A Day Late

I read something Jim wrote the other day about writing an alternate blog that only he knows about. I’ve had the same idea. There’s a lot of things I’ve considered writing about but haven’t because of people that read my blog. Actually it really doesn’t have as much to do with people that are currently reading as it does the people that could eventually come across it.

I really can’t say too much about work since it’s possible coworkers/managers could come across it. Still being single I’ve often thought about writing some things on dating and such, but once again I don’t think I’d feel comfortable about everyone reading what I have to say.

So I’ve contemplated creating a seperate blog and since this is hosted on my own server it would be very easy to setup Apache to restrict access to certain IP addresses or even enable authentication. Why haven’t I done it already? I’m not sure. There was a time when I was really good about keeping a journal but that’s been quite a few years ago. That’s essentially what I see a private weblog being, a journal. Hmm…maybe I’ll get around to it one of these days.

Despite the fact it’s almost May, it’s pretty chilly out. The area around my desk is no exception. I have an air conditioning vent directly above my chair and even though it’s only 50 degrees outside it keeps blowing cold air down on me. The problem is the thermostat is on the opposite side of the building and it must be warmer over there. Either that or someone is trying to screw with me and make me freeze. Fortunately I still have my trusty space heater to combat it.

The other day at work I was browsing the web using Internet Explorer and I started getting an error message indicating I needed to “reboot for the settings to take effect.” Now, consider I did NOTHING but type in a url for this to popup. At first I was nervous the site I was viewing executed some mailicious .NET code or something, but one of the sites was Macromedia’s Coldfusion site, so I figured it was something else.

After a little troubleshooting I determined it was popping up because I didn’t reboot immediately after installing the latest Microsoft security updates. I never do, I HATE rebooting! Well, I guess some portion of the web sites I was viewing was part of the affected security updates and that’s why it kept asking me to reboot. Am I the only one that finds that a little unnerving? The fact that just viewing HTML can initiate a prompt to reboot. In all fairness it might have had something to do with the Flash plugin, since I’m sure Macromedia’s site was using flash.

I understand that web browsers aren’t perfect and require security updates just as much as other types of software. What I don’t understand is WHY do I have to reboot for the updates to take effect? Is it really necessary to integrate the web browser that deeply into the system to require rebooting when it’s updated?

It looks to be a rainy and overcast day. None the less, it’s gonna be a beautiful day. Did I mention Graduation Commencement is today?

Yes, I said HATE! I guess I could’ve made it more broad by saying I hate windows in general, but I really have a dislike for 98 in particular. I spent yesterday evening trying to setup a wireless network for someone. It was going smoothly until I went to install the PCMCIA card in a laptop with Windows 98. With experience from the past, I know all you can do is cross your fingers and hope the drivers install correctly AND work. More often than not they won’t and this time they didn’t. The install program would freeze at the end of the installation and no matter how many things I tried I couldn’t seem to get around it. I still haven’t given up on it, but recommended upgrading to 2000 or XP. Not a perfect solution, but I’m sure it’ll work.

This is just a test ping to another entry.

I read an interesting article on MSNBC today about dyslexia. The only reason it caught my eye is because I am dyslexic. The article was about a new book called “Overcoming Dyslexia” by Sally Shaywitz, which I think I’ll pick up one of these days.

The article described some indications of dyslexia and also the difficulties that can develop if it’s not caught early on. Fortunately for me I had a good second grade teacher that became concerned when I had an awful time reading but could handle math and other subjects rather well. I spent a few months going to a resource class to overcome it and also spent hours and hours going over flash cards with my mom. I honestly can still remember the exasperated look on her face when I would call “was” “saw” after going over it multiple times. None the less, due to some good teachers and patient and persistent mother I think I can say I overcame it. A lot of indications listed for young adults dealt with difficulty in reading or an aversion to reading but I don’t have either. In fact I really enjoy reading and feel I read at least as good or better than most. Although I admit if I’m tired or stressed it seems to agravate things and I’ll occasionally have problems.

Since I seem to do ok with reading I really haven’t thought about dyslexia affecting me in college that much, or even in high school for that matter. However, the article listed some other indications/problems dylexic people often have such as difficulty with exams with open ended questions such as essays and things. Difficulty with spelling and writing fluently and also lack of glibness particularly when “under the gun.” In addition to these there were others I can really relate to. Comparing my scores on essay exams to others, it’s easy to see a discrepency. Also, I can’t tell you how many interviews or other pressure situations I’ve been in when I’ve found it difficult to express, in words, what I want to say. Usually it’s about 10 minutes after the interview or situation is over that I actually formulate what it was I wanted to say. Given a little time I can formulate what I want to say pretty well, I just have some trouble with it when I’m put on the spot. Fortunately, the article indicated that difficulties like these aren’t a sign of lack of intelligence. The brains in people with dyslexia just process information differently than others. That’s interesting, all this time I’ve never bothered to find out what dyslexia is. All I knew was it made it difficult for me to learn how to read. Now it all makes sense.

A few months back, in one of my first entries, I think I mentioned I thought my blog would be a good tool to help me write more fluently since that’s something I feel I’ve struggled with. Just like the resource class and note cards helped me overcome my reading impediment, perhaps this will help me overcome some others. By the way, the article had a link to the website for “The International Dyslexia Association” which also has quite a bit of information if anyone is interested.

P.S. As an afterthought, am I the only one that finds the idea of writing a book directed towards people with an aversion to reading, slightly humorous?

I was watching TV the other night and a couldn’t help but laugh and ponder the content of a couple pharmaceutical commercials I saw. The first was for the new birth control “patch.” I’m not sure on its exact name, maybe I’ll have to ask my friendly neighborhood pharmacist. Anyway, at the end of the commercial they rattle of a little disclaimer, part of which stated “the patch should not be used by women that are pregnant.” Ok…first, why would any woman in their right mind use the patch if they knew they were pregnant? Second, assuming it’s directed to the other group, women that are pregnant but don’t know they are, if the woman doesn’t know she’s pregnant, what good does it do to tell her not to use the patch? I guess birth control is sometimes used for things other than birth control, none the less I found it thought provoking :).

The second commercial was for a prescription “sleep aid.” I thnk it was called Ambien, but I can’t be sure. Anyway, they listed “drowsiness” as a side effect. Umm…I thought drowsiness was more the purpose of a sleep aid as opposed to a side effect. In fact…I must say, I’d be a little hesitant about taking a sleep aid that didn’t make me drowsy. I dunno…I’m not a pharmacist so I really shouldn’t question, I’m sure they have their reasons (most of which are probably legal).