GSB Mennonite

Powerless

Big thanks for our friends' hospitality these past few days. We like many people in the area lost power on Thursday night, and unfortunately also like many people in the area we still don't have power. About 200K still without power here in the Puget Sound area.

Microsoft campus was also down on Friday, except for emergency power since all of the area around here was down. All the businesses along 24th were closed up on Friday and Saturday. Most of Seattle is back up (if they lost power) but the Eastside is still fairly cold.

Lego Digital Designer

For those of you who loved (and still love) Legos, check out some of the recent things Lego has been doing.

Digital Designer

Pick a Brick - pick any brick you want and order it individually (great for completing those old sets...)

Oh, and this topic came up since it looks like I might be headed to Denmark next month for a conference. :)

Commuting

Since our house is almost entirely down hill from campus, a fairly quick way to get home would be to coast down on a bike. However, walking requires no additional equipment...although rain can make that option unpleasant. A new form that I enjoyed last week was taking a Razor scooter in to the office and then on the way home, just coasting along through the neighborhood to get home. For many of the hills riding the brake was required. Lots of fun.

And a big thanks to Mom and Dad and Kristin who were out last week and provided a ton of help with the painting projects.

My solution for popcorn ceiling worked out fairly well: scrape, re-apply mud to joints/nails as needed, roll texture paint (plain, not sanded) with a thick nap roller, then paint with ceiling white. Looks decent with minimal finish work.

Showalter 2.0

Now that the news is mostly public at work...we're pleased to announce that we're expecting the arrival of Showalter 2.0 in early April!! Mother and father are doing well, so far. :)

The name discussion is challenging; thankfully we have a number of months to pick one.

Cold of the Fall

I obviously haven't been posting as much as usual...of course work has been busy. And we've enjoyed reconnecting with friends from last summer. I unfortunately have my first (and usually only) cold of the season, typically when the weather changes, which was last night as we had rain a good portion of the night. It's actually the first rain we've had in months, so it's been pretty dry.

So dry that the other weekend when we went up to Orcas Island there was a fire ban for all of San Juan County, which put a damper on hanging around a campfire.

BAMZOOKi 2

Update on BAMZOOKi, Ian Saunter, Development Director of the BAMZOOKi technology at Gameware Development, posted a comment a couple weeks ago with some interesting info and links on the show so I decided to re-post here.

"Not quite blue screen, but a system developed by the BBC called 'Free-D'. It enables the kids to see their Zooks on that table in front of them (as a 2D projection) whilst the cameras (and their operators) are viewing a real-time composite of the action fed to them via PCs rendering the scene from that camera's relative position in the studio. You can find out more t http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAMZOOKi and there's a nice promo video on Youtube too (at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nau11dK4Eds&search=augmented%20reality).
Cheers
Ian (at Gameware)"

Endings

Two weeks ago today my grandfather Yutzy passed away. He was the first of my four grandparents to go so it was a new/tough experience for our immediate family. Deaths seem to bring about much reflection, both regarding the person's life and their legacy and also reflection on one's own life.

I caught a flight out on a Friday for the weekend near Columbus, OH. Almost the entire extended family was there for the viewing and later the funeral on Sunday. It was a good time to seem the extended family again, despite the circumstances. And also a chance to meet people in real life that I've either never met or have only recently interacted via email.

It was also the weekend before I was scheduled to start work, and it actually worked out well. I caught a flight back on Sunday evening and got back in time for NEO. Not the ideal situation as I didn't feel mentally ready to go to work, but perhaps helpful in the process.

House Projects

The major reason for lack of posts is lack of internet access at home. I think I'll wait for Verizon to finish their FiOS installation in the neighborhood and then look into that to offset the Comcast monopoly on high-speed. Besides with Netflix we really don't need or want cable, which high-speed sans cable service is even more expensive.

The other significant reason is all the projects going on at home in this final week before I start work again. It's been fun to have completely free days to work and tear into things that I'll eventually have to fix. I'll need to start a list soon of what I've finished or at least started on. :)

Car Update

I was fortunately (unfortunately?) correct on the car - a short in the car alarm system (installed a number of years ago). Surprisingly it took 3 hours (diagnostic time + labor time) to remove a fairly simple alarm system. Total: $210. Ouch.

