Life as a web geek, pt 2

Big things are going on here at Zünch.

First, I'm working on my first solo project for a ticket agency. It's supposed to work via XML feeds from a web service. Cool to play with and figure out. But, it's a major hassle since the system doesn't provide the data in the manner and need and it's incredibly slow. IMHO, any process over ten seconds long is an eternity online. The web services, as they exist now, take MINUTES to run!! Ah, well. The company providing the web services has agreed to look into some recommendations I've come up with to speed things up. Hopefully, it won't take to long for them to implement them and get back with us.

Sadly, Zünch is losing two programmers within a week of each other. Sona's leaving to pursue other interests and Wyatt's moving to Mississippi. (Fortunately, Wyatt will still be working for the company, albeit from a remote location.) Both of them have been invaluable to me, especially in my early days at Zünch when I was a itty bitty tadpole learning to swim in the great big Sea of Zünch.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting. We've got one new programmer starting on Monday and there's talk of hiring one or two more.

more l8r as it happens.

Strange dreams

Like everyone else, I don't remember most of my dreams. The other night, however, I had a doozy that keeps popping into my head at the oddest times.

Remember, this is a dream and not a reflection of my tenuous grasp on reality. ;>

So there I am, sleeping the night away after a long day of coding. Then, I find myself up against Chucky (from the Child's Play movies) and his bride. Ok, yeah, right.

Being the selfless hero that I am, I do battle with the homicidal doll and his plastic, um, moll. Good triumphs over evil and Chucky and his bitch, Tiffany, are destroyed forever.

Yawn. back to sleep.

Chucky returns. WTF?! Ok, it's just another dream. Same bat-time, different universe. Chucky, Tiffany and I do battle (I think I had a sidekick, but can't remember any specifics) again. Once more, I defeat Chucky by tossing him and Tiff into a black hole. ooookkkkaaayyyy.

Blissful sleep. yawn. Better to dream about code than some psychopathic imaginary doll. (although, I do kinda wonder if there's some bizarre relationship between coding and psychotic dolls. It also occurs to me that I've never seen one of these movies in its entirety. Just a few moments here and there.)

Chucky returns. yet again. oh, crap.

So true

I was glancing at my daily horoscope on Yahoo and found something interesting.

In addition to being good at your job, you also pride yourself at being an expert at your hobby. Regardless of what it is, from sewing to photography to an artistic way with words, you should know that you're plenty good enough at it to make some part-time cash, and that earning from what you love doesn't lessen its value. In fact, it increases it. Don't pass up any chance now to share your skill with others.

Every once in a while, I see a little gem like this. It's like the daily quotes you see on different sites. A little 'pick me up' to brighten the day.

Daddy's boy

When you look at yourself in the mirror, who do you see?

I always see me. In some recent photos of me taken in Austin, however, I saw a very strong resemblance to my dad that I've never noticed before. Wow.

I miss you, Dad.

Love,

Chris

Weekend in Austin

It's interesting how you can spend a weekend with your friends, get nothing significant accomplished and still feel good afterwards.

I travelled to Austin this weekend to visit my best friend and her family. The drive from Plano to Austin isn't that long, but the early Friday morning rush hour traffic added an extra twenty minutes to the drive. blech.

Friday was a quiet day, for the most part. My friend, Shell, and her husband have custody of the kids, Gage and McKenzie, that week. Lesson to be learned. Be wary of kids who've had chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Gage decided to play a space game where he used a laundry basket as an impromptu escape pod and had Kenz push him around and then roll the basket over, as if the pod was tumbling out of control. Hilarious to watch, but a little distracting since we were watching a movie at the time.

Saturday was wet, dreary and interesting. Shell took the kids and me to see her new horse, Bullet. He's a young colt who was somewhat malnurished when she got him. Now, he's a fine-looking fella who'll be a great kids horse when he gets old enough to ride.

Sunday was Sunday. A long drive home followed by some household chores. blech. double blech.

Moral of the story: take a longer vacation next time, you slacker.

Holiday Blues Blog

Another holiday has come and gone. Hot dogs and hamburgers were the meals of the day. The Monk marathon on USA was great I can't wait for the new season to start this Friday.

Being knee deep in content revisions for Chaos March, I missed out on the local fireworks display yesterday. Though, someone in my apartment complex opted to celebrate the holiday by setting off fireworks at 1AM this morning!

Ah, well.

The weekend wasn't a total waste. I did some housecleaning, took out the trash, messed around the computer for a while and cooked various meals.

hmph.

yep. this weekend sucked.