myLife & Tech

Kevin Mitnick detained, released after Colombia trip

2008-10-05T21:00:00.002-04:00

Kevin Mitnick detained, released after Colombia trip

After landing at the Atlanta airport for a security conference, Mitnick was detained for four hours for reasons still not fully explained. To make matters worse, while customs officials in Atlanta were busy inspecting his cell phone, laptop, and luggage, police in Bogota were ripping open a package he had mailed to his U.S. address on suspicion that it contained cocaine.

The simultaneous incidents gave Mitnick deja vu of his days as a fugitive pursued by the FBI for breaking into computer networks, only this time, he hadn't broken any laws.

O.J. Simpson Found Guilty of Armed Robbery in Memorabilia Heist

2008-10-04T09:19:00.002-04:00

O.J. Simpson Found Guilty of Armed Robbery in Memorabilia Heist

O.J. Simpson, the former Buffalo Bills football player acquitted 13 years ago of murdering his ex-wife and her friend, faces life in prison after he was convicted of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint.

A jury found Simpson guilty of armed robbery, kidnapping and 10 other counts after deliberating for almost 13 hours yesterday, following a three-week trial in Nevada state court in Las Vegas. Simpson and five others were accused of robbing Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley at the Palace Station hotel casino in Las Vegas in September last year.

Simpson, 61, took items including footballs with his autograph, prosecutors said. Simpson said he was trying to recover family heirlooms and personal photographs stolen from him. He denied there were guns in the hotel room during the robbery. His codefendant, Clarence Stewart, was also found guilty on all 12 counts.

The jury “already had a fixed opinion” about Simpson, the former football star’s lawyer, Yale Galanter, said outside the courthouse following the verdict.
[...]
Thomas Riccio, the man who set up the meeting between Simpson and the memorabilia dealers, tape-recorded the alleged robbery and previous conversations at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. [...]In the recordings of Simpson, played by prosecutors during the trial, the former football star said “I gotta be at my intimidating best,” and “We gonna get it all back,” prior to the alleged crime.

Web Hosting Service?

2008-10-04T09:12:00.001-04:00

What web hosting service do you recommend? I've used OLM.net in the past and I've been somewhat pleased. Any suggestions?

tech: 10 Qs - Leo Laporte

2008-10-04T09:02:00.003-04:00

Wil Harris - ChannelFlip.com:

While I was out in San Francisco, I took the opportunity to sit down with some of the web’s finest minds and pick their brains about technology, the web, and life as a man in the world at large today.

For the first interview in a short series on ChannelFlip Tech, I sat down with Leo Laporte - famed podcaster at Twit.tv - to garner his thoughts on iPhone, Blackberry, teleportation, Scarlet Johansson and the funniest joke he knows.

Enjoy.

-Wil

NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter

2008-10-04T08:39:00.002-04:00

NewerTech

Digital audio and photo files are growing in use and size to where upgrading to a larger hard drive is becoming a regularly performed procedure. The NewerTech USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter makes it easy to transfer data between the old and new drives as well as give the old drive a second life as an external storage solution. It's a complete solution that allows any 2.5", 3.5", or 5.25" hard drive or optical drive* with any standard IDE/ATA/ATAPI 40 pin or SATA interface to be connected via USB to any USB equipped computer for file transfer, backing-up and storing file archives, and accessing data on stored backup drives with Plug & Play ease. The connection status LEDs provide easy confirmation of a proper connection between a USB 1.1/2.0 equipped computer and an IDE/ATA or SATA drive.

* Transfer files!
* Easily access data from internal and external hard drives!
* Give a second life to switched-out hard drives!
* Instantly turn any ATA or SATA drive into a convenient external drive!

I guess I listen to Leo too much?

2008-10-04T08:28:00.001-04:00

From leoville.com:

You can now start using twit.am for the live audio stream. The following URL works in WinAmp, VLC, MPlayer, xine, xmms, iTunes, and most other Shoutcast/Icecast compatible players.

http://twit.am/listen

You can use the free FStream player on iPhone, or Nullriver’s $6 Tuner Internet Radio (which I like a lot). I understand the media player on Nokia phone works. And many other phones can use Moodio.fm’s free conversion service for listening.

identi.ca

2008-08-02T09:48:00.002-04:00

Open source Twitter clone identi.ca. Give it a shot, it seems to work (which is something Twitter doesn't do at times) ;)

We love you Pop!

2008-05-27T12:24:00.002-04:00

April 23, 1927 - May 24, 2008

Mr. Hydrick Gebert "Bert" West, age 81 of 137 Academy Street, Jonesville, SC, widower of Frances Bogan West and husband of Elsie West died Saturday, May 24, 2008 at his home.

