þÿ<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<!-- generator="iBlog 2.0 RC3" -->
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Plum Street</title>
    <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog</link>
    <description>A place for my shared reflections, ideas, reviews and rants. Topics I am passionate about include Smalltalk (software development), Music, Mac OS X, Bluetooth technology and Politics.</description>
	<docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    
    
    <lastBuildDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:33:20 -0500</lastBuildDate>
    <pubDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:33:33 -0500</pubDate>
    <generator>iBlog 2.0 RC3</generator>
    

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; Severe Thunderstorm&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080628213059/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; A severe thunderstorm came blasting through Omaha Friday evening. We got a first-hand experience. I took some photographs of the damage.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; You can see my BLOG entry about the storm damage here: http://www.preeminent.org/steve/storm2008jun/&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:30:59 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080628213059/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; Are we already working on legacy designs?&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C597890805/E20080616202951/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; I've been reading about Apple's SproutCore Cocoa for the Web technology and it got me to wondering about the tools we currently use for back-office web applications development.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; Now to set the record straight right up front, I admire OS X and I have a lot of respect for the Cocoa technology that Apple has been using since OS X (and NeXT Step) was first released. It's roots are Objective-C, and that's a close cousin to Smalltalk. Enough for me to pay attention to what's happening.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;And of course I'm a long time enthusiast about Smalltalk and it's continued relevancy in our development world today. I'm willing to believe that 2008 is looking like a pretty good year for Smalltalk development. The proverbial reference to Seaside is noted. It looks like VisualWorks, Gemstone and Squeak are all becoming more visible "out there".&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;There's an interesting side note to the discussion about SproutCore and Cocoa. It appears that Apple is discouraging Java for development over Objective-C. Hear, hear. At least that's my interpretation.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Before I get too far into opinion here, please take a few minutes (well, actually more than just a few will be required) to read these 2 articles about what Apple is doing with Javascript and Cocoa for web applications and the iPhone.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;From RoughtlyDrafted: http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/06/14/cocoa-for-windows-flash-killer-sproutcore/&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;From AppleInsider: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/16/apples_open_secret_sproutcore_is_cocoa_for_the_web.html&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Here's where my thoughts went after reading this. Many of us are working on server-side applications written with Smalltalk to generate HTML web pages. Are we working on what will be legacy code and obsolete by eventual use of these new development strategies?&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:29:51 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C597890805/E20080616202951/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt;Men ignoring health issues&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080616201434/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; I read an article on CNN.com yesterday and it made me laugh. It hit home, and it made me laugh.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;The article summarizes the opinions of doctors about their male patients and their willingness to face medical issues. The most telling quotes:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"I think it's a macho thing," says Dr. Barron Lerner, professor of medicine and public health at Columbia University. "Or maybe it's denial. Maybe they think if they deny a problem, it doesn't exist."&lt;br&gt;"I call it the ostrich phenomenon," says Dr. Harvey Simon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor of the Harvard Men's Health Watch newsletter. "Guys are very prone to sticking their head in the sand and hoping when they emerge everything will be back to normal. It's a very, very bad idea."&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The article goes on to describe 5 warning signs that men should never ignore.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Here's the article.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:14:34 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080616201434/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt;Incident Foreshadows Future Attacks in Pakistan&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C1759582745/E20080613063835/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; I've been impressed with the thought and analysis that StratFor provides on some world events. They recently posted this article and have given permission for it to be cross-posted. It's a good read.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; June 12, 2008&lt;br&gt;By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart&lt;br&gt;In a June 10 press conference, Rehman Malik, the internal affairs advisor to Pakistan s prime minister, reported that a suicide bombing plot had been thwarted when Pakistani authorities arrested nine individuals and seized four apparent vehicle-borne improvised explosives devices (VBIEDs) containing a total of over 1,100 kilograms of explosives.&lt;br&gt;Three of the VBIEDs were recovered by authorities on June 6. Of those, two vehicles contained 400 kilograms of explosives, while the third carried a 200-kilogram load, Malik said. On the same day, authorities advised that they were searching for a fourth VBIED, which appears to be the one they recovered June 9. According to Malik, it contained 180 kilograms of explosives.&lt;br&gt;The VBIED seizures follow the June 2 bombing of the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, which left eight people dead and many more wounded. In his press conference, Malik noted that three would-be suicide bombers were among those arrested. He also noted that the militants  attack plans were  fully mature  and that the group was close to launching attacks with the VBIEDs at the time they were arrested.&lt;br&gt;Tactically, Malik s assessment rings true, because militant groups do not make VBIEDs unless they intend to use them. Not only is the process expensive and labor-intensive, but it is far easier to cache and conceal bulk explosives than a fully assembled VBIED. Because VBIEDs are so easily discovered, one does not leave them sitting around; they are constructed and then quickly employed. Additionally, if an improvised explosive mixture is to be used as the main explosive charge in the device, many of these mixtures are unstable and tend to degrade over time. They are best used fresh.&lt;br&gt;With these facts in mind, it is understandable that the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad issued a Warden message after the June 6 seizure alerting U.S. citizens and advising them to maintain a low profile. The fact that the fourth device was seized on June 9 shows that the U.S. concern was justified.&lt;br&gt;There are several militant actors in Pakistan, ranging from foreign groups like al Qaeda, which claimed credit for the Danish Embassy attack, to domestic actors such as Baitullah Mehsud s militant jihadist group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).&lt;br&gt;It is not yet clear whether the seizure of the four VBIEDs resulted from the investigation into the Danish Embassy bombing (and is therefore tied to the perpetrators of that attack), or whether the devices belonged to another actor. There is, however, some indication of their provenance based on their size. There are also several other interesting points that can be gleaned by turning a protective intelligence lens on the facts at hand.