Garret's ramblings

private video hosting

2009-06-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'm looking for a way to post password protected videos of our daughter for friends and family to watch.
So far, I'm checking out use.com , vimeo, ziddu, and photobucket.
Use.com does not allow me to create a single folder I can link to - instead I send links to each individual video.
ziddu I've heard some folks say that they were having problems opening it.

anyone use any of those or have other recommendations? I'd like to keep it to "free" if I can...

GURULIB down?

2009-06-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

I found this GREAT site called gurulib where I could list my DVDs and loan them out etc. I like Neighborrow better for the whole package, but for DVDs, gurulib had a very nice coverflow look - easy to use & nice to look at.

All of the sudden they're gone. They've been down now for a week or more and I have no idea why. Thanks to http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090602001222AAQeajf I got the developer's email address, but have not heard back yet.

Here's hoping...

photo site service

2009-05-27T20:17:00.003-07:00

A year ago I started looking into photo sharing sites. My rules were simple: My friends and family shouldn't have to join to see pics. I want them to be able to download the FULL high quality version. I want to be able to password protect specific galleries. I want an easy to navigate site for the upload process and viewing experience. I checked out Kodak, Snapfish, Shutterfly, Winkflash, Dot Photo, and Smugmug. I WANTED a free service, but ended up paying for Smugmug. Soon our year subscription will be up. Anyone have any suggestions?

$10.50 dotation to Paste Magazine

2009-05-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

Thanks to someone in Indiana, I was able to turn $1.17 in ebay fees into a $10.50 donation to Paste Magazine!!!

SAVE PASTE

2009-05-22T16:31:00.001-07:00

I've got 11 different CDs up for auction on E-Bay http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/musicguynphoenix
I will donate the proceeds from the top-selling CD in this auction to Paste magazine.
Up for sale are:
Vigilantes Of Love
Over The Rhine
Caedmon's Call
Julie Miller
Pedro The Lion
Five O'Clock People
Tonio K
Kendall Payne
The Call
and Mitch McVicker.

Today's Playlist

2009-04-26T14:50:00.002-07:00

Today's playlist.
Pre-service:

Candy Staton - You Got The Love
Andy Hunter - Stars (Giuseppe Ottaviani Remix)
Andy Hunter - Radiate
Black and White World - Ruby Goes To Heaven
Mellodramatic Wallflowers - Spelunking Through The Chaos
BeBe & CeCe Winans - I'll Take You There

Post-service:

The Electrics - Get To Heaven
Fold Zandura - King Planet
The Wayside - For What It's Worth
The Ocean Blue - Peace Of Mind
Patsy Moore - A City On The Hill
Acoustic Shack - Radio Play

Jason Calacanis discusses blog searching and comments on TWIT

2009-03-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

So I'd been going through some old podcasts of TWIT and Jason Calacanis was talking about setting up a blog search such that he got an alert when he was mentioned in a blog or a comment & then he was able to respond quickly even on these obscure blogs. I've tried searching on Google but can't find the link. Anybody know how to do this?

I AM Krispy Kreme's number one fan in Arizona

2008-05-08T13:08:00.001-07:00

I recently submitted a video for the Krispy Kreme contest in Arizona - to prove that I AM the number one fan of Krispy Kreme in Arizona. Check it out...

BeFunky

2007-12-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

I just joined BeFunky.com to play around with photos! If you want an invite, just let me know.

Social Networks

2007-12-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally broke down and joined several social networks. I've been on Neighborrow for a while. I just joined Facebook, Myspace, Change.org, and Librarything.com

Salt Lake City Utah

2007-12-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

We got to spend the weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah with my sister, her husband, and our niece. We landed Friday night and when we woke up Saturday, it was already snowing - and kept snowing all day long! Eventually we got 6-9 inches. It was so nice to spend time with them and play with the dogs in the snow.

Thanksgiving

2007-12-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

Had a great Thanksgiving - got to play with my nephew for a while :)

Back from the land of the lost

2007-11-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

OK... I've finally dusted of my blogger acct and will do a better job of blogging again :)

Atari 2600 PC?