Mr. West was born in West Springs, SC April 23, 1927, a son of the late Annie West Lancaster. He was a graduate of West Springs High School and Cecil’s Business College. Mr. West was the former Manager of B&B Mobile Homes in Jonesville; a former Union County Magistrate; a Past Master at Prudence Masonic Lodge #139; the American Legion; a Shriner, former member of the Jonesville City Council; former long time member of the Union County Transportation Committee; a former Board Member of the Salvation Army and the Jonesville Fire Department Board He was a life long member of Bogansville United Methodist Church where he served as a former Trustee; former member of the Cemetery Committee; a former member of the PPRC, and a member of the Official Board of the Church. Mr. West was also a member of the Mary Sue Keith Sunday School Class. "Bert" was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

Surviving in addition to his wife are a daughter, Martha West Robinson and husband Dennis of Jonesville; a son, Charles West, Sr and wife Michelle of Union; six grandchildren: Melissa "Missy" Robinson Mitchell and husband Lynn, Trad Robinson and wife Nikki, Charles West, Jr and wife Chasity, Noah West, Katie West and Danielle Brown; six great-grandchildren: Rob Mitchell, Anna Mitchell, Cagen West, Westley Robinson, Jacob Robinson and Camran West and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. West was predeceased by a brother, Max West and a step-sister, Dora Lawson.

Funeral services will be held 3:00 PM Monday, May 26, 2008 at Bogansville United Methodist Church conducted by Rev. Gary Peterson and Rev. Bob Wofford. Interment will be in the church cemetery.

Active pallbearers will be Mike West, Steven West, Wayne Bogan, Jr., Robbie Bogan, Timmy Scarborough and Billy Lawson.

Visitation will be held 2:00-2:45 PM Monday in the social hall of the church prior to the service.

In lieu flowers, memorials may be made to Bogansville United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund, 4052 Buffalo West Springs Hwy., Jonesville, SC 29353.

Job Posting - Network Engineer

2008-05-07T21:27:00.001-04:00

CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
GAFFNEY, SOUTH CAROLINA

POSITION VACANCY

MAY 7, 2008

NETWORK ENGINEER

QUALIFICATIONS:

BACHELOR DEGREE IN TECHNOLOGY RELATED FIELD
3 - 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE MAINTAINING NETWORK SERVERS, ROUTERS, AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT IN A MULTI-SITE, MULTI-OS ENVIRONMENT
A MINIMUM OF ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CERTIFICATIONS: NCE, CNE, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE
REQUIRES STRONG HANDS-ON ABILITIES WITH NOVELL AND MICROSOFT SERVER SYSTEMS
ABILITY TO DESIGN, IMPLEMENT, AND TROUBLESHOOT LOCAL AREA NETWORKS AND WIDE AREA NETWORKS
ABILITY TO TROUBLESHOOT ROUTING AND CONNECTIVITY ISSUES, SECURITY ISSUES, AND SERVER CONFIGURATION ISSUES
COMMUNICATES WELL BOTH ORALLY AND IN WRITING
WORKS AS A TEAM MEMBER

SALARY:
LEVEL III COMPUTER MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN SALARY SCHEDULE

TO APPLY OR FOR MORE
INFORMATION CONTACT:
CARLOTTA REDISH, DIRECTOR OF PERSONNEL
CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
PO BOX 460
141 TWIN LAKE ROAD
GAFFNEY, SOUTH CAROLINA 29342
(864) 902-3500 TELEPHONE
(864) 902-3524 FAX
Email: Tameka.Whittenburg@gw.cherokee1.k12.sc.us

Cherokee County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, or handicap in admission to, treatment in, or employment in its program or activities.

We love you Grandmother!

2008-03-29T08:22:00.002-04:00

September 16, 1917 - March 28, 2008

Evelyn White Robinson

JONESVILLE, SC-- Mrs. Evelyn White Robinson, age 90 of 677 Jonesville Lockhart Highway, Jonesville, SC, widow of Essie "Gully" Robinson died Friday, March 28, 2008 at her home.

Mrs. Robinson was born in Jonesville, SC September 16, 1917, a daughter of the late Thomas Clyde White and Eva Gregory White. She retired from the Union County Schools and was a member of New Hope United Methodist Church.

