Gregg Eldred

Users cannot mentally handle local replicas?

Gregg Eldred — Thu, 2 Sep 2010 16:56:59 EST

This is from the "What's New in Domino 8.5, 8.5.1, 8.5.2" document (emphasis mine):

If you've ever wished using Mail were free of delays, but don't have the mind space for creating and maintaining a local replica, the new managed replica feature might be for you. When you create or convert an existing local replica to a managed replica in Notes, or your Domino administrator sets it for you via a policy, Notes creates a local mail replica and marks it as a managed replica. The next time you open Mail, you'll be using the managed replica, which will remain synched with the server copy without your doing anything.

I think that is the politically correct way of saying that local replicas can stress the users.

Thanks, Keith.

Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

Gregg Eldred — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 21:50:24 EST

The emergency medical technicians have been called to a hotel in South Beach, responding to call concerning a twenty-two year old female who has swallowed a "mix of vodka, Red Bull, hydrocodone, birdseed, and stool softener." A rather typical call for South Beach with the exception of the appearance of Bang Abbott, an overweight, intrusive paparazzo. He wants to have exclusive right to the pictures of the woman on the stretcher. However, when the EMT's wheel out the woman, he realizes that this is not the person he came to shoot. His real target, Cherry Pye, a lip synching "singer" with serious drug, alcohol, and sex issues, has been whisked out the back of the hotel and is on her way to rehab (again). Bang has been tricked by Cherry's handlers, who employ Ann DeLusia, an actress who is a spitting image of Cherry, and is considered an "undercover stunt double." Cherry has no idea that Ann exists, Ann is used any time Cherry is too wasted to make public appearances or to cover for her when she is in rehab.

The use of Ann as a double is brilliant until she crashes her car on her way to Key West for some much deserved rest and relaxation. Rescued by a man known as "Skink," a former governor of Florida and who is now, for lack of a better term, an "eco terrorist," Ann connects with Skink, who then helps Ann get out of some very sticky situations and, ultimately, away from Cherry Pye and her entourage.

In Star Island, Carl Hiaasen turns his eye on what passes for celebrity in America, but adds his usual criticism of Florida real estate developers and certain types of people that inhabit the Sunshine State. Regular readers will enjoy the appearance of Skink, who has a very effective and hilarious method of dealing with one unscrupulous real estate developer, and two other characters. All should relish Ann, the small voice of reason and sanity in the insane circle of people that inhabit Cherry's world.

Hiaasen does an admirable job of skewering the music industry and "celebrity," but he seems to have lost a step. He should have pushed the boundaries farther. Also, other than Skink, who inhabits the novel but not to the extent of Hiassen's better works, Ann is the only character with whom the reader will connect. Hiassen should have spent more time with her, she is the perfect foil for the insanity and a joy to follow.

Star Island isn't one of Hiassen's best works, but it is better than most fiction. In fact, you will discover that he has grabbed your attention with a fun, entertaining novel.

Disclosure:
Obtained from: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Technorati tag: book review Carl Hiaasen Star Island

Do You Know This Person?

Gregg Eldred — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EST

Sorry, this is just too good not to share, and I actually received permission to post it. :-)

You should always listen to your Mother

Gregg Eldred — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:08:12 EST

A kid, a Pontiac, 100MPH, and a bridge

Gregg Eldred — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:12:48 EST

The 19-year old driver survived.

Link: Dayton Daily News: Mom of I-675 crash victim says his survival is a ‘miracle’

More Google News articles on the crash

Internet Slang Dictionary and Translator

Gregg Eldred — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:58:06 EST

Parents, confused by your kid's text messages? Want to translate the mysterious language of instant messages and slang? The internet to the rescue, with the Internet Slang Dictionary & Translator.

It even has a list of Twitter slang, like RT and OH, and which may be useful to n00bs.

While not that tough, there are also two quizzes you can take to test your skillz.

Thanks, Tom.

The Turkeys Are Getting Bigger

Gregg Eldred — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:25:10 EST

PANTYMN

Gregg Eldred — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:18:02 EST

I am not sure of the message being delivered by this plate. I read it as "Panty Man." Not quite a Seinfeld episode, but close.

What You May See at MWLUG 2011 and Should See At Every LUG Conference

Gregg Eldred — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:07:15 EST

MWLUG 2010 is in the books and from all indications it was another successful conference. Before I get to posting specifics, I wanted to relate a comment I heard from several MWLUG attendees which may help the planners of some of the other Lotus User Group conferences:

"We want a track dedicated to the IBM Lotus Software Portfolio."

These attendees asked us to commit to a track where IBM Lotus spends a day, an hour at a time, talking about every product in the IBM Lotus portfolio. They would like to hear about the product, see a demonstration, and learn about the benefits to the organization that implements it.

I believe that the LUG's are in a unique position to deliver this type of content. For a few days, we have access to Lotus customers that cannot attend Lotusphere or did not attend Lotusphere Comes to You (LCTY). The former can be overwhelming, the latter is not, IMHO, the venue for these types of sessions. I think that the LUG Conference are the perfect settings for this type of track.

XPages is an excellent reason to upgrade to Domino 8.5.x and is given the proper attention at every LUG. But the LUG's also attract decision makers and influencers that could benefit from general sessions on Notes and Domino, Quickr, Sametime, LotusLive, Foundations, Protector, Connections, and the other products in the portfolio. Time spent in any of these sessions could provide the needed information to implement another IBM Lotus product, to show the differences between a Lotus solution and one from a competitor, and to educate the attendees on the IBM Lotus portfolio.

I realize that IamLUG, MWLUG, UKLUG, ILUG, BLUG, and any other I have overlooked, have limited room and time resources, however I really think that this request is an excellent one. I will be lobbying for this track at MWLUG 2011 and I hope that the organizers of the other user group conferences give this proposal serious consideration.

Browser History on an iMac at the Apple Store

Gregg Eldred — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:17:45 EST

I find it interesting how people use the available computers in the Apple Store. After shooting this picture, I looked at a couple of other iMacs and discovered roughly the same thing; people are accessing Facebook quite a bit on "public" machines.