Patrick Talmadge

Ch Ch Changes

Patrick Talmadge — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:00:46 +0000

After more than 3 years on the same team I’ve accepted a Senior Developer job offer from Extended Results. I will be starting my new job September 7th. Extended Results was founded in 2006 and specializes in business intelligence software solutions, a huge market in this economy. I think I’ll be able to make a huge difference in the company as well as take my career to the next level.

Most of Extended Results’ software is developed in Silverlight, which gives me a chance to hone my Silverlight skill set. I eagerly await this new chapter in my career.

Updated Hunter Pics

Patrick Talmadge — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 23:57:57 +0000

Pictures of Hunter taken over the last few months. I’m still trying to post pictures regularly. Hopefully my new laptop will allow me to update more often, because I won’t need to spend time in the basement.

Hunter Pictures from May

Patrick Talmadge — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:48:05 +0000

I finally made the time to upload a few pictures of Hunter from May. I know… I know… that was last month. But better a little late than nothing at all.

Facebook’s Eroding Privacy

Patrick Talmadge — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:02:43 +0000

A recent New York Times article about Facebook’s ridiculous privacy policy and settings got me to take 15 minutes and lockdown my privacy settings. In the past I’ve taken the time to review my privacy settings but Facebook doesn’t make it easy to find all the settings. The NYTimes article, found here, has a precise site map of the privacy settings.

The startling fact that Flickr has a 384 word privacy statement and Facebook’s privacy statement is 5,830 word makes me wonder what evil things they are hiding in all the legal speak. I encourage you to take the time and set the 50 plus privacy settings appropriately. Take special care to verify the ads settings and the information your friends can share about you.

Lame Credit Card Zip Code Security

Patrick Talmadge — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 04:29:06 +0000

Why is it that all gas stations seem to require your zip code to validate your credit card at the pump?

Requiring me to type my zip code is a poor user experience and extremely poor security. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the United States only has around 40,000 zip codes. Zip codes are not only finite they are trivial to guess. A thief with any intelligence at all will know the relative location he/she accrued the credit card. Narrowing the zip codes to less than 10 because the average American only commutes 16 miles. More than likely the thief will steal the whole wallet or purse and already have the zip code off the ID. A five digit PIN would offer higher security by providing 100,000 possible combinations and making it impossible to guess by geographical location.

Busy day for Hunter

Patrick Talmadge — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 03:53:12 +0000

Hunter enjoyed his first time in the Johnny Jump Up today while playing with Mommy.

He also had his first taste of semi-solid food. I think he had more rice cereal on him than he ate.

New Hunter Pictures

Patrick Talmadge — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:52:14 +0000

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Hunter’s first visit to Pike Place

Patrick Talmadge — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:16:10 +0000

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Finished Reading Drums of Autumn

Patrick Talmadge — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:59:09 +0000

Finished reading Drums of Autumn (Outlander, Book 4) by Diana Gabaldon. Drums of Autumn continues with Claire Randall, who stepped through the stone circle at Craigh na Dun and landed in Revolutionary America, and her new husband Highlander Jamie Fraser. Bree, Claire’s daughter, discovers that Jamie Fraser is her real father not Frank Randall, Claire’s first husband. In order to meet her true father Bree follows in her mothers foot steps and travels back in time using the stone circle.

Finished Reading The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

Patrick Talmadge — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:13:14 +0000

Finished reading The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3 by Scott Kelby. Like the Volume 2, Volume 3 builds of the other books as opposed to being a 3rd edition. This seems to be Scott Kelby’s little scheme to get people to buy three books instead of just one. Kelby continues his same tell it like it is writing/teaching style in this volume. Each page of the book covers a different topic and contains a tip to improve your photography.

My only disappointment with this book was that it seemed to repeat some of the material from the first book. Overall The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3 is a good book and you will learn several new tricks. If you enjoyed Scott Kelby’s other books you will enjoy this book.