Jenny and I use a phone app called MyFitnessPal to track our food, exercise and weight loss. Now you can see how I’m doing by clicking on the link up above. It will likely only update once a week because that’s how often I weigh myself. If I do it too often I get frustrated but I find I typically lose somewhere between 2 and 3 lbs a week or at least I have since beginning my diet.
As of today I’m down 20 lbs with 90 more to go.
Some of you may have heard they put the 1940 census online. I decided to see if I could find my parents and grandparents. Here’s the URL if you want to search it.
Here’s one page from Cuba, New York.
I couldn’t figure out which one would have Rawson on it. I downloaded the one for New Hudson and saw some familiar names like Luce and even a Lafferty (I think it was Jasper) and some Taylors and other names I’ve heard in the past but no Leo and Evelyn. Maybe someone else will be luckier than me.
Edit: I figured out it was in Lyndon and found it.
About a year ago my co-workers were talking about getting some software to handle our inventory and maybe help with our manufacturing. Since they knew I’m fairly knowledgeable about computers they asked me to help find the best system for our needs.
We looked at a few different products and most of them would have done most of what we wanted but they were all $5,000 or above. A few of them were closer to $20,000.
I told the guys that I could code up what they needed using Visual Basic. After we went back and forth they decided I should probably go ahead and give it a shot.
We bought a couple of scanner guns which are actually portable computers and I went to work learning how to program them. Once I figured that out I started on the VB software.
What we decided on was a system that would have a VB program running on the same server that served the scanners. To save the data I went with a MySQL database which I had some experience with from some PHP and Python programs I had written a few years ago. We could have gone with Microsoft Access too but I felt more comfortable with MySQL.
I would also create a VB program that would allow a user to modify the data and look at things like WIP (Work In Process) and Inventory.
It took a few months but by May or so of last year we had a working system. It was actually more complete than we had originally planned. It was actually a fairly complete MRP (Manufacturing and Resource Planning) system.
The other main architect and I presented it at a Friday luncheon and everyone was fairly impressed.
A few months later our procurement guys asked if we could add some purchasing information. They had been keeping all this information on Excel spreadsheets stored all over our file server. If you really knew what you were looking for you might have been able to find it but Excel is not the place to keep large amounts of data. You should keep large amounts of data in a database.
We also use QuickBooks to do our Purchase Orders and Invoices. What we really wanted was some way to access both the information in the Excel spreadsheets and the information in the QuickBooks database. I did some searching and found a piece of software that would copy the QB data to a MySQL database and allow you to update it from the MySQL database. We purchased that I figured out how to used it.
Since then I’ve been adding features and capabilities and we are ready to present it again. In fact we are going to do some training and roll it out to the whole company.
Now it has the original features plus it allows Manufacturing Engineers to see assembly information about parts and shortages. In fact it does a ton on that front.
It also has all the procurement features they asked for plus many they didn’t.
I also threw in some reports for Program Managers to help them understand how their programs are doing.
And now, about the name. As you can see on the pictures I’ve included the Icon is a piggy bank. I don’t know why I picked that but my cohort Jeff stated calling it Piggy right after I first came out with it and it stuck. Even though very few people at work have actually used it they all know what Piggy is. And after this Friday they will all know what it can do.
Here’s a few pictures of the program.
Most of the upper tabs have one or two rows of tabs underneath just like the Procurment/PM tab does.
At our last Friday lunch our CFO Stuart was telling the folks about the demo that Jeff and I had given him. He said he was very impressed. He also said our financial guy thought we could sell it if we wanted to since he had never seen anything that well integrated with QuickBooks. I don’t think we’re ready to stop selling antennas and sell Piggies but it was a nice thing to hear when you’ve invested a lot of time in something.
I forgot to mention that because I love to write programs I did much of it at home on weekends. It was quite usual for me to get up at 7am on Saturday and work till 8 or 9 that evening and then do it again on Sunday. Of course that was donated time as we don’t get any overtime as a salaried employee.
