We cannot keep doing what we are doing and expect change. Come to think of it, we cannot expect hope and change from those who would promise better things. The time is coming and has now come that we go back to what made us strong. Hard work. Are you as tired as I am with the status quo? Are you exasperated that for some time now you feel like you have lost control? Our households will not get better by themselves. Your bank accounts will not increase by themselves. The careers we have will have to be dictated by us, not at the whims of over-extending bigwigs. It’s time to wake up, Uh-merica. This year I am resolving to get back control over myself.
For far too long I have sat back and watched as the waistline increased, my brain cells decrease and my personal happiness go bye-bye. In 2010 I will be healthier, smarter and happier with the help of hard work and determination.
Because I have lost control of myself I have allowed outside forces to take control. I will reclaim my independence and start working harder and smarter for me & mine. I have never been afraid to work hard, I just have forgotten how. Time to relearn.
* Thanks to Hugh at Gaping Void for the illustration inspiration
Scripture Sunday 01.03.10
2010-01-03 17:06:06
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
- Hebrews 11:1
I think we could all use a lot more faith this year!
Scripture Sunday 01.10.2010
2010-01-10 17:22:12
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7
Who or what do you put your hope in? Your spouse? Government? Your bank account?
On My Wall
2010-01-14 11:16:25
A big trend on Flickr and DeviantArt is to share one’s desktop wallpaper. I thought I’d share mine.
I cannot stand clutter on my screen. I have to have everything nice and organized so I can get to it quick.
The illustration is from Matthew Lyons and is called Intrepid Explorer. Which I think suits me very well.
Usually I would have an image of my daughter but I felt the need to change things up today.
Sicko
2010-01-16 23:28:24
This whole being-sick-since-Christmas thing has got to go. I wish I could throw it away like a used tissue. It has thrown off all of my best laid plans of renewal and revival. Not to mention a longer than usual cold streak here in Houston has brought me down too.
I don’t do cold weather or cold sickness very well.
Freedom To Work Or Starve
2010-01-17 14:15:08
America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you’ve lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn’t belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don’t care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.
People watch three hours of football to witness 11 minutes of actual play. This is why American football is boring and why rugby and soccer are the greatest sports in the world.
11 minutes of actual play
12 minutes of shots of the head coaches and referees
17 minutes of replays
60 minutes of commercials
75 minutes of shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps
Exciting!
We need more rugby on American television.
Life As A Diary
2010-01-17 21:08:40
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.
Digital Jazz
2010-01-20 16:47:12
I’m digging this new Honda Accord commercial featuring jazz music. We need more of this please.
Link followers and RSS subscribers can click here to see the video
Meet Our New Photographer
2010-01-23 23:03:50
Little DVD has been enjoying the old digital camera she inherited. As soon as I cleaned it up and adjusted a few settings she couldn’t put it down. She even puts up a fuss when I take it back to upload photos to the computer. I created a Flickr account for her work that can only be viewed by family members for now but here is a quick glimpse.
She has her own style of shooting but she can see her images and adjust pretty quickly.
Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction.
— Ray Bradbury
Don’t Be Anti-Social
2010-01-27 18:28:58
It is time to unplug yourself from Facebook page and Twitter account to go out and actually meet people. Real relationships trump online friends any day.
You’ve Got Rail
2010-01-29 17:17:58
Images are courtesy of Wired.com
I have been a big fan of high speed rail systems as a means of commuter transportation for years. I am also in favor of making rails as a transportation for shipping products a priority over semi-trucks. I am not a tree hugger but it is obvious that trucks as transportation are annoying, dirty and unsafe. Keep in mind that my own father has been a trucker for years and logged millions of miles without incident. No worries, dad. You will be retired before the high-speed wheels are on the tracks. Every other major country in the world except the greatest, us, have had these systems in place for decades. Last week I saw this article about the super-fast bullet trains coming to the U.S. in the near future and was even pleased to see the Texas T-Bone option. A dedicated, elevated passenger system that would connect all of the major metros here and alleviate a lot of auto congestion.
All of a sudden I hear on the radio yesterday about President Obama’s 8 billion dollar initiative towards high speed rail system in the United States. I don’t agree with the underlying message of jobs creation but I do like the idea of reliable transportation. Hopefully these funds will go to private developers and run by anyone else than Amtrak.
