Michael Hollinger

I’ve averaged at least 70 hours a week over the course of January. I actually got home at about 12:30AM Tuesday morning, after getting into work at 8:20AM Monday. Things are OK, however I’m focused on finishing some deliverables for our team. We’ve run into random problems throughout the last couple of days, so there’s always something to debug. Work, overall, is going well. I’ve stepped up a bit, and am now coordinating efforts of multiple colleagues. I’m relying heavily on each of them to work independently, and deliver quality software on-time. So far, with one exception, that’s worked out well. I’m also relying on my management team to keep me moving in the right direction, as this is the first time I’m responsible for more than just my own individual contributions.

Although I’ve probably had dinner in my own house maybe once per week in the past week, management at work has been buying us dinner, and usually gives us at least one healthy option. Woo. Sort of.

If only I got overtime. This new position is certainly a “growth experience.”

Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to Me-eee…
Happy Birthday to Me!

As of this morning, I’m 26. The last few weeks have been hectic, thanks to some impending checkpoints at work, and additional responsibilities I’ve picked up. On top of my “day job” I was accepted into what is essentially an apprenticeship under one of our Distinguished Engineers (essentially a VP of Engineering, the second-highest technical rank at IBM). Part of the deal with this opportunity was that I would still meet all my prior commitments and deliverables, so essentially I volunteered to work an extra four or six hours a week. In addition, I just returned from a recruiting trip to OU, so I’ve got a few days’ worth of catch-up work to do between now and Monday.

So I’m off to work (remotely) for the morning, and will go see a movie with some friends this afternoon.

On a completely unrelated note, I found this graph a bit amusing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Itanium_Sales_Forecasts_edit.png . Itanium launched nearly ten years ago, and was supposed to take the enterprise server market by storm. The plot shows the sales predictions for the Itanium year-by-year. Notice how the slopes trail off as the years go by…

Oops. I’ve been busy recently between work, the house, and actively Doing Nothing, so here’s a summary of the last six months.

I’ve picked up some additional responsibilities at work, which mean that I get to see the systems I’m working on at a system level, as opposed to focusing on one or two very small pieces of the overall picture. It’s fascinating to see how everything fits together at a high level, and also map that into what we, the developers, actually implement. Since my last update, Power 520, Power 550, Power 575, and Power 595 have shipped. Check this video tour of the 595 (I know Pat!) and the Power 575 Supercomputer PR Video. I had the pleasure of contributing in some way to each product. Now I’m back out of the lab and focusing on design work for the future systems.

In other work news, I got a promotion last October, was awarded an “Outstanding Innovation Achievement Award” for my contributions to IBM’s EnergyScale technology this Spring, filed seven more patent as of June, and was rewarded with a trip to the National Society of Black Engineers Conference in Orlando in March.

While in Florida at the NSBE conference, a friend from work told me about Warbird Adventures. When I had a free hour Saturday, I got to fly a World War II T6 “Texan” aircraft, complete with acrobatic stunts! I’ll post a video as soon as I edit the 30 minute flight down to a good 2-minute video.

The house is great, and it’s been about a year since I moved in. I’ve gotten to know a couple of my neighbors, and like the area. The back garden is a lost cause until October, when I can clear it (again) and replant it. I’m annoyed with my home warranty folks, but I’m waiting until the warranty period is over before I write an entry about them.

By the way, Rodrigo y Gabriela are amazing. Next time they’re in Austin I’m definitely going.

This weekend I finished the installation of recessed lights in my kitchen. I suppose those years of stagecraft and lighting design did come in handy. The 6″ cans were arranged to highlight the center island, and also provide general task lighting in the kitchen. Placement is accurate to within 1/8th of an inch. The house itself wasn’t built to that precision, since certain walls aren’t quite that straight.

The original light was a simple translucent plastic fluorescent fixture. The day after I closed on the house, I pulled the fixture just to force myself to actually do the work. Wires dangled from the ceiling for a month until I moved in and got fed up with the lack of light. The existing fixture was wired through a 3″ opening centered on the ceiling, but not on the island. Since I had to enlarge that opening, I did shift it slightly before installing the first light.

Since an opening already existed, I had very little choice in placement of the center light over the island. Since I did use this one, I was able to harness the existing circuits already wired in for the old fixture.

Items needed (total cost ~$100):

• Drywall Knife ($5)
• Drywall Circle Cutter (recommended, but not required… $8, eBay)
• 6″ IC-rated Recessed Light Kit, 6-pack (~$35)
• 6″ Baffle Trim ($40)
• 12-gauge 2-conductor + ground wire ($10)

Lessons learned:

• Buy a drywall circle cutter. I like the Stanley “Goldblatt” Drywall circle cutter. This can easily be had for $8 shipped on eBay. This model only requires a single hand, and is incredibly easy to use.
• Buy more wire than you think you need. 25 feet was just barely enough to wire up the 5 lights I have installed.
• Wire lights from below, prior to installing them in the ceiling. Stripping wire and tightening wire nuts in an extremely hot, dark attic while standing on support beams and balancing a flashlight gets hard after light #3…
• Buy expensive-looking baffles, but be 100% sure they fit in your fixture! This is the only part of the light that’s visible… the ones I purchased attach with springs which should fit most well-designed housings.
• Don’t forget the amount of heat your new lights will generate. 5 65-watt lamps has raised the temperature in my kitchen a few degrees.
• Consider buying a laser level to get “true” alignment on the ceiling, rather than relying on measurements off of imperfect wall edges. If that’s not possible, use painter’s tape to mask off lines for alignment, using a square to make sure the angles are true.
• Wear gloves when handling insulation.
• Consider how shadows will be cast. In my case, my stove is well-lit because two separate lights illuminate it from the sides, even when you’re standing directly in front of it. However, my sink is dim because a person standing at it blocks the light, since the fixture is positioned over his or her shoulder.
• Be sure to use “IC-rated” lights that are safe for contact with insulation.
• Once you have your light placement marked on the ceiling from below, drill small holes and poke wire hangers through the ceiling so that you can know the exact placement of the fixtures, and move any obstructions that might be in the way (like AC ducts).

Next up? Under-cabinet lights. I have to repurpose a “dishwasher” wall switch, which might actually require a real electrician since I might need to mess with the breaker box to pull a new circuit…