From my Inbox
Category Archives: Miscellaneous
Don’t Reply to All (My Favorite Superbowl XLV Commercial)
My Favorite Commercial from Superbowl XLV
Of course if you are using Lotus Notes this is a good reminder about changes thankfully made in Notes 8.0.x and later
@curiousmitch Any good Loti know’s that the Reply All (With Attachments) is no longer the default 🙂
Benjamin Chapman
findbenjamin
Snow and Ice: A look at the neighborhood
Having missed the last big storm while attending Lotusphere I decided to take a little walk around this morning and see what the neighborhood looked like. Â I missed the worst of it last Wednesday and Thursday, and a little melted yesterday when we got lucky and got rain instead of snow and some melting occurred. Â Today we have a nice sunny day in the 40’s with more melting, though the way this winter is going I am sure there will be more snow to replace what melts soon enough.
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157625864807035″]
Click on each photo to enlarge or see the entire set on Flickr here.
Images of the Swan and Dolphin in Google Earth
I am a bit addicted to Google Earth, actually it is helpful at times especially the street views when you are headed somewhere for the first time, or sometimes just to get a different perspective on different places you have been.  Google Earth also has historical imagery allowing you to see not only the current published image, but previous ones as well.
A while ago I was playing with historical imagery and captured these images of the Swan and Dolphin taken between February 1994, and May 2010. Â You can also see how Google Earth imagery has improved over time.
[flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157625748961365″]
Click on each photo for a larger view or visit the entire set on Flickr.
2010 by the Numbers
It’s that time of year again, I figure if you have been reading along here, or following on Twitter you know what I have been up to all year, so instead of a year in review post, here is 2010 by the numbers.
Blogging
Blogging seems to have remained consistent this year, with prior years, January remains the biggest month by far, though with Lotusphere moving in to February in 2011, I guess next years numbers will move around a little.
Last year I did not understand the end of year spike in Twitter activity, this year I think I figured it out, it’s the NFL Season, which brings lots of activity to the Twitter stream on Sunday afternoons, a time that is otherwise a quiet one during the rest of the year. Twitter Statistics provided by Tweetstats.
Photos
It’s the dangerous combination of always having a camera with me and cute kids, at least it is not costing me a fortune to develop the film.
Hospital Visits
OK so this is the only category that really matters, and we were so close, the number was Zero, until December 29, when after my slip and fall on the ice I wound up there for x-rays, and yes I have a broken bone (more on this another time). I am happy we had no hospital visits that involved the kids this year.
Wrapping Up
That’s it 2010 by the numbers, wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011, and looking forward to seeing many of you in Orlando at the end of January.
All charts created using the Google Chart API
Yes it is true, I am ending a 25 year relationship
I have been a subscriber to Sports Illustrated since (according to them) January 12, 1987,
my subscription is about to run out, and I think the time has come to pull the plug. Yes I am still a sports fan, I am just noticing that they are being read less and less frequently. When I first subscribed it was a weekly infusion of news that you couldn’t get elsewhere, now it is mostly old news, and occasionally a feature story that interests me. I am getting one or two letters a week from Sports Illustrated *see samples below) imploring me to renew, but I think the time has come to end it. Don’t worry in a couple of more years my boys will be ready for the kids edition and we can start all over again.
Rockmelt and Lotus Notes share the same problem
Have you tried Rockmelt? The new browser built on Chromium which in their own words:
“RockMelt does more than just navigate Web pages. It makes it easy for you to do the things you do every single day on the Web: share and keep up with your friends, stay up-to-date on news and information, and search. And of course, RockMelt is fast, secure, and stable because it’s built on Chromium, the open source project behind Google’s Chrome browser. It’s your browser – re-imagined and built for how you use the Web. “
I got in to the beta a few weeks ago and have been using it on and off, most of my browsing is still being done in Chrome, where all my extensions are installed, but I have been playing a little with Rockmelt. What I have discovered is that Rockmelt, and Lotus Notes share a very common problem.
When you are in the Notes client you are authenticated with your notes ID, but when you attempt to use other services in the sidebar like Activites, or Sametime you are forced to (at least the first time you connect) provide a user name and password (despite already being authenticated in to the Notes client).