Mrs. Robinson is survived by two daughters, Peggy R. Scoggins and husband Carol of Spartanburg and Brenda Dillard of Jonesville; two sons, Dennis Clyde Robinson and wife Martha and Grady Phillip Robinson and wife Cathy all of Jonesville; a daughter-in-law, Patricia Robinson of Jonesville; five sisters, Margerite Harvey of Union, Doris White of Jonesville, Lee Ila Pearson of Pacolet, Mildred Barkley of Atlanta and Patty Hoyle of Pacolet; three brothers, Lewis White of Pacolet, Keith White of Union and Thomas C. White of Spartanburg; seven grandchildren: David Scoggins, Debbie Maness, Harold "Dean" Robinson, Jr., Lynn Gilliland, Hope Davis, Melissa Mitchell and Trad Robinson and ten great-grandchildren. Mrs. Robinson was predeceased by a son, Harold Dean Robinson, Sr.

Funeral services will be held 3:00 PM Monday, March 31, 2008 at New Hope United Methodist Church conducted by Rev. Scott Gilmer and Rev. Douglas Gilliland. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends 1:30-2:30 PM Monday at the church prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to:

New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery Trust Fund
659 New Hope Church Road
Jonesville, SC 29353

The family is at the home, 677 Jonesville Lockhart Highway, Jonesville, SC 29353.
S. R. Holcombe Funeral Home (www.holcombefuneralhomes.com)

Macworld Expo Celebrity Checklist

2008-01-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

You gotta love this......

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

Buy a HughesNet HN7000S Satellite Internet System

2008-01-12T13:50:00.000-05:00

Buy from my ebay account!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET GREAT INTERNET SERVICE!!!
Up for bid is a HughesNet Direcway Satellite Broadband Internet complete system. This system is less than two years old and is in great condition. This has been a great system but we recently moved and do not need it at this time.

When I deactived the system Hughes advised me that they will install used equipment and for further questions about Hughes you can look on the web at...www.hughesnet.com or call them at 866-347-3292.

You may call Hughes Net to verify.
The customer service number is: 1-866-347-3292
The Modem model number is: HN7000S
Part number: 1036599-2002
Serial number: HKA77G65F 03808575 A

This is the complete system and includes full dish assembly with mount, modem, power supply and ethernet cable. The Dish has been broken down for shipping purposes. This is the HN7000S system.
If you have any questions...Please feel free to e-mail me.
This system is completely paid off and all obligations to Hughes have been met in full.

THANKS FOR LOOKING!

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

2008-01-05T16:13:00.001-05:00

What does that mean? We all want it. We think that some people have it. But do we know when we get it?

More time.
More money.
More stuff.
More things.
More house.
More love.
More respect.
More friends.
More ______ (you fill in the blank).

Now that we know we want MORE, what do we do? Most of the time nothing because that would require action. But the big question is how do we define MORE. Or better yet, who do we allow to define MORE for us.

If you want more money, how will you be able to tell when you get to that point? Was there a time in your life that you wanted what you have now. Five or ten years ago, did you sit and think if I could only make X amount a year, and now you are making X or more and what do you want? MORE!!!!! You can take that example and apply it to everything. Did you at one time dream about having the house that you live in now? Did you ever dream that one day you would have the car or the gadgets that you have now? Did you ever want the stuff that is sitting in your closet collecting dust?

How do we know when we get it and what keeps us wanting more of it? I know that there have been times the I have been riding around and noticed a big, beautiful, elegant, immaculate house. I would look at that house and think, if only I lived there. I would dream about the other people that would look at my big, new house and how they would be dreaming that it was theirs. The one thing that I didn't think was that maybe the people that lived in that house also saw other houses that they wished they could have. I didn't think that there was people riding by my little old house, dreaming that it might could be theirs. I never looked at it from those points of view.

I am beginning to believe that everyone is wanting more. No matter where they are in life. Is Donald Trump satisfied? Does Warren Buffet think about making more money? If The Donald was satisfied, we wouldn't even know him. He would be off living on some secluded beach or in a little town in South Carolina, relaxing.

Take some time today, and think about the people that are looking at your situation and dreaming that they might one day be able to live like you. Think about where you were five or ten years ago and where you want to be five or ten years from now. Will you still be wanting more? Will you allow time to fly by in your life wishing that things were different, when you could be enjoying what you have?

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

Dave Winer gets his drive & Scoble back on the book!

2008-01-03T21:55:00.000-05:00

Winer and Scoble both got what they wanted today. Dave finally got his drive back from Apple and Scoble was reinstated into the world of Facebook. All is well in the world.

