Another kite for the collection

Well I've added another kite to my collection, the Premier Addiction, 72" wing span 4-20mph wind rating... Hopefully we'll get some decent wind this Sunday so I can take it out on the National Mall.

My dual-line collection now consists of my original $20 K-Mart special, my Prizm Stylus Power Foil P.2 and now my new Addiction. Next time I buy a kite I think I'm going to move up to a quad-line kite

My new kite

Well I finally got a new dual string kite. I went for a power kite by Prism. I got the Stylus P.2. I know that there are lot of great power kites but I think this one is a good start. Hopefully I'll get a chance on Sunday to fly it. We doing a walking tout tomorrow on the Mall so I'll bring it along in case I have some time.

New Wishlist

Last month included my birthday, and like usual, no one new what to get me.... that has mostly to do with who I am, I'm picky. Anyways... a few years ago for the holidays, I created a wishlist to help people out. My research actually started when I was trying to build a 'Fair Trade' wishlist for our wedding. Anyways... I knew that many stores had lists, but I wanted something that could handle outside items. I initially tried and used a site call MetaWishlist, it worked for me, but not for our registry... I liked it but is was in way early beta and eventually I got tired of it. At the same time I used GiftHat for our fairtrade registry. So when I heard that the developer of GifHat had an import option for MetaWishlist, I migrated. So for the last few years Gifthat has managed my wishlist, and managed it well. I on the other hand was terrible at updating it and a number of the products, well they were no longer available. This all said, last month my brother remembered that I had a list and managed to find on Google, and bought probably the only item on it I had added in the last year, a Creative Zen media play (other than that, the only thing I've added to my list was books for me to buy). It was probably one of the better gifts I've received in many a year, not because I selected it, but because it was something I really wanted but had no idea some one would or had bought it for me. So it reminded me the value of a wishlist. So today I was looking through my wishlist, and with the exception of a few items, almost everything was from Amazon. Not just that, the items that were directly from Amazon, they were actually there through the partnering shops (most of my items were from ThinkGeek and DealExtreme, both list many if not almost all their items on Amazon). Now while I've heard that Amazon does not treat there employees the greatest, you can't argue with the amazing selection. So basically I'm announcing my new wishlist which is available on Amazon, actually there are 3 wishlist, 1 for generic stuff, 1 for movies and music (and other related stuff), and a 3rd which is basically book about programming and such learning materials that are on my list to eventually buy.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1ETY9C5IV9LDV

Touch-tone calling systems

Have you ever called a company support line and found yourself looking at your phone with every option? Well I got off the phone with Costco's Pharmacy and was surprised to find that all options ignored the center row of numbers... Basically all options were 'press 1' or 3 no 2. Smart move, it is a lot easier to press the outside buttons than the inside....

The desktop updated

I know I posted a picture of my desktop when I first started working from home, but this is probably the cleanest it ever has been.

More Yahoo Commentary

Well I know ... Yahoo + Microsoft or Microsoft + Yahoo === ????

I'm no Microsoft fan, but I'm starting to see reason in Microsoft's attempt from a tech point of view... I've been trying to read almost every article I see appear in my Bloglines feed reader about the possibilities. I was surprised to see how much work they've been doing together... I guess it shouldn't surprise me... they announce the intercommunication between Yahoo Messenger and MSN a few years ago (even though it only started working recently), Most of Yahoo's mobile development has been related to WiMob. And I was surprised how much work they've done with integrating ActiveX. So yes, I can seen why Microsoft is interested... Yahoo has done all the work for them, well at least from a web front.

But here is the flip side... we keep hearing about the 'Yahoo' side, but we don't here much from what Microsoft has to offer but a Name and $$$. So I can see why Microsoft is interested, but why would Yahoo. I know they are struggling against the Open Juggernaut Google. And yes Google on the web is probably equivalent to Microsoft on the desktop.. the difference is that they are openly public, free, and nice. Google is more than happy to share and to the public, well that makes them look like the good guys... but that is not the point of this post.

So yes, what does Yahoo have to gain.... but what does Yahoo have to lose... well basically there existence... If they merge/are acquired my Microsoft, it is only a matter of time before they and shadowed and the name forgotten, if they stay solo, where they could just fade out of existence... So what to do... well I think the bigger fear on both sides is the extras Yahoo has... Sites like Del.icio.us and Flickr among I'm assuming others, but those are the only two I use. While yes they are owned by Yahoo, and yes your Yahoo ID can be used and linked together, for the most part... they are totally separate entities. I like it that way.. I'm a Yahoo/MyYahoo/YahooMail/Y!Messenger user, and a Flickr and Del.icio.us user, but other than my knowledge... they really aren't connected and I like that... but now what happens if yahoo merges or disappears... will we loose them too?

