Hazelware Offline

Short Essay on the State of Apple's Developer Relations

2009-11-21T14:24:00.000-08:00

Over at our company blog, I wrote this short essay comparing Palm and Apple's PDA/Smartphone developer support history.

Amazing

2009-09-22T19:12:00.001-07:00

You have to keep watching. Even if you think it's cool and you want to stop, it just keeps getting more amazing. Seriously.

10 Things I Now Know That I Like (That I Didn't Know Before)

2009-09-16T17:42:00.001-07:00

1. Electric toothbrushes. Seriously. Everyone should own one.
2. Single cup coffee dispensers. We have this one.
3. Sitting on patios eating tacos. I like to go here.
4. Lego Star Wars
5. Timbuk2 bags. (Tiff got me one for my birthday!!!)
6. Macbooks
7. Pandora Radio
8. All Clad double burner griddles (for pancakes!)
9. Spider sushi rolls
10. Jet Blue. TV in your seat, unlimited snacks, direct flights from Austin, etc.

Doodle Games 1.1 Released!

2009-08-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

Lots of new content, and some bug fixes. Also included is a global sound control so you can easily turn on/off the sounds. Get it here!

Hazleware Now With Tweets

2009-07-28T20:28:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am reluctantly being dragged into the world of Twitter. Yeah, I know. That's like so 2007. Anyway, I'm tweeting personally @cheesemaker30 and Three Jacks is tweeting @threejacks.
Mom, feel free to break out the Tweety Bird jokes/comparisons again... :-)

-Jon

10,000 Now Available in the App Store!

2009-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

It only took 2 weeks, but 10,000 (aka Farkle) is now available in the app store. Here's the link.

This is our second iPhone game (Doodle Games being the first) and we did a lot of competitive research while working on it. We really feel like we have made the best Farkle-genre game currently in the app store. We certainly feel like it's the easiest to just pick up and play. Please check it out and give us a positive review if you like it!

-Jon

Three Jacks Now Tweets

2009-07-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Three Jacks has created a twitter account and will be posting development and product news. We'll also be giving away free codes whenever we release new applications. The next upcoming app is Farkle/10,000. Follow us here:
http://twitter.com/threejacks

-Jon

Feynman on Trains

2009-07-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

This really is more interesting than you would think...

Second iPhone App Submitted For Approval!

2009-07-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so our second iPhone application has now been submitted to Apple for approval. All of the folks who volunteered to be beta testers, I'll email you a key once we get approval back and you can download it from the app store. We're still working on the web pages since Apple typically takes about 2 weeks to do approvals, but if you're interested you can see the sneak peak here.

If you've never played Ten Thousand (aka Farkle) then you're missing out on an incredibly addicting game. Stay tuned. Hopefully Apple won't keep us waiting too long!

-Jon

Second iPhone Game Coming Soon!

2009-07-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm getting ready to launch my second iPhone game in the next week or two. Doodle Games is selling as well as I expected, and now we're looking for some beta testers to try out the new game. It's more grown up than Doodle Games, although I have to admit that my daughter does enjoy playing it.

Drop me a note if you'd like to help us beta test it, and thanks to all the folks that helped test Doodle Games!

Cheers!

-Jon

Whoa. I'm Quoted in a Magazine!

2009-06-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

I did an interview for a wireless M2M product for the Real Estate vertical market that I worked on over a year ago and they've just published the article replete with quotes from me! How weird. Check it out here.

My quotes are in the blue box on the right side.

-Jon

WiMax First in Portland

2009-06-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Rose City. I am jealous of this. And what is the logic in making PDX first? More browsing options for the ~12% unemployed??? Ouch. Low blow.
So now I can chalk up the Blazers making the playoffs and ubiquitous wireless AFTER I move away.

-Jon

Doodle Games Goes Live!!!

2009-06-26T09:08:00.001-07:00

Well, our app finally made it through the approval process. Not too bad, only 2 weeks. I've heard of worse stories. Here's the link to our web site describing it. We explicitly targeted it towards younger kids along the lines of "Here kid, play with my iPhone while I finish eating dinner."
We're trying to get people to take a look at it and get some positive reviews for it.
Anyway, I'll hopefully continue to post info about how it goes having an app up on the store.

Cheers!

-Jon

Switzerland Pictures Up

2009-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Tiffany posted them over at her blog.
For you to enjoy.

