AlanBarber.Org
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Rocking out in cubicle land... http://t.co/trOKKOy5
Thu May 17, 2012 12:34 PM
New project to play with for the day. Writing a VS2010 plugin that runs on every build... this should be fun!
Thu May 17, 2012 11:48 AM
Today is *facepalm* day... Dev DB was rolled back without telling any developers. ugg!
Thu May 17, 2012 9:13 AM
Started watching Breaking Bad the other day. Little slow at first but it gets really good. Bryan Cranston turns into one serious badass :)
Wed May 16, 2012 8:52 PM
Sunday, May 09, 2004
I graduated!
Naa naa naa naa, naa naa naa naa, hey hey hey, good-bye!
Ahh, yesterday was an amazingly marvelous day! I graduated!
The ceremony started at 9:30am and was over by 11:00am. I have to hand it to the school for running a quick ceremony. They wisely split up graduation into several smaller ceremonies instead of just a giant single ceremony. The Arts and Sciences ceremony was at 9:30am. The Business Admin, Health and Human Services, and Technology ceremony was at 1:00pm. The Education and Human Development and Musical Arts ceremony was at 4:30pm.
There's limited seating so it was just the immediate family plus my girlfriend. So we ran though the ceremony very quickly and were back home prepping for the party. I didn't want to have a real fancy party. I told the family lets just have a little backyard BBQ picnic type of party. We grilled steaks and chicken breasts. My mother made potato salad, bean salad, etc. Plus we had a cake.
It was pretty stressful for mother I guess but then she always gets worked up over these things. The rest of us just relaxed and had a nice time. I did some socializing with everyone that came. You know the usual small talk type stuff. I talked over and over with everyone about what my plans for the future were. I must have said I didn't have a job yet but am going to start looking in another week or two once I've had a chance to unwind about 30 times yesterday.
My girlfriend was great and stayed the whole day there. I figured she wouldn't want to be around my family all day and only stop by for a while. I would totally understand it and not hold it against her. To my surprise she ended up staying to after everyone left. She's so amazing and such a trooper. Thank you so much sweetie!
So, yes I'm now done with school. Well at least for a while. I'll go find a job and once I'm settled in I think I'll go back to get my masters. We're talking like 2-3 years from now at the earliest and more like 5+ realistically.
I'm just very happy right now.
Ahh, yesterday was an amazingly marvelous day! I graduated!
The ceremony started at 9:30am and was over by 11:00am. I have to hand it to the school for running a quick ceremony. They wisely split up graduation into several smaller ceremonies instead of just a giant single ceremony. The Arts and Sciences ceremony was at 9:30am. The Business Admin, Health and Human Services, and Technology ceremony was at 1:00pm. The Education and Human Development and Musical Arts ceremony was at 4:30pm.
There's limited seating so it was just the immediate family plus my girlfriend. So we ran though the ceremony very quickly and were back home prepping for the party. I didn't want to have a real fancy party. I told the family lets just have a little backyard BBQ picnic type of party. We grilled steaks and chicken breasts. My mother made potato salad, bean salad, etc. Plus we had a cake.
It was pretty stressful for mother I guess but then she always gets worked up over these things. The rest of us just relaxed and had a nice time. I did some socializing with everyone that came. You know the usual small talk type stuff. I talked over and over with everyone about what my plans for the future were. I must have said I didn't have a job yet but am going to start looking in another week or two once I've had a chance to unwind about 30 times yesterday.
My girlfriend was great and stayed the whole day there. I figured she wouldn't want to be around my family all day and only stop by for a while. I would totally understand it and not hold it against her. To my surprise she ended up staying to after everyone left. She's so amazing and such a trooper. Thank you so much sweetie!
So, yes I'm now done with school. Well at least for a while. I'll go find a job and once I'm settled in I think I'll go back to get my masters. We're talking like 2-3 years from now at the earliest and more like 5+ realistically.
I'm just very happy right now.
Friday, May 07, 2004
TechTV is no more…
First some background...
TechTV is a technology channel. They have shows that cover the whole gambit. Shows that do nothing but show off cool new gadgets and toys, a show about video games, two shows that let viewer call in and ask the hosts tech questions, etc, etc. It's not the best quality I'll admit. They only have maybe a half dozen shows and rest of the time they air tech related shows from the BBC which is a bit annoying. Plus, they do dumb down the info so beginners and tech newbies can learn and understand. That's fine though. It's still good watching even for us tech experts.
G4 is a gaming channel. It's nothing but shows on computer and console games. Problem is its all trash. They're hosted by obnoxious asshats and the production quality is sub-par. The failure in the channel is that's its no fun to watch TV about gaming all day. Video games are about playing not watching. After like the first week that G4 started everyone got bored of it and stopped watching.
Comcast cable bought TechTV a few months back and merged it with their technology channel G4. For the last few months they've been separate and preparing for some type of merger but no one knew what to expect.
Well it's official today as Leo Laporte, a cast member of several TechTV shows, posted on his blog, The Laporte Report, that G4 was closing up the TechTV shop in San Fran and just gave everyone a 60 days notice.
The good news is 100 of the current jobs are being posted for any that want to relocate to LA. But they still have to renegotiate contacts, move to LA, etc. So, you have to wonder how many of the staff will actually go through with it.
This is why Comcast bought TechTV. TechTV is a success and has a strong loyal fan base. G4 has nothing. But G4 is Comcast's baby and TechTV is the competition so obviously they bought TechTV for the sole purpose of removing it. The 100 jobs being offered in LA is just an appeasement to fans.
In a few months time channel 354(DirecTV) will no longer be known as TechTV but G4tv. It will be a craptastic channel full of hosts that try to act cool and hip but are just retarded and lame. The shows will lack substance because it's cheaper to fill an hour slot with worthless hype and trash that spend time and money doing something worthwhile.
I never really watch TechTV that much. I'll catch some of the shows on the weekends when I'm bored. I usually catch the reruns of The Screen Savers the next day while I eat lunch. The Screen Savers is taped live every night and they always have something interesting to watch though. Modding X-Boxes, building high end computers, interviewing people in technology, etc. You usually get 15-20 minutes of good content for the hour show. Rest of the time is pretty boring. They do let people call in and ask questions which is very cool. The questions are always pretty easy stuff but it's still nice because the fans get to interact with the hosts live.
I'm just ticked off TechTV is getting the boot. If anything it should be the other way around. They should keep TechTV and incorporate G4 into the TechTV lineup. They could finally dump some of those BBC shows and have real content. However, that would be too obvious and logical. Why do what would be popular and successful when you can just screw things up. You have to remember that the people in charge are the same people that keep making reality tv shows, stopped showing music videos on MTV, cancel good shows like Futurama, Family Guy, Farscape, Keen Eddie, etc and crank out crappy mini-series like 10.5 on NBC. They live in their own little world and have clue what mainstream TV Viewers are like.
Sometimes TV execs just piss me off so much!
TechTV is a technology channel. They have shows that cover the whole gambit. Shows that do nothing but show off cool new gadgets and toys, a show about video games, two shows that let viewer call in and ask the hosts tech questions, etc, etc. It's not the best quality I'll admit. They only have maybe a half dozen shows and rest of the time they air tech related shows from the BBC which is a bit annoying. Plus, they do dumb down the info so beginners and tech newbies can learn and understand. That's fine though. It's still good watching even for us tech experts.
G4 is a gaming channel. It's nothing but shows on computer and console games. Problem is its all trash. They're hosted by obnoxious asshats and the production quality is sub-par. The failure in the channel is that's its no fun to watch TV about gaming all day. Video games are about playing not watching. After like the first week that G4 started everyone got bored of it and stopped watching.
Comcast cable bought TechTV a few months back and merged it with their technology channel G4. For the last few months they've been separate and preparing for some type of merger but no one knew what to expect.
Well it's official today as Leo Laporte, a cast member of several TechTV shows, posted on his blog, The Laporte Report, that G4 was closing up the TechTV shop in San Fran and just gave everyone a 60 days notice.
The good news is 100 of the current jobs are being posted for any that want to relocate to LA. But they still have to renegotiate contacts, move to LA, etc. So, you have to wonder how many of the staff will actually go through with it.
This is why Comcast bought TechTV. TechTV is a success and has a strong loyal fan base. G4 has nothing. But G4 is Comcast's baby and TechTV is the competition so obviously they bought TechTV for the sole purpose of removing it. The 100 jobs being offered in LA is just an appeasement to fans.
In a few months time channel 354(DirecTV) will no longer be known as TechTV but G4tv. It will be a craptastic channel full of hosts that try to act cool and hip but are just retarded and lame. The shows will lack substance because it's cheaper to fill an hour slot with worthless hype and trash that spend time and money doing something worthwhile.
I never really watch TechTV that much. I'll catch some of the shows on the weekends when I'm bored. I usually catch the reruns of The Screen Savers the next day while I eat lunch. The Screen Savers is taped live every night and they always have something interesting to watch though. Modding X-Boxes, building high end computers, interviewing people in technology, etc. You usually get 15-20 minutes of good content for the hour show. Rest of the time is pretty boring. They do let people call in and ask questions which is very cool. The questions are always pretty easy stuff but it's still nice because the fans get to interact with the hosts live.
I'm just ticked off TechTV is getting the boot. If anything it should be the other way around. They should keep TechTV and incorporate G4 into the TechTV lineup. They could finally dump some of those BBC shows and have real content. However, that would be too obvious and logical. Why do what would be popular and successful when you can just screw things up. You have to remember that the people in charge are the same people that keep making reality tv shows, stopped showing music videos on MTV, cancel good shows like Futurama, Family Guy, Farscape, Keen Eddie, etc and crank out crappy mini-series like 10.5 on NBC. They live in their own little world and have clue what mainstream TV Viewers are like.
Sometimes TV execs just piss me off so much!
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Cowboy bebop and a beer
This is just sort of a goofy rambling post...
Well finally done with exams. I couldn't care less right now about school. Well sure I'm a bit worried about how I did in my Physics class but it's over now so no use dwelling on what I can't change. I wasn't doing too well in the first place so I really need a good bit of luck and pity by the prof. I really hate how they run things here. They run the graduation ceremony right after finals week. Stupid thing is your classes grades aren't even done yet. Most profs won't turn in grades for at least another week. Then the school finds out if you actually passed your classes and prints up and mails out the diplomas. So I could end up going through the ceremony and party Saturday but actually have not graduated. It's so freaking retarded.
So anyhoo, to celebrate/drown my sorrows I'm watching Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and drinking a beer! It's a Rolling Rock incase anyone cared. I'd prefer something darker but since it's the only stuff in the house it'll have to do. It's the only stuff my father drinks which is a shame. There are so many varieties of beer out there to try I wish he would sample some of the stuff.
My girlfriend is sick right now. Not sure what it is but she feels like crap. Sounds sort of like what I had a while ago. Sorta like a flu/headcold/etc but then also not really. Hard to explain I guess. I hope she gets better soon. It's been over a week since we've been together. It was last Saturday when we watched Office Space at my place then went ice skating. Oh sure we both went to the College Republican meeting and we bumped into each other Thursday afternoon on campus but I don't count those. They were public meetings where we were together but not "together." I just hate being apart from her. There's something about her, that Je ne sais quoi, that I'm just drawn to. When we're together the world just melts away and I feel at peace. When we're apart I can't stop thinking about her. It doesn't matter the time of day or what I'm doing, she's always on my mind. The longer we are apart the more I think about her and the more I want to be with her.
