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Looks pretty good. Nice to have fresh vegetables for salads and cooking.

So far I've consumed 2 or 3 red peppers, 1 orange, and two jalapenos. The peppers are the size of cherry tomatoes though... not like I'm used to seeing in the grocery store. I have killed 2 of the 4 plants in that box... having a little trouble with ants (i think) so i think some of my attempts to remedy that have made things worse I'm 90% done with a second box so I really need to get on that because I do have 6 plants ready to go (4 in new box and 2 to replace dead ones)

We have a rosemary plant outside our front door. It has surprised a lot of people since where we live it is usually too cold for Rosemary but ours has been there for almost a decade now even in snow and cold. We get fresh rosemary even in winter .

That's awesome! I have two rosemary that are exploding! I need to figure out how to propagate via cuttings (failed at least once so far) because it seems to be the plant that does best on my balcony.

I was to that's why I sent him a message. LinkedIN does have its uses

I've thought of signing up, just never have.

Yeah, I don't do much freelance mostly because I want to spend my time away from work not programming.

I miss those days lol. I have lists of things away from my desk i want/need to do but lately if I do get a break, I'm to tired to think so I just play a video game.
It was never my intent to get bogged down in (or even do any) freelance. When I moved back, I had a month or two without, but an old client resurfaced. He always "paid as we go" and we never actually finished, when he disappeared years previous. I wouldn't have felt right turning him down since he essentially paid for an unfinished project (and I hadn't gotten [re]tangled up with bands and girls). That was manageable, and eventually it was coming to an end... and thats when a different old client (who is more of a contractor, i do the work for their clients) had what sounded like a fun (and more importantly little) project. Well, in hindsight, I think that little one was to re-establish the relationship and get me to say yes to a bigger one... and since I thought the other was ending... why not? That's when the first client decided we should put the original project on hold to do a quick little side project (which would make him money to be able to pay for the original project). Techincally we finished the quick little side project, and it is generating revenue, but he keeps thinking of enhancements lol...
I bill by the hour, so it's all good, but I definitely need more time for other things in my life (like, i really need to start playing my bass outside of rehearsal... especially since we're going back to the recording studio in about a month)

I even very rarely work on personal projects anymore. Mostly because I do enough development in my work time.

That's one of the things I do like about these side projects, I get the chance to do things a little different than my full time gig, learning new tricks.

So we had our vacation in Denmark. Everything went well, the boys finally learned to swim!

That's awesome! and important!

We had good weather for the most part, and some gorgeous views. I finally even got the chance to see the sun set over the ocean (kind of a bucket list thing of mine)  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gGff11B1tEpC59GC8.

Also awesome! I have to assume I've never seen it set over the ocean (might have appeared that way over the gulf, while in FL) but I have seen it rise (at least over the gulf).

On our return to Germany we took the Corona test and 24 hours later we all were given a clear bill of health, no virus present. Then on Tuesday the boys started school again. Right now the students have to wear a mask the entire day in school, only removing to drink and eat. They will have one more week of this and then they will only need to wear their masks when they are moving about but not while sitting at their desks.

Strange times we live in! I rarely go anywhere anymore so when I do (dentist, hair cut) the rules throw me off... "oops, I'm used to just walking in and plopping down on the couch, yes, I will stand here on this tape so you can take my temp"

On Monday our youngest will get his French Horn. He signed up for a musical class and has decided that he wants to learn the French Horn. So our house will have some interesting sounds emanating out of it for a while .

That's awesome! I hope it goes well!

So far it's been staying moist, if it's still moist tomorrow, going to add 4 plants (3 bell pepper, 1 jalapeno) and if that goes well, I have the materials to make another:
https://imgur.com/a/rLG6uug

Looks pretty good. Nice to have fresh vegetables for salads and cooking. We have a rosemary plant outside our front door. It has surprised a lot of people since where we live it is usually too cold for Rosemary but ours has been there for almost a decade now even in snow and cold. We get fresh rosemary even in winter .

Thanks for the update! I was recently wondering how he was doing. That's good news!

I was to that's why I sent him a message. LinkedIN does have its uses

nothing new here... going to try to make a big push on one of my freelance projects tomorrow... i reallllllly want it to end (wtf!!! while typing that sentience, i get a email popup from that client, i can only assume it's more work... lol... never again!)

Yeah, I don't do much freelance mostly because I want to spend my time away from work not programming. I even very rarely work on personal projects anymore. Mostly because I do enough development in my work time.


