BrianAndPamela.com

So I’ve been using Windows XP since forever (or since it first came out, which in computer time is roughly the same) and I’ve recently done a few things to soup it up some. (more…)

Link to Awaken the Dawn : Awaken the Dawn

I’ve been really remiss in posting.  Sorry about that.  I’ve been exceptionally busy with audio production for Awaken the Dawn (see link above).

I’ll get back soon.  Promise. 

Meanwhile: check out Zillow.com.  Housing prices are wacky.

Link to Lawrence Lessig

Larry Lessig (more about him later) has essentially told Steve Jobs to put his money where his mouth is.  After Jobs’ “blog heard round the world” telling Big Content to back off and allow iTunes to sell music unDRMed, Lessig notes that there is music on iTunes that isn’t controlled by the Big Four, including some CreativeCommons stuff where the artists actually requested that iTunes skip the DRM.  Apple refused.  Now Steve has made the pronouncement… let’s see if he follows through.  The particular artist that Lessig mentions is Colin Mutchler, who you should also check out.

Dress Up Games

Alright, recently we launched theCaffeinated (our discussion forums) and some of you who've been there have been wondering about avatars (those little pictures to the left of our posts.) Have no fear, TheDollPlace.com is here with the DollMaker. (more…)

Link to Many Eyes : Co-Occurrences of Names in the New Testament

Some of you know, I have a soft spot for data visualization.  I love interesting ways that people come up with to show data connections.  I've mentioned this love before, and have been meaning to talk about digg swarm and digg stack for a while now.  But this latest find is even cooler… all the people of the New Testament, organized into social networks.  Guess who has the most "friends"? (more…)

Link to Awaken the Dawn : Awaken the dawn podcast #1 now live

It's been a long dry spell and I don't know if it will go on after the conference, but I'm back on the virtual air. 

I've been doing a lot of work with Grace Church of Fredericksburg audio post production lately, and we're all getting ready for the Awaken the Dawn conference which is being held at Grace in February.  Saturday night, I posted the first episode of the Awaken the Dawn podcast.  I could spend a really long blog post explaining what is Awaken the Dawn, but it's better to just point you at the website (which we're working on) and the first podcast episode.  My co-host (Missy) and I interview Steve Dornbush and find out about what ATD is all about.  Give it a listen.  You can download it, or listen online, RSS feed is coming soon.

The more observant of you will have noticed a new tab in the site menu of late.  the Caffeinated at BrianAndPamela is the latest addition to the site.  At the most basic level, it's web forums for y'all to interact with us and with one another.  What else can it be?  Well, it could be a brooch or a hat or a pterodactyl… sorry, I was channeling Airplane.  It can be what ever your little heart desires.  Just a place to chit chat, ask us questions, and contribute your two cents.  You will need to register to post… sorry about that, but as an incentive there are special members only topic areas available!  (There are also private areas for friends and family, so if you register with a weird screen name that I won't recognize, make sure you tell us who you are.) 

So I'm trying to get a computer set up for a new employee coming in on Monday.  We're giving her the computer that was used by the person she's replacing, only no one bothered to get the login for the machine before the last girl left.  I tried unsuccessfully to access the local admin account that was supposed to have been created on the box, and was about ready to cry.  Then I remembered… "Ophcrack Live CD". 

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Didn't see the comet at night recently?  Try during the day. 

Comet McNaught (see our original story here) is so bright now as it passes through perihelion — that is to say closest to the sun — that observers around the world are reporting that it is visible during the day time.  according to SpaceWeather.com:

 Solar heat is causing the comet to vaporize furiously and brighten to daylight visibility. At magnitude -4 to -5, McNaught is the brightest comet since Ikeya-Seki in 1965.

To find the comet, you need to shield yourself from the sun by standing in the shadow of a building, then hold your fist at arms length.  The comet is 5 degrees east of the sun and your fist is about five degrees wide.  The standard warnings apply about not looking into the sun, you'll go blind and then how would you read this wonderful blog?

Full story at SpaceWeather.com you might need to check the archives for Jan 13th.

One of the things that differentiates many Web 2.0 sites from the "old guard" companies is their logos.  Rounder, softer, shinier, these are the marks of a Web 2.0 logo.  So here's an image that wonders, "What if the same design principles were used for logos we're all familiar with from the non-web world?"

Link to image

I especially like AT&T (subtle enhancements), The USA, 3M (mmm!), Quaker (awesome!), and UPS (beta! rofl)