"Mac is for pussies that want their computers to just plug in and work.
Windows is for people that want to curse out their computers on a regular basis.
Linux is for people that want to make their computers their lifemates."  ~Unknown tech support

Way back when I was just a lowly undergrad learning about 1's and 0's, I remember reading a tech article about how everybody would be a programmer by 2010.  They would have to, technology was getting more and more complex and the end user would have to keep up or be left behind.  It put a little quail of fear deep in my stomach.  Was my chosen field about to become obsolete?   Did I once again manage to find something uber cool right on the tail-end of it's ride?  Actually I had, but it wasn't the end I was expecting.  I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a newly minted Bachelor of Science in Business in Management of Information Systems in June of 2001.  Yes, that's right, a year after the dot com bust.  In the intervening years I've avidly watched for the dreaded obsolescence.  Thankfully, I work for the Federal Government where obsolescence is unheard of.  Still, I look around wondering where all the regular user programmers are and what happened to them.  My answer?  Apple killed them dead.

Now before all you Apple fangirls start sharpening your pitchforks, here me out.  Apple makes a beautiful product.  It's simple, it's easy, it just works.  There is very little worry about virii, malware, all of the things that Windows users have to worry about and Linux users send to the Windows users to get them to switch.  It's a great product for those that can't be hassled to learn about the piece of technology that is slowly encroaching on every aspect their life.  The problem with that, is there is a larger and larger population that suddenly can't even figure out how to install a piece of software if it doesn't come from an app store.

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I travel a lot for work.  I've gone from Washington DC to Wisconsin to Kolkata, India.  I can and have lived out of a suitcase for 6 months.  When you travel like I do, you learn quickly that the are some serious essentials.  If you've got a travel geek on your Christmas list, here are some awesome gifts to consider.

With the economy crunching, airlines are scrimping as much as they can.  This means things like food, and even entertainment is going away.  Even if you have entertainment, it might not be what you're looking for.  Mp3 players with video, netbooks and even laptops can all have video capabilities.  Who wants to hold a iPhone or Creative Zen for a two and a half hour movie?  That's where the Gorillamobile comes in.  The Gorillamobile by Joby is a flexible tripod that can attach to smart phones, iPods and mp3 players.  This is great as it means you can hook your mp3 player to just the right spot in order to get the best viewing angle to catch up on The Big Bang Theory.

Lots of people talk about noise reducing headphones.  They work awesome, but are extremely expensive and often don't work if your battery dies mid flight.  I've found that a set of in ear headphones can have the same effect, minus the batteries.  Especially Skullcandy earbuds .  These things work so much better than the expensive Sony's I bought a few years ago at filtering out the noise.  Best yet?  The Ink'd are only 21.99.

Western Europe and North America is gifted with good clean water that can be drank for free right out of the tap.  Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn't so blessed.  This is where the Katadyn Water Filtration Bottle comes into play.  As someone that's had giardia and other water born nasties, this is perfect for both business and pleasure, taking out 99% of the nasties that can make any trip painful.

Pashminas were all the rage back in the early '00s and there have been a plethora of knock offs.  While a 100% pashmina wool shawl is close to 400 dollars, you can get imitations that work just as well.  The point is to have something that doubles as a blanket and is light and easy to pack.  A Pashmina shawl is large, folds down to easily be put into a carry on or laptop bag and will keep the travel warm and fashionable at the same time.

Last but not least are two gifts that work both inside and outside an airport.  Power is a the bane of most travellers existence.  No matter what TV would have you believe, laptop aren't powered but nuclear fission and therefore need to be plugged in from time to time.  If you're lucky enough to have power in economy (and seatguru.com is an awesome place to go to find out if you will or not) you'll more than likely need an adapter.  Which is something else to stuff in your already overfilled carry-on.  If you don't have power?  You're relying on your laptop battery to last long enough to stay caught up on Being Erica.  So, I offer two last gifts.  One is a ThermaPAK laptop cooling pad that is self cooling, takes no power, and will prolong battery life by keeping the battery cool with the rest of your laptop.  The other is a universal power adapter.  Just in case you get one of those coveted seats in economy or are lucky to fly business.  Bonus is that most of them will work in a car as well for those long car trips.

