Grégory Lemarchal 1983-2007

This past Monday, the world lost la voix d’un ange, the voice of an angel. At two weeks shy of his 24th birthday, Grégory lost his lifelong battle with Cystic Fibrosis while awaiting an organ transplant. He was a kind, gentle and generous soul and we were blessed to share in even just a few years of his talent. I imagine the choir in heaven sounds just a bit more beautiful now. You lived an inspirational life and fought the good fight; may you rest in peace, le petit prince.

Posted 03 May 2007 † Ethan § Music § News § People ‡ Comments (0) °

Fetchez la vache ! Quoi? Get the cow!

Stressed? Tense? Need a little unwind-time? Maybe you just need to throw some cows at something…..

(the preceding message has been brought to you by Monty Python’s The Holy Grail, Spamalot and The Knights Who Until Recently Said Ni)

Posted 20 March 2007 † Ethan § Culture § Humour ‡ Comments (1) °

WordPress, DreamHost, UTF-8 encoding and international characters

If you work on any WordPress blogs/sites that are written in any language that has accented characters and happen to be on DreamHost, you have probably noticed character encoding problems. For instance, the new auto-save feature in WordPress or the Ajax categories add field in the category list, can display improperly encoded characters.

If you are seeing things like Actualités, read on brave shared hoster… Continue Reading »

Posted 10 March 2007 † Ethan § Development § Web ‡ Comments (3) °

The Machine is Us

My inner geek thinks this is seriously brilliant.

We’ll need to rethink a few things…
We’ll need to rethink copyright
We’ll need to rethink authorship
We’ll need to rethink identity
We’ll need to rethink ethics
We’ll need to rethink aesthetics
We’ll need to rethink rhetorics
We’ll need to rethink governance
We’ll need to rethink privacy
We’ll need to rethink commerce
We’ll need to rethink love
We’ll need to rethink family
We’ll need to rethink ourselves.

Kudos to Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University. You may also download the complete transcript or windows media version.

Posted 04 March 2007 † Ethan § Culture § Film & Video § Technology § Web ‡ Comments (0) °

MySpace Blog Advanced Editor Error in Firefox/Mac

If you happen to work on MySpace blogs either personally (my seriously needing some attention personal page) or professionally (myspace marketing for clients), you have probably found some serious user issues with the blog editor (not that I would mean to imply that there is anything haphazard, unplanned or completely ineffective about the development of myspace and its tools).

If you are one of the enlightened now surfing in Firefox and, even better, on a Mac (or three), you are no doubt receiving the “Blog advanced editor can’t run on your current browser/OS. Hit ‘OK’ to change to plain text blog editor.” Without dealing with the fact that this sentence sounds like it was written by one of AOL’s outsourced customer service reps, I simply say “NO.” Tragic that a billion dollar company can’t be bothered to develop cross-platform/browser software (or simply integrate the open source FCKeditor or TinyMCE editors), but it is easy enough to fix. A great tool for Firefox is the User Agent Switcher. This tells websites that you are using, say, “Internet Explorer 6 (Windows XP)” instead of your beloved Firefox on a Mac. Once installed and selected, Myspace now presents me with their “advanced editor” that appears to work just fine in Firefox Mac. Maybe it’s a conspiracy. Maybe they (*gasp*) don’t like Macs. In any case, happy advanced MySpace blogging.

Posted 28 February 2007 † Ethan § Technology § Web ‡ Comments (2) °

Barack Obama AIM Buddy Icon

I chopped up the Obama’08 graphic into a new buddy icon for my meebo. A couple of people said they wanted it, so here you go…

btw, if you don’t use meebo yet, you should check it out.  It lets you use all of your AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger,  Google Talk, Jabber and ICQ instant message accounts all in one web interface from anywhere.  I travel a lot and people geographically prefer one provider over another and I don’t want 4 apps open just to see who is on.

UPDATE:  I have a new application on Facebook to support the Barack Obama Campaign.

Tags: , , ,

Posted 10 February 2007 † Ethan § Barack Obama § News § Politics ‡ Comments (3) °

Becoming a Non-Toxic Person

Becoming a Non-Toxic PersonAs someone who wants to continue to progress in self-actualization and the potential of who (and what) I was created to be, I found the following article to be very insightful, especially as I have found myself surrounded by some incredibly noxious individuals over the past several years. While I continue to recover and escape from the influence of negative/destructive/noxious personalities, I also remain vigilant for those traits to surface in new acquaintances or within myself.

How about you? What are your noxious people struggles? Continue Reading »

Posted 01 February 2007 † Ethan § Lifehacks ‡ Comments (1) °

NCO Financial Systems

Be sure to go and leave a comment at NCO Financial Systems at CallFerret Phone Number Lookup so that all of the new NCO phone numbers are available to people as soon as possible.

