Name calling, distrust, mud-slinging, etc accomplishes nothing. This much I have learned, guys. Am I wrong? Perhaps, but it’s how I’ve decided to live my life now. I grow weary of hateful discussions, anger, distrust, non-intellectual conversation and generally anything that promotes division. -Conservative blogger meeciteewurkor
Maybe there is some hope yet... maybe
PC World has released 15 Tweaks for Firefox, the browser I use for almost all of my work. Currently Firefox has about 17% of the market share in web browsers and is available both for Windows and Mac OS. I use Firefox portable version browser on a usb memory stick for when I travel and I like being able to customize the browser security on my business and home systems. If your still using Explorer or Safari I would highly recommend giving Firefox a try for a few weeks.
Hat tip to Allen at Nation Management Web and Video for the Article
It's been awhile since I did a web/tech post and I rather like the new Dell XPS all in one computer leaked on EndGadget. This machine is crammed with some respectable horsepower and almost everything else you need a multimedia computer to do for home use. Dell built the computer to compete with Gateway and other rivals in the multimedia PC market. Check it out.
This time last year I posted what turned out to be a pretty popular topic about the Do's and Don'ts of Blog Commenting. Looking at technorati.com from when I started blogging a little over a year ago the number of blogs has jumped from approximately 55 million blogs to over 77 million today. The upcoming Okie Blog Awards nominations started me reflecting on everything I have tried and changed on the blog in the past year.
Thankfully with the assistance of seasoned bloggers, many of whom are in my blog roll, I have avoided some of the worse mistakes one makes in the attempt to put out a blog. Initially for me the whole point of blogging was an exercise in writing, it is something that I have enjoyed from college but never made the time for since graduating. The past year I have gone from a pretty stiff blog trying to impress other with my writing to something that more resembles my personality and interest. My love and interest in film, science, photography, gay rights, various other topics and having a good laugh occasionally has come through over the past year writing and publishing T Town Tommy.
Anyone who invests time and it is an investment to do this well; their site starts to show the writers personality. The free flowing of information containing new points of view, current accounts of events and personalities on an instant global basis have made blogging the success it is today. I was doing some research on behind the scene improvements and found an article I wish was written when I had started T Town Tommy a year ago. For those who are new to blogging, trying to find your pace, or are an old hat in need of a refresher course on the basics of blogging I suggest reading dumb little man - tips for life. Though the writer keeps an insane schedule with only four hours sleep the tips and rules for the road of good blogging that he has learned putting out a top notch blog is priceless for success.
Sun Microsystems and Adobe have announced newly found security holes in their popular Java and Adobe Flash Software respectively. Both companies have moved swiftly to patch the newly found security flaws. In order for the patches to work however some user intervention is required.
To Take Care of the Java Update:
Go to the "Do I Have Java?" link and click on the verify installation program on the page. If you don't have Java Version 6 Update 2, then you need to upgrade. The upgrade can be found on the Java.com Version 6 Update 2 update page. Once the new version is installed you can go to your windows Control Panel then to Add and Remove Programs and remove any older versions of Java. Below the "Java Version 6 Update 2" are the older versions of Java. Java updates do not automatically remove older versions and they take up lots of unneeded room on your hard drive. Note: Apple users will have to wait for Sun Microsystems to develop an update for your OS.
To Take Care of the Adobe Flash Update:
The newest and secure version of Flash was released on July 10th. To check and see what version you are currently running go to the Adobe Flash Site. The site will show in a small box to the right of the screen what version you are currently using. The version you are looking for is 9.0.47.0, anything of a lower number than this version needs to be replaced. The automatic upgrade page for Adobe flash can be located at the main Flash install page. Follow the instructions on the page for this simple update.
Happy and Safe Web Surfing!
After a long wait the Apple iPhone is finally hitting the street on June 29th. Just so happens I lucked out and am a Cingular/AT&T customer and can get my hands on one. My poor Razor phone has about bit the dust so I’m going to swallow hard and pay the $499.00. Check out the new mind blowing videos showing the Apple iPhone in all its glory. Total coolness…
Oh, and if the price is a bit much for some Cingular is having a blow out on other refurbished PDA cell phones.
Let me introduce you to the Queen of Web 2.0. Tila Nguyen or better know by her screen name Tila Tequila has become an Internet mogul and international phenomenon harnessing the power of the new age of internet communication. Smartly Nguyen has taken her careers of actress, model, singer, and blogger and combining them into a career that has no name as of yet. However millions of people internationally have heard of her and are fans. Using the Internet to market herself she is showing the true power of the new age of Internet communication and promotion. A case worth studying for any savvy internet self promoters.
She has become a dominate presence that makes Fortune 500 company CIO's look incompetent by comparison. Clocking in at over 1.8 million myspace friends and having the number one video download on Apple iTunes; Nguyen has become an over night global marketing and promotional presence. The video I am about to show you has been played on Myspace over 13 million times. It recently debuted on America Online further expanding her reach into cyberspace.
Disclaimer: Not office or kid safe.