2005-11-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

WoW - These folks modded an old Atari 2600 & placed a PC inside it! It rocks!
http://www.grandideastudio.com/portfolio/index.php?id=1&prod=27

Make Your Own Record Cleaner

2005-11-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

Cool plans for making your own record cleaner for under $50

http://www.grynx.com/index.php/projects/record-cleaning-machine/1/

Great stories of end users

2005-11-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Great stories of Computer related stupidity...

http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid

Longest Computer Startup Tune - funny video clip

2005-10-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a very funny clip of a guy with a very loud, very long laptop startup tune in a library...

http://www.prangstgrup.com/startupsound/

Optical Illusion - very trippy

2005-10-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a very trippy optical illusion - WoW.

http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/cool/cool_illusion.html

Free Senseo coffee maker?

2005-10-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

Check out the Drop The Drip program & see if you can get a free Senseo pod coffee maker...

http://senseo.lissonline.com/Events/Events.aspx

October 17 2005 sunrise outside Dunkin Doughnuts

2005-10-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Check out some shots I took of this morning's sunrise! http://fileh.com/gforce/101705.html

Levi & His Uncle G

2005-10-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Help me with my coffee survey...

2005-10-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hey! I'm gathering data to have for a speech I'm doing this coming Monday. If you could take a minute or two to breeze through my 10 question web-based survey, it would really help me out :) ...

Link to coffee survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=23311415829

Thanks!

Patrick Combs & $95,093.35 Junk mail and banks

2005-10-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Check out this guy's amazing tale of a bank cashing a junk mail check for $95,093.35 ten years ago. Pretty wild stuff. http://www.goodthink.com/writing/view_stories.cfm?id=11

What the bleep do we know?

2005-10-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

If you've seen 'what the bleep do we know?' you probably remember the unusual blond woman at the end of the movie. Here's more info on her and the Ramtha school of enlightenment. http://skepdic.com/channel.html and http://www.rickross.com/groups/ramtha.html

Widescreen vs. Fullscreen

2005-10-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

AHA! Finally someone shows conclusively what I've always known/suspected. Next time you're looking at buying a DVD or queueing one at Netflix, think twice about getting Fullscreen instead of Widescreen. Check out the evidence here & let me know if you were a Fullscreen fan or Widescreen fan in the comments section.

What Is Your Hidden Talent?

2005-09-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Your Hidden Talent

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system.
And while this may not seem big, it can be.
It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes.
You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

What Kind Of American English Do You Speak?

2005-09-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

75% General American English

10% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

What a way to wake up...

2005-07-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

So I woke up this morning at 3:30 to the sound of dripping water... I checked the bathroom sink, the shower/tub, the kitchen sink - then I realized the sound was coming from our furnace/AC closet. Sure enough, the condensation line from the AC was plugged up & dripping water all over. We'd had this issue before & had to have the coils cleaned inside the thing. I got a mop & towels & a bowl & began cleaning up AFTER turning off my AC - no point in adding to the mess. I then proceed to go through the yellow pages calling all the folks that advertise 24 hr AC repair - several had no answer at all & one told me their 24hr folks had already gone home... I went to work knowing that I'd have to keep calling around. I got ahold of one company & they told me they couldn't come at all today but they recommended someone else. Those folks couldn't come until Thursday! Finally I found some folks that could come out today! I got a call at 10:00 saying that they were on their way to the house. I rushed home and, well, let's just say that some money changed hands and now the AC is working :)

new test Bridge DJ page

2005-07-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm playing around with a web page on a free host. Check it out & please let me know what you think. It is about the Bridge DJ... :) You can find it here.

Dead Poetic & Ringing Ears

2005-07-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as I was driving into work I heard on our local NPR station (KJZZ) that Dead Poetic would be in concert that night in Tempe, AZ. I called a buddy of mine who met me down there & what a show. It was Classic Case (I really liked them), then As Cities Burn, then The Beautiful Mistake, then Dead Poetic. All of it was hardcore/scree-emo... My ears still feel like they are slightly plugged. Anyway, got to bed about 1am this morning :) Joshua - I had a blast - let's go to a concert together again some time.

WoW - too hot

2005-07-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well, here it as at 10:15 PM in Phoenix and it's currently 106 degrees Farenheit... Tomorrow is supposed to get up to 115!

Purely One

2005-07-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

So I've signed up for Web Hosting with DreamHost for a couple domain names I bought - sites are still under construction... Anyway, I was looking at their list of sites currently hosted & one caught my eye - PurelyOne Christian Community :: one faith. one hope. one love. I checked it out & it looks like so far it's just a really cool flash intro, but who knows - it may develop into something really nice!

Andy Hunter interview & DJ set

2005-07-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

I found a great online interview & DJ set with Andy Hunter. You can find it here. The direct link that will launch the interview without having to find it is here. The direct link for the mix set is here. You have to skip the first 5 minutes though to get to the Electric Circus show. Good stuff! Here's the set list:

ELECTRIC CIRCUS PLAYLIST
Saturday night, July 9th's scheduled playlist:

Hour 1

The Weather Inside – 24.7
Timo Rozendal – The Sense Of Spring
Roy Davis Jr. – About Love (Jon Marsh “All About Vocals” Mix)
Passionardor – Everylasting Love
Seven – There It Is (TNT Remix)
Gerwin – Dry Land
Indikator – The Serin Effect
DJ Brian Youngblood – Breathe
Funk’n’Flex – Groove Thing
Blue Sonix ft. Michael Moulton – Luv Me
Dalminjo ft. Coco Street – 4th Chapter

Hour 2

Alfa 1-7 – Rok
Fienix & Kika – Por Siempre Mi Rey
Andy Hunter – Lifelight
Dance In Motion – Not Guilty (Tresice Remix)
Ultrabeat – Ara Till Ditt Namn (Live)
D7 – Aurora
Dallas Holloway – Lunar Reflector
Noah De Smit ft. Lisa Smit – I See Grace (Tresice Remix)
Jen Scaturro – Broken In All The Right Place
DJ Phase – Eternity

Fortune cookie - somehow they know me...?

2005-07-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I was at China Chili's for lunch today (Spicy Chicken)
and this was in my fortune cookie.
I think they know me...

Firefox Extension for Podcasts?

2005-07-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

OK... I use Firefox. You do too, right? Anyway, I was over at the Grassroots Music site and they now provide PodCasts of new music... What is a podcast? OK - imagine that you like a specific radio show "Prarie Home Companion" or something... Now, imagine that it was converted into an MP3 that could be downloaded from the web onto your PC or portable MP3 player (or Ipod). Now imagine that instead of manually checking & downloading - you can simply subscribe to the feed. It is like broadcasting, only for Ipods (not really, it's just that they are the most trendy) so it's called PodCasting.

So, here's where I am - I want to subscribe for some PodCasts, but I don't know what programs are best - What I'd really like is an extension for Firefox that will do this for me. Has anyone seen a Firefox Extension for PodCast subscription? Please let me know...

Bruegger's Bagels Brews Fair Trade Coffee!

2005-04-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

So I was on my way to guy's group for my church last night... Drove by Bruegger's on Mill Ave just south of University a bit & am normally dissappointed to see the open sign darkened by the time I drive by. This time it was lit up! I slammed on my brakes, got inside, ordered a sandwich & saw to my delight that they now brew Fair Trade coffee from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. I am so excited. I had to tell you all & now I will be searching for the closest one to my house. I normally brew Fair Trade from Friends Of The Third World when I'm at home & work, but sometimes you want a cup when you're out, you know? For more on why Bruegger's is doing this, you can read there coffee page here. For more info on Fair Trade in general, you can check out Global Exchange here.

Breakdancing Transformers

2005-04-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is incredible. A video clip of Breakdancing Transformers...! WoW -

FBI crack 128 bit WEP code in under 3 minutes

2005-04-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, no surprise. Wireless security is a concept about as firm as shifting sand. What was top of the line a while ago is now shown to be child's play. The FBI recently demonstrated how easy it was to crack a 128 bit WEP code on a wireless access point & did it in under three minutes!

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Sections-article111.php

GMAIL invites

2005-03-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

I still have a number of GMAIL invites that I can send out. If you don't know what GMAIL is, you probably don't need it. If you do & don't have it, let me know & I'll send an invitation for a free GMAIL account out to ya.

