a few more links of interest

Ok, I came accross this interesting link that made me shake my head. Its cool. But whoever did this has way too much free time to kill:

Go to your start menu

Select Run

At the prompt type in: CMD.EXE

At the next window (which should be a DOS prompt) type in: telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

Enjoy the movie!!!

This next article is of no surprise really:

Employees complain as IE begins its rapid descent

What the world needs less of

I find it very, very hard to respect countries and people where the practices of Islam are taken to this extreme:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051228/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_honor_killings;_ylt=AoV_S4gLh5YOrs4OuUYIzP_jOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3b3JuZGZhBHNlYwM3MjE

Obviously, this guy has issues. In Pakistan he will probably be sentenced to death, which is a just punishment for such a crime. In the US, however, he probably has a chance of living in a prison and getting food and shelter from our tax dollars for the rest of his life.

Notes and Updates

Yeah, like this will make them any safer:

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/honda-unrolls-worlds-first-motorcycle-airbag/

Why it pays to have a cute baby (Which I do, hehe):
http://news.com.com/2061-10786_3-6009893.html?part=rss&tag=6009893&subj=news

An update to my home PC issue: It appears that my theory was dead wrong. It wasn't an overheating computer. Rather, it was a faulty power supply. A good friend of mine provided me with a spare Powers Supply that he had, and when I tried it out, the computer worked perfectly. Not only that, but my new cdrw can burn a full disc in 2.5 minutes! Awesome! This is good news, because I really wanted to wait a while before getting a new computer. Also this gives me time to wait until the new Intel Macs are out on the market and have been run through the wringer by early adopters. In any case, I'm very happy to my friend, Dave who provide me with the power supply.

Of truth and consequences

Here's a great quote that merits a posting:

"The plural of spouse is 'spice'. "

On a less happier note:

My journey over to the world of Apple just took a step closer as my PC decided to stop working for me. I installed a new cd-rw drive to extend its life and usefullness and was rewarded by a machine that reboots every 3 minutes. Even with the new drive removed!!! Now it just turns off without warning. My suspicions are that the processor is overheating somehow, so tonight's experiment will allow me to find that out. In any case, I'm reduced to a slower, but currently more reliable Laptop. Stay tuned for further musings on this problematic issue.

Yes, I've Flip-Flopped yet again

I've done it again. I've switched from Firefox to Internet Explorer. Why? Well, first off, I was noticing that leaving firefox open on my work computer for a few hours was consuming massive ammounts of RAM. Okay, maybe not "massive" but enough to make me annoyed. Also I was contemplating on the fact that I use very little of its extensions for anything. I really like it for its ability to use tabbed browsing and its pop-up blocker. However, it does have a tendency to force me over to IE when I want to view a nice website with all of the bells and whistles, which it cannot display. One of those sites is ESPN.com. I use Yahoo services extensively as well. I noticed that Yahoo mail, as well as other services offer a more seamless experience in Internet Explorer. And despite what most people say, Firefox has crashed on me quite a few times, and that's with a gig of RAM.

So I decided to enhance IE by installing the MSN toolbar, which gives me pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing as well as desktop search (Which I don't use). The switch thus far has proved to be pretty good. IE launches much faster than Firefox, and the toolbar has been doing a great job as well. Its also nice to go to a website with full confidence that I will be able to experience every feature it has available.

In other news, I followed the advice by John C. Divorak in the latest podcast of This Week in Tech, and am trying out the "Writely" online word processor. I have to say, this is pretty sweet. Right now I am composing this blog with their service. I haven't examined all of their features yet, but I will post a future evaluation of it once I'm done. Now, let's see how this "blog" option works....

Good Advice I Heard Today

Listening to a radio show today, I heard some advice that I can agree with:

"Sometimes the best choice you can make, is the one that you don't... Nobody ever suffers from giving a decision a little more thought...With the fast-paced society we live in getting instant responses on cell phones, instant messages, and e-mails, everyone has lost sight on a valuable method for dealing with life. Waiting...What decision ever gets ruined by giving it a little more thought?"

This is advice we all need to consider.

Difficult choices for the cost-conscious consumer

This is the kind of information that makes it difficult to make an all-out switch to a Mac.

"Are Apple Computer computers a bargain? It depends on the perspective of the buyer. This week, CompUSA is selling an iMac with a built-in 20-inch LCD monitor for $1,699. It comes with a 250GB hard drive and 512MB of memory.

For about the same price, a consumer can get two high-end HP Pavilion PCs and two 15-inch LCD monitors at the same store. For $844, CompUSA has a bundle that includes the HP model with a dual-core Athlon processor, 1GB of memory and a 250GB hard drive.

Or a shopper could get five Compaq Sempron-based systems (each bundled with a 17-inch CRT monitor) and have money left over. "

Links and Thoughts #6

If this gets off the ground, Cable might actually be worth purchasing:

a good idea

Smash me an XBox while you're at it:
this is too funny

This story is tragic. However the moral is...um, I'm not really sure:

Kiss of Death

What do you do when you're using Firefox and your mouse bites the big one? You read this article:

Mouseless Firefox tricks

A temperature-controlled butter dish: because we can't think of anything else to invent:

A buttery idea


Best quote heard this week:

(comment made concerning parental discipline of children in today's society)
"It seems like the age of personal responsibility has gone by the wayside when it comes to parents disciplining their kids"

What NOT to be thankful for.

So Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, and now we're off to prepping for Christmas and the New Year. Each year as I sit down in front of a huge pile of food on the last Thursday of November, I think about how many people in the world have probably never seen this amount of food in one place in their entire life. American tradition has caused us to plop down around a huge table, say a little prayer and engage in a ritual of gluttony that should probably disgust us. There are lots of things to surely be thankful for. But in some cases, I think that we need to re-examine how we celebrate what God has given us. I'm not against eating turkey and pumpkin pie. What I am bothered by is not what we celbrate with, its how we celebrate it. Is God honored when we ritually sit down and eat until it hurts? Is he honored when we spend 3 to 5 minutes of thanksgiving prayer and then spend the next 3 hours feasting like its our last meal?

When was the last time we've heard a sermon on gluttony in this country? Do pastors preach on such a thing? Does anyone really understand what gluttony is anymore?

Not that I am in the least bit innocent of this charge. I'm certainly pulling more than my share of fat and calories each day. I just wonder if anybody else considers this issue each year?

Free + Recycle = Freecycle.org

I can't really explain why I haven't posted about this really wonderful concept before, but now I am. A few months ago, a friend of Meg's told her about this online community called "Freecycle.org". Freecycle.org is a website that allows one to give away or recieve items for free from people within their surrounding community. Its kind of like a free version of the classifieds. Most of the community groups are organized by city or county. To give you an example of how it works, let me explain about our experiences with it so far:

1. the first experience we had was when Megan set up her account, which sends e-mails to your yahoo account (Freecycle is affiliated with Yahoo! Groups I believe). Each day the folder would fill up with "offer" or "wanted" notices for various items. One of the freely offered items was an all-wooden baby's high chair from somebody in the nearby area. Meg replied to the person offering the highchair, who gave us directions to their place as well as where she would leave the item. A couple of days later, we found the person's house, picked up the highchair, which was out on the person's porch, and went home. It was as simple as that.

2. Our second experience was a metal filing cabinet. Meg and I had been thinking of buying one, but when we saw this, we figured, "what the heck?". The person was out in E-Town, which is about 1/2 hours from our place. However, a free metal filing cabinet is a free metal filing cabinet. Because of poor written communication via e-mail by both us and the person giving the cabinet away, we end up driving out there and finding nothing. A week later, the scheduling for both the person and us was better communicated and we came home with a free working filing cabinet.

3. The 3rd experience we had was getting rid of a bunch of useless computer junk that I had lying around the house. Recylcing computers can be a pain, so this was a great way. We divided up our items into separate free offers and posted them on the web. We got several responses, asking for the items right away. The arrangements for pickup were made and we set the items out on our front porch. Within the week, all of the stuff was gone. It was so easy!!!


Of course, one has to realize that not everything that people are giving away is going to be top-quality, or in top-quality condition. For instance, the high-chair is very nice, but the finish needs re-done. The filing cabinet works fine, but its missing a metal folder rack in one of the drawers. Of the computer items I gave away, some work, others didn't (of course, I DID let everyone know that before they chose to claim the item).

All in all, I think that Freecycle.org is a great idea for people. It allows people to be rid of stuff that is taking up space, and allows others who are looking for various items to find them at no cost. Its a situation where everybody wins. If you think that you might be interested in checking it out, here's the link: Freecycle.org

Links and Thoughts #5

I'm posting this link in dedication to my conscious decision to switch to the Mac Platform with the purchase of my next computer. More details to come about the reasoning behind this. Here's an article detailing the history of Apple's long-standing operating system:

history-of-mac-os/


Pictures of Michael Dell's house. So much for modest living. If I were as rich as him, my house would only be 23k square feet. :-)

the house that dell built

Interesting Patents, including...um, Coffee Beer?

weird patents

Happy Birthday to the coolest available web browser out there:

happy b day firefox!

What Microsoft Needs To Do

Ok, let's insert this opinion right here. After reading tons of articles and comparing products and such, it is clear to me what Microsoft needs to do in order to not only survive, but somehow improve.

