Seventh Tuesday weigh-in

229.0 lb

Gain of 0.5 lb from last week. Net loss of 7.5 lbs My revised goal is to lose an additional 7 lbs to weigh 222 lbs, by January 29th. The revision is necessary as it is no longer realistic to lose the weight by my original date of January 6th.

I am actually happy with this considering how much junk I ate last week and how I exercised only once (if you don't count snow shoveling.) I am not happy that my goal date slipped; I like to do what I say I am going to do unless circumstances beyond my control prevent it. This case I am in control and did not plan and focus enough on my goal as the weeks progressed to reach it. For me it requires daily thoughts and planning to be successful, slip up one day and it is 3 or more days before I get back on track again.

I got to do better with exercise and food this week because I will cut off a limb before I weigh 230 lb again.

One update I am excited about, the $75 in-wall HDMI cable in the basement is working perfectly with my XBOX360, WHAAAHOOO! All I needed was to hook up a $20 HDMI booster I got on amazon.com properly and bingo.

Now I need to decide what kind of receiver and sound system to put down there, and build some shelves for it... along with finishing the garage so I can park in it again, moving the office downstairs, start my million dollar business, and convert the old office into a room for the baby.

I should not have looked this up

Sometimes ignorance is bliss. So stop reading now if you want to remain that way and enjoy soda pop guilt free. Linc made the offhand comment that 64 oz looked like about the same size as a two liter bottle... so today I looked it up...

Google says:

64 US fluid ounces = 1.89270589 liters

So yes a 64 oz cup is almost an entire 2 liter bottle of soda (~95% of a 2 liter).

Doing some more math...

64 oz of Dr Pepper is 800 calories, 213 grams ( over 2/3 cup ) of high fructose corn syrup (sugar), and 354 mg caffeine.

64 oz of Vault is 928 calories, 250 grams ( 1 cup ) of high fructose corn syrup (sugar), and 370 mg caffeine .

I have consumed more than two 64 oz sodas in addition to eating candy and bags of Kettle chips several times this week (that is equivalent to over 1 1/3 cups of sugar and nearly 1 full gram of caffeine from just soda). My hopes are not high for tomorrow's weigh in. You reap what you sow... as they say.

What I plan to do in the future is limit my soda intake to one day a week (or less) and supplement soda with water if I am still thirsty after drinking all 64 oz.

Sixth Tuesday weigh-in

228.5 lb

Loss of 0.5 lb from last week. Net loss for six weeks is 8 lb. My goal is to lose an additional 6.5 lb to weigh 222 lb. by January 6th.

Well if my delay theory holds, then I should have expected this week's weigh in to be disappointing. I have thrown away so much junk food this week it is incredible. Plate after plate of cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, chocolate, peppermint, pretzels, and pastries... I admit I did sample some of the food gifts neighbors brought, which is most likely why I am only 0.5lb down instead of 2 lb as I planned. I am glad to be down rather than the same or up. This coming week is Christmas holiday and party city. I plan to have healthy options available (like hummus and vegetable trays) and plan to workout extra to offset the extra calories. If I am careful I could be down 10 lbs by new years. I did set an aggressive goal and it is looking like I may not hit it, but as I said before, I am swimming toward it rather than treading water or allowing the waves of life to push me further away.

Fifth Tuesday weigh-in

229.0 lb

Loss of 2.5 lb from last week. Net loss for five weeks is 7.5 lb. My goal is to lose an additional 7 lb to weigh 222 lb by January 6th, 2009. Incredible, I am so happy with this progress because I was really worried about what I would weigh this week. I stayed up late and missed 4 of the 6 planned morning workouts. I had four parties and family coming in from Cedar City. I had a sick daughter.

One hazard I have to avoid is getting overconfident. Really, this past week I figured I had gained some weight especially considering the roasted turkey dinner, Cafe Rio, Sunday brunch, and Sunday dinner party. It is weird that some weeks I feel like I am sacrificing like crazy and end up the same weight or higher and other weeks I don't feel like I "diet'd" much but end up down 2.5 lbs. It is almost like my body is on a delay and the weight this week is a reflection of what I did or didn't do two weeks previous. If that is the case next week is going to be depressing.

I drank plenty of water to keep from retaining water and to try and fill up on zero calories as much as possible. I hit the restroom a lot this week because of that. I get dehydrated in the winter. Because it is cool, I don't think to or feel a need to drink water. I end up with parched lips and start overeating junk because I think I am hungry when I am really just thirsty. I avoided soda all but one day and skipped lunch on Monday and Tuesday because of the extra calories I ate on Saturday and Sunday.

Wish me luck.

Fun week

Saturday was so fun, it was super good food as we cooked a thanksgiving holiday style feast. Juicy turkey breast roast brined for a few hours. Dressing with fresh sage. Homemade cranberry sauce with orange. Perfect mashed potatoes and creamy turkey gravy. Hal and Christina made pecan pie that was so flaky and so rich. Rebecca finished off the desert with some homemade ice cream. We had Mom and Dad over as well as Hillary and Randy and played Imagine If... which was fun, but I feel Dad gets a little too much crap from us when we do.

Nathan and his family came over on Sunday. We had a blast with them and probably kept them around much longer than they planned on, missing church entirely. Hillary and Randy's Nintendo Wii was perfect for playing with kids who have 5 minute attention spans. Jimmy is now 13 and both his sisters are grown ups as well. Sugar cookies were made and frosted, I only ate one and am so proud. Sunday night was a birthday party for Randy, I took over more pecan pie and enjoyed some very good pasta and meatballs, pasta and alfredo sauce, pasta and brown butter / mizithra cheese. It was like something from the Spaghetti Factory only 1000 times better. I had to leave early from that party to come and play Puerto Rico with Christina and Hal, we could not let them leave without playing at least one round.

Now for a rant:
I have decided, their is nothing wrong with having extra food go to waste or to discard food, especially when it is the holidays and you are overwhelmed with food at every turn. Without any guilt, I toss plates of cookies and food gifts seconds after the person delivers them into the garbage. I don't care if the food is store bought or homemade. Problem is now my garbage is full. Sometimes I don't even open and smell them or taste them.

It has nothing to do with disliking the holidays. I like the holidays, love time off from work. Gifts. Yes. I like these. Come sing a carol at my door. Hand out a card with a message about Christmas or the Savior. Tell me you don't believe in Christmas and are celebrating winter solstice, just don't give me a candy cane. Do some service like shovel some widow's icy driveway. Donate blood. Smile at strangers. Put money in those salvation army cans. Let people turn in front of you while driving. Adopt an orphan. Or two. Develop a talent then share it. Read a book then tell me about it. You get the picture. Food gifts have been done to death. It is time to be more creative and simplify. Pray more. Stress less.

Fourth Tuesday weigh-in

231.5 lb
31% body fat

Loss of 1 lb from last week. Net loss for four weeks is 5.0 lb My goal is to lose an additional 9.5 lb to weigh 222 lb by Jan 6th, 2009. Bad news is I don't have much time left and would have to hit a loss of over 2 lb per week from now until Jan 6 to hit the goal I set. Good news is:

• I am trending downward during a time when I would otherwise be getting much bigger.
• I am exercising consistently.
• I have more energy, have less stress, and am happier.
• My clothes (especially pants) are not as tight.
• I have successfully overcome the challenges of holiday food temptations and some vacation travel challenges. I didn't allow a hard two weeks to throw me off course completely.
  

Blogging the progress (or lack thereof) every week has turned out to be a great strategy to keep me honest with myself and more focused during the week. Regardless of my hitting the Jan 6th goal, if I continue doing this, not only will I eventually reach 222 lb, but I will establish good habits that I can pass on to my kids and habits that will preserve my quality of life for decades.
I think it would be neat to look back 2 or three years from now and say, "Here is where I fundamentally and permanently changed my life." Or even someday say, "I can't believe I used to weight 236.5lb, that is huge!"

Seattle Trip

If you can't tell by my photo, I had a blast in Seattle with Heidi and Rebecca. We are totally doing that again.

Friday, we got in to the Hotel by taxi and met Heidi for her birthday dinner at Anthony's across the street from the hotel. Great food, swordfish and salmon as well as an awesome three tier appetizer.

