daninbusiness

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

on my own for a little while

The wife is headed to Korea for ~ 1 month. Guess I may have more time to myself for a little bit; I could try & do something productive with this...

And/or, I could also go out more & get to know more of Seattle.

We'll see how this plays out; but I do intend on getting some writing done, amongst other things.

Monday, September 17, 2007

bowling night!!!

My company has sponsored a group of us to play in a bowling league in the neighborhood. Tonight was the first night, with 3 games played. I bowled a 150, 186, then 118.

One would think that I'd improve as the evening went on; I hope that I can stay a bit more consistent (in a good way) as I get used to playing more...this will be a 12-week activity; this could well be the most regular/steady bowling that I've had in my life. Hopefully some good/improvement will come of it.

It was fun thusfar!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Final Fantasy III is torturing me!

Trying to make a final push and wrap up my game of Final Fantasy III, which has been dragging out ever since I got a Nintendo DS back in March...it's been a really, really fun game to play, but getting to and beating the final boss is an exercise in patience and frustration.

I've come way too close now to just give it up; on the other hand - it's at the point where pushing on just feels like work, and not like a fun game or escape...

Virtual Machine on my home PC

Looks like I might get to do a Solaris (the operating-system) related project at work. As such, I'm going through the process of installing it as a virtual system on top of my Linux system via VMware.

I'm impressed with how well Virtual Machine works - it's a really cool idea.

I had read about it on the web and how it would be "the next big thing", and that does seem to be believeable; especially as multi-processor CPU's become standard.

I haven't actually tried running this OS on its own yet; I'm a little doubtful how well it will ultimately work on its own within Linux....my home CPU is just a 1.8 gig AMD Sempron - that's a single-core budget CPU, and while it still totally is doing fine for the most of the tasks I throw at it, perhaps it will be a bit much for any sort of decent day-to day operations...suddenly it feels like I have a reason to upgrade...

A scanner, darkly - dystopian movie weekend!

Just finished up viewing the film adaptation of "A Scanner, Darkly". Interesting and depressing. The visual style in the film was pretty unique, however. I'm still thinking about that one; haven't really made my mind up on it yet. Like many other Linklater movies, it was very dialog driven, and there wasn't really a distinct action-filled climax (though, with careful editing I'm sure someone could rig something up)...

Last night, we watched the movie "Ultraviolet", featuring Mila Joviovich (from the Resident Evil movies, among others)...cool that much of the "futuristic city-scape scenes" were at least based on footage that was done in Shanghai. The story was sorta forgettable, and the action scenes were pretty much "inspired" by the Matrix and John Woo movies and Blade and many, many other films I've seen before.

Anyway, it wasn't a total waste of time.

site maintainence & no more .mac...

Well, my .mac membership expired a few months ago and I haven't missed it...certainly not worth another $80 for everything that I can already do for free (and more transparently) via google & yahoo's free services.

So I won't miss it.

Too bad that Apple can't get their shit together as far as .mac goes...but they seem to be focusing on making their ipods attractive (and are doing a good job with that), so good on them.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

dan finishes "Overclocked"

Cory Doctorow has done some fine work, and his writing is easy to read, interesting, and hard to put down once you've started reading it.

While he often uses titles that are plays on other famous sci-fi titles (I, Row-Boat & Anda's Game come to mind), his content is unique and stands well on its own.

Anyway, his stories were really interesting and had some cool twists in them that I don't want to give away here - I totally recommend checking it out.

You could, literally, check it out from your library, purchase a copy at a bookstore or on Amazon.com, or download it for free from Cory's website.

Totally worth the time.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Dan's reading situation

Further to my last post about my rekindled love for libraries, I've actually finished reading one of the books I checked out and even went ahead to check out some more.

I've been inspired a bit by the feature that's running on AVclub.com by a critic who bought a box of bargin-bin sci-fi books and is reviewing one or two a week.

While I'm not buying any books (yet) to do this on my own, I've found a lot of good stuff at the library (and had been introduced to some new authors by a very helpful clerk at Barnes & Noble the other day...)

Latest report:

Shadow of the Giant, by Orson Scott Card

I'm a big fan of his; and I've read everything he's published in Ender/Bean series of books he's done. I was in China when this book came out in 2005, and it was pretty difficult to find a copy in Hong Kong (or on the internet...and I wasn't willing to pay for Amazon shipping)

So I finally get to read it now. I burned through it, as I usually tend to do with his books.

