James Andrew Hutzel

This weekend's trip to Cincinnati for an early Thanksgiving gathering turned tragic. Stephanie's grandfather, Mr. James A. Hutzel, passed away Saturday morning due to declining health. He was 87. We obviously didn't live close to Steph's grandparents, but I did have the pleasure of meeting them and spending time with them nearly a dozen times. Grandpa Hutzel was a man with a good sense of humor, loved his family dearly, and will truly be missed.

3.5 Years

The news is in. Cancer Free for 3.5 years. Amen.

Leopard + Parallels + Vista = Awesome

This week we received our new 24" iMac at work that we will use to test various services across multiple platforms and browsers. It arrived with the Leopard DVD in the box -- which was promptly installed. Leopard is nice. CoverFlow is handy and the new dock is awesome. We installed Parallels 3.0 on the iMac (and the Leopard update for Parallels) and promptly began installing Vista Ultimate into a virtual machine. Once Vista was installed and running we turned on Coherence Mode in Parallels and WOW -- incredibly nice. Peep the screenshot below. You'll see an IE window from Vista, a Finder window from Leopard (showing CoverFlow view of fonts), and the OS X and Start menus along the top. The best of both worlds? I think so.

GOOG411 - it's free, use it

I get the frequent occasional call from a friend or family member which starts with "are you near a computer" and generally, quickly followed by "I need you to look up a number for me." It's almost always for a business/company listing. While I'm generally one to help out where I can, I also feel it can be discourteous at times.

That said, allow me to repeat share with you a very important number:

1-800-GOOG411

(1-800-466-4411)

I beg you. I implore you. Put this number in your mobile phone's speed dial. Put this number by the phones in your house. This number will find any non-residential listing that you want, using only your voice, and will not cost you a dime. You will not hear any advertisements.

Embrace Google, for it is good. See how it works.

Veramyst - clears the allergies, makes you blind, maybe

On Wednesday night I'm watching NBC and a commercial is forced upon me for Veramyst. Now, suffering from the occasional allergy, I pay attention. If you get the chance to see this commercial, watch it, you'll enjoy it. It will help with allergies (maybe). It (may) cause a fungal infection in your nose. Interestingly enough, it (may) also cause glaucoma and cataracts! And, as if that wasn't enough, about midway through the commercial is some fine print at the bottom of the screen which reads "It is not completely known how Veramyst works." Yeah.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month. Find out what you can do to help at www.cancer.org today.

NBC Pilots: Journeyman, Chuck, and Bionic Woman

Thanks to the miracle that is Tivo, and to the partnership with Amazon's Unbox service, NBC is offering broadband-connected Tivo users the ability to download the commercial-free pilots for NBC's fall shows gratis.

I snagged Journeyman, Chuck, and Bionic Woman.

Let's start with "Chuck". The general idea is that Chuck receives an email from his former college roommate shortly before said roommate is killed. The email contains "all of the government's secrets subliminally embedded" into images. (Don't get me started on how the email transmitted millions of images in about a second.) Chuck is a nerd and works for the TV equivalent of Geek Squad. He's assigned a hot attractive CIA agent to protect him against those that would harm him. The show also features Sarah Lancaster ("What About Brian?") as Chuck's sister. This show is over-the-top -- the action shots, the plot, all of it. It's only hope is that the ladies in the show keep enough guys interested to prevent early cancellation.

"Bionic Woman" is interesting and dark. Yes, the story loosely follows the original. Her name is Jamie Sommers. As many of you will recall -- you take one attractive, young, and seriously injured woman and implant fifty million dollars of nano-hardware and you get one Bionic Woman. She sees incredibly far away, can hear anything she wants, has super strength and a lot of people want to kill her (because she wasn't their first choice of a candidate for the uber-secret program). I expect this show will last at least one season. It's well shot, has good special effects and kept my attention.

Finally, "Journeyman" is a modern day "Quantum Leap" sans Al and with a lot more leaping. Dan randomly is put into the past, some of which is quite familiar to him. He comes back to present day randomly but each time he's in the past he learns a little more of what he's there for. His present day family thinks he is crazy, but can he prove otherwise? The pilot was very well made... I loved it and hope to see this show excel.

So, if you have Tivo and don't want to wait -- start clicking!

Remembering Babi

She was my grandmother. She was one of my best friends. She was a wonderful Christian woman who respected everyone and earned the respect of all who met her. She was "Babi".

As her two grandchildren, she taught Michael and I a great many things. She showed everyone how to be a better person and we would all do well to remember, refine and exemplify those lessons in our own lives.

It was two years ago today that Babi passed away. She has been missed by all. This world is a lesser place without her in it. She is with God and the angels, and even Heaven itself is enriched by her being there.

We miss you, Babi.

Google controls the weather

I love Google. I admit it and am not ashamed of it. However, today it got my hopes up and crushed them. Apparently Google cannot make it snow in 95 degree weather.

Bad-ass Bourne

First came Identity, then Supremacy, and now Ultimatum. One of the greatest action movie series ever created.

Steph and I joined Michael and Sarah this weekend to see the third installment in the Bourne series. It did not disappoint.

Let's get something straight. Bourne is NOT a Bond. Bourne doesn't have neat gadgetry, a sports car, a tuxedo, nor the want to charm anyone. Instead, he has a book, a newspaper, bare hands, and street clothes. I won't spoil anything for those of you that have yet to enjoy the latest in the series. You will [hopefully] notice that the end of Supremacy was actually well into Ultimatum. We learn just how Jason Bourne/David Webb came to be and why he is seriously, undoubtedly, pissed off. (The whole promised-one-thing, doing-another trick.)