Release Operating Systems More Often

One issue we've seen with them is their lack of dependability because of operating system vulnerabilities. Rather than continuously putting out new patches and fixes each month, they should just mimic Apple (like they do for their OS anyways). Release an operating system every year to 1.5 years. This would make it easier to insert current tech features into the OS, and periodically reinforce security issues. The whole OS could be progressively improved, and it would also make a great way to keep hackers from figuring out the code. If its always changing, then its less likely to be hacked and exploited. It would also provide improved revenue.

I understand that the cost to support all of the new products at this measure would increase, but that's another area where Microsoft could make money, in offering support contracts with every OS that they release. This would guarantee enough revenue to handle the support. Every 3 to 5 years, they could just drop support for the oldest OS, as they do now. This would prompt people to upgrade every couple of years to keep up with new changes.


Innovate

Let's face it. When was the last time that Microsoft actually came up with something original? Do you mean to tell me that with billions of dollars flowing throughout that company that they can't just invent something new? They've been copying ideas long enough. Its hard to give somebody credit for their work, when most of it is copying their main competitors ideas 5 years after their competitor introduced the concept.


Read comments in the comment box

Come on, Microsoft! I've been reading article after article where people have been mentioning huge annoyances that have existed for years in Microsoft Operating systems. Why doesn't Microsoft address it? The registry? The false "Time remaining" stats when you're copying files? The copy feature that quits in the middle of copying a huge amount of files if there is one error, and you have no idea what files are copied are what ones didn't make it. These issues have existed for many releases. Listen to us and fix them please!!!!

Of course, I'm no expert. I know that there are probably a few flaws in my rant, but I think that the ideas are still something Microsoft should consider. If they keep going in the same direction like they are now, my daughter might be reading about them in her history books when she grows up.

Links and Thoughts #4

Thought: Sorry for the delay on the latest post, for all 0.5 of you who actually read this. I was out of town for the weekend.

Need to find some good uses for duct tape but run out of ideas? Check these out:

http://www.ducktapeclub.com/ducktivities/


Interesting little blog with some facts about how crappy things are with electricity:

Click here to read the blog


Did you grow up playing video games? If so, then you must read this article:

read article here

Still have a tape recorder? Is it big and bulky? Compare it with the first videotape recorder ever:

Kicking it really old school

Links and Thoughts #3

Why is this news? And why did I post it on my blog..oh well. If you really care about running out of names for hurricanes, this link is for you:


Click here for the article

This is something you should read if you have problems remember names like I do. Seriously, just ask...now what was their name...?


Click here for the article


$150 computer? Yes, its true:


Click here for the article

Not that I plan on doing it myself, but its interesting to see why other people think that Linux is better than the alternatives:

Click here for the article

From a guy who himself seems to be a Microsoft Basher, here is an interesting article on Media Bias with Technology Reporting:

Click here for the article


This is one of the coolest time-lapse videos I've ever seen. It tracks the development of this 2005 season of hurricanes. Simply amazing:

Click here for the article

Thought: This season is proving to be one of the least exciting sports seasons for me. No interesting baseball drama, the NFL has been turned upside down with hurricane influence, immoral boat parties, and long-time crappy teams doing great. And will somebody let me know when the hockey season starts? Oh wait, it did? Don't get me wrong, I'm still paying attention, but its just not as exciting.

Links and Thoughts #2

short video of the forth-coming JAVA Operating system

http://www.darlugo.com/?id=124&p=10

thought: Dear PC World. Can you publish just one edition of your magazine that doesn't have a huge article on either spyware, viruses, or windows secrets that you act like nobody knows?

great commentary on "microsoft innovation", from a PC World columnist. He's harsh, but a lot of what he says makes sense.

Steven Manne's Commentary

test out the linux Operating System in your browser...very, very cool!!!

http://opensource.region-stuttgart.de/test_linux_desktop.php

John C. Dvorak sounds off on Microsoft's Incompetent Operating System:

Dvorak Commentary

Interesting concept on document filling for people who need better organization. Never tried it, but it looks like a good idea to try if I can ever get organized to do it... :-)

http://www.lise.jp/honyaku/noguchi.html

Tips to speed up your computers booting time (mostly for windows xp):

Windows Boot Speed Tips

thought: Is there anybody out there that uses Windows and likes it? Every article I read these days is a rant against them. Interesting, considering that they probably write their rants using a windows machine (credit for thought on that goes to Paul Fink). Even a recent pc world article was talking about "alternative operating systems" and discussed a Mac. Why? You would think that a magazine that is solely about PC's would stay away from Mac info. Maybe the writers DO use macs?



Like the new look? Let me know. Also, report any bad links to me, so they can be corrected. Thanks!!!

Links and Thoughts #1

Oh no, not another browser! Can't they just fix the ones we have??? Just kidding. This browser takes a different approach than all of the others. Particuarly in areas of social networking of bookmarks and stuff. Its called "Flock". Check out the article

Flock Article

Hate spam? Want to sign up for a service, but don't want stupid junk mail in your already-bombarded e-mail inbox? How about a disposable e-mail address. Yep, that's right disposable addresses are temporary and allow you to "use it and lose it" Check out a list of services that provide them.

Disposable E-mail account services


If you use firefox, and REALLY want to speed it up, check out this extension. I've not tried it myself, but the reviews are unanimous that it makes a huge difference in the speed of your browser. Now if only somebody could figure out a way to speed up the actualy launching of firefox. I swear it seems like hours when I first start it up in the morning. Must run on deisel or something. Update: I've tried it and it WORKS!!! Very fast indeed!!

http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/

Does the RIAA have any friends? Now they are suing satellite radio companies as well. I've heard that they will soon be suing individuals who hum any copyright protected tune while walking down the street.

RIAA to sue sattelite radio providers

Ok, so these are nerdy quotes, but if you like nerdy quotes, check them out. They are funny enough to rattle the pens out of your pocket protector.

Read them here


Random thoughts:

-Hockey started its season again last night...did anybody who's not wearing a Hockey Jersey at least 3 times a week notice?

-You know that people have blind spots when the media talks about how the Steelers will play better on Monday with a more prepared offensive line...uh, does anybody happen to be aware that our secondary has sucked for like 10 years or something? I give up. What's the point?

-So Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are having a baby...that's about as relevant to my life as saying, "Somewhere out in a swamp, a crocodile just ate two of its newborn offspring for dinner".

-If you have dial-up and still surf the internet, be aware that most of what the web can now be used for has passed you by completely. Other than viewing websites and reading e-mail, you've reached your limit. Just thought I'd share.

-George Bush really hasn't said anything much different in the past year or so about our presence in Iraq or the war on terror. I get why we are there ,but I don't get why some of us are so dumb that we need 70 speeches from him to explain why we are there.

A little change in the direction of this blog.

The other day I read a very informative article on blogs and how they work. My first impression was that blogs were merely online diaries or commentaries on things. I've found that that is true in one case. Some people consider a blog to be more of an informative listing of interesting links with some commentary.

My blog has mostly been personal thoughts, with the occasional link or two. I'm going to turn that direction towards linking towards informative articles and commentaries that I encounter throughout the day. I hope that those who read this blog will find the links and minor commentaries a refreshing change from the drab and borrng opinions I've been spewing for about a year now. Of course, I will still comment on any interesting news in my pesonal life, but as a whole this blog is about to take another direction. Stay tuned, all you readers, for a new look and content.

Monday Morning Football Thoughts Week 4

Umm..uhh..there was football on? Sorry. The Steelers had a bye and there weren't any interesting matchups, so I ended up watching, well no football. Couldn't get into it. However, my thoughts about the results:

Cincinatti, Tampa Bay, Washington, and the Colts are undefeated....there's something really wrong about all of this. Kind of like some sort of reverse dream that shouldn't be happening. Cincinatti is offically on my "Scary teams the Steelers have to play" list. Speaking of which, the Chargers are now on the list, after a gigantic pummeling of the Patriots. Give the Pats some credit, they had no Rodney Harrison. THe WERE however, at home, which you would have thought might help them...not at all.

After watching Pittsburgh lose to New England, I'm kind of doubtful about their ability against the good teams. I'm just hoping that they can hold their own against what seems to be a new NFC North Juggernaut, Cincinatti Bengals. If they can defeat the Chargers this coming Monday night, it might sway my faith.

On a non-football related note, my brother Donovan is getting married in Cleveland this coming Saturday. I think I'm feeling as surreal as he probably is right now. Never pictured him having a wedding and getting married. Its a neat thing. I'm in the wedding, and very glad to be a part of it.

Monday Morning Football Thoughts Week 3

Steelers / Patriots
Antwaan Randel El lost this game. Not only did he blow a huge play that could have given the Steelers a comfortable lead, he dropped some key passes thereafter, which he clearly should have caught. Still, there were many other holes to notice. The zealous blitz style of the Steelers D is keeping the quick outs a good option for any team with a decent Offensive line. It just so happened that the Patriots have a great O-line. Even with injuries, the Patriots reminded the Steelers why they beat them last year and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Packers / Tampa Bay
Green Bay is in trouble. Favre's back is growing weary of carrying the entire organization on his back at his age. Its really sad to watch a legend die so slowly on the field. And Tampa Bay is 3 and 0? What has this world come to?

