Sharpest Guy on the Planet

Wilford Brimley, according to this enlightening Platypus Society post, is the sharpest guy on the planet. There's some other guy who thinks he is, but we know that Wilford Brimley is the sharpest guy on the planet. Undoubtedly true, wouldn't you agree?

  ¶ 12/16/2006 09:26:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

  Yes - I AM Alive... ;-) Hey, wow... i cannot believe I last posted in October 2005. Whoa. Life has been very, very busy since then. Here's a moment's snapshot of it all:

1. 10/24 - started new job and LOVE it! Have had 90-day review and annual review and both went great. Incredible. Will write more in the very near future.

2. 2/28/06 - Katlyn Grace was born! My third daughter. 6 pounds, 3 ounces - 20" long and incredible. Wow what a lucky man that I am! Even got experience with the NICU at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and they were incredible. Both mom and baby are home and doing wonderfully (besides lack of sleep!!!!!)

3. 2/27/06 - Got our new 20" iMac CoreDuo w/1.5GB RAM and still haven't uncrated it (three weeks!)... for a Mac fanantic that's saying a lot. New babies are very intensive thing and I am so lucky to have three beautiful daughters. :-)

4. 2/27/06 - Got a new Meade ETX-80AT-TC telescope (80mm (3.15") lens) - also barely used as I wasn't planning to use for awhile until baby is older and mom is getting some sleep. Did a beautiful close-up of the moon for 30-min last week and my "first light" experience is very memorable.

Gotta get going - going to finally set up the new iMac now! More soon.  ¶ 3/19/2006 05:24:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

  Superb Camouflage Job on a Cache!

This is a really neat geocache! For those of you in the Washington, DC suburbs - specifically in the Germantown, MD area - this is a neat cache that you won't soon forget! It is what is commonly referred to as a cache-n-dash and can be found in a matter of minutes if you are looking very well for it. The camouflage work done on it is top-flight and many cachers who aren't looking closely enough could easily pass right by it (especially if you didn't check the hint!).

This was find #17 for Team MacLifer (Geocaching.com username: MacLifer) and we're planning to contact the owner, Fuse Source, to get some pointers on how to create such a neat way to hide a cache. If you click on the link, you'll be transported directly to the page on Geocaching.com that lists the details of the cache. You can optionally look at the hint if you so desire. I'm glad that we did as it helped us out tremendously.

We've been regularly either finding caches right before—or right after—Fuse Source, who we have yet to meet in person, has been to them. So, when we found out he was placing his first cache, we jumped right on it. We were the eighth team to find it, but I was a bit lazy in logging and didn't do until today, so another user from yesterday beat me to the punch. Fun nonetheless! We got a cool little trinket that I call a "Spiral Bubble Ramp in a Tube" and left behind a small Buddha figurine that we'd gotten a few months back from another cache.

Fuse - THANK YOU for the awesome cache! You should put up an online tutorial or at least create one that you could email "on demand" to those of us who want to make incredible caches and not just run-of-the-mill or crappy ones. Keep it up!

  ¶ 10/17/2005 12:55:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

  Wired News: Apple Gives Video the IPod Touch

So, they've finally done it. My favorite computer company (and consumer entertainment company, etc. etc.) came out with the video iPod. And, surprisingly enough, it very much resembles the 'pods that it is replacing. I have never been really big on a vpod but do like the way that it's just a bit wider for the screen but, otherwise, looks much like any other pod.

It's great in the form factor department and is now slimmer then the former iPods and the battery has apparently been improved with a longer life. I'm impressed with Apple's engineering (and am very much looking forward to the first photo "autopsy" that will appear online soon, i'm sure) and their constant improvements. This really is a pinacle product for them—and the start of a whole new iTunes sensation.

Remember when the iPod first came out? I have a first generation 5GB model. I purchased it as a refurb two years ago, which gave me a brand new 1-year warranty on it. Never have had a problem with it and really like it alot. But a smaller form factor is very important to me and I have been gravitating towards possibly a shuffle for listening to audiobooks in the car (or when geocaching). Than the nano came out (which I tried for the 1st time yesterday and LOVE).

