Chuck’s Home World

Well, it snowed yesterday. It looks to be about 3 or 4 inches so it’s not too bad. Thankfully it’s happened on the weekend as well, and I’ve been sick so I had no reason to go out.

Anyway, today I’m actually feeling pretty good. I hope to get a few miles in, but we’ll have to wait and see how things go. I sure do need to start burning more calories, so I can continue to drop the weight. I have a follow-up on Feb. 23 and want to be lower than last one by at least 5 pounds.

I decided to see if I could speed up the Netbook. I’ve ordered, for Monday delivery, a new hard drive. I’m going to try out a solid state drive (SSD). I went with a drive that was not quite as large as the one I have, but I could have gone with one that was half the price (and half the size), but decided to go with the extra storage.  The SSD should give me a bit more battery life (but its lasting all day when I put it to sleep when not needed), but it couldn’t hurt to get more out of it.

Windows 7 Pro does boot pretty fast on the machine, but there are a few applications that I’d like to make run a bit faster and these are disk related applications (a couple of database and Lotus Notes based).

I should run some benchmarks before and after.  I’ll have to find some good free software to help me with that. I’m sure one or more of the computer mags I get will have one or two that I can use.

I guess I’ll end this post and talk about the Apple iPad that was just announced this past week. My overall feeling is “ho hum”, but if I got one for free then perhaps I’d be more excited. I mean, the iPod Touch was one of those things that I felt I didn’t need, but now that I have one (free from 2008 Christmas party) I really like it.  I think the only thing I really like about it is the ability to have something quick and fast to browse the web while watch TV. The netbook is OK for that, but the screen resolution on the netbook leaves a lot to be desired.

Yeah, I couldn’t think of a title for this entry so I just went with that…

Its around 3AM as I write this short posts. Its been a little while since my last post so I thought I’d throw a few things up here. I’m sick and its tough to sleep right now so I figured why not take advantage of the time. I’d actually try to do some work, but I know I won’t be able to focus on getting anything done so I’m not going to!

In my previous post I mentioned a new work laptop and BlackBerry. I’ve received both. I’m pretty happy with the laptop so far (Dell e6500) but haven’t really needed to use the phone yet. It’s not active on the BES yet, so I can’t use it. It’s a Storm 2 so I can compare it against my original Storm. Its OK, but I don’t like the call buttons being under the glass. I like my Storm’s separate buttons.

I’m still in the process of getting the necessary tools installed in order to start developing a bit for the BlackBerry. I was thinking of going with Adobe Dreamweaver, but it’s so expensive and I can do what I need to do with free tools.

Work continues to keep me very busy. A newer high priority project has begun… it’s tough because I can’t seem to get some existing projects done because something of higher priority always comes along.

Final entry note – I weighed in this morning and I’ve dropped a few more pounds. I know I’m somewhat dehydrated though so I’m sure its not a great a loss as the scales are showing, but I’ll live with it for now. I just hope it continues to drop instead of hovering around the same readings…

I’m just getting over a quick cold. I’m surprised that I’m feeling better already. Still have some stuffiness in the head (more than normal) but I’m definitely feeling better.

Saw Dr. Dua yesterday (Tuesday) and it was a good visit. I was down to what I was visit before last and have dropped the couple of pounds I gained over Christmas. I’ve reduced my daily calorie budget to 1600 cals, and will continue that until I’ve dropped a few more pounds. I really hope to get into the gym this weekend. It will be the first time back in a few months and I really need to get in there. Hope I feel up to it.

Work is still keeping me very busy. There is talk of me getting a new laptop and a blackberry (IT Spare) for some development work. That will be nice on both accounts.

That’s all for today. I’ll try to post more later.

It was good to see everyone and I was able to see all my nephews & nieces and their children (with the exception of one nephew who was not available).

