http://www.jpstewart.org/blog en The personal weblog of J.P. Stewart Copyright 2002-2010, J.P. Stewart Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:13:38 GMT jp@jpstewart.org SQL2RSS.pl by J.P. Stewart http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/common/blog.gif http://www.jpstewart.org/blog 144 53 J.P. Stewart's Blog 47.64987 -122.10998 http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1246511618 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:13:38 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1146478433 Gretchen has tagged me. (Despite not being a "Talent Blogger", I do more recruiting and interviewing today than I have before. Of course I dont blog about it, but thats more because I cant.)

Here are my answers...

1. Four Jobs I`ve Had: (before my current job)

- Drug Store Remodeler
- Computer Technician / Consultant
- Student Computer Technician / Software Developer
- QA Engineer

2. Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

- Any Bond movie
- Monty Python and the holy grail
- Dune
- Real Genius

3. Four TV Shows I Love to Watch:

- 24
- Law and Order
- CSI
- West Wing

(Though my favorite show for the longest time was always Sports Night. But anything by Aaron Sorkin will do. :))

4. Four Places I`ve Been on Vacation:

- Otter Tail Lake, MN
- Bretton Woods, NH
- Destin, FL
- Shasta Lake (I think I know where the photo on their site was taken.)

5. Four Favorite Dishes:

- BBQ Pulled Pork
- Sweet Cornbread
- Sourcream Coffee Cake
- Peanut Butter / Rice Krispies / Fudge & Ice Cream Pie

6. Four Places I`d Rather Be:

(Places I want to visit next)
- Alaska
- Hawaii
- French Alps
- New Mexico, Arkansas, Michigan, Virginia, Delaware, and Connecticut

7. Four Bloggers I`m Tagging:

- Mike
- Anne
- Riley (Maybe he will start writing something. ;))
- Mini (HA, just for the hell of it.)

...well Its late, and got to wake up early. So while there is plenty to discuss, I must be going.

J.P.
]]> Mon, 01 May 2006 10:13:53 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1144918329 So one of the people at work who I have known since college (see prev post) is leaving Microsoft.

Best of luck Gretchen! (Of course I know you`ll do great, from what I saw it looks like your already on your way.)

J.P.]]> Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:52:09 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1144034377 So I was reading my friend`s blog, and discovered that apparently there are a few saga type blog posts about them recently.

Its somewhat amusing for me since I have known them since college (where we all went). Honestly, I am glad they are doing well though. They are the poster couple as far as I am concerned for most things tech, career, relationship, or otherwise. (no, thats not a bad thing, not being snide)

But it made me think a bit if anything like this was going on behind my back and I did not know it. Well I will save you the suspense, sadly, no. The most recent linkage was this post from Scoble after all the hoopla about Vista. If you remember, I work on the Vista team on wireless networking. I sent Scoble a quick mail (did not ask him or expect him to post anything, but was just venting) about all the press and what really goes on here. He of course then posts my moblog picture that I took of our feature board (now at over 3000 views). But in the process of searching today, I did remember a bunch of neat stuff you can find about me (I will save you the trouble of searching).

First, lets just get a few things out of the way. I am not:
+ A Lacrosse player
+ A Chemistry professor
+ An owner or operator of an Iowa grain company
+ A Canadian technology pundit
+ The namesake of an elementary school in Puyallup (pronouned: pew-al-up)

However, I did find some rather old (some not so old) links out there:

+ I have written a review on amazon...which actually someone sent me mail about once asking how to get rid of a virus...sigh.
+ When I created my blog, I posted the geneology at blogtree.
+ After my freshman year of college, I made a computer based image and submitted it for a contest. (Search for stewart)
+ In high school, I recieved the honor of being included in TN state law(warning PDF).
+ In college I would occaisionally post to the se2600 mailing list. (and go to meetings, but thats a story for another time)
+ More recently I am a contributing author to an OReilly book.
+ And along with that, I also put a CarPC in my jeep.

There were many more links, but these I think are the interesting ones.

Well enough wasting time I suppose.

J.P.
]]> Mon, 03 Apr 2006 03:19:37 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1142812223 Its been a while since I have posted here. There are many reasons for this.

The first is that I have been working a lot (go figure). I am now extremly versed and experienced in the process of building the entire windows OS from the ground (er code) up. Why, you might ask? Well because part of my role on my team for the last 4 months or so has been to ensure that the code that we work on makes in into the main code for the product. I am not sure how much I can talk about it (there is a lot to know), but basically there are a lot of things which have to happen and on time, in the right order, etc for a team`s code to make it to main. Some teams have a person dedicated to this full time (Honestly its more than a full time job). However I was working on this, everything I owned already, and managing everyone on my team as well and what they were working on. Lets just say this is challenging. Thankfully, for the last few weeks someone else has owned this process (though I have helped out where necessary). But suffice to say that I now know a hell of a lot about EXACTLY the method and means for which the windows operating system is built. Its pretty amazing actually. I wish I could tell more about it.

The second reason is that I am still somewhat unsure as to the audience of this site. Because of this reason I am also unsure as to the content which I should post. Most of the time recently when I have wanted to say something, I start thinking about the people who may read this and decide not to say anything at all. I think its something about the fact that I know of others who don`t know who is reading their blog and see personally how it affects how others talk about them.

And finally is the fact that I have just not felt very talkative lately. I just try to sleep any chance that I get really and thats about all I have time for usually.


For those keeping track, I went to the hospital again for my normal 6 week checkup. The bones still are not healed yet (its strange to see gaps in your bone), but they are definitly getting better. The doctors say it may be June before they are healed. Thank goodness for the steel though which allows me to lead a somewhat normal life while the bones take their time.

J.P.
]]> Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:50:23 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1138700594 In case you ever wondered what my office at work looks like (I just moved in to a new one recently), this is a panoramic shot from my camera phone standing in front of the window looking towards the door. I also just picked up a free couch from someone at work which is now right in front of the window. I still have a few boxes to unpack though.



J.P.
]]> Tue, 31 Jan 2006 09:43:14 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1138349257 Well today I got back from the hospital again. The prognosis is again good. No more crutches, no more walking boot, and I can finally drive again. They said that my bones are healing well. I brought back xrays on cd as well. So here is a recap of all the images thus far and the dates they were taken:

X-Rays from 10/23/2005 and 10/26/2005 (high-res images in zip)

X-Rays from 12/08/2005 (high-res images in zip)

X-Rays from 01/26/2006 (high-res images in zip)

Thats all for now, feel free to send email if you have questions.

J.P.
]]> Fri, 27 Jan 2006 08:07:37 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1136888243 I found another one (same location, different angle). I like them both.

There are just too many to choose from for the 3 entries I can submit for the contest....hmmm....


]]> Tue, 10 Jan 2006 10:17:23 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1136883791 I have been sorting through old photos as part of a desktop background contest. I have WAY too many favorites, but this one really stood out. (And yes, I have a 16x9 screen on this machine.)

]]> Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:03:11 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1136158969
]]> Sun, 01 Jan 2006 23:42:49 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1135608700 I got around to hosting my latest slideshow, it contains a collection of pictures I have taken from the past year (not the only ones mind you, but a few of the better ones).

2005 - A Year in Review (Caution, download times may take a while, its around 50MB)
]]> Mon, 26 Dec 2005 14:51:40 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1135503925
]]> Sun, 25 Dec 2005 09:45:25 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1135425166 Ok, I have spoke very good things about work on this blog in the past.

I am now going to take a moment and talk about something (there is more than one, but this is one I think could be fixed) which I think is really bad.

That is the coffee at work.

Actually, the coffee itself (while bad in itself) may actually be tollerable if the caraf`s were cleaned daily. However, depending on what floor you are on and in what building, your coffee maker may or may not be cleaned. Also it may still have coffee 24 hours old in it...who knows.

So the combination of the generic "Farmer`s Brothers" coffee plus the sad state of the METAL carafs that are in the coffee makers just make the coffee taste REALLY bad. Even if you add a ton of sugar and chocolate milk (which I always have to).

Sometimes I wonder if this is a deliberate tactic though by msdining. They have coffee stands in most (if not all) cafes. Its like a starbucks (they "use" starbucks coffee and use the "brand" on all the cups) but the baristas are not trained and it does not taste the same at all. Oh, and did I mention it gets expensive since they charge the same as starbucks.

Well, I have found MY solution. I have a coffee maker in my office. I store whole beans in the freezer and only grind them as I need them. Every day, I brew my own coffee, and its well worth it.

With the crazy hours that we work (I worked several 10-12 hour days lately, and have worked 16 hour days for days on end in the past), I would think that better coffee (more than just the company, but the makers and maintnance as well) would be worth it for us. This may just be me...but I also notice how many people buy coffee downstairs (which takes time away from working ;)), or bring coffee from home.

Until then, I will continue to grind coffee every day.

J.P.
]]> Sat, 24 Dec 2005 11:52:46 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1135415098 How high can you score?

My highest so far is only one error with an average of 4 miles.



J.P.
]]> Sat, 24 Dec 2005 09:04:58 GMT http://www.jpstewart.org/cgi-bin/blog/nph-blog.pl?rssid=1135316648 Well, I am back again for a bit. I have both had a lot of time and not had much time at all lately. By that I mean that I have been working 10-12 hours a day or so for the last week (7 days, not 5) on a project at work, so I have been really busy, but for the other 5-6 hours a day I have (I have only been sleeping 5-6 hours a night...so back to normal), I have really not been doing anything. There is nothing on TV, there is no one really around, and of course I can`t drive anywhere. Add this to the fact that its just somewhat difficult to move around (I am used to it, but still strapping on crutches to go anywhere does add some time and effort) and I end up with lots of time on my hands, even while working so much. I have watched a lot of documentaries, I have read a lot of online news, I have worked on another slideshow (I need somewhere to host it, and then I can post the URL), and also had a lot of time to think about things.

One of the issues which has come up over the last 5 months or so that I have been thinking about is the concept of understanding and embracing who we are (and who others are) versus changing or encouraging change. This is a tough subject for me, because I see the benefits of both sides. I am a geek, there is not much changing that. I don`t really know if that will ever change. This has been a negative stigma in society for a very long time, to a certain extent it still is. However, the more that I have thought about it, I may as well embrace it and explore it if it is not going to change. I am comfortable with that state as well. This is true for me with many other traits as well. However, recently I have been discussing this concept with friends, and they have a different philosophy on this concept, and that is that it does no good just to understand something, but rather that you should try and change it if it bothers you. So being a geek is probably a bad example because it`s not something that bothers me, but it is an interesting example in that I know that it bothers others. Should I change who I am because its bothersome to others? I say no, but that`s just me. Do I develop a different mantra and philosophical outlook for things that also (or instead) bother me? Sure, it may sound good on the surface, but the problem I have is where to draw the line. I can be somewhat complex at times, where in the sand does the line get drawn for change versus understanding?

There are some who would call even this behavior of thinking about this "Analysis Paralysis." I tend to agree, but at the same time, I also see thought as fruitful. Actions are nothing without thought behind them. If I am capable of lots of thought to put behind my actions, then I feel I should do so.

Another aspect to this conversation also has to do with management style as well. I should and will not go into too much depth about this, but its interesting to apply the same thoughts above regarding others as a part of a management style as well. I know that its more common to embrace and understand than it is to try and impose change. Again, the same line in the sand comes into play as well. I don`t have any of the answers, I am just commenting about how interesting it is to think and talk about the subject.

I think that I have not come to any personal conclusions yet about any of this either. I am not sure that I will any time soon. I could listen too what everyone else says, but what good is that. Also when everyone is not saying the same thing, then that never works out very well, especially when its all against what I feel inside anyways.

So in this same vein, another thing I am thinking about is how to cope with those in my life who don`t see these choices or struggle, but simply apply pressure to change. I think that lately, this is one of the more difficult things to deal with from my friends, when there is so much pressure to change. Its almost counter productive with my personality, because I don`t usually react well to pressure. Not only that, but based on what I commented on above, the suggestions are even against what I feel is both in my best interest as well as in my nature. Sure, they have valid points in many cases, but there is not always a means to an end, there is only promise and pressure to an end. For now, I just let the experiences add more to my thought on the subject, but I will have to admit that as time passes (this is not a new subject) this gets harder to deal with.

So during my thoughts about this subject, I started looking at examples of some of my friends. I have some friends who have gone through amazing changes, and I actually envy them for that and am amazed by that as well. But as time passes, the question in my mind grows, did they really change? Or just move who they are around in their life and in society? If that`s the case, then is that really change? Does that really count? In this one case, there are definite health benefits, but at the same time for many of the other motivational and external factors, was there any change at all? I have heard this from others as well, so I don`t think I am way off base, but it just seems like that sometimes when people change themselves, they just change things on the surface so it looks like change even though nothing really changes.

Which goes back to my first point. Can we really change in the first place? Maybe its just pointless to change who we are deep down and anything will just be changes on the surface. Maybe its better to embrace and understand who we are so that the surface changes can fall in line to match best with who we are. In fact, I am pretty sure that is how I feel on the topic now. I say that its darn near impossible to really change who we are. We just change external and surface factors. But when we just change these to escape the previous ones, does that really do any good? Maybe its better to understand who we are in the first place so we can know where best to pick and place the external changes such that they have the best impact.

How to do this? I sure don`t have a clue. But in my perspective, at least understanding and thinking about it is a start. Then again...that`s my nature. :)

J.P.
]]> Fri, 23 Dec 2005 05:44:08 GMT