Greg and Jeff Go To California

Posted by Greg on January 31, 2011 Comments Off

Just got back from SFO and MacWorld 2011 yesterday. I happened to catch one of the very last flights out of Baltimore before the storm hit last Wednesday. While I flew, my wife spent an equal 5 hours driving home in the snow.

Before the conference started, Jeff and I went for a hike to Pier 14 where I made the above panoramic. It was the only nice day there with clear skies and a high of 54F. The rest of the time was cold and wet. Unfortunately my tendonitis flared up in both knees and my right hip, reducing our ability to explore SF.

It was a good time to hang out with my brother and continue our plans of world domination. Gravett Island was solidy under our control by the end. Unfortunately, we had less time than I had hoped. He had to man the Shedworx booth a good portion of the time, and I went to some of the seminars. The other developers at his company were fun to get to know. There was one Greg and two Craigs, all from Australia, making conversations confusing at times.

All in all I felt that MacWorldExpo was not worthwhile for a web application developer like myself. Most events focused on audio & video. One of the key conference talks I went for was cancelled. I counted 13 expo booths selling iPhone cases. There was very little free stuff, unlike OSCON, ZendCon, and phpTek. On the bright side, CultofMac featured my brother and I at the top of their MacWorld Day 3 post. Their managing editor, Traci, was very nice to talk to, albeit briefly. Next year Shedworx should pay us to come out and be Booth Studs.

As a note: I do not work for Shedworx, I just happened to be hanging out at their booth because I had already wandered the expo hall five times.

Sermon 9: Proclaiming Well

Posted by Greg on January 23, 2011 Comments Off

On January 16th I was honored to be able to present a sermon on evangelism and how Christians do a better job telling others about Apple products than the Savior of their souls. If I take stock, I am usually more excited about some new tech gadget, or a sports team, or a movie. How about you? The sermon was modeled on the previous weeks sermon by Pastor Paul Jeon on how our prayer life is reflective of our relationship with God.

And yes, I am going to MacWorld.

Ithaca is (falling apart) gorges

Posted by Greg on December 6, 2010 Comments Off

Last month there was a major rock fall in the Taughannock State Park, just north of Ithaca, NY. Very impressive!

TG10

Posted by Greg on November 25, 2010 Comments Off

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

This year I was in charge of dessert. Mmmm… Pumpkin cake. Anne was a very good helper mixing the batter.

Piled Higher & Deeper

Posted by Greg on October 14, 2010 Comments Off

Many ages ago, in a dark corner of the world, I was a grad student. Unfortunately I did not have the humor of Piled Higher & Deeper to sustain me, and as I read it now I am slightly frightened by the similarities at times. Many of the comics hit very close to home. And then I ran across this one about student unionization and I felt so proud to have contributed (the one part is crossed out correctly as the conservatives had little to do with the defeat of the grad student unionization). I was certainly sponsored by no one. It just did not make sense.

You’re going the wrong way

Posted by Greg on September 17, 2010 Comments Off

Level 19

I am sharing an office with a friend and our large white boards would not fit on the available walls, so we improvised by making them vertical. The instant I saw them installed I knew what had to be done. Click the thumbnail for the full size image.

Update:
I made it onto the front page of EpicWin!! As of Sept 20 there were 642 thumbs up and 31 thumbs down for it (probably the people who are not thinking with portals).

Update2 (20101004):
915 up, 45 down.

Sermon 8: Working Like Slaves

Posted by Greg on August 30, 2010 Comments Off

Yesterday I expounded on Ephesians 6:5-9 for all three services of CCPC. It was hard to get all my thoughts out into a coherent whole as the discussion of slavery is so layered and complex. I had an additional 9 pages (12pt single-spaced) of notes, quotes, and scripture that I could not fit into the timespan. Two things I was able to add during the CCPC Metro service (thanks to the excellent input from my wife) was the question of how do we treat those who serve us in other capacities, like waitresses and stewardesses, and being a master also extends to all of us who lead anyone. Have a listen to Working Like Slaves and drop me a comment if you have thoughts or questions.

War of Words

Posted by Greg on August 19, 2010 Comments Off

Your writing might exhibit more venustation as a result of visiting Save The Words. No need to pull out the odynometer when learning perantique words, but the flash interface may cause some strain.

Planes, Spaceships, and Communication

Posted by Greg on August 1, 2010 Comments Off

Flew back from Portland, OR last week and the trip was fairly uneventful. Well, actually it was a red-eye flight so I slept through most of it thankfully. Speaking of uneventful flights…

Remember how in StarTrek, whenever the Enterprise hits a magnetic-storm or is in combat and the captain says “hard to port!” it cuts to a hallway scene and the people are being bounced around the corridor? Did you notice how Kirk and Piccard don’t often take the time to inform the crew. “Attention crew. There is a Klingon Mark V equivalent photon torpedo approaching the engineering deck on the starboard side. We are about to turn hard to port in response to evade this impending impact. If you would be so kind as holding onto something I would be much obliged. Also, those on the engineering deck may want to consider evacuating or putting on a space suit. Thank you for your time.” Such a dialogue might be more suitable for more classical english literature.

Or say an airplane is flying in dense fog and all of a sudden the pilot sees a mountain in front. The captain does not take the time to turn on the fasten-seatbelt sign. “Attention passengers, this is the captain speaking. Please forgive me for interrupting the inflight entertainment which I am sure you are enjoying as much as myself. I am turning on the…” BOOM! Of course he wouldn’t give a long monologue. He turns the plane as fast as he can to avoid the danger. The passengers, and especially the crew, will get tossed around, but the alternative is death. No mention of returning the tray tables to their uprtight position.

Sometimes large and drastic course corrections are necessary for safety. This will naturally be disruptive to a fair number of the crew and passengers. If we are navigating a particularly large storm, the bumpiness will last a while, but the pilot/captain is relying on more than his own wisdom to navigating the storm in the best possible course to produce the least amount of distress. The pilot is not out for a joy ride or putting the plane through its paces.

Ever notice how grumpy some passengers can get when there is a little turbulence, let alone a major storm? Maybe we need more Mark V photon torpedos for life perspective. Make it so.

Sermon 7: Disruptive Change

Posted by Greg on July 27, 2010 Comments Off

This past Sunday I was honored to be able to present God’s word to CCPC Metro in Arlington, VA. Looking at the crowd’s reaction to Stephen in Acts 6, I examined how God uses change in our lives. You can get the audio here. CCPC Metro is the satellite service for Christ Central Presbyterian Church which has just moved to Centreville, VA. Drop me a comment if you have thoughts or questions.