tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55560862012-02-24T01:48:15.583-05:00You never know what comes to mind...Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.comBlogger981100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-12773583516394044142012-02-07T12:55:00.001-05:002012-02-07T12:55:24.695-05:00

I've been playing Empire Avenue for the last 10 months.  At first, it seemed an intriguing idea; as a social stock exchange, EA would provide a measure of social "worth" based upon one's online activity, engagement within the Empire Avenue community, and the buying/selling of "your shares" by other players.  In other words, gamification was the rule of the day; one earned 'achievements' and could

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-54185735931193773642012-02-04T23:19:00.001-05:002012-02-04T23:19:01.608-05:00

I spent a bit of time digging around for better information on my Blackberry's performance, only to find precious little assistance in the native Blackberry OS.  After a bit of digging, I found a VERY nice free app - Signalloc v5.It's all there - signal strength, network services avaialble, current ID and channel, plus a full screen of phone network details, another for GPS internals, and yet

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-79629413212469816632012-02-03T22:35:00.001-05:002012-02-03T22:35:14.543-05:00

I'll freely admit to being skeptical of many things, particularly when outlandish claims are involved.  Toward that end, I find the Skeptic's Dictionary an entertaining read.  I don't really try to 'read the whole thing;' instead, I'll just pick a topic and start cracking.  Regardless of my personal opinions, I usually find SD's writing to be informative and thought-provoking; those points alone

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-24560573544987640812012-02-01T09:35:00.001-05:002012-02-01T09:35:50.300-05:00

It's interesting to see how sports cross international boundaries.  Sport, based in Barcelona, is one of my favorite sports newspapers; take a look at their coverage of Blake Griffin's monstrous dunk over Kendrick Perkins...(yes, I know that the ACB isn't the NBA - I just liked the graphic.)Blake Griffin se 'come' a Perkins en el mate del año

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-35784991088871796112012-01-31T23:41:00.001-05:002012-01-31T23:41:22.294-05:00

There's a Windows system statistic that can be an ironclad indicator of resource contention...but most folks never seem to consider it.Each network interface card (NIC) in your system has an associated output queue; the TCP/IP stack (WInsock) drops packets in this queue, from which the NIC processes them and puts them out on the wire.  Obviously, this number should always be very low; Microsoft

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-69722134384250954602012-01-30T12:38:00.001-05:002012-01-30T12:38:25.131-05:00

Taxation is a hot-button issue in the US; political candidates routinely spar, sometimes vituperatively, on the merits of greater or lesser taxation.  In recent months, the various Occupy protests have made strong social statements about the growing dichotomy of wealth in the US.  This is not a new story, but the trends of the last few decades have concentrated a great amount of wealth in

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-34165386746328946732012-01-29T21:27:00.001-05:002012-01-29T21:27:52.122-05:00

My digital music library has grown considerably over the last two years; I have well over 20000 tracks, in genres from Russian death metal to K-pop and barbershop quartets.  Since I pick up the bulk of my music online (via promotions and samplers), I find that my MP3s exhibit a wide variety of tags (or, on occasion, no tags at all).  Compounding my difficulty is that fact that I use multiple

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-40353830923113056582012-01-25T22:11:00.001-05:002012-01-25T22:11:45.284-05:00

Most of you know that I'm a fan of Ubuntu Linux, especially on the ThinkPad platform.  You may not know, however, that Ubuntu is getting ready to take a pretty big step in UI design.  It's called the "HUD" (Heads-Up Display, a term undoubtedly borrowed from the Air Force lexicon), and it has become known as an "intenterface" instead of an "interface."The basic concept is that the HUD will replace

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-17178044338410232892012-01-24T17:36:00.001-05:002012-01-24T17:36:27.093-05:00

I recently won a 16Gb Blackberry PlayBook; this was a Cool Thing on several fronts.  First, I'm an alpha geek, and not having a tablet of any sort just felt wrong.  Secondly, 3 of my kids have iPads through their high school, so I will admit to a wee bit of Tablet Envy.  Finally, I really wanted to see just how much the tablet form factor would help, hinder or change my style.  So, I've had this

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-86298767926528780732012-01-23T11:12:00.001-05:002012-01-23T11:12:10.358-05:00

Well, I finally found the "right person" who could get me onboard with Sametime United Telephony.  (Of course, I found that person at Lotusphere!)  So, I sat down to enable SUT on my Windows 7 desktop.  All went according to plan until I actually made an inbound test call to my SUT number...it worked once, then everything failed.  It went beyond just SUT; I had no audio in any application, no

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-86926234511658259052012-01-21T13:24:00.001-05:002012-01-21T13:24:01.467-05:00

One of my Twitter friends pointed me to the folks at Nuts About Nets, and there's no doubt that my quick visit to the NAN website has already paid tangible dividends.  One word, folks - NetSurveyor.  You won't find a better FREE wireless network profiler out there; whether you're a bithead by trade (like me) or just a power user of home 802.11g/b/n wireless, you'll love this Windows application.

