Wow, it was quite a day yesterday. A new year, a new day. A new president, and a new hope (that sounds vaguely Star War-esque).
And I ended up watching the coverage for nearly the whole day while I was working.
I have to say; I've never been interested in attending an inauguration and frankly Washington, D.C. hasn't been a place I've particularly wanted to visit. Heck, we've even avoided going near it while traveling on a few vacations.
But this time I felt differently. I would have loved to be there, in amongst history being made. Despite what the outcome of Obama's presidency is going to ultimately turn out to be - good or bad.
But we've certainly made history.
Personally, I've found myself trying to be more tolerate and less biased against others since Obama was elected. I've always tried to be, I should say that, but I haven't always been so successful. But things 'feel' differently, like maybe we can all do better now. I know we probably won't - but we could.
Heck; when kids who had previously worn rapper t-shirts and watched their favorite "gangsta" videos on MTV and VH1 are switching to wearing Obama t-shirts and watching CNN - well, something good is happening, at least temporarily.
Despite all of this I am still continually surprised and deeply disappointed in the attitude of some of my friends, family members, acquaintances, and clients. Not to mention others in Jefferson County.
I've always loved this area - Jefferson County, but I find myself more and more disappointed by some of the people themselves, and their attitudes.
Facebook. I've been a member for quite some time. And a member of some of the other social networking sites also for quite some time.
But in the last few months I find myself using and really enjoying Facebook more and more.
I think it's the privacy of it.
The other social networking sites pretty much allow anyone to read your comments, your status, see your pics, and read your comments to others.
But with Facebook there's more of a sense of privacy ad community among friends.
I mean - you can't be stupid and post too many personal, private things or add friends you don't know. But at least with Facebook what you do post is among your friends, and you can tweak the privacy settings to your specifications.
Anyone can find you if you use your real name - they just can't see anything else about you unless you've made them a friend.
I'll say it again - I really like Facebook. I've found that I enjoy keeping up on my friends and family, and even with old school mates and friends from way back, many I've lost track of.
I even like the silly (and not-so-silly) games and "gifts" applications.
And the discussions on groups I've interested in.
There's a sense of a bit more maturity then sites like Myspace.
I find myself checking it every day to see what others on my friends list are doing, and updating my status update. I've really re-connected with a number of people.
I'm surprised that not everyone is a Facebook user!
And speaking of status updates - if you're a member of multiple social networking sites and want to update all of your status updates at the same time check out http://ping.fm You can set up multiple sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. Then you can do one update and have it appear on all of your profile sites simultaneously without any further effort. Quite nice. Very useful.
Also, if you like to get one integrated feed of what your friends and family are doing from various sites check out http://friendfeed.com
Recently I got a chance to play around for for quite sometime with an iPhone. It was work-related, as it was the only Internet access I had to help troubleshoot a dead Internet connection.
The problem turned out to be a deteriorated cable connector or cable end - a quick trip to the nearest small hardware store was all it took; though technically it should have been fixed by the cable company and not me. But it was quicker for my customers to get back online by just having me do a bit of quick wire stripping and connector crimping then getting a Time-Warner guy out...
The iPhone is an incredible device, and the interface is very intuitive.
It occurred to me though; is the touchscreen concept on larger scale machines like desktops and laptops good for longterm use, despite new touchscreen computers and monitors coming out?
I suspect the repetitiveness of every day working with touchscreens on a large scale isn't going to be any healthier then using a mouse or keyboard, in the repetitive injury department. But that's just my informal observation. Your mileage may vary, and I'm sure we will see.
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama Wins
My idea has been that Obama was the only choice, more a lesser of two evils. As the election went on and I got to know Obama better, at least his public persona, my attitude changed.
I also noticed some other things that I had never been aware of before.
Personally, I've always prided myself on having friends and close acquaintances of various political attitudes (and differing ideas in general) even if I didn't believe in them. Many times I wasn't even aware of some of my friend's political persuasions, believe it or not. Sometimes you just can tell when certain subjects are to be avoided or aren't something you have in common.
But with this election I became much more aware of differences in some of my friend's attitudes towards things. It shouldn't matter and never has before, but during this last election sometimes it gave me some pause - even among some of my oldest friends.
It was somewhat eye-opening.
Anyway, for many years I've felt that America has been taking steps backwards. More and larger splits between and among political divisions, more biases between people of different attitudes, religion, even in some cases people resorting to racism and bias that previously we had made inroads into. Frankly, this "redneck" attitude and embracing of it that a candidate like Palin has brought out, has been coming to a head for a long time.
