General

Absolute software was mentioned in Wall Street Journal. The article is about Data Delete, an add-on to Computrace. If a stolen computer contains sensitive data, the owner can call a hotline number to request that the data on the machine gets wiped the next time it calls in.

I just wrote the Mac version recently.

Minipundit points out that today is the late Alan Turing‘s birthday. Turing is considered the father of modern computer science and remains the greatest computer scientist even today. He even helped the Allies win World War II by cracking the Nazi’s Enigma code. He also happened to be gay and was tried and convicted for “gross indecency and sexual perversion”. After his conviction, he killed himself.

My current home improvement projects are finally finished, when I had the remaining tile put down today.

I started this series of projects in December, when I converted a spare bedroom to an office, with built-in cabinets & desks. Next, I had my patio enclosed. Finally I had the patio tiled & replaced the carpet in my dining room with tile.

My condo association has also been doing a lot of work in the last few months. We just put in 100 new palm trees to replace destructive black olive trees. Last weekend I helped lay down sod around some of the new trees. We just finished installing lights around the newly planted trees at the entrance.

Father’s Day feels weird for me. I used to have Father’s Day, my father’s birthday, and my parent’s anniversary in June and now nothing.

My father died in January 1991 (while I was at MacWorld San Francisco). I got a call that morning at the hotel from my friend telling me my father died. I spent the rest of the day wandering around in shock. The next morning I flew back to my home in L.A. and the following day I flew to New York, where my parents lived, for his funeral.

Thankfully my mom is still alive.

I often regret never having kids so I can have someone to pass my legacy to after I’m gone. I guess there’s still time, but as a single gay man there’s very little chance I’d have a family.

Oliver Willis: If we had a real media in this country, every time one of these guys opened his yap, they’d be asked why they funneled money to our nation’s worst group of domestic terrorists.

The Family Research Council’s executive director, Tony Perkins, reportedly paid former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke over $80,000 for his who’s-who-of-racist-America mailing list in 1996. This should be the death of the Family Research Council, one of the religoius right’s lead organizations, and the end of Tony Perkins career.

My street has been torn up for several months while the city is putting in new drainage & sewer lines. It’s been closed to through traffic for over a month and it’s very difficult to get in or out of my condo. The unpaved street is messing up everyone’s cars with mud & dust, and there have been lots of flat tires. It’s also very noisy here during the day, which makes it difficult to work.

Today was the worst so far. They started at 7:30 this morning. The vibration is so strong a lamp fell off my desk and the whole building has been shaking. This morning, a window was vibrating so strongly I was afraid it would break. I’m having a very hard time working under these conditions. I can’t wait for them to finish.

Sorry I haven’t had time to write lately, but here’s what’s been going on:

• I’m making a major architectural change to my software product. I can’t say too much about it, but it’s becoming more Unix-like and moving further away from old Carbon APIs.
• We’ve been busy working on installation & compatibility issues for a large customer that’s using a security product which interferes with our software.
• I may have another project on the side, which I can’t talk about.
• I’m having lots of work done on my condo. Right now I’m having tile put down in my dining room & patio. This means I can’t get to my office, which is on the opposite side of the dining room along with an extra bedroom.
• My mother moved last week, so I’ve been helping her get settled in her new place & sell her old condo.
• I had an awesome Memorial Day weekend, with three cookouts and two all-day pool parties. I was pretty sunburned & sore for a few days.

Via Lifehacker:

Work-at-home web designer Jason Santa Maria published a great list of ways to keep motivated when your “office” offers “a picturesque view of a sink full of dishes.” In a nutshell – know when to get busy, when to step away from the computer and stay organized in between. Maintaining Motivation [Jason Santa Maria]

Although I’m not self-employed, I work at home since my company is in Vancouver & I’m in Florida. These tips still apply. Here’s how I survive and get work done.

• I have one room set up as an office, with a built-in desk and cabinets. When I’m here I’m at work. I never watch TV in the office, but I usually listen to music most of the time. At the end of the day, I leave my office and bring my powerbook into the living room where I can watch TV. Since my co-workers are on the west coast, even when I’m “home” I’d still get calls from them and I usually have to keep on working.
• Since my co-workers are on the west coast, I usually sleep an extra hour and start working between 9 & 10. I’ve pretty much resigned myself to working west coast hours. I still manage to get most of my programming done before the others get to work and start calling or emailing me. I usually end up spending the rest of the day dealing with whichever crisis comes up.
• Always go out for lunch every day. I usually walk to the mini-mall around the corner from my condo. This is one way to get out and see people instead of sitting alone in my office. I also make sure I get out in the evening, usually going to the gym.

I finally had my patio enclosed. I’ve been waiting since December, when the contractor took the measurements and ordered the parts. Here’s how it looks now. It was definitely worth the wait.

Patio Enclosure – after

Originally uploaded by mike3k.

They started the work two weeks ago, but discovered they got the wrong windows after they already put in the door & frame. Since they weren’t able to complete the work, it was left half open and boarded up for two weeks.

Patio Enclosure – in progress

Originally uploaded by mike3k.