unconfused?

I couldn’t resist…

Watch President Obama’s press conference…LIVE

Thanks to Brooks for spotting this videoblog.

I’m a Mac user at heart. I have a couple Macs at home, but my work is a Microsoft Windows shop through and through (read: not open to non-Microsoft solutions in reality). But being that I’m actively a user in both ‘realms’ as well as using Linux too, I think that MacOS does have the interface that stays out of your way far beyond a Linux (Gnome or KDE) or Windows systems.

Before anyone rolls their eyes and brings in their experience with Macs from 10 years ago, or everything sucks but Windows (though they didn’t like it enough to pay for it, so they pirate their Windows OS and apps), or that their relative has a Mac and it sucks (because they are treating it like Windows machine and that doesn’t work)…just remember that these are my opinions, and these are what allow me to get work done without having to concern myself with maintaining a Windows machine constantly.

So, these applications listed below are how I make my life on Windows much more tolerable by saving myself tons of time and money. This list, I believe, would be useful to people regardless of their affinity for Macs. One recommendation that I’ll offer before my list is that people look into and start heavily using Google’s suite of online applications (Web-mail, RSS reader, office apps, mapping, calendaring, collaboration, blogging, video-chat, etc.). Honestly, if you are using Google’s applications on a standards-built web-browser like Firefox…it really doesn’t matter what operating system you use.

OK…I’m done with my meager soap-box…on to the list!!! This list contains traditional applications, online applications, and frameworks that tie the two together.

Creative Applications:

Drawing and Illustrating: Inkscape (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Vector Graphics Editor, similar to Adobe Illustrator, that strives to be SVG Compliant.
http://www.inkscape.org/

Photo Touch-up and Image Manipulation: GIMP – Gnu Image Manipulation Program (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Image edit, analogue to Adobe Photoshop.
http://www.gimp.org/

DVD/Video Encoder: Handbrake (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Video transcoder, and DVD ripper.
http://handbrake.fr/

Photo Management: Picasa (Windows, Linux, and now MacOS too!)
Simple photo management tool with build in touch-up features. Similar to Apple iPhoto. Also includes a new image viewer on Windows that is FAR better than the one Windows by default uses.
http://picasa.google.com/

Music Management: iTunes (Windows, MacOS)
In my opinion this is still the best, no-nonsense audio jukebox player available.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/

Audio Editing: Audacity (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Audio editor.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Productivity Applications and General Use:

Productivity: OpenOffice (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Office productivity suite that is similar to Microsoft Office.
http://www.openoffice.org/

Web-Browsing: Google Chrome (Windows)
Google’s offering for a web-browser. It is fast and has a nice number of clever features.
http://www.google.com/chrome

Web-Browsing #2: Mozilla Firefox (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Mozilla’s speedy and versatile web-browser.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

Email-Client: Mozilla Thunderbird (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Mozilla’s e-mail client. Now…that being said…if you use a Gmail…I’m not sure there is much use for this unless you just want all your e-mail while you are offline.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/thunderbird/

Mapping/Exploring: Google Earth (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Lets you explore anything that gets a satellite picture take of it. It also now lets you explore the skies!
http://earth.google.com/

Games:

Runes of Magic (Windows)
Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Role-playing Game that is similar to World of Warcraft in gameplay.
http://www.runesofmagic.com/

Silkroad Online (Windows)
MMO playing on the history of trade-routes that existed between cultures in Asia.
http://silkroadcp.joymax.com/

Rappelz (Windows)
MMO that plays on the contrasts between light and dark forces in a medieval setting.
http://rappelz.gpotato.com/

System Tools and Utilities:

Anti-virus: AVG Free (Windows)
Free anti-virus software for non-commercial use.
http://free.avg.com/

Anti-spyware: Spybot Search & Destroy (Windows)
Anti-spyware utility
http://www.spybot.com/en/index.html

System “Tune up”: CCleaner (Windows)
Cleans up temporary files all over Windows
http://www.ccleaner.com/

Disk Space: JDisk Report (Windows – uses Java)
Shows you where all the space is going on your disk.
http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/

Runtime: Java (Windows, Linux….MacOS already has it)
Allows you to run anything written in Java on your computer.
http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp

Defrag: AusLogics Disk Defrag (Windows)
A bit simpler and easier disk defragmentation tool.
http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag

Compressed Files: WinRAR (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
ZIP and RAR compressed file utility.
http://www.rarlab.com/

