I'd taken a nearly month-long hiatus from running partially to concentrate on getting the bedroom renovations done, but also because I was having issues with the arch of my left foot. After a particularly trying week littered with frustration-venting runs I developed a fairly sharp pain in my left arch, closer to the heel.
Through the rest of the day, it got a little worse and now I'm sitting with one sock on, icing the arch of my foot.
Any idea what the deal with this is? Any suggestions for treatment/prevention? Maybe it's time to get fitted for a good pair of running shoes.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Joe: 1, Comcast: 0
The Attic antenna has been wired and is currently propped up against the beams supporting my roof. It's a little ghetto right now, but I think it'll be much better as soon as I get a decent antenna mast mount installed (I picked one up from Fry's on the way home tonight, but it was missing bits and pieces, so I'll have to exchange it sometime soon).
After wiring it up, I scanned for channels on my Media PC and picked up pretty much all the channels I was hoping to get :) I might have to upgrade the Media PC to smooth out the video on the HD channels, but it's looking pretty good.
Next time I venture into the attic though, I'm definitely wearing a mask - 20 minutes later I'm still coughing from the crap I inhaled.
After wiring it up, I scanned for channels on my Media PC and picked up pretty much all the channels I was hoping to get :) I might have to upgrade the Media PC to smooth out the video on the HD channels, but it's looking pretty good.
Next time I venture into the attic though, I'm definitely wearing a mask - 20 minutes later I'm still coughing from the crap I inhaled.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Done!
The second bedroom is done! I finished nailing , caulking and filling the nail holes last night and painted early this afternoon. After clearing all the crap out, I vacuumed and then used my sister's carpet steamer to clean the floor. It's looking pretty good. Next I've got to clean up the huuuge mess that's accrued since I started this home renovation stuff.
In addition to the completion of the 2nd bedroom, today also marked the first day that I've turned on the heat. It was brought to my attention yesterday by my sister that my house was ass-freezing cold. I guess I hadn't noticed having spent a couple winters at 216 Willow, where the temperature regularly dropped into the low/mid 50's inside the house.
The heat was running throughout today, but I've turned it off for now. Around dinner time, I started feeling a bit of a headache, but attributed it to either dehydration or low blood sugar (I got caught up in working on stuff and kind of skipped lunch). After a bunch of water, some food and a coke (I kind of suspected caffeine withdrawal too) the headache hasn't gone away. Concerned that it might be caused by my heater dumping carbon monoxide into my house, I turned off the heater for now. I'll probably run out to Target or something tomorrow and grab a carbon monoxide detector before I fire up the heat again.
Until then, I'll be the dude wearing a scarf and jacket inside his house (playing guitar hero iii if this headache goes away :)
In addition to the completion of the 2nd bedroom, today also marked the first day that I've turned on the heat. It was brought to my attention yesterday by my sister that my house was ass-freezing cold. I guess I hadn't noticed having spent a couple winters at 216 Willow, where the temperature regularly dropped into the low/mid 50's inside the house.
The heat was running throughout today, but I've turned it off for now. Around dinner time, I started feeling a bit of a headache, but attributed it to either dehydration or low blood sugar (I got caught up in working on stuff and kind of skipped lunch). After a bunch of water, some food and a coke (I kind of suspected caffeine withdrawal too) the headache hasn't gone away. Concerned that it might be caused by my heater dumping carbon monoxide into my house, I turned off the heater for now. I'll probably run out to Target or something tomorrow and grab a carbon monoxide detector before I fire up the heat again.
Until then, I'll be the dude wearing a scarf and jacket inside his house (playing guitar hero iii if this headache goes away :)
fearless
The baseboards in the second bedroom are pretty much done now. All that's left is to paint the nail holes that I've already filled with spackel. It's probably a good thing that they're done b/c I think I've lost my fearful respect for my 10" compound miter saw.
When I first started using the $50( $25 after applying a $25 gift card) miter saw I bought from Amazon.com, I was absolutely terrified of it. For my first couple cuts, I had the 2x4's clamped down on both ends, I'd dug out a pair of ear plugs, was wearing long sleeves, leather shoes, work gloves, a ventilation mask and safety glasses- pretty much everything they recommend in the owner's manual - and I was still scared shitless as the 10 inches of carbide tipped saw blade spun up to it's unloaded angular velocity of ~5200 RPM while emitting a deafening high-pitched scream (the saw was making the screaming noise - not me). I think I was mostly afraid that the blade was come loose and dismember me as I crouched over the cutting arm (for $50, I thought it was very plausible).
This morning, as I was making my final cuts to complete the baseboard installation in the 2nd bedroom, I distinctly remember one point when I was making a 45° cut on a piece of baseboard that was about 4" long that I wanted closer to 2". Since it was too small to clamp down with the built in clamp, I was holding it against the guard by hand and since my work gloves were a little too baggy and I didn't want my hand to slip, I was doing it bare handed. As I was finishing the cut, the piece that had just been liberated caught the spinning blade, bounced off of the guard, whizzed within a few inches of my right temple and bounced off of the wall about 8-10 feet behind me. I thought to myself at this point that the safety glasses were probably a good idea.
There were also a couple times where I'd left my safety glasses somewhere, but was too lazy to find them, so I'd clamp down my piece and simply look away while I made the cut. Thinking about this now, I could totally see myself losing fingers/appendages if I continue to do this stuff.
My work with the Dremel isn't much better. Instead of wearing the ventilation mask, I've started holding my breath and rushing my cuts - taking a breath when I finished my first cuts and needed to turn the piece over then repeating the procedure for the next cuts.
Definitely not the smartest things I've ever done.
