Hi. Bye. part II

On this time last year, this is what I wrote:

When you're dreaming with a broken heart, the waking up is the hardest part.

You roll out of bed and down on your knees
and for a moment you can hardly breathe.

Wondering was she really here.
Is she standing in my room.

No she's not cuz she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone.

John Mayer, Dreaming with a Broken Heart.

Well, I was prepared for it to happen this time around, which I guess is the silver lining. The last time she disappeared on me, I was crushed. More than I ever knew I could be. This time, I'm saddened that she's not in my life again, but am happy that life is still going on as usual.

I'm gonna miss her just as much this time around, especially after having one amazing night with her, but it isn't going to do what it did to me last time. Too bad this night was all just a matter of perspective. Her and I never could get on the same page, which is a damn shame because the times we were, we were one hell of a couple. Those times were few and far between though and we couldn't communicate worth shit, so I can only hope she finds someone that she can get on the same page with.

As for me, I'll be looking for a woman that can bring out that same emotion I had while with her. But this time have it reciprocated. It was nice to know I could still feel that deeply for someone. For a while I thought I had gone completely cold. Thankfully, I have not. There is someone out there for me and while I patiently wait for her to come (back?) into my life, I'm gonna keep doing what I do.

Never thought my story would come true, but it kind of did. She left as quickly as she came, just like I thought she would. But this time, it took just a bit longer for me to get over her than the guy in my story did and I'm not terribly sure how unfair she thought it was for her to just leave. All I know is that it's time to move forward and believe that if she wanted to be with me, she would have stayed or she'd make it known. C'est la vie.

FairUseCommander

So I have these encoded windows media files that I legally acquired (no, it's not porn) that I could only watch on my windows virtual machine. I wanted to be able to watch the videos at anytime from my mac so I went about trying to figure out how to remove the DRM when I came across FairUseCommander. It makes it pretty simple to remove drm from a batch of files. I've found it very helpful, but I'm running on a brand new xp install in a virtual machine with windows media viewer 9.00.00.4508. I know I read that there are some caveats with the different methods of drm removal so I kept my system pretty fresh. Out of all the different drm removal suggestions, FairUseCommander is the easiest to use.

IBM Rad + Websphere deployment issue

I recently ran into an issue when I would deploy an ear to a WebsShere App Server (WAS) and would receive this error :


AppDeploymentException: [null] java.lang.ClassCastException: org.eclipse.jst.j2ee.commonarchivecore.internal.impl.ArchiveImpl


I generated the EAR using Rational Application Developer (RAD) by simply selecting File > Export and selecting EAR under Java EE.

When I deployed the ear to my local test WAS, it deployed fine, but I received the error when it was deployed to a non test server. It turned out that the ear did not have the deployment descriptor in it and while it was fine for the test server, it is required for the actual server.

To resolve the problem you select the context menu of the ear by right clicking the project and selecting Java EE > Generate WebSphere Bindings Deployment Descriptor. It creates the application XML in the project and everything should deploy correctly.

Installing eclipse plugins into RAD

With eclipse 3.4 and above it's simple. You have to find the shared eclipse install, usually in an IBM folder under SDP, and unzip the downloaded plugin into the "dropin" folder. Seems simple enough, but I keep on forgetting. Given that I am sucking at blogging as of late, I figure I could use this as a place to keep notes.

I just installed the eclemma plugin into RAD 7.5 and, for once, it was simple to do. Yay!

Updated 3:34pm

...or not. Tried installing the PMD plugin. It didn't work from the drop in folder. I had to copy the files directly into the SDP directory. Oh well. If anyone is wondering why I'm doing this manually, for some reason, I get a 403 forbidden response when I run it from the machine inside the government network, so it isn't able to download the plugins when I try to do it from the software updater. When I'm on a personal network, it works fine. Might be a proxy setup thing, but I don't feel like figuring it out.

Dancing to the beat

Being able to really "hear" the music is very important in any dance, but it can be especially difficult when dancing to salsa music. This is because the music has layer upon layer of instruments that can sometimes make it hard to hear the percussion in order to derive the "one" beat. A friend on Facebook recently posted the Salsa Beat Machine which I have been using to strip the rhythm down to only the clave and congas. It really helps to discern between the 3/2 and 2/3 clave when trying to find the one. In any case, if you love latin dancing like I do it should help out your dancing so check it out!