-Jon

A Very Important Announcement!

2009-06-16T08:23:00.001-07:00

Check out my announcement here.

-Jon

Facebook Has Personal URL's Now

2009-06-13T12:32:00.001-07:00

One thing that happened while I was traveling was that Facebook added "usernames" which really just means the ability to have a personal Facebook URL. I didn't see the announcement so I missed out on getting jonathanhays and had to settle for jonhays.
So, if you want to hit my Facebook page, go to http://www.facebook.com/jonhays
And while I'm self-pimping, you can check out my LinkedIn page here:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanhays
And my technical blog here:
http://www.hazelware.com

Happy surfing!

-Jon

Back From .CH

2009-06-13T12:28:00.001-07:00

I'm back from Switzerland. What a blast! I had to go over for work, but brought Tiffany with me to make evening excursions more fun. I'll post pics and other info soon. It was my first European trip and was an excellent experience. Mostly I want to go visit other countries now. I also want to take a remedial German class as well so I can at least be bilingual the next time. Oh, and if you're wondering what the ".CH" in my title post is, that's the country code for Switzerland as well as their TLD (top level domain) for web addresses.

Ciao!

-Jon

The One Where Brendan Makes a Discovery

2009-05-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

We went down to the bookstore this weekend and as often happens, Brendan and I made an early exit outside because it was just time to. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and so I let him run around on the sidewalks. One of them wrapped a little behind the building and after running at full tilt down it, he came to a sudden, jarring halt. He paused for a second, walked slowly backwards a few feet and then came running back to me. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that there was "a man breathing fire down there!" I chuckled as I glanced back at the employee smoke break area. Funny kid.

Time Warner Cable Sucks

2009-05-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

In case anyone reading this is contemplating moving to Austin, let me try to dissuade you from using TWC. Because of some bizarre set of Austin laws limiting internet providers, the only options available where I live (and in most of Austin) are TWC, AT&T U-Verse, and Dish. When we first moved here, TWC was the dominant internet and cable provider so we just went with "the big boy." However, our service was terrible, the installation was totally haphazard and left us with a mess of wires in our living room. It was over-priced and then to top it off, TWC announced that they were imposing bandwidth caps. Now, I'm not a big bandwidth user, but any company that is willing to take a step BACKWARDS from what they provide is a big no-no in my book. When you consider that Korea, Israel, Sweden and many other countries with much smaller GDPs have far, far better/faster internet connectivity than the U.S., this is a slap in the face. TWC has since backed down from that position, but like I said, any company even willing to go backwards like that deserved to burn in the fiery infernos of the lowest reaches of Hades. (Ok, so that's a little over the top, but it DOES make me really mad!) I'm also mad because when I called to disconnect my service they were VERY rude to me. I told them why I was switching and they basically told me I was wrong and being stupid. Nice work Mr. Call Center dude. Way to put a cherry on top of my awful experience with your stupid company.
Fine, so I called AT&T U-Verse and they came out and installed a really cool setup that has a minimal amount of wiring, has a built in WiFi routher, is cheaper than TWC, has more channels and the installer sat down and showed me all the features (of which there are tons!) I haven't worked with Dish so I can't comment on how they are, but if you live in Austin and want Internet/Cable connectivity, I definitely recommend AT&T over TWC. Bleck to Time Warner!!!

Milo and Otis

2009-05-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

So we had our weekly family night last night and we decided to watch that timeless classic: "Milo and Otis". If you've never seen Milo and Otis, it is a touching story about a dog and a cat that go on an amazing journey and have adventure after adventure. There are some amazing shots with different animals ranging from a young bear cub "wrestling" with them to a scene where Milo actually rides on the back of a sea turtle!

The shots were too amazing in fact; Tiffany and I had to do a little research as to how they could possibly have done some of them. Turns out (as we suspected) that many, many of the animals allegedly died during the creation of the film. Now, if you check the web and wikipedia, you'll find that the American Humane Society investigated the allegations but could find no concrete evidence of this since it was filmed in Japan. That has left the case effectively closed, however, as any normal, logical human, it isn't too hard to infer the filming conditions.
For example, during the scene when a small kitten was thrown approximately 100 feet from a cliff into the ocean below, it's difficult to envision some damage not occurring to the animal. Another clear example is when Milo went over a 40-50 foot waterfall in a small crate; it is difficult to imagine that the director got the take right on the first try. The list goes on and on, and if you have Netflix, you can check it out on their watch instantly. From almost the opening shot, you'll be left with a somewhat sickening feeling as you watch a "heartwarming" story about two animal friends that surely involved many deaths of small animals.
Now, I'm not a particularly squeamish kind of guy and I understand that lots of times animals do die (including humans) during the filmings of movies. That's just life. Statistically, accidents happen. However, Milo and Otis take this to a new level for me. Take a look for yourself if you don't believe me...