Matt Damon is an action hero (ahem, the chase in Morocco). He doesn't need Ben Affleck getting in his way. Julia Stiles is back -- at first as eye candy, but you realize she's wrapped into the plot more than ever before. And, if there's not a fourth movie, a lot of people will always be asking questions.

See this movie, my friends -- only after you've seen Identity and Supremacy, of course. It rocks.

RedBox and the Golden Arches

After seeing RedBox on Engadget and in my local McDonalds as well as the McDonalds near my work I just had to give it a try.

One dollar ($1) per night with no late fees. You just pay $1 for each night you have it past 7:00pm. If you visit RedBox.com you can get your first night free. Some McDonalds have these inside and some are in the drive-thru. And, you can return the movie to any RedBox location. You can rent online to reserve your movie for pickup at the vending location of your choice.

Why is this better than NetFlix? Simple -- little to no waste. Steph and I were on the $17.99 plan at NetFlix which was unlimited rentals with 3-at-a-time. Most months we watched 3-4 movies. That was $20 (with tax) for 4 rentals, or $5 each. So, we changed to $9.99 which was 1-at-a-time unlimited and we watched 3 movies in 2 months. That was $20 for 3 movies or just shy of $7 per rental. We were giving our earned cash away for nothing.

We have a Series 3 Tivo and can download through the Amazon Unbox service. This has the pros of never being out of stock and you can have the movie of your choice in 15-30 minutes download time. You also get 30 days to start watching it and once you start you get 24 hours to finish it. There's no driving and no return necessary. What it is not is DVD quality video and is only stereo sound (not Dolby 5.1 or DTS). And at $2.99 a pop it's only marginally better than NetFlix.

What I find with RedBox is that the 3-4 movies we watch cost us $3-4 in total, not each. If we don't have time to watch we don't pay anything. We have to pick up the discs and take them back but it's not like we aren't out and about daily (and often several times a day).

So, here's to you, Golden Arches, for partnering with one of my new favorites -- RedBox.

Google Labs, GrandCentral, OhDontForget, and Mozy

Friends, as a part of my job I research and explore new technologies and seek ways to put them to good use. Some fall into my "why in the world" category, some into my "that's cool" genre, and a select few I choose as "must have". Today, I share a few of the best finds with you and you may have heard of these before, but never reviewed with my intense wit and charm (see what I mean?).

Google Labs' GOOG411 and Reader
Call me biased but there's one company that doesn't often make a mistake with their product. If it needs "fixing" they do it and quickly. I wasn't impressed by the first version of Google Reader but in it's latest iteration I have found it incredible. I can subscribe to as many RSS feeds as I want and Google Reader will feed them to me however I want -- chronologically, random, alphabetical -- and know what I've read and what I haven't. I can see, at a glance, all the feed topics and after viewing those that catch my eye I can click "Mark All Read" and move on. Why use this over Outlook or IE's built in reader -- simple. I can use Google Reader on my laptop at home, desktop at work, my Motorola Q and the content is the same and always up-to-date.

Labs recently debuted GOOG-411, a voice-response system that is free to use to find business listings. You simply dial 1-800-GOOG-411 from any phone, tell it the city and state, and what you are looking for. GOOG411 presents you with the top listings and you can simply pick by number or ask for "more". Want GOOG411 to connet you, just stay on the line of say "Connect". You can also ask for "directions" or have it sent to you phone with "text message". An incredible alternative to cell providers charging you $1.49 per call to their own 411 service.

GrandCentral.com
Originally a start-up GrandCentral is now owned by Google. GrandCentral provides you with a single phone number that you provide to everyone instead of giving them your home, cell, and office numbers. They call one number and all of your phones ring, or only certain phones -- it's all up to you. Every call is logged and can be screened, sent to voicemail, recorded (which notifies the caller of the recording) and you can see it all online, mobile, anytime. You classify your frequent callers into Family, Friends, Work or Other and can choose which of those groups call which phones. And possibly my favorite part is that you only have one voicemail to check. GrandCentral is currently by invitation only and if you ask nicely I may help you out (cash bribes accepted).

OhDontForget.com
Simple service but very handy. You "add" your number to the service and then you can schedule text messages to your or your spouses phone at any time using a very simple interface. Very handy for quick reminders.

Mozy.com
Love this one. Most people have data they want to backup, but to where and how? You could have an external hard drive with one of those free softwares that copies data to that drive on a schedule. Great. Now you have it in two places hooked to the same computer that can be struck by the same lightning. We need to one-up this. Network Attached Storage (NAS) technology is essentially a hard drive on a stick. You hook the drive to your home network and your computer can backup data to this drive and you may not lose them both at the same time -- or will you? What if you were one of those affected by the April 7th tornado or Katrina and lost your house and along with it all of your precious digital data? Tax records, family photos, important documents all good in an instant.

For a while there have been services available such as Carbonite and XDrive that will backup your data over the Internet to a private storage facility. Enter Mozy. Carbonite has issues -- you need a client program to access/restore your data, you must transfer the entire file when changes are made, and multiple versions are not kept. XDrive, from AOL, also has the lack of delta transfer technology, but also cannot backup open/locked files. Mozy is incredibly easy to setup and 2GB of space is yours free. Have a lot of photos and other data? Need 50GB? No problem. XDrive will give you that for $120 a year. Mozy will do it for half that. Need 100, 200, or 500GB? XDrive will laugh at you. Mozy will answer the call and for not a penny more.

