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As a Multi-Millionaire…

Olaf — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:49:11 +0000

My wife and I like to think strategically about our future. Planning and foresight can save you a lot of grief and work in earnest.

In the event that we should become multi-millionaires in the future, we want to make sure we know what we’re going to do with the money. The following is an ongoing list of major things on our list:

Establish a Commune

And by commune, you have to understand my interpretation of the word. The usual ideas just don’t cut it – my idea of a modern commune is little more than a community of friends living in close proximity, each generally having some arcane talent. Other than that, everybody maintains their own job. The added benefit is that you have a community of actual friends in close proximity to help with things. Think about some of these nicer neighborhoods going up that include parks and community facilities like a club house or picnic area. That’s where the millions of dollars come in – someone has to pony up the money to put it together.

Establish an Olde World Arts and Crafts Guild

Look into America’s early years after the Declaration of Independence. As was popular in Europe, guilds popped up all over the place. Funny thing was, they never seemed to last. The guilds cranked out some epic-level work, but rarely made the profit needed to keep the their doors open. The Industrial Revolution was what put them out completely. Mechanized art, while not for the purists, was the way of the future and a clear winner in the end. Revival after revival, it was only when the the passion was washed out by insufficient funds that the guilds closed their doors. An arts and crafts guild would work today, but only if I could poor money into it endlessly.

Create an Elderly Care Facility that Cares

Most elderly care facilities – the ones that the average senior citizen could afford – are clever facades on the same old song and dance. There are too many horror stories to count as you look across the gamut and research their “customer appreciation.” A big reason for this is funding. The hired help is majority volunteer, public service workers, or minimum wage. When you’re not paying well, it’s hard to attract good help, but that’s just what you need.

My wife is the one with real passion for this one. She would love to pour many into a retirement home that is treated more like a spa than assisted living. It would have to be a non-profit venture with backing. The key is to rally support within the area communities, government, and of course, mad money.

Build the Lake Lanier Boardwalk District

How cool would it be to have a boardwalk district on Lake Lanier? I envision long wooden decking, boat slips, a beach, and fantastic night life and retail shopping. There should be bars with karaoke, an outdoor stage, a gallery, and much more. Normally, this kind of thing wouldn’t need so much money to keep it up, but I think I’d have to pay off the Corps. of Engineers a hefty sum to allow it!

Create a Seafood/Freshwater Fish Restaurant on the Lake

Along with that whole boardwalk idea, you have to have some big foundations. I purpose a fish restaurant out on the water. It would be awesome to have its center piece being a large circle of the lake with underwater lights and sub-level glass for viewing. Above that, have two to three stories encircling the “aquarium” for diners to look down upon. There is some real opportunity to make a case for the environmental concerns surrounding the lake in a venue like this.

Build an Irish Pub

Another permanent resident of the boardwalk should be a good old-fashioned Irish pub. If you know of McGuire’s in Pensacola, then your thinking along the same lines. Good food (or bad, but traditional!) and drinks. These relics of America’s past have always been places of fun and festivity.

Musings for the week of 2008-12-22

Olaf — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:59:59 +0000

Just noticed I’m eating at a place with an 84 health score. If I don’t twit in after lunch, I’m dead. #
I have lived through lunch! Perhaps hot coffee will sterilize my bowels. #
70°F on Dec. 18th – this weather has sapped my energy completely. #
Nothing beats blasting out your favorite tunes from high school on a long car ride. #
Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty were an awesome duet. I can think of two of their songs together. #
Family reunion party tonight with the in-laws. I ate until I felt ill. #
A little girl last night said she wished *I* was her daddy. Awkward! #
Going to Stone Mountain today to enjoy the last day of unseasonal weather. #
So it wasn’t exactly a *warm* day… #
It was 70° only a couple of days ago – now it’s near 20°F! #
I think we’re going to get the Christmas tree up tonight! #

“No Bones About It” For Sale

Olaf — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:03:37 +0000

I used my wife’s advice and chose to create a Zazzle.com account. It didn’t take long at all and I was able to setup a front and back, long-sleeved, black t-shirt for the Threadless “No Bones About It” submission. I didn’t win on Threadless, but I can still have my designs printed should somebody want one. Unfortunately, they’re going to be more expensive this way. If you dig it, awesome! I think you can actually modify the parameters and get a cheaper, short-sleeved version printed too. Either way, it’s cool to have this outlet when the design fails at Threadless. If things go well, you should see a new design each month on my Zazzle account – or at until I win a competition and Threadless and am restricted to resell it elsewhere.

