Jeremy Tarpley's weblog

Summer

2007-09-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

God has really blessed me with a steady stream of activity this year. I am not happy when I am idle.

I am having trouble sleeping and I decided I should write to help clear my mind. With school starting this week, I thought of the dreaded first paper of the year required each September in grade school. I'm sure everyone had this assignment each fall, write a report of your activities over the summer vacation. So, if any of my grammar school teachers are reading, here it is, one more time:

What I did this summer.
This summer was filled with new jobs, moving, trips and weddings.

As school let out, my small business (shameless plug) started work on the largest contract we have received so far.

Move 1: helped Cody, one of my college roommates, move into my house.

Trips 1, 2 & 3: Three back to back trips to Austin in about a month. One bachelor party, wedding and a cousin's graduation. Approached by, interviewed with and offered a new job with the Texas A&M Libraries Digital Initiatives. Put in my two weeks at the Computer Science Department.

My bike was stolen from campus which under normal circumstances would get me down but the same week, I started my awesome new job. In the excitement of the transition, I barely took notice.

Trip 4: Over the course of a week, I drove Brian's truck to Dallas to pick up my brother Steven at the airport, we drove to Arkansas to visit our grandmother, drove from there to Georgia where we meet up with the family to see our brother Brian graduate from officer candidate school at Ft. Benning, flew back to Dallas to attend my roommate's wedding, flew back to College Station early enough to make it to work on time Monday morning.

Trip 5: Spent four days at a terrific house on the shore of lake Travis over the 4th of July. We were not able to get on the lake because the water was too high. Since when do we have problems with having too much water in Texas? Sometimes irony sucks. I still had a great time with my friends but it would be a lie to say we didn't wish to be in the boat. No wake boarding this summer...

Trip 6, Move 2: Dave and Emily returned from their honeymoon. The three of us packed up all of their belongings into a twenty-four foot truck, Emily and Dave's cars. We finished packing and hit the road at three in the afternoon and set off for Colorado. Driving through the night, we made it to Wichita Kansas on the first leg, slept a few hours and then set off for Colorado. We moved everything in, spent a day in Loveland and Ft. Collins then I flew back to Houston on the red eye. Brian picked me up a midnight and drove me back to College Station on his way to his first post at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.

Trip 7: Left work mid afternoon to drive to Dallas for a wedding and to see a couple friends.

My brother got engaged!

Traded in the old junker (suckers) and bought a new truck.

Moves 3, 4, 5: This month, Shaun, my cousin, moved into my house, moved a co-worker across town and helped my cousin, Randy, move into his new dorm. Finally, this past week, I stumbled into the best freelance job I have ever had. 'whew

New Job!

2007-05-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

I landed a new job!

floss & irony

2007-05-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

I managed to get a bit of floss stuck in my teeth this morning.

Just thought I would share that tidbit from my day, I'm a fan of irony.

Direction

2006-12-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

Over the past year, I have spent a fair amount of time trying to decide on what to do next. I think I am finally staring to formulate something of a plan.

I have a perfectly good job and I like what I do so I am not sure why I am so restless. This feeling of malcontent is actually worrying me. In the past year, I have received a promotion at work, started a small business and the landlord gig is definitely profitable. I have nothing to complain about.

For a while now, I have hoped I would somehow come to realize exactly what to do with my life. I have not come up with anything definite so far. This is extremely frustrating. I believe I function best when I have a single, clearly defined goal that I can work towards. I'm not content drifting from one interest to the next.

During all this reflection, I have come up with the following observations: First - I can no longer wait for the answers to just come to me. My goal is to be focused on two or three basic areas of self improvement. Second - There is no need for me to decide my exact job or career path right now. Third - There is a strong correlation between my general level of contentment, self esteem, etc. and my physical fitness. Fourth - I need to simplify and focus and limit my interests to my education, my job and my business. Finally, and most importantly - I need to stop procrastinating and continue my education.

So this is step one - I have stated the obvious. Until I have a definite career goal to work towards, my goal will be self improvement and to do my best to advance the web development business.

The plan

The plan is to go back for my masters next fall but continue working the full time job and trying to expand my web development business. The business is showing real promise as a viable career option so I want to feed it more of my time and energy.

On the personal wellbeing front, I have signed up for a personal trainer to help me get the workout back on track for the first time in six years. In an effort to simplify and focus, I have started a list of all of my ongoing projects. I plan to knock out the last of my personal pet projects and hobbies, and not start anything new so I can devote my free time to web development and to continuing my education.

Trip photos

2006-10-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

I posted photos from my three most recent trips. At the end of August, I spent a great weekend boating and wakeboarding on lake Palestine. The following week I left for a two week trip, backpacking North Cascades and Olympic National Parks with my brothers. A couple of weeks after backpacking, I left for a visit to Washington DC with my parents.