Quotes

Beyond Just Dance

Grand opening is this weekend!!! Check out the calendar on their site. I put it up using Google Apps and Google sites. It was just setting up a template, but it was so easy I didn't have to write a lick of code. Good times. Anyway, check it out! BeyondJustDance.com

Dilbert

I changed Mordac to NMCI. If you know what NMCI is, you know what I mean. If not, enjoy my mad photoshop skillz.

Things I barely remember on my 31st birthday part

1. Wondering if anyone was actually going to show and being happy that even if no one did that Megan was there and that's all that mattered.
   
2. Dancing a cha cha with Alina.
   
3. Kerri doing a chin up in my bathroom pull up bar.
   
4. Raul and Teri tearing up a bachata
   
5. Watching others dance some bachata and salsa in my small living room.
   
6. Starting up the hookah, but can't really remember smoking it.
   
7. Kevin's feet. It was all I saw as I was hurling into the toilet
   
8. Doing shots of Patron with every new comer
   
9. My niece coming over early on in the night, and being glad she wasn't there at the end of the night.
   
10. Eating only 6 wings for dinner.
    
11. Cracking open my Aquilon and wishing I wasn't so drunk and that I would have let it decant longer.
    
12. Wishing I hadn't been doing shots of Patron and had been able to enjoy my wine more.
    

Coming up next entry: Things I don't remember, but was told happened.

DJay and djay remote for mac

I love my mac and my iphone. I also love dancing and music. Enter djay software. I'm not a professional disc jockey, far from it. I just wanted an easy to use application that can offer me some fun mixing of music. The other thing it offered was that it allows for tempo control, which is really useful when learning steps for a particular song. You can just slow it down when you first are learning, then gradually take it up to speed. I don't use that feature, but my girlfriend does for her studio, Beyond Just Dance Studios, when she is choreographing. The only downside is that it requires OS 3.1 or better on the iphone, which I don't have because I love tethering too much. But that just means I have to get an ipad! I knew I'd find a use for one eventually!

Dreaming about the stars

I was reading some old posts when I was doing my natal astrology research last year and though that they were an interesting read. It was also fun to read about how I told myself I was going to only date the signs I was "compatible" with and now I'm with an amazing gemini. Anyway, I looked up my old natal astrology chart as well as uploaded my analysis of each of the sections. I'm a fire sign stuck in an earth sign's body.

Rising Sign is in 00 Degrees Sagittarius
You are known for being open, frank, outgoing and honest. At times, though, you are also blunt and quite indiscreet. Others have to learn not to take everything you say personally, because you usually do not mean any harm. You appreciate living your life in a straightforward and simple manner -- you dislike social niceties and consider them to be hindrances to real communication. You have lots and lots of energy and tend to become quite restless if you feel confined. You demand the freedom to do as you choose -- you must be self- directed or you feel trapped and anxious. With your abundant energy, you enjoy being outdoors, and you should be attracted to physical exercise or to those forms of sport which can help you burn off some of that excess energy. Very gregarious, you love to socialize -- your innate enthusiasm livens up any gathering.

Sun is in 19 Degrees Taurus.
You are known for being patient, slow moving and careful -- you love to prolong and savor enjoyable times. You appreciate and need comfort, ease and warm surroundings. Be careful of a tendency to become placid and self-satisfied and to overeat (especially sweets). You require strenuous situations in order to grow and mature properly, even though you try to avoid them. Affectionate, even-tempered and slow to anger -- when you do become emotionally upset, you are also slow to forgive and time must pass before your calm returns. You demand real results from any situation -- abstractions are very difficult for you to comprehend. Very artistic, your hands love to mold and shape things. You portray an earthy, physical sexiness that others find quite seductive.

Moon is in 29 Degrees Libra.
Affectionate, warm and friendly, life must be a "beautiful" experience for you. Unpleasantness should be avoided at all costs. You tend to overlook other people's faults and you would rather give in than fight. You are uncomfortable with strangers, but at ease and sociable with friends and associates. Indeed, you would rather socialize than work -- you can use your prodigious charm to avoid unpleasant tasks. You need the support and assistance of another in order to get you started on any new project -- you are not a self-starter. Be careful of a tendency to be overly self-indulgent (i.e., lazy). Your refined aesthetic sensibilities attract you to music, dance, art and any other cultured activity.

Mercury is in 29 Degrees Aries.
Very quick-witted, you are known for being an independent thinker. You love to debate and argue, and are excellent at repartee and battles of wits. At times, however, you act too fast on hastily formed opinions and thus waste a lot of energy defending your rash and sometimes incorrect conclusions. It is perfectly acceptable for you to defend your beliefs with your usual vigor, but try not to take the opinions of others as personal insults.

