System Updates

Yesterday I was officially given a new database to administer at work. There are several things you can do to make sure your database runs smoothly. The first is to make sure you are running on the most current version. While you don't want to be on the bleeding edge of technology, it is important to make sure you have all of the security and bug patches installed. Otherwise you open yourself to a number of potential problems.

Upgrading some versions of PostgreSQL are as easy as shutting down the database, installing the new binary files, and restarting the database. Unfortunately my new database required a more lengthy process. As the database is used in a production application, I can't just shut it down on a whim. I have to wait for a regularly scheduled maintenance window. As luck would have it, the window fell at midnight this morning (or last night, depending on how you look at it).

When I was done at the office, I went home, ate some dinner, and did a few chores around the boat. Then I came back and started the database update. Everything ran smoothly and I was done relatively quickly. It helped to create a checklist earlier in the day while my mind was still fresh. Figuring things out after midnight can be a bit foggy if you aren't used to staying up that late.

The tough part about doing a late-night system update is the next morning. Even though I knew I could sleep in, I had trouble sleeping past my usual waking hour. Now I just hope I don't fall asleep at my desk this afternoon.

Online Video Games

Working away from home during the week can take its toll on your family life. While I have plenty of time to talk with my family, it just isn't the same as being there. Video conferencing with Skype helps a bit, but it is easy to miss that interaction you get by just hanging out together.

Several years ago, my extended family started a weekly game night. My Brothers, dad, and I would play an online video game on Thursdays with our sons. While some of us live close to each other, my older brother and his son are in San Diego. The game we started playing was SOCOM, which is a first-person-shooter game where you are a Navy SEAL that hunts terrorists (or visa versa). We originally started playing the game on Playstation 2's. Then it came out on the PSP. The PSP is nice because you can bring it on the road with you and don't have to lug around a larger console, nor do you have to worry about connecting it to a hotel TV.

My youngest son is 14 and really needs his Dad around. Since I can't be there, I try to talk to him on the phone. Unfortunately he is a boy and doesn't really like to talk on the phone (unlike his older sisters, who can talk for hours about nothing). Lately we have pulled out the PSP's and started playing online together. It may only be for a half-hour or so, but we are doing something together. I have the headset game in one ear and the cell-phone headset in the other. We are in constant contact the whole time. While we aren't in the same room, I think that this is as close as it gets to being home even though I am out of town. Now I just have to get better so he stops complaining how lousy I am.

Internet Recipes

Living alone 4 nights a week means I either eat out a lot or I have to eat my own cooking. Past experience has taught me that eating out a lot is the best way to gain weight and so I try to cook my own meals as often as possible. Unfortunately I haven't had to cook for myself in almost 20 years (thanks to my wonderful wife) and so my cooking skills are somewhat rusty. Oh sure, I am good at putting together meals for camping trips, but there are only so many ways to spice up a tin-foil dinner.

Before leaving the office last night, I spent a couple of minutes on the Internet looking for recipes that I could easily make. I only have a single pot and a single frying pan in my bachelor kitchen and so I searched for one-pot meals. I found a great site with 20 wonderful looking recipes. The only problem was that they all required a number of ingredients I just don't stock on my boat. Not only is my kitchen small, but there isn't a lot of storage space to keep even the most basic staples. There was one meal that looked like it didn't require too many ingredients: Thai Green Chicken Curry. So before heading home, I stopped by the store and picked up what was needed.

I got back to the boat and spent the next hour cooking dinner. Naturally I would have preferred to eat 5 minutes after I started cooking, but there wasn't anything else to do but watch TV and I already do too much of that. The instructions were easy to follow and I was proud of myself when I sat down to eat. Now I have one more recipe to add to my really short list of things I can cook. Just don't tell my wife, she might expect me to cook more when I am home.

Learning Python

One of the nice things about my new job is that I get time set aside each day to learn a new skill. Most of the developers I work with here are using Python and so I figured I would learn this computer programming language. What better way to learn than to work on an actual project. One of my coworkers was more than happy to volunteer a project and after a week, I am mostly finished. There is still some clean-up work to do, but the program works.

