Flight Stats

Andrew is coming to visit this weekend and again I have turned to this handy website Flight Stats. It tells me if his flight is delayed, when it departs and when the plane touches down. The text messages it sends are a bit cryptic and the number of texts received per flight seem to vary. Other than that the site is intuitive and the service is reliable. I haven't used it for anything more than setting text alerts about incoming/departing flights but it has a lot of different functionality for the avid traveler. *** 1/2

Norton Removal Tool

I was trying to uninstall Norton Anti-virus from a Window's Vista laptop. I went through the normal add/remove programs and guess what...it didn't work! When I clicked on the uninstall it ran fine, looked like it was doing its job. I was about to find out that the uninstall doesn't work quite right. Apparently it leaves some pieces of the program behind. One of those pieces has something to do with the way the browser accesses the internet, I think something to do with the DNS, but not quite sure.

With the uninstall complete I couldn't access the internet using the browser. I could ping a site but that's about it. After getting over my initial frustration I did a bit of research and found the Norton Removal Tool. I downloaded it, ran it, and success! Everything seems to be working great. ****

Hunan Garden, Palo Alto

This place is great! The seating is indoor/outdoor. It has these great fish tanks built right into the walls on one side and the other is a big window that looks out to the peaceful garden. It is all very serene with just enough energy to make it feel like you should be having fun. The wait so far has been non existent, the service is friendly and efficient without being to pushy. The drinks here are great and very strong and a great price. The food is good too! I especially enjoy the Orange Chicken. If your looking for a place in Palo Alto to relax with some great food all for a decent price this is the place. ****

HDMI Cables

It was suggested to me to buy HDMI Cables from MonoPrice apparently they have great deals and sale quality products.

Misinformed

Ladies and Gentlemen we are in the information age. The era of current events not easily and freely accessible is behind us. That being said you have to ask yourself, why are so many people so poorly informed? Or maybe a better way to say it is misinformed. Why do people know more about the latest fall fashion, what is going on with Britney Spears, or who's winning the latest reality TV show contest than who the leading presidential candidates are. Are you one of these people? Why is that?

My generation is often called self absorbed and not in tune with the realities of the world. Is it true? Based on what I have seen and heard I am starting to believe it is. Why is it that so many are not taking it upon themselves to turn off MTV, pick up a book or read the news? I have heard reasons such as I'm to busy, I'm to tired and just want something simple, I don't like to read, and the best one is I don't care.

These reasons are absurd and inexcusable. Please care about what is going on! Please take a moment to figure out what decisions are being made that affect you. Those of you that are from my generation, lets prove the critics wrong. If you know about Britney, Paris, Kim Kardashian but can't tell me anything about the war, politics, or any current events maybe it's time you re-evaluate the way you spend your time. If you don't then they are controlling what you see, hear and believe.

Driving Idiots

You can say that I spend or have spent a good amount of time driving in the last couple of years. I drive back and forth across Cali all the time. For most people the trip from LA to SF is a vacation or a journey they look forward to for months. Well I am lucky enough to enjoy the drive about twice a month on average. I consider myself a pretty good driver with a decent amount of common sense. This being said I have decided to write down some of the idiotic things I see some drivers doing on the road. I know everyone thinks they are a good driver but most people aren't so if you find yourself doing some of these things wake up and drive right or just get off the road.

• Number 1: Do not drive 65 on the left lane of a two lane road. Shit for that matter don't drive 75 on the left lane of any road that has more than one lane in California. Now if you decide to drive that fast on the left hand side and someone comes up behind you, MOVE! No, it's not them that is an idiot for trying to pass you and no they are not testing your ego. This is a test of your common sense and your ability to realize your the dumb ass for being in that lane. So next time someone comes up behind you and your on the left hand lane just move. If your in the SLOW lane then go as slow as you want but the fast lane is reserved for fast drivers not people who want to prove how cool they are by going the speed limit.

