Alexandar Tzanov ~ The Titan

Yesterday I was at the toilet at work. A coworker came in, did his business in one of the stalls and simply walked out. No washing hand or at the least pretend to do so, like some of my other co-worker. Yes, I can tell the difference. When you turn on and off the water faucet without leaving enough time in between to even get your hands wet, let alone to actually wash them, and maybe add some soap – it is pretty obvious. And, NO, wetting the tips of your fingers does not qualify as hygiene.

On a side note: Here is an instructional video on how to properly wash your hands, filmed by students from ITE College East:

Personally I think step 4 is not necessary. Maybe more applicable when in hospital settings or out in the field.

Back to the subject at hand: At work we also have a new refrigerator that makes ice. Unfortunately, it does not mechanically dispense it. A person has to reach into the ice box and take out individual cubes. I wash my hands before doing that, because I know it is neither ethical nor healthy to take out ice with dirty hand. I have hear and read about the ice in restaurants.

Earlier as I was walking toward the fridge to get some ice, I remembered what…

Firefox and DNS prefetching – I read about this being a feature in Google Chrome, but I wasn’t sure if it was, yet, a feature of Firefox. It is in Ff 3.5. Here you can find a list of the new features in Firefox 3.5.

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.

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

I just got off the phone with a Verizon Wireless representative. I was inquiring about upgrading my phone and what kind of deal they could offer me. I had to revert back to a 5 year old phone due to a recent mishap with the mobile phone I was actively using. The deal they could offer me was … none! Even after I mentioned that I have been a Verizon Wireless customer since 1998 the guys could not  offer me anything, because my number still has 6 months left before it becomes eligible for the “sponsored” upgrade, which of course comes with a mandatory 1 or 2 year contract.

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…