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Cool and clear in the morning. With a thinly half overcast day following. Well the cloud cover is fairly thin and by noon it's all but worn away. Even though it's sunny in the afternoon it doesn't get warm (don't listen to my colleagues while they say it's freezing)
Current temp is 17.6°C in and 9.4°C out.
Curious. After doing the restores yesterday I ended with the system at 73% but in the morning it's gone up to 80%. That's curious cause nobody has been working on it. There is a reasonable explanation in that the system rebuild the database indexes during the nigh, but that only sounds reasonable untill you realise those indexes were copied from the backup tapes as well. It's not a problem though. I spend most of the day cleaning up data from the environment, in production we need to keep a long history, for test all data from before 2002 can be discarded.
So that's what I do most of the day, deleting data and reorganising files.
What do you do when you come back from work passing the shop, needed to get bread, and you are too lazy to make dinner. Yep you bring something easy. I picked up a couple of frozen spring rolls for frying. And spring rolls are always good. Even in autumn.
Tuesday 2005-11-04 (Remarks about 238 words)
It's all grey but exceptionally warm in the morning. Actually warmer than last evening, those other stars are sending out a lot of heat methinks. Most of the day is bland. Light grey and uneventful. And pretty warm.
Current temp is 17.9°C in and 9.8°C out.
Standard series of support problems. With a big spike at noon. And people in Antwerp screwing up royally.
More interesting but also boring is the actual transfer of the big fix from DEV to TST. I start that at 16:15 and it ends at about 20:00. On top of that it ands in error. Not entirely unexpected but shitty anyway. One of the problems is the OMS tool we are using (version ~mis~ management). If you ever defined a trigger on a database table OMS will guaranteed screw you up.
Oh well, that were the files. Tomorrow I tackle the programs in the biggest fix ever attempted here. So, if you don't hear from me tomorrow it's just taking longer. +__+
Dinner is Japanese rice-spaghetti with seaweed. Basically because there is no time for anything more complicated and I have run out of pre-cooked stuff. Oh, I could pick something from the freezer but that takes at least as long as cooking these very thin spaghetti. Even with the quick invented-on-the-spot sauce it takes less than five minutes to make. and it is delicious as well. Compared to this the classical Italian spaghetti tastes coarse and bland. (Another advantage is that it comes in small packs bound together with paper, much like a cigar band. So I don't cook and eat too much. )
O_O
While waiting on the fix to finish I do have time for some surfing though ...
Scanning in books is suddenly hot. ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/05/outlaw_library/ ) Of course the EU has a bit of an advantage cause it can (and probably will) massage the law a bit where needed. Of course once that law is 'updated' other companies may take advantage of it as well.
The views of the Church are evolving. ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/05/creation_evolution/ )
Hollywood won't like it. ( http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26726 ) And I wouldn't be surprised they can either forbid the sale or have their government invoke draconian import dues. yeah, what else do you buy a government for anyway.
In the same vein, the RIAA won't like to notice that artist have a voice. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9071-1808340,00.html) Not yet sounding hard against the RIAA itself but that's just a matter of time really.
Sorry your life is ruined. ( http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26667 ) Oh, well, nothing wrong really, just a small mistake. Up to then next victim.
Yes, that's the bright side of publishing data about criminals.
Sounds interesting for my next desktop. ( http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26690 ) Too bad they don't give a price though. :)
Wednesday 2005-11-05 ( Remarks about 496 words)
It's a bit hard to see trough the mist but I think there is some fog. The mist stays till about noon giving way to a pale blue sky with a hay sun. And stars.
Current temp is 19.0°C in and 8.4°C out.
I had to rerun the file-transfer cause of the errors. The trick to avoiding most of the problems is running on empty files.
There are only a couple of uncooperative printers causing some support today. And apart from that I don't do much els but try to get the sapification stuff moved out of the DEV environment.
While bumping up the files we have a kind of mini meeting about the whole affair. The files that are now done are the essential ones for the client. But there are other files that must be done as well. The original plan was to do file-by-file because doing everything at once would be too big a task. This changed into doing a bunch of files because when the second fix was ready (first was handled as planned) it couldn't be promoted because another project was in the way. In stead of waiting idly while that project got finished I added more files and programs to the fix. Now there is a huge fix to handle and still a bunch of files and programs to be done. So now we decide to lump the rest in as well.
