My Perfect Workspace

I often go on and on about how I wish I had this amazing dream office that was filled with all sorts of wonderful things like a massive desk, four computer monitors, picture windows, and huge bookcases, but if I am 100% honest with myself, I really need much less to be happy when I am working on anything from paying the bills to writing code for a website and everything in between.

Today is a slow day here at the office and I'm trying to keep up to speed with my blogging goals for this year, so I thought it might be fun to expound on my perfect "workspace" for a little while, using the constraints of the small apartment that I currently share with my wife, son, and soon to be second child. Obviously that means I don't have much space, perhaps barely a corner of a room to work with, so lets see what I can come up with that seems reasonable.

Computer: I currently own a nice 13" Macbook, which is more than capable of meeting my computing needs. If I need to upgrade my RAM or my hard drive capacity I can do so for a relatively small amount of money in the future without needing to replace the computer altogether.

Computer Monitor: The laptop I own has a very small screen which is fine for when I am on campus or working away from home, but when I need to really buckle down and be productive a bigger portion of real estate is much appreciated. For this last Christmas my parents gifted me a great 22" flat screen monitor which works like a charm and when connected to my laptop gives me plenty of space to work. Many days I will use just the external monitor, but sometime the dual screen is nice for whatever I'm working on at the time.

Printer: Doesn't need to be anything fancy. All I need is black and white printing mostly with the occasional color print, so the basic inkjet that we currently own works like a charm, no need to change anything in this category.

Desk Chair: I like a comfortable desk chair, especially since I spend a lot of time sitting in it. Right now I have a great chair that I received as a birthday present a couple of years ago, and it works like a charm, the only problem is that it is a bit on the big side and as more children keep arriving I'm a bit concerned it might be taking up too much space at the moment. Mostly my chair just needs to be good enough that I don't get sore sitting in it for long periods of time.

External Keyboard & Mouse: Already have both of these and don't plan on replacing them anytime soon. I like wireless for my mouse, and would prefer wireless for my keyboard, but the wireless keyboard available from Apple isn't full sized yet, so I'm current wired in that regard.

Filing Cabinet: I have enough papers and records that I need to keep on file that a filing cabinet would be a wonderful addition that I don't have at the moment. I don't need a large one by any means. One of those small two-drawer types would work just fine, or even one that has a small drawer for office supplies on top and a filing drawer below would work well.

Shelving: I am not sure that I need an entire bookshelf, especially not if I have a filing cabinet or a desk drawer of some type, but one or two medium sized shelves of some type would be nice. Just enough room to keep my reference books and perhaps some other random items that I use on a regular basis.

Desk: Right now I'm working with a $5 desk that I bought from the BYU auction when I first got married, but if I'm honest it is about twice as big as I need it to be and if I could find something smaller that had just enough room to hold my monitor and keyboard/mouse I would be alright. I don't do a lot of writing or "open desk" work so extra desktop space is not a necessity for me right now, if ever.

Office Supplies: There are a few things that I like having on hand so I don't have to go searching for them. They include: Pens, Scissors, Ruler, Three Hole Punch, Printer Paper, Rubber Bands, Paper Clips, Stapler, Lined Paper, Manila Folders, Highlighters, Mechanical Pencils, Labels, and a few other random things I can't think of off the top of my head.

So, I think that is a reasonable list of things, and the great thing is that I already own most of it, excluding the cabinet or a smaller desk. The only problem I'm facing at the moment is where to put my workspace because the apartment isn't all that conducive to me keeping it in the same room as the babies, especially not when the second one arrives, and I'm not a very big fan of having it out in the living room with everything else.

One idea I have been tossing around lately is to reorganize the oversized storage closet we have into a sort of makeshift office/workspace if I can find a table or desk small enough to fit. I think I could make it work for the time remaining that we have here in Provo, and it would allow me to shut myself off from the party crowd as well because of the small door it has. The only thing I'm worried about is whether it is too cramped, but when Holly is gone in June to visit her family in Redlands I think I may give it a test drive and see if I can find a way to make it work somehow.

