Shallow thoughts from an underused mind

It's been a while

2009-07-24T10:04:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I last made a blog post, mostly because I'm lazy, hence the title of this blog.Today is not a good day. The company I work for has decided to lay off 18 people, and just 8 months ago let go of 7 others. In a campany of 120, that a significant number. I know that the economy is tough, and that there was bound to be some cuts. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the

and in the world of Tech support, a change. One I don't like...

2009-01-29T08:16:00.002-05:00

This morning I received this email from IBM Support." Dear IBM Customer,We are pleased you chose IBM to provide high-quality solutions for your business and information systems needs. As part of IBM's ongoing efforts to serve our clients better, Lotus is taking a transformational approach to

And in the category of "I didn't see that coming"...

2009-01-26T13:42:00.002-05:00

So being the Father of two wonderfully awesome and amazing Boys comes with some extra work that didn't come to mind when I was looking forward in my life. Poop. Yep, poop. Anyone who is a parent of a child under the age of 2 or so thinks of this in terms of diapers, the occasional "Blow-out" as my wife and I call them, but when it's the magical time known as Potty Training Time, poop becomes

The start

2009-01-20T13:08:00.002-05:00

Today was the inauguration of President Barack Obama. I watched the ceremony in the conference room at my office with a few other people, others watched while eating their lunch in the break room, and we all watched with great attention. There were several points during the process that I was almost moved to tears. For the first time, I truly feel like an elected official can make great strides

Random thoughts to help pass the time.

2008-12-23T15:44:00.003-05:00

Today we had a pot luck lunch at work. I made a HUGE batch of stuffed shells. Half with Spinach and half without, and they were a hit. Sometimes I think I would like to start a restaurant or a catering business, but then I realize that I don't have the cash for that... so I'll stick to my day job for now. So I stuffed myself at lunch, all the food was good, but now I'm feeling a might full, and

I just signed a contract with the devil

2008-12-01T13:51:00.002-05:00

Sadly I just completed the phone call that canceled my favorite entertainment provider of all time, DirecTV. I had to do this due to cost measures... which is also sad. I had been subscribing to both DirecTV and Comcast, the latter simply for internet access. Last night my wife and I arrived home to find that our satellite receiver had thrown a fit and decided to lock up. It would not power off

BAH! I need help.

2008-11-25T16:22:00.003-05:00

With a project that is, although sometimes I am mental too... anyway,I'm writing a report in SQL Report Server Report Writer. I'm trying to find a way to group some values from a view field based on the content, for example I want to report the sum of x number of fields that all have a value of exempt hours worked. The type is one column, and the number will be in another column. I think I want

I know that no one reads this, but still I write....

2008-11-18T10:22:00.001-05:00

So I read a post the other day from a higher level employee at IBM. This person is someone who I've met 2 separate times at local user group meetings and that I do not know personally, but I have a pretty good understanding of him professionally. I usually enjoy his blog, it is both informative of the products that keep me gainfully employed, and entertaining at the same time. Heck, sometimes I

It's the big day.....

2008-11-04T16:52:00.002-05:00

But all of you already knew that. Tonight I'm going to try and get the kids to bed early so the wife and I can watch some election results non stop. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow, a pasty old desperate white guy will have written and delivered his concession speech, just so I don't have to listen to all those fools who have been posting the non stop blatant fear inducing lies from saying

When's my window getting fixed, and why doesn't Blue house like me?

2008-10-08T09:26:00.003-04:00

1 post, 2 parts... here we go!So my neighbor runs a MMA Gym, I think I've blogged about this before, so I'm not going into detail. His students are a diverse bunch, some own their own service oriented businesses, and some are regular 9 to 5'ers like me (no I'm not a member of the Gym, old knees can't take the beating). A Couple of the guys run a landscaping business, and cut his lawn every now

Scrolling is sometimes bad!

