The Life and Times of Jim
Hi, there. I'm Jim. Welcome to my phlog!
This site was written for Las Vegas, then LouisVille. Now, it seems to be about anywhere. In these phlogs, you'll see a lot of my personal notes and pictures. I like to post my observations here to remember life and celebrate it. I'm not religious. I don't pray for good fortune. I'm ecstatically grateful for the gift of life and I think our time should be remembered and not taken for granted. I'm not a writer. I think pictures tell stories so much better than words. I love just about everything in this life, and, I guess that would have to include you. So, if you've seen me, don't be surprised if your picture is in here somewhere. Of all the critters, people are absolutely the most interesting. 
<< 06/2007 < 05/2008 Calendar 07/2008 > 06/2009 >>Sign InView Other Logs
Thu 
06/19/2008 08:56:48
 jim  Vegas,NV-Sonnys-SwassrDrawing
Thu 
06/19/2008 04:53:30
 jim  Energy Saving Light bulbs.
A bill passed Congress that will require people to use fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent light bulbs. What's interesting about this is: they are only made in China, they contain mercury, and as such, become hazardous waste when disposed of, and if you break one, you're encouraged to call a Haz-Mat team to clean it up.
I just left General Electric.
They are spending months reinventing themselves. Can't they just stop that, and spend one weekend inventing a better light bulb? I'd think a middle school science project contestant could put something together with LEDs.
I often thought, that by simply replacing the breaker that controls the lights in a house with a rectifier and stepdown transformer, then replacing the bulbs in a house with led's, would be an incredibly simple solution. It would be cheap, the bulbs wouldn't burn out, and we could move on to the next energy issue.
I know that precooling the condensor on home air conditioners with water
can save homes in Las Vegas 30% off their power bill. I know, because I built a prototype. It hooked up to the garden hose spigot and used 1 gallon a day, and it didn't waste any water.
And how about making round tires for cars ? Have you pushed a car lately? The tires themselves provide friction just by changing shape as they roll. Try this with your car....try coasting on a level road to see how fast you slow down. You are slowing down because of all the resistance from wind and road resistance.
I'd think that could be easily be improved...again, by a middle school science fair contestant.
I'd think new cars would be shaped more like a wings than boxes.
Speaking of cars...how about powering them with water ? You could create you're own hydrogen and oxygen at home from tap water. And when the mixture burns, its only by product would be water. That could used for making of a truly unique hybrid engine that doesn't burn petroleum.
And speaking about hybrid engines Is anyone every going to come up with a battery that comes close to 100% efficiency. Most of the energy waisted by braking could be stored in it. Whenever you let off the 'gas' pedal, the battery could be charging.
These ideas are kind of brain dead solutions. Are they too simple ? Or is everybody going through life these days with a cell phone to their ear, and a gameboy in their hands?
Tue 
06/17/2008 05:24:35
 jim  ..Tmf auto aborts an entire batch after 1 error
I kind of like IUD as an abbreviation for Insert Update and Delete.
Thinking about it, it could apply to birth control too. Insert the device, update it (haha), and delete pregnancy.
~~~ Strange thoughts from Strange People are the best ~~~
Tue 
06/17/2008 05:24:35
 jim   (Reply)Tmf auto aborts an entire batch after 1 error
MX Sql automatically aborts a batch of transactions after an IUD (Insert, Update, Delete).
IUD - I wonder who came up with that abbreviation...lol.
So, when loading a database, you might lose 50,000 inserts for 1 referential integrety error. This is unacceptable for a data base with terabytes of data. To get around this, set :
UPD_ABORT_ON_ERROR to off.
To check that setting:
display_explain options 'f' my_query;
The OPT column displays token upd_action_on_error: on_rollback. A value of "x" means that the transaction will be rolled back.
If this solution doesn't work for some reason, all I can see are two options:
1 - Turn Audit off on the target database. That would slow down the load though.
2 - Table up all the batched transactions, and write them to a restart file whenever an error occurs.
Sun 
06/15/2008 21:24:04
 jim  The Beach
Sun 
06/15/2008 17:58:56
 jim  Becky has been keeping up.
Life has been moving fast. We drove 1,200 miles in two days to get here. We've changed hotels often and our lifestyles have changed dramatically. It all has taken its toll on me.
I've been working 10 to 12 hours a day, and so far, I'm deeper in debt beyond my wildest dreams. Such is life in the contracting world I guess. I love every minute of it. I'm getting everything I've asked for.
Everyone at GE will be gone by the end of this July.
I would have been gone too. I had the feeling the contract with GE was a little hyped. It was never intended to be a one year contract. I did the right thing by changing jobs last month.
The highlights of Seattle were...
Renee, Jonathon, Don, and our stay up at Mt Rainier.

 

Don calls me every Friday and he probably will for a very long time.
It seems we left a very depressing place to be in one of the worlds most exciting cities.
Everything here is positive.
The people are friendly. Driving is nice. The weather is beautiful.
And the beaches are the best in the world !!!

Sun 
06/15/2008 17:44:50
 jim  Moving is such sweet sorrow.
We spent three weeks at Embassy Suites.
It was only 8 minutes from work.
Everything there was GREAT!!!
Then we had to move.
