Raible Designs

Hypersonic PC Sucks!

Hypersonic PC Sucks - they charged me $165 for returning the POS Aviator ZX7. I returned it because the following items did not work: power cord, bluetooth card, wireless card. Otherwise, it was a nice machine. Hypersonic PC Sucks because they didn't refund my money until I filed an investigation with my credit card. And then they claimed there was a $100 charge for scratches on the box, and the shipping costs are non-refundable ($65). After this, they warned me:

We also reserve the right to charge a restocking fee of 15%.

Maybe this post will cause them to up-the-ante. In the meantime, I hope Amex gets me a full refund.

Is the stress getting to me?

I don't know what's causing it, but I've woken up with a headache every day since I caught a small cold from Abbie on Monday. I've been cranking out a fair amount of hours between my day job and other side-projects, but you'd think this headache would go away. Is it the stress? Who knows - all I know is that I have to take Advil on a 4 hour rotation to get rid of it. I've even ditched my contacts for glasses one day, but that didn't help either.

I need to find a better way to relax, and a way to quit worrying about "getting things done" for my clients. Do I have productivity anxiety or is it deadline anxiety or maybe it's just West Niles.

Doin' the Netflix thing

I got inspired by Matt's post about Netflix and I signed up on Sunday. 3 DVDs arrived in the mail today. Nice! That was quick. The question is - will they have the same new releases that Blockbuster does?

My tips o' the day

I found an easy way to update a MySQL database with new columns this morning. The traditional way is to create an ALTER_TABLE script and run it. However, I had added more than 30 columns, and creating this script sounded like a pain in the ass. Keep in mind that I use Hibernate to create my database from scratch - tables, and all. If you're familiar with appfuse, you might be able to use this stuff.

• Dump the existing (production) database using "mysqldump -c database > database.sql". Edit this file, replacing CREATE TABLE with CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS. The "-c" option includes column names in the insert statement.
• Create an empty database (appfuse: ant db-init) and export (mysqldump database > create-tables.sql) it.
• Drop all the tables in the production database (backup first!), mysql < create-tables.sql followed by mysql < database.sql.

Of course, other suggestions are welcome - I'd love to see a mysql diff tool that generates the ALTER script for me!

My other tip is how to start/stop Windows services from the command line - don't know why I haven't used this sooner.

net start "$serviceName"

Where $serviceName is something like "Apache Tomcat 4.1" - use "net start" to see all currently started services.

Dual Monitor Video Card

Found this daddio from some co-workers today: GeForce4 MX440 64MB DDR 4x AGP Card w/Dual VGA. All for a measly $36.55. Now if they only made one of these for laptops. I'd love to make my next computer an Intel-based PowerBook, but you can only plug in one additional monitor to a laptop - I'd love to have dual.

California Rocks, Family Rocks

We just got back into Denver a few hours ago. It's great to be home, but it sucks that vacation is over. 10 days of driving up the cool California coast - aaaahhhhh blissful... We had an awesome time seeing my parents and sister, as well as a few old friends (and their families). It reminded me of two things: 1) don't sink your life into your job - it can disappear at any time, family and friends are forever, and 2) the United States is a beautiful country. We're actually thinking about moving to San Diego in the next 6 months.

Tonight the e-mail reading, blog reading, and tech support begins. I feel like it's a 2nd job. I feel like I need to put in 2-3 hours per night to keep up. However, with my just-got-back-from-vacation mindset, the motivation just isn't there. It feels good to be de-motivated, rather than technology obsessed - too bad it won't last very long.

Sunset on Fisherman's Wharf

Last night, we had a scrumptious dinner at the Crab House on Pier 39. While walking home, we were honored to see a beautiful yellow and gold sunset along the water. Today, we're heading out to Alcatraz and possibly a on winery tour.

Made it to San Francisco

We just checked into a hotel on Fisherman's Wharf - should be a good night! Saturday and Sunday was spent in San Diego (highlights: Mission Bay, Sea World). Yesterday, we drove like mad to Big Sur, only to discover that all the cabins and hotels were full (WTF - aren't kids in school!). So we ended up staying in Monterey Bay last night, checked out the Monterey Aquarium today, and arrived in San Fran a few minutes ago. It's pretty cool to be here. The California coast has been mesmerizing so far - a very cool place for a road trip.

Wi-Fi (walkwire) in the lobby, but couldn't get on.

On Vacation...

After working 12 days straight, this is gonna be fantastic...
(Returning September 2nd)

Good Comedy for the Road?

One thing I've found that's enjoyable on road trips is a good comedy track. I don't like the books on tape because you have to pay attention and I tend to day dream while I drive (or play passenger). Comedy routines are great because you only have to catch a line or two - and you're good to go. So any recommendations out there? I'd love to download some for the ol' iPod.