There's nothing wrong with being a "redneck" I guess; until it starts involving the 'celebration' of racism, lack of education, intolerance, and pushing religion. That's when you see the steps our country has made, and in fact what created and made this country great - go out the door.
This certainly came up often with Palin (again, why did McCain pick her?) and the embracing of a certain attitude. Like I said, this kinda brought it to a head in my mind; this backslide our country has started on, and this embracing of this attitude.
I don't necessarily think that having an all Democratic Party government is a good idea either. As someone said over and over, it's good to have checks and balances.
But look what happened when we had a majority on the Repub side... Gah.
Well, anyway, when I saw Obama get elected, when so many people of all colors and ages and politics were hugging and congratulating each other - strangers most of them - I felt myself heartened.
Maybe, just maybe, we can get back on track. Not only with the economy, but with human evolution and improving the human condition.
I kept thinking back to when many years ago. There have been times in my life when I've made rude comments about certain peoples or ideas, unfairly, or laughed at other's jokes. I haven't been the most tolerate person.
But when it comes right down to it I like to think that I've always tried to be fair when it came to people one-on-one.
I've had a few black and Hispanic friends, and stood up to certain of my friends who didn't like that and befriended or helped some people in the minority in certain situations; sometimes against and among people who I considered friends.
I'm not the most liberal person, but fair is fair. Some of my friends have had problems with me associating with people of various colors, or if a person was a GI, or was poor, or whatever. Sometimes I've lost friends over it.
Last night I also kept thinking about a person who's an acquaintance. He's of the generation who are in there 50's now, and I remember one incident during one of the first times I met the guy.
He ranted against those with ear rings, long hair, and tattoos. Basically, he said that every one of THEM were pot smokers or would be perceived in that way no matter what. He considered them lowlifes and druggies and didn't want anything to do with them, wouldn't hire one if they came to him for a job or anyway associate with them.
It was basically one of the most backward, most biased things I'd personally witnessed. He's not the sort of person I would normally be acquainted with or be around in general because of these attitudes and others, but because of circumstances I was and still occasionally am.
And you can't argue with people like this, the ones who are way out there. After all - with people like that why argue with them; you can't change their mind about anything when they have that much ignorance. I whispered to my wife that I just wanted to stand up and pop him a good one, of course this accomplishes nothing.
Believe me - I gave up hitting people because of conflicts many years ago. Bad temper on my part and a very bad incident involving my temper taught me that more damage is done then is solved this way.
Back to the subject, I kept thinking back to this particular person and this incident many times last night. There's other ways...
This wasn't a matter of racism that was involved, but it was a certain biased attitude that goes hand-in-hand with racism. Or even by itself.
After the election and what I saw, I kept thinking that maybe there's hope for the US, for the world and humankind - that if someone part-black could be overwhelmingly elected president of this country of racists and biased people maybe some things can change.
That maybe the afore-mentioned person is a dinosaur and one day he and others like him will go the way of the dinosaur - dead and extinct, and that their offspring will shake their heads and not take the same attitude.
I woke up this morning actually feeling good about the US, for the first time in many years. It's not going to be a bed of roses, Obama and his staff and the Democrats are going to make a lot of mistakes. Some things they may even make worse for awhile.
But there's hope when there's someone trying to make some progress.
I also noticed some other things that I had never been aware of before.
Personally, I've always prided myself on having friends and close acquaintances of various political attitudes (and differing ideas in general) even if I didn't believe in them. Many times I wasn't even aware of some of my friend's political persuasions, believe it or not. Sometimes you just can tell when certain subjects are to be avoided or aren't something you have in common.
But with this election I became much more aware of differences in some of my friend's attitudes towards things. It shouldn't matter and never has before, but during this last election sometimes it gave me some pause - even among some of my oldest friends.
It was somewhat eye-opening.
Anyway, for many years I've felt that America has been taking steps backwards. More and larger splits between and among political divisions, more biases between people of different attitudes, religion, even in some cases people resorting to racism and bias that previously we had made inroads into. Frankly, this "redneck" attitude and embracing of it that a candidate like Palin has brought out, has been coming to a head for a long time.
There's nothing wrong with being a "redneck" I guess; until it starts involving the 'celebration' of racism, lack of education, intolerance, and pushing religion. That's when you see the steps our country has made, and in fact what created and made this country great - go out the door.
This certainly came up often with Palin (again, why did McCain pick her?) and the embracing of a certain attitude. Like I said, this kinda brought it to a head in my mind; this backslide our country has started on, and this embracing of this attitude.
I don't necessarily think that having an all Democratic Party government is a good idea either. As someone said over and over, it's good to have checks and balances.
But look what happened when we had a majority on the Repub side... Gah.
Well, anyway, when I saw Obama get elected, when so many people of all colors and ages and politics were hugging and congratulating each other - strangers most of them - I felt myself heartened.
Maybe, just maybe, we can get back on track. Not only with the economy, but with human evolution and improving the human condition.
I kept thinking back to when many years ago. There have been times in my life when I've made rude comments about certain peoples or ideas, unfairly, or laughed at other's jokes. I haven't been the most tolerate person.
But when it comes right down to it I like to think that I've always tried to be fair when it came to people one-on-one.
I've had a few black and Hispanic friends, and stood up to certain of my friends who didn't like that and befriended or helped some people in the minority in certain situations; sometimes against and among people who I considered friends.
I'm not the most liberal person, but fair is fair. Some of my friends have had problems with me associating with people of various colors, or if a person was a GI, or was poor, or whatever. Sometimes I've lost friends over it.
Last night I also kept thinking about a person who's an acquaintance. He's of the generation who are in there 50's now, and I remember one incident during one of the first times I met the guy.
He ranted against those with ear rings, long hair, and tattoos. Basically, he said that every one of THEM were pot smokers or would be perceived in that way no matter what. He considered them lowlifes and druggies and didn't want anything to do with them, wouldn't hire one if they came to him for a job or anyway associate with them.
It was basically one of the most backward, most biased things I'd personally witnessed. He's not the sort of person I would normally be acquainted with or be around in general because of these attitudes and others, but because of circumstances I was and still occasionally am.
And you can't argue with people like this, the ones who are way out there. After all - with people like that why argue with them; you can't change their mind about anything when they have that much ignorance. I whispered to my wife that I just wanted to stand up and pop him a good one, of course this accomplishes nothing.
Believe me - I gave up hitting people because of conflicts many years ago. Bad temper on my part and a very bad incident involving my temper taught me that more damage is done then is solved this way.
Back to the subject, I kept thinking back to this particular person and this incident many times last night. There's other ways...
This wasn't a matter of racism that was involved, but it was a certain biased attitude that goes hand-in-hand with racism. Or even by itself.
After the election and what I saw, I kept thinking that maybe there's hope for the US, for the world and humankind - that if someone part-black could be overwhelmingly elected president of this country of racists and biased people maybe some things can change.
That maybe the afore-mentioned person is a dinosaur and one day he and others like him will go the way of the dinosaur - dead and extinct, and that their offspring will shake their heads and not take the same attitude.
I woke up this morning actually feeling good about the US, for the first time in many years. It's not going to be a bed of roses, Obama and his staff and the Democrats are going to make a lot of mistakes. Some things they may even make worse for awhile.
But there's hope when there's someone trying to make some progress.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Global Handwashing Day, Clipart Sites, Obama/McCain, Tweaks for Vista
As you may or may not have noticed my blog entries are getting further and further apart. Sorry.
I find myself busier and busier but having less time, it seems without really gaining on much of anything. Isn't that the way it is with everyone? ;)
Today is Global Handwashing Day. The U.N. says that a simple act of a kid washing their hands more often could save more then 3.5 children's lives in the world. Okay, not such a big thing here in the US but I think most people don't do it often enough, let alone kids.
After I return from Watertown I always wash my hands thoroughly, as well as from customer's places. Some people "dip", but a good hand-washing is more involved then that.
And how about those times when you see someone use the bathroom and not wash. Gah, disgusting. Hard to believe it still happens.
Keyboards and mice and remote controls are terribly dirty, same with your steering wheel. A little scrub once in a while with some alcohol or the little hand-cleaning lotion you can buy is all that's needed. Same with the faceplate and buttons on your phone (don't get it actually wet).
I like this the above thumb came out, some interesting juxtaposing color-wise, don't you think?
Anyway...I find myself very much disliking McCain after watching him very closely during the debates.
He seems always on edge, and on the very brink of losing his temper. It seems to be consistent and continual.
Do we want someone who some Republicans had said was unwinnable during a previous run, because of his temper?
He's twitchy, yet frozen, on edge and I find myself not believing his sincerity.
McCain's like a number of people I know who project an air of holier-then-thou mentality, an air of I'm-older-then-you-so-I-know-better. I don't like people like that because, frankly, they usually are the last people you want giving you advice or ideas and are somewhat distasteful to be around, let alone someone you want to be the prez.
McCain - I'd probably smile and nod if he told me the sky was blue and, at the earliest opportunity, go outside to make sure it still was...
Obama on the other hand is much more likable in my eyes. Sure, he's still a politician but take away the politicking and I think I'd like the guy. He's smart, open-minded, and he's learning in both his demeanor and knowledge in general.
I feel much better about our choices as time goes on - not that I still don't have a LOT of concern in general.
