The morning after: The MacBook Air is a joke - Paul's SuperSite blog
Interesting take on the Air. He has some good technical ports. I am interested to see how this device does. The trade off isn't wouldn't be worth it for me. I would much rather have a 15" macbook pro for just $200 more. It being that light and thin just isn't worth it to me.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
RSS, Atom, Feedburner, Google Analytics
Yeah, I have a problem with decision making. I can't seem to settle on a technology and just run with it. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always want to understand which is better and what I will be missing if I select one technology over the other ... enter RSS and Atom. So I am testing out Atom Feeds, RSS Feeds, the integration of Feed burner and Google Analytics to see how I want to use these tools.
Indecision can be my worst enemy.
Indecision can be my worst enemy.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Windows Live and my account indecision
Wow ... windows live services are really, really cool. I am a little sad because of how good the windows live stuff is. I know that statement sounds a little weird and I will explain why. Way back somewhere around jr. high my parents had AOL so naturally I had an aol account. At some point in high school I created a yahoo account that had the date that I asked out my then girlfriend (for the record ... this is a bad idea for obvious reasons). Then I got a hotmail account my first year of college. I finally ditched my old date_in_the_name yahoo email account and replaced it with simply my name eventually paying the premium for pop access to get yahoo mail plus. Then Gmail came out and they had free pop access so I got a gmail account too (yeah, i know ... too many email accounts). So that is my current state. I have email accounts with all these services and am trying to figure out the best way to utilize them. I have these accounts because I am trying to figure out which one offers the most compelling services.
With Google on the rise and all the cool service stuff they are doing I was in the process of migrating everything to them. Free pop access and now IMAP support, great web email client, fantastic way of using and sharing calendars, integration with some other products like blogger and picasa. But there contact management is terrible ... just terrible.
Enter Windows Live which is an upgrade/replacement/new set of services. You can get a new email address with an @live.com ending or keep your existing @hotmail.com address. I created a new one with an @live.com address. I had always disliked hotmail because of the lack of free connectivity options to a desktop client, poor calendaring option, and limited contact management. Well that is all changing. The new windows live stuff is great. There is a new service called Events that is much more than a way to invite people to events. Events lets everyone who was invited to the event post pictures that everyone else who went to the event can download (high quality). This means that if there is a family reunion over Thanksgiving and everyone is shooting with their own digital camera ... after the event everyone can post there pictures there and everyone can pick which ones they want from that event. SWEET! There is also discussions about the event, you can create music playlists for the event that all the invitees and look at and contribute to. This stuff isn't just limited to the web either. There are desktop components that compliment these services. I am using Windows Live Writer to post this entry to my blogger blog. It is a nifty little application that you can use to post to almost any blogging service. Microsoft is getting this stuff right. I recently heard the marketing guy from Microsoft say the North Star (their guiding principle) for the Windows Live stuff basically says "users using services and sharing stuff the way THEY want to." Bravo Windows Live Team. You have stopped my migration to google services. I'll keep my eye on you.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
My instant boob job from 36A to 36DD - and the effect it had on men (and women) | the Daily Mail
My instant boob job from 36A to 36DD - and the effect it had on men (and women) | the Daily Mail
I found a link to this while writing the WOMBAT post. It isn't my boob job ... it is about a lady who had some silicone breasts overlayed (such that she could take them off after the day was over) to see what her and other folks' reactions would be. Definitely an interesting read (not in a perverted way either).
And in case anyone cares, I would say it is the cut of her dress (probably more significant) combined with the larger breasts that produced some of the markedly changed reactions to her.
I found a link to this while writing the WOMBAT post. It isn't my boob job ... it is about a lady who had some silicone breasts overlayed (such that she could take them off after the day was over) to see what her and other folks' reactions would be. Definitely an interesting read (not in a perverted way either).
And in case anyone cares, I would say it is the cut of her dress (probably more significant) combined with the larger breasts that produced some of the markedly changed reactions to her.
WOMBAT
I have found that my work on ITCS (a train control system) installed on a new China railroad often requires lots of conversions between units. So I use a program called Convert by a fellow named Josh Madison. Anyway, I recently decided to to look around the rest of his site. I found some interesting stuff.
He is tracking how much toilet paper he uses which is just the kind of geeky things that interest me. See my post on my energy usage for proof. He calls his project a WOMBAT ... a Waste Of Money, Brains, And Talent. Which when I think about it ... I wonder how many of the projects I do fall into that category.
He was a long time windows user and tried a mac. He now uses the mac for his everyday uses.
He is tracking how much toilet paper he uses which is just the kind of geeky things that interest me. See my post on my energy usage for proof. He calls his project a WOMBAT ... a Waste Of Money, Brains, And Talent. Which when I think about it ... I wonder how many of the projects I do fall into that category.
He was a long time windows user and tried a mac. He now uses the mac for his everyday uses.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
The National Marriage Project
marriage.rutgers.edu
An interesting site with The State of Our Unions reports. Definitely a good read if you have the time. I have not read all of it but am in the process of reading it. Loads of good information.
I believe strong and healthy marriages are an important part of our social fabric.
An interesting site with The State of Our Unions reports. Definitely a good read if you have the time. I have not read all of it but am in the process of reading it. Loads of good information.
I believe strong and healthy marriages are an important part of our social fabric.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
J.K. Rowling's Big Fat Mouth -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
J.K. Rowling's Big Fat Mouth -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
A good article explaining a little bit of how I feel.
A good article explaining a little bit of how I feel.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Apple Fans (and Critics) Respond
The Apple Fans (and Critics) Respond
Nice follow up. I love the mention of MacDailyNews missing the point.
Nice follow up. I love the mention of MacDailyNews missing the point.
Dumbeldore
The Leaky Cauldron: J. K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall Reveals Dumbledore is Gay; Neville Marries Hannah Abbott, and Much More
So, I am going to catch some criticism for this post (if anyone reads it). I have read the Harry Potter books and have enjoyed them. Rowling recently answered a fan question by stating the Dumbledore was gay.
Honestly, at first I thought, "please don't let it be true." But it is. Reading through the books, I did not read between the lines to pick this up. Some folks would argue that there were clues in the book that clearly point to Dumbledore being gay. I didn't see them that way while reading the book. The relationship that Dumbledore had with Grindelwald was never romantic in my mind. And after rereading the relevant parts about Dumbledore and Grindelwald I still don't immediately think of it as being proof that Dumbledore was gay. I am not arguing that Dumbledore was not gay (as Rowling clearly stated he was), I am just saying that I would have never expected it. The "clues" to me were associated with the ideals that Grindelwald and Dumbledore had ... that wizards should rule and that they could defeat death by having the Deathly Hallows. I thought it was these ideas that "inflamed" Dumbledore. I would have never put Dumbledore as being gay because it just didn't fit.
Now, knowing that he was gay is weird to deal with. It is weird to deal with in a similar way to they way it was weird to deal with finding out Dumbledore (at a young age) thought very similar to the way Voldemort thought. Dumbledore wanted to become all powerful and live forever as ruling wizards. Dumbledore was a good character with many outstanding traits and significant achievements. The news that he was gay was definitely a shock, mostly because he was a hero and I didn't want my hero to be gay. This is similar to Dumbledore and his ambitions that wizards should rule over all. It was a blemish on his character. However, he realized the folly of his ambitions and changed his thinking. The question for me is, Did Dumbledore no longer pursue a gay lifestyle with someone else because he still loved Grindelwald, because he thought it was wrong, because it didn't fit into the story ... ?
Dumbledore being gay was a let down for me. For others, it will be a victory worth trumpeting. It is not that him being gay diminished every thing else he did, it is just that I don't agree with his (Rolwings) choice here.
The big piece of this is intent. What is Rowling's intent behind making Dumbledore gay (it looks like she knew he was gay all along). Was it to promote homosexuality? Was it just to point out that, hey he was gay? Was it to point out that being gay was one of Dumbledore's flaws but doesn't mean he didn't do other good things? I don't know ... Rowling does but I don't. The intent matters to me. If Rowling's intent was to promote homosexuality and say, "Hey, it's ok to be gay." then I have to disagree with her. I can be disapproving of Dumbledore's choice to pursue a gay lifestyle and still love other things about him.
So, I am going to catch some criticism for this post (if anyone reads it). I have read the Harry Potter books and have enjoyed them. Rowling recently answered a fan question by stating the Dumbledore was gay.
Honestly, at first I thought, "please don't let it be true." But it is. Reading through the books, I did not read between the lines to pick this up. Some folks would argue that there were clues in the book that clearly point to Dumbledore being gay. I didn't see them that way while reading the book. The relationship that Dumbledore had with Grindelwald was never romantic in my mind. And after rereading the relevant parts about Dumbledore and Grindelwald I still don't immediately think of it as being proof that Dumbledore was gay. I am not arguing that Dumbledore was not gay (as Rowling clearly stated he was), I am just saying that I would have never expected it. The "clues" to me were associated with the ideals that Grindelwald and Dumbledore had ... that wizards should rule and that they could defeat death by having the Deathly Hallows. I thought it was these ideas that "inflamed" Dumbledore. I would have never put Dumbledore as being gay because it just didn't fit.
Now, knowing that he was gay is weird to deal with. It is weird to deal with in a similar way to they way it was weird to deal with finding out Dumbledore (at a young age) thought very similar to the way Voldemort thought. Dumbledore wanted to become all powerful and live forever as ruling wizards. Dumbledore was a good character with many outstanding traits and significant achievements. The news that he was gay was definitely a shock, mostly because he was a hero and I didn't want my hero to be gay. This is similar to Dumbledore and his ambitions that wizards should rule over all. It was a blemish on his character. However, he realized the folly of his ambitions and changed his thinking. The question for me is, Did Dumbledore no longer pursue a gay lifestyle with someone else because he still loved Grindelwald, because he thought it was wrong, because it didn't fit into the story ... ?
Dumbledore being gay was a let down for me. For others, it will be a victory worth trumpeting. It is not that him being gay diminished every thing else he did, it is just that I don't agree with his (Rolwings) choice here.
The big piece of this is intent. What is Rowling's intent behind making Dumbledore gay (it looks like she knew he was gay all along). Was it to promote homosexuality? Was it just to point out that, hey he was gay? Was it to point out that being gay was one of Dumbledore's flaws but doesn't mean he didn't do other good things? I don't know ... Rowling does but I don't. The intent matters to me. If Rowling's intent was to promote homosexuality and say, "Hey, it's ok to be gay." then I have to disagree with her. I can be disapproving of Dumbledore's choice to pursue a gay lifestyle and still love other things about him.
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