Fewer than two dozen people were in the lift line, so we have the resort practically to ourselves. I bet on a couple hundred people are on the slopes today (maybe because most are preparing for the Super Bowl). With the slopes practically empty and the snow fast, skiers are shooting down the mountain, even on the relatively flat sections.

I think that there are few things in life as enjoyable as family vacations. With everyone excited to be together and no household chores or schoolwork hanging over our heads, we can feel free to just enjoy one another’s company.

I hope that every family has the opportunity to get away from their daily responsibilities and enjoy being a family.

 

Some Moments are Precious!

The chapel park is located a few miles off the highway, down a two-lane country road. However, we knew that we had arrived when we saw the oversized signage and acres of free parking.

Cooling My Feet with a few Precious Friends

However, when I stepped out of the pool onto the brick pathway, I burned the soles of both of my feet! (Maybe it was my penance for being sacrilegious in a chapel park.)

Sometimes We Have to Laugh at Ourselves

We are glad that we stopped. An afternoon spent laughing enriched our relationship.

To get a full flavor of the park’s amenities, visit the Precious Moment’s Park website.

 

Maybe it was too much cabin pressure, but after a passenger attempted to retrieve overhead luggage and whacked Slater in the head, Slater had enough. He gave the passengers a piece of his mind over the airliner’s PA system, grabbed two beers, popped the emergency slide, and waved goodbye as he slid away to personal freedom.

At least once in life, everyone needs two beers and an escape chute.

 

My brother-in-law and another guest, both of whom drove four-wheel-drive trucks this weekend, had us happily on our way to the an entrance path to the top of one of the ski slopes. The driving was still a bit slippery and it was a good thing that our driver’s are patient men, as only one lane was open on the ski slope’s access road and we had to traverse through good sized snow piles that were on each side of the road.

We snapped on our skis and we were off! The three feet of fresh powder was just settling; the wind had died and the blowing snow of last night was not a problem, today. The air was crystal clear, the sun was shining, and the temperature was a perfect 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

We split up, taking the trails and runs that best suited our individual skills, and we met up at the bottom of the mountain to share the lift back to the top. Up and down we went (the mountain, that is). None of us fell, the entire day (although, I twice demonstrated klutzy “tricks” a few times).

We returned to the vacation house in time for a feast prepared by those who stayed in the house with the youngest children. Now, satiated and with a coffee by my side, I report that there’s never too much snow to go skiing.

There’s even better news. Our home town received three feet of snow, too. Many of the highways are passable, but the secondary roads are not yet plowed. I expect that my Monday classes will be canceled; we can all stay on the mountain an extra day! The only thing better than going on a ski vacation with family and friends is extending the vacation because of too much snow!

 

I am with family and friends at a mountain house in McHenry, Maryland. I wish I could leave this blog entry unwritten and be skiing today, but so much snow fell yesterday and overnight that we are housebound. The driving snow has switched to snow showers, but with about three feet of wet snow on the ground, none of our vehicles, including the four wheel drive SUVs and pickup truck can get to a ski run, let alone the resort at the base of the ski area.

One of 13 lifts may be running today, but the only people who will be skiing are those who have a room in the resort.

My family and I skied yesterday in blowing snow. Yesterday’s fresh powder made for soft runs down the hill, but today’s snow is wet and will make it difficult to even fall down the hill (that is if I could even get to the ski area, which is all of a half mile away).

Fortunately, I brought my Kindle DX and I have plenty of academic papers to grade, so I can keep busy inside the house.

With a dozen kids keeping us company, I hope that no one goes johnny.

 

What is the Cloud?
The cloud is a reference to storing data on a computer that is available through an Internet connection, usually via TCP/IP. An example of cloud computing is Amazon’s S3 service, which offers effectively unlimited storage space to database administrators and website designers.

What are Cloud Backups?
Cloud backups are offsite copies of data that are accessible through an Internet connection, 24/7. Rather than storing data backups onsite, cloud backups are stored in a well monitored, secure data storage center. All data are securely encrypted using security ciphers, such as the ultrasecure AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). Unless the decryption passphrase is known, the data cannot be accessed. Users of cloud backup systems are assured that no one may access the data files, unless the passphrase (or passphrases) are properly authenticated.

Most users are familiar with using onsite backups, such as flash media, CD/DVD discs, or external hard drives. All of these media suffer from a shared risk: local physical security. If your office were burgled or destroyed in a fire, these locally-stored backups would be at as much risk as your primary storage media (workstations and network servers). Since data are your organization’s most valuable resource, and the only resource that is irreplaceable (and uninsurable), you must take extra precautions to ensure your organization will survive in the event your computing equipment were lost.

Because the security and privacy of data is so important, users often have a difficult time selecting a service for offsite backups. The backed up data must not be left open to the public (especially competitors). After reading thousands of pages of related security material and investing a year in testing cloud backup solutions, ITrain uses and recommends two services: BackBlaze and JungleDisk.

Popular Cloud Backup Solutions
Our recommendation comes from careful evaluation of many online backup solutions. BackBlaze and JungleDisk easily became the top solutions for a number of reasons:
1. Ultrasecure data storage
2. Fast, unencumbered upstream and downstream bandwidth
3. No outages
4. Unlimited storage space
5. Simple, automated backup control user interface

Our office network currently stores about 72GB of important data, a combination of small word processing/spreadsheet files and large desktop publishing, audio, and video files. These files are required for daily operations, and must be protected. Hundreds of additional gigabytes of video files are also saved, but these are of secondary importance.

We backup all important files to BackBlaze, which costs $5 per month. We backup all critical word processing and spreadsheet files, about 20GB worth, to JungleDisk which costs $0.15 per gigabyte per month. In addition, all files are duplicated on multiple servers and encrypted external hard disks within the office.

Both BackBlaze and JungleDisk accept our data backups as fast as our upstream bandwidth can send the files (usually 5-8MB per second).

Both services allow us to protect the securing of the data using two passphrases; JungleDisk even double encrypts the files. In both cases, we use passphrases of up to 64 pseudorandom characters (a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numerals, and punctuation marks). Because our files include information about you, our members, we take extra precautions to ensure your information is well protected.

BackBlaze stores the files on its proprietary servers; JungleDisk offers the option of storing the files on Amazon’s S3 service or RackSpace’s servers.

Managing Multiple Copies of Backups
JungleDisk’s backup software is the ultimate in flexibility. We can control how many copies of each backed up file are stored and for how long copies are maintained. BackBlaze automatically retains copies of backed up files for 30 days. In both cases, the most recent copy of each file is retained until manually removed.

Restoring Data
Both JungleDisk and BackBlaze offer a web-based restoration menu. JungleDisk also offers a shared drive interface, so the backup directories appear as a network drive.

For large restorations–those that are too large to quickly download, BackBlaze will send the files on DVD or external hard disk, shipped via overnight FedEx.

Dave’s Opinion
I personally recommend both services, BackBlaze and JungleDisk. They offer the same level of data protection; however, they offer different benefits regarding data access and restoration. That is why ITrain uses both services.

BackBlaze is a generous sponsor of ITrain, the International Association of Information Technology Trainers, and is offering the association a complementary annual subscription (even after we offered to pay for the subscription). In addition, through May 30, 2009, you may subscribe to BackBlaze’s backup service at a 10% discount. Whether you subscribe for one month or one year, you may receive a 10% discount on your first order, if you use the BackBlaze hyperlink below and the discount code, ITRAIN.

Please, test the services and post a comment telling us your evaluation.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
BackBlaze
JungleDisk

 

Amazon’s e-book reader meets the criteria for an digital book reader that I described 20 years ago: easy to use, clear text, substantive capacity, over-the-air downloads.

Kindle 2 Physical Size & Capacity

The Kindle2 is lightweight, 10.2 oz, about the size of a trade paperback book,
8” by 5.3”, and about as thick as a magazine, 0.36”. It was surprisingly thinner and lighter than I expected. This makes the Kindle2 easy to hold and carry. I can slip the e-book reader into my notebook case or keep it in its own leather binder. Either way, it is smaller than all but a few of the paperback books in my library.

I currently have five dozen books installed in the Kindle’s memory, and I have used less than .09GB of the device’s 1.49GB of available memory. This means that I should be able to store about 1,000 books similar to the ones that I have already downloaded. However, the books that I have installed are significantly longer than most books: Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s, the complete collections of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s and Mark Twain’s. Some of the books that I have installed are each thousands of pages in length, so I expect that the average reader will be able to carry upwards of 2,000 typical length books. Not bad for a device that can be carried in purse or computer bag.

Available Content for Kindle

With a quarter million books available from Amazon.com and thousands more available for free from other sites, I have had no problem finding interesting material to read on my Kindle. I downloaded classics that are now in the public domain from feedbooks.com, others from Amazon.com. Most popular books sell for $9.99; however, I was surprised to find that many books cost less, many for under a dollar.

Whether I purchase the books using my notebook or Kindle’s web interface, the books immediately download via a cellular connection to the device.

The device includes a web browser through which I can access Google and Wikipedia, as well as most sites. Some complex HTML designs confuse the device’s browser, but for the most part, I have had no significant problems.

Many of the academic papers that I read are delivered in PDF. The Kindle cannot directly read PDF files; however, Amazon offers a free conversion service: I e-mail the PDF files to my private Amazon.com e-mail address, and the Kindle versions of the documents automatically download to my device within a few minutes.

Change in Reading Habit

What most struck me about the e-book reader is the ways that it has changed my reading habits. I have read a dozen books on the device during the last two weeks. During the same period I read two paperback and two hardcover books. I compared reading physical and digital books during the same period.

I never noticed it before, but reading a physical book presents a few challenges. My thumbs were tired after holding the physical books open; I had never taken notice of this problem before. In addition, I had difficulty taking notes while reading the physical books. When my writing hand moved to the pad on my knee or desk, the book folded over, making it difficult to refer to the text.

Neither of these physical problems occurred while reading on the Kindle. In addition, I noticed that I more closely focused on the content of the text, as the Kindle displays only a single page at a time. When making notes, I could lay the device down and easily write in my notebook. I experimented with the digital notetaking feature of the Kindle, but the device’s keyboard does not lend itself to fast typing, so I kept to my paper notes.

Recommendation

I recommend, without hesitation, Amazon’s new e-book reader. Whether you read books, magazines, newspapers, or other documents–or a combination–I think that you will find the Kindle 2 a welcome tool in your literary kit. Buy the Kindle 2 directly from Amazon.com through this hyperlink: Amazon Kindle 2.

 

I was waiting for a car inspection, and the service manager recommended Kelsey’s. I was seated in the formal dining room and allowed to read in private. I was surprised by the attentive wait staff, who respected my concentration by quietly serving me.

I will return to Kelsey’s, bringing my family for a meal.

(posted by iPhone)

 

The earcup cushion on right side of the headphones came lose due to a broken connection. I could not reconnect the cushion, so I stopped by the Bose store at The Mall in Columbia (Maryland) to purchase a replacement cushion.

The sales representative and I recognized one another, as she had sold me my headphones 19 months ago. Even though my headphones are now well past the warranty period, the sales representative offered to solve my problem for free.

Rather than replacing my cushion, she replaced my entire headphone. I could not have been happier. I love my Bose Wave® radio and I still love my noise canceling headphones.

I was treated in a manner that makes me a loyal Bose customer, and I am glad to be a Bose fanboy.

###

I am amending this article after reading Harry’s article on Men with Pens.

Harry received a free upgrade to a software application after offering to buy the upgrade and complimenting the company on the great product. Being nice to a customer service representative creates a useful dynamic: both parties, the customer and the service representative, are able to do good for the other. I think this is why I received such excellent service from Melissa at the Bose store. I was polite to her, and I offered to purchase a replacement earcup cushion. She, in return, was able to help me to feel like an extra special customer by going far beyond my expectations.

Maybe we should all take a lesson from Blanchard and Bowles’s book, Raving Fans.

 

This distributed network will allow all users of the new Linux version to share one another’s central processing units (CPU). Users who are not taking full advantage of their computers’ CPUs will automatically share available CPU cycles with those Linux users who are executing procedures that can take advantage of extra cycles that exceed their own computer’s CPU.

Distributed networks, such as the Seti@Home project, which now requires the BOINC application, enable potentially millions of computer CPUs to share the effort of calculating complex formulae and searching large data pools. BOINC and Seti@Home are provided courtesy of the University of California, Berkeley.

The new Linux distribution, while similar to the BOINC network in effect, will not require the installation of the BOINC client software. By design, each computer on which the new version of Linux is installed will automatically seek out other similar installations and connect seamlessly into a distributed network, all without requiring the user’s taking any affirmative consent or action. The net effect of will be a global distributed network of Linux computers, some of which have hundreds of thousands of CPUs already networked into a single cluster, will share the processing power of one another’s CPUs.

A single user executing an application that requires trillions of CPU cycles may find the application completing in seconds, as the Linux distributed network shared the applications execution across hundreds of free CPUs. Given that Linux is used worldwide, free CPU cycles are expected to always be available, as computers are usually left running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Those computers that are expected to provide the greatest service are Web servers, which are connected to the Internet backbone through high bandwith connections. Home users connected via broadband will also provide a solid foundation to this new distributed Linux network, especially those with fiber to the home connections that have high speed upstream connections.

 

The national chain restaurant was much less than I expected. I ordered a shredded beef burrito, my wife a chicken burrito. Neither was appetizing; they were each barely edible. The mushy, sticky burrito was overstuffed with rice and beans, leaving little room for meat or seasoning.

We ordered a taco salad for one of our daughters, and she was happy with her dinner; however, she had none of her usually positive comments that follow her meals.

I suggest that you pass Qdoba in favor of a locally owned restaurant the next time that you feel like eating a bit of Mexican food.

The restaurant at which we ate was in Ellicott City, Maryland:
9050 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410-203-0010
410-203-9191 fax

 

The Pew Internet & American Life Project surveyed Americans’ use of a variety of information sources that help them seek answers to common problems that could in some way be related to government agencies and programs. The survey evaluated how Americans seek information on

1. dealing with a serious illness or health concern
2. making a decision about school enrollment
3. financing school
4. upgrading work skill
5. dealing with a tax matter
6. changing a job or starting a business
7. getting information about major programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

The survey’s major findings are

1. The internet is a go-to source
2. Searchers usually end up satisfied
3. Libraries meet special needs
4. Digital divides matter
5. Government documents should be created and delivered in all shapes and sizes
6. E-government is not an option, it’s a necessity

Like most Americans, I grew up using public libraries. My parents were often willing to drive me to the major public library in my hometown. When I was old enough to ride my bicycle more than just a few miles from home, I started spending time at the local college libraries. This respect for and love of library resources continues in me today. If it were not for the inclement weather, I would be spending this lazy Sunday afternoon at the public library.

The Pew report introduces the role of libraries, “For generations, public libraries have played a central role in providing a vast range of information to Americans. From the stacks of non-fiction books, to racks of newspapers and magazines, to shelves of reference materials and government documents, libraries have been the place to go to find answers to questions.”

Over the last decade and a half, the internet has offered a challenge to libraries’ dominance of reference resources. Most popular magazines publish the same content material in digital format as is published in the print format. Dictionaries and encyclopedias, including those with which most Americans are familiar, are available for free or a nominal annual fee on the internet. Now, with the popularization of e-book readers, such as those from Sony and Amazon.com, books can be easily delivered in digital format, no longer requiring avid readers to physically travel to the library. In fact, my local public library offers a wide selection of digital materials through its internet portal, including streaming music, music downloads, and books, which may be checked out for three weeks, just like a printed book.

However, as the Pew report identifies, this flexibility of accessing published data is only available to those with broadband internet access. Dial-up users are more restricted in accessing online resources, and are more likely to use their physical library resources for research.

Pew Internet & American Life Project report: Information Searches that Solve Problems.

 

My family and I were promptly seated, just before the dinner rush on a Wednesday evening. We accepted a booth between the hostess’s stand and the kitchen, and this may have accounted for the quality of our service.

Our server was prompt and polite. She was efficient without a hint of being brusque: friendly and focused. Our drinks arrived within two minutes, and our food arrived just a few minutes later. I honestly felt as if we were the only patrons in the restaurant.

While we were sipping our drinks, a party of nine entered the restaurant. Chips and salsa were efficiently placed on the large table before the party was seated. The manager choreographed the staff’s efforts so that this large party would be well cared for and would not disrupt our server’s responsibilities toward the other tables.

Our food was well prepared and neatly presented. I am a finicky eater, and I found nothing amiss with my family’s meals.

I recommend On The Border, locations and menu details are available online.

 

I ordered a tuna and bacon melt on sourdough bread. Peggy ordered the crabcake melt on sourdough. Although my tuna sandwich was great, I should have ordered the crabcake; it was out of this world!

The service was quick and seamless. Our server was attentive and polite.

The restaurant, now three week’s old is considering expanding into the space next door, which I think is a great move. We waited 20 minutes for our table on Friday evening, and the restaurant was filled throughout the dinner hours.

I am glad to see that the restaurant has a solid clientele. The word must be getting around town that this is the place to eat…both lunch and dinner.

I hope to see you soon at Soto’s Grill. You will find the restaurant at 8001 Hillsborough Road in Ellicott City 21043 (map). If you would like to call ahead for reservations, the phone number is 443.574.8989.

 

Soto’s Grill opened at the end of May 2007, and I have twice eaten at this upscale, yet relaxed, restaurant. Serving Greek, Italian, and American fare, Soto’s Grill is a respite from the noise and commotion of the national chain restaurants.

I suggest that you order the stromboli. You will have sufficient food for two meals. I have talked with many diners and everyone likes the restaurant and the food. This is a must-see restaurant.

Located at 8001 Hillsborough Road in Ellicott City 21043 (map), the restaurant faces the community recreation park and the woods surrounding old Ellicott City. The restaurant accepts reservations, 443.574.8989

 

Large Hadron Collider

While the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest high-energy particle accelerator, was not expected to come online and be available for research activities for another six months, this information-transfer process was tested during the system’s post-installation efficacy evaluation process (PIEEP). The LHC resides within a 27 km circumference underground tunnel that ranges in depth below ground level from 50 to 150 meters.

