Be afraid, Be very afraid!

Who said it?

1) "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

A. Karl Marx
B. Adolph Hitler
C. Joseph Stalin
D. None of the above


2) "It's time for a new beginning, for an end to government of the few, by the few, and for the few...... And to replace it with shared responsibility for shared prosperity."

A. Lenin
B. Mussolini
C. Idi Amin
D. None of the Above


3) "(We) ...can't just let business as usual go on, and that means something has to be taken away from some people."

A. Nikita Khrushev
B. Josef Goebbels
C. Boris Yeltsin
D. None of the above


4) "We have to build a political consensus and that requires people to give up a little bit of their own ... in order to create this common ground."

A. Mao Tse Dung
B. Hugo Chavez
C. Kim Jong Il
D. None of the above


5) "I certainly think the free-market has failed."

A. Karl Marx
B. Lenin
C. Molotov
D. None of the above


6) "I think it's time to send a clear message to what has become the most profitable sector in (the) entire economy that they are being watched."

A. Pinochet
B. Milosevic
C. Saddam Hussein
D. None of the above


-------------------------------------------------------
The answer to all of the above quotes is D. None of the above - these statements were made by the same person:
(1) Hillary Clinton 6/29/2004
(2) Hillary Clinton 5/29/2007
(3) Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(4) Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(5) Hillary Clinton 6/4/2007
(6) Hillary Clinton 9/2/2005

Playon vs TVersity

I have been a Playon customer since their early inception as an alternative to cable TV but now I have switched to TVersity. Playon and TVersity are basically web content retransmitters. They are server software programs that reside on an internet PC Windows computer and plays, on demand, web video content from such sources as Hulu, CBS and YouTube (amongst others) onto your other intranet systems such as Xbox, PS3, Wii, Itouch and Microsoft Windows Media Center devices.

Verses

Web retransmitters are a difficult application to create and update because systems like Playon and TVersity must rely on other sources for programming which may or may not approve of their redistribution methods. Web video sources by nature are constantly changing sites and technologies which means Playon and TVersity must be flexiblily written or needs frequent updates. Additionally the host computer where Playon and TVersity run on must be on for the other devices to be able to access the AV content.

Recently Playon has been getting more complex and difficult with, in my experiences, more frequent lockups. Playon uses plugins to allow users to customize the sources of video material. The user relies on Playon to provide a directory like structure to select the source content. Additionally, Playon has begun to withhold otherwise free internet content for a monthly premium charge. This completely defeated my intended use and purpose for using Playon.

I found out about TVersity in a Playon forum where there were multiple similar complaints to what I was experiencing with Playon but there were no answers beyond the users network connection was at fault. TVersity has a windows based interface that allows users to select the internet program content and make it available to all of the intranet connected devices. This gives me the freedom to put into a 'playlist' most any programming I desire. Additionally it has hooks into the subscription components of Hulu and Youtube which are then automatically updated.

Another very cool part of TVersity is it's ability to stream to my Itouch or any wireless mobile device with a browser. This means I can also watch on demand my playlist of Internet programs anywhere within my home wireless operates.

My TV

My television has evolved in amazing and wondrous ways over the past 50 years and is still continuing to change and grow.

Black and White
- As a kid in the 60's, I remember having and watching only black and white television

Color
- In the 70's As a teen we got a color console television

Cable
- Cable gave us much more choices including Music Television (MTV) and Cable News Network (CNN)

Laser Disk
- We got a large record (LP) size laser disk video player. There were only a few models and movies but video recorders were still basically reel to reel. (Not consumer friendly)

Video Cassette Recorder (VCR)
- Video tape saw the battle of the Beta Max (Sony) verses the VCR format.

Big Screen TV
- Large screen televisions and rear project screen consoles were big in the 90's

Digital Video Disk (DVD)
- After the advent of CDs the video form shortly became available and popular eventually replacing VCR

Tivo
- First commercial digital recorder. (Many of the innovations came from computer hobbyists)

Digital Television
- After floundering for many years the FCC finally set some standards and DTV took off.

