Stories's Log
This log represents the Life and Times of the Las Vegas Dude.
<< 09/2006 < 09/2007 Calendar 10/2007 > 09/2008 >>Sign InView Other Logs
Thu 
09/27/2007 22:15:26
 jim  Becky met the people I work with today.
We all ate at the Hard Rock Hotel downstairs.
They all liked her! It was great!
Later, Becky and I went to an outdoor Indian restaurant.
Gosh the food was really good.
The restaurant is on Restaurant Row, down on Bardstown road.
Bardstown road is about 3 miles of nothing but Mom and Pop stores and restaurants, and its always packed.
Most of the streets surrounding it are single lane with parking on both sides, but they are 2 way.
So you have to pull over if someone is coming your way.
And Bardstown road is a four lane, until dark. Then two of the side lanes become parking lanes. They have stop lights in each lane that tell you which way to drive.
Sometimes, the whole road goes only one way!
Now that....is different.
Thu 
09/27/2007 06:07:53
 jim  The most spectactular light show
Its right outside my window!
Thunder smacking the sides of high rises.
Rain pouring down.
What a way to wake up !!!
The lightning looks like its right outside my window.
I guess thats because IT IS !!!
I just recorded lightning striking right next to us...
the camera fell off the window sill. SO COOL!!!
I didn't have time to upload the pix...
I'll have to put it on later.
Thu 
09/27/2007 03:10:24
 jim  Ate with Peter, Susan and the gang
We went to, you guessed it, TGIFs!
Its nice to have everything within walking distance.
Its also nice to talk to people that you have things in common with too.
Like Peter, taking a contract, and it lasting one week. The computer was still on the pallets.
Like me, taking a contract, and not even having a PC set up.
And this other guy, who started, but has nothing to do at all, but wait, and read.
I used to think it would be great to get paid the big bucks for doing nothing, but it feels awkward.
Its feels odd, being a disposable worker.
We know that some day, we'll come in and our security cards won't work, and we'll be gone.
I've heard it so many times:
You'll get fired for walking into the secretary's office when she's not there,
or tweaking a program from the web and not removing the authors name,
or using the phone for personal business
or letting a former employee in.
Maybe Peter's right to get out of the trade.
Susan would like to see us all do something new and rewarding.
Its nice to sit back and shake out new ideas.
Nothing earth shattering has come up yet.
It will though. It always does. And it won't be something any of us would expect.
I have lots of faith in the belief that Everything always works out for the best.
Lots of failures don't matter if you succeed.
After all the 10,000+ failures, the light bulb was created from only 1 success.
wow...what am doing up and why are you reading this...bwaahaahaaha
Wed 
09/26/2007 12:28:04
 jim  Don’t ya just hate it when you’ve got a 6 month co
- its delayed one month coming in.
- it gets sold
- the new contract isn't adjusted for that month.
- your Yellow Page ad comes out, but you decided to give up an active business to come out.
- the people you work for think its a 3 month contract
- and you have alread paid up a 6 month lease.
I could see there was a misunderstanding after my second week here.
There really is no development going on here...just maintenance.
My project was the first real development project they've had in years!
But, I just found out I won't get to implement the project.
Its got to wait months and months and months before it goes in. It's dependant on other departments.
So thats depressing...hmmm.
Anyway, I am VERY proud to have had this chance, and its been great living in Kentucky again!
October 26th is my last day. 
Maybe...I'm not sure where they got that date from.
Its in no contract that I've seen.
Wed 
09/26/2007 12:28:04
 Chez2199   (Reply).Don’t ya just hate it when you’ve got a 6 month c
wow what a drag Oct 26th huh? Going to look for anything in the area?
Tue 
09/25/2007 20:09:37
 jim  Louisville,KY-Tumbleweed
Tue 
09/25/2007 07:12:15
 jim  Do stocks have a personality?
I've been watching the stock market, and noticed between 10 am and 11 am, stocks will take a jump, usually around 2% in one direction or the other. I'm thinking its from night trading, but I'm not sure.
They also seem to respond opposite of the way they you'd think they would.
One of Boyd's hotels just burned, and its stock went up?
I wish I could just invest in whatever Dick Chaney invests in.
Mon 
09/24/2007 19:36:03
 jim  4thStLive,KY-SaraJohnson
Mon 
09/24/2007 17:39:22
 jim  Alas...my truck is fixed.
Ahhh....Rod called about 6:30 am asking if I needed a ride.
What a guy!!!
The Ford people (three blocks away from the apartment) gave me a ride to work.
At first, they said they couldn't give me a ride back after 3pm,
then at 4:30pm they called and said they could.
They also said my truck wouldn't be done until tommorrow,
then at 4:45pm they said it was done.
YIPPEE!!!

