Xerratus
Happily stressed out, since 1974


 
Thursday, April 19, 2007

Double-U.  Why is the letter W the only letter in the alphabet with more than one syllable?  Why?  For some reason, this is one of those things that I think about and have thought about for some time now.  It keeps me up at night.  I’m not joking.  Ask my wife.

To rectify, I’ve come up with a solution.  My proposal is simple.  Rename the letter W from double-u to just dub.  Dub.  Rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?  This one syllable wonder is just what our alphabet needs to bump it up to alphabet 2.0.  It’s not that far off the mark currently either.  In today’s 2.0 world, programmers and web saavy users already refer to W as dub.  It is much easier to say dub dub dub dot google dot com, than it is to say double-u double-u double-u dot google dot com.  So who’s with me?  Let’s get rid of the double-u that our grandparents grew up with and change it so that it fits the technology world our children will inherit.

And with this new change, can we please STOP teaching our kids the alphabet as a song.   To this fucking day, I cannot say the letters of the alphabet without singing them to a nursery rhyme!  And what the fuck is “ell-a-menno”?  How intelligent does that come across?  But that’s another rant altogether that I just do not have time for today.

So remember, it’s now dub, NOT double-u.  

Friday, August 18, 2006

What the crap man!  I finally find a wireless network attached storage (NAS) device that I want to buy but I can't find any retailer selling it.  COME ON!  ME WANT NOW!  WTF People!!!!

A little background:

Lately I've been watching It takes a thief on the Discovery Channel and I got me thinking; if someone breaks into our house and steals our computers, we're out some valuable data -both my wife and I.  So I need the following: a wireless network attached storage device.  Now, they do exist and I can find them but they are usually geared for small to large businesses and are expensive.  What I need/want is just a solution for home.  It needs to be 802.11g compatible, stand-alone, affordable with a fair amount of storage (I don't need a 10 Terabyte NAS).

So every now and then, I search for what I'm looking for.  Well, today I found what I need.  Actiontec has a perfect home solution.  Once I found it, I did some more searching to find reviews and/or places to buy it.  Well, I found a lot of the former but none of the latter.  Basically, everyone is reviewing it but nobody is selling it.  Makes you wonder just how in the hell these people are reviewing it.  On top of that, these reviewers are posting prices... and it's affordable but where did they get the prices from?  WHERE?

Now I'm stuck.  I finally found my wireless NAS solution but I CAN'T BUY IT!  WTF!

If anybody out there knows where to purchase one of these OR knows of a comparable device let me know and I'll post it here so others trying to find it can BUY it.  What we don't need are any more reviews.  I've reviewed the reviews, now I just want it.

Friday, April 21, 2006

This morning I got paid.  Now that my account has money again, the first thing I did this morning before getting to work was to fuel up.  So I leave for work, a tad bit late but that's normal for me... so technically I left on time.  Riding on fumes, seriously, I pulled into the Fred Meyer gas station at 82nd ave & Johnson Creek Blvd.  My wife and I go there all the time because they have relatively priced gas but we also have the little Fred Meyer Reward cards, which knock off 3 cents per gallon.  These days, it's worth it.  

Already at the station was a large pickup truck with a trailer.  Nothing unusual and the attendant seemed to be talking with the guy and walking around the little office in middle of the station.  So I sat there... waiting... waiting... waiting, occasionally looking over my shoulder to see the attendant rummaging thru the office as if he trying to "find" something to do.  Nothing urgent behind it as if to say "I can't find the key to unlock the pumps" but rather "If I act like I don't see him, maybe he'll leave".  All the while, the large truck seems to be filling up.  

While this was all happening, another car pulls up and waits but not too long.  This driver pulled away less than a minute of waiting.  So, I followed suit and we both went across the street to the Conoco.  There, the nice attendant filled up my tank and had me on my way in less than a few minutes.  Satisfied, and now about 10 minutes late to work, I drove past the Fred Meyer station.  Still thinking that there could have been some trouble that the attendant was attending to I expected to see cars standing idly by as the attendant "finished" his imaginary search.  Low and behold, there were 3 cars (the big truck was gone) and one attendant servicing them.  What the fuck?  People, this is just a scant 4 minutes after I left with no service.  Now he's on the ball?  Come on!

The only thing I can think of is that the pickup truck that was there before me was having payment problems and the attendant was running around trying to either get the payment to go thru processing or unlock the cash drawer so that he could make change.  What ever the case, a nice "sorry, we're having some technical difficulties.  If you could bare with me for a couple minutes, I'll be right with you" would have been nice.  

<rant>
Which leads me to wonder why the hell can't I just pump it myself!  I've only been in Oregon for a few years which, like New Jersey, mandates that only gas station attendants can pump gas into your car.  Personally, I enjoy pumping my own gas.  Every time I go to Washington, I look forward to getting gas because I get to do it myself.  If things were different, I wouldn't have sat in my car waiting like an idiot for someone to help me do something that I could essentially do on my own.  
</rant>

Any who, I got my gas and made it to work only a few minutes late.  Do I have a bad taste in my mouth for Fred Meyer gas?  No.  I'll keep going back despite this little incident.  If it happens again, I'm not so sure though.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Thank you!  Thank you to the person who completely circumvented a built in .NET function for creating new Guids.  This was so bad and frickin unbelievable that I actually stopped my work to post this because of my complete disbelief. 

First off, here is the CORRECT way to create a new Guid:

   1:  // Uses the built in function to return a guid
   2:  private Guid _globalId = Guid.NewGuid();

That's it!  Easy, right?  Uses built in functionality.

But here is the ingenious way I found this morning that completely wowed me:

   1:  // Goes to the database, uses select newid() from a sproc to return a new guid
   2:  private Guid _globalId = LicenseVerification.ClientAccessLicenseBusiness.CreateGuid();

   1:  using System;
   2:  using System.Collections.Generic;
   3:  using System.Text;
   4:   
   5:  namespace LicenseVerification
   6:  {
   7:      public class ClientAccessLicenseBusiness
   8:      {
   9:          //...snip...
  10:   
  11:          public static Guid CreateGuid()
  12:          {
  13:              return LicenseData.CreateGuid();
  14:          }
  15:   
  16:          //...snip...
  17:      }
  18:   
  19:      public class LicenseData
  20:      {
  21:          //...snip...
  22:   
  23:          public static Guid CreateGuid()
  24:          {
  25:              Guid newGuid = (Guid)SQLHelper.ExecuteScalar(DataConfig.ConnectionString, CommandType.StoredProcedure, "ClientAccessList_CreateGuid");
  26:              return newGuid;
  27:          }
  28:   
  29:          //...snip...
  30:      }
  31:  }

   1:  CREATE PROC [dbo].[ClientAccessList_CreateGuid]
   2:  AS
   3:  select newid() 

Yes, you are seeing this correctly!  The programmer who wrote this thought that going thru the business & data layer to call a stored procedure would be the best way to create a new Guid.  I'm in complete shock. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

<rant>
First off I’d like to thank all the spammers out there that have thought to themselves, “Hmm, I bet I’ll get a bigger response if I blindly send out as many emails as I can to people… hehe, I’ll be rich!” –greedy bastards!  It’s these fuck-nuts that have basically ruined email for the rest of us.
</rant>

Well I can’t blame them but man, ISPs have basically throttled down email so much that I cannot for the life of me send a legitimate email to a legitimate company without it either getting bounced back or filtered out of existence.  Honestly, it’s my wife who’s having the problem, but still… what the fuck?  

So we have this cleaning service (not pronounced maids) that was great their first visit.  My wife and I were basically in awe over the job they did (Team B rocks!).  Then, their next visit (not Team B) left us wondering what they actually did.  At first glance things looked good but we later discovered that too much was left dirty.  And for what we pay them, that’s unacceptable.

Because of this, my wife writes up a nice email stating that we were less than pleased.  Once it’s complete, she tries to send it from her me-nikk.com account (an email server I administer) and it immediately bounces back.  Eh, this happens because my mail server uses a dynamic IP and we’re used to it.  She then tries to send it from hotmail.com… no luck.  Then our last option, our ISPs email… and wouldn’t you know it, it can’t get thru either.  Yahoo has locked down their email so much, that we cannot get thru to this company.  

Now I’m left wondering, what good is email if I can’t email anybody?  Unless of course I’m on your super-happy-fun-list of acceptable users!

Friday, February 03, 2006

No, not because I'd like to get more in touch with my feminine side because I have too much crap to carry with me where ever I go.  I don't want something that looks even remotely like a woman's purse, it's the functionality that I desire.

Since I'm a techie, I have toys and gadgets that seem to take up more and more room in my pockets.  Hell, it's probably the main reason I haven't jumped on the PDA wagon... where the hell would I put it?  My fucking pockets are full! 

The contents of my everyday carrying around items are as follows:
  • Money clip with a credit card holder
  • Keys
  • Cell phone
  • Headset for cell phone
  • Camera (Sony Cybershot T5)
Some additional items I'd like to have with me but can't fit:
Now, for a guy, that's a lot of shit.  For a techie, it's not shit.  For a woman, it's the shit on the bottom of their purse.  For me, it's the items that I just feel all warm and fuzzy carrying. 

So what do I do?  I'm against the murse and a backpack is too collegy for the business setting I find myself in at work.  There's always a laptop case but then I need a laptop because without it I'd look really weird.  Fanny pack... fuck you for even thinking it!  So what is there?  What?

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Funny... I could've sworn that the end of the world was supposed to happen 6 years ago (5 actually for those extremists out there).  Where are all of the people who said the world would end in 2000?  Are they living in caves or have they finally come to the realization that perhaps they were wrong.  Wonder if their rations will run out soon prompting them to leave their bomb shelters?

Dumbasses!

For the record, lets get one thing straight.  Saying the world will end when humans become extinct is a fallacy and a bit arrogant in my opinion.  The world was here billions of years before humans and it will be here billions of years after we're gone.  

We revolve around the earth; the earth does not revolve around us!

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

You have got to be kidding me!

Tsunami was God's revenge for your wicked ways, women told

This is what is so wrong with this world.  I'm fucking ashamed that this sort of thing actually happens in this the “Modern World”.  What are we, fucking cavemen?  

I'm not a big fan of religion but the Muslim and Islamic religions really rub me the wrong way when it comes to how they treat women.  After reading this article, my dislike has grown even more.  Nobody is second best to anybody.  We all live and die, that's it!  Telling women that "they are the cause" of something this disastrous is just the sign of idiocy, pure and simple.

Scare tactics are the sign of the weak.

President Bush, Republicans... read that last line again, and again, then again, until it sinks in!

I truly believe that there is intelligent life outside of our galaxy and I think the reason we have not been visited by aliens is due to the fact that we are no smarter than pond scum.  We must be the laughing stock of the universe; the infant still shitting their pants.  

Today, I can truly say that I'm ashamed to be a human being!

Monday, November 21, 2005

Interesting article that I don't quite understand:

    Cingular Wireless to Become AT&T

Being a former AT&T Wireless customer who vowed never to go back to their shitty service and hidden fees, I just read that Cingular will adopt the AT&T name... again.  Good god NO!  Why take on a brand who's reputation is synonymous with the slimy substance that oozes out of dead rats?  

Thanks to SBC, who owns a 60% stake in Cingular, who is finishing up a $16 billion dollar merger, former AT&T Wireless which is now called Cingular will now be called AT&T.  WTF?  So let me see if I have this straight:
  • Cingular buys out AT&T wireless; adopts the Cingular name.
  • SBC (which has 60% stake in Cingular) buys out AT&T; adopts the AT&T name and announces Cingular take on the name as well.
When you take a step back and look at it, did AT&T just buy themselves?

I hate mergers!  


It seems that everywhere I look someone is selling an iPod accessory.  At first I thought it was good because small, independent companies make most of them and Apple is very a proprietary company, so riding their wave of success is good for everybody.  But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Am I wrong here people?

Over the weekend, we received a Sharper Image catalog.  I, being the gadget connoisseur that I am, began flipping thru the catalog to see what good little things I can ask Santa (my wife) for this year... I believe I've been good, although I could be wrong.  So I start at the beginning.  First few pages, iPod accessories.  No problem, this doesn't surprise me so I continue.  Almost 30 fucking pages in and the iPod accessory HELL finally stops, seriously.  I believe in some West African cultures this is known as OVERKILL!

As you may have guessed, I do not own an iPod and if I did (as most everybody does) I probably wouldn't notice this craze.  But I don't, so I notice and so I blog about it... my little contribution for those blinded by this little contraption.

So, I get into work this morning and check my email -no, my personal email... priorities people!  Good, a Red Envelope email, I like them as does my wife, I'll sneak a peek to see what they have to offer for the holidays.  For fucks sake, another fucking iPod accessory.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  Another gray hair!

