tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:46:34 +0000mobilecomfortVistaNetflixBlu-rayCrytonomiconcomedyacrobaticsqueue theoryITdeathDDEThomas Covenantleperchild careprivacytime managementWindows ExplorerBaroque Cycleanti-heroeulogytelecomstroubleshootingfantasyNeal Stephensono'reilly safari downtimesemanticsproductivityPulp Fictionkidshumorautomotive repairMicrosoft Officemotorcycleinventory managementpoliticsprecisionshoeweb servicesJavaemploymentdisappointmentAuld lang synedreamsMicrosoft Windowsphysical activitywelcomehomeland securityQuentin TarantinoLinuxwitHTMLsuspension of disbeliefseparated at birthMicrosoft Outlookreference sourcee-votingencyclopediarandom thoughts and interjectionshttp://blog.egriffin.net/noreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)Blogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-4048181137898964260Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:43:00 +00002009-12-30T17:46:50.869-08:00Auld lang synedeatheulogyI've dreaded the moment: an unexpected phone call reporting the death of a loved one. In my morbid fantasies, however, the call is from a stranger, perhaps a police officer or emergency response worker. The actual circumstance was different - having received the call from friends - but in any case I soon found that I had greatly underestimated the grief I would suffer.My mother died this past http://blog.egriffin.net/2009/12/lifes-sad-milestone-parents-passing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-7280541137535311641Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:08:00 +00002009-12-26T08:59:13.187-08:00employmentITWhen it rains it pours. After a job search drought of nearly three months, I finally started getting some employment nibbles. Perhaps it was the nth revision of my resume, ever-refining my achievement-oriented bullets to convey more/better/faster, perhaps it was the recovering economy, or perhaps it was just dumb luck and serendipitous timing. But in September, I began making headway with three http://blog.egriffin.net/2009/10/did-i-mention-that-im-off-dole.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-4755221012394529637Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:30:00 +00002009-07-04T08:28:33.583-07:00mobileproductivityJavaLinuxweb servicestime management...picking up from my November, 2008, post... Last fall during the heady moments following President Obama's rise from campaign trail challenger to president-elect, I felt no bitterness. I still don't, but I might have some cause to sour in the coming months: I'm now part of the 10% of unemployed US workers. Yes, the axeman came for me. But having been telecommuting frequently while at my last http://blog.egriffin.net/2009/07/bitter-tea-add-sweetener.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-442818584253510710Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:18:00 +00002009-12-30T17:49:28.029-08:00physical activitykidschild carehumorJuly 3, 2009My five-year-old son is fascinated with bugs, deep sea creatures, and other exotic life forms. So, naturally, when I saw that Animal Planet had a showing of Eaten Alive, an hour-long program about parasites harmful to humans, I scheduled it for recording on the DVR. I thought it would be a bit silly like the Bite Me with Dr. Mike program on the Travel Channel. Nope! Eaten Alive has http://blog.egriffin.net/2009/07/kid-meet-darnedest-things-part-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-6587558356783302178Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:48:00 +00002008-11-07T15:43:52.118-08:00politicsNot me.Best of luck, President-elect Obama. The world's crises await...http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/11/whos-bitter-now.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-1937894290475708256Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:25:00 +00002008-10-28T00:24:16.919-07:00kidshumorOctober 20, 2008While shopping at Target with mommy in a food aisle, my son asked for some fruit rollups and SpongeBob fruit snacks. Mommy soberly responded that all of the items already in the cart were adding up and asked if he had any money to contribute. My son turned his pockets inside out, shrugged, and -- equally soberly -- declared, "See, I don't have any money. Because I'm only 4."Augusthttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/10/kid-meet-darnedest-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-4417941097962687977Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:25:00 +00002008-10-08T11:27:42.917-07:00Blu-rayNetflixAfter adding my voice to the user community begging Netflix to increase their Blu-ray selection, I was overjoyed when the tide turned against HD-DVD and Netflix vowed to step up their Blu-ray adoption. Netflix didn't initially cite a fee increase for this. But here come da judge:From: Netflix [mailto:netflix@email.netflix.com]Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 9:06 AMDear [Netflix subscriber],As http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/10/netflix-charging-for-blu-ray_08.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-1553445855399898028Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:34:00 +00002008-09-28T09:25:59.486-07:00troubleshootingMicrosoft WindowsproductivityVistaCurrently at 33% completion running Memtest86+ on the second memory stick of 4.No, this isn't routine. I'm not a diehard overclocker, so Memtest86+ isn't on my daily list of activities. I'm here because of Windows Vista.I had some hardware issues with the gaming rig I built 3 years ago (wth?!? time flies!), so since it's long past its heyday for bleeding edge gaming performance (socket 939 AMD FXhttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/09/giving-in-to-windows-vista-upgrade-anti.