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So, I haven't posted anything of substance in a good long while. This is my attempt at catching up.
Work
So, a couple of weeks ago I spent a week in Las Vegas for work. Overall it was a huge success on every level. The systems that I have spent the last year and a half writing all worked flawlessly. There are always areas for improvement, but from a technology standpoint the event went off without a hitch. It was also great for me to be able to see this event first-hand, and see what makes it tick. Watching the four day appointment sessions, where over a quarter of a million individual appointments happen between travel agencies and travel suppliers, was awe-inspiring. My scheduling software worked like a charm, and the only issues had to do with communication and not technology. I have some solid suggestions on how to improve that situation for next year. Also while I was there I got to dabble in Windows Presentation Foundation and the .NET 3.0 Framework, creating a currency converter widget for our new platform. It was informative on many levels. I just want to say here - Microsoft Expression Blend absolutely rocks. It can't be used as a pure development environment, but as a UI tool it is a real joy to use (once you figure it out).
My best friend flew down to join me in Vegas later in the week, and I had enough time away from the conference to be able to hang out with him and have some fun. The roller coaster at New York, New York is excellent. I thought Speed (the coaster at the Sahara) was ok, but overrated. The thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere were nothing short of breathtaking - literally. The one where you are basically in a car on a rail hanging off the edge of the tower was pure, soil-your-shorts terror-ific. It's not so much that you are hanging out nearly a thousand feet above the ground, it's when the rail makes a sudden and unexpected drop just when you think they are going to pull you back to the starting station.
Sadly, I did not get to see any shows while I was there. I also didn't gamble, mostly because I find slot machines to be deathly dull and I just don't think I am competent to sit down at a card table without making a fool of myself, let alone win any money.
Ben
Ben started the new school year at Princeton House, and he seems to be doing very well so far. He had a few rough days early on getting used to the new teacher and new classroom, but for the past two weeks he has come home marked as either "good" or "excellent" for his behavior. He seems to be particularly primed to make great strides this year in school. Physically he has almost doubled in size since last summer, and he has much more energy. This Sunday he is going ice skating in a program especially for autistic kids, and hopefully he will enjoy it as much as I think he will. If nothing else, his two girl friends from class will be there to dote on him.
Mom
Just wanted to publicly give my mom a shout-out of support. She quit smoking last month, and today marks one full month without any cigarettes. She is using a new medication that works differently than most smoking cessation aids. Basically, it blocks the receptors in the brain that make smoking pleasurable. It doesn't stop the cravings, but it makes it so that smoking doesn't make you feel any better. That, coupled with the daily online support that comes with the prescription, seems to be doing the trick. I don't know if she'll make it in the long run, but so far all signs are positive. She is past the worst of the initial withdrawal symptoms, and beginning to feel better in general. So, kudos to you mom. You done good.
Home
With a little bit of prodding from Kris, I am finally making measurable progress on the last of the bookshelves in the office. The boxes are all in place (thanks to Kris for getting them painted), so now all that is left is the trim work and then building the actual shelves. It is looking very nice. Also, I am finally within touching distance of being done with my website upgrade. A year ago I decided to convert my website to the DotNetNuke platform, and I am just a few days away from being ready to show the new site publicly. Stay tuned for that. I have tried to build it as much as possible using semantic html and handling all layout with css, which has been an interesting learning curve.
So that's all I got for now. Consider yourself caught up.
Work
So, a couple of weeks ago I spent a week in Las Vegas for work. Overall it was a huge success on every level. The systems that I have spent the last year and a half writing all worked flawlessly. There are always areas for improvement, but from a technology standpoint the event went off without a hitch. It was also great for me to be able to see this event first-hand, and see what makes it tick. Watching the four day appointment sessions, where over a quarter of a million individual appointments happen between travel agencies and travel suppliers, was awe-inspiring. My scheduling software worked like a charm, and the only issues had to do with communication and not technology. I have some solid suggestions on how to improve that situation for next year. Also while I was there I got to dabble in Windows Presentation Foundation and the .NET 3.0 Framework, creating a currency converter widget for our new platform. It was informative on many levels. I just want to say here - Microsoft Expression Blend absolutely rocks. It can't be used as a pure development environment, but as a UI tool it is a real joy to use (once you figure it out).
My best friend flew down to join me in Vegas later in the week, and I had enough time away from the conference to be able to hang out with him and have some fun. The roller coaster at New York, New York is excellent. I thought Speed (the coaster at the Sahara) was ok, but overrated. The thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere were nothing short of breathtaking - literally. The one where you are basically in a car on a rail hanging off the edge of the tower was pure, soil-your-shorts terror-ific. It's not so much that you are hanging out nearly a thousand feet above the ground, it's when the rail makes a sudden and unexpected drop just when you think they are going to pull you back to the starting station.
Sadly, I did not get to see any shows while I was there. I also didn't gamble, mostly because I find slot machines to be deathly dull and I just don't think I am competent to sit down at a card table without making a fool of myself, let alone win any money.
Ben
Ben started the new school year at Princeton House, and he seems to be doing very well so far. He had a few rough days early on getting used to the new teacher and new classroom, but for the past two weeks he has come home marked as either "good" or "excellent" for his behavior. He seems to be particularly primed to make great strides this year in school. Physically he has almost doubled in size since last summer, and he has much more energy. This Sunday he is going ice skating in a program especially for autistic kids, and hopefully he will enjoy it as much as I think he will. If nothing else, his two girl friends from class will be there to dote on him.
Mom
Just wanted to publicly give my mom a shout-out of support. She quit smoking last month, and today marks one full month without any cigarettes. She is using a new medication that works differently than most smoking cessation aids. Basically, it blocks the receptors in the brain that make smoking pleasurable. It doesn't stop the cravings, but it makes it so that smoking doesn't make you feel any better. That, coupled with the daily online support that comes with the prescription, seems to be doing the trick. I don't know if she'll make it in the long run, but so far all signs are positive. She is past the worst of the initial withdrawal symptoms, and beginning to feel better in general. So, kudos to you mom. You done good.
Home
With a little bit of prodding from Kris, I am finally making measurable progress on the last of the bookshelves in the office. The boxes are all in place (thanks to Kris for getting them painted), so now all that is left is the trim work and then building the actual shelves. It is looking very nice. Also, I am finally within touching distance of being done with my website upgrade. A year ago I decided to convert my website to the DotNetNuke platform, and I am just a few days away from being ready to show the new site publicly. Stay tuned for that. I have tried to build it as much as possible using semantic html and handling all layout with css, which has been an interesting learning curve.
So that's all I got for now. Consider yourself caught up.
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From:
no subject
Weather was waaay too hot for us Warshingtonians, but we had fun. Saw Phantom, did the Star Trek Experience, walked a lot, gambled just a little.
From:
no subject
I did the Star Trek Experience as well, and was very pleasantly surprised. I expected a moth-eaten lame attraction, but actually had a great time. The transporter thing caught me completely by surprise, which was nice. Spending as much time in theme parks as I do, it's cool to have something fresh that catches me completely off guard.