2009-06-30::20:19:37.:-:. LordSpector

  With more than 50 million downloads OpenOffice.org is no longer the infant Office suit that is used to be.  While it still suffers from some lack of interoperability with the Microsoft Office suit the cost of it can't be beat.  Most of the issue would be resolved in the near future as long as Microsoft doesn't change it's formating.  I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they are going to make some changes.  Microsoft Office like Microsoft Vista are going to fail at the reluctance of Microsoft.  The cost of the software continues to climb at a rate faster than the increase in wages.

  I got a call a few days ago about the new Windows 7 operating system and if it was worth the cost of buying it now since it is half price for ten days.  My responce was simple the cost of Windows 7 is not justitfied by the mere 4.5% increase in speed the operating system has been tested at.  I am not going to upgrade and shall remain with Vista and XP.  I will probably move toward Linux in the future since the cost of even buying a Distro on CD or DVD if I needed to is no where near the cost of Windows.  In times like these where jobs and money are hard to get it would be no surprise to me to see schools switching from Microsoft to OpenOffice.org in there next upgrade path.  It is more of a challenge to get industries to change only because of the document formats.  OpenOffice.org needs to nail out the issues with format support and then they will be on the right path to kill Microsoft Office.

  Home users want ease of use and Linux is getting better but it is not 100% of the way there yet.  Hardware support need more work.  Manufacturer should write open source drivers or supply free binaries.  As more people op to use one Distro of linux or another more support will be needed.  Fedora and Ubuntu have come a long way and they are continueing on the right path.  If more games and drivers become available for linux the change will happen and Microsoft could be left hanging out to dry.

2009-06-27::18:34:52.:-:. LordSpector

  Watching the launch of GOES O on space flight now.  It would be amazing to see a launch in person.  I doubt that will happen anytime soon.  I found a new game called Free Farm Game it seems to kind of cool.  I have not played to much yet, but I have enjoyed the bit I have played so far.

  I have updated the site logo and soon will archive the main page as it has grown to a rather large size.  I have some more work to do on a couple of pages of the site.  Some is on distributed projects and the other on rocket design.

2009-06-25::21:13:40.:-:. LordSpector

  I have several rockets which need to be assembled and it would be nice to have more space to do so.  I have a couple of Payload rockets one is for solid payloads and the other can handle liquids.  While I hope to assemble them soon but it will be more likely that I wont be able to until fall.  I have a couple like my Estes Alpha III and my Viking which after many successful launches need to be retired and new ones purchased.

2009-06-22::08:21:23.:-:. LordSpector

  While AMD Just released that notebook manufacturers have been giving battery life estimate using a flawed system the rest of us are not shocked.  Most techs have known for a long time that the way laptop batteries are tested do not reflect real world use and were setup for best battery life tests.  While batteries have gotten much more powerful they still do not give enough runtime to allow a user to accomplish tasks on battery power alone.  I do not beleive that I have finished more than a couple of tasks on my laptop prior to the battery dying.  The more we depend on batteries the better they will hopefully get and maybe one day last long enough to complete task without being attached to the wall.

  I setup a favicon for the site while it does not work in IE that is fine.  I am not a fan of IE and it non-standard compliant way of doing so many things.  More of Microsoft in the news they still want more H1-B Visas.  In the article it was said that indian programmers are more willing to master the art of programming and because of that American Techs out of school are non hireable.  I guess maybe thats could be true but it that is true than why is Microsofts Windows one of the most complex, buggy, bloated, unstable Operating systems if they rather hire all these master programmers from india than should windows be better.  Glad I'm not a master in that boat.

2009-06-13::17:54:07.:-:. LordSpector

  I installed the Distributed.net client a few days ago and started cracking keys for the project again.  While it is going to take a while to complete the RC5-72 challenge it is still worthwhile.  We have compiled a list of some of the things we will need to build our house.

  I found a new free tool called flash develop.  While I have not had time to try it out yet, it seem so far to be fairly polished compared to more free tools that I have found.  It should be fun to it out but that will be another time.

2009-06-13::17:54:07.:-:. LordSpector

  I have completed quite a bit of Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL, and Apache and I have learn much.  I do have a long ways to go to being really profficent in PHP but, the more I do the more I will be able to do.  The combination of PHP and HTML is what make it so powerful.  I am going to start the HTML portion of the Rocket Launch Logger soon.