Saturday, we ate breakfast at the FishClub in the hotel and then walked to and through the Seattle Olympic sculpture park (where the above was shot by Rebecca near the sculpture called Wake, by Richard Serra) Then we met Heidi for lunch at Arayas Vegetarian Place for a Thai vegetarian buffet. It was epic. After that we hit a Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and movie (James Bond: Quantum of Solace). Movie was a great idea since we needed to rest our tired dogs.

Sunday it was breakfast at Cherry Street Coffee House, Trader Joes, Pike Place Market, Ivars, Heidi's crib to pick up Brett and finally Nijo for the best Sushi ever.

Monday we had little time to do much but pack, checkout, and head to the gate but we did squeeze in some more Ivar's chowder (both the Salmon and White are really good.)

Each day we worked out at the hotel gym in the morning, I added 20 more minutes to my workouts (40 min total) to try to compensate for eating more than normal but as of tonight I am back up at 236.0 lb. That is not an official weigh-in so we will see what tomorrow holds, I might just do water tomorrow to try and come back down some. I think I will also check my bodyfat percentage to see if it has budged any.

highlights:

• Heidi is so skinny. That bitch!
• Actually having conversations with Brett lasting more than hi/bye.
• Met Asha, Heidi's cat.
• Learned more about Rebecca's interests (such as her interest in Alaskan cruises)
  

facepalms:

• Sitting adjacent to passengers getting drunk. iPods are lifesavers in this situation, plug in, turn on, tune out!
• Walking up and down a five flight parking garage trying to get out of it.
• Forgetting my vitamins and pain killers from home.

notes to self:

• Avoid downtown Seattle when Seahawks are playing, as parking is non-existent and cut throat.
• Should have done Mon-Friday rather than over the weekend, more time to prepare to return to work.
• Once you find some parking, keep it and walk wherever possible.

Third Tuesday weigh-in

232.5 lb

Gain of 0.5 lb from last week. Net loss for three weeks 4.0 lb. My goal is to lose 10.5 lb by Jan 6th, 2009

I was hoping for a loss but the scale says what it says. I did not miss any workouts and even added three workouts to try to offset the Thanksgiving feast and other parties (so I did a total of nine 20 min+ workouts in 7 days.) But I can't go back and uneat what I ate last week nor can I go back and drink more water. I can focus on what I do this week so I can report an improvement next Tuesday. I have no doubt that the portion size of what I eat is the major roadblock to my losing weight. I do believe losing weight requires both diet and exercise, I just know that my 6 workouts per week are plenty of exercise and food is where I mess up.

A big hazard for me is getting frustrated with the bumps in the road. I could go off a cliff and just forget the whole thing if I let one small disappointment snowball. I can get the attitude that, "I tried really hard and failed so what is the point in getting up and trying again." Instead I will learn from mistakes I made this week and avoid them going forward. One thing I need to do for sure is stay out of the kitchen when leftovers are sitting around. Another is to drink more water throughout the day and before bed. For all I know I could just be retaining extra water from my neglegence.

New Draper Utah Temple Open House

2009 will feature a very unique opportunity to visit two new LDS temples in Utah. If you are interested in going on a tour of the new Draper LDS temple you can schedule for a free tour now at http://www.lds.org/reservations

These open house tours will fill up fast in this state. I already signed up for a reservation of 10 people on Saturday, January 17th at 10:20 AM, so let me know if you want to take the tour with me in January as I have 7 extra reservations for that date/time.

Second Tuesday weight-in

232.0 lb

Loss of 1.0 lb from last week. Net loss for two weeks 4.5 lb. I plan to lose at least 10 more pounds by Jan 6th, 2009.

I didn't expect to lose 3.5 lb again, but I admit I was hoping for at least 1.5 lb. The next week will be the most challenging for food temptations yet as their are back to back parties from Wednesday through Sunday. But my goal remains at 2 lb per week and this coming week is no different in that respect.

What strikes me is that, in looking back, I see that I fell into a trap of waiting to start, waiting for everything else to fall into place so I could just start. I was fooling myself the whole time and ended up at 236.5 lb before I finally dropped the excuses and made the decision to do it. I just don't think I will ever be in a situation where exercise and eating healthy will be more or less easy (or convenient) than it already is. My bad habits are hard to break no matter when I try to break them, and good habits are hard for me to make no matter when I try to make them. Sure some periods of my life have had additional challenges that make exercise more difficult, but it has never been 100% effortless to plan and do it. I could have waited until I was back at 300 lb to start, I guess it is a good thing I threw out my size 42 pants. It was my tight clothes that gave me a desire to change more than anything else; I have some perfectly good 34 waist jeans and I wanted to fit in them again.

Exercise Strategy

I missed the workout on Saturday because I stayed up late Friday playing games. Rebecca had fresh professional quality waffles when I woke up as well, reducing my desire to hit the gym to zero. I thought at the time I would go later, but it didn't happen.

My exercise strategy has a lot to do with sleep, i.e. what time I go to bed. I workout in the mornings on an empty stomach (well lots of water but no food). My goal is 20 minutes of cardio, six days a week. I then eat the largest meal of the day within an hour after working out. Not to say I go overboard at breakfast (700 calories), but the rest of the day, my meals are fewer calories. Exercising six days a week is important for me because more than one or two consecutive rest days can derail my routine. Once I start working out I have more energy and time. However, the chance to sleep in and avoid exercise becomes more of a temptation. So with that here are some typical events or items that can derail (and have derailed) fitness goals

• travel
• illness
• vacations or holidays
  

These items can cause me to miss workouts or indulge in food. The best way for me to handle the above is to have a plan. If I have a plan for how I can continue exercise while traveling, then I am more likely to stick to it. If I have a plan for how to prevent illness, then I can likely avoid it. So I need to plan better what I will eat and how I will exercise in different situations so that I can be as flexible and do as much of what I enjoy as possible while still keeping on track with my goals.

That being said, I firmly believe the following:
"The key to getting what you want most is found in giving up some of what you desire less."

So the reason I don't already have what I want is because I have something else. What I already have is preventing me from obtaining what I want even more and I won't let it go.

So I can't have it all, I can't stay up until 1:00am every night and expect to wake up at 5:00am to exercise. I can't exercise on reduced sleep and then eat chips, candy and other junk and expect my body to repair itself. I might be technically "able" to make these choices, but it is not an ideal scenario and will not help me reach my goals.

I can't binge on food at parties and avoid the effects of that. I know what the ideal scenario is for losing weight and it is largely in my power to control: my portions, how late I remain awake at night, and if I get up to exercise.

Coolest thing for bloggers today

Go here

and put in your blog url.

It will analyze your blog and determine your blog's Meyers Briggs personality type.

Pretty neat I think.

When I take the test I am INTL, but the site gave this blog ESTP! I guess blogging lets me get out of my shell. Or my blog is nothing like my personality...

Save this SQL query

The following query took 28 years to return.

SELECT firstname
FROM all_humanity
WHERE
gender = 'female'
ORDER BY beauty, wisdom

Query returned 53,228,183,834 rows
Rebecca
Mary
Eve
...

But the wait was worth it because I married the first row returned.

Food strategy

So I got a plate of cookies from our home teachers Sunday, after they left, I said in my head, "The difference between reaching my goal and obtaining my desired reward is NOT eating ONE cookie right now."

The reason for this is: once I eat one, then two is not a big deal, and eventually I am trying mix up some dough and frosting to make some more because mine taste a thousand times better and I am still hungry. I just don't have the off switch when junk food is around. I can eat and eat and eat and never be done. This is how I am with food, but you may be different. If only I could be hypnotized into believing chocolate and pastries tasted like circus peanuts.

I have a preset time of the week when I can splurge a little and eat things that are not normally part of my day, by doing this I don't waste calories on junk that isn't worth eating. I plan ahead for the best quality indulgences. For example: although a Hostess powdered or chocolate dipped donut may taste good, some handmade pecan cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven are that much better. I also run a calorie deficit during the week so that if I get a little crazy one day, the deficit makes it have less of an impact on me overall.

First Tuesday weigh-in

233.0 lb

A loss 3.5 lb from last week Tuesday.

Thanks for the harassment encouragement everyone.

This past week has been great! I feel more energetic and have accomplished a lot of tasks I have been putting off. I don't expect to lose 3.5 lb next week, but my goal is continual consistent reduction in weight through the loss of fat (preserving muscle as much as possible).

