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As a MSDN licensee, I get to experiment with a bunch of Microsoft apps and languages. For the most part, I use the license to better understand the languages some of the other teams use which my team interacts with daily. However, I also get access to operating systems, office applications, etc. When I built my most recent PC, I partitioned 1/2 of the hard drive for use with Microsoft’s new operating system: Vista. I finally got around to installing it… well I kind of had to in order to debug an issue with IE 7. (I don’t want to replace IE 6 on my XP partition, since the majority of IE users still use it.) It’s pretty… but in a Pamela Anderson kind of way. You can tell there’s a lot of makeup to cover up years of hard living and abuse. It’s annoying: prompting me for every single task. It’s inconvenient: the apps I use most often don’t quite work with it and the drivers for my gaming keyboard are not compatible. This isn’t a big deal, because the only game I play underperforms on Vista.

At first, I was tempted to draw comparisons between the launch of Vista and Mac OS X. The new Mac OS wasn’t quite ready for prime-time at launch either. However, OS X was a complete re-architecture. Things were simplified, not just hidden. The user interface was modernized, not just glitzed up. Maybe Vista needs some time to set-in? As for me, I’m glad I kept my XP partition as-is, and I’m extra glad that my Power Mac G5 is there for me. I still do all of my real work on the Mac. I test that work and play games on the PC… and it looks like it will stay that way for a long time to come.

- Duane

Gina (wife), Glenn (father-in-law), and I went to the Sno*Drift Road Rally in Atlanta Michigan again this year. We haven’t been there in 2 years, but the sport is really catching on. On one of the more popular Saturday stages there were about 1,000 spectators standing out in the 12 degree Northern Michigan weather. It was the first weekend with substantial snow of the winter. As a result, the snomobilers were out in force. In fact, one stage was made into a transit because snomobilers were spotted on the road by the lead driver, Travis Pastrana. All in all, it was one of the best events we’ve attended. It was cold, but not too windy, so standing around wasn’t too bad. We got a n official Sno*Drift cowbell as well as Travis Pastrana’s autograph. Check out this video if you would like to know what it’s like without braving the cold.

- Duane

As noted in my update 2 days ago, Sebastian had to go to the vet for a bladder blockage. He has recovered and will need special food. We expect to bring him home tonight.

I am on day 3 of .NET training. You can do some cool website things quickly. However, the output is still the stuff I have nightmares about. It is undoubtedly the the fastest way to do things wrong out there. Microsoft, it’s time to follow the rules instead of make your own. Loosen your grip on the frontend for those of us that know what we’re doing. All of the backend-only developers in the class think it’s a great way to do stuff they never could before (because they don’t know what a “div” is). You don’t go and build your own house just because you own a hammer.

- Duane

Sebastian, our 2 year old pseudo-siamese cat, was acting odd this morning. He was less alert than normal, his eyes were dialated, and he complained when touched. Nothing like his normal behavior. I panicked and called Gina. She rushed back home and took him to the vet. (I had to be at a class for work.) It turns out that he had a blockage in his bladder caused by crystals. He’s waking up from surgury now and should be back home in a day-or-so. A special diet will make sure this does not happen again.

- Duane

As noted in one of the posts (lost due to hardware failure) previously, I’ve been playing a good amount of Battlefield 2142 online. Most of this is to counter my Airsoft withdrawl. As with most things, you get better with experience. I’m still nowhere near my airsoft compatriots’ rank, but I’m working my way up… slowly:

Race season is getting closer and I’ve done very little to my car. A few weeks ago, I tried pulling my trailer from alongside our shop to transport the race car to SkyTek for roll cage modifications and setup. It had been raining for a few days, and the yard was pretty muddy. About 1/2 way out, the van lost traction and I snagged the corner trim of the shop on one of the trailer’s awning supports. No damage to the trailer, and nothing that couldn’t be fixed quickly with the help of “Iron” Dan Davidson and his dad (along with their aluminum break and some spare trim material). Now the trailer is stranded in the middle of our yard waiting for either frozen, but snow-less, ground or a complete thaw and dry.

An ice storm last week took out our power for a day. Luckily, Gina was out of town at a conference in Colorado… nice and warm… mostly. I was at home in observance of Dr. M.L. King Day, so I was able to enjoy the brisk temperatures. By early afternoon, power was back. A day later, the furnace had some issues. A home warranty call later and the repairman identified the issues. We’re back up and running, but the permanent fix depends upon a part to be delivered some time this week.

- Duane