When will it end?  How many accessories can you make for one product?  

Here is my iPod accessory:




What do you think?

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!

I don't know whether to be happy or pissed off after finding some blogger stealing my content.  On one hand, it's kind of cool to know that my information is worthy of stealing but it's my fucking content!  Yup, I'm pissed off!

DasBlog, the engine that runs xerratus, has some cool logging, referrer, and trackback features which allow me to see where people came from and who's linking to my entries.  Since I don't get monstrous traffic, I tend to click on most referrers and all the trackbacks... I'm curious.  So I came across one, clicked on it and started reading my entry as if it was written by this asshat.  I'm not kidding, it was word-for-word.  Check it out yourself.
The fucker even used the exact same title!

I'm not quite sure what to do now.  Do I contact him and ask him to stop?  Do I leave a comment on his blog stating that it's my conent that everyone is reading?  Do I just leave it because it's just not worth pursuing?  Does this happen a lot?  Is this the way blogging works?

At the very least, I'm writing this entry to let people know that my content is ORIGINAL and MINE!  It may be crap, but it's my crap... and I love and apparently have issues with other people stealing my crap.

Here's a screen shot incase he gets a bug up his ass to take it down.


Thursday, November 03, 2005

Why do I have to get stuck behind the guy who HAS to drive the speed limit, fully stops at every stop sign, and brakes when the light turns yellow?  The average drive to work, 30 minutes for me, turned into a 45 minute trip because this guy was apparently going the same route I was taking.  I know its raining out but it isn't that bad and the roads are not slick, you can drive at a normal pace people.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005

My lovely wife is a daddy's girl, she knows it, I know it, her father knows it, and I believe complete strangers know it.  More to the point, she talks to her father, who lives in Pittsburgh, PA, on an almost daily basis; the night before Halloween was no exception.  As she was talking to her father that night, he relayed a secret to her that he had been keeping for a couple weeks.  Does he have a girlfriend, my mind wondered?  No, he's going to Las Vegas in a week with his sister, my Aunt-in-law.  Congrats Ed, I thought, pull a slot handle for me.  My wife, on the other hand, had plans of her own.  Oh yes, since he's going to be near us (as if 1500 miles is near, nearer than Pittsburgh I guess) we HAVE to go, even if it's just for a day.  After some talking and a day to think about it, I agreed to it.  Now all we needed to do was book a flight and get a room.  

Using Expedia, my wife found a flight leaving at 9:30pm PST 11/9 and returning 11:30pm PST for around $474 and change.  Great!  Along with the room at Circus Circus (not my first choice but that's where the family is staying) it's affordable and doable.  So we go to checkout, give them our credit card info and submit but to our dismay, the confirmation screen said that the price had changed to around $686 and change -WTF!  Well, we figured user error so we did it all over again.  The searches yielded the same price and we checked out again but no go.  Again, it prompted us to accept the new price.  Well, perhaps its a glitch and a customer service representative can help.  As you can imagine the Expedia representative couldn't help us, she stated that the prices in the system were being updated and that the new price was the right price.  I, being a web developer, didn't buy it.  In my personal opinion, I think it was a lame excuse by a not-so-savvy person.  Honestly, I'm sure she didn't even work at Expedia.  As big corporations do sometimes, they farm out customer service calls to an outside agency where they have a list of 10 lame excuses to give people when they call so that they don't have to do any real work.

Back to the point, I immediately say "fuck that, Expedia can blow me!" and pull up Orbitz.  Personally, I like Orbitz and use it more often than not.  Through them, I find the EXACT same flight, there and back, for $471 and change ($3 cheaper, hehe), proceed to checkout and viola, we have our confirmation and e-tickets for the price quoted -the way it's supposed to work!

After an hour at the laptop and a beer-and-a-half later, we got what we were quoted and my wife and I are GOING TO VEGAS BABY!  WOO HOO!  Even if it is just for a day, it's still a needed break for us both and a full day away from our pets.

Thank you Orbitz, you saved the day. 


Fuck you Expedia, you suck!


Monday, October 31, 2005

Its articles such as these that make me wonder if Google is just hell-bent on world domination.  What gives?  Every day they seem to be trying to take over another market.  Is this not something we should be worried about or is Google turning the corporate world upside down for a good cause?  At which point does David become larger and more powerful than Goliath... when should we start rooting for Goliath to save us from David?