Rockmelt seems to have the same problem in reverse, when I load Rockmelt it remembers my logins to Twitter and Facebook in the sidebar, but if I visit Twitter or Facebook in the browser there is no connection made and I am asked to login again as seen here:
While I would like to see the Notes Client do a better job of handling Single Sign on, even with out it, I get a lot of benefits out of the Notes client, from my mail, contacts, and calendar, to Applications I use, and the integration with Connections, and other sidebar plugins, the lack of single sign on is a minor annoyance, overshadowed by the features that I use.
The jury is still out on Rockmelt, I am seeing the annoyances, but not yet seeing the benefits really justify making the switch, I will continue to play with it and see as they release future updates if the benefits show up.
If you are looking to try Rockmelt I have some invites, you need to connect to Facebook from their site and request one, if we are friends on Facebook I will be able to see your request and send an invite, first come first serve (and please don’t friend me just for an invite)
This Time of the Year there Should be a Hotline You Can Call (Happy Thanksgiving)
One of the classic Thanksgiving scenes from TheWest Wing, President Bartlet calls the Butterball Hotline. This is from Season 3, Episode 7 The Indians in the Lobby
Get the Flash Player to see this video.
The TSA Has a Problem, You Do Too
I don’t usually talk politics (or whatever this nonsense is) here, but the last few days of listening to everyone complain about and ridicule the TSA got to me.
First make no mistake, the TSA has a huge PR problem on their hands, clearly there is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding about the new scanning technology currently being deployed to airports nationwide. There are two different types of machines, which produce slightly different types of images.
“TSA uses two types of imaging technology, millimeter wave and backscatter.”
Tell me honestly if you saw an image like this of your spouse or children would you recognize them? Add to that the fact that the TSA officer who works with you at the machine never sees the image, and the TSA officer that sees the image never sees you, I think your privacy is safe.
Millimeter Wave Image
Backscatter Image
The second concern is for the safety of the machines, according to the TSA site the exposure from Millimeter Wave is lower then an average cell phone, and the Backscatter exposure is equivalent to 2 minutes of flight on an airplane, so unless you are giving up your cell phone, and flying you should have no issue here.
On the other hand, best as I can tell right now people are heading to the airport looking to pick a fight with the TSA (sorry when you just happen to record your encounter with TSA, and use it to get your 15 minutes of fame, you have zero credibility with me).
Remember the TSA officer you deal with at the airport have zero flexibility, they have a job to do, they are the implementors of policy, not the decision makers. If you don’t like the policy that is your right, address it to someone who can change it, not with the TSA officers who could probably lose their jobs for not following it. Read Kathleen McGivney’s open letter regarding the TSA, addressed to TSA administrators, Airline executives, and members of Congress, I might not agree completely with everything in the letter, but it addressed to people who can make changes, not at people just trying to do their jobs.
Also remember picking a fight with TSA at the airport just distracts them from doing their job which is to protect all of us who take to the skies.
Airport security in this country needs a lot of work, until now it has been completely reactive for example
-Someone tries to use flammable liquid to blow up a plane – ban liquids this adds tons of complexity to the screening process with acceptable quantities, and necessary exceptions, though I am sure this is good for sales of overpriced bottled beverages within the secure area.
-Someone tries to shoe bomb a plane – make everyone take their shoes off
-Toner bombs – ban toner (still scratching my head trying to figure out why someone would need/want to travel with toner.
Etc… Etc… Etc…
Change is needed, and these new scanners are the beginning, you don’t try to run your business on technology from the 60’s and 70’s, why do you expect the TSA to protect you using 30 year old technology? What if the TSA implemented a policy of “Scan or no fly”, they could, but that is not how things are done in this country, if you don’t want to be scanned and imaged, fine – but also accept the consequences. The reality is there are terrorist threats, and I for one prefer better safe then sorry when it comes to security.
Clearly the TSA needs to do a better job educating the public about both the technology, and what will happen if you opt out, so the general public can make an informed decision, but picking a fight with the TSA at the airport is going to solve nothing.
TSA Advanced Imaging Technology: How it Works
The Server Rack (a.ka. The Office Cleanup….. Part 3)
My home office cleanup effort continues (Part 1, Part 2) today I regained quite a bit of space in my office, though in the process lost the first thing any guest to my office would comment on. Today the Server rack, 3 servers, 2 drive arrays, a couple of backup drives, and other miscellaneous equipment all got picked up for transport to it’s new home InfoAge – Science-History Learning Center and Museum in Wall, NJ. 