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-75517153081496513022012-01-11T13:25:00.001-05:002012-01-11T13:25:57.997-05:00

(The link for this article lists a goodly number of 'unofficial' events taking place during Lotusphere 2012; they're all great, but I'd like to focus on one...)If you're attending your first Lotusphere, let me warn you now - it can be a daunting experience.  Sessions fly by, one loses track of time in the Product Showcase, vendor receptions abound...but there's one thing (new this year!) that can

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-63876089440185892572012-01-10T10:55:00.001-05:002012-01-10T10:55:14.220-05:00

It's almost here!  Lotusphere begins on Sunday, January 15th (well, the official sessions begin on Sunday, anyway), and 2012 promises to deliver another week chock-full of technical and strategic content.  From Domino to Portal to Sametime and Connections, it's going to be a full-throated chorus of strategic and technical goodness.  Lotusphere is always a busy week for me, and this year is no

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-15198270627730361822012-01-06T23:10:00.001-05:002012-01-06T23:10:22.743-05:00

OK, now this is an interesting concept.  These folks are tweeting (and Facebooking) events from World War II in real time, as if this were 1940.  Most of their entries link to photographs or other documentary evidence of the event(s) in question.  Apparently, they plan to keep this up for the next 6 years...This strikes me a fantastic teaching tool, as well as a "fun follow" for any history/

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-39214485631626938842012-01-06T22:50:00.001-05:002012-01-06T22:50:36.087-05:00

I stumbled across this site tonight, and they offer several hundreds short films and movies for free download.  I did a quick spot check, and everything I checked seems to be legitimately public domain.  If you've been waiting to see 1958's "She Gods of Shark Reef" or 1938's "Shadows Over Shanghai," this is the place...PublicDomainFlicks.com - Free Public Domain Movie Downloads

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-42378573835488310682012-01-02T22:04:00.001-05:002012-01-02T22:04:13.951-05:00

It's snowing outside, and--as usually happens--I found myself humming a song.  Not just any song, mind you, but one particular song that ALWAYS comes to mind when I watch a snowfall.  It isn't "Let It Snow," or even "Winter Wonderland," but allow me to explain...I grew up in rural Kentucky.  I mean RURAL.  I mean that we defined "neighbor" as "we can see their house," and we had but two "

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-30131076601757899702012-01-02T16:57:00.001-05:002012-01-02T16:57:11.468-05:00

So, there's a lot of discussion going on in BBN (Big Blue Nation) about scheduling, early-season games, "cupcakes" and the like.  I understand the rationale behind scheduling "cupcake" games, but it's getting ridiculous; Kentucky's 2011-12 schedule includes games against Morehouse, Marist, Radford, Portland,Tennessee-Chattanooga, Arkansas-Little Rock, Samford, Loyola (MD), and Lamar.  What was

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-28978022111795706252012-01-01T23:48:00.001-05:002012-01-01T23:48:13.985-05:00

The National Academies Press is the publishing arm of the government's highest scientific organizations - the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council.   Those organizations publish dozens, if not hundreds, of titles each year.  Well, in the last year or two, they've made a concerted effort to make their

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-52712884743065656512012-01-01T21:53:00.001-05:002012-01-01T21:53:17.661-05:00

Every so often, I'll just toss the odd search term into Google and see what happens.  Tonight, I was led to the home page of Rosoboronexport, the state-owned Russian arms agency.  For some reason, I don't think of advertising and marketing as something to be applied to submaries, air defence systems or missiles; I was quickly disabused of such notion.  The Rosoboronexport site is full of hype and

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-61187513198145302772011-12-30T01:51:00.001-05:002011-12-30T01:51:24.834-05:00

With the death of Kim Jong Il and the (apparent) assumption of power by his son Kim Jong Un, many Americans are being reminded of the incredible isolation of North Korea.  Well, I happened across an extraordinary collection of data concerning the hermit kingdom of Pyongyang.  Using Google Earth as a platform, "North Korea Uncovered" is a massive undertaking; one finds everything from propaganda

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-86519911129777950772011-12-30T00:22:00.001-05:002011-12-30T00:22:58.092-05:00

Polyvinyl Records, based in Champaign, IL, is something of a rare breed among music labels.  From the beginning, their business model has been based on a straightforward 50-50 revenue split with every artist.  I like that.  They're celebrating their 15th anniversary with a free sampler - and I like that even better!  Vivian Girls, Of Montreal, Joan of Arc, and 27 other Polyvinyl artists await you

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-17769434669028843012011-12-28T00:47:00.001-05:002011-12-28T00:47:44.915-05:00

This is serious holiday food.  Seriously, you want to give this recipe a try.  In my family, this stuff disappears in a proverbial eyeblink.White Chocolate Party Mix: Ohio's Amish Country Recipe from Eyewitness News

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-78630375576579619812011-12-26T22:59:00.001-05:002011-12-26T22:59:15.731-05:00

It's time for another eclectic (and free) MP3 selection, and tonight's will not disappoint. Germany's Denovali Records bills itself as an "independent label for experimental, ambient, darkjazz, jazz, drone, electronica, doom, indie etc."  Their Nordic Lake Sounds Volume I certainly meets that description.  Quite frankly, there's a breadth of sound here that one rarely encounters within the scope

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-87707250627018562032011-12-25T22:57:00.001-05:002011-12-25T22:57:09.442-05:00

Sure, they're the reigning Super Bowl champions, but did you know that they're the only non-profit franchise in American professional sports?  In one of those meandering, ten-different-sources-thanks-to-Google reading efforts, I've learned quite a bit about the Packers tonight, and it's actually rather impressive.  I'll hazard the guess that the Packers are unique in professional sport, at least

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-35371797509252832402011-12-24T20:17:00.001-05:002011-12-24T20:17:02.873-05:00

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Linux.  As my "work hardware" has aged out over the years, I've taken to installing Linux on whatever "old laptop" I might have at the time.  For the last 12 years or so, my laptops have been ThinkPads - first manufactured by IBM, and later by Lenovo - so it's safe to say that I have a great deal of experience when it comes to combining Linux with ThinkPads.

