Planning a trip for my birthday

Code Academy Update

There has been some backlash from the whole "learning to code" meme.

I think, for me at least, learning some coding has increased my skills in other areas. That's probably because of what I took into it. I never thought that learning these skills would radically alter my career path, I just wanted to be able to look at a block of javascript or html and figure out what the heck was going on. Sitting at a computer eight hours a day writing code is not something that I would ever want to do!

I do realize that a lot of people may have jumped in, thinking that the payoff was going to be a job making 80k, that's a recipe for failure, and frustration.

I'm enjoying CodeAcademy more, now that the topics have moved on to HTML/CSS, something that I'm a little more familiar with. I was really starting to feel out of my element with the more advanced javascript.

I haven't messed around much with webdesign for a few years, and it's really cool to see how far the technology has come. I'm even working on a website for my business, but if that business were to ever really take off, I would hand the webdesign over to someone in a HEARTBEAT. It's important to know what your real strengths are.

Learning some new things has helped me to look at problems differently, and I don't see how that can be a bad thing.

My "New" PS3

A work friend had to replace his PS3. It was having the Yellow Light of Death issue that apparently becomes pretty common once these console's reach a certain age. He tried to take it apart and perform a fix he found on line but when that didn't work he just bought one of the new PS3 slim. So he asked me if I wanted it to mess around with. I figured what the heck, so I took it off his hands.

Once I got it home and opened the sucker up I realized how over my head I was! The previous owner had taken apart the heatsink and applied new thermal grease. The only other thing that I was comfortable with trying was replacing the power supply. So I bought one on EBay for $30. That didn't work so I returned it for a refund.

At this point I had decided to just put the thing on EBay for parts, and split the proceeds with the person I bought it from. Just for the heck of it, I did a search online for PS3 repair centers. I came across Professional Satellite Repair. They offer a free diagnostic, so I figured for the price of shipping, they could tell me whether or not it was worth repairing.

After shipping it out, I got a call the NEXT DAY (they are located in Pennsylvania) that it could be repaired for the flat fee of $119. I gave the OK. Then they called me the NEXT DAY and told me it was done. I gave them my billing info.  I paid on Friday, I got the console back the following Monday.

That level of service is impressive. Turn around time ship it, have it repaired, and get it back was less than 5 business days! Now they are located in the same state as me, so that would certainly vary if you live farther away. Honestly, I have so many ways to play games, I really wasn't in a hurry. I'm probably only going to use it mostly to play Blu-ray DVD's and stream Netflix. Still, I was very impressed.

Professional Satellite Repair...Two Thumbs UP!

Now if I could just find the time to play!

Storm Damage - Review

I've enjoyed reading this book. It's been a nice change of pace after reading so much George R.R. Martin.

The story is set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Retired police officer, Cliff St. James (horrible name), is working to recover from the storm damage to his Dojo. Since leaving the New Orleans Police Department, he has worked as an MMA trainer. The Storm Damage to his Dojo has caused him to fall on lean times, so when a murdered friends daughter walks into his Dojo one day with the offer of  money to investigate her father's murder he jumps at the chance.

This is pure escapism. All of the characters are basically Hollywood movie stereotypes.
Asian gang members, African American MMA fighters, Crooked politicians. Rough and tumble former police detectives with a heart of gold.

Still, it's an entertaining read. It's a like Carl Hiassen novel, without the entertaining characters, and plot that keeps you guessing.

Learning to Code

I'm a computer technician.

I have no formal education for that career outside of the usual entry level computer courses that everyone has to take to get a college degree (and I took those courses when monochrome monitors were the norm). So all of the skills that I have learned have been: on the job, self taught, trial and error. To get my Microsoft certification I bought a book, studied, and took the test. To get my A+ certification I did the same thing. I used to enjoy learning new things and actually working towards a goal. There was no monetary reward for me, I never got any bonuses, or raises because of what I had learned. I just used what I learned to make my life easier.