I was glad to see both Winer and Scoble get what they were asking for, but I wonder if any of us would have received the same treatment. I have read where there have been a lot of people that lost their drives to Apple after a replacement, and Dave was the first that received the drive back. I'm sure that there have been a lot of people dismissed by Facebook, and I wonder what percentage actually have been reinstated.

Scoble and Winer have tons of pull in this industry and rightfully so. They are major players in the future of media and what is to become of the Internet. I was surprised that they were subjected to the injustice in the first place. I hope that they aren't happy with getting what they want. I want them to continue to push for Apple and Facebook to give everyone the respect that they have now shown to Winer and Scoble.

Keep fighting the fight :)

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

Scoble Banned?

2008-01-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

How long before Scoble is back on Facebook? They can't keep him off for too long, it would be too much bad press.

Email that Scoble received from Facebook, from his blog:

Hello,

Our systems indicate that you’ve been highly active on Facebook lately and viewing pages at a quick enough rate that we suspect you may be running an automated script. This kind of Activity would be a violation of our Terms of Use and potentially of federal and state laws.

As a result, your account has been disabled. Please reply to this email with a description of your recent activity on Facebook. In addition, please confirm with us that in the future you will not scrape or otherwise attempt to obtain in any manner information from our website except as permitted by our Terms of Use, and that you will immediately delete and not use in any manner any such information you may have previously obtained.

We reserve the right to take any appropriate action in connection with any activities that violate our Terms of Use and/or applicable laws, including termination of your account and pursuit of legal remedies.

Please reply to this email.

Thank you,
Facebook Customer Support

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

When was the last time you Opened your Mind?

2008-01-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

There are a lot of us that know exactly what we think and there is no way to change our mind. That's ok, I'm not going to try to convince anyone to change their ideas about anything. But, the question that I have is when is the last time that you listened to or watched or read something that was the direct opposite of something that you believe?

Take, for example, politics. If you are true to yourself, do you know right now which Presidential candidate you will vote for? If you do, why? Have you taken time to listen to anyone with an opposing view? Are you voting for the same person that you know your friends or family are voting for? Are you voting for someone, just to be different from the crowd? If you have always voted a certain way, can you justify the way that you vote? I believe that it is important to question what you believe. Not to change the way that you believe, but to justify the way that you believe.

If you know that you will vote for a Democrat, visit a Republican's website and watch a speech that they have given or read their platform. If you know that you will vote for a Republican, do the same on a Democrat's website. If you can't stand something, make sure that you know why. If you were asked today, why you're note voting for someone, be sure that your answer is honest and justified.

I believe that there are too many people in this world that act the way that their “crowd” acts and not the way that they would if they truly thought about the situation. My dad would always tell me to make sure that my decisions were my own and never follow anyone into trouble. This can easily relate to politics. Make sure that when you cast your ballot you are voting for the person that you believe in and not voting for them just because everyone you know is voting for them.

:)

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

FlickrFan - Dave Winer

2008-01-01T22:53:00.000-05:00

Dave Winer has released new software for the MAC called FlickrFan. The software utilizes several APIs to do some very interesting task. FlickrFan is run off of Winer's OPML Editor and it is easy to use. Once you have it installed you can make any changes or add RSS feeds to it by going to http://127.0.0.1:5337/photoFan/index.

FlickrFan is basically a screen saver program that will display high-resolution images from any Flickr account, recent Associated Press photos or any other RSS feed. Scoble and others have bragged on using it with their Mac Mini connected to their HDTV.

Joe Lazarus has created a Last.FM connection to give you an RSS feed of the groups that are linked to your Last.FM account. Here are the instructions from Joe's site on setting up the Last.FM link.

To add the feed to your MacBook, MacBook Pro, or Mac-enabled TV, just follow these simple steps:

Download and install FlickrFan
Go to my Last.fm FlickrFan page
Enter your Last.fm user name and click “run pipe”
Click “More options > Get as RSS”
Copy that URL to your clipboard
Go to the FlickrFan home page on your computer and choose the “Feeds” tab
Scroll to the bottom of the page and add the new feed URL that you copied in the previous step
Done!

Your computer should start downloading the first few images within a few minutes. Updates will process automatically based on your weekly artist chart from Last.fm.

I know that Dave has just released the software and he is updating it daily, and I expect that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

Stay at home Mom!

2008-01-01T18:04:00.000-05:00

Thank you.

I need to say that more to my wife. I love her more than anything in the world and she knows that, I tell her everyday. But I know that I don't say “Thank you” enough. She is a stay at home mother of two and she has one of the toughest jobs in the world. She made the decision, when we were pregnant with our first, that she would stay at home to raise our children. We have two boys that are 2 and 4.

