My Current Home Screen

My Current Home Screen
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

It seems I never keep an arrangement of applications static for more
than a few days.

Dog Statue Outside Pet Smart In Portofino

Dog Statue Outside Pet Smart In Portofino
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Sticking with the Roman theme of the shopping center.

Saturday Night of School Work

Saturday Night of School Work
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Crunch time with 10 days before the semester is over.

Docked Water Taxis

Docked Water Taxis
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Behind the Library & near the Pavilion.

Saints On Thursday Night Football

Saints On Thursday Night Football
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Into The Christmas Tree

Into The Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Santa has his list & is checking...

Snow On The Roof Of The Jetta

Snow On The Roof Of The Jetta
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Results of the Deep South winter blast.

My Golden Buddha From China Town NYC

My Golden Buddha From China Town NYC
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Always cheerfully lording over the home office television set.

Chuck The Nutcracker Stands Guard

Chuck The Nutcracker Stands Guard
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

6 feet tall with bonus points for the Fleur De Lis on his chest.

The Apple Store Window Santa Claus

The Apple Store Window Santa Claus
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The Western Christmas Tree 2008

The Western Christmas Tree 2008
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Cut down with THESE hands!

To Celebrate 75 Years

To Celebrate 75 Years
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Of the repeal of Prohibition.

Puggle

Puggle
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Puggles Lays For A Treat

Puggles Lays For A Treat
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

With a blur for a tail.

Discarded Bottlecaps

Discarded Bottlecaps
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

3 Series iDrive At Night

3 Series iDrive At Night
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Get yo commute on!

Christmas Tree, Waterfall, & Highrise

Christmas Tree, Waterfall, & Highrise
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Sights from the Waterway in The Woodlands.

Lunch On The Patio Of The Goose's Acre

Lunch On The Patio Of The Goose's Acre
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

What a gorgeous day.

Christmas Lights On A Hill

Christmas Lights On A Hill
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Infrared style.

The Ol' Coin Collection

The Ol' Coin Collection
Originally uploaded by Juston Western

Husemann's coin is still the largest in modern time.

Christmas Time Is Here

Christmas Time Is Here, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Happiness & Cheer... *queue Charlie Brown jazz interlude*

Scotch & Economics

Scotch & Economics, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

With a little jazz thrown in for the Saturday evening fare.

Puggles Is Introspective

Puggles Is Introspective, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Still So Much Ham Remaining

Still So Much Ham Remaining, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Leftovers for the next few days.

The Best Margarita In Houston

The Best Margarita In Houston, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

The Perfect at Cafe Adobe

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Fleur De Lis For Saints Monday Night Football

Fleur De Lis For Saints Monday Night Football, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Who dat?

Puggles, Texas Ranger Enjoys A Burger/Chicken Combo Dinner

Puggles, Texas Ranger Enjoys A Burger/Chicken Combo Dinner, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Ashley's MacBook

Ashley's MacBook, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Cupcake & Punch At Kooker's Baby Shower

Cupcake & Punch At Kooker's Baby Shower, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Brunch at The Egg & I

Brunch at The Egg & I, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

So delicious.

Thanksgiving Potluck At Hewitt

Thanksgiving Potluck At Hewitt, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Complete with Turkey Day quiz. I need to brush up on my Plymouth Rock
trivia.

Keeping Time Around The World

Keeping Time Around The World, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Shrimp Etouffee Night

Shrimp Etouffee Night, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Bookworm Statue At Montgomery County Library

Bookworm Statue At Montgomery County Library, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

My Typical Sunday View

My Typical Sunday View, originally uploaded by Juston Western.

Writing a paper, quasi-watching a Texans or Saints game, & listening
to music.

'Tis The Season At The Western Ranch In Texas

Purportedly, Puggles also moonlights as a saloon piano player.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/tD2r9G3AI6XiACom

Returning To Normalcy Post-Ike

The greater Houston area kind of took it on the chin for Hurricane Ike last weekend. Even 90 miles from the coast, The Woodlands experienced hurricane force winds.

