Thursday, July 31, 2008

10 mispronunciations that make you sound stupid

Okay, I laughed so hard at this one that my lunch salad almost came out my nose! As an English major, I have to agree, although I'm personally guilty of Toni's final #11 pet peeve, I'll have to work on that one....

Aron

10 mispronunciations that make you sound stupid: "

Right or wrong, people often judge you by the way you pronounce things. Say a word incorrectly and POW — they’ve pegged you as a provincial, poorly educated moron. Toni Bowers offers a list of commonly mangled words so you can double-check your own pronunciation.




 


Previously, TechRepublic ran an article about 10 grammar mistakes that make you look stupid. The examples cited involved the misuse of words in written and verbal communications. I’d like to go a step farther here and talk about words that may be used correctly but are pronounced wrong. They also may be much more flagrant examples of stupidity.


A caveat: My ear may be abnormally sensitive to mispronunciations since in college I developed an unnatural affinity for linguistics (can you say ‘Get a life?’). However, people often make snap decisions about character and intelligence based on their language biases, so it’s something you should be aware of. Here are some of my pet peeves, which you may or may not ever use in your life.


Note: This article originally appeared in our Career Management blog.


#1: Realtor


Many people — I’ve even heard it from people on national TV — pronounce this word REAL-uh-ter. Is this a case of wide-spread dyslexia, transposing the a and the l? It’s REAL-tor. That’s it. You’d think only two syllables would be easier to pronounce, but apparently not.


#2: Nuclear


Do you know how tough it is to be an advocate for the correct pronunciation of this word (NU-clee-er) when the president of the United States pronounces it NU-cu-lar? I don’t buy that it’s a regional thing. Ya’ll is a regional thing; nu-cu-lar is not.


#3: Jewelry


It’s not JOO-la-ree, it’s JOOL-ree. Again with the making things harder by turning a word into three syllables. What’s with that?


#4: Supposedly/supposably


The latter is a nonexistent word.


#5: Supposed to/suppose to


I think this one is more a matter of a lazy tongue than of ignorance. It takes an extra beat in there to emphasize the d at the end, but it’s worth it. And never omit the d if you’re using the term in a written communication or people will think you were raised in a hollowed-out tree trunk somewhere.


#6: Used to/use to


Same as above.


#7: Anyway/anyways


There’s no s at the end. I swear. Look it up.


#8: February/Febuary


As much as it galls me, there is an r between the b and the u. When you pronounce the word correctly it should sound like you’re trying to talk with a mouthful of marbles — FEB broo ary.


#9: Recur/reoccur


Though the latter is tempting, it’s not a word. And again, why add another syllable if you don’t need it?


#10: Mischievous/mischievious


I know, I know, it sounds so Basil Rathbone to say MIS cha vous, but that’s the right way. Mis CHEE vee us is more commonly used, but it’s wrong.


And last but not least, my personal all-time pet peeve — the word often. It should be pronounced OFF un, not OFF tun. The t is silent.





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(Via Clippings.)

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

It Takes a Network

A very nice Cisco post today, kind of getting back to the core of their Human Network...

It Takes a Network: "

It first took a family, and then it took a village. The idea being that you can count on your community—however you define it—for help, for knowledge. And for sharing in your accomplishments. The ultimate extension of this concept, ‘it takes a world,’ sounds a bit far-fetched at first. After all, the whole world can’t really be there for you. Or can it?'

"

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Google Calendar and iCal Subscriptions

Google is getting us a step closer to having a really nice portable solution for synching calendars. Much like Apple has said, 'Exchagne for the rest of us', you can now get another chunk of that functionality through free calendaring. Instructions for iCal (Apple) here

Removing the Emotion from IT

Another nicely written post by John....

Removing the Emotion from IT: "t work. A supportive, positive email followed by a face to face meeting generally does work. Even if you feel the person emailing you is completely unreasonable, do not EVER react with emotion. It can only hurt you.

In addition to my credo that 'to every thing there is a process', I also realize that time heals all conflict.