&lt;br&gt;Prior WarningLike many other attacks, the strike against the Danish Embassy did not occur out of the blue. In early 2006, following the September 2005 publication of a series of cartoonssatirizing the Prophet Mohammed, protests erupted in many parts of the Islamic world. While many Muslims protested the cartoons by boycotting Danish goods, others displayed their displeasure with violence. The Danish embassies in Beirut and Damascus were set on fire, and threats to Danes abounded in many countries. In August 2007, this outrage was inflamed again when a Swedish newspaper printed a controversial cartoon of the Prophet.&lt;br&gt;Things came to a boil again in early 2008 when Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wildersreleased a controversial film called Fitna, which harshly criticized Islam and used images of the Danish cartoons from 2005. Many Muslims were outraged by the film. Among those who reacted was Osama bin Laden, who in a March 19 statement threatened attacks against European countries. In fact, bin Laden even said the images were more provocative than killing Muslim civilians.&lt;br&gt;In the wake of these most recent threats, the Danes drew down their embassy staff in Islamabad. Recognizing that their embassy was not very secure, the Danes had many of their remaining Danish staff in Islamabad work out of hotels, which they believed were safer.&lt;br&gt;The Dutch reacted similarly and actually moved their embassy to an Islamabad hotel in mid-April. In response to the threat, security was also ramped up around European embassies, including Denmark s, which continued to conduct many of its consular functions in its embassy building.&lt;br&gt;The TargetThe Danish Embassy was located in an upscale residential neighborhood outside of Islamabad s protected diplomatic enclave. In fact, the embassy is located not far from Luna Caprese, a restaurant that was bombed on March 15, or the Marriott hotel, which was targeted by a suicide bombing in January 2007. While its location outside the diplomatic enclave made the facility more vulnerable to attack, perhaps the most critical factors in the embassy s vulnerability were its location in relation to the street and its construction.&lt;br&gt;The Danish Embassy is not only in a residential neighborhood   it also is a converted residence. As such, it was built accordingly and therefore not constructed of materials meant to withstand the force of an explosive attack. The vulnerability presented by this type of construction was compounded by the fact that the building was situated very close to the street. In a bombing attack, construction is important, but the only thing that truly provides protection from the effects of a very large VBIED is standoff   keeping the bomb away from the protected building. With newer U.S. Embassy buildings (such as the one in Islamabad), the structures are not only built to withstand a blast or rocket attack, but also located a significant distance from the embassy compound perimeter. This positioning is intended to ensure protection from any blast.&lt;br&gt;In contrast, the Danish Embassy in Islamabad only had a few feet separating the perimeter wall from the building itself. Due to the building s construction and location, very little could have been done for its protection other than to close the street in front of it or at the very least attempt to control traffic. Many older embassies and consulates are situated in former residences or commercial buildings. As a result, in the realm of embassy security there is often tension between security officers, who want to shut down streets and provide standoff protection for their facilities, and the host government, which does not want further congestion in the typically crowded cities in which they are often located. In the case of the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, which was not located on a main thoroughfare, it appears that the Pakistanis did establish roadblocks to control access to the area, which contained many other potential terrorist targets.&lt;br&gt;The AttackThe vehicle used in the attack was a small, white Toyota or Suzuki. According to several media reports, the vehicle bore counterfeit Danish diplomatic license plates. The attack was caught on the Embassy s CCTV system which, according to the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, reportedly shows the vehicle passing by the embassy, stopping and then reversing toward the building s vehicle gate before detonating.&lt;br&gt;The location of the seat of the blast (which marks where the vehicle was when it exploded) in relation to the embassy building and gate appears to confirm this report. In fact, the brunt of the force of the explosion missed the embassy building and instead destroyed a section of the embassy s perimeter wall adjacent to a parking lot. However, a U.N. building located across the street was not as lucky and experienced heavy damage from the explosion.&lt;br&gt;The fact that the bomber drove past his target would seem to indicate that he was poorly prepared for his mission   much to the good fortune of the Danes. Had he been able to detonate the device while on the street parallel to the embassy building, or had he been able to jump the curb and position the device directly against the perimeter wall, the damage to the embassy building would have been far worse, and the casualty count might have been higher.&lt;br&gt;The reports of the counterfeit Danish diplomatic license plates are also intriguing. While such plates likely helped the bomber get past the police checkpoints and onto the street where the embassy was located, the Danish Embassy is very small, and the guards there were undoubtedly familiar with all of the vehicles bearing Danish diplomatic tags. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that they would have allowed the vehicle to enter the embassy s perimeter, enabling the bomber to detonate the device in very close proximity to the building.&lt;br&gt;The timing of the attack is also very interesting. That it was conducted at 1 p.m. on a business day clearly indicates that the attackers intended to cause maximum casualties. Their efforts were not intended as a symbolic gesture, as might be suggested by, for example, an attack undertaken on a Saturday or at 3 a.m. While these particular aggressors were obviously after blood, their brutal intentions may have had limits. The embassy s visa section closes at noon, and it would appear that the attackers may have purposefully scheduled a later attack to minimize the casualties to Pakistani visa applicants. They also did not schedule the attack during the morning or afternoon rush, when there would be more people on the street.&lt;br&gt;While al Qaeda claimed the attack as a success, it killed mostly Pakistani Muslims and clearly did not create the type of  infidel  body count the planners would have hoped for   the only Danish citizen killed was born in Pakistan and held dual citizenship; the rest of the victims were also Pakistanis.&lt;br&gt;Recovered VBIEDsWhoever assembled the four recently seized VBIEDs devoted a significant amount of resources to their creation. From the sheer size of the devices alone, it can be clearly extrapolated that they were intended to create significant carnage and damage. One simply does not make a 400-kilogram VBIED for symbolism. A 5-kilogram device can be used to make a symbolic point   a 400-kilogram device is immensely destructive. The simultaneous employment of two such devices detonated in one city in conjunction with two other 200-kilogram devices could create a terrorist spectacular.&lt;br&gt;The size of the devices also speaks to the intended targets. A would-be terrorist does not need a 400-kilogram device to go after a soft target. While a 5-kilogram IED can easily take out a U.S. fast-food franchise, a larger VBIED is needed to damage hardened targets with robust construction. A 400-kilogram device detonated at the same spot as the June 2 attack would likely have leveled the Danish Embassy. By way of reference, such a device would be larger than those used by Hezbollah in Argentina to bomb the Israeli Embassy in 1992 or the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina in 1994.