When I first started using the $50( $25 after applying a $25 gift card) miter saw I bought from Amazon.com, I was absolutely terrified of it. For my first couple cuts, I had the 2x4's clamped down on both ends, I'd dug out a pair of ear plugs, was wearing long sleeves, leather shoes, work gloves, a ventilation mask and safety glasses- pretty much everything they recommend in the owner's manual - and I was still scared shitless as the 10 inches of carbide tipped saw blade spun up to it's unloaded angular velocity of ~5200 RPM while emitting a deafening high-pitched scream (the saw was making the screaming noise - not me). I think I was mostly afraid that the blade was come loose and dismember me as I crouched over the cutting arm (for $50, I thought it was very plausible).
This morning, as I was making my final cuts to complete the baseboard installation in the 2nd bedroom, I distinctly remember one point when I was making a 45° cut on a piece of baseboard that was about 4" long that I wanted closer to 2". Since it was too small to clamp down with the built in clamp, I was holding it against the guard by hand and since my work gloves were a little too baggy and I didn't want my hand to slip, I was doing it bare handed. As I was finishing the cut, the piece that had just been liberated caught the spinning blade, bounced off of the guard, whizzed within a few inches of my right temple and bounced off of the wall about 8-10 feet behind me. I thought to myself at this point that the safety glasses were probably a good idea.
There were also a couple times where I'd left my safety glasses somewhere, but was too lazy to find them, so I'd clamp down my piece and simply look away while I made the cut. Thinking about this now, I could totally see myself losing fingers/appendages if I continue to do this stuff.
My work with the Dremel isn't much better. Instead of wearing the ventilation mask, I've started holding my breath and rushing my cuts - taking a breath when I finished my first cuts and needed to turn the piece over then repeating the procedure for the next cuts.
Definitely not the smartest things I've ever done.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
All sorts of productive!
I was productive today.
The day started with my attempts to do touch up work on yesterday's paint job in the 2nd bedroom. After about 45 minutes of that, I decided it would take less time to simply put a second coat of paint on all of the walls than to scour them at close range with loaded brush in hand. I needed more paint (among other things), so I made a trip out to Home Depot and swung by Carl's Jr. for a quick lunch.
Upon my return, I helped Gladys move some stuff into the house, ate my lunch and painted the 2nd bedroom for the 2nd time. 2.5 hours later, the room looked much less splotchy. When I first started painting, I thought I'd made a huge mistake choosing the color I did ("water spout" by Behr), but now that it's done, it looks ok. Maybe a little strange and I'll probably want to paint it another color in a couple years, but it's not too bad. Even if it does suck, it's going to be Gladys' room anyway :)
The walls still needed to dry before I could install some lighting, so I went out and put my final coat of high-gloss ultra bright white on the baseboards. They're now ready to be cut and nailed in.
After the baseboard painting was done, I reworked and installed the track lighting that is being used as a vanity light (I chose the track lighting b/c the power was coming out of a GAPING hole on the far right side of the wall. The hole has been made much smaller and now the connector supplying power to the tracks and the connector's decorative housing covers the hole.
Next came installing the new faucet and drain assembly in the sink in my bedroom. That took a little time b/c I'd never done it before and had to sift through directions that were a little out of date (they replaced a couple of the parts listed in the directions with parts that combined functions of multiple bits/pieces). The new faucet and drain seem to be working fine. I did some testing and it appears to be leak free . . . for now.
I then took my old faucet, which is still in very good shape, but is sadly unsuitable for my morning routine and cleaned all the lime/calcium deposits off of it. It's now installed it in the 2nd bedroom sink.
I did some dishes, grabbed a quick fast-food dinner and am now prepped for bed.
Next up: installing the mirror and medicine cabinet, painting the door frame and BASEBOARDS!
I'm hoping everything will be done by the Turkey-Day weekend.
I'll try to get some pictures up in the near future.
The day started with my attempts to do touch up work on yesterday's paint job in the 2nd bedroom. After about 45 minutes of that, I decided it would take less time to simply put a second coat of paint on all of the walls than to scour them at close range with loaded brush in hand. I needed more paint (among other things), so I made a trip out to Home Depot and swung by Carl's Jr. for a quick lunch.
Upon my return, I helped Gladys move some stuff into the house, ate my lunch and painted the 2nd bedroom for the 2nd time. 2.5 hours later, the room looked much less splotchy. When I first started painting, I thought I'd made a huge mistake choosing the color I did ("water spout" by Behr), but now that it's done, it looks ok. Maybe a little strange and I'll probably want to paint it another color in a couple years, but it's not too bad. Even if it does suck, it's going to be Gladys' room anyway :)
The walls still needed to dry before I could install some lighting, so I went out and put my final coat of high-gloss ultra bright white on the baseboards. They're now ready to be cut and nailed in.
After the baseboard painting was done, I reworked and installed the track lighting that is being used as a vanity light (I chose the track lighting b/c the power was coming out of a GAPING hole on the far right side of the wall. The hole has been made much smaller and now the connector supplying power to the tracks and the connector's decorative housing covers the hole.
Next came installing the new faucet and drain assembly in the sink in my bedroom. That took a little time b/c I'd never done it before and had to sift through directions that were a little out of date (they replaced a couple of the parts listed in the directions with parts that combined functions of multiple bits/pieces). The new faucet and drain seem to be working fine. I did some testing and it appears to be leak free . . . for now.
I then took my old faucet, which is still in very good shape, but is sadly unsuitable for my morning routine and cleaned all the lime/calcium deposits off of it. It's now installed it in the 2nd bedroom sink.
I did some dishes, grabbed a quick fast-food dinner and am now prepped for bed.
Next up: installing the mirror and medicine cabinet, painting the door frame and BASEBOARDS!
I'm hoping everything will be done by the Turkey-Day weekend.
