Stephen's Blog

Kindle Reflections

Stephen — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:43:36 +0000

I have owned a Kindle since September 2008 when I received it as a combined birthday gift. I have used it in fits and spurts. Not long after I got it I loaded it with numerous books from Project Gutenberg and I was in paradise. This condition persisted for a while but eventually it faded. As a result there have been times during the past year and a half that my kindle has collected dust. I feel that a big reason for this is that the time I am able to spend on leisure reading is variable. Most of the reading that I do on a regular basis is of the non-fiction technical variety.

Unfortunately when I first got the Kindle technical publishers were a little behind in providing Kindle friendly formats. This has changed as the market has become more mature with new e-readers flooding the market. Although my kindle is very much outdated by the plethora of new competitors I feel like my use of it is just now really hitting its stride. Every day more publishers are making the transition and I can see the future when dead tree books will be a luxury item.

Speaking of dead tree books, my new favorite book store is Half Priced Books. Thanks to this wonderful store Colin and I have been reading through the Hardy Boys. We finished the first three books and are working on the fifth. We couldn’t find the forth at our local HPB, but did find it while we were in Austin for Christmas. Colin has really, really enjoyed these and I look forward to finishing the series with him.

2010

Stephen — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:06:02 +0000

As the second full week of 2010 approaches I am still trying to cope with the fact that 2009 is no more. As I look back I have to say that the highlight of 2009 was running the Oklahoma City Race for the Cure 5k with Amber. Most of the year went by in a blur as usual.

So much has changed, but too much has stayed the same. Not that 2009 was an unproductive year, but I feel that it was a year of traveling on gravel. With that said I hope to be more productive in 2010 and I look forward to another blessed year.

Giving Thanks

Stephen — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:45:58 +0000

It has been a while since I updated my site and I decided I would kick things back off with a post on what I am thankful for at this juncture in my life.

First and foremost I am thankful for a loving and merciful God. Eph 2:4-5. I am thankful for a wife who is beyond compare. She is my oasis. I am also thankful for the blessings that are Colin and Kate. Without fail they bring a smile to my face every day. I am thankful for all of my family, far and wide.

I am thankful for my job and all that it allows me to do. I am thankful for those who have come before me and those who shall come after. May God continue to bless us and may he grant us the wisdom to see the bounty of his blessing.

Cisco FTP debug and source-interface

Stephen — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 03:42:30 +0000

This is just a post as a reminder to myself. When using the built-in ftp client in Ciscos IOS if you are having problems with it try “debug ip ftp”. Also if you are filtering connections to your ftp server by ip address you will probably need specify the source interface with “ip ftp source-interface interface”.

Windows 7

Stephen — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 03:56:24 +0000

I just downloaded the Windows 7 beta (x64) and so far I am impressed. The only thing that hasn’t just worked 100% out of the box on my Dell D630 was the video. I downloaded and installed the 64 bit Vista video driver for my video card. After a reboot I was greeted with some native resolution goodness.

I then proceeded to download the Windows Live Essentials Beta and here I am blogging from Windows Live Writer.

One Word

Stephen — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:40:56 +0000

Playoff.

Shame on the coaches, college presidents, and the media who dismiss the idea that a playoff for Division I college football is anything other than necessary and fair. Division I football is the only major football league that doesn’t have a playoff. All this has already been said, but it needs to shouted to the four corners of this once great nation. I ask why are we shocked at the great business scandals of our time when people in positions of power and influence can stand publicly and state that the current system is fair or that it works. Nothing will ever be completely fair, but a playoff has over the course of human history proven to be the fairest system that we can conceive.

I may regret this resolution. I may renege on this resolution. But the very fact that I am saying this should send shivers of fear into the heart of the BCS.

I here by resolve not to attend, watch, or read about any Division I college football game until the BCS Bowl system is abolished and replaced by a playoff system that involves at least 8 teams.

4th and Inches

Stephen — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:11:36 +0000

A friend of mine and his family had a close call recently while driving home. Thankfully everyone is fine. I shared with my friend a football analogy about seat belts. It went something like this:

A seat belt will give you a yard. No more. No less. It can make all the difference in the world when you need an inch and no difference at all when you need 10 yards. Most car accidents are 4th and inches and there isn’t any good reason to come up short.

Please be safe and buckle up.

Word for the New Year

Stephen — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 02:33:52 +0000

Last year Amber and I both picked a word to symbolize what we hope to achieve during the coming year. This year my word for the new year is Peace.

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Fixing “v” in Google Reader for Firefox

Stephen — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:15:22 +0000

I love Google Reader. I use it to read a lot of different blogs. I often will breeze through feeds tapping the “v” key to open an item that looks interesting in a new tab. This works fine except that the new tab receives the browsers focus. I like for the tab to open in the background. I even made this the default behavior for when I click on links. Unfortunately Google Reader doesn’t respect this setting. After searching high and low I found an about:config setting that forces the tab to open in the background.

Setting browser.tabs.loadDivertedInBackground to true in the about:config solves this. Hopefully this tip will help someone else from having to dig.

Happy New Year

Stephen — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:16:05 +0000

Happy New Year to all my family, friends, and co-workers. I pray God’s blessing be upon all of you in this new year.