The telecommunications network, which requires no physical interstitial points of transmission, will allow transmission bandwidth of at least 100MB/s between endpoints. Owing to the quantum distribution properties of protons and the availability of unused geosynchronous satellites currently in orbit, terrestrial endpoints may be located anywhere and airborne endpoints may be located to a maximum altitude of 150 miles above the surface of the Earth.

Technology Background

A proton is a subatomic particle with a positive electrical charge of one fundamental unit (1.602 x 10-19 coulomb). The CERN scientists, led by Dr. Albus Luminare, were able to store 8 bytes of quantum data within a single photon of pure white light. Using light photons, which travel through a vacuum at 299,792,458 meters per second, the scientists were able to effect the high bandwidth data network, creating multiple individual channels of data between two end points at near fiber-optic speed.

The current research demonstrates that data transmission does not have to be limited to a single transmission medium, such as a fiber-optic cable. Rather, multiple independent transmission streams may be effected through the use of quantum entanglement, and directed focus mirrors, which allow the digital data to be transmitted without the need of physical cables. Data endpoints may transmit and receive data between cellular and internet endpoints using satellite-based mirrors, literally reflecting the multiple data streams off mirrors in geostationary orbit, 22,500 miles above the surface of the Earth.

Dr. Luminare, chairman of the Worldwide System Hardware Language Infrastructure Systems & Technology Symposium (WiSHLISTS), has announced that the charitable organization will license—at no cost–the new technology, called the Proton-based Information System (PIS), to nations willing to offer free nationalized cellular and internet service to citizens, without restriction.

Dave’s Opinion

The PIS network sounds the death knell for terrestrial telephone and broadband providers. My sources confirm that the symposium’s services will be available before the end of the year, and I expect to see a plethora of new mobile digital devices that will take advantage of this high-speed data network.
It is fortunate that Dr. Luminaire’s team of scientists conducted their research during the LHC’s PIEEP phase, as CERN reported earlier this week that the LHC suffered a failure of its three quadrupole magnets.

Call for Comments

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References

CERN
LHC Magnet Test Failure

 

I have avoided eating at this restaurant, because my experience tells me that mall restaurants often cater to diners who do not expect proper service, so long as the food is delivered quickly. I was in such a good mood after our religious services, that I wanted to eat with my family, regardless of the restaurant that we selected. I let my guard down, and we ventured into P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

We were politely greeted and warned of a possible 25-35 minute wait. The greeters were courteous to overestimate the wait, and they seated us within 20 minutes. However, from there, the service stopped.

Our server was surly and abrupt, interrupting my family as we placed our drink and food orders. Her interruptions caused her to misunderstand our preferences, and she failed to accurately deliver our preferred beverages.

She then dropped two wet and dirty empty plates in front of my daughters, well before our meals were to be delivered. I asked that the plates be removed and replaced with clean ones. The server clanked the plates together next to my ear and quite literally huffed off to the kitchen. One of the replacement plates was also soiled, and the server demonstrated her displeasure by asking me if she should stand there while I inspected the new plate.

We left before our food was delivered.

I cannot, in any good conscious make a recommendation about this restaurant other than stay far away from P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

 

I was on my way to the university, this evening, and I needed to grab a bite. I dropped into the Frisco Grille & Cantina for a sandwich and fries, and I discovered a little bit of south-of-the-border heaven.

When I first entered the foyer, I almost walked out…it’s not much to speak of, visually, but a bartender saw me and pointed out the menu. The cook prepares meals in full view of the carryout counter, so you’ll what’s going into your meal. This setup doesn’t present well, but it’s an informal combo southwestern-sports bar and restaurant; I took the ambience with a grain of salt. Good thing I did.

I ordered the Sante Fe burger with fries. It was prepared quickly and fully-cooked, as I asked. The cook prepared the platter well, and the portion was more than generous. This was a dinner that made me happy.

The bar serves 19 different microbrews, and every week features a different brewery. Weeknights have a happy hour from 2-6, and Thursday-Saturday nights different musicians come into entertain, starting at 9.

The menu includes burritos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, taquitos, fajitas, salads, and burgers. A kid’s menu includes quesadilla and chicken fingers.

The restaurant is located at 8865 Stanford Blvd, off Dobbin Road. The restaurant’s phone number is 410.312.4907, and the website is friscogrille.com.

When you stop in tell ‘em that you heard about the food on SaysDave.com.

 

This thought came to me while I was sitting in a Barnes & Noble bookstore, drinking a cup of coffee and working through the last few pages of a book on multidimensional physics.

My acquaintances, John and Dan, and I went out for lunch last Sunday. I picked up Dan and together we drove to John’s house. As I hoped, John was ready to go, when we arrived—it was almost 2:30, and I was hungry. We had not seen one another in a while, so we were interested in catching up with one another’s news—especially John’s academic studies. John had a laughing about his falling asleep while reading a less-the-gripping textbook, a problem that plagues all scholars on occasion.

It did not strike us a unusual that a student would find a textbook dry until we remembered that John is blind. It was Dan who first remembered, and he asked John if he were reading the book or listening to the book on tape. I got to thinking about the problems that John might face while completing his academic work—what if a text were not published in audio format? I asked him about this, and he explained how he converts digital texts to audio format.

His comments have been twisting and turning in the back of my mind for the last few days. I am an academic, a full time faculty member. All of my texts are delivered in digital format, as either HTML or Adobe PDF documents. With the exception of two grammatical style manuals, all texts are digitized and delivered electronically, to both students and faculty. The university has a fully-digitized reference library, so with the exception of two writing references, all books are available in digital format.

Many of the Adobe PDF books are protected from unauthorized distribution by DRM (digital rights management) encryption, a system that allows only authorized recipients to open, view, and print the books.

Many of my students have complained that the publishers’ DRM encryption fails to work on home computers, so they are left to read each chapter in HTML, without being able to download and print the entire properly-formatted text,

As much as I advocated within the university for a conversion from physical to digital texts, I never imagined that the publishers would so bungle the books’ distribution chain. Protection of copyright is vital in America, and I so believer in copyright and other intellectual property protections that I made the topic the focus of my dissertation. However, unless the works are accessible to the scholars—the book’s consumers—who pay the bills, the DRM protections defeat their purpose: making the texts accessible only to those who have paid for the text.

 

Knowledge is power, when it is wielded to advantage. I came to consider this caveat a few months ago, when my wife challenged me with the question, “What are you going to do with all of the books that you read?” What was left unsaid in her question was, what would I do with the knowledge that I gained from reading the books?

Listen to the podcast at Internet Archive.

I have been pondering that question since last autumn, and I do not yet have an answer. Last June, when the Discovery Channel ran the special Krakatoa: Volcano of Destruction, I reserved a Sunday evening to watch the show. During the two weeks leading up to the show, I read every book on Karatoau and volcanoes that were in my county library, which is ranked first in the nation among great public libraries. Since then, I have had a simmering interest in geology, and I have read a few dozen more books on the general subject. This behavior is not unusual for me…I frequently find a topic piquing my interest, and I delve into it obsessively.

But, so what? What will I do with my broad introductory knowledge of geology and volcanism? I do not yet have an answer. My family and friends invite me to be on their team, when we play Trivial Pursuit, and I win our annual family vacation game of Who can state the most esoteric fact?…although, I have a wife and sister-in-law who give me a run for my money!

I am filled with questions, and I create new questions to be answered, throughout the day. I write my questions and queer tidbits of data in a small notebook that I carry in my backpack; here are a few examples:

1. Orthography: writing system
2. Orthoepy: pronunciation (phonology)
3. Out of a group of 23 people, there is a 75 percent chance of two sharing the same birthday.
4. There are an estimated 100 billion stars in a galaxy, 100 billion galaxies in the universe; the universe is 13.8 billion years old.
5. A. Einstein wrote, “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.”
6. Galileo’s principle of relativity: So long as one is moving at a constant velocity, there is nothing one can do to measure the speed of motion–or whether motion exists at all.
7. Coins (money) have milled edges to prevent counterfeiters’ clipping off edges to make new coins.
8. There were 250 individual languages and cultures in North America at the time of Columbus’s landing.
9. Stochastic resonance is the physical noise from solar variations. Stochastic resonance is also used as background noise to improve faint signal reception in both electronic and audio transmission.
10. Fluctuations in the height of the oceans may explain the 10,000-year periodicity of Earth’s ice ages.

I have created a world for myself in which I can explore topics that have immediate interest; however, I have not yet figured out how to put the knowledge that I gain to advantage (other than by making interesting dinner conversation and winning at a board game).

On the other hand, I also delved into the learning and thinking about the application of information technology, specific digital technology, with the same passion, and I was fortunate to build two businesses from this knowledge (and eventually return to academic teaching).

I encourage us all to be passionate about learning and to constantly seek applications for our knowledge.

 

When I originally wrote this article, I was visiting one of my favoriate vacation spots in the United States: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I am shocked that a paucity of public life line networks the coffee shop down the road from our resort offers free wireless Internet service and the sundry store on the other side of the shopping doubles as an Internet café selling access for $6.00 a day.

One of the Marriott facilities has a public a spot in the lobby, and that is about it. I’ve run across over a dozen guests with notebook computers; how many more could there be a who haven’t brought their computers down to the pool? What is the facility manager thinking? I wonder if there are 100 or more guests who would jump at the chance to get on the net for a bit–there are four of us, just in my vacation party.

I am disappointed that there are not more public wi-fi hot spots on the island. The hot spot that I found in our resort’s lobby is not really designed to be accessed by notebook computers,rather it is for owners of wireless digital cameras that would like to access the photo printer.
The owner of sundries store in the shopping plaza a half mile from our resort is friendly enough, and he opens the store early in the morning, at 6 o’clock. However, in order to use his wi-fi network to log into my class newsgroups or to check e-mail or the day’s news, I have to either walk with my backpack down to the plaza or jump in the family van and drive off in either case I’m gone for my family for the better part of an hour or two, which is not something that I find appealing while on vacation.

I have spoken with resort manager few times over the last few years asking when wi fi network will be more readily accessible across the complex and I’ve received platitudes and broad promises that next year we should have wi-fi access available in each of the condos. To me, that’s just not a good answer, given the business climate in which were expected to be accessible for at least a few minutes, each day.

At this ski chalet that we visit each winter during Super Bowl weekend, wi-fi access is available, and I am able to maintain a consistent all be at abbreviated work schedule during that vacation. I feel much more comfortable during that vacation—even though I am really up each person—because I can check in with my classes very easily both first thing in the morning and again after dinner, and I stay up with national and international news by leaving my rss feed reader open on my notebook computer.

How does it work for you? Are you able to find wi-fi access when you’re on vacation?

 

Reliance on digital technology creates a sense of emphasis on keeping busy and productive. The internet and the burgeoning world of e-business allow both geographic and chronologic flexibility. Word, both commercial and personal, may be attended with greater individual flexibility than ever before. No longer are many white collar professional—am I am not sure that this term is any longer appropriate, as casual dress is now encouraged during the entire work week—required to complete work at the corporate office.

Home desktop computers and especially portable notebook computers allow professionals to attend ot responsibilities at locations other than the office or rather, the personal computers enable the “office” to be flexible, as to location. For example, I am writing this article at our vacation beach house on a Sunday morning. I have significant discretion in choosing where and when I write because I am able to easily carry my notebook computer with me…in other words, I can easily carry my workplace with me.

As a full-time academic, my notebook computer has allowed me to change the way that I do library research. I take it with me to the library, use the wi-fi service to access the internet, and search the card catalog—all without leaving my study carrel. My time in the library is more productive, as I save time in physical movement, and I am able to cut and past data from the catalog (or other research reference) into my digital documents, ensuring greater accuracy for my reference citations.

The outcome of this available flexibility is a reliance on the digital technology as an aid to constantly-available work. I often find the I squeeze in work when I would otherwise be at ease or engaged in other pursuits. The always-available work environment intrudes into my life, at times.

 

I am not sure that most retail associates would be able to calculate the correct change for a $37.63 charge if the customer presented a $100 bill. Retail clerks rely on the cash register to calculate the sales tax and change that should be returned to the customer. Some registers even suggest alternative combinations of bills and coins to hand to the customer so that the proper change is delivered.

I am not sure that most retail associates would be able to calculate the correct change for a $37.63 charge if the customer presented a $100 bill. Retail clerks rely on the cash register to calculate the sales tax and change that should be returned to the customer. Some registers even suggest alternative combinations of bills and coins to hand to the customer so that the proper change is delivered.As a child, I was taught to accurately compute my sales totals, estimate the sales tax, and determine the anticipated change that I would receive for each purchase that I made. I was even taught to do these calculations in my head, without the help of a pencil and paper, let alone a calculator or automatic cash register—not that I would have been able to bring a cash register along in my pocket! To this day, I can quickly do a fast estimation of arithmetic, especially summations. This is a skill that serves me well as I move through the checkout line at the grocery store.

I find it difficult to believe that the proliferation of electronic calculators, spreadsheet applications, and yes, self-totaling cash registers has not had a deleterious effect on the general population’s skills at arithmetic. Skills, once learned but rarely practiced, are lost. Skills never learned are, by definition, lost to the user.

The general population, by all accounts, feels no need to learn, let alone practice, arithmetic, in its daily activities. Prove this to yourself by mentally estimating the cost of a fuel for an 850 mile road trip in a vehicle that yields 28 miles per gallon of gasoline at a cost of $3.05 per gallon. Even a quick estimate, without minor rounding of $1.00 per 10 miles, times 85 (or $0.10 per mile times 850) equals a rough estimate of $85 in gasoline cost (close to the actual cost of $92.59).

My mother, who was graduated from only high school just after World War II and had no further academic training amazed me recently during a phone call by arguing that airline fares would cost less than the cost of fuel and lodging should she and Dad come for a visit. It is just this type of numeracy that is lost to the current generation of Americans. Why have we lost this skill?

Without a calculator, most of us are innumerate. As helpful as a calculator or spreadsheet is to use—and I own at least a dozen calculators of various sizes—I rue our loss of the skills that were once considered academic de rigueur.

 

How does the public access to weblogs (blogs) affect our culture? Recently, online pundits have considered the effect that blogs have had on our nation’s political process. The presidential election of 2004 was the first to receive significant effect from bloggers, rather than just from those pseudo-journalists who report live from the national political conventions. Both major parties, the Republicans and Democrats, as well as the second-tier parties made full and good use of the low-cost (free) and concurrent interaction afforded by the blogosphere. I call this concurrent interaction because blogging allows readers immediate access to posted articles.

Just as soon as an article is posted to a blog, by the blog’s author, it is available to be read by anyone, anywhere in the world using no technology more sophisticated than a web browser.
Not only blogging, but also branding and the creation of a vertical mass of support came on the wave of digital activism in the 2004 election. Gradually, as with most new media, the net, blogging in particular, became an essential component of American politics.

However, like a hometown newspaper, yet to a global venue, the internet served the purposes of the candidates, themselves; the professional journalists in addition to their traditional outlets of television, radio, magazines, and newspapers; the active political voices: pollsters, pundits, and activists, both organized and individual, and citizen individuals, in addition to offering front yards and automobile bumpers and letters to the editor, through digital publications, including blogs and their follow-on comments and feedback tools.

An excellent example of the net’s political power netted candidate, Vermont Governor Howard Dean a half million dollars in a digital campaign to raise donations in competition with a forthcoming Republican fundraiser. The Republican fundraiser, a $2,000-a-plate luncheon netted a quarter million dollars in donations, while in the same time, the online Dean campaign netted a cool half million dollars. Also of note, the Republicans touched only 125 guests (donors), while the Dean campaign touched 9,700 donors.

Not only did the Dan campaign raise significantly more money and tap almost two magnitudes more supporters, it did so for less cost and effort.

Dean’s campaign slogan, “You have the power,” reflected not only poetically, but also, directly, the influence of digital politics.

However, by the time of each major party’s convention, the lessons of Howard Dean’s campaign were already forgotten–or maybe they were yet to be internalized–because at nether convention were leading candidates’ website URLs prominently displayed or promoted.

Further campaigns will likely play out in the digital arena, more so than in the past. Driven by a desire to promote populist values and inclusion of an increasingly diverse electorate, candidates’ managers will seek to parlay the low-cost, immediate publication of simultaneous interaction services of the net; blogging is but the first of the new technologies to be developed.

 

It is estimated, based on Technorati’s numbers, that the blogosphere, the global blog space, is doubling in size about every six months.

One hundred and seventy-five thousand blogs are created every day–two every second. These aren’t blog entires, but new blogs, each with dozens to thousands of articles. an estimated 1.6 million entries are posted to blogs each day–eighteen per second. These numbers do not account for the comments, trackback pings, and e-mail distributions that follow many of the articles.

While most bloggers post in English–about thirty-nine percent–thirty-one percent ware written in Japanese. Together, these languages comprise seventy percent of the blogosphere.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

References
Technorati

 

My youngest daughter and I were running errands, today, and we were looking for a restaurant on the east side of Columbia. We found the Blue Cow Cafe in our Entertainment book, along with a “buy-one-get-one-free” coupon. The coffee shop was so inviting that I’ll return, even without another coupon!

The menu serves a wide selection of grilled and cold sandwiches, but we took our server’s recommendation of the grilled turkey and cold tuna fish sandwiches. Both were ample, and the turkey was out of this world. I describe it, without hesitation, as the best turkey sandwich that I have ever eaten. Garnished with avocado, it was a healthy, filling lunch. I added a bowl of chili that beats mine (and I judge that I make a mean chili).

The decorations include artwork from local artists, most of which is available for purchase. Board games, newspapers, and magazines are available to diners, and a free lending library fills one shelf. I suggest that you bring a book to swap, when you visit.

An old-fashioned ice cream bar sits along one wall, and it appears that the staff can make more than just milkshakes.

This is just the type of restaurant that every community deserves. The owner, Karen Blue, shows her true colors by not only supporting her local Thunder Hill community, but those from far away. Following Hurricane Katrina, Karen’s family invited four survivors to their home, and Karen offered them work in the coffeehouse.

This is a restaurant that we must support.

