Where the time escapes?

It seems that 2007 barely started and here comes the surprise: it is already December...
To day we had two anniversaries: 150th birthday of Joseph Conrad and 40th anniversary of the first heart transplant. Do you know what two additional facts tie those two events?

• Joseph Conrad wrote "Heart of Darkness"
• Joseph Conrad died of heart attack

Fate can be ironic.

Vistas

During the weekend right before my departure for Euro-trip I had an interesting task to complete: upgrade from Windows Vista Home Premium that came with my Toshiba notebook to the top-of-the-line Windows Vista Ultimate. I did it finally, but not without problems. Let's start with negatives (so we can end on a positive note).
What sucks about Vista 'Anytime Upgrade' program:

• Your computer is supposed to arrive with 'anytime upgrade' DVD if your system is less than Ultimate. Guess what: cheapskate computer manufacturers are usually skipping it...
• Getting the DVD from Microsoft may be problematic: it took me several e-mails, two shipments and the total of four weeks to get it by US Mail...
• The process is time consuming (but, once started, does not require too much interaction from you).

What's good about it:

• The process replaces 'vendor version' of Welcome Center with the original Windows version. It means less obnoxious, useless 'offers' you have to look at...
• You get free system backup feature.
• You get access to network domains.
• You can have video as a wallpaper.
• System seems a little bit more stable than its younger siblings.

And one curiosity: the upgrade totally damaged McAffee Security Center, making it constantly try to start some process that always fail. The attempts to fix the problem using McAffe itself ended with 'The problem cannot be fixed because of an error ' message - highly informative... I had to use resource monitor to discover what really happened. The final solution: first complete uninstall, then reinstallation of the software.

Greetings from the other side of the pond...

I have made it to Poland for the long postponed vacation with my family.
The trip was suspiciously easy: no flight delays, no lost luggage... I especially enjoyed my first (should I say virgin?) flight on board of Airbus 330. It wasn't as good as Boeing 777, but better than 767, 747, and especially DC10.
It was also the first practical test of my secondary GSM phone with United Mobile SIM card. The Samsung D900i worked like a charm. I was rally surprised by the way its default theme works: in the USA it was showing animated landscape with Statue of Liberty in the background; when I turned it on in Amsterdam it changed to a landscape with windmill, then in Warsaw - to a landscape with green fields and trees.
The worst part was the weather that greeted me in Warsaw - dull, murky, cold, with wet snow falling. The good part is that it is supposed to improve; I'm not counting on sudden heat wave, but there should be some more sunshine.
More reports coming later...

Joke of the Day

Couldn't resist: I heard wonderful joke this morning...
It is one of those 'question/answer' jokes. Here it comes:

Question:
What is the longest sentence known to men?

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Answer:
"I do."

Crazy week

This week was a little bit crazy - especially the Wednesday. But we should start with the events that led to apogee on Wednesday:

• approximately a month ago I have purchased tickets for my long overdue vacation trip to Poland,
• learning from my previous trip (on-line connection starvation!) I decided to get myself GSM phone an a local SIM card,
• so I ordered Samsung D900i unlocked phone and two SIM cards (Polish and international[Mobal],
• I have also been researching new notebook computer for some time (my Dell is aging!),
• a week ago I grabbed a 'weekly paper' at Circuit City and found pretty tempting deal on Toshiba Satellite U305,

Quite surprisingly, all ordered phone items were scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, I gave up and ordered the notebook on-line with store pickup (to save shipping costs). Of course I'm typing this blog entry on the new machine...
So, the 'Tech Week' is over and I'm looking forward to the new one. I wouldn't mind if it was 'Rest Week' for a change...

Sunday Night Blues

To put it gently, Sunday evenings and nights are not my preferred time of week. You can already smell that Monday/workday odor approaching you...
At least the day wasn't too bad:

• the weather was cool, but sunny
• I went out to do some shopping
• I bought new album by Annie Lennox "Songs of Mass Destruction"

I went for 'Deluxe' edition, because Annie is my favorite, and I enjoy some extra contents with my music. So far I am not disappointed.

Random? Noooo....