I'll try to get some pictures up in the near future.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
quick update
The bike is completely together and tuned up for riding! I just need a helmet and some spandex and I'm set to pedal my way to work! It took an hour or two to get the derailleurs shifting properly and the brakes catching the way I like them to and a few minutes to put the grip tape on so everything's in order and it actually looks a lot nicer than I expected. If I catch some decent weather over an empty weekend I think I'll scope out the trail that goes by work and into the Baylands. If you're interested, let me know! It'd probably be more fun with a bit of company.
So, after the bike was finished, I started on the Master Bedroom. Painting took one weekend for tarping, taping, painting and touching up with help from the sister. Another weekend was spent running coax to the attic/2nd bedroom, modifying and installing a pair of new light fixtures and installing a new medicine cabinet and mirror and two weekends were spent painting and then cutting/installing baseboards. Now I've just got to touch up the baseboards, paint the doors, clean the carpet and I'm ready to move back in! I think the door painting might happen this weekend if I can get my ducks in a row. Otherwise, I'll try to get a little done in the days I'm taking off next week with some help from mom and dad.
After the MBR's done, the 2nd bedroom will get the same treatment. I'll be sure to get some pics together soon (after I clean up the MBR and after I empty out the 2nd BR to get a kind of before/after effect).
Anyway, I think some sleep is in order.
So, after the bike was finished, I started on the Master Bedroom. Painting took one weekend for tarping, taping, painting and touching up with help from the sister. Another weekend was spent running coax to the attic/2nd bedroom, modifying and installing a pair of new light fixtures and installing a new medicine cabinet and mirror and two weekends were spent painting and then cutting/installing baseboards. Now I've just got to touch up the baseboards, paint the doors, clean the carpet and I'm ready to move back in! I think the door painting might happen this weekend if I can get my ducks in a row. Otherwise, I'll try to get a little done in the days I'm taking off next week with some help from mom and dad.
After the MBR's done, the 2nd bedroom will get the same treatment. I'll be sure to get some pics together soon (after I clean up the MBR and after I empty out the 2nd BR to get a kind of before/after effect).
Anyway, I think some sleep is in order.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Status Update
So after getting grip tape and tuning the derailleurs and brakes on the bike, I moved on to painting the master bedroom and installing new baseboards. There were casualties along the way - most notably the cracking of the mirror above the sink as I was yanking it off the wall. It was rea
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Bike is Done!
I finally finished putting the bike back together. It took a lot more work than I expected - mostly due to the fact that the downtube shifter kit that I bought didn't fit the mounting brackets that are welded to my bike. I ended up drilling some holes out bigger and filing down some other bits and pieces.
There's still a little that needs to be done, but it's definitely rideable right now. So, grip tape, a little bit of derailleur and brake tuning and it'll really be done!
Cost of project: ~$150 in parts, tools and paint.
There's still a little that needs to be done, but it's definitely rideable right now. So, grip tape, a little bit of derailleur and brake tuning and it'll really be done!
Cost of project: ~$150 in parts, tools and paint.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
And you thought I'd never use the axe. Ha!
Point Reyes yesterday was awesome - ~5 miles of gorgeous scenery, equally beautiful weather and excellent company. The stop at the beach was the icing on the cake (even though the water was ass-cold). With minimal elevation changes the path we took, the Laguna Trail to the Coast Trail, was not particularly strenuous, but I was still super hungry when we were done.
The hike was followed by dinner in SF at a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese place called "Cordon Bleu," which is actually run by Cantonese people. The food was excellent, promptly prepared and very cheap for the huge portions they doled out. I definitely remember nearly drooling all over myself while posing for pictures with my food.
Today, I did a bit of work on my bike (still trying to sand/dremel the old paint off before applying primer) and then there was the yard work.
Typically, I'll mow the (very small) lawn once a week and prune the roses while I'm out there. I went out this afternoon planning to simply mow the lawn and maybe bring in a couple of the many, many roses that are blooming outside, but the stump (see artist's rendering to the left) in the corner near the house caught my eye. Someone had sawed it down the tree that it used to be a while back, but left about a foot of stump remaining, which had started sprouting again.
I eventually managed to remove most of the above-ground portion of the stump with a combination of sawing by hand, sawing with my electric reciprocating saw, drilling and whacking at it with my hand axe (which, was probably the most effective). You can't tell from the picture, but it's in a very awkward position - cornered off on two sides by the house with my A/C unit and irrigation system boxing it off from the other two directions. The coolant/power cables also passed within about a foot of the top of the stump, further decreasing accessibility. Had there been more space, the reciprocating saw probably could have taken care of it alone. So after the stump was cut down more I drilled a bunch of holes into the stump in preparation for the stump killer that I plan to apply. I think more than anything else, I just wanted to play with power tools :)
The rest of the yard work was not nearly as entertaining - I weeded the rose beds, pruned the roses, harvested a few of the blooming roses to populate the vase and tall shot glass I have on my kitchen table and was then stabbed repeatedly by rose stems as I bagged my yard waste.
All in all, a pretty good weekend.
The hike was followed by dinner in SF at a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese place called "Cordon Bleu," which is actually run by Cantonese people. The food was excellent, promptly prepared and very cheap for the huge portions they doled out. I definitely remember nearly drooling all over myself while posing for pictures with my food.
Today, I did a bit of work on my bike (still trying to sand/dremel the old paint off before applying primer) and then there was the yard work.
Typically, I'll mow the (very small) lawn once a week and prune the roses while I'm out there. I went out this afternoon planning to simply mow the lawn and maybe bring in a couple of the many, many roses that are blooming outside, but the stump (see artist's rendering to the left) in the corner near the house caught my eye. Someone had sawed it down the tree that it used to be a while back, but left about a foot of stump remaining, which had started sprouting again.
I eventually managed to remove most of the above-ground portion of the stump with a combination of sawing by hand, sawing with my electric reciprocating saw, drilling and whacking at it with my hand axe (which, was probably the most effective). You can't tell from the picture, but it's in a very awkward position - cornered off on two sides by the house with my A/C unit and irrigation system boxing it off from the other two directions. The coolant/power cables also passed within about a foot of the top of the stump, further decreasing accessibility. Had there been more space, the reciprocating saw probably could have taken care of it alone. So after the stump was cut down more I drilled a bunch of holes into the stump in preparation for the stump killer that I plan to apply. I think more than anything else, I just wanted to play with power tools :)
The rest of the yard work was not nearly as entertaining - I weeded the rose beds, pruned the roses, harvested a few of the blooming roses to populate the vase and tall shot glass I have on my kitchen table and was then stabbed repeatedly by rose stems as I bagged my yard waste.
All in all, a pretty good weekend.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Roses!
It seems as though all the pink roses in my back yard are blooming. It's pretty neat. I cut a few to bring inside (and did a little bit of pruning before work - ie I didn't feel like going to work quite yet, so I spent 20 minutes playing in the back yard).
The three on the right are pretty with the two-toned pink, but the one on the left is ridiculously fragrant. I left these on my kitchen table today and came back this evening to the smell of roses, rather than the smell of the leather couches that typically dominates the olfactory experience of entering Joe's house.
I was thinking earlier today that I should leave the new blossoming roses outside since I'm not really home often and they might survive longer on the plant, but it's kind of nice having them inside - it's a good contrast with the random bike parts, tools and electronics that typically litter my kitchen table.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Make your own Dremel Stand!
I made a stand for my Dremel!
Stuff you need:
- 1/2" Copper Pipe
- 1/2" End cap
- 1/2" 90° Elbow
- Dowel Rod (slightly larger than the inside diameter of the pipe
- 3/16"x1 1/2" Bolted Eyelet
- Gorilla Glue
- Lamp table clamp (from old lamp)
- Saw off 5" of Dowel Rod
- Use Dremel with sanding band to work away excess on about 3" of the dowel if there's no way the dowel's going to fit. You want it to end up a little bigger than the inside of the pipe though
- Apply some Gorilla Glue to the sanded down end of the dowel and tap it into the pipe, leaving 2" hanging out at the end.
- Use the Dremel and a cutting disc to saw off a couple of inches of the other end of the copper pipe
- Using a drill and a 1/4" drill bit, drill a hole in the center of the 1/2" cap
- Bolt the Eyelet to the cap (stick it through the hole)
- Use Dremel + Cutting disc to saw off the end nub of the eyelet to make it more like a hook
- Glue the bits of piping together with Gorilla Glue
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sisyphus
I'll be performing a set of AL's requested bench tests for the THIRD time tomorrow. w00t. I'm seriously hoping this will be the last time. I tried to pull the "you'll need to talk to my manager about prioritizing my current obligations," but he hit up my dept.'s director, so I've been whored out to him again.
I need to throw fruit.
I need to throw fruit.
Off the Hook
This dude at work who sits near me is a little odd - there are a couple stories circulating about him, but the thing that really
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Book Recommendations?
I finished the The Time Traveler's Wife a few days ago and have since then burnt through the backlog of magazines that I've been ignoring and resorted to reading Brown and Vranesic's Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design in bed . . .
I think it's time for an Amazon.com book binge!!! Send me your recommendations! So far I've got The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay and Stephen King's Dark Tower box set (books 1-4).
I think it's time for an Amazon.com book binge!!! Send me your recommendations! So far I've got The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay and Stephen King's Dark Tower box set (books 1-4).
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Just Like Chewbacca
I just noticed that my legs are pretty hairy - in fact, much hairier than I remember them being. Looking at them right now, I'm not sure if it's that the hairs are longer than they were before, thus giving the illusion of higher hair density or if the actual number of hairs/in^2 has increased. Maybe it's both, or maybe I've just remembered incorrectly or am thinking of someone else's legs.
In any case, I'm on the verge of whipping out a magic marker and a ruler and counting + measuring hairs.
AAAAaaannnnd the results are in! After marking off 1 square inch of leg with a ballpoint pen and a ruler, I counted 49 hairs (including the hairs that were on the line on two of the four sides of the square). Average length was ~0.75".
So, if you catch me with my pant leg rolled up or in shorts and see a random square drawn on my right calf, you'll know why :)
We'll take another measurement in a year or so . . . if I remember to do so (might need a reminder from you guys).
In any case, I'm on the verge of whipping out a magic marker and a ruler and counting + measuring hairs.
AAAAaaannnnd the results are in! After marking off 1 square inch of leg with a ballpoint pen and a ruler, I counted 49 hairs (including the hairs that were on the line on two of the four sides of the square). Average length was ~0.75".
So, if you catch me with my pant leg rolled up or in shorts and see a random square drawn on my right calf, you'll know why :)
We'll take another measurement in a year or so . . . if I remember to do so (might need a reminder from you guys).
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Darth Vader smells like Feet
I decided at some point yesterday afternoon that today would be my Sunday Hash. Now, for those of you who never lived on the Row, Sunday Hash was not the special pot you saved for Sundays (the lord's pot?), but rather the weekly (supposedly) thorough cleaning of the Kitchen that occurred every Sunday, but featuring a new crew of cleaners each week.
Today's Sunday Hash, however, covered the entire house plus the back yard and was crewed by just me. This was kind of nice though - I didn't have to go knocking at doors of no-shows, waste time delegating tasks or deal with completely incompetent hashers. Anyway, it wasn't all that painful at all, but I think there's something wrong with my vacuum cleaner.
