Summertime in NJ

It's 64 degrees outside, so it time to light up a fire in the backyard. Drin in hand, and ipod by my side playing the latest No Agenda. Relaxing under the stars...

Fire good

Roz Savage Needs Your Help

less then 14 hours till AMEX awards this prize. Please have as many friends as possible sign p and nominate her for the project. Thanks for your support.

Light at End of Tunnel Maybe Seen

Three more days is what I am told is all that's left for me to be onsite before my apprentice takes over. This means an end to the 4:30 AM wake ups and a return to my office in Eatontown only 15 minutes from home instead of this 2 hour drive each way.  Looking forward to being out from behind the wheel very much. Ready to get back and dig into some meatier tasks.

Come Thursday it will be all right, Come... -Sorry Jimmy-

Fay's knocking on Mom's Door

Looks like Mom might be in for a windy/rainy night and all day Tuesday. If I was still living down there I would be rapidly be backing up servers, hanging tarps for that just in case the roof leaks, and readying to shutdown all server racks. But that was another lifetime. I don't have those worries anymore. Those responsibilities are on others now. 

I tried to check the National Hurricane Center for updated information by the site is down. As it looks like Miami has already met Fay they could be experiencing technical problems like power outages or downed Internet connections, or maybe their servers are just not robust enough to support all the hits they are getting.

Intellicast.com is still up and running (click here for Radar Page), so I am able to get a radar overview of the southern part of the state. I was also able to scrape this Tropical Storm Notice.

 

Clearwater, FL (Updated 8/18/2008 11:26:02 AM EST)

TROPICAL STORM FAY LOCAL STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAMPA BAY RUSKIN FL
534 AM EDT MON AUG 18 2008
...TROPICAL STORM FAY CONTINUING TO MOVE NORTH NORTHWEST OVER CUBA...
.AT 5 AM EDT...TROPICAL STORM FAY WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 22.54 DEGREES NORTH...80.9 DEGREES WEST OR ABOUT 300 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF FORT MYERS...AND ABOUT 400 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF TAMPA. FAY IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 12 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 50 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE WAS 1003 MB...OR 29.62 INCHES. FAY IS FORECAST TO MOVE TOWARD SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY AND COULD BECOME A HURRICANE BEFORE LANDFALL. FLZ050-051-055-060>062-065-GMZ830-853-856-873-876-181745-
/O.CON.KTBW.HU.A.1006.000000T0000Z-000000T0000Z/
PINELLAS-HILLSBOROUGH-MANATEE-SARASOTA-DE SOTO-CHARLOTTE-LEE-TAMPA BAY WATERS-ENGLEWOOD TO TARPON SPRINGS OUT 20 NM-BONITA BEACH TO ENGLEWOOD OUT 20 NM-
ENGLEWOOD TO TARPON SPRINGS OUT 20 TO 60 NM-BONITA BEACH TO ENGLEWOOD OUT 20 TO 60 NM-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CLEARWATER...ST.PETERSBURG...BRANDON...TAMPA...BRADENTON...SARASOTA...VENICE...ARCADIA...PORT_CHARLOTTE...PUNTA GORDA...CAPE CORAL...FORT MYERS
534 AM EDT MON AUG 18 2008
...HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT...
...NEW INFORMATION...
NO UPDATES/CHANGES AT THIS TIME.
...WATCHES/WARNINGS...
A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM BONITA BEACH IN LEE COUNTYTO TARPON SPRINGS IN PINELLAS COUNTY.
...PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
PEOPLE LOCATED IN THE WATCH AREA ARE ENCOURAGED TO FREQUENTLY MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...OR OTHER LOCAL NEWS MEDIA...FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THIS EVOLVING SITUATION WITH TROPICAL STORM FAY. LISTEN CLOSELY FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE FORECAST.
FOR DETAILED PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS CHECK THE LATEST PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT LINKED AT THE TOP OF THE NWS TAMPA BAY HOME PAGE (HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/TAMPABAY ).
...STORM SURGE AND STORM TIDE...
ON THE CURRENT FORECAST TRACK THE MAXIMUM EXPECTED STORM SURGE IS 3 TO 5 FEET ALONG THE LEE AND CHARLOTTE COUNTY COASTS INCLUDING THE UPPER PORTIONS OF CHARLOTTE HARBOR DURING TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. FURTHER NORTH ALONG THE PINELLAS...HILLSBOROUGH... SARASOTA AND MANATEE COUNTY COAST...INCLUDING TAMPA BAY...A SURGE OF 2 TO 4 FEET IS POSSIBLE IF FAY STAYS OFFSHORE TUESDAY EVENING AND NIGHT. ASTRONOMICAL TIDE LEVELS MUST BE ADDED TO THESE SURGE VALUES TO DETERMINE TOTAL STORM TIDE LEVELS.
...WINDS...
MAXIMUM WINDS OF 60 TO 80 MPH WITH SOME HIGHER GUSTS MAY AFFECT THE WATCH AREA TUESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
...PROBABILITY OF HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS...
BASED ON THE CURRENT FORECAST TRACK THERE IS A 40 TO 60 PERCENT CHANCE OF TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS...WINDS OF 39 TO 73 MH... BEING EXPERIENCED ACROSS THE WATCH AREA BEGINNING EARLY MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. THERE IS ALSO A 5 TO 10 PERCENT CHANCE THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS...WINDS OF 74 MPH OR HIGHER...WILL
AFFECT THE AREA.
...INLAND FLOODING...
RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. DEPENDING ON THE EXACT STORM TRACK...A FLOOD WATCH MAY NEED TO BE ISSUED FOR WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ON MONDAY.
...TORNADOES...
THE PRIMARY AREA FOR TORNADO DEVELOPMENT IN TROPICAL SYSTEMS IS THE RIGHT FRONT QUADRANT OF THE STORM. AS FAY MOVES NORTHWARD ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT THE TORNADO THREAT FOR THE REGION WILL BE MODERATE TO HIGH.
...NEXT UPDATE...
THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 1130 AM EDT.
$$

