25 Most Recent Stories / Articles per Month and Year

Ode to the Flounder

Following is my ode to Flounder, one of my bestest, best friends:

Ode to Flounder
That not-so-flat fish
He walks like a giant
And will grant your every wish.

Ode to Jimmy
That oh-so-great guy
He's a computer geek
But, not all the time.

Ode to my Friend
Who likes to mountain bike
He'll invite you to Burning Man
Or, out on a hike.

SHOCKA BOOYAH JAMES!!!

Tranquillo Jimmy.  Esta bien.  Yeah baby!  Shocka booyah!  You know it!  Look who's talking now?!  Shocka kahn, shocka boob-job, shocka booyah!  Who's your daddy?  Esta bien... tranquillo.  Esta bien James.  Esta bien...

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MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Tomorrow is my birthday...  I hope to get a mansion on an island paradise, but I may just get a few cards and hopefully someone will donate to a charity or volunteer some of their time in honor of my day.  Is tomorrow any one else's day?  My mom's was the 19th and my step-son's is the 26th.  Crazy.

I have "effectively" communicated to my side of the family that we, as adults, should not be scrambling around every year to buy gifts for each other on Christmas.  Send cards in June, buy us that new convertible in September, and help out those in need during the holidays.  Get together with us and spend some time playing games and talking!  Let's go to the park and barbeque!  Let's go skiing or something.  Kids, on the other hand, should get a couple of kick-ass presents!  And then it should stop when they are "old enough" to realize that holidays are about each other and that we don't need to express that through gift-giving, but should rather express it by enjoying one another's company.  Besides, who wants the stress of corporate Christmas?  Avoid the store lines, parking spaces, and of course, the dreaded "So-and-so bought me this crazy expensive gift and all I got them was a $5 gift certificate to McDonalds!  I feel like such a fool."  Get back to celebrating with one another!

Now, back to my b-day!  Those are the days where you should get everything you truly need and maybe a couple of things you want.  I want a digital camera, but I told everyone not get it for me, 'cause I don't want them spending that much money on me.  I got bills to take care of.  What do I need to be snapping photos for?  (sigh)  'Cause I wanna I suppose...

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Trillian version 3.0 is released! So, download something else.

This SUCKS!  I am, or I should say... WAS an avid follower of the Trillian chat program.  I was a paid subscriber and promoted it up and down, sending everyone I knew to download their program (got everyone at work to use it) and even encouraged them to pay for it.   (if you don't pay for WinZip and you use it regularly, you're SCUM!)

I purchased my first copy of Trillian Pro 2.0 for $20.  It was difficult to convince myself to pay for something others offer for free (STILL), but I believed in the cause and the idea.    So, I see that they've upgraded to version 3.0!  I was so excited!!!    THEN, I see that it now costs $25!!!  AND NO FREAKING CURRENT SUBSCRIBER DISCOUNT!    WHAT?!  I have to pay a quarter of 100 bucks to keep chatting on something I gave you $20 last year for and others give away?!  I figure, well then, I'm gonna use the new free version.    Now, I see that v.3 Basic doesn't support plug-ins!  Damn them all!    I am returning to my v.2 that I was perfectly happy with and considering other chat clients at this point.  These guys sold out and so I'm "sounding out"...  WHY?!  Why Cerulean Studios?  How could you abandon me with your corporate demands?  

If I ever finish any of my little, personal software projects I am going to be all about the customer and offer discounted upgrades!  Can you imagine what you would do if you had to purchase full copies of Windows or Office instead of getting the upgrade discount every year?  I would be Linux and OpenOffice.org guy in no time flat!  Keep up the great work there Trillian and I'll be looking to hire your developers sometime in the near future.

Sorry for all the "emoticons", but I really "felt this one".    beta fish are super!

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Cerulean Studios -> Purchasing Center

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Scared of Santa?

Steven, the Web Designer of the 21st century, has graciously linked me.  But, even better was his post about a site with pics of people scared of Santa! 

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Talking about Google Search: beta fish eswanson

I didn't even realize that by mentioning that I have 2 fish in my "favorites" section below, I had already been indexed for "beta fish" by Google!  It didn't put me into the top 1000, but this is quite astounding.  So, my hypothesis that the term "Beta" is getting indexed like hell is correct.  So, how many others have been unknowingly indexed by referencing that they have fish under MSN Spaces?  7 people! (yes, this was 60, but I... GASP... used the wrong search criteria!)  Interesting... VERY interesting...

