Next Stop: Hawaii

Well, soon Laura and I will be departing to Hawaii. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we are really looking forward to it. I don’t think it could come at a better time. The project I’m working on is at a slow point – several sites are finishing up and won’t need my help after this week. The schedule for the next sites hasn’t started yet, so I’m in kind of a holding period. So, I will disappear!

I have never been diving in Hawaii, but I hear that the sea life is fantastic. Large mammals: whales, dolphins, etc. and large fish like sharks and manta rays often are seen. In fact, one dive operator advertises that between dives, they go whale watching or swim with dolphins. I’m all excited, now!

Musical Tech Support – Part II

Well, I did it. I completed the firmware update for my Vetta. Now, it is software-identical to the Vetta II. I even was able to keep my preconfigured favorites. It has tons more amplifier models to chose from and some more effects. Of course, I have to re-learn a few things: the old amp models are named something else now. I will say, though, the sound is awesome.

I’ve been playing more now. I have not played in a while because life and work have kept me busy and far away. However, I make it a point now to play on the weekends when I’m home. I don’t want to lose my skills and it always makes me feel better when I play. At least I found the new feature called “half power”. I won’t blow the windows out by accident now!

Back To Work In… Hawaii?

2012-01-08 23:28:52

Well, the possibility of going to Hawaii has come up since a good friend of ours is staying there for a while and I’m trying to ‘work remotely’ for a couple of weeks after this one. Now, if it doesn’t work out, I will probably just take some vacation or something… not that I mind! Who wants to work in Hawaii? Of course, it must be approved by the boss man, but I don’t think I’ll have a problem: I’ll just say I’ll take vacation and all will be well. Things on the project are slowing down enough that there should be a break until we go to other remote sites. Then, I don’t think I’ll be travelling… but who knows? Not I.

MCSE 2003

Well, it’s that time again: the time when Microsoft has put out a new server product and made all of our Microsoft certifications obsolete. So, instead of waiting a while to take my tests, I have beaten the curve and passed the two upgrade exams for MCSE on Windows Server 2003. Now, that makes 4 MCSEs total. I have one way back from version 3.51, one for NT 4, one for Windows 2000, and now one for Server 2003. Ugh. Takes a bit to stay current.

Of course, this means that I have to find something new to study… .NET maybe? Probably. I think that’s where I’ll go next. It would be nice if I could move into development and be able to write code from anywhere.

Musical Tech Support

Well, I found out the other day that my ‘new’ amplifier [I say ‘new’ because it’s over a year old now…] is not the top of the line anymore. Line 6 has a Vetta II out. That makes mine obsolete! Not to worry, though, because there is a firmware update for the amplifier. For those that don’t know, the Vetta isn’t just another guitar amplifier – it is a digital modeling amplifier that ‘models’ or imitates other popular amplifier brands. This new update for my older Vetta [ver 1.03] will bring the digital modeling software in the amplifier up to spec with the new Vetta II [2.03]. So, in essence, I will have a brand new amplifier …

which is identical to the brand new Vetta II – except for one feature which I won’t use.

However: problems arose. When I applied the update, the knobs and switches performed everything slowly so that I couldn’t switch between presets quickly. Well, that’s a simple fix and I reloaded them from system memory. Then, there’s the matter of when I backed up my preconfigured favorite amplifier mix, “Church Funk”, I couldn’t get it to restore. Now, I’m upset because I can’t figure out which effects at precisely which configuration I put on it. So, I think “I’ll just rebuild it close to what it was.” So, I start by trying to select the amplifier model I used before. It’s not there! Well, I find out it is but now it’s been renamed something else. Okay, that’s fine. Now, the problem is when I try to select a different amplifier. I get an error message! Argh! Playing guitar is not supposed to be as difficult as IT support!

I’ve found out since that there are several parts to this update and I will have to re-do this work this weekend when I get home. In fact, I even discovered some tips on how to restore the backup that I took so I can get my original “Church Funk” back. Of course, I like the one I created in it’s place… maybe there will be a “Church Funk II”…

Where Will I Be?

That is the question. I don’t know. I do know that I will be working in California for two more weeks after this one. After that? Destination Unknown. There is a possibility that I will work from home which will be nice. I wouldn’t exactly know what to do… I’m so used to working away from home that I’d have to develop a whole new routine for working at home. I’m still hoping, though, that I get to go to Australia or Puerto Rico or some other exotic location. Who knows? It might actually happen…

New And Improved

Well, I’ve gone and done it. I have finished moving my site to a new server. Not Windows as I was attempting earlier, but the new version of Linux: Fedora Core 1. It’s running on a 1.4GHz machine with 512MB of RAM and lots more disk space. It’s a considerable improvement from the old SGI O2 I was running on before. While the old machine hasn’t failed me, I did need more space and speed was a bonus. So, now: enjoy the new site!