Picasso; Before and After...

This is my original rough sketch set design for the Theater Workshop of Owensboro (TWO) production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, a comedy by Steve Martin. (Rendered with Microsoft Paint)



SketchUp ROCKZ!

This "rough" rendering was generated using SketchUp from Google. I cannot say enough about it as a design tool. In addition to perspective rendering it is possible to alter the POV (point of view). This allows the viewer to 'sit' anywhere in the audience and see what the set will look like. I used the existing textures and color pallette. I am sure that with more time and effort I could have offered an more exact rendering.




While not fully 'dressed' this is the set. --->

Set Construction (including tables) is the very fine work of Mr. Aaron Brown and his son Austin.

Play your gitar on your MTV...

indexed

News: Indexed is a Webby Award Honoree!

You mean they actually give me money to do this? Cool!!!

The biggest cyber-drug pusher on the block

I read Bruce Schneier for two reasons. His sense of humor tickles me just the right way. His sense of cyber-reality offers a clear technology compass for the terminally confused such as myself. So I was piqued by his Commentary on Vista Security and the Microsoft Monopoly.

While Bruce was talking, referentially, about the possible death of Microsoft...

Monopolies eventually overreach themselves and die. Maybe it's finally Microsoft's time to die. That would decrease the risk to the rest of us.

I was struck by a low-level, gut feeling response to some of the phrases offered in the cited articles and analysis.

Demerjian's interpretation of these two developments?

These two actions by Microsoft are proof of

what I suggested three years ago.
Microsoft has lost its ability to twist arms, and now it is going to die. It can't compete on level ground, so is left with backpedalling and discounts of almost 100 times.

The emphasis is mine. Losing the ability to twist arms then reducing the price of the 'product' to ~$3.00 USD is tantamount to the neighborhood pusher giving away the first 'hits' of crack cocaine - to get the users hooked (into buying the expensive drug over and over again.)

(From John Quarterman's article...)

As Dan Geer has been saying for years, Microsoft has a bit of a problem.

If you fit Microsoft's somewhat convoluted definition of poor, it still wants to lock you in, you might get rich enough to afford the full-priced stuff someday.

Microsoft wants the poor guy-on-the-street-user to try the "free" ($3.00 USD) sample in the long range hope of addicting him. Then when the addict returns Microsoft will wring out the 'full-price' for the next fix.

Sadly the real poverty in this case is not strictly economic. Microsoft has built a culture of ignorance in the users of its products. Microsoft turns right around and plays off of this ignorance poverty to continue to enslave innocent every day folks.

$0 is less than $3.

Sin-Yaw Wang of Sun Microsystems reminds us that $3 US is too much for good software.

Note to self: Don't do that again...

I had a craving, a need, for three of the four main food groups; salt, fat, sugar and chocolate. So I bought one of those "King Size SNICKERS" from the vending machine in the breakroom. (There are no real healthy snacks anywhere on site so us hunter-gatherers must resort to extreme measures.)

I knew when the BAR slipped from the spiral delivery system and BANGED in the bottom of the 'customer retrieval chute' that perhaps I was getting more than I bargained for. Lugging the thing back to my office I set it on the table behind me and I tried to ignore it. Alas, the allure was too great.

Peeling back the wrapper I took the first glorious bite. Chocolate, caramel, peanuts and nougat...ahhhhh. And then the torrid addiction kicked in... I just couldn't stop myself. Bite after BIG BITE until in a frenzy I had consumed the entire candy bar.

Hi, my name is Papa and I am a chocoholic...

And this bar would have fed a nomadic tribe of south american cocao growers for a week! It was HUGE! And now...it is gone. The sugar buzz remains but the chocolate elation is just flowing away. I feel so dirty, so ... jones'd. So I just sit here and stare at the wrapper, wondering if perhaps there is just one more little chocolate crumble stuck in the folds.

Change. Spare change...can you spare a fellow the price of 'KingSizeSnickers'?

I must be ... BRILLIANT!

I stumbled across these words of wisdom from Doc Searls ...

Searls First Law — The more you know, the worse you look

... according to the law I must be well on my way to... looking really good?

Powered by ScribeFire.

A reverse survey meme sorta thing...

I asked Platicus over at Sandwich Flats to interview me with this 'reverse survey meme sorta thing...' So here are my answers to his 5 questions...

1. What is your favorite movie ?

The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi and Koji Tsuruta as Sasaki Kojirō. The films are based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the famous duellist and author of The Book of Five Rings.

2. What fictional character would you most like to
meet, and why ?

Lord Toranaga: Blackthorne is taken to Lord Toranaga, the daimyo in control of the territory in which Blackthorne and the Erasmus first landed. Toranaga quickly realizes that Blackthorne and his ship present a great opportunity; not only in his dealings with the Portuguese, but also in his struggle with his main rival, Lord Ishido, over future control of all of Japan.

Lord Toranaga is the ultimate Bad/Good guy. While maintaining absolute command he relinquishes control. He is self-effacing, offering to dance the 'barbarian' dance. He is as well versed in the arts of humanity as he is in the art of war. He is both sentimental and callused. He knows how to move the human pieces around the cosmic chess board without letting his opponent know his true intent.

3. Who is the funniest person you know ?

Robin Williams - Not for Mork or for most of his film work but rather for those few spontaneous sessions where he is able to draw upon his wealth of historical and literary knowledge. His ability to combine Shakespear-esque verbiage with gang-banging street yo's leaves me laughing to the edge of tears. (Special Note: Robin Williams must be acknowledged for his fearless comedic film work in The Birdcage.)

4. Do you believe in extra-terrestrial life ?

Yes, we puny humans cannot be the only sentient beings in the universe.

5. What is your ultimate meal ?

My wife's fresh-from-the-oven hand-made bread with a little butter, cool pure water and a sun warmed apricot picked fresh from my grandmother's orchard.

In considering this question I might have reflected on the many great meals that I have enjoyed at my grandmother's table, at my father's table and the many excellent restaurants that I have had the privilege of attending. While all were great meals in the context of this question they spoke to my appetite and not to my hunger. Were I truly hungry I would eat almost anything. Were I truly hungry and had a choice then I would want bread, water and fruit.

Here are the rules if you want to keep it going:

Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to
pick the questions.

You will update your weblog with the answers to the
questions.(And let me know that you answered) If you
don't have a blog, but would still like to play, I can
send you the questions, and you can answer 'em in the
comments.

You will include this explanation and an offer to
interview someone else in the same post.
When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will
ask them five questions.