But I would do it all again.
Most readers of this blog know the story but I’ll put it here for posterity.
Betty had been complaining about her thyroid getting larger for many months so they finally scheduled surgery for December 23rd. A Thyroidectomy is normally an out patient procedure where they remove it in the morning and by the late afternoon you get to go home. That’s what would have happened with Betty but because of her history of heart trouble the doctor decided it would be best to keep her overnight. That turned out to be the decision that saved her life.
We drove to Tarzana Hospital on Friday morning (Dec 23rd) and she checked in for surgery. They told me it would normally take 1-2 hours and I should wait in the hospital lobby. I had thought about going home since we only live about 10 minutes from there but I did have the nice handicapped parking space so I just stayed and started to watch TV. There was a woman there who started chatting with me and telling me all about her husband’s health issues and how he was there to get a bypass. She didn’t seem to be very interested in the reason I was there but only wanted to talk about her husband. I finally mentioned Betty had been through 3 stent surgeries and had experienced one heart attack and 2 quasi-heart attacks. She seemed to talk a little less after that.
Finally about 10am the doctor that performed the surgery came out to talk with me. He said her thyroid was about 4-5 times normal size and that there were no complications from the surgery. He said she might even get to go home that day. He said I could go see her in an hour so I went home to grab some brunch and came back an hour later. I went in to see her in the room she would spend the rest of the day in. She seemed okay then but of course she was still a bit out of it. I stayed for about an hour or so and then went home to grab a nap since we had both gotten up very early.
I came back later that day and brought Jenny and Patrick with me. We sat and talked to Betty but she was still in a lot of pain and they had given her some medication that upset her stomach. She kept reaching for the bucket to throw up but never really did much while we were there. Ann showed up later and stayed when we left. Betty was still groggy so we figured she would be better in the morning.
That night I had gone to bed around 10:30 to watch TV. About 11pm Jenny knocked on my door and said the hospital was on the phone and that there had been an “event” and they needed my permission to take her back into surgery. I talked to the nurse who had called and said yes of course if there was a problem. She had me tell another nurse the same thing. They told me the doctor would call me after surgery to tell me more. They also said they had tried the other phone and gotten no answer. I checked my phone and saw no call so I checked Betty’s phone. It had a few missed calls from Tarzana. I took both into my room and watched TV till I finally fell asleep.
I was awakened by Betty’s phone going off around 2am. It was the doctor and he explained what had happened. Apparently Betty’s vomiting had torn the stitches in her neck and she had started bleeding internally. The nurses who were taking care of her realized there was a problem and got the emergency room doctor on the case. I never did hear where they did it but he realized he needed to get a breathing tube into her or she was going to die. The doctor who performed the surgery later that night told me a day later that it was the emergency room doctor that actually performed the miracle of getting the tube into her. Of course they could have performed a tracheotomy but the tube was much better and she would recover from it quicker. The doctor told me she was in the recovery room and that she would have a tube and be sedated for a few days while she healed but that I could come see her the next day (Saturday Dec 24th).
The next morning Ann and I went to see her. I’m not sure if Ann was prepared to see her mom like that and I wasn’t sure what we would see. We walked in to the ICU and Betty was lying there with all kinds of tubes and wires connected to her. She had the breathing tube in her mouth and tape was wrapped around her head to hold it in. Her hands were tied down to keep her from pulling the tube out. They told me if she pulled it out they would never be able to get it back in and would have to perform a tracheotomy. They told us she would come out of the deep sleep once in a while and she would be “agitated”. I wasn’t sure what that meant until I saw it happen later that day. They also had her on Propofal which we all know is the famous drug that killed Michael Jackson. I knew Propofal is safe if it’s administered in a hospital setting and she also had the breathing tube so she wasn’t in any danger.
I took Ann home and sat down with Michelle and Jenny. I told them what we had seen and told Michelle I didn’t think she would be able to handle it. She thought she might so I showed her a photo I had taken. She changed her mind and said she couldn’t handle it. Jenny also said she wanted to wait until Betty came out of sedation and looked more like Mom. That sounded like the best idea to me too.