Getting to the bottom of a BSOD

Rebecca's computer has started throwing BSOD recently. Blue screen of death (BSOD) errors have caused many people to throw up their hands in disgust at Windows countless thousands of times. Industries are built around fixing computers with BSOD. Fortunately, I worked front line technical support for several years and know a thing or two about these. Although, format and reinstalling windows is going to most likely fix the issue, it is akin to cutting off a persons leg for an ingrown toenail. Struggling to fix problems without reformatting and reinstalling has resulted in gaining more insight into the internals of the Windows OS and software in general.

So I could boot into safe mode with F8 while the computer started but, each time I tried to boot into normal mode, I would get BSOD and reboot. In safe mode you can go to control panel | system | Advanced | startup & recovery | settings and uncheck the box for Automatically Restart. This will allow you to read the BSOD message which was necessary for me to troubleshoot the problem. You see, unlike some people, computers will usually tell you what is wrong them and furthermore it is usually possible for you to fix computer problems.

The error message was 0x0000007e 0xc0000005 ... so really useful to a geek who can read hex and memorize windows kernel error codes. Each time a Windows XP computer BSOD crashes, a message gets put in the System Log, also you will get (unless you configured differently) a timestamped MiniDump binary file .dmp in Windows/Minidump folder.

The minidump file created from the BSOD is key to really getting at the root cause of the problem. But it is not really human readable (it can partially be read in a text editor but lots of binary data makes it laborious.) So you have to have windows debugging tools to extract the information from the file out to get to the bottom of the problem. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx Well, both Windows symbols and Debugging Tools to be precise. Without symbols the .dmp file will not reveal all its secrets.

To start I moved all unsigned drivers out of system32/drivers folder into a tmp folder called system32/drivers.unsigned

You can identify the unsigned drivers with a tool in safe mode called sigverif, just pick advanced and point the search to system32/drivers folder to get a list of unsigned drivers.

Then open an explorer window and move these files out of drivers and into drivers.unsigned.

Restart and you should be back in business and able to boot in windows normally, but some hardware or software will not work right until you figure out which one of your unsigned drivers is sick. This is where the .dmp files will zero in on what driver is to blame, the rest of the unsigned drivers are innocent bystanders to this one bad apple.

The culprit, vsdatant.sys, which using process explorer, is a file installed on Rebecca's system by Zone Alarm.


Microsoft (R) Windows Debugger Version 6.9.0003.113 X86
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Loading Dump File [C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini111508-03.dmp]
Mini Kernel Dump File: Only registers and stack trace are available

Symbol search path is: C:\WINDOWS\Symbols
Executable search path is:
Unable to load image ntoskrnl.exe, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for ntoskrnl.exe
Windows XP Kernel Version 2600 (Service Pack 3) UP Free x86 compatible
Product: WinNt, suite: TerminalServer SingleUserTS Personal
Kernel base = 0x804d7000 PsLoadedModuleList = 0x80554040
Debug session time: Sat Nov 15 05:55:48.000 2008 (GMT-7)
System Uptime: 0 days 0:00:33.562
Unable to load image ntoskrnl.exe, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for ntoskrnl.exe
Loading Kernel Symbols
...............................................................................................................................
Loading User Symbols
Loading unloaded module list
..
Unable to load image tcpip.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for tcpip.sys
ERROR: FindPlugIns 8007007b
*******************************************************************************
* *
* Bugcheck Analysis *
* *
*******************************************************************************

Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information.

BugCheck 1000007E, {c000001d, 89d6a024, ba597978, ba597674}

Unable to load image vsdatant.sys, Win32 error 0n2
*** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for vsdatant.sys
*** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for vsdatant.sys
Probably caused by : vsdatant.sys ( vsdatant+450c1 )

Followup: MachineOwner
---------

What is still strange to me is I did not remove this driver from the system32/drivers folder. Here is a list of the drivers I removed from the folder:
11/15/2008 10:07 AM dir .
11/15/2008 10:07 AM dir ..
10/04/2006 07:42 PM 2,432 cdr4_xp.sys
10/04/2006 07:42 PM 2,560 cdralw2k.sys
11/18/2002 02:51 PM 377,358 cmaudio.sys
03/03/2008 05:25 PM 1,405,632 cmudax3.sys
11/11/2003 10:44 AM 333,600 ctdvda2k.sys
09/02/2003 11:25 AM 11,266 diag69xp.sys
01/31/2008 04:18 PM 9,216 FlashSys.sys
11/23/2002 07:36 PM 16,016 hpoipr07.sys
09/10/2003 11:36 PM 21,060 iviaspi.sys
09/17/2003 03:57 PM 8,440 LANPkt.sys
01/14/2008 01:15 PM 15,340 ndisrd.sys
09/19/2003 01:47 AM 10,368 pfc.sys
10/10/2006 02:06 PM 17,136 SSLDrv.sys
12/18/2004 07:32 PM 38,229 StMp3Rec.sys
08/07/2006 03:42 PM 20 SymRedir.cat
08/07/2006 03:42 PM 1,133 SymRedir.inf
07/10/2008 08:35 AM 32,000 usbaapl.sys
17 File(s) 2,301,806 bytes

So I still may have to add them back to system32/drivers, a few at a time, to see if I can zero in on the driver in the above list that caused the issue.

Update: Well, from the above list I narrowed it down to:
01/31/2008 04:18 PM 9,216 FlashSys.sys
All other files did not cause a BSOD when put back in system32/drivers folder.
I am not sure how to identify the source software that put FlashSys.sys into my drivers folder, but I suspect my SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB 2 GB thumbdrive as the culprit.

Update 11/17/2008:
Well I again got a BSOD, so I removed all but
11/18/2002 02:51 PM 377,358 cmaudio.sys
03/03/2008 05:25 PM 1,405,632 cmudax3.sys
Which I need for sound and I am back in business again, but I am not sure which of the other files besides:
01/31/2008 04:18 PM 9,216 FlashSys.sys
is also causing BSOD on the system. I will probably need to find a way to track down the source software programs for each of these drivers.

My health goals for the rest of 2008

I gained some weight over the summer and it is time to take it back off before the suits get replaced with sweats.

My stats today are a dismal and depressing:
236.5 lbs
32% body fat

Pretty horrendous, nearly a 1/3 of my body, over 70 lbs, is gelatinous fat. I have 8 weeks until January and so I plan to lose approximately 2 lbs per week to reach my goals of:
222 lbs
29% body fat

How I will achieve this is by:

• getting to bed by 9:30 PM
• drinking at least 64 oz water each day
  
• waking up and hitting the gym or stationary bike for 20 minute cardio 6 days a week
  
• weighing in every Tuesday, Nov 18th, Nov 25th, Dec 2nd, Dec 9th, Dec 16th, Dec 23rd, Dec 30th, and Jan 6th
  
• tracking daily nutrition and calories on an account at live strong
• leaning on a very supportive wife for encouragement and discipline

This is going to be a challenge for me because we are, after all, in the midst of "The Holidays" where food is consumed in greater quantities, diets often forgotten, and exercise abandoned on icy cold mornings. But I want to be in the kind of shape where I can go mountain biking in 2009 again and fit comfortably in my 2007 clothes. I am prepared to make choices now to get there. I hope you have some goals you are working toward as well, and I wish you success on attaining them.

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

1. You are kind to others, even those who are unkind or thoughtless and insensitive to you.
2. You have a good attitude. You made the best of a bad date with me without whining or complaining, and after that I was hooked.
3. You know the value of hard work and sacrifice, you set goals and practice delayed gratification.
4. You laugh and find happiness and enjoy each day, I love making you laugh and turn red.
5. You have a cool and funny family. I miss hanging out with them, especially Nathan and his family. Your dad is a riot and his wife is caring, funny and a talented cook. They both made me feel at home visiting them in Dallas.
   
6. Your sister is a great friend to me and I love to play games with her.
   
7. You got a great Texan smile and your eyes are beautiful as well.
8. You love to visit with my family and are so nice to them.
   
9. You let me go and play games until 2:00am with my friends.
10. Life just keeps getting better the more we are together.
11. You have a great voice.
12. You are a great chef.
13. You do so much to support our family.
14. You are a loving nurturing mother.
15. You are my eternal girlfriend.
16. You have a green thumb.
17. You are a superb driver.
18. You workout at the gym and don't make excuses.
19. You are organized and efficient.
20. Your home is always clean and well maintained.
21. You are creative and have an eye for design.

You're all this and more and your mine all mine.

