The Column

Motto: Cars Go Fast This Column is long, but I think it's more interesting than my average post. Don't be offput by the following wall of text. In the last 20 years communications technology has advanced with a screaming pace. 20 year ago today, we had a landline in each household along with a phonebook and everyone got a newspaper to get the news. Today, each person has their own phone that they carry with them. That phone gives them access to the biggest, fastest growing library of information ever collected known as "the Internet". Now let's look at transportation: 20 years ago today, Ford made an f150 truck that got around 18 miles to the gallon and could tow 15000 pounds. Today, Ford makes an f150 truck that gets around 19 miles to the gallon and can tow 15000 pounds.This is just ONE vehicle, but it represents the point I'm trying to make. The improvements we've seen in transportation have been anything but awe-inspiring. More like "ahh...

Motto: Open is as Open Does This Column is about computer stuff. It is going to have not 1, not 2, not 6, but 5 Top 5's. I own three laptops: A 6 year old dinosaur which was unearthed and given new life like Frankenstein's monster by way of Ubuntu 12.04 (Linux). I use this machine as a media server. A 3 year old machine running Windows 7. It was what you'd consider "my only computer" for quite some time... but nowadays I only really use it for media editing and file management. A 6 month old Chromebook that I use the most often. It's my fastest browser. That's what I do have. It's not what I'd like to have. What I'd LIKE to have is a monster desktop machine on which I store all my files, perform all my video & media work, manage all my devices, and maybe even play some games. I'd like to use it kind of like a personal cloud for Melissa and myself. Then we could do most of our daily computing on lightweight reach devi...

Motto: 13-Across, a 7 letter word for "Mrs. Gillespie" Enough of this "Writing abou t something". I started this blog with the intention to write about nothing... where did I get so focused on accomplishing things with my writing? This blog is supposed to be full of things like the following: "I imagine if you were a giraffe and you had a sore throat, that would suck." - Mitch Hedberg - I have an itch on my knee. Matt Willig, the really tall guy from "We're the Millers", a few other movies, and the TV "Dexter" is my height - but looks like this: I thought "dang, he's my height, but still manages to look more 'big' than 'tall', I wonder how much he weighs... maybe there's hope for me yet!" He weighs 316 lbs. He weighs 94 lbs more than me... Plus he can grow that sweet beard. Life isn't always fair. That's the kind of stuff the Column is supposed to be about - ...

Motto: The World's Most Versatile Column Today's post is a feature on GoPro - both the camera and the company. I'll cover both as objectively as possible and then I'll weigh in my opinions near the end of this post. First off, for those of you who don't know what a GoPro is: it's a camera. It looks like this: But it can look like this: Or this: Or this:   You get the picture. The GoPro camera is manufactured by the company "GoPro". They have white kiosks in most higher-end consumer electronics stores or specialty shops.  The kiosk usually has 6-9 cameras on display, a dozen or so accessories, and this video playing: If not that exact video, some other very similar video. The GoPro promotional videos are beautiful. I've spent several hours of my life watching GoPro promotional videos on YouTube. They showcase not only the kind of "extreme" image that the company is working hard to promote, but...

Motto: The Project Project is Projected to be a Success I do projects. That's what I do. This post will be written in a Buzzfeed-type fashion. A list of things with a picture to represent each thing. Basically I'm serving up Facebook sharing gold here. A list of the Medium-to-Long term projects I am working on (in some capacity): "Don't Panic" - a comprehensive review of education.  Think of it as a personal wikipedia, written entirely by (and for) myself, covering the scope of things that I learned in academia. One day I realized that I wasn't going to retain everything I ever learned, but I was pretty good and taking what I learned, organizing it, and presenting it in such a way I could relearn it quickly. The project is still in its early beginning stages even though I started it over 3 years ago. One day I'll pick it back up and keep going with it. Then I'll give it to my children, who will find it very helpful (provided the...