I know that it is hard for her to be with them 24X7, but I know that she loves it too. We were talking the other day about how they have “an obsessive compulsive behavior” when it comes to her. They always have to be in the room with her. They don't always want anything, just to be close to her. There are times, that I know that she wants some peace and quiet, and there are times when she gets it, but the bonds that she has created with our children will never be broken. You never know what the future holds, but I hope that when they are 15 and 17 (or 45 and 47), they still “just want to be in the room with her”. They may not always want to talk, but when they need someone that they know loves them, I hope that they will find her, just like they do now.

I know that staying at home is not a decision that everyone can make, it's not right for everyone. But I also know that it has been the best decision that we have ever made.

You see these buttons everywhere, most are for a drink or a beer, but this one is different. All donations made on this site will be used in my kids 529 college savings plan. So Donate Now! Thanks.

SQL Injection

2007-12-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

SQL injection is a security threat that appears wherever a PHP script is presenting data from a database, taking as input some identification of the content that needs to be presented, for instance with content management systems, or even simple scripts that return simple data. As long as input identification is inserted into SQL for data retrieval, the threat exists!

Let's look at a simple example. Let's say that you have a script that presents web pages according to user selection which is passed through URL variable 'page=':

index.php?page=links

This script then takes page identifier in variable 'page' and puts it into SQL query to fetch the page with that identifier:

PHP:

$page= $_GET['page'];
$res= mysql_query("SELECT FROM table_with_pages WHERE page_id='{$page}' LIMIT 1");
?>

The above is very common example of content retrieval. And a very vulnerable one. All it takes for the attacker is to bypass your single quotes and insert some malicious code. And all the attacker needs is to pass one simple string through the URL:

index.php?page=%27%3B%20DROP%20DATABASE%20--

The above is valid URL request, and server will parse the encoded characters into '; DROP DATABASE which effectively closes the single quotes of your original query, ends it with a semicolon and inserts new directive that drops your entire database and comments out everything else you may have in your SQL. And buh-bye database! Gone. Deleted.

Of course, this is a blatant example that does not need to work, especially if user-level the script is using does not allow dropping entire database. But, it can do a variety of other things, like selecting usernames or passwords, or inserting passwords where ID=1 which is usually the admin's user id, etc... Or it can bypass WHERE clauses with simple 'OR WHERE 1=1' and avoid password checks for example, or any other data retrieving filter you may have had, especially because data passed through URLs for content retrieval is usually a filter in a WHERE clause.

Naturally, it is difficult for the attacker to know the structure of your tables and fields if he/she did not see the code. With some guessing and luck he or she may be able to extract the structure, especially if your scripts visibly report errors (which is another security threat we'll deal with later). But what about open-source projects where code is available for everyone? Incidentally, open-source projects are frequent targets of attackers that seek loopholes in thousands of lines of code managed by many people who can easily omit a hole or two.

The most simple way to protect against such SQL injections is to escape sensitive characters like single or double quotes. It is best to use database-native functions for that, and in the case of our example, and MySQL, the proper handling would be:

PHP:

$page= mysql_real_escape_string ($_GET['page']);
$res= mysql_query("SELECT FROM table_with_pages WHERE page_id='{$page}' LIMIT 1");
?>

One much better way to protect against SQL injections is to use numeric identifiers wherever possible, so instead of index.php?page=links use ?page=1 and cast all data from this variable into integer:

PHP:

$page= (int) $_GET['page'];
$res= mysql_query("SELECT FROM table_with_pages WHERE page_id={$page} LIMIT 1");
?>

Another way is to filter the variable for allowed characters. For simple identifiers, allowed characters are usually alphanumeric (a-z0-9), which can be a case with simple page retrieval. Filter with preg_match:

PHP:

$matches= array();
preg_match ('/^([a-z0-9])$/i', $page, $matches);
//Find page identifier in $matches[1]
?>

And of course, keep your code to yourself if at all possible. So, to recapitulate, to protect against SQL-injections, very useful methods are:

* Using integers as data identifiers wherever possible
* Escaping all string inputs that may contain sensitive characters
* Filtering input identifiers for allowed characters
* Keeping the code to yourself

As a final note, since we used $_GET variable for example, same threat exists for POST-ed data. Since http request headers are text based, over TCP/IP type connection, it is very easy for the attacker to write a program (in C for example) that opens a connection to your script and sends malicious requests through POST'ed data.