High Definition
- Regular NTSC TV was about 704 dots x 480 lines. Higher Definition standardized on 1280 dots x 720 lines and 1920 dots by 1080 lines. (Computer pixels similar to television resolution)

Blue Ray
- I am still not sure this will succeed or go the way of Beta Max but Sony has created a High Definition DVD

Flat Screen Television
- Eliminating the original Cathode Ray (picture) Tube (CRT) using Plasma, LCD and LED instead

Internet
- Hulu - 2nd hand television on the web
- Playon - play hulu and other internet media on your TV through your Xbox or Playstation
- Netflix - Replaced Blockbuster stores with online downloadable movie rentals on your TV through our Xbox or Wii
- Amazon.com - buy your favorite movie or television show but Amazon keeps it online for you.

Future TV
- Will computer based television such as Microsoft's Media Center, Apple TV and the new Google TV finally eliminate traditional over the air TV and Cable? I hope so. My TV lets me watch what I want, when I want on what ever screen I have. (Flat Screen, PC or Hand Held Player like itouch). TV will be free (commercial based) for non first run content and buy or rent shows and movies.

Top 10 Science Fiction Series

I typically prefer realistic or hard core science fiction books series but a few others pseudo scifi such as fantasy and apocalyptic have fallen into my selection of my top 10 Science Fiction Series.

10) Philip Jose Farmer - Riverworld

This series of 5 epic post death adventures include To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971), The Fabulous Riverboat (1971), The Dark Design (1977), The Magic Labyrinth (1980) and Gods of Riverworld (1983)

9) Harry Harrison - Stainless Steel Rat

This series included The Stainless Steel Rat (1961), The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge (1970), The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World (1972), The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You (1978), The Stainless Steel Rat for President (1982), A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born (1985), The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted (1987), The Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat (1993), The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues (1994), The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell (1996), The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus (1999), The Stainless Steel Rat Returns (2010)

8) Frank Herbert - Dune

This series continues to grow and expand with multiple authors including (in story chronological order) Dune: Hunting Harkonnens, Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, Dune: Whipping Mek, Dune: The Machine Crusade, Dune: The Faces of a Martyr, Dune: The Battle of Corrin, Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, Dune: House Corrino, Paul of Dune, The Winds of Dune, Dune: A Whisper of Caladan Seas, Dune, The Winds of Dune, The Road to Dune, Dune Messiah, The Throne of Dune, Children of Dune, Leto of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Dune: Sea Child, Chapterhouse: Dune, Hunters of Dune, Dune: Treasure in the Sand, Sandworms of Dune

7) Dan Simmons - Hyperion

This series included Hyperion (1989), The Fall of Hyperion (1990), Endymion (1996), The Rise of Endymion (1997)

6) Arthur C. Clarke - 2001

Many of Arthur Clarke's early works are great and I enjoyed the Rama series but his most famous 2001: A Space Odyssey series was actually a short story before it became a feature length film. Then Clarke create this series including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), 2010: Odyssey Two (1982), 2061: Odyssey Three (1987), 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)

5) JRR Tolkien - Lord of the Rings

I thought it was cool that one of JRR Tolkien's closest friend was C.S. Lewis of The Chronicles of Narnia series. JRR Tolkien Ring Series has been expanded upon by several authors and include The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King

4) Isaac Asimov - Foundation

I love the Robot series and was intreged when Isaac Asimov merged the series into the Foundation series which includes Prelude to Foundation (1988), Forward the Foundation (1993), Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), Second Foundation (1953), Foundation's Edge (1982), Foundation and Earth (1986) and Foundation's Friends (1989)

3) Walter Miller - A Canticle for Leibowitz

Only 2 publications were released by Walter Miller but the story itself is epic and could be broken into multiple stories as the books have several periods of different stories. The series includes A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) and Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman (1997)

2) Fred Saberhagen - Berserker

The Berserker series is a cool array of short and novel stories that include Berserker (1967), Brother Assassin (1969),Berserker Wars (1981), Berserker Throne (1985), Berserker Blue Death (1985), Berserker Base (1985), Ultimate Enemy (1987), Berserker Attack (1987), Berserker's Planet (1991), Berserker Lies (1991), Berserker Man (1992), Berserker Kill (1993), Berserker Fury (1997), Shiva in Steel (1998), Berserker Star (2003), Berserker Prime (2003), Rogue Berserker (2005)

