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December 31, 2005
2005: It Could Have Been a Lot Worse
Ok, my "year in review". Fasten seatbelts.
In January Alanna and I attended our first Ushicon in Austin, Texas. We also did our first father-daugther CosPlay (no, not some sick thing you'd read about in spam e-mail). She dressed as Fio and I was Porco from the movie Porco Rosso. I took advantage of the family iMac G5 to edit and produce the Decker Family Reunion DVD. My college car Huygens landed on Saturn's moon Titan. I retired Anne's white-box PC with a shiny new Mac Mini which has proven to be a godsend w/r/t viruses and interoperability. The Llama Song debuted in our house. We attended a private get together at John Davis' house (of Jimmy Neutron fame) with other LHHS FCP alumni. Alanna got her ears pierced.
In February we had a harbinger of bad news when we discovered that our cat Ruby had breast cancer. The SciFi channel renewed Battlestar Galactica for a second season. Alanna competed in the Solo and Ensemble Competition as an 8th grade band member. I spent the bulk of the month in Austin working at Maskina.
In March we saw the first reviews of Spamalot, which we would listen to all summer. Reid's Martial Arts Studio held its annual banquet, where Alanna and Anne won awards. After years of mulling about it, and weeks figuring out how to afford it, we bought Anne a new Yamaha U5 upright grand piano. McKinney entered a Renaissance of new stores and restaurants opening.
In April we extended Anne's winning streak by buying her a new VW Jetta Wagon. Later this year, I found out that VW is not making a Jetta Wagon anymore, which is what happened with the Honda Accord Wagon (we bought the last model year). Leo's 10th BD party was at Reid's Martial Arts Studio. Anne and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary (without the threat of supernatural doom keeping us together). I finally shutdown my noisy PC Linux server and replaced it with a Mac Mini, which returned silence to my house for the first time in almost ten years. I began working from home full time for Maskina and life became far less stressful as a result.
In May we made some long over due repairs to the house. The McKinney Snuffers continued to not be built. Alanna and I went to Six Flags with the Dowell Band (her last band trip to Six Flags at DMS), and I be-friended Jeff Cranmore, her 6th grade band teacher. She earned a seat as sixth chair clarinet in the MNHS band during tryouts. Clemmie celebrated her 90th birthday this year with a surprise party at Steak and Ale and her church. Jeff Cranmore took Alanna and I to the Texas Renfare for the first time. Alanna was named "Outstanding Woodwind Performer" at Dowell Middle School Band. We gave her an iPod at her middle school graduation ceremony (where she graduated with honors).
June, as always, started with Project: Akon, Dallas' biggest anime convention and Alanna's favorite weekend of the year. I took Alanna down to Austin the next week for band camp and we met with a number of friends at Fujiyama's in the Arboretum. Alanna took another step towards her full black belt by earning her deputy two belt. We drove up to Kansas City to attend my father's Sailing Regatta at Weatherby Lake. We also were introduced to Alanna's online boyfriend Kyle who came to KC from St. Louis. The Saturday night party at the Regatta was a blast. On the drive home, Ray called to say that he won the Regatta, for the first time!
July opened with my forty-third birthday. My sister Leigh-Anne and her husband Todd decided not to buy a $500K monster house in Cedar Park and instead settled for a more modest home in Leander. Anne cut her hair really short and sassy. McKinney (and most of Collin County) lost their water supply for two days and we started drinking water from bottles. Anne invited Alanna's online boyfriend Kyle to stay for a week with us. We had some difficulty sending him home, foreshadowing future problems. "Scotty" Doohan died. Wal*Mart opened a "green Wal-Mart" in McKinney, complete with a wind turbine.
In August a whole new chapter in the Staton family opened with Alanna's entry into High School. Cafe Brazil opened in McKinney. Alanna entered marching band camp, before school began. I started taking photos of the band (just a few here and there ... honest). Bob Moog died. Ruby is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. I bought a Nikon D70s digital SLR and began the largest photo library in my life (12K band photos and counting). Alanna performed at her first MNHS football game and I take over five-hundred photos. Alanna's braces come off.
