techpoetry

Taking a break. Getting back on the wagon.

I have been juggling multiple items over the past week. I've lost sleep staying up past 2 am for 3 of the past 7 days. I have given free time to an effort to educate my users by creating how-to documents. Now that I have a few basic documents available to them I have decieded on a better use of my free time.

Not next week. I have a Small Business Specialist and am on the MCSE track. After passing the last test I purchased a book to prepare for the next exam. Due to unforseen incidents during my day job I have dropped of the wagan so to speak. But it is time to jump back on and spend my free time studying. Wish me luck.

geek among Giants...

I love my job! That's right who doesn't love a job that allows you to experience more than the mundane. Everyone needs their computer and networks working! I get to go to different places and speak with different people on a daily basis. I've been in business of a wide range of industries. I've been onsite at the one computer home office and also onsite at the multi-server network rooms of plant sites. Every one knows what to expect at the home office but there is only one place you have to dodge monsters. There is actually a poster at the guard gate depicting a truck being crushed by one of these giant dump trucks or forklifts. In an environment simular to the begining of a Terminator movie I carefully navigate my small SUV around mountains of scrap metal and over paths near large truck scales. Finding my way to the small office with big servers "Like I am a rebel taking the war back to the machines in a Matrix movie I reach for my battery operated screwdriver and cd case of software tools... I am a geek among Giants!

Podcasting and Blogging keeps me up at night - in a good way :-)

I've been helping my girlfriend create our very own podcast. The podcast isn't tech oriented so don't you guys start reaching for the mountain dew, pizza, or torx sets! However it is a topic that we both have had experience with from both sides of the fence. It is about Crohn's Disease. I have a whole segment of my own where I speak from a significant other's point of view. Also Kerry and I share a segment where we discuss current news topics about Crohn's Disease on the Google News page. Oh and Kerry's segment(s) are all from her personal accounts in dealing with the disease. She is a very smart girl and you can see why I love her so.

This project started when I agreed to help her with Blogathon. Kerry, Wes, and myself blogged for 24 hours (30 min intervals) from Sat. morning until Sun. morning. We did this in efforts to raise money for the CCFA (Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America). If you would like to read the posts you can find them here.

Please do check out our podcast! Let us know what you think. I know the topic isn't very general but we hope it's helpful to those who need it.

Crohn's Talk is listed on many podcast directorys now and many more soon to come. We are on iTunes too.

Subscribe through Odeo

Escape your current life, Ensure your backups, and a Letter to you Damn Terrorists!

Caught up in the your current life? This is a good read it inspired me. Maybe it will inspire you too.

Do you know your backups are good? Watch this movie. Broadband recommended.

A letter to the terrorists from London.

Technology comes to the rescue for London's Financial Markets.

I desperatly need an ipod / or just a shuffle?

I am actually saying I want an iPod. It actually feels good saying it out loud. Like my accepting it is some sort of therapy. When proposed to me as a possible gift I rationalized it to death! I really like the iPod but voted that I wouldn't use it to it's potential.

The conclusion seemed so relavant at the time. I decided that I would use it more as a glorified external hard drive than for music. It was my girlfriend that proposed the idea to me and we agreed on that point. Besides, I enjoy music but I really can just listen to CDs or the radio and be just fine. I am the type of guy who couldn't tell you who sings what. I never have been the music trivia type. I have numerous thumb drives and extenal usb drives that are cheaper and possibly more flexible than the iPod for the primary purpose I would use one for. So why all of a sudden do I want an iPod?

Podcasting! No I didn't just discover this wonder! I have some podcasts that I would really enjoy staying abreast on. TWITs and Dave Ramsey would top my list. But there are so much more out there if I could just find the simplicity, time, and convienence. I've tried all ways to listen to these gems but nothing seems to be the answer.

(1) Using my Dell Axim - too bulky for the gym / fragile / difficult to use
(2) Listening on my Laptop / Computer - difficult to concentrate on the podcast
(3) No I can't stay behind closed doors either!
(4) Burning to CD for porting to my car stereo? Too much work!
(5) Install a PC in my truck? I've wanted to do this. I will do this one day!
(6) Streaming it to my TiVo to listen to it as I would a television program.
Nothing works... really works...

If I had an iPod / Shuffle:
I can listen when I am driving
I can listen when I am excercising
I can listen when other things are going on...
I simply just dock it and all the work is done automagically
iTunes 4.9 includes podcast support - although interestingly no support for bittorrent. LOL
iPods and Shuffles are getting cheaper!
iPods are getting cooler and upgraded!

Who really listens to podcasts when on the treadmill? Thats the sort of thing I'd do. Now if they only had a water / heat proof iPod so I can take it in the dry sauna with me too.

I see a MAC in my "near" future

Yes I have wanted one for so many years! I havn't taken the plunge because my experience is so vast with PC compatibles and the major cost difference. However since the introduction of the Mac Mini and OSX I have salavated at the thought of owning one of these machines! OSX being based on BSD has impressed me as a ground breaking move by Apple. In addition the current release of OSX is code named "Tiger" and that is one of my 31 things. Nothing could save my PC only theory after I seen todays keynote speech at the WWDC 2005. It appears Apple is planning a 2 year transition from a Power PC processor to a Intel processor MAC! As if that isn't enough of a yet another ground breaking move, OSX has appearently been developed to be able to run on the Intel platform from its start. According to Steve Jobs "after a few tweaks and a re-compile" OSX will run on Intel!

So here is my roadmap for the next two years...

1. Get a Mac Mini with OSX Tiger
2. Learn the Mac platform
3. Use some of the "artsy people" type programs and have fun
4. Get a new PC for Longhorn / WinXP (I can't forgo my bread winning platform)
5. Make sure I know my networking of course
6. Get really geeky with it
7. I might even consider dipping into development if I can find resources?
8. Get a Intel Platform MAC running Lepord

Listen to the TWIT Episode 8 Podcast to find out what some of the industry experts thought about the rumor before it was proven true.

Watch the keynote for yourself.

Whats New?

Lately I've been experimenting with Google's personal page. I decieded that it now has earned the "homepage" award for me! Here are the features: Gmail, Google News, Weather, Movies, Slashdot, Wired News, BBC, Driving Directions, Stock Market, New York Times, Quote of the Day, and Word of the Day.

Here is what I think about it all. First it's great to have a preview of your "x" number of messages on your homepage! But no support for multiple Gmail accounts. Note, If you know a "google hack" that allow you to be logged into multiple gmail accounts at the same time let me know. Google seems to not want this? The weather is nice but I use Forecast Fox instead for that purpose. I am always wanting an easier way to know whats on at the movies! It's nice to stay on top of the headlines too of course. It is useful for service calls to use the Driving Directions. I really don't use anything else but I know its useful to some of you out there too.

Next I setup Google Alerts for a new company that I do service calls for. I really like this feature! I get an email when something about that company is said online. I do not think this is a very comprehensive result but for me that is a good thing. It was one of the things that I was afraid of. The theory of "information overload" has became prevailant and this may simplify my life!

Another feature I setup is Froogle. Currently I am disappointed because I thought you can send some one a link directly to your "WishList". The only link I've found sends them to the search page to enter a email address to find someone's wish list. When tested that actually didn't work!

Next I am checking out the Google Groups - I like these because they are like Yahoo but with more control over how you get email and hopefully no spam! Very useful for tech questions too!

I am also using the My Search History - This is really revolutionary for me. I like to be able to view my previous search results to find something that I forgot to bookmark or add to del.icio.us! I don't know how it effects privacy online so I wish there was an easier way to delete items than one at a time. My suggestion would be a simple link to turn this on and off at will on the fly while searching.

Also I really like a new feature I noticed after the del.icio.us server move tonight! Now I can collapse and expand my "tag bundles"! This makes browsing my links on the delicious page much easier!

Domestication over the Holiday

Memorial Day Weekend! I had a wonderful experience this weekend. It seems that when Kerry puts her mind to it and pairs with her brother my house is transformed. We smoked 2 racks of ribs - one of my main favorites - and a Boston Butt, so you can imagine the wonderful aroma sorrunding my house. However when I stepped inside it completed the experience. Ummm... Fresh potato salad, macaroni and cheese, fresh green beans, and a freshly baked chocolate cake! All with the added enjoyment of hosting a good friend of mine and her brother (who used to be a butcher and would definitely make a great chef if he persured it). We played video games, played with my dog, hung out, watched TV (including NASCAR of course) Well, that just inspired me to spend the whole next day doing some spring cleaning... We will get there someday yet Willy... LOL...

Why are you blogging about Boxing?

It's hard to find suitable subjects for blogging.

First I have desire to make this a tech blog. So what does boxing have in common with tech? Well there are two answers.

(1)... Nothing -
Boxing does not require any uber 133t knowledge of computers!

(2)... Everthing -
The sport of boxing involves both the low level programming "machine language" or instinct as well as the higher level programming "4th generation language" of the human brain! If you ask me that is really uber 133t!

I used to box and I will admit I wasn't the best but the interest never died. I've been beaten and trained hard. I still dream that I could change myself if I started back but I can't afford to loose teeth, get pummled, get hurt, or just plain let my loved ones go through the pain of seeing me get these things done to me. Well since I study boxing now instead of actually becomming a boxer myself it is a topic dominant in me so naturally I should extend this to my blogging!

Here is some boxing fun for you...
The Contenter Episode List
Learn your Weight Classes
Boxing Posters
Jackie Kallen - A Boxing Manager and Mental Coach for The Contender
Start your boxing training now!

Live Blogging The Contender

For those following "The Contender" I thought I would put a spin on webgrits Live Blogging American Idol. Since my interests are more into boxing than karaoke stars here is my version of Live Blogging.

Ishe Smith vs Sergio

I see here that both Ishe and Sergio are "smart" boxers. Why?
Well they are both starting off slow looking for weaknesses and indexing them in their mind. It is much easier to know the reflexes of your opponent when throwing a specific punch towards them now then in the middle of a frenzy of combinations!

Now this disappoints me in Ishee. He was ok to start slow but there isn't any excuse to continue the study phase at the beginning of each round! Sergio however should take this opportunity to step in closer. Ishee seems to have longer arms here. Throwing longer punches makes him slow to return home with his defense!

Ishee is picking up the pace and this satisfies me! It won the 2nd and 3rd rounds for him! He is ahead on points and Sergio looks too cocky.

Now the 4th round isn't a good story for Ishee. This is where I think Sergio seen that stepping in close put Ishee off balance with his punches. Ishee either hit nothing or couldn't mount a defense for Sergio when he was in close at this "sweet spot".

The 5th and final introduced another disappointment in Ishee. He got frustrated! He threw punches wildly and inaccurately! Sergio capitalized on this and "fulfilled his destiny".

Ishee lost due to two main reasons in my opinion. First he didn't keep Sergio "at bay". A longer reach isn't much good if you can't keep a jab in your opponent's face or use footwork to keep him from getting too close to you. Second he got frustrated. When you are frustrated it's easy to forget that boxing is a sport of both mental and physical comparison. The key here is "mental". You become blind to the reflexes and holes being presented to you in the ring and just go with the majority rules concept. "If I throw enough, Hard enough, I'll make him drop!"... or "at least score some points"!