Well, as it is with most jobs the new guy always gets stuck with the stuff that nobody else wants. Thus it is that I became the new maintainer of the massive spreadsheet of suck. In the past two weeks I have become the new expert in back-end VB scripting to pull data from SQL Server into Excel. Oh, Ranges, Cells, ADODB, and the lovely world of Capital Fscking Letters!@! I feel so dirty… I think I’m going to take a shower now.
October 28, 2005
October 23, 2005
Multiple Dimensions
I’ve always believed that alternate dimensions exist, even as a child. It is something that has dug its way into my vision of reality over the years, a belief that needs no proof, no test, no scientific backing. That is why when I listened to a re-run today of National Science Friday I was interested in the topic: Multiple Dimensions, are they real?
I must admit that the beginnings of my belief in alternate dimensions stem from religious instruction. As a child I learned about the eternal nature of spirits, about how the human soul began before birth and would continue after death. It is a beautiful doctrine really, and an easy one to understand and when I was taught that the spirits of those who’ve died remain here on the earth it started the idea of an alternate “reality”, or dimension. This was backed up by further research into religious writings and through my own logical deductions. I also realized as I got older that the market for voodoo, fortune tellers, palm readers, and “intermediaries” was pretty hot in many societies, and even though most in the scientific community would scoff at the suggestion I believe there is something real about some of these practices.
The problem with thinking about it in a purely scientific manner is that there really is no finite proof that these things are valid. There is no process that one can follow that would reproduce a metaphysical event that could offer any hard proof that spirits exist and can “be” in the same physical space as the rest of us… I’m ok with that. It’s all good. It really doesn’t need proof – in fact if there were proof I don’t think that the scientific community would be able to handle it. Yet.
I love science. Physics has become one of the most fascinating subjects of study for me in recent years, and I plan to follow it up with at least an advanced degree. My new five-year goal is become known as Fred the physicist, with the hard earned pedigree to back it up.
Someday I believe we’ll discover evidence of these alternate dimensions. Someday we may even be able to see into them. There has been some excellent progress of late into the study of these dimensions, but nothing substantial has resulted from it – only the excitement of being on the verge of something great. That, however, is one of the greatest types of discoveries there are. It creates the motivation to continue, the willpower that moves the immovable and discovers the undiscoverable.
Everything is matter. Some things however are just a different kind of matter, a more refined type of matter. Something we just cannot yet see.
October 22, 2005
Westgate Resort Scam
What a weekend! It has been a fun adventure to say the least, notwithstanding the deceitful, malicious, and whiny people at the Westgate Resort in Park City Utah. I truly pity the people are conned by their lies. Well, with that introduction let me tell you about our great getaway last night.
My wife and I decided to accept an “invitation” (It wasn’t really an invitation… I called them) to the Westgate Resorts timeshare pitch in exchange for a night stay at their resort and a $50. voucher at their fancy restaurant. We heard from a friend who had gone that the resort was very cool, and they had almost bought a timeshare. What the hell, right? A free night stay and cheap dinner, and just maybe a reason to start traveling more often.
It started out really well, though the valet at the resort just pointed us to a parking garage and told us to find a spot. Yeah, high class right? So we go inside and register with the tour desk and sit down to wait. In front of us was a large room, nicely decorated with refreshments and a lot of little round tables. At each table was a tour (sales) person sitting with a couple, showing them the wonderful investment options that they could make by investing in the resort. Yeah, we expected this, it was a timeshare pitch after all though I imagined that it would be a little more professional. It reminded me immediately of a high class car dealership. So… what kind of monthly payment are you looking at, eh?
After a while we were greeted by what seemed to be a nice guy in a hawaiian tourist shirt who took us to a table and let us know very earnestly that this was a sales pitch, but not to worry – they take “NO” very graciously, no pressure – seriously. That was cool, except that he didn’t take “NO” very graciously at all. I hadn’t been to a timeshare presentation before, so I sat through his entire speech and let him show us around the resort. I guess since he’d put in so much time with us he figured that he had himself a sale, and after about an hour and a half discussing all of the features, prices, and options we had I decided that I wasn’t prepared to make a decision on the spot.