Bruce is back

Having seen the first three Die Hard movies (numerous times) it is essentially impossible to ignore the latest movie -- "Live Free or Die Hard". I won't spoil anything for anyone, you can read the plot online if you want, but the movie is undoubtedly 'Die Hard' in nature. Things explode, a couple of bullets are distributed, cars are wrecked, and the body of a man endures impacts, blows, and injury beyond imagination. Sure, there are a couple that-would-never-happen scenes but overall it is one great action movie. Yes, fellas, take your wife. Steph liked it, too!

Joost takes me back

The university I work for recently partnered with Joost, a provider of Internet-based TV. Being a connoisseur of new technologies, gadgets, and steak, I wanted to give Joost a shot. Streamed video, no glitches, no synch problems, and a couple dozens channels to choose from left a great impression. However, it was when I saw the featured channel of the month -- the original Transformers cartoon -- that a twinkle came to my eye and I was reunited with, as Scott Brown wrote for Wired and so eloquently put it, the Almighty Rig. Watching Prime whip Megatron's ass again took me back to a time (circa 1985-87) when Michael and I had the plastic-embodied versions of Prime, his Autobot buddies, and Decepticon foes (and let me tell you -- they suffered battle damage and lots of it). Thank you, Joost!

Seadragon + Photosynth = Uber Cool

I recently shared the following video with a colleague and we both agree it ROCKS. The video, from TED in March 2007, demonstrates Seadragon technology. Seadragon centers around a concept that you only need to render on screen at the screen's resolution. In doing so you can view photos at hundreds of megapixels and continuously zoom in to an almost infinite level. Imagine this -- being able to open your newspaper and the period at the end of a sentence contains the complete text of a book you want to read and the first letter on the first page of that book can be zoomed to reveal hidden secrets about the story. Yeah. You'll then see Photosynth which contains Seadragon technology. Photosynth lets you view a 3D environment from almost any angle, made from 2D images -- such as all public images from Flickr tagged with "Times Square". Very, very cool. Enjoy...

Likes me some steak!

20 oz. Porterhouse. Yum.

Where have you been?

Courtesy of a recent online find, Visited States...

POTC: At World's End

Sorry for the blogging hiatus -- work's been extremely busy lately. Steph and I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End today at the new NCG theater in Gallatin. The new theater's DLP setup and digital sound made Keira Pirates look outstanding on the big screen.

Not the best in the trilogy I don't think, but still quite good. The spoilerless plot summary is that Elizabeth (Keira Knightley -- yeah), William and Barbosa want to rescue Jack from "Davy's Locker" (death) but all of them for a different reason (Barbosa owes a debt, William wants to rescue his father, and Elizabeth... well, watch it). Standing in their way, of course, is Lord Bennett & the East Indies Trading Co. Johnny's as great as ever, and "Jack" The Monkey is at his best yet, but more of this installment centers around Elizabeth [and why shouldn't it] and William. So, what did you think of this one?

Car Care Questions Answered

Now that spring has come and most of the pollen is gone it's easier to keep a car clean. I've been asked several times lately what I use to clean the Acura TL with -- and what I use to attempt to keep it clean. So, I thought what better forum to answer those questions but on my blog.

Q: Do you hand wash your car?
A: I'd love to, and when I can, I do. However, I typically visit my local Super SpeedWash and get their Wheel Deal. Though automated, it does an exceptional job washing the car and shining the tires. However, once I drive around the vacuums, I always hand-dry the car with diaper cloth and take it home for the fine details.

Q: What products do you use?
A: I use a multitude of products. Specifically:

• Wash - Mr. Clean AutoDry car wash with a chenille wash mitt
• Wax - Meguiar's NXT Generation Liquid Wax
• Glass - Stoner InvisibleGlass (safe on tint, no streaks)
• Leather - Method Leather Wipes (environmentally safe, biodegradable)
• Tires - Meguiar's Hot Shine
• Exterior Touch-up - Meguiar's NXT Speed Detailer spray
• Interior Vinyl/Rubber/Plastic - Meguiar's Gold Class Protectant (non-shiny/non-greasy)
• Clothes - micro-fiber for all interior work and glass; diaper cloth for exterior detailing; NO TOWELS

Q: Micro-fiber cloth instead of towels?
A: You bet. Towels leave lint. Towels are wasteful. A good micro-fiber cloth cleans incredibly well without any solvent/solution most of the time. I personally use VROOM micro-fiber automotive cloths from Target, but most any will do.

Have more questions? Just ask!

Broadband with more cowbell

Just rebooted the cable modem after Comcast said "SpeedBoost" had been enabled in my area. Tests are not bad at allllllll...

Livestrong Day 2007

This May 16th is Livestrong Day 2007. Wear yellow. Spread the word. Write your representatives in Congress. Demand government support.

• There are more than 10 million individuals in the United States today who are living with cancer.
• Nearly 40 percent of people living with cancer are under the age of 65.
• 64 percent of adults diagnosed with cancer today will be living 5 years from now.
• In 1960, 4 percent of children with cancer survived more than 5 years.
• Nearly 80 percent of children (age 0 through 14) diagnosed with cancer today will be living five years from now.
• The five year survivorship rates for young adults (age 20 through 40) with cancer has remained unchanged for the past 30 years.
• Three out of every four American families will have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer.
• 24 percent of adults with cancer are parents who have a child 18 years or younger.
• One of every four deaths in the United States is from cancer.
• In 2005, 570,280 Americans will die of cancer - more than 1,500 people a day. That's 9/11 every two days.
• The annual cost of cancer in the United States is $189,800,000,000 in direct and indirect costs.
• Government spending on cancer research was lowered for the first time in 30 years.