I retitled it for Zazzle (Tribal to the Core), so go take a look (click the image to be taken to my zazzle.com store):

Tribal to the Core (Long Sleeve)
by

gradinDotCom

Create Custom T-Shirts On Zazzle
Browse Graphic Design T-Shirts

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-21

Olaf — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:59:59 +0000

@DinoRubble That volleyball match was awesome! 108 consecutive wins… #
@HamWithCam One donut hole? I had four rings, myself. Could have made it an Olympic breakfast if it weren’t for the bowl of cereal first! #
Congrats to a friend of mine. He’s back at work days after his first morotcycle crash. Having trouble moving around though. #
@MEaves What? You don’t just pick one out of your closet? #
Turns out, eating @ PTA night alone is lame. #

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-01

Olaf — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:59:59 +0000

@yellowjeepgirl Watchinng MMA *while* you’re deep sea fishing? Awesome. #
Egads! Another extremely late night. Work should be fun tomorrow… #
Whoops! Wife ran into a gas pump. #
Schlotzsky’s for dinner tonight. Just me and the boy. #

Top 5: Things You Wanted to Know About Me

Olaf — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:41:50 +0000

The meme is apparently now a lost word; used only by uncool dads and hipless (as in the lack of being hip) half-wits. I’m getting on in years, relatively speaking, and am inclined to use such lingo as to embarrass those who would be so easily offended.

For lack of better alternatives, I bring to you the current meme on my plate. Young whipper-snappers may be unfamiliar with this word, but it is essentially an Internet chain-letter. Spazzmanda passed this on to me from her blog, where she refers to such activities as “tagging.” I always thought that was a cultural art of defacement by way of graffiti, but what does an old fart like me know.

The Rules: Rules are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their names. Then the player goes to each of the “named” people’s blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. If you’ve been tagged, you do the same, letting the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer. Your answer, of course, is the answer to the following questions. Here we go!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago? One decade ago I was two months from my 2nd wedding anniversary with my lovely wife, Amy. We had no children, though we had pets. We were in our first year at our first house together (and current house). Amy was still in school at North Georgia College and State University (though it may not have been a State University at the time), and I was working for…Whittman-Hart, perhaps. I was a consultant beginning to cut my teeth on information systems security. It would be my primary job and objective for the next several years. I registered gradin.com for the first time – it was a standard 2-year registration and cost me $70.00 (I think my last registration was $8.95 for a year). I was finally able to access my awesome Mindspring account web space using my rocking X2 US Robotics Sportster (externel) modem via www.gradin.com. I was working in Allaire’s Cold Fusion, though I couldn’t afford a license for the server to host my own site using their technology. I used Allaire’s Homesite as my primary editor with Photoshop and Fractal Painter as my graphics packages. I think I was trying to get onto Bellsouth’s xDSL beta program, but with no luck due to my distance from the carrier. I was, however, involved with Wachovia’s beta online account access. It was a glorified BBS – awesome!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today? I’ve got ESX hosts to convert to 3.5i, installable. SAN storage to attach, and VMs to migrate both through traditional migrations, as well as the new and improved Storage VMotion. I also have some process proposal documentation to get done for the collected efforts of the Norcross lab engineering team, as well as that of our Hillsboro office. I hope to get some ping-pong in at lunch, ride my bike 10 miles back to my car, and then facilitate a drum circle for 100 people in northeast Georgia with some friends.

3. Snacks I enjoy: Have you tried my nuts? They’re salty and dimensionally variant. I enjoy the texture especially, though others are just happy I am able to share – there’s more than enough for everyone to enjoy! I also like beef jerky and granola bars.