I inherited this vacuum cleaner from my sister when she moved into her new house (with her new vacuum). Affectionately called "Darth Vader," my vacuum is about 6 years old and I've personally rescued it from the junk heap once when Darth stopped sucking. He seems to be doing ok right now, but he smells kind of funny . . . When I started vacuuming the floors I noticed that the living room area had a faint smell of feet. I immediately figured that the rug (purchased used from a student living in Kairos) was developing/reacquiring an unpleasant odor.
When I got to the second floor, however the smell of feet came back, but then started smelling like ass. As I was finishing the first room, the smell of ass became more and more like the smell of burning ass. Darth is still maintaining sucking power so I probably won't junk him, but I should probably look into this burning ass business . . .
Anyway, time for a cold drink and some TV . . . maybe some saxophoning too.
Today's Sunday Hash, however, covered the entire house plus the back yard and was crewed by just me. This was kind of nice though - I didn't have to go knocking at doors of no-shows, waste time delegating tasks or deal with completely incompetent hashers. Anyway, it wasn't all that painful at all, but I think there's something wrong with my vacuum cleaner.
I inherited this vacuum cleaner from my sister when she moved into her new house (with her new vacuum). Affectionately called "Darth Vader," my vacuum is about 6 years old and I've personally rescued it from the junk heap once when Darth stopped sucking. He seems to be doing ok right now, but he smells kind of funny . . . When I started vacuuming the floors I noticed that the living room area had a faint smell of feet. I immediately figured that the rug (purchased used from a student living in Kairos) was developing/reacquiring an unpleasant odor.
When I got to the second floor, however the smell of feet came back, but then started smelling like ass. As I was finishing the first room, the smell of ass became more and more like the smell of burning ass. Darth is still maintaining sucking power so I probably won't junk him, but I should probably look into this burning ass business . . .
Anyway, time for a cold drink and some TV . . . maybe some saxophoning too.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Mein Computer ist kaput
About a week ago my desktop PC froze. I was surprised. This wasn't the hooptie I converted into my media PC and it wasn't the barebones laptop I picked up from Dell for $750 two years ago - this was my kicking-ass-and-taking-no-prisoners system I put together about a year ago. Back then, the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual Core processor was pretty quick - it was certainly more than I really needed for my usual computing activities. Outside of a crappy ECS motherboard that came for free with my processor, everything I put in that computer was from a reputable manufacturer.
That PC was rock solid. I once tried to freeze it by running all sorts of random clock cycle-devouring applications to no avail. If I remember correctly, I barely railed one of the processor cores.
I ran some of my own diagnostic trials and identified the Mobo as a very likely source of the problem, had Fry's give me a new mobo and processor (as per the terms of my $50 extended warranty). I hooked all the new stuff up, hit the button and the fans spun and the LEDs lit up . . . for like a second . . . then everything stopped. It didn't even post. And the power supply was making this high pitched whining sound. Even with none of the other hardware attached (disk drives, graphics card, USB ports, peripherals) it still wouldn't spin up. Nobody suspects the power supply! It's like the Spanish Inquisition or winning with an off-suit 2/7 in the pocket. When you have millions and millions of transistors that need to be working in perfect sync for those1's and 0's to actually mean anything, it's hard to suspect the power supply . . .
Anyway, I brought everything in to Fry's this morning to check out on their test bench to rule out the motherboard as the source and found that my graphics card is jacked up too somehow . . . So, I suspect my Power Supply jacked up my graphics card . . . or visa versa . . . In any case, I need a new power supply and graphics card.
Sooo, I'll need to find some new hardware and reinstall all my apps after I get all of my data off of that harddrive, but oddly enough, there's a little excitement stemming from the prospect of shopping for computer hardware :)
That PC was rock solid. I once tried to freeze it by running all sorts of random clock cycle-devouring applications to no avail. If I remember correctly, I barely railed one of the processor cores.
I ran some of my own diagnostic trials and identified the Mobo as a very likely source of the problem, had Fry's give me a new mobo and processor (as per the terms of my $50 extended warranty). I hooked all the new stuff up, hit the button and the fans spun and the LEDs lit up . . . for like a second . . . then everything stopped. It didn't even post. And the power supply was making this high pitched whining sound. Even with none of the other hardware attached (disk drives, graphics card, USB ports, peripherals) it still wouldn't spin up. Nobody suspects the power supply! It's like the Spanish Inquisition or winning with an off-suit 2/7 in the pocket. When you have millions and millions of transistors that need to be working in perfect sync for those1's and 0's to actually mean anything, it's hard to suspect the power supply . . .
Anyway, I brought everything in to Fry's this morning to check out on their test bench to rule out the motherboard as the source and found that my graphics card is jacked up too somehow . . . So, I suspect my Power Supply jacked up my graphics card . . . or visa versa . . . In any case, I need a new power supply and graphics card.
Sooo, I'll need to find some new hardware and reinstall all my apps after I get all of my data off of that harddrive, but oddly enough, there's a little excitement stemming from the prospect of shopping for computer hardware :)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
*sigh*
After delayed performance review results and a mediocre (at best) raise they're delaying the payout day for the retroactive salary adjustments until May 11. I'm kind of expecting them to delay it further - HR/Payroll here is certainly not known for meeting deadlines - self-imposed or otherwise. Actually, I think that might apply to all other facets of this company as well ;)
The SEC/Options backdating probe and the subsequent trading black-out period (also extended. . . multiple times) is still going on so we're not permitted do anything with ESPP, Stock options or RSU's (not that my options are worth anything with our stock price vacillating in the vicinity of $16 - my strike price is very nearly twice that). So, I won't be collecting any additional income from any of those . . .
