Today is Wednesday, September 17, 2008.
On Sunday Lehman Brothers filed Chapter 11 and my brother in law lost his job of 15 years. Basically it was his life because he works like 15 hours a day and loves every minute. Whatever, not my work ethic, but it was his and the POOF, gone. Yesterday Barclays announced that they'd pay $2B for the investment banking division and POOF, he had a job again. For now, all I'm saying... Meantime, my sister who started a fancy pants new job four months ago at a fancy pants bank got "let go" because the company has decided to "take a different direction" and POOF she is unemployed.
AIG the worlds largest insurance company just got a government bail out for $80B.
What does it mean when two of the largest institutions on the planet take dives like this?
And there is a good chance that Creepy McCain and Scary Sarah will be in the White House come January.
And David Foster Wallace hung himself last Friday.
And my payroll did not go through on time so I had this avalanche of fees charge my account. Fuckers. I hate banks. Greedy Lending and Stupid Lending are the reason we are in this horrible mess.
Bank of America just bought Merrill Lynch, stay tuned, Bank of America could be next.
I had started that SQL Admin class and had to drop it. I just do not know enough Unix right now and do not have the time or inclination to learn it as I go. I would rather learn it first, take the class and get an A. I feel crappy about it because I do want to continue this vein of learning. I made myself a promise to dust off my Unix skills and get better at it so I can enroll in that class next semester. Though honestly I might have to get a different instructor. He was a bit too much of a dandy for me, horribly full of himself and narcissistic. But I do feel sorry for him too, I think he may be a bit lonely but so full of bravado, that he would never let it show.
Challenges for the week include running a simple script and actually understanding what it is I am typing, yard work, sushi making and creating a vlookup that will run across many many columns and output criteria based on user entry as well as a description of the output. This is wonky. I would rather do it in Access but the client insists on Excel.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Oil drops to $111 a barrel and my Mom's house is still for sale
Both of these tidbits are good news. But first, a recipe:
Lentil Tabouli
1 c. French lentils
1/3 c. dried chick peas
4 c. water
1 c. parsley chopped well
1/2 c. fresh mint chopped well
6 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 c. olive oil
1 med. yellow onion chopped fine
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste
(1 t. curry powder, 1 t. cumin)
Boil the lentils and the chick peas in the water until soft. Drain well.
In a big bowl, mix the parsley, mint, onion and garlic
Add the lentils and chickpeas
Add the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and optional spices
Mix well and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.
So yes, now a tank of gas costs roughly $55 instead of $75 as it did three weeks ago. That was brutal. But since we are heading to the election the gas prices need to drop so the candidates can build confidence for the consumer, even though they have nothing to do with the price drop. One of those funny bits of psychology. I don't really care, I just want Obama to win and the price of EVERYTHING, just about, to drop.
My Mom's house not selling is a good thing because a. they do not own it and b. they do not want to move. Nobody wants them to move but the reason it is not selling is because all the other houses around them that are for sale are foreclosures. It is ugly out there in real estate-landia and it is not going to get better anytime soon. All that carefree lending has caught up with us. Can't pay your mortgage, can't do a refi, can't buy anything else. I feel sorry for everyone who is losing their house, but I might have said it before, once or twice, but you signed the papers and made the commitment, didya think maybe they would hold you to that promise, huh? You are not buying a house, you are buying a mortgage, it helps to know the difference.
Databases. Not a ton to report there. Just delivered one I built a year ago and have been feeding and nurturing since then. Not a problem, just a client who kept putting off the ultimate delivery, she's been busy. It, the database, is two mostly complete seasons of wet weather flow into certain select places to measure for overflow and ultimately pollutants into the system. Actually a useful database and shit howdy, did I learn a lot. Now, waiting for feedback.
The current database is being built. I should be ready for a first pass review by the end of the week. The scope changed a little or a lot depending on who you ask. Ultimately the larger/global effort of this thing, also related to a sewer system, but pipes this time, will be good.
More sooner or later...
Lentil Tabouli
1 c. French lentils
1/3 c. dried chick peas
4 c. water
1 c. parsley chopped well
1/2 c. fresh mint chopped well
6 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 c. olive oil
1 med. yellow onion chopped fine
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
Salt and pepper to taste
(1 t. curry powder, 1 t. cumin)
Boil the lentils and the chick peas in the water until soft. Drain well.
In a big bowl, mix the parsley, mint, onion and garlic
Add the lentils and chickpeas
Add the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and optional spices
Mix well and refrigerate for at least three hours before serving.
So yes, now a tank of gas costs roughly $55 instead of $75 as it did three weeks ago. That was brutal. But since we are heading to the election the gas prices need to drop so the candidates can build confidence for the consumer, even though they have nothing to do with the price drop. One of those funny bits of psychology. I don't really care, I just want Obama to win and the price of EVERYTHING, just about, to drop.
My Mom's house not selling is a good thing because a. they do not own it and b. they do not want to move. Nobody wants them to move but the reason it is not selling is because all the other houses around them that are for sale are foreclosures. It is ugly out there in real estate-landia and it is not going to get better anytime soon. All that carefree lending has caught up with us. Can't pay your mortgage, can't do a refi, can't buy anything else. I feel sorry for everyone who is losing their house, but I might have said it before, once or twice, but you signed the papers and made the commitment, didya think maybe they would hold you to that promise, huh? You are not buying a house, you are buying a mortgage, it helps to know the difference.
Databases. Not a ton to report there. Just delivered one I built a year ago and have been feeding and nurturing since then. Not a problem, just a client who kept putting off the ultimate delivery, she's been busy. It, the database, is two mostly complete seasons of wet weather flow into certain select places to measure for overflow and ultimately pollutants into the system. Actually a useful database and shit howdy, did I learn a lot. Now, waiting for feedback.
The current database is being built. I should be ready for a first pass review by the end of the week. The scope changed a little or a lot depending on who you ask. Ultimately the larger/global effort of this thing, also related to a sewer system, but pipes this time, will be good.
More sooner or later...
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wildfire Corn Parking Database
Recently I was handed a new "database" project. The plate it was served on was dirty, it did not have a garnish and it was covered in a heavy brown, lumpy sauce. I thought about eating it before the maggots came but I took the plate to the sink instead and consulted the chef. Turns out, after many turns, that some mucky made a version of a database in Excel, stay with me here, and needs monkeys to provide data and meta data, GIS layers and maps. Oky-doky. The chef is a good sport and intimate with data, and has devised a global and useful project we can make from this silly endeavor. The mucky can have the fodder for his busy work. Happy Ending, eventually. I plan to learn more than politics with this one.
Do I need to go on about crude being $148 a barrel. My little car costs $70 to fill up. And I keep getting this: well if the price of oil goes down the investors lose. Fuckers are making billions and us stiffs still have to get to work.
There are 1,400 wildfires burning in California.
The Midwest is under water from recent major storms.
Corn crop decreased by 7%, I don't care but it is will be justification to raise food prices.
Ride your damn bike!
It is grim out there. But we have to buck up and one way to do this is to make pie.
Peach pie is good. Also strawberry. It makes a person happy, this pie. And it brings people together for a very simple reason; the love of pie. In order to achieve a good crust, get a kid who is around 11 - 15 years old, preferably skinny and with cold hands. Give the butter, flour, ice water and recipe to this kid and have it make the crust. Tell it to stick the crust in saran and in the fridge for a few hours. Make your filling, roll out that fine fine crust, fill it and bake it. The reason for the skinny kid? The smaller, colder fingers are key to the finest crusts. Seriously I have tried sticking my fingers in ice water, which hurts after while, and it is not the same. I don't have fat fingers but they are warm. Also, my pie crust maker insists on cold butter so leave the butter in the fridge until your maker is ready. Remember, you have to share the pie with the maker, they cannot be paid off. They want pie.
When the pie is done, call your friend and tell her to bring over some ice cream and a bottle of wine. Invite a couple of others too, fresh pie is good and your pets will not beg for any, they don't like pie unless they are weird that way, in which case take them to the vet immediately.
