selfstasis

I need to remind myself. IF, if at all possible do two things this weekend:

1) Plan and come up with a design for my online portfolio - wireframes, interaction design, and just general planning. NO CODING.

2) Create a remote control widget so Dylan quits bitching about what music is blaring on my iTunes.

As Cyrus would say, “I’ll do that with my copious amount of time”(insert laugh here).

My left eye now twitches for some damn reason, Scott says it’s due to stress. It started last week. It’s annoying as hell especially when I’m in a meeting. “I can feel it - can they see?” Crying out loud, I have enough voices in my head to quell. Freakin eye.

Nothing like inconsiderate actions to get your blood pumping. Nothing like this feeling to get you into action either. Might as well call me out. Photoshop battle anyone? Flash? Illustrator? Pixen? Lightwave??

Standing outside on the balcony while drinking an expresso during a thunderstorm was rather soothing. Always a pleasure, thunderstorms were always so majestic.

My laptop of three years is showing lots of wear. The Inspiron 8200 has served me well and I wasn’t anticipating of getting another laptop for at least another year until the screen went dead. I’ve managed to coax her back to life but it’s not looking good. She’s been through a lot. Lots of drops, lots of banging, lots of spills/stains, multiple OS testing, and one hard drive failure/replacement. She’s never been the same after the HD failure.

So now that Apple has transitioned to Intel it’s even looking better now to get one. I still feel the G4/G5 for some reason are a lot snappier. My G4 mini seems like it initially responds a little better compared to the Duo(s) but then lacks in processing speed in the long run. Maybe it’s just perception? In some parrallel universe, it would have been interesting to see the Cell in those beautiful silver boxes. Oooo, CELL.

Now that I’m really thinking hard about getting a MacBook Pro I’ve also started losing my hair over which version to get. 15″ or 17″ MacBook Pro ranging from $1999.00 to $2799.00. It’s so hard to decide. Then thinking to myself, all power software I use won’t be available until the end of summer the latest even not until next year. Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects, Lightwave, Macromedia Flash and Dreamweaver - I have all of these for the PPC. Rosetta does amazingly well just for the fact it uses brute processing force to get the job done but I do see a performance hit at times.

Then when I think of all the PPC software I already have the PowerBooks from 12″ to 17″ look pretty tempting albeit in the “refurbished” condition ranging in price from $1199 to $1999.00. I don’t really care about “refurbished” especially when it comes from Apple - add Apple Care and you’re set for three more years of great customer service. But be an architecture behind? Will that suffice in three years? I say no. Oh man, the decisions - the cash!!!. Ahhh. The 12″ PowerBook has been calling to me even more now because of the tiny form factor. Plus I can buy that now and save for the either 15″ or 17″ for later in the next few months. Once I’m ready again Jess will inherit the 12″ if I go for that option.

But then let’s look at the professional side shall we. I do graphics. I like graphics. If I go with the 17″ with the upgraded 100 gig 7200 rpm drive and 2 gig ram - it’s now to $3099.00 - with friends and family it’s now down to $2635.00. The 17″ MacBookPro is one baddassss laptop but it’s HUGE - I’m talking behemoth. Do I want to lug around a workstation or a laptop? EhhhhhhhAhhh.

I know what Jess would say - more money for our wedding less on my toys. But then she could be getting a laptop out of the deal? Hmmm, sweetie?

I’m ending these parts. I’ve just been away at this for a while and I have so much other things to talk about. However here is a synopsis of everything that has happened so far.

Part II: 4 days
Visited Washington DC to scope our new office space and apartments. Technically not in D.C. but in Arlington, Va. in the Ballston area. We also visited Phil Bronner our new Venture Capitalist from Novak Biddle in Bethesda. In Bethesda, where we met Alex (Austin’s best friend from Duke) and girlfriend Julie, we scoped out the local eateries and bars. It was fun. Damn this place is expensive, but it should be okay soon. Jess and I ate lunch at a very cute Italian shop about three blocks from Phil’s office - it was also the first time I had real Italian ice cream. Wow - freaking amazing. Jess and I have hunted and hunted - we’re getting tired of apartment hunting. It’s getting stressful as well trying to manage all the upcoming apartments we want to see.

Part III: 3 days
More visits with Phil and more apartment hunting. We’re staying in the Hyatt, and it’s very nice. Austin and I took the metro from Bethesda to Ballston to review our final ideas of where to get an apartment. The apartments are The Lincoln Towers, The Ballston Place, and Avalon at Ballston (which is literally five seconds behind one of the prospective office spaces). In the end we settled for Lincoln. The location is great; only a block from the metro and ten minute walk to the office. Also a hiccup has occured - we have to get back to the Pittsburgh office asap - our trip is cut short by a full day.

Part IV:
Back in Pittsburgh, we have to get going on more work - lots of it. For better or for worse, this is the last leg of our journey - we just have to bust some heads. Letting family and friends know the upcoming situations and what we’re doing.

Part V:
Deal signed with Novak Biddle. Yeaaaaaay. Austin and me are signing up for our aparment and closing any accounts we have here in Pittsburgh. Hooman went to Ireland with his girlfriend Amanda. Austin will be taking a few days off while I’ll be taking about a week. These are probably the last vacations we will be having for the next year. And for me, it is badly needed. I need to see home instead of the office and the apartment, day in and day out.

I’m now in Ballston. We have a great team coming up. It’s not going to be any easier but bring it on. It’s going to be fun.

So I’ve been busy. Real busy. In anticipation of a change in my life, I sought out the company of my best friend from college. It had been a while since I’ve seen him or his family. I’m practically an adopted brother and child. I missed them and I hadn’t seen my friend in months. With the change in mind, I might not have the opportunity to see them for even a longer period. So about a month ago I made sure I had an opening, made a call, and a week later boom I’m in Scotdale, Pa - Home of the Teich Family.

It’s rather all a blur when I try to recall how I met Matt aka Teich. I believe it was my first class with Br. Boniface in C++. Or now, Fr. Boniface Hicks of Saint Vincent Archabbey - one of the smartest monks you’ll ever meet. Anyway, I believe he approached and introduced himself which was not uncommon at Saint Vincent College. Everything else was history. Teich became a project partner for life which included late nights of programming, scheming, cursing of professors (ahem, Dr. M), last minute homework, and beer consumption. Good talks in philosophy as well - it’s rare to find people to just discuss about philosophy of which we received ample academic tutelage.

We started early in the drinking pretty much as soon as I arrived there was a beer in my hand. Then out for dinner to meet another SVC alumni at the best Pizza shop in world - Pizzaros (I believe). After pizza plus a few beers, we were out to see the local bars. Nothing exciting to note except we’re in the middle of hick country in the town of Connellsville, Pa. All I know from the first bar we arrived at what this; I was scared. Okay, maybe not all scared but rather bewildered. Three huge wide screen TVs located in three different spots and not one had national programs on. NOPE. IT was rassstling time. Local boys made it to state. I wanted to suggest something more constructive like WQED or the Discovery Channel but education isn’t a big thing in this country. It’s sports. Plus, I wouldn’t have gotten out of there alive.

Afterwards at different bar, we had met another of Teich’s friends, Hoss with his soon to be wife. During another round of food and beverages, yes-when moderated in correct proportions food and beer go hand and hand, I was reminded of how I met Jim. He was the first fellow we met at the Pizzaros. It was the summer housing program at SVC. Teich was finishing some courses for the summer, and I had an internship at Rolling Rock. It was a fateful night at an un-Godly hour in Gerard Hall. Teich and Jim arrived loud as hell with two other women. Below is the rewritingment of the events that happened,

Teich (drunk): “Yeah that’s my roommate, Steve”.
Jim (drunk): “Hi Steve”
Girls (drunk): “Hi Steve”
Me (groggy): “Hi”
Teich: “Yeah he’s from the Philippines. He’s my Asian connection”
Girls: “Oh cool, blah blah blah blah blah blah”
Girls (getting more annoying): “blah blah blah blah”.
Me: “Yip, yup, yip” - and any dialog remotely close to which they can understand.
Me (thinking to myself): “When my fellow island-men and continental-men invade, you two will be in the - “Invasion: DO NOT SAVE LIST”.”
Girl One: “I feel sick I have to go to the bathroom”

Teich follows to assist. Jim and Girl Two remain in the room. After more chit chat, it finally dies down to the point where I think I can go to bed. I close my eyes.

PAUSE, 5-10 minutes later.

I’m awoken to a barrage of sounds below me that would haunt me for the rest of my life. There was the kissing, aka “Neckin” then the sloppy kissing, aka “Playing Hockey” then the inevitable sex, aka “Jim you fucking asshole”. As I lay there with the reverberating sounds of the squeaking bed as it swayed back and forth, I died a little bit inside.

Jim was embarrassed when this story was recounted. He felt rather guilty, and continually apologized for the rest of the night. However, like all good things it had to end. I had to be at work the next day, a Sunday, and rather a miserable day at work. No, it wasn’t the amount of alcohol but the types of alcohol – liquor and beer just don’t mix.

Yeah, my lazy ass will get to it. I’m just busy as hell. Lots to talk about and little time to write about it but as I said - it’s coming….soon.

That’s what is says on this wannabe Bialetti copy of a Moka Easy. However, just by whim I bought the cheap knockoff while I was looking for candy at CVS. Yeah, I know? Off all the places to find something like it. It was after Christmas so this puppy was half off. Only costing 1/8 of an original Bialetti, I said what the hell. “ExpressoExpress” has a metal base and hard plastic top while the Bialetti is all metal construction. Nevertheless, the output is fairly surprising.

I didn’t have a grinder or true expresso beans to test it out so I just went with regular dark roast coffee, again from CVS. Results? I was fairly impressed but it was not expresso. When the regular coffee ran out, I went to CVS to get more but this time I looked closely at the coffee selection. CVS is only 10 seconds adjacent to our office building so we are regulars. Anyway, I found a vacuumed packaged coffee - “Cafe Bustello” - “ideal for Demi-tasse, Cappuccino, Espresso or iced coffee”. Huh? In CVS? I was squeezing it and it seemed very densely packed so I thought, maybe. When I got back to the office I was suprised to find coffee that had been grinded to expresso consistency - jackpot.

The initial testing was bad - the coffee had a “green” after taste - somewhat earthy but bad earthy and non-existent aroma - the grinds didn’t look like they went through a dark roast process as the packaging indicated. I didn’t give up - the results were expresso. So finally this morning I got it right, I made three shots of expresso that were amazing. Eventually I’ll get the real deal but for now the ExpressoExpress is kicking ass besides how can you justify paying for the real thing at $52.00 plus shipping compared to $7.00 exact knockoff? Well I can justify it, you can never beat quality - Bialetti has been around for over 70 years, and they’re world renowned, but at this junction I’m very satisfied.

So I couldn’t hold it in, I told my good friend - Mr. Francisco Hermo of Espaniola — currently residing as an illegal in the U.S. - of this machine. He knew right away what I was talking about. His response, “Yeah I didn’t sell that at the coffee shop because it’s known to cause Parkinson’s Disease. It’s the aluminum”. Well thanks for blowing my bubble you sonnabitch. Seriously man, what isn’t in our foods and drinks that won’t eventually kill us? Bastard. I’m riskin it for the perfect expresso.

It started as a normal work morning this past wednesday, the night before micropuke stated updates had been downloaded so I installed them, then I left for Clarion. Reboot went okay, when I came in the login screen was welcoming me. I logged in and everything seemed fine - I saw my desktop “Blood: The Last Vampire” ————- pooooof - flashes - then nothing on my desktop except blue and two icons. The “My Computer” and the trash bin icon. I said to myself, “what the hell”. It was a rip in the time shift continuum which constantly plagues this stupid OS(ie xp…). OSX just purrss, smiles and gives me a good day - from which I’m writing this now.

As I later discovered, the damage was beyond superficial. Start menu icons were completely wiped out - I mean all of them. Even in the Admin account none of the icons showed. I was pissed. It seemed like the ntuser dat file was completely deleted. This contained all my user profiles. My monitor values were thrown off, firefox bookmarks were gone (this really sent me over the cliff - months of aggregation down the toilet), SecureCRT, and everything that store crap in my user profiles were deleted. Macromedia Studio 8 had to be reinstalled - that was all I had to reinstall thank goodness.

Hail to OS X. Purge XP.