I donated $40 last night to the campaign to defeat Proposition 8 in California (Prop 8 will remove the constitutional gender-indiscriminant right to marry, and nullify existing same sex marriages in CA). I'm hoping that James and I can go there next year and get married. Either there, or Connecticut.
We are upstanding citizens, we pay our taxes, don't hurt anyone, and just want to be able to rely on the legal system to acknowledge that we can make decisions for each other in times of crisis. We're not trying to undermine other families. I don't know how we could.
Someone linked to this on Twitter, and it convinced me to donate:
Yikes. is the link, if you're interested in donating, too.
Jim's Journal
My Podcast Link
10/19/2008 09:51 #46188
Close Your Eyes and Do It For EnglandCategory: estrip
10/18/2008 20:04 #46182
Pseudo-PromotionCategory: work
I am now the head of Rails development at my work, so I'm coordinating 6 developers. Three new to Rails, and two who are new to the company, and myself. It's actually pretty awesome to be running the projects. I get to be the face of our development team to all the executives and our parent company in Boston.
It's not really a promotion in the sense of title change, more of a coordinator role (still spend 80% of my own time writing code), but it's going to be nice when I have my yearly review next April to be able to claim credit for how nice things are going.
The best part of the job? Saying no to stupid things before they are forced upon us.
We're digging into a ground-up rewrite of one of our core products, an evaluation tool for Physical Therapy students. It's going much smoother then I had anticipated, although two of the guys we thought we'd have had on the project months ago are only now able to lay down Visual Studio and Fox Pro and join us.
There are two other ongoing projects too, so 3 things to keep tabs on and moving forward, plus all the training. Training devs is nice - another way to shape the company culture and make sure that we're doing things the same way. They really like Ruby over Fox Pro - big surprise :)
Thank God for the ADD drugs. I'd be hanging myself otherwise.
It's not really a promotion in the sense of title change, more of a coordinator role (still spend 80% of my own time writing code), but it's going to be nice when I have my yearly review next April to be able to claim credit for how nice things are going.
The best part of the job? Saying no to stupid things before they are forced upon us.
We're digging into a ground-up rewrite of one of our core products, an evaluation tool for Physical Therapy students. It's going much smoother then I had anticipated, although two of the guys we thought we'd have had on the project months ago are only now able to lay down Visual Studio and Fox Pro and join us.
There are two other ongoing projects too, so 3 things to keep tabs on and moving forward, plus all the training. Training devs is nice - another way to shape the company culture and make sure that we're doing things the same way. They really like Ruby over Fox Pro - big surprise :)
Thank God for the ADD drugs. I'd be hanging myself otherwise.
jim - 10/19/08 10:07
Thanks everyone :)
Thanks everyone :)
janelle - 10/19/08 09:08
That's awesome, Jim. I'm glad working is going so well for you. You deserve it!
That's awesome, Jim. I'm glad working is going so well for you. You deserve it!
tinypliny - 10/18/08 22:55
Congratulations and good luck! Sounds like a lot of work though. :)
Congratulations and good luck! Sounds like a lot of work though. :)
jim - 10/18/08 20:49
What I'd love is to run all our apps off of EC2. We have crazy spikey load but then nothing for months.
Like, our biggest product is a survey tool, and it sees greatest use at the end of every semester, but hardly any before then expect the school users setting things up.
But, then December/May we have 10 million page requests a day. Seems lame to have servers humming along all year for no reason.
What I'd love is to run all our apps off of EC2. We have crazy spikey load but then nothing for months.
Like, our biggest product is a survey tool, and it sees greatest use at the end of every semester, but hardly any before then expect the school users setting things up.
But, then December/May we have 10 million page requests a day. Seems lame to have servers humming along all year for no reason.
jim - 10/18/08 20:41
Each of our servers is going to be cut up into a VM per core. The guy who is technically our server admin wants me to install x-windows on them all so that he can VNC in.
That's what the 'no' photo above is about :)
Servers should never have GUI's. He's a windows guy :(
Each of our servers is going to be cut up into a VM per core. The guy who is technically our server admin wants me to install x-windows on them all so that he can VNC in.
That's what the 'no' photo above is about :)
Servers should never have GUI's. He's a windows guy :(
paul - 10/18/08 20:39
Congratulations!
All of our servers are getting virtualized. They are moving toward a server farm setup because it is more energy and space efficient. At first I was iffy about it but the idea is pretty sweet. Then again we have hundreds of servers to start with.
Congratulations!
All of our servers are getting virtualized. They are moving toward a server farm setup because it is more energy and space efficient. At first I was iffy about it but the idea is pretty sweet. Then again we have hundreds of servers to start with.
jim - 10/18/08 20:18
Oh... plus we just budgeted in 10 servers for next year. ZOMG expensive.
I suggested we'll only needed 5 or 6, but my boss told me to double the request to be sure we could handle anything that arises.
Oh... plus we just budgeted in 10 servers for next year. ZOMG expensive.
I suggested we'll only needed 5 or 6, but my boss told me to double the request to be sure we could handle anything that arises.
10/16/2008 22:21 #46148
Episode 7?Category: starwars
(source / more in the series: )
tinypliny - 10/18/08 09:10
I really miss the Indian squirrels (of all things!). They look like this chipmunk in the picture. Here these squirrels are too big and somewhat scary at times!!
