Diary of a Network Geek

Next week is Christmas, so, as I have traditionally done, I’m reminding you of where to find Santa.

During the Cold War, NORAD stood between us and what we were sure was complete destruction at the hands of the Soviets.  Thankfully, that never came to pass, and I have often wondered what NORAD has done since.  Well, apparently one thing they’ve done is track Santa Claus in his mythical journey around the globe, spreading Christmas cheer!  And, they have a website,…
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I’m not sure where I picked up that particular turn of phrase.

Well, it’s my birthday again. I almost didn’t bother with a birthday post, since I had a post earlier in the day, but, it’s sort of gotten to be a tradition with me, so, here I am.  Honestly, it seems kind of impossible to me that I’ve survived this long, but, according to the actuarial tables, I can still expect about another 30-odd years of life. Which is a…
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That’s pronounced like the peanut butter brand, by the way.

Here’s a fun, free way to get into the holiday spirit; make an animated Christmas tree graphic!
Giphy is a site that collects animated GIFs.  It’s an interesting site, but I honestly am not sure how they make money.  In any case, last year at Christmas, they shared this generator that lets you make and share your own, customized animated GIF of a Christmas tree.
Okay, it’s corny, but it’s still fun and…
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So, it’s a little early to think that anyone writing a NaNoWriMo novel is done, but I think maybe people could use a break.

Hopefully, you all haven’t given up yet and are still writing.  But, I know it’s a hard slog, so I thought maybe taking a break to think about a cover for your future novel might help keep you inspired enough to make it the rest of the way.  So, I’ll start by sharing a tutorial from Thomas…
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Last year, I shared these tools to help people participating in NaNoWriMo and, since it’s that time of year again, I’m going to share them again.

Maybe one year, I’ll be able to get myself together again and give this a try.  Maybe this coming year, I’ll have all my regular posts queued up and ready to go and have a story idea and all the research done and have been practicing my writing and…  Well, maybe.  In any case, until…
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Or, at least, all robocallers.

So, lately, I’ve been digging through my files, finding links I saved ages ago to share with you, my few loyal blog readers, and I’m the first to admit that it’s been a mixed bag.  Some have been fun.  Some have been lame.  But, this one actually solves a problem for you.

Do you get automated calls?  Maybe you signed up for a catalog ages ago, or maybe you thought that timeshare in Miami was going to…
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I feel like I’ve been slacking lately, so this week, I’ve got a free game for you.

Well, at least it’s a free alpha version of the game, which is still in development.
But, they do say that they plan on making it free when it’s finally complete.  The game is called, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, Wings of Saint Nazaire.  It’s a pretty retro space shooter inspired by X-Wing and Wing Commander.  You can see some animated…
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Marshall McLuhan said that, and it may be one of the few things I remember about him from my Marketing classes.And, I’ll be honest, outside of it being a catchy phrase, I’m not entirely sure it applies to this post.  But, I suppose, in a way, it does.

Take a look around you and think about how you receive information.  While a “picture is worth a thousand words”, the vast majority of the way we communicate information is via the written…
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I thought I’d get out of my rut and show you loyal readers something that has fascinated me for years.

Granted, I haven’t had the real opportunity to actually participate in historical Western martial arts, but I have read quite a lot about it. In fact, back in the day, I used to subscribe to Hammerterz Verlag, which was the only semi-regular newsletter on the subject, published by the foremost expert on the art of historical Western combat of recent years,…
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Since I start my new day job this coming Monday, I’m slacking a little and just sharing some kind of random links about basic photographic technique.

One of the things you see a lot of photographers do, especially if they want to “go pro” and shoot portraits, is something called “seamless paper”.  Basically, it’s a huge, long roll of colored paper that you tape up to a wall or hang from a pole to get a smooth, uninterrupted, but still plain…
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