WordFlashReader - NFTFOH*

Now that I am getting this laptop settled I am interested in re-acquiring some of my favorite applications. WordFlashReader (WFR) is high on my list.

WFR uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP <-- Classic geek joke, that.)

WFR represents, in my view, the perfect marriage of computer technology and human capabilities. Beginning in 1986 I complained that PCs were slow and incapable of meeting the demands placed upon them by their human owner/operators. Silly me, I expected multi-tasking from my 8088 based computer. (Anyone remember GeoWorks?)

WFR is actually a very simple program. It takes text files as input and presents them to the user one. word. at. a. time. at a variable speed which can be very FAST! One description of WFR suggests that it 'infuses' the words of the text directly into your brain.

It turns out that when I read using conventional methods I tend to do a lot of extraneous thinking at the same time. I am trying to cognitively 'understand' what the author is saying at the same time I am trying to input their written words. Often I am trying to relate what is happening in the story I am reading to what is or has happened in my life. Or I am projecting or 'second guessing' the story on a sentence by sentence basis. I end up trying to tell the story my way while I am reading the author's words.

As a point of reference I can still do a great deal of what I just said when WFR is presenting at 270 WPM (a little over 4 words per second.) This is a good speed to start with. It allows me to become focused. Once I begin to feel 'in the groove' I will begin to increase the speed to 329 or higher. It is at this speed that I become aware that I cannot 'afford' to divert my attention with extraneous cognitive thought processes. I am sure that this is roughly the same as other 'speedreading' techniques. Remove the noise from the information input process and let the brain run at its speed when acquiring data.

As a personal test I have set about 'reading' Emanual Kant's The Critique of Pure Reason. For the purposes of this test I am allowing WFR to present at 967 WPM. My intent is to simply have the entire work impressed or infused in my psyche. I do not actually expect to quote or even reflect on any given passage. Once this first 'read' is complete then I will run WFR at a slower speed. My hypothesis is that once I have it as a foundation at high speed I will be able to cognitively process it at a lower speed.

Side note: Ulysses by James Joyce is well suited to this 'streaming' in part I believe because of Joyce's stream-of-consciousness style.

* NFTFOH

Not For The Faint Of Heart

Don't get me wrong, I love PERL but... you have to really love PERL in order to get WFR running (under Linux).

Blue Monster

[Added: On further reflection it really does look like me...and my wallet.]

Blog Lineage and YOYOW

Frank Paynter at Listics pointed me toward Elayne Riggs at Pen-Elayne who then pointed me at a Daily KOS article. Elayne thought so highly of the article's content that she quoted a significant portion of it.

Before I go, I'd like to urge folks to read the entire entry from "mapantsula," a professor at Virginia Tech and an atheist, in response to some nonsense from Dinesh D'Souza.

The 'entire entry from "mapantsula,"' is indeed an articulate, thoughtful and heartfelt perspective. It was written by an individual who has, in my opinion, wrestled long and hard with the issues of God and faith.

While mapantusla's expressed views and (non-)beliefs do not coincided perfectly with my own I was impressed by the establishment of his/her personal position. Even more important, in my view, was her/his clear and concise articulation of some very difficult theological and philosophical issues.

Blog Lineage and YOYOW

As you can see, I took the liberty of using a common blogging technique, 'lineage citations', to establish the validity and veracity of this posting. Such a formal lineage helps the reader to better appreciate the message. To better put the message in context. To better understand the message by situational or circumstantial associations. All in all, citing other people makes my message that much more accessible.

As a long standing proponent of Personal Responsibility I am obliged to follow YOYOW. This is, however, a personal choice that I cognitively make. While there may be some moral high ground here, I am not legally obligated to 'sign' every post. This brings me to the subject acknowledged by Elayne at the end of her post...

My only qualm with it is that this person has chosen to remain anonymous; while I certainly understand why, it tends to undercut his or her credibility a bit.

Being such a strong proponent of YOYOW I find myself in the very uncomfortable position of suggesting that I am 'not seeing the forest for the trees' in circumstances like this. I fall victim all too quickly to the praise/blame game and end up unwilling or unable (in other circumstances) to receive the value of the message.

I once advocated setting up an anonymous bulletin board so that co-workers could express anything that they felt called to share. Rather like a graffiti wall. My boss was livid - absolutely nothing written in such an anonymous environment would be of any value what so ever.

I am sure that had such an anonymous board been put up the boss would have been subject to some much deserved and undeserved criticism. As well the company might have received some positive and negative views. My question then and now is; Are people fearless enough to say the difficult things that need to be said? Would a line worker run the risk of losing his job to offer a criticism that is valid but sure to rile the big boss man? I believe that open and anonymous forums are necessary to overcome these types social stonewalls.

Dell XPloits the new VISTA

When POS means something different than Point-of-sale... [Link]

(Written on "Linux on a Laptop")

Top 10 things you need to know and 1 you need to do

Ten things you didn't know about open source

By James Archibald

20 April, 2007

1. Open Source predates proprietary software.

2. Apache kept the Web flat and free

3. Open SSL kept cryptography available to everyone

4. Open Source helped free the human genome

5. Microsoft loves open source

6. Altruism is not the only reason why people contribute to open source software

6. Online communities can actually get things done

7. The most important freedom: the right to for

9. Open source can still change the world

10. Open source needs your help (whoever you are)

One doesn't have to be a programmer to be able to help out on open source projects. To begin you can help by just trying it out. Recommended programs that can be run off a Windows system include the Open Office office suite and the Firefox Web browser. There are a number of "live" CD distributions of Linux that can be tried out without affecting your CD, such as Ubuntu. Open source development happens through forums and participation in a forum can help. If you encounter a bu in an open source application, reporting it can also be helpful to the developers. Another way for bilingual non-programmers to help is in translating the text of the program.

Hey! My children need $3 XP and Office too! NOT!!!

A product sooooo bad they cannot even give it away?

(Written from "Linux on a Laptop")

Again?!?!?! Microsoft shows just what contempt and avarice it has when dealing with the people who are the foundation of its great wealth: us, you and me. When is M$ going to offer us $3 XP and Office? HA!

art

heart

earth

farther

warts and all!

Filling the gapingvoid...

Hugh asked... how well does open source currently meet the needs of shareholders and ceo's?

Plain and simple: Open source does not meet the needs of shareholders and CEO's.

Shareholders and CEO's are driven by one thing; profit. There is no sense doing business, or investing in business, if said business does not turn a profit. If this were not the case then there would be a huge market for rat holes so that money could be thrown down them.