Do Only Animals Die?

2009-05-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

Brendan asked Tiffany and I at dinner tonight very sincerely if only animals die. We both sadly looked at each other and then informed our little boy that no, in fact everyone and everything dies eventually. It was difficult to gauge his response, but he looked very pensive for a few seconds.
It's such a bittersweet thing to watch your babies grow up, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Unstoppable

2009-05-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

I wish I could stop time. Or just put it on a loop.

Tomorrow my daughter will be seven. I have no idea where the time has gone or how she has gotten so big.

I probably only have a few more years of being able to pick her up and carry her to her bed.
I probably only have a few more years after that until she stops spontaneously hugging me for no real reason.
I probably only have a few more years after that until she doesn't want to be seen in public with me.
And then only a few more years after that and her bedroom will be empty.

Where is my rewind button?

Fail Blog

2009-05-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

If you've never visited the infamous fail blog, I highly recommend spending a few hours perusing their catalog of fantastic fails. Nate, if you haven't seen this, I think you'll love it. Link as follows:
http://www.failblog.org
For you to enjoy.

-Jon

Bats and BBQ

2009-05-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

So my dad and his wife came to visit this past weekend and we had a lot of fun. They arrived Thursday evening and flew out Monday morning, so basically we had 3 days to pack as much "Austin" in as possible. I like it whenever folks come and visit us and of course it's extra special to have my pop here. This was his first time, so we made a few of our regular first time initiations as well as a few new ones to us.
We started out Friday by taking him to Lucy and Brendan's school. We then drove down to South Congress (SoCo to the snooty snoots!) and had the customary terrible Austin coffee and wandered through some very interesting boutiques. (Did you know cowboy boots can cost > $1500?????) We also drove through the downtown area highlighting the capital and sixth street. We then headed back to pick the kids up from school. We rested a bit back at the humble abode, and then headed out to get Rudy's. The first of our 2 bbq runs.
The next day, I made breakfast and then we headed to Lucy's first piano recital. After that, we went to Zilker and the Botanical Gardens. It was about 95 degrees so even though it was shady, we got overheated fairly quickly. We decided fairly quickly to run over to Amy's Icecream in the Arboretum. The ice cream was of course delicious and the staff there were predictably grouchy, mean and unhelpful. It sure is a good thing their ice cream tastes so good! The Arboretum has a bunch of statues of lifesize cows that the kids love climbing on so we sat in the cool breeze blowing in from the hills eating the icecream and really having a good time. We then headed home to drop Tiffany and the kids off while dad, Linda and I headed down to see the bats! I've never done this before, so it was kind of exciting for me as well. The bats didn't come out until 8:35 so it was a good thing we didn't take the kids. Also, if you're going to see the bats, I think it's better to be up on the bridge, not down on the grassy knoll.
On Sunday, we decided to take it a little easier and spent the morning at home and down at the local park. After a lunch of left over Rudy's, I drove them out to the dam and Lake Travis. The wildflowers were out, and the weather was wonderful. Dad kept marveling at how hilly and green it was. I was glad he got to see it at this time of year. After a quick stop at Starbucks (not great, but better than any other Austin coffee shop I've found) we headed out to Salt Lick in Driftwood for the grand finale: all you can eat barbeque (beef ribs, sausage, beef brisket, sides, etc, etc) chased down by a home-made peach cobbler. It wasn't super packed and the live music was pretty good. We all had waaaaayyyyyy too much to eat and drove back home very happy.
Sadly, this morning, I drove them to the airport and said goodbye. Overall, it was a very good and they're already talking about when they can come back next. I expect Tiffany will be posting pictures soon. Stay tuned!

-Jon

Earth Day Loser

2009-05-07T19:55:00.000-07:00

So, I have a confession to make. Today, my daughter's school celebrated Earth Day. Now, this is somewhat confusing to me because I thought Earth Day was a few weeks ago, but what the hey. It's always good to celebrate and take better care of our planet. Anyway, as part of her school's celebration, students were encouraged to walk to school. Now, I like to think of myself as progressive as the next guy, and really wanted to support my daughter's desire to participate.

But it's sooooooo far to her school. And I am lazy. So I now confess publicly on the Inter-tubes that I drove my daughter to within 3 blocks of her school, parked the car, and walked the rest of the way so that we would look like we had walked to school. My daughter is six and seemed to have no problem with this, but I am convinced that I have sowed a seed deeply that will come back to haunt me later in life when she realizes the duplicity that I perpetrated in the name of Earth Day. My only hope in breaking the Karma-tic effect of my deeds is in the confession posted here. So there you have it. Begin throwing your stones from your glass houses...

-Jon

The IT Crowd

2009-05-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a new TV series from the other side of the pond called "The IT Crowd." It's by the same people that made the original Office. Tiff and I have been watching the first season and find it very, very funny. Yes, it has some of the typical quirky British idiosynchracies like low production values/cheap looking sets and an overabundance of bad teeth, but it's very funny. If you have NetFlix, you can add it to your Watch Instantly queue which is how we're currently watching it.

Rip City Sadness

2009-04-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

The worst part is that the guys at my office will give me grief. Bunch of stupid Houston fans...

Facebook Has Killed the Blog

2009-04-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have resigned from Facebook. I realized I was getting absolutely nothing done and had nothing to show for all the time I spent spying on the details of all my virtual friends' lives. So I quit. Cold Turkey. Tiff didn't think I really could, but she was wrong. But now I'm sad because I'm realizing that all my friends that used to blog no longer are. They're all posting one line statements of what they're doing on FB. So, there you have it. Video killed the radio star, and Facebook killed the blog. RIP.

-Jon

My Mom and the Pres

2009-02-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

Don't mess with me. My mom knows people...

I Live in the Same City as Gladys

2009-02-06T13:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Newman.

Moving Back to My Old Blog Site

2009-01-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

I have finally gotten my old site restored and up again. My blog will now be found here:
http://hazelware.luggle.com

Enjoy!

-Jon

Funniest Thing I've Seen in Years

2009-01-18T09:10:00.001-08:00

Found this posted by someone on Facebook. Had to share with everyone else.
What could be funnier than Richard Simmons and Improv???

I Really Don't Like Southern California

2009-01-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

Just got back from yet another trip to the OC. Boy, am I glad I don't live there. Yes, the weather is the greatest you can find in the lower 48. Yes, there are interesting things to do and see (Disneyland, Hollywood, etc.) Yes, the ocean is beautiful.
But.
There is so much wealth. Too much. And the people know it. To pull into a strip mall and see a teenager driving a car that costs more than I make in a year turns my stomach. I also have never seen so much cosmetic surgery in one place. Bleck.
I guess I would like to live there if the people went away...

December in Austin, Texas

2008-12-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

So with a few days of December under my belt in the great state of Texas, I have noticed a few unexpected things that I'm not accustomed to in the last month of the year:
1. I got a sun burn putting up the Christmas lights. I commented to Tiffany that with weather like that, I'd be happy to put up lights every year. I hearkened back to previous years of putting them up in pouring rain, trying not to slip off the ladder.
2. I drove by several yard sales.
3. The leaves are starting to turn and fall off the trees. Actually, quite beautiful.
4. The Charlie Brown Christmas tree (cheapest one on the lot) still cost $85!!! Yikes!
5. "Merry Christmas Ya'all"

NOW THEY START WINNING?!?!?!?

2008-12-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

I should have known this would happen when I moved out of Oregon.
If you haven't seen them, check out John Hollinger's rankings based on a long standing computer driven formula.
Also, if you don't believe a computer, take a gander at Mark Stein's manual rankings.

A good write-up here as well.

Go Blazers!!!

