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So far I like the new job. Spending about 20-40% of my time actually consulting at my old job (the one before the more recent neurology gig). I don’t mind it so much, but I left there for a reason half a year ago – I’m sick of the eGate scene and never really got into healthcare per se. Sure I can do it, but I like coding without having to know my OBX-15s from a hole in the ground.

The rest of the time is cool. We’re building the front end for an application using JavaServer Faces and EJB3 – both very cool technologies. I’d say each one can save you over 50% of your time on that respective development. Plus with EJB3 (or hibernate) you don’t have to write any SQL and let’s be honest, everyone hates SQL.

I haven’t forgotten my opensource projects. There’s a new build of Hl7Comm that’s been floated to a few key people. I still want to get a 0.1 release of Integrate out the door and its not that far away I think. I also have an idea to write another project that maybe I’ll go into more detail about later.

Anyway, this is mostly an update to let you know I’m alive. For the most part I’m concentrating on the new job right now, but if you’re waiting for other software from me, fear not – I haven’t forgotten you.

Well, that’s my secret. Friday is my last day with CCF – I’ll be taking a position with Accenx starting next week.

I think it’s a good move – all the typical ‘good stuff’ you get with a new job applies here. Plus I’ll be able to focus more on actual programming and less on coordinating/analyst type stuff which I find tedious. But the biggest thing is, I think, that I’ll be working for a company who’s primary product is the stuff that I create. In healthcare I was relegated to the status of a support person who’s actual ‘product’ wasn’t visible to the customer – hence making me a worthless piece of shit in the company’s eyes. Well, at least that’s how I was treated in my opinion. Hopefully this new company gets it.

I still can’t tell you why, but I made a countdown timer – hope you have Java (1.5) installed.

Enjoy!

Well, for the second time in just over a year I left the Legacy Village Apple store with a new computer in hand. Perhaps you recall last February I bought a 15″ powerbook g4, which was a nice enough computer but lacked enough speed for playing games and other high-end activities. Well with the release of Macs on Intel chips and public sanction for running windows (only when absolutely necessary, of course) the new macbook pros were just too tempting to pass up.

The new pro is hellaciously fast, noticably zippier than my athlon64-3200 laptop is. Plus moving from a 200m video card to an x1600 is a huge step as well. I didn’t think the dual-core aspect of the new chip would do much for me, but I really notice a difference when multi-tasking, particularly intense things like talking on skype and playing a video game simultaneously, or compiling several hundred java classes for a project. The heat is one thing that I didn’t like about the g4 as well, but the dual-core actually seems not to run as hot, despite the huge increase in power. And of course, the machine is attractive, not just in it’s svelte and shiny form factor, but from an OS and application standpoint as well.

Now I had some other news that I want to divulge, but unfortunately I still can’t. Hopefully by tomorrow, or at the latest, by the end of the week. I’ll give you a hint though – the new laptop has something to do with it.

Update: My MacBook Pro purchase has been vindicated. Here’s a quote from Steve Jobs, “Everyone wants a MacBook Pro because they are so bitchin’.” They are bitchin’ – you should see the looks of envy when I whip my cool thing out at the coffee shop.