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Frequently Asked Questions
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Who Are You?
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My name is Mike Carlson. I live in Minnesota. I am married to my wife Niki and have 2 kids, Paul and Maggie.
I am a web developer by trade but I also dabble in networking, hardware, software and programming in my free time.
I am mostly a Windows developer. I develop web projects in ASP using either an Access or SQL backend. I am starting to dabble in PHP/MySQL now. I built a FreeBSD 4.x box so that I can play with that platform. I also enjoy the Macintosh platform, especially OS X. Since it has a FreeBSD foundation, it is rock solid and really slick looking. I can't get away from Windows tho. I am in too deep with my development and the applications I use. There is no way I could completely replace my workflow with a non-Windows platform.
I enjoy working out. I try to lift a couple days a week and then get on the treadmill the other days of the week if I am not too tired. In the summer I mountain bike or rollerblade. In the winter I try to get out and snowboard as much as I can. With the price of lift tickets nowadays, it's hard to justify getting out every weekend.
My son Paul learned how to ski a couple years ago, which is very cool. He was so excited the first time he made it down the hill without falling. He made it off the bunny hill to the beginner runs in the first day and had lots of fun doing it. He got into snowbaording last year and has been doing great. He gives it 1000% and doesn't let fear hold him back. It's so cool to see that.
In high school I used to play guitar in rock/metal bands. We played covers of 80's hair metal bands like Dokken, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc. It was a lot of fun. I still play once in a while, but I don't get as much time as I used.
Music is a huge part of my life. I always have some music going. I have an extensive MP3 collection that is almost always blaring out of my computer. I enjoy most styles of music. Most of what I listen to falls into the rock, metal, progressive, jazz, blues, country, fusion or R&B categories.
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What is this site running on?
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This site was built using Allaire Homesite 5.5. It is 100% hand-coded by me in my spare time. It uses ASP (Active Server Pages) technology and a SQL Server 2000 backend to house the data.
The site runs on a Athlon 800 Windows 2003 Advanced Server with 784MB of RAM and about 20GB of disk space.
The connection is a 1.5/640k DSL.
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Why?
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Why is a question that I ponder quite often, but I believe you are referring to why is this site here.
Well, it started as a place where I could post links, thoughts, whatever. It is still that but much, much more.
I don't consider it a "Blog". There have been numerous iterations of this site long before I even heard of the term "Blog". I suppose by the currently accepted definition of "blog", it probably is. The term "blog" actually annoys me but that is a seperate post in itself, but it reminds of what you might shit out after a good night of drinking and eating mexican food.
This site will never be done. Thats the joy of developing it yourself.
I have a whole slew of ideas for the site that I will be implementing, it will just take a bit to get them all done.
That brings up the most important reason for the site. I can do with it as I will. I can post what I want when I want. It also provides me the platform to test new ideas and code. A sort of beta site.
If something breaks while you are here, send me a note and I will get it fixed as soon as I can.
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Favorite Beer
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I have a few brands of beer I like to drink.
First and foremost is Guiness. This is the nector of the gods. The man that brewed the first pint of Guiness should be forever remembered, or forgot depending on the quantity consumed.
Second would be Sam Adams. I particularily like Golden Pilsner. I usually try something different when I head over to pick up some Sam Adams. I think I may try the Cherry Wheat or the Triple Bock next time.
I don't really have a third brand off the top of my head. I guess most any other beer would be third.
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Blogger Code
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I have been asked what my blogger code is. If you really want to know, here ya go:
B5 d++ t++ k s++ u-- f i o x-- e+ l+ c+
I am not into the whole "[insert something here] Code" thing so it's meaningless, but there ya go.
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G33k C0D3
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For those who give a shit about "codes", here ya go. Below is my g33k c0d3.
If you can actually read this without a cheat sheet, get outside more often. You need a life.
-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version: 3.1
GIT d- s: a C++ UB- P+ L+ E---- W+++ N+ o-- K- w+++++ O--- M+ V PS+ PE+ Y++ PGP++ t+ 5- X R tv+ b+ DI++ D+ G e h--- r+++ z+++++
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
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Skating
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I get asked a lot why I still skate even though I am over 30 years old. Well the answer is because I still can. My son got into skating last summer and I was showing him how to ollie and what not and I got hooked on it again.
I have been trying to skate 2 or 3 times a week when I can. More if I have the time. I also got my brother hooked on skating and you will find all three of us out and about when it's nice.
There is something about skating that calms me down and give me a outlet to release my pent-up-life-in-a-cubicle frustrations. If you have never skated you have no clue about what I am talking about.
I plan on building a mini-ramp in my backyard next summer. That way I wont have to pay to skate a ramp and I can skate as much as I want.
I also get lots of weird looks from people that don't skate and see me skating. "Look at that old fuck out there riding that skateboard."
Well I only have one response to that:
PISS OFF!!!
My son thinks it's cool that I ride with him and everyone I skate with digs the fact that I still get out there and punish myself. I dont plan on quitting anytime soon. My daughter skated a little bit last year and I plan on getting her hooked as well.
If you are an old fart like me and used to skate when you were a kid but gave it up, get back on that board and rip it up. You will be glad you did. I know I am.
Remember:
Pain is weakness leaving the body!
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Link Exchanges
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I get emails once in a while asking if I would exchange links with people. I can’t believe people still exchange links. That’s soooooo 1999.
I don’t do link exchanges. If you want me to link to your site, write something worth while on a consistent basis and if I like it, I might add a link to your site. In other words, don’t ask.
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Quotes
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If I put quotes around a word it usually means I despise the word.
Examples:
"Blog"
"Social Networking"
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Pizza
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I love Meat Lover's pizzas. My favorite is Godfathers. I love their sausage. It's nice and spicy. Yummy.
We have 4 big pizza restaurants where I live. They are Godfathers, Domino's, Pizza Hut and a local joint called Basilleos.
Pizza Hut gives me horendous heart burn if they put too much sauce on it. I hate Pizza Hut. I hope they all burn to the ground.
Domino's is OK. I usually get Buffalo Wings with the order and eat very little of the pizza.
Basilleo's is gooood pizza. Nice thin crust, nice suace. Yummy.
Pizza must be on thin crust. I do not like eating a loaf of bread with my pizza. A nice thin cripsy crust goes a long way to making a pizza good. All that deep dish and chicago style pizza is crap.
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Political Party
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I really don't know where I fall in the political spectrum. I would probably say a moderate conservative republican or something. Bascially I believe in taking care of yourself, less government and the idea that if you leave me the hell alone I will leave you alone.
Religion does not belong in politics at all.
Don't blame the government for your problems and don't expect the government to help you out if you are a fat lazy bastard that wants to sit around eating Ho-Ho's all frigging day and watching soaps. Get off your ass and get a damn job.
Where that falls I really dont know.
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