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-5298582754436095122Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:00:00 +00002009-12-30T17:38:08.922-08:00deathcomedyeulogySad news this past weekend hearing about Bernie Mac's passing. Looking at his body of work, I've seen the majority of his movie and TV acting performances. I cannot think of one that wasn't brightened by his presence, regardless of the overall quality of the program. And whenever I'm in a mood and need a go-to, sure-thing, laugh-my-ash-off standup routine to brighten my day, I look to The http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/08/so-long-bernie-mac.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-1952518885315007372Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:28:00 +00002008-06-21T14:39:53.589-07:00homeland securityprivacypoliticstelecomsI finally got around to reading the Friday GMSV and found information about what seems to be a great boon to telecoms worried about class action litigation over illegal wiretaps.I certainly want to keep our country and her population safe from harm, but I also do not want to surrender any of the rights to which I am entitled as a United States citizen. I recognize that Security and Freedom are athttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/06/accountability-as-corporate-value.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-4977877622006201091Wed, 28 May 2008 19:02:00 +00002008-05-28T14:09:15.238-07:00Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft OfficeWindows ExplorerDDEA coworker of mine recently complained that his WinXP workstation had become indifferent (if not blatantly disdainful) when opening MS Office 2003 files directly from Windows Explorer. For example, it would take 20 - 30 seconds after double-clicking on a Word doc while browsing a network share for the document to appear -- even if Word was already running. I've encountered this sort of thing http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/05/windows-explorer-is-slow-to-open-files.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-8124349246308020350Mon, 12 May 2008 02:23:00 +00002008-05-28T14:08:22.157-07:00Microsoft OutlookHTMLI've been mildly annoyed with the paragraph spacing treatment of my Microsoft Outlook-generated HTML emails in certain other email clients (e.g., Gmail). Instead of a multi-line signature that was tight as displayed in Outlook (using a paragraph spacing value of 0 pt for each signature line), a non-Outlook email client would render the lines with extra paragraph spacing (equivalent to http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/05/eliminating-extra-line-spacing-in-ms.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-8289592347701083312Wed, 07 May 2008 05:33:00 +00002008-05-06T23:31:21.027-07:00Microsoft WindowsI generally don't like letting my home Windows systems go more than a couple years before rebuilding/reimaging them to get rid of bloat and other nasties. Well, the full-rebuild bug hit me this weekend. No problem with my EIDE-based notebook computers. But my workstation (a Dell Precision Workstation 650) has all of its volumes connected through an Ultra SCSI RAID storage controller that isn't http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/05/giving-finger-to-f6-during-windows.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-2009115870561827293Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:33:00 +00002008-04-29T18:57:36.102-07:00reference sourceencyclopediaI enrolled in the Britannica Webshare program and was accepted. Even my meager "web publishing" efforts fit the bill, I suppose. Yay for liberal definitions and acceptance guidelines!And for my inaugural Britannica Online citation, here's their entry on blog.http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/04/thank-you-britannica.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-1462095915436831553Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:33:00 +00002008-04-29T19:55:50.226-07:00physical activityshoecomfortSo many shoes, so little time. I'm no shoe maven, but I do appreciate a comfortable pair of feet covers. As a "big guy" with wide, flat feet it's a challenge finding good shoes for walking, jogging, and running.Over the past decade or so I've been a New Balance fan, most recently of the motion control 587. All was well with my typically short workout sessions. But recently I've been increasing http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/04/sensible-shoes-never-ending-pursuit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-7698745722263110813Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:31:00 +00002008-04-12T09:42:34.200-07:00semanticspoliticsdisappointmentI've been idly watching the merry parade that is the U.S. presidential race. I have my biases, but I had intended to wait until I have my ballot in hand before finalizing my choice. At least until this most recent political dust-up about whether claiming that some U.S. citizens are "bitter" makes one an elitist or not.I have no cause to be bitter. Life is good for me and mine, our economic http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/04/not-bitter-but-eager-for-change.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-6118623516188980795Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:16:00 +00002008-04-12T09:41:30.597-07:00fantasyanti-heroleperThomas CovenantNoticing a scabbed scratch on my hand last week but unable to recall the causative injury, I wondered how I could overlook this potentially infectious dermal breach. I, with all senses ostensibly on alert and quiveringly awaiting stimuli, cannot fathom how difficult it must be to monitor one's body integrity without the benefit of touch and pain receptors. Obviously (!?!), this got me to thinkinghttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/03/beware-outcast-unclean-call-for-anti.