Category: Uncategorized

Ours At Last

Posted on by Scott

After about two weeks of homelessness (a.k.a. living in my wife’s condo and hotels), we finally completed the settlement process on our shiny new townhouse around 3 pm this afternoon. Less than two hours later, we’d spent some of the profit left over from the sale of my old townhouse on new furniture for the main level. Between working full-time, preparing a house to sell, and buying a new one, the past four months have been incredibly busy. It still won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Tomorrow is move-in day, since PODS is coming to pick up their storage unit at noon. There’s still Verizon FIOS to install, furniture deliveries to accept, more furniture and electronics to buy (not to mention a new washer and dryer). I’ll be glad when we’re finally settled in so we can invite some friends to hang out.

Our new neighborhood is still in the process of being built, but what we’ve seen so far of where we’ll be living looks great. I’m looking forward to getting to know our new neighbors.

Fastest Realtor in the East?

Posted on by Scott

I didn’t think a house could be sold in just 4 days, but I was wrong. We got a list price, all-cash offer on the house yesterday. Many thanks to our realtor and friend Karane Campbell. I couldn’t recommend her more highly. She priced the place perfectly and worked hard on the three interested parties to get us the best price.

First-Time Home Seller

Posted on by Scott

Since my wife and I are buying a new place together, I’m selling the townhouse we currently live in. If you’re looking to move into Montgomery County, Maryland you won’t find a better value.

The $285,900 list price gets you a 3-level interior unit townhouse with 2300 square feet of living space; 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, 2 fireplaces, and a fully-finished walkout basement. The $125 monthly homeowners’ association dues cover your water bill, assigned parking space, trash, recycling, maintenance of community common areas and snow removal. Whether you work in DC, Maryland or northern Virginia, this location puts them well within reach. Metro’s Red Line is a 10-minute walk from the front door. The Beltway and Route 29 are just minutes away by car. I’ve had career opportunities in each of these areas over my 14 years here and having these transit options made it a lot easier than it might have been otherwise.

When it comes to shopping, dining, or entertainment, this area is hard to beat. Wheaton Plaza is just around the corner. The area’s newest Costco store will soon be open there. There are multiple CVS pharmacies, a Target and a Giant Food store. A brand-new Safeway is also scheduled to open within a year. There a few good Thai and Vietnamese restaurants within a short drive or a walk. Everything that downtown Silver Spring has to offer is a short drive (or two Metro stops) away.

If you’re into exercise, this area has you covered there too. LA Fitness has a facility in the Wheaton Plaza complex. The paved trails of the Sligo Creek Parkway are not far away either if you run or cycle.

Contact our realtor, Karane Campbell at (240) 393-8906 if you’re interested in finding out more.

MLS# MC7968156

How to Be Black

Posted on by Scott

I finished reading this provocatively-titled book a couple of days ago. I expected Baratunde Thurston’s memoir to have its funny moments (he worked for The Onion until recently) and it did. I was not expecting the deep insights about black identity I found throughout the book. I also wasn’t expecting to see as much of myself in the author (beyond the unpleasant childhood experiences I had as a result of not fitting the stereotypes of what black kids are supposed to do and be). It was a pleasant surprise to discover that Thurston and I have Washington Post internships in common (as does my friend Sandro, one of the handful of other black computer scientists I know).

I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that Thurston’s interest in technology was inspired (at least in part) by his mother, who made a living writing COBOL for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  One of the other technologists that blogs whom I admire greatly, raganwald, was inspired into his career by his mother as well.

If you enjoy stories about people destroying stereotypes in general (or stereotypes of black people in particular), How to Be Black is well worth reading.

Help Build a Tesla Museum

Posted on by Scott

One of my favorite cartoonists, Matthew Inman, is using his unique brand of humor to help raise funds to buy the site of Nikola Tesla’s old lab.  As of this post, he’s raised nearly $970,000.  I don’t contribute to a lot of causes beyond my church and public radio, but I contributed to this project because the U.S. could use a museum about a great scientist a lot more than another mall.  If you agree, I hope you’ll donate as well.

Ballet

Posted on by Scott

This year is the second in a row I’ve gotten to go to a Kennedy Center performance.  Last year, my girlfriend (now fiancée) and I went with another couple to see Porgy & Bess.  This past Thursday, it was the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  Having never seen a ballet before (or anything called modern dance for that matter), I had no idea what to really expect.  It turned out to be quite a fun time.

Of the four works they performed (all of which were impressive), my favorite parts were the solo “The Evolution of a Secured Feminine”, and other dances within “Revelations” (the company’s signature work) that had no more than a handful of dancers.  I suppose that no one goes to the ballet for the music, but with Duke Ellington music as the backdrop for one of the pieces and gospel for some of the others, I certainly enjoyed that as much as the dancing.

The problem with exit interviews

Posted on by Scott

The biggest problem with exit interviews is that they’re too little, too late. I had an exit interview recently (since I accepted an offer to go elsewhere), and there wasn’t anything wrong with the questions–it was just that nothing could be done about any of the concerns I raised.

The second major problem with exit interviews is that they focus too narrowly. All the feedback from exit interviews comes from people who’ve decided to leave. Assuming a company has had relatively low turnover for awhile, the feedback could be leaving out information from as much as 90% of its workforce.

If a company is serious about employee retention, they need to get feedback from as much of their workforce as possible on a regular basis. In my exit interview, I got questions about benefits, commute, holidays, and other issues. Regular, anonymous surveys on those issues would probably reveal a lot of useful information about ways benefits could be improved. Gathering this kind of information regularly will mean that at least some (if not most) of the answers you get will be from people who still have a stake in the company’s future.

