It's approaching the 40th anniversary for landing on the moon. The whole event is being commemorated at: http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/
If you go there, you can hear all the real-time audio that ocurred between CAPCOM and the Command Module. Quite amazing - a chance for me to experience what I missed if I were alive in the 50s.
Did you know they travells over 2,300 MPH?
Showing posts with label tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tech. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Computer Convention in Las Vegas
So last week I was at a computer convention in Vegas. It was very valuable with all the people you can meet, but ONLY in Vegas can you go to a computer convention where free beer is handed out.
The best part is that I won $225 without even gambling - it was a drawing held by one of the vendors. When my name was drawn I had to answer some trivia questions and then go into one of those plixiglass cylinders where they use air to blow money all around and you have to catch it in mid-air. What a blast!
By the time I got home I was exhausted. I had to catch a 6AM flight back home and sleeping on a little plane doesn't work so well. It felt so good to be back in my own bed!
The best part is that I won $225 without even gambling - it was a drawing held by one of the vendors. When my name was drawn I had to answer some trivia questions and then go into one of those plixiglass cylinders where they use air to blow money all around and you have to catch it in mid-air. What a blast!
By the time I got home I was exhausted. I had to catch a 6AM flight back home and sleeping on a little plane doesn't work so well. It felt so good to be back in my own bed!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Helping people
So I got the opportunity to help someone out there on the internet. they noticed I wrote an article for a software program they use and his install CD was broken by his three-year-old. Support would not send him an install CD so he asked if I would be kind enough to send him a copy.
This of course is not breaking iny licensing agreements - the REAL license is ownign the box WITH the install Key. So I sent hime a copy of the CD and he asked if there was some way he could repay me back. Really I was not prepared for this. I wasn't going to send an invoice or anything for being kind - then I remembered all the things that get stuck in my head that I never have time to do, Here is what I sent him:
Things are crazy busy for me –
Here is an idea of two things I have never had time to do – feel free to choose one:
1) Please go to the focus on the family website and buy the CD pack for the greatest of 2007.
2) Send a copy of the book: Business by the Book – from crown.org
3) Another story is that I just got back in the office this morning after a meeting and saw that our office got another letter from the child we sponsor through food for the hungry. I realized that if I can have this kind of effect on someone for only $28 per month – I should sponsor another one. So it would be great if you could sponsor one yourself. It has been such a great blessing for myself and our office – I would love to pass it on.
So I have no idea who this guy is and no idea what he will think of the suggestions I gave. This definitely gives me something to look forward to!
This of course is not breaking iny licensing agreements - the REAL license is ownign the box WITH the install Key. So I sent hime a copy of the CD and he asked if there was some way he could repay me back. Really I was not prepared for this. I wasn't going to send an invoice or anything for being kind - then I remembered all the things that get stuck in my head that I never have time to do, Here is what I sent him:
Things are crazy busy for me –
Here is an idea of two things I have never had time to do – feel free to choose one:
1) Please go to the focus on the family website and buy the CD pack for the greatest of 2007.
2) Send a copy of the book: Business by the Book – from crown.org
3) Another story is that I just got back in the office this morning after a meeting and saw that our office got another letter from the child we sponsor through food for the hungry. I realized that if I can have this kind of effect on someone for only $28 per month – I should sponsor another one. So it would be great if you could sponsor one yourself. It has been such a great blessing for myself and our office – I would love to pass it on.
So I have no idea who this guy is and no idea what he will think of the suggestions I gave. This definitely gives me something to look forward to!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
DVD Players
Being one gifted with technical things I find it hard to admit that soon we will be on our way to a 5th DVD player.
I still do not know how you can break a DVD player, I guess youc an wear them out but I have CD players with much more mileage. Our first DVD player was 5 years ago right after we got married as a Christmas present from some friends. It lasted until about 2 years ago. Not bad, a 1st genreation player lasting for 3 years.
This is where it gets a bit wierd, if you do the math 3 DVD players over 2 years (one every 8 months). What is the deal here? We do not watch that many movies. Its not like they are taking abuse from our kids. They just slowly stop working. It starts with a disc that will not read and spreads like a disease until not one of our discs work. Maybe I should think twice about a player that costs less than $90
Currently we have our portable DVD player set up on top of the entertainement center With cables run to the stereo serving as our spare. I guess instead of a player, I could always invest in a video games system that doubles as a DVD player. That of course would be a great way to sneak in even more entertainment. Until then, I will remain in denial that our DVD player is really broken and just hope that I can calibrate it somehow.
I still do not know how you can break a DVD player, I guess youc an wear them out but I have CD players with much more mileage. Our first DVD player was 5 years ago right after we got married as a Christmas present from some friends. It lasted until about 2 years ago. Not bad, a 1st genreation player lasting for 3 years.
This is where it gets a bit wierd, if you do the math 3 DVD players over 2 years (one every 8 months). What is the deal here? We do not watch that many movies. Its not like they are taking abuse from our kids. They just slowly stop working. It starts with a disc that will not read and spreads like a disease until not one of our discs work. Maybe I should think twice about a player that costs less than $90
Currently we have our portable DVD player set up on top of the entertainement center With cables run to the stereo serving as our spare. I guess instead of a player, I could always invest in a video games system that doubles as a DVD player. That of course would be a great way to sneak in even more entertainment. Until then, I will remain in denial that our DVD player is really broken and just hope that I can calibrate it somehow.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Poly Canyon - Lost Architectural Treasures
What an amazing experience. Our family went on a walk to Poly Canyon - after about three quarters of a mile form the entrance is an arch made of stone - apparently a senior project - that draws your attention. Underneath is a sign listing over 15 more projects so we decided to take a look:
Poly Canyon shows just what is possible when you combine skill, art, and passion without the focus being on profit. Creativity and possibilities spring up that you never imagined.
The first structure you see (after the arch) is what looks like an artistic staircase, created from cement. It is hard to explain and I do not have a picture, but imaging a spiraling staircase each step curves upward away form the center to also be the wall.
Next was this amazing sail tent created in the 70's. It is in almost pefect condition still held taught by its steel cables.
My son's favorite structure was the pirate ship, the bow sticks out from the hillside allowing you to look to the creek 30 feet below.
Other structures include complete furnished houses including: bridge house, shells house, and modular house (not shown). The names might not be impressive but the ideas were.
Bridge house is covered with windows, and for a senior project, I was surprised to find it equipped with a water heater and air conditioning. I definitely found my self wanting to live in these structures when they were in their prime.
Unfortunately as you look at the house projects you can see windows broken out from vandals and the once complete houses are now a danger to the vistors. Bridge house, vacant, plubming now broken, and wires exposed, is still powered. I could hear the transformer to the AC unit humming.
Shell house was the most impressive, this one picture of the inside does not do it justice. Every outer wall is made of glass, one third of which are broken. This house is complete with a kitchen, loft, and family room. I have never seen anything like the way this house was put together. Each room literally FLOWED into the other.
On our way out we saw other structures that our kids were excited to climb.
Despite the dangers of mixing broken down structures and curious kids, we had alot of fun. While leaving I found myself inspired by the visions of past college students but also saddened by the current conditions of them.
These projects are probably the most difficult challenge these students faced in their lifetime. With creativity and passion only a young adult could have it was amazing to experience such uniqueness.
Poly Canyon shows just what is possible when you combine skill, art, and passion without the focus being on profit. Creativity and possibilities spring up that you never imagined.The first structure you see (after the arch) is what looks like an artistic staircase, created from cement. It is hard to explain and I do not have a picture, but imaging a spiraling staircase each step curves upward away form the center to also be the wall.
Next was this amazing sail tent created in the 70's. It is in almost pefect condition still held taught by its steel cables.
My son's favorite structure was the pirate ship, the bow sticks out from the hillside allowing you to look to the creek 30 feet below.Other structures include complete furnished houses including: bridge house, shells house, and modular house (not shown). The names might not be impressive but the ideas were.
Bridge house is covered with windows, and for a senior project, I was surprised to find it equipped with a water heater and air conditioning. I definitely found my self wanting to live in these structures when they were in their prime.Unfortunately as you look at the house projects you can see windows broken out from vandals and the once complete houses are now a danger to the vistors. Bridge house, vacant, plubming now broken, and wires exposed, is still powered. I could hear the transformer to the AC unit humming.
