We Are Not A Mused

Want a Flat Screen TV? Save Up!

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:04:02 GMT

Lisa and I have been shopping around for a flat screen TV for the Game Room downstairs. We shopped casually. My attitude was that this particular purchase was not only optional, waiting to buy would give us the benefit of the inevitable descent of prices in flat screen TVs. Not to mention that the technology seemed to be maturing for good LCD contrast levels and built-in HD broadcast tuners as standard equipment.

It is clear for us this weekend that prices are reversing their trend. Even though the Knoxville Best Buy has LCD TVs stacked to the ceiling, today's sale flyer features their less-desirable 720p models at higher prices than the 1080p models were going for just a week or two earlier. Why is that? Where is the fire sale to clear their enormous inventory?

Well, maybe Best Buy has to generate some cash flow for some reason (better quarterly report or whatever). Or maybe there are major market forces at work that all retailers have included in their planning. Clearly, price hikes for flat screen TVs aren't part of the seasonal "back to school" strategy, so something bigger is going on.

Perhaps the retailers are depending on a perfect storm of factors that will drive flat screen demand to record high levels. Clearly, the broadcast switch to digital TV signals in February will be a great motivator for consumers. And the deadline occurs soon after the end of the Christmas buying season in America. Another factor driving spending on at-home entertainment is the high cost of travel. And don't forget that most flat screen TVs are manufactured overseas so wholesale prices are very dependent on exchange rates. If retailers believe wholesale prices are getting worse, they won't mind higher inventory levels that are bought at lower prices.

If it's true that retailers are hiking the price of flat screen TVs and stocking inventory ahead of forecast demand now (in July), then we are likely to see upward pricing through the end of the year. If you've been waiting for a good sale to buy a flat screen TV, you might have to wait until March of 2009. Plenty of time to save up.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 7-20-2008

Dying is Easy, Blogging is Hard, PageViews Are Incredible

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:36:51 GMT

Sorry about that.

If Spaces provided some indication exactly what posts people are reading, I'd be happy to crank out something interesting every now and then. Rather than doing as I please all the time. According to the statistics, the Spaces blog has gotten over 18,601 page views as of right now. Last time I looked in early June, the count was about 17,000.

On the other hand, if I weren't so lazy I would put little tracking bugs in each page, write an app to count individual page views on Spaces and the Walt Lounsbery Direct blog, and then the mystery would be solved. I could even post an article about that.

Hmmm, where did I put those tracking bugs?

Walter Lounsbery, 7-18-2008

How Did I Get Started in Software Development?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:01:24 GMT

I think I saw this little chain reaction rumbling around the developer community about a year ago. I hoped to escape the schoolyard-like "tag, you're it!" highly non-viral spread of this blogging exercise. If you heard about it before, certainly you saw the roots of this game in more notorious chain email. It's kind of a drag of uniformity, those that are tagged are expected to follow the format and then "tag" some other poor slobs. Unimaginative and distracting if you are already a regular blogger. A regular blogger wouldn't need some lame-o thing like this to create a semi-interesting post. And they certainly shouldn't have to be tempted with egocentric topics.

Trouble is, what can you do when you're tagged by someone you know? Especially someone local, that runs the local .NET user groups that you participate in? Plus, I can't call myself a regular blogger. I've been short of posts the past few months. Mike has caught me at a vulnerable moment, he has challenged me a bit. Not only am I a bit rusty, I'm not sure this will be material most other developers would want to read. Just remember, this little post is Mike's fault, direct all criticism his way.

How old were you when you started programming?

I started programming the Summer after my Junior year in High School. I attended a Summer camp for Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC). Many of my nerd friends from High School also went, so we had a blast encountering dorm life, fun tech stuff, and freedom from parents and curfews for two weeks. I should mention that my nerd group was gender-balanced, I was shocked to find a much less balanced nerd social scene in college (at the University of Missouri-Rolla, now the Missouri University of Science and Technology).

By the way, my older sister went to the UMC. Her boyfriend was taking Summer courses. We went out one evening and got a pitcher of beer. I found that I liked beer and that he was a lightweight drinker. My parents never heard about that, of course.

Even at that young age, I was dedicated to a career in aerospace engineering. Programming is my second career. I made good use of the University's computer to obtain numerical solutions to aircraft propeller equations I'd derived. In my Senior year in High School, I became the first person in my High School to enter the Kansas City Science Fair with my work on propellers, probably becoming the only student at that High School to earn first place and go on to the International Science Fair.

That is how nerds became known as propeller heads.

What was your first language?

FORTRAN IV, Level G, on the venerable IBM 360.

What was the first real program you wrote?

What a loaded question. Like, what is a "real program?" I haven't seen a good definition of a "real program" or a "real programmer."

The first program would be that propeller analysis program. My first commercial program was a database program for the Amiga called "Record Master." The most impactful program I did was a proof-of-concept, almost a demonstration-level program. It laid out the basic concepts for an engineering data management library that could support flexible simulation and analysis. Some very talented engineers took that work and made it one of the key tools for engineering simulation for the F-16, F-22, F-35, and other aircraft programs.

The first Website I produced was for the Chatham County School Board in Georgia. There were less than a dozen Websites by school systems (not universities) at that time and this was one of those leading the way. I got to demonstrate the Website for one of the local TV stations and lecture on it at the Georgia IT in Education forum.

If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?

