Author Archives: brad

So it looks like the hormone balance will be completely out of whack at my church this weekend.

Our Men’s Ministry is having its first retreat: a duck hunting trip to Maryland.

Lest anyone worry, I shall not be among them, for three reasons.

Reason The First:
Actually, I’m not allowed to talk about this one, but those that know me already know the reason.

Reason The Second:
Because somebody has to stick around and run the Sunday service. 😉

Reason The Third:
I can easily envision two scenarios. In the first scenario, myself or a fellow laborer in the ministry would come home with more than was taken along, namely some sort of ammunition lodged into the buttock region. In the second scenario, myself or a fellow laborer in the ministry would come home with less than was taken along, namely several toes or, possibly, a pinky.

So it seems that David Meredith is in a predicament. He wrote some software for his employer, although he claims to have written most of it on his own time. Now that he wants to market the solution to others, his employers are claiming ownership of the project and demanding that he turn over his source code.

Eighteen months ago, the State Patrol praised trooper David Meredith for going beyond the call of duty by developing time-saving software that helps officers write traffic tickets electronically.
“Meredith is credited for accomplishing more in one year than software companies have in five years,” the State Patrol said in a press release in May 2005, when Meredith received a special honor for his work on the software.
Now, he is suing the head of the patrol, saying the state is trying to illegally seize the source code to software he developed on his own time and had hoped to market.
But the State Patrol argues that Meredith never owned the program because his bosses directed him to write it while he was on the clock. Plus, the state says it is barred by contract from developing it commercially.
The dispute erupted after Meredith told his bosses last year that he wanted to sell the product to other law enforcement agencies.

Hmmm…. sounds like I situation I could have encountered myself (but won’t).

See related Slashdot discussion here.

What do you think? Make your choice and leave a comment.

It’s a projector, a CD/DVD player, an MP3 player, an iPod dock, and more. It’s the R2-D2 Mobile Entertainment System:

Wow. This is just too cool.

Click to enlarge.

I’m totally geeking out and at a loss for words. More here.

OK, I confess.

I’m intrigued:

What does Apple have up its sleeve for the upcoming MacWorld?

Obvious guesses include the iPhone, the 8-core Mac Pro, the iTV, and Leopard, but I think Apple will throw us a curveball, like they’re so good at doing.

Any guesses?

This isn’t a New Year’s Resolution, but I’d like to do more with open source software this year.

Please note that I have no ideological objection to closed source, proprietary software. None whatsoever. In fact, I kinda like it. But I also like the idea of some software being wide open.

So this year, I want to use more open source software. I’m already in the process of switching to NeoOffice/OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, and I have to report that it’s going extremely well. And, at least on my Windows machines, I already use Firefox almost exclusively (I still use Safari on my Macs).

I’d also like to contribute some software this year. I have some ideas for some classes and modules I can release for other REALbasic developers, but there’s also one big project I’d really like to open source. I won’t mention its name, but you can probably guess what it is. 🙂

UPDATE
Hint: It’s not Tangelo, and it’s not currently for sale. As much as I’d like to, I really can’t be more specific until I talk to some other people, though.

Yeah, I know. New Year’s Resolutions are so passe. But I don’t care. Now seems as good a time as any to make some fresh starts. So here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2007.

1) Lose 30 pounds.
This is a two pronged resolution. First, since I’ve been so very lax with my eating habits, I need to get back onto the Atkins diet full force. Second, since I’ve been so very lazy when it comes to taking care of my body, I need to start exercising. With our school district’s wellness center across the hall from my office, I really have no good excuse. I’m going to shoot for one hour twice a week, plus regular walks. Right now I’m at 210 pounds, and I’d like to hit 180 in or around March. I’m hoping to use this blog to keep me somewhat accountable, so I’m going to try to post regular updates about my weight and my diet/exercise status. Don’t be afraid to hassle me about it.

2) Read the entire Bible.
I did this in 2003, and since then, I haven’t been as faithful as I should be in studying the Bible. I still have my Daily Walk Bible that I used in 2003, and I plan to use it again.

3) Get more sleep.
‘Nuff said.

