Exchanging Exchange

Since last summer when the iPhone began supporting Microsoft Exchange I have had my phone connected to my work server. Until lately the only bad thing I felt this did was enforce an irritating security policy on the phone, requiring a six-digit passcode on unlock.

Lately the entire "connection" thing has begun to chafe. Being involved in multiple projects, interacting with, ahem, "interesting" personalities on a frequent basis has increased my email traffic pretty significantly. This has led to my phone dinging with email pretty much around the clock: in the car to work, at work, at the gym, eating lunch, on the car ride home, in the evening--and it is virtually impossible to ignore.

So the irritation grows, with the little nuggets festering in the back of my head all of the time. And it isn't worth it. So this weekend I plan to firmly disconnect from the Exchange server.

Technical note of interest: this activity requires me to format my iPhone. The security policies persist on the phone even if the server account is deleted. Irritating, but likely a cleansing thing to do anyways.

Editor note: the part in red is wrong. Deleting the work Exchange server then allowed the passcode to be turned off, effectively deleting the security policy.

Sunglass progression

I have at last one really frivolous expensive fancy: Oakley sunglasses. Allow me to show the pairs I've loved...

1. Frogskins: bought 1994, about a week after I got contacts. Was really happy to get these as I had not adjusted to the contacts yet. Also thrilled as they were Oakleys and that meant cool. Bought at Mid Rivers Mall. Mine were a darker, smokey frame that was still semi-transparent. Lenses were grey/black.

2. Oakley Sub-Zeros: bought around 1997. LOVED these for years; still do and think about getting a pair off of ebay. Deliciously odd looking, great for biking. Very expensive for me at the time (ironically, still are on ebay!). Also bought at Mid Rivers Mall. The "planet X" print on the frame would wear off over time. Wore them until they fell apart (adhesive failure at lens connection) but repaired them and kept going. Eventually so scratched they were unusable.

3. Eye Jackets: bought around 2000 or so. First pair my (to-be) wife had input on. Great glasses, eventually went to sister and then eventually died.

4. Why 8.1: Attempt at looking sophisticated. Bought around 2003 or so. Still have them, still wear them. Obviously not good for sports.
5. Lance Armstrong signature edition M-Frames. Bought around 2004 or 2005. Used exclusively for road biking and softball (when I played). Replaceable lenses, so I have a clear lens for cloudy days.
6. X Metal XX: 10 year anniversary gift from my wife. Debated between these and the Juliets, but the Juliets are a little smaller and didn't cover my eyes as well (nor worked on my big head). Most expensive pair of sunglasses I will ever own (neglecting inflation). Made from a titanium alloy and allows replaceable lenses. Very agressive style as I went past the sophistication stage into the midlife crisis stage.
And that's the progression.

Nice and stimulating

Way to go Mr. President. Thanks so much for the help you are giving the economy. What's that? You want to do health care next? Sure, go right ahead with that.

f(x) = ?

Per my post yesterday on the DVR capacity: I have discovered an oddity. It goes like this:
- only "Project Runway" on DVR (1 hr): 9% full
- "Project Runway" and two "Fox News with Brit Hume" (each 1 hr): 12% full

So we can clearly see that the DVR storage is strongly nonlinear. If the first hour is 9% and the next two are only 3% combined, well, the next hundred hours should only be some percentage where x < 1%. Thus, I should be able to get, generally estimated, about 1 million hours on this thing.

This is a prime example of how mathematicians would think and why pure math is boring, misleading, and boring. Engineers rule, others drool.

Churning along

When you have a baby on the way there is always this little countdown clock in the back of your mind. It is gently telling you that you don't get to put off things anymore. If you want to get them done, now is the time. This is mainly driving me to complete a number of the house tasks that I had been putting off, like getting someone to fix our siding or some painting.