In September we lost Ruby (our cat of sixteen years) to cancer on the 9th. We took her to the vet and had her put down in what had to be the worst day of the year. Alanna and I went to several MNHS football games (here, here and here, the Crosstown game we won). I ran into Lyle Griffith (the VP from Micrografx who put me through my first death march) at Alanna's open house. I did my first MNHS Band fundraiser for Experience McKinney (dubbed "Apocalypse McKinney" by Mike Jones). Anne had another birthday but I'm not allowed to say what the number is.
October opened with MNHS Marching Band's first competition in Carrollton, Texas. We did very well, earning top scores and winning our "division". Anne took Alanna to Glamour Shots and all we got was a set of four photos. I finally saw P. D. Q. Bach in concert. The MNHS Band competed in Denton, Texas and came in third overall. Alanna earned her deputy three belt. Leo's braces came off! The MNHS Band advanced to UIL Area with a strong performance at the Regional UIL competition. The MISD announced its plans for McKinney Boyd HS, and it became apparent that Alanna will attend Boyd starting next year. The MNHS Band failed to advance in the first round of UIL Area competition. The band played at several football games (here, here, here, where I started my football game announcing career).
November opened with Anne and Alanna performing in the pit for Bye Bye Birdie, a last-minute, seat-of-the-pants effort that took up two weeks of Anne's time simply trying to learn the music. We met the Schmalzried's and Martha Cates at The Grape Restaurant to present her with the elements of a new Xmas tree based on the APE Society. I got my hands on a zoning map for Boyd HS and confirmed that Alanna will attend Boyd next year. Lilly Staton passed away leaving only Mamie Staton as the surviving sibling of eleven. Anne and Leo went to NY for Thanksgiving, while Alanna and I went to Austin but ended up eating at Snuffer's for dinner. McKinney, Texas welcomed it's 100,000th citizen.
And finally, in December I reached my first anniversary at Maskina. McKinney had it's first ice storm of the season. The MNHS Band performed a Winter Concert. Anne's mom visited for ten days and got to see Alanna earn her full Tae Kwon Do black belt. We attended Monse's Quinciñiera. Ma Cates' Xmas Party featured our APE Tree, which she dramatically enhanced. I finally saw Jeff Long's new wife at the party, too. We had a very good Christmas dinner with my brother and Anne's friends. Anne found the Lego Vikings kit and gave it to me for Xmas. Leo got the Nintendo DS and iPod shuffle he's wanted all year. I found a llama doll for Alanna that she adores.
To summarize the summary:
New car, new piano, new camera, new chimney and fence. More Macs and iPods. Straighter teeth and blacker belts. Ruby and Lilly passed on. Lots of anime. Anne and I became high school parents (worse, we became high school band parents). McKinney and my job both got better as the year progressed (when has that ever happened?). I rarely say this, but this year was a general improvement overall for us. Amen.
Posted by Steven at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
December 25, 2005
Computer Geeks Save Christmas
The Washinton Post published a story about how computer saavy family members are increasingly being conscripted into fixing their extended family's computers over the holidays.
Stan King is going to Pittsburgh and then Los Angeles to visit family for the holidays; he has already gotten word that he needs to fix computers belonging to his cousins, his nieces and nephews in both places. District resident Laura Maschal needs to load Apple's iTunes on her dad's computer during her Christmas break. Robert Clemenzi, meanwhile, will be trying to fix his sister's broadband connection during his holiday jaunt down to Asheville, N.C.For many folks like them, having a family reputation for tech savviness means that going home for the holidays has become the time for connecting printers and figuring out why mom's e-mail software stopped working a few weeks back. As computers have found a place in nearly everyone's home, the annual computer checkup has become almost as much of a tradition as dad putting together the new bicycle or sister-in-law getting dragged into the kitchen to make gravy or eggnog.