Blue Cow Cafe
5134 Thunder Hill Rd
Columbia, Maryland 21045
410.772.8999
410.772.1343 fax

Specials
Free limite area delivery with $20 minimum order.
All credit and debit cards accepted
10% teacher discount on Mondays

Additional details
Modern Babies & Children review
Yahoo! Local

 

The drive home was enjoyable, mostly because my wife read a new diet book that her doctor had recommended. The thesis of the diet plan is that we should be eating more fish oil that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids. The author stretched this simple theme out for a few hundred pages, mostly by repeating himself and interjecting fluffy personal asides, some of which we practically satirical in and of themselves. I appreciate my wife’s reading aloud when we drive. He voice is level and clear; it’s very easy to listen to.

We picked up our family dog at the kennel, right after unloading the family van. Our dog had a great time, and she didn’t’ terrorize the larger dogs, according to the staffer at the front desk. She seems grateful to be home with us, so she must not have gotten her usual dose of personal attention, this stay. That sometimes happens during our summer vacations, the kennel is so busy, that each dog is mostly left to keep itself entertained.

Speaking of doses, is it common to assess an extra charge to administer a pill with each dog’s meal? Our kennel added a two dollar-per-pill surcharge to our bill, a new fee. We negotiated the extra charge away, but it bothers me that a charge would even be assessed for a pill that can be served in the dog’s food.

Oh, and another fee was going to be assessed for feeding our dog her own feed. Fortunately, I learned of this new fee when we dropped off the dog. I figured save money on the fee and food; let the dot eat eh kennel’s fare…it’s the same brand of food that we serve the dog at home.

At any rate, we’re home, safe and sound. A little tanner, and we have plenty of great memories. Best of all, it’s the first vacation in recent memory that didn’t find someone in the emergency room!

 

This morning I bought my coffee at the convenience store, about a half mile inland from the ocean. The store is a regular stop for the laborers who are on their way to repair roads, build decks, and install electrical wiring; at least those are the jobs that I assume from the lettering on the side of the trucks parked out front.

The prime purchases, this morning, are coffee—large—and pastries, not fresh doughnuts. The pastries are packaged and fatty, you’ve seen them on the rack…they sell for about a buck, each. One coffee, two pastries per man.

The two checkout clerks are young, blonde and perky…pretty local girls who know the banter and are able to giggle and flirt with the customers. These girls are Unlike the Russian students who come to work in the restaurants and clothing stores for the summer. The foreign teenagers are recruited for their work ethic and willingness to work through to the end of the season, but they lack the facility with English to entice the working class crowd at the convenience store.

I took my coffee down to the beach, planning to read on the boardwalk. As I reached the steps leading up to the walkway, I lieutenant from the town’s fire department greet me, as he headed in the direction of the fire station. I noticed that he was carrying a cup of coffee from the same convenience store. The firefighter had ignored other walkers who were carrying coffee in drip-proof thermal mugs or in cups from the fancy coffee shop on the boardwalk. Does drinking economy-priced coffee mark me as worthy of a morning acknowledgement?

Probably so. I have noticed this behavior before, on the part of the locals. The locals know where to get a good cup of coffee at a reasonable price and the vacationers usually buy their coffee in the shopping district, along the main drag.

So, coffee becomes a social marker. Where one buys coffee tells a lot about a person: are you worth a hello?

 

I enjoy swimming in the ocean—if only I had a boardwalk that connected the surf to the Boardwarlk, the beach would be perfect for me. I enjoy sitting on the benches—up on the boardwalk—watching the sunbathers, but I am no longer one to bake myself. I would rather have my skin for another eight decades than a tan for eight days.

I found two small piles of sand in the family van yesterday, right where my wife puts her feet. Even after washing her feet, the sand was collected in her zoris, and it fell off as it dried.

What is it that so attracts us to sand, at least after the age of eight? After the sand castles are built, there’s nothing to do with beach sand but sit on it. Is the ocean so appealing that we are willing to put up with the sand, or am I missing something? I enjoy watching the ocean from the porch of a beach house and from the boardwalk, but I feel a strong aversion to the sand.

I wonder why so many others flock to lay their towels down at ten o’clock each morning, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and beyond for hearty folk, like my family.

 

Nothing calls my family to the picnic table quite a well as the smell of steamed crabs. First, the children, who are full after picking one apiece. Then, the adults, those who will stay seated until the last bit of meat has been picked, peeled, pried, and sucked from the chests, legs, and claws of each crab, even the ones that were poorly picked by the children.

Crab eating is a slow affair. A relationship-building activity that can easily last for hours. Breaks for beer and bandages may interrupt the constant work, but not for too long. The conversation varies across a wide spectrum: sports, politics, school, religion, work. We discuss everything, because ultimately, crabs are not about satiating physical hunger as much as emotional. We learn to like those we love across the piles of crab shells.

I didn’t grow up in Maryland, so crab eating is a learned skill for me. I have been struck from my first crabfeast by the social overtones that accompany this Chesapeake standard. Crabs are social, both in in the bsay and on the table.

 

I noticed them for the first time this year, although the lights may have been hung a year ago. I would have to ask my wife to be sure; she has a better memory for these mundane details, than I. The lights add a carnival atmosphere to the town hall, at the entrance to the three-block-long main street.

During the day, drivers and walkers are greeted by a twenty-foot-tall totem pole, as the turn onto the main street from the coastal highway. It is a popular landmark for those giving driving directions: “Turn at the totem pole, then park anywhere along the main drag.” At night, the totem pole becomes invisible, so the midway-styled lights of the town hall are the directional marker.

When I saw the lights for the first time, as I recall, last evening, I thought the gaudy display was distracting to the quiet ambience of this seaside village. The lights seemed out of place—maybe too commercial? Tonight, though, I had a different thought. Maybe the lights, while being a bit too bright, add sparkle and life to the town. The lights are the town’s growing pain—like a teenager who wears a bit too much eye shadow or slaps on too much cologne. The town needs to learn to grow into its decorations and that most of the time, understatement sounds loudest.

 

Regulars open the sidewalks at six o’clock each morning. They gather at the coffee shop to talk about the weather and to complain about the latest real estate developments that bring the mcmansions to block the ocean view from the highway. The town bakery opens at six thirty, but only the vacationers stop there—locals know that the largest cup of coffee can now be had at the new coffee shop, down on the boardwalk.

Routine is the rule of this fledgling beach town. Caught in the adolescence of growth, old and new share the sidewalk. Each summer one new restaurant or store comes in as a replacement for the one that went out of business. Only one, maybe two. Not so much change that the routine is disrupted. Except for the coffee shop. When it arrived three years ago, the town began to awaken a half hour earlier, and the conversation became a half hour longer.

I am not a native, but I am a regular. July and August are my months for beach coffee—one week in each month. I have come in June and in the fall, but my daughters are now well into school, and we can no longer skip whole weeks during the school year, just to beat the summer traffic.

Therefore, for two weeks, in the middle of summer, each year, I join the conversation. Not that it is worth joining for any particular reason other than joining. It is the same every day, routine. That is what I like about it—simple talk, something that I will do nowhere else for the rest of the year.

 

John Stossel’s latest book, Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel–Why Everything You Know is Wrong is a fun, quick read. I learned that the United States spends more on public education than we do on military spending: I am furious that we spend $536 billon each year on elementary and secondary education* and many adults that I meet are poor readers and absolutely horrendous writers. I must incorporate a few hours of basic grammar and composition lecture into each of my university classes, for both undergraduate and graduate students! Give me a break!

This book is a must read for every citizen that desires who seeks to be informed and is willing to have his or her opinions challenged.

*I confirmed this number on the U.S. Department of Education website.

Recommendation: Read Now

Buy this book at Amazon.com

 

I enjoyed reading It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes more than any other books, this season. It is fun romp through the natural sciences, organized by annual season: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Dennis describes natural weather patterns and their effects, including a particularly lucid explanation of the Coriolis effect. As a certified pilot, I have studied weather extensively, and I wish I had read this book, during my training; it is much more readable than the aviation weather texts I have previously read.

The book is chock full of accessible explanations of the causes of heat, hail, and halos.

I judge this is a book that appropriate for each household’s bookshelf; it is a perfect family reading. I have ordered a personal copy for my family’s collection!

Recommendation: Read Now

Buy this book at Amazon.com

 

I enjoyed this Krakatoa, immensely, just as I have each of Winchester’s other books. I am preparing to watch the Discover Channel special on Krakatoa, and I wanted to gain a factually-accurate, social perspective of the August 27, 1883 event before watching the televised show.

Winchester, in his trademark 360 degree evaluation style, lead me through the geologic and scientific history of this South Pacific area, now known as Indonesia. The volcano does not begin to erupt until page 209—more than halfway through the book. By the time the events of Monday, August 27th are described, I had a firm understanding of the affected people,, both the Dutch colonialists and the indigenous.

Following the detailed description of the events that took up much of the 1883 summer, Winchester explains the social effects the explosions had: the growth of fundamentalist Islam, leading to Indonesia’s becoming the most populous Muslim country in the world, with 170 million members of the Islamic faith.

Recommendation: Read

Buy this book at Amazon.com

 

The first distinction, for most personal computer users, is one of hardware and software: Microsoft Windows or Macintosh, IBM-style or Apple. Is the computer one that runs Microsoft Windows or Mac OS (operating system)? Fundamentally, is it one made of nonproprietary components, capable of running multiple operating systems (i.e. DOS, Windows, Linux, and Solaris)? Is the system designed specifically to operate the hardware vendor’s operating system, Mac OS, an operating system that, interestingly, is based on the open source Linux operating system?

While both computer designs can function well for the fundamental office and home tasks: word processing, calculation of numeric columns, keeping database of customer and friends’ names. However, one of the first distinctions that most users learn is that not all data created on one computer system can be easily transferred to another system.

It is not unexpected, by the technically-trainer experts, that data on different computer systems may not be interchangeable; however, to the less-skilled user, this may seem unexpected. After all, both pieces of equipment are computers. Two cars of different manufacture probably use the same fuel, both transport equally well, so why not expect similar simplicity from two computers?

Part of the reason that the automotive and information technology products may be ill suited for comparison is the relative development period of the two. Automobiles have been consumer products for a century; digital computers have been available for only two decades.

Even more so, most consumers have thousands of hours of practice driving cars in all seasons and many diverse road conditions, but under generally controlled and similar situations. After a few hundred hours’ practice, all roads begin to look alike to a driver. On the other hand, computer software applications often appear substantially different, to the end user. The only similarity shared by a database, spreadsheet, and word processing application is the keyboard—as far as most users can tell.

Many of the distinctions and technical details of personal computer systems become apparent only after years of near-daily use and exposure to many different computer systems and software applications. Even so, after exposure to diverse software applications (i.e. word processing, spreadsheets, databases, email, and web browsing), most users still do not understand the fundamental differences that make an Apple Mac OS system different than one running Microsoft Windows—or Linux.

The operating system, whether Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Linux—an open source product created by a generous community of volunteer software programmers—determines which software applications will efficiently operate on the example system.

Even more confusing, both to technical experts and the general population of digital users, is the overlap amongst the alternative operating systems: Mac OS is actually Linux; Mac OS can emulate Microsoft Windows, using an operating environment called SoftPC; Linux can run most software programs written for Microsoft Windows by using a free program, called Wine: Windows Emulator. Speaking of free, Linux is—totally free.

Although we may find commercial releases of Linux on retail shelves, these are actually neatly packaged copies of Linux that are also available for free, as digital downloads from the vendors’ websites. The downloadable versions can often be customized and may include additional applications, both business and entertainment, than the packaged retail versions. The benefit of the retail version is that some period, usually 90 days, of technical support is included. Even that is not an issue for technically adept users who recognize that more detailed, higher quality, support is available free through tens of thousands of websites dedicated to supporting Linux users.

 

How well do users accept responsibility for the perceived complexity of digital systems?

Although I judge that popular digital computers are less secure and more difficult to use than they could easily otherwise be, primarily because buyers are swayed in their decision making by marketing influences, I also judge that most end users don’t accept sufficient responsibility to learn the nuances, strengths, and weaknesses of the systems that purchase or use.

All systems have a degree of complexity. Procedures All systems and constituent components require specific operating procedures. Even systems as manual as writing required a pencil to be sharpened and fresh paper made available. If the pencil were not sharpened, it would not write well. In elementary school, students are taught to use a manual rotary pencil sharpener, and in some homes, even at an early age, children were taught to use a battery-powered electric sharpener.

Even earlier, the Crayola box of 64 crayons and the sharpener on the back of the box teach many children that rudimentary skill of creating a writing point. Knowing that a sharp point can create both a thin line and, with a twist of the wrist, a gentle, broad shadow, is fundamental to fully using the drawing pencil. All users recognize this and are able to meet the rudimentary skill set expectations of an elementary school art teacher.

If artistic skills develop further, the user may learn to make finer distinctions and learn more application details regarding the pencil. For example, knowing and being able to apply the soft and dark 6B pencil lead through the hard and light 6H pencil lead, the wood versus mechanical pencil body, not to mention graphite versus charcoal media are critical to having developing a broad diversity of artistic forms.

The range of knowledge, both of the tool (pencil, in discussion) designs and how and when to most effectively use each degree of the tool’s diversity grants the user flexibility to select the most appropriate tool version for the intended application. Does the average user need to know the same range of distinctions as the expert, the artist? No; however, as more distinctions are made available to the user, more fluid and unrestricted applications follow.

Just as the knowledge of pencil distinctions offers greater flexibility to the artists-and writer-knowledge of how a personal computer and its attendant software applications offers greater flexibility of application to the digital end user.

What are some of the common distinctions that may aid the digital user?

 

Initial tests of the EUBPAWT system confirm that reptiles and mammals can be converted to photons of light, transported through a hydrogen gas tube, and delivered, intact, over a distance of up to one statute mile (1.609 km).

Working with research scientists from the Stanford School for Graduate Physics and Engineering, as well as the University of Aberdeen Institute of Advanced Molecular Research, military scientists have successfully tested the EUBPAWT system on soldiers, weighing up to 180 lbs (81.646 kg), successfully quantum transporting them using the flexible gas-tight polycarbonate tube, across a psuedo-urban test environment. without the need to pass through the intervening space. According to Major General W. Herbert Walters, author of the joint military release, “…in plain English, the courageous volunteers stepped into the transporter and were immediately delivered to the reception station. While the laws of quantum mechanics are too complex to include in the announcement, suffice it to say that the soldiers were delivered to the intended destination without passing through the intervening space. One moment they were here, the next they were there.”

Dr. Richard Heisenberg, professor of quantum physics at the Aberdeen laboratory, directed the initial experiments and was present for the successful human test, conducted in the presence of media and peer review committees. Many of the Aberdeen and Stanford research team members were uncertain if the four volunteers would actually survive the proton-hydrogen transport.

Much of the scientists’ incertitude began with Werner Heisenberg, Richard’s namesake, who was the first scientist to realize that certain pairs of measurements have an intrinsic uncertainty associated with them and published his theory, in 1927, in his seminal uncertainty paper. For instance, if you have a very good idea of where something is located, then, to a certain degree, you must have a poor idea of how fast it is moving or in what direction. Now referred to as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, in effect, the principle states that within the principles of quantum mechanics one can’t measure both the direction and speed of a moving object.

Dave’s Opinion
If you are a long-time reader of my work, you know that I have been following the development of quantum devices for many years. This project appears to be the first equipment created following the rules of quantum mechanics to demonstrate an immediate and useful application of quantum teleportation.

I will keep you informed as I earn more about this device and the application of quantum teleportation, which may provide a safe and effective means of allowing the military forces to traverse the intricate urban landscape surrounding the nuclear weapons facilities built by the Iranian government, just west of Tehran.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

References
US Department of Defense
UK Ministry of Defence

 

Weblogs—blogs—are a product of the need to make it easier to publish on the web. For the less technically adept user, blogs are a venue to online publishing that requires almost no special training. I have read many articles that describe blogs as a source for writers, web publishers. When I discuss blogs with adult university students, especially business management majors, a common reaction is that the blogging software is a facilitation tool that the could use to build web content without leaning heavily on the support of information systems staff or contract computer advisors or webmasters.

These students’ observations that blogging is a tool, not solely the result, presents a perspective that is significantly different from that which most technology pundits present.

WHO BLOGS?
Most bloggers are young, technically-savvy computer users; although, I anticipate that blogs will follow the expectations put forth by my business management students: viz., blogs will become business tools for disseminating information, both internally and externally.
?
Why will blogs become a business publishing tool?

 

While the Encyclopedia Britannica’s flagship print edition has 65,000 articles and is published by a company that has been in business since 1768, Wikipedia, online since 2001, has amassed a corpus of 1,019, 202 articles.

Britannica uses a hired team of 4,000 authors and offers distributorships for its products—clearly a commercial enterprise; the number of contributors in this well-organized company is dwarfed by the communal and egalitarian league of Wikipedians (Wikipedia contributors and editors), over 1,000,000 of whom are registered, and an undisclosed number of whom are unregistered.

With so many Wikipedians’ being unregistered, and the veracity of registered contributors open to question, because of the open nature of the online encyclopedia—anyone my contribute a new article or edit an existing article—the question is begged: Can we trust the veracity of content if the author and his or her experience is unknown?

Recent news reports have called it a toss-up between Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia, in regard to the accuracy of content in articles; however, although Wikipedians are “encouraged to uphold a policy of ‘neutral point of view’ under which notable perspectives are summarized without an attempt to determine an objective truth,” I judge, because of the system’s open nature and simplicity of operation, that most articles are posted without the review of experienced editors. Is this a point of concern? Should readers question the accuracy and completeness—even the neutrality—of each Wikipedian’s comments? I think readers should question the accuracy of articles found in Wikipedia.

Readers should also question the accuracy of articles found in Encyclopedia Britannica. In fact, we should be more concerned of the potential lack of neutrality in articles that are presented by a homogenous, closed, team of authors and editors who have a commercial axe to grind, than a group of egalitarian writers who seek share their knowledge openly, whether in original work or by editing another’s article..

One reference source is insufficient. Data presented in Wikipedia should be fact-checked, just as those in Britannica. Do not take one author’s word for any but well-known facts. It is exceedingly difficult to be fully objective; opinion and prejudice creeps into all writing, often without the author’s notice.

Dave’s Opinion
I am a Wikipedian, both as an original author and editor. I seek to share my knowledge, in scholarly, trade, and consumer publications, and I judge that Wikipedia is a harbinger of a digital service, the wiki, that will have a profound affect on all of our lives.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia Britannica

 

Google’s GDrive was announced last week, possibly as a teaser, because the announcement was quickly removed from the search engine giant’s website. The internal corporate notes that were online for a short time reflected plans to serve more than just search engine data. GDrive subscribers would be able to upload word processing, spreadsheet, and other digital data files to the GDrive servers, creating a virtual hard disk in the sky that allows access from any authorized computer, home, office, or borrowed.

The online copy, called the “Golden Copy,” according to Google’s document, would serve as a backup of the user’s data.

Most Microsoft Windows users know how to save documents on their local hard drive, usually the C: drive, in the My Documents folder. Corporate users are accustomed to saving data on network file shares, and Google’s GDrive will emulate this service, possibly being accessible as a new drive letter. Anyone who knows the appropriate GDrive password should be able to gain access to the “internet file share.”

Dave’s Opinion
This sounds like a great idea; however, my experience makes me think that most users don’t realize how dangerous it can be to post data online in unencrypted form, primarily because most of us pick access passwords that are too short or too common, in other words, too easy for crackers to guess.

Google’s GDrive does circumvent the need for virtual private networks (VPN) to gain access to commonly shared files that are stored on remote drives; however, it does not include the other features that make VPNs a solid alternative for businesses: it does not encrypt data transfers end-to-end. Employees who log into a business’s Google GDrive from a wi-fi hotspot, such as Starbucks or McDonalds, will find that the data they upload and download will be accessible to anyone within radio range of their notebook computer…the data is not encrypted while being transmitted over the wi-fi network, unless a VPN is in place, something that Google’s solution will lack.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

 

I am writing this text by using my favorite writing implement: a finely crafted Waterman fountain pen with an extra fine nib and an ultra smooth light ink (South Sea Blue in color). My paper is a smooth, eggshell writing journal, bound in a calfskin leather jacket with a corresponding leather thong closing wraps. The only metal I touch is in my pen’s sleeve connectors, and even that is minimal. I will eventually type my words into my notebook computer and word processing software for editing and layout. You may be thinking, why not initially compose at the keyboard? I compose by hand because my words flow more smoothly if I write by hand, manually without digital assistance.

I write more slowly using pen and paper, and this allows me time to consider my words. I am a persnickety writer when I compose at the keyboard: fussing over each word and phrase. Writing by hand frees me to let my ideas flow, without any editing and evaluation. I am able to test multiple alternatives of phrasing and content, where, if I were to compose at my keyboard, my composition rate (typing speed) often outpaces my thoughts. I find myself writing quickly, but writing the first thing that comes to mind. During the manual writing process, I think of a few turns of phrase before committing my words to paper, yet I feel fully engaged and productive because my hand is in constant motion, albeit, always a moment behind my mental composition.

This is but one example of an activity that works best, for me, if I do it manually. By way of creating the proper paradigm and perspective, I do almost all of my composition at the computer keyboard; however, most of my writing is the creation of academic syllabi, lecture note, blog and e-zine articles, and technical manuals. These are brisk, factual and come out my recent experience; the content is often dispassionate and dry. My personal works: this text, personal notes, and notes to family members are all composed manually using pen and paper so that my feelings and broader thoughts have time to develop fully during the comparatively slower manual writing process.

 

It may take decades, even longer, for us to grasp the significance of the digital lifestyle and revolution and the breadth of changes the revolution has wrought on us.

The ability to share easily information, especially on a global scale, is democratizing. How will this effect organizations or institutions that attempt to control and repress individual thoughts and actions?

However, no-cost digital publishing, such as blogs, allows the formal media to discredit the sources of ax grinding and soapbox standing Computers that offer feedback to the human users are perceived as more friendly, and the users enjoy the interaction more, if the computer offers positive feedback or compliments.

How well do we use computers as tools to benefit our activities, as compared to using alternative technologies?
The personal computer is eminently suited for many indispensable modern tasks, such as surfing the web, sending e-mail messages, and communicating in the fast-paced digital environment of instant messaging. However, other tools are available for these tasks: cell phones are the most notable alternative technology. We use computers for many other tasks, many of which predate the personal computer, and while the tasks can be accomplished on the personal computer, the tasks were not developed because of having access to a computer.

These digitally-optimal tasks include composing letters and notecards; recording class or meeting notes; and researching spelling, definitions, and etymologies. Arguably, as an academic, I often find the freely available web based dictionaries to lack substance and reliability, especially when comparing synonyms. Traditionally published dictionaries often, in my opinion, present a more complete linguistic evaluation.

It is not worth considering the quality of most word processor-based thesauri. The software vendors should leave these functions out of the products, unless they are willing to design properly an accurate thesaurus database.
Maintaining a personal calendar is one example of tasks that does not require a personal computer. In fact, many folk who have a strong reliance on a personal computer for most other administrative tasks continue to maintain a manual pencil & paper calendar. Until operational necessity forced me to share my personal calendar with coworkers, in the early 1990s, I had a near religious attachment to my leather notebook calendar. It was only after the value of sharing my calendar data became significant did I finally acquiesce and begin to use an electronic calendar as my primarily appointment management tool. To share my calendar data, I needed an application that seamlessly integrated in my company’s local area network. Even after beginning—for five years– to use a digital calendar, I printed my schedule and carried it in my leather notebook. This meant that in order to always have a current calendar with me, I would have to print six pages, sometimes four or five times a day…a fresh copy each time I left the office, just in case a change had been made since I last printed the calendar. At an average cost of 4¢ per page, this habit became a noticeable budget line item.

In the mid 90s, I purchased a handheld computer, one running the popular and powerful Palm operating system. With this device (and the four updated versions that I have since purchased), I can synchronize all of my calendar entries with the application running on our network server, enabling bi directional updates: insertions, deletions, and changes.

My current handheld computer has wireless capability, and it allows me to access my networked data and the internet. I occasionally use my handheld to browse the web and check my e mail when I am out of the office at a wi-fi hotspot: airport terminal, hotel, client site, or coffee shop (along with bookstores, one of my favorite relaxation haunts).

Regardless of my personal choice, do I need an electronic calendar? Yes, because I must easily share my data with coworkers. However, if someone who operates independently, and does not need to share data, chooses to keep a paper calendar, there is no loss of functionality: the possible exception is the ease of making a backup copy of valuable appointment data.

I have found another helpful use for my handheld computer: logging my aircraft flights. Federal air regulations require that I maintain a record of my flights as a pilot. All pilots that I have met rigorously log all flight time, even if as a passenger in the right seat, they took control of the aircraft for only a few minutes, while the pilot in command read a chart or took a break from the tedium of a long flight. Interesting, the Federal Air Regulations do not specify the format in which pilots must keep their flight data. So, in addition to a traditional hardbound paper logbook, I maintain a digital database of all flight data in my handheld computer. Not only do I have automatic calculations of each flight (fuel used, duration of flight, type of aircraft flown), I also have a complete backup copy of my paper logbook (or vice versa, as you prefer). Pilots that keep only a handwritten, paper logbook must take time, every once in a while, to make photocopies of their logbooks. Unless a pilot has a current logbook, he may not take off.

 

To what degree do we fail to evaluate the use of technology and the available interface designs of the technology that we use?

I am still thinking about my conversation with George. Those of us who see value in the full use of technology have to embrace technology, not just accept it. Embracing is the twisting tweaking and fully applying to an application the interaction of effort.

I compare embracing to a faith in the virtue of technology: not that it is solely using a computer; rather it is an emotional bond to the system of digital development. Embracing technology requires recognizing that the more important question is “How best can I use this new device?” rather than, “How do I use this new device?”
Looking for the application, focusing on the outcome, is more important than being concerned about learning to use the catalyst device. Seeing value in the intrinsic nature of a technology is at the heart of embracement. It is as if it were an act of faith. Looking past the functional steps toward the applicability and the outcome-creation potential forms the bond of trust that is inherent in an embracing of any technology.

1981: IBM introduces its first Personal Computer. VisiCalc, Lotus 1 2 3, word processing applications, especially WordPerfect, change the processes by which businesses and later, consumers, collect, store, retrieve, examine, and refer to data.

Access to a digital storage and processing device, especially one that plays games, as an individual and personal tool, created a new paradigm: my data.
My PC=my data.

? How did a “personal” computer create a paradigm of “personal” data?
? How prevalent is this paradigm?
? How did the personal computer create the paradigm of personal data?

Alternatively, was it vice versa? Which came first, the personal computer or personal data? It seems transparent that the personal computer came first, but could its success have been fueled by the masses’ readiness for personal data?

The me first 70s were followed by the go go 80s—the fast development of business following the ecological catastrophes of the mid and late 80s—were people ready to self manages their data?
It is the personal computer that drove the desire for personal data, because the tool created the work. Before spreadsheets, financial and manufacturing data were predominantly reviewed in the aggregate. VisiCalc and, especially, Lotus 1 2 3 created the desire to micromanage data, and they developed a new paradigm for business: the what-if scenario.

With an electronic spreadsheet, business analysts were able to compare potential outcomes, modeling possible alternatives, without investing in expensive prototypes or manual calculation, the professional title given to men, later women, who performed columns of calculations, often logarithmic.

?Data Addiction
I received the PC games Microsoft Zoo Tycoon 2 and Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 for Christmas, and I found that I can easily become addicted to the games, playing them well into the wee hours of the morning…and I am not a normally a computer gamer! The games are not even that interesting, and, in fact, they are boring and repetitive. What is it about these games that makes them so enticing and engaging? The competitive aspect of these games encourages me to practice, learn tricks, seek tips and cheat codes online, and try again and again.

 

How the PC has affected the face of America is one of the questions that have been rolling around inside of my head for over two decades. Most people would agree that the computer revolution has created a brave, new world; however, few may recognize that the availability of personalized, individualized data processing has not only altered our patterns of common behavior, but more so, our expectations of the availability to and delivery of data.

Business professionals speak of information processing; however, computers, even personal computers, are actually a data processing tool. The bits (electrical signals of computerized minutia) are actually data: facts, figures, recorded portions of human activity. Information is an ephemeral evaluation, a cognitive judgment that the human mind creates when data are read and understood. Information exists solely as a mental construct.

I am a university faculty member. I facilitate adult academic classes, in both face-to-face (onground) and computer-mediated (online) classrooms. Some of my students are pursuing the Bachelor of Science in information technology (BS/IT) degree. These students are generally highly competent in the use of technology, both for personal and commercial applications. One recent evening, while teaching a course in critical thinking to a class of about two dozen BS/IT majors, I asked the cohort to describe the distinction between data and information. Most students quickly used their notebook computers to search an online dictionary for the words’ definitions. They were surprised to find the two words define one another: the distinction is not clear in a descriptive dictionary, the most common type of dictionary available online. A commonly used tool offered no help; the students would have to evaluate the distinction themselves.

I frequently consider the distinction: data are the digital products stored, processed, and produced by a computer; information is the conceptualized outcome of the data processing. To me, it is patently clear that data and computer are paired, as are information and the human cognitive process. Why did the students not intuitively recognize this distinction? Not a few of the students were equally competent at many computer applications as I.

Most people seem to be taking their personal computers for granted: relegating the devices to the status of personal household or office appliance. Consumers purchase computers at mass-market retailers, like so many microwave ovens and toasters, rather than at specialty retailers that offer knowledgeable advice and guidance. However, a personal computer has the potential, in properly trained hands, to effect life-altering outcomes: cancer research, protein folding, financial evaluations, and yes, electronic mail and instant messaging. Try any of those tasks with the kitchen toaster!

I recently talked with an academic colleague about the development and application of digital computer technology, especially toward the data retrieval and classification process. Our conversation started following George’s lamenting that much of the peer-reviewed academic literature that he uses in his research is available only in hardcopy, print form. The cream of the published research was not yet available to internet users. While I enjoyed our discussion immensely and I look forward to each of my discussions with George, I disagree, or at least our initial comments lead me to question, how much value we can be found in computer-mediated data that are archived and retrieved, especially regarding the crass referencing systems of multi disciplinary academic literature.

We agreed that PC databases of formatted data—address lists and the like—work well and are sufficiently mature to allow storage and retrieval of desire data in a reasonable timeframe. However, unformatted data, such as a corpus of literature or multidisciplinary scholarship cannot be stored in a computer system without significant expertise in both the subject area and storage system, nor can the literary data be retrieve, except by one with similar skills.

I do not disagree with George on all points; however, I judge that most researchers must acquire requisite skills, prior to successfully conducting data searches, at least with any significant measure of accuracy. Scholarly research has, traditionally, required specialized cataloging and search skills: knowing the alphabet in which the data is cataloged, the library’s cataloging system, Boolean logic, and the grammar of the search engine.

Skills have developed to compensate for the changing requirements of technology. Digital search skills are, in principle, if not in practice, not substantively different.

? Have the requisite skills changed—substantively—in the face of digital data storage?

? Do people, today, react differently to digital data storage than those who faced previous storage systems?

Peer-reviewed journals are available online, there is no longer need a need to visit, physically, a university graduate library. The cost of purchasing the digital copies of literature can be compared to the cost of travel and photocopies, when visiting a physical library. Digital access grants flexibility, both in time and space.

 

Internet traffic is broken into packets, small data chunks, that are routed through the most efficient available channels. A single e-mail message or webpage download my comprise dozens of packets, each of which takes a different route to reach its intended destination. The receiving computer reassembles the packets into their original form, allowing the data to be read without error. Since the packets travel independently between the sender and receiver, they do not necessarily end their travels at the same time, and internet technologies account for this; in fact, this is one of the fundamental strengths of the net’s design: flexibility in packetization and transmission.

E-mail and online documents aren’t adversely affected by the routing delays that occur when their data packets are disassembled, transmitted, potentially delayed, and reassembled at the destination, because the delay is small enough to not be noticed for these media. However, when listening to digital audio or watching online video, a delayed packet or two is not only noticable, it is annoying.

A half-second delay in transmitting an e-mail message is not noticable, but a half-second latency makes voice over IP (VOIP) practically unusable. With the cost of VOIP and the bundling of free long distance services, many consumers and businesses are dropping their traditional POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in favor of lower-cost VOIP alternatives. With rates as low as one-third of traditional POTS service, VOIP alternatives are attractive to cost-conscious buyers.

Telecommunication companies are under pressure to provided tiered service, effectively guaranteeing high-speed and unimpeded service to those who are able to pay a premium for connectivity. This may lead to latency and transmission delays for consumers and small businesses that do not subscribe to the internet toll service. Streaming audio, video, and the all-important VOIP transmissions may be disrupted and, effectively, made unusable.

But to net purists, network neutrality is a founding hallmark of the internet. Worse than transmission delays is the potential for transmission road blocks. Telecommunication providers may choose to no longer offer open routing to competitor’s networks, requiring service subscribers to pay a premium (a toll) to have data packets routed to or through a competing telecommunication company’s network, the potential host of the intended destination.

Dave’s Opinion
While I am willing to take the toll road, when I drive my car, I am uncomfortable being required to take it, while on the internet. I’ll be looking for the bypass that I hope will remain a freeway.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

 

Ellicott Mills Brewing Company is an cozy restaurant at near the top of the hill in Ellicott City, Maryland. Beers are brewed on the premises and the process is visible through floor-to-ceiling glass walls, a nice visual touch in the main-floor bar area.

The upstairs dining area is enclosed by brick walls and supported by a solid wooden floor, which combine to create a casual, yet historic, ambiance. I have dined here with my immediate and extended families, at both lunch and dinner; every visit becomes a special visit.

Tonight, Peggy ordered fried fish fillets, and I ordered alligator gumbo, both from the evening’s list of specials. Whew! My alligator stew was out of this world! I could have easily eaten enjoyed another serving, if the first were not so generous. I had two tall glasses of Dunkel, a dark German-style beer, that earned the Ellicott Mills Brewing Company the distinction of having the “Best Beer in Baltimore” in Baltimore Magazine’s 1998 survey.

Our server was prompt and polite. She created a convenient dining experience, without intruding on our private conversation. I look forward to being seated in her section again.

I urge you to visit Ellicott Mills Brewing Company as soon as possible. Tell ‘em that I sent you.

 

As I transfer my book from my writer’s notebook to my digital notebook, I will post sections to this blog; I look forward to your constructive feedback in the comments section of each post.

It all started bit by bit.

It all started for me with a father employed by IBM. International Business Machines was the largest employer in my hometown of Poughkeepsie, New York, and I had more than a few friends who had fathers employed by Big Blue. We were an IBM family. Dad felt that he owed much of his personal success to his being fortunate to earn a job with IBM after returning home from the Korean Conflict. IBM paid for our healthcare, and the doctor’s waiting room was cozy with IBM wives and their children. My parents paid for treatment for coughs, fractures, and the assortment of pre-adolescent maladies with blue dollars.

The IBM country club was host for the annual family holiday party, and summertime swimming lessons were given at the country club pool. I even learned to play golf at the club. The IBM softball team kept the younger employees in shape, and both of my parents were ace bowlers, occasionally practicing at club’s lanes.

For me, growing up with the IBM family, I had a picture of an idyllic corporate environment, a place that I would want to work. Dad worked hard, from nine-to-five each day, helping to manage development projects that would eventually end up as huge computers running corporate payroll databases and calculating the trajectories of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space missions. At home, I was secure in the knowledge that IBM and its line of big iron computers would always be there to provide for our family’s needs.

In the 70s, I left home for college and then military service, so I was not living at home to hear first-hand of the changes at the IBM plants in and around Poughkeepsie. The early 80s found Dad transferred to Boca Raton, Florida to work on a new development project that was to become the IBM Personal Computer.

The IBM PC, as most people called it, was to change the face of data processing. Businesses then, just as today, run on data, and although I did not recognize it at first, individual’s lives were to become much more sensitive to data processing needs, as time progressed.

Dad had occasionally encouraged me, in his gentle handed way, to study how computers work: programming and computer science. I wanted to be a high school music teacher, and I had no interest in things mechanical, let alone a data processing device without obviously moving parts. To me, a computer was a mechanical device with hidden components that shuffled decks of 80-column punch cards and made more noise than I cared to hear. Try as he might to encourage me otherwise, Dad kept his promise to support my career choice, and I left to study music education. Ironically, my first choice for music school was on the campus of one of the State University of New York’s premier computer science colleges…it is too bad that while I was at school I still thought computers were noisy and less interesting than playing the French horn and piano.

