General

On Blogging Your “Weigh” To Weight Loss

I started this blog in October of 2007 to chronicle my weight-loss journey from 435 pounds to (hopefully) 185 pounds. Unfortunately, the journey turned out to be a round trip – after reaching a low of 367 pounds, I have watched my weight creep back up until I have arrived back where I started.

Well, shit.

I lost 68 pounds. I know how to lose weight. What I’m doing a piss-poor job of is staying motivated and not letting my personal issues with food overpower my desire to be fitter and live longer. That was supposed to be what this blog was about, and instead I tried to get cute and write little funnies, blog about television, my job, and whatever else. All those things would be fine to blog about if this was just a blog about a fat man who watches too much TV, spends too much time at work, and makes funny pictures of rappers and the pope. But when I started this blog, I stated that its primary purpose was to be a chronicle of my weight loss journey. Like Bugs Bunny, I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque, and I’m nowhere near where I intended to be. Read more…

Upgraded to WordPress 2.7.1

Not expecting anything funny to come about because of it, but I recently upgraded the blog software. Just thought I’d mention it, since I’m not doing much actual blogging lately. Besides neglecting my blog, I’m also researching semantic web tech, and vaguely plotting to build my own Google Maps Mashup.

Comment Spam Still Sucks, But I Don’t Have Any!

reCAPTCHA is awesome! That is all.

Comments Re-enabled

I have re-enabled comments on this blog after adding the reCaptcha plugin to WordPress. Thank yous to Carnegie Mellon University. Enjoy!

Comment Spam Still Sucks

I have temporarily disabled comments on this blog. Comment spammers can die in a fire. 4200+ pending comments is ridiculous.

Apple-Haters and the iPhone 3G Release

I spend a decent amount of time surfing internet forums, between research on professional topics and just plain goofing off, and one thing I have noticed that I just can’t understand is the way that Apple products tend to polarize people. You either completely buy into the “reality distortion field” and vociferously defend Apple, or you take every new Apple product release as an opportunity to slag on the company for being expensive, elitist, and (most often) for not releasing the exact product you wanted at a price where they would lose $100 a unit. The release of the iPhone 3G has been no exception, but it did appear to me that the haters were out in force.

And you know what, I just don’t get it. The iPhone is the one product where Apple has gotten it so spectacularly right that it’s hard to believe anyone could complain. And yet, they do. I’ve taken my some of my thoughts on this phenomenon and put them into a short essay that’s right after the jump. Enjoy!
Read more…

No Time For Love (Or Blogging), Dr. Jones!

I know it’s been quiet here lately. Been busy (travelled 3 of the last 5 weekends), plus the spare time I do have has been eaten up by GTA IV (which was worth every penny, by the way). Things are supposed to be a little more calm for the next little while, so I’ll try to post more often. This post is just a note to say that I didn’t get hit by a bus.

Comment Spam Sucks

If anyone wonders why I don’t update this blog more often, it’s because I spend more time cleaning the comments queue of spam than I do writing posts. In all the time I’ve had this blog, I’ve gotten less than ten legitimate comments. Since I blog more to get things off my chest that earn money, that doesn’t really matter. In the same period, though, I’ve deleted literally thousands of spam comments. What I don’t get is that many spam comments are just random gibberish without so much as a link to a product. Ah, a day in the life of a lightly trafficked blogger.

Help Your Tech Guy, Help Yourself

I’m pretty far along in my career, so I don’t take as many support calls as I used to when I was working help desk and system administration jobs. I still talk to the occasional user now and then, and it’s remarkable how little has changed in the way users approach dealing with technical support. Most users are pretty pleasant, and their interactions with support are pretty ho-hum: they tell you their problem, you fix it, and maybe offer a few tips on how to avoid the problem in the future. For some reason or another, a sizable minority of users view computers as live beings with an agenda, rather than as yet another business tool like a stapler or a telephone. These users are openly hostile to the computer, and to tech support people by association. They’re the most difficult type of user to deal with, because their hostility prevents them from communicating with you effectively. Read more…

Saying Goodbye to 2007

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m approaching New Year’s without the typical guilt that usually accompanies this annual reset of the cosmic trip odometer. For the first time in my life, I weigh less on December 31st than I did on the previous January 1st. That in and of itself is an amazing achievement. However, when I look back on 2007, weight loss won’t be the only thing I have to look fondly back on. Read more…