(Proverb) Cookies?

(This is a post the F-word will eat up.)
Whatever happened to getting a "fortune" (prediction) in a "fortune cookie"?

Christy bought some fortune cookies from Kroger for a women's night last night, and these are a few of the fortunes pulled out:

What the rainbow?

These are not fortunes, people, they're proverbs!  As a matter of fact, the third proverb was coined by a former coworker of mine (or was that Gandhi?).

Give me back my authentic Chinese experience as it was meant to be:  random predictions that are outrageously humorous.  E.g., "You will find great riches, soon" or "You will soon gain much weight."

Ah, well.  At least we can pretend all the rubbish Chinese spam I get in the comments section is burgeoning with fantastical predictions.  (Just don't click on any of them if you ever see one before I delete it "forever.")

Update:  Two more cookies.  a) Mine - "Turn your scars into stars" and b) Wife's - "Your friends love both sides of your temperament."  I guess I need to change this whole fortune cookie discontent into fortune cookie lemonade . . .

More than you ever cared to know about O.K. from reference.com

Word Origin & History

OK

1839, only survivor of a slang fad in Boston and New York c.1838-9 for abbreviations of common phrases with deliberate, jocular misspellings (cf. K.G. for "no go," as if spelled "know go"); in this case, "oll korrect." Further popularized by use as an election slogan by the O.K. Club, New York boosters of Democratic president Martin Van Buren's 1840 re-election bid, in allusion to his nickname Old Kinderhook, from his birth in the N.Y. village of Kinderhook. Van Buren lost, the word stuck, in part because it filled a need for a quick way to write an approval on a document, bill, etc. The noun is first attested 1841; the verb 1888. Spelled out as okeh, 1919, by Woodrow Wilson, on assumption that it represented Choctaw okeh"it is so" (a theory which lacks historical documentation); this was ousted quickly by okay after the appearance of that form in 1929.Okey-doke is student slang first attested 1932. Greek immigrants to America who returned home early 20c. having picked up U.S. speech mannerisms were known in Greece as okay-boys, among other things.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Yes, reference.com has begun to woo me with it's nifty little tidbits at the top of the screen (heck, I was going to stick with it, just because I like the thesaurus).  Here's an example, below, of how I found the above (click on it for a bigger/clear image):

Apple's Market Cap is Higher than MS's - Did Everyone See This?

I'll be the first to admit (and many would chime in that) I'm no Apple fan-boy, but I've put off this historic post (because of it's history, not because I'm writing it) for too long.

Moreover, I don't know if anyone ever dreamed Apple would surpass Microsoft in market cap (for all you "Main Street" people, it essentially means how valuable a company is - basically stock price x # of shares).

Is the Redmond curtain crumbling?  I think the obvious answer is, YES!  Not that I'm necessarily excited, however:  there are a lot of good people at MS and I truly respect them for their hard work and dedication.  But the hard fact is that innovation waived bye-bye to MS years ago (or was it the other way around?) and MS has been reeling ever since Vista (at least).

Will Gate's empire come tumbling down tomorrow morning?  Definitely not.  But take a look at the dual (really one composite) future of computing:  mobile and cloud.  If you ask the perhaps-biased tech news how well MS is doing in these two areas, I guarantee you they will say, "Poorly, very poorly."

On the whole, mobile innovators right now = Google/Apple.  Cloud OS innovators right now = Google.  Advantage, Google(?)

Apple's got the cool factor going for it (still), but once Steve Jobs has another health failure or Apple stops being predominantly the "Stick-it-to-the-man, put-a-yuppy-sticker-on-your-car, and I-only-wear-a-black--turtleneck-and-jeans" 5% market share competitor, I don't know how much farther it can go.

Like I say, Apple's market has always been, IMHO, the self-proclaimed "avant-garde" (though the iPod, iPhone, and iPad were all trailing devices, not market pioneers) who are willing to pay a 25% premium for looking cool/feeling smarter about themselves.

Google's used to being a market dominator and not a niche player (think of the verb "google").  Yes, Apple owned mp3 players in the aughts (00-09), but it hasn't owned anything else, and the future of computing, cloud/mobile, will by necessity be open (there're just too many players and no one's been able to establish a MS stranglehold - Android is open source, after all).

