Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wiping my Treo 700w
Changing to the new phone was a snap, I just called *228 and chose option 3 from the new phone. It was that easy to switch phones, and it didn't actually involve a real person (are they passing those savings on to us? (I think not.)
So now my Palm Treo 700w is on Craigslist. Of course my info needs to be gone, and that's simple to do as many sites show. I looked it up on the Michigan State Univ. site, so I'll give them the credit.
What's needed is a hard reset:
- Hold down the red power button while pushing in the reset button under the battery case lid. When it begin to reboot, it'll ask if you want to erase all your information. (Should you have an SD card, it will be left in tact.)
As for my choice of phone, I got a VX6800 running Windows Mobile 6.1 and I'm very happy with it; but that'll be another post...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wrong Office 2007 Key
Never fear, Lancelhoff has the answer (and a few others as well), but I thought I'd add myself to the mix.
To change the Office 2007 Product Key:
1. Click Start -> Run
2. Type regedit and click OK
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration
Under Registration, there is subkey that is like: {91120000-0030-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}
4. Under Registration, you might find several subkeys that contain a combination of alphanumeric characters. Each key is specific to a program installed on your computer.
Open each subkey to view and identify the Office product version by the ProductName registry entry in the right pane. For example: ProductName=Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007
5. Once you have the subkey that contains the Office product you wish to update the license key for, delete the following registry entries
DigitalProductID
ProductID
6. Close regedit
7. Start Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook or another Office application, you should now be prompted to enter a new product key.
8. Enter your new Office product key, and click OK
9. If prompted to choose your preferred type of Microsoft Office 2007 installation, select Install Now
10. Microsoft Office 2007 should now have your new CD key
And in doing this I was successful in activating Office and all was right in the world once more.
UPDATE: Should the install be on a 64-bit system, you can find the keys in question under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\version\Registration
And at least with Office 2010, you can go to Programs and Features, highlight the product and click Change, you'll be presented with Enter a Product Key as a choice.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Turn Up IMAP Logging in Exchange 2007
Open Regedit, go to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchange IMAP\Diagnostics and change the General value to something useful for you: 0 (Lowest), 1 (Low), 3 (Medium), 5 (High), and 7 (Expert).
You can also makes this happen via the EMS by using:
Set-EventLogLevel “MSExchange IMAP4\General” -Level High
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Emergency Patch Today!
This is a very critical update due to the fact your system can be affected by just visiting a website.
Go to Windows Update and patch your system!
Monday, December 8, 2008
X-Mouse on Vista
In short, it changes the foreground focus (window, application or desktop) based on wherever the mouse cursor happens to be. This for many, speeds up productivity a bit by saving clicks (about a nano-second each).
To enable this in Vista, go to the Control Panel > Ease of Access Center (or press the Windows key + U). Click the link "Make the mouse easier to use" and choose "Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse" and then Save.
Once you start moving your cursor around you'll notice the focus will change automatically after a short delay. It's not for everybody, but can be helpful when using multiple monitors. Start saving nano-seconds now :)
Friday, December 5, 2008
Mark Minasi's News
If you head over to his site, you can sign up for his free newsletter. It's not as regular as it could be, but life isn't always on a schedule. All the issues have useful content and there is a full archive. The latest news has a great list showing the benefits of Windows 2008. It is definitely worth subscribing.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Vista SP2
What's in the update you ask? Check out Mary-Jo Foley's post listing all the goodies.
The stand-alone download for this thing is probably going to be ginormous since it will include the previous service pack, so I'd suggest using Windows Update when it becomes available unless you just can't wait.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Fedora 10 Released
I'm downloading it as I type, can't wait to give it a try. Get it here.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
DSL
Give it a try and have fun; as always it's Open Source and free.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
How to Forge
Viva la penguin!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Script Headers
After writing many, many batch scripts with really nothing but the filename and modified date as "information" I looked around a bit and put together this from what I saw.
rem **********************************
rem * Desktop System setup script
rem * Author: Thomas Thrush
rem * admin@company.com
rem * Last modified : 17-Nov-2006
rem **********************************
Now this is a pretty simple entry; other entries may include History, Notes, Revision Numbers, etc. Various scripting languages have there own way of commenting out text, but the information still applies.
