"Murphy was an optimist!"
Please make a sponsorship for Farm Aid! July 27, 2006 2:37 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Announcements, Daily Life, Of Interest
Blogathon 2006is nearly upon us! I have joined forces with Barry, Jay, and Cathy to help raise a contribution to Farm Aid by blogging every thirty minutes starting at 9am EST on this Saturday July 29 and continuing for 24 hours.
The mission of Farm Aid is to keep family farmers on their land. Family farmers are our only guarantee for fresh, local food. Our goal is to bring together family farmers and citizens to restore family farm-centered agriculture. Family farmers ensure safe, healthful food, protect natural resources, and strengthen local economies. [Source]
All donations/sponsorships help. We are very excited about all commitments! Please don’t skip Blogathon just because you think your donation is too small.
Be sure to visit Fresh Food, Fresh Blog frequently this Saturday.
See also I Need Sponsors.
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Primetime Parenting July 27, 2006 11:59 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Being DadWhy can’t I be one of those cool tv dads?
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The mystery of the disappearing West Town – answered July 27, 2006 8:53 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : UncategorizedI got the scoop on why the west town mall information kiosk disappeared. The apple store didn’t want it there.
Sarah and Molly ponder the missing West Town Mall information kiosk
Sarah and Molly want the Apple Camp to begin.
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One of my current projects July 27, 2006 5:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeThis is the fun work that I like to do!
My client is a reseller for a wholesaler. Currently the client has to manually update the online shopping cart to reflect the inventory available from the wholesaler. The wholesaler provides XML/CVS feeds of Stock Status, Discontinued Products, Full Products List, Images, and New Products behind a secure password protected website meaning you could log in, download the xml files, and run a process to update the database. That still requires human invention (ie. logging in). My job is to automate the entire process.
What challenges have set this one behind schedule? 1) The client had a technical issue arise on a previous project and the support of that set me back days. Ironically, the issue is probably related to the hosting provider’s ISP. 2) The wholesaler gives 404s on a couple of lists so I’m in email volleys with their support staff trying to get it resolved. Meanwhile, my client wants the work done yesterday. But this is what I do and this is what I enjoy! Of course, I’d trade it all in a heartbeat if I could get a grant to teach people how to use computers and how to program.
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Review of yesterday’s show July 27, 2006 3:52 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily LifeReviewing yesterday’s comedy hour(s):
- Woke at 3:30am did pushups and situps. Feeling good about life!
- Worked hard on client’s needs until 6:50am when I donned blue tights and put my underwear on the outside then heard what sounded like a mouse but turned out to be a two inch long beetle (evicted!).
- 7:00am – Mother-in-law shows and I drive her to work and back making good speed and returning ahead of schedule.
- 8:20am – Tommy is at school and the car is loaded with the STAR marketing display, paperwork, and television.
- 8:30am I have purchased a new water pump for the Jeep at Autozone. Upon pulling out of the parking lot I take a small diversion into an autodealer to look at the perfect vehicle ($60k) for us and shed a small tear.
- 8:40am I am 3 minutes away from the house. Cathy calls, "they are here and I am naked!" Lucky hvac guys. In all my days of pizza deliveries and housecalls I never got the naked people.
- 7:43-45ish – I pull up to the house and see the hvac man in the yard. "Did Cathy tell you I was coming?" "No one came to the door. The dog just barked. Sounds mean."
- 9:25am – $110 later, a DIY homework assignment later, and a promise from the hvac man to return when I’ve completed my homework, the leak in the ac is discovered, and unit recharged. It cools until the evening and at 3am we are back at 25.5°C (thanks Onlineconversion.com).
- 9:35am – I’ve had breakfast and am at the high school picking up Tommy exactly when I said I would but can’t speak to the teacher because I am babbling on the phone.
- 10am – we arrive at STAR before the previous class lets out and unload marketing materials into storage room in the barn. Discuss balance due (every half an hour it seemed like I was discussing money or giving someone money) and some paperwork.
- 10:30am – a much needed break in air conditioning at Border’s to look at David Allen’s Getting Things Done
- 10:50am – I am back at STAR mouth agape as I watch Tommy confidentally riding off lead (no volunteer on the ground holding his horse!)
- 11:30am – after a couple of u-turns and a call to the wife, we are in Karns picking up a raffle prize we won.
- 11:35am – stopping for gas. A dad and his daughter walk up on this hot day carrying a gas can. As they purchase gas I ask, "ran out of gas?" They reply, "about a quart mile up the road." I offer to drive them to their car then buy all 4 of us drinks. As we leave them at their car Tommy surprises me by remarking, "it feels good to help people."
- 12:15am – after a small jaunt through BFE we are at Air Filtration (800-745-5811) buying replacement filters for the a/c. Btw, it is now in their computer that we must bring Molly whenever we pickup filters.
- 1pm – back at the house working and dealing with angry client email
- 4:50pm – Since the Jeep has a broken water pump and cannot move, and the station wagon is potentially dead; we have borrow the mother-in-law’s car (see 7am) for a couple of days. The borrowed car has a flat tire. Nail found, removed and patched.
- 5:15pm – Noah at Karate and the rest of the crew invading the local grocery. Did you know that you could get on Homeland Security’s watch list for taking pictures at the grocery? At least the way the managers watched me you would think I was at an airport taking pictures.
- 6:15pm – Pickup Noah from Karate and go to a different grocery that actually has good meat.
- 7-9pm (things run together here). While preparing dinner, Molly barfs on the carpet. We clean the carpet. After dinner I return to working but Amy decides to flood the bathroom. I know this because downstairs I can see the water pouring through the ceiling.
In the end, I worked, napped a few hours, and was at the computer by 3am for the redux.
What this doesn’t convey is that throughout the day Cathy and I communicate via SMS (text messaging) like crazed telegraphers, and I talk on the phone paying bills, negotiating, doing sales, and scheduling appointments like an auctioneer that started the bidding too low.
Update: I forgot in the evening we offline when I rebooted the router and loosened a cable. Took a bit to find that one. Thanks for the reminder wife!
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