Anyone who reads my blog (or looks at the top of it) can tell how much of a Google-ite I am, but reading the tea leaves, and as more and more people start migrating to the cloud, things are looking very promising for our Big Brother in Mountainview.

Remember, kids, "Don't be evil."  I just hope Big G still holds to this motto (many say it doesn't currently) once it's taken up MS's mantel as the world's preeminent computing power.

Running Chrome OS on My Laptop . . . Sorta

Today I realized something:  I may not truly have Chrome OS on my laptop, but I can pretend like I do.

Yes, since I've virtually vowed Office out of my life and taken the Google Docs/Chrome OS/Life in the cloud plunge, I decided to start transitioning myself toward a true Chrome OS experience.

What did I do?  Two things, basically.  1) I installed a digital clock extension in Chrome (I always like to know what the time is - you can see it next to my Google Voice icon) and 2) I reverted the Windows 7 taskbar back down to the bottom of the screen and set it to auto-hide.  (If essentially the only "window" I have open is Chrome, why do I want the taskbar cluttering up my screen real estate?)

So there you have it.  

Since basically the only program not available to me in Chrome was Office, and because I now use Google Docs instead (as much as I conceivably can - I've been essentially sequestered at work - grr), my transition is nearly complete.

Now I just need an official Chrome OS machine and the actual OS itself.  

Sadly, I don't think the wife is going to let me burn a whole in my pocket anytime soon (and, admittedly, she's right not too . . .  Chrome OS isn't out until sometime this fall!).

Google Voice VoIP finally here?

Last year, Google acquired Gizmo5 (a softphone provider, similar to Skype).  Recently, it acquired Global IP Systems (which I understand did the voice/video calls for at least Yahoo).  And, a day or two ago, Gmail finally enhanced it's chat UI to make voice/video calls more intuitive.

Now, it looks like Google's adding Google Voice VoIP right into Gmail.  For the reasons above, I think it's legit, it's just a matter of when!!!

Please, oh please, let it be soon, my cellphone reception in our apartment = basically zero!

Update:  This take from LifeHacker points out what I neglected above:  Google's been working on Google Voice desktop client for a while now.

Today's Spiritual Message: Using New Technologies to Improve the Church's Website

In case you haven't heard, the Church's Website is undergoing a dramatic face lift.  The changes are pretty apparent and very impressive.  I won't detail them all here but simply provide a link to the developing site:

https://beta.lds.org/?lang=eng

Have a poke around and I think you too will be quite impressed with what's already there and the much, much more that's yet to come.

Goodwill and Nintendo: Goodbye to Romance, Goodbye to Friends

Maybe you didn't know it, but the Wife and I are pretty much the antithesis of "pack rats" - or at least it's kind of a family goal.

Before we moved here to Cincinnati, we really cleaned house and we recently did the same thing.

In fact, the CA finally decided to part with a few of his treasured belongings (or at least belongings that had been handed down to him or fallen into his possession).

More than anything, I'm talking about my good ole Minidiscman (not pictured) (ah, what a sad flop of technology - President Obama, get that sector up-and-running!!) and our last vestige of video games:  the Gamecube and its associated assortments.  Yes, F-Word, you read correctly, it's all gone.

We tried to sell it on Craig's list and eBay, but we had very minimal success there (although some of the games sold like hot cakes in Orem - big surprise?).

I've included below a link to Ozzy Osbourne's "Goodbye to Romance" because I feel like it truly captures the emotion of this sad and forlorn departure as no emotive swear word could ever hope to, and, of course, because people like the F-Word will easily associate with it.  I strongly suggest you listen to it as you gaze at the memorizing pictures.  (Just make sure you open it in a new tab or it will navigate you away from this page.)

Goodbye to Romance



Yeasterday has been and gone
Tomorrow will I find the sun or will it rain
Everybody's having fun except me I'm the lonely one
I live in shame

I said goodbye to romance, yeah
Goodbye to friends... I tell you
Goodbye to all the past
I guess that we'll meet, we'll meet in the end

I've been the king, I've been the clown
No broken wings can't hold me down
I'm free again
The jester with a broken crown
It won't be me this time around to love in vain

I said goodbye to romance, yeah
Goodbye to friends... I tell you
Goodbye to all the past
I guess that we'll meet, we'll meet in the end

And I feel the time is right although I know
That you just might say to me
What ya gonna do
What ya gonna do
But I have to take this chance
Goodbye to friends and true romance
And to all of you
And to all of you

Come on now...