Google throws bodies at OpenOffice

Google takes flight

Google wants to dominate Madison avenue, too

Google Print Resumes Tomorrow

Is Google the New Evil Empire?

Google To Sell Over $6 Billion In Ads

Google the Agency, Google the Network


Thursday, October 20, 2005

Just passing along a tidbit I read on blurbomat.com this morning.  The entry, titled It's Called Denial, basically describes it.  Why do Mormons like this administration?  Don't they question what is going on over in Iraq?  Or how the president is going to pay for things like the Katrina disaster without raising taxes and doing nothing but cutting taxes for corporations and the rich alike?

Sometimes though, you have to question things, like where the so-called weapons of mass destruction are?... or what an insurgent really is? (in Iraqi terms its nothing more than a citizen of that country who's had enough and wants us out)  Listen, I'm not an idiot.  I know that terrorists are NOT flocking to Iraq, as the president would like you to think.  By calling the insurgency a "terrorist uprising" shifts the view that if you are against us, you are a terrorist.  Sound familiar?  We have that going on over here in America right now.  If you are against the war in Iraq, you're un-American -that's bullshit, propaganda bordering on McCarthyism.  

We're no longer liberators, we've become invaders, occupiers -unwelcome guests who wont leave and don't get that they are no longer wanted, no longer a help!

Utah, wake up!  President Bush and his cabinet are doing this country a great disservice.  As Richard Cohen of the Washington Post says in his article Hold Bush Accountable (not his choice of titles by the way), we need to "Impeach George Bush" but even he knows, just as I do, that congress won't let that happen.

This is all like a bad dream that I can't wait to wake up from.
Monday, October 17, 2005

I wasn't going to blog today, but I just couldn't pass this one up.  So, I'm surfing the web - it's what I do here at work for about 7 hours out of my 8 hour day - and I come across this article posted on cnn.com.  I read the first paragraph and was shocked; Texans back the president’s nomination for the Supreme Court, Harriet Meirs.  Wow!  That my friends, I did not see coming.  What are the odds that the oil slut we have for a president from Texas would find friends from fellow oil whores in his home state?  I sure as hell didn't.  Thank you CNN for reporting this.  (Please note; last sentence is laced with so much sarcasm that I actually have to note it)

Come on people, wake the fuck up!  It's not news that Texans back president asshats nominee for the Supreme Court, they're Texans - they're obligated to.  Why on earth would they go against the one man who has brought so much revenue into their hollow, gold-digging existence.  It's not news, it's propaganda.  "Ooooh, Texans back the Supreme Court nominee, I guess president [namedeleted] is smart.  I too will back his nomination" said the dumbass.

Fuck that, I think for myself.  I'm a democrat out of necessity.

UPDATE: Not all Texans are dicks, just the oil whores.  The rest of you are cool in my book.
Friday, October 14, 2005

If you've been reading the comments for my last entry, you'll know that the conversation has turned to shit.  Ironically, that brings up something that I'm currently going thru right now.

First a little background.  I'm a private shitter.  I do not like dropping the kids off while anybody is around.  Ask my wife, we don't dump in front of each other and I'm ok with that.  Maybe it was how I was raised but I like privacy.  How does this affect me today, simple.  All fucking day I've had to take a shit but each time I go, there's been somebody in there using the facility.  I've gone to the bathroom 5 times now (all on the 9th floor thank you) and each and every time I've gone in one or both of the stalls has been occupied.  5 times today, I've had to fake peeing at the urnial because there is no way that I'm going to walk, look at the stalls, and walk out.  What the hell is that person going to think?  So I fake it.

Now it's almost quiting time and I still have to drop the kids off at the pool.  I'm going to give it one last shot, if someone is in there, I'm going to building 3 -hey, I need to see this wall writing myself anyway :-)

Well I'm off.  Wish me luck.

UPDATE: I give up, I'm waiting till I get home.  This is bullshit!  Can't a man poop in peace?

Why is it that the first person in the elevator is assumed to be the button pusher?  You’ve got a finger, use it!