4. Places I’ve lived: I’ve had a good spread in my life, though as of late my homestead has been very static. I began in Ocean Springs, MI; moved to Plano, TX, and then jumped to San Diego, CA shortly thereafter. We moved a couple of times there, but finally moved out the state to Tuscon, AZ. From there, we departed for Waycross, GA, and then onto Gainesville, GA where I live now. I’ve moved several times throughout both of these places in Georgia, and I’ve been here the longest amount of time so far.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: This is actually the title of a post I’ve been working on for a while now. It’s a recurring theme throughout our decade+ of marriage, and one that will most likely continue to develop and mature in time. The most boring thing I think of from our list is to pay-off debt and acquire some commercial real estate to lease. There’s money accumulation prospects in that, so we would do well to set ourselves for the inevitable loss of said billions through the frivolous purchases from our list. There are two more intriguing opportunities: 1) Develop a waterfront district on Lake Lanier – a boardwalk with shops and dining – that aids in the lake’s restoration efforts, as well as providing some awareness about the lake’s ecosystem. 2) Convert an old mill on the outskirts of town into a turn-of-the-century arts and crafts guild. History tells us that these guilds are mere congregations of passionate people in the arts and crafts and generally have no ability to sustain themselves financially.

5 “Tagged”

It’s Like Watching NASCAR on Acid

Olaf — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:13:20 +0000

We went out on Mother’s Day with some friends to see what we all knew would be a bad movie, Speed Racer. Between the 9 or so adults, there were also 3 children around Balthazar’s age. If nothing else, we thought they would thoroughly enjoy the over-the-top cheese and hyper-saturated pop-film. We might have all enjoyed it [some] if it hadn’t been for the fact that it lasted about 70 minutes too long.

I will admit, there were some classic Speed Racer moments that I enjoyed, but they could have been wrapped up into a hip music video or something. Perhaps a short film. The effects were awesome in many cases, over the top in the others. However, I recognize that it was an effect the Wachowski brothers were going for. The effects didn’t bother me too much, though the final race is pretty mind-bending. If you suffer from epileptic seizures from flashing lights, this movie is probably not for you.

VMworld 2007 – San Francisco

Olaf — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:55:56 +0000

VMworld is a technical conference virtualization-vendor VMware puts on every year. Last year, we did this trip in Los Angeles. The conference was really good this year and took place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. At the VMworld Party event, convention goers were given first-class treatment on Treasure Island where a taste of SF was provided, circus entertainment (my people), and two live bands played. Wonderbread 5, a Jackson 5 funky tribute band, opened for Smash Mouth. Wow! Both of these bands played a good show. Having never heard of Wonderbread 5, they were a surprising treat. They did a very funny version of Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby, mixing in Queen’s Under Pressure for the last half. Smash Mouth performed awesomely as expected. The crowd loved them. They got a really good response from doing a cover of Van Halen’s Running with the Devil as well as another Van Halen tune that eludes me. Kind of surprising considering Smash Mouth’s own claim to fame – I just didn’t expect that they did covers too.

San Francisco is a different place than I had imagined. I emerged from the Bay Area Rapid Transit system on Powell and Market St. The area was a mass of people – tourists, locals, and vagrants. It was an awesome sight, one exemplary to the conceptual hustle and bustle of city life. It didn’t take me any time to get my bearings and head towards the hotel. Having settled in, I took a walk to grab lunch and learn the area. Within my first hour of time in San Francisco, I found my way into the rougher parts of town (affectionately known as
“tender loin”) and was offered drugs. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn the tie-dye shirt. I hit a hole in the wall Thai joint for lunch and it was really tasty. It was literally a hole-in-the-wall. I had to turn my body slightly to fit into the narrow corridor leading into the main area.