Prayers for Virginia Tech

Please send up your prayers for the families of those who lost their lives at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007.

Destination Asheville

Stephanie and I spent April 11-13, 2007, in Asheville, North Carolina for a small spring vacation. We were fortunate to visit the Biltmore Estate during their Festival of Flowers with literally thousands of tulips in full bloom. We've placed 232 photos on Flickr for everyone to enjoy. Biltmore does not allow photography (videography, sketching, etc.) inside the house, but we certainly used some memory cards outside. HA! If you ever get the chance, North Carolina is truly gorgeous near the mountains surrounding Asheville and the Biltmore is something beautiful in photos and breath-taking in person.

TL: 3575 pounds and 183 inches of goodness

Yes, though I traded cars, I remain "TLdrvr". :) On Friday, April 6th, Stephanie and I became the proud owners of a 2005 Acura TL. It weighs 3575 pounds and is 183 inches long and in perfect health.

This TL sports a 3.2L SOHC V6 with VTEC good for 270HP, bi-xenon HID, XM, 7.1 DTS surround sound, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink, and LED lighting all around. Check out our pics on Flickr by clicking the image below of our beautiful TL and gorgeous model.

Web 2.0

A term has been tossed around for a while now -- "Web 2.0" -- and many people do not fully grasp what this means. I've been asked several times to explain Web 2.0 and recently came across this video that does an excellent job at demonstrating the mash-up process that has brought us to the living internet.

30th Mercy Heartwalk, Cincinnati, OH

This weekend the Hutzel family walked in the memory of Jameson Hutzel who survived 18 months with a congenital heart defect. This was the 30th annual heartwalk in Cincinnati. You can see from the image below -- we definitely were not there alone. Everyone you see was or still is affected by diseases that need cures. Click the pic for more information (and a closer view of the sea of thousands of supporters).

Planet Earth

About 24 million households in America have an HDTV these days. Unfortunately, only about half actually pay to receive a true HD signal. Most people have had the experience of being mesmerized watching HDTV on a "Full 1080"-capable display. The human eye best perceives HDTV at 1080i/p (read: 1080 horizontal lines within the image) from about three times the height of the display. So, a 46" HDTV "looks best" to the human eye at about nine feet away.

Some media is "filmed" in HD and some HD content is converted from the original cinematic film. The Discovery Channel is premiering "Planet Earth" on March 25th with 11 episodes in total throughout April and May. I had the privlege of watching the first episode back in December when it was shown as a one-time teaser on Discovery HD Theater. In a word: amazing.

Shot in 200+ locations over 5 years in all high-definition. When they say "prepare to see it again as never before" they mean it.

Watch it, and not on any TV -- watch in HD. You'll thank me.

Ah, college humor

On 21st Avenue South near Vanderbilt. :)

Jameson's Joy

Friends and visitors, I will be walking in my nephew Jameson's memory. He was born with a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) and lived 18 joy-filled months. The American Heart Association is hugely responsible for the research that helped Jameson in his fight against heart disease. As most of you know, Jameson lost his fight March 28, 2003, but with your help we can continue the battle. Because of the American Heart Association and research, more and more children with heart disease are being saved every day. Please help me support the wonderful work of the American Heart Association. You can help me reach my goal by making a donation online. Click on the link below and you will be taken to my personal donation page where you can make a secure online credit card donation. The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you prefer to donate less, you can do so by sending a check directly to me. Your donation will help fight our nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. You are making a difference. Thank you for your support.

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support American Heart Association - Heart Mini-Marathon Cincinnati, OH

Forgiveness

I watched a show recently that made me open my relatively-closed mind a bit. One of the topics was that of forgiveness -- whether it's forgiving someone or something -- for something that has happened to you. For example, in 2003 my way of thinking was 'what did I do to deserve this?' Today, I'm taking a new approach.

Thank you for giving me that
experience.

Cancer wasn't fun. Work can be a drag at times. Bills can be stressful. However, each of these things have added positive experiences to my life. I don't like paying bills, but I am happy and thankful that I am able to pay them. Work and deadlines can be challenging, but these challenges make me stronger. The challenges show me, and teach me, that I am capable of handling each and every one of them. Battling cancer was tough -- and my greatest achievement yet -- but having had that experience showed me things that I either never knew before, or knew but took for granted. I now know that I have countless friends who were there for my family (and for me). I saw and experienced what faith can do.

That, my friends and family, is why I can forgive and be thankful.

Paying the tooth fairy

Friends, your well wishes for a painless procedure and recovery are requested. Today I will visit the finest oral surgeon in the area and have three teeth removed. These little guys are in the back of my mouth and didn't play well with my wisdom teeth and suffered damage. I appreciate your prayers for speedy recovery (and prevention of boredom sitting at the house for a couple days).

Join the army

9-11 happens again every two days. That's right -- one person dies every minute of every day due to cancer.

I'm not asking you to donate your money [though I won't stop you either]. What I do ask is that you watch a two-minute video. If you feel the same as I do, as Lance does, and as many, many others, then join the army. Join an army of people that believe that it's not always about which politician says they will cut taxes or find alternative fuels -- it's about saving lives from a horrible disease.

In 2001, in President Bush's pseudo-State of the Union address, he said that Congressman Joe Moakley was battling cancer and that he could "think of no more appropriate tribute...than to have Congress finish the job of doubling the budget for the National Institutes of Health." This year, funding for cancer research was lowered by the government for the first time in 35 years.

