks (and guys!) saying the word “like” every 6.3 seconds, horns honking all day and night long (I feel like setting up a .50 cal on the windowsill and picking them off), you get the idea.

• There isn’t any grass or trees. Ok – yeah, there are a few trees embedded into the concrete, and you might find a patch of grass here and there but for the most part it’s concrete for as far as the eye can see. Every time I try going to Central Park there are too many people and too much noise (see above).

• I don’t have my truck here so I can’t easily get out of the city and if I did I wouldn’t want to drive here (people are freaking nuts!)

• I don’t have my bike (motorcycle) here.

• I don’t have my guitar(s) here.

• I don’t have my friends or family here.

• I have a shitty internet connection at the hotel.

• I don’t have my kitchen and my things to enjoy cooking a nice meal.

• There isn’t any place to go hiking or just chill outdoors.

• Everything costs a fortune (Manhattan is expensive!)

• Everyone is rude – I don’t care what the reason is, but people here are rude for the most part.

Call it the New York Attitude, I call it being a jerk – and nobody trust anyone.

iPhone iDiots

This pretty much sums up what I think about people that have to have a new iPhone (or any new product) on release day.....