Dino's Blog

Software You Can Use

2008-06-06T02:57:00Z

A while back my sister Kimmy asked me to post about the software I use.
And, you may be surprised to hear that people ask me about programs they should have weekly.

It is probably just a coincidence that I actually spend way too much time researching the best programs to download. My Ubuntu experiment really opened my eyes to open source software, and just free software. There are some great programs out there for FREE.

Here is my top 12:

7Zip - This one is nice. It just works. Anyone using WinZip still is sooooo 2003. 7Zip opens any type of zip file, so when someone sends you a RAR, you don't have to call me anymore :)
PDFCreator - You too can create PDFs. Several years ago, I thought I was so cool because my work PC had Adobe Acrobat on it, and I could create PDFs like nobody's business. Turns out, now anyone can, and if you can't, you need this. It installs as a printer, so you can get a PDF from any program that prints.
FileZilla - This one is not for everyone. If you have heard of FTP, then this is for you. If not, forget it was here, you don't need it. It works well, and that says a lot for free FTP programs. I have used several, and it seems that most have quirks, and just don't work randomly. FileZilla is solid, and has never failed me.
CDBurnerXP - It burns CDs, and DVDs, which is kind of a nice surprise given the software title. Again, many free CD/DVD burners don't cut it. This one does the job.
IrfanView - Everyone get rid of the Windows picture viewer now. This program is great to view photos quick. It prides itself (if software had emotions) on being very fast, and low on resources, which is great if you just want to quick check out some photos.
Firefox 3.0 - If you are still using Internet Explorer, you are becoming the fast minority. Firefox has so many cool things that separate it from IE. And the latest version is reportedly the fastest browser ever. The first step once installed is to get AdBlockPlus. It removes ads from pages for you, and it leaves the page looking as though there never were ads there... GENIUS.
VideoLAN - Plays DVDs. Alright, you already have a DVD player that came with your PC, right? Well, mine didn't so I found this. And, if you have a laptop, chances are you will crash a hard drive, and will need something, so keep this one handy. It isn't a super player, and the one you got with your PC is probably cooler, but it works well.
SyncToy - This is a microsoft product, but it works well, and is really simple to use. Use it to backup files from one drive to the next. You can even set it up to autoplay everytime you plug in your external drive. The trick is, it only copies the files that have changed, so it is much quicker than doing it manually.
Notepad++ - This one is strictly for the geeks, really. If you do any text file work, or even light coding, you should check this out. I wrote the new SMP web using it, and it has a lot of features that make it nice. Using just Notepad is embarassing once you have tries this one.
CCleaner - This app helps keep the crap off your machine. It allows you to delete specific cookies, and clears the extra registry junk, and extra files.
FoxIt - This is just a bonus. I am not sure what good it does, since Adove Reader is free, but if you like to root for the underdog, than get this one. It has issues with PDF forms still, so I still have to use Adobe. I think it is faster and lighter, but it doesn't open inside Firefox, so I am not really sold on this one yet.
OpenOffice - Alright, I don't use this one. Since I have office on my PCs, and I use the heck out of my office apps... Really, I use features that probably shouldn't even be included; buried deep within menus. If you write reports, and need to open an occasional excel file, this does the job. I have only used it several times, but I gotta recommend the open source software that may someday lower the cost of Office software below CRAZY $$$.

Alright, that is my list in no particular order. Try them all if you wish. Try just one, if you wish.

As a side note, at some point, spaces became evil in software titles. Not one app in the list contains a space, and yet they all are multiple words. To me, the space is the easiest key to use, so why was it the first to go? I would personally like to just drop the Z & X from that list. Those are just hard to type.

Sweet game/tool

2008-04-13T00:40:00Z

I have only played with this for a little while, and it is much tougher to work than the video shows, but it is pretty sweet. The liquify feature is the coolest!

ADHD...

2008-04-04T03:08:00Z

You can't believe these web surveys, but this pretty much confirms what my wife Nina has been telling me for years. I still think every guy has some form of ADHD. There are a lot of questions about anger, and I don't get angry/annoyed easily, so maybe there are different types of ADHD...

Global Warming - A Rational Look

2007-08-31T03:27:00Z

I caught this article from a fellow blogger.

Basically a well written informational article from one of the few scientists that is willing to tell the truth. Why???

This guy is a retired scientist. He has nothing to lose career-wise. He also seems part of the old-school science that was willing to tell a different story, and follow the data, rather than mold the data.

For me, the most clear part of the article was the description of what scientists stand to lose if they speak out against the hype. Or more importantly the tactics used by one Al Gore to supress the truth so that his 'Inconvenient Truth' could create profit, both politically, and financially.

One explanation of this may be described by John Ray (M.A., Ph.D.), writing from Brisbane, Australia: “The Holy Grail for most scientists is not truth but research grants. And the global warming scare has produced a huge downpour of money for research. Any mystery why so many scientists claim some belief in global warming?”

This article is so full of worthy quotes, and not too scientific for most of my readers (yeah, shout-out to Mom and Sisters, you too Nina). This quote is key to understanding the way scientists think, and how little of this you hear on the news.

The measure of good science is neither the politics of the scientist nor the people with whom the scientist associates. It is the immersion of hypotheses into the acid of truth. That’s the hard way to do it, but it’s the only way that works.

Yeah, most great scientists were not necessarily great people, in fact a few chemists were into more chemistry than your standard reactants. The great scientists are known for their discoveries proven through rigorous science... REAL SCIENCE with data that does not require some elite group to define or interpret. A group of these scientists, that depend on grants for a paycheck, and any chance of putting there name on an equation/textbook, cannot get together and discuss the correlation between CO2 and Global Temperature without being pressured into making the Gore choice.

Anyways, I got a lot to say about this, but little time. Oddly enough, my last post on 'Inconvenient Truth' is still the most read post on this site. Most searches are for something like: 'Inconvenient Lie'. People want to know the truth, and the internet is the only place you will find it. Big media is hiding this, scientists are supressing it. I am doing my part to keep the debate open, even when the opposition seems to think the debate has already been complete, and they won.

Kiddie Sampler

2007-07-17T02:25:00Z

So, with two kids just 2 and under, eating out is kinda a trick. We do a lot of fast food because it is cheaper. Isa has started eating real food. She likes chicken tenders, and Eva likes cheeseburgers. The thing is, each one only eats half of the meal. I propose that restaurants provide a sampler kids meal. I see a mini cheeseburger, two chicken tenders, half fries, half applesauce, and a single drink. I gotta believe this phase will last a while, since EG eats less than Isa at a year older. Also, sometimes with kids this age, it is tough to guess what they will eat on any given day. Some days EG likes chicken tenders, and some days she likes a burger. The other day, she was eating the applesauce more than her fries.

So, as I am convinced that the upper-management of large restaurant chains, I am proposing a sampler kids meal for younger kids. I expect that you will wait to introduce this until Superbowl where the audience is largest, but I really don't want to wait that long.

Here's Johnny

2007-07-15T03:27:00Z

Earlier this summer, I picked up a John Deere tractor for my lawn.

When we got this house, I purchased a used push mower. It took over 2 hours to mow my lawn with this mower, and after a couple weeks, the self powered feature quit... In the spring and fall, I had to mow for two nights a week because the sun went down before I finished.

The following summer, Nina's dad got a rider mower, and he lives just over a mile away. I hated mowing my lawn, so every couple weeks I would drive his mower to my house, mow the lawn, wait a week, mow my lawn, and drive it back to his house. This worked for an entire summer. Unfortunately, the mower goes 5mph and the trip took 20 minutes.So, naturally, I would delay mowing until I absolutely needed it.

So, this summer, I invested in a mower, and after the research, I decided on the John Deere. So far, it is serving me well, although now I noticed all the bumps in the lawn. Maybe next year I will smooth it out a bit.

More pics are here.

Geekdad Rocks

2007-07-02T23:31:00Z

So, I would like to take this opportunity to pass on a LINK.

This blog is super cool. I am tempted to just link to individual posts for the next month, but for now really, check it out.

I think the total count of dads that are geeks that read my blog is 0.75, but this stuff is so cool and funny that it HAS to have broad appeal, right?

Update...

2007-07-02T03:51:00Z

I believe it is time for a family update. Nina blogs all the time, so I have not been writing these lately. Here is my quick update on a Sunday night

EVA

Eva has turned two years old! I have lost count of the daddy and Eva days and outings. I don't get nervous about staying home with her alone anymore, and feel like I can handle most stuff involved in being a single parent for a day... Oh yeah, that is really about me, not EG.

It sounds kinda strange, but I am totally in love with this little girl. She is such a sweetheart. She is getting good at all the cute little girl things: butterfly kisses, Eskimo kisses, picking flowers (clover flowers) from my lawn. She is getting pretty good at jumping, and playing with other little kids. She says the sweetest things that just make my heart melt.
Everything is new and exciting for her. She loves Kites, sand, SWINGS, Water, running, coloring, stirring, baths, chocolate milk, flowers, toothpaste, Max & Ruby, Potty, shoes, and lots more, but this is pretty much a list she would give if her attention span lasted more than 10 seconds.
She is getting used to having a little sister around, and has been really a sweetheart to her most of the time. She is kinda quick to point out when Isabel is naughty, and also can get a little aggressive over sharing some toys. Overall, she is pretty nice to her little sister. She is so happy most of the time, and listens and behaves as much as a two year old should be expected to.

ISABEL

Isa is now nine months old. Every day seems longer than with no kids, but time is flying by. I gotta say (and Nina would agree) she loves her dad! She is also a sweetheart. It is so fun to come home from work to see her expression. She is now crawling like crazy, and pulling herself up to toys and standing with help. She just started taking a few steps when you hold her hands, so maybe walking isn't too far behind???
She says 'dada', 'mama', ' num num'. She eats twice as much as Eva, and doesn't dislike any foods. It is crazy to watch her finish her plate, and then finish off the stuff left on EG's plate. She is so happy most of the time, and as easy-going as Eva was.
She loves: Food, dancing/music, The Wiggles, Little People, crawling, her doggie (stuffed toy), baths, snuggling, her Singing Pablo Penguin, and anything Eva is currently holding.
She loves her big sister Eva. She adores her, and tries to hang out with her. She sometimes annoys EG a little with her constant following, and wanting Eva's toys, but EG is a trooper, and has some fun with it. She is such a little cuddler when she gets tired. She is just getting a few more teeth, after having just one for a couple months. She loves going places with the family, even if it is really an older kid place like Chuck-E-Cheese or the playground. She just loves being out. I have fallen in love with this little girl too.

NINA

Nina is doing well. I love her more everyday. We have a blast hanging out together, and with our girls. We laugh together everyday. Her photography business is doing great, and I think she is getting better at it with every shoot. Of course, she takes such great pics of our daughters, that I am sure they will cherish when they are older. She is the best mom the kids could have. (Eva / Isa if you are reading this a couple years from now, remember that). I am confident that I can only screw up our kids a little bit while she is around. She is really the main reason we can all sleep at night. She is really getting into trying new things for cooking. She has become a great cook, and most of her new dinner ideas turns out great. So long as she stays away from Giada's ideas. That chick should not have her own TV cooking show. Selena has tried a couple of her ideas that taste pretty horrible.

DINO

Oh yeah, me... I am doing well too. I love being a dad, and work is going great. Life is crazy busy, and it doesn't help that I have had to travel on business a couple times in the last couple months. It is getting harder to leave the whole family behind now. My car is still running, but barely. I probably should fill another couple posts on that topic. My DJ'ing is going good, and I still love doing it. Overall, life at the VK's is good.

That should give everyone more than enough of an update. I have been thinking about a better, more formal, way to report the family status, so maybe next time you will see that format.

Tesla Coil

2007-06-28T02:42:00Z

Sweet video!

I started clapping when the Mario theme song came on... Kinda awkward for everyone else at work.

What does cola taste like?

2007-06-12T02:54:00Z

The new Pepsi ad campaign is touting there "Cola Taste". So, as I am sure many of you have wondered... What in the world is 'cola taste'. I have never tried cola, nor would I know where to get it. If you have wondered this, I have done some research for you. First, 'cola' taste traditionally comes from the kola nut. The kola nut is a nut from a tree found mostly in Africa. It was used in cola drinks to add caffeine and taste. Apparently though, the cola nut is a carcinogen. Yeah, so it causes cancer. I am not sure, but I don't think they use that anymore in Coca Cola or Pepsi. Anyways, the cola taste is completely arbitrary. I guess mostly Pepsi knows that, and the ads are (I think) mostly supposed to be humorous. This must be the case, since only 56% of people even said Pepsi...

For the record, I prefer Coke; Cherry Coke mostly. I cannot compare it to Kola Nuts, but if it is more like them I must like them too.

Linux Trial

2007-06-05T02:19:00Z

This post has been in the works for over a month. I had decided to install Linux on Selena's Laptop alongside Windows several months ago. Since there is so much buzz about Ubuntu lately, including posts from a blog I visit, I decided to try the live CD. Basically, you can download this CD image, burn it to a disc, and run Ubuntu on your PC without changing anything on your PC permanently. It is a great way to try out Linux and see how far it has come. Now, I ran Ubuntu on the live CD on the laptop, and it worked great. It ran well, and the internet worked over the wireless network right away! I get about 1 hour of computer time each evening, so that was it for day 1 of Linux.

After researching it some more, I learned about Kubuntu. Kubuntu is the same basic Linux, but with a different look and feel. From what I saw, it looked way cooler, and apparently has more built-in dialogs for configuration of the computer. So, I downloaded and booted into the Kubuntu live CD, and t was cooler.

Well, I would love to say that my Linux experience was all roses, since the Linux geek fanclub all seem to say that it is. I cannot say that. My first install locked up nearly immediately, and I had to power button shutdown to get out of it... The second boot into Kubuntu was better, but locked up after installing some programs. The third try I decided to configure the power setup for the laptop. This includes hibernating when I close the lid. Setting that caused my laptop to hibernate immediately, and continue to do that every time it booted. Thus, I had to completely reinstall it. I must say that I don't know many people willing to continue after these experiences, but I was determined.

