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Spam generates a lot of wasted energy, apparently

April 16, 2009

Taking a quick glance at your inbox and/or junk mailbox, I suspect you'll see plenty of email messages that you'll be deleting immediately. According to computer security company McAfee, there are about 62 trillion of those messages sent each year, and they consume enough electricity (33 billion kilowatt hours of electricity) to power 2.4 million homes.

First 2009 book stop: Baltimore CityLit Festival

April 12, 2009

In 2007, I had my first taste of the Baltimore book scene at the CityLit Festival. Last year, I was a part of the event, so I figured I might as well join in again! The festival takes place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 18 at the downtown branch of the Enoch Pratt library. I'll be there with colleagues Sean O'Connor and Brad Samuelson.

Technology log

April 10, 2009

April 6 - I'm not sure what a typical technology log should look like, but for the most part, mine is pretty dull. If you take out the amount of time I spent on the computer, the only other electronic devices included the following: cell phone, toaster oven, TV, dishwasher, and microwave oven. I also used my car and a conventional oven, which seem as if they could be included on the technology list as well. There are a handful of items that I would consider technologies, but they don't completely fit the description listed (shower, faucets, toilet, i.e.

Online unreality

April 3, 2009

The distinction between reality and not reality has intrigued society for thousands of years. When I say society, though, I suppose I'm discussing only those individuals who actually want to discern the difference between the two, since it is readily apparent that a great deal of people rather enjoy the blur between the two worlds. In the past, "unreality" could be considered anything from a dream sequence to joining a secret cult to playing/cheering for your favorite sports team. However, with technology at the helm, we have another life available: one that is virtual.

The humanity (or inhumanity) of data

March 28, 2009

A few glaring items came to mind as I finished reading Roszak's "The Cult of Information:"

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From the Archive

Book review: "Neuromancer" by William Gibson

January 14, 2008

For the most part, I'll pretty much pick up and read any book, although I can usually tell how interested I'll be in it within the first 20 pages. I found a copy of "Neuromancer" by William Gibson at (no joke) the dump, and even though I wasn't mesmerized by the jacket text, I thought I'd give it a shot.

GAC: Meeting online people without photos

October 20, 2004

QUESTION

Would you meet someone you met or chatted with online, even if you had never seen a picture of the person?

BEN: NO

Get it for free or give it away at Freecycle

May 20, 2006

Today, I'm continuing to help clean out my dad's house. It is interesting to see all of the board games and random items I used to have 15 years ago, but in reality, there are a fair amount of things that I don't need anymore. On top of that, there objects that I'm not even positive I'll ever have a need for again, other than to take up space in my basement. And besides books and dust, I really don't like to collect things at my house.

American Red Cross, please stop calling me!

April 8, 2011

We're having a blood drive at work today. I unfortunately will not be participating today, or ever again, because the American Red Cross refuses to stop calling me.

This is a strange predicament for me because I've been a fairly loyal donor for about 15 years. But due to the Red Cross' refusal to remove me from its calling list, I'm really not that interested in donating again.

Company placing e-commerce sites in jeopardy

November 25, 2002

This just in from the Department of You Can't Be Serious: Pangea Intellectual Properties (PanIP), a technology development company based in San Diego, is suing boatloads of companies for infringing on its patents. The company claims to have patents on e-commerce and Web-based financial banking systems, which means any Web site that conducts shopping on the Internet is violating a patent and could be sued as well.

To quote one of my favorite Different Strokes characters: "Whatcha talkin' bout, Willis?"

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Spumoni Press

Spumoni Press

If you’re in need of help with publishing a book or developing a web site, check out Spumoni Press.

Solving Problems

Check out the latest book in the Caimans at Work series! The caimans’ new store is the talk of the town. But with success comes navigating the speed bumps along the way. Have no fear – Raymond and Damon are always up for the challenge, whether they are finding a recipe, picking the right color, just doing laundry or investigating a peculiar mystery at their favorite place - a party, of course!

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