I just finished setting up a storage server at work. It might not be large for some people, but it's the biggest RAID 5 array I've ever administered...I'm a little giddy.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Free space: 5,249,558,134,784 bytes
I just finished setting up a storage server at work. It might not be large for some people, but it's the biggest RAID 5 array I've ever administered...I'm a little giddy.
Are you immune to phishing?
http://www.siteadvisor.com/quizzes/phishing_0707/That's a pretty good quiz to test your phishing detection skills. Being in the IT world for awhile and having worked in a financial institution for 2 years, I would have been devastated by anything less than a perfect score on this test :)
It's a good quiz though...I'd recommend everyone take it to brush up on phishing detection.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
A Chip and a Virtual Chair
This past Friday night I played in a bounty tournament on UltimateBet.com. For those of you who don’t know, in a bounty tournament, part of your buy-in goes to the prize pool and part of it becomes a “bounty” on your head; whoever knocks you out gets your bounty. This particular tournament was a $25 buy-in ($20 to the prize pool and $5 bounty). I really like the idea of having a bounty because it means you don’t even have to make the money to earn your buy-in back. It also slightly alters the style of play. People are more likely to call your all-in, knowing that if they knock you out it’s money in their pocket.
Anyway, I started playing and I always play rather conservative in the first several rounds of a tournament because there are so many players that play a lot of hands simply because the blinds are cheap. If most of my table is playing loose, I tend to play tighter. So, I expected to not play many hands. I did not expect, however, to have such a long stretch of bad cards. I think in the first 2 hours I played 5 hands. It was horrible.
A couple times I had medium strength hands (AT, A9, QJs, 22, 33, etc.) that I would have liked to see a flop with, but every time I limped in or made a 2x the BB raise, I was raised or re-raised. It was the worst run of cards I have had in a long time. I eventually got down to only a single BB in chips left. I had the button, so I knew that one of the next 9 hands would be my all-in. I don’t remember what I played, but I tripled up. So, now I had to make another move very soon. Well, I did and it faired well for me. I was able to stay alive long enough to make the money. Out of 365 entries, 40 players made the money. When we hit 40 players I gave a big sigh of relief. I did it! I had the least amount of chips out of anyone in the tournament, but I was still here and I was walking away with at least something.
At this point in the tournament something changed. It was a combination of a couple things. First of all, I started to get a few hands now and then. I got TT, AK, AQ, 88, etc. I also loosened up my play quite a bit because the fear of being knocked out before the money was gone.
So, the end of the story is that when we got down to the final table I found myself in 2nd chip position and I was able to keep that position until we got down to heads-up play! I couldn’t believe it! It was after 11pm and I had been playing for over 4 hours so I was a bit tired and I didn’t play a very good heads-up game. I ended up getting 2nd place! It was my biggest cash in any tournament by far and probably my biggest accomplishment in poker. Not only did I get 2nd out of 365, but I did it coming back from just having a chip and a virtual chair :)
Anyway, I started playing and I always play rather conservative in the first several rounds of a tournament because there are so many players that play a lot of hands simply because the blinds are cheap. If most of my table is playing loose, I tend to play tighter. So, I expected to not play many hands. I did not expect, however, to have such a long stretch of bad cards. I think in the first 2 hours I played 5 hands. It was horrible.
A couple times I had medium strength hands (AT, A9, QJs, 22, 33, etc.) that I would have liked to see a flop with, but every time I limped in or made a 2x the BB raise, I was raised or re-raised. It was the worst run of cards I have had in a long time. I eventually got down to only a single BB in chips left. I had the button, so I knew that one of the next 9 hands would be my all-in. I don’t remember what I played, but I tripled up. So, now I had to make another move very soon. Well, I did and it faired well for me. I was able to stay alive long enough to make the money. Out of 365 entries, 40 players made the money. When we hit 40 players I gave a big sigh of relief. I did it! I had the least amount of chips out of anyone in the tournament, but I was still here and I was walking away with at least something.