I reinstalled it, and stayed away from the power settings. Next on the list was to eliminate the tap click on the touchpad (I hate that thing). That took several hours of research, and a couple nights of searching the web, but finally I had that taken care of.

That is the major hurdles I have dealt with. There have been many other little annoyances, and missing pieces in the process. Configuring the system settings is mostly very painful, and a lot of settings are only changed through the Konsole command line. For EVERY non-geek this is a non-starter. For me, it is just another opportunity to learn a new programming language! All in all, many mistakes I made were from inexperience with Linux, and also my brain washing from Windows for the past ten years.

I recommend giving it a try for any desktop user that needs only basic functions like Office and Internet/E-mail. I cannot recommend it for laptops right now, since my power settings still do not even come close to the functionality in Windows. Now that I have spent many hours getting it to function well, I am using it exclusively on the laptop, but it is certainly not for the non-geeks in that environment. I will endure through these annoyances to help to support Open Source software. Really, if no one uses it, it won't get better.

If you do want to give it a try, be sure to check out this file, since it made many things much more clear. And would have helped to avoid several mistakes.

High Voltage

2007-05-08T02:27:00Z

Check out this video of part of a documentary of high voltage line repairmen. I am not really afraid of heights (only the fall from them), and grew up around electrical stuff, but this is pretty wild. I wonder what the pay scale is for a job like that?

Creative Mathematics

2007-05-01T03:23:00Z

These pics are all over the web, but I was reminded of my high school / college days with these. It was my high-school habit to answer everything I didn't know the answer to with 'communism' or simply 'Ron Veenstra Sucks' (He was my best friend in high school). Anyways, I wish I could dig up some of those old quizzes, but in the meantime, here are some funny math responses from the web.

The copyright things get added automatically to my blog pics, but if you want the pics, just do a web search for Funny Math Exam Answers and you will find them.

Remind me sometime to post a scan of my first Spanish work of fiction about an armadillo. It is probably one of those works that no one appreciates until the author is gone...

The Internet - Land of Loud Wrong People

2007-04-28T03:38:00Z

The internet has so much wonderful information. It has a lot of terrible stuff as well. I have a problem with the stuff that is sometimes difficult to categorize in either of these. With the popularity of blogs increasing, it is becoming even more difficult to find the experts; everyone is an 'expert'. It is easy for anyone to say anything, and give the implication that research has been done, and many will believe. I have fallen for this so many times in the blogosphere myself, and even passed misinformation on. I don't, honestly, know how to research anything without the net. Many in my generation (and following) are the same.

I have come across many blog posts that are simply false, but because they give the impression of previous research, they give the impression of truth. So many people on the web hope to be the source of knowledge (myself included even). Unfortunately, many are going on further misinformation found on the web. Thus misinformation becomes perceived truth due to simple quantity of perpetrators. When it comes to important stuff, a web consensus does not amount to enough research.

Now to a discussion I read on a blog recently. The post proposed that there is no biblical basis for pre-marital sex being immoral or a sin. The author's contention is that God condemns adultery, and since that only occurs when married, then sex before marriage is not a sin, and the author even seems to implicate that God would encourage promiscuous behavior before marriage. The author posts this in a blog purporting to be searching for the biblical truth, and to top if off, gets comments of people reluctantly agreeing, as though they too can find no biblical evidence against pre-marital sex. I provide this description instead of a link, since a link would serve to send people to a blog filled with many ignorant religious positions presented as fact. I will not do that, so you must take my word for it.

I provide you the simple grade-school (OK high-school) explanation of the flaw in this statement. The Bible says many times that sex before marriage is a sin. Unfortunately, the definition of sexual immorality (and adultery) has been changed in our society to exclude things like pre-marital sex. English is a living language, and therefore common use dictates the definition. Fornication and Adultery have been separated by definition. The definitions 2000-6000 years ago were not the same. The words used by Paul in I Corinthians 7 were typically translated to mean fornication (pre-marital sex) and adultery (now separated in english from fornication). The simple answer: Sex before marriage is a sin. God views marriage as a commitment between one man and one woman for life. This commitment begins prior to marriage, or even meeting your spouse. Adultery in God's eyes has always been sex outside of marriage.

Anyways, just my attempt to balance out some ignorant false claims on the internet. I am not sure it matters, but if this site gets bumped above any site claiming otherwise, I consider it worth the post.

Morality is God defined, not a democracy.

The Nerd Handbook

2007-04-21T03:22:00Z

I stumbled across this Nerd's Handbook a couple months back. A lot of crazy nerd stuff in there, but also soooo many things that fit me well. Mainly, this serves for those of you privileged enough to be associated with a nerd of any class.