Netflix free for a month!

2005-03-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Terri & I recently signed up for Netflix where we can rent 3 DVDs at a time with free postage. They have a distribution center here in Phoenix, so it's a pretty fast turn around. As a new member, we have been given the chance to email invitations for a full month of free trial membership to our friends. If you know us well enough, just ask & I'll forward the invitation to you. The offer expires Wednesday May 23rd.

Stream the new U2 project legally!

2005-01-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Heres a link to U2's website where you can stream each of the songs. http://www.u2.com/stream/htdaab.html

Major Climate Change Occurred 5,200 Years Ago: Evidence Suggests That History Could Repeat Itself

2004-12-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Major Climate Change Occurred 5,200 Years Ago: Evidence Suggests That History Could Repeat Itself

Hmmm. Am I the only one wondering if this might have anything to do with a global flood?

From honeypot to bot in minutes

2004-12-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

From honeypot to bot in minutes
Here's a scary story about how quickly a non-protected machine got whacked & 0wned. It was hacked within 4 minutes of just being connected to the Internet & was being attacked 340 times an hour...

Get patched. Get clean. Get firewalled. Get clean. Stay current. (hopefully the Anti-Virus part goes without saying...)

Pointless Sites Dot Com

2004-11-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well, just in case I've failed to tell you about it in person, there's a fun site for when you are bored (I'm in class right now... but NOT bored - just a bit of downtime). There's a page full of fun links (not all are appropriate for all ages). It is Pointless Sites Dot Com. Have fun!

Turn off that Blasted TV!

2004-11-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

I just read this Great Article at CNN about a new keychain remote that allows you to turn off TVs AND it's only $15. To quote the article:

The key chain fob works like a universal remote control -- but one that only turns TVs on or off. With a zap of a button, the gizmo goes through a string of about 200 infrared codes that controls the power of about 1,000 television models. Altman said the majority of TVs should react within 17 seconds, though it takes a little more than a minute for the gizmo to emit all the trigger codes.

Update

2004-11-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been about three weeks since I've posted. I recognize that this is completely shameful. What's been up in the last three weeks?

Well, right now I'm sick - sinus congestion, sore throat, etc.
Last weekend was the first time our church had a retreat! It was very good - based off the book 'now discover your strengths'.
Two weeks ago we took all three of our turtles/tortoise to the vet for a pre-hibernation checkup & found out that Fred, or tortoise, has worms. He was given a dewormer & I have to take him back today for a followup dose.
I've been making pages for my web/dev class. One can be found here. Another proof of concept page can be found here though this one displays best in Internet Explorer.
I will be updating the Interactive Worship Station blog page soon.
Guys group is going through 'Desiring God' and it is very good reading!

Study: Few corporations use anti-spyware tools | CNET News.com

2004-10-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Study: Few corporations use anti-spyware tools | CNET News.com
Man! This is just dangerous stuff. I imagine that companies will start to pay attention to it. I think it is a matter of the peons getting themselves whacked while the IT folks are careful enough not to get compromised, so they fail to realize that it is an epidemic outside the server room...

Most users unaware of PC infections

2004-10-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

Plague carriers: Most users unaware of PC infections | CNET News.com

Somehow, I'm not suprised...

What File Extension Are You?

2004-10-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

Which File Extension are You?

SO, I was pretty happy with the results of this... What did you get? Try it out and post your results...

Microsoft Linux only $249.99!

2004-09-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

If you're wondering you can get a copy of Microsoft Linux here's a blurb from the website!

We are now offering the MS Linux Introductory CD at a special introductory price of only $249.99 (plus shipping and handling), if you order before it ships.

MS Linux is released under the provisions of the Gates Private License, which means you can freely use this Software on a single machine without warranty after having paid the purchase price and annual renewal fees.

TV & Movie

2004-09-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Having a great night! Terri & I caught the season premier of Joan Of Arcadia. Now we're watching Pretty In Pink on DVD. - picked it up for $10 at Fry's Electronics!

