ehowton: (Default)
ehowton ([personal profile] ehowton) wrote2007-10-26 02:45 am
Entry tags:

Whirlwind


The scheduled repairs from the outcome of our 2-month builder's interview was scheduled for Wednesday and my wife asked that I take the day off so she wouldn't have to be in the house alone with what turned out to be a team of tile guys, an electrician, and a plumber. I sat here, where I am sitting now, for 12-hours trying to keep up with the suddenly demanding schedule at work. I deployed a new software system to all our production boxes via a perl script. That is, except the boxes I didn't have accounts on. Or expired passwords. That evening stuffed 2500 envelopes with a team of 10-people at the liquor store to prepare for mass mailing to all registered voters who didn't sign the prohibition petition. Politically, this thing is getting way out of hand. More information comes to the surface every day about what types of people we're dealing with. Funny how dirty people will play all the while playing their 'morality' card. These people are as filthy as any I've ever seen, and I can't help but think how had they kept their religious aspirations to themselves, they might never have been caught. We worked late into the night, then I had to finish another project at work, so I logged in and didn't get to bed until 0100.

0700 came awfully early. I had to go to a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new liquor store which recently opened its doors, hosted by the co-founder of http://annaalcoholrepeal.com , the prohibitionists. Awfully humorous. Pulled into work and these two assholes (see previous post) parked on the center line, taking up two parking spots each, to not dent their cars (I assume). With nowhere else to go, and filled with righteous anger as this was the third day in a row, I pulled my vehicle right between them, then reported them to security. Lots still to do at work, so my boss buys me a Monster to keep going. I am Popeye, and those are my cans of spinach. Seriously. I wound up to about a thousand degrees Kelvin and unleashed fury on my workstation. I was all set to leave as soon as I got a chance, but that chance never came. More things piled up. They always do. I left at 1800 with the promise of not having to come in Friday if I finished a new script and deployed to all the development boxes for testing.

Now, a word about my son's teacher. I love that teachers are now online. I can email them. I love emailing them. Its so...easy. First, a little something about me. I'm a literal person. Very literal person. A couple weeks ago, we rec'd a sheet of paper explaining that we would pick "someone famous" (from a pre-approved list of famous people) for our son to portray at the Living Museum they would be hosting at the school. Also, the parents would be asked to assist with the costume. No problem. A week later, we received a note telling us that our son was going to be Neil Armstrong from the list of three potentials we'd chosen. Very exciting. A week later, we get a note instructing us to have our son's costume ready by the end of the week.

Excuse me?

I fired off another email, and she graciously played back every thing I just told you, reminding me that I had three weeks to prepare for this.

Bullshit. We found out only two weeks ago which character he was to portray, and in my small, literal mind, "assisting with the costume" does not translate into creating it from conception to production. My wife was livid! She thought we might be able to make a "jumpsuit" from his navy blue sweat pants & shirt, if I could find a NASA patch. Brilliant idea! Unfortunately, finding an online store which both HAD the NASA seal patch, AND offered overnight delivery was an unsuccessful waste of time. Back to the drawing board. With two days to go, she pulls out his Stormtrooper costume, and I root around some unpacked boxes for my old military patches, rank, etc. A little magic sizing & safety pins later, we have what I am quite sure will be a passable character costume, and it far surpasses his teachers suggestion of "wrapping his arms with trashbags." O. M. G.



I had some dinner, played with the kids, read to them, put them to bed, and started coding. At 0100, I lost my VPN session. Support says, "Sir, you're not having an outage - you're just not getting a signal. I'll get a tech out there tomorrow for you." Its not an outage. IF I HAVE NO INTERNET ACCESS, ITS AN OUTAGE! She wants to send a tech out. I explain to her that there are always interruptions in service between midnight and 0700, and I'm 100% positive it will magically start working sometime in the next six hours despite her protestations that its 'not an outage.'

By the time I finish this entry, it's back up.

I hate people.

I really do.

At least I got my script finished and pushed. I'm going to go grab four hours of sleep before my boys recitation of his script. I told him I'd be there.

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 08:11 am (UTC)(link)
You should get DSL it doesn't go out like a cable modem!!!!