For now, these plans are still sitting in the terminal because the proposed rail systems aren’t due for completion until around the year 2025. That is IF they start building soon.
Must See TV
2010-01-30 23:17:10
I don’t watch a whole lot of television but when I do, it has to be intelligent and make me think. Nothing fraks with my mind like LOST, which is airing it’s 6th and last season this week. If you haven’t been keeping up and feel a bit lost yourself, Hulu is airing all episodes for free. Time to play catch up. I’ve been watching all seasons and will still have to watch at least the past 4 episodes from last season to prepare for this one.
I was skeptical of the recent Battlestar Galactica series until a co-worker turned me on to it. That series ended last year where humans were being wiped out by the sentient beings they created, the Cylons. A robotic race that evolved into looking/acting like humans themselves. You can kill the body but the soul/mind would download into a replicated body.
Now comes Caprica, a planet where the humans lived and created the Cylons. The new Caprica series is designed as a prequal to BSG and tells how the Cylons were created and why they turned on the humans. The girl featured in the promo photo above is Zoe. Her genius, rich father created the robots for the military. Zoe is a genius as well and rejected everything for her beliefs. I won’t spoil the rest except to say she becomes the first sentient Cylon somehow. Just like BSG, this show already deals with science, religion, race, ethics and so much more.
For comedic relief, I will still watch The Office and 30 Rock. They are both well written/acted and intelligent comedy.
Firewall of Sound
2010-01-24 00:42:30
Firewall of Sound is a documentary looking at how the digital revolution has changed the way we receive and distribute the music we listen to. Why can’t music labels find a way to reward us for our audio passions instead of persecuting us? I grew up with vinyl records, the 8-track, cassette, disc and now digital downloads. I miss the vinyl. There is something there that pulls you in, makes you want to read every word and view every detail of the album art. Then again, I love the sheer convenience of a digital file too.
Rock on.
The Visual Mixtape
2010-01-24 01:44:53
I finally set up a website that allows me to aggregate and curate my graphic inspirations with a healthy dose of miscellaneous nonsense.
You Want The Cute? You Can’t Handle The Cute.
2010-01-24 21:38:17
One of the best times of day for me is when I put our toddler down for the night. No, not because it is a chance to have some free time for myself, (although it does help). Daphne gets super cuddly, lays her head on my shoulder and we’ll sing softly, give hugs and kisses and just share the moment together. After tucked in, she’ll softly say “I love you daddy”.
Cute.
This image is clearly not her at her current age but I just had to share it as well
Denbow’s Info Workflow
2010-01-29 09:00:00
Unless you've had your head up your hindquarters for the past ten years you are well aware that the internet is a great resource. Most of us use the net as a way to gather information and share it with others. This process of information distribution has increasingly become more efficient. With web services and software cooperating with each other, the information seeker's experience has become more enhanced as well.
In the past five years, the RSS (real simple syndication) feeds and clients have become a major way I process my information. Instead of browsing hundreds of websites, I have them coming to my RSS reader as the websites are updated. I don't miss out on what I think is important, and I can utilize that information as I need to. After digesting these, I feel it necessary to share what I think may have value to someone else.
I have used a variety of feed readers both on the web and as software clients too. I have been a huge fan of FeedDemon which allows a sync of both for me. Recently FeedDemon has switched their online service to Google Reader, a service I have tried in the past but was not impressed with. Now, since I am more mobile and can access this information from my iPod Touch and not just from my computer, my information intake has again changed. I'll explain how this has changed for me and what tools I have discovered for my information capture and management. Info workflow if you will. I am not suggesting these are must-haves or that you are doing it wrong. People have varying information needs and different cognitive predilections.
Google Reader, Mobile RSS App
I had just mentioned how I was not impressed initially with GReader but apparently over the years they had made some improvements in their functionality. It is faster than the software I downloaded, can be viewed offline and offers great sharing functions. GR will now allow me to create a shared article site with it's own RSS feed. Basically, if you think I can share something of value, click here: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/chrisdenbow . There is now a much improved Send To function where I can forward articles to various distributors such as email, send as a .pdf file, Delicious and more that I have listed below. Neat! Not only can I do this on my laptop, but these can be done on my Touch too using the Mobile RSS app. It will set you back $3 but I find it very valuable when I am out and about.