10 Random Austin Noticings

2008-11-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

1. Austin parking spots are all way too small. It makes no sense because there are ALWAYS plenty of spots open regardless of the capacity level of wherever you are visiting.
2. There are very few "average" cars in Austin (Honda, Toyota, etc.) The vast majority of people in Austin driver either: A. Oversized SUV/Truck or B. Luxury vehicle. Unfortunately, this just aggravates problem #1 above because said drivers abuse parking spots by taking up too much/too many spots.
3. Bugs in Austin are HUGE! I should not be able to see distinct body parts on a spider in the middle of the road as I drive by it in my car.
4. There is no good pizza in Austin. None. Zero. Zilch. With all the startup companies and the entrepreneurial spirit of this city, it's amazing that no one has stepped in to fill this void.
5. In the Pacific Northwest, Starbucks is considered "bad/cheap/cop-out" In Austin, Starbucks is one of the best tasting sources of coffee.
6. BBQ in the Pacific Northwest is called "Grilling" in Austin. PNW natives have NO idea what real BBQ is.
7. People in Austin that complain about bad traffic have NO IDEA what they are talking about and have obviously never been to SF, Seattle, NY, etc. Heck, even Portland has far worse traffic than Austin.
8. While many people might comment on the "hospitality" of Texans, in many of the female gender, the undeniable politeness is tinged with a horrid sense of entitlement.
9. In November, if the weather dips below freezing for a couple of hours in the middle of the night, it will lead off the evening news cast.
10. Despite having three NBA teams, 2 MLB teams and 1 NHL team within 2-3 hours driving distance, the only sport anyone has ever heard of in Austin is UT football.

Holiday Rant

2008-11-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

Rant warning. Read no further with sensitive eyes. You have been warned.

So the last two days on my drive to work (only 8 minutes!) I have heard Christmas music on the radio. The first day I was willing to consider it a fluke. The second day, I had no doubt what was going on. What is wrong with this country?!? When I went to Target BEFORE Halloween a few weeks ago, they were putting out Christmas tress, ornaments, etc. When I gave the clerk a hard time about it, she said it's time to start planning for Christmas. WHAT? There are still at least two major holidays between October 18th and December 25th. This angers me on so many levels. At the risk of sounding like a bad Charles Schultz social commentary, I offer the following observation:
If we are now at a point where Christmas is not something you celebrate but rather something you begin making preparations for in the middle of October, we have become a flawed society. We are now a people who can take a holiday that should encompass a feeling of connectedness and care and thought about our fellow humankind and turn it into a three month stress-fest. Now I know that there are the obvious observations about consumerism, but for me those aspects pale with the realization that I am now forced to begin freaking out about Christmas before I have even enjoyed eating/stealing my children's Halloween candy spoils after they've gone to bed. Quite frankly, it's enough to make me want to run off into the desert until March. I guess that's not such a great idea either; by the time I got back I would have already missed two months of prime firework buying time before the fourth!

Gasoline Firesale Continues!!!

2008-11-08T15:19:00.001-08:00

I witnessed gas today being sold at $1.97/gallon. Crikey!

TAG is for the Mentally Challenged

2008-11-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight I sat through an hour of a parent's information meeting for the TAG (Talented and Gifted) program at Lucy's school. In general, I'm not sure I agree with TAG programs for K-3, but as a concerned parent went anyway to get the facts. I was mostly wondering what the testing was like, how Lucy's school day would change, and generally whether or not it would be worth the time and stress. The other parents that had questions were apparently more worried with:
1. If their fourth grader doesn't get into the program, how will it affect their AP classes in high school?
2. What if their kid get kicked out of the program?
3. If the child doesn't make it through the screening process, how is that fair? Some kids just don't test well!
4. What percentage of kids are in the program?
5. If their first grader doesn't get into the program, how will it affect their AP classes in high school?

I am dead serious that these questions were all asked. In fact, I'm not really doing the meeting justice. These parents were INSANE!
And on a totally unrelated note, the demographics were roughly comprised of:
1. 20% Caucasian (50% male, 50% female)
2. 25% Indian (90% male, 10% female)
3. 50% South Asian (80% female, 20% male)
4. 5% Hispanic (100% male)

What a weird, weird world. I left after an hour. I have no idea they kept going for. Tiffany and I are still not sure if we want to have Lucy test for it. The only thing I know for sure is that a lot of the parents of TAG children are mentally retarded.

Political Commentary From Lucy

2008-11-04T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm sure you know by now that Obama has just won the election for President. However, I am writing to inform all 4 of the people that read my blog that tonight when we told our daughter Lucy, she said "Poor people are going to be so happy!"