I believe that Sun Microsystems has the right approach to Open Source software. Here I am referring to OpenOffice. I believe Sun acquired OO for two reasons. First and foremost was to "stick it" to Microsoft. Second was an incredibly savy move; ingratiate themselves with the greater Open Source community. (Something that Microsoft has never attempted to do.) Sun may even realize a small profit from its commercial version of StarOffice.

Sun's real victory is the inroads it has made into the overall 'office suite' arena. Without leveraging the open source project, supporting it, nurturing it, Sun would still be trying to make do with an inferior MS product.

victims as villians

I believe in the balance of humanity. I can say that I have faith in the balance of humanity. I believe that historically there is significant evidence of this balancing process. I cannot suggest to you exactly how this balance is achieved.

Pretty heady stuff, Papa. What is your point?

A victim is characterized as such because they have suffered from or entered into a relationship with an insult or injury. No one will refute that when my daughter fell and broke her arm she was the victim of an accident. No one will refute the feeling of pain that she felt as a result of the injury. (My daughter was properly treated by trained professionals and has recovered fully from her injury.)

She was not treated as a villain because she recognized the balance of the situation; gravity cannot be denied, literally or metaphorically. She accepted that in a real world circumstance if she did not maintain proper balance she would be subject to the laws of physics as we know them. In this case the infraction resulted in the insult to her arm.

Imagine for a moment the result if my daughter had railed against the laws of physics? How would she have been treated by her peers or even unknowns in the community if she had attempted to lay a claim of culpability on gravity. How quick might we all be to paraphrase the Bard and say, 'I think she doth protest too much!' Then were she, or a band of "interested" anti-gravity types, to continue on lambasting the celestial pull would overall sentiment begin to sway away from such a claim?

It is so easy to speak of the simple laws of physics, a falling child and an injury. Where might the balance be in a complex social circumstance involving the vague precepts of propriety and grievous insults? Certainly the insult is real. Of that there is no question. Then a groundswell of sentiment calls into question the veracity of the victim's claims. A counter swell speaks in support. And when the smoke clears the victim is seen as the villain. The original insult is not lessened just that the balance of humanity has prevailed.

Let me be clear on this point; I am not qualified to judge the specifics of any given circumstance. The only observation that I make here is that the larger perspective, the greater community with an unspoken voice, has re-established the balance of humanity. Further, let there be no doubt that being a 'victim as villain' hurts perhaps more than did my daughter's broken arm. Yet I, as a concerned father, and we as a concerned Internet community cannot prevent the rightful process of balance in humanity or the downward draw of gravity.

419 Fraud Letter I would prefer to receive...

Here is the type of letter I would prefer to receive from the 419 scammers...

Person:

My name is Imagonna Scamya. Instead of wasting my time and yours I will come right to the point; send me your money. I have no intention of promising any return on your 'investment'. In fact I can guarantee that you will receive nothing in return for your contribution.

Please note the efficiency and simplicity of this approach. There are no convoluted steps. There is no reason for guilt or shame. Conversely there will be no reward for your participation beyond my personal enrichment which after all is the primary objective here.

Thanks for your timely response.

Please make all checks and money orders payable to Imagonna Scamya.

Respectfully yours

IS

Open Source Top 10 Must-read

10 reasons for enterprises to use opensource

And my favorite of course is...

1. Opensource makes you responsible. When you choose the components yourself, you don’t have a vendor to scream at. Or, as is often the case, a whole heap of vendors to scream at, each merrily pointing all known fingers (and a few unknown ones) at everyone else. While you fume and stew.

Personal responsibility in all aspects of computing. YOYOC = You own your own computer.

Slackware Linux & IBM Thinkpad R51

The IBM (Lenovo) Thinkpad R51 (2888-47u) is OK. While it is well engineered and fully functional it is not out standing, over the top, the be-all-to-end-all of laptops. Perhaps that is why this one was lovingly referred to as a 'Stinkpad' by its previous owner.

The Lenovo site says that this R51 model OEMs with the following...

P M 1.5GHz, 256MB RAM, 20GB 4200rpm HDD, 14.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, Intel Extreme, 8x-3.3x DVD, Wireless upgradeable(MPCI), Modem(CDC), 10/100 Ethernet(LOM), UltraNav, Secure Chip, 6 cell Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

Emphasis in this case is mine because I want to acknowledge that this laptop is very well engineered (OEM) for WinXP Pro. Special note of this will be taken during the installation of Slackware.

Why Slackware? It is simple.

Simple and Slackware on the same line??? Get real... Slackware's installation, albeit a bit Console&NCurses, does not insist that it knows more about how I want this installation to go than it does. Other distros that I have worked with in the past would take off flying and I would end up with a dual-boot, multi-partitioned, multiple file system, three headed monster. Slackware leaves me in control of an involved installation by not making all the critical decisions for me. It is that simple.

This is not a Slackware installation tutorial ( Here is a very good one posted on BitBenderTech. )

There are a couple of points that I want to make clear. First is that careful measures should be taken to preserve the 'OEM Partition'. In addition to just being a good practice in general this partition is the "resale value of the laptop". The next person to own it may not be a Linux fan but would be willing to pay more if it had Windows on it.

The second point that I make when installing Slackware on a "work" system is to install EVERYTHING. A "work" system is not a user/customer desktop/laptop setup or a production server configuration. A "work" system is the computer that I maintain as a resource. It has everything on it so that I don't have to install it later if my experimentation takes me into a new area.

So far we have...

1. IBM/Lenovo R51
2. Root ( / ) partition and swap partition. (And the preserved OEM Partition.)
3. FULL installation of Slackware 11.0

With the normal installation settings (most are DEFAULT, the rest are clear choices) this is a vanilla install of linux.

When the system comes up I have a fully functional laptop running Slackware 11. I always take a moment to create at least one user account [Papa] as soon as I can so I don't have to work in the system logged in as root.

If I didn't do the network configuration during the install I can configure the network connection using the 'netconfig' command and then restarting* the system gives me network access.

Logging in as 'Papa' gives me a fully appointed and a 'working' secured system. Issuing the 'startx' command gives me a fully functional windows GUI, no extra configuration required.

So now we have...

1. IBM/Lenovo R51
2. Root ( / ) partition and swap partition. (And the preserved OEM Partition.)
3. FULL installation of Slackware 11.0
4. 'netconfig' + 'reboot' gives us ethernet connectivity
5. 'startx' gives us windows GUI
   

What is left? What is missing?