The proverbial whip cracketh.
Do I need to go on about crude being $148 a barrel. My little car costs $70 to fill up. And I keep getting this: well if the price of oil goes down the investors lose. Fuckers are making billions and us stiffs still have to get to work.
There are 1,400 wildfires burning in California.
The Midwest is under water from recent major storms.
Corn crop decreased by 7%, I don't care but it is will be justification to raise food prices.
Ride your damn bike!
It is grim out there. But we have to buck up and one way to do this is to make pie.
Peach pie is good. Also strawberry. It makes a person happy, this pie. And it brings people together for a very simple reason; the love of pie. In order to achieve a good crust, get a kid who is around 11 - 15 years old, preferably skinny and with cold hands. Give the butter, flour, ice water and recipe to this kid and have it make the crust. Tell it to stick the crust in saran and in the fridge for a few hours. Make your filling, roll out that fine fine crust, fill it and bake it. The reason for the skinny kid? The smaller, colder fingers are key to the finest crusts. Seriously I have tried sticking my fingers in ice water, which hurts after while, and it is not the same. I don't have fat fingers but they are warm. Also, my pie crust maker insists on cold butter so leave the butter in the fridge until your maker is ready. Remember, you have to share the pie with the maker, they cannot be paid off. They want pie.
When the pie is done, call your friend and tell her to bring over some ice cream and a bottle of wine. Invite a couple of others too, fresh pie is good and your pets will not beg for any, they don't like pie unless they are weird that way, in which case take them to the vet immediately.
The proverbial whip cracketh.
Monday, May 5, 2008
When you do not know the answer
Client emails me last week: "thanks for coming over on such short notice this morning. I forgot to ask you if there is a way I can tell from my AOL mail if someone has received my email"
My fantasy answer: No and I don't care.
In reality I used an actual AOL account (my Mom's) and could find no where to affect a read receipt. Pundits say it is possible but that AOL ignores read receipts to non-AOL addresses.
What a surprise!
I kindly suggested my client go to Outlook with her AOL address, if she would like that feature.
So far all A's in MySQL. I like it, I sort of get, the teacher is super lenient. The teacher now, though is off on the integrating MySQL into Php, which is great but I would like to learn a bit more about MySQL, like report writing and more complex queries. I will definitely take the next class.
Workwise, if you hire someone to spruce up the database you have been juggling around, as well as do the things you are unable to do, and that database does not work, should not they fix it and not leave me in a bind?
GRRRR.
I should get to work.
My fantasy answer: No and I don't care.
In reality I used an actual AOL account (my Mom's) and could find no where to affect a read receipt. Pundits say it is possible but that AOL ignores read receipts to non-AOL addresses.
What a surprise!
I kindly suggested my client go to Outlook with her AOL address, if she would like that feature.
So far all A's in MySQL. I like it, I sort of get, the teacher is super lenient. The teacher now, though is off on the integrating MySQL into Php, which is great but I would like to learn a bit more about MySQL, like report writing and more complex queries. I will definitely take the next class.
Workwise, if you hire someone to spruce up the database you have been juggling around, as well as do the things you are unable to do, and that database does not work, should not they fix it and not leave me in a bind?
GRRRR.
I should get to work.
Friday, April 4, 2008
condiments and gas
The Condiment
12-15 cherry tomatoes
2 oz. feta cheese crumbled
juice from 1/2 a decent sized lemon
few tablespoons of olive oil
pepper to taste
you can add salt too, but feta is already really salty
Mix it all together in bowl and let it sit for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
I have put it in a sandwich, had it with salmon and scallops, in tacos. It is pretty good with just about anything...going to mix it with rice for lunch today.
CNBC stated that Saudi Arabia is running out of oil. Oil is trading at $105 a barrel today. A couple of weeks ago they blamed the oil prices on analysts reports which pisses me off because that means that the analysts are controlling the prices and not the supply and demand. Well, I just checked DOE's website and Saudi has projected the ability to produce 12 million barrels per day by next year. Well, that does not seem too short does it? They also have 2.5 billion barrels in reserves. So is this shortage a bunch of crap, designed to justify the price? Demand is around 22 million barrels per day but we get about 12% of our oil from Saudi Arabia. Canada is actually the biggest single country we receive our oil from, Mexcio and Venezuela are also in the top 5. And apparently Canada has an untapped resource in Alberta. The oil is however, mixed with sand and the processing is very expensive.
The economy only gets worse. There are been 80,000 layoffs in the last month. We keeping how those in the know are fearing recession. Hello? We are in a recession.
I don't feel confident in any predictions at this point. I am only concerned with conserving my cash and living frugally. Oh wait, I don't have any cash and I already live frugally. Am I screwed? No. I am employed and my monthly output is manageable...just barely. Viva cheap red wine, rice and beans. I will survive.
12-15 cherry tomatoes
2 oz. feta cheese crumbled
juice from 1/2 a decent sized lemon
few tablespoons of olive oil
pepper to taste
you can add salt too, but feta is already really salty
Mix it all together in bowl and let it sit for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
I have put it in a sandwich, had it with salmon and scallops, in tacos. It is pretty good with just about anything...going to mix it with rice for lunch today.
CNBC stated that Saudi Arabia is running out of oil. Oil is trading at $105 a barrel today. A couple of weeks ago they blamed the oil prices on analysts reports which pisses me off because that means that the analysts are controlling the prices and not the supply and demand. Well, I just checked DOE's website and Saudi has projected the ability to produce 12 million barrels per day by next year. Well, that does not seem too short does it? They also have 2.5 billion barrels in reserves. So is this shortage a bunch of crap, designed to justify the price? Demand is around 22 million barrels per day but we get about 12% of our oil from Saudi Arabia. Canada is actually the biggest single country we receive our oil from, Mexcio and Venezuela are also in the top 5. And apparently Canada has an untapped resource in Alberta. The oil is however, mixed with sand and the processing is very expensive.
The economy only gets worse. There are been 80,000 layoffs in the last month. We keeping how those in the know are fearing recession. Hello? We are in a recession.
I don't feel confident in any predictions at this point. I am only concerned with conserving my cash and living frugally. Oh wait, I don't have any cash and I already live frugally. Am I screwed? No. I am employed and my monthly output is manageable...just barely. Viva cheap red wine, rice and beans. I will survive.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Fifty bucks
Fifty bucks to fill up my car. I don't drive a 1972 Lincoln Continental, gas is just expensive. Oil hit $106/barrel this morning. It is sad and the oil producers are blaming the analysts, stating there is no problem with supply. How do we shut the analysts up? I don't drive much but this makes it really hard for the people who do have to drive.
Everything is more expensive. That $50 bag of groceries (yes, one bag) at Whole Paycheck is now $67. Food for my kitties went up by 10 cents a can and while 10 cents is not that much, it adds up. Price of beer is higher too due to a bad hops crop, up at least 1.50/six pack. Organic greens beans are $4.99/lb. I will not be buying those anytime soon. Cheese is more expensive too which is sad because, really cheese is about the best thing ever.
Time for a recipe involving cheese. This a variation of a Swiss dish called Rosti, apparently the "national dish" so to speak. The real recipe is a potato pancake.
Rosti
2-3 lbs. potatoes (I like Russet or Yukon Gold)
6 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion chopped
1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese grated (big side of box grater)
Sea salt
1/2 c. butter (don't substitute)
1/2 c. milk or broth
Boil the potatoes until semi soft, not mushy, preferably 24 hours in advance.
Let cool
Peel and grate
Saute garlic and onions in a big pat of butter in a large heavy skillet until onions are translucent.
Use a wooden spoon for stirring.
Add potatoe and cook until soft.
Add cheese and cook until melty
Add broth or milk, very small amounts at a time just until potatoes are moist. You may not need to use all of it.
Watch your heat, cover and cook until potatoes are golden, stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately.
This dish is good for any meal, anytime. Especially for when that $65 bag of groceries is $85 bag. It is going to happen. Whatever the speculation, I am with Warren Buffet, we are in a recession. It is not going to be pretty. Stock up on those essentials and take some deep breaths.
Last night in my MySQL class the instructor mentioned that we are moving into programming now. One of the students says "there was nothing in the class description about programming". I fell out. How do you learn SQL without programming. I should have said "SQL theory is not offered this semester".
Yikes.
Everything is more expensive. That $50 bag of groceries (yes, one bag) at Whole Paycheck is now $67. Food for my kitties went up by 10 cents a can and while 10 cents is not that much, it adds up. Price of beer is higher too due to a bad hops crop, up at least 1.50/six pack. Organic greens beans are $4.99/lb. I will not be buying those anytime soon. Cheese is more expensive too which is sad because, really cheese is about the best thing ever.
Time for a recipe involving cheese. This a variation of a Swiss dish called Rosti, apparently the "national dish" so to speak. The real recipe is a potato pancake.
Rosti
2-3 lbs. potatoes (I like Russet or Yukon Gold)
6 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion chopped
1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese grated (big side of box grater)
Sea salt
1/2 c. butter (don't substitute)
1/2 c. milk or broth
Boil the potatoes until semi soft, not mushy, preferably 24 hours in advance.
Let cool
Peel and grate
Saute garlic and onions in a big pat of butter in a large heavy skillet until onions are translucent.
Use a wooden spoon for stirring.
Add potatoe and cook until soft.
Add cheese and cook until melty
Add broth or milk, very small amounts at a time just until potatoes are moist. You may not need to use all of it.
Watch your heat, cover and cook until potatoes are golden, stirring occasionally.
Serve immediately.
This dish is good for any meal, anytime. Especially for when that $65 bag of groceries is $85 bag. It is going to happen. Whatever the speculation, I am with Warren Buffet, we are in a recession. It is not going to be pretty. Stock up on those essentials and take some deep breaths.
Last night in my MySQL class the instructor mentioned that we are moving into programming now. One of the students says "there was nothing in the class description about programming". I fell out. How do you learn SQL without programming. I should have said "SQL theory is not offered this semester".
Yikes.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The curly fries were not necessary
They were, however, very good. There is a subsidized cafeteria run by an evil workers comp insurance company. The cafeteria is not evil, in fact quite good. You can have a Niman Ranch burger with cheese on a soft sesame bun for $3.50, really, real cheese, real meat, real bread. Michael Pollan may actually approve. I like Michael Pollan, maybe he states the obvious but he does it from a refreshing pespective which gives cause for pause and thought. His message sinks in.
So burger, with Swiss, curly fries, salad...full.
"Microsoft Office Access 2007 has been successfully installed" This happened only after I had to Google a .cab file called SKU111. What they neglect to tell you during the installation is that you have in insert your previous installation disk (it does say source) but thankfully some geek out there had posted a solution to this annoyance.
One of the two reasons for installing this today is that I have a query that is troublesome. Here is the trouble: I am summing a rows value from four tables into a new table that contains the values from those four tables and the sum, across the rows. The query seems to go well until it is almost complete, as it is cranking (there 105K records) it displays the new/calculated values but when it finishes, all values change to NAME. Now, NAME usually indicates a type error or a calculation error (going with type in this case). It is now just sitting there, crashing.
So burger, with Swiss, curly fries, salad...full.
"Microsoft Office Access 2007 has been successfully installed" This happened only after I had to Google a .cab file called SKU111. What they neglect to tell you during the installation is that you have in insert your previous installation disk (it does say source) but thankfully some geek out there had posted a solution to this annoyance.
One of the two reasons for installing this today is that I have a query that is troublesome. Here is the trouble: I am summing a rows value from four tables into a new table that contains the values from those four tables and the sum, across the rows. The query seems to go well until it is almost complete, as it is cranking (there 105K records) it displays the new/calculated values but when it finishes, all values change to NAME. Now, NAME usually indicates a type error or a calculation error (going with type in this case). It is now just sitting there, crashing.
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