Christmas Egg Hunt

So, after Google posted their seasonal decorating blogpost , I started searching for the Easter Eggs on their site. Here's what I've found so far:

christmas lights - Google Search

christmas - Google Search

chanukah - Google Search

kwanzaa - Google Search

candy canes - Google Search

santa - Google Search

yule log - Google Search

IE hasLayout Bug Explanation

Microsoft has put out a pretty good (and enjoyably self-implicative) reference on a lot of the bugs/quirks that IE6 suffers from currently. They mention their collaborators in their blog post as well as at the bottom of the guide. I'm relieved to see this continuing trend of community involvement from the IE devs, but my cynicism forces me to remain cautious.

Riviera Break

My wife and I are heading to the Mayan Riviera this Saturday, and I can't wait to take time off from work. Things have been so busy for me. Last time we vacationed I felt so relaxed that I literally didn't have to do anything unless I wanted to do it. This time Saturday, I'll be completely snow-free and warm in Mexico!

I know that a lot of people vacation in the Riviera Maya area, so I wondered if anybody had any must-do excursions that we should do, or any fun things in that part of Mexico. We already went snorkeling in a sinkhole, cave, and inlet on one excursion. We also went to see the Mayan ruins and rode ATVs through the jungle, so those are already done. Really, anything fun/interesting would be cool, not just pre-pay tourist excursions. Any suggestions? Otherwise, I'm just going to look forward to more shovelling.

http://www.livejournal.com/~seinjunkie/18757.html?nc=4

Jobs are Overrated Anyway

So, I found out yesterday that I didn't get that training job that I applied for at my work, because I basically don't have enough real-business experience using our system. The hiring supervisor informed me of that yesterday, and my current supervisor (who was also involved in the selection process) talked to me about it today. They were both saying good things about my sample presentation and sounded like I impressed them with it. But my supervisor had already told me before that he thinks I don't understand how much of the system relates to the business, because I started with this job doing software support and I'm learning inversely.

I see where he's coming from, and I agree, because I told the hiring supervisor that from the get go after he approached me about applying for the job. I told my current supervisor that I could pick up on those things pretty quickly, though, and he agreed with me. During my rejection ceremony, the (non-)hiring supervisor mentioned that I had "opened some people's eyes to my abilities and knowledge of the system," and that would be "nothing but good for me in the future." I didn't really know what he meant by that, but it obviously didn't help me in the immediate future.

Our small department had a meeting today regarding some restructuring that was going on, and my supervisor congratulated the other person (who also works for my current supervisor) on accepting the job. Then he mentioned that it was not an easy decision because I had also applied and did a really well on my sample presentation. So, he said that they might have me do some occasional training for the users. I mocked, "Wayne, we like what you did, but we want to keep you at the same pay grade."

I'm not bitter or sad about it, because I think that's obviously not where I'm supposed to be right now. But, I heard through our new guy, who's going through some claims training, that the training and development department is looking at adding another position for someone to sit with the claims people and answer any usability questions that they might have. In that light, it then made sense what the hiring supervisor had said about opening people's eyes. Are they looking into creating a position just for me? I guess that's cooler than getting the other job, except I wouldn't get to travel around the country.

Maybe it's a not going to happen. Maybe it's a rumor. It's just an honor to be nominated.

Forging Source as Never Before

In my quest to legitimize my computer's applications, I ditched crackz, warez, and other unsavory terms in favor of purchasing the programs I really want or finding free alternatives to the programs that provided just as much functionality and nearly as much ease of use. Everyone who considers themselves an "advanced" computer user has heard of Linux or open source at least once. I have found that there are some really good free alternatives to commercial software, some even surpass their counterparts in important ways. Here's a small list of my favorite open source applications, in no particular order (okay, maybe organized by number of words). Let the crappy infomercial music begin!

1. Gaim - http://gaim.sourceforge.net
   
   

   Probably the most popular open source application besides Mozilla Firefox (which I've mentioned before and I love), Gaim stays open on my desktop all day long, keeping me logged into AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo!, and Jabber all without missing a beat. I combine it with Gaim-encryption when I'm talking to friends who have it so I'm not just transmitting plain text secrets all over the internet. Once you say goodbye to the stupid advertisement popups and default news tickers (yeah, so what if you can disable them?) you'll never look back from Gaim.



2. Azureus - http://azureus.sourceforge.net
   
   

   Tons of people everyday use BitTorrent to download large files, but if you're like me, you need a more organized interface for and better control of the torrents you have running. Azureus offers a lot of control, and the options that are important to me, like a plugin for displaying a web page of all my running torrents so I can start downloading new torrents from work. It also lets you throttle the global upload speed and individual torrents' upload speed; or you can pick which files you want to download out of multi-file torrents. Also running on my computer pretty much all the time.



3. FileZilla - http://filezilla.sourceforge.net
   
   

   Finding a free, full-featured FTP client for Windows can be tough, especially when you're picky about ease of use. That's why I was excited when I found FileZilla. It supports file-drag and drop, a handy site list, XML-stored settings and sites (so you can move them from one computer to another, or back them up before you reformat. The maker of FileZilla also makes an FTP server, which is adding more features all of the time and has the potential to become as easy to use as many commercial options like RaidenFTPd.



4. Ultr@VNC - http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net
   
   

   VNC, for those who may not be aware, allows you to connect to another computer and remote control it like you were sitting at the monitor. Ever since I built my mom a computer, I can't be thankful enough for all VNCs. For the longest time, I was using either RealVNC or TightVNC, which were both adequate and decently featured. Until the other day, when I found Ultr@VNC on SourceForge, and I was shocked by how intuitive it was to use. It also provides a lot of neat features that other VNC clients don't have, like performing file transfers on the fly for the computer to which you're connected... that saves a lot of time! I think TightVNC has some way of doing file transfers, but it's not very easy to get to. Ultr@VNC also has an optional driver that you can install, which reduces CPU load on the host computer.



5. Synergy - http://synergy2.sourceforge.net
   
   

   If you read my pre-Christmas snow post, you remember that I bought a second hand desk. In the picture I took of the desk, there's a laptop in between my two computer monitors. I received this old laptop with its docking station from work when they were getting rid of them all. It's way too clunky to use as an actual laptop, IMO. Plus, I don't have a wireless card, so I have to keep it docked anyway. I had tried to turn it into a Gentoo Linux box, but it was too slow to compile everything. I then changed it into an Ubuntu Linux box (which is a very newbie-friendly distribution, by the way, and stamped CDs are free, including shipping), but the old hard drive crashed in the laptop. It has most recently been converted to a Windows 2000 machine (it's Windows 98 out of the factory) and completely patched up. This is the best solution so far, because I offloaded my mIRC settings to that machine and am keeping it logged in all of the time.

   
   

   I say all of that to say this: Synergy lets me slide my mouse from my dual monitors right onto my laptop and type away like I was plugged directly into the laptop! The fact that it was a breeze to set up makes it even more amazing, to me. What's even more awesome is that Synergy will work with any number of different operating systems on different machines. It can just start as a service in the background and everything else is seamless. Of course, you have to tell it where your monitors are in relation to one another. And since it sees my dual monitors as one screen, I had to push my laptop to the right of them both, which I find more intuitive now that I've done it. I've never used this laptop more often than I have since I installed Synergy, because it's so easy to use it. And if I want to play a full-screen game, just press Scroll Lock and your mouse is locked in whatever screen it's in at that moment until you press Scroll Lock again. Synergy will also syncronize your screen savers to start and end at the same time, if you want. That doesn't matter to me, though, since I don't use screen savers, really. By far, this is the neatest program I've found and I think it will keep getting better as it grows and expands. My friend and I were thinking how cool it would be to be able to drag a program window over to another computer if you wanted to make a different computer do the processing while you played a game on your main computer. There's a lot of potential for a program like this, but I think it's cool now!

Gravy and Biscuits

Last time I talked about the nostromo Speedpad n52 that I received. Well, I took it back and bought the Saitek Gamer's Keyboard instead. I really like this keyboard, because the keys have good response, it's backlit, and it includes a programmable command pad that you can attach to it (which I haven't used, yet).

I also received the Plextor PX-716A DVD dual format/dual layer writer drive as a late Christmas present from my brother. I gotta tell you, I love it. I've burnt some of the shows I've been recording, if you will, to DVD and watched it on our set-top player. The writer comes with Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator 7, but I had already purchased and installed Nero 6 last year and love it, so I see no reason to switch. The Nero suite also includes NeroVision Express 3, which lets you make very awesome menus (like animated buttons) with very little effort. It's about as close as you can get to Hollywood quality disc menus without paying exorbitant prices or riding a steep learning curve.

I mentioned before that I was applying for a different job at my work. I had the interview a few weeks ago then I made it to the second stage and gave a short 30 presentation (it's a training job) last Friday, the 7th. I was so nervous to give that presentation, because it was so unlike any speech/oral communications class in college. Instead of a grade, this is my life that I'm playing with. And I learned that higher stakes = bowel irritation. I won't hear about the results until sometime next week, I'm guessing. I'll let you know what happened as soon as I find out.

All I Want for Christmas...

OK, so I didn't get get anything that I put on that list I wrote last week. Which isn't to say that I should have. I have other lists, and I got things off of that, as well. I got FarCry and Half-Life 2, as far as games go, so my free time will be devoted to those for a while. Also, I had a Nostromo Speedpad n52 on my list from a while ago... I almost forgot about it, but Em gave me that, also. I hope that I use it more than I used the now-defunct Microsoft Strategic Commander that I bought a few years ago, back when I was playing the Age of Kings: The Conquerors Expansion regularly. 3 games and $60 later, back on the keyboard... something about specialized controllers just doesn't sit well with me. So far, the Speedpad has been harmless (except for a cramp... in my left arm for once), mostly because it's really just a small subsection of a keyboard, anyway. One thing I hate is how the tiny "space bar" doesn't seem to have a tactile click at the bottom of the key press. Another thing that bugs me is that the tiny orange thumb button does have a tactile click, which doesn't seem right for the type of mushy-feeling button that it looks and feels like. It's also inconvenient to have to put that much resistance against a button that high up with so little leverage. I'm trying to be positive about it, because I did ask for it.

I also received Elf, both Seinfeld DVD sets, and Curb Your Enthusiasm Season one DVD. I figured I would like Curb Your Enthusiasm because I was such a Seinfeld fan, but after two episodes, I see that they are two very different shows. It might take a while to suspend belief enough so that I can get into the story, but so far there's only been two moments when I laughed out loud. I hope it gets better, but I did ask for it.

What type of jerk complains about what he asked for? This kind.