Quote of the Day

A picture is worth 1,000 words. Which 1,000?

Awesome Beefsteak Dinner

The Skyliners ran a beefsteak dinner Saturday night, and it was completely awesome!! Everyone had a great time, and we even made money! I was very happy to be part of it and very proud of the administrative team that worked together and made it happen!

Seems oddly relevant....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-jCBBH7itw

Easter was nice

Had a good Easter weekend. Saw pictures of my niece / nephew "the guppy." Got half of the concrete in my yard chunked up. Got some SUNSHINE!!!! :-)

First Day of Spring, says the calendar

Can we turn up the thermostat? I NEED SOME SPRING!!!!!! I'm ready!

Why Do You Do Your Kid's Homework?

My new pet peeve is parents who do their kids' homework. Do you realize that by the time your kid is 17, the only thing he/she will be qualified to do is flip burgers? Believe me, your twenties are FAR more fun if you have a decent paying job and money to spend and you are not attached by the purse strings to your parents.

PLEASE do your kids a favor and make them figure out their homework with your guidance - not the other way around.

Helicoptor Game

This is fun!

http://www.hurtwood.demon.co.uk/Fun/copter.swf

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ever get that email about Fleming and Churchill?

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/fleming.asp

Don't believe everything you get in your inbox!

Validation

One of the things I was worried about when I took my current position was my lack of experience in writing requirements. It was totally awesome when my boss came over and complimented me on the requirements I had been writing for one of my projects. I think having other people validate the work I'm doing will give me the confidence I need to become an established business analyst.

In other news, I'm both glad and disappointed that the parade I was going to be marching in tomorrow with the Blackhawks has been postponed due to the impending storms. It will not be the same to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in April.

The English language is cool!

Today I was going nuts because I was confused between the words "collaborate" and "corroborate." I later ended up typing "corraborate," which of course is not a word.

Being that I found on this site that it's a common English error, I guess I'm not the only one.

Yay!!

It doesn't take a lunar eclipse for me to bowl well. Another 500 series! And this time we actually took 5 points - yippee!!

Bummer

Just did a biometric screening at work. Fasted for 9 hours... Blood test didn't work. Now it's hard to type because I have two bandaids on two fingers. They said I wasn't hydrated enough - they're the ones that told me not to drink! Meh.

Fasting is no fun...

Need to fast for a biometric screening today. Can't wait to see what's left in the cafeteria for lunch at 2:30.

Some incentive to post more often!

Blogging is good for you - http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/03/blogging-social-health.html

Of course, when you have a blog like mine that most people don't read and nobody comments on, the benefits would be minimal.

Company

This was on PBS on Sunday - it was awesome! I loved having the actors and actresses doubling as the orchestra.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/company/

Ski Trip!

Skiing is awesome! I made it tumbled down the Nile Mile at Camelback! Actually, I only fell three times, so I think that's a good accomplishment! I'm just glad to have made it off of the bunny slopes and to lose my fear of the chair lift.

Company gifts....

Okay, first the company gives out mugs made of recycled plastic to save the environment and then skips a whole bunch of us... Then they give out polo shirts of random sizes and some of us ended up with 2X.

I'm thinking stick with monetary gifts. :-)

Lunar eclipse

Apparently it takes a lunar eclipse for me to bowl well. A 562 series including a 200 game!

http://www.majesticlanes.com/standings/winter07/1348.html

Ever burp a keeshond?

A couple of days ago, I was patting Helmut on the back after he had eaten a bit of food and he burped really loud. It was great.

Music rocks!

I really think that singing / playing an instrument is one of the best disciplines a person can get involved in. It's just damn fun.

Woo hoo!

I think I finally know what I want to be when I grow up! :-)

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Abraham Lincoln and my mother!