"It used to be that grandma wanted you to put in a new light bulb in some hard-to-reach place," said Maschal, who works for a local Web company, though in a non-techie capacity. "Now you have to come over to take spyware off her hard drive."
If there is a tech professional in the family, that is the person who gets the job of configuring that new wireless network connection or figuring out why a computer is acting "funny." Otherwise, it's the young guy, the one who is into computer games or uses an iPod or who packs cutting-edge gadgets like a Treo smart phone. After that, practically anyone who uses a computer at work might wind up appointed to the task.
Sometimes, though, you just have to draw a line. When Timothy Shey, an executive at a local Web applications company, found out that his parents were deciding on a new computer a couple of years ago, he offered to give them free and unlimited tech support, on one condition -- they had to buy an Apple MacIntosh.
For Mac fans such as Shey, having to do maintenance on a rival Windows computer is a galling experience. Shey said he knows one guy who took his parents' Windows system when they were out of the house and replaced it with a Mac: Tech-support problem solved.
But the Sheys ignored their son's advice and bought a Windows-based computer. So a year later when the machine started acting up, he kept his word.
"I cut them off," he said with a laugh.
This year was pretty light, only rebuilt my sister's PC, and helped two neighbors with their routers. It could have been worse! And take the advice in the article -- toss your #$%#$% PC and get a Mac!
Posted by Steven at 11:15 AM | Comments (1)
Xmas Morning
 | Some of the funnier moments this Christmas morning. I found a llama doll and book that inspired it (Is Your Momma's A Llama?) at Barnes and Noble, which may turn out to be Alanna's favorite gift this morning [below]. She quickly found a way to use it with her new hat from Austin [left]. Anne gave me the Lego® Vikings Ship that I saw on Lego's website last Nov. [below left]. |
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Posted by Steven at 10:10 AM | Comments (1)
December 24, 2005
Blast From the (Meh!) Past
Tonite Alicia Snell gave Alanna a photo from her kindergarten Barbie™ party back in 1997 (est.):
Posted by Steven at 08:09 PM | Comments (1)
December 18, 2005
Whole Foods to Sell Exclusive Icelandic Foods
I work with guys from Iceland and Norway, and they've tried to educate the U.S. team members about their cultures and food. Now Whole Foods is going to short-circuit that cultural exchange by offering Icelander foodstuffs in their chain:
"Haute cuisine" and "Icelandic food" are terms not often heard together on these shores, but our perception may be on the verge of change: Whole Foods has been granted exclusive rights to sell Icelandic delicacies including lamb and high-fat butter, and Americans will be able to truly appreciate what the chilly island has to offer. Essayist Bonnie Wolf recently sampled Icelandic treats at a luncheon in Washington, D.C.
Take a listen to the radio segment, it was amazing to me how much of the Icelander cuisine I already knew about.
Posted by Steven at 09:35 AM | Comments (1)
December 17, 2005
Martha Cates' Xmas Party
We attended Martha Cates' Christmas party tonite. Alanna couldn't make it as she was Monse's best-friend at her quinciñera, so she missed seeing the "APE Tree".
Earlier this year the Schmalzried's and Anne put together a set of decorations for a Christmas tree for Martha with an AP European History theme. We made banana-chip garlands, decoration ornaments with photos in them, and even minature "killer file cabinents" a la when Charles and I decorated her file cabinent as sophomores.
We gave her all the decorations at a dinner outting at The Grape restaurant. We expected to see a tree in her home with this stuff on it, but it never occurred to us that she would take the ball and run with it.
The tree she decorated had much, much more on and under it. She added flags from all the European nations along the visible edge of the tree. She added ornaments themed for each of the students and the two wives (Kim, who is an APE herself, and Anne).