If you know what I went through before I started my programming career, you would have wondered what took me so long. The aerospace industry has been declining since the cancellation of the United States supersonic jetliner around 1974. The bizarre management of DOD projects over the years is just incredible. On the civilian side, funding is highly uncertain and everything is unstable. In some ways, programming is much less stressful and a more dependable career.

If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?

Learn how to organize, design, and document. Quit laughing, I am deadly serious. Nobody wants to do these things, few are capable. Be a rare gem. Everyone loves to code, some code well, few produce a good product.

What's the most fun you've ever had ... programming?

I have two major projects that I really need to do. They will be really fun.

Every programming challenge, whether it is a new start, a major debugging effort, or a serious upgrade to a badly broken legacy application, is fun. It is great to master a really tough objective. There have been times when it is great to go from start to finish on a Website in a day or two. But the great challenges have the great rewards.

Who am I calling out?

Nobody in particular. If you read this and like the idea of this theme, do a post and link back to me. If you can leave a comment, do that too.

Thanks for reading.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 7-13-2008

Zune Pass - A Million Songs You Won't Care to Hear

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:19:39 GMT

I was an early Zune enthusiast. Like most Microsoft customers, I thought it was a decent buy and bought the promise of the platform as well. The platform not only included a player with WiFi capability and a good video display, but the Zune Marketplace allowed flexible purchase of songs or albums, as well as a Zune Pass subscription service. I realized that Microsoft would soon add commonsense content such as podcasts and videos, and eventually wirelessly connect Zunes to computers for syncing instead of exclusively connecting to other Zunes to virally market music.

I got the Zune Pass so I could check out music in genres I wouldn't normally buy. It was great to see a lot of contemporary music available. For example, I got Daughtry's album through subscription.

Now the Zune has been released with upgraded hardware and flash players. There is some support for writing games for the platform. Things seem to be improving at Microsoft's usual glacial pace. If I had Microsoft's ear, there are certainly twenty or thirty missed major opportunities or blown features I'd have to ask them about. Like, why don't you offer physical media in your store? Why the puny content reviews? Why can't we have usable podcast support? How about easy ties to a major free video Internet service, maybe even one of the many Microsoft video properties?

The frustrating glacial improvements in Zune may soon be a few bright spots in the quagmire that Zune can become. The Zune Titanic may be headed for a glacier that will certainly ruin our day. There are things that have already ruined my expectations for the platform.

I had some free time the other day, and thought I would get some "interesting" music from the Zune Marketplace on my pass. With "over 3 million songs" in the catalog, these things might turn up. I actually found one of the albums: Kraftwerk's Autobahn. This obscure album somehow managed to get the only popular track blacklisted from the Zune Pass. I would have to pay more money to download the relatively popular track from the album while the rest of the album was available on the Pass. I checked early albums of the Doors, the Stones, other artists. Apparently, Microsoft has decided that if a track ever had more than a handful of listeners on the radio, or sold some albums, it would be much too valuable for those scruffy Zune Pass subscribers. Same thing for new releases from slightly-known artists.

At this point I am idly wondering if the Zune Pass still covers "over a million" tracks. Is it possible that Microsoft should update that effusive marketing hype? My survey of the Zune marketplace showed about 1% coverage of tracks (and I had to really look for those) which would translate to about 30,000 tracks. Somehow the real figures just wouldn't sound the same.

More to the point, I am actively wondering if it is time to cut my losses. Sure, I canceled my Zune Pass. But there is so much more than that. I'm not interested in throwing money at the Zune Marketplace for videos that I can't play on Media Center. I'm not interested in throwing money at the Zune Marketplace for overpriced music in MP3 format. Not to mention that it is difficult to browse the catalog, which doesn't even offer sound clips.

What happens when some wonk at Microsoft decides to monkey with the "user experience" again? Anything and everything on my little Zune can be changed, updated, deleted, or hidden. I'd like to be excited about using the device to enjoy music, videos, and podcasts. I'd like to think it will just get better over time as enthusiastic Zune people at Microsoft put their best into it. But the fact is that Zune Pass sucks and the stupid wireless sync doesn't even connect. With any luck, Microsoft will continue to license WMA to some hungry and capable music/video player manufacturers. Especially the next player I purchase.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 6-30-2008

Bill Gates and Me

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:42:56 GMT

I subscribe to a lot of blogs and read quite a few magazines. Every one has one or more stories on Bill Gates. It is quite possible that whoever runs the Great PC Conspiracy (you know who you are!) will block the blogs of anyone that doesn't give proper tribute to Bill Gates on the occasion of his semi-retirement from Microsoft. I feel obligated to throw in my two cents so that Google will register my compliance with the demands of the GPCC.

Bill and I go way back. Way back. In fact, we were born less than a month apart. Things kind of diverged from there. I got a Master's at college, he took a leave of absence. I resolved to retire at age 35 (when I was 25), he beat me to that. I've seen Bill talk at several Microsoft events. I can honestly say that he is a better speaker than I am, mainly due to the enormous projection screens, rock music introductions, and those little people with product demos that break up the monotony.

Can I get back to writing my regular blog stuff now?

