Useless Nexus

iTunes Playlist for Podcasts

Michael Johnson — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:35:54 +0000

I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner. But I’ve created a Smart Playlist iTunes for whatever podcasts that I have not listened to yet. It’s not rocket science but I will share what I did for anyone who was slower than I was in realizing how useful this would be. The screen capture [...]

Maine Events

Michael P. Johnson — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 23:07:49 +0000

Two great Civil War living history events in Maine this summer. Tell you friends! Rally for Norlands Civil War Reenactment Weekend June 12 and 13, 2010 Battle at Fort Knox July 23 – 25, 2010 Both support good causes and feature great people telling a legendary story. So please, plan on attending these events and [...]

Avoid operating as Admin in Windows

Michael Johnson — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:54:20 +0000

“100 percent of Microsoft Office flaws and 94 percent of Internet Explorer flaws” are not affective if the user is not an admin, according to a report by BeyondTrust. Ars Technica has an article reviewing this report, with statistics demonstrating what I’ve been suggesting to my customers for years. That many Windows security flaws and vulnerbilities can be [...]

Marines Leading the Fight

Michael P. Johnson — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:48:53 +0000

The Washington Post asks the question, “Marines gone rogue or leading the fight against counterinsurgency?” The article goes back and forth between what the Marines in Afghanistan are doing and what the Army command wants them to do. The writer highlights some differences in priorities between the various commands in the theater. You should read [...]

The Business Card Is Alive and Well

Michael P. Johnson — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:44:28 +0000

Lifehacker has a short article about a recent survey they did on business card use. They report that 70 percent of respondents still carry business cards. And 37 percent of those carry them at all times. This doesn’t surprise me. I still carry business cards. What I would really like to know is what information [...]

A Global Force for Good

Michael P. Johnson — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:37:05 +0000

I don’t know how I missed it, but today I discovered the new United States Navy recruiting slogan. And I like it! “A Global Force for Good” is a great slogan. I especially love this poster! “Because Peace Does Not Preserve Itself” There are some other great posters in the gallery as well. Visit the [...]

Google Printing Solution

Michael P. Johnson — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:47:02 +0000

Google has a problem getting their Chrome OS to print with everyone’s printer. Why don’t they solve this with another cloud application? I was Listening to one of my favorite podcasts this evening, Buzz Out Loud episode #1117. Tom, Molly and Rafe spent some time talking about a report that Google wants to develop a [...]

Rich attack USS Constitution

Michael P. Johnson — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:52:18 +0000

Some arrogant rich people find it too noisy living next door the USS Constitution. The nerve of some people just burns me up! According to the Boston Herald, some residents have complained that the twice daily cannon salutes and the playing of the national anthem are disruptive to their lives. You can read the Boston [...]

Hit a bullet 19 out of 23 times

Michael P. Johnson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:46:50 +0000

USS Hopper (DDG 70) scored a hit in the latest Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) at-sea firing event on July 30. This makes it 19 out of 23 attempts for the Navy. I’ve always followed military technology developments and enjoy military history. Why I never served in the armed forces is a mystery to many [...]

System Administrator Appreciation Day Tomorrow

Michael P. Johnson — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:18:02 +0000

From the sysadminday.com website. “Advice to employees on the proper use of the System Administrator’s valuable time” and I can say almost all of these have happened to me. Thanks to everyone who made this list possible! http://www.sysadminday.com/time.html Posted via web from Michael’s posterous

Last Veterans of WWI

Michael P. Johnson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:13:48 +0000

It was reported last week that Henry Allingham, one of the last surviving British World War I servicemen, has died at age 113. He could be the last W0rld War I (WWI) veteran to serve in the trenches in Western Europe. Of course, it’s possible that there is another Tommy out there, but clearly the [...]

Johnson Family Road Test

Michael Johnson — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:13:01 +0000

Vacation, digital entertainment and my experience this week. I thought I should write about my families trip and our technology gear experience. We are not frequent long-distant travelers but we wanted to take our digital entertainment along the way. Music, movies, books, etc. It was a big trip for us. We drove 625 miles from [...]

“The Wind That Shakes the Barley”

Michael P. Johnson — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:16:22 +0000

I watched “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” on Netflix. Great movie about the Irish Uprising in the early Nineteenth Century. Not for the faint at heart though. Some scenes are very graphic and emotional. Worth checking out. The Wind That Shakes the Barley trailer on YouTube. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) on [...]

Marines and Mules

Michael P. Johnson — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:28:53 +0000

I just enjoyed an L.A. Times article on how the U.S. military trains soldiers in the use of donkeys and mules. I’m glad to see that good old tried and true methods are not forgotten. That technology does not solve all problems. And that not all solutions have to be hugely expensive or complicated. Semper [...]

DDOS security with Barrett Lyon

Michael Johnson — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:46:45 +0000

Live.TWiT.tv had a great discussion this week between Barrett Lyon and Richard Stiennon on the topic of the recent Denial-of-Service attack on several U.S. Government websites and South Korean websites. You can find the video of this discussion on OdTV.me. Other related links: Barrett Lyon on Wikipedia Barrett Lyon’s website Richard Stiennon’s website Denial of [...]

Autoposting and cross posting. When is it too much?

Michael P. Johnson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:03:48 +0000

I haven’t tried Posterous.com in over a year. But some friends have been using it lately and Leo Laporte has been planning to use it for his trip to China this month. So I thought I’d give it another try. This will be my second test tonight. And my last tonight. Quite possibly, you will [...]

Maine at Gettysburg on Google Books

Michael P. Johnson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:19:59 +0000

I was checking out Google Books tonight. There is a ton of valuable interesting stuff! Including, “Maine at Gettysburg“. “Maine at Gettysburg” is the definitive single volume reference of the many and great contributions that men from The State of Maine made at the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863. There are many other [...]

Hack a Cupcake

Michael P. Johnson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:48:57 +0000

This might be an old trick to some but I just saw it for the first time today. Thank you Grace! Take a cupcake Remove the paper Break off the bottom of the cupcake Press the bottom onto the top of the frosting to make a sandwich. Voila! Much easier to eat and stay clean. [...]

Backup your Google Docs

Michael Johnson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:33:40 +0000

You do backup, right? Do you backup everything and maintain an offsite copy? Excellant! I keep meaning to write up my backup routine. But in the mean time, one area that I am weak in is backing up my Google Docs documents. There does’nt seem to be an automated way at this time. But there [...]

Contagious by Scott Sigler

Michael P. Johnson — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:36:54 +0000

The Great Fearless Dark Overlord, Scott Sigler, has finished podcasting his sci-fi novel “Contagious“. And it is awesome! I’m a long time fan of Mr. Sigler, going all the way back to when he began podcasting “Earthcore” in 2005. “Contagious” is the sequel “Infected“. Mr. Sigler’s material is all science fiction and horror related. To [...]

WiFi over 500 feet

Michael Johnson — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:26:47 +0000

For 31 days now, I’ve been running a wireless distribution system between two Linksys WRT54GL routers over 500 feet apart through a wooded area. I’m using the Tomato Firmware on the WRT54GL’s. So far it’s been rock solid and very stable. It will be interesting to see if the network stays as stable and reliable [...]

Wired for War by P.W. Singer

Michael P. Johnson — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:42:41 +0000

Author of “Wired for War“, P.W. Singer spoke to the Pritzker Military Library last week and I found his talk very compelling. I have not read the bok yet but intend to. “Wired for War” is subtitled “The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century”. It’s about the current use of robots on the [...]

Rally for Norlands

Michael P. Johnson — Tue, 12 May 2009 01