Anne's was a hilarious King Kong climbing the Empire State Building, cleverly joining the 'ape' theme with her home state of NY. She added little text tags to some of the ornaments to explain the meaning of the tree to her guests (I can only imagine their confusion!). She put all kinds of computer-related tcotchkes on the tree in my honor. She even found a copy of Kenneth Clarke's Civilisation to put under the tree. It was beautiful.
A final big surprise for me was seeing Jeff Long and his wife, Ekatrina, for the first time since his mother's funeral. I wasn't able to attend their wedding as I was in Toronto that weekend last year, and I was quick to apologize for not being able to make it. Jeff looked great, and his wife was lovely. I told them about Charles' find (the movie Russian Ark) which I hope the can get a copy of soon. I made a point of getting Jeff's contact info so I can keep him in touch with the rest of the APEs.
The party was a lot of fun, the food was as wonderful as it has always been (love the Sacher Torte). I look forward to seeing the APE Tree next year!
Posted by Steven at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)
Monse's Quinciñiera
Alanna attended Monse Garcia's quinciñiera today after she finished earning her black belt. The main event started around 4pm so we scrambled to get her home and cleaned up. The photo on the left, hopefully, speaks to the success of the brief time we had to get her 'gussied' up.
(Just in case you don't know, the quinciñiera is the traditional fifteenth birthday "coming out" party for Mexican girls. The family throws a huge party for their daughter to let the whole town know she's old enough to be married.)
The event was held at The Cotton Mill, a repurposed (what else?) cotton mill off Elm St. in downtown McKinney, just east of McDonald St. The look of the place is kind of rough, but I assume that is intentional. It's rustic, to be blunt.
Monse greeting us at the door.
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(left) "Cupcake" Monse.
(right) Alanna surprised to see Lauren Falkenburg and Monse's dress.
(left) Monse's escort, Josh. (right) Mel "Big Red" Corrigan and Monse.
Closeups of Monse looking radiant.
Posted by Steven at 04:00 PM | Comments (0)
Alanna Earns Her Blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do
Alanna completed her Black Belt Training today at Reid's Martial Arts Studio, and was awarded with the rank of full black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
The black belt candidate must spar with six others, and this is the most gruelling part of the test.
Jessica Reinalt came to the studio to see Alanna earn her belt.
Other friends who attended included Cedric and her uncle John. Her grandmother came into town from NY today, and was surprised with the black belt test (she didn't know it was today).
After the sparring, the student must break four boards with foot and hand. Alanna snapped the first three boards in quick succession, but the jumping board had a large knot in it and was rather stubborn. A new board was brought out and she quickly dispatched it.
It's finally over!
Master Reid ties Alanna's black belt.
Master Reid and Alanna w/certificate.
Posted by Steven at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
Barbara Visiting for Ten Days
Anne's mom is staying with us over the Christmas holidays. I went to get her this morning at D/FW.
A series of intermeshed events is planned for today, and so the fact that her flight was late threw some of the plans off. I asked my brother to swing by D/FW to get our video camera so that he could tape Alanna's belt test today (I would not be at Reid's Studio in time thanks to the delayed flight), so we rescued that part of the plan.
The best part of the plan was not telling Barbara about the black belt test. She was genuinely surprised when we got to Reid's and I sprung the truth on her.
Posted by Steven at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2005
Bird's Eye View of Home
Microsoft has a competitor to Google's Google Earth (both of which went into beta this month for the Macintosh). Here is the MS "Bird's Eye" view of my home (center of the image, with the black car in the drive way) from Microsoft's Local View:
I can see the trim on my roof line. On the lower right of the image you can see the yellow slide of the playset I built for Alanna and Leo, that I gave to the family across the street. I think this image was taken last winter, around January, as that is the earliest my red oak tree is leafless.
I was able to locate Anne's brother's house, but not the homestead on Timberleaf Dr. (the Bird's Eye view is not available everywhere). MS seems to be focusing on edge cities, I guess, with this. It will be a powerful tool for anyone doing regional activities like block walking.
