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October 25, 2005
relax
I feel like I can relax a bit again. The project we are working on is in client testing. I've been pretty careful on my end for making sure that things are up to spec, and now we'll only need to react to changes as they inevitably come up.
I'm not as upsettable when specs change now as I used to be. It's all a part of the design process. Once I am in a position to actually make such decisions, I'd like to try experimenting with a very rapid prototyping design methodology, wherein we build things out quickly, get feedback, and iterate through again, rather than trying to exhaustively design...which is maybe what they've been trying to do here. Hmm. I may have been mistaken about some things. Wouldn't be the first time, I suppose.
There is a Nor'easter brewing outside, or however you spell it. I thought on several occasions that it was game over for my umbrella. I am going to need the waterproof version of that parka I want.
Posted by Mark at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2005
project: house
Went to the gym at lunch today. I remember why I used to like doing that so much. I gives me a nice kick of energy in the middle of the day, during a time when I usually start to get a little sleepy. Plus I feel a lot better about working into the evening since I figure I've already accomplished something personal for the day.
Last night we went and talked with a real estate agent. It is still slightly surreal to consider that we're moving forward with this. The plan right now is for Kara and I and Julie and her boyfriend to explore the possibility of getting a multi-family home that has individual units already in it, and purchase the whole thing together. It seems like you can get more bang for your buck if you buy a larger house rather than an individual unit.
On the other hand, there are a lot of nice 2-bedroom condos around. If we aren't able to find a larger house that we can all agree on--and within our price range--then we can always go the individual condo route. The specifics will just happen however they will, but we're starting the search as of now. In fact, I found listings for about four condos that are having open houses this Sunday, so I think I will go check them out.
We also need to figure out finances, and how we are going to split up the mortgage. Of course, the first step is for each of us to get preapproved for a mortgage, so that will probably be happening sometime in the near future as well.
There is a neat Google maps mashup that plots Craigslist apartments and real estate on a map. Now if only somebody would do the same thing with the MLS listings.
I have to say that I do feel very comfortable with the amount of knowledge I've gained about real estate over the years. I'm sure that I'll pick up more bits and pieces as I start to actually go through the process. But I don't feel like I'm flying blind. Plus I get the chance to use tools and do home improvement projects, and that I'm just psyched about.
The office is a graveyard. I have one more bit of stuff that I want to get done, then I'm going home to drink beer, eat whiskey fennel sausage from Vermont, and play video games.
Posted by Mark at 03:37 PM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2005
work, GMAT, house
I'm going through a dry spell in my blogging; I realize that. In fact, I have been positively unavailable in many contexts, including voicemail, email, probably IM...there are so many ways to contact me, it stands to reason that I should probably respond to them if I want them to remain viable.
Anyway, work has been a little more hectic than usual lately, which is good and bad. It's bad because I'm a little more stressed than normal. It's good because at least I'm contributing to the group. Also, I am definitely experiencing some karmic payback for the tendencies of a younger Mark...tendencies that I will not necessarily outline here, but which may relate to my being unreasonable, self-righteous, impatient and unwilling to consider alternative viewpoints. I am much chastened.
Other big news: I have signed up for the GMAT on one of the days after we get back from Thanksgiving in PA. I realize that I remember nothing about algebra. This could be interesting.
Also, Kara and I are actively condo-hunting. The plan is to purchase a shared domicile sometime around next April. I guess this will constitute my Official Birthday Crazy Thing That I Do Every Year (tm) number 28.
Posted by Mark at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2005
kara, plans, gaming
Ok, back to blogging.
I really missed Kara while she was gone. Having her around is a very positive influence on me, and there was something definitely missing from day-to-day life without her. But, she's back, and she had a great time. I have yet to see the pictures, but I heard some of the stories and saw some of the many little gifts she brought back for people. I myself got a couple of T-shirts depicting Thai beer brands, a neat Thai silk tie, some chopstocks, and boxers with elephants on them.
I organized a little welcome-back dinner for her last night, so she and I and some of her friends went out to Tasca for tapas. And on Monday, since I was working but she had the day off, we met up in the city for tex-mex at Cactus Club, which is the Boston equivalent of Cactus Cantina or, what was that other place in Bethesda where I used to go...Austin Grill. I had to look it up.
This weekend we're heading to Vermont. I had hoped to make a long weekend out of it, but both our work schedules are getting in the way of that. And next weekend we'll head up to Rockport, and I think I'm going to ride the motorcycle up there so I can put it away for the winter. I'm hoping that I can take it off insurance for a few months to save a few bucks, but who knows.
I have to tape Lost tonight because Mike Muller is in town, training with EMC, and I think we're going to head down to the Fenway area to grab some beers and food, watch the game, and catch up. I'm excited to find out what's up with the hatch and everything else though. If taping it goes awry, I'm sure I can find the episode in a torrent online someplace.
I am also getting hardcore into a new MMO called Eve Online. It's actually been around since 2003, but I am really really digging it. Basically, it's like Freelancer and Escape Velocity, only an MMO. In other words, there is a universe with literally hundreds of stars, each with planets and moons and asteroid belts, so huge that it would probably take hours in real time to cross the whole thing. You start out with a small ship, and you can mine asteroids for minerals, blow up pirates, fill your ship with goods and make money by trading, even do research into new technologies which then become available within the game. And, since it's a massively-multiplayer game, you can fight other players in huge battles in space, or even form corporations for trading or research or whatever. It has gotten very middling reviews, but I love that genre of game, and so far I'm also loving their implementation of it.
I think I am ready to get back into another online game...the one thing that disappointed me about Morrowind was that, although my character was cool and had lots of neat weapons and gold and a nice house and everything, there was nobody to really appreciate it. What's the fun of collecting neat armor and unique swords if there aren't any other players around to see them? With an MMO, you've got the added incentive of interacting with other players to encourage you to pick up more neat toys.
Another interesting facet is that you train skills in real-time, even when you're logged off. So say I want to learn about, I don't know, Engine Upgrades. I start it training, and it tells me it will take one day and 15 hours to train. Even if I log out of the game, it continues to train. So, for example, right now I'm training my Memory skill. When I log on tonight, it should be all trained up, and I can switch to training another skill. I have to log on now and then to switch what skills I'm training, but I don't have to play for hours and hours just to get my character up to a decent level. That will happen whether I play or not.
Anyway, it's a neat new universe to explore and a new group of people to interact with...it's got about 60K subscribers, and it runs on a single server, so everybody plays in the same universe. I like it.
My big project at work is wrapping up over the next couple of weeks. I have some big database queries running right now. It's actually pretty fun and exciting.
Posted by Mark at 08:59 AM | Comments (1)
October 03, 2005
kara is back
Kara is back from Thailand!
/phew
Posted by Mark at 05:07 PM | Comments (0)