WA State Fair

At The Fair again. Watched Cowgirl Karen. Definitely a dying American art form.  Which is too bad, since it does take a lot Of skill and can be fun to watch.

Kiddo is on the bungee power jump again. Kid would grow wings and soar if she could. I dread the day she learns about base jumping.

Some day she'll be old enough to join me in this demon slingshot thing. Wife says I'm not allowed on it until kiddo is old enough to go with me.

Tracking my activity for health and creepiness

On the one hand, it annoys me the GPS couldn't figure out I walked in a straight line along 4th, as opposed to weaving through the buildings using my mutant powers.

On the other hand, it kind of freaks me out that this device was able to pinpoint and record my exact location to within a few hundred feet.

And I voluntarily carry this thing around in my pocket.

Seattle Clouds are the Best Clouds

Of all the many places I have lived and travelled, I think the Seattle area has the best clouds, hands down. They have so much variation, but they always have character and seem so relaxed and casual.

They strike the perfect balance of form, color and pattern.

While I really do miss that thunderstorms we had back in Michigan, and I'd trade Wellington for just about anywhere (maybe I'd take Prague; Prague was pretty amazing), I love Seattle clouds the best.

Do the Puyallup 2016

The Washington State Fair will be known by "Do The Puyallup" for years to come.

First stop on the 2016 visit? Same as last two years: The Giant Slide.

Microsoft Volume Licensing - reflections on managing the VAMT

Like everyone who has ever tried to read a software license agreement, let alone figure out how to pay for it, I have a love-hate relationship with Microsoft, and especially their Volume Activation Management Tool.

Volume licensing can be a real time saver, especially in organizations where machines are rebuilt frequently.  However, it's also finicky and a royal pain in the ass.

Well, turns out J. Decker agreed, and she has written a VAMT Technical Reference.  I'm not sure how "VAMT" might be pronounced, but every rendering in my head sounds exactly like a swear word.

(Image poached from)

Also potentially useful is the Microsoft Licensing Review (old, but still useful to grasping some of the basic nonsense concepts).

An article discussing Microsoft licensing in the Amazon cloud hosting service.  This is specifically for AWS, but the general concepts of "software in the cloud," are still potentially useful.