The Lifelong Learner
:: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::
The Lifelong Learner
:: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are -Roosevelt ::
I’ve been using Firefox for over 2 months now and I love it! It’s the best browser out there.
Get the exe version from this download site.
See why I like it: Firefox Is My Browser — my previous post.
A list of mirrors here.
When I cast my vote on Tuesday, it wasn’t for president re-elect Bush. I voted for John Kerry. However, now that the elections are over, I don’t like to despair. I support Bush whole heartedly. So should you!
President Bush has a lot of wide-ranging flaws. President Bush is not a good speaker. President Bush makes mistakes. But Bush is our president. Bush will be our president for the next four years. Bush is a human being with good intentions. Bush is going to do a good job.
Bush’s plan for the next four years is very ambitious. He does not want to sit and relax. Like him or not, president Bush gets a lot of things done. He wants to reform Tax Code, Social Security, reform schools (especially high schools), plus other things. Those are extremely difficult issues.
I don’t despair. I support president Bush.
When you open a PDF file, does it take a considerable amount of time? If there is a lag, and you would like speed that up (i.e, like opening a browser window), read on. I’ll give you a tip that will speed up opening PDF files drastically. The tip was published in the latest PC Magazine.
It’s very simple. What you do is remove all of the unnecessary plug-ins and only leave three. How do you do it? Go to c:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat n\Reader folder (where n is the Reader version). Backup Plug_ins directory (copy and paste should do). Remove all of the files from the Plug_ins except the following three: EWH32.api, printme.api, and search.api.
Restart and see the difference!
Since I use PDF files a lot (read and write), I’ll be a big beneficiary.
If you’re into politics and you did not hear last night’s speech, you should check out this article from Economist.com — I did it my way�and I�ll do it again. What did I think about the speech? I think it was not as strong as Kerry’s speech. I think Bush had some good ideas, such as Tax Simplification, some of his plans for education reforms, and couple other ideas. He also had some bad ideas: about Social Security, about outsourcing, and about couple others. I didn’t like his lack of details. Plus, as much as I like or don’t like the President (I think he’s doing a good job for now), he cannot sell his ideas. He’s just a bad speaker.
Who am I going to vote for? I don’t have a final decision yet, but it’s Kerry for now, and it will probably be Kerry. I like Kerry’s ideas about Health Care, about outsourcing, about technology investments, and about couple other things. I just have a feeling that he needs to be given a chance. Plus, Kerry knows how to talk. To make up my mind for sure, I’m waiting to see a head-to-head debate, Bush vs Kerry, and I’ll make my decision then.
That’s a dose of politics for this week. Watch out, though, for the next two months, for a very heated, negative battle. Just don’t listen to everybody and to everything because I think a lot of people are biased and don’t give you the objective information that matters.
This is a great article comparing Microsoft to the old IBM, and how Microsoft is starting to lose its shine. It is producing buggy applications filled with security holes and it is trying to integrate everything together. Companies are starting to see that and they don’t want to be connected to only one company. They want choices. They want open standards (not necessarily open source — two different things). They want security. Does Microsoft give them that? I don’t think so. I’ve always said that competition is the best thing for innovation. Microsoft, with its monopolistic tacticts doesn’t have that. And that’s starting to hurt. Anyway, those are my views, but you should read what Espen Andersen has to say about IBM and Microsoft in the latest Ubiquity issue.
Here are two excerpts from the article:
…
It seems to me that Microsoft’s main problem is running out of new markets to enter. There are many markets available that are too small for it, at least too small for a pure product strategy. These markets require knowledge of how to solve the customers’ problems, and choosing which products to use after the problem is understood. Microsoft is product-focused rather than solution-focused, and as such will always be enslaved to their main markets, their main users, and their history.
What are the top regions in the U.S. for hiring over the next few years? According to Business 2.0 magazine, here are America’s 20 hottest job markets:
1. Raleigh-Durham, NC2. San Jose, CA3. Washington, DC4. Austin, TX5. Atlanta, GA6. West Palm Beach, FL7. San Francisco-Oakland, CA8. Middlesex-Somerset, NJ9. Seattle, WA10. Boston, MA11. Sacramento, CA12. Phoenix, AZ13. Minneapolis, MN14. Denver, CO15. New Haven-Stamford, CT16. Baltimore, MD17. San Diego, CA18. Dallas, TX19. Charlotte, NC20. Philadelphia, PA
Interesting. Middlesex-Somerset NJ is number 8, so I guess NJ will do OK. Austin, TX is number 4? I’ve never been in Texas but I’ve been hearing some good things about Austin. One of these years I will have to travel to Texas and see the Western side of U.S. Should be interesting. 