CD/DVD Burning: DeepBurner Free (Windows)
Free edition of their CD/DVD burning software.
http://www.deepburner.com/

PDF Printing: PDF Creator (Windows)
Allows you to print to a PDF file, instead of a printer, out of nearly any application.
http://www.pdfforge.org/products/pdfcreator

Development:

Eclipse (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Development environment that uses plugins to expand its functionality across many platforms and languages.
http://www.eclipse.org/
Combine with the Aptana Studio plugins for rich PHP, Rails, and Ajax development.
http://www.aptana.com/

Web-based apps – available to all platforms:

Web-mail: Gmail
Google’s web-based E-mail. Includes Google Chat, along with Google’s new video-chat feature, which beats Skype in quality and integrates in with all the Google features. Google Labs has plugins that also extend the features of Gmail, allowing you to put your Google Calendar or Docs right on the same interface as your e-mail.
http://www.gmail.com/

Mapping: Google Maps
Google’s maps and directions site
http://maps.google.com/

Productivity & Collaboration: Googe Docs
Google’s online productivity suite – includes a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation ability. Allows sharing and near-realtime collaboration.
http://docs.google.com/

Calendaring: Google Calendar
Probably the best calendar software on the web. Also allows sharing and publishing of calendars.
https://www.google.com/calendar/

News Reader / RSS: Google Reader
A fantastic RSS newsreader or blogreader. Allows sharing of news articles.
https://www.google.com/reader/

Photo Albums: Picasa Web
Google’s online photo pages. Allows tagging of people and sharing of photos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/

Websites: Google Sites
Easy, template-driven website creation tool.
http://sites.google.com/

Blogging: Blogger
Google’s simple and also template driven blogging tools.
http://www.blogger.com/

Social Network: Facebook
Whoa – advocating a non-Google web-app? This is a particularly good social network.
http://www.facebook.com/

Financial Planning: ClearCheckbook
A online money management tool.
https://www.clearcheckbook.com/

Fuel Economy: FuelClinic
Tracks you fuel economy for multiple vehicles.
http://www.fuelclinic.com/

Putting together the web + the desktop:

Google Gears (Windows: IE, Firefox, Chrome … MacOS: Firefox, Safari)
Allows Google online apps to interact with the desktop and browser, offers offline functionality to Google Docs and other applications.
http://gears.google.com/

Like most of the times that I drive in the Springfield area, a driver deliberately put himself in a position to endanger our lives and to ‘teach’ me a lesson about driving. I’m a person that drives the speed limit, or just over it, and pretty much obeys all the traffic laws. And for that (apparently) I must pay.

But it makes me think about the notion of entitlement around here, and actually pretty much anyplace else I’ve been in the United States. This is not a political commentary, and I’ll warn people that might make it so that I really won’t entertain those comments. But it seems to me that though it is clear every one struggles with their own sense of entitlement, it is not largely the impoverished that make their mark on anyone’s day with whatever sense they might have. Instead it is the wealthy.

Notice how often the notion of ‘living up to the standard by which they have become accustomed’ is an issue in the media with the wealthy as they divorce. Look at the large amount of consuming, and observe when people take for granted what they consume…and who consumes the most.

So, last night when I had my life put in danger…it wasn’t a person in a beater…or a person in a Honda Accord…or someone in a Chevy Blazer. It was a guy in a really nice looking, white Porche. I’m going too slow into Nixa…and he has places to go…so he needs to teach me a lesson by driving as close to my car as possible without hitting me, many times so close that I couldn’t see his headlights…but could see him, note his hair color, and see that he was smoking a cigarette…all at 55MPH north of Tracker Rd.

He could have passed, but that wouldn’t teach me to get out of his way with my pathetic little Honda Civic. Instead he chooses to drive that close from the ‘bowl’ on 160 north of Nixa all the way to the Wal-Mart parking lot. Needless to say…I didn’t get out of the car and potentially be taught other lessons. So, I drove off.

But that seems to be the case on the road with people weaving in and out of traffic at 80 MPH on Hwy 65…Audis and BMWs…Hummers and Corvettes… All with places that they need to be before you. And they’ll take your lawful driving to task to get where they need to go. Who are we kidding though? Most people in this area are horribly unlawful and inconsiderate when it comes to driving. So these people are just flat out excessively dangerous.

So thank you to all the coastal immigrants that bring up the average total income (read: capital gains) so that Springfield can have more restaurants per capita than anywhere else, and so that we can have so many stores of every type imaginable. But please let us all, that is both you and people not you, get where we need to go safely.

When I went to Flagstaff, AZ for my job, I never figured the week would end like it did.

The work stuff seemed to go pretty well. In my free time I even got to see Meteor Crater, which was pretty cool. You can check out my pictures from there.

But on Thursday night after I had gotten back to my hotel from a great walking tour of the downtown of Flagstaff from one of the people I worked with at the homecare agency, I started feeling a bit nauseous. Then I started also getting light-headed, and then started feeling some pressure in my chest. This got worse until I was dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. I also felt like I was going to vomit, though I couldn’t. And all the while the pressure in my chest was getting worse, and I started getting hot and cold flashes.

It persisted for quite some time and I was getting pretty freaked out by it. I decided to go to the emergency room at 11pm. Josh kept me company on the phone. The hospital didn’t waste any time at all. They immediately gave put me on oxygen, a bunch of monitors, did an EKG, and also a chest x-ray.

They also gave me a cocktail for esophageal issues which was supposed to numb my throat and esophagus. That it did…and magically my chest pains started to subside. Later on when the effects had worn off some, they gave me a little water, and as I lay back down, my chest pressure started to return.

It was at this point that they suspected it was really a bad case of acid-reflux, but needed to completely the tests with a cardiologist on hand. And they did come in until the morning. So, they kept me overnight. I could have refused further care at that point, but doing so without a complete diagnosis is bad if you intend to have your health insurance work.

The hospital did a number of additional tests, bloodwork, a stress test with EKGs, and also a cardio-sonogram. After those things they did not see anything wrong with my bloodwork or other tests concerning my heart. So, the suspicion that it was actually acid-reflux mimicking the symptoms of heart-attack were correct.

It does turn out that my cholesterol is a bit off. My LDL is in the high-normal range, and my HDL is in the very low-normal range. They would like to see that change. I agree and am going to get back into more of my exercise regiment that I had been doing until the past few months. And I’m going to try to avoid a bunch of different foods also for the most part.

Cheese is going away. I am going to try to only eat cheese if it is sliced off a brick of cheese with fruit and wine. So, things like pizza and other dishes smothered in cheese will have to be off limits. This is going to be difficult, as I’m going to the Incredible Pizza Company tomorrow for my daughter’s birthday! Also, I’m going to nix most fried foods and fast-food. That will be difficult during trips because it is so accessible in airports and such. But there are salads and grilled chicken. Another thing going away is most soda.

That will help me health and weight wise, but it will also help my acid-reflux…as sugar and grease are my biggest issues (not necessarily acids like tomatoes, but instead sauces with corn-syrups added). I’ve also been directed to start taking Zantac 150 before all my meals…at least for a time.

So…that is my Thursday and Friday. I had to move my flights a day ahead and fly out on Saturday, which was a pain and expensive. But I needed to stay in the hospital…so there was nothing else I could have done. Live and learn, and hopefully be wiser.

John McCain admits he doesn’t know much about economics or energy. And this video demonstrates who McCain aligns himself with.

Most of Barack Obama’s ideals are ones that I hope and pray for among the nations. This is one of the good, inspiring speeches that makes you proud to be an American. It is interesting that this speech was viewed on television by more than 38-million people, which is more than the finale of American Idol (thank goodness!!!) and even the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. This is the full 44 minute speech.

I’ve been busy with work, music at church, and spending time with friends and family. There has been a lot I’ve wanted to write about in the past few months, but I just haven’t. Now we are in the midst of political change again, and though I am committed to THE Kingdom, and do not put my faith in the kingdoms of this world…there are things that wish to comment about politically, especially as most of my coworkers and fellow Christians put so much trust in the Republican nationalist pseudo-Christian political movements. Sorry all…but I can’t jump on the McCain bandwagon, as though he might be anti-abortion, he doesn’t represent any other ideal I hold to be accurate. So, I’ll be writing.

It has been quite some time since I updated my blog. I’ve been too busy for my own good…working 60 hours a week…being very involved with church…leading music…updating websites. My socializing has been mostly over AIM, Google Talk, and Facebook.

Things are finally balancing out enough that I’m able to go to the gym with a friend of mine. I need it…as I could shed a number of pounds. At least he is patient with me when I trail off about 1/2-way through running with him.

The family is well though, and life in Missouri is good. I’ve been making some new friends…trustworthy and transparent ones. I’m especially glad for that.