SuperSatellite ||

Today, I got an email from a relative on the subject of the volcano eruption that occurred in Chile recently. It was accompanied by several pictures, from the ground and satellite, of the plume. There was also a simple (and unsourced) statement in it:

The amount of ash that was spewed into the atmosphere by the Chaitén Volcano, (Chile) dwarfs the amount of pollution the United States automobile industry has created since the invention of the automobile.

And that is all well and good, assuming that it is true. I have two counterpoints I want to offer. The first is directed at this example, the second will be on the topic of global warming itself. If you accept that quote as a well researched fact, there’s still the point that the quote does not put anything into context. Just because the eruption had a larger effect, does not mean that auto pollution is fine and dandy. There’s a reason we use the word “pollution” in reference to it, instead of calling it “auto environmentally friendly side effects.” Going out in LA on the highway in the middle of rush hour and breathing deeply all morning isn’t going to come much more highly recommended that breathing volcanic ash without a mask.

I can grant an eruption has widespread effects on a biosphere, no doubt. Look at Venus for an extreme case of what uncontrolled volcanism can do to a world. But, Earth built its biosphere on this planet, where volcanic eruptions were common during the early millenia of its formation. They were used as building blocks for minerals, chemical reactions, and atmospheric reinforcement. Essentially, mother nature has built in checks and balances for such natural processes. Pollution we add in on top of it is a separate matter.  It’s also not even remotely similar in substance or process.

In response to the email, I offered only one sentence: “On subjects of Global Warming, I generally defer to this guy: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bDsIFspVzfI.” The video is right below if you want to watch it, I can wait.

I don’t have any clue who this guy is, but I wish I did. He makes a point similar to one that I’ve tried to make for a long time. I don’t care whether or not global warming is actually occurring. That is wholly unimportant to me. What is important to me is that even if it isn’t, that is no excuse to treat the planet like our own personal toilet. It’s no excuse to refuse to change and be better at what we do. To believe that our biosphere can resist massive clear cutting, unchecked strip mining, and depletion of resources everywhere they are found is a laughable, and tragic concept. It’s on par with saying the world is flat.  If you require proof, go live in a big city, stick your head out of the window, and look to the sky.  Tell me what your stars look like at night, or what color the sky is during the day.  Then tell me that we don’t need to do anything about our behavior.

That’s why I like that video above. He makes the point well about how risk analysis should dictate how we behave on such matters. We will argue until a new era dawns if no one steps in. So what if climate change never takes place? At least if we acted, we’d have great long term benefits: better cars, more efficient alternative fuel sources, better waste disposal. These things matter. Anti-climate change people without fail eventually use that position as a way of justifying a stubborn mindset that refuses to evolve and adapt to a newer, more civilized world (or at least a more civilized world that is fighting tooth and nail to emerge).  Action is always preferable to non-action, and the results, while potentially causing short term strains, always provide greater long term benefits.  Non-action and petty political and regulatory bickering on the matter is leaving us with $4.00/gallon gasoline and $250/month heating bills.

QED.

Finally back and settled in after returning from training in Miami. Now just very busy trying to catch up, and put some of the things that I learned to use. I did manage to grab some photos around the area on CocoWalk where I was, so feel free to browse the Flickr set. I also started playing around with geotagging the photos. I have no idea how useful that will be in the future, but what the heck? I wish that I’d had more time to get out and about, but I did hit two excellent sushi places, instantly reminding me that what I pass off as sushi here is nothing but a sick and twisted joke by comparison.

First, how come no one told me that some Chinese company was making new MGs? I saw one at the condo where I was put up at. It wasn’t anything fancy as far as sport convertibles go, but it was still pretty neat in its own way. Now I want to drive one and see what they feel like.

Nearby was CocoWalk, which is where the dotMarketing headquarters are and where I spent a lot of my time. It was Cinco de Mayo the night I arrived, so it was a pretty popular site, with the shops and restaurants (though I made the mistake of passing up Hooters.  I’m not sure what I was thinking to make that mistake). However, I did take a couple hours the night I got there and saw Iron Man. Let me just say, I was absolutely not disappointed. Go see it.

