themelvinator Blog

Today, I got a new job. I am the newest employee at a company called Afni. I am excited, starting a new chapter (or in this case, a new “blog” post) of my life. Mainly, I am going to focus on sales and provide some technical support, in an ever expanding business. I still will be going to school this fall, with the goal of getting my Business Administration degree.  Just thought I should let everybody know what’s going on in my exciting life.

Until next time…

Today is Download Day.  Download Day is characterized as the day that FireFox 3.0 Final is available for download.  FireFox 3 is the much awaited alternative to Microsoft Internet Explorer and part of the infamous “browser” wars.  I downloaded my copy earlier today and I am impressed!  It is fast, efficient and most of all, FREE!  Download Day is an attempt to set a Guinness World record for the most downloads in a 24 hour period.  I suppose attempt is not a description I should use, because there is currently no previous download record that has been set.

If your tired of how slow Internet Explorer is and want a clean, fast Internet browser, I encourage anybody to check out this browser out, just to try.  You might be pleasantly surprised!  You can download it here.  If you are getting a slow download, be patient, it is definitely worth it!

P.S. - I hope I can set a new Guinness World record for using the word “download” in a single blog post…  9 times!

Until next time…

We are in a new age of information. E-mail is the aging medium, instant messaging is sort of the norm. Twitter has become the new form of communication for the early adopters. Some may think that twitter is just “a bunch of Silicon Valley people talking to each other”, but as of recent events of the earthquake in China, that is not entirely the case. Thanks to tech blogger and technology socialite Robert Scoble, people heard about the quake before major news vendors reported on it. Another example was back in April when a student from the University of California-Berkeley got arrested in Egypt and twittered, “Arrested”, in which set off events for his release.

Mark my words, in the next few years, Twitter will be the next Facebook. It just astounds me of how technology evolves, how information is disseminated and how people form a sort of “external” community.

To end this post, I would like to say that my thoughts and prayers go to the families in China and to the people involved in the relief effort.

Until next time…

May 1st, rent is due (for most of us) and today is also RSS Awareness Day. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. This is a way that information is “fed” into a presentable way that could be custom tailored by you, the user. Information can consists of news, blog entries and other frequently updated content. One way to explain this is when you watch CNN on television, you have up to date news, stock prices, sports scores and other tidbits of information. Now think of this for the Internet. You can subscribe to blogs that you read, podcasts that you listen to and news reports; all tailored to your own whims. Another example is on Facebook. When you first login, you come to the “notification page”, this page has recent activities of your friends on Facebook. This is an example of a feed.

Perhaps you have seen the little orange button on websites with the white arches, the one on the right side of my blog column? This is the RSS symbol, which you can click on to subscribe (and this is not a plug to subscribe to my blog, REALLY. But you can, if you want). But first, you need a program called an RSS reader, feed reader, or sometimes called an RSS aggregator. I use Newsfox, which is an add-on to my web brower, Firefox, but there are many other programs you can use, too. Then it’s as easy as subscribing through the RSS reader and whenever information is updated, it will appear in your reader. Easy as 1-2-3.

Until next time…

Credit to Drea W. for the picture…

Last night was the 2nd incarnation of “Blast to the Past”. It was great to see everybody dress up and have fun. Special thanks to Angel for coordinating and her roommates (Drea, Erin, Felise and Amanda) for hosting this event.

The day started with thinking of what to wear. I initially picked Indiana Jones, sort of a blast to the past figure. Then as the day progressed, I changed to an 80s stock broker. Tim and I both went to the local Goodwill store and shopped. Overall, my outfit was less than 10 dollars… so I was happy. Then an unforseen event; my stock broker pants at home did not fit me anymore, so I resorted to some other pants, which did not have the buttons that supported my suspenders… so I had to tie the ends to my pants. I got a few laughs (thanks to Ryan for bringing my self-esteem down, I could always count on you). Needless to say, I had to improvise and decided the stock broker look was out. I decided on random 40s news reporter (couldn’t have guess with the digital camera around my neck, thus the improvised “Press Pass” stapled to my shirt).

As for the pictures, I took about 60. I was a little disappointed to find that about half of them were pretty much not useable. I posted the good ones on Facebook…

Overall, the party was awesome and I had a very good time.

