Health Status - October 2010

I'd like to start by first offering my gratitude for all of the love and support that has been sent our way as we have been working through the process of diagnosis. Your prayers and intentions are felt, and have had a positive impact on our experience.

Yesterday I received a diagnosis of ALS (also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease). It is a disease of the motor neurons and is currently manifesting in my speech and my arms -- predominantly my right.

We consider this diagnosis a blessing, it opens up many support channels ranging from disability insurance to VA coverage.

I will be providing more information in near term regarding the treatment options we are pursuing. For now it is sufficient to say that we are leaving no stone unturned.

Thank you again for your love and support. If you are looking for an intention for prayer, at this time we are focusing on slowing down; slowing the deterioration of neurons, slowing the atrophy of muscles and just general slowing down in life.

Again, we consider this diagnosis a blessing -- an opportunity to connect with the things that are important in life and concentrate on healing.

Best regards,

-dta

Error: This domain has been disabled - Google Apps

Coming out of my blogging sabbatical to post this:

I was a premier subscriber, didn't need the "features" that came with premier, so after two years cancelled. On the same day I receive the email from Google letting me know that I've been downgraded, the domain is suddenly disabled.

Now that's a downgrade!

Can't contact Google via email, without having the premier account. No way to re-up for the premier account with the domain disabled.

After some searching I found that I can add my domain to a growing list of domains that have had the same downgrading problem here, where volunteer Power Poster LMckin51 will gladly add me to a list to be reviewed "on Friday" when apparently such issues are considered.

#GOOGLEFAIL

[UPDATE] - My service has been restored, total downtime just over 2 days. I assume this is the doings of LMckin51, for whom I am deeply grateful.

No communication from Google, and still can't access the control panel. Completely underwhelmed with the backdoor approach to getting an issue into the queue.

[UPDATE 2] - My service has been restored, but not other users on the domain (ie: my wife).

[UPDATE 3] - Everything is down (disabled) again.

[UPDATE 4] - 1/30/2010 Domain is full restored after finally being able to access my account's Control Panel. A confirmed bug that took at least 2 weeks to escalate and fix. Wow.

One win, I managed to track down the form for submitting account access issues officially to Google.

https://www.google.com/support/a/bin/request.py?contact_type=cantaccess

"Your identity will be displayed by what you don't use." -kk

Another excellent article by Kevin Kelly on our continuing Convergence.

ONN: New Apple Macbook Wheel

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Giles Bowkett: TDD And Experiments: I Was Wrong

Giles Bowkett: TDD And Experiments: I Was Wrong

If you are extending an existing system, or architecting a framework TDD (Test Driven Development) is supreme.

But if you are inventing, the organic process of creative coding allows you the ability to stub things out in real-time... all neurons firing.

All your data are belong to Redmond

It seems Facebook violated their own privacy policies when it comes to sharing data with 3rd parties.  With Microsoft investing in Facebook to the tune of 240 million, this could have been predicted.

Last week the Borg released their own social-network enhanced version of Windows Live.  

Alden Anderson 2.0 celebrates 4 years

Alden Anderson 2.0 is celebrating it's 4th anniversary this month, and we've put together a new website with information on our super not-so-secret project, RAVEN.

RAVEN stands for Relevence Action Value ENgine, it's our patented Business Rule Platform.

We will be producing a case study soon, more information to follow here and at the new site.

I guess you can say we're out of "stealth" mode.  ;)

Some election tracking links

Novel:

NYT: Election Wordtrain
http://www.perspctv.com/

Citizen:

http://www.videothevote.org/

http://www.youtube.com/videoyourvote

http://www.ourvotelive.org/home.php

Distraction:

http://blog.indecision2008.com/

http://www.theonion.com/content/whitehousewar

Essential:
Google election gadget (Note to self - make a timely gadget get a gajillion hits...)

Apple is losing the Hearts & Minds battle

Apparently, the new sexy MacBooks come with a version of iTunes that won't recognize an iTouch or iPhone that has been jailbroken or unlocked.

But, if you have iTunes on Windows somewhere (like in Fusion or that old HP notebook) you are still in luck.

Why would you jailbreak an iTouch/iPhone? Because Apple has a stranglehold on the applications that can be added to the devices, and has refused to allow alternatives to built-in apps like Safari, Mail or iTunes. Or, maybe you don't want/can't afford to pay AT&T's outrageous international roaming rates. 

This is another slide in the descent of Apple becoming the old Microsoft - only worse, because they own the hardware too.

1,000 Web APIs

Read all about it at the Programmable Web Blog

Learn Arduino in Seattle

MAKE reports: 

Josh Kopel will be teaching an Arduino workshop through Seattle's 911 Media Arts Center.

The Arduino is a small programmable device capable of big things. With it you can examine the world through various sensors and use the data to control motors, lights and just about any other electronic device. Come learn how to build kinetic sculpture, audio sequencers, home automation systems or whatever you can imagine. This class will focus on controlling motors using the Arduino, and we will be investigating how to recycle/re-use commonly discarded ink jet printers for their component parts. Bring your best ideas and wildest concepts and lets get them moving. Course fee is 255.00 plus 40.00 lab fee: total 295. The lab fee will over a motor control kit, some additional electronics, and a supply of printers to hack. You will need to have a laptop computer (win XP or Vista, OSX, or Linux*), and you should purchase your own Arduino Diecimila.

Schneier on Barack Obama's Security Mindset

I have made this general point again and again -- about airline security, about terrorism, about a lot of things -- that the person in charge of the security system can't be the person who decides what resources to devote to that security system. The analogy I like to use is a company: the VP of marketing wants all the money for marketing, the VP of engineering wants all the money for engineering, and so on; and the CEO has to balance all of those needs and do what's right for the company. So of course the TSA wants to spend all this money on new airplane security systems; that's their job. Someone above the TSA has to balance the risks to airlines with the other risks our country faces and allocate budget accordingly. Security is a trade-off, and that trade-off has to be made by someone with responsibility over all aspects of that trade-off.

I don't think I've ever heard a politician make this point so explicitly.

More at Schneier's on Security

VFP Investors to get their own bailout?

I wish I had heard the conversation leading up to this point. Why is Ken telling people to go out and buy copies of VFP9, so they can be sold on ebay when MS stops selling?

Android'd

I've had 3 of the last 4 Windows Mobile offerings, I didn't jump at the first iPhone, but I did try out the 3g when it first shipped. So my wife was not surprised when I left the house early this AM to stand in line for one of the first G1 phones in Seattle.

OMG.

It's not as slim and sleek as the 3g, but what it lacks in footprint it makes up for in sheer geek-ability.

I've had a hard time doing anything today other than fondling this lovely piece of gear and downloading (for free, for now) every app that I would ever want to think about using.

If you are a Facebook user, you'll find the process of adding apps to the phone familiar. It lets you know what services you are exposing to the app.

I've read several reviews, and yes -- there is room for improvement but... OMG.

I spent a long weekend trying to jailbreak my G3 just so I could capture videos and secure (crypto) email. With the G1, it's Prego baby -- it's all in there.

OMG.

Is It Worth Upgrading to SQL Server 2008?

Nice article by Nigel Maneffa, covering the features that come with the SQL2008 upgrade. It appears that most of the new features that were part of the CTP are Enterprise only.

Free registration required @ SQLServerCentral.com, worth the time.

Geekthink on a Resource Based Economy

Zeitgeist, the movie has an addendum. If you haven't seen the original it makes for interesting viewing.

In the addendum there is a presentation of the Venus Project and the concept of a Resource Based Economy. Geeks are responding @ Microsoft's Channel 9. Good read.

Universal Design Pattern

Excellent, detailed discussion of the use of the "Properties Pattern".

  

FoxPro on Youtube and other tubes

Watch this (or at least skip through it), then check out related videos.

Props to the SWFoxPro Conference for putting the keynote up.  Great to see VFP grassroots conference attendance is growing.

May be a good time to start the SeaVFP group...

More on the Zune - MS Genuine Advantage

So I kept the Zune. The hardware is a great bang for the buck, the software will come along -- and eventually a hacker culture will develop around it that will provide the level of control I want on the device.

I've ranted in the past about the Transnote. Lovely form - function... rivals many tablets on the market today -- except it's a 700mhz with 320 mb maxed.

Unfortunately I can't get a wireless solution to work with it. I've tried PCMCIA and CF Slot devices. They lock up or can't handle the slightest load before reseting.

IAC, I also can't get (many) updates from MSFT. XP is not what shipped on this machine, I bought it from eBay and received it with the XP upgrade. I updated to XPSP2 via CD, but once I hit Windows Update live I found out I was running an upgrade that did not qualify as "Genuine".

So now I only get "security updates".

With XP, this means it is more inconvenient for me to get security downloads. However with Vista it's a whole new ballgame. If Vista determines it is not "Genuine" it will start to "gracefully degrade". I've not seen this work yet -- but it will be interesting to see how such a feature goes over.

Zune vs PS3

Bought a Zune, thinking about taking it back.

The software locked up my 6 month old laptop 3 times during install, feels like a munge between Media Player and iTunes and doesn't run on Vista.

But here's the kicker -- no Podcasting support. The work around? Use a 3rd party tool to manage the subscriptions... for many that will be iTunes.

Hey Microsoft, this is how you launch a damn product!

Update: Microsoft's Zune Only Looks Simple covers it.