We were without power at our house from 6:17AM on Saturday morning until 9:58PM on Tuesday evening, so basically 4 full days. I posted play-by-play updates on my Twitter page starting on September 11 and continuing for the next week if you're interested in going back to see how it unfolded.

Today I've also posted a photoset on Flickr with pictures of Ike's aftermath, as well as 2 videos on YouTube, which I'm embedding below. The first was footage from Saturday morning, as the remnants of Ike were still looming in The Woodlands, and the second is from Sunday afternoon when I was out assesing the damage after the rains had subsided.


Hurricane Ike Wanes In The Woodlands




Damage From Hurricane Ike In The Woodlands

Hurricane Ike Playlist or Tina (Houston) Turner vs L'Ouragon Ikey Tunes

We're all bunkered down here in The Woodlands, expecting Hurricane Ike to make it our way in about 10 hours. So in that spirit, I scoured my iTunes library & put together a little music for the event. In all it's 31 song glory, here is the tracklisting:

01 - Ike & Tina Turner - I Want To Take You Higher
02 - Dean Martin - Houston
03 - Ella Fitzgerald - Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All The Time)
04 - Jimmy Buffett - Tryin' To Reason With Hurricane Season
05 - Roachford & M.Y.N.C. Project - Ride The Storm (Life Goes On Club Mix)
06 - Bob Dylan - Hurricane
07 - Amoeba Assassin - Piledriver (The Hurricane Mix)
08 - Gambino Family - Trapped In A Storm
09 - Houston Grand Opera - Porgy & Bess Act 2, Scene 4: Oh, Doctor Jesus (Hurricane Scene)
10 - Selwyn Cooper - Hurricane Blues
11 - Roni Size - Centre of the Storm featuring Zack De La Rocha
12 - Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary
13 - Green Velvet - Stormy Weather
14 - Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm
15 - Darude - Calm Before The Storm
16 - Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane
17 - Kaos, Karl K, & Jae Kennedy - Houston
18 - The Doors - Riders On The Storm
19 - Frank Sinatra - Stormy Weather (with Quincy Jones)
20 - Gnarls Barkley - Storm Coming
21 - Jeff Mills - The Storm Among Us
22 - Leftfield - Storm 3000
23 - Massive Attack - Weather Storm
24 - Hurricane Smith - Oh, Babe, What Would You Say
25 - AIR - The World Hurricane
26 - Mobb Deep - Quiet Storm
27 - Beausoleil - L'Ouragan (The Hurricane)
28 - Enya - Storms In Africa
29 - Scorpions - Wind of Change
30 - Orbital - Desert Storm
31 - T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday

Fingers crossed for the best!

A Brain Melter Of A Live Set: Digweed at Amnesia

I've had this hour of music on heavy rotation over the past week, and felt compelled to share it. This was recorded on the night of August 2, 2008, as part of Radio 1's Essential Mix broadcast from Amnesia in Ibiza.

I've pasted the tracklist below, with three tracks I considered particularly notable bolded. A bit heavier on the techno than I've heard from John Digweed in recent years, but it works really, REALLY well. He made full use of his hour of allotted live broadcast time. Truly, this is the most consistently aggressive 60 minutes of music I've ever heard come from the man.

[00:00] 01 - Bedrock - Forge (Tom Middleton Remix)
[06:00] 02 - Guy J - Geko (Remute Remix)
[11:00] 03 - On Spec vs The Police - Voices Of Columbus (Jamie Stevens Re-Edit)
[17:00] 04 - Gianluca Motta - London (Pig & Dan Remix)
[23:00] 05 - Depeche Mode - Freelove (Josh Wink Vocal Dub)
[31:00] 06 - Remute - Condensated
[35:00] 07 - Christian Smith - Flyertalk
[43:00] 08 - Timo Maas - Subtellite
[53:00] 09 - Misstress Barbara - K-10 (Alan Fitzpatrick Remix)
[59:00] 10 - Winona - Without You (Kris Menace Remix)

Click Here To Download The Set

I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I have! It's gotten more remarkable with each subsequent listen.