Example, I get on the elevator this morning after getting a hot, delicious Starbucks coffee.  I am the first person in.  What I normally do is press the button, and step to the side so others can do the same.  So, I get in, press the button and step aside.  The guy behind me, looks like a lawyer (our building is filled with them) steps in but steps to the other side, away from the button panel.  Then looking over to where I “should” be, snaps his head over to where I am currently and gives me this look like “aren’t you going to ask which floor”!  What a fucking asshole!  I proceed to look straight ahead like I don’t notice and he reaches across and hits his floor. 

It then gets a little weirder.  I get to my floor, 9, and exit the elevator.  The Asshat behind me, who’s going to the 10th floor, steps out and I think watches to see what office I go to.  WTF is that?  Is he going to send the company I work for a nasty letter exclaiming what a rude “button pusher” I am?  Fuck him! 

Welcome to the real world buddy.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

My wife and I were recently exonorated in small claims court from a shady collection agency called Sunwest Financial located in Portland, OR (I'd link to their site or yellow pages entry but I can't find either).  My wife goes into detail on her blog about our ordeal with this company.  If you or someone you know who has a less than perfect credit past and is summoned to small claims court (by Sunwest Financial or not) know that you HAVE RIGHTS and you don't have to take this kind of scare tactic from a collection agency.

We won our case because Sunwest Financial was banking that we wouldn't even show up to our initial hearing, thus giving them the right to start seizing our assets.  We did show up and we fought back.  After rescheduling because the plaintiff had to pick up her kids (likely story) they failed to show up again, causing the judge to dismiss the suit.

My wife and I feel that they didn't have a case and we were prepared to fight and WIN.

You have rights as a debtor.  Don't let some company like Sunwest Financial push you around.

Side note: You know you're dealing with a shady company when their representative shows up in court in jeans and a T-shirt playing scratch-it lottery tickest!  Dumbass!
Monday, October 10, 2005

I've owned the xerratus domain for a couple years now.  Prior to being my blog, it was the site that hosted our family’s pictures.  Google, doing just what they do, scanned my site and listed it's contents sometime back, no big deal.  A few weeks back, I decide to move the family’s pictures to a less public domain and use xerratus as my blog site.  All was going smoothly until I tried to remove the old content.

First, when I did a search for xerratus I got the blog home page -perfect!  Underneath were the family picture directories and I wanted them gone -expected results.  After a perusing Google for a few minutes I found that you can submit pages and/or directories to them for removal as long as they return a 404 error.  I can do this as the current site doesn't use any of the old directory structure.  Roughly a week later I get an automated email from Google stating that they removed my urls.  Sweet!  On top of that I read about the robot.txt file that you can place in the root directory to tell spiders/bots what to scan and what not to scan.  I add this, just as a precaution.

The day I get the email I search Google for xerratus again and voila, it's only grabbing the new blog content.  Google did its job perfectly, so why do you ask is Google today’s Dumbass?  Simple.  Today, I did a search for xerratus (don't ask why) and every piece of my old site is back up again and my blog is nowhere to be found!  WTF!  Do I have to submit the urls again?  Is the robot.txt file just a false security blanket to make people think that Google isn't trying its hand at world dominance?  

Fuckers!  

At least Microsoft's search has it right!

UPDATE: Well, I checked today and all seems to be back to normal.  One directory from my old site is still listed but I'm sure it'll be delisted in a few.
Sunday, October 09, 2005

Finally, Chipotle restaurants are moving into Oregon.  Actually, this started more than a year ago and I salute them for it.  You see, I lived in Denver, CO for about 5 years during the time that Chipotle started out (I've been to the original hehe).  There you couldn't drive a few blocks without running into one, which was a good thing for this burrito junkie.  Then the tech market dropped and I had to move to Los Angeles.  Yes, LA, the city that sucks unless you're a famous millionaire.  But I digress. 

Upon arriving in LA one of the first things I began doing was plotting where the closest Chipotle was.  Luckily for me, there was one in Marina Del Ray, about 5 miles from where I lived at the time.  So all was good, or so I thought.

At the first opportunity, I got out of there and moved to Portland (and I LOVE it).  First thing I do of course, map out the closest Chipotle -which happened to be 3 hours away in Seattle.  NOOOOOO!  So began my painful withdrawal from their delicious burritos.  Then one day, while on lunch from my employer at the I passed a sign in an empty lot on NW 7th and Broadway that said "Coming soon, Chipotle".  YES! 

