Author: Doug McCaughan

Took some time to myself today to finally get my laptop to begin serving SSL with a self-signed certificate. That was good!

And now drones are putting censors who put the black bars on videos out of work. What is this world coming to?!

(If you click play, you are going to see some naked backsides.)
You really should watch until the end.

I use tools in my life that just feel like breathing to me. Thought it might be interesting to list the tools I use in a typical day. Tools include hardware and software. Today I used:

• Amazon Echo to turn off lights, check the weather, and check the time.
• I used Siri to send text messages while I was driving.
• I used Siri to find information on the web.
• I used Dreamweaver for coding as well as Notepad++
• I used Microsoft SQL Server Management Console
• Visual Studio 2013 and Crystal Reports
• I wrote code in Adobe’s Coldfusion, PHP, and ASP.NET’s c#.
• I wrote stored procedures in MS SQL and data manipulations in MySQL.
• I used Terminal to change ownership and permissions on files.
• I used multiple email clients.
• I chaired a change advisory board using a watered down version of Robert’s Rules of Order.
• I used Zoom for video conferencing and screen sharing in two different meetings.
• I configured a WordPress installation including customizations of plugins and writing my own functions for a child theme of the Advanced Newspaper theme.
• I used Coin (a single credit card which consolidates my other credits cards into one) for payment
• I used the Narrative camera for life logging with photographs
• I used Github Desktop for version control on one machine and Subversion for version control on another.
• I explored automating parts of my life with Alfred App’s workflows and Automator as well as Jenkins and Selenium.
• I used YNAB for budgeting and Hootesuite, Skype, Facebook Messenger, iOS Messenger, and Twitter for communications.

There was more but I am tired.

I spent yesterday, my last day of vacation, glued to the computer working on a client’s website. Today, I have returned to Cubeville to fulfill the duties of my day job. 2015 ended great! I am apprehensive about 2016 but so far so good.

This is not a year in review post nor a resolution post.

I’ve been on a two week vacation and it has been heavenly. Perhaps I’ll publish details later. Today represents the last day of my vacation, or as Cathy likes to put it, the day Doug stresses, curses, begrudges tomorrow, and wishes he had taken a longer vacation…or every Sunday. But that was then this is now. I plan 2016 not as stress-free but as a stress managed year. Everything shall be taken in stride!

So what is on today’s plate? Client work, scout planning, personal planning (have to set some goals), family time, and then we will see if there is any time left for other things. January promises to be a trying month. It comes pre-packed with many activities and two incredibly immobile and important deadlines. This month, those two things will be my focus and everything else is secondary.

The beginning:

1. Wake with a headache and muscle aches
2. How too hot and needs air conditioning which hasn’t been serviced and requires condensation to be pumped out with shop vac
3. Go upstairs to find a dog has walked out her poop spreading it all over the living room floor

The rest of the day:

1. Document the pinewood derby workshop
2. Meet with fellow scout leader to discuss the pinewood derby
3. Plan a scout meeting including picking up supplies
4. Do the scout meeting
5. Work on a client’s project

Things that need to happen but won’t today:

• Continue cleaning house
• Book balancing, budgeting, and bills
• Home improvements including walk building and shelf hanging
• Service hvac by cleaning dust out of unit, checking to make sure everything is well sealed, and calling in repairman to inspect unit (which means cleaning out the garage)

I’m going back to sleep…

Facebook has stolen far too much of my attention of late. I have neglected blogging in favor of a quick quip, repost, or flippant comment on Facebook. I want to return to more regular blogging.

These past several weeks have been busy but glorious. We’ve camped at the Cumberland Gap, Fort Loudon, and Elkmont. We’ve worked hard, struggled, and been rewarded. We’ve done garage archaeology and started to finally do things to the house that we’ve wanted to do for over a decade. I hope this trend continues!

Today is Saturday, December 12, 2015. My todo list is: financial planning, washing machine repair, Christmas preparation and shopping, computer programming, scout planning, and home repair.

The pursuit of happiness is a lark.

Using a spreadsheet to figure out when the next time you’ll get laid is not as easy as one would imagine.