I've heard lots of people crying about such limited video availability. Stop and think for a moment how "limited" the iTunes store seemed with the 5GB 1st Gen as the only option... remember? The video content is only the tip of a very deep, very well thought out, iceberg that is only being slowly revealed to us... lots of cool possibilities abound and one can only wonder how mapped out Steve Jobs' video domination strategy is. Guess we'll have to wait and find out.

Verdict? Great first release for a video 'pod. Not something i'd rush out to get, as my needs are much more for audio in a tiny package or perhaps audio/photos (Nano) since our third child is on the way. Would be nice to share family pics with friends.

The vpod will be a success. The content will eventually flood in. And Apple will, once again, be riding high on that wave as everybody else is just starting to paddle their rubber dinghys.

  ¶ 10/14/2005 11:57:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

  Hilarious, Witty Auction on eBay (Leather Pants)

This is so darn funny! I nearly died laughing when I was reading this auction for a pair of leather pants, worn only once (when trying on to impress a girl) many years "and a few presidencies" ago. After you enjoy the description, make sure you scroll down to read the questions and answers that were submitted. Have fun.  ¶ 10/14/2005 11:43:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

  Speaking of Security - My XP Experience

Not too long ago, I received a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop running Windows XP. I didn't have to pay for the laptop but am instead granted long-term use of it so that I can continue to assist in a consulting project that I took on with a product that currently only works with Windows due to an obscure driver issue.

I didn't realize at the time that, as a Comcast broadband user, I could download for free McAfee Anti-Virus, Firewall, Privacy Protection, etc. Good programs. Essentional programs for Windows users. So for a brief period of time I ran the Dell without anti-virus. I only used it at home on our secured wireless network.

Surprise! Well, actually... not a surprise. In the first day or two of using that laptop it became squirrelly acting and apparently got some ridiculous bug. It started randomly ringing its bell every few seconds and would do this all the time - no matter what I did to try and resolve it. I am not a Windows "newbie" and knew that running the laptop in a relatively unprotected state could (and would) result in problems, but figured that loading an A/V program up (I tried an open source option) would fix it up. Nope. No such luck. Ugh!

Ultimately the Dell started doing so many bizarre things that I completely formatted the HD and reloaded the OS and all the other optional goodies that I would use at some point back onto it. That was a nightmare. I never want to do something that ridiculous again. It's amazing how with very little use in just a day and a half that it went crazy (more like I did!)...

The Dell now has all the prerequisite safety features loaded up and it's working fine now. I sure learned a lesson the hard way and I *KNEW* not to... but sometimes human nature is hard to understand or explain! Doh!

  ¶ 10/10/2005 03:31:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

  Anarchy on the Web: Dangers You Can't See

Mac 360 has a new article that explains in easy to understand terms about the dangers we "can't see" that are out there on the web. Of the dangers explored, I'd say that Mac OS X users not putting on their firewall (or being behind one) is an invitation to mischief. I've checked out logs before and have seen thousands of times where my Mac has been probed over our cable connection and wireless connection. Nothing has come of it—i've got my firewall on—but the thought of some creative hackers playing around with passwords and other private information is definitely not a great feeling.

As Mac users we feel pretty darn secure from virus problems—no doubt we are compared to Windows users—but eventually someone will start to give it a "serious" try... although i'm not sure if they'd get too far... yet.

However, besides the virus problem we've got to address the many open wireless networks that are out there. Hey, it's great to find one and have 'net whenever/wherever but the person who doesn't secure their network is not only putting their system at risk but could be putting users at risk, too.

I know we've all heard it before—lock down your wireless (or wired, as i've experienced hack attacks inside large companies from outsiders jacking in and trying to break in) network... but so many people still don't do it.

A bit of prevention, easily learned and implemented, can go a long way into making your online life more pleasant.

  ¶ 10/10/2005 03:30:00 PM 0 comments links to this post