Boyzoid's Blog & Stuff

As many who know me are aware, I am a big fan of the New York Giants (An American football team for those readers outside the US who may not be familiar with the name).  Tonight, the Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game to make it to the Super Bowl. In the process, the Giants set an NFL record by winning 10 road games in a row.

When we made it to the playoffs, not many gave us a chance to beat Tampa Bay, few gave us a chance to beat Dallas and even fewer picked us to beat Green Bay.  To all the sports columnists, TV analysts and anyone else who makes a living offering their opinions about the NFL, I have one simple favor to ask.  Please, please, don't pick us to win the Super Bowl.  I want every one of you to pick New England.  It seems to motivate the G-Men when you think they are not worthy of beating the 'better team'.

Win or lose in Phoenix, the Giants have given me much more than I could have hoped for during this season. Now, if we can just find a way to ruin prefection.....

When I was a kid, one of the things I really looked forward to around Christmas time was my father getting the electric train set out. We did not have a big elaborate set, but the track was attached to a 8x4 piece of plywood, with lighted billboards and trees.  My dad even painted it green with a 'road' going through it.

What does this have to do with the Wii my kids got for Christmas?  Well, 2 years ago, my parents gave me the train set that we used to have as kids.  Unfortunately, the track was in bad shape, and the transformer plug was so dry rotted, you could see the copper wire.   This Christmas, I was determined to get it running. 

After a trip to a local train shop, I was able to purchase some new track and a new plug for the transformer.  Thanks to help from my father-in-law, the new plug was soldered on (I don't do solder) and the new track assembled and the train was running like new.  When we were looking to see how the wires needed to be attached to the transformer, I noticed the copyright date on the instruction manual, 1971. The trains set is 36 years old, and still running like new, even after not having ANY maintenance in those 36 years. I will say that I plan on taking the train to that shop to get a 'tune up' so that maybe my grand-kids can enjoy the set as well.

This, to me, proves the old saying, 'they don't make them like they used to'.  How many toys that you or your kids got this Christmas will still be operating in 2043?  I would venture to guess not too many.

For the last 24 years, Christmas has been a mixed blessing for my mother.  In 1983 she had to take care of a 17 year old girl, who died, on Christmas Eve.  This year, a local paper where my parents live thought it was a story worth telling.  Check out this link for more on the story.

To everyone who celebrates, Merry Christmas!

For my birthday this year, one gift I was given was a grill cover with the New York Giants logo on it. I had added this item to my Amazon.com wishlist and it was purchased off of Amazon.com.  What I didn't know at the time was that it was actually being sold by a reseller, or whatever Amazon calls them.

When the cover arrived, I thought it was a bit thin.  I have used garbage bags that were thicker.  But it fit the grill and seemed to do  the job it was designed to do, cover my grill.  The last few days have been a bit windy, and as a result, the grill cover has been torn and is no longer usable (see pictures below).  

I phoned Amazon to complain about the cover and try to get a refund.  I was told that because it was sold through a 'reseller', I needed to contact them, I am OK with that.  I asked for the phone number and was told Amazon did not have it. I am not OK with that.  After being transferred a few times, I was finally told that they did not have a phone number for the reseller and that I would need to contact them in writing.  Not ideal, but I was OK with that.  I asked for the address and was told Amazon did not have that information either. I am not OK with that either.

For those playing along at home, I added an item from Amazon.com to my Amazon.com wishlist, the item was purchased from the Amazon.com website and the credit card was charged to Amazon.com, yet, Amazon.com could not tell me how to get in touch with the company that they claim actually sold me the item.  How is it possible that Amazon allows others to sell things through Amazon, yet not have a way to contact them.

After a few more transfers, I was finally able to get the number of the company, and I have called and left a message twice, with no return call yet.   While all this was going on, I attempted to contact the company who sold the item through Amazon.com.  I explained the situation and received an e-mail a little bit ago that basically says, because we did not express dissatisfaction when we received the item, they will not offer us a refund. The irony here is that I was not dissatisfied until the cover was ripped to shreds.  It also says we ordered the 'economy' cover, which is not stated anywhere the description page.

