Kyle – Page 6 – Andelin Adventures

Why I Hate Technology

It’s rather funny, when I think about it. As long as I can remember, I have loved technology. When I first saw a computer, and found out that you could tell it to do things, and have it do them, (this is called computer programming, or coding, or developing), I thought it was the coolest thing. I can actually make this little device do whatever I tell it, as long as I know the commands. And it was so easy to draw lines, display text, ask questions, and perform simple math on the answers. Wow.

The first computer I had access to was my grandmother’s: a Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer. It plugged directly into the television and took cartridges and could also store things on a cassette tape drive. I started programming in BASIC on it, saving my simple programs to the tape drive, since there was no built in storage.

Growing up, I got more exposure and experience with computers at school. In 4th Grade, we had access to a Commodore PET computer, and later, had Apple IIe computers in the classroom. I am still impressed with how well those computers did in schools, as we had them from 5th grade, all the way through high school. In 7th and 8th grade summer school, I took typing and computer classes for fun, and the 8th grade teacher was so impressed with how well I grasped computers, she suggested I look into programming in a language called C. I had never heard of it before, and sadly there were no resources in High School that taught it; the only option we had was a computer class, learning BASIC. By 12th grade, I already had a good understanding of the language on both Apple computers, and the old DOS-running IBM-clone 8088 computer my grandmother bought a few years previously. I loved programming little games on them (usually role-playing text games, that I would get a few hundred lines into the story of, before moving on to the next. graphic games were complicated back then.)

Once I got into college, I looked into what computer classes they had available. A whole world of Computer Science classes, teaching Fortran, Cobol, Ada, C, and Assembly were available. Strangely, I couldn’t find any BASIC classes in the course catalogue. As C was listed as a more advanced language, the guidance counselor recommended that I initially sign up for Ada. It wasn’t bad, really. My first introduction to a high-level, structured programming language, that didn’t use line numbers to specify where in the code my commands would go? I took the class and somewhat enjoyed it – it wasn’t bad, really, but wasn’t what I was hoping for. The next semester, I then signed up for my first C programming class. Finally, after 5 years, I was able to take the subject my teacher recommended. It was so different from the Ada class I had previously. It just felt right. I followed it up with another C class, a C++ class, then a course in Assembly for DOS. Getting deeper and deeper into how computer programs and operating systems worked was really fascinating. These days, I don’t think there is any real interest for Assembly programming; at least, not for Windows or Mac users. Maybe Linux or other systems? But back in 1995, that was the ultimate low-level language to explain the whole programming process. It was fascinating.

*break* So, maybe I should explain why I’m waxing nostalgic in this post. Recently, the kids finished up another year of Elementary school. Jeremy finished Kindergarten, and I started off the morning at home so we could go to his graduation. We went with our camera and took plenty of digital pictures. The whole concept of digital pictures is cool, and the technology has grown so much since the first digital camera I saw, that it really can replace film cameras. After the graduation, Rebecca and the younger kids came home, and I went to work. There, she told me the digital camera’s memory card was having issues: first, it worked just fine in trying to preview the pictures on it. Then, it complained it had a problem reading them. Rebecca ejected the card and put it back in again, and it warned her that the card had not been formatted. She then put it back into the camera, and it didn’t recognise any of the pictures. She sent me a message at this point, telling me it was having problems, and I suggested she try putting it back into the computer, but if that didn’t work, to leave it out and I would have a look at it. When I got home, I tried it in my own computer and it still couldn’t be read. So, fortunately we had copied pictures off the previous day. Unfortunately, we lost all the pictures from Jeremy’s graduation. *endbreak*

I stopped going to college for a few years, when I started working and getting ready for my mission. I still kept into computers, working on a Macintosh at a print shop, and continuing on DOS/Windows 3.1 on the 486 at my grandmother’s house, where I had a few games I enjoyed, and also was active on BBS’s (before the internet). On my mission, I got a little rusty, rarely having access to a computer, but when I came back, I dived right back into the print shop job and worked more on a Macintosh, along with buying a PC to run Windows (first 98, then ME, 2000, and XP). I got to see the changes in operating systems, and how Microsoft turned around an initially hated OS (XP) into the most beloved ever. I also applied back at college, where I was able to take more classes, including Computer Information Systems courses involving new languages (Visual Basic, HTML and ASP Web design, and Java). I even learned about a new technology from Microsoft, called “Active Directory.”

Is it just me, or does this almost feel like a resume? I’m sure there is a point somewhere in all this rambling.

The point.. well, here I am, 10 years after graduating college with a degree in Computer Science. The industry keeps changing, with new technology coming out all the time. We moved to Utah and after a brief experience in a customer service job, I was able to get into a technical support position, helping people with networking issues. Then, I moved to my dual employment positions, dealing more with software support and web hosting support. Every change was a new experience, and I was always glad to be exposed to new technology, like network hardware and communication, Windows Servers, Linux systems, different website languages, database coding, computer virtualization, and now mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. All along, I always enjoy the new experiences and challenges.

However, it’s things like how unstable and delicate technology is, that really frustrate me. When my dad died in 2003, the 12GB hard drive in the computer I had built for him crashed a few weeks later, losing all the data he had been compiling before his death. It contained letters and notes, emails and files listing a lot of the things he had collected, and who knows what more. It emphasized the importance of making backups of current data, even if I still don’t do it regularly.

Before my mission, I had backed up all the programs I used on the old 486, onto multiple 100MB ZIP disks. When I got off my mission, I could not find the program I used (it was from Win 3.1, and now I had Win 98), and was unable to restore any of the programs. So, tons of old-school PC games, documents and files, programs, and so forth were unable to be accessed.

Years after we upgraded from the old 8088 system, we actually found the old system with its 20MB hard drive in it. I remembered having all kinds of files (high school reports, etc) on that hard drive, and would love to have retrieved them. However, it was old technology, and the interface port on the hard drive would not match anything I currently had. The interface board the drive plugged into wouldn’t even match any ports on my current computer, either. Then comes the fun of wondering how to get all the old documents off the 5 1/4″ disks, which I never found a working drive for, either. So, more data lost and nothing was broken.

I think what it comes down to is the importance of backing up your data. I used to have a network-attached drive that all my computers had access to, that I convinced Rebecca to copy all our home videos onto. Then, it stopped working. I was able to salvage a few of the files before it ultimately died.

The most recent issue was a 1TB hard drive plugged into my laptop. The lappy’s battery was getting low so I turned to plug it in. It was plugged in to my 1TB drive, and it decided to take a dive off the couch where I was sitting, pulling the hard drive to doom with it. That had a lot of unreplaceable content as well, including old home videos of my dad, pictures, music files, and so on. And I still kick myself because it was my own fault. Especially when I was going over the files on it, to see which ones needed to be backed up.

So, long story short? Back up your data. As for me, I’m going to buy another drive. And maybe some backup software. Because dealing with continual loss sucks. And that’s why I hate technology.

Does Daddy even know how to cook?

A couple times a year, my work does a site-wide Dutch Oven cook-off, where around 20-30 people make different foods to show off, plus we get to mingle with everyone at work. I had expressed an interest in participating, but never had a dutch oven and used that as an excuse. So when the person in charge asked me to join in, I told him I did not have one, and he said I could use a crock pot instead. I agreed, and began contemplating what I would cook. There were categories for main dishes, breads, and desserts, and I figured I would try the hardest and attempt to cook bread in the crock pot.

I checked recipe books to see if it was even possible, and found a whole wheat bread that sounded curious. I decided to do a trial run the day before, and mixed it up and left it whilst I went to work, asking Rebecca to turn it off a few hours later. When I came home, it was well done and somewhat dark brown, but at least I knew it would work. We put the kids to bed, and Tyra asked Rebecca, “Does daddy even know how to cook?”