Please, watch the video. Join the army.

http://www.livestrong.org/jointhearmy

Welcome to tomorrow, today

What an amazing world we live in these days. Imagine, if you will, that persons living in 1850 would have laughed at the idea of "automobiles". If you lived in 1900 you were amazed by Edison and Bell bringing their wonderous distributed electricity and telephone into the world. A person living in 1950 would have smacked you if you said you had a "computer" in your house (or your pocket!). In 1990 I was using dialup and only dreamed of faster speeds. Look at us now, and tomorrow.

Cisco has an incredible commercial on the air right now that I will paraphrase for you. The essential message is that of the "human network" -- any content, any device, any network. The commercial shows this to us: books re-write themselves (Wikipedia), drag-and-drop people anywhere they want to go (IM, SMS, mobile web, VoIP), maps are rewritten (Google Earth), and anyone can be famous (YouTube/Google Video). The commercial's underlying message is no doubt intended to say, "we're Cisco and we power the network" but the voice-over is quite powerful --"we're more powerful together than we could ever be apart".

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, everyone! Iwish you all the best for 2007.

Wii are having fun!

The time has come, my friends. Thanks to the generosity of a friend and colleague, and the permission of my wonderful, loving wife, the Wii is finally here! I haven't had so much fun with a gaming system. Granted, since the original NES I haven't owned another system, but have played the PS2 and 360 of friends and family.

Stephanie and I have enjoyed bowling from the included Wii Sports (bowling, tennis, golf, boxing, and baseball). Chris and I have enjoyed approximately three hours of Excite Truck -- a game which wii both agree completely rocks. Needless to say, races can become quite competitive as, unlike similar racing games, the goal is not solely to cross the finish line first, but to earns "stars" by performing stunts, air (flying by jumping), drifts, and even "artistic crashing". He with the most stars is the winner.

Peep the flicks below.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii...

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It's finally here and the weather outside is starting to actually feel like Christmas. I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your kindness and support this year on behalf of both Stephanie and I. It means a lot to us to have you all as friends and family and to have your prayers for continued health and well-being throughout the year. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Deja Vu

Sorry for disappearing for a couple weeks -- holiday time and exam time makes for one busy Jason.

We saw Deja Vu recently. Awesome "Big Brother" thriller!

So, who of my readers is rocking the Wii?

Family Fun

The Gallatin bowling alley has $1 games every Thursday. So, stuffed with turkey, ham, stuffing, mac n cheese, potatoes, beans, apples, pies, cakes, puddings... oh the humanity... I went bowling with three of my cousins (Duane, Andy, and Tim). Some things were learned:

• Jason can take out the 9 pin or 9/10 combo blindfolded, one hand behind my back, in the dark.
• Men (read: Jason and Andy) cannot bowl in socked feet. I hurt my butt and my ego.
• Don't bowl with a 10 year old in the lane next to you. They will show you up (see: hurt ego).
• Time spent with family is priceless.

Thanks, guy, had a blast!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'm truly thankful for my wonderful wife, all my family and friends, being cured for over two and half years (and still going!), for having a stable job that provides for my family, having a roof over our head, and being able to help others however we can. What are you thankful for?

Movie Review: "A Good Year"

Recently Stephanie and I went to see Russell Crowe's "A Good Year". To be honest, I figured I was walking into a "chick flick" but I was pleasantly surprised. Crowe's character is a stock market tycoon who is very, very good at his job and has been quite successful. He learns of the death of his uncle in France's wine country to which he is the rightful heir -- or is he? While staying in France he learns there is much more to life that he is missing by doing nothing but working. Most of us have to work to make a living -- we just have to find the right balance between work and life.

Beautiful day

Though the rain is here now, this morning was truly beautiful. (It's a crappy camera on the phone, so use your imagination.)

Messy. For a limited time only.

Sure they are fattening the world one fry at a time. Sure they burn stupid people with hot coffee. But, they did bring it back -- long live McRib!

What happens at 9:25?

I work as an IT professional and deadlines are just a part of that life. I get that. But what's the deal with this?

"Blue Like Jazz"

Today I finished reading Don Miller's book, "Blue Like Jazz". Wow. Miller puts his "songs" and those of his friends into words in a way that everyone can understand. The book is about the Christian faith without focus on "the rules" and without feeling as though he is "preaching" to you. It's a book about love, forgiveness, grace, family, friendship, loving others and loving yourself. It's the best $10 you'll spend all year. Enjoy the music.

Buy "Blue Like Jazz" at Buy.com
Buy "Blue Like Jazz" at Amazon.com
(Hardcover Large Print and Audio CD versions are also available.)

If you want to read Blue Like Jazz and
truly cannot afford the $10, let me know.

Woohoo!

YES! The test results are back this morning and I'm all clear and still cancer free!

Four Months

Four months have passed and it is again time for my oncology checkup on Monday, October 23rd. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated -- both for perfect results of the bloodwork and for peace of mind while we wait for those perfect results.

Thanks, friends.

Reading: "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month (hence the pink). I encourage EVERYONE to help in seeking a cure. You can help fight all cancers through donations to the American Cancer Society. Women, please check yourself regularly and consult your doctor.

Transmission, TL, and TSX

Wednesday - "Check Engine" light illuminates on the '02 TL-S that I drive for the first time in the five years I've owned her (yes, it's a her, don't make me explain it). I schedule it for the 90K mile maintenance at my Acura dealer.