Bengals / Bears
The Bengals are for real and they are 3 and 0. Somebody needs to alert Pittsburgh that things need to improve if they are going to beat this team. As for the Bears, I guess that Defense didn't have what it takes...scary thought.

Everybody Else
Not much to talk about here. Nothing exciting happened, and my fantasy team is getting pasted because our players have checked out or something. Either way, I'm still reeling at a disappointing Steeler weekend.

Monday Morning Football Thoughts Week 2

Steelers / Texans
Once again, I'm happy that the Steelers won. I'm also happy that my fantasy team's recent acquisition of Willie Parker last week produced a result. As for pushing the Steelers as super bowl material, that remains to be seen. They still need to play a good team and look convincing. Beating the Titans and the Texans doesn't say much. If they can beat the Patriots next week, then I think I'll be more convinced.

Bengals / Vikings
Culpepper is really making people wonder. 8 INT's in 2 games? We can't count him out though because Bart Starr did the same thing, and then went on to lead the Packers to the Super Bowl in Super Bowl 8. As for the Bengals. They are starting to scare me.

Browns / Packers
I normally wouldn't even comment on this sort of game, but I found it interesting that the Browns were playing the Packers in Lambo Field and still managed to make them look pathetic. This is despite the fact that the Browns are also pathetic.

Ravens / Titans
So much for worrying about the Ravens this year. Their offense is so bad that the defense has to stay on the field most of the game. This means for a tired Defense that eventually runs out of steam. They need to rebuild or something. The old 2000 team game plan where their defense wins games isn't gonna work anymore.

Colts / Jaguars
Peyton Manning is human? Never saw that one coming. :-)

Eagles / 49'ers
Did anyone think that this was even going to be a game? McNabb is one of the best QB's I've ever seen.

All the Rest
Not much else to blab about in week 2, except on how dumb it was that of all the games that were on, I got the crappy ones that didn't have any relevance to my favorite team or the fantasy team I own.

Monday Morning Football Thoughts

Pittsburgh Steelers/Tennesee Titans
They pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Willie Parker stepped up and came out big. Ben R. had a perfect QB rating. No sacks were allowed by the 0-line. Wow. Good stuff. I'd rave more about this, but I'm gonna need to see more of this type of play against some very good teams to be convinced. Tennesee isn't exactly the powerhouse they used to be. Still, let's give up a little love to the home team. They looked great in the opener.

Baltimore Ravens/ Indy Colts
I'll say now what I said last night when watching the game: The Baltimore Ravens were responsible for the score on both sides of the ball. Their defense and offense kept the points down. To Bohler's credit, he had no help from his O-line. They crumpled instantly on every pass play. I've read that their offensive line was built for the run, not the pass. It was evident. As for Indy, I'm not ready to jump on board their "Our defense is tough" bandwagon. They need to beat a team with a decent offense before they get any love from me.

Cleveland/Cincinatti
Cincinatti may just turn out to be a huge force to be reckoned with. They have a very good offense, and their defense plays with a lot of heart. But there's really nothing to say about the huge can of whoop-*** they opened on Cleveland. Cleveland is just going to suffer all season in their condition, so a win against them is also nothing to brag about.

Everything else

-Miami slapped Denver all over the field yesterday in just under 110 degree heat. Awesome.

-Duante Culpepper rubbed butter all over his hands yesterday, and then tried to be the QB. Uh, 2 fumbles and 3 Interceptions? Way to hand a victory to Chucky and his Pirates.

-Despite the Cowboys win, I impressed with two things: Drew Brees looked great without Gates, and Keyshawn (Me-shawn) Johnson can still play half-decently.

-Panthers shouldn't have lost against the saints. Since when did the Saints get to take the Cowboys title of "America's Team"? Sorry, lots of pity for the saints, but come on, let's not over-do things.

-F-U-M-B-L-E-JETS!JETS!JETS! 6 fumbles? Hey Pennington, did you shake hands with Culpepper any time on Sunday?

-Bills beat Texans...big deal. Texans smack-down line forms to the left.

-49ers beat the Rams. Okay, that's just weird. The Rams will be spending extra hours studying tape after that one.

-Will people stop quoting Lee Corso's "Not so fast my friend!"??? It was never funny, and its worse when it gets quoted.

-Bears vs. Redskins. Hmmm, next time both teams should bring their offense to the game.

Monday Morning Football Thoughts

About Apple's new Nano

For years now, I've not been able to put my finger on the strange attraction to Apple. Although I don't own a mac, and iPod, or any other device made by apple, I've been feeling this strange pull towards Apple product. I doubt I'll buy one anytime soon, but, as I was reading a blog on the new Apple iPod Nanon, I came accross a comment posted by another reader of the blog. I think that this comment accurately defines the reasoning for this strange attraction:

" I used to believe that it was simply brilliant marketing that took Apple from the verge of bankruptcy to the best brand in the world in ten short years. What I've realized is that Apple has something that Creative, Samsung, Sony, and the rest lack, and that is a true philosophical understanding of electronics, and how consumers relate to them. As members of a consumer society, we inevitably fetishize and idealize certain consumer goods. We actively pursue nice things. Consumer goods need not be thrust upon us, though they usually are. This is the marketing ritual, where a handful of masters of manipulation gather to create an image that will hopefully transcend a poorly-engineered product. Apple has tapped into a secret of the 21st-century capitalist psyche that is rooted in primal desire. Form is more important than function. It's how we often choose our lovers, food, pets, clothes, and most things that we lust for, or have an intimate bond with. This profound understanding of aesthetics has allowed Apple to think outside the box and create truly beautiful products. Although it doesn’t hurt that Apple has some of the best engineers and most creative marketing teams. Consumers will sacrifice an FM tuner, and other frills for a product that taps into the core of their desires and makes them feel like they are better now than they were before. Yeah, it’s false consciousness, but it works. While other electronics companies are still using the McDonald’s model of value to push mp3 players, Apple’s iPod has become a connoisseur’s brand, and achieved ubiquity in the mp3 player market. Not easy to juggle the two. I predict the Nano is going to sell like hotcakes, or better yet, like iPods."

What I read today.

This article brings up an interesting (although cynical) perspective on the information that we pass on over the internet each day. Kind of scary really.

Justice for us all

This article is a nice victory for the little guy. Stupid AOL...

Laptops Replace textbooks.

This is the coolest implementation of Technology in schools that I have ever read. I makes me want to be a teacher again.


Click here to check it out

Stupid article. Sad Reality.

I read an article yesterday that proved to be no less than a joke. It was a survey that said that rich people are happier than poor people. Although I don't agree with the article, I found the article to be funny. Who does a poll like this anyways? In any case, I can't agree that rich people are happier than poor people. I don't think happiness comes from wealth or material things. The only advantage there might be with money is that you can use it to distract you from dealing with the real problems in your life. Its just another medium for filling an empty void that everybody has already. A void that can only be filled by God alone. However, what riches and wealth can do is destroy you and blind you from the reality that life does end and you can't take it with you.

Yet another Apple Commentary

I read yet another article discussing the new switch for Apple from IBM Procs to Intel Procs. What was interesting was the comment on Apple's motivation. Many were saying that it has to do with making Macs run faster in the future to be able to compete with the current trend in PC speed. But this article pointed out something really interesting they essential said (paraphrased) : "The reality is that what keeps people from buying a Mac is the cost and software availability. Apple's move to Intel has really not addressed either of these issues." He further goes on to explain that putting Intel Chips on proprietary Mac hardware really does nothing for costs of a Mac. And that even though the processor is now x86, it still requires new software to be re-written. This is an essential "back to the drawing board" for programmers. Unless all of the conspiracies about Steve Jobs wanting to create a PC version of the Mac OS are trye, then I don't think anybody is really sure where Apple is thinking of going with this. Right now it just looks like Apple has just changed it shoes, but is not really walking in any different directions.

The Beginning of the End?

Hines Ward needs to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.They can't afford to lose such a caliber player. Who cares if he wants more money? He's worth it. He knows it, the fans know it, and I'm sure the team and owners know it. If they blow this one, they might be staring at another 6-10 season again. What is worse than not having Hines Ward on the team is the thought of him on another rival team, like the Baltimore Ravens. Good grief!! Somebody work this out before its too late!!!!!

How LOW can you go?

I just read an article talking about a neat back to school deal where you can buy a computer from curcuit city for as little as 199.99. It comes with a free 17 CRT Monitor and printer. The catch? You have to sign up for a whole year of AOL service.

It seems that AOL is becoming desperate for promoting their service and software. I mean, just by the fact that you get bombarded every month with at least one or two promotions from them in the mail, plus you get ads on tv. And if you buy any kind of new software, it always seems that AOL is weasleing their way onto your desktop with icons and offers. And now to take the cake they corner you into deals of signing up for their service for a full year in order to get a new computer that is probably LOADED with AOL software. Come on, AOL! Give it up. Your marketing strategy is doomed to annoy and not to gain customers. The world of customers that needs your type of help and support is waning by the day.

