Raible Designs

Red Hat 9 to be released soon

After receiving the e-mail below, I'm guessing that Red Hat 9 will be released on April 7th. Is it worth paying $60 to get it early - I think not. Hopefully, I'll have the same easy download and install experience I did with 8.0 in October.

Dear Matt:

You may know that Red Hat Network is the best way to keep your 
systems running the latest errata and always up to date. What you 
might not know is that Red Hat Network passed the one million users 
mark earlier this year. We've listened to valuable feedback and have
added two items of interest to keep those users happy - early release 
of Red Hat Linux 9 ISOs and improved technical support.

Beginning March 31, 2003, paid subscribers to Red Hat Network will 
have access to Red Hat Linux 9 ISOs - a full week before retail store 
and Red Hat FTP availability. Also, Red Hat Network subscribers will
receive dedicated Red Hat Network Technical Support. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a Red Hat Network Subscriber:
http://redhat.chtah.com/a/tA$f1ahAJPSNNAMoxTCAFzqKeVO/rhat1

To purchase a Red Hat Network subscription:
http://redhat.chtah.com/a/tA$f1ahAJPSNNAMoxTCAFzqKeVO/rhat2

Thanks again for using Red Hat Linux. We appreciate all feedback 
from our users and hope you enjoy Red Hat Linux 9.

Sincerely,

Red Hat

Where's Erik?

My best source of news (Erik Thauvin) is MIA. I hope everything's OK. Erik is at the top of my Blogrolling list, mainly because he's always on top of the latest tech news and he posts often. He hasn't posted since Friday and my blog reading just isn't the same without him.

Update: Go figure - whithin mere minutes of my posting this, Erik posts. Good to have you back Erik!

Job Hunt in Florida

My Job Hunt in South Florida is at a standstill. My countless e-mails to job postings from Monster and DICE are not receiving any replies. Not that I expected any, but receiving an e-mail reply saying "we hired someone else" would be nice. I've done the Monster and DICE thing for many years now and never gotten a job from them, so I don't know why I'm expecting one now. Most of my jobs/contracts have come from connections. That is, folks that I know (or have worked with in the past) that are looking for someone with my skills. The problem is, I don't have any connections in Florida. I really would like to move in June, but at the rate I'm going, it looks like we might be stuck in Denver for awhile. So it's time to come up with a new strategy.

Step #1: Lookup companies in the South Florida Business Journal and send e-mails to HR Directors - or at least searching for jobs on their websites.

Step #2: If I'm not successful by mid/late-April in getting at least one interview, it's time to fly. I'll schedule a trip down there and start soliciting my resume door-to-door and attending networking events (i.e. JUG Meetings).

Or I could revert back to my tried and true philosophy. The best things come to those who wait. It's much easier and requires a lot less work. Besides, I like it in Denver and currently have a great day job. Suggestions are welcome.

What a great day of skiing!

Beautiful Arapahoe Basin.

Snowy Denver.

Sunset over snowbank.

Life as a Contractor

This weeks sucks to be a contractor. It's a 2-day week and that's all I'm getting paid for - 2 days. Damnit, wish I was full-time. Then again, if I were making the big bucks, 2 days would be plenty to pay the mortgage. Alas, I am not - and I'm tempted to work this weekend. What the hell is wrong with me - work on the weekend?! I make fun of my friends when they work on the weekend - now I'm a hypocrite. I have a to do list that makes my weekend boring as all getout:

• work 10-12 hours at day job
• add user administration to struts-resume
• release appfuse
• finish new design prototype for client
• release displaytag (no one else seems to want to do it)
• clean the house before Julie gets home

No wonder I miss Julie and Abbie so much when they're gone - I sit in front of the fricken computer all the time! When I get out of the house (or simply off the computer), I find I miss them much less (it's been almost 2 weeks!). I might have to scrap my to do list (save the paid part - item 3) and get off the damn computer. Booking happy hour and ski dates shortly... ;-)

Blizzard 2003 - Round 2?

I heard on the radio this morning that there might be another storm coming through next week. There was even talk that it might pack the same punch as the one this week. I certainly hope so! Now I just need to find a way to get myself snowed in at one of the ski resorts. ;-)

It snowed a bit more last night and it was snowing this morning when I came into work. Breckenridge got 8" last night, so hopefully we'll get some good skiing in tomorrow.

Is the blizzard over?

I think the worst of the storm is over, it didn't snow all afternoon and most of the roads are snow-free. The only bad roads are in the neighborhoods. Driving into my house tonight reminded me of driving into the Cabin (in Montana) when I was a kid. I spent a couple of hours shoveling out the driveway today, and couldn't help the urge to digitize my work on video (QuickTime, 2.7 MB).