I really miss the Indian squirrels (of all things!). They look like this chipmunk in the picture. Here these squirrels are too big and somewhat scary at times!!
james - 10/17/08 13:39
super cute
super cute
gardenmama - 10/17/08 11:22
I'm betting on the EWOK!
I'm betting on the EWOK!
10/16/2008 09:15 #46139
McCain - Last DebateCategory: politics
What McCain said is not going to play well among independents. Virtually everyone thinks that there should always be exceptions for the mother's health. McCain was very dismissive and used air quotes.
Liberals say that a majority of Americans support abortion rights, and conservatives that a majority don't. The fine print in all that is that a majority support early abortions and oppose late abortions - so it's just how you phrase it in your campaign spots, I suppose.
Personally that's me, pretty much, I am OK with first trimester abortions, and progressively less at ease after that, and by the third trimester I think it's OK to heavily restrict abortions, as long as there are exceptions for rape/health. Which is pretty much what the Supreme Court has decided, right?
paul - 10/18/08 19:14
Like I said, I am pro-abortion. Only under the "extreme circumstances" of actually being able to care for the baby - should they not abort.
Like I said, I am pro-abortion. Only under the "extreme circumstances" of actually being able to care for the baby - should they not abort.
gardenmama - 10/16/08 20:02
I found him painfully dismissive on the health of the mother issue. That's a really hard one for me to wrap my head around. Of course, if the Supreme Court ever overturns Roe v Wade, that too would become a health of the mother issue for all women who couldn't afford to leave the country to go elsewhere for safe, legal abortion. Back to butchers, alleys, and coathangers, and young and poor women dying from hemmorage and infection - now there's a plan.
I found him painfully dismissive on the health of the mother issue. That's a really hard one for me to wrap my head around. Of course, if the Supreme Court ever overturns Roe v Wade, that too would become a health of the mother issue for all women who couldn't afford to leave the country to go elsewhere for safe, legal abortion. Back to butchers, alleys, and coathangers, and young and poor women dying from hemmorage and infection - now there's a plan.
tinypliny - 10/16/08 10:09
Does McCain think "health of the mother" is some fictional roadblock to their party's crazy agenda? Good grief. This bloke doesn't even know what the heck he is talking about. :(
Does McCain think "health of the mother" is some fictional roadblock to their party's crazy agenda? Good grief. This bloke doesn't even know what the heck he is talking about. :(
tinypliny - 10/16/08 10:03
Hehehe, I was around 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) when I was born, >1 month premature. People thought I was a a big rat when they looked at my incubator because I was apparently very hairy in addition to being small and ugly. Nothing much has changed even now. LOL
Hehehe, I was around 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) when I was born, >1 month premature. People thought I was a a big rat when they looked at my incubator because I was apparently very hairy in addition to being small and ugly. Nothing much has changed even now. LOL
tinypliny - 10/16/08 09:57
Good to know they got medical advice on this one. Back home, the "viable" age is 20 weeks ((e:tinypliny,46006) ), nevermind that many babies dont't make it past 1-2 years because of malnutrition and poor care. :(
Good to know they got medical advice on this one. Back home, the "viable" age is 20 weeks ((e:tinypliny,46006) ), nevermind that many babies dont't make it past 1-2 years because of malnutrition and poor care. :(
jim - 10/16/08 09:46
"Roe v. Wade centrally held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable.’" The Court defined viable as being potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability usually occurs at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks." The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These rulings affected laws in 46 states."
- Summary of Roe v Wade ( :::link::: )
"Roe v. Wade centrally held that a mother may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable.’" The Court defined viable as being potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability usually occurs at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks." The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These rulings affected laws in 46 states."
- Summary of Roe v Wade ( :::link::: )
tinypliny - 10/16/08 09:42
That's the medical viewpoint as well. Has the supreme court ruled on this?
That's the medical viewpoint as well. Has the supreme court ruled on this?
I want to get married in my own country. I don't want to feel like a fugitive.
Why not Canada? Some friends of mine went there to wed.
I fucking hate people.
So I was at a roller derby leaguemate's house last night and found out she was from Connecticut, and congratulated her on her state legalizing gay marriage. "Really!" she said. (She's lived in Cheektowaga for 13 years, so she doesn't exactly have her finger on the pulse of Hartford at this point.) "How funny. CT is odd because it's so liberal on some things, but Puritan on others." "Oh exactly," I said. "That's New England. Nobody ever gets to be drunk or naked ever ever, but equal rights for all!!!"
I sort of love New England and sort of hate it. (I grew up on the MA/VT/NY border, right where they all kinda intersect.)
Al-Gayda: Gay terrorists! With rainbow bombs!
That is so ridiculous. I hope terrorists show up at Qualcomm.
If you believe you have God on your side, then your own prejudices become God's prejudices. There is no compromise when you believe you speak on *behalf* of God.
REALLY? Can rational people even see a reason to this madness? How in the world did this prop 8 whatever even get drafted? It represents the core of discrimination. It is as sickening as racism. How can people exhibit such intolerance in as diverse a country as US? It is bewildering to me that a country that is far far ahead in scientific accomplishment in the whole of the planet is so woefully and culturally nescient and steeped in dark-age double-standards.
That video was so lunatic I couldn't watch it for more than 10 second. PUKE.
And really, this is why this country is in such major trouble - crszy, insular bigots whose effective brain is the size of a peanut. :/