Evil Product

Little, little, pins....

http://www.thingsremembered.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10001_598664_-1_1?fcref=

Human Survival Genes Pinpointed (Should be: Human Race Concept Genetically Abolished)

I find it amazing that the below quote is so great, yet it's buried in the back end of this article.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/05/natural-selection-dna.html

"But the genes that explain the phenotypic differences between populations only represent a tiny part of our genome, confirming once again that the concept of 'race' from a genetic standpoint has been abolished," he added.

Cool Stuff about New Jersey

Got this email from my friend Doug.

If you've ever lived in Jersey ...you'll appreciate this!!! If you have seen this before, sorry but here it is again.
>
> New Jersey is a peninsula.
>
> Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern >seaboard, from Maine to Florida.
>
> New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as >metropolitan areas.
>
> New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.
>
> New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba .
>
> New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US .
>
> New Jersey has the highest cost of living.
>
> New Jersey has the highest cost of auto insurance.
>
> New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation.
>
> New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to >as the "Diner Capital of the World."
>
> New Jersey is home to the original Mystery Pork Parts Club (no,not
> Spam): Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.
>
> Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian >sausage w/peppers and onions.
>
> North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with >seven major shopping malls in a 25 square mile radius.
>
> New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island .
>
> The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor >John P. Holland.
>
> New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most >famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, >Cape May.
>
> New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water >quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.
>
> New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest >chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.
>
> Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.
>
> New Jersey is also the world leader in blueberry and cranberry
> production (and here you thought Massachusetts ?)
>
> Here's to New Jersey - the toast of the country! In 1642, the first >brewery in America , opened in Hoboken .
>
> New Jersey rocks!
> The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in >Mahwah, in 1940.
>
> New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US , >located in Elizabeth . Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes >through Elizabeth Seaport first.
>
> New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports (in Newark ), >Liberty International.
>
> George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles >were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington.
>
> The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture projector, >were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park , NJ , laboratory.
>
> We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.
>
> The first phonograph records were made in Camden , NJ (RCA).
>
> The first seaplane was built in Keyport ,NJ and the first airmail (to >Chicago) was started from Keyport, NJ.
>
> New Jersey was home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City.
> The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its >playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City.
>
> Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world, not to mention salt >water taffy.
>
> New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the >Middle East countries. Maybe that explains our gas prices.
>
> The first Indian reservation was in NJ, in the Watchung Mountains.
>
> New Jersey has the tallest water-tower in the world. (Union,NJ!!)
>
> New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City
>
> The Pulaski SkyWay, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway >highway.
>
> NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson (Holland Tunnel).
>
> The first baseball game was played in Hoboken , NJ , which is also the >birthplace of Frank Sinatra.
>
> The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in >1889 (Rutgers College played Princeton).
>
> The first drive-in movie theater was opened in Camden , NJ , (but
> they're all gone now!).
>
> New Jersey is home to both of " NEW YORK 'S" pro football teams!
>
> The first radio station and broadcast was in Paterson , NJ .
>
> The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj. Thomas >Armstrong.
>
> All New Jersey natives: Sal Martorano, Jack Nicholson, Bruce
> Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifah, Susan Sarandon,
> Connie Francis, Shaq, Judy Blume, Aaron Burr, Joan Robertson, Ken Kross, >Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Ginsberg, >Norman Mailer, Marilynn McCoo, Flip Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, Whitney >Houston, Eddie Money, Linda McElroy, Eileen Donnelly, Grover Cleveland, >Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Jerry Lewis, Tom Cruise, Joyce Kilmer, Bruce >Willis, Caesar Romero, Lauryn Hill, Ice-T, Nick Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra >Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci, Joe Piscopo, Joe DePasquale, >Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norm an Lloyd, >Paul Simon, Jerry Herman, Gorden McCrae, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, >Phyllis Newman, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, >Zebulon Pike, James Fennimore Cooper, Admiral Wm.Halsey,Jr., Dave Thomas >(Wendy's), William Carlos Williams, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Bob Reyers, >Paul Robeson, Ernie Kovacs, Joseph Macchia, Kelly Ripa, and, of course, >Francis Albert Sinatra
> and "Uncle Floyd" Vivino.
>
> The Great Falls in Paterson , on the Passaic River , is the 2nd highest >waterfall on the East Coast of the US .
>
> You know you're from Jersey when . . .
>
> You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges."
>
> You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.
>
> You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.
>
> You know what a "jug handle" is.
>
> You know that WaWa is a convenience store.
>
> You know that the state isn't all farmland, but still has pl enty.
>
> You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey --there's the >shore--and you don't go "to the shore," you go "down the shore." And when >you are there, you're not "at the shore"; you are "down the shore."
>
> You know how to properly negotiate a circle, and you knew that the last >sentence had to do with driving.
>
> You know that this is the only "New" state that doesn't require "New"
> to identify it (try: Mexico, York, Hampshire - doesn't work, does it?).
> You know that a " White Castle " is BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast >food sandwich.
>
> You don't think "What exit?" as a location is very funny.
>
> You know that people from the 609 area code are "a little different."
> Yes they are!
>
> You live within 30 minutes of at least three different malls.
>
> You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.
>
> Every year you have at least one kid in your class named Tony.
>
> You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall.
>
> You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights , and people >from Central Jersey go to Be lmar, and people from South Jersey go to >Wildwood.
>
> You weren't raised in New Jersey --you were raised in either North >Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey .
>
> You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state.
>
> You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel, >Bamberger's and Orbach's.
>
> You've had a boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.
>
> You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.
>
> And finally . . .
>
> You've NEVER, NEVER NEVER, EVER
>
> pumped your own gas.

