./janella.com

The holiday weekend found Farrah and I not doing much out of the ordinary.  On Saturday, we decided to drive up to Tiburon for a quick look around town.  We then went to Salsulito for lunch at the Winship restaurant. The weather in the North Bay was very cold and wet, compared to the partly sunny - yet still cold - South Bay.

I’d never been to //Sausalito before but Farrah had been with Yen.  It’s a nice quite town, reminding me of downtown Campbell but closer to the ocean.  We first ate lunch because we (1) were hungry, and (2) wanted to get out of the cold and wet weather.  The //Winship restaurant was the second place we saw that looked like a decent place to eat.

The restaurant had a sea theme, with a faux ship in the middle of the place and turtle shell like lighting fixtures.  The menu both had seafood as well as burgers and other sandwiches. We had to try the ‘Crispy Fried Calamari" as we make it a point to try fried calamari if restaurant serves it.  I was crispy, but lacked any special flavor.

I had the BBQ pork sandwich which was listed as an open face sandwich, but it didn’t come as such. They had a variety of onions on it, both chopped, diced and sliced, which I thought was strange.  The sandwich tasted fine, though the BBQ sauce was neither tangy or sweet as if not to offend the taste buds. Farrah had the Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwich which she enjoyed.

After lunch, we walked around downtown.  We stopped by a candy store called Munchies, which offered a variety of salt water taffy. The owner of the place was very friendly, offering customers the option of trying anything in the store. We proceeded to load up a small bucket with a variety of flavors, choosing not to try anything beforehand. We then headed to the local Starbucks for some coffee and conversation.

The Starbucks there has a nice view of one of the major intersections in town.  Farrah and I sat in tall barstool like chairs facing the window looking outside.  We watched the rain come down on people passing by, some coming in for a cup of coffee, others trying to make it to other stores on the strip.  We tried to come up with places to go to next, but decided to head back home as the weather appeared to be getting worse, and Farrah’s migraine, which started before lunchtime, was also becoming more discomforting.

Later that evening we went to Farrah’s parents’ house for dinner.  We had chicken, steak (ummm…steak) and leftover sushi rice Farrah had made the night before.  Afterward, we called it a day and headed home to watch some TV.

On Sunday, we decided to stay in and catch up on TV and movies.  We watched Elizabethtown (review forthcoming) and Farrah watched her other TV shows that I have a passing knowledge of (such as McCleod’s Daughters and Footballers Wive$)

Today we had lunch at the Boardwalk in Mountain View.  Farrah said the place was similar to St. John’s in Sunnyvale, a dark pub-like atmosphere where burgers, cheesesteaks, sausages, and beers are served.  I had the Louisiana Hot Sausage which was very very good.  The spiciness of the links didn’t registered until well after you started chewing on it.  Very nice.  We also had a basket of spicy curly fries which makes for a nice side order.  Farrah had the “Lo C” meal which consisted of two hamburger patties, cheese, salad and dressing.  She’s had this dish the few times she’s been there.  Afterward, we headed to the mall for a couple of hours of window shopping.

If you are reading this on //Janella.com then you know there have been some navigational and layout changes – again!  Well, I’ve listened to feedback I’ve received and readers have had a problem reading and navigating through the Hemingway theme I used for //Wordpress.  I’ve decided to go with a cleaner, meaner, and leaner theme.  With the implementation of the new theme, I’ve also decided to incorporate my photoblog which previously resided on soulsofourfeet.com.  The photoblog now servers as the front page – a little like a splash page – for the website.

On the top of the front page you should see this element:

From there you should be able to access other photos on the photoblog, go directly to the main blog, or simply go to one of the photo galleries on Flickr or Smugmug.

You can also click on the comment link.  This will give you a description of the photo you are looking at and the opportunity to comment on the image.  I plan to post photos that either Farrah or I have taken, where I happen to like the result of what we have captured.  I would hope people would comment on whether they like the photo or not.

On the footer of each page  you should see this element:

From the footer you can access other family and friends’ photo pages.  The same links are available through the main blog.

If you have any feedback you’d like to give on the new layout, please write to me or talk to me.  I’m open to any comment to make the site easier to use.

