Screaming Squirrel

I had completely forgotten about this interesting little video I recorded at Golden Gate Park a couple of years ago. We had gone to SF to visit my brother and his wife and we went for a walk. I heard this bizarre sound and when I followed it I saw the source of it. Who would have known...?

Christmas

Christmas came and went and while it was the first time in 12 years that I wasn't in a house of my own, it was still really nice. Carrie did an outstanding job of getting the apartment ready with decorations, a nice tree, and she made a wonderful Christmas dinner with ham, sweet potatoes, rolls, and my mom made her signature butter with mashed potatoes (she uses a lot of butter, but they're so good). Sadie was dressed up in her official Christmas outfit much like Santa's helpers. My mom flew in for a couple of days from Montana and my brother Kevin and his fiance Shawn were in for about 30 hours on their return from visiting my brother Pippa in Australia.

My mom really had a great time with Sadie. The two of them got along famously and they spent so much time together playing and laughing.

It was a quick Christmas visit and I am resolved to be in a nice home by the same time next year and it will be even more grand but as it was, we had a great time.

iPod Touch Hacking, What I Did...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was very satisfied with the results of having hacked my iPod Touch to use the iPhone applications and other 3rd party applications. Here's what I did (and this is using my Mac so you'll need somewhat different instructions for Windows).

Before you go any further, here's the obligatory disclaimer: I neither endorse or recommend willful alteration of a product that is already quite good. There is the possibility that you might brick your iPod.

1. If you are at version 1.1.2 of the firmware, which has been available since November, you'll first need to downgrade back to version 1.1.1. Download the firmware here. Depending on how your browser handles downloads, it may automatically unzip zipped files. If so, you'll need to re-zip it or make sure it's not zipped when you go downgrade.
2. Plug your iPod into your computer via the dock to USB cable. Cancel the sync if iTunes tries to communicate with it. Put the iPod into recovery mode by holding down the 'Home' button along with the power/sleep button at the same time until it shuts down and as soon as it restarts (the Apple symbol will appear on the screen) let go of the power/sleep button but keep holding the Home button.
3. With iTunes open it will then present you with the option to restore your iPod. Before you click on 'Restore', hold down the 'option' key and click on Restore. The Finder dialog will appear and then browse to the location of the 1.1.1 firmware that is still zipped and select it. iTunes will then install the firmware. This may take several minutes.
4. After the iPod reboots, disconnect the dock cable and connect the iPod to your wireless network and open Safari and point it to http://jailbreakme.com/. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the 'Install AppSnapp' link. Safari should crash and you'll then have the Installer.app icon on your iPod's 'Springboard' (the home screen with all the icons for the applications).
5. Open Installer and choose the application OktoPrep to install.
6. Now you'll need the Jailbreak application, download it from here.
7. Connect your iPod to the computer again and make sure iTunes is open.
8. Once iTunes sees your iPod, go ahead and choose the option to Upgrade your firmware. It will take several minutes to download and install. After the upgrade is complete, close iTunes.
9. Launch the Jailbreak.jar application you just downloaded (it's inside the downloaded files)
10. Check 'install SSH' and set a root password and hit 'Jailbreak'.
11. Disconnect and reboot your iPod. You should see the Installer program on the Springboard.
12. Open Installer to download and install packages.

Installing iPhone apps

1. First, you'll need to find them and download them to your computer. You might check various torrent sites. Make sure you get the version for your firmware, which, if you've followed these instructions, is 1.1.2. Make sure you get a set that includes the requisite 'Framework' folders because without them, Maps, Mail, and possibly other applications won't work.
2. You'll need to use SFTP to move these applications from your computer to the iPod Touch--you can either go command line from the Terminal or you can use a GUI program to move them. Either way, you'll need to put them all in the '/Applications' directory.
3. In addition, you'll NEED to copy GMM.framework from /System/Library/Frameworks/
4. settings bundle in /System/Library/PreferenceBundles/
5. One individual also mentioned this: cd /Applications/[appname].app/
6. chmod -R 644 *
7. chmod 755 [appname]
8. - then, test it by [still in Terminal] “./[appname]” (without quotes of course)
9. Test it by seeing if you can open Maps and then Mail (and configure an account).

I think this is everything, let me know if I missed something!

