December 23, 2008

There were 4 posts published on December 23, 2008 (this is page 1 of 1).

Interview recap

So I had my interview at 2PM today. Got there 5 minutes early, met the team, and spent the next two hours running the gauntlet of technical interview questions. I think I escaped relatively unscathed. I’m expecting a call tomorrow with official word, but my feeling is that I’m the guy they want.

Some details need to be worked out (my pay, which recruiter firm will be involved, etc.), but I expect this will be a a good place to hang around for the next six months, and hopefully longer. On the last front, the boss couldn’t make any promises there would be something at the end of this six-month rainbow, but though this company currently has a hiring freeze it is certainly not standing still – building a massive datacenter that will be my playground. I think this bodes well for my chances.

Christmas might come a day early tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Time Warner Cable raising rates

To get a head start in losing customers before the February DTV changeover, Time Warner Cable is raising its basic cable rates 20% next month. The cost of doing business continues to increase, according to a spokesperson.

Uh-huh. What about the cost of losing business? I am so glad I’ve got our TVs ready for digital broadcast TV, and that we use Earthlink’s high-speed cable modem service rather than Time Warner RoadRunner.

If in the future I decide we need premium channels, I’ll be giving the Dish Network a call, but Time Warner won’t get a penny more from me if I can help it. Cable service has never been more irrelevant than it is today.

In fact, I should become more aggressive in setting up my neighborhood wireless Internet service. Let’s see how Time Warner’s rate increases look when compared to free (or close to it).

Luxury

Man, I could get used to 8 AM wakeups. It will be bittersweet when I have to give them up for a commute again.

Porch plastic

When my grandmother wanted to protect her screened back porch from the wind, she put up a sheet of plastic around it. I’d like to do something similar for our porch, but a bit fancier.

What I’d like is to have zippered plastic panels I could install on the inside of our porch screen between my porch posts. In the winter I could zip in a thick, clear poly panel and remove it when spring came around. It would become a quick and dirty greenhouse, which would be a much better place to put my sensitive plants than our garage.

Seems no one makes such a product, as far as I can tell. There is mention here of using greenhouse poly for it, but nothing specific.

Anyone seen such a product, or should I scare up some venture capital and start a company?