Any laptop is just an expensive desktop if it can't me mobile. In order to be functionally mobile a laptop has to be able to connect wirelessly. The R51 (2888-47u) does not have built-in wireless capability so I rely on a wireless PCMCIA adapter. Here I had to choose carefully. I chose Proxim LAN Gold ORiNOCO 11a/b/g ComboCard. Which did not work vanilla right out of the box.

WHAT?!?!? Then why choose that one? Because there are open source drivers for it that do work very well. I went to MadWifi and downloaded madwifi-0.9.3.tar.gz. Using my favorite file manager 'mc' I extracted the source to a working folder. Once inside the folder I did a 'make'. When it finished compiling I did a 'su -' to obtain root privs and then did a 'make install'.

Rebooting the laptop with the Proxim PCMCIA card in the slot and I have an 'functioning' wireless device. In order to make it operational it requires a bit of configuration. In a followup article I will detail that configuration as well as 'Simple, Quick & Dirty reconfiguration for mutiple network sites'. For now just a teaser to show how few CLI commands wireless connectivity requires...

root@laptop: ~# iwconfig ath0 essid MyWifiNet key s:asciipasswordgoeshere
root@laptop: ~# iwpriv ath0 authmode 2
root@laptop: ~# ifconfig ath0 192.168.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
root@laptop: ~#

So to sum it all up...

1. IBM/Lenovo R51
2. Root ( / ) partition and swap partition. (And the preserved OEM Partition.)
3. FULL installation of Slackware 11.0
4. 'netconfig' + 'reboot' gives us ethernet connectivity
5. 'startx' gives us windows GUI
6. Wireless connctivity
   

Obviously I have glossed over some of the steps. (I have given up trying to write for first-time Slackware/Linux users.) This brief overview is to show that with an absolute minimum of work I now have a fully functional and well appointed IBM Thinkpad R51 running Slackware 11.

Articles to come...
KDE Tweaks for Thinkpad
Simple, Quick & Dirty reconfiguration for mutiple network sites

* "Restarting" or 'reboot' is one way. The system could also be 'init 1' and then 'init 3' depending on the user's comfort level.


-30-

Compliments not given

I am guilty. I don't know how to give compliments well. Oh, I know the mechanics but I just don't know the etiquette. It always seems that there is a sudden deafening pause after I attempt to give a compliment - an uneasy silence during which I don't know what to do.

Mostly this is due to my other failing, not knowing how to properly receive a compliment. I attribute this to a complex internal dialog that occurs just after the complimentor offers their critical praise.

1. Fear: Why am I being singled out?
2. Quid pro quo: What do I owe in return?
3. Buttered-up: Somebody wants a piece of me?
4. Contempt: Discounting the veracity of the complimentor.
5. And the worst, Denial: Dismissing the compliment with "I am not worthy."

Now hopefully you are not subject to the same dialog. But I have learned that as I am "normal", if I have these feeling then most, if not all, folks have them to some degree or another. So what do I do to resolve this dilemma for myself? I practice the following mantra until it just rolls off my tongue...

"Thank you"

No dialog, no second guessing, no judgemental gymnastics. If any of the possible "piece-of-me" issues arise subsequently I will deal with them as wholly separate transactions. Until then I will just focus on accepting the compliment.


On now to the giving of compliments. I don't give them often because of that deadly silence that always seems to follow my attempts. In that uncomfortable moment I am plagued with an entire set of new issues.

1. Discomfort: Complimentee is embarrassed
2. Dismissed: Complimentee says/thinks, "Yeah, what ever."
3. Undermined: Complimentee says/thinks, "Yeah, but its not as good as it could be."
   
4. Redirected: Complimentee says/thinks, "You should see so-and-so's work."
5. Oblivion: Complimentee stands silent, not knowing how to receive a compliment.
   

So my resolve is equally straight forward and simple. My part of the compliment is the giving. That is all I can be responsible for. So, I am just going to start giving compliments. I am going to practice until I get it right. Then I am going to practice it until I make it a habit.

You look marvelous.

Addendum: Ironically, in the past if I was sure that the message would be delivered correctly I would be more inclined to give the compliment to a mutual friend, to be delivered second hand. Interesting how a 'second-hand' compliment means more in the community and is easier to accept.

If you can't run with the big cyber-dawgs...

GigaOM - AMD gives us a tech reality check

Earlier today, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced that it is cutting its revenue forecasts, for the first quarter of 2007. “Revenues declined sharply quarter-over-quarter … due to lower overall average selling prices and significantly lower unit sales, especially in the resale channel,” AMD said. AMD will cut costs, and slowdown hiring. AMD pre- announcement can’t be dismissed lightly. You can expect more companies will make such statements during this earning season, underscoring lack of demand.

... <Churchlady> Could it be.... Vista? </ChurchLady>

While the GigaOM article does go on to name, "...,wireless handsets and most categories of consumer electronics" it speaks quite clearly to the PC markets. And as we all know the PC market is driven by the latest and greatest offering from Microsoft. In this case Vista. Which apparently no one is rushing out in droves to buy. Consequently AMD is taking it on the chin.

I have said it in other quarters for other reasons but it applies here just as well, "When you lay down with cyber-dawgs you end up with digital fleas." Sorry AMD, perhaps you should reconsider what porch you sleep on.

What would Bruce Schneier do?

'Nuff said.

What FOSS is really all about

TerraCycle knows how to recycle. We should see more of this.

From the CIO article...

How TerraCycle Built a Corporate Network With Discarded Hardware and Open Source Software

"Since the whole company is focused around doing things with waste, we decided to find old computers that no one else was interested in and put those to use," says Beyer. The two visited the Princeton surplus department, where they found a plethora of computers that Beyer says weren't horribly old but nonetheless were unwanted. Using essentially free monitors, keyboards and mice, Beyer and Szaky built their network. Using open source, they developed their applications: The most recent iteration of the ERP-related software they developed in-house uses Ruby on Rails, says Beyer.

"The decision to use open source was based partly on the fact that it's cheaper because it's free. But we also thought it was the best platform to develop on," he says. The hard drives on the used equipment came wiped, and Beyer says he didn't run into any problems as he got the systems up and running. "We probably have a slightly higher hard drive failure rate, given that most of them are five years old," says Beyer.

Unfortunate Google

Blog of Helios has revisited issues near and dear to my heart... Google and Linux.

.... Linux is still the means by which Google became one of the richest and most successful corporations in American History. Google remains a leader in Internet Technology and Innovation. Linux is still the backbone of the largest server farm in private enterprise. It would seem that Larry Page and Sergey Brin would have the common courtesy to acknowledge this little detail by providing the Linux Desktop with a decent desktop search tool. You would think.