I said goodbye to romance, yeah
Goodbye to friends... I tell you
Goodbye to all the past
I guess that we'll meet, we'll meet in the end

And the weather's lookin fine and I think the sun will shine again 
And I feel I've cleared my mind all the past is left behind again

I said goodbye to romance, yeah
Goodbye to friends... I tell you
Goodbye to all the past
I guess that we'll meet, we'll meet in the end

OPERA Idol

Okay, for all of you American Idol fans out there, you are going to be so wicked jealous of Yours Truly.

Yesterday morning, my wife forced (okay, how about cajoled?) me out of my computer cave, we scooped up the Beast (in her cute violet dress) and headed out for about two and a half hours of interestingness.

With all the numbers slapped on people's fronts, a European woman complaining about the complexity of the forms, some woman knitting in the final waiting room and trying to force her 6-year-old daughter to sing, via cellphone, for $1, Maria nesting herself in a small, plastic (and makeshift), "please recycle" container (gosh, I wish we had a camera for that one!), interestingly dressed contestants, the knitting woman tossing me a ball of cat-like yarn for Maria to bat around, and Simon Cowell reducing my wife to tears, it was almost as exciting as the rock-on and I-luv-U signs depicted above.  (On second thought, isn't the one in the middle supposedly the sign of the devil?)

Yes, eat your heart out, AIers.

Oh, I almost forgot, Simon Cowell wasn't there and the three judges were actually quite nice.

Christy sang Quando Men Vo - La Boheme in front of "three big wigs," and about ten other people comprised of vocal coaches, singers of the opera house, and acting teachers.  It was awesome; I could hear her from the knitting, er, waiting room.  She got to meet a couple of the people who run the Cincinnati Opera House and they were very supportive.

Christy felt pleased with her performance because the judges said she had a, "huge, grandiose voice" and that she doesn't need to worry about her voice so much as her "acting" (since when are opera singers known for their acting?).

And she was one of about 8-10 voices, of the contestants I heard, I could actually hear through the walls.  Tre impresive, no?

It was her first-ever audition!  Aside from dragging me out of a computing slumber to fulfill my spousal duties, I'm so proud of her!!

The Power of Stars on Earth?

Okay, I have to post on this one before it gets away from me.

This is a video that will truly make the F-Word proud.  It's got a combination of a) 80's synthesizer music, b) talk of something like a flux capacitor, c) power amplifiers, and d) more sweet music including something like Darth Vader's Imperial March theme, the throne room music from A New Hope, and even some TIE Fighter (the computer game) renditions!

It talks about a new form of power plant that will help us rule the galaxy as father and son! er, I mean, that will help us power stuff and understand stars better.  Click here for the article where I found it.

Heck, even Doc Brown would enjoy.  So enjoy!

Chrome = Samus (Metroid)?

Am I the only one seeing the similarity here?

I think my wife has it right: the Chrome team knew that most of its initial users would be men who are very familiar with the pirate-defeating heroin, Samus Aran of Metroid.

So, any takers?

Today's Spiritual Message: Until We Meet Again

This 3:40 video is especially pertinent to Yours Truly, having lost a loved one (my father) at 7. What a wonderful story of service, dedication, and reunion on the day before Memorial Day.



I too know that because of Jesus Christ, a physical resurrection is real for all of us:

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.  (Job 19: 26)

Newest Poll (form, actually)

Would you rather . . .? Results

take a law school exam (2 Responses)
29%
give birth (3 Responses)
43%
go back to middle school (0 Responses)
0%
watch the broncos lose to the 49ers 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV (2 Responses)
29%

I'm convinced of at least one thing:  I don't think any of you take these polls seriously!

I especially know that one mother chose "give birth" and that answer seems highly suspicious to me.

Ah, well.  Hope you enjoyed it!

ScanDrop: Scan Right Into Google Docs

Speaking of Google Docs, I found a small download that lets users scan items right into Google Docs (so they don't have to upload it later from the hard drive).

It's called ScanDrop.  It's pretty spartan, but for the time being (until Google adds it in by default), it's the best I know of.

Oh, and if you like the little screen shot I took from inside the browser, look into the Chrome extension Webpage Screenshot.  Also fairly spartan, but the simplest, quickest type I could find.