Thursday - TL-S goes to dealer, receives maintenance, and "check engine" light doesn't come on for them. Nice. Makes the 50 mile journey home like a new car with no trouble.

Friday - Off to work, drives like a new car, no issues. Leave work, start car, engine "idles" at 1500RPM and transmission will not shift out of first gear. Great. Call dealer and tell them to come get the car... most likely needs tranny which [thankfully] will be under warranty but the 4 days it will take them to do it will suck. Or, will it?

Because I purchased my car from that dealer they loaned me a car while the TL-S is being repaired -- a 2006 Acura TSX. It's a four-banger compared to my usual six-shooter but still packs 205HP, digital gauge cluster with LED backlighting, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink connectivity through the XM-equipped 360-watt sound system, drive-by-wire throttle, etc. While I'm used to another 55 ponies, "it ain't bad at all" in my mind -- a very nice sub-$30K sedan.

Tivo Series3 DMR

The Tivo Series3 DVR DMR (Digital Media Recorder) is now on the streets. After fighting with the Comcast set-top box and Tivo Series2 combo since January '06 and the fundamental flaws annoyances (having to switch inputs to view HD, no HD recording/playback, out-of-synch audio and video, and having a single tuner) we decided enough was enough and got an early Christmas gift (thanks, Steph!).

After Fedex sending out an illiterate driver and delivering my package to the wrong address it finally arrived. Setup was a snap -- up and running in under 30 minutes including the installation of two CableCARDs in the rear of the unit for dual digital tuner recording. The new unit is outstanding -- dual tuner (with the mentioned cards), full 1080i/p HDTV recording/playback, Dolby digital output (optical), HDMI connectivity, SATA storage, THX certified.

Yeah...

JasonAlanBradley.com

After a bit of work and assistance with graphics by my brother-in-law (thanks, Mike!), my new professional-career site is now online!

http://www.jasonalanbradley.com/

Windows Vista Ultimate RC1

Microsoft has publically released Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 -- the successor to Windows XP. I installed it on my Dell Latitude D620 this week to give it a whirl and it is very nice.

(Vista Ultimate RC1 on a 2.16Ghz Dual Core, 2GB RAM, 80 GB 7200RPM, 256MB nVidia video Dell Latitude D620.)

The Vista Aero interface

The Window Switcher

Alt-Tab w/Preview
SideBar (right)

Cancer Cure Research

In this quarter's CURE magazine there is a write-up from Lance Armstrong about his retirement from the bike to lobby in D.C. for more government-funded cancer research. One factoid from the article just runs all over me:

"A war on cancer was declared in 1971. From then until today all the money
totalled that the government has put toward cancer research wouldn't pay for six
months of the war in Iraq."

Google it, baby!

In today's world where Google is not only a name but also a verb I'm still amazed by the sheer number of people that don't utilize Google fully. (Side note: The Google Story by Vise and Malseed is an awesome read.)

As such, allow me to do my part in educating everyone so that you may share the wonderful goodness with others...

• When searching all terms are searched. There's no need to type AND between words, it's assumed.
• You can use "-" to omit a word. For example, "red car -BMW" would return all sites with RED and CAR but NOT those with BMW.
• Need a dictionary? Just Google it... define:life
• Need a calculator? Google it... "4+8/2" or "half of 235 times seven"
• Need a translator? "translate:world in german"
• Conversions? Yup, Google. "10 gallons in liters" or "75 pounds in kilograms"
• Mobile and need info? Send a text message to GOOGL (46645).. "outback steakhouse in madison, tn" or "movies 37203" and Google will txt you back with the deets.
• Looking for something and want to check all synonyms? "~car" will also check automobile, vehicle, etc.

Enjoy your new powers. Share them with others. :)

Drive Safely

I see Tennessee tax dollars are being put to good use. The sign shown below reads "CALL 511 FOR TRAFFIC INFO". So, let me get this right... we [Tennesseans] pay sales tax to allow TDOT to install remotely configurable display signs for traffic information, Amber alerts, and other emergency information. TDOT installs signs and, instead of just providing the information, they want drivers to change focus to their cell phones, dial the number and listen to a recording on a loop. Yeah.

Calm before the storm

Just a lazy weekend... the calm before the storm. I hope everyone is doing well. More rambling to come...

MCSE

Today I completed my certification track for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 -- one of a 40,000+ member ever-growing groups of professionals. It has taken about three months to complete -- and a lot of study hours. Woohoo!

Best wishes, my friend

My colleague, Jim Sawyers, was visiting the office this weekend. Knowing the camera drops a note to me when someone enters on the weekend he decides to send me a message. The downside to this is that he has brainwashed his wife into joining the dark side as well.
Seriously though -- Jim & Carmen -- best wishes in North Carolina!

Pirates and a Lady

So, movies were the theme of this weekend. On Saturday Steph and I went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." I think it's well known that Johnny Depp is a great, diverse actor. In this sequel he seems to play a more muted role than in the first -- a lot of the plot centers around Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and William (Orlando Bloom). Nevertheless, Depp was awesome yet again. Someone is engaged to the arrow-shooting Elf boy. Who was that? Oh yeah, Keira. The trilogy wraps in 2007 with "At World's End."

Sunday afternoon went to M. Night's "Lady in the Water." Should you see it? If you like Night's movies you will like this movie -- intense attention to detail, no stone unturned, twists and turns and wonders of meaning. If you are not a fan of his films -- at least wait for the DVD. No spoilers here, but the movie has another good message to it -- at least one that I walked away hearing. Not quite as loudly said as "Signs" but still great.

It's Hot out there! (and you need a pool!)

Tower of Power

It's that time of year when we IT nerds professionals deploy new equipment to the general population. This year's unboxing porn brings us the Dell Optiplex GX620 with a 3.2 Ghz Dual Core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 80GB SATA, DVD+-RW and of course, the beloved flat panel of which our users will enjoy for the next year 48 months.

Quote of the week

This week's "quote of the week" is awarded to Chris Bransford. During a recent Battlefield 2 free-for-all is piloting the AH-64 Apache in a full throttle strike on my character he announces in his best Maverick voice:

"Goose, I'm too close for missles, I'm switching to crash."

God Bless America

As we celebrate the 4th of July holiday I thought it fitting to re-post the original transcript from Red Skeleton's TV show. I've never heard it put any better than this:

I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?"

I -- me, an individual, a committee of one.
Pledge -- dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
Allegiance -- my love and my devotion.
To the flag -- our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!
United -- that means that we have all come together.
States -- individual communities that have united into 48 great states.
Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for country.
And to the republic -- a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands, one nation -- one nation, meaning "so blessed by God"
Indivisible -- incapable of being divided.
With liberty -- which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice -- the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For all -- which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance...
UNDER GOD
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said
that is a prayer
and that would be eliminated from schools too?
God Bless America!

Superman Returns (with today's CGI)

The Man-O-Steel has returned to the big screen. If you haven't already seen the new movie -- do so. It's worth the price of admission (even as it is these days). Today's special effects are incredible (though you understand how amazing the original Reeve's "Superman" film FX were back then). I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone but fans of the original movie series have to see this. Spacey's Lex Luther is much darker than the original and he plays his role quite well in this film. Outside of Spacey, I think the reason this movie will do so well is actually the lack of stars in the movie. Of course, we've seen Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) in a few films (Blue Crush, Remember the Titans), the majority of the roles are played by lessor knowns so that you concentrate more on the plot itself and not so much "that girl from that movie". Enjoy the show!

It will be alright

It's been "one of those weeks" so far. Servers dying, contract negotiations, studying for exams, hectic schedules -- these are things we IT-folk deal with routinely and at times can even become numb to -- yet some days it brings out evil-Photoshoped-Jason. :)
(No Jason's were harmed in the production of this image.)

Is it Friday yet?

Sorry for the "lack of noise" around here, but I was on an attempted vacation last week. I'm sure I'll be fussing about something on here real soon. :)

Yes!

The ultrasound and CT scan results are back and everything is clear! Still pending one bloodwork result that should be back on Wednesday, but everything so far is just peachy!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad and all others reading this!

Short post today, but I did want to share a funny video with you..

Dodge Caliber & "Binky"

"Customer Service"

Anyone who knows me knows that my biggest pet peeve is poor (or no) customer service. I do completely understand that some accidents happen and that everyone will "screw up" on occasion. The trick to customer service is [1] mitigating the risk of such an accident or mistake, and [2] how you will "make it up" to your customer.

On the other hand, at least in my eyes, the past two years my eyes have been opened to poor customer service of a seemingly blatant nature. A few examples:

• I went to Mrs. Winners on West End with Chris the other morning. I said to the Fast Food Order Acceptance Engineer, "I'd like two chicken biscuits with cheese and two large sweet teas." The FFOAE responded, "Two chicken & cheese and two large sweet teas. Thank you, drive around." I proceed around to the window where I'm told my total and pay. When the bag of food is put in my hand the bag is open and I see no evidence of yellow through the wrappers (read: no cheese corners). Chris opens one of the wrappers to reveal a chicken biscuit sans cheese. When I inform the FFOAE that there is no cheese she says, "Oh, I forgot to ring that up, that will be eighty-seven cents." So, let me get this right -- I ordered, you confirmed my order, gave me the total, and now you still expect me to pay you to fix your mistake?
• My father recently purchased a new entertainment center from Rooms-to-go which was delivered with cosmetic flaws. When he contacted Rooms-to-go customer service they said a replacement would be sent. When the replacement showed up it also had the exact same problem. He told the delivery driver he had to make a call to RTG before they unloaded it -- instead, they drove off. RTG's offer for all of this trouble? A $30 certificate toward other merchandise.

These examples may seem anal, and perhaps I sometimes am when it comes to customer service -- but these are weekly occurrences. Of course, there are FFOAEs out there that are excellent -- though if the FFOAE at Subway on 21st Avenue asks me one more time if I want my sub "heated or toasted" I don't think I will be able to restrain myself. Toasted, please, hold the heat.

Prayer Request

Tomorrow morning (Friday, June 16th) is my ultrasound and CT scan. Then, on Monday the 19th I will meet with Dr. Shipley to get the results of those and have blood drawn for the bHCG and AFP tests.

I ask for your prayers for great results and a clean bill of health. Thank you all!

Q are the one for me

Today I [finally] got my hands on the Motorola Q from our friendly Verizon rep. Awesome device, especially once Nashville gets EV-DO fully running in late August. The screen is incredibly sharp and bright, buttons are easy to use, and the size is only slightly larger than a RAZR V3. You may drool now...

HOV abusers: Move over

Each weekday my commute is about 70 miles round-trip. During this 70 mile journey I routinely see stupid unskilled drivers. Along I-65, as with most interstates these days, are signs like these:

Of course, on the northbound lanes it reads 4PM-6PM MON-FRI. The text is in plain english (which could be the problem) though every day there are multiple single-occupancy vehicles travelling in this lane around 4:30PM going 10 miles under the speed limit. To top it off, Nashville's finest Metro Nashville PD is busy pulling everybody and their brother over for speeding but seemingly ignore the fact that the HOV is being abused. Oh, the humanity!