This is very unfortunate.

On so many levels... Most specifically the Open Source level. Google doesn't produce for linux because it would mean releasing its Intellectual Property to the Open Source community. Then where would Google be? Anyone with a little attitude and a few resources could mount a Google alternative. Probably be a couple of unknown guys in a garage somewhere. Right! Like even a major player could impact Google 's hold on the search engine market.

...

No Mo Mob Blogging!

At the risk of repeating myself I will again state; I did not, do not, will not condone terroristic threatening or misogyny.

Now, here are a couple of things I found out when I exercised my personal decision-making right and I unsubscribed from blogs that endorsed or advocated Mob mentality reactions or cyber-lynching.

When I unsubscribed from the Mob Blogs I found ...

1. the remaing blogs that I did read were balanced, fair, thoughtful and dedicated to maintaining a healthy Internet environment.
   
   
2. I DID NOT MISS the yards and yards of tripe that Mob Blogs produce about everything else in the universe.

I know that my one vote in the great election of the universe doesn't count for more than, well, one vote. But I can say that by exercising my one vote I have made my internet experience exponentially better.

Addendum: Confused of Calcutta

I’ve yet to see what CNN aired. But in the meantime. Kathy Sierra and Chris Locke have published some “coordinated statements” which are worth reading. We have to get these things right, rather than wallow in mass hysteria and McCarthyism.

Mob Mentality RuleZ!!!

http://theheadlemur.typepad.com/ravinglunacy/

Not Found

The requested URL /ravinglunacy/ was not found on this server.

This is a very sad day... it appears that the Head Lemur was the one that got lynched.

Will bloggers continue to ask lame rhetorical questions?

Very way cool...

Qbesq

I got it from here, thanks Jeremy

Casting Call

This is it! No turning back after this evening. Tonight is the first night of auditions for TWO's production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile (hereafter know only as Picasso - this is show business custom, to shorten the show's name to one word.)

More to follow...

Calling an audible... (I can't resist...)

I can't resist... (*Say it out loud with me...)

Vista Dissed By NIST (Link)

I am terrible I know but I just like the way that rolls off the tongue. I am not even sure that the criticism is truly warranted... but what the heck, say it again...

Vista Dissed By NIST (Link)

Places please!

I have been asked to direct Picasso at the Lapin Agile for the Theatre Workshop of Owensboro (TWO). This is a radical departure for me. In a previous life I was the behind the scenes technical guru. So to come out of the theatrical backstage darkness into the stark lime light is both exhilarating and a bit daunting.

These past 2 weeks have been split between meetings with Theater management and script reading. Script analysis for thematic ebb and flow. Detailed reading of dialog to feel the interactions of characters. Budget considerations discussed. Preliminary scenic design reviewed. Tentative rehearsal schedules. And the list just keeps on going...

BTW: His full name is Pablo Diego José Santiago Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz Blasco y Picasso. - Wikipedia: Picasso

I don't paint, either...

But you can... ArtPad

[Posted out of time] He doesn't know me...

...but Stowe Boyd sure knows how to kick my ... attention span. And I like it.

In high school, in an open field, with three old tennis balls I taught myself to juggle. Nothing fancy, just keeping three balls in motion. Then I tried to explain to my best friend Gary how to do it... Right there I ran into a brick wall. Here was something I could do but there was no way I could explain what I was doing. Sure, I could talk coherently about the mechanic that I employed. I could speak to the relative timing of events. I could describe the flowing pattern. I could not explain what it was that I was doing that allowed me to juggle.

Stowe Boyd ...

How do jugglers juggle? They don't focus on the balls, the movements, or timing. They unfocus: it is a field of all three dimensions and their attention is distributed. Good jugglers can also sing or tell jokes while juggling. Unfocus.

...and this is truly liberating... I thought I was just being rude...

In an era of flow you can ignore things that don't look threatening or critical. Important stuff will be signalled in a bunch of ways: critical breaking news stories will show in Twitter tweets, RSS, emails, IM. But you can just ignore transient stuff. That's why etiquette around IM has to be based on 'it's ok to ignore IMs' because otherwise it becomes a chore demanding foreground attention.

This will take a bit of Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching perspective to get my head around...

The network is mostly connections. The connections matter, give it value, not the nodes.

What return do I get on my saving?

Daylight Saving Time
... Troy James makes an excellent point about DST:

Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Similar examples would be a mind expanding book or a man eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.

Troy also went on to point out that no actual daylight has been saved as a result of this policy ...

Sooooooo, somebody s'plain to me 'xactly what I get for allowing my clocks to be jostled about twice a year? ('Cept a headache from trying to keep all this time changing straight.)

Drown out the hate

Elizabeth Edwards, responding to Miss Coulter's off-color remark about John Edwards, Presidential Candidate ...

Now it is our turn to drown out the hate. Find a way -- whether it is contribution here that sends a message to Miss Coulter and those who applauded her (which, of course, I prefer) or whether it is a statement on this blog or others or all of the above -- but please find a way not to sit silent in acceptance. It doesn't change until we say we will not be silent when this happens.

That anyone, in this day and age, would applaud the remarks made by Miss Coulter is unconscionable. For Miss Coulter to stoop so low as to insult the gay population of this great country by associating it with a known politician is reprehensible. Perhaps, just perhaps, this is a sad case of the pot calling the kettle black?

(NOTICE: For any humor-challenged readers in my small audience, please, please see the ironic juxtaposition in my choice of words and know it to be a pure intellectual fabrication.)

Dude! Get slow.

The Slow Movement.

Do NOT scan this web site. Do not speed read it. Do not just subscribe to its RSS feed.

Take some time out of your busy life and carefully read this site. Don't try and read it all at once. Read a chunk of it and then take a deep breath. Read an article and then go sit on the porch in the sunshine for a few minutes.

Get slow...

Papa

Papa

...it is a jungle in here...

Sunday Morning Script Analysis

Reading and rereading the script for Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Developing the 'movie' in my head. Trying to draw all the disparate parts together to form some continuous flow. Steve Martin playfully violates the time-space continuum and then expects regular folks like us to just follow along. 'Along for the ride' is more like it.

Boneless Chuck roast has been slowly bubbling away in the oven since before 9:AM. Garlic, onion, salt, pepper and a flour rub then both sides seared. Then chopped onions and celery, caramelized. Nearly a quart of beef broth and a long slow oven. Pan gravy over fresh mashed spuds and butter-brown sugar glazed carrots round out the plate.

