http://www.ewingdev.com/index.htmlDave's Blogendave@ewingdev.comCopyright 2007 David Ewing2008-03-20T18:50:53-06:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:01:56 -0600dave@ewingdev.comMusic2008-03-20T18:50:53-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/1c7f06f5bfb098f12d7e5f1b71325efa-46.html#unique-entry-id-46http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/1c7f06f5bfb098f12d7e5f1b71325efa-46.html#unique-entry-id-46eBay last week. It's a very nice Miraphone 186. (And no, I didn't pay nearly what that link shows for a new instrument.)



Now, of course, I'll have to sell my old beat up Holton. It served me better than I could have expected. Here and here are a couple of links to performances from our last concert.]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2008-02-18T00:40:10-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d6f5d6290fe683db9bdfa988f61c3671-45.html#unique-entry-id-45http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d6f5d6290fe683db9bdfa988f61c3671-45.html#unique-entry-id-45book on amazon, I was led to Peter Norvig's site, and to a short, interesting essay. At the bottom of that essay, it lists two languages I haven't run into before, Alice and Squeak. OK, I have sorta seen Squeak before, since I knew it was part of the One Laptop Per Child project, but that's about it. The OLPC is a pretty cool idea, and I'd kinda like to get one (and give one). But it's not much more than a toy until it supports Java... and I'd need it to support Java so that the kids could use it to play Runescape (i.e. use it as a toy!).

Teresa is also looking for a way to teach some kids programming as part of the robotics club she's mentoring. Perhaps one of these languages would work....]]>dave@ewingdev.comBicyling2007-12-28T15:36:21-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/8faa05fb71748632f1221513c91f0fbd-44.html#unique-entry-id-44http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/8faa05fb71748632f1221513c91f0fbd-44.html#unique-entry-id-44HAC4 bike computer. Apparently at some point in the past, I'd accidentally turned its alarm clock on - set to 11pm. I brought it into the house about a month ago and put it into a drawer. Well, a few days ago, I finally figured out where that annoying beeping was coming from. It took a few more days before I was inspired to find the manual so that I could turn the thing off. And with the manual in hand, I reminded myself how to download the data (as I need to do every time I download the data).

Short story, 926 miles for 2007.

Longer story is that that doesn't count at least 100 more miles indoors on my wind trainer in later winter/early spring. And it doesn't count a few rides with dead batteries. And a few more rides in the rain where the thing was acting extremely confused. I figure this all counts for more than 1000 miles. At least that's my story.

Still, this is several hundred miles below my goal for the year. (I'm not sure what the goal was. I just know it was higher.)

I did make it to Ward twice. (One trip was my goal.) But I never made it home from either of those trips. The tires on my new bike are way too soft and seem to attract glass. On the first trip, I ran out of CO2 cartridges, tubes and patches. I coasted downhill for about 10 miles, refilling the holy tire with my inadequate hand pump after about 45 seconds or so. Teresa finally rescued me at the Left Hand fire station near the bottom of the hill. On the second trip, I'd headed north on the Peak to Peak highway and was almost to route 7 before I flatted out. That's when I'd discovered that I'd bought non-threaded CO2 cartridges, that were of no use to me. I got a ride from the first or second car to come by to the route 7 intersection. A few minutes later, I got a ride the rest of the way home from a nice lady and her daughter who were heading home from a freezing, wet horseback ride near Estes Park. I'm sure they felt sorry for me. The rain they'd been riding in hit me about the time I got my flat. I must have been a sorry site.

I've since replaced the tires with some new ones recommended at University Bicycles. We'll have to wait until spring to see if they're any better. I sure hope so. (I've also gotten a new inflater that takes both threaded and non-threaded cartridges. A very wise investment. I learned the hard way.)