2004-09-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I caught Fred eating the green leaf lettuce we'd put out for him. I tried Collard greens, but he didn't seem too interested. I know he loves Romaine lettuce, but I wanted to provide some variety. It didn't seem like he'd eaten any green leaf yesterday, but I caught him snacking while I was checking out the webcam...

Zombies for rent...

2004-09-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Zombies for Rent
Problem growing at astounding rate
According to Technology Review, a compromised network of PC's - infected with trojans for use as spam relays or DDoS participants - has a going rental rate of $100 per hour. According to the article, some 30,000 machines per day are infected and incorporated into zombie armies (up from 2,000 per day this time last year). While an unprotected machine will typically be attacked within 20 minutes of being put on the Internet, one Symantec analyst notes that "the fastest we’ve seen was a machine taken over six seconds after it was connected to the Web."

From http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/54746

Internet Deprivation Study

2004-09-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

According to a new "Internet deprivation study" from Yahoo, 28 participants who were forced to go without connectivity for two weeks "suffered withdrawal symptoms and feelings of loss" (BizJournals). Users increased their consumption of more traditional media like newspapers and television, with one couple claiming their cell phone bill tripled (USAToday). According to the USAToday article, one user forgot how to boil an egg and was stymied when he couldn't look it up on the internet.

http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/54689

Now Reading...

2004-09-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, I've got The Celtic way of Evangelism over on the side as 'now reading'. That's true. I'm reading that for the guy's group for The Bridge. However, I'm also reading The Story We Find Ourselves In, so I can be more prepared in creating Interactive Worship Stations for our current series of talks at church. In addition, I'm reading Now Discover Your Strengths in preparation for a retreat coming up. Also, I just finished The Street Lawyer (good read) and Terri and I are co-reading The Slippery Slope (book #10 in the Series Of Unfortunate Events). And, I've ordered four more books from Buy.com & am anxious to begin them... Sorry no links as I've run out of time - started this at work & now it's time to go home - I don't want to stick around to create links.

I've been gone too long

2004-08-31T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since a post... I've started two classes this fall - A help desk business skills course and a 2nd semester Web Development course. This, along with a weekend trip to Boston and a book study on the Celtic Way Of Evangelism, has kept me busier than I would have imagined...
There is so much to talk about! The trip to Boston was incredible - let me just drop a few words & phrases: Historical sites, rain, prop plane, little Italy, water taxi, great food, lotsa coffee, expensive meals, zagat, cool bookstore, trolley tour, and friendly people.
I'll update more as I get time...

Join The Resistance!

2004-08-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Turtle Caught On Web-Cam!

2004-08-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

For all you doubters out there *cough*Joshua*cough* here is proof that every now & then you can actually see a turtle in the turtle cam! I didn't even have to Photoshop this one...

YouSendIt | Email large files quickly, securely, and easily!

2004-08-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

YouSendIt | Email large files quickly, securely, and easily!

Here's a cool site - it lets you upload files to the site & send an email link to someone. Then the file stays up there for 5 days for the person to download it... How big can the file be? Try up to one GIG! You heard that right folks, 1,000 MB. 1,000,000 KB. That's about 695 floppies worth of data... WoW! Here are a few clips from their policy page:

We collect the e-mail addresses of YouSendIt Delivery recipients solely for the purpose of logging and measuring usage. Personal user information we collect is not shared with other organizations for any reason.
We use MaxOnline and other third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web site. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements on this site and other sites about goods and services that may be of interest to you.
In the course of serving advertisements to this site, our third-party advertiser may place or recognize a unique ?cookie? on your browser.

flash effects

2004-08-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

flash effects

This site has some really cool Flash Media stuff! check it out - you can spend some quality time playing here...

How Many Words-Per-Minute Do You Read?

2004-08-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

How Many Words-Per-Minute Do You Read?

This is what I got: "You read between 550 - 600 words per minute. Highly efficient reading level. (The average rate is between 200 - 250 words per minute.) It is assumed that you did not skim the words nor fail to understand the meaning of what was read." Check it out! I was a bit slower than normal due to the fact that it was a speech - I kind of wanted to hear it in my head & that takes longer... Non-fiction would be about this speed too, but definitely slower if I was underlining as I go. It is a bit off as you must also scroll the page during the test & I would go faster for fiction, but pretty interesting!