Delicious is one of the best known social bookmarking websites. It amazes me though, that my IT Director father-in-law had never heard of it when it was mentioned in conversation. With Delicious you can bookmark any site on the internet and get it from anywhere you have access. Share your bookmarks or favorites and get some in return. See what websites are trends and what are useful. On the Touch, I use an app called Yummy that uses the Delicious software to view/share my bookmarks through Read It Later and Instapaper apps.
Read It Later & Instapaper are web services that essentially do the same thing. From the titles you can guess as to their function. If you see an article or a link that you want to save for later reading, tuck away with these guys. Both have excellent mobile apps as well.
Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple. Twitter asks one question, "What's happening?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. I use the mobile app, Tweetie. When someone adds a link to an article they enjoy, I use Tweetie to send it to either of these apps mentioned here. Handy!
Evernote is backup software for your brain. I am constantly sending voice notes to myself while driving down the road. This seems to be the optimal time I have a thought in my head. Of course there are multiple means of transferring your thoughts, web clips, links, tweets, .pdf's and more.
Which of these tools are you using to filter information on a routine basis? Which ones have I failed to mention that you feel is worth our time?
Let’s Do Something
2010-01-01 12:09:39
*
We cannot keep doing what we are doing and expect change. Come to think of it, we cannot expect hope and change from those who would promise better things. The time is coming and has now come that we go back to what made us strong. Hard work. Are you as tired as I am with the status quo? Are you exasperated that for some time now you feel like you have lost control? Our households will not get better by themselves. Your bank accounts will not increase by themselves. The careers we have will have to be dictated by us, not at the whims of over-extending bigwigs. It’s time to wake up, Uh-merica. This year I am resolving to get back control over myself.
For far too long I have sat back and watched as the waistline increased, my brain cells decrease and my personal happiness go bye-bye. In 2010 I will be healthier, smarter and happier with the help of hard work and determination.
Because I have lost control of myself I have allowed outside forces to take control. I will reclaim my independence and start working harder and smarter for me & mine. I have never been afraid to work hard, I just have forgotten how. Time to relearn.
* Thanks to Hugh at Gaping Void for the illustration inspiration
Scripture Sunday 01.03.10
2010-01-03 17:06:06
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
- Hebrews 11:1
I think we could all use a lot more faith this year!
Scripture Sunday 01.10.2010
2010-01-10 17:22:12
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7
Who or what do you put your hope in? Your spouse? Government? Your bank account?
On My Wall
2010-01-14 11:16:25
A big trend on Flickr and DeviantArt is to share one’s desktop wallpaper. I thought I’d share mine.
I cannot stand clutter on my screen. I have to have everything nice and organized so I can get to it quick.
The illustration is from Matthew Lyons and is called Intrepid Explorer. Which I think suits me very well.
Usually I would have an image of my daughter but I felt the need to change things up today.
Sicko
2010-01-16 23:28:24
This whole being-sick-since-Christmas thing has got to go. I wish I could throw it away like a used tissue. It has thrown off all of my best laid plans of renewal and revival. Not to mention a longer than usual cold streak here in Houston has brought me down too.
I don’t do cold weather or cold sickness very well.
Freedom To Work Or Starve
2010-01-17 14:15:08
America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you’ve lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn’t belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don’t care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.
People watch three hours of football to witness 11 minutes of actual play. This is why American football is boring and why rugby and soccer are the greatest sports in the world.
11 minutes of actual play
12 minutes of shots of the head coaches and referees
17 minutes of replays
60 minutes of commercials
75 minutes of shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps
Exciting!
We need more rugby on American television.
Life As A Diary
2010-01-17 21:08:40
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.
Digital Jazz
2010-01-20 16:47:12
I’m digging this new Honda Accord commercial featuring jazz music. We need more of this please.
Link followers and RSS subscribers can click here to see the video
Meet Our New Photographer
2010-01-23 23:03:50
Little DVD has been enjoying the old digital camera she inherited. As soon as I cleaned it up and adjusted a few settings she couldn’t put it down. She even puts up a fuss when I take it back to upload photos to the computer. I created a Flickr account for her work that can only be viewed by family members for now but here is a quick glimpse.