Later that day I went back and sat by her side for a while. She came out of sedation and started moving her hands trying to pull the tube out. She was also fighting the breathing machine which made it sound the alarm. The nurse came in and gave her some more morphine and she eventually calmed down.
The next day I was there when several of the doctors came by. A couple of them asked if Betty used narcotics at home for pain because she had a very high tolerance. I told them she takes a lot of medicine but no narcotics. They eventually raised the dose and that seemed to keep her a bit calmer. While one doctor was there she started (trying to) mouth something that looked to me like “help”. The doctor asked her if she could write and she nodded so he got a pen and paper. She wrote the word “hot” on the paper. He asked if we could get an ice pack and the nurse said no. They finally settled on a fan which seemed to help calm her down.
I visited 2 or 3 times on Sunday and a couple times on Monday. Originally they had told me she was going to get the tube out on Monday but because it was a holiday they decided to wait till Tuesday. They didn’t want to do it until all the supporting staff was there in case there was a problem.
On Tuesday morning I went over and when I walked in she was lying there with no tube. When I walked up she looked at me and actually smiled. She was still quite groggy and couldn’t talk but it was one of the best moments of my life when I knew that she had rounded the corner and would recover. I took a picture and sent it to the 3 girls.
That afternoon Ann, Jenny and Patrick visited and she tried to talk but still couldn’t quite make much sound. We didn’t stay long but it felt so good to see her responding to us. Later that evening Michelle and I went back. Michelle had a stuffed animal she wanted to give her so she would have something to hug. We stayed for about a half hour and then left so she could get some rest.
The next morning she was feeling better and could whisper. They started working on getting her able to get out of bed and teaching her how to swallow again. She wasn’t able to do anything other than ice chips that day. The next day she was able to do ice chips and swallow a little water. She was getting stronger but was still a very sick lady.
We started wondering when she would get out of the ICU. I thought it might happen on Thursday but she wasn’t quite strong enough yet. When I walked in Friday morning (Dec 30th) she said she was moving to the regular ward whenever they got her a bed. Jenny and I were there and when we walked out we looked in the rooms in the regular ward and saw a couple that were empty. When they did move her it was in to one of the rooms we had seen.
Now that she was in a regular room we started making guesses as to when she would get out. I thought it would be Monday, Jenny and Patrick said Tuesday, and Ann said Wednesday. I knew I really wanted her home and she was getting much better so I thought we could probably take care of her almost as well as the hospital. We knew we would be more responsive.
On Sunday it became apparent that she wouldn’t be getting out that day. Then on Monday when I talked to her in the morning she said she didn’t think it would be then either. I told her I would be there later as I was working on something at home. About 2:30 she called and said she was getting out so I went and got her. She got home around 5pm.
We had Christmas a few hours after she got home. It was a long wait and it was certainly worth waiting for. I know I speak for the whole family when I say we got the best thing ever for Christmas this year.
Epilogue: When I talked to the doctor that performed the emergency surgery he told me he removed a liter of blood from her neck. She is home now and doing fairly well. I took a couple of extra days off since I never really had much of a vacation. I am planning to go back on Thursday but we’ll see how I feel about that tomorrow. We are also waiting for them to deliver a walker to help her get around once she gets a little more mobile. I don’t think she’ll need it for too long but it’s always better to have it if you do need it. She didn’t eat solid food until today and it’s still not very solid. Her throat is still a bit sore.
Sometime earlier this year my work got rid of the regular coffee pot and bought a Keurig single cup brewer. At first I was skeptical that it would brew a good cup but the first one put my mind at ease. It makes a really good cup of coffee.
Ever since then I’ve been thinking about getting one for home use but I couldn’t justify it because of the cost of the coffee. The coffee comes in things called K-Cups which are single use and typically cost around $0.50 each. A pot of coffee is less than that if you drink it all but there’s usually some waste and you pretty much have to compromise on the strength with whoever you’re sharing it with.