People have attempted to tell me that life is not ending, but I think they are lying. That's also my feeling on the "kids are the greatest thing ever" line I keep getting told. There are two possibilities:
1. Kids really are the greatest thing ever.
2. The parents are lying and trying to trap you in the same place they are. That way they (1) commiserate and (2) ensure more taxpayers to fund their retirement.

Although I'm pretty sure kids are great and all I've heard plenty of curses both from my parents and others to believe there is enough of the latter item as well. Misery loves company, right?

I am also not sure how to take the "we hope your child is just like you" comment. Is this a curse in disguise? Should I be talking to these people anymore?

Other items:
- although the new 3G iPhone is faster and less slippery to drop, it still is buggy. I don't know why the address book is so ridiculously s-l-o-w. I've heard of people using the Google app to search their contact list but this feels like using the computer to turn off the light right next to you. It's unnecessary and unwanted. Version 2.1 had best be the greatest thing ever.

- Switching from DirecTV to cable: going ok now that we have a DVR that actually records. I'm a little curious as to how much content the thing will store though. We have one "Project Runway" on there and it says 9% full. This is not HD content, implying about 10-12 hours of video. That seems wrong. I'll have to watch that or figure out how to hack the unit.

- The user interface on the DVR is the pits. This appears to be another Motorola invention from the same torture group that designed the RAZR menu system and style. I am really missing my TiVo and I am considering putting a Series 3 HD TiVo on my "big ticket" wishlist.

- Caller ID is the bomb. If you are "out of area" you are getting ignored.

Feeling like fall

As it is 57 F and quite windy I'm not on the bike quite yet. This leaves me time to do this blog. I'm surprised the login still works.

As my sister and to-be brother in law have done name posts, here's my little diddy. Not so much on my name but the implied meaning of how it is signed in emails and other documentation.

• First name only, abbreviated to "Chris": friendly, I likely know you. Family gets this. Ironically, I am told my mother did not want people to call me this; my aunt assured her that this was going to be the way it was. And it was.
  
• Full first name: reserved for letters to people I don't know, generally for billing or account purposes.
• Full first name + last name: again, billing purposes, similar to full first name. Correspondence with companies is often done like this.
  
• Full first name + middle initial + last name: This is my academic way to put my name to differentiate it from the others with the same first + last name. All of my published papers should be this way. I'll use this on some company presentations as my boss sometimes does not want the extra initials (below).
  
• Full first + full middle + last name: Only place this is used is Social Security, wedding certificate, important financial records, and on the spine of my thesis.
• Fill first + middle initial + last name + Ph.D.: OK, this is the "listen to me you idiot" way. Used extensively in conversations with suppliers and people inside the company who I need to impress things upon. I generally get a good response time with this one. Prospective application will be for people in the school system who think they are (insert adjective here) than me and can tell me what to do with my kid.
• Dr. + First name + middle initial + last name: I feel really wierd about this one. Generally the "Dr." makes people assume you can deliver their baby. M.D.'s don't like non-M.D.'s using "Dr." Oh well. I do sometimes as it is fun to get called "doctor."
  

So there's my name post. I really hope it is not as pompous as it sounded.

The only one (small) gripe I have about my name is that "Christopher" generally gets cut to "Christophe" or (Heaven forgive me) "Christ" in web forms. I always flinch at those.

Video game philosophy

My general feeling on video games is: if there is no gun, I don't go. However, after buying a Wii (thanks, Craigslist), I am changing my position. This thing changes the way games will be thought of. My wife would never consider playing Halo 3. She likely wonders why I sit and fume about getting run over by a virtual Jeep with a machine gun attached to it.

But she LOVES bowling on the Wii. 

And after playing it some, I now see how this works. It is the ultimate party game. You get everyone involved, bouncing around and laughing. It is a natural ice breaker with no "what card can I play now?" questions. It is just pure fun.

So my XBox 360 lives in peace with the Wii, and I am now happy throwing a virtual ball rather than bullets every time.