I once bought a PC and the person who sold it to me told me that I HAD to sign up for the 6 months of free AOL even though I didn't want it or need it. I told him that I didn't want to, and he told me that he couldn't give me the "best" deal unless I did. I remember cancelling that trial service with AOL (like the same day) and after the usual harassments from them about why I should want their service, I told the rep about being forced to sign up for it. They were surprised that a store would do that. Why? Their company does it all the time! Go figure.

A New Name for Windows

The news of the recent name for the new Operating System soon to be released by Microsoft has had mixed reactions. The new name, formerly known by its codename "Longhorn" will be Windows Vista. As we've seen in the past, Microsoft rarely takes to continuing any sort of naming scheme that makes sense. Look at the list: Win 2.0, Win 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win 98 Second Edition, Win NT, Win Millenium Edition, Win 2000, Win XP, and now Win Vista. If you can see any sort of rational pattern in that, let me know. Anyways, I have some ideas that I've come up with or seen others suggest that might perhaps be a better name for the new Operating System from Microsoft:

1. Windows Contaminated
2. Windows Security Vulnerability Edition
3. Windows Patches
4. Windows OS X Elephant
5. Windows Two-Thousand-Something
6. Windows Crash
7. Windows Shiny Blue
8. Windows Virus Lovers Edition
9. Windows Limited Support Edition
10. Windows Service Pack Collector's Edition

Got any more ideas for names? Feel free to add a few.

The Danger of Babies

Two days ago I was giving my 19 pound 11 month old baby girl a bath when, as I lifted her out of the tub, a sharp pain suddenly shot through my lower back immobilizing me temporarily. Several minutes later, I would foolishly attempt to something of considerably less weight only to make things altogether worse for me. The pain was so bad I couldn't move. The only two positions I could tolerate were standing or lying down. As I write this blog, the pain still exists to a point where I find that I can only tie my shoes or put on socks with the accompanied severe pain surging through my lower back. Despite the fact that I'm a 28 year old guy complaining about back aches due to the stress of lifting 19 pounds, what was even more humorous was the look on my daughter's face as I screamed out in pain during that initial injury. She had this, "Uh, Dad? Are you okay?" look on her face. All of this is written to warn those of you who don't suspect it. Babies are dangerous. So if you're considering having any children, just keep that in mind. And I suspect that the more children you have, the more maimed and injured you will become. Just a word of caution.

Making the World a Better Place

I was listening to a quote from an astronaut today, talking about the launching of the space shuttle. The news was that the shuttle launch was delayed due to repairs, etc. What struck me was how he mentioned that they were eager to get back to doing their jobs and "making the world a better place". Excuse me? So, sending an astronaut into outer space to examine rocks and study radio waves is going to someday prevent massacres in Kenya, and feed the starving in India, and save unborn children from being aborted? Maybe it will stop the terrorist attacks? Nah. None of that. But perhaps they might find a new moon rock that could prove that the moon used to be a part of the Earth or something. And then maybe I can take that moon rock and throw it at their head. Sorry, call me when your billions of dollars in expenses pay for themselves or for things a little bit more crucial saving lives and promoting peace.

Shut it off!!!

I was reading an interesting article discussing The PCTurnoff initiative which is being promoted for the week of August 1st through 7th. The plan is to keep kids from spending their entire summer in front of a computer screen and promoting them to do something most kids don't do much these days: Play. The site leads to a few articles and facts of interest on the benefits of play.
This article discusses the benefits and rewards of play for children. I totally agree with this. As a child, I remember spending a lot of time playing with my friends and my brothers in our neighborhood. Exploring woods, playing football, baseball, climbing trees, etc. Those are things that I remember and wouldn't trade for anything. Some of our kids today will be spending most of their adult lives in a cubicle in front of a computer screen. Why start them early? Why create a social and interactive culture that grows only via the internet? Get em' out there! Let them play? Un-plug that computer!!!

Pathetic

Some people have no line as to what they will do for money.

This story is yet another example.

News and Rants

This morning the nation learned that NY City will NOT be hosting the 2012 Olympic games. It appears that a recent poll of New Yorkers has revealed more of a sigh of relief. Now they won't have to deal with epic porportions of gridlock traffic, and serious security lock-down issues. From what most people are saying, despite its grandeur in the past, the Olympics don't quite have the appeal to Americans as it used to. Reasons being that now, without a cold-war, we no longer have a big rivalry with Russia, and that most of the major sports in the olympics are not as big in the U.S., as they are in the rest of the World. They say that for most other countries, the Olympic celebration lasts for weeks. Its a grandeur sporting event. For Americans, its little more than a two-week entertainment venue.

NFL training camp for the 2005 season begins in about a month. I can't wait. Baseball season just drags out too long to keep my interests, and golf just isn't a sport most people can follow week by week. BRING ON THE FOOTBALL!!!

I'm going to start riding my bike again. I'm going to try and commit to a plan of getting up every morning at 5am and biking two miles around my neighborhood. If I somehow find the willpower to do this, two things will happen for my benefit: 1. I'll lose weight, which is something I've been wanting to do for the past 2 years. 2. I'll start my day with some exercise, which is sorely needed. I sit all day long at work as a programmer.

Our out of control technological age

Today I received a forwarded article from a friend discussing the topic of downloading songs onto cell phones. To be honest, I'm usually a proponent of new technology. I like how technology has helped us to enhance communications with one another, and get us information at a faster rate. But as usual society continues to take things as far as they can go, even if it borders on the stupid. Having a cell phone is a nice luxury. Some would say that it our current day, it is a necessity. No way. Unless you have a job that requires you to travel often, you'r not going to suffer without one. I mean, think back 20 years ago (if you can). We weren't using mobile phones. People were happy, things were getting done. It all worked. So now the cell phone comes along and enhances communication and adds to our luxurious lifestyle as Americans. So now what? Let's add video games, streaming tv shows, music downloads, and e-mail and Instant Messenger to the phone because God-forbid that we would actually use it to CALL somebody. Who has the kind of life where they need a phone to watch the next batman movie trailer? Seriously. The fat, spoiled american thinks, "Man, it would be so great if I could cram every sort of entertainment media onto my cell phone so that I can go anywhere in the world and block out any sort of human interaction. Where's the line?

Lancaster Baseball

I finally got the opportunity to go to a Lancaster Barnstormers Baseball game last night. What was interesting was the comparison to a major league game. Surprisingly, things are run very similar to Major League games in terms of the typical fan activities and interaction of the music, organ, etc. It seemed like there was a fan contest every half-inning, which got old after a while. The game pace seemed to go by a lot quicker. There was not much time in between batters, or pitches. The pitchers threw between 77 - 90mph, which is still pretty darn fast. Another thing that clearly stuck out was how the small the players were. There was one guy for the Barnstormers who was a former Major League player for the Orioles. He was HUGE compared with his teamates and even guys on the other team. It kind of reminds me of a comment I once heard about when the Yankees played the Pirates, and how the Yankees looked like giants next to the Pirate players. Overall, I'd say the Barnstormer's game was a neat experience. Baseball is so much more interesting to watch when you're there, as opposed to watching it on tv and falling asleep to the drone of tv announcers.

NBA Finals Game 7

Surprisingly, the Spurs pulled it off. I actually stayed up until 12am to watch the whole thing. To my satisfaction, it was a very good game between the two of them. You really didn't have any idea who was going to win the match until the final 20 seconds of the match. The game was so close. I would have to say that I would have given Manu the MVP for such an awesome performance. But then again, MVP doesn't have anything to do with awesome performances, but your value to the team. Certainly, Tim Duncan was that.

Browser Fairness and the NBA Finals.

This article just goes to show you exactly why you can't trust any windows product these days for total security. But what really gets me is this quote: "Firefox security is an ongoing process."

Now we know that if Microsoft said something to the effect of "Internet Explorer security is an ongoing process", they would easily get butchered by their critics. I all fairness, we need to approach security in any windows application as an "ongoing process". Right now, everything is a target and browsers have proven to be one of the more lucrative ways for thieves to take advantage of users.

In other news, it seems Detroit has pulled up even against the Spurs again in the series. With what I've seen of the lackluster performance of Tim Duncan, and the terrible shooting from the field for the whole team (They took 28 3-pointers last night and made only 8), I don't see any reason why they deserve to win game 7. Detroit has seemed to play with more consistency over the whole series, and they look much more like a team to hold the credibility of another NBA Championship. Sorry, San Antionio, but unless you guys start playing up to your potential, there's no chance you're gonna win this one Thursday night.

With Just a HINT of jealousy

This article makes me laugh. I've used Opera before with very paltry results. I wasn't impressed at all. The interface is overkill, and the ads are annoying to say the least. And they actually want you to pay for the browser to get rid of the ads? Sorry, but I'd rather have IE and pay for a 3rd party browser security software. Then I get the security I want as well as the compatibility. Or wait, better yet, I'll use Firefox, get no ads, get no spyware, and pay nothing at all! Sounds like a better deal to me. :-)

The NBA Finals (Game 5)

I got home late, and thought: "Bummer, I'm missing Game 5". But then something in my brain said, "Remember the last couple of games? They were crap. Just go to bed." and so I did. Then I woke up this morning and got the highlights, just to find out that the game went great with overtime play and a win by 1 point. Of course, at first I thought: "Darn, I missed a good game." But then I realized something: I will probably miss any of the games that are good. They all go way later than I am willing to stay up, so I'll probably never see the end of any of them. Thank whoever planned the schedule on that one. Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm sure life won't be any different if I see the games or not. So let this be my last entry on the NBA for the season, unless I somehow mistakenly catch a game this week.