The point is, put something there for future reference. When a script has to be modified many months down the road, the editor (which might be you) will be glad you did.
Update: It's been a while since this post and I've changed my header to reflect things I've learned...
:: ======================================
:: Script: NoPic.cmd
:: Desc: Find AD Accounts w/blank jpegPhoto Attr
:: Author: Tom Thrush - tom<at>tthrush<com>
:: Last modified: 22-Apr-2011
:: ======================================
One, the double colon runs faster as it's passed over by the scripting engine, where as rem is actually examined.
And two, with malware searching a system for addresses to spam or attack, it's best not to include a path to your door.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Holy Skydrive!
More from the source: Skydrive Team Blog
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Active@ UNDELETE
This is when he found Active Undelete, using this he recovered all the pictures and was the hero.
It works on almost all Windows systems and allows you to generate boot disks, use it on RAID, etc. Hopefully, you'll never need it, but it comes highly recommended should the time ever come.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Windows XP SP3 Causes Windows Update to Fail
Thanks to Ron Crumbaker, a simple fix is all that is needed. The steps are listed below, the actual commands are in bold.
1. Stop Automatic Updates service - net stop wuauserv
2. Register wups2.dll - regsvr32 %windir%\system32\wups2.dll
3. Restart Automatic Updates service - net start wuauserv
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Windows 7
Looking at Apple's OS X delivery model, not to mention the Linux community, the operating system gets a refresh every year or two. And peering into the past a little, the Wintendo platforms (95, 98, 98SE, ME) all were released a few years apart. For the 32-bit family there was a large gap between NT4 and Windows 2000 (Oct 1996 and Feb 2000 respectively), but XP came out in Oct of 2001 and XP SP2 (essentially an OS refresh), in August of 2004. There's a timeline on Wikipedia.
So how does this make Vista a failure if Microsoft is just staying on track with it's release schedule?
A great amount of information can be found at the SuperSite for Windows.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Recalling Batteries Still... Seriously?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
QuickTime Alternative
Anyway I digress, there is a free QuickTime alternative, creatively named QuickTime Alternative. It's free and currently at version 2.70, recently updated on Sept. 5th, 2008. Give it a try...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Critical Windows Patch
It can be downloaded via Windows Update and at the source: Microsoft.com
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Microsoft IFilter Pack
These Office 2007 search filters can be added to SharePoint, Exchange and SQL so that the new Office files based on XML can be indexed by the search service.
These filters are already apart of Windows Desktop Search 4.0 in Vista, XP and 2008.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Place for Passwords
Previously I used a Microsoft Wordfile, which was password protected and encrypted. That worked to a point, but it soon became just a long list of of barely formatted text. I tried Excel, it also offers password protection and encryption, but it too became a sea of tabs and grids of text.
Now I use KeePass Password Safe, open source (means free for all) and regularly updated; as in yesterday. I tried a couple of other password managers, like Password Safe and PassReminder, both weren't bad, but I preferred the KeePass interface. It has ample fields, a easy to navigate UI and you can click on a username or password which it will place it on your clipboard for pasting for only 10 seconds before it is removed.
It is available for Linux, Mac, BlackBerry, Palm, Symbian, PocketPC, etc. Give it a try.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Read Them All
Most people like magazines, right? They are thin, portable and the text comes in easily digestible chunks (aka articles). I am apparently a big fan as I am currently subscribed to ten, yes ten, magazines.
Now it started rather simply, I would get Car & Driver or MotorTrend for a year or two and then stop after I found I wasn't reading them. Once I got into the IT field however, I felt compelled (and still do) to subscribe to magazines that help me stay current, learn new trends and teach me solutions I can pass on to my customers. Sounds innocent enough, but I can't read them all. Most sit unread until a year goes by and they are recycled. I imagine I could just put the recycle bin under the mailbox saving myself a year of guilt.