-- Walter Lounsbery, 6-28-3008

Join Your Local EAA Chapter and Talk to Some People

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:16:58 GMT

Not long after I joined the local Experimental Aircraft Association chapter, Knoxville Chapter 17, the President asked me to fly our Challenger II to the chapter meeting and talk about Light Sport Aircraft and Challengers. I was scheduled for our meeting on June 7. Although I really wanted to give the presentation, I have to admit that it was the most gut-wrenching anxious speech I've ever done. It's tough to identify precisely why it bothered me so much, for weeks ahead of the meeting. Years ago, I ran a club that eventually grew to a membership of over 500. We met twice a month, most meetings had attendence of about 200 people. I conducted almost every meeting for four years. None of those meetings gave me a hard time like this one. Certainly I have a lot of respect for the fellow members of the EAA chapter. I would hate to bore them with my simple experiences. I worried that the weather would not cooperate, or the engine wouldn't start, and even what to talk about.

As it turned out, the weather and the airplane allowed me to fly the Challenger down to SkyRanch airport for the meeting. As I entered the pattern, I saw another aircraft ahead of me. It turned out to be an Evektor SportStar, and the pilot was an EAA enthusiast that was just passing through. Several chapter members convinced him to stay for the meeting. The great part about that, from a meeting standpoint, he also agreed to tell us about his SportStar Light Sport Aircraft (and Light Sport was the topic of the day) and to show the chapter his aircraft. So we got a bonus presentation and a good look at Sport Aircraft from the inexpensive, experimental type of aircraft (Challenger II) to the higher-priced production aircraft (the SportStar).

Although I didn't use PowerPoint in the presentation, I've made the speech outlines available on SkyDrive. I think the most interesting point I made about the Challenger is that it is basically a traditional J-3 Cub, only built ultralight style. It is a real airplane with unique characteristics, but performance like a classic aircraft. Check out the numbers in my slides! I didn't get much time to talk about LSA, so I didn't get to detail my main point for LSA (Light Sport Aviation). That point was: LSA is not Light Sport Aircraft or Sport Pilot Certification, it is a whole new ecosystem of aircraft regulation, piloting, maintenance, and aircraft manufacturing. Even the Experimental Light Sport Aircraft are not nearly the same as traditional amateur built aircraft that EAA members are used to.

The presentaion on the SportStar was very good, and really illuminated how it is a superior two-place aircraft that takes great advantage of the latest in engines, structural construction, and avionics. I wish I had been able to get the guided tour of the aircraft, but of course I was busy answering questions about my Challenger II.

Strangely, some of my apprehensions about the meeting happened after it was just about over. Somebody asked me to take the Challenger up for a flyby, so I got in and the engine wouldn't start. In fact, the battery was low so it only cranked for a total of perhaps two minutes before it wouldn't crank any more. I had to get a car ride home from Lisa. Then we went out to the Oliver Springs airport to pick up my truck. Then I got a battery charger and extension cord and took it to SkyRanch to charge the Challenger II battery. Then I went home. A few hours later, we hear the rumbling of thunder and a quick check of the radar reveals a huge hailstorm just West of SkyRanch. I jumped in the truck, went to SkyRanch, disconnected the charger, jumped in the plane, started the engine, and took off for Oliver Springs Airport. Oliver Springs Airport was outside the North edge of the storm, so I was able to skirt the rain and land without problem. Then Lisa came out to SkyRanch to give me a ride home.

The next day, Lisa and I went to Oliver Springs and flew the plane down to SkyRanch. I dropped her off and she drove my truck back home. I flew back to Oliver Springs and drove her SUV home, ending the mighty shuffle of cars and aircraft caused by a low aircraft battery. Thanks to this experience, I can now fly or drive to SkyRanch blindfolded, in clear weather or storms. Believe it or not, I was so relieved about delivering the presentation that the post-meeting catastrophe just didn't bother me at all.

Although the current economy has messed up the Light Sport Aircraft market along with many other things, it is definitely here to stay. I am looking forward to hearing more about building aircraft and dealing with Light Sport in future EAA meetings. If you are looking for a place to start participating in aviation, check out your local EAA chapter. That is a great place to start. Who knows, you might be persuaded to talk at your local Chapter meeting in the near future!

-- Walter Lounsbery, 6-13-2008

Zipping Past 17,000 Page Views

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:05:33 GMT

OK, this is really getting out of hand. Spaces tells me that I've blown past 17,000 page views.

Thanks for reading!

-- Walter Lounsbery, 6-13-2008

Hung by Microsoft Spaces

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:34:07 GMT

As I was preparing to write a couple of posts for my blog on Microsoft Spaces, I went to that blog site to see how things were going. Things are not going very well. For some reason, my blog page has the uncanny ability to stop Internet Explorer cold. Won't even scroll the page, and I can't shut down the browser without resorting to the Task Manager. The odd thing: I only get this behavior on my laptop, which runs Vista Home Premium. My workstation, running Vista Ultimate, does not have lockup with the browser when viewing my blog page on Spaces.

While checking my blog on my workstation, because that's the only place I could, I ran across a Microsoft Spaces bug. Somebody had left from comment spam on my blog, so I played around until I found out how to delete the crap. But then Spaces didn't actually do anything and thus the crap remains.

I think somewhere in the many revisions of Spaces, they forgot to make sure the ordinary things are still working.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 6-9-2008

I am the Repairman Koo Koo Kachoo

Mon, 19 May 2008 23:13:27 GMT

Sometimes good things are worth waiting for. Sometimes they are even worth a ton of patience and endless conversations with the great folks at the Nashville office of the FAA. But the FAA didn't start this story, the EAA did.