The San Antionio Bricklayers (NBA Finals Part 4)

I have to agree with what I heard today: This is a good series, but bad games. Let's hope it keeps up. I can't believe what I saw last night though. San Antonio got schlacked by Detroit. It didn't even look like they were a pro team against Detroit. They shot 37%, and from what it appeared, they had no idea how to defend against Detroit whatsoever. It was sad. I'm kind of rooting for San Antonio, just because I like their humble approach to the game. However, if they continue to play this terribly they certainly don't deserve to win. Detroit clearly dominated last night from what I saw. Larry Brown said that it was the best any of his teams have ever played in his 33 years of coaching. I think San Antonio helped out with that one. I also found out that when they say the game starts at 8:30pm, it really means that it starts about 9:15pm.

Do we really need another one?

This article kind of annoyed me. Do we really need another web browser? I mean, what's wrong with what we have? Unless Yahoo or Google can come up with some nifty browsing features not yet discovered or invented, I'm doubting they will go very far. Of course, its pretty likely that they would build in their own website features into the browser to make it more appealing. The only interesting thing that might draw my attention is that I do use a lot of Yahoo's current content for e-mailing, etc. Still, my message to both Google and Yahoo and in quoting one of my favorite movies, "Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here."

In other news, all that I can say about this article:
Mac-Intel Aftermath is WOW! If this prediction turns out to be true, then this guy is a genius and we should elect him president.

NBA Finals (part 3)

Now that curiosity has the best of me, I think I might be watching a little of every game. Not because I like the NBA, but because I want Detroit to go down in flames. Last night I caught the the first half of game 3 and to my dismay, it seems Detroit has finally showed up to play basketball. Even Ben Wallace proved that he plays on the the team last night with some impressive first-half stats. San Antionio looked a little stunned by this defense that didn't seem to exist in the first two games. Their shooting was also off in the first half. I'm thinking that Manu Ginobili's thigh injury really slowed him down because he did NOT look like the player he was in the first two games. That being said, I think that he has to be my favorite player thus far of these two teams. What I hated about last night's game were the awful passes and turnovers that San Antonio gave up. They did not seem to be in any rhythm in the first two quarters.

Besides the game, I would have to add to my recent blog commentator's complaint:


If you feel the need to complain; Complain about the start time. 9pm tip-off?!?!? Come on Mr. Stern, some of us have to get to bed at a decent hour.

That's a very good point. But even further is the fact that is seems that there must be some sort of unwritten rule about not having an NBA finals game on a Friday or Saturday. Excuse me? If you are going to have these games this late for the East Coast, at least have the decency to move the game to decent time and day for us to watch. Now I understand that Stern is trying to hit the prime-time hour for the Central Time Zone, since most of the watchers are going to be from those two cities, but come on. Put the game on a day when most people don't have any competing shows to watch. So far the first two NBA finals games have lost in the tv ratings to CBS shows. I seriously doubt that there would be as much programming competition on a Friday or Saturday night, and people could have parties and stuff and watch the whole game. If this keeps up, I'm just gonna bag the whole thing and start watching my professional wrestling pay-per-views I taped. * (jk)


*Disclaimer: Unlike basketball, Albert does not acknowledge pro wrestling as a legitimate sport (at least as it is currently broadcasted on tv) nor does he believe that any form of this professional wrestling is anything more than acting and shock-value entertainment, and thereby does not encourage or endorse its viewing. However, if you have a fascination with watching Jerry Springer shows or drinking moonshine out on the porch of your double-wide, then perhaps professional wrestling is just the right form of entertainment to keep your motor running.

NBA Finals (part 2)

Okay, I broke down and watched game 2. What I saw was nothing like game 1. It was fast-paced with exciting shots, passes, steals, fast-breaks and more. Very entertaining. With that being said, it appears that my negative comments on game 1 got some attention:

"For years, sports radio people said the NBA had no defense. Now you'™ve got the two best defensive teams in the NBA battling to the championship. They said the same thing about fundamentals; no fundamentals, just big dunks from big athletes. The current teams stars are some of the most fundamentally sound players in the world. They represent huge amounts of practice, patience and hard work."

While I am inclined to agree with most of the what the comments said, I have to say this: Who cares? I am not a loyal NBA fan. I am the causal sports fan. I watch sports to be entertained like most people. If I had some sort of long-standing experience playing "fundamentally sound" basketball, then perhaps I would like it. Let's face it. I tune in to be entertained. Low-scoring basketball games are anything but entertaining. This is why not many people like watching golf. Unless you have a true appreciation for the "fundamentals" of the sport, you aren't going to watch. Why do people watch sports? They want to see stars, they want to see exciting offensive plays and big blocks and swats, they want to live on the edge of excitement. Fundamentals are overrated. Most people don't put their butts in seats, buy season tickets, or tune in to watch "fundamentally sound" players. They want to be entertained. We all do.

That being said, there will always be fans of the fundamentals. Just like there are fans of the exciting dunks, etc. But when you break it down, the NBA is not making money and getting tv ratings because of fundamentally sound basketball. How else can you justify fireworks, famous singers doing national anthems, cheerleaders and contests between all the time-outs? David Stern knows he has to sell more than the fundamentals to keep people watching the NBA.

The NBA Finals (Yawn)

I have not watched even 1 minute of one NBA game all season. I don't really care much for NBA basketball. I DO however listen to sports talk radio all day long at my job, which means that I keep up with just about every sport thats in season and worth mention in the sports media. Because of this, I happen to know more stats, and game times, and other sports info than I usually would. So last night I decided to check out the first game of the NBA Finals: The San Antionio Spurs vs. last year's NBA Finals winners, the Detroit Pistons. Needless to say I was extremely dissapointed. The game was so boring. I watched the entire first half and was "wowed" by maybe one or two made shots. I also saw what people meant about the NBA having very few talented mid-range shooters. It just stunk. The most interesting part of the whole thing was the mini-biography on Manu Ginoboli during halftime.

Apple Purism and the MacIntel debate

So it now has been revealed what people were waiting for for a long time: Mac budges into the direction that many Mac purists hoped that he would never go: Towards Intel. I'm actually kind of happy for this change. Not that I know enough about Macs to evaluate the situation on an equal level of both a Mac and a PC fan, but at least I can see that this will open up plenty more possibilities for the future of Apple. I don't own a Mac, nor do I intend to in the near future, but I like the idea of Mac moving onto a platform that makes it able to compete closer with other x86 pc makers. What I find most interesting is how Steve Jobs had this planned out for a while by enabling the OSX operating system to ALREADY be compatible with x86 architecture. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that Mac should change its hardware platform entirely. The world always needs an alternative to the Microsoft-dominated PC. But the possibility of producing a Mac that is competitive on a price level with a similar pc would be nice as well. Perhaps Intel can help Mac with this.

P.S.

By the way, why in the world do people chase after "ancient" methods, tricks and recipes? I mean, think about it. People in ancient times didn't live very long, so what makes the methods or herbs they used any better than what modern medicine offers today? Does "All natural" really matter? Were people living longer 1000 years ago? I doubt it. If mankind has increased his life expectancy over the years, why in the world would some ancient buddhist method do anything for anybody?

I'm a Browsin' Flip-Flopper

I have to admit: When it comes to internet browsers, I am the most undecided guy I know. I guess that I find limitations in everything, and so no one thing can completely satisfy me. For instance, I once went on an anti-Mozilla campaign after Firefox failed to work properly while I was doing my taxes online. For about two or three months, I used only Internet Explorer, figuring that everything works well with it. Well, unfortunately every does, including pop-up windows, flash ads, and other annoying stuff. Even the new security measures are annoying with the XP2 Service pack.

So I have jumped ships again, and now use the Firefox browser with its many featured plug-ins to eliminate annoying ads, and streamline my web experience. I still use IE for sites where I want no compromise of functionality, but most of the time, I use the great features available in Firefox. I guess it really IS the best browser out there, because I just can't seem to stay away for long.

Not that anybody really reads this but...

I would like to clarify that I in no way think that if you are what I would call a "nerdy" Star Wars fan that there is something wrong with you. I see no problem with liking Star Wars enough to enjoy it as a hobby. I DO see a problem when you convert your whole lifestyle into trying to manipulate the force and role-play your own Star Wars universe on a daily basis.

Today I get to work out of the Lancaster, PA office. This is a good thing because it cuts my commute down about 32 miles each way. The Lancaster office resides in a huge building in the center of the city on the fifth floor. I don't know any of the people that work here, and none of them do anything that is related to what I do in my department. Therefore, I'm kind of working independently here. I don't mind that, because it challenges me to think harder about solutions since I have less help surrounding me. Which brings me to another topic...