Your boy looks good in his costume!!!

[identity profile] celtmanx.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
On, second thought the Storm Trooper helmet would look cool on him!!!


These aren't the droids he's looking for!!!!

[identity profile] lehah.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 11:23 am (UTC)(link)
I take it the teacher is completely goddamn batshit?

[identity profile] codekitten.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 12:26 pm (UTC)(link)
nice work on the costume!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 01:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm holding out for FIOS. DSL forces you to have a home phone, which I don;t require, plus all taxes associated with landline fees. No thank you.

Thanks, he did great at school. All the kids looked really good!

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 01:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes sir, I'm beginning to believe that might be the case.

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 01:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you ma'am. And I'm glad we went to the trouble - all the kids in class looked great.

[identity profile] snapper521.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Mr. Stress was kicking in. :-P You did fine on his costume and I am sure that either way, he would still love you just as much as before it happened that you needed to come up with a costume in the first place.

Grr... my fingers refuse to type what I want them to. I am thinking one thing, and then they type something else, something which generally has something to do with what I am thinking, but it isnt' the specific word. :-P

Anyway...

Catch you later

(P.S. You should be proud of me, I'm learning to function on a standard key board! :-P Wow eh?)

[identity profile] snapper521.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 03:20 pm (UTC)(link)
That is very possible. :-P

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm learning to function on a standard key board!
Pray tell, what were you using?

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
It was a direct descendent of beacons on hills, indian smoke signals, and semaphore towers.

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 09:22 pm (UTC)(link)
completely goddamn batshit
I'm stealing that phrase.

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-10-26 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Do we need any further proof then his teachers suggestion of "wrapping his arms with trashbags."

And you thought I was insane!

Eric: key board

[identity profile] snapper521.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
An economic/carpal tunnel prevention key board. One which allows me to spread my hands out and not cramp my wrists up.

On the economic keys I can type about twice as fast as most people on a standard (from what I've been able to tell)

Re: Eric: key board

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
You and I are talking two different languages here. It's a QWERTY keyboard though, right?

I have six different "standard" keyboards I use in a given week, they all look different, but they're all still QWERTY. I thought you were talking about the alphabetic keyboard or some other oddity.

Its all good.

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
You and she might get along well. You guys could sit and infer things to each other all day.

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, David, that's a Star Trek Communicator on him.

Re: Eric: key board

[identity profile] snapper521.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
Yes it is "quirty" but the economical key board, is split in half so you have one hand on half the keys and the other hand on the other half.

Dude... I only knew about two different kinds... :-P Your kinda weird. Ya know?

Re: Eric: key board

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
Yes it is "quirty" but...
The QWERTY keyboard gets its name from the first six letters on the top left, above the home keys. The "Q" key, followed by the "W" key, the "E" key, the "R" key, the "T" key, and lastly, the "Y" key. "QWERTY." And its almost always all capitalized, as an accurate representation of the keys.

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
Fuck off.

Re: Eric: key board

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
The word is egronomical, not economical. This isn't a cheap dispensable keyboard, it's the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort. Also called biotechnology, human engineering, human factors engineering.

Re: Eric: key board

[identity profile] schpydurx.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 06:16 am (UTC)(link)
d00d,

no disrespect to anyone here, but think about who you're talking to. Do you really think that [livejournal.com profile] snapper521 would have a Dvork board? Hell, I've never actually seen one, much less use one.

Re: Eric: key board

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually, your reply was quite condescending to her.

Either way, I do know someone who's been looking to purchase the "ABC" keyboard for a particularly specific reason. These aren't nearly as uncommon as the Dvork's are: http://abckeyboard.co.uk/

[identity profile] ehowton.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 01:55 pm (UTC)(link)
How very direct of you, sir! Bravo!

[identity profile] galinda822.livejournal.com 2007-10-27 02:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It turned out GREAT!!!!! Your wife is fantastically creative.
Does "G" know how to pose or what?! :)

BTW...magic sizing is the coolest.. I use it all the time to hem my pants. It's better than the packing tape I had to use at work that time...remember that?

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