Thursday, October 14, 2010

Moving into the Cloud

So this blog will be moving locations soon. The address will stay the same but it will no longer be hosted on my dedicated server. I am moving all ofmy websites into the cloud. It is much cheaper. This $280 a month for my webserver is just way too much. Given that it will take a month to get my first paycheck I am in cost cutting bill avoidance mode.

Moving RideSearch is going to be the hardest. I would just quit it completely but I do make $100 every couple of months from it. I actually surpassed a milestone this week with more than 15,000 members. These past couple of weeks has seen a doubling of traffic with 50 people signing up a day. I even kicked out the spammers. Are gas prices rising again?

So as far as this site goes I may keep my old posts on blogger and add new posts on Ning. I will add forums and news discussions and an event calendar and my videos. It will have integration with facebook and twitter too. The great thing about being in the cloud is that I won't have to manage it to get new services. The changeover should take place in a week. More tests...

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Cough Hack

So I went to the doctor yesterday. It was initially a followup on my carpal tunnel. It has alleviated and I am about at 90% functionality. He said I don't need surgery. I am glad for that. I think the biggest thing I did was to make my work area completely ergonomic. I got a sideways mouse which lowers wrist movement, a Microsoft ergo keyboard which puts less pressure on the hands, a baby railing on the desk edge which was hitting the nerve, and armrest pads which prevented my elbow from pinching the nerve.

I do like to go all out when a problem raises it's head. In this case the doctor said my ergonomic workplace is what made it all better. While I was there the doctor noticed I have the beginning of bronchitis. I thought it was an ear infection I picked up from Brennon. He had a fever over the weekend and I watched him on Monday on my day off.

So the doctor likes to go all out when he encounters a problem. He gave mr a steroid shot in bum, a prescription for antibiotics and anti-cough medicine and mucinex. This is really going to attack the problem. I am glad cause I can't afford to get sick since I have no days left. Once I jump to the IRS I will start accruing days again. That will be nice. I am feeling better on these meds. Brennon is doing better as well. I wish all medicines were cures. More tests...


Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Good News

So in the midst of bad news comes good news. Today I gave my two weeks notice to Lockheed Martin. I have accepted an offer to work at the Department of the Treasury. It is official. It took me five years of hard work building systems to get me in. Congratulations can be heard from my fellow coworkers. I will be a GS-13 - equivalent to a major with 10 years in the military.

I got a little raise too. I will now have better benefits and a better outlook on my career. I go from 15 days off to 26 days off and after 3 years I will have 33 days off. This is great for my family. So to all of you recruiters take me out of your database. I am starting a 30 year retirement calendar. Time to serve my nation. I think I have to take an oath of office when I start. I am proud to do it. Thanks to God for keeping me vigilant in my career. All glory goes to Him.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Mom :-(

So how is my mother? Well, not too good. She has endometrial cancer. The doctor got some results today and said that it was malignant and was high up which is not like normal endometrial cancer. He said he couldn't tell whether it had spread to the cervix because it was too close to it. He also said it could be in the lymph nodes. So I think we are looking at a stage II or stage III cancer. The doctor couldn't make that determination. That determination would have to be made by a specialist.

In my undoctored opinion right now there is a high probability of a hysterectomy and lymph node sampling with radiation and hormone therapy involved. However, if it has spread to other parts then doing surgery might be futile and radiation/hormone therapy would probably take place more aggressively. That is just what I have picked up on the internet.

When you go to Wikipedia there is a five year survival rate of around 70% for stage 2 and 50% for stage 3. I am glad they make it five years so you think it is going to be ok. The one thing I know is that my mom is tough. I mean she has had diabetes and lupus for a while and she has had many different surgeries over her life. She is a tough lady. Heck, once the cancer is gone she may last another 20 years. Next week is her specialist appointment. Pray that goes well.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Mom

So here I am at the hospital waiting room. As you may know my mom has had some bleeding. So this morning I took her to the doctor. He diagnosed it as uterine cancer. That sucks. I am always the optimist. My sister said standard procedure is to do a hysterectomy if it is localized. Right now we are doing a sonogram and a cat scan. Pray that it is localized.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

ePhone

So I have started on learning Actionscript 3 and Flash CS5. This will enable me to make iPhone and Android apps using the same code. That should be nice. I am thinking about evolving the RideSearch web app into an actual iphone/android app but I am not sure if it is worth it. Also, my one click maintence diet app is also in the works. I wonder what I should do first. I probably won't gain any money from it, but I will have experience.

Speaking of Apps, Jotnot Pro still tops my list of most useful iPhone Apps. It is just like having a scanner around when I need it. It turns any picture into an Adobe PDF that looks like it was scanned in. Then instead of faxing it to someone I just email it. I get a record of it and don't have to use a fax machine. The hard thing is you have to hold it steady and get the camera aligned. What if I invented a metal phone holder that was a foot high that allows the user to put their phone on it and take flat square pictures. That is a good idea, although it would have to go hand in hand with the app. I think the developer of that app should create it. I'd buy it.

Netflix is the next useful app I use. At lunch I will watch a show or something. Now they have added the ability to plug your phone into a TV and stream movies to a TV from your phone. That is pretty cool. Netflix has added more movies and TV shows. I think the era of DVD collections is coming to a close. It is nice to have DVDs but they can be scratched and then you lose all that information. Anyways, I hear the Windows phone is coming out next week. It is really built for people who check facebook and twitter alot. It is like a social network phone. Let's see if it lasts.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Weekend in Espanol

This weekend we hung around the house. Holly had Friday off and took Brennon to the doctor for his yearly appointment. His height and weight are at around 50% so he is down to normal. He is 24 pounds and 30 inches long. His head size is at 84% though. I told Holly he must get his big head from her side, as I have a small head. I've always had to put baseball caps on its tightest settings. The doctor was a little concerned that Brennon has a limited vocabulary. He said Brennon shouldn't be watching any TV and also that it might be normal since he is basically in a double language family with his babysitter speaking spanish during the day. You never know, he may know alot of words, we just wouldn't understand them.

Saturday watched the Texas Tech game. It was sad that we have a coach that makes bad decisions. It makes you think what is better - a coach that makes bad decisions off the field or a coach that makes bad decisions on the feild. I think the best would be a coach that doesn't make any bad decisions.

Sunday we went to Sunday School and I stopped by mom's place. Apparently her bleeding has started up again. The nurse told me to setup an appointment with an obgyn. The place doesn't wash blood stained clothes either so we have to do it. Ack. Oh well. I have been father of year changing Brennon. I think I can handle most gross things in life except for one, that will be nameless. Now Holly. She rocks. She can handle everything. I think if she wasn't a teacher she would be a nurse. Anyways, life continues on.

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