I’ve injured my left eye again.  It seems the scratch I endured //last October did not fully heal.  I had felt some discomfort earlier this week, which resulted in a nice two-day headache.  On Wednesday I thought the pain had passed, but Thursday night I was in discomfort slash complaining mode.  By Friday morning my left eye had swollen.

I made an appointed to be seen that morning. I had an appointment with an Ophthalmologist.  This first Ophthalmologist confirmed there was a new scratch, but needed to refer me to someone of more experience on treatment.  The treatment was to patch my left eye, but first she needed to scrap a layer of skin away from the eye.  Doing this would hopefully yield even healing on the eye.  She numbed my eye during the procedure, but after the medication wore off, my eye felt beat up.  I needed to take Tylenol for the next two days.

Farrah took me to see the Ophthalmologist on Sunday morning for a follow-up. Good news!  She said the eye healed a 100%, meaning the layer she scraped away has grown back to cover they eye.  But treatment needs to continue in order to ensure the layer stays intact.  So it looks like I’ll be using certain eye drops and lubricants for the next several months so this does not happen again.  And believe me,  I don’t want it to happen again.

When I post my photos online, my main goal is to share them with family and friends.  Most of the photos are private, but some that I truly like and think are very nice shots, I leave for public viewing and comment.  I would never think that they would be used for anything.

When I was trying //Zoto.com, I posted several photos that I had public in my //Flickr account.  I then forgot about Zoto.com.  Well, yesterday I logged into my account on Zoto.com and I looked at the featured photos page and there was one of my photos!  It’s a photo of Tiana, which I like very much, and thought it was cool.  Then today I go to Zoto.com’s home page and see:

It’s cool and unsettling to see a photo you took on the front page.  They do give me photo credit (my username in the lower left-hand corner) and the photo is used within all legal guidelines according to their Terms of Service (TOS).  So I just need to be fine with it, since I did sign up for their service.

The lesson here?  Just know that any photo you post on the Internet, whether public or private, has the potential of being used.  You should know your rights if someone is using your photos elsewhere.  And last but not least, read the TOS before signing up with a service.

Believe me, I like the photo.  I like it being used - in a way.  I just feel a little awkward about it all.

I’m having a difficult time falling asleep tonight.  I’ve had a headache for the past two days.  The ache is located in only one spot in my head, feeling like a bolt stuck there.  Even 800 mg of motrin hasn’t kicked it.

I’ve been working on searching for jobs.  I guess some of the job search techniques or abilities online have changed. Look at //this article.  It describes some new federal guidelines for online job searches and posts.

New federal guidelines meant to standardize how employers track data on the diversity of their job-applicant pool are taking effect starting today for jobs at federal contractors -- and similar rules will kick in later this year at U.S. companies with more than 50 employees. And resumes and search approaches that worked perfectly well before may no longer do the trick.

Have you seen the website //Linkedin?  It’s specialized social networking meant to get all your job connections together.  I’ve been a member for a while and recently found out a friend works there. Cool!  Anyway, you should check out the site, sign up, and post your resume.  After all, a large percentage of jobs are acquired through friends or someone who knows someone.  So get Linkedin!!!

I had an interview today for a tech position.  I was made aware of the position through a friend.  The interview lasted for three hours, talking to four people total.  I think it went well, and we’ll see if the position is a fit for both me and the company.  I’ll probably write more later about it once things have settled.

Ok, I think I’ll surf a while longer then see if I can get some rest.

As i mentioned previously, I’ve been updating the website.  The ’theme’ that is implemented now will be the default look.  If you have any feedback on how the page looks or navigates, please feel free to comment on the page or write to me.  I’m guessing feedback may range from the page being too dark or the font being too small, but I’m not sure.  I find it easy to use and read, but do you?

Viewing photos also has a new option: viewing via //Smugmug

The reason why I chose Smugmug is the look and feel appeals to some of our visitors, as opposed to my //Flickr account.  I’m guessing people do not want to sign up for a Flickr account (which is free) or simply don’t want to sign up for a Yahoo! account.  I still prefer Flickr as a service, but understand the appeal of Smugmug.  Either way, you now have two methods to view photos.

I do not have all the photos posted to Smugmug yet, but I will work on it.  I have password protected several photo galleries on Smugmug, as individual photos cannot be password protected.  In order to view those galleries, you will need to provide the password to the gallery.  It’s a simple question, but if you do not know the answer, please write to me for guidance.