It's dark out, I smell Coffee, it must be another work day... it's only Thursday

These 4:30 AM wake ups are starting to drag on me. I'm trying to balance my meetings and family life in the evenings with my need for sleep, but I'm starting to fail at it. I'm half way through my first thermo mug of coffee and ready to finalize the training of my scanning apprentice by tomorrow. in the meantime I'm starting to dream of the weekend. I have a few verses of a song in a loop in my head,

"I'd like to go where the pace of life's slow
Could you beam me somewhere Mr. Scott?
Any ol' place here on earth or in space
You pick the century and I'll pick the spot"

"Boat drinks
Waitress I need two more boat drinks..."

- lyrics from Boat Drinks by Jimmy Buffett -

Just need to slow down for a few moments and see the world around me. Enjoy some time with my wife and her wonderful eyes and smile that warms me more then the sun. Maybe grab a movie, lay in the sun, go to the beach, something...

maybe some even some Boat Drinks...  Oh, Waitress..

Wednesday - pushing it through

So the up side for the day is listening to MacBreak Weekly live in the web. I am out onsite again today and am connected to the web via a Sprint aircard.  As long as nothing major wants the web (email, twitter, Trillian) the audio is good. Other then that the day has been hard. The 4:30 AM alarm clock is getting tiresome, and I am ready to get back to regular work hours again. Seems like things are heavy all around me, but I know that it's just me being tired and I need to not let it effect those around me in a negative way. Accomplish all my current work tasks, keep checking off items on my home to-do list, and fill-in where needed for either when others need help. Just need to make it to the weekend when I need to get out with my wife... somewhere. Maybe we can just hit the road with our cameras and capture summertime in New Jersey.

PS: forgot to post this yesterday so here it is in the wee hours of the morning...

Artistic Training

Spending the day training a fellow employee on a film scanner. Film scanners unlike document scanner are on the artistic side. It's like scanning a photograph. You have to be able to make adjustments as you see the scans, for each roll of film is unique.  Microfilm is a photographic process and a lot of people forget that. So for training you can "try" to cover everything that "might" need to be done, but the best training is to sit with the new scanner operator and as issues come up help them to learn the how's and whys that correct the issues. in other words, it makes for a boring day. Sitting and waiting for problems to correct. If I was in my office I could be working on other things, but I am on locate hours from home, and feel like I am spinning my wheels and not really accomplishing anything.  But I know that this training will allow me to get back to the office and have the trainee take over what I am doing. It's a slow process, but needed so that I can move on to the next project.

Then again it could be that I really hate Mondays!

Comcast: Comcast Tech Accuses 74-Year-Old Man Of Stealing Cable Service

Yet another fun Story about Comcast. I guess they don't have a public relations dept anymore.
Between Bittorrent throttling, installation mistakes and billing errors, how exactly are they staying in business.


Snipped

Comcast: Comcast Tech Accuses 74-Year-Old Man Of Stealing Cable Service

Pretend you're a Comcast tech who has been asked to transfer Ally's account and internet service to her 74-year-old grandfather's house. Your work order shows that Ally ordered only internet service, but when you shimmy up the pole, you see that the house is also set to receive cable service. Do you:

* A) Connect the internet service and leave.
* B) Connect the internet service and check to see if the 74-year-old man has a separate account for the cable service.
* C) Accuse the 74-year-old man of stealing cable, and declare "I don't want to see your fucking bill" when the granddaughter tries to explain the situation.