Posted by Steven at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
A DVPS Of My Own
This is really weird. Someone has posted a DVPS for sale on eBay. This is the video satellite server that I worked on at DG Systems (my most miserable job experience of all time). I'd love to bid on this and buy it ... just so I could have an Office Space party where I take a sledgehammer to it! I sent a question to the seller asking how the acquired it (I thought DG owned all instances) ... haven't heard back from them yet.
PS. Simon is not having his infamous DG Xmas party this year. :-( The fur jock-strap will not be re-gifted to some deserving couple!
Posted by Steven at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2005
MNHS Holiday Concert
Tonite Alanna performed in the MNHS Music for the Holidays! concert, the last time she performs in her MNHS Northstar band uniform. She was in both the Bye Bye Birdie! and the Wind Ensemble (high band) performances. Anne rejoined the band for the Bye Bye Birdie! performance, too, and was delighted to have a real piano to play on stage (instead of the Kurzweil synthesizer).
I took photos and at the last minute was asked to tape the performance with the band video camera. To my surprise, I was listed on the credits as "Booster Photographer, Videographer, and Road Announcer for the Bulldog Band". ;-). I'm editing the footage and photos to create a concert DVD that I hope we can sell to band parents as a fundraiser.
Posted by Steven at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2005
Holloway Working on Stone's 9/11
One of my oldest friends, Bryan Holloway, is working on Oliver Stone's 9/11 movie (untitled) set. He's part of a team reconstructing the wreckage of the World Trade Center. As a veteran set builder and prop designer, he's worked on a alot of films, but this one is really surreal.
Scores of extras loiter, their faces covered in soot. A man sprays gray insulation foam - in lieu of concrete dust - at what looks much like the corner of Church and Vesey Streets in Lower Manhattan. Another tosses reams of paper in the air. Nearby, others are debating precisely how to crush a fire truck and an ambulance.And just over there, across a dirt road in this isolated industrial tract not far from Marina del Rey, the twisted facade and mangled girders of the wreckage of the World Trade Center are taking shape into a meticulously rendered mockup of ground zero.
A continent removed from the scrutiny of scarred New Yorkers, Oliver Stone's film about 9/11 rescue workers is deep into its second month of principal photography. And crew members working round the clock are dressing one of the most sensitive movie sets imaginable.
...
Hundreds of carpenters, he explained, had hand-carved thousands of beams from Styrofoam, molded rubber into countless strands of stand-ins for shredded reinforcing bars, and assembled all of this inside a pit erected atop stacks of cargo containers.
When Bryan was telling me about this film, I didn't expect to read about it in The New York Times, but here is the story! I hope the film is spectacular, profound, moving and of course, accurate.
But also, it's good that he's working and that he and his family will visit Dallas starting on the 18th of December for two weeks. Looking forward to seeing him, Mon and his daughter.
Posted by Steven at 12:06 AM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
The Perfect Toilet Paper Dispenser
I'm told this is a real product:
Good God.
Posted by Steven at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
First Icestorm
We're experiencing our first sleeting icestorm of the year. I'm so glad I didn't stay in Austin through today, even if it is Leigh Anne's birthday (she's 35-- 0x23 -- years old today). Happy birthday, lil' sis.
Posted by Steven at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)
Weird USB
Sushi USB, anyone?
That's right, sushi USB "thumb drives". Or if you prefer, just plain thumb "thumb drives".
Leave it to the Japanese to tweek the USB disc drive concept by encasing them in interesting plastic shells. Westerners don't always appreciate how important sushi is to Japanese culture. These drives and the others are clever and also very popular.
I guess the wasabi versions are USB 2.0.
No info on pricing or availability, however the webpage is in English, which is a good sign for use Westerners.
Posted by Steven at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
More on Biodiesel
The New York Times has a story on biodiesel cars that makes it sound pretty attractive to switch. Not that I have to do anything, really, since I can buy biodiesel on the highway driving to Austin from Willie Nelson himself at Carl's Corners.