• Number 2: If you are one of those fast drivers and your all aggressive good for you as long as you don't get off by trying to intimidate people on the road. Let me remind you of something. If you had any common sense you would look beyond the car in front of you. Tailgating me when there is a line of traffic in front of me will not make the car in front of me go any faster! Look around and realize that there is no where for me to go so back the F***k off. You again just look like an idiot, even if you think your cool. Believe me your not.
  Oh and this goes for you morons that decide that weaving in and out of traffic is a good idea because after you cut off ten people and change lanes six times your only two car links ahead of me. That's about 6 seconds ahead of me. Again your not cool just stupid.

• Number 3: You know those things they call mirrors. Usually you have about three of them in your car. Well they are there for a reason. No it's not to check out how cool you look, they're there to know what's going on around you. So you slow ass drivers that decide to go the speed limit use those mirrors. If your on a road and there is a line of cars behind you and no one in front of you it says something. That's right you're an idiot. So either step on the gas or if your afraid to go faster that's cool. They thought of people like you when they invented turn-outs. A turn-out is used to pull out of traffic and let people go by you, use them! Again if you think it's challenging your ego or you are cool by slowing people up, your not! Your just stupid!

• Number 4: OH this one is great! I see these people that turn on there blinkers to go around bends in the road. Let me tell you something, if the road bends (if your one of these people you don't know what a bend in the road is) we all know your going the direction of the bend. You don't have to turn your blinker on telling me your going right because let me let you in on something, we all know your going that direction. There isn't another way to go!

• Number 5: Whatever you do please don't cut off or tailgate a big rig. Please don't! I mean come on do you not notice that they are about 100 times bigger than you are and the driver can't see your dumb ass tail gating them and they really don't care! I mean yes in some respects they are stupid too but believe me if you cut them off and mess up they're going to win. So again your not impressing anyone by doing this, your only reminding the rest of us how stupid you are!

• Number 6: Again back to the blinkers. You have all been behind the person that never turns off their blinker. Are you one of these people? I mean come on now! Your blinker is on, that means something is blinking on your gauges and making a click sound. There should be another measure like a hand that comes out of the steering wheel and slaps you and says hey moron turn off your blinker! I mean if you follow someone and they have there blinker on for a mile that means they haven't looked down at there gauges in that long. So they aren't looking at there gauges, there rear views or the traffic beyond the car in front of them! But I am willing to bet they are cruising along music blaring, sun glasses on their new Iphone on their ear thinking they are cool and everyone else is stupid. Little do they know that to the rest of us they're or you're just an idiot.

Lol, I wish you could hear me laughing as I right this. I think that part of it is because I'm surrounded by so many people that have no common sense or think they are to important for there own good. Let me leave you with one more brief example of what stupidity gets you.

We were in LA the land of great drivers and I know this is shocking but there was traffic. One, two three cop cars pass, now some fire fighters. Yay! We cheer because we hope they can pull the wreckage and carnage off the road so we can get by. Well as we get closer we see what happened. There is a car that took out four others and is up on an embankment. Some driver that I won't get into detail about race or ethnicity is standing there pointing at the freeway signs. After some common sense and logic (which many many people are missing) we figured out that the driver didn't see the sign to the transition. This could be because they couldn't they were vertically visioned impaired. So they just pulled the wheel to the right in a panic. Voiding all the rules of traffic so they (cause they're cool) could get on the friggin other freeway. Let me tell you I want to go into detail but she wiped out 5 cars and delayed about 10000 people from getting where they need to be. Just because that one person thought they were smarter or more important. Really again she was just an idiot!

In conclusion, don't be an idiot, don't think your ego is tested, and wake up and look around. Driving is serious business where your stupidity can kill people including your cool self. As I see more I'm going to try to keep adding on to this.

Good luck out there!

