Dell Mini picture borrowed from www.dell.com

After a wait that seemed like forever, my Dell Mini 9 arrived and I am enjoying all 9 incredible inches.  Here are a great few things about my Dell Mini 9:

Affordable:  They start at $250 and I need to say no more.

Size: Alright, so the screen is really 8.9 inches, but the overall computer is 9 inches wide.  It is perfect to throw in a briefcase, backpack, purse (claims a co-worker) and take anywhere.  I cannot wait to take this on my next trip; It is will be so much easier get through airport security and pack among my other travel necessities.

If you are concerned about the keyboard size, I have already gotten use to the smaller keys.  It is a little weird at first, but as many others have commented, you will become acclimated to the smaller keyboard in no time.  

Weight:  The Mini is a little over 2 pounds, which is a great change from my other Dell laptop which weighs well over 8 pounds (Sometimes it feels like a million pounds!). 

Speed:  I am currently using my Mini for web surfing, document editing, and blog posting and other basic functions and I could not be happier with the speed.  If you are a graphic design artist, you already know that this is not the computer for you. 

If you need a laptop to have with you at all times, then the Dell Mini is the perfect second laptop for you.  I would also suggest that the Dell Mini series is also a perfect first computer for kids.   I would highly suggest that they make a rugged version. 

Read more about the Dell Mini options at www.dell.com.

Picture from Florian Villa, where families and troops can visit to renew and recharge.

CONTACT 
Scott Wahlen
Deborah Bernstein
Florian Villa on Gift Hill
Saint John, United States Virgin Islands
(617) 429-6182
info@florianvilla.com
http://www.tinyurl.com/florian-event

BOSTON: LAUGHTER IS STILL THE BEST MEDICINE FOR FAMILIES AND TROOPS
Boston couple organizes a comedy show to raise funds to send wounded troops and families of fallen firefighters to the Florian Villa on St. John, US Virgin Islands in order to heal and recharge.

March 9, 2009 (Boston, MA) – Patty Ross and Johnny Pizzi will headline a March 29^th comedy event at the Florian Hall in Dorchester, MA to raise funds to support families of fallen firefighters and wounded troops.  Boston’s talk show personality and author Michele McPhee will also make a guest appearance during the show.

“We expect an incredible turnout and we know that Patty Ross and Johnny Pizzi will keep everyone slapping their knees for a great cause,” states Deborah Bernstein and Scott Wahlen.  Deborah Bernstein, a yoga instructor, and her fiancé, Scott Wahlen, a captain with the Boston Fire Department and former U.S. Marine, are organizing the March 29^th event.

Bernstein and Wahlen provide weeklong, all-inclusive respites to families of fallen firefighters and returning wounded veterans at their exclusive Florian Villa on Saint John Island in the US Virgin Islands.  Current residents of Boston, these two philanthropists provide yoga therapy and routinely collaborate with other organizations, such as Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba (SUDS), to provide a well-rounded and supportive environment for the visiting families and veterans.

2009 SUDS Trip, Florian Villa

Seven veterans just returned from the Florian Villa two weeks ago.  The veterans were working with the SUDS program and finishing their requirements for their SCUBA certifications.   Check out the pictures from the trip.

Tickets to the March 29^th comedy show can be purchased at www.tinyurl.com/florian-event.  If you cannot make the event, contributions to the Florian Villa fund can also processed on the website listed above.

The Florian Villa was named after Saint Florian who is the patron saint of firefighters and their families. For additional information about the Florian Villa, visit http://www.FlorianVilla.com or http://florianyoga.blogspot.com or call (617) 429-6182.

XOHM is Baltimore’s WiMAX wireless technology that provides residents with a significantly faster internet signal both at home and on the go.  XOHM, a combined effort of Sprint Nextel and Clearwire, has several advantages:

• Faster downloads and uploads
• Portability
• Easy set-up
• Great customer service
• More affordable than a cable modem

Shortly after XOHM arrived in Baltimore this past October, I did my normal research and decided XOHM was not for me.  I remember reading some bad press about coverage and the pricing, but a recent conversation over lunch with NPR’s Mario Armstrong prompted me to take another look at XOHM.  Mario, thank you for helping me to see the light.  My XOHM service is incredible.

A Few Notes About My Experience Thus Far:
Set-up took a little bit of time, but after everything was adjusted, I have experienced seamless service.  The XOHM system automatically connected to my current router and the half dozen wireless devices in my house were connected to a faster connect.