I also managed four trips to Jamestown, and another trip to the route 7 intersection up through Lyons. So, it was a good year for climbing (for me...). Still, my longest ride was only around 40 miles. It's hard to rack up miles without some longer rides in there. I'd been hoping to do a metric century or two, but never managed it. The foreshortened ride on the Peak to Peak highway would have come close. Oh well, there's always next year.]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2007-12-18T00:03:13-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/5b942531bc1065f077b800ddbbc8ef17-43.html#unique-entry-id-43http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/5b942531bc1065f077b800ddbbc8ef17-43.html#unique-entry-id-4325th High School reunion. It was great and disappointing at the same time. Great to see some of my old friends that I've missed since leaving Brockton so long ago. It was especially great seeing Lewis and his wife. Lewis was a close friend from 4th grade on. We used to play trumpet together in the early days. I'd love to hear what we sounded like back then. It must have been horrible. I remember talking after concerts about how I'd screwed up (or, often, not played at all), and Lewis would claim to have messed up (or not played) at the same place! How could our parents have stood it? (Actually, I know how. More on that later.) Here's what Lewis has done with himself since.

Well, it was disappointing for two reasons. The obvious was that there just weren't enough people there. With something over 1100 graduating seniors, there couldn't have been more than 150 at the reunion. There were a lot of folks I'd hoped to see again. The second disappointment was how poor I was at talking with everyone. That's rather normal for me, I suppose. It was great hanging out with Linda, Robin, Kolleen, and Jeannette, and I'm so glad I did. But I got contact information from exactly two people who were there. Sigh....

Anyhow, for those of you who weren't there (and those who were), send me some email and say "Hi". It's been too long.

And yes, I did wear my Rockies hat in Boston, though not at the reunion. I didn't want to start a fight while wearing a suit.

Thanks to Jeannette for the pictures. Besides not getting anyone's email addresses, I also left my camera in my room. Lame. There were some cameras on tables, so there are now pictures up at classmates.com. That's cool.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRockies2007-10-17T00:05:07-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/18af8350fdfeab9414eba56d392ad6bf-42.html#unique-entry-id-42http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/18af8350fdfeab9414eba56d392ad6bf-42.html#unique-entry-id-42Rhoads and I went to Coors Field to watch the Rockies complete the sweep of the Diamondbacks. Great game! As has now become common, the other team had their chances, but our pitching and defense held the day. Clint Hurdle made the brilliant move to take out his starting pitcher (who was stellar) in the fourth inning with two on and two out, leading to six runs!



I'll be on a flight to California next week when World Series tickets go on sale. But Teresa and Rhoads (and all his friends and relatives) are going to try and get some. I hope they do.

I put a few more pictures of the night up on Facebook. It's much easier living on-line there, since I can post things from any machine (or my iPhone), rather than waiting for the kids to get off the family iMac.]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2007-09-30T22:37:58-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/03ef3657e64e6a26f659e8798de040ea-41.html#unique-entry-id-41http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/03ef3657e64e6a26f659e8798de040ea-41.html#unique-entry-id-41vacation this summer, and cousin Kenan's and sister Ruth's weddings. The two weddings couldn't have been more different. I certainly enjoyed them both, but they did highlight the diversity in my family. Ruth's wedding makes me proud to say that I'm from Massachusetts.]]>dave@ewingdev.comEwingdev2007-09-07T01:39:01-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/33d1c247e044244deceff10829e17433-40.html#unique-entry-id-40http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/33d1c247e044244deceff10829e17433-40.html#unique-entry-id-40RapidWeaver kinda killed some of the website. Specifically, it really messed up the photo album pages. I realized this evening that that must have been because my custom theme no longer worked as the new version expects. So, time for a (slightly) new look. A few tweaks, and I'll be done. Then to the weddings....
]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2007-07-01T23:43:38-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/31177e9f1722ca67aea47dd88f9a2a79-39.html#unique-entry-id-39http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/31177e9f1722ca67aea47dd88f9a2a79-39.html#unique-entry-id-39Tim has had his tonsils taken out (and my throat is sore). Emily is taking swimming lessons. Scott and Tim are taking piano this summer. WWDC has come and gone. The iPhone is out (and I'll get one for free in a month).

I went to spring training for a couple of days. Teresa and the kids went to Disney World for spring break (and I got to ski). The Rockies were horrible, then they were great, and now they're horrible again.