Happy Doc-ing.

Google Docs and the Internet - My New Home

Okay, it's truly begun.

I'm tired, very tired, of seeing this screen staring me in the face, when ever I try to work on an online Word Doc (or I should say, hoped to one day be able to work on):

Over the past few days (that's right, just this week), I've been really looking to Google Docs.

Up until now, Google Docs was cute and a fun idea, but it was, IMHO, about as useful to me as Open Office.  It was pretty much PowerWheels v. BMW.

However, Google Docs is getting to the point where it's seriously almost as good as the every-day features of Word (click here for latest feature updates) and the collaboration is amazing:  If you've ever used Google Wave (back in the day), the "real-time" editing is truly real time.  So if Person B is typing on the doc, Person A will see the changes as they happen.  Straight up.  You're talking to someone who used to live in MS Office.

Yes, the new improvements have even spurred me to finally start uploading most of my files to the cloud (Google Docs will automatically convert docs, spreadsheets, pdfs, and powerpoints and will store anything - to my knowledge) in anticipation of Web OSes such as Chrome OS.

For a better idea of what Google Docs does, watch the fun 2.5 min. video below (no I didn't make it).

Also, here's a very interesting, very quick read (about 5-9 sentences) from back in November (I remembered reading it):  Google says Docs to catch up to Office next year

Welcome to next year!!



Oh, and in case you're still wondering what this whole "Chrome OS" thing is (and the "cloud" for that matter), here's a welcome to, if not modern, upcoming computing:

Today's Spiritual Message: Kirtland Trip Pictures

I will post as they upload.

Enjoy!

HURRY!! Google's got Pac-Man in 30th Anniversary Celebration Today!

google.com

Pretty cool, eh?  Note that you can actually play.

I imagine it will be gone after today . . .  So probably a few days ago.

UPDATE:  Google went all out on this one!  Turns out this simple home page game has 255 levels (like the original), employs a number of quarks like being able to tell where the ghosts are going based on where their eyes look (like the original) and actually allows for two player (like the original)!  Wow.

Read this for more:  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20005528-52.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Oh, and it turns out that it will actually be up for 48 hours.  But man, people had better be pretty dang, uh, skilled to pass all 255 levels and still carry on normal human functions in that time period!

F-Word, Stmad, Ren of the Wolves, are you up for the challenge?

The "Messiah" Strikes Again

"In a way Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He's sort of GOD. He's going to bring all different sides together."  - Evan Thomas, on Hardball

Indeed.

With in-your-face healthcare (unless you're too old for anyone to care about you anymore) and now this, I'm starting to wonder if he and the liberals don't truly "believe" he is.

Jacques Chirac must be gushing tears of joy for our new found state religion (but did France ever worship him?).

Just what everyone needs, says Harry Reid.  "Simply, the American people are saying, 'you've got to protect us,' and we didn't back down from that."  No indeed, you paved the way for the patron saint to deify himself even further, as Father of the $1 trillion dollar foist as well as the "most extensive overhaul of financial-sector regulation since the 1930s."

I'll be the first to congratulate President Roosevelt and shed an American tear of gratitude for his being a captivating leader who overcame great tribulation (paralysis and WWII).  I will also be the first to point out that while achieving little (if anything) beyond contrived success, most (if not all) aspects of the New Deal far overreached the bounds of the federal government, beyond even Jimmy's wildest dreams (commerce clause power, anyone?) and that his effort to rule, err, govern, by "packing the courts" does not strike me as bi-partisan "democracy."

Are you noticing any similarities here?  Oh wait, no one ever thought of FDR as "sort of God" (even if Thomas "was not being literal"(?)).

While my liberal friends are probably "dancin' in the street," I feel wont to moan, as the bigots (Malfoy/Dursley) of the Hairless Potter series, "this place is going to the dogs."

Yes, in a few years, when most successful businesses have waived bon voyage to US and moved to China, when, thanks to the great Comrade and his cohorts, our economy sinks below Europe's (I shudder to think it) and maybe even the Asian Tiger's, we will be able to pat ourselves on the back and say, "Hey, at least we haven't had a natural downturn in the market because there's no where to go but up!"

To verify that the Messiah conversation stories are genuine, I suggest visiting this site:  http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

Please note (in the messiah blog) the conversion story of Jesse Jackson, who also once complimented President Obama for "acting like he's white."