It was not until a decade after I first left home that I was to come to recognize that a computer could actually be useful to me. In the mid 80s I came face-to-face with a computer, but this time it was on my terms and I had an immediate need to learn how to use the box. I was a graduate student at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, taking the writing seminars. It was summer, and anyone who has spent a summer near the Chesapeake Bay knows how humid and muggy it can be. My classes required me to write up to 40 pages of prose each week, sometimes through three revisions. I had an electric typewriter and it was turning into a torture device. My housemate, another serviceman and I, being bachelors and perpetually broke, didn’t turn on the air conditioning—I typed and sweat my way through a set of summer writing seminars. During a visit late that summer, Dad surprised me with the gift of an IBM PC Portable. He had bought it used from IBM, but it became a welcome tool as my writing requirements increased.

The PC Portable was a clunky device with two 5.25 inch diskette drives, 640 KB (Kilobytes) of RAM (Random Access Memory), and a six-inch monochrome monitor: all packed in to a travelling case that weighed more than my overseas duffle bag. Dad and Mom were also thoughtful enough to give me a 12 inch color monitor that sat on top of the luggage-sized case.

In less than an hour, Dad was able to teach me to use the PC Editor software application to type my papers, and from that day on, I’ve only used my typewriter to fill out pre printed forms.

Within a week, I teaching myself WordPerfect and Lotus 1 2 3, two applications that demonstrated true excellence in software programming and application interface design. Within the month, I was learning dBase III Plus, another excellent software application.

I took to the IBM PC like quite like a duck takes to water, but like a drowning man takes to flotsam: I saw the personal computer as a tool that would make my life much easier.

Not only was I beginning to breeze through my academic papers, but I was enveloped in a learning process about a device that I intuitively guessed was changing my life. Within a year, I was teaching undergraduate software classes, and I saw my career laid out before me. I resigned from the military, started a computer consulting practice, and I never looked back, not once—probably because the digital world was coming at me too fast for me to dare take my eyes off the road ahead.

 

Charles Darwin, born February 12, 1809, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England is a member of a privileged family; he went on to study both medicine and theology. His most famous work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (often abbreviated as The Origin of Species) describes the processes of development, competition, and death in the natural selection of biological attributes that most effectively support variation (incipient species, as Darwin preferred).

Darwin, In the news this past year as a rallying call for religious arguments against evolution, described natural selection more so than evolution, Darwin’s work has been placed in counterpoint to the rigorist religious calls for the inclusion of intelligent design in public school science curricula. Natural selection, as described by Darwin, is, currently, the greatest challenge to the fundamental tenets of religion, that an omniscient hand created the universe: the complexity of life is such that it could not possibly have been created through a scientifically-explainable process.

Also born on the same day was Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, on Sinking Spring Farm in the Southeast part of Hardin County, Kentucky to an uneducated, but relatively affluent family; he received about 18 months of formal education from itinerant teachers, yet earned a liberal education through his own efforts; he never joined a church. His personal opinions are best exemplified in his, arguably, most famous work, his second inaugural address. Rallying the nation with religious references, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in,” Lincoln recognized the common values shared by most Americans, one of which was a strong religious foundation.

It as mystery, although I judge not one of a religious nature, that two men, so well known, could be born within hours of each other, hold such distinctly different religious opinions, and yet, be remembered–out of context–for, not their values and beliefs, but for a few words that they left behind.

 

I have written about Orville’s Restaurant before, and I think it is worth writing about, again. The restaurant is small, quiet, and family-friendly. I pulled up in the Civil Air Patrol plane that I was flying for the day, and parked right next to the restaurant’s entrance.

The dining area was pleasantly full, with many diverse and and friendly conversations in progress. I ordered a half turkey sandwich and bowl of soup. My food arrived in only a few minutes, and my waitress recognized from my uniform (and vehicle) that I was probably in no mood to hang around. She had my check ready, and I was back in the air soon after finishing my meal.

If you are in the York Pennsylvania area, I suggest that you stop by Orville’s for lunch, regardless of whether your vehicle has three wheels or four.

 

I’ve asked No-Frost A/C & Heating to come to the house a few times, in the past few years, and each time their repairmen have been able to quickly repair my home’s air conditioning and heating system.

Today, they repaired a problem that I caused while tinkering with my furnace. The water drain for my Aprilaire humidifer broke and dripped water. The water seeped into the furnace’s micro-screen filter, soaking into the folds of paper. While removing the standing water, I left a piece of paper towel in the air duct, which later was sucked into the blower. This caused a rumbling noise, and I thought I had caused a serious problem, not realizing that I had left a piece of paper behind when I was soaking up the last few puddles of water.

The repairmen quickly diagnosed the problem, removed the offending paper towel, and put my furnace back into proper condition. While they were here, they repaired the broken water drain and replaced the water filter.

I was embarassed for having made such a simple error, and No-Frost team were polite, and didn’t make any comments.

I heartily recommend No-Frost A/C & Heating. Call Eileen, the office manager, the next time you need repairs in the Ellicott City area. The company’s phone number is 410.461.6422, and its website is no-frost.com.

 

Our daughters woke us up at about eight o’clock this morning, and they were patient while I prepared for the day. We joined at the stairs and decended to share gifts with one another. Santa Claus was kind to us, and we each able to find something under the Christmas tree that either we didn’t expect or was a welcome surprise. The video recording that we made and burned to DVD will surely be one of our favorites, even fifty years from now.

Later, we joined our siblings and their families for dinner. Our nieces and nephews are younger than our daughters, and it was a much different scene when it came time to exchange presents; there was much oohing and ahing, squeals, and shreading of colorful wrapping paper.

After dinner, as the house quieted, I got to thinking that this really was a Norman Rockwell Christmas. The children received exciting gifts, adults shared useful gifts, and everyone enjoyed the day full of good cheer. I have often wondered when I would find sincere joy in seeing other’s happy, and realized today that I have that gift, if I only allow myself to feel it.

So you don’t think that we forgot the most important guest on Christmas, we celebrated Christmas Mass last evening. Many of our family members who are over five years old joined the church choir and shared their musical gifts.

I hope that you, too, were able to share the joy of this season with your family and friends. Leave your personal story below. I very much would like to read your Christmas experience.

 

Even though I don’t think of myself as particularly handy, I can make a few repairs by myself; changing a headlight is one of those skills that I trust to myself. Eight months ago, one of the bulbs in my car burned out, just as my wife and I were driving to a semi-monthly meeting with our Marriage Encounter circle of friends. There was no time to find an auto parts store before our meeting, so, for safety’s sake, we drove off in my wife’s van.

During the social time that followed our meeting, I asked if anyone could recommend an auto parts store near our home, in Ellicott City, Maryland. One of our friends, Bruce Hudson, heartily recommended Advance Auto Parts on Route 40, just a couple of miles from our house.

Trusting my friend’s advice, Sunday morning found me driving off to Advance Auto Parts. The young man at the counter helped me pick out a pair Sylvania SilverStar headlight bulbs in the size that my car required. He suggested these bulbs as they were brighter and a new high-tech blue color, promising that they would make night driving easier. Although the bulbs cost three times as much as the OEM set, I trusted his advice; after all, he must be an expert, he works in an auto parts store. Yes, I know there’s a fallacy in my assumption, but I was too enamoured of the cool blue color to see anything other than the bulbs in my car.

Through most of the spring and summer, I drove to my evening classes in cool blue style. Then one evening in August, one of my headlights burned out. Back to Advance Auto Parts I went, again buying another pair of the Sylvania SilverStar bulbs. I installed only one bulb, figuring that it may have had a manufacturing defect, but putting a backup bulb in my glove compartment, just in case. Good thing, I bought a pair, because by the end of the month, I had installed my backup.

Through the fall, I drove in cool blue style, zooming around the backroads of Howard and Montgomery Counties, pretending that my SilverStars could make me see around corners. Not only did I think that I could see farther, but also I was sure that I looked cool in with my blue headlights.

Well, last week, guess what happened. You guessed it. It’s December, four months after installing my second set of SilverStars, and eight months after installing the first set. One of the bulbs burned out.

Off to Advance Auto Parts I went last week. But, rather than listening to the advice of the young man, who probably gets a spif commission on each sale of SilverStar bulbs, I bought a set of OEM bulbs.

Well, my story continues, with a very happy ending. Last evening, one of the headlights in my wife’s van burned out. This morning, I made my fourth trip to Advance Auto Parts, and I was prepared. I rooted through the popcorn can in the kitchen (our family’s depository of credit card receipts and bills that are destined for the shredder). I found all of my receipts for headlight bulbs (we don’t get around to shredding all that often). Off to Advance Auto Parts I went, with all of my receipts in hand.

I bought two OEM bulbs (no more SilverStars for me) for my wife’s van; remember, always replace headlight bulbs in pairs! Then I asked the young man at the counter if he could refund my purchase price for the SilverStars; obviously there was some sort of manufacturing defect, if I had burned out so many bulbs in eight months. The young man wasn’t in a position to authorize my refund, but he quickly got the store manager to come to the counter.

The store manager was pleasant, and he told me that Sylvania did not warranty the SilverStar bulbs that I had bought. He also explained that this model bulb frequently burns out more quickly than the lower-tech OEM bulbs. At this point, I was thinking to myself that I was out almost 80 bucks, when the manager offered to split the difference with me. He refunded my purchase price of one set of bulbs. I think this was both very fair and generous on his part.

I may have had a hassle with Sylvania SilverStar bulbs, but I sure don’t have a hassle with Advance Auto Parts. I’m glad that I took Bruce’s advice. Advance Auto Parts is my only choice for auto parts from now on.

Now, I hope that I never have to change another automotive headlight bulb!

Here’s the address of the store that I recommend:
Advance Auto Parts Inc
9150 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410.750.0880

 

Every year, flights are delayed by mice, rates, snakes, spiders, and other unticketed critters. Some of the animals travel in the cargo hold, but many travel in the passenger compartment, maybe even in the first class section.

According to the paper, in July 2002 a small dog got loose in the cargo hold and gnawed electrical cables, causing the aircraft to be out of service for nine days. A big, hairy spider delayed an Air France flight for five hours earlier this year, while staff searched for the arachnid.

Swissair flights were delayed this year while a rat and an orange snake were hunted. The orange snake came abord in a passenger’s pocket, but found its accomodations a bit cramped and needed to stretch out, a bit.

Airlines sometimes use traps to capture onboard pests, but more often, they resort to either fumigation or carbon dioxide poisoning. The cost of filling the aircraft with CO₂ can easily cost $11,500, plus the cost of lost productivity as the plane sits in the maintenance area for a few hours.

Dave’s Opinion
Have you thought of bringing a pet on board? If so, plan ahead. Prepare your pet for travel, possibly including sedating the animal, and make sure the travel crate has a secure lock. Under no conditions, should you carry your four-legged (or slithering) family member in the passenger compartment.

What do you think? Please leave your comments below.

 

Law enforcement agencies frequently use cellular technology to secretly monitor the movements of criminal suspects; however, courts are now putting requests for this type of surveillance under tougher scrutiny. Judgments by federal magistrates in New York, Texas, and Maryland reflect the growing debate of privacy rights and the government’s ability to surveil using digital technology. The legal decisions require law enforcement to first show probable cause to belive that a crime has been or is being committed: the same standard that applies to search warrant requests.

As cellphones become principal phones, both for consumers and businesses, it is possible that cellular tracking technology will have a profound impact on individual privacy, primarily because most people do not recognize the facility with which their privacy can be degraded.

Cellular service providers are culpable in this reduction of personal privacy. Service plans tout tracking abilities, for example GPS (Global Positioning System) services for drivers and parental monitoring of their child’s whereabouts.

The magistrate judge’s opinions are good news for those who argue that the USA Patriot Act has lowered the standards for probable cause. In one opinion, the judge decided that the debate over digital surveillance goes beyond the question of legal standard. Because digital communications it difficult to distinguish between private and public information. Because the private data are not enclosed within a wrapper, compared to a letter within an envelope, it is difficult to separate the legally protected, private, information, from the legally unprotected, public, transmission management data, such as the identification of the sender and intended recipient.

Dave’s Opinion
I’m heartened to hear that federal magistrates are evaluating the complexities of digital technologies, especially those related to communication, and their affect on individual privacy rights. I’m particularly pleased to hear that one of the judges serves in Maryland, my home state.

Call for Comments
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The numbers may overlap, for example, the units listed on eBay may be new sale or resales; however, whichever they are, the average auction and buy-it-now price listed at eBay is well over the retail price of $299 ($399 for the premium model).

Dave’s Opinion
Microsoft has hit a marketing home run with the limited release of product. Resellers are generally out of stock of the popular gaming console, and eBayers are taking advantage of the buying frenzy to jack up the price that they are asking through the online auction.

The empty retail channel and the frenetic consumer channel are combining to ensure that the follow-on shipments to retailers will be welcomed by a full queue of consumers with cash in hand.

 

I usually like the beef fried rice from China Kitchen, and the previous restaurant on the same pad, The Pagoda Box, and I’ve ordered it on a half dozen occassions; however, this evening, the each of the entrés and the egg rolls tasted as if they were cooked in chicken fat. There was a pervasive sweet odor and taste to each meal.

I ordered chrispy beef, sesame chicken, and my standby favorite, beef fried rice, along with four egg rolls. I sampled all , and I was so hungry that I cleaned my plate, but I wasn’t pleased. Af first, I thought that I was just being picky, but my wife and our daughters each pushed themselves away from the table, leaving their meals mostly untouched.

I think the restaurant may be under new management, and that could be the reason for the change in menu preparation, and it’s too bad. I won’t be back.

If you’d like to sample some really bad Chinese cooking, try…
China Kitchen
6501 Huntshire Dr, Suite 111
Elkridge, MD 21075
(410) 579-6990

 

For example, the numbers 212, 911, 1040, and 1776 appear more frequently because they refer, respectively, to a New York City telephone area code, an emergency services telephone number, the Internal Revenue Service personal tax form, and a year associated with the American Revolution.

The frequency of each number’s entry in search engines reflects not only our culture, but possibly our cognitive preferences, especially for the numbers 1-10, and powers of 10 (i.e. 100;, 1,000; 10,000).

Dave’s Opinion
I’ve long been intrigued by numbers, both as a reflection of my interest in history (ex. 1066, 1776, 1865, 1945) and my desire to amend my poor showing in college calculus. I assume that we all have emotional scars that we seek to heal, and my skill–or lack of–at mathematics is one is one of mine.

This site may pique your interest or it may bore you. Either way, I think you’ll agree that in either case, numbers are intriguing for many.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
The Secret Life of Numbers

 

Sony’s XCP copy protection program was included on at least different 20 CDs, and automatically installed itself when the CD was inserted into the computer’s drive, without the user’s knowledge or consent. The root kit software has a cloaking feature that hides files on the affected system. Users who attempt to manually remove the software find their CD drives inoperable.

Both the original root kit and Sony’s patch leave users’ computers open to attack from malicious software, including Trojan horse programs that allow the computer to be remotely controlled through the internet.

Dave’s Opinion
Sony BMG Music Entertainment really dropped a hammer on their toes, twice. I’m all for protecting intellectual property and digital media; however, do not expect that a system-wide security tool will do that without causing other problems for users.

This XCP root kit and its patch sound like a product created by committee without any technical expertise.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Sony BMG Music Entertainment

 

Maryland and Virginia, along with other states are testing a new technology that allows traffic patterns to be mapped on roadways by monitoring several hundred thousand cellular phone signals at the same time. So long as the cellular phones are turned on–they need not be in use–the system can track the cars’ locations.

State transportation and law enforcement agencies say that the cellular tracking systems monitor clusters of phones, rather than individual users; however, privacy advocates aren’t so sure that the system won’t be used for purposes other than those currently promised by the state agencies. The systems are so sensitive that they can determine whether cellular phones are moving along at the pace of a pedestrian’s walk or at highway speed.

Maryland will begin testing the cellular tracking system near Baltimore, and Virginia will test on the Norfolk beltway.

Not all cellular telecommunication providers are willing to connect their networks to cellular tracking system. Cingular, for one, currently plans to decline Maryland’s future program; however, Verizon Wireless will continue to serve the government’s requests.

Dave’s Opinion
For once, I’m glad to have Cingular cellular service. I’m not comfortable being tracked by the phone that I hang on my belt. I don’t usually exceed the speed limit, but sometimes I do get caught in the flow of traffic around the Baltimore Beltway. I’d hate to get a ticket just because my cell phone was doing 60 in a 55 MPH zone.
Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Tracking Phones for Traffic Reports

 

We arrived at 6:00 P.M., and we were seated a bit after 7:00. Our meals weren’t served until a few minutes before 8:00. I realize that we arrived on a Saturday evening, but the restaurant was largely unoccupied. Some of our party thought that the wait staff could have been short handed, but I thought that there were plenty of servers running with meals and trays. Even if the restaurant were short a hand or two, how could the manager have let that happen on busiest evening of the week?

Our waitress was surly and a bit impolite, noticeably to my wife, the birthday girl. Our server was polite to me, but I may have looked like one of the people likely to pay the check.

Our meals were served well past their serve-by times and our table went largely unattended. None of the fou meals that should have sizzled were even remotely hot. All but one of us received cold french fries, and our drink glasses were often empty.

But worst of all, I again received the greatest insult a restaurant can throw: our check included a 15% gratuity. I was a server in my earlier days, and I know how hard it is to work in the service industry, but please, do not assume that group of well-dressed adults with teenage children will stiff you, when it comes to a gratuity. I leave a gratuity of 30-50%; however, whenever I see the gratuity assumed on the bill, I respect it. It’s the server who suffered in this instance, although she deserved it; her service matched the quality of the food. But had the gratuity not been assumed, I would have left at least 30%.

To the manager:
Demonstrate leadership. Teach the three greeters to welcome guests. Consider offering drinks or snacks in the waiting area, especially when the anticipated wait approaches an hour. These don’t have to be complimentary, we acknowledge that you are responsible to make money for the owner.

Teach the servers to say "Thank you" and "How may I serve you," rather than, "What would you like?"

Most of all, under now circumstances allow a dinner party to wait 45 minutes for their appetizers. No restaurant is so busy that you can’t whip up a few buffalo wings in 10 minutes.

