Geek

So a couple of weeks ago I remarked about my sleeping habits and how I was going to try something a little different with my sleep patterns. Historical evidence shows that in the past some folks would have “two sleeps” every night with a waking interval in between and my body has been showing signs of wanting to do the same thing so I decided to try that approach.

In the past 10 days I have had three nights where I woke up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Instead of having some sort of silent fit, whirling around in my bed to find a new comfortable position and then flipping my pillow around to find the cool side, I would sit up in bed and see if both eyes were functioning. If both eyes were open and functioning, I would get up and walk a lap around the bedroom and then the rest of the house. Ok, I’d pee too, but only in the bathroom. I’d then calm my mind by telling myself that my forefathers could have been doing this very exercise of walking around in the middle of the night and they did it with wood teeth and everything (why I think this I have no idea since it’s a completely unrelated point). I’d then do another walk around the downstairs and then head back up to bed, where I’d put my headphones back on and give the sleeping thing another whirl. I’d end up sleeping right through to the alarm.

I feel better than I did before I started this approach. I haven’t had to spend one moment trying to find a private napping spot in my cubicle during the afternoons at work (don’t tell my boss).

Now this little experiment is completely unscientific and there could be a million and three other contributing factors as to why this is working better for me but I’m not one to complain, as long as I feel well rested and productive during the day.

Yesterday I ended up taking a small nap during my lunch hour and it was enjoyable. I think this was a recharge of Monday more than a need for actual sleep, however, as the nap was more meditative than actual deep sleep. But I think I’m onto something and that can only be a good thing.

Now last night I tried a new soundtrack for the headphones that I wear when I sleep and it helped me have some very vivid and lucid dreams. I love it when I can steer the scenes going on in my head during my dreams. It’s a skill I pretty much mastered when I was a kid and I consider myself quite lucky to still have the ability to do this on a regular basis. Perhaps that’s why I am in such a good mood today.

So to ready myself for Google’s new privacy terms of service and search methods, I deleted my Gmail account last night. If you’re still sending email to my old imachias-at-gmail.com account it won’t go anywhere anymore. I also deleted my Google+ account because no one seemed to be saying anything over there anyways, so I didn’t want any data left hanging around where I would ultimately forget about it.

I’m obviously not paranoid about online privacy since I write in a personal blog and share good chunks of my life right there through words and photos. But there is something that creeps me out about the fact that starting today, if I were to search for some random phrase on Google, it’ll present me with a list of search results that contains what Google thinks I’ll want to see, based on the content of my email, calendar, Google+, previous searches, YouTube views, etc. I find that creepy. I don’t want predictive search results and I don’t want someone randomly labeling me as eccentric until they have met me in person and realized it for themselves first hand. I am not comfortable with a scenario where I search for a news article, for example, and am presented with results from MSNBC, based on what I’ve said about politics in the past, whereas the same person is presented with results from Fox News based on their leanings. That’s taking the autonomy away from the individual. It should be up to me to decide whether I want to look at MSNBC or Fox News as the source of the information I am seeking, without being encouraged by my search engine based on what I’ve done in the past. I feel creeped out and I feel pigeon-holed, and if there is one thing that really gets on my nerves, it’s being pigeon-holed.

“Well, you’ve always wanted to look at MSNBC News before.”

Well what if I am trying to expand my horizons by trying to seek out all points of view?

I am working on ridding myself of my Google account completely. The only thing that remains is Google Reader account, and I use that because it keeps my RSS feeds in sync between multiple devices. I wish there was a generic way of doing that, but I haven’t found a solution to that yet.

My search engine of choice has become duckduckgo.com and I highly recommend it. No tracking, no suggestions, no telling my Facebook friends, no hollering at the empty caverns of Google+ telling my former circles what I am looking for. I type in a search phrase and it gives me results. Once upon a time that could easily be accomplished by AltaVista and it was a beautiful thing. Today it’s DuckDuckGo and I am sticking to this for as long as I can.

I think part of my privacy concerns is fueled by the fact that all this data is designed to improve advertising metrics so that ads are targeted specifically to me based on my life history on the web. I hate ads on the internet. I hate sites that squeeze a bunch of mediocre content between flashing, bare-chested advertising panels in an effort to generate revenue. The more ads, the more mediocre the content, because the site owner is just throwing crap at the web trying to generate as much traffic as possible to their site. I find this approach offensive to my sensibilities.

