Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Why is it that businesses in the service industry get so focused on their little piece of the world that they think they are the most important thing there is?

The emails I get from Financial and Insurance companies are, well not hilarious, but in need of a sense of humor to accept them. I get a typical email from my health insurance provider every month to advise me to log in to their web site to get an explanation of my benefits.

Why? Have they changed? Wouldn’t they tell me if they did? Continue Reading…

For those of you who might have noticed I haven’t written anything here recently, here’s what has been going on.

The last two months have been spent pretty much all with robotics. So much so, that I haven’t been skiing this winter at all. One day out to Holimont has been all I have done.

The robotics team finished their build season and we worked furiously up until the last minute when we had to seal up the robot in a big plastic bag until our regional competition in Pittsburgh. We spent the last weekend working on it at the Kenan Center, our local recreational center, where they let us use some space to practice and work on the robot while school was closed for part of the spring break. Continue Reading…

Is the party over for MySpace? Is the exodus beginning? Has Facebook killed it off? Maybe.

MySpace hasn’t been ‘cool’ for a while now. Not that long ago, though, it was the place to be to make friends and keep in touch with them.

I started a MySpace account when I was doing my podcast. As a way to find and keep in touch with musicians, it was without equal. Show dates, band info, it was all there at your fingertips. Continue Reading…

This next Saturday, January 8th, 2011, will be the Kickoff for the 2011 season of the FIRST Robotics Competition.

In case you’re not familiar with this program, you can learn a lot about it at the official website of FIRST or you can watch the kickoff ceremonies Saturday. I’d urge you to do both, if you’re curious about it. Continue Reading…