Many years ago, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and some other public (non-government) organizations joined with the FAA to work out a new category of aircraft regulations. The new regulations created a new pilot's license (Sport Pilot) with a training regimen and testing that is significantly different from the tradition Private Pilot license or the recent and unsuccessful Recreational Pilot License. The pilot with a Sport Pilot license (or operating as a Sport Pilot) is restricted to flying Light Sport Aircraft (plus some other types according to training and rating, such as gyrocopter, balloon, airship, and glider). But what is a Light Sport Aircraft? For a typical aircraft, it means an aircraft that can fly very slow, can't fly faster than about 150 miles per hour, can't be heavier than 1320 pounds, plus several other significant restrictions. But that's not all! The aircraft can be manufactured according to specifications different from the FAA set used for all American aircraft since the 1950s. The maintenance of the aircraft is done to special rules. Finally, the people authorized to inspect the continued airworthiness of Sport Aircraft can be certified differently from the traditional aircraft repairmen or "A&P Mechanic."

This is about my adventures to earn the coveted "Repairman Lightsport-Inspection" Certificate from the FAA. This is one of two special Repairman Certificates for Light Sport issued by the FAA, admittedly the less rigorous one. The other certificate "Repairman Lightsport - Maintenance" requires about 120 hours of instruction (less for non-airplane type maintenance) and allows you to maintain any Light Sport aircraft for hire, as well as sign off on annual inspections. The Inspection rating allows me to perform annual inspections on experimental Light Sport aircraft I own, and only required 16 hours of classroom training. Since this is only for my experimental aircraft, by definition I can do all the maintenance whether I have the Repairman certificate or not. It's basically all about doing my own annual inspection.

My new Inspection certificate is a huge twist on the existing ability of experimental aircraft builders to perform maintenance and inspection on experimental aircraft they build. First, I don't have to build the aircraft I'm inspecting! However, the certificate is only good the the aircraft I own, so if I buy a different Experimental Light Sport aircraft I must apply to the FAA for an amended certification. My aircraft serial number and N number is on the certificate.

Knowing that aircraft can be mechanically complex, you may ask "Why would you want to do your own inspections?" Well, inspections by mechanics cost a significant amount of money and time. You have to give your aircraft to the mechanic, sometimes for several weeks, and the final bill may be a minimum of $400 or more. I don't have to pay somebody and I get to take the aircraft out of service at the most convenient time for me. Taking the class for inspections makes me a better aircraft builder and maintainer as well. In a practical sense, since the plane is experimental, I may do an inspection directly after performing significant modifications or changes (for example, I will be re-covering the wing this year). This is one of the best times to check all the systems.

I picked up on the Repairman course in Ohio from the Challenger II group on Yahoo (FlyChallenger). I think I heard about it around January, 2008. The course would be held March 8, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio (Saturday and Sunday). The instructor would be G. Michael Huffman of Sport Aviation Specialties in Jacksonville, Florida. The course fee was about $350, with a discount for EAA members. My adventure started with the trip to Columbus on Friday. A massive snow and ice storm hit that day, dropping ice as far South as Louisville, Kentucky, and heavy snow and ice from Cincinnati to Columbus. My ten hour drive took me through a twelve mile stretch of glare ice highway that was littered with cars and eighteen-wheelers that had slid off the side of the road. I witnessed an aggresive SUV driver rotate his truck several times and fall off the left side of the highway into the ditch several hundred feet ahead. Once I pulled off the highway in Columbus, it was barely possible to push through the deep snow to my hotel. Few roads had been plowed and the snow was still dropping heavily. I had dinner in the restaurant next door just before they closed early (they were closed the next two days).

The next morning snow was still falling. I got up early, planning to take an hour to cover a normal ten-minute drive to the class. I ran late. With a few other out-of-state attendees, though, I think just about everyone made it. Here are some pictures of the classroom and my car in the hotel parking lot early Saturday morning.

After I thawed and the class got rolling, Michael led us through a tremendous amount of material. He is the most knowledgeable aviation instructor I have ever seen. Seriously. While covering the incredible scope of the course, we were treated to interesting stories about corrosion factors in real-life situations, aircraft structures and materials, joining techniques, covering techniques, aircraft hardware (bolts, rivets, etc.), aerodynamics, and so on. He brought a wide variety of subjects to life and related them well to the core concern: aircraft safety. By the end of the course I realized that this is the only course I would ever take that would be worth a drive through such grueling snow and ice. I think everyone else had the same attitude, you can see it in our class picture.

In addition to Michael's fine lecture, Power Point slides, and class handouts, we performed several lab exercises on Sunday afternoon. These supported many of the things we learned about hardware, safety wire, proper control system construction, ELT testing, fabric painting and testing, engine checks, and so on. This was followed by a test on the material presented over the weekend. A passing grade was required to get a certificate of completion for the course. This certificate, in addition to some other paperwork, was our ticket to getting the Repairman Certificate from the FAA. I must say that the sponsor of the class was a fine host under difficult circumstances. I jumped in my car after passing the test and made it home in only 5 hours thanks to the sunny weather and nicely plowed roads that day.

You might think that would be the end of my adventures on the "road" to my Repairman Certificate. Well, this Light Sport stuff is three years old, but still new to many of the FAA Flight Standards District Offices. Especially the one in Nashville. I was on the phone several times a week for many weeks to arrange an appointment to clear the final paperwork. I think I talked to at least five people there, some several times. I finally got my appointment May 7. Now if you need to work with the Nashville office, talk to David Alderman. He's been through the process at least once now.

Should you decide to get your Repairman Lightsport - Inspection certificate, please consider taking Michael Huffman's class. And try not to do it during the winter where the snow storms hit!

-- Walter Lounsbery, 5-19-2008

In Memoriam, Frank Allen Lounsbery, 1926 - April 21, 2007

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:19:57 GMT

2006 was a very tough year for my Dad. On October 9 his wife for over 50 years had a cardiac arrest at home and died. He called me the next day and Lisa and I drove to Springfield, Missouri to take care of Mom's funeral arrangements in Kansas City and help Dad.

Mom's passing was a deeply emotional and profound event for Dad, who had come to depend on Mom for so many things. Dad was disabled in a bad automobile accident in 1969 and could barely walk in 2006. So he couldn't handle many basic chores (such as taking laundry downstairs to wash) and taking care of their house and yard wasn't possible. Lisa and I worked hard to understand what Dad wanted and needed and make that happen while dealing with our own grief.

Since Dad had been very happy about moving back to Missouri after several years in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, moving out of the area again wasn't even a consideration. He had wanted to check out an assisted living facility just two short blocks from his home for quite some time, so we went there and he seemed enthusiastic about the place and the people. The staff were very friendly and helpful and it was the best facility I have seen, even since that day. We made arrangement for Dad there and then went to Kansas City for Mom's funeral.

The next weekend we were back in Springfield helping Dad move to his new home and helping him get to know the staff and neighbors. He seemed happy to meet people in the dining room and to have all the familiar things we brought from the house. We spent a lot of time with him, but we had to return to Dallas and work during the week.

Over the following weeks Lisa and I worked to exhaustion to take care of Dad's house and all the stuff that had accumulated there, as well as spend time with Dad during the weekends. It was clear that Dad was suffering intensely from his loss, although he didn't talk about it at all. It seemed typical of the man and his generation, who lived through the Great Depression, World War II, and other intense events. They might talk about many things, but their feelings or tragic experiences just aren't for conversation. Without similar experience to guide us or real opinions from Dad, Lisa and I had to guess about major decisions as we took care of him.

On a Thursday in early December I got a call from a service that we had hired to make sure he was looked after and took his medications during the week. Dad had developed a wound on his left leg between the ankle and the knee. His leg had gotten so painful that he refused to get out of bed for the three days before they called me. I learned later that he had gone to see a doctor about the wound that Monday. I went to Springfield that Thursday night. Dad was in very bad shape. I was able to get him to the Urgent Care facility at Cox Medical Center on Friday, where they examined him and declared that they could do nothing until his primary care physician was involved. His physician was out on Fridays, so the next week I got to take him to a check up with his physician, Dr. Fry, who did not seem to have a clue what to do. Then I did a lot of phone negotiations with medical personnel, who finally admitted Dad to the Cox Medical Center hospital on Tuesday. Those four days were hell for my Dad.

Once he was in the hospital, I thought Dad would get the care he needed. I was totally wrong. The doctors seemed to have him on maintenance. I heard from the staff that they had taken him to the hyperbaric facitility for treatment, but decided not to do hyperbaric wound treatment after he had been there for a few hours. The doctor in charge talked to me about doing circulation assessments on his leg that apparently never happened.

On Friday, December 22, I got a call from the hospital staff that my Dad would probably be released from the hospital that day. His physician, Dr. Steward, hadn't really discussed that with us. We decided to bring Dad to the Dallas area so that he could get better care and we could understand what was going on. The hospital did not provide an ambulance, so we had to drive Dad back to Dallas. And we had to wait all day for them to "clear the paperwork" before we could leave at 7:30 PM. We made it to Brookhaven in North Dallas to admit Dad there at 3 AM on Christmas Eve.

Dad didn't get any breaks in 2007. He was admitted to the hospital and special care facilities several times. In between he was at two different nursing care facilities (at Brookhaven, somebody stole his TV and "lost" other personal items). He was evaluated for a leg bypass graft to improve circulation for wound healing, but the surgeon was convinced just before scheduled surgery that the graft was a bad idea. Later Dad's left leg was amputated. After a short period of improvement, he was sent back to the special care facility where he died of pneumonia on April 21. In between December and April he got very little physical or mental therapy, but lots of antibiotics and other drugs.

I would rather write about my Dad's accomplishments and life than his horrific death. Perhaps finally describing this experience will help me move past it. Some months ago I resolved not to let this go more than a year after Dad's death, so here it is. I still think about it every day. While it isn't the positive sort of thing I'd like to write, maybe one of you will see your parents heading towards a similar unprepared situation with a bad healthcare system, and be able to take steps now to avoid this sort of mess.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 4-27-2008

Kelly Services, Really Not a Clue

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:32:54 GMT

A few years ago, I got a contract engagement through Kelly Services. I was firmly convinced that they didn't get many candidates because they weren't a "name" in the IT contracting field. Then they told me that they misquoted my rate because of some unanticipated issue (purely not their fault). Well, they stuck it to me starting the engagement and then ignored me when the client reached the end of the contract period. Very nonprofessional and I'm sure the clerk-typist placements get more attention and service.

