Jerry Wayne Odom Jr

Beautiful weather this February in Baton Rouge so we’ve hit the parks a lot lately. She’s also learned how to use just about anything as a stool or just stand on tables for no reason.

New website segment I”m trying to do where I post some pics of Ella every month.

I think it was 2002 when I registered jerryodom.com.   I remember thinking about should I buy one or the other and not yet being educated in how all things server worked I didn’t realize I should buy BOTH.   Well a few years go buy and jerryodom.com starts getting more and more traffic.   Friends and family are finding it on Google for various Baton Rouge, Louisiana, etc things and it’s getting noticed.   #1 question was “why didn’t you buy wayneodom.com because you go buy Wayne?”.  Good question, so I go to register it and it’s taken.

For years another Wayne Odom owned and didn’t do much with the domain and of course people tell me they tried to go to my website and it was some other guy at which point I explain and we’re back to the question.    Well finally with the help of snapnames.com I was able to purchase the domain when the other Wayne Odom failed to re-register it!

So one and all you may go to www.wayneodom.com and yes you’ll still get here.   You can email wayne at wayneodom.com and yes you’ll get me.   All is right in the world and I’ve managed to correct that error in my life.

so 2011 I’m doing the weight loss challenge at work.   Currently I weigh right around 173ish pounds and work out 3-4 times a week at a local gym called LA Boxing.   I’m in great shape and probably near the best shape of my life with the exception of a high body fat percentage due to getting out of shape.    I’d resolved to lose down to 155 pounds this year anyway but the extra incentive of beating everyone at work at something and making around $300 by winning the challenge makes it more interesting.

In the past attempting to diet always came down to “what do I eat”.   When you’re on a diet you don’t feel like imagining what to eat and that can lead to weakness so I’m putting together a list of things I can eat and restaurants and specific meals I can eat.   It’s my hope that these will give me some extra push to lose that 20 pounds I’m gunning for!

Pre-made foods:
Lean Cuisine
low fat vegetable soup
Healthy Choice Steam In

Restaurant List:
Ichiban – Miso Soup, Fish.
Whole Foods Restaurants
Chili’s Guiltless Salmon (500 calories)
Serops Express

vegetables

Olives
Broccoli
Asparagus
Artichokes
Spinach
Salad greens
Tomatoes
Brussels sprouts
Peppers – green, red or yellow
Okra
Onions
Radishes
Mushrooms
Gourds- cucumbers and squash
Zucchini
Pumpkin

fruit:

Apples
Apricots
Citrus fruits like lemons
Raspberries/blackberries
Blueberries
Strawberries
Cantaloupe
Mangoes
Watermelon
Cherries
Muskmelons
Cranberries
Nectarines
Currants
Oranges
Damson plum
Papaya
Peaches
Grapefruit
Pears
Grapes
Pineapple
Honeydew
Pomegranates
Prunes
Dry Snacks:
Raisins
Whole Grains

Meats:
egg whites
water packed tuna fish
chicken breasts

juice
V8
green tea

Day to Day Additives and Spices

Salsa
lemon juice

Snack Food

Cherry Tomatoes
Raisins
fruit bowl or veggie bowl
yogurt
oatleal

I’ve read a number of comparisons between Android, Iphone and Windows Phone 7. Amazingly enough Windows Phone 7 is one of the first new and great smart phones to get negative press. Not because the phones are lacking but because people just don’t like Microsoft. They’re still the “Man” that everyone wants to rage against. Everyone has an opinion or wants to throw some numbers out there for analysis only to have 200 comments on their blog post pointing out that they’re going apples to oranges in many of their numbers. Well I have a perspective that many might find interesting as a quality show in favor of the new Windows Phone 7 phone.

The Wife Test

My wife wanted an Android phone badly.  She had heard about how cool they are, seen the commercials and how easy it looked.   In her mind it was awesome and yes they are incredibly awesome.    I wanted a Windows Phone 7 device because I work primarily in their development environment in my day job.    To me it was an opportunity to create some apps and play as a developer.     So for Christmas we headed down to the Best Buy store where my brother in law works to buy our new phones.   We went home with my new HTC Surround and her HTC Aria that day.  I had to go back to work but left both phones at the house.   Within 4 hours my wife wanted my Surround and hated her Android so the following day I brought her Android back and got her the Windows 7 Phone.

Why Did this Happen?

Microsoft isn’t stupid and clearly saw the advantage to the Iphone platform is that it’s really easy to get going and get going well on the things people worry about most.  The Android is very customizable and makes sense to someone who’s experienced with smart phones.   I was able to correct many of the things she had issues with and was amazed at the extra options of the Android at first however later on I figured out that the Windows Phone 7 phone set it up for you FIRST but with experience you know you can get in there and customize later.     She also found the styling of the start menu and the navigation of the Windows Phone 7 to be right on and easier to pickup.   Even though I was able to say “look it works now” she’d made up her mind and I feel like the “want it now” culture we have will make Microsoft products a big hit with the sweet spot of the populace.

I feel like Microsoft has put themselves in a good spot to compete and build market share with a little time.    The product is solid, easy to use and fun which will create positive buzz from common users like my wife.  The number of apps being built is huge and their development environment is very easy to pickup for .NET developers who haven’t done mobile development.   They will compete well in 2011 and in the future.

I’ve never been one to worry about dying much. My thoughts have always been that when it happens it happens for everyone. I’m realistic about it to the point that the idea of friends or family passing doesn’t bother me terribly. Anyone who I love enough to care about I feel they’re a good enough person that they’ll go to a better place in death. Some think it’s a cold perspective but people who take time to understand the point of view realize that as one said “Don’t take life too serious, nobody gets out alive anyway.”

Having a Child Changes Everything

Nobody warns you about the worrying that goes along with having a child.    I remember now pondering on the subject how a friend suggested that having a child turns your perspective of the world in to evaluating things as “can kill” or “can’t kill” your kid.    For me that’s definitely true as the longer I have my daughter the more I can’t stand the idea of doing without her.   I worry about everything from the stick she picks up to her and mom driving at night.    It was certainly a surprise to me that I became  a worrier much like we always teased my grandfather about being.

Now worrying about my baby isn’t as much of a surprise as the fact that I started worrying about myself.   I purchased life insurance and disability insurance which are things I never owned before.   I can’t stand the thought of leaving the family without.    What’s more is I feel a tightening in my chest if I even start to drift towards the thought of not being there to see my baby grow up.   One year has produced so many great memories and you just don’t want it to end.  You definitely begin to treasure your own life more for the sake of your little ones.

Having a baby is great and I’ve loved the past year of it but man does it shove responsibility on your shoulders as if you were Atlas.

It’s long overdue that I use an automated tool for jerryodom.com.   Software developers just like lawyers, contractors or anyone else neglect their personal properties when it comes to their trade.   It’s to the point that I’m a little embarrassedbecause I hardly update my website anymore due to how manual it is.    Really you work in a job where your title is “Lead Software Developer” and you have an old 100% html website you build when you were in college in 2001ish?   You hardly update it and the content looks terrible because it’s inflexible.   

Well in the spirit of the new year I’m implementing a new system for 2011 so that family and friends can get quick updates on the family.