Is complete. Well, complete meaning that Emma, the dogs and I are down here in the new house. Our stuff will be here next week, most likely on Monday. Chelsea will be up from the Keys tomorrow and then things will be much improved!
The drive was almost surreal. It was hot, dry and I don’t have air conditioning in my car. Other than that it was a great drive. Emma did good, the dogs were behaved and shared the back seat like champs. The drive was surreal in the fact that I recognized a lot places from when I drove to Virginia when I was a kid. So many places hadn’t changed in those 17 years. There were several times I experienced déjà vu.
Thankfully I made it through almost every city without hitting rush hour. I passed through Atlanta at lunch time and St Petersburg at the tail-end of the rush. I was happy that we skipped KC, St Louis and Nashville rush hours. The Jeep, stuck in traffic, is not fun in the heat. Not one little Kelvin.
I had left Omaha at 7 AM on Tuesday and drove until about 8PM and stopped in Murfreesboro, TN. We spent the night at the Best Western (because they accepted pets) and then got up bright and early and then were back on the road at 6:45AM on Wednesday. Last night we rolled into the house at 6:45 and we were beat.
Today we’re getting settled in. Making a list of items that we need at the house. All in all things are good!
by jason on June 18, 2009
I haven’t posted anything lately and for that reason I suck. Okay, not really. Consider this my official announcement to the world: on June 30th, 2009 I am moving to Tampa, Florida.
Life changes constantly and the best you can do is to adapt. That being said I am moving to Tampa/St Petersburg with my lady and our family.
On the horizon is a lot of work for me to get the house ready, cleaned up and our things packed up. Next week the moving company is going to pack and move our belongings and less than a week later I am in the road with Emma T and our dogs.
I have received a lot of questions about employment and such. I am pursuing some good options (It seems Tampa has a better job market then Omaha) and I have interviews lined up (as well as second interviews). We’ll be renting a house until we can sell the one in Omaha.
My employment at PayFlex has been great; they are a great team and I am lucky to have spent the last few months with my CIO and the team that has worked for me. I wish them the best and hope to continue to work with them to help grow their business and their people.
If you have any questions feel free to email me or call me (if you have my cell.)
Until next time.
Jason
by jason on April 18, 2009
by jason on April 11, 2009
For the curious, I am now the Director of Information Technology at PayFlex. Job found! =)
by jason on March 27, 2009
Still searching. Omaha has such a limited IT community.
Thanks to all of the people who have tried to help. I appreciate it. I’ve got some projects lined up to keep me busy.
by jason on March 3, 2009
Yes, it’s the day. That. Much. Awaited. For. Day. Square Root Day.
Screw that, it’s my birthday!
Happy 31 years on planet Earth for me. Yay!
Thanks for the all of the emails everyone!
by jason on February 27, 2009
So it’s going to snow again today. Could get 1-3 inches of the frost precipitation. Let’s hope it doesn’t suddenly turn into a blizzard. It’s arctic-ly cold outside too, so it should make for some non-powdery hard snow and not the soft stuff you want to take your kids out in to play.
Thank goodness it’ll be almost 60 again later this week.
by jason on February 23, 2009
I don’t know why, but her music is so addictive. I am listening to it right now and I can’t stop tapping my foot! Damn you, Gaga!
by jason on February 22, 2009
I am launching a new tech-focused blog at JasonLikert.com. I will continue to blog my personal life stuff here, but moving my techy-geeky stuff over there. I’m sure a few will slip through the cracks either way, but both blogs will be active and in use. No worries folks!
by jason on February 5, 2009
I love StumbleUpon. It gives me the funniest ideas at times. Today I was stumbling and found a picture of an anti-abortion rally that was quoting Bible scripture. A quote from the Old Testament: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you” - Jeremiah 1:5.
Clearly stating that God knew each and every one of us. Simply implying an unborn child is alive. This is not the point of my post, just clearing that up, dear readers. We aren’t discussing abortion rights here on my blog. =)
I just want to implore my Christian readers to understand something that you seem to be missing. Atheists and agnostics have no fear or respect for a scripture telling them they are wrong. Someone who doesn’t hold your beliefs quite frankly will not care if you tattoo to them to your body and jump off a bridge. Telling them that abortion is wrong based on Scripture is pointless and futile because they don’t hold the same laws or beliefs you do. Imagine them telling you that God doesn’t exist based on a mathematical formula. You play by different rules and ignore everyone elses. The same thing they do to you.