I originally only subscribed to Windows IT Pro (Windows NT Magazine at the time), but as time passed it seemed that I should get whatever free magazines I could; too much knowledge can't be detrimental, right?
So now it seems to have spiraled out of control and I have periodicals showing up every few days. The list I've created below shows what I'm paying and how I wound up with some of them. If only I could ingest ten magazines a month, I would be extremely knowledgeable and would be able to command a higher consulting rate. But alas, I seem to have more time for PGR4 and GH3 than to feed my brain.
As I sit here typing, surrounded by three stacks of unread/partially read magazines, I've come to the conclusion (okay, I came to this before writing) that I will do my best to read through one a day. If I don't, I will recycle one of the oldest periodicals chosen from the pile. Hopefully I will stick to it and it will be the start of a very useful habit. And I better get started, mail is delivered again on Monday...
TechNet (free)
Redmond (free) (was Microsoft Certified Professional)
Windows IT Pro ($29, was WindowsNT and Windows.Net)
Redmond Channel Partner (free)
PC Magazine (used frequent flyer miles)
Via (comes with California's AAA membership)
Grassroots Motorsports (comes with NASA Racing membership)
Money ($10)
Reader's Digest (gift from mom)
National Geographic (gift from in-laws)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Adding a Windows Server 2008 DC to a Windows 2003 Domain
Since this new 2008 server was in a different site than the FSMO holder, the adprep.exe couldn't be run from the system that was to be promoted, I had to go to the correct system.
Once I found the correct DC (which held all the FSMO roles), adprep had to be run with up to four different switches: /forestprep (must be run on the Schema Master), /domainprep (must be run on the Infrastructure Master), /domainprep /gpoprep (again on the Infrastructure Master to update Group Policy functionality) and optionally /rodcprep (if you want to use Read-Only Domain Controllers which are very cool, run this on the Infrastructure Master as well).
Luckily nothing of note happened and all was well...it was then Guinness time!
More information can be found on the Microsoft TechNet site.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Windows Server 2008 Inside Out
During this endeavor, I've been using the Windows Server 2008 Inside Out book as a reference guide and I must say it is quite good. William Stanek is a good author and the book delves into many real work scenarios and holds a lot of good IT on-the-job kind of advice. And at almost 1500 pages, thankfully it's an MS Press book, which means it comes with a searchable PDF eBook version.
The book is written for the Intermediate/Advanced reader which is something to keep in mind. I definately recommend it.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Vista Boot Manager
When boot.ini was king, no problem, now with the new boot manager it's no longer a text file, you have to use the bcdedit utility. It holds much more power, managing hypervisor settings, emergency management, etc., which boils down to more complication.
Luckily I found a post on the Neosmart Technologies site. It wasn't the quickest task, but "You know, I learned something today."
Update: I neglected to mention that you shouldn't bother using PowerShell for this, it's problematic, stick to the normal "C:" shell and run it as Administrator.
And the commands I used:
To list the contents
bcdedit /enum all /v
To move the Boot Manager
bcdedit /set {9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795} device partition=c:
To move the Memory Tester
bcdedit /set {b2721d73-1db4-4c62-bf78-c548a880142d} device partition=c:
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Blogs I Follow, Part 1
In no particular order (some of which are in the Blogroll):
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite - Probably my favorite technews writer. His sarcasm and pragmatism keeps me reading.
Bink.nu - Basically a good, frequently updated, Microsoft news site.
You Had Me At EHLO... - The Official Microsoft Exchange Team Blog; lots of good stuff!
The SBS Diva - All SBS, all the time!
Jim McBee's Mostly Exchange Web Log - My favorite Exchange book author (and as the title implies mostly Exchange, it gets a little political at times, but there are gems here).
MPECS Inc. Blog - A tech blog with good variety from the Great White North.
That's it for now, I'll post Part 2 in a few days.
Travel the Stars from your Desktop
For those wanting to travel further out and for you sci-fi fans (and who isn't?), go to the "motherload" page there are deep space objects, galaxies and even Star Trek sites to be seen.