She has her own style of shooting but she can see her images and adjust pretty quickly.
Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction.
— Ray Bradbury
Don’t Be Anti-Social
2010-01-27 18:28:58
It is time to unplug yourself from Facebook page and Twitter account to go out and actually meet people. Real relationships trump online friends any day.
You’ve Got Rail
2010-01-29 17:17:58
Images are courtesy of Wired.com
I have been a big fan of high speed rail systems as a means of commuter transportation for years. I am also in favor of making rails as a transportation for shipping products a priority over semi-trucks. I am not a tree hugger but it is obvious that trucks as transportation are annoying, dirty and unsafe. Keep in mind that my own father has been a trucker for years and logged millions of miles without incident. No worries, dad. You will be retired before the high-speed wheels are on the tracks. Every other major country in the world except the greatest, us, have had these systems in place for decades. Last week I saw this article about the super-fast bullet trains coming to the U.S. in the near future and was even pleased to see the Texas T-Bone option. A dedicated, elevated passenger system that would connect all of the major metros here and alleviate a lot of auto congestion.
All of a sudden I hear on the radio yesterday about President Obama’s 8 billion dollar initiative towards high speed rail system in the United States. I don’t agree with the underlying message of jobs creation but I do like the idea of reliable transportation. Hopefully these funds will go to private developers and run by anyone else than Amtrak.
For now, these plans are still sitting in the terminal because the proposed rail systems aren’t due for completion until around the year 2025. That is IF they start building soon.
Must See TV
2010-01-30 23:17:10
I don’t watch a whole lot of television but when I do, it has to be intelligent and make me think. Nothing fraks with my mind like LOST, which is airing it’s 6th and last season this week. If you haven’t been keeping up and feel a bit lost yourself, Hulu is airing all episodes for free. Time to play catch up. I’ve been watching all seasons and will still have to watch at least the past 4 episodes from last season to prepare for this one.
I was skeptical of the recent Battlestar Galactica series until a co-worker turned me on to it. That series ended last year where humans were being wiped out by the sentient beings they created, the Cylons. A robotic race that evolved into looking/acting like humans themselves. You can kill the body but the soul/mind would download into a replicated body.
Now comes Caprica, a planet where the humans lived and created the Cylons. The new Caprica series is designed as a prequal to BSG and tells how the Cylons were created and why they turned on the humans. The girl featured in the promo photo above is Zoe. Her genius, rich father created the robots for the military. Zoe is a genius as well and rejected everything for her beliefs. I won’t spoil the rest except to say she becomes the first sentient Cylon somehow. Just like BSG, this show already deals with science, religion, race, ethics and so much more.
For comedic relief, I will still watch The Office and 30 Rock. They are both well written/acted and intelligent comedy.
Firewall of Sound
2010-01-24 00:42:30
Firewall of Sound is a documentary looking at how the digital revolution has changed the way we receive and distribute the music we listen to. Why can’t music labels find a way to reward us for our audio passions instead of persecuting us? I grew up with vinyl records, the 8-track, cassette, disc and now digital downloads. I miss the vinyl. There is something there that pulls you in, makes you want to read every word and view every detail of the album art. Then again, I love the sheer convenience of a digital file too.
Rock on.
The Visual Mixtape
2010-01-24 01:44:53
I finally set up a website that allows me to aggregate and curate my graphic inspirations with a healthy dose of miscellaneous nonsense.
You Want The Cute? You Can’t Handle The Cute.
2010-01-24 21:38:17
One of the best times of day for me is when I put our toddler down for the night. No, not because it is a chance to have some free time for myself, (although it does help). Daphne gets super cuddly, lays her head on my shoulder and we’ll sing softly, give hugs and kisses and just share the moment together. After tucked in, she’ll softly say “I love you daddy”.
Cute.
This image is clearly not her at her current age but I just had to share it as well
Denbow’s Info Workflow
2010-01-29 09:00:00
Unless you've had your head up your hindquarters for the past ten years you are well aware that the internet is a great resource. Most of us use the net as a way to gather information and share it with others. This process of information distribution has increasingly become more efficient. With web services and software cooperating with each other, the information seeker's experience has become more enhanced as well.