Remember my last post - the one about USAirways Orlando flight disaster? It was just a beginning of totally improbably screwed-up trip. In addition to double cancellation of the flight to Orlando, we had to endure:

• sleepiness during the show on Monday,
• cancellation of one account call on Tuesday,
• missing shipment of exhibit items from Orlando to Philadelphia,
• improvised setup of the table for the show on Wednesday,
• two more account call cancellations on Thursday and Friday,
• weather reversal upon return to Las Vegas: it was warmer and dryer in Philly than in Vegas!

So please don't tell me that the world is random: this concentration of 'coincidences' is highly improbable...
The only good point is that the weather remained moderate in Las Vegas since our return. I like it!

Wish I was a bird...

... so I would not have to use commercial airlines to fly. I still cannot believe what happened to me and my colleague on Sunday:

• we were scheduled to fly from Las Vegas to Orlando, FL on USAirways flight departing at 11:34am, so we showed up at the airport shortly after 9 am;
• the inbound flight with our plane was showing as only 10 minutes delayed, so no reason to be worried; it arrived eventually and we were almost ready to board;
• now delays started to pop-up: first 1 hour ("but please stay at the gate for updates"), then 4 hours, eventually cancellation -- everything because of 'breaks problem';
• then hectic attempts to get another flight: eventually they have rebooked us to fly to Dallas on USAirways, then to Orlando on American; we were supposed to arrive at 12:30 am (Monday) instead of original 7pm Sunday;
• when we showed up at the gate for the Dallas flight the entire situation repeated very accurately: at first delayed incoming flight, then 'small delay due to breaks problem' that started to extend beyond one hour, which meant missed connection in Dallas...
• they gathered all Orlando passengers rebooked via Dallas (again) and another search for the replacement flight started: it ended up with Delta flight departing at 10:10pm Sunday and arriving 5:45 am Monday;
• we made it on Delta without any delays, but you can imagine how much fun it was to do a trade show after whole day at the airport and red-eye flight...

Fly by USAirwaste...

9/11

So it is September 11th again. Many remember it as the anniversary of 2001 events, but significantly less -- as the anniversary of Mountain Meadows Massacre. One orchestrated by conservative, Islamic extremism, the other by Mormon theocracy; both should remind us of dangers of reemerging monster of religious radicalism. It really doesn't matter if they are hailing from mountainous hideaways somewhere near Pakistan/Afghanistan border or from Liberty University: those minions always claim that they protect families, religion, nation, etc. In reality they bring misery, oppression and death to everybody who stands on their way to final destination -- absolute power.
Remembering is the key to stopping them. Maybe America wakes up before it is completely covered by the shadow of religious fanaticism. Maybe it is not too late...

Hurricanes in the desert

Sunday night and Monday morning we had quite a downpour here in Vegas valley. There was flooding in some areas that were not in officially designated flood zones. And who to blame for it? Dean - the hurricane that passed over the Gulf of Mexico last week...
Apparently its remains got through Mexico to Nevada and Arizona. If the remains can drop a couple of inches of water in the middle of the desert, what the force of the original had to be!

Time goes atomic...

So we have August... Quite surprisingly, the summer heat subsided a little bit - I like it very much!
I forgot to mention it earlier, but on July 22nd I have finally got myself that dream wristwatch - super-duper, solar powered, radio controlled, titanium encased Oceanus 700. That's the subject of the picture above, of course.
So far it is excellent watch. I'll give it one or two more weeks before I write down longer review...

July is gone...

It was quite unusual month: started with exceptionally hot weather, but ended with below average temperatures and even some rain and thunderstorms. The increased humidity is not pleasant, but evening lightning shows like the one yesterday are just priceless.
I definitely had enough summer, so I hope it is going to cool down a little bit.
See you in August!

Reprieve

So, we had several days of acceptable temperatures for a change (upper nineties!) and it even rained. Of course increased humidity level in the air does not feel too good, but it feels much cooler.
It would be nice if the tendency continued, but it's only a dream...