So we had our vacation in Denmark. Everything went well, the boys finally learned to swim! We had good weather for the most part, and some gorgeous views. I finally even got the chance to see the sun set over the ocean (kind of a bucket list thing of mine)  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gGff11B1tEpC59GC8. On our return to Germany we took the Corona test and 24 hours later we all were given a clear bill of health, no virus present. Then on Tuesday the boys started school again. Right now the students have to wear a mask the entire day in school, only removing to drink and eat. They will have one more week of this and then they will only need to wear their masks when they are moving about but not while sitting at their desks. On Monday our youngest will get his French Horn. He signed up for a musical class and has decided that he wants to learn the French Horn. So our house will have some interesting sounds emanating out of it for a while .

My wife bought some planters where they are filled with a type of stone, where the water can leech up and the roots are exposed to the air a bit and it supposedly helps clean the air (depending on the plant you have put into the planter). They are nice and we have a few of them around the house.

So far it's been staying moist, if it's still moist tomorrow, going to add 4 plants (3 bell pepper, 1 jalapeno) and if that goes well, I have the materials to make another:
https://imgur.com/a/rLG6uug

Had a quick message over LinkedIN with Wrack and he and his family are doing fine. He sends his greets to you.

Thanks for the update! I was recently wondering how he was doing. That's good news!


nothing new here... going to try to make a big push on one of my freelance projects tomorrow... i reallllllly want it to end (wtf!!! while typing that sentience, i get a email popup from that client, i can only assume it's more work... lol... never again!)

I started making a "self watering" pot out of a "storage tote." The idea is to cut the lid down, so you can create a "false bottom" that will eventually be filled with water (there will be a fill tube for when the top part is full of dirt, as well as a small pot full of holes where saturated soil will be to leech water upwards). However, cutting that damn lid is a challenge... i think if I had some measurements to start with it would have been ok, but I set up a "jig" and cut it down, but it's still too big and since it was not a fun task, I'm not motivated to set up the jig again to keep shaving till it fits...

My wife bought some planters where they are filled with a type of stone, where the water can leech up and the roots are exposed to the air a bit and it supposedly helps clean the air (depending on the plant you have put into the planter). They are nice and we have a few of them around the house.

Had a quick message over LinkedIN with Wrack and he and his family are doing fine. He sends his greets to you.

We didn't have the capability as of last week, but I spent two 10+ hour days to implement it, and it worked! Now the customer is happy and we are likely going to get the contract at the end of September .

Awesome! I know that's a great feeling. I hope you get the deserved recognition/reward at work as well! :clap:

Now I'm on vacation (yes again).

We are finally going to take our trip to Denmark that we had planned for spring time. We'll see how it all works out.

I hope y'all have a safe, and great, time!


Nothing new here, these projects will never end...

I started making a "self watering" pot out of a "storage tote." The idea is to cut the lid down, so you can create a "false bottom" that will eventually be filled with water (there will be a fill tube for when the top part is full of dirt, as well as a small pot full of holes where saturated soil will be to leech water upwards). However, cutting that damn lid is a challenge... i think if I had some measurements to start with it would have been ok, but I set up a "jig" and cut it down, but it's still too big and since it was not a fun task, I'm not motivated to set up the jig again to keep shaving till it fits...

This last week was pretty crazy. We had a customer demo with along side a partner company before the corona crisis hit, and it went well enough but then things had to be put on hold. Apparently during this time the customer also tried other options, and ended up deciding to mix solutions, so instead of working with our partner company we are working with a different company, but they wanted to see a PoC this past Thursday. One of the things we had to do was produce a specific 2D barcode type. We didn't have the capability as of last week, but I spent two 10+ hour days to implement it, and it worked! Now the customer is happy and we are likely going to get the contract at the end of September .

Now I'm on vacation (yes again). We are finally going to take our trip to Denmark that we had planned for spring time. We'll see how it all works out.

Eh, my wife wouldn't let me work that much. If I spend too long in the basement she comes down to tell me it's time for a break, or that the day is over.

The joys of living alone... lol.

Since mine is electric I usually raise it and stand for a good couple of hours during the day. Depends on how I'm feeling. Sometimes I do the time all at once and sometimes I'll do a bit in the morning and more in the afternoon. It's nice to have the option, and it helps my back too.

Yeah, mine was a pain to raise & lower, I eventually stopped doing it...

Yeah I'm enjoying him. I also have a little squishy face under the monitor. It's ugly as sin but very useful when you just need to squish something. The monitor came from my boss, he found out I had been working all this time with just my laptop and no second monitor he insisted that he order and send me a new monitor.
[snip]
Yeah I was surprised that he did it too. Although, I'm figuring he's got a financial gain in mind here. He can possibly write it off. With what's going on with incentive packages and money thrown around by the government I think he's trying to modernize things a bit.

Y'all hiring?