&lt;br&gt;Some may contend that the Pakistani government has fabricated this threat and staged these arrests to create public reassurance while demonstrating its competence following the Danish Embassy bombing. Such a publicity stunt is unlikely in our opinion, especially considering the extensive amount of explosives uncovered. In fact, by making this information public and showcasing the large amount of explosives that the attackers were able to obtain, the Pakistani government is illustrating just the opposite point.&lt;br&gt;In effect, the Pakistanis have confirmed that an at-large organization inside their country possesses the ability to amass and employ nearly 1,200 kilograms of explosives. This news is not reassuring by any stretch of the imagination.&lt;br&gt;The recovered VBIEDs are evidence of both a serious and a costly effort. Even in Pakistan, 1,200 kilograms of explosives does not grow on trees. An organization willing to expend such effort, resources and time will not typically stop until they are destroyed or otherwise neutralized. They might make tactical changes based on lessons learned from failed operations, but they will continue to attack.&lt;br&gt;Pakistani militant groups are not shy about using explosives, but the majority of their devices   even suicide devices   are smaller. The size of the device and the fact that there were multiple devices involved would tend to point toward al Qaeda, which has a penchant for thinking big and has an operational history of conducting multiple, simultaneous attacks. In other words, these attacks appear to indicate that Pakistan s jihadist chickens are coming home to roost.&lt;br&gt;The bombing of the Danish Embassy and the recovery of the four large VBIEDs demonstrate that al Qaeda has the capability to mount serious attacks in Pakistan. The fact that the last four devices were discovered before they could be employed illustrates that the Pakistani government has some intelligence coverage regarding those capabilities.&lt;br&gt;At this point, however, it appear that al Qaeda, the TTP and other militants can operate with a large degree of freedom and that the Pakistani government does not have the ability to consistently prevent them from planning and launching attacks. From the intent and effort displayed by al Qaeda in the last several days, we anticipate more attempted attacks in Islamabad   including attacks on hard targets   in the foreseeable future.&lt;br&gt;This means that foreigners with interests in Pakistan would be well advised to heed the June 6 Warden message, in spite of the recovery of the fourth VBIED. With militants  targeting plans likely to continue, it would also be prudent to ratchet up surveillance detection efforts at potential target sites.&lt;br&gt;Tell Stratfor What You Think&lt;br&gt;This report may be forwarded or republished on your website with attribution towww.stratfor.com&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:38:35 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C1759582745/E20080613063835/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; MAC RECOMMENDATION&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080613060610/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt;Choosing an Apple computer right now, from my point of view, depends a lot on the individual. I've actually made some recommendations recently for friends and family.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Recently I've been asked by a few people to offer advice on which Mac they should purchase. These people are usually not new to Apple, having experienced owning and iPod, and are interested in switching.&lt;br&gt;For a student about to enter a college. First off, check if the University has a recommended computers list. A lot of colleges nowadays actually recommend specific models of Apple computers for incoming students. For example, the Engineering College of the University of Cincinnati used to recommend the MacBook Pro. This is a very powerful portable machine. The 15" model is a common favorite and both my wife and I own one.&lt;br&gt;In most cases colleges have discount programs with Apple where the student can purchase one on-line for a decent discount. Some colleges include one with the first year tuition. Also, Apple has launched the annual back-to-school programs which provide attractive pricing and other combinations of hardware and software.&lt;br&gt;There is also usually excellent pricing on Software for students. When my wife went to college at The University of Cincinnati she was able to purchase a legal, licensed, copy of Microsoft Office for Mac OS X for $10.00.&lt;br&gt;And always check the Apple Education Store to see if you qualify for a discount.&lt;br&gt;If, like many students, you're on a tight budget, the MacBook is the way to go. &lt;br&gt;For a working professional. The question comes down to mobility and cost. &lt;br&gt;If you are inclined to purchase a desktop computer, I really think the newest version of the iMac is a great solution. They look good and provide a lot of value for the buck. A friend of mine has one in is living room on an end-table next to the couch. I recommended this computer to one of my brother's for his family. It's a hassle free installation and I know I won't get a lot of technical support phone calls.&lt;br&gt;An inexpensive way for an existing Windows computer user to get a Mac is to purchase the Mac mini. It retails for around $600 and allows the owner to use an existing display, USB keyboard and USB mouse. I have a friend that has one and he loves it.&lt;br&gt;I prefer mobility. The MacBook Pro is the way to go. The 15" model is the most popular. I prefer the extra "real estate" of the 17" screen if you can afford it and are willing to carry around a larger computer. These notebook computers are the best on the market.&lt;br&gt;Options. Disk space is always good. Purchase the largest drive you can get. I have an 80GB drive on my older notebook computer and have needed to add an external storage for all of my music and other support files.&lt;br&gt;Memory helps performance. I think most models come standard with 1GB nowadays. And that's actually very good. However, go to 2GB if you can afford it. Now a note of caution. I've learned, the hard way, that matching the correct speed for memory chips to these newer fast computers can be difficult. If the chips are not exactly correct, you can get random system crashes (just like when you run Windows). As expensive as it is, I tell people to pay for memory from Apple when they purchase a computer. I've had good and bad experiences with 3rd party memory in the past 5 years. My time is worth more to me than the money I save on 3rd party memory.&lt;br&gt;If you purchase a notebook computer you really don't need an extra battery. I used to do that, years ago. Battery technology and power consumption on modern Apple computers has made it possible to run for 4 and 5 hours between charges. Sure, batteries degrade after a year or two. I buy a new battery only when I need one now.&lt;br&gt;For some of the Apple notebook computers you now have an option between a glossy or matte finish display. I prefer the matte finish. Here are some things to consider. The reflective glare of the shiny screen really annoys me. However, you can use them outdoors in sunlight. The matte finish displays don't have a chance outdoors. Most professionals I know select the matte finish but I have met one owner of the glossy screen that was really happy with it.&lt;br&gt;You won't need to purchase much or any software if you buy a new Mac. The stuff included is amazingly useful. Try it all out and look at 3rd party free software like Open Office. Microsoft makes an excellent version of Office for the Mac. In fact, many people don't realize that the Microsoft Word and Excel were originally written for the Mac. Microsoft has always kept the Mac version of the Office products (Word, Excel) feature matched or ahead of the Windows release by 1 year. Compatibility is not an issue.&lt;br&gt;A final recommend is that you really should purchase the Apple extended warranty. Computers like these cost a couple thousand dollars. With the extended warranty, although it's not cheap, you are covered for a lot of stuff that could go wrong for a much longer time period than the standard warranty.&lt;br&gt;Blue Ray. The HD format war is over and Blue Ray HD has won (BD). At this time Apple doesn't offer a Mac that burns BD discs. I can't believe that will remain true for long. It's speculation of course, but I believe that BD burning discs have to be available in Apple products sometime soon.