My Insights

I recently accepted a job that requires me to be in Washington D.C. by 5:30am.

That means that I must leave by 4:30am and if I hope to do some mild exercising in the morning and cook some breakfast, I must be up by 3:00am.

Now those of you who know me, I need my 9 hours of sleep. So that means, I must go to bed by 6:00pm.

I made it fine on my first day today. I hope I can keep up the commitment for long. So wish me luck and do not disturb after 6:00pm … just kidding.

Why are people getting flustered over delays by Microsoft in shipping its next major pieces of software - Windows Vista and Office 2007.

Sure, there are alternatives out there like Mandrake Linux and openoffice.org but eventually, people come back to Windows and Microsoft Office. Why? Well because of reliability.

There I said it, the blue screen jokes are so lame. The last time Windows XP crashed on me was a year ago. The last time Mandrake Linux 10.1 crashed on me was last night.

We all like to follow the bandwagon and crack jokes at Microsoft but we must realize that Microsoft has come a long way from the blue screen.

The industry has forced Microsoft into accepting responsibility for things that we very blatantly excuse in open source software.

So Microsoft is playing it safe by making its software passable to some brutal critics in the industry. That makes the software more than OK for normal everyday users like me.

So please, let us just be patient and await the wonderful new softwares (Vista & Office 2007) Microsoft is currently working on.

It was just another Tuesday evening. I had just received word of a new beer brewed by some of my fellow GSI busy bees. I decided to join the crowd down at the Chophouse to taste this strange new beer. The rest is history.

Apocalypse 5:30 is no beer for the lightweights. With a whopping 9.2% alcohol content, it is one of the smoothest belgian ales I’ve had. It has definitely entered my top 5 list kicking out Michelob to #6. Here is my current Top 7 beers:

1) Heineken
2) Stella
3) Corona
4) Yuengling
5) Apocalypse 5:30
6) Michelob
7) Bud Light

I must say that for the beer lover, Apocalypse 5:30 will live up to its name.

Warning: Consuming Apocalypse 5:30 on an empty stomach will recreate history.

For 2 years while working at GSI, I took the green line train to Gallery Place Metro station and back to College Park Metro station. 2 years.

I’ve streamlined my whole process of getting into the station by efficiently touching my smarttrip card embedded in one of the slots in my wallet to the touchpads at the entry gates.

I have become so efficient that I can retrieve my wallet, touch the smarttrip pad and put my wallet back in my pocket all in under 2 seconds and without slowing down the speed of my walk.

Today, feeling confident as ever, I entered the metro station at Gallery Pl. at 3:50pm, blasting the music on my iRiver. I am new to the whole listening to music on the go scene.

I take my escalators going downstairs, run for the train already boarding at the platform but am unable to reach it before the doors close. Then it takes me a minute to realize that the train was a yellow line train and I feel good about myself again for avoiding the wrong train.

Then next green line train was in 2 minutes. I patiently wait while listening to the loud music in my ears and tapping my foot to it. The train comes, I board it and I decide to stand for a while in the semi-crowded car.

I pull out my Palm to play some solitaire. Again, something that I never did in the past. I go through 4 unsuccessful games while I felt the train move and stop at numerous stations.

I must take this moment to point out that my visual and auditory senses were preoccupied to notice anything else that a normal passenger would notice.

When I did notice my surroundings was when everybody got off the train at once. My heart sank, my eyes glared and a sense of fear overcame my mind as I stared at the system map.

I had reached Branch Avenue - then end of the Green line in the opposite direction! I now had 19 stops to go in the opposite direction. Long story short, I made it back to College Park at 4:55pm instead of 4:15pm as I had planned.

Up until this moment, I do not know how, why or what happened. All I know is that I made it (somehow).

Ah! last day before spring break. I Feel Good.

I’m sure most of you have gotten gas at popular gas stations like Exxon and Shell and have used credit cards to pay at the pump. What procedure do most of them follow?

When I think of paying by a card at the pump, I think of inserting my card and rapidly removing it as if you’re hurting the pump by keeping your card in there. Then I think about pressing the credit button, saying no to the carwash option, waiting for the “Authorizing…” sign, selecting my gasoline grade level, removing the nozzle, pumping the gas while reading their advertisement for coffee on the one line display and finally deciding whether or not I want a receipt.

Last night, I pumped gas in South West DC and there I completed a step that I had never done before. The pump asked for my billing zip code after I entered and rapidly removed my card. Do you think that the owners were being paranoid about stolen credit cards?

Here is the current system properties of my main Desktop:

I’ve been trying my best to hold on and not buy a new computer so that I can buy one with Windows Vista preloaded. However yesterday, the computer was really testing my patience. See for yourself:

The Page file peaked at 1.2GB!! And people call me crazy for wanting a PC with 4GB of RAM. I’m gonna hold … I’m gonna hold.

I have to tell myself that by the time Windows Vista is out, RAM will be cheaper and I can buy Windows Vista preloaded so that I don’t have to pay unrealistic amounts to buy a copy.

I have no clue how I will wait!