Gratitude

The above was Rebecca's favorite line from the movie Juno. It is so very true.
My life used to be divided like this:
time in school/time not in school

Later on it was:
time at work/time at home

Then it seemed to become:
time when single/time when married

Now it is more like:
time before kids/time after kids

I need to be better at enjoying the last nine months before he gets here. I have focused a lot on the inconveniences and sacrifices and suckiness of pregnancy and have probably missed out on appreciating some beautiful moments. I really don't feel I can be grateful enough to my Heavenly Father for sending me my two beautiful angels, Rebecca and Eleanor. I love 'em.

Whoa! Grand Prairie,TX hit by earthquake

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/31/texas.earthquakes.ap/index.html

One hit Irving too, Rebecca and I were just there a few months ago, granted the quakes were under 3.0 in magnitude. Living there as a kid for over 10 years I don't remember one ever happening, I do remember lots of flash flood warnings and thunderstorms. A tornado even hit the high school, but earthquakes?! Crazy.

Boy Oh Boy

We love you, E but, I have to tell you that your days are numbered. Your mom is pregnant with a boy. We found out yesterday while you were eating a blue dum-dum. It was very exciting news and your mom just laughed and laughed. Get your bags packed because he's gonna be here just a month or so after you turn two. You're going to have to grow up quick to start taking care of your little brother and aged father.

openSUSE 11 x86_64

I have had bad experience with the x86_64 bit versions of distro's in the past, too many packages were only made for x86. Well, time has past, so I am going for it again, and putting openSUSE 11 x86_64 on my box. I had a heck of a time burning the ISO for x86_64 I downloaded using a torrent in my x86 openSUSE... eventually I had to use a command line to make it because of errors trying to burn an ISO in the graphical tool. Once burned the disc installed with one error about the source media not found or something.

I even installed it with KDE 4... used it for about 10 minutes and then reinstalled with GNome because the KDE fonts are horrible to read on my LCD and I am too dumb to figure out how to fix it. I know that KDE is beloved by many Linux power users, and I remember the outcry at Novell when it was announced that future SUSE distro's would be Gnome only. Novell had to quickly backtrack and support both in the face of flaming nerd wrath.

Having used Ubuntu and openSUSE, I prefer Ubuntu, but it just won't work with my box now for some strange reason. I really dislike RPM packages and the debian style was pretty slick almost as cool as Gentoo emerge.

openSUSE installed

I upgraded my RAM from 1.5 GB to 3 GB and Ubuntu would not boot up...
So I downloaded the latest install of Ubuntu, I could not get the upgrade to work anyway, and tried to install it over the top of the old install. Ubuntu install failed to start :-( and gave me a command prompt with isoramfs or something cryptic like that. First I thought it was the memory, I ran memtest and the RAM passed no errors.

I then made a openSUSE iso disk and tried to install it. That worked, but many sites would not come up in browsers, lost my data too which sucks. After installing openSUSE, I was getting connection timeout, network unavailable messages even with ping commands. I found a post on a SUSE forum that said to disable IPv6 and Beagle. I did disable IPv6 and now it seems to work just fine. I have not found where to disable Beagle, but I think it works well enough not to need to disable it.

To disable IPv6 in openSUSE 11.0 open YaST and click network settings, global options tab, IPv6 Protocol Settings, uncheck Enable IPv6, reboot the OS.

I am not sure why I had to disable IPv6 to get the internet connection working. I connect to a Linksys5 port network hub which is connected to a Qwest actiontec DSL modem. The other computer on the network is Windows XP Professional. Does IPv6 require special hardware or DSL settings? I would like to use the best technology but with IPv6 enabled my connections to many sites like mail.google.com , would not work. Strange.

Grape Pedialyte

Grape Pedialyte is good stuff. I figured if Eleanor won't try it, I might as well. It is like a better tasting (but more expensive) gatorade. I tried making some homemade Pedialyte and, yeah, it was a total bust, Eleanor would not take more than one sip. Maybe if I had put some food coloring in it...

Rebecca called and I don't need to get home early today to watch Eleanor. She needed me to get home early so she could take some beehives to do proxy baptisms at the temple, but Eleanor's Farmor came to the rescue.

Got plans for the weekend?

Eleanor vomiting

Thought you needed to know that. She is vomiting like every hour or so, then crying, "mamma mamma mamma" like some pathetic broken toy. She won't drink fluids and isn't hungry. It has been a long day for me. Here are some "vomit kid under 3 years old" care instructions:

• Give 1 tsp oral rehydration solution like Infalyte or Pedialyte every 1 to 2 minutes to prevent dehydration. Increase amounts and intervals as your child can tolerate it. Older children will tolerate slightly larger volumes over slightly longer intervals.

• If your child vomits, allow the stomach to rest for a half hour and start over with rehydration fluids.

• High-sugar fluids like, apple juice or full-strength Gatorade are not good replacement fluids for dehydration. High-salt broth fluids should also be avoided.

• Water should not be used as the only fluid for dehydration, but can be given in small amounts along with Infalyte and Pedialyte.

• When your child can keep liquids down, return to a regular diet.

• It's not unusual for children to have a decreased appetite after vomiting, but make sure they keep drinking adequate fluids. Avoid fruit juice, which may lead to diarrhea.

• Over-the-counter medications to stop nausea and vomiting are neither necessary nor recommended due to their negative side effects. Vomiting not associated with a serious condition will usually stop on its own within 12 - 24 hours.

Of course these instructions are a complete FAIL on an uncooperative child. Good news is she will only continue to do this for another 12 to 24 hours, oh swell! I also can't wait to find out what I get to do with over 3 year old vomiting kids.

I know I shouldn't complain. I am 100% sure others have had it way worse than this.

Layoffs, economy slowdown and conference

The client I have been working for (and flew out to Austin for four months) is laying off 10% of its workforce. They were spending money like water and offered me a job which I think I am glad I didn't take. Rough times may be ahead for everyone. Rebecca commented that this past conference did not have much said about getting out of debt, or stocking up for emergencies. It made me think, sometimes what isn't said in conference can be telling, as well. Before this crash, getting out of debt and saving for rough times required a bit of faith to do. Now it is obvious that having very little debt or no debt and some emergency savings is a very good idea. There is really no need to warn and council on what is now obvious to everyone. So I have to think, "What did the Lord warn or council me to do now?" There will probably come a day when what I was asked to do now will seem so obvious I will kick myself for not listening and acting on it when I was first told.

Get Linked In Right Now

If the economy slows down and jobs turn scarce, it may come down to who you know and the size of your professional network to obtain employment. I think the site http://www.linkedin.com/ is a great place to put your work history and keep current and former professional contact info. What is awesome about it is:

• it is free
• It can build itself, once you're in it, old acquaintances may come out of the woodwork and link up with you.
• you just have to put your information in there, if contacts you had at some company move on, they will update their profile and you won't have outdated contacts and lose the connection with that person.
• lots of people are already in it, you might be surprised who uses it. Lots of manager types, who are clued in, are already in there i.e. the people who actually do the hiring and interviewing.
• Headhunters use it as a gold mine to fill hard to hire positions, so a new job can just land in your inbox. (It happened to me twice.)
• Your able to see how interconnected the world is. I am two connections away from the State Director at the Office of Senator Bob Bennett

The sooner you organize and update your resume information and establish your network, the more prepared you become for a situation where you are looking for work. So what are you waiting for eh?

Credit bailout makes no sense to me

Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay. - Charles Dickens

Explain to me why credit is so vital to everything? If I don't have access to fast and loose credit anymore, how is this bad for me? Credit is often misused anyway. People now think that wants are needs (eating-out=need, car=need, education=need, house=need, vacation=need, ) and a good old fashioned recession could correct that misconception. Our real needs are:

• oxygen
  
• hydration
• nutrition
• shelter plus basic utilities for water and heat
  
• clothing
• hygiene items
  
• medications
  
• video games
  

See how easy that was! pared down to the basics I tell ya.

Fall and the year's end

This year is over 1/2 done, and I am excited to finish it out. I really can't remember when I was excited for the November December time frame. I have been, for a long time, just unimpressed with them and treated that time as any other time of life. You would catch me saying, "It is colder and you get some vacation days but I like the heat, so summer is better." "Snow sucks to drive in and shovel." "When will it all melt?" "It is too cold to do anything."