Shell house was the most impressive, this one picture of the inside does not do it justice. Every outer wall is made of glass, one third of which are broken. This house is complete with a kitchen, loft, and family room. I have never seen anything like the way this house was put together. Each room literally FLOWED into the other.On our way out we saw other structures that our kids were excited to climb.
Despite the dangers of mixing broken down structures and curious kids, we had alot of fun. While leaving I found myself inspired by the visions of past college students but also saddened by the current conditions of them.
These projects are probably the most difficult challenge these students faced in their lifetime. With creativity and passion only a young adult could have it was amazing to experience such uniqueness.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Video sites - YouTube & Google Video
So I was reading up on Pastor Tim's blog and saw that he mentioned my blog and a few others including a cool website created and maintained by Josh Ernestrom, FallForwardFilms.com. I got to thinking, Josh has done some really funny videos and maybe he has others that are not Grace Church related, so I searched you tube and found a little collection: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=fallforwardfilms
I have written a few scripts of my own and videos like these keep me inspired.
That is another thing about all the crazy videos on these sites. Not only do you find something really funny, but you can find things are are extremely stupid. I tell people that if you ever are humbled or feel or depressed you can always look for people doing stuping things on Google Video or YouTube to make yoruself feel better. Here is 2 examples:
Rolling down a hill in a Dell Box
Toaster Chicken
I have written a few scripts of my own and videos like these keep me inspired.
That is another thing about all the crazy videos on these sites. Not only do you find something really funny, but you can find things are are extremely stupid. I tell people that if you ever are humbled or feel or depressed you can always look for people doing stuping things on Google Video or YouTube to make yoruself feel better. Here is 2 examples:
Rolling down a hill in a Dell Box
Toaster Chicken
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Jacob the Wiz
So today my three year old ran into our bedroom saying, "I wanna check my e-mail!"
Talk about surprising! What is a 3 year-old doing with an e-mail account anyway? He is always busy playing with my tools or pretending to. Just a month ago he was taking great interest playing with my screwdrivers, giving my wife a break keeping busy. She was on the chair relaxing and to her surprise he handed her the doorknob!
This kid is definitely an engineeer in the making.
I am supposed to be a network administrator, on the edge of technology, and it appears in about 8 years my oldest son is going to show me how to hook up our on-demand fiber-optic cable to our virtual reality 3D TV.
Talk about surprising! What is a 3 year-old doing with an e-mail account anyway? He is always busy playing with my tools or pretending to. Just a month ago he was taking great interest playing with my screwdrivers, giving my wife a break keeping busy. She was on the chair relaxing and to her surprise he handed her the doorknob!
This kid is definitely an engineeer in the making.
I am supposed to be a network administrator, on the edge of technology, and it appears in about 8 years my oldest son is going to show me how to hook up our on-demand fiber-optic cable to our virtual reality 3D TV.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Using a Computer
So I sold my parents a laptop. Previously, they have been attached to an old desktop for the last 10 years - what an antique!
I know they are not the most computer compatible, but I told them that at the BARE minimum they had to be able to take it out of the box and plug it in before they call me for help. It could not be any eaiser, all the calbes are color coded, if you can paint by number you can plug in a computer.
True to their promise they did not call me until after they got it plugged in and powered up. They got stuck at the WELCOME screen. My mom could not figure out how to click the next button. After several minutes I figured out that she would put the mouse over the next button and press the 'Enter' key rather then click with the mouse. My patience was waning!
One the other extreme, I have a 3 year old who navigates on our home computer like a pro. He plays all these kids games on pbskids.org.
When it comes to tech support I must admit, I have less patience with my parents than with my clients. So at the office we have all agreed to provide computer support for eachother's family.
I know they are not the most computer compatible, but I told them that at the BARE minimum they had to be able to take it out of the box and plug it in before they call me for help. It could not be any eaiser, all the calbes are color coded, if you can paint by number you can plug in a computer.
True to their promise they did not call me until after they got it plugged in and powered up. They got stuck at the WELCOME screen. My mom could not figure out how to click the next button. After several minutes I figured out that she would put the mouse over the next button and press the 'Enter' key rather then click with the mouse. My patience was waning!
One the other extreme, I have a 3 year old who navigates on our home computer like a pro. He plays all these kids games on pbskids.org.
When it comes to tech support I must admit, I have less patience with my parents than with my clients. So at the office we have all agreed to provide computer support for eachother's family.
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