Do I dare share my insights that people could use this as a springboard for placement?  Not that anyone wants to get placed for "beta fish", but what about other communities out there that use your term a lot?  Do they have forums, comments, or maybe you can write an article for their site?  Post away and see if you can get some good placements!  Let me know how it goes.

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I represent 20% of all Eric Swanson's in the world!

I checked Google today and after some hard work, I have 2 of the top 10 entries for the term "Eric Swanson"!  Damn you Eric Swanson the photographer!!!  Linking you just gave you another boost too... Damn!  Okay, so technically 20% isn't a valid statistic for all of the results, but it's certainly interesting that I am 8th and 9th out of 394,000 results.  I could get some serious sponsorships if this was the NBA draft picks!

So what?  It's not that difficult to get listed as "Eric Swanson".  I'll bet I've even spurred some of you web-savvy people to take over the term "Eric Swanson" just so you can comment that you've pushed me out of the ranks.  Get a life!  If you need instructions, don't ask me, 'cause I'm still trying to get one.

So, here is a REALLY interesting experiment...  Since I am listed in the top results of this phrase, I am going to use the indexing I get as a springboard for a new term...  "beta fish".  Why?!  Well, I own two beta fish, "Casper" and "Current".  Yes, I named my fish.

No, really... why am I trying to get indexed using beta fish as a term?  You see... Microsoft's MSN Spaces has been up for a while now and is getting indexed like crazy for its content.  What word is the first word at the top of every page?  "Beta".  So, I wonder if I can get "points" for referencing fish all over the place and "beta fish" all over the place?  Enough points to move up the chain for a Google search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=Beta+fish

That's right... one page, one site, one reference to fish and we'll see if the fact that "beta" plastered all over MSN spaces will help me get referenced in "beta fish".  Do you know much about betas?  Breeding beta fish may be difficult.  Beta fish care is very important.  Betas are cool.  Well, we'll see how this goes... maybe I'll occasionally throw the term into my BLOG articles to see if there's any progress...

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Noon and mid-night are gone forever...

Here's my brain rambling about measurements of time...

I am going to remove the use of "in the A.M." as a replacement for "in the morning" from my vocabulary from now on.  I finally looked up the fact that A.M. stands for "ante meridiem", or "before noon", and that P.M. stands for "post meridiem", or "after noon".  I guess this is why people specify "noon" when referring to the mid-point of the day.

Of course, when someone is introduced to the concept of A.M. and P.M. to tell time, the first intelligent question is "So, what do you use for noon and midnight?"  I suppose the answer would be that these 2 terms simply refer to the turn of the clock and refer to nothing in terms of A.M. and P.M.  You see, when referring to "11:00 A.M." you know that the number before and the number after are also "A.M." numbers, but at noon A.M. must stop and P.M. must begin.  So, noon simply exists between the two.  So, A.M. must stop just before P.M. stops.  But, how do you stop time long enough to name it?  No matter what, time is always ticking by at some decimal level...

When does a new time interval begin is the underlying question.  When you are counting, you use an interval.  For example, 1-2-3-4-5, we are using whole numbers.  Or, when counting 1.1-1.2-1.3, we are rounding to the nearest 10th.

So, when we count time what is the interval?  Months, days, hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds, microseconds?  At what time do you stop counting decimal increments and round up to the next number?  So, at what point do we stop counting A.M. and start counting P.M.?  Do we change the reference when the milliseconds equal a new second and we go from "11:59.999 A.M." to "12:00.000", thus making it "12:000.000 P.M."?  I mean what if we used microseconds?  Technically you can't ever reference a point in time, because by the time you have a reference time has passed.  So, you could calculate how long the reference would take to make and factor it in to the final reference, but how can you prove it?  You can't measure it!  You have to simply accept a certain level of measurement as "certain" and proceed.  So, I think I will reference the change of of the meridiem as the point in time when the microseconds stop counting 11 A.M. and begin counting 12 P.M.

Hmm... gotta get back to work, but this will require additional research and philosophy...  The question I am left with is at what point do you count to the next number and when you get there at what point are you at the beginning of the number?  When counting from 1 to 2, at what point am I at 1?  When I say 1?  But, I am moving toward 2, so am I past 1?  My relationship with philosophy is a "love/hate relationship".