The same rule holds true for any spiritual vs scientific discussion. Science will hold their set of rules up and spirtual people will hold up their own. Each group believes their answers irrefutable based on what they find IN their respective books.
Only through a common language can you convince your opponents of right or wrongness. To not do so is insanity. You may as well study for a math test by boning up on history.
by jason on January 12, 2009
I use XAMPP heavily on Windows. It’s my primary development environment because XAMPP is easy to use and cheaper then using dedicated hosting for testing sites and blogs. I don’t need anything to do a lot of heavy lifting and XAMPP handles everything I throw at it. Is XAMPP on Mac OS X? I was about to find out.
Recently I received a new MacBook for Christmas and I wanted to move all of my develpment stuff over to Mac OS X. I am going to keep my Windows system as my gaming machine, since I love computer gaming. It’s a hobby, and doesn’t take up as much time as it did years ago, but I want to move my “professional hobby” to my Mac and keep the Windows XP system as my gaming rig since it was built for that purpose.
I digress.
I started looking for solutions on how to run Apache and MySQL on OSX. There are plenty of articles out on the Internet to do so but I didn’t want to run Apache natively. Not really any particular reason, I just didn’t want to install it as a daemon.
First I ran across MAMP, which looked good, but they want you to PAY for MAMP Pro. No thanks. I’d rather not fork over money when I can save it for food.
XAMPP On Mac OS X
I decided to check if XAMPP works on OSX and it does! Yes, yes, my precious, it does. I downloaded the .dmg for XAMPP on Mac OSX and proceeded to mount the image and run the install. In minutes I was up and running. I copied my web folder over for my latest development WordPress blog, edited the wp-config.php file and fired up the install.php page.
Boom. Error. Gnashing of teeth, I hacked at it for a few minutes and realized that when I copied the files I didn’t do it as “nobody” of the “admin” group.
If you have this problem, simply go to the directory that has incorrect permissions and use the “chown” command to change the owner.
> chown -R nobody:admin “/Applications/xampp/xamppfiles/htdocs/website_folder”
Now, that issue was quickly fixed but when I would access the install.php URL (http://sitename/wp-admin/install.php) I still could not connect. I searched for hours, reviewed the configuration in phpMyAdmin and got really frustrated. I took an afternoon to think.
After looking at it again, I realized that it was properly database permissions still, so I fired up phpMyAdmin again and looked. The user account for the database was allowed to connect from “%” which is a wildcard in MySQL that means any host can connect with the user ID. On a whim I changed this to “localhost” and it worked like a champ. I changed it back to “%” and failed.
Now maybe this is a bug, but I verified my Windows XAMPP load and it was setup using “%” for all of the test databases. I’m chalking this up to a “feature” on Mac OSX for now. Other than those issues, I’ve had no problems running XAMPP on OS X. It works great.
by jason on January 3, 2009
I’m considering starting a new blog to focus on my professional life but keep this blog as my personal blog for, uh, not professional things. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
My feeling is this: I want to brand myself as a technology professional who understands business, finance, web application, network and systems security, application security, network design and implementation as well as managing people. You may think this to be a large and disparate amount of job duties but I’ve been doing all of them for many, many years, minus my time at Crowe where I focused primarily on security and penetration assessments.
Most of the things I want to write about that are technology driven and not really of a personal nature. I’d still have my personal blog to attend to, with writings and musings of a personal nature about my love to dance, play games, work out, write, book reviews or whatever else I want to write about of a personal nature.
The other blog, the new blog, would be focused on technology, security, design and architecture and professional discussion. I don’t want to mix the two or lose my subscribers here. Not everyone loves the Tech articles and not every reads the life articles.
So let me know via the contact form, email or comments!
Happy New Year!
Jason
by jason on January 3, 2009
I was pondering today if I could sum myself up in one word, or what I do, in one word. I still haven’t figured that out yet, but I thought of “techvangelist,” which to me I think of someone who wants to bring technology to the masses and show the benefits of technology in every day life. Techvangelism, to me, would be the proclamation and demonstration of technology to the masses for the benefit of everyone. This TECHnology eVANGELISM would stretch from modernization of household utilities to corporate benefits of keeping up with technology.
Unfortunately for me, Techvangelism is not that. Apparently the Christian Mainstream has subjugated the two words to mean “using technology for evangelism.” A much different meaning then my own personal assumptions. In no way do I look down upon Christians for this, I completely understand their definition. Sadly I missed the boat on this one. It’s like my attempt to bring back “Right On” with a valiant fist pump in the air.