Ally's story, after the jump...

So here's my story with Comcast:

My girlfriend and I were living in an apartment where we had Comcast Internet, Phone, and Digital Cable service. After our lease was up, we decided to move into my grandpa's house for a year or so to save some money to put down on a house. Anyways - I called Comcast and set a disconnect date at our apartment. My grandpa has basic extended cable through comcast, and for us, that's good enough. So I asked them to cancel the cable and phone line for us, and asked if they could just transfer the internet service and set an appointment for a tech to come out and hook up the internet at my Grandpa's. All went well. I was told a tech would be at my Grandpa's the following Tuesday between 10 and 1pm.

As most of us know, Comcast techs don't normally show up until about 2 minutes until that window is over, but this time - the guy actually showed up at about 10:05am. Great, I thought. I don't have to sit at home all day waiting for someone to show up. He pulls his truck into the alleyway and comes into the house to see where we want the line hooked up. I proceed to show him the spare bedroom where I'll be connecting the router. He obviously noticed my Grandfather watching cable tv in the living room.

He then tells me he's going outside to check the line on the poll. I go upstairs and about 5 minutes later, I come outside to witness my grandpa and the Comcast guy in a screaming match. The Comcast tech is threatening to leave and I ask "What the heck is going on?!" Well, my Grandpa starts telling me that he disconnected his cable and says we do not have a cable account with Comcast and basically accuses my Grandpa of hijacking cable. Okay, last time I checked, most 74 years old probably don't know how to hijack cable. So my Grandpa gets really upset and starts back for the house. I'm trying to find out from the Comcast tech what is going on and my Grandpa comes back out 2 seconds later with a Comcast bill in his hand. He goes to hand it to the Comcast tech and he rudely replies "Sir, I don't want to see your fucking bill. If you don't go back in your house and quit disrespecting me, I'm going to just leave."

Meanwhile, I ask my Grandpa to try and let me straighten it out and go inside for a minute because I could tell at this point he was getting really upset. So I continue to ask the guy what the hell is going on all the while he is telling me he isn't going back in the house to hook up my internet because he doesn't appreciate my Grandpa "disrespecting him". Well, from what I saw, my Grandpa didn't really deserve to get his cable turned off and treated in such a way. I finally talk him into hooking up the internet (I needed it for school as my homework is submitted online). But the issue still remains with my Grandpa's service. So I ask the tech why he thinks we don't have cable. He replies "When I look up the phone number on the account, it only shows internet, no cable television. That's a red flag mam."

So I immediately figure out what's going on. I tell him calmly "Okay, well you are looking under MY phone number. And yes, I only have internet service in my name seeing as I cancelled the phone and cable service. My grandfather has a SEPARATE Comcast account from me, on which he only has extended cable. If you would have let him show you the bill, maybe you would have noticed it is two separate account numbers!" I wanted it that way so then the internet bill comes in my name. It's just easier that way when paying bills.

He then rudely replies with "Mam, I don't really care. I'm doing my job, and I'm not stupid. Comcast will not allow two different accounts at the same address so I already know you are blatantly lying to me." Well obviously this was news to me. And he proceeds to just leave without turning back on my Grandpa's cable, which he PAYS for.

We have a Comcast center about 2 minutes from our house, so we drive over there. The lady proceeds to tell me she can't turn back on the cable because the account was flagged.

Alright, well obviously he saw 2 accounts if he specifically flagged my Grandpa's.

About six calls to Comcast later, and I finally get someone on the line willing to fix the situation. He tells me he has no idea what he was talking about and there isn't anything saying 2 Comcast accounts can't be at the same house. He turns my Grandpa's cable back on and gives him a $10 credit, which in all honesty, is kind of insulting for the crap the rep and the center gave us. Not only was the tech wrong, but he treated my Grandfather like crap.

Who the hell is Comcast hiring these days?

Me have Ribs... Dad?

Sim's away and Clouie has glued herself to me. Even more since I brought the ribs in from smoking on the grill all afternoon in the rain. My backyard and now home have the sweet smell of mesquite filling them. Clouie is being exceptionally friendly. I think she want a rib from all the head butting and purring... What do you think?

Brain Toniq?

Brain Toniq of Texas

Sound like I need to get some of this drink and try.  The TWIT network has been drinking this for a while now and rave about it's good taste. I just need to cut back on the coffee without losing my edge. Wonder if I can get a case shipped to NJ?