...thanks to the inventions of instant messaging and e-mail, work productivity is all more efficient in this type of environment. I can instantly communicate via IM with all of my coworkers on any given day about topics. We can send files to each other via e-mail or through our network. Even if we are 35 miles away. This is something that would have been impossible 20 years ago for most people. I sometimes marvel at how wonderful it is that we have these tools to communicate these days. This kind of thing probably sounded science-fiction when I was a kid. I also can keep great communication with family and friends with e-mail and instant messaging no matter how far away we are. Not that this should ever replace a decent phone call, but it sure is nice to be able to have these options available.

Enjoy your Memorial day weekend everyone. Let's all take a moment this weekend to stop and remember those who gave their lives on the battelfield for our freedom. Its sometimes amazing to think of the amount of courage and bravery people have had for the love of their country and its honor. To all of the soldiers who did this....Thank you.

"Star Weird"

With the opening day of the final prequal to the original Start Wars trilogy upon us, I figured that it would be necessary to comment on some glaring details of what happens when a movie like this is released. But first, let's comment on what I feel is a healthy star wars fan, a nerdy one, and an unhealthy one.

Common Characteristics of a Healthy Star Wars Fan:

1. Grew up playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the original trilogy.
2. Possibly keeps old Star Wars toys in attic for nostalgia.
3. Has seen all the latest movies, and understands the story line and theme.
4. Still enjoys watching Star Wars.
5. Probably lives on their own, has a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, and a decent job.

Common Characteristics of a Nerdy Star Wars Fan:

1. Grew up playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the original trilogy.
2. Knows the names of all of the star wars characters, and detailed biographical information on most of them.
3. Collects Star Wars action figures as an ongoing hobby.
4. Has read every book every related to Star Wars and knows details beyond the scope of the movie themes.
5. May or may not live on their own and may or may not have a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband, and a decent job.

Common Characteristics of an Unhealthy Star Wars Fan:

1. Grew up playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the original trilogy.
2. Collects and plays with Star Wars action figures reguarly as an adult.
3. Goes to every opening day showing of a Star Wars movie dressed up as a wookie or other Star Wars character.
4. Camps out in a tent in line to get tickets weeks in advance of them going on sale.
5. Has no job, or at least uses paychecks to finance his/her "active star wars" lifestyle
6. Most likely still lives with their parents with no girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife out of a room that still has original Star Wars posters adorning the walls.
7. Actively pursues the "Force" and believes that they possess this power.
8. Has legally changed their name to that of a Star Wars character.


So as you can see, these are how I classify the Star Wars fans of our day. What gets me is how the Media loves to highlight the "unhealthy" among us and create a common image of a Star Wars fan as someone with no life or no grip on reality. I can definitely vouch for those of us who are NOT crazy lunatics. I like Star Wars, but I don't think I'll be dressing up as a Wookie any time soon.

Weekend Warriors

This past weekend turned out to be very productive for us. We decided to organize our very unorganized basement an relocate the items to our also disorganized shed. After organizing both basement and shed, we ended up with more space in both. Our shed has tons of space for more stuff, and our basement is working its way towards being temporarily inhabitable. Our goal is to get the basement to be usable space for a future family room. This will add loads of space for our little place.

We also finally got around to putting away the winter clothes and re-discovering that we have summer clothes. Of course, it also leads to revelations in weight gain over the winter, which I hate to say seems to happen to me every year. Since changing professions from teacher to computer programming I've gained probably somewhere between 15 to 20 lbs. I guess if my next profession were sumo wrestling, I'd be heading in the right direction, but that's not the plan.

To update an old thread, the construction patterns on 222 still seem to show no signs of improvement. On any given day, traffic will be backed up for at least half a mile for no aparent reason. I think that it might have a lot to do with how bad Pennsylvania drivers merge. I even had a guy try to force me off of the road because he didn't want me to merge into his lane. I don't get it. When the signs say, "use both lanes to merge point" and "take turns merging into single lane", you'd think people would honor that. In any event, I found it irritating to need an hour and forty-five minutes to get from work to home thanks to a tractor trailer with a flat tire blocking the oncoming lane in a two-lane construction zone. The only thing that keeps my sanity through all of this is knowing that it will eventually get better as the new roads are finished.

Finally, an article that defends us.

Here's an article that I found that addresses the complaints of united states performance in the programming and engineering industry against other nations. Tons of article come out talking about how our educational institutions are failing us in math and science, and how we will lose our jobs because of the lack of competitiveness that we have against other countries in the industry. This article defends against that statement. Pretty interesting perspective.

Another Geek-like Entry

This article was really interesting to read. A lot of the news out about the new forthcoming Windows O/S has been on features. This one takes on that topic, as well as a few more broader aspects of how Microsoft affects the technology industry. I just thought that it was interesting to read on how many factors are directly related to this coming release.

PenDOT woes

I drive 35 miles one way to work. Sure it sounds like a long trip, but its not too bad. Its pretty much 95% highway travel, which makes it seem quick. However I have some issues with my route. Route 222 goes north and south between Lancaster and Reading. Right now there is existing construction on that route in Reading where they are building a new highway to support more lanes back and forth. Each time I travel out there, for about 10 miles there is construction which brings traffice down to one lane going each way. It slows things down, but what is encouraging is how much you can see getting done. There are tons of workers and a lot of highway and bridges being built. BUT. There is also construction that just began at the beginning of 222 on my route. This construction makes no sense. They've been cutting giant square slabs out of the road and are doing this for about 7 miles of road. Why? I have no clue. All that I know is that when I go to work at 7am each morning I never see anybody working. And when I come home from work I still don't see anybody working. What's the deal!!!! I mean, they leave all of their equipment and vehicles on the side of the road, they block off a whole lane which slows down all of the traffic, but the workers just don't show up? Maybe they are all up at the Reading end working? All I know is that thanks to this new construction where nobody works, my commute just grew by 15 minutes. Stupid PenDOT.

My New Job so far

With two days down, I'm really starting to like my new job. I'm learning tons (Except the 100 pin numbers and passwords I have), and the people are very friendly. My department deals with support for 3 major education applications which are used in school districts in 12 states. We've just got word that 3 new states may be added, which means tons of work for me. Very cool!

My new job also gave me a new IBM Thinkpad laptop computer. This is my only computer for work. Basically, I have to take it home with me too, so it kind of "lives" with me now. It has built-in wireless, so I am able to log into my wireless network at home. They aparently give all employees in our division a laptop because so many of the employees are sales reps and service reps, and that means they are required to do a lot of traveling. Makes sense, I guess.

The commute for the job is longer. I now commute about 50 minutes one way to work. It doesn't really seem as long as my previous commute, which was 25 minutes one way. I guess because my previous commute forces me to hit every stop sign and light on my route, where my new job is pretty much all highway. The killer is the mileage. Old Job = 10 miles. New Job= 32 miles. Total Miles per week for old job = 100 miles total miles per week for new job = 320...yikes!!! The good news is that they are putting an office in Lancaster here, so I will be able to work out of that office a day or two a week, when I eventually get accustomed to my new position. The Lancaster office is only 2 miles from my house...nice!

Life updated

...so I end up getting this watch on ebay for one cent. I figure, "hey, its a good deal either way, right?" WRONG. First of all, I'm an idiot for thinking that a 16 dollar shipping charge is normal for a watch I paid one cent for. What's even better is when the watch comes wrapped in bubble wrap inside a standard first class letter envelope. The watch? Well, the 3 chrono dials for date, month, and seconds don't work, and the watch feels like its been made from tin foil and twisty ties. Nevertheless, I've learned my lesson about bidding on ebay items after midnight and without reading other buyer comments first (which were mostly negative).

Tomorrow is my last day of work as a programmer for The Hightower Group. It's been a very growing experience for me there. I've learned so much about how little I know about computer programming over the past year. I will miss the casual, laid-back atmosphere and friendly faces. But boats do sail, and this one's a castin' off again...:-)

Nothing can give you more perspective on just how tiny your 8 month old daughter is until you fold her laundry. Nothing can give you more perspective on just how big your responsibilities are until you hold your 8 month old daughter in your arms and see her give you her famous "Four-toothed grin". And nothing can make you smile wider than when you hear her laugh as you bounce her on your knee.

I went to the doctors the other day to find out that I had an ear infection. Not good. I've probably had more ear infections as a child than China has people. Luckily, I've been stocked up with antibiotics and decongestant medicine that tastes like the inside of a marathon runner's shoes. The good news is that the infection is supposedly minor, and the medicine should do the trick. Let's hope so. I can't afford to lose any more hearing.

A New Beginning

Yesterday was the start of a new beginning for my family and I. After a few months of searching, God has given me the opportunity to move elsewhere with my career as a Visual Basic programmer. I am now officially hired as a Visual Basic programmer for a company called Weidenhammer Systems Corporation (www.hammer.net). They are a company that develops IT solutions for businesses and other organizations. Now the question may follow, "Did you not like your old job?" The answer is, Yes, I did like my old job". The reasoning behind the new job is more of a financial stability thing that involves more personal detail than I care to go into on a weblog.

The biggest issues facing me now are the commute and learning the new position. It is an easy commute, but yet lengthy. 34 miles one way, to be exact. The job is located just outside of Reading, PA. in a town called Wyomissing. The position will probably start me out as a maintenance programmer. My job will be to fix bugs and provide support programming for a Reporting Module that is part of a larger educational software package for School Districts in 12 different States throughout the East Coast. I'm very excited about the new position, because it will expose me to working in a more team-oriented environment where I will have room to grow and elevate my experience to other levels.

