Got back this evening from Annapolis. My flight left 90 minutes late, which meant that I could’ve driven home faster. I think I’ll try that next time, since its so much cheaper if I just take my own car.

The day went well, as did the trip. I’ve got a head full of ideas: what-if scenarios that I’d like to see how the product would handle. Very few times has one of these ideas proven to be impossible, which is one of the things that really excites me about the product. There are very few things it cannot do!
Continue reading →

For the first time in a year I got to sit on the receiving side of a training session, this time for my new product, that open-source network management tool with the Zen-like name. Since the bulk of training came right after lunch (the crab melt at the Ram’s Head Tavern is teh bomb), I got a bit sleepy for a moment but soon rallied when the magic of the product became apparent.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. This tool is amazing! Continue reading →

The new job is going well. I got here at noon yesterday and worked until 7. Didn’t get a lot of training due to other issues being addressed yesterday but learned a lot anyway. Should get a brain-full today with training all day long.

Annapolis seems nice from the little bit I’ve been outside. I especially enjoyed the sea breeze last evening. Its nice to be so close to the ocean. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to look around while I’m here.

I’m off to work tomorrow morning, starting with a short morning flight to Baltimore. It will be quite different for me to, number one – be working again, and number two – start it with travel. I expect to learn a bunch of stuff this week and hope not to get overwhelmed. Even so, its something I’ve looked forward to for weeks. Finally I’ll be back to work!

Some asshat has stolen my credit card number and gone on a spree. Whee. I’m thinking back to when I may have used it last. I haven’t made many purchases since I’ve been between jobs, so the trail should be easy to follow. Just an occasional restaurant meal or drinks. I figure lunch at Crazy Fire was the last time.

Now that I think of it, something funny happened at my last Crazy Fire visit. As I was paying for my meal, something suggested to me that the cashier might try to do something with my card. I didn’t see anything overt occur and he only held it for a minute, but I don’t usually have that kind of feeling when I pay for things. A minute is all it would take, of course.

The fraud message we got from one company used Kelly’s name, so its likely her card info was stolen, perhaps at a restaurant or other physical transaction. Anyhow, Crazy Fire is likely safe, but every Starbucks in Raleigh is now a suspect. (Just kidding, sweetie!)

A friend once interviewed for a network security position at a big-name credit card company. He said such companies write off billions of dollars to fraud every year. That was a few years ago, of course. I have to say the fraud prevention algorithms now in use are pretty good. We got our call less than 24 hours after the first fraudulent purchases were made.

I hope we can still find out where our card was used. You know, living vicariously.

I begin a three month test-drive of my new job starting Monday, when I’ll travel to Annapolis to start a contract with a certain open-source network management company as a Consulting Systems Engineer. Should everything go as planned I’ll come onboard full-time this fall.

I’m glad my six-week unplanned vacation is coming to an end. I’m excited about the work, the product, and the company. I feel I have something to prove after being unceremoniously laid off and I fully intend to prove it.

Let’s get started!

It was a good Father’s Day. Woke up to smiling faces, had a great breakfast, then took the family over to visit my own father before spending some time in the pool. After much splashing we returned home, ate lunch, and all took naps.

After naps were done Kelly made us a great dinner. We then topped that off with a visit to Goodberry’s for some tasty frozen custard. Then it was bathtime for the kids and then story time for them before tucking them in.

Now Kelly and I will likely spend time working on the 500-piece puzzle that Hallie and I started. It should be a fun ending to a fun day.

Looks like things are looking up on the job front. I have agreed in principle to a 3-month contracting position doing some interesting work. If things work out it’ll convert to a full-time job.

It’s not in the bag yet, and its not a full-time gig, but it is encouraging. More news as things firm up.