BAMZOOKi

During our time in London I had some time to check out UK TV and show a children's show called BAMZOOKi that was pretty cool. Kids design virtual 'bugs' to use in virtual competitions similar to Robot Wars except all intangible. Then the competitions are shown on Saturday morning TV. Not sure the technology for display, perphaps blue screen?

Check it out BAMZOOKi and you can download the design and simulator kit.

Redmond Update

Got in last night after missing my connection in Denver due to delays at MDW. Movers arrived and delivered yesterday without incident, other than a broken chair leg on my favorite chair (bummer).

Car was completely dead which left me stranded for a day or so...got it in to the shop now. Hopefully a quick fix. And I spent hours trying and successfully finding the registration papers that I failed to separate before the packers arrived on the Chicago side.

Dad arrives on Monday to start looking through the long list of things to work on...and I need to work on organizing the list a bit more. It's probably time to officially at the house to the project list. :)

U.S.A.

Happily back in the US after nearly 6 weeks away. I must say that the simple things in life were the more suprising differences through out our Spain, France, UK trip. In the UK I saw three public water fountains in three and a half weeks, all in public museums in London. Bathrooms were similar...

The time in Scotland was probably my highlight, in part because it turned into a sort of pilgrimage since I was traveling alone and I took a few days to get up to Oban and then over to Iona and spent two nights on Iona. Absolutely incredible. The first evening was clear and sunny and great hiking weather and since it was just a few weeks after summer solstice the sun didn't set until after 10 PM. The abbey there is quite an experience and I met a woman from Sweden visiting her daughter who was spending her third summer on Iona with the Iona Community.

I'm hoping to catch up with snippets from the trip, fairly random at that. Final day in Chicago, heading to Seattle today. Ready to (finally) make the transition after a number of trips out there and now some great weeks of travel over.

Spain - France - Oxford

Quick update from Oxford...we've completed the Spain (Sevilla, Madrid, Barcelona) and France (Carcassonne, Vaison-la-Romaine, Sur-la-Sorgue, Nice, Monaco, Paris) portions of the trip. We switched up some plans for the end of Nice, cut a day, to have part of a day in Paris. Then caught an over-nighter bus to London (painful as the ferry required waking up numerous times throughout the night) and then caught a bus out to Oxford. P has checked into her program that kicked off today. It's been cool to explore here and check out the campus/town of a school that was started in ~1250 A.D.

I'm planning on picking up a Brit Explorer 14 day bus pass and heading up to Edinburgh tomorrow, taking the next 14 days to travel around Scotland and Northern England.

In general it's been a great trip...definitely appreciate being back in English-speaking areas again. :)

E*Trade Interest Scam

I transferred account from E*Trade to BrownCo a number of years ago because I was fed-up with E*Trades fees, lies (promised no fee IRAs and then added fees a year later), and hassle. My first month back with them (because they bought out BrownCo) has been good until today. They have some good features like Quick Transfer, etc.

But I learned today that they have only one option of taxable interest income on cash in IRA accounts - the E*Trade Sweep that is really a deposit with the E*Trade bank side that pays a measly .25% annually. Meanwhile the E*Trade bank side gets to loan out the money at market rates. What a scam.

Summer Travel

I might have posted previously, but if not we're headed to Spain and France for a couple weeks with some friends of ours next month. Then my significant other will be studying in a summer seminar at Oxford for three weeks, so I'm planning on taking that time for some further travel. :)

I've been using Local Live Beta for mapping and some of the driving planning and some cool new features were released this week. I actually first read about it on Scobelizer although I had noticed the change on Tuesday.

I do think the traffic information for ~40 major cities is very cool.

Ode to my Timex

I'll post a picture tomorrow...my Timex Indiglo clock has lasted me nearly 8 years now. I'm not sure exactly when Jacob bequethed it to me, but it was sometime at Rose-Hulman during Junior or Senior year. The Indiglo feature no longer works...in fact since it's not backlit it isn't very functional as a nighttime clock, but it works great at waking me up.

DC Bound

It's been a while since I last posted, although that shouldn't be surprising given the beginning of quarters here...especially if you catch a red-eye back into town the Monday classes start. :) Actually I took a voucher instead of the red-eye back from Seattle ended up missing classes on Monday. Not nearly as cool as some of my classmates who ditched the first week's classes when returning from trips, but it's their last quarter...

I'm headed to DC tomorrow morning for a Jonathan House reunion weekend. It's the 20th year anniversary of the founding of an intentional community of young men on Capitol Hill (three blocks from the Capitol Building). I lived there in 2000-2001 when I first moved out to DC and it was an important part of my transition to urban life. I'm looking forward to catching up and meeting the new and former J House guys.

Showalter/Schowalter History

I found this website on the Showalter name history while doing some research. Also, my uncle mentioned some distant cousins, one that runs a winery in Germany. Perhaps I'll be able to visit this summer. :)

Snow Cross

I think snowboarding cross is the coolest new sport in the Winter Olympics. It almost makes me want to get into snowboarding. :)

Back to Chicago

Classes started again today, and I had the priviledge of being embarrased by Mr. Becker in class - thanks mostly to semantics of a question. :) Be sure to check out the Becker - Posner Blog for interesting economic analysis. The class, Economic Analysis of Major Policy Issues, is definitely a unique experience taught tag-team style by Professor Becker, Professor Murphy, and Professor/Dean Synder.

This quarter is going to keep me plenty busy...little overwhelmed first week as first classes have a lot of reading to catch up on.

Racing

Second week of break and we're out in California visiting family; had a great time racing at Pole Position. While I had a couple poor laps in each race I did have a best lap time of 32.42 on a 1/4 mile track...not to bad for my first day. :)

Thanksgiving Break

It was nice to have a two-day break from the regular scheduled classes and meetings and to get away. We went to northern Indiana to my parents place for most of the break along with a brief trip out to central Ohio to see my grandparents and the side of the extended family that was gathering for Thanksgiving dinner. Great seeing many of them for the first time in over a year. We were also fortunate to see some Rose-Hulman friends that I haven't seen in a number of years.

It was also nice to just get away before 10th week when everything is coming due and many projects and classes are wrapping up for the final time. This time of the quarter is both an exciting one and also a time of closure as new classes are lined up for next quarter and all the 'last times' begin to occur - last Fall quarter, last LEAD gathering, last class with some classmates, etc. In general, it's amazing how fast the time here seems to go. It's really two 9 month sections split with a 3 month internship/break.

Big Ad

You've probably already seen this, but if not it's a nice break from case write-ups... :) Thanks to Dan for the link.

www.bigad.com.au

Field Museum

It was awesome to see the man again. It's often far to long between visits and it was great to meet the fam and friends again.

Also the Field Museum was a fun time. Especially the Native American exhibits that I used to pour over for hours and hours as a kid. Still love the stuff; we did check out the Pacific Northwest section a bit more than I had in the past as I had usually favored the Plains and Eastern Woodland tribes.

Also checked out the Pompeii exhibit, which brought back many memories from National Geographic magazines from years ago. And as always mourned the fact that museums actually cost money in Chicago...we miss the free-ness of all the DC museums. :(

Search has yet to be mastered

While proving points with examples is not really a proof, one example that search has a long way to go in terms of relevance is a simple Google search that results in this site being the number one results. Search for the following: lead chicago gsb (not with quotes either). There is no rational person that would say that I or this site is the appropriate number one result for the most appropriate site which is actually located here at the LEAD site. :)

Comcast Internet

I must put in a small plug for Comcast cable internet access. I had it put in last week thanks to a 6-month special. I tested the download speed last week with www.broadbandreports.com and it was tested in excess of 6200 kbps or equivalent to a 775+ KB/sec transfer rate!

Barn Update

While I was back in Goshen a couple weeks ago, I worked on the steps leading to the second floor/attic storage. Also, Dad made considerable progress over the fall/winter after I left. Note the final stages before first year last fall.

It now looks like this...with lots of growth from the garden and vegetation. :)

Weekend

It's good to be back in Chicago. We went back to Goshen for the weekend to see my sister, who is headed to Thailand for a while. Great to relax and enjoy some mom-cooked-food again.

On the way back to Chicago we survived a blown out rear tire - completely down to the rim by the time we got off the road. Pretty scary stuff. Caught a ride back to Chicago with my brother and sister-in-law because most tire places were closed on Labor Day.

Ready for the first day of LEAD tomorrow? ;)

Chopping Block

In my two and a half days off between the internship and LEAD Training Camp, I headed back to Indiana to visit my family. I continued helping with the barn project - we finished the stairs to the second floor (which had been pending the completion of the concrete). I will hopefully get an updated picture this weekend, since the siding was finished last fall.

Also, I worked on a hardwood chopping block, made with my bare hands...and a power saw and rotary sander. :) It has been treated with olive oil, to provide some water-resistance and to bring out the color of the wood. Notice the dark circular saw marks from the original log cutting. I used a picture with a AA battery to give a sense of size. Dimensions are 16.5 x 9.5 x 2.25 in.

A close-up and higher res picture is here.

Summer Lag

I obviously haven't posted as much as I would have liked. However, I have been very busy exploring and enjoying Seattle so I'll try to post some of the older stories. :)

Seattle is amazing in the summer.

Seattle/Mt Rainier

I haven't posted many pictures of Seattle yet, mostly because I've been busy or busy relaxing when not working, and also because the camera on my always convenient Treo 600 is awful. But here is one I took this past weekend from Kerry Park, located up in Queen Anne north of downtown Seattle. Note Mt Rainier in the background! It looks sureal and floating in real life. Also, sorry for the huge tree in the foreground, although vegetation is a Seattle strong point. :)

Pike Place Market

The Pike Place Market is a few blocks away...it's a really neat mix of food, stuff, art, and not-too-touristy stuff. Also, the first Starbucks is just across the street. Here's a shot of one of the fruit/veggie areas.

Other Jacob Blog and Photo Gallery

Another great college friend, Jacob, has finally taken some time away from work to set up his blog. Check out Line Noise at Packetshard.com. His photo gallery has some great pictures! Also updated links on side bar...

Aslan Roars

One great benefit of seeing Star Wars in the theater is that many great previews are associated with it, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe! Looks like it has the potential to be a great movie! Narnia Web fansite has great material. Also, very cool opening sequence at the official Disney site.

More info on the The Chronicles.

And more info on C.S. Lewis and his other books.

Script Hypocrisy

This past weekend we saw Star Wars with some friends. Fun movie overall - particularly in additional depth the characters seemed to have. One line that caught my ear was almost comical in its lack of logical structure.

Spoiler

At one point, Obi-Wan is fighting Anakin; Anakin makes some statement about Jedi's or the Force or something...Obi-Wan replies with "Only the Dark Sith speak in absolutes." Hehe...unfortunately Obi-Wan forgot to use less absolute language when passing judgment on Anakin.

Puerto Rico

I'm still catching up from the weekend in Puerto Rico. A few other 2005 LEAD facilitators and I headed down this past Saturday thanks to one of my squad members island of origin. :) We had a great time, wonderful food, late nights, beach visits, and playing in the waves. Although I did get beat up pretty bad by one wave because I'm not the best on the boogey board!

Here is a shot of our Sunday beach - Flamenco Beach, Culebra - thanks to Tropical Properties for the picture.

Google Maps + CraigsList Housing

This is not affiliated with either party, but a neat example of the uses of maps. I don't think the data is fully up to date...

http://216.92.212.16/housing/

Chicago Movers

If anyone has movers to recommend in the Chicago/Hyde Park area please let me know. Just curious about options for moving apartments.

Thanks!

Google Satellite

Google Maps has now included satellite images - from their Keyhole acquisition I assume. Although many of the pictures are not very recent.

Favorite April Fool's Joke

From Geeks.com.

GMail

This is old news, but Google is making good changes to Gmail. Is this simply a spiral? Very soon storage won't be a differentiator - what's next?

Taxes

I finished last night. I think I need a tax accountant soon.

Anyone have a rule of thumb at which point you give up and pay someone to do it? Perhaps when your Federal is > 10 pages?

Green Thumb

Posting a picture of my irises (now a few weeks old) might be a bit off...but I find that hobbies are a healthy diversion from MBA life and they make the apartment a more lively!

Chicago sunset among the irises.

DC

The tardiness in posting was due to a great trip out to DC for the last week. I was able to meet with a number of friends in the area - at least 8 or 9 discrete visits were achieved in the timeframe, and more importantly it was some wonderful quality time with friends from work, life, and church. It was special to be back at Washington Community Fellowship for Easter Sunday.

MS Internship Blog

Thanks to bbs3 for the comment and the link to Gavin Shearer's post regarding his summer internship at Microsoft this past summer. Good reading.

Spring!

It doesn't feel like spring quite yet, but I wanted to show off the first iris of the year. I finished my spring flower planting a week or so ago (one of many procrastination activities when trying to find reasons not to study for a test... ;) Hopefully we'll see excellent growth out of the other bulbs.

Flash Game

Some of you may enjoy fun little Flash games...

I found this fun/irritating ball game at Donkeys to Water. Enjoy!

He's got some other very funny links...

Piracy

In the middle of the Skype conversation I heard from one of my uncle's in China talk about piracy there. He claimed that he's read that 90% of the software in China is pirated...pricing is probably a major driver of those problems given the annual income of many people in China. Although I do find it strange that people are willing to buy pirated software for a few dollars for a machine that I highly doubt they obtained for a few dollars! It would appear that another major driver is the relative ease that software can be copied versus the production of the computer hardware. Ahh, variable costs. :)

Skype

Have you Skyped before? I used Skype for an international phone call this evening for the first time. It's a great service, although audio quality is probably improved if you're not using a built in laptop microphone and speakers! Also, a relatively consistent internet connection is important. It's a neat service!

Haste the day when we'll have WiFi-enabled smartphones so we can use Skype from hotspots. :)

Eigenvalue

When is the last time you overheard a lunch conversation about Eigenvalues? I did today at Medici along with vector space and a lot of other matrix algebra terms. I got a big kick out of it and it reminded me of Rose-Hulman.

Pacific Northwest

Sorry for the lack of recent postings. It's been a very busy last few days. I was in the Pacific Northwest interviewing with a small software company. ;) I had a great trip. Look for more on that soon!

Too Busy

I thought this response from an often used free email service was interesting. You'll probably recognize the layout and colors. ;)

Grocery Story

If any of you have lived or traveled through Terre Haute you might enjoy this grocery trip story...or if you just want a good laugh. :)

Comment Spam

I'm sure most of you are aware that this site gets hit with comment spam from time to time. I try to stay ahead of it, and I use MT Blacklist, but I don't have time to update my blacklist very often. If anyone knows a more effective way to dealing with it let me know.

And apologies for any offensive comment spam.

Apple vs. Blogs

To all of you who love your iPods and iMacs, be sure to temper your feelings by reading this article from the FT.

Weather

It seems appropriate to follow up the last post with one about the extreme changes in the weather here. We had temps in the 60's yesterday. Pretty strange, but it sounds like it's similar in other parts of the country.

The beginning of this quarter has been a lot busier than I expected. I'm applying to a number of different opportunities (non-work related) that all are around a 50% probability (on paper). It'll be interesting to see which ones (if any) I get. :)

New Rose-Hulman Blog

While I'm posting links to other blogs, check out the blog over at CaseySoftware where a very sharp friend of mine has been posting with some of his more technically-focused thoughts.

(Also, added the link to the side column)

Back in Chicago

It's been a long time since I last posted, thanks to much travel and relatively limited Internet access. This break was somewhat of a break from connectivity and therefore technology as I checked email only a few times and didn't spend much time on the laptop compared to some previous breaks.

I got back into town last night and it's good to have a day to settle into life back here. Classes are set for next quarter. I kind of wish I would have taken a different elective but hopefully it'll all work out and this one will be worth the space/time.

This quarter will be more finance focused with Investments, Corporate Finance, and a non-finance elective. Three classes will also give me much more time than last quarters five (counting LEAD), but with a number of applications for various programs and projects I'll still be pretty busy...that and the weekly scheduled billiards with a classmate in addition to the frequent ad hoc billiards after/before classes.

Rolos

Anyone else like Rolos? They were probably my 2nd favorite candy (1st being Whoppers, I think they were $1.28 a carton). Anyway, I'm illicitly enjoying Rolos in the Student Study lounge (the quiet one) while I listen to Bebel Gilberto and work on a Marketing Strategy write-up.

Classmates

You all know Classmates.com from all the internet ads over the last number of years.

VentureWire reported yesterday that they were bought by United Online for $100 million in cash, previously backed by $15 million in VC financing.

Pretty amazing transaction, most notably because the news focused on Classmates.com's "online community-based networking tool". There has been a lot of activity in this area over the last few months.

Barn Raising

It's now two months since I worked on the barn, and I have been very slow in getting the page up. So instead of delaying any longer I've decided to have a 'kick-off' post. I've added the Barn Raising link under the Misc Projects area, but please note that the page is definitely a work in progress. Like the barn, it'll take a couple days for me to decide on pictures, work out the page, etc.

And I'm always welcome to constructive feedback on my lack of site design, coding skills, or anything that might irritate readers. (I've heard the resolution is messed up in some instances but haven't yet heard how to fix it...)

Rose-Hulman Blogs

Another friend of mine has been running a blog for a while, and he seems to find some very very interesting things...

Like these Braille t-shirts... (not for children or adults who don't enjoy non-intellectual humor)

Check out his site Donkeys to Water (but don't follow the link if you're easily insulted by posts that may cause you to think).

Pensions

I become more and more convinced that pensions are an inherently broken system. A recent article in the NYT continues to highlight the problems with such systems.

The bottom line is that pensions plans are not 'owned' by the employees and are essentially big IOUs. This leads to manipulation, poor estimations, over promises, and worse.

What needs to be understood is that most government payment schemes are designed in similar ways...so if you read about the evils of corporate pension plans be sure to apply the same logic to government 'savings' schemes.

Desktop Search

Google has finally released a desktop search tool called Google Desktop (beta). I think it's interesting that this release was touted in the New York Times today and that a similar move by Microsoft was not significantly advertised (yet).

Most interesting, the NYT article is factually incorrect - they state "the program gives Google an important head start on Microsoft Corp., which is working on a similar file-searching tool that it recently said would not be ready for the next version of its Windows operating system promised for 2006."

However, it's not true (which could signal Microsoft's ability to 'catch up' and pass competitors). Earlier this year Microsoft bought a start-up firm that had developed a search tool for Outlook email call Lookout. The tool vastly improves the search results, and I've been using it for the last few weeks and find it works very well. As an option, the tool can also index files on the hard drive, which was mentioned in an Microsoft press release earlier this year while announcing the acquisition.

In reality the tool had the ability to index files since it was developed and owned by Microsoft since July 2004. However, the Google tool is integrated with the online search format and appears as a webpage, whereas the Lookout tool is integrated with Outlook. It appears Microsoft will develop and deploy a local hard drive tool only when it is more closely integrated with the desktop OS.

Finally, two things I find interesting about these moves...

1. Hard drive indexing and search has been around for a long time; I saw a really neat search product back in 1999-2000 that was amazing. It's surprising that it's taken this long to actually see releases by the major search players.

2. MS's move to acquire and deploy Lookout as a part of MSN seems to imply that the search expertise they desire is to move into the online search community vs Google's move from the online search down to the desktop.

SP2

I installed SP2 the other day...

My bootup is now taking a few minutes. Anyone have any clue how to reduce my post-SP2 bootup time?

Comments

Someone posted a couple comments a few days ago asking if personal information would be revealed if they posted...I assumed it was spam and I removed it (only after getting no response from the site listed in the comment).

If however, it was sincere please accept my apologies. I do not reveal personal information on the site (in fact I don't require any info to comment - at least I don't think so).

Privacy is very important - particularly if you're thinking about applying and have specific questions or concerns. I'll attempt to answer anything I can in this forum...and even moreso via email.

Mozilla

Does anyone know why Mozilla doesn't have the icon links in the New Entry screen within MovableType? I'm forced to use IE to make new entries...

If anyone knows the magic to make Mozilla work, please share the wealth. :)

Family Visit

We had a great visit by my parents and sister yesterday afternoon/evening. We checked out the Summit Club and the Bergen Gardens and then took a walk down to Promontory Point. Had a wonderful dinner that Pa'lee and I prepared (mostly Pa'lee) and then got ice cream and watched Whalerider (a good movie if you haven't seen it...very complex with many themes).

Treo 600

I know I haven't posted for a while, but my Treo arrived last week and I've been playing with it since then. It's great!

Beaters

I don't know about you all, but I enjoy licking off egg-beaters after baking - particularly when it's frosting that I just mixed.

Last night I made my classic cinnamon rolls and caramel frosting, mostly as a trial run to get to know the new kitchen. Electric stoves can be tricky things to work with. Anyway, they turned out ok - I'd only give them a solid B for two main reaons; I should have let them rise another 10 minutes before putting them in the oven and I should have removed the oven pan from the lower oven shelf because I think that hindered the heat transfer to the bottom of the pans (centers and lower portion of the rolls not baked as well as I would have like).

If it's not obvious for that last paragraph I take my cinnamon rolls fairly seriously.

Hopefully next time they'll be good enough to share with my neighbors.

Gmail

I have a few Gmail invites; if anyone is interested in a Gmail account feel free to email me.

Nesting

Today was a nesting day - sleeping in thanks to a less than stellar night of sleep due to the on/off thunderstorms. And nearly finishing setting up the study and hanging things on the wall. I also nearly finished the laptop project but lacked an external keyboard for finishing setup. I also misplaced my wireless router - no idea where I either packed it or forgot it in the move. Pa'lee and I also worked on meal planning.

Last night we had a friend over and enjoyed my beef and potato roast. :)

I'm beginning to notice the differences between living in a home and a tower. I don't hear as much road traffic unless the windows are open (which we do to enjoy the very nice breeze) and when it rains you hear the rain hitting the windows in a way that you don't in a house. Since it's a new sound I also notice the Metra line.

Broke down...

I told myself I wouldn't...but I did.

I haven't had a phone or phone plan for quite a while (which I've actually really enjoyed), but heading back to school meant I needed to return to the world of cell phones. But I didn't want to carry a Palm and a phone...so I broke down and ordered the Treo 600.

But got a decent price thanks to Amazon rebates.

Catching Up

It's been almost a week without high-speed internet (my visit to the Electric Brew last Wednesday), so I'm back attempting to update some of my projects with pictures and install MT Blacklist to block the mass of ads that I've found in my comments (11 from a single website).

crackheads + sparkplugs + engineer = funny

Check out this article from Craigslist. If you're offended by R-rated language please disregard the link.

Disclaimer: I copied the title from bloggenspiel.

Microsoft Automatic Update

This afternoon I attempted to check for Microsoft Updates and received the following message:

---------------------------------------------------------------
[Error number: 0x8DDD0018]
Windows Update cannot continue because a required service application is disabled. Windows Update requires the following services:
Automatic Updates enables detection, downloading, and installation of critical updates for your computer.
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) enables faster, restartable downloading of updates.
Event Log logs Windows Update events for troubleshooting. To ensure that these services are enabled:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type services.msc and then click OK.
3. In the list of services, right-click the service name, and then click Properties.
4. In the Startup type list, select Automatic.
5. Verify that the service status is started.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Does this mean that customers *must* accept automatic updates in order to receive bug/security fixes? This could be particularly frustrating for dial-up users, which believe it or not do still exist.

Saying Goodbye

I think one of the hardest things of saying goodbye when leaving is that it happens every time you see someone for the last time, so instead of having a sense of leaving and goodbyes in the final week or few days - the last month is just one long goodbye.

Thankfully though I got to see some friends the last night I was in DC, Thursday. And we enjoyed some yummy food and drinks at the Big Bowl at Market Commons in Arlington.

Orchids

I'll miss lunch-time walks to the Botanic Gardens. So I leave you with this until tomorrow, when I hopefully will have a successful trip report.

Find the Eye

The reality of living in DC is that many eyes are watching...and not just the squirrel's.

Transitions

For those of you who are entering programs or applying to programs this summer/fall, or anyone in the middle of a transition, I highly recommend Transitions by William Bridges. I first read this book about four years ago, and then re-read it a couple years ago. I'm currently in the middle of the transition from work to school (three more days of work after today...), and Bridges book is something I think about frequently. The 'in between' "neutral zone", as Bridges calls the period between the ending and the beginning, is where I'm at for the next couple weeks. Generally this can be the most difficult part of a transition...I guess I'll wrap up my final pre-program tasks: resume.

And I still need to setup MT Blacklist...

Other MBA blogs

the daily travails has a number of links to excellent MBA blogs, all of which I think you can find from League of MBA Bloggers.

- Mark has a great 'road-trip to HBS' post (and a cool picture of a blown-out tire) at Mark and Jie's Journey

- Hella has some detailed write-ups of Pre-Term at Wharton

DC Museums

I hope Chicago has some good museums that are reasonable (at least for a student). One of the best things about DC is the Smithsonian, a collection of museums - not just the red brick castle that most people think of when they hear the word "Smithsonian."

Over my remaining week in DC, I'll be taking a lot of pictures at most of the following locations and hopefully posting them here. Some of my favorite museums (only the first is really a Smithsonian museum) include:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery - Asian and a specialized collection of American art Washington, D.C.

National Gallery of Art - I prefer the West Building (Classical) over the East Building (Modern), but the East Building does have a very cool Islamic Art exhibition. Below is an image of a painting by Claude Monet from the NGA site.

United States Botanic Garden - This is a great place to escape for lunch if you work near Capitol Hill (website was down as of 8/06/04).

Bonsai Collection at the United State National Arboretum - I've only been to this collection once, but it was amazing. They have a very nice online virtual tour including this nearly 400-year-old bonsai.

National Museum of the American Indian - Due to be completed in September 2004, I won't be able to visit this museum until a return visit to DC. I think this museum would be my favorite if it was open...

Headlines

Poorly written headlines bother me. For instance, the April-June gross domestic product growth rate was announced this morning at 3.0% vs the expected 3.8%.

One headline trumpeted: U.S. Economy Slows Dramatically in Spring
Another stated: U.S. Economy Grew More Slowly Than Expected in Spring

The second of these much more clearly represented the 'new' news, and the first one even implies through the use of the verb "slows" that economic activity decreased.

Five Guys

I am going to Five Guys for lunch today. Five Guys is good. They use 100% peanut oil for their fries. Their spuds (in this area) are from Idaho. And their burgers are amazing! Check out their menu. It's good. :)

Departures

Perhaps the best thing about departing a wonderful community of friends is the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with them before leaving.

For instance, last Friday I went to Alex's house since our significant others were gone...and we had our own personal Gamefest. Fun evening - to say the least - because we were joined by our good friend Mr Cuervo soon after dinner.

The following evening, Saturday, we spent a few hours at a reception for a newly-wed couple from our small group. Most of our small group was there some whom we hadn't seen in nearly a month.

Sunday we had turn down a lunch offer (rescheduled to Saturday) so we could work on financial planning at the nearby Panera on the T42. :) Decisions made regarding health insurance, cash flow, retirement benefits, etc.

Sunday evening we had a great dinner with Rob & Eleanor at Las Tapas in Old Town Alexandria! Yummmmmmyyyyy!

Leaving friends is the worst part about moving for school...but hopefully the trip to Napa with some or all of the above will work out! :)

Ruth's Chris

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. Thanks to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse I will be enjoying a wonderful butter-drenched steak. Actually it's an anniversary dinner. You might ask, "Isn't it uncouth to have an anniversary dinner at a steakhouse?" But you don't know my wife's love of red meat...she picked the place and I was more than happy to oblige! :)

Sincere apologies to all vegetarian readers. And please don't click the above link.

SE Asia

Some of the Chicago GSB students will be taking Random Walks to exotic places around the world. I opted to take an only slightly less-than random walk with my spouse and my parents to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We returned a week ago.

Here are a few pictures that I took - all with my old Canon S10 and unaltered (except for crop, rotate, and resize). Click for slightly larger versions.

Other Weblogs

I found a weblog of a future Chicago GSB classmate yesterday. And thanks to his source code, my links now open in new windows. I apologize to those of you who don't like that, but I like to use multiple windows (or tabs) while browsing.

Also, I've started to add links - including some weblogs of my fellow Rose-Hulman alumni. For a quasi-complete list of Rose-Hulman alumni weblogs check this site.

I have also added some links on Mennonites for the curious. See Who are the Mennonites? for an intro.

Bullfighter

For those of you who do a lot of writing, particularly business writing or consulting, you will probably get a kick out of the Bullfighter tool from Deloitte Consulting. It's a nice little toolbar for Word and PowerPoint to analyze the amount of consulting jargon (i.e. bull) in your writing.

For instance, I analyzed this entry in Word and Bullfighter determined that this entry is "certified bull free!"

And they now have a Bullfighter version for the Nonprofit Sector. Perhaps a special 'deluxe' edition will come out for the Public Sector!

Personality Cocktail

In honor of Jacob, who inspired my blog, I copied one of his entries from today. I would paste the code here...but it's bad code and messes up the MT layout.

Instead, just the results of the Personality Cocktail:

How to make a GSB Mennonite
Ingredients:
3 parts competetiveness
3 parts humour
1 part [I wonder what the null set result means?]
Method:
Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Serve with a slice of emotion and a pinch of salt. Yum!

First Day of Summer

Today, the first day of summer seems to be as good of day as any to get this blog started. Jacob has been bugging me for a while to get this set up. I finally took the time to figure out how to set up MT on my hosting service and was quite pleased with myself when it actually worked!

I'm still a novice with MT so any kind suggestions are appreciated. [For instance, my comments entry area is messed up and I need to fix the colors in that area.]

Thanks and hopefully you'll enjoy at least a little of what you see here.