So over the past few weeks I’ve been taking more time for me. Not a bad thing right? Getting a balance back in place of sorts. One of my guilty pleasures is to read. Whether news feeds or books, it’s a guilty pleasure. Go ahead and book’em Dan-o (pun intended).
One of these news feeds is that of Gizmodo which showcases, you guessed it, gadgets and gizmos 
Recently an article caught my eye dealing with a device to charge USB devices using Wifi signals. The charging device is made by RCA, more can be read here.
The question of course that this poses to me is whether or not this is a warning sign for those of us that live in neighborhoods that have several wireless running, colliding and interfering with one another. Are we getting cooked or is the power contained within the 802.11 spectrum harmless to humans because the wavelengths do not interact with the genetic and cellular makeup of the human body. Just sayin…
Are we getting cooked by Wifi?
January 10th, 2010A New Year…
January 8th, 2010It’s Twenty Ten.
It’s been more than a year since I last gave my Mom a hug.
So the first is still on my mind fairly often, but with time, memories turn to smiles rather than gnashing of teeth. I still want to pick up the phone from time to time to say hi and see how things are going on at Immanuel, but I stop myself and just breath, realizing that life will never be the same.
It’s been more than a year since I’ve seen close friends.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen several close friends. Relating to my first though, several folks clammed up and weren’t certain what to do when Mom passed away. Several didn’t know what to say. Understandably, but just swinging by the house to say hello or calling would have been something that would have blown me away. Instead, while there seemed to be a ridiculous outpouring of sorrow on Facebook, I can’t say that there was one person that dropped by the house to share a meal or to say hello and see how I was doing. Granted, in some respects, I can’t blame them since I was over taking care of my dad through sometime part way into December.
Now that’s not to say that all friends have wandered disregarded me, but I guess it seems like “most” did. As time has gone by, some folks have come out of the woodwork to hang out – the “some” is relatively small. If anything I turn to my colleagues at work – some of them knew the full extent as to what had transpired, others just thought that there was an accident (hello, awkward!). These folks, while some not knowing Christ, were utilized by Him, providing care and friendship I would have suspected my Christian brothers would have rushed forward to provide – and people wonder why it’s hard to trust “christians” when they’re not true to the character of “Christians”.
It’s been more than a year since I’ve had the opportunity to really just be me.
Maybe I’m a little off on timelines, but it’s been a while since I feel I”ve had the opportunity to actually just be the kid that I like to be. In some respects I was able to be a kid in Nashville, TN over the past year, but not to just kick back and relax.
What’s that? You’ve got a vacation coming up?
If only. Though I suppose a trip to Hawaii would be acceptable to get away and just kick back, relax and breath.
So what are you looking to do this January of 2010?
Holy Guacamole Batman, it’s Christmas!!!
December 25th, 2009Surprise, surprise, Christmas seems to have caught us all off guard once again – how it seems to do this every year I’m not quite certain. This year of course we experienced a significantly large amount of snowfall this past weekend effectively closing the local school systems and the federal government for a day as well.
Looking back over the past years, I’ve noticed little by little that presents don’t have much meaning but rather the closeness of family and realizing what Christ’s means for all of us. Now, is that to say that gifts and presents shouldn’t be exchanged and given, by no means! The gleaming joy in the eyes of my nephews is priceless and something that I would not trade for the world.
For those of you like myself, single but with family nearby, chin up and draw close to your friends and family and celebrate Christmas.
Now Playing: Extreme – The Best Of Extreme – An Accidental Collision Of Atoms – More Than Words
Alton Brown on safe Turkey Frying…
December 20th, 2009So if you’re like me, the holidays are coming up, and you’re thinking to yourself, “Gosh, wouldn’t it be great to have fried Turkey for that holiday meal that we’re having to celebrate that holiday?†Well, fear not, it’s possible to do without burning your arms off (just one arm).
Okay, all kidding aside, if you are interested in partaking in this "fun" activity, check out the instructions from none other than Instructables.com where they have specific instructions on How to SAFELY fry a Turkey.
Just another day in sNOwVA
December 20th, 2009Yes folks that’s right, it’s that time of the year where the weather forecasters and meteorologists get giddy when they see pressure systems pushing one way and moisture pushing another. To me it’s all just one big wave equation with several thermodynamic variables at play – adding in the whole presence of trees and other obstructions on the ground that cause different turbulence within the clouds… Anyway, just a little check in this evening / morning for those curious as to what’s up and going on.
And no, please don’t fret, I made ground turkey chili with medium grain rice – nice and low fat and with a lot of protein and starch to fill you up so that you’re not tempted to just eat everything in the house while trapped for a few days.
Nuance Dragon for iPhone
December 8th, 2009Like whoa, Nuance has created an iPhone App and released it to allow for dictation similar to their Dragon Naturally Speaking software for the PC. Pretty wild but you can text or email, update a Facebook status, send notes and reminders to yourself, or tweet to the world… all using your voice and dictation.