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-35526252538394316222011-12-22T11:39:00.001-05:002011-12-22T11:39:08.325-05:00

A recent XKCD strip suggested our notion of "classic Christmas songs" has been cast in stone by the "baby boomer" generation.  Well, this led to a nice, long discussion during a recent family trip--we are a very musical family--about what modern/contemporary Christmas songs would be considered "classics" 20 years from now.  Since XKCD's data ended with the early 1970s, we defined "modern" as "

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-92028788872658807982011-12-22T00:38:00.001-05:002011-12-22T00:38:52.428-05:00

I was introduced to Buffer today, and I'm quite pleased.  This free service, simply put, buffers your tweets and/or Facebook posts until issuing them according to your predetermined schedule.  The default Buffer size is 11 entries, which is more than enough for those "post them whenever" kind of links that curators of online content always seem to accumulate.The key piece of the Buffer puzzle,

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-79680508935001486942011-12-21T01:29:00.001-05:002011-12-21T01:29:04.787-05:00

There is some seriously dangerous--for the online world--legislation working its way through the US Congress.  Known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (Protect-IP) in the Senate, these bills would, if enacted, enable just about anyone to shut down any website with a "good faith" accusation of copyright infringement.  Notice that I didn't

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-9325510755710189962011-12-18T00:50:00.001-05:002011-12-18T00:50:00.913-05:00

It's so easy to get lost during this time of the year.  Between sports, shopping, travel and all the attendant craziness, we sometimes forget the things that really matter.  As those of us who believe consider the Gift given to mankind on Christmas, I find myself thinking back on the other gifts I have received through the year.  2011 was a rough year for many; while it's undoubtedly true that

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-87001600964680624922011-12-16T22:45:00.001-05:002011-12-16T22:45:25.630-05:00

Quick and easy - American Car magazine is sponsoring a free 11-track MP3 sampler with Roadrunner Records.  It'll cost you an email address, but it's worth it.  No need to pick favorites here; the sampler includes tracks from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slash, Queensryche, Staind, and Steve Miller Band.  Go grab it.American Car Presents || Download an 11-Track Sampler from Roadrunner Records

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-77082857948466485602011-12-16T09:38:00.001-05:002011-12-16T09:38:54.288-05:00

Simply put, Hitchens was a writer - of the sort that is so desperately necessary from time to time.  Even on those occasions in which I disagreed with his political or social opinions, I could always admire and respect his writing style and his command of language.  At his best, Hitchens was an amalgam of the Algonquin Round Table, James Thurber, George Orwell and--just perhaps--a hint of Mark

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-68585610723850952532011-12-14T22:54:00.001-05:002011-12-14T22:54:27.825-05:00

Just a quick note - Fuse has around 30 tracks for free download at the link below.  Groups include:Brite FuturesCapital CitiesDead to MeHurricane BellsKIROSSuper Primeand more!  Grab 'em while they're hot.Free Music Downloads | Fuse.tv

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-38520043817416464692011-12-13T22:24:00.001-05:002011-12-13T22:24:31.461-05:00

I'm a big guy.  I'm also a tall guy.  I'm talking lumberjack without the flannel, folks. That combination spells P-A-I-N in many areas of human endeavor.  For instance, it's a little-known fact that "big and tall" stores are really "big OR tall" stores; if you're both, you're often out of luck.  I've been met at the door of such establishments with a pitiable glance and a sotto voce "We won't

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-43157767702060320232011-12-13T00:07:00.001-05:002011-12-13T00:07:33.822-05:00

When I was a kid, I read.  A lot.  Every day.  A big part of that reading came from the Federal Government; not only would I request books from my Congresscritters (remember the Yearbook of Agriculture?  I still have a few of those somewhere...), but I'd check out the Consumer Information Catalog for new pamphlets and fact sheets.  Well, as one might expect, that's all online now, and there's a

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-76804352015505356972011-12-11T17:07:00.001-05:002011-12-11T17:07:40.862-05:00

Yes,it's that time of year again - Lotusphere is in the works!  I'm honored to have been chosen for two presentations to be delivered at Lotusphere 2012:Sametime 8.5.2 Deployment Workshop - We'll review the breadth and depth of Sametime 8.5.2, giving you the information and understanding you need to design and deploy Sametime's collaboration tools in your environment.  This will not be a "

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-23684754824901812862011-12-10T16:19:00.001-05:002011-12-10T16:19:40.675-05:00

I've noticed that, while most of us seem to read webcomics, we rarely discuss them in our social media.  Sure, XKCD gets the occasional mention in one's Twitter stream, but that's about it.  For lack of anything better to do, I thought I'd toss out my daily "first cup of coffee" webcomics and invite you to do the same.  Without further ado, the list:Questionable Content - Centers around a group

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-14811917474697456882011-12-10T00:20:00.001-05:002011-12-10T00:20:10.393-05:00