Same thing with the small amount of HTML I've learned. I just had to know it to do a website for some friends that were in a band, but I enjoyed learning it. It allowed me to be creative. It wasn't ever going to be my primary job, but at least I wasn't lost when people talked about web design, cascading style sheets, and tables (remember them).

That was ten years and two kids ago. During that time, I started a small part time business, and bought a house. So I've had to learn some different skills. I've enjoyed that too.

!@#$!$%$! nested if statements.

I came to the realization, late last year, that I was in a rut, and I didn't like it. I couldn't put my finger on it at first , but I finally traced it back to not challenging myself enough. That's when I decided that I needed to learn something different, that would challenge me, and be useful to me in my everyday life. So I decided that I should learn how to Code. Programming has always been something that I know exists, but had no real understanding of how it works. I would never hesitate to rip open a computer to see how it works, why have I allowed programming languages to be so out of reach?

It wasn't really a New Year's resolution, I just decided that I should learn to code this year...OK maybe it was sort of like a New Year's resolution. Apparently, alot of people have thought the same thing. Although I was the first!

I haven't attempted to do any sort of programming since High School, so I'm starting from scratch. Luckily there are some great resources out there.

Right now I'm bouncing between Code Academy, and Learning Python. The two languages are different enough that I have to really change gears when I switch between the two. They both have an embedded interpreter for their respective language that you can use to write the required code, and then have it tested to see if it meets all of the requirements for the "Lesson".

Code Academy uses the idea of  "Gamification" to try and encourage you to learn. If you reach certain mile stones you get badges. You can share these via Twitter or Facebook if you like. It sounds like such a simple thing, but honestly I get a kick out of it. Once I figured out the Nested If statement I needed to complete the "FizzBuzz" challenge, damn straight I wanted that badge! That was a real challenge for my incredibly illogical mind.

I'm not going to create a million dollar app. I may never even use these skills in my day to day life, but at least I'm learning something new!

The New Louis C.K. Special

It's funny. Pay the $5 and buy it.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Zelda is my mistress.

I haven't finished all of the Legend of Zelda games. I never owned a Nintendo console until the Nintendo 64 came out, so Ocarina of Time was the first game in the franchise that I owned and finished.

The expansion into 3D was a real eye opener for me. Until Ocarina of Time I had only played Legend of Zelda games in the top down game format, and only on a friend's console. So my experience was limited to brief periods of play, usually the game was just demoed for me on the way to play something more multi-player oriented: Like Tecmo Bowl, or Donkey Kong Country. Once I owned Ocarina I was hooked, and I've owned every Zelda game since. I have not finished them all, and I haven't loved them all equally. I still harbor a huge grudge towards Wind Waker. I got stuck on one puzzle after days of game play. Finally after repeated attempts to solve it (I even resorted to a walk through) I gave up. I still would have not changed a thing, because up until that point I was really enjoying the game.

All of this should help to support my credibility when I say that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, is the best Zelda game since Ocarina of Time. It might be the best game on the Wii, to date!

A lot of hardcore gamers laugh at the lack of hi def graphics on the Wii, but even if the graphics are not on the same level of a PS3 or XBox360, who cares! It's should be about gameplay, and Skyward has the best game mechanics using the Wii MotionPlus that I've ever experienced. You can't just "waggle" the wiimote and hope for the best or you will fail...miserably. You must show determination when wielding your sword. Deliberately using the visual cues on the screen to hack and slash away at your enemies. I'ts not easy to get used to, but when you get it, the payoff is awesome.

There are some things that are definitely different this time around. You aren't limited to the opening world as long as in other games. The last Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess, if felt like it took forever to actually get out on a quest! Not in Skyward Sword. After 30 minutes of gameplay I was on a quest. There is a tutorial, but after you complete it, you are in a cave attempting to complete your first mission.
The game is not easy, but it's one of those experiences that makes it totally worthwhile.

If you own a Nintendo Wii, this game is a must have.

And don't tell my wife that I have a mistress, although I suspect she already knows.

Retirement Heist

When I saw the author of this book, Ellen E. Schultz, interviewed on The Daily Show I knew I had to try and get my hands on a copy. It didn't have anything to do with the amount of charisma she showed (very little). I'm just getting to the age that I'm thinking more and more about how to finance our retirement. I was also kind of curious why pensions are no longer very common. It seems like you used to be able to put in 20 years with a company, and be pretty certain that your pension would keep you comfortable. That no longer seems to be the case.

So I checked it out of my local library. (Do you have a library card? You should!)

It's a slow read, and I'm going to confess that some of the math that companies use to turn employees retirement accounts into a revenue stream, goes right over my head. That statement alone, should give you a pretty good idea how companies have exploited loopholes in our benefits system, for their own gain.

I had my original question, "why are pensions no longer common", answered early on in the book. Corporate leaders, mostly in the late 80's and early 90's, misled their shareholders/employees into thinking that the retirement plans could not continue to survive, because they were underfunded based on how many retirees there were expected to be. This was what caused retirement plans to switch from being pensions, which are secure and safe; to 401(k)s, which are tied to the stock market. Anyone with a 401(k) knows how poorly they have been doing.

There is a lot more in this book that will kick your outrage in to high gear. Like the way that retirement plans are used to finance lavish executive exit bonuses. That's one of the worst parts. Corporate execs said that pension plans were under funded, the reason they were saying that is because they couldn't pay top execs huge payouts when THEY retired, while continuing to pay regular retiree pensions.

This book is well written, and has lots of references backing up the claims it contains. It's pretty dry reading, but the author does a great job at the daunting task of addressing the layman. It prompted me to make sure that I keep a closer eye on my 401(k). My employer automatically invests part of my retirement in company stock. In the past year that stock lost 23% of it's value. Since I'm 40 years old, it's time for me to start monitoring that, and making sure that it's not money I'm just pissing away.

It's Official, My Son No Longer Thinks I'm Cool

The Parent Teacher Organization was having a fund raiser at my son's school today. It was a walkathon, they got pledges from people to walk for an hour. There was no minimum number of laps. As parents we were invited to come out and either walk with the kids, or just stand along the path and cheer them on. I decided to head out to try and be supportive. My father-in-law and my mother-in-law drove from an hour away to join in the festivities.

My 6, soon to be 7, year-old son completely ignored all three of us! We tried to walk along with him, but he completely blew us off to walk with his friends. I told my father-in-law that I couldn't believe he wasn't excited to see us. His response, "You get used to it".

On the ride back to work, I realized I was the same way when I was that age. I guess I should be glad that he has friends that he would rather spend time with than me. Let's face it, I'm "Dad". As much fun as he and I can have together when it's just family, I'm no substitute for someone in his own age group. Having friends outside of your family is a sign of maturity, I should have been more concerned if he wanted to walk around the circle with us the whole time.

Still, the truth hurts.

Lucky Me!

I was buckling Piper into her car seat yesterday, just like I do every weekday morning, and I set my travel mug filled with delicious piping hot coffee on the roof of my car. Once I got her all buckled in, I jumped in the car and drove off. I made it to the intersection of Landis Valley Road and Oregon Pike when I tried to take my first sip of the coffee I had so carefully prepared, when I realized it wasn't in my cup holder.

After cursing my stupidity quietly, since my innocent baby girl was in the back seat, I decided to jump out of my car just to see how it spilled. To my surprise, it was still sitting on the roof of my car!

So I had traveled almost a mile with it on my roof, and it didn't spill a drop! The early morning frost had frozen it securely to the roof of my car, and that's the luckiest I've ever been.

RAGE Review

Let me just start out by saying that RAGE is not a great game. It's a good game, that could have been great.

The setting is similar to lots of other games out there. You are trapped in a post apocalyptic wasteland. Yada, yada, yada. If you've played Bioshock, Fallout, Borderlands, Resident Evil, Half-Life 2, Portal 2 etc. You know the score. Lots of decrepit buildings, roads, and machinery. Of course you have good guys, that look like humans, and bad guys that look like horribly deformed mutants/armored thugs.

