Technical and Personal Blogs from the Nerd-e-tech guy!

2011-12-05T15:21:00.001-06:00

Anyone have a view on the Post Office / Mail situation here in the states? Commenting to a friend's post, this was my gripe.

"It's a lost cause, it's sad because my uncle and other ppl i know work for the post office but the service is no longer really needed. Sure for packages and certain things it is, but a much smaller percentage than once was. Companies as well as the USPS have to adapt and that means cutting staff when there isn't enough work for everyone. That's what should be done. Not decrease services or charging more. They need to cut staff and perhaps locations, period."

Should I get and iPad2?

2011-03-07T07:49:00.001-06:00

Here's an email that was sent to me asking about the new iPad 2. I thought I'd post it up for anyone else who might have the same questions.

Yep, trying to thaw out but Chicago is still cold and snowy.

I hope you're doing well, can't be that cold in the middle of the east coast.

Sure, I can answer some questions for ya.

I'll post some answers after your questions ...

Hi Ken,

I hope you're doing well and thawing out from the winter's cold.

I'm thinking about getting the IPad 2 and remember you're a big fan of the IPad.

So a few questions:

1. Are you going to buy the 2 and do a review? If yes, let me know when/where to find the review.

On a more personal level, my goal is to use the IPad for travel to check emails, read newspapers and magazine articles and surf the web and watch the occasional movie. I will not be using it for business, to play games, or to store music or photos. I will upgrade to a new PC for these purposes when my old one blows up. I'm pretty much prefer the IPad over the Xoom just because I want to look young and cool. Given these:

Answer: Right now, the xoom is just too overpriced anyway. I thought the ipad was overpriced, not compared to the xoom. :)
You'll end up playing games on it. Everyone does. ha ha, I have a bunch on there now but the nice thing is they're all free. :)
This time around, I'm planning to sit out unless i can get rid of my original ipad. There's talk an ipad 3 is coming in September though. How realistic is that, not sure ...

2. Should I upgrading to 32G for an extra $100 since my current storage needs aren't great?

Answer: It depends, I got into audiobooks and podcasts and bringing my Tivo programming with me on my daily travels. If you're going to do that, you might run out of space with a 16. I'm juggling every friday to bring what i want to have over the weekend with me for those times I'm out and bored. On a side note, I don't carry any music. I usually use the Slacker app for that. Slacker is a music cache service where u can bring saved music channels. They have an online component too, try it :) it's like pandora but better.

3. I'm stuck with my Andriod phone for another year an a half. Should I still upgrade to the 32G with 3G model for an another $129 (or there abouts, or $229 over the base model) in case I switch over to an IPhone after my current contract expires?

Answer: Does your android have the hotspot feature? With that and a good plan, you don't need the 3G. I got the wifi version and have never needed 3G. I do have an iphone4 though and it picks up the slack when I'm outdoors away from wifi. I've gotten use to using them both at the same time, they complement each other nicely.

4. What advantage is there to upgrade to 3G? Are there many places where WiFi isn't available where a normal person would go to?

Answer: Almost all wifi is protected now so pretty much if you think you'll have a hard time finding a coffee shop or airport or other place with wifi, 3G is good to "think about" but maybe not buy until you really think about your need. You mentioned you already have an android, they probably forced you to get a data plan and they won't let you off of it.

5. Can I add on additional memory or 3G capability down the road without having to buy a new IPad?

Answer: No. Why? Steve Jobs says so.

6. Any clues as to when the IPad 3 will come out and what extras it'll have? (One thing glaringly missing is a disk drive or port to an external drive to copy in music and movies. Did I read there was a flash port for this?) In other words, should I just upgrade to a new laptop for now and wait for the IPad 3 to come out?

Answer: For something even more expensive, I would get the apple air 11 inch version if I had a choice but that is seriously overpriced and actually isn't as helpful when out and about unless they are able to start using apps from the apple store (which i think they are working on or may have already released (i don't have an apple computer but that's what I heard a few months ago))

7. Will I really look cool and young with an IPad or do I have to start incorporating "dude" in my daily conversation and listening to rap?

Dude, you don't listen to rap? J/k, don't bother ha ha, that's not worth it ha ha. Why? Almost everything is young and cool now. Computers are copying the Air and the tablets are copying the iPad. You won't be able to avoid the cool factor :) If you get something unexpected, you'll just be an outsider and what's cooler than that!?

---
I don't need answers right away. I'm not about to camp out in front of an Apple store so I can get one right away. Thanks for all your advice.

Addition: No Problem, I think many people are thinking about this right now, I might just post this on my blog for anyone else, minus names though. Have a great week!

It looks like there's no pre-order so if you get the urge, lines may start Thursday ! :) or before :) crazy people. I walked in the Sunday after the release of the ipad 1 though and had no probs just picking it up and leaving. Hopefully it will be the same for you.

See ya!

Just a few minutes on the economy.

2011-01-24T18:09:00.002-06:00

I was born in the US but I am a great fan of China and their growth as a leader in the world. I really do think the US and China's economy are linked in a very important way. We can see the truth in that this past week as the US played very good host to China's president. I am not an economist, but I do worry about the building inflation that I see worrying me and those around me. Recently, I've been paying a lot of attention to the Asian news market. It seems they are building inflation a lot faster than we are. I just want to outline some interesting things that I've seen them do and I would like feedback on if these things would work for us. Psychologically, I would think they would make us all more relaxed and confident about our economy. What repercussions this might have toward other parts of the economy and government I don't know. Any good links to other ideas?

I've heard some buzz as far as in China, some people suggesting that the government should reallocate more money from the rich to the poor. Would that work, even in China? I guess mainland China could do that if they wanted to, but it would never work here. I'd like to see them get Hong Kong people to stand for that as well. Even over there, business folks want to be so liberal and make so much more money nowadays, I think that would actually cause an upheaval in the economy. That wouldn't help at all. At the same time, those economists are suggesting privatizing some government run parts of the economy. That seems like a very strange policy wrought with contradictions. How can you instate state control over the wealth of a nation and yet place the basis of that wealth in the hands of private individuals or organizations? Seems like you're just lengthening the problem and making more people poorer in the process. Perhaps that's what they want to do, give a majority of the wealth and power to fewer people so that they can be controlled. Control. A reoccurring feature of Chinese politics.

Both China and Korea seem to have raised interest rates this past week and that's certainly something we don't want to see in this country, we never really want that on this side of the sea. Of course sometimes it's necessary. Something interesting that Korea is doing is freezing utility rates for the next six months, and suggesting colleges do the same for tuition. Six months seems like a short time to me but in the short term it might make people feel good that they are not going to find a surprise in their mailbox over the next few months.

Just some observations and thoughts, as I said, I'm a US citizen but I'm also a big fan of China and (maybe because I'm Chinese-American) want to see the Far East grow and succeed. I'll be anxious to see how these changes affect that part of the world and what happens 6 months later. I always have the point of view that we can all learn from each other, we're all in such poor positions as far as our economies and the outlook as far as business leaders toward the future state of the short term economy. I hope someone has an answer, I'd say that we in the US are not doing enough to produce jobs and reduce debt. Perhaps the east has something to say about that.

2011-01-12T10:55:00.001-06:00

Something new?^ When did google start previewing links? awesome

Google Preview?

2011-01-10T13:21:00.003-06:00

Something new? When did google start previewing all links on searches? I think this is just awesome!

2010-12-15T21:32:00.002-06:00

A saying I thought was very humorous at the Field Museum today :)

Interesting Words

2010-12-14T11:02:00.001-06:00

Some have classified me as a loner in the past. I'd say in some cases, that's true. I like to hang out with friends and colleagues more often than not but you can reach a limit where too much contact can be detrimental to your psyche in my humble opinion.

I have just read 2 quotes that I like a lot that seem to say very clearly what I think. I thought I'd share them.

I found these on a newsletter I get called Love Your Work from Crosswalk.com. I tried to find the specific link but could not. I'll post the sayings and brief snips from the newsletter:

"Great Work Comes from Solitude"
Dan Miller
Many people are most creative and productive when they are secluded or left alone.

"Solitude is for me a fount of healing which makes my life worth living. Talking is often torment for me, and I need many days of silence to recover from the futility of words. " Carl G. Jung

"We have to remember that we look for solitude in order to grow there in love for God and in love for others. We do not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them: we do not leave them in order to have nothing more to do with them, but to find out the way to do them the most good." Thomas Merton

Silence is not just a void space. Silence is often where God is, waiting to burst forth with the possibility of a creative solution or a miraculous thought. Out of the silence comes the next chapter in a book or the opening chords of a symphony. Out of silence comes the natural breathing rhythm of restful rejuvenation and healthy optimism.

So sometimes, I retreat to a secluded place, but I'd wager that when you see me next, I'll be a better person and a better friend. I may even have answers I, or you, are looking for.

Obamacare

2010-12-13T20:24:00.001-06:00

I remarked on my tech blog today regarding the federal decision today in Virginia against Obamacare. A federal judge correctly stating that forcing you to get health insurance is wrong and should be seen as unconstitutional. I agree and wanted to state that. Let's work on what actually makes health care and insurance so expensive. If we can lower the prices on medical visits, pharmaceuticals, and insurance itself, everyone would be able to afford it and a great many more of our US population would have it.

http://ow.ly/3oFym

My response to a Pogue response to one of his followers wishing for a data rollover plan

2010-12-10T16:00:00.001-06:00

Original Nytimes post: http://ow.ly/1rXjKU

I think that's a great idea but there is one problem, after the change in data plans and prices a while back, I wonder how many people are actually staying underneath the cap, has anybody done a study of that yet? On my most conservative month, I just overtake two gigs of usage. On an average month, I use about 3.5 gigs. Both these scenarios overtake AT&T's current two gig pro plan, thank goodness I'm still on the old unlimited plan. So although a rollover data plan is a good idea, does anyone actually come under the limit anymore to save anything? If people are like me, AT&T must be reaping a fortune right now over new subscribers. Also, take into account that android phones use even more data than iPhones. I am very interested to see how these plans are working out for customers.

The Chevy Volt.

2010-10-25T23:52:00.001-05:00

Just a few words about the Chevy Volt. It comes out next
month and it got me wondering, is it really a revolutionary next generation
technology? I think not. Why do I say that? The Chevy Volt is just another
hybrid car but instead of using a gasoline / electric symbiotic system like
the Toyota Prius for example, Chevy's programmed their car to use up all the
battery power first before switching to the gasoline engine. That's nothing
special, they've just decided to program the car to use it's power sources
in series rather than parallel.

Also, take this into account. A Toyota Prius uses it's combination
technology to get as much as 50 miles per gallon efficiency. It has a 12
gallon fuel tank to give it a total of 600 miles of estimated fuel
efficiency. Not solid numbers but best estimates because there's plenty you
can do to lower efficiency such as running the air conditioning for example.

If you take the Chevy Volt now, it claims to only get about 40 miles on a
single charge of it's batteries. Then, the best claims from Chevy are that
the Volt will get an extra 300 miles on gasoline ï¿½helpï¿½ for the generator
powering the car (or is it the gas engine that then powers the wheels after
charge runs out?). Supposing this model has a 10 gallon tank, they usually
don't get too much smaller, that would give the gasoline engine only an
efficiency of 30 miles per gallon. Not revolutionary at all. In fact, much
like any other car out on the road today.

On the contrary, here's the part that is really exciting though. That part
about being able to drive 40 miles on a single charge. I was thinking about
my own life. Currently, I normally only drive as much as 15 to 20 miles a
day. That being the case, I could go months without using up any fuel. Now,
that part is revolutionary! It's funny though, here in Chicago, say you have
to drive to the suburbs every day or from the suburbs to Chicago everyday,
you might just cross that 40 mile mark and use some gas. Not much depending
on where you have to go but you probably will cross that line.

So, will I be thinking about getting one? Not really. I like the idea of
just running on electric power only first and not touching the gasoline
engine but the car other than that is really nothing special in my opinion.
In fact, I'd say, it's just a Chevy Malibu with an electric generator. I do
hope that someday, companies will push this technology further so that we'll
be able to get farther than just 40 miles on a charge and that the batteries
will charge faster. It's nice to have that gasoline backup but contrary to
what Chevy researchers say, I would guess many people will go over that mark
and it's radius is just too small. Just a few small trips a day and the
batteries will get used up, throw in A/C, heating, or whatever else you
desire (amps, subs, etc) and that power will go fast.

So, I'll be waiting for the next real revolution. Perhaps a much wider
radius on batteries, a bit of a smaller fuel tank (it needs to be truly
backup) and a bit bigger size OR smaller price tag would help. Don't price
it high just because the government is going to throw in some rebates. I
believe that's what they have done. It's not worth 40 Grand. That's what I
think, what do you think? Will you be waiting eagerly for the release of
this car next month? Do you care? Let us know!

