It's Release Day, and I'm Bored

Well, for the third time this summer, today is Release Day. Really, it's been Release Week, but today is the big day. Today is the day we can't log into our system because we're rolling the projects we've been toiling over into production.

Release Week (from a developer's standpoint) is a week when projects stand still. Regardless of the official status of things, no developer is assigned to any project during release week so we can help with the preparations. Emails go out listing differences between the various environments. Those responsible reply to claim their code. The QA department goes into overdrive testing projects that are releasing. Development concentrates on bug reports related to the release.

Release Day actually starts at close-of-business on Thursday. That's when our system is shut down. It's also when the DBA and various project leads start rolling database changes to production. This process lasts late into the night. Friday morning they roll the changed database code. Usually around lunch on Friday the QA department can log in and begin testing. And this is the start of the real fun.

QA testing generally lasts from lunch on Friday to close to midnight, and can continue on Saturday. During QA testing developers are basically on standby. We're deliberately kept bored so we can respond immediately if a problem is ever found. We're allowed to bring in game consoles and TVs to help us waste time.

Food is never a problem. Investment Scorecard cares for its employees. We're given multiple menus to choose from for lunch, with different menus for dinner. The food is great - we're not talking about McDonald's, folks. Hot meals. Hot sandwiches and other entrees for lunch. Steaks, salmon, chicken for dinner. All paid for.

The game consoles usually attract a small crowd (whatever can fit in a cubicle). For each console there's generally 3-6 people watching, one person trying to beat the previous score, and occasionally someone working. The breadth of games brought in is impressive, though there are company favorites. Lines form for Halo 2 and Amped for XBox, and sometimes for Gran Turismo 4 for PS2. Card games are also common, with one or two going on at any given time. I have no idea what games they play, though.

I don't happen to have any projects rolling to production this week, and I've not been around long enough to be assigned any standard release-week duties, so I am bored. At least I'm honest about it - my supervisor knows I'm searching for something to do. But it's lunch time, and I know I'll be here another twelve hours watching my brain cells form a puddle beneath my feet.

I was bored, so I thought I'd write about my predicament. I hope you enjoyed it.

Thoroughly Contaminated

This morning, as I was eating breakfast, I saw my wife's copy of Sew Beautiful by Martha Pullen. As I'm interested in photography, I decided I'd look for the name of the photographer who took the wonderfully done cover photo. (No, I'm not gay or anything. It's my wife's magazine, remember.)

Flipping through the pages, carefully looking for the small print info I sought, I stumbled on the "Dear Friends" page - essentially the letter from the editor written by Mrs. Pullen and included in every edition. However, in this magazine, the letter from the editor takes the form of a short Bible study, complete with printed Bible verses (James 3:7-12 in edition 102). I had not yet had a quiet time this morning, so I read through the article as my study for the day. It was a great lesson on taming the tongue, with personal anecdotes about her father (who apparently did well in this area) and her grandfather, a circuit-riding Methodist minister.

After reading through the devotional, I thought about Mrs. Pullen. How she's obviously very interested in sewing and smocking and in teaching others, and how cool it must be to have her own business (a magazine, no less!) that follows her interests so closely. And I thought how good her business skills must be to have achieved that level of success.

But then I realized just how my last thought smacked of a materialistic (godless) worldview. It really surprised me that I had just held that opinion. Of course Mrs. Pullen is enjoying the blessings of God and the benefits of a life devoted to Him. Even in the secular world business skills are no real indicator of success; we as Christians know why. Mrs. Pullen has apparently been God's servant for many years, and continues to use her media reach to give Him glory. Since her will is aligned with that of God, He continues to bless her in order to further their mutual goals.

So why did I give her credit?

I realized (once again) just how thoroughly contaminated we are with the godless worldview. I continue to be surprised at just how warped my conception of life really is. I believe in God; that He created the world in six literal days' time, that man disobeyed God and fell from created perfection, and that God in His love inflicted our punishment on His Son so He could restore us fully one day. But those central pillars of belief seem to have made little headway into my day-to-day thinking.

I honestly wonder what it would be like if I managed to demonstrate the knowledge of God in every little area of my life. Would my wife think I was crazy? Or would she be amazed that dishes, laundry, and trash were no longer an issue? What would my boss at work think if I had every project on-time and bug-free? (I have known for years that it is God, not me, who writes the software. And He writes it through me most quickly when I'm close enough to Him that He can use my hands.)

This morning I realized (again) that I have much to do, much to learn, and much to unlearn.

Recent Canon New Product Announcements

The all-new EOS 5D

Great camera
Good to see full-frame prices drop
I'll never spend that $$ just for full-frame

The upgraded 1D Mark II N

A surprise: Same sensor, same framerate, same controls.
I'd have expected at least the 9-way joystick from the 20D, if they're going to the trouble of changing the model number and firmware.
At least they're not making you pay more for that bigger LCD.

24-105/4L IS
Kinda surprised, kinda not.
I know many people wanted this lens.
But others (including me) would prefer an 18-50/2.8L. An L-class normal zoom for 1.6x cameras would be great. After all - Nikon makes one.

430EX

The one announcement that will benefit me. This means the flash I buy will have:

• More power
• Manual control
• 2nd-curtain sync
• Less bulk
• Less weight
• Faster recycle time
• Same price (presumably) I was already planning to pay

It, too, is a surprise. I've not heard any complaints about the 420EX. I have, however, seen Canon lose many 420EX sales to Sigma's EF 500DG Super. That lens already has these features for the same price, plus it can act as a wireless-TTL master unit

I'm still hoping for a 20D replacement in spring.

First Picture Post

This is the obligatory first picture post. Slightly less annoying because it's got a picture. At least it's a good picture of two cute girls (my daughters).

First blog entry

This is the usual and annoying first post. Thanks for reading.