Ok I better shut up now. I'm not paying attention to my movie and missing all the good stuff.
Well finally done with exams. I couldn't care less right now about school. Well sure I'm a bit worried about how I did in my Physics class but it's over now so no use dwelling on what I can't change. I wasn't doing too well in the first place so I really need a good bit of luck and pity by the prof. I really hate how they run things here. They run the graduation ceremony right after finals week. Stupid thing is your classes grades aren't even done yet. Most profs won't turn in grades for at least another week. Then the school finds out if you actually passed your classes and prints up and mails out the diplomas. So I could end up going through the ceremony and party Saturday but actually have not graduated. It's so freaking retarded.
So anyhoo, to celebrate/drown my sorrows I'm watching Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and drinking a beer! It's a Rolling Rock incase anyone cared. I'd prefer something darker but since it's the only stuff in the house it'll have to do. It's the only stuff my father drinks which is a shame. There are so many varieties of beer out there to try I wish he would sample some of the stuff.
My girlfriend is sick right now. Not sure what it is but she feels like crap. Sounds sort of like what I had a while ago. Sorta like a flu/headcold/etc but then also not really. Hard to explain I guess. I hope she gets better soon. It's been over a week since we've been together. It was last Saturday when we watched Office Space at my place then went ice skating. Oh sure we both went to the College Republican meeting and we bumped into each other Thursday afternoon on campus but I don't count those. They were public meetings where we were together but not "together." I just hate being apart from her. There's something about her, that Je ne sais quoi, that I'm just drawn to. When we're together the world just melts away and I feel at peace. When we're apart I can't stop thinking about her. It doesn't matter the time of day or what I'm doing, she's always on my mind. The longer we are apart the more I think about her and the more I want to be with her.
Ok I better shut up now. I'm not paying attention to my movie and missing all the good stuff.
Monday, May 03, 2004
1 down 2 to go
Well I finished my first final exam this morning. It was in Computer Graphics. Not too bad. I was one of the first few to finish but it did take a hour and half to do. There was a bit more math than I expected but whatever. It's done now so no use thinking about it.
I have a Networking final this afternoon. The prof said it would be just like the other tests and I always got done in under an hour and got A's on them. Plus it's open book and notes so I'm not too worried.
The big one I'm worried about is my Physics final. That's the only one that will give me any problems. I'm terrible at physics and just loath it. It's at 6pm tomorrow night so I'll have all tonight and tomorrow to study and prepare.
After that I'm done! I have rest of the week off until Saturday when I graduate in the morning. Then what comes next I don't know. Start looking for a job I guess. I have enough cash to cover car payments until around August so it's no rush. However, I'd like to get a job as quickly as possible. My plan is to get a job and once I'm making some money move out of the house. I'd like to set a goal of moving out by July so that gives me two months. We'll just have to see how things work out.
Oh and sorry for not posting updates lately. It should be obvious I'm pretty darn busy right now with school. I'll try to get back to a normal posting routine and cover more technology and politics again soon.
I have a Networking final this afternoon. The prof said it would be just like the other tests and I always got done in under an hour and got A's on them. Plus it's open book and notes so I'm not too worried.
The big one I'm worried about is my Physics final. That's the only one that will give me any problems. I'm terrible at physics and just loath it. It's at 6pm tomorrow night so I'll have all tonight and tomorrow to study and prepare.
After that I'm done! I have rest of the week off until Saturday when I graduate in the morning. Then what comes next I don't know. Start looking for a job I guess. I have enough cash to cover car payments until around August so it's no rush. However, I'd like to get a job as quickly as possible. My plan is to get a job and once I'm making some money move out of the house. I'd like to set a goal of moving out by July so that gives me two months. We'll just have to see how things work out.
Oh and sorry for not posting updates lately. It should be obvious I'm pretty darn busy right now with school. I'll try to get back to a normal posting routine and cover more technology and politics again soon.