The Shape of Things

Gas-Tax Holiday

Shane Schnell — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:26:01 +0000

I am curious about something… if McCain and H.Clinton get there way and suspend the federal gas tax (18.4 cents/gallon) for 3 months, what spending are they going to cut?

I think people love the idea of less tax, but with that comes responsibility to decrease spending.

Does anyone know the "fine print" of this proposal?

Calling all IT Professionals…

Shane Schnell — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:10:59 +0000

I work as a SysAdmin for a medium size software company and even though I have really smart and talented co-workers sometimes I wonder… how are other companies handling this or that.

Tonight (via my Google Reader feed) I found this absolutely fantastic forum:
The Server Room

Listen, I am not a forum guy most of the time… but this is just exactly what I have been looking for. A place where I can go to see what other people are doing in IT. Typically what I find in forum (such as Digg.com) is a bunch of comments that end up sounding like an argument from the playground in 5th grade.

I intend to follow this forum very closely and to actually post once in a while. If there are any other SysAdmins out there, what forums do you frequent?

Deaf and Blind

Shane Schnell — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:44:13 +0000

The other day I was on the bus and it stopped on S. Rainer and I was lucky enough to have a window seat. As the bus stopped I noticed a guy standing there with a bright green button that said “I am Deaf and Blind”, a number 7 sign on top of his walking cane, and what really caught my attention was this gadget that he was holding that was pointed right at the side of the bus. I wondered if it was some sort of remote sensor that buzz him when the bus he wanted arrived. Does anyone know what the gadget is???

The other day I complained about my commute. I am guessing that when you add it all up… it really isn’t as bad as I think it is.

2008 NCAA Champions

Shane Schnell — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:28:26 +0000

For the first time in 20 years the Kansas Jayhawks are NCAA champions. What a game. I am still trying to catch my breath. Mario Chamblers 3 pointer with 2.1 seconds to go was the moment of the game for me. It was the same feeling I had when Eli Manning completed the unbelievable pass in the SuperBowl.

So, now we to wait to see how many of the Memphis players go pro instead of coming back to try and redeem themselves. Being up by 9 with 2 minutes to go… so close yet so far. Does anyone think that Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts will be back for another run?

NBA MVP

Shane Schnell — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:43:17 +0000

Who ya got??

LeBron?
Kobe?
KG?

Although I would be happy with any of those players, my pick for the 2008 NBA MVP is a player on the New Orleans Hornets. I know what you are thinking… New Orleans has a NBA team??

Well listen up folks. Chris Paul is averaging a double double and is leading the NBA in assists and steals. As of April 3rd he has lead his team to the best record in the Western Conference. All this and he is only 22 years old. So what do you people think?? Kobe? LeBron? KG? CP3?

State of Mass Transit in Seattle

Shane Schnell — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 06:20:47 +0000

Today I took the bus home. 10 miles. 1 hour 25 minutes. That is an average of just over 7mph.

Really? This is an alternative to driving? Driving takes me anywhere from 25-40 min. I know that taking the bus is very “green” but come on. 2 hours and 50 min round trip or 50 min? Which would you choose?

Well, I may have found some middle ground. Until it is warm enough in the morning to bike the whole way, tomorrow what I am going to try is biking it to I90 and then taking the 550 bus over the lake. That should take quite a bit less time and still should be better for the environment then driving.

Giants… it could be a long season

Shane Schnell — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:36:32 +0000

Well, the Giants are now 0-2. They don’t have an extra base hit yet in the two games so far this season.

I guess if there is a bright spot it is Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Cain had an ok night tonight. He pitched 5 2/3 without giving up a run. His pitch count was really high at 114 though. We’ll see what Lincecum has for us tomorrow

If you were born after 1958…

Shane Schnell — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 06:25:56 +0000

You have never had a chance to choose a candidate from a presidential ballot that didn’t have the last name “Bush” or “Clinton” on it. In fact 1996 is only the only year you have had no Bush on the ballot.

I think it is quite unhealthy to have two families controlling our country for such a long time period.

Another tidbit of information to chew on. Let’s say Clinton gets elected this year, and then re-elected in 2012. Guess who will be legally able to run for the presidency in 2016… Chelsea Clinton!! She will be 36 that year. Alright, so maybe that is too unlikely. Well, don’t forget about the current Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. He would be 63 and ready to redeem the Bush name!!

Don’t put people in a box

Shane Schnell — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 05:11:35 +0000

Obama isn’t getting the “Latino vote”
Huckabee has the “white evangelical vote”

My blood starts to boil when I hear those types of words coming out of peoples mouths. People are more valuable… more complex than the marketing firms and political analysts out there care to believe. I’m in the 25 - 40 demographic… I’m White… I’m a Christian. Does that mean that I will vote or buy the same durable goods that every other Christian whitey in their 20’s or 30’s??? I highly doubt it. The problem is they don’t want to know us… they just want to label us.

I know that it would extremely convenient to just be able to label each person, put them in a box on a shelf and forget about them… but its not that easy. Deep down at our core we want to know and also… we want to be known.

So please… don’t put people in a box.

Planning a dinner

Shane Schnell — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:09:22 +0000

This year instead of going out to dinner for Valentines Day and choosing from a “fixed menu” I decided that I would prepare and cook a dinner for Kelly. Now that it is 5 days away I am getting nervous. You see my cooking resume goes something like this:

Grilled Cheese
Toast
Rice (in a rice cooker)

So today is my day to plan it all out. I have narrowed it down to a few different recipes. Stay tuned for an update on Friday on how it went…