Amazon.com has washed their hands of this situation.  I was told I need to resolve this with the reseller, and their resolution has basically been, 'tough sh*t'. So, now I need to go back to Amazon to complain even more. Should be fun.

I may regret saying this, but part of me hopes we do slip into a recession.  During a time of economic stagnation, companies typically try to lure and keep companies with good customer service.  During a time of economic prosperity, customer service almost seems to become an after thought.

I also learned a very important lesson, make sure you know whether or not an item is being sold by Amazon or by one of its 'resellers'.  I for one will not be buying from any of their 'resellers' again anytime soon.

***UPDATE***

After my wife sent a carefully crafted e-mail to the company, they have agreed to refund the full cost of the cover.

***END UPDATE***

Unless you live under a rock, you are undoubtedly aware that to day is the 6th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  As I am sitting here working, I am reminded of how I spent that day.

Like most Americans, I first heard news of the first plane that hit the World Trade Center on the news, and then watched in horror as the second plane hit the other tower and ultimately watched both towers fall.  Unlike most Americans, I was unable to watch the events of the day unfold on TV.  I had already made the switch to web development and was working in the IT department of the company where I had spent 12 years (at that time) as a paramedic, including 2 as a manager, but I was still certified as a paramedic and frequently worked extra shifts to pick up some extra cash.

One of the things my company was tasked with was setting up a staging area at a  local airport.  The plan was, as survivors were removed from 'Ground Zero' they would be flown to airports around the area so as not to overwhelm hospitals close to lower Manhattan.  It was decided that I would be in charge of setting up and coordinating this staging area.  I was sent to the airport at about 11:00AM and started preparing for what could have been hundreds of victims.

At the staging area, we coordinated with well over 150 people from approximately 50 different police, fire and EMS agencies.  It felt good to be doing something, something we were sure would help.  From the airport in central New Jersey, about 40 miles from Ground Zero, we could see the smoke from the towers.  We did not have a TV and relied on phone calls from others to get information as the day wore on.

As time passed we would get messages that we would be receiving patients soon, yet none ever came.  After 9 hours at the airport, having not treated one person, we were told our services would no longer be needed and we could go home.  It became a stark reality to me that anyone who would survive was already out of the towers.

In the days following 9/11 my company sent numerous crews to offer assistance at Ground Zero. I was on one of these crews at Ground Zero.  While we were not on the pile of rubble trying to find bodies, we were close enough to see the utter devastation that was lower Manhattan. It is a scene that will never be wiped from my mind, but I am not sure I would ever want to.

My whole career as a paramedic I always said that as long as I could walk, I would continue to do the job, even if it was only part time. After 14 years as a paramedic, I let my certification lapse in December of 2003. The events of 9/11 played a huge part in that decision.  It had nothing to do with fear.  It had everything to do with the fact that I knew if something similar happened on my watch, I'd be running in to help people, regardless of the danger, and this would not be fair to my family.  I also knew I could not change who I was, so the only way to ensure I wouldn't do that would be to remove the possibility of it happening, so I left EMS completely.

To this day, when I think of the towers falling, or seeing Ground Zero up close and personal, I get nauseous, I get physically ill.

Sadly, I don't think we are much safer now than we were on 9/10/2001.
 

I really want to be cool and get a Mac Book Pro (MBP). 

I really want to find out what's in the Kool-Aid that Apple sells that makes anyone who owns one of them become a full on zealot.

I really want to find out what the big deal is.

But at what cost?

I am considering replacing my Windows based laptop, and my wife's Windows based desktop with a MBP for me, and an plain ole' Mac Book for her.  I say considering because I went to Apple.com today to just get an idea of how much we would need to spend.  I say considering because I did not expect the 'sticker-shock' I got when I went to the site.

The standard MBP was $2799.00. After comparing the specs with my current laptop I was astounded to find out, there rally isn't a whole lot more, if anything, the MBP offers that I don;t already have in terms of hardware.  The processor in the MBP is a bit faster than what I have, but my current hard drive is 60GB larger.  Also, the video card is a bit more beefy than what I have, but all I do is development on my laptop.  I don't so a great deal of graphics work, nor do I watch DVDs, so this is kind of a waste for me.  Both have 2GB of RAM, WiFI and Bluetooth.

