I Can Haz Downtime?

Hard, Cold February

This February has been pretty hard on me. I spent the first 9 days of it in NJ, working on Engine Yard's ey03 cluster. I was actually there for 14 days total as the trip started in January. While I was there my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. Brain cancer is terminal. The best thing the doctor's can do is to reduce the size of the tumors with radiation and chemotherapy. That just buys her time. When I came home, my wife was sick with some nasty virus. I didn't even give her a kiss. But I still got the bug. And as of 2/17, I'm still a little sick. Even started loosing my voice today. If being sick doesn't interfere with it I have a fine needle aspiration test to undergo on Tuesday to determine if my thyroid's cold nodule is cancerous or not. As the doctor said, "All cancerous nodules are cold, but not all cold nodules are cancerous". It's unlikely that it's cancerous though. So here's to hoping. The whole family should also be going to Sacramento, CA on Thursday to look at houses and for me to take care of some EY business. Oh, and my roof needs to be replaced thanks to crappy MO weather. Icing, cake.

I work at Engine Yard Inc.

There. I said it. :-) It's out there for the world to know. I took a job there last year after doing some consulting work for them. Aside from the very long hours (startup and all) it's been a giant mix of fun, stress, entertainment & interesting . Pretty much everyone who works there has a clue technology wise.

Thoughts about Dan

I haven't had the heart to write anything about the death of my friend Dan. So I've decided to just occasionally write down some "Thoughts about Dan".
  • Dan Feather was my best friend. I didn't really realize that until after he died. After family members he was the person that I talked to most, shared my thoughts with most, spent the most time with, etc.
More, later I ... well can't write anymore now.

My Security Scale

I've been doing a bunch of work on some systems for The U.S. House of Representatives and their security measures are a pretty stringent. So I finally wanted to write down my security scale. My scale carries a 1 to 100 rating. The lower the number the less secure the system is. At this point I only have two ratings on which to go by: 1 = A newly installed system plugged into the internet, without a firewall in front of it, running the original version of Windows XP. 100 = Any system, unplugged, powered off, locked in a lead lined safe, which is then buried inside of a 1,000,000 cu ft of reinforced cement and everyone who worked on the safe, the system and the burial executed. Where does your system stand?

The week in review

  • I got's myself an iPhone. It's not all it's hyped up to be, but it works better than any phone I've ever used. Plus it's a pretty nice iPod. And it's very, very usable for email, unlike my last phone (Palm Treo 650).
  • I saw the Bourne Ultimatum. Pretty good, not great, but pretty good.
  • I tuned up my motorcycle with TuneBoy. I haven't had a chance to put on my Off Road silencer yet though. The new tune has made a noticeable difference in the engine performance. Gone is the 'dead' area between 5K and 7K rpms. The throttle is almost completely linear now. It handles much nicer, and it was nice to begin with.
  • I'm going to help a Baboon tomorrow pick up his motorcycle.
  • I also fixed the comment forms and perma links on the site.

Attack of the Vicious Meme

The Vicious Meme was shot at me by the Atomic Baboon. It's hard to avoid something when a nuclear powered Baboon shoots it at you. I mean, what are you going to do duck? The initial blast alone incinerates everything within a 50 mile radius. Not having a bunker like the Baboon, I was powerless to escape. So here it is:

  • I do not see silent black helicopters, but I know they exist. They are not what conspiracy theorists believe they are. No, Mr. Baboon. No, Mr. Drinker. You are wrong. Sadly, I cannot tell you who operates them or for what purpose. That information would cause everyone who reads this to be killed within minutes of reading it. My conscience could not bear that.

  • I was captured by the police. I was taken "downtown". I was charged with "Eluding an Officer". I had in fact pulled over, was passed by the police car, waited a few minutes, got gas at the gas station I had pulled over in front of, got back in the car and continued down the block, towards the police station, before being pulled over by no less than 4 cop cars, 4 blocks from the police station.

  • Gay black men used to try and pick me up in clubs.

  • I have 2 kids now and understand why some parents snap and beat their children. Not that I would, I just understand. And yes, people that do need therapy and some jail time.

  • I've often wondered: How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?

  • I voted for G. W. Bush once.

  • I am scared for my kids and their future. The world is spiraling out of control. Extremism, Religion and Belief are to blame IMO.

  • I miss my friends Charlie Zamloot, Jesse Harden & Jim Jewett. I sometimes cry about it when I'm alone. Charlie was one of the best computer people I've known, he died too young. Jesse was even younger, a marine and survived a tour in Iraq. Only to be killed in a car wreck by someone on crack running from the police. Jim was a crotchety old man, but didn't deserve to die with a brain tumor. I miss you all and want you back.