Calibrating Weather Station

 This Spring I received a Weather Station for my Birthday.  It was something that I had wanted to do for some time and so far I am happy I did it.  The Tempest Weather Station is a newer technology for Weather Stations as it has no moving parts.  For the most part I have been very please with the Tempest and it has been fairly accurate with one exception.  That exception is rainfall. The haptic rain sensor has been off by quite a bit according to the rain gauge that I have about 10 feet away.  I am currently going through the process to have the station calibrated by the vendor to see if we can increase the accuracy.  I hope so but even if the rain is not the most accurate, I have found the rest of the station to provide good data and I enjoy having it.  

Interview Experience

 Had an interview today and it was kind of a different experience because of Covid.  I was on a Zoom call with an interview with members of the organization that I would be working in.  The interview was a mixture of technical content along with getting to know more about me and how I might fit in with the company.  I think it went well.  

Restarting the Search

 I have been working on developing some skills and updating my resume and have been getting antsy about waiting until closer to the end of the year to find a new job.  I have actively started looking at Jobs and have applied for a couple that I thought were interesting or a good fit.  I really hope this works out sooner rather that later.

Getting Ready for a New Job

 I had started looking at new jobs but after looking at quite a few different posts I have decided that I am going to try to stay at AT&T until later in the year.  This will help me maximize my current salary but will also give me time to develop some new skills and refresh some old ones.  In looking at job posting for Network Engineers, most employers are looking for certifications and programming experience using python and or ansible.  I have identified a couple projects in my current job that I can justify learning ansible for and that should help me when I am looking for a job.  I am also looking at what it will take to pass the CCNP test again.  I let my CCNP lapse many years ago because it was really not doing anything for me within AT&T.  

Looking for a Change

It looks like I am going to be looking for a new work place to call home.  I met with my financial advisor and she told me that based on the information that I provided, with a couple caveats, I would be better off financially if I can find another job and take my pension from AT&T and invest it.  She gave me the name of a friend that is a recruiter that I have contacted and I have started looking at jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed for a start.  There are a lot of Network jobs out there and I have started looking at what they want in experience and skills.  I have let some of my current co-workers know that I am actively looking for a new job.  This is a new experience for me

New Weather Station

After many years of wanting to get a personal weather station I finally ended up getting one for my Birthday this year.  I looked into a number of different stations and ended up deciding to try the Tempest from Weatherflow Technology.  It was pretty easy to setup and has no moving parts so I am anxious to see how well it works out.  Looking forward to a now be able to help with local observations for Milwaukee Skywarn and the NWS.  I will still have my CoCoRahs Rain gauge to compare to since the is usually the biggest complaint about the Tempest.  

Considering a Career Change

 Since AT&T announced some rather significant benefit changes, I have been researching the possibility of leaving and going to work somewhere else.  It’s not a trivial thought.  After 35 years here I am rather used to this environment but I have to consider it.  I have started seeing a financial advisor to help me evaluate whether this would be a positive change or not.  Very anxious to get her feedback.

Start of Lent 2021

 Today is the start of Lent and I have been struggling to figure out changes to make for Lent.  I have decided that as a start I am not going to argue with people on Social Media when they post things that I disagree with.  I have also decided to fast each Friday during lent instead of just on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  I am also going to make a concerted effort to attend Mass each Sunday during Lent.  During Covid I have been sporadic in my Mass attendance.  With my Asthma I have been very careful to avoid any situations that might put me at greater risk of catching covid.  I think my Parish has done a good job of mitigating risks to the best of their abilities but there are still times that I do not think it's best for me to attend.  Today is one of those days.  I had planned to attend Mass tonight for Ash Wednesday but have been second guessing that since I have had a bit of drainage that has resulted in a bit of coughing and hacking this afternoon.  I don't think that would be a good thing to do at Church even if I am wearing a mask.  

I was wrong about my 2020 Macbook

I had my 2020 MacBook Pro for over a week before I started to notice some things that were annoying me.  In the ended I decided that despite it being a decent Laptop, it was not what I wanted to spend my money on.  In addition to the couple things that were not quite what I wanted, the Apple Event to announce their first Apple Silicon Macs was on the last day of the return period for the 2020 MacBook Pro.  I decided to send it back and have decided that I really am impressed by what Apple claims their new Apple Silicon systems are capable of even for entry level systems.  I have decided to get the Mac Mini M1 as that was the cheapest way to try the new platform and if it works out ok then I can keep that for a couple years until they have the mid tier MacBook Pro available on Apple Silicon and then take a look at that. 

Finally Found my New Mac

 I have wanted to move to a newer Mac for some time now and have been trying different Mac Computers by ordering from Apple and then returning within the 14 Day Window if they did not meet my expectations.  I tried a Mac mini and thought that was going to be the answer but I decided that I really would miss the ability to be mobile even though I don't use it that often.  I tried a couple different MacBook Pro computers before I landed on the one I have now and I think I finally have the one that I will keep.  I have always had Quad Core 15" MacBook Pro Computers in the past and to be honest I probably didn't need a quad core all the time but I liked having it when I needed some power.  Apple doesn't make a 15" any more so I tried a couple of 16" MacBook Pro's and they were great computers but I decided that they were more expensive than what I really wanted to spend and I really wanted something a little smaller to take with me when I leave my desk.  I ended up with a 13" Quad Core I5 and so far it is running great.  I got it with extra RAM because it does not have a discrete GPU and I also want some head room for the rare times that I want to run a VM.  I have it connected via a single TB3 cable to my Caldigit Dock and that allows me to connect my Keyboard, Mouse, two monitors, backup drive and it also charges the computer.  I had heard a number of people that had said they had run too hot but that has not been my experience.  It idles around 120 and the fans don't even run most of the time.  I am anxious to see what the Apple ARM Laptops will look like in the future but not for a couple years when the bugs get worked out.  I have zero complaints about this new 13" MacBook Pro right now.