The Effect - online radio

2004-07-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

So, I went to the web site for The Effect.
It has been re-made and looks great! If you've never listened to The Effect, or don't get it in well wherever you are, they have a feature where you can listen online! I'm doing that right now.

Freddy Cam

2004-07-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official! We've adopted a two year old Russian named Freddy. A friend of Terri's from work had this adorable tortoise for a couple years and then got a dog... We all know how much dogs like to play & carry things in their mouths... Needless to say, poor Freddy spent most of his time trying to hide from the dog. So, she asked if we would give Freddy a good home & we were happy to welcome him as one of our own. Check out the FreddyCam/TurtleCam and see if you catch any of them in action... I captured these snaps of him walking, eating, stretching this morning :)

I Need Coffee!

2004-07-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

Beg! Good Turtle!

2004-07-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

OK, so I saw this really cool animated picture of turtle on a banner ad in Yahoo today & I liked it so much I decided to see if it would post correctly… We’ll see...

Generational Tyranny

2004-07-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

As I was driving into work today, I heard a blurb on our NPR station about corporations. One individual was describing the environmental legacy we are leaving for our grandchildren's grandchildren - We are making a big mess of the world & he was describing it as a form of generational tyranny - taxation without representation.

It really made me think. I think I'm pretty conscientious about recycling. I pick up trash that blows into my yard. I don’t ask for a bag from a store unless I really need it. I use re-usable razors, I use a reusable coffee filter, I use rechargeable batteries… What else should I do as a responsible steward (see Genesis 1:27-28) ?

Starbucks in the morning

2004-07-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

Terri & I had a special date at Starbucks this morning! What a great way to spend time together. I decided to recharge my card for another $20, but you know I'm going to use it...

Bug Me Not!

2004-07-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

As I was wandering around several news outlets I found a few wanting me to "register" so they could deliver news to me... Why do they need to know anything about me? I don't have to give personal info at the newsstand to get a newspaper. I don't have to answer a questionnaire to turn on the TV... It just doesn’t seem right! < /rant >

Apparently a number of other folks agree and a website exists to provide folks with dummy credentials to use at sites that are too nosy for your taste… SO, instead of telling them about yourself, you now use the credentials of a 95 year old student who buys beer and tofu and uses windows 95… BugMeNot.com was created as a mechanism to quickly bypass the login of web sites that require compulsory registration and/or the collection of personal/demographic information (such as the New York Times). Check them out the next time you visit a site that asks too many questions…

Fewer people reading...

2004-07-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

I just read an article about the rate of reading in the US declining. This is just outright depressing... It can be found here. Read the article, let me know what you think. Post a comment and let us all know what your are currently reading!

Spiderman 2

2004-07-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

Just saw Spiderman 2 the other night! I really liked it - a lot to think about. Doc Oc & how a person can be controlled by something he thought he was in control of... Peter & his realization that you may have to surrender your dreams for the good of others around you... The conflict between best friends, the legacy of evil in a family, it was all there...

etherfarm: whither whatever

2004-06-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

OK, check out this hilarious blog about the Californian's map of the United States. It is very funny :) I must admit that geography is not my strongest point but come on...

TurtleCam

2004-06-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I saw slowpoke getting a drink of water this morning.
Just in case you missed it, here's a screen capture.

2004-06-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

I saw this online & it just looked cool... It would go well with some tunes :)

What are you listening to right now?

Has anyone seen SAVED?

2004-06-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this Forum Thread on the movie SAVED. I'm thinking about planning our next Epedition to be to see the movie. We're still waiting to get some info regarding Broom Hockey, so this might be just right for a July 10th trip???

Cell Phone Etiquette

2004-06-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I just saw a great article on cell phone etiquette at Relevant Magazine. It wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it was a timely reminder…

PS. I've been playing with embedding links into a picture - you can click on the picture & it will take you to the article :)

Right-click BlogThis for Mozilla

2004-06-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

I just installed Mozilla's new browser, Firefox, and am experimenting with tabbed browsing, multiple home pages being opened automatically at startup, and built in pop-up and banner ad blocking. BUT, what it didn't support was the IE google toolbar which had the "Blog This" button on it. Well, I just found a Right-click BlogThis for Mozilla plugin and what do ya know - It worked!