Google Street View Comes To The Woodlands

I ran across a post this morning on the Inside The Woodlands blog about Google Street view images of this area now being available.

Sure enough, the omnipresent Googlebot seemed to take a ride by our house some time around December 2007 given the wreath on our house. For those of you with familiarity of the area, try plugging in a few addresses to see their accuracy. I'm not sure if the images are intentionally off by a few houses due to security concerns, but on the addresses I've checked, I've invariably had to scroll down the street a tad to see accurate pics.

Looking Back At The Richie Hawtin & Danny Tenaglia Pacha NYC 2007 Evening

Upon seeing that Richie Hawtin will make an extremely rare appearance in the southern United States later this month in Houston, I became nostalgic about a very memorable club night I attended last June in Manhattan.

I poked around on YouTube & came across three videos from that evening that others recorded. While I assumed cameras were banned from the club (and therefore, didn't bring mine), I did end up in the background of one of the club photographer's shots. However, still images can't do the event justice, so check out these 3 videos from June 8, 2007 at club Pacha in New York City.



For those interested in seeing true "techno" performed by one of its pioneers, I highly recommend catching Richie on his Fall 2008 tour. Full itinerary on his website.

Synthetic Shadiness - "Installment": 8 Years Later

During December 1999 & January 2000, I along with my brother, Matthew, & friend, Ryan Wimberley, produced an electronica album under the collective name Synthetic Shadiness. Individually, we had three pseudonyms: I was JetaTek, Matthew was Crazy Shady, & Ryan was Cain.

After making the album, we even went through the process of getting 100 copies pressed, and assembled the resulting discs in jewel cases with album artwork (see adjacent...hey, it was the 90's). We sold the album for $8 a pop, and were pretty successful in unloading all of them through sales at our high school & at a couple of raves in New Orleans.

A couple of weeks ago I was sorting through my iTunes library and ran across the ripped MP3s from our album. Surprisingly, I felt the songs aged pretty well. You wouldn't mistake them for Grammy winning tracks, but they're definitely a couple of notches above a toddler banging on a Casio keyboard.

I thought I'd share the album with those of you who may be interested in giving it a listen. There were originally 18 songs on the album, but I've added a bonus track of a remix I did back in April 2004 as my semester final project in the Computer Music course at Tulane.

The download link is below. Just unzip and enjoy!

Synthetic Shadiness - Installment

Muxtape Compilation Of My Current Running Music

Like many, I really enjoy running with music. Although I circulate the tunes on my iPod fairly regularly, there's a core set of tracks that I find myself consistently reloading to keep me motivated while running the trails here in The Woodlands.

A few months back I read a post on the Houston Chronicle's TechBlog about Muxtape. Basically, it lets you create a web-based mixtape to share with friends. You can't download the songs, but you can listen to the tracks in their entirety.

Since I get pretty jazzed about the music I'm listening to at any given time, I thought Muxtape would lend itself fairly well to sharing my current tastes with others. So click the link the below to listen to the compilation of songs I use to keep the adrenaline flowing.

http://justonwestern.muxtape.com/

Why My Next Computer Will Be A Mac

How I Got To This Point

I typically buy a computer every 2 to 3 years. This has been the case since I got my first Pentium 60 MHz machine running Windows 3.11 during the fall of 1994.

In the late 1990s, I never really considered a Macintosh computer as a potential purchase. From what I knew of them, they were typically expensive, had a limited selection of software, and the only individuals I knew who used them could best be described as inhabiting the fringes of society. These beliefs were only reinforced when I worked at CompUSA in 2000. The Apple section was relegated to the back corner of the store and to say it was sparsely populated with customers would be an overstatement.

When I started undergraduate studies in the Fall of 2000, my bias towards Windows-based PCs only grew stronger. It wasn't so much a loyalty to Microsoft, as it was realizing that I had the most freedoms and fewest restrictions using a Windows machine. I didn't have to worry about computer peripherals or a piece of software critical to my Computer Science curriculum not working with my machine, because hey, everything was Windows compatible. In fact, the social miscreants in my dorm who did have Macs would often drop by my room and ask to borrow my computer for a few minutes since they ran into "something" that wasn't Mac compatible.

