Monday, January 24, 2005

Good writing, great logic

I"m not sure anything I ever write will capture the eloquence and logic of Judge Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat Jr. This great elocutionist once wrote the Whiskey Speech, and I'm not sure it could be improved upon.

And for good or for ill, I think many of the issues plaguing us today (censorship and decency, abortion, gambling, etc.) should be captured in a similar manner.

Friday, January 21, 2005

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot what this was like.

I am working again. Only for a couple weeks, but it's great to get back into the grove of things. Seilevel, those folks who let me go last year, have a short-term project beyond their current staffing. As a stay-at-home dogsitter, I was happy to jump for this opportunity at a little income.

Now I only need to accomplish three (3) things:
  • Do what they want, when they want it.
  • Do it so well they want me to do more.
  • Pray they get more work so I can do more.
Wish me luck.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Too much of a good thing

The previoustly recommended Mark Hurst of Good Experience has an interview with Barry Schwartz, author of "The Paradox of Choice."
Q - What can customers do to avoid the paradox of choice?

Most importantly, learn that "good enough is good enough." It's what I call "satisficing" in the book. You don't need the best; probably never do. On rare occasions it's worth struggling to find the best. But generally it makes life simpler if you settle with "good enough." You don't have to make an exhaustive search - just until you find something that meets your standards, which could be high.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Yucky stuff on your computer

I have three requirements for you if you are setting up a computer in your home.

First, you need a router. This is the small box that would sit between the cable or DSL modem and your computer. With it you can hook up more than one computer to the internet, you can get them to read files from other computers, and maybe connect to a printer or your TiVo. But *most importantly*, it is vital for protection from attacks from the internet. Honestly, if you do not have one, you should go out *today* and get one. Call me if you have questions about this.

Second, you need virus protection. I have used all the majors, but I am fondest of avast! antivirus software. I put it on Kristi's computer, it works great, and it's free to home users! You have to register once a year, but I have never received any kind of spam from them.

Third, you need something against spyware. I want to compare it to a mess you get on the bottom of your shoes when walking in the park. It's not immediately dangerous, but if you're not careful, the walk in the park can ruin your carpet and spyware can ruin your computer. I've seen it happen. The big boys are Ad-Aware and Spybot, but Microsoft just joined the party with their MS Windows AntiSpyware. It's still in Beta, but most everything is today. I've loaded it to compare with the other programs, and so far it hasn't caused me any trouble.

If you do not have these three things on your home computer, get them. If you have any questions, leave a comment. Please.

Friday, January 07, 2005

And you thought your mother was wierd

In an amusing story on Reuters,
Owen, the hippo and his mother the tortoise
Owen, a one year-old baby Hippotamus gets close to his adopted 'mother', a giant male Aldabran tortoise at Kenya's Haller Park, January 6, 2004. The 120-year old giant tortoise living in the Kenyan sanctuary has become inseparable from the baby hippo rescued by game wardens, sanctuary officials said on Thursday.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

My new knowledge

Disclaimer: Personal medical topic.
On a couple occassions in my life I have almost passed out. The events proceeding them have been similar, so maybe I can learn from the whole experience. The general pre-conditions for me are (1) lack of food prior to the event, (2) paying an extreme amount of attention to whatever I'm doing at the time of the event, and (3) usually, I've locked my knees, restricting blood flow in my body. According to proctologists, it is also relatively common occurance during exams given to patients.

It turns out I likely have a strong a vaso-vagal response. While the symptons are not always identical for different people, they typically include feeling light-headed, nausea, perspiring, fainting, and loss of bowel and bladder control. I do not feel all of these symptoms, but just a couple is enough; trust me.

Clinically, this is combined with an expansion of the blood vessels in the legs and loss of blood pressure, which means I turn as white as ghost. All of which makes it hard for Kristi if she happens to be nearby; she is understandably scared when I suddenly turn white, feel faint, and look like I'm about to become unconcious.

Apparently, the condition is not serious and there is no risk of health consequences. Even so, I have to agree with some of the folks who have discussed this online; being told to sit with your head between your knees just doesn't seem like an adequate medical response.

Additional links at: MayoClinic.com, Health Encyclopedia


In other personal medical news, I am going to have a colonoscopy next week. Goodie, goodie.