Then a few weeks ago Jenny told me you could get individual filters that you could refill so I started looking into it. Seems the individual filters are around $0.10 each so with a teaspoon of coffee each it’s much less than the pre-made K-Cups and you can control the strength.
Last weekend Betty and I bought one of the Special Edition version at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. We love BBB because you can use the 20% off coupons even after they expire.
Betty didn’t really see what the big deal was until we brought it home and she started realizing how versatile it was and how easy you can make a cup of coffee, tea, or even hot chocolate.
Everyone else living here thinks it’s great too. Now I’m wishing I’d got one sooner.
I haven’t made a blog post in quite a while but nothing much has happened around here. I’ve been wondering what I could write about and this morning I decided I should write about a few things but mainly about what November 17th means to me and my family.
As most of you who read this blog know I used to drink quite a bit. That’s an understatement. I used to drink a LOT. I always knew I was an alcoholic but I kept telling myself I was a “functioning alcoholic” because I was able to keep a job.
Of course I kept ignoring the fact my 2nd marriage ended because of my drinking and I was fast approaching my 3rd ended marriage and then something happened that made me realize I needed to change my life.
That thing was a DUI in August of 2003.
The really sad part of this story is that I believed I was innocent and actually took it to trial. Predictably, and thankfully, I lost the trial but the judge was smart enough to know that I needed help and sentenced me to a treatment center and 100 AA meetings. I am a firm believer that he and the people who helped me during that time saved my life. I believe if I had just pleaded guilty that I wouldn’t have had the epiphany that losing a trial caused.
The day I lost the trial and the day I stopped drinking was November 17th, 2003.
I spent a few months going to a treatment center and about 100 days going to AA meeting and during that time I came to realize that many of the bad things in my life were caused by my drinking.
I also came to realize that the woman I was married to was a saint. Thankfully she didn’t leave me although looking back I wonder why.
Last night I went to an AA meeting and took a cake for my 8th birthday. As I told my story to the group it hit me that I really wasn’t embarrassed about being an alcoholic anymore and this morning when I decided to write a blog post I decided it was time to share this publicly.
The last 8 years have been so much better than the previous 30 that I spent half in a fog.
I apologize to everyone that I hurt during that time. I wish that I had been able to see what I was earlier but I can’t change that, I can only learn from it.
Today I have no compulsion to drink. I thank my higher power for that. Today I can think much more clearly and I try to treat people better. I still have a long way to go but I’m taking it one day at a time.
As most of you know I’m recovering from Shingles.
It takes quite a bit of effort to write anything coherent so I’ll just hit the high spots and fill in the details over the coming days.
Two weekends ago on Monday August 29th I stayed home from work with what I thought was a cold. I felt weak and I had a lot of sneezing and sniffles. That went away but the next week around Wednesday I started getting a bad headache. The headache continued and I took Friday off from work.
By Saturday I was starting to feel like a tooth on my left side was becoming infected. On Monday I called my dentist and asked him for some antibiotics and pain medicine and said I would make an appointment on Tuesday.
By Tuesday I was feeling worse and I had a slight “cold sore” on my lip and was starting to get a rash on my forehead on the left side. When I visited the dentist he said he couldn’t find a bad tooth and that he thought I should see my MD because it seemed viral to him.
I went to urgent care on Tuesday night and they diagnosed it as Shingles. They sent me home with some prescriptions that we got filled for Acyclovir.
The next day it was hurting a lot more and my ear was starting to swell. I called my regular doctor but he was on vacation so I dealt with his backup. He gave me a little stronger med but when I asked about seeing him I was told it wouldn’t be until the 26th.
On Thursday it was becoming very difficult to stand the pain and my ear had swelled to the point where I couldn’t hear because the canal was shut. I called my doctor again and asked both for something stronger and if I could come in as soon as possible. When I hadn’t heard back from them I went back to urgent care.
