Much to Celebrate

Even with the economy going down, I am thankful and have much to celebrate.  Here's a few...

• Today is the one-year anniversary of my first solo flight.  There's nothing quite like taking to the skies alone for the first time and realizing that you have to land the plane and there isn't anyone there to save you if you screw up.
• Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of deploying the e-mail spooler I wrote in C#.  The system it replaced was doing a good job, but wasn't able to scale enough to meet the needs at the time.  The new spooler has been churning out messages for two years now, and I made some minor improvements last night that should keep it churning for some time to come.  We may move that whole e-mail piece to a 3rd party provider, so it may not need to be updated again.
• I have two days of work left this year.  After that, we're off for Christmas, then I'm taking Friday off, as well as the following week, for a much needed vacation.  I still have a lot of things to do before I go, but I am excited that I will be able to take some time off.
• And best of all, there are no classes this week for college.  My girlfriend and I don't get to spend a lot of time together during the week, but we're both off school this week so we get to relax together and actually be together during the week for once.  Yea!

I'm sure you have something to celebrate as well.  Tell me all about it in the comments.

0 comments - Posted by Justin Scott at 7:19 PM - Categories: Misc.

Technology Wizard

I am a Technology Wizard.

No, really, I mean it, a real life Wizard with special powers and everything.  Arthur C. Clarke said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."  And he was right.  What I, and many other Technology Wizards, do on a day-to-day basis equates to magic in the eyes of the unenlightened.  Like other Wizards, I use a wand and utter special phrases to alter the universe to my will.  My wand is made of plastic and slides across my desk.  My special phrases are lines of code spoken to software, and if I don't get them just right everything will blow up in my face.

We are Wizards in the sense that we aspire to achieve more and be better than we ever thought possible.  We take risks.  We dare to dream big.  We look into the unknown and say, "That's where I want to go exploring."  Mere mortals see what we do and look upon our deeds with wonder and awe.  "How did they do that?" they will say.  Yes, there is a method to our ways.  Aspiring Wizards must learn their spells through training and experience.  Most of all though, they must have desire to be better than they currently are.  This applies to all kinds of Wizards, not just the Technology variety.

You see, there are Wizards all around us.  I look upon the Culinary Wizards with a sense of amazement and awe.  How is it they can take a pile of seemingly unrelated raw materials and, using their many specialized wands, form them into a delicious meal for the masses?  Some of their spells are so secret that they have to be moved from one location to another by armed guards!  And the Medical Wizards, there is nothing I can do but look on them with wonder as they use their magic for mend the broken bodies and minds of others.

Unfortunately, not everyone can claim the title of Wizard.  These people just don't have the ambition, the drive, or the motivation to do great things.  You can tell when you've met one of them.  Nothing is ever their fault.  There is always some obstacle that cannot be overcome.  There is always some excuse.  They spend their time and energy on petty things, leech off of others, and have no sense of responsibility to anyone but themselves.  They settle for "good enough" in everything that they do.  They have no sense of curiosity or adventure.

These are the things that distinguish the Wizards from everybody else.

Are you a Wizard?

1 comments - Posted by Justin Scott at 3:11 AM - Categories: Misc.

Allow me to Introduce Myself

First, allow me to welcome you to my new blog.  I have wanted to publish a blog for quite some time, but I have always found some excuse or reason not to.  Primarily, I tend to suffer from what is sometimes known as "Not-Invented-Here Syndrome."  As a web developer, using someone else's blogging software feels like personal treason.  After all, I could design and develop my own blogging tool in a matter of hours and have something that will meet my specific needs far better than any pre-packaged software, right?  Not so fast.  A common tendancy among web developers is to overestimate results and underestimate time to completion.  In my case, I had planned on creating my own blogging platform using ColdFusion.  Unfortunately I don't have the free time to sit down and properly plan, design, and develop a great blogging tool.  The key words there are "properly" and "great."  These days I would rather not do something at all if I can't take the time to do it properly and have great results.  What's the point in creating something that I won't be happy with in the long run?  Since I don't have that sort of free time right now, I ultimately swallowed my pride and started looking for a decent tool that already exists.  I think I have found that tool in Mango Blog, a ColdFusion-based blogging platform that supports skins, plug-ins, and all sorts of other great features you would expect in a great blogging platform.  Sure, it's not perfect, but it's about as close to what I had in mind than anything else I've seen.  Besides, if I don't like something, I can just modify the code to do my bidding.

So, you're probably wondering what my plans are here.  As you've guessed by now, I am a web developer with a specialty in ColdFusion programming.  I'm pretty well versed in everything that goes along with that, such as SQL, JavaScript, Windows networking, etc.  I consider myself to be an Internet Technologist.  If it has to do with the Internet, I try to know something about it.  This is, of course, an impossible goal given the vast range of technologies involved and the speed at which they change.  Even after ten years, I'm still finding new things to explore.  There are things I've become quite good at during that time, and it is those things I hope I can pass on to others through this medium.

In addition to web development and programming, I will discuss other matters that are of interest to myself, and hopefully you as well.  One of these will be the business of software.  In addition to writing web applications for others, I do so for myself as well.  The primary example is DtDNS, a DNS hosting service that started as a hobby and turned into a profitable venture.  I am always tinkering with new ideas, and some of those may make an appearance from time to time.

Another area I will cover is flight training.  Over the last year I have trained for and received a private pilot license.  One of my goals in life has been to learn to fly, and someday pilot a commercial airliner.  Of all the goals I have ever set for myself, this one is the most grand of them all.  Yet, it is attainable and I welcome you to follow me on my journey to the captain's chair.  I have a long way to go, and I will try to relate the experiences to Internet technology where possible.

Finally, I will use this as a place to deposit anything else of interest that I find in my jouneys.  I welcome you to join me, benefit from my experiences, and most importantly, teach me something new.  Let's get started...

0 comments - Posted by Justin Scott at 3:32 AM - Categories: Misc.