Dr. Bill | The Computer Curmudgeon
Join Dr. Bill as he examines the wild and wacky world of the web, computers, and all things geeky! Hot Tech Tips, Tech News, and Geek Culture are examined… with plenty of good humor as well!
Dr. Bill pontificates on all things technical!
OK, I am a “cat person”… and I am a technologist. So, what could be better than a video of a guy that has helped his injured cat back to mobility by turning him into a cyborg? Ya gotta love it!
Elvis, the Robo-Cat
You will need Quicktime to watch the video link above… Quicktime is available free here:
Weird, but cool!
Ever wanted to publish your own book? I know I have. Now you can! Check this out!
And here is how it works:
Lulu.com Flash Presentation “How To”
The technology to do this is so very cool, the geek in me loves it! Each book is individually printed and bound (paperback) only as you order it… it is then printed, bound and shipped AFTER the book is ordered on-line! So, you only want 20 copies? No problem… you want no copies, but want to offer it for sale on-line? Again, no problem! Very cool!
As a webmaster and web designer, I like getting ranked high on Google Searches… in fact, such a listing is the “Holy Grail” for getting traffic to your site! Some searches are easy to get if you have unusual or different content… for instance, if you have a site like mine (that you are looking at) and were to go to Google and type in: “Computer Curmudgeon” then I come up number one. Fair enough… and even if you have a common name (like: “Bill Bailey”) and you add in something to distinquish it, like: “Dr. Bill Bailey”, then once again… I am number one for that search on Google. But, if you get real “generic” and start typing in a common, simple topic that is non-specific, it gets harder to be number one. For instance, with the whole low carb diet craze, what if you wanted to find a “low carb store” and searched Google. That would be harder to get to rank high, right? Well, of course, IF you were to type in “low carb store” in Google… you would find that a site I designed and host is ranked number one! (Brag, brag!) Why? Because I study web promotion and know how to do it, dewd! Well here’ s an interesting tidbit:
Who knew! Actually, it kinda makes sense, if the content of your headline in your article has to do with a given subject, then your site probably has to do with that subject as well. But, H1 headlines are BIG… unless you tone them down with an appropriate CSS definition. Something to think about the next time you go to code an HTML page. And, I KNOW that will be real soon now!
I have to admit, the Google Earth program is WAY cool! I was able to zoom right in on the location of the place I worked back when I lived in Dallas, TX. (I am originally from Thomasville, NC, and then moved to Denton, NC… but I moved to Dallas for about two and half years… then back to the Greensboro area, where I happily reside now… but I digress!) I was amazed at how accurately it gave exact coordinates for the location. And it occurred to me, “What if I was a terrorist, and wanted to drop a bomb?” Hummmm… well, that thought has occurred to others as well.
Is Google Earth a Security Risk
So, what do you think? Google Earth has way cool “Geek Factor”… but is it a security risk as well?
Microsoft got geek’s hackles up a month or so ago when they started talking about buying out the biggest spyware company on the planet (the creators of “Gator,”) then reduced the company’s “bad” rating in their Anti-Spyware program… then after the “hoo-hah” they started back-peddling and backed down. They have been saying that their Anti-Spyware program (which is in “beta” release) was going to be part of their “OneCare” program (a pay us money forever to fix our rotten software holes that we left in Windows, hee, hee!) kinda thing. However, they now say it will be free.
Windows AntiSpyware to Remain Free
Oh, yeah. I feel better. On second thought… no thanks!
Star Trek fans are curious beasts. Those of us that are TRUE Trekkers (not “Trekkies”) love the hopeful, exciting world of the future that Star Trek painted. Many of us that watched the original series as kids have grown up to be technologists and engineers ourselves. And some of us won’t let the dream die!
These are just one of a growing group of Trekkers that are producing their own Star Trek series and showing them on the Internet! Some groups have enough “juice” that they have even gotten Gene Roddenberry’s son, Ron, to join their production efforts. (That would be “Star Trek: New Voyages”, not “Hidden Frontier”… like I said… there are many!)
Star Trek: New Voyages
So… cool! Go for it, team! Let’s see more Trek!
OK… this will only mean anything to truly ol’ time geeks like me. I first learned PL/1 programming at UNCG using a punch card machine to generate stacks of computer punch cards that were then read in to the TUCC mainframe. (OK, THAT dates me!) Not to say that THAT was my first programming experience, of course, credit BASIC on a Radio Shack Color Computer for that. However, I digress! The main deal is that a standard song on an MP3 today would take a card stack nearly 6 feet high!
Boing Boing: One 3 min MP3 = 5 foot, 9 inch high stack of punchcards
How cool is that!? Makes you appreciate the new high density storage mediums, huh?
This is just too cool! Less than an inch long, 10 grams in weight, and can withstand 1000 Gs of force! And it holds 4 Gig! Dewd!
Check it out!
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist changed his mind today and said that stem cell research SHOULD be allowed by the government. This is a move to put him in, what he thinks, will be a good position to run for President after President Bush’s current term is over. Here is a direct quote from his statement to the Senate:
“As we know, adult stem cell research is not controversial on ethical grounds — while embryonic stem cell research is. Right now, to derive embryonic stem cells, an embryo — which many, including myself, consider nascent human life — must be destroyed. But I also strongly believe — as do countless other scientists, clinicians, and doctors — that embryonic stem cells uniquely hold specific promise for some therapies and potential cures that adult stem cells cannot provide.” (emphasis mine)
So, OK, you believe that you are destroying human life when you kill an embryo to use stem cells for possible therapy… yet, you say that you want the govenment to fund and allow this? Sorry, but as a Christian, first, and a Certified Natural Health Professional, second, I object to your rationale. Abortion is murder. God says murder is wrong. Duh. Whether you are killing babies that are safe in their mother’s womb (a horrible notion for any thinking individual that isn’t motivated by insane liberal political thinking) or, whether you are creating a life in a test tube, and then killing it for “so-called” therapy, it is still killing. I can think of no circumstance where killing an unborn child is excuseable.
I think that even though the polls may indicate that a majority of Americans favor stem cell research, this will still come back to “bite” Frist among those of us that are strong Conservative Christians. Sorry, Senator, we don’t change our core beliefs just because the polls rise or fall. Some of us simply look at what the Bible says and say, “That settles it.” Hide and watch. As a “Conservative” candidate… Frist is done.
This is a very cool photo! An actual “ice pond” on Mars. Who would have thought we would have photos like this “back in the day?” Cool!
Ice lake found on the Red Planet
Now, if we can just get some folks up there to stick a flag in the ground! Oh, yeah!