It's All Right

2D is Better Than 3D

2006-03-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen wrote 8 years ago about the uselessness of 3D effects in web design, and I think its still true today:

"Note that 3D works for games because the user does not want to accomplish any goals beyond being entertained. It would be trivial to design a better interface than DOOM if the goal was to kill the bad guys as quickly as possible: give me a 2D map of the area with icons for enemy troops and let me drop bombs on them by clicking the icons. Presto: game over in a few seconds and the good guys win every time. That's the design you want if you are the Pentagon, but it makes for a boring game."

2D is Better Than 3D (Alertbox Nov. 1998)

Categories: technology

Birthday dinner

2006-03-19T13:13:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we had dinner at Macaroni's grill for gina's 14th birthday. A good time was had by all; Gina, Bob & Max, Marina, Millie & Seymour, and Bob & Linda. Gina was serenaded italian opera-style, and Marina entertained with japanese translations on the placemat.

Categories: family news

9-ft Shark off Sunglow Pier 3/10

2006-03-17T05:32:00.000-05:00

OutdoorsBest Forums: 9-ft Shark landed off Sunglow Pier This is in Daytona Beach. The writer says it took about 30-minutes to land and 9 people to bring up on the dock with 2 gaffs. The surfers nearby were nonplussed.

2.0 Culture

2006-03-16T19:38:00.000-05:00

Naked IT » Blog Archive » 2.0 Culture: "simplicity combined with big fonts, shiny shaders and very, very strange brand names."

I'm usually the standard-bearer for 'content above everything', but this is a great analysis of the new look and feel of Web 2.0 design and cultural standards as they have emerged.

Web 2.0 is fundamentally a new technological approach to web-based applications and open standards-based architecture. But the design: we're talking pastel colors, rounded shapes, sans serif fonts. Our recent http://p-adl.ucf.edu/ site is smack in the cross hairs here. (However, I was into rounded corners and sans serif waaay back in 2002, see http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~rgreed/ )

The design recommendations go a little deeper than appearance, and touch on some technology guidelines, like no java applets, no animation or flash, and always use descriptive html. An interesting read.

Categories: technology

snubster - beta

2006-03-15T09:26:00.000-05:00

OK, you've got to understand the phenomenal trend of social networking on the web these days, but there's a backlash begining. Instead of friendster or myspace.com, we've got snubster!

See one of jason's snubster lists here. The only thing I don't get is why the 'e'? Wouldn't it be oh so much more cutting edge to spell it snubstr ???

Categories: technolgy

Categories: humor

Trace Adkins

2006-03-13T08:48:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Linda and I escorted visiting students Marina and Sachiko to the Strawberry festival in Plant City (near Tampa.) I thought we had been to this big event way back when we moved to Florida in the 80's, but Linda corrected me. This was our first time. The draw for us was a 4pm outdoor concert by Nashville star Trace Adkins, and he put on quite a show in front of at least 10,000 fans. Most of the crowd, including us, were seated in bleachers, and I really really missed the binoculars -- we left them in the car which was parked a long ways away. However, we charged down front during the encore to get a close up look at the singer, and he's pretty damn impressive; about 6'6" with arms the size of my thighs.

It was a good show. Adkins current hit is the boundary-stretching rap-influenced Honky Tonk Badonkadonk, and he got the entire crowd to sing along with the irreverent refrain "well shut my mouth and smack my grandma!".

Most of these snapshots came from Sachiko's camera. The thumb in the one picture is mine. Larger copies and a few more pictures are available at http://www.presby-book.net/rgsr/strawberry

The festival itself was shoulder to shoulder packed. We gorged on strawberry shortcake, and greasy carnival food. In ambiance and crowd profile, it was probably most like an extremely crowded day at Flea World.

Categories: music and song

YouTube - Real Life Simpsons Intro

2006-03-10T11:34:00.000-05:00

This is too funny.

Categories: humor

Washington DC

2006-03-10T08:17:00.001-05:00

Daughter Gina departed on a school trip to Washington DC, by bus. She called us from somewhere in Georgia last night, and it was clearly pretty chaotic and loud on the bus. Thank goodness they rounded up sufficient chaperones. I can only imagine.

Categories: family news

"Smiling Bob" Not Smiling Anymore

2006-03-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

"Smiling Bob may have been happy, but many customers were not," said California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

"The defendants violated consumer protection laws that rest on a simple principle: businesses must deal with people fairly and honestly. This settlement will prevent further violations and compensate consumers harmed by the defendants' practices."

article at consumeraffairs.com

Categories: humor

1986

2006-03-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

Shortly after we moved to Orlando...

1996 and 2006

2006-03-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

1996, Sanbina Street

2006, Little John road

choreo-juggling?

2006-03-03T11:34:00.000-05:00

This one's for Rick... be sure and turn your sound up. It's pretty pointless without the soundtrack.

(requires Flash plugin, thanks Nick.)
http://marketplace.espeakers.com/movie.php?sid=5290&aid=10558

Internet Explorer 7 ?

2006-03-01T15:55:00.000-05:00

Check out this link: http://www.ie7.com/

cute.

Categories: technology

Google Desktop

2006-02-28T08:31:00.000-05:00

This free software is popping up frequently, and I pass on this cautionary note circulated at my employment:

Submitted for: UCF Computer Services Network Operations Center Security Team
Subject: Google Desktop Search-Do Not Use

Google, maker of the popular search engine, has developed a search tool for use on personal computers. The latest version of this tool--Google Desktop version 3-contains a feature that allows individual users to store a virtual copy of files from their hard drives on Googles servers so they can search the data from a second computer. While useful, the feature can compromise the security of individual users or the university.

Many national security firms, as well as UCFs Network Security Team, are warning users of the significant security risks this creates. Because there is no limit to the files that might be copied to Googles servers by this tool, such files could include sensitive personal data, data protected by FERPA or other laws, or confidential research data. Further, once on Googles servers, users files would be subject to disclosure
through subpoena.

Because of these risks, the UCF Network Security Team is advising that The Google Desktop Search application should not be downloaded or installed on any university personal computer. Thank you for your cooperation.

Network Security Team
University of Central Florida
www.security.noc.ucf.edu

Categories: work related

Categories: technology

Marina

2006-02-28T07:07:00.000-05:00

Student Marina (mah-REEN-ah) Hayashi from Nagoya College, Honshu, Japan is here. She's a charming young woman and arrived bearing gifts for us all. She likes Cocoa Krispies, and she'll be here for 4 weeks.

Categories: family news

8th Grade school photo

2006-02-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

:-)

click for larger.

Categories: family news

The Office

2006-02-22T20:39:00.001-05:00

Currently my favorite show, and Gina doesn't miss an episode with me. Linda won't be in the same room when its on.

I was a fan of the BBC original -- and it was far more painful to watch. The NBC version retains the no-laugh-track situation-awkward comedy (sitawk?), but has developed the characters and made them more accessible to our american tastes.

BTW, character Dwight S. writes his own blog. Its hilarious.

Entertainment Weekly article.

retreat

2006-02-22T19:35:00.000-05:00

2/18/06 This is a travel weekend for the Solash Reeds; Gina left early friday morning for a 4 day trip to a ski resort in Maggie Valley, NC with a friend's family, and Linda and I are at a church retreat in Silver Springs, FL just outside Ocala. This retreat is at a somewhat primitive conference center, very much like a summer camp. There's about 100 of our fellow congregants here with us. We'll be back sunday to join Max and Bob for Bob Sr.'s birthday dinner at Park Plaza Gardens.

Its the first time skiing for Gina; I hope to get some ski picture from her trip and share them here!