I consider myself a person of faith, not a "religious person."  To me, the difference has always been that faith is goal, reward and gift alike in the relationship between man and God, while religion is--in most cases--various stuff that men have introduced into the equation in attempts to (somehow) codify or regulate that divine gift of faith.  I don't always get it right--who does?--and I've

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-62957776069314754402011-12-09T23:47:00.001-05:002011-12-09T23:47:35.839-05:00

Just as I used to love ordering gags from Johnson Smith Co., I always spent days with the Edmund Scientific catalog.  Oh, the fun I had with magnet sets, magnesium strips and dissection kits.  (Hey, things were SLOW in the country sometimes...)  I recently stumbled across Edmund's website, and I see that they're still going strong.  The link below leads to their Clearance section, just in case

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-33008486193429340702011-12-07T23:06:00.001-05:002011-12-07T23:06:53.689-05:00

Short and sweet - there's a healthy chunk of indie Christmas music, as well as Christmas MIDI files, e-cards, recipes and more at feelslikechristmas.com.  Knock yourself out.Free Christmas Music | Free MP3 Downloads from Feels Like Christmas

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-61093805622028662182011-12-07T23:02:00.001-05:002011-12-07T23:02:43.534-05:00

Since my 3 high-school children now have iPads (thanks to a school initiative - ours is the first public school in Kentucky to go 1-to-1 with tablets), I've been on the lookout for cool apps with which to feed/supplement their curiosity and interests.  I stumbled across one NASA app in the App Store, then found this list of available NASA apps.  They're all pretty cool, but I REALLY like

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-89073820039113254902011-12-06T13:16:00.001-05:002011-12-06T13:16:45.493-05:00

In the never-ending debate around education in the US, standardized testing has become something of a flashpoint in recent years.  Some folks suggest that only testing can adequately measure the effectiveness of teachers and/or curriculum choices, while others argue that such testing fails (and terminally so) to account for individual learning styles.  Teachers often complain that the resulting

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-38334042368884851362011-12-05T00:58:00.001-05:002011-12-05T00:58:23.439-05:00

Simple enough - this is a picking contest for the 35 college football bowl games.  Have at it.ESPN - College Bowl Mania - Game Home

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-76631023575843473112011-12-05T00:13:00.001-05:002011-12-05T00:13:13.161-05:00

Yes, it's that time of year again - when seventy (yes, that's seventy!) Division I football teams get an "attaboy" for breaking .500 in their football performance.  The BCS folks have made their selections--and, boy, is that another discussion--so all the other bowls have finalized their selections as well.Now, I do enjoy watching football, so the link below is a near-constant reference point for

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-88022943493957610602011-12-04T00:55:00.001-05:002011-12-04T00:55:58.634-05:00

This is the kind of project I love to publicize...in their support of the various Occupy movements around the nation, these folks have developed a free mobile app to locate nearby fee-free and local-bank ATMs.  (As you may know, most credit unions offer fee-free ATMs and, as non-profits, also charge MUCH more reasonable fees and offer much better interest rates than do the big national banks.)

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-73430808942822361802011-12-03T07:00:00.000-05:002011-12-03T07:00:06.189-05:00

First, for those who like random photos (I didn't take a camera - most of these were done with my Blackberry or a colleague's camera, and one or two are ripoffs (noted as such) from other sources; you can see those at the link below.I recently spent two weeks in Beijing on business, and I must say that it's a fascinating city in many ways.  I'm not much of a diarist, so what follows is basically

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-49405595783129327022011-12-02T12:23:00.001-05:002011-12-02T12:23:51.026-05:00

This is short, sweet and to the point - Amazon is reprising its "25 Days of Free" promotion.  If they stay true to their selections of years past, this will be a good chance to pick up a rather eclectic Christmas playlist; the first two selections are Celtic Woman's "Ave Maria" and "Peace On Earth" by Brian Wilson.  Have at it.Amazon.com MP3 Downloads: 25 Days of Free - Daily Free Downloads in

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-27522915315159219902011-12-01T15:43:00.004-05:002011-12-01T19:37:04.259-05:00

Today's Random MPFreebie - XO for the Holidays Volume 4 XO Publicity is a music PR firm in Portland, Oregon.  They work with a broad, eclectic range of artists, and it shows in the latest edition of their holiday sampler.My taste in music knows few bounds, so I found quite a few pieces to like.  My FLFs (First-Listen Favorites) would have to be:"I Believe in Father Christmas" from Pictures of

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-25698085021656802042011-11-19T00:53:00.001-05:002011-11-19T00:53:26.967-05:00

OK, the radio stations are already going 24x7 Christmas (well, one of my local stations is, anyway), the stores are pushing the Christmas merchandise, and the town fathers have already put the city's lights in place.  In an attempt to get away from the schlock, I'm going to be reviewing my music collection for a different take on the holidays.  As I've mentioned on any number of occasions, I'm

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-85100490609710407942011-11-11T23:17:00.001-05:002011-11-11T23:17:12.407-05:00

As a software engineer with a particular interest in networking, Wireshark is definitely my #1 tool.  If you're interested in learning more about networking, or how your applications REALLY behave on the network, Wireshark is the tool for you.  It's every bit as full-featured as commercial network analysis products, and it has a vibrant community of users.  There's a wealth of good "getting

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-13753185856661614382011-10-21T00:23:00.001-04:002011-10-21T00:23:26.211-04:00