Until next time…

I went to the Swing Dancing (aka taxes are done, let’s dance) party. I had a lot of fun, and it was the first time that I swing danced.  I have played swing in high school/college in jazz band but dancing to it was a different thing. Thanks to Jade and his roommates for hosting, it was awesome! Definitely will be up to learn more about swing… I guess practice makes perfect!

Until next time…

Spending a few minutes trying to think up of a blog post today. Just sent in my taxes and realized that I am getting some money this time around. Go stimulus check! School is definitely school. So far, (it’s almost the end of the semester) I am well ahead of things and ready to finish this semester off. I am planning to take some summer school and full time in the fall.

Now on a weird subject, some things that irk me. It bothers me when people drive through the parking lot across the painted lines, or for that matter, go the wrong way that the parking lane is indicated. I experienced this today as I was grocery shopping. It’s funny, some of the drivers just look at me and stare like I did something wrong, while they are driving through parking lot lines. Maybe it is just me, or that Tucson has some of the worst drivers… that has yet to be determined.

I finally am caught up with Battlestar Galactica, care of hulu.com. In case you are wondering, Battlestar Galactica, or BSG, for short, is an awesome show. I think people label the show just a geek show thanks to the original series, but it so much more! The characters are so diverse (with Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and an amazing cast doing an exceptional job), and the story line is awesome. I encourage anybody to check out the show, but a tip, start watching it from the Mini-series, then to the first season on.

Tomorrow is my favorite time of the week, my day off (Friday). Have no plans as of yet. Maybe just a lot of plain-old “goofing off”.

Until next time…

After many hours of watching “The Office” in our van, blowing a power inverter in the process and taking tons of photos; I had an awesome time in Colorado. I am also glad to be back home, back to the warm weather and the familiar (which includes school). I had been in Ft. Collins/Boulder, Colorado for the week. Our church was on a spring break outreach to the University of Colorado-Boulder campus. A little background history, my church, Faith Christian Church, has sent out 5 churches to different campuses around the world; Colorado State University in Ft. Collins being the 1st church that was sent out. The Ft. Collins church, Grace Christian Church has been reaching out to the University of Colorado for a few years and is preparing to start a new church there. We (FCC, the church in Albuquerque New Covenant Christian Church, and GCC) went on the Boulder campus to share the Gospel to college students. There was a receptive response from students. A few students gave their lives to Jesus and there are many that are interested in weekly Bible studies on campus. Overall, it was an awesome trip. I got to see members that were sent from the different churches and also got to meet other new members.

I am starting to get back in the swing of things back in Tucson. It’s been a slow start this week, having taken 4 exams the week before spring break. I am taking this opportunity to read ahead, in class and my side reading. I better get some sleep now.

Until next time…

I am leaving for Boulder, Colorado today. I am bringing my laptop and a digital camera with me, and will possibly encounter hot spots along the way. I will try to post something from Colorado, if I can.  I will also be twittering, so you can follow me there as well.

Tim is going to hold out at the Cave this week because he had to work. The folks are leaving Tucson today as well. It is always great to hang out with them. I think I got my Mom addicted to “The Office”, she was watching multiple episodes yesterday… we shall see…

Until next time…

Well, I am done for the week. I have tomorrow off, but I haven’t decided what to do for my day off. Should I see a movie? Rent some movies? Speaking about renting movies, Tim (by referral by Other Brother, Steve) discovered RedBox at our local Wal-mart. RedBox, if you don’t know already, is a jukebox like machine that dispenses movies that you want to rent for $1.00 per day, per movie. It has quite a selection for it being as large as a standard Coke machine. I think it’s a great concept, and they are currently expanding it to more towns across the U.S.

I’m thinking that I might just bum around the house. I have some books that I would like to get to. (I know, your probably saying, “Boring” or [yawning] right about now). Although, an idea just popped into my head. Since the Tucson weather is getting more favorable (it’s like 80 degrees outside), I might just go for a swim!

Back to the subject at hand, I have two exams to study for next week, both on Wednesday and both ironically is in the subject of history. I’m not too worried about either of them, just thought I would share.

Well, I don’t have anymore ideas at the moment.

Until next time…