At urgent care I was seen by a doctor in training and a doctor. They agreed that I needed to go to Emergency which I did.
At emergency the doctor said it was shingles with a secondary infection. He said the secondary infection was Cellulitis. He also said he wanted to admit me so they could treat it aggressively.
I went in that night and they ended up putting me in isolation because of the open vesicles.
I spent the next 3 days getting massive amounts of antibiotics, steriods, and various pain medication including morphine and gabapentin. I got out yesterday but am still taking Acyclovir, Prednisone, and Vicodin.
I understand it will likely take from 2 weeks to 2 months to heal. I hope it’s closer to the former but we shall see.
Thanks to everyone who has wished me good luck and said prayers. I’ll take anything I can get.
A few weeks ago I sold my old Toshiba laptop to Patrick so he would have something for school (that’s another post I should make). He had wanted to buy a new one but I convinced him he would be better off saving his money and using my laptop. He didn’t want to take a chance he would break it or have it stolen and then feel like he owed me so he asked if I would sell it to him and I did.
That gave me the perfect excuse to start looking for something to replace the laptop for when I go on trips and other times when I like having a portable computer around.
I looked at iPads about 6 months ago but I couldn’t quite justify buying one when I already had my laptop and iPhone. The iPhone does most things the iPad does but on a smaller scale. The laptop served as my vacation device so I decided I didn’t “really” need one.
After I sold the laptop I began looking at laptops in earnest but I was still thinking I might like an iPad. I checked the Frys’ ads for a couple of weekends and then last week on Friday they had a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 that came with a $100 gift card. Since I buy a lot of stuff from Frys’ I figured that was as good as cash so I went to look at them.
When I got there they had it in a plastic case so I couldn’t tell how light and small it was. I started looking at other tablets and finally decided it was going to be the Acer Iconia or the Asus Transformer. The Acer had mini HDMI, SD card slot, and USB. The Asus had everything except the USB. I couldn’t really decide which to get so I figured I could buy one and if I didn’t like it I could return it. All of them ran on Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) so in that respect they are equal.
When I got to the checkout I was told the tablets had a 15% restocking fee. Since I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep the Acer I just walked out with nothing. I wasn’t about to pay $60 just to try something out.
I went over to Best Buy and asked them if they had a restocking fee and they didn’t. They also didn’t have the Acer but they did have the Asus. I went ahead and bought that and brought it home. I played with it for an hour or so and then I started looking for reviews between the Acer and Asus. Most of the reviews said the Asus was a better tablet but one of them said neither was as good as the Samsung.
I started looking at reviews between the Samsung and the Asus and all of them said the Samsung was better if you didn’t need the extra ports on the Asus. The Samsung had a better screen and was much thinner and lighter. They also said you could get adapters for the Samsung for USB and HDMI. I decided I needed to try one of them out so I returned the Asus to Best Buy and bought the Samsung.
The Samsung came with a USB adapter in Best Buys deal which helped me decide.
After using the Samsung for a few hours I knew that was what I wanted. I also wanted the $100 gift card from Frys so I went back to Best Buy and asked them if they would match the deal. They said no so I returned it to BB and went over to Frys’ and bought it there.
All the reviews I read have the Samsung on top over everything except the iPad. Most reviews between the 2 suggest each has it’s strengths and weaknesses. The iPad is the choice if you want the Apple experience but every review said if you like the ability to modify your tablet then the Samsung was the choice. The Samsung has a slightly larger screen with much better resolution (1024 x 768 Vs 1280 x 800). The Samsung is also slightly thinner and slightly lighter.
Now that I’ve had it for almost a week I feel like I made the right choice. I had looked for an HP after reading Daryl’s tablet saga but none were to be found. I also like the idea of an Android tablet over the HP WebOS although I found out you can install Android on the HP. I guess you can also install Linux so it’s a good choice if you can find it.
In summary I’m quite happy with my choice.
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