Highlights of 2010: break-in

This year brought an unwanted visitor when our home was broken into while we were away for Thanksgiving. Miraculously, we knew about it the instant it happened. It had only been hours since I completed my alarm script, which meant our alarm panel called our cellphones the second the burglar opened the window.

While we in the dark about what was really going on at home, we soon learned that the damage and impact was actually very, very minimal. We didn’t even cut our vacation short. What we did do was add a few more components to our alarm system and a few more security enhancements to our windows.

Later we even got video of the suspect leaving the scene, which was distributed to all the downtown police officers.

I look at the incident this way: the break-in was in reality a free evaluation from a seasoned security professional. A man who makes a living breaking into homes showed us just how he would approach our home. He showed us where the weak spots are. This guy gave it his best shot, and ultimately he failed. He failed!

So now that I know how a pro would approach our home, I have made our home even stronger. We’re now better off as a result.

Highlights of 2010: Social media

This year I will once again celebrate my blog highlights, but also will give a nod to the other social media sites.

On the blog front, MT.Net collected 1.73 million hits over this year, translating to 260,000 unique visits. That’s an average of 711 visits per day and about 30% traffic growth from the year before. It’s been a good year, traffic-wise. On the posting side, I estimate I’ve written about 450 new posts this year.

I’m always amused at what brings people to my site, too. I’m still one of the top search results for the Sugarhill Gang’s epic rap song, Rapper’s Delight. I’m also still collecting plenty of web hits for Jefferson’s Bank Quote. I also draw web searchers looking for Bradley Manning, 1Gb Internet, 99% of people can’t watch this video more than 25 seconds, free iPad scam, and TSA cavity search.
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Chris Colmer

I was sad to learn today that Chris Colmer, former standout N.C. State offensive tackle (2000-2004), died yesterday. He was 30 years old. His agent would not disclose the cause of Colmer’s death.

Wikipedia says at the moment that he died in Florida in a car accident, but that comment was made anonymously. Being the curious lot, I did a search on Twitter for news on Colmer and found a tweet claiming Colmer jumped from a bridge:

??? RT @bridgetZtalk Tampa Bay Buckaneer, Chris Colmer, jumped off a bridge. So sad.

The tweet has since been taken down, and there is no corroboration at the moment, but this scenario seems to fit with his agent’s reluctance to discuss the circumstances. Tampa’s Sunshine Skyway Bridge does have a sad reputation as a suicide bridge. On the other hand, friends of Colmer’s former teammates say Colmer died in a car accident.

Whatever the cause, it’s truly sad. What a shame that this young man’s promising life has been cut short. He played his heart out for N.C. State. My condolences to his family and friends.

Update 6 Jan: A visitor to the Bucstats.com website says Colmer died from a car accident Dec. 28th.

Update 2, 6 Jan: Chris Colmer’s online obituary is here (until 12/31/2011).

Highlights of 2010: Self-improvement

Beard and specs

Ah, the annual “this is what happened’ list. It’s always a challenge summing up a year’s worth of events. I’ll start off with this entry on self-improvement.

This year was a year of self-improvement for me. In January I had the spot that had been growing on my temple taken off. I was amazed at how quick and painless it was. I was also surprised at just how happy it made me to not see it on my face anymore.
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Why does Paul Allen hate the Internet?

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is one of the top twenty richest Americans, and life gets hard when you’re at the top. Those megayachts aren’t exactly easy on the gas pump, if you know what I mean. So what’s a poor billionaire to do, you say? Why not sue the biggest companies on the Internet by claiming patent infringement!?

Yes, Paul Allen – a man who once did some cool things with his Microsoft money – has become a lowly patent troll, claiming his company invented a number of web technologies. His claims are absurd, in my view, and strike me as being a money grab. Allen’s reputation has dived deeper than the submarines he keeps on his yacht.

See Engadget, Ars Technica, or the FOSS Patents site for the techie nitty gritty, or ABCNews for the non-geek version:

Interval Licensing LLC, a company owned by billionaire Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, has filed an amended lawsuit against Facebook, Google Inc. and nine other companies, claiming they infringed on patented Web technology.

Interval Licensing, based in Seattle, owns the rights to information systems, computer science and communications technology developed in Silicon Valley by Interval Research, which Allen co-founded in the 1990s. Interval Research no longer exists.

The filing is a revision of the lawsuit Interval Licensing filed in August against Facebook, Google, Google’s video site YouTube, AOL Inc., Apple Inc., Yahoo Inc., Netflix Inc., eBay Inc., Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples.

via Paul Allen Refiles Suit Against Internet Giants – ABC News.

Making a list, checking it twice

I’ve put together my list for my Highlights of 2010 blog posts. Often that’s the toughest part: just picking a handful of events that tell the story of the year. Because I blog I’ve got built-in material, so telling the story of these events is easy.

Look for things to kick off tomorrow!

Parks and Recreation chases away cabin fever

This morning as we were waking again to a yard filled with snow, I watched admiringly as Kelly and the kids paged through the latest edition of the Leisure Ledger, Raleigh Parks and Recreation’s guide to its activities and courses. Making plans for springtime courses seemed an ideal way to chase away the onset of cabin fever.

Raleigh is so very fortunate to have such a high quality parks and rec department as the Raleigh Parks and Recreation department. Its activities are a wonderful way to chase the winter blues away.

Snowfall totals

The National Weather Service’s Raleigh office collected unofficial spotter reports for snowfall totals after yesterday’s snowstorm. I wanted to post this before it disappeared from the net (the report for Raleigh is mine, by the way).

000
NOUS42 KRAH 262059
PNSRAH
NCZ007>011-021>028-038>043-073>078-083>086-088-089-270859-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
SPOTTER REPORTS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC
359 PM EST SUN DEC 26 2010

THE FOLLOWING ARE UNOFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS TAKEN DURING THE PAST 8 HOURS FOR THE STORM THAT HAS BEEN AFFECTING OUR REGION. APPRECIATION IS EXTENDED TO HIGHWAY DEPARTMENTS…COOPERATIVE OBSERVERS…SKYWARN SPOTTERS AND MEDIA FOR THESE REPORTS. THIS SUMMARY IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR HOME PAGE AT WEATHER.GOV/RALEIGH.

********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************
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Fossil DNA points to new branch of humanity

Truly fascinating.

A finger bone from Siberia now reveals that a previously unknown group of ancient humans once existed there, one neither like us nor Neanderthals.

Bizarrely, the DNA from these extinct Siberians seems unusually similar to that of Pacific Islanders from tropical Melanesia.

The 30,000-year-old fossil was found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia in 2008, a bone fragment that likely came from a fingertip of a young girl. It was discovered along with microblades (small stone blades used as tools), body ornaments of polished stone, and a molar shaped very differently from those of Neanderthals and modern humans, resembling that of much older human species, such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus. (The tooth and the finger bone apparently came from different members of the same population.)

via Fossil DNA points to new branch of humanity – Technology & science – Science – msnbc.com.

Storm crews did great job

I should also say that the state and local officials did a great job managing today’s storm. Salt brine was on the roads days earlier, making the snow that fell very easy to plow. Streets in my neighborhood were wet but clear by mid-day, which is no mean feat for a storm this size.

I give the government crews an A for their efforts. The state missed getting an A+ from me only because the governor neglected to publicize on the state websites the state of emergency she declared. Fortunately most people already knew there was snow on the way so it wasn’t a big deal.

Overall, I’m impressed. A huge swath of the state received snow and I think it was managed effectively.