So anyways... Again I'm seeing make issues with the marriage, not from a parent point but from the children... some how I don't see this as another Brady Bunch... just a bunch of disgruntled children.... I guess only time will tell.... that all said, while I'll be keeping all my accounts with Yahoo... I'll probably start slowly moving my world to Google (the open-friendly-juggernaut), so expect my mail, and flickr to move to Gmail and Picasa... still not sure what to do about Del.icio.us...

Ask for a re-usable cup

At Saxby's today I asked for a re-usable cup... Highly recommended if you plan on staying the entire period of the drink... Every little bit help the Earth.

Job Description vs Actual Job

I reluctantly write this post here since I'm not sure who actually reads this blog and how it will be taken. I roughly know who reads the Lauren and Nick Blog, but I'm not totally sure who reads this one. I know it is published via my Plaxo Pluse and I think I have it imported into my Facebook Notes, but I'm not sure nor am I sure if I have it being published anywhere else...

Anyways, this topic came up among friends last night. As the post title states, the wonder is what others think about there Job Description as compared to what they actually 'do'. More importantly performing the role of a manager when it is not in your job description.

Basically when you think about it we are 'only' paid to do what is stated in our job descriptions. So what do you do when you find yourself doing other work. I'm not saying that you find yourself doing the work of others, but that your work has out grown your job description. Say you were hired as a junior level engineer, but over time while your position has not change, you now find yourself managing a small project. Or say you are a entry level financial analyst but find yourself doing the same work as your superiors. Or even say your job description includes the work of a upper level manager but you title only lists you as a junior level manager.... anyways these are all very common possibilities... so what should you do?

do you:

1. Accept it and keep going
2. or Accept it and seek redefinition of your job description
3. or Accept it and simply seek compensation (raise, bonus, etc)
4. or Reject it and simply not do it

All very plausible options but which should you take. Now there are also other factors:

1. Do you want the work?
2. Are you seeking advancement or raises?
3. Do you feel you are not capable of the doing the work (not likely if you are already doing it)

Regardless of the motive, desire of personal choice, I guess the bottom line question is, do you do it or not? This means until our job description matches our job, or do we wait till our job description changes and then start the work? So what does everyone else out there think?

Open ID, first there weren't enough, and now there are to many

For those out there who have been following the whole OpenID, it has been pretty interesting. First the whole idea in my opinion is great, one ID to track your web-based life. At sites that support OpenID, simply setup your account and then link it to your OpenID, and then 'never' worry about all the passwords again.

My first thought was that this was great, and it would be great if this was link to say email or something. I was looking forward to when Yahoo (my primary email provider) would start supporting OpenID, but over the last month or so... I'm skipping ahead. So when I first heard about OpenID there were only a handful of providers. I found out about it through Plaxo. They recommend MyOpenId.com, so off I went to explore... and create my first ID. That too is when I thought about the fact that I wanted to connect my ID to my email...


So like I said.. OpenID it suppose to help sync and simplify our online identities, of which I have many. I have my Blogger/Google id through this blog, I've got my email id via Yahoo. I've got my blogroll id through Bloglines (well I didn't initially consider that an ID, but they do provide personal blogs so). And if you consider Bloglines and identity, then I've also got Del.icio.us, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and then there is also Plaxo.

Well so here I had my OpenID at MyOpenId.com, then Bloglines announced they were providing ID, and I think they (and Ask.com) may have been the first to provide such ID. Then a few weeks ago as groups started announcing there 2008 line ups.... many others just started announcing they were going to provide IDs. This week was the most interesting, if not just the last 2 days. Late last year OpenID2.0 was finalized, and then yesterday both Yahoo announce that they were going to provide ID (link) and Google's Blogger has done the same (link). So now here lies the dilemma... I've been using Yahoo as my personal email for years... starting back in HighSchool so while I have a nice alias that points at my yahoo id, my ID is an old highschool name from my BBS days.... Now my Google/Blogger ID I've been using is more of the kind of web ID that I've been using as of late. Most new account logins use the same username especially sights that I comment on and such. So which to use....

Well that brings me back to my topic... at first there weren't enough ID providers, and now there are too many to choose from. The funnier part is that the one company that introduced me to the notion of OpenID and OpenSocial for that matter was Plaxo. Plaxo is a my synchronization of life. My yahoo, google, aim, and local addressbooks and calendars are all synced through Plaxo. My blogs, del.icio.us, flickr and twitter, are sync through Plaxo Pulse. SO if anything, Plaxo is my single ID, so while they accept OpenID and were one of the first to do so... why don't they provide??? Oh well I guess even with all the syncing and simplifying Plaxo and OpenID do, it makes sense to not connect your OpenID to a very public arena. I guess having a OpenID only provider will help insure security... The bottom line is, while it is a good thing that OpenID is now out in the open with thanks to BigWeb (Google, Yahoo, Ask, etc)... I've decided I like my quieter OpenID provider MyOpenID.com . That all said, I think if I ever did switch my OpenID to another provider, at this point it will only happen if Plaxo becomes a provider.

