Sean Comerford’s Kick Arse Blog

Awhile back I noticed the Software Update on my macbook started failing. Even though I can connect to the net just fine, software update would report “Software Update can’t check for updates because of a network problem”.

By piecing together tips from a couple different message boards, I realized the fix was pretty simple: delete the Software Update prefs file

Just open your Terminal and execute this: rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist

Now I can easily update to the latest version of Mac OS so I can get to the App store so I can download Angry Birds on my laptop and make my work day go that much faster!

So my web host Yahoo forced me to switch to using Wordpress to manage this awesome blog. I gather Wordpress is what all the cool kids use to manage their blogs and I’ve always wanted to be cool so maybe this will help.

But while Wordpress is pretty slick, it is also dead dog slow. Only time will tell but it’s so bad it may drop my prolific blog rate of 8 posts a year to just 7. I’m far too busy and important to wait longer for this stuff to load.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that IBM is close to buying Sun Micro. This one hits home for me as a software geek who worked at both Big Blue as an intern / new college grad for 5 years an then at Sun for 5+ years.

Let’s just say I left IBM underwhelmed. Now granted I was just one guy with a very limited and short sample set but I’ve also subsequently been exposed to some of their “flagship” software products like MQ , Websphere, etc. And let me assure you that for high price products, they are lousy. Also, my impression working there was the company was largely a model of in-efficiency… most of us were 100% sure the guy who wrote Dilbert worked at IBM.

Sun on the other hand, always had really hard working people cranking out really cool tech but was absolutely CLUELESS as to how to sell and market…. it’s like they forgot the point of being in business is to actually make money. Once the dot com bubble burst and people realized buying expensive servers wasn’t enough to make you an “internet millionaire”, a gaping whole in Sun’s business model was exposed. So while I really did like working at Sun, I decided to leave on my own terms back in ‘06. Things had been bad for awhile even back then but I never really thought they’d be struggling just as much 3 years later and apparently be on the verge of ceasing to exist.

So as a fan of Sun and believer in their software (Java, Glassfish, etc), I will be bummed if the Sun does set…. but especially if IBM is the buyer. If that happens you’ll have one giant pitching the .NYET stack and another pitching their craptastic Java stack – and it’ll probably be time for me to start learning Ruby or Scala or whatever all the cool kids on the software block are doing these days.

Who knows what will happen… multiple places reported Friday it was a done deal but now the NY Slimes has an article saying the deal is off.

But here’s to hoping it is and Sun can shine again on its own… or at least partner with someone a lot less likely to gut the company after a merger

Well, my “adult activated attention deficit disorder (AAADD)” has struck again and I am once again headed off to a new job. So even though it’s only been 10 months since my last blog post, I figure it’s high time for a new one.

Actually, my 2nd job switch in the last 14 months is not a a result of AAADD but rather the mecca of my second religion (sports) finally calling me home… as of August 20th, I will be in the employ of the “worldwide leader in sports”, ESPN. I’ll be starting as a software engineer working on the web site but I’m confident that they will quickly recognize by rare mix of talent, good looks and moxie, thereby ensuring you will soon see my ruggedly handsome face on Sportscenter.

And if I survive the first week without them realizing I bought my masters degree on the internet, I’m confident I can hang around long enough to meet Suzy Kolber and tell her in a slurred but suave voice “I wanna kisshh you”. I’m sure she hasn’t heard that one before!

In all seriousness, working for ESPN is something I thought would be cool ever since they originally got me hooked on fantasy sports (my wife thanks you oh so much for that by the way!) back in my college days.

I spent the last 14 months at MLB.com and it’s been pretty cool but ESPN was, simply, an offer I couldn’t refuse. And I certainly won’t miss the $12 tuna wrap lunches I had to get in lovely West Chelsea market, downstairs from my MLB office. And (knock on wood) I won’t be in lower Manhattan when some crazy finally shows up with that missing Russian suitcase nuke and the gleam of martyrdom in his eye!

ESPN will be the fourth job in my 9 or so year career but hopefully it will be my last… unlikely given the volatile tech industry but I certainly hope so. I’ll be moving to CT which is somewhat bittersweet… a little sad to be leaving my home state of NY again. But I’ll be bringing my NFL Sunday Ticket package with me so I can rest easily knowing I can still watch my Jets get my hopes up only to crush them in the end.

