Big Honkin’ Plotter, that is. Or, to be less dramatic and more boring, an HP T-1300 Designjet large format plotter. Yep, that’s what I [almost] singlehandedly assembled and put into operation at the office yesterday, in fulfillment of my loosely-defined IT responsibilities. It was actually ridiculously easy, despite having 94 discrete steps in the instruction… Continue reading Installing a BHP
Car Wash Rules
I took the pickup in for a wash job yesterday. It was the first time it had been washed since May, due to our drought-related water usage restrictions. As you might imagine, the truck was badly in need of a good scrubbing. A lot of other people had decided to do the same thing, so… Continue reading Car Wash Rules
Hardware Guy
While the greater part of my new job involves GIS, I’m also the IT contact for the Midland office. Our IT department is centralized in Denver, and the regional offices don’t have IT professionals to handle computer-related tasks. Apparently, because I had worked previously in a technocentric field, they thought I would be the right… Continue reading Hardware Guy
Miscellany (Not to be confused with Randomness)
Couple of blog-related observations (in lieu of an actual post that might require me to put in some actual thought, although that has never really been a requirement in the past). I ran a poll on Facebook a few months ago and the respondents indicated that they wanted me to post something on FB whenever… Continue reading Miscellany (Not to be confused with Randomness)
Customizing QR Codes
So, what’s this? Being the perceptive reader I know you to be, you instantly recognize this as a QR Code…sort of. Go ahead – use your smartphone scanner and see if it works for you (you should end up at a Louis Vuitton website, for better or for worse). If your scanner app won’t read… Continue reading Customizing QR Codes
Ill Feelings
So, the doctor says I have a “touch” of bronchitis. Sounds so delicate and gentle, doesn’t it? That’s not really how I’d describe what I felt last night after midnight, when I was still up, coughing. But at least we have something to treat now, instead of the elusive, generic “allergies.” Got a steroid shot,… Continue reading Ill Feelings
Drilling boom in Midland County? That’s an understatement…
The city of Midland is an island surrounded by a sea of oil and gas wells.
I, Cartographer
Two months ago, I couldn’t spell “cartographer,” and now I am [on my way to becoming] one. As a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialist, my duties include generating and editing maps, and I’ve found the learning curve to be challenging. There are actually two different challenges. One involves learning the systems we use for mapping. Most of our… Continue reading I, Cartographer
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs died today at age 56, and the world lost a creative visionary. Apple enthusiasts will freely admit the significance of the loss, while even those who rejected or denigrated his contributions will nevertheless continue to enjoy for years to come the benefits of the technologies he championed. I didn’t know Jobs, but I… Continue reading Steve Jobs
Salad Rave
Last night’s dinner at Poehi’s (Coronado Island, CA) was quite pleasant, with the combination of a open-air bayside table (where we watched an enterprising pelican gulp down his own fresh seafood) and good food. I had a pretty straightforward fresh salmon fillet, grilled with olive oil, but the real star of the meal was my… Continue reading Salad Rave