Well, I guess since I’m signing off of this blog finally, it would be ok to put a shameless plug for myself, and some buddies on here. I mean, it’s not like anyone but Charles reads this drivel. :) Don’t forget to update your bookmarks to the new blog at http://allentrevethan.me!

• Looking for a software developer who has tons of web experience leaning on the .NET side of the house? I’ve got experience with development of applications, websites, modules, utilities, and much more. I’m also good with the other parts that are played in the game of making software. I can lead, follow, manage, strategize, advise, consult and educate. I have a unique perspective on software development, and can surely help you make the right decisions for your project. Head over to House Trevethan to get in touch about anything software development!
• Looking for a great website designer who leans toward the Cult of Mac, or the Linux/Apache side of the house? You have a great developer with Scott Berks. He’s a talented, inteligent, and very creative guy. Truly someone who inspired me, and still does. So, if you need someone who can do it all, and for some reason, you don’t want to go with me, check out Scott!
• Looking for hardware help in the Southern Arizona area? Adam D. Technology is the group to contact if you need help with your computer systems, or network. Adam’s a great guy, and offers great service at a great price! Check them out if your hardware seems possessed or you find yourself banging your head into the screen more than once a week.
• Got a sweet tooth? Well, my wife is a pasty chef! Right now she’s working at the Ritz Carlton here in town, but she does do side gigs as well. Her website, Sweetmunkies, is where you go to get in touch with her. Or just call me.
• Gardening? I have a buddy up in the mountains that has turned his love of growing stuff into a business. Check him out at Remote Gardener.
• Looking for handmade knitted stuff? Check out “handknitdiapercovers” on http://madebymama.com.

I’m sure some other friends of mine have gigs going that I’ve forgotten. If you see this, and I didn’t list you, send me a note and I’ll get you a link on there. :) Cuz, you know, that’s what you really needed to hit the bigtime is a link on Slack’s Place! :)

I took the title of this post from a buddy of mine at http://geekeguy.blogspot.com/2010/03/squirrel.html. Seemed like an appropriate title for a post where I will talk about how many irons I have in the fire, and how many cookie jars I’ve got my fingers in. He said it well when he said that he changes direction more than his underwear. Then he went on about something else, blah blah blah SQUIRREL! I had already changed directions. He does paint some pretty awesome models, however! I saw what looked like a battleship, so I assume he’s working on ships now. But I digress…

I’m here to talk about me, and let’s face it, you are hear to read about me. You must be the poster boy, or girl, of boredom… or related to me… Or both… Probably both. So, it seems I haven’t written since January. Let’s see if I can’t catch you up, faithful readers.

Job. My job still rocks. I get to work with code and explore new technology. It’s my thang, you know. Nothing particularly interesting there. I’m working on .NET Remoting, which admittedly is not “new tech”, but it’s new to me, and it’s pretty neat stuff. I wish I could jump into WCF with the rest of the world, but the corporate machine moves slow and cautiously, so we are still using .NET 2.0 here. Nevertheless, .NET Remoting is proving to be some pretty neat and useful stuff. The foundation it is laying for me and my counterparts will no doubt be in valuable when we do move to .NET 3.5.

Bills are still piling up on us, like everyone else in the world. So, I still take side projects to supplement my income. It’s a great way to supplement the income and get some extra cash into the coffers. I’m doing this stuff at home anyway, so might as well make some cash at it too. I’m building up a nice client list and who knows maybe one day down the road it would be a sustaining income.

Heidi is slightly ramping up her cake decorating business again. I’m so glad to see her doing that. We both know it’s a passion for her, and I know that she would be wildly successful at it, given the proper time and place of business to do it. In the meantime, there’s yummy, home made, desserts at our house again. :)

The food we’re eating in general is much better now too, thanks to Heidi. She has taken it upon herself to make sure we are all eating whole foods at least 90% of the time, and that the meat we eat is properly handled through it’s entire lifecycle. We watched Food, Inc. recently and it was a bit of a wake up call for us. Nothing we didn’t already know, but we just got tired of being ok with it. I must admit, I feel a heck of a lot better now that my diet is better. Can’t wait to get further down the road with it.

