HINT! HINT!

I just found out that Flying Saucer sells gift cards. Yes, please.

Brew's Clues - The adventure continues

After posting about the renewed interest in brewing, I decided it was inventory time for the aspiring brewmaster. Siphon thingy, check. Big glass tub thingy, check. Big plastic tub thingy, check. Whizmo that makes the tub burp, check. Kit with malt, hops, and sugars, check. Instructions from kit. Ahem. I said, instructions from kit... no? Crap. I ran through the house looking for the instructions, moving as quietly as possible. I didn't want to wake anyone up. My insomnia shouldn't be a curse on everyone.

In my search for the instructions, I got another one of those "clarity moments". Everywhere you turn in the house is another hobby of mine that is on haitus. Still packaged golf clubs bought off ebay to try out the game, dusty volt meters and integrated circuit chips, calligraphy pens and bottles of dried ink, school books from an unfinished culinary degree, school books from an unfinished business degree, gardening supplies on top of dead seedlings, cookbooks with yellowed bookmarks marking recipes to try, shelves of unread books, shelves of half-read books, piles of notes from half started websites, french and italian and latin text books all barely opened, and a woodworking shop that exists solely as a repository of unused router bits.

All these things hold my interest, but I really need to pare down. Sometimes, I think my credibility runs a bit thin. When I bought my wood smoker, my wife asked "are you really going to use it?" To my credit, a year (or so) after I "had to have" the smoker, I started using it. And, if I may say so, I make a damn fine pork shoulder these days. Since then, I always point to it as the success story, like that somehow balances everything else. This is where the moment of clarity comes in. My wife is a very patient and understanding person. Sometimes she gets that resigned look, and sometimes she just gets a crooked smirk and shakes her head when I start something new. Well, one way to look at it is that's just another expression of love.

I love you too, sweetie. And thank you.

Bob versus Dennis

My coworker & friend Bob has temporarily been posted to Pensacola to help with hurrican coverage. He has started a blog, Bob versus Dennis.

I asked him if I could have his copy of Age of Mythology CD if he got swept to sea, but the selfish man schlepped it with him.

GOOD LUCK, BOB!

Steve Jobs shot JFK

Okay, that has nothing to do with this article. However, this drives home some great questions and spins some great threories. This is highly suggested reading. Somewhere around 3/4 of the way through reading, you'll start to get this far away look while you contemplate the future.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050609.html

I just wish OSX had the games that Windows has. Perhaps with intel chips, that'll start happening! That was one whopping great area the author didn't mention at all.

You'll always remember where you were

The Sneeze is one of my latest 'must reads'. A recent memoir post, is a well written account of one childhood experience. I so relate.

Insomnia pays off

I tried to go to sleep at a decent hour, but I just couldn't. Instead I got up, read a chapter and did my homework for Programming Languages class.

Then I started to go to sleep, but my nerves got the better of me. I signed on to my work email account and sent a few emails that I'd meant to send earlier.

Brain was still buzzing... so I read 104 pages of my history textbook and signed on to my Tennessee history class' webpage. I clicked on the "START TEST" button and 50 minutes later, voila, I've gotten a 96%. Wheeeee, open book tests RULE! I have now officially made enough points that I could blow off the final exam and still make a C. But I won't. I've got more than a chance at an A and, gosh darn it, I'm going for it.

Tech guy's lament

From an email I sent my boss and a coworker:

SUBJ: User called to say website was slow

Doesn't Hallmark have a card to say, "sorry the system sucks, but don't call me. I can't do anything about it." Y'know, maybe with a picture of a puppy wearing a funny hat.

I'll never know what to say to users who call upon us to release this kickin' mojo we're holding back that'd make their jobs easier. 'Cause, y'know, I've got some. Oh yeah. I keep it the same place we've got the spare laser printers. ; )

Buzznet photos

Of course, if Wil Wheaton does it, then so do I...

Having fun looking at photo blogs and have also started one at nashville.buzznet.com .

Oracle, PHP and Apache on Windows

So, you've installed PHP, Apache and a SQL Net Client on your windows box. You've gotten php to work with oracle on the command line. You've gotten php to work with Apache. However, when you try using all three together, say to execute OCI_CONNECT in a php page served by Apache, you get an "undefined function" message. After looking at bulletin boards until your eyes ache, you decide that the rest of the windows world has the same problem and you'll never get the answer. Right? Wrong! Here it is...

If you write a short php page with phpinfo(); inside of it, you'll see that Apache thinks the php.ini file is inside \WINNT. Drop a copy of your php.ini file in that directory and restart apache. Voila!

Next time you're in Nashville, you can buy me a pint.

A night at the opera

We went to see Carmen at TPAC, yesterday. The story, like a lot of opera, was boy meets girl, hell breaks loose, death and sadness, and then the curtain falls. It was great.

I'm glad that the prudish constituency of our fair burg didn't prevent Carmen from getting at least a bit sexual. Carmen's sexuality, especially her dances, were integral to the plot. Not to mention that the star, Lanya Chianakas, can sell sex just as well as she can sing. Wow!

I'm impressed with the attendance. The last Nashville Opera performance I went to was the Flying Dutchman. It was a special effects bonanza with great performances, yet playing to an almost empty theater. Last night's program mentioned that attendance was significantly higher lately and I can vouch for that. The place was packed. I'm very glad.


Production values:
The set was economical without being cheesy. If I could make only one change, the inn redress would have been stronger. Being the only indoor location it should have looked less like the streets.

The lighting was flawless in that it didn't draw attention to itself.

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Keeping in great blogging tradition, I'll spend a moment to focus on ire and condemnation. You can skip it if you like. The good stuff was up above. So, without further ado...

Special places in hell
The one circle past purgatory with mild itching and the occasional pile award goes to:
The very tall man who sat in front of me. I spent a lot of time looking at this man's haircut rather than the stage. Posture be damned, please slouch. After intermission, the elderly couple next to us left, so we switched seats. I hope they didn't have an emergency, but it was cool to actually see the stage. Our seats, orchestra, center, row V is pretty awesome when aren't behind a Andre the Giant.

The ingrown toenails and watching Pauley Shore movies for eternity award:
The TPAC architect who designed each row to be a mere quarter-head change in depth from the next. I do understand the additional few inches times the number of rows would be significant. I don't care.

The furthest circle for which there is no Earthly equivalent award:
I'm glad that TPAC doesn't jam cell signals, because I'm often on call and seconds count in my line of work. I do have the courtesy to keep my phone muted. A soft vibration will alert me if someone calls. Someone else, however, had their phone set to a mega-loud-pop-jingle ringtone. They let it ring until it rolled to voicemail.