Global Furnance

Is the world turning into a furnace? The temperatures hover around or above 110°F for more than two weeks now. And it is hot not only here in Vegas: last Tuesday and Wednesday I went on a business trip to Portland, Oregon. Usually it would be nice cool down when compared to Vegas, but not this time: both days the maximum temperature in the area was over 100°F. For the locals it was the edge of disaster; even (usually reliable) MAX light rail system was failing.
Really strange thing happened while I was flying there. I was flying on Southwest with stop in Oakland, California. When I was already on board of the plane to Portland, we were informed that there was security breach in the terminal and all flights are grounded until all checks are completed. The we waited, experienced police dog search, then a lady (from the checkpoint where the breach occurred, I presume) came to look into passenger faces. Finally, we departed with almost one hour delay. Weird...
Also during that trip I run into the really upsetting advertisement in Wednesday USA Today - perfect example of bigotry of African American ministers. It was paid for by 'High Impact Leadership Coalition', yet another business organization disguising itself as church, led by Harry Jackson from Beltsville, MD. Basically speaking, this ad calls to repel S.1105 proposition, because it would 'muzzle our pulpits', i.e. possibly stop southern baptists and similar hate mongers from publicly condemning homosexuality as sin. Their argument is, as usual, that that's the truth in the Bible, so their are obliged to go for it.
If we let those 'businessmen' disguised as pastors follow their spiteful interpretation of the scripture, when they are done with 'homosexual problem', what the next step would be? The Lord encouraged the faithful to take the cities of unfaithful, kill all men, take their wives, make their children slaves -- what a wonderful biblical principle to follow.
What people should be signing is petition to stop southern baptists, club 700 and similar satanic organizations from turning America into Taliban Country.
Have a good night...

Heat - continued...

I hope everybody's 4th of July was cooler than mine... I have this electronic thermometer with sensor on the balcony (it is in the shade, but not in 'standard temp. measurement conditions'). This afternoon it was showing 127°F - that's over 52°C!
I give up...

Heat

With the official start of July, the temperatures here in the valley started to creep up dangerously close to the 110°F point (that's over 43°C for the rest of the world). Actually, the forecasts for July 4th holiday say 113°F (45°C)...
Even long time residents admit that those temperatures are quite uncomfortable. The easiest confirmation of this statement can be found in playgrounds: you will not see children playing outside in those temperatures.
To compensate, I have purchased new, massaging shower head. Now jumping into a refreshing shower after that heat outside feels much better!

Closures

Time passes so quickly - did I mention it before? It's the end of the month, end of the second quarter, and end of the first half of the year...
Earlier this week Ann Coulter showed her ugly character in the media again. I had enough! Since she enjoys labeling people in quite indiscriminate way, let's give her a label that celebrates her insolent manifestation of 'conservative values', her pronounced Adam's apple and viper tongue:
  HHH=3H=Hypocritical Hermaphrodite Hag
She surely should enjoy the same kind of treatment she wholeheartedly dispenses to everybody.
Have a nice weekend...

Catching up

Oh, boy! It took me way too much time to create new post. It was very busy time, so let's review what happened since May 1st:

• I survived yet another business trip, this time to Texas (Houston and Austin areas). The weather was much better that forecasts predicted (it rained only one day), the food was good and account calls pretty decent.
• DAC (Digital Automation Conference) was in San Diego this year: may favorite city... Maybe it was not a tremendous success, but you cannot call it a failure, either.
• I survived post-DAC conundrum at the office; believe me, it didn't feel like vacation at all!
• Jerry Falwell, right-wing southern baptist preacher joined his master (Satan, I think) in the underworld.

My gadget mentioned in the previous post (solar, radio-controlled watch) works very well so far. I have managed to get one more in the mean time: Sony E-reader (Book reader with digital ink technology display). It looks like I would have to write another post just for the sake of 'technical updates'.

See you later...

Why Oregon is called 'rainy'...