And now I’ll probably get twice as many ads in my email because I’ve written about them.

The purpose of this blog entry is not to entertain, nor is it intended to improve my writing skills in anyway (something that I strive to do on most blog entries, though it probably doesn’t show). No, the purpose of this blog entry is purely mechanical, as I am using this blog entry to document something that I am feeling right now.

First of all, before I document this bit of documentation, I must say that I am hoping that Apple just forgot to mail my invitation to the announcement they’re having next week, because I’d really like to get one of those invitations someday and I was hoping that it would be this occasion. I must be on a mailing list, somewhere.

Now, onto the documentation.

I am not going to buy an iPad3 or whatever it is called when it is announced at the event I won’t be at next week. Now some may counter that I said the exact same thing about the original iPad when it was announced and I was horrified by the name of the nifty little device that I am currently typing my blog entry on. I said last night that I wanted an iPad3, but I got ‘the look’ that only a spouse can get from his husband, and he knew that I was really joking.

Heh heh. Such a card.

In all actuality, I don’t want an iPad3 or whatever it is called. I haven’t worn out my original generation iPad yet and quite frankly an iPad3 is not really in the budget. We have much more pressing things to do with our millions, like change the world, tighten up the house plumbing and install a hot tub. Oh, and hire mostly naked men with beards and mustaches (or both!) to be our “house staff”.

In reality, I should put my money where my mouth is and make do with what I have until I can make do no more. There’s nothing wrong with my original iPad and I wouldn’t really gain anything by buying the latest and greatest at this point. Plus, I believe in my heart of hearts that something beautiful is going to come out in the Linux world someday and I need to hold on to that hope and put my money where my mouth is.

So, you have read it here. I am not interested in purchasing an iPad3 or whatever it is called. Please remind me of that the next time you see me in the Apple store.

I had a couple of extra emails in my inbox this morning. The emails were from co-workers and they were congratulatory in nature; come to find out, a small article appeared this morning in the corporate newsletter in recognition for my efforts with the software that was officially launched yesterday.

Now that’s a good way to start the day.

I’m not one to really talk about this stuff publicly; I do what I do at work because I believe it’s what you’re suppose to do when you’re at work. I’ve said before that I believe one important part of the whole meaning of life thing is that you’re suppose to contribute more than you take from the world. No one is going to hand you success; you must work for it and earn it. When you’re being paid to do a job, I believe you should do the best job that you can do and that’s what I strive to do on a daily basis. I find fulfillment in knowing that I am working hard and that my life is good because of the fruits of my (actually, our) labor. There are lazy moments once in a while but I like to think that I am making a positive contribution to the company I work for. It’s encouraging to see that others recognize that.

I don’t know that I will ever want to fully retire when that age rolls around. I doubt that my mind could handle an abundance of idle time. I could see myself retiring and then volunteering or getting a part time job doing something constructive with my time (even if I’m handing out fries or whatever), but I can’t imagine having the highlight of my day be watching Drew Carey on “The Price Is Right”. That might work for some people, but it doesn’t work for me, at least in the mindset that I have today. It might be different once I’m at the official retiring age. I guess we’ll have to see what happens in a couple of decades.

So one part of The Big Project at work today had it’s official launch. There are users officially using the software that I wrote for their day-to-day operations. It’s kind of cool. The launch is going well with just a few minor adjustments that need to be made along the way. I’m pleased and I feel good.

I’m really looking forward to our vacation to Disney in a few weeks.

With the spring-like weather so far this week I have been really feeling the need to get on my bike. I’ve been daydreaming about a two week ride I want to do sometime in the near future but I don’t know when I would have the time to accomplish this. The other day I wrote about the fact that I am so very much Upstate New York proud, and I am, but I wish that I could ride my bike outside, year-round. That would help my psyche a lot. I didn’t think that I would feel the effects of SAD (Seasonal Affectation Disorder) this winter because it has been such a mild winter, but since SAD has more to do with being cooped up in the winter darkness than with actual snowfall, I have been feeling the effects of it without realizing it, I guess. The twice a day walks at work certainly help, especially on the recent days of abundant sunshine. This helps keep my mood sunny.

