2nd Annual Old School Kegger

This past Saturday, February 19th was the date for the 2nd Annual Old School Kegger at Eric's house. It was a great, great event with a larger, more diverse showing than the previous year. We had a packed house and garage. Leia flew into Love Field just before 8 PM for a special encore appearance. People started showing up around 9 PM with the busy season between 11 PM - midnight. Beer bonging started around 10 PM and lasted throughout the evening until both kegs floated.



We went through a keg of high-quality Miller Lite, a pony of Kirin Ichiban, two batches of trash can punch (the second of which was highly improvised since I was missing most of the ingredients--but, then again, it's trash can punch, right?), and jello shots. Fortunately some people brought along extra beer to help service the needs of those still thirsty.



The air was filled with salsa music as well as the traditional vocal stylings of Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, Notorious B.I.G., Snoop, Roger Troutman (my favorite), Snow, Rob Base, Coolio, and more...



The party wound down noticeably about 3 AM, leaving Eric's with Brandon, Laura, Mark, Kristen, Joseph, Princess Leia, Eric, Brian W., Janet, Dancing Pete, "Bacon & Peas" Amanda, Brian R., Nicole, and yours truly with shower curtain intact this time.



A big shout out to all of you who decided to brave the wonderful evening weather and party with us!!! I did a very conservative count (counting only those in photos and those I remember meeting) and there were at least 65 attendees with a guy-girl ratio of 6:7. My shirt proved to be a huge hit, so it will make many more appearances. Hope to see you again!!!

Quince's First Marathon

First of all...congratulations to Quince (#2260) for completing his first marathon. Unfortunately he was not able to beat his goal of 4 hours, but he still managed a very respectable chip time of 4:11:38 (the worthless bastard). Not too shabby...

In any case, for those of you who were not able to be there with him, I decided that I would go down to Austin this past weekend and surprise him to give him a mental boost...on that note, let me recap my experience...note that all times are approximate...

5:30 AM - I wake to the sound of thunder. I wonder if that is just my mind playing tricks on me from the previous day filled with visits to Crown & Anchor (C&A), Ginger Man, Draught House, and then back to C&A during an unscheduled, mid-afternoon-into-evening pub crawl.
5:38 AM - I'm officially up. It IS raining. I check the weather online. There is a severe thunderstorm rolling through the Austin area. Wonderful! However it looks like it will pass through the area by 7 AM.
6:40 AM - With a newly bleached CamelBak and a somewhat waterproof jacket, I leave my parents' house and head to the start of the race on my Epic. It is still raining.
6:53 AM - I reach the start line two minutes before the wheelchairs go. I momentarily panic when I wonder if Quince is waiting to start at the finish line. It stops raining.
6:57 AM - Quince, Kristian, and Emylie show up at the start. (Hearsay)
6:58 AM - Quince is peeing. (Hearsay)
7:00 AM - The start gun goes off. 22,000 runners or so head off towards downtown Austin.
7:42 AM - [Mile ~5] A surprised Quince runs by and asks me what the hell I'm doing there.
8:15 AM - I ride along, view, and cheer at various points along the race course. Now I'm taking roads, back streets, and alleys to make it to 6th and Congress by 9 AM to see Kristian, Quince, and Emylie. I feel like one of those NYC bike messengers (except I'm not wearing a dress--long story).
9:02 AM - [Mile ~14] I'm trying to meet up with Kristian & Emylie at the Starbucks on Congress (no, the other Starbucks) when I see Quince again. He's still looking strong. I spot Kristian and Emylie but they do not see me on the other side of Congress.
9:06 AM - I stalk Kristian and Emylie and we meet up to head down to Mile 20 to see Quince.
10:08 AM - [Mile ~20] The clouds break, the sun shines, and Quince motors by looking strong.



10:10 AM - Kristian, Emylie, and I head for the finish line.
10:11 AM - Quince craters. (Hearsay)
10:17 AM - I break from Kristian and Emylie and head to Mile 23 to try and catch up with Quince again.
10:33 AM - I am waiting for Quince with about 5K left to go. I have been waiting here for about eight minutes. Where is he? Based on his pace he should have run by here about five minutes ago. Did I miss him? I don't think so. Governor Rick Perry runs by. I momentarily talk to a cute girl who is running the marathon--she gives me the thumbs up, but not her number. Sigh...
10:36 AM - Thinking I missed Quince, I head back to the Mile 25.9 beer stop.
10:50 AM - I wait at the beer stop for ten minutes. It smells sooo good here. It smells like my fridge. Sniff, sniff...
11:04 AM - I wait a the top of a grassy knoll across from the finish line hoping to catch Quince. I assume that I missed him. The last time I saw him, he was on a 3:58 pace.
11:06 AM - Governor Rick Perry finishes. He does a victory lap.
11:14 AM - Alas, I cannot find Quince to congratulate him. I leave a message for Kristian and head home to get back on the road to Dallas by 2 PM. Little do I know that he is just about to finish.
1:53 PM - I head back to Dallas.

