Thursday, December 24, 2009

Desk Space: Stephen Peterson

OK, here we go. . .
  1. Who are you anyway?

  2. I am the founder of Crowned One Productions (which no longer exists) and the co-founder of Passing Through Productions.

  3. Pictures Please



  4. What's it's history?

  5. This desk was originally used for our old family computer, but when its hard drive failed, the family computer was moved upstairs, and I took my computers downstairs to this desk.

  6. What is your main occupation at your desk?

  7. I use my desk for the various computer things that I do (video editing, networking, computer repair, etc.).

  8. Describe the objects that we may (or may not) see in the pictures of your desk

  9. I have three monitors on my main desk, and a monitor off to the side (and yes, I use them all). That accounts for three different computers running at the same time.

  10. What do you really like (or dislike) about your desk and or it's location

  11. I like having space at my desk (though it's not always quiet, as I have siblings that like to come downstairs :P). However, it's not the ideal spot to broadcast our wireless network, but this is the spot that I have all our networking equipment (when I have a network server hooked up, it's down here too).

Sunday, November 29, 2009

More on Project Excalibur

Project Excalibur would be a social network for Nerds. Let me explain what I mean. A nerd is defined by Websters as someone who is socially dull. On the web, a nerd has been defined as someone who is obsessed with something real. This site is for such people. People who are "socially dull" (you just aren't really into frivolous talk, you'd rather do something more useful), and you are "obsessed" with something real. If this sounds Rebelutionary to you, then you’re right; it is.

This would be a site that rejects the low expectations that our culture places on teens and how they use technology and the internet. Particularly this site would address how teens use social networks. Project Excalibur should change the way you view social interaction on the net. It wouldn't be for meaningless chatter, but rather for interactions with a purpose. Whether that takes the form of casual talk (that results in the mutual edification) or the organizing of a project.

If this sounds like something you've been looking for or you'd like to help with the huge amount of refinement that needs to go in to this please contact me: Jackson@freedom836.com.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Desk Spaces

Hello, back to some real writing here.

Tech blogger (and relation of mine) Shawn Blanc has been doing a series of article on Sweet Mac Setups in which he has pictures and a short "Interview" about where, the why, and the how they use such a setup. I thought might be interesting to something similar on here,  not with mac or computer setups but with more universal and general desk setups. (Hence the title of this article.) So, I'm asking you my gentle readerto submit (via email) pictures and brief descriptions of you desk for publication here. (Or (one?) your workspace(s) if you don't have your own desk.)Questions to answer regarding you desk/workspace:
  1. Who are you anyway?  (A little bit about you, links to you blog/facebook/twitter/email, activities or sports that your involved in.  Really anything your want to say to the other 6 readers of this blog)
  2. Pictures Please (We'd like to see what your talking about)
  3. What's it's history? (i.e. family heirloom, picked up off the curb, when did you get it, et cetra)
  4. What is your main occupation at your desk? (School or Work, you may elaborate on this per your taste)
  5. Describe the objects that we may (or may not) see in the pictures of your desk.  (The purpose or each and it's reason for being there) 
  6. What do you really like (or dislike) about your desk and or it's location (I think that's self explanatory. . .)
OK, now that I'm done boring you (well, at least I hope the boredom ends here. . .) I'll share about my desk.

1) Who are you anyway?: I am the writer of this blog. A budget straped computer enthusiast, Editor, Webmaster, and Admin of the Freedom Fighters Newsletter and Blog, Web site, and Forum respectively.  A Rebelutionary and member of The Rebelution's Forum.  I have an account on Twitter, and can be contacted via email at: Jackson@Freedom836.com.  As to interests and activities I've layed those out in a previous post.


2) Pictures Please:









3) What's it's history?: This desk was from my grandparents (mom's side), the original top had a hole cut in to for use as a sewing desk, we got it, well before I can remember.  My dad made the current top some time not to long after we got it, but there were some finishing problems so it sat on the desk till last fall when we were de-cluttering for our move to Houston.  So, I was given the job of sanding and re-staining the top. After which it replaced our old ratty desk for the family computer.  The computer remained on it through last year while I also did school there till just before we started school here when it finally moved off.  Now I have my desk in my room and am enjoying it very much.  Soon I hope it will find it's complete fulfillment in holding my computer. :)  (I can see that empty expression coming over your face. . . ;)

4) What is your main occupation at your desk?: School is my main occupation at my desk, when I get me self a computer then that will be my second occupation. (I've got a '02ish HP laptop, just not a power supply for it. . .)

5) Describe the objects that we may (or may not) see in the pictures of your desk.: Well, on the left you see my alarm clock, some miscellaneous items, and some index cards for making Latin flash cards.  On the right are some papers for Latin reference. My camera's case and some pen's in various states of useubility.