Well this year seems different, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas like I haven't since I was a kid. Maybe I will try snowboarding or something, yes I am that much into the idea of snow this year. Anyone want to loan me a snowboard ? Yes, I think I will board down a hill then nurse a concussion and broken leg while playing some awesome video game all winter long, sounds sweet to me.

New Things

Things I recently accomplished:

• installed water heater bracket (for earthquake protection)
• scheduled ward missionaries over for dinner (harder than it sounds)
  
• woke up and went to the gym at dark-thirty in the morning
• upgraded computer RAM to 2GB
• mowed lawn and replaced broken sprinkler head
• helped setup basement room for Ray
  

Things I have not enough taken action on:

• family emergency preparedness
• family history work
• planning weekly date nights
• computer system backup (my backup is old)
  
• personal goal setting
• finishing the garage
  

Anyway I got to write this stuff down. Get it out there and then prioritize, plan and execute.

Wisdom teeth (what they didn't tell me)

Here is what you may not want to know if you are considering wisdom teeth extraction late in life.

"Healing is usually complete after 2 to 3 months from the time of the extraction."

I have this puffyness in my mouth that just does not go away... and because of that food gets caught between my cheek and molars. So I have this gross puss stuff in my mouth after every meal that I must carefully sweep out with a toothbrush while tugging at each of my cheeks in a mirror. If I fail to do this, the stuff begins to stink giving me dragon breath or worse: the foul stuff comes loose while drinking water or yawning or talking. I must also be careful not to sweep it out too vigorously or I begin to bleed at that spot. Well I complain but I guess it could be worse. Rebecca said to take a look around at all the 24 hour emergency dental offices, you don't want to put off dental work until you need to go to one of those. Also, if their is a major catastrophe, simple health problems can become major issues as they cannot be handled when the needed infrastructure has been damaged (utilities, roads, personnel, etc..)

Even so, I still say blah.

Wedding Dinner and Sprinkler System...

We went to Brianna's wedding dinner at Maddox Lodge, it was a long drive and Eleanor was asleep for most of the way up. The food was spectacular, 10oz NY strip steak with a salad and rolls. It mush have cost a fortune considering how many people were at the reception. Brianna was asked to give a speech so she did: "We're in love. The End." Rebecca noted that she had now met all of my uncles. The way home was a cry fest for Eleanor from Ogden to about 100 ft from our house when she finally gave up whining. To be fair I think her feet hurt, she has peeling skin on the bottom of one foot and on some toes. I put some of Grandpa's Emprizone on there and they seem good as new today.

Ugh... replaced another sprinkler head. Our lawn has some swamp areas that are so wet mushrooms grow amongst the grass and then other areas so dry the grass is dead and there is nothing but bare dirt (not even dead grass). I have been getting one or two adjustments or replacements done a week after mowing to try to keep the yard presentable. Rebecca and I want to have family over for a BBQ/ games maybe for Hillary's birthday? Do we need to wait for a birthday for an excuse? How does one set this up?

I got a cool board game from Rebecca for my birthday in July and we have only played it once, it is called Power Grid. So we need some additional volunteers to come play it with us as well. Steven is heading over to play some video games today, it has been way too long. Car's in the shop or I would probably have wanted to see FFXI at his house, yes I still miss that game, I miss it/hate it.

Garage Sale Toy

This morning on the way to the gym at 7:30 am we saw a garage sale. They had a bunch of baby toys, so we went back and browsed around. Rebecca negotiated this very good condition toy for the prices of $3. I think Eleanor and Christopher Robin will probably fight over it at some point in 2009. Rebecca is also thinking of doing pancake mix and jam as gifts for coworkers and neighbors, but I really loved her hand soap gift. I am trying to think of a personalized, non-food, cheap gift that we could do this year and not just do hand soap again nor pancake mix. I really don't want to give out food because food is so overdone that time of year. Also, if Rebecca is making some delicious jam, I plan to be eating aforementioned jam, and not handing it out to some fair-weather neighbor of mine who moves out three months later never to be heard of again. I can just see them snickering in their U-hauls with pancake stuffed mouths and my beloved jam dripping from their double chins. It's a good thing that hand soap is still around to wash up! Ahem, sorry the holiday season does not make me that generous. Maybe if I start thinking about it now, something will come to mind before the holiday rush. Comments on a gift idea are welcome.

Wisdom teeth, the saga continues

I am still recovering from the surgery. I have received a second prescription for lortab because I was up all last night in pain. If you ever get the line from someone, "yeah get the surgery and then you can take off work and just lay around and play games.", don't buy it! It is all bull crap; I can't play games because I am too nauseous and foggy and my mouth is swollen so I can't even snack on candy or anything. Right now it is just a slow waiting game, waiting for my mouth to heal, waiting to feel better.
I complain about this but am sure I do have it very good by comparison to other people in the world. I just have been bad at appreciating how good I have had it in life.

I like to donate blood whenever I can because it makes me feel like I am giving back to the world in a infinitesimally small way. I like donating blood because:

• it is anonymous, the person who gets the blood will probably never know it was mine.
• it is free to do, true it does take an hour of free time and some minor required travel.
• it does not require physical effort, you have to lay there and squeeze a ball...
  
• you get some free snacks at the end, cookies, juice etc...
• if I did somehow contract HIV, they will call and tell me about it for free
• not everyone can do it, I can, and feel a little more important to society (or less like a leech)
• some scouts organize blood drives for their eagle scout project, so I get two for one, help out with a scout project and help save a life.

Success, wisdom teeth extracted

Now I am on the mend, my wisdom teeth have been removed and my mouth is all bloody and cut up. I am not as swollen as I envisioned, too bad I thought I would look more chip-monkish. Rebecca says I was loopy right after the surgery and I was saying things like, "I never fell asleep." I do not remember feeling tired or anything so that is why I didn't think I fell asleep. The IV they put in for me was easier to handle than donating blood at the Red Cross, no "20 minute written interrogation", no "squeezing a ball", no "pen marking up my veins", no "missing the vein and calling over the supervisor", etc.. They had me lay down, the surgeon just took my right arm, laid it on his leg wrapped the bicep with a rubber strip, put a little iodine and some antibacterial spray, stuck me, and taped it up all in a few seconds.
My biggest post-op mistake was trying to suck on a pop sickle, OUCH! I can't imagine how much a straw would hurt to use. I can't handle any negative pressure in my mouth right now. I am staying up on my loritab, ibuprofen, and penicillin thanks to Rebecca's help. So I have not felt much pain so far at all. I owe a big thanks to Rebecca for supporting me in doing this; she didn't make me go through with it but was always there to mock my anxieties. She has waited on me hand and foot making some killer broccoli soup and potato soup after I got sick and tired of ice cream and puddings. The tomato juice was a good idea as well. Thanks babe, love ya.

Thursday they come out

Well those wisdom teeth have had a good run, but Thursday afternoon, they come out. I am off Friday and will have cheeks swollen up like a chipmunk, but at least Rebecca said she plans on taking good care of me as I recover. Any advise for me as I prepare for this ? Just don't try to talk me out of it.

Little Debbie and the Snack Cakes

2008 had LD&SC featuring a new third vocalist. This year's BBQ bash also featured some unexpected rain and lightning. All in all this party was very memorable and fun and I am glad I got a picture of the headliner band that was not super blurry. If you can't tell, the band is huddled under a canopy because of the rain, the audience was provided with umbrellas and braved the weather to rock to the tunes (and perhaps witness a severe electrocution.)

As a surprise, Michelle had Happy Birthday played (Beatles Style) for her new husband and his family came out from a hidden location all the way from Nevada. Speaking of birthdays... nevermind..

On a side note, I beat Final Fantasy X-2 last night, (yes the one with the girly dresses) and you know what? loved it!

New Fence

I took these this morning after helping my Dad pick apricots for Hannah to make apricot jam (picking started at 7:30AM, so it was cool temperature-wise.) I think Hannah and I should work out some kind of trade, unsweetened frozen apricot nectar for apricot jam? hmmm? The nectar is great for Russian chicken over rice, I think it is often too sweet with apricot jam but very good with the nectar and some sugar or honey added.

Street view of the rear wide fence for vehicle access, the two gates connect to a center sleeve that is removable.


Here it is the short open picket fence in the front.

And above is a shot of the backyard.

I plan to post pictures from the 2008 Hillary and Randy's BBQ music festival soon as well.

Belts

Certainly worse exist, but "The Belt-Napper" is not a moniker I want on my headstone.