Photos can be ordered from both services.  To order photos from Flickr, you need to be on my Friends and Family list.  When you are a member, you can order photos, which are printed by //Target, and either have them mailed to you or you can pick them up at your local Target store.

You can also order photos through Smugmug.  They will mail you the photos.  I think the photos are more expensive than ordering them through Flickr, but I do not know if there is a quality difference.  I’ll need to order some photos for comparison.

Anyway, back to more web stuff.

I’m sitting outside Express in //Bay Street shops in Emeryville.  Farrah is in one of the many shops, and I just got out of the Apple store.  I’m sitting on a bench, and it is a pretty chilly late afternoon (around 5:30 PM).  I’m not sure if I will be able to post this entry to the website from here.  I’m getting a weak WiFi signal from the Apple store, but I don’t think I’ll be out here long.  The day has been pretty much uneventful, though I the week holds promise.

Last week was pretty rough, and seemingly long.  An uncle in Hawaii passed away.  His death, almost any death, still reminds me of my father.  I’m not sure why, even after all these years, but it still does.  My uncle, someone as a kid I would call my rich uncle, had become ill in September.  From what I understand he was up and around in the beginning of last year, showing no signs of disability, save his age.  He was tending his garden still, going out when need be.  But I suppose time catches up with everyone.  He was 93 when he died.

I saw Uncle Teofilo after our wedding.  I visited his home with my mom,  where I saw my aunt and cousins.  Uncle was bedridden, talking incoherently as we walked into his room.  It took about 15 minutes to recognize my mom, 20 minutes to recognize me.  When he did recognize me, it was as if a light switch had been turned on.  He wished Farrah and I a happy honeymoon, as if we were in the middle of a conversation.  His words brought tears to my eyes.  After those words, I had to leave.  I didn’t want to see him fade away.  It’s something about seeing someone who you remember being so strong, now not being able to care for themselves.  It hits hard.  From what I understand, my uncle was pretty stubborn when he was lucid, wanting to move around and go when the urge took him over.

My mom went to the funeral, and stayed with relatives for a few days.  I just contemplated life, thinking of what was, what is, and what will be.  Yes, I’m getting a little reflective in my downtime.  I need to find a job and keep busy.

So this week is almost over and a new one is about to begin.  Let’s hope this week is a little better.

You might have heard of this site already or not. It’s called //Pandora, created by the Music Genome Project.  What the heck?  To sum up what the //Music Genome Project does, it is a group of people who break down the DNA of a song or musician.  They determine try to “capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony."  Pandora offers a way to listen to the fruits of their labor.

When you visit Pandora, you will be asked to enter in an artist or a song.  When the information is inputted, a song that exemplifies the artist’s music style will play. After the initial song, similar suggestions from other artists will play.  You can choose to listen to the next song, skip to a following song, and even buy a song you have just listen to.  Suggestions are not based on the old “if you like this artist, you might like this next artist because  similar people listened to it as well”, but is based on the DNA profile of the artist’s catalog.

You can create a profile and save favorite songs, all it takes is an email address.  The service is free, but you can pay as little as $3/month for no advertising.  So try it out and see if you like it.  This is a streaming music service, so you might need to wade through some songs you may not like.  But if you are looking for new music, or just want to have a radio station playing in the background, you may want to give //Pandora a try.

[For more information on Pandora, please see the Podcast //Inside the Net 6: Tim Westerngren of Pandora Media All you need to do is download the Podcast and listen to it on your computer.]

[Also note: I was able to find most artists I searched for on Pandora.  Not all will appear though, as they do have a limited catalog that is growing each day.  So do not be discouraged if you are looking for someone that isn’t currently there.]

I’m working on the site layout right now. The page may change from time to time while you are on it. I’m working on implementing a theme I like (and hopefully will stay with). This change will also affect how photos can be accessed so stay tuned!

Apple today announced some new products.  The Mac Intel versions were announced, as expected, with particular attention paid to the new laptop offered.  It’s called the //MacBook Pro

After hearing about it, a friend contacted me on IM and said, “Dude, don’t you feel cheated?  Are you pissed [for recently buying a PowerBook]?”

The quick answer is no.

The MacBook Pro has a lot going for it:

• It's stated to be four times faster than the current PowerBook.
• It has a built-in iSight camera.
• It includes Front Row with Remote.
• And it's thinner than current PowerBooks.