So over three years later, I actually hear from them today. It's nice to know that they are willing to help me with my individual career:

"Kelly Services is seeking a temporary employee with Advanced Microsoft Project skills to work for 3 days on the east side of Fort Worth near I30 & 820. This position starts on Tuesday, April 29th and pays $15/hr.
If you are interested, and you have the advanced skills in Microsoft Project, please call the Kelly Services Ridglea Office at (blah) blah-blah. If you do not have these skills, but you know someone who does, please have them give us a call! "

I bet the referral fee is at least $5.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 4-25-2008

Blog Less, Get More Page Views - Another Milestone Passes in the Night

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 01:29:48 GMT

As my posts have slowed to a crawl, the page views keep piling up. Less than a month ago this blog had achieved 13,378 page views, now the total stands at 14,117. This figure would not be a blip on the scope for any popular blog. But consider that I've been posting since April of 2005. Perhaps the sudden surge of traffic is a sign that people finally want to hear about all those obscure blog topics I've been writing about?

While I should probably post even less often to drive my traffic up, up, up, I really do like to write and post. Ideally, I would post once or twice a day. This would, naturally, result in almost no page views at all. We'll see what happens.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 3-21-2008

Have a Great St. Pat's!

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:15:52 GMT

Someday I'll post a long drawn-out story about my experiences at that most Irish of University colleges, The Missouri University of Science and Technology (aka the University of Missouri - Rolla, aka the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy). Let's just say I am really part Irish and a product of six years of S&T tradition training, where St. Pat's is a year-round thing. For now, I'll try embedding a little animation for the holiday:

Don't send a lame St. Patrick's Day eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Another Day, Another Milestone

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:36:39 GMT

Somehow I missed the turn of the odometer on this blog. This blog is now over 13,378 views.

On a more serious note, I just noticed that Francesco Balena left a nice comment on one of my posts. Not to mention one of his competitors. Chances are I'll get to use his VB6 migration product one of these days. If I'm doing that sort of migration, I'll be thankful for the help.

I'm planning on blogging more frequently soon. I'm in that "quiet period" just before starting a major client engagement. I'm not really concerned about offending anyone, it's just that I'll devote a lot of energy to their needs and my technical focus is not certain yet. Whatever it is, it should be interesting for me and I'll try to keep things interesting for you.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-27-2008

Sure You Can Write Code, Can You Sell It?

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:46:33 GMT

Programmers are often products of the American Dream. They have the ambition to do things better, to better their lives. Many are self-educated and started in some other profession. They go after the grand opportunities of the software industry and internet startups, following the amazing stories of Microsoft, Google, and others. Once they know software, the next step may be to code up their great idea for an application and create a solo startup, called a micro ISV (Independent Software Vendor). Suddenly, they aren't concerned with creating great software as much as marketing and selling it.

By any definition, this is a kind of culture shock.

A budding micro ISV has total control over building their product and answers to no one. Marketing means explaining the "obvious" to people you don't know, who can check out your competitors instantly, who may not trust you even though you are as solid as a rock. Unless you got your degree in Marketing or Business and then decided to become a programmer, this is like falling into the void of unknowns.

How do you bridge this chasm?

My strong recommendation is to get your copy of Bob Walsh's "MicroISV Sites That Sell! - Creating and Marketing your Unique Selling Proposition", read all 89 pages, do the suggested exercises and checklists, and then you will know what to do. You will know it is the right thing because the book has several case studies of very successful micro ISVs. You might want to spend some time on the accounting part of your business after you spruce up your website.

Bob's book is actually an ebook in PDF format. It costs $19 and you get it nearly instantly. Even if you know a bit about marketing, it is great to have this material written specifically for programmers and set out in a structured format. So you are saving time and money before you start selling, and if you can sell more following Bob's advice, well, that's the whole idea.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-21-2008

Vista Update Induces Computer Parkinson's Disease

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 13:38:23 GMT

After the latest round of Vista updates completed installing on my workstation this morning, I noticed a nice bonus. The mouse pointer now erratically displays that little busy symbol (the blue donut) near the pointer, several times a second. It sits there, blinking erratically, even if no applications are doing anything. I've shut down everything I can and that sucker still blinks away. It is irritating as hell, and it makes me suspicious of erratic activity at a much deeper level.

Frankly, Microsoft, I hate writing posts like this. Can you try to, you know, improve my experience with your products for a change?

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-14-2007

I Gave Up on Microsoft Vista Media Center Today

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:03:42 GMT

A couple of days ago, I threw in the towel on BitDefender Antivirus. I suffered long enough. I stuck with it until is almost made my workstation unusable. Today, I have taken the first step to eliminate Vista Media Center from our living room. I doubt if I'll be purchasing an Apple TV soon, so at least I am not contemplating developing for the Dark Side or even coding for Penguins.

But once upon a time, Windows XP Media Center seemed like a neat development platform. So I installed that and used it. Discovering that XP Media center was composed of a massive cluster kludge, I patiently waited for the wonders of Vista Media Center. A year later, and with the addition of some new "features", Vista Media Center is just a larger kludge. The bugs are amazing, the user experience uneven, the crashes and lack of simple commonsense features just boggle the mind. I really don't know how my "TV" is going to work from week to week, as those wonderful automatic updates roll out and sometimes reboot my TV. I would rather saw off a limb with a dull blade than write code for this platform.

I'd like to emphasize the term "TV" because that is what the Media Center replaces. It is just that simple. The channels come into the room on a cable, the video is on a DVD, I want to watch those things because that's what TVs do. The music and pictures are totally secondary if my TV doesn't do cable or videos. Furthermore, that TV ought to be future proof. I expect my TV to last 20 years.

