captbrando's log

So Randy & I are driving to the client site this AM and we are flipping radio channels. Some radio show pops up and they have the editor of “ATM & Debit Newsletter” on there!?? Who the hell needs a newsletter for ATMs? I almost spit out my coffee.

Weather is coming in here, so hopefully we can get past it without being delayed home. Back in D/FW shortly….

We had a fun power outage at the house yesterday, and the weather recording system did not start. Weather Data is once again being populated. Graphs will look funny for a little bit of time, but they will get better.

Wow, screw spring. We’re going to fast forward right to Summer it appears. Why is that? No, not because it got to 98.7 degrees at the house, or because the Heat Index was 105. It’s cause we had to call the HVAC guys out! New house, new A/C, thing just not running right. Little bit of freon and some superclean on the outdoor units (I got schooled on how to do it now) and wheeeeeeeee, so far so good. Back down below 80 upstairs. Hopefully with some new filters we can cut that electric bill WAY down. This upstairs unit has been running nonstop.

I updated the weather page a bit, we have some highs and lows now! whee..

Time to fix broken computer systems….

Slowly starting! I’ve gotten the cable nest a bit more trimmed back. My new wireless keyboard & mouse is very tasty. Still working on the KVM issues though. I believe I might have come across a solution. I’m going to try and use a different kind of feed cable for the monitor. I’m using one with ferrite beads right now, but I’ve heard those can still cause problems. We’ll see if the super shielded Belkin one can stand up.

I’m also re-coding the weather portion of the site. I’ve hacked up the Vanprod perl script by Stan Sander to move values to a database. The database is something I’ll be needing to watch over At any rate, I’ve been collecting and things are working well so far. I may need to find a way to sample more to get better graphs, but right now there is data for every minute. Do you want to know more?

Here’s to hoping the landscape guy shows up tomorrow to give us a hand in reshaping our flower beds…

This week was interesting for sure. From the wheelchair incident to the fire department getting called out early yesterday (next door) to the grandmothers here, it’s been fun. This weekend affords me little by way of relaxation (until Sunday afternoon most likely), but that’s ok. Mother’s Day is worth celebrating and giving up some free time for.

Chris deserves her Mother’s Day gift (which you will just have to wait and see about), and much more. Wish money was not an option, she’d be treated like the queen she really is.

So she’s in bed right now, and I have to work for another hour or so. I quit drinking a while back so I should be lucid enough to convert this firewall, but we’ll just see…. Enjoy the weekend!

Ok… BEFORE you answer….

So I’m in the D/FW Airport yesterday, coming home from a quickie down in Houston, and we pull up to the A-2 terminal. Some of you are saying “What the hell is A-2?” Others are saying “OOOoo… I feel your pain.”.

It’s this tiny little satellite terminal built just for American Eagle flights, i.e., those tiny puddle jumpers that the pilots fly the same way a cocky 18 year old would drive a Vette, the one that is “out on the tarmac” and you have to take a shuttle to get there. The “jet bridges” are more like plastic wrapped scaffolding on wheels and are just wide enough for one person to squeeze through to get down to the ground level. It was definitely an experience, and I sure as hell did not feel like I was a D/FW Airport. More along the lines of say an airport you might find in Fargo.

So here’s the asshole part. Let’s just pose a situation for you and see what you think. Say for instance, that your means of rapid movement limited your options to a wheelchair in an airport. You can shuffle your feet, but moving 10 feet takes about 2 minutes (Yes, I clocked this). If this were you, would you…

a) Board the plane first with those that need additional assistance and deplane last after everyone else has left?

or

b) Board the plane first, and use the FIFO method of deplaning, thus holding up EVERYONE behind you as you move to the wheelchair?

Personally, I know if I were in that situation, I would ensure that I chose “A”, thus causing the least amount of inconvenience to any traveler in general, much less those in a hurry to reach connecting flights. Not this guy. We were foiled by him TWICE. Second time was getting off the bus to get back to the main terminal! Wow, how frustrating. I think the worst part was when he was standing in the doorway of the bus, TALKING to people before getting out of the way.

If that makes me an asshole, well, I’m probably already in that category regardless of this incident.

I did get home safe and sound, that is the important part. Played with the kiddo for a bit while Mama went to Wal-Mart (don’t wanna hear it James). Then hit the Gaylord Texan for a quick beer or two with Leslie. Back at home today, and still reeling from the server room fun from yesterday. That was a blast.