Chomer Speaks

1 to 1s.
I’ve been doing quite a few 1to1 sessions at the Apple store lately. Mostly on Finalcut Express. I’ve learned quite a bit about it. I recently took a 1to1 on Garage Band. Got that pretty much down. If I want more I will have to migrate to Logic Express or Pro. I think Garage Band will meet my needs for now.

College.
I’ve begun the process of getting my college transcripts to Devry. I plan on finally getting a bachelor’s degree. I want to finish what I started years ago!

YouTube Contest.
I entered a contest on Youtube to win a $300 light-kit. I didn’t win but it was allot of fun and I learned allot in the process.

Day Planner.
I got filler pages for my Franklin day planner. I think I now have the impetus (the fire in my belly) to put the thing to good use. Basically, to keep track of my schedule and the things I want to accomplish.

Anniversary.
The wife and I just celebrated our 6th. Took an extra day off and went to the zoo. Very enjoyable day.

Work.
I’ve been able to be more mentally engaged. Though far from perfect. I am seeing improvement here and it is encouraging.

iPhone Dev.
Went to the July Cocoa-Head users meeting in the Apple store. was okay. Also signed up for the Chicago iPhone Dev Camp that will be in August. I need to devote some more time to this. I need to be spending more time reading through the on-line documentation.

There’s so many things rattling around in my brain right now (as usual) and its hard to know what to pick out to talk about. And I want to write. Many times during these brain log-jams, I just throw in the towel and I don’t write a thing.

I think the best thing to do is start typing. Just start typing into the blog.

My attempts at programming the iPhone are kinda so so. I have fits of programming attempts. My main road-block seems to be learning how to use XCode properly.

I’ve talked to people who work in the Oakbrook Apple store and the big Michigan Avenue Apple store in downtown Chicago. Not suprisingly, beyond knowing how to use the iPhone, they don’t have any info/help on how to program the thing. Gosh, I wish I had gone to the developer conference Apple just had in San Fran!

I didfind out about a programmer’s group in the Chicagoland area that meets once a month at the Michigan Avenue Apple Store. The Cocoaheads. I saw some stuff out there about iPhone programming. I am planning on going to their July meeting. Wish me luck!

I finally took my first 1to1 course at the Apple store on Finalcut Express. Pretty good! Sadly, I’ve had the membership for a while now and have wasted several weeks. I am all signed up for another 1to1 though.

Are you an iPhone developer? Do you know XCode pretty well? Do you mind if I bother you with questions? Let me know.

“Cree cree creee creee…”   sound of crickets…

I got to come up with a written list of my current iPhone questions to:

• Bring to that meeting in July.
• To give via email addresses shown at the end of the Apple “how-to” videos.

Am I babbling? Probably.

My health (panic attack and anxiety issues) has been gradually improving as I have been:

• Staying away from caffiene
• Taking GABA (An amino acid)
• Taking 5-HTP.
• Taking B Vitamins & Magnesium.
• Trying to eat right.
• Taking a multiple vitamin.
• Trying to recollect what I did right for the day not what I did wrong.
• Trying to recollect what I completed, as opposed to what I didn’t complete.
• Not only let my body rest, but my thoughts rest too.

One thing that has been therapeutic, has been gardening.  I’ve created this whole new garden bed in my back yard. It’s got this nice edging, cedar mulch, and I’ve planted 3 new bushes! I hope that they survive.

The bushes have some new holes in allot of the leaves. I looked on the underside of the leaves… no bugs were found. I’ve now added flowers and garden lights to my garden bed (some flowers have not been planted yet). Oh, and I have one tomato plant.

I still have dreams of living in Hawaii some day (on the beach). Okay, I don’t want much do I?

Visited my dad at the nursing home. He was quite lucid. Haven’t seen him that lucid in quite some time. I know its not something I can expect regularly. If I had my druthers, I would live by the ocean in Hawaii and my dad would live with us and we would have in-home healthcare for him. I don’t know if my dad would live long enough for this to happen. I can dream.

I thank God that some good stuff has happened…

• My external 1TB hard drive is working. It was the power cable that didn’t work. A power cable is allot cheaper than a new drive!
• Scheduled someone to come out to the house today and remove the bird’s nest and replace the vent that popped out.
• I have begun the process of importing video from my camera into FinalCut Express from the work I did in St. Louis. This will probably take most of the day due to the hours of video taken. Once it is done, I can clear the camera’s hard drive (which is currently full).
• I’m doing some abb exercises in addition to some exercises that my wife gave me. These are helping. I think this has reduced my discomfort by 35-40%.
• I’m getting a full body massage tonight as well as Sunday Afternoon to ease the pain and loosen things up in my neck and shoulders.
• I’m going to the chiropractor on Monday (its about time). I looked in the mirror two days ago and noticed that I’m really out of wack. No wonder my neck hurts!
• I actually got some real measurable work done for my job. That really helps one feel better emotionally (at least me)!
• I’ve done some work on a web site that my sister and I are working together on. I got the access to the mySQL database that I set up for it working properly.
• I ordered an IPTV service for my house.

Not bad for the last three days!