Beginning in the Spring of 2005, my resistance to purchasing Apple products began to wain. I was at Keesler Air Force Base on the Gulf Coast, and my trusty Diamond Rio 500 64MB MP3 player kicked the bucket after 5 years. The first generation iPod Shuffle had been released a few months earlier, and after seeing a 1GB version on sale at a nearby Circuit City, I decided to join the legions of iPod toting fans. I only needed it for when I ran, so the lack of screen didn't bother me. And picking up an MP3 player for a hundred bucks and change was much different than laying out a couple of thousand for a computer.

In September of 2005, I bought a new BMW 3 Series. Despite being chocked full of technology (on-board navigation, 2 optical disc drives, automatic everything), it didn't have one key feature that I had grown VERY accustomed to in my VW Jetta: MP3 CD capability. As someone who listens primarily to electronic music, I needed a way to get my 2 to 4 hour long DJ sets onto my car stereo, and splitting a file over 4 CDs just wasn't something I was interested in undertaking. Enter the 60GB iPod Photo.

Even though I have close to 1TB of music, there is still something liberating about being able to carry around hundreds of your favorite albums on a very portable device. While I could fit about 10 albums on an individual MP3 CD, it was still cumbersome to jump around between artists, albums, and genres if they happened not to be grouped on a single disc. The large capacity iPod solved this inconvenience. However, had it not been for my car's lack of MP3 CD capability, I probably wouldn't have realized just how convenient the iPod solution was in comparison. (As an aside, I was finally able to get MP3 CD capability via a software update at the dealership last week...I guess 2 years late is better than never.)

So now you're thinking, "Ok, Juston's just describing a classic case of the 'iPod Halo Effect' I've read about," right? Well not exactly. Granted, having exposure to the 2 iPods probably helped mildly deteriorate the psychological disinclination towards Apple products that I'd developed over a decade. But it hardly garnered enough of my mindshare to make me run out and buy a Mac.

What owning the iPods did manage to do was pique my interest enough in the company to follow their new product announcements more closely. And in January of 2006 they announced the transition of their computers to Intel processors. Initially, I didn't think a hardware announcement would have such a significant impact on the way I viewed the computer industry, but in retrospect, this news was huge.

Over the next year, I saw the release of Boot Camp which would allow users to load Windows on their Intel-based Mac and boot into that OS if they needed to run a Windows application. Also released was a virtualization program called Parallels Desktop which let users run Windows as a virtual machine within the Mac OS. Now I didn't have to worry about compatibility issues. This is when I truly began to consider buying an Apple Computer.

Most people recognize there's still probably a big gap between considering a purchase and actually making a purchase, especially when we're talking about a product that potentially costs several thousand dollars. So let me explain why I am ready to make my purchase of a MacBook Pro next month.

It Just Doesn't Make Sense NOT To Buy A Mac Now

In a word: Flexibility. What's ironic here is that prior to the Intel switch, flexibility was perhaps the biggest detractor from purchasing a Mac. And now I consider it to be the biggest selling point.

After I realized that I could run Windows on a Mac, I became curious as to what I couldn't run on Windows. As it turns out, there's a whole world of software developers out there that develop applications exclusively for the Mac OS. While I always knew this, I never had the reason to explore the creations of these "social miscreants" (to use my own probably ill-conceived words from earlier) until I became curious about the Mac platform. Sure, most times there are equivalent programs for Windows that can accomplish the same function. But this is a very utilitarian approach to take. What I've discovered is that (more often than not) the Mac specific programs solve the problem in a much more elegant, visually pleasing, and artistically inspired manner. I'm talking everything from somewhat unnecessary widgets to the more business savvy Numbers spreadsheet program.