So already, Media Center fails badly. Despite promises from Microsoft two years ago, the cable industry is not going to allow me to see HDTV on my Media Center. I have to buy a new Media Center, because that's the only way to get licensed and approved CableCard tuners. And that machine is about twice the price it ought to be. Comcast, my cable provider, has to tightly control the installation of the CableCard into my Media Center. They have to send out a technician, which destroys several days and makes your employers mad (We barely let you away from the desk for the friggin' flu, you want to take off a second day because the Comcast tech mixed up his schedule? How about permanent time off?). I have an HDTV slaved to stupid low resolution analog signals. With this amazing cooperation on the Media Center platform, who is believing IPTV delivery is going to happen in their lifetime?

It gets even worser. Lisa and I love to watch movies, which are on wonderful things called DVDs. Apparently, the movie studios, Microsoft, and the graphics card manufacturers are in a complex elephant dance. If you read all the trade magazines, you may have a hint of the details as they unfold. The bottom line is that current DVDs do not play on my Media Center. DVDs issued before, say, October last year are just fine. DVDs from major studios after that won't even play the hour of previews before the actual film. I've played the video driver and encoder upgrade game over the years, but now I've lost the race with the elephants. They've disabled my DVD player in Media Center.

Today I hooked up an old, cheap DVD player to our HDTV in the living room. Amazingly, it plays the new DVDs.

We will be outfitting our Game Room in the basement soon, here are some choices:

Get a reconditioned XBOX360. We can play games, DVDs, and use it for a Media Center Extender (basic cable analog TV). That might choke the network if any other video needs to be carried.
DirecTV has great deals with more channels, HDTV, and multiple DVRs. We dump the overpriced Comcast service. We could eliminate any need for Media Center or Media Center Extenders. Any computer in any room can play music, show pictures, and share files across our home network already. I get another server for development work. The XBOX 360 Media Center Extender in the bedroom goes to the basement as a game machine.
Get another cheap DVD player and hook up to analog cable in the basement. Do without DVR functionality.
Build another Media Center computer, get another cheap DVD player, and hook up to analog cable in the basement.

Gosh, it doesn't look like I have much choice, really.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-13-2008

Powerless in Knoxville

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:50:33 GMT

Lisa and I worked very hard to buy our home in the Knoxville area. After we decided to move to the area last year, we built a list of things we wanted and reworked it continuously. Our list was ambitious and flexible. We were also doing a lot of property searches on the Internet before we went to Knoxville to get a good look at them, so we knew we could not get everything we wanted at the price range we could deal with. We still went to lots of homes before finding the best fit.

Every home we looked at was unique. We found surprises that we didn't like. One house had a detached two-story garage that looked great from the street, but inside of the second story of the garage was razed by a fire that may have done structural damage. One home had a great basement, which turned out to be extended by a garage addition and a hideous renovated floor layout in the upper story (5 bedrooms, one slightly bigger than a closet. The narrowest master bedroom I've ever seen outside of a trailer home).

In the case of our home, we are still getting surprised as we do renovation. Back when we first drove up to the property, we found that it was within a few miles of the Bull Run Steam Plant. This is a modern, clean, coal-burning power plant on the Clinch River. While this would put off a lot of people, it seemed that the nearby plant would allow us to escape the usual electric power problems of semi-rural living. Let the wind blow and the ice storms pass, we would be safe or at least first in line if the power lines needed repair.

Last night, we found that we were vulnerable to power outages. About 5 PM the lights dimmed and the computer backup power supply alarms were going off. At 5:20 the power totally went out. Fortunately power was restored by 6 PM. The winds managed to blow some trees onto power lines, there were reports that one got tangled in a 150-foot tall power line tower.

If you think about it, we never depended on total reliability from the power company. That's why there are backup power supplies for the computers. As they say, be prepared. Lisa did not appreciate my joke about buying a backup generator last night, though.

As I think about last night's event it's hard to stop thinking about fixing the situation. The vital systems of the house are the heating and refrigerator. We've got blankets, does anyone make a UPS for refrigerators?

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-13-2008

Jungle Love at the Knoxville Zoo

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:34:55 GMT

I treated Lisa to a fascinating and entertaining evening at the Knoxville Zoo's Jungle Love event Saturday night (Feb. 9). This adults-only event started off with a tour of the penguin habitat. A tent was set up nearby for beverages. As small groups went to the back of the penguin exhibit, the rest were treated to informal talks about the penguins and close up visits from a falcon and a desert fox.

The main event was held in a zoo conference room, with plenty of food and well decorated table settings. Some low resolution cell phone photos from the event can be seen in my Spaces photo album. After we had a chance to partake of the buffet, Kevin talked about various aspects of attraction and mating in the animal kingdom. He did a great job and it was a lot of fun. During the presentation, various animals were carried around the tables so we could get a close look at them. The tarantula, boa, huge rainforest frog, and mole rats got the attention of some people, who took refuge by pretending to go back for seconds at the buffet.

Lisa and I are Knoxville Zoo enthusiasts now. I bought her a Growl-in-tine, which is a donation in the adopt-an-animal tradition. She got a stuffed toy version of the animal, a picture of the animal, some Zoo materials, and a certificate of appreciation. Since Lisa and I are tall, we sponsored a giraffe.

We are looking forward to the Zoo's Feast With the Beast event, which will be in late Summer. The Zoo has a number of other events that we will likely attend. Although the Knoxville Zoo is smaller than some, the people there are enthusiastic and there is a nice variety of animals.