I'm riding my bike (and bought a new one). The garden is in (late, as always). Teresa is moving her genealogy to the Mac (her Dell notebook continues to fall apart).
]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2006-12-30T15:33:46-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/972c21feb9f5a3abe1d0fe4f5e82567c-38.html#unique-entry-id-38http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/972c21feb9f5a3abe1d0fe4f5e82567c-38.html#unique-entry-id-38Tuba Christmas down in Denver. 343 tubas and ephoniums playing Christmas carols in Larimer Square. The music was actually rather difficult. I couldn't play half of it with only two hours of rehearsal. I expect next year will be better. Here are some more photos up on flikr.

Then, as our family was about to descend on us, the biggest blizzard that I can remember in Colorado hit. It meant lots of canceled plans, and stranded Ellie's family in their cold and dark house.

Nevertheless, we had a great Christmas. Ruth and Jen came out sporting new rings. We're all waiting to hear when the big date will be! As always, Lora helped cook up a storm. Jeannette and Steve came out the day after Christmas and stayed the rest of the week. The cousins had a great time playing together. Here are some photos of the week.]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2006-12-03T02:07:41-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/74063abaa45b3f43dca68b9611201216-37.html#unique-entry-id-37http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/74063abaa45b3f43dca68b9611201216-37.html#unique-entry-id-37

Scott got a euphonium, so I needed one too. This instrument was made by Boosey & Co. in 1928. That's old! It shows lots of wear. But it also shows lots of love, plays beautifully and has a wonderful mellow tone. It's been re-plated in silver rather recently, so it's really pretty. It also has a fourth valve (that takes it down a fourth) that's played with the left hand. That is taking some getting used to.

I also picked up a very scary looking Holton tuba on eBay. It actually plays quite well, but it's too ugly to show a picture. And it kinda smells too. Once I restore it a bit, I'll show some before/after shots.

So, next Sunday, Scott and I, and other kids from his school, are going to take part in Tuba Christmas in Denver. (It's at 1pm in Larimer Square.) We're both really looking forward to it. I had planned to go to it back in 1983, when I was in college. But it just didn't work out. I'd kinda forgotten about it since. It should be a blast!
]]>dave@ewingdev.comBicyling2006-09-24T23:29:38-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/1d9f1ea8c85f6076d5c9c829d645961c-36.html#unique-entry-id-36http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/1d9f1ea8c85f6076d5c9c829d645961c-36.html#unique-entry-id-36said that was my goal for the year, but I've really been hoping for 1,200 or more (50% more than last year would be nice). Luckily, fall is a wonderful time for bicycling in Colorado, so it's very possible to get the additional 200 miles in.

The ride I did last Friday took me 3/4 of the way to Ward. That last 5 miles is the hardest - with another 1,500 feet of climbing - something to skip on a work day. As it was the ride stretched to 2 1/2 hours for 35 miles round trip. I went about a mile past Lick Skillet Rd (that leads to Gold Hill). The climb was only 2 1/2 miles further (one-way) than a ride to Jamestown (which I've done a number of times this year), but the last 5 1/2 miles (instead of 3 miles to Jamestown) averages 5-6% instead of 2-3%. There are a bunch of stretches hitting 8-10%, and I'm not really built for that anymore. :) (And my bike isn't geared for it either.) The total climbing for the ride was about 2,600 feet, 700 feet more than the trip to Jamestown.]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2006-09-10T20:27:23-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/39d1868844fe0d18a9bf5eba9757ea63-35.html#unique-entry-id-35http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/39d1868844fe0d18a9bf5eba9757ea63-35.html#unique-entry-id-35Eagle Crest elementary he's now going to Altona Middle School. It's somewhat scary having him in the same school with 7th and 8th graders. But... he gets to be in band!

At the beginning of summer he tried out different instruments. The teacher helped point the kids to whichever instrument they could get the most notes out of. And the winner was the baritone. He really wanted to play tuba just like dad, but tubas are a bit big for now. Perhaps once he hits high school...