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-7010958283236415396Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:37:00 +00002008-03-06T03:19:43.559-08:00dreamse-votingsuspension of disbeliefdisappointmentI was jarred from sleep by a dream this morning (here in a hotel room across the country from my home). No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was more a dream that was so unsatisfying in its essential content that I was ejected from sleep in sheer disgust and disappointment. A dream as might be written by the idle producers of Hollywood blockbusters to kill time during a WGA strike. (Now, that would havehttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/03/nightmare-of-different-sort.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-921260348024367212Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:04:00 +00002008-03-02T21:22:21.969-08:00o'reilly safari downtimeI'm a fan of O'Reilly Media's Safari online business and technical library. After having been through both personal and corporate trials over the past year, I finally bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and subscribed for a year. I haven't used any download tokens yet, so I'm dependent upon connectivity to peruse my favorite books.A friend of mine warned me on Friday that Safari's authenticationhttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/03/walking-high-wire-without-net.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-7047218318658983981Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:41:00 +00002008-04-12T09:40:23.442-07:00Blu-ray...but I'm glad you're on the way out.Netflix finally got off the pot in the HD format war. Maybe now I'll get my darn Blu-ray movies as soon as they're released and not months and months later.W00t! Blu-ray ftw!http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/02/hd-dvd-i-hardly-knew-ye.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-339975155960311745Sat, 09 Feb 2008 17:00:00 +00002008-02-09T09:43:20.621-08:00witproductivityprecisionIt’s hard to argue with the Bard of Avon (even when overlooking the fact of his death nearly 400 years ago!). But did Shakespeare unequivocally mean that brevity is the soul of wit? I have been trying to find flaw with the argument for brevity for much of my life. For I am not brief; a good editor I can never be. So I desperately rationalize my own verbosity as a noble striving for precision. Canhttp://blog.egriffin.net/2008/02/wit-vs-ambiguity-is-brevity-worth-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-410150397335877957Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:27:00 +00002008-01-25T18:27:13.387-08:00physical activitychild careacrobaticsMy wife and I had been trying to find fun, engaging preschool activities for our son. We thought that a tiny tots gymnastics class would be worth a try. Enough group interaction and instructor-led activity to socialize my whirling dervish of a son; and no end of fun running, somersaulting, leaping, frog-walking, hand-standing, and balancing his way through each hour-long class.The first gym we http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/01/non-edible-tootsie-rollers-acrosports.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-3228657248389355680Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:42:00 +00002008-01-25T10:32:32.028-08:00automotive repairmotorcycleFor the motorcycle riders out there, I had the (unfortunate) opportunity to give the Stop & Go International Pocket Tire Plugger product a try the other day. I've been carrying this kit on my BMW R1200RT (as well as a tire pressure gauge, a portable air pump, and a Leatherman all-purpose tool) since I purchased the moto in 2005. I was never a Boy Scout, but I like the idea of being prepared.All http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/01/testimonial-stop-go-internationals.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-2482339874088997857Fri, 18 Jan 2008 02:24:00 +00002008-01-17T18:54:44.853-08:00Microsoft Windowstime managementWhile I waited for my Dell notebook to reboot, I got to wondering -- for the thousandth, millionth?, time -- how much of my life has been spent waiting for Microsoft Windows to start?Let's see. I first started using Windows sometime around version 2. Yes, painful. But I didn't use Windows for much of anything useful until version 3 around 1992. At the time I was working in a computer testing lab,http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/01/time-served-for-good-behavior.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652899986667874423.post-5408468721570144099Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:31:00 +00002008-01-16T14:38:56.859-08:00Neal Stephensonseparated at birthQuentin TarantinoPulp FictionCrytonomiconBaroque CycleIf you happened to note a strong character trait similarity between Stephenson's Shaftoe family (particularly Jack) and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction palooka, you're not alone; so did I! Excerpt:This morning I happened to be watching Pulp Fiction and -- having recently finished reading Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon (re-read) -- I couldn't help but think that Butch Coolidge must http://blog.egriffin.net/2008/01/separated-at-birth-shaftoes-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gryphons Lair)0