OpenID: what it is
List of OpenID providers can be found here.
List of site allowing OpenIDs here and here.

Reading comics is th best way to start the day

AppleGeeks Lite

A workspace only a geek would love.

Exluding the really messy desk, I'm loving my workspace. Between VNC, a utility called Synergy (http://synergy2.sf.net), and my new found friend ScreenRecycler (http://www.sceenrecycler.com) for the Mac, I am happy. (For windows, you can try http://www.maxivista.com/ for Windows)

VNC is a great utility for remote displaying computers. I use TightVNC on linux and Vine Viewer on the Mac. Via VNC I am able to display my linux servers in Miami locally on my mac in DC.

Synergy is a great little tool tha let's you share one keyboard and mouse with several machines. It works for Linux, Mac, and yes even windows though I never tried it. Synergy let's me use my keyboard and mouse on my Powerbook without any addition hardware, plus it is free.

And today... Today I found a great app for the Mac call ScreenRecycler. SR let's me use a VNC session as a second monitor. Basically on my linux box using a vnc client I connect to my mac. That connection the becomes a second monitor for my mac. If you look closely at the center screen you will see my second mac window, typically I'd have the screen set to full, but for the picture it is better this way.

Bring your child to work day

As many know today is "Bring your child to work day". We have a slew children walking around and to top it off, our pet Croc (link page 4) decided to pay a visit.

A co-worker took these photos


Surprisingly the local Iguana population is in hiding. I'll have to post some pictures of them at a later date.

Update 4-27: it turns out late yesterday evening, the Croc decided to partake in an Iguana for dinner. He was spotted with the tail hanging out of its mouth.

Amazing birthday gifts

Some birthday gifts are just amazing. This is one of the three gift I received this year from my soon-to-be wife Lauren. She also gave me a great shaving kit and a cool sudoku rubik cube, but this dragon is the coolest addon for a computer ever. The little guy is watching me complete my thesis.

StarWars on Location

Well I saw my first R2D2 mail box today. They don't look as bad as I thought they would. Now if they could just add a holographic projector of a mail person it would be complete.

Turning signals

You always hear complaints about drivers not signaling in Miami. I use to stonrly agree with that. However over the last few months while becoming a regular highway driver, I've noticed that the bulk of drivers actually do signal. On that note I've also noticed that yes the average driver will attempt to block a car if it is signalling. I personally try to let signalling cars in. I feel that overall my drive is quicker and more enjoyable if I let cars in rather than have them cut me off.

Ghetto dishwasher repair

Well we awoke this morning to a non-functioning dishwasher. After frustration I opened the front panel and noticed a very old school on-off switch... Basically a mechanical lever flipping a light switch... Anyways I simply assumed that there was a short somewhere and resided to calling an expert. Upon putting the door back together I notice the lack of a clicking sound when latched the door shut. Hence the ghetto repair... atleast the machine is running.

First Aid and CPR

Today is CPR and first aid trainig at work. I always like practicing on partial bodies. After lunch we get to do the first aid part.

First opera

Well our first opera is over. It was a nice light opera. I really enjoyed it but must say it took a bit to adjust to the high box seats. The view was amazing. That said I think it was a very nice performance. The emotion in the voices was amazing. I have one small complaint.... while the subtitles made it nice to understand what was going on, but being on top of the stage it made it hard to pay attention to both. Anyways that all said I'm looking forward to the next chance we get to enjoy an opera.

update: this post too was attempted last night but mobile blogging issues arose.

Night at the Opera

Lauren's dad gave us tickets to the Opera tonight. A congregant has box seats. "L'Italiana in Algeria" by Gioachino Rossini. So this is our view and here we are.

update: this and the following opera post were actually attempted to be sent last night, but ever since I moved to my new Treo650 I've had various mobile blogging issues. anyways... hopefully mobile blogging will continue to work now.

First Opera

Well our first opera is over. It was a nice light opera. I really enjoyed it but must say it took a bit to adjust to the high box seats. The view was amazing. That said I think it was a very nice performance. The emotion in the voices was amazing. I have one small complaint.... while the subtitles made it nice to understand what was going on, but being on top of the stage it made it hard to pay attention to both. Anyways that all said I'm looking forward to the next chance we get to enjoy an opera.