Oh well, time to keep searching for that perfect word.
by jason on January 3, 2009
In October of 2008 (two short months ago) I decided I wanted to pick up the habit again of not drinking soda. My primary motivation? The fact that I stopped drinking soda a few years ago and, by being a slacker, started drinking it again. I enjoyed how I felt not being dependent on a chemical to feel “alert” or “awake.” I’m also on an anti-fructose corn syrup kick.
In those two months I’ve managed to have ONE Coke, and that was just a few days ago to celebrate the new year. =)
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t simple to just stop. Upon occasion I feel myself tempted to grab a drink based on the taste, but even still I know that the lack of caffeine in a “caffeine-free” beverage will not “do it for me.”
How To Stop Drinking Soda
This may seem too simple for many people. We all expect anything we do to take 5000 steps and require a support group that stretches nation-wide. To make a long story short, there is only one key to this door: persistence.
Any long-term change requires a conscious decision of chaining repetitive activities together. This concept can be called a “chain.” The longer your “chain” is the less apt you are to break it. What is the ancient saying, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single footstep?” Baby steps? Any of this ringing a bell?
I’m also saying that you need to cut DIET soda out of your larder as well. Diet soda has been linked to weight gain, as well as the “questionable” effects of aspartame on the body. Think about it… If your body requires 2000 calories of food a day and you drink non-diet soda your body still gets calories. At least you get SOME benefit via the sugars. If you drink diet soda your body receives zero caloric intake and you are more likely to eat foods to compensate.
Here are five steps you need to follow to cut soda out of your diet.
- Decide you want soda out of your life and know your reasons for doing so. This is THE most crucial step.
- Throw out all of your soda in the house. If you want all caffeine gone you need to throw it out too. This includes coffee.
- Find an alternative drink of choice. I focus on low-sugar or sugar free lemonade since it’s available everywhere. At home I drink water.
- Skip the soda aisle at the grocery store. Remove the temptation from your sight and you are more likely to not drink it.
- Find your desire to DRINK soda as your motivation to STOP. The more you desire it the more you should restrain it.
Step 5 seems to go against common sense but it works for me in a way to curb the habits that I have that I do not like about myself or habits that I consider indulgences but that I want to not be addictions. Example; most people don’t know that I dip tobacco. SURPRISE! Now, I started years ago but I don’t make this a full-time habit as many people do with booze, or cigarrettes. How do I do that?
I know my body and I know when I have a craving. I can feel when my body is asking for some nicotine. I KNOW that this is an unhealthy habit with possible long-term physical dependence and possible mouth, lip or throat cancer. That doesn’t stop me from enjoying the slight kick of nicotine. But I know how I feel when I have a craving and not when I “want” a dip. The two feelings for me are different as one is a conscious choice and the other is not. When I know that I’m not seeking it actively, I’ve tuned myself to say “no.” It takes practice but the best explanation I have is the feeling you get when you are full. You know when you are getting full but many obese people ignore the feeling and keep eating. If you eat and feel full just stop. Physically you know when your body is hungry or thirsty so you also know when your body is having a craving. Use the feeling to stop yourself.
Will my five steps help you to stop drinking soda? Yes, they can. It’s a matter of you having the mental fortitude to kick this habit. Like any habit it takes practice, but take a small step every day in the same direction and before you know it you’ve walked from San Franciso to New York City. It takes persistence and a will to see it through.
by jason on January 2, 2009
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone is having a good holiday. Life is busy, as always, and bound to get busier.
I spent New Years Eve at one of the casino’s gambling up some roulette and some slots. I didn’t feel like taking enough money to lose it at Blackjack or Texas Hold ‘Em. They had a few decent Pai Gow Poker tables, but I learned to play like 15 years ago and I don’t remember much about it. Just that I was pretty decent. =)
Anyways, I hope everyone is making their resolutions for this year. I want anyone who is planning on making resolutions to make a change to that. Make a resolution to keep until Groundhogs Day. On that day, review your progress and then pick it up again until the fourth of July. Review your progress, and hopefully success, and then review it again on Thanksgiving. Then stick to your new habits!
