tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1 2008-06-25 12:17:34 DingoStick Software tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.184 2008-06-25 12:17:34 2008-06-25 12:17:34

After one bike ride two months ago, I finally got around to getting my bike fixed (thanks to the guys at Revolution Cycle and Ski). Today I finally made the roughly 16 mile trip to work, taking the Be

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ After one bike ride two months ago, I finally got around to getting my bike fixed (thanks to the guys at Revolution Cycle and Ski). Today I finally made the roughly 16 mile trip to work, taking the Beaver Island Trail from FedEx on 75 over to SCSU. This picture comes from the trail. Not only do the trees keep the sun off me, but I really enjoyed not having to deal with heavy morning commuter traffic as I pedal around town. This weekend will likely see some progress on the basement (including further mudding, hopefully some electrical work, fixing the shower's reversed hot and cold water, and more), and we're also going to a Riverbats game on Sunday as an early celebration of Doug's birthday. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.183 2008-06-19 13:04:33 2008-06-19 13:04:33

Time for a rant. I just received an unsolicited call from Hilton Hotels somewhere in Florida. (Possibly because I just stayed at the Delray Beach Marriott for work.) Today only they are able to off

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Time for a rant. I just received an unsolicited call from Hilton Hotels somewhere in Florida. (Possibly because I just stayed at the Delray Beach Marriott for work.) Today only they are able to offer me a four day/three night or a seven day/six night stay in Hawaii or Oahu for something like $150/night, and am I planning a trip to Hawaii anytime in the next year? Well, no, I'm not planning one. Just in case, though, the woman on the other end decides to assume that I am, so she proceeds to ask me more questions. Do I make $125k+ per year? No? Oh, I'm sorry, you're not eligible for this offer. First of all, I'm not going to book ANY trip based on some random person that calls me with an offer. For that matter, I'll never buy any sort of product or service unsolicited like that. Second, if the cost is determined up-front, why does it matter what I make per year? If I make $20k/year or $200k/year, they're still charging $150 or so per night. FFS. Once my socioeconomic status was determined, she then offered me a stay in either Orlando or Vegas. (Quite the downgrade from Hawaii. Thanks for closing the door on my vacationing hopes and dreams, Random Hotel Woman.) Am I planning a trip to either of those places in the next six months? Incidentally, some folks from work have been discussing a trip to Vegas, so I tell her that Vegas is a possibility, but there are no definite plans. Would I like to go ahead and hold this with a credit card? Are you out of your freaking mind, woman? No, I'm not going to give you my credit card number to hold reservations for a trip that's not only not planned but may not even occur at all. Especially not after your friendly tone of voice became more brisk once you realized that I won't be schmoozing with my CEO, professional athlete or district court judge buddies on the golf course. I'm actually not very upset, but I am annoyed that in the current economic climate such a phone call was even placed. And another thing -- if they want to offer 'discounted' hotel stays to high-end vacation destinations, the least they can do is determine beforehand whether the person they're going to call fits into their target demographic. At work, we have a product that provides our customers with an indicator of what a person's wealth is. I don't recall what the values mean, but you can use it to infer a person's wealth. Pay LexisNexis a nominal fee to weed out the people who you're likely to waste your time on and save the buttering up for someone who owns a few boats, an aircraft, a few beachfront properties, and so on. Okay, I'm done now. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.182 2008-06-17 08:14:01 2008-06-17 08:14:01

Jacob was my shadow this morning. When I went to the living room, office, bathroom or kitchen, he happily crawled after me. As I ate cereal in the living room, he sat on my lap and ate a few pieces. A

