·:[ David and Claire’s Blog ]:·
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I am a huge Battlestar Galactica fan. Something about it just sets off the total nerd in me. I watched pretty much all of the original series and agree with the magazines that the latest rendition is some of the best television out there. Razor(sp) was no exception.

I’ve been managing a web services group for a while now, and I still note this perception that web services are this mysterious SOA technology that is very complex and hard to use. The funny thing is that this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sure the underlying framework my group uses is using several different cutting-edge software tools and APIs, but the consumer of the services themselves need know absolutely nothing about this. Web services embrace the whole black box mentality wholeheartedly, and it works well. As the client what do you care what happens in that box as long as you get what you’re looking for?

There is a reason that web services are supported in all kinds of tools like Crystal Reports, databases like Oracle, or providers like Google and Ebay- they’re incredibly easy to use. Just grab the WSDL file and away you go.

Also, ultimately the underlying communication mechanism is identical to surfing the web like you are doing right now. So right now you’re talking HTTP with a web server sending back and forth a variant of XML called HTML. Web services do exactly the same thing, talk HTTP sending back and forth XML. It’s simplicity, and use of tried and true underlying technology, is one of its greatest assets.

So the next time you hear someone call Web Services complex, consider this- it’s a as simple as surfing the web.

My website has been down a few days, and I thought it was a problem on the side of my hosting provider, GoDaddy. And I had an hour long discussion with a tech support guy whose name I don’t know, and I insisted that the problem was on their side. Turns out it was me, and a bad link to one of my other web sites. And they even suggested I look at that too! So my most sincere apologies to the fine tech support people at GoDaddy.

Claire is an amazing wife and mother, and I would like to dedicate this post to her! Now Claire is a very busy woman, definitely one of the modern types. She juggles a full-time job, 2 crazy kids, and a demanding (but cool) husband all with style and grace. Claire excels at caring for, educating, and loving Brynn and Evan. She even makes a mean Cosmo. Claire is wicked smart, with a good sense of humor. She is also an endless source of information about all current events- epecially those that are disaster or celebrity related. Claire is my own personal readers digest, and she even votes for me! Claire is capable of carrying an amazing number of bags and children all at the same time, kinda like the Cat in the Hat. I look forward to the future with Claire and all the good times coming with the great family we’ll raise. So thank you Claire for being such a great person. Keep up the good work!

 All my Love,
~David

We have a very vertical house, and our wireless networks don’t seem to reach the whole gamut. If you’re on the ground floor or the basement the routers on the 3rd floor don’t have the best signal strength. Not a big deal unless I’m trying to stream video through my slingbox. So my solution is to use my power lines as yet another network. It took a while before the technology was fast enough to be useful, but now it’s finally there with speeds up to 36 Mbps with the Linksys PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter Kit. Much more than most people would ever need. Streaming HD video for instance only requires 6 mpbs. So now I have a router on the first floor that connects via the power lines to my FIOS connection on the 3rd floor. Everything is humming along nicely now, and I can watch tv on my Treo flawlessy…

For those of you unfamiliar with the term a luddite is a person who is opposed to technological progress, improvement, or change. I am something along the opposite of this. I strive to embrace technology in all aspects of my life down to the most mundane. For example, why use an ordinary toothbrush when you can have a battery powered vibrating one? Why have a boring plain faced fridge when you can have an internet enabled one that orders milk for you? Why not have a USB drive on your key chain? What’s wrong with RFID tags in all of our clothes? The biggest challenge is just trying to keep up with it all…

This weekend my mom was in town, and she had a meeting in the Rockefeller Center, that just happens to have just about the only place you’re guranteed to be able to get a Wii, the Nintendo World Store.
I’m pretty impressed with the device in general. It’s everything they say about the new controller interface- very intuitive, easy to use, and fun. It’s deceivingly simple too with how the controller works. For example I learned while playing the tennis game that it’s easy enough to hit the ball with the right timing. But turns out that with a subtle flick of your wrist you can put english on the ball or do other spin tricks. There are so many more degrees of movement possible when you are moving your whole arm, and adjusting angles of your hand and wrist.
I also agree with my mom’s comment that this gaming console may be setup to rope in a whole new demographic of potential video game players who never liked the “joystick” interface.

That’s my goal. But I don’t guarantee good content!
Here’s the latest toy I just bought:
IOGEAR 4GB Flash Wallet Drive (Blue) 
 Small enough to fit in my wallet.

I forgot to mention the pumpkins we carved this year. I went a little bit nuts this year and bought a 57 pound pumpkin. After nearly throwing my back out I got that sucker home, and carved in the following design blown up onto four pieces of paper:
Dragon Pumpkin Carving Pattern
Here’s a picture of me carving. For the first time I used a drill to do the carving. I had a brand new cordless drill I bought at Costco, and managed to break 4 drill bits in the process!
But I like to think that my handy work paid off.