In the meantime, dad gets to play baritone too (actually, it's really a euphonium). It's been a lot of fun so far, but I sure don't have the chops I had back in college. (Yeah, I actually majored in music for a year before getting out with a math degree.) It turns out that back in school, my tuba professor made me take up the euphonium too to help me improve my upper register. I never quite got it.]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2006-06-01T16:32:34-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/ea951c6d3b2b83f43aaf6c2b02bb9ee7-34.html#unique-entry-id-34http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/ea951c6d3b2b83f43aaf6c2b02bb9ee7-34.html#unique-entry-id-34RuneScape, I never get a chance to use the iMac. With today being the last day of school for them, computer time will only increase! This year marks the first year they'll be home for the summer. We'll see how that goes. Work's so busy, I doubt they'll distract me too much.

Speaking of work, this past month marked my tenth aniversery of working out of the house. 3 1/2 years at Symantec, and 6 1/2 at Apple. Yikes! It also marks twenty years since graduation from college. Getting old.... It's "been a while" in more than one way.
]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-04-21T09:27:17-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/99fe716fa5769400091032cd9978720c-33.html#unique-entry-id-33http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/99fe716fa5769400091032cd9978720c-33.html#unique-entry-id-33
We've been in the new addition for two weeks now. With the iMac G5 out on the desk area in the rec room, it's a lot less convenient posting to a blog - the kids are always playing Harry Potter, or Dora the Explorer, or now, Rune Scape (no they're not old enough for that last one, but it does look like fun).

Here's a before and after shot from the back yard:

     

And here's a before and after shot of the living room:

     

Yes, that second shot is from just last night - we're putting things back in the house. And, as it was at the start, the living room is the staging area. Other than the piano, we're not sure what will remain in the room when we're truly done. Much of the furniture has moved to the family room or the new rec room, so there's not much to fill in (what will soon be) an empty space.]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2006-04-03T11:17:49-06:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/fa0348a4dc78aaf22669f40df14b04e2-32.html#unique-entry-id-32http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/fa0348a4dc78aaf22669f40df14b04e2-32.html#unique-entry-id-32Look here.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-03-12T10:39:14-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/f6004d63ef6fc87eec1b64fc753eec6c-31.html#unique-entry-id-31http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/f6004d63ef6fc87eec1b64fc753eec6c-31.html#unique-entry-id-31
]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-03-04T15:12:12-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/eaf2477f5fc7912cbfe28fb1baad41f3-30.html#unique-entry-id-30http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/eaf2477f5fc7912cbfe28fb1baad41f3-30.html#unique-entry-id-30quicktime movie. It takes you from the kitchen into the new family room, the laundry room, the rec room, and finally my new office. Enjoy.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-02-23T17:56:06-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d9d39821d26244fe39d46f3fa1a537d1-29.html#unique-entry-id-29http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d9d39821d26244fe39d46f3fa1a537d1-29.html#unique-entry-id-29
     

]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2006-02-20T20:45:55-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/cb3baa007a665f715bedb45a4b9dfad1-28.html#unique-entry-id-28http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/cb3baa007a665f715bedb45a4b9dfad1-28.html#unique-entry-id-28Make. Well, the other night, we saw it on the shelf at Borders. It had a lot of cool stuff in it. For me, the most interesting article was about putting together a cheap satellite dish for free TV. For Teresa, it was how to build a windmill for generating electricity. Now we both have some summer projects. Since Teresa plans to watch the kids at home this summer, maybe they'll pitch in too!

In the first issue, there was an article on how to make a video stablizer for $14. If you've looked at my skiing videos, you probably think I need to build one!]]>dave@ewingdev.comFamily2006-02-20T20:27:54-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/f176fa6fb07d543ec0c5db500b99a7ae-27.html#unique-entry-id-27http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/f176fa6fb07d543ec0c5db500b99a7ae-27.html#unique-entry-id-27Kinderhut at Breckenridge. She had a wonderful time. She fell on her first run, but after that there was no stopping her. Except for lunch, she wouldn't go inside. Teresa says she would try to pass the other kids in order to get more time on the slope.

