Goodbye Spam - Comments Back On

For those who don't know, blogger had some problems with spam. Consequently, I disabled comments in my blogs because a large number of them were nothing more than "blog spam". Fortunately, the good folks at Google (who run the blogger/blogspot site) implemented some new technology that should cut down on most (but unfortunately not all) of the spam comments. That being the case, I decided to turn the comments back on.

Spammers are becoming increasingly ingenious in their approaches. Email filters have gotten a lot better, so these scumbags are forced to find new ways to bother people. One of the latest things they're doing is creating "Spam Blogs".

The thing that comes to my mind about spam is that it obviously must be profitable, or people wouldn't do it. If Joe Blow on the street would quit buying products advertised in spam (which includes visiting spam Websites) it would become unprofitable, and people would stop doing it. I guess there will always be a buck to be made on human ignorance. It's sad, really.

In any event, please feel free to post your comments. A blogger account is not needed, but to prevent spam, you'll be asked to solve a CAPTCHA (in other words, type a word that you see in a picture) before posting.

Blogging Advice

The Scobleizer blog today points to some advice his wife (who also blogs) has for his son (who just started blogging). As they say, the family that blogs together.. .uh... what rhymes with blog? Never mind. The advice is really good, and the points she makes are issues that I have frequently thought about myself. Take a look.

Secrets

As a good blogger (don't laugh too hard), I was reading some other people's blogs, and there seems to be a lot of buzz about this project an artist did involving people anonymously disclosing their darkest secrets. Apparently, this guy left a large number of postcards in a public location with the understanding that people would write their secrets on them and mail them in.

Well what do you know? It works! I guess people really do want to get things off their chests after all.

I decided to check out the PostSecret blog that this guy created to showcase some of the postcards online. What I found was a fascinating look into the human psyche. One in particular really gets to me:

(Back) "I LOVE HER ANYWAYS"

You can't read the postcards without wondering about the people who wrote them. In many cases, I found myself empathizing with the respondents.

If you have some free time, I highly recommend taking a look.

Hacking the Honda

For the record, I note that my wife objected to using the word “Hacking” in this context. However, there is an alternate definition of “hack” which essentially means “To cope with successfully; manage”. In that context, hack is the appropriate word.

On Friday night on my way home from Philadelphia the “Maintenance Required” light came on in my Honda. Here’s an example of a good intention gone awry – much like the snooze button on your alarm clock.

Now, I’m sure Honda thought they were doing a good thing by including an “idiot light” to let you know when it’s time for maintenance. Unfortunately, that light only works if the mechanic remembers to reset it when your car is serviced. Mine never does.

So there I am, driving in the rain with this amber light burning holes into my retinas. The last time this pesky bugger came on, we called the dealership and got instructions for how to turn it off, so I called Chantay to see if she could remember how to do it. She couldn’t, but she called our dealership and they were kind enough to provide us with the instructions again. This time, I decided to document them for any fellow Honda owners out there (and probably myself the next time I need to do it).

Resetting the Maintenance Required Light on a 2001 Honda Civic

1. Make sure the car is off.
2. Press and hold the odometer reset button (that little stick that pokes out of the instrument panel that you press to reset your trip odometer)
3. Turn the key to the “On” position while continuing to hold the odometer reset switch down.
4. After 4 seconds or so, the light may blink once or twice
5. After 10 seconds, it will go out – and stay out

Viola! Instant annoyance relief!

Hello from Flock

I'm trying out the Developer Preview of a new browser called Flock that purports to change the way people surf the web. In fact, I'm creating this blog post from directly within Flock. I'll let you know how it works out.

Ryan on the News

I got an email today from my exwife's husband (side thought: does that make him my exhusband-in-law? I mean, they do live in Utah...). The email included several pictures of my son, Ryan, and his little brother. Apparently, he (and his little brother) were interviewed by the local Fox affiliate. Andrew had this to say:

"This was on Monday, at a fire crime and safety fair. They were talking about fire safety."

Which I think is pretty cool.

It seems like Ryan really gets around. We've taken him to something like 8 foreign countries, and the kid actually got to fly an airplane once -- not just as a passenger; he actually got to take the controls and pilot the aircraft. But then, that's a story for another blog entry.

Avenue Q

Tonight, while looking for a few pictures for my post about our anniversary (below), I came across this picture of Chantay and me that was taken in August when we went to see Avenue Q on Broadway.

If you like the theater, or even if you don't, I highly recommend you see this show. It is hysterical, and the tunes they sing will leave you humming and giggling at work for months.

(Quick reminder: you can click on any of the pictures on this page to see a larger version.)

A Great 6th Anniversary

As promised, here is a picture of one of the presents I got for Chantay.

Since we were married in Salt Lake City, this ad ran in the Salt Lake Tribune the day of our anniversary, and it was the only thing in the “Special Announcements” column, which was very nice.

I also got her an opal ring with matching opal earrings and pendant. During the course of my research for the jewelry, I found out that what she has been calling “Fire Opal” for years is actually “Precious Opal” (or more commonly, just plain “opal”). So, as an added gift, I told her how wrong she has been. Since that doesn’t happen very often (usually it’s the other way around as she frequently reminds me) it was like a gift for both of us.

Chantay got me the gift to beat all gifts. Originally, she had arranged to buy me my dream car: a black BMW 330i with a manual transmission. Smart girl that she is, after arranging for financing, taking a test drive, and getting everything all set up she decided to make sure it was okay before she dropped 30 Grand. It wasn’t. I just can’t justify spending that kind of money for what amounts to transportation. I’ll keep driving my used Honda that’s almost paid off and retire a year earlier instead.

So faced with the let down of not being able to give me a Beemer, what was she to get me? How about a first edit mint condition of Star Beast by Robert Heinlein (read my profile – he’s my favorite). That wasn’t enough, though. She had to get one signed by Heinlein! This is a gift that I absolutely treasure, and always will. As if that were not enough, she also go me a couple more signed Ray Bradbury books, which brings our collection of signed Bradbury to 5 (including Fahrenheit 451, and The Martian Chronicles).

When I got home on Friday night, Chantay presented me with this menu that she made herself:

Suffice to say, the meal was amazing! I threw the diet out for a weekend (I’ve lost 35 pounds so far, by the way) and just enjoyed myself. And enjoyed myself. And enjoyed myself...

Also on Saturday, we received a really nice card from my grandparents in Houston. To them, 6 years of marriage must seem like 6 days. Still, it was nice that they remembered (thanks, Grandma!).

Brinley (my daughter) made sure to get in on the action. She insisted on serving us the meal on Saturday night, and got us a card and a present: a box of each of our favorite candy (and the diet takes another hit).

All in all, I think this was the best anniversary ever.

Reflection

Chantay and I celebrate our 6th Wedding Anniversary this Saturday (October 8th), so for me this is a bit of a time for reflection. I dug through my computer, and found some pictures from our Wedding. For example, here's Chantay signing her life away (haha sucker!):

As if that weren't scary enough, she had to get slobbered on by this dorky dude below. Hey, wait! That's me!

And finally, a quick group shot with the kids along with my brother's wife and my nephew:

This was followed up by a fine dining experience at Carl's Junior (a fast-food place). I guess you could say I managed her expectations right from the start.

Back to reflection. The fact that we've been married for 6 years now is really quite an accomplishment given how much the odds were against us in the beginning. If there's a statistical category of people whose marriages don't last that we didn't fit into, I'm not aware of it.

Six years has gone by awfully quickly until I consider what we've done during that time:

• She managed to start from scratch and get both an Associates and a Bachelors degree. I went from a lone semester of college to a Masters Degree.
  
• We've lived in 5 states
• We've visited 18 foreign countries
• She's taken 7 cruises, I've taken 6
• We've owned two travel trailers
• We've had 9 vehicles
• We both became certified SCUBA divers

... and the list goes on and on. But most of all, she's been the best friend that I've ever known. I realize that a lot of people pay lip service to that, but to know true friendship is rare. We can talk to each other, and even though it's been nearly 7 years since the first time I saw her, my heart still skips a beat when I look at her.

I have a little something I've been working on as an Anniversary surprise. I can't post the details now (I don't want to let the secret out), but I'll put something together after Saturday, including pictures.

And now I'm off for another great adventure in laundry folding...

Formal Night (more vacation pictures)

Here are some pictures of our formal night in the dining room on the Carnival Victory for our 2005 Caribbean cruise. Chantay looks a little washed out, but if you click on the image, you get a bigger one that's a bit easier to see.

I can't believe Chantay continuously manages to talk me into climbing into a suit. Here's a shot of my parents, who sat across the table from us.

Technically, you're not supposed to digitize the pictures you buy from the cruise line. But hey, I paid for them - that makes them mine, right? At $14 for a single 5X7 print, I feel very little remorse. Carnival needs to come up out of the stone ages.

Some Vacation Pictures (finally)

So here are some highlights from the vacation we took in September. I didn't know this, but after seeing the guy in the next picture I'm confident saying that iguanas can poop about as much as a medium-sized dog. (This pic was taken at the ruins in Tulum outside of Cancun Mexico)

Ahead of the cruise, we spent a little time in Florida and decided to take a ride on an airboat. It was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Here's a nice shot of me and Chantay in the boat. If you zoom in, you'll see Brinley's reflection in the right lense of my sunglasses.

Back to Tulum, here's a nice picture of the three of us:

I'll post more pictures later. Watch for post in my technical blog about the cool new technology I used to do it. (I'm quite impressed - and that's not generally easy for a product to do)

Stinky People and Their Stinky Perfume

What is it with women pouring on gallons of cheap, pungent perfume? Nothing makes me madder than touching an elevator call button, or perhaps a doorknob, and then having to spend the day reeking like some floozy who didn’t have the sense to realize excessive amounts of the K-mart special are not appropriate at work!

You may have guessed that I had a run in with one such musk trail today. That guess would be correct.

Have you ever noticed that the more offensive a perfume is, the harder it is to wash off? I don’t understand how I can scrub my hands until the skin comes off, yet the spot that came in contact with said funk continues to smell like a Bordello. Frankly, I think I'd prefer some good old-fashioned body odor.

Ladies: if you can’t respect yourselves, at least have respect for the other people in the office! Lay off the perfume. If you leave a trail, it’s too much!

The City of Bum Love

So I started a new job (as a consultant) in July, and found myself on a contract in Philadelphia for my first gig. I should prefix this by saying that my employer takes really good care of me, and they put me in a corporate apartment to make sure that I'm comfortable for the duration of this contract (more on a fiasco with the apartment in another post).

Before landing this gig, I had been to Philly before doing the tourist thing, but I never made it to Center City before this. There were a few things I noticed right away.

Like many large US cities, Center City Philadelphia is all pavement. I suppose that makes sense. I mean, you have to have somewhere for people to walk, right? You certainly don't want to try driving -- particularly when parking can cost $30 a day or more.

All that pavement makes for an interesting side effect: noise polution. So, like other big cities, Philadelphia is paved and noisy. No problems yet, those things are to be expected, and the Center City initiative takes care of some of the other unseemly things that go with city life (like graffiti and gum on the sidewalks).

On my first day in Philly, I was approached by a panhandler asking for money. Some would argue that this is yet another undocumented prerequisite for urban living. I politely declined to share the fruit of my labor with this clearly able bodied individual.

The next day, it was the same story only I got hit up twice. On the third day, I began to see a pattern, and to take note of the number of "homeless" (domocilely challenged?) people living in doorways. These make-shift shelters in doorways are not hard to find; just follow the stench of urine. (Why can't the Center City initiative sponsor some porta-Johns for these people? There's nothing like the smell of stale piss in the morning to make you puke up your coffee.)

I'll conceed that a handful of these "bums" have genuine problems that should be addressed by some agency. Most, however, are perfectly able-minded and able-bodied, save for the streak of lazy that keeps them begging.

The thing that gets me is that the local businesses tolerate these people hasseling their customers. Nobody ever says anything to these indigent miscreants who set up shop and don't leave. I've protested a few times, and even called the police (the local dispatcher was a bit nonplussed at the prospect of having to do her job on a Saturday afternoon -- I think I woke her up).

So, it is with much thought that I bestow the honor on Philadelphia of being the Bummiest city I have ever seen (much more so than New York City). If I were homeless, Philly is where I'd be.

Why This Blog?

Back in February I decided to start a blog I called "Ed Talks Software Development". The idea was to provide a resource for programmers and programmer-types that would discuss the latest trends, programming techniques, and general techie stuff.

Well, time goes by and people start to read the crap you post. As a blogger, maybe you even solicit feedback. Maybe one morning you ask your wife (also a Software Engineer) her opinion and she tells you "I think your writing style is pompous".

After you apply some Preparation-H, you decide that maybe you should start another blog to expose your "softer", "regular guy" (e.g. less pompous) side.

So here we are.