Panoramic Pictures
April 29th, 2006
Today I bring you three panoramic pictures that I’ve taken. All of the pictures were stitched together using Autostitch (Windows) by Matthew Brown.
Archive
Archive for April, 2006
Back in LA
April 28th, 2006
I’m safely back in LA. I don’t have much to say right now because I’m tired and I’m going to bed. However, I will leave you with something that I overheard on my flight today. Read the quote and just think about it for a second: He’s like the Jimmy Hendrix of Brazilian mandolin. That kid has chops!
Second day in Chicago
April 26th, 2006
Today was much warmer than yesterday. Yesterday was some sort of weird fluke.
Today started with the breakfast of champions, a mocha and a Krispy Kreme donought. Yum! Dinner, however, was great. We went to a Korean BBQ place where you cook your own food… reminds me of Ghengis Khan in SP. I’m not sure what we ate… I know it was meat but I’m not sure which animal it was from or what part it was, but it was really good. We ate a ton of different meats with other stuff and right now I am just that: stuffed!
As for work, did a bunch of stuff today but mainly just changing the addresses of computers at the airport. The cool thing was that we had to go to the operations section, which is right next to the tarmac (it’s also the maintenance section) so I was literally right next to all of the jets. There was a KLM 747-400 parked there and I got to watch it be pushed out while an Air Lingus Airbus pulled in. We also walked through the baggage handling area for the international terminal. That place is a maze of conveyor belts, luggage, and those little gas-powered carts that pull the luggage.
Again, even if I had my camera (since we passed through security, I left my bags at the ticket office), I don’t think it would have been a good idea to take pictures.
Maybe it’s because we’re kind of out in the boonies (beautiful Schaumberg, IL), but everything here is huge! Any kind of store you can think of is about 3X larger here than it is back in LA. California Pizza Kitchen has a place where the name is written in about 6ft tall letters across the front of the store, and there’s still room for more! We’ve driven past seafood restaurants the size of a 6-screen movie theater, and with the same amount of parking! It’s ridiculous! But I guess that’s what you get when it’s flat for as far as you can see and there’s not much else around.
Anyway, I’m off to bed. Maybe I’ll get up early, get my mocha and donought, and relax in the lobby.
In Chicago
April 25th, 2006
Just writing to let y’all know I got to Chicago safely and promptly almost froze my butt off waiting outside in 42F° (7C°). It’s cold!!
The plane flight was uneventful. It was supposed to be a packed flight (I couldn’t change my seat assignment) but it was really empty. I actually moved over so I had more room, which was nice. Spent most of the flight watching The Chronicles of Narnia, which, I must say, is 1000 times better than the stupid BBC version I watched in high school (or elementary).
While the flight was uneventful, LAX nearly killed us. Actually, an elevator at the American Airlines terminal nearly killed us. We get in the elevator, push the button, the doors close… and nothing happens. I thought, “boy, this is a really smooth elevator,” but since time started to pass and the doors didn’t open, my boss and I thought something was wrong. Then the alarm went off. At least, I think it was the alarm… there was a very loud buzzing noise coming from the red box on the wall, but neither of us did anything. I was about to start pushing some buttons when the elevator lurched down about half a foot and then proceeded to the next floor. That was scarier than any airline flight!
But I survived and I’m here. I was going to take pictures, but unfortunately, there’s not really anything photo-worthy around here. Also, the “downtown” office really isn’t downtown, so I probably won’t even be getting over there. No, most of my time will be spent at the airport (which is immense!), and even if I could take pictures (I’m not sure if it’s allowed), again, there’s nothing that I want to take pictures of.
Anyway, I’m going to go rest. Gotta leave at 8:45AM tomorrow so I can do a full day of work. Fun!
Last, but not least. I found out where I’ll be going for my next business trip. I have the unenviable job of going to Honolulu, Hawaii. I know, I know… It’ll be tough, but someone has to do it 
Next week, Chicago!
April 23rd, 2006
That’s right! I’m taking a business trip to the Windy City, Chicago. Unfortunately, I’ll probably be spending most of my time at O’Hare International Airport, but hopefully I’ll have some time to get some Chicago deep dish pizza. I’ll also take pictures, but I’m afraid they won’t be nearly as interesting as the Mexico City ones.
Just lie to Dell
April 11th, 2006
We purchase all of our computers thorugh Dell, and even though I have many years of experience in trouble-shooting (it’s my job!), Dell refuses to believe me when I tell them what is wrong and what part I need. From now on, I’ve decided I’m just going to lie.
Last week I called tell to tell them about a problem one of the computers in New York was having. Basically, when you turn the PC on, the CPU fan will rev up to speeds that a CPU should not be able to obtain (imagine a jet engine-like noise) and the computer will not boot. Now, last time I had this problem on a different machine, Dell kindly replaced the motherboard (which I knew was causing the problem). This time? “I don’t think it’s the motherboard so I’ll just replace the fan,” was the response. I explained to the tech that replacing the fan will not fix the problem and that I would like to get the motherboard replaced. The Dell rep categorically refused to replace it. So I said fine, go ahead and replace the CPU fan. They replaced it yesterday.
Guess what, the computer does the same thing. So I call back today, explain the situation and request to get the motherboard replaced. “Well, in order to do that I need you to run the 32-bit diagnostics.” I can’t run diagnostics because the machine is over 3000 miles away, and furthermore, I know it’s the motherboard so please replace it. “Well I’m not authorized to replace it.” Well who IS authorized to replace it? “Well, without the diagnostics blah blah blah…” I tried reasoning with them, “Look, the fan doesn’t spin by itself. Something tells the fan when and how fast to spin. So when the fan takes off like a jet engine, obviously something is telling the fan to do that and the only thing that tells the fan to do that is… the motherboard!” Again, refused to replace it. So I said fine, I’ll have the user run diagnostics and call you back.
I go to lunch. After lunch, I call Dell back and explain the problem. The tech asked if I ran diagnostics? I lied and said, “Well, I tried to have them run the diagnostics, but when the CPU fan goes nuts, the computer won’t boot up. I asked the user to look at the motherboard and some of the capciters are buldging.” “Oh, okay. We’ll send a new motherboard out right away!”
Moral of the story: lie to Dell tech support to get what you want.