[@039]
Hellboy

We went to see Hellboy last weekend. Lots of laughs, but not enough action for my taste. We're planning on seeing Kill Bill v2 next.

jvmstat

Have you tried jvmstat? You really should.

visualgc (pictured) is quickly becoming one of my must-have tool.

Install4J Rocks

I've been putting together an installer for a new project. Normally I would use InstallAnywhere. Since I needed to install a daemon/service, I decided to give Install4J a try instead.

I have to admit that I'm seriously impressed. Install4J's UI is very straight forward, no fluff.

Somehow I always end up having to write plugins for IA. The whole process is quite laborious and tedious. On the other hand, Install4J's API is a breeze. Simple and to the point.

I did have to create a few custom screens. Swing is really not my forte, but I managed (with a little help from Diego — Thanks!)

I also found a small issue under OS X, which was fixed by Hannes right away.

What else can you ask for? Oh yeah… It's a lot cheaper too.

[@769]
Amcrap Part Deux

In case you wondered, Vicki's train was delayed by… get this… 5 1/2 hours last Friday night. Apparently they got stuck behind a freight train somewhere down the line.

If something like that happened in France, people would undoubtedly revolt and bring back the pitch forks. Geez.

Busy

I've been pretty busy as of late. My linkblog updates have been spotty. Sorry about that.

The Punisher

We went to see it on Saturday. We both liked it. Incidentally it was my first theater movie of 2004. We also want to catch Hell Boy and Kill Bill v2.

[@981]
DSL Back! My connectivity is back, full speed! Yippee! [@584]
DSL on the Fritz My DSL connection is acting up. I started noticing it around 4pm yesterday. I've diagnosed the source of the problem to CRC errors on most RX packets in the WAN interface. Line noise. I've called in a trouble ticket, but I have no idea when it will be fixed. I'm supposed to call the central office to get a status update later on today. I'm going through major net withdrawal, not being able to surf, etc. Unless the problem is fixed soon, I won't be able to update my linkblog. It currently takes about 10 minutes to load any given page. Unbearable. The weird part is that a couple nights ago I was blabbing all about how happy I was with my DSL service to some friends. Go figure.

[@651]
24

They preempted 24 because of Bush's speech. Arghhh…

At least Angel is back on tonight.

[Update] Matt tells me that 24 will air this Sunday at 9pm.

Gosling

Gosling weighing in on The Settlement is not impressing me. I put very little credence into his interpretation of decisions which are obviously made way above his pay-grade.

Life goes on.

Linear Thinking

It's amazing how people who mostly use scripting languages have such a linear approach when it comes to software development. The concepts of concurrent threads and autonomous processes are so foreign to them.

[@817]
Amcrap Back from King Street Station. Now I fully understand why Americans prefer not to travel by train. Amtrak is a glaring example of inefficiency at work. No wonder they're constantly asking for the government to bail them out. On a brighter note, traffic wasn't bad at all. [@502]
Train Updates to my linkblog, will be delayed this morning. I have to take Vicki to the train station. She's going on her annual Genealogy-research trip to Salt Lake with a friend. This time they decided to take the train. Should be a lot of fun for her. Dealing with the traffice to and from Seattle won't be. New Sponsor Please visit my new sponsor, All About Symbian. If you own or are planning to buy a Symbian phone you oughta check out their website. Loads of reviews, news and useful resources. If you're interested in advertising on my blog/linkblog, please let me know.

[@114]
Technology Rape In this week's Javalobby Newsletter, Rick shares his concerns about the Sun/MS settlement. Rick's involvement in the court case really gives him a unique perspective. Like everyone else I have more questions than answers. I really don't understand why Sun is willing to let MS rape its technology. MS always manages to emerge on top, leaving its so called technology-partners in the dust. We've witnessed it times and times again. They are a force to reckon with. Sun is hardly up to the challenge. I'm also having a tough time understanding what Sun brings to the table. I can see why MS wouldn't mind sparing some pocket change to settle the case, but I'm confused as to what Sun is actually expecting out of it. Sun is neither strong enough, nor smart enough, to dictate anything. They'll be lucky to collect MS leftover breadcrumbs in the end. Where did the links go? Visit my new Linkblog.