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The Galactic Patrol

I hate cancer

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 8 Comments
I’m not sure how useful it is to hate a genetic flaw – but I found out recently that my mom has cancer. Earlier this year I found out that my cousin Ben does too. It really leaves me breathless, and asking myself those...
The Galactic Patrol

fun with consumer electronics (and the perils of the super-remote)

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
So, I’m on vacation here at my in-laws, and I’m blogging of course. It seems to be my new morning ritual, instead of reading the newspaper. Anyway, there are hordes of kids running around everywhere, so to keep them entertained...
The Galactic Patrol

on vacation...

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Starting today, I am on vacation, going to that * fabulous * vacation destination – West Virgina. Maybe I can get a tour of the coal mines. <grin> Seriously, you can expect the blogging output to decline over the next...
The Galactic Patrol

Strange new virus rumored

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Seen recently at http://trademark.blog.us/blog/2003/08/19.html#a789 : "You have just received the Amish virus. Because we don't have computers this virus works on the honor system. Please delete all the files from your hard drive and manually...
The Galactic Patrol

The Learning Lifestyle

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
I just read Eric Sink’s ‘Career Calculus’ post that is making rounds on the blogs I frequent. I’ll admit that when I first read it, I felt quite smug. I thought to myself, “I’m always learning new stuff...
The Galactic Patrol

Its a girl!

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Gina and I went to Evergreen Hospital today for our week 20 ultrasound – you know, the one with legs and arms and toes. * She * is quite an active little tyke, rolling around in her comfortable little cubby! Yes, that’s...
The Galactic Patrol

Tech blogs, hosting, and personal expression

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
I was reading this link , about a guy who has an ASP.NET blog (i.e., hosted at http://weblogs.asp.net ), and he was concerned that his blog wasn’t in some sense technical enough for that forum. I’ve thought a bit about that too; since...
The Galactic Patrol

stupid credit card tricks

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
In the link below, John Hargrave goes to great lengths in an attempt to get his credit card receipt signature rejected. Unfortunately, he is unsuccessful; but the many and varied attempts sure crack me up! I particularly liked this line...
The Galactic Patrol

Let people know about a security vulnerability - spend 16 months in jail

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Now here is an interesting article ; a man sends mail alerting some customers of a particular e-mail service that there are known security vulnerabilities in that service. He gets charged with a crime and spends 16 months in jail. ...
The Galactic Patrol

3D Printers (revisited)

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I few days ago, I posted a short note about 3D printers. Here is another article that explains some of the technology, and speculates on where it is going. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59648,00.html Have I mentioned that...
The Galactic Patrol

Gizmodo turns one year old - check them out!

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
One product blog that consistently has new and interesting stuff is Gizmodo . Well, they just turned one year old! I’m celebrating by plugging them here on my blog – go check them out. Congratulations, Gizmodo –...
The Galactic Patrol

Howard Dean blog - revisited

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
The shine on the Howard Dean blog is wearing off for me. Most of the posts aren’t by Dean himself, and seem pretty much boiler-plate rah-rah stuff. (This seemed exciting at first, but is now getting a little old.) The ones that...
The Galactic Patrol

Vigilante hackers

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I read the following interesting snippet recently with some thoughts about ‘vaccination’ worms, related to the recent MSBlast worm: “…It all makes me wonder why we have not evolved in this fight much in a way that...
The Galactic Patrol

What is 6% of $250,000?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
I read this blog entry from Chris Sells recently, describing his thoughts about real estate agent fees. Having just sold one house and purchased another, I am completely sympathetic. 6% just seems like too high a vig to pay, just...
The Galactic Patrol

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
What do you get when you combine a bunch of black tubes, silver balls, and a video camera? The world’s * coolest * mirror! http://fargo.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/%7Edanny/shinyballs.html (for some reason the link stopped working...
The Galactic Patrol

My wife rules!

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I just got a new laptop a couple days ago, and of course I had to wipe off the OS currently on it so that I could install XP Pro. In one swell foop, I eliminated scads of marketing-ware from the machine (phew!). However, the wireless...
The Galactic Patrol

480Mb/s (wireless) - a dream or a promise?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 1 Comments
I really hope that UWB moves quickly from vaporware to reality, as described in this article. It seems like just the thing to connect the wireless stereo components that I dreamed about earlier on my blog.

...
The Galactic Patrol

"Alex, I'll take 'Foreign Relations' for $200, please..."

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
In the “truth is stranger than fiction” department, this article claims that five gubernatorial hopefuls in California will be appearing in a debate, game-show-style. I’ll be the first to say that one shouldn’t take...
The Galactic Patrol

Baby born with cell phone in hand!

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 1 Comments
This seems strange, but I suppose it is inevitable in our ever-more interconnected, ‘wired’, world: “Half a million kids in the UK under the age of ten will have a mobile phone by the end of next year, according to research published...
The Galactic Patrol

Adam Smith and the Navy

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Looks like the U.S. Navy is thinking about taking a more “market-based” approach to operations: “…To keep skilled sailors in the service -- which entails keeping their families happy -- Navy officials put some of those...
The Galactic Patrol

EverQuest: It's not just an adventure - it's a job

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Here is a guy who ‘professionally’ makes real money off of virtual artifacts – apparently a good living! Wow.

http://www.juliandibbell.com/playmoney/

...
The Galactic Patrol

my bank account as an RSS feed?

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 2 Comments
You know, logically, the following idea has so many flaws – security, privacy, is it even really useful… and yet, I find it mysteriously alluring. To watch in real-time the ebb and flow of my finances; to see how long it takes the...
The Galactic Patrol

Hosting visitors to Microsoft

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
I ran across this interesting post: “This upcoming week is shaping up to be one the most memorable in my young life. I'm taking a trip to geek mecca: Microsoft HQ. I get to meet Scott Guthrie, Rob Howard, Don Box, et al. And if that weren...
The Galactic Patrol

home ownership, sprinkler systems, and money

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 3 Comments
Here is an interesting story about home ownership; and perhaps, about responsibility, or cost-benefit analysis. I can’t really say it has got a great moral – but it *is* funny. Enjoy: http://www.unitedheroes.net/blogs/jr...
The Galactic Patrol

an interesting life

Posted over 10 years ago

by bwill
- 0 Comments
Now this guy looks like he’s had an interesting life…

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