I recently had to put in a new climate control system for my home office. Too much computer equipment in there now! Kinda neat to have that room on its own “zone”.

My son is still having heart “flutterings” or whatever. Not sure if I mentioned this yet, and too lazy to go check. But he’s been having some heart “vibrations” (that’s what he calls them). They last a couple seconds, and scare him sometimes. We had a monitor on him for a month to capture these things. Doc said nothing looks weird. So, not sure what it is. It’s pissing me off that we can’t find anything solid on it. More to come on that — hopefully a solution — soon.

Games!! We all know how I love my games! Well, there’s this new game called, “WORK YOUR ASS OFF CUZ YOU GOT BILLS” that I’ve been playing. … Stupid bills. I got a nice new gaming machine, and haven’t been able to stretch its legs yet… grrrr.

That’s about it… More to come hopefully… But you know how that goes. :) I’m gonna hit post before I change my mind and post nothing.

Wow, I remember when I used to actually blog. Before the onslaught of the Everyman’s blog on MySpace and Facebook. Not that I was any good at it, but I was better about the frequency of useless crap I’d post up here. YEP! You guessed it: ANOTHER OMG-I-Haven’t-Blogged-In-Forever post.

So, there you have it. I haven’t blogged in forever, blah blah blah blah I want to post more often, blah blah blah, <insert joke about how few readers I have> yadda yadda yadda. The probable reality is that I will likely not update for another huge stretch of time, but I really do want to try!!

So, what’s been going on in our lives for those of you who don’t know? Rhys is five freakin years old now! Insane! It seems like only yesterday that we were going through all the bullshit in the NICU, and then all the stupid ass therapy sessions. I say that because it was a pain, not because they aren’t professionals or anything. Those folks really were a godsend. But, again, so long ago… Looking at him now you’d not know he had all those issues. You clearly see all of my crazy on him, peppered with mom’s crazy too, but you’d dismiss it as normal and maybe mumble something about “poor kid”.

I still have a wonderful job at Cogswells Cogs ;) and am loving almost every minute of it. :) I’ve recently taken to ramping up my side businesses in the form of a second job since this economy is in the toilet. Boy, am I glad Obama passed that stimulus package. Can you imagine how bad it would be if he hadn’t? Whew. Thanks Mr. Obama, you rock like Chopin on tranqs.

And on that note, I’m gonna get back to work, and hopefully blog just a bit more often. :) Hope all is well out there in Happyland!

How are we doing? We’re doing fine. Though, apparently I’ve lost my tan. My wife commented to me today, “DAMN, honey! You are white!!” My own wife!! Why is this profound? Well, because my wife has such little pigment in her skin she’s practically translucent.

She also told me, “What happened to you? You used to be so dark, and now you are the whitest I’ve ever seen you! And all those liver spots on you…”

I promptly flipped her the bird, “LIVER SPOTS!?!?! What? You mean my freckles!?” See what I have to put up with here? :)

I fear the code is consuming me. Turning me into a Smeagol of sorts. My precious… If I start losing my hair, and talking to myself (more than normal) then someone please come kick me in the face and torch my computer.

On a serious note: We’re “that much” more moved in. :) I say that because it seems immeasurable. I know we are getting tons done, but things aren’t really moving at a pace that leaves a mark in the face of the list we have left to do. Even with everything in disarry, however, we are more happy here than on our best day at the other house. This is definitely our place. I think we will be here a good long time. I’ll post pictures once we clear out more of the boxes and what not.

Just wanted to make a post of some sort since I have been incognito for a spell.

I got the redesign for the Joel Gaines Show done (http://www.joelgainesshow.com). Now I can move on to finishing my Authentication Class. During the redesign I made a PHP class for custom borders. I will post it at House Trevethan for anyone who wants to use it.

Tomorrow begins a new week! I hope everyone’s week goes well! See you on the other side!

PS: If you own a small business (or a large one) or know anyone who does and who might be interested in advertising on a political talk show, please let us know by writing to marketing@joelgainesshow.com. THANKS!

I hate upgrading… 2.6.1 is out now… Get your upgrade hat on.