2/22 Update: Gina returned with a memory card full of pictures, unfortunately, almost all are goofing around pictures of girls in the bathroom mirror, girls in car, and the inevitable up the nostril shots.
But there were a couple of snow shots, one of Tracy, Gina and Alexa included here. (800 pixel version here)

Categories: family news

Categories: recreation

big boot things

2006-02-22T12:12:00.000-05:00

Here's a nifty photo I found on nephew Austen's flickr site. Must be at LL Bean, highly recommended by sister Deri. Austen is the author of netsua.com, and the co-creator and co-host of the teentechbuzz.com podcast.

In related content, following is a photo of Linda from Key Largo from last summer.

Categories: family news

Weekend

2006-02-21T08:56:00.000-05:00

Its a big weekend coming up; 1st, Makeshift will do two sets at Austin Coffee and Film on saturday night, 2/25. We're psyched and ready. We've got some new material, and hope to feature some special guest appearances by Mezzo Theresa Segers and long-time-absent Tenor Drew Abel. First set is about 8:30pm.
Then on Sunday, we pickup and meet our exchange student Marina Hayashi from Nagoya College, Honshu, Japan. She'll be staying with us for 4 weeks.

Categories: family news

Categories: music and song

Stunning desktop wallpapers

2006-02-14T15:38:00.000-05:00

Its in chinese, but take a few minutes browsing the images and navigating the numbered pages at the bottom. é«˜åˆ†è¾¨çŽ‡å£�çº¸61

Parental advisory

2006-02-14T09:55:00.000-05:00

From MSNBC.com: "On 'The Daily Show' last night, Jon Stewart, speaking as a 'concerned parent,' urged viewers never to let their children go on hunting trips with the vice president. 'I can't emphasize this enough,' Stewart said. 'I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land, or energy regulation they're trying to get lifted. . . . He'll shoot them in the face.'"

Categories: humor

Categories: current events

We're going to Iowa this summer

2006-02-11T18:23:00.000-05:00

"Two families were having a feud. One family lived on the Minnesota side of the border between Iowa and Minnesota, and the other family lived on the Iowa side. The feud got serious and the Minnesota family started throwing sticks of dynamite across the border into the Iowa farm yard. One day, it put the eye of a cow out. The Iowa family became so incensed that it started lighting the dynamite sticks that the Minnesotans had thrown over, and throwing them back into the Minnesota family's farm yard."

ESPN's Dick Vitale was in Indiana to announce a basketball game when he noticed a red phone near the Hoosier's bench. He asked Coach Bob Knight what it was for.
"It's a hotline to God," said Knight. Vitale asked if he could use it. Knight said, "Sure, but it'll cost you $100." Vitale thought he needed a break picking the games, so he pulled out his wallet and paid the $100. Dick Vitale had a perfect week.
The next week, he was in Arkansas when he noticed the same kind of phone on the Razerback's bench. He asked the Razerback coach about the phone. The coach said, "It's the hotline to to God, and it'll cost you $100 if you want to use it". Vitale paid the money. Again, he had a perfect week.

The next week, Vitale was in Iowa when he noticed the same kind of phone by the Hawkeyes' bench. He asked Tom Davis (Iowa Coach), "Is that the hotline to God?". Davis said, "Yes and if you want to use it, it'll cost 35 cents". Vitale said, "Wait a second,I just paid $100 in Indiana and Arkansas to use the hotline to God. Why does Iowa only charge 35 cents?" Davis smiled at Vitale and replied, "In Iowa, it's a local call."

Q: What do you call a bunch of tractors parked in front of a McDonalds on Friday night in Iowa?
A: Prom.

And brother Rick writes:

Date: Sat, 11 Feb 2006 14:59:15 -0800
Subject: Re: Okiboji
-----------------
We are excited and set to go . . . only one problem - Where is Iowa? What city has an airport? Only kidding. But really, where does our airplane land?

rick

Categories: humor

Orthodontia

2006-02-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

Gina got her braces off this morning, and both mom and dad had work conflicts. So here is the report from Grandma....photos ~~to follow so check back~~ now available and posted here! Click on them for larger versions.

Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 11:51:07 EST

All is well. Picked her up and got her to the office on time. It took nearly 90 minutes, but she came out radiant! And loaded down with stuff. Had her picture taken for the wall, and she has some messages for you.

She said her mouth feels funny with the retainer, but she'll get used to it. Just before we got to school, she said she was going to take it out for the "first impression" with her friends. I told her I thought that was an excellent idea.

And as she got out of the car, she said, "I can't stop smiling!"

Love, Grandma

Categories: family news

migrating this blog

2006-02-10T14:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, a german-speaking JÃ¼rgen commented on my stale post at wordpress.com and suggested I look again for the import utility:

JÃ¼rgen said: Just go to your dashboard. If youâ€™re logged in to WordPress.com and show your blog, the link to the dashboard is in the top-left corner. Once in the dashboard you find a kind of menu on the top of the site and the most right item is called â€œImportâ€�.Gopod luck.

Sure enoughâ€¦the import button was there and I gave it a shot as you can see if you go visit it. All these blogger posts (100+) imported. It did not honor blogger.com image controlling code, and in fact, it broke many image links. Iâ€™m not going in a repairing all those image references. so Iâ€™ll stick with blogger.com/blogspot.com for now.

Categories: technology

new quartet?

2006-02-07T09:10:00.000-05:00

I went to an exploratory rehearsal last night with Joe Elmer (bass from OBC), Me (bari/tenor), Pete (lead/bari from makeshift) and Troy W. (tenor/lead). We all sang together in a VLQ competition a couple years back (photo at right is Troy, Nick, Pete, Joe, Seth and Me)

We had performance potential for several numbers right off the
bat:

I'LL FLY AWAY
IT IS WELL
AINT MISBEHAVIN
LORD BE WILLIN'
CONEY ISLAND BABY
several pole cats

also, we had a few songs nominated for group development
LULLABY IN RAGTIME
IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
SANDMAN

Our chemistry was good and the sound blend was great at certain moments. The challenge is finding time in our schedules...next rehearsal is not until 2/26.

Categories: music and song

how to fold a shirt

2006-02-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

to fold a shirt in japan, but it should work here also.

I'll try it, let me know if it works for you.

Categories: technology

PB wiki

2006-02-02T09:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a cheap plug for free service PBwiki

I have used it for posting rehearsal schedules and set lists for Makeshift gigs, but despite my repeated entreaties for collaboration and participation, it has not been used to its full potential.

Check out the PBwiki tour!

ps. in return for this plug, they are increasing my file space.

Categories: technology

Happy Wednesday morning!

2006-02-01T08:52:00.000-05:00

As the chief pediatrician said yesterday, it was an intense but brief illness. We're getting ready for school and work this morning. Almost as if we've had a family-wide nightmare and now we're back.

Almost. We're all a little tired, Gina from a need to recover full strength, and as for me (Linda), I think I'm just feeling tired now, as my adrenaline level goes back to normal.

Gina will see a hematologist next week, and then at increasing intervals until her recovery is deemed complete. All the odds are this is a one-time experience that will simply be a line on her medical history.

And in the silver lining department, Gina is no longer afraid of blood tests. A real piece of cake after all this.

Looking forward to braces coming off and the usual arguments about homework and clothes.

Love and thanks to all.

Linda and Bob

Categories: family news

Google map enhancements

2006-01-28T13:49:00.000-05:00

Google maps makes Application Program Interface (API) protocols readily available, so enterprising code jockeys have spawned hundreds of integrated programs (like this one).

Here's two that I find useful. http://www.zeesource.net/ provides a utility to 'pin' multiple locations on a google map. Here's one I drew with the addresses of 4 potential quartet singers in order to figure out the best place to meet.

There's a cool tool at http://maps.huge.info/; enter a zip code and you'll get a refreshed page and an outlined map of the zip code for which you're searching. Add more zip codes to compare locations or expand the area. You can zoom in on it a big and still have the outline.

Categories: technology

Starbucks Economics

2006-01-23T16:25:00.000-05:00

Starbucks Economics, By Tim Harford

This reviewer praises the unadvertised "short" cappuccino at Starbucks. I'm going to try it next time.

update: I tried it and its OK, sort of a weak expresso with froth. The clerk didn't flinch when I asked.

bluegrass

2006-01-21T23:44:00.000-05:00

Linda and I went to see Alison Krauss and Union Station in concert in Daytona Beach saturday night. It was a great show, and completed a nice bluegrass performer triptych

Last summer we saw Rhonda Vincent in a great show at the historic Ryman auditorium in Nashville, and

a few months ago, we saw new-grass wunderkids Nickel Creek and their kick ass show at Orlando's hard rock cafe.

Categories: music and song

Steppin' Out

2006-01-21T09:12:00.000-05:00

I'm learning this old Irving Berlin song to sing with the Orange Blossom Chorus:

Steppinâ€™ out with my baby

Steppinâ€™ out with my baby
Canâ€™t go wrong â€™cause Iâ€™m in right
Itâ€™s for sure, not for maybe
That Iâ€™m all dressed up tonight

Steppinâ€™ out with my honey
Canâ€™t be bad to feel so good
Never felt quite so sunny
And I keep on knockinâ€™ wood

Thereâ€™ll be smooth sailinâ€™ â€™cause Iâ€™m trimminâ€™ my sails
in my top hat and my white tie and my tails.

Steppinâ€™ out with my baby
Canâ€™t go wrong â€™cause Iâ€™m in right
Ask me when will the day be
The big day may be tonight

If I seem to scintillate
Itâ€™s because Iâ€™ve got a date
A date with a package of
The good things that come with love
You donâ€™t have to ask me
I wonâ€™t waste your time
But if you should ask me
Why I feel sublime

Because I am gonna be

Steppinâ€™ out with my baby
Canâ€™t go wrong â€™cause Iâ€™m in right
Ask me when will the day be
The big day may be tonight

Categories: music and song

Singularity

2006-01-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

The Singularity Is Near : When Humans Transcend Biology:
A book by futurist and information technologist Ray Kurzweil. He writes of the "theoretical limitlessness of exponential expansion that will see the merging of our biology with the staggering achievements of 'GNR' (genetics, nanotechnology and robotics) to create a species of unrecognizably high intelligence, durability, comprehension, memory and so on."

In other words, advanced technologies of genetic engineering and in vitrio fertilization will enable the creation of a new human species within the next 30 to 50 years, the lifetimes of our children. This is not a crackpot theory.

I'd like to take a read at this, but there are other books already in line.

Categories: technology

The syllabic equivalent of a Members Only jacket

2006-01-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

Visit Woot's recent product description. Nice site, clever prose, and frequent bargains, but you've got to check it early in the morning. I haven't bought anything yet, but I'm hooked on daily visits.

"This irritating orthographical tic is to 2006 what the "xx" ending was to 1986 or the "e" prefix was to 1996. Hey Altec, this lowercase pimping doesn't make you look cool or hip or whatever; it makes you look pathetically square for draping an otherwise fine product in the syllabic equivalent of a Members Only jacket.

Categories: humor

Categories: technology

Amazing Fishing Video - Google Video

2006-01-17T12:03:00.000-05:00

Its an Amazing Fishing Video

Three people have sent me this video (as giant file attachments), so I figure I should share it here. It is truly amazing; a trite fishing cliche come to life. (hosted by google.video)

Update: Snopes.com is investigating the legitmacy of this video.

Categories: recreation

Categories: humor

MLK Holiday

2006-01-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged for a while now, not too much has been happening. But today Gina and I had the day off and G asked if we could go fishing. The weather was great, but the water was low and pretty dirty. We didn't find a single fish, but spent a few hours exploring around Mosquito Lagoon.

Categories: recreation

The Eastern Oyster

2006-01-09T08:48:00.000-05:00

'I don't eat oysters. I hate oysters,' said Linda Walters, the University of Central Florida biologist who has dedicated her last several years to keeping the Mosquito Lagoon's oysters alive.

I agree, and also don't eat oysters, but this is an interesting article from the Daytona Beach News-Journal about the collapse of the oyster fisheries up and down the east coast. UCF research, The Nature Conservancy and my recreational pastime are all involved.

Categories: recreation

Categories: current events

Former student assistant now in China

2006-01-06T10:47:00.000-05:00

John B., former UCF student assistant, graduated and took a teaching post in China a few years back. He keeps a blog and some photos on flickr, the professional wedding shots of him and his bride are amazing, but he's quite the photographer himself, with a nice photo collection of the country.

Categories: work related

Classes for Men

2006-01-06T04:42:00.000-05:00

This was forwarded to me by my boss (a man). I really need Class #7:

WINTER CLASSES FOR MEN AT:
THE LEARNING CENTER FOR ADULTS

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED BY Saturday, January 14, 2006

NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM.

Class 1 How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays --- Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.

Class 2 The Toilet Paper Roll --- Does It Change Itself? Round Table Discussion.

Class 3 Is It Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub? --- Group Practice.

Class 4 Fundamental Differences Between The Laundry Hamper and The Floor--- Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.

Class 5 After Dinner Dishes --- Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink? Examples on Video.

Class 6 Loss Of Identity --- Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other. Help Line Support and Support Groups.

Class 7 Learning How To Find Things --- Starting With Looking In The Right Places And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming. Open Forum .

Class 8 Health Watch --- Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health. Graphics and Audio Tapes.

Class 9 Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost --- Real Life Testimonials.

Class 10 Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks? Driving Simulations.

Class 11 Learning to Live --- Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife. Online Classes and role-playing.

Class 12 How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion - Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.

Class 13 How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy --- Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries and Other Important Dates and Calling When You're Going To Be Late. Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.

Class 14 The Stove/Oven --- What It Is and How It Is Used. Live Demonstration.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Categories: humor

Cabin in the woods

2006-01-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Many years ago, I think shortly after gina was born, Linda and I were invited to a holiday open house hosted by our Unitarian friends here in florida at a cabin in the woods. It was a huge private cabin situated adjacent to a beautiful spring with canoes and foot trails available. It was deep in the middle of the Ocala National forest, and seemed to me one of the most privileged places in the whole state. Our friends explained that several persons teamed up and separately entered a lottery every year to reserve the cabin for this particular holiday week. If anyone were to win, they would share the week with the others, and this was the year that one of them got it.

On a lark today, I googled 'ocala cabin', and within a couple of clicks I found it, and recognized it instantly. Its apparently state or national property, and the management company still holds a lottery for friday-friday reservations. Lottery entries for year 2007 are to be mailed in prior to May 31, 2006. and I'm thinking about taking a shot at it.

Categories: recreation

Easy Categories for Blogger Users

2006-01-03T10:54:00.000-05:00

I may try this: Easy Categories for Blogger Users

Categories: technology

Trying to move this blog

2006-01-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

Inspired by those teentech guys, I'm trying to migrate this blog onto a wordpress platform. I use wordpress at work and I'd really like to have the categorization feature on my personal blog. So I found a free host that doesn't post advertising (I think) and opened an account. http://baribob.wordpress.com/

Now, can someone help me import by blogger.com content? I found numerous references on the web on how to do it, even about how it works so well with the limited access wordpress.com accounts. In fact, one site says:

"Finally WP provides a feature which enables us to import our blogger located at Googleâ€™s BlogSpot.com to WordPress.com. You can find a button at the right side of your dashboard. This importer allows you to import posts and comments from your Blogger account into your WordPress blog.

Follow the link and you will find a step by step instruction.

Damn if I can find the button on my wordpress.com dashboard. Wordpress.com does not appear to have a help facility, or even a faq. Can anyone (hint: Aaron!) help me with this.

UPDATE: I found some clues, first a screenshot from october that clearly shows a tab control that I don't have. http://www.kamigoroshi.net/archive/2005/10/19/860

Then I found other comments that the update function was missing, then that it was limited to those with admin privileges. Then one blogger said it was easy to find due to wordpress.com's naming conventions. Finally, I found an explicit direction to bring up the import script:

The blogger import is a top level option in your Wordpress.com admin panel, titled import However, to make it easy for you - change this URI to reflect your wordpress.com account, and you should get there:http://yourname.wordpress.com/wp-admin/admin.php?import=blogger

That seemed to work, but when I ran it, I got this message:

Import Blogger
Howdy! This importer allows you to import posts and comments from your Blogger account into your WordPress blog. Your web server is not properly configured to use this importer. Please enable the CURL extension for PHP and then reload this page.

so, apparently, importing is not currently available on my host.

Categories: technology

bitter, withdrawn stomach

2005-12-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

is among the possible side effects of Panexa. This parody of pharmaceutical advertising strikes a few good notes, including the use of obtuse photography.

Categories: humor

My christmas gifts

2005-12-25T17:05:00.000-05:00

I made out pretty well, and this is one of my favorites. Linda threatens that i may be the only thing keeping her from becoming this in later years.

B.

Categories: humor

My father wrote

2005-12-25T16:45:00.000-05:00

"When you were about 5 years old and Ricky was about 2, we made the auto trip from Atlanta to Marcus. Stopped in Missouri to pick up my Dad's sister Sue, and made it to Iowa for a wonderful family Christmas. All 3 of Grandpa and Gandma Reed's kids were there with our kids, so there were 8 kid's presents under the tree and beeg candy canes, (one foot long) courtesy of your Uncle Warren. The presents were piled high-- up to one half of the tree. You were so exited that you couldn't sleep on Christmas eve and wandered out worrying and crying that if everyone was not asleep,Santa wouldn't come. We assured you and you finally fell asleep. What a Christmas morning it was! And what a trip!
DAD

Categories: family news

Drive to Iowa?

2005-12-21T12:56:00.000-05:00

I'm looking at the driving route to NW Iowa for our family reunion next summer and its kind of interesting;

Orlando
Atlanta
Nashville (695 mi)
Paducah (KY) (half way)

St. Louis (1000 mi)
Kansas City
Omaha (1250 mi)
Marcus (1600 mi)

about 1600 miles all told.

Categories: family news

Domestic Eavesdropping

2005-12-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

Certainly you've heard that George Bush is using the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance on American citizens without the consent of any court?

According to our Democratic party and others, this is specifically against the law. Bush says political appointees in the Justice Department outlined the legal authority to get around the restrictions in our laws and the Constitution, but those legal memos are classified.

I've added my name to a formal Freedom of Information Act request to see these documents. Perhaps you will too. go to

http://www.democrats.org/page/petition/domesticspying/fdqbry

Thanks!

Categories: current events

Office Staff

2005-12-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here's Linda and I with some of my office colleagues at boss Steve Sorg's recent holiday open house.

From left to right: Linda, Betty L. and husband John, me, Darlene B.

Categories: work related

Good customer service

2005-12-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

Via help desk chat, 12/19

[Live Help: Thank you for contacting L.L.Bean. Please wait. A representative will be with you in a moment.]

[Live Help: Welcome to LLBean.]

[Live Help: You are now connected.]

Bob_Reed: Can I get a replacement tent fly pole for one that splintered in a strong wind? Tent is #6 dome, purchased approx Jan 2005.

benjamin_k: Hello, My name is Ben. I will be happy to help you with that...

benjamin_k: Please hold while I check that for you, Mr. Reed...

Bob_Reed: thanks

benjamin_k: Thank you for waiting, Mr. Reed. I see what you got in January was the XT33 # dome tent with fiberglass poles. I will connect you to the Sporting Goods line they will confirm if we can send a replacement, please hold...

Bob_Reed: ok

[Live Help: doug_b enters the call

[Live Help: benjamin_k left the call

doug_b: Hello. I'm Doug. We can indeed get you a new fly pole......

doug_b: The pole that broke was it in the front or the rear of the tent?

Bob_Reed: It was the short one in the rear.

doug_b: Thanks, one sec and I'll check stock.

doug_b: Thanks for your patience. I can get you one right away Mr Reed. Should I ship it your Little John Rd address?

Bob_Reed: yes, 2915 Little John

doug_b: No problem. We typically mail such items which will likely get it there shortly after Christmas. Will that do?

Bob_Reed: No rush at all. Check my campsite photo of the tent this last week at http://baribob.blogspot.com/2005/12/camping-update.html

doug_b: Thanks. Nice beach. And Johnny Hammond! I've caught him a bunch of times. $15 is a small price to pay.

Bob_Reed: Its the indian river lagoon in east central florida. Winds gusted to about 30mph. must've been a flawed pole.

doug_b: Yeah, no doubt. We had a small run of them, but I think we got it licked. Let us know if you have any other problems.

Bob_Reed: thank you. merry christmas.

doug_b: You too. Thanks.

Categories: recreation

Camping Update

2005-12-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

It was a really good week, especially the last 48 hours. There was some wind (broke a fiberglass pole on my new tent), and the fishing wasn't spectactular, but I got a lot of time on the water, and the boat ran well.
Friday night I returned to town for a caroling gig -- which went very well -- and then slept at home and saw the family.

Saturday was quite rainy, so I didn't go straight back to the campground. Linda and gina had plans for the day, so I got in some christmas shopping around Melbourne, and got back to check on my camp and bail out the rainwater from the boat about 3pm. I went out fishing for an hour and managed a couple of small trout just by trolling around the river.

Late Saturday I headed up to Cocoa to meet the guys for a Makeshift gig at a Knights of Columbus dinner event. We were the after dinner show, and it also went very well. Especially considering we've had one rehearsal in the last month. But the set list went smoothly, the gags worked, we did a couple of christmas songs, and we were asked for an encore. After the performance they fed us well, and we split and I headed back to my camp, about an hour away.

On the way back I thought to stop in for a drink at the Sebastian Beach Inn, which is a divey beach bar way out in the middle of nowhere on A1A about 3 miles from the campground. Turned out that grammy winning blues singer/player John Hammond was giving a solo show there, and I gladly forked over the $15 cover to catch the last hour of his set. It was great, the place was packed with middle-aged blues fans, but I had a good seat at the bar...he talked a lot between songs and dropped a lot of names. It was a real treat.

I crashed back at my camp before midnight, and then was up again at 6:30am for one last shot at the river. I spent about 3 hours on the water, the weather was dead calm and things were heavily fogged in, so I had to pull my compass out of the tackle box to keep my bearings. The fog persisted all morning, occasionally lifting enough that I could see a shoreline. I managed 4 nice sized sea trout, 1 large sail cat on a topwater plug(!), and a 10" grouper. A great ending to the week.

Categories: recreation

Camping and Fishing

2005-12-15T21:43:00.000-05:00

I'm camping at Long Point park in south Brevard county this week. Heading back for a caroling job friday night, and then a Makeshift gig in Cocoa saturday night.

Weather's been pretty good, I've had some really nice days. Fishing is good, catching is not so good, and its not just me; everyone is getting skunked. The flounder run was in full swing last week, but this week nada. I've had some action just nothing worth keeping. Even the 23" trout I caught is out of season.

Categories: recreation

Proof of global warming

2005-12-06T15:49:00.000-05:00

Thanks Pat!