I feel like a new man!
By the way, Ford gave me an oil change for only $12 and a new battery for $80. What a deal!!!
Fri 
09/21/2007 23:45:24
 jim  4thStLive,KY-Becky Struttin
Fri 
09/21/2007 23:45:24
 jim   (Reply)Louisville,KY-4thStLive Becky struttin
Fri 
09/21/2007 23:45:24
 jim   (Reply)20070921 Louisville, Kentucky - Becky struttin
If you're going to strut your stuff, Louisville's Saddle Ridge at 4th Street Live is the place to do it. Becky is feeling all hot here, after she got that great hair cut.
Fri 
09/21/2007 22:23:38
 jim  4thStLive,KY-SaddleRidge Waitresses
Fri 
09/21/2007 18:08:48
 jim  Louisville,KY-Becky,Linda haircut
Fri 
09/21/2007 00:00:00
 Jim  Hair Styles - per Sheila
Visable Changes - Linda
5304 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40291
502-499-1430 
Becky got a beautiful haircut...

Someone referred me to Linda.
She does excellent work.
Linda, you are the best!
You should be in Hollywood.
Thu 
09/20/2007 23:03:32
 jim  Who sang this?

The world was on fire
No one could save me but you.
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No, I don't want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
No, I don't want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
With you

What a wicked game you play
To make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do
To let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say
You never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do
To make me dream of you
v And I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
And I don't want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]

{World was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you
I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you

No I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart
No I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
With you

Nobody loves no one
Thu 
09/20/2007 23:03:32
 Chez2199   (Reply).Who sang this?
ok now i recognize the song but still dont remember the artist
Fri 
09/21/2007 19:30:41
 Chez2199   (Reply).Who sang this?
i don't know? so i spent the last 4 nights after work replacing the liner in my pool :-( What's on the weekend plan list for ya
Thu 
09/20/2007 07:34:49
 jim  The Brown Hotel
They are known for their Hot Brown creation.
A hot brown is an open face turkey sandwich with cheese sauce and bacon.
We tried it! We liked it!
The Browns Hotel is very old. Its in what looks like a rough area, but the hotel is exquisit.
The hotel is very elegant. Its a must see in Louisville.
Old man Brown is said to haunt the place, with apparitions and strange occurances.
We learned about Al Capone's lost tunnels to the river. It is rumoured they used to hide out in them and play poker.
It was quite a walk to get there.
On the way, we ran into a bum who said he was born in the 17th century. He wanted $2 to buy a beer for his mom.
We ran into two more bums that were just as crazy.
We also saw a cop car, speeding 30 mph in reverse, looking for a place to turn around.
Another cop car was trailing him.
Wed 
09/19/2007 19:01:04
 jim  Louisville,KY-4thSt-The Brown Hotel
Wed 
09/19/2007 17:54:41
 jim  IPhone Pictures
Louisville's Most Wanted The Place: Louisville, KY
The Time: September, 2007
The Crime: Trafficking in Happiness.
If you should spot these suspects on the street, be careful. They are armed with humor and aren't afraid to use it.
These pictures were taken from my little IPhone. Its lens is about the size of a pin head! What do ya think?
Becky. AKA: Babe, Mini Mouse Peter. AKA: The Horny Pianist
Jeff. AKA: The Red Waiter Jesse. AKA: Pubby, Drink Slinger
Wed 
09/19/2007 17:33:27
 jim  I must be terrible...lol
I can't even get a 'yes' when I offer to buy people lunch AT A STEAK and LOBSTER house thats only 200' away!
I got rejected today. Now thats pretty bad. I must be disgusting. Am I that bad?
Its no big deal.
I can eat lunch with a lot of people here. Just not the ones I work with.
Me, I think good PR is very important.
We never know when the tables will turn, and it is a very small world.
I believe that networking is important too, even if I don't really like the people I'm networking with.
I want to leave where I'm at, with at least a handful of email addresses and phone numbers.
The networks I like are based on trust and a promise.
And I people in my network to know, that if I'm ever in a position of power, I'll pull them in.
Thats kind of hard to do though, when you can't even have a power lunch. lol.
Wed 
09/19/2007 09:22:44
 jim  Louisville,KY-BAMS PC
Wed 
09/19/2007 00:12:56
 sae  .I got the IPhone. I love it!!!
I've been told that if you use WAP instead of WEP, you'll have better security and you won't have to enter those hex numbers. You didn't buy me one too? Not even a Treo? Did you keep your old cell number?
Tue 
09/18/2007 23:15:35
 jim  4thStLive,KY-Becky
Tue 
09/18/2007 19:03:32
 jim  4thStLive,KY-TGIF-Peter,Jesse
Sun 
09/16/2007 19:52:21
 jim  Sunday is never just another day.
Got up this morning, and it was raining. Stopped by the local Starbucks to grab some joe, and took this pic.

