I welcome efforts by companies such as Microsoft and Sun to embrace openness.  Sun gets it.  They've released Java under the GPL license.  That's a significant contribution to my software freedom, and I will always appreciate Sun for doing so.  As a result, I know I can involve myself in Java as deeply as I need, and never fear my software freedoms can be taken. Read more

So why am I blogging after two years of silence?  The answer is, I never meant to stop.  Life really got in the way.  I lived in four different locations during that time.  I met a terrific woman.  I bought a house that would best be described as a fixer-upper.  Read more

The problems with the USPTO are well publicized. The USPTO grants patents on software that actually prevent creativity and innovation. The USPTO grants patents on business processes which are all to often simple and obvious techniques.Read more

After a very long time offline, my web/mail server is back online.

I recently moved in with a roomate who already had a DSL modem. I bought a wireless 802.11g router, plugged it into the DSL modem, and voila, Internet access for all. But for some reason, no matter what I did, I couldn't expose the www, pop3 and smtp ports to incoming requests. I tried everything, and fought with the router over and over.Read more

Oct 21, 2003:
Today something called the combustion engine was invented. It consumes simple gasoline, and can propel a wheeled vehicle forward at a high rate of speed. This wonderful technology promises amazing things. It would allow us many conveniences, and promises to make our lives much, much easier and richer.

December 3, 2003:Read more

July 4, 2003 I ran my first 10k race as part of Fair St. Louis. 57:03 - not exactly a time that's going to amaze anyone. But I completed my goal, which was to run it end to end without walking a step. Just 2 years and 2 days after quitting smoking, I've done something I never thought I would be able to do and I'm very happy about that.Read more

I don't want to get in the habit of bragging on my blog. But today I'm especially proud of a few things. Today is exactly 2 years since I quit smoking, after 8 years of a pack-a-day habit. I still miss smoking. But life is so much better when you are happy with yourself.

Blog surfing, I ran across this entry on Roman Porotnikov's blog. It tells about the Reactor Group site where you can submit any jpg (other image formats don't seem to work) and get a Matrix type representation of it in HTML. Well of course, I had to try it out.

I submitted this:

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I've been pleased since I put my weblog up a short time ago with all the responses I've had from the community. Nearly all positive. That's why I keep all my contact information in the footer of my website. I love talking with all the amazing people in the world. I knew it couldn't last forever. Thursday night I was sitting in my back yard partying with a bunch of friends when I started getting instant messages on my Sidekick. It went something like this:

Random Stranger> "Nice job ripping off other websites you <bleepin> moron."Read more