Oh I'm glad it's been cooler here. Air conditioning is not common in homes in central Europe, so really hot summers suck. We did buy the boys some fans for their rooms, and I think they've used them once. Actually this has been the closest we've had to a proper summer for Germany in a long time. So much so that many people think there's something wrong

I think something is wrong

He's still plinking away at it. I figure he'll do more with it once school is finally out at the end of next week. He'll have more time to focus. You remember what it was like at 15. So much to do and so little time to do it

I think i was 15 when I started (actually got my first guitar at 12, but never practiced) and it was always in my hands. like, if I was sitting around watching tv, i was practicing. or being on the phone (which i was a lot back then), I'd be playing. (I need to get back to that lol... now i don't touch it outside of rehearsal...

Nothing better than self grown vegetables.

The daily watering can be a bit annoying

My niece did something similar on her balcony and ended up with like 100 different plants and didn't know what to do with them. She didn't expect them all to germinate! She was surprised.

lol, that's a lot!

We also grow vegetables in our garden, and we have a bunch of raspberry bushes, that are doing their best to take over our garden. I cut them back every year and every year they grow back bigger and bigger

doesn't sound like a bad problem to have lol

I thought (in typical american fashion) it was only the US still dealing with this Hell, for a bit I let the media convince me it was only TX that was "failing" at getting things under control. I really don't know what to believe anymore with all of this, but it doesn't really matter too much since i never go anywhere (only thing I did before the apocalypse was see live music, and that's not an option) anyway.

Germany is doing well enough. We should be able to have our vacation in Denmark at the end of August. We're not completely over everything yet though. There's still the threat of a second wave which has a lot of people worried. Apparently on the Spanish island of Majorca they closed the party mile because people weren't keeping to the required social distancing. We'll have to see how bad things get here again after the vacation period is over.

From what I'm hearing in the news about the US, it seems it is pretty piecemeal how things are going. Arizona is having a horrible time getting things under control.

heh, I guess that's one of the good things about being a workaholic, I was already set in that regard. I only went from doing 8hrs at work and 8hrs at home to 16hrs at home

Eh, my wife wouldn't let me work that much. If I spend too long in the basement she comes down to tell me it's time for a break, or that the day is over.

That is awesome! How often do you raise it? Remember the one i designed/built (probably 7 years ago)? When I first did it, I would raise it in the morning and work all day, then lower it in the evening for video game time.

Since mine is electric I usually raise it and stand for a good couple of hours during the day. Depends on how I'm feeling. Sometimes I do the time all at once and sometimes I'll do a bit in the morning and more in the afternoon. It's nice to have the option, and it helps my back too.

I read through the post before looking at the picture, did not expect that, he's awesome!

Yeah I'm enjoying him. I also have a little squishy face under the monitor. It's ugly as sin but very useful when you just need to squish something. The monitor came from my boss, he found out I had been working all this time with just my laptop and no second monitor he insisted that he order and send me a new monitor.

Damn, and here I am getting excited that my boss approved me to spend $10 to beef up our managed backups...

Yeah I was surprised that he did it too. Although, I'm figuring he's got a financial gain in mind here. He can possibly write it off. With what's going on with incentive packages and money thrown around by the government I think he's trying to modernize things a bit.

Lucky... Triple digits here... My electric bill is about $60 higher than this time last year (different apartment) and my ac is having a little bit of trouble keeping up, but it's still a lot better than it was before i had them repair the duct work (I had to diagnose it, they were going to just put in a window unit AC... bought a cheap endoscope and found out there were breeches in the duct so my cool air was just going in the attic and not the living room...)

Oh I'm glad it's been cooler here. Air conditioning is not common in homes in central Europe, so really hot summers suck. We did buy the boys some fans for their rooms, and I think they've used them once. Actually this has been the closest we've had to a proper summer for Germany in a long time. So much so that many people think there's something wrong

on which front... lol... it seems this place is falling apart according to the news, but in reality it's same as it ever was (just with masks).

Yeah possibly.

How's your boy's guitar playing coming along?

He's still plinking away at it. I figure he'll do more with it once school is finally out at the end of next week. He'll have more time to focus. You remember what it was like at 15. So much to do and so little time to do it

The amp I'm playing in the video from my last post belonged to the guy on the far right of the screen (he's normally a bassist, and his main band was playing after us). I tried it out when he first got it (he's always buying/selling/trading) and fell in love with it. A couple weeks ago he called me up to let me know he was planning to sell it (lol) and was giving me first crack at it, so I called in some debts and now it's mine!

Sweet!