I broke the trip down into two pieces and was able to spend a good bit of the day visiting sisters before heading over to the beach. I first made it into Florence, SC around 10:15AM and met up with sister Joy. We had a Shoney’s breakfast, which was very tasty. It was my first real break away from the diet. After visiting with Karen (momentarily because she was off to work) I spent the afternoon visiting with John & Chris, then Rhonda and family once she came home. This was Wednesday. I was at the beach sometime around 6:30 PM.

Thursday, I made it back over to see Karen & Rhonda again – going a bit earlier so I’d have more time to spend with Karen.  After Karen went to work, Rhonda and I made our way to the store to pick up a few things for our Saturday dinner. I wanted to get a bit more healthy so we picked up fruits and veggies along with the other things we needed.  I was able to return to the beach again around 7PM or so.

Visited with Jim and Ann, Jessica, Larry and Christian at the beach on Christmas eve and Christmas morning. Had lots of food and saw Uncle A. B. and Aunt Bonnie before heading over to Joy’s for Christmas night dinner (yummy steaks) and presents exchanges. Slept pretty good that night as I was a bit tired.

Saturday, Joy, Bill, Ashley, Derrick (or Darrel as I called him!), Kelsi and DJ headed over to Karen’s for our Christmas time together.  I drove on while Joy met up with Ashley and entourage. We had a wonderful time and even Jessica, Christian and Ann came in for a while. It was good to see everyone (only wished Jim would have come too).

Anyway, I made my way back to the beach on Saturday arriving sometime around 9:30 PM. On Sunday, I saw Lester, Zac and Michelle, my favorite cousin Donna, and left around 3PM to head over to visit with Karen, Rhonda and family once again. Around 7PM I was on my way home again. I in the night in NC a few miles south of the VA border and made it home on Monday around 12:30 PM. (My car’s navigation thought it would be fun to take me through DC, on 395, but it wasn’t fun at all!)

Anyway, it’s good to be back home! And even though the scales provided bad news when I got on them today it was worth visiting and eating all that wonderful food.

I didn’t take that many photos, but took a few and will posts some when I get the chance.

A few pictures from a recent snowy day.

Some of the snow on my Patio

This week I was working on our “media” section and I’ve learned a few things. Since I don’t work with PHP 100% of my time there are still lots of things that I could do if I only knew more.  Its cool when I have a need and then do a bit of searching only to discover that its much easier than I thought.

One of the “fun” things I’m working on is dealing with the BlackBerry. My company is in the process of rolling out all BlackBerry phones in order to allow our employees (remote account managers, etc.) the ability to get their corporate mail directly on their phone and to access internally secured information. Right now remote users have to use their VPN and many don’t like to do it because its too much of a hassle. It would be much less of a hassle if only they’d use it more often!

Anyway, for the BlackBerry, I have several Domino applications that allow me to access our other systems and send back simple HTML. I’m going to work on a little system this morning that will help me organize the links to the various systems so I can easily create a “dashboard” or “launchpad” for the BlackBerry users.

The holidays are just around the corner and I’m really looking forward to seeing my family.  I’ve not been doing it over the last few years, but this year I hope to take lots of photos. Let see if I can remember to take my camera.

I have found a new nutrition and fitness show on the web that I’ve been catching up on. I’ve only watched about 8 of his shows so far (during cardio workout on the treadmill), but I’m sort of hooked. I like his approach and he has the physic that I can aspire to reach. Check it out at The Dr. Clay Show.

Dr. Clay Hyght

Dr Clay Hyght, DC, CSCS, CISSN, is a recognized authority in the areas of nutrition and exercise. Residing in Danville, CA, Dr Clay spends much of his time helping others enhance their physique through nutrition and exercise. He also treats patients, utilizing chiropractic and soft tissue therapy to optimize physical function and quality of life. His clients/patients range from competitive bodybuilders and figure competitors, to professional athletes and busy working people who simply want to look and feel better.

Not one to sit on the sidelines, Dr Clay practices what he preaches and has been competing in bodybuilding contests for over 15 years. To learn more about or to contact Dr Clay, visit his website.