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Jacob was my shadow this morning. When I went to the living room, office, bathroom or kitchen, he happily crawled after me. As I ate cereal in the living room, he sat on my lap and ate a few pieces. And when I went to brush my teeth, he did too. This has actually happened a few times -- he'll sit on my lap, see my toothbrush, grab it, and decide to put it in his mouth (either because that's what I'm doing or because babies just tend to put stuff in their mouths). Last night was a brief meeting at the Clearwater fire hall regarding tomorrow's mock bus accident. I've got my role -- fractured femur, regular pulse, fast respiration. Josh will have a broken back, and, sadly, Abe won't make it. The plan is to meet tomorrow evening, head on over to Interstate Auto, and probably hop on into the bus that they're going to have on its side. At some point, we'll start the drill, and the CWFD will hop on in, start cutting the bus open, backboarding victims, and so on. It ought to be interesting. I forgot to mention that Saturday's picture is of a little garden statue that Dennis and Mary Lou have in their yard. The sunglasses are probably Mike's and Roger's. Also, I have uploaded pictures from the guys' camping trip. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.181 2008-06-14 22:01:54 2008-06-14 22:01:54

Today is Becca's 21st birthday! We went to St. Cloud for a picnic, wandered over to Riverside for a few holes of frisbee golf (I'm way out of practice), came home for a little rest, and went out to a

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Today is Becca's 21st birthday! We went to St. Cloud for a picnic, wandered over to Riverside for a few holes of frisbee golf (I'm way out of practice), came home for a little rest, and went out to a few bars. We spent most of our time at the St. Augusta Legion. I was really impressed with how clean it was and how friendly people were there. There was a DJ who setup shop and had karaoke and played a few songs for Becca (including I'm Too Sexy, a song she and Doug have choreographed). Andrea also dragged me up there and made me sing It's the End of the World as we Know it (and I Feel Fine) by REM. After the Legion, we went to Club Almar and back to Clearwater to Flin'stones. Now that we're home, it's time for some serious shut-eye. My parents were kind enough to take Jacob and Charlie for the night, and we'll be getting together with them tomorrow afternoon for Father's Day lunch. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.180 2008-06-12 23:23:18 2008-06-12 23:23:18

I spent most of this week either at or traveling to Delray Beach, Florida, for the LexisNexis Risk and Information Analytics Group (LN RIAG) engineering conference. The primary purpose of the event is

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ I spent most of this week either at or traveling to Delray Beach, Florida, for the LexisNexis Risk and Information Analytics Group (LN RIAG) engineering conference. The primary purpose of the event is to have some face time with other engineers from around the country (though most of them are from Boca Raton, Florida). We also had some meetings with customers about how and why they use our products, a few meetings about internal LN RIAG stuff, participated in a LexisNexis Cares event, and took the opportunity to take a bit of a break from our usual fast-paced schedules. There's a pretty good storm predicted for tonight, and on my way home, I even saw some really good lightning. I figured now's a good time to try snapping a few lightning shots, but unfortunately, I didn't have a good place from which I could take pictures but be out of the rain. This shot was about the best I could get. This Saturday is Becca's 21st birthday, and we'll be spending the afternoon over at Dennis and Mary Lou's house for a family picnic. Later that evening, we'll go out to a few local bars to celebrate. Until then, though, it's back to work -- both for LN and BT. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.179 2008-06-01 19:20:12 2008-06-01 19:20:12

Today I got back from my hiking trip up north with Luke, Josh and Ryan. We went to the Superior Hiking Trail past Two Harbors. Pictures are forthcoming, as Luke is the only one to have brought a camer

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Today I got back from my hiking trip up north with Luke, Josh and Ryan. We went to the Superior Hiking Trail past Two Harbors. Pictures are forthcoming, as Luke is the only one to have brought a camera. We planned on leaving Friday morning and going a total of about 34 miles total, though plans changed a bit and we instead went about 24. We made it about 12 miles in on Friday, and on Saturday we returned the way we came, going 11 miles and staying at a very nice campsite right next to the rapids (of what I think is the Beaver River). Today was a short hike back to the car, lunch in Duluth and the drive home. I was surprised at how much easier things got after a little work. The first half of the hike on Friday was tough: having never done any real hiking, I found that I got tired very quickly (carrying 40 pounds or so of gear). After lunch, it was much easier, and yesterday -- while still an 11 mile hike on a strenuous trail -- was significantly easier. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.178 2008-05-16 18:13:42 2008-05-16 18:13:42