I can't remember if I've mentioned but I started a "balcony garden" when all this started happening (I actually had it planned well before, just not time/motivation). A week or two ago I harvested my first bell peppers. I ate them and saved the seeds, planted a few and they're starting to sprout! Something about gardening is it can get pretty damn complex and one thing I keep forgetting is to figure out what to plant when... I don't think it's a huge deal here (since we have two seasons, hot & hotter) but not sure (either way, i have more seeds for next "season"). I did the same with a couple jalapenos. So in theory, my 3 plants (two diff bell and one jalapeno) should be 13 soon lol.

Nothing better than self grown vegetables. My niece did something similar on her balcony and ended up with like 100 different plants and didn't know what to do with them. She didn't expect them all to germinate! She was surprised.

We also grow vegetables in our garden, and we have a bunch of raspberry bushes, that are doing their best to take over our garden. I cut them back every year and every year they grow back bigger and bigger

Well our official state currently is that we will remain in home office until September at the earliest.

I thought (in typical american fashion) it was only the US still dealing with this Hell, for a bit I let the media convince me it was only TX that was "failing" at getting things under control. I really don't know what to believe anymore with all of this, but it doesn't really matter too much since i never go anywhere (only thing I did before the apocalypse was see live music, and that's not an option) anyway.

So my wife decided that I need to have a proper work space instead of working on the couch.

heh, I guess that's one of the good things about being a workaholic, I was already set in that regard. I only went from doing 8hrs at work and 8hrs at home to 16hrs at home

So we ordered from Ikea (and a few other places). I now have a workspace in our basement, and it's nice. The legs are motor driven and will raise up to about 120cm (almost 4 feet).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/V8PsrV33bD62H7h96

That is awesome! How often do you raise it? Remember the one i designed/built (probably 7 years ago)? When I first did it, I would raise it in the morning and work all day, then lower it in the evening for video game time.

Back on the left side is a tissue dispenser that also works as a headphone caddy. I call him Dum-Dum.

I read through the post before looking at the picture, did not expect that, he's awesome!

On Saturday I'll be going to pickup my new laptop. My boss recently shelled out for new laptops for all the developers. So we all get nice Dell Precision 5550 laptops with docking stations, and apparently a backpack which my boss is having personalized for each of us.

Damn, and here I am getting excited that my boss approved me to spend $10 to beef up our managed backups...

This week I found out I'm going to be the technical lead for a new customer project. I've already been technical lead for another project (still am actually), and I'll be working with our other project manager.

Congrats!!

Our weather has been cool and rainy the last couple of days. Which is nice actually.

Lucky... Triple digits here... My electric bill is about $60 higher than this time last year (different apartment) and my ac is having a little bit of trouble keeping up, but it's still a lot better than it was before i had them repair the duct work (I had to diagnose it, they were going to just put in a window unit AC... bought a cheap endoscope and found out there were breeches in the duct so my cool air was just going in the attic and not the living room...)

How's things going for you? I've been following the news and it isn't sounding too good there in the US right now.

on which front... lol... it seems this place is falling apart according to the news, but in reality it's same as it ever was (just with masks).


How's your boy's guitar playing coming along? The amp I'm playing in the video from my last post belonged to the guy on the far right of the screen (he's normally a bassist, and his main band was playing after us). I tried it out when he first got it (he's always buying/selling/trading) and fell in love with it. A couple weeks ago he called me up to let me know he was planning to sell it (lol) and was giving me first crack at it, so I called in some debts and now it's mine!

I can't remember if I've mentioned but I started a "balcony garden" when all this started happening (I actually had it planned well before, just not time/motivation). A week or two ago I harvested my first bell peppers. I ate them and saved the seeds, planted a few and they're starting to sprout! Something about gardening is it can get pretty damn complex and one thing I keep forgetting is to figure out what to plant when... I don't think it's a huge deal here (since we have two seasons, hot & hotter) but not sure (either way, i have more seeds for next "season"). I did the same with a couple jalapenos. So in theory, my 3 plants (two diff bell and one jalapeno) should be 13 soon lol.

Well our official state currently is that we will remain in home office until September at the earliest. So my wife decided that I need to have a proper work space instead of working on the couch. So we ordered from Ikea (and a few other places). I now have a workspace in our basement, and it's nice. The legs are motor driven and will raise up to about 120cm (almost 4 feet).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/V8PsrV33bD62H7h96

Back on the left side is a tissue dispenser that also works as a headphone caddy. I call him Dum-Dum.

On Saturday I'll be going to pickup my new laptop. My boss recently shelled out for new laptops for all the developers. So we all get nice Dell Precision 5550 laptops with docking stations, and apparently a backpack which my boss is having personalized for each of us.

This week I found out I'm going to be the technical lead for a new customer project. I've already been technical lead for another project (still am actually), and I'll be working with our other project manager.

Our weather has been cool and rainy the last couple of days. Which is nice actually.

How's things going for you? I've been following the news and it isn't sounding too good there in the US right now.