Change in Career

There comes a time in life when things just don't feel like they are quite right. Winter was ending and another year at my previous job was coming to an end. "What am I doing here?" was constantly on my mind. I was a medical consultant attending meeting after meeting with Doctors and such, trying to explain how their practice was going to change once this new system was brought implemented. My day was filled with chatters about what the boss is doing and questions like "did you here that someone got promoted that didn't deserve it?" or "did you hear they're hooking up and did you hear about this and that". Every move I made felt like it needed to be calculated to ensure I would progress and get my job done. Let’s not forget the most daunting question of all "why do I have so many bosses?” and "why does it take two weeks and seven peoples approval to get a bathroom key?". To make a long story short it just wasn't the place or the job for me. What was I supposed to be doing? Was I destined to be a cop, LAPD thought so, was the medical industry for me, some bosses thought so, was LA the right place for me, some people thought so. But what really was my next destination?

Riiiinnngg alarm is going off and another day of the same was waiting ahead. Everything felt the same except it wasn't! Something was different! I knew what I wanted and needed. I knew that something was going to change. I was going to do that next thing today. I got on the phone and called up Z. "I think that it's time I take you up on that offer to pass my resume along".

Really? Cool, send it over and I'll pass it along. Don't worry everything is going to be great.

So a couple weeks later I found myself in Santa Cruz in a conference room interviewing to be a Software Engineer. I was excited and nervous about starting a new career. I thought that I knew what it was going to be like. I thought cool, Software is challenging and it's something that I went to school for and enjoyed. The hours are pretty flexible and the work seems relaxed, so I was told from my friends in the field.

A couple of weeks later I was packed and moving back to Santa Cruz. I was leaving everything that I thought I miss and many things that I knew I would miss again. I left so many things behind that I wish I could stuff into my car and take with me. For better or worse the decision was made and off I went to be an engineer. The doctors would have to fair without me, and besides what the hell did I know about running a clinic?

I was moved in and ready to start my life as an Engineer. There were so many things going through my head but some that stay with me are what does it entail? Can I do it? I don't know shit about programming, two computer screens oh man I am a nerd, I remember pointers "right?", Visual Studio, Classes, PHP, SQL, C++, MFC, ATL, HTTP, Headers, JavaScript, The DOM, member functions, variables, code depot's (is that like home depot?), there were things I had never heard of or had heard of and just skipped that page in the book back in college. Overwhelming was an understatement. I went from ya that's right I'm going to be writing code to thinking what the hell is all this stuff. Humbled is an understatement.

Its ok dude you’re going to be fine and don't worry. Those where the words of my friend and mentor. Don't worry! Are you kidding? Those are some easy words coming from someone who is damn good at his field. I remember asking Z, "What is a class again?”. The expression on his face said it all, I think it was something to the effect of "I recommended this guy?". However his verbal response was something like "Don't worry man, It's going to be alright".

Here I am four months into my new career. Far away are the thoughts of making pretty graphs and trying to explain for the tenth time to a doctor that left click means the little button on the left side of the mouse. Gone are the days that before work I had to put on a mask to play the political game or waiting a month to get a bathroom key. For those of you that work in a big company, you know what I'm talking about.

Engineering has brought me back to what I enjoy, solving problems. Stuff like a servers communication with it's clients are still somewhat a mystery but now I know how to write a line of code that can do it for me. COM, DOJO, AJAX sometimes still feels like I'm talking about ninja's and cleaning the bathroom. Sometimes spending hours trying to figure out why my mouse turns into a hand about on millimeter from the damn button feels pointless. Other times it's such a challenge that I want to get up and walk away without looking back but when you solve something it's a great feeling. It's still overwhelming and the hours can be long. The pressure can be intense but overall it's fun. The drama is much less, the problems are much more black and white and the expectations are high, I love it.

This topic was given to me by Z and was supposed to compare and contrast what I thought my life as an Engineer would be VS. What it actually is. It's not exactly that Z but don't worry it will be OK.