Speaking of the backdating probe, there was a segment on the news about the SEC Investigations that have been plaguing tech companies which showed Erik Lie, the guy who blew the whistle on the pervasiveness of options backdating. If I ever see that ass-clown on the street, he's getting a swift kick in the balls. I realize that this is completely unfair to him, since he was lifting the veil on a lot of corporate shadiness. In this case, though, I think the old adage, "Ignorance is bliss" applies . . . unless you're Erik Lie.
The SEC/Options backdating probe and the subsequent trading black-out period (also extended. . . multiple times) is still going on so we're not permitted do anything with ESPP, Stock options or RSU's (not that my options are worth anything with our stock price vacillating in the vicinity of $16 - my strike price is very nearly twice that). So, I won't be collecting any additional income from any of those . . .
Speaking of the backdating probe, there was a segment on the news about the SEC Investigations that have been plaguing tech companies which showed Erik Lie, the guy who blew the whistle on the pervasiveness of options backdating. If I ever see that ass-clown on the street, he's getting a swift kick in the balls. I realize that this is completely unfair to him, since he was lifting the veil on a lot of corporate shadiness. In this case, though, I think the old adage, "Ignorance is bliss" applies . . . unless you're Erik Lie.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
60% Weird
According to Blogthings' "How Normal Are You?" test I'm only 40% normal . . . I guess I'm not all that surprised :)
To my 2-3 (semi-)loyal readers, how normal are you?
To my 2-3 (semi-)loyal readers, how normal are you?
You Are 40% Normal |
While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself |
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Great Mall Excursion
We really don't have any sort of dress code at work. I regularly see engineers walking around in flipflops and t-shirts, I've seen female engineers in knee-high stripper boots and Catholic schoolgirl skirts (that one always throws me off), but mostly it's asian guys with their slacks pulled up a bit too high and an unironed button down shirt. I, personally, find myself in jeans more often than not and, as a result, my jeans are pretty well weathered . . .
Recently, I found a couple of small holes developing - you know when the weave of the fabric is gone in one direction, so you have just a bunch of parallel strands of a lighter color in a spot? That's what's going on. There's one starting about where my phone sits in my front pocket, there's one on the other side where my money-clip protrudes a bit, but the one that made me decide it was time for a trip to the mall was the one in my crotch.
Now, the fact that the biggest of the three holes is developing there kind of baffles me. In the case of the holes by my pockets, those are completely understandable - each marks a stress-point that also lends itself to being rubbed accidentally on other stuff. The one in my crotch, however . . . is in my crotch. If there's any region of me that I make a conscious effort to keep from pointy objects, high pressure or blunt force impact, it's my crotch. Regarding stuff inside my pants causing a concentration of stress . . . I'm asian. 'nuff said. Plus, I spend a majority of my time surrounded by asian male engineers, so chances of being aroused at work are extremely, extremely low.
After ~3.5hrs I ended up with two pairs of jeans, a sweater and a new work shirt. I was super picky about jeans this time around - last time I ended up w/ a pair that looked decent, but the waist was a bit big (I can pull them off w/o unbuttoning anything) and they faded to this a blue that is oddly bright. This time, however, I think I did ok. One pair of Levi's 527 Low Boot Cut and a pair of Old Navy regular fits. Both are a decent length (not too long, not too short) and seem rather flattering around my child-bearing hips.
All in all, a productive and relatively painless trip to the mall, despite the crowd . . . and the fact that it was the Great Mall.
Recently, I found a couple of small holes developing - you know when the weave of the fabric is gone in one direction, so you have just a bunch of parallel strands of a lighter color in a spot? That's what's going on. There's one starting about where my phone sits in my front pocket, there's one on the other side where my money-clip protrudes a bit, but the one that made me decide it was time for a trip to the mall was the one in my crotch.
Now, the fact that the biggest of the three holes is developing there kind of baffles me. In the case of the holes by my pockets, those are completely understandable - each marks a stress-point that also lends itself to being rubbed accidentally on other stuff. The one in my crotch, however . . . is in my crotch. If there's any region of me that I make a conscious effort to keep from pointy objects, high pressure or blunt force impact, it's my crotch. Regarding stuff inside my pants causing a concentration of stress . . . I'm asian. 'nuff said. Plus, I spend a majority of my time surrounded by asian male engineers, so chances of being aroused at work are extremely, extremely low.
After ~3.5hrs I ended up with two pairs of jeans, a sweater and a new work shirt. I was super picky about jeans this time around - last time I ended up w/ a pair that looked decent, but the waist was a bit big (I can pull them off w/o unbuttoning anything) and they faded to this a blue that is oddly bright. This time, however, I think I did ok. One pair of Levi's 527 Low Boot Cut and a pair of Old Navy regular fits. Both are a decent length (not too long, not too short) and seem rather flattering around my child-bearing hips.
All in all, a productive and relatively painless trip to the mall, despite the crowd . . . and the fact that it was the Great Mall.
Labels:
Child-bearing,
crotch,
knee-high stripper boots,
unbuttoning
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Chopz of STEEL
I used to saxophone pretty much every day back in high school. On top of daily concert band at school, I had lessons on Mondays, Jazz band and Wash U Wind Ensemble rehearsals on Tuesdays, A second Wash U rehearsal on Thursdays and concerts/performances, solo/ensemble festivals, auditions and spot gigs with other groups spread out through the year. College was definitely less intense from a saxophoning standpoint, but I still crammed in a lot of playing over my 4 yrs.
Following graduation, after work consumed my life (and my will to live . . . ;) I've hardly played at all . . . until today.
Today marks the rebirth of a happier, more fulfilled, more saxophonic Joe. A couple days back I contacted the director of the Foothill College Symphonic Winds too see if I could join their band and it looks like I'll be rehearsing with them starting this coming Wednesday. I can honestly say that I haven't been as excited about anything for quite a while. It's going to be awesome. On top of getting to play again, I'll be leaving work every Wednesday earlier than usual to make the 7:30 rehearsals in Palo Alto.