&lt;br&gt;Intel Macs. All the new Macs are Intel based. And they are very fast. The amazing news is that all these models can be used dual boot where, if you want, you can install Microsoft Windows and reboot your Mac and choose which OS you want to use. The Mac OS X operating system is years ahead of XP and even Vista. Except for application that cannot work on OS X, you're not likely to stray from OS X often. However there are 2 excellent solutions that allows you to run the Windows operating systems in parallel with the Mac OS X system. You run a single Mac application that has an entire virtual Windows environment running inside a single window. It's an awesome solution, and here's the best part, if the Windows environment crashes, it's just a single application that exits in OS X. The OS X system is not impacted at all. And since these newer Macs are Intel based, performance of the virtual environments is outstanding. I recommend you look at Parallels and VMWare. We own a copy of Parallels.&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:06:10 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080613060610/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; Server outage&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C1014834087/E20080610054552/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; The web host had a server maintenance outage that impacted my on-line web sites. The Squeak pages, including Squeak tutorials, games blog, games tutorials, Plum Street blog, personal web site and Genealogy family tree, were unavailable since this past Saturday afternoon. Everything has been restored and is back on-line now.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I've been using this web host (www.lunarpages.com) for years now and have been happy with their service, features and prices. This is the first real unplanned outage I've experienced with them. My only complaint with Lunar Pages is that they don't have support for Seaside.&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:45:52 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C1014834087/E20080610054552/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; Additions to my boardgames blog&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080607134623/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; I've recently revived my dormant board game reviews web page. Three new reviews have been posted in the past month. Check them out if boardgames is one of your hobbies.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;http://www.aworldwithoutstring.com&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:46:23 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080607134623/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt;I should have known better &lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080423192351/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; April 23, 2008.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; This is a very personal story.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I was in the hospital recently. And I wasn't visiting someone. It was about me. And I was there twice. First it was a trip to the Emergency Room. Then, a few days later, I was "admitted" into the hospital for treatment. I stayed for 3 days that second time. The earlier ER visit was about 6 hours long.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; So what happened? The simple answer is that had a Gastro-Intestinal (GI) bleed. I lost between 4 and 5 pints of blood over a period of around 5 to 6 days. Details in a moment.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Looking back, I recognize I made a couple mistakes and I now realize how lucky I am.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; On that pervious Saturday morning I awoke very early. It was around 4:30 AM. My stomach hurt. This was nothing new. There's been a lot of stress and worry about job stability and financial outlook. The company had been bought and there was a lot of open discussion about outsourcing all the IT staff; with rumors of layoffs of perhaps as many as 80% coming some this year. So the pain was understandable and familiar. I had been treated for stomach ulcers around 30 years ago, so I knew what they felt like.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I wandered into the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of chilled Mylanta from the refridgerator and swallowed a few gulps. I stayed up for around an hour, surfing the web and reading news sites.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Melissa, my wife, was up by around 5:30 AM that morning. That's our usual time, even on Saturdays. I still didn't feel comfortable and decided maybe I'd feel better if I spent a few minutes in the bathroom. I told her I wasn't feeling too good.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; So there I was in the bathroom just sitting patiently. That was when it happened. Just before I stood up, I noticed my skin was clamy. When I stood up I nearly fainted. The room was spinning around and I was feeling very weak.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; So I walked carefully, but quickly, over to the bed and laid down. By this time my wife came back into the bedroom to see how I was feeling. My breathing was really odd, I seemed to have short breaths. And I was drenched in perspiration.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; We have nicknames for each other. I call her "Wif", she calls me "Hubster".&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I remember saying, "Wif, something's wrong." Now this is very unusual. I'm generally the healthy one. Sure I get colds and the flu, but never anything serious. And for me to tell her that something was wrong was also a sign of something serious since I never did that sort of thing.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Melissa, remembering how her father had died from a heart-attack 12 years ago, was concerned that I might be having a heart attack. My symptoms were not exactly like a heart attack, but something was not right. She immediately called the doctor's emergency line and spoke to him about my symptoms. They agreed I should be checked at the Emergency Room in the hospital.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; So she drove me over.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The hospital was efficient. They took my vitals and put me on an EKG machine.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Truth is I don't remember a lot about that morning because of my overall feeling of tiredness. &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; They also took a blood sample. I think they do this as an additional check to see if you had a heart attack.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; My blood pressure was a lot lower than normal for me. But it was within normal range. And the tests showed I did not have a heart attack.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The hospital also did chest x-rays as part of their standard procedure.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The diagnosis was "Vasovagal Episode". Here's a summary of the information they provided which describes the symptoms.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; There was a fall in blood pressure due to an interaction of the nervous system and the circulatory system. This results in an abnormally slow pulse, faintness, low blood pressure and other abnormal sensations. Vasovagal symptoms are brought on by emotional distress, pain, dehydration, bleeding or medication.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; They did not find any serious problem. That's reasonable since there were no other symptoms to go on. And the possible pain contribution should also not be ignored. I'd been diagnosed with Adhesive Capsulitis (Frozen Shoulder) a few weeks earlier. This had been causing me a lot of pain and made sleeping soundly difficult. My right shoulder/arm constantly ached and if I rolled over and put pressure on it I could feel a lot more pain. And I'd just come off of a week of doing on-call Production support for my work, carrying a pager. It had been a fairly quiet week with only a one early morning (2:30) pages to deal with. But it's easy to see how this all fell into place. I was stressed, not rested, dehydrated and dealing with continual shoulder pain.