Going to be heading over to Hagerstown area to visit with Cary & Tam and meet 1 year old Jon Copernicus for the first time. Looking forward to it. Its been at least two years, maybe three since I’ve been there.

Where in the US is Hagerstown, MD?

Amazon's Kindle 2

Amazon has released a new Kindle Firmware (2.3) which among other things extends the battery life quite a bit and allows for native PDF support.

My Kindle’s hardware doesn’t support auto-rotate, but now you can manually change the rotation. This is very handy for PDFs that look better in a landscape mode versus portrait.

Today is my birthday. I’m now celebrating the 20th anniversary of my 24 birthday. To celebrate, I’m going out to lunch today with some friends from my former job (CAS). Tomorrow my friends Jean and Kenny are coming in and we’ll celebrate all three of our birthdays.

There has been a lot of candy in the office since Halloween. Its tough not eating any and I’ve been eating more than I should. I’ve been roughly keeping track of the calories consumed, but it will be so much easier when that candy has gone away.

Next week is Thanksgiving and I’ll be celebrating that holiday with Tam & Cary and little Jon, whom I’ll be meeting for the first time). I’ll be heading into Hagerstown, MD for this event. I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone. Its been over a year since I’ve seen Tam & Cary and at least a couple since I’ve seen Cary’s family.

As usual work is keeping me very busy. There were a couple of times that I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed, but not for too long. I’ve learned long ago that I can do as much as I can do and the rest will get done in time.  At least I still love my job and the work I do. If I was having to do something else I would wake up hating life for sure.

I really hope I can continue to drop some more weight. It’s going to be tough for the next two months with Thanksgiving and the Christmas Holidays. I’ll try to keep things under control by doing more calorie burning (treadmill/gym).

I saw Dr. Dua this morning and I’ve lost another 7 pounds. That’s great, a little over a pound per week. The milestone I’ve reached though it that I’m no longer considered obese. I’m just over-weight! I’m still about 20 pounds away from my current goal weight, and hope to reach it sometime by the end of this year.

I’m in no hurry for the last one. I’ll probably do it this coming weekend. One thing to note is that Windows 7 can do a clean install with activation from an Upgrade DVD. That is good for those who need to wipe out their disk before installing – which can be a pain, but is really the best approach.

Over the last week-end I was able to do several things that needed to be done other than cleaning up the house. I really need to work on that.

I’m updating to VM-Ware Fusion 3.0 which is awesome for Mac users who need to run Windows 7 with FULL features. It is really, really great! I’m trying to buy the upgrade for $39.99 but it didn’t have my old SN in place for validation.  If you’re not familiar with VM Ware’s Fusion product, it allows the Mac to run Windows (and other operating systems) in a virtual machine.

RANT: The VMWare Fusion product is fantastic, but the upgrade was the worst experience ever. First, the system wouldn’t let me upgrade for $39.99 price. I was getting conflicting messages. First it said Congratulations you can upgrade, select the SN/License to upgrade, but it wouldn’t allow me to select my registered information. I received an error message that was overlapping and pushed down a screen and a half. I finally decided to pay the full price of $79.99 just so I could get it done. Of course I get a confirmation email that tells me I have to register the product. I just bought it from VMWare and now I have to go back and tell VMWare that I bought it. That is just plain stupid! Then in the email there is an Activation Code. OK, fine. In the software its asks for a Serial Number, not an Activation code. Why can’t they get the terms right? I mean if I need to enter an Activation Code in the Serial Number field then say so. Overall I’m very disappointed with this whole process even though I love the product.  RANT OVER.

I hope to start going back to the gym next week. I don’t think my back is going to ever get “better” but its been doing pretty good other than when I first get out of bed. I have been walking almost every day and try to get in at least 4 to 5 miles in Aerobic effort.

There are more social sites than need to be. I’ve slowed down on Twitter and Facebook. Joined Linked-In and Yammer (for work). Not sure what I’ll do with them if anything.