Steve's Stuff

Last week, I posted a quick introduction to the drum corps activity and DCI. If you missed it, you can check it out here: An Introduction to drum corps and DCI

In that post, I mentioned that drum corps performers work hard. Very hard! In fact, ESPN2 picked up the broadcast of the DCI Championships in 2005. During the broadcast, they had a side feature about a performer that they hooked up to all sorts of monitors to measure their energy level during a performance. The results and observations were very interesting. Having performed in a competitive high school marching band that is very similar to drum corps, I completely agree with ESPN’s conclusions about DCI. Enjoy the clip!

Google gets pretty hilarious on April Fools’ Day. They take it very seriously! Here are my top three “hoaxes” they have published on April 1:

#3 – Gmail Paper
Imagine getting all of your emails printed and sent for free on paper. All you have to put up with is a bold red advertisement printed on the back of each message. Even image attachments would be printed on photo paper. Sound files would not be printed! Check it out here: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/index.html and http://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.html

#2 – CADIE (Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity)
Supposedly, Google engineers have created an artifical intelligence. A quite outstanding AI as a matter of fact. One that seems to be starting to outsmart the Google engineers themselves! Check it out here: http://www.google.com/intl/en/landing/cadie/index.html

#1 – Google TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider)
Yes, Google claimed to have a new way of providing free internet to homes everywhere. Google claimed a fully functional internet connection that you used by dropping a fiber-optic cable into your toilet. The cable would find its way through the sewer system while the home user held on to the other end. A Google dispatcher would fish the cable out of the sewer, hook it into a TiSP access point, and you’d be connected in under an hour! Check it out here: http://www.google.com/tisp

Interesting in seeing the hoaxes that didn’t make it on this list? Check them out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_hoaxes

Don’t forget to check out the hoax(es) for this year: http://www.google.com

Have a fun April Fools’ Day! Remember not to take anything too seriously.

I get asked a lot about how individuals should protect their computers from the rest of the internet. Whenever I turn it around and ask how these individuals protect their own machines, I get some very interesting answers in response! I want to explain just exactly what you need. In this case, more is not necessarily better.

At a minimum, you need two pieces of software: antivirus & firewall. Look at it this way: A firewall is your computer’s defense mechanism for fending off impending attacks. However, if something manages to sneak past the firewall, then your antivirus would kick in to save the day and remove the offender from your computer.

At this point, a very important concept needs to be mentioned. Never install or use more than one firewall on your computer, ever! Most times, multiple firewalls all working at the same time will conflict with each other. They operate in their little isolated view of the world. But at some point, they will get too close to each other and clash; nearly starting World War III! This creates a wonderful window for an attack to slip by unnoticed while the “armies” are busy fighting each other. So, again, I can’t stress this enough: Never install or use more than one firewall on your computer, ever!

Even though it goes against some schools of thought, I usually feel that antivirus & firewall software alone is enough for the typical PC. I don’t usually recommend more lifesaving measures such as specific anti-spyware, anti-malware, anti-rootkit, anti-_____, and the list goes on. This is because these tools typically operate by attempting to remove an attacker once it has already latched on to your precious files. They may not be able to 100% clear out the attacker and may need to continually and repeatedly continue to remove that attacker, hence slowing your PC. Another reason why I don’t recommend these pieces of software – if your computer has an attack nestled in and at home inside your PC, the only way you can truly be absolutely sure you have rid yourself of the pest is by completely erasing and reinstalling all of the software on your PC. Doing this is a drastic measure, but any other means of eradicating attacks against your PC may prove futile and you’ll end up needing to do this anyway. Find your local tech guru and he/she will (hopefully) be glad to help you on a Saturday if they know they can get a home cooked meal out of their day’s efforts!

So, what do I use myself? I use and recommend other individuals use one product on their home PCs: Norton Internet Security (NIS) 2010. I’ve used the Norton suite in the early 2000′s and started using it again in 2008. I have not been happier with another PC protection product! NIS 2010 is mainly a combination antivirus and firewall suite. However, NIS also includes a few bits to prevent and help rid your PC of the nasty spyware and malware that lurks out there on the internet. It’s the prevention that’s the best mechanism. NIS 2010 analyzes any applications you download to use and will prompt you if NIS feels you shouldn’t run the program because it looks like an attack. How cool! As careful as I am online, I have had NIS intervene once with an accidental spyware click. Phew! What’s also nice about NIS 2010 is that a single license applies for up to three PCs in your home. You’ll be able to use the same license for your desktop, laptop, and another computer; all for one price.

No matter which product(s) you choose, remember this law and you’ll be just fine: Install and use a single antivirus solution and a single firewall.