W00t!

AND I figured out my file sharing issue. Eat that, Puppy Linux!

GO GIANTS!!!!!

YEAH - THE GIANTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!

Samba Blues...

I wish that all computer networking between all operating systems would just work... I've reached a point where when I'm not at work, I'm just not in the mood to figure stuff out.

The scenic route...

This morning, I was thinking about my commute to work. Most of it involves the highway, but then there's a full 10 minute drive down a winding road. Normally, I consider this an inconvenience, but in a way, I guess it's kind of cool to have to take a few minutes to enjoy the surroundings without having any real alternative to doing so.

If that makes any sense....

What the....?

Where the frig does my money like to run off to? Honestly....

Back to the gym!

Went to the gym for the first time since August! Yay!

Random thoughts

This was a pretty cool weekend. Reconnected with old friends and was forced to clean the house due to entertaining company. Looking forward to the ski trip we're planning. Came to the conclusion that I am a mental case like everyone else. Maybe this is a good post for a picture of something. Let me see what I have...


This will do...

Forgotten...

Ever watch your whole team go to a lunch you weren't invited to? Ah well. Nothing personal. I had a great time eating free cafeteria lunch sitting with someone I've worked on a project with previously.

My voice is on a Google compilation video!

::sigh::

I wish I was here....

Third Tynes' the Charm!!!

Okay, so it's a bad pun and I heard it on TV, but WHO CARES? The Giants are going to the SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Next chapter in "Who Wants to Send Verizon Money?"

Looks like Verizon's going to collect from the cable companies, too...

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=143627&site=cdn&f_src=lightreading_gnews

I'm baaack!

Welcome to 2008.

This is my first post of the year. Decided to stay on Blogger and just maintain the blog since I had to leave Comcast when I moved. Hope you like the template I picked. Anybody still reading? Only problem is that the links in the post point to pictures that are no longer online. I may fix this eventually - I have all of the site archived - I would just need to upload the pics to a page with a similar structure and fix all the links. Not real high on my priority list, tell you the truth. After all, I remember what the pictures are, and I think I'm far more likely to go back and look at my old posts than anyone else who would venture to read my drivel.

