The I.T. Life

Currently, I carry a pretty heavy SAR Bag. I’m not going to bother listing all my stuff, but what I am going to say is this year, I am going to start spending less money on new gear, and more money on smarter gear. I want to buy some new clothes, lighter weight clothes, this will cut down drastically on weight. I want to find a lighter weight pot, to replace my stainless steel 3 piece set. I want to start focusing on weight, and functionality.

I wanted to do a quick update on my wishlist. A lot of it came true one way or another, and the parts that didn’t are being taken care of.

• Under Armour: I got a great Under Armour Cold Gear hoodie, and a generic pair of thermal underwear.
• Thumb drive… No, and not gonna order one either. No real need, but I still drool over the Iron Keys.
• New Monitor… No, but I did order a Dell Inspiron XPS 9000 last week, (and a Mini 10, but thats not for me) and it comes with a free 23″ LCD. So, I gave myself this. But this was a good review gift, not, Christmas. Also, waiting on financing to be approved.
• Blue-Ray Player…. Yes Indirectly, Beth and I received a lot of Christmas money, so we bought a PS3. Hooray!
• Water Filtration, Stove, Watch.. No, No, No. However, MEC carries the watch I love now… so… well see what happens. If the computer falls through, I will probably go buy this.
• Headlamp… No, but MEC still carries the one I want, and I found a cheaper one that has great reviews, so, I may buy this next pay.
• Truck… No, and I’m actually starting to think a SUV is more practical, especially if we stay a single vehicle family. So I’m looking at the Nissan Path Finders, or possibly a Armada.

Hey All,

Welcome to the future! The world of tomorrow! 2010! Seriously though, Happy (belated) New Year! I was sick with a stomach flu for New Years, so, I couldn’t do anything at all for a while there. Than I was back at work, busy as ever. I had a good Christmas, for gifts, I got me a Under Armour hoodie, some other new clothes, and lots of cool little stuff. On Boxing day I went to Futureshop and bought a PS3, some games, and some blu-rays.
As far as 2010 goes, goals, plans, whatever, I’m pushing myself even harder. I NEED to loose weight, not because most people say they do, but I have medical reasons that, I actually need to. I’m not going into that now. On the plus side, I’ve been working hard at getting more active, eating healthier, nothing extreme, but seeing what walking and less fast food does for me. I’ve gone down a pant size, I’m a 36 instead of a 38. Thats great, its been years.
I’m going to work on my leadership, and my ability to speak with confidence, so I’ve joined up with ToastMasters. I start on Tuesday. I’ve contact St. Johns Ambulance and am going to get involved as a VMFR (volunteer medical first responder) this month, and push myself to be more active in HRSAR (Halifax Regional, Search and Rescue). I’ve been very busy working on there E2C site, getting it ready for launch and online registration. Its up, and there very happy now. In the spring, I plan on re-completing my Map and Compass training, and passing my Woodslore. This will be a big thing for me, both physically, and mentally.
I booked a date in July to take my PHP5 certification by Zend. This will be big for me as well, Its a hard exam and I’ve been putting it off for a year now. When I get this done, I want to look into another Adobe certification, probably Flash CS3, or a Sun exam, one of the entry Java exams. To do all this, I need to get organized, so I plan on devoting a hour, every morning to studying. I will ignore emails, and anything else, I need to do this. As my manager explained it, if I want to lead people and projects, I have to be able to lead myself, I need to be organized, and get everything I want done. If I can’t meet my own goals, my team won’t meet theres.

Anyways, thats enough rambling for now. My Sunday is half over, and I should get back to playing the PS3. Studying, and work start back again early tomorrow.

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Jeff’s posterous

It’s that time again folks, time for everyone to sit down and think what do I want, what do I need, what do I deserve. I’ve taken a more athletic and outdoor role in my life recently so I’m not going to fill this with tech, though you will notice a geek theme throughout. Here goes!

• Under Armour base layers. Specifically, Cold Gear Base 3.0 Leggings and Crew. These will keep me warm and dry, keeping sweat away from my body and heat nice and close. These will be great for those 6am dog walks in Feburary, for hiding in a Goose Blind in PEI while the snow falls, or for that late night search.
• A new thumb drive. Yes, another thumb drive. Though, to be fair, this will be the last thumb drive. A Iron Key drive is rock solid, and possibly the most secure on the planet. Built with military grade hardware security and encryption, this is a serious thumb drive.
• A new monitor. Specifically, a HP, 24″ LCD. My current lcd, a square, 19″ is getting quite old. Its roughly 5 years to be more accurate. A 24″ wide would be a perfect companion. I would love to list a nice Dell monitor, one that I can rotate to portrait, but they are just too much coin to drool at right now. And I’m saving the really big thing for last.
• A Blue-ray player. Yes, a Samsung Blue-ray player would be the great addition to my incredible surround sound system, and my beutiful 40″ 1080p LCD. And this one comes with a copy of Dark Night!
• Portable water filtration. Water is a must, if your hiking, searching, camping, or just sitting at a desk. Safe, clean water is eve more of a must. The last thing you need when your 5 hours in the woods is to be hit with a stomach bug cause of bad water. The MSR MiniWorks EX is a pump action water filter that output up to 1L per minute. And trust me, speed is important. If you find a lost subject, he will need water, and clean water, fast clean water, is a very good thing.
• I currently carry a MSR canister stove when I go on a hike or search. The stove itself fits into the palm of my hand, and the fuel canisters are not much bigger than a coffee mug. It lasts for hours, and boils over 1L of water in roughly 3min or less. Only problem is the fuel is a bit harder to find, and when it gets cold, the fuel canisters won’t work. When it gets cold, you need something like the Optimus Nova+ Multifuel Stove. This specific model burns white gas, and can last a few hours, and can boil 1L of water in under 4 min. This burns white gas, kerosene, diesel, and jet fuel! Water is a must, and having a alternative way to clean i is very important. Aside from that, being able to cook up a hot drink is a great way to raise the energy level of anyone.
• Suunto Core Extreme. This is one of the geekiest things I am wishing for. A digital watch with compass, barometer, altimeter, and thermometer. A great tool for keeping track of location, and weather when I’m out in the woods.
• A headlamp. A headlamp is a essential item, keeps your hands free and gives a constant beam of light exactly where you are looking. For early morning dog walks, or late night searches, this would be a great tool. Petzl just happens to make a very nice and affordable unit as well. Not as fancy as I would of hoped, but for the price its a good unit.
• Lastly, the big thing. You many remember years back me drooling over the 2002 Jeep Liberty. I’ve been driving this for a year now, and I love it. No real problems other than expect wear and tear on a vehicle of its age, and its been beaten around off road a few times. Well, lately, Ive been drooling over something a bit bigger. A big newer. A bit more…. Dodge. The 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Crew Cab, with a Cummins Diesel, and a off road package is my next ride. I’m looking at a off road beast that is comfortable on the road, a dream on the highway, and at 350hp and 650lb foot of torque, can tow your sorry ass off the trail or out of a snow bank without a cough.

That’s about it guys, so what are you asking Santa for?

ComicCon question for those that have been there, when should I book my hotel and where should I stay?

can’t believe comiccon is almost sold out of passes, so happy I ordered mine the first day haha!

RT @TUAW: Do you fear when you fly? There’s an app to help that. http://bit.ly/4DS8wd [post] lol

anyone ever use forklift for osx? best finder replacment very, ftp/sftp, great server and folder sync http://tinyurl.com/kqyaw9 #forklift