Due to the two package that I purchased, there was a little problem with the second device.  When I called customer service, they got right on the problem and solved it in no time.  A representative even called the following day to ensure that everything was still working properly.

Here are a few other reviews:
PCMag, CNET, Business Exchange

If you live in Baltimore, then I highly suggest that you ditch your DSL line and get XOHM.  If you do not live in Baltimore, be on the lookout for XOHM in your city.

www.dyalogues.com

This blog is one of an estimated 60 million blogs in the blogosphere.  Occassionally, I get a comment or two, but for the most part, I say my piece and it is over.  Well, this all might change thanks to Dyalogues, www.dyalogues.com and blogging could become a more robust two-way discussion.   

Dyalogues, a two-way blogging exchange about a particular topic, is still in beta mode, but is already seeing a high level of activity.  Recent topics have included the octamom, immigration laws, every technology topic known, and everything in between.  After a very brief review, it can be readily seen that the contributors are passionate about their subject matters and are fairly well versed.

If debating a controversial topic is not your thing, then you might choose to spar back and forth in the review section.  Again, the topic of reviews can focus on just about anything, but there are a lot of movie reviews and it looks like the site wants to encourage technology focused reviews.  I think there is something valuable about reading the pro and con side of new technology, new products, etc..

I recently joined the Dyalogues blogging family and I have to admit that I enjoy sparring with another blogger.  Take a look: http://www.dyalogues.com/profile/mjr-iii

The Big Bad Wolf Awaits You! 410-444-6422

 After several weeks of hearing about the Big Bad Wolf House of Barbeque, www.bigbadwolfbarbeque.com, I finally made a visit, and I am hooked.  I promise that after one visit, you will be hooked also.

Located at 5713 Harford Road in Baltimore, MD, this cute restaurant looks like it was made from the famed bricks of the Yellow Brick Road.   Open Monday through Saturday, you can expect great service from the moment you arrive, but you should not expect to dine in.  The shop only has four stools and is not really conducive to dining patrons.

The extensive menu with 8 different sauce choices and daily specials is sure to have something for everyone.  I had the Kansas City Sweet, Kansas City Spicy, and Carolina Vinegar varieties and loved them all.  After you choose your sauce you can choose whether you would like pork ribs, beef, ribs, or chicken.  I have heard that the pulled pork is also deal.  

Outside view of Big Bad Wolf Barbeque

Big Bad Wolf also has great prices. 

Check out what the City Paper has to say: http://www.citypaper.com/eat/place.asp?id=4475

Read the The Baltimore Sun review: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/63714,0,1084973.venue

 
First Attempt
The video/slide show above was made from scanned pictures and it actually turned out better than I was expecting.  You can see me with hair in these pictures from elementary school.

Second Attempt
As you can see, this show looks a lot better because I used high-quality pictures.  Again, I have to stress that it was fairly easy to use and a slide show can be completed in a matter of minutes.

One caveat: In order to load your show to YouTube, there is an extra conversion step involved.  The conversion requires that you download software to your local machine and complete a conversion on your desktop.

Give Slideroll a try and let me know what you think.

The robotics playing field.

America’s top students and professionals from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields converged on Baltimore to participate in a conference unlike any other in the world: The 2009 BEYA STEM Global Competitiveness Conference.  The conference, in its 23^rd year, was an unforgettable three-day event packed with an endless array of activities-a STEM career expo, endless informative workshops and seminars, the 2009 Middle School VEX Robotics Championships, an enriching K-12 program, the 4^th Stars & Stripes Dinner, and the 23^rd BEYA Gala.

Friday, Friday, February 20, 2009, GEN William Casey, Chief of Staff of the US Army provided the keynote to a room packed with the nation’s top brass from all branches of the military.  As the honorees were recognized, military leadership, both past and present, provided a mixture of humor and inspiration to everyone. 

Earlier Friday, the several teams of students waged war on one another during the 1^st BEYA VEX Middle School Robotics Championships.  The Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy, located in Baltimore, took home the top prize and will advance to the next competition. (picture above)

Guy Bluford (left) and Dr. Lydia Thomas (right) present Dr. Wanda Austin (center) with the 23rd Black Engineer of the Year Award.