When you have improved the quality of food and service at your restaurant, drop a comment to this article. I’ll come back, but not until then!

 

Westchester County Executive, Andy Spano, proposed a new law this past week to protect the public from crimes, such as identity theft and other consumer fraud. The law, if enacted by the county’s Board of Legislators, would require commercial businesses, including internet cafes, to take fundamental security precautions to protect customer information from being acquired by computer crackers and personal identity thieves.

According to the county’s press release, “Spano and Norman Jacknis, the county’s chief information officer, took a laptop computer equipped with easily available software and drove around downtown White Plains [last week] in search of vulnerable networks.” The press release also reported that the Department of Information Technology performed the same survey and came across 248 wireless hot spots in less than a half an hour of driving down Westchester Avenue and Main Street in White Plains. Out of those, 120, or almost half, lacked any visible security at all.”

The law would require all commercial businesses that use wireless networks and maintain personal information to have secure networks that protect the public from potential identity theft and other potential threats such as computer viruses and data corruption.

Dave’s Comments
This is a good first step toward encouraging data security practices.

Initially, it appears that the law will also affect home offices, and it may even affect wireless telephone networks, as these, while not specifically Wi-Fi, are wireless networks. If a legal challenge results in telephone services being wrapped up into this law, wouldn’t that be a major hassle?

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Westchester County Government Press Release

 

Consumer web use favors affluent, young, and educated users. Almost all, 95 percent, of households with a combined income over $100,000 annually have at least one computer, and 92 percent of this demographic are online. By comparison, households earning under $40,000 have a 41 percent online access rate, still a significant number.

Popular consumer online activities include gathering news, weather, and sports data; seeking government and health information, and job searching.

The most wired areas of the country were in the west, and the least wired were in the south.

According to a report released in October 2005 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 22 percent of American adults has never used the internet or email and does not live in a wired household; yet, 53 percent of home internet users has broadband access. The distinction usage through broadband and lower-technology dial-up service is significant.

Dave’s Comments
Interestingly, 62 percent, about two-thirds, of households with college graduates have broadband access to the net, while only 44 percent of households of high school graduates have broadband service. The Pew Internet & American Life project also reported that access speed is a greater predictor of online behavior than is the user’s experience. Broadband users are more likely to engage in a broad range of online activities than dial-up users. I have found this true, for myself, even within the broadband usage range. When I have a 6 Mbps or faster connection I am more likely to frequently maintain backups of my websites, download software updates, and participate in other bandwidth-intensive activities. When I connect to slower, yet still broadband, networks, such as residential DSL networks, I’m more likely to restrict my online activities to e-mail and web reading.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Digital Divisions (Pew Internet & American Life Project)

 

The Internet Café & Sundries shop is one of the few public hotspots on the island, and the rates are reasonable: $30 for a week’s worth of unlimited wi-fi access, 24 hours a day. There are also a dozen Windows PCs connected to the net, for those who don’t travel with a notebook computer.

The free coffee bar makes this shop a welcome morning stop.

Next year I may have free wi-fi access in our villa, but if not, I’ll be back to the Café for a signal and coffee.

 

I was out for a bit of early fall proficiency flying in a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 that is based at Tipton Airport. My goal was to practice a few crosswind landings at Carroll County Regional Airport/Jack B Poage Field and York Airport, but my stomach started growling. I pulled up in front of the FBO at York and asked if the restaurant was still open.

Luckily for me not only was the restaurant open, but another pilot, also named Dave, was just sitting down for lunch. We shared a table and a couple of bowls of the best crab soup that I’ve had in a long time.

The soup was full of large chunks of crab meat, fresh vegetables, and a well-spiced broth. It’s definititely worth plotting a course to York and stopping by Orville’s Restaurant…just remember, the restaurant is closed on Mondays.

I hope to see you at Orville’s soon!

 

The study reports that the number of residential broadband users increased only three percent during the first six months of 2005. In short, “There is not much pent-up demand for high-speed Internet use at home,” according the Pew report, and the average dial-up user is now older, less educated, or in a lower income bracket than dial-up users of just three years ago.

The survey included data current through May 2005 and reported that 53 percent of residential internet users have a high-speed connection at home. In December 2004, half of residential users had home broadband. This six percent increase, over six months, is “small and not statistically significant,” according to the report.

During roughly the same calendar period, a year earlier, the penetration of residential broadband increased from 35 to 42 percent, a full 20 percent increase.

The report argues that “the potential pool of potential adopters of broadband is comprised of several different groups that are either not large or declining.”

Dave’s Opinion
I enjoy reading the reports that come from the researchers at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and this report is no exception. While I’m disheartened to find that broadband adoption is decreasing, I’m heartened to find that over half of American households have useful bandwidth.

I suggest that you read this report, and the other Pew papers. I think you’ll find them illuminating.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Pew Internet & American Life Project
Broadband Adoption in the United States: Growing but Slowing

 

Google Print, which was launched last October, facilitates the online searching of book contents, according to Google, makes it easier to find relevant books. Charges brought by The Authors Guild in a New York court claim damages and demand the search engine company stop uploading the contents of library books. Lawyers for the New York-based nonprofit asked the court to block Google from copying the books so the authors would not “suffer irreparable harm, ” caused by losing control over the reproduction and distribution of their work.

A recently published list of talking points, taken from The Authors Guild website, aims a broadside at Google, the company well known for its search engine and recently recognized for its broad applications of digital technology:

1. Google is a commercial, not a charitable, enterprise. Google is worth roughly $90 billion, making staggering profits through its online advertising programs. Its investment in Google Library is intended to bring even more visitors and profits to its website and ancillary services. The Guild is all for profit, but when the profit comes from the works of authors, the authors should be properly compensated.

2. Google is scanning entire books, not just “fair use snippets.” Google is digitizing countless texts, your books, in their entirety — every sentence, every carefully chosen word — without your permission. That Google presents browsers with small selections of your work doesn’t change that.

3. It’s not just public domain books. The Guild has no objection, of course, to the digitization of public domain works. The Google Library project goes far beyond that, encompassing works that are still protected by copyright, including in print and out of print works.

4. Out of print doesn’t mean public domain. Out of print works are valuable. Out of print works are republished every day, bringing welcome new advances to authors and the prospect of new royalty income. That Google is willing to sink so much money into digitizing these works is further proof of their ongoing value.

5. Authors (and the Guild) aren’t opposed to making their works searchable online with a proper license. With a proper license, in fact, far more than “snippets” could be made available to users. The opportunities are boundless, but it all starts with a valid license. This is no big deal, really; businesses large and small sign license agreements every day.

Google Print’s website includes the following statement that addresses how Google Print works:
Just do a search on the Google Print homepage. When we find a book whose content contains a match for your search terms, we’ll link to it in your search results. Click a book title and you’ll see the page of the book that has your search terms, along with other information about the book and “Buy this Book” links to online bookstores (you can view the entirety of public domain books or, for books under copyright, just a few pages or in some cases, only the title’s bibliographic data and brief snippets). You can also search for more information within that specific book and find nearby libraries that have it.

Dave’s Opinion
It sounds to me that The Authors Guild is stuck in a hot-lead mode of thinking while the rest of the world has moved to digital type. Google Print doesn’t seem to be aiming to control the distribution and reproduction of authors’ work, even those that are still under copyright protection. Rather, Google Print aims to serve as a type of combination digital library and bookstore.

The Authors Guild doesn’t seem to be able to honestly evaluate the current state of its industry. In a publication on the association’s website homepage, A report linked from its own homepage, Report to the Authors Guild Midlist Books Study Committee, acknowledges the growing limitations of national chain booksellers and libraries to deliver a broad range of titles to the public. Wouldn’t you think that the association, rather than seeking further limitations on book publication, would, instead, seek to help its member authors to more widely distribute their work? Although The Authors Guild may be showing its true colors; the same homepage also prominently advertises another book, The Writer’s Legal Guide: an Authors Guild Desk Reference.

I think The Authors Guild should consider partnering with Google in an effort to help authors, both members and nonmembers, to distribute their work as widely as possible.

Unless The Authors Guild gets in the swim of digital publication, they’ll sink with their lead still in their back pockets.

Call for Comments
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References
The Authors Guild
Google Print
Report to the Authors Guild Midlist Books Study Committee

Related Articles
Google Becomes a Library. Digitizing the World’s Books?

 

Blogs generally offer fresher material than traditional websites. Even mainline news services such as The New York Times and CNN publish blogs to facilitate the timely distribution of breaking news.

Many blogs are also republished in RSS (Real Simple Syndication) format, which allows the content articles to be quickly scanned using RSS reader applications or a free extension to the open-source –and widely used– web browser, Mozilla Firefox.

Blogs and their writers, known as bloggers, have gained international prominence following the recent U.S. presidential election and the Christmas-time tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia. Had it not been for the loss of electrical power and internet access throughout much of the Gulf Coast of the U.S., there would have been many more blogs reporting the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Businesses have taken a cautious approach to blogging, failing to grasp the potential for customer service applications; however, this may change, partly as a function of Google’s increasing the accessibility to blogged data.

Dave’s Opinion
My primary new sources are the RSS feeds for formal articles and blog entries from The New York Times, CNN, Reuters, and the BBC. I’m excited that Google has set aside a portion of its cataloging services specifically for blogged articles. Many of these offer opinions and color that don’t make it through the traditional editorial process. I appreciate the value of blogs, not only for their frequency and currency, but for the additional detail and perspective that they offer.

Call for Comments
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References
Google Blog Search
Mozilla Firefox

 

Almost a thousand school districts nationwide use an integrate digital resources into the traditional classroom environment, but Empire HS has leaped ahead of other secondary schools and following the model set by post-secondary institutions such as the cutting-edge University of Phoenix, which offers fully-digital academic resources for both students and faculty: all texts and classroom resources are delivered electronically in a number of digital formats, including Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Students at Empire HS will receive course materials through the school’s wi-fi network, and homework can be submitted electronically. Web-based filtering systems help students and faculty maintain academic honesty by keeping an eye out for plagiarized material.

Dave’s Opinion
I’ve been implementing digital resources in the classroom since the late 80s; however, it wasn’t until four years ago that I experienced how effective both online and digitally-supported classrooms can be. At the University of Phoenix, students in my classes frequently arrive to the first workshop having downloaded the course syllabus and the first week’s readings. The days of having students arrive to class with the excuse that their textbook was out of stock at the bookstore are long gone. Now, both the students and I have access to all course materials just as soon as we’re scheduled for the course. Now, there is no excuse for not completing all assigned readings before the first class starts.

I was excited to see that my daughters’ middle school has webspace for each teacher. I hope by next year, when my oldest daughter starts high school, she’ll find a digitally-supported classroom, just like the 340 lucky students at Empire High School.
Call for Comments
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References
Empire High School
University of Phoenix

 

The answer to these questions is undoubtably money, costs, in particular; however, the infrastructure and service costs may be covered through advertising, and the company to do it may be our favorite search engine provider: Google.

According to a report in Business 2.0, Google has been building a national network by buying up miles of dark, unused fiber-optic cable and test marketing a wi-fi hotspot in San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district. Feeva (formerly UnwireNow), the contractor providing the San Francisco hotspot is preparing additional free hotspots in California, Florida, New York, and Washington.

According to Feeva, Inc.’s website, the company “provides a software platform that allows businesses and metro areas to provide WiFi access for free or with low user fees. Our solution radically changes the way that WiFi — and even wired — access is delivered to the public or to any specific user group. [The] solution is ideal for any entity or business that wants to provide wireless or wired Internet access to the public or to a specific user group, but doesn’t want to risk a large upfront investment.”

Google has also built partnerships in New York, Atlanta, and Miami with telecommunications providers AboveNet, Cogent Communications, and WilTel. A national broadband wi-fi network could offer Google an unprecedented opportunity to develop a long-term advertising revenue stream, based partially on an ability to locate each wi-fi user and target geographically-specific advertising. Using technology developed by Feeva, Google may be able to serve online ads for stores and services that are next to the wi-fi hotspot user.

Dave’s Opinion
I’d be willing to let Google know where I am, in return for free metropolitan wi-fi access, especially in resort areas, where it’s sometimes difficult for me to find a public hotspot.

When I can find a hotspot, it’s often at a cost of up to $20 a day. I’d rather trade a bit of personal privacy for free wireless service.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Google
Feeva
AboveNet
Cogent Communications
WilTel

 

According to the Copyright Office’s website, “[I]t is not entirely clear whether the [preregistration] system will be compatible with web browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5.1 and higher. Filers of preregistration applications will be able to employ these Internet Explorer browsers successfully. Support for Netscape 7.2, Firefox 1.0.3, and Mozilla 1.7.7 is planned but will not be available when preregistration goes into effect. Present users of these browsers may experience problems when filing claims.”

It sounds as if support for other browsers is planned, but won’t immediately be available, but what does this mean?

Dave’s Opinion
I can’t understand why the U.S. Government, as well as commercial e-business developers, doesn’t use open-source development tools that are designed to be browser independent, such as PHP and MySQL? Come on folk, let’s build websites that work well, under as many conditions as possible.

The U.S. Copyright Office is a division of the Library of Congress, a part of the United States Government. Wasn’t it the U.S. Government that sued Microsoft over antitrust issues? It seems as if the government and Microsoft have patched their relationship.

Oh, by the way, if you’d like to submit your comment about the Copyright Office’s plans, you’ll have to do so via snail mail, in sextuplicate.

Call for Comments
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References
Library of Congress Announcement

 

We’ve tried a few other crab shacks at the beach, but Tom & Terry’s is the only one that has been consistently reliable. Give them a call at 302.539.4311, the next time your at the The Quiet Beaches.

 

InStep is an intensive internship program of up to 24 weeks, giving select students hands-on experience developing state-of-the-art software services and solutions in Infosys’ global development centers across the globe.

Dave’s Comments
I think this is a wonderful educational opportunity for MBA candidates, most of whom will shortly be responsible for making decisions that will affect thousands of U.S. employees. Seeing how outsourcing can be applied, to benefit both U.S. and Indian workers is an excellent learning tool, one that will have long term positive effects for the global marketplace.

Call for Comments
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References
Infosys Technologies, Ltd.

 

Many digital devices, including everyone’s personal computer, have built-in clocks that keep track of the current date and time. These devices usually have internal calendars that automatically adjust for daylight saving time each spring and return to standard time in the autumn. The new law will move the start of daylight saving time forward by three weeks and extend it by a total of four weeks. So, for four weeks each year, digital devices that do not account for the changes in DST dates will be off by an hour.

Many people wait to make cellular calls until their free nighttime minutes begin. If the cellular nighttime schedule is off by an hour, nocturnal conversations could easily run up almost $1,000 a month in per-minute charges.

Dave’s Opinion
I expect that Microsoft will quickly release a patch to Microsoft Windows XP and 2003 so users of these operating systems will see the correct time in the system task bar; however, users of older versions of Windows, such as Windows 95/98/Me/2000 may be out of luck. Microsoft no longer offer full updates service for these operating systems.

I hope that Palm offers a patch for my handheld computer. I rely totally on my Tungsten E2 to keep me on time for my appointments.

Thankfully, I wake up to a digital alarm clock that synchronizes with an atomic clock via a radio signal, so I should get up at the right time, each day. But, will I know when to go to bed?

Call for Comments
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Although Microsoft has not confirmed that the crack works, details are well publicized, and it appears that the crack is popular, at least amongst nefarious users.

Previously, JavaScript tricks were required to bypass the WGA requirement; however, now it appears that it’s as simple as running the WGA application in Windows 2000 compatibility mode.

Dave’s Opinion
Microsoft has yet to learn that the best way to deliver software is to make it easy for users to have access to the software. Rather than trying to keep folk out, Microsoft should encourage users to be honestly use their products. Take a note from the shareware book, Microsoft. Create great software that we want to use, and then make it easy for us.

Given the option, most people want to be honest.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Microsoft Corporation

 

Couches and wing armchairs, arranged in small groups, encourage conversation and relaxation. Bookshelves present a selection of reading materials, including a book swap. I’ve picked up John Barry’s The Great Influenza, but I haven’t decided which of my books I’ll leave in return (they are all so dear!).

Light fare is served from 7:30 A.M. until 4:30 P.M. (6:00 P.M. on Fridays and Saturdays). A good selection of coffee flavors, both high-test and decaf is always on tap.

Private internet kiosks rent for $5.00 per half hour. If you bring your own wireless notebook or PDA, wi-fi access is $5.00 per three-hour session^*. I signed up for a full-week’s wi-fi access for $28.50, so I can access the net 24/7, even from my car or the benches on the building’s front porch. Last week, I relied on dial-up access, and the low-bandwidth was more than annoying while I was teaching online courses.

I’m glad that I wandered into 2Bean yesterday and noticed a small note on the counter indicating that wi-fi access was available…I think that I’ll suggest to the owners that they post an advertising notice in the café’s front window.

*2Bean’s wi-fi is 802.11g, 54Mbps bandwidth

 

Click here for the restaurant’s website.

The restaurant is located right on Route 1 (Ocean Highway), just a bit north of the stateline border with Maryland, it’s only a short drive from the north end of Ocean City, Maryland.

Built as a replica the Indian River Coast Guard Station, restaurant is open and comfortable. The staff is friendly and polite.

I stronly suggest that you stop by Warren’s Station. If you’re not sure of finding the restaurant, call ahead, (302) 539-7156.

 

Our server, Kate, was friendly and very accomodating. I arrived with a headache, and she turned down the background music and helped me get a few aspirin from a convenience store across the street.

We sat on the second-floor patio dining area, and were able to enjoy not only the evening air but the excitement building in anticipation of a skywalker that was to walk between two hotels. The wind was picking up, and at the last minute the 61-year-old skywalker, Jay Cochrane cancelled his evening tightrope walk, but promised to meet guests at ground level to sign free posters. He accepts donations for his performances, and all proceeds are given to charity. We’re disappointed that we weren’t able to watch the performance…we had front-row seats!

For dinner we ordered chicken fingers, cuban steak kabobs, teriaki chicken, shrimp spring rolls, and cookies & ice cream. Every single item was well prepared, but it was the shared dessert that really topped off the meal. It was Kate who suggested the dessert, and her advice was right on the mark.