2010-10-15T10:22:00.001-05:00

I know a lot of people who have stomach issues. I know far fewer people who have stomach issues as well as blood and heart issues. If you do or know someone who does, I just read a story that confirms that if you do take a proton pump inhibitor like omeprazole (Prilosec) along with a blood thinner like clopidogrel (Plavix), you are more likely to get relief from your G.I. symptoms with no extra danger in cardiovascular health. This little tidbit was brought to you because of all my friends with stomach pain. You know who you are. Just file this away in the back of your mind somewhere. You're welcome. :)

2010-10-11T20:47:00.001-05:00

You probably can't tell from the picture but this is Internet tv, looks great and no need for cable. Drop it.

2010-10-01T16:02:00.001-05:00

I'm not catholic but pretty good saying

Personal reflection:

2010-09-27T18:43:00.001-05:00

Contentment is a very difficult subject. How are you supposed to feel content in a world such as this? Are you content? How have you become so? In a world where you can be a success and be a failure, it's so easy to dwell on those failures. We know we shouldn't, but some dreams are harder to let go than others.

In the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:6, it is said that there is great gain with contentment, we have brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of this world, that's obvious. We mustn't fall into temptation and be roped into senseless desires of this world, that will only bring us to ruin and destruction.

It's easy to say, but hard to put into practice. What am I dreaming for, what is my real purpose for the goals that I have? Is it simply for personal gain? Do I want the stature and the reputation that comes with my dreams? Am I really doing what I do for the good of others? No. No. Yes. Should I just settle down and be content? I thought I made the decision a while ago, yet with one e-mail and one phone call, the dreams come back, the lure of my life's first intention.

I ran into a friend the other day who made my dreams of success true in his life. He started on his path after I did yet he has progressed farther than I have. Is the grass always greener on the other side? Maybe not, but I still dream.

I missed an opportunity to find out if I could reinitiate this dream tonight, it may have been my fault for not being more persistent, it may not have been my fault because I was supposed to receive a message and didn't. No matter what the cause was, I started dwelling on this topic and on the connected lesson I am writing for other men as well as myself for the near future.

My questions and reflections are for why I have this dream, why do I need it so much that it rules over my life? Can I be content? I've succeeded in many other things, acquired degrees is in many other subjects, why does this dream continue to depress me when I continually realize I have not yet succeeded. Will it ever end? Can it ever end? What will it take? I have asked my Lord God to answer those questions and to help me put aside my great need for this path. Maybe it's only because I, myself, have not yet become strong enough to give up this dream on my own. I'm going to think about these things throughout this week and you can comment if you like, I have a strange sense of contentment right now at this moment, but I know it won't last. It may not be God's path for me, I'll have to accept that, but when do I accept that? And then, will this haunt me for the rest of my life? It's a heavy burden and one at times I feel I cannot bear. I will bear it though, although I wish I didn't have to.

Strange Path Crossings

2010-09-23T21:04:00.001-05:00

Have you ever been in a place where it seems that the goal of your life was just out of reach, where you had to settle for something just a little bit less than what you had intended, and you find it brings you no joy. It seems always like someone else is living your life and that you are living someone else's, but not your own. It's quite depressing, you feel trapped, walled in! And, it seems no amount of prayer, wishing, or work can get you out of this position. You try to break free over the years by earning degrees, volunteering, going in this direction, going in that direction, but the results are always the same. Your true goal is never reached. You feel like you want to run away, maybe even worse. But, there is no escape. You wish there was a way to reach your goal, but the world has not made a way for you. You keep waiting but it is the world that is behind the times. It is just too bad that you are the victim of the world.

Ground Zero Mosque? Now?

2010-09-06T09:10:00.002-05:00

I am in New Yorker, I felt it was my duty to say something about what's
going on at Ground Zero at this time. September 11 is coming up fast and
it's true, for most people, especially those from New York, you cannot
forget exactly where you were at the time of the twin towers disaster. I
remember it as if it were yesterday. I was actually just starting school in
another country. It was first day of classes. A quarter of the class was
from New York. The talk was rushing across the campus very quickly that
morning. Some of us didn't even have TVs yet so we got the word by hearsay,
I remember for a fact that I didn't even get a chance to watch TV that
morning. The words came in slowly through each ear, bombing, New York, twin
towers, Muslims, Islam, is there class? There was confusion all over the
place. Most of us congregated in the public places and watched the TVs on
campus, it was devastating, planes hitting buildings, buildings falling
down, national treasures at that. People running all over the place in
familiar places I knew! I'll save you from the rest of the thoughts and talk
around campus for the morning and the rest of the day, the announcement that
we would all get free calls back home. I would just say and imagine it would
be like finding out your house had burned down while you were on vacation in
another country, but on a greater scale, a surreal yet devastating feeling
of helplessness. The news, pictures, years to come, visits to Ground Zero,
were a painful reminder. I can only imagine what those people who had loved
ones die in the area must have felt. To this day that pain must linger, and
it does, as evidenced by what is going on in New York today.

Because of this, I feel I must say something, for good or for bad, as far as
the state of Ground Zero goes. The future as of this point is unwritten for
the area, but forces are fighting for the property, the future, the overall
meaning of what and who will be remembered at Ground Zero in the future.

I feel I must weigh in. First, I'll give you my opinion short and sweet. It
is, that a mosque should not be built at Ground Zero or in the near vicinity
of ground zero.

Why? First I'd like to explain that I do understand the Muslim reasoning
behind why a mosque should be able to be built at Ground Zero. This country
was built on the precipice that freedom would be given in all things, for
example, speech and religion. Religion being key here, most people coming to
America in the past which probably includes your family and mine, came for
religious reasons, the right to practice their own religion without
prejudice and fear of death. Protesting and denying a mosque's right to be
built at Ground Zero does fly in the face of what this country was built on.
Seeing the protests and reasonings on TV every day does seem more like
hatred and less like the understanding this country was built on. I don't
deny that, and it's painful to watch. In truth, American citizens have done
this to others in the past. Other citizens mind you. To the Jewish, to the
African Americans, to the Japanese, to the Chinese, more, and now, to the
Muslims.

I would say that this time though, the reasonings are different, and they
should be respected. Underneath it all, this time, it's about remembrance
rather than hatred. On the surface, it looks like hatred, there is no other
way it can be seen in public. People yelling, people screaming, calling each
other names, fighting, it looks bad, but what are they really fighting for?
I'd wager that it is that they want to keep Ground Zero a place of sacred
remembrance, a peaceful, neutral place, that those who have lost loved ones
at the site can go to as to not be reminded of the radicals that took their
loved ones away, but a place that can give solemn peace. After such a great
tragedy, I think those who have lost loved ones have the right to ask for
that, and to receive it.

I can't speak for everyone, and I didn't lose anyone in the tragedy, but
just as someone who has New York in his heart, I truly believe that a mosque
on ground zero will bring more harm than good (at this time). On this side,
I do believe that most Muslims are very good people. I have many friends
that are Muslim, that speak of peace, understanding, but to a point. That's
fair, but I don't see the understanding here. This Ground Zero is still an
open wound, a sore, that has not fully healed. We all know that in human
nature it is easier to remember the bad over the good. We always remember
the wrong someone has committed against us much easier than remembering the
good that people have graciously given us. I am not against the building of
mosques and I believe a good percentage of the people of New York are the
same. It's just not yet the right time to fight to build one on Ground Zero,
Muslim understanding and sensitivity should be greater here. I imagine one
fear is that if the property goes to someone else now, Muslims may fear
losing that site forever. It's prime real estate! Perhaps, some Muslims are
truly wanting to build this mosque as a sign of peace and as a base of peace
at Ground Zero. I commend that. As we all can see though, from this local
issue becoming national and how strong the views are, it's just not the
right time. You can't force peace, Israel and Palestine should have taught
us that much already. If a mosque is allowed to be built there now, I see
years of hatred and anger and fighting and prejudice for decades to come,
truly, I foresee it! If given time to heal though, to a future, better time
and place, a mosque may be welcomed with open arms. For my idealistic view,
I imagine the time in the future when all faiths and houses of worship will
be allowed at ground zero as they should be anywhere else in America.

I can see, with a little patience and a little sensitivity, that time can
come. So to my Christian brothers and sisters and to my Muslim brothers and
sisters, we are all a family on this world, let's quiet our hearts and our
mouths, be respectful of each other, look toward peace and the future. I
hope as they say, cooler heads can prevail, and we can all work toward peace
before the riots that are more apt to come in America show their ugly heads.
Thanks for reading.

The Church in Our Midst

2010-08-15T21:59:00.003-05:00

Picture taken from http://ow.ly/2pWJT

This is an update to my previous post about the goings-on at CCUC in Chicago. It has been a rough last few weeks. When I last reported, I made it known that I was going to try to stay at CCUC to help people transition and help people find a new pastor for our flock. Since the time of our last AMA meeting though, it seems that internal changes had taken a few more steps in the wrong direction. It seems that 50% of the English deacons were asked to step down and the other 50% were left with the job of transition but given no blueprint for help on how to do that. Now, there were only four deacons on the English congregation side so 50% was a large amount of manpower. That aside, these four people, who spent much of their life helping the church and doing their best to help it grow and guiding the younger, seemed to be cast by the wayside in lieu of plans that they were not privy to. Long story short, the deacons decided to stick together and see if this was more of an opening of doors rather than a closing of doors on their ministries and their time at our church. I for one, am glad they did.

In the previous few years, I have seen more and more disregard for certain people and ministries in the church. It started out as just friends and colleagues who were upset or disgruntled about certain things as far as their leadership was concerned, at least that’s how it seemed to me. Then, it started leading to rumor and stories behind the scenes, people leaving secretively and publicly. So in the previous few years and more recently, I guess people who have left, who were more in the know than I was, left for good reason. I didn't give it much thought for a time, but I ended up leaving for a good 6 to 8 months as well. It seems the atmosphere of the church had really changed from the time that I had entered CCUC. I told friends and leaders this a few times. I didn't feel the atmosphere of understanding, of fellowship, and of love that I use to. Although I did find it at another church for a few months, the atmosphere there changed as well, and I realized that all churches must have a time that they go through where they deal with this. With that change at the other church, I made my way back to CCUC. With that lesson learned, I decided to come back and be patient. Things kept changing for the worse though, I saw leaders who seemed to be almost prejudiced against, I saw the leadership very distraught over bitterness, rumors, accusations, and other issues that had remained for many years. I saw people I trust very much, reach out with open arms and try to repair damage that was caused by certain parties in the church, yet it was rejected, or no definitive answers were given. For me as well as others, the ousting of Pastor Green was the “straw that broke the camels back.” I won't mention it again because there's a previous post on it but from that event, I saw ugliness, disregard, and sinful attitude from more than one person that made me think about leaving again.

To the exciting time that started today, I guess I'm part of a church plant now. I know I said that I would stay at our current church, I had resigned to do that after much thought and much prayer. But, I also was torn thinking about how I could even think about leading or think about a position in leadership knowing that those above me would have such disregard for their fellow brothers and sisters. Church is not a business, it's a family, and it should not be treated like a business, cold and heartless. I am pleased to say that I know three of the deacons fairly well. They are all people I consider and I can call friends. And although one of the deacons I don't know as well, I know of him and his family, and he and his family do not take the word of God lightly. Make no mistake, these four men must have prayed, talked with each other, and agonized over this decision for many a night. God gave them an opening though, Pastor Green, who still feels that his calling is to our community and to Chicago, made that fact known to them over conversations as well. So now we have a core group of five, highly respected, leaders of our congregation who feel courageous enough to start a new church based on the biblical values that we all, including all of the CCUC deacon board, should be following. I know we are all human, some of us get drunk on power, money, our own self-worth, entitlement, and a multitude of other things. The deacons are making this move because of a continual disregard and sinful actions though, and although I have not been here as long as they have or experienced all that they have, I trust them greatly and have seen the same actions toward leaders and our congregation over the past few years. For me, I probably was privy to these types of actions for the first time just over a year ago. Perhaps that's when Pastor Green started becoming a target, I don't know but I've digressed too far.

The point of all this was to tell you that a new church is starting! For now, opening day seems to be September 12^th. We had a good turnout this week for an informative meeting. A lot of people I've had the pleasure to fellowship with for many years were there. A lot of leaders that I respect and care about were there as well. They were all making a commitment or strongly thinking about making this move together. I too am in that boat. My human side wants to say, “You reap what you sow,” there was sinful action and total disregard for an entire congregation and a man who was treated very unfairly who didn't deserve it. But, my brotherly Christian side worries about what is going to happen to CCUC. One of my friends today said it looks like the English congregation is over, it will collapse. I seriously doubt it. For me though, I must, or I need to, worship where I feel loved. Where I feel I am trusted and where I feel I can trust others. So for now, I cast my lot with this new church. I promise them that I will help them with whatever I can. That doesn't mean I won't help CCUC. There are brothers and sisters who I care about there and I will continue to endeavor to make sure they are well served. I will continue to check on them and I will continue to pray for them. For now though, I am excited and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. We have been blessed with great leaders, who, in the past, have literally wept for the church, they are caring leaders and all at different stages of life, are great examples of how to live biblically. Yes, no one is perfect, they even admit they are not, but they are great examples, and worthy of trust.

