http://www.mcphitty.com/blog Fresh from the Mind of McPhitty Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:28:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I don't have too much to say, life is at least as busy as usual.  However, I am working on my first Open Source project!  It's a little packaging utility built around the Jaris FLV Player, you can check out the projects at: http://jaris.sourceforge.net - Jaris FLV Player http://flvpackager.sourceforge.net - My Project ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2010/02/18/open-source/ First, let me say that much of the current global warming debate is little more than a colossal boondoggle.  Is global warming real?  It may surprise you to hear that my answer is yes, it probably is.  That's not the right question, at least not by itself.  How can I ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2010/01/10/global-warming-you-must-ask-the-right-questions/ So I have fans and detractors now (I just approved several hate comments).  Now here's the rule, I reserve the right to approve or disapprove any comment I choose.  I really don't care if you don't agree with me, I just ask that you be respectful.  I love a good ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2010/01/09/i-love-the-smell-of-napalm-in-the-morning/ It's 2010, a new decade, "The Year We Make Contact", whatever.  I feel a sort of melancholy hopefulness mixed with dread.  2009 was the worst year of my life, yet in the midst of it all, some pretty cool things happened along the way.  So what do I want for ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2010/01/01/happy-new-year-2/ I'm convinced that eBooks are the future.  In fact, I just ordered a Kindle.  Why Kindle, well it's the same price as the Nook from Barnes & Noble, and cheaper than the Sony model, but best of all, it's actually in stock now.  My only beef is that the Kindle ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2009/11/29/ebooks-are-the-future/ I'm 3 of the top 10 hits when searching for "James F. West" on Google!  By Web 2.0 standards, that means I'm somebody.  I just wanted to celebrate.  BTW, all of the other top 10 "matches" are completely bogus (e.g Baird, James F. - West Brookfield, MA).  So the only ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2009/11/07/im-google-able/ I'm #2 on Google!  This is cause for a celebration!  See the proof below: Even better, the first hit is bogus (click the picture above and look closely).  So there you go, I am finally in the top 10, and I'm the first legitimate match.  Woo hoo!!! http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2009/08/01/im-finally-google-able/ Happy Sysadmin Day!  It's time to show your appreciation for all those dedicated, hard-working, under-appreciated sysadmins, like myself.  Check out http://www.sysadminday.com/ http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2009/07/31/finally-a-sensible-holiday/ My wife wanted to see the movie "My Sister's Keeper", which premiered yesterday, so we went to a Matinee.  I have to admit that I wasn't really looking forward to this movie, because I'm not really a fan of such movies.  Even so, I went in with an open mind, ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2009/06/27/new-age-nihilism-at-the-movies/ So now that the U.S. Government owns 60% of GM, that means that we the taxpayers own 60% of GM.  Figuring that there are about 120,000,000 people in the U.S. who pay taxes, that works out to 3 shares per taxpayer.  I want my 3 shares, as of today, they're ... http://www.mcphitty.com/blog/2009/06/10/i-want-my-3-shares-of-gm/