On Thursday I came to work on the SPHS problem. I realized that things didn't look good in getting the campus up by Monday. This week I had Friday off for Spring break.
Sandy came and worked with me on Friday all day at SPHS. A team of us worked at a blazing pace assembly line style trying to configure computers to prep them to be usable on Monday.
Today (Sat) we came in again and worked all day. I had hoped that we would have been able to solve the problems by mid day, but that was not the case. We've been here all day and it looks like we still may not be done by the time Sandy and I will need to leave to go to church. Everyone else who has worked here gets paid, overtime in fact. I am not so fortunate.
Tomorrow, Sunday, will be our only free day on my 3 day holiday that I can actually take advantage of.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Gadget Alert
Several weeks ago I got a gift certificate to Fry's (one of my favorite stores, as if you couldn't guess that one). I was given the gift certificate as a thank you from someone (Isabel) who I recommended as a Masters candidate to the Pepperdine Masters program. I had taught in the program one semester a few years back. One of the profs that interviewed her said "If Sonny says your good enough to get in, your in." Very flattering.
Anyhow back to the originally scheduled story here: I finally went to Fry's to geek out a bit and spend some of the gift certificate that was burning a hole in my nerdy pocket. Sandy came along. After searching for a Phillips keychain camera (they didn't have it), a midi pre amp for my "recording studio" (they didn't have it), I finally bought a 20Q handheld game (by Radica). It is a portable pocket version of the 20Q "game" online. Okay this thing is way geeky cool! The website says it's an experiment in AI (Artificial Intelligence) and is very impressive on it's own. What really impresses me is the handheld device. It was actually able to guess what I was thinking (common everyday objects) usually within 20 questions. Stuff like stop sign, shoes, dental floss, and asparagus! The thing is about the size of a bar of soap. It's hard to believe that it contains the data and programming that it must have to decide what questions to ask and a huge database to match the responses against! 15 bucks at Fry's.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
This coming weekend
I'm really looking forward to some time off this weekend. The current plans are to visit the Anza Borrego state park once again to get another look at the wild flowers. This year has been an amazing year of rains for Southern California, a record year. Because of the combination of rain and sunshine, this year has seen the biggest wildflower bloom since, some say, 1993. Sandy and I will be heading out there as my "not a morning person" body will allow me. I hope to get more photos of the wildflowers in bloom, hopefully some good enough to frame and hang. And of course, we'll have to log in some time geocaching out there too. The last time we were out there we found several caches in quick succession, pushing the so called limit of being no closer than .1 mile from each other. Hmph!
I also need to get my bike repaired sometime soon. A few weeks ago I took a good spill in the dark on one of our night rides. I came down pretty hard, but fortunately the only casualties were my new riding jacket, and my bike. Nothing that can't be fixed, I hope. Anyhow last night I tried to get my bike on the rack to take it to a bike shop, and the rack broke ... Ggrrr. With the weather turning to as nice as it is I really want to get out there and ride.
Next weekend Sandy will be going on a Christan Womens retreat and my brother and I will be heading to Big Bear to do some snowboarding. It should be fun.
I also need to get my bike repaired sometime soon. A few weeks ago I took a good spill in the dark on one of our night rides. I came down pretty hard, but fortunately the only casualties were my new riding jacket, and my bike. Nothing that can't be fixed, I hope. Anyhow last night I tried to get my bike on the rack to take it to a bike shop, and the rack broke ... Ggrrr. With the weather turning to as nice as it is I really want to get out there and ride.
Next weekend Sandy will be going on a Christan Womens retreat and my brother and I will be heading to Big Bear to do some snowboarding. It should be fun.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Monday after a busy weekend
Back here at work on a Monday trying to squeeze in some quiet time to write this next installment for this blog. The weekend flew by and we mostly did work.
Saturday I got up early. Sandy was going to teach (for the first time) Inspiration. 2 teachers showed up. She did a really good job. I was impressed. The technology failed for the first hour. It was very frustrating. The tech who set up the laptops apparently did not test them to find out if there would be any problems. This (the failure of technology when I am presenting) has happened repeatedly over this last school year. I have been to EHS to speak about technology and the equipment has not been set up. I have been to VHS to train on GroupWise and the equipment was not set up. I have been to OGHS to teach on GroupWise and the equipment was not set up.
