Dave Parnin's Blog

www.nopracticenoproblem.com is up but not complete.  Working on getting the forum running.  It’s getting there.

Yeeeee Haaaaa!!!  The new site is up and running!  (albeit with most of the old pages).  The bugs have been fixed and it looks like I’ve got all of the links pointing to their new locations.  The next step is new content.  Stay tuned…

At last, DaveParnin.com has a new home.  On Monday I got the new site hosting set up and the blog created.  It’s a new home with new challenges, new fun, and at some point, a new look.  It looks like self-hosting will have some advantages.  There are still some issues to work out with the migration of the site but it’s coming together.  There will be some design changes coming too.  I’m planning on the blog to take some of the more dynamic pieces of the site.  Right now the plan is to get the old site up and running with some minor modifications.  The major changes may not come until after the holidays.

Ho…  Ho…  Ho…

(Originally Posted November 10)

“Never go to bed angry.  Stay up and fight.”

– Phyllis Diller

(Originally Posted November 2)

Have you ever considered that electing the officials who run our government is like inviting guests to a party?  Some surprise, some disappoint.  Some make you glad that they came.  Some, you can’t wait until they leave.  Still others make you wonder who invited them in the first place.  No matter who they are, they eat your food and the next round of guests think that they have to clean up for their predecessors.  …but they never do.  Vote early and vote often.  It might have it’s faults but it’s the best around.

(Originally Posted October 26)

Every day I marvel at my Android Incredible.  It really does live up to its name.  As I write this I’m listening to the local police dispatcher on it.  It can take pictures, track where I’m at, give me current news and weather, play games, watch videos, link my computer to the Internet, act as a flashlight, measure my heart rate, detect metal, and oh yea, you can talk to people on it.  I could use it as a music player but my old iPod has higher capacity.  Tablet PC’s are taking the next “small step for man” but what “giant leap for mankind” will follow?  Moreover, where are we stepping and leaping to?

The early years of the computer were text-based.  Basic graphics and sound followed with the advent of home computers in the 80′s and 90′s.  For the past ten years or so society has become more connected via the Internet.  First it was slow dial-up and then broadband emerged.  Now the wireless revolution is upon us.  Wi-fi, 3G, and 4G, are making our wireless connections faster and more prolific.  E-mail has spawned texting which spawned tweeting.  In the world of the future we will all have video phones and flying cars.  I think that I’ve got my video phone, now where’s my flying car?

Computer applications have gone from centralized, to distributed, to client-server, to browser-based, to apps that run on our smart phones.  Likewise data has gone from centralized to distributed.  The trend now is storage in “the cloud”.  Is this not an extension of the connected culture?  …to have access to everything from everywhere?

As I see it, hardware is irrelevant.  The application, nay, the experience drives the innovation.  You can have your iPods, iPhones, iPads, Androids, Blackberries, tablets, laptops, netbooks, notebooks, MP3 players, e-readers, wide-screen TV’s, and home theaters.  What people ultimately want is to do some work, read a book, watch a movie, play a game, listen to music, communicate with others, and …be entertained.  The evolution for the future is convergence and integration.  I will want my work, books, movies, music, and communication to be with me everywhere, not tied to a specific device.  The downside is that somebody/everybody will want to make money on that integration and convergence.  We may have our own “virtual private clouds” but we will probably have to pay for access.  …by the byte …by the song  …by the movie  …by the minute  …by the second.

So much for predicting the future.  Good thing I still have my old records.

(Originally Posted October 25)

What does it say about social services in the United States when even birds have to resort to stealing in order to get a meal?  If democrats can’t manage the welfare of a single pigeon then how can we expect them to run socialized medicine?!

(Originally Posted October 22)

(Originally Posted October 21)

How much fun can you have for next to nothing?  My netbook project is an adventure in what you can do for only a little cost.  I initially purchased it as a PC to take on vacation.  I wanted something small, lightweight, and functional that was inexpensive.  The idea was not to take either my Dell D830 or the Mac Book which each cost quite a bit more and would cause more disappointment if they were lost, stolen, or damaged.  Enter the Toshiba NB-255.  At $285 it was just what I was looking for.

After it arrived from NewEgg I set up wi-fi,  and did a Windows Update then began loading it up with the “essentials”.  These were such things as Java, Flash Player, anti-virus, Malware Bytes, Adobe reader, and Win Zip.  Office would have been nice but Office 2007 costs $$$ and is a pain to use.  Open Office was free but would it work?

The installation of Open Office was quick and painless.  It fired up right away.  The smaller processor of the netbook wasn’t an issue.  The word processor wasn’t Word 2007 but who’s complaining?  It had the intuitive feel of Word 2003.  I was also impressed with the spreadsheet application.  Like Excel, it had built-in functions for more complex calculations such as calculating internal rate of return and other functions for finance, statistics, etc.  I have yet to create any presentations but it does play existing PowerPoint files.

So far I haven’t found any reason for paying Microsoft for Office.  In fact, the experience has started me thinking of loading Linux on it.  More about that later.  I have achieved the low-cost goal of the project but every day I’m feeling more and more like I would be disappointed if it were lost, stolen, or damaged.