MY LIFE

Friday, 10 July 2009

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    Reason #__ to Leave Seminole

    The "Tag Office."

    Each state has its own way of dealing with license plates and driver's licenses. In Oklahoma, at least in small towns, there's simply a "Tag Office" (that's how it's listed in the phone book). That's the place where you get your license renewed or your car tag updated.

    There's nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. The alternatives are to make everyone in the small town drive to a larger city, or to have a full DMV in every town. Neither makes sense.

    But what we get is a small-town office where the people don't seem to know what's going on or what the rules are.

    Background: When my wife first got her driver's license in Oklahoma, they mistakenly put her maiden name as her middle name. At the time, we figured it didn't matter. But, when her Social Security card was updated (for marriage), they didn't use her maiden name as her middle name. To complicate matters, her passport still has her maiden name as her last name.

    So:
    Passport: (first name) (maiden name)
    Social Sec.: (first name) (married name)
    Okla. DL: (first name) (maiden name) (married name)

    Three different names.

    The passport is good for a few more years so there's no reason to change that -- we only use it when we fly. But the rest needs to be matched up, right? Especially now that we're applying for jobs and hoping to move out of state.

    So, she called the "Tag Office" a while back and asked what needed to be done to change the name on her driver's license. They said, "Oh, just bring it in with a copy of your marriage license; we'll change it."

    Today, she brought in the incorrect license along with the marriage license. You guessed it, the people at the Tag Office wouldn't change the driver's license. Even though they'd already told her they could.

    The end result is, her driver's license still has the incorrect name on it. So we're kind of in a quandary right now.

Thursday, 09 July 2009

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    WhatWare?

    If you're the type of person who only uses software that you bought in a store or that came installed on your computer, you can ignore the rest of this.

    If, on the other hand, you like downloading and installing software via the internet, then read on.

    There are thousands, if not millions, of software packages available online, but they don't all work the same way. You may have heard the terms "freeware," "shareware," etc., but don't know what they mean. Most of these terms are defined more specifically in places like Wikipedia, but the definitions below are the way they're used every day by regular users.

    Retailware ("Commercial Software"): This is what you buy in stores, or purchase online before downloading. Think Microsoft, Adobe, etc.

    Freeware: This is the opposite of Retailware. It doesn't cost any money to download or use the software with full capabilities. Examples include AVG Free, Glary Utilities, File Shredder, Launchy, PhotoME, RocketDock, etc.

    Some "freeware" is also Open Source.

    Openware ("Open Source Software"): Open Source software comes in various shades, but the most common definition is this: software that can be rewritten by users, to improve or change the application. In other words, its creators believe there's enough good will in the world that other people will help them make better software. The most successful examples of this so far are Mozilla Firefox, OpenOffice, and the GIMP. These are also "freeware," in that they don't cost any money.

    Shareware: Some people confuse this with "freeware," because it doesn't cost anything. But it does. There's always a price. For instance, it'll expire after so many days ("trialware"), or some of the main features are disabled ("crippleware"), or there are advertisement programs installed along with the main program ("adware").

    Beware of websites offering "free software" because a lot of it is actually shareware. Check for the software's license. If it says "free," you're still not in the clear. Make sure it's not a trial program or crippled in some way.

    Malware ("Malicious Software"): Usually means harmful code like viruses or trojans, but also has come to mean dishonest adware, unwanted software, etc.

    Some have gone so far as to use "malware" for every day programs like QuickTime or GoogleDesktop, because they don't tell you the full story when you install them. They don't warn you that they're going to run "updater" programs every few minutes without asking you, or that indexing programs will max out your CPU within minutes. Technically, this isn't malware, because the software wasn't intended to cause specific harm.

    Perhaps this should be called "accident ware," because the applications cause harm/annoyance by accident.

    Spyware: software installed on computers with the intent of collecting information about the user or his/her browsing habits without his/her informed consent. Many have accused Microsoft or Google programs of being "spyware." But usually the term refers to software that was installed unintentionally or secretly.

    Despite the spread of bad software on the internet, I still recommend that people search out freeware or open source software, for many reasons. One, it's free! Two, it sometimes is better than retailware or at least less clunky. Three, sometimes you can't find software in the store that does what you want it to. But you can find freeware for just about anything.

    (If you already know all of this stuff, that's fine. I'm making a simple list for the average internet user who doesn't know this stuff. The main reason is, I searched the internet and couldn't find a simple list of these very common terms.)


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    54 of 365 Bokeh

    Surface of an Alien World?



    Taken with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens.

    (Copyright © 2009 by Wil C. Fry. All rights reserved.)

    (See the slideshow here.)

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    Canada Snapshots

    For those of you who haven't taken the loads of time required to view our Canada pictures, here's a quick movie that contains all the snapshots of my wife and I, set to a little Bach music.



    (It views pretty well at full-screen, though some of the transitions are messed up. Feel free to leave comments here, or on YouTube if you have an account there.)
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    53 of 365 Bokeh

    Rubik's Cube



    Taken with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, lit by a Canon 420EX Speedlite flash bounced off the ceiling.

    (Copyright © 2009 by Wil C. Fry. All rights reserved.)

    (See the slideshow here.)

SaintSeminole

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    • Name: Saint
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    • Birthday: 9/20/1972
    • Gender: Male
    • Member Since: 2/2/2005
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About Me

  • I'm a 36-year-old photographer in Seminole, Okla. Recently, I left my job with the local newspaper in hopes of moving out of town. My hobbies include photography, the outdoors, computers, and reading. I am happily attached to my beautiful wife.