Back in September we officially launched the first phase of the rating engine replacement at work. It was a long effort – 21 months from the first elaboration meetings I attended in Indianapolis. So what do we get after such an effort? Trip to Seattle for the team to plan out more work! Yay! In any case, we got to take the train, which was an interesting experience. Didn't really care much for it – not because there was anything horribly wrong with it, but more because it didn't really offer any advantages over driving, and it took longer. I still think the coolest way is to fly up there: quick light rail trip to the airport, breeze through security via the Seattle Express lane, walk right on to the plane, take off & land 30 minutes later in Seattle, then take another quick light rail trip over to the office. Total time: 2-2.5 hours. And the cool part is you can take that back at the end of the workday and be back home in time for a (late) dinner! Also, since the expensive hotel stays are skipped, it can even be cheaper for the company to have its employees be cool jetsetters! And now I'm just talking crazy!  And now, the important part! Picture time! 
Union Station, Portland, Oregon, United States. This is train station where the trip to Seattle started. It's downtown, so I just walked over there rather than taking the light rail...which may have been a mistake, since it's a much longer walk with duffle & laptop bags hanging off shoulders! 
Looking out at downtown Seattle from the office. 
Washington Mutual building? Or so I was told...from the 47th floor of Safeco Plaza, Seattle, Washington, United States. Now playing: The Cranberries – Bury The Hatchet – 05 Just My Imagination
Didn't really take any pictures over the summer; unlike previous summers, I didn't go anywhere. Friends were either from the area, or at least a 5 hour plane flight back east, so there was no real need to travel. Besides, work was busy & I'd been down to California several times already this year. The first "vacation" didn't crop up until Labor Day! That's when my parents drove up to visit for a couple days. Unfortunately, their visit wasn't as long as I had thought it would be, and the whole vacation was basically spent shopping & fixing stuff. Not a lot of pictures came out of that! So the first picture that I like didn't get taken until the end of September, and then it was just pure chance: I was walking home from work and saw a picture worthy scene: 
Willamette River and cloudy skies, from the east-side esplanade The next picture came a month later, in October. Leaves were changing color, providing picturesque views from the convenience of my apartment building's roof: 
Colorful leaf changing And finally, with the days rolling by towards the Winter Solstice, it's getting darker earlier. So walking home from work again presented an interesting view, this time of downtown Portland at dusk: 
Downtown Portland at dusk Now playing: Cascada – Everytime We Touch – 01 Everytime We Touch
Way back in June, it was time for the Portland Rose Festival 2010 and Fleet Week 2010 here in Portland. And of course I went out again and spent a day photographing the ships & Portland in general! I didn't go on any of the rides or go watch the parade (I can see how it's fun for kids, or if there's someone/something you know in the parade, but otherwise I find it boring) or take any of the ship tours (the lines were, once again, just too long). In fact, I'm not really happy/satisfied with Fleet Week 2010. I just didn't seem to have good timing like in previous years. Also, it might just be me, but it seemed like there were a lot fewer ships than in previous years. So, there's only 2 pictures this time that I feel really turned out well & that I like: 
HMCS Vancouver, on the Willamette River in Portland for Fleet Week 2010 
Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon open to let a tug boat pushing a barge downstream. That tug + barge were actually part of the problem with getting good pictures. I think the barge must have been empty, because it was floating fairly high in the water. So high in fact, that I couldn't get any pictures of the ships docked on the west bank from my favorite spots along the East-side Esplanade. Guess I should have woken up earlier and gone down! Anyway, the complete album can be found on Windows Live here. Now playing: Air Supply – Ultimate Air Supply – 10 Two Less Lonely People in the World
Now playing: Emm Gryner (featuring Joel Plaskett) – Gem and I – 06 Gold Soul of Rock and Roll
Once upon a time there was actual content being posted on this site. And things were good. This isn't a post that's going to correct that. Instead, it's a return to the time honored navel-gazing of original series blog posts! So, today I went clothes shopping. (note: this marks the 4th time I've done this since graduating college.) And today I stumbled upon several truisms: - Apparently, all other things being equal, I do get larger as I get older, just like everyone else. This made me sad. Especially since it's still impossible to find anything in my sizes.
- Clothes can be expensive! Or at least it seems that way when doing big-bang style shopping.
- I really don't know anything about fashion.
Related to that last point, Wikipedia's article on scarves could use some work. Or maybe I'm just overthinking things... Now playing: Emm Gryner – Gem and I – 08 Revolution Don't Roll
I read a bunch of different web comics. Why? I don't know, they're entertaining? In any case, I've been doing it since college, and so have amassed quite a few. Occasionally one stops publishing, but in general it seems that most have stayed around for a while. Anyway, in case something happens to my saved favorites or my RSS feeds (again!), or in case anyone is interested, here they are: Bookmarks RSS Feeds Okay, so if I think about it, I'm not even sure I like some of those comics anymore. And some aren't even being updated. Maybe its time to stop being such a packrat & clean them up... Now playing: Emm Gryner – Gem and I – 09 Get Brave
No real content; just a collection of links: Now playing: Alanis Morissette – So-Called Chaos – 10 Everything
Sorry, another Link Post. QA testing is going on at work, so 1) the release is getting close because Waterfall + fixed deadline = really scrunched testing timeline, 2) now everyone gets to find out what parts of the specs were just flat out wrong, or what parts need some creative re-writing to reflect bugs in integrating systems. Both of which mean every issue is a Severity 1, Priority 1, RUSH, RUSH, RUSH issue. Yet it always seems to just work out. Hmm... Oh, and a quick shout-out & HI! to all the new visitors who are coming here because that kid jumped off the Vista Bridge & killed himself last week. Enjoy the pictures of the bridge! It's things like this that make me glad I don't have ads and so am not profiting from the 3x increase in traffic from such a tragic event.  Now playing: Donna Lewis – Now in a Minute – 03 I Love You Always Forever
Sorry, it's been a bit since the last post...between work picking up (insanely) and talking to a new friend  , things have been busy. I've actually got a stack of pictures of Portland/Fleet Week to go through & tag & post, so hopefully those will go up at some point. Anyway, here's a link post: Now playing: Josh Ritter – So Runs The World Away – 06 Folk Bloodbath
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About the author
Jeffrey Stults is a software developer currently in Portland, Oregon. He is contactable at:
stultsj@ntldr.net
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent
my employer's view in any way.
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2013
Jeffrey Stults, Jr.
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