Gasoline Firesale in Austin

2008-11-03T12:12:00.000-08:00

I just filled my car up with gas. What's so crazy about that? It was only $2.19/gallon!!! I did a little web searching and gas hasn't been that low since late 2003. I called Tiffany and told her to fill her car up, too. Wish I had some big barrels to fill up and set in the garage...

This Is A Great Reason Why Austin is Cool

2008-10-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

SXSW (South by Southwest) is a music/film/multimedia festival held every year in Austin. I saw this video on the plane on my way back from Boca Raton recently. Never heard of either of these people, but I like it. SXSW isn't even the "premier" music festival in Austin. (See ACL for those honors.) Anyway, the music in this town is unbelievable. Seriously.

ferras & katy perry - rush (live @ sxsw) -

The Worst Political Ad I've Ever Seen: Local Austin Politics

2008-10-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

This is airing regularly during prime time here.

We Do Dallas

2008-10-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

We spent the day in Dallas the other day. After being told that it would be stereotypical Texas as in Big hats, Big hair and Big belt buckles, I can say that we were pleasantly surprised. In less than 24 hours, we saw(drove by) Temple University, Baylor University, Texas Stadium home of the Dallas Cowboys, the American Airlines Arena (where the Dallas Mavericks play,) the American Girl store (which was far more impressive than you might think!) the Cotton Bowl, the exterior of the King Tut exhibit, DFW International airport and the Dallas Aquarium which is the coolest landlocked aquarium I've ever seen. If you don't believe me about the aquarium, ask Brendan:

Bail Out Home Owners Too

2008-10-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

So, with all the bank bailouts going on, and people still having their mortgages foreclosed, the whole issue seems very unfair to average American consumers. It occurred to me that a very easy thing for the fed to implement to give relief on both sides of the issue would be to abolish mortgage insurance immediately. This would be like giving everyone that is upside down on their mortgage an extra $200-300 per month instantly. Just an idea.

Funniest Homeless Signs

2008-10-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

They didn't have my favorite which is "Parents killed by ninjas. Need money for Kung-Fu lessons" but these are still pretty funny.

Catfish Parlour

2008-10-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

In my continuing vein of writing about local Austin restaurants, let me add to my collection my personal assessment of the "Catfish Parlour." Tonight, on the recommendation of a few websites we stopped for dinner at the aforementioned establishment because of descriptions of its good food, unique vibe and kid friendly atmosphere. I won't burden readers with too heady of a description, however, my firm beliefs in the following were reaffirmed:
1. Restaurants without windows should be avoided.
2. Catfish should never be eaten. Ever. Catfish are bottom feeders and taste like it.
3. Just because your cups have bite marks in them, doesn't make your restaurant "kid friendly."

It's good that we will be in Oregon for 2 weeks in December because I plan on eating nothing but Salmon...

Oh, and if you want to read something funny, check this out.

Don't Be Fooled By This Latest Scam!

2008-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

DEAR AMERICAN:

I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.
I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.
I AM WORKING WITH MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY. AS A SENATOR, YOU MAY KNOW HIM AS THE LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S. THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE.
THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED A BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.

PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOVSO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS.

YOURS FAITHFULLY
MINISTER OF TREASURY PAULSON

Math in the Real World

2008-09-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Sports in the Pacific Northwest: A Lifetime of Disappointment

2008-09-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: This post was inspired by OregonRobot's recent ode.)
So, I now live in a place where sports teams experience success. For example, Austin is home to the University of Texas which regularly win championships and bowl games in football, basketball and probably a few more sports that I don't follow. I also live an hour and a half from the multi-champion San Antonio Spurs, and two hours from the Houston Rockets (who managed to finally give Clyde the Glyde the NBA ring he so deserved.) All of this has made me reflect upon the utter failure of sports teams from the Pacific Northwest to capitalize on superstar teams and talent during my formative years, thereby leaving me with a lifetime worth of buildup followed by massive let-down. In case you think I'm exageratting, let me give some examples:

1986 - Portland Trailblazers use #2 draft pick to select Sam Bowie, passing over a rookie Michael Jordan
1989 - Gary Payton and OSU appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the #1 team in the country. They stay in the top 10 all year, but fall to Ball State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. (BALL STATE! I don't even know where Ball State is!!!)
1990 - Portland Trailblazers lose to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA championship.
1992 - Portland Trailblazers lose to the Chicago Bulls in the championship.
1994- Seattle Supersonics hold league best regular seaon record with 63-19, but lose in the first round to the Denver Nuggets
1996 - Seattle Supersonics set franchise record with 64 wins and advance to the NBA championship series, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls in six games.
2000 - Portland Trailblazers up by 15 in the fourth quarter in game 7 of the Western Conference finals fail to score and give the Los Angeles Lakers the series. The Lakers go on to win the championship in 5 games.
2001 - Seattle Mariners set single season win record with 116 wins, yet fall to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship, 4 games to 1.
2002-2006 - University of Oregon makes five straight bowl games and loses all of them.
2003 - University of Oregon men's basketball team wins the Pac-10 championship and enter the NCAA tournament with a #8 seed, only to lose in the first round to Utah.
2005 - Seattle Seahawks go 13-3 in the regular season, and appear in Super Bowl XL as heavy favorites. They go on to lose 21-10 to the #6 seed, wildcard Pittsburgh Steelers.
2007 - University of Oregon football team is ranked #2 in the nation, but quarterback Dennis Dixon tears his ACL with only 3 games to go ending hopes of a national championship.

I'm sure there are many more Pacific Northwest fantastic failures. These are just the ones burned in my brain because they occurred during my lifetime, on national television. If you still think I'm making something out of nothing, here's another related list. It's a list of the 10 best athletes to never win a championship in the Pacific Northwest:

1. Clyde Drexler (Won a championship after being traded to the Houston Rockets)
2. Steve Largent (Played 13 seasons for Seahawks, held almost every record a receiver could hold, yet still never won a blasted thing)
3. Randy Johnson - (Never won with the Mariners in 10 seasons, but won with the Arizona Diamondbacks after being traded.)
4. Rasheed Wallace (Won championship in Detroit the year after being traded from Portland)
5. Gary Payton (12 seasons with the Supersonics, won championship after being traded to the Miami Heat)
6. Scottie Pippin (Won six championships in Chicago, none in Portland despite making the NBA finals in 2000)
7. Ray Allen (Five seasons with the Sonics. Won championship with Boston Celtics the following year after being traded.)
8. Ken Griffey Jr.
9. Alex Rodriguez
10. Ichiro Suzuki
Honorable Mention: Cortez Kennedy(Seahawks), Patrick Ewing(Sonics), Shawn Kemp(Sonics), Shaun Alexander(Seahawks)

Salt Lick

2008-09-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

In Austin, there are lots of places to get good barbeque. If you ask any of the locals who has the best bbq though, you will almost unanimously hear that Salt Lick reigns supreme. Located about 25 miles outside of Austin in the dry town (read: no alcohol) of Driftwood, Salt Lick is certainly an experience in independant Texas culture. The buildings themselves are rustic and the seating feels somewhat like dining in a logging camp with long wooden tables with moderately matching wooden benches. Food can be ordered either individually or family style. The family style is all you can eat, but be aware that unless you are exceedingly hungry it's probably more food than you can or should eat. The individual plates are very large themselves and will give most normal people trouble trying to clean their plate so save your money as the all-you-can-eat is over twice the price.
Whichever course you choose, you won't be disappointed. The sausages are good, the brisket is great and the ribs are by far the best I have ever eaten. Sauce comes with the meat, but is purely optional, and I found that I actually preferred them without it. The ribs (which are cooked in an open pit that you walk past as you enter) was so tender the meat practically fell off the bone, and I found myself cursing the fact that I had eaten other things during the meal that were now taking up space in my stomach. Rounding out an already full meal are a set of fantastic pies with optional ice cream that you really have to try even if you feel like you can't eat another bite. The peach cobbler was my favorite although others swear by the pecan pie. I seriously doubt there is a wrong choice on the menu.
All in all, if you come to Austin, make sure a trip to Salt Lick is on your agenda. Just make sure you empty your stomach thoroughly before you sit down to eat. You won't be disappointed.