On the travel side, I think I will make the effort to never fly US Airways again. Worst planes and service I’ve ever dealt with. Tiny pretzels, mean spirited, inattentive stewardesses, terribly seats, and small planes. And to top it off, I appear to be getting increasingly worse anxiety while driving long distances by myself. My nerves light up high enough on the drive to KC and back that it very nearly makes me sick. I’m not sure what to do about this yet, but it is very unsettling. Obviously drugs would probably impair my ability to drive, and if I had someone drive me, it would cost a fortune. I think I’m going to try to start flying out of Tulsa, which is a tiny bit closer, or even Joplin, assuming I can find well timed hoppers.

As for dotCMS, I feel much better equipped than I have in the past after opening my skull and letting their lead developer pour knowledge into it for a full day. I anticipate having no problems setting up my development environment soon, and upgrades from here on out should be much, much easier. I also understand better how the parts come together, and what they do when the break. I also agreed to devote some time to helping with their community site doing some writing or theme crafting. That will be a fun side project I think.

I know some people have had questions about setting up dotCMS to run in an Eclipse development environment. If you were like me, you might have been having problems because you were reading the wrong setup documentation. Turns out there is a new one that was misfiled that is much better and up to date. Also, if you are running a dotCMS site on MSSQL, don’t run ant buildsql when you update. It breaks things, because it’s meant for the Oracle and Postgres camps. You’ll want to use ant buildmXsql.  Learn from my mistakes, heh.

You know, I thought that something sounded a little strange when Michaele called me last night and told me that she got a call that we had won a free vacation to the Bahamas. She didn’t have a lot of info, but I figured since they’d called her at work, she might not have had time to talk too long. But what info she could tell me, just sounded a little odd. I should always go with my first instinct.

Like why, if we won, did we have to make a trip to Joplin to pick up the information? Just mail it to us. And she said that if we couldn’t make it this weekend, they’d be back through in three months. What’s that you say? Why do they make rounds? I told Michaele to call them back this morning and ask a few more questions, what she found out seems to have confirmed what I thought.

The reason that we had to go to Joplin was because that was where the presentation was that we had to go to. But we shouldn’t worry, there would be other couples there too. Sounding scammy? It should. Nothing like this comes free, and there isn’t a company on the planet that’s going to be giving away bucket loads of free trips every few months. According to the lady on the phone, we just had to go, listen to a small presentation, have a snack made for us, and answer a quick survey. In reality, it’s a sales pitch for worthless, $2500 cookware. But don’t take my word for it, read this forum thread. But don’t take their word for it, go look at the info at the Consumer Affairs site. This is just another version of the time share sale.

Here’s things as I have dug them up so far. Gateway Brides claims to be the parent company. I asked them straightforward who owns them, and was told no one. This from the lady that I called and talked to (and I might have embellished a little bit and said my profession involved law during the course of conversation). Not true. Actually, they appear to be a shell front of some kind for Royal Prestige (though I can’t confirm that they actually own Gateway Brides, but their sure as hell affiliated). The reason I say that is because they appear to be so far removed from the operation that the agent couldn’t answer any questions, deferring to “we just notify the people that they were selected. The presenters can answer your concerns.” Tax value of the trip? No clue. The names of the presenters? Unknown. Will they have a license on file for the drawing? Maybe. Is there any information online she could refer me to? No (a lie).

Bottom line, I should go to the presentation to get my answers. Right, how about no. Though to her credit, she sounded plenty nice, and thoroughly nervous after learning my “profession.” In reality, it appears that the trips are actually real. Even though she didn’t know of a website I could visit, there actually is a Gateway Brides site (or, depending on your locations, duplicate sites like RP Northeast, Inc. which clearly have the exact same origin). A domain that is clearly a direct marketing firm site, but one that also pointed me to V.I.P. Vacations NY. These people are essentially a vacation clearing house that deals cheap vacations to companies that then use them as an incentive. So, in theory, the trips are real. At least they were in 1985, when it looks like the picture above was taken of their president, one Vince Dima. At this point, visions of scenes from Glengarry GlenRoss are dancing in my head. Research on him reveals he’s bought a number of businesses, none of which are really related, like an ISP reseller and an insurance company. Here’s some other info, which seems to indicate that everything is pretty connected to him at the top.