I think I will try to write about my backpacking trip later. Its amazing what a bit of fresh air can do to improve my mood. I was in a fog before this trip. Little things were getting me down and I was worrying about small problems. Our little walk seems to have cleared everything up.

Back to work

2006-10-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

I apologize if it seemed like I dropped off the face of the earth over the past six weeks. After three back to back trips, I am back in town and unpacked.

At the beginning of August, I was worried that all of this travel around the first of the fall semester would set me behind for the entire semester. Somehow, everything seems to have worked out.

Bees!

2006-09-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

A bee stung me in the neck this evening. Good times...

*UPDATE: 9/23* Two more bees stung me today! Wasps this time - last week was a honey bee. I found their nest and took my revenge. I have had four bee stings in my entire life. Three were this week.

Semi Busy

2006-05-07T22:04:00.000-07:00

I want to apologize to my friends and relatives for not being around much this semester. Somehow I have managed to heap too much on my plate again. When I graduated from college, I decided to take it easy, work only one job and limit the number of projects I took on. I wanted to read more, play more golf, watch more movies, go to bed early and spend more time with friends and family.

This week marks my second complete year out of school. I have had limited success in my pursuit to do less. Since graduation I have managed to almost always be semi busy. Over the past few days I have had plenty of down time available for thinking. (about three and half days – see post below) I realized that I am not playing golf, I have NetFlix sit for a month before I watch them and I have been staying up later.

As usual I have no one to blame but myself. Of course I have the usual things that keep me busy this time of year - helpdesk scheduling, hiring new student workers family in town, etc. Since spring break I have broken my usual rule of one large project at a time. At home I have started installing wood floors. My progress has been slower than I anticipated. More notably, one of my co-workers and I have started a small web development business. I am now an LLC. Ill post more info on the floors when they are finished and the business when I have everything set up.

After I get caught up I think I need to figure out how to keep myself from starting more than one project at a time. I want to start playing more golf, reading and sleeping more.

Certifiable

2006-05-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Three and a half mind numbing, torturous days of training are over. I am now a certified cpr, aed & first aid instructor. It amazes me how one day of material can be dragged out. I think text book publishers are in the business of taking simple subjects and adding fat, fluff and bloat until one book of simple instruction that could be covered thoroughly in a day becomes two books, two workbooks and three pamphlets requiring an additional two and a half days to cover.

Ski Trip: 2006

2006-02-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

I have posted the photos I took from last week’s ski trip. There are only 14 pics so far, my camera was acting up so I didn’t use it most of the trip. I know Anne and Dave have some excellent photographs. I am hoping they will allow me to post a few of them.

Anyway, Copper had the best powder I have ever seen (76 - 96 inch base!). On many of the runs, the powder was deep enough that you could not see your skis. To sum up the trip: My bum ankle healed, I got stuck in a turnstile, successfully skied the most difficult trails I have ever been on and wiped out a-lot on the easy runs. Oh, BTW, I have experienced the ’B’ line, I am never going back.

Kerry, Dave, thanks for organizing everything, we couldn’t have possibly found a better deal on such a great condo and trip. Anne thanks for selflessly sharing your internet connection with everyone. It can be difficult to feed my addiction on vacation. Casey - we all appreciate you skiing slow so the rest of us can keep up. Steve - mountain sickness? Since when are you susceptible to altitude sickness? That’s my favorite illness, way to show me up. Kevin, Jason - you better come back next year. The second ski trip isn’t nearly as painful as the first. (Good luck on your surgery Jason).

Thanks guys & girls, I can’t wait for next year.

Laptop

2006-02-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

If anyone suffered through my previous post (if you haven’t read it - don’t), you know that I lost a laptop. This may be as shocking to you as it was to me: no one has found it. DFW and United both said they will call me back if it turns up. I’ll be holding my breath.

I think I’m better off not borrowing laptops in the future.

Panic, Rage, Stupidity

2006-02-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

I managed to loose a tablet pc (laptop) in the DFW airport this afternoon. To make matters worse, the computer was borrowed from work. I had checked out the computer just-in-case I required Internet access while on a ski trip with some friends (I’ll talk about the trip when I stop kicking myself). Ironically, I had decided to carry the laptop because I was afraid that my luggage would be lost.

The last time I am certain that I had the laptop was at the baggage claim at DFW. I don’t know for sure where I left the computer, but I know I had it when I picked up my backpack. It had been wrapped in plastic, I am guessing that I put the computer down when I removed my pack from the plastic bag.

I don’t know if it was the effects of post-ski-trip-tum depression or the chaser of jet lag. Either way, I didn't realize the laptop was missing until we were halfway home from Dallas. I started to worry when we were unable to find it inside the truck. Panic really set in when we stopped and throughly searched the truck and luggage. I abandon hope. I realize what I had done, my panic quickly turns to rage.