After the Inspiration training we went back home, worked on CSUSM things, then went to church. Church was good. The pastor who spoke (Chris Brown) did an excellent job of teaching. He illustrated in a way that he always does; very down to earth and entertaining, but but very poignent at the same time. He spoke about how Christ was coming into Jerusalem on a colt and the significance of this time.
Afterwards, Sandy and I came home watched the last hour of The Hunt for Red October and went to sleep. (We didn't have enough time to finish the movie when we started it several days before)
The next morning we got up early to get going out to San Clemente. My sister in law, Sheryl, was going to speak at her church to be comissioned to go on a mission trip to Malawi (East Coast of Africa). She will be leaving in about a week. Afterwards we visited at their house for a bit we left for home at about 2:30. It was fun to visit with them and just hang out. We got to play a game of Sorry which took a bit of time to play as we spread it out over eating and talking. I got to see Jon's work on his bike carrying cases. He's done some good work here. He's taken military ammo cans and converted them to carry gear for his motorcycle. It's amazing what he's done and it's turned out great.
After we got home we planned out some caches to do. We got some caching in and crossed over the magical 200 mark. Woohoo! We saw some VERY creative and clever caches. One was set up so you went to one way point and had to find a long stick with a hook on it. Then you had to go to another waypoint and the cache was high in a tree disguised as a bird feeder. It was hanging from a weight and pulley system. You needed to use the stick from the first way point, and pull down the bird feeder. Very clever. Another cache we did that day sent us on a search to find a missing "dog". The first waypoint was a sign stapled (high) to a telephone pole that said they had lost a dog. The telelphone numbers to call were actually lattitude and longitude numbers. Then we did a few more waypoints and finally got to the final cache. It was near the humane society and it was IN a stuffed animal (dog) and fit the theme quite well. Very impressive.
On other news I survived and apparently did good enough on the audition to play for North Coast Church. I'll be playing there for the first time in April. I'm really looking forward to that. For this first time they want me to play acoutic guitar, but not sing. They've also told me that they may need me to play the djembe (drum) at times as well.
Saturday I got up early. Sandy was going to teach (for the first time) Inspiration. 2 teachers showed up. She did a really good job. I was impressed. The technology failed for the first hour. It was very frustrating. The tech who set up the laptops apparently did not test them to find out if there would be any problems. This (the failure of technology when I am presenting) has happened repeatedly over this last school year. I have been to EHS to speak about technology and the equipment has not been set up. I have been to VHS to train on GroupWise and the equipment was not set up. I have been to OGHS to teach on GroupWise and the equipment was not set up.
After the Inspiration training we went back home, worked on CSUSM things, then went to church. Church was good. The pastor who spoke (Chris Brown) did an excellent job of teaching. He illustrated in a way that he always does; very down to earth and entertaining, but but very poignent at the same time. He spoke about how Christ was coming into Jerusalem on a colt and the significance of this time.
Afterwards, Sandy and I came home watched the last hour of The Hunt for Red October and went to sleep. (We didn't have enough time to finish the movie when we started it several days before)
The next morning we got up early to get going out to San Clemente. My sister in law, Sheryl, was going to speak at her church to be comissioned to go on a mission trip to Malawi (East Coast of Africa). She will be leaving in about a week. Afterwards we visited at their house for a bit we left for home at about 2:30. It was fun to visit with them and just hang out. We got to play a game of Sorry which took a bit of time to play as we spread it out over eating and talking. I got to see Jon's work on his bike carrying cases. He's done some good work here. He's taken military ammo cans and converted them to carry gear for his motorcycle. It's amazing what he's done and it's turned out great.