6) What do you really like (or dislike) about your desk and or it's location: I like having my own space, particularly my own quiet space away from the noise of the rest of the house.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Browser Optimization? 3

OK, about double the data and still only minor trends have emerged with dominant browsers viewing my blog. But in case you really don't care I'm not putting the screen shot in to bore you. If you do care then you can see it here.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Browser Optimization? 2

OK, it's been 9 day's and I now have 6 times the data and I'm only a little bit closer on determining a browser to "optimize" for.



Safari on the Ipod? that's kinda cool. :)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Schedule and Priorities

I've been doing some thinking about my priorities and schedule lately and have decided to write this to share with my friends.

  • School (In not to much or an order)
    • Math
      • Algebra II (Finishing last 2/3 or so from last year.)
      • Geometry (Starting after Algebra II gets finished.)
    • Science
      • Biology (Two more Modules left.)
      • Chemistry (Started last week.)
    • Latin (Henle I)
    • Spanish
    • History
      • Reading "Living Books"
      • Writing
    • Spelling (I'm sure at least one of you is really thrilled at this ;)
    • Writing (IEW, more learning how to write than history writing)
    • Piano (I might be doing this myself, i.e. without a teacher)
    • Bible (Reading, and memorizing Romans)
    • Programing/Web Design (Part of school :)
      • JavaScript
      • Python (after JS)
      • PHP and/or mySQL (after Python)
  • Web Design (On my time, i.e. not school time and listed in an order)
    • Shock Force Hosting (A hosting business to make some money and provide hosting for the WDA)
    • The Web Designers Alliance (A group of web designers donating there talents to non-profits/charities et cetra. Not quite started yet. . .)
    • Project Excalibur (Probobly as part of the WDA?)
  • Homeschool conference? (I'm going to look in to helping with organizing the local convention)
  • Civil Air Patrol (Or CAP for short, need to get on the ball with this. . .)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

This is a Mobile post via SMS/Txt from my google voice number, what this is good for. . . I don't know :)

Friday, September 4, 2009

Browser Optimization?

Which browser should I optimize for?



Of course, I've only had three visitors from when I started using Google Analytics for my blog.

Monday, August 31, 2009

An Improvement To Online Shopping

Here is an image showing a theoretical construct of a more logical way to shop online, where instead of running searches (like on amazon.com) or browsing rather broad categorise (like bestbuy.com) you can gradually narrow down to what your looking for in a similar manner to how you would shop in a brick and mortar retailer. So without further ado:


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine

This is a MUST listen to video. I had to remind my self several times that he said this in 1961, not yesterday.


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Color Scheme Designer

Hey, I came accross this a couple of days ago and thought it was pretty usefull! So I decided to share! :)

Check it out: http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Project Excalibur

OK,  this is an Idea that's been mulling around in my head for a week or so. . .
 
Do you think that there is a need, or a "market" for a social network combining aspects of Facebook, (life sharing | getting to know people | the lighter side of life ) Twitter ( micro-blogging | status updates | link sharing | twitter.com ), and the various enterprises of 37signals (collaboration | contact management | file sharing | chat | 37signals.com )
 
Such a site could run on Elgg ( elgg.org ).

Friday, July 24, 2009

Nerd, Geek, or Dork which are you?

Found this today: http://thenerdtest.com/tnt/

After reading it I decided I really wasn't a Geek, just a Nerd. So I have changed the title of my blog! :)


Jackson

Monday, July 13, 2009

(X)HTML indenter

I have been working on developing a style (or theme) for phpBB and was encountering XHTML files that had no line breaks and indenting, so I did some searches and found: HTML Tidy Online (http://infohound.net/tidy/), you paste your unformatted code in the box, set the options (you don't have to change anything) and hit the green Tidy button in the bottom right. It gives you a page with warnings and errors about your XHTML, indicting weather or not it's valid code, you click the View Tidied HTML button in the top right and it gives you a page showing the tidied XHTML, select it all (ctrl+a), then copy and paste it over you old code!

Hope this helps someone out there!


Jackson

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

What are we To Hope for?


This is article two in a series of articles on Hope from which I hope I will get around to Faith and Love. If you haven't read the first part of this please go and do so now. In the first part we discussed what the definition of Hope was. Now we shall look at what we as Christians are to be hoping for. Lets start with Romans 5:2 [KJV NKJV NASB NLT] (With this reference as with others I have linked the reference it's self to an online copy of the verse on BibleGateway.com, the reference links to the NIV, the abbreviation's link to there respective versions) Any way the verse in the NIV goes as follows:



2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.


Did you catch that? we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. That's the first thing we are to hope in, the Glory of God. Next lets look at Psalms 119:74 [KJV NKJV NASB NLT]



74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.


The psalmist puts his hope in God's Word. Now we know from John 1:1 [KJV NKJV NASB NLT] that The Word is God, so when he says that he has put his Hope in God's Word, he has really but his hope in God. Next lets look at Titus 2:13 [KJV NKJV NASB NLT]



13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,


So, The Hope is also The "Blessed Hope", now what is this Blessed Hope hoping for? "the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,". Now what happens at "the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,"? Romans 8:23-24a [KJV NKJV NASB NLT] tells us:



23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved.