4-Hour Work Week - Tim Ferriss

2007-11-10T11:39:00.000-05:00

Tim seems to be a very interesting person. I've just finished the 4-Hour Work Week and it is one of the most interesting reads that I have had in a while. It's a book that you will want to take notes while reading and read several times. I'm not just jumping on the bandwagon and I don't think that you can follow everything in the book, but it makes you think.

He also has an interesting blog. One of his recent post discusses his process of learning a language.

How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour

Mahalo

2007-08-12T18:23:00.000-04:00

Mahalo is the new search engine launched by Jason Calacanis. Mahalo is bringing a new wrinkle to the search game. The main search results are provided by guides (Mahalo employees), who find relevant results for search terms. User submitted results are also included.

I'm not sure how I feel about Mahalo, but it does look good. Take a look at a result that was "hand written" by one of the Mahalo employees about how to find free music.

National Elementary Honor Roll

2007-08-04T16:10:00.000-04:00

NEHR

As you will learn from the link to our Statements of Mission and Goals, NEHR strives to be much more than simply an academic recognition society. Through the combined efforts of our staff, Advisory Board, parent volunteers, and affiliate organizations, we engage in activities that promote personal growth and leadership skills, encourage our student members toward age-appropriate community service activities, and teach them the benefits of conducting their lives with character and integrity.

Pirateland 170P - Myrtle Beach

2007-07-29T19:45:00.000-04:00

Our new home away from home at the beach.

Web 2.0 Meet Classroom 2.0

2007-07-17T19:59:00.000-04:00

Steve Hargadon has created a social networking site dedicated to educators. He is utilizing the Ning network to host and run Classroom 2.0 . If you pay attention to the amount of traffic on the social networking sites and realize that the majority of the traffic is generated by students, Steve is really on to something. Most school districts try there best to keep students away from the social networking sites because the content is impossible to control. Students will continue to find ways to bypass the roadblocks put up by the districts to access the social sites. There is something to the old adage "If you can't beat them, join them".

I'm not sure if there is a way to integrate Myspace and Facebook into the classroom. I'm sure that there are schools that are trying to and I would love to hear about your experiences. I believe that the social environment is something that energizes students and should be utilized if possible. I hope that with Classroom 2.0 teachers will begin to realize the benefits of social networking and that they will look for ways to implement it in there classrooms.

Praized Blog

2007-07-15T19:32:00.000-04:00

Robert Scoble is Media! This is a very interesting article on The Praized Blog. I've been watching and reading Robert Scoble for a while and it is obvious that he is more in the spotlight now than he has ever been. I believe that he gets more press and coverage now than he did even when he was with Microsoft.

Scoble has the social networking game down. When you request he accepts. And you don't just get a friend, you get content that you can use when you are part of Scoble's network. I suggest that you friend him on facebook and definetly follow his blog and his Google Reader Shared items.

Send me a request on facebook too.

Dvorak.org/Blog

2007-07-15T07:22:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever listened to TWIT knows dvorak.org/blog and you probably know that you never know what Dvorak will be complaining about next. When I ran across the BOB television power management system on his site, it caught my attention. I have 2 boys ages 3 and 2 and I can already see that I will need a way to limit their TV consumption. This might just do the trick.

Free Transformers Clip

2007-07-15T06:43:00.000-04:00

I know, I know not what you expected. But you gotta admit that was funny.

In Order To Drive Traffic

2007-07-15T00:30:00.000-04:00

That's right.... I need help driving content to my blog. Can you believe it? Shouldn't everyone want to read what I have to say? I guess that everyone needs help with traffic and I probably need more than most.

I'm trying out adGridWork and I'm not sure how long I will stick with it. It's free and it puts your site on their list of ads that are displayed on other sites in the network. It all sounds good, but because it is free I'm not sure what kind of content will be put on my site. I'm going to try to monitor it but if you notice anything that is way out of line, tell me.

If you have tried adgridwork and it worked for you or if it didn't work, let me know.

People Based Search - Spock

2007-07-14T21:01:00.000-04:00

I just started using Spock and I believe that it is going to be a success. They do have a long way to go and a lot of what they are doing has already been done by Wikipedia, but I believe they can be successful. I'm not sure what there numbers are as far as invite request, but as more people begin using and experiencing what Spock has to offer, I think the "word" is going to spread. It's amazing the amount of information that you can find on people now and as more people begin to contribute, the data will continue to increase and become more accurate.

If you would like an invite, let me know.

Don't Try This At Home

2007-07-14T13:38:00.000-04:00

The first time I saw "Will it Blend", I was at Novell's Brainshare in Salt Lake City. I thought it was great, one of the funniest parts of the keynote. But I must say that the iPhone Will it Blend is the best yet. I must admit that I shed a tear each time I think about the poor iPhone that is being destroyed by that blender.

That is not the best part of the story. After you watch the iPhone being destroyed, be sure to check out the listing on eBay. Why can't I make money like that?

25 things I have learned in 50 years (by Dave Barry)

2007-07-14T12:20:00.001-04:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------
25 things I have learned in 50 years (by Dave Barry)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of
helicopters in it.

2. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling
reason why we observe daylight-saving time.

3. People who feel the need to tell you that they have an excellent sense
of humor are telling you that they have no sense of humor.

4. The most valuable function performed by the federal government is
entertainment.

5. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you
think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her
at that moment.

6. A penny saved is worthless.

7. They can hold all the peace talks they want, but there will never be
peace in the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth is
hurtling toward the Sun and there is nothing left alive on the planet
except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms living in the Middle East
will be bitter enemies.

8. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.

9. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender,
religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down
inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.

10. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make
a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.

11. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

12. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never
want you to share yours with them.

13. There apparently exists, somewhere in Los Angeles, a computer that
generates concepts for television sitcoms. When TV executives need a
new concept, they turn on this computer; after sorting through millions
of possible plot premises, it spits out, "THREE QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE
YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT," and the executives turn this
concept into a show. The next time they need an idea, the computer
spits out, "SIX QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN
APARTMENT." Then the next time, it spits out, "FOUR QUIRKY BUT
ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT." And so on. We need
to locate this computer and destroy it with hammers.

14. Nobody is normal.

15. At least once per year, some group of scientists will become very
excited and announce that:
* The universe is even bigger than they thought!
* There are even more subatomic particles than they thought!
* Whatever they announced last year about global warming is wrong.

16. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has
not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word
would be "meetings."

17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy
people who are not in them.

18. The value of advertising is that it tells you the exact opposite of what
the advertiser actually thinks. For example:
* If the advertisement says "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," the
advertiser is desperately concerned that this Oldsmobile, like all other
Oldsmobiles, appeals primarily to old farts like your father.
* If Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars to convince you that there
are significant differences between these two products, both companies
realize that Pepsi and Coke are virtually identical.
* If the advertisement strongly suggests that Nike shoes enable athletes
to perform amazing feats, Nike wants you to disregard the fact that shoe
brand is unrelated to athletic ability.
* If Budweiser runs an elaborate advertising campaign stressing the
critical importance of a beer's "born-on" date, Budweiser knows this
factor has virtually nothing to do with how good a beer tastes.

19. If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of
its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will
not use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.

20. You should not confuse your career with your life.

21. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.

22. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

23. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual
who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often,
that individual is crazy.

24. Your friends love you anyway.

25. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

-- Dave Barry

Pownce Invites

2007-07-11T21:42:00.001-04:00

I have a few invites left to give out. First to request will be the first to get. What is it you ask?

Pownce is a way to send messages, files, links, and events to your friends. You'll create a network of the people you know and then you can share stuff with all of them, just a few of them, or even just one other person really fast.

Jacob is 2!

2007-07-09T21:43:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that Jacob has turned 2. We are having his party this Thursday, but we took this picture on his birthday while we were at the beach.

Jacob playing Putt Putt

2007-07-08T20:21:00.001-04:00

The Arcade - Ocean Lakes

2007-07-08T19:43:00.001-04:00

IF

2007-06-19T09:36:00.000-04:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

Slumlord of the Internet

2007-04-22T09:40:00.000-04:00

Is MySpace the slumlord of the Internet? How much money does it take to fix up the UI? How long has it been since they fixed the broke pipes... sorry about that. What I meant to say is how long has it been since they took off with their money and bought an island somewhere, never to be seen from again.

If you are looking for a change try Virb. Virb gives you options that I don't think you will ever see on MySpace.

Linux Reality

2007-04-22T09:28:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of podcast and most are not worth the bandwidth to download. That is not the case for Linux Reality. Chess Griffin is up to 58 episodes of Linux Reality and I believe that each one is worth the price of admission. I would recommend starting with episode 1 and working your way up. These are not time sensitive, they are as good today as they were yesterday or they will be a year from now.

http://www.linuxreality.com

2007-04-12T17:37:00.000-04:00

openSUSE 10.3 Alpha3
opensuse-announce mailing list

On x86-64: Firefox is now a 64-bit package and uses nspluginwrapper to handle 32-bit i386 plugins if needed.

AppArmor uses now a new parser. The kernel patches have been reworked completely. Please do test AppArmor extensively (see below).