Credits to my resources:

http://www.hacktheipodtouch.com/install-application/mail/mail-app-on-ipod-touch
http://www.hacktheipodtouch.com/unlock/ipod-touch/iphone-apps-working-on-ipod-touch
http://lifehacker.com/337863/how-to-install-third+party-apps-on-your-new-iphone-or-ipod-touch

Also the ipodtouchmaster on youtube
Change the order of the icons on the bottom menu

Employment Profile

Not too long ago I completed a profile for a company that requires it as a part of their application for employment. I thought it was reasonably accurate in most areas. I've pasted the results below.

Summary

Aron, your responses indicate that you are an intensely persuasive and determined person. You delegate details and obtain technical support whenever it is possible. Your inclination is to deal with a project's key elements rather than its specifics. Too much definite structure and regulation affects your level of comfort. Since you are a very likeable person who takes time to listen to people, it is probable that you have many acquaintances and friends.

Communication Style

Aron, you have strong social skills and are excellent at quickly establishing rapport. You enjoy talking to people and do so with enthusiasm and spontaneity. Your style of fast, lively expression is both engaging and effective. You are a fluent speaker who expresses thoughts quickly, optimistically, and persuasively.

Also, Aron, you respond to people with flexibility and open-mindedness. You relay a tone that is uninhibited, creative, and, at times, quite independent.

You enjoy talking and can put people at ease. You use a fun, indirect style of communication. You are people-oriented and can easily relate with another person's point of view.

Aron, you are a natural team player. You readily delegate authority, and you embrace training. You do not care to be involved with too many technical details. You let others set game plans, priorities and time frames.

You function well when you are allowed a lot of people-interaction. You would rather talk about details than write them down. You enjoy being the focus of attention.

Leadership

Leadership Style: Persuasive
You perform your leadership role by using your excellent ability to interpret people's actions and dialogue, and then by persuading them to do things your way. You like a leadership role, function in a manner suitable to your environment, and support teamwork. You develop your people with enthusiasm. You delegate details freely and may be disinclined to delegate authority. You actively promote change and look for new ways of reaching goals.

Conscientiousness

You focus on your goals with self-discipline and positive motivation. You are able to recognize the importance of applying hard work, planning, and organization to achieving the tasks before you. Your determination to achieve excellence is complemented by a purposeful disposition.

Motivation

Motivation Needs:
Aron, you tend to be motivated by a great deal of interaction with people, and by identifying with a prestigious organization with a good public image. You desire opportunities to make more money for yourself, or to improve your status within the organization. You are motivated by praise, public recognition, and by acceptance. You are most productive when working as a team player, and when you are liked by others.

You tend to be demotivated if your territory or opportunity is reduced in size, or if you are not allowed a significant amount of people-interaction or teamwork. Insufficient recognition from management and/or peers can also affect your motivation. You can be demotivated by a perception of not being personally liked, and by not being invited to meetings with peers.

Primary Motivation:
• A lot of interaction with people.
• Meeting new people and making friends.
• Opportunities to make more money and improve status.
• Being a team player within the organization.
• Praise and public recognition.
• Identifying with an organization that has prestige and a good public image.
• Awareness of what is going on in the organization.
• Acceptance and being liked by others.

Primary Demotivation:
• You perceive you are not liked.
• You are not invited into meetings with your peers.
• Your territory, (opportunity) is reduced in size.
• You feel you are not part of the team.
• You do not have enough people contact.

Emotional Intelligence

Aron, your responses indicate that your Emotional Intelligence is exceptionally well developed. You pursue your goals energetically, and you persevere until your goals are achieved. You strive continually for self-improvement, and you are not discouraged by temporary setbacks or disappointments. Your negotiation, persuasion, leadership, and conflict
resolution skills are probably very well developed. You perform your work conscientiously, and delay gratification while pursuing your goals. You display appropriate self-confidence. You tend to understand the emotional makeup of others.