The Dyson DC14

Okay, time for some man talk about VACUUMS. When I first moved into my home in 2002 we received, as an early wedding gift, the Hoover Bagless WindTunnel. Initially this machine was quite the cleaner -- until lately, as a matter of fact. The HBWT lost suction quickly when it's HEPA filter became clogged. Sure, you could clean the filter which would get you another run, maybe two before clogging again. Sure, you could buy a new one (for $40 a pop) and get a few months out of it before it really clogged again. Then there was the belt it needed three times in 4 years. Needless to say, it took more time to clean the vacuum in order to use the vacuum for cleaning!

Enter the Dyson DC14:

As James Dyson put it best, "It quite simply doesn't lose suction." Admittedly, when these things first hit the US market I thought "who in their right mind would drop 4 Benjamins on a vacuum!" The answer, as it turned out, is me -- and boy, is it worth it. Guys love numbers (and motors) so let me hit ya' with this -- typical vacuum motors run between 5000-7000 RPMs while the Dyson RootCyclone models churn an F1-like 14,000 RPM. This machine truly loses no noticeable suction. Bradley labs (aka my house) tested the DC14 model on some very dusty crevices and ceiling fans (which had been spinning 24/7 for months). With the waste bin half full the unit just kept on going. If you're in the market and have the means, make the wise investment.

Vrooooooooom...

Just in case you Comcast users out there have been crying that your 6 or 8 Mb connection is too slow, hold on tight. The "cable company" will soon be bringing you all kinds of speed for your gaming enjoyment -- up to twice your current limit at times. That's right, 12 or 16 Mb, baby. Talks with a Comcast friend also yield that the upstream is going from 384Kbps to 1 Mb, which is great news for those of you wanting to get your VoIP and online gaming fix at the same time.

Read the article from Cnet here.

Prayer Requests

Tonight's post is a bit more serious in nature. I'd like to ask for your prayers for:

• My cousin Daryl, who had chest pains today and will be going to Centennial Hospital this evening for 3-5 bypasses in open-heart surgery.
• My uncle Perky, who had chest pain while on the road in South Carolina and has to have a stunt reworked and is unable to return home for several days.
• On June 16th and 19th I will have my six-month CT scan and oncology checkup.

Thank you, friends. -Jason

Johnny 5: "No disassemble!"

Warning: This post contains graphic material not suitable for some viewers. Discretion is advised.

Here we have a photo I thought I lost with Chris proudly displaying his ability to boot a Dell Latitude D600 using only the mobo, RAM, CPU, and a display for proof. The owner, a law student, didn't know what to think seeing her baby's guts strewn about like this. Some people have weak stomachs I guess. :)

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Hang around a lazy man...

The old saying goes, "If you have around a lazy man long enough you will learn his ways." So, being the trend-setter type, I thought I would share my most recent purchase with you -- the Python 1400XP Remote Start System from Directed Electronics. This coolest thing ever add-on will allow you to start your ride from your air-conditioned office in the middle of summer (or warm your stuff in winter). Two taps on the remote and 5 seconds later your cylinders are purring like a kitten. This can be yours for US~$199 installed at most Circuit City stores (add another $60ish for a bypass module if your car has a factory system/alarm). Go on, you know you wanna. Sorry, manual transmissions need not apply. :)

Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 Beta 2

My Dell Latitude X1 is now running Windows Vista Ultimate Beta 2 and Office 2007 Pro. In a word: wow. Bill & Crew have really outdone themselves.

Office (and Vista) bring forward the glass interface with incredible thought into the layout and functionality, particularly with toolbars, by providing you with exactly what you need when you need it.

Vista desktop and Start menu:

Word 2007:

Here I go again

My CT scan is June 16th and the oncology follow-up is June 19th. Your prayers are welcome that the results will be clean. Please also pray for my sanity mental well-being as I await the results.

But I like the cookie!

I'm back! Sorry for the hiatus... I was busy uhhh being lazy.

Last weekend Steph and I saw "Over the Hedge" and it was a great, clean, fun, movie. I encourage you to take the kids (or your spouse) and see it!

QOTD

Try to learn something about everything and everything about something. - Thomas H. Huxley

QOTD

You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do.
-Henry Ford

"Inside Man" (the Spike Lee joint)

People, go see Inside Man. Awesome. Totally.

All good!

The test results are back and everything's still perfect. CANCER FREE! WOOHOO!

One more again...

March 20th is my next checkup. I ask for your continued prayers that I am still cancer free. Thank you, my friends.

"Rascal" 1989-2006

It's with sorrow that I let you know that Rascal has passed away due to complications arrising from renal failure. He was Stephanie's cat since she was 12 and moved in with us when we married and I grew attached to him as well. Please pray for comfort for Stephanie as she says goodbye to her old friend.

You can email Steph at steph@jasonandsteph.com.

I'm back!

Sorry I've been out-of-pocket for a while, everyone! Busy little bee...

I just wanted to remind everyone about StateLine Quartet singing tonight at 6:00pm at Gallatin First Baptist. You'll really enjoy it!

I'll leave you with this QOTD: "You wouldn't worry what people thought of you if you knew how little they did." -Unknown

What's this?

What's all this white stuff outside? Is winter finally here? ;) Bundle up, stay warm, but enjoy the snow.

PS - please pray for Mom and Dad to quickly get over their cases of bronchitis!