No power for 10 days.  Neighbor Kathy just got a generator, so we have a light, a fan, and a phone charging station.  On the way to work I passed 7 intersections that were non-working.  Hwy 59 at Fountain View thankfully had police directing traffic (for the first time that I’ve seen anywhere).

Arrrg!

The WordPress for iPhone buttons are disappearing on me!

I just lost a whole post because of it. I think it may have worked if I tapped the navigation bar where the button was supposed to be, but I didn’t know where that was.

Blogging from bed…

Digital Photography Session
uploaded by David Herrold

I attended the BarCamp Houston 3 on Saturday at the Houston Technology Center.

Most people assumed this meant I was going on some kind of pub crawl, but the term bar is actually a computer science term, and as such you should guess that this “unconference”, as it terms itself, has a high geek factor.

Anyone, who wants to present on a topic (and you are encouraged to do so) can have a 30 minute block of time. Everyone proclaims their intentions on a white board at the beginning of the day, and the lectures, panels, and discussions begin.

I enjoyed the following topics: Continue reading →

A good read:

The idea that Apple will inherit Microsoft’s problems is based in the ignorance that Windows’ security problems are rooted in its popularity, rather than its poor architectural design. That is not true, as countless examples of viruses attacking minor platforms attest. Malware targets weakness, not popularity. Windows is plagued with malware, not because it is ubiquitous, but because it is riddled with weaknesses.

The Unavoidable Malware Myth, roughlydrafted.com

There was a brilliant essay by Ron Rosenbaum in Monday’s Slate.com that I didn’t hear until today on Slate’s daily podcast. It’s titled In Defense of Obama’s Patriotism: a dissent on the pledge.

You should read the whole thing, but here’s a snip:

I certainly feel allegiance, though less to the inanimate flag than to “the republic for which it stands,” but, paradoxically, the moment when I feel most rebellious about that allegiance is when I’m being forced by state or social coercion to pledge allegiance. The America I feel allegiance to isn’t the America that requires compulsory displays of loyalty.

All in an atmosphere of Barack Obama being chastised for his purportedly less-than-patriotic behavior, this short piece gives a few lessons on Minnersville School District v. Gobitis, et al. that most Americans could do to relearn.

I had a hard time taking sides in this battle between two oversized media conglomerates, but it humors me.

-b