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; So they sent me home after lots of test and about 6 hours time in total. I was instructed to drink a lot of water and to rest.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Getting rest later that weekend was easy. I was really tired. And Melissa and I were both relieved that my heart seemed to be in fine shape.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I slept most of the day. That evening I had to go to the bathroom again. This part is a "poop story," so sorry if that's offensive. There were two problems I experienced.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The stools were very dark and soft, almost sticky. Like tar and black like coal. And the water had blood in it. Dark plum-red blood, and what seemed like a lot of it. I looked and became alarmed. I really got scared. You're not supposed to see blood and certainly not that much.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; And I made two dumb choices. I did one of those "guy things" and decided to go to bed and hoped it would go away. I worried, but I ignored it.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I also didn't want to go back to the Emergency Room, so I didn't tell my wife. That was the second dumb choice.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I woke up again that evening around 12:30 AM and Melissa was still awake. She asked me how I was feeling. She could tell I didn't feel right and was understandably concerned from earlier that day. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about the blood in my stool water. It was embarrassing and I also didn't want to alarm her and make her worry even more.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; But I was concerned enough that we agreed we would set the alarm for 2:30 AM to wake me and check how I was feeling. When the time came I was still feeling exhausted but not worse. So we went back to sleep for the night.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; On the following Sunday morning I had another episode where my stools were tar-like and I was still discharging a lot of blood. Again, I didn't share the part about those symptoms. However, we did agree that I would call-in sick for work Monday and that I would call the doctor's office and get in as soon as possible that day for a follow-up visit from the Emergency Room activity that Saturday.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; That morning, around 11:00 AM I was able to get an appointment with my doctor. He reviewed my verbal account of what happened on Saturday and also reviewed the report from the hospital with me.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I told him about the blood in the stool. He asked about the color of the stool and blood. Since it was a very black stool, he said that meant I probably had a stomach ulcer. So he prescribed Previcid and ordered a blood test.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I went back home and went to bed. I told Melissa about the blood. She was very upset with me for keeping this a secret from her. She was right. We talked about it a bit and I promised, and meant it, that I would never do that again.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The following Tuesday morning I called-in sick again because I was still feeling really exhausted. We were also hoping to get the lab results from the blood test on Monday, even as soon as that Monday evening. But had to wait till Tuesday morning.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; We had another appointment with the doctor at around 1:30 that afternoon. We reviewed the blood test and learned that my hemoglobin count was way down. He said it was likely that my ulcer had gotten close to an artery and was dumping blood into my stomach.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; After some discussion over our options, with the advice of the doctor, we agreed I would check-in to a hospital that afternoon. The goal was to get an Endoscopy procedure performed quickly to ascertain where I was bleeding and how it should be addressed.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The Endoscopy procedure, in addition to allowing the doctors to see carefully all around my upper-GI, also has the ability to heat, or cauterize, any open wounds.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I was admitted to the hospital within the hour.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Melissa likes to tell the story about how I was in such denial about needing hospital care. Now, I don't have as clear a memory of all this since I was by this time feeling both exhausted and very distracted.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The room was actually very nice. It had a private bed, shower room, and a sleeper-couch for a guest. Apparently, upon arriving in my hospital room, I decided to stay seated, still dressed in my street clothes, on the couch. I wouldn't put on the hospital gown nor sit on the bed. That status hadn't changed until the nurse came in and asked me to get dressed and get into the bed.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; After changing clothes and getting into the hospital bed, according to my wife, I went into "geek mode". I started rambling endlessly about how the hospital bed must have a strain-guage in it so they could easily measure my weight while lying in bed. And apparently I rambled on and on about how strain-guages work (I used to be a mechanical engineer about 30 years ago). And then I rambled about my observations about the sensors and other equipment that was visually evident from the hospital bed.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; According to her, I was behaving as if in complete denial that I had been checked into a hospital. I could not mentally accept that I was in serious trouble.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The nurses started an IV on me right away to get my fluids level up and to give me some nutrients. I was not permitted to eat real food for several hours in preparation for the endoscopy procedure that was scheduled to happen that evening.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Little did I realize that my encounter with needles had only just begun.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; After I was checked-in, Melissa had to take off to put other things in order while we would both be at the hospital. She intended to stay in the room with me as much as possible. We had already agreed that she would spend the night in the room on the pull-out-bed of the couch.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; She had already arranged to have Nicholas, our son, stay with a friend for the next few days and so she went home to transport him over. She also brought our Macintosh laptop computers so we could both have things to do besides watch television. I'm happy to report I never turned the television on. The hospital provides Wireless Internet access, and that was cool.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; She also wanted to go home and pack up some clothes for the evening and eat her dinner too.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; When Melissa returned later that evening, she found a way to make her arrival dramatic. By accident.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Now, she's not mechanically inclined. And from what I could see from my hospital bed, it looked like pulling the sleeper-bed out from the couch would take a little care. Within moments of her arrival, since it was past 10:00 PM, she started to pull out the bed.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Now if you can imagine it, the mechanism was like an elaborate scissors with many moving parts. And you had to do it only a certain way. Well she started to pull it up and out and the major section of it was sitting high in the air, like a triangle. It didn't look right to me. I remember saying, "Wif, that doesn't look right." And she got kinda stuck mid-way in motion. Something got jammed up or out of order.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; And then the entire assembly dropped down hard to the floor. It made a very loud crashing sound. A heavy thud.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Two nurses came running in the door, panic written on their faces. They dashed over to where she was, lying on the floor, with the pull-out bed in a somewhat proper shape.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; After everyone realized that no one was hurt, we all took a moment to laugh. I'm sure it was also embarrassing for Melissa.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The funny part was that the next day, when the nurses came into the room after she had left. They instructed me to please have a nurse come into the room and setup the spare bed next time she arrives. I guess they didn't want a repeat performance.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The worst part about the whole hospital experience was needles. Actually, there were several worst parts. But right now, the needles experience stands out.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; From the moment I arrived in the Emergency Room on that Saturday, I was getting jabbed with needles. They needed a blood sample. So they sent in a technician who did it. Now I've been stuck by needles enough times now that I know what to expect. But that guy. He was quick but man, did it hurt. I yelled "Ow!" when he did it. It's supposed to pinch. Not hurt.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; By the time I was back on Tuesday and admitted to my hospital room, they put me on an IV right away. And of course that required inserting a tiny tube into a vein. That wasn't as bad. The nurse who did it was skilled.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; But there were lots of other times. For example, they needed to draw blood samples on a regular basis because they were monitoring my hemoglobin levels. This was more than once a day. And it was getting harder and harder for them to get a sample because my overall blood volume was so low. The poked around my arms inside the elbow, on both arms. The poked around the fore-arms. And the hands too. There's a lot of potential vein sites on the top of the hand. The problem was that sometimes they would get a tube in there but then the flow would collapse and have to start anew. Or one time I remember when they were giving me the 2 blood transfusions, the original site had blocked up and could no longer be used so they switched arms. The nurse had a heck of a time locating a vein that worked for her. I remember I was sweating from the pain she was causing while moving the needle around trying to get a line started. She tried three times before asking another nurse to come in and try.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; There were 2 very nice needle punctures that happened. One, which happened at 4:00 AM one morning, was done by a nurse with a Russian accent. I don't know if I knew her name. She went into my left hand. It was so gentle I didn't even notice. I thanked her for that.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Another one was when a technician came in to draw a blood sample and I was telling him how good a job the nurse from early that morning had been. He commented, "Well, we can't have a woman doing a better job than me." and proceeded to do an excellent and gentle pinch.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Some of the time the problem was because my body was not co-operating. Sometimes I think it was the skill of the person.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I was on Morphine for pain for a few times on one of the days, and during that time I don't remember needle pokes. I also slept a lot. Although I'm pretty sure I was awakened for every blood drawing. One thing for sure, you don't really get much rest in a hospital. It seemed like I was awakened about every four hours for something they needed to check or do.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Before the 2 units of whole blood were given to me, I had apparently been showing real signs of anemia. My wife said I looked gray as death. She told me days later how scared she was when looking at me. I admit when I looked at my feet they looked a kind of green-gray color. One of the doctors explained easy ways you can check color is by looking at the hands and eyes.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; On the hand, if you look at your palms, you can see all those lines that are sometimes used by fortune tellers and such. The lines should have a slight pink color to them. On my hands they were blanched.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The other easy one, which you cannot do yourself without a mirror, is to look under your eyelid. The doctor showed my wife if you pulled back the lower eye lid flap and looked underneath you should see red. They told me mine were parchment white.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I also learned that the hemoglobin count tests could yield inaccurate numbers because of the drop in my overall blood volume. The lowest test score we got was 8.3, which is pretty low. I should be around 14 to 15. But we also know that when the blood volume was low the count was actually probably lower than the test indicated. This was one of the contributing factors to why they decided to give me 2 whole units in a blood transfusion. From what a doctor explained to me, they avoid this step if at all possible.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; It was explained that there's always risk with donated blood. You just don't know about the donator's life-style nor what diseases they may be carrying. It was explained to me that even though blood is carefully screened today, some of the tests we run now we're not known about only 10 years ago and who knows what we don't know to test for today?&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; But the blood transfusions were wonderful in results. By the time the second one completed I had most of my color back. And a lot of my mental energy was back. I still got winded if I went for a walk, and I got tired if I worked on anything mental for more than an hour, but I was a lot better. I was told it would take about 6 weeks for me to feel right again.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; After the last blood transfusion, which each took 3 hours, I had a final meal at the hospital. The food there is pretty good. And I was hungry.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I was also fortunate that my friends Blaine and his wife Michelle dropped by to visit. They hung out with us while I finished my meal and when the nurses came in to disconnect me from all the equipment.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I had to be pushed in a wheel chair to meet the car when leaving but I was so grateful to be going home.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; When I was home and back in my own bed I began to reflect on what had happened. This led me to a train of thought about an experience from when I was in my early 20's.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Back then, I was working as a Mechanical Draftsman in an Engineering Department. My mentor was a person also named Steve. He had a kidney disease and was required to undergo dialysis twice a week. Well, the time had come where he was due to have a kidney replacement. Now as I understood it, they had to give him some kind of medication during the procedure that would thin his blood. The problem was he also had a bleeding stomach ulcer. So he had to go into the hospital to have the ulcer repaired first.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; He died during the procedure on his ulcer. Now this was 30 years ago. I don't really know a lot about what his conditions were but I truly believe this: The medicines and medical practices today have improved so much. I'm thankful that I didn't turn out like he did.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; After spending 4 days at home I was ready to attempt re-entry into the work place. Truth is I get really anxious without having something mental to do. So I went back for 2 half days.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The first half day was exciting. I was so thrilled to be back at work. And many people were glad to see me back. But by the end of the second half-day I and was so exhausted I slept for 15 hours. I ended up staying home the next day and sleeping except for getting up to eat meals.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I went back to work again but promised to only do a half-day again and then rest up for the weekend since that was a Friday.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; When I started again the following Monday I did whole days of work. Now I've been working 3 full days straight. And today was the first day I drove myself to and from work. Prior to this, Melissa had been driving me.