2008-10-02T10:09:00.002-04:00

I have one more issue that I've encountered with Notes 8.0.2, specifically with the toolbars. Not necessarily the same issue that everyone is having where the toolbars move to where ever they want, but another issue. I had the Address toolbar visible on my toolbar menu, and for some reason when I opened Notes, the focus was set to the address field on the toolbar, and if I decided that I wanted

I've been inspired to blog

2008-10-01T15:38:00.002-04:00

So I was scrolling through the PlanetLotus.org blog list when I came across an entry regarding Lotus support (or lack there of) for some older software to work with some newer releases. This seems to be a new trick for Big Blue. I've never encountered an issue in the past with having older point releases being supported on newer release platforms. The Blog that I read covered the version of mail

Current Issues

2008-09-15T13:12:00.002-04:00

So it seems that I'm developing a bad habit of making this my public (although rarely visited) soap box, but habits are hard to break, so here goes. I'm a little frustrated with Lotus. The new release of Lotus Notes and Domino 8.0.2 is not really living up to the hype in my environment. More often than ever my client crashes, or things that are integrated don't work because you need to buy

Goodby Google Chrome Beta... you suck

2008-09-05T10:12:00.002-04:00

That's right, I said it. Chrome sucks. I either have way too high of expectations or a far crummier computer then all of those folks out there who are in love with this heap of junk, but when I can't use a google product to check my google mail..... I'd say there is an issue. I can use google search, google maps... so long as I'm not trying to use the satellite view, or zoom in too far, but I

Collaboration thoughts

2008-09-03T09:32:00.003-04:00

I find myself reading more and more from my contemporaries online and in actual print about how social networking has been accepted in the corporate work place, and how employers are pushing collaboration of employees though various software means such as Instant Messaging, MySpace, Twitter etc... or more corporate centric offerings like Sharepoint or Quickr. It seems also that there are hold

Bear Necessities

2008-08-28T10:34:00.002-04:00

So I've been working this week with a defeatist attitude because I've known that the internet access from the office will die by the time I come back from lunch. We've fought and fought with AT&T about getting something done to correct the issue. We opened a ticket, we've talked to countless support reps (in a different country who work off a script), heck we even attempted to call our sales rep,

Get it together AT&T!

2008-08-25T09:15:00.002-04:00

I can't go another whole day sitting at my desk with no internet access. I just can't. I'll go insane. Especially today, because some reason I'm extremely touchy today. I've already gone off about a co-worker who isn't here today because she hasn't purchased a renewal license for some software that has expired, and I don't know what I'll do if I have to field the 170 phone calls about our

My thoughts on Sametime

2008-08-13T08:10:00.004-04:00

So we've been running our Sametime test for 45 days now, and I think it's been pretty successful, apart from me devising the most complicated configuration that is known to man, it's pretty easy to handle.1. The configuration:Because I wanted to utilize existing resources, I initially installed Sametime 8 limited use on a Domino server that was configured on our VMware test box. I set the

No Wonder People keep saying Exchange is better than Notes

2008-08-05T15:53:00.002-04:00

Because of crap like this!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_NotesI don't usually look at Wikipedia, but I was searching for info on 8.0.2, and the link appeared, so I thought I'd check it out.. and wouldn't you know it... under the features section... the first paragraph on the dumb page..."The Notes client is mainly used as an email client, but also acts as an instant messaging client (for

I'm a GONAD, what are you going to do about it?!

2008-08-04T16:26:00.002-04:00

While perusing the usual blog list I noticed quite a few people claiming GONAD as a badge of honor. Curious, I decided to find the root of this seeming self imposed slander, only to discover that it is an honorable distinction after all! For those who wish to learn more, and possibly join such a wonderful, prestigious group, head over to http://dominoyesmaybe.blogspot.com/ and see what all the

Hotmail "Updates"

2008-07-29T14:11:00.002-04:00

Do the fine folks at Microsoft know how to dupe us or what? Besides all the other dirty tricks they've played in the past (see Windows ME, and Mojave'), whats the deal with Hotmail? I still use it because it was the first email address I ever created, and it does a good job of acting as my dumping grounds for email that I generally wont read, or is required for signing up at various websites. So

Deletions... have we all gone soft?

