Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Wanna make some music?

I’m getting into making music with my Mac using GarageBand and found a great website for those of you thinking about doing the same.

http://www.macjams.com/ has a wide range of information about everything you would want to know about the subject of making music on a Mac. In particular, this article about using GarageBand with MIDI was really useful for a raw newbie like me.

Hope you like it. Make music!

Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC)

This is really great. Try it. Give your free computer time to a good cause. You can lend processor cycles to climate change modeling or searching for ET. The important thing is that your computer not just sit there sucking power and doing nothing.
here’s the full list of projects you can help:

Get started here: Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC)

Mac Office Update

It was three weeks ago now, but this just came onto my radar after I did the last Mac OS X update. I saw something in the release notes about Spotlight indexing of Entourage and thought, hey, there must be an Office update to go with this. Sure enough, there is.

Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.2.3 Update

After you install this update, you can use Mac OS X Sync Services and Spotlight searches to sync and find Entourage items, use smart cards with Entourage 2004, and enjoy improved overall security and stability when using Microsoft Word 2004, Excel 2004, PowerPoint 2004, and Entourage 2004. This update also includes all of the improvements released in all previous Office 2004 updates.

Applies to: Microsoft Office 2004 Standard Edition, Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition, Office 2004 Professional Edition, Entourage 2004.

Released: March 14, 2006

I’m downloading it as I type, so I’ll check in later with the results. Useful for those of us still using Bill’s stuff.

UPDATE: it works. My Entourage messages now appear in Spotlight. Lots more in the way of improvements as well. Definitely a worthwhile update, provided there are no hidden bugs…

Nice Example

Bush and his Republican followers want to spread democracy around the world. What brand of democracy? A quick look at why Tom DeLay, former Republican house Leader, quit politics shows a brand that is rotten to the core.

The Justice Department later issued a statement from Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher. “The American public loses when officials and lobbyists conspire to buy and sell influence in such a corrupt and brazen manner,” Fisher said. “By his admission in open court today, Mr. Rudy paints a picture of Washington which the American public and law enforcement will simply not tolerate.”

Rudy’s statement admits to a far-reaching criminal enterprise operating out of DeLay’s office, an enterprise that helped sway legislation, influence public policy and enrich its main players.

The court documents say that Rudy “routinely performed official acts for or at the behest of Abramoff.” Rudy admitted that, while on DeLay’s staff in the summer of 2000, he helped scuttle an anti-gambling bill opposed by an Abramoff client, eLottery Inc. As The Washington Post reported in October, Abramoff then arranged for eLottery to pay a foundation to hire Lisa Rudy’s consulting firm. In all, the court papers say, Abramoff and his clients funneled about $86,000 to the firm while Rudy worked for DeLay.

The Abramoff scandal goes much deeper. More people will be implicated, charged and convicted. The Republicans have shown that adage to be true that states “power corrupts.” Sadly, they undermine democracy on a global scale if this is the example they provide for those nations struggling to raise themselves from dictatorship. If things are seen to be business as usual under a different name, corruption will not be beaten by elections, only whitewashed.

Rae and Ignatief - the stage is set

Looks like Bob Rae and Michael Ignatief will face off for the Liberal Leadership. Some of you may not know (or care) that theirs is a friendship and rivalry that goes back; way back. In fact, their fathers were also friends and rivals.

But while Rae, the social democrat, opted for politics, Ignatieff, the liberal, carved out a career as an academic, writer and political commentator. “I’m the thinker, and he’s the doer,� says Ignatieff. “The doer always knows more about what’s possible politically. If he had gone into the Liberal party, there’s no limit to what he could have done. That he went into the NDP put a ceiling on how far he could go. He taught me a lot about conviction and paying the price of conviction.�

Looks like one will come along with the other, regardless of who wins. Get used to their faces.

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About Me

I am a communications technology pro by trade, an activist at heart. I care deeply about the health of my family and work hard to contribute to solutions to the great challenges of our day such as climate change and an out-of-control food system. I am a bon vivant, artist, writer and wannabe musician. I deeply appreciate my friends and colleagues and all the creativity and knowledge they bring. I hope I am always learning from them.