Here is the kicker, I paid over $1000.00 less than the MBP.  I am sorry, in my opinion, the differences in the specs don't warrant that $1000 difference.

So, I am asking for help.  I am having a hard time convincing myself (much less my wife) that it is worth the extra money to get a Mac.  What can I do with a MAC that I cannot do with my Windows machine?  

Help convince me its worth the extra grand.

And please don't say I can run OSX and Windows on the same machine, that's not really a selling point to me.  I am not going to pay an extra $1000 so I can run Windows.

OK, so I am a follower...sometimes...

• 38 years old - but you are only as young as you think you are, which makes me about 15.
  
• Married for 9+ years (10 years in August)
• Two children (both boys) ages 8 and 4 (but going on 17 ans 13  respectively)
• Lives in Charles Town, WV (after 35 years in New jersey)
  
• Drives a 1998 Ford Ranger (Hey, I needed a pick up to move to West Virginia)
  
• Lives in a planned development on a golf course (right off the 14th fairway)
  
• Is an avid golf fan.  Not only playing but watching.
• USGA Handicap: 14
  
• Prefers Sci-fi to any other kind of movie.
  
• Can't miss TV
• Heroes
• Battlestar Galactica
• 24
• Jericho
• Amazing Race
• Survivor
• Musical taste ranges from Abba to Tool

Three years ago my this week, after packing up the family and leaving New Jersey, I began work in my first CF job in the Washington, DC area.  In that time I have have the pleasure of working with, or collaborating on projects with, some of the best CF people out there.  Here is a list of some of these people, in no particular order:

• Doug Ward
• Joe Rinehart
• Doug Hughes
• Nic Tunney
• Simon Horwith
• Ray Camden
• Jeff Coughlin
• Phill Nacelli
• Charlie Griefer
• Ben Forta
• Javier Julio
• Chris Turner
• Kelly Brown
• Jim Collins
  
• Jon Rowny
  

Also, I have the pleasure of meeting, sharing libations with or becoming friends with  a lot of people who are prominent in the ColdFusion community.  This list includes all those listed above, as well as:

• Jared Rypka-Hauer
• Sean Corfield
• Andy Allan
• Rob Gonda
• Simeon Bateman
• Dave Carabetta
• Mark Drew
• Matt Woodward
• Hal Helms
• Dave Ross
• Chris Scott
• and countless others...
  

Regardless of whether it was a brief conversation at a conference, or spending months working side-by-side, I have been able to learn from each of these people, and countless others to help make me a better developer.

Thanx to each and everyone of you.

Five years ago, like most Americans, I watched with mixed emotions as terrorist attacks were carried out against America.  Like most Americans, the emotions I felt that day went from confusion, to sorrow, to anger. 

Five years ago, unlike most Americans, I did not watch the drama of that day play out on television.  Five years ago, I was still a paramedic.  Even though I was in IT, I still worked for the same company I was employed as a paramedic; I was still a certified paramedic.  I was asked by the Director of Operations to report to a local municipal airport to coordinate a staging area which was to be used to get survivors from the World Trade Center attack to hospitals far from 'Ground Zero'.

I was responsible for coordinating about 100 people from numerous EMS agencies, fire departments and police departments. During the day, news would trickle in to the command center.  We were unable to watch any live coverage since the airport did not have cable, and the only TV on site had poor reception from its rabbit ear antennae.  All we could do is wait.  Wait for the survivors we all hoped would soon be brought to us.  Wait for the survivors that never came.

Even though the airport was in the middle of New Jersey, we could see the smoke that billowed out of lower Manhattan.  I remember looking at the smoke often and wondering if my family and friends who worked in or near the World Trade Center were safe.

In the days that followed the attacks, I was part of the rescue operation at 'Ground Zero'. Like most Americans, I will never forget where I was when I heard of the attacks.  I will never forget the images of the towers collapsing.  I will never forget, seeing first hand, the devastation at 'Ground Zero'.

Five years later, I still feel the same emotions whenever I think of the events of that day.