And while I’m blogging, I read today that Barrack Hussein Obama – the very same guy who has been jumping up and down with his hand in the air like an annoying little school boy yelling “I voted against the Iraq war initially!!! Me! Me! Me!”, is now saying we should invade Pakistan ? This based on intel from the same people who (according to Barrack Hussein and friends) were so wrong about Iraq being a terrorist stronghold? HELLO?!?!?! Can you say John “flip flop” Kerry Part Deux? Please, PLEASE just blow up the two party system (or at least get rid of the wacko extreme leftists) and start over. Man are politicians in this country MORONS.

All right, that’s enough for now… I need to go visit a Bud and practice my pickup lines for Suzy (or maybe Jessica Biel since she’s been on ESPN a lot lately… nah she’s not quite up to playing in my league)… and yes, I have cleared this with my lovely wife! In any case I need to save my material for my next blog entry in about 9 months.

The annual MLB.com picnic / softball tourney was held last Friday out on the field at Shea Stadium.

I was a huge Mets fan growing up so it was pretty cool to be out on the field standing where the ball rolled though Buckner’s legs, patrolling the same field as all time greats and role models like Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden and Lenny Dkystra and  calling the bullpen on the same phone they used to bring Jesse Orosco in to close out game 7!

As for the tourney, I went 5 for 6 with 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored but even my great play couldn’t carry my team to the title as we lost 9-3 in the championship game… I think most of my teammates spent too much time after the semi-final round in the free beer tent.

So despite my team’s loss, my agent and I are expecting the call up from Mets’ GM Omar Minaya any minute now…

The MLB.com offices have full blown video and audio production studios for various baseball related TV, internet and radio shows. But in addition to running mlb.com, my company also handles a lot of other web sites – some of which are for musicians. So apparently musicians / bands come in pretty regularly to record music and/or video for these sites.

Last week it was country star Trace Adkins… today it’s Hootie and the Blowfish. I’m something of Trace Adkins fan (gotta love that song Arlington) and Hootie ain’t bad. So it’s pretty cool when both of ‘em are putting on live shows in the recording studio 50 feet from where your office is.

And having nearly run into Trace Adkins in the hallway on my way to the restroom, let me just say he is one heck of a big ol’ country boy. He looked like a WWF wrestler in a leather cowboy hat. And that ridicuously deep throated voice he sings in… it’s not just his signing voice. You wouldn’t want to mess with this guy.

So what’s new?

• I had a kid a few months ago. Ryan Christopher (shown above relaxing at home) is doing great… he’s healthy, more or less sleeps through the night (not that Daddy ever wakes up when he cries anyway) ever since 3 weeks and, all in all, is an awesome little guy who is the heir to King Sean’s throne. It’s hard to remember what life was like before having a kid – I suspect it’s the brain’s way of preventing you from sorely missing all the free time you used to have… but being a father is great and very worth it!

• After 5 and 1/2 years, I left Sun Microsystems. I enjoyed my time at Sun but they are struggling big time and I got tired of token raises and waiting to get laid off so I started half heartedly looking around for a new job. In the process, I accidentally posted my resume on Monster or some such site… I honestly did NOT mean to do so because last time I did I instantly got dozens of calls from tech recruiters which was flattering but very annoying. Same thing happened this time… got about a half dozen calls from recruiters in a hour or so before realizing what I had done and taking the resume down. One recruiter promised a job at a “major sports firm”… recruiters are sometimes like car salesman so I figured it was something stupid like a pro kickball league but, feeling like a sucker, actually called her back. Good thing I did….
• I started working for Major League Baseball Advanced Media 6/26/2006… each of the Major League Baseball team owners kicked in some pocket change (i.e. a few million bucks each) and started the company about six years ago. It (not surprisingly) runs mlb.com and the sites of every MLB team… but we also run many other sites including the site for Major League Soccer, Minor League Baseball and World Championship Sports Network, College Sports TV and others. They even handled the video streaming for the 2006 NCAA March Madness which set the record for concurrent internet video streaming. So I went from a 40,000 public company struggling to make money to a 400 person private company that, from what I can tell, is raking in the cash. It’s a refreshing change… and I get free baseball stuff! I’ve only been at MLB.com for a month, but so far it’s very cool.

Allright… that’s enough for now.

The king is a busy and needs to go attend to royal matters in the throne room