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My dad sent me a link to Wikipedia about a new computer scare. No, its not the Conficker Virus. It’s the Y2K scare all over again. This time it’s Y2k38 and it effects more than just the PC world. According to the article in Wikipedia, The problem affects all software and systems that store system time as a signed 32-bit integer, and interpret this number as the number of seconds since 00:00:00 January 1, 1970.

What does this mean to us. Probably nothing, I have a feeling that all the programmers that worked on the Y2K issue will resolve this issue as well. We have way to many smart people on this planet to allow something like this to happen. Below is a count down for those of you that want to bite your nails for the next 29 years.

Countdown

For the rest of us in the real world, I think there are more immediate thing that we need to be concerned with. Things like the deteriorating climate due to the excessive use of fossil fuels, the failing economy, the link to child related illness due to pollution levels across the planet or for those really far reaching worriers, how about the proposed end of life as we know it by the year 2012 based on the Incan/Mayan Calendar.

Me, I am simply going to live each day and worry about the things that I can change. I try not to let things that are out of my control interfere with my every day activities. If I did, I probably would never leave the house.

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Germany almost at the End!

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Brian under Family, Life, Travel.

Today was another day in Germany and luckily one of the last. I have 3 days left then I am home.

Today we did some of the final testing that I could do in Germany (most of the testing needs to be done in the US) and went through the error logs. We had a healthy German discussion (this involved a lot of loud talking) about some issues that we saw as problems but the development team saw as standard operation. I am hoping that its just a fluke and it will correct itself when I return to the states. If not then they will be getting numerous e-mails until its fixed.

I was supposed to go to dinner with Matthias tonight but the restaurant that he want to take me to was closed today for a private function. So he made a reservation for tomorrow. I think that we will be joined by his family and a few people from work. I am looking forward to it. Its an Italian restaurant that is actually run by Italians. He says that it’s the best that he has ever had, I’m looking forward to it. I am supposed to meet my boss on Friday if I choose to, he also is going to an Italian Restaurant in Frankfurt. I figure, hey the food is free so why not take advantage of it. I just wont eat Italian at home for a while.

Originally I was supposed to get a car to drive from Attendorn back to Frankfurt on Friday. After the ride up here and the fact that you can not really go “All Out” on the autobahn and I can not read any of the street signs, I decided that it was probably in my best interest to get a taxi instead. I get picked up Friday at 4:00 and will arrive in Frankfurt sometime around 6-ish depending on traffic. My boss said that if I get in anytime before 9 I should come eat. I just havens decided if I want to go or not. It’s not that I don’t want to enjoy the food and I love the company of my boss, I learn something from him every time I get to talk to him. It’s just that I was actually looking forward to just chilling out in the Hotel, going to bed early (or maybe not going to bed at all to prepare for the time zone change again) and then heading out at 5 am to catch my flight. I leave at 8am on Saturday and should arrive in Wichita sometime after 5pm. I know you have heard it before but I will say it again. i am looking forward to coming home. I know my wife misses me and I miss her deeply. I also miss my family and friends. I look forward to seeing them all when I return.

One of the things that I had the ability to do but did not was go to the “Cebit” expo in Hanover Germany. Its the largest electronics expo in all of Europe. Originally I was going to partake in this (I was offered a free ticket from work) then I decided at the last min not to. I figured I am around IT geeks all day long and I was not looking forward to being around a large center full of IT geeks that spoke little to no English. Looking back, I should have taken advantage of this. But it would have meant that I would have had to give up going to the caves or the Museum and I really enjoyed going to both. So the sacrifice would not have been worth it. Plus I liked walking around the town looking at the buildings, the views and just watching the people. In Hanover, its a larger city and it would have been more like being at home. All-in-all I think I made the right choice. Plus, they want me to come back once a year every year now because of the progress that I have made. They feel that I have something to offer and that I should come out every year for at least a week to do a “refresher” of the systems and processes and see what they can offer us or what I can offer them. I suggested a swap, one year here one year some one comes to the US, they actually liked that as well (if not better). I think I may have started a new trend in our business make up that may benefit both of our groups.

Well, I am starting to get tired and I think I am going to head to bed now. I will talk more tomorrow after I return from dinner. Maybe I will have some nice pictures of the food and the restaurant. I will be in a new town as well so I may ave some pictures of the town if I get a chance. Everyone have a great night and I hope everyone is well.

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Germany another day down.

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Brian under Family, Life, Travel.

Well I am another day closer to going home to my baby. I am getting anxious. I pity anyone that is going to be around me on Saturday at the airport. I am going to be like a kid at Christmas waiting to sit on Santa’s lap. Today i did some more testing and then sat through a few meetings, got some new capabilities in one of our reporting systems and sat through a very lengthy meeting and argued that the process they were trying to cut needed to be left alone because the view they had was not the view of the users and they were working for the users and not themselves. Needless to say, I got my point across and won. Now we will see if it stays all the way to launch.

I am addicted to the Turkish place on the corner. It’s one of the things that I am going to miss about this place. I have eaten there at least once a day every day since I have been here. They are very nice to me and they have accommodated me in every way. I went there at lunch today and ate with the development group. For the first time in my life (and I am not exaggerating one bit) I witnessed an entire table full of grown people eat a pizza and never physically touch a single piece with there hands. That’s right, each of the 4 developers ordered a small pizza each. They then got out a fork and an knife and they cut and ate there pizzas with utensles. I looked around and found a few other people doing the same thing. I got a Turkish pizza (which is like a wrap) and I am cramming this thing into my face while they are all eating small bites with a fork. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen and I don’t think I will ever witness it again. I just racked it up to the differences that I have been learning about between the cultures.

I am so looking forward to getting home. Back to cable TV, fast food, stable internet connections and the most important thing of all, my wife. I can not wait to get back to her. I miss her so much, her smell, her touch, her…….dammed I am getting all worked up just thinking about her. I have her picture on my desk top but its just not enough any more. I have a new respect for those in the military or those that have to take positions that take them away from family and friends for extended periods of time. I don’t know how they do it. If I had to stay here much longer I think I would have gone bonkers. They would have found me standing on the bell tower naked shouting obscenities to people as they walked by. They told me today that they were so impressed with the progress that they made and everything that we had accomplished that they think I should come to Germany for at least one week every year. I proposed that we alternate years. One year some one comes to America, the next I come out to Germany. They actually liked that idea. I don’t think I will need to come to Germany again this year (it was thought that I might) which I am grateful for. As much as I want to get home, I will miss some things about this place. I like the convenience of everything. If I want to go to the store its a quick walk away, if I want to go to a restaurant or fast food shop it’s a quick walk away. Actually just about anything is just a quick walk away, including my office. Everybody walks around here. It’s one of the things that I really liked, the convenience of everything. I thought that we had convenience in the states but I was very wrong. I will miss it, but no so much as to stay, lol.

Well, I think that’s all I got for know. I am going to head to bed so that I can wake up in time to chat with the wife before she goes to bed.