It's hours of entertainment for the whole family (at least the geeky ones).
Thursday, October 9, 2008
3 Windows Vista Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows key + Spacebar to bring the Windows Sidebar to the foreground (the Sidebar must be running)
Windows key + X for to launch the Mobility Center (only for laptops and tablet PCs)
Ctrl + Alt + End to bring up the security menu when using Remote Desktop (may also work for XP, haven't tried it yet)
Monday, October 6, 2008
Get your Cylon here!
I ordered one a few weeks ago and while anciously waiting I received a call from my brother-in-law thanking me for his new arrival. Since he was the last person I ordered stuff for, his shipping address was cached. So in my purchasing frenzy I didn't notice, but as a fellow geek I was happy "Cy" had a good home.
Anyway, after ordering another one, I now have one of my own. And no I don't move it around making noises or anything (at least when my wife's around).
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Evaluate Exchange 2007 on 32-bit
Get the free (you have to register) download here.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Exchange 2007 on Windows 2008
This is an intra-organization migration replacing a single Exchange 2003 server. Part of this is getting the prerequisites out of the way. TechNet has a couple of great articles, Preparing AD and Domains and Installing Exchange 2007 Prerequisites on Windows Server 2008.
So far so good. I'm also making use of Jim McBee's great book Exchange 2007 Implementation and Administration as well (this book assumes that you have experience with Exchange, Windows Server and Active Directory).
I'll post more as the project progresses.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Exchange System Manager 2003 for Vista
I fault the 3rd party hardware and software manufacturers with the many compatibility issues that have plagued Vista, when they had a FIVE YEAR window for development (HP Photo printer anyone?), but to have Microsoft come late to the party with Windows server and Exchange management tools is just lame. Do they want the MS tech crowd on their side or not?
In any case, better late than never.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Passed the Vista Exam
Interesting enough there were six simulations, some of which I went back and looked at for non-related questions, like firewall settings. They lock you into the various choices in the interface that one might use for the task; i.e. should you be in the Control Panel for a Windows Firewall question, you can't look at the Tablet PC Settings applet.
The testing site, A&A Computers, was acceptable and quiet, that is until a delivery person showed up in back and rang the bell incessantly. My exam also crashed while generating one of the simulations, I was an hour in at this point with 60% of the test completed. Luckily it saved all of my answers and picked up where I left off.
Now it's onto the 70-290 Windows 2003 Server exam. Why not Windows Server 2008? That down the road, but not far. But when you are a Microsoft Certified Trainer, you must pass the exams for the classes you want to teach, and I'm hoping to be as marketable as possible.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Mastering Windows Vista
I've also watched 15+ hours of video using a CBT Nuggets product with James Conrad. This was quite the undertaking (3 hours the first day, then two 6 hour days), most of the content I was familiar with, but there were a few gems I may need for the exam or work in general. James is quite chatty, cracks himself up and sometimes makes some amusing metaphors and examples, one was (I'm paraphrasing), "Imagine having a three year old that just ate a box of Twinkies." I give this product a mild recommendation, as it was interesting most of the time and the presentation was definitely workable.
Additionally I've read free guides from ProProfs and took a couple of sample tests from MeasureUp. Both of which were worthwhile.
Now with all this time in, I'm feeling pretty good about passing the test, I'll know tomorrow afternoon for sure...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Google as IT
One of my favorite resources is Google's Special Searches which are narrowly defined for Microsoft, Linux, Apple and BSD (also for the U.S. Gov't, but they don't really help with computers). Being able to trim out a lot of the chaff saves time usually wasted scanning over irrelevant results.
So next time you're troubleshooting, give the special search a try.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
IM Chattin' Part Deux
The install and configuration was lackluster, it didn't really like to stay online and I had to click an "Allow" prompt for Miranda IM to interface with Skype (which had to be running), everytime the client started. The main reason for trying the new chat client was software unification, so not only did I have to run Skype, but I had to acknowledge access for the Skype plugin. This left me asking, "Why should I need to be involved in this?"; it should be seemless and happen without any input on my part.
So aside from the dull interface, I suppose Miranda IM is an okay multi-platform client (if you don't need the Skype plugin), but for the price Trillian Basic is still the way to go.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Microsoft Press E-books
This isn't to say other publishers like Sybex and O'Reilly don't do this, but it seems far more common with MS Press. Anyone who's lugged a 1310 page tome around with them can appreciate a searchable PDF.
For the last few months, my first search on a given tech subject is for a MS Press book with an eBook.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
VMware Server 2.0 Released
I've used this quite a lot at client sites, hosting a Windows workstation to add to a domain without having a GPO applied to my company laptop. This has also been invaluable in testing Linux and Windows configurations alike, without distubing a production environment.
If you haven't used it yet, give it a try, the price is unbeatable.
Network Card Unseen
After trying to get Windows XP to discover the device for a few minutes, I rebooted, went into the BIOS (use F1, not the blue ThinkVantage button) and reset the BIOS to defaults. Once it rebooted, Windows found and automatically installed the NIC driver. Problem solved.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Geek Envy
Monday, September 22, 2008
Welcome to...
The template is in PDF form, but if there are requests for an editible format (Word), I'll post a that as well.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Free Exchange Presentations
This is an excellent free resource for anyone looking to expand their Exchange knowledge.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Vista Ready Boost
Curious as to what allocation unit size to choose when formatting for optimal Ready Boost, I read a number of blogs, The Vista Forums, Tom Archer's Blog, Notebook Review Forum and more. But as I browsed, I didn't seem to get the answer I was looking for, so I just experimented.
Most of the articles say to format the card as FAT, but I need encryption on the card to store backup data, so NTFS was needed. After the first formatting at the default size, 4096 bytes, it showed as unusable for Ready Boost. After a couple of tries, I found the winning size was the largest size, 64 kilobyte, which allowed Ready Boost to work and give me the encryption I require. If I get bored, maybe I'll try other allocation unit sizes and do a comparison; okay it'll never happen, I'm never bored.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Company Infrastructure Template
This "catch-all" document can be a central repository for network, system and vendor information, something to use to survey the environment for an audit, or when handing off to / indoctrinating a new IT person. Not all of the entries may be relevant and there will be some line items that need to be added, but hopefully this help you get started.
Here's an abridged overview I created for a client, much of it has been gutted and fictious information added to obfuscate the company.
The template is in PDF format, but if there's a request for something editable, I will make the Word format available as well.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Hand me my Sceptre
My new 24" Sceptre LCD monitor just arrived, in fact I'm looking using it now while writing this post. What I replaced was a very nice, but old and power hungry, 21" Dell Trinitron CRT which is now on Craigslist as I write.
I bought it from CompUSA for $329.41, with shipping and no tax (you'll have to pay tax if you live in Illinous I imagine). During my three month search, I examined numerous comparison shopping sites, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, a 24" LCD with reasonable specs at a decent price. Last week while drilling down through the selection of LCDs yet one more time on PriceGrabber I found the Sceptre LCD. I've seen Sceptre LCD televisions at Costco, but they were usually sub-par. This monitor had some pretty good reviews, so I took the plunge.
I'm happy to say this is a nice looking, quality monitor and of course at 1920x1200 there's a huge viewing area. All-in-all this product has my recommendation!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
PGR4 Wallpaper
You can take pictures anytime during the game, but I setup a custom race so it would be a location, track and weather of my choosing. Once I found the right spot, near Big Ben with the London Eye in the background, the Aston Martin DBS speeding through the rain soaked streets, I paused the race, found an esthetically pleasing angle and snapped my photo. Once it was uploaded I went to the PGR Nations web site, logged in and downloaded my picture.
Larger picture here.
