My Object Desktop subscription recently expired.  On an attempt to install a program I am now informed that I no longer have access and my registration is not valid.  I was thought that with the expiration of the subscription I still had access to all programs that were part of Object Desktop, but not new updates.  Is that not correct.  Is it that I only have access to what was already downloaded when the sub expired?  Clarification would be nice, as it is a little disap...

Unfortunately, I don't know how long this has been going on, as it is skin dependent, but I recently noticed that there is a problem with the window frames on some skins.  It seems to be windows with irregular borders, such as Rockstar (as in the screenshot), but I also see it with things like Old Republic, Optix and a few others.   From Public Net Pics Here is my WB info: Your computer has a Windows Experience Index base score of 5.2 Your Windows Graphics Exp...

I appreciate it.  I really do.  Thanks to JoeUser, I understood blogging.  I realized that it can be an enjoyable, cathartic and at times intellectually stimulating exercise.    Unfortunately, as of late, it has been none of those things.  I think about blogging and I feel weighed down.  I stop by JoeUser and am overwhelmed by the torrent of Stardock support type articles/Wincustomize cross-posts that I understand are just part and parcel of the new and...

" Physician, heal thyself " Luke 4: 23   My professional goal is to assist the human body in healing itself.  Be it through medication, lifestyle changes, surgery or other interventions, my efforts are for people to live better, healthier lives.  I have spent 11 years since I graduated from High School working toward this, with at least another 4 to go.  The vast majority of my waking hours are spent caring for others.  It is truly one of my passions...

In the written language, there are few phrases that irritate me more than this: "I could care less." Why does it irritate me so?  Because it makes no sense.  It is often used in place of the original phrase (penned by the British) of "I couldn't care less."  This statement works.  It makes sense.  When I say it I mean exactly that: I care so little about [insert particular comment/rant/article/person here] that I actually could not care less.  That is to say, on my...

A while ago I wrote an article I titled: iPod and Nike, a match made in marketing .  It isn't a long article, but in short, I slammed the idea as nothing more than a lame gimmick to get people to buy more stuff.  I even went so far as to say "I wouldn't be interested at all." Two years later I have to say the following: Not only is it a gimmick, it is the coolest freaking gimmick in the world. I said I didn't see new runners being motivated by this scheme.  WRONG.  I also ...

Years ago a little program revolutionized the music world.  Its name was Napster.

Napster wasn't the first way to find music on the internet.  Usenet and IRC had been around for years.  However, both of those solutions required a bit of tech-know-how to use and were not accessible to the mainstream user.  Enter Napster.  A clean, easy to understand interface and instant access for millions of people (many of them college students) to begin sharing and downloading music was born.

Along came Metallica and the RIAA.

Sure, they weren't the only ones, but they became the most vocal.  Lawsuits ensued, the service was shut down, the RIAA declared victory and then realized that, just like Obi-Wan Kenobi, "If you strike [it] down, [it] shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Now in its seventh season, there is now doubt that American Idol is a powerhouse in American entertainment.  Week after week, it is the most watched show on television.  Millions call in to keep their favorite contestant in the show.  Millions are donated to help a worthy cause.  And numerous careers have been launched thanks to this little singing competition. One of the aspects that makes American Idol fun is the feeling of participation that the viewer has.  We, the ...

As previously mentioned , with the death of The Prog Geek, Progged has been reimagined, redesigned, and reinvigorated.  In order to keep that up, there is some new content over there.  Why not stop by and check out the reviews for the latest Ayreon album, 01011001 ? Arjen again proves that he has the Midas touch. Fans of metal, folk, acoustic, pop, prog and even electronica can all find something to enjoy on this album. Lyrically, the story is coherent, cohesive, and powe...

With the transition to the new JoeUser version 2, we saw, with likely little notice, the death of one of the most useful features of the old JoeUser:  Blog Groups. Blog groups were likely not that popular, though I can't be sure.  And as it was nearing the end of its life-span, the blog group function was a bit iffy at the old site.  Nevertheless, it was incredibly useful.  San Chonino and I created a blog group (actually I created and he joined) the-prog-geek.joeuser.com....

Please refer to the previous post to fully understand my excitement. It is sufficient to say that I passed my stone. Hooray. I just have some vague lingering discomfort in my back, but nothing like it was. Thank goodness. Carry on.

The time quickly approaches. I really only have a few months left as a General Surgery resident. Then I make the transition to Urology resident. To be quite honest, I am incredibly excited. Not only am I incredibly tired of General Surgery, I look forward to focusing my time and energy on what I will be practising for the rest of my life. But yesterday I gained a whole new ability to empathize with my future patients. It was about 8:45 in the morning. I was working on writing some t...

So, the new JU is here.  Lest I sound alarmist, I won't say what I really think.  SanChonino knows.  However, I am having some issues.  Okay, one big issue.  One that has prevented me from even having the slightest desire to come here.  One that will, ultimately, result in my permanent exodus from this site if I cannot discover a remedy. There it is.  Every page I navigate to with Internet Explorer (or Maxthon in this case) I get this dialog.&nbs...

As some of you should know by now, we decided to just use a picture of our little ones for our Christmas card this year.  It was fast, easy and we thought they turned out well.  But getting one photo that was decent enough to use, well, that was not fast or easy.  Alex would only smile for a split second, Jessica wasn't feeling well, and tried her hardest to muster a smile, but it just didn't work.  And Aubrey, well, she is just Aubrey.  You never quite know what you...

Years ago, I started watching Alias.  My wife sat down and we were both immediately engrossed.  It became our weekly show, the one we would set time aside to watch together.  And if one of us couldn't be there we either taped it (in the old days), or (confession here) downloaded the episode.  It was a lot of fun.  We knew that, every week, we had that time set aside for a little escapism.  Our enjoyment of this activity waned a bit during the third season (our l...