I was comparing everything to city’s I’ve been in before, and I wasn’t find a lot of direct correlations. The number one differentiating factor was the people. The locals of San Francisco are so incredibly nice. Not southern charm nice, familiar nice. Locals were so willing to engage total strangers in genuine conversation everywhere I went. If you were on the streets looking a little lost or confused, a local will stop to help you out with directions or advice. If you’re out eating in a local restaurant, you can bet that someone will enter into real “getting to know you” banter. Thursday night was probably one of our better examples of this. Isi and I walked from Pacific Heights on Filmore to Marina and back. We joined up with another work associate for dinner on Filmore and chatted with a couple from the neighborhood for an hour or more. Upon their advice, we trucked over to a (literal) hole-in-the-wall bar on Lombard and Van Ness, the Black Horse London Pub. Locals only and really nice people. I don’t drink at all, but this is the kind of bar a teetotaler can enjoy. From there, we took the group and a patron from Black Horse over to Silver Cloud karaoke bar. It was our first karaoke bar that fit our expectations – no private rooms, lots of bad singers, and late hours. In the end, it wasn’t actually that great. The microphones were either really bad or turned down too low. There was an obnoxiously drunk guy dancing in a manner that makes everyone uncomfortable – possibly dangerous to the patrons that were within flailing range. We left before getting in much singing to close out our last day in California.

Next year this convention splits in two. There will be one in Cannes, France (VMworld Europe) and another in Las Vegas, Nevada. I would love to go to either, though I’m leaning towards Cannes as a preference. I doubt that it would really be an option – I don’t even know if it’s intended to host the American audience. If the opportunity presents itself, I know both of these places would be spots Amy would really like to visit – boring conference or not. To afford Cannes, we may have to stay in hostels the whole time and eat at Le McDonalds.

LOL Code

Olaf — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:19:23 +0000

Script Kiddies beware. Adam Lindsay has begun an effort to replace your l33t speaking ways with a rudimentary development language (lolcode) using the same coded phrases you disrespect your mothers with (you text your mom with that hand?). As a demonstration of his awesomeness, Lindsay offers this example of a simple count loop:

HAI CAN HAS STDIO? I HAS A VAR IM IN YR LOOP
UP VAR!!1 VISIBLE VAR IZ VAR BIGGER THAN 10? KTHXBYE
IM OUTTA YR LOOP KTHXBYE

It is questionable to this writer whether lolcode is a greater method of subterfuge-coding than Whitespace. Whichever one integrates with Microsoft Office as a macro option first will probably take the crown. Code on.

The Disney World Report

Olaf — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:54:01 +0000

Disney World Vacation Photos

There’s a place on this Earth where reality fails, excitement is on tap, and prices are only limited by your imagination. Walt Disney’s Disney World creation is the most spectacular piece of manufactured tourism in the world. It’s also one of the only places that truly caters to the whole family, thereby nailing such a broad audience that it’s pure marketing genius. It would make even Microsoft proud.

We took a vacation to Orlando recently courtesy Amy’s parents. It was their pleasure, and gift, to get Balthazar down to see the big Disney castle. We stayed on the grounds at Port Orleans – Riverside, which was a sort of “turn of the century” styled shipwright and ferry yard. At 2,048 rooms total, it was one of the largest resort complexes Disney has to offer. Riverside is a short walk from the French Quarter, the other side of Port Orleans resort. The rooms were nice enough. Nothing immaculate, and they’re all pretty small. However, it was perfectly adequate for a family of three and we did little more than sleep there anyway. On location was a restaurant set to the tune of an old shipwright. There’s a boat skeleton suspended overhead, tools on the walls, and framed blueprints for classic paddle boats. The food was decent, but the price was disproportionate. At Disney, you pay a premium for the atmosphere. That’s an understanding you must carry with you at all times throughout an adventure at this famous vacation spot.

