I’m not a big fan of Microsoft’s Outlook. I find it to be a bit bloated and slow for the most part and a bit of a kludge since it relies on Outlook Express to handle mail. This has never made sense to me and just leaves a lot of security holes open to be exploited by a malicious e-mail. The fact that by simply opening an e-mail can bring down your entire system is ludicrous. The fact that Microsoft’s position, should this ever happen to you, is that it was your fault for not staying current with security patches and bug fixes just adds insult to injury. It’s like rubbing salt in the wound. So if you want to run Outlook, it’s YOUR job to visit the Microsoft web site regularly to fix all the bugs and gaping security holes in THEIR program. Should you become infected with a virus, or cripple your system because you missed an update, well it’s your fault. And let’s be honest, you should be securing a program like Outlook as if your computer was Fort Knox because after all, this is E-MAIL. ???
I’m sorry to go off on a tear like that, but checking e-mail should be simple and easy and not plagued with all the security issues that Outlook brings to the table. If you’re not an Outlook, or Outlook Express user, then you don’t have these issues (for the most part). You can still get infected if you open an attachment, which you should never do if you don’t know who it’s from, but you’re OK if all you do is open the e-mail. I’ve been using Thunderbird for well over a year now and it’s a really good e-mail client. Prior to that I used The Bat and before that, Eudora. All of these e-mail clients are far superior to Outlook in my book, yet they all lack one element – a Personal Information Manager (PIM). At it’s that little bit of bait that makes me consider switching to Outlook. :O
Roan Mountain – Part One
Last Friday, my family took a little weekend vacation up to Roan Mountain State Park. My mother recently changed jobs and is now working for Tennessee Parks and has learned a lot about the park system since the switch. Did you know that Tennessee has the largest number of State parks in the US? Well, neither did my wife and I, so we decided to go explore the North East section of Tennessee and visit Roan Mountain.
We left Friday evening with the intention of driving as far as we could before getting too tired. I secretly wanted to get in the neighborhood, but figured that we’d stop just outside of Knoxville. The ride itself went really smoothly once we navigated around all the traffic within Nashville. Construction is going hard and heavy around where Interstate 24 and 40 meet and there’s monster traffic all around it. I led us through as many back roads as I knew and brought us out onto 40, just near the airport and at the end of all the congestion.
Riviera Maya Travelogue Started
The prologue and Day One have been posted from my trip to the Riviera Maya. This marks the start of a new travelogue, one that I hope to finish this time. 🙂
My past attempts at doing a travelogue haven’t been all that successful – I haven’t finished one yet. However, I hope to change things with this one. My goal is to post a new day to the travelogue each Friday, so if all goes well, I should have Day Two up by next Friday. That being said, I’ll be the first to admit that it may take longer than a week to get each day posted. Thus far, I’ve done 18 entries and 8,258 words and that’s just through Day One! Man, if I’m not one wordy bastard. 😉
Anyway, stay tuned because I’m going to have more to come in the following weeks, as well as photos from the trip as well. I shot over 400 total photos, so there’s a little pairing down that needs to be done before I assault share them to you.
Grits & Grillades
I’ve been on the South Beach Diet for approximately 6 months now and this morning I decided to stray a little bit. I’ve been wanting to fix a Louisiana speciality called “Grits & Grillades” (pronounced “gree-yahds” ) for some time now, but due to the restrictions of the diet, I kept putting it off. Since I reviewed the cookbook “Tales From A Pantry“, I’ve been seeing the recipe staring at me every morning as I ate my breakfast. It’s been taunting me for far too long! Yesterday, when buying groceries for the dinner I’m cooking tonight for my Mother’s birthday, I threw in the ingredients for grillades too. 🙂
I set the alarm an hour earlier than usual simply because I’ve never made grillades before and I didn’t know how long it would take, etc. Not only that, but to be perfectly honest, I’ve never even HAD grillades before. “But you said that grillades were a Louisiana speciality?”, you might be asking. Well, that’s true, but I’ve never been anywhere where they were served. My Mom is from Kansas, so all of her Louisiana recipes are from friends and no one we knew, knew how to make them. The only restaurant that I know of that serves them is the Court Of Two Sisters and for one reason or another, I’ve never tried them.