Following dessert, a street performer joined us on the patio and entertained us by juggling balls, knives, fruit, and fire. When asked how long he had been performing, he sheepishly admitted that he started only two months earlier. His act is polished and he still retains the enthusiasm that comes with starting a new career.

I honestly can’t remember having a family dinner that was more enjoyable. Please stop by Café Tu Tu Tango, when you visit Niagra Falls, Ontario. You won’t be disappointed!

 

A reader subscribes to RSS feeds that then content is pushed to the user’s computer. With the release of Mozilla Firefox and the Feedview extension, RSS feeds can be read within the webbrowser’s window; additional software need not be purchased or installed.

Bloggers and web publishers have long recognized the power inherent in distributing content via RSS, because it ensures a ready audience, one who has already requested a subscription to upcoming articles.

Microsoft has announced that RSS services will be integrated into the next release of the Windows operating system, making it a snap for all users of this release of Windows to access feeds from around the globe.

The trick for publishers and media outlets, like Google and Yahoo, is to figure out how to insert advertisements into the RSS content.

Dave’s Comment
Advertising, we’ve got to live with it to have otherwise free content. I’m sure not looking forward to having my dozen or so RSS feeds clogged with interstitial ads. I like the clean, crisp RSS view, just as it is right now.”Within five years,” he said, “everyone with a broadband connection will be using it whether they know it or not.”

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Mozilla Firefox
Feedview

 

According to this morning’s Wall Street Journal, Google’s commissions for processing each transaction in the payment service could significantly increase its $3.2 billion annual revenue, which currently comes primarily from online advertising services.

Dave’s Opinion
Should Google enter the payment processing market, PayPal will have to dance with the wolf, and quickly, if it wants to remain in business. E-business helps to flatten the world, to use Thomas Friedman’s term, and Google is taking full advantage of the pancaking effect of its global presence and name.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Wall Street Journal, Google Set to Offer Payment Service to Compete With eBay’s PayPal

 

The portable computer includes built-in access to Internet radio, RSS (Real Simple Syndication) news reader, and a digital media player. Weighing in at about a half-pound, the device will be available to consumers this fall.

According to Nokia’s website, “The device runs on Linux based Nokia Internet Tablet 2005 software edition which includes widely deployed desktop Linux and Open Source technologies. The maemo development platform (www.maemo.org) will provide Open Source developers and innovation houses with the tools and opportunities to collaborate with Nokia on future devices and OS releases in the Internet Tablet category.”

Dave’s Opinion
This is a good foray for Nokia: designing a portable media device without being beholden to the restrictions and costs that traditional laptops face with Microsoft Windows. The Linux operating system is generally considered more stable and flexible than Windows, and with proper installation is equally secure, and some IT experts think, more secure than Microsoft’s operating system.

Nokia 770 Internet Tablet Press Release: http://press.nokia.com/PR/200505/995802_5.html

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Nokia 770 Internet Tablet Press Release

 

In a statement released by Acting Assistant Attorney General John Richter, the government’s goal is “to shut down as much of this illegal operation as quickly as possible to stem the serious financial damage to the victims of this high-tech piracy–the people who labor to produce these copyrighted products,” He continued, “Today’s crackdown sends a clear and unmistakable message to anyone involved in the online theft of copyrighted works that they cannot hide behind new technology.”

Dave’s Opinion
While I agree that the enforcement action is a long time in coming, it was probably hastened by the posting of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” on the site, even before the movie was released in theatres.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
BitTorrent
EliteTorrents (currently offline)

 

I found Andy’s in Google, specifically local.google.com, and I phoned ahead to see how much my cut would cost. I was pleasantly surprised that it’s only a sawbuck, and there’s no extra charge for a flat top. I thought that, even with a tip, this cut would cost me less than a standard cut a my usual barber.

Andy’s is filled with naval memorabilia; it’s clear that he’s proud of his military service. The shop is neat and clean, and best of all, the service is fast.

Don’t ask Andy to cut your hair on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoons…signs clearly announce that the shop’s closed so he can work on his golf game. But, on the upside, he opens his door bright and early at 7:30 weekdays and 7 o’clock Saturdays.

Go visit Andy, I’ll bet that you’ll get an honest haircut from a traditional, down-to-earth barber.

Tell Andy that Dave sent you!

 

The SSD has uses only five percent of the electricity required to power hard disk drives, and weights less than half of a comparably-sized disk drive. Because the SSD has no moving parts, there almost no noise or heat is emitted by the module, and it is less prone to skipping or damage from movement.

The SSD has read/write speeds of 57/32 MBps, respectively, making it fast enough for both computer and consumer electronics applications.

Dave’s Opinion
SSD modules with greater capacity are expected soon, making the memory product a serious competitor for micro-data devices. Look for the Samsung SSD, not only as USB flash memory key, but also as a replacement for portable digital music hard disks and, eventually, notebook hard disks.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

 

The 2-2-2 breakfast includes two eggs, two pancakes, and two sausages. Even though the price is raised on weekends and holidays to $3,75, it’s a breakfast worth flying for. The pancakes filled the plate, and the well-browned sausages were fat and juicy.

We both ordered the 2-2-2, although with diffent egg preparations: scrambled and fried. I have yet to have a bad meal at Jimmy’s Restaurant…I might even drive up to Georgetown, this summer, while we’re vacatationing at the Delaware beach.

 

Access to Google News, the New York Times, British Broadcasting Service, local weather and moving listings, and Google’s Gmail service can be displayed on a single homepage, along with a dialogue to Google’s flagship search engine.

Dave’s Opinion
I think this is a convenient way to quickly glance at the news without any of the annoying ads served up by Microsoft and Yahoo! I need all that annoying eye candy like I need a hole in the head.

Have you been coveting a Gmail invitation? I found over a million of ‘em on isnoop.net. If you’ve got a few invitations to share, I’m sure isnoop.net would love to help give them away. Be generous.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Google’s Homepage Creator
isnoop.net Gmailomatic

 

Verizon has no plans to offer DSL-only service to new customers.

Dave’s Opinion
Verizon gives a bit of back talk in the details of the announcement. Current voice/DSL customers may convert to solely DSL service, but only if they don’t select an alternative wireline voice service provider; the customers must switch to cellular or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service. It seems that if Verizon must lose a portion of its wireline telephone business, it’s going to make sure that a competitor doesn’t pick it up.

I think that all DSL providers will eventually offer DSL-only alternatives, especially to residential consumers.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Verizon Communications

 

The counselors, just like most folk who leave voice mail messages have a pattern to their messages similar to Hi, this is [state my name], from [state my company's name]. I’m calling about [state my business]. I’m sorry that I missed you. You may reach me between [state my work hours] at [state my phone number].

For example, “Hi, this is Dave Murphy from SaysDave.com. I’m calling about the widget that has recently fallen off your hooz-it, and I’d like to see if I could help you reattach it. As you stated in the voice mail message that you left for me, yesterday, you would like to have your widget repaired as soon as possible, and I have repair technicians that will be in your neighborhood tomorrow, and they have an opening in their schedule around 11 in the morning. I hope that this time will be convenient for you; I’d like to help you repair you widget and hooz-it, just as soon as possible. Would you please return my call, possibly this afternoon? I’m in the Elkridge office, and my phone number is 123.987.1234, and my extension is 58759.”

What’s wrong with us? By stating our phone number and extension, the most important bits of data to our telephone communication process, at the end of the message, we’ve forced our communication partner to replay the full message over and over again, just to get the phone number. Over and over isn’t an exaggeration: we usually rush saying our telephone numbers, making it difficult for folk to write the numbers down, while listening to the message.

I suggest we change the format of our voice mail message to this pattern: Hi, this is [state my name]. My phone number is [state my phone number & extension]. I know you’re probably trying to write my phone number down, so I’ll repeat it. [state my phone number & extension]. I’m calling about…”

What do you think? Leave you comments below.

 

Take, for instance, Apple iTunes and Napster’s use of a DRM wrapper that prevents music purchased from the online service from being used on a digital music player that is not recognized by the DRM wrapper. Not everyone has an iPod, that works with iTunes, or an iriver H10, that works with Napster. I’d like one of these new devices, but I’ve chosen to make due with my Sony NetMD Walkman. In fact, the Walkman’s removable MiniDisc media make the device easy to upgrade. I can carry a cache of MiniDiscs with me, and I’m able to share my discs with other NetMD users, just as if I were sharing an original CD. As flexible as the NetMD MiniDiscs are, the digital recorder isn’t supported by the new DRM security of these two premier music distribution services. How many other yet-to-be-created services won’t support my device? Before starting the argument that Moore’s Law affects all digital devices, and products quickly become too archaic to support, my MiniDisc player is not the only device that’s running into a wall because of DRM…most digital music players run afoul of DRM wrappers.

Jon Johansen, a Norwegian software coder, recently released PyMusique, an application that let’s honest downloaders sidestep the DRM requirements of Applies iTunes music service. PyMusique logs into the iTunes site, facilitates the purchase of music without the iTunes DRM wrapper. Once the unwrapped music is downloaded, it can be transferred to any digital media player, including a computer.

I recognize that once a song (or a set of hundreds of songs) has been downloaded without the DRM wrapper, it can be illegally distributed, just as if it were ripped directly from a physical CD or downloaded from an unauthorized site, but at least I would be able to listen to the media in a manner that’s convenient for me. I say drop the DRM and trust that I won’t illegally distribute the music I just bought.

The world’s not perfect, and there are many dishonest and unethical people; heck, we take actions that are unethical, to some extent. However, DRM is a set of shackles that excessively restrict reasonable use of commercial music. My wife makes the argument that, in the aggregate, artists are likely to get more playtime if their music were distributed freely. At some point, mass appeal encourages commercial success: just ask the Grateful Dead, who “have long encouraged the purely noncommercial exchange of music taped at our concerts and those of our individual members.”

Audiophiles, encourage the simple distribution of the music (and audiobooks) that you enjoy. Be honest, don’t bootleg or pirate recordings. Music distributors, pay heed to your market niche and customer service: drop DRM wrappers, now.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Grateful Dead Statement

 

The report continues to say that recent lawsuits by the recording industry against both media distribution outlets (i.e. Napster) and individual file swappers have encouraged 48 percent of the downloading users’ to move toward informal networks and personal relationships as distribution alternatives. Digital music players, e-mail, and instant messaging (IM) services are popular media for the informal distribution of digital content. The Pew Internet & American Life report, Music and Video Downloading Moves Beyond P2P, estimates that 18 million Americans are sharing digital content through nontraditional media.

Nineteen percent of those surveyed (an estimated 7 million Americans) reported downloading content using a digital media player, an iPod or similar device. E-mail and IM were even more popular alternatives; a reported 28 percent (an estimated 10 million Americans) use e-mail and IM for distribution. Remaining nontraditional distribution channels comprise websites, including blogs.

About a third, 30 percent, of those surveyed reported stopping file sharing because of a fear of prosecution, following the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) purges. About half, 49 percent, of respondents judge that file-sharing networks should be held responsible for the illegal distribution of copyright-protected media that traverses the P2P networks.

I find it particularly interesting that half of the folk, and possibly more, based on my experience, place the legal responsibility for protecting copyrights on the P2P networks, and fail to take personal responsibility for their own actions. It is as if the P2P networks forced the individual downloaders to receive the illegally distributed content. Come on, other than yourselves, you are you trying to fool?

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Pew Internet & American Life Project

 

La Fiesta (two locations: Columbia and Sykesville Maryland) serves up, for my palette, the best Mexican food. Our youngest daughter is at a birthday party sleepover, and my wife and our oldest daughter are attending a concert, this evening. I was left home in care of the family dog, a cocker spaniel that’s great company, so long as I’m either feeding her or letting her sleep her life away. So, since I’m baching it for the evening, I headed out to grab a chimi.

My server spoke little English, and I speak no Spanish, but that didn’t seem to bother us. My meal arrived in less than 10 minutes, and I was left in peace to read Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. I munched chips and salsa and nearly feasted on my chimichanga.

During the 45 minutes that I was in the restaurant, it changed from practically empty to all-tables-full, typical for a Friday evening.

La Fiesta gets two thumbs, way, way up from me. Try one of their convenient locations, the next time your in the mood for real Mexican food.

 

1. Every gallon of ink used by consumer ink jet printers creates two tons of garbage, including the cartridge and it’s packaging.

2. The first atomic clock was originally set to the time on Albert Einstein’s pocket watch.
3. George Washington was a self-avowed atheist.

If trivia like these tickle your fancy then read on.

The three trivial statements above are taken from a fun website, gullible.info, I want to give the authors credit, both for their writing and their sense of humor. None of the statements is true, yet they each sound accurate. At first, I accepted them as true, because I took them at face value, not analysing and evaluating their veracity and accuracy. But now, I have to fess up; I’ve really presented them as a come-on, hoping that once you’re here, you’ll read further. I’m sorry for attempting to dupe you.

I’m challenged to write this article after facilitating a set of classes in the past month that addressed the topics of ethics and focused on the application of critical thinking to the evaluation of ethical considerations. What struck me in facilitating the classroom conversations is that many of the students, all thoughtful, well-educated adults, failed to apply the general principles of analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation when discussing whether common actions were appropriate (right or wrong). I was intrigued by the number of opinions that were formed based on untested truths.

For example, many adult students saw nothing wrong with distributing digital music that was protected by copyright and distribution reservations if the music was originally given to them (if they didn’t steal it directly, themselves). The opinions agreed that it would be acceptable to distribute exact copies of someone else’s commercial work, so long as the distributor didn’t pilfer the work, but received it gratis from someone else (even the original pilferer).

So, by extension, would it be acceptable for me to receive stolen objects and share them with a friend? What if the shared object were the booty of a bank heist? Isn’t there a law against possessing stolen objects?

I introduced the topic of digital ethics by posing a question regarding the use of pop-up and banner advertisement blocking software: is it ethically acceptable to use ad-blocking software to view commercial websites that offer free content and commercial advertisements?

In all classes, this question generated a lot of conversation, but in general, it was a question that the participants had not yet considered. If I were to use blocking software, such as the AdBlock extension to the Mozilla Firefox webbrowser, would I be accepting the content in a manner other than was intended (even licensed) by the provider? Is it ethical to take something without consideration for the desires and expectations of the provider?

What do you think? Is it proper (not just acceptable) to view commercial webpages using ad-blocking software?

 

Jeffrey Citron, CEO of Vonage Holdings Corp., a leading VoIP provider, called for a letter-writing campaign to Congress to protest network port blocking as a form of censorship. Citron said that the FCC moved within weeks of Vonage’s filing a complaint against Madison River Communications, fining the company $15,000 for, in effect, terminating all voice communications for the affected consumers, including emergency 911 service.

Citron wants to urge Congress to pass legislation to ensure “complete neutrality” of both wire-line and wireless telephone companies, which will ensure VoIP service providers and customers free and unfettered access to any telephone network in the country.

Dave’s Opinion
Madison River Communications should be ashamed of its actions, and its customers should express their resentment at corporate high-handedness by voting with their wallets: walk away, find another telecommunications provider.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

 

He was prosecuted under state laws by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for prosecution, primarily because he was a minor at the time that he committed the crime. A Federal conviction would have resulted in a significant incarceration, and would have not allowed the judge such latitude in sentencing.

During the investigation the Federal Bureau of Investigation uncovered more than $50 million worth of music and movies on Dhaliwal’s computer. Many of the movies were available only in theaters, at the time. The files weren’t solely for personal use, Dhaliwal both duplicated and sold the pirated digital media.

Dave’s Comments
From a digital rights perspective, I’m glad that this thief has been stopped; digital poachers, like Dhaliwal, are a parasite on the back of digital media development and distribution. However, offering a minor sentence and requiring service and education are a reasonable response to a teenager’s misdeed.

It will be interesting to see the spin that the Recording Industry Association of America puts on this case.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office
Recording Industry Association of America

 

We have an annual discount card that advertises hundreds of dollars in discounts; however, the fine print is so confusing that we’ll be lucky to recoup the $25 investment we made in the card. The year’s starting to pass, and it’s time that we started to put the discounts to work.

It appeared that we were the second table to be seated; the restaurant had only opened an hour before we arrived, at 12 Noon. My family were seated, and I headed off to wash my hands. The facility was passable, not too dirty, but not at all what I’d expect early on a Sunday, and the paper towel dispenser was just about empty…I pulled out the last six inches of towel.

When I arrived at our table, my wife mentioned that our server had described the Mediterranean stew, something that she thought I would like. When our server returned, she described the stew to me, and it really did sound good. I asked if it would be a sufficient entry or should I order a sandwich, in addition. Our server assured me that the stew would be a “hearty portion.”

Our server was friendly and helpful; she brought us an extra basket of bread, and made sure that we were well attended. The next time we visit on weekend, we’ll be sure to request this server. I’m keeping the server’s name private, but more on that, later.

Our meal arrived, and I was surprised to find the hearty portion of stew was a bowl of rice with a small ladle of stew on top. This is not a portion that I’d consider appropriate for an entree, it was just the right size for an appetizer or side dish.

Fortunately, the women in my family (my wife and our two daughters) came to my aid and shared portions of their meals with me…just as if we were eating at home!

Our server was clearly upset and offered to make amends, when my wife mentioned that the portion size wasn’t as described. As it turns out, today was our server’s first day returning to work after her maternity leave. She gave birth to a handsome son a few months ago, and the boy looks like he’s a joy to be with. It’s too bad that our server is only able to work weekends, now (she stays home with her son during the week)…we’re limited as to when we can come back to her service.

The last tribulation of the visit was an automatic 18% gratuity that was added to our bill. Dear Manager, that’s rude.

I made sure that our server earned the gratuity that I judge she earned, almost
double the automatic gratuity; however, I’m still piqued that a restaurant would automatically add a gratuity to the bill of a four-person family lunch…do they really think that a mom and dad, with daughters in tow, would stiff a server?

So, what’s the bottom line on the Ellicott Mills Brewing Company? It’s got stable fare. Not much changes from one visit to the next. Cigarette smoke from the bar below the restaurant is noticeable in the dining area, the crab cake sandwich fair, and the stew is stingy in its portion, but the hamburgers and other sandwiches are out of this world, the beer selection is eclectic and well managed, and the servers, especially the lovely woman who attended our meal, today, are excellent. And, in my book, that’s the secret to success…great service.