The good news is that the company is putting an office in downtown Lancaster soon, and there is probability that I might be able to work a couple days a week out of that office. This would put me less than 4 miles away from home. So this is the latest news for now. If you are reading this in surprise, feel free to give me a call and I'll tell you more.

My Belated Post for 4-6-05

Okay, so I'm a little late with this post. The truth is that I've been busy doing....Okay, maybe not that busy. But work has been keeping me on my toes. Recently, I've been working on developing an in-house program in visual basic that we are intending to eventually sell on the market. Its been an interesting experience for me to make the switch back to Visual Studio from Microsoft Access. I started my job using Visual Basic and then moved to ASP programming, then got put on months of Microsoft Access VBA programming for which I did several applications. Now here I am again with Visual Basic. Go figure. Good thing these languages are all so closely related.

I found a really neat remote access tool that allows you to control computers remotely. The tool is called "Log Me In", and it allows you to set up a connection on any computer, and then log into your account to control that machine. The service is free for basic remote control access. You have to pay like 13 dollars for the beefed-up service. But for what I need, the free service works really well. You can check it out at www.logmein.com

One of the happiest moments of my life recently was when I discovered that I could actually get my portable Cd player to work in the Chevy Malibu. This made the trip to New Castle and Cleveland a more enjoyable one. I love listening to music when I drive. Sometimes I wonder if I get excited about the trip because of the idea of driving to music. OK, I'm a little weird. Speaking of which, you can check out some of the pictures from our trip up to New Castle and Cleveland where we visited my family. We visited my mom, brothers, father, and their significant others and relatives. As you will see on our website, where the pictures are posted, Audrey stole the show. But that's how we wanted it anyway. :-)

Entry for Monday 3/21/05

For what its worth, you've got to love the suspense that comes with the NCAA men's tournament. I mean, even the NFL is a bit more predictable with games. I think that one of the great things about a sport are the fact that you can't predict an outcome (In most cases). I haven't watched a single regular season NCAA basketball game this year, yet I can still find it fun to turn on the tv at any time during the tournament and watch. What is also good, is that you can tune into the 2nd half of a game and still get in a good hour of basketball.

I realized that I was definitely a geek when I found myself actually reading sections of a reference book on Structured Query Language this weekend. Oh well.

I'm finding that when your own child is sick, its not as gross as it would be if it were someone else. My daughter can spit up on me, blow her nose on my shirt, or do whatever and it doesn't bother me. It just seems different when its your baby. Note that I mean "MY" baby. I would be totally grossed out if another baby did that to me. Okay, I'm weird.

Nevermind, I'm off the fence.

I wrote my last entry on the eve of doing the necessary research on the benefits of buying an Imac Mini. After reading several very informative articles, I've been convinced that this sort of investment would serve no good purpose. Being a long-dedicated PC user, I think that it would be too much of a hassle to add a new platform. Particuarly when you consider the up-front costs of using a Mac. And while there are certainly benefits to computing in a Mac world. None of them are great enough to cause me to buy a new computer that would give me essentially the same use that I get now out of my PC. So, if Apple wants my business, they are going to have to try harder.

Sick and on the Apple Fence.

I just got over probably one of the worst sicknesses that I can remember. Let's just say that it was a 24-hour stomach bug that rendered me utterly useless for an entire day. Just making it to the bathroom was an adventure I had to mentally and physically plan for.

Okay, Okay, I'm starting to get curious. You see, there may be an opportunity coming up where I might have the option of spending some money. Thanks to my friends, curiosity in the Mac Computer world is starting to take hold. I'd be the first to admit that I'm not an excited follower of Apple, nor do I know or even care much about IPods or Steve Jobs, etc. I'm just curious. I'd only be interested in laying down a little cash for an IMac Mini if anything. Just to test it out. The real question is whether or not it would be a worthy investment. Perhaps fear of liking it more than the PC might drive me away from my current comfort in the PC platform? Also the reality that Mac ownership might prove to be a more expensive long-term investment? Whatever the case, the answer will be decided by an approaching financial opportunity.

Notes for Monday

Have you ever come into a Monday feeling really revitalized by your weekend, and then when somebody asks you waht you did this past weekend, you find that you haven't the faintest clue? That happened to me today. I remember that I enjoyed my weekend, but I faintly remember the details. Weird. I must be getting old or something.

I'm finding that I have a weird sense of happiness if I get to dress the baby. I don't know why. I never volunteer really. I don't find it easy to dress babies. They wiggle and squirm too much, and sometimes they just scream in your face the whole time. But for some reason if I get to dress Audrey, and somebody comments on how cute her outfit is, it really makes me proud. Go figure.

Our new pastor is really cool. In fact, I'm finding that our church is really cool. I would have to say that a month ago, I wasn't really excited about being a member of Wheatland. But I guess the more involved I get with it, the better it makes me feel. I always have felt that the more involved you are in something, the more you can feel like you are a part of it. I would 100 percent agree with that notion and church, aside from the theological and practical benefits.

The Futile Path to Destruction

This article makes me laugh. Its so obvious that AOL is doomed. Let's examine, in my opinion, why AOL is on its way out:

First, AOL came about at the dawn of the internet browsing age, when connecting to the internet and using E-mail was a chore so large, nobody would dare try anything else. Now we have people checking E-mail on their watches, and surfing the web on their mobile phones. If they can do that without much help, then I'm afraid that most people have no real need for internet access and E-mail assistance from AOL

Second, notice that I said, "most people". There still are a chunk of people out there who know nothing about the internet and E-mail. I call them Senior Citizens. Half of them don't want anything to do with a computer, the other half will only use AOL because its easy, and they like everything done for them without hassle. Well, we all know that old people will eventually die. When they do, I'm pretty sure that most of AOL's market will die with them.

Lastly, we have the nontechnical fan base. These are your average "I don't know or care how it works" computer users. These kinds of people will probably always be around, but as our generations learn at a quicker pace, the number of these types of users will steadily decline. Let's face it, even most computer experts agree that their teenage son knows more about computers than they do these days. Once those Generations grow up and start taking over, AOL will be doomed.

Why do I not like AOL? Mainly because their business strategy to charge extremely high prices for slower-than-my-grandma dial-up service is absurd. Also the fact that their software is designed to infiltrate your computer and never leave again, and their subscription cancellation staff does nothing more than harass you when you try to cancel. Add to that the fact that their dumbed-down approach to the internet is keeping millions in the dark about how to easily connect to the internet on their own, and I think I've made my point. AOL STINKS!!!

Quality Time

This past weekend I got the opportunity to spend some quality time with some good friends of mine. I realize that as time goes by, good friendships are the ones that stay strong through the test of time. The visit was great, and I look forward to future opportunities to meet up again. I know that this sounds discreet but it is for reasons. Anyways, just wanted to "hollah back to my peeps" for the fun weekend.

In other news, Meg finished up her part-time job for Hope International. She's a full-time mommy once again. I'm pretty glad about this. Part of the reason we moved up here was so that we could invest the time into our new family. I also like the knowledge that our baby girl gets to grow up learning how to be a great woman from Meg's example.

Lastly, Meg and I sat down the other day and planned out the calendar for the coming year. Its exciting to see that we'll be visiting more of my family this year than in prior years. I look forward watching Audrey get to know them. I only hope we can manage to afford the trips. We average about 100 dollars spent each time we go up, and that assumes spending just 25 after two fill-ups and toll fares. Yikes!

Freeware

I have to admit. I LOVE free things. Although I'll admit that I'm not desperate enough to slam on the breaks when I see a cardboard sign on top of a rusty shopping cart along the road that reads, "Free", I still like free. Particuarly in the world of computer software. If you live in a Microsoft Windows environment, you can pretty much live on free software. Everything from web-browsers, office productivity tools, and the like can be found somewhere on the internet.

These past couple of days, my job had required me to research a free software program that would enable our business to convert our Microsoft Word document into a formatted help file for distributing a piece of software to some of our clients (forgive my run-on sentence). I knew that here had to be a way to do it. I had faith that we could do it for free. I'll admit that at one point I gave up hope. But then after persistence, I found not only a solution, but a superior piece of software for the problem. The cost? "0" dollars. All freeware. Its great.

Speaking of freeware, I also am in the process of collecting useful freeware for myself. I just don't collect anything. It has to be of high quality. Take for instance right now, I'm using a little program called, "w.bloggar" which enables me to write blog entries to several different blog sites, with tons of formatting features and settings. This software is convenient and best of all....that's right...its free. :-)

Why I'm giving up on Mozilla Products

I have finally had enough. While it was fun to try something different than Internet Explorer for so long, it seems that the fun has run out. Recently, Microsoft has announced that it is working on IE 7 which should be out in beta form within a few months. To tell you the truth, if it has any of the features that Firefox did, as well as better security, then I'm all for it.

Reason 1:

I recently had an experience where I was doing my taxes online. I got so far into the interview process where I was asked a question, but had no options to choose from. No links to click or buttons to press. So in my confusion, I calmly saved my work and decided to go after it later. Only to find the same error. Then it hit me. I was using firefox. A quick switch to IE revealed the buttons and links that I needed and I was done in no time with no confusion. There was no warning on the site to indicate that only IE would work for it. Should I blame the site? Yes. Should I also blame Firefox? Why not? If it wants to compete, it better make things convenient. That experience was the last inconvenience that I choose to live with. As soon as the new IE7 comes out, I'm all over it.

Reason 2:

Mozilla thunderbolt had me hooked initially. Then I discovered its crappy issues. First, its buggy. It doesn't always check mail according to the settings that you set. It had multiple problems sending mail and connecting the the server. And just recently it stopped working altogether in connecting to my work'sE-mail E-mail server. No reason. No settings had been changed. It just stopped. Other than the really cool address book layout that it has, I'm pretty much through with it. I'd rather use something that I ran rely on its stability and such. I've switched to Eudora, which provides a free(lite), ad-based, and paid version of its E-mail program. It gets the job done.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that going against Microsoft merely for the idea of having a choice means nothing when your choices are mediocre at best. Open source software has a major flaw in that, because there is no real support department dealing with customer complaints, the product doesn't necessarily need to be fixed and updated in a hurry to appease the consumer. We all know that Microsoft and other companies work hard on keeping the bugs out of their software for reasons of customer loyalty, etc. I'd rather put up with the overwhelming flow and ebbing tide of Microsoft and others and have a product that works, than have a product that works when it wants to, written by a group of people with no pressure to fix things.

Expectations

One of my favorite tibits of wisdom that I have learned over the years is that "The measure of one's assumptions is exactly porportional to the potential of one's disappointments". In other words, the more that you expect, the more you need to be prepared for disappointment.

For instance: Let's say that I expect my boss to take me out to lunch, and he doesn't. Should I be mad at my boss? Well, it depends. Did he make plans with me? If so, then I have built an expectation upon his promise. What if he didn't make plans, but I felt that I've worked so hard, that I deserved it, and he should do it. Now I've not only created an expectation, but made an assumption on someone's behavior. We all know that assumptions are also dangerous and foolish to do, since they rely on un-founded predictions. But let's get back to expectations. Is it wrong to have expecations? Not necessarily. If I buy a 5 dollar item and give the clerk a 10, I expect to get 5 dollars back. That's a realistic and rational expecation (its also a law in most cases). But what if I give him a tip, and expect him to decline it and give me it back and he doesn't. Then I've again become the fool and made an assumption. So the problem here is to define expectations versus assumptions. Here are my own definitions:

Expectations: Anticipated results predicated by facts or laws within a reasonable context.
ex. "I expect to be arrested if I go punch that police officer in the face."

Assumptions: Foolish anticipation of results predicated by subjective ideas and limited or no facts.
ex. "I assumed that my mom would love this handful of worms I found under that brick."


Why am I even writing all of this? Perhaps as a reminder to myself. Happiness with others lies in the area of less assumptions and more communciation.

Random Thoughts for Today

I wonder about marketing hype.

VOIP? It sounds nice, but the catch is sometimes hidden. What? I need to have power to my DSL or cable modem to use the service? What? I need to work out a backup phone alternative in case this happens? No thanks.

Online music services. What? So I pay you money each month so that I can listen to my favorite music? I can take it anywhere I want? Hmmm, they've had something like that for quite a while now...its called a Radio. So I can own the music, but I can't make copies, and it expires after a month? Didn't you say it was "My" Music?

Good Music-Good Lyrics

A lot of people like music for different reasons. Some people, like myself, enjoy many aspects of music. One area that rarely gets respect with music are the lyrics. A lot of today's most popular music fails to even communicate much more than basic themes of love, sex, or depression of some sort. Even the christian music scene is plagued with a lot of overdone themes. Sure, praise is important, and so is salvation, but how about some other issues? One band in particular who has knocked me off of my feet in this area is Switchfoot. They are band that has entered the charts on both secular and christian music channels. Their latest album "Beautiful Letdown" really puts out some hard hitting lyrics that really ask the big questions. One popular song, "Meant to live" certainly drives home the idea that there is more to what the average person thinks about our lives and mankind. My favorite song thus far, is one called, "This is your life". This song does nothing less than smacks you in the face about your current condition. I'll post the lyrics below, and if you have the opportunity to hear this song. Let me know what you think.

yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
yesterday is a promise that you've broken
don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
this is your life and today is all you've got now
yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
don't close your eyes
don't close your eyes

this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose

yesterday is a kid in the corner
yesterday is dead and over

this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose

don't close your eyes
don't close your eyes
don't close your eyes
don't close your eyes

this is your life are you who you want to be
this is your life are you who you want to be

this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose

and you had everything to lose

Random Thoughts for Monday January 31, 2005

Have you ever found yourself with an unexpected amount of time or money? And because you didn't expect it, you become overwhelmed with the situation and it ends up shutting down your brain? That happened to me yesterday. I always tell myself, "Man, if I would definately do ..., if I had a couple of free hours to do it." Then I got a couple of free hours yesterday, and ended up doing nothing productive with it. I mean, unless you call playing video games, emptying the dishwasher, and playing a song or two on the guitar a productive two hours, then I guess I blew the opportunity. Oh well.

I hate how the super bowl has to be two weeks after the championship games. It throws off my football watching rhythm too much. I mean, every Sunday during the regular and playoff season, I know that I can come home from church with the anticipation of a good football game to watch. But this Sunday I came home to nothing. For the first time in about 19 weeks, I had to come home to nothing on Sunday. No football. Why? Because the superbowl has to be two weeks later. That stinks. A football fan's rhythm shouldn't have to be maligned like that. This is why nobody cares about the pro bowl. By the time the pro bowl comes on, your average footall fan is watching PGA Golf and thinking about his golf swing.

We became members of our church this past Sunday. We are now officially members of Wheatland Presbyterian Church. We had actually transfered membership from Chapelgate Presbyterian Church, but had to go through some red tape to get our membership. This is the second church that I have ever been a member of. To be honest, our last church membership didn't really do much for us. The church was so big, that we felt like ants anyways. Wheatland is much smaller, so hopefully we can settle in a little better here. We already know a lot more people here , due to Meg's prior involvement here. Its also nice to be a member of the church where we were married.

Apple Issues OS X Security Patch

Yahoo! News - Apple Issues OS X Security Patch

One of the greatest things about the article, is how the security researcher explains away these issues. I'd love to see Bill Gates get away with excuses like this:

"An operating system is a huge, complex thing, and there are bound to be many issues with it."


The fact is that not many people are really paying attention to really care if there is a vulnerability in the MAC OS, and the hypnotic loyalty of Apple fans will alway enable them to get away wtih it.

New Monday Rants

Well, I guess the top rant for today goes to the letdown from last night. I can't say that I went into the game with high expectations for the Steelers. After all, they looked awful in the Jets game, and they certainly topped that performance with the one last night. Are you kidding me? Watching that game had me wondering how they even got so far in the season. Big Ben played QB like he was blindfolded on rollerskates, the Defense must have been playing cards in the locker room during the game because I saw no evidence of the NFL's number 1 defense there..oh wait, perhaps I they all meant the Patriots? And Bill Cowher...oh man...just when you think you can pat him on the back for some great coaching, he calls some of the worst plays I've ever seen at 1st and goal. Needless to say, I found myself watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edtion and Desperate Housewives by the end of the first half, and switched back to the game between commercials to confirm that the Steelers indeed had blown it (and they did).

This weekend was marked by a big snow through the area. I'd have to say about 6 to 8 inches fell on us. This was cool, because we actually planned to spend the whole weekend indoors watching movies and taking it easy. I saw Dodgeball for the first time. I'm glad I didn't pay to go see it at the movies. I'd have to say that the movie's sarcastic humor stood out enough that the movie actually made fun of itself, so I won't do that here.

Yesterday I purchased a package of Orbit gum. I actually like the stuff, but this one flavor: "Bubblemint", tastes terrible. I figured I'd be brave and try it for kicks. Well, its awful. I would rank it up there with that stupid "Holiday Spice Pepsi". Another letdown.

So I guess that in review of my weekend, all things were letdowns: The Steelers, the "Dodgeball" movie, and even something as minor as a little package of chewing gum. Hmmm, let's hope this trend is over.

America the Fat.

Woman Eats Six-Pound Hamburger

Its stories like the one above that clearly demonstrate the gluttony we U.S. citizens embrace. When you consider that 6lbs of ground beef can feed a small family for a good portion of a week, and yet some 19 yeard old girl eats one in 3 hours there's just no denying how wasteful and disgusting that is.

In other news, my house is nice an cozy thanks to the recent installation of our new windows. Hopefully, our electric bill won't triple again. Its so nice to wake up to a temperature above 60 degrees in my room.

And in sports, the Steelers are under-dogs once again. Even though they've only lost one game all season, they have one of the most complete football teams the NFL has seen in a long time, and they have home-field-advantage. Now granted, that game against the Jets was a very tight and insanely close one. They probably shouldn't have won it, but that's no reason to make them under-dogs so readily. Oh well, I wonder what they will say about them if they beat the Patriots in a close game?