This past Sunday after church we went to Chili’s for lunch (not really an usual event). We normally don’t order dessert, but I had a hankering for some of their molten lava chocolate cake. So we ordered one and each one of had a spoon. Well those complaints of “I’m full” were no where to be heard. In fact it became something of a competition to get your fair share (and maybe a little of your siblings share). Afterwards Maggie said, “The next time we come here to eat, let’s get that dessert thing. It was de…lish…us.” I might have to agree with her.
We then went by the mall to let Emma spend some of her birthday money on a set of Build a Bear clothes (*cough*.. ripoff.. *cough*). Every time we pass the carousel in the middle Maggie begs to ride it. Not wanting to cause a scene, I decided to take an alternate route. We slipped in one of the side entrances close the afore mentioned store. As my luck would have it, there was a set of those quarter rides (spaceship, stationary roller coaster, etc.). Yep, you guessed it. Connie’s more sympathetic to the requests as I would have moved on along. The girls did enjoy it though. So while the girls did their shopping, the boys and I went down to the video game store and looked around. With their bags in hand, the girls finished up their shopping and we headed home. Nice little diversion with the family.
Posted in General , Tagged with Family, Food.
By James
– 8/27/2010
Tonight we celebrated Connie’s birthday by going to Mason’s Grill for a couple “Cajun ribeyes”. I guess you can can’t it as too fancy of a place since there were posted coloring pages of kids work (one of which was Emma’s). Of course you couldn’t tell that from the bill. After that we went shopping for a hall tree. For the record, I didn’t know what was before last month when Connie described it to me. The kids were pretty good, but a room full of chairs and beds is just too much of a temptation. One other little thing that I noticed is that close to closing time the sales people out number you 5 to 1. But it’s something that Connie has been wanting for a while and since it was the princess’ birthday, her humble servants for the day obliged. We didn’t come home with one, but I think we have one picked out (“hall tree” that is).
I hope she had a good time though. I know that there so many days that she doesn’t get to do what she wants. She doesn’t complain, but I really wanted her to enjoy her time having her way. Love you Connie.
Posted in Family , Tagged with Birthday.
By James
– 8/26/2010
These two girls are so different, but they so love each other. I can’t even count the number of times a week that they are playing some story together. Usually Emma will come up with the basis for the story and they’ll grab their bears, dolls or action figures. I can hear them talking in high pitched voices as they each take turns with the dialog. They’ll continue to embellish as they move along through the story. It really does make me happy to see how they love to spend time together. They’ve really got something special.
Editors Note: Two of these photos were taken by Connie’s Uncle. They look so much better than the photos from my camera.
Posted in Family , Tagged with Photo.
By James
– 8/15/2010
Today our oldest daughter Emma turned six years old! It’s hard to believe that it’s actually Emma’s birthday. I say that because just about every other day of the year she talks about what her birthday is going to be like. It changes as the year goes on, but today is the day. I certainly hope that she enjoys it. She got to pick the location for her birthday lunch and her choice was McDonald’s. Quinn’s comment was that she wasted that choice and I would tend to agree. Yet, the birthday is hers and the choice is hers. I think she had a wonderful time playing in the play ground. I know I sure enjoyed having lunch with them. Her present? A pink Nintendo DS. It’s a combined gift from multiple family members as our birthday budget doesn’t cover a DS. She loves it.
Emma is the creative heart of our family. Her imagination is awesome. She leads us through so many stories and adventures that she puts together inside her head. Oh it can be silly for sure, but sometimes you need some silliness. I love my skinny little red head girl.
Posted in Family , Tagged with Birthday, Family.
By James
– 8/11/2010
I wrote a couple years ago extolling the virtues of virtual machines. I haven’t changed my mind about them, I still love them. I have changed software though. I had been using Microsoft’s Virtual PC 2007 which worked fairly well. After my recent upgrade to Windows 7, I had to switch to the latest version which is called Virtual PC (and more simply XP Mode). Unfortunately, it was a real pain to move my virtual machines over and on top of that, I could not get Ubuntu Linux (server and desktop) to work correctly.
My new VM software of choice is VirtualBox, an open-source virtualization platform. Originally picked up by Sun, it became part of Oracle when they purchased Sun. I’m completely amazed by it’s power (number of features) and ease of use. Of course, being free is also helpful. It’s also cross-platform meaning that I can run one of my VMs on a Linux install of VirtualBox. Last night, I started up my Ubuntu Linux Desktop and installed the Android (mobile OS) SDK. I’ve attached a couple screenshots of my setup, but I’m loving it. One of the screen shots shows off the seamless mode where the Windows 7 desktop is merged with the Linux desktop. Very cool feature, but not something I would use on a regular basis. So many projects to work on now and so little time.
Posted in Techie , Tagged with Software, Virtual Machine, Windows 7.
By James
– 8/7/2010
As a professional developer, my job is to build software. Sure there are plenty of times that I wear other hats, but primarily I’ve been trained to craft software. For the last twelve years or so, I’ve been the sole software developer at our company with responsibility for a half dozen medium to large size applications. Being the sole developer can be nice at times since fewer arguments break out between developers and the group (of one) normally just has to deal with a two or three different opinions. There are downsides as well. Obviously the load is greater on a single person trying to get a product out the door, but the development process itself can suffer.