1) Larry Niven - Tales of Known Space

These series of books and stories include some repeating characters and locations and include The Coldest Place (1964), The World of Ptavvs (1965), Becalmed in Hell (1965), Eye of an Octopus (1966), The Warriors (1966), Neutron Star (1966), How the Heroes Die (1966), At the Core (1966), A Relic of the Empire (1966), At the Bottom of a Hole (1966), The Soft Weapon (1967), Flatlander (1967), The Ethics of Madness (1967), Safe at any Speed (1967), The Adults (1967), The Handicapped (1967), The Jigsaw Man (1967), Slowboat Cargo (1968), The Deceivers] (1968), Grendel (1968), There is a Tide (1968), World of Ptavvs (1968), A Gift From Earth (1968), Wait It Out (1968), The Organleggers (1968), Ringworld (1970), Cloak of Anarchy (1972), Protector (1973), The Defenseless Dead (1973), The Borderland of Sol (1975), ARM (1975), The Ringworld Engineers (1980), The Patchwork Girl (1980), Madness Has Its Place (1990), Procrustes (1994), Ghost (1994), The Woman in Del Rey Crater (1995), The Ringworld Throne (1996), Choosing Names (1998), Fly-By-Night (2002), Ringworld's Children (2004), The Hunting Park (2005), Fleet of Worlds (2007), Juggler of Worlds (2008), Destroyer of Worlds (2009)

Bad Star Trek Fan Film

As hard as it is for me to admit and confess, there are some bad Star Trek Fan Films out there. Take "A Tale of Two Galaxies" for example. These fans are trying but the costumes do not fit, the graphics are poor, acting unbelievable and the story of Darth Vader battling Star Trek characters is just silly.

I appreciate Star Trek (and even an occasional Star Wars) fan film efforts when there is something interesting and fun to show with quality and believability. This is not one of them.

Another bad film I am sorry to say is the latest release of the Star Trek New Voyages (now called Phase II for some reason). This episode "Blood and Fire" pushes a gay relationship right in our face. I am not anti gay but I also do not enjoy it being overly displayed. Even Kirk did not receive as much action as Kirk's nephew does in this fan film.

The Fan Film forum also seem intent in removing all discussions that reflect disappointment against the overly flaunted kissing and gay scenes. I can only hope that subsequent episodes are better presented.

Managers and Employees as Leaders

As a Manager by Occupation, I have found these concepts to be very helpful. I have experienced both as well as mixture of styles and expectations in various work environments.

Industrial Age Mangers	Information Age Mangers/Leaders
Manipulates or orders people around and waits to be told what to do	A leader takes risks and owns the outcome, runs interference for his/her leaders and subordinates
Doesn't rock the boat	Challenges the status quo and creates what is needed rather than complaining
Leads by law and not by example -- rules are for them, not me	(1) documents, (2) standardizes, (3) simplifies, (4) gets player buy in
I'm the boss -- they work for me	Supervisor works for the employees and clears stumbling blocks
Independent achiever -- was promoted because he/she was a star	Coaches team and cultivates supportive relationships to enhance group results
Daydreams about retirement package. Sometimes enjoys on-job retirement -- often their mind retires before their body leaves	Knows that the company and he/she has no guarantees
Commitment is good attendance or working longer hours	Requests commitment upstream and downline and role models it. Employees' well-being is emphasized not just the bottom line
Either wants to be liked or left alone	Is response-able (= able to respond) and willing to confront when appropriate

Recipe Heaven

I have recently found a great site that encourages participation in sharing, tagging, rating and finding great recipes. BigOven is more than a recipe site but includes social components that make it fun. It has a huge resource and well organized layout of recipes that is easily searchable by title, content, category, keywords and/or ingredients.

I added my Chicken Enchilada Recipe and have tried others. I have tagged many of my favorite that I have found simply by adding the ingredients I had on hand. I have commented and rated those I have tried and continue to enjoy the vast number of tasty and informative recipes available. I recommend trying it out and connecting to BigOven.com