I just had to put in a plug for "Glee" his morning - Erin and I watched Tuesday's episode last night, "The Power of Madonna", and it was hilarious, and so much fun to watch them redo older Madonna songs from my childhood. It was so much fun that this morning we watched a bunch of Madonna videos - we all know Michael Jackson had a huge impact on the world of music video, but so did Madonna.
Also a big "boo" to the NFL draft - I do like that they moved it to prime time, but I cannot fathom how Suh gets drafted #2, and why St. Louis would spend the #1 pick on Sam Bradford. Nothing against Bradford, but he didn't play most of his senior year. St. Louis could have traded down and gotten him at #10 probably if they had tried. I'll make an early near-guaranteed prediction that Suh will be defensive rookie of the year.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Yakety Sax
So, I haven't played my saxophone since March 1 when I broke my wrist. It's April 21st, and I have my first post-cast rehearsal tonight. There are no risers, so I shouldn't be falling :)
Wish me luck!
Wish me luck!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
"Smart" Phones
The phones are smart, the people making them I have to question...will be on my 4th Palm Pre on Tuesday (original + 3 replacements) since June 2009. The phone itself is wonderful, I love everything about it. Except the extremely cheap plastic power button with apparently an equally cheap spring that just stops springing back after awhile. I have the insurance, and with this phone everything is backed up nightly, so all you do is turn on the new one, log in, and in about 3 minutes everything is back. Just seems strange that they'd work so hard at making the electronics work well and the screen/case durable, and then make the power button all cheap.
Of course I read today that Palm is putting itself up for sale. No one knows where that puts the Pre....I pretty much refuse to get an iPhone (I'll probably eat my words), the Google phones look pretty neat though too. For now, free replacement Pre's will have to do.
In other news...day 3 of cast off, and it's great to have two hands! I'm supposed to be doing self physical therapy, and that's going ok. I can finally start exercising again and not worry about sweating inside the cast. Oh how I've missed DDR and Japanese techno.
This week was the last episode of "Ugly Betty", which I'm sad to see go, but they did a fitting finish to the show. I'd also highly recommend catching up on "The Big Bang Theory" if you don't already watch it, one of the best, most fun TV shows I've seen in years. And "Glee" returned for the second half of season 1, and of course it was fantastic. I'm also finding "Flash Forward" interesting, and a tearing through "Stargate SG-1" season 6, although I suspect all of that will slow down now that I can actually do other things.
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend weather - for some people this is probably too cold yet but I love this weather, 60s and low 70s is perfect for me.
Of course I read today that Palm is putting itself up for sale. No one knows where that puts the Pre....I pretty much refuse to get an iPhone (I'll probably eat my words), the Google phones look pretty neat though too. For now, free replacement Pre's will have to do.
In other news...day 3 of cast off, and it's great to have two hands! I'm supposed to be doing self physical therapy, and that's going ok. I can finally start exercising again and not worry about sweating inside the cast. Oh how I've missed DDR and Japanese techno.
This week was the last episode of "Ugly Betty", which I'm sad to see go, but they did a fitting finish to the show. I'd also highly recommend catching up on "The Big Bang Theory" if you don't already watch it, one of the best, most fun TV shows I've seen in years. And "Glee" returned for the second half of season 1, and of course it was fantastic. I'm also finding "Flash Forward" interesting, and a tearing through "Stargate SG-1" season 6, although I suspect all of that will slow down now that I can actually do other things.
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend weather - for some people this is probably too cold yet but I love this weather, 60s and low 70s is perfect for me.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Blood
No, this isn't a post on the vampire craze.
I was painfully reminded today when reading my news feeds that I am not allowed to give blood. I gave blood earlier in my life (until I knew I'd have to answer yes to the question that would rule me out). There is absolutely nothing wrong with my blood, and blood banks are always running on the edge of being out of blood.
The FDA created the "MSM" rule back in 1983 at the time that AIDS started to be an outbreak and it was determined that blood was a carrier. And sure, in 1983, no one knew anything about AIDS except that people were getting it from transfusions, and that it was showing up in many gay men at the time, and the FDA did what they thought was right at the time to reduce the risk.
It is 2010. We don't have a cure for AIDS or HIV, but we now know for sure that's not a "gay cancer", that anyone can behave in a risky manner and can get it. So, to put this in perspective...a heterosexual male can have sex with a different woman every single day, and none of the questions on the blood donation pre-screen would turn him away from donating. We are, for all intents and purposes, relying SOLELY on the blood tests that test each donation and keep the blood supply clean. And that works fine. There's already another question on there that asks if you've had sex with someone who has or may have HIV or AIDS, certainly seems like that sufficiently covers "risky behavior".