Fresh and well conceived ideas are the catalyst of the software development process. Without creative ideas, the development cycle slows. Although there might be a lot of code created, it doesn’t necessarily lead to a successful project. It’s in this area that I’ve suffered as a lone software developer. Without a fresh perspective on algorithms, tools and methodologies, I continue to do the same things day after day. This might be fine for a widget manufacturer, but in the creative process it’s not such a good thing.
I was recently reminded of the importance of memory management and leak detection tools. One of my applications demonstrated a noticeable increase in memory usage for specific input files. I try to be very diligent in releasing memory that is explicitly created, but my best efforts weren’t enough. With the aid of FastMM memory manager in the Delphi Rad Studio (development tool), I could clearly see a section of code where memory was allocated and not released. The tool was so simple to use, yet I had gone years without it being a standard part of my development process. I had used them in the past, but failed to maintain those habits. I’ve now integrated this into all of my projects as a more efficient way to audit my software for memory usage. Hard to believe I omitted it for so long.
So what are tools am I missing out on? What other techniques should I be leveraging and how can I continue to improve my software development methodology? I suppose that going back to school would be one option (not a very attractive one though). A better option would be to make it a point to attend professional conferences and to get involved in local user groups (or mentoring groups). Perhaps I need to subscribe to a periodical on my particular compiler or read some of the latest books in the area. One thing is for certain, if you don’t get fresh ideas and you aren’t challenged then don’t expect to improve. Continuing education is a necessity whether it’s formal or not.
Posted in Techie
By James
– 8/5/2010
Last year was the year of the medical emergency (which I hope we never repeat). It looks like this year is the time for our appliances to fail. Let me see, it was the dryer first. Okay, it was a million years old so I patted it on the back for a job well done. Then the garbage disposal fails (in a very wet and disruptive way). Not nice. Up next was the dishwasher. We came home from church to a burning smell in the house. It seems the circuit board fried and melted the instrument panel. That caused a good bit of alarm since we could have lost our house in the process. Last week the microwave decided that a F-9 error code was a good response to our request for power. Yesterday the AC stopped working and that turned out to be a freon leak which means that we will be replacing the inside coils in the future (I hope not the near future). The refrigerator is also acting wonky again and we are finding water in the bottom of it. At this point, I’m trying to make mental list of how many other appliances that we have so I can estimate costs.
Besides creating a lot of aggravation, this also reminds me that this stuff is really not that important in the grand scheme of things (especially considering last year). I’m very thankful to have a job and to have a good boss. The prevailing thought seems to be that rich people and big companies are bad, but I for one am glad to be fortunate to work for one. I hope they stay rich so that I can continue to pay for replacement appliances.
Posted in General , Tagged with Appliances.
By James
– 7/31/2010
While herding the girls into the bathroom to brush their teeth last night, Emma and Maggie were trying to one up each other on how early they had to get up. Although they both knew that dad was going to get up before both of them, Maggie bragged that she was going to get up at 15:30 o’clock. Emma was going to get up at 5:00 o’clock. I’m not sure if Maggie understands how to tell military time, but I thought that I wouldn’t mind getting up at 15:30 o’clock at least every once in a while.
Posted in Family
By James
– 7/26/2010
I’ve had my Toyota T-100 for going on 15 years now. The tape deck that used to be “pretty cool”, hasn’t been used that much lately. Cassette tapes really aren’t in vogue anymore (if you haven’t noticed). I can almost hear the questions from the kids, “So you used to have to buy those boxes from the store to get your music?” Since I plan on driving my truck as long as I can, I thought I’d spend a few dollars and upgrade my stereo. Last week I purchased a Kenwood Receiver/CD Player to provide some new tunes to my commute. I also purchased a replacement antenna at the same time since my motorized antenna stopped working and a car wash trashed the mast on it.
The receiver sort of resembles a Christmas tree with its bright lights, but from the available selection that seems to be the norm these days. So what makes this one special? First off, I can play CDs (yippee). Not only does it play CDs, but they can be data format with seven to ten albums on one disc (think hours of music instead of 60 minutes). It can also play music off of a USB flash drive as well as my iPhone (which as a side bonus, it will also charge). There is an auxiliary input for every other device to connect to it. So all in all, this is a huge upgrade for a guy that’s had a tape drive for the past 15 years.
Continued…
Posted in Techie , Tagged with Music, Truck.
By James
– 7/25/2010
There are so many people that have been a part of my life that I just don’t get to see that often. From people (and families) that made an impact on me when I was just a poor country boy, great friends in high school & college and so many people that have moved on to other states. There are so many people that it almost feels like I’ve lived several lifetimes. It’s a shame that you can’t fit more into the span we’re given.
A couple weeks ago we got together with some friends that we don’t get to see that often. It was great to sit and visit, but driving home I realized that it would probably be a while before we see them again. Not because we don’t enjoy their company, but obligations such as our four children, a home and my job tend to fill a schedule.
I find myself spending a little more time looking backwards these days. Oh the best days are still ahead, but there were some awesome days in the past as well and it’s a treat every time I get to share those memories with the friends that helped me create them in the first place. So old friends, just know that you aren’t forgotten.
Posted in General , Tagged with Friends.
By James
– 7/18/2010
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