I made another loaf for the cookoff, along with a pound of honey butter, and took it to work with ingredients to make another batch to cook on-site. The second and third attempts were actually really nice and soft, and I had a ton of compliments and surprised looks from people who didn’t realise crock pot bread was possible.

As it was a competition, people had the chance to vote on which food they liked best. I actually came in first place for the bread category, and am now a proud owner of a Dutch Oven. No more excuses for next time.

Turnabout is fair play

We sat down for dinner tonight, and as always, children were volunteering to pray. Jeremy was sitting with his arms folded the longest, so I selected him to pray. Chloe also wanted to pray, but she was okay with Jeremy praying. She offered to help him, as typically someone else offers to help her pray.

Chloe: “I hewp you, Jewemy!”
Jeremy: “I don’t need help.”
Me: “Jeremy, just let her help you.”
Chloe: “Say, ‘deah Heavvy Favvah'”
Jeremy: (pause…) “Dear Heavenly Father.”
Chloe: “tank you fowr da food”
Jeremy: (pauses again)
Me (whispering): “Jeremy…”
Jeremy: “I know how to do it!”

Still, we thanked Chloe for helping.

The Leonardo

I have heard about The Leonardo museum on the radio before. It’s a recently opened place in Salt Lake City, with praises sung to it by the people on KSL News Radio. I can never tell if they talk about a place because they genuinely like it, or simply because they are paid to, but when Symantec announced that they would sponsor a “Day at the Leonardo” for Symantec employees and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Utah, allowing them free entry, it seemed like a good chance to check the place out.

It’s located in downtown SLC, just a few blocks from Temple Square, next to the SLC Library. Driving to it was a challenge, as I don’t frequent the one-way streets of downtown enough to know which ones go in which directions. So, after a few times of circling about the area, I found a place to park outside it, and we went inside.

The building itself looks like an old office of some sort, and is pretty uneventful on the outside. Once we got inside, though, it had more character to it. The ground floor offered the usual ticket counter and gift shop, and we went through the special line for Symantec guests, getting a wrist band and some details on the events (we missed the official Symantec party upstairs, but there was probably food remaining.) We then turned and started exploring the exhibits.

Here is what I thought really added value to the place: everything in the museum is designed to be “hands on.” We walked through the entrance to a table, where a girl was demonstrating lasers. Instead of simply showing them off, she offered to let the kids play with them. She had an assortment of laser pointers, and various mirrors and lenses (concave, convex, prismatic, etc) and let the kids play with what happens when you point them through the different lenses. She had a paper maze that they had to get a single laser through, by setting up the different lenses and mirrors to bounce and bend the beam around, until it came out on the other side. She also had some gelatin set up that they could cut into different shapes, to make their own lenses.

We were next to a couple other exhibits, like a Symantec-sponsored one showing an interactive map of Utah and various statistics of it, and something similar that had the user put their foot on different “buttons” projected to the floor, to move about on the display. These were too difficult for the kids to use, as they required a lot of reading, but we found another girl showing off algae and how it is used to create a gelatinous substance. (This was right under a large display of what appeared to be plastic, bent and warped to form a large floating display overhead.) The kids got a chance to squirt different coloured goo into buckets full of water (mixed with some calcium compound), that when the goo touched it, it solidified instantly into a mass like goopy noodles. They could pull it out and play with it, or squeeze it if desired. Getting their hands on (and wet) with this display was another aspect of fun.

There were more displays that we didn’t take them to, but they did pause at the building block ones to create some simple buildings, and then they got caught up in the art room, where they could use various pens to draw on cardboard and make little items or designs. I never knew that the Sharpie company made paint in a pen! They stayed here a lot longer than expected, until I left to find the restroom, and Chloe tried to follow me, and then Dinah tried to follow me and ended up accidentally exploring the second floor. (We never knew what was up there, specifically, but I heard there was a display of snowflake-like objects.)

We then went up to the third floor, to find there was still food available, and some drinks (cucumber water, anyone?) and ate for a few minutes. We noticed the kids acting antsy, and were losing their ability to behave, so we decided to leave. I’m sure we’ll go back, if we find a good offer for a family pass or annual pass or something, although their advertised “annual family pass” was only good for a family of four. Really? In Utah?

Travel for Business – Kyle’s take three

So, after having a nice relaxing weekend back home, I had to travel again. As one of the top performers in the company, I had the chance to take a special training class on how to deal with difficult situations, and as the classes filled up quickly, I took advantage of an opening in our Springfield office, to sign up for it. Once I got all the travel arrangements finalized to be there on Thursday and Friday, my manager approached me and asked if I could extend the trip and spend two days training a newly transferred member of our group, in the products I used to work on. I agreed and made the changes, and eventually the time to fly arrived.

I was a little less ready for this one, as the flight was mid-morning, and I had to rush to get to the airport on time. I learned from my last trip, and packed lighter, only taking a carry-on bag (to avoid the $25/flight baggage “fees.”) Previously, I had checked my bag at the counter, so this time as I was bringing it as a carry-on, in my hurry to get to the plane, I totally forgot about picking it up at the TSA x-ray machine. I made it half-way down the moving path before I realised it, and I quickly turned around and ran back in the wrong direction, to get to the security desk. Once I was off, I realised it would have been faster to run with the flow, then take the moving path back. No matter; when I got to the security scanners, they were simply scanning my bag again, making sure it wasn’t suspicious. I quickly thanked them and rushed off to the terminal, where everyone else had boarded, and as soon as I was on, they closed the plane.

If Boston was hectic and crowded, and Rochester was more suburban and pretty, Springfield was quite laid back and green. The whole time I was there, I awoke to fog in the morning, and it was drizzly a few times during the day. The airport was out in the middle of farmland (coming in for a landing, I saw fields in all directions.) It just had a nice, mellow feeling to the place, which I really enjoyed. The people were overly friendly, as West Coast people tend to be. Plus, this was one of our company’s main sites in the US, as we occupied the entire building, which included an on-site food court, a number of large conference rooms and data centres, and from what I heard (but did not see), a fitness room.

The local manager (peer to my own) introduced me to everyone on the team, as if I was some special visitor; I appreciated that. The day and a half that I had to work with this new tech were interesting for both of us, as I hadn’t touched the product in months. We spent most of the time talking about a lesser-used product, because it was very difficult to set up and use. Fortunately, we were able to get it working on the first try, so we were able to try out a lot of the functionality that it offered. I only hope it was enough to help him feel more confident on it.

The training I went through was quite interesting. We had a decent assortment of people in the room, coming from all over the country, and also covering all positions like management to sales, etc. The main focus of the class was to help us identify difficult conversations and not let them escalate, but teach us how to take a step back and maintain control over them. The videos in the class were actually performed by actors and actresses in Utah (I recognised someone from The Single’s Ward.) I found the concepts pretty useful, although I am usually easy going enough that I hopefully won’t get into those situations much. (Ahh, the joys of being a White personality.)

By the time I was on this trip, I didn’t really feel much of a desire to eat large meals any more, and even got a chance to use the fitness room in the gym. I went to Jack-in-the-Box the first night (hey, we don’t have them in Utah!), tried a couple vegan places (one was too salty, and the other had excellent cornbread), and did a Sushi place one last night. Breakfast was complimentary at the hotel, and lunch was typically spent at the office, eating whatever special of the day was whipped up by the chefs. I found that interesting, actually, that the site had contract workers cooking for a living. I spoke to one of them, and he really enjoyed his job. Sounds like a fun thing to do, if you like to cook.

The people there were all great and helped me feel welcome, but I really was glad when I could finally get back to my family. Rebecca said Chloe slept in my bed every night; not that this is any different from any other night!