Jay McGavren's Journal

Every blog on Earth is probably saying this right now, but I want one of the new $500 mini Macs SO bad. Fortunately, I’ve just come into some money, so I think I can actually do it.

Diana went shopping for a cocktail dress last night for the upcoming employee party, and she’s considering some really fancy ones. She’s had me thinking about renting a tux, but a co-worker advised against it. Evidently the women always dress up for these things, and the men always wear whatever’s in the closet (a sport coat, in my case). We’re going to look pretty mismatched, though…

Anyway, she seems really excited about the whole thing. She’s lost a lot of weight, so this is her chance to go show off, and I’m not about to hold her back.

A year already?

Diana and I finally got out to the Roaring Fork restaurant last night, to celebrate our one-year anniversary. (We’d originally intended to go for our 6-month anniversary, but never got around to it.)

I would up dropping a total of $125 just for the two of us, but man, you get what you pay for. The service was fantastic - in addition to being able to recommend wines, our waitress knew the meanings of the bizarre code words the cooks were shouting in the kitchen when we asked. (“Fire 51” means to throw order 51 on the grill.) And the food - I had the bass, Diana the venison. Both were cooked to just the right texture, and had such marvellous flavor on their own that they didn’t need any garnishes (though the apples that came with Diana’s and the gravy that came with mine complemented them perfectly).

We can’t afford to do this all the time, but man, I’d like to do it again.

Here’s another interesting unintended use for Google… Evidently many Webcams have a feature that lets you view the feed from anywhere on the Web. Unfortunately, said feeds are completely un-password-protected by default, letting anyone who knows the URL spy on you. No problem; just don’t give out the URL, right?

Wrong. Each camera has a standard script responsible for rendering the feed. If you Google for the name of that script, you get a huge list of unsecured cameras. Just click the link, and see who’s on the other end.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=inurl%3A%22MultiCameraFrame%3FMode%3D%22 http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=mozclient&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=inurl%3A%22ViewerFrame%3FMode%3D%22 http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=inurl%3A%22view%2Findex.shtml%22&btnG=Search http://www.google.com/search?q=inurl%3A%22axis-cgi%2Fmjpg%22&btnG=Google

Right now there’s not much to see in North America (too dark/businesses are closed) so I’m watching someone’s goldfish in China, and a coin laundry in Japan.

2004 year in review...

January: I was fed up with the meat market atmosphere of clubs and dating services, and wondering who I was going to spend the rest of my life with. I read an online review of eHarmony.com, and was intrigued.

A couple weeks (and a couple disappointing matches) later, I had my first date with Diana. I was struck by how much we were on the same wavelength. We met again the next night, I spilled a beer on her, and she didn’t care at all. It was about then I began to suspect she might be the one. (Getting her hooked on Tetris Attack sealed the deal.)

February-April: Diana’s son Lenny was a year and a half old, cute as heck, and already sporting an impressive vocabulary. I was a tad freaked out about changing my first diaper, but it quickly became routine. I think Diana decided I was father material when he puked on me and I didn’t freak out. We would play little games together, drumming on the table, or babbling back and forth. The only part I really disliked was getting up at 6:30 AM, weekday or weekend, to watch him. Good thing he napped a lot.

Diana and I made several trips out into the desert to photograph mountains and cacti and flowers. I still consider my shot of the Superstition Mountains to be my all-time best. We also went out to karaoke night with Diana’s friend Holly (and others, but she was and is the mainstay) quite a bit. Some of our tabs got to be rather hefty, but I could afford it more readily back then.

I was still with the Business Support department at work (working for a micromanaging boss I despised), but was collaborating with the Commercial Development department on a project, and earning rave reviews for my programming and documentation skills.

May: My apartment lease was up. Moving in with Diana after five months was a little too short a time for me, but waiting another year was definitely too long, so off I went. There was a period of adjustment (learning to share a bed all week round, dealing with a one-hour-each-way commute), but I’m glad to say it wasn’t a mistake.

At work, Commercial Development began filing the paperwork to create a position for me within their department. The departure of several fed-up developers helped free up space in the budget for me.

June: Diana, Lenny and I drove to Texas to visit with Gram for what would turn out to be the last time. Dad, Betsy, Glen, and April drove down from Omaha to meet us. Gram and Murlin (who had recently gotten married) were gracious hosts as always. We ate very well, and had fun swimming in her pool under the Japanese maples. Everyone adored Lenny.