I had thought I had maybe posted since my wedding, but I guess not. Things have gone by in a blur since then.

So, yeah, I'm a married lady, too. :-)

Weather forecast could be better for the big day....

Okay, so Saturday's forecast says "mainly cloudy and rainy." Fine. I'll deal.

But does Wednesday's have to say "abundant sunshine?"

But I keep telling myself... It's really too early to tell what the weather will really be like on Saturday.


Oct 26 Friday
Showers. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the low 60s.
Oct 27 Saturday
Mainly cloudy and rainy. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the upper 40s.
Oct 28 Sunday
Plenty of sun. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the upper 30s.
Oct 29 Monday
Sunshine. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the low 40s.
Oct 30 Tuesday
Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s and lows in the low 40s.
Oct 31 Wednesday
Abundant sunshine. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.

You can't make this stuff up!

2 cell phones - $150
Family Share Plan - $70 a month
Calling your other half and finding out he's on stage (where you're supposed to be!) - PRICELESS!

(Ring!)
He said: Hello..... We're on stage. No, really - we're on stage.

This event occurred through a miscommunication, but it was pretty funny, nonetheless.

Vonage is PC Magazine's Editor's Choice!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2177608,00.asp

Great, honest review.

Come to the Skyliners Membership Day!!!

October 14th - 10am! Dover, NJ American Legion

Home Sweet Home

Tomorrow I will be a home owner.

There is one downside, however... Since my home page is on Comcast and I have to switch to Cablevision, I need to find a new home for my page. So, please keep checking and I will let you know where I'm moving my corner of the web to. It will probably happen within the next couple of weeks.

This is GREAT news!!!

We settled with Sprint!

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYM06608102007-1.htm

Bridal Shower Pictures!

My Mom is a great toilet paper bride, isn't she?

These girls sure do know how to throw a party!

This is bad news...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWUB.EINZuKk&refer=home

Random Gibberish

Haven't posted in a while so I figured I'd jot down some quick notes on what's going on.

For one, my bridal shower was on Saturday, and it was awesome! I have such a great group of friends and family supporting me!

I decided to accept a position as secretary for the 2008 New York Skyliners. I want to do everything in my power to help this corps get back on the field.

My closing for my house got pushed back. It's all good. I didn't have anything packed anyway.

So, yeah - after all this time, that's all I got.

DCA Weekend!!!

Well, it's DCA weekend, and you can tell I've been having a good time since it's taken until Sunday for me to hook up to the hotel's Internet.

First of all, let me mention (to get it out of the way) that Fusion is run by truly classless individuals. Ron and I had decided that we were going to be cordial to them and that was about it. So, Holly decided to make it a game to try to get us to talk to her. I used to consider her a friend. Now I can see that she had me completely bamboozled and I'm glad that I made the decision to not associate with her or (con)Fusion Core.

Besides having to associate with the above unpleasantness, everything else has been a blast!!
Skyliners mini-corps was EXTREMELY fun and we actually placed 11th out of 18. When you think that we only had 6 rehearsals, that was a HUGE accomplishment. I enjoyed watching prelims and I'm wondering how on earth Cabs placed above Empire. I'm hoping for the flip flop tonight at Finals.

Back to having fun - later gators!

Here's an awesome picture of Empire that I took.

Welcome to Ticket World

Ticket World is a mystical realm where systems type people live. They make their living by fulfilling tickets. They fulfill their tickets in the order in which they are received, blissfully unaware of why they are being asked to do what they are doing.

Sometimes, what a person is asking for cannot be fulfilled in a ticket. This is a BIG DEAL, requiring management interference and meetings that cannot possibly take place this week because they are too busy.

I'm sorry - if I performed my job as if I lived in Ticket World, I'd probably be fired. Sorry to all the systems type of people who don't act as if they live in this bubble.

It's all about the money

I thought this was an interesting article...

http://www.slate.com/id/2172342/fr/rss/

It seems that the way government and finances work is something that we should all understand, though few of us bother to. I am quite guilty of this.

