Day two.

No Caffeine yet. I did get cookies from Jewel (across Touhy from Shure) so I was using a bit of sugar to keep awake. That's non-ideal.

I did get to sleep at a reasonable hour last night, so I wasn't too tired this morning. It took me 36 minutes to get to work today. I took Oak Park, Narragansett, Nagle, Touhy. I'm expecting this time to drop even more as I perfect the route.

Work went well. Still learning the ropes. Software not all working yet. Got to use a light table today to compare two huge schematics. (Several feet by several feet in size.) I found my first two bugs. A missing ground connection, and a missing connection to a power monitor circuit. I think I've earned my salary for the week with those too. It'll probably save a board spin.

I signed the mortgage at lunch. I realized that I won't get the check till Monday because of the three day waiting period. What a pain. I have to keep telling Eric to be patient about cashing the check I gave him. What a pain.

Ate pizza and played piano/guitar with Mike. Pray to St Anthony that he finds his chain that he has worn for the last ten years around his neck. (Side note... also pray I can find the piece of the Bible that I'm missing.)

Went through some of the paperwork I need to review tonight. I think I'm going to go with Blue Cross's cheaper HMO plan. It covers most stuff at 100% and is only slightly more expensive than the Shure plan that covers at 80% with higher deductables. I don't plan on using it, but the incremental benefit seems worth it. I'll have to ask some people about that at work.

It seems my dental plan is going to be going up quite a bit. I'm definitely subsidizing other people's dental work, considering I've had no charges for dental work or cleaning for the last five years. I've only gone once, last week, and my dentist friend did not charge me, and advised me not to bother filling the one cavity I do have.

First day of work.

Shure. Very interesting. I think I'm going to like this.

So far no Caffeine!

It took me 40 minutes to get to work, but this was taking what I suspect was not the optimal route.

The morning was spent in training watching videos like "It's a jungle in there". And various other standard training videos. We also went over benefits. I think there were twice as many papers there than at a mortgage closing. (Which I do tomorrow at lunch.)

I saw my manager for about two minutes before lunch. He said here's your desk, it's not clean yet, so throw out the stuff from the last guy. He then said you should sit in this meeting at 1pm... welcome to Shure. I get a feeling I'll be in a lot of meetings at Shure compared to Mindspeed.

I sat in the meeting for about three hours. Learned a whole lot about a automated mixer project, and found out that the project didn't have sufficient staffing, so it was being pushed off for a few months.

Regarding staffing, one of the "Analog Guys" in the meeting asked me:
AG "Can you do analog design?"
PG "Yes, but I don't have a lot of experience."
AG "Do you know how to bias a transistor?"
PG "Yes"
AG "You're hired"
At this point one of the more senior people in the meeting chimes in:
"Wow, our standard for picking out analog designers has sure gone down hill."
To this I say:
"Well, yeah, I can bias a transistor, but I'd leave off the coupling caps and blow the thing up."

I don't think he was serious, but had I pushed the matter I probably could get into analog design pretty easily here. This is promising.

So after the meeting I see my manager again (for another two minutes.) He tells me that he's not sure what project I'm going to work on. He then talked about several projects. Then he asks "Can you program in C?" I say "Sure, it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I can do it just fine". At this, my assigned mentor Paul Rooney gives me the sign that I should shut up and not volunteer to do stuff like this. (You know, the bugged out eyes and the finger slashing the throat look.)

Chris then says he wants me to review a layout for a wireless microphone system and port some embedded code to a reduced cost processor. Despite Paul's advice I say "That sounds interesting."

A couple minutes later Chris comes back with a guy named Leif and says "Plans have changed." I get put on this wireless mic project, shown the board layout and schematics, introduced to the engineers who will help me, and handed a schedule that shows my time scheduled out till November on a 17x24 inch piece of paper. I notice the schedule is already a week behind.

I think I'm going to like this place. Lots of geeky toys. There audio test room has a fully automated digital mixer. Yeah, like about 8 ft long, with a big German do not touch warning on top of it. (Which I ignored, claiming ignorance of German).

I also found out that the studio they are building should be done in August and that the purpose of it is for people like me to try out equipment and "jam." That was exactly the unbelievable answer that I was hoping to hear, but didn't dream was possible.

Finally I was shown "the important stuff" as Paul called it, on the intranet website: namely, the Shure store. They are selling Beta 58 microphones for $30! Their $4500 top end wireless mic set is going for about $800. A portion of my salary will definitely be going back to the company store.

The software on my computer wasn't really working very well, and I didn't have a chance to really sit down at my desk for very long anyways. I think I sat down for maybe ten minutes all day. I got my phone set up. By the time I checked my email I had 13 messages. I haven't read them all yet. I haven't even got rid of the stuff in my desk from the previous guy who was using it.

I'm already taking a long lunch tomorrow. (I have to sign a mortgage.) I had to have Paul schedule my time for me on the calendar system. (Which I guess everybody uses extensively.) My password wasn't working yet.

I'll be using Mentor Graphics to do layout and schematic work. That brings back memories of college days.

I already knew my manager Chris Benes from Mindspeed and from soccer. I ran into Paul Herbert and Mark Manthei from Mindspeed for lunch. I also knew Karl Janowski from U of I. I feel like I already know half the guys there.

It's great to be back at work.

Anybody need an embedded software or hardware job? These guys are hiring like crazy.

What a very long day.

Got a call from my mortgage people. They are going to give me the money! I have to wait till Wednesday for the closing, which will happen in Skokie. I hope my work is flexible enough to take a long lunch that day. That means I can actually pay to finish this over-priced hot-tub gazebo. Woo hoo!

I itch. Fiberglass.

Tomorrow I help Kelly move. That will be a nice break from the work this week.

The hot-tub is now installed. I rented an 18 ton crane to install it. I was suprised when it showed up at 10:30am, because I thought it was supposed to arrive at noon. I had the time wrong. I had to do a super hustle to get some man power to get the thing in place. I think I got it on video. I borrowed Ashley's camera. I'll see if I can get the video up on the web.

I have discovered a slight flaw in my hot-tub deck plans. I think I want to make a change. I had left a space between the wall and the hot-tub to allow the cover to be stowed. However, it is impossible for a preson to grab the cover from the edge and re-cover the hot-tub once the cover is between the wall and the tub. You just can't develop enough leverage agains the seven foot lever arm created by the cover. I think I want to put the cover away from the wall, so that it can be grabbed from the middle and easily re-covered. This might not be possible because of the way the platform for the hot-tub was built. Since the platform was made with the other configuration in mind, it may not be able to create a cedar deck to cover the piece of the platform that would extend beyond the hot-tub.

That description could use some pictures, yeah?

Piano Installed, and Played.

This video my brother shot is halarious. Complete with tweeting bird at the beginning.

Garage Walk Through

Let me know if anybody gets this video to work. I'm hosting it on Comcast, and I'm not sure that works okay.

Piano Installed.

Phone lines have been moved to the garage. Cable is done too. No more wires over my back yard.

The piano was successfully moved from Jamie's place to my garage. I will now have to work around it. Bummer, but it had to move. It really needs a good amount of care. Anybody know how to get scotch tape and crayon off piano keys?

Tomorrow the crane shows up. George and Eric helped me push the hot-tub into position, and put it on wood supports so that we could easily put the straps under it.

Then I did some insulation. What a long day. I'm tired.

I just wish my mortgage would go through, so I could get the cash and stop worrying about paying for the rest of this project. I just want that part behind me.

I should get another roommate. Anybody know anybody in need of a place?

Cable Guy

Today I played cable guy. I got everything ready. (or so I thought.) This involved drilling holes, pulling wire, disconnecting the old box, climbing a tall ladder drilling holes in the side of the building, mounting a ceramic bracket for holding the line tension, etc.

Then I reached out my window, held my breath and clipped my cable line. Wheee... I watched it fall. Then, as quick as I could, I pulled it across the yard, climbed back up the ladder and fed it through the building. (Except I wasn't ready. I realized the hole I had made wasn't big enough. So I had to climb back down, climb back up with a drill, and feed the cable through again.)

Note: new ladders are bright yellow for a reason. My ladder is not new. It is grey metal. It can hardly be seen in an alley that is paved in grey asphalt. I did not feel entirely safe at the top of the ladder, especially since it was near 5pm and there were lots of cars threatening to come down the alley. I put a garbage can out in the middle of the alley to make it more clear that I was up on the ladder. Next time, I think it is a two person job.

Anyway, I didn't get the job done by 6:30 pm, so I had to go to the dentist. (Shady dentist hookup: Tom Sarna is a dental student at UIC. Last week was taxes for dinner. This week was dental for dinner.)

I finally got the cable hooked up by 9pm or so, this required a flashlight and would have looked very suspicious if a cop had come past. Fortunately I didn't have to climb the ladder after dark.

I still have to climb the ladder a couple more times. I need to caulk the openings, attach the tensioners, and run the two phone cables. I need to get a hex security bit to move the NID before I can move the phone lines. Anybody happen to have this bit handy or know what size it is so I can order it?

My cable modem is back up, so I guess I got the cable hooked up correctly. I still don't have cable TV, but that doesn't bother me much. I need to add a splitter and maybe an amp for the TV connection. I also might move my cable modem to the garage.

I got a path ready for the hot-tub today, and the siding and the gutters are done. That's good to have complete.

The path is flattened out to push the hot-tub into position for the crane. The crane shows up Friday. I need to find somebody to help me push the hot-tub. My brother said he would help me do this tomorrow. I hope he remembers.

My piano goes into position tomorrow. A bit premature because the insulation and drywall are not complete, but Jamie's mom wants them out of her house. Piano movers are quite expensive. I hope it turns out to be worth it.

My mortgage people called today and asked what number they could call to verify my employment. I had to tell them I was between jobs. I hope that doesn't affect my eligibility. I gave them both companies' numbers.

I've been eating a lot and expending probably twice my usual energy per day. I don't think I've gained any weight. My muscles feel good though.

I've also been going to sleep at 10pm. Hopefully I can keep this up to be ready for my new job on Tuesday. Life will be different.

I need to eat a second dinner. Then it's off to bed. Mmmmm. Sausage for breakfast and steak for lunch and dinner. My fridge is fully stocked. I went shopping today. Mmmmm.

Caroline and Mike

Okay, how did she get on stage?

Walking Spanish Living Room

I've got a band camped out in my living room... oh my!
Check out Walking Spanish

Pope's Odds

Hey, check out the Pope's Odds. I only really know one person on this list (Ratzinger.) Anybody know a site that talks about these different people? Besides the Cardinal Rating website that I found, that is.

John Paul II

John Paul II holds a very special place in my heart. I have always followed the Pope. I am a Pope groupie. I have traveled to see the Pope in Detroit in 1987, in Denver for World Youth Day in 1993, in Rome in 1995, in St Louis in 1999. My father also went to see the Pope on most of these trips. He's a bigger Pope groupie than I.

I have always been discouraged by the media in their representation of the Pope as a feeble man. In Rome one of the guys from our group had the opportunity to shake the Pope's hand. He described him as being built like a football player and having a strong grip. I saw the Pope at St Peter's saying Mass and had an aisle seat that was no more than ten feet from him as he walked down the aisle. My memory is of a strong man. Even in 1999 that is not the way he was portrayed in the media. He was portrayed as a wimp. And they tried to use his physical ailments as leverage to attack his ideals and causes. Now that he has died from a debilitating disease, the media wants to make him less of a man because he was weak.

How do we remember Muhammad Ali? As a weak victim of Parkinson's right? Let us give John Paul the same respect we give Ali.

I remember sleeping on the concrete on a street in Hamtramck, Michigan, on the route where the Pope would be traveling the next day. We came to see the Pope and to have a carved wooden statue of Mary blessed. We came a day early to camp out for our spot by the parade route. (If people can do it for Cubs tickets, why not for the Pope?) I remember the Pope coming around the corner in the Pope-mobile, blessing the people on the left with a small sign of the cross, turning to the people on the right, blessing them, turning back towards us, seeing our statue of Mary high on a pole, seeing our signs in Polish and English asking him to bless the statue, his face lighting up, smiling and raising his hand in a large sign of the cross.

I remember world youth day in Denver. I remember the size of the crowds. The press always wanted to under-estimate the numbers. (Why not take satellite photos and count?) They filled the entire side of a valley. That was a fun time. I remember sleeping on those fields, and sneaking onto the luggage rack of the tour bus to sleep on the way to Denver.

I remember the Pope in Denver trying to stop the wave that had started going around Mile High Stadium, and failing because the crowd kept it going. I lost track of how many times it went around. I've never seen such a good wave. I remember playing with contraband beach balls in the stadium that the security guards were desperately trying to take away, and the crowd kept inflating more and trying to bounce them away from the security guards.

I remember my father bringing my former Geography teacher, Joe Benedetto, with him to see the Pope. Mr Benedetto was dying from brain cancer, and this was one of the last active things he did before he died.

I remember going with a group from St John's in Champaign to St Louis to see the Pope. I remember playing soccer in a field with complete strangers and carrying a Vatican flag and taking pictures over the crowd as the Pope drove past. I remember hearing the Pope talk to the president and to Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire. I remember him saying he would come back to the US to play hockey, and pretending his crosier was a hockey stick. His sense of humor was phenomenal. I remember deciding to stay an extra night with friends of Fr Tom Gibson. I remember being hosted with food and drink, port and congac, and sleeping like a baby... correction, sleeping like "two babies."

I remember his voice. He sounded like Count Dracula, but said good stuff. He has been Pope as long as I have been alive. He based his hope for the future on his trust in youth. I do too. I will dearly miss him.

I am trying not to focus on his death as much as the media wants me to. I don't like their attitude. Every article has a jab about his not allowing this or that unorthodox or immoral practice in the church as if he were doing something strange. If he wasn't important to the media last month, being dead shouldn't make him more important. The media seems to care more about what evil practices Catholics can start sliding under the radar of the Vatican now that he is gone. Let's not focus on how much bad stuff we can get away with and not get caught. Let's focus on how we can improve ourselves. Let's write the obituary, grieve, and move on. He was a man: a holy man, but only a man. He will be replaced by another Pope who will be different, but still only a man.

Several interesting quotes.

"Can I come over and see your ditch?" -- Referring to the trench dug in my back yard

"Are you enjoying your Pooh?" -- Referring to a winnie the pooh doll I was playing with.

I rank Ashley's party a success. I rank the Illini win a success.

I think I ticked off Oscar pretty bad (again). We'll have to sort through that tomorrow.

Rest in Peace, John Paul II.