If you are looking for something special for your sweety next year, check out the Knoxville Zoo's Jungle Love!

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-11-2008

Microsoft Office Live and Corporate "Strategy"

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:16:52 GMT

I've been dealt some harsh lessons over the years. The sort of things that people euphemistically call "life lessons." I guess that's because, if you got the lesson you must still be alive. In the sense that a career or income greatly influences quality of life, there are also lots of life lessons in economic disasters, career choices, and the actions of corporate overlords.

The computer or software industry can be particularly harsh in dealing out life lessons. There was a great focus on the changes and fallout from the Great Internet Bubble around the year 2000. Anyone working in the industry knows that this industry churns like no other. Companies come and go, product lines are subject to fickle marketing ideas, software may stop operating or interoperating with some quiet patch release. One day you may enjoy many of the free services of the Internet, the next your email history, pictures, and all public Internet information could be wiped off the network. One day your retirement investment in Pets.com looks very rewarding, the next you are making sock puppets for a living.

So when Microsoft radically changes their mature (opened October 2006) Microsoft Office Live products ("Microsoft axes paid versions of Office Live Small Business", Mary Jo Foley), I wonder if it is a signal. Particularly because I use this service, I've studied developing solutions with it, and the changes have not been communicated to current Office Live Small Business customers like me. In fact, a couple of weeks ago I got email from Microsoft describing some system upgrades, but nothing about this radical change after that.

To the extent that I'll have to carefully study the changes to the service and determine how that affects the developer/solution provider options, this is a lot more than a signal. It is literally game changing. It is also a clear signal that nearly all Office Live services are subject to radical change. Until Microsoft declares otherwise, it may be impossible to base even the most casual development on their services.

I think that this is also a quiet signal about Microsoft corporate strategy. Taken with the very controversial Yahoo acquisition and product choices in the last year, there is a definite feel that Microsoft has begun doing things without concern for the consequences, that it has a strategy that is not driven by real goals or principles. There is no mission statement, just a set of whims. Has Microsoft divorced itself from reality? We can debate the meaning of these signals and actions. Microsoft can spin their actions as they wish. It is likely that there will be drastic changes to the company and its products by the end of this year. I don't think we will know much about it until it happens.

-- Walter Lounsbery, 2-11-2008

Photo Album: ELSA Inspector Course

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:11:11 GMT

ELSA Inspector Course

EAA Chapter 9 B17 Banner

EAA Chapter 9 Ford Banner

Classroom

Class Goes Out

Lab Mini Max

Our Host

Sat Morning Hotel Parking Lot

Teacher and Class Photographer

Photo Album: Knoxville Zoo Jungle Love

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:17:40 GMT

Knoxville Zoo Jungle Love

Falcon

Lisa and falcon

Desert Fox

Event buffet

Presentation area

Growl-a-tine sales

Lizard

Boa

Toucan

Frog

More Photos...

Photo Album: Game Room

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:44:33 GMT

Game Room

Air Hockey Table

Photo Album: Challenger

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:16:17 GMT

Challenger

Challenger Side Aft View

Challenger Side Front View

The Notch at Oliver Springs Airport (TN08)

Lisa Self Portrait in Aft Seat

Oliver Springs Airport (TN08)

TN08 Left Crosswind Runway 15

TN08 Turning Left Downwind Runway 15

TN08 Takeoff Climb Runway 15

View Over Pilots Shoulder

Walt Says Let's Fly!

More Photos...

Photo Album: Cruise 2007

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:11:30 GMT

Cruise 2007

Artistic Melon

Bar Trick

Chocoholics Welcome

Chocolate Buffet Ice Sculpture

Chocolate Buffet - Low Sugar

Dance Class

Dancing Couple - Key West

Dangerous Banister Slide

Happy Ship

Kathy and Lisa

More Photos...

Photo Album: DevLink 2007

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:03:43 GMT

DevLink 2007

Alan Stevens Prepares

Brad Abrams Keynote

David Silverlight Projector Challenge

Ezell Center

Huckaby Data Vis

Industrial Hotel

Knoxville Folks at DevLink

Laptop Screen by Document Scanner

McNeish Software Factories

Photo Album: Jabiru USA Factory Tour

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:01:13 GMT

Jabiru USA Factory Tour

Arion Hanger

Arion Lightning 1

Arion Lightning 2

J170 Buildup

J170 Engine Installation 1

J170

J250 Engine Installation

J250 Right Side

J250

Jabiru USA Factory Floor 1

More Photos...

Photo Album: Westwind Airport Flyin, Oct 6, 2007

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 18:22:48 GMT

Westwind Airport Flyin, Oct 6, 2007

A Flyby

Another Challenger I

CH601

CH701

Challenger I Aircraft

Challenger I Provides Shade

Challenger II by Monkees Fan

Challenger II circa 1996

Challenger II for Sale

Classic LSA

More Photos...

Photo Album: Lisa's First Flight in a Light Aircraft

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:51:06 GMT

Lisa's First Flight in a Light Aircraft

Getting Airborne at SkyRanch

Lisa First Takeoff Pic 2

Lisa in Left Seat

Start of Takeoff

Up and Away

Photo Album: June and July 07

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 22:33:21 GMT

June and July 07

Fourth of July Flags at Home

Lisa and Emily at The Biltmore

Lisa the Farmer

Walt and Emily at The Biltmore