"Some people are born great, others are thrown into greatness."

I might add a couple of additional statements to say that, some people could be great, however they haven't been given opportunity while others have fortitude for greatness, they simply lack desire to attain.

Cell Scam

Have you ever wondered why just to check voice mail on your cellphone takes so long? It's not just because the cell phone companies enjoy putting in all of the boring verbiage. "You have N new messages", "to get messages press...", "voice call received at...", "to listen to this message press...", "to delete this message press..."

No, it's because for every second they can slow the call down, they are making money. This really aggravates me, because it should taking only a few seconds longer than the length of the message, to get the message. Instead it takes a minimum of two minutes.

Not that I don't have plenty of minutes in my cell plan, but i don't have time to waste just getting the message. We all have better things to do, and the phone companies should streamline these services instead of milking them for every cent they can.

Never!

As a web developer, never, never, never resize a persons browser!

Let me yell this in hopes of getting it through your thick heads.
NEVER RESIZE A PERSONS BROWSER!

I don't care what your manager/boss/ceo says, it's rude and makes myself and others furious!

Obama the President

If recent trends and the power of the internet can be taken as any indication, Barack Obama, may very well me our next president.

I don't claim to know much or anything of politics, and as a matter of fact, I typically disagree with alot of what goes on in our political system. One thing is certain though, up to this point, there are only two names that I can think of when considering the next presidential election and only one of those has gotten my attention. That one is Obama.

Why my attention and why do I think he may have everyone else's attention too?

Well, just look at recent trends. People, voters, are less interested in the perfectly primed and politically correct candidate. They want someone that they feel they know, that they can relate too, and that seems like one of them.

The new generation of tech and web-savvy voters, including myself, are thinking outside the box. We aren't interested in the same rigid, proper, to-good-for-you, suited, wrinkle-faced, constipated, old politicians. Just think of Arnold and Jesse, democrate or republican, they are different, outside-the-box, and down to earth relatable.

Obama is much the same. Although opposer's would try to hinder his campaign with pictures of him shirtless on a beach, it only promotes him as human, and still alive.

While news commentators may ridicule him for eating fried fish on camera, at a big democratic fishfry, it won't hurt him. I hope that video spreads all over the place. It shows he is real and one of us, willing to join in with the things we do and have interest in. Come on, you would have eaten it too.

Then, one more quick point. He is obviously someone well informed concerning the tech world, or he has good, intellectual people around him. This report from Slashdot, also really impressed me. We need someone who understands technological significance and who can understand and is willing to stand up for important issues such as net neutrality.

"I am a strong believer in the importance of copyright, especially in a digital age. But there is no reason that this particular class of content needs the protection. We have incentive enough to debate. The networks have incentive enough to broadcast those debates. Rather than restricting the product of those debates, we should instead make sure that our democracy and citizens have the chance to benefit from them in all the ways that technology makes possible."

And that is why, even though I don't know anything about Obama's position on traditional political issues, he has my vote. We're looking for someone real, relatable, and outside the box. And that is why Obama keeps getting my attention and likely the attention of many others.

Net Neutrality

A good (and entertaining) non-technical description and reminder about net neutrality.

New Career Path

Last week I was offered a position as "E-business Implementation and Marketing Specialist". This position is a great opportunity to try something new and exciting, and I am looking forward to launching into this new role in mid-April.

Ohio Linux Fest

Ohio Linux Fest, has a PledgeBank entry! Show your support for Linux by going to PledgeBank and pledging to register and attend. The pledge has an ambitious goal (at least for PledgeBank) of 1000 pledges. Let's push OLF to the top of the PledgeBank and Digg list!

Recorded and Canned

Recorded studio music can never live up to a live show. It is to controlled, to perfected, and planned out track by track. Live shows are organic, subject to the unexpected, and imperfect. Like fresh fruit, when you put it in the can it looses some of its essence, and becomes something different from its true form.

Music doesn't always have to be perfectly orchestrated and coordinated just because it is on a CD. The life is what sells. Don't focus on the perfect pre-recorded guitar loop for this track, and the drum loop for the next track, and the exact vocals with perfectly consistent inflection. That is boring, stale, and stagnant.

Play your music, record the album. Show that their can be life in the recording.

Star Wars Insight

Ever wondered if Star Wars was prophetic? Did Lucas have insight into a future the rest of us had not forseen? Did he know that the world would start caring about their health and eating healthier including more organic and natural foods?

If not, then why else would he have named a character Leia Organa Solo?

Hmmm....

Win GA Flakes Out

Here's an unconfirmed tip I read somewhere that may be useful in those cases where your legitimate copy of Windows XP gets confused and says your Genuine Advantage validation is bad and won't let you update the OS.

Again, this is unconfirmed...

to get updates with a version of windows XP or Home that for some reason thinks it is invalid, Try this little trick, when you go on updates and check for windows genuine validation, it will tell you that your windows is not genuine, what u do is ...... >click on tools in internet explorer >click on manage add-ons > find the windows genuine advantage and click on it then on the bottom check the disable bottom > click on when it tells you that you have disabled it > now refresh windows update you should be able to get the updates at this point I hope i was helpful I am a pc tech, and I do this on all the pc's I repair.

Oh, btw, the full title would be "When Windows XP Genuine Advantage Flakes Out", but i like the abreviated version. :)

Weekend Fun

Well, I spent much of this weekend tinkering around with the PSP, seeing what was new and happening on the homebrew scene. And the results were very good! I'm now running my PSP with custom firware version 3.10 OE-A' and the POPstation plug-in, so I can buy and play games again, and still try out the cool homebrew stuff that is available.

Your Butt, Somewhere Else

It always gets to me when i see people discard their cigarette butts anywhere and everywhere. Whether car window, sidewalk, parking lot, flower bed, or lawn, it gets me. I've seen perfectly beautiful areas tainted by butts. It's ridiculous, they are such a small and simple things to dispose properly, perhaps they are so small that noone thinks they have an impact? The world and many of the people in it may disagree.

That said, here's my official statement on smoking:

It's not my place or position to tell you to smoke or not to smoke. Smoke till you combust if you want, but don't take our world out with you. Don't stick your butt where it doesn't belong.

Smarter Home

Here are a few products for making your home smarter. From automated and web-based controls to electronic notifications and more.

Eaton Home Heartbeat Home Awareness System
iControl Home Monitoring System
Z-Wave Wireless Lighting System

Dead Like Me

If you've never seen it, you should start catching up! I recently came across this series on a commercial/ad somewhere (tv, online, etc) and decided to check it out. It seems it started as a series on Showtime that is now syndicated on the SciFi channel.

After one episode, I was hooked. Although some will likely not find the humor in this show, others will see it. This show is clever and witty and humorous, while at the same time being synical, moody, sometimes dark and twisted. From the episodes I've seen, the show is also thought provoking, encouraging thought about life, circumstance, death, and what comes after.

Oh yeah, you might be wondering what it's about, well here's a high-level. Somewhat angry girl dies oddly and becomes one of several grim reapers. Both she and family left behind have difficulty copping with new situation. Want more? Watch the show on SciFi, currently Tuesdays at 7 and 8 US Eastern time!

You've got to check it out for yourself to really appreciate the cleverness of this show. Give it a try, and enjoy. I told you you would. :)

Note: Having originated on Showtime, there is adult language (f..) at least twice in each episode. The SciFi tv version has been edited (i'm pretty sure), but if you watch the series on DVD it is unedited.