GNOME 2.18 mostly integrated.

Update to Kernel 2.6.21 RC5

New opensuse-updater running natively under GNOME

Further fixes for using libata by default for IDE devices

New yast2-ftp-server module.

The package manager handles more than one CD/DVD drive.

Novell Open Audio - BrainShare

2007-03-28T22:26:00.000-04:00

One of if not the best podcast around. You really need to check on the first Live From BrainShare. At about the 40 min mark you can hear me ask Nat Friedman a question about Open Source Development.

Do You Feel Great????

2007-02-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

DSL Again

2007-01-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

I'm back on the quest for DSL. It's only been a couple of days since I last posted about the possibility of getting DSL and I'm still without the service, but there is hope. Broadband is a necessity, just like food and water. A couple of articles have me hoping that sometime this year I will come out of the third world conditions that I'm living in and be one of the many who can get high speed internet service.

AT&T completes BellSouth buyout

AT&T and BellSouth each owned equity stakes in Cingular. However, AT&T now has full ownership over the nation's largest wireless carrier. Cingular will transition over to the AT&T brand sometime in early 2007. Also, now that AT&T has complete management control over Cingular, the company said there are opportunities to expand on AT&T's three-screen strategy to deliver content over the television, PC and wireless handsets.

By adding the operations of BellSouth's nine-state territory, AT&T now provides local telephone service to 22 states.

A concession AT&T agreed to with Federal Communications Commission commissioners will make broadband Internet services available throughout all of its residential territories by Dec. 31, 2007. New broadband customers will be able to order high-speed Internet service at a reduced rate of $10 per month.

Another FCC compromise calls for AT&T to expand its U-verse Internet Protocol television service in BellSouth's territory. The company said it already planned to introduce U-verse in 19 million households throughout its residential service territory by 2008. However, AT&T said it now has agreed to offer U-verse in 1.5 million households in BellSouth's territory by the end of 2007.

Sanford proposes broadband initiative

Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday he wants $2 million in next year’s state budget to help extend high-speed Internet access to the state’s rural communities.

His proposed budget for 2007-08 will recommend creating a Broadband Advisory Committee within the Department of Commerce to oversee efforts to provide people in rural communities with Internet access other than dial-up.

Google Server Rack

2007-01-01T18:55:00.000-05:00

I always wondered what a Google Server Rack looked like. The Computer History Museum has one of the first Google Server Racks. The picture makes me feel better about some of the racks that I have worked on. They called it a "corkboard" rack because the four PC system boards on each try were insulated from each other by sheets of cork. Its hard to believe that a few of these server racks launched Google as a company.

DSL Service?

2007-01-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Is it possible that I will get DSL service now? The FCC in a 4-0 vote approved the buyout of BellSouth by AT&T. One of the FCC's conditions is that AT&T make "A pledge to offer broadband wherever the new AT&T is the local phone company". The problem with their "pledge" is that they currently sell satellite broadband through WildBlue Communications and I don't need that. I currently have HughesNet and I guess you can call that broadband, but I need another, faster option. I would jump at the chance to get any DSL service but I really want the fastest speed that they can give me.

Linutop

2006-12-30T19:41:00.000-05:00

Do you need a small, inexpensive, web browser? You might want to look into Linutop. It comes preloaded with Linux, Firefox, Evince PDF, and abiWord which makes it a perfect web browsing machine. I would love to get my hands on a few of these to give them a good "test", but that is the problem. Their website is as bare-bones as their product. There is no information about availability or pricing.

Another Million Bucks

2006-12-29T21:14:00.000-05:00

Looks like Alex Tew is going to make another million bucks. Don't remember who Alex is? He created the Million Dollar Homepage , where he reached his goal of a million dollars. He was 21 at the time of the Million Dollar Homepage, so that would make him about 22 or 23 now. I was jealous of his first idea but his second idea takes the cake. There are a tremendous amount of "rip-offs" that tried to recreate the idea behind his first venture but none could match his creativity. Now that was before he decided to create a rip-off. I guess you can't call it a rip-off if he created the original, but I like his new idea even better than the first.

Pixelotto! Alex is now going after 2 million dollars but not just for him. He is going to give one million to you. The idea behind Pixelotto is that the advertisers will pay $2 per pixel and someone who has clicked on one of the pixels will win a million. That still leaves Alex a million. This gives the advertisers a reason to come back. You know that the chance of winning a million dollars will create a lot of clicks. This is also going to give Alex a community, because to participate in Pixelotto you must register. Of course registration is free and it will get a lot of people to sign up.

I guess I need to go and click some pixels.