In non-iPhone 4 news

Posted on by Scott

Apple stealthily revised the Mac mini.  Get the full story here, but the part I think is the most interesting is that they designed in a removable panel on the bottom to make it easy to replace the RAM yourself.  It shows a rare bit of flexibility from Apple when it comes to their hardware.

As for the rest of the device:

  • No more power brick?  Nice!
  • Tons of ports (including HDMI).
  • SD card slot
  • No Blu-Ray?  Rats.  “Bag of hurt” or no, that would have been nice.
  • The price bump from the previous version of the Mac mini seems a bit steep.

The original Mac mini was the first computer I ever bought from Apple.

To Curacao and back

Posted on by Scott

I spent the past 7 days vacationing in Curacao with my girlfriend Ebony and another couple we’re friends with.  In this post, I’ll talk about how it went, and how I might have done things differently if I were visiting again.

Why Curacao?

Ebony has wanted to go there for awhile, because of the beautiful water, sun, and beaches.

What to wear

Definitely wear light clothing.  Average high temperatures in Curacao are mid-to-upper 80s Fahrenheit year-round.  Don’t skimp on sunscreen, or you’ll regret it–even if your skin is already relatively dark.  My friends aren’t that much lighter than me, and all of them got burnt.  Don’t go easy on bug spray either.

Accommodations

We spent two nights at Renaissance Curacao Resort & Casino in Willemstad.  If you’re familiar with and/or a fan of Marriott properties, this one has everything you expect.  They also have plenty of outlets for appliances and electronics from the U.S., so you won’t need to use converters.  The only wi-fi access appeared to be in the lobby, and I never managed to connect with my iPhone.  There’s wired internet access from the rooms, so netbook and laptop users will have an alternative to the business center.  The private beach they talk about on their web page is man-made, and doesn’t connect directly to the ocean, but a large saltwater pool.

We spent the rest of the time at the Hyatt Regency Curacao Golf Resort, Spa, and Marina.  Parts of the property are still under construction, so we got the benefit of a grand opening rate, 4 nights for the price of 3, and free breakfast for the duration of our stay.  The service we received from every member of the staff was excellent.  Without exception, they were all incredibly courteous and polite, and went out of their way to accommodate our requests.  I thought the rooms were nice, but some of the balconies are much better for privacy than others.  The tub has a rather high edge, so it’s a bit of a challenge to get into unless you’re tall.  Strangely, the shower only has frosted glass on half the length of the tub–and no sliding door.

Food

Bistro Le Clochard was expensive, but the food was excellent.  It’s inside Rif Fort, a very short walk from the Renaissance.  We discovered that their kitchen accommodates vegetarians quite well.  It seems to be a quite popular place, so make reservations ahead of time, or you’ll have to eat elsewhere.  The restaurant within the Renaissance is ok.

The Hyatt has three restaurants: Medi, Shor, and Swim.  The food at all of them is quite good, though the serving times vary widely (Shor is the slowest, Swim is the fastest).  Swim will serve you poolside or at the beach.  Their plantain chips and fish tacos were especially good.

How to pay

U.S. currency was accepted everywhere we tried to use it, as were our credit cards.  I checked the tourist board website to get information ahead of time.

Activities, Attractions, & Shopping

Of the attractions available in Curacao, we got to the Kura Hulanda Museum and the Rif Fort in Willemstad.  At Kura Hulanda, the extra money for a tour guide was well worth it.  It provides a great history lesson of many cultures, as well as the slave trade.  With more time, I would have visited the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue and the Maritime Museum as well.

During our time at the Hyatt, we went on a 3-hour cruise with some time for snorkeling.  I still regret my lack of underwater camera gear for this, because there were a lot of strange and beautiful fish to see.  There was even a small shipwreck close to where we snorkeled that we were able to see.  Ocean Encounters handled our tour, and they did an excellent job.  If we’d planned further in advance, we could have gone on the 7-hour cruise to and from Klein Curacao.  This trip made me wish I knew how to scuba dive.  A trip back for the sole purpose of getting PADI-certified would probably be worth it.

At least in Willemstad, there are tons of places to buy jewelry, electronics, clothes, and souvenirs.  Prices in downtown were pretty good from what I saw.  The street vendors just outside the Rif Fort offered the best prices, and we ended up getting a couple of very nice things in both places.

Getting there (and back)

We flew American Airlines from Reagan National Airport to Hato International via Miami.  Our friends flew to Miami from Philadelphia, then to Hato International.  During the time I researched flight costs, they ranged from $450/person to well over $600/person.  We ended up using frequent flier miles for the DCA-MIA leg of the trip to cut down our out-of-pocket costs.  If I had it to do over again, I’d have planned much further in advance.

One thing I noticed (to my annoyance) about flying into and out of Miami is that the gate personnel decided to pick on either Ebony or both of us about the size of our carry-on luggage.  To make sure you avoid that kind of harassment, make sure your packed carry-on fits in the stupid little cages they have near the gates.  Otherwise, you could end up having to check a bag you weren’t expecting and risk the airline losing it (like American Airlines nearly did with her bag).

The last thing I’ll say about flying to and from Curacao (at least in this post), is to avoid taking the last flight out of Curacao on whatever day you depart.  If there’s a problem with that flight (as there was in our case), you’ll be stuck at least one extra day.