Month: February 2004

I like eXtreme Programming, honest!

My new job involves developing a desktop application for tax related purposes, mainly targeted at multi-national companies. The development team is pretty small right now (6 people plus the CTO). The CTO tries to implement XP (extreme programming for those who mistaken it as Windows XP, the OS) for this project and thus we are encouraged to pair program. (If you have read my previous post about XP, you will see how much I like the whole XP concept!)

However, there is (always) a silver lining to this. To facilitate pair programming, each of us are issued two monitors connect to the PC with dual output video card! So for the very first time in my professional life (or any other life) I have multiple screens/desktops setup! Imagine the amount of desktop real estate I will have (1280×1200 X 2 = 2560×1200)! I can have VS.NET opens in one screen while FireFox and/or Outlook open on the other. And I can move MSDN help off VS.NET into external help and have it displays on the other screen at the same time as my code. Too many possibilities to think of!

0

My love of glass

This weekend I spent my time assembling new furniture. Leah and I bought a new bookshelf and desk from Crate & Barrel last week using gift certificate I got using my AMEX points (courtesy from my business travels last year).

As I love glass top desk, of course I chose it when I saw that Crate & Barrel has one. And since I have to transfer everything off my existing desk to the new one, I also did a tidy up. Now the printer, which used to occupy the right side of the desk, is under the desk on top of a storage box. This free up the right side so my PC laptop can be placed there. So now I can finally have both computers on the desk and work on them at the same time! Very cool!

Picture of new desk with both laptops

1

From P900 to Z600

With my new job vastly different from my last (programming vs. coordinating), my need for the PDA function of a smartphone has dramatically decreased. Now I am more interested in getting an improved cell phone than an all in one smartphone.

I would love to go back to Nokia as I had great experiences with their phones but none of the phones in their current lineup (that works in the U.S., i.e. tri-band) take my fancy. So I turn to Sony-Ericsson again and the Z600 seems to fit my requirements. I especially like the built-in antenna which is one of my primary reason for not liking flip phones.

Despite receiving great reviews (MobileBurn and Mobile-review.com), none of the U.S. carriers have plans to supply it officially on their network. And with my T68i locking up randomly throughout the day, I am forced (!) to purchase an unlocked Z600 when my first paycheck arrives later on this month.

0

Spectacles Saga

After waitng for two months for my Oakley eye glasses, they’ve finally arrived in the optician and should be ready by the end of next week. Can’t wait to have new glasses to wear after over 6 years!

0

Finding Sushi

Leah and I had just have the worst dinning experience at Sushi House @ Hoboken. First we were ignored for 20 minutes before our orders were taken. Then over 30 minutes elapsed before our food arrived and both of our orders were wrong. I accepted mine but Leah’s was completely out of wack! She replaced her order of Torikatsudon (Chicken Katsu Don) with a Veggie Combo Sushi, hoping that it would be quick to make. That took another 45 minutes before her sushi arrived and by then we had to have it to-go. By that time we had been in the restaurant for over an hour and a half! We could have watched a movie! Meanwhile, our waters were never re-filled, waiters were ignoring us, and the chief apologized to the tables on both of our sides but not us (by the way, they had much more elaborate orders and arrived on time).

And I broke tradition and paid no tips whatsoever! And after seeing what Leah’s sushi was like after we got home, I think we should have a refund.

Sushi House @ Hoboken had lost a pair of regular customers since we have sushi at least once a week. Instead, we are sticking to our favorite, Westside Sushi, on West 50th St./9 Ave in Manhattan.

1

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Up ↑