It’s been probably since 1986 since I had any kind of game controller in my hand. The last was the Atari wheel controller and the crude first joy sticks. I am dating myself but I remember playing Pong when it first came out on a black and white screen. The last 20 years I have been too busy living my life to sit and waste hours playing something that gives back no real life results. If I wanted escapism I went to a movie or read a book. It is something that only takes two hours or I can set the pace. A game station seemed like a waste of time and those who sat endless playing I viewed as vidiots.
The twenty years of nose to the grind stone has its long term benefits. Last fall my partner and I invested in a 50” HDTV Plasma to go along with a Bose surround speaker system. The picture is amazing on the plasma HD. Football games gained new meaning in visual and audio quality. It got me thinking, do I dare buy one of the new game stations? I wonder how the graphics would look? Are the games as intense as all the news reports make them out to be?
Last Christmas I decided to take the plunge and scoured the internet looking for that perfect gaming system. Of course the Nintendo Wii was out and Sony Playstation 3 and Xbox360 from Microsoft. After much research I opted for the new Xbox360 to start gaming again after almost a quarter century.
I was able to sell buying the game station to my partner by telling him it supported HDTV and plays the new HD-DVD’s. Having the HD-DVD support as a side benefit is nice! The installation was really easy and once that green globe for Xbox came on the 50” screen in HD and 5.1 Surround I knew I wasn’t playing Pong or Ms. Pac Man anymore! The sound and graphics is mind blowing.
The first game tried was “Perfect Dark Zero” the graphics where amazing but it took a lot of practice for me to get down the controller. I was frustrated thinking as I figured out the controls how millions of twelve year old kids could kick my ass at any of these games. Finally I figured out the controller and escaped in the new virtual worlds created by today’s game designers.
I invested in a wireless game controller set. I have to walk around and move when I am playing a game. I can sit for a couple of hours but by nature I am restless and like the ability to not be tethered. Motion sickness is probably the only real problem I have had playing so far and closing my eyes after two hours play at the most and seeing some residual graphics for a few seconds. I think the HDTV feed and the size of the screen is probably the culprits of these two odd side effects.
The only two games I can say I have gotten hooked on are “Marvel: Ultimate Alliance” and “Star Trek Legacy”. I smoked the Marvel game in like a month and am currently working through the Star Trek game. I am just starting the part of the game where you play Captain Picard narrated by Patrick Stewart. William Shatner reprises his role as Captain Kirk just for this game. The graphics on both games are fun and the art work amazing but the play is a bit clunky with the controllers we have today.
I did get curious and purchased Tom Clancy’s “Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter” and rented from Blockbuster Video “Quake IV”. I now understand why parents and supposed child welfare advocates are so concerned. I feel both games have aspects that should not be exposed to a 12-18 yr old kids mind.
In “Quake IV” you have a normal first person shooter style game with various cool weapons. When you achieve a goal you get to send your character through a movie that connects the next objective for your character. After going through various pretty aggressive levels of the game my character that was a human futuristic soldier goes through this very graphic human butchering process and comes out the other end this cyborg monstrosity. I put the graphics of that montage on the level of Saddam Hussein’s execution as far as being brutal.
Ghost Recon is a hyper accurate recreation of urban warfare. In order to be successful in missions in the game you have to have an in-depth understanding of different personal assault weapons. You must also understand which real world weapon or combination of weapons is most effective for given targets. Rudimentary understanding of combat tactics is also required in order to be successful in finishing off missions.
My question is that what kind of mind are these virtual worlds creating in our kids who are playing these games? Can they separate reality from a virtual reality? What are the kids taking away from these games and applying to real life? I lost interest in "Quake IV" after my character was torn apart, it wasn’t entertaining.
Perhaps the wisdom gained from not having such distractions growing up is that I can put the controller down and say no to games that are too violent or graphic to possibly be healthy entertainment for anyone. Overall I am happy that I purchased my Xbox 360 the HD-DVD’s are cool and not all games are complete nightmare scenarios. Some like the two mentioned above from Star Trek and Marvel, there are great games today! "Madden NLF 07" looks really cool. Like television, sleep or whatever aspect of our lives; it’s all about self regulation. I play maybe 3-4 hours a week tops and try to minimize my exposure to violence to the real world and CNN. That’s enough for me to deal with for a day.
Autism disorders affecting 1 in 150
The number of children who have an autism disorder — as many as 1 in every 150 — is significantly higher than previously thought, according to a new federal report being billed as the most complete assessment to date.
Quantum Computers: Unimaginably Powerful, Also Kinda Hot
The British tech rag linked to here says that the new machine "can carry out 64,000 calculations simultaneously (in parallel 'universes')." There cannot be enough scare quotes/scare parentheses around that last phrase to make me comfortable with it.
Tulsans Saving Meadow Gold Landmark
Randomly stacked around the shop floor of Claude Neon Federal Signs (CNF Signs), among the shiny painted metal boxes holding high-tech, state-of-the-art, computer driven electronic message center signs, are numerous very old, very large, handmade metal and porcelain letters in various stages of deterioration. Arranged correctly they spell "Meadow Gold" and they represent a Tulsa historic treasure. ...
Dollar Thrifty cutting jobs here
Up to 200 Tulsa call-center positions are being outsourced to a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company.