I have to tell you that I love to do this to sales people. I will never, NEVER buy anything that costs more than twenty bucks or so on the spot, and I will absolutely NEVER buy ANYTHING if the sales tactic is “now or never”. I’ll drag it out and waste their time, but I’ll never commit. I guess its my way of helping out the little guy… the unsuspecting other people who may be taken in by his con, but couldn’t because he was with me. That, and he gets no sale. 
Well, after all the time he’d spent with us he finally realized that I wasn’t going to buy and he became extremely beligerent. He even started insulting me which I found quite amusing. I think my amusement made him even more upset. The breaking point for my wife though was when he insulted our friends who were at the same presentation. My wife went midieval on his ass and made quite the scene. It embarassed the hell out of him and he quickly left when all of the other potential suckers that were waiting in line started looking at him with their “what an ass” faces.
Unfortunately that wasn’t the last con we had to put up with. We went to collect on the promise they had made of a free night at the resort, but were met with a cold and indifferent “We are all booked”. What I saw next was a brilliant display of feminine power as my wife’s friend browbeat the hell out of these people until we finally had two rooms at the Best Western, and a $100 voucher for each of us at their fancy restaurant. Not the nicest hotel, but it was UEA weekend. Heh, it was awesome. We had an incredible dinner on them, and left the waiter (who was very cool to us) with a very, very nice tip – also on them.
Yeah Westgate, we’ll be seeing you again I hope. That pepper encrusted tenderloin is calling my name, and I would really like the chance to stick it in your ass again. Happy trails!
October 14, 2005
McCann Medical Matrix
Today is my last day with the company that has taught me more about succeeding in life than any other. I have struggled with the decision to leave for a long time, and I’m still not sure it is the right one. It is truly one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had.
Such is life though, always changing. I have to believe that leaving is the right decision, it has forced me to look at my life and my lifelong objectives in a much more realistic way. John McCann has taught me one of life’s great lessons of success: that it is far, far better to see the world in your rear-view mirror then to watch it pass by from the sidewalk. Meaning of course, that it is only through getting things done and taking risks that any success will happen.
One of the things I will miss most is the drive to work. Depending on the day the drive consists of walking across the hall from my bedroom to the home office, or going through Parley’s canyon to John’s house in the mountains by Jeremy Ranch and the Canyons Ski Resort. Both commutes have been extremely inspiring, and have implanted in me an absolute will to someday soon acquire both again.
I am truly going to miss working with John, Bill, and Tom. I have no doubt that McCann Medical Matrix, LLC will become a wildly successful and profitable company. My best wishes to them, and hope that I can continue to help them out occasionally on a contract basis.
If you’re reading this, are an Oculoplastic surgeon or Ophthalmologist, and would like to convert your office to the best paperless environment created for your medical specialization call Bill McCann. It will be well worth your time. Info at http://www.mccannmedicalmatrix.com
October 3, 2005
Vonage VOIP
I’ve been considering a switch to Vonage from our current phone service with Qwest. One thing I like about Vonage is that the complete package is included and there are no hidden fees. I currently pay around $90. per month for Qwest which includes local, long distance, and DSL 1.5 Mb. I pay another $19. per month to Xmission for their ISP service, and $13. per month to Comcast for basic cable. Total current payments are around $122. per month.
Vonage offers all-in-one phone service for $25. per month. I can get broadband via Comcast for about $45. per month, but have to have their digital cable that costs approx. $35. per month as a prerequisite. Total projected payments would be around $105. per month.
Is it worth it for twenty bucks? If I could eliminate the need for digital cable it would be much easier to decide. All in all though, twenty bucks per month adds up to $240. per year. That’s about a quarter of our Christmas budget… not bad.