The Day We All Got Screwed...

I'm not kidding... Someone came around today and screwed everyone's nameplate to their cubicle...

I am one of the luckiest people alive...

I just can't believe the goodness that is coming in my direction. It will be challenging as hell, but it will be great. I will soon be changing job titles to business analyst, I am buying a house and I am getting married. I am very very thankful.

Whoosh!

Between work and the wedding and the house, things are moving very quickly! I hope we can keep up!

Sorted through wedding addresses today and got an almost finished list together. (Groan)

Went to a Trenton Thunder game last night. That was fun.

I think I need to either go do something productive with the rest of my day or get out of the house.

Errrr stuff

Finished Harry Potter. For a few minutes, I thought it was going to be the most sick series I ever read, but things turned out okay.

The closing on the house is scheduled for September 17th.

I switched my cell phones from Verizon Wireless to Sprint.

Went up to CT to see Billy and Erica and had a really nice time.

That's it.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The offer was accepted! If all goes well, I am indeed moving to South Amboy!!!!

And I am on page 176 of the book that must not be named.

Harry arrives safely in my mailbox! (and other stuff)

Here's the latest headlines:

Still Waiting on House (more details on Monday)

Harry Potter Arrives Safely to the Highlands

Skyliners Mini Corps is Going to Be Amazing

Vonage Throws Great Company Picnic

Cousin Michele Gets Harry Potter at Barnes and Noble Harry Potter Party, Meets Life Goal


I could elaborate on these topics, but nah. A pretty awesome weekend was had by all. Happy birthday, Billy.

Poof!

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog/2007/07/sunrocket_reportedly_will_ceas.html

Wow... Business comes at you fast...

Aaaack!

Somebody else made an offer! We gotta move fast!

Who says you can't go home?

Well, Ron and I are going to make an offer on a home in South Amboy. Wish us luck!

Con-Fusion Core: my analysis

So, Fusion competed in their first contest last night in Clifton, NJ, and I was desperately trying to stay objective while watching. However, it's difficult to get past the cloud of suspicion surrounding their formartion, so this review might be a little biased.

Overall, the performace was not as bad as the monstrosity that the directors put out on the field when they were the directors of the Skyliners last year. The performance level was good. Everyone seemed confident in their marching and playing. They had low numbers in the guard and drumline which probably affected the score.

The show itself was boring. No highs or lows and it seemed like they played forever. But then again, a lot of DCA corps are boring to me and they do okay, so maybe that is not a problem.

The soloists sucked. They were mainly former Skyliners and played just as poorly as they played solos for the Skyliners in previous years. They have a lot of young players that seemed like they had talent - I think that maybe the folks they had out in the spotlight last night should put their egos away and let the kids do the work. There was a young soprano soloist in their corps who did brilliantly for his one solo, while a veteran player kept coming out for a million solos sounding like he was "choking a chicken from the inside" (don't ask!)

In the end, it seems that a mediocre era for the Skyliners was ended so that a mediocre Fusion Core could be born. Makes me glad that I stopped wasting my time with marching competitive weekend corps.

Shopping for houses

We are in the "looking" phase of buying a house. It is quite an interesting and tiring process to visit other people's homes and figure out for each how you can make it become your own. Thank goodness there are so many options in our price range! If we can swing it, we'll move before the wedding.

You have not experienced life....

...until you have brilliantly played the ending of a song you have played on a weekly basis for two years only to find out you were five measures early. And then I played it again (yay for recovery!) :-)

Fourth of July was fun. Second parade went much better - must have been the beer.

Just want to go home already....

4th of July in the middle of the week blows....

More about the patent case

I thought this was extremely well written, and I totally agree.

http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2007/06/injunctive-reli.html

Vonage and Verizon presented their oral arguments on June 25th. Now, a decision can take up to 90 days.