The last of the Columbian from the french press is still good cold. Probably will have to make another pot.

-30-

OMG! Indexed got a book deal! Yea!!!

Indexed got a book deal!!! Spread the word.

Words, words, between the lines of age...

This is one of those 'print-it-out-and-put-it-up' kinda quotes.

Thanks Frank

Commonplaces

February 28th, 2007 ·

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior.
Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits.
Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.
Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.
– Gandhi

Schneier on Security: Boston Police Blow Up Traffic Counter

Boston PD: Putting the "error" in "terror."

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/03/boston_police_b.html

On Privacy: dmiessler.com | study | hide_ip

Repeat after me... it is unrealistic to expect privacy when using the internet... repeat after me ... it is unrealistic...

Just remember that proxies aren't magical; they simply add extra hops in the middle. Each person still has an address (you, your buddy, and the pizza place). So don't think of it as "hiding" or "becoming invisible"; this isn't how the Internet works. The Internet needs to know your exact location or else you can't use it. If you were truly hidden, nobody would be able to bring you the stuff you asked for -- whether that something was a pizza or an email from a friend.: http://dmiessler.com/study/hiding_your_ip/

Get a Life!

Escape From Cubicle Nation

This woman, again, has brought into sharp focus a means of freeing ourselves.  THANKS!

Don't know what you want? A picture paints a thousand words

In my coaching practice, a big part of what I do is help people come up with a compelling vision for their life or business. A lot of people get stuck trying to craft words about a life that they cannot quite picture. Instead of painfully searching for words, try these visual tactics to discover your vision.

In this month's ezine, I describe a number of tactics to discover your creative vision including:

1. Purchase a large bulletin board or piece of foamcore.
2. Go to the bookstore and buy your favorite 6 magazines.
3. Imagine that you are a photojournalist that has the assignment of capturing images that reveal your ideal life.
4. If you are a bit of a (closet) exhibitionist, participate in the wildly popular art blog PostSecret.
5. Create a personal deck of soul-tending cards using Soul Collage.
6. Search for stimulating pictures in online photo directories such as iStockphoto.com.
7. For the technically savvy, create a Powerpoint or Flash presentation with key images and words.
9. Paint your picture - literally!

http://ganas.com/ezine/february07/

This is good and RIght and GOOD!

This concept; The Water Park, reported by Good Magazine, is just what the global village needs. Innovation that does not include silicon chips or cellular towers but rather down to earth human-needs based solutions.

Sign up today for a Good Magazine.

Ashoka Learn more	City Year Learn more	Creative Commons Learn more	Donors Choose Learn more
Generation Engage Learn more	Millennium Promise Learn more	Oceana Learn more	Room To Read Learn more
Teach For America Learn more	Unicef Learn more	Witness Learn more	World Wildlife Fund. USA Learn more

He walks into your office...

Over the years I have employed a 'Management Style' that has served me well ... and generally PO'ed the folks that have been subjected to it. Sorry...

He walks into your office, sets this (_Blog::Errantmind_) on the corner of your desk and says, "Here, read this."

Suffice it to say, it is much more efficient for both of us to do it this way. The content of, in this case Errantmind, is self evident and worthy.

---

As a society we need to stop allowing the lawyers to settle the wrongs that we feel we have suffered allegedly at the hands of society. Instead I suggest a measure of common sense.

1. Lawyers, like every other business practice, are driven not by morality but by profit. This leaves Lawyers in the unenviable position of subjugating what they know is Right for what they will eventually be paid for.
   
   
2. Lawyers, while 'working' with Laws, do so in the arena of the courts. Our judicial system was designed to respond to social situations by interpreting the laws. Nowhere in our system of government are the Courts, at any level, allowed to make Laws.

I believe it is fundamentally wrong for us as a society, egged on by hungry Lawyers, to take every little spat we have with our laws and tie up our already over burdened court system.

I , in this writing, will not suggest whether the 'control of recreational dancing' is a legitimate social concern worthy of a local ordinance. I can state that most localities have similar statutes on the books. Predicated on such a historical precedent I am willing to assume that such statutes did or do serve some aspect of the social good.

If it is determined by the will of the people that such statutes do not server the public good then the people should change the law(s) in the same way that the laws were enacted originally. We should be a society of the people and not subject to the minority of monied interests that can afford to keep and feed Lawyers.

Story telling on steroids

StorySquared has promise written all over it by several different authors simultaneously! Whew, try saying that 10 times fast.

This is a story telling site where you get to offer the classic 'first line of the story' and then the community gets to write the rest of it.

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

"It was a dark and stormy knight..."

Rent-a-Bum gets its own Tumblr

Tumblr is ideally suited to clean quick posts... like the updates that should be made to the growing list of folks that Rent-a-Bum has crewed for... so, go see BUMs

Serenity Quiz Results.

Your results:
You are Derrial Book (Shepherd)

Even though you are holy
you have a mysterious past.

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

That about sums it all up...

Read Schneier on Security

Bruce Schneier brings joy to our lives with such wonderous observations...

Is Everything a Bomb these Days?

In New Mexico, a bomb squad blows up two CD players, duct-taped to the bottoms of church pews, that played pornographic messages during Mass. This is a pretty funny high school prank and I hope the kids that did it get suitably punished. But they're not terrorists. And I have a hard time believing that the police actually thought CD players were bombs.

Meanwhile, Irish police blew up a tape dispenser left outside a police station.

And not to be outdone, the Dutch police mistook one of their own transmitters for a bomb. At least they didn't blow anything up.

Okay, everyone. We need some ideas, here. If we're going to think everything weird is a bomb, then the false alarms are going to kill any hope of security.

Posted on February 23, 2007 at 12:38

Thank you for trying to keep the real issues of Security in proper perspective.

(I usually don't/won't quote an entire post but I just couldn't help myself. This is just too good. Thanks again, Bruce.)

raving lunacy: Muctards

With eloquence that befits the voice of reason The Head Lemur tells it straight...

You can do a simple search and replace using dope, booze, or sex in place of music. The addiction is the same. You are not special. The solution is simple. Stop Buying Music From The RIAA Member Companies. If you cut off their money, they will cease to exist, and you can build a better tomorrow.

Go HERE and read the complete post.

Then repeat the following... The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.

...you steaming muctard!

Crossroads Dispatches

This is the very reason that 'I don't dance and I don't do magic.'