In preparation for my return to the musical world I spent about an hour practicing after I got home from work tonight. It was kind of sad. My action's all uneven and my tone quality on sustained notes is pretty shitty, but I'm too busy being stoked about playing again to worry about it. My plan is to spend an hour practicing every day after work - spending a lot of time with long, quiet, low notes to fast-track the rebuilding my Chopz of STEEL, a bit of time working on technical facility and overall evenness of action with old etudes, and then some sight reading - both on saxophone and Guitar Hero (that shit works . . . for reals . . . no, seriously).
It's going to be awesome.
Following graduation, after work consumed my life (and my will to live . . . ;) I've hardly played at all . . . until today.
Today marks the rebirth of a happier, more fulfilled, more saxophonic Joe. A couple days back I contacted the director of the Foothill College Symphonic Winds too see if I could join their band and it looks like I'll be rehearsing with them starting this coming Wednesday. I can honestly say that I haven't been as excited about anything for quite a while. It's going to be awesome. On top of getting to play again, I'll be leaving work every Wednesday earlier than usual to make the 7:30 rehearsals in Palo Alto.
In preparation for my return to the musical world I spent about an hour practicing after I got home from work tonight. It was kind of sad. My action's all uneven and my tone quality on sustained notes is pretty shitty, but I'm too busy being stoked about playing again to worry about it. My plan is to spend an hour practicing every day after work - spending a lot of time with long, quiet, low notes to fast-track the rebuilding my Chopz of STEEL, a bit of time working on technical facility and overall evenness of action with old etudes, and then some sight reading - both on saxophone and Guitar Hero (that shit works . . . for reals . . . no, seriously).
It's going to be awesome.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Quality of Build
Now that I have a house I think it might be time to start buying nicer furniture. My room is almost entirely furnished by cheap and free stuff from craigslist and crap I picked up from Ikea (often from the as-is section). While this seemed like a good way to save some cash at the time, in retrospect, the amount of time/money I've spent fixing/refinishing this stuff probably isn't worth it.
Example a: Dresser
Late one evening, shortly after moving into our Menlo Park house, I stumbled across a craigslist post advertising a free dresser. I hauled-ass out to Redwood city and somehow managed to fit the entire thing into the back of my hatchback unassisted while sustaining only minor injuries to myself and my car.
3 months and ~$120 in hardware, cleaners, varnish-strippers,, sand paper and paint later, I had a crappy dresser . . . with a pretty nice coat of paint and expensive knobs. Last night, I spent 45 minutes gluing, clamping and nailing one of the drawers back together after sustaining heavy injuries during the move.
Example b: Mattress
Completely daunted by spending $800 on a new mattress/boxspring/frame, I picked up a used mattress from craigslist for cheap. After receiving the mattress (which came in pretty good condition from clean looking people - yes I checked out the people before buying the mattress) I couldn't bring myself to sleep on it - even after beating it with a tennis racket to get the dead skin and crap out of it and giving it a spray of Lysol.
I ended up buying an EVERYTHING-proof mattress cover (AKA bed wetter sheets/mattress condom/$45 of piece-of-mind) before I started using it. But now I have the comfort of knowing that the mattress I'm unwilling to sleep on directly will be pee-free if I wet my bed. I suspect it might shield the dust-mites enclosed from nuclear fallout.
Example c: Filing Cabinet
I got this for free from Allen after it had been sitting outside for a couple of months. After thoroughly hosing it down, it looked like it was in decent condition - minor rust damage. It served me well this past year. During the move, however, one of the tracks for the drawers was pulled out. I suspect that without the drawers in it, the track extended outside of the cabinet and experienced a force orthogonal to it's normal range of motion and was snapped out of the groove in which the rows of bearings were trapped (figure 1).
The metal tabs that prevented the track from sliding out of it's groove (and prevented me from sliding it all the way back in) had to be filed down until they were thin enough to bend with a pair of pliers. After small-ifying these tabs, snapped out portion of track slid back in with minimal effort. w00t
Next on the "Things To Fix" docket:
1.) Tilty lamp (free, originally from Ikea)
2.) Bike (free - abandoned outside of Yost, now in many, many small pieces)
3.) Headboard (built using $9 tabletop from Ikea and scrap wood - needs felt liner on back to prevent wall damage)
4.) Add Ethernet jacks to bedrooms.
Example a: Dresser
Late one evening, shortly after moving into our Menlo Park house, I stumbled across a craigslist post advertising a free dresser. I hauled-ass out to Redwood city and somehow managed to fit the entire thing into the back of my hatchback unassisted while sustaining only minor injuries to myself and my car.
3 months and ~$120 in hardware, cleaners, varnish-strippers,, sand paper and paint later, I had a crappy dresser . . . with a pretty nice coat of paint and expensive knobs. Last night, I spent 45 minutes gluing, clamping and nailing one of the drawers back together after sustaining heavy injuries during the move.
Example b: Mattress
Completely daunted by spending $800 on a new mattress/boxspring/frame, I picked up a used mattress from craigslist for cheap. After receiving the mattress (which came in pretty good condition from clean looking people - yes I checked out the people before buying the mattress) I couldn't bring myself to sleep on it - even after beating it with a tennis racket to get the dead skin and crap out of it and giving it a spray of Lysol.
I ended up buying an EVERYTHING-proof mattress cover (AKA bed wetter sheets/mattress condom/$45 of piece-of-mind) before I started using it. But now I have the comfort of knowing that the mattress I'm unwilling to sleep on directly will be pee-free if I wet my bed. I suspect it might shield the dust-mites enclosed from nuclear fallout.