Yes, that's right - it's time for another road trip.  This time, it's my first-ever visit to the People's Republic of China; I'll be spending two weeks in Beijing.  I'll be sure to hit the major sights--the Great Wall, the Palace Museum, Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City--but you know I'll be looking for the interesting stuff-on-the-street and delicious hole-in-the-wall restaurants that

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-16648339513933107492011-10-12T13:09:00.001-04:002011-10-12T13:09:12.520-04:00

Customers are often puzzled by the "speed difference" seen when transferring data via Lotus Notes, as compared to HTTP or SMB file transfers; these differences are most often seen in conditions of high network latency, but they are always evident to some degree.  What most folks DON'T realize is that "network latency" is only an exacerbating factor; the real "root cause" reasons are inherent

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-19414782237292427172011-10-04T18:40:00.001-04:002011-10-04T18:40:03.290-04:00

OK, my wife kind of likes the idea of me working from home, but she definitely did NOT approve of the maze of keyboards, mice and laptops that make our dining room look like a spaghetti factory (no, not this one).  I tried to satisfy her aesthetic sense with a KVM switch, but the dog and cat decided that the cables behind the table were JUST the place to conduct their mock battles.  To top it off

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-60858981072664043372011-08-30T18:26:00.001-04:002011-08-30T18:26:44.081-04:00

The first "real" computer system upon which I ever laid my hot little hands was a PDP-11/34 at Western Kentucky University.  I was attending WKU during the summer between my 11th and 12th-grade years of high school, and one of my typical "go see what's out there" walkabouts led me to the "computer center."  Now, there were several signs posted which suggested that ONLY those students taking

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-51036917048242201962011-08-27T12:38:00.001-04:002011-08-27T12:38:55.034-04:00

As I've been playing with emulators, my knowledge of programming languages has been put to the test.  Sure, many of us can say that we've written code in dozens of languages, but how many of them can we REALLY remember today?  I'll be the first to admit that my recollection of many languages is somewhat fragmented and/or jumbled.I was looking around for some ALGOL code when I happened across this

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-64582532791822916932011-08-27T12:02:00.004-04:002011-08-27T13:52:30.032-04:00

Fun with Emulation #2 - Running a DECSystem-10 on Ubuntu Linux I can honestly say that the 36-bit DEC-10 was the machine that took me from "gee whiz, this is keen!" to actual coding/hacking. If one could schmooze a faculty member into signing the authorization form, students could get access to the DECSystem-10 (#1059) at the University of Louisville at a screaming 1200 baud.  I fell in with a

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-25976668258185716572011-08-27T03:01:00.001-04:002011-08-27T03:01:12.162-04:00

When I first arrived at university in 1981, I was planning to study Medical Technology (e.g. clinical pathology) with an eye toward medical school.  That all changed when, as part of the University Honors Program, we were given a tour of the Computing Center and I laid eyes on the school's IBM 3081 (later 3090) mainframe.   It basically filled the basement of the center, as you can see in this

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-72479062881315881882011-08-14T23:56:00.004-04:002011-08-15T00:04:27.922-04:00

Peeking Past the Proxy - Using Wireshark to Estimate "Second Hop" Latencies When discussing network latency, most people only think about two adjacent endpoints; we aren't often called upon to evaluate latencies between intermediate devices along the network path.  Well, I was recently called upon to do just that, and--between documentation of the network path and knowledge of the

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-71412035915085382082011-08-09T16:07:00.001-04:002011-08-09T16:07:33.257-04:00

Well, I've finally settled in at home after a two-week business stay in Osaka, Japan.  This was my third trip to Asia, after Seoul and Singapore in years past, but my first to Nippon.  Truth be told, I really don't go in for "touristy" stuff when I travel; instead, I enjoy exploring cities on foot or by train/tram/subway, finding hole-in-the-wall bars and restaurants, interacting with folks as

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-66028236347343341202011-07-30T08:59:00.004-04:002011-07-30T09:15:41.057-04:00

Wait, What? There's Another "Go Big Blue" Bunch? As you may know, I live in the Lexington, Kentucky area.  In the Bluegrass, we have a handful of passions.  For some, it's bourbon, while others live (and/or work) for the thoroughbred breeding and racing industries.  One thing that most of us share, however, is our support for University of Kentucky athletics, commonly known as "Big Blue."  UK

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-49771386469007480032011-07-24T04:05:00.001-04:002011-07-24T04:05:08.115-04:00

I'm in Osaka, Japan on a business trip, and I must say that I'm pretty psyched.  My work has taken me to Europe with some frequency, but this is only my third trip to Asia (the others were Singapore and Seoul).  I'll be here for about a week, and I'm looking forward to exploring the city in the evenings.  A few impressions from my first day-and-a-half in Osaka:I've seen very few Westerners, even

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-69094642708157775772011-07-20T00:42:00.001-04:002011-07-20T00:42:56.444-04:00

It's nice to make SOMEONE do this...Courtesy of: Add Letters » Custom Picture of Bart Simpson Chalkboard Generator 

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-15540183829046489442011-07-19T16:28:00.001-04:002011-07-19T16:28:19.080-04:00

As you can see from the widget on the right margin of this blog, I participate in Empire Avenue.  Billed as "The Social Stock Market," the basic notion is that you'll meet people with similar interests via EA, "invest" in them (it's funny money), and thus lead both a higher social media presence for yourself and greater interaction/connections with those you meet.  I've been participating in EA