YourNetPlus was originally founded in 1995, and was acquired and incorporated by President and CEO Vince Dima in 2000. Dima’s company, the 21st Century Group, owns a number of other businesses including a $30 million bridal registry business and a national vacation premium business. Taking over YourNetPlus, Dima says, was a way for his company to become involved in the Internet.

Continuing the trail, V.I.P. Vacations NY is connected to the Viva Resorts group. They own a number of resorts in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. They aren’t four or five star resorts as was told to us. In fact, the one in the Bahamas scores a poorly represented three stars. As I interpreted it, that particular review was a touch on the side of being a warning to stay away. Roving bees? Unkempt grounds? Exposed wiring? Is this somewhere you’d want to spend a honeymoon. And other info indicates that you might get hit with resort taxes, transportation fees, and surcharges during peak season.

These folks are clever, I’ll give them that. Each dangly appendage of the business seems to maintain an air of plausible deniability about them, and the interconnectedness seems to be set up that if you successfull deal through one part, another one is ready to pick up the loose ends. The presentation at 7:30PM runs about two hours (longer than they say by about double). By the time you’re done, you’re tired and just want to leave and are more susceptible to pressure. They also target engaged couples with the incentive of a “free honeymoon” and use scare tactics to make you afraid that you’ll be killing your future family with your pots and pans. You know what, if my pans will kill my family, at least they’ll die by cast iron deliciousness.

But, what to do? The cynical side of me says to go, and just use my sharp wit and stubbornness to ensure that we leave one free trip heavier, and nothing else. But that same side also says that they clearly know how to deal with people like me, since they have yet to be sued out of existence. I figure they either successfully con stupid people, or they get someone like me chasing my tail trying to beat them for the trip. Regardless, when the dust settles, they’re gone and not out anything for their trouble. I say that, because I can’t actually find a single firm case of someone actually getting the trip. While they might give you the voucher, I suspect they tack on hidden fees (besides paying for your own flight) and try to blackout date you to hell and back until the three year window is up.

So, be informed, and don’t buy in to it for a minute. Know what you’re getting into, and always remember free things seldom are.

Well, I think I know what my next big purchase is going to be. A motorcycle. And I swear it’s not some macho guy thing (c’mon, me, macho? I barely pull off meek and unintimidating). I’ve been playing with the idea for a while actually, and I figure with gas breaching $3.50 a gallon, an 80MPG 250cc bike is sure becoming awfully appealing. And I’m not talking a Harley. They are too big and too expensive. I need a Diet Coke type motorcycle.

Consider, let’s just assume I buy a new bike, rather than used. Drop a grand down, make $90/month payment (realistically a small bike I can pay off in a year). The amount I’m saving in gas would actually be paying for the bike. Compare: V8 Lincoln LS - 17MPG in town against a Yamaha V Star 250 - 80MPG. We’re not talking a minor little difference here. This is about a 5 fold increase in fuel economy. And a bike with a little 250cc engine isn’t going to let me get into any trouble. It’s not racy, it’s light, it’s easy to handle. Good starter bike for a guy who has never ridden a motorcycle before (my two wheels are normally pedal powered). Plus 250’s apparently hold their value well, because of the fuel economy and the fact that there are always new people looking for starter bikes.

I’m really just trying to decide on what I want. Honda and Yamaha have tempting bikes at this size, the Rebel and the V Star 250. And they’re nice looking bikes too. Small, but they don’t look like toy bikes. At least to an amateur like me. Of course, my parents will probably slap me stupid for it, but it’s not like I’m wanting some 1100cc cruiser (yet). It’s either that, or I’m riding to work this summer on the mountain bike I got at the police auction today. I’m leaning towards the V Star, since it appears to have a little bit nicer equipment all around. I’m going to see about checking one out on Monday.