The FDA changed the rule a few years ago - I was excited thinking I might get to donate again - but the change was from "any man who has had sex with a man since 1977" to "any man who has had sex with a man in the past year". So, apparently as long as you haven't been gay for a year, it's now ok (?)
Yes, I get that some of this is a numbers and statistics thing. But it's also a political thing, and it shouldn't be - it should be a scientific and medical thing. And it's 2010. And my blood is fine. And I could be donating 8 pints a year. But no one will take it.
I was painfully reminded today when reading my news feeds that I am not allowed to give blood. I gave blood earlier in my life (until I knew I'd have to answer yes to the question that would rule me out). There is absolutely nothing wrong with my blood, and blood banks are always running on the edge of being out of blood.
The FDA created the "MSM" rule back in 1983 at the time that AIDS started to be an outbreak and it was determined that blood was a carrier. And sure, in 1983, no one knew anything about AIDS except that people were getting it from transfusions, and that it was showing up in many gay men at the time, and the FDA did what they thought was right at the time to reduce the risk.
It is 2010. We don't have a cure for AIDS or HIV, but we now know for sure that's not a "gay cancer", that anyone can behave in a risky manner and can get it. So, to put this in perspective...a heterosexual male can have sex with a different woman every single day, and none of the questions on the blood donation pre-screen would turn him away from donating. We are, for all intents and purposes, relying SOLELY on the blood tests that test each donation and keep the blood supply clean. And that works fine. There's already another question on there that asks if you've had sex with someone who has or may have HIV or AIDS, certainly seems like that sufficiently covers "risky behavior".
The FDA changed the rule a few years ago - I was excited thinking I might get to donate again - but the change was from "any man who has had sex with a man since 1977" to "any man who has had sex with a man in the past year". So, apparently as long as you haven't been gay for a year, it's now ok (?)
Yes, I get that some of this is a numbers and statistics thing. But it's also a political thing, and it shouldn't be - it should be a scientific and medical thing. And it's 2010. And my blood is fine. And I could be donating 8 pints a year. But no one will take it.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
What I do at work...
I love my job, but it's especially rewarding when I see how the things I do result in real-world benefit (30 second clip):
The product I work on is the technology used to do this...pretty neat!
The product I work on is the technology used to do this...pretty neat!
Computer User Security
This is a topic I am very interested in and do a lot of reading and podcast listening in my spare time on the topic.
This article in particular was a good summary of the problems with end-user computer security these days. The paper the article references is here if anyone REALLY wants all the details (I'd recommend just reading the article unless you're really bored :)
Oh, and did I mention I get my cast off tomorrow?!? :)
This article in particular was a good summary of the problems with end-user computer security these days. The paper the article references is here if anyone REALLY wants all the details (I'd recommend just reading the article unless you're really bored :)
Oh, and did I mention I get my cast off tomorrow?!? :)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Taxes
With April 15th coming up...an interesting article:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0&.v=
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nearly-half-of-US-households-apf-1105567323.html?x=0&.v=
T minus 2 days...
In just under 2 days I'll be rid of my shackles...uh I mean my cast :) Before and after pictures to follow...I am really looking forward to taking a shower without having to tie a bag on my arm!
In other news....please direct prayers and good thoughts toward my friend Jeff's kitty, he has a kidney problem and currently has a feeding tube. Now that I am buddy-ed with two of my own kitties (I say buddy-ed, because you never own cats, in truth, they probably own you) I know how precious they are to their human buddies.
I found a neat program (via friend Eric - thanks!) which is probably going to fuel my geek obsession with video compression - http://handbrake.fr/. Have already compressed a whole bunch of stuff with it.
Oh...did I mention I get my cast off on Thursday? :)
In other news....please direct prayers and good thoughts toward my friend Jeff's kitty, he has a kidney problem and currently has a feeding tube. Now that I am buddy-ed with two of my own kitties (I say buddy-ed, because you never own cats, in truth, they probably own you) I know how precious they are to their human buddies.
I found a neat program (via friend Eric - thanks!) which is probably going to fuel my geek obsession with video compression - http://handbrake.fr/. Have already compressed a whole bunch of stuff with it.
Oh...did I mention I get my cast off on Thursday? :)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
What's going on
So, I'll try to keep the commentary to a minimum on all of these, but I felt the need to post them for awareness...
First, the extremely political - the Virginia governor issues a proclamation making April "Confederate History Month" in Virginia...and completely leaves out any mention of slavery or that slavery was the major issue of the war. And then, when questioned later why he left it out, said something to the effect that "that was an oversight, there were several issues that were part of the war, slavery was only one of them". And, when he finally realized the trouble he caused, backpedaled and said "yes, leaving out a mention of slavery was a huge omission, and I will add in a paragraph immediately". OK...I guess I tend to wonder how leaving out any mention of slavery is an "oversight". He did end up fixing it...I'm all for remembering history fairly and accurately, which is one of the ways we keep from repeating it, but slavery might have been THE biggest issue in our country's history. Sigh.