In the past five years, the RSS (real simple syndication) feeds and clients have become a major way I process my information. Instead of browsing hundreds of websites, I have them coming to my RSS reader as the websites are updated. I don't miss out on what I think is important, and I can utilize that information as I need to. After digesting these, I feel it necessary to share what I think may have value to someone else.
I have used a variety of feed readers both on the web and as software clients too. I have been a huge fan of FeedDemon which allows a sync of both for me. Recently FeedDemon has switched their online service to Google Reader, a service I have tried in the past but was not impressed with. Now, since I am more mobile and can access this information from my iPod Touch and not just from my computer, my information intake has again changed. I'll explain how this has changed for me and what tools I have discovered for my information capture and management. Info workflow if you will. I am not suggesting these are must-haves or that you are doing it wrong. People have varying information needs and different cognitive predilections.
Google Reader, Mobile RSS App
I had just mentioned how I was not impressed initially with GReader but apparently over the years they had made some improvements in their functionality. It is faster than the software I downloaded, can be viewed offline and offers great sharing functions. GR will now allow me to create a shared article site with it's own RSS feed. Basically, if you think I can share something of value, click here: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/chrisdenbow . There is now a much improved Send To function where I can forward articles to various distributors such as email, send as a .pdf file, Delicious and more that I have listed below. Neat! Not only can I do this on my laptop, but these can be done on my Touch too using the Mobile RSS app. It will set you back $3 but I find it very valuable when I am out and about.
Delicious is one of the best known social bookmarking websites. It amazes me though, that my IT Director father-in-law had never heard of it when it was mentioned in conversation. With Delicious you can bookmark any site on the internet and get it from anywhere you have access. Share your bookmarks or favorites and get some in return. See what websites are trends and what are useful. On the Touch, I use an app called Yummy that uses the Delicious software to view/share my bookmarks through Read It Later and Instapaper apps.
Read It Later & Instapaper are web services that essentially do the same thing. From the titles you can guess as to their function. If you see an article or a link that you want to save for later reading, tuck away with these guys. Both have excellent mobile apps as well.
Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple. Twitter asks one question, "What's happening?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. I use the mobile app, Tweetie. When someone adds a link to an article they enjoy, I use Tweetie to send it to either of these apps mentioned here. Handy!
Evernote is backup software for your brain. I am constantly sending voice notes to myself while driving down the road. This seems to be the optimal time I have a thought in my head. Of course there are multiple means of transferring your thoughts, web clips, links, tweets, .pdf's and more.
Which of these tools are you using to filter information on a routine basis? Which ones have I failed to mention that you feel is worth our time?
Let’s Do Something
2010-01-01 12:09:39
*
We cannot keep doing what we are doing and expect change. Come to think of it, we cannot expect hope and change from those who would promise better things. The time is coming and has now come that we go back to what made us strong. Hard work. Are you as tired as I am with the status quo? Are you exasperated that for some time now you feel like you have lost control? Our households will not get better by themselves. Your bank accounts will not increase by themselves. The careers we have will have to be dictated by us, not at the whims of over-extending bigwigs. It’s time to wake up, Uh-merica. This year I am resolving to get back control over myself.
For far too long I have sat back and watched as the waistline increased, my brain cells decrease and my personal happiness go bye-bye. In 2010 I will be healthier, smarter and happier with the help of hard work and determination.
Because I have lost control of myself I have allowed outside forces to take control. I will reclaim my independence and start working harder and smarter for me & mine. I have never been afraid to work hard, I just have forgotten how. Time to relearn.
* Thanks to Hugh at Gaping Void for the illustration inspiration
Scripture Sunday 01.03.10
2010-01-03 17:06:06
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
- Hebrews 11:1
I think we could all use a lot more faith this year!
Scripture Sunday 01.10.2010
2010-01-10 17:22:12
“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7
Who or what do you put your hope in? Your spouse? Government? Your bank account?
On My Wall
2010-01-14 11:16:25
A big trend on Flickr and DeviantArt is to share one’s desktop wallpaper. I thought I’d share mine.
I cannot stand clutter on my screen. I have to have everything nice and organized so I can get to it quick.
The illustration is from Matthew Lyons and is called Intrepid Explorer. Which I think suits me very well.
Usually I would have an image of my daughter but I felt the need to change things up today.
