So, most of it is still the original box – unpacking has slowly started:
– Mikrotik SB1200 router/switch as main network backbone.
– Microsoft Kinect
– Games (Dungeons siege 3, Operation FlashPoint, the new kinect fighting game)
– Logitech Harmony One (one remote to rule them all)
– Air Link (Ubiquity) + 3 nodes scalable wifi solution.
– new computer (8GB Ram, core i7 @ 3.2ghz)
– 2 new 2.5 TB low power SATA-2 HD.

And with that, I’ll need to re-install:
– Hydra (8gb rams, 1TB local HD) as download/cpu off-loading computer.
– MacMini (old ppc version) as pseudo media broadcast system.

[I]n the commercial world, honesty in business is a service, not merely and not mainly to the others who are parties to the single transaction in which at any one time this faithfulness is shown. The single act of business fidelity is an act of confidence of man in man upon which the whole fabric of business rests.

—Josiah Royce, The Philosophy of Loyalty

There are some products to which I’ve been loyal over the last few years – I want to take a couple minutes here to speak about them.

It might be strange, but for a ‘high-tech’ geek like me, switching brand is easy. I have the financial capacity to ‘take the hit & drop a given maker’ – easily – and the technical ability to do so. I’ve switched DSLR from Sony (Alpha 100 + 50mm f/1.7 & others) to a Nikon (D300s + 18-55 f/2.8), I’ve switched laptop & cellphone more time I care to remember. I have, on my desk, Apple/RIM/Motorola/Sony/DELL/HP devices ; all less than 2 years old. As I said, switching is easy – but sometimes, products stays the best – after a couple of time, I stop evaluating them, and buy – again and again. Every times, they end-up being value for my money. I can be a loyal customer.

Mouse

You might have hundred of makers there, with a market dominated by Logitech and Microsoft. I’m buying Razer devices. They are advertised with the ‘Gaming’ tag – this is only a tricks to explain the higher price compared to a 10$ DELL wired USB mouse. Short of a trackball, those are the best, fastest and most carefully design devices available. As a note: I’ve had a DiamondBack for years, now using the DeathAdder.

Cloth

Again, weird for a tech guy to start speaking about what he wear. Well, lets make it clear: if possible, Arc’teryx is all I would wear. Those designers took their art to the next level. All their technical line of clothing deliver – It deliver so much that I’m seriously thinking about getting more of their ‘Veillance’ line. The price tag is there – but so is the quality.

And for this morning, this is all ;-).

– Won’t be going at DEFCON this year. Friend wedding planned on the same date.
– Won’t be going to Linux Symposium this year. Got MY wedding planned very near the date.
– I’ve received a letter from local court… unpaid parking ticket (which they never left, and they issued 25 days after they took my plate number)
– (…) and the day is still very young.

Considering I’ve had to prepare the slide in OmniGraffle (no Microsoft product on my laptops in Montreal, Open Office Presenter isn’t really production ready and I’m not into KeyNote), 12 hours before my talk (yeah, heard about something called ‘Real-Life Work’?), and that I didn’t even know who would be present (some big name in the rooms) – I think I’ve managed quite well. I mean, I didn’t died.

Then, my life got strange. Again.

I’m back in Montreal for consulting contracts. The opportunity was just too great – My company is growing at an alarming (lets say interesting?) rate. But that isn’t really surprising, I’m putting lots of time in my projects ; they very rarely fail.

So I’m back in my old place, which I’ve never really left. My plant are still here. They, however, didn’t survived. But still, as loyal subjects, they didn’t even try to run away. My old habit were also waiting for me.

Working freak hours, jumping from coffee shack to tea lounge, then to unnamed lounge..

I’m now full of crispy stories.
– I’ve learn the code to the back room of a Second Cup.
– I’ve saw a guy pitch to a VC (same second cup). Laugh at the ridiculous attempt, he asked me to do better, I’ve pitched LabsPhoenix. He asked me if I wanted to meet one of his partner… guess I wasn’t that bad, but then, I have a running business & the other guy was trying to sell a Ponzi scheme.
– Saw the lowest of human nature (guy buying an hooker service – didn’t know people actually bought those services) and the prettiest (guy was asking a girl if she loved him).
– Domino’s Pizza seem to be aware of my return – they sent me a letter saying that they missed me and gave me a good rebate. When I’ve left, they must have had to fired an employee… lost of income from this strange benefactor that was buying 2-3 pizza a week. Something like that – I’ve always felt a responsibility over the well faring of that business ;-)
– Now that guy that asked the girl if she liked him is crying behind me, while I’m writing this. Come-on, how do you want me to finish a post if you keep changing your story. YOU OWE ME!

And I’ve got a big back log of pictures I was planning to publish. So you can expect them in the next couple of days. At least one a day – for at least one day.

And now that I have a car (due thanks to the ‘big’ sister, which GAVE me the car!), I’m seeing a new world of opportunities : I can get to work faster, work longer and get back home after the close of public transit. You see, sister, you are my enabler ;-).

I’m having fun writing this. Been a long time, I’ve had fun writing on this blog. It did also died waiting for me to come back. Went from those 3k/months viewer to about 200. Nice drop, but then, Ive got around 100 souls linked to my RSS-feed. In the next weeks, I’ll be spamming you guys ;-)

Anyway, in the top of the list, I’ll be going to a ‘wine & cheese‘, to Montreal to meet my family, to the church to meet the priest. But, as always, I also need to work. So Sphinx, Chef & Puppet, MySQL Multi-master replication, MySQL snapshot + recovery….

… not counting the fact that a new website is underway for my enterprise (Les Laboratoires Phoenix), that I’m dealing with a designer for new logo and business cards, that my accounting is being entirely re-done to ‘account’ for my migration to a corporation, that I need to finish 3 projects drafts by Monday morning (for the R&D papers), and that I need to complete my invoicing for November.

.Don’t know how others does it, but I guess they just do. Like I’ll be doing this week-end.

Which bring me to the point of speaking about new options in the kernel. I had 2.6.24-1 (yeah, I know, old kernel) and I jumped to 2.6.30.5… and there is one nice feature that I really want to try!:
* Group CPU Scheduler (grouping tasks by user_id)

My Gatineau home office, part of Les Laboratoires Phoenix setup ; Notes available on Flickr page

Working @HOME, Playing @OUTSIDE

Quite a self-evidence, but one of the advantage of working from home is that you are.. at home. Add to that the fact that I lead a small business (called Les Laboratoires Phoenix), you get the perfect profile of someone [me!] that doesn’t leave his home often. When I do, it’s to go work in Montreal or Ottawa. However, since I have the perfect fiancee, she take care of me by planning some activities outside.

Circle du soleil ; OVO

Not much to say here – Circle du Soleil sell amazement and they do quite a good job at it ! Those show are very hard to describe because you must feel them, not read about them. Everybody should go see one. In the mean time, here is a link to the trailer.

BBQ ; Beers and Enigma…

With a steak the size of 2 hands… a lobster as big as the steak, a band, open bar and friend… you have the perfect recipe for a perfect evening. And.. I’ve had the opportunity (during the same evening) to play with an original Enigma [!!!] [german encryption device]. How geek can you get ? ;-)

Coming UP:

We bought tickets to ‘Les Parlementeries’ next November. Should be another good evening!