"The world is its own magic." - Sunri Suzuki

http://evelynrodriguez.typepad.com/crossroads_dispatches/

GmailThis!

This is a must have add-on for blogging. ( * * * * * - 5 Stars)

GmailThis! is an easy way to make a Gmail email without visiting mail.google.com. Once you add the GmailThis! link to your browser's toolbar, emailing will be a snap. Or rather, a click. Clicking GmailThis! creates a mini-interface to Gmail prepopulated with a link to the web page you are visiting, as well as any text you have highlighted on that page. Add additional text if you wish and then email or save as draft from within GmailThis!

http://contrapants.org/blog/2005/07/gmailthis.html

It's my fault

It is my fault that Joel Spolsky has not received the credit that he deserves. Let me make it up to him and to you by directing your attention to Joel's post

Seven steps to remarkable customer service

I will go so far as to tease you dear reader with the actual 7 steps...

1. Fix everything two ways
2. Suggest blowing out the dust
3. Make customers into fans
4. Take the blame
5. Memorize awkward phrases
6. Practice puppetry
7. Greed will get you nowhere
8. (Bonus!) Give customer service people a career path

I know, I know... 8 must be the new 7... [But this is a prime example of following Step #1 Fix everything two ways (Hint: The short-term 'make the customer happy' fix and then the long-term fix the problem correctly fix.) (Hint: "Giving customer service people a career path." is the correct long-term fix.)

So, your money is no good here. The next customer service call is on me.

Give me a call. We are always here for you.

I am not as dumb as you advertise I am!

Moral of this story: Be careful who you get in bed with. If you lay down with dogs you will get up with fleas.

I have taken to turning the radio or the television OFF when advertisers insult my intelligence (as small as my intelligence is).

It is suggested that advertising pays for radio and television content, the shows. Content providers, the show producers, should be _very wary_ of who they allow to pay for their work. Because, if I turn off the radio or television I am really diminishing the value of the content at the price of the advertising. Advertising products that I will purposefully go out of my way to avoid at all costs. So now two providers are impacted, the content and the product.

1.) Products that allow or accept insulting advertising get what they deserve. It might be a great product but if you insult the consumer - oh well. In your case you will get what I will not pay for.

2.) Content providers that allow or accept insulting advertising are getting the fleas! And if you have ever been around a pet with fleas you know the feeling. By turning the radio or television off I am, in my small way, impacting the content provider's market share. Less market share means that they will have more and more difficulty coming up with the money to produce their quality content. It is a shame that content providers suffer because of the very advertisers that supposedly are paying the bills.

"Up to my ankles in aligators..."

"...head first!"

I just assumed that it went without saying, "...head first!" But I found myself standing there and explaining it to him...

Some Tuesdays it doesn't pay to get out of bed on Monday morning...

Winextra Makes Top 5 List!

Since I expressed my surprise and (muffled tongue-n-cheek) disappointment that CodeNut (Steven Hudson) didn't make the Top 10 "Bad Things" for blogging at Winextra.com it seems only fitting and proper that I acknowledge Winextra's achievement in making Spiderbait's Top 5 Underrated Blogs : Check Them Out!

Keep up the good work Steven!

Rent-a-Bum: tobyMac

tobyMac rocked HIS house!!! No, I don't mean he rocked his own house. I mean he rocked His house. He, Him, Jesus, that's who.

As the culmination of Elevation tobyMac 'preached' a 90 minute sermon that spoke directly to his congregation. Over 1300 middle and high school age youth came out to be Elevated, to be lifted up in the Spirit. And it was spirit filled. It was electrifying. It was as us old folks say, "cool!"

[Aside: Over the course of the past few days I have heard a number of detractors 'dissing' the very thought of a Christian Rapper. I was pleased and excited to watch those same detractors watch every second of the show with rapt attention - and receive the Word. I take great heart in the knowledge that you cannot unhear the message.]

Scantily Clad Barristas?

It is OK that people, like myself, are coffee snobs.

It is OK that people favor one coffee shop over others.

It is OK that there is extreme competition between coffee shops.

It is even OK that one particular coffee shop in the greater Seattle area has chosen to "outfit" their Barristas in the skimpiest of 'uniforms'. (I believe that said 'uniforms' were worn voluntarily by said Barristas. )

It is NOT OK, in my opinion, for a venerable news organization like CBS Sunday Morning to showcase such a blatant 'grab' at the pulchritude of market share. It was a cheap shot and not even espresso.

Rent-a-Bum: George "The Possum" Jones

George Jones did not, I repeat, did not live up to his nickname "No Show" ... George was in da house last night at the Owensboro Executive Inn's Expo Center ... along with 1200+ of his closest and dearest friends.

Top 10 "Bad Things"

Mobile phones are the second worst items ever invented, according to a recent BBC poll.

The communication devices were beaten only by 'weapons' as the worst inventions in a survey of 4,164 people for the BBC's Focus magazine.

The top 10 in full:

Weapons (35%)
Mobile phones (17%)
Nuclear power (9%)
Sinclair C5 (9%)
Television (9%)
The car (6%)
Cigarettes (6%)
Fast food (3%)
Speed cameras (3%)
Religion (2%)

...I guess I can be thankful I didn't make this list...

As evil as he claims to be I am equally surprised that Hugh didn't make the list either... or for that matter that CodeNut guy from Winextra.com ... (Smirk)

Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

Borrowed from Bottom Line Underwriters, Inc.

"Seven Blunders of the World"

1. Wealth without work

2. Pleasure without conscience

3. Knowledge without character

4. Commerce without morality

5. Science without humanity

6. Worship without sacrifice

7. Politics without principle

—Mahatma Gandhi

* Attributed to Gandhi in a December 15, 1998, article in 'Edupage', an online newsletter published by 'Educause', an international nonprofit association dedicated to transforming higher education through information technologies.

Borrowed from Doctor Hugo

Thank you.

Kitchen Church: Long Cooked Country Ribs

Got in late last night after Rent-a-Bum: Heartland ... folded three 18" pieces of aluminum foil together and laid out the country ribs, pork of course (Pork Fat Rulz!) ... rubbed 'em down with McCormick Grill Mates Pork Rub, folded up the foil tent all but one end, poured in half a can of Swanson's Chicken Broth (saved the rest for "Secret Dippin' Sauce" coming up later) Sealed it up and set the package in the middle of an industrial half-sized sheet pan, popped the whole thing in a 225F oven and ... went to bed.

Woke up sore and stiff as I always do after a Bums night to the smell of 'ribs'...