Oh, what a vacation it had been. For those two weeks I’ve been in a different world. Literally. We had a very good time. And like I said in my previous post, Greece was exotic and Poland was relaxing, family oriented.
Greece. We’ve seen two different worlds in Greece. Athens, or Acropolis in Athens, is something to see. I’ve never seen anything like it. It is an amazing statue that’s been there since the beginning of the mankind.
Then there is Athens, the city. Or I should say Athens before Olympics. Let me tell you, it looks like a great rebuilding of Athens. A lot of construction is taking place before the Olympics. Thus, Athens is a bit messy. But Plaka, the old town of Athens, is very nice.
Greek Islands. This is a totally different world than Athens. They’re beautiful, tourist friendly, and expensive. Yes, the islands are beautiful, and you’ll not be bored on them. There is so much you can do that the islands will satisfy even the most demanding. We visited two of them.
Santorini was the first one. This is probably the most amazing island. The island still has a volcano and the whole island is on the volcano contour: it seems like the island is on a mountain. It’s very nice.
Mykonos was the second one. And Mykonos has a town that has has a labyrinth architecture. Those streets are so small and plentiful that you’ll get lost. We did. And it took has like 10 minutes to find our way. It’s very cool.
We’ve seen most of the islands because we rented a scooter (12-15$/day). We had a lot of fun riding that little motorcycle (and no, I didn’t have any experience). I would definitely recommend that.
Beaches on the island are also amazing. They’re very liberal, not like in U.S. Half of the women don’t wear bras and every beach also has a nude beach on the right side. That makes the beaches interesting!
Poland was next, after 6 days of Greece. I’ve met up with my new family — from my wife’s side — and relaxed a little. We went to Zakopane, Krakow, and Tarnow. Krakow is a great city, I think it is one of the nicest cities in Europe. I always pay a visit when I’m in Poland and I always like it. A lot of tourists, too.
So there you go. Pretty much the whole vacation. I don’t want to bore more and take more space. But we had a great time. More vacations like this and I’ll be happy.
I think there is a new level of excitement about Soccer in the U.S. lately. Why? I think the reason number 1 is a teen sensation Freddy Adu, who, at the age of 14, signed up for the highest contract in the MLS, and who had higher offers from big clubs in Europe. And you know what, after seeing couple of flashes of this kid (some compare him, in talent, to Pele), he can play! He has an unbelievable dribbling ability (oh, man, is he fun to watch). Also, what’s in favor for him is that he’s a team player first. He will bring MLS, and soccer in U.S., to another level. In fact, that’s already happening (read: Adu will do for MLS what LeBrown is doing for NBA).
Adu is already putting a lot of people into the stadium (read: selling out stadiums) and putting people behind their television (rankings are highest they’ve ever been in MLS 9 years of existence).
Are you not excited yet? Then stay tuned, as I think soccer in U.S. will get more and more popular.
MLSnet.com — home of Major League SoccerRead a great introduction to MLS by Eric Wynalda: Ten Reasons to Watch
It’s still fairly cold in Northern New Jersey, so to heat things up make sure you check out the SI.com – Sports Illustrated – 2004 Swimsuit Edition! You’ll feel the heat. Thumbnails of each girl are shown in the middle. If you find a girl you like, click on the thumbnails to the side. Enjoy.
Some useful information about Cellular Service: Who’s has fewest customer complaints? Who’s the biggest?
Complaints. According to Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which tracks complaints, AT&T had the highest complain rate ( 6.4 complaints per 100,000 customers); Verizon had the fewest (1.5 per 100,000 customers).
The full stats:
AT&T Wireless: 6.4 complaints / 100,000 customersSprint PCS: 4.0/100,000T-Mobile: 3.5/100,000Cingular Wireless: 3.2/100,000Nextel: 2.0/100,000Verizon Wireless: 1.5/100,000
(I have T-Mobile, but I might switch soon.)
Number of Customers. Who’s the biggest? Verizon Wireless, at 36 million customers; Cingular has 23.4 million; AT&T Wireless has 23.3 million; Sprint PCS has 19.3 million; Nextel has 12.3 million; and T-Mobile has 12.1 million subscribers.
: Seems like Verizon is your best bet, but I’m waiting to see if Cingular will change for the better (it might merge with AT&T; plus a lot of ongoing improvements). Verizon phones are not that good and they’re not very cheap, either 
