Myrtle Beach 2008

Well, the annual vacation with the extended family is over. It was a pretty relaxed week. But that's pretty much the norm any more. The high point was the weather: it was never higher than the mid-80s and we almost always had a nice ocean breeze. And the rain pretty much held off until we were leaving. Here's one of my favorite photos (so much it's now my background shot on the laptop).

Party Notes

Well, the first thing I have to say is that I'm too old for this sort of thing. A few hundred of my closest friends isn't my idea of fun anymore. Like I said, I'm just too old for this stuff.

That being said, I'm glad I got to show up—even though no one knew me. It was nice to see that there are so many people in the area who shared a common interest. Maybe if I hadn't gotten there an hour and a half after the start it would have been better. Work gets in the way all the time doesn't it?

I was a bit surprised by Scoble: he's a little taller than I had expected. Robert appears to be a little over six feet tall. I have no idea why I would have expected him to be smaller, but I did.

One thing that I did miss was his trademark laugh. I'm certain that he must have laughed sometime while I was there. But it was so crowded and so loud, that I never heard it.

Next time there is an event similar to this, I'll probably pass unless it's a dinner. It will have to be less crowded then. Like I said, I'm too old for this—I'll take food over drink. Of course if we had both...

I'm on the Net Where?

I have many places that I keep stuff online. But I'm also something of an early adopter. Well, more like an early signer-upper. You need to use this stuff to be an adopter.

The most commonly updated place is my Google Notebook. I shouldn't tell you about the ones that aren't shared, but I will tell you that--for some unknown reason--there is an extra forward slash ("/") in the links at the moment.

I should also mention my humor list too. I promise to start updating it again soon. And since all that stuff that I've saved for the past year is mostly forgotten, maybe it will seem funny again. Maybe.

I also have a Google Sites page that lists the places where I can be found. (Yeah, I could have just pointed you here in the first place, but where's the fun in that?)

Party!

wack... cough... hack...
Damn cobwebs.

Looks like I'll be hanging out with the geeks in DC on Wednesday. Scoble, Gary Vaynerchuk and Jim Long are hosting a wine and tech party. Yeah, most of the political discussions won't be quite my style. But I won't hold it against them.

Father's Day

Well, you can't get a better Father's Day gift than more children. And I got two this year! Sarah joined us last September and Caroline just yesterday.

Robert and Sarah, September 1st, 2007

Stephen and Caroline, June 14th, 2008

[MM] 20051127

This is one of the most incredible flight videos I've seen. Ok, so I'm not a pilot, but you probably aren't either! Anyway, take a look at this short video (6 and a half minutes, nearly 20MB, Windows media format) and see if you agree. All I can say is WOW.

Thanks to John Shay for pointing this out.

I Use... (20051118)

Thunderbird

I guess since I use Firefox as my browser, it might also follow that I'd use Thunderbird as my mail client. Yeah, that's me. I was using Netscape since way back when. I used the Mozilla suite when it more or less replaced Netscape. Sometime after Firefox and Thunderbird got underway I began using them as well.

In the beginning, I was a little leery of making the change. But it wasn't too hard to switch since the profiles transferred over with no pain. I haven't looked back.

Well, that might be a slight over statement. But it was very slight. I had some issues in the very early days, but they were so small I can't remember what they were. Really.

So why do I use Thunderbird? Because it's simple. Outlook Express (OE) can be simple--sort of--but it's also got a bit too much baggage. To have a simple OE install, it requires too much work after the initial install. I don't have to worry about that with Thunderbird. It starts simple and only gets complex if I make it that way! The only thing that OE has that Thunderbird does not is HotMail integration. But that's a small price to pay.

You can get Thunderbird here.

There's a lot more that I really should say. I'll re-visit this later.

I Use...

Firefox

I guess this makes me something of a me too. Many people claim to be using Firefox. Of course if you know me, you’ll know that I’ve been using Netscape and Mozilla for a very long time. Firefox is just the latest incarnation of that same line. But why do I still use it?

There are several reasons. And most of them aren’t “IE” sucks. For instance, I’m a very big fan of tabbed browsing. I normally work with multiple windows open already, so it’s pretty natural that I’d do the same with my broswer—and I do. But with tabbed browsing I get the benefit of multiple windows without the clutter of many windows.

One of the selling points of Firefox is that it’s not bloated. Of course bloated is relative: it’s still a multi-megabyte install. The Netscape/Mozilla suite was stripped down pretty much to the basic browser (although it's grown a bit since the original paring down). But they did add one very useful feature: extensibility. What this means is that you can add new features to your personal installation. If you want some developers tools, no problem. Weather, download tools, feed readers, chat, and more more extensions are available. And more keep coming.

You can get your own copy of Firefox from the Mozilla foundation here. There are many different extensions available. A good place to start is here. I'll have more info on some of my favorites in the future.

Tommy

No, not Walker—Atkins!

Tommy
Rudyard Kipling

I went into a public-’ouse to get a pint o’ beer,
The publican ’e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:
  O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;
  But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play,
  The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
  O it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but ’adn’t none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-’alls,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
  For it's Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
  But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide,
  The troopship’s on the tide, my boys, the troopship’s on the tide,
  O it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide.

Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.
  Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, ’ow’s yer soul?”
  But it’s “Thin red line of ’eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
  The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
  O it’s “Thin red line of ’eroes” when the drums begin to roll.

We aren’t no thin red ’eroes, nor we aren’t no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don’t grow into plaster saints;
  While it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, fall be’ind”,
  But it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind,
  There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
  O it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind.

You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires, an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.
  For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
  But it’s “Saviour of ’is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
  An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
  An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!