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; The work experience has been interesting. I found myself telling people that they were talking too fast for me to follow what they were saying. Anyone who has ever worked with me will see the humor and irony in that. And I seemed to get "winded" easily when I walked around. I also notice that my comprehension skills drop off by mid-afternoon. I avoid trying to understand or code anything requiring deep concentration during that time. &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I'm drinking a lot of water every day. I'm doing about 3.5 liters of water a day. And I'm taking Iron pills twice a day and taking medication to heal my stomach.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Because of the need for me to build up red blood cells, I'm eating a lot of spinach salads and broccoli. And I'm having steak for dinner most nights. That's a neat perk.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; So what did I learn?&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; One thing is that I promised my wife to never withhold medical related information again. I should not have done that and understand better why.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; Another is that I'm grateful to be alive and recovering.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I also learned that I need to pay attention to what my body is telling me. When my stomach first started to bother me weeks before all this happened, I should have taken that seriously and seen the doctor right away.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; I also have a renewed respect for modern pharmacology and the practice of medicine today.&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:23:51 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080423192351/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; Metaphor&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080124054302/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt; Metaphor - a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (from Merriam Webster).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The other day I overheard someone discussing a software project that needed to be completed and how more "resources" would have to become available to complete the work. We do this sort of thing all the time in our speech, in the words we use. I do it too. We find a way to substitute "people" in our conversations. Maybe it's a natural response to hearing the metaphors used by other people?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I'll bet when you were younger you used the more obvious word "people". Metaphors like "resources", or even "boots on the ground" sound more interesting. I'm no longer sure it's a good thing. Unless you use a metaphor that conveys deeper meaning.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I used to work for a guy that used the metaphor "heartbeats" whenever he wanted to convey the need to find more people to complete a project. I like that one better.&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:43:02 -0600</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080124054302/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>&lt;br&gt; Cloverfield&lt;br&gt;</title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080119203321/index.html</link>
      <description>&lt;br&gt;We saw the movie this weekend. I promise, no spoilers here. Short summary is we really enjoyed the film. It felt like "Summer Popcorn" in the Winter.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Cloverfield is a movie that my wife and I have been anticipating. It's produced by J. J. Abrams. He produces our favorite television show, Lost. Certainly there's been a lot of interesting "teases" going on that have built up the anticipation for this film's release.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It's obviously a monster movie. What surprised me was how realistic many of the scenes were. I mean, like most action science-fiction films, a certain level of suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy the movie. But the story is told from a more personal angle and not from the large scale storytelling approach that films like this usually take. I actually liked the more personal angle and home video camera point-of-view.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It is an exciting film. My wife was holding onto my hand through much of the film and she remarked afterwards that she could tell I was pretty excited because she could feel my accelerated pulse in my thumb. I liked the sound effects and the special visual effects. Like a good horror film, the audience doesn't get a clear look at the monster for much of the movie. But there is a very clear scene coming and the creature looks pretty original.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I liked the line in the film where one of the principal characters asks a military man if he knows what the thing is. The guy answers, "I don't know what it is, but I know that it's winning."&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I've read that there's a little snippet of audio that plays after all the credits. So we sat and waited, along with several other people, for the credits to complete. And there is something playing there but I couldn't make it out. So if you go see the film, you may want to wait for it.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The music wasn't that interesting. I often listen carefully to the movie soundtrack, but I didn't enjoy this one. The only time you hear it seemed to be during the credits. Disappointing really, since the composer, Michael Giacchino, also composes music for Lost and I have enjoyed that body of music.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;In summary, it's a fun thriller. It lasts about 90 minutes and tells a story but not really about the monster itself. Rather, the film is about the young New Yorker's that got caught-up in the impact of the monster attacking their city.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Oh yea, there's a trailer for the upcoming Star Trek movie. It was cool to hear Leonard Nimoy's voice in the voice-over of the Star Trek trailer.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;</description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:33:21 -0600</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080119203321/index.html</guid>
	  <enclosure url="http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20080119203321/Media/cloverfield.png" length="216303" type="image/png" />

    </item>

    <item>
      <title>iPhone comments after 5 months use </title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C837530566/E20071212191924/index.html</link>
      <description>Recently a friend of mine asked me to comment on how I felt about the iPhone now that I've had one for a while. I wrote him back an e-mail, answering with my general commentary, and realized it would be good to extract that portion and post it here. iPhone Pros and Cons.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Pros.&lt;br&gt;I really like this phone as a cell phone. It's an excellent cell phone. Making calls is easy and conference calls between multiple parties is amazing. I especially love how I can add/drop callers at will and even go private with a caller during the conference.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The Blue Tooth interface works great. I have a JawBone sound canceling bluetooth headset and it's outstanding.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The voice mail accessing technique is very clever. Being able to select a specific voice mail message from a list works great.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As an iPod, the iPhone is outstanding. I use it a lot. Listening to Podcasts, Music, Audiobooks. And I even have Serenity the movie copied to it.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The Safari web browser running on the iPhone is truly amazing. An obvious benefit is being to access Board Game Geek while at a game store and while browsing shelves. Very handy.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The built in e-mail reader/writer is excellent. Managing contacts between the phone lists and email lists is a snap. And I have it all synchronized painlessly with my home computer.