Aum

I have had perhaps too much time to think about everything. I find it interesting that the human condition differs in this world but always tends towards misery and negativity. Is it the way our brains are structured? Or do we seek out misery or unconsciously create and maintain our lives by intentionally driving it down the crapper?

I read something somewhere a long time ago that there was a study done in which the life views and outlooks were compared between us (read anglo americans) and people in the soviet union and elsewhere in the world. We believe that we have a right to be happy and the peeps in the former USSR believe that we live in eternal hell and suffering with only brief moments in time of happiness. They don't expect happiness. We do. Interesting stuff.

Current things that I am working on

1. VB 2008 for my class
2. Getting Java SDK to compile from the command line.
3. Learning C# 2008
4. Learning Mac/IPhone dev tools
5. Getting into XNA Creators club (since I have already paid for my 1 year membership)
6. Beginning building my robot and getting more into MS Robotic Studio
7. Building webprojectz.net with Microsoft Expression Studio

As you can tell, I am quite busy. I wish I could split my brain in half and half would sleep and half would stay up all night working on the stuff that really matters to me....

IPhone 3G

With the announcement of the new IPhone 3Gs and the subsequent comments regarding ATT's upgrade policy, I am wondering how long it will take Apple to see that ATT is actually a barrior to the IPhone expansion. The newest rumor regarding IPhone upgrade is if you are:
1. Not a new ATT customer or
2. Not a current IPhone user or
3. Not "near" the end of your ATT contract
You will not be able to purchase the IPhone 3Gs under the $199 or $299 deal.

Alot of current IPhone 3G customers are angry about this. However, we all knew this was going to happen. We knew that ATT is all up in their rules and upgrade matrix. I personally am pretty happy with my IPhone 3G and am not looking to upgrade. However, my significant other is needing an upgrade-- I am looking at a 3G for him as well. $149 for a 16 gig 3G model is a great deal....

Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 nearing completion

A new build of OS X 10.6 was seeded this past weekend. In the release notes for the build, Apple told beta testers that a change within the API that is used to optimize code for multi processors was the last planned before the release. This would give the go-ahead for developers to finalize their new code for use on Snow Leopard before the final release push. We are almost there folks! I am super excited and so is my trusty Imac. :)

On a related Mac note, I have begun learning the IPhone dev tools through an online class given at Stanford. I am super excited although the install of the IPhone SDK has been less then flawless.

Microsoft-- Desperate are we?

It appears as if Microsoft is basically begging us to switch to Windows 7. They are like "we are very sorry about wasting your time on Vista! Please come back!!!" Well, I can't say that I won't consider their desperate move of giving all of us a *year* of Windows 7 for free is a bad thing. I will be definitely upgrading my Vista machine at home with Windows 7 (if it runs WoW-- if not then I won't.)

But according to various reports, Microsoft will be giving the general public access to the release candidate through msdn.com and it will not expire for a year. Not bad people!

OK Microsoft is smoking the wacky weed again...

Kevin Turner, COO of Microsoft said in a statement that vista is the "safest most reliable OS on the planet compared to all other OS's including Linux and Apple Leopard. LOL. If you want to read more of the insanity- full statement in the link below:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/turner/2009/04-06MMCIOSummit.mspx

Filling my life right now

I have always had a problem with being mentally idle. So, in these hard times that are presenting themselves to everyone right now, it is especially good for me to keep mentally busy. Unfortunately, I have been extremely bummed out about my masters being put on hold-- at least for a few months or until I figure out how to come up with some extra money to pay a bill that financial aid won't cover (boo hiss). Anyway, here are my steps to self improvement:

1. I am currently meeting with my programming mentor on the weekends-- we are up to C# Functions in the book and I am learning so much from her!

2. I am exploring Jazz as a relatively new music genre (to me at least). I took a jazz appreciation class in college but did not fully appreciate it until now. I am trying to get into John Coltrane but finding it difficult going. I love Charlie Mingus and Miles Davis.

3. I always keep mentally busy by reading some fiction or fun non-fiction to keep myself relaxed at night time. Currently I am reading Conquistador by S.M. Sterling.

Most of all, I find myself mentally challenged by my 2 year old. He is great fun and is to the point right now that he asks why about everything. He is a good boy.