| December 2007 |
December 2 (Sunday)
While cutting firewood yesterday I heard what sounded to me like a beagle howling off in the distance. It came from across the road, so I went
over to have a look. There are woods and several acres of underbrush and bramble, and I spent about an hour trekking about that
wilderness. I would hear the beagle and head off in the direction from which the sound came, but I never reached it. I don't know if it was Roy
or not, but it definitely was a beagle.
I didn't leave the office Friday until around 5:30. Even at that, I don't know if Dave is satisfied with the "survey mover." I didn't have time to
work on the programmer's journal, but I definitely have to settle in on that. It can get to be very confusing, trying to recall what one worked on
from one day to the next, so I need to get organized in documenting my work. The stuff I did for Otis is confusing enough to me, and I wrote
every single line of code for every single application. This stuff I am working on for Dave was written by someone else, and I wonder if I will
ever get comfortable with it.
December 4 (Tuesday)
I've been extremely busy the past two days. I was in the office until after 5:30 yesterday. I am accustomed to arriving to work at around 6:30
and leaving no later than 4:00, and since the drive is 1.75 hours either way, the past few days have been long ones for me. But I still get
enjoyment from the challenge. I do wish, though, that I could spend more time at home outside when it is light. Nowadays, I only see my place
when it is dark outside.
I am out of firewood, so I haven't been able to enjoy my fireplace in a few days. I want to cut my own wood, but finding the time is becoming
increasingly difficult. I may have to resort to buying some wood. It is great to have a fire going, especially with wood you cut yourself off of
your own place. Warm and fuzzy!
December 5 (Wednesday)
Ordinarily I will awake at around 4:00, leave my house around 5:00, get to Memphis and start work sometime between 6:30 and 7:00. Then I
will usually leave between 4:00 and 4:30 and arrive home in time to watch Andy Griffith, which starts at 6:00. That is, except for the past
couple of weeks. Like last night. I didn't get out of work until after 6:00, then it was nearly 8:00 when I arrived home. My usual bedtime is
8:00. I am not complaining, just venting.
Fred and Sam are nearly always out of the fence when I arrive home. But they are always there--safe and sound. I don't know what's going
on with Roy. He has been missing since last Monday.
December 6 (Thursday)
Naturally Fred and Sam were out of the fence when I arrived home last night. Other than working on documentation I didn't do a lot of
programming yesterday. I did get the major stuff recompiled so that Dave will have the absolute latest of everything I've done. The is a
nagging issue with our local server we call TallBoy4. There are several error messages that occur throughout program execution. As a result
I cannot properly test the spreadsheet reader.
Today is gray and cold. Supposed to warm up this weekend. But it will rain. I hope I can get some firewood before then.
December 11 (Tuesday)
An uneventful weekend. It is unseasonably warm so there was no need for the fireplace. I did get a little wood cut--enough for a couple of
weekends, anyway.
Yesterday was an extremely productive day programming wise. I was able to solve a long-standing problem I have had. There are run-time
errors that occur for which there is no seeming solution. I've googled and researched, and there are no end of ideas and suggestions, but
this one particular problem has plagued me for a few years and the solution has escaped me during all that time. Usually when I am
confronted with a problem of this kind I eventually find the solution (if I do find the solution) the old-fashioned way: trial and error (guessing
and failing). But it happened that I stumbled upon the solution yesterday and am I relieved.
The error reveals itself in more than one way. Sometimes the error message comes out "Record is deleted," and sometimes it is "Not a valid
bookmark." It occurs when you try to execute a series of queries, one after another. I've always felt that the problem was in the operating
system. It is, basically. I've always patched up the problem by stalling the execution of the program in between the queries by using a "pause"
routine. Usually, 6 or 7 seconds will do it. But the down side to that problem is that you slow down the execution of the program. The solution
I stumbled upon yesterday turned out to be simple. Instead of stalling the execution of the queries, I broke the connection between each one.
I broke the connection then immediately reconnected. This forces the operating system to suspend operations immediately and restart
immediately. The net effect is the same as running only one query instead of a series. I connect, run a query, then disconnect. Then I
connect again, run a query, then disconnect. And so on... The result? Whereas the program in question was requiring 13 to 14 minutes to
execute, I trimmed execution time down to three minutes!
December 12 (Wednesday)
Nothing much exciting going on here. Continuing to work on Advantage Server at Inventiv. I am replacing the conditional compile parameter
conReplaceProcedures with a command line parameter lReplaceProcedures. This way we won't have to perform two compiles.
The animals are all healthy and happy (at least, they were when I left from home this morning). Gonna get cold this weekend, so good thing I
have some firewood ready to go. Today is a wet and cold and dreary day. Just think. The worst of the winter weather will be over in only 8
weeks!
December 13 (Thursday)
Gonna get cold tonight. I guess I'll have that fireplace going.
I talked to an old friend of mine today, Mike Smith. He works for a broker in town, and I called him to see if he might advise me on my financial
situation. My financial situation is in good shape now, but I might as well get some advice and see if I am missing out on anything good. I
know that if I stick all of the money I have left over at the end of the month into a savings account, I can pay off the mortgage on my house
within five years. But that might not necessarily be the prudent thing to do. So I need advice about things like that. I've known Mike for a little
over 10 years, and he is a very smart and conscientious person. It would be great to be able to do business with him.
It's funny, I guess. I have developed an entire suite of fund-accounting software, yet I know very little about such things. I know the
programming, but I do need help in the accounting field.
December 14 (Friday)
Didn't need the fireplace last night. But the temperature is supposed to dip into the 20's at night this weekend. We've got enough wood to
last us a couple of weekends or three.
Today we'll get started on an issue Premier of Florida is having with the Order Approval system. Not exactly sure what the problem is, but we'll
get it figured out and fix them up.
December 16 (Sunday)
A cold, but not a miserable weekend so far. I've had a fire going since this morning. I don't really have enough wood to burn past another
weekend, but it's cozy for the meantime. It's good to spend extra time with my friends. Cleo has been lounging around in my lap more than
usual, and Fred and Sam have been escaping the fence. But everyone is in for now, curled up here and there around the living room,
enjoying the warmth of the fire. I rejoice everyday for the good health of all my many friends who live with me.
I've wanted to work on some good computer programming, but I've made up my mind to wait until Monday (tomorrow).
I think that an interesting precept to consider would be that the universe did not begin with the explosion of a cosmological egg, but instead
began with an explosion that occurred as the result of a previous universe exploding through a cosmological portal. Now I'll bet this idea has
already been thought of, so I won't hold my breath to be awarded with having discovered the latest theory of cosmology, but I would like to
know how much this is being considered. In case you don't know what I mean, consider a figure eight "8". On the left side is an oval (Universe
A) and on the right side is an oval (Universe B). Universe A existed in a state of contraction and contracted until it came to a single point at
which it began expanding across a single point (my cosmological portal) again into a new universe called Universe B. In a sense, this idea has
already been discussed. The idea is that even though our universe is believed to presently be expanding it is not certain whether it will slow
down and eventually stop expanding in the future. If it does stop expanding then it might start contracting, and will continue to do so until it
contracts back to a single point at which point it will begin expanding again. The motion might be like that of a spring or rubber band or one of
those bungee cords, where someone or something bounces up and down as the cord expands and contracts.
Anyway, the point at which contraction stops and expansion begins is reminiscent of a point of flexion in calculus, where acceleration turns into
deceleration and vice-versa. Interesting, I think. Just a thought.
December 17 (Monday)
I enjoyed a good program over the weekend: The series The Universe is showing on either the History Channel or Discovery Channel (can't
recall which). The particular one I saw this weekend discussed the issue of how the universe began. They, meaning the scientists, take us
back in time to when the universe began as a tiny point in time and space (although time and space did not exist) smaller than an atom--a
thing called a cosmological egg. Something happened, and this egg exploded and began to expand, an event referred to as the Big Bang.
The next great learning adventure will center around what happened prior to the big bang, and what caused the cosmological egg to explode
and start to expand. It is interesting, and to be truthful here, I have to say that I do find the discussion plausible.
December 19 (Wednesday)
I guess I've fallen a day behind here. I've been very busy on the computer. The weather is milder today than yesterday. I bought a 2008
Toyota Yaris on Monday. It is Toyota's super-small, super economy car. With the gas it will save it should pay for itself. Hopefully.
Following are the notes I made to myself regarding work I've been involved with today and yesterday:
1. Items are sent to PocketOrders with approval = 'P'.
2. Items that need to be approved are sent to pocket_approval.
3. Apparently, neither 'R0' nor 'R5' are ever inserted into pocket_approval.order_type.
4. Because of the links, 'R0' and 'R5' line items never show up in the second (approval) grid.
4. Hence, Lourdes must go behind and manually approve any PocketOrders.ordertypes of type 'RO' or 'R5'
5. She only does this with a link to PocketOrdersArchive to insure that only those orders have already been approved.
6. If all line items are sent to pocketorders, and only those that need to be approved are sent to pocket_approval, then
why is there a "LEFT JOIN" in the SELECT query for Grid 2?
7. The line "PocketTranslations.TransType='75' and PocketTranslations.Active=1" interferes with 'R0' and 'R5' records
8. After discussion with Dave, evidently, all items regardless of ordertype must be displayed on the order approval
form. So, I shall alter the query for Grid 2 as follows (comment it out and see what happens):
"--AND pocket_approval.order_type = [PocketOrders].ORDERTYPE"
I saw Buddy and Darkly (Prince) this morning. I had missed Buddy on Monday when I stopped by to feed those two cats. I went by yesterday
morning and he still was not there. So I began to be worried. But there he was this morning!
I heard a puppy off in the direction of my sister's house, but it could have been coming from the woods. I hope not. I found Oscar that way,
not to imply that I am sorry I have Oscar, but if you can see how big that dog is you would see why I don't need any more.
Tomorrow will be a very long day. We shall be having our office holiday party, beginning at 6:30. Depending on how long the party lasts, I
won't be getting home until very late.
December 20 (Thursday)
I took this picture of my new car yesterday. As
you can see I took it from my office window, which
is on the fifth floor of our building. It reminds me
of the first car that Honda made--very, very tiny.
But it will no doubt pay for itself in the gas I save.
Today would have been Susie's 56th birthday.
Susie was born December 20, 1951. She was
Down Syndrome. She died two summers ago.
She was my sister.
Today will be a long day for me. I left the house
around 6:00. Because we are having our
company holiday dinner this evening, I won't get
home until late. I only worry about my animals. All
day long I will be wondering if they are okay.
I am really taken by those babies. Yesterday
evening, Cleo climbed into my lap and groomed
herself there for a while. She would look up at me
from time to time and exclaim her contentment,
before returning to her work.
December 21 (Friday)
We had the company holiday dinner yesterday evening at the Interim restaurant on Sanderlin Ave. in Memphis. It started at 6:30, and I left
around 8:45, getting home by 10:20, roughly two hours past my normal bedtime. However, I still made it in to work this morning by 7:30. And
with no big headache!
I "eyeballed" all of my animals after I arrived home except for Tiger whom I eventually saw once during the night when I went to the bathroom.
It is not separation anxiety that causes me distress. It's just that with all of the animals I have -- dogs and cats -- living together in such close
proximity, so much can go wrong -- accidents can happen, and that worries me.
to Sheba about five years ago, even
before I had fully accepted the fact that I
had become a surrogate father and
mother to Sheba and her brood. It didn't
take long for me to be captured by Sheba
and her family of four. There were Socks,
Shadow, Smoky, and Curiosity. Without
going into a long story, it is sad to report
that Smoky is now the only one, besides
Sheba, remaining to me. Socks, I lost on
a trip to the vet, and Curiosity and
Shadow were mauled by these self-same
dogs. You know, these dogs are not
killers. They never bit any of the cats or
broke any bones--it's just that some of
before I had fully accepted the fact that I
had become a surrogate father and
mother to Sheba and her brood. It didn't
take long for me to be captured by Sheba
and her family of four. There were Socks,
Shadow, Smoky, and Curiosity. Without
going into a long story, it is sad to report
that Smoky is now the only one, besides
Sheba, remaining to me. Socks, I lost on
a trip to the vet, and Curiosity and
Shadow were mauled by these self-same
dogs. You know, these dogs are not
killers. They never bit any of the cats or
broke any bones--it's just that some of
| (Saturday morning at about 2:00 am, right after the attack) |
| (Sunday morning at about 9:00 am, still pretty much lethargic) |
December 23 (Sunday)
Well it has happened again. About 1:00 Saturday morning I was awakened by the sound of dogs barking, and as I lay in bed I could tell by
the tone of the barking that the dogs were on to something. I could barely keep from falling over everything in my way as I raced outside to
where they were. My fear was that they had gotten hold of one of the other dogs, Lu Lu perhaps, and I was quickly getting sick at the
thought. I ran to where they were gathered, and could only drive them off by yelling and waving a big stick I had found nearby. I threw the
stick at the retreating dogs and looked down. There at my feet was the motionless body of Smoky. My, oh my, not Smoky! Smoky was born
the cats are easily frightened by the
dogs, and occasionally get themselves
into situations where they panic, thus
exciting the dogs, and well, you know.
The dogs are not to be blamed. The
cats end up with not a scratch on them,
but, I think perhaps they must have had
heart attacks or something. At least,
that was what the vet said. Well, here
was Smoky, motionless on the ground
before me. I scooped him up and
rushed him inside. He was still
managing a very hoarse growl, but he
was still alive. And here it is Sunday
morning and he is still alive, and it
dogs, and occasionally get themselves
into situations where they panic, thus
exciting the dogs, and well, you know.
The dogs are not to be blamed. The
cats end up with not a scratch on them,
but, I think perhaps they must have had
heart attacks or something. At least,
that was what the vet said. Well, here
was Smoky, motionless on the ground
before me. I scooped him up and
rushed him inside. He was still
managing a very hoarse growl, but he
was still alive. And here it is Sunday
morning and he is still alive, and it
and it appears that he will survive. Much like Cleo of a few weeks ago, he has been very lethargic since the attack, he doesn't have any
marks on him other than the fact that he is very dirty and his fur is all mussed up. And he has walked a little. For now I have him safely
locked away in a bathroom with clean food and water. I haven't bothered to clean him up yet because I want to minimize his trauma for now.
But I think he will make it. Thankfully.
marks on him other than the fact that he is very dirty and his fur is all mussed up. And he has walked a little. For now I have him safely
locked away in a bathroom with clean food and water. I haven't bothered to clean him up yet because I want to minimize his trauma for now.
But I think he will make it. Thankfully.
December 24 (Monday)
We were required to work in the office today until 2:00. So far, I have been working on EIS surveys, making a few changes that Dave
requested. Otherwise, I am here like everyone else, wishing I were at home. In my case, anyway, I am anxious to see Smoky up and at 'em.
This morning before I left I gave him and visit. He doesn't appear to have eaten anything since Friday, but he has used the bathroom a
couple of times -- #1 only, and on the floor, not in the litter box. Thank goodness for ceramic floors. I did pick him up and love on him a bit,
and after I put him down he stretched and arched himself. He purred the entire time I was in the room, so I would think that those are all
good signs. It grieves me to no end to see my little buddy in such a state.
Yesterday I spent some time in the woods cutting trees and firewood. And to think that I considered selling out and moving to Memphis.
Merry Christmas!!!
December 26 (Wednesday)
It still stings very much when I think about the scene that greeted me a few days: poor little Smoky, lying helpless on his side, emitting a low,
hoarse growl, and clawing at the air. But yesterday he looked well enough, so I took him outside for the first time in four days and he looked
every bit happy for it. I stayed outside some myself, enjoying the bright sunshine with all my other friends, cutting firewood and working on
the fence. It was a great day. Before I went to bed last night I found Smoky in the barn with BKI, chowing down on the fresh cat food I had
left there earlier. He looked as contented as that, like nothing in the world had ever happened to him.
Well, this morning as I was preparing for work, I happened to go by the bathroom where I had quarantined Smoky for those few days and
what did I see!? Smoky was in there in the very spot where I had placed him after the attack! I must be dreaming! Well, I know I took him
outside yesterday and left him there, but for whatever reason, Smoky decided that he had enjoyed that warm and cozy place inside where
he had spent the past few days and missed it enough to find his way back there. What a joyous surprise this morning.
I love my babies.