There are plenty of recipes that I’ve done that I’ve never tasted before, but I usually have some indication of what it will taste like. I know what steak is supposed to taste like, so when cooking a steak dinner with some new exotic sauce, I at least have some indication of how everything should come out in the end. With grillades, I had no real frame of reference. I know what veal tastes like, but it’s covered in sauce in this dish and that was where the taste came from. My only recourse was to follow the directions and let Holly’s past experiences tell me if I was on the mark, or off.
My Dog Is A Bobble Head
It’s been awhile since Gracie was last groomed and since she’s been playing with Tumini and Vegas (the neighbor’s dog) a lot, her hair became a bit matted in a few places. After dropping her off yesterday, the groomer called to let me know that they would have to cut her very short in order to get out the matted areas. Since it’s now summer, I had planned on getting her cut short, but not quite as short as the groomer had to take it.
Of course I feel like a bad daddy that I didn’t get her groomed sooner and I that I didn’t take better care of her coat. As pretty as Gracie is, she is a total tomboy and has no qualms about tussling it up with Vegas, who is 5 times her size. As cute as it is to watch Gracie roll around with her two friends, it does do a number on her coat. However, I should have combed her more and given more baths maybe.
That afternoon, I went over to pick her up and when they brought her out, she looked like a Looney Tunes cartoon where the character has been shaved and they think they’re naked. She didn’t have any skin showing, but clearly she was as close cropped as they could get it. However, they left her face trimmed like they would normally do it. So now her head looks bigger than her body. She reminds me of one of those bobble head things. She is still adorable, but I have to giggle just a little when I look at her.
Since many of you have asked for more pictures of Gracie and because I recently cleaned up all my photos on my computer, I will be posting some new photos soon. I’ve been out at client sites a lot this week, so I haven’t had time at my desk to get them posted yet. I should have them up before the weekend though. 🙂
Who Kicked My Butt? Oh Yeah, Yoga Did!
Last Thursday I was sitting at a keyboard typing away and when I went to adjust in my chair, I noticed my back was a little stiff and sore. Still focusing my my typing, I dismissed my pain as a side effect of all the yard work I did the Saturday before. As I continued typing, it dawned on me that I hadn’t been sore the day before, so why was I sore now? Last weekend I built two raised flower beds set into a hill and as you might imagine, there was a LOT of digging. On Monday I was a little stiff, but that was it. By Tuesday morning my stiffness had subsided and I was my old self. So I stopped typing and began to think long and hard about what I had done to cause my back to feel so sore. I knew I hadn’t been sore the day before, so I retraced my steps through the day and lo and behold, I found the cause of my pain and discomfort – yoga.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of yoga, I think of stretching, relaxing and soothing music. Although yoga does have those elements, there is also another element that most people don’t think about. That element is called pain. I’ve been doing yoga now for well over a year and if I step away from it for a few weeks, my memory of past workouts fade and all I can remember is the calm and relaxed feeling I have at the end. If I’m “in the groove”, I’ll work out three times in one week not including frequent bicycle rides. It’s not the weight machines, the treadmill, or my bicycle that will work me the hardest. The hardest workout of the week will be yoga. Book it.
About A Boy
Director(s): Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Writer(s): Nick Hornby (novel), Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz (screenplay)
Category: Drama / Comedy
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some thematic elements.
Runtime: 101 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Year: 2002
Plot: Based on Nick Hornby’s popular British novel, About A Boy is a comedy-drama starring Hugh Grant as Will, a rich, child-free and irresponsible Londoner in his thirties who, in search of available women, invents an imaginary son and starts attending single parent meetings. As a result of one of his liaisons, he meets Marcus, an odd 12-year-old boy with problems at school. Gradually, Will and Marcus become friends, and as Will teaches Marcus how to be a cool kid, Marcus helps Will to finally grow up.
Review:
I first saw this movie while on a business trip to Chattanooga. I needed to finish up some work on a presentation I was making the next day and there was nothing on TV, so I decided to splurge and rent an On-Demand movie. Most of the movies I had either seen, or had no interest in seeing and just as I was about to turn it off, I came across About A Boy. I hadn’t heard much buzz about the movie and I’m not a fan of Hugh Grant, but for reasons unknown to me, I rented it.
Waah!
