Arbitrary Crap

I lost two points out of fifteen on my first database project. I did so by following the directions literally, and by counting on the review by the instructor and the TA to provide useful feedback. The loss of two points doesn’t bother me, except that why did I bother getting it reviewed if I’m not going to get useful feedback. That makes me angry. No point in fighting city hall, though.

I’m taking the day off tomorrow, and I’ll get plenty of work done on the next class projects that are due in about ten days. After this summer session, 8 more classes to FINI!

 

In the style of Jepoardy

It is pumped from the ocean bottoms to the top of the spill mountains.

*    *    *

Zidane is dead. Today we (and by we I mean Greg) has finally had the plug pulled on the third (or second) iteration of a box that we (and by we, I mean both of us) hosted assorted sites for us and friends and associates. The take barely paid for the box, but overall it was both a worthy and worthwhile endeavor. I know I became a better system administrator through working on the system, and got a fair taste of the joys of running a Hell Desk.

This place is easy to admin: keep the updates in place and do backups. The email, courtesy of Google, is as spam-free as I’ve had in twenty years. I’ll never complain of that. Someone was asking about the advisability of trusting the Goog. I replied that they probably already had the email, they might as well store it, too. I still keep an IMAP server running here at home, and that has copies of everything I want to preserve.

*    *    *

No, I don’t know what brought the question to mind that prompts the Jeopardy answer. But I had to get it out of my head, and yours is a perfectly good place to store it until I need it again.

*    *    *

Yesterday was house-cleaning. Not the whole bloody thing, just the hardest part – the main floor. I’ll possibly do the second floor tomorrow. Today was shopping and school work. I got a draft version of my first database class project done and sent in for review by late afternoon. Tonight, thunder and lightning and a delicious turkey and zucchini dish delectably concocted by my lovely Marcia. Now the fireworks are starting up in the neighbourhood and surrounding areas. Lexi hates the thunder, but the fireworks appear only to anger her.

*    *    *

Oh, yeah. Last bit of news for now: First tomato! A cherry tomato was ripe enough to pluck from the vine, cleave in two, and share with SWMBO. We were both happy. First tomato is the harbinger of many tomatoes, which makes me very happy indeed. Ciao!

Wild and Crazy Guy

Some of you may remember the Festrunk brothers, from the gilded age of Saturday Night Live. This is not my life. I’ve just spend my Friday evening leading into a three day weekend on What-If analysis and Pivot Tables in Excel.

Lexi on guard

Lexi on guard

 

 

While I’m studying, Lexi spends a lot of time either watching the world or sleeping on the ottoman/storage bench I made for Lucy a few years back. But every once in a while I turn my head to find her sitting up and staring into a relatively blank corner of my office. I sure hope she doesn’t see dead dogs…

Sleepy time.

 

June weather visits for a bit

Potatoes and zucchini

Potatoes and zucchini

When I go out into the back garden after work, it’s a good time to let Lexi roam back there for a bit.  We’re concerned that she’ll discover and widen a rabbit gap, and make her great escape. So she doesn’t get unmonitored play time in the back yard. I suppose I should do something about that one of these days. Not today, but maybe in the fall. Meantime, the garden is becoming productive. Frankly, those potatoes look yummy. Red potatoes have always been more visually appealing, but fresh out of the ground is a world of difference compared to the dirty brown/reddish color of the store-bought ones. Count me as super-pleased on this experiment.

Today: the second day of June weather. Previously, we’d been “enjoying” late July weather, with overnight lows in the mid-80’s. For this week, we’re barely breaking into those temps for highs! And better yet, this is supposed to last for the week. If only we’d get a couple of good soaking rains.

Tonight: Relational Algebra and Relational Calculus: I sure know how to party, eh?