Here's a picture of her ready to go in the morning:



And here are some movies from the day.]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2006-02-14T00:06:48-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/86566b48490c45c20f0acace4b57e417-26.html#unique-entry-id-26http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/86566b48490c45c20f0acace4b57e417-26.html#unique-entry-id-26Stagecast Creator. As a parent, you always need something that your kids really love. You need it so that you can threaten them with its removal. Programming is now the drug of choice. Removing it causes withdrawal symptoms. Threat of removal gets instant compliance.

Sarcasm aside, I'll have to post one of their games soon. The artwork could use some work, but the "tar monsters" and "ninja stars" seem to keep them happy. :-o]]>dave@ewingdev.comHumor2006-02-13T23:56:08-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/0770c3f730118c48320540c249bda658-25.html#unique-entry-id-25http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/0770c3f730118c48320540c249bda658-25.html#unique-entry-id-25Usenet 20 years ago, and partly because I'm just a curmudgeon. But SNL's Lazy Sunday rap has spawned a few funny parodies out there. The Color Me Mine west coast version is good, but Lazy Muncie has it beat.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-02-03T17:38:07-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/9f620f9963f592a93800103771bf9728-24.html#unique-entry-id-24http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/9f620f9963f592a93800103771bf9728-24.html#unique-entry-id-24
]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2006-02-01T21:24:30-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/79966cfafbe34a15c95a81095c4d0fcc-23.html#unique-entry-id-23http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/79966cfafbe34a15c95a81095c4d0fcc-23.html#unique-entry-id-23paper the other day about teaching programming to elementary school kids, and it mentioned Stagecast Creator as one of the tools it looked at. It actually seems pretty similar to AgentSheets, but it's more polished, costs only $50, and has a 120 day free trial. The programming is more "by example" (you move things around by dragging them, rather than writing code).

The boys and I spent an hour each of the past two evenings going through the tutorials. They really like it, and the only frustration has been that the tutorials hold your hand so strongly that you can't experiment while you're playing with them. That may be a good thing.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-30T17:37:43-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/3868fe50fef87fe589e2be99a7ec7134-22.html#unique-entry-id-22http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/3868fe50fef87fe589e2be99a7ec7134-22.html#unique-entry-id-22
]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2006-01-28T17:20:43-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/5b30f4bf9e28295324c2a16618b527af-21.html#unique-entry-id-21http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/5b30f4bf9e28295324c2a16618b527af-21.html#unique-entry-id-21
One of his questions was how to create a window. Well, he got a bit of an introduction to Interface Builder. Now he wants to work on his program all the time!

Anyhow, I've been playing with AgentSheets a little. This is software by Alex Repenning that started out at CU back when I was there too. It looks pretty interesting, but only has a 10 day evaluation, and costs $100. That's really steep in my view. And honestly, it doesn't look much different than it did back in the early 90's. There's what looks to be a newer version for Windows, but nothing on the site says how it's different from the Mac version. Sigh....

The latest issue of Wired magazine has an article on the next version of LEGO Mindstorms (also see the nxtbot blog). I caught Tim reading it, so I did too. Looks very interesting, but they won't be coming out until August or so. That's a bummer. It would be really nice to have them for the beginning of summer since it's likely that the boys will be staying home a good deal of the time.

Of course, I should probably be talking to Steve Richards about all this. He's an old friend from RSI, and started a company called Acroname Inc. Time to invite him to lunch.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-28T17:16:06-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/6d7745ee563245c9054d1c3a0a5b463f-20.html#unique-entry-id-20http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/6d7745ee563245c9054d1c3a0a5b463f-20.html#unique-entry-id-20
]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-26T09:09:49-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d71d9e890b816585220ea56b9349d4d9-19.html#unique-entry-id-19http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d71d9e890b816585220ea56b9349d4d9-19.html#unique-entry-id-19Richfield. That's something those genealogist types like to do.) I didn't tell her that they were doing the roof, so she's in for a big surprise when she comes home tomorrow. They've also done the plumbing rough-in for the new laundry room.