Congrats Quince on a job well done!!!

And to all the ladies out there, Happy Valentine's Day!!!

IM Wars

Oh the humanity! Should I use AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, or any of a number of other instant messaging clients? I know that many of you are plagued by thoughts and sleepless nights worrying about this topic. So let me help you help me help you...

Which Instant Messaging (IM) Client Should I Use?

All of the IM clients listed above support the following most commonly used features: exchange text messages with one or more people, voice chat, webcam, and file transfers.

AOL Instant Messenger is the most basic of the three. The most notable downside is that you cannot modify your Screen Name (Display Name). Additionally, AIM does not have the ability to archive messages.

MSN Messenger has the most flexibility for changing your Display Name.

Yahoo! Messenger integrates LAUNCHcast Radio so you can listen to streaming audio from the IM client--your contacts can also see what songs you are listening to. Yahoo! Messenger also integrates with your Yahoo! Address Book--the only downside I see to the Address Book integration is that you need to keep contact information up-to-date whereas MSN Messenger updates information automatically when the contact updates his/her information.

Both MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger archive messages.

What About Multi-Protocol Instant Messaging Clients?

One of the problems with using different IM clients is that if you have some co-workers, family, and friends using one client and others a different client, you need both client applications installed and running to be able to communicate with both parties. Multi-protocol instant messaging clients allow users to utilize just one client application to communicate who might be using different protocols. The most popular of these applications are Trillian, Gaim, and Miranda. All of these aforementioned clients support AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and IRC.

What If I Cannot Install Software On My Computer?

AIM, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger are all full-featured IM clients that you install on your own computer or on ones you have permission to install on. The following IM services let you send instant messages directly from a Web browser and are suitable in certain cases when companies block IM traffic or lock down software installations:

AOL - AIM Express
Microsoft - MSN Web Messenger
Yahoo! - Yahoo! Web Messenger

These allow the use of basic instant messaging features on a Web browser without installing any additional software.

What About Instant Messaging Security?

IMs are exchanged over the Internet in cleartext form. IM security products encrypt these messages to prevent others from eavesdropping onto your IMs.

Secway has a product called SimpLite that has support for the more popular instant messaging protocols, including AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! SimpLite is a transparent application that encrypts messages before they leave your computer to the Internet.

Zone Labs has a product called IMSecure that appears to do the same thing although I have never used it.

Summary

As for me, I currently use MSN Messenger coupled with SimpLite for MSN. I reluctantly use AIM. I like the fact that I can change my Display Name in MSN Messenger, something I cannot do with AIM. While I do like some of the features of Yahoo! Messenger, namely the LAUNCHcast streaming audio feature, too many people are currently using AIM or MSN Messenger to justify installing yet another IM client.

I am currently evaluating Trillian Basic 3.0, one of the multi-protocol IM clients. So far I like it. However, one of the biggest problems I see with multi-protocol IM clients is the continual updates required to keep up with the updates to all of the IM clients they need to support. Also, multi-protocol IM clients will never offer the full set of features that any single IM client would provide.

As a side note, MSN Messenger is about to release a new version in the near future, which should add blogging support for MSN Spaces and stealth mode as well as other lesser features.

February Pint Nights at the Ginger Man

Pint Nights are every Tuesday starting at 4 pm. If you buy the beer of the day you get to keep the logo glass.

February 8th - Fat Tire glasses
February 15th - Lindemans glasses
February 22nd - Samuel Smith glasses

Introduction

This is the first post into my weblog...with a few words about me and what you can hopefully expect to see in the future from this weblog.

Some of you may already know me, but a brief introduction is in order for this initial posting.

I am currently working as a .NET Solutions Developer at Avanade. I live in the La Foy Place subdivision in Dallas just minutes away from a few of my regular hangouts, Corner Bar & Grill, Ginger Man, and TABC. I participate in marathons as well as in shorter races--I have completed 5 marathons in the last 4 years. When I'm not running, I can occasionally be seen on my road bike or on my mountain bike at a number of various DORBA trails.



This blog's subject matter is extremely non-specific and will include occasional posts on interesting programming tidbits I come across as well as some of my favorite pastimes and hobbies such as cooking, cycling, mountain biking, music, partying, running or whatever else happens to suit my fancy.

I hope that you will enjoy this journey onward as much as I do...