Can you even remember the problems that made you angry one year ago?

Are the people who caused the issue still aro"



(Via Life as a Healthcare CIO.)

Monday, July 28, 2008

Secure Your Domain Name Server With OpenDNS

Secure Your Domain Name Server With OpenDNS: "You use Domain Name Servers every time you type an address in your browser, and you probably never think about it. Hackers do. A vulnerability found recently could allow them to take over your DNS. You can hope your internet provider is prepared for the attack, or you can use a service immune to such attacks, like OpenDNS.

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(Via Clippings.)

CalDAV support comes to Google Calendar

At long last! Haven't tried it yet but I will soon.

CalDAV support comes to Google Calendar: "

Filed under: ,

I'm a pretty big user of Google Calendar, because I like how I can automatically sync it with my BlackBerry. The problem for me has been that on my desktop, I really prefer iCal's interface. Syncing the two can be cumbersome. We've written about third-party programs that can sync iCal and gCal together in the past, and although those are great -- I have still wanted a native way to sync the two calendars together.

Well, fortunately, Google has just quietly introduced CalDAV support to Google Calendar. CalDAV is the protocol that iCal uses to transmit data over the web. Although some other mail and calendar programs support CalDAV, right now Google Calendar is only compatible with iCal. Finally, iCal and Google Calendar can sync without having to use third party programs!

After following Google's detailed instructions, you can add your Google calendar account to iCal. Any changes you make in iCal will be transferred over to Google and appear in Google Calendar within about 15 minutes. Likewise, any changes made in gCal will be updated immediately from iCal. If you use a BlackBerry, which also syncs directly with gCal, those changes will be updated on all sides as well.

So does this mean that third-party syncing utilities have no place? Well, just based on my initial tests this morning, they are safe for at least a little while. Although sync support works perfectly, you have to create a new calendar account for each individual calendar you want to access. Additionally, if you have a calendar called 'Home' on your Mac and a different calendar called 'Home' in gCal, you can't just sync those two together. You'll need to either import all your iCal data into Google first, and then sync with the new calendar, or transfer the information over from one calendar to the other within iCal. Programs like BusySync and Spanning Sync allow syncing of designated calendars with one another.

Still, this is a huge step in the right direction and I'm just happy that I can import my mobile calendar onto my desktop without having to run a background utility. CalDAV support for Google Calendar requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard's version of iCal. The Google Calendar service is free.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.


[via Google Operating System]
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(Via Clippings.)

Sunday, July 27, 2008

No one goes hungry at Cafe Bella - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

No one goes hungry at Cafe Bella - Santa Rosa Press Democrat: "

No one goes hungry at Cafe Bella
Santa Rosa Press Democrat'- 7 hours ago
By JEFF COX Café Bella in Petaluma is not an Italian restaurant, even though its name sounds like it might be. It’sa true American bistro-comfort food place.
"



(Via Clippings.)

Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb’s Time Has Come

Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb’s Time Has Come: "L.E.D.’s have replaced standard bulbs in many of the nation’s traffic lights. The bright, long-lasting bulbs are starting to show up in some high-profile places too.

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(Via Clippings.)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Cool Technology of the week

Having been without cell signal the last two nights while camping, this becomes extremely interesting....

Cool Technology of the week: "We live in a connected world. With email, IM, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Blogger, etc., many folks are tied to wired or WiFi connection most of the day. The recent Verizon commercials highlight their USB EVDO cards so that you can get out of Internet Cafe jail and take your mobile devices on the road. However, this approach requires a data plan for every USB device you own and requires special software to be installed on your laptop.

The cool technology of the week is mobile WiFi for your car that takes the complexity out of mobile connectivity. AutoNet Mobile is a WiFi access point with build in 3G (EVDO) connectivity that enables any existing WiFi compliant device (desktops, laptops, Macs, PDAs, servers, iPhones) to connect to the web while in your car for $29.00 per month.