The one problem here is what to do with the satellite dish. They took it off yesterday (it had been temporarily screwed directly into the roof since the chimney got removed months ago), and last night I screwed it down to the front walkway. I actually got it pointed at the satellite on the first try. Zero adjustment. It took us more than four hours to get it pointed right when we took it off the chimney!

So, where should we put it once the roof is done? We're planning to upgrade to DishHD (and put in a big TV in the rec room) soon, so it doesn't make sense to install the old dish permanently. I suppose I could upgrade the satellite plan sooner, and make them install the new dish. But I still don't know where to put it. I kinda wish we still had a chimney....]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-20T11:14:48-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d96dfc98066e3234842695973cfd5f53-18.html#unique-entry-id-18http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d96dfc98066e3234842695973cfd5f53-18.html#unique-entry-id-18Snow!

A couple of days of delay, but not really that bad. The roof moving along too.


]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2006-01-16T16:02:59-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/718fcb96eff12a29687f18dc7e0c1c89-17.html#unique-entry-id-17http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/718fcb96eff12a29687f18dc7e0c1c89-17.html#unique-entry-id-17Unicode" even came up.

But we really don't know how to get things started.

Someone at work recently pointed me at James Gosling's blog. In an old post, he talks about BlueJ. Perhaps that's the right direction.

Also, back in grad school, there were a couple of projects going on that were geared towards kids. I need to go figure out what all that was again. (And see what's been happening since!)
]]>dave@ewingdev.comBicyling2006-01-12T00:54:07-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/e33fb1f9b72d070d35eee037742ab1fa-16.html#unique-entry-id-16http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/e33fb1f9b72d070d35eee037742ab1fa-16.html#unique-entry-id-16Bill mentions in his blog that Garmin's adding Mac support for their GPS's. Very cool. I've been using an eTrex Vista on my bike since last summer. I don't really need maps when out for a lunch time ride, but it was nice to have them on a ride to Carter Lake. They helped me a find good way home that day. If only they'd shown the big hill I was going to have to climb....

Anyhow, with Mac support and the new Edge 305, I'm drooling for a new GPS. (Teresa won't like that!)
]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-11T20:08:03-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/4eec3579bfdacfb5cddf600b09caa1f5-15.html#unique-entry-id-15http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/4eec3579bfdacfb5cddf600b09caa1f5-15.html#unique-entry-id-15

]]>dave@ewingdev.comGeek2006-01-11T20:01:08-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/753e8021efefdbc63cf98b0e077b03a2-14.html#unique-entry-id-14http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/753e8021efefdbc63cf98b0e077b03a2-14.html#unique-entry-id-14
But I am human, and I do have goals that change over time. I want to be healthier. And I want to play around in the new internet.

A few months ago, I found myself helping out on a secret project at work. No, I can't talk about it. There have been plenty of rumors about it out on the web. All I'll say is it's another geek tool. But it did inspire me to learn some new things. Much to Teresa's chagrin, I bought a new iMac G5. (A bit of a mistake as it turns out, but I still love the machine.) On it I've been playing with and learning about Web 2.0, and all that other stuff. I've started this blog. More interestingly (at least to me and perhaps people inside Apple), I've started an internal blog on what I'm working on now (which I also can't talk about). That blog is intended to be my modern replacement for an engineering notebook.

More things I want to learn about:
- More HTML/CSS/JavaScript (aka Ajax)
- Core Data
- Unit Testing (Not much to learn here. It's a matter of practice!)
- Ruby on Rails

But mostly I want to work a little harder at keeping up with what's going on technically in the world. Towards that end, I've started listening to a few podcasts. My favorite is probably This Week in Tech. I love to listen to John C. Dvorak piss and moan about how everything sucks.]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-09T17:05:11-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/b4eb5a3e53b03d41f109ad6aabfe9e92-13.html#unique-entry-id-13http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/b4eb5a3e53b03d41f109ad6aabfe9e92-13.html#unique-entry-id-13Tim in there? He's in the corner of my new office. I'll have a really nice view of Longs Peak out the window.