Pictured are all belts I could find after spending an hour of frantic house/garage/car hunting. Glenn if any of the above even "closely resemble" a belt you may have owned or borrowed for an extended period or even viewed while browsing a local Deseret Industries, then please claim such belt as your own surrogate belt. I understand such a surrogate will be but a shadow of the belt with which she replaces, but in time.. in time wounds heal.

ZoneAlarm: a love / hate relationship

I love the free version of ZoneAlarm. Having a firewall software loaded on a Windows XP computer with access to the internet is a must for the health, security and privacy of a system. However, ZoneAlarm is such a nightmare when I try to do anything "networky". I have added the IP address of the other computer, but the menus in Zone alarm are so poorly named I cannot figure out how to enable network file sharing. So I am stuck, I am trying to get Ubuntu to mount a Windows XP share drive, if I disable ZoneAlarm, BINGO I am in, if I enable ZoneAlarm, when I try to connect I get an infuriating ZoneAlarm message that remote access was blocked. If you know of a better personal firewall software to use (or how to get ZoneAlarm to allow Windows XP filesharing traffic) please let me know.

My dream Windows XP Internet and network firewall software is:

• Free (can be open or closed source, but nag screens to buy should not be worse than ZA)
• Configurable (So that I can allow traffic like windows file shares)
• Good help documentation so I can figure out how to allow different types of traffic in and out
  
• Actively maintained
• Always on and low resource footprint (does not grind my system to a halt)

Yes I should just switch the other computer to Ubuntu as well and be done with it but,
we have and love the Adobe software that is windows/mac specific. This is the major reason left to have MS Windows at home, this and PC games which I never play anymore. I wonder how much Adobe is being paid to NOT develop a Linux version of their software, because as soon as they develop Linux versions... RIP MS Windows forever.

Dr Pepper

After bringing home about 4 six-packs of Dr Pepper from the museum in Waco, Texas, there are only 7 left... the original recipe, Imperial Sugar version is so very good. Rebecca has now banned me from them... the remaining cans are now hers and she can't drink them until after the baby comes in March. To be fair, I did not drink all of them in July. I gave out quite a few to friends and family. I would still like to have Steven try one as well, so maybe the last six-pack is Rebecca's.
On another note, the vinyl fence is finally done! I will post pictures if Rebecca does not beat me to it.

Java reflection tip of the day

Suppose you want to call a private method of a class called FourGablesGuy. Suppose further that the private method of this class has primitive type arguments.

public FourGablesGuy {
    private String privateMethod(int intParm, boolean boolParam)
    {
        return "four gables guy";
    }
}

Using reflection you can do it, but it was a little tricky for me.

...
       FourGablesGuy myFourGablesGuy = new FourGablesGuy();
        Object[] args = new Object[]{ new Integer(921), new Boolean(true)};
       Class[] params = new Class[] { Integer.TYPE, Boolean.TYPE };
        String result;
       try {
            Method privateMethod = myFourGablesGuy.getClass().getDeclaredMethod(
                    "privateMethod", params);
            privateMethod.setAccessible(true);
            result = (String) privateMethod.invoke(myFourGablesGuy, args);
       } catch (NoSuchMethodException nsme) {
            //do stuff
              throw nsme;
       } catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
            //do stuff
                throw ite;
       } catch (IllegalAccessException iae) {
            //do stuff
            throw iae;
       }
        // at this point the result String should have the value of the private method call
...

Getting the Class object for the primitive types was one issue, it is not java.lang.Integer! Also, knowing that an Object Array of a java.lang.Integer object and java.lang.Boolean object will be acceptable arguments to a Method defined with primitive params was the other big logic hurdle.
Hope this helps someone, maybe some Java professor needs a tough bonus reflection question. Or maybe this is all just obvious to the entire Java community and I am the last one to figure it out.
So if you are getting NoSuchMethodException and the method is using primitives, it is probably because you are not using Integer.TYPE for the Class Array of parameters and are using Integer.class instead.

Wisdom Teeth

Dentists have been casually recommending that I have my wisdom teeth removed for about 10 years now... I never felt like paying for it or going through the hassle. Well this past checkup visit the Stonehaven dentist pushed removing my wisdom teeth harder than any previous dentist has. His assistants picked up right where he left off, aggressively pushing the procedure. I still did not schedule to do it at the office, and I was annoyed by his salesman style approach. Then Rebecca started asking me, "When should I schedule to get those wisdom teeth out?" I think I reacted to her the same as the dentist in the office by telling her, we can't afford it, I am too busy at work, it is not hurting me to keep them, and maybe next year. But Rebecca made a good point, these teeth are a "health liability". She said all LDS missionaries are now required to have them removed before leaving on their mission. Keeping them is a liability if a problem develops while in the field away from modern medical facilities in the US and other countries. She also asked me if the roles were reversed and it was her that needed the wisdom teeth removed, would I be against it? I never thought about it that way, and it turned my perspective around on the cost. For six hundred or so dollars I can pay off that "health liability" forever and if Rebecca needed it done, I would let it be her decision and would support whatever she decided.

I am not looking forward to the procedure having read about the recovery: swollen face, oozing and bleeding, smelly foul bacteria breath for a week... but I will get it done in the next month or so regardless. This is also the first time I have been put under general anesthesia, so I hope I don't freak out, have Mom's nausea, or just never wake up.

I can't wait

I joked with Rebecca that she will not get any sleep Friday night because she will be so excited to get back to Utah. However, I may be in the same boat. I can't wait to get home. I can't wait to breath the mountain air and feel the soft grass under my feet. It has been great to come out and be in Texas and experience Austin. It has been so nice to visit family here in Texas, attend two weddings! and visit Dallas / Fort Worth several times. But it is now time to get home and stay home. I am so glad to have a supportive family to take care of the things that needed attention while I have been out here in Texas. I owe Mom, Dad, Hillary, Hannah and Linc big time. Being in Texas has stirred up some memories and it has been great to see family that I have not bothered to visit for way too long.

On another note, I spoke with Hal yesterday. He can't contain the enthusiasm he feels for getting hitched. It reminds me of having to wait 6 months to marry Rebecca. I have absolutely no pity for him having to wait 3 months. It really was hard waiting so long, the only thing that kept me from going crazy was that Rebecca told me she would make sure it was "worth it". After she said that I realized that the more I focused on her happiness, the happier I was. The time I was engaged went by faster because I was writing love letters to her, sending her notes, calling her up, taking her out on dates, and making sure she knew I was still the one who she was going to marry. We spent the time talking about our reception and wedding. We talked about our life together, started working out roles and responsibilities we would have, began setting expectations for ourselves, and set short term and long term goals for our family. Nearly three years later, I can honestly say I had no idea how "worth it" she was. She would have been worth 6 years. It is sometimes tempting to think, "Oh if we had only met earlier, we could have been together for even longer", but Rebecca is right; the timing and way we met and fell in love was perfect. I wouldn't change it if I could.

Switching from Saving to Spending

Our neighbors approached us with this idea to get a fence between us in April. We had started to save for a fence prior to this event, however we were not very far along the road. It may end up costing around $5000 more than we had accumulated for a budget. Thankfully we have a "rainy day" fund which we were able to dip into for the extra money needed to complete the fence project. But as the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." The rental property has been a sleeping financial hazard for us and finally reared its ugly head in May. All in all it will be about $5000 to cover the costs to repaint, repair damage and replace worn out carpet to prepare for a new tenant. Again we did not have enough budgeted for this large of an expense. In order to cover these costly repairs while also paying the mortgage on a vacant rental property, money had to come from somewhere. While working the numbers, I realized that the fence project was not an emergency and just because our neighbors were ready does not mean we were. I realized I had switched from a saving to spending mindset. So instead of spending so much out of the 'rainy day fund', Rebecca and I found ways to afford the fence by sacrificing other budgetary wants like a vacation and new furniture for the fence and rental repairs. Once all the sacrifices were made to afford the fence, we knew we were still short what was needed. However, it felt much better to take the minimum necessary from the emergency fund. We have heard Church leaders tell us to avoid debt and establish an emergency fund; I can say that the peace of mind which comes from following this advice has been worth the small sacrifices necessary. We are back in the saving mindset and have recommitted to save and replenish what was taken out of the emergency fund briskly, and steadily.