Perhaps you skeptics are thinking, "Well that's kind of a right-brained conceptualization of computers. He's just enamored by the eye candy that Apple is known for parading out to their brain-washed cult of zealots." I would propose, however, that much of the eye candy is in fact indicative of something very left-brained: attention to detail. Why just make something functional when you can make it functional AND beautiful? To me that demonstrates an underlying analytical mindset that believes you should focus on all aspects of the computing experience. Function and design are not mutually exclusive, and I think many individuals had just grown to believe they were.

I'm not implying that Mac developers have a total monopoly on artistically inspired yet functional applications. But now, there's such a lower barrier of entry to trying out and using their applications than existed 2 years ago. The reality is that you can now run every Windows application available on a Mac, in addition to all the Mac specific software that exists. Your pool of available software just increased significantly, and you can cherry pick which applications you like best. I might like to run Firefox in Windows and Photoshop in OS X. If I have a Mac, I can easily do that. With a Windows-based computer, this is close to impossible. (I say "close" because there are some technically adept computer users who have managed to load OS X on a PC, but the steps involved are overtly cumbersome and technically illegal.)

For me, the increased flexibility of a Mac was what ultimately influenced my decision to take the plunge. But the usual justifications of increased stability, more frequent OS feature updates, and Apple's noted panache for industrial design really just make the choice even more obvious.

Apparently I'm not the only one whose come to this conclusion, either. Apple's marketshare has (almost) steadily increased over the past 2 years. And amongst "power users" I'd say adoption has been even faster with deeper penetration. While heuristic at best, I like to use the example of what I witnessed in Manhattan. I went to the monthly Google Speaker Series lectures/discussions at Google's Manhattan headquarters from April to June of this year. During one of the presentations, Google's Open Source Program Manager, Chris DiBona, asked audience members to raise their hand if they were a Mac user. Over 50% of the people in attendance raised their hands.

So there you have it. As I see it, the Mac is simply the best deal going right now. I've emphatically recommended the Mac to friends who have sought my advice over the past year, and I'd say I've influenced six people to go with a MacBook or MacBook Pro who were on the fence when it came to a laptop decision.

After much analyzing (as demonstrated in this blog post), I myself will be taking the plunge in October as soon as Leopard comes preinstalled on the MacBook Pros. Once I get it and have completed all the installations/configurations of my various applications, I'll post here for those of you interested in specific programs.

JW / NOLA Memory Map (Google Maps Mash-Up)

I spent about 4 hours this morning using the new tools on Google Maps to create a Google Maps / Flickr mash-up geographically showcasing some of my more memorable events in New Orleans. It's still a work in progress, but it's got about 30+ place markers so far. You can check it out here:

JW / NOLA Memory Map

- JW

A Jazzy Evening Out In Dover

About 3 weeks ago, my favorite jazz artist, John Axson Ellis, was in Philadelphia for a performance. Unfortunately, this coincided with our Air Show weekend, so Ashley & I weren't able to get up to Philly for the show. Last night, however, we were able to get our jazz fix locally, as the Air Force Reserve Full Spectrum jazz band did a free performance here in Dover at the Schwartz Center downtown.

We decided to make a date night out the occasion, going first to Smither's for cocktails and appetizers. I had also received an invitation to a cocktail hour on the third floor of the Schwartz Center prior to the show, so we checked that out, too, before taking our seats.

The show lasted about an hour and a half. While the vast majority of the songs were jazz numbers, the band did throw in a smattering of patriotic tunes and oldies tracks to keep the interest of those in the audience who weren't jazz aficionados. I especially enjoyed the contributions of one particular saxophonist, who really had a New Orleans' flair about him.

After the show was complete, we walked down Loockerman to The Dirty Beggar. I'd heard good things about the establishment, with it having a reputation as one of the more upscale bars in Dover. Ashley got a great Mojito, while I opted for a Maker's Mark on the rocks. When we were done, we stopped in to Angelo's Pizza Restaurant just before closing time and grabbed a couple of pepperoni rolls to go.

Overall, a really fun Friday night outing reminiscent of our excursions in the French Quarter back in college. Nothing like some good music and good beverages to keep the heart young.