Bizarro Day

2008-09-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I got up at 6 a.m. and got on an airplane. One hour and fifty minutes later, I arrived in Atlanta, Georgia. I spent the day at a fairly mind-numbing security industry conference, and then at 9:50 p.m. got on a different airplane only to arrive back in Austin at 11:00 p.m.
To think that in this day and age, I can accomplish in only 2 hours what it used to take months to do less than a hundred years ago is just bizarre beyond description. It's even more bizarre when it comes to these same-day trips. I travel a fair bit for work, and these always blow my mind. In a single day, I can travel half-way across the country, do some things, and then return home. How insane is that?
So what would make my day even weirder? How about running into Chris Carter at the conference and Evander Holyfield at the airport. True story. Weird day.

The Company Cares

2008-09-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

To set the record straight, Hurricane Ike came nowhere near Austin. We didn't even get a drop of rain. Not one. The only ramifications that we had to deal with were refugees from Houston living in the hotels and schools, and a slight, pleasant wind in the 5-6 MPH range. Apparently, the word didn't get to our corporate headquarters either because when I got to work today, I had an email asking me to do a physical confirmation of all the employees in the Austin office. When I walked around to make sure, everyone laughed at me. I somehow knew they would, but I couldn't tell my disconnected corporate overlords that I had done it if I hadn't, and I also knew that any attempts to explain our lack of Hurricane Ike would fall on deaf ears. In the end, it was easier to just do the pointless task so the checklist could be completed. Sometimes Corporate America drives me crazy.

Blackberry Programming

2008-09-14T18:58:00.001-07:00

So now that I'm done with school, I've been dabbling with programming again. My first post-graduate school project was to make a game for my kids on my Blackberry. I've done PalmOS and WindowsMobile programming in the past, but these were all C/C++ based. With my newly discovered free time, I decided that it was time to tackle both Java and RIM devices.
I'm the kind of person that really wants a project when trying to learn new things, so I decided that a simple game of Hangman for my daughter would be a great way to dive in. The biggest obstacle I had were the dev tools. Trying to decide between Netbeans, Eclipse, or the Blackberry JDE is just the first of many decisions along the way. To be honest, I haven't really figured out all the pros/cons between them, and my learning is still in progress. My friend Ryan also helped me out to get a running start and so it only took me a few days before I was able to make my first Hello World application. After that, I quickly discovered some of the positive aspects of Java and J2ME in particular. Using J2ME felt quite a bit like using many of the excellent cross-platform frameworks that I've encountered in the past. In only a few evenings of work I was able to get a fairly decent Hangman implementation up and running to the point that Lucy didn't want to give me my phone back. The unexpected side-effect was that my son had his feelings hurt because I made a game for his big sister and he didn't get one. Fortunately, I had an inspiration to make an Etch-A-Sketch type drawing application for him. This let me explore further depths of J2ME, and in only a couple hours, I had a game for him too. I really look forward to playing more with my Blackberry and J2ME and so far have found it to be a very positive experience.

Rudy's

2008-09-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

So being new to Texas, I am discovering that I am new to barbeque. What I previously thought was "bbq" has turned out to be grilling. With that as a backdrop, my first major intersection with Texas style bbq was at a restaurant chain called "Rudy's." In Austin, there are four Rudy's locations and I have now been to 3 of the 4. I can attest that in general, they are all of the same quality; and that quality is mouth wateringly good. You begin your adventure at Rudy's by ordering from the front counter where the feel is more of a butcher shop than a dining establishment, however the smells wafting from behind the counter make your mouth water unlike any butcher shop I've ever been to. It is standard fare to ask if it's your first time at Rudy's, and if you answer in the affirmative, they will all yell something akin to "We got a new one!" You will then be presented with samples of any of the meats or sides that they serve, and I highly recommend that you try them all. My favorite at Rudy's is definitely the moist brisket, but the turkey is also quite excellent. I wouldn't bother with either the sausage or the pork ribs, but the baby back ribs should be tried. The meats are all served on butcher paper and if you are planning to make sandwiches out of it, you will also receive stacks of white bread free of charge. The sides are decent, particularly the coleslaw and creamed corn, but at Rudy's, the meat is the thing and with very affordable prices, you can get more than enough for a family of four for around $20. Because of the price and the easily accessible locations combined with excellent fare, Rudy's has quickly turned into one of my favorite Austin dining establishments. In less than a month, we've already had Rudy's 4 or 5 times despite plenty of other fine restaurants vying for our business. Don't miss Rudy's if you come to Austin.

A New Beginning

2008-09-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

 main() {
       printf("hello, world");
}