At four years old, Balthazar was just at an appropriate age to introduce him to Disney World. He was sold at the site of Disney’s magic castle right as you turn the street onto Main Street as you work your way between turn-of-the-century styled shopping stores. We could have gone home then having captured his awe in one single visual blow. What I learned (quickly) about young children at a park this size is that it’s way more than they can grasp. The magnificence of the place was lost to someone so small and focused on the now. I first noticed it at a playground near our resort in Port Orleans. He was so excited to see this awesome playground – he could have spent the whole day there. Since the time we told him just two days before we set out on our journey to Disney World, he had been excited at the prospect without fully understanding what it was. Now as we walked around the resort and settled into our new surroundings, he began associating all the sites with Disney World. The playground became the most exciting thing to do (until we came upon the resort-class swimming pool) and was so the object of the trip. No amount of explanation of what awaited could pull him away from the now. It happened again when we went swimming in the pool. This was truly a first for Balthazar. Swimming is something he’s only had experience with in the lake near our house. This new adventure became more important than the playground and replaced the association with what Disney World was. So after days of new experiences, each bigger than the one before, I imagine his mind had trouble grasping the hugeness of what he was in. Regardless of his comprehension, he had a really good time! He has tried out lots of new experiences and I’m very proud of him for that. He was actually really good on the trip despite the stressful and anxious situations he was dropped into. He rode a roller coaster – a mistake on his account, but one that he decided to take on. Needless to say, he didn’t speak much on it afterwards. The simple explanation was “it made my tummy sick.” I can tell those of you who are planning a similar trip that the other parks (MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, etc.) don’t match up well to the younger children like the Magic Kingdom. It was, by far, his favorite. He liked some individual things at the other parks, but we always went back to the Magic Kingdom to do the Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and Aladdin’s Flying Carpet rides in the end. He also really dug the fireworks display at Magic Kingdom, but so did we! Disney really knows how to put on a show – seriously some of the best fireworks displays I’ve ever seen.

As for the adults, well we had a really great time too! The excitement, Florida sunshine, and abundance of walking rendered all of us napping around midday everyday. It turns out, the very best times to hit the parks are right at opening and later in the evening before closing. Most people are suckers and stay throughout the day, which has them leaving the park before dark with exhaustion. Lines are shorter, the evenings are cooler, and you catch the closing ceremonies, which are always amazing. I can’t imagine the people that do this sort of thing every year, but I did enjoy it well enough to make it a point to visit again when Balthazar is older. There truly is something for everyone at the magical kingdom of Walt Disney World.

Required Knowledge:

Stay at a resort: driving is troublesome, costly, and the resorts offer free transportation to everything Disney.
Visit parks at their opening, go eat lunch, nap, swim, and come back around 6 or 7:00pm for dinner. You’ll avoid the midday Florida sun and longer lines.
Create an itinerary. The parks have mismatched opening and closing times; some parks open earlier or stay open later on certain days. Also look at their special events. If you aren’t that interested in the event, avoid the park for that day!
Watch the Disney-sponsored television in your hotel at least once at the beginning of your trip. It gives you great insight into the things to see at each park.
Eat at Pleasure Island. Pleasure Island hosts many restaurants, fun atmosphere, and more proportionate prices than the much-hyped counterparts within the parks.
Expect to pay a lot for food and dine accordingly. There is no real option for snacks within the park; 5 adults and a 4-year-old will run you upwards of $50-60 and get you more food than you probably expected. Breakfast will be $50.00 at a minimum, lunch around $80.00, and dinner around $150.00 before liquor. $200.00 a day for a family’s eating budget would be conservative, but probably doable.
Stay for fireworks at the Magic Kingdom at least once – watch them from the Flying Dumbo ride location.
Put your kid(s) in the “Talk with Crush the Turtle” experience at Epcot.
Internet access in your hotel will cost you $10.00/24-hour period, but you can hit some Disney sites for free.
If you have a 4-year-old, take the stroller rental option rather than brining along your own (or choosing to carry him). It’s $10.00/day (one pass works for all parks) and worth every penny in convenience.
Try not to buy toys…they’re mostly all Jackson killers.
The Polynesian Resort has some really great food. It’s worth the money.
Birds will take your food.
Bring good walking shoes (surely you know this)!
Coffee sucks at Disney World. The best I had was at Kona, (one of) the Polynesian Resort’s restaurants. It’s a blend of Kona and dirty water. At Tony’s, I added a shot of espresso to a cup of coffee for some boldness – it worked, but at great cost.

And oh yeah – I shouldn’t have to tell you people this, but please be a little considerate to your fellow humans! I can’t tell you how many Disney tourists are real asshats.