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I took CalTrain into work today (actually light rail+cal train). It takes about two hours (driving takes about 1). Probably won’t do this every day, but maybe I could do 1 day a week? That sounds do-able. This particular method was: Light rail (Berryessa, Tasman, Mountain View); Caltrain (Mountain View, San Carlos); Shuttle (San Carlos, Island Dr). Leaving from the first light rail station at 6:09 makes this a 1h 33m trip, while leaving later than that would take more (1h 49 min, up to 1h 57m). (Add about 10 min to those for walking from the shuttle to work The cost is 5.75 each way. Other options were pretty much all over 2:20 and mabye 2:50, for similar or more cost. I looked into but ultimately rejected: Lt. Rail to Caltrain by way of downtown SJ, lt rail by way of Tamien (South San Jose), driving to Caltrain and parking, taking a regular bus to CalTrain, and even an express bus going to Palo Alto from my house, then walking (from El Camino at Page Mill) to California St. station. ...

I sent the following abuse complaint just now. (This is probably only interesting to folks who read certain comic feeds and like clicking on the comments link to see what other LJ users are saying about the comic.) I enjoy reading syndicated feeds and usually having comments on them is a good thing, because I can chat with other users who read the same feed. However, user “jassalol” has figured out a loophole in this system - it is basically a community with no maintainer and he feels he has the “right” to post whatever he wants in it. ...

We had another talk about sex, this time I think it went much better. She had gotten a book about sex (forgot the name, basic “sex advice” type of thing) and we started talking about what types of things might be OK vs. No Way. Probably OK list includes: regular p/v sex (might be touch and go due to not being aroused), touching firm enough to not tickle, massage, snuggling, kissing. ...

I was referred to the sleep disorders center for help with my sleep apnea (pause in breathing) and snoring/congestion. Last night was my sleep observation appointment. It looks like I will almost certainly get a CPAP machine to assist with keeping my airway open at night. Most of the tightening of the airway is due to my tongue (seems to be a bit wider than normal and has bite marks around the edges) and there’s an observable but not serious narrowing of the part just above the uvula/tonsil area leading to the nose. Continuous Positive Air Pressure should hopefully help both of those. ...

Friends- We have made reservations for Hawaii! We are going to the Big Island, from October 14 to October 20. That’s six nights, checking in Sunday and checking out Saturday. I know I have asked a few of you if you’d like to go with us, so now would be a good time to confirm your availability and request time off from work, etc. We have a short list (family mostly) that we want with us if possible, but not all of them will be available and so far there’s plenty of room. If you’re interested in joining us, let me know that you’re interested and I’ll get back to you to let you know if there’s still space available. I have reserved 4 bedrooms total (2 with king, 2 with double-queen) but there’s a chance to get more rooms if we act quickly. ...

More monitoring is not necessarily better monitoring What gets measured, gets fixed. Are we measuring the meaningful stuff, or incidentals Meaningful metrics: quality, quantity and cost Incidentals - swap, disk space, anything targetted at a specific “problem” condition There should be (at least) 3 levels of “severity” with appropriate corresponding actions Major site problem - VIP not working, broken images, error messages, can’t place orders, etc. Minor site problem - Slow response, error in rare cases, monitoring broken Not customer-facing - One server or a small number have a problem but VIP is OK Minor - Node is not down but some resources are out-of-bounds. (swap, disk, cpu etc) Forensic, correlating - Should not notify anyone, but can be used for additional information “Critical” is not necessarily important (e.g. NTP can be “critical” but not worth notifying anyone) Too many minor alarms can mask important problems and dull our response ...

Exercise log for May Tue 5/1: Wed 5/2: Thu 5/3: Fri 5/4: Sat 5/5: Sun 5/6: DDR 30 min, weight 269.8 Mon 5/7: DDR 45 min, weight 273.2 Tue 5/8: Wed 5/9: Thu 5/10: Fri 5/11: DDR 30 min Sat 5/12: Sun 5/13: Mon 5/14: Tue 5/15: Wed 5/16: Thu 5/17: Fri 5/18: DDR 30 min Sat 5/19: Sun 5/20: Mon 5/21: Tue 5/22: Wed 5/23: DDR 30 min Thu 5/24: Fri 5/25: Sat 5/26: Sun 5/27: Mon 5/28: Tue 5/29: Wed 5/30: Thu 5/31:

Does anyone know Flash here? I found out Shutterfly is seeking a Flash developer. If you are one, or know one, contact me, or email jobs@shutterfly.com and tell them gconnor sent you. (looks like they’re in a hurry for this one, hence the broadcast, but if you’re looking for other types of jobs, browse shutterfly’s jobs page!) Sr. Flash Developer Does an opportunity to work with the latest technologies to serve millions of enthusiastic users excite you? Are you passionate about designing and building products that will have an immediate and personal impact on a loyal customer base? Do you want to experience the thrill of a working in a successful fast growing engineering organization with opportunities for leadership and personal growth? Shutterfly pioneered the exciting world of online digital imaging. We are now looking to extend our lead by building the next generation of digital image based Products and Services. We are looking for a self motivated, outstanding Flash Developer who will join a team that will work closely with our experienced Product Marketing, User Experience and Creative teams to deliver web based application, client based applications, and presentation components for our valued customer base. Responsibilities: • Collaborate with product managers, interaction designers, operations, and other members of the project team in requirements specification, feasibility analysis, detailed engineering analysis and launch planning • Design and Development of Flash animation and applications for our Web Services and desktop application • Provide leadership in the use of Flash technology and mentorship in educating the organization on the capabilities and constraints of Flash • Participate in deciding the direction of Flash in our products and services Qualifications: • Minimum 4 years of Flash development experience on major Flash Projects • Mastery of ActionScript 2.0 and object oriented programming • Experience creating dynamic Flash applications that use XML and server side technologies • Experience with XML and Flash, including an understanding of XSD/DTD for validation • Flash Remoting and Communication Server experience a plus • Comprehensive understanding of web browsers and front-end technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. JSP a plus. • Will need to work well with User Experience team (interaction and usability), Engineering team (server communication and application integration), and Creative team (look and feel). • Must have a portfolio or other way to demonstrate previous work for reference. • Experience and desire to mentor others in understanding Flash, appropriate use of Flash, and learning to program with Flash. • BS/MS in Computer Science desirable Our employees at Shutterfly are passionate and possess the deeply held belief that a team working for a cause will reach and benefit millions of people. We are looking for those rare individuals who share our passion about building a great company while delighting our customers, partners and fellow employees. Shutterfly offers many perks and benefits beyond salary. We offer Shares in our company, 401K, 10 Company Paid Holidays as well as 15 PTO days per year – and your birthday is a paid day off! We are easy to find off 101 on the peninsula, half way between San Francisco and San Jose in Redwood Shores, right next to Oracle. We keep a fun and casual environment at Shutterfly. Free drinks and cheap snacks are always available. We have walking and biking trails all right outside the front door. We have the excitement of the dotcom era and the stability of an established, profitable company. We provide Medical, Dental, and Vision as well as Life Insurance, Short & Long Term Disability, and an Employee Assistance Program. Shutterfly is an equal opportunity employer. Please submit your resume to jobs@shutterfly.com. No Phone Calls Please.

I got a Playstation3 a week or so ago, along with DDR and a dance mat… and it turned out that the dance mat doesn’t work with PS3 directly. (The game itself works fine, if you count “works fine” as “you can play the dancing game with the hand controller if you want”… feh). Earlier readers may remember that I tried a normal “PS2 to USB” converter and this didn’t work… my “controller” lacks either a “PS” button or “Analog” button. (Problem is now resolved. Read on…) ...

I wanted to get a game machine so that I could play DDR (Dance Dance Revolution). I was pretty close to getting the PS2, but I noticed that the PS3 is available, plays PS2 games, also plays Oblivion, and has HD support (including playing BluRay disks). So, I took the plunge. Apparently, DDR works fine in PS2 compatibility mode, but the dance pad/mat doesn’t work, even with a PS2 to USB converter. (Silly problem… PS2 controllers work with the USB converter, if you’re playing a PS3 native game, but playing a PS2 game causes PS3 to forget which controller is which, and you have to press the “PS” button on the controller after loading the game to assign a port number to the controller; the dance pad lacks this magic button) Which means I can use the mat for other games, but not DDR, and I can play DDR with the handheld controller only (not a great workout). I guess the people who were supposed to test that old controllers work and old games also work didn’t think to test these things at the same time? hmmm. ...