Tom at 16

Week of August 5th, 2002

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Sunday August 11, 2002

I'm not a morning person; it takes me time, and several cups of coffee, before I start firing on all cylinders. My wife, on the other hand, can be fast asleep, open her eyes, and start responding to complex questions without batting an eye. A source of constant amazement to me. In short, it's still early so pardon the spelling and grammar...

I was way-wrong on all counts last night. The weather resulted in borked-up or no TV signal (we have satellite and it tends to be finicky about weather here in Saskatoon). And just to add insult to injury, the kids ate all the ice-cream :-( So I amused myself by reading another 70 or 80 pages of Clancey. Yeah, it's a decent story or I'd never get through the first 25 pages. When I read fiction, I either like the book or I don't -- there's no kinda-sorta for me when it comes to reading for entertainment (versus work-related stuff). It's not as good as some of Clancey's early titles (Red Storm Rising is one of my favorites), but it holds my attention so that's a Good Thing.

The rain continues this morning, so it would appear gardening is out for the day. I still have my office to attend to (time to vacuum all the boxes), so it's not likely I'll find myself bored. We also have some friends coming over for dinner; I'm doing a hot-n-spicy chicken dish which involves a fair bit of prep, so that will keep me occupied as well.

No rest for the wicked, eh?

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Saturday August 10, 2002

Life is full. I spent the last 48+ hours sequestered away, absorbing documentation (unfortunately, not very good documentation either). The product is IBM's WebSphere Portal, and it's probably one of the most complex pieces of software I've ever met. Actually, WebSphere Portal is not a single piece of software, but a spagetti-like mix of four or five major products that supposedly work in perfect harmony with each other... WebSphere Portal (or just WSP) consists of (at the time of this writing): WebSphere Web server 3.1.19, DB2 7.2, SercureWay Directory server 3.2.2, WebSphere Developer's Studio, and a complex framework of plug-ins and other apps that comprise the portal itself. And that's just the entry level product. WSP has three "levels" -- a mid-size business package, a corporate package, and an enterprise package.

Why am I studying WSP? Because it just may be at the center of a major project, and if everything transpires according to plan, I'll be responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining the product. Hopefully, I'm up to the challenge.

I spent the day giving the house a major "Thompson Deep Clean". I vacuumed, cleaned all the carpets, repair two broken chairs, swept and washed the floors, dusted, and re-sorted the kitchen cupboards. Tomorrow I get to tackle the gardens.

It's raining tonight, which is welcome after a relatively hot day. I do believe I'm going to get myself a big bowel of vanilla ice-cream and veg out in front of the TV for an hour or so. Catch y'all tomorrow.

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Wednesday August 7, 2002

I was wrong about yesterday's weather prognosis... It remained overcast all day, and MUGGY -- like a wet blanket over your head -- for the balance of the day. I wandered outside about midnight, and lo and behold, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. In the wee hours of the morning, however, we had another torrential downpour. Weird weather, to say the least. Oh well. My radises, lettuce, and peas appear to love the current weather trends.

And if the current drought conditions (yes, you can have drought conditions along with buckets of intense rain) weren't enough, Saskatchewan farmers are also dealing with a grasshopper infestation. There are MILLIONS of the suckers jumping and flying around the city -- I don't have any conception of what it's like out in the country. Frankly, I hate all insects. Having a hugh bug fly into you face un-nerves me. Yeah, I know they're harmless, but it's still freaky.

Finished a good book last night: Patrick Robinson's H.M.S Unseen. Excellent, Clancy-style tale about a submarine stolen by a rogue Iraqi intelligence agent. If you're familiar with Robinson's other books, you'll like this one; many of the same characters are back (Admiral Morgan, Bill Baldrige, etc.). Overall, a good, riveting story. Recommended for anyone who likes military-style adventures. Next up: (already sitting unread on my shelf) is Clancy's The Bear and the Dragon. I'll let you know...

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Tuesday August 6, 2002

I took yesterday off -- a civic holiday here in Canada.

The weather remains gloomy and wet. A torrential downpour sometime last night cut some pretty deep ravines through our front flowerbeds, but I'm not going to bother doing any flood repairs just yet as it appears we're in for more rain this afternoon. Unfortunately, it warmed up significantly this morning before the heavy clouds rolled back in, so it's muggier than heck just now. With any luck the rain will come soon and thin the air out again.

I read Moshe's latest newsletter with interest yesterday. Frankly, I too find the world of Open Source projects and news pretty boring of late. Seems that anyone who survived the dot.com crash is simply "hanging out", waiting for a sense of energy and dynamics to return to the development community. Don't get me wrong -- there are several OS project out there that are doing well and show great promise (I think immediately of OpenMosix and Gentoo Linux), but I can't help feel a sense of lethargy as I scan various Linux news portals. Maybe it has something to do with the heat wave the Central Plains are experiencing ;-)

I'm still sifting through email from the weekend; I'd better get at it...

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