In case you are getting calls from the wonderful people at NCO Financial Systems. You should read some messages people have posted about this company. Apart from having to pay $1.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), there are also many many claims of state and federal violations of legislation like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

The company purchases old debt from people like your cellphone provider, hospitals and the government for pennies on the dollar and then tries to collect it. You may have even already paid the bill, like I had, but that is really a minor irrelevant point. The reality is, much if not most of this debt is so old noone has any obligation to repay any of it, least of all not to NCO. Many people have been harassed for debt belonging to neighbors, relatives, old residents of the same address, and co-workers. Don’t pay NCO a penny.

Continue Reading »

Posted 03 July 2006 † Ethan § News ‡ Comments (847) ° Tagged:

Do you own songs bought online? Well, sort of

In a recent article on Reuters, the author points out the limitations companies like Apple place on your online music downloads. Issues like limitation to Apple iPods, multiple computer use rights and CD burning.

Before people erroneously get the impression this issue is limited to Apple, there are a few points to consider:

You don’t own the songs on CD or the movies on DVD that you purchase from anywhere. You are purchasing the physical plastic disc and the Limited Right to listen to or watch but NOT reproduce what is recorded on it. In some cases, you are granted the right to make a single, personal, non-commercial backup/archival copy.

You’ve never been able to freely copy your vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes or CDs for any purpose. The issue is that with digital products, publishers have more technical ability to make you obey the law.

This is also true of any books, photographs or paintings you buy. You are purchasing the paper they are printed on or the canvas and paint, but you are not purchasing the rights to reproduce them in any form beyond limited non-commercial Fair Use.

Microsoft WMA is another popular audio format. However, WMA files do not play on all (most) devices either and you have limited ability and rights on duplicating or burning copies of these songs.

Real Networks (the Real Audio people) also made a big public stink about their songs not playing on iPods. Interestingly enough, though, is that if a manufacturer doesn’t pay Real Networks a licensing fee, your songs from Real won’t play on that device. Creative’s music players, for instance, cannot play Real’s songs. Real has similar, but slightly more restrictive, backup/burning limitations than Apple.

Napster offers a flat monthly fee service for all the music you want to download. Miss a payment or cancel your account and all of your music will stop working. Want to put those songs on your portable player? Most don’t support them, but you’d have to pay Napster $5 per month for the privilege. If you want to burn a song to a CD, you’ll have to pay Napster 99 cents more.

I think a lot of the DRM (Digital Rights Management) issues are counter-productive. They have been statistically shown to not influence the behaviour of people who will copy music and not pay for it. Research has also shown that people who download or copy music are much more likely to purchase that music legally than any other music user. Simply put, downloaders buy more legal music than you do (generally, a lot more). None of this changes the fact that companies like Apple are legally following the rules our lawmakers created. If you want to complain about Apple’s DRM (or any music label or movie studio), the real target should be our country’s outdated and outmoded Intellectual Property laws of copyright, trademark and patent.

Posted 15 May 2006 † Ethan § Apple § Music § News § Politics § Technology ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Did You Pay Your Internet Protection Payola?

Do you buy books online, use Google, or download to an Ipod? These activities will be hurt if Congress passes a radical law that gives giant corporations more control over the Internet.

Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. Amazon.com doesn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer. This is the equivalent of a protection racket of money paid so that organized crime leaves your business alone.

Politicians don’t think we are paying attention to this issue. Many of them take campaign checks from big telecom companies and are on the verge of selling out to people like AT&T’s CEO, who openly says, “The internet can’t be free.”

How will you be affected?

  • Nonprofits–A charity’s website could open at snail-speed, and online contributions could grind to a halt, if nonprofits can’t pay dominant Internet providers for access to "the fast lane" of Internet service.
  • Google users–Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer. 
  • Innovators with the "next big idea"–Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay Internet providers for dominant placing on the Web. The little guy will be left in the "slow lane" with inferior Internet service, unable to compete.
  • Ipod listeners–A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned. 
  • Online purchasers–Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices–distorting your choice as a consumer.
  • Small businesses and tele-commuters–When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won’t be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office.
  • Parents and retirees–Your choices as a consumer could be controlled by your Internet provider, steering you to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc.
  • Bloggers–Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips–silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.
  • Advocacy groups like MoveOn–Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their websites and online features to work correctly.

