Creating language.
Wow, this is new ground for conlangers!
Constructed languages, conlangs for short, have been around for a very long time, but it's been a kind of "secret vice", as J.R.R. Tolkien put it. Until now. When the L.A. Times does a story on conlanging, well, it's hard to keep that kind of thing secret.
Some of you may be wondering when they visited the first time...
So, after spending months lugging my trusty laptop back and forth to the hospital in the cheap, generic bag that came with it, I've finally decided to splurge and get a really good laptop bag. I've talked with several people and read reviews and finally decided on a Tumi bag. Specifically, the T-Tech Expandable Computer Brief, in black.
But, along the way, I did some searching and found a couple of other options, not to mention some strange and funny links about laptop cases.
First, there's the Pelican case from Duluth Trading Company. I'm not sure what it is about this "bag" that I found so fascinating, but, well, I did.
Then, there was the DIY Neoprene laptop "bag" on Instructables.
Which lead to me finding the undercover laptop case and the DIY laptop cooler.
I think I have a way to celebrate the end of my chemo.
Now, this may not seem like a celebration to most of my readers, but getting glasses has always been a big deal to me.
First, they're generally expensive. Not that I have a strange prescription or anything, but I generally get glass glasses, not plastic lenses. And, of course, most eyeglass stores gouge the bejeesus out of you on "services" that they don't always deliver. For instance, the last time I bought glasses, they didn't even fit them to my head when they arrived. They just handed them to me and said thank you without checking the fit at all.
Secondly, since most people see our faces first, how I look in my glasses is a big deal to me. This is especially true now that I'm single again. I want to make sure I look good behind my specs. And, that any potential dates can see my beautiful, blue eyes. Muy importante.
So, now that my chemo is over, and once my eyes recover from that, I'm going to get some new glasses that hopefully fit a little better than the last pair. But, to defray any irritation I might feel at having them be not quite right, I'm not going to pay hundreds of dollars for them, like I have in the past. Instead, I'm going to follow the hints and suggestions of a fellow eyeglass wearer who felt the same frustration at being raked over the coals by the eyeglass industry. To help folks like me, he started a blog called Glassy Eyes, where he and others could try discount eyeglass retailers on-line and rate their performance.
Maybe I shouldn't post after work as much...
You know, people might start to get the idea that I'm looking for work, even though I'm not. I guess it's just that time of year when all the IT people change jobs, so everyone starts talking about career stuff.
Well, whatever, here are two more links to news/blog stories about tech resumes and researching a prospective employer from TechRepublic.com.
Enjoy!
Two things for two different kinds of geeks.
Back when I was a one-man IT shop the first time, I read a book called "Time Management for Dummies". I know, I know, one of those damn Dummies books, but it really wasn't bad. The best thing it taught me was about ToDo lists and how to manage one and prioritize it and all that. Well, over the years, I've used a lot of different software to try and manage my various ToDo lists. Mostly, I used Lotus Organizer and synched it to my cranky, old PalmIII. (That was back before I had the New, Improved, cranky, old PalmIIIc!) But, it was always a hassle to deal with formating and I never could quite get all the little bells and whistles just the way I wanted. Then, I found ToDoTxt.org
It's a shell script to manage a simple, text-based to do list.
You can run it via Cygwin, or even as part of your user profile on, oh, say, a Linux server. And, you can add in code to automate the insertion of future events that you don't want to worry about for several days, weeks or months. In fact, there's a bunch of extra code and even a little user community that's sprung up around this super cool shell script.
Anyway, I thought it might appeal to the truly "hardcore" geeks who still read this blog the way it appealed to me.
Now, for that other thing...
It's a book for bloggers. I figure if you're reading this blog and you aren't one of the aforementioned hardcore geeks, then you're still a blog-geek. Now, sooner or later, all of us who write blogs have an embarassing, little "problem" called Writer's Block. And we prattle on about whatever silly thing comes into our head, like, say a todo list organizer. Well, I haven't gotten the book myself, but it sure sounds like it might just help us with those sad, lonely times when we can't think of anything more interesting to write about than the sandwich we had for lunch. It's No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog. And, based on the table of contents, I might just pick it up!
Definately in a better mood this morning.
I think every bachelor should have a dog. They help you clean up small food spills quickly and offer unconditional love. Not sure which is more important or useful.
If you're a bachelor in need of a dog, adopt one from a shelter. In Houston, try my favorite "no-kill" shelter, H.O.P.E.
I hate giant, flying cockroaches. Insects larger than three inches shouldn't be allowed to fly. The fact that they do may be used in theological discussions as proof that the end times are near. The fact that so many of them seem to exist in the greater Houston Metropolitan Area would seem to indicate that, not only is the end of the world near, but going to start here.
I think an adopted dog is more grateful than a fru-fru dog from a fancy breeder. At least, it makes me feel better to think I gave at least one a better life than she'd have gotten otherwise.
I don't believe all those "rapture" bumper stickers. I think anyone who's quite so sure they're going to be part of the rapture is under-estimating the requirements. Also, they're not familiar with the history of the rapture concept.
The best thing about being able to drink coffee again is that I haven't been this regular in months. And, I'm awake to notice it.
I must be doing well at work, because my boss has seen me work so many small miracles that he now has unrealistic expectations of what I can do in a single day. Very unrealistic expectations.
I must be recovering from the effects of chemotherapy, because I have stubble in the middle of the week for the first time since losing my hair.
Seven Steps to a Sharper IT resume.
I always think about stuff like this after a hard day at work.
Okay, this is probably old news to everyone by now, but since everyone is talking about the VMWare IPO, I figured it was a good time to bring it up.
In case you geek readers out there haven't see this, you can still download the VMWare server for Linux for free. TechRepublic has an entire article about downloading and installing VMWare. (Yeah, yeah, okay, it's a beta version, but from everything I hear, it's good to go.) Now, I've used the full, very expensive, version of this and it pretty much rocks. If you absolutely must run Windows server in an otherwise Linux envrionment, this would be the way I would choose to do it.
If you're absolutely married to Windows and want to try VMWare, you can either download the server version or the "player". Now, the thing to keep in mind is that the player will run virtual machines that were created with the full product, but, as far as I can tell, won't create its own virtual machine. So, if you don't already have virtual machine files somewhere, you'll have to Google for them.
Oh, and if you're looking for something to play with on this, but don't feel like Googling for a good virtual machine? Why not try the free Mono VMWare image from Novell?
My lymphoma is in remission!
Well, I still have to go back for a PET scan to confirm that what's left of Cletus is "metabolically inert", but, based on the last PET scan, that's a mere formality. There are some other details I have to work out, like the blood clots, the medical bills that insurance didn't cover and my lack of eyebrows, but at least I'm alive to deal with them all. I'll have some minor physical issues for a while still, which is to be expected. And, of course, I'll have to go back to the clinic regularly to check and make sure that Cletus hasn't left behind any mystery offspring (you know how he gets at the family picnic!). So, all in all, it was good news today. It'll be better news after they schedule my PET scan next week and I get the results of that, but the doctor was pleased with her work. Do you think I should tell her it was really God who did the work, or just let her bask in the glow?
So, barring any surprises next week, I'm on the mend. I can eat all the things I used to eat and, finally, I can have a cup of coffee in the morning again. Real coffee. Go juice. (Can you tell I've missed my coffee?) And, soon, I can start exercising again, too, though that may take longer than I'd like due to the blood clots.
No word on when I'll have hair and eyebrows again, but I look forward to that, too.
And, finally, just let me say a great big "thank you" to everyone who's been praying for me and driving me to and from the clinic and watching Hilda and, well, generally just looking out for me when I couldn't look out for myself. You all are the miracle that kept me alive. Gifts from God that kept me going, every step of the way. Please, don't forget that. Every day, every one of you all is a walking miracle that inspires and strengthens in ways that you can't even know.
No, real, live ocean-going pirates.
Here's a story that sounds almost made up, except it's real: The Pirate Hunters on Smithsonian.com.