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-51497858249546642532011-07-15T16:49:00.001-04:002011-07-15T16:49:26.427-04:00

We all live with those little "glitches" in our home networks.  Was one of the kids hitting Netflix, did my music downloads go into overdrive, or did my ISP decide to do a remote reboot of my DSL/cable modem?  It's certainly true that monitoring networking equipment can be a rather involved process, but every once in a while we stumble across something that makes it fairly easy for the typical

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-12386501985938358442011-07-12T17:09:00.001-04:002011-07-12T17:09:24.353-04:00

Sure, there are always thousands of legal actions moving within the American judicial system - but you should pay attention to this one.  In short, the US government is attempting to compel an individual accused of real estate fraud to provide the encryption keys for his laptop data.  The defense is arguing that providing the encryption keys is tantamount to self-incrimination, the compulsion of

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-59281602445624578902011-07-08T20:33:00.001-04:002011-07-08T20:33:23.559-04:00

No, that isn't an ethnic joke - not from me, anyway...Amazon's latest sampler, Pop Suey, is simply described as "Chinese Music Treats."  I was expecting traditional Chinese music, but I found the tracks on this sampler far more contemporary in nature.  We aren't talking bleeding-edge Western style, by any means--there are a few singer-songwriter selections that would be right at home on American

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-79870522374179387102011-07-05T13:48:00.004-04:002011-07-05T13:58:35.471-04:00

Today's Random #MPFreebie - A Boatload of Free Samplers from Amazon You may already be browsing Amazon's MP3 Store, but have you been paying attention to the "Free Songs and Special Deals" section?  Sure, they offer the free song of the day, and they occasionally feature a sampler alongside, but there are many, MANY labels releasing samplers throughout the year.  Over the last year-and-a-half,

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-40620291043342857012011-06-29T21:43:00.001-04:002011-06-29T21:43:29.945-04:00

Most of you have probably heard of Foursquare by now, especially since they've recently landed another US$50 million in financing.  Basically, it's a location-based social networking game with (potentially) major overtones for business.  Each user can follow their friends' travels, offer (and read) tips on different venues, and earn "mayorships" through frequent "checkins" at the same location(s)

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-609122207862008092011-06-08T20:05:00.001-04:002011-06-08T20:05:14.934-04:00

OK, so I'm a networking geek - but many of you already knew that...Today is World IPv6 Day, and many prominent websites are opening/premiering their websites to IPv6 traffic today.  I decided to play along, and to use my Ubuntu Linux system (a ThinkPad T41p) as the guinea pig.  Now, most folks working in the "home IPv6" world use a straightforward IPv6-in-IPv4 tunnel (as described, with a FREE

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-26710319605414857692011-05-26T11:59:00.000-04:002011-05-26T11:59:21.456-04:00

It's All About the (Disk) Platters... So, I was brought into yet another high-key, holy-cow, we-just-have-to-fix-this, something's-wrong-with-your-product session a few days ago.  After looking at the symptoms, my question was simple - "Have you checked disk performance?" When the response came in the negative, my immediate response was, "enable statistics, run Perfmon (this was a Windows

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-72681440882309898832011-05-24T14:23:00.002-04:002011-05-24T14:26:22.849-04:00

It can be difficult, in some ways, to live "in the shadow" of a metropolitan area.  It often seems that the "city schools" and "city teams" get the lion's share of media attention, and that smaller schools often get the proverbial short end of the stick.  Well, Woodford County High School has been making some noise in academic circles over the last few years, and that trend has continued in the

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-66964107086448161482011-05-09T12:29:00.001-04:002011-05-09T12:29:33.926-04:00

Yes, it's another trip Down Under for free music.  This time around, it's New Weird Australia that draws our attention.  NWA is a non-profit initiative (supported, in part, by the Australian government) promoting "new, eclectic and experimental Australian music."  Their latest sampler, "We Are After All Here," succeeds on all three counts.  I'd recommend this compiliation on purely

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-23320061162979729262011-05-04T19:45:00.001-04:002011-05-04T19:45:06.279-04:00

OK, I admit it; I've always loved comics and comic books.  My introduction to the medium came from my older cousins; whenever we'd spend an (otherwise boring, for me) afternoon or evening there, they'd take me down to the basement where they kept a decade's worth of comics.  I immersed myself in Legion of Super Heroes, Doctor Strange and countless other titles for hours on end.  Later, I read

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-18600787497098163802011-04-24T18:26:00.001-04:002011-04-24T18:26:13.757-04:00

The Internet has certainly spawned an enormous range of creative outlets, and 'netlabels' promise to be a significant presence in the musical section of the creative spectrum. Most of us are familiar with the notion of "major labels," such as Sony or MCA; if your musical taste is on the eclectic side, you've probably explored the world of "indie labels," those independent (usually regional)

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-6269839659576154802011-04-22T12:21:00.001-04:002011-04-22T12:21:16.303-04:00

There are any number of operating system (OS) commands that are VERY handy when performing initial troubleshooting or 'drilling down' on a suspected issue.  However, many of the most useful instances are either obscure commands or obscure options to well-known commands,  What?  You say that sounds like a good idea for a blog series?  Why, I think you're right!  Thus, it's time for today's obscure

