Last May I quit my job at UW Bothell.  It would have been more honest of them if they had laid me off because the position I originally took no longer exists.  Unfortunately, if they had laid me off, due to the economy and the intricacies of UW hiring regulations, they could not have easily created a new position within the same department.  So they forced me to quit.  They did it by taking Linux Server administration responsibilities away from me.  My job title was Linux System Administrator and that was what drew me to apply for the position in the first place.

But UW Bothell didn't want a Linux System Administrator; they wanted a Windows Administrator who knew some Linux and was willing to maintain their dwindling legacy systems until they all got converted to Windows.  At that point, their ideal System Administrator would rejoice that the legacy systems were gone and be a Windows System Administrator.  Apparently they were totally unprepared for a Linux System Administrator who didn't prefer to work on Windows.  The last months at UWB were very sad for me.

I spent a significant part of the month of June in my dentist's office for dental issues which have not yet been resolved.  And a good deal of time caring for my dying cat.  In July I visited my family in NYC, then Tom and I visited with his family in Idaho (in the van, no air conditioning, 100 plus degree weather).  In spite of how it sounds, both those visits were fun.  My family treated me well; I got to see my friend, Joan, and dip in the Atlantic Ocean.  In Idaho, we had the memorial ceremony for Tom's Dad, who died last February.

Time flies.  I am sad that the Summer is more than half gone.  I must try to make the most of it.  It is time for me to start looking for work again.

I found a Linux in-car mapping and navigation solution for using the USB GPS that comes with Microsoft's Streets and Trips.  I documented it here:  gps_map.

I'm continuing to work on the database-driven web application for NW NARGS.  I thought it would be done by now but life keeps getting in the way. 

There are lots of things that I wanted to do that I haven't been able to get to yet:  tinkering on my bicycle, taking a RedHat Certification course, more outdoor exercise - to name three.  I'll have to redouble my efforts.

So much has happened outside since my last entry.  So far we've had the hottest July (temperatures over 100 degrees) and the coldest, wettest August.  Anna's hummingbirds and piliated woodpeckers are among the regular visitors to my backyard.  I've been eating tomatoes out of my tomato vines, and have more cucumbers than I need.  Our plums are beginning to drop.  We've gotten lots of apples and plums this year that aren't quite ready to harvest yet:  maybe in another week or two.

Almost all my red wigglers died during the heatwave in July (when I was out of town).  My friend Robin gave me some of hers.  Now I'm trying to watch them more carefully.  The worm bin has some earwigs.  Do earwigs eat worms?