Example c: Filing Cabinet
I got this for free from Allen after it had been sitting outside for a couple of months. After thoroughly hosing it down, it looked like it was in decent condition - minor rust damage. It served me well this past year. During the move, however, one of the tracks for the drawers was pulled out. I suspect that without the drawers in it, the track extended outside of the cabinet and experienced a force orthogonal to it's normal range of motion and was snapped out of the groove in which the rows of bearings were trapped (figure 1).
The metal tabs that prevented the track from sliding out of it's groove (and prevented me from sliding it all the way back in) had to be filed down until they were thin enough to bend with a pair of pliers. After small-ifying these tabs, snapped out portion of track slid back in with minimal effort. w00t
Next on the "Things To Fix" docket:
1.) Tilty lamp (free, originally from Ikea)
2.) Bike (free - abandoned outside of Yost, now in many, many small pieces)
3.) Headboard (built using $9 tabletop from Ikea and scrap wood - needs felt liner on back to prevent wall damage)
4.) Add Ethernet jacks to bedrooms.
Monday, February 26, 2007
The end is near . . .
The end of the Allen and Joe era. The end of late night conversations extending well beyond normal bedtimes. The end of cheese, crackers and the occasional glass of wine in front of the TV with Nipple - the nostril-ed stuffed horse we bought at WalMart when we were supposed to be buying BBQ supplies. The end of borrowing Allen's knock-off Gucci cuff links while he's still passed out and leaving him an IM even though I know he won't notice their absence before I bring them back.
No more running out, re-shuffling cars and running back inside to escape the rain/cold/skunks. No more sharing Allen's weird oatmeal/breakfast shake mostly to see if it really tastes as nasty as it looks. No more peeing in the back yard because Allen's taking his sweet time in the pooper but not minding because you just don't get to pee outside as much when you're grown up.
Thanks for the links, AWo.
No more running out, re-shuffling cars and running back inside to escape the rain/cold/skunks. No more sharing Allen's weird oatmeal/breakfast shake mostly to see if it really tastes as nasty as it looks. No more peeing in the back yard because Allen's taking his sweet time in the pooper but not minding because you just don't get to pee outside as much when you're grown up.
Thanks for the links, AWo.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Citibank is kind of Evil
Lured by the 5.00% APY and promise of widespread ATM access through 7-11 convenience stores, I opened both Citibank e-Savings and EZ-Checking accounts online - drawing my initial account funding from my INGDirect savings account. Long story short, they tried to pull money from my ING account, ING refused the transfer since I hadn't linked the account. Linking the account, however, required sending a >$1.00 check to INGDirect from the account I wanted to link. Since I had attempted to put money in both my checking and e-savings accounts, they used two separate transfer attempts, both of which were rejected and I was charged a $10 processing fee for each attempt. Since I didn't have any money in the account (my initial funding failed) my balance was negative, so I was assessed an overdraft fee of $30 to my checking account (only one of these, so far, but I suspect they'll do the same to my e-savings account as well). The $30 fee was waived after I talked to a "Personal Banker," but he failed to mention that my e-savings account had been "orphaned" and that I'd need to stop by again with two forms of ID to re-link my e-savings account to my checking account and my ATM card. Not exactly an auspicious beginning . . .
So, things I learned from this endeavor:
INGDirect phone support people are far superior to Citibank phone support peeps
In order to fund an account with INGDirect accounts, you need to first LINK the account and then the INGDirect phone support folks say the transfer should be kosher.
You can't link your account before you have funds in it to send your >$1.00 check with Linking instructions to ING.
Citibank is reasonable and will waive fees if there was nothing you could do about them (my overdraft fee)
There is a period of time in which you need to fund your Citi account to receive the $100 rebate (the money in the combined accounts need to be greater than the amount listed).
Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes . . .
So, things I learned from this endeavor:
INGDirect phone support people are far superior to Citibank phone support peeps
In order to fund an account with INGDirect accounts, you need to first LINK the account and then the INGDirect phone support folks say the transfer should be kosher.
You can't link your account before you have funds in it to send your >$1.00 check with Linking instructions to ING.
Citibank is reasonable and will waive fees if there was nothing you could do about them (my overdraft fee)
There is a period of time in which you need to fund your Citi account to receive the $100 rebate (the money in the combined accounts need to be greater than the amount listed).
Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes . . .
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Meebo Widget!
Tada! And to your right, you'll see my Meebo Widget. The widget will allow you to IM me directly from this page without logging into any messaging client (AIM, Yahoo, etc.).
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, January 08, 2007
I'm Freakin' Out Here!!!
Not really. I'm actually doing quite well, but my right eye is twitching like crazy. If it becomes more noticeable, maybe people will be too weirded out to ask me things at work.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
I'm not sure how I pulled this one off, but I managed to sprain my right big toe in my sleep last night. I'm not sure it's actually a sprain, but it definitely feels like one.
Everything was fine last night before I went to bed, but I woke up at ~4AM and I thought to myself, "Self, my toe is really sore!" I moved around a bit and found that if I positioned my foot in such a way that no lateral pressure was applied to the toe, I was golden. So I did that and went back to sleep.
I've currently got my foot in a tub of now tepid water under my desk. w00t.
In other news, VisionShock's Gala 2007: Interesting? But no crazy making out w/ random people at midnight (you guys probably would have guessed w/o me telling you). Still a good night though, all things considered.
Everything was fine last night before I went to bed, but I woke up at ~4AM and I thought to myself, "Self, my toe is really sore!" I moved around a bit and found that if I positioned my foot in such a way that no lateral pressure was applied to the toe, I was golden. So I did that and went back to sleep.
I've currently got my foot in a tub of now tepid water under my desk. w00t.
In other news, VisionShock's Gala 2007: Interesting? But no crazy making out w/ random people at midnight (you guys probably would have guessed w/o me telling you). Still a good night though, all things considered.
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