SPlog

Do you have a zombie in your house? Do you know what a real MAN is? Are you tired of seeing gobbledydook on your computer? Do gremlins get on your nerves? Are you a gearhead? You probably are if you office looks like a geekosphere.

For my Technical Writing course, we had an assignment to go on a certain website and learn the meanings of 10 words that were new to us.

I decided to post my 10 words with the definition, and my comments on them. I hope you enjoy.

#1 m-commerce (digital commerce)

Definition: A form of e-commerce that deals in the fees a company collects for licensing, advertising, or selling subscriptions to the content or services offered on mobile devices. With the popularity of cell phones and PDAs, portable devices such as these are becoming Web-enabled through wireless networks and WAP. M-commerce is considered a form of e-commerce (just as d-commerce is) because it has to do with monies generated for a product or service that exists electronically on the Internet. In other words, even though the content appears on mobile phones and other wireless communications devices, as opposed to computer screens, m-commerce is still considered e-commerce.

The reason I chose this word is because I deal with e-commerce all the time. Also I have an android phone and was interested in learning what m-commerce meant and how it differed from regular e-commerce.

#2 Gobbledygook

Definition: A string of incoherent letters and symbols. You may see a bunch of gobbledygook on your computer screen when a program is trying to read data from a program it does not support, or when a message is encrypted.

The reason I chose this word is because it caught my eye. But now that I know what it is, I can say that I see gobbledygook quite often. It comes most often for me when I try to open a file that my computer can read. It normally opens up notepad and give a long string of code that make no sence at all. Hence, the awesome term gobbledygook.

#3 Gremlins

Definition:The mysterious characters that sometimes appear on your computer screen, often in text documents and sometimes in code or e-mail messages.

For instance, if you copy the contents of a file from one program to another by highlighting the text with your cursor and then cutting-and-pasting, strange boxes or symbols may appear in the white space. At that point, you have to figure out another way to transfer the information or you have to go through and delete the bad characters, all the while muttering, “Darn gremlins.”

Reason: Since I work with website and the encoding of websites I run into gremlins all the time. I just didn’t know they shared the same name as the 1984 movie. Very interesting. I do know that a lot of times they are caused from style formatting that tries to get copied but isn’t supported in program it is pasted into.

#4 Geekosphere

Definition: The area surrounding one’s computer, where trinkets, personal mementos, toys and monitor pets are displayed. This is the place where geeks can “show their colors.”

Reason: The reason I was interested in this is the fact that my family has a lot of geeks. And I know they have a desk that would qualify as a Geekosphere.

#5 Gearhead

Definition:Another name for a nerd or geek, this term describes a person who is interested in owning the latest gadgets or gizmos.

Reason: This describes my family to a T. (Even though there is no “t” in family) All of us, except my youngest sister, have either the Android or iPhone, including my parents. There is enough computers in all our houses combined that each person could get on one at the same time, and we’d still have a leftover computer for the dog.

#6 Hairball

Definition:Any tangled mess. Often refers to poorly written computer code with Microsoft’s name frequently invoked, but could simply be any organization’s maze of rules and regulations.

Reason: It’s another crazy word that shows today’s technical jargon. I’ve seen code for website that reminded me of this description.

#7 HotDog

Definition: The HotDog Professional Web Editor is an HTML Authoring tool for Windows 95. Even though HotDog is tremendously powerful and feature-rich, the program is very user-friendly thanks to the superb built-in help files, detailed tutorials and intuitive interface. You can download a free fully-functional evaluation copy of HotDog now and try this Web editor for 14 days. Get A HotDog Now

Reason: I was curious to find out what would be the definition for hotdog. Now that I see it’s a HTML editer, I really don’t understand why they used that term. I’ve actually never heard of this. I guess I’m too narrow in keeping with my Adobe Dreamweaver program.

#8 Link Juice

Definition:Jargon that refers to the quality of a Web site’s link power, as in page rank, number of link votes, etc. – that are obtained from backlinks. This expression was coined by SEO consultant Greg Boser, for example “I need to get some more link juice for my latest site.”

Reason: Orange juice, apple juice, beetle juice, now link juice. Don’t think I will be drinking this anytime soon. Again with working with websites, I was interested in learning this.

#9 Man

(Metropolitan Area Network)

Definition: A data network designed for a town or city. MANs are considered larger than LANs but smaller than WANs. MANs are characterized by high-speed connections over fiber-optic cable.

Reason: At first I was going to compare to see I met the definition. But after clicking on it I realized what it meant. Hilarious to know that it’s used.

#10 Zombie

Definition: Originally it referred to an abandoned Web site that remains online (such as a ghost site or an orphan annie).

The definition of “zombie” has been extended to include a PC that has received either a virus or a Trojan program which causes it to be used as a spam generator without the user’s knowledge. For example, in June of 2007 a 27-year-old man, Robert Alan Soloway, described as one of the world’s most prolific spammers was arrested and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail. He was accused of using networks of compromised “zombie” computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.

The use of PC zombies to generate spam increases as more small businesses and individuals gain Internet connections. Spam is a major problem because it uses up bandwidth and because it can make the Internet experience very frustrating! Zombies are considered a security breach. It is necessary to use anti-virus software on your machine and run it on a regular basis.

The term zombie also describes a Unix/Linux process that have ended but the process creator/parent has not acknowledged this yet. What happens is the zombie process will consume a small amount of resources until it is killed by the parent process that created it.

My comments: I was interested to find out what zombie was used for. I was also glad to find out that I do not have a zombie living in my house. Do you have a zombie living in your house?

My dad found an article that I had wrote for our annual Christmas newsletter back in 2002. It was very interesting to read, and so I thought I would share it, and also give an update.

The letter said…

“My name is Samuel William Paasch. I’m in the 6^th grade and 12 years old. Can’t wait to be a teenager.

“I am in Tae-Kwon-Do, a yellow belt and play the piano. I love to sing with my older two brothers. My hobbies include Lego blocks, baseball, basketball, and playing on the computer. I have a girlfriend, but wont tell anybody her name.

“I have a dog named Daphne that sometimes sleeps with me. I can’t wait till I’m bigger than my brothers so I can boss them around.

“I also love to go to church, don’t you?”

Okay, now it is time for a long awaited update.

My name is still Samuel William Paasch, no change here. William, after my grandfather Taylor. I am currently in my second year of college and am getting ready to graduate with an Associates of Art Transfer degree. I am now 20 years old, and miss being a teenager!

Although I am not currently active in TaeKwonDo, I still occasionally attend. I am currently a 2^nd degree black belt. I still play the piano, and have added more instruments that I am learning: the banjo, mandolin, guitar, violin, and viola.

I still love to sing, although I actually prefer to perform the music instead. (Especially since I can play a song much better than I can sing it.) I still sing with one of my brothers and also my sister, but now with the Steppin’ Out Quartet. I also sing at church occasionally.

As for my hobbies, I still like to build, but my Lego blocks are currently packed in the shed, waiting for my own kids to play with them (whenever I have kids). Also, I no longer play baseball or basketball except for pastime occasions.

As far as the computer goes, I still enjoy a good game on the computer, but it seems like forever since I’ve played one. I don’t even have them installed on my new laptop yet. Instead I am constantly on my computer for work, church, and school.

Now for the moment you’ve really been waiting for. The actual reason why you kept reading this update. Who was this girlfriend? Well in all honesty I can’t remember. IT’S THE TRUTH! I was surprised myself when I read it. We were never allowed to engage in any relationship until our late teen years, so I imagine it was most likely a girl that I liked at the time. I will say that I have narrowed it down to two.. I know sounds bad, huh. But like I said, they were only crushes as nothing ever transpired. I can say though that one is now married. As for the other, I have no idea where she is or even what she looks like. She must have been about ten years old then?
Now about the update. I have not been in any girlfriend/boyfriend relationships yet. I really don’t have the time, and am waiting for college to get over before taking anything serious. (I’ve actually posted an article about this.) Although there are some I have liked. And just like 8 years ago, I might have a crush (for lack of better wording) on someone. But also like 8 years ago, I am not telling anybody her name.

Daphne died not too long after that year. It was a Sunday morning, when someone knocked on our door and asked if we could identify the dog collar they were holding. She had been hit by two vehicles that morning and died instantly. But I still have a dog, Pal, that sometimes sleeps with me. Actually he sneaks onto my bed after I am already asleep, because he knows I normally don’t allow him on my bed with me.

I am finally bigger than my brothers. But since they are both out of the house, married, and have kids of their own, I can’t fulfill my wish to boss them around. Hey, somethings not fair here! Actually I have a quote that its the older sibling duty to tease, boss, and be mean (in a nice way) to their younger sibling. Of course that comes with the fact that I have a younger sister!

I still love to go to church. That is my highlight of the week. Most of my trusted friends are there, and my wisest council. There I get my spiritual needs met, and also wise advise about anything in life from experienced people what are willing to help and be there when I need it. Above all though, my greatest joy is to get to worship my Lord with others, unashamed, freely, and without any fear. To be able to sing praises unto him, lift up his name, and adore him for who he is and what he’s done for me. DON’T YOU???

With the modern day of GPS, it’s a wonder people buy maps anymore. Especially since most smart phones now have a GPS locator build right in. It means stopping and asking for directions is officially out of style, no matter how far you drive.

Well even though the great GPS is showing the way of the future, it doesn’t mean that there may be a few speedbumps along the way.

I own a android phone as most know. And with that I have Google maps leading my way when I need to get somewhere unknown. But I’ve found out really quick not to trust the GPS completely. Especially the phones are bad because they rely on a local cell tower to give their location, not a satellite. So if there is no service, there is no GPS. Pretty bad if you drive in a dead zone and don’t know how to get out. Not only can you not call someone, but you can’t load up your maps to find your own way out.

The first problem is the maps not showing correct roads.

Let’s hear about this story http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/gps-mishaps-trust-tech-leads-trouble/story?id=10013723 This is the famous story about a lady who followed the directions of the GPS right onto a railroad track into the path of an oncoming train. Rare you say, well not when it happened several other times. GPS leading people into danger is actually a pretty common problem. Do a Google search and find out yourself.

The second problem with GPS is the places in the wrong location.

Did you know that Hammond’s Field (a local baseball field) is only a couple hundred feet away from my home church. Actually according to Google maps, it sits right on top the church parsonage, when it’s supposed to be downtown.

Take my problem just last year. I was in Oklahoma with my Dad, and we were using my phone to lead us home. Well I decide to wait until the next town to get gas hoping it would be cheaper. Well I waited to long and the gas light blinks on. I started to panic a little since the next town was about 30 miles away. So I grabbed my cell and typed in to search for near gas station. It found only one.

So we took the next exit and began our search. Well the GPS lead us to a back road, that winded around for a couple of miles, then said to turn onto a dirt road. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have enough gas to go back to the highway, and the dirt road winded some more. It was bad. Deep holes and big rocks made for a bumpy ride.

Finally we made it to the gas station. Or at least that’s what my phone said. It led us right into someones back yard. Bummer! I was nearly out of gas and the only way out was to go the same way we got in. Luckily there were two people with chainsaws near the road (if you can call it that – it looked like a trail to me). They sent me to the nearest gas station just on down the road another mile.

Although I can laugh now about it, it has brought to my attention that if we follow blindly, we are going to eventually be led right into a trap that we can’t get out of.

It reminds me that as people, we need to be careful of what or whom we follow. We can just as easily be left stranded, or lead right into harms way. I am reminded of the verse Psalms 27:11 “Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.” If we aren’t aware or careful, our enemies may be able to lead us right into danger.