Kazoo Band!!!!

Yay - it's a kazoo band!!!!

http://gigawords.com/index.php?cat=1

Almost as cool as drum corps!!!

Congratulations, Aunt Karen and Bill

My aunt just got married on Saturday. A good time was had by all. :-)

Woo Hoo!!

My webpage has reached 500 hits!! (Okay, so 490 of them are me, but so what?)

New Photos Available!!!!

Got some Melrose pictures up from Memorial Day / Elks / Legion weekends. Check it out:

http://home.comcast.net/~leftylmv78/Melrose2007/

I finally found software to create web albums that doesn't make it a big production and actually produces something simple and functional!! JAlbum rocks!

http://jalbum.net/

Wildwood Weekends

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while. But I did spend two really great weekends in Wildwood. The first was for the Elks parade and the second was for Legions (we won 2nd place - woo hoo!). And the folks who came in first were ringers from Ct (Park City Pride - I enjoy watching them), so I feel pretty good about it - they only beat us by 8 points. I have some pictures but some of them aren't ...ehrm, nice, so we'll see what I end up posting here.

Smile!!!

Memorial Day

It's Memorial Day, folks! If you have not been to a parade or ceremony this weekend, YOU'RE WRONG!

I Love My Puppy!

Helmut and me hanging out on a great day!

PS - I totally should have stayed outside with my dog instead of fighting with my comcast ftp server... Apparently I have a quota. So much for the media files I wanted to upload...

This is why my job is important

I received this email from XM today...

XM Service Update As many of you know, XM customers have experienced service outages or significantly degraded service since Monday mid-morning, May 21. We quickly identified the problem and are working hard to return to our normal levels of service. The problem occurred during the loading of software to a critical component of our satellite broadcast system, which resulted in a loss of signal from one of our satellites. We expect normal service to resume midday today (eastern daylight time). XM apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused. For updates, please go to http://www.xmradio.com. In the meantime, you can enjoy many of our music channels on XM Radio Online (http://xmro.xmradio.com) if you are close to a computer. Again, we regret any inconvenience for not having your XM Radio service fully available.

Java vs Rails

This is pretty funny

http://www.railsenvy.com/2007/5/14/ruby-on-rails-commercial

(posting as I'm running a process to build a bunch of jars...)

Retrial Denied

I sort of figured this would happen, but you know we had to try it. It is good news that we will be allowed to bring up the Supreme Court's ruling as part of our appeal.

http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=13FE96A8-7748-425A-9DAA-6ABA5347E0B9

Free To Compete!

http://www1.freetocompete.com/index.php

WE GOT THE STAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anjLr7Wohds0&refer=home

This is only a rumor, but I think it makes sense...

http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=1545

Patent Reform

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130930/article.html

Tech companies have decried large patent infringement awards in recent years,
saying a court system that has allowed patent holders to get injunctions on
projects with a small piece of infringing technology has hurt innovation. In May
2006, in a infringement case against eBay Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court
overturned the long-held practice of issuing injunctions against infringing
products in nearly all patent cases.

Prior Art - proof that Verizon's patents are invalid

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070417/005814.shtml

Virginia Tech

If you think your life sucks, do not take it out on other people.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vtech.shooting/index.html

i vs Pi

Here's the Recap

http://gigaom.com/tag/vonage

(Death by) Taxes

Even though I usually get a refund, I HATE doing my taxes... It's such a pita... At least it's just about done. I'm thinking all these people who send me all these fricken forms should just send them to the IRS and let them figure it out. And screw deductions... I don't qualify for most of them anyway.

Maybe I'm just too lazy...

Pretty Classy

http://www.courant.com/business/hc-vonage0414.artapr14,0,294380.story?coll=hc-headlines-business

The other thing that impressed me about Citron is that he actually gave the same presentation he gives to colleges to his employees. I personally don't know of any other executive that's ever shared internally what they present externally.