Saturday, February 21, 2009, Dr. Wanda Austin accepted the 23^rd Black Engineer of the Year Award and joined the ranks of the most accomplished list of African-American technologists in the world.  Emceed by Lammon Rucker, the evening was filled with stories of perseverance, struggle, and success, and the acceptance speeches brought roaring laughter and some tears.  The 2009 top BEYA winner, Dr. Wanda Austin, proudly stood before the world’s leaders from academia, industry, military and the Federal government in the packed ballroom of the Baltimore Hilton Convention Center Hotel to proudly accept her award.  Two former BEYA winners, Guy Bluford and Lydia Thomas presented Dr. Austin with her award. (Pictured from left to right: Guy Bluford, Dr. Wanda Austin, Lydia Thomas)

The 23^rd BEYA Gala was the concluding event of a three-day conference offering seminars and workshops on a plethora of topics affecting African-American technologists and providing a forum for networking and celebration.  A destination event for students and professionals from around globe since 1986, this year’s conference saw a record attendance, especially at the 2009 Stars & Stripes Dinner.

The BEYA Awards Awaiting Retrieval

It was a moving experience for everyone involved and several have written about their awesome experience.  Take a moment to read some of the feedback from other attendees:

http://bossip.com/84982/the-hard-knocks-of-recession-are-banging-on-the-doors-of-black-colleges/

http://www.the-savvy-sista.com/2009/02/black-engineer-of-year-awards.html

http://blog.oar.uiuc.edu/?p=2202

Also, take a moment to check out the pictures from the entire three-day event.

http://www.glenwoodjacksonphotography.com/BEYA2009.html

Picture borrowed from Redstone website

A Debate
During a recent dinner party, a heated debate ensued about the superiority of mead from different european regions.  Intrigued by the topic, my hosts brought me a few varieties to try.  It was the beginning of a great night of mead exploration.  Fast forward two weeks and I find a mead display in my favorite liquor store.  I think mead is making a comeback.

What the heck is Mead? 
In my own words, mead is a very sweet wine that tastes a lot like its primary ingredient, honey.  Made since prehistoric times, mead has been made all over the world in many different varieties.  A more eloquent explanation of mead’s history can be found on the wikipedia and Got Mead websites.

My most recent mead experience came from Redstone Meadery, which is located in Boulder, Colorado.  I tried their traditional mountain honey wine and found it to be much smoother than the previous brands I tried.  It also had a better aroma. 

As a reisling lover, mead is right down my alley.  I should note that mead seems to have more bite than reisling, despite its sweetness.

I must admit that the cool, blue, flip-top bottle swayed me to purchase their brand.

A visit to the Redstone website is also a great experience; it is filled with awesome recipes and historical information.  Visit the site and be sure to check out their Redstone Reserves and nectars.

Click image to order the book

Check out a cool book about making mead.

Do you have a favorite mead?  Leave me a note and let me know about your mead experiences.

Smart meters provide consumers with several features-the ability to monitor usage of electricity, and potentially natural gas, in real time, ability to participate in cycling activities to save money, and ability to remotely control home appliances via a web portal. 

Photo taken by freefotouk

Google wants to help everyone to manage their electricity consumption and I am all for it.  Monday, Google made a blog entry describing their interest in organizing, analyzing, and sharing information about consumer energy use. 

The Google blog states that there are roughly 40 million smart meters in use globally and there are plans and hopes to increase this number 300% during the next few years.   Currently, Italy, Canada, and Turkey are leading with the implementation of this technology and are reaping incredible rewards in the form of consumer discounts, operational cost-savings, energy conservation.

Watch Google’s Video:

Baltimore Gas and Electric has introduced something slightly related, Peak Rewards, which helps conserve resources and reduce consumer bills by cycling consumer cooling and heating units based on demand.

• Screen with 16 shades
• Faster and improved controls
• Super thin: I cannot believe it is thinner than my iPhone.

February 9th was supposed to be a special day; the day I would order my Kindle 2.0.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a normal day.   Why would I get in line to wait for a Kindle 2.0 when Amazon never fulfilled all the orders from the original Kindle?  My dreams of firing my paper boy, having access to several books at a time, and being one of the cool kids are dashed.

Official Amazon Announcement

While being oversold could be a great marketing ploy, it is slightly frustrating to us technophiles who go into withdrawals when we cannot get our hands on our new electronic toys.  Amazon never fulfilled all of the original Kindle orders, and I fear the wait for a Kindle 2.0 could be rather lengthy.

My inability to get a Kindle 2.0 ASAP is extremely frustrating given that everyone is giving it rave reviews.  Ars technica, The BoyGenius Report, and many others are reporting that Kindle 2.0 is a great improvement on the original Kindle.  Amazon why do you taunt me so.  I must have one.