Turning 25

Yep, it is finally arriving, the quarter-century mark is approaching fast for me and in a couple of weeks I'll be officially 25 years old. I can remember a time when I thought turning 25 would be a really big deal, and perhaps it still is in some manner, but after having been married for almost three years, having one child with another on the way it seems like turning 25 is just the same as turning 24, or turning 26 will be next year.

I'm not a big birthday party type of person because I'm not really a party person in general and now that I'm older I'm not exactly sure what makes a good "birthday party" anyways. Holly keeps telling me that I should at least do something, but the problem with that is that my favorite activity is taking her to dinner and a movie; something we do all the time, so it isn't really "special" for my birthday to be honest.

The only thing I've ever wanted to do was go to this big go-kart track up in Salt Lake where you can pay to have you and a group of your friends do some qualifying laps and then a nice long race. The problem is that it is about $30 per person, which I can't afford to pay for everyone and I'm certainly not going to ask people to pay for themselves, so that idea is out. It would certainly be fun someday though. Maybe when I'm not a poor college student anymore or something.

Holly has also been asking for a birthday list, but I don't have much to put on one at the moment. It seems like all the stuff I want or need is far out of an acceptable price range right now. Regardless, here is a list for you sweetheart of at least a couple of things:

• Transformers Cufflinks
• Hardcover copy of Mistborn
• Hardcover copy of Well of Ascension
• New Sunday Shoes
• Briefcase/Laptop Bag
• iTunes Gift Card
• Tinted Helmet Visor

Wheel of Time Book 12: Now Three Books

This news is at least a week or two old, and I meant to post about it back when it was fresh on my mind, but I can post about it now that I have a few spare minutes in my day.

The Wheel of Time series has been ongoing for years, and it is one of my favorite series of all time, only recently surpassed by Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. I've been waiting for Book 12 of Wheel of Time for almost 4 years and it was scheduled to be released this coming October as I have mentioned previously here on the blog.

As it turns out while working on the book, Brandon Sanderson, the replacement author for Robert Jordan, has discovered that he cannot possibly write the story in the way it was intended in any less than 800,000 words. To put that into perspective consider that most mass market books are published at about 200,000 words at most.

So, with this revelation the editors and publishers decided to release the book as three parts, the first of which will be titled The Gathering Storm and will be released in mid-November of this year. The following two books should be released in November 2010 and November 2011 respectively unless something crazy happens.

Here are some pertinent links to the information:

1. Tor Books Press Release

2. Comments on the Situation by Brandon Sanderson

3. Interview with Harriet (Robert Jordan's wife and editor)

In the end, I think I am okay with this situation. I simply don't want to wait past the end of this year to get some more of the story that I can read. If it takes three more books to finish things the right way, then by all means, I will buy each and every one of those three books. Besides, I'm a huge Brandon Sanderson fan, and I'll take all of his writing that I can get.

This Should Make Mom Happy

No, I don't have my hip measurement yet because I have no clue how to do a hip measurement and I don't have a measuring tape or a piece of string available.

However, Mom is always on our case to make birthday and christmas lists and so forth, and thankfully, now that I've finished my mid-term for Russell's class this will be easy as pie for Mom now. Aren't you happy, Mom?

You can find the solution here: Wants & Wishes

This website will allow everyone in the family to set up an account, add whatever they want to their list with a url so Mom can see what it is, how much it costs, how bad they want it, and add descriptions and comments to help Mom out with her shopping needs.

Right now, don't go registering as I'd like to get it transferred over to my personal server first. BYU won't let me keep it on theirs beyond the last day of class, so I've got to talk to Russell about how to export my databases first. After that, Mom should never have any trouble again.

See, Mom, I do make your life easier... sometimes.

Can't Sleep? Do a Survery Thingie

Once again, I cannot sleep. Holly is the lucky one being pregnant these days because she can get to sleep pretty easily once she settles in for the night, like tonight, when she dozed off while we were watching Memento from Netflix.

Anyways, I'm up late (and probably will be for a while yet if the trend is the same as always), so I figured I would read some blogs. As it turns out, Shyla tagged me to do a survey on hers so I'll pass the late night hours doing my duty as a tagee.