Did you catch that? We will be adopted as sons and our bodies will be redeemed. For in this hope we were saved! We are saved by hoping in what God is going to do. (There by believing that Christ died and made us holy so that we can be adopted as sons.)



So to summarize, we are to Hope for:


· The Glory of God


· God's Word


· The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.


· For our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.



As a final note about Hope: Isaiah 40:31 [KJV NKJV NASB NLT]:




31 but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.


They will soar on wings like eagles;


they will run and not grow weary,


they will walk and not be faint.




May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And may The Grace of The Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.



Saturday, July 4, 2009

The Decleration of Independance

I Honner of Independance Day or the 4th of July I decided to post the Decloration of independance, I beleive it serves as a excellent reminder of why The United States of America were founded. So with out further ado:
Declaration of Independence
(Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776)
The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America


When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.



We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.



He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.



He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:


For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.


He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.


He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.


He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.


He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.


He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.


In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.


Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.


We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Monday, June 29, 2009

intro to: what is Hope? & definition of Hope

intro



As I named my blog The Hope That Is Within I thought I should look up what exactly this Hope that we as Christians are to have, what I found rather surprised me and I thought would be useful to you. I am planing this to be the first post in a series going through not only what Hope is but also what Faith and Love are, and how these three things are related.



definition of Hope



Lets start with the definition of Hope, I found the most useful and in my opinion accurate definition in Webster's 1828 English Dictionary (A thank you goes to Sir Emeth Mimetes for a link to that dictionary) which defines it as follows:




HOPE, n. [L. cupio.]

  1. A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety.
    . . .

  2. Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises; a scriptural sense.
    A well founded scriptural hope,is, in our religion, the source of ineffable happiness.

  3. That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good. The hope of Israel is the Messiah.
    . . .

  4. An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty, but grounded on substantial evidence. The christian indulges a hope, that his sins are pardoned.



HOPE, v.i.

  1. To cherish a desire of food, with some expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.
    . . .

  2. To place confidence in; to trust in with confident expectation of good.
    . . .


. . .

Please note, I have removed other definitions that did not pertain to this discussion as well as have removed examples of the definitions that are here for space. You can see the full entry here.


I think that is a pretty good definition, so I will be going with it. If I accidentally variate from it please leave a comment telling me when and how.



I think that definition number 2 there is the one that would most apply to Biblical Hope or as I would say The Hope. As there is The God, or God, so also I would say that there is The Hope, or Hope. Now if you don't agree with that please continue reading and I think it will make sense.



final words for this post



Now, I have only gotten through the first two sections of this and I think that I have as much as people want to read at a sitting. Though I think that there are some other benefits to breaking up the posting of this which I have listed:



One it will give you the reader time to absorb the information and be better prepared to absorb the next article. While if I posted everything I had to say in one article you would probably take away about the same amount of information as you are now, maybe less, the difference being if it was one long article it would have had at least twice if not three or four time as much information. If I stagger the articles you (I am hoping) will be better able to absorb, process, and comment on what I am saying.



Two is that I will be better able to prepare the articles, making it worth your time to read what I am saying.



Tomarow I will bet in to what we are to Hope for, which will probobly be enough for it's own post by it's self, we'll see.



May The Grace of The Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.



Pixlr

I posted this in my other Blog yesterday:

This is about a web site I found recently, it goes by the name of pixlr (www.pixlr.com). It is a money free, registration free, add free, powerful online image editor. Sound to good to be true? It does to me. Any way thought I should share this with people, go check it out now, or just remember it for when you need to do some graphic editing that goes beyond what Microsoft Paint can do.

Jackson

Sunday, June 28, 2009

principus

This is my first post in my new blog! Ain't that exciting! ;)

The other day I had an interesting thought, it will do me no good to have the vast store of Knowledge and Ideas that I am gaining through my school and independent studies if I can't communicate what I know. I realize that the primary means of communication en masse is writing, there for I should learn to write if I want to communicate effectively to groups of people. Therefor, and there which, and because of the above stated reasons I decided to start a blog.

I have delayed several days in starting this because I was unable to think of a proper name for my Blog, I wanted it to reflect Who I was and What I was going to be saying. This morning I was on the Internet playing with some pictures with pixler (more on that excellent site later) and decided to try and think of a blog name, I decided on The Hope That Is
Within
, from 1 Peter 3:15 which paraphrased states: Always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within. I thought it would be appropriate because apologetics are an interest to me and more likely than not I will be posting (or is it called blogging?) about various topics that have more or less connection to The Defense of The Faith.

I will probably be expanding on this in the future, if you have any questions please ask them as a comment and I will and reply.

Jackson