My professional focus for the last two years has been Microsoft’s SharePoint platform. I’ve been extremely happy with my consulting work on this platform thus far. Some people have heard of it and used it, especially if you’re in front of a computer most of the day for your job. SharePoint is one of, if not the, fastest growing Microsoft product/platform and I’m gearing up for the next release of SharePoint: SharePoint 2010, due out on May 12. I will also be extensively blogging about SharePoint and its various features. Even though my tag cloud is looking sparse for right now, the tag SharePoint should start to peek out above the rest here in the next few weeks.

While I could go on for days and weeks describing SharePoint to my clients and friends alike, I’d rather have this short three-minute video demonstrate SharePoint to you instead. It’s a wonderful view into the world of SharePoint. Enjoy!

Has anyone noticed that warranties on home PCs (both laptops and desktops) have remained at a relatively constant price while the price of the PC it is protecting has dropped over time? When I helped my family buy a laptop last year, this struck me as a bit odd that a multi-year warranty would cost a quarter of the price of the new PC. Perhaps I didn’t quite remember warranties being that expensive? Well, I wanted to do some research to answer the question: Is the warranty on home PCs still worth it? Stated differently, what could you purchase (assuming labor costs were free) and replace in your computer for the same price as the warranty? I’m on a mission to find out.

Another reason I’m going to ask this question is that many friends and family members seem to be asking me whether or not the warranty is even worth it if they are only buying a $500 computer. I typically attempt to evaluate their scenario briefly before giving my advice. However, it sure would be nice to have some numbers to back up my ideas!

Since I don’t have forever to do this research, I’ll focus on the mid-range laptop model I helped my family buy this past year, updated with that model’s current specifications:

• 15.6″ display (1366×768)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel Core i3
• 4 GB DDR3 Memory
• 320 GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 512 MB NVIDIA or ATI graphics
• 8x DVD+/-RW
• Webcam
• Microphone
• Wireless G Networking

Since I’m not focusing on prices, I’ll say that you can safely purchase this laptop from at least two companies for well under $1000!

Let’s look at the following types of in-home service warranties. The prices below are averages of what is offered by two different companies. Also, to make it interesting and because it’s a decent offering, let’s look into accidental damage protection. Note that most laptops will come with a one-year basic warranty and not everyone offered a one-year warranty with accidental damage protection.

Let’s draw some conclusions from this data. It seems that hard drives are the first thing to go in most PCs, especially laptops. Right now, you’ll pay about $50 for a similar hard drive. However, you will have to either install it yourself or pay to get it installed. Since the 2-year warranty is going for $115 (without accidental protection) on average, perhaps that would be worth it? There are many more things that can break on PCs besides the cheap stuff. Have you ever tried getting soda off of a laptop keyboard? It’s not fun.

Keep in mind that treating a PC with care does not always ensure it doesn’t break. I had a friend recently who treated his laptop very nicely, but over time, dust built up in the fan. It got clogged and stopping moving cool air effectively which caused the motherboard to overheat and burn itself, rendering the computer useless. Thankfully, he had purchased a four-year warranty. So, the several hundred dollars he may have spent to repair the machine remained in his wallet and a technician was out the next day with a new part.

When I started this post, I thought that prices were getting unreasonable. It really all comes down to circumstances. If you feel comfortable with basic PC repair and want to take a gamble on no major components failing after the first year, you might be alright without a warranty. However, if you just want your computer to get fixed if it breaks, it might be worth the peace of mind just to go for it depending on the price.

This post could seriously go on for pages, taking the rest of your life to read. I don’t have that much time, so I’ll shoot for a brief introduction.

When I mention to someone for the first time that I am an avid fan of drum corps, the first question I get asked is: What is drum corps? Drum corps is amazing. I really feel that the only description that does it any justice is the activity itself. Imagine a “professional” marching band comprised of 150 16-22 year olds who are spending their entire summer, with rehearsals going back to November of the previous year, learning and refining an 11 minute field show. Imagine that these athletes (yes, it is very trying on the human body) are running, moving in an extremely precise manner, and blasting away at their instruments all at once. Did I mention that these individuals are also either musicians, playing brass and percussion, or highly choreographed dancers in the color guard? You’ve now imagined just the tip of the iceberg around what makes up the drum corps activity.

DCI stands for Drum Corps International (http://www.dci.org) and they host almost nightly shows each summer between mid-June and mid-August for around 40-50 competitive corps. These corps compete in two divisions – World Class and Open Class. The corps are judged on their musicianship, their marching and visual performance, and their show’s overall general effect.

I could talk for days about drum corps and DCI, but I’ll have to save that for another post. As I said earlier, you really just have to see it live to understand just how great this activity is. However, since I can’t transport you to a show right now, video will have to suffice! Please enjoy the following clips from The Cavaliers, a World Class corps, performing their 2002 show titled “Frameworks”.

Start Here! This is typically the first clip I show my friends when explaining drum corps. The ability of The Cavaliers when it comes to their formations on the field is just outstanding and it starts to give you an idea just how precise these individuals must be while performing on the field.

Did you like that? Check out the first ten seconds of this next clip:

This next clip is about mid-way through their show. It’s been termed the “Fight Club” sequence – very cool and fun to watch!

It dawns on me that these clips, at least at the beginning, haven’t featured marching and playing! It is terribly difficult and not for the faint of heart. Check out the end of their show in this next clip, which includes a little reprise from earlier…

Since I’m sure that you fully enjoyed all of the clips above, feel free to watch the entire show here from start to finish.

Yes, you read the title right – a virtual choir! More on that in a minute…

I’m a big fan of the composer Eric Whitacre. You can find his web site at http://www.ericwhitacre.com, his blog at http://www.soaringleap.com, and information on Wikipedia at http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Whitacre. He composes primarily choral and wind band music. I’ve actually had the pleasure of performing one of his pieces, Equus, with the Case Symphonic Winds during my time at Case Western Reserve University and I own one of his a cappella compilation CDs. His music is truly fascinating music to me and I really enjoy his compositional style.

If you know me, you know that I’m a big fan of YouTube. Any time I end up running across a particular well done performance of one of Mr. Whitacre’s compositions, I’ll usually favorite the video. A few days ago, I received a suggestion on my home page that drew me right in – Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir performing his piece Lux Aurumque. I thought to myself, a virtual choir? Really? Yes! I’ve watched dozens of barbershop tags that have been multitracked on YouTube. If you don’t know to what I’m referring, you can see a great example here of a tag for Scarborough Fair. Don’t worry, the rest of the article will be here when you get back! And if you already know what this is, still listen to the tag anyway; it’s a good one!

Singers from 12 countries around the globe all signed on to YouTube to post their recordings of themselves singing Lux Aurumque with the help of a conductor video. Then, every video was put together into a wonderful fully 3D experience. After the introductory text, the video proceeds by opening a curtain to reveal all of the singers and Mr. Whitacre’s conductor track in the middle. It’s a virtual stage! It was extremely well done and I appreciated that the “stage” had no floor or ceiling. It really tried to imitate what a virtual stage should be – a gathering of individuals floating out on cyberspace. The backdrop consists solely of virtual lighting. Quite a neat trick and it makes for a very compelling video. Also, I felt that the audio track was equally impressive. If you’ve never heard the music of Eric Whitacre or even if you have, please check out the video of the choir. It’s truly spectacular.

If you’re curious about how this all came together, check out the follow post on Mr. Whitacre’s blog: The Virtual Choir: How We Did It

So I surprised myself about a month ago. I’ll freely admit that while I’d like to be much better than I am at cooking, I’m not quite whipping up extravagant meals every evening. I think this is most likely why I’m dining out so often. During just such a meal out, I ordered a soup that I had never tried before: Stuffed Green Bell Pepper soup. If you like stuffed green bell peppers, you will fall in love with the soup variety of the flavor.

The next Saturday after that, my church was hosting a potluck and I decided to make this as my dish to pass. Surprisingly enough, it turned out very well. I wanted to publish the recipe I used here for other’s enjoyment. I took the recipe from the follow two sources and added a bit of my own thoughts to the dish. Enjoy!

The bulk of the recipe was obtained from eHow, however I took suggestions from RecipeZaar to make it my own.
eHow: http://www.ehow.com/how_4878686_stuffed-bell-pepper-soup.html
RecipeZaar: http://www.recipezaar.com/Stuffed-Green-Bell-Pepper-Soup-22349

Ingredients
2 lbs of 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey
2 cups of Diced Green Bell Pepper
1/3 cup of Chopped Onion
1 large can (28-29 oz) of Diced Tomatoes
1 large can (28-29 oz) of Tomato Sauce
1 1/4 cups of uncooked White Rice
3 1/2 cups of Hot Water
1/4 cup of Brown Sugar
2 Beef Bouillon Cubes

Preparation: To prepare this dish, brown the ground turkey and drain the fat. While the ground turkey is starting to brown, take a medium to large size bowl and dissolve the 2 beef bouillon cubes in the 3 1/2 cups of hot water. Dice the green pepper. For me, 2 green peppers made just about 2 cups when diced. Chop the onion.

Cooking: Combine all of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for 7-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. You want to make sure the peppers are softened prior to serving.

For the technical folks out there:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
    printf("Hello World!\n");
    return 0;
}

For everyone else, welcome!

I’ll be posting a lot of useful content, including technical and non-technical content. If you have any suggestions for future posts, feel free to send me an email at steve@smayes.com or comment on any of the posts around the blog.