Crazy 8s Tag

8 Favorite TV Shows:

1. The Big Bang Theory
2. The Mentalist
3. The Office
4. Dirty Jobs
5. Knight Rider
6. Las Vegas
7. Deadliest Catch
8. Sportscenter

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. El Burrito
2. McDonalds
3. Olive Garden
4. Chili's
5. Village Inn
6. P.F. Changs
7. Carraba's
8. Del Taco

8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Rode my scooter
2. Went to class
3. Worked on my CHum 345 Mid-Term
4. Watched "The Office"
5. Wrote on my blog
6. Worked on Jack's blanket
7. Figured out how to use Adobe Kuler
8. Visited Paul and Molly Burkinshaw

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Holding Jack
   
2. Finishing Jack's blanket
3. Finishing my CHum 345 final project
4. Graduating from college
5. Being a dad
6. Getting a web development job
7. Leaving Utah
8. Visiting Bartlesville, OK with Holly

8 Things I Love About Fall:

1. The leaves changing color
2. Wind blowing
3. Cooler temperatures
4. Football season
5. Colorado Avalanche hockey
6. BYU Basketball
7. Thanksgiving Day food
8. The first snowfall

8 Things on My Wish List:

1. New computer monitor
2. A solution to my sleeping problems
3. Jack
4. CODA software
5. Tickets to a Colorado Avalanche game
6. To win my fantasy hockey league
7. Good grades this semester
8. To fully understand PHP someday

8 People I Tag:

1. Holly
2. Roxy
3. Julie
4. Shelley
5. Joelle
6. Mom
7. Cooper
8. Cymbre

A Gerbil Would be Cool, Don't You Think?

So, lately, as in the past 3 weeks, I've been hankering to own a gerbil. Just a solitary gerbil because clearly I don't want mysterious baby gerbils arriving all the time, but a gerbil nonetheless. I can't really pin down exactly why I have been wanting a gerbil, but I do.

Watching things like hamsters and gerbils has always been fascinating, especially if they have the sort of living environment where they can be a little exploratory and entertain you. If I had a gerbil I would probably take him out and put him on my desk while I worked, so he could run around and have fun.

I mean, don't you think gerbils are cool?


Perhaps I should get a gerbil and a hamster and stage epic rodent battles or something. I wonder if Holly would let me get away with something like that.

The Ultimate Wardrobe

This is what happens when I have an 8 hour workday and no Conquer Club to pass the time: a detailed rundown on what I think the ultimate wardrobe would be. I bet you consider yourself as one of the luckiest individuals alive. I certainly would.

Most people think of the ultimate wardrobe as something filled with extravagant items purchased for hundreds or thousands of dollars, but not me. No, my ultimate wardrobe is a perfect synthesis of functionality and awesomeness.

Here is a breakdown on what I would own in a perfect world:

8 T-Shirts - They would likely not be plain shirts, but rather with some sort of witty quote or picture on the front. Most likely purchased from Woot Shirt and would be in a variety of colors.

8 Long Sleeve T-Shirts - Used mostly for layering purposes in the colder months, they would be in a variety of colors and plain with no designs on the front. Although, sometimes on a relaxed day I wear them by themselves.

2 Hoodies - One of these would be the pullover kind, and the other a zipper front. I like to keep one that is really thick for when I don't want to wear a coat, and the other for random use. I suppose that one of them should be representing some alma mater pride though.

3 Sweaters - Sometimes I feel like looking a little fancy, so I like to keep some lightweight, more formal looking sweaters around. Probably a dark red, dark blue, and a black or gray if I had my choice.

2 White Dress Shirts - Obviously for church and/or temple patronage. Also, just in case I ever am forced to attend some type of formal function.

6 Colored Dress Shirts - Sooner or later I'm going to have to wear them on a regular basis, so I would enjoy having a bit of variety around the office or for semi-formal affairs. Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to dress like a pro sometimes, just ask Shyla about her friends when we were younger.

