To Whom It May Concern...

Some of my readers know Joel Gott. I found out last night that he lost his battle with Colon Cancer April 9th. I don't have many details other than that. Sorry for the bad news.

So... I set up my GnuMP3d server again. What that means is I can access all of my audio over the web. Including on my new Web enabled SmartPhone (Only $74.99!!!) So, I have my audio with me where ever I go. The cool factor, for me, is up there. I probably won't stream music all day... it could catch up with me at some point. Perhaps my cell provider will get cranky, or my ISP at home throttle me. I'd like to get my videos streaming though. I can access them through GBPVR's Enhanced Web Admin. But it doesn't have a very good mobile interface. Perhaps in the future?

See honey... this explains it all! ...

As you learn to develop and/or program, you eventually have to deal with users. You are, after all, trying to create something people will use. When trying to develop a tool for a user they will give you their requirements. This process has been discussed and, more frequently, mocked throughout the Internet universe. Eventually some simple 'truths' are concluded by developers. Generally they are (and I loosely quote): Users Lie Users don't know what they want The accuracy of those statements is debatable. Users don't purposely lie, they want something and they want to make sure it gets done their way and they're gonna tell you about it. Maybe just not up front. Also, they know what they want. So, to boil down to the truth, it comes down to: Users don't know how to communicate what they want. How To Deal With It So, what do we do? In my opinion, the best way to determine what a user wants is to walk through the job they are trying to get a tool for. This is where...

We took a vacation. It was the first week long vacation that didn't involve relatives (no offense) since our honeymoon. We went to Virginia. I'll like to the pics now: http://mark.phillk.net/gallery2/v/mkenyon2/Massanutten+Trip/ Sunday - Washington DC Zoo . Lot's of cool animals. Monday - Veg out... we drove around a bit and ate at Outback, but that was it. Tuesday - Tubing and more vegging out. Maybe a board game... definitely eating! Wednesday - Shopping The guys played Racquetball , not much else. (Isn't vacation great?!) Thursday - The guys went Snowboarding !!! My first time in 10 years. It was fun, but sadly, no pictures. Later to the meeting. Friday - Went to the pool, played more racquetball. Vegged out. Finished the second package of Oreos. Saturday - Steph and I went on the Skyline drive for a bit. More movies and vegging out. Sunday - Time to go home, but we didn't want to. So, let's swing by Baltimore and find Dave and Buster's . The girls did m...

I walked in to get some water, and there was a puddle of coffee on the counter, dripping down onto the floor. Somebody had filled the water and filter, but did not put the empty pot on, instead, they left the half full pot on... 'Cleanup in aisle twelve!'

I've got my Digital Picture frame working at last!!! So, I used DSL (Linux), a Dell 233 CP laptop, and feh. I used mostly the scripts and instructions from this guy: http://www.thewares.net/item/33 I did not use the built in sound card, but added a USB sound card. I added an external momentary button to trigger the on/off functionality. I added an external DPST switch to turn the 'built in' speakers on and off. They are the speakers that were in the laptop, and with a few small holes in the back, they come through loud and clear. I took the guts out of some unpowered PC speakers that allowed for an external 1/8" jack if I want. I put that on the side, but if I did it again, I'd make my own PCB board and mount the jack on the back. I mounted the dongle from the network card so that it is accessed from the back. I may revisit WiFi at some point. I put a DC power jack on the back, and cut the power supply cable, wiring it to have the nice jack on the back, and it'...

We love the movie The Princess Bride. Here's a little trivia: http://www.neatorama.com/2009/01/11/movie-trivia-the-princess-bride/ Also, in regards to the muppets: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21354

This is pretty good advice for anytime you would wear a suit. I think I'll print out a copy and pin it on my closet door. http://artofmanliness.com/2008/12/18/interviewing-in-recession/

With a few tweaks, this should be standard rule-of-thumb for all of us. How to Be the Perfect Party Guest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mBDQXWflbM&eurl=http://io9.com/5103883/what-if-star-wars-had-happened-a-long-time-ago

To all my friends out there who still follow this and are fathers, here is a nice post that explains what fathers need to teach their sons. (Besides what the bible says, of course.) http://artofmanliness.com/2008/12/02/teaching-my-son-to-be-a-man/

What is twitter? Instead of a whole blog post, it fills in the blanks. It fits in between blogging and instant messaging. Check me out: http://twitter.com/mkenyon2

I read Art of Manliness quite regularly. Here's a nice article about being a house guest, though I don't think you need to send money for food all the time. http://artofmanliness.com/2008/11/16/manners-etiquette-house-guest/

This article is nice for anybody who is going to have house guests. http://artofmanliness.com/2008/11/17/how-to-be-a-gracious-host/

So, what has been going on with the Digital Picture frame? I gave up on sound, sort of. I got a cheap ($9!!!) USB sound adapter, and guess what, it works with DSL. So, let's look at my expenses so far? New laptop keyboard 64Mb RAM chip PC Card Network Adapter USB Sound Adapter Plus a media card reader I've been able to get a slideshow and music on DSL, so I decided I was ready to rip it apart and stick the guts in an actual frame. I'm not done yet. I have the guts sitting in the case, but the cables hang out the back. I'm in the process of finishing the back by putting power and sound buttons, as well as jacks for connections. This is the detail work. But you can see my progress and the laptop and media card reader sitting in the case running here: http://mark.phillk.net/gallery2/v/mkenyon2/DigFrame/ Enjoy and thanks.

Take a look at our album (link below) to see the progress from this: to this: LINK: http://mark.phillk.net/gallery2/v/mkenyon2/Breakfront/ Enjoy

We will be posting pics of our recent project, repainting the china hutch, or as some call it, the break-front. (Part of the reason I hadn't posted the pics of the fish.)

I'm finally getting them up. http://mark.phillk.net/gallery2/v/mkenyon2/Camping08/100_1611.JPG.html"> I finally got around to adjusting them (size wise) to get them posted.

I'm not sure I'd trust it as I used to, but I'm getting the data off. Here it is, in process: