Migrating and developing new applications for Linux

IBM is having a couple of one day or half day sessions on various topics through it's IBM developerWorks program. One of the topics in their "Technical briefings" series is "Migrating and developing new applications for Linux". Specifically -

"Migrating and developing new applications for Linux"
2005 Mar 08 (09:00 to 12:45)
Washington DC Area, District of Columbia, United States IBM Facility
12902 Federal Systems Park Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033

You can find a map for it on Google Maps.

The main page for all of the IBM developerWorks Technical briefings and Events is at http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/offers/techbriefings/.

I don't know how I'm going to get there but I am going to try for this specific event.

The ups and downs

Ever notice how people tend to use a roller coaster as the metaphor for life's travels? The whole up and down thing is understandable. But life tends to be a lot less forgiving than an amusement part ride. The ups and downs in life are far more intense and have much less warning. Closer to a rocket shot; straight up and straight down.

Right now I'm in the middle of limbo. The job in PA went very well but was a real killer. Nearly 4 weeks in a hotel away from my son... That's far to long a time to be away. Now I'm in wait state while the sales people are working out another gig. I did get my first paycheck from the new job and it was almost enough to catch me up on things. But I need new glasses and had to put down half for them to start making them. Now the glasses are in but I can't pick them up till I get more money in. Heh, as a side note this prescription is bifocal. Damn I'm getting old.

On a good note I have been on two dates since I got back. One was with the Chinese lady friend from way back. The other with a setup through that Together Dating. They both were nice and I hope to see them both again. I'm pretty sure I'll see the former but can only hope about the latter. The funny thing is I have four more "introductions" in my bag. I've setup dates with three of them but still need to touch base with the fourth. Next weekend is going to be very busy.

What else... I'm still hoping to start my plan. It's not going to be easy as it's far more likely I'll spend the days lying on the couch watching TV than trying to re-learn programming. It would be good for me if I did get back into hacking, though. And it is something I really like. The lack or motivation and, more critically, discipline is what's holding me back. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it. But lazy is more than just a state of mind. It's a way of life. Well, for some of us it is.

Oh, before I forget, I started smoking the Eclipse cigarettes again. The Wellbutrin was working wonderfully but I ran out of the prescription while up in PA and the stress from the training and being away from my son was to much. I need to call the doctor and get it renewed this week.

Anyway, them's the highlights. I'll try and get on here more often but don't hold your breath. Remember, lazy is a way of life.

Teen driving

Still stuck in the hotel, I'm flipping through the channels and run across Teen Kids News where teens product and report on different issues related to teens. One of the segments was on teen driving. The numbers and stats all show that, for teens between 15 and 18, traffic accidents are the #1 cause of death and injury. Most teens feel that they are good drivers and can (and should) be aloud to drive unrestricted once they pass their drivers test. Some states are implementing something called Graduated Drivers licenses (GDLs). These vary from state to state but generally have restricted driving hours, restricting the number of teen passengers and other limitations. These go until the drivers are 18 or over. The stats are that states implementing GDLs have up to 40% less teen traffic accidents/injuries/deaths.

I'm now 42 years old. But I can still remember when I got my license. It was a bit different than when kids get their licenses here in the US 'cause I got mine in Germany. I had to go through the Military driving program to get my license. This consisted of a 100 question test, 25 questions on general driving issues (rules for accidents, questions on registration, etc.), 25 on right-of-way (something that doesn't seem to exist here in the US) and 50 questions on traffic signs. Out of the 100 total questions you could not miss more than 4. Additionally you could only get your permit at 17, which limited you to being only aloud to drive with an instructor licensed driver (not just any licensed driver). You couldn't get your full license until you were 18 and passed the above test. I say all of this because even with all of these extra measures I was still an insane driver, just like every other teen driver. Taking way to many chances, driving to fast (though I rarely ever speeded because the Autobahn doesn't have a max speed limit, it does have a minimum speed limit), not paying attention and all the normal things that new teen drivers do. We have to learn to drive sometime but maybe it might be better if that sometime were later in life. I don't know when, later, maybe early 20's? Thankfully I'm not chosen to solve this issue.

A side not to the piece was the question, "Who would you feel safer with when driving a dangerous road? Another teen, your mother, your father or a grandparent." The answer kinda surprised me a little. 12% said teen, 14% said mother, 20% said father and 54% said grandparent. The reasoning was because the grandparent was such a slow driver. As I have gotten older I've seen how driving skills do get a little ragged around the edges when you get up there. My mother, who is 66 now, can still drive well but is recognizing that her night vision is getting worse and that there's a few things that are more difficult than they were years ago. When I was a teen I would have wanted my father behind the wheel. I hope that in 5 or 6 years my son will feel the same.

Ruby on Rails and White Powder

No, it's not a gem show on a train with a cocaine chaser. From the O'Reilly site -

Rolling with Ruby on Rails by Curt Hibbs -- The Ruby community is abuzz about Rails, a web application framework that makes database-backed apps dead simple. What's the fuss? Is it worth the hype? Curt Hibbs shows off Rails, building a simple application that even non-Rubyists can follow.

Now, I really like the design of ruby. It's got the power and abilities of perl with a clean and readable syntax like python. I just wish I had the time to learn it. Maybe with the new job I can work something out where I do some development. We'll have to see.

And on that note, I need to come up with a feedback/comment form for the training I'm doing. You know, was the material covered, did the instructor suck, was it worth attending... That kind of stuff. Unfortunately I am having a hell of a time coming up with something. Maybe I'll try google and see if I can't come up with an example or template.

As to the white powder, I'm sitting in a hotel room (blogging instead of working) surrounded by 6" to 8" of snow. The storm blew through very quickly, thank $DEITY, or else we'd have had 12" to 18". I remember the Blizzard of '94 and am not interested in playing that game again. Three feet of snow is four feet to many, if you ask me. My son is enjoying it, though. It's as easy to get him out of the snow as it is getting him out of the pool. Man, he'll stay in even though he's shivering so hard he can hardly talk and his whole body is blue. A definite water baby. Takes after his mom. While I enjoy the beach as much as the next person the whole "in the water" thing I can take or leave.

Well, it's way past my bedtime. Even though I don't have to get up for anything tomorrow, with the exception of the game (Go Steelers!), I'd prefer getting a couple of hours of sleep.

Life moves way to fast!

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. A lot has happened. Well, one thing has happened but it was a major life-altering thing. I got a job.

It's not just "a job" though. See, I've been working with and using Linux and open source since November 1991. I'm a big advocate of Linux and open source. I've participated in a number of open source projects, written articles and helped with the spreading of Linux whenever I can. This job is like a dream. I will be doing Linux/open source training, Linux/open source consulting and building Linux/open source solutions for companies. Can you believe it? I still can't. Right now I'm in PA doing three weeks of Linux training with the potential of some add-on consulting. It's been a little rough, though. It's been a while since I've done anything more than one day sessions but this first week seems to have gone well.

The one down side is that I'll be away from home for three and a half weeks. That's a long time away from my family, especially my son. That reminds me, I need to call him.

[...]

Ok, just got off the phone with him. He's doing good but misses me. I miss him very much. Thank $DEITY that my mother is there to watch him. If she wasn't I don't know if I could have taken this position. Another reason I wish I had a wife/girlfriend.

On that front, I believe that I'm going to give up looking for a woman. Not necessarily forever but for a while at least. It's to distracting. And it's not likely that I will ever find anyone anyway. Man, you know it's bad when your own mother also doesn't think I'll ever find a woman. Very depressing.

Which reminds me... I have run out of the Wellbutrin. The Doctor has said I need to see him again before continuing the prescription refilled. That's not likely to happen anytime soon as I won't be back for over two more weeks. Unfortunately the lack of the Wellbutrin has meant that I started smoking those damned Eclipse cigarettes.

Oh well, what the hell. Or as Miles says in Risky Business, sometimes you just have to say, "What the fuck."

Catch up is more than just a condiment

It's been really freaked here lately. Going on a month of unemployment, which means the bills haven't been paid in two months. I'm getting calls and email from everyone wanting money. I have no money and will not be getting more anytime soon. My disability annuity just covers the rent. Life sucks.

As for the job situation, I am getting a boat load of calls from recruiters. My skill set and expertise are quite good. However, they are only looking for full-time employees. As soon as I mention my part-time limitation they all say the same thing.

Paraphrase: "We have no part-time positions available but will keep you in mind if something comes open."

I'm sure they mean well. It's just that it's very hard to place me. There is one possibility that looks promising but I don't want to say anything as not to jinx it.

On the home front, my son is doing both exceptional and abysmal in school. Academically he's running 2 to 3 grades beyond his current one. Emotionally/interpersonally he's 2 to 3 grades below. He lacks discipline and the ability to self monitor his behavior. It's nothing extreme. He's just a bit talkative and, when he gets bored, he wants to occupy himself in loud and boisterous activities. Most of the time trying to get his classmates to join him. I know why he lacks the discipline and there's not much I can do to fix that (I am trying, though). But he is very capable of behaving in the right environment. He had almost no problems when he was in Tae Kwon Do and he's never been a problem when he visits his grandmother. He's generally good for me, too. I think that the school systems in this day and age aren't prepared to handle boys. Girls will, generally, behave fairly well. The boys are, well, why do you think that "boisterous" starts with a "boy" sound? We'll work it out somehow.

Health is, well, I have no idea. The last few weeks I've had a headache that won't go away and some body aches that are above and beyond the FM. Today I was up at 4am with chest pains. They seemed to come and go all day. My left arm was numb and weak. I mean much more so than normal. I almost called 911 on two occasions but didn't. Yes, I know... I'm being a pig-headed, stupid man who won't call the doctor when he's sick. I've done the chest pains/911/ambulance/hospital thing already and it's not something I want to do again. No, it doesn't make any sense. But if I'm still having them tomorrow I will call. That is if I am still alive in the morning. Waking up dead would be a real drag.

I haven't started my grand plan yet. I didn't think that it would be easy to. I'm infamous for wanting to do something but never getting around to actually doing it. There's always a distraction here or there. And I'm very easily distracted. Most of the time it's email or the web so I'm going to setup the other system with something (maybe SUSE or CentOS or most likely FC3) and keep the browser and email apps disabled. I can pop over to my main machine if I need something. I guess I'm just not very enthusiastic about doing C coding. But if I want to get back into it, and do any hacking on open source projects, I'm going to need it. A foundation in C isn't all that bad, really. I should probably move onto Java after that but I don't know if I'll ever get that ambitious. Hell, I have no ambition. That's half my problem.

Let's see, what else... Can't think of anything off-hand. I think if things all the time and say, "I should blog that" but it's been so hectic lately I just don't feel like getting on. I recorded the F1 year in review thing from the Speed Channel and, whenever I get 'round to watching it, I might post something about it.

Despair, Inc. 2005 Calendars

The Despair, Inc. 2005 Calendars are in at ThinkGeek. If you haven't seen the calendars or posters before you're in for a treat. The reason they are so funny is because they are so true. One perfect example is -

Incompetence - When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, There's no end to what you can't do.

My mother gets very upset and angry when she encounters incompetence in this world. Unfortunately, this means she's upset or angered just about every day. I myself don't often get upset or angry when I encounter incompetence. Or idiocy. Or stupidity. Hell, I'm as mediocre and lazy and undependable as the next guy (well, if the next guy is dead). Getting bent by the actions of morons is a useless waste of energy. I don't have the spare energy to waste on these kinds of things. I probably should be more assertive and less accepting of this stuff since it always seems to bite me in the end. But that's just my nature. I am a Scorpio.

So very tired

I haven't done anything to warrant this but I'm about ready to fall out any second. Tomorrow I'll try and get some catch-up posts in. It's not like much has happened but much did happen. That's the weird part of it.

Going to bed now. Alone. Without anyone. $DEITY I need a woman!