  I am going to do some work on my rockets soon so they will be ready to launch for the new year.  I shouldn't take to long to make sure they are ready to launch.  I am also going to take pictures to put on the site of my fleet of rockets.  While it is not a large collection yet I hope that in the future I will be able to grow and learn more about them.

2009-06-01::21:35:44.:-:. LordSpector

  Just taking a break from some more PHP training.  I have completed the first 140 pages of my book.  I hope to complete a few more sections and then start working on the web software I am planning.  I also plan on a Visual Basic version if I get this off the ground and going.  I am enjoying what I have learn and hope to continue to expand my knowledge of this field.

2009-05-09::21:35:44.:-:. LordSpector

  I have been working on my php skills some as I have started in to the book I purchased a while back.  After finishing my book on getting a Private Pilots License.  Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL, and Apache is very good and I have gone through the first hundred pages of it already.  I'm sure that my pace will slow done as I get into some more advanced topics.  I hope the knowledge that will be gained from this book will help me on my way in the development of the Launch Logger.

2009-04-16::18:58:46.:-:. LordSpector

  After growing tired of removing the constant influx of posts from the forum I have removed them.  Forums are a nice idea except for the number of bots that attack them with the most random junk.  I have finished the book I bought on getting my pilots license and it is really good and makes things so much easier.  I might even attempt to get my license someday in the future.

2009-03-29::20:23:39.:-:. LordSpector

  I have played several missions into Tom Clancy's Hawx and I really have enjoyed it.  Other than a few random crashes it has been fairly good.  Maybe another patch release with fix the remaining crashes.  Until next time.

2009-03-07::11:13:36.:-:. LordSpector

  I have finished the first two chapters of Sam's Teach yourself PHP, MySql, and Apache.  While I have gone through just over eighty pages now I am just getting to PHP in the book.  I hope to start working through some examples and then begin work on what I hope will be quite an accomplishment.

2009-03-06::11:13:36.:-:. LordSpector

  I finished installing and configuring the Trio of MySQL, Apache, and PHP this morning.  It wasn't to horrible to accomplish.  I found that not all version install as easy as the one I managed to install.  I do have them up and running now so I can start to learn a develop some php apps.

  I had to go to the DMV and get a new trailer plate this morning and it was easier to do than I expected to do.  It was early enough that very few people were there.  The roads were icy which probably helps some also.

2009-03-03::20:21:55.:-:. LordSpector

  It has a busy evening as I installed mySql, Apache, and PHP so far on my desktop.  I still need to configure PHP to work with Apache but I will leave that for tomorrow night.  I have gotten a little more into the the book on getting my Pilots Certificate.  While I have only been reading it at work I will be finished in only a week or two at the rate I am reading it.  It might take longer however since I read faster when the breakroom is not packed with a bunch of yelling distractions.

2009-02-27::10:15:03.:-:. LordSpector

  With the economy in the situation that is currently is I find it shows how little the fiscal responsibility is taken witht the state and federal government.  The latest News in is David O'Brien Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service gets an IPhone.  I am not sure if he completed the transaction yet, however how many of purchases made by state personnel like this are made every year.

  I finished another Book this morning.  Wireless Hacking By the SoCalFreeNet.org.  While the book was good I think that more experiance would have gone well with it.  Maybe it will be in the next revsion.  All in all however this book was worth the read.

2009-02-24::21:06:32.:-:. LordSpector

  While I have not used the new version of Aptana much yet it seems to be a big improvement.  The reaction time is much better.  If the Aptana continues to grow in this manor it will be the best.

  In the few short minutes of the Presidents Address to Congress tonight I have notice that the republicans do not seem to show much support to the presidents plan.  While some support has been shown very little has been shown.

2009-02-22::21:06:32.:-:. LordSpector

  I installed the new Aptana 1.3RC and it is a big improvment over the last version.  The code editor no longer has it's problems and the syntax checker renders much quicker I just noticed.  The start up time is still slow but any one the uses it much of there time would really see that as a problem since how often will you open and close the app.  Multitasking allow the app to remain open so why close it when it is not in use for a moment.  I hope the the start time improves in the future but for now it is what it is.

2009-02-14::16:48:54.:-:. LordSpector

  I installed Diablo 2 today.  While it has been a while since I last played Diablo 2 the story has come back to me.  Installing it on Vista is not a problem.  Playing it requires the latest patch from blizzard otherwise it will not run.

