Tree's Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:21:00 +0000

I logged on this fine afternoon to see that I had comments that needed to be moderated. On 6/9/09. Forgive me.

Other than that... the news!

I brewed my first batch of mead today. 5 gallons made from 12lbs of Oregon Raspberry honey. In 2 long weeks I will be racking it to a carboy and reporting again.

I don't have pics of my setup due to Sandy not having a charger for her camera, and my reluctance to purchase a phone of my own.

All in all, mead is surprisingly easy to make. I took about 1.25hrs to sanitize my equipment, sanitize the must, and get everything into a 5 gallon fermenter. I have another couple carboys going to waste now that I realize it... Perhaps I'll make a Pinot Noir next weekend.

Now what I need from your RSS junkies: Bottles. Please hang onto any bottles you have. I have 5 bottles that I can use. It's going to be fun to serve wine out of jagermeister bottles. Haha! 5 gallons makes about 24 bottles, so I need some help.

Stay tuned.

Weed Whackin'

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:04:00 +0000

So, as some of you know, I successfully killed all of my blackberries at the end of the summer last year. I estimate I had about 250 sq/ft of dead brambles left to clean up. The summer ran out, the cold started, motivation ended, and I left them out there during the winter. Snow packed everything down and it never sprung back up. To say the least, it's a total eyesore - and we hate it.

Sunday morning I picked up a Ryobi BC-30 Brush Cutter @ Home Depot. The nice thing about this one is that it easily converts into a string trimmer.

While it was recommended to me that I pick up a 1hp model, this .8hp design does the trick. I was able to plow through wet and dry brambles for as many hours as my out-of-shape arms could take. I believe you can get away with less horsepower now days with a straight shaft, as more of the power makes it to the business end of the trimmer.

Of course, I now have a displaced pile of dead brambles sitting next to the house, as my yard debris container is full of what /was/ my front yard; and I'm only done with about 50 sq/ft of the vines.

$429 Macintosh Mini

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Step 1: Get a Dell Inspiron 910 (AKA Mini) w/ 16gb SSD & Ubuntu
Step 2: Buy OSX
Step 3: Google the right bootloader for your OSX version, and follow the directions.

Result: A kickass little machine. Wooot!!

Been a while.....

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Hey all. Sorry I've been so absent for the last few months. I've been suffering from a slight lack of employment. I quit my job @ Kaiser for several reasons. Mainly because I wasn't happy with myself, and felt I was making too many sacrifices to be there.

I've since started working at Centerstance with my friend Eddie. I'm on a relatively short contract with the possibility of becoming an FTE when it's over. Cross your fingers for me.

Turning 30 in a week too. :)

Thanks TOOL

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:16:00 +0000

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks
Here in this hopeless f**king hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any f**king time. Any f**king day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.
It's a
Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of
Freaks
Here in this hopeless f**king hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any f**king time. Any f**king day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this
Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit.
One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.
Learn to swim x3.
Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim x8.
F**k L Ron Hubbard and
F**k all his clones.
F**k all those gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.
Learn to swim x8.
F**k retro anything.
F**k your tattoos.
F**k all you junkies and
F**k your short memory.
Learn to swim x7.
F**k smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
F**k these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.
Learn to swim x8.

'cause I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom please flush it all away.
I wanna see it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
Don't just call me pessimist.
Try and read between the lines.
I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend.
I wanna see it all come down.
put it down.
suck it down.
flush it down.

New Rig

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:21:00 +0000

I received my shipment of parts last night from Newegg. They're so good.... but enough about them. Specs below:

Case: Coolermaster, 2x120mm Fans, Steel construction, and no stupid chrome or lights.
PS: PC Power & Cooling "Silencer" 750w Single Rail
Mobo: EVGA w/ nForce 790i chipset, supports 3-way SLI @ full 16x bandwidth (I am using 2-way)
Proc: Intel Core 2 Quad "Q9450" Yorkfield, 45nm @ 2.66ghz + 12mb cache
Memory: 2x2gb OCZ Reaper PC10666 @ 6-6-6-18 1T
Cooling: Zalman silly-big heatpipe thing...
Main HDD: WD VelociRaptor 10k
Work HDD: 3x120gb WD 120 SATA 3gbps in Stripe
Storage HDD: 300gb WD
Video: 2xNvidia 6800GT's
Main Display: ViewSonic 22" LCD
Addt'l Display: 2x ViewEra 17" LCDs

Despite all of the awful problems I've read about with this Mobo/Ram combo, my install went flawlessly with the spec' timings. This thing cuts through everything like butter..... it's great. :)

Multimedia message

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Multimedia message

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:48:00 +0000

Domino R5 JDBC Driver

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:13:00 +0000

World,

Hello. I am looking for an antique piece of shit called JdbcDomino.jar. It has the JDBC class that I need to query a Domino R5 server. I found the ODBC version of the driver but it only works with R6+.

IBM pulled the file and I can't find anyone else hosting it.... if anyone was working on Domino/Web integration back in 2004, I could use some help.

Thanks!

Update..... this took some major Googlin'.

LDDJ Download

Thanks so much DominoDude, Tony Kelleran.

Ultimate Camping Drink

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:25:00 +0000

By the title you may have imagined a vote with "World's Best Drink for Camping" with things like Screwdriver, Red Bull Vodka, Mimosa, Pabst Blue Ribbon, etc. No. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the chimera of alcoholic beverages here. That's right! I'm looking to make the single best gallon-at-a-time camping drink. Not only is this intended to inebriate, but take care of all those sylvan oddities that come up while away from modern plumbing.

First off I'm going to suggest what I have in mind. From there I'm looking for suggestions in the form of blomments. That's a new word for blog comments that I just independently invented. For the record, I don't read the blogosphere, so I wouldn't have heard it elsewhere.

Here goes:

Base:
Red Bull (four normal cans)

Active Ingredient (inebriation):
Vodka (half gallon)

Active Ingredient (gut rot):
Bean-O (one full squirter)
Pepto Bismol (one normal container)
Fibersure (this will take some experimenting... Metamucil may have to do)
Gas-X (6-8 capsules, sans gel coat)

Filler:
Vitamin Water (not sure what flavor... suggestions? What goes well with Pepto?)
Ninja, Pirate, Alien, and Pirate blood (for color)

So there you have it. Let the games begin.

MGS4

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:14:00 +0000

It's not often I read a book, listen to music, or see a movie and afterwards feel that I have just witnessed a masterpiece. It's an amazing experience when it happens. It's the kind of thing that makes you feel fortunate to be alive, simply to have been present for the opportunity.

Even less frequently than with music, film, and literature - this kind of experience happens while playing a game. You may be laughing at me right now, but the medium is definitely becoming an art form along the lines of those previously mentioned. If you don't believe me, you need only check out Hideo Kojima's magnum opus - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

On the surface the game raises the bar to the stratosphere. Developers will be hard pressed to build anything this polished in the next few years. Once you start peeling away the layers and embracing the story, you easily see that this is a passionate work or art, a work of love, and more than just a game.

For those of your with a PS3 at home, you finally have a reason besides Blu-ray to own it. :)

Lastly.... Raiden is straight up the coolest character ever. He may even give Hiro, Cloud, or Anakin a run for their money.

it is not for everone

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

johnnie walker blue. it is not for everyone. mainly because it is fouty dollars per shot.

Scotch on the Rock

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:55:00 +0000

Ordered from Cure in DC. Can you see the single rock? For the record this is Johnnie Walker Blue, and it is excellent.

I have arrived!

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:08:00 +0000

I showed up in DC at around 11:30 local time. It's 1:15 now. We were 'duped' at the Airport and hired a Limousine rather than a regular cab.... lucky for us it was the only thing that could take credit cards and I need to track expenses on this trip. It was not a bad deal.. 25 miles for 70 bucks, complimentary refreshments, and the m most comfortable seats I imagine a cab ever having. Good times.

When we showed up here at the Grand Washington they had no more 'King Rooms' left, so we're forced to take a Parlor room instead. It was given to us for half price, so I figure that makes up for the Limo ride from the airport. You're welcome Kaiser.

Our room is nothing more than a party room with a pull-out bed. We're being transferred to a real room tomorrow, but this is a pretty cool experience still.

By the way: I am here for CFUnited and I have a keynote to attend in 6 hours. We'll post up some pics tomorrow.

On a side now... I received word that Keith had mangled his ankle in another bike wreck today. It sounds like the pipe went through his boot and acted as a meat grinder. They're in the ER right now. Please, if everyone could give best wishes on his recovery, that'd be awesome.

Speaking of going down. I went down the other day too. The tires are awfully slick this year. My wreck was nothing more than pride working against me. Don't go knee down to the point that elbow, shoulder, and hard parts follow. You end up sliding for 15 feet. (Miraculously I got the tires back on the ground and finished the turn.)

Wish me luck geeking out professionally tomorrow. Wish Keith luck piloting a plane back to Newark in stitches too. :(

New Job

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:46:00 +0000

I officially accepted a new position within Kaiser today. It's within the same team in fact. I've been promoted to Sr. Web Developer, while also taking over the team Lead position. Woohoo!

My New Home

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:40:00 +0000

I hate you Flickr... next album will be something else. I swear it!

This is my new home. I move in on July 9th. Wewt!

Home Pics Album

The things we say......

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:17:00 +0000

Phillip: god - lennin got in such shit when he said that they were more popular than jesus....

me: hehehe

Phillip: really old beatles annoys me - but it still had a consistant quality to it.

me: depends.... in terms of record sales they were

Phillip: well - jesus didn't sell many records.

me: I know, what a douchebag
Couldn't even sell a record

Phillip: Yeah - his label was pissed at him - made him stop touring....

me: Talk about crucified... wow...
(I'm laughing)
Phillip: fuck doode - that is so wrong...
me toooooo.

me: hahaha

------------------

This all started when I brought up how much I loved the Beatles.

Iron Man

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Ok, so it's old news by now. I just had to throw out my props to Iron Man. The movie was excellent. I may actually go see it again. You need to see it so I can stop worrying about spoiling it. Robert Downey Jr. nailed it. It was also great to see The Dude as a villain.

In the meantime I'm going to play through Marvel Ultimate Alliance as Iron Man rather than Wolverine.

Lego Millennium Falcon - Done!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:13:00 +0000

This little project took Sandy and I a combined total of around 60 hours to complete. we only ended up with two missing parts out of the five thousand or so that were included. Next is the Star Destroyer.

Rose Festival floats

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:07:00 +0000

I snapped this pic around 2pm today. A few of the floats were parked across from my building. They are all gone now. :(

KPNW_IntranetDevStandards

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:25:00 +0000

Julie D Coop wrote:

KPNW_IntranetDevStandards

K

Quickie - Paramount + Blu Ray

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:36:00 +0000

It has been a while since I followed the latest format war. I stopped paying attention right around the time that Wal Mart went exclusive and Best Buy went 'recommended' on BD.

The last I remember is that Paramount had signed an HDDVD exclusivity deal, and would not be offering Transformers on BD. Well.... I recently received two Netflix rentals. Payback and Tomb Raider. Both had Paramount written all over them!!

So... I guess that deal no longer exists? Does this mean we get Transformers soon? Busy day here at the office, I don't have time to dig. Feel free to fill me in with comments....

Why I stopped clubbing:

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:26:00 +0000

From Willy Week:

The downtown bar scene: Despite being in the heart of Portland, the knot of pubs and clubs around Southwest 2nd Avenue and Burnside no longer serves Portlanders. On weekends the entire area reeks of Axe body spray, as it’s overrun by Jäger-slurping ex-frat boys from the suburbs. Kells is a decent bar during the week, but all you see on Saturday is fake-’n’-bake blondes dripping lip gloss and gym rats from McMinnville who wear Red Sox caps and talk about the Curse of the Bambino like they don’t have a Derek Jeter jersey at home. Gel-happy metrosexuals cruise the Greek Cusina, telling everyone, “I’m not gay. I know I’m wearing flared jeans. You wanna fight?” At the end of the night the whole ugly crew piles into a fleet of Chevy Tahoes and Dodge Magnums, turns up the Toby Keith, and swerves back to cul-de-sacs of aluminum siding in Tigard to talk about how much they love “the city”—except for all its weirdos on bikes and disquieting lack of Red Robin franchises.

Whole story here

Man having a child....

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:31:00 +0000

America... Oprah... What the shit is wrong with you?

Did you not see Junior or something? If you haven't, please allow me to remind you. This was fiction. Fiction because men cannot have babies.

Before you informationauts correct me - I realize that the placenta has the ability to attach itself to any organ, not just the womb. And therefore it is theoretically possible for a man to grow a baby within his body cavity. Now... Please keep in mind that men do not have ovaries. If you're a man and you have ovaries you're a genetic mistake - and thus you are a hermaphrodite, not a man. This sounds a lot less entertaining than the sensational headlines that are slapping us in the face everywhere we look right now.

If you're not following me, please open a tab and hit news.google.com. For those who use IE6, or are just too lazy, here is one of the many stories.

To sum it up for those who can't even click a link: There is a "man" here in Oregon who's having a baby. The man in question is actually a transgender female who never had his girl-parts scooped out. Instead, opting for the chest-removal and hormone therapy. Before I go any further, let me say that I think what he's doing for his family has its roots in nobility. As for the probable social confusion this child is destined for, I choose not to comment. I'll leave that to my reader(s). Now back to the story. This man was artificially inseminated because his wife is infertile.

The problem I have is not with the fact that this man is growing crotchfruit, but that the news is buzzing like flies on shit with silly headlines. Who wouldn't turn on the tube to see something only tackled by Arnold on the big screen. I mean... if I saw something like, "Amnesiac discovers alien remnants on Mars, brings down mining operation." Hell yes! I would turn on the news to see what the hell they're talking about - only because I've seen Total Recall and I can't believe it. I just fear that most people would expect a journalistic account of mutants on the red planet; immediately forgetting that we've never stepped foot on Mars (eff off Bay).

I suppose the reason this bothers me so much is that American news is crap. Complete, utter, crap. Oprah, shame on you. A proper headline would be, "Transgender woman pregnant." It's not as neck-snapping, and it won't get the viewers, but at least it's true. True just doesn't hold as much meaning as it once did.

To the family, and especially the child: Best wishes.

oldest boombox ever.

noreply@blogger.com (Tree) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:59:00 +0000

i found this in a back room at the office today. those stickers are hobie, poison, and body glove. who remembers fisher electronics?