While moving stuff I notice that OMS has problems handling big fixes. Oops
So I only get back home at about 22:30. Waaaaay to late for dinner. Barely enough time left for picking up my mail.
Thursday 2005-11-06 ( Remarks about 292 words)
More mist and it takes about as long to clear up. But the afternoon is nice and clear. With bright twinkling stars now playing in the sky.
Current temp is 18.4°C in and 4.2.°C out.
F@##ing stupid plumbers.
They -subcontractor to the water company- came last week, unannounced, to replace the water-counter. My brother let them in but they didn't get the meter out and left saying they'd return on Thursday around 10:00. On Thursday, at 09:00 they called and left a message that they couldn't make it by 10:00. So my brother calls to the water company and to the contractor -getting the boss on line- . He mentions that they would never have been able to honour the 10:00 appointment. They make an appointment knowing they can't make it. Nice. So my brother makes a new appointment -with the boss- to come today at 07:00 (Peter asks 'as early as possible', the boss proposes 07:00 which is fine by me, I am up at 05:30 anyway).So I stay home late, normally I leave at about 06:45. And of course nobody shows up. At 08:00 I call the contractor who comes up with a lame excuse that they are held up in traffic, traffic around here is very light at 07:00 and even at the peak hour it is not bad, you really have to do special things to be held up in traffic for an hour. Five minutes later the employee calls (most likely from home) with the half question half statement "We had en appointment at 07:00? ... But I will be a bit late due to circumstance."
By then Peter comes in and I leave for work.
All the files and most of the programs got transferred yesterday. Of course the problem cases were left so I hammer and chisel away at them most of the time. I do get the beast tamed and R can start testing
Dinner is rice with some carrots and parsley and shrimp. Not bad but way too much.
Friday 2005-11-07 ( Remarks about 358 words)
Lots of mist again and the mist turns into low grey clouds later. Only rather late in the afternoon the clouds break up and disappear.But while the stars are coming out fresh mist starts to rise.
Current temp is 18.7°C in and 8.1°C out.
Shopping. Wine, fruit and the other regular stuff like groceries.
Got a hard week so I take some hard rest. Well, let's say I try to prune some shrubs by staring hard at them.
Dinner is a light bowl of chinese spaghetti. I don't think I'll ever make the Italian stuff anymore. The thin rice-flour based spaghetti is sooooo much better.
Saturday 2005-11-08 ( Remarks about 212 words)
There is mist again but it dissolves pretty soon and is replaced by a pale, somewhat hazy blue sky. Day is going down in a nice display of reds and pinks and purples.
Current temp is 20.3°C in and 11.4°C out.
I do some more staring at the shrubs. With success. I see some leaves paling in fear. Just a few days more and I will have stared them off the plant.
Maybe it's just turning autumn.
Dinner is chicken stew with fennel and tomato. Usually I buy cleaned chicken chest parts and sometimes I buy uncleaned chicken chest (with bone and skin still on) to cut them up myself, it depends on avilability and looks. As expected the cleaned parts are a bit more expensive but it saves me some work. Now, supply was thight (I didn't mention the national strike on Friday) so I had a look at the other chicken options. So I looked at the cleaned and cut-up chicken chest pieces, cut into long thin strips. I expected them to be more expensive still but they are actually cheaper than the uncleaned chests even. The only disadvantage is that their best-before data is very close (like the 9th). I suppose they cut up and repackage the unsold meat, selling it cheap so they don't have to throw it away. Once baked and stewed it's just as good as the usual stuff
Better than the usual stuff is the fennel. Probably due to the warm and humid weather it has a much stronger taste as it comes fresh from the garden. Just cutting it up fills the kitchen with the fennel aroma.
Sunday 2005-10-09 ( Remarks about 288 words)
There is still mist but not much, most of it settled down on the now wet roads. The result is that it gets clear early and with a full day of sunshine it is really nice and warm outside. Ideal for ... sitting in the office behind a monitor. Now the stars are out but in stead of twinkling points of light they are hazy, dim spots in a black velvet sky.
Current temp is 21.2°C in and 9.9°C out.
All the sap stuff is over into the test environment and the first users comes around for testing. He just finds a few errors, and a bunch of bad setup stuff, the usual fate of the first tester. I get most of the dents hammered out while he is here, just one thing remains open, but I should get that hole blocked tomorrow.
After-work running again. Yep, on Monday, and not alone. I don't really care much about when I go running, and W has started running again. Monday fits best for him so that's OK. I like to run alone but I tend to run to fast early on and hit a wall later on. With two it's easier to set and keep a steady tempo.
Running but I don't do the usual post-running dinner because I have a fairly big portion of the chicken stew left over. There is always left over and when my brother isn't home I have an easy dinner :)
Wherever you have data, you have errors hidden in them.
Monday 2005-10-10 ( Remarks about 259 words)
It's hazy still but not misty. And, after a colourful sunrise, the day is clear and blue. And pretty warm as a result, heck it's about as warm as in August but without the high, oppressive humidity so it's better than summer.
Current temp is 21.1°C in and 9.9°C out.The tests are going too good to be true. Yesterday I only hit two real problems. One solved in five minutes the other still open. Today with another tester there were two minor problems -old objects-, both solved within minutes by a simple recompile in the right environment. Too good to be true.
At least tomorrow we will get a bunch of problems. But then C will find problems even if there are none.
Dinner is pizza. Meaty pizza with a difference. Most meat pizza is made using minced and processed meat or sausages rings. Not mine, though maybe I should have gone the classic way. In stead of using minced meat I take a nice but small steak and cut it in very thin strips, just a couple of millimeter thick. On the dough I spread some of my tomato sauce stock and arrange the meat on that. Then I finish it off with a few slices of mozarella and a sprinkling of typical pizza herbs ~mostly marjoram~ and a fist full of black olives. It tastes very good but it's way to wet. The problem is that I am using raw beef and the way cattle are reared and treated these days results in meat with lots of water in it. During normal baking that evaporates off the pan but when you cook it in a casserole or in the oven with a bit of cheese covering you see it leaking out and boiling off slowly. So next time I am gone bake the strips for a couple of minutes to get rid of the excess water before putting them on my pizza.
(Yes, it's mostly water; the butcher will tell you it's blood but blood and serum coagulates when it is cooked. Remember the butcher sels per weight so extra water in the meat is not his problem but rather his profit. Also remember the water doesn't do harm, it cooks away without changing the taste. )
Data always contains errors, but removing the data does not make your system error free.
Tuesday 2005-10-11 ( Remarks about 378 words)
No mist and only a few clouds. Nice start. The evening is almost a copy of the morning with just a few thin red cloud bands over the horizon. In between there are no clouds but lot's of sun in stead. With temperatures climbing up to summer levels again.
Current temp is 21.4°C in and 10.9°C out.
C is in for testing. He is about the best tester around here. Also the most critical. The best thing was that he didn't find any real problem in the programming. He did see some problems, like the values-and-ranges and error messages that are not set-up for the test environment. Nothing has changed with these and other testers accept my assurance about that. C doesn't. So I got to fake them a bit better than usual ^_^.
During the testing a lot of problems related to version management crop up. Typically with a simple version management you -using the tool- copy a couple of sources from the production environment to development. Later you move them to a test environment and when OK they move back to production. If you pick a program that some one else is working on the tool will prevent you from simply messing up (with an option to do so anyway). Normally you just wait till the other programmer has finished and take on the program then. That works well when you have small fixes with just a few objects in them. That is completely borked however when you get about two thirds of the system in one fix that takes months to finish. So intermediate changes and bug fixes are done directly in the production environment while bypassing the version management.
Any change made must be back-ported into the development environment of course. And of course that is not always done. *sigh*
Dinner is rice with whiting. Too much whiting. Well I bought them yesterday and you know (now) whiting fillets are rather small, somewhere in between a big sardine and a small herring. So I ask three of them but on the balance that's a bit little so I ask one more and of course the fishmonger pick the biggest one she's got, weighing almost as much as the three others together. Oh, well, it's a light fish with almost no fat.
To spice up the rice I add a couple of carrots, chopped, to boil along and when almost done I add finely chopped paprika. So, while it is a light fish I am now stuffed full. *burps*
Wednesday 2005-10-12 ( Remarks about 436 words)
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