Exercise is a dangerous past-time

It was such a nice day out today, that I decided to go for a ride on my bicycle after work. I rode down into the valley north of Lyman, and then headed west on the county road, past the reservoir. The scenery was beautiful, the temperature was pleasant, there was hardly any breeze; in short, it was a great day for a ride.

On the west side of the valley, as you head toward Urie, there's a large hill. I looked at the hill, and said to myself, "I can get up that hill easy." About three-quarters of the way up, I was exhausted, and got off my bike. I walked up the rest of the way, thinking to myself, "That hill was bigger than I thought. Once I get to the top, though, I'll be OK."

After I got to the top, I was feeling a little queasy, and thought, "I better stop and rest for a minute." So, I rested the bike next to a reflector pole, and was walking around to get my wind.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up. There was a gash under my eye, another on my forehead, scrapes on my knuckles, and the knee of my exercise pants was ripped. My shoulder and hip were aching. My glasses were shattered on the asphalt, and I was laying with my body in the road, and my feet were on the white line.

I tried to call Julie on her cell phone, but she was outside, and couldn't hear anything. Then I called our next door neighbor, and she didn't answer. I called several persons in my phone, and finally found one at home. He came out and picked me up, and took me to his house. They pumped some fluids in me, and we got hold of Julie.

Here's a photo of the results of my escapade.

 

Two weeks with Ubuntu

So, you’ve probably heard about Linux. For the past two weeks, I’ve pretty much switched from using Microsoft® Windows® to using the Ubuntu distribution of Linux. The catalyst for the switch is the fact that over the next three years, our company is going to have to shell out more money than we’d like in order to keep licensing Microsoft products. So, in an effort to determine how likely it is that we can move away from Microsoft without causing huge disruption in our general daily workflow, I made the switch to Ubuntu at work.

So far, I really like it. I am a command line kind of guy, and part of the power of Linux is the ability to use the keyboard and the command line to get things done. I like it a lot.

Here are some things that made the switch easy for me:

• Dropbox. Hat tip to Mr. Kevin McKenzie who sent me an invite to Dropbox a few years ago. You get 2GB of free storage (plus an extra 250MB for using this link.
• Crossover. The guys at Codeweavers make a product called Crossover which allows you to run Windows programs in Linux. As much as I hated to do it, I had to have Outlook for a couple of days because the web based interface for Firefox is absolutely horrible, and Evolution (an Outlook wannabe) is just not quite ready for prime time in my mind. Crossover made the installation of Outlook a breeze. I also use it to run EverNote 2.2, which is still one of the best note taking apps I’ve found.
• Google Apps. Thank you Google (full disclosure: I am a shareholder.) for putting together the thoughtful and useful and easy to use web based email system that you did. I was able to forward all my email to a Google Apps account, and now I don’t have to use Outlook anymore. Yay!
• OpenOffice.org. This is a “clone” of Microsoft Office®. I’d say this was the hardest switch to make so far – I have a lot of muscle memory from Office, and there was so much I used to be able to do in Excel, that now I feel somewhat handicapped. I’m sure it’s like learning any new application, and will just take time to get comfortable with the new stuff, but it’s still hard.

There are some other apps that I’ve enjoyed using since I switched to Ubuntu: Gnome–Do is cool for searching and quick access to all kinds of stuff. (I’m trying to get in the habit of using it more, because it is so much easier than mousing to a menu). At home, I use GRAMPS for Genealogy, and that’s a cool little program. There is a Windows version of GRAMPS, too, I believe (it’s built in Python, so it should be cross platform).

Now, before any of my faithful readers decide that they want to make this switch, I have to warn you, this is not for everyone. Ubuntu is more of a community effort than a commercial effort, and if you’re not comfortable using Google for tech support, or you don’t like editing plain text files to change some settings, then you might not be a candidate for Linux. If you’re interested in doing more, than I suggest that you download a distribution, get some software to run a virtual machine (I like VirtualBox, and play around with the system for a few months. Even better, get one of the Live CDs that allows you to use the system on your computer (your hardware), and make sure you don’t have any strange compatibility issues. I’ve been using Ubuntu on and off on virtual machines for the better part of two years, so I was pretty comfortable with the whole idea.

Anyway, I’ve rambled enough to more than make up for my vacation time off. Hope you learned something new.

The Clarks are Still in Wyoming

Most of you know that I (Aaron) was fired from my job a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I won’t go into any depth other than to say, I’m glad I’m gone. When the regular joke around the office is that it’s Friday, and the Management Gods need a sacrifice (meaning someone needs to be fired to appease the CEO), nobody functions to the best of their abilities. They’re all just trying to keep their head down and not be noticed, because he who gets noticed gets the axe. Anyway... I guess my head wasn’t down far enough or something.

So, the past three weeks have been some of the most antagonizing weeks of my life. Questions about whether I should go into business for myself, or move back to Utah, try to find a job in Big Piney, find a job elsewhere in Wyoming, and what to do with our family have been plaguing us this whole time. And it was hard to know what to do. Some of you have been in the same situation, and you know how hard it is. At first, I thought I needed to do my own thing, and work with some friends to get an accounting/technology practice going. But when I talked to my friends and neighbors and the local business people around here, they all said I was out of their league. They just needed someone with basic AR/AP skills, and who could keep their books. I’ve recommended some people I know, but there hasn’t been too much for a guy like me. Except for one guy.

Jay Anderson used to be a bishop here in Big Piney, and lived here with his family for 12ish years before he and a friend bought a little company in Lyman, WY. When Julie and I first came here, we met him, and he was interested in having me come to work for him if things didn’t work out with EnerCrest. Well, things obviously didn’t work out with EnerCrest, and so we visited, and he offered me a job with his company. After considerable prayer and fasting, we determined that his offer would be best for our family, and so we’re moving.

We’re very, very, very sad to leave Big Piney. Julie and the kids and I had a good cry yesterday when we broke the news to them. At the same time, we are excited to try something new that we hope will last for a bit longer than 18 months. We’re also excited to be a little closer to the temple and our families. That will be nice.