December 27 (Thursday)
I spent most of yesterday at work polishing up the survey form in EIS. Besides that, I spent a great deal of time worrying (what's new?)
about Smoky. I had left him loose in the house, and I feared that I would find him to be in not great shape when I arrived home. Not to fear
-- he was in the place where I left him all safe and sound. But I still worry every day. Now I have an idea how parents must worry about their
kids.
December 28 (Friday)
Smoky is doing great. He looks good and is spending more time inside where I can be with him. I still worry that the dogs may trap him
somehow while I am away.
This morning I woke up early and arrived an hour early to the office. No big deal, I finally solved an issue with the Order Approval
application we've been having. I had to leave Clyde whimpering and shaking in the rain. He is afraid of thunder, and it was doing some of
that this morning. Poor little guy. I hated to leave him like that.
December 29 (Saturday)
One of our clients called me with a problem concerning one of the applications that I am assigned to maintain. I was able to find and fix the
problem after which the client emailed me to tell me that I am "awesome." He didn't know that I had only fixed a problem that I myself had
introduced into the application when I was fixing something else. That's the way it goes sometimes: you fix one thing only to mess up
something else.
I cut down another tree this morning. I am still finding and cutting already-dead tress, which I will later saw into logs to be used in my
fireplace. I have plenty of trees on my 16.5 acres, so I have an ample supply. I love burning that fireplace. At night I build a pallet on the
floor near the front of the fireplace, and with my animals surrounding me, sleep the sleep of the blessed -- warm and cozy! I burn a lot of
cedar. So, I have no need for one of those air-fresheners. Cedar burns bright and hot, and exudes a most delicious fragrance. Ceramic
flooring, brick fireplace, and wood-paneling walls -- it's like camping in the woods.
5:30 PM. Yella Fella has a sister! There were three pups, one that went missing, Yella Fella, and this one you see here. I haven't seen
her in weeks, but I convinced the owner to let me take her and get her fixed up. The quality of the photos are not great, but you can see
how sad a shape she is in. I took these pictures just a few minutes ago. She has a large bare spot on her back and open sores on the left
side of her face. There are several open sores all over her body and legs, and she is covered with fleas. Thank God I saw her and had
the spunk to ask for her. I gave her a shot of Ivermectin, and loaded her up with some good grub and fresh water, and later a nice warm
bath. She is going to be alright now! Below she is getting her bath: warm soapy water and lots of love! Notice the sores on her face and
the bare spots. Poor baby -- she was so neglected. There are so many like her in the world, but for even as bad as she looks now,
Scamp looked a lot worse. He had no discernable hair at all. Oscar looked very much like her when I found him. Smoky is much better.
her in weeks, but I convinced the owner to let me take her and get her fixed up. The quality of the photos are not great, but you can see
how sad a shape she is in. I took these pictures just a few minutes ago. She has a large bare spot on her back and open sores on the left
side of her face. There are several open sores all over her body and legs, and she is covered with fleas. Thank God I saw her and had
the spunk to ask for her. I gave her a shot of Ivermectin, and loaded her up with some good grub and fresh water, and later a nice warm
bath. She is going to be alright now! Below she is getting her bath: warm soapy water and lots of love! Notice the sores on her face and
the bare spots. Poor baby -- she was so neglected. There are so many like her in the world, but for even as bad as she looks now,
Scamp looked a lot worse. He had no discernable hair at all. Oscar looked very much like her when I found him. Smoky is much better.
| Yellow Girl asleep under a warm towel |
December 31 (Monday)
I got the little Yella Girl some Vet attention yesterday evening. Now you know from where I acquired most of my animals. If I find a good
one -- one that is in really good shape I'll deliver it directly to the shelter where they do a great job of adopting animals out. Ones like this
little girl, here, I usually hang on to, for a little while at least, and work them back into shape. By then, of course, we've usually bonded
together to the point to where they stay.
This little girl is in a really pathetic condition. Her neglect is not from meanness or not caring, it is from ignorance. The people that had
her are of the "other half." I guess one way to best describe the situation is... well, their front yard looks like Sanford and Son, and
sometimes late at night I hear banjo music coming from their direction.
I didn't do a good job of taking care of Yella Fella. I failed in that, but even though I already have eight dogs I have decided that I shall
keep the little Yellow Girl, and I shall name her Goldie Locks.
| Smoky is much improved |