- JW

Nintendo's 21st Anniversary Celebration

Last Wednesday, October 18, 2006, was the 21st anniversary of the Nintendo Entertainment System's release in America. With the NES representing such a large portion of my childhood entertainment, I couldn't let the event pass uncelebrated...especially with the little console finally old enough to drink!

Ashley & I put together a Nintendo-themed party for the occasion, complete with emulator action of ROMS from all the old classics I used to own and 5 hours of hand-picked video game music remixes I found online last summer. We ordered several pizzas from Dominoes (just like back in the '80s!), and Ashley whipped up two Mario adult beverages: Mario's Dream & Princess' Pink Martini.

While we had Mario Kart Double Dash & Mario Dance Dance Revolution hooked up in the basement, the run away successes of the evening were the original Bases Loaded and Tecmo Bowl running on my laptop upstairs. Despite the poor graphics, some games are just classics. And of course, Super Mario Bros seemed to have sentimental value for everyone who picked up a controller.

We asked attendees to dress in video game or '80s themed attire. The clear-cut winner of the night was Amber, who dressed as Mario for the occasion, complete with white gloves and mustache. Be sure to look for her in the photos.

So happy 21st, NES. You'll always hold a special place in my heart and those of most of the children from the 1980s!

Now for the digital memories. Check out the photoset on Flickr and two clips now up on YouTube.

- JW

Fordham Brewery's Oktoberfest 2006

This weekend we checked out the local brewery which was holding its first annual Oktoberfest celebration. The price was $20 for two meals and 3 drink tickets, so we got there shortly after kickoff to get the most bang for our buck.

Overall a really fun afternoon. The weather was beautiful, clocking in around 45 degrees with sunny, blue skies. They had a horseshoe pit setup, so we parked our folding chairs nearby and played several rounds of horseshoes while drinking beer and listening to the local bands.

The festival wasn't nearly as big as the Oktoberfest we went to in Newark, DE, last year, but the closer proximity more than made up for the smaller scale. We also went on a brewery tour while we were there. The whole operation is run by two full time employees and then a small contingent of volunteers who lend their services for free beer and pizza.

Concerning the types of beer they had on tap for the event, it was a selection of 4 different brews. There was a light Lager, the Oktoberfest seasonal, a red-colored Tavern brew, and an ultra dark Oyster blend. My favorite was the Oktoberfest, which had the most balanced flavor of the four brews.

As usual, I took many photos and a selection of video clips. You can check out the 72 photos on Flickr, and 6 videos on YouTube.

- JW

Dover AFB's Air Show 2006

As fate would have it, I lucked out this weekend and only had to work Saturday morning for the Air Show. This let me catch some college football on Saturday afternoon (stupid Arkansas), and then be a spectator for the Sunday portion of the Air Show.

With this my first time attending an Air Show, I really went in with few expectations. I'd seen the movie Tarnished Angels (based on William Faulkner's novel Pylon), but that was about the extent of my exposure to aerial acrobatics. The event was actually pretty entertaining and definitely a departure from our typical weekend fare.

I'd say the highlights were:

- Seeing an F-18 cause a Prandtl-Glauert condensation cloud by nearing the sound barrier
- Going inside the cargo bay of a C-17
- Watching the Aeroshell Team leave the crowd of nearly 50,000 in a cloud of smoke
- Witnessing the Thunderbirds' performance...made me think of the Team America theme song

As promised, I've put the photos and video clips from the event online. You can check out the 85 photos on Flickr or watch the 11 videos on YouTube.

- JW

Trying To Warm Up My Writing Motivation

I need to crank out a couple of essays for my grad school application today, so I'm starting with a blog post to get my writing juices flowing.

Earlier this week, Dover AFB held their annual MILCON (Military Construction) briefing at the Sheraton downtown. Like last year, I was tasked with making sure the A/V needs were met. Unlike last year, the morning setup didn't exactly go swimmingly.

This briefing was supposed to serve as the debut for a new touch-screen equipped podium, whose construction stemmed from feedback received after last year's MILCON brief. The idea was if the briefer had the slides in front of him, then he wouldn't have to turn around to make sure he was speaking to the right data. Easy enough.