Rage really isn’t the word, I don’t believe I posses the vocabulary to adequately describe the frustration and anger I experience when I realize I have done something really dumb and I have no one to blame but myself. Sitting in the backseat of the truck, I had no way to vent; I wanted to throw a tantrum or break something. Quietly fuming, I concentrate, try to retrace my steps between the baggage claim and the parking lot. I can’t remember anything, its all a blur. My attitude darkens. For better than an hour I am in the worst conceivable mood. There are few feelings worse than anger with no object, no one to blame but myself. After a few hours, anguish and frustration gradually turn to just feeling stupid. I can deal with stupid.

This is the second time I have experienced this rare mood in as many weeks. Two weeks ago, I had over $200 in siding (for my house), break off at the tail gate of my brother’s truck. All at once, the entire load of siding had snapped in two. Much of it fell into a crowded intersection (university and hw6). At night. In the rain. I was driving the truck, I had loaded the siding, I had tied the knots.

Anyway, my bad mood has passed. I still feel like a dolt for losing a laptop. I called the airline’s lost and found, no one was there. It was just as well, I didn’t have anything but a description of the computer. I will find the serial number tomorrow before I call back. With any luck, I will take an afternoon vacation in Dallas tomorrow. Otherwise, I guess I will take a less desirable trip - to Best Buy.

Enough ranting, i need to take a shower. I just don’t understand how I can smell bad - I have been sitting all day...

Site Changes

2006-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am changing hosting services this week. There will probably be problems with my site for the next few days.

Hacked

2006-01-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

My website has been defaced twice in the past few days. Yesterday, i checked my site for the first time in a while (someone has to look at it) and was very surprised to see that my homepage had been replaced by a plain white webpage with the text "defaced by YELLOW MOUSE" and a photo of a yellow stuffed animal (presumably a mouse). Here is a copy for the curious.

Well, I changed my passwords, removed a couple of old ftp accounts and looked for any obvious security holes. I had no unsecured upload scripts, anonymous ftp accounts, etc. My hosting service has links to ftp logs for my web space; either they don’t exist or I am unable to access them. The FTP stats don’t show any activity this month... I’d worked all day and I have a cold so I decide that I have done all I can for the time being. I replace the defaced page with an old copy of my homepage and go home for the day.

This morning I discover my site has once again been defaced. Unfortunately, my phone starts ringing early and doesn’t stop until mid morning. I was hoping work would be quiet today so I could take a closer look at this problem. O well – that’s what lunch breaks are for.

(excuses: )
I have been bested (and a bit embarrassed). I have not intentionally written any insecure scripts, I acknowledge that I am by no means an expert on php. Most of the php on my site is between two and three years old. I definitely didn’t know what I was doing when I first started learning php three years ago, so it won’t surprise me if I find something stupid in my code. I guess I will spend my evening going over every script. In hindsight – I probably should have done this yesterday.

(passing the buck: )
I also suspect other people’s code. My hosting service provides several content management and blogging applications. While I do not use any of them, I have installed several and I am certain they have not been kept up–to–date. Needless to say, I will be removing any code that I didn’t write. I believe I will also look for a hosting service that provides sftp or scp access.

(crying uncle: )
What ever the case is – I want to thank the person who has discovered this exploit for not being destructive or doing anything vulgar. If you’re interested in helping a guy out – I am dying to know how you gained access. I am not rich, but if you could shoot me an anonymous email, maybe I could figure out some kind of reward in exchange for your knowledge.

RA Boat Trip Part Deux

2005-08-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

The RA boat trip was great. It is always cool to see old friends. Since I left the tower, i seem to always dwell on the bad times and the negative aspects of that place. Now I remember why I enjoyed living there so much. Matt, thanks for setting all this up (again). The customary photos are here.

Andrew's website

2005-08-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

I recently helped my cousin Andrew set up a web site. For those of you who don't know him, Andrew is currently stationed in Bagdad and doesn't always have time to email numerous family and friends. This site allows him to write everyone at once. If you want to read Andrew's letters or leave him a message, the site is here: www.andrewcobos.com

My first house - week 1

2005-06-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

I closed on the house a week ago yesterday. - Somehow I am still bleeding cash. All the simple essentials really add up: lawn mower, weed eater, garden hose, groceries (satellite, home network, huge bar-b-q grill...)

The roommates and their dogs (lab and weimaraner) are moved in, the utilities are on, and food is in the fridge. It is cool having puppies around - I have been without a dog since I left for college.