Within 6 months it opened and I'm glad to say that I'm addicted to their burritos again.  Of course, never being satisfied, I'm now asking the question, "when are they going to open a Clackamas location"?  I drove past a sign downtown the other day near Pioneer Place that read "Coming soon, Chipotle" so they are expanding.  I know of 2 Beaverton locations but nothing on the southeast side. 

The area I'm in is a pretty up and coming area (around SE 82nd and Johnscreek Blvd) and, in my opinion, is a prime spot for a Chipotle location.  So if you happen to be a mover and/or shaker and can make things happen at my favorite burrito restaurant, please open one here.  At the very least, you'll have about $10 from me and my wife every weekend :-D

So get off your butts and let's get this show on the road already.  And if there are plans for one in Clackamas or if you know of a Chipotle here that I'm just missing, please tell me... please... for the love of Bob, I need one!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Come on!  Can't we comment code and be nice at the same time?

   public static void ValidateUserAccess(SoftwareAppType appType,params string[] roles)
{
//-- TODO: Take this out! it's only for devlopment purposes stupid. #if DEBUG
if(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["RequireLicenses"] != null)
{
if(!Convert.ToBoolean(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["RequireLicenses"])) return;
}
#endif //-- ensure the user has sufficent permissions bool hasRole = false;
foreach(string role in roles)
{

if(!HttpContext.Current.User.IsInRole(role))
{
hasRole = true;
break;
}
}

if(!hasRole)
HttpContext.Current.Response.Redirect(URL.NoAccess + "?code=" + ValidationError.InsufficientRole);

if((!SecurityManager.GetLicense(appType)))
HttpContext.Current.Response.Redirect(URL.NoAccess + "?code=" + ValidationError.LicenseNotAvailable);

}
Friday, September 30, 2005

A few weeks back, my work computer mysteriously started to give me the blue-screen of death.  I run Windows XP Pro and have all sorts of development beta and CTP software running.  My first instinct was to think that one of these configurations was the culprit, running betas and CTP’s isn’t always a good idea because of stability issues but hey, it’s what I do.  So I get one of the Microsoft error dialog boxes stating that there was an error and would I like to send this to them.  Honestly, I always say no – don’t ask why.  So after blue-screening a few times, the dialog comes up and I finally click yes, send the error, so Microsoft can begin researching a fix.  Well, wouldn’t you know it, within a few seconds it came back telling me to go to Logitech’s site because they already had a fix (it’s for corrupted drivers with the wireless keyboard and mouse that I use).  WTF, all this time and there was already a fix out there and I didn’t know.  Good job you procrastinator!  So I download it and all is well now.

Now, around the same time, my home computer starts doing the same thing, blue-screening and prompting me with the error dialog.  My home system has the exact same Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse.  So, hey, it’s the same thing right?  After ignoring it for a few more weeks, I notice that the blue-screens are coming more often usually when my computer is idle.  To bring it back to life, I need to do a hard-reboot.  Well, yesterday I get home and go to my computer and guess what, have to reboot.  But once the computer is back up and running, it suddenly reboots on its own.  Now to further kick me in the balls, it freezes during boot up… fuck!  Now I begin to worry.  I have a website that I’m developing and all of the code is on that local drive, I haven’t backed it up in months [Insert dumbass comment here].  So I try to reboot again, this time it allows me to boot up in safe mode with networking, THANK YOU Microsoft!  It works.  I get in, zip up my files, and transfer them to the server I have in my closet (long story) and just then, my computer just turns off.  Ok, all I need to do is reboot in safe mode again, install the fix from Logitech and all my problems are solved, right?  Nope.

After doing just that, I rebooted normally and all was going well for a full 2 minutes before the computer died again.  Fucking blue-screen!  One thing that I noticed with the last few start ups is that during the initial loading of Windows, that error dialog box comes up.  Weird thing is I thought the Logitech fix solved that.  Again, I reboot and when the dialog box comes up I click on it and it says that there is a hardware problem.  Damn!  Now the error is vague stating that it could be any of the following: the motherboard, cpu, ram or one of the hard drives.  That’s every important piece of hardware in my machine!  So the thing that pissed me off the most about this entire message was the following line (not exact but close enough): “Please turn off your computer and contact the manufacturer for support”.  Now why does this piss me off?  Because I built the computer myself.  Now, who the hell do I contact?  I guess I’ll just send myself an email and hope that I have the right answer for myself.