It was a fun trip, but Diana and I caught colds on the drive down, and still had them on the drive back. Not fun when you have to be behind the wheel of a car. It put a damper on an otherwise enjoyable time. We won’t be taking a road trip of that magnitude again soon.

In other news,Diana had wanted a dog ever since her last one (Chewie) had died, but my allergies posed a serious obstacle. The solution - a poodle, which she had learned didn’t shed and didn’t trigger allergies.

I was horrified at the thought of being seen walking a neatly-sheared lap dog down the street, but relieved when she told me she wanted a STANDARD poodle (which are nearly three feet tall when fully grown). Now THAT was a poodle no man would be ashamed to own. Of course, I was horrified all over again when she told me the breeder she’d found wanted $1000.

But I’d always wanted to own a big dog, and could tell that saying no would break Diana’s heart. So, we made the three-hour drive to a military base in Yuma where the breeder lived, and I handed over a $1000 check. (Diana also spent nearly $300 on bedding, toys, and trimming gear, and we still pay $50 for a monthly professional grooming. He’s the gift that keeps on taking.)

We named him Max, since Diana had called him that name in a dream a month before we got him. (Yes, she wanted a dog that bad.) He was a handful; it took a couple weeks to get him fully housebroken, and he still jumps and gnaws on hands to this day. But he also combined an aristocratic air (he sits taller than I do on the couch) with lamblike energy and playfulness. I’d say he’s worth it.

At work, I completed my move upstairs. I cannot describe my relief at having a full-fledged development position, and at not having to live in fear of my old boss any more.

July: Diana’s dieting efforts were proving unsuccessful, and she was having chronic neck and back pain from the weight. With clinicals coming up at her nursing school, where she’d have to be on her feet twelve hours a day, this was going to be a real problem. So I reluctantly agreed with her decision to have gastric bypass surgery.

I was seriously afraid she might die during this (evidently the odds are about 1 in 200), so I was immensely relieved when I got the call to say everything had gone well.

She was still gone for several days, though, and largely out of commission when she got back, so caring for Lenny, the house, and the dog fell to me. I was stressed, celibate, and worried about money, and I snapped at Diana several times when she really needed support. It was probably the roughest patch our relationship has seen. Fortunately, we made it through, and are probably stronger for it.

August: We flew to Omaha for Glen and April’s wedding. I was a little irked at having to pay full adult price for a seat for Lenny (since he had just turned two and was no longer eligible to ride on our laps).

I was in the groom’s party, along with John and a few of Glen’s friends. Glen’s childhood friend Ryan Pretz was best man. John’s fiance’s car broke down the morning of the wedding, and he had to drive four hours round trip to pick her up. He barely made it back in time for the wedding. April still hasn’t fully forgiven him.

The trip was way too short; we had to fly back the next day. Diana and I never even got a chance to visit my friends. At least they got to meet John and Lacey.

October: I accidentally nuked my Windows installation while trying to install Linux, leaving the latter as my sole OS. I’m pleased with its customizability, severely annoyed by its lack of polish. When I finally have time, I’m going to reinstall Windows on dual boot. I do think I’ll stick with the penguin as my main OS though.

November: I learned my Gram had multiple brain tumors. She opted not to go for chemotherapy (by then it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway). Dad and Betsy went down to see her, but her strength was too limited to see the rest of the family. She died a couple weeks later.

At least I got to see her earlier in the year, and she got to meet Diana and Lenny. It would have been a lot harder otherwise.

December: Flew to Omaha, and rode with Dad and Betsy down to Topeka for Gram’s memorial service. Her ashes were being committed to the family mausoleum there. I don’t really believe she could hear me, but I said goodbye to her anyway, just in case. My Gram was always cool and in charge, and yet very loving. She’s one of my idols.

It was hard combining grieving with celebrating, but we went back to Omaha and had our Christmas festivities as well. We more than made up for the short August trip, getting to really hang out with my parents, my brothers, and my friends. I love Lenny, but I’m very glad he wasn’t with us, as we finally got to be grownups and stay out late. His grandmother was probably less glad, though, as he was staying with her, and he formed a double ear infection while we were gone.

Like the rest of my company, I’m using up all my remaining vacation, as we lose it at the end of the year. Diana’s off school, too. It’s given us plenty of time to play with the TiVo I got her, and the Game Boy Advance she got me (I already have a NES emulator working on it). I’m not getting any programming done, to my chagrin, but after a busy year like this I could really use the break.