Venus is in 20 Degrees Aries.
You are a very affectionate person but you hate to be tied down. You are more than willing to be the aggressor in initiating new relationships. Indeed, once you have set your sights on someone, you tend to pursue him or her ardently and passionately. But you do demand your own way in a relationship. Try to give in to your partner's needs and desires once in a while.

Mars is in 25 Degrees Aries.
You are very independent and self-assertive, and you have lots of physical energy. You are not satisfied unless you can be the first to do something. As such, you are more comfortable in leadership positions than you are as an underling. When you are challenged by anyone for anything, you delight in the competitive process and will fight long and hard for your beliefs. You are bold and courageous and often act without thinking. At times, in your zeal to get ahead, you are tactless and offensive -- learn that cooperation with others can often bring you nearer to your goals quicker because of the support you will get.

5/9/2009

I wrote this 1 hour before I officially turned 30:

My last minutes in my twenties

My twenties were okay. I fucked up all my relationships every which way, especially my last one, but everything else turned out okay considering the end of my twenties could have been a lot worse. Namely, the end. I have everything I need to move forward into my thirties with confidence. Everything except for a woman to love me. Maybe it's because I'm about to be 30 in a matter of minutes so I'm bitter, lonely, and cynical, but I miss my ex. We fucked that one up good. That her and I didn't work out is my only regret going into my thirties. I hope that I get over that before my forties. Anyway, good bye twenties and happy birthday to me.

Focus!

I just now put in a sell order for some options instead of a buy order because I was rushing to put the order in. I like to think I pay attention to the little things, but this is the 2nd screw up in the last 2 weeks.

I wonder if it's because I'll be turning 31 in less than a week. My mind has been every where as of late. I have been extremely critical of my dancing, to the point where I don't want to dance at times. I feel down a lot, unhappy with many things in my life and I am unsure what to do about it.

The answer itself is pretty easy. Just do it. Make sure I pay attention to every order I make in stocks, spend more time dancing in the studio, spend more time just taking in all the info to make the best decision. I rushed into a decision in cards last week when all I was focusing on was hitting my card, when in fact, one of my outs was not an out after all. I usually am on top of all that, but not lately. I don't know what I can do to focus better. ADD? Don't think so. I've focused plenty before, just not as of the last month or so. I'm a little pissed and need to get my shit together soon. Hopefully drinking some good wine and spending time with good friends this weekend will calm my mind and let me think more clear. Hopefully.

Minority owned business

Was asked a random question today from the company that I am subcontracting from. I was asked if I was a certified minority owned business and at first I thought, sure, why not? I am a minority after all. But the key was if I was certified. So I did some googling and found out that I wasn't. I'm going to check out if I could become one. It wouldn't hurt to have the certification, especially if it doesn't cost much. Gonna visit the local SBA joint and let everyone know how it turns out.

Uninstalling Paragon ExtFS software

I tried installing Paragon software to try and write to a linux partition and after 10 days the trial expired. I went to uninstall the software, but every time I restarted my machine, I still got the trial expired message. So I did some googling and there is a script to uninstall it completely found in the knowledge base, but it was way too much of a hassle. Anyway, you gotta be able to sudo to run the commands, but here they are:

rm -rf /etc/mach_init_per_user.d/trial_expired_NTFS.plist

rm -rf /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.paragon.NTFS.trial.plist

rm -rf /Applications/Paragon\ NTFS\ for\ Mac\ OS\ X

rm -rf "/Library/Application Support/NTFS for Mac OS X"

rm -rf "/Library/Application Support/Paragon"

rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/Paragon\ NTFS\ for\ Mac\ OS\ X

rm -rf /Library/PreferencePanes/NTFSforMacOSX.prefPane

rm -rf /System/Library/Filesystems/ufsd_NTFS.fs

3/3/2009

I wrote this March 3rd, 2009. Funny how time changes things as I am now in a wonderful relationship with a Gemini. Believe me, she's definitely a Gemini, but it seems that they're not all created equally. Enjoy!

Astrology and love

I try not to believe in crazy things like astrology when it comes to things like deciding on a partner, but I lately started doing some readings on sign pairings and am now convinced that has been my problem all along. Over the last 9 years, I have dated a taurus, gemini, and 2 aries. Of the 4, I thought about marrying one aries and would have absolutely married the other maybe because I am a sucker for both beautiful and intelligent aries women. But according to the stars, I am awful with both the gemini and aries. The taurus is very iffy, despite the fact the relationship with the taurus was the absolute worst of the 4.

So I am going to try something new and only go out with Cancers, Pisces, Virgos and Capricorns. When I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Of my best friends, 2 are Capricorns and one is a Cancer. I have known the three of them a combined 40+ years and we still talk often, even if it is not as often as I would like.

It is a bit funny that I am actually considering this, but if I want things to be different (read: I actually want a relationship to last), gotta change things up a bit. Sure, some people may find this stupid, or that I am possibly shorting myself, but hey, nothing else has worked. I know two women whom I find very attractive, physically, intellectually, etc, and both happen to be cancers. There are problems with actually dating either of them for some rather interesting reasons. (Other than they might not be interested, but that's just silly!) But that would fit right in with my style, because I am blessed with the worst timing when it comes to women. Oh well, you never know. Would the opportunity arrive, I'm in no rush this time. Rushing has been a big mistake for every one of my last 4 relationships and I don't plan on making the same mistake for the 5th time. I'm getting old, you know.

So pacing and signs. The complete opposite approach that I've ever tried when meeting women. Something has to change, right?

Wine, wine, and more wine

It has pretty much grown into an addiction. I don't think I've cracked open a bottle in over a week, yet I just bought 10 more bottles today and have 10 more sitting at my parent's waiting for pick up. Today was an order consisting of the2004 Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Arrowood Chardonnay Réserve Spéciale, 2006 Failla (Failla Jordan) Syrah Phoenix Ranch and 2006 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja Aquilon. Did I HAVE to buy those wines, of course not! I already have 58 bottles in my wine fridge and am drinking far slower than I am buying, but here was my thought process. The Elderton is one of my tried and true wines that I consistently enjoy, especially the 2004 vintage. I just remember liking it better than the '05 which is what I find at the store. It was also several bucks cheaper than what I can get it for at the store. The Chardonnay and Syrah were named in Wine Enthusiast's must have wines for 2008 and the Aquilon was, well, Aquilon for 30 bucks cheaper than you can get most anywhere. I should really slow down on spending or maybe just buy a bottle a month of something from the Wine Enthusiasts top wines list, but I just love knowing that I can have a great bottle whenever I want.

Some people buy and store wine for an investment but, for me, that is what the stock market is for. I store my wine and buy several bottles of my favorite wines because I want to enjoy them over the years. I look forward to trying a bottle of a wine I'm collecting once or twice a year and seeing how the wine has matured. I'm a hedonist at heart and I just want to be happy. Wine makes me happy and you just can't put a price tag on happiness.

So when you buy as much wine as I do, you want to be able to store it properly. You don't know how long it will take you to go through all those bottles but as you do, you want them to be in the most drinkable shape possible. You may think that you could just pick up a bottle from your neighborhood wine store, but wines for a particular vintage are a finite commodity. If you find a bottle of wine that you just love, it is probably a good idea to pick up several and store them unless you want to pay even more for it in the future if the supply goes down and the demand is still there. For my really wonderful wines, like the Aquilon and the 2004 Elderton Cab, I like to have some in reserve just in case.

I rarely buy bottles at the store anymore. Retail is just too expensive and the best deals are found online. For example, I just had to pick up 4 bottles of the Single Vineyard Elderton Cab on CinderellaWine.com because it was selling for almost 20% less than anywhere else online. WineLibrary.com and WineAccess.com are also great sites to find great deals. Just like you'll never know when a good stock has dropped to a good value, you'll never know when these sites will run specials on your favorite wine so when it does I make sure to take advantage of it!

That's enough about my wine habits for now. Until the next time, happy drinking!

To upload old posts?

I'm considering uploading my old posts, what I have left of them at least, in order to remind myself that I'm in such a better place now than I was then. Or should I just delete it all and leave it all in the past? I used to be a pack rat (still am, but much less so), but now I'm also a digital pack rat. Storage is cheap, and a lot more organized than the junk I like to keep around the house. Point of this post? Convince myself to do what I was probably going to do all along. Upload my old posts. This also goes for my poker blog .

I'm BAAAACK!

It's been way too long and I've been meaning to get my stuff all up and running and in the cloud for some time now so today I finally decided to do it. My hard drive crashed when I was hosting my own wordpress blog and I figured that with all the stuff Google gives you, why do I need to worry about that crap. So here I am, back blogging for your entertainment and my own ego. Cheers!