We had a voters night the other night, and we went through all the propositions on the ballot. It amazes me that so many of these propositions want to amend the state consititution. It doesn’t make any sense. All but one of the items had no place in our constitution. Most are things to do with fiscal issues, taxes, spending, etc. In my mind, they shouldn’t be proposed as amendments. (more…)
This WWDC pic (while blurry) shows off two interesting things: 1) Phantom Menace was due out the next week and 2) That was Mac OS X before it had the Aqua interface. Still looks like Rhapsody. No, that version of AppearanceSample never shipped 
This was the year we demonstrated the Toolbox running on top of the new OS. Cool stuff.
I had the pleasure of attending WWDC this year. For those who don’t know, WWDC is Apple’s yearly World Wide Developer Conference. Of course, I imagine you probably have heard of it since Steve usually announces something new and cool there. This was my second time there as a spectator and not as a presenter. I have to say I really miss presenting at WWDC, despite all the craziness that surrounds it. Usually you are under the gun to get out stuff for the seed at the same time all your slides are due. A pic of me presenting can be found in one of my other posts here (testing Flickr blogging). I shed a tear just thinking about it. (more…)
I just decided to upgrade my Cingular phone last week and I have to say, Cingular has their act together. If you’ve read my Verizon post a while back, you’ll know the sillyness that prevailed during that ordeal. With Cingular, it was no nonsense. My account was available to ‘upgrade’ my phone, so I ordered a new phone and shortly afterwards I received an email informing me of my order and told me what URL to check for status. It also said that my info might not be there for 24 hours. A nice touch as it set my expectations accordingly. Not too long after (the next morning I believe), I received another email with my tracking numbers, etc. Shortly after that, I got another email telling me how to activate the phone once it arrives. Now I just need the phone.
Clearly they know a lot more about how to make a customer feel right than Verizon does. I will say that Cingular wasn’t very good at the beginning, but in recent years, I think they’re the best in terms of customer service and interaction. I also know for a fact they have better service and coverage than Verizon. For example, I can’t get a phone call that won’t drop at work on my Verizon phone, but Cingular is solid pretty much anywhere I go. Certainly each person’s mileage may vary, but my friends have all had similar experiences wrt coverage. I also think that GSM just simply is better than whatever Verizon is using (CDMA?). It always sounds better. When I got my Verizon phone, I felt like I lept back 10 years. All the weird digital effects and the crazy delay.
Hopefully soon I’ll finally be able to get a phone call at work again, thanks to using my new Cingular phone as my primary. Yes, I have two phones. Doesn’t everyone?
I think the answer is: I don’t know, but I’m willing to try! Yes, I was given a giant jar of gummy bears this Christmas (the only true food). I believe I am about one third through. I’m normally a fiend about eating them, but honestly I’ve been trying my darndest to pace myself. The sad part is that as far as I may get, I still have two extra bags of the little guys to refill with. This will never end, which in my opinion, is a good thing!
Last Saturday, I had the interesting opportunity to go to not one but two holiday/year end parties. One for my wife’s company, and then topping off the night at the Yahoo! Year End Party. Because of the logistics of getting from one party to the other, we figured it was going to be tough to hook up with our friends there. We were late, and we got to the hotel (which we stayed at post party, but we needed to check in and shuttle over to the convention center), dropped our stuff off and proceeded to leave. When the elevator opened, all our friends were in the elevator. That was a Twilight Zone moment. I mean, what are the chances that would ever happen in a bazillion years. I think we all just sat there for a minute looking at each other while “Hey! I know you!” settled in. We could not have planned that better.
I have to say that the Yahoo! party was out of control. That was crazy. It reminded me of a party we had when we finally shipped Mac OS X. Apple rented out Hangar One at Moffet field and we had crazy buffets/drinks, etc. But this Yahoo! party was like that Apple party times ten. It’s the only party I’ve ever been to that’s actually been mentioned in the news. The entire theme of the party was the Louisiana Bayou. There was a casino with fake gambling, open bars EVERYWHERE (which is primarily where you could find us), and video games. Each bar/place was named after various places in New Orleans. The headline act was Earth, Wind & Fire, though there were other acts as well, in the main room and in the casino room. They would also take your portrait if you wished. I would say that in general it’s a bad idea to have your picture taken at the end of the night when the photographer is in a bad mood and you are a little (ok, perhaps more than a little) intoxicated. Not a pretty sight. I felt absolutely awful the next day and vowed to never repeat that again. But I have to say, in thinking back to the party, I’d do it all over again in a second. I think I’d make sure to drink more water, eat more food, and take more aspirin! When I think of all the mini-meatballs they had that I didn’t eat, I shed a tear.
All in all it was a great time!
What is my damage? I’m 37 (well, OK, almost 38… and if you don’t believe me, ask Rob) and reading Harry Potter like it’s going out of style. I just finished the Goblet of Fire and I’m now backtracking and reading the first 3 in order. I never read any of them before seeing the movies, but now I’m hooked like a crazy person. Please help me. I’ll be seeing the movie this weekend, of course.
Speaking of crazy reading, I just today received my copy of “Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader”, something I ordered a month or two ago when I was in my read-all-things-Star-Wars phase. It should be good, but I ain’t starting it until I read my Potter through Prisoner of Azkaban. Then I’ll read about Darth, then I’m onto the newer Potter books. Whee!! Or maybe, I’ll leave Darth to last, if he’ll allow it.
I must admit though, it feels just plain wrong to walk into the Children’s section to find the book you are looking for. Why are they in there? I swear more adults read them than kids. Maybe the parents send their kids in to fetch them a book. Kind of like the inverse of when the older brother scores some liquor for his underage sibling. Kinda.
And here’s one way to get it for your M3. Yes, it does help, but it’s a lot of money for the small gain you get.
It was written by a good friend of mine. Quite a smart guy
VROOM!