2008-07-22T11:58:00.002-04:00

At the risk of sounding like an old man telling tales of up hill both ways through 50 feet of snow stories... I remember when you deleted something, and it was deleted, and no one said "I deleted something...where can I get it?" You see, when you delete something from a notes database, unless otherwise configured by the designer, you have deleted it. Delete = Deleted. Yet in the world of "Recycle

You gotta blog it out baby

2008-07-17T10:30:00.002-04:00

Today's post is nothing more than a way to pass a little time and say "out loud" some things in my head.I went to the Doctor yesterday, first time for about 7 years. It's not that I don't like going, it's just that I'm not usually so sick that I need to go see one, but I'm getting older and I needed to address some times before it was too late, so off I went. My appointment was at 3:50, which

Mental Musings...

2008-07-15T12:18:00.002-04:00

So I find myself having a VERY slow day today. I have exactly one "project" to work on. I have been asked to see if I could create an automated e-mail message for our website users who has a password that is close to expiration. Step 1 is to get the list of names and e-mail addresses, and I have done that. Step 2 should be formulating the email message to be delivered on a schedule... ummm yeah.

Notes 8

2008-07-11T10:18:00.003-04:00

So I've moved on (somewhat) from the Access database project that I've been toiling over for the past 3 1/2 months and have started installing and configuring Notes 8 on my work computer. So far I give it a B, which will become a B- if it doesn't stop crashing on me daily.... I like the integration of the full featured Sametime connect client, and the sidebar menus have some potential, but the

playing a little catch up..

2008-07-02T11:41:00.004-04:00

phew.. been a bit since my last post...been busy at work and home...Today is the day of sound annoyances. Angry co-worker yelling at the tech support person who is trying to help her, big unhealthy guy coughing himself into a heart attack, cell phone ringers set to unnecessarily loud settings left unattended at desks, and little ole me just wanting to concentrate on bug fixes and play with

egagagooga

2008-06-26T11:10:00.002-04:00

Did I ever tell you that I'm not a SQL Database Administrator?? Did I?? phew... roll out this morning went rough! I've already had to modify some codeing, update some security (I don't know why though...) and I've identified a bug when creating an order manually. Fun fun fun...

on with the new... kinda

2008-06-25T15:42:00.003-04:00

Well I didn't complete the one last issue that was on my list, but I did however get the thumbs up to roll out the upgrade with out the last item included. the current live version of the database has so many bugs and holes that it has become an administrative nightmare for the users. So tomorrow morning I roll out the new, and move on to SAMETIME! Which I have started already, but I can devote

1 Problem, 1 Day

2008-06-24T11:23:00.003-04:00

So I'm down to the last issue with my Access DB repair/refurbish project. It's not really an issue so much as a change to the enhancement request. I have 1 day to complete the process of inserting records into a table, and changing the way a control displays info, as well as adding 2 additional controls to the form that will display related information from 2 separate tables.... Just now typing

More fixing....more frustrations.

2008-06-18T14:20:00.002-04:00

Well I'm plugging along with my fixes and updates on my Access project... I've still got 2 items that need correction. One is the hold over from before the initial testing phase where I need to send info from one record with multiple detail records to another table to create a new record and multiple detail records. Seems that when I do the insert into the second table I was creating multiple

With the good, comes the bad

2008-06-17T13:32:00.002-04:00

Well I knew that this would happen... it's supposed to, in fact. I received the first list of issues with the development that I have done in my Access database project. Some of them were valid, some were already explained in meetings, and then forgotten by the users, and some were just plain missed... but they came anyway.What I am doing now? Why aren't I fixing the reported issues? Well because

I must rule or something...

2008-06-16T16:28:00.002-04:00

Because I'm not even 90 days into my new job and already I'm working a 1 man IS department! Both of the managers and our ERP system expert left for an offsite meeting, and the Network Administrator left for something... He didn't say what, in fact he didn't tell me he was even leaving.. he just left, and called me 20 minutes later to tell me he left, and asked me to transfer him to the

I did it all by my self! Aren't you proud?

2008-06-13T10:30:00.002-04:00

So after pulling out nearly all my hair trying to explain to the experts my situation, I figure out the solution to my combo box issue all by my self, seems I was using foreshadowing on yesterdays post when I put ANY OTHER ACCOUNT in all caps like I did.... the issue was that when doing the development as the dbo, all the items created are owned by the dbo....and to reference them AS the dbo you

Do I type funny?