Apple to Vista upgraders: 'Wait'
Apple has told iTunes users to "wait" before upgrading their computers to Microsoft Windows Vista, saying its music software may not work properly.
Klan growing, fed by anti-immigrant feelings, report says
The Ku Klux Klan has rebounded by exploiting current hot-button issues, especially immigration, according to a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League.
The Tulsa Police Department Blog
Official Blog of The Tulsa Police Department
If you’re like most Americans you have stacks of boring photos sitting in their little yellow paper jackets collecting dust stuck in some far corner of your closet or desk. The reason they are boring is a lack of knowledge of how cameras and our minds work. That knowledge is free to everyone online, finally in plain English instead of a 5 x 6 inch manual in 6 languages. No longer is the need for expensive classes or bulky equipment in order to get great shots.
Since taking up photography again when I started this blog I have given myself a crash course on cameras and how to take a good photo. My Father was an amateur photographer and after seeing all the chemicals, rolls of film, and bulky equipment used in the early 1970’s I thank God today for digital photography. If it wasn’t for digital cameras and software then you would be seeing a lot of paintings on this blog.
Searching online for hint and tips I came across many great photography articles. However with photography as with anything else the more I learn the more I realize I have yet to understand. Even if you spend just a couple of hours online then experiment with what you have learned; your photographs will never be boring again.
So far this past year I have had two of my photos featured on the State of Oklahoma web site. It has complemented nicely with oil painting and I have also joined flickr which is very blog friendly and has a health online community of amateur and professional photographers. For anyone wanting to spice up their photos and learn some tricks of the trade I recommend the following reading. Have any good photo sites or articles you want to share? I always encourage comments with a link.
The Rules of Photography
Excellent post that describes depth, focus and framing a photograph with the Rule of Thirds.
Digital Photography School
Excellent blog with great articles covering a lot of aspects of digital photography.
Yahoo Tech!
Get Better Portraits by Turning Your Camera Upside Down?
Being a small business owner the use of a cell phone has been mandatory for my success. With today’s technology I use my cell daily to get weather information, text, email, and stay in contact with my customers and vendors. Having this ability allows me to multi-task placing orders with vendors, answering customer questions on my business site and accepting orders all over one mobile device. With improved camera capability I can even take decent quality pictures to post while on the run. I will admit I am a slow text writer. I have seen 15 year old kids smoke on cell phones typing entire emails before I can get out a simple response.
I have been using cells and pagers now since 1992. During that time I have used probably every major service offered. Sprint ended due to high rate charges during my peak hours of business. T-Mobile had a huge dead spot in the area where I lived. It took the Better Business Bureau getting involved on my behalf to get them to drop over $150.00 dollars in termination fees.
Finally I have switched over to Cingular for a few years now and so far have had very few problems. I located a company owned Cingular store in my area and they have always worked with my business to get the best rates. I hit dead spots still in East Texas and parts of Oklahoma but I guess that’s just the realities of geography and market demand.
I did find a phone that I think will end my slow response time with typing out emails and text.
PC Magazine
Some great links for more information:
I came across this article while browsing the news today. It turns out the site myspace.com is having a big shift in it demographics. What was once a haven for the teens and college age group is now being taken over by the 35 and up crowd. Generation X’ers like me is finding the functions of the site to be beneficial and not overly complicated. The sites offerings in user friendliness and sheer size has improved since it’s inception with over 55 million unique visitors for the month of August 06’. I have personally reconnected with people I haven't seen since high school and college since using the site. I have also increased the readership of my blog from my myspace.com traffic.
More than half of the visitors to MySpace are reportedly 35 years old or older, a surprising statistic given the media attention the site has received as an Internet hangout for teens and young adults.
A recent analysis of the users of leading social networking sites found significant shifts in MySpace's demographics while the site grew dramatically over the last year, ComScore Networks said. In August, children and teens from 12 years old to 17 years old accounted for 11.9 percent of all visitors, compared with 24.7 percent the same month a year ago.
Meanwhile, the portion of older MySpace users has grown to 51.6 percent age 35 or older, ComScore said. Add visitors age 25 or older, and the amount increases to 68.3 percent. Last year, half the site's visitors were at least 25 years old.
Yahoo News
Some Links I Ran Across This Week:
Jimmy Buffett myspace.com Page
One of the best web bios I have read in a long time.
Okie Blogger Round Up 2006
Oklahoma Has Bloggers Too!
Tulsa Historical Society
Cool Tulsa Site
Midwest Homebrewing Supplies
Make your own beer and wine!
Janet Jackson's New Site
My friend Greg pulled up this one using my computer this week.
Richard Hatch 'Surviving' Life in Prison
This dude has no common sense.
Do we have 9 planets or 12?
Astronomers from around the world will be voting to decide if we have 9 planets in our solar system or 12
UPDATE: Turns out now that we just have 8 planets. Pluto has now been officially demoted to a "dwarf planet".
Found an excellent article about leaving comments on blogs. It was originally listed on Lifehacker and then reposted by Steve Rubel on his site Micro Persuation. It is a great guide for keeping it real:
Change is good
Recent Comments