Unfortunately, to get one used you really have to be in the right place at the right time. Surprisingly, Harley’s are easy to come buy in the for sale ads, but they still aren’t cheap. So, we’ll see if I get lucky. I have a way of doing that once in a while (not that way, you perv). Oddly enough, there’s a Kawasaki Vulcan Classic coming up at an auction next month, but unfortunately for me it’s way to big.

Luckily, my dad served as a lesson in how not to ride a motorcycle, when a semi pretty much nearly squashed him on the highway when he was a kid. I’m in it totally for practicality. That, and I’ll look like a total badass stud.

The great part about today’s blog, is that the people most likely to read through it won’t get much out of it because it’s all old news, and the people that would benefit the most probably will skip it because usually my tech blogs aren’t so entertaining. So, if my tech stuff normally doesn’t interest you, take the time to read this one. The rest of you, read it anyway. You owe me. You know why.

I’ve been thinking a lot more about the social web lately. Hopefully, it’s been thinking about me too (Why won’t you return my calls?!). My experiment with operating solely through NetVibes was neither a success or failure. You could call it a “failcess.” Some things worked, some didn’t, which I think is to be expected. After all, Facebook doesn’t want to reveal their whole system through their API (Application Program Interface), since they want you to keep going to their actual site so they can show you ads. Heck, MySpace hasn’t even opened an API for use (shame on you MySpace, you’re in danger of becoming the next Netscape as it is). So as a social web consumer, there’s really only so much that you can do effectively. As a social information provider, however, that’s a different story.

How many sites do you have accounts on? MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Digg, Hi5, Beebo, Flickr, LiveJournal, Technorati, Last.FM…? This list can go on and on. The great part is that there are sites making a good effort to help you centralize ownership of your web identity. SocialThing, Profilactic, FriendFeed, Tumblr, and plenty of others. The best part is, not only do these sites help you mashup feeds and information from friends, they can help you take some ownership over your own identity (they know how to make a mean chocolate shake too). More than any other time, potential employers and clients are doing background checks on you through things like Google. Imagine for a moment your name was John Wilson. Are you confident all the hits would be right if someone was looking for you? Turns out, John Wilson is not an uncommon name. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could send someone somewhere, where you maintain (the appearance of) full disclosure, and can provide correct, confident links to sites about you?

First step, buy your name as a domain. Vanity domains are becoming increasingly popular (and occasionally sexy), and can be valuable as a tool in promoting yourself professionally (I’m looking at you, Midwest Melissa). It also keeps someone from trying to be a fake you, like your evil, goateed twin that keeps trying to take your place. Suck it up and spend the $7.95 to register it, then spend a few more bucks either on hosting or point it at a blog or whatnot. Step two, I mentioned Profilactic, which is what I am using here to handle my social identity control. Granted this domain is not a vanity name, but it’s still the one I send people to. On the sidebar, I created a section called “My Stuff” and plugged in the code Profilactic gives you:

Now, I have an instant gateway to my sites, and my visitors can be confident that anyone else out there with my name can be distinguished from me-me. Not only that, but it also creates a convenient way for me to get to my own stuff as well. In effect, what you are creating is your own social portal type of page. A page that becomes a central repository of links and gateways to the things you want people to identify with you (you might leave AdultFriendFinder off that list, just a suggestion). Providing a resource like that will also discourage people from looking elsewhere. If you have two MySpace pages, one nice and professional, and one that you made three years ago that you forgot the password to where you have…sexy pictures…having this kind of portal you can preempt a search and send someone to the current page.

Hopefully you see the obvious value this would create to you as a web site consumer. Centralization is the big thing now. Finding ways to simplify and streamline access to your data, wherever it might be located. Having your own site also opens up additional centralized solutions, like using your own blog/site URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) as an OpenID login (I recommend MyVidoop as a provider). Not everyone is on the OpenID train yet, but it’s growing fast. It never hurts to have options like this available to you should you want to leverage them, and it all starts with taking control of your identity. Know the size of your digital footprint. It’s easy to forget just how much stuff you put out there and make available. It’s also easy for it to get out of date. The better job you do controlling it all, the better you ultimately serve yourself.