After my first couple of cups of coffee I carefully opened the package and poured off the 'liquor' - them cookin' juices that come from po'k ribs and chicken broth ... into a small sauce pan.

Ribs be falling off the bone so they are carefully transfered to a glass baking dish ... dusted with a touch more 'Rub' and drizzled with a few tablespoons of the 'liquor'... covered with foil and back into that slooooooow oven (225F)

The sauce pan with the secret dippin' sauce is set over a very low burner and gets the rest of the Chicken Broth... reduce by half to 2/3's

So all told it is 12 hours and 30 minutes later ... Ribs and a tossed green salad.

This is a pork-fest so there are no other 'sides' served... strictly spicey sweet ribs with the Secret Dippin' Sauce and contrasted by the crisp clean crunch of tossed salad with a sharp vinaigrette.

Rent-a-Bum: Heartland

Heartland - Comfortable southern rock shakers and crooners...


...last week it was Jason Aldean
of Hicktown fame... Good show, bad sound mix... muddy and muffled.

Current Read: Pattern Recognition

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when her borrowed apartment is burgled and her computer hacked, she realizes there's more to this project than she had expected.

Still, Cayce is her father's daughter, and the danger makes her stubborn. Win Pollard, ex-security expert, probably ex-CIA, took a taxi in the direction of the World Trade Center on September 11 one year ago...

Engaging with tantalizing streetlife details unavailable to cube dwellers like myself.

Shame on HP...again!!!

As reported by

in the Steve Hamm article Rivals Say HP Is Using Hardball Tactics

Printer industry and retailing executives contend the company has
offered chain stores incentives to stop selling store-brand cartridges

"Now why would that be?" He asked rhetorically.



"Could it be...satan?" Or just a lame attempt by HP to continue to gouge the consumer?



HP could stand up straight and look the buying public in the eye and say, "We enjoyed a competition-free market for many years and realized a significant profit from the sale of our ink cartridges. Now that competition has arrived we will respond to free market forces and price our ink cartridges competitively."



No.



In a lame attempt to further gouge the consumer HP is trying to quash the free market. This will only lead to greater resentment on the part of the buying public and an eventual demise of the HP market share. To think anything less is both foolish and arrogant.

The great sucking sound

Ed Sutherland, in his Internetnews.com article Kodak Printers Breed Cheap Ink offered this little tid-bit...

HP was a "little perplexed" by Kodak's "unproven" technology, Tuan Tran, vice president of marketing for the printer maker's Imaging and Supplies division, told internetnews.com.

"...little preplexed..."???

Can you say, "Falling market share? I knew you could."

P.S. It is about time. Thank you Kodak!

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Good for a laugh

Microsoft Leading the world...?

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Papa, don't preach

From the "He speaks so eloquently file"...



AKMA’s Random Thoughts

Last time, I said, “Don’t write checks you can’t cash.” This morning’s admonition is less metaphorical: Don’t assert when you can evoke.

Having attempted to speak to congregations (I am neither qualified nor credentialed to "Preach") I have long held to the belief that people will draw their own conclusions if they are presented with compelling scenarios. Further, being the idealist that I am, I believe that people will draw healthy and beneficial conclusions - as long as their personal integrity is not beaten or battered with 'righteous preachy speaking'.



Thanks again AKMA for so clearly speaking from the heart. It is appreciated more than you might ever know.





Technorati Tags: AKMA

Second Life is a GAME

Second Life is the most insidious game of all.

We quickly push away from the 'game' label because there are no clear protagonists or antagonists. There is no universally defined objective. Without these essential elements Second Life just doesn't fit the 'I-win-you-lose' model of contemporary gaming.

The truth is that when you enter into Second Life for the first time you do so as a loser. You are born with the absolute minimum amount of resources. Just enough clothing to be 'decent'. Just enough Linden Dollars to get you hooked on the economic drug of this most insidious game.

In order to "prosper" you have to game Second Life. Materialism and economic wealth in Second Life mirror the values of the capitalist societies in Real Life. In a true ironic twist there are no 'natural resources' (to my knowledge) in Second Life. It is not possible to 'farm' or grow 'food'. I seriously doubt that there are Gold or Diamond mines. I do not see any 'pulling-oneself-up-by-one's-bootstraps' opportunities in Second Life that parallel Real Life.

Second Life is all about stuff. "He who has the most toys wins."

Hats, Buckles and Boots

Rent-a-Bums worked the Locash Cowboys show last night at the Big "E" Rivermont Lounge. Was pleasantly surprised by the energy and showmanship of Chris and Preston.

I don't do magic!

...and here is the simple reason why. Seth Godin shared the following line with us in his post Notable...

I believe she is good at the standard but limited in considering the notable.
(Attributed to one of Seth Godin's co-workers.)

I don't do magic because I am unable to manifest anything as wondrous or mystical as that which swirls and eddies around me all the time. This line, "I believe..." is a prime example. In the course of one sentence the speaker was able to convey a concept so involved that it broaches on the magical.

Something borrowed.

Seth Godin posted the following Painting fakes. I enjoyed it so much I just wanted a copy for myself.

Ed shares this story with us, via a friend of Pablo Picasso.

I was staying with Picasso in his studio. Every day, dealers would come by to authenticate paintings they were trying to sell... they would ask the painter if the painting was real or a fake.

A dealer came by one day, Picasso glanced at it and without hesitating said, "fake." Later that day, two more were identified as fakes.

The second day, a different dealer came by. Picasso hardly looked up. "Fake!" he bellowed.

After the dealer left, I couldn't help myself. "Picasso, why did you say that painting was a fake? I was here, in this studio, last year when I saw you paint it."

Picasso didn't hesitate. He turned to me and said, "I often paint fakes."

Up to my A..a..a..ankles in alligators!

Frustrated!!!

I have been fighting fires for the last two and a half weeks... Not literal fires, thankfully, but those pesky jobs that land high enough up the priority scale that they demand immediate attention. I have been coming home drained, mentally exhausted. If I get to come home at all. Seems some of my fires are 'extracurricular' (Now there is a wonderfully strange turn-of-phrase. One of my fires was the Parents Open House at the High School my daughters attend.)

So I unwind, have dinner, and then I put my feet up, open GoogleReader and read all the wonderful items that really diligent knowledgeable dedicated bloggers write. That is when I get really really frustrated.

Not that my writing is all that good. But I should be practicing. I should be putting fingers to keyboard. Instead I look down at the swirling dark waters that are rising now up to my waist and I remain ever vigilant for the beady eyes of the next lurking alligator.