After arriving at the Sheraton at 6:00AM to make sure the Airmen weren't hitting any configuration roadblocks, I realized it was going to be one of those days. The laptop was communicating fine with the podium, but the projectors just didn't seem to see a signal. We tried 3 different laptops, but none seemed to be recognized by the Sheraton's A/V rack. The morning supervisor wasn't exactly a technical expert, either, claiming that only Dell laptops would interface with their system. Heh.

Long story short, the patch panel on the floor had to be power-cycled and then everything worked fine. When the Sheraton's A/V Guru finally showed up at 7:00AM, though, he spent 30 minutes redoing everything the Airmen had already tried before finally agreeing to attempt a reboot of his A/V rack. The breakfast was supposed to start at 7:15AM, but didn't have everything fully functional until about 7:30AM. The event organizers were accommodating, though, and the 15-minute delay didn't represent a show-stopper.

The bad news was that because of the technical hiccups, we didn't have time to reconnect the new podium, so alas the touch-screen goodness would have to wait until the next big event.

I debuted the October 2006 version of Dover's Wing Mission Video after the Colonel's briefing. This was a project I'd been working on for the past month or so. It went over quite well, and I ended up personally receiving kudos from both Senator Joseph Biden and Senator Tom Carper after the event was finished. Yeah, the same Joe Biden whom I took pleasure in making listen to my electronica music during last year's MILCON briefing. :-) Speaking of which, you can view last year's video at the following location:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5228757400096725005&q=Dover+Air+Force+Base

I'll get around to uploading the 2006 version within the next couple of weeks.

I'm off of work today because I have to work both Saturday & Sunday at the Air Show that Dover AFB is hosting this weekend. I heard a couple of the Thunderbirds flying in earlier this morning, so things seem to be ramping up in preparation. Even now, I don't know exactly what role I'll be playing at the event this weekend, but I have a feeling it'll entail running random errands for the Colonel as things pop up.

Well, time to get moving on those essays. Be on the lookout next week for some pictures from the Air Show.

JustonWestern.com Goes Live

While my initial plan was to hold off launching JustonWestern.com until I had every area complete, I realized that I'd been paying $9.99 a month since March 2005, and really hadn't done anything with the domain. So after finishing up with my GMAT yesterday, and looking for a new project to undertake instead of studying everyday, I figured I would put the framework of JustonWestern.com on the server.

I spent a little time developing a roll-out schedule for the different areas of the site. I'm hoping by actually marking these down on Google Calendar, it will motivate me to continue with the development. If I stick to the schedule, I'll be rolling out new areas every 2 to 3 weeks. This seems a little more manageable than the daunting project of building the entire site for a grand opening style launch.

Right now the huge content areas consist of my photos on Flickr and my videos on Google Video. Eventually, I'm going to have all the media also hosted on my site, but to start off I've just linked to versions on the third party sites. Flickr & Google Video also make commenting on individual pictures & videos really easy, so there's a benefit of having them there, too.

The jury's still out on the usefulness of having a Forum on my site. Granted, I could just ask people to post feedback about my site either here on Blogger, or over on MySpace, but I've always had a special place in my heart for the traditional style of bulletin boards like vBulletin & phpBB. I'm hopeful the Forum turns out to be another useful way of communicating with friends and family.

As I say on my front page, I envision the site ultimately growing into something of a digital media locker. I plan on having all the websites I've built over the years (like NOLAED, my EAHS school website, & my very first "homepage" back from 1997) eventually hosted on JustonWestern.com. In addition, I'll want to get various papers I've written in school and music I've produced posted to the site. As you can see, it will become fairly comprehensive, and I want to make sure I give each new area the attention it deserves.

So begins a new project. I'll post here each time a new area goes live.

Photos from Wilmington Blue Rocks Game

Just a quick post to make note of the photos I took at the Wilmington Blue Rocks game last Thursday night. Mr. Celery made many an appearance as the Blue Rocks went on to a 6 - 0 victory. Check out the photo set on Flickr here:

http://flickr.com/photos/justonwestern/sets/72157594253453115/