use Perl

I came back to work today & yesterday (we didn't have the day off automatically & I didn't want to burn PTO unnecessarily) and it's been very eerie & quiet around here. Most of my co-workers are out.

Yesterday, I spent the day working on a PHP program (I know), but I was pleasantly surprised how easily I was able to get the program done and it works pretty fast. When would I use PHP and when would I use Perl? I also know Java, but I'm not working on a B2B site. ;) I guess I could install HTML::Mason and then it would be Perl, no matter if it were a CGI script, mod_perl or server-parsed page. I feel like I'm on the cusp of Web development - the moment before I truly grok "the system" and whenever projects fall on my plate, being able to figure out the appropriate technology to use for them. I feel good that I'm getting the experience of the different systems.

The lack of sleep is eating away at me - I feel really out of it today. I'm going to bed late lately... need to get my 8 hours of sleep.

The exciting news is that for my Christmas present to my wife, I am taking her on a New Years Eve trip to Austin, TX. We leave tomorrow afternoon and check into the best hotel in Austin (the Driskill), which is right on 6th Street, which is where the festivities for New Years Eve happens. So some R&R and lettin' loose is called for... We return the afternoon of the 1st, and I'm back @ work on the 2nd. We used to live in Austin for a short while, after I graduated from college and we're looking forward to eating & drinking @ our fav. hangouts. If it weren't for my cool job & new house being built, I might be tempted to move back...

Funny story about the arranging the plane tickets for the trip. I was using Expedia and for my return trip, I could spend $X and return at 6AM on the 1st (uhh ... huh? ... I don't think so!) or spend $X+$800 to return at 2PM or so. So I went over to Travelocity and was able to find flights leaving Austin for $X that left at 2PM. Very odd, this dynamic pricing... *roll* The US recently doled out billions of $'s to the airline industry to bail them out from the Sept. 11th travesty. My opinion is that the airline industry was in dire straights before Sept. 11 (case in point - Midway Airlines [an airline hq'd locally, but goes all over the US] went bankrupt before Sept. 11th (maybe they did it afterwards, but they were heading there already) and now they're back in business, thanks to the $ they received from the taxpayers). VERY strange...

My boss just walked in and said he will make sure my plate is full when I return - I've been working on steam lately, in terms of work to do. I just found out that the PHP project I did yesterday replaced something that was already working, so my work was for naught (well, it did replace an old flakey system, I might add).

Tonight, I'm tackling Pork Roast! Got a chunk o' Pork (boneless sirloin roast), some broccoli and sweet potatoes and will be cooking 'em up for the relatives.

Jason