2008-06-12T10:26:00.002-04:00

It seems that every time I post a question on a certain website for help with access the people who reply have me jump through a million hoops before they ever acknowledge the issue that I posted.For example, I'm having a security problem. I know I am. I'm positive of this. Here is the problem.I wrote a stored procedure in Access. The stored procedure is saved in the SQL database where all of the

Someone buy that man a drink!

2008-06-10T10:12:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I'm feeling better...mostly.I went and had my massage, it was a little painful, not as bad as some people make it out to be, but all in all fine. I didn't feel a whole lot better after it was over, but the next day... it was noticeably better. I have been medication free for a couple days now, and while I can still feel some pressure in the area, I most certainly wouldn't call it pain.

2 part post

2008-06-06T12:45:00.003-04:00

Today's post is done in extreme discomfort. It seems that somehow I hurt my back, just by simply taking my youngest son out of the car. I parked at the daycare center that I take them to while the wife and I are at work, I let out my oldest, walked around to the other side, opened the door, unlatched the carrier from the base, and BLAM-O my mid back tensed up, and has not felt good since! I have

A town I could get used to...

2008-06-03T20:12:00.002-04:00

So I got into San Jose without issue, caught the shuttle to the hotel, sat down for 2 minutes, and I got a call from my co-worker who is out here with me saying that he wanted to head up to San Francisco for some site seeing....so I popped my shoes back on, grabbed a burrito at Karlita's Taco Shop and off we went.....We took the "Scenic" route up there...and got lost a couple of times in the

wOOt! I'm in Cali!

2008-06-01T13:11:00.000-04:00

Assuming that I can buck the trend of late /canceled flights I should be landing at Mineta San Jose International Airport, a mere 56 feet above sea level. I plan on getting situated in my hotel room near the airport, and the seeing some sites in SJ as well as in San Francisco, but not for too long....I am in town to work, so on the 2nd I'll be up bright and early, 5 AM pst or 8 AM est, to help

Explaining and explaining and explaining

2008-05-30T11:54:00.004-04:00

I've finally gotten someone to start talking to me about an issue that I have with the Access project...I'm not going to go into detail about it here as I have typed out the ENTIRE issue from start to finish 4 times already today, and it's not quite noon yet.... to boil it down, I need to show all items that appear on a list, but only when it's an old record, and on new records only show Items

See you in September??

2008-05-29T09:45:00.003-04:00

Seems that there is a super sweet conference in Chicago on September 8th - 10thfor IBM Quickr, SameTime, and Lotus Connectors. If we decide to use Quickr over Share Point, then I'm going to see about going to the Collaboration University conference as a way of getting a jump start on both the development of Quickr Places and templates, as well as the administrationof the installation and the

Eureka!

2008-05-28T14:07:00.003-04:00

PHEW! seems that all I needed to get me rolling is a little definition. I found a great reference page at http://www.blueclaw-db.com. I knew from previous plea's for help that I needed to run an Insert command to move some data from one table to another, but every example that I was given didn't really click in my head, but now they do! The web page didn't necessarily give a better description of

2008-05-27T11:27:00.002-04:00

What is more frustrating....trying to fix an apparent simple issue, or listening to someone stammer through a conversation with an expert all the while they are trying not to call someone an idiot because they can't understand what is being said to them??Man oh man I can't wait until I'm sitting on that plane headin' west

still struggling...

2008-05-22T13:44:00.003-04:00

I am still killing my self over this little item. I know it has to be little, because anyone who has some knowledge about moving data between tables has an answer for me as to how to do it, however their answer is stuff like " I'd use an unbound form/control to collect the data and then use an ADO to call 2 insert statements and use @@Identity to get the value of the primary key" OOOOOKKK, Didn't

Frustrations....

2008-05-21T09:48:00.000-04:00

On my first blog...I'm writing about my frustrations...specifically with old technology, that everyone knows, that I never used because of various reasons....either I had no reason to look into it (i.e. no one paid me to do something with it), or I just thought it was over my head... too hard ( at the time) or I just didn't care about it. I am not a VB guy, I've had very little experience with it