Lusting for the IPhone, as I have been, we swung up to the St Mathews mall to check it out. My contracts not up with Verizon until Tuesday, so the waiting is really RUFF!
We left the Mall, decided to go right instead of left, and ended up in Middletown, KY. They had Blue Grass bands playing in the park.

We struck up a friendly conversation with a couple of people there. This guy had stories to tell for days. And he'd heard of Julian Carrol...I was surprised! My old neighbor in Paducah had made it all the way up to Governor of Kentucky. (I still owe him a quarter).
 
Before you'd know it, I was shaking hands with Byron Chapmon. He told us to come back October 7th, for the next concert. It was going to be made up of Church Choirs. I should add, not everybody there was happy

But this guy was ready to say HOWDY!
Sun 
09/16/2007 05:42:11
 jim  GMa and the kids went to Beatty, Nv
I mentioned that Yucca Mountain (the nuclear dump facility), the bottle house, Rhyolite (a ghost town) and the western entrance to Death Valley was with 20 miles.
I also mentioned that what probably put Beatty on the map was Sherry's Ranch (and no, they don't offer horse back riding). If they took off for it, they probably had a pretty interesting day.
Its kind of a long, boring, desert drive out there.
Becky and I just laid around all day, cuddling.
That's always nice. I should mention there was a "House" marathon on the USA channel, too.
We love "House"! The doctor is such a genius and a jerk.
We ate at the Pub
It was extremely dead. The University of Kentucky was playing Louisville. 
Talked to Peter out in the parking lot for over an hour.
He bought us dinner the other night, so we have to listen to him...har har! Just kidding.
Peter is an excellent conversationalist who loves people, is about my age and is a successful programmer/musician when he wants to be. It seems good programmers and muscians share a lot of the same traits (organizational skills, abstract reasoning, and a sense of harmony which is a better word for multi-tasking).
I wonder if he realizes what he did tonight though. 
He talks about his insecurities, but when a grifter was trying to charge parking fees out in the parking lot, he walked in front of us to confront the guy.
We were in downtown Louisville, in a dark parking lot, and headed towards a guy who was probably insane.
Now...I'm not afraid of much of anything, but I wouldn't have gone out there by myself, and if I went with people, I wouldn't be in front.
It was good to see him do that.
I put in some code to send hackers to the nastiest, most invasive, web site I could locate.
LOL. I love doing things like that.
Sat 
09/15/2007 11:30:35
 jim  The Model Society - Fashion Show 2007
Don't you just love Fashion Shows?

Tossing stickies w/ their phone numbers
She's struttin!

I could have looked like this...haha
Oh No! Don't Go!

