I'm in everything

Why, why, why is this part of our food? I recently noticed that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of the main ingredients in maple syrup. Why? Am I buying maple syrup or am I buying maple flavored corn syrup? I’m so tier of reading the ingredients on various products’ packages and seeing high-fructose corn syrup listed. It seems that this “poison” is part of the ingredients of almost everything. Last time I was surprised to see HFCS as an ingredient was when I read the label on a Heinz ketchup bottle, where I discovered that it made 40% of the product!

Yes, high-fructose corn syrup is a cheap sweetener alternative to sugar, but its long term negative effects to Americans greatly outweigh its sweet qualities or its monetary benefits to the price of our consumables. The results can be seen in the public’s health care bills. I only mention Americans because I haven’t heard of any other country using high-fructose corn syrup in the quantities or the extend it is being used in the United States. Personally I ratter pay an extra dollar or two for a product, but know that whatever my children, my family or I are consuming has real sugar in it, and our organs or DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) won’t be changing or suffer some other undesirable or health hazardous effects over time.

I recently heard of some study, which was conducted by an Asian organization, it had concluded that American men, who consume large amounts of soda, have a greater risk for prostate cancer. This is not a surprise. Soda has been part of our life for over a century now, but this was never a problem before. What has changed is the fact that in the last 15 or 20 years HFCS has become the main ingredient in soda and many other product. Maybe it’s not the amount of soda being consumed. Maybe it is the amount of a very common ingredient that is inescapably being deposited in our bodies via the food we consume!

What is DNS prefetching? – It is the process of requesting domain name and IP (Internet Protocol or Intellectual Property) address resolution used in links, images, documents and other content linked to from a page a web surfer is currently browsing. Theoretically, by taking care of the name resolution before a surfer desires to navigate to a file or another page from a link on the current page can save fractions to X number of seconds. Name resolution being out of the way the surfer should arrive at its next destination faster. The former is my definition and understanding of DNS prefetching. In my experience, at leased in Google Chrome, I am able to see performance improvements.

I needed to know how can I tell if it is on or off. In Google Chrome it is in the options menu and it can easily be turned on and with a simple check-mark click.

Google Chrome DNS prefetching option.

But, in Firefox this is not a function in the options menu. At leased not at this time.

What the heck? I have been a Verizon customer for over 10 years now. I have had Verizon land line numbers, I’ve had Verizon DSL. I have also had and still have multiple mobile lines with Verizon, but apparently none of this is a factor. What happened to customer appreciation for brand loyalty. I can tell you what happened to it. It is gone, if it ever existed! From my experience with Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and other companies, a customer’s loyalty is only tracked as long as that customer doesn’t change their number, address or service. More on that in a future post.

Unlike AT&T we have not ever had any problems with the service, but I do wish Verizon did show back some love to loyal customers when the rare call from them comes.

I find it to be revealing as far as plot and Terminator canon changes. Something I wasn’t expecting, making it even more desirable to see. At least to me.

Will you see Terminator 4: Salvation in the theater or on DVD? Let me know in the poll below.

The reason why I am saying that I underestimated the time it will take me to develop the site is because of all the things that pop up in my head that needs to be included in the web site as I work on it. Unlike other website project I have worked on, this is the first time I am developing a business and a websites with a variety of features and needs from the ground up. Granted I contemplated for a very long time if I should use a CMS or build my own interface, I decided to go with using one of the more popular CMS simply to get he project off the ground. Once the website and it is functional and servicing clients it can always be upgraded. It won’t be anything new. Over the years I have seen many websites which have switched from one CMS to another, or simply gone with developing a proprietary interface and vice versa. Every time I sit down to work on the site, as I am working on something at least half a dozen other things come to my mind that need to be included and once I place them on my to do list, half a dozen more pop up for each of them. For example tonight I am working on documenting  how customer’s will be referenced across multiple sites, especially ones that are not mine. As I figured out how I am going to do that and started to document it, the fact that I also need to collect and maintain customers’ personal billing information also came to my mind, and as I typed the previous I realized that that data needs to be encrypted.

It is definitely a learning experience. Even though my grand parents, my father and my Amanda’s father all owned or still operate their own businesses, being an entrepreneur was not something that interested me until 3 years ago. Thus I do not have much knowledge or experience with it. The who start up and get going process can be difficult especially when building everything solo with limited resources and the most valuable of them being time to work on business development.

So far the planing stage seems to be taking long time, but not as long as documenting how everything is going to work. The most important thing is to make progress. Some times it is a lot, other times it is as little as few words, or paragraphs.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/17/google-valve
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/17/google-to-acquire-valve/

I decided to send Valve a quick email, and I think that everyone that is agains this happenign should do as well.

Good morning,

TechCrunch and TheInquirer are reporting a potential acquisition of Valve by Google.

Please say it isn’t so. I’ve been a fan of you company and games since you guys first started. I have been following your company and enjoyed your products all these years. An acquisition by google might seem like a financially good choice but technology and product wise it is not.

Valve has managed to remain financially independent and overcome a variety of obstacles all this years. Please do NOT give into the google idea. Be yourselves. Visiting Valve headquarters and working for Valve is a dream for many people. Don’t destroy your fan base.

Sincerely,

Alexandar Tzanov

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/09/17/google-valve

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/17/google-to-acquire-valve/

You can email Valve at contact@valvesoftware.com, or contact the company in the following ways

Telephone:
425-889-9642

FAX:
425-827-4843

Postal address:
PO BOX 1688
Bellevue, WA 98009

The community has already started a discoution on the Steam forums.

You can find the instruction on how to make your own helicopter birthday cake here, on Instructables, an awesome do-it-yourself site.

When the Chinese were fermenting soybeans for a flavoring paste in the 2nd century BCE, they realized that the liquids left behind were also pretty tasty.

Buddhist monks took the process to Japan, and by the 1600s it developed into the standard recipe of fermented soybeans and wheat we eat today.

• It is impossible to lick your elbow.
• A crocodile can’t stick its tongue out.
• A shrimp’s heart is in its head.
• In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried its head in the sand.
• It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
• A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
• More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.
• Horses can’t vomit.
• Sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.
• If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die. If you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.
• Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
• Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
• If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
• In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
• A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.
• 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.
• Most lipstick contains fish scales.
• Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.
• Over 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Although the first and last ones I have seen as 95% and 90%, respectively.

I just returned from a DMV office, which here by the way is called Vehicle Facility. I had to shed $143.00 to register my car and receive new plates and one year registration sticker for them. I also had to pay $37.50 for a city sticker, which is only valid till the end of June, 2005. I would have had to pay taxes on my car in addition to the above, if I had not bought it from out of state and I was not using it as my personal vehicle.

All of this is kind of expensive, but the whole process when smooth and fast. I am thankful for that. Yesterday I went to the bank and took care of business there, today I when and took care of my car situation. Now it is all good, two things off the list. Two or three left to do before I have to start a new one. That by the way is a long term list, not a daily to-do one!

Audio Cast: Download audio file (OhBoyWhatAJoy_20050301.mp3)
(1.02 MB)