Next, less political but more blatantly cruel...18-year-old Constance McMillen, a senior in Fulton, MS, was told she couldn't come to prom with her girlfriend, the ACLU stepped in, and the school board canceled the prom rather than let Constance attend. They also encouraged parents and students to put on a private party prom so that they could legally not invite Constance. Most of us have heard that story from a couple weeks ago. What follows is, IMHO, a new low for humanity. Seemingly in the face of more ACLU lawsuits, Constance and 7 other students (some with learning disabilities) were invited to what they were told was "prom" at a local country club. Meanwhile, everyone else had the real prom at a secret location. Attendees posted pictures from this prom on Facebook, and created a group called "Constance quit yer cryin". Really. This is happening in 2010. And now they wonder why they're getting such a backlash. One of my favorite quotes from the principal when they originally told her she couldn't attend was that "it would cause a distraction to have her there with another girl". So...national media attention and looking like the most backward, bigoted town in America not a distraction 1000 times worse? Hmmm...
And finally, on a lighter, non-political but extremely geeky note...an article on what the release of the iPad symbolically means for Apple...basically that "the circle is now complete" - Apple was the pioneer of the personal computer, and, they are now signaling the end of the personal computer era, in favor of a suite of smart devices or "information appliances" as the article states.
First, the extremely political - the Virginia governor issues a proclamation making April "Confederate History Month" in Virginia...and completely leaves out any mention of slavery or that slavery was the major issue of the war. And then, when questioned later why he left it out, said something to the effect that "that was an oversight, there were several issues that were part of the war, slavery was only one of them". And, when he finally realized the trouble he caused, backpedaled and said "yes, leaving out a mention of slavery was a huge omission, and I will add in a paragraph immediately". OK...I guess I tend to wonder how leaving out any mention of slavery is an "oversight". He did end up fixing it...I'm all for remembering history fairly and accurately, which is one of the ways we keep from repeating it, but slavery might have been THE biggest issue in our country's history. Sigh.
Next, less political but more blatantly cruel...18-year-old Constance McMillen, a senior in Fulton, MS, was told she couldn't come to prom with her girlfriend, the ACLU stepped in, and the school board canceled the prom rather than let Constance attend. They also encouraged parents and students to put on a private party prom so that they could legally not invite Constance. Most of us have heard that story from a couple weeks ago. What follows is, IMHO, a new low for humanity. Seemingly in the face of more ACLU lawsuits, Constance and 7 other students (some with learning disabilities) were invited to what they were told was "prom" at a local country club. Meanwhile, everyone else had the real prom at a secret location. Attendees posted pictures from this prom on Facebook, and created a group called "Constance quit yer cryin". Really. This is happening in 2010. And now they wonder why they're getting such a backlash. One of my favorite quotes from the principal when they originally told her she couldn't attend was that "it would cause a distraction to have her there with another girl". So...national media attention and looking like the most backward, bigoted town in America not a distraction 1000 times worse? Hmmm...
And finally, on a lighter, non-political but extremely geeky note...an article on what the release of the iPad symbolically means for Apple...basically that "the circle is now complete" - Apple was the pioneer of the personal computer, and, they are now signaling the end of the personal computer era, in favor of a suite of smart devices or "information appliances" as the article states.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Champions
Don't know how many sports fans I have reading, but hey this is my blog, you can skip what you want :)
Monday night, the Duke Blue Devils played the Butler Bulldogs for the college basketball national championship. I started watching college basketball in 1991, the year Nebraska got really good and went to the NCAA tournament. Duke beat heavily favored and undefeated UNLV in the Final 4 and went on to beat Kansas and win the championship (really the UNLV game was the championship game IMHO). As often happens, you end up picking your favorite teams based on who was good when you started paying attention. I've followed Duke ever since then, so last night's game was exciting for me for that reason alone.
But...most championship games end up being mismatches and are no fun to watch. This one wasn't. Duke and Butler "duked it out" (pardon the pun) the whole game, the most Duke ever got ahead by was 6, and Butler took them to the end and had two shots to win the game, both ever-so-close to going in. I watched the whole game and was on the edge of my seat most of the end. This, in a game that nearly everyone thought Duke would win easily.
While the game was going on (as if that wasn't enough), I finished installing my new media PC - Intel Atom processor and low-power motherboard. It is pretty neat - no fans, no power supply (runs on a standard AC power adapter) and extremely low power (~ 2 watts for the processor). Great standby/sleep /wakeup capabilities. The old media PC guts will now be a backup server, running a couple of 1.5TB WD "green" series drives, much lower power than standard drives.
Easter - got to see the nieces for awhile Sunday afternoon, "grandma" brought them and met me in Maplewood, and we went to the park, and ate dinner at Perkin. A fun time for everyone (and some much needed naps for their mom and dad).
1 week and 2 days left with my cast!
Monday night, the Duke Blue Devils played the Butler Bulldogs for the college basketball national championship. I started watching college basketball in 1991, the year Nebraska got really good and went to the NCAA tournament. Duke beat heavily favored and undefeated UNLV in the Final 4 and went on to beat Kansas and win the championship (really the UNLV game was the championship game IMHO). As often happens, you end up picking your favorite teams based on who was good when you started paying attention. I've followed Duke ever since then, so last night's game was exciting for me for that reason alone.
But...most championship games end up being mismatches and are no fun to watch. This one wasn't. Duke and Butler "duked it out" (pardon the pun) the whole game, the most Duke ever got ahead by was 6, and Butler took them to the end and had two shots to win the game, both ever-so-close to going in. I watched the whole game and was on the edge of my seat most of the end. This, in a game that nearly everyone thought Duke would win easily.
While the game was going on (as if that wasn't enough), I finished installing my new media PC - Intel Atom processor and low-power motherboard. It is pretty neat - no fans, no power supply (runs on a standard AC power adapter) and extremely low power (~ 2 watts for the processor). Great standby/sleep /wakeup capabilities. The old media PC guts will now be a backup server, running a couple of 1.5TB WD "green" series drives, much lower power than standard drives.
Easter - got to see the nieces for awhile Sunday afternoon, "grandma" brought them and met me in Maplewood, and we went to the park, and ate dinner at Perkin. A fun time for everyone (and some much needed naps for their mom and dad).
1 week and 2 days left with my cast!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Retired
I recently decided to set up a backup machine for my server, as storage is ever so cheap now and it would get more and more difficult to replace everything that's on there. So I had to do some machine/case shuffling, ordered some new low-power parts for the media PC I have, and moved the "guts" of that one to the secondary server case I have.
In the process, I am retiring the above motherboard and video card - it was slowly dying and really wasn't useful for anything anymore. The reason this is significant is because this is the board and processor of the first computer I ever built myself. Born in 2005, an Intel D875PBZLK motherboad with Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz processor, 1 GB of memory, a beautiful easy-open Chenbro case, and Windows XP. First dubbed "Vorlon" as a desktop PC, then converted to "Sinclair" as my first server, and finally relegated back to secondary PC duty for awhile. Hardware added/replaced, OS's replaced (SUSE Linux, then Ubuntu, then back to XP) this machine was pretty much on for its entire life and just ran and ran without problems, unlike other machines I've had. It worked so well, I created another identical one, "Shadow", for my mom's machine and she's still using that one today (for you non-sci-fi people, "Vorlon" and "Shadow" are the two warring factions throughout a lot of the "Babylon 5" TV series, all my machines are named for "Babylon 5" things).
I generally do not get sentimental about electronics, but this particular one will have a special place in my machine history.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April 1
No April Fools stuff for Paul - I got in a bit of trouble a couple years ago with one and I've sworn them off for awhile (and no, that isn't an April Fools, it's true :)
So, instead, a couple of geek/religion funnies for the day.
My friend Bill posted a comment on Facebook asking if people thought that Pope Benedict looked like the Emperor (and he does) but one of the follow-on comments was:
"Soon young Skywalker will be one of us, and the Lutherans will be crushed."
I think I laugh hardest when it involves humor that crosses between two seemingly unrelated interests in my life - that one qualifies :)
Similarly, several years ago one of my friends told me a similar Star Wars/Lutheran joke (it would work for Catholics too, if you're familiar with the standard liturgies):
"How do you know if a geek is also a Lutheran?"
"When you tell them 'May the Force be with you' and they respond 'And also with you'"
You may now return to your regularly scheduled April Fools Day.
So, instead, a couple of geek/religion funnies for the day.
My friend Bill posted a comment on Facebook asking if people thought that Pope Benedict looked like the Emperor (and he does) but one of the follow-on comments was:
"Soon young Skywalker will be one of us, and the Lutherans will be crushed."
I think I laugh hardest when it involves humor that crosses between two seemingly unrelated interests in my life - that one qualifies :)
Similarly, several years ago one of my friends told me a similar Star Wars/Lutheran joke (it would work for Catholics too, if you're familiar with the standard liturgies):
"How do you know if a geek is also a Lutheran?"
"When you tell them 'May the Force be with you' and they respond 'And also with you'"
You may now return to your regularly scheduled April Fools Day.
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