On a side note, there is talk of joining “The Alliance.” For the few months that I was at another church, it was a Presbyterian church. I had noticed that the pastor as well as the church was part of a larger, stronger group of churches, a Presbyterian organization. I always admired that and I wondered why Christian churches, CCUC, and other Baptist churches I've been a part of, didn't have this. It must be a great stress reliever to not only the pastor but also the congregation to know that there are funds as well as resources and materials to help the church grow even if the congregation is small or not that well off. It was suggested today that perhaps we would join The Alliance for at least a few months to a year and see how that relationship plays out. I'm leaning towards that as a good choice on how to start. I've been looking at their website and they have many good articles and materials for church plants as well as established churches. They also share their resources with foreign ministries which is really great as well. So, like I said, I’m not a leader, but I'm looking forward to this as being a very good long-term relationship, I don't know much about them other than what I've read today, but they look like a great organization that has the tools that might help us get off on the right foot. There are church accountability and Internet accountability groups for example, they seem like great programs that are outside the box. I'm really interested in seeing how these programs work and they impress me as far as not seeing programs like these anywhere else. I encourage everyone to take a look at their website and check them out, especially if you're thinking about joining this new church and giving your opinions.

Well, I've practically written a chapter in a book here, I'll give it a rest for now but I just wanted to express my thoughts and my excitement for the future, God is really working toward something here. If anybody wants to visit after this church is started on September 12th, just show up, it's going to be at the Daystar elementary school. It's on 15 and State, easy to find, see you there!

If anyone wants to comment, leave one here as well. I welcome all comments although remember, I’m not part of the leadership and they may or may not be reading. As always though, my space is always open for your words as well as mine.

Where Is The World?

2010-08-07T11:22:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning and I felt that I had to say something about the situation with all the floods in Pakistan. I've been watching all the news programs the last few days and it boggles my mind! Why is it that the response to the Pakistani flood seems to be so low?

Pakistan is an important partner to United States. Right now, we depend on them to help us in the "fight against terror." Whether we believe what the president of Pakistan says, that terrorism simply passes through his country and does not originate there, or we think that's a total lie, it does not give the world the right to withhold help in a natural disaster.

Maybe we're all getting numb to all the natural disasters going on in the world today. We've had many, and the news comes out so fast, sometimes it feels like we've been helping every body! The soon to be disaster in Moscow comes to mind as another.

Maybe the reason is because the president of Pakistan himself doesn't seem to give a dang about what's going on in his own country. He states, that's the prime minister's job, and he is doing it. In the meantime, thousands if not more people are starting to succumb to hunger, disease, and death. The people on the news are calling out for help! Unless I've been blind or on the wrong channel, I haven't seen any response from anyone.

Perhaps the reason is one of the saddest of them all. Many people perceive Pakistan as an extremist Muslim country. I would venture to say that is only a miniscule amount of the population. In case you didn't know, there are Christians there too as well as Buddhists, and even the occasional atheist. I hope the reason is not discrimination or fear.

I'll admit, I may have more of a connection to Pakistan because two of my best friends in college were Pakistani. We were like brothers, and it pains me to think that some of the people that we see on TV could be living like their family members could be living right now. I just want to place this situation higher in the American hearts and minds than it seems to be right now.

People are people everywhere. On this world, in my opinion, religion or ethnicity should matter less than the value most of us give it now. We should hold each other as valuable. The world seems to be getting worse and worse, falling apart. We don't need to help it. That's my two cents.

I found an annoying problem from iOS4 the other day!

2010-07-24T10:06:00.003-05:00

This irked me so that I had to make a quick video the other day that can be
seen at:
http://ping.fm/7ULt1

Basically the problem is with the alert / badge system on the iOS4.

When you get an alert, video stops! Why is this so annoying?

A lot of the time, when I'm cooking, washing the dishes, working, reading,
even taking a shower, I like to multitask. While I'm doing other things, I
usually will play a podcast, usually a video podcast in the background.
With the iPad on the old OS, when an alert for email, fb, twitter, baseball
game or other event comes up, the video will keep right on playing with an
overlayed alert badge on top. That's the way it should be.

Now, on iOS4, at every alert, video stops! From just some of the tasks I
mentioned above, you can see how it would be quite a hassle to stop and have
to touch the screen to get rid of the alert and restart the paused video
(especially when showering or cooking). I listen to a lot of news or
educational broadcasts. That's precious minutes that I'm missing out on
information that might be interesting or usable later. I just can't stand
it.

Don't get me wrong, I love iOS4 but if I'm getting baseball, cricket, email,
updates for example (which I don't want to turn off), this at times makes me
restart video 4 or 5 times in an hour. It get's real annoying real fast.

I'm going to try to use the iPad for most of my video watching now in these
situations but I'm going to want to upgrade when iOS4 comes out for this
device and unless they change this feature/annoyance back to the way it was,
I'm just going to end up with the same problem. Aaaaargh! I wish there was
a solution.

That's it for my rant, thanks for reading!

2010-07-18T13:47:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's packed, hot, and it rained!

2010-07-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

Wow, it's packed, hot, and it rained!

2010-07-18T12:09:00.001-05:00

Visit the cookie shop!

2010-07-18T11:59:00.001-05:00

Chinatown Fair!

My Friend Had a Great Question on Facebook

2010-07-15T12:08:00.001-05:00

and I had a sarcastic smart
*ss response I wanted to share!

Q. Why do prisons keep releasing sex offenders early??? Make them serve
their full time, this doesn't make any sense!!!!

A. Didn't ya hear? Illinois is outta cash! :o So are a lot of other places
and of course from the government's vast amount of wisdom and knowledge,
they usually say releasing criminals are the best way of saving money! There
are way too many "regular" people and police officers to protect us and
outnumber all of the bad guys anyways! *mean smirk/sarcastic voice* Isn't
that right? We all must see the logic here!

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

2010-07-13T14:34:00.001-05:00

http://ow.ly/2aY8M I did a short video blog on my experiences with the
iPhone 4 and if I think there should be a recall! What do you think?

Let's watch Tivo programming on our iPhones! Or other devices.

2010-07-07T21:24:00.001-05:00

For all those who wanted the update to my previous post about watching video
on Apple devices, here it is. This video should tell you how to move TiVo
videos to your apple device or any other devices you choose. If you have any
questions leave a comment. It's fairly easy.

By the way, the audio and video on this post was not very well synced, no
matter what I tried in post production, I just couldn't get it perfect.

Enjoy! And thanks for watching!

http://ow.ly/28nyB

Lebron, Who the Heck is Lebron?

2010-07-07T21:16:00.001-05:00

I saw this WPIX news report the other night when I was in New York and I
just had to rebroadcast or re-tweet this awesome clip. It has to do with all
this crazy Lebron stuff. I can't believe the country is making such a big
deal out of this guy. It's really aggravating and really gets the New Yorker
rising out of me. So, I never saw this guy on the news before but his name
is Lionel, he basically said everything I wanted to say. We're making way
too much of this guy and he doesn't deserve it. Just look at ESPN today, and
how they pandered for his love. That's so appalling! So if you hate Lebron
as much as I do, sit back and relax, Lionel is going to tell you how it
should be. All except for the Knicks stuff at the end, I'm a Nets fan, after
all, they are moving to Brooklyn.

http://ow.ly/285J4

Review of a TPU / Polyurethane Case for the iPhone 4

2010-07-06T13:53:00.001-05:00

It's great!

I was in NY the last week or so and I met this guy who sole phone
accessories at my local mall.

He showed me this case and let me handle it. After I did, I could see how
much stronger this case was compared to previous ones I had. I snapped one
up for a good price and I have it here now for you to see.

http://ow.ly/27IHC

Thanks for watching and Follow me if you enjoy my podcasts and feel free to
leave comments as well.

Poor Excuses

2010-06-28T07:24:00.002-05:00

It was a sad day in church yesterday. The devil and people’s selfishness ruled the day. Yesterday, I saw a church hold politics and technicalities over the calling of God. Our pastor, who’s only crime was being a human being like the rest of us, was forced from the pulpit by a vote in a meeting that was a poor example of what a church should be. I had been witness to so much hatred, ignorance, and ill will toward the people of the English congregation that it pains me to even think about stepping back through the doors of CCUC. Church is not about the rule of some constitution and it’s not about the control that one person, who will remain nameless, seems to have over his congregation, it’s about love and leading people toward love. There was no example of that yesterday.

Yesterday’s meeting was a farce! A vocal and public few who dislike Pastor Green took control of the meeting for over an hour explaining to 2 congregations how the English Pastor is in a sense, not in control of his feelings, hurtful, spiteful, greedy, and a poor representative of what a leader in the church should be. All accusations were given without context, overblown, and without chance of defense from anyone or the pastor himself, in order to clearly remove him from his “calling.” When some were finally given time to represent the views, both through statistically relevant research and through personal experience, they were in comparison only given 1 minute each to speak with that cut down by translation to Cantonese or cut down by the moderator himself who seemed at times very much part of this conspiracy.

Yes, there’s something wrong with this. 3 years ago, we all agreed it was God’s calling that Pastor Green join us in leading the English congregation. That hasn’t changed. God did not come down from the heavens and say, “It is time for Pastor Green to move on,” or “This man is not right for your church!” No, in fact in the face of all this, Pastor Green has remained composed and loving toward our congregation and our church that has shown so much hatred. That’s the biggest issue. Our church has allowed a select few church leaders and now adds to that improperly informed people in other congregations to overrule God’s calling! Clearly all the good that has been committed in the previous 3 years has been overlooked and an unfair weight was given to a few instances where Pastor’s humanity shown through, all to overrule God. When a church allows politics and hate to overrule God, yes, there’s a problem there.

I’ll probably shock some and make some enemies with this open letter but if people didn’t notice the total disregard and unfair treatment by at least 2 leaders yesterday, you are blind, pure and simple. It was an AMA meeting held just for the sake of having one and orchestrated to give the impression that an informed church together overruled God’s calling. I’m very disappointed in the behavior of some of the leaders in other congregations that I had hoped to serve with and some I already serve with who showed timidness and bowing down to their leader’s pressure. I too was timid, I couldn’t find the words to speak yesterday, but I have them now.

2010-06-27T20:02:00.001-05:00

Just finished watching the Gran Prix of Europe! Love F1!

Slacker

2010-06-27T06:41:00.001-05:00

Slacker just can't seem to get this right. It's getting downright annoying.

Ever since, I think, Apple OS update 3.2, the slacker app's sleep timer functionality has been broken. It doesn't have a timer on its own, it's supposed to use the iPhone's built-in sleep timer to turn itself off after a preset length of time.

Needless to say, it's been broken for well over seven or eight months. For me, I need to fall asleep to some type of noise. Without slacker, I had to resort to an app called Irelax which plays weather noises, nature noises, or white noise to help me get to sleep. With my new iPhone four, two nights ago I decided to try the sleep timer once again. It worked! I was ecstatic! I don't know what happened between two nights ago and last night but I tried again to fall asleep to slacker last night and it didn't work! The music never turned off and I was awoken by the music at 5:30 in the morning this morning.

Oh how painful it was. I just don't understand it, I tried the timer with Pandora and that works just fine, but I don't like Pandora. Their music selection is just too narrow for me. I guess I'll have to get used to it though. That's why I can't use my own music collection to fall asleep, I don't even have enough songs to satisfy myself.

Oh well, I wish they'd get it right. Apple blames slacker, slacker blames Apple, and in all that time. I can't get to sleep. So goes the breaks in modern technology. I hope it works some day, thanks for reading my rant.

On a sidenote, I made this post using dragon voice recognition as well as posting with ping FM. Two services that make the public life a lot easier, I believe you'll see more postings starting today. Try them out sometime, I'm not affiliated with them at all. Thanks for reading.

2010-06-26T12:01:00.001-05:00

I've beaten heavy rain six different ways, I think I've seen all the endings.

2010-06-26T10:47:00.001-05:00

Testing an update message and pic via ping.fm

Sent from my iPad

iPhone4's Prejudice Against Lefties and Sweaty Palmed Citizens

2010-06-25T15:05:00.005-05:00

This was my response to David Pogue's article dealing with the signal loss issue of the new iPhone4. Read his article, it's humorous and right on!
http://ow.ly/23p1U

My response:

This is such a wild development. I guess there's a range of effects for whoever uses the phone. I can say without a doubt, I can reproduce the problem of the bars going away but I haven't seen any detriment in my call quality. In fact, it's improved over the 3GS! Was it you or someone else who said it might be an indicator issue?

To me, there has always been something underhanded and sneaky about how Apple does business. These bumper theories are just an outgrowth of how much we trust or distrust Apple.

At least for me, I haven't had any issues with call quality AND I'm getting a case in the mail soon from China. A very good rubber case that's only a dollar and came with free shipping. I've had the same sort of case on the 3GS as well so it's quality without the Apple price tag.

Anyway, I guess that will be my solution should the problem ever develop. I hope it's a software issue but for now I guess I don't have to worry about it. I'm not left handed either :) (just a joke) Great article, I enjoyed reading it.