Great Show...
Sat 
09/15/2007 08:30:53
 jim  Life seems to be a puzzle...with missing pieces
Isn't everything you look at, simple on first glance, but complex on scrutiny?
I don't understand how nothing can travel past the speed of light, when light travelling towards light is possible.
I don't understand how the universe has bounderies...what is past those bounderies.
I don't understand infinity, at all. Does it loop? Can there be a forever anything?
I was looking at a tree leaf.
It had a pattern. I looked at another leaf. It had simular pattern.
Then I compared them with another tree's leaves.
They were the same kind of tree, but each had its own special pattern.
Each tree had its own signature, its own pattern. They had personalities.
There are infinite tree leaf designs, all close, but each unique, and they all came from a seed.
I picked up a rock from some gravel.
It was melted magma of some kind. The shape of it, with its bubbles and its melted swerves, the Earth was hot when it was made. It was formed billions of years ago.
It was just a rock to most people, but to me, it was magnificent.
I know, I'm crazy...but these things I see. The reason I don't see.
And I've been looking all of my life for just one thing...and that is, what is the reason for life.
Why am I here?
I appreciated everything. This is a beautiful life!
I'll never be smart enough to understand anything, but I sure can try observe everything.
Everything is beautiful, in its own way. (stolen phrase).
Fri 
09/14/2007 22:31:08
 jim  Louisville,KY-FashionShow
Fri 
09/14/2007 19:56:00
 jim  No plans for the weekend. Went to TGIFs
Just hanging out so far. We went to TGIFs with Peter and Susan.
Thu 
09/13/2007 20:57:48
 Chez2199  Keep it rolling
Hey Dude
Up or down we keep on movin. Bad things happen to everyone. It's how you respond that matters.
Glad to to see you were out and about!
Thu 
09/13/2007 02:08:27
 jim  Louisville Thursday, 9-13-2007
The Ohio River, from the Gault Hotel

A veiw from the Gault

Market Street
Okay, the sky isn't really that blue. I Paint Shop Pro'd this picture. 
Wed 
09/12/2007 19:38:04
 jim  Louisville,KY-Gault
Wed 
09/12/2007 07:39:08
 jim  9/11 Remembered

Las Vegas, Nation remembers 9/11
On the sixth anniversary of one of the worst tragedies to occur in the United States, the city of Las Vegas, Clark County and the Metropolitan Police Department will remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and the families and friends of those lost who still suffer today.
Tue 
09/11/2007 22:52:00
 jim  Looking for Jobs in all the Wrong Places
Where are we going to be in few months?
What am I going to be doing to make a living?
I worry about these things.
We're in a strange place, thousands of miles from home, and home won't be home when we get back.
I see life as being a dream in the making, but for right now, we're lacking the dream.
Its strange. Life is going in a downhill slope when it should be going up.
Good times meets bad, and whoosh, we've got nothing.
Life is a foggy place right now.
Tue 
09/11/2007 12:12:32
 jim  Its a gloomy day outside in Louisville
Thats good, cause it matches my mood.
Its 70 degrees out there folks, and its cloudy, dark, dank, and damp.
-- Good Time Jimmy's Got the Blues --
I'm waiting on a meeting, where I may or may not be involved, where 100 people may attend, where they may decide if my report column belongs on a report or not, and if they don't get to me after an hour, I'll get to spend another month trying to install the same report, again. Now that's not cool. On the other hand, I get to hang out longer, which is cool, kind of.
-- On the flip side, I put together an email program that runs off the Tandem. Now that's cool.
Of course, if anyone learns I have it, it'll probably be purged, and I'll probably be fired. And that's not cool.
Wed 
09/12/2007 19:50:03
 Chez2199   (Reply).Its a gloomy day outside in Louisville
Don't feel the blues my friend. Stick to the basics, life is good, friends are fun, and a job is only a job don't let it get to you.
Tue 
09/11/2007 03:31:25
 jim  A Kentucky Segway Dealerership is available
The closest one is in Cincinnati.
Click here for the link: http://www.segway.com/about-segway/become-a-partner.php
It might pay to visit that store at:
Segway of Ohio