I think I'll be using Firefox for a little while & see how it goes...

New Jersey?

2004-06-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I dropped off Terri at the airport this morning & she is currently on her way to New Jersey for a few days for work. I already miss ya! Call me all the time, OK?

Father's Day

2004-06-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Father's day is upon us! Yesterday I took my dad out to Solid Rock Gym out by the 101 & I-17. After several hours, we were pretty sore. We went out for lunch & came back to my folks place & moved a bit of furniture. Then it was a quick trip home and We had Terri's folks over for the night to celebrate Father's day. A full plate of some salad & pasta later & I was pretty full. BUT, we had recieved an ice cream maker for an anniversary present & Terri decided she would try her hand at home-made ice cream. I decided this would go very well with some Icing On The Cake decaf coffee, and it did! We had gotten him a DVD for Father's Day that we had really enjoyed, but by the time we got around to opening gifts, it was too late in the evening to start watching a movie...

Andy.Hunter - Free online stream

2004-06-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

If you go to Andy Hunter's website and launch the audio player, you can hear the whole CD streamed to your desktop. Very Nice !

Yahoo Free Mail Acct now 100 MB

2004-06-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Notice: Change of service to your Yahoo! Mail account
Hooray! Check out what I just got in my Yahoo mailbox...

Dear Yahoo! Mail User,

Thanks for using Yahoo! Mail. It's our goal to offer you an email experience that makes it easy and enjoyable to stay in touch. Periodically, we make service changes to enhance that experience for our users. As of June 15, 2004, you'll enjoy the following benefits:
Increased storage capacity – from your current level to 100MB
Increase in total message size to 10MB
A streamlined interface that's even easier to use
You will continue to access your Yahoo! Mail account as usual. No further action is required, and there will be no interruption of your service.

We hope you enjoy the new features and benefits. If you have any questions, please visit our Help page. Thanks again for using Yahoo! Mail.

Sincerely,
The Yahoo! Mail Team

Robbie Seay Band

2004-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

If you go to the Robbie Seay Band website, you can click on the button for “Open Media Player” and stream all the songs of Better Days.

My Bad...

2004-06-12T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, no post since last week... That's bad of me. I'm sorry.

I saw my first episode of Futurama last week! I went to our Church's guys group and the host had all the DVDs & showed me the time travel/Harlem Globetrotters episode. It was a pretty funny show.

Also, I did some further tweaking to this site - added a photo & better info on the side & am experimenting with a shoutbox at the top. Log into it & let me know what you think...

I finished my book Fellowship of the King and have started New Way To Be Human by Charlie Peacock. It's really good. The first chapter was a bit over my head academically, but it is all worth the effort to move into the rest of the book.

The Reading Corner

2004-06-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

So, too many books to read, not enough time... Do you ever feel that way? I'm currently in the middle of Fellowship Of The King. It is a great look at lonliness, isolation, and the community that the church should be. However, I will be joining our church's guy's group since I'm not taking any classes right now. They are going through Uprising by Erwin McManus. I've already read it, but it's been a while so I need to catch up to Chapter 11 by this Tuesday... Meanwhile, There's this Charlie Peacock book called New Way To Be Human that is currently on sale at The Discerning Reader for only $5.19 (normally $12.99 60% off) until June 15th as part of their fourth birthday celebration. Of course I had ordered it as soon as it came out a few months ago for a bit more money... While I haven't read it yet, I wanted to pass along the great deal while it was still good. It will be my next read after the others :)

2004-05-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

I caught this shot in Holbrook on the way back from New Mexico... Aaron Norwood's nickname is Woody & I had to snap this for him :)