As promised, how to change all the systems sounds on the Iphone

2010-02-21T13:16:00.005-06:00

First option, you'll need an FTP program, I like filezilla and winscp best.
I currently use winscp.

You'll want to use this as your info and ssh in:
File Protocol: SCP (WinSCP)
Hostname: Your iPhones IP address - it needs to be on your internet network (use the network address 192.xxx.x.xx or plugged into your computer using the data ip address).
Username: root
Password: alpine

I would suggest changing that default password after this if you haven't done so. If you use the Rock crack store, it should allow you to change it the first time you log in.

Option 2:
IF you are not used to SSHing, I believe for system sounds, you can just use Iphone Explorer which is free as well instead of SSH and WinSCP. You need to go to Rock or Cydia and install "afc2add" though, this will allow you to reach the root on a 3Gs phone using Iphone Explorer.

Then- back to common instructions:
Go to this directory:
System/library/audio/uisounds
Make a backup of it and store it somewhere safe. You'll be replacing these files.

Then, I like Switch sound file converter, you need to change the sounds you want to use to .aiff format. Then, rename the file to a .caf file using the original name of the file you want to replace.

For example: I use the NCIS theme song for incoming text messages so I changed my NCIS.aiff to sms-received4.caf. Also I sometimes use the transformers transforming sound for my unlock sound so I changed tf.aiff to lock.caf.

Then I copied these files to the directory above replacing the old files. You may have to respring but after you do that, viola! You have customized sounds!

I hope this was helpful, take care, backup, and share the info with someone if they need it.
The net should be a free, open, helpful society as an ideal world. It isn't but we can help.

Have a good one!

Btw, this was an aggregation of many sites I have read in the past and I give full credit to those who had done this before me. I needed to compile the info into one easy to read instruction sheet though so that's what this is. I hope it's as easy to use as I think it is. Feel free to copy and save it.

Add a customized mp3 ringtone to your Iphone!

2010-02-21T11:01:00.005-06:00

Someone from Walyou asked about how to change ring tones and UI sounds on the jailbroken Iphone. I thought I'd post them here in case anyone else needed them.

For Ringtones:
You DO NOT need a jailbroken Iphone:

I would first select an mp3, use something like Techlogg.com Toneshop because it's easy and free - there are others out there as well - to clip the mp3 to 30 seconds or less. I think that's max.

Then, go back into Itunes, import and right click on the audio file you created and convert it to AAC.

When you see the new file, right click and go to "show in windows explorer."
It's an .m4a file, rename that to .m4r

It should appear in the ringtones folder. If not, drag the file to ringtones. There you have it, a new customized ringtone.

I'll post another blog later about changing UI sounds, I have to head out.

Have a great day out there in internet land! :)

We need to do something about Apple.

2010-02-18T09:19:00.002-06:00

My response to a jailbreak Iphone blog online at http://ow.ly/18GeF
Picture of the "Bad Apple" from: http://ow.ly/18Glw

Thanks Ant,

That's great news! I'm glad it worked for you. That method hasn't worked for everyone but I doubt people have thought of erasing their backups or even want to if they have hundreds of apps like me :) But anything is worth a jb. I'm taking pics of all my apps now so I can find them again just in case little by little.

I know that I plan on trying the shift bypass if I have to before any connection to apple for restore or anything like that. I hope that if I ever have to restore during this time, that will help. Now I have another method to try thanks to you. Thanks. Others if they can should try this too and let us know how it works.

I know Geohot must be totally overwhelmed by the ungrateful and that might be what is making him avoid doing another jb (I can only speculate from past posts) but I hope that he and other devs who have the skill realize they are doing this for the good of the community over those loudmouths that seem to think they are entitled to the resources of developers just because they wrote a break once.

The truth is that Apple is a very closed company, they want to give it to you THEIR way or the highway and most people right now choose to let Apple spoonfeed them. That's sad. Most internet communities are about openness and sharing resources and knowledge, apple is totally the opposite. If I had the skill, I would work night and day on the jb just to stick it to apple. That's not a good way to do business, it's a way to build a dependent empire of slaves. (IE all the ppl that will buy the worthless iPad).

We need to do this for the nature of the internet and so future companies don't do business this way.

Ok, that's my soapbox speech for the week. I've already decided, if my jb fails in the future, I will go to verizon and to android. I'm gonna sell my iPhone for it's price plus breaking my contract. It's so sad, people will jump on it.

My response to Japanese iPad article

2010-02-07T09:55:00.002-06:00

Response to http://ow.ly/14Mb7 touting the iPad as the next best great study tool.

I don’t understand why people think the iPad is the next revolutionary tool for study and learning. Other than it’s speed, worldwide computer companies have been making very good tablet computers and standard computers that can do more than any iPad could ever hope to do. Fujitsu, IBM/Lenovo, Acer, to name a few. Here is the link to a video I made that touts all the things my tablet can do. http://ow.ly/11Yet

I have been using my tablet for work and play just about everyday with no complaints. Even the speed, though not as fast, is just fine for working. And the pen/stylus (for me) is a necessity for taking down notes and drawing pictures of things I learn as well as when I make notes and tests for my students.

It’s really quite a surprise how people are just finding out about tablets because of Apple. Please don’t forget about the others though, in many ways, they are better.

Slacker response.

2010-01-29T12:24:00.004-06:00

My response to a Slacker article at: http://ow.ly/11S2w

I encourage everyone to give it a try. It's almost perfect to begin and with your hearts and hates it can only get better! Slacker.com - I received no payment, this is just my honest opinion.

"I love the slacker service. I have been a PLUS subscriber ever since Nov 2008 when I needed to find a replacement for lowering quality Satellite Radio. It's great, I've used the online version at home and out at friends' houses. I've used their G2 device in my car and I use the iPhone app endlessly. They are adding news soon and caching from what I hear and I can't wait for that. My preloaded and my personally created channels are just about perfect. I don't even need skips anymore but I have unlimited skips. They really know what they're doing when it comes to the service. If I had one gripe, it's that they haven't upgraded their Chinese music selection in over a year. Yes, they are multicultural too. Bollywood fans will get their fix as well. Try it, I think you'll like it. "

New Online video blog / show has started!

2009-12-24T23:32:00.003-06:00

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nyhunter77

Hi guys,

Just wanted to announce that for the last 2 weeks or so, I've started a video blog / online tv show. I'm hoping it will be something I can improve on in time. It's something I'll use to get technical announcements on new advances and ideas I'm excited about and other personal, interesting things going on in my life out to my friends and viewers.

So far, I have 2 channels, Nerd-e-tech guy Online and Nerd-e-tech guy Miscellaneous.
The Online channel will surround mainly technical subjects while the Miscellaneous one will cover all my other events and interests.

Because of the narrow spec of the first channel, you'll find more entries on the latter.

In any case, I'm having a lot of fun posting up videos, live and recorded. I hope you'll enjoy them too.

More ATT News, my response to article on Engadget

2009-12-17T20:54:00.002-06:00

This was my response to Engadget Article:
AT&T to offer 'incentives' to customers willing to limit data usage
http://bit.ly/4Psx00

I'm taking this question VERY seriously.

I have a suggestion for those who are like me who use ATT DSL as well as the mobile phone service. They should give those with DSL the DSL for free if we use wifi whenever at home or whenever we can.

There's probably no way to really track this unless they keep track of data usage on each customer's bill or some other way but every time I am at home I switch to Wifi because it's faster and when I am at friend's or cafes I use wifi as well because I know the Iphone will memorize the codes and places and my battery will last longer. It's a convenience for me since I only have to set it up once.

I have noticed though that I have used just over a gig of bandwidth since September to December the way I do things, but since I've been on vacation this week and had to switch exclusively to 3G to get all my podcasts, videos, music, etc, I am over 1.5 Gigs in 4 days (mostly twice a day to get all the new episodes in the morning and evening).

I see how ATT's system can get rocked now so easily when bandwidth like that is used up. It's so easy. I feel kinda bad about using so much but I am not at home and I'm where Wifi isn't available. That kinda thing is unavoidable sometimes though. I'd say, think of the bandwidth like electricity at home, just be conscious of it and turn it off when you're not using it (I mean go to wifi). I don't see that it's that hard.

I also want to +1 though for the idea that ATT spread their woes out with other companies, if they can't support us for everyday activities, they should let us switch companies for free.

When they talk about ways to get us to use less data, they have already broken their promise to us for unlimited data that we signed up for and they said they would (not could) provide. That means we honestly owe them nothing and they will probably screw us.

My response to AT&T article in the Chicago Tribune

2009-12-10T11:05:00.005-06:00

Image from:touchmyapps.com

Response to article: http://bit.ly/92jdat

Tighter controls on wireless data usage coming for iPhones and other devices, AT&T exec warns

Their service is going downhill but it's not because of users, it's because of equipment they own.

In Chicago, I have gone from perfect crystal clear iphone service to (after November 18th for whatever reason) hit or miss, drop call, 3G loss all over the city. So far all the ATT technical support ppl have admitted that they have wide ranging tower problems right now and "degraded" service on all towers (whatever that means). They are also working on some kind of project that will keep a percentage of the towers offline until sometime in January.

On their behalf, I would say they assured me that they are getting more repeaters out there in Chicago to pick up the slack and they have already done that in San Francisco (confirmed). Service has been a lot better in the last week (going up from unusable) but still not what it was from before Nov 18th when I found every call I made dropped.

The Iphone and smart phones (most of them) were made for internet, music, AND video. I see "tighter controls on those who watch video" as a serious threat to business and what the phones were made for. I and many others keep up with news, stocks, and entertainment using internet AND video. It's the 21st century! Video is required and makes us better businessmen and knowledgeable ppl. Especially when on the road, driving or riding mass transit, it's much easier to listen and watch than to read.

I try to use Wifi whenever it's available and I think all users should look for that to lighten the load but AT&T, you need to shape up! If you keep selling devices you can't support, you should lower your service rates! You have the highest prices on mobile internet connectivity, you should be giving us the service to match!

Comment I posted on techcrunch.com.

2009-11-30T10:22:00.002-06:00

Comment in response to article about the end of the CrunchPad, hopefully just a short siesta.

Original Article:
http://bit.ly/6Px6NA

It is a sad day. I am an avid advocate of tablet computers. I find they provide an alternate way of inputting information I find is greatly needed in many instances. Also, it’s a bit nostalgic and rustic but mainly it is an input method that is useful, at least for me. I was excited to see if a decent 300 option tablet would be a success and I was cheering for it. After all, tablets are still over 1500 greenbacks for a decent machine. So sorry for your loss, actually, we have all lost.

My Take on Google Voice

2009-07-25T14:02:00.006-05:00

Well, I’ve been trying out the new Google Voice for a few days and I got to say, it’s a neat idea and a great service! I’m enjoying the new service immensely. I don’t get anything from Google to say these things but they have come up with and put into work, another great idea to make life easier. Other than the fact you get a phone number that will never change (unless you change it), you also get a way to manage and track your voice messages, your calls that you’ve missed, and a convenient “send to all” service that tries to reach you where ever you may be.

Let me tell you a little bit about the way it works for me, my Google Voice number is now the “gateway” to my communication resources. If someone needs to contact me, it’s an amazing convenience. In the past, I gave my cell phone number to all my friends. Some people though, thanks to previous business cards or business dealings, had that number and my home phone number. Also, some businesses and some people only had my home number because I only wanted to deal with them at home (or not at all).

That’s where Google Voice fits into my world. It’s my new secretary. When someone calls the Google number, which I am planning to use exclusively as my only number in the future, all my phones ring. At the moment, that means my mobile and my home numbers (but in the past I’ve had as many as 3 mobiles). The caller Ids still work so I can see who’s calling. Then, I can choose to answer or not. Here’s the great part though, if I’m busy, I can let Google Voice take the voice mail, after it does that, it sends my mobile notification by email that I received a voice message and transcribes it in the email so I can read it. If I choose, I can call my Google Voice number and receive the message like a traditional voice mail but sometimes, reading makes quick and easy work of finding out what people want. The transcription part does need just a little work but the messages are very close to what the callers intended to say. On my phone, if I click “play” on the email, it will automatically go online and play the message for me as well. That’s another quick and easy way for me to review my messages. It’s really cool.

Another thing that is nice about this service is that I’ve set it so that if someone uses my current mobile number (from AT and T), the voice mail that picks up is Google Voice’s as well so I don’t lose the emailed notification or record of the call online even if they use my original mobile number. Oh, and when people call my home, my home still gets the call alone (not forwarded) and the message stays on that answering machine so I’m not bothered by telemarketers ha ha!

That brings up another good use for Google Voice. It’s a great way to keep track of what your friends or co workers wanted and when. Most email programs tell you how long it’s been since you got that message whether it’s on the phone, online, Pigeon, Outlook, or Thunderbird, you can quickly see when requests were made and what they were about. If you ever need a legal record as well, such as if someone is bugging you leaving many messages on your phone, they’ll be a written record of each and everyone with the words said in your email account. It might be invaluable for some people or in some situations.