Man the last month or so has really put me off balance. There’s been too many changes in my life that have happened too fast. It’s one thing when you are the initiator of change, but it’s something completely different when change is forced upon you by others. This morning I’ve reached the end of my “comfort zone”, so there’s nothing left to do now but whine and pitch a fit. 😛
TV Woes
It all started with TV. Holly and I have been a big fan of “Friends” for a long time. It wasn’t the highest quality television ever produced, but we really enjoyed watching that show. We saw all the NBC specials they aired, prior to the final episode and read any magazine that claimed to have anything to do with the show. When the final episode aired, everything stopped in our household to soak up every minute of final time with Rachel, Ross, Monica, Phobee and Chandler. It really felt like friends of ours were moving away. We weren’t as big of fans of “Fraiser“, but I was sorry to see that show go off the air too. It was a funny show and somehow reassuring that there was some remnant of Cheers still on the air. Unfortunately, NBC put it in a Tuesday time slot and that competed with other shows that made it something I would only see in reruns. Then, I learned that “Lenny” has left “Law & Order”! He’s been a staple of that show for 12 years. I just can’t imagine Law and Order without him.
As if that’s not enough, Comcast recently purchased TechTV and they have all but killed it. Although I thought the quality of programming had slipped since Sumi Das left, I still enjoyed most of the programming. Comcast has fired everyone in the San Francisco office and some are moving and being hired in Los Angeles, but the last time I watched the channel, I just couldn’t relate. Call For Help is dead and even their web site is no more, which is a shame because there were some really good resources there.
Why Louisiana Is Called “Sportsman’s Paradise”
My father-in-law took a fishing trip this past weekend. His firm wrapped up a big case and he treated his associates to a fishing trip in and around the Gulf with Captain Frank Moore (aka Fishing With The King). They had an incredible catch as evidenced by this picture. According to the Captain’s Log…
Two day report from the beach!!!!!!!!! Had the pleasure of fishing yesterday with JR Cox and associates. The guys came in the night before from baton rouge and we got an early start. We had a reds and heads day catching 5 reds in the 8-12 pound range along with a bunch of sheepshead. We also had about 10 trout. We filled the big igloo to the top. We fished hard burning 50 gallons of gas. Came back to the lodge and had a fresh fish brunch while the fish were being cleaned.
James, my father-in-law, said that the accommodations were great and that it was a great trip. They didn’t have to do anything but fish. Captain Frank did everything, including cleaning the fish while they enjoyed a nice lunch. Sounds like they were in fishing heaven! Oh and by the way, that cooler they filled? Yeah, it’s a 162-quart. :O Translation – that’s a LOT of fish they caught.
Blah Blah Blah
I finally got around to delving deep into the new code for the comments portion of MoveableType 3.0 Developer Edition. The latest version of MT includes a multitude of ways in which to configure comments, including using the TypeKey authentication system. The motivation behind all of these changes in the comment system is to combat the problem of comment SPAM. Since installing MT-Blacklist I haven’t had much of a problem with SPAM, but unfortunately MT-Blacklist doesn’t work with MT 3.0. According to Jay Allen, the comment features built-in to MT 3.0 don’t warrant the need for MT-Blacklist any more. Time will tell on that one, but so far I like what I see. 🙂
But I could use some help.
Please fee free to post as many comments as you like to help me test the system. You do not need a TypeKey in order to post, but if you have one, please feel free to use it. I don’t care so much what you post as long as you try the comment system and let me know if you run into any problems. I want to keep the comment system as open and friendly as possible, while still trying to limiting SPAM as much as possible.
New Feeds
In other news, I’ve revamped the syndication feeds that I offer. There are now have 3 feeds in RSS 2.0 and Atom format:
» Main Weblog – RSS 2.0 | Atom
» Photos – RSS | Atom
» Travelogue – RSS | Atom
The moblog is still in whatever RSS format TextAmerica offers and that will eventually fold into the photos section at some point.
Google Ads
Last but not least, I’ve incorporated Google’s AdSense into the weblog. I’ve tried to make them as unobtrusive as possible, so hopefully you won’t mind them too much. I know that I’m not going to make a lot of money off of them, but it would be nice if they could help cover the hosting costs for the weblog. Given the ad rates though, it may generate $5 if I’m lucky, so feel free to click on as many ads as you like. 😀