I really enjoy visiting Portland, OR area. This time I'm doing some training for INTEL at Jones Farm, their facility in Hillsboro; if you have never seen the map of Portland, imagine Columbia river marking the border of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. Portland is immediately to the south of the river, its airport (PDX) to the east, Beaverton and Hillsboro to the west.
My previous visits were quite lucky in the weather department, but this one looks not so good: although it is not raining right now, but you can see it coming on the weather radar maps. Well, maybe higher forces will intervene and it will be raining only during the night?
This trip is also the premier trip of my new watch. It is solar powered and radio controlled. Since I could not actually see in any store the Oceanus watch that looked very tempting, I went for Casio. Maybe not that fashionable, but significantly cheaper and very functional. I will write how it behaves later.

Let's pretend that time doesn't flow...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Many thanks to all those who remembered, shame on those who did not... I'm trying not to remember which birthday it is, just that it was peaceful and uneventful. I went out dressed in in all new clothes: head to toe, just to initiate newer, better year of life (I know, I know — it sounds superstitious, but is is harmless). The weather guys were threatening us with thunderstorms and rain, but nothing like that happened.
Tomorrow is just another day...

Yearly Procrastination Ritual

This year I have played the 'Wait with filing your tax return till the last moment' game quite long, but it is not my record. I have filed six days before the deadline! My only excuse for giving up is that after buying my condo last year I will get record refund...
I even know how to use this refund: some time ago I have proudly stated that my titanium/solar powered watch is everything I will ever need, unless they will manage to make them synchronize with atomic clocks via radio. Apparently I have underestimated Japanese engineers: there is new watch called Oceanus with titanium bracelet and case, solar cell, and the ability to sync with radio time signals in the USA, Europe and Japan! And it looks good! This time I'm not making any promises...

Money!

Finally I have managed to file my business expense report for the recent series of trips. I have realized that the time is high to file it while paying bills: my checking account was growing suspiciously small. Now, after cashing almost $2500 it looks much better.
I should be staying home for at least 3 weeks for a change (love it!) so I might force myself to do some spring cleaning. The weather unexpectedly jumped to temperatures in the eighties range (over 80°F which roughly equals 27°C), totally skipping my favorite seventies range (21 to 26 degrees Celsius). We are considering at the office making a weekend trip to Grand Canyon - there is good reason now since they have opened new attraction: Grand Canyon Sky Walk. It is definitely worth checking how 4000 feet (1219 meters) of empty space feels underneath you...

Sick puppy

OK, I gave up and went to the doctor: my inflamed sinuses were killing me. I like this evil sense of revenge when I think what the antibiotic I'm taking does to the bacteria in my nasal passages...
After 3 days at home I'm on the road again: this time in Folsom, CA. I have arrived at noon today; the weather is very nice, and Premium Outlets are right across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn where I'm staying. I did some minor shopping: my favorite underwear at Jockey, a shirt at Van Heusen, and some interesting items in the new discovery: Harry and David. They had passion fruit green tea and flavored water in transparent cans! And now peaceful evening in my hotel room...

After the time change

So... we have survived! Five of my radio-controlled clocks self-adjusted for earlier DST, two required manual switch to Mountain zone. Not bad -- I was afraid the majority will fail...
I have made it to Phoenix, AZ. The weather is almost like in Vegas, and there is no time difference, since Arizona does not use DST.
The only small problem: it feels like I'm catching a cold. I have to medicate myself: doing presentations with scratchy throat and dripping nose is not a pleasure...

Waiting for the end of the world?

I'm writing this after 1:00 am on Sunday, March 11th. I have manually set all simple clocks 1 hour ahead, but the behavior of computerized clocks remains a puzzle: will they recognize summer time at 2:00 am or continue to think it's winter time? I have updated all the software I could, but one thing was beyond my control: so called 'atomic' (radio-controlled) clocks.
Of course the superior intelligence of politicians could not foresee that some technical devices may not listen to their speeches. Don't we love our politicians? If they only stopped proving how smart they are ... We know! We know!
Worst things worst, I can set those clocks to Mountain time zone for 3 weeks if they do not switch to DST themselves.
We shall see soon...

Let's Start!

So we have March! I don't know how January and February managed to expire so fast...
I just came back from my first trip ever to Japan and I'll be going to Arizona and California soon. Perfect time to start blogging! And the weather is getting so nice: you can smell spring in the air, and birds are going crazy outdoors.