Here's a bit of a break from the normal content of my posts, which is usually an update on our lives. (Considering we're fairly boring people, it's a wonder that this blog is ever read.) I stumbled up

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Here's a bit of a break from the normal content of my posts, which is usually an update on our lives. (Considering we're fairly boring people, it's a wonder that this blog is ever read.) I stumbled upon a link the the other day to 100 Must Read Books: The Essential Man's Library, which is a great list of books that men should read. I would take issue with the title of the list, though it's understandable, considering the website ("The Art of Manliness"). Lately, I've been working on reading more, as TV just hasn't interested me despite by best efforts. (I tried watching The Office a bit, and while it was funny, I have a hard time devoting the time to it.) I was fairly surprised by how much their recommendations and my bookshelf overlap. The following books on their list I've already (and, in most cases, recently) read: The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)To Kill a Mockingbird (Harperl Lee)Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig)Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Dafoe)A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway)The Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)1984 (George Orwell)The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)Dharma Bums (Jack Kerouac)Catch-22 (Joseph Heller) There are also several books that I hope to make it through this year, if possible: A River Runs Through It (Maclean)Hamlet (Wiliam Shakespeare)The Art of Warfare (Sun Tzu)Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)The Prince (Niccolo Machiavelli)Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)The Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger)For Whom the Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway)The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscal Wilde) tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.177 2008-05-07 20:43:42 2008-05-07 20:43:42

After buying $500 in materials for the basement last week, Doug and I started finishing my basement tonight, framing up the wall for what will become my office (and will include the sauna in it) as we

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ After buying $500 in materials for the basement last week, Doug and I started finishing my basement tonight, framing up the wall for what will become my office (and will include the sauna in it) as well as the walls for the bathroom. It took the two of us maybe four or five hours, breaks included, to get that far. Next up, we'll need to tie the walls into the concrete, then I can do the electrical as time permits (good luck with that) and we can start on the plumbing. Andrea and I have discussed how we're going to do the bathroom, and I think we've decided it will be an Asian theme with some deep colors (burgundy?). The plan is to have the bathroom and office finished by the time Eric and Jacek get in town (probably Thursday, July 3rd). We're also hoping to have the utility room somewhat complete for a bit of storage and to keep all components out of sight. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.176 2008-04-26 22:17:18 2008-04-26 22:17:18

Nate and Lonnea came home for the weekend, and they brought their Nintendo Wii for us to play. So tonight, we had all of the Shireys over for dinner (kabobs on the grill with brown rice) and played th

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Nate and Lonnea came home for the weekend, and they brought their Nintendo Wii for us to play. So tonight, we had all of the Shireys over for dinner (kabobs on the grill with brown rice) and played the Wii for a while -- bowling, tennis, baseball, and, of course, boxing. Nate and I played, then Andrea and Lonnea, and finally Mom and Dad. While it did take a bit of coercion to get them to play, they definitely seemed to have fun once they got going. Nate leaves for Wisconsin tomorrow, but Lonnea is staying here for two weeks, so I expect she and Andrea will be hanging out a fair amount. Oh yeah, and he's leaving the Wii here in the meantime, so I'll probably give Super Mario Galaxy a shot and see how that is. tag:www.adamandandrea.org,2007://1.175 2008-04-22 22:36:15 2008-04-22 22:36:15

Doug busted out his telescope tonight to look at various celestial bodies, including Saturn and various stars. I brought my camera with and took some pictures: Two of Saturn -- one with a yellow filte

Adam Shirey http://www.adamandandrea.org/ Doug busted out his telescope tonight to look at various celestial bodies, including Saturn and various stars. I brought my camera with and took some pictures: Two of Saturn -- one with a yellow filter and one without -- but they're fairly blurry due to the fact that I actually held my camera up to the telescope without any sort of mounting adapter. Next time, maybe. I also brought my tripod with me and took some time exposures to get star trails. There's a three minute exposure, the same shot in a six minute exposure, and a different shot with a seven minute exposure. FYI, these are ISO 800, f/16. These pictures have been placed in my night photography album.