More Insomnia . . .

NOTE:  These are actual (not stock) family photos; you may not get a chance like this again.  Also, I won't be offended if you don't read my play-by-play commentary and instead simply post something like, "Oh, how cute!!" in the comments section.

To be truthful (because I'm usually not), this first picture wasn't taken last night (or this morning), but I remembered it after Stone took the second and thought it looked fitting.

Okay, so I'll try to be brief in my insomnia recap.

Maria sometimes wakes up at night and won't be consoled unless we hold her with us in bed.  We wouldn't do this if our floors and ceiling weren't incredibly susceptible to sound penetration and we didn't have neighbors all around us who work.  Yes, in our next apartment (I'm trying to find a good countdown widget), the floors are CARPETED and underlaid with CEMENT.  The wait, oh mercy, the wait!

Sadly, in bed, she rolled around, tried to climb the head board railing, and toddled around aimlessly as she mumbled politely, "Oh, did I just step on your face?  Sorry 'bout that, nuttin' personal!"

So Christy and I capitulated and busted out a bottle of some whole milk.  This calmed her down until she quickly drained it with the skill of the seeker, and it was back to "roam if you want to, roam around the [bed]."

Next, we cracked out some BVG (Baby Van Gogh) and placed her in her crib, naively imagining this might calm her down and that she'd drift off peacefully off to sleep.  *Raised eyebrow.*

Getting desperate, we next whipped out her high chair, some baby orajel (she loves that stuff, btw), some graham crackers (no chocolate or marshmallows though, Hershey's must be heartbroken) and, later, some PJ (prune juice . . .).  Nothing doing.

By this time, it's like 5 in the morning, so Christy and I reckon it's safe enough to stroll out to the unlighted parking lot, 100 yards from our apartment, and go for a calming drive; why are cars the ultimate passie (insert preferred spelling) and why can't we park one in our bedroom!?!  (She always, well 99.99% of the time, wakes up the second we take her out of her car seat or, unsurprisingly, at the latest, as we're sneaking away from her crib).

So yes, we went on a pleasantly prolonged drive (I'll spare you the details unless you request them - maybe you shouldn't, I'd probably die of shock), and, yes, Maria woke up as I tried to skulk away from her crib.

Yet again, we scooped up the beast and made for car solitude, as Stone mumbled to me from her coveted slumber in the other room.

To be short in writing (too late), Maria's been awake ever since.

You'll be happy to know that, as the piece of Grade A sleepless Father that I am, I sanctioned Christy's barricading of the bedroom door (to prevent intrusion) and supplied her with a pair of my finest law school exam ear plugs.

In case you were wondering, the paint on Maria's hand is from our bedroom door (now does the intrusion bit make sense)?

You've gotta love brief, summarized posts.  

You may now applaud, send commiseration, or feel free to one-up me in the comments.  Heck, I'll probably still be awake by the time you do . . .

Today's Spiritual Message: Go to the Ohio

Wherefore, for this cause I gave unto you the ^acommandment that ye should go to the ^bOhio; and there I will give unto you my ^claw; and there you shall be ^dendowed with power from on high;  D&C 38:  32

Over the past few days, my mother, wife, daughter, and I had the fantastic opportunity to visit three main church history sites:  a) the Newel K. Whitney Store, b) the Kirtland Temple, and c) the John Johnson Farm.

Newel K. Whitney Store

Here, there were at least 20 revelations received in the upper rooms of the store, including the Word of Wisdom.

Kirtland Temple

Here, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by at least the Savior Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah.  http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/110/

John Johnson Farm

Here, the Prophet Joseph and Sidney Rigdon received, among many other revelations, the 76th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which bears testimony of Jesus Christ, explains the three degrees of glory, and discusses the plan of salvation.

These were not the only special locations we visited, but each had a very special spirit about it.  I feel so privileged to have walked where the Savior communed with His chosen servants.

There is so much more that happened in these locations and the others that we visited, but there simply isn't time or space to relate it all.

But this I can relate:  I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, called by Jesus Christ to restore His church on the earth today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I hope you enjoyed the small sample of scriptures above and encourage you to visit mormon.org or scriptures.lds.org for more.

I will promptly post the pictures we actually took.  Stay tuned.