Biodiesel only works in diesel engines, and while many people find it attractive, it is not an easy fuel to use. Because drivers usually can't pull up to a pump to refuel, most people who have converted their cars have to make the fuel themselves, which is not a simple process. And using the fuel could also void a new car's warranty."It definitely takes up time to make biodiesel," said David Henri of New Hartford, who burns biodiesel in his 1999 Volkswagen Jetta. "You have to be a dedicated person."
Because vegetable oils congeal in cold weather, biofuel vehicles start up using standard diesel in the winter, then switch to biodiesel after the car has been heated (either by electric heaters or the warming engine). Mr. Zemola's Mercedes can also run in sub-zero temperatures because the biofuel lines are encased in heater hoses to keep them warm. The Mercedes does indeed occasionally smell of French fries, and other times like popcorn or barbecue.
In a report issued this year, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said that biodiesel is better for the environment than conventional diesel. The agency said that burning B100, which is 100 percent vegetable oil, in a car reduces particulate matter by 47 percent, unburned hydrocarbons by 67 percent and carbon monoxide by 48 percent, but is dirtier in nitrogen oxide emissions.
Posted by Steven at 01:07 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2005
If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Austin
I am coming down to Austin on Tuesday for a one-day visit. I should be available for dinner, if anyone is interested.
Posted by Steven at 09:38 AM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2005
First Anniversary
Today is my first anniversary at Maskina Communications!
Woot!
I went out to Irving to do some "Nick Burns, the Computer Guy" stuff for my computer-challenged sales staff (I tease, but they really are computer-challenged), and I stopped at Benihana's for lunch.
To my utter surprise, I ran into the guy I used to sit across the isle from at DG Systems, Daming! He was surprised to see me, but he did remember that I had spent part of last year in Canada. I chided him, "Why did you leave the Great White North?", and he took the ribbing in good spirits. A surprising number of DG software engineers from my era are still there (at least five). I guess these guys really cannot find another job.
I cannot stress the difference between these two jobs. I've now worked for as long away from DG Systems as when I was there, and the new job simply blows away the previous. I could go into details, but that would be telling. Suffice it to say, I no longer have all the malingering aliments that commuting two hours a day to an Abu Ghraib-like job can cause.
Thanks again for bringing me on board, Maskina! You guys rock. scissors. paper.
Posted by Steven at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)
Lego Vikings!
Wow, this combines my employer and my favorite childhood toy. I wonder if it comes with the horned-helmet? I can just imagine the enormous Iceland® and Greenland® expansion sets for this starter kit.
Will there be Eric the Red figurines?
I'll have to check with my Icelander and Norge co-workers to see if the Danes (makers of Lego) have some kind of grudge against them.
PS. Me want Viking Lego ;-). Especially the horned-helmed figurines.
Posted by Steven at 11:40 PM | Comments (0)
AirPort Express
How can Apple cram so much goodness into a such a small brick?
The Apple Computer AirPort Express is a miniature wonder. It's just a small brick that plugs into a wall socket. If you attach an Ethernet cable (or can bridge it to a WiFi router), it becomes a WiFi hub. And if you use iTunes and plug in an audio or optical cable, you can use it to play your digitally stored music out of any stereo hooked up to it. And if you plug a USB printer into it, it becomes a wireless printer hub. It's "brilliant" and easy to configure and use, plus the portability means that it is painless to add to the laptop bag and take it everywhere. Don't mind if I do!
What is really cool about this is that when I come visit you ... I can plug this in and finally get WiFi regardless of your actual Internet setup (assuming you have some kind of broadband connection and a NAT router).
I used it today when I went into the Maskina office in Irving, which has no WiFi. Ten seconds after plugging it in, my iBook was on the network. Voila! Now that's awesome, Apple goodness.
Posted by Steven at 08:17 PM | Comments (0)