At this point in the tournament something changed. It was a combination of a couple things. First of all, I started to get a few hands now and then. I got TT, AK, AQ, 88, etc. I also loosened up my play quite a bit because the fear of being knocked out before the money was gone.
So, the end of the story is that when we got down to the final table I found myself in 2nd chip position and I was able to keep that position until we got down to heads-up play! I couldn’t believe it! It was after 11pm and I had been playing for over 4 hours so I was a bit tired and I didn’t play a very good heads-up game. I ended up getting 2nd place! It was my biggest cash in any tournament by far and probably my biggest accomplishment in poker. Not only did I get 2nd out of 365, but I did it coming back from just having a chip and a virtual chair :)
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Ordering Pizza Online
The last time I tried order pizza online was in the summer of 2000. Krista and I were just married and we decided to try ordering pizza online. After an hour or so had passed after we placed our order and there was no pizza, I called them. Our conversation went something like this:
Lately I've noticed all the pizza places in town advertising online ordering. It's been 7 years and now they are advertising it...I'll give it another shot. Just sent my order off for a couple P'zones from Pizza Hut. We'll see if we get it :)
UPDATE: We got our pizza! No problems! Wow! Pizza technology has come a long way in the last 7 years ;) Oh, and P'zones are great!
Me: Yeah, I ordered a pizza online over an hour ago and it isn't here yet.And about 40 minutes later we got our pizza. Not the best ever, but hey, it was worth a try to order online.
Them: Online?
(pause)
Them: Oh yeah, online! Yeah...hang on...let me verify your order...
(pause)
Them: Ok, now, what did you order? And, what was your address?
(I give him my order)
Them: Yeah, I think that's just coming out of the oven...yeah, it's on its way!
Lately I've noticed all the pizza places in town advertising online ordering. It's been 7 years and now they are advertising it...I'll give it another shot. Just sent my order off for a couple P'zones from Pizza Hut. We'll see if we get it :)
UPDATE: We got our pizza! No problems! Wow! Pizza technology has come a long way in the last 7 years ;) Oh, and P'zones are great!
Transformers
I enjoyed watching the new Transformers movie this week, but this guy took it a little too far:
While we were up at Krista's parents for the 4th of July holiday, we snuck away to the theater and saw Transformers. I loved it! It brought back a lot of memories and made me check eBay for old 80's Transformers toys :) No, I didn't buy anything, but I'd like to :)
While we were up at Krista's parents for the 4th of July holiday, we snuck away to the theater and saw Transformers. I loved it! It brought back a lot of memories and made me check eBay for old 80's Transformers toys :) No, I didn't buy anything, but I'd like to :)
Friday, June 22, 2007
Home
I am now home and very happy to be so. I left the hotel in NY at 2:00AM PST, so I am very tired. Just a quick post to end my Rochester posting spree.
-Bill
-Bill
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Rochester, NY: Day 4
Today we had another full day of classes. It was great. We learned so many things. I got more hints and tips about upgrading to the next version of our Kodak software.
After class we went to the George Eastman House here in Rochester. It is an amazing place. I'm posting photos below. It was built between 1902 and 1905 for $300,000. Then, a few years later, he spent $750,000 to have the house sawn in two and extended from the middle 9 feet - simply amazing. There is steel between all the walls also, so that in case of a fire it would be contained.
After the Eastman House, we went to a neat NY pizza place on the outskirts of Rochester. Excellent pizza (sorry Zach, no photos of the pizza).
Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at like 3:00AM PST or something crazy like that. I'm looking forward to coming home, but I'm not looking forward to getting up that early.
And this is as close to a group photo as we have :)
Wow! A wooden safe! Very cool.
And a camera that looks like a gun, who'da thunk?
I liked the ceilings...