Basically, I think that he did a pretty good job of tying all the loose ends of the series together.

And although the book is set ~100+ years in the future (?), due to the far-flung political nature of the conflict going on, he's had to adjust a bit for events that have happened in the past 7 years as he's worked on this series - the result is still pretty cohesive.

Card's personal religious and political views do seem to make an impact on the writing, and it makes for a pretty unique perspective - he never mentions the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at all in this novel, but the gentle respect for religion while still pointing at the many political realities intertwined with it are interesting.

I'm a bit sad that the series is over, but this does mean that I'm "free" to go on with some other books...

On deck:

"Overclocked" by Cory Doctorow

I really liked "Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom", I read Cory's blog, and I'm a big supporter of his anti-DRM philosophy. Overclocked is a collection of short stories by Cory. I'm on page 45 right now, in the middle of a story called "When Sysadmins ruled the earth"...it's an after the bomb type story set in the age of google. Interesting.

Monday, September 03, 2007

reflections after the labor day weekend...

It's been a full (yet relaxing) labor day weekend and I'm waxing reflective now prior to going to bed.

I was about to write this up in a notebook when I realized that I'd later probably be kicking myself for not putting it online (and thus further neglecting my blog).

On the other hand, I've had a lot of "screen time" with our computers and it is probably just as well to be pulling off of using a computer all the time during my free time...

(I use one a LOT during work).

3 major themes coming together this weekend:

1. Marsha is studying for the GMAT. No big surprise there, this has been a plan in the works for quite some time now. Good luck to her...the test is next weekend and she's got a lot to do to get ready.

2. Realized that I am using a computer for nearly all of my entertainment during my free time. I usually run mp3's through iTunes, which is hooked up to my stereo. I can watch youtube movies on my TV, and if I want to play games, I play them through my PC (which is hooked up to the TV).

- Have come to the realization that while being computer saavy is a good thing, excluding the contact of other people just to be online is probably not a good thing. (That seems like an obvious, common-sense thing...it's also the kind of thing that's easy to ignore since it seems innocent...

- Have also come to the realization that constantly checking RSS feeds (while probably a better alternative to watching cable TV) is still keeping me from actually creating things...writing a book, writing music, etc.

- Computer-based entertainment is pretty cheap compared to almost all of the other alternatives out there ( in my opinion; especially considering since I've already got the hardware investment) - as we're still re-establishing our selves; "starting out" all over again, cash is tight...

Just to confirm - Marsha and I did get out of the house every day this weekend; we went running & exploring on Saturday, and visited the Snoqualmie waterfall on Sunday. Monday (still today) we went to the gym and I explored a bit of Seattle - namely where Marsha will be taking the GMAT exam so I don't get lost while attempting to drive there.

3. It's weird (and yet so matter of fact not weird) reflecting that it's barely been over a month since we left China behind. I miss it, and my friends there. But life here is another kind of adventure, another new level of things to come. The funny thing about being in China was that there was no sense of real establishment (maybe since I was nearly always aware that I was a guest there); of course, the rapid change of pace in China may have contributed to that perception as well. Maybe the low cost of living helped create a false sense of security; everything is "funny money". Things feel more permanent here.

Well, I guess I should go to bed now.

Oh yeah - I certainly DO appreicate that the internet is unblocked here, blogspot and wikipedia and the rest of the web flow freely and quickly here; Linux updates are fast and efficient, as well as nearly any other type of web content. China's web could be very fast (for domestic stuff), but since I was more interested in content from the western world, the lag could be very frustrating.

Monday, August 27, 2007

the rough thing about working with computer hardware...

My new job is working in a company that assembles custom computer hardware setups.

The thing there, is that EVERYONE seems to have an awesome home gaming setup...and while I used to think my home PC was respectable, now I'm finding that it's severely underpowered.

(yeah, it plays most of the games I want well enough, but I have zero bragging rights! Not like that's really important...)

Anyway, gotta try and not get suckered into a "keeping up with the joneses" complex, as that might get expensive quickly....

on the topic of the written word

Really plan on doing more reading/writing; but really, my reading is mostly focused on working through the stacks of RSS feeds that I get every day; and writing is limited to the occasional email to friends.

Writing in this blog could be a good way to get back into the habit of regularly creating content.