Work Status

I am still employed and my employer is still in business. We've trimmed down to ~40 employees and lots of people are doing things beside what they were hired to do, myself included. While many people are clearly demoralized and reluctant to do things outside their areas of expertise, I'm rather enjoying it. Granted, most of the things I've been working on are still technology related but instead of drafting policies, working with vendors on disaster recovery, and negotiating contracts, I'm still doing interesting things. I'm instead working with wholesale vendors to sell off excess equipment, working with facilities to smooth out issues with the building security and alarm panels, helping users directly, I relocated an office almost single-handedly (network, phone, servers, switches, routers, call managers, etc.), and have been learning how to work with our Cisco VoIP phone system. I'm actually learning a lot as well as refreshing my technical skills so it's kind of fun. There's also a certain type of satisfaction you get from doing more of the hands-on stuff--you can see what you create and get the immediate end-user satisfaction. While I don't necessarily plan to stay in this mode long-term, I'm glad to see that I can jump right back into it and offer good service.

So, if there's a lesson to be learned.... It's wise for management to jump back onto the front line and do the stuff that got you to where you are now. It gives you an appreciation for your team, hones your skills, and helps you to find areas where there might be room for improvement. Of course, it also is a tremendous time to reconnect with your group and your customers on a level for which there is no substitution.

iPod Touch Hacked

I'm far from bleeding edge in hacking my iPod Touch because there was a part of me that was concerned about breaking it (though the likelihood is really quite low) and much of it was trying to find a single good source for instructions, and there was a small part of me wishfully thinking Apple might officially release applications. After perusing enough sites and blogs I broke down and did it last night. I'll try to do another post with the final kit of instructions that I used a little later.

In sum, I had to revert to previous firmware 1.1.1, break it with the TIF exploit, do the proper prep for jailbreaking, and then did the 1.1.2 update through iTunes. After that, I installed apps, found the iPhone's applications and Frameworks (for Weather, Mail, Stocks, and Maps) and several cool apps from the jailbreak site. After this was done I was able to remotely SSH to the iPod and use all the apps.

Let me say now, I was crazy to have waited. The iPod Touch goes from being a cool UI iPod to being an awesome rockin' handheld PDA/music player/browser. The Apple iPhone apps are killer--Mail (I configured mine with my Gmail account via IMAP, not the default built-in configuration), Google Maps, and Weather are elegant and highly functional. The solitaire and blackjack games are fun, and there are several others I have yet to try. While it's still not a laptop, it is highly functional now.

I wouldn't recommend this for everyone by any means but if you have some patience and inclination, it's well worth it.

Blogging Test from the iPod Touch

Let's see if this works....

Sent from my iPodTouch

Job Search Update

When looking for another job it's sometimes hard to tell if your resume and/or cover letter are dialed-in. You'll wonder if the resume is too long, too short, formatted in an attractive and meaningful way, if it reflects your experience and talent, etc. You wonder if your cover letter has the substance that the potential employer needs, if there are any prejudices about where you presently live or your education, etc. It's not until you start getting some nibbles that you realize that you might actually have done a good job branding yourself. And with branding, I firmly believe it needs to go beyond the simple realm of creating a Word document listing your skills. If you have something to offer you can share it in a blog, responses to other blogs and articles that permit comments, reviews of products, forum discussions, etc. On one hand some people might see it as blatant self-promotion and I would have thought the same not long ago but what I'm finding is that it can be meaningful. My favorite recent example is a response to home office energy saving and my response was picked up in a follow-up story. I'm not a radical tree-hugging individual but I do believe in practical changes that aren't overly difficult or expensive and make a difference, particularly when you do a few things that add up and have a nice cumulative effect.

Back to the theme of the post... I have suddenly started getting a few really good nibbles. This serves as excellent affirmation that your identity online (one particular nibble confirmed that) and/or resume and cover letter are firing on all cylinders. One phone interview when really well and the committee was very impressed with my credentials and the discussion. The head of the department took part and called me afterward to tell me that. He also mentioned that he was afraid that I might be over-qualified and that the position might not offer me the ability to influence as much change as he thought I would be capable of, at least not in the near term, but he would enjoy my contributions. I stepped back and thought about it, looked at the location, the pay, and how the position could fit into my long-term career plan and it really didn't make good sense so I withdrew from the running.

I also got a call from a small northeastern college to which I applied over a month ago. Sometimes colleges and higher education take a while to fill positions, both private and public schools. This one looks promising based on the description and I had a phone interview last week that went quite well. They'll be contacting me again in the New Year.

Profile Your IT Organization

5 minute test to do a pop-analysis and summary of your IT organization.

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David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists

Former Talking Head's frontman gives his take on how emerging artists should look at the music industry situation.

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