I do have to confess that I am not any better at knowing Python now than when I started the project. My program interacts with so many other pieces of the system that I feel like I am working with Lego blocks. When I need to figure out how to interact with one system, I do a search on the Internet, find some sample code, and work it into my program. I know just enough to make changes so that it works. When I get errors, I search the Internet and get an immediate fix.

Today I have a code review and I have to explain how my code works and why I wrote it the way I did. The only problem is that I have no idea what I did. The program just works and does what it is supposed to do. Oh well, maybe I will learn Python next week.

Moving Files to My New Computer

So far, I have not run into any problems because I left my MacBook at home. Of course it helps that I am not working on any old projects. Last night I did some volunteer work and didn't get back home until very late. This evening I will have some spare time and it will be a better test of how well I did transferring files from the MacBook to my new laptop.

Previously I listed 7 steps that I use to transfer old files to a new laptop. Step 3 is: Move all important files to the new computer. With my MacBook, that was easy. Any time I create a new file, I make sure it ends up in the "Documents" directory. Linux, Windows, and the Mac all have a directory called "Documents" and so the advise is valid on all 3 operating systems.

When I create a new word processing document, it ends up in "Documents". When I start a new spreadsheet, it ends up in "Documents". Now it may sound like my documents directory is full of files. It isn't. One of the beauties of computer file systems is that folders can contain other folders or directories. This means that I have a number of folders in "Documents" and those folders contain other folders. When I got to step 3 of my list for transferring information, I just copied the Documents folder to my new computer and I didn't have to go searching for all my important files.

Truth be told, I have yet to complete the process of transferring all of my old files to my new computer. I started the process by copying them to a 16 GB flash drive and was amazed that it took up 3.5 GB of space. Now I just keep that flash drive with me and when I need a file from my old computer, I copy it from the flash drive to my new computer. That helps me figure out what I really need from my MacBook. After all, who wants to fill up their new computer with old stuff that never got used on the old one?

A New Laptop

Recently I received a new laptop at work. It isn't nearly as nice as my old black MacBook, but it means I have yet another computer. For a while I was leaving my work laptop in San Francisco and carrying my MacBook back and forth to Salt Lake. This week I decided to leave it at home and utilize the laptop the company gave me. So far, it has turned out to be a good decision, but the week is still young.

One nice thing about my MacBook is that it has a built-in camera to use with Skype. My new computer has the same setup. None of the computers we have at home have a camera and so it was kind of nice to talk to my son. He logged into my MacBook while I was on my new laptop and we were able to see each other as we talked. It didn't take long before everyone in the family was down in my office crowding behind the laptop screen to get a look at Dad.

Working 600 miles away from home can be a little lonely sometimes. While I spend quite a bit of time on the phone with member of my family, it will be nice to enjoy seeing them as well as talking to them.

The Death of OpenOffice.org

Two days ago, I received an e-mail about how OpenOffice is dead because of the new release of Microsoft Office 2010. The author comments about the quality of online office suites like Google Docs. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the online office suites are no replacement for a full fetaured office suite like OpenOffice or Microsoft Office.

The author then goes on to talk about all the new features of Microsoft Office 2010 and how it is so much better than OpenOffice that everyone should switch to Microsoft Office. His justification is that if you can't afford to pay for software, use Google Docs. That is like someone who has just had his first ride in a Ferrari saying that you should never own a Toyota and if you can't afford a Ferrari, you should take the bus.

I like Microsoft Office on the Mac and think it is a great product. I like OpenOffice on Linux and think it is a great product. Recently I have started using Microsoft Office on Windows and have to say that I hate it. In Office 2007 on Windows, they completely redesigned the user interface and it is difficult to find anything. I will probably replace it with OpenOffice and only use Microsoft Office on the Mac. As for Google Docs, it has its place, but anybody that thinks it will replace a full-featured office suite has had a bit too much of the Google Kool-Aid and needs to give it a rest.

Is OpenOffice dead? Not at all. There are lots of people that will continue to use OpenOffice, myself included. I think the real issue is that the person who wrote the article about the demise of OpenOffice works for ZDnet and ZDnet sells advertising space. Companies like Microsoft pay for advertising. OpenOffice doesn't. I'll let you do the math.