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The definition of "ante meridiem"

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Mom's B-Day

It's my mom's birthday today!  Looks like we will enjoy the ancient tradition of gluttony at Charleston's and then hit the movie theaters to see "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events".  I've been looking forward to this movie.  Jim Carrey is such a character... and he certainly proved he could act in "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind" (in my opinion).

The Day After

Moms are great, aren't they?  My mom is a caterer and she loves her job.  But, if you were a veterinarian, would you want gifts for your dog on your birthday?!!!  I'm amazed...  She got spatulas and one of those heat glove things.  Yes, I suppose I'll upset my other family members should they ever read this.  My mom is the sweetest thing and she'll love her gifts... all of them.  Every year I contemplate what to get her... Walk through all the stores and look at all the stuff...  Soooooo much stuff.  Especially this time of year!  And I usually wind up with the same thing just from different places.  This year was Bath & Body's bubble bath.  I believe last year was Victoria's Secret's bubble bath.  Sometimes it's Walgreens "Mr. Bubble" bubble bath (cause she likes it, not cause I'm cheap!).  I will mix-it-up sometimes by throwing in a long, handwritten card, or toss in some lotions, possibly convince my dad to use the lotions to give her some foot and back rubs once in a while...  But, she loves her bubble bath!  So, I give it to her.  I love that woman.

My Review: "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events"

hmm... Always good when a review starts like that, eh?  The movie was like watching a kid's adventure book!  Sure, it could have been better.  But, I really liked it.  Only problem?  It's the kind of movie you can only watch once!  Once you've seen it, you really won't get much more by seeing it a second time.  So, go see it in the theatre if you're gonna see it!  Can't go wrong with Jim Carrey's facial expressions and good humor...

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Personal Website Update

Blogging has renewed my enthusiasm to update my personal website.  The primary content will remain here at MSN Spaces, since I will update my blog more than the site.  However, I have added a "Contact Me" page, so feel free to drop me a note.  I'll have to add a work experience page to the site I suppose with my resume, but I can't think of much else I will add to my site until I run out of space for photos on this site.

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Brave Soldiers

A lot of people ask me about my crash photos from 2000.  The photos were taken the day after a horrible downhill crash on my road bike without a helmet going about 40-50 miles per hour.  The crash happened the day before Collegiate Triathlon Nationals as we were checking out the course!  grr...  Fortunately, Brave Soldier was there to take pictures of the doctor's work to put me back together.  I have since recovered from my injuries with minimal scarring.  My left eyebrow is missing its tip and my whiskers don't grow in a couple of places, but it's hardly noticeable.  Fun stuff...

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Revolution in architecture opens in Curitiba, Brazil

I'm buying one!  What an incredible idea for such a great price!  ... where your apartment takes up an entire floor and rotates 360 degrees!  Sorry Dilbert, but this building blows your Ultimate House out of the water. (although to Dilbert's credit, they are great comics!)

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Yahoo! News - Revolution in architecture opens in Curitiba, Brazil

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Microsoft may charge extra for security software

Just after I post my incredibly brief summary of computer security I get this... Microsoft will be releasing security software that helps prevent "spyware".  I didn't bother to discover if it might include virus protection or "adware" protection or any other kind of "malware" and I won't until it's released.  Too much software has a reputation for claiming features it will have and then don't.

My boss has a good read on these feature claims:

In my experience, most buyers expect you to try and scam them. It's not their fault. They've been taken by so many times by hucksters in my industry (software/consulting) that they come to expect bullshit emanating from every persons mouth.

More Information about the Microsoft Security Software

CNN.com - Microsoft may charge extra for security software - Dec 16, 2004

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MSN Spaces - The Interface

As a developer myself, I must take a moment to commend Ryan and team for their design of MSN Spaces.  HOWEVER!  Here's my constructive criticism (all in all I give you guys a B+ for your Beta work)...  the themes could use some work guys!  How about link contrast?  I select a dark theme and I get dark links... no good.  Background images for themes cut off.  Perhaps repeatable backgrounds with less noise?  I'm sure there are other things, after all there are whole jobs for this thing (as you know Ryan).  So, keep up the good work!

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Is your computer protected?

I went a few years without virus prevention software on my home computer and everything was just fine.  But, I sincerely believe that was due to my sufficient experience in web technologies and knowledge of hacking. (someone will probably hack me just for saying that)  However, I simply can't keep up with the overwhelming swarms of attacks that come in so many different varieties now.  Virus prevention software is a MUST on your computer and so is "malware" prevention software.

I highly recommend Norton anti-virus.  Work pays for my coporate edition license, so I rest assurred that Norton is doing all they can to protect my computer.  For home, I use a month-to-month subscription service to McAffee anti-virus via my internet hosting provider, Cox.

That will ONLY cover "viruses".  It does not cover securing your computer against vulnerable hack attempts (via a "FireWall"), it does not cover e-mail SPAM, and it doesn't cover "malware".

If you have Windows XP, use the Personal Firewall that comes with their new "Security Center" in service pack 2.  The service pack is a way of updating your operating system to with the latest fixes and offers additional features.  If you know anything about routers, then you probably know that you can setup a firewall there as well.  If you have a router, read the instructions and set it up properly.  There are also many software packages out there for Firewall protection.  McAfee offers a good solution.  If you find you don't have many of the items listed in this article, then you may consider McAfee's internet package solution.  I am certain there are many others, but I use some of their products and am satisfied.

SPAM is always difficult to get rid of.  Microsoft Outlook has many features for getting rid of SPAM ("Junk Mail" and the "Adult Senders List").  Online e-mails, like Hotmail and many others offer SPAM protection as well.  Owning your own domain, as I do, will require you to check with your website hosting provider to see what features their e-mail program supports for SPAM protection.  As a last resort, it may be possible to "shut-down" your e-mail for a short while (2 to 3 days).  Every sender to your e-mail during this inactive time will receive a response that the e-mail d

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Light Cigarettes Aren't Light

Smoking is just plain crazy... Who are we kidding with these "light" cigarettes?  I'm gonna start selling you all "light" crisco to use in place of butter.  I used to debate that "Suicide is illegal, so why isn't smoking?"  However, this morning I heard the story about Marie Ellis who smoked for 90 years to her death at an astounding 105 years old!

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Light Cigarettes Aren't Light - Trustworthy, Physician-Reviewed Information from WebMD

Despite Marie Ellis' unusually long, smoke-filled life, it's certainly no excuse for not quitting:

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For every 90 year old 40-a-day smoker who still seems healthy, there are many more smokers in their 40s and 50s about to die because of their smoking.

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Microsoft vs. Google

Have you noticed?  The epic battle for Google to conquer some of Microsoft's turf?  I have decided to use Google's search engine, my own e-mail (ericis.com), MSN Spaces for blogging, and both Google's Desktop Search (for its integration with the Google Search service) as well as the new MSN Toolbar (for its integration with Windows and other features).  I have started to use the new beta for MSN Messenger for my MSN account rather than Trillian for its extra features integrated into Windows, but I do have to admit that I prefer Trillian.  Where's the Google chat program?  Google currently supports searching chat logs from AOL Instant Messenger via its Desktop Search program, so I suppose they realize this space is sufficiently filled.  After using FireFox 1.0 as my web browser of choice, I am now using Microsoft's Internet Explorer more, because of the integrated toolbar.  I do have to admit though that I prefer many of the features in FireFox, like tabbed navigation!

I have my e-mail hosted on my own domain so that nobody can raise the prices on me or limit my use!  Contact me if you want to do the same.

Google

• Search
• E-mail
• Blogging
• Desktop Search

Microsoft

• Search and Beta Search
• E-mail
• Blogging
• Desktop Search (also integrates online form completion, pop-ups, etc.)

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Body for Life Update

Ugh... that about sums it up.  I've been on the Body for Life program for a couple of weeks now and I missed a workout yesterday and wanted junk food badly.  Healthy food is great, but it's not delicious without extra effort.  Discovering and learning the many marinades and sauces for making healthy foods delectible is time-consuming... Sure, I'm a bit lazy when it comes to cooking.  I just want to heat it and eat it.  I missed a workout yesterday, partly because of no motivation. 

Well, I certain hope today will be better and look forward to looking incredible in only 74 more days!

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If you can't beat 'em, join 'em...

Well, I certainly can't beat the phenomenon of the BLOG.  As a website developer, I suppose it's my duty to embrace new web technologies such as this and run with them.  I'm certainly not an "early adopter" of blogging, simply because I do not find the constant stream of information downloaded to our brains off the internet particularly useful.

But, for all of those people in my life that think I am at least interesting at conversation, I suppose I will make a feeble attempt at logging, or rather blogging, my thoughts and life electronically for your amusement.

So, off we go on this new adventure!  Read up or read out!

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