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So on the work front, it's been ultra stressful. Today my assistant program manager, pulls a chair up close to me. I was like what the hell? I immediately said, "Okay, I understand, I'll just pack my stuff up in my cubical and go." He replied, "No, we can't fire you." I yelled, "Doh, I have to keep working like a slave?" He replied, "Well, I just wanted to know how things were going with <the task i've been allocated>, and to tell you that you are approved to do overtime." I started to think about the words that had just spouted out of his mouth. Am I suppose to show that I am happy to be offered overtime? Or do I reply with, "So I HAVE to do overtime?" Of course, I replied with, "Okay, I understand, I'll just pack up my cubical and go." Great, prior to all of this expectations are low. Now expectations are definitely not low. Of course it's a positive thing. But the other side of the coin is, I really just want my mind not to be cluttered with this crap. I think the countdown has begun.

So I decided to try out that relatively new email client by the Mozilla folks, yes the same people who has brought us Firefox. They seem to have the right idea, of going with slim applications that do just one thing, rather than obtaining their suite that does everything (Remember Netscape Navigator/Mail/Composer?). So I downloaded Thunderbird, knowing that I can pull my Google email (gmail) over a pop connection like one would get from work, or via a ISP email account. So without too many problems I was easily able to download emails from my gmail account into Thunderbird, but sending emails took more detailed read through google's gmail help. And I got it to work. This email client in my opinion is one of the best. Unlike evolution that has like all of these hackish right clicking menus and such, and a confusing interface.I also got the chance to test drive the new podcasting interface that's gotten built into iTunes. Works pretty nicely, easy to use. Seems like a couple of the podcasting sites have changed their URL or something.

If I were Chinese I'd be 27. But luckily I'm not chinese (Thank God, and stop with being offended I was trying to be ultra sadistic. Don't worry I hate everyone equally, even Americans), I'm an American. And in this land, we are whatever we want to be. So "Age", what does it mean? I guess it means one has survived natural selection enough to live another year. Does it imply maturity? That depends on someone's point of view which also includes their own age. Do I feel the way I did at 20? Hell no. Do I act the way I did at 20? Every chance I get. Age doesn't mean a damned thing. Unless you're trying to climb Everest at age 50 though, which is possible. It might be something I will do someday. I guess it would be good to put an asterisk("*") in superscript after that statement, and then at the bottom print, "Some physical limitations may apply."Kind of like this....

Age doesn't mean a damned thing.*_{* Some physical limitations may apply.}

See look at this guy (see below). He literally is President because he has name recognition.Laugh, live life, enjoy, Age! Then if there's money left in Social Security, retire!See even his wife knows how to have fun!

Testing 123, Testing 123, Testing 123

Testing 123

Linus Torvalds sat down with Good Morning Silicon Valley for an interview about software models, the future of the desktop, and that company in Redmond with all of your $$$$.My favorite bit from this article, cause it's so true.

I just don't believe in dynasties. Things erode over time. Successes start to take themselves for granted, and the successful companies aren't nimble and hungry enough any more.

An interesting article on gaming. I'd like to see the resuls of the formally conducted studies they speak of in this article. Plus the article is from a gaming, site I highly doubt they would even bother writing about these studies if they weren't pro gaming.

What is worse than a database, that is all free text, and no validation upon populating said database? The fact that when you put 3 senior and 2 junior level software developers in a room, and they can't get a definite answer as to how to solve the problem of linking data. There exists no requirements, that are firm, just expectations. And the worse part is that the expectations keep changing! Ever try to hit a moving target? For those that can do it, my hat is off to you. Because it's just plain insane.

So according to this article. Looks like Sony is going to loose yet another format that they have tried to make proprietary. I think that's 7 now. It goes a little something like this...

1. BetaMax
2. ATRAC
3. MiniDisc
4. Memory Stick
5. Memory Stick Duo
6. Universal Media Disc (UMD)
7. Blu-Ray

A good buddy of mine, pasted me this link. It just talks about how GM and Toyota plan on releasing hydrogen based vechicles in the decade of 2010. Wow, I just realized that in 5 years it'll be 2010. Still no obelisk though, but there's still 5 years to find it!

Awesome, much props to Christian for showing me "Liferea." It's a rss/atom feed aggregator written entirely in C!!!! Woohoo! I'm also now running Ubuntu on my laptop. I finally decided it was time to get rid of NLD. As good as NLD was, I was about two years behind in Gnome/GTK versions/technology. It was like a time warp!!! Finally my desktop, laptop, and server are running some variant of Debian. It's awesome. Screenie of Liferea in action below.

If any of you didn't know. Steve Job's made the comencement speech for this year's graduating class at Stanford. I kind of wish I could've been there to hear this live. But I got a lump in my throat when I read it, I can imagine how I would've felt if I was there. All I have to say is, I agree with everything he's said (in this speech of course, not everything). I think the message here applies to everyone. It's entitled, "You've got to find what you love." Read it here.

I can't believe this guy got off. I don't even know why I bother with blogging about it. It's really sad what people will believe, and defend! Check out Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, you've gotta watch this video!

I guess summer is here....finally! What sucks is that the nights here still require a sweatshirt. It gets decently chilly. I used to not appreciate discintion between seasons, now I've grown to love it. Plus compared to Southern California, and that haze of smog, the skies here are awesome. Always that sky blue, most of the time clear, and with sparse clouds. I've been thinking that people in So. Cal. are miserable and cranky because #1 they are in their cars stuck in traffic far too much, and #2 that gloomy haze of and almost no blue skies, which I think causes depression in some low form. So there's a dorm at Santa Cruz that is covered in the trees. My roommate told me that at least 1 person a year that is in the dorms there commits suiside, the rest have to goto therapy on campus and are put on anti-depressants. Granted this could be an urban legend, but who knows. There is a huge distinction between the Santa Cruz dorm, and So. Cal. The Santa Cruz dorm, would recieve almost NO sunlight. So it pretty much always dark. Kind of like a cave. Where as with So. Cal of course there's distinction between Sunlight, and Darkness. So the relationship is not 1:1. But perhaps smog does cause some form of depression we're not aware of? Or it's just the plain fact about being in the car for a long period of time.

It's amazing what DHTML can and will do in the future. I don't know if some of you ever played this game, it's called Lemmings. I remember playing it because the game came packaged with my first 8-Bit Sound Blaster Card! So take time from your busy work schedule (I sure as hell haven't) and play Lemmings! I hope to play this when I get home.

Christian while on this trek down to So. Cal decided to spend a couple of days hanging out and hacking on some code. So far we've had a great time! I let my roommate borrow my camera for his graduation, so I didn't have my camera available for pics. But this really cool Mac Enthusiast staying here for the Developers conference last week, was on the tour with us. He glady agreed to take a picture of us looking geeky on our assigned Segways! He was also from Germany, and I think his name was Peter, he said he would email it, we'll see. The tour is pretty cool. Standard San Francisco Tour stuff. But the coolest part is that they completely get you up to speed and trained using the Segway before you hit the streets (because San Francisco has banned them from the sidewalks!). It's a three hour tour of Fisherman's Wharf, Fort Mason, Marina, and to that Dome shaped building, I forgot what that is called. It was awesome. I'm seriously thinking about dropping $4500 to get one of these toys! Luckily the tour doesn't cost that much, it's only $65 bucks. Here's the link for the tour company.

Especially the Star Wars ones!!!!I think I'm going to get a Death Star one, it's huge and it has a stand!I'm off to the Dungeon.

To all of you software people out there. Be careful, it might be time to learn a whole new set of API's. Life in your cube as you know it...is about to go through an enourmous change. A new Operating System is about to revolutionize everything you know, to the PC platform. If you don't hop on now, you might be left behind. This is one of the most exciting times in the Software industry. There is actually going to be choice, an affordable one too. Beware, and keep an open mind, and make sure your tray tables are forward and in their upright and locked positions, brace yourself, the revolution has only just begun.

Ha, he does it again!!! I love it, OSX to go Intel!!! I thought I was in an alternate universe when I read this, yesterday morning. But I quickly realized no, I was here!!! Amazing, Apple will release it's OSX Intel version on the same release date as Longhorn, but have all of Longhorn's shafted features!!!!!Could it be?It's time to embrace...Rabbit is out of the hat!

I seriously work in a dungeon. It's like really really cold compared to the rest of the building and of course outside. I swear I think there's at least 5 degrees of difference. I wonder if I'll catch a cold this summer.