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-59634642256175219512011-04-16T23:33:00.001-04:002011-04-16T23:33:02.464-04:00

Sounds Like Brisbane is a collective effort from 17 of Australia's independent labels, and it's definitely one of the more diverse samplers I've heard in a while.  Folks in Oz are absolutely kicking it across the board, if these tracks are representative of the indie music scene.  My FLFs (First Listen Favorites) are Marialy Pacheco's wonderful piano work on Sunshine State, the somewhat ethereal

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-53330509834774010432011-04-11T00:27:00.001-04:002011-04-11T00:27:56.172-04:00

Over the last decade, I've done quite a bit of public speaking on technical topics.  Those of you in the IBM/Lotus community may have seen one of my sessions at Lotusphere, Software University, or various user group events over the last few years.  Well, I've been told that I do these things fairly well, and I'm often asked if I have any tips for technical presentations and those who deliver them

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-83532984311423149712011-04-07T17:33:00.001-04:002011-04-07T17:33:52.916-04:00

As you're probably discerned by now, I have a fairly eclectic taste in music.  Given that radio airplay is dominated (in most markets) by formula pop, I've turned to the independent scene for most of my "new" listening.  Today's free sampler comes to us from Brooklyn-based Friendly Fire Recordings, and it's an interesting collection.  It features 7 of the 15 bands on Friendly Fire's roster, and-

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-6510482549064648372011-04-04T12:10:00.001-04:002011-04-04T12:10:47.776-04:00

If you've played with DNS, you know about names and IP addresses.  If you've dug deeply into DNS, you may have some knowledge of TTLs, SOAs and even SRVs (the latter especially true for our Active Directory friends...).  Well, there's a little-known aspect of DNS that may just come in handy along your troubleshooting way...I was assisting with troubleshooting of an XMPP gateway deployment, and I

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-2973642309149357092011-03-21T12:12:00.001-04:002011-03-21T12:12:35.273-04:00

You may know that every TCP/IP connection requires the use of "send buffers" and "receive buffers."  These are simply 'holding pens', in which the TCP/IP stack stashes data; send buffers hold data from the application until it can be dispatched on the network, and receive buffers hold data received from the network until the application can retrieve it.During the course of a TCP/IP

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-87860721571211850952011-03-12T16:08:00.001-05:002011-03-12T16:08:59.247-05:00

I recently had one of those Flights From Hell(tm), in which a 45-minute layover became a 4-hour layover.  Of course, the canny business traveler is prepared for such things, even in these days of reduced baggage and carryons, which leads to the question - what's in YOUR travel survival kit?After some discussion with friends on Twitter, we came up with the following list.  The idea is that this is

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-38390228084901221932011-02-27T23:36:00.001-05:002011-02-27T23:36:27.066-05:00

OK, so I was downloading a flock of files from a particular website, and it insisted on using capital letters for filename extensions (.PDF, in this case).  Of course, capital letters are anathema to any old-school Unix guy, so I found myself with directory full of files with mixed-case names - what to do?  Well, this was a job for a one-shot, on-the-fly script entered from the command line.  The

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-46921885939503334822010-12-31T13:34:00.001-05:002010-12-31T13:34:40.439-05:00

Indie Vision Music is one of those sites that you just have to admire for its breadth and depth.  Focusing on "faith and entertainment with an independent perspective," IVM gives coverage to the less-than-mainstream faith music often ignored by even local music cognoscenti.  As you browse the site, you'll find everything from alternative to screamo to, in this case, ska.  Their latest compilation

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-27808657873628793352010-12-22T19:39:00.001-05:002010-12-22T19:39:35.981-05:00

XO Publicity, of Portland, Oregon, is a music promotion agency with a roster of 100+ clients.  This year, they offer us the third in their series of "XO for the Holidays" samplers.  This year's release is 11 tracks of holiday goodness, and it doesn't disappoint.  My FLFs (First Listen Favorites) are Judge Jackson's Christmas Tree (featuring Billy Bob Thornton), the acoustic-tinged Dreidel Song

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-55714764589737183752010-11-27T18:21:00.001-05:002010-11-27T18:21:24.581-05:00

You never know when you might have to monitor a router or switch (or even your home network, right?).  MRTG has been around for quite some time, and has matured into a VERY good traffic monitoring and graphics package.  I've used it as a long-term (daily/weekly/monthly/yearly) tool for a NOC full of Cisco routers, and a dextrous hand with configuration can produce quality tracking for just about

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-1784452437871408512010-11-22T12:13:00.001-05:002010-11-22T12:13:56.063-05:00

Suburban Sprawl Music is an independent label based in Michigan.  Not only have they put together a "Holiday Sampler" of their artists, but they've maintained all past efforts online as well.  It doesn't seem that there will be a 2010 edition, but here you go - this link takes you to 254 (yes, 254!) MP3s of indie/alternative Christmas music.  You'll find everything from an a cappella "Twas the

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-65868365730991256542010-11-22T10:07:00.001-05:002010-11-22T10:07:28.954-05:00

During troubleshooting/debugging, it's always useful to know what network connections your system is making (or failing to make, as the case may be).  In the Windows world, I've long used Mark Russinovich's TCPView for this purpose, but I knew of no such tool for Linux.  Well, now there's netactview; it shows all UDP/TCP/UDP6/TCP6 activity and autorefreshes the list.  In a very nice addition for

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-27782823554437564002010-11-18T23:29:00.001-05:002010-11-18T23:29:31.218-05:00

I've used Softerra's LDAP Browser for years; it's an excellent (free) tool, but it's only available for Windows.  For the Gurubox project, I needed a similar package for a Linux platform.  A little digging, and I found JXplorer; this LDAP-browsing tool originated with Computer Associates' eTrust Directory development team, but they've thrown it into the open-source world.  A quick install--plus a

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-85938257980145124922010-11-18T21:54:00.001-05:002010-11-18T21:54:16.932-05:00

I'm a music geek; there's no other way to put it.  I'll listen to anything once, and most things more than once.  Now, since I have four kids, it isn't as if I have some pile of disposable funds just sitting aroud for music purchases; as a result, I've spent the last two years or so roaming the Web for free music.  I've really become attached to label samplers, since they usually give a pretty

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-41596688120566589172010-11-16T13:02:00.001-05:002010-11-16T13:02:53.924-05:00

Several ancient languages used a technique known as boustrophedonic writing, in which alternate lines of text ran in opposite directions.  Imagine English text in which every other line read right-to-left, instead of left-to-right.  It sounds odd--and looks bizarre at first--but studies have shown that most folks actually experience an increase in their reading speed with boustrophedonic text,

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-55301167049443745542010-11-15T20:03:00.001-05:002010-11-15T21:06:38.380-05:00

Gurubox: A "Sandbox" Laptop/Toolbox I am often called upon to visit customer premises for purposes of debugging and/or troubleshooting.  Needless to say, my employer doesn't necessarily like the idea of plugging a "company laptop" into whatever network I may be visiting, and our customers' security folks don't necessarily like the idea of plugging anything "uncontrolled" into their network. 

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-66972568505005680362010-11-15T19:48:00.001-05:002010-11-15T19:48:19.959-05:00

I'm using Scribefire to post articles here at Cognitive Buffet.  It's simple, relatively full-featured, and gives me the cross-platform stuff I like via Firefox.  If you're an occasional blogger, it's worth a look.ScribeFire Next :: Add-ons for Firefox 

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-76814566388589060392010-11-11T20:34:00.001-05:002010-11-11T20:34:48.224-05:00

If you know me at all, you know that I'm a listen-to-anything music geek.  Well, tonight's MP3 freebie is for the heavy metal fans.  Hydra Head Records, based in Los Angeles (but formerly of Boston), specializes in metal, and they're offering a 22-track collection from across their artist roster.  My FLFs (First-Listen Favorites) are New Bombs from Clouds, Helms Alee's Lionize, and Hayaino

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-78212819094285079642010-11-11T20:12:00.001-05:002010-11-11T20:12:30.212-05:00

OK, so proxies of all sorts--HTTP, SOCKS, or application-specific--are pretty much a fact of life in today's workplace.  With the advent of cloud computing, however, those heretofore lonely middlemen are once again major players in the troubleshooting/debugging world.  I'm currently working on several issues around web proxies and/or proxy authentication, so I'm curious...what proxies are you (or

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-21066582272786300922010-11-08T15:19:00.001-05:002010-11-08T15:19:10.850-05:00

In conjunction with Masque, Bally Technologies offers three play-at-home slot machine games - Hot Shot Progressive, S&H Green Stamps, and Playboy Free Games.  These are clones of Bally's actual casino machines of the same names. They're pure funny-money games, but they're an entertaining way to kill time in airport lounges, hotel rooms, et cetera (online connection required).  There's no cost to

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-54172481801791764382010-11-07T10:31:00.001-05:002010-11-07T10:42:08.426-05:00

A Trip Down (Twisted) Memory Lane When I was a kid, I read comics voraciously, including the ads.  One frequent advertiser was Johnson Smith Co., purveyors of all sorts of "novelties," from the infamous mousetrap gum to dirty soap and everything in between.  Needless to say, their catalogs were a highlight of our mail delivery in those days.  For some odd reason, I tossed them into Google and

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-75634830793829736202010-11-07T01:45:00.001-05:002010-11-07T01:45:55.815-05:00

I'm always on the lookout for free music.  (With four teenagers in the house, let's just say that my budget for music verges on the nonexistent.)  I recently ran across the latest sampler from Deep Elm Records, and it's a winner.  My FLFs (First-Listen Favorites) are 8105 from Moving Mountains, Ride Your Bike's The Connection, and Nomads by Les Sages.  I'm an eclectic listener, so this one will

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-80632526254961942482010-11-07T01:22:00.001-05:002010-11-07T01:22:46.375-05:00

My kids learned (long ago) that if they ask me a question, they're likely to get a far more detailed answer than they expect.  In fact, they developed the habit of appending "short answer" to their questions if they were in a hurry.  What they don't realize is that their questions often provoke questions of my own.  It was one of those "followup questions" that led me to discover the publications

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556086.post-51053260859926774932010-11-07T01:52:00.001-04:002010-11-07T01:52:58.652-04:00

If you use the Wireshark network analysis tool (and if you're interested in networking at all, you should be - check it out), the new community Q&A site will come in handy.  I've already joined, answered a few questions and asked one of my own.   A stable of knowledgeable Wireshark users, including several of the top developers, are participating...take a look.Wireshark Q&A 

Wes Morganhttps://profiles.google.com/109995768273040439562noreply@blogger.com0