2009-02-07::16:11:40.:-:. LordSpector

  While I realy enjoy using aptana, it does have a couple of bugs that I hope get worked out soon.  The next version has the fixes for them however are not part of the current release build.  I have read about half of the Rocket Boys and I really enjoy the book.  I still have several more books to read before I have finished reading the new stack.

  You have to love Tax season, will all the paperwork and the hope for money coming back to you.  It is just so much fun to fill out the paper work each year, not.  Well anyways hopefully the tax man will be nice.

2009-02-04::20:27:16.:-:. LordSpector

  I have finished all the books in the Splinter Cell series.  I found that while the books had a great story that they were plagued with nurmerous spelling and grammar errors.  It is not the quality that one would expect to see in a proof read book.  I started reading the Rocket Boys and I am now severial chapters into the book and it is really great.  I can't wait the finish it.  I still have several more books to get through after however they are technical in nature and I hope to learn enough from one of them to write some software that I want.

2009-01-20::19:39:12.:-:. LordSpector

  I finished the second book the the Splinter Cell Series tonight and I am already looking foward to the next.  The book was well written while I did not like one portion of the book it was the authors choice.  I will start the next book tonight and I might be done before the weekend.

2009-01-18::18:01:20.:-:. LordSpector

  In the last couple of days I have cut the Commercials out of a couple of shows that I recorded.  I took a while to get them all and then publish the new files.  It saves a lot of space to cut those annoying commercials out.

  I finished the first Splinter Cell in the Series and I have started the second book now.  I might have it complete by the end of the week.  The first book was really enjoyable.  I hope the rest of the series is just as good of a read.  I recieved my book from Amazon about learning how to fly.  I have only just glaced at it by it already looks to be a interesting read.

2009-01-14::19:25:41.:-:. LordSpector

  It would be nice if Veoh would play more than just the 5 minute demo of their video unless logged in and on their site.  I ordered a book about learning to fly.  I have always been interested in learning.  I found a couple more videos of interest.

  Both of these videos are very insightful of how some of the greatest accomplishments in history been completed.  There are many more of these videos on the site also.  I will post some more of them as I watch them.

2009-01-12::21:11:44.:-:. LordSpector

  I found a fairly cool video at Veoh the other day about figher qualifications.

2009-01-07::20:32:31.:-:. LordSpector

  Vizio apparently is moving in to another field.  Moving from TVs and accessories to now Blue-ray players.  I wonder if they took the time to thing about making one good product before moving on to more.  The TVs they make I can honestly not recommend to anyone.  I see more broken Vizio's than anyother TV.  Dont waste your money when they make a good product it will be great but for now Skip Vizio spend the extra and get a good product.

2009-01-06::20:32:31.:-:. LordSpector

  I finished reading The Hobbit tonight.  It took me a little while to finish it but it was a good book.  While most consider it one of the great writing of history I found it to be good but not as great as I expected.

 The New Year has started out ok but, it still has a long ways to go before the New Year is over.  Hopefully the economy will pick back up but it is going to take quite some time for changes to become aparent.  Each step taken will make some change but there is so much to correct that it could take years to fix the mistake of the few.  The majority always seems to pay for the minoritys mistakes.

2009-01-01::20:56:54.:-:. LordSpector

  Happy New Year.  The Holidays have past again for now.  It won't be long before the next round.  This year will hopefully see the rebound of the economy.  So much needs to happen and while I feel that everyone hopes for the best things will only get worse before the real change will happen.

2008-12-27::20:0:34.:-:. LordSpector

  Increasing Page rank is quite a chore if to much it worried about.  The easiest way is to just continue to add more content and more pages to the site.  The more content the better the page rank will continue to get.  There are about 200 rules that google looks at from what I have read.  Some are important and others not so serious.  In the end the more content the more links in the high the rank and more traffic.

  I have been watching some History Channel shows that I recorded on my DVR.  I have deleted many and been cutting out the sections of information that I have found interesting or important and deleting the rest.  While the shows overall are great I do not have the space to keep the shows indefinitely.  While some I really enjoyed space is at a premium and DVD's still would need to be burnt and kept somewhere.  DVD's also do not last forever.

2008-12-27::20:0:34.:-:. LordSpector

  After having Watched the entire first season of The Big Bang Theory I can't wait for the next season on DVD.  We still have Seasons 6 - 8 of That Seventy Show to watch.  I really like my new Dry Erase Board.  The old one was great but it was getting to be too small and always full of other information.

  I have installed Fallout 3 and I will be playing it tonight.  I hope it is as good as it sounds.  I have never played any of the previous games in the Fallout Series.

2008-12-24::20:05:23.:-:. LordSpector

2008-12-19::10:44:37.:-:. LordSpector

  I added a PDF on the economy that I wrote in the last week.  While I'm not sure I want to call it complete I uploaded the document that I have so far.  The Real World is only 4 pages and to the point while more detail and fluff could be added I rather keep it short to not waste as much time when it is read.  Sign up to the forums and leave your comments and suggestions.

  The Holidays are just about apon us again and it does not seem like this year lasted quite as long as last year.  If I don't make another post before Christmas then Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all.

2008-12-08::20:13:53.:-:. LordSpector

  I seems that the the begining of the end for many businesses aproaches as as the economy continues to get worse and worse.  The changing of the government administation may or may not fix the problem however in real world terms it doesn't really matter.  The government plays such a small role in the big picture.

2008-11-23::21:20:44.:-:. LordSpector

  I have spending a little time with Java and C++/GTK+.  While both have their pluses I am not sure which I want to continue spend more time with.  While Java allows cross platform without recompile since it runs on a Virtual Machine it takes longer to start.  C and C++ are more well known and more commonly used.  I have more experiance with them also however it has been so long since I wrote anything meaningful.  I am very rusty and I might as well be starting off again.  Use it or lose it has real meaning.

2008-11-20::19:32:23.:-:. LordSpector

 The bailout the US Automakers may or may not happen but in the end the people will pay for in some how.  All businesses must make money to be able to operate.  The problem is each year people expect more money even when they are making more than most.  The employees of these companies make better paycheck than many people.  While more is nice a raise is not always the best thing.  The american people have come to expect a raise each year and most workers get a raise.  Exec's of these large companies are no exception just like most large companies.  Unfair business practices are everywhere.  The Greed of this Country is the has become the downfall of everything.  To make more we have sold and given to much to China and other countries.  We need to take back our jobs.  H1B visas are not a good solution to getting help.  Maybe companies should start to go old school and train there people to do the jobs they want to have accomplished.

2008-11-13::20:27:58.:-:. LordSpector

  I started the code for the launch logger and have gotten a small portion of it complete.  While what is currently done needs to be fine tuned before continuing to add more features to what is complete I choose to stop where I am and update the this for now.  Starting small is alway better since it is easier to find the problem in a small changes than in a major change.  I finished reading a book and I will try to add a review of it on the site sometime tomorrow but no promises.

2008-11-08::22:45:51.:-:. LordSpector

  I have installed Ubuntu 8.10 on the laptop and after installing the 64-bit version of Ubuntu.  I found that Aptana studio is not 64-bit ready and the the eclipse plug-in is a lot of work to install.  I am starting to write the launch logger and I hope it will turn out to be a fun project.

2008-10-31::11:17:08.:-:. LordSpector

  The beginning of the end is coming.  I have used windows for many years and while using windows I have learn a lot however the cost of windows is driving me to change.  I like free software to do much of the things I do and while I do not mind paying for things windows is too expensive to continue to upgrade and it doesn't offer the best of everything.  I the near future I will possible make the jump to linux either Fedora or Ubuntu.  Gentoo is a great option for longtime linux users but I do not feel it is the best option for me at least not right now.

2008-10-03::19:25:15.:-:. LordSpector

  After having celebrated my birthday I purchased a couple of new Lego kits.  The new Excavator (8294) and Telescopic Handler (8295) kits are fairly cool.  I finished putting the Excavator together and I have not started the Telesopic Handler yet.  Maybe tomorrow night I will be able to start it.

2008-10-03::08:16:37.:-:. LordSpector

  Today I uploaded the new site logo.  I have started working on the launch logger.  I have not started writing code yet but, I am beginning the design.

2008-09-23::07:44:39.:-:. LordSpector

  Today I cleaned up the front page of the the site.  Moving the older news from the front to the archives makes the page cleaner but, it does reduce the content of the main page.  While I do not really care about getting hits it is always nice to see some activity coming to the site.

  I love my G15 I have started creating custom buttons for quick access to several of my most common tools.  I hope to find even more uses for this great keyboard.  My only complaint is it is not available in an eronomic model.