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The Holiday Season is upon us.  As the decorations come out and the food is prepared, there are a few things to remember when it comes to that special furry person in your life:

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

There are a surprising number of holiday plants that are poisonous to animals.  Two of the worst are poinsettias and holly.  Both can cause diarrhea, coma and death.  Not exactly the way anyone wants to spend the holidays.  Another plant common in homes is mistletoe which can also cause heartbreak and tears instead of fun and excitement this holiday season.  If you still want plants, because why not they've been know to boost moods and make everything festive, think about getting a pet friendly bouquet from ASPCA.org or get silk or plastic plants.

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

Who doesn't have stories of cats and Christmas trees?  I know I do and my two don't even climb it.  Cats especially, love the bright, shiny and it's important to remember a few things.  First?  Dude, take it from me and put only the ornaments you never want to see again on the bottom of the tree.  Cats and dogs, love to investigate and aren't above making just about anything into a toy.  In the same vein, careful with the breakable ornaments as when they break they could cut little paws that are investigating what just happened.  Tinsel is another thing to be careful of, especially if you have cats.  They love batting around and carrying they're toys and tinsel can get stuck in their throats and intestines.  Always watch the tree to make sure your little darlings haven't decided to use it as a ladder.

Sugarplums and Candycanes

Pretty much everybody knows not to give our furry loved ones chocolate or anything sweetened with xylitol.  Of course, that doesn't stop dogs and cats a like from finding ways to eat what they shouldn't.  The most surprising was onions, chives and garlic.  Things that are found in just about everything.  Now before you panic, especially if you see it on your animal's food, this is a cumulative thing.  The tiny amount that's found in pet food won't do harm, but you should try and avoid giving them table scraps.  I know, trust me, it's hard to say no when you have a very determined cat between you and the fork, determined to say I can haz dat, rite?  

In the long run, it's better to have them abstain.

Though it's been said, many times many ways...

One last piece of advice.  Don't step on your ferret.  It always ends badly.

Happy Holidays!

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The show chronicles the lives of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, a verifiable genius with more than a few quirks, and his long suffering roommate Dr. Leonard Hoffstader. 

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While wandering around the different sites and looking for just the perfect centerpiece and crucifix for my friend, I discovered something.  Something that, while I had noticed when making prayer beads for my pagan friend, I hadn't really had much time to research.  The Rosary is not the be all and end all of prayer beads.  Prayer beads in general have one thing in common.  They are used as a focus on prayer or meditation.  Most often to keep track of the number of prayers you are saying.

The Muslim prayer beads, called Misbaha, are often in sets of 33, or 99, are a tool used during a dhikr or a glorification of God after regular prayer.  They are most often made of wood, but can be made from just about anything, including olive wood, stone, plastic, metal, etc.  In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, one would use a Chotki, which is a prayer rope knotted in 33, 50 or 100 knots, often with a bead marking 25 knots if it's length is longer than 33 knots, although you can find them made with beads instead of knots.  One would use them in conjunction with the Jesus Prayer. Prayer beads are not used exclusively with Abrahamic religions, either.  Buddhists also use a set of beads called Mala to help them keep track of their chants, much like the common Roman Catholic Dominican Rosary is to help keep track of the Ave Maria and Pater Noster said during it's recitation.

Possibly the coolest variation of a traditional rosary that I found was called the Irish Penal rosary.  Designed so that the Rosary could be said in secret, it is a single decade rosary that is not round but straight.  The cross is long and narrow, perfect for hiding up a sleeve and there's a ring at the end, so that you can slide it from finger to finger to make sure you didn't lose track as you went about your day.  There have been many variations on the original concept, and they're just super cool design-wise with the large, simple ring and the long, unusual cross.

The one that fascinated me the most was the Rosary of the Dead.  This Rosary looks similar to it's Dominican sister but with a wholly different purpose.  The Rosary for the Dead is just what it claims, it's a meditation and prayer for those who have died that they may enter heaven.  When I was researching it, I discovered that I had been doing this rosary for years and not even known it.  I have had the unfortunate experience of going to quite a few funerals, and at the grave site there was always the priest that led the prayers and everyone responding "And let the perpetual light (mumble, something, mumble)"  Ok, they knew what they were saying but I had no clue and mumbled along.  Having found the actual prayers that go along with the rosary, I now know they were saying "And let the perpetual light shine upon him/her."  The belief behind it is that the 40 beads, as this rosary is made with 4 decades instead of the usual 5, represents the 40 hours that Jesus spent in purgatory or limbo. 

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Pirate.  Depending on you look it brings up images of Jack Sparrow and Captain Hook or four dorky looking guys in Sweden.  Or maybe bands of murderers in Somalia.  Either way the point is that piracy exists and it's illegal, but is it the end of the world as we know it, like the media conglomerates would have us believe?

The answer is yes and no.  Certainly the large pirate systems like in Russia and China aren't helping and they should be the real targets of the MPAA and the RIAA.  Unfortunately, due to the obvious fact that those operations are in Russia and China and not in the US where the RIAA and MPAA have bought off enough politicians can force them to shut down, the piracy continues.  It's definitely hurting their bottom line and anything that hurts the bottom line of the mega media conglomerates usually ends up being bad for us geeks.

But wait, didn't I say yes and no? 

I did, and it's the no that I really want to talk about.  Here's the thing, what most companies want is viral marketing.  The whole word of mouth phenomenon that made My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Sixth Sense such a run away hits at the box office.  They want everyone and their sister talking about movies, music and all the things, that lets face it, we'd be talking about anyway.  This usually isn't a problem for mainstream shows.  Shows like Grey's Anatomy and Law and Order already have a good fanbase and people talk about them all the time.  Hell, the industry talks about them all the time.  Someone in Grey's sneezed, we totally have to talk about it.  That's a great thing, since that means that those shows get advertisers and time and bigger budgets and better writers and well, you see where I'm going with this, even if you happen to hate the show. 

Where this is a problem are what the networks and the industry call "genre shows."  Those a the ones like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, and Firefly.  They're the quirky shows that are awesome but probably are not going to generate mainstream appeal.  Unfortunately for us geeks, that's most of the shows we watch.  This is a problem as networks that create the shows, not to be confused with the networks that air them as they're two totally different entities, are leery of genre shows in an already iffy market.  If a show has been "green lighted" so to speak it might only get twelve episodes to prove itself worthy.  That can be difficult when the creator doesn't know if they'll be getting another season or hell even another four or five episodes to create.  So how do you generate a buzz when you have a production company that's leery, a television network that's leery, but the creator thinks this is the next greatest thing since sliced bread?

That's where the piracy comes into play.  Back when Dr. Who and Battlestar Galatica were resurrected and brought back to the small screen, it was only being shown in England.  This is because of marketing and rights and all that.  Fans of the show in England were raving about them, about how awesome and cool they were and like all good fangirls, the fangirls in the US and else where in the world said "gimme!"  The English fangirls did just that, bless their fangirl hearts, using technology like bittorrent, sendspace and plain old DVD creation.  They send over the product so the fangirls overseas could salivate. 

 And what happened when those shows finally did air in the US?  They had the highest ratings of any show on the Sci-Fi channel ever.  They were huge hits because the fangirls knew what the product was, but instead of watching in on their computer screens this time they could watch it on their huge (or not so huge -- that entirely seems to depend on if there's a man present in a house) television screens.  They wanted to support the show that they already loved and so watched and made sure the ratings were good.  Dr. Who and Battlestar Galatica are only the start of this phenomenon.  Torchwood had similar results as well.  Going the other direction, Supernatural has had some stellar ratings when it's finally aired overseas because of US fangirls sharing out the content.

All of this is great, but there is a definite danger to downloading content off the Internet.  The production companies right now don't seem to be correlating the data between downloads and ratings.  Or if they are, they're not saying anything.  Why?  Mostly because of how trademark and copyright is in the US.  They have to fight to protect their copyright and trademark or lose them.  That would be bad on many different levels, no matter what the average fangirl thinks.  So of course, they're going to go after piracy.  Also, don't forget there are very very large operations outside the US, where copyright laws are vastly different and it's much more of a gray area.  By going after the users, they're hoping to stop the producers.  Which is all well and good but not helpful.

Still, things are looking up.  There's been a rash of legal sites going up over the last few years that give access to shows and extra content.  Right now most of them seem to be country specific, meaning that the CW doesn't allow you to come into their site without an US based IP address.  This also pertains to Amazon.com and iTunes.  Both of those companies, while they allow you to download your fix, won't allowed you to do so if you're overseas.  Which, coming from someone that's a US citizen that usually works overseas, sucks big donkey balls.  The reason is pretty basic.  Overseas downloads don't count toward ratings and it's ratings that advertisers like to see.  More advertisers, more money from the network that's airing it, which means more money for the production company that's producing it.  Since advertisers are usually different overseas, the US advertisers don't really care how popular Chuck is in Spain.

Chin up though, this is a step up from where we were just four years ago.  With the economy spinning, we might just see more innovation as the major production companies and networks struggle to keep their businesses alive.  Here's hoping to the day that everyone can get the show they want, when they want it, regardless of the country.

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