second job...

i've heard it said that keeping your windows boxes updated is almost a full-time job and now that i have an "always on" broadband connection at home, i'm realizing the weight of those words. everytime i turn around windows has new updates ready to install on my computer. it's a hassle but you have to do it. new virus definitions, new updates, patches, on and on it goes. i guess thats the price you pay for a high-speed line. that and the $50 a month.
i'm trying to mentally psych myself up for what i know will be a challenging week at work next week. round 2 of a 3 phase project. i'm a little more prepared than i was last time so hopefully it will go more smoothly. i'll know more next week.
we made reservation in march at wilderness resort in wisconsin, a giant hotel\waterpark so we're looking forward to a mini-getaway. for the time being it's business as usual.

happy birthday!...

...to the oldest sister and newest mom. hope you have a great day!

Win XP Service Pack 2 Blues...

i have been dragging my feet on upgrading my home pc with sp2 for quite a while. with my recent wireless router purchase, it seemed like a good time as there are allegedly several enhancements with sp2 related to wireless networking. well, i backed up some critical data, said a prayer and gave it a go. as is the case many times, my pc failed to boot up properly after the "upgrade". i tried several options but for the time being have decided to opt for the "repair" option and install a copy of xp over the top of the exisiting OS. even this presented a whole host of challenges, which i won't go into detail about here, but suffice it to say if i didn't have my notebook pc with me, and the abilty to browse several tech forums, i'd be hosed. i have plenty of time as the install is estimating 39 minutes but we know how that goes. i believe the problem is that i have a pc that was manufactured in may of 2000, and i don't have a new enough BIOS. i looked into upgrading the BIOS once and some outfit wanted to charge me like $60. i don't think so. anyway, the jury is still out...i hope to have a normal looking desktop when i finally get this sucker up and running. sp 2 may have to wait.
more later :-(

happy valentines day!

14 years ago today allison "said yes" making me the happiest and luckiest guy on the planet. happy valentine's day hon!

the reason for headphones...

the other day jeff asked me what the most embarrassing music in my itunes library was. a great question i thought. with a library of nearly 16,000 tunes there's bound to be a few. i know there are various degrees of music snobs and i know that i am one to some extent, like it or not, so... if i list your favorite band here, please don't take offense. the only qualification is that i had to have at least one track from the following artists. it may be that i have just one track from a christmas compilation or something but that still counts. some are lame. some are guilty pleasures that i would defend to the death but i'm not telling you which is which:-) here is an incomplete list of embarrassing or at least uncool artists in my collection:

a-Ha

ABBA

ABC

Alabama

Alanis Morrisette

Jim Croce

John Denver

Ashlee Simpson (aaaaaghhh)

Bay City Rollers

Bee Gees

Big Head Todd & the Monsters

Britney Spears

The Carpenters

Barry Manilow

Charlotte Church

Christina Aguilara

Cindi Lauper

Dan Fogelberg

Def Leppard

Garth Brooks

Glen Campbell

Gordon Lighfoot

Hall & Oates

Julie Andrews

Justin Timberlake

Kool and the Gang

Lionel Ritchie

Olivia Newton John

Pat Benatar

Patsy Cline

Paul Anka

Phil Collins

Ricky Martin

WHAM!

Will Smith

where's my stuff?

at the time choosing "free shipping" from amazon seemed like a good idea? this is painful...at least my router and notebook adapter are in minnesota now.

flynn family photo...

k & B, thanks for the pic, looks great. you're hiding your exhaustion from lack of sleep fairly well. now, let's get your blog rolling?

life in the fast lane...

my very first broadband submitted post from home...me likey! still waiting for the rest of my wireless gear. for the time being, i'm using my notebook from the living room floor attached to my cable modem behind the armoir. not ideal, but it's only going to get better. come on UPS, step on it!!!

slower traffic keep right...

this post may be a few days premature, however, as most of you know i have been limping along at home with dial-up internet access lo these many years. i did the heavy lifting web stuff at work (download virus def files for home pc, music, etc., - on my breaks of course), and would use my usb flash drive to sneakernet my stuff home.
well, i have scheduled comcast to come to the house friday to install my broadband connection. i'm psyched to finally get this service as you can imagine, but i worry about things like coverage from the wireless router & things like that. for awhile i was holding out for qworst, i mean qwest, to qualify my home phone line for DSL, but i could never get a straight answer from them on a time-frame. so they lose.
so if all goes well, i will be connecting at blazing speeds, with my comcastic new service in the near future. more to come on this soon.

a quick breather

happy february...
it's been a particularly crazy & challenging work week. i'll be glad to see the weekend come around. a two day reprieve. more fun projects forthcoming shortly. yay.
picking pittsburgh in the superbowl although i really don't care who wins (no bets). the ads are usually a good enough reason to watch (and janet jackson). matt hasselbeck leading seattle to victory in their first superbowl appearance? i don't think so but i guess we'll see. like i said, i'm fairly apathetic about the whole thing.
brian and kelly have alledgedly taken danny home to boston so that is great news. send some more pics guys!
more later...