1053 Gregory St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513.225.1583
Image of i2Image of x2Image of i2 CommuterImage of x2 AdventureImage of x2 Golf
They are also looking for a dealership at the Lakes, NV, and Red Rock, NV.
These things have a range of 24 miles.
Wed 
09/12/2007 19:51:57
 Chez2199   (Reply).A Kentucky Segway Dealerership is available
These things never did sell like people thought they would, we have a couple at work. They are fun to drive i've been on it a few times
Sun 
09/09/2007 20:16:54
 Chez2199  .Squirt has left the building!
So no one went to animal control to pick him up? or am i missing something?
Fri 
09/07/2007 12:22:16
 becky  Tandem in Seattle
Thu 
09/06/2007 23:16:08
 jim  Watched a Caesars show gratis Resee!
We ate at the buffet which was kind of pricey, but it was good.
We sat at Resee's station and she comped us to see Anthony Cools hypnotist show.
Pretty cool. Of course, I am always a skeptic.
The show was pretty lewd. Would shy people really do those things?
I tried to volunteer, cause I've always got to see things happen for myself.
We talked to an older lady who was in the show, on our way out.
She was picked from the audience, and did some pretty naughty things on stage while hypnotized.
Her husband said he knew the hypnotist and he was a really decent guy.
Now I wondered how he could say that, if she was picked at random from the audience, and just left the show.
hmmm.
Thu 
09/06/2007 06:17:57
 jim  My HS buddy starts September 17th
That would be Allen H. He'll be about 40 miles NE of here.
We went to Livingston High School together. He even lived in Colorado with me in the 70's.
This life is full of coincidental circles, aint it?
I was born in Kentucky, I moved west, then I find myself working in Kentucky 30 years later. Allen lives in Montana, now he's working 40 miles away. And there's Rod, one of the few friends I have left from the 90's, who is living 10 miles away. I would never think we would end up here, near Louisville. Its just not very likely.
Sometimes I think there are no coincidents at all.
At times, it seems like everything has been planned for us.
That would mean there is no chaos, and nothing we do is by choice
Our lives would be like just another book, on the shelves of a infinite library. 
My favorite stories are where the end takes you back to the beginning.
I wonder if moths think of light bulbs, the way we think of bars.
Maybe they're not circling the bulb, pointlessly. Maybe they are flying in circles to get high, while waiting for their cocoon buddies to come and hang out...hahaha.
Wed 
09/05/2007 22:20:34
 jim  Talked to Peter, and Ms Beatty.
Peter is taking off in 3 days...
He's doing a programming stint up north.
If you're reading this, good luck Peter. We'll miss ya.
Hope to see ya hangin around the blog.
Just kick back, take your shoes off, put some foil on your head...
and write us a line or two.
Ate steak at the Saddle Ridge.
Great Food, and at great prices.
And its probably cruel of me, but I love to chuckle at people who get drunk...and try to dance.
They actually dance better than I do when I'm sober.
See, I skipped learning the 2 step, and created the 100 step method of dancing.
Its kind of like a little kid inventing his own language.
My slow dancing is more like groping.
Just talked to Miss Beatty downstairs
She's an interesting person who's seen a lot, has an attitude, and is not afraid to be blunt.
I like that.
She said "People never change. You can't change people".
I said "People are like rocks on a mountain. You can destroy them, but why not just enjoy them, walk around them or climb them".
She said "Becky, he just called you a rock". I said, "Well, I have climbed her, and I do enjoy her. She is my ROCK".
No air conditioner tonight.
Its going to be a long, hot, summer night.
Tue 
09/04/2007 13:03:44
 jim  What is Unit and Regression Testing?
Non-XP terminology (?), not quite synonymous with ProgrammerTest (a UnitTest measures a unit of software, without specifying why, while a ProgrammerTest assists programmers in development, without specifying how).
(Note that although most of the text on this Wiki uses the term UnitTest, the canonical ExtremeProgramming name has been changed to ProgrammerTest.)
UnitTests are programs written to run in batches and test classes. Each typically sends a class a fixed message and verifies it returns the predicted answer.
UnitTests are a key component of software engineering, and the ExtremeProgramming discipline leverages them to permit easy code changes. Developers write tests for every class they produce. The tests are intended to test every aspect of the class that could conceivably not work. (Do test adding and removing, don't test accessors.)
Key here is to CodeUnitTestFirst.
UnitTests are all combined into a huge suite of tests, using e.g. KentBeck's TestingFramework. When developers go to release new code, they run all the unit tests, not just theirs, on the integration machine. The tests must run at 100%. If any test fails, they figure out why and fix the problem. The problem certainly resides in something they did ... since they know the tests ran at 100% the last time anything was released.
Of course, sometimes the tests let something slip through. When that happens, developers unconditionally enhance the unit tests so that that problem, and any similar one that comes to mind, won't happen again.
Regression testing is any type of software testing which seeks to uncover regression bugs. Regression bugs occur whenever software functionality that previously worked as desired, stops working or no longer works in the same way that was previously planned. Typically regression bugs occur as an unintended consequence of program changes.
Tandem has Unit Testing available
Kind of. Tandem doesn't really have objects in the sense this term implies.
You could write classes of programs, but I've never seen anyone do that.
And you could test it with unit testers, and test scripts.
However, you have to purchase ENCORE (Capture and Replay) to use it. I set it up in my first job.
I haven't seen anyone use it since.
So, when BA Merchants talks about unit testing, I'd guess they don't know what they are saying.
They don't even have ENABLE or ENLITEN.

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