The free and open Internet is under seige–can you sign this petition letting your member of Congress know you support preserving Network Neutrality? Act Now to Save The Internet

Posted 21 April 2006 † Ethan § Business § News § Politics § Technology § Web ‡ Comments (0) °

Christians Sue over Tolerance

A senior at [tag]Georgia Tech[/tag] is suing the University for the right to be intolerant. I’m always amazed at how much effort certain [tag]Christians[/tag] can expend condemning others and defining new ways to form divisions between people. The excuse most often cited is ‘Holiness’ and the Greater Morality™. My concern is that I rarely meet someone of the “I’m standing up for what’s right” crowd that embodies much Grace.

Most believers I’ve met who came to faith through great loss and even greater brokenness are usually so consumed by [tag]Grace[/tag] that there is not much room left inside for Condemnation. If we are truly focusing on God’s calls to “Love our neighbor as ourself” and “Love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength” I believe there would be scant time left for moral posturing. I wonder what would happen if the world saw the Church actively loving the broken, the weak and the different instead of aggressively distancing itself. This kind of [tag]separatism[/tag] isn’t about [tag]morality[/tag] or holiness, it is about [tag]fear[/tag] and insecurity and [tag]doubt[/tag]. After all, if you’re looking for the true spirit of God and [tag]Christianity[/tag] do you look to Mother Teresa or to Jerry Falwell?

So Ruth, after you finish suing Georgia Tech and push the Church even farther out of reach of those in need, I hope that your happy little club is proud of you. I’m fairly sure God won’t be. The God of Scripture and history and my life wlll undoubtedly be just one more bit heartbroken.
[tags]Intolerance[/tags]

Posted 10 April 2006 † Ethan § Culture § Faith § News § Politics ‡ Comments (0) °

End the genocide in Darfur

http://www.savedarfur.org/images/logo_mvd.jpgAfter reflecting on the [tag]genocide[/tag] in [tag]Rwanda[/tag], the late Senator Paul Simon said: “If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different.”

During his first year in the White House, [tag]President Bush[/tag] wrote in the margins of a report on the Rwandan genocide, “Not on my watch.”

Since the beginning of the conflict in [tag]Darfur[/tag], an estimated 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million people have been displaced. Send President Bush a [tag]Save Darfur[/tag] postcard and remind him of his earlier sentiments to act now to stop the [tag]genocide in Darfur[/tag].

Posted 10 April 2006 † Ethan § News § Social Action ‡ Comments (0) °

Gratitude In My Pocket

In my pants, my wallet, my bookbag, even my Moleskine, there are little pieces of paper. Written on them is one word, gratitude. To some it may seem simplistic, but I have never been as happy as since I started reminding myself how much that I can be thankful for. Sure, I could complain about a lot, but who can’t? I’m loved. I eat well. I travel. I have my health. The daily negativisms have little hope in encroaching on my life as long as I keep armed with a healthy outlook. Complications that use to seem overwhelming are downright trivial compared to the power of gratitude. So yeah, I’m grateful. =)

Continue Reading »

Posted 14 March 2006 † Ethan § Lifehacks § Motivations ‡ Comments (0) °

One Campaign Email: Santorum-Durbin Amendment


Last Thursday, the Senate Budget Committee cut back funds to the President’s plan to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty-but we still have a chance to make a difference!

Right now, two U.S. Senators are reaching across political divides and asking the Senate to add $566 million to fund critical AIDS, TB and malaria programs running around the world. Senators Rick Santorum, a Republican from Pennsylvania, and Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, have proposed an amendment to ensure America continues funding the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Call 1-800-786-2663 TODAY and help make AIDS, TB and malaria history.

The Global Fund saves lives. Please call the two Senators from your state TODAY and ask them to support the Santorum-Durbin Amendment for global AIDS funding.

Call 1-800-786-2663 to be connected directly to your Senators and ask them to support the Santorum-Durbin Amendment.

Remember, AIDS kills 8,500 people every day, TB kills 5,000 and malaria kills over 3,000 in Africa alone– every day. Together, we can help fight back against these killer diseases.

Thank you,

The ONE Team

P.S. Click here to learn more about how to talk to your Senators and the important work of the Global Fund.

Posted 13 March 2006 † Ethan § DATA § News § One Campaign § Politics ‡ Comments (0) °

First Google China, now Google Mars

Google Mars is up with some amazing pictures of the Martian landscape from NASA. The pictures are available in three ways: an ‘elevation’ topographic model, a visual satellite image, or an infrared satellite image. It is the same interface as Google Maps and includes indexed maps of the highlights, like mountains, canyons, and craters.

If you know the name of a particular landmark, there’s the ubiquitous search box to help you along. I tried searching for Taco Bell and the post office, but, alas, nothing came up. Maybe in version 2.

Posted 13 March 2006 † Ethan § Technology § Web ‡ Comments (0) °

Basecamp saved my life. really.

