Earth Day 2009

Please consider carefully how the actions you take today (and everyday) affect the world around you and of future generations. I'm not asking you to live like a dread locked ancient human surveying the savanna, but do ask yourself some questions when you move through your day.

Here are some suggestions:
"Must I really have that item?" "Do I really need to use the car to get there?" "Should I really drive like this?" "Do I really need bottled water when I have fresh water on tap?" "Is it really necessary to print that?" "Can this be used again?" "Can this be fixed?" "Can I open a window to make it more comfortable in here?"

The point is... think of the NEEDS, not the WANTS. Think of your needs, think of the needs of your children, think of the needs of a sustainable future.

Happy Earth Day! And finally, remember to say, "I love the World!"

What does it mean to be free?

The Linux Foundation recently put together a competition to design an ad for the Linux operating system. The winner has now been announced. I think it is wonderful, even beyond the implications of the operating systems' market, the ad asks a very deep question: What does it mean to be free?


URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWEIQIv8zvY

Load times much improved

I made some changes to the INDY server last night and also some very minor alterations to the main INDY website itself. You should see some much faster load times now, compared to yesterday. In fact, it seems to be responding even better than when it was run under the previous ISP.

I should have made these sorts of changes long ago! Enjoy!

ISPs, Upload Speeds, and Web Design

In the interest of saving money, I recently changed Internet Service Providers. I won't name names, but I will say that making the switch cut the cost of internet access in half while only lowering the download speed by 1 Mibps. (Well worth the change!)

Unfortunately, the switch brought with it a very slow upload speed (that which takes what's on my server and gives it to you), dropping from 1.5 Mibps (1500 Kibps) - not that great in the first place - down to 768 Kibps. Ouch!

I formerly rented a rack-mounted server with unbelievable connection speeds (both up and down), at a much higher price. I opted to cut that and "bring the server home" a couple months back. That change didn't really affect my site's performance, as I had already tweaked INDY to be pretty efficient.

I begged and pleaded with the new ISP today to try raise the upload speed, but they have said that they have no way of doing that in my area right now. So, it looks like I may have to take another look at that efficiency, now that I've switched to a different service altogether.

The gist of all of this follows: the site is going to be very VERY slow for a time, while I work out the kinks. Wish me luck!

Temporary Outage

INDY.CC web services will be temporarily offline while I switch Internet Service Providers.

INDY email and blogs will remain on-line, as they are run on the Google Apps platforms. (Thank you, Google!!!)

Google Earth 5 + Flight Sim Easter Egg = Out-of-this-world Flying

Google released version 5 of its world exploring product Google Earth [Google] yesterday. In this newest version, among other things [Google], they released new imagery of the Earth's oceans and an interface allowing you to survey Mars.

In an earlier version of Google Earth, the developers hid a special Flight Simulator feature. I've found it thrilling to be able to fly above the satellite imagery of Google Earth, it adds a certain flare of reality which is sometimes lacking in other simulators.

With the release of Google Earth 5, and its new features, I suddenly had an itch I needed to scratch... How would the Flight Sim interact with these new features?

First, I decided to hop on over to LAX and see how my plane would interact with the newly added water. After flying over to deeper waters in the Pacific, I made a nose dive with the plane. The blue of the ocean was getting closer and closer. Would I crash (as can happen on land)? The moment of truth! No crash. I was underwater. I pulled up and turned about. I could no longer see the sky above me, just the surface of the ocean.

Next, I selected the "Mars" view in Google Earth.... The screen changed, bringing the red planet into view. Zooming in on to its surface, I again started up the Flight Sim. There I was cruising above the Martian landscape. Awesome.

Google Earth 5 + Flight Sim Easter Egg = Plane + Submarine + Spaceship

Thank you, Google Earth Dev Team!

If you'd like to have your own Flight Sim fun in Google Earth, here's the secret: Press Crtl+Alt+A repeatedly until the Flight Sim selection window pops up. Once it does, you'll have the Flight Sim option in your Tools menu from then on. Enjoy!

Groundhog Day 2009

As another Groundhog Day draws to a close, I urge you to take a deep breath as you reflect on the experiences of Life. In these difficult times, it is easy to feel that Winter is never-ending and Spring will always be one more day further away. Remember, though, that it is the warmth from within which helps us to withstand the cold; and if you bundle yourself tightly against the howling winds, sharing your warmth with those around you, you will survive the seemingly endless Winter night.

And when that Spring morning finally comes, you will see that the day has been made brighter by its contrast to the harsh darkness of Winter; and the glow of the sun will feel even warmer as you share in it with those who you hold most dear.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Jack Black Jesus

Questions about Prop 8, the economy, and maybe even the interaction between church and state? Let Jack Black and a few friends set you straight in this humorous musical.

URL: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical-starring-jack-black-john-c-reilly-and-many-more-from-fod-team-jack-black-craig-robinson-john-c-reilly-and-rashida-jones

Explore the cycle

For a while now, my family has been living by the Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Ultimately, wishing to be kind to the environment should really be focusing on decrease how much stuff they consume (Reduce, Reuse), right down to what may seem like the most insignificant of items (Remember this post? "Please Don't Print this E-mail Revolution"). However, at some point things will reach the end of their use and we -- the consumer -- become the judges of where a product spends its afterlife.... Will it be banished to the depths of a landfill? OR Will it be reincarnated as a new product?

If you're curious how recycling works or if you've recently heard people talking about "single stream recycling" but don't know what it is, then you may want to spend a few minutes watching a very comprehensive set of videos made by RecycleBank about the recycling process.

So, go ahead! Explore the cycle and remember to choose the destiny of your waste wisely!


URL: http://www.explorethecycle.com/

Thank you to INDY Blog readers

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog over the past year. I hope that I at least got you thinking about politics and maybe even helped you to become confident and comfortable with HOW you choose to exercise your right to vote.

Today the nation will begin laying the ground-work for building a new future. While I will continue to keep my eyes on the political playground, it's time for me to steer the INDY Blog back toward the subjects of entertainment (games, movies, and TV), science, environmental concerns, new technological developments, and (my favorite) crazy internet findings. (Don't fret too much, politics will appear once in a while.)

Cheers for now! This blogger is taking a break!