Off Topic

Talk Like a Pirate Day Lists!

September 17, 2010 by Marc

As many of you scurvy dogs may know, I’m a huge fan of Talk Like a Pirate Day. If ever there was a holiday this world desperately needed, it was this one. Officially, Talk Like a Pirate Day is September 19th, but in preparation for the holiday and to celebrate the release of ListPro for iPhone, I’ve posted two pirate-themed lists on the List Exchange.

The first is the official ListPro Talk Like a Pirate Day list! With the blessings of the good folks in charge of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I’ve created a set of lists that include the origins of Talk Like a Pirate Day, a Pirate Dictionary, and “His and Hers” Pirate Pick-Up Lines! I can’t thank the folks over at Talk Like a Pirate Day enough for their support on this. Make sure to visit the official site to learn more about this awesome holiday!

The second is another Pirate Dictionary, this one compliments of the folks at the publishing company, Tide-Mark Press. It’s a great dictionary of pirate words and terms! Again, we really appreciate their support and encourage everyone to check out their site!

Windows PC and Windows Mobile users can download these special Talk Like A Pirate Day lists here (TalkLikeAPirateDay) and here (TideMarkPirateDictionary).

iPhone ListPro users can download the lists by tapping the List Exchange button at the Home View of ListPro on their device.

Go Falcons!

November 13, 2009 by Marc

No, not the football team - the Fortis Academy Fire-Eyed Falcons! Lots of companies sponsor softball teams or bowling teams, but let’s be realistic - most of us over here haven’t touched a piece of sports equipment since Middle School. That’s why, when Lee asked us if we wanted to sponsor the Fortis Academy First Lego Legaue team, we said, “Sign us up!”

Every September FIRST releases the FLL Challenge for that season. This Challenge is based on a set of real-world problems facing scientists and engineers today. It has two parts that teams must complete: 1) Building a robot to compete in the Robot Challenge, and 2) Researching and solving a problem faced by real-world scientists and presenting their solutions. On Saturday,  Fortis Academy’s Fire-Eyed Falcons will compete with 18 other teams in this region of Michigan to be one of 7 teams advancing to the Michigan FLL Championship in Dec.

If you want to learn more about FLL you can find information here:

The FLL website This year’s Challenge The Michigan FLL

So this weekend, keep your fingers crossed and give a cheer for our favorite FLL team!

GO FIRE-EYED FALCONS!!!

Every September FIRST releases the FLL Challenge for that season. This Challenge is based on

a set of real-world problems facing scientists and engineers today. It has two parts that teams

must complete: 1) Building a robot to compete in the Robot Challenge, and 2) Researching

and solving a problem faced by real-world scientists and presenting their solutions.

So this password manager walks into a bar...

October 6, 2009 by Marc

Okay - I don’t typically post jokes but I actually heard a joke about passwords today. Considering that there are like four jokes about passwords in the entire world, I thought I’d send this one along. :)

During a recent password audit, it was found that a was using the following password for her computer:

MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofy

When the auditor asked why she had such a big password, she said, “Hellllooooooooo! The tech support guy said that it had to be at least eight characters long.”

During a recent password audit, it was found that one of the denser employees was using the following password for his computer:

VaderLukeLeiaHanYodaBobaWinduJabba

When the auditor asked why he had such a big password, the employee answered, “Dude! The IT guy said that it had to be at least eight characters long.”

Ba-da-dump! :)

Blogs, mobile devices, and....talking cats???

December 16, 2008 by Marc

Yep, you read the title right. After the BlackBerry eWallet release and all the technical problems we had last week, I wasn’t up to posting anything too deep today, so I figured this was a good time to mention a couple of fun things. This first post is really a bit of self-promotion, but it actually does have a mobile device slant to it.

As some of you might know, I live a secret life. In the dark of night, when the office is closed and my family is asleep, I sneak down to my basement and become…a writer! That’s right, I’m secretly a writer. I’ve published a number of short stories and with luck I just might have a novel out within the next year or two (depending on approvals and publishing schedules.)

My latest work is a story about a newsstand cat who makes the horrifying discovery that people don’t need newspapers and magazines to get their news anymore. It’s all due to a frightening invention called - the internet! Besides talking cats, the story features blogs, iPhones, and a cameo by Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine.

The story is in an anthology from DAW called Catopolis, and you can find it up at your local brick-and-mortar store. Of course you can also grab it from Amazon (here). Amazon also has a Kindle version, and it’s out for various other eBook readers as well.

And if you want to see the other stuff I’ve done, check out my site!

Enough self-promotion! :) Back to your regularly scheduled blog!

Subtle Reminder: VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

November 4, 2008 by Marc

To all of our readers in the U.S., I want to encourage you to get out there and vote today! No matter which side you are for, this is an important election for our country. I went this morning, and amazingly I got through in around 15 minutes! The poll workers are busting their backsides to make sure that everything runs smoothly! So don’t assume the worst about the lines.

Enough blog reading already! Get to the polls!

Good News for Internet Radio

October 2, 2008 by Ellen

Yes, I’m being off-topic again, but as people who read this blog a lot know, internet radio is the one thing I’m just fanatical about. Anyway, the good news is that the Webcaster Settlement Act was approved by both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate this week. To quote the press release at SaveNetRadio.org:

“This legislation is not the final answer,” said SaveNetRadio spokesperson, Jake Ward, “but it is an essential step toward a lasting and much-needed solution.

Here’s hoping that everyone will take the intelligent next steps needed to keep our internet radio alive.