The rates for the golf tournaments were too high  at $280 a night.
Embassy Suites is probably my favorite hotel, but
I could never afford staying there on my own finances.
We moved to Comfort Inn.
It was only 21 minutes from work and 1/2 mile from the beach.
Everything was not fine.
We were on the 2nd floor at the end of the building.
The only way up was the stairs in the middle of the building.
Our Microwave didn't work, and I had to go down and hump one up.
The paint fumes from the bottom floor triggered my asthma.
I feel lucky to be alive at this point. The rooms were very nice though.
I'd say, any other time would have been a great time to stay here.
Next week we're moving to Travel Lodge.
Its 8 minutes from work, and only 1 block from the beach.
Now that all of the golfers have left with their bags (their golf bags),
rooms are opening up everywhere.
I'm not sure how long we'll get to stay at Travel Lodge though. 
July 4th is on the next weekend.
I would like to extend my reservation, but..
Right now, my contract is in the air. Its supposed to end July 1st.
Hopefully we'll know where we'll be living by the end of June.
Life is good. I'd say
I've hit my peek. I've made friends at work, I love the job, and I've earned a blistery red sun burn that looks really nice on me. Its 8 minutes from work, and only 1 block from the beach. Now that all of the golfers have left with their bags (their golf bags), rooms are opening up. I'm not sure how long we'll get to stay there, since July 4th is on the next weekend.
I would like to extend my reservation, but I'm not sure yet if they are going to renew my contract.
Sun 
06/15/2008 17:41:57
 jim  Youch! Hotel Internet can be awful.
The Days Inn internet is driving me bonkers. I may have to log on 5 times a day on it, and it prompts me for an ID only when I send something very important. Then, it takes me to an xml screen that looks like crap, and I lose everything I sent.
Thu 
06/12/2008 05:33:26
 jim   Vegas Jessicas Birth - 2008/06/12
Thu 
06/12/2008 05:32:12
 jim  Vegas,NV-JessicasBirth-Sonny
Thu 
06/12/2008 05:19:30
 jim  Vegas Jessicas Birth - 2008/06/12
Thu 
06/12/2008 05:13:16
 jim  Vegas,NV-Jessicas Birth-Sonny
Wed 
06/11/2008 03:39:28
 jim  Vegas,NV-JessicasBirth
Tue 
06/10/2008 03:39:28
 jim  Vegas Jessicas Birth - 2008/06/10
Sun 
06/08/2008 15:27:42
 jim  Solana,CA-Fair Dancers
Sun 
06/08/2008 15:26:44
 jim  Solinas Street Fair
Sat 
06/07/2008 03:40:48
 jim  Special Want Ads
Free Yorkshire Terrier: 8-years old. Hateful little bastard. Bites!
Free Puppies: 1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.
Free Puppies: Mother, AKC German Shepherd. Father, Super Dog...able to leap tall fences in a single bound. 
Found Dirty White Dog: Looks like a rat. Been out a while. Better be a big reward.
Cows, Calves:  Never bred. Also 1 gay bull for sale.
Nordic Track: $300 Hardly used, call Chubby.
Georgia Peaches: California grown - 89 cents/lb.
Joining Nudist Colony: Must sell washer and dryer $300.
Wedding Dress For Sale: Worn once by mistake. Call Stephanie.
For Sale By Owner: Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition. $1,000 or best offer. No longer needed, Got married last month. Wife knows everything..
Sat 
06/07/2008 03:16:27
 jim  Does everything have a gender in Spanish?
Male or Female? You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:
FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.
PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong Buttons.
TIRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated
HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under their butt.
SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.
WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.
TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.
EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.
HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.
THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.

I wonder if Spanish people ever know who deems things male or female. hmmmm....diccionario de los llebster?
Fri 
05/30/2008 22:31:45
 jim  Sorry about this site being quiet
I've been putting in some long hours and things have been pretty hectic since we've moved.
I'll get back into the phlog groove once I've gotten Unix down pat, and things wind back down to their normal level of insanity.

It feels so strange...to have lived in high rises for almost an entire year.
And now, we're living in a nice hotel for who knows how long.

Love y'all n bgood.
Thu 
05/29/2008 20:23:16
 jim  San Diego, CA - 5 Hours from Vegas
Thu 
05/29/2008 19:48:06
 jim  San Diego Vista
Thu 
05/29/2008 19:46:18
 jim  Coronado Island
Wed 
05/28/2008 19:15:58
 jim  Ocean Side - Sunset
Wed 
05/28/2008 19:14:56
 jim  Ocean Side Walkway
Mon 
05/26/2008 16:55:52
 jim  More La Jolla Beach Pix
Mon 
05/26/2008 14:45:58
 jim  La Jolla Beach
Wed 
05/21/2008 21:32:08
 jim  San Diego - Downtown
Tue 
05/20/2008 18:21:22
 jim  La Jolla Beach
Mon 
05/19/2008 18:44:00
 jim  Homestead,PA-Shops
Mon 
05/19/2008 17:47:34
 jim  Homestead,PA-RedHotBlueBBq
Mon 
05/19/2008 17:15:04
 jim  Pittsburgh,PA-Downtown
Sun 
05/18/2008 14:50:18
 jim  San Diego

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