Annoying Eclipse "Problem Occurred" Again

I post this so that it might help someone else in a similar frustrating state. My Eclipse 3.3 has been giving me this annoying message ever few minutes.

Problem Occurred
periodic workspace save.
Cannot find file C:\Projects\.metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.core.resources\.projects\KB-485\1.tree

This project is a large CVS repository with over 1GB of static file content (don't ask I didn't have any involvement in the creation of the CVS module.) Recreating the project would be several hours of time pulling down the files from the network.

This error was causing me to have to click ok while trying to write code. Also, I got the same error trying to even close the project.

I fixed it by navigating to the directory in the error:
C:\Projects\.metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.core.resources\.projects\
creating the missing KB-485 folder and creating the missing 1.tree file (just an empty file)

Then I was able to close the project and open it and the 1.tree file was overwritten and the error has been fixed.

Novell Gym

Seeing Hillary's blog about the BlendTec gym has jogged my memory. I remember working out at the free gym at Novell. I liked doing it on Sunday morning, the entire gym was empty almost every time I went. I would rip a personal mix of mp3s to CD format and take it down to the gym. I could walk through empty halls of Building B and into the quiet locker room. Then I would grab a towel, pop the disc into the stereo system, and blast some hard rock while pumping free weights. The place was completely empty, it was so very nice. I would drive from American Fork to Provo Sunday after Sunday to have that experience. I brought Rebecca with me after we started dating. Sharing that experience with her brought my heart closer to her. We would do lunges together side by side. Knowing some basic tips about technique I could pretend to be some kind of exercise expert answering questions she didn't ask me. I never recorded some of the things we did together while dating and while we were engaged. I am glad to have this blog to start recording treasured experiences of my life. After getting engaged we got a membership at Lehi Legacy Center and going to Novell's gym no longer happened. Here in Austin their are some gyms at the hotel, they are often empty too. Rebecca found a great site to track what you eat and keep from overeating called the daily plate. I love that site and have been using for about a week. Take some time to check it out and while you are at it check out mvelopes as well, both sites were found by Rebecca and both have had (or are presently having) a large impact on my life.

She's still the one

Rebecca is still the one for me. She is awesome, here are some awesome facts about her.

1. Has a great Texas smile that is impossible to photograph adequately and can light up a room or even a grumpy husband.
2. Is an excellent chef and has shown me a thing or two about proper Southern cookin'.
3. Has impeccable taste for fashion, interior decorating, premium cuisine, landscape design, friends and associations, literature, beauty, and much more.
4. Can negotiate with a fierce business savvy I envy very much.
5. Is a tender loving parent, very selfless and patient with her daughter in extremely aggravating situations and stressful circumstances such as living in a single room for several months cut off from friends and family.
6. Shares her beautiful voice in a church choir for Christmas carols and sometimes at home too. She also can play many songs on the piano and loves to sing Swedish Christmas songs.
   
7. Has quilting skills and has been working on appliqué blocks here in Austin that are very intricate and impressive.
8. Knows what it is like to live in a high crime, low income neighborhood. What it is like to have your house broken into and possessions taken from you. She appreciates the basics like a safe home, clean clothes, full cupboards, electricity, and education and does not sweat keeping up with the neighbors.

The grass needs me

I miss the lawn and miss mowing it. Now that the weather is nicer in Utah, I am sure some epic mowing is taking place and I am missing it all. I actually asked a grounds keeper in Austin to let me push his mower around for a minute, he just pretended not to know English.

The Orem tenant is moving out as well, which means the lawn at Orem is in need of attention. I was thinking of getting a lawnmower for the Orem rental and just storing it in the shed. Once the tenant is out and locks are changed. I need to get the following done there:

• photos of the condition of the interior/exterior
• change the city,gas,electric utilities back over to me
  
• lock for the shed
• lawn mower and gas can for the shed
• someone to mow Orem rental while I am still in Austin
• bids to replace carpet
• bids for any other work for getting the house ready to rent
• advertise for new tenants
  

Four Gables getting a Fence

Our neighbors want to get bids on putting in a fence, we will split the cost of the fence we share so now Rebecca and I are scrambling to make sure we have enough money set aside to put in the rest of the fencing we have often wished for.

It is so strange to think we will be coming home to a house with a fence in the middle of summer, having left the house with 12 inches of snow in March.

Christina and Hal sitting in a tree

Christina is in L O V E, love. I have never seen her this completely and totally swept away in love. She is so happy and it shows. I am excited for her and Hal to be together. Three months is a short engagement but it is better than a few weeks! I remember how happy I was to get married, when you got the right one, marriage is the best. It was so nice to meet Cyrl and Sae and their cute kids too. I am glad Christina provided a good reason for us to come see them, they are so generous and wonderful hosts. Spring Creek BBQ is what I would term a 'fine establishment' for excellent texas style BBQ. It is a franchise but a very, very good one.

Sad News

One of the renters in the house in Orem committed suicide on Saturday. I checked the answering machine at the house, I had a feeling I should check it Sunday but didn't. Well today I checked it and two messages were on it from Orem police department. Apparently, their was a suicide at the residence, which is both shocking and very sad considering these guys are all very young, in their early 20's I think. I am not sure how to react, it is hard not to think about this person's friends and what they must be going through losing him like this.
Growing up I considered suicide to be a selfish way to get attention, now I think of it as more an act of desperation or extreme hopelessness or sadness. I did not know the man well, I think I shook his hand once or twice when visiting the house. I guess I just feel like I should have been a little friendlier, kinder, nicer and somehow made more of an impression. Like if I had done that, he would still be around.
My heart goes out to his family and friends, may they be comforted in this time of sorrow.

Missing Utah and Everyone

I miss Utah, even more so now that I am likely going to be here until June 28th... Once I am back here is a list of things that.. as Rebecca would deftly say.. need done.

1. Play me some blue dragon and various other games at Linc's and Randy's.
2. Mow my lawn, then tell some kid to "Get off of my lawn!" like the grouchy old man I am.
3. Cruise in my "pimp" Sonata for some JCW's burger with a shake (I am thinking maybe peanut butter or score bar.)
4. Eat me a garden tomato! Garden zucchini and summer squash would be sweet as well, I am thinking of this as an omelette.
5. Make me some migas style breakfast tacos with potato on our gas range (I won't even try on the crap electric range in this hotel.) Hopefully I will set off the fire alarm in our house in the process and get a two for one deal.
   
6. Backyard BBQ, with our special reserve beef.
7. Visit the temple, the closest one here is several hours drive and we don't have a sitter, otherwise I would love to checkout the Houston or Dallas temple.
8. Rent a movie and watch it at home with Rebecca.
9. Spend time with the family and extended family playing board games like Puerto Rico or Carcassone or just catching up.
   
10. I must be hungry, their are a lot of food ones on here, last thing that needs done is for me to finish the garage and do various maintenance work on the house while the weather is nice.
    
    
    
    

Soft Launch /Sea World/ Austin creep

Finally able to tie a bow on this pig.... the project 2 has finally soft launched (therefore I might actually only have one job going forward). A nice email went out acknowledging my efforts to get the system ready for a soft launch, however I was identified as Harley Davidson. Oh well, one more reason not to name a son the fourth. Maybe now I can have some time with the family... I didn't bother asking anyone at work and just took a Saturday to go to Sea World San Antonio with Rebecca and Eleanor. Thankfully no fires erupted while I was watching whales perform acrobatics. I have been to the San Diego Sea World with Paul and now the San Antonio one. Sea World is one of the few parks that I would like to go back to many times. sea world > disneyland

The tickets were 42 online or 50 if you want to go twice, we did the 50 ticket option since it is very likely we will be in Austin past May 4th and have time to go again. They actually fingerprint scan you and require picture ID to enter sea world when using the two pass ticket because they don't want people buying the two pass and selling the second trip to someone else. So it is much more high tech than the blurry black and white photos taken at Lagoon to prevent the same thing.

Overall it has been a good weekend, some strange white dude approached us and swore a blue streak at Rebecca, Eleanor and I as we were heading out Saturday morning in the parking lot. He felt the need to complete his tirade with a double middle index send-off as we drove away. I have a tendency to replay my actions in emotional events like that, but I just can't see how me trying to calm him down would have ended well. At the time I felt I was responsible to get us away from him before things got violent. It was nice to have that encounter to remind us that we are not exactly living in the safest area of Austin, nice in that it is better have that then actually get mugged or killed. Signs in the adjacent parking lots remind drivers to conceal valuables in cars, lock all doors, and ALWAYS keep your eyes open for suspicious behavior. I think that is good advice anywhere you are even Happy Valley, Utah. I heard a story about Rebecca's home life in Dallas that shocked me, her home was robbed often, so often they would leave notes for the intruders. The thieves would steal everything, including on two (2) occasions, the copper plumbing under the house, how insane is that?! They had to put in cheap PVC so that it would not be worth the effort to take.

16 hour days plus weekends

I have been really really really busy. Rebecca misses me and I am in the same hotel room. I guess the upside is I can't really work more hours, just about every minute of my time is work/sleep/food/hygiene at this point. This experience has convinced me I would never want to work at home. With Eleanor screaming when put to bed while I am on conference calls or trying to focus on complex programming issues really disrupts the thought process. Since the hotel room is just that, one room, I can't close off the noise and I just have to push through the distractions. The upside is Rebecca and I will fully appreciate our comparatively huge house when we get back.

Why You Should Almost Never Customize Enterprise Software

Why is it that so many large companies will buy an expensive enterprise software package that is missing critical functionality and features for their business? Why do these large companies that buy this expensive software then pay for expensive developers to write customizations to that software that should have been included in the software to begin with. In every case that I have seen, the customization was not necessary and should not have been done. It wasted thousands of dollars and results in unnecessary delays or in one extreme case even compromised the benefits the out of the box software would have provided.
Each customization an enterprise company decides to make should have a strong business case behind it because of the incredible cost it will bring to future upgrades and general maintainence. In other words, each software customization(ui change, feature enhancement, integration piece, etc...) should have a positive return on investment that factors in the cost to maintain that functionality. Most good features should just be added to the next release of the enterprise software and supported by the software vendor. If their are features missing from enterprise software ABC, the first step is to engage the vendor Product Development team and ask for it to be added in and tell them why. Open a feature request ticket, call them everyday, twice a day, until they relent and say yes because phone calls are cheaper than developers.
Good reasons to customize:

1. It gives my company a strong competitive advantage.
2. It is legally required, my company will be take to court if it is not included.
3. It saves my company vast amounts of time or will reduce expenses dramatically.

and, after many attempts, the vendor has told me they will not add it to the product.

Very bad reasons to customize:

1. My subject matter experts don't want to have to click that. (resistance to change)
2. My customers will be confused. (assumption / training issue)
3. I have this exsting system I want to leverage (another form of resitance to change)
4. I can't wait for the next release to have this feature and the vendor won't backport it. (shortsighted decision)

From day one, installing and rolling out an enterprise software system to replace an existing process (or set of processes) will be subjected to tremendous resitance to change by every department affected by the project. Picture a single person (you) on one side of a rope and the entire company pulling the rope the other direction to get an idea of a typical resistance scenario. Recognising this early and planning for it is critical for a project to be successful.

Furthermore, until the software is rolled out and actually used by the actual agents or customers in an actual work setting or production environment, any beliefs about how the interface will be (mis)understood are just plain guesses. Often they are not intelligent guesses. Often what I have seen is contrived, based on assumptions or imperfect mental models, or, worst of all, problems derrived from sandbox environments where the edge cases get lots of attention and the meatier workflow is left unnoticed or ignored. Until users are forced into the new software, kicking and screaming, the real usability issues will remain hidden. So why fix the UI when you don't know for certain what precisely is broken?

Finally, your existing systems do what they do, any attempt to integrate them with the new system is a change resistance on your part to allow the new system to stand alone as it was intended to operate. You can't always know the impact on the existing system an integration will have, nor should you expect to fully understand the negative impact the existing system will have when it is connected.

Bottom line is the vendor sales agent will probably tell you anything can be done and is possible, and technically they are correct. Just because a sales person says your ideas are great and wonderful does not mean they actually are. Would a car dealer tell you that putting snow tires on your band new convertable mustang was a stupid idea? not if they thought it would cost them the sale! Custom auto shops are glad to take your money to drop a truck's suspension rendering the vehicle a crippled novelty rather than the expertly designed and highly functional vehicle you test drove. Enterprise software is not that different.

Fort Worth Zoo

I took a lucky shot at the zoo. I think it turned out really well. I don't remember if we actually ever went to the Fort Worth Zoo when we lived in Texas. I like the Fort Worth zoo because it is not very big, their was lots of shade, it was not too croweded in the morning, lots of the animals were active and walking around, and their were statues that the kids could get on and "ride". I will post the rest of the photos on my flickr page.

Texas Wedding

We are going to Buffy McDaniel's wedding today. It is at the Smith Family Chapel at Riverbend Church. Hopefully we will get to see Grandpa and Ross and lots of family at the wedding. I hope the wedding is not super long, Eleanor being sick might make this a little tough to pull off. I wish we knew what time the reception was so we could just drop in for that... I will take a camera this time, I keep forgetting it and then later wishing I had one.

We are in the Shoal Creek Ward and the LDS Church here is much the same as the ones in Utah except for much more diversity here in Texas (lots of blacks, hispanics, and asians).

Here is a list of places we have eaten at here in Austin; along with my rating of the restaurant:

*****	Marie Callendars - This is right by the hotel, walking distance. Somehow the food here is better than the same food at the MC in Utah. The pie? oh baby!
****	Quiznos - I love Quiznos, but Rebecca is right, we need to eat at places that we cannot eat at in Utah.
**	Subway - Bad food. Bad service. She put way too much jalapeño on the sandwich and didn't bother to ask if it looked alright. We were rushed through the line like cattle and the cashier would not give me the credit on my subway card because I was a split second too late handing it to him!
**	Parmer Cafe (work cafeteria) - A cafeteria and their food was pricy??! The convienient location does not compensate for a poor texture and flavor to the food. Powerful weak!
*****	Saltgrass Steakhouse - Loved my steak here, just plain loved it. I have had better steaks but they cost probably double the price of this place.
*****	Cheesecake Factory - Very very good place to go. An expensive place to eat but worth it. The reason is simple: Chocolate Truffle Raspberry Cheesecake.
*	Serrano's Mexican Grill - Flavorless, bland Mexican food that was served at a rediculously hot temperature.
****	Rudy's Country Store (BBQ) - We will be back here. BBQ is not healthy and I feel like crap after eating a 1/2 pound of brisket but it was still worth it.
*	Texas Roadhouse - Ate here in Waco on the way to Dallas, they offer A1 because their steak sucks without it (also their was a George Bush Jr./Dick Cheney mural on the wall. This was probably the biggest disappointment so far, Ruby River is probably a clone of this chain and they did a way better job.
****	Tin Star Taco Grill - Eater here twice, the fish tacos are very good.
****	Chipotle (burritos and tacos) - Very trendy popular place for lunch, has a very busy "Cafe Rio" style environment.
*	Taco Cabana - No one in Austin seems to eat here, there is a reason, it sucks.
*	Granato's Deli (at SLC airport) - Way overpriced, very slow service. I didn't get an olive with my dry flavorless sandwich and didn't bother to wait in line to try to get it after sitting down.
***	Luby's cafeteria - Same as always, good okra, I got liver and onions which blew Rebecca's mind.
****	Cracker Barrel - Good service we had a large group and only one order was screwed up Rebecca got two fillets and ordered one while Ross got one fillet and ordered two. Best fried okra so far
****	The Blackeyed Pea - Fried pickle appetizer is awesome! Comes with Ranch Jalapeño dip, yum! Fried okra was dissapointing, rolls were excellent.
**	Z-tejas (texmex) - Strange ingredients lots of presentation, but people go here for the alcohol not the food.
***	Thoma's Super Buffet - Lots of chinese/american food, no presentation, poor a/c. But an on-site sushi chef! the sushi is freshly made and good here.
***	Thundercloud Subs - The Austin version of Sensuous Sandwich, pretty good subs and Rebecca loved it... until I told her I pulled a hair out of mine.

*****	I recommend this place.
****	Good, but not fantastic
***	Meh...
**	Skip it, better off going hungry.
*	Avoid this place at all costs. Fake illness if you have to, just don't eat the food.

Overall the service is almost always incredible (even at chain restaurants) in Austin. The great service is noticeably better than just about all but the nicest Utah restaurants. I am not listing these to brag about how much fun we are having on this trip; more I am listing the reasons why my pants will probably not fit me ever again.