I am enjoying the freedom to do what ever I want to the place I live. When you live in an apartment, it can be aggravating to wait for a maintenance guy to fix anything - especially for an aspiring handyman. I installed a digital thermostat last night. Believe it or not it works and I didn’t short anything out, no sparks and no fires (knock on wood).

I think the best part so far is being able to mow my own lawn. There is instant gratification in cutting grass; you immediately get to see the result of your work, it doesn't really require much thought, and you get to be outside.

I am already starting a mental list of projects. Painting, flooring (wood if i can afford it) landscaping, wiring, building furniture and adding lighting are all on the list. I think my Saturdays will probably be busy for a while.

I'm back!

2005-06-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

I'm back! After a long hiatus from my online ramblings, I have decided its time to update the world on what I have been up to for the last few months.

This spring was unusually busy. Since my last post in February, I have started my own business, spent many hours shopping for my first house and acquiring a mortgage (4.99% !!!).

I have taken up rock climbing (again), started waking up predawn (sometimes) and learned how to wakeboard (kinda).

I closed on my house today and I just got back from a great Memorial Day lake trip (photos are here). I will post more on the trip and the house later.

New Photos

2005-02-23T23:44:00.000-08:00

I uploaded a few (70) of the photos from last week's ski trip. You can view them here: jeremytarpley.com/photos

Ski trip people, I made these photos small for the web, so they wont print well. You can download all of the full size photos here: www.jeremytarpley.com/files/ski_trip.zip If you dont want to download a huge file, I will probably be ordering prints soon. If anyone wants a photo printed, shoot me an email or call me.

While i was working on these photos, I realized that I had not uploaded any of my pics from my winter backpacking trip in the Guadalupe Mts. Well - here are a few of 'em. I don't have photoshop installed right now, so the ski trip and backpacking photos dont look their best and the images are somewhat large for the web.

Going Skiing this week - chances are, youre not.

2005-02-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

I will be staying at Copper Mountain and skiing until Monday. I probably wont have internet access to post photos during the trip. Mom - you below are (semi) realtime images from the Copper Mountain webcams., you can click on them to see a larger image.

Mom here is the weather forcast:

Thu Feb 17
Partly Cloudy
23°/16° 20%

Fri Feb 18
Snow Shower
27°/20° 40%

Sat Feb 19
Snow Shower
23°/18° 40%

Sun Feb 20
Few Snow Showers
24°/15° 30%

I'm lazy

2005-02-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of months, I have been lazy and neglected my website. I would like to apologize to my huge internet audience. In my defense, I was busy at work during finals in December, I didn’t feel like messing with computers over Christmas break and when I returned, work quickly picked up again for the new semester.

Not much has changed since fall. Brian Steven and I went backpacking in the Guadalupe mountains over Christmas. (Over 20 miles, more than 3000 ft total elevation gain in 1.5 days - I am still tired). We started at the base of Guadalupe peak and ended up in McKittrick canyon. The views were spectacular; Ill eventually get around to posting the photos.

Bonfire Memorial photos.

2004-11-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

I was on campus shortly after sunrise and I happend to have my camera in my backpack. The lighting was pretty good so i snapped a few photos of the A&M Bonfire Memorial. I didnt spend too much time with them in photoshop, so the panos are not stiched very well. You can view them at my photo page.

Backpacking Photos

2004-11-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, i didnt take all my photos in Washinton while backpacking, but most of them are from the trail. You can view the photos from my trip to Olympic on my photo page. (www.jeremytarpley.com/photos)

I divided them into two different albums. The first album from the trip is a collection of photos that I took as panormas. I have done a rough job of stiching them together in photoshop. The panormas are in no particular order. The second album contains all the other photos I took on the trip. Ill try to add descriptions to the photos in the next week or two.

Im glad a few of the photos came out good. I spent a week looking stupid, staging photos with a tripod. I would have been upset if i hadnt got a few good pics out of it.

Out of the woods.

2004-10-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Im back in college station. Sorry there were no updates from the trial. I had cell reception a couple of days, but for some reason i was unable to connect to my site. Not that it matters, i dont think anyone reads this anyway.

Overall, the trip was great. The weather wasnt bad at sea level, but it started to snow from 2500 ft in the mountains. Needless to say, i didnt get too far into the olympics. The snow started when i was about two miles down the trial this past monday. The snow only stopped when it rained. After a couple of days i got tired of being cold and wet so I went back to sea level. Spent a night at a lake and a couple on the coast.

It will probably be a few days before i finish editing the photos. Ill put them online asap.

Walking alone

2004-10-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, its official, no one is going to be able to join me on next weeks trip. So, i bought an extra book for the trip. I have collected all my supplies, maps, clothes, etc. I still have no final route planned. I decided that ill ask the park rangers to help me plan a route once i get there. Checking the weather - it looks like im going to get rained on. Kinda expected that, it is the pacific northwest.