Various inhabitants of the towns that you visit give you tasks to do. They usually require you to visit an area, make your way through it to a particular item (maybe defeat a boss), fight your way out of the area, and then take the item back to whoever asked you to retrieve it. The story progresses in mostly a linear fashion. There are some side quests that are pretty entertaining. The first few I did were sniper missions, which is always a nice change of pace after killing things in close quarters.

There's a racing component that is a nice addition. Winning races allows you to earn certificates to upgrade your vehicle. The racing is not great, this is no substitute for a good racing game, but it's a nice change of pace from the first person shooter part of the game. It's also a nice way to let you upgrade your vehicle besides dropping a lot of your hard earned cash.

There are also some mini games thrown in. The one I like the best is a game show. Set in a series of treacherous arenas, you have to fight wave after wave of bad guys managing your ammo along the way. If you make it to the end, you are awarded a very nice prize.

While working your way through all of these quests, you can visit Outfitters. These stores allow you to purchase ammo, armor upgrades, and schematics to build things with items that you have found along the way. I won't go into too much detail here, but one of these build-able items is REALLY cool.

It's a Pipe Bender...and it hurts.

A lot of reviews that I read before I bought the game said that it was not a very original concept, and I can see why people would say that. Luckily I hadn't been playing alot of this type of game, so that didn't really effect me.

Most importantly the Game LOOKS amazing.

ID Software has created a new engine, id Tech 5 that allows developers to really utilize the horsepower blah blah blah. It looks awesome!!! Just like the 4 versions before it, this is going to be the best in class gaming engine going forward, and RAGE is the first showcase for it. I can't wait to see what developers do with it going forward!

This is a good game, that looks amazing.

Reamde by Neal Stephenson

Yes, I spelled that right, it's Reamde. It's a purposeful misspelling of the readme.txt file that is often found in a computer directory. It's the first thing that most computer users should read when they are having difficulty with a program.

I've read most of Stephenson's books. I never made it through all of The Baroque Cycle trilogy, I found his style in those books to be a little dry and slow moving. That being said, I have enjoyed many of his other novels. My favorite is Cryptonomicon. I really enjoyed that book for its mixture of technology and action. I'm glad to say that Reamde is a great return to that style!

The novel starts out focused on a group of people running a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, called "T'rain". Think World of Warcraft. If there is anything Stephenson does REALLY WELL, it's exploring a complex topic. In Cryptonomicon, it was encryption, in Reamde, its how payment systems in gaming work, and how someone could exploit that to turn in game money into real money. By using a virus, hidden in an addon that the game uses in Microsoft Outlook in a file, called REAMDE some clever hackers encrypt their victims hard drives. Then they require the victim to meet them in a certain location in T'Rain with in game credits to receive the key to unlock their hard drives. Basically holding all of their data for ransom.

Unfortunately, these hackers pick the wrong person to infect with the virus.

There are lots of twists and turns in this book. It takes awhile for the action to kick in, but when it does, this is a first rate thriller. It's far from perfect, but still a great read.

Like most of Stephenson's novels, the audience for this book is probably people that know something about technology, but I think it can still be enjoyed by a pretty wide audience.

Sometimes I Forget I Even Have A Blog

Wow. Over a year since my last post.

I guess that Facebook and Google+ sort of took over for me when it comes to sharing.

I'm not sure if that is a good thing. So many of my posts on both of those sites are so short, that sometimes I think that my ability to share ideas in a longer format have suffered. It's not my attention span, I can still read a book for hours and maintain the thread of the story, but I'm pretty sure my written communication has suffered.
Besides this post, the longest thing I have written in quite some time, has been a work email, or some technical directions for something. That is communicating, but I'm not sure it's really expressing any original ideas. Writing down step-by-step directions for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is not really saying anything original.

Verbally, I think I can communicate ok, but even then it feels like I have a hard time getting my ideas out sometimes.

I'm just saying that I don't think that there is any substitution for actually putting your thoughts in writing.

On a side note, I REALLY like the new Blogger templates, and the customization you can do.

My New Phone - Samsung Captivate

I finally broke down and bought a new cell phone. Constantly having to restart my phone to fix its unresponsiveness finally got to me. I've always used Windows Mobile smart phones, but since I use Google for everything else; I opted for an Android phone. I thought about an IPhone (they are such great devices) but being locked into Apple/Itunes turned me off. Also they are pretty expensive. I did want to stay with AT&T since I have always had good coverage.

When I started hearing about the new Android phone coming to AT&T I thought the time had finally come. So I purchased the new Samsung Galaxy S phone on AT&T. The "Captivate". I've had it for a couple weeks now and love it.

It's nice to have a phone that I can purchase apps for, or take advantage of the thousands of free apps.

That's not to say that I haven't had some issues, but supposedly they are going to be resolved soon with a firmware update. Anyway, if you are in the market for a cool phone, don't feel like the Iphone is the only game in town.

Dominica 2010 - Escape Bar and Grill

The Passage - Justin Cronin

If you have enjoyed the "Twilight" books this is probably NOT the book for you, yes it has "Vampires" in it, but these are the blood-thirsty rip a human to shreds "Vampires" not the sparkly angst filled teenager variety. Make no mistake, Mr. Cronin does a great job of describing the violent situations in this not so distant dystopian future, but his prose really shines when describing his characters.

My original intention was to purchase the highly regarded "Mary and O'Neill" by Mr. Cronin (which I still plan to do), but when I saw that "The Passage" had been recently released I purchased that instead. I made a very wise decision, since I have not been able to put the book down.

The book opens a few years into the future, and global terrorism has gripped the planet so completely that the government is funding research into creating a group of Super Soldiers. The scientist in charge of the program is rationalizing his involvement in this program by focusing on the immortality/indestructibility aspects. His obsession with his failure to save one of his loved ones from cancer makes him blind to the danger.

Of course, as they say: "Things go horribly wrong" (I don't feel like I'm giving anything away, by saying that), and we jump 100 years into the future. We meet a group of survivors struggling to stay alive, and trying to figure out what is the best thing to do for their own future and the future of mankind. This is where Mr. Cronin really shines. He has the amazing ability to bring these complex, and sometimes conflicted characters, to life in a way that is almost poetic. You feel yourself cheering for all of them! Even the people that you know are going to succumb to the influence of evil.

It's a great story. I recently heard that it is going to be part one in a trilogy, and Ridley Scott has optioned the movie rights. I say good for Mr. Cronin, and good for Hollywood!

My EBook Reader

I love books. At one point I had a library of probably 200 or more books, some hardcovers, but also lots of paperbacks. Then one day I realized that they were taking up space, and as much as I loved them I would never reread all of them. Slowly but surely I've been giving them away via BookMooch. Of course, I get some books from there myself, but I usually give them back to someone else when I'm done reading them.

So, I'm left with a few books that I don't care that much about, I will probably end up donating them. I still have some really nice Hardcover books, that there is no way I'm going to part with because I reread them frequently or have notes in them. I've cleared up a lot of space, but I still want to read current books when they come out.

I debated about whether I wanted to purchase an EBook reader. I knew people who had Kindles and Nooks, but I thought that ebooks would never replace the "real thing" for me. How could a screen replace paper? Then I saw a Sony Ebook Reader on Woot! for $100 so I decided to give it a try. I was tired of waiting to buy books used when they were cheap.

When I first got it, I hated it. I downloaded some public domain books to try it out, and really thought that I was going to end up putting it on Ebay to try and make my money back. A couple days before I left on vacation, I purchased an ebook from the Sony Store for the trip. I figured it would at least save me some room in my Carry-on bag and I could sell it when I got back. So I started reading the book a couple days before we left, finished it on our trip, and downloaded the next two in the series. I was hooked on the series, and on the reader. It really does read like paper. I bought a cover with a built in light so I can read in bed without annoying my wife.