]]>dave@ewingdev.comRemodel2006-01-08T17:29:31-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d995e56d0f2c45e10892ad6499af557e-12.html#unique-entry-id-12http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/d995e56d0f2c45e10892ad6499af557e-12.html#unique-entry-id-12Expansion page.

]]>dave@ewingdev.comEwingdev2006-01-06T09:02:11-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/fb2d08929eb8f8466dcf1b452d5fdc18-11.html#unique-entry-id-11http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/fb2d08929eb8f8466dcf1b452d5fdc18-11.html#unique-entry-id-11geex.com (thanks to Mike and Patti for years of flawless service) to my own machine connected here at home. The process was mostly flawless... except when it comes to setting up email. Man, we're still living in the dark ages! I've essentially followed the step by step processes given in Chapter 26 of Mac OS X Tiger Unleashed, and, other than one error in the book, it's, uh, mostly worked. (We'll see how quickly the errata shows up.)

I wasted most of my time last night trying to get postfix to come back after a reboot. Short story, I left out a quote in one of the scripts I typed in by hand. Sigh...

But I haven't been able to get POP mail working. USER/PASS authentication is failing. The PAM setup is identical to IMAP, which is (was) working fine. Actually, this morning IMAP logins are failing too. Double sigh...

Did I say this process "mostly worked"? I guess that doesn't seem to be true.

Update: a reboot of the server and IMAP is back again. I hope this doesn't become a daily ritual.]]>dave@ewingdev.comBicyling2006-01-04T14:34:18-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/dccb60d5c0024130c85b722426f6f401-10.html#unique-entry-id-10http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/dccb60d5c0024130c85b722426f6f401-10.html#unique-entry-id-10Bill and Greg could handle it, so I thought I'd go for a ride. I managed 914 miles last year, which is easily the most I've done since the 80's! Of course, 914 miles is measured by my ancient CatEye computer, which my GPS tells me is about 5% off. So the real value may be more like 870. Still, not bad for me.

I did my "easy ride", 13 miles, north on 75th to Woodland Road, and back again. It's a start. I hope to pass 1000 miles this year. Last year's goal was 500, and that was easily passed. Not so sure this one will get nearly doubled. :)

(BTW, happy birthday, Ellie!)]]>dave@ewingdev.comEwingdev2006-01-03T21:37:00-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/5802c347be152247554fe84b545c2369-9.html#unique-entry-id-9http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/5802c347be152247554fe84b545c2369-9.html#unique-entry-id-9iPhoto and RapidWeaver is, uh, simple. So now there's some pictures of what's going on in our remodel, as well as some pictures of the never-nearly-done train set, and some pictures of the not-nearly-used-enough observatory being built.]]>dave@ewingdev.comEwingdev2006-01-03T19:06:25-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/4afbeafe7b89991fdf9f83e2547287e5-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/4afbeafe7b89991fdf9f83e2547287e5-8.html#unique-entry-id-8Mac OS X Tiger Unleashed for setting up email. (Very good book, BTW. Highly recommend it.) But my domain hasn't quite been moved over yet, so I'm not sure what's working, and what's not. Hopefully, we'll get this finished off tomorrow.]]>dave@ewingdev.comEwingdev2005-12-29T00:36:59-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/7243fab54686de5c5b558d3527eefd7b-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/7243fab54686de5c5b558d3527eefd7b-7.html#unique-entry-id-7dave@ewingdev.comEwingdev2005-12-19T22:45:24-07:00http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/ae90beeccca0747bdce71f1074eb471e-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.ewingdev.com/blog/files/ae90beeccca0747bdce71f1074eb471e-6.html#unique-entry-id-6ewingdev web site has been languishing for a number of years now. It's time to enter the modern era. I've found some new web page software that looks to have some promise. It's called RapidWeaver. And it has a blogging feature... as you may have noticed.

Years ago, ewingdev was originally built using Visual Page, a nice, simple HTML editor from Symantec (where I used to work). I've tried many other editors since then, but nothing came close in simplicity.]]>