I was asked by someone yesterday why web developers charge so much for the work that we do. He talked about an estimate that he got which seemed outrageous (and all things considered, probably was), and it made me mull a justification for the prices we charge.
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1:05 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: PHP, Technology, Washington, DC

A few weeks back, I met a young conservative female and we hit it off. We enjoyed talking about lots of non-political things, as well as debating politics. You'd think that someone like me, who believes in government regulation of insurance companies, forcing Wal Mart to allow unions, and all the other positions I have, and her, a libertarian who believes that there ought not be a minimum wage, we wouldn't be able to get along very well.

But surprisingly, not so. Continue Reading...

11:54 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Politics, Relationships

I learned some interesting things about PHP this week. They are:

• Register Globals is just foreach($_POST as $k => $v) { $$k = $v }.
• Good planning makes good code and fast development.
• Classes are useful.
• Powerful functions don't have to be long or complicated to be powerful.
• Book knowledge is easy to get. Practical experience is more difficult. But combining practical knowledge with book knowledge can result in new ideas that were before impossible.

11:26 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Continued Learning, DC PHP

I checked my Comcast bill online this morning to discover that my internet rate was DOUBLE what it should have been. I called Comcast right away, and the person on the phone apologized and then said these scary words: "it looks like someone was in your account but there's no explanation..."

Apparently Comcast's account security could use some improvement.

8:14 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Security, Washington, DC

I found this funny...

4:02 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Funny, Technology

The Constitution gives each person the right to speak freely their viewpoint without fear of government interference. Though we place some limitations on that speech, the ability to speak on political topics is generally protected above all others. Justice William Brennan said in Texas v. Johnson that "If there is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable"

I am of the opinion that blogs in general and my blog in particular serve as free speech zones where I may speak and receive responses, and individuals may engage in civil discourse that is logical, reasonable, and factual. I blog about many controversial issues and I do so expecting and welcoming comments in response. I enjoy a good debate, as the points made by those who disagree with me help make my arguments better, and I hope my arguments help make theirs better.

But what I cannot permit is personal attacks by anyone who reads and comments here. I expect that discourse here will be of a higher level, one that is dignified and among friends - my friends. While I treat this blog a a free speech zone, I know that it is exceptionally easy for written word to spiral into deep, hurtful insult, much faster than spoken word has the ability to do so, and when such personal and deeply held beliefs are involved, it becomes that much more difficult. Written words have started wars, begin revolutions, led to interviews at Weehawken, and destroyed friendships.

When I built the code for this blog, I included two functions: the first to bar comments on specific entries and the second to bar specific individuals from commenting without approval, or from commenting altogether. Thus far I have not used the first feature, and the second has been used only twice. It would be a terrible day where I would have to use either to control a debate spiraling wildly downward, and I implore my readers to carefully consider the comments they post.

8:26 pm | Comments Disabled | Print | Categories: History, Politics

As if the first time wasn't enough, Clinton was caught in another lie. This time, she claims that on a trip to Bosnia, she landed under sniper fire and was whisked away to safety...in her words she said:

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

4:55 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Election '08, Humorous, Politics

With 1,485 total delegates (1,242 pledged and 243 superdelegates), and assuming that Hillary Clinton won 100% of the vote for the remaining contests, she would be unable to cinch the Democratic nomination for President, failing by 131 delegates. Barack Obama, on the other hand, could cinch the nomination by six delegates, though that seems unlikely given that he would still have to win 100% of the vote in all the remaining states.
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9:12 pm | Comment (6) | Print | Categories: Election '08

Highlights since March 1st - enjoy!

1. The worst plan. Ever. Why charging tolls to drive in the city is a bad idea.
2. Cheap Eats Food for $5 per serving? It's possible even with rising prices.
3. The Death of Customer Service Good customer service is hard to come by these days. An experience worth reading.
4. Obama Wins Texas! Maybe? Sort of... Not really? A look at the Texas "primus" (primary + caucus).
5. Mac Secrets A look at exciting new software from the makers of Quicksilver.

1:03 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Apple, Blog Roundup, Business, Economics, Election '08, Maryland, Northern Virginia, Pet Peeves, Politics, Technology, Traffic, Travel

The news media woke up sometime last year to a reality that a guy named Kevin Mitnick figured out in 1975: humans are trusting, and that dishonest people can use that information to their advantage.
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10:43 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Security

Hillary Clinton - Liar.

9:05 am | Comment (6) | Print | Categories: Election '08, Politics

I've been here eight months as of today. Thought it was worth mentioning.

6:47 am | Comment (3) | Print | Categories: Adventures, Washington, DC

Occasionally I'll get a few e-mails from people asking me to implement a specific feature here on the blog. When I get them I do everything I can to implement the requests, because usually it makes things easier for people who use the site.

However, I have determined that it is time to close revisions on this codebase, and I will be rewriting the codebase using skills I have acquired over the last year. My goal is to produce a product that can be implemented cross-platform for blog administration on not just my website, but on any website of anyone who wishes to use it.

Starting on Friday, new feature requests will be implemented into the new code, which is slated for release sometime mid-June. Since the release on here will coincide with a major website redesign it will be obvious that the code has been redeveloped.

Please make any final feature requests prior to Friday. Feature requests recieved AFTER Friday will be integrated into the new code, but this codebase will not be updated except to provide critical fixes for bugs. I look forward to the release of the new code.

11:20 pm | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Blog Administration, New Features

If you had asked me on June 18th, 2007 why I was coming here, I would have told you for one reason: to make a difference. I had this idea that lending my voice to the chorus of others would somehow make an appreciable impact on the region and on the society at large. As of today I have been here for eight months less two days, I have been on-again, off-again with Claire, changed jobs, and watched the economy change around me. Thinking about the time spent and the impact not felt, I felt discouraged at what had been accomplished, or not accomplished.
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9:11 pm | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: California, Contemplation, Relationships, Washington, DC

If local government officials get their way, DC roads will become toll roads, under a proposal to be released Wednesday. The plan calls for the implementation of a toll system that would make most DC roads toll roads, including the bridges and roads into and out of the city.
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9:23 am | Comment (3) | Print | Categories: Northern Virginia, Traffic, Travel, Washington, DC

I went shopping today. It was a less than pleasant experience.

Between understaffed retail stores, poor customer service from the staff members they DID bother to employ, rude customers who were convinced that they (and generally their sixteen children) were the most important people on earth, large volumes of traffic, products missing or not available and misplaced items, it represented a complete failure of the retail sector to win my heart or my mind. Continue Reading...

11:54 pm | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: Business, Northern Virginia, Pet Peeves, Traffic, Washington, DC

For those Mac users (I know I have a few): the maker of Quicksilver has released a beta version of something called Secrets. What this does is it reveals ALL the hidden features in Leopard. This is pretty cool considering that it takes the command line out of managing your operating system.
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9:20 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Apple, Technology

Not MY setup, but a 30" monitor none-the-less.

9:17 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Technology

Hot dog stands in Washington, D.C. (Photo by: Kevin Clark - Washington Post)

9:35 am | Comment (1) | Print | Categories: Economics, Washington, DC

One of the tasks I've been given at work is taking a good look at the server operating systems and making recommendations for improving our technology infrastructure. After convincing my supervisor to purchase a new copy of the server application produced by Apple (we're an all Mac environment) I brought one of the servers home to install the application on it. But little to my knowledge, Apple requires 1 gigabyte of RAM on the computers, and the box I was building only had 512 megabytes!

*sigh*

7:51 pm | Comment (6) | Print | Categories: Apple, DC PHP, Technology

As I've worked to start saving money and padding my emergency fund (along with my stock portfolio), I've been watching the money I spend very closely, especially with regards to groceries. Recently I've challenged myself to purchase fresh meals that are no more than $5 per person (so $10 for two, $15 for three, etc.). So far, I've been successful, and even had some pretty amazing dishes (like salmon last night for $6 a serving $4.78 a serving).

I have a feeling that with grain prices and transportation costs increasing, that food prices will subsequently rise over the coming months, making it more difficult to purchase inexpensive meals. Still with sales and careful shopping, I will be successful. I was even able to get a meal at Whole Foods for $4.95 per serving (an accomplishment from what is a notoriously expensive store).

What's your favorite grocery shopping save-money-now tip? Tell me in the comments.

Updated at 3/9/2008 @ 8:28 pm: After further review of the receipt, I have determined that the salmon was less expensive than I initially thought.

9:00 pm | Comment (5) | Print | Categories: Economics, Washington, DC

A couple of months ago I bought a Macbook, which meant that I had my iBook that wasn't doing much. Solution? I installed a copy of Mac OS X Leopard Server on it. The experience was a lot of fun because I got a chance to learn how server services operate.
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10:44 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Apple, Continued Learning, How-To, New Features, Technology

In elections, there is usually a clear winner...I mean, occasionally Florida has trouble finding an abacus big enough to count their votes but generally we have a clear winner, and that's the person who gains more support overall. That's how it's supposed to work. Right?

Not if you're from Texas, apparently. Continue Reading...

9:03 am | Comment (2) | Print | Categories: Election '08, Politics

Reversing his order from February 15th, Judge White, who felt it was necessary to use draconian orders not seen since the British closed Boston Harbor and had closed a website, has finally come to his senses and apparently picked up a copy of the Constitution of the United States.

The website, wikileaks.org, has several web aliases around the globe, making the effect of the judge's prior order almost impotent. However, the judge admitted that his order had serious First Amendment implications. From the New York Times:

In reversing himself at a hearing here on Friday, Judge White acknowledged that the bank’s request posed serious First Amendment questions and might constitute unjustified prior restraint. He also appeared visibly frustrated that technology might have outrun the law and that, as a result, the court might not be able to rein in information once it had been disclosed online.

"We live in an age," Judge White said, "when people can do some good things and people can do some terrible things without accountability necessarily in a court of law."

6:01 pm | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Law, Politics

March is here! I have to say I'm excited to see it come. February was a difficult month in many ways...a breakup, changing jobs, fighting with the previous employer, having the flu followed by bronchitis and possible pneumonia. February had some high points, too, like a trip to California, and a growing experience.

March is starting well, with a sunny day albeit cold (though 49 isn't bad). I have a job that I'm thoroughly enjoying, and even though I work more hours and travel farther I feel more productive and important in the overall scheme of the company.

Here's to March as a good month!

10:58 am | Comment (0) | Print | Categories: Health, Jobs, Relationships