19 days
Posted on May 30, 2005
Filed Under Relocating | 2 Comments
and counting until move-out day. We’re making some serious progress. Complete rooms are done, we just have pockets of clutter to attack and pack away. The movers will be boxing some up on moving day, which helps.
I decided to organize and pack up my office first since it needed the most work. That way everything else will feel like downhill. I’m a sucker for desk organizers, and I liked the [Desk Apprentice](http://staples.com/content/promos/apprentice.asp) when I saw it on the [show.](http://nbc.com/nbc/The_Apprentice_3/) I ordered one using a Business Rewards certificate so it didn’t feel that expensive (the full $35 price is a tad steep, sorry Donald).
When it was delivered, the UPS guy said it was the second he was delivering that day and it appears that they’re now sold out. It’s well-made and incredibly functional. Everything I’ll need to get things done for my clients for the next 3 weeks is in there. Everything else is packed. It was fun going through my drawer that contains all my cables & adapters. I learned that I will never have to worry about not having a USB or Firewire cable. I have one (or two, or three) in every possible length and configuration you can imagine. I also learned that it’s silly for someone who doesn’t own or use anything requiring a standard phone line to have 3053 feet (or so it seemed) of phone wire.
I called [Comcast](http://www.comcast.com) this morning and set up my new account. They’ll be coming on Monday, June 27th to get it all hooked up. I went for their promotion which gives me 3 months of high speed internet and 3 months of digital cable with HBO for $24.95 each. After that, the internet goes to $42.95 and the digital cable to $84.95. I’m trying their DVR at $9.95 a month on the family room TV. Anyone have any words of widsdom about Comcast as a broadband ISP? Never had anything but Cablevision.
Pardon the dust
Posted on May 24, 2005
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I’ve just reorganized (rebuilt) the files on my blog. I used to file them based on category, then name. That was fine, but then I realized that I was getting two entries pointing to the same file because the titles weren’t original enough. I was cutting off after 10 characters…so “Weight Watchers Core Plan” was filed in the same place as every other entry that started with “Weight Watchers” in the same category.
I could have used more characters in the file name, but that still would require a complete rebuild and it’s no guarantee the issue wouldn’t pop up again. Instead, I’m now using the default archive template in Movable Type which files as year/month/entry\_name. I would have done this from the beginning, but when I started this blog Movable Type filed entries by ID# which was unacceptable so I changed to the category method and just kept it going through version upgrades. I still may have posts with similar titles, but the default is smart enough to number the entries…duplicate\_name1.php, duplicate\_name2.php, etc. to avoid duplication. The archive template I was using before wasn’t and there’s no setting I can find to avoid this duplication. I’d call that a bug, and I should probably report it when I get a chance.
I haven’t deleted any old files, and the master and category archives are still in the same place. So if you’ve linked to a page the page is still there. You can even comment on an older page and it will appear on the new one. At some point, I will probably figure out some .htaccess magic so I can delete the old pages and have them redirect. It’s not straight forward because there’s no formula I can use that says “file that used to be here is now there.” I would have to use search to find the correct file based on the file name, and because of the duplication issue that won’t always work either.
Backpack is a starter drug
Posted on May 22, 2005
Filed Under Life | 3 Comments
About 3 weeks ago, I started using the new [Backpack](http://www.momathome.com/viewfromhome/internet_technology/backpack.php). As readers of this blog know, I’m constantly on the lookout for the “perfect” project manager for my crazy life. I have kids (including one with special needs), a move to manage, bills to pay, and a bunch of clients to keep happy (with mostly small-to-medium projects).
I love my PocketPC to keep track of my calendar and contacts, but it falls short in task management and project grouping and prioritizing. Same with Outlook. I need to see each project on my plate, whether it’s getting an annual report out or preparing for an IEP meeting, as its own island yet still see how the timing of one task fits into the “big picture” of my life. Each project has its own tasks, timelines and contacts. And it can’t be tied to a single computer or operating system.
So what have I tried to keep my professional and personal life organized? Let’s see, in no particular order: [TasksPro](http://taskspro.com/), [Apple's iCal](http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ical/), [MasterList Professional](http://safarisoftware.com/mlp.htm), [Getting Things Done](http://www.davidco.com/) (both the philosophy and the [Outlook Add-In](http://www.davidco.com/productDetail.php?id=63&IDoption=20)), [Franklin Covey Plan Plus](http://www.franklincovey.com/planplus/xp/)…those are the ones that I can remember. There were others. All fall short for one reason or another.
Read more
Chris Shays is still a Republican
Posted on May 22, 2005
Filed Under Life | 2 Comments
[Shays Would Rather Fight than Switch](http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/051905/shays.html)
>Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who has been booed by his Republican colleagues behind closed doors and who acknowledges tension with the rest of the House GOP, says that Democrats often hint he should switch parties but that he would never consider doing so.
I contacted Rep. Shays last Fall to urge him to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, which he did (vote against). He sent me a [wonderful letter](http://www.momathome.com/viewfromhome/life/waffling_or_evo.php) in follow up.
I don’t know if I blogged this, but shortly before the election I met Rep. Shays at a community fair and I mentioned my phone call and his letter. He remembered that I had contacted him (or so he said), and then, I’ll never forget this, he leaned over and put his hands on my shoulders and whispered in my ear, “I’m embarrasseded how my party handled this.” We talked a few minutes about the FMA and why we both agreed it was wrong for the country, considering everything else going on that was worth arguing about. We talked about Eric’s unemployment and the economy. I remember that I even joked with him about switching parties to make my voting decision a little easier. I honestly told him that while I personally believed he was doing a fine job for Fairfield County, CT, I was troubled (very kind word) by the agenda championed by the Republican party which was making it difficult to vote for him.
It was a good conversation.
It’s real
Posted on May 21, 2005
Filed Under Life | Leave a Comment
I’m really moving next month. Today the movers are here packing. Turns out that having the movers pack us didn’t add as much to the trip as I would have thought. We picked the right mover. I told him that we were trying to get rid of a lot of the furniture, and we worked out a deal where he’s going to take all the stuff we want to get rid off, taking the $$ off our bill. Plus we’re taking a few extra things that weren’t in the estimate, and he’s picking up something in Weston, CT for me and not charging me for it. He’s going to offer the furniture to his employees for a song. He says that many of them have nothing, and my stuff is in good shape. A win-win situation all around. I couldn’t be more relieved to have that headache over with.
I am not sorry to leave Stamford. I’m not sorry to leave this house. As beautiful as it is and as much as I put into it, it’s just a building. It’s going to be hard to leave the connections with people I’ve built here. Seeing rooms packed up and near-empty drives that home. It’s going to be a weepy month, I can tell.