Sicko
2010-01-16 23:28:24
This whole being-sick-since-Christmas thing has got to go. I wish I could throw it away like a used tissue. It has thrown off all of my best laid plans of renewal and revival. Not to mention a longer than usual cold streak here in Houston has brought me down too.
I don’t do cold weather or cold sickness very well.
Freedom To Work Or Starve
2010-01-17 14:15:08
America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace. Once you exercise this freedom you’ve lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced. And in the end, the product doesn’t belong to you. The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don’t care about making a living. Which leads to the second freedom: the freedom to starve.
People watch three hours of football to witness 11 minutes of actual play. This is why American football is boring and why rugby and soccer are the greatest sports in the world.
11 minutes of actual play
12 minutes of shots of the head coaches and referees
17 minutes of replays
60 minutes of commercials
75 minutes of shots of players huddling, standing at the line of scrimmage or just generally milling about between snaps
Exciting!
We need more rugby on American television.
Life As A Diary
2010-01-17 21:08:40
The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.
Digital Jazz
2010-01-20 16:47:12
I’m digging this new Honda Accord commercial featuring jazz music. We need more of this please.
Link followers and RSS subscribers can click here to see the video
Meet Our New Photographer
2010-01-23 23:03:50
Little DVD has been enjoying the old digital camera she inherited. As soon as I cleaned it up and adjusted a few settings she couldn’t put it down. She even puts up a fuss when I take it back to upload photos to the computer. I created a Flickr account for her work that can only be viewed by family members for now but here is a quick glimpse.
She has her own style of shooting but she can see her images and adjust pretty quickly.
Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction.
— Ray Bradbury
Don’t Be Anti-Social
2010-01-27 18:28:58
It is time to unplug yourself from Facebook page and Twitter account to go out and actually meet people. Real relationships trump online friends any day.
You’ve Got Rail
2010-01-29 17:17:58
Images are courtesy of Wired.com
I have been a big fan of high speed rail systems as a means of commuter transportation for years. I am also in favor of making rails as a transportation for shipping products a priority over semi-trucks. I am not a tree hugger but it is obvious that trucks as transportation are annoying, dirty and unsafe. Keep in mind that my own father has been a trucker for years and logged millions of miles without incident. No worries, dad. You will be retired before the high-speed wheels are on the tracks. Every other major country in the world except the greatest, us, have had these systems in place for decades. Last week I saw this article about the super-fast bullet trains coming to the U.S. in the near future and was even pleased to see the Texas T-Bone option. A dedicated, elevated passenger system that would connect all of the major metros here and alleviate a lot of auto congestion.
All of a sudden I hear on the radio yesterday about President Obama’s 8 billion dollar initiative towards high speed rail system in the United States. I don’t agree with the underlying message of jobs creation but I do like the idea of reliable transportation. Hopefully these funds will go to private developers and run by anyone else than Amtrak.
For now, these plans are still sitting in the terminal because the proposed rail systems aren’t due for completion until around the year 2025. That is IF they start building soon.
Must See TV
2010-01-30 23:17:10
I don’t watch a whole lot of television but when I do, it has to be intelligent and make me think. Nothing fraks with my mind like LOST, which is airing it’s 6th and last season this week. If you haven’t been keeping up and feel a bit lost yourself, Hulu is airing all episodes for free. Time to play catch up. I’ve been watching all seasons and will still have to watch at least the past 4 episodes from last season to prepare for this one.
I was skeptical of the recent Battlestar Galactica series until a co-worker turned me on to it. That series ended last year where humans were being wiped out by the sentient beings they created, the Cylons. A robotic race that evolved into looking/acting like humans themselves. You can kill the body but the soul/mind would download into a replicated body.
Now comes Caprica, a planet where the humans lived and created the Cylons. The new Caprica series is designed as a prequal to BSG and tells how the Cylons were created and why they turned on the humans. The girl featured in the promo photo above is Zoe. Her genius, rich father created the robots for the military. Zoe is a genius as well and rejected everything for her beliefs. I won’t spoil the rest except to say she becomes the first sentient Cylon somehow. Just like BSG, this show already deals with science, religion, race, ethics and so much more.
For comedic relief, I will still watch The Office and 30 Rock. They are both well written/acted and intelligent comedy.