HDTV is great, especially with a big screen. You can sit close to the TV and get a real feel for the demeanor of a candidate. Every twitch, every glance, every eye flick is there for your interpretation.
Maybe it's just me, but with Obama's double-digit lead I think the issue will very soon be very moot.
Enough of my aimless wanderings about the candidates, especially when I didn't even mention the issues themselves. But, I believe, character is very much important in any power position. And what could be more powerful then president of the greatest country in the world?
It's always nice to have sock photos for websites, blog, etc. Hey, don't just grab stuff off Google - that's stealing and copyright infringement. Use a free clipart or stock photo site. Like Cyclo.ps.
Cyclo.ps is an open source search engine for stock photo sites. Of course, some aren't free or require a membership to download, but many area. It's always good to check for copyrights or Creative Commons licensing info on any photos you use, especially if you're making money off putting it on a website .
Great resource.
I still like http://www.picapp.com/ and http://www.wpclipart.com/ myself.
MzUltimate Tweaker is an excellent free tweaking program, with lots of support programs. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.
Thoosje Vista Tweaker is a bit more limited but still very good, and also free.
Another good one which is pay is here, from a company called Yamicsoft. You can get a shareware version from the site.
You'll also find many others, like Vispa. A bit less user-friendly but still does a great job.
As always, be careful with these and don't even give them a try if you don't know what you are doing.
Vista Quick Image Resizer
Some of us have gotten used to many of the tweaks in XP. They're old hat and used all of the time. You know the things, like MS Powertoy's Image Resizer. Right-click on and image and you can quickly resize it to whatever you want to. How many times have you received a 6 meg photo of something that someone should have resized on the other end with this program.
MS's tech employees haven't released or come up with any powertoys yet for Vista, but others have.
You can find a clone of the quick photo resizer for Vista here - http://www.powerhourgame.com/windows_vista_image_resizer_powertoy_prish_image_resizer.htm and another one here - http://www.vso-software.fr/products/image_resizer/download-image-resizer.php
The latter one does have an annoying pop-up but works well otherwise. The first is my choice. There are others also.
Replacing Notepad in Vista
It's very similar to the process in XP.
Get your favorite notepad replacement program, rename it to "NOTEPAD.EXE", search for all instances of Notepad in the Windows dir and sub-dirs and set the owner rights on them to admin, then copy your new NOTEPAD.EXE and replace the existing Windows ones (you may want to rename your old notepad to OLDNOTEPAD.EXE or something like that).
Depending on your flavor of Vista there may be a number of instances of Notepad in various places. Do them all.
Make sure you are signed in on an admin account when you do this, and if you find that you can't change the rights on all of the notepad versions reboot and go into SAFE mode (press F8 when the computer is booting and select SAFE MODE), then change the owner rights from safe mode.
Of course, you can always just associate textfiles and other documents with a notepad or word processor. But it's much better "coverage" of textfiles when just replacing it. Also, if you are using something that has it's own install dir it may be much harder to just replace the existing one, as it must reside in the Windows dirs and sub-dirs.
I recommend Metapad for replacing Notepad, with Metapad set up to allow you to do more heavy-duty editing in Open Office's Writer and the freeware PSPad (with Metapad if you have loaded a file into it and want to do more advanced editing you use the Launch menu to open the existing file in your favorite heavier-duty editor).
Vista
I find myself having a love/hate relationship with Vista.
I love some of the new features; the history for the file management and open dialog, the built-in immediate search (with indexing turned off of course), and the speed of everyday use (with Aero and unnecessary services disabled), etc.
Sometimes when I got back to XP I think - "Wow, how primitive!".
Yet, the architecture of Vista is bloated and way too patched. It's stable, but still very breakable. And not always so good on some systems. With the 4 gigs of mem it's very fast and stable. Same with my laptop, despite the smaller memory but there's definitely more disk using on the laptop with the smaller amount of memory and a very slow shut-down and hibernate on the laptop. Not so on the desktop. So I normally still use XP on the laptop. Maybe grab myself some more memory at some point.
And some common problems (one of which I ran into and finally solved) have never been addressed by MS nor resolved in Vista.
After partitioning and installing XP (and then re-installing Vista's boot and adding XP's boot entry) I could compare the speed of the two OS's. Under normal use it seems to be the same.
But once you do things like rendering large high res photorealistic landscapes you start seeing some speed differences, in XP's favor.
For example - using Bryce 3D I rendered a small moderately complex model. The differences between XP and Vista were consistently a half seconds difference, in XP's favor. Larger renderings of the same model at higher rez started increasing this by a few seconds.
Not a lot of difference but a measurable amount, and incremental.
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