What it comes down to, is the ideas contained in the book. The physical medium makes no difference, it's really all just ones and zeros in my head anyway. When Stieg Larsson describes a scene where his protagonist is being shot at in the Swedish forest, it doesn't matter if I'm holding something made out of woodpulp or printed circuits, I'm still spellbound. Hopefully my public library will improve their selection of ebooks so I can borrow some too.

I'm not knocking printed books, or people that prefer them over an ebook, but I understand ebook readers now. I will probably still buy used books if that is the most cost effective way to get to read them, but I have another option now, and for new books the price is right in ebook format.

NEVER giving up my comic book collection though. I don't care how good they may look on a screen.

10 Things I Learned on my Vacation

Cocoa Beans in the Husk

10 You don't need to take a deep breath when going under water with a snorkel. If you do, someone will see you doing it, and mock you.
9 After an incredible day, even a simple meal served in a road side shack, after a long wait still tastes delicious, if surrounded by friends and good conversation.
8 Cocoa Beans do not look like, or taste anything like, you would think. They are goo covered, and taste more like Lemony Sweet Tarts.

Wanda

7 Even if your room has one, there is probably no need to setup your mosquito net. I only saw one mosquito the whole time I was there. Setting up the net is way too time consuming, and there are better ways to spend your time.
6 You may think it's a "girlie drink" but mixing rum with any fruit juice is really, really good.
5 If four people share a small rental vehicle for a week in the tropics, and plan on doing any snorkeling, that rental car is going to develop a stink. A foul, foul stink. Sorry Wanda.
4 If you are getting a torrential downpour, don't wait 30 minutes to shut your storm shutters, or you will end up with an inch of water on your bedroom floor.

Linton, our guide for the Brandy Falls hike.

3 If you have to shut your storm shutters in the middle of the night, during a torrential downpour, don't wear your last pair of clean and dry underpants. You're much better off doing it Au Naturel.
2 Don't go to the most highly recommended restaurant until the end of the week, or you will miss out on a lot of other great experiences.
1 HIRE THE GUIDE! You REALLY have no idea where you are going.

Dominica

o today I went hiking. It wasn't just any hike. At least half of it was spent searching for footholds on steep hills. It was 45 minutes to reach our destination. An incredible waterfall called Brandy Falls.

It's not something that I ever thought I would be able to do. My calves and thighs hurt right now, and no matter how good Keen's are, there are still some small blisters on my feet. Soaking in the pool at the bottom of the falls, totally made the adventuresome hike worth it.

There was also a very friendly crab hanging out half way up the waterfall. One of his not so friendly brothers bit my foot as I was walking around in the water. Luckily it left me with only a small blood blister and nothing more.

It was a very good day.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Review

Let me get this out of the way. I LOVED Super Mario Galaxy. I thought it was an all around great game. Great play control, great visuals, amazing soundtrack, and the second player co-op was great for my five year-old (four when we started it). We had so much fun. We still play it occasionally, revisiting levels that we enjoyed. I sort of thought that the sequel would just be more of the same, but pre-ordered it anyway because I thought it would be fun for he and I to play some new levels.

I was really wrong.

Galaxy 2 is not just more of the same. It adds more suits to Mario's wardrobe, including the cloud suit, which I've only used on one level so far, but really adds a new dimension to navigating around the map. The second player can do MORE. They can once again hold back moving objects helping Mario move through the area unimpeded, they can break apart crystals containing the much coveted "star bits"and they can even grab an enemy incapacitating it. Mario still has to deliver the knock out punch, but the feeling of involvement of that second player is so much more. Of course they can still collect star bits, something that my son does with great joy, but now they can also grab hard to reach coins. That is REALLY helpful.

All I really need to say for any die hard Mario Fan was one word. "Yoshi"

Check out this Trailer

If you like platformers, you need this game.