Firewall of Sound
2010-01-24 00:42:30
Firewall of Sound is a documentary looking at how the digital revolution has changed the way we receive and distribute the music we listen to. Why can’t music labels find a way to reward us for our audio passions instead of persecuting us? I grew up with vinyl records, the 8-track, cassette, disc and now digital downloads. I miss the vinyl. There is something there that pulls you in, makes you want to read every word and view every detail of the album art. Then again, I love the sheer convenience of a digital file too.
Rock on.
The Visual Mixtape
2010-01-24 01:44:53
I finally set up a website that allows me to aggregate and curate my graphic inspirations with a healthy dose of miscellaneous nonsense.
You Want The Cute? You Can’t Handle The Cute.
2010-01-24 21:38:17
One of the best times of day for me is when I put our toddler down for the night. No, not because it is a chance to have some free time for myself, (although it does help). Daphne gets super cuddly, lays her head on my shoulder and we’ll sing softly, give hugs and kisses and just share the moment together. After tucked in, she’ll softly say “I love you daddy”.
Cute.
This image is clearly not her at her current age but I just had to share it as well
Denbow’s Info Workflow
2010-01-29 09:00:00
Unless you've had your head up your hindquarters for the past ten years you are well aware that the internet is a great resource. Most of us use the net as a way to gather information and share it with others. This process of information distribution has increasingly become more efficient. With web services and software cooperating with each other, the information seeker's experience has become more enhanced as well.
In the past five years, the RSS (real simple syndication) feeds and clients have become a major way I process my information. Instead of browsing hundreds of websites, I have them coming to my RSS reader as the websites are updated. I don't miss out on what I think is important, and I can utilize that information as I need to. After digesting these, I feel it necessary to share what I think may have value to someone else.
I have used a variety of feed readers both on the web and as software clients too. I have been a huge fan of FeedDemon which allows a sync of both for me. Recently FeedDemon has switched their online service to Google Reader, a service I have tried in the past but was not impressed with. Now, since I am more mobile and can access this information from my iPod Touch and not just from my computer, my information intake has again changed. I'll explain how this has changed for me and what tools I have discovered for my information capture and management. Info workflow if you will. I am not suggesting these are must-haves or that you are doing it wrong. People have varying information needs and different cognitive predilections.
Google Reader, Mobile RSS App
I had just mentioned how I was not impressed initially with GReader but apparently over the years they had made some improvements in their functionality. It is faster than the software I downloaded, can be viewed offline and offers great sharing functions. GR will now allow me to create a shared article site with it's own RSS feed. Basically, if you think I can share something of value, click here: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/chrisdenbow . There is now a much improved Send To function where I can forward articles to various distributors such as email, send as a .pdf file, Delicious and more that I have listed below. Neat! Not only can I do this on my laptop, but these can be done on my Touch too using the Mobile RSS app. It will set you back $3 but I find it very valuable when I am out and about.
Delicious is one of the best known social bookmarking websites. It amazes me though, that my IT Director father-in-law had never heard of it when it was mentioned in conversation. With Delicious you can bookmark any site on the internet and get it from anywhere you have access. Share your bookmarks or favorites and get some in return. See what websites are trends and what are useful. On the Touch, I use an app called Yummy that uses the Delicious software to view/share my bookmarks through Read It Later and Instapaper apps.
Read It Later & Instapaper are web services that essentially do the same thing. From the titles you can guess as to their function. If you see an article or a link that you want to save for later reading, tuck away with these guys. Both have excellent mobile apps as well.
Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success. People are eager to connect with other people and Twitter makes that simple. Twitter asks one question, "What's happening?" Answers must be under 140 characters in length and can be sent via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. I use the mobile app, Tweetie. When someone adds a link to an article they enjoy, I use Tweetie to send it to either of these apps mentioned here. Handy!
Evernote is backup software for your brain. I am constantly sending voice notes to myself while driving down the road. This seems to be the optimal time I have a thought in my head. Of course there are multiple means of transferring your thoughts, web clips, links, tweets, .pdf's and more.
Which of these tools are you using to filter information on a routine basis? Which ones have I failed to mention that you feel is worth our time?
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It is time to unplug yourself from Facebook page and Twitter account to go out and actually meet people. Real relationships trump online friends any day.
Google Reader, Mobile RSS App