After we got home we planned out some caches to do. We got some caching in and crossed over the magical 200 mark. Woohoo! We saw some VERY creative and clever caches. One was set up so you went to one way point and had to find a long stick with a hook on it. Then you had to go to another waypoint and the cache was high in a tree disguised as a bird feeder. It was hanging from a weight and pulley system. You needed to use the stick from the first way point, and pull down the bird feeder. Very clever. Another cache we did that day sent us on a search to find a missing "dog". The first waypoint was a sign stapled (high) to a telephone pole that said they had lost a dog. The telelphone numbers to call were actually lattitude and longitude numbers. Then we did a few more waypoints and finally got to the final cache. It was near the humane society and it was IN a stuffed animal (dog) and fit the theme quite well. Very impressive.
On other news I survived and apparently did good enough on the audition to play for North Coast Church. I'll be playing there for the first time in April. I'm really looking forward to that. For this first time they want me to play acoutic guitar, but not sing. They've also told me that they may need me to play the djembe (drum) at times as well.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Another Rushed Lunch
Only 10 minutest to write this time.
Poor Sandy woke up in the middle of the night and was sick. So far, I haven't been stricken with the stomach thing that got her. I'm hoping it wasn't the salmon that we had for dinner last night.
Drove to work listening to Dread Zeppelin, a funky band. They cover Led Zeppelin songs, sung by an Elvis impersonator, with a Reggae style ... seriously.
Got to work and forgot that my computer was still taken apart (just cables). We unplugged it and plugged in another computer that also didn't allow me to work. I finally worked on Linda's computer yesterday just to try and get work done. After getting my comptuer up and running, I am now convicted. I NEED a new computer. There is something seriously wrong with this computer! After clicking on a Word doc, it takes over 3 minutes for me to actually work on it. If it isn't the doc I need, and open another ... it'll be another 3 minutes. Argh! I've already put in an order for a new computer and am just waiting ...
I've started another blog, this one with a professional bent to it. The idea is to write a blog for the school district regarding technology. Teachers will get my point of view (somewhat edited of course) that explains events, concerns, activities, etc. from my point of view. We'll see if this works.
Poor Sandy woke up in the middle of the night and was sick. So far, I haven't been stricken with the stomach thing that got her. I'm hoping it wasn't the salmon that we had for dinner last night.
Drove to work listening to Dread Zeppelin, a funky band. They cover Led Zeppelin songs, sung by an Elvis impersonator, with a Reggae style ... seriously.
Got to work and forgot that my computer was still taken apart (just cables). We unplugged it and plugged in another computer that also didn't allow me to work. I finally worked on Linda's computer yesterday just to try and get work done. After getting my comptuer up and running, I am now convicted. I NEED a new computer. There is something seriously wrong with this computer! After clicking on a Word doc, it takes over 3 minutes for me to actually work on it. If it isn't the doc I need, and open another ... it'll be another 3 minutes. Argh! I've already put in an order for a new computer and am just waiting ...
I've started another blog, this one with a professional bent to it. The idea is to write a blog for the school district regarding technology. Teachers will get my point of view (somewhat edited of course) that explains events, concerns, activities, etc. from my point of view. We'll see if this works.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Lunchtime at work
I only have a few minutes left of lunch to post: I'm a little concerned at this point about 2 things coming up. 1) My class at CSUSM. I have some catching up to do. I need to grade some assignments and firm up the final activities for the rest of the semester. 2) My audition tomorrow night (Tues) at North Coast Church with Andy. I'm pretty confident, but want to make sure I put my best foot forward. He asked me to bring both my acoustic and electric guitars and audition both of them. He wants to see if I can lead (sing and play the acoustic) songs. Again, since I've been doing this already for the last 5 years, I'm pretty confident, but still uncertain how much skill he is expecting from me. I've never had voice lessons or anything like that and am unsure if that is a major factor or not. Linda did say to make sure that I told them about the "extra" instruments that I play: Sax, didgeridoo, harmonica, recorder, djembe, etc. and that they might be able to use those as well.
Back from PS
I just got back from PS and found that incidents have happened while I've been gone. Students at one of our schools has been caught logging on using a teacher's computer. Just a quick summary, the domain controller at SPHS was recently hacked and compromised. In order to repair and safeguard the network, we had to take it down. At this point we were very clear that students are not to log in to computers at all. If they did, they would have unrestricted clear access to some very sensitive areas of our network.
This can't continue! I'm going to talk to the assistant principal at the school on how we should proceed.