Categories: humor

Top Down

2005-12-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

My van's been in the body shop, and I was provided a white Chrysler Sebring convertible rental, which I've been driving for a week. Its been loads of fun, and the florida weather has been almost ideal. I have to remind myself what its like the other 8 months of the year down here, or else I'd be tempted to trade for this sporty 4 seater. The middle school girls love it, Tracy asked if she could step on the seat to jump out. I said I think its a rule if you're under 25 you're not even permitted to use the doors when the top is down.

It's not a real sports car, and doesn't tear up the road, but it sure looks sweet, and the interior is very comfortable. I've had it at 70mph on the highway and I could still listen to the stereo. The power convertible top works like a charm; its so quick and easy, you can convert it at a stoplight without unbuckling your seatbelt.

ps. there's a 2004 with 26K at the Sanford Carmax for $17,000

Categories: family news

Blue Springs Camping video

2005-12-02T08:55:00.000-05:00

Over on google video is the short 3.5 minute video I put together from our October 2 night camping trip at Blue Springs state park (florida). (previous post) The song 'banana pancakes' on the soundtrack is a favorite of Gina's; its by a professional surfer-turned-folk singer from Hawaii. Listen for the brief snippet of hawaiian lyrics.

All the stills and video were shot on the Pentax Optio wp (waterproof) digital camera.

The final version on mpeg-2 looks a whole lot better than the down sampled version hosted on google video. Follow the link to view on the google site where you can set a larger display size, or if it appears below, click on the play button to watch an embedded version right here.

embedding courtesy DownloadGoogleVideos.Com
12/21 update: downloadgooglevideos.com is apparently offline or permanently gone. You'll have to go directly to the googlevideo website

Categories: recreation

Little Drummer Boy

2005-11-30T08:31:00.000-05:00

I heard DRUMMER BOY on the radio and it was almost exactly the arrangement we have for The Caroling Company. It was a version by the Harry Simeone Chorale, so I looked it up on the internet, and found this story:

allmusic > Harry Simeone > Biography: "In 1958 Simeone contracted with the 20th Century Fox label to record a Christmas LP. In the midst of assembling the 25-member Harry Simeone Chorale, he also began seeking material to record, discovering 'The Little Drummer Boy' via friend Henry Onorati. The song, of unknown origin but presumably based on melodies of both Czech and Spanish descent, was given English-language lyrics by Katherine Davis in 1941 but not recorded until 1957, when it appeared on the Jack Halloran Singers' Onorati-arranged Christmas Is A-Comin'.

Simeone loved the song, and made it the first single from his 1958 LP, Sing We Now of Christmas. 'The Little Drummer Boy' was immediately hailed as a modern classic, generating some 150 cover versions and global sales topping 25 million. In 1960 Simeone returned to the charts with 'Onward Christian Soldiers,' and in 1962 returned to Bethlehem with a second enduring seasonal favorite, 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' He died in New York City on February 22, 2005."

Categories: music and song

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory

2005-11-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

"According to the ECFR paper published simultaneously this week in the International Journal Of Science and the adolescent magazine God's Word For Teens!, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by secular gravity alone, including such mysteries as how angels fly, how Jesus ascended into Heaven, and how Satan fell when cast out of Paradise."

Read More from the Onion

Categories: humor

Matrix Ping Pong

2005-11-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

link to video on google.
This is an amazing little performance video over on google, highly recommend, its just under 2 minutes.

Or just play the embedded copy if it appears below:

embedding courtesy DownloadGoogleVideos.Com

Categories: humor

Did It

2005-11-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

There must've been 1,000 runners. Marathoner Seth accompanied and encouraged me, although I could see it was a little difficult for him to throttle back to my pace. Nonetheless, I knocked about 2 minutes off my neighborhood 3 mile time. Its not about racing; we're all winners.

Categories: recreation

If you get confused

2005-11-23T14:14:00.000-05:00

The difference between a fairy tale and a sailor's tale is that a fairy story begins "Once upon a time" and a sailor's tale begins "I swear by the holy God this is the exact truth as I saw it myself."

(from an email correspondent)

Categories: humor

computer rebuild

2005-11-21T08:22:00.000-05:00

I got the download.trojan virus on my new Dell PC. So I wiped the harddrive and upgraded with an XP Pro install. What a pain; I have spent hours and hours struggling with this. I just managed to finish up my approx. 4 min movie edit of our Blue Springs camping trip. Its the last thing I did prior to giving up on trying to remove the virus. I completed it on the struggling, sick PC yesterday. The video is in raw AVI, so as soon as I get things restored, I'll convert it and share it. Stay tuned. Now I've got to finish restoring all my software....priorities completed so far:

OS Updates
Norton AV
Groupwise (for work email)
Firefox browser
Printer installation and sharing.

Categories: technology

running

2005-11-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

Last November I decided to start some regular exercise (it was one of my post-graduate school objectives). I thought early morning running would be convenient and cheap. My last encounter with running/jogging was in my late 20's before I moved to Florida. What I remembered well was the total tedium encountered in a 30 minute run -- I targeted a running time, not a distance.

Well, I headed out in November 2004 and to my complete surprise, I couldn't make it to the end of the block without getting winded and my legs cramping up. What happened to my modest (if boring) running endurance of 20 years earlier? So I set a goal: I would be able to run 30 minutes, or 3 miles, by my 51st birthday (Dec 2005).

At Linda's urging we got a treadmill for christmas and I traded the pavement for running/walking in front of the TV, and started a regimen of at least a 30 minute workout 3 times a week. With the treadmill, it was really easy to control a gradual increase in my distance and speed. And with the TIVO I could catch up on my TV viewing at the same time.

I had two setbacks from injuries; First I got "catcher's knee*" from extended kneeling scenes I had in the spring opera Aida, then this fall, I got "swimmer's knee" in the other leg from an aggresive body surfing session at Cocoa Beach. Both of these ailments are forms of bursitis, and in each case I seriously aggravated it by running to injury on the treadmill, and each time it took about 4 weeks to fully recover and get me back on track. After the second recovery, I quickly accelerated my treadmill distance to a 3 mile non-stop run on a regular basis, and a few weeks ago, I registered for a bona fide outdoor 5K (3.1 miles) race to be held on thanksgiving morning.

I figured I better get some practice outside on the pavement before I tried the 5K in public, so I tried a 2 mile ru n one morning. It was hard; much more difficult than 3 miles on the treadmill, and my knee swelled up a little bit and gave me some warning pains when climbing stairs. I took care of my knee, and the next time out I paced myself more carefully, and tried to adopt my marathoning friend's advice to work on my gait and run "over" the ground, not "on" the ground. (Linda said this sounds zen-like).

This morning, I completed a 3 mile outdoor circuit, running non-stop, in 36 min 41 sec. I've met my goal, and I can do the 5k next week!

*better known as "housemaid's knee", but I strongly prefer the association with an athletic injury! The orthopedic doctor (who's practice is mostly athletic) snickered and called it an 'opera injury'.

Categories: recreation

Singing News

2005-11-13T13:52:00.000-05:00

I made my debut with the Caroling Company today at the Festival of the Trees. Its a freebie gig for me to be checked out and see if I'm ready for paying jobs. I think I passed. My carol-mates were all seasoned and experienced.

Also this weekend I heard from the Orlando Opera, and I'll be cast in the spring production of Tosca. Rehearsals start in March, performances in late April.

Categories: music and song, family news

Large Redfish

2005-11-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

I had the day off of work, so I went out early this morning. I would estimate this redfish at 30+ lbs, I landed him with a 6" plastic jerk bait on 8lb test line. It was a long fight getting him to the boat (I hooked up while under the bridge in the background), then trying to set up this picture took a little bit of time. I flushed water back and forth through his gills by holding him along side of the boat, and he revived and swam off.

Categories: recreation

Novelty idea

2005-11-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Linda and I contemplated creating and marketing a novelty product last year, but wiser (and more obeisant) thinking prevailed. What remains is this logo, and a stuffed icon who watches over our behavior at home.

Categories: family news, humor

The Scientific Method

2005-11-08T08:34:00.000-05:00

Prominent scientists are asked How has the scientific method changed in the last 50 years? Their answers include many technology-driven changes; the web, desktop pc's, data mining, computer-based simulations and modeling, electronic publications, bioinformatics.

Categories: technology

26" redfish

2005-11-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

After many weeks, I took my boat out saturday to shake the dust off my fishing tackle. I didn't launch until shortly after noon at the south end of Mosquito Lagoon. I stumbled into a nice redfish for dinner. Also saw 2 alligators, a bald eagle, dolphins and manatee.

Categories: recreation

The Long Tail

2005-11-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

Wired 12.10: The Long Tail:

"Many of our assumptions about popular taste are actually artifacts of poor supply-and-demand matching - a market response to inefficient distribution."

And thus this article explains a new trend in consumer economics.

Essentially, the new digital marketplace enables such incredibly efficient distribution, that even marginally selling items can make money. Think of the limitations of a traditional jukebox that can hold a few hundred vinyl records. Only the most popular vinyl will be stocked, but a digital jukebox can hold hundreds of thousands if not millions of tunes, thereby creating a marketplace far more diverse than the billboard top 100.

The streaming music service "Rhapsody" delivers more tunes that are below the top 10,000, than it does of tunes that are IN the top 10,000. Think about that, read that sentence again.

"By overcoming the limitations of geography and scale, just as Rhapsody and Amazon have, Google and eBay have discovered new markets and expanded existing ones. This is the power of the Long Tail."

Categories: technology

Ridiculously easy RSS feeds

2005-10-31T16:19:00.000-05:00

If you use the Firefox browser, check out Live Bookmarks. I've tried configuring and using RSS aggregators before, but it seems to be more trouble than its worth, but Firefox makes it as simple as adding an entry to your collection of bookmarks. I just look for the little icon in the lower right, and I can add topical indexes from all my favorite blogs, and then tell at a glance if they've been updated. I can't explain the technique much better than Firefox does on their instruction page, so follow the link and give it a try. You can "Live Bookmark" this blog right now.

Categories: technology

One Star Reviews from Amazon.com

2005-10-25T15:58:00.000-04:00

This is amusing. A collection of one star reader reviews of Time Magazine's 100 best novels of all time. as compiled by Matthew Baldwin of The Morning News.

for example:

"Lord of the Flies (1955) Author: William Golding

â€œI am obsessed with Survivor, so I thought it would be fun. WRONG!!! It is incredibly boring and disgusting. I was very much disturbed when I found young children killing each other. I think that anyone with a conscience would agree with me.â€�"

Categories: humor

Kitchen before and after

2005-10-24T16:13:00.000-04:00

I didn't plan this, but I found an old photo of the pre-remodeled counter and range, and shot a matching photo from the same location that shows the new island.

Here's a javascript page that toggles between the two shots....it works better in MS Explorer because it uses a blendtrans filter that is only supported by MS. There are CSS techniques to accomplish the same thing in the Firefox browser, but I fiddled with it for about and hour and finally gave up.

Categories: family news

Hurricane Wilma

2005-10-24T09:01:00.000-04:00

It's a "florida snow day". Schools are closed and we'll spend the day at home waiting for the storm to pass. We got lucky here in Central Florida on this one.

Categories: family news

powerpoint techniques

2005-10-20T12:47:00.000-04:00

I'm at a conference this week and seeing a lot of powerpoint presentations. Coincidently, I came across some blog discussion last week about new presentation concepts, some specifically drawn from a book and blog titled "beyond bullets"

The idea is that it is deadly to write a powerpoint that is essentially a set of speakers notes. Instead, rely on the power of oration and use the visual powerpoint platform to illustrate and provide emphasis.

There's a wonderful example here that runs about 15 minutes. You may not be as interested in the presentation topic as I am (about digital identity and authentication), but look at the presentation technique this guy uses.

I'm going to try and incorporate some of these ideas into my next presentation. Interestingly, Gina already grasps this and uses it in her middle school powerpoint class projects.

Categories: technology

Pedometer calculation with google maps

2005-10-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

http://www.sueandpaul.com/gmapPedometer/
This is very useful. Its an integrated tool which calls up google maps, then allows you to chart a course by doubleclicking at the waypoints, all the while auto calculating your mileage, and placing mileage markers on your route!

I found that it is almost exactly 1 mile from my house to Cady Way pool.

Here's a link to get started in Winter Park instead of New York.
Here's a 3 mile loop near my house.
Two mile loop
Better two mile loop

1.35 mile walk from office to campus

1 mile walk to campus via dirt shortcut

Categories: recreation

Blue Springs camping

2005-10-17T21:58:00.000-04:00

Hunsickers, Reeds and Issens
Here's a similar snapshot from 2002
and another from 2001

We're just back from two nights camping at Blue Springs state park, with great snorkeling, swimming and canoeing. This picture below gina took from the canoe...more media to come.

Categories: recreation

Golf Cart

2005-10-16T15:01:00.000-04:00

I picked up a trailer and went to Kissimmee to fetch the 'Club Car'.
Millie is delighted and hasn't had any trouble with the driving. Seymour and Gina do just fine also. Gina helped me deliver it and took a couple spins around the grounds.

Categories: family news

How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?

2005-10-11T11:48:00.000-04:00

A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?

Categories: humor

Home Computers

2005-10-06T08:04:00.000-04:00

I just took delivery on a new PC. Its a Dell Dimension 5100 pentium 4 3.0 Mhz, with souped up video and audio cards, and a 160MB harddrive. I bought it from Dell's outlet store, which features factory reconditions with full warranty -- its worked well for me in the past.

The industry rule of thumb is that PC's should be replaced about every 3 years due to technology obsolesence and software ~~bloat~~ improvements.

Here's a history of my home computer purchases:

1986 private label PC XT, monochrome monitor (local retailer, $1,900)
1989 private label 386SX, with CGA color display (local retailer, ~$1,600)
1995 Acer pentium 90 mhz (From Best Buy, $1,600) First windows computer, first internet access computer. Ran Gina's game software "Can I interest you in a hot cup of tea?"
1998, private label AMD K5 (local repair shop, $350) used/reconditioned, to replace lightning damaged Acer. Insurance covered this and it worked well.
2001 Dell PIII 866mhz (Dell reconditioned, $1,100), this was for my grad studies program and upgraded for video editing. Its served me well...over time I upgraded it with a network card, a video card, a firewire card, a 19" monitor, DVD burner, additional harddrive, and a new power supply.
2003 Dell PIII 500mhz (eBay used $350) this one never worked too well
2004 Gateway Profile 4 for Gina (Gateway reconditioned, $700) this is a sexy looking PC, but it's a little buggy.
2005 Dell 5100 P4 3.0Mhz (Dell reconditioned $700) my new hot rod.

Categories: technology

hindsight

2005-10-03T07:36:00.000-04:00

Lessons learned from our remodeling:

Be sure to draw a scaled floor plan to evaluate traffic clearances and placement of seating and waste baskets. The contractor provided only elevation drawings of the cabinetry, but I could have easily done a floor plan myself and improved the layout. duh!
Be precise and put in writing plans and expectations for placement of fixtures. We had ceiling lamps moved twice. The drawing here was the subject of dispute.
When extending tile flooring, make absolutely sure new tiles are of identical sizing to the old! This is more important than color matching.
When extending tile, lay all the tile in place before applying glue! This one the contractor should have known about. She knew there would be fit problems, but went ahead and started glueing down tiles. Our 16X16" tile bought for extending the floor is not the same size as the existing tile and the layout was torn up twice in redesign.
Organize kitchen gear and pantry supplies for temporary use. Pack it up like for a camping trip, and then organize the remaining supplies in some manner for retrieval.
Avoid hiring a contractor with back problems.
Don't bother dusting or cleaning up until the contractor has left the building.
Don't assume the contractor will make good choices for cabinet configuration. Ours planned to put the microwave in a cabinet but behind a cabinet door (we interceded). She put several inefficient drawer pullouts behind cabinet doors. We have no tall open cabinents (for cooking sheets, cutting boards or waste baskets), and too few drawers.
Have your contractor include ALL materials cost in their bid and contract. Our contract was "plus materials" and consequently the Home Depot purchases were not as frugal as they might have been and we were left with lots of leftover building supplies and the tab for them.

10/10 Update: I removed two pullout drawers from a narrow cabinet, so now we have cookie sheet storage about the size of the photo here. The now-surplus drawers are long and narrow boxes, good for ????

Categories: family news

Kitchen signed off

2005-09-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

Contractors are paid and gone and I can get the cars in the garage again. We have some work left, namely 1) the whole adjoining fireplace room needs painting of walls and ceiling, 2) install two new ceiling fans, 3) organize and store the leftover building materials worth saving, 4) organize and store all the kitchen crap that is (worth saving and) scattered throughout our house, 5) new barstools maybe, 6) new window treatment, and 7) reorganize all bookcases and shelf storage. But it does look very nice.

more later,Bob

Categories: family news

walk through

2005-09-27T15:16:00.000-04:00

Our contractor says she may be ready for a walk through tonight. As much as I want this to be over, our relationship has deterioriated and I'm anticipating conflict. photos coming soon. lessons learned also coming soon.

ps. see http://reach.ucf.edu/~technicaled/ for a picture in rotation of me at work.

Categories: family news

My Sweetie

2005-09-26T19:18:00.000-04:00

Linda asked me to take a head shot for the Orange County Bar, and we caught the late afternoon sunset out on our porch.

Nice, isn't it?

Categories: family news

and the moral is

2005-09-22T10:38:00.000-04:00

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day, the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.

Ashley said, "My father's a farmer and we have a lot of egg-laying hens. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the car when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess."
"What's the moral of the story?" asked the teacher.
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"
"Very good," said the teacher.

Next, little Sarah raised her hand and said, "Our family are farmers too. But we raise chickens for the meat market. We had a dozen eggs one time but when they hatched we only got ten chicks, and the moral to this story is, 'don't count your chickens before they're hatched.'"
Teacher: "That was a fine story Sarah.

"Michael, do you have a story to share?" "Yes, my daddy told me this story about my Aunt Judy. Aunt Judy was a flight engineer in the Gulf War and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a machine gun and a machete. She drank the whiskey on the way down so it wouldn't break and then she landed right in the middle of 100 enemy troops. She killed seventy of them with the machine gun until she ran out of bullets. Then she killed twenty more with the machete until the blade broke. And then she killed the last ten with her bare hands."
"Good heavens," said the horrified teacher, "what kind of moral did your daddy tell you from that horrible story?"
"Stay the h*ck away from Aunt Judy when she's been drinking!"

Categories: humor

Elephant Memory Systems

2005-09-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Of course you remember these from the era of Duran Duran, teased hair and skinny ties.

Categories: technology

Caroling, Caroling

2005-09-19T13:11:00.000-04:00

I have been invited to join the Caroling Company, a troupe of professional costumed carolers who perform a capella in 4-part SATB during the Christmas Season for private and public events.

I'm excited to join my Makeshift singing partners Seth and Pete who have been doing this for a few years. Now I've got to buckle down and learn/memorize 30 songs.

Categories: music and song

Venn Diagram

2005-09-19T10:22:00.000-04:00

Do you remember Venn diagrams? Seems they were always covered in the first chapter of my math and geometry textbooks in discussion of set theory. They are also used in language arts to illustrate overlapping concepts or relationships.

I had built this statistical one for work last week (click on graphic for larger version); it illustrates the distribution of student enrollments during one term here at UCF. The circles represent the areas of class types -- Orlando campus, regional campus, or web-based classes. The size of the circles are exactly proportional to the data. The overlap areas are a little off by necessity. I drew this graphic in Photoshop. As an information geek, I think its really cool. This will be used to assist higher ups with some funding and growth planning issues.

Categories: work related

His tractor's not so sexy after all

2005-09-16T08:20:00.000-04:00

In the most stunning breakup since Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett, Rene Zelweger cited 'fraud' in court papers seeking an annulment of her 5 month old marriage to country singer Kenny Chesney. Who could have predicted it?? CNN story here.

Categories: humor, music

This Just In

2005-09-15T08:49:00.000-04:00

Categories: humor

Day 15 of the remodeling

2005-09-12T21:22:00.000-04:00

It hardly compares to the hardships of some of our neighbors this hurricane season, but we are really starting to miss having a kitchen with running water, ice maker, dishwasher, etc.

The refrigerator is plugged in in the family room, and all our kitchen stuff is stacked up.

We're storing things wherever we can, and often misplacing utensils, or condiments.

Here's our makeshift kitchen; we've got to dump liquids in the backyard or down the toilet. We keep a jug of water handy for the coffee maker.

Thankfully, the grill works well. Linda made a decent casserole for a church pot luck on it this weekend.

For those few dishes and utensils we use, I cart them out to the side of the house and wash them at the fish cleaning/paint cleanup sink outside the garage.

Categories: family news

remodeling update

2005-09-08T14:08:00.000-04:00

We checked some alternate 16" X 16" floor tile, and it was a fraction of an inch TOO LARGE, and still of a notably different color shade. Good grief, don't they have any STANDARDS in the tile industry???? There would be no internet if it weren't for standards!! So our clever plan is to pull up some existing tile and lay things out so it looks like we planned a varying color. I rushed down to Lowe's and ordered 5 more boxes of tile.

I lined up an electrical contractor for the telephone work, and they were coming by on 9/7 to make a bid on that and a new electrical panel. However, our project contractor is incapacitated due to a bad back (out two days now), and when the electrician called to say he was coming to the house, nobody was there, I was without a vehicle because it was getting a new trailer hitch installed, and Linda was at work with client appointments. So we missed the electrician appointment.

Kitchen colors and finishes

2005-09-05T17:41:00.000-04:00

Some small problems have emerged. The new floor tile does not measure the same 16"X 16" that the existing floor tile does. We want to have unified tile across the two spaces, therefore, its not going to line up well, or the grout gaps will have to be larger. The project contractor cannot relocate the telephone outlet because there are too many wires connected, so we need to find a "telephone contractor" to move it.

The electrician reports that we have an obsolete electrical panel with latent flaws that are well documented on the internet. For safety's sake, we should replace it. Cost is probably about $1,000.

Here's some images of the colors and finishes. Below is the slate gray porcelain tile that will make up the countertops, and the blue glass mosaic tile that will be the backsplash. Contrast with the light oak wood finish of the new cabinetry.

We're suspending 4 solid bar nickel finish frosted white glass pendant lamps over the 6' X 6' island. There will be some halogen lights under the over-counter cabinets and one decorative fluroscent fixture with nickel trim on the ceiling. We still need to select and purchase cabinet fixtures and drawer pulls.

Sings like k.d. lang

2005-09-02T07:49:00.000-04:00

but she's younger, prettier, thinner, and straighter. Elizabeth McQueen is a country-swing vocalist from Austin TX, who has recently joined Ray Benson's band Asleep at the Wheel. She's got some downloadable songs here. I first saw her with Benson's band on a recent Opry broadcast on GAC. Watch for this one.

Katrina Assistance

2005-09-01T09:46:00.000-04:00

I had a request to assist an emergency UCF meeting this morning seeking ways to help displaced students. I ran some quick analyses of our available class seats. The state wants us to cut red tape (which I think we must purchase by the cable spool), and we will probably waive non-resident fees.

I also heard last night that Rollins College (of Winter Park) extended invitations to 30 Tulane Univ. students to attend Rollins for the fall term tuition free.

And we thought we had it bad last summer with our inconveniences.

UPDATE: UCF released this announcement thursday afternoon regarding enrollment opportunities for displaced gulf coast students.

Kitchen Remodel

2005-09-01T07:10:00.000-04:00

We had the plumbing repair, and the drop ceiling is taken out, but the electrician was a no-show yesterday which puts us behind schedule.

Here's an idea of what our new island will look like in position. You can see in the 1st photo background the repaired wall with new plumbing behind it:

The new range/oven will be placed in this hole in the island, click on the image and use your mouseover to see what the range will look like:

mold

2005-08-29T22:56:00.000-04:00

We discovered mold and a need to replumb. ka-ching!

Visqueen barriers:

Remodeling

2005-08-29T13:31:00.000-04:00

Our kitchen remodeling contractor started today; we will be without kitchen facilities for at least the next two weeks. Stay tuned for photos.

Size of Folder contents, in Windows

2005-08-26T14:38:00.000-04:00

If you are a Windows user who never bothered to change your file display to 'details' and just use large icons in Windows Explorer, this will be of little interest.

BUT

Folder Size Explorer Extension adds a new column to the Details view in Windows Explorer. The new column shows not only the size of files, but also the size of folders. It keeps track of which folders you view, and scans them in the background so you can see complete size of all files within the folder. It's very useful for cleaning up your disk. Once you get used to having that information available, a directory listing simply looks incomplete without it!

And it works like a charm. For W2K and XP.

Bob

Here we go again

2005-08-25T08:28:00.000-04:00

Parenting article from Time

2005-08-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

Good article/sidebar here I read while waiting on auto repair this morning. timely.

Title: How Can a Parent Help? , By: Levine, Mel, Time, 0040781X, 1/24/2005, Vol. 165, Issue 4
Database: Academic Search Premier
Section: Society
How Can a Parent Help? (article online here)

Mothers and fathers can do a lot to ensure a safe landing in early adulthood for their kids. Even if a job's starting salary seems too meager to satisfy an emerging adult's need for rapid gratification, the transition from school to work can be less of a setback if the start-up adult is ready for the move. Here are a few measures, drawn from my book Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, that parents can take to prevent what I call "work-life unreadiness":

â€¢ HELP YOUR KIDS FIGURE OUT WHO THEY ARE. You can start this process when they are 11 or 12. Periodically review their emerging strengths and weaknesses with them and work together on any shortcomings, like difficulty in communicating well or collaborating. Also, identify the kinds of interests they keep coming back to, as these offer clues to the careers that will fit them best.

â€¢ TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE ON A REGULAR BASIS. Instead of obsessing about the need to be admitted to a good college (a grossly overrated priority), talk to them about life beyond the undergraduate years. Discuss the joys and downsides of your own career. Kids need a range of authentic role models--as opposed to members of their clique, rock idols and vaunted athletes. Have regular dinner-table discussions about people the family knows and how they got where they are. Encourage your kids to form some ideas about their own future. When asked what they want to do, they should be discouraged from saying "I have no idea." They can change their minds 200 times, but having only a foggy view of the future does not bode well for it.

â€¢ BUILD YOUR KIDS' WORK SKILLS. Teachers are responsible for teaching kids how to learn; mothers and fathers should be responsible for teaching them how to work. Assign responsibilities around the house and make sure homework deadlines are met. Encourage teenagers to take a part-time job. Kids need plenty of practice delaying gratification and deploying effective organizational skills, such as managing time and setting priorities.

â€¢ PLACE TIME LIMITS ON LEISURE ACTIVITIES. Playing video games encourages immediate gratification. And hours of watching TV shows with canned laughter only teaches kids to process information in a passive way. At the same time, listening through earphones to the same monotonous beats for long stretches encourages kids to stay inside their bubble instead of pursuing other endeavors. All these activities can stunt the growth of important communication and thinking skills and make it difficult for kids to develop the kind of sustained concentration they will need for most jobs.

â€¢ HELP KIDS DEVELOP COPING STRATEGIES. They should know how to deal with setbacks, stresses and feelings of inadequacy. They should also learn how to solve problems and resolve conflicts, ways to brainstorm and think critically. Discussions at home can help kids practice doing these things and help them apply these skills to everyday life situations.

â€¢ MAKE SURE THAT CHILDHOOD IS NOT AN IMPOSSIBLE ACT TO FOLLOW. Don't overindulge kids with spectacular vacations, opulent material possessions and relentless tides of programmed activities after school and during the summers. Avoid creating hyperinflated egos living within protected spheres that will burst in the early stages of a career when supervisors won't care how gorgeous your kids are or what "cool dudes" they've become or what great ballplayers they were in high school.

What about the son or daughter who is grown but seems to be floundering and wandering aimlessly through early adulthood? Parents still have a pivotal role to play, but now it is more delicate. It is essential for strong family ties and trust to prevail throughout this trying period. Parents have to be careful not to come across as disappointed in their child. They should exhibit strong interest and respect for whatever currently interests their fledgling adult (as naive or ill conceived as it may seem) while becoming a partner in exploring options for the future. Any career advice should be offered respectfully, and parents should never make it seem as if the young adult's quandaries have easy answers. They should certainly offer room and board and occasional gifts or grants but not bankroll their start-up adult entirely. Most of all, these new adults must feel that they are respected and supported by a family that appreciates them.

Livin', Lovin', Losin'

2005-08-10T08:27:00.000-04:00

I've been collecting music through my subscription to MusicMatch (crummy software, great subscription service). Musicmatch offers 99 cent song downloads, and I tried it once, but the download came with DRM (digital rights management) restrictions, and I couldn't load the song on my mp3 player so whats the point?

So instead, I stream music selections from the service, and record the streams to mp3 files in the background on my PC, sometimes at work, sometimes at home. Then I cut the mp3 files into 15-20 minute pieces, and load them on my mp3 player and listen in the car. I've collected quite a bit of music this way over the last few months, and the quality is only partially compromised; still better than FM radio, but not quite CD quality.

Anyway, the point of all this is, prior to our Nashville trip, I was looking for Rhonda Vincent music, and Musicmatch pointed me to her contribution to a tribute album called "Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers". The Louvin brothers were an influential gospel/country duo who were ~~earlier~~ similar in style but not nearly as well known as the Everly Brothers. They didn't have any pop hits, but were on the country charts in the late 50's and early 60's. [They are also remembered for the flamboyant album cover art pictured here.] I went ahead and recorded the whole album from the musicmatch stream. Later in rotation on my mp3 player, the songs kept impressing me; they were outstanding vocal duets with an old-fashioned flavor, but with a 21st century studio production quality. And many of the vocals sounded familiar. So I went back and looked up the album to see who was on it. Wow: Alison Krauss, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Linda Rondstadt. Three of the contributors were onstage at the Grand Ole Opry when we went last month. And the reviews for this compilation are tremendous. The Alison Krauss/James Taylor duet got some airplay on CMT when it was released in 2003, but I don't remember it.

I recommend the album highly, there are no clinkers like with the "O Brother" phenom. Many of the songs are about heartbreak, but there are other "country" themes, and some gospel numbers as well. The material reveals the bluegrass, gospel, and blues influences on country music without the overproduction and pop flourishes common to county music today (Garth, Faith, Toby, Shania, etc.) Audio clips are available on the Amazon.com site.