Happy New Year!
by jason on December 21, 2008
by jason on November 28, 2008
by jason on November 23, 2008
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is the much hyped Zombie-Apocalypse shooter from Valve, the masterminds behind the Half-Life series and the Team Fortress games. Left 4 Dead has you filling the shoes of one of four Survivors of the Apocalypse and you’ve got your wits, two weapons and three comrades to get you out of this mess alive.
I’m normally very cynical when it comes to some games that gets as much hype and advertising as Left 4 Dead, but it being a Valve game, I almost took it for granted. Valve, like Blizzard and Bioware, have never made a crappy game. I didn’t think they’d start now. I decided to drop the $49.99 to find out if this game lived up to the media blitz.
So far, I’d say it does. The game ships with a single player ‘campaign’ that you can knock out in an hour. I know this because I did it. Like any recent Valve game, Left 4 Dead uses the Source engine and looks phenomenal. If you loved the graphics of Half-Life 2 you will not be disappointed. Dynamic lighting, excellent sound and hordes of undead are as immersive as can be.
There are plenty of little touches that flush out the world. My personal favorite things are the notes scribbled onto the walls of the ’safe rooms’ of people reaching out to their loved ones. There’s even some sarcastic ones that made me laugh.
If you love zombie movies you will feel like you’re in 28 Days Later or Dawn of the Dead. Shadows on the wall or that stretch out across the street. Corpses of the dead, and undead, everywhere. Hordes of monsters running toward you in a frantic rush to tear you limb from limb. It’s all there.
I haven’t played much multiplayer at the moment, I haven’t had much time. The multiplayer has two modes; a Co-Op mode and a Versus mode. In Co-Op mode you play the role of one of the four Survivors and you’ve got to make it through the horde. In Versus mode you play as a part of the Zombie legions bent on, well, massacre. What can go wrong?
My only complaint so far is that the single player was so short. That becomes moot when Valve has introduced their “AI Director” which dynamically resets the maps between sessions or if you die. It will readjust the difficulty of the zombies as well as their locations, ensuring that no session plays the same way.
To sum it all up, this has the potential of an awesome new series from Valve. It screams “Episodic” content and definitely could play as a potential competitor to the Resident Evil series of games. The action is frantic, the immersion unbroken through the audible queues of the Survivors. This is money well-spent, I just need to get some friends on for some Co-Op action. If you like fast action First Person Shooters and you like online play you should check this game out.
by jason on November 21, 2008
Today I finally took the plunge and picked up a 3G iPhone. It’s been a long time coming. I resisted the initial release primarly because I was roped into Alltel. Pair that with the EDGE network and I wasn’t really thinking of picking up the OG. Original gangsta. With my work I already carried a Windows Mobile Pocket PC so I didn’t need to worry about email access and all that. Still I was mainly roped into my Alltel contract.
Yesterday I graduated into my “free upgrade” option at Alltel. I considered getting a new HTC Diamond but after my friend Steve bought one, and consequently felt the pain of not having an iPhone, I decided to go another route. With two phones on Alltel it’s actually cheaper for me to leave them, pay the $$ and move onto something that does EVERYTHING I want it to do.
I’ve owned an iPod Touch since Christmas of 2007 and I’ve loved it. The interface is so intuitive and since I dig iTunes it was a natural choice over my old iPod and my iPod Shuffle. Don’t get my wrong, I still use my Shuffle but not as much.
So now I’m part of the masses with an iPhone. I am on EDGE but I will deal until Omaha gets 3G. Until that time I’ll tough it out. =) The funtionality I get trumps the slower speed. Think dial-up. On a mobile phone that’s not bad. When I get 3G I’ll party. I also have ditched my Windows Mobile phone, put the RAZR on the shelf and have my iPod Touch on standby. Now I only have to carry ONE thing. I’m so pumped.
by jason on November 11, 2008
I have read Tim Ferris’ “The 4-hour Work Week” and picked up some useful information from it. Part of what he preaches is outsourcing personal work to a Virtual Assistant to help get things done. Recently I’ve contacted an awesome Virtual Assistant here in Omaha and it’s been fantastic. The knowledge of my VA has been stellar and a huge asset to some of the projects I’m undertaken.
Now, why did I chose someone from Omaha instead of the multitude of VAs out on the internet? Simple, I had spoken to this person before over Twitter before I even knew she was VA. i could have used someone else but I wanted to work with a local person in the event I needed to meet more face-to-face. That’s really the only reason; a VA can help you out even if they live a world away.
If you have things you need managed and can afford it, I highly recommend Advantage Virtual Assistant.