Access speeds range from 600Kbps-800Kbps with upload speeds about 200Kbps. The Wi-Fi connection is secured with WEP encryption, MAC address restriction or WAN port restriction. It also supports VPN pass-through. No software is needed to use the device, since it uses existing WiFi connections resident on mobile devices and thus it is compatible with all operating systems and devices. No additional attennas are needed.

Chrysler plans to offer this service on all of its 2009 models starting in August.

Of course, this connectivity is to be used by passengers sharing your commute, family members who want to stay connected on long car trips or as an access point once you've reached your destination. WiFi connectivity while driving is a bad idea - keep your attention on the road.

Always on mobile broadband for your car which works with existing WiFi devices - that's cool!"



(Via Clippings.)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Camp Cooking

My mother-in-law really knows how to prepare a killer camping meal, we especially like camping with them. NPR just did a short story about camping cuisine. A part of me really likes a can of Dinty Moore beef stew heated up in the can on a campfire so I'm torn....

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Linux Magazine Compares Bash and PowerShell

Linux Magazine Compares Bash and PowerShell: "If you come from a UNIX/Linux background, you probably rubbed your chin or scratched your head thinking two things when Microsoft announced PowerShell (codenamed Monad when it the first beta was released in 2005): 1. Well, it is about time! 2. Why..."



(Via Clippings.)

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Creating and Working With Shares in Mac OS X 10.5

http://www.macworld.com/article/132023/2008/02/105shares.html

Linux Tool for Windows - How to 'tail'

I just came across a great little utility for Windows that gives you some of the functionality native Linux/UNIX tool 'tail' which lets you watch live entries into a log. The product is called Tail Ace by Walltech Software. This really beats combing through a text file in WordPad trying to look for instant updates to the log.

I came across it while actively making adjustments to my router and mail server to ensure that reverse DNS lookups were being done and I could instantly see the changes in the mail server logs by using Tail Ace.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Exchange 2007 Live

After some interesting learning we now have Exchange 2007 on Server 2008 live and running and we're happy with it. As I've mentioned before, there is a surprising amount of command line. Even the GUI interface displays what the equivalent command line code is to execute a given task, it's almost as though MS is pointing us in the direction for future products. It's that or they're incredibly far behind on implementing a full set of GUI tools for administering Exchange.

IIS is quite a lot changed too as the layout will be quite unfamiliar to most who are coming from IIS 6 (this is now v. 7.0). It actually reminds me of the UNIX/Linux GUI Webmin for administering Apache.hero_hhh-28.jpg

With that said, we're becoming comfortable administering the combination now and it's pretty tidy. One issue that cropped up today which I'm not finding an immediate answer is that my Mac Entourage users reported a 'not connected' status. No amount of client reconfiguration or toggling online/offline brought it back. After hours I restarted the server (there were a couple of minor patches too, though they didn't require reboot) and the clients were up and running again afterward. Next time I'll take a closer look at the logs and see if I can restart part of the Exchange services instead of bouncing the whole server.

We added our first couple of users late last week and they like the web interface somewhat better but not noticeably. More important to us was bringing 'Outlook Anywhere' online so we could give them the full Outlook experience without having to do a VPN to let them use the default MAPI connection. Getting OA running was a little bit of a kludge since there are some well-reported bugs with the Server 2008 implementation of IPV6 and it bombs out on a single server deployment. I guess it works fine on installations with multiple Exchange servers (separate mailbox/hub/client access configurations). Maybe this is why Small Business Server has yet to arrive with Server 2008?

Also desired for this was the Exchange ActiveSync. We brought the first iPhone online Friday morning using the new iPhone software with the built-in Exchange ActiveSync client. It was super easy to configure and it's fast and smooth. It's really a much nicer user experience than anything I've seen on a Windows/Palm-based device--it's actually functional and it's easy to get the contents of the subfolders. There are also some device management options inside of Exchange for wiping and disabling cameras and such. I've not tested these yet but it's far less granular than what RIM offers. I don't expect to see hyper-managed organizations deploying ActiveSync-based devices in the near future. As a mobile device goes, it's going to take quite a product to beat the iPhone however. A portion of the appeal is with the new 'App Store'. I believe a big part of Apple's success comes from a great user experience and making the user feel involved in the way the product works, such as adding applications and customizing the layout and feel. While there are more applications for RIM products and MS-based devices, the delivery of them is haphazard and the quality control isn't there. Some people bemoan Apple for requiring developers to sell their wares through Apple's App Store but as someone who has seen, used, and tried to support various poorly-written RIM and MS handheld applications, I appreciate Apple's approach.