I’m sure there are a lot more positives about it.  The way I see it, I am still happy with my current purchase because:

• It's a 12" laptop whereas 15" seems to be the smallest MacBook Pro offered.  You can't believe how much 3" makes a difference.
• It's a first generation MacIntel collaboration.  There might be some kinks to still workout.
• I got my PowerBook on a slight discount. With it, my PowerBook was considerably less in price than the least expensive MacBook Pro.

I’m sure I’ll upgrade some time in the future, depending on reviews. (You know how much I like reviews).  But for now, I’m still a very happy Mac user.

PS: Want to see //photos of the MacBook Pro?

Heard of the latest //Windows flaw?  From what I understand of it, and I may not understand all of it, but the only thing a user needs to do is visit a malicious website to get infected.  It doesn’t matter if they are using Internet Explorer or Mozilla, just as long as they are on Windows!!!  The websites given as //examples seem innocent.  So now viewing a seemingly simple photo can get your computer into virus issues!!!

My Reasons?

I’ve been looking at moving to a Mac for some time.  I must admit part of it started with the iPod, a very cool product by Apple.  I find the iPod to be a solid piece of hardware that has been very useful in the two years that I have had it.  It’s been a great gift that I truly appreciate.

Other input has come from radio shows I listen to, mainly //Leo Laporte’s show, who touts Macs and Unix.  Leo continually has end users calling in with a lot of Windows problems.  Granted, 80% or more of the home users out their user Windows.  But listening to these callers has just convinced me that their must be something better out there.  One of Leo’s main reasons for moving is he feels that non-power users shouldn’t need to be security experts in order to use their computer.  I mean, you need to know to run spyware protection, to run virus protection, to know what to disable and enable in your browser.  I know all of this, but haven’t realized that I really don’t need to know all of this.  After all, there are no known viruses or spyware for the Mac (at least not now).

Another part of it stems from all the computer problems I have experienced, mostly through friends and relatives,  with Windows-based machines.  I was at someone’s house (they shall go nameless) who was having computer problems.  They said their computer was running very slow.  I did a virus and spyware scan and…BAM!  forty-four instances of spyware and at least four viruses!  It was impossible to clean, so a reinstall will be the most likely solution.  (I still need to do this).

Then on our recent trip to Hawaii, someone asked me to look at their laptop to see what was wrong.  Guess what?  It had viruses galore on it!  The laptop wasn’t even used that much on the Internet, and when it was it was through a dial-up connection!

So I took the leap to Mac. I have used a Mac before.  At my first Silicon Valley job we used Macs to answer customer questions.  I took a while to get used to, and the group I was in was the only group on Macs.  I slowly moved that group to Windows, as I had some problems exchanging reports with my boss who was on Windows.  So that was the last time I touched a Mac.

Moving to Mac

I’ve been living with my Mac PowerBook for about a month now, about the same amount of time I’ve been out of a job!  My last job had a perk where you could get a slight discount on Apple products.  I decided to use it by purchasing a Mac computer.  I wasn’t sure which one I would get, but I knew I wanted one.

I went with the 12" PowerBook.  I knew I wanted to take a little leap, without too much cost.  The Mac Mini might have been a good choice, but I didn’t need to replace my desktop.  I looked toward laptops since I wanted to be portable.  I was initially going with the 15" PowerBook, but the price for me turned out to be a factor.  Plus I loved the size and feel of the 12" PowerBook.

How’s it Going?

What I’m finding is that the Mac is suiting most of my computer needs: surfing, emailing, and composing Word documents.  I did plunk down some $$ for Microsoft Office, but other than that the PowerBook came with all that I needed.  I still haven’t found a suitable photo management program, and probably won’t look for one until I get a Mac desktop computer.  This PowerBook only has a 100 GB hard drive, so I’m not using it for music storage or image editing.  But I am using it for everything else.

The only outstanding issue I have is my Mac is running slow on my home network.  I don’t know why this is the case, as  it seems to be running fine here at Starbucks.  I’ll need to figure this one out.  But hey, I highly recommend the Mac at this point.  And with the new Intel Macs coming out soon,  you should consider a Mac if you are looking for a new computer.

Happy New Year to you all!!! May 2006 be a wonderful year for you.