Author Archives: Rob

PHP – The World’s Best Case Against Static Compilation

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Rob

Let me start off by saying first and foremost that I am NOT anti-PHP.  I like PHP.  PHP was my first web scripting language that I learned (I don’t count Perl as a web scripting language, because it has so … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux, PHP, Ruby | Leave a comment

Redefining the E-mail Habit

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Rob

E-mail isn’t a bad habit, but keeping it around forever is. Since 2005, I’ve been a user of Gmail.  It’s a wonderful e-mail service offering free e-mail that seems to have no limits.  You’re encouraged NOT to delete e-mail – … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, IT, Productivity | Leave a comment

Template Redesign

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Rob

I love the new Twenty Ten theme in WordPress 3.0. It is much easier to customize and edit than the theme that came with WordPress 2.x. For that very reason, I’ve changed my theme to it and customized it a … Continue reading →

Posted in Web Design | Leave a comment

Spaces in Windows Share Paths in Fstab

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Rob

If you need to put a space in your Windows share path in /etc/fstab, just use this escape sequence: //192.168.1.2/My\040Documents (It is important to note that there are no spaces between My and Documents, only the escape sequence \040)

Posted in Linux | Leave a comment

Extras in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Rob

I’m posting this both as a reference for myself and for others as to how to enable all the extras in Ubuntu that you need, like MP3 support, Windows codecs and fonts, etc. Once you install Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, make … Continue reading →

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The False Choice – Healthcare or the Economy

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Rob

It seems that you can’t pick up a newspaper, watch television news, or venture out anywhere in Internet journalism without hearing something about healthcare and its reform. Are you enjoying the false debate? On one side you have a group … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Politics | Leave a comment

The Port 22 Myth

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Rob

There’s a myth that needs the proverbial busting treatment, and it concerns having the dreaded port 22 open. Is it really safe to leave this back door open to your server? I propose asking the question another way:  Is it … Continue reading →

Posted in Linux | Leave a comment

No, You Probably Don’t Need Ruby on Rails

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Rob

I’ve taken some flack before for being on the side of the fence that usually doesn’t favor the use of Ruby on Rails for small projects. What have I got against Rails?  Absolutely nothing!  It’s my platform of choice for … Continue reading →

Posted in PHP, Ruby | Leave a comment

Surprise Snowstorm

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Rob

The weather forecasters missed this one big time!  There wasn’t even a chance of rain forecasted. On the morning of February 8th, 2010 it started sleeting, then changed over to snow completely by 9 AM. At its peak, over an … Continue reading →

Posted in Weather | Leave a comment

Christmas 2009 Album Released

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Rob

I’m proud to announce the release of my Christmas 2009 mini-album full of 6 traditional Christmas songs. Please download the free album here: Christmas 2009 Album

Posted in Music | Leave a comment