Well, it’s the end of an era – Facebook, Twitter and Flickr have completely sated my need to publish things to the web. I may come back and resurrect the blog at some point, or I may try something completely different but it seems certain given my infrequent updates that the blog will be neglected for the foreseeable future, unless something changes drastically.
Speaking of which, my Aol. days are now drawing to a close. I have chosen to accept the voluntary package and move on from what is my first real job. I started at AOL when I was 19 years old and it’s with a mixture of sadness, fear and excitement that I leave that company over 11 years later having made great friends in several countries and learned an enormous amount. Linked In can point you in the right direction regarding my qualification sif you are looking for someone with extensive experience in everything from dial up connectivity to web operations and Linux system administration.
Oh, and in reference to the post below, I caved and bought the iPhone. However O2 left such a nasty taste in my mouth that I will likely switch providers as soon as I can out of principle, so I didn’t cave really, right?
As this comparison shows, although the cost of an iPhone is reasonably subsidised, the data plan and associated call plans are very poor. It really is a disgrace – enough to make me not use O2 at all in protest. With that decision made, my only problem is the complete lack of a decent alternative – I have been reading up on several iPhone competitors (Nokia N95/96, Samsung Omnia, Blackberry Storm, LG Renoir) and none of them seem to be distinguishing themselves clearly.
I’ve also found the interface on the Nokia N95 I am currently using (thanks to a loan from John) to be very counter intuitive, which is sad since I used to think Nokia had a real edge when it came to UI design. Two guesses what John traded his N95 for…..
There is not a single phone I have found so far with WiFi, GPS, a decent sized screen and a UI that gets a decent review. If anyone can recommend one, then please let me know. Assuming my Macbook Pro comes back to me in working order sometime in the near future I may have to look into getting an iPhone and jail breaking it to work on any network.
So, I bid adieu to the US office Friday (*sniff*) – was a bit sad to pack everything up and clear out my office, but now comes the hard part – I have to sell everything we are not taking home. The sofa, coffee table, patio furniture and, of course, the car all have to go.
Rather than doing that of course I procrastinated and did other things instead, like upload the inaugural photos and videos I took, and wrote this post
So, what to buy before I leave the US……this is a list that falls broadly into 3 categories:
- Electronics, Gadgets and Toys
- Clothes
- Stuff I don’t really need but that is much cheaper here
OK, so most of the Electronics and toys fall into category 3, but given my buying history and my gadgetry related obsession they get a separate category in my head. Suggestions, ridicule and general wish fulfillment is accepted – what would you buy?
I’ve already got some things in mind:
- Golf Clubs (I don’t play a lot but they are soooo much cheaper in the US)
- Drobo (just plain cool – in a very geeky way – what drives to buy is an open question)
- Suit/Tuxedo (again just a lot cheaper this side of the pond)
- Warm Coat (Ireland is effing cold)
- Russian Bride (do they want into the EU too – should I wait for the cheaper “shipping”?)
Last thing: big thanks to everyone that commented on facebook and this blog wishing Jenny and I the best and/or wishing we could stay – it’s appreciated and we are sad to be going, but looking on the bright side we get to see our families and old friends again, so it is not all doom and gloom
It has been quite a few months since I posted last and there has been plenty going on. The lask of updates was partly due to crazy work load and partly due to a gag order on blogging about the fact that I have to return to Ireland by March. Until all the appropriate people knew that we were going home, we didn’t want them to find out via a blog.
In any case, it is official – Jen and I are heading back to the Emerald Isle by March 1st 2009 at the latest. Sad news, but there is nothing to be done about it – apparently I am not educated enough to get a green card and so off I go. On the bright side, I do get to keep my job – I just have to do it from 3,000 miles away.
We’ll be celebrating our last Thanksgiving with Scott and Lori in Scott’s place tomorrow (thanks for the invite Scott, and the cooking Lori!) which will be excellent. We’ll also be around for the inauguration and will have had at least a small part of our stay under someone other than George W. Bush as president (and in a Blue Virginia!) for which I am very grateful to the electorate.
Last but not least are the pictures (on Flickr as usual). We’ve been quite busy as you can see, in something approaching chronological order we have:
Redskins Vs Cleveland with Matt & TK
Hopefully it won’t be as long a gap too my next post, but I think if anything it will just get busier in the near future with the move prep….
Quick plug for Brian – he’s set up a travel blog documenting his latest S&M ritual….err road trip. You can find it at:
He’s already hit the future birthplace of Captain Kirk and will no doubt have many more wonderful adventures in store 
Technorati Tags: Brian, bapper, bmw, motorbike, road trip, baptacular, Captain Kirk
It’s been a long time since I posted – one of those things where I just haven’t felt like it…..however since I finally got off my ass and decided to upload some pictures, I thought I would let people know they were up. On Flickr as usual:
While I was at it, I upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 – not sure how I like the new interface yet, but we shall see, maybe tryingt o make a decision will get me to post a bit more often
I don’t often toot the company horn (or comment on it at all in fact – this is definitely a personal site and I like the separation) but the fact that they have open-sourced this tool is one of the coolest things we have done in a while. The tool is PageTest and for those IE users (or just IE testers) starved for a Firebug type plugin, it is well worth a look.
As well as being available to install to your local PC we use it via a web interface to run tests from multiple locations and browser versions without the need to install them all or have multiple machines. In these dark times of layoffs and plunging stock prices it’s nice to see AOL doing some things not focused on the almighty dollar. Long may it continue.
Technorati Tags: AOL, open source, pagetest, Internet Explorer, firebug
So, finally an update now that I am on vacation and have time for things like blog entries. First of all, a few new pictures of us out in Arlington before Jenny and I fled back to Ireland for the holidays, I waited until the end of the night to break the camera out, so everyone is nice and merry (yours truly included). Here’s a good one, I like to think I said something witty and hilarious to cause the reactions:
As for the old country – I arrived home yesterday and am still randomly falling asleep/unable to sleep due to jet lag, but other than that all is well. It’s great to be backk home and see everyone – next up, shopping
Technorati Tags: Ireland, pictures, four courts, arlington