Because my new software is going to be used 24×7, I’m a little nervous that I’m going to get calls in the middle of the night this week. I don’t think that’s the case, because there’s enough of a backup plan to accommodate the needs of the users when I’m not available, but I still worry about this once in a while.

Perhaps I wouldn’t worry so much if I was out on my bike.

The birthday boy is enjoying his birthday present. I’m teaching him how to be a geek in style.

I often mingle my tech blog posts with my other blog posts here on “Life Is Such A Sweet Insanity.”  In an effort be more focused in 2012 (even though we are 49 days into the year), I have created a tech blog (again!) with the hopes of remembering that I have it and maintaining it regularly.

If you want to take a look, it can be found at thetechbear.net. It’s a little rough around the edges at the moment but I’m looking forward to it growing into something credible as we merrily roll along.

As I awoke yesterday morning I went through my “Schedule B” morning routine (as I like to think of it). This is the routine that I follow when Earl is out of town on business. It involves a slightly modified shower time, some lunch assembly, chopping up turkey or ham for the cat’s food dish and an extra pet on Tom’s head as I utter my usual morning phrase to him, “Bon appetit, mon chat. Je t’aime. Il y a beaucoup, aujourd’hui!”

The Schedule B routine also involves laying in bed for a few moments longer and flipping through the news, blogs and the like on my iPhone, because I can never have my iPhone more than an arm’s length from me. It’s the way I’m wired and I don’t think that I’m too obnoxious because of this fact (though I blog about it more than some might like).

As I was flipping through the various apps on my iPhone, pinching and zooming and swiping and tapping, I started reading about Linux and whatever advancements were being made in the desktop computing arena with that operating system. I usually start thinking about migrating away from Apple products when I start to get bored. Having a short attention span that requires a routine that one labels “Schedule B” can lead to that sort of boredom. It’s what I do. I try not to make it as expensive for us as it used to be.

Right on cue, Apple announced yesterday, with no rumors or speculative glances from the “click on my ad” media, the dawning of their latest iteration of operating system, OS X. This guy is called “Mountain Lion”.

w00t! w00t! w00t!

My head snapped right back to my Apple senses. Somewhere, an angel named Steve smiled as he strummed his harp app on his iPad.

Mountain Lion will officially be out this summer and breathes a little more intrigue into the Macs we have in the house, as it further integrates everyday computer tasks with living in “The Cloud” via their iCloud service. This is nifty. We have already taken advantage of iCloud in our merry little household by the consolidation of our calendars that we all live by, our groceries lists and our chatting habits as we IM each other between rooms (or hotels if we’re traveling). I’m not going to go into technical details here but suffice it to say that I am very excited about Mountain Lion and how it’s going to be “more iPad like” in the way we do things on our Macs. I have already taken advantage of the IM app now dubbed “Messages”, which allows a user to send and receive IMs with folks using any iDevice. Messages is out in beta form, so there’s a few glitches here and there but I really like the direction they are going with the app.

Since I make my living as a programmer (among other things in the technical realm), new iterations of any operating system, but especially OS X, are just my cup of tea.

I’m looking forward to getting to know this big cat named Mountain Lion.

~~~

Tip o’ the hat to reader JonInAtl who pointed out to me that the WordPress app for iPad had been updated. I no longer have to suffer through the BlogPress fiascos, because this update fixed the bluetooth keyboard issue. Jon took time out of his day to send me a tweet letting me know about this. I like that sort of thing. Thanks much.

So tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time the application that I have been writing for the past two months goes to production and loses its “BETA” status. Starting tomorrow every bug is now a feature and will perpetuate my need for continued employment with the organization.

I’m tired, but I feel like I have accomplished something.

The application in question is a project within a bigger project and that is coming along nicely. The authoring of the app has been my largest consumption of time, I am looking forward to getting back to a somewhat normal work routine by this time next week. In the meantime, I’m tired but I feel good. I was up at 4:30 this morning so I could get to work early and teach the overnight crew how to use the application. I’ve taught two more classes since then. I don’t have another class to teach until tomorrow; I’ll write reports and chase bugs in the code in the meantime.

Sometimes I wonder why people read my blog, mostly because entries like these are rather boring and I just ramble on about being tired but feeling a sense of accomplishment. This weekend Earl and I are going to mix it up a bit and do it up like we used to when we were young. We’ll be sure to share some pictures.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad