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  • Another Weekend Adventure

    This weekend was yet another weekend of climbing.  This time, instead of heading south, we went north to the Mississippi Palisades.  Talk about a huge difference between climbing down at Jackson.  The rock up at the Palisades is limestone, and since it’s been heavily used is very slippery.  Also, there is no sport routes.  It is completely trad (if you forgot what that means, read my previous entry).  That meant that I wasn’t leading anything, which isn’t really the norm.  Instead I was top-roping everything.  However, I did mock-lead one route (top roped it, but put gear in as I went).  That definitely helped me get more comfortable with how to place gear, and what can go where, etc. 

    The other totally different thing about the Palisades was that it’s crack climbing.  I’m used to face climbing (climbing up the face of the rock).  Now, with face climbing, you are looking for protruding features that you can hang on to, but with crack climbing, you are wedging your hands and feet into the crack.  There aren’t really any protrusions that you can grip onto, instead you have to slide your fist into the crack, and twist it.  You essentially want to lock your hand into the crack, and move up the crack.  You then twist your feet into the crack in a similar way, but you don’t slide it in deep like you do with your hand (if need be).  There are multiple different techniques of jams, but I won’t go into that here.

    Needless to say, it’s friggin hard, and quite painful.  The backs of my hands are very tender, and have multiple bruises.  However, it was quite fun, and I definitely want to get much better at it. 

    On another note, I went there with James and Cody.  We took Cody’s car, which happened to be a…VW Jetta TDI!  This was all totally unbeknownst to me until he pulled up at my apartment, and I heard the familiar diesel engine sound.  On the way up, we started talking about biodiesel, and he wants to get into it too!  I’m about 10 times more excited now.  I also got to drive it around a bit.  The roads at the Palisades were pretty steep, and it handled quite well.  Granted, it was an automatic, though, so it didn’t handle as nicely as the stick I test drove.  It was also the older, 90hp, engine, not the new, 100hp, one.  I’m definitely excited about a potential car purchase.

  • Zoom Zoom

    Well, lately I’ve been looking at new cars.  Why, you ask?  Well, I’m not really sure.  All I know is that I want something different (more sporty, and more efficient) than my truck.  I can’t imagine that gas prices are going to get any cheaper, and, currently, I’m getting a max of 20mpg.  Plus my truck is horrible for driving anywhere other than in town.  The A/C doesn’t really work (it probably needs a recharge), there’s no cruise control, and it’s just a pain.  Over the last year, I’ve looked a various different cars.  I’ve always wanted an Audi TT.  However, I’ve definitely gotten a lot more realistic over the last year.  Granted, I would still love to get a TT coupe, it’s definitely not in the cards.  So, I started looking at something like an Acura RSX Type S. 

    However, after going to the Telluride Film Festival that came through town, I’ve been infatuated with Biodiesel.  This has been furthered by the article I saw in wired (talked about in a previous article).  The wired article is really nice because it gives you multiple ways of making it.

    Well, this has gotten me thinking about a diesel engine.  In the US, that leaves 2 manufacturers: Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.  Needless to say, a Mercedes is a little out of my price range, and the problems that my Dad has with his, alone was enough for me to look elsewhere.  This left me with a VW with a TDI Engine. 

    I swung by the VW Dealer here in town last weekend looking to test drive a Jetta TDI.  Unfortunately, the only ones they had were still packaged up.  Apparently they had just gotten there Friday night, and hadn’t been touched.  The guy I was working with told me to swing by early in the week to take one for a spin.  Well, I never got around to it until today. 

    The only had 1 of the 2 that were still packaged left!  However, they did have a used one that someone had brought in.  It was a 2003 model, but nothing has changed between the 2003 and 2004 models, so I took it out.  I was very impressed with it.  The turbo is a nice change from my 4-cylinder truck, that’s for sure 🙂  It’s amazing how crappy my truck felt compared to it, but that really wouldn’t take much.  So, I brought it around the block, and onto the freeway.  I was easily able to get up to speed, and the cabin noise (which most reviews complain about) wasn’t bad at all.  It’s a little bit noisier than a regular car, but nothing really noticeable.  Even with the windows down, you could tell it wasn’t a regular unleaded car, but it didn’t growl at you, nor did it sound like a semi truck.  Plus the louder noise was only really noticeable when going from a stopped position. 

    All in all, I was very impressed.  Plus making biodiesel would be fun.  In a way, it’s a lot like when I modded my xbox.  It’s definitely the engineer coming out in me.  I gotta have something to tinker with.  The only thing, though, is that I really don’t want to give up my truck.  I do enjoy having it for when I want to move things.  Plus, if I were to make biodiesel, I’d need a way to get the used cooking grease from restaurants to my place.  I don’t think I’d want to stick it in the trunk of a jetta, but my truck would be perfect.  Plus, there’s the fact that I’d need a place to made the biodiesel.  Currently I don’t have anywhere. 

    I think I’m going to wait for awhile, though.  Currently my truck works fine, and I did just put a lot of money into it because of its recent problems.  Plus, this way I can wait until there’s some customer incentives, like 0% financing.  Hopefully by that time, I’ll have figured out if I really want to do this, plus I’ll know how much living without a roommate will put a damper on my finances.

  • I Feel Dirty

    Yesterday I had a meeting with the boss, and I found out exactly what’s going on.  I’ll be working half-time at both Architecture and EWS (I’ll save you the links for these, since I included them in the last post about this).  Apparantly at both depts I’ll be using my Group Policy and MSI mojo to make things run a little smoother.  Yes, that’s right, my GPO and MSI skills are being whored out to other DS run departments.

    I can see why this is done, but in all honesty, nothing that I’ve learned about GPO’s and MSI’s has been difficult.  The only true advance knowledge I have about the stuff is actually using them.  Otherwise, you could just as easily read a book and setup a test machine to play with.  I just find it funny. 

    I think I’d rather jump into something totally new, but this will be nice, especially at EWS, because they are essentially starting all over.  They used to use a Novell eDirectory and Zenworks, but they are now migrating to use AD and the free tools for machine administration and package deployment that come along with AD.  From what I gather they really don’t have any experience with AD stuff at all.  So, hopefully, I’ll be setting up what DIA is like from scratch there.  At Architecture, they have labs that they want fairly automated, like what we have here at DIA.  That shouldn’t be too hard, since everything can be done via GPO.

    I’m looking forward to the move, but as I’ve said before, I still have my reservations.

    **Update**
    The more I thought about this post, the more I sorta want to change my opinion.  I’ve sorta realized that this is indeed how businesses work.  It’s not really about knowing how to do something or not, it’s more about how you do it and that you’ve done it.  Like I said before, anybody can read about GPO’s and MSI’s and making their lives easier.  However, I’ve actually helped implement a system that uses these technologies fairly seamlessly.  I can see why someone would want me to come in and help.  It’s not that they can’t, it’s just that, since I’ve already done it, it will be easier for me and make the user experience better.

  • McDonald’s and the Fast Food Lifestyle

    I just got back from watching Super Size Me at the New Art Theatre.  Documentaries like that are insanely more fun to watch for me, then any of the big Hollywood films.  If you haven’t heard about it, or are too lazy to click the friggin link above, it’s about a guy that eats nothing but McDonald’s food for a month.  That’s right, 3 meals a day, plus snacks, etc from McDonald’s.  As if that’s not bad enough, he stops exercising.  He tries to become a “normal” person with respect to exercise, so he takes a cab everywhere (he’s in New York), and stops walking everywhere.  It’s actually quite revolting was becomes of him. 

    At first the doctor’s didn’t think anything was going to happen, but boy were they wrong.  He gained more than 20lbs in under a month, his cholesterol drastically increased, and his liver at one point was almost at the point of failure.  The doctors were quite worried about him, but according to his interview on The Daily Show, his brother encouraged him to complete the month even against the doctors advice. 

    The movie definitely shines a light on what you’re eating, and what you really shouldn’t be.  Now, I rarely eat fast food.  The last time was when Colleen and I went down to Jackson after a full weekend of climbing.  I don’t feel bad about eating in those types of situations just because I rarely eat when I’m climbing, so I need a larger influx of carbohydrates and fats.  Before that, I can’t remember the last time I’d been to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, Taco Bell, etc. 

    It’s just disgusting how horrible the American diet actually is.  Now, I’m not one to talk, because, frankly, I don’t eat that great all the time.  However, I don’t eat nearly as bad as most, and I work out at least three times a week.  Let’s just say, according the the movie, that’s about at least three times more than the average american 🙂

    The role that children are put into was equally digusting.  When I was in school, there were no soda dispensers.  All we had were water fountains.  Imagine this, we all lived too!  Now, it’s horrible how much soda children are sucking down a day.  There is absolutely nothing beneficial about it.  My mom would almost always make dinner too, which is hard to come by now.  Hell, even when I was in high school I’d have dinner with my parents, and my mom would prepare a healthy meal.  All my other friends in high school were on their own for dinner.  They would almost always end up at a fast food place.  My mom would also only buy diet soda.  Granted, it’s still not the greatest thing for you, it’s almost infinitely better than regular soda.  Ever since I’ve only had diet.  I actually dislike the taste of most regular soda’s because of how sugary they are.  They coat my teeth and I absolutely hate that.

    Oh well, I’m sure it won’t get better until the government somehow intervenes, just like cigarettes.  It seems as if us American’s can’t help ourselves until we’re almost forced.  As horrible as it sounds, it may be what lies in the future.

  • More on Dept Change

    Well, from what I’ve heard “through the grapevine,” it looks as if there is a chance of me moving to three different deptartments: Food Science & Human Nutrition, Engineering Workstations, or Achitecture.  Apparantly, I’ll be doing a half-time position at 2 of these.  Which 2, however, has yet to be figured out (at least, that’s the last I heard). 

    Of course, I haven’t heard any of this from my actual boss.  I’ve heard it 3rd hand from my Unit Contact at DIA. 

    But I won’t bother you all with a fun topic about that 🙂  Instead I’ll talk about the beast that is half-time.  When I worked for

    Benteler Automotive I essentially worked half-time at Goshen, IN and Fort Wayne, IN.  Well, actually it was more 3/4 time at Goshen, and 1/4 time at Fort Wayne.  Talk about a pain.  Granted, most of my time was spent in Goshen, because they seemed to have all the problems (also 3x the users), but working out a plan to hit problems in both locations became strenuious at times.  And then, if there was only a few things to do in Goshen, my boss would ask me to stay there in case other things cropped up while I was away, essentially taking my time away from the Fort Wayne plant.  Now, I understand that things will be different here at the University, since both depts will be have me for half my time no matter what.  And since each dept here is run so differently (especially the 3 that are my possibilities), it’s going to be totally shifting gears when going from one to the other.  Hopefully I’ll be able to divy my time up by days (i.e. 2 full days at one dept, 2 full days at another, etc), instead of half a day one place, half a day another.  I don’t know how well I’d be able to handle that. 

    I’ll guess I’ll just wait and see.  Hopefully I’ll hear something about it before the 1st of July (when I’m apparantly moving).

  • Best Buy

    Things I hate about about Best Buy:

    1.  The fact that nothing is priced correctly.  Granted, it worked in my favor this weekend, but seriously, how hard is it to post the correct price on the product when it is essentially all you do.  I went and picked up the Katie Melua album this weekend, after downloading it last week, and it was clearly marked as $12.99.  However, when I get to the register, it rings up as $9.99.  It just reminds me to be extra careful at that place, since who knows if it works in Best Buy’s favor some days.

    2.  How much crap can they try to push on you at checkout?!  It was bad enough when they try to push you the Performance Service Plan (PSP), but now they try to cram Entertainment magazine down your throat too.  No I do not want that, and no, you don’t have to point it out to me.  If I was at all interested I would have looked at it myself, or I would already subscribe to it.

    3.  I hate how Best Buy is the only place open on weekends, that sells some computer parts.  I was looking for a USB 2.0 card for a drive enclosure I recently purchased.  You can always rely on finding the worst price on computer accessories there.

     

  • Congratulations!

    I want to send a congratulations out to Jason and Sara on their special day 🙂

  • Possibly Leaving DIA?

    What’s that you say, move depts?  Yes, it’s true, I’ve talked to the boss’m and have asked to be moved out of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA).  Yeah, yeah, yeah, sit there with your mouth open.  I know that DIA is definitely one of the best depts on campus, and that you get all the perks when you work here, but alas, I still want to move out.  As I see it, there’s no challenge left in DIA.  Thanks to Nick and Bud’s foresight, and my ability to continue what Bud was trying to do after he left, DIA works as a well oiled machine.  In my mind, there’s also no need for 3 full time IT employees there either, especially since there are 5 students doing a lot of the day-to-day work. 

    The only hard part that I’m going to have to work with is moving out of working in a “business” scenario, into an “academic” scenario.  Everyplace that I’ve worked worked at, including DIA, has been either a business or run like a business.  When I say business, I mean that computer users are just that, users on their machines, not administrators, and that the IT department controls computers and other IT related devices (networking, mobile computing, etc).  Now, here in the world of academia, it doesn’t necessarily work that way.  In many of the depts on campus, professors and other users of computers are administrators.  That means they can install what ever they want, whenever.  There is no baseline for what machines should be, or where they come from.  The machines are essentially stand alone machines with not centralization at all.  Now, for those of you that are systems administrators, I’m sure you’re just cringing right now when I say this.  Hell, I’m cringing.  Being a systems admin of a dept like this is like trying to battle an x headed dragon, when x is the number of machines and/or users you’re trying to administer. 

    Also, many of the academic units don’t have any money, or at least they don’t feel like they have any money, that can be spent on IT related goods.  Things such as centrally housed servers with user data, backups, machine patching, and anti-virus goes overlooked in many of these departments because nobody has shown them the light, so to speak.  A certain part of me wants to be that person who guides them into IT bliss, but another part, the part that hears the horror stories from other academic system admins, runs in fear because it knows that it’s not going to be easy at all. 

    However, I definitely don’t want to spend my time doing nothing here at DIA.  When I worked hourly at various different IT jobs, if I wasn’t doing anything, I’d just go home.  To me there was no point in sitting around doing nothing, when I could be doing other stuff at home.  Granted, I wasn’t being paid to do other things at home, but I guess that didn’t really matter to me.  I still feel the same way now, but since I’m salaried, I’d feel even more guilty just going home than I do trying to find work to do. 

    I’ve talked to my supervisors, and they are aware that I want to move.  And hey, that was one of the perks of joining DS.  You’re not stuck in one place the whole time if you don’t want to.  There’s opportunity to move around.

    Hopefully I’ve made the right decision.

  • It’s Here

    Well, I got my bike yesterday.  Walked in, and they know who I am.  Man, I’ve gone there way too much in the last week.  Anyways, I took it for a test ride before I made my final purchase.  It’s amazing how light it is.  I still can’t get over that fact.  It’s like I’m not even riding on anything, especially when I’m mentally comparing it to the steel frame bike I had when I was a kid.  So of course I took it for a ride after I made the purchase.  I will definitely get a lot of use out of the bike.  Probably even more-so once/if I move dept’s and have room to store my bike when I ride it in.  But more about leaving DIA in a later post.

  • Bike Part 2

    So I get a call today from Durst saying that they called Cannondale, but the didn’t have the size I needed in the color (blue) I wanted.  I was going to say that it was ok, I had made my purchase at Champaign Cycle already, but then he went on to say that they had ordered the green one and that it was at Durst.  Again, I was about to say that I didn’t want the bike, but then he said that I could come by any time and give it a ride. 

    Well, I don’t feel as bad now.  I thought they had ordered me a bike, and that they were ready for me to come pick it up.  Granted, I never said I wanted it, but it still would’ve made me feel a little bad.  Needless to say, I’m not going to be going to Durst to try out the bike.  Maybe if he would’ve let me know back on Tuesday like he said he was, about what was going on with Cannondale.  But, he screwed up royally on that one.