What’s with all this then…

Back at the family homestead.
The last night I was in Orlando, I got to ride Mission:Space. We grove up behind the park and walked on stage right at the ride. The ride was amazing. You actually pull 3 Gs when the simulated launch happens. Simply amazing ride.
Today, Michele is off at some Paul Frank clearance sale and I’m with the girls. In a few minutes Mira goes to a birthday party and Zoe and I go shopping.
We’ve agreed that a Roomba is in order here at Chez Pusateri. They are on sale and I’ve got a 20% off coupon. Obviously, I’ll post about it once the robot is in use.
Books
When I arrived home there was a stack of packages from Amazon on the table. My copy of Golden Transendence has arrived. The end of the trilogy is at hand but I am in the middle of Quicksilver. I’m on page 673 of 916. There ar worst things than be surrounded by good books.
OK, time to go. More later.

Working in paradise

Currently, I’m in Orlando for a series of meetings about dry IT topics. We just so happen to also be at Walt Disney World.
As a break in the day, we took a trip to see underneath Disney. After a quick trip on the monorail, we were soon walking down into the Utilidoor beneath the Magic Kingdom. The Utlidoor is the beneath ground aspect of the themepark that allows the cast members to prepare for work out of sight of the guests.
The complex underneath the Magic Kingdom is huge, based on a ring that is around two miles long. Places for people to get costumes, change, eat, rest, and do anything else are all in place. Seeing the rubberheads half out of costume was strange. I don’t recommened ever letting a child see it. 🙂
After the tour, we were back at work pouring over some spreadsheet. One of the guys, Paul, had a Treo 600 and I got to play with it while not paying attention. Here’s a selfportrait I took of us sitting around the table.

That’s my first camera phone picture. I don’t know if I want a Treo 600. It’s cool and all, but all I wanted to do was take a picture and make phone calls. The Treo 600 seems like a bit of overkill.
Time for me to get ready to head out to continue work on ‘business process mapping’ and ‘optimization opportunity’. I’m living in Dilbert land.

Blogging.la

A new group weblog in Los Angeles has been launched today.
Go check out blogging.la, they are good folks and this should be a good place. Events, news, gossip! Who knows what else is in store?
There seems to have been a lot of prep involved in the launch and I hope they find it rewarding.
Go forth now my LA brethren and link to blogrolling.la on your site.

The problem with Tivo

Tivo is a great thing, but there is one problem. I never know when new shows are coming.
Since I tend to fast forward through the commercial breaks, I miss the promos for new shows as well. In the last couple days I’ve realized that there are several things I have not heard about, yet want to watch. I like both Jeremiah and Horatio Hornblower, yet I was unaware that new episodes were coming. Luckily with Hornblower, I found out today, two days in advance. Unluckily with Jeremiah, I’ve already missed the first two episodes.
Tivo suggestions is good but I rarely check it, but there needs to be a companion web site that emails you info on recommended upcoming shows.
This is a symptom of the bigger problem the PVR is bringing to Television. When people stop watching promos, it’s going to be much, MUCH harder to get them to watch new things. I’m not sure what going to happen, but the way television is promoted is going to change.

Cleaning

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been doing a little cleaning around the house. In the study here, there is a closet which is the closest thing I have to a private space in the house. That’s where I keep tools, computer bits, empty boxes, and anything else I don’t want the girls into. Over that last few months it had become full to the brim.
I cleaned it out. Below you can see all the trash I pulled out.


The old computer stuff I gave away to a bunch of people I know online from Genmay. The closet is remarkably empty now and Michele is quite happy.
On Saturday I continued to clean my desk and found even more stuff to toss out. The girls went to play at the Andersen’s during the day and Michele and I went to go see Kill Bill. Her first time, my second. Let me again stress how good this film is. Tarantino is hitting on all cylinders with this one and I eagerly await Vol. 2.
Books
I was happy to see that The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright is now in-print. Obviously I ordered it immediately and anxiously await it’s arrival. I’m currently reading Quicksilver and I’m now getting into the flow of the book. Good thing I’m going on a business trip to Orlando this week or I might be forced to choose between the two.

Part one done

The briskets look good and are in the oven now.
The turkey is now in the smoker. Once I’m sure that the smoke and heat get going again, I can go back to bed.
My throat hurts.