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Can Tom Hanks And Steven Spielberg Do It Again With ‘Pacific’?

I am a one hundred per cent certified World War II fanatic and drive my wife insane with my recording and watching of WWII programs. Saving Private Ryan and the Band of Brothers are some of my favorite stories of WWII along with a bunch of others. So when I saw that HBO would be presenting a 10 part series by Hanks and Spielberg called ‘Pacific’,  I immediately took notice and wanted to find out more. The Christian Science Monitor had a piece on the mini series that I found interesting and informative.

The Pacific war consisted of a series of battles that took place on various island through out the Pacific. The islands were occupied by the Japanese and usually heavily fortified. What made this fighting different than the fighting in Europe was the area in which battles were fought and the fanatical indoctrination of the Japanese solider. In Europe battles consisted of huge armies using large canon and supported by armor. In addition the European theater was also comprised by large groups of aircraft that pounded Germany day and night during the early stages of the war. Because of the land distance from U.S. occupied areas, it took longer for the U.S. to build up an air force that could bomb Japan and safely return home.

In the article it also stated that:

“What moved us to tell these stories based on these survivors, these veterans,” says Spielberg, “was to see what happens to the human soul throughout this particular engagement.” The kind of war for which Americans were trained to fight wasn’t what they encountered as they skirmished in the backwaters of tropical lagoons. “We weren’t trained by the drill instructors stateside,” Spielberg adds. “We were trained by the enemy, how to fight the enemy.”

Because the campaign in the Pacific unfolded mainly on tiny islands in obscure latitudes, the filmmakers took care to pinpoint the war for the audience, both geographically and psychically, says Hanks. Each episode opens with a mini-history lesson before the action begins. The producers felt “it would be hard to get people excited about a battle over a place like Guadalcanal or Peleliu without some context, some historical context, to why our soldiers are fighting” there, says Hanks.

Another aspect of the war in the Pacific that was different than in Europe is that the Japanese would not surrender. It was indoctrinated in their training that it was better to die for the Emperor than to be humiliated by surrender. Whereas the German’s would surrender and allow themselves to be taken prisoner.

I am looking forward to seeing Pacific and hopefully it will be a great series.

Source

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By Ron Schenone
March 14, 2010

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Pi Day and Thinking About “Pi”

Today is Pi Day and below is an article that was posted previously on these pages. However, “pi” was also the nickname of Gimpi, a member of the Lockergnome community that many of us knew and miss. His passing was sudden and his friends miss him. Here’s to a good friend of this community – of course, he would have celebrated Pi Day

_________

Happy Pi Day – it is March 14 or 3/14. As you know, Pi is 3.14 and so on. Therefore, this is an important day for ‘pi people’:

“…For 20 years, geeks have gathered at the science museum to troop in circular processions, solve pesky puzzles, string beads and consume mass quantities of pie – all building to a peak on 3/14 at 1:59 p.m., when the time lines up to form the first six digits of the mysterious and marvelous number.”

link: Savor a Virtual Piece of Pi

And, March 14th also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday. He was born on March 14, 1879. Now, how cool is that!? – Impress a geek today; wish him / her a ‘Happy Pi Day’!

Catherine Forsythe

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By forsythe
March 14, 2010

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The One Reason We Need To Pass Health Care Now!

I have my own opinion about the merits and lack of merits that the current health bill may or may not provide. But when I heard that Rush Limbaugh would leave the country and go to Costa Rico, it changed my mind completely. I am now 100% supportive of any health care bill that gets past just to get rid of this know it all wind bag! LOL

Comments welcome.

PS I wonder if he knows that Costa Rico has universal health care! LOL

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By Ron Schenone
March 14, 2010

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Jon Hammond at Digital New B3 Organ in Australia Date Live At Bernies

Organist Jon Hammond with Bernie Capicchiano at the Digital New B3 Hammond Organ in Melbourne Australia Ringwood at Bernies Music Land *New CD “Jon Hammond Live at Bernies” http://www.jonhammondband.com

Jon Hammond at The Digital New B3 Hammond Organ “Live At Bernies” with Michael Jordan drums

Track
1. Days of Wine and Roses
2. Lydia’s Tune
3. Satin Doll
4. Besame Mucho
5. Tribute To Victims of 911 America The Beautiful with intro Get Back In The Groove
6. Late Rent (Jon Hammond’s theme song)
7. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (played on the XK-1)
8. Moanin’
9. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
10. Makin Whoopee!
11. The Shadow Of Your Smile
12. Cookin’ At The Continental
13. Late Rent
14. I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Recorded live at Bernies Music Land on the 19th of November 2009

Executive Producers
Jon Hammond
Bernie Capicchiano

Produced by Mike Wallis
Copyright © 2009 Musico, all rights reserved

Bernies Music Land
381 Canterbury Rd. Ringwood
Ph. (03) 9872 5122
 info at musicland.com.ar
http://www.musicland.com.au

Special Thanks Michael Maier Falkenstein, Jennifer Frizzell, Michelle Capicchiano, Hammond Suzuki

“I especially want to thank Bernie for inviting Jennifer and I, his wonderful daughter Michelle for organizing the evening and my good friend from Hammond Europe Deutschland Michael Maier Falkenstein. I would also like to thank swinging Melbourne drummer Michael Jordan for making it down on a last-minute call from Bernie to take care of business on the drums.”

“I own 2 Hammond B3’s myself and have played them up to 7 nights a week, so I can tell you that the organ you will hear on this recording, the “New B-3″ digital has captured the sound and feel of the B3 that we all know and love right down to the most subtle effects, it is indistinguishable from the classic mechanical tone wheel Hammond.”
Jon Hammond

Photo by Bernie Capicchiano: Winter NAMM 2010 Midnight Showcase at Hilton Hotel Anaheim Convention Center Jon Hammond at XK-1 Hammond Organ with Bernard Purdie and Friends

http://hammondcast.podOmatic.com

Jon Hammond Band on NuMuBu
http://www.numubu.com/profile.php?id=88497

Bernie Capicchiano, Live At Bernies, Jon Hammond, New B3, Organ, Jazz, Funk Soul Blues, Local 802 Musicians Union, NAMM, Musikmesse, Australia, CD, HammondCast, KYOU Radio

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By hammondcast
March 13, 2010

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Argosy HV372 Media Player (Linux-Hostile)

Newegg was having an incredible sale so I couldn’t say no.  My wife gets a little upset when I want to watch something on the laptop, so this little doohickey will allow us to watch almost anything on the tv instead.

The Argosy HV372 is your typical low cost media player these days.  It’s a small black plastic case, about the size of a slim external hard drive case.  This is a good thing because you can put a SATA hard drive into the HV372 if you want.

WARNING

This is not a device for people who primarily run linux.  In a real boner of a decision, file transfer requires the device to be hooked to a pc.  What’s worse is that it is assumed that the pc is running Windows (or Mac).

As best I can tell, it shouldn’t matter if you plug this sort of device into a linux box because linux tends to support this in spite of the instructions.

Just for fun, I brought up a copy of Win XP in a virtual machine (where Windows runs best) on my laptop.  It still did not recognize the box.

INSTRUCTIONS

In keeping with everything else these days, the instructions are brief, in many languages, and on a fold-out sheet of paper.  There’s just enough to allow you to physically hook it to your television (but if you need instructions to hook this to your television, you have bigger problems than the scope of this review will allow).

Fortunately(?) there was a CD in the box.  I was kind of hoping to completely ignore it but that was not to be.  The instructions indicated there would be a driver on the CD but none was to be found.  Instead it brought up a browser and allowed installation of a playlist manager and hidden folder manager (or something to that effect), neither of which was of any assistance whatsoever.

FIRE IT UP, BABY!

All that aside, I plugged it into the television (it provides for composite, RGB, and audio/video connections) and powered it up.  It took a few seconds to boot up, then allowed me to set it up or start playing.

On the front panel is a USB jack.  I plugged in a USB stick, which was recognized immediately.  It listed all the files and allowed me to select what to play.  It plays most formats, including ISO.

It just worked.  We were pleased.

HARD DRIVE

I went to install a hard drive.  This can be done by virtually anybody (I hope).  Just make sure you align it correctly.  If you have to force it, you’re not doing it right.  Use the provided screws to hold the unit together or it will go BOING all over the place on you.

According to the aforementioned instructions, you can transfer files to and from the unit with a computer.  On the rear of the unit is a USB A-jack, which is the square-ish end you find on your printer.  When plugged into my laptop, neither Windows nor linux detected the drive.  Yes, you have to format the drive first (use NTFS) but you can’t format what the computer does not recognize.

So now I have the black box connected to the tv with a blank hard drive that it won’t see.  The irony is that I have an eGo drive that I put some videos on and connected through the front USB port and it’s working fine.

A BETTER IDEA?

I saw a few other, more expensive units that would seem to have been a better idea.  For instance, there were some with network jacks and even one with a wireless transmitter inside.  Upon reflection, these would would provide greater utility by becoming a node on my network, thus allowing easy file transfer from linux (or any lesser operating system).

REMOTE

The unit came with a remote with an incredible amount of buttons.  There’s a RECORD button but I don’t know why.  There are all the typical video transport buttons, a number pad, and who knows what else.  Everything works, more or less.

Don’t let my technical observations put you off.  This is a great unit that does exactly what it’s supposed to do.  If you want to play videos on your tv from a USB drive, this is the unit for you.  I’m not sure about installing a hard drive, though, as mine didn’t seem to work even with Windows.

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By leftystrat
March 13, 2010

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#140tc: Essential Tools of the Twitter Connoisseur

Twitter ToolsThis is one of several posts covering TweetHouse’s 140 Twitter Conference that took place on March 8, 2010. The 140tc focused on everything from Twitter basics to advanced tools and uses for business and beyond.

Almost every presentation during the 140tc at least mentioned a Twitter tool, or ways to make our tweeting more efficient — I decided to round them all up into a nice package of awesomeness.

Mining and Monitoring

Steve Broback geeked out and demonstrated his impressive Excel skills during his presentation on Mining and Monitoring Twitter. He stressed that performing a basic Twitter Search is just not enough these days, if you want to roll with the big dogs. Sure, advanced search options are available, but the limits put on the search still cripples results.

Broback suggested some great search tools — some of which are free, some of which aren’t — that will up your game tenfold.

  • TwapperKeeper may have a funny name, but it runs off of a pretty powerful archive of hashtag searches. You can download the data for offsite analysis, and keep in mind the main limit here is hashtag only. If you’re keeping track of what happened at an event you couldn’t participate in, or if you’re gathering data on a trending hashtag — this is for you. Oh, and it’s free!
  • Backtweets is great if you want to see what your competitor is up to. It’s basically a search for links on Twitter — simply type in the URL you’d like to search for, and it will spout results for you. There are advanced options to narrow down the time frame. There’s even an option for email alerts, so you can get updated search info as it arrives, or even once a week.
  • SocialPing displays charts and graphs on various topics, and I kinda have a thing for charts and graphs, so I’ll try not to be biased with this one. Seriously though, SocialPing is a great site — you can see your tweet and retweet volume over time, who your top tweeters are and more, all based on the items that you choose to watch for. There are even options for collaborating and a sweet iPhone app is on the way.
  • PeopleBrowsr isn’t free, but they’re a great all-in-one option: campaigns, analytics, data mining and even training. Some of their top clients include Kodak, Interscope Records, and Sony.
  • TweepSearch is a very useful tool if you want to find someone on Twitter. It will search via Twitter bio, using any keywords or hashtags you choose — you can even narrow the search to the location of your choice.
  • Filemaker is database software for the user who wants to get their hands dirty. It’s easy to use; expect to put more time into this, but the outcome is worth it.
  • Cloud.li is another great Twitter search, but with a twist: the results are displayed as a word cloud. I also have a thing for word clouds. The results are real-time, so you can keep track of a topic, and what is shaping it.

Apps to Die For

I get pretty overwhelmed at times, with sifting through the noise of Twitter, but thousands of tools and services are created to help us manage the massive beast that Twitter can be. Here are some industry favorites, courtesy of Kathy Gill, DL Byron, Ricardo Rabago, Ryan Holmes, Dan Shapiro and Steve Broback.

  • Trendistic allows you to easily keep track of trends via hashtag over time with nice visuals. You can narrow the tracking field down to 24 hours, 7 days, and one month.
  • Tweetbeep is a simple service similar to Google Alerts, in which you get email alerts for your search terms. Keep track of your @replies, blog/website mentions, or whatever you want.
  • CoTweet is a great tool for collaboration within businesses all on one place. You can control and tweet from multiple accounts, and set permissions for various users.
  • Sitby.Us was created for those attending SXSWi, so if you’re there and catch this in time — grab it. Sitby.us allows you to find panels you want to attend, create a schedule for your time there, and even connects you with other people attending! The best part? It connects to iCal.
  • Brizzly has a visually appealing interface, and allows you to easily manage multiple Twitter accounts. Take advantage of the stream filters and the embedded media.
  • Hootsuite is one of the best clients for businesses and productivity. You can manage everything from Twitter to Facebook, MySpace to LinkedIn, and now even Foursquare. You can invite multiple editors for accounts, tabs and columns organize streams efficiently, and you can schedule tweets if you’d like. The integrated shortener and analytics are quite nifty as well.
  • Twitgoo is another easy way to share your images on Twitter, backed by Photobucket.
  • Twilk is a quick and easy way to create a Twitter background from the people you’re following and/or your followers. It arranges the avatars based on how much you interact with them, and if you want your background to be updated on a daily basis, sign up for their paid subscription.
  • Conversationlist is a fun app that builds a list of the people you interact with on Twitter and updates itself automatically.
  • Tweetmeme is an easy way to find stories on what’s popular on Twitter, with links and quick ways to share them with your followers.
  • Searchtastic is yet another search tool for Twitter, but is pretty impressive in how far back it reaches into the API for results. I love how you can search within a user’s stream even. Very awesome.

AH! But here are so many!

Yeah, I wasn’t kidding when I said that people sit around and make tons of tools for Twitter. The panels at 140tc contained many nuggets of wisdom on which to lean toward, and even opened my eyes to new ones, but in the end it’s all up to you how you use Twitter — and what tools you’ll need for the job.

It might seem silly to use tools for a tool, but think about how this concept applies in the real world: You slide on a pair of work gloves when you go to use a shovel in your garden.

Twitter tools help us get the job done.

What are a few tools that I like to use? Well, both my desktop and iPhone app of choice at the moment is TweetDeck, but I do tend to switch which iPhone app I use — especially if TweetDeck feels like crashing — and TwitBird Pro usually fills that void. I love to use Searchtastic and TweepSearch, along with a few others, for my tracking/search needs. What do you use?

[Image source]

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By Kristin Marshall
March 13, 2010

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Coming From Outside The FiOS Zone

I am writing this from the area around the general area of Prescott, Arizona, as I am visiting a friend from California that moved here recently. To say it is a culture shock would be major understatement.

I arrived in Phoenix to find that in the 30 years since I have visited the area it has grown immensely, but the other areas of Arizona don’t seem to have kept pace. I am seeing that living in California has major benefits for the technology geek. For example, there seems to be no fiber buildout in the northern Arizona area {Perhaps a few more cities should follow the lead of Topeka, Kansas, and change the city name, or perhaps dedicate some land to the memory of the first hugely successful search engine. It might make a difference, you never know – Google might want to start building out from two or more areas}.

The outlook for high speed internet access in this area is pretty dismal unless someone comes in with a great last-mile solution. In this area, it looks as though there are many last miles because of the low population density.

On the plus side, the air is very clear, and I have not been in anyplace this quiet since I was a child.

§

•

Opera 10.5, the world’s fastest browser!

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By the oracle
March 13, 2010

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Price drop on Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 32 MB Cache Hard Drive + Free Shipping!

Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EADSFor a limited time and while supplies last, save Up to 23% Off on Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EADSBuy Now at Amazon.com plus get FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

Available in capacities up to 2 TB, WD Caviar Green SATA hard drives reduce power consumption by up to 40 percentage and offer best-in-class acoustics and operating temperature. Based on WD’s exclusive GreenPower technology, these drives are designed to deliver power savings as the primary attribute. As hard drive capacities increase, the power required to run those drives increases as well. WD Caviar Green drives make it possible for energy-conscious customers to build systems with higher capacities and the right balance of system performance, ensured reliability, and energy conservation. They are ideal for PCs, external storage and other devices that require lower power consumption and cool, quiet operation.

Get the Western Digital 2 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD20EADSBuy Now at Amazon.com with FREE Super Saver Shipping on qualifying orders over $25.

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By usrbingeek
March 13, 2010

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Will The ‘Coffee Party USA’ Make A Difference? You Decide

I don;t know about you, but I am personally dissatisfied with our representatives in Congress. Whether your political belief is as a Democrat or a Republican, we citizens have the perception that our country has lost the ability the represent its citizens. It seems that between the corporations, specials interest groups and paid lobbyists, we are out of the loop. No longer do our representatives represent the will of the people.

First there was the Tea Party and now there is a Coffee Party. On their web site they state that:

MISSION: The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

But as with most grass root political organizations, I am not sure what defines the Coffee Party.

Statements like this make me suspect as to the motives of the Coffee Party:

we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

Who decides what are positive solutions? Who defines who the obstructionists are?

Let’s take health care reform. Is a positive solution hinged on what the Democrat’s  propose? Are the obstructionists [Republican's]  those who oppose health care reform?  Who defines what is or is not a ‘positive solution’?

These are just a few of the questions I personally have for any group that wants to represent me.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Coffee Party USA site is here.

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By Ron Schenone
March 13, 2010

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Succinctly Tweetable Tips

It seems as though everyone in the world is on Twitter now. Sadly, not all of them know how to utilize this fabulous tool to maximize their outreach. The reach you can have by using social media can be staggering. However, you have to know how to use the service correctly to get your message across in a way that people will want to read.

I am by no means an expert on anything. Over the years, though, I’ve learned what works through trial and error — and what doesn’t! I’ve made some amazing connections online, and I’ve soaked up every bit of information that I could from them. After receiving a lot of questions and emails from many of you who are struggling to “master” Twitter, I decided to put together an eBook full of Twitter tips and tricks to help you get started.

To help keep you in the tweet spirit, the eBook contains 140 tips, all written in 140 characters or less. Best of all… it only will cost you $1.40! So why should you shell out a buck and a half of your hard-earned money for yet another eBook? I’ve come up with several reasons, actually!

If you’re new to Twitter, or still unsure how to use it effectively, this eBook will guide you in all of the right directions. Navigating your way through the maze that is Twitter can be daunting. Who should you follow? How do you get followers? What should you say? How do you say it?!

Twitter is a great tool for getting out information about your organization. However, doing so properly is crucial to people taking notice. When you have a startup that you’ve poured your heart, soul and money into, you may not have much of a marketing budget left at the end of the day. Why not make use of social media to get that word spreading like wildfire?

Your customers are on Twitter, and they’re talking about you. Do you know how to best take advantage of that? I have one word for you here: ComcastCares. Frank and his team are listening, and they’re using what you are saying on Twitter to help make your experience better. Isn’t that the kind of service you want to provide?

Are you launching a new product or service? What are people going to think about it? Use Twitter to effectively gauge consumer reaction, and to promote what you have to sell.

If you have something important to tell the World, using Twitter can be one of your best friends. Just take a look at what people such as Drew Olanoff and Mark Horvath have done. Our guide can help you communicate with the rest of the World effectively via Twitter.

Do you not have as many followers as you would like? Let our tips help you to become someone that everyone will want to follow! Your name doesn’t have to be Ashton Kutcher in order to get a zillion followers, honestly!

Are you shy? Using social media services such as Twitter can help you to break out of your shell, 140 characters at a time. The tips we’ve gathered together in this eBook can help you get started, and will provide you with a lot of insight as to how it all works.

When looking for a career change, networking with others is the name of the game. Even if you’re happy in your current position, it doesn’t hurt to learn how to network to your possible future benefit on Twitter.

Posting about your breakfast or your trip to the restroom doesn’t make for interesting reading… so what DOES? Do you even have a clue as to what people want to read? Think for a moment about what you enjoy learning from others on Twitter. Now take a look at your own tweet stream — and our tips — and figure out if you’re saying something worthwhile.

Everyone who is ANYONE is on Twitter, including me! Isn’t that reason enough for you to be there, as well?

Many of the tips in this eBook were submitted by people just like you, from right here in our community. I’ve given credit where credit is due in the guide, and would like to thank them again here. If you have ideas for tips or tricks we forgot to include, go ahead and email them to me! They may just be included in a future revision. Be sure to give me your Twitter account along with your submission, so that I can credit what you write back to you.

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By Chris Pirillo
March 13, 2010

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