With the service far outweighing the minor disappointments of today’s lunch, the Ellicott Mills Brewing Company earns a big thumbs up from Dave.

 

Customers who purchase a computer from 20 of the industry’s leading manufacturers will have to phone home to Microsoft and announce their intention to use the operating system that came with the computer they just bought.

In keeping with Microsoft’s Worldwide Anti-Piracy Initiative, the company will work “to further combat software piracy, Microsoft is working with partners to change how some Certificates of Authenticity (COAs) are matched during activation, because a significant number of COAs are stolen each year from reputable computer makers and resold as new. This change will help protect consumers from being victimized by pirates and give them confidence that they are receiving what they paid for. It also will help Microsoft’s partners protect their investments in Windows.”

Dave’s Opinion
It’s disheartening that Microsoft has to protect it’s products from theft; sadly, that’s the way it is. The move away from digital activation is a significant hurdle for many users. I know, because I’ve had to call a few times to activate copies of Microsoft software products, usually following hardware upgrades or replacements. The folk at Microsoft’s activation hotline are friendly and helpful, but it’s a cumbersome and time-consuming task to make a phone call during the installation of a new computer.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Microsoft to Implement Worldwide Anti-Piracy Initiative

 

I’ve written about my experiences in this and other big box retailers, in the past, in other than glowing compliments. Yesterday, however, was a trip to the twilight zone…it was a pleasure.

Good service is hard to come by, but, somehow, the managers of this store have found the secret elixir. Good job, CompUSA. I’ll be back.

 

This is the fifth or sixth time I’ve eaten at this restaurant over the last sixteen years or so…and with each visit, I’ve noticed that the service has gotten worse.

This morning we waited over 45 minutes to be served, and the food wasn’t prepared as we asked. I requested no cheese on either my bowl of chili, yet it was delivered with a full coating of cheddar. I asked the waitress to confirm that I had requested no cheese, and she offered to replace my meal. After a 10 minute wait, the chili was re-served; however, the cheese was clearly visible on the bowl, although all had been removed from the surface of the chili.

OK, I understand that resaurants need to make a profit and often operate close to the bone; however, at least put the chili in a clean bowl.

My wife just joined me on the porch, and she’s laughing that I must have a lot to say about our experience at TooJays, this afternoon…more than you could ever imagine, but politeness prevents me from telling you all of the truth.

I’ll never return to TooJays. Had I listened to my father’s suggestion, we would have avoided this entire lunchtime fiasco. From now on, when we want a light lunch, I’ll take my family to Boulevard Deli, across the street from the Doubletree Hotel…we’re always served quickly and with a smile when we breakfast there!

 

We practiced landing under the control of the tower folk at Salisbury, and then flew north to Sussex County, a small uncontrolled airport, very near to my family’s summer vacation spot.

Airport restaurants are typically good places for lunch, and Jimmy’s Restaurant at the Sussex County Airport was true to form. The service was friendly and the food came out quickly and well prepared, it was one of the best $100 hamburgers I’ve ever eaten. The next time I’m flying or driving near Georgetown, Delaware, I’ll definitely eat at Jimmy’s. I suggest that you do, too.

 

I’m not much for skiing, myself, so I took the family van and toured the local area on Saturday afternoon. I found the greatest bookstore, in a small shopping center, right on Rte 219…just a moment from the ski area. The McHenry Bookstore is brand new, and every book I examined was discounted 10 percent…I’d venture to say that all books were likely discounted.The owner is friendly and very excited about her shop. Coffee’s available, and there are comfy reading chairs. It is a welcome respite for a bibliophile. The next time you’re in the area of Wisp Mountain, call the bookstore for directions, 301.387.9840, and tell ‘em that I sent you…you’ll find the store at 24586 Garrett Hwy (Rte 219).

 

The only disaapointment was the chocolate volcano dessert. The chocolate sauce and the plate were too hot for kids to touch, but it made a nice dessert for two adults to share. There was so much sugar in that dessert that it made my eyes hurt!

BTW, our server was super and he earned his oversized tip (which our guests graciously left).

We’ll be back.

 

The only repair that wasn’t covered was the routine oil change. I requested the synthetic motor oil, Mobil 1, and it was no problem for the service experts at O’Donnell Honda. I was even charged less than I normally pay at the Mobil service station near my home!

Way to go, O’Donnell. Keep up the good work!

What are you experiences with O’Donnell or other car dealers? Leave your comments below.

 

Before ordering, I asked the server what was inside the chocolate mouse (yes, a square block of chocolate with a chocolate mouse on top). He didn’t know about the dessert, and I had to guide him to the shelf and specific dessert tray … he said, “Mousse.” I said, Not the mousse,” which was a cake on the shelf immediately about the mouse, “the mouse,” I continued.

This conversation went back and forth a few times, but eventually, I settled on the fact that I wasn’t going to find out what was in the mouse, unless I ordered it…

Guess what was inside the mouse! You got it, mousse!

A chocolate mouse mousse; who would have thought?!? What a great dessert idea.

As much fun as my family and I had ordering the mouse mousse, we still waiting almost ten minutes for our order to be taken, and then another 15 minutes after we were finished…until the check arrived. It was a really blatant case of bad service.

It will be a while before we return to the Double T Diner.

BTW, there’s something with the servers at that diner; the last time we ordered Spanish rice, and it looked surprisingly like spinach…go figure!

 

I came into the kitchen this evening to find my wife and our daughters laughing over a brochure that we received for a heavily-advertised comfort bed made of material developed by NASA. The brochure highlighted that “92% of enthusiastic owners [of this brand bed say] their bed is far superior to older innerspring, air, and/or waterbeds.” “91% of enthusiastic owner (sic) go out of their way to recommend us to friends and relatives,” the advertisement continued.

What I want to know is what about the other 8-9 percent of the bedding owners? For a bed that sells for upwards of $3,000 (based on a Froogle search), I’d think that a higher percentage of users would find their new bed far superior to their older mattresses…and that they’d want to recommend (or at least brag) about their new sleep system.

My wife and daughters couldn’t believe that only 9 out of 10 enthusiastic owners were really happy…can you imagine how less satisfied the unenthusiastic owners are?

Well, back to my bottle of microbial disinfectant…so what germs does it kill: the common cold, the flu, anthrax? Oh, and since the product kills 99.99% of most common germs, does that mean it only kills half of the germs?

What advertising shenanigans have you seen, lately? Leave your comments below.

 

By far, e-mail is the most common online activity, an activity of 90 percent of all users; however, e-mail isn’t the principal reason most folk go online.

The net is an information goldmine, perceived by many to be a digital library. Users frequently search for commercial products, hobbies, and general information. Almost all respondents agreed that they use the net for information gathering.

Slightly over one third of users find entertainment value on the net, playing online games. A quarter of users reported using chat rooms; however, this activity is more popular with younger netizens, under the age of 25. Most chat activity is anonymous.

Business to Consumer (B2C) activity increased significantly; however, in 2000 only a quarter of all users reported engaging in online purchases

Dave’s Opinion
I offer these research data today in expectation of comparing them to the results of the upcoming report, which will include more current data. I expect that next week’s report will indicate that e-mail is still the most common online activity; however, B2C commercial activities will increase to include a significant majority of users, possibly over 90 percent of all users, including adults and teenagers. Online banking and digital music distribution have, in my research, encouraged these niche markets to put their credit cards forward, online.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society

 

The townsfolk are the most colorful and lovable characters I’ve seen on television, and so far, the show has been appropriate for our multi-generational viewers (although, my research indicates that the character’s behavior gets more steamy in later seasons).

In any regard, we visited Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and another Wal-Mart, and it’s about the two Wal-Marts that I want to write. At both the Ellicott City and Columbia, Maryland Wal-Marts we received the kindest, most friendly service, even though each store was mobbed with customers and staff busy handling post-holiday merchandise returns.

The sales associate in Columbia chatted for a second about how much she was looking forward to watching the Gilmore Girls episodes, herself, and she remembered that the store normally stocked both the first and second season collections, because she recalled the colors of each set. While the store was out of stock, at the moment, she promised that I could call the store in the morning to see if the collection we wanted had arrived in the early-morning delivery. I then bumped into the video vendor who is responsible for stocking a number of Wal-Marts in the area, and he was able to poke at his cell phone and dig up the store’s customer service number for us.

This is just the kind of customer service that can make me a long-term fan of a store. Way to go, Wal-Mart!

 

Before you connect your computer to the Internet for the first time, read all of the manuals related to antivirus and firewall configuration, yes, they’re probably digital copies already installed on your hard drive. Make sure you’ve set your antivirus and firewall options at their strongest levels.

As soon as you connect to the net, download the updates for your antivirus and firewall programs. There’s a good chance that hundreds of viruses and other assorted malware programs have been created since your PC was built, and your antivirus program won’t know about these new risks until you update the software.

Your next step must be to download Firefox, the newest secure web browser. Don’t, under any conditions, use Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. This program is replete with security holes and vulnerabilities that crackers will use to attack your computer.

Then, download the following two spyware cleaners and run them daily: Ad-Aware and SpyBot – Search & Destroy. These two applications will search your computer, looking for bits of malware and privacy-stealing cookies that were able to get past your firewall and web browser’s security.

 

The Associated Press reported, today, on a few information technologist that are doing well in their young careers, so well, in fact, that they each hope to retire before reaching middle age, and they attained their success without a formal higher education. This article struck a raw chord with me, because I emphasize the value of formal education to all of the students whom I teach, including those seeking a B.S. in information technology (IT) and those pursuing a M.B.A. with a further concentration in IT.

The true, lasting, value of their education (and degrees) is not so much to gain their first few promotions, those elevations will come based on technical certifications and demonstrated technical acumen. The lasting value is in the cognitive polish that is developed from rigorous, guided scholastic work and mentored critical thinking, both of which are required during the pursuit of a formal academic degree. The two IT workers described in the article, which I read on CNN.com, are reportedly earning significant salaries; however, their success is fallaciously related to their lack of formal academic training. Both of the interviewees are successful because of their hard work and a generous helping of good luck: one is an entrepreneur, the other is rewarded with stock options. Along with Bill Gates and Michael Dell, these two bring to four the total number of successful IT folk without at least one college degree that I’ve read about in the last two decades.

Yes, good work is rewarded; however, good work, coupled with a well-earned college education is much more likely to result in significant professional success. The ability to critically analyze data, perform algebraic and geometric computations (such as calculating the linear feet of cable required to wire a building) and persuasively argue (or actively listen) are all skills best learned in the combination of classroom and office. These are skills that, along with those taught in a liberal arts curriculum, are valued in business leaders.

Not all IT workers will have a series of fortunate events, as did the two men described in the news report. For the vast majority of us, we must take all advantages, and a solid education is one personal advantage that I earnestly hope will be valued by all IT professionals.

Call for Comments
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References
Some Techies Find Success Without a College Degree

 

Wingman is now a colloquialism meaning the person you invite to join you for a night on the town and to help you meet your dream date. Bachelors naturally go out together…if one meets a girl, then the other hitchhikes home. I assume girls do the same, although I seem to remember they traveled in larger groups, hoping for safety in numbers. Oh, did I say, invite to join you for a night out? I meant to say that wingman is now someone you hire to join you…and not just as an escort, but as someone to introduce you to those who catch your eye. Sounds kinda weird, doesn’t it?

In Boston, a small publishing company, Arriviste Press, has launched a virtual wingman service. Clients can post personal details, and the flight commanders at Arriviste will prepare and post a free personal ad. In Chicago, Rent Mr. Right Now, Inc., run by Wendy Ralph, will, for a fee, pair you up with a wingperson (either wingman or wingwoman, as desired).

As Val Kilmer said to Tom Cruise: "You can be my wingman, anytime."

Call for Comments
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References
Arriviste Press
Rent Mr. Right Now, Inc.

 

Hey, did you even know that those ubiquitous black plugs all around the house were even running up your electric bill, just by being plugged in? You bet they do! TVs, tape recorders, and DVD players us up to 10 watts of electricity while they are turned off; yes, they use even more when turned on, but at least we’re getting some benefit from them (if you call watching TV a benefit). The new California law would require the appliances to use three watts or less when turned off. External power adapters connected to rechargers, such as those used for cell phones, toothbrushes, and other personal appliances must use a half watt or less, when not in use.

It’s estimated that the average California household has 10 to 20 such Energy Vampires, and wastes up to $75 annually. I took care to install energy-efficient electrical dimmers around our house, now I’ll be sure to keep our electrical adapters unplugged, when we’re not using them.

Call for Comments
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Libraries participating in the initial round of literary digitalization include Stanford University, with holdings of 8 million books, the University of Michigan, with 7 million titles and Oxford University, although only the pre-1900 collections will be available from Oxford. Harvard University and the New York Public Library have agreed to participate in a test phase, making a portion of each of their library’s holdings available to Google’s project.

Google, already has in index of 8 billion web pages, and this literary digitalization project would place the popular search engine in a league of its own, outpacing rivals Yahoo! and Microsoft’s MSN web directories/search engines.

Dave’s Opinion
Google has, recently, been embroiled in a competitive wrangle over command of the desktop search toolbar market niche. This literary digitalization and search project puts Google into its own classification of data search and retrieval service. Desktop search services pale in comparison to the value created by making the world’s premier libraries available with the click of a mouse.

Anyone who thinks that the great academic research libraries are still to be physical place is missing the boat. If you’re one who loves wandering the stacks, you’re going to have to learn wander the keyboard, instead. And, wasn’t it just last month that I wrote about Google Scholar, the data retrieval company’s effort to make scholarly articles available online?

I’ve already received requests from Google to digitize my books. Maybe, it’s time for me to jump on the bandwagon.

Call for Comments
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References
Google Print
Google Scholar

 

Today, I received a return call from iRobot’s staff. With many apologies, the customer service associate offered to not only replace my failed rapid charger, but also my two batteries. Even though no damage could be proven to the batteries, iRobot’s associate wanted to make sure I continued to enjoy my two Roomba vacuums. I wasn’t never asked for the serial numbers of my products, even when I offered them.

iRobot is a company with a serious customer service program; they know how to keep their customer(s) happy.

Way to go, iRobot!

 

While the music distributors haven’t yet seen the sub-dime market opportunity, the folk that are most blind to these opportunities are the credit processors. A system doesn’t exist to facilitate sub-dime micropayments. With per transaction fees of 25 cents and discount rates over 4 percent, credit card merchants are selling a service that retards the development of the micropayment marketplace.

 

Spammers stay in business because we’re buying their wares, and pirated software applications are one of the most popular products to be sold through spam advertising. Spam, unsolicited commercial e-mail, is not just a nuisance, but in the United States, usually illegal. Both spam and software piracy are big business: why not meld the two?

Dave’s Opinion
Here’s why you should never buy anything, especially software, from a spammer: you’re dealing with person of questionable, if not downright malformed, ethics. If the person is breaking the law (or at least the local common mores) by sending you spam, it’s not much of a stretch to think that the below-market price software he’s hawking may also be either stolen or illegally duplicated. Do you want to participate in the breaking of both national and international copyright laws by installing pirated software?

Moreover, that bonus software included with your order may just be a Trojan that turns your PC into a zombie for the spammer’s use in sending out even more spam … now you’ve become not only a pirate, but a spammer, too. Nice work.

Call for Comments
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Sales assistance was nonexistent, not just in the garden area, where we sought a both a tree and tree stand, but also in the interior of the store, where we bought a power cord and wool carpet. Usually, this store has excellent customer service, especially the electrical department, which has been run by an associate named David. What happened today?

I’ll be back…I’m hoping that today’s experience was an abberation. In any regard, I’ll keep you apprised of my experience.

 

I’m not sure of all the factual details, remember, the story is coming to me third or fourth hand; however, one family in our neck of the woods reportedly received a petition from neighbors that the excessive external holiday decorations that had been erected in previous years had become an attractive nuisance, attracting many cheerful visitors during the season. The parade of cars through the neighbhorhood prevented nearby residents from hosting holiday parties, as there were insufficient parking spaces for invited guests.

Here’s what I’ve got so say about that…
Hey, Grinch, host your holiday party at someone else’s house. Be glad that your neighbor is like Clark Griswold and not Cousin Eddie.

 

Blog is one of the most frequently discussed Internet topics; it’s an elegant demonstration of personal expression and corporate marketing. The MSN Spaces service will be for personal use; however, businesses have found blogs to be a simple and effective way to keep in touch with vendors and niche markets. Updates require no more time than typing the article, and the updates are immediately available to all viewers.

Dave’s Opinion
I use a blog as the permanent repository for ITinfo articles; it’s much less work to manage the archives as a blog than it was to manually create individual webpages for each article. The blogging software makes it a snap. I also maintain a personal blog, SaysDave, in which maintain a cultural critique.

Call for Comments
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References
MSN Spaces

 

I was in this morning to send a USPS Priority Mail package to a client and I realized how very much I look forward to my trips to Rob’s store. Each time I drop in I’m greeted warmly by name (not quite like Norm from Cheers), and that’s what I want from a personal services outlet. Way to go, Rob.

 

Nothing fancy, just a few quick clips of the sissors and a buzz of the electric razor. I’m in and out in less than ten minutes. And, I get a quick back massage, to boot! I’ve been all over the county (and even to Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties), and so far, this shop is the best.

Tell ‘em Dave sent you. As if that would earn you much…

 

I had the Mog (an egg salad club), Joe had the Emily (a turkey sandwich, I think), and we shared an order of fries. I suggest that you order a half-and-half iced tea, when you visit for lunch.

 

We first learned of the great attitude of O’Donnell employees two years ago. Without much preparation, we dropped in to test drive the new Honda Accords, never expecting to buy one. During that first stop, we bought both an Accord and Odyssey. Our salesman was, friendly, helpful, and relaxed; we knew that we would be happy with this dealership, and with each service call we’re more convinced. I wish all car dealerships treated us as well as O’Donnell Honda (especially the Toyota dealership with its rude sales manager).

 

My oldest daughter suggested that I start publishing my critiques of restaurants that we visit, and I broadened her suggestion to include publishing about everything that I critique.

This is my first step.

BTW, the restaurant with the poor service is Copeland’s, and we’ll never return.