So there you have it. Nothing earth-shattering, and probably nothing even that out of the ordinary, but that’s how I want to be better this year.

How about you?

OK, that has to be the worst movie I’ve ever seen.

IMDB has it listed as Dear Santa, but in the OnDemand listings, it was called My Santa, My Dad, and it was absolutely terrible.

I’m pretty easy on movies, in general. But this one was a stinker. I’m glad I didn’t watch it until today, because if I had watched it just a few days ago, it may very well have ruined Christmas for me.

I’d try to explain the plot, but I don’t want to turn away the few regular readers I have.

It was like watching a bunch of sixth graders try to put on a movie with no adult supervision, and it was written by the dumb kid who never says anything that makes any sense. And that’s being generous.

I feel like I need a shower.

Have a Merry Christmas, site everyone!

CBS News: Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.

As Snagglepuss would say, “Exit, stage left.”

May he rest in peace. His partner Hanna passed away in 2001.

Grace just watched her first episode of Yogi Bear not three days ago, and she thought it was really cool. And she’s now discovering how great some of the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons were, especially since Cartoon Network owns the rights to them.

She discovered The Flintstones on her own, when Fred showed up on an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, which I have to admit is a pretty funny show.

But it can’t compare to the classics like Huckleberry Hound, The Great Grape Ape, Quick McGraw, Jabberjaw, Scooby Doo, The Jetsons, Magilla Gorilla, Jonny Quest, and of course, the venerable Hong Kong Phooey (number one super guy).

So this is the end of an era. Of course, things haven’t been the same since Bill Hanna died, but this seals the deal. The future of these classics is now in the hands of Cartoon Network.

From the article: The team’s cartoons spanned “the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable,” Meyer said. “While he will be missed by his family and friends, (Barbera) will live on through his work.”

Yep, Snagglepuss said it best: Exit, stage left.

This weekend, I…
…learned that camels growl.
…got growled at by a camel.
…ate Nino’s pizza in Millersville.
…went to my daughter’s first basketball game. Sadly, her team lost by two baskets, but all the kids played well.
…watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Thumbs up.
…went to my nephew’s second basketball game. Sadly, his team lost by one basket.
…learned how to operate the scorekeeping machine thingy at my nephew’s basketball game. Hey, it plugs in; let the computer guy handle it!
…tried to get my nephew’s coach to bribe me to help his team win. He wouldn’t do it, so they lost and I didn’t make any extra cash.
…solved the weird reverb problem with my church’s sound system.
…watched my father-in-law impulsively stick his finger into a donkey’s mouth.
…watched my father-in-law nearly get his finger bitten off by a donkey.
…received communion from a guy who looked distressingly like Horatio Sans.
…ate at Hoss’s.
…wrote a program that combined 99 AIFF files into one QuickTime movie in about two seconds (the program ran in two seconds; it took about an hour to write).
…put one of our pastor’s sermons online for the first time.
…worked on my church’s website some more. No link; it’s not ready yet. Although the clever among could probably figure out the domain name.
…installed a Nintendo emulator on my PC for Grace.
…cursed the stupid mine cart level in Donkey Kong Country.
…watched a cat hiss at Grace, then try to hide from her. The cat just doesn’t like her.
…took Jack for a walk.
…swtiched Jack to a new dog food.
…helped Jen clean up dog vomit a couple times.
…switched Jack back to his old food.
…took possession of our new loveseat. Leather…. mmmmmm….
…checked my new database server pretty often. Almost to OCD levels. As of this moment, it’s up and running.
…performed the Barenaked Ladies/Sarah McLachlan arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” at church.
…played with a chihuahua and a dachsund at Petology.
…scoured Ollie’s for inexpensive gifts that Jen needs for a children’s Christmas party.
…listened to the Chipmunks’ Christmas album about five times.
…watched Grace, my nephews, and my nephews’ neighbor make gingerbread houses.
…stole and ate a lot of candy from said gingerbread houses.
…played with the Photoshop CS3 beta.
…drove around looking at Christmas lights.
…saw three really short horses.
…finished reading Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura.
…started reading Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia.