http://www.ComputerBob.com/journal_archive/2005/01.php .
.
.
If you liked R.D. Stafford's recent article, How To Clean An Infected Computer,
in this site's Guest Articles section, you'll want to read
Help Net Security's brand new article,
Home User Security Guide,
which offers lots of good advice for securing your computer.
Along with possessing many other admirable qualities, a good father should be loving, patient, supportive, knowledgeable,
selfless, honest, mature, helpful, involved, interested, nurturing, courageous, fun to be with, spiritually strong, and a good
role model. My Uncle Dom has always been the good father in my life, and a lot of the good that you see in me can be traced back to
his influence on me. It has always been my honor and pleasure to have him in my life, and I have always cherished every minute
that I've been privileged to be able to spend with him. When I look into his eyes, I see the love of God the Father, and I see
the man that I want to be. I love you, Pa.
Have you ever heard of a device called an
AlphaShield? It's a box that connects between your computer and your
high-speed Internet connection. Its makers claim that it provides "guaranteed 100% unhackable Internet security." What do you
think? Feel free to join the AlphaShield discussion in ComputerBob's Forums.
In the past year since we moved to the Gulf Coast, I've seen many, many sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. You just never know
what tonight's sunset is going to look like until its time comes. Sometimes, the colors are almost shockingly beautiful shades
of red, orange, purple, pink, gold, blue, green and yellow over silvery blue waters, while other times, the sky is overcast, the
sea is
dark, and the sea breeze blows ominously cold. Over time, you learn to find some beauty in every sunset, no matter how it looks.
And though you feel sad as you watch it fade to black, you remember its beauty, and you know that you will see it again tomorrow
night.
My old stomping grounds, the Frostbite State, is
in the news again, for the
same reason that it's always in the news around this time of year. For those of you outside of the U.S., it's -47.8 degrees
Celsius. After spending 17 1/2 years as one of God's Frozen People, can you blame me for finally moving to
the Sunshine State?
Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us, so hold on to your loved ones today. Hold them close. Hold them in your arms. Hold
them in your heart. Tell them and show them how much you love them and how important they are to you. Celebrate with them. Grieve
with them. Pray for them and with them. Forgive them and ask them to forgive you. Thank God for every single minute that you have
with them. Do these things and your love will remain with them always, and theirs with you.
If you like Steve's Weird Photos, you'll also enjoy the weird images at HumanDescent.com and at Worth1000.com.
Yesterday, in Frankfurt, Germany, a city garbage collection crew
collected and destroyed
an outdoor "sculpture" that was made entirely out of construction rubbish. Now the local art museum has offered free art
appreciation classes to the garbage collectors. Yeah, right -- the problem is that those city workers need to learn to
appreciate "art" when they see it.
It has been two years since I tried several different popular distributions of the Linux operating system. Though I only reviewed one of those distros at the time (Mandrake Linux 9.0), I was disappointed to find that all of the ones that I tried were sadly lacking in hardware-sensing intelligence and user-friendliness. Still, I've continued to hope that some day, a Linux distribution would be able to completely replace Windows on my main computer at home. I think that day may finally be coming. Xandros recently released Xandros Desktop OS 3, a commercial Linus distribution that is designed for Windows users, and so far, Linux.com and OSNews and ExtremeTech.com and The Software Corner and LinuxLinks have all praised its intelligence and user-friendliness, while some forum users at Desktop OS have complained that it is buggy and not worth its cost. After my expensive and frustrating experience with Mandrake, and all of the time that I wasted trying it and other Linux distros two years ago, I'm certainly not going to pay big bucks to try out the new Xandros distro now, but I will be happy to try it if Xandros sends me a review copy of it, or maybe I'll try it in a few months, when they release a free, limited-feature, Open Circulation version of it.
I left my January 2 Journal entry on my home page this entire past week, to make sure that as many people as possible would
read about my Uncle Dom and his family before that entry scrolled off into the abyss of
Previous Journal Entries. This
past week, I took close to 100 photos with my new digital camera, and I was able to quickly email some of the best ones to Uncle
Dom each day. My new camera has been my almost-constant companion, and it has so many features that it will probably take me
awhile to learn how to use all of them.
Today was my birthday. One year ago today, I had only lived in the Sunshine State for 8 days, and it was warm enough for me to go for a dip in an outdoor pool on my birthday for the first time in my life. Today was sunny, and the temperature got up to 79 degrees (F) while some of my favorite people -- my wife, my mother, my brother-and-sister-in-law Jim and Linda -- and I all spent the day at my aunt and uncle's house, about an hour from our homes. Uncle Dom, Aunt Tere, Cousin Rita, and Cousin Smitty had decorated the whole place for my birthday, with balloons, streamers, signs, photos, flowers, etc. As always, it was wonderful to spend time with all of them, and to hold and play with my favorite little Boston Terrier puppy, Gina. Then, courtesy of Rita and Smitty, we had a delicious dinner, which required me to use the special "Birthday Boy Steak Knife" and sit in the special "Birthday Boy Seat of Honor" at the special "Birthday Boy Table of Honor." After dinner, we had ice cream and a huge, scrumptious, German Chocolate birthday cake that Smitty had made. Then my very sweet Cousin Vicki, who's in her mid-50s but amazingly looks like she's still in her early 30s, called from near Boston, to wish me a happy birthday from her and her loving hubby, Philip. Just spending the day with so many people that I love so much would have made this a very, very special birthday for me, but there was a huge final surprise: They had a birthday present for me. I love them all so much that I would've been happy, no matter what they had given me. When I opened the wrapping paper and saw that the box inside was from a digital camera, I assumed that they had reused the box from Uncle Dom's new camera by filling it with candy or something. So, imagine my shock when I opened the box and found a brand new digital camera. It turned out that Uncle Dom, Aunt Tere, Rita, Smitty, Philip and Vicki had all pitched in to buy me the exact same camera that Uncle Dom had researched for several months and then bought for himself two months ago. I've always wanted a digital camera, but I've never been able to afford one, and this one is much better than any I would've ever bought for myself.
When I was only 12 years old, Uncle Dom gave me my very first camera -- a fine German, split-frame, 35mm rangefinder camera --
along with all of his photographic lab equipment and supplies. Then, he showed me how to use the camera, how to develop the film,
and how to make photographic prints and enlargements. He's always really embarrassed to hear me say it, but I know that Uncle Dom's
completely
selfless investment in me way back then gave me the skills and self-confidence that enabled me to completely avoid drugs and
alcohol in high school (and to this day). I never allowed peer pressure to tell me who I was or what I should do -- I already
knew that I was the school photographer. And now, many, many years later, Uncle Dom and his whole family continue to bless me with
that same unconditional, undeserved love that humbles me, even as it fills my heart.
Sometimes, it feels like every year, there
is more evil in the world that affects us all, and over which we have no control. Such times can leave many people feeling lonely,
impotent, cynical and depressed. I hope and pray that, this coming year, even if we can't change the whole world, each of us will
find ways to take good care of each other and turn our own little corners of the world into warm, safe, joyful, welcoming
havens from the raging storms.