I suppose that I could put my picasa and flickr accounts back to good use and REALLY keep updating things; there certainly are pictures from China shows and now here that could be shared; and perhaps appreciated by the few people who ever read this... :)

libraries!

Also, while I'm on the topic of "cool things for mostly free that I used to take for granted", I've been pretty impressed with the library system in the area as well!

Haven't really had a chance to do much with our new library cards, however - haven't had much time to do a lot of reading (and there's a little backlog of books that I own but haven't read through yet)...

props to radio

Due to accidentally leaving my ipod shuffle in my pants pocket and having it washed, I've had a lot of time to appreciate the radio situation in Seattle.

Much better than I can compare with the FM radio scene in Minnesota, as I can recall. Without question, it is much superior (in my opinion) to the radio in China, from the little I heard of it via riding in taxi cabs.

I haven't found the University of Washington equivalent to the U of M's 770 Radio K, however - which I found to be excellent and a great introduction to a LOT of cool indie bands before the mainstream caught onto them.

Anyway, in Seattle, lots of cool stations; we can actually use 20+ of the available radio memory slots on our stero in home, and I think a lot of those are actually worth listening to repeatedly!

So, the fear of being stuck in traffic with just the radio as a friend isn't really there anymore.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

all set up...

After a lot of time & weekends spent getting our apartment ready for our habitation, we have finally finished it up...and are happy with the results.

May eventually post pictures sometime, though honestly, I'm happy & content with doing NOTHING today, and dragging & dropping & sorting images from my camera over to my laptop (which is pretty low on free space at the moment) doesn't seem like a super fun idea to me.

But whatever.

The wife & I will attempt cooking something later...think some type of BBQ chicken.

rainy day

First day where it's really raining a LOT in Seattle. Guess I better get used to it...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

1st day of new job...

So, my first day was spent doing paperwork formalities, meeting the
40+ people in the company in various departments, and then doing
random tasks in production - folding SATA hard drive cables, then
tightening screws on server racks, then cutting plastic off of server
handles, then attaching cables to new servers for "burn-in" (where the
OS is installed and the systems tested).

Today (tuesday) should be more of the same. I'll probably be doing
mostly production-related stuff this week, then next week will work a
few days in each of the other departments...should be fun too.

Company has people of all ages, but most are 25-35 in age. Very casual
dress (jeans & t-shirts are fine). Lots of men wear earrings. If I
wanted to dye my hair blue, it would not be a problem.

Everyone gets two monitors at their workstation (for extra efficiency;
& the actual desk space is limited).

Anyway, seems like it should be okay.

Gotta get ready for work now!

Thursday, August 09, 2007

dirt star is the #1 alternative music act in China (according to myspace.cn, that is)

Here's the details; check it out directly for yourself on the dirtstar website:

http://www.bubblegreentea.com/wordpress/?p=147#comment-171

Cool!

getting settled

Well, it's been 9 days since relocating to Seattle from Shenzhen, and here's the status report:

Have found a car that seems both reliable and fun to drive
Have found an apartment and will be moving in tomorrow
Have been searching the internet for low-cost furnishings; seems like we are doing okay with that.
Have contacted my new employer
Have been to Starbucks - only once
Have been to a Seattle's Best - only once
Have been downtown - only once
Have woken up at 3 am and not fallen asleep again - just once
Gone out for burgers - 2 times
Gone out for Thai food - once
Gone to Ikea - once
Gone to the Asian supermarket - once
smarmy car sales men dealt with: 2

Will keep you up to date with more stories & less statistics as time.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

in seattle, blogspot works?

Free from the great firewall for the moment!

Good to be back in the US; feels like a vacation. However, we should be busy later on today with visits to apartments and to car dealerships.

After I have some coffee I may be inspired to start writing some reflections about life in china and my aspirations/concerns for my future life outside of it (for the next few years, anyway).

Monday, May 07, 2007

end of vacation?

The 7 day May holiday is coming to a close, and "summer" humidity & sun are in full effect. Feel a little like the "Sunday blues" that would sometimes come up on Sunday afternoons before going back to school.

How the vacation went:

1. Sleep in until 10 - 12 am.

2. Hang out with Marsha (while she was here; she's gone back to Beijing)

3. Visit a friend; have dinner

4. Listen to music, drink a beer or two and play NBA Live 2007...

Work should be busy next week; lots to catch up on, and then preparation for client visits (starting the following week) that should keep me very occupied until the end of the month.