Full Moon News

Is it a full moon today or what? Reading up on my newsfeeds this morning was a strange little trip. There’s an extra heaping of oddball news today, but in case you missed it, here’s the highlights.

Orrin Hatch Wants To Blow Up Your Computer – everyone is picking up this story, but I liked The Register’s take on it, “‘I’m all for destroying their machines,’ Hatch said during a Committee hearing Tuesday. ‘If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize’ the seriousness of their actions,’ That’s right, if I write and record a song and I find it on your computer, Senator Hatch thinks I have the right to remotely destroy your computer. I don’t know how this could be done, but reality aside (Hatch isn’t using it) this has to be one of the more insane pieces of news I’ve read in a long while.

Plasma Energy – Now Available In Mugs! Woohoo! – ever wish you could drink your Coca-cola in a swirling dance of light and plasma? Me neither, but now you can. Although, I have to say, it is kinda cool. How much is that again?

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Google Spell Checker

Am I the only one who uses Google as a spell checker? Often times, when I can’t remember how to spell a word, which happens more often than I would care to admit, I find myself using Google to spell check the word. Just by doing a search, Google will tell me if I spelled the word wrong and then give me the correct one. It’s not foolproof, but unless I’ve bastardize the word really bad, it gives me the right answer.

Speaking of Google, have you ever wondered what Google thinks of you? Well, there’s a cool web site called Googlism that tells you what Google.com thinks of you. For example, I typed in “Michael T. Ashby” and it returned “michael t. ashby is the founder and director of interpug” and “michael t. ashby is an information technology consultant.” Not too bad.

Blessed Beyond Belief

I don’t know how it happened, but I have been truly blessed. I run a local Palm OS User Group here in Nashville called NPUG – The Nashville Palm Users Group. Running a PUG, or any volunteer is a real challenge. You have no money, so if you need some it comes out of your pocket. It seems like you never have enough volunteers and once a month you have to put on a 3 hour meeting full of cutting edge content. You really have to love something to have that level of dedication.

All that being said, I have a really easy job because I have to have the best group of members anyone could ask for. I’m not just blowing smoke, these guys (and ladies) are some of the best folks around. Each month they contribute and participate in such a way that it makes the meetings just flow – nice and easy. We laugh, tell jokes and horse around, but do it all with a good heart and in good fun.

It’s funny, about a week before the meeting I feel this big weight on my shoulders as I finalize everything and prepare for the meeting. The day of the meeting I’m all nervous wondering just how I’m going to fill a 3 hour meeting. Once the meeting begins, I’m like a kid in a candy store. I’m surrounded my people who enjoy their Palm OS handhelds as much as I do and we can’t stop talking and sharing about all the cool stuff that’s happening in the community. Once the meeting is over, it’s as if I’ve been filled with hi-octane, I’m super-charged and ready to take on anything that can come my way.

It’s a great group and I’m proud to be a part of it. I am truly blessed beyond belief.

My Little Oasis

After all my difficulty on Thursday to find a decent connection, I stumbled onto a little oasis called Perk Central on Friday. I was done for the day and heading back to the house. I had an NPUG Meeting to prepare for the next day and I really wanted somewhere other than home so that I could prepare without distractions. I went by my favorite cigar store, because awhile back I had convinced them to get an Internet connection in their store. They never went Wi-Fi, but at least I would have a reliable connection. I bought a cigar and was just getting setup when I asked, “Where’d the Internet connection go?”

That’s when they informed me that they dropped their connection. It seems that their ISP really jacked up their price and they didn’t find the Internet crucial to their business. Of course they never really marketed it, but that’s another story and beside the point. I was SOL on another connection. With no Internet access, I decided to pack it up and head home. That’s when I remembered “HEy, wasn’t there a coffee shop on my list that had a location in Antioch?” There was only one way to find out, so I passed my regular turn off and headed about 5 miles further east to Murfreesboro road and then turned south until I found it.

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Beating My Head Against An Invisible Wall

I have a love hate relationship with technology. I love it when it works, but oh how I hate it when it doesn’t. Today was one of those days where I couldn’t catch a break and my disdain for all things tech reached a new low.

What started this whole escapade was the fact that I decided to get out of my office and work remotely today. Since my office is based out of my home there are a lot of distractions and I thought working someplace else might help me stay more focused today. So I did my homework and created a list of wireless “hot spots” that I compiled off of the Internet and after lunch went in search for remote Internet access.

The first place I tried, Fido Coffee House, didn’t seem to exist. I drove around and around, but couldn’t seem to find it. The next place on my list was Bongo Java and although I found it, parking seemed non-existent. It was located near Belmont University and most of their traffic must be walk up, so I went in search of other locations. JJ’s Market was a small deli, so parking was limited and the place was small. I was planning on staying awhile and JJ’s seemed to be a little too small to hang out for an extended period. The other places on my list had their share of issues, so I gave up on my list and decided to head to a Starbucks near Vanderbilt. I’ve had good success there in the past, so I headed there like it was my oasis in the desert.

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The Prodigal Son Returns

It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then a piece of news comes along that just rocks your world. Today my world was rocked by the announcement that Palm is acquiring Handspring. No one saw this coming and even with all the contacts that I have in the Palm OS community, I didn’t hear a peep about it until this morning, when I read Craig’s Gearbits. In the event you’re not familiar with the Palm Handheld – this is HUGE news.