After class we went to the George Eastman House here in Rochester. It is an amazing place. I'm posting photos below. It was built between 1902 and 1905 for $300,000. Then, a few years later, he spent $750,000 to have the house sawn in two and extended from the middle 9 feet - simply amazing. There is steel between all the walls also, so that in case of a fire it would be contained.
After the Eastman House, we went to a neat NY pizza place on the outskirts of Rochester. Excellent pizza (sorry Zach, no photos of the pizza).
Our flight leaves tomorrow morning at like 3:00AM PST or something crazy like that. I'm looking forward to coming home, but I'm not looking forward to getting up that early.
And this is as close to a group photo as we have :)
Wow! A wooden safe! Very cool.
And a camera that looks like a gun, who'da thunk?
I liked the ceilings...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Rochester, NY: Day 3
Today we were in classes most of the day. I learned a lot of helpful things. Things that will save me time and headaches when upgrading to the next version of the software as well as a lot of things to pass on to others at work. We also have a lot of ideas of how we can better use the software to meet our needs. We are only half way through classes and I already think it has been very worth while for us to come out here. There is one class I am going to take again tomorrow because there is so much to absorb that I know we can use. I'm excited! If tomorrow is half as good as today I'll be even more excited :)
I took a few shots around sunset time here. Nothing special, just something to post :)
I took a few shots around sunset time here. Nothing special, just something to post :)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Rochester, NY: Day 2
7:30 AM EST - Even though part of my body felt like it was 4:30 AM, I did feel well rested. We got up and got ready and then went to breakfast. I had a buffet of eggs, bacon, french toast, and strawberries.
After breakfast we headed out to see Niagara Falls. It was only about an hour and a half away. The drive was great due to the AC in the car and the 88 degree with 5000% humidity weather outside we were missing by being in the car.
I was absolutely amazed by the falls. Photos don't due it justice. I took some panaromas, but those will have to wait until I get home to stitch them together.
We weren't sure if we could go to the Canada side or not, so we tried anyway. We decided to walk from the falls into Canada. The guy in the little building you walk through said, "And you guys are all Americans, right?" and then let us through. No I.D. or anything. It was kinda weird.
We walked around a bit, but it was very hot and we were starting to get hungry. We found the Hard Rock Cafe and decided to eat there. It was excellent.
After that, we went down and took pictures from the Canada side of the falls. I am really glad we did because from that side you were able to really see all of the falls. Once we took our photos and browsed a gift shop, we headed back to the U.S. side.
To leave Canada, all you need is $0.50 to deposit in the little machine and then you walk through. On the U.S. side we did have to show our driver's license and they made a record of us. That was it.
We headed back to Rochester after that and were only slightly delayed by a huge thuderstorm, complete with trees fallen in the road and everything - it was great :)
We all met in one of the hotel rooms after that and went over all of the class options one more time and finalized our choices.
That reminds me, I forgot to mention why I am here for those of you who don't know :) Excel sent myself and three of my co-workers to a Kodak DP2 users conference here in Rochester. DP2 is our print production software and this is the big, once a year, set of classes and talks about its capabilities and how it can better do what we need it to do. I think it will be a great opportunity for us to enhance our workflow at work and hopefully we can fully utilize all the information we get here.
After choosing our classes we were hungry for dinner. A big favorite place a couple years ago (I wasn't with Excel at that point) was the Dinosaur BBQ. It is a bar and grill style blues place. I got BBQ chicken and ribs and it was incredible. Dad, Zach - you would love this place.
Well, it's late now and we have class at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I'd better be signing off and heading to bed. Here are a few shots from today:
After breakfast we headed out to see Niagara Falls. It was only about an hour and a half away. The drive was great due to the AC in the car and the 88 degree with 5000% humidity weather outside we were missing by being in the car.
I was absolutely amazed by the falls. Photos don't due it justice. I took some panaromas, but those will have to wait until I get home to stitch them together.
We weren't sure if we could go to the Canada side or not, so we tried anyway. We decided to walk from the falls into Canada. The guy in the little building you walk through said, "And you guys are all Americans, right?" and then let us through. No I.D. or anything. It was kinda weird.
We walked around a bit, but it was very hot and we were starting to get hungry. We found the Hard Rock Cafe and decided to eat there. It was excellent.
After that, we went down and took pictures from the Canada side of the falls. I am really glad we did because from that side you were able to really see all of the falls. Once we took our photos and browsed a gift shop, we headed back to the U.S. side.
To leave Canada, all you need is $0.50 to deposit in the little machine and then you walk through. On the U.S. side we did have to show our driver's license and they made a record of us. That was it.
We headed back to Rochester after that and were only slightly delayed by a huge thuderstorm, complete with trees fallen in the road and everything - it was great :)
We all met in one of the hotel rooms after that and went over all of the class options one more time and finalized our choices.
That reminds me, I forgot to mention why I am here for those of you who don't know :) Excel sent myself and three of my co-workers to a Kodak DP2 users conference here in Rochester. DP2 is our print production software and this is the big, once a year, set of classes and talks about its capabilities and how it can better do what we need it to do. I think it will be a great opportunity for us to enhance our workflow at work and hopefully we can fully utilize all the information we get here.
After choosing our classes we were hungry for dinner. A big favorite place a couple years ago (I wasn't with Excel at that point) was the Dinosaur BBQ. It is a bar and grill style blues place. I got BBQ chicken and ribs and it was incredible. Dad, Zach - you would love this place.
Well, it's late now and we have class at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I'd better be signing off and heading to bed. Here are a few shots from today:
From the Canada side of Niagara Falls:
Looking down from the observation deck on the U.S. side (the blue dots are people):
And, the best view from the U.S. side of the river:
Monday, June 18, 2007
Rochester, NY: Day 1
2:45 AM PST - My alarm went off. I got up, showered, got dressed, ate some breakfast, and then waited for my ride to the airport.
6:35 AM PST - Our flight left Portland on time. It was my first time flying since 9/11. A lot of things have changed, but we made it through without any incidences. The in-flight movie was Shooter, but I watched Ghost Rider on my PSP instead.
11 or 12 something central time or something - We got to Chicago alright and only had 15 minutes to get to our connecting flight to Rochester. We ran. I am out of shape.
3:30 PM EST or something - We finally arrive in Rochester, NY. We got our bags, found our rent-a-car, and then checked into our hotel. It is quite nice. We were all tired, so we decided to eat lunch/dinner/whatever at the resturant in the hotel. I had a very tasty meat lasagna and a ceaser salad.
It's now 9:30 PM EST, 6:30 PM PST, and it feels like it's 11:00 PST. Tomorrow we are going to go sight-seeing. Not sure where we are going, but I promise I'll have more exciting pictures that just from out hotel room :)
Stay tuned for more!
6:35 AM PST - Our flight left Portland on time. It was my first time flying since 9/11. A lot of things have changed, but we made it through without any incidences. The in-flight movie was Shooter, but I watched Ghost Rider on my PSP instead.
11 or 12 something central time or something - We got to Chicago alright and only had 15 minutes to get to our connecting flight to Rochester. We ran. I am out of shape.
3:30 PM EST or something - We finally arrive in Rochester, NY. We got our bags, found our rent-a-car, and then checked into our hotel. It is quite nice. We were all tired, so we decided to eat lunch/dinner/whatever at the resturant in the hotel. I had a very tasty meat lasagna and a ceaser salad.
It's now 9:30 PM EST, 6:30 PM PST, and it feels like it's 11:00 PST. Tomorrow we are going to go sight-seeing. Not sure where we are going, but I promise I'll have more exciting pictures that just from out hotel room :)
Out the window to the right:
Out the window to the left:
Our room:
Stay tuned for more!
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