Verizon Claims the Internet

http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2007/04/12/al-gore-can-rest-easy-verizon-claims-the-internet-2/

Missed the Axe

Today is not a good day, but I am safe for now.

Interesting Analysis

http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/funds/followmoney/10349461.html

April 24th is the day

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/BUSINESS/704110381/1003

Patent Analysis

Again, many thanks to the people who actually want to write about the facts of this case instead of misleading stories.


http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=1517

How Could Anyone Not Love This?

This is totally going onto my digital photo frame! (A birthday gift from Ron)

I cannot stress this enough...

When relying on a computer for your important documents...

SAVE EARLY AND SAVE OFTEN!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Lisa / Welcome Back Jesus

So, yesterday was Easter and my 29th birthday.

Earlier in the week, Ron told me he ordered my cake, but he was worried he had given them some incorrect information and that the wrong thing could be written on it.

My response was, "With my luck, it says 'Welcome Back Jesus.'"

After he stopped laughing (which took a while) he said, "What I was going to say is that they spelled your name Asil."

After all of that, I found out that my dad had gotten me a cake, too. So, I gave my dad a special request. As a joke to tease Ron, write "Welcome Back Jesus" on the cake.

He did, and my brother has declared that it shall thus be a new Easter tradition that we should have a cake that reads "Welcome Back Jesus."

Anyway, I had a really great time w/ my family yesterday, and I also had a good time w/ my brother and his wife, her friends, and my friend Tom at the Colorado Cafe on Saturday night. I also received a multitude of gift certificates, a photo frame, a candle and a necklace and earings for my wedding.

Yay - something in our favor!

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/04/appeals-court-stays-vonage-injunction.php

For those who are following...

Computing at Bear Rock

Having a nice evening computing at Bear Rock Cafe in South Plainfield. Nice place. Back to helping out the Skyliners with web stuff. It's a good thing.

Breakthrough!!!

I've (sort of) figured something out that I've been banging my head against the wall for about two weeks over.

The cool part about my job is that I get to play w/ stuff and try to make it work... The hard part is that things that I *have* to make work by a certain time.

Ah well.

More Vonage Stuff

Here's another good thing to read if you want to read the news that makes sense and avoid the stupid things analysts make up for headlines.

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=120412

2007 NY Skyliners Season Kickoff Dance

Woo hoo - it's time to paaar-ty!!!

2007 New York Skyliners Season Kickoff Dance

Date: April 21st, 2007
Time: 8:00PM - Midnight
Place: Dover American Legion (2 Legion Place Dover, NJ)
Cost: $35 per person
Price Includes: Hot and cold buffet / beer, wine and soda / coffee, tea and dessert
For tickets contact: Ron Lawrence (908)756-0289 / ronlfrmnj@aol.com

You do not have to be a member of any of the Skyliners organizations to attend. This event is limited to 150 guests. Must be 21 or older.

Verizon vs Vonage patent case

For anyone worried about the future of Vonage, this article sounds the most truthful of any I've seen online.

http://gigaom.com/2007/03/16/vonage-rocky-road-not-road-kill/

Got a new laptop!

Went to a computer show on Saturday and bought a refurbished laptop. It was making me crazy not to have my own...

I stayed with the idea of wanting something small, so I got a Dell Latitude C400. It's nice and light.

Pluses: Software on the machine itself is worth what I paid for it - MS Office, XP Pro, and Symantic Antivirus all included.

Minuses: I need to buy a USB card to support USB 2.0 (1.1 is not fast enough for anybody, sorry!) CD/DVD bay is external. Don't really use that unless I'm installing new software, so it's not a big deal for me.

Also, the folks I bought it from are very interested in buying the broken one from me.

Overall, it's a downgrade from what I had before, but for $450, it's worth it to have a machine. Someday when I'm feeling "rich" I'll get a shiny new one with all the features I really want...