25 Ties - You might think this is a high number, but in actuality it isn't. I'm not talking the cheap $12 ties from Target either, I'm meaning the high quality ties from somewhere like Sears, JC Penney, or Dillards. Anyone who has been on a mission knows the importance of a classy tie collection with a few wild cards thrown in for shock value. I like to consider myself a tie expert on the weekends if you will.

Watch - Everyone needs a watch, well, at least everyone who considers themself a part of the male gender. Women can get away without one, but not men. I like my fancy watch that Holly bought me for our first anniversary. I need to wear it more often I think.

2 Belts - I need to have one for casual things, most likely brown in color to go with my jeans and shorts and whatnot, and then a nice black one for fancier occasions. I go through belts pretty fast though, so they'll probably need to be replaced often. I also don't like the skinny ones, they've got to fill the entire belt loop or it just looks silly.

14 Pairs of Long Socks - You can never have too many socks. I like mine to go to mid-calf and not much higher, and they can't have really tight elastic, or my large feet don't fit into them all that well. Hanes are the best if at all possible I've learned.

14 Pairs of Short Socks - I look silly wearing long socks with shorts, so the summer months require socks all their own.

3 Pairs of Dress Socks - Just to be on the safe side, even though I only wear them on Sunday.

4 Pairs of Jeans - They have to fit properly though, and I'm pretty picky. I'd get them in 2 or 3 shades of blue for a bit of variety throughout the week.

2 Pairs of Khakis - Two different colors, but nothing too dark or too light, then you just look a bit fruity.

3 Pairs of Shorts - Pockets are a must, preferably lots of them, and not in denim.

1 Suit - I often wonder if I can pull off the pinstripe, and in actuality I know that I can as I've done it several times before, but nothing works quite like the classic black suit, so that is what I'll settle on here. It must be at least a 3 button, preferably 4 if possible.

Swimming Trunks - Yes, yes, I know I don't like to go swimming, but sometimes it is a necessity, so I might as well have a cool pair of trunks when those times roll around.

Sandals - I like my sandals, so I'll keep them.

Dress Shoes - I think it would be worthwhile to have a pair in black and another in brown. Heaven knows my sisters were mortified when I used to wear my brown shoes with my black pants to church on Sunday. The horror!

Casual Shoes - 1 pair of tennis shoes for everyday use, plus a pair of smart looking semi-fancy shoes to go with the moods when I feel like dressing up a little bit.

Pajama Pants - I have my froggy pants, so I'm set here.

Gym Shorts - Probably best if I have 3 or 4 pairs, hopefully with some kind of pocket or storage capacity. I like to wear these if I'm doing something that breaks a sweat or that may get me extremely dirty.

I think that is everything. It goes without saying that I would obviously have the appropriate number of underpants and such to make life worth living. I just figured they didn't need their own entry.

Popcorn of the Gods

Growing up, we never really used microwave popcorn. I can remember popcorn being one of those things we had only as a special treat when we would go to Blockbuster, rent a couple of movies, and then come home and watch them together as a family. Those were certainly the days, and rarely in my teenage years and even now do I get to do such a thing. Before microwave popcorn really became a popular pastime we used Mom's old school popcorn popping machine with the ugly yellow top and we had to melt our own butter to put on top. It was always a lot of fun because Mom had this super huge green Tupperware bowl, and it would hold something like 6 bags of today's microwave popcorn.

I got to melt the butter a lot and then help drizzle it on while Mom stirred the whole thing with one of her wooden spoons. I miss eating popcorn like that, but I always though a popcorn popper would be really expensive. Of course, I never went looking for one either.

BUT, thanks to slate.com, which is one of those fancy news websites that compiles all of the really good stories for you, I found this article: What's the Best Popcorn Popper?

As it turns out, a good popcorn popper is not really all that expensive, about $20-30 for the most part, and they work pretty good. I read through the above article and came to the conclusion that for my anniversary present I want Holly to get me the Presto PopLite Hot Air Corn Popper so that I can not only enjoy popcorn like I did as a kid, but also be a bit more healthy, and save some money. Smart, don't you think?