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The photo camera takes great pictures and I love the large display for viewing.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I use the built-in calendar and alarm clock daily to help me remember my appointments and as a wake-up alarm clock in the morning. I put the iPhone on it's charging stand next to my bed every night and use it now instead of an alarm clock. I charge it up overnight every night.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I find battery life to be pretty good. I can go an entire day on one charge. However, if I listen to a lot of music during the day as well as browse and make phone calls, the phone needs to go back on the charger by around 7:00 PM. Not quite a whole day in those situations.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Here's a subtle but important difference about the iPhone. The software is routinely updated and improved. Apple has already done 3 updates since introduction and it's been a breeze for the user to do the upgrade/update. It just works. The updates have been security fixes and new features. All speak powerfully about how the iPhone has a lot of longevity.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Cons.&lt;br&gt;AT&amp;T coverage is not as good as Verizon here in Omaha. The only real issue I encounter is that I cannot make phone calls while inside the local Target store. No AT&amp;T coverage in there. I had Verizon coverage, it was spotty, but used to work most the time.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The EGDE network the iPhone uses for access, when not near any wireless access points, is useful but slow. You just have to allow for it's speed. Now in comparison, I do have comments. First off, the Blackberry uses EDGE and of course it is used everywhere, so EDGE can't be that bad. I suspect the bar is expected to be higher with Apple, so people want even better performance. Second, I do believe that next generation wireless networking will be available for a new model of the iPhone we're likely to see in 2008. Third, the speed of the wireless network connection is only part of the story however. I do believe, while EDGE is slower in data throughput than 3G, the web browser running on the iPhone works very well and quickly. You could make the case that the relatively slower performance of the current EDGE network is somewhat offset by the better browser software performance in the iPhone.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;No voice control/dialing. I believe that Apple will eventually make a software update that will include this capability, but I miss it.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I wish the bluetooth capability includes stereo. I think it would be cool to have wireless stereo headphones that also support the microphone for making calls.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I wish the web browser supported Adobe FLASH and Java. It does support JavaScript and HTML/CSS. But some web sites expect you to have Java or Flash access. I believe a major update is coming in late January which will include one or both of the these features.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The camera does not perform zoom, not even an electronic zoom. The pictures are large and so cropping externally is easy with standard photo software tools, but I think zoom should be included.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The camera does not capture video. The iPhone plays video (Quicktime and YouTube videos just fine). But no video content is created with the iPhone. At least not yet. Again, I believe this is a software component that is missing. Perhaps we'll see that too in a future software update.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The phone is slippery. I've dropped it 3 times. That's not really a fault of the phone. It actually has some pretty good scrapes in the aluminum casing from hitting the sidewalk a few times.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Summary&lt;br&gt;Overall, I think this phone is amazing. For a first-release product it excels. My guess is we'll see announcements about a better version early in 2008. But I still believe the iPhone is amazing.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Also, I have installed 3rd party software via "Jailbreaking". I was initially opposed to this idea, but had to try out some of the cool software out there that's already available for free for the iPhone. I have a couple of games on it now and believe it or not, a working VNC client -- which I occasionally use to access/support the users of our computers at home.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Okay, that's a lot. And truth is I wasn't going to buy one because it's first generation. Melissa gave me the one I have for my birthday last July. I'm really glad to have this phone now. Melissa is waiting for her Verizon contract to expire and then she's going to switch too. Even with the limitations and complaints stated about the iPhone, I believe it's head and shoulders above the Windows Mobile phones out there in usability and coolness. The iPhone has some geek culture notion to it, but I see that as positive. And it's selling really well. It seems destined to be the top selling model smart phone within the first year of availability.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;- Steve </description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:19:24 -0600</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C837530566/E20071212191924/index.html</guid>
	  
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Wind Organ at Standing Bear Lake </title>
      <link>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/index.html</link>
      <description>A long-time friend of mine flew out to Omaha to spend some time with Melissa, Nicholas and me. It was fun having a house guest. One of the activities we did during my little vacation was to visit a very interesting sculpture not far from our home. In Omaha Nebraska, within the Standing Bear Lake park, there's something unusual to see. It's a Wind Organ . This wind organ sculpture was created by Douglas Hollis.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The Wind Organ is on a hillside. We were very fortunate that the wind was ideal when we visited. It wasn't calm out and it was not too windy either.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As you get closer you can see the pipes have openings in their side, not unlike a pipe organ. The openings are different positions above the ground and facing various directions. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;There's one round opening per pipe.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;There's also a vertical slot near the top of each pipe, again at random angles. The trick is to walk between the pipes and listen to the music that the wind plays. It's wonderful. They are all lower register tones. It's a delightful experience.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;My friend took a photograph of Melissa and I near the pipes.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I have to admit that I've been calling this an Earth Harp, based upon what another friend told me. It was only after I Googled about it to prepare for this Blog entry did I learn that the sculptor calls it a Wind Organ. It's an appropriate name.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;If you get a chance to come visit Omaha, go see it. There's not too many of these sculptures around. </description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 13 Oct 2007 11:15:48 -0500</pubDate>
	  <guid>http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/index.html</guid>
	  <enclosure url="http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/Media/IMG_0010.jpg" length="120983" type="image/jpeg" />
<enclosure url="http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/Media/IMG_0013.jpg" length="158137" type="image/jpeg" />
<enclosure url="http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/Media/IMG_0015.jpg" length="154230" type="image/jpeg" />
<enclosure url="http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/Media/IMG_0017.jpg" length="76972" type="image/jpeg" />
<enclosure url="http://squeak.preeminent.org/blog/C567381584/E20071013111548/Media/IMG_0020.jpg" length="149500" type="image/jpeg" />

    </item>

    <item>
      <title