Author: Matthew

  • Quote of the Week: Psalm 8:1

    “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” — Psalm 8:1

  • Willy Gates and the e-mail factory

    It’s not my intention to bash Microsoft with this post, but what I just experienced is so ridiculous I have to blog about it.

    I recently downloaded Microsoft’s free version of Visual C# 2005 and a few days later, began being harassed by a tiny balloon which would pop up every half-hour or so reminding me that I needed to register within 30 days or I wouldn’t be able to use the software anymore. Okay, fine, I bit the bullet and decided to register.

    The first page I encountered required me to sign up for Microsoft Passport. But wait, I thought Passport was dead? And why force me to sign up just to register my software?

    Continuing on, I received a confirmation e-mail for my Passport registration. I also received an e-mail requesting that I verify my e-mail address by clicking on a link, which I did.

    In the meantime, I had finally gotten to the Visual C# registration page and had entered in my information. Clicking save resulted in another e-mail in my box, asking me to confirm that my e-mail address is correct. But wait, didn’t I do this already? Oh yeah, that was just for Passport. Don’t bother sharing information between applications, guys. Sheesh.

    After receiving confirmation for my Visual C# registration, I had received a total of four… yes four… e-mails after registering a single product.

    Does it really have to be this way?

  • Quote of the Week: Bruce Barton

    “Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.” — Bruce Barton

  • Distance education workshop at this year’s NCHE convention

    I’m excited to announce that I’ll be giving a workshop on distance education at this year’s NCHE conference. (NCHE stands for North Carolinians for Home Education; my brother and I were both home schooled K-12 and were members of the group at one point.)

    The workshop is titled “Distance Education: An Alternative to Traditional College.” In it, I’ll be sharing the story of my own experience earning a four-year degree in Computer Science via distance education. I’ll also be sharing the many benefits distance education offers over traditional college, as well as providing some pragmatic steps that parents and high schoolers can take to find a good distance education program and succeed in it.

    My reason for posting is two-fold. First, I want to let you, my readers, know about the conference in case some of you might want to attend. For a description of the workshop and more information about the conference, visit the conference web page.

    Second, and most importantly, I plan on sharing the URL of my blog during the workshop so folks can visit, ask any follow-up questions that they might have, and possibly even use a discussion board (I’m considering adding one to this site). I’ll be continuing to post about distance education and its role in today’s economy over the next few months for those who are interested in the topic.

    If anyone has any immediate questions or comments, feel free to post a comment here. I’d also enjoy hearing from you if you plan on attending any workshops at this year’s conference.

  • No more Rover when searching

    For months, I’ve been annoyed by that little dog, Rover, that appears when performing a file search in Windows XP. He’s slow, he’s cute, and I just want him to go away. Fortunately, I found out how to send him packing back to the doghouse today. Click on “Change Preferences” in the search sidebar, then click “Without An Animated Character.” Rover will obligingly leave.

    Why Microsoft would choose to set up Rover as the default search character in an operating system they call Windows XP Professional is beyond me.

  • Quote of the Week: Paul Johnson

    “My idea of being rich — or at least of feeling rich — is to have no debts, mortgage, or overdraft and to be able to pay all bills by return post. This may seem a fairly modest ambition, but if everyone in the West were in this position our societies would indeed merit the term affluent, and the world would be a much happier place.” — Paul Johnson, British historian and author

  • Lottery Tickets

    I live in North Carolina and our new state-sponsored gambling program… I mean, our new lottery… opens today. At work, I’ve already overheard several hallway conversations in which lottery ticket purchases were mentioned. For my fellow North Carolinians who are considering a purchase, just remember that a dollar can buy you a tasty hamburger at McDonald’s. Oh, and burning your money will at least keep you warm.

    “Common sense is just as good a critic of the lottery as any statistical breakdown.” — Hunter Baker

  • Quote of the Week: Wendy Kay Donnahoo

    “Motherhood will never be an Olympic event: they don’t feature extreme sports.” — Wendy Kay Donnahoo

  • The Torn-Up Credit Card Application

    A visual and textual warning to those of us who toss our junk mail out without properly mangling it.

  • Quote of the Week: Thomas Paine

    “Better fare hard with good men than feast it with bad.” — Thomas Paine