It's now my current wallpaper, but I'm working on more. Time for some good Z06 pictures.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Oh no!!! It's 8-bit MIME
Action: failed
Status: 5.6.1
Diagnostic-Code: smtp;554 5.6.1 Body type not supported by Remote Host
Turns out that the Windows SMTP service (what Exchange 2000/2003 uses to transfer mail) advertises 8-bit MIME, which isn't compatible with some mail servers (they were using Postfix). In any case it was causing a lot of bounced mail and unhappy employees.
After a bit of searching, the answer turned up in a Knowledge Base article, 262168.
The fix was mostly straight forward and I was able to use their commands verbatim. But there was one hiccup, the utility that is used, mdutil.exe, is not on the Windows 2003 Server disk and not available for download. I dug through my ever handy pile of disks and found a Windows 2000 Server CD which held the compressed file.
Once the fix was applied, mail detente was achieved between the OS factions.
Monday, September 15, 2008
IM Chattin'
Being self-employed (and the only employee) it is very useful to be able to communicate, with clients and colleagues, realtime without spending an inordinate amount of time on the phone. Clients who need information or have an issue can contact me at a moment's notice and garner my immediate attention. With colleagues it is a great tool for us to use when needing quick advice regarding a script, command, confirmation regarding the best course of action or a myriad of other things.
Of course when you're talking a handful of customers and a couple dozen friends, colleagues plus family, they all use differing clients: AIM, MSN, Skype, Yahoo, etc. To that end, I currently use both Trillian and Skype. In my constant effort to save computer resources I recently found an excellent comparison site on Wiki which pointed me to a number of multi-protocol IM clients. The one which holds the most promise (for Windows, my main platform) is Miranda IM.
Miranda IM was an easy install and I added the Skype plugin. The interface isn't as nice as Trillian or Skype, but certainly functional.
I'll give it a try for a few weeks and post more then...
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Vista Exam 70-620
With the exam approaching in two short weeks I hope to have this book finished along with my CBT from CBT Nuggets. I'll post when I finish the book and again when using the CBT. Now if I could just find the time to do all this (and play Project Gotham Racing).
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Perhaps others are getting more out of it, I know it was a font of information after a recent natural disaster. But I wonder if it was in the vein of "picking up my stuff" and "turning the coach back over and I found some loose change". Hopefully someone can post a few reasons why one would continue Twitting. I'll keep using it for a while, but if it doesn't start becoming useful in a few weeks, I'm done.
Friday, September 12, 2008
My view of LinkedIn was changed earlier this week when I actually got a prospective customer call based on their LinkedIn search. I met with them today and if all goes well it will be my truly useful use for the site.
About
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Nokia Gets ActiveSync
To my last point, I am now searching for a phone to replace my aged Palm. I've been with Verizon now for over nine years and my contract is ending this December. After all this time, it's time to weigh my options and it's great to have another few dozen phones thrown into the mix...
AdSense
The registration for AdSense and generation of the ad wasn't difficult, placing it in the template was a little agitating. It turns out the template is confused as to which side is right and left, which caused the AdSense Managerplugin to place it over the text on the wrong side. Maybe it's supposed to be from the prospective of sitting inside the monitor looking out, but I think that's a long shot. Anyway, I just edited the code using Vi on the server and I was off to the races. Hopefully I'll earn enough for a six-pack before the year is out...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Live Mesh
I'm going to use this to act as a backup for my wife's important directories so she (read: me) won't have to worry about losing her files.
I have to give credit to Paul Thurrott who mentioned how much he liked Mesh on his podcast.
Not This Theme
There seems to be an endless supply of choices at Free Wordpress Templates where I found the current one. The search continues...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Meaningful?
A little about me... My name's Tom, I've been in IT for 11 or so years, mostly as a consultant, and have seen a few things, good, bad and lame. I'll try to share some of my experiences, plus maybe even something useful time to time like a new utility, blog or webpage. I imagine some posts will cover other tech items like cars, video games and my search for the right cell phone.
We'll see where it goes and how the site evolves. It took quite a while just to choose a theme (which may still change), hopefully the next updates will go a little faster (like fleshing out the About page).
So welcome and I'll try to make this worth everyone's time.