2004-05-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

So anyway, I woke up about 5:30 this morning having the strangest dream… I was in some school (high school, junior high) for some reason & saw this older kid beating up on this younger kid – you know knocking his books out of his arms, pushing him against a locker. So I walked over to him & blocked a swing & basically gave him part of the “everything a boy needs to know about being a man” speech. (for more on that speech, check out the movie Second Hand Lions) Anyway, he took a swing at me & I blocked his hand & played Mercy with him & explained that being a man did not mean picking on kids smaller than him – that took no courage, no real strength, no manliness… It takes a man to defend the weak. That takes courage, strength, etc. I told him I figured he already had the courage it took in that he took a swing at me, so he’s ready to start acting like a man & I felt he had what it took to do it well. Anyway, as I let go of him to walk off where I should have been I heard a female teacher say to me something like, “well, I won’t be reporting that to the principal…” I go to whatever I went to the school for and as I’m coming out I see police officers talking to the kid… I woke up before anything happened to me. I have a feeling this dream came from an experience I had over the weekend, coupled with the movie Second Hand Lions, along with a book I finished reading a bit ago called Wild At Heart.

2004-05-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

My Apologies - It appears as if the TurtleCam has been going down occasionally. I have installed the client for the United Devices Cancer Project. I don't know if that has caused the webcam to crash or not... I'm running an older version of WebcamXP on a Windows 2000 server box at 400 Mhz Celeron... I might update the version of software or the OS, but am too cheap to replace the box. Anyway, check out the United Devices Cancer Project and Folding@Home. The both have clients that use unused CPU cycles on your PC to simulate folding proteins to help in cancer research and understanding other diseases & disorders...

2004-05-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been visiting this new site for a while now. It's Daily Rotation. It has headlines from 300+ tech sites & you can just browse their headlines & click on the link to go to the full story. It comes with a default selection of some sites & you can re-configure it to set up the specific sites you want. The great thing is that it is free & no account needs to be set up or anything. The downside I've found is that your site selection preferences are kept via a cookie. You delete your cookies - wham! You need to re-configure your preferences... Pretty cool otherwise!

2004-05-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

Check out my new Interactive Worship Station Blog. I'm documenting all the different Interactive Worship stuff Terri & I are doing at The Bridge. I haven't gotten comments up over there yet, but hopefully folks can start using the ideas or tweaking them into better ideas!

2004-05-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

G E E K T O O L S: GeekTels

Wanna travel somewhere & make sure the hotel you stay at has high speed Internet access? Check out this website where you can search by country & state for hotels based on Internet connectivity!

2004-04-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

WoW. I'm really looking forward to going to this! May 5-7th. I'll let everybody know how it was :)

2004-04-11T12:36:00.001-07:00

.::Jesus : easter::.
Check out this link for Easter meditations. This site in the UK (Rejesus.co.uk) has the greatest flash content & spiritual ponderings. Our prayer station for church this morning was a laptop with the Easter site for our members to browse before/during the service...

Go there - Browse the site - Let me know what you thought - Let them know what you thought.

2004-04-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

2004-03-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

PopupTest - test your popup blocker software and download software

Here's a great site to test your pop-up blocker... I use the google toolbar & was amazed how many came through. This is a reputable site & only does pop-ups when you click on the 'test' button. You might be amazed at some of these.

2004-03-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try & link to an image... I saw this great Comic in today's paper & I'm going to try to link to it so it shows up in my blog...

Well, I think I got it to work :)

2004-03-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I added a link for a page full of organized links (all my faves in one place) only I haven't put that page together yet - so far it's just a collection of favorites at work. So, I put up a lame template to make sure there was some content. Now I just have to get busy with updating it. And along the way I get to learn html... :)

2004-03-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Got some supplies at Michael's & Home Depot for a prayer station for church - will work on the documentation tonight after a retirement party for our friend Samuel L. Jackson (no kidding - that's really his name). If the station goes well, maybe I'll have someone take a digital pic & I can experiment with how to post it on the blog.

2004-03-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we're off to the Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, FM Static, Falling Up concert!

2004-03-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to RouteWord - Find the Route that Reveals the Word

This clever little site will get your brain working puzzles & words in a new way...

2004-03-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Morning News - The Passion of the Christ: Blooper Reel: "The Passion of the Christ: Blooper Reel "

OK, it's a bit irreverent, but very funny. For such a serious movie, it's kind of a relief to have a chuckle...

2004-03-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

What does your phone number spell?

Put in your phone number & see what it spells... :)