In sum, it was a steep learning curve in getting familiar with Server 2008 and Exchange 2007 but we like it a lot. It's still foreign compared to the previous iterations but I think we'll be as or more comfortable in the next few months. The elegance of operation and peace of mind of knowing you're on the current version make the learning curve well worthwhile.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

How to Send Text Messages for Free Using Your iPhone

How to Send Text Messages for Free Using Your iPhone: "Thanks to your iPhone's new-found ability to run native apps, you're chatting for free using your AIM account. But if your friends don't have AIM on their phones, you're stuck sending (and paying for) text messages. Use this quick hack to configure your AIM client to send free messages to anyone with a mobile phone -- from your iPhone or from your desktop.
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(Via Clippings.)

Friday, July 11, 2008

YouTube Phenom On Dancing Badly The World Over

I'm really not sure how this pertains to much but then again maybe it's community which ties back to some of my early posts. Matt Harding travelled the world and met with danced with people all over. The dancing is entertaining but the sense of a worldwide network of friends is pretty neat. Be sure to read the whole NPR interview after watching the video.

YouTube Phenom On Dancing Badly The World Over: "

Matt Harding has gained a cult following for his videos of himself in various places around the world, dancing badly. Over 20,000 fans sent him invitations to dance with them in their hometowns. His latest video, of communal bad dancing, got more than 3 million YouTube views its first week up.

» E-Mail This'''' » Add to Del.icio.us

"


Thursday, July 10, 2008

Viewing RSS

As you may already know, I'm a big fan of RSS for many purposes but most particularly, for getting updates on articles I'm interested in. It's a powerful tool and is pretty elegant. I've been using the native RSS reader in my web browser for the last few years but it's become kind of buggy lately and the discussion boards have various theories and quasi-solutions for fixing it. The issue is that the browser feeds seem to quit auto-refereshing after I've been logged in for a while or they'll show that there's a new article and there isn't. I've also found my bookmark list to be getting overly complicated. So I'm delving back into using a dedicated news reader. I'm trying out NetNewsWire, which is now free. It's a little easier to organize my bookmarks but the killer feature with it is that it uses the NewsGator service (which is free) to synchronize your RSS feed lists. It also has a web interface and a mobile web interface designed specifically for the iPhone/iPod Touch. I'm only into it a day but so far so good.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Four Qualities of a Top Performing IT Department

Four Qualities of a Top Performing IT Department: "

A new study by the Hackett Group contends there are four characteristics that link the solid financial performance of companies to how efficiently their IT departments run.


read more

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(Via Clippings.)

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Photoshop and Retouching Eyes

Layers Magazine has a nice tutorial on a little nip-tuck with Photoshop in retouching eyes.

Help the Help Desk

In nearly all organizations the Help Desk is the one with the bad rap but they do most of the grunt work and initial diagnosis. It's rare to have good retention and many people look at it as the stepping stone to other IT jobs but if it's within your real of responsibility, you can certainly make it a better partner in the organization. TechRepublic just posted a great blog entry on things you can do to help your help desk.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Ride the World's Best Motorcycle Roads

Admittedly I think I've missed out on some of the NorCal roads but I'll have to check them out. I do have some favorites that aren't on here, such has Highway 4 over Ebbett's Pass, particularly going up from Markleeville, CA. Look out for the minivans around blind corners but it's outstanding--technical, steep, and pretty. Sonora Pass, Highway 108 is also amazing. Going East - West is my favorite approach but it's all great. Highway 128 from Cloverdale to Highway 1 is a nice road--smooth and technical. Highway 49 most any stretch would be great if it weren't so packed with cars and cops, it's really a great highway but it's also really hot in the summer.

Ride the World's Best Motorcycle Roads: "Anyone who's spent any time on a motorcycle has a favorite road. Here are some of ours. Tell us some of yours.

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(Via Clippings.)

Shifting Careers: More Résumés Going Virtual

David Pogue mentions a web site called Visual CV which hosts audio/video and interactive resumes.

Shifting Careers: More Résumés Going Virtual: "The recruiting firm, Heidrick and Struggles, started a new Web site that allows users to create and post online multimedia résumés and network for free.

"



(Via Clippings.)

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Beefing up your Phishing net

Beefing up your Phishing net: "

Filed under:

Phishers -- in their sinister attempts to bilk you out of your time, money, and personal information with bogus emails -- are becoming more and more clever. Luckily, with a little critical thinking and up-to-date software, you can keep yourself safe.


Typically, to avoid falling victim to phishing, check the URL that the email is asking you to click. Does it look right? One popular façade for phishing attempts is PayPal, and there's a new technique that makes it look like the request is coming, securely, from paypal.com. For the technical among us, it exploits a flaw in one of PayPal's screens that allows a phisher to include a redirect URL in an address that begins with https://www.paypal.com. Sneaky. Thankfully, Firefox blocks it on the rebound.


Also, emails that ask you to verify or enter account information (that you've already entered) have a high degree of poopiness about them. Reader Allan noted that because Apple is in the process of switching people to Mobile Me, some phishers are using the confusion to send people emails asking them to enter new billing information for the new service. That, of course, isn't necessary, and if you get that kind of email, you should delete it.


Another good way to protect yourself is to use an up-to-date browser. Firefox includes protection against known phishing sites, and warns you about them before letting you proceed. Safari, currently, does not, but 1Password does, and it works seamlessly with Safari. Installing one of these options is especially important for parents and grandparents that may not be as familiar with these attacks as their kids.


Lastly, there's a great overview at macphishingprotection.com, which notes, 'Phishers win even if you make only one mistake.' Truer words never spoken.


Thanks, Allan, Fernando and Aviv for the heads-up!

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"



(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

More on Exchange 2007

So the saga continues on Exchange 2007. After building the first server and getting it pretty close to being finished we decided to change the holding company's name and I thought it best to do the same with the domain name and I felt better about rebuilding all the servers than changing them in AD and Exchange.

With that said, the new server is online, receiving and sending mail for test accounts and running through a Vircom ModusGate mail gateway appliance. They use their own proprietary engine (as opposed to most of the others which use the SpamAssassin open source engine. I've personally done a lot of work with hand-built Linux boxes running SpamAssassin but in this instance I wanted to go with a low-manitenance, company-supported product that just about anyone can pick up and maintain. It uses Windows Server 2003 as the OS with their proprietary mail engine. It also has the now fashionable mailboxes that quarantine the mail. This is an area that's weak in the open-source world as most system administrators who build SpamAssassin based systems unless you're willing to roll your own.

Anyhow, next thing will be to get the auto-configure for the client going, then the Outlook Anywhere as I'll probably configure most of the clients to work that way.

Good resource at this blog, BTW.... here and here.

Windows Can't Display the Update Page

I've seen this a couple of times... Windows XP and you go to manually run Microsoft or Windows Update and it comes back to a screen saying: "The website has encountered a problem and cannot display the page you are trying to view. The options provided below might help you solve the problem." and it seems like you can't do anything about it. Microsoft does have a Knowledge Base article addressing it and it's worked for me every time. It seems that once you do the fix the problem disappears forever (in my experience). Here's the Microsoft article. There's an additional reference to a similar behaving problem here.

Get Started Building Websites With Django

Get Started Building Websites With Django: "Django is sweet music to the ears of many a Webmonkey who want to build websites quickly and cleanly. The speedy web framework is responsible for such websites as Pownce.com and WashingtonPost.com. Making a website with Django is easy, and we'll show you how in this tutorial.

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(Via Clippings.)