It is very frustrating to hear from staff that our network is slow, or that technology never seems to work. Then I hear that the same users are doing things that directly impact the network. They complain about conditions, but don't contribute to a solution, only more problems.
On another topic: Sandy and I got back to find a message on our answering maching from Ann, the person coordinating the trip to K this year. She said that she didn't need me to come along this year. Sandy and I didn't know what to say. We were so upset and frustrated. We don't understand. How could they not need me to come out there with the team? This one is going to take a lot of prayer and "cooling off" before I call her to discuss and try to understand.
On yet another topic: I was able to visit my brother out at the zoo that he works at in Palm Desert. He is the only Vet Tech for the entire zoo. (It's a small zoo with 1 Vetrenarian and 1 vet tech). I was really impressed and amazed at what my brother is doing these days. He works with rattlesnakes, cheetahs, and camels. Amazing stuff really.
This can't continue! I'm going to talk to the assistant principal at the school on how we should proceed.
It is very frustrating to hear from staff that our network is slow, or that technology never seems to work. Then I hear that the same users are doing things that directly impact the network. They complain about conditions, but don't contribute to a solution, only more problems.
On another topic: Sandy and I got back to find a message on our answering maching from Ann, the person coordinating the trip to K this year. She said that she didn't need me to come along this year. Sandy and I didn't know what to say. We were so upset and frustrated. We don't understand. How could they not need me to come out there with the team? This one is going to take a lot of prayer and "cooling off" before I call her to discuss and try to understand.
On yet another topic: I was able to visit my brother out at the zoo that he works at in Palm Desert. He is the only Vet Tech for the entire zoo. (It's a small zoo with 1 Vetrenarian and 1 vet tech). I was really impressed and amazed at what my brother is doing these days. He works with rattlesnakes, cheetahs, and camels. Amazing stuff really.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Geocaching in PS
A cool hobby! Check out geocaching.com if you haven't heard of this activity yet.
My wife and I did some caching in PS while we were there. We only have 2 more to go to cross over the big 200! While we were out there we met Daryl (WestCoastAdmin). Got to chat a bit about Virtuals and such. What are the odds of running into him? Strange huh? I'm glad that I was "civil" about the way in which I handled the Point Loma Lighthouse issue.
Sandy and I had a great time caching. I always have a good time caching with her. She is as intense (if not more so) as I am about finding the cache! During one night hunt we were almost over run by people jogging in some sort of race. Okay, that's too much of an understatement: They were running wearing lingere, pajamas, and nighties (even the men). The first "group" of people we saw were women carrying open sacks of flour wearing "teddies" and devil horns. These women would drop a handful of flour every so often. We figured they were marking a trail. Sure enough a bunch of people came later and were following the flour trail.
That night we were also in hunting for a cache in a graveyard. GC takes you to some "unique" places to be sure. Unfortunately we were not able to find that cache.
My wife and I did some caching in PS while we were there. We only have 2 more to go to cross over the big 200! While we were out there we met Daryl (WestCoastAdmin). Got to chat a bit about Virtuals and such. What are the odds of running into him? Strange huh? I'm glad that I was "civil" about the way in which I handled the Point Loma Lighthouse issue.
Sandy and I had a great time caching. I always have a good time caching with her. She is as intense (if not more so) as I am about finding the cache! During one night hunt we were almost over run by people jogging in some sort of race. Okay, that's too much of an understatement: They were running wearing lingere, pajamas, and nighties (even the men). The first "group" of people we saw were women carrying open sacks of flour wearing "teddies" and devil horns. These women would drop a handful of flour every so often. We figured they were marking a trail. Sure enough a bunch of people came later and were following the flour trail.
That night we were also in hunting for a cache in a graveyard. GC takes you to some "unique" places to be sure. Unfortunately we were not able to find that cache.
Out at the CUE Conference in PS
I learned about blogger.com from Bernie Dodge a the CUE conference. He did a session on Blogs and Wikis. I've heard about blogs for sometime now and (incorrectly) assumed that there were essentially discussion groups. Apprantly there are some subtle distinctions. I'll give this service a try and see how I like it.
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