SteveCook.net

I went to a co-worker’s funeral today. I would say a “friend’s”, but unfortunately, I barely knew him outside of work and work related small talk. It really is unfortunate, since what little I did know him, he was one of those truly rare “good people”.

Whenever you needed something, he was always happy and willing to help. Those alone are great qualities, but he had the added bonus of competence, knowledge, and skill, all backed up with a cool personality. He will really be missed.

It made it tougher that he died from a cancer very similar to my Dad’s, and he was only 3 years older (at 56). So, if you have any family history, get tested. And, if you have spare change lying around, feel free to give some up to American Cancer Society or to the Cancer Services of New Mexico.

I’m knee deep in modules for TeamSites. The site gives sports teams (coaches/parents/players) the ability to quickly make a team web site. The sites are split into “modules” such as News, Team Roster, Schedule, etc. Making the site modular allows it to be updated, maintained, and expanded with ease. It also allows simpler management. It took a while to get the process and structure down, but they’re going quickly now.

I found a couple of cool links in recent days:

I was fairly busy this week. TeamSites has a new “Coming Soon” page up, using one of the illustrations from the graphic designer. It’s not the official logo though. I’ll unveil that when the site opens on December 1st. I think it will be done by then, at least in a release-candidate form. The pages and the modules are coming together – the trick is in getting the infrastructure expandable enough to handle thousands of teams without a hitch.

Ron lent me Sahara and Hithhiker’s Guide on DVD this weekend, and Janet and I will probalby watch Sahara while I work on the laptop. I also made an embarassing DVD purchase this week: Cleopatra 2525 – The Complete Series. I know, it’s sad, but when we were developing CheatCodes way back when, it was always on (in the middle of the night) and brings back strange memories that just make me smile. That, and it’s incredibly geeky sci-fi “semi pr0n”. I also won a auction for the complete Seven Days series on DVD. It’s not officially out yet, and the DVDs are probably pirate (eBay kicked the guy off, and said I shouldn’t pay him). I will buy the official set when/if they ever release it, but I’m guessing these would be just rips right off of someone’s TiVo. I actually have most saved on my Tivo anyway, but I didn’t want to take the time to put 66 hours of shows onto DVDs…

I added a couple of Ajax feeds to my Feed on Feeds rss reader. A really good site is Ajaxian. There are some neat ajax portal and pim sites out there NetVibes.com and Panzo.com are two interesting ones.

I’ve been working on TeamSites a lot this week. I also finished a Finance presentation that I will be presenting on Friday. TeamSites has a new logo! It is being finalized right now, and it will appear on the “coming soon” homepage at http://www.teamsites.com/.

There is a new rule that applies to everyone, everywhere. If someone asks a question such as “Is it Thursday?” or “Is tomorrow Friday?”, and someone else responds with “All Day!”, you are legally allowed, without repercussion, to punch them in the arm as hard as you want.

Ars Technica had an interesting article about the World of Warcraft epidemic going on. It’s fairly interesting.

It’s been a while since I updated my blog, so here’s a bunch of stuff. In random order with no particular thought behind any of them!

Jonah: Jonah’s in Fall Ball (little league in the Fall). He’s on the Pirates, and is getting better each game. He got a line drive but got beat to first, and on his second at-bat, he got a single, then got to second before the inning ended. He’s also playing AYSO soccer again, and he’s on “The Jedis” team (yes, they thought of the name themselves!). They lost their first game, and tied this past weekend.

TeamSites.com: Development of the site and the business plan are progressing. Not as fast as I hoped, but I’ve brought on additional temporary consultants to help. We have a designer working on a wicked Logo and “identity”. I’m pretty excited to see the first attempts, and they should be ready this Friday.

Working Out: I’ve been taking it easy the past week and a half. Working out regularly, but not intensely. And, eating out more, and having more junk. The result is that I weigh about the same. I have to be careful not to eat crappy when I don’t exercise, because those are the days I gain weight. I really have to balance exercise and diet – if I don’t ride to work I can’t eat that extra 600-800 calories – plain and simple. I still fit in my 31″ waist pants, and I’m not really gaining anything. YEAY! Maybe I should write a book called “How I Lost 50lbs. – The guy’s guide to losing weight”. I hate vegetables.

MBA: I’m doing a presentation for Finance on Risk/Reward, Portfolio, and CAPM. I really enjoy finance.

We saw Transporter 2 this weekend. I enjoyed it. It was too far-fetched at several points (much like the Impossible Mission movies), but entertaining none-the-less. I also read on Cinematical that they’re working (again) on a movie adaptation of Atlas Shrugged. I can’t wait…