Anyway, you can probably tell, I think this service rocks! Google has always been an innovator of many great products that they’ve graciously kept free for all of us users. I really hope it stays this way for Google Voice as well.

As an aside, an experiment I am anxious to try soon is to take a trip out of the country to Asia or Canada and add a local number there to my Google phone list. For calls from the Google system, like on Skype, you need to pay per call outside the country but the per minute charges seem reasonable. If calling a Google Voice number can connect to a sim card in Asia for example, it would be a great answer for friends and family “here” to reach me “over there.”

I should say a thing or two about improvements too. I do like the fact that Google Voice also allows you to send SMS text messages for free. That is another added conveniece for those of us who don't have text message plans. I pay for internet so I choose not to pay for texts. Sending texts from the Voice site is quick and easy from my phone. An improvement I hope they come out with soon is to give email notification of text messages by email as well. It's strange that text messages end up in your inbox yet notification does not go out to email to let you know you have a message like it does for voice mail. I have turned my SMS notification off and do not allow Google Voice to text message me so I have to check a few times a day for text messages on my Google Voice page. I hope that sometime soon, we'll get notified by email of anything in our Google Voice inbox. That would make it even better.

All in all, it’s a great tool for business or personal, the sound quality is great too even though I’m not sure if it’s really a VOIP system or land line based, I’ll keep using it and for me, it’s another great technological convenience that I’m thankful for.

*The Google Voice logo is from my Voice homepage and is property of Google.

Have gun laws gone too far for the wrong people?

2009-06-25T13:12:00.004-05:00

What about my rights?

picture is from ambientparadise.com/

I woke up today and had the urge to go over to the shooting range and fire off a few shots of my 9 mm pistol and relax a bit after a long mid-week. Oh, but then I forgot, in Chicago, you can’t own a handgun, oh, I forgot, you can’t carry concealed, oh, I forgot, you can’t go to a range, oh, and, in a way, you can’t defend yourself.

The fact that I am an experienced gun user who is responsible enough to always lock up my firearm when not in use and the fact that there are tens of thousands if not more others out there that are the same doesn’t seem to matter to certain governments like here in Chicago and in my home city of NY. I’m sure a lot of us can identify, there have been more than a few times I’ve felt deprived or even suffered a real lack of safety because of these silly laws that really just put the normal, upright standing citizens of our cities at a real disadvantage on the streets. You never know, as you walk the streets or ride the trains, you can be sure you’ve passed someone at one time or another who is a criminal and was probably carrying an illegal firearm themselves. It’s not a level playing field.

Gun control has just gone too far when the criminals have all the power and we as citizens are relegated to waiting for help from the police if something dangerous happens or is about to happen. The police are never around when you need them (as the adage goes) and they are all shorthanded now as well thanks to the economy and our government that eats up our resources and takes away from education and law enforcement programs first. This issue weighs heavily on me, I’ve lived in the south and I felt much safer when I felt the law followers and the law breakers were on even ground. I followed the laws and got training in everything so I would not make mistakes, like fathers who don’t lock up their guns, or people who have a chance to defend themselves but hurt someone else or lose out because they don’t know what they’re doing. That’s just unforgivable.

A firearm is a tool, a well crafted, (I would say an) essential tool in some places and as a tool, licenses and training should be asked for, provided, and required. The good people who only wish to follow all the rules and defend themselves should not be the ones who are hurt by our country’s laws. Studies have been shown that the crime rate is lowered if people in cities and towns, residential and commercial areas, know that the other guy (or girl) might be packing. There is a true sense of security as well knowing that you have the training and means to take care of your friends and family if needed. As I said, I feel very strongly about these issues, I have been a member of the NRA but don’t write this on their behalf. I really believe as citizens, we shouldn’t have to leave our protection to a financially strapped organization like the police department, we should be able to take care of ourselves. Anyone who doesn’t believe in that and works to tie our hands and leave us law abiding citizens at a disadvantage over the criminals out there, you do us an extreme disservice and we’ll all pay for it someday.

Sure, I won’t deny that there are the above mentioned unreliable people who actually leave their families in danger by not locking up their firearms and observing proper safety standards but they are few and far between the ones that are responsible. They are ruining the respectable gun owner’s reputation and I call on all of us to make sure that we all know enough to be safe “protectors of the peace,” each and everyone of us.

One last remark: I’m a moderate that is receptive to both sides of the issue and I respect those that don’t like guns or who think the common man or woman should not own them. I have heard from those who have been saved by firearms and those who have been victimized by them. I simply think that our society would be better off with the “option” to be trained to own and use them. Thanks.

Microblog (that turned out to be not so micro) on Testing

2009-06-13T10:41:00.005-05:00

http://bit.ly/eM1rC (from the NY Times) (picture from another blog)

I read the Times this morning as I often do on Saturday mornings and I was taken aback by a story on China's testing policy. Some people are really against tests and I too do not think paper pencil tests or multiple choice tests could ever be better than my preferred test, practical clinical real world experience tests, but they are the easiest to grade ... whoop di doo.

I read this article though and I couldn't agree more about how this is definitely not a good practice because one test should never be the end all doorway to a person's future but you know what? I can identify with this situation and I think, good, this is how the world really works. I'm a multiple victim of this type of test and sometimes I sit in the dark room in my mind thinking is this really how the world works? Isn't there a better way? Obviously yes but probably not more efficient or cost effective. It's a shame though to think that a test is the gateway to your future.

I really was encouraged by these students who decided to enroll in the military type academy that would hopefully help them to pass their exam though. And by the end of the article, they did make the cut. That's great. I feel their rapture and wish for the same joy in my future. It may not be the best situation or set up to prove one's readyness for the future but when people wonder why people who come from countries like China or India after being educated are so smart, this is why. And, it shouldn't be a crime (or seen as one) to want your country's students or graduates to have a certain standard to take on the world. I think more of this attitude is needed in the United States (probably disagreeing with a lot of my friends in education). In fact, I think this is the essense of NCLB even though I don't agree with the implementation. We are too lax when it comes to allowing our students to graduate with the needed knowledge and letting them go without the study skills they need as well. So many students including me had no training in how to study.

Anyway, this article touched off more continuous feelings to get rid of the test barrier in my life. I've been to review programs and though they were expensive and time consuming, they were not what I needed to prepare for my test. What do I need to overcome this barrier? I still don't know but I'm urged by these students' stories to find out. I've let Step 2 and previously Step 1 ruin many parts of my life from relationships, missing family events, emergencies, funerals, to jading me and making me extremely critical in my overall attitude about life. I've sacraficed and lost much too much to just let it go (although some say I should). Is it my stubborness that is wrong? Am I following the path God has set before me in Education? Should I go back to the health field which I still love so much. Do I have to give it up, should I? Some friends would argue that one is clearly my intended and God given path and others would tell me never give up no matter what. I count myself as a devout follower of God but I don't see the solution and no path is clear no matter how many times I ask for clarity. Go one way and you will definitely make it but longing for the other for the rest of time, go the other way and you have a history of not being able to cut it hanging over your head which might destroy you psychologically when it's over. Life is a crazy and more often than not, one test IS the key to the future. I wish that I was prepared better for it and had a situation more like those in China, mostly the passing part. I've been to review programs though, there's something else I need. Not sure what, but I'm going to try to find out.

Entry from Calgary Canada.

2008-12-21T02:16:00.003-06:00

Letters from the road…

It’s strangely comfortable out on here in Calgary. It’s sort of like a mix between Maine and Miami. There’s so much wide open space out here. It’s supposed to be mostly cowboy country so that’s to be expected but it’s also snowy everyday. From what I’ve learned, there’s something called a Chinook that sometimes passes through this area, a warm front that comes through and melts all the snow and warms the place between snowfalls. Amazing. I hoped to see one but the way the weather forecast looks, I don’t think it will be getting that much warmer before I leave. Strangely enough, for –22 or so Celcius, it feels quite warm, it’s probably just my strange pseudo (or real) hyperthyroidism that’s keeping me warm outside. I’m really enjoying my time out here in the boonies so far but I must say, I miss my truck. I’m driving around a little Toyota Yaris and the first night, I had to try to remember how I drove my old Honda Civic out in the snow, much less in a blizzard. It was fun though but I’d rather have four wheel drive any day. Surprisingly enough, I haven’t taken too many pictures. There’s just not that much to see and Doris has been sort of camera shy. Too bad, she’s just so gosh darn cute. Maybe I should insist. Ah well, we’ll see.

Tightening Our Belts Till We're Blue

2008-08-29T14:06:00.003-05:00

8.29.2008

It's just getting a little too painful tightening our belts today. Everyone knows that our country and the world is dealing with high energy costs that have hiked up the price of everything we buy from fruit and cereal at the supermarket to those darn mini pretzel bags on flights that last just 3 hours. How pitiful is that?

I want to let you all in on the next level of cost cutting that I have just seen that is just a great testament of how terrible our economy is and how little our dollar is worth even in our own country.

So let me tell you, you definitely know that our economy is bad when the dollar store starts shrinking what you get for a dollar. I just couldn't believe it. We all have seen the prices at regular supermarkets shoot up the last few months by crazy amounts for products we all enjoy and in some cases “need.” That crazyness has just hit the dollar store as well. There's a chain called “Dollar Tree,” if you've never been to one, they have just about the best selection I have ever seen for a dollar store and you can really save a lot of money there if you choose to, great products too. I used to get my snacks there, bags of chips, Hawaiian punch, cookies, juice, what have you, but also house hold items like bathroom cleaners, soaps, shampoos, hair gel, and toothbrushes. It definitely wasn't bad for a dollar compared with the 3.29 price or higher for these items even at Walmart and Target but they just took a turn for the worse.

So, I walked into the dollar store the other day and I headed over to my snacks section where I pick up those things that I enjoy while relaxing in front of the tv or watching movies. I have to repeat, I couldn't believe it, the sizes of all the chips, snacks, and drinks all have shrunk! Where once we had 12 ounzes of snacks, they've all shrunk down to 10 or some 8 now! When it comes to drinks, 2 liters don't exist any longer, now only 1 liter or those stupid single or dual serving bottles remain. Who's going to be able to keep their family fed on sizes like that or even want to pay for sizes that small? It's not even convenient any longer, I saw a mother, instead of buying 2 liter boxes of juice that they used to have, trying to pay for around 6 or 8 small boxes of juice, all a dollar each now of course! Maybe she just doesn't realize how much that “deal” was cheating her. When you add it all up so you buy the amounts that you used to be able to get, it's just about the same price as the normal supermarket. I couldn't take it, I dropped my basket in the isle and went to the car and drove over to the supermarket. It's been a while since I thought of buying these items anywhere other than the dollar store but I might have even saved more by buying at the local Jewel if not for the gas I wasted going to the dollar store in the first place.

I dunno, maybe I am just fed up with the little bit that we all get now for our hard earned dollar and it literally makes me mad the amount less we get in just these last few months thanks to the addition of inflation. There must be a solution to this, if not a true solution then I'd be happy with a psychological one, any trick will do. I'm just tired of seeing all these baby sized packages of stuff that we are all forced to buy because instead of giving us higher prices, which we would complain about anyway, companies choose to shrink the amounts and packaging which is even more annoying. I don't know about you but I don't want to buy any half sized juice boxes or “one line” of Oreos instead of 2 AND give you the same amount of money as before. You gotta be kidding me.

I never liked going to the market in the first place, I used to go at midnight so I could do my shopping in peace and quiet but now I hate it even more! All I get is quiet and no peace at all because I know I'll have to be back twice as fast for double the cost. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way. Is there anything we can do about it? I guess not. Is there anything that will be done about it? I don't think so. Anyone who makes the rules or makes the laws can afford to buy anything they want. They probably could care less.

I can see what might happen in the future actually, don't quote me but I can imagine it, I've seen the news report tie-ins that may point to this. All we'll have in the future are small sizes of food and drink that we'll be forced to buy in the name of better nutrition and controlling the waist line of America but you know what? In the end, the prices will be exactly the same. Here's to you George Washington, you can't afford anything yourself any longer, it was great while it lasted.

Our Great American Experiment

2008-08-25T14:21:00.006-05:00

8.25.2008

Well, after a short hiatus to chase some dreams, I am back with an entry for my ever popular blog. Sorry for being away so long.

What would I like to talk about first? The upcoming election of course. Not who I am going to vote for or who you should vote for but the ramifications of one outcome possible in the election and what that might mean for our future.

Just a disclaimer, some folks may not like some of the things I am going to lay out here but I feel very strongly that it's all the truth and I'm going to stick by it.

So what is this great American experiment that I want to talk about and that I am most interested in? Honestly, at this point in the election process, it looks like Barack Obama has a very good chance of winning the presidency of our United States. Although I do have some questions of his experience and what he will really do for us as citizens as far as energy and foreign policy, if he wins, I am looking forward to it. Why?

In the recent history of our country, in my point of view, the African American community has been a very troubled one. A community rooted in faith and in strength yet with many many broken families. These broken families bringing up men who don't act like responsible men and women who don't act like loving women. In turn, these broken families turn out many broken children who grow up to be gangsters (or wanna bes), criminals, or just lazy from being worn down by the constant struggle in their lives over where they think they should be, how they think they should be treated, or through thoughts of what others think of them. That's just wrong. It has been a constant recurring theme of certain neighborhoods and for some, an attitude that has actually been “passed down” from family and even some houses of worship. This must change. We've heard heroes like Bill Cosby and Tony Evans speaking to the problem secularly & sacredly yet it has not seemed to have a large effect on the population.

I for one believe that the African American community needs not better leaders but an increased number of better leaders. And not leaders that can talk the community into marches against gun violence, hatred, and staying in school by skipping school, but leaders that spur others on to be better men and women and to actually do something about it! And I might add, in a constructive way.

I think on that old cheesy show “Knight Rider” where they always said one man can make a difference. I think Obama may be that man. He's not alone though, we've all seen that his wife is a strong woman as well and might prove to be a good role model for the women as first lady. In the end, Obama may (I can't stress that word enough) be the best example for all people in our country. Time will provide the answers on that but this is the great experiment I am looking forward to examining over the next 4 years and perhaps 8 if it continues.

We definitely need change and we'll get it either way. Whether you vote for McCain or Obama, change is definitely coming. We just don't know what changes or by how great a margin. We all voted for change the last 2 times if I might say that, I think we can safely say that change was not a good one. It's the chance we take anytime we make a choice. We can only hope our choices are correct each time whether it's from a personal view or a national one.

What do I hope for if Obama wins the 2008 election though? What conclusion would I like to see at the end of this great social experiment? I would like to see the proven theory that great leadership does produce a great people and contributes to producing a great nation.

I would really like to see, if Obama wins, a strong leadership that he will have to give to the nation in order to get us back on track. I would love for him to concentrate some of his energies on being a strong leader for the African American community as well. I'd like to see him as a inspiration to that community, starting the long process of inspiring people to be better parents, kids to grow up looking toward higher goals, stressing the importance of taking responsibility and working hard to become successful as he has been. This is of course a long term longitudinal experiment though and we'll have to wait perhaps longer than 4 or 8 years to see the outcome but the changes could be so great. No matter what I think of him politically, personally, he has inspired me. I can only imagine what effect he might have on our nation or other countries.

One friend laughs when I bring this up. She believes that Obama will not make a difference no matter what. That's too bad. Perhaps we underestimate the power one person has. Even when that person is in a very important and influential position. Almost all of us want to make a difference in this world for the better, Barack's got a great head start on us all.

Political Commentary on Obama

2008-03-18T18:33:00.004-05:00

3.18.08

Obama made a valiant effort to promote peace today. In my personal opinion, there is still plenty of racism in America today. Everyone has to straddle the fence everyday it seems in an effort for political correctness when it comes to living one's life in a way as to not promote or lead to offending others by accidentally saying something that is not PC. It feels like walking on eggshells at times. Honestly, most of the time, I try not to give it a second thought.

I understand how some people want everyone to be politically correct all the time so you don't hurt someone else's feelings but you know what? People should be stronger than that and have the common sense to know when someone is a racist and when someone is not.

I'm Asian, I make plenty of jokes about myself as well as others. People who know me usually enjoy my jokes and know that I mean nothing serious by them. People who don't know me sometimes cringe when I say something for the first time to them about how you can't wrestle money outta me because I am Chinese or how I'll eat almost anything. I make some jokes about Indian folk doing the impression of their accent but also do the same with Irish and Scottish as well, I was an improv actor in the past, what do you expect? I just love accents and the people who have them. It's not done out of malice at all but admiration. I make less jokes of the African American community just because they seem a little more touchy about it but my African American friends seem to want a relaxed society as well (to a point). As a person who pays attention to people though, interested in social issues and sociology as well, it's very interesting what Barack Obama had to do today.

Interesting but not surprising. That's right, he had to defend himself today over someone else's belief's and words. He did it well though. I for one think he got the word out that there is racism, there is reason for it, people have legitimate reasons for their views, and as individuals, we should all take and judge what people say in individual terms.

I think Obama understands why many people say and believe what they do, probably more than most of us do, but he had to make those of us who don't realize that come to our senses and do the same. We can't as people understand what others go through very easily as individuals and especially cannot if we come from different ethnicities. What he said today, if not now, will in time help us to understand each other better.

I for one do feel a bit disturbed that he had to defend himself and had to say what he said today but on the other hand, the things he said needed to be said and have not been said with such focus and clarity in such a long time. So it was an important speech, I wish we didn't need it, but also I think there was no one better in the United States today to say it.

I just want to also say that I don't intend to influence at all what people think on the upcoming election as far as who they plan to vote for, at this time I have not made my own mind up on who I will vote for, I do want to point though that people who remember and speak out about racism like nothing has ever changed just make the situation worse, perpetuating those views. Not only those who are still racist or who do nothing whom also make the situation worse. I think Obama, with what he said today, takes us back in a direction that we do want to move toward, talking about race relations reasonably and with an open mind, moving forward and making things better.

Rant: The Future

2008-03-14T18:21:00.003-05:00

3.14.08

I saw some pictures of inventions and ideas for the future the other day and it started me thinking. Where are all those great things we were supposed to have by now that we all saw as we were growing up?

I remembered the Land of Tomorrow and rides talking about the future at Disneyworld and Epcot Center I saw when I was a kid. The future that was “supposed to be” we saw back then is our present day and we haven't as yet achieved those great inventions we were all anticipating.

Tell me, where are all those flying cars, where our our robot helpers, and where are those colonies we were supposed to have on our neighboring planets as well as the moon? Instead, we have high fuel prices, high food prices, most of our world population is struggling to get by, and our cars aren't even efficient much less able to leave the ground (unless you drive the General Lee).

I guess we should look on the bright side, there have been some advancements in the last 20 years. Computers have gotten smarter and smaller. There is a free wireless internet in the ether that is continuing to spread and hopefully will span the United States and perhaps the world in years to come. I'm typing on a 2 pound 7 inch laptop that doesn't even fit on my lap because it's too small! Appliances have become smarter too, phones now can go online, hold music and video, become an alarm clock that gets automatically set to your current time zone when you travel, not to mention it makes and recieves calls! That's pretty cool.

What about around the house? We've had advances to more efficient flourescent bulbs (if only people would use them), we have washing machines, dishwashers, and toilets that use less water to do what they gotta to do, even windows and insulation have gotten better to save everyone money and keep us all warm by conserving energy and heat on cold days and reflect heat when hot in the summertime.

If we just take a look around, I guess there have been a lot of advances. Technology never stands still, that's for sure. I still wouldn't mind having a flying car and a robot to do my dishes though.

What inventions are you still waiting for?

Refurbished with new life?

2008-03-05T23:26:00.002-06:00

3.5.08

What do you think about refurbished items?

This question was posed to me last week by a colleague. I can say that I have never purchased a refurbished item. It's not that I have anything against them per se, I just never had the opportunity to purchase anything I wanted as a refurbished item. I've had friends purchase ipods, macs, tvs, and even pc's refurbished but I don't know if I would purchase high end equipment that way.

Refurbished just conjures up ideas of electronics who have spent much of their short life abused and then shipped away where electronics wizards spend their whole day putting these devices back together. Maybe that is not the reality of most refurbs but I can't change that vision from being one of my first that comes to mind. Folks have said that refurbished most likely means that these electronic devices were purchased and then because their owners didn't agree with them, they were returned but they couldn't just be restocked as open boxed so they ended up back at their factory of origin waiting to be shipped out again but that didn't happen. For the most part, nothing bad ever happened to them but because they were returned they needed to go through a check process where they were deeemed perfect or very close to it, that equals “refurbished.”

So would you get a refurbished mac? These machines run 1800 to 2000 dollars for well equipped models and actually refurbs don't go for much less. I guess if those who say nothing terribly wrong happens to refurbs and they go through a stringent checklist of quality control, that is not too bad. How realistic is that though? Most stores I would imagine try to resell their returns that are ok rather than paying for shipping costs to get the item back to the company. They probably make more by selling it to someone as an open box, it's better for them. So, if it actually gets returned to the company, something very detrimental must have happened to it. Perhaps it was returned a few times. Something was wrong where it “needed” to go back for “inside” or “body work.” Now that that work is done, it can go right back out to the market. With computers though, I would suspect that sometimes internal problems aren't even remedied before it goes out again.

So once again, I have never had the opportunity to purchase a refurbished item and I guess it would be just fine if it was a cheaper product or not high tech but I just have a very ill feeling when I think about putting my hard earned money down for something classified as refurbished. I guess that is unlikely to change.

I'm just curious, have you bought refurbished and what was that item? What was the quality and how long did it last? Maybe refurbished is the greatest thing next to brand new but I for one need to see the evidence. Also for high tech, don't you think that high tech should be half price at least? By the time it's for sale again after refurb, it may be outdated so just a 10% off price doesn't cut it for me.

Let me know, maybe I should be a believer in refurbishing but I need to see the evidence.

Internet Stock Trading, the thrill, the seriousness, the warnings, and benefits

2008-02-21T07:49:00.004-06:00

2.20.08

Well, I became a stock trader this week! That's right, I took that plunge into the world of investing. This was not a decision I made on a whim mind you, I had been following the markets, commodities, and trends over the last year or so consistently and knew what I wanted to start with and why.

Yes, it was a very exciting thing to do but the most amazing thing about it was how extremely quick and easy it is to commit to invest or for the faint of heart or uneducated, how quickly it is to lose your money. Before going further, I would like to suggest to anyone who gets the bug to invest for yourself the fruits of your labor, to really watch and to a degree, study the market and talk to friends and/or colleagues with more experience before you jump in. Knowledge is invaluable.

Technologically, it was so fast, I basically was able to start trading within one hour! I had already seen my target stock fall within the past week when the market took a downturn and when the market tried to rally in the previous days, this stock did not make a comeback as quick as the others. I had been watching it and it was already on its way back up though. Actually, I was expecting it to move toward it's previous high and since it was on its way I didn't want to pass up a confident position.

After I decided it was the time, I did some quick google searches on some online trading companies and gauged peoples opinions. After seeing that most opinions were pretty similar, I then checked out which had the lowest charges on commissions when trading. Free was available but for a certain level of trading that as a beginner, I wasn't going to be moving at for quite a while. I made my choice on one of the lower charging discount brokers, 7 dollars a trade.

From that point, I hit their site and registered. I had to read and agree to a lot of legal stuff before I could open the account and then needed to link it to a bank account which I was going to directly transfer money from in order to make my trade. That took a few agreements as well that I had to read through and then a few online security checks. For example, I had already done some banking with my chosen bank account online so I trusted this discount broker with my online login information for that bank account and after doing that, the ownership and funds for trading were approved and confirmed in a matter of minutes!

So from there the funds were not in my trading account yet but the availability was checked out and approved. I had told the discount broker (his site really) I wanted to transfer a certain amount from my bank account to them for trading, chosen that stock I had been eyeing and initiated the trade for the amount I wanted. As I eluded to earlier, this was all done within an hour's time. The internet made it so easy and I was now a partial owner of a company that I had faith was going to start earning returns torward my future.

From an emotional standpoint I have to say it was an exhilerating experience and I felt my heart racing and my mind questioning what I had done because it all was initiated and done so quickly. Investments all start with a good chunk of one's savings and for me that was no different. I probably started out with about 5% of my savings so it was a move that I didn't take lightly.

On that idea of investing for the future, this broker, and I would suspect most of them, have a wide range of research programs open to the user as well as flashy items like a stock ticker and graphs and charts to keep track of your current investments and potential investments. It's a great deal of fun and excitement tempered with realism and seriousness because you realize it is your future you are dealing with not to mention real money. There are a wide variety of tools though for making wise trades and keeping track of potential moves you want to make in the future. All in all the speed that you can make a trade as well as the short time it takes to get started are great but do your research, make sure you have an understanding of what you are doing, and “don't put all your eggs in one basket” and don't invest all your money at once and in one thing.

I can't reitterate enough how awesome the internet is for investment research and how fast you can lose your money if you don't know what you are doing. I can tell you that on the internet and from your broker are many invaluable tools for making your investment decisions but the most important one is the one you were born with, your brain, don't forget to use it when you prepare to invest and as they say in the investment biz, you should have many happy returns.

Personal & Spiritual Thoughts

2008-02-14T22:13:00.007-06:00

Learning Love God's Way

1Corinthians13

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

So this is what the Lord intended love to be, for all of us. It doesn't get much clearer than that. It seems a great deal of problems on this world could be solved if lovers, families, even countries practiced these few verses just a little more seriously and took it to heart. Always use patience, be kind, be open to the other view, don't make so much of yourself and become spiteful when someone doesn't agree.

I make these mistakes myself and stray from the perfect formula time and time again. Sometimes patience wears thin, I do disagree at times and do become defensive and feel some malice toward those who don't live or believe in the same way as I do. In certain ways, during certain times in my life, I have been spoiled and for a time, even trained to believe I was better than the rest, that I deserved better than the rest. When reality hits though, that is when you see who you really are and who's left with you when the smoke clears.

Much like the latter verses, even at an adult age, I sometimes spoke and acted like a child. I may still have been a child on the inside trying to find a direction at a time when the world was exclaiming to everyone to live life and enjoy every moment. There was work to be done, most people didn't know it though, it was the same with me. Finally, when I really needed to do some real work, perhaps I wasn't ready. Perhaps I became exhausted because I had never really did any real work. Fun ruled the day when it came to higher education and perhaps a topic for the future, struggle and sadness ruled the time before that.

Now though, in my older, more mature, mental age, I realize how poor past decisions were. This being February 14^th, I am left to ponder the past and wonder of the future and what I will make of it. The Lord has been kind to me. More than a few times he has provided those that have loved me. In my childish times though, I reasoned like a child and let them go, let them slip through my fingers because of dreams of a more grandiose life or lying to myself and saying I was ready for something serious when I really wasn't. I didn't want to grow, I wanted to remain a child a little longer. There's a time in your life though when you give up your childish ways, I had to do so the last two years and it was quite painful. I was not prepared for the path I had chosen at the time but foolishly followed down into what was very close to oblivion. By sheer grace alone was I saved from the guillotine and in turn had to make serious, realistic goals for myself with the Lord's guidance.

Finally in my life, I can say I am building a future. Building something that will endure and sustain me and the future family I hope to have. I won't shy away from it, I pray everyday for God's strength and clarity that will allow me to keep building and not allow myself to fall off the path that He has given me. Although I ache and dream at times for the old life I thought I was destined to live, I know He has a plan, and has always had one. I must fight on! I must trust in Him. He has saved me twice already, once from the devil and once from myself. I do not want to lose my way again. I do want to do what others have succeeded in though. By God's grace, I want to build a life, build a family, have the means to support it, and to thank God everyday for the opportunity.

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” So now I have all three, I have faith in my God who has placed me on a new path. He has given me dreams and with them hope, hope for so many good things, so many good experiences to come, and He has given me His unwavering love. Love, and the secure feeling that can only be given when in the Lord's hands. I have come out stronger, more able, more dependable, and more at peace even when life is not altogether peaceful. I am even more humble, for when you are not, you will come to realize a fall if one comes to you will be from that much higher and harder to bear. I do thank God for my lessons, the fall only prepares me that much more for the future and and gives me a climb that will be that much more sweet when it is finished.

Thank you.

BioDiesel Bioshmeasel!

2008-02-09T22:40:00.000-06:00

2.9.08

Ah ha! That's all I have to say! The first reports are coming out about how the much touted biodiesel (or BD as I like to call it) is turning out to be a bigger problem than cars running on gasoline. It's something I have strongly believed since the whole BD craze began. It's always been known that using biodiesel over gasoline reduces miles per gallon in an automobile already so in my opinion people should have been up in arms asking for more proof that it was truly a good innovation before the farming industry put all (or most) of their eggs into this basket. In the last few years, plans for more and more biodeisel refineries have been planned and more and more farms have converted to corn and soybean growing because of the run up in price these commodities have gotten with all the talk of biodiesel saving the United States from the grip of foreign oil. That'll be the day.

Recently, new studies have shown that not only does BD give less miles to the gallon but also that it is causing double the damage to produce it over the traditional gasoline product! More land all over the world is being resown and stripped bare to plant corn, soybean, sugarcane, and other BD crops in hopes of helping us “live greener” and lessen the dependency on foreign oil. From the very beginning, with the equipment that needs to be used, with the production factories few and far between where the people really need them, the trucking that needs to be used to get the biodiesel out to the customers that are not close to the factories or the farmland, we are actually, not surprisingly, doubling our CO2 output on this world. Stripping land to grow these crops doesn't help either removing the native vegetation that was originally there to sap up the world's CO2 (plants take that in and expel Oxygen). This started a chain of events that made all our food more expensive as well. A good example is that with so much more of our country's corn crop going into BD production, we have less for feed that livestock and ranchers need to keep meat and milk at a stable price. That feed now costs more because corn costs more. The ranchers that handle livestock are going to have to make up for that deficit in their pockets somehow. That's where we come in, we are already paying higher prices for the foods we eat connected to livestock because of this. To add to that, prices of farmed vegetables and fruits are more expensive because we just don't grow enough of it any longer with the switch farmers have made to corn. We don't want to be slaves to foreign oil but we become slaves to South American fruit and vegetable farmers!

During all this time as well, we're not lowering our dependence on foreign oil. No, we're still using trucks to get our foods to us from coast to coast and that's costing more because gasoline is costing more. Cars and trucks need to be fitted with a few new engine components to get BD to work well with them. People don't take into account BD can cause damage to engine parts if a vehicle was never intended to run on it. That's why all the mainly Chevy BD capable vehicles come with a yellow gas cap. You've got to make sure you know you can use it before you try it.

It's a valiant effort to help the world out, I'll give the scientists and the backers of this technology that. The intentions were good. And to offer up a great use of BD, I believe those few folks out there who are converting, or better to say truly recycling, restaurant cooking oil into a BD product for use in their diesel cars is an awesome idea. I have to repeat, that is true recycling! There's no extra land being destroyed for it, it's been used (to put things like fries on our dinner plates) and it's only going to be thrown away. What a great idea and perfect solution to use that oil and cooking byproduct everyone has as fuel for automobiles. It's ideas like that that change the world for the better.

Someone should have really run the numbers, done the tests, and examined the production of BD fuels from beginning to end before our farmers and some of our citizens jumped headfirst into the world of biodiesel. I personally think we should abandon this idea. If we're going to create a biodiesel, let's get it from recycling oils we use already. Lets keep the corn for our bellies as well as our livestock's feed. Perhaps we'll be able to get the prices of our foods down a little bit and in the process, refocus our country's intelligent minds onto finding another solution to our energy problems. Time is running out, we have to find a solution soon. It's not a good idea to ever take one solution and take that as the answer-all to our own or our country's problems. Let's get wise and let's get back to work!

My So Called "Online" Life

2008-02-08T22:12:00.000-06:00

2.8.08

So sometimes I wonder what people think about their lives and technology. I have staved off the urge to get an Ipod almost permanently now but there are those folks who have Ipods, Iphones, those who are continuously checking their email and are connected over the internet with their cell phones because they can't even think about living off the net. There are those that spend all day chatting with people they know and even those that chat all day with those they don't know. What about those people? Would you say they are living a good life? Far be it for me to judge because of course it depends on how much they are getting out of their lives, how they feel, and what kind of personal contribution they want to make to society in their lives.

Of course it's great to be able to use technology today, it makes life so much more convenient to live and really does give everyone more time to do other things which is very nice. There's so much more opportunity today to learn new things and to be more productive, it's really great. Can you get to a point where it might seem like abuse of technology though rather than using it for good. Perhaps a better question would be can you get to a point where technology seems like it is abusing you? There are some people who are so wrapped up in their online life whether it be chatting, posing as someone else, or even in online gaming, that they stay online and seem to be tethered to their computers 24/7. For these people, being “off the net” or away from their computers is almost a painful experience.

I'm a firm believer that you have to 'live” some life “off the net” though. I know that throughout the years I have needed to make a conscious effort to spend some time away from technology. It feels good, gives me time to reconnect with the world and things like temperature, weather, nature, my neighborhood, what day it is, and friends. All things that should be more important than being online. Using technology is unavoidable today of course because if you do stick to the good ol' pad and paper as I've wanted to do time and again, you find yourself back on the computer and online later realizing what a cumbersome idea and how outdated pad and paper can be.

Let me give an example from my own life. I love writing on memo pads with a smooth writing pen on paper (since we're on the topic). It's just a personal liking I have. I found it so nice for a long time to write up my task lists for home, work, and what have you on pads of paper. I still say it's one of the best inventions ever made. After a while though I started wishing I could move things around a bit, organize things better, without having to go to and rewriting everything into the proper order I wanted or onto the pad that represented the proper category it should have been in. I started getting lazy and drawing arrows on my task lists and then circling the important tasks I thought were more important than the rest. One day soon after I was surfing the net and came across “mind organizers” or “mind mapping” software. Just the title itself intrigued me. Well, to make a long story short, I found a recommended software called Freemind online that was actually free and a great task organizer. I inadvertently through my own memo pad innovation was using mind mapping. Now I am back on the computer everyday happy for the wonderful free software that has given my own wish and evolution form. (where can I get it? http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page)

It's amazing, I always say, “Anything that is worth finding is out there on the net.” This is just another proof that if you have a good idea, it's rare now that someone hasn't thought of it as well and with the new love of open source most people have, it's more likely to be free.

Back to the topic at hand though, what's it like to live online and how dangerous is it? Do we abuse the internet or does the internet abuse us? For some it's the latter. Especially in this world of WOW and online shoot'em ups. For me though, I have fought the internet addiction, made my way off it, and found my way back. I guess everyone who spends any great amount of time online will go through the same battle. You come back more responsible to yourself and your time, you come back more appreciative of what the internet and your computer have to offer, and hopefully like I have grown to feel, appreciate it for much much more than gaming.

2008-02-06T23:56:00.000-06:00

An Evolution in Flight
2.6.08

The joy of flying. It's changed a lot the last decade. We all know that flying isn't what it used to be. I can remember flying as a kid. The earliest flight I can remember was from New York to Orlando to go on vacation to wonderful Disney world! Sure, I was a kid then but I can still remember the finer points of flying back then. It started off at the airport. Now, i only remember this being an object at JFK airport as far but I remember how they had chairs with televisions connected to them. We traveled on a Saturday morning and I was able to catch my Saturday morning cartoons at the airport waiting for the flight. That was great! It seems they've been removed now but I can still remember at that early age thinking that the future of travel could only get better in the future. Everything seemed customer centered as well, flying was a special event that people who worked in the business took pride in.

Well, when I finally took that first flight, I remember there was food that was very good, warmed up, and much like those tv dinners we can get at the store nowadays. Even better if I remember right. All I know is that the meals were good enough that I asked for more. That's all I can remember of my first flight but they were happy memories. In the last decade though, there has been a downward spiral as far as what the airlines offer us as amenities. My best definition is that they went from something to close to nothing. Just for a recent example, I went to Hong Kong 2 years ago and throughout the whole 26 hour flight all I got was pretzels, peanuts, and crackers. There were one or two sandwich meals but those were cold and not very good after being on the plane so long. Yes, I enjoy eating food and I was disappointed.

Why am I bringing this up now though? Well I took a short trip from Chicago to Ft Lauderdale for business and to see my parents and the trip was just short of horrible. Just to quickly recall the past events, the size of the plane was pretty small. Not bad in itself but then it was loaded up with too many seats, 6 per row. It was one of those planes that should have had 5 per row. The things companies will sacrifice for money, comfort is definitely not a goal of the modern airline business. So, in a plane the size of a sardine can, I was also stuck in the middle seat of a row next to a younger guy and a pilot that must have gotten snowed in the night before. It was pretty tight. Too tight in my opinion. The only food we got was a pack of graham crackers and peanuts as well. Not even the regular size but smaller. They also said we would run out of fuel on the way over to Florida as well because of the weight of the luggage so we had to stop in Nashville for more fuel. Can you believe that? I guess it's not the first time I've been in that situation but it's the first time for that short of a flight. Not being able to get your passengers from Chicago to Hong Kong on one tank of gas I can see as realistic but to not be able to get to Fort Lauderdale from Chicago on one tank? That is ridiculous.

So maybe I'm just ranting about a poor flight experience but I feel that on a technological note there is so much to complain about here. After all these years, how can the flying experience be so much worse than it was just 10 to 15 years ago? Why can't airlines put aside their greed and seat the proper number of normal proportioned people on each and every plane they own and still make enough money? Why can't they give everyone warm meals or even sandwiches on a flight instead of minuscule sized packets of peanuts and crackers? Why can't modern planes make it from coast to coast on one tank of fuel regardless of how much baggage they have to carry especially if they boast that they are providing a non-stop flight? We should ask more from our airlines today. We should receive the same or better level of service over years ago and we should not back down from that. Things are supposed to evolve as time goes by not go backwards.

I guess this may be too much to ask for though, on deeper reflection, I guess more than half the jets that fly in the sky today are not new. Maybe we can't expect the efficiency we would like out of them especially since they were made in the times where fuel was cheaper. Could they be more efficient, probably, were they designed with that in mind, i doubt it. I still think that with the advent of international flights and with the usage of external fuel tanks by the military, someone should have adapted that technology for civilian use by now. How nice would it be to know you could make it to the other side of the world or farther in one non-stop trip? Perhaps in the future with the development of modes of transport that will fly in the area of the edge of space where the atmosphere is thinner and allows for more efficient travel, perhaps then we will have figured out how to get flying back to where it should be, a pleasant experience with good service, non-stop and to anywhere in the world. It hopefully will be conceivable that we will even get to fly further than that on one tank of fuel.

in the meantime i guess we will continue that downward spiral. On a related and opposite note though, It's nice to know that companies like Jet Blue learn from their mistakes as well as others and are trying to give their customers a better experience than others with standard cable, xm radio, and wide seats on all their flights. They have decent sized snacks as well even though they are not meals and they gladly provide more with just a request. I don't think I can say this is an airline that has improved any by today's standards but it is the best so far I believe. The airlines service so many people in the world everyday, I'd like to encourage folks to fight for improvement. It's what we deserve.

Giants Win the Super Bowl!

2008-02-03T23:09:00.000-06:00

That's all I gotta say for this one really. Sorry to depart for my intended formula. Sometimes you just gotta yell something out to the world! I remember the last time, I was a kid, Phil Sims and Coach Parcells won it all back then.

I'm thankful I get to experience it again with my friends. Giants Win!

Social Commentary on the Super Bowl

2008-02-03T10:56:00.000-06:00

2.3.08

Are you ready for commercials?

So, are you ready for commercials? Super Bowl commercials! A friend of mine sent me an evite to a Super Bowl party the other day that was titled just that way. I thought about this for quite a while. Commercials? Commercials? How can you be thinking about commercials before the game of the year! It’s the Giants verses the Pats! I happen to be a Giants fan as well as a Jets fan and I am from New York so you can understand my feelings. I live in Chicago now though so I guess it’s fair for my friends to ask that question, especially after last year. The Giants are underdogs 13 to 1 so I may be heading down that path as well today but if there is one thing a NY fan learns especially in the last few years it’s where to find hope!

Just to talk about my Jets for a moment, I so look forward to the Giants winning over the Pats because their coach, Bill Belichick was hand picked by coach Parcels (a great man) years earlier to take over as coach of the Jets and Bill decided to take some of the best players and run to New England! That traitor! All those Pats victories could have been ours! It takes a good leader as part of a winning equation though and he is one, even if a traitor.

Anyways, I can’t wait for this game to begin and I hope that the Giants will be taking their strength and determination they’ve had since the last time they played the Pats and really stick it to ‘em. Are you ready for commercials, no, I’m ready for a war!

Thinking about commercials though, they say that 30 seconds of commercial time during the big game will cost 2.6 million dollars, or 26,000,000 dollars, does that put it in perspective? Can you believe that? Where has this world come to where only the big companies can afford the time that has gotten so inflated and expensive? There was a story on the news where one person came up with the money to buy 2 seconds of air time for his business, a small business, a private business, yet the big wigs upstairs that control the time rejected him saying there wasn’t enough time for his commercial. It’s something to think about as you watch these entertaining yet high powered, high cash commercials today. Where’s the little guy? Where are the commercials for the stores down the street in your neighborhood? What about the chains that took years to grow because they are still owned by mom and pop or the family? Did they have the money for a commercial? Did they try? Did they want to be part of the action? Were they rejected a spot because their time requirement was too small or their business not popular enough, could they even ever hope to afford it? Who really is controlling what you are seeing today at commercial time? Maybe it’s too much to keep track of but perhaps the next time you buy something you can ask, “Am I buying this because of a Super Bowl commercial? A very expensive Super Bowl commercial?” If you are, maybe it’s a good idea to put that down and buy a smaller competitor’s product.

As I think about the dream of the Giants sticking it to the Pats, I also think about us, sticking it those fools who paid such high prices for their commercials. Be entertained by it, sure, it will probably be the only time this year when people talk about wanting to watch the commercials, they’re major annoyances though that strip the mind of the ability to think for itself (much like other things in the world today).

On that note, I’m excited to watch and see if the presidential candidates purchase any time during the Super Bowl today. It’s been rumored that they will. Super Duper Tuesday is this coming week and it’s the perfect way, albeit super expensive, to reach every man, woman, and child, as they will be watching the game as well as eagerly awaiting the commercials. Most of their commercials I admit are very annoying as well and don’t say much when you get down to it but I just want to tally up who thought it was a good idea and think about what kind of example they are setting as they move forward in their presidential campaigns. Honestly, you’re better off watching the evening news after or before the Super Bowl to hear more about the candidates and I for one hope people are going to do that and not only today. Pay attention to the news and if you can, the news from outside this country, like the BBC, as close to unbiased as you can get.

The Super Bowl commercials are a terrible and expensive waste of time. On any other day I would be forwarding my Tivo over the commercials because that is what I bought it for! Today though, folks who have no interest in the teams playing today have already set up commercial parties, you can be sure not one will be missed! What a concoction this is, I tell you what though, I’m ready for a game! And, I’m ready to party! Go Giants!

A New Revolution: Part II

2008-02-02T09:04:00.000-06:00

2.1.08

This being Friday morning, since I woke up early, and since it's almost one week since I purchased my EEE pc, I figured it was time for and update of what life is like with it. I gotta say, this little wonder is small! Honestly, not as light as I was expecting, I was expecting closer to “feather weight” but it is light enough. i can really feel the difference between it and my Sony TR which is about 3 pounds. Compared to that it really does feel like I just have a small book in my bag, even with the power supply (which the TR has a brick like any other computer).

In usage, the EEE pc is totally usable. Some folks have complained of it's small 7 inch screen and the need for a bigger one. I would say the screen is almost perfect. Yes, I would like to see a higher resolution which can't be changed right now in the Linux operating system (which I am sticking with) but I'm sure I'll find another desktop program or OS that will allow me to change that sooner or later. Also, a bigger screen means a higher price. I bought the EEE because it's so gosh darn cheap!

I eluded to something else here, The OS or Operating System. I really like the Xandros linux operating system so far. It resembles Debian in commands and usage which I have a little experience with from my work in the Web Hosting business. I have gotten a greater crash course in it though since I've gotten this pc. It's fun though. I started programming when it was all on the command line and linux happily brings me back to that. I've got more than a handful of commands under my belt now and the speed and information that the command line gives me is something that was missed in recent years with windows. On that note, I am one of those folks that happily refuses to put Windows XP on my EEE. I've been searching so long for a way to get rid of that bloated and prone to blue screen product that this has been my answer that I have been fearful of accepting on my windows pc's (because of lack of experience). I do have a Vista computer as well. That is a worse off product than XP, but I digress. Let's bring it back to the EEE. Linux actually is very easy to use and much more customizable after learning a few commands. For those who want that windows feel, the EEE is able to go to advanced mode which enables a KDE interface that really resembles windows greatly so that users that like windows won't loose any ease or productivity.

Next, I wanted to say something on the keyboard. A lot of folks say it's small and that's no joke! It really is. Another reviewer said that's probably as small as you can get for a keyboard and still be able to touch type reliably. That's so true. Anyone can adapt to it though. Only those few people where your finger is actually the size of a key (and that is totally possible) will have a terrible time with the keyboard. Definitely, anyone looking to buy an EEE with larger hands really needs to go to a store and try the keyboard out. I have what I would like to call normal hands and I went over to Microcenter to make sure the keyboard was usable for me as well. To give you an idea of how fast I've adapted though, I've typed this much with only 5 or 6 mistakes, pretty average and not because of the keyboard. I have a full size keyboard on my desk for my “home” system and I can switch back and forth without much of a problem.

Now, battery life. So far in my tests this week, on full screen brightness, with a beautiful screen I might add, I get about 3 hours of battery life on my 4G Surf model which was supposed to only get 2.5 hours. I find that great, it beat the estimates. I was working on the PC at the same time as well on a network line (not wireless). The sad part is that it takes just as long to charge. If you use 3 hours of battery life, it will take 3 hours to charge if you leave it on and work wirelessly. I guess it might be faster if you charge it with the wireless or the computer “off.” I'll definitely be picking up another battery as soon as I can get one for a decent price. Price estimates are 100 bucks for an extra battery when it comes out. There will have to be a better deal than that I hope later on in the year.

If there is one thing I need now it's a carrying case. I know the more expensive model comes with a sleeve but I've heard it was pretty cheap so I passed on that. I also didn't care for a .3 megapixel camera. That's just weak. I'll just use the webcam I bought 6 years ago and get the same resolution or better! I gotta say, I haven't found a good case yet though. My techie friend who also bought one of these little wonders bought a case logic case for portable dvd players and it seems to fit perfectly but it is a little bulky. I want to find a sleeve that is reasonably priced. I found a neoprene case as I was surfing around that seemed to be perfect but it was 30 dollars. I think I can do better in the near future but I may end up getting one of these because I like their style. You can take a look at one here: http://www.thepouch.com/asus-eee-701.html.

For a little humor, right now my case is a bubble wrap lined envelope one of my video games came in when I ordered online. I do most of my shopping online so I have a few of these, it's a perfect size! You can see one in the 1st picture. Take that Macbook air! I take my Asus around in that envelope and just pull it out when I need it. Very eye catching and funny, I hear people on the other side of the room laughing when I pull it out. That's reason enough to keep this as a case. People seem to leave the presense of the EEE pc in a happier mood, either because of my “case” or because the pc is “soooooo cute.” That is probably the most common comment this device gets. It doesn't help that I have anime backgrounds on my desktop.

Moving onward, memory wise, my model only has 4 gigs of memory but then again I've found most programs to be quite small. I've only used about 300 megs installing all the programs I think I would ever need. And that is without deleting the .tar.gz files (compressed form programs come in) to save even more memory. In other words, I have enough. I have a 1 gig SD card in there right now too that came with my older camera, perfect for saving files to as well. An 8 G usb drive is always on my key chain as well so as you can imagine, I definitely have enough memory for most things. Even music and movies, those run great too.

In all, if I was to rate the EEE pc, I would give it a 4.8 out of 5 because it is perfect for what I need it for, it's really really ultra mobile and has good battery life. I can't give it a perfect 5 because I sure would have liked 5 hours of battery life for an ultra mobile pc (the thinking is that it will never be around a plug, it will be mobile). Also the keyboard being a good size has keys that are a little too deep, you have to try it to see what i mean. It's not bad at all but that is what you need to get used to I think. For example, the Sony TR that I refer to is an 11 inch screen computer, it's an ultra portable but the key strokes are not as deep allowing you to type faster. The Asus keyboard would benefit as well with just a millimeter or so less travel in the keys up and down. Hopefully you get the picture. All in all the EEE is really an awesome machine though and so convenient to have around, I really love it.

A New Revolution

2008-02-02T09:02:00.000-06:00

1.22.08

Is there a market out there for ultra mobile personal computers also known as umpcs? I would say yes. I’ve owned a Sony TR series for a few years now. I have also owned one of their UX50 palm pilots for even longer. One’s too big to carry around everywhere even with it’s 11 inch or so screen and the other has a keyboard way to small to type on and no word processor application.

Enter the umpcs, so far the Asus EEE is out there and soon to be released Friday is the Everex Cloudbook. These laptops boast a 7 inch screen and a total width of about 9 inches and less than 2 pounds. That’s getting really close to the size and weight most ultra mobile productive people want in a laptop as they head out on the road to the cafes, offices, the games, or just where the stories are. Heck, you can even be productive at parties unintrusively with these pcs if you so desire.

I don’t know about you guys but I like to write, whether I’m taking notes on some new fangled techno gadget, writing a journal that I never seem to be able to do regularly, or just writing something down that I don’t want to forget, you never know where inspiration will hit. And when it does, it’s a shame to lose it and let that moment pass without putting it down somewhere for the future. An old school paper notebook is nice but this is the computer age, it’s time to get with the times and these pcs are the way to go. Like I said, it’s getting close to the size and weight we want because we’ve been taunted and told of the future where we’ll be using things like electronic pads from Star Trek that look so light and are connected to each other or e-paper that is supposed to be thin as paper, not draw any energy, and have the ability to be updated like a flexible computer screen, that still seems to be a great deal of time away. I guess we’re closer to Star Trek now with our palm pilots, blackberries, and treos, but even tablet pcs don’t really have a good way to interface with us yet in tablet mode and allow us to put in large amounts of information on the fly. The keyboard still seems to be the best way. Another solute to these umpcs for not going the way of the tablet even though it sure would be fun to see. But as always, the size looks good but I’d always like lighter, I’m sure we all would. I look forward to the newer and better models to come in the days ahead. With the recent Apple Air announcement and a thin laptop conceived by Lenovo, we can only hope that that technology will become cheaper so our friends, the Linux developers can produce some thin ultra mobiles in our future priced for the masses.

Well, I’m hoping to get my hands on a Cloudbook this Friday if it’s released on time and I’m dreaming of all the things I’ll be able to do with it. All the places I’ll be able to work, all the times I’ll be able to have a computer and get online when I have only dreamed of it in the past. Hopefully it will be so light it really will feel like a cloud. It seems like we’re getting closer to perfection every year. In just these last 2 months, Asus released it’s candidate for the next revolution in computing and when I thought, “I’d really like more memory,” Everex readies it’s own challenger with 30 gigs. I just hope it lives up to the hype and pushes us further and closer to having small, light, low priced, reliable machines. It’s what I’ve been waiting to see and experience. Is it too much to ask for? We’ll find out.