Basecamp project management and collaborationIn case you haven’t seen it, Basecamp is a website for project management, but more to the point, it is quite possibly the best collaborative organizational tool ever. Create a project, add the people involved and then share to-do lists, milestones/goals, post messages with files and write on virtual whiteboards, all while assigning everything to specific individuals and keeping everyone current by email notifications and RSS news feeds.

and almost everything is completely free…

The key is in the perfection of its user interface and deceptively constrained feature list. It doesn’t have 4076 buttons, options and gantt charts that you’ll never use. It just has exactly what you need to collaborate beautifully.

C’est brilliant,

Posted 11 March 2006 † Ethan § Business § Development § Lifehacks § News § Technology § Web ‡ Comments (0) °

WordPress 2.0.2 Security Release

Of course, now that I finally have Internet again (after 2 1/2 months), I decide to upgrade my WordPress 1.5 blogs to WordPress 2.0.1. 6 hours later, Matt gives birth to: WordPress 2.0.2 Security Release. *sigh*…. but did I mention I have a 20Mbps DSL line? I love France.

Posted 10 March 2006 † Ethan § News § Technology § Web ‡ Comments (0) °

“Embarassed by Evangelicals?” =)

Hehe… You know, it is not terribly hard to amuse me and make me happy. I do it quite a bit all by my lonesome. However, the kind of smiles that warm you up and remind you that while all may not be right in the world, there are great people standing in the gap… well, those moments aren’t quite as common. So imagine my surprise when the phrase “embarassed to be an evangelical” leads me, on its first entry, straight to my dear friend, the Right Reverend Benjamin D. Dubow :)

Ahh, Ben. The kind of Christian that reminds us of the power of faith in one man and steadies my hope in the promise of the Church. Men like Bonhoeffer, Chesterton, Rich Mullins, Pastor Marc Wolff… and Ben.

After the smirk faded ever so slightly, I read Ben’s post and remembered why I love him so. After laying out some background on the scandalous title (well, ok, it’s not scandalous to me), he ends with a thoughtful list of affirmations on true evangelicalism. It’s worth a read. (or 20)

-We affirm that the Bible is in fact authoritative and inerrant, though we are not arrogant enough to suggest that we are authoritative and inerrant.-We affirm that Jesus is in fact divine and the one, true savior–and we let him speak for himself when he says “I am the way, the truth and the life.”-We affirm creedal, Orthodox, historical Christianity.-We reject tendencies towards anti-intellectualism and fundamentalism.

-We affirm the unique worth of every human being on planet earth as created in the image of God–regardless of race, ethncity, gender, religion, creed, sexual orientation, or anything else.

-We affirm that all truth in God’s truth, whether found in the sciences, philosophy or anywhere else.

-We affirm that seeking justice and mercy in the world is a Christian duty, commanded by Jesus and found throughout the scriptures.

-We reject the notion that “behavior modification” and “sin management” are the goals of Christianity. We equally reject the notion that it is our job to force Biblical morals on people who are not following Christ.

-We reject spiritual litmus-tests that make debatable matters into essential ones and draw strong distinctions between “who is in and who is out” theologically.

-We affirm that every person has the right to hear about Jesus Christ and to make their own decision about how to respond to him.

I feel much better now =)

Posted 10 March 2006 † Ethan § Culture § Faith § People ‡ Comments (0) °

Boyles and Hendricks Furniture Newsletter Spam

Ahh, newsletter spam. Boyles Furniture, of the Hendricks Furniture Group, doesn’t seem to care that I have unsubscribed to their newsletter 14 times in the past six months. It’s kind of a game now. They send me a newsletter in violation of the Federal CAN-SPAM Act and I forward that newsletter to the Federal Trade Commission, their hosting providers, their internet provider et al…

Also of interest, their message uses 4 separate email addresses and pulls content from 6 different websites. The main domain registration for boyles.com has privatized registration information at Network Solutions, but if you check the other sites in the spam, you will find some other (ineffective) contact information. Someone doesn’t want to be easily tracked down. They conveniently don’t include a phone number in their CAN-SPAM required contact information in the email footer. Though not required, most responsible emailers include a phone number as a sign of good will and integrity. Their sales/order number was also unhelpful. Continue Reading »

Posted 06 March 2006 † Ethan § Marketing § Security § Web ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , ,

The Real Simpsons

Simpsons Intro on Google VideoAfter, what, 16 seasons or something of unique intro credits for The Simpsons, they’ve finally made a live-action version. Marge needs bigger hair. Why is Lisa twice as big as Bart? Why is Maggie on the wrong side of the car? (it’s british). Not all I’d have hoped for, but still fun. Here’s the Simpsons Intro on Google Video.

 

Posted 04 March 2006 † Ethan § Culture § Humour ‡ Comments (0) °