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May 1 2007

Reliance upon Microsoft products :(

I have been happily working at a consulting firm for some time and am dismayed by how much the world relies upon Microsoft software. It seems as if no one realizes that, more often than not, there are very good alternatives out there. Many of these alternatives end up being better than Microsoft’s offerings because they comply with open standards.

Let’s use Microsoft Office 2007 as an example. Continue reading

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Jan 14 2007

Have not updated site for a while

I have not been blogging much as of late. Life has been a bit busy and hectic. Soon I will start blogging again.

Meanwhile Comcast is providing crappy customer support. I kind of expect it now after the whole CableCARD saga.

Should I just give up on them and move to satellite? I might. I might also just go without TV and watch stuff on the web.

Till next time.

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Jul 11 2006

History: Mac Mini RAM installation… Apple’s confusion

This is a look back in history. The events happened about a year ago and have been resolved since that time. Apple’s response at the lower levels was completely unacceptable.

Quotes are taken from what I wrote at the time in these two threads at http://www.dslreports.com:

http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,13716128
http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,13769295

The story begins when I take my Mac Mini to the Genius bar at an Apple store… Continue reading

no comments | posted in Mac, Technology, Uncategorized

Jul 5 2006

Article on port knocking

The article here: http://www.ducea.com/2006/07/05/how-to-safely-connect-from-anywhere-to-your-closed-linux-firewall/

Describes port knocking and how it may be used to increase network security while still allowing one to keep ports closed at the router.

no comments | posted in Linux, Uncategorized

Jan 12 2006

Good Post on Job Hunting

There is a good post about job hunting entitled The Job Hunt: What I Learned on the Information Wants To Be Free blog. The author writes about what she learned from her job hunt.

I have not written about my job hunt on this blog. It has been a long drawn-out process. The main problem has been that although, I have much experience in the field of technology, I have little verifiable work experience. Most of my tech work was for my own consulting practice, making me a reference for myself. Not good.

That is why when I came upon the post The Job Hunt: What I Learned, I was greeted with a great many tips. There are a few of them that I am determined to employ. Continue reading

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Oct 31 2005

Hurricane Wilma

Hurricane Wilma has been extremely trying. This has not been a major disaster like Katrina was for New Orleans; however, it has been quite difficult. My home is still without power since last Monday when the storm struck. My neighborhood was lucky. We suffered from downed trees, and no power; however, there appeared to be little damage to most of the houses. This is the second storm to knock out my power this hurricane season.

My friends and family fared well throughout this ordeal. No real damage to report, just frustration with the lack of things to do. We are still under a curfew. It was recently changed from 20:00-6:00 to 0:00-6:00. Many traffic lights are still out; however, a lot are back on at this point.

I am very lucky to be staying at a friend in the neighborhood’s house. They have had power for the past two days. It has been nice to have exremely hot showers, the ability to wash my clothes, and enough light to comfortably read. Cable TV is still out, although I have watched a few DVDs.

Today I was excited to come in to work. I have an internet connection, power, and things to do. It is amazing how comforting having a routine can be. They’re the kind of things that you complain about, and wish to change so that you’re not so predictable. When your ability to actually fall into your routine is taken away, you begin to crave it. My routine is coming back, and I will undoubtedly start complaining about it, and try to change it in due time.

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Sep 13 2005

Stop getting as many preapproved credit card offers (U.S.)

I found out about this a while back and wanted to see if it would work:

If you want to eliminate junk mail offers, call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) to eliminate your information from direct mail marketing lists from all 4 major credit bureaus. (In the US.)

It’s been about 4 months since I did this, and it has definitely made a difference. The amount of junk snail mail coming my way has gone down significantly. I recently got free credit reports. They indicated that no company received my information for marketing offers recently.

Even if you don’t find the offers annoying, you should do this to at least save some paper. If I really wanted a new credit card, I would go out and find the best one and apply. I do not want them constantly bombarding me with loan offers and lines of credit. I would like to think that I am not in the minority.

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Feb 24 2005

No Wonder I have Satellite Radio Now

I have been frustrated with radio for the longest time. Once Clear Channel started gobbling up our spectrum, the end was near. We went from goofy semi-spontaneous radio to controlled playlists and constant concert and ad hawking.

Now Zeta 94.9 in South Florida is no more. To be honest, Zeta had been pretty bad for some time. I remember coming back down here after being away in college for four years and hearing the same songs that used to play before I left. The ads were also out of control.

Zeta was a fixture in the alternative rock community and before becoming part of the Clear Channel family was pretty decent. The station produced many local events and brought the listener base together.

There is a discussion about all of this going on in the Southeast forum at DSLReports.com

DSLReports.com > Southeast Forum > 94.9 Zeta

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Feb 21 2005

SocietyGuardian.co.uk: Ecstasy Trials for Combat Stress

SocietyGuardian.co.uk, a website that I have never visited before today, has an interesting article on a trial of Ecstasy on American soldiers.

The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists. Several victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder, for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA since the research began last year.

I am not sure what to think of this. The last that I had heard was that Ecstasy could have the long-tern effect of lowering the brain’s level of serotonin.

Ecstasy Trials for Combat Stress

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Feb 20 2005

My Introduction to the World of Blogging

I had been hearing quite a bit about blogs as of late, and I knew I had to eventually create one of my own. As an outsider looking in, I did not understand how interconnected blogs can be.

My Previous site was just an island in the vast expanse of the Internet. It was apart from everything. Now I’m learning how by using real blogging software I join a large community. There are trackback “pings” and sites like PingOMatic that act as a sort of bloggers glue.

Now I am no longer bored with the idea of a personal homepage. Even if there aren’t many readers of my blog, I will now be much more likely to update this site as it is part of a whole.

So I would like to say Hello Blogosphere.

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Morph3ous's Weblog

Reliance upon Microsoft products :(

Have not updated site for a while

History: Mac Mini RAM installation… Apple’s confusion

Article on port knocking

Good Post on Job Hunting

Hurricane Wilma

Stop getting as many preapproved credit card offers (U.S.)

No Wonder I have Satellite Radio Now

SocietyGuardian.co.uk: Ecstasy Trials for Combat Stress

My Introduction to the World of Blogging

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