RIP, Grandma

Thank you.

Thanks, Roger

Congratulations, Roger. Thank you for allowing me to witness sports genius at its finest.



I've had the opportunity to follow the careers of Gretzsky, Jordan, and Woods. You do make them look average.

Pure Joy

Just in case you've forgotten what pure joy is, watch a woman realize her life-long dream. Congratulations, Susan Boyle.

Third Time's The Charm?

As a previous owner of the 7 inch Asus Eee PC and the Dell Mini 9, I had become disenchanted with netbooks. The Eee PC was underpowered, had a keyboard suitable for toddlers, and was both noisy and butt ugly. The Dell Mini 9's keyboard is not useable by any technical person. Try hitting any of the following keys without slowing down: ', ", [, ], {, and }. Worst yet, the up arrow was on the same row as the right shift key. For someone who spends most of the day cursing at syntax-highlighted source code in vim, this is unacceptable.

Last week, C brought home the HP Mini Vivienne Tam Edition. I scoffed at this red and flowery overpriced netbook. However, after spending some time typing on it and browsing the web, I was impressed. So impressed that I went to Best Buy and bought the non-designer version, the HP Mini 1030.

This time around, I am restraining myself from wiping out Windows XP in favor of Ubuntu. We'll see how this little machine works out.

The New Home

What do you get when you mix low interest rates, a condo developer's eagerness to move units, and a desire to avoid driving? The purchase of a new condo within walking/biking distance of downtown, of course. After a few false starts, we have an executed contract on a 2/2 unit that's steps from the Lamar pedestrian bridge and a few blocks away from Zilker Park.

While the HOA fees are outrageous, I have somehow rationalized it to myself. After the closing, I will find myself the owner of 3 properties in Austin. Life was definitely simpler going month-to-month on a one bedroom apartment.

Used gadgets, anyone?

I love gadgets, but I hate owning things that don't get a lot of use. The result? A constant selling of used electronics on craigslist and ebay. To me, the cost of a gadget is the difference between its new price and its used price on craigslist or ebay. Someone should set up an electronic leasing company for consumers like me.

Gabriel

Around the middle of July -- I've learned that the start of pregnancy is backdated to the end of the mother's last period -- we will have a screaming and pooping machine we will affectionately call "son." My little wunderkind will carry on the family name. Project Gabby has been renamed to Project Gabriel.

The Peanut is camping out

Here is Gabby at 8.5 weeks.

It was quite a thrill to see her little heart beating on the screen.

Dancing Around the World - in HD

Matt Harding's ridiculous dance around the world always makes me smile. By unifying the diversity of humanity through the common thread of joy, Matt's videos always put me in a better mood. Now, you can see them in HD.

New Corporate Website

The new Velomatrix corporate website is now up. The previous (and original design) was over five years old. The current design is simpler, more colorful, and should be good for another five years.

Opt-Out

After days of debate, we decided to exercise our option to not buy the new house. While we sacrifice the option money as well as the inspection and loan fees, we won't be saddled with another mortgage. During this time of economic collapse, we will seek shelter in C's house. It's dog-friendly, has plenty of room, and will allow us to invest even more in Gabby. This must be a tough time to be a real estate agent.

Rathlet

I am thrilled to announce that my future progeny is now gestating. Utilizing the mystical art of mathematics, I've determined the due date to be the end of July. We are currently referring to the parasite as Gabby. I am equally thrilled that my child will not be born during the Bush administration.

Yes We Can

An historic moment.

No words

What do you say to a friend who has lost his 32 year-old son to a motorcycle accident? I didn't know and still don't know. All I could do was give him a hug.

Commensurate With Ability

I posted a few job listings last week. For salary, I entered "commensurate with ability" instead of the usual "commensurate with experience." I would rather pay more for the less experienced candidate who can produce quality work over the industry veteran who has been wasting away for decades. There must be a study out there that seeks to identify the experience inflection point for software developers. My bet is that it's somewhere between 5 and 8 years. Sadly, I'm way past that number.

What happened to my hair?

On a fateful July Sunday morning, I engaged in a one-on-one basketball game with a colleague. The loser was to depart with all his hair. After a painful hour or so, I was that loser. Above was the result.

When I posted the picture on Facebook, it garnered more attention than the recent change in my relationship status. If my friends are to be believed, I'm the love child of Jet Li and the Dalai Lama.

My List

Since all personal blogs are thinly veiled expressions of self importance, I thought I would start a list of unusual facts about me:

• Never had a cup of coffee
  
• Once tried to run a marathon without training - bad idea
• Owner of more bicycles than pairs of jeans
• Currently addicted to Scrabulous
• Don't own a TV
• Boyhood heroes include Weird Al Yankovic and Al Bundy
• Once mistaken for Jet Li, but a facial analyzer thought Richard Stallman was more appropriate.
  

Blast From the Past

Insomnia and nostalgia led me to my high school year book where I came across these precious words:

It was fun sleeping behind your desk in calculus. Love, Lillian.

I don't remember much about Lillian except that she was a Russian immigrant who only picked her head off the desk to take the exams.

Duels Defense

Check out this time waster:

Come Suited for Battle at Duels.com

Stereo Bluetooth Devices Are Not Ready for Primetime

My initial enthusiasm over stereo bluetooth has waned. Both my MacBook Pro and Blackjack II support A2DP. Over the past month, I have been using a bluetooth headphone from Best Buy and this Bluetooth transceiver connected to C's Apple Hi-Fi.

Despite not being an audiophile, I can unequivocally state that the sound quality sucks. From the MBP to the headphones, I can hear static. Plus, the music just sounds muffled. Sound degradation can also be heard from the Apple Hi-Fi. In both cases, the bluetooth devices are no more than 10 feet away from one another.

My research into A2DP reveals that the signal is transmitted digitally. It must be poor implementation then. Perhaps in a year I'll try the new A2DP devices on the market.