It’s available in the App store, more information available at:
http://www.dragonmobileapps.com
One of those days…
December 8th, 2009Yet another day in the life of Dan, working through technical problems and assembling information pieces, all the while listening to music to help ease the mind and get in more of a rhythm. I decided I’d let Apple’s Genius algorithms lead my way through music this morning and based on my music collection and the main selection of Lifesong by Casting Crowns, I ended up with the following playlist:
| Name | Artist | Album |
| Lifesong | Casting Crowns | Lifesong |
| Cry Out to Jesus | Third Day | Wherever You Are |
| This Man | Jeremy Camp | Restored |
| How Great Is Our God | Chris Tomlin | Arriving |
| Wholly Yours | David Crowder* Band | A Collision |
| Strong Tower | Kutless | Strong Tower |
| Voice Of Truth | Casting Crowns | Casting Crowns |
| Word of God Speak | MercyMe | Spoken For |
| He Reigns | Newsboys | Adoration |
| Here Is Our King | David Crowder Band | Here Is Our King |
| Give Me Your Eyes | Brandon Heath | What If We |
| Show Me Your Glory | Third Day | Come Together |
| Made to Worship | Chris Tomlin | See the Morning |
| Walk by Faith | Jeremy Camp | Stay |
| Dead Man (Carry Me) | Jars of Clay | Good Monsters |
| Never Alone | BarlowGirl | BarlowGirl |
| Does Anybody Hear Her | Casting Crowns | Lifesong |
| Homesick | MercyMe | Undone |
| By Your Side | Tenth Avenue North | Over and Underneath |
| Indescribable | Chris Tomlin | Arriving |
| We Fall Down | Kutless | Strong Tower |
| You Are My King (Amazing Love) | Newsboys | Adoration |
| Take You Back | Jeremy Camp | Restored |
| If We Are The Body | Casting Crowns | Casting Crowns |
| Mountain of God | Third Day | Wherever You Are |
As it ended up, this set was pretty solid in keeping me in line with my technical work and with a pure heart and mind.
Could you pick up and Vanish?
November 29th, 2009This evening I picked up a copy of Wired magazine and decided to spend a bit of time disconnected from the Internet and away from any blinking device that might cause me to stray from keeping focused on something that I’m reading.
The cover story documents the story of Evan Ratliff, a writer that put forth the challenge that he could go off the grid for a month and not be found. In essence I don’t think that this would be that difficult, but as a part of the parameters, Evan checked in with his editor on a regular basis and left a cookie crumb trail for individuals to find him.
All in all, quite an interesting story in which he was able to dodge “hunters” as they would be called throughout the US for 27 days.
The entirety of the story is captured here.
As for me, the only thing that I really learned in all of this was about the Tor Project which allows for the use of relay servers of sorts across the planet to allow for IP address masquerading for less of a technical discussion. Interesting nonetheless on ways to cover your tracks.
One thing to make of note is that Tor will only encrypt your traffic and bounce it through servers if properly configured. If you’ve got a service in the background that reaches back home or to a server to pull information without being configured to go through Tor, your IP address will be known. This would be where netstat -a comes in pretty handy to see how chatty your OS is.
Thanksgiving 2009
November 26th, 2009Just another day in the life of Dan… that’s what I tell myself every morning as I get ready for the day.
It’s been a perplexing year with several life changes and challenges – whether family related, work or things in the social and technical communities that I’m involved with.
Today is Thanksgiving though, the day that we stop and breath and remember how blessed we are in this world. I know that for me, living in the Northern Virginia area I don’t see quite the same economic conditions that seem to exist in other parts of the country. I read articles on BBC, CNN, Fox and Drudge and suddenly see the enormity of the pain and hard times that are affecting others and realize how blessed I am.
I would only ask that on this Thanksgiving day in 2009 that you stop and realize the blessings that have been placed on you and reflect on them.
What’s next…
October 15th, 2009Yet another day passes. I think back to the words of my Mom two weeks after I had my appendix out. The words haunt me in some respects, remembering her ask, “What do you consider to be fun?”
I think for a while and I ponder and maybe even go so far as to pontificate, only to realize that I’m wasting time in my head. It’s about then that I walk out of the house with my bag in tow with my trusty MBP. I hop in the Maxima and just drive. Sometimes to the gym, sometimes to the office building complex that I no longer have an office in. Other times randomly driving around to see the neighborhoods that my Mom wanted to tour in search of a house.
Then there are times where I just hit the road and drive until I realize that I should probably turn around so that I don’t accidently drive to Florida or Ohio.
Why driving? Because it’s a basic task that my mind can run without too much intervention and likewise, allows my mind to process more of the subconscious.
So then I come back to reality and wonder about the fun things of life. I’m still working those out I guess. Not to say that I don’t know what fun is, but it’s definitely intertwined with a lit of other feelings right now that are repressing it. So next time you’re wondering where I am, probably on the road, but why not find out, give me a call and let’s go chat about life.