Ahh Summer

"Summer days have gone too soon
You shoot the moon
And miss completely
And now you're left to face the gloom
The empty room that once smelled sweetly..."

--Norah Jones, "Shoot the Moon"

I was listen to this song today at work. Ahh how time flies. I can't believe it is almost August, summer is almost over, school is almost back in session. Because of our schedules Kaylea and I don't usually get to do much through the week only the weekends. We haven't even taken a vacation this year! Ahh oh well, perhaps next year. I just can't believe that it almost over and it feels like I didn't accomplish much of anything. But, they say time flies when your having fun.

Just my rambling thoughts,

Branden

!!CONGRADULATIONS!!

To my friends Matt and Tarra Hartl (www.heartl.com) who are expecting their sixth child. Tarra has struggled with PCOS for years and was able to have this child completely without any medications at all! For more information check out www.heartl.com/letsblog.html and www.pcosliving.com.

So we are currently stuck in a 6 mile back up on the PA turnpike. So much for getting there before midnight!

Programming Frustrations

Okay so some of you reading this know that I spend my days as a mild-mannered programmer. Well..... I am not so mild mannered anymore.

Why you ask? Well because I can't get things to work! It is so infuriating. I am trying to move lots of data like as much as a few million database rows from one database to another.

I have found what technology tools work best, figured out where most of my problems lie, however, I keep forgetting to turn off the power saving settings for my laptop so I can see how long it will take for a really large set of data. So I started the transfer and left my machine for about an hour, came back and my laptop was in stand-by.

Why you ask? Because, while my laptop was plugged in, I didn't turn off the power saver features, so I have to do this all over again.

This is so frustrating! GRRRRRRRR!

Okay I feel better now!

Branden

My wife, while we wait for our food at Eat n Park at 10pm

Test

Mobile Blogging

This as been around for a while, at least since the advent of the camera phone, but I must be way behind the times, because I just found out that Blogger has mobile blogging, called Blogger Mobile. They support all of the major US wireless providers and by sending an e-mail via text message or SMS to go@blogger.com you can post to your blog. I am still figuring it out for my cell phone, but I also understand you can post photos. I might play with it this weekend since my wife's family is having pig roast. I will let you know what I think about it in a few weeks after I have had time to test drive it.Also keep an eye out for my take on the Supreme Court's ruling on the file sharing case.Thanks for reading!

This is a test

--

Mobile Email from a Cingular Wireless Customer http://www.cingular.com

BTW this is just a test message of Blogger's mobile blogging features. I sent this from the cell phone. If you want to know how to do this go to go.blogger.com for more information. I think this is soo cool.

Branden

The Wonderful EMS Tax

So the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a law, called the EMS Tax, that lets municipalities up their occupation tax (ie privilege to work tax) from $10 a year to $52 a year. Now I realize that this law was passed a while ago, AND I realize that not every municipality is charging $52 a year yet. So many of you may not be thinking about too much about this, and, in all reality neither was I. However, I just read an article in the regional EMS newsletter (the EMSI Intercom), about this tax. The reason the author chose to write about it was because when some ambulance services were sending out their subscription drive material. The notes send back with the subscription materials basically says why are you asking me to subscribe, I already paid my EMS tax. Well according to the author, it is a misnomer. It doesn't directly benefit EMS, but Emergency Services which include Police and Fire.

So what is so bad about that? Well the author goes to say that in a recent group he talked to (it may have been a class or some other gathering of EMS managers but I don't have article in front so I am not sure) and asked if anyone was receiving any funding from this new tax and only two people raised their hand. The point of the matter, of theses who are charging, very few are giving to their ambulance services, yet because of the name of the law people think they are paying for EMS by taxes, and it just isn't true.

So what happened when the author of the article went to talk to some legislators to get the name of the law changed, well essentially the law was a political liability to being with. That is why it got the name it did. So, he got the run around.

So for those of you out there that don't want to return your subscription because you already paid the "EMS Tax", just keep in mind that chances are, your EMS service didn't get it.

In Ranting,

Branden

Plans

So I discovered today that EMSI (regional EMS oversight body for the state of PA) is now accepting applications for presenters for there conference next March. I am thinking about offering a class. Yes you heard it hear, I am applying to tech a class on Computers for EMS people. Since computers are being used more and more by EMS personnel and many of them have no clue how it works or what you need to do to maintain it. So I am thinking about creating a class. I am just trying to figure out what the average user needs, I am thinking about a basic sort of Introduction to Windows type course, and a management course about choosing and maintaining computers.

What do you think?

Is File Sharing Technology Dead?

Okay so I get my July 4th issue of Computer World in the mail today. It is one of the few things I don't mind receiving a little technology related junk mail for. In it is an interesting article called Pirate Justice linked here. Essentially it says that the major news outlets miss reported the ruling as a license to sue all file sharing software manufactures, and really I think Frank Hay's option is correct. Most of what I read about it (which I must admit was very little) was to that effect. But what I gathered from listen to the TWiT cast and reading this article, it isn't quite that bad. Basically my understand (and I do plan on reading the options of the justices on my road trip to Philly next week) from what I have read and heard is that if you market file sharing software for the specific purpose of infringing on copyrights then you (as the software company) can be sued. If you market file sharing software for the purpose of trading legitiment content, even though it could be used to trade content illegally, then you are protected under the Sony ruling (Sony couldn't be sued just because the VCR could be used for copywrite infringement ...). I highly recommend the computer world article because it distills everything nicely, although I hope to have my take on the ruling next week after I have a chance to review the three different opinions issued in the case.

Branden

One Word "BLOG"

Okay so in the past I have been a sporatic blogger at best. I am giving this another try. I as get get father and father into techology, I feel the need to discuss my technological escapades with someone other than my wife (since she really doesn't care, but does the nice wife thing and listens anyway). Couple that with something I heard on a weekly podcast I listen to (essentially it was "if you feel strong about something evanglize, in the way that is best for you. (Thank you DNR)") , and well ... I have blog envy. See a few friends I made while working for the PCOSA started blogging about a new ?lifestyle plan? (I think this is the best way to describe it) and have decided blog about their results, and well, one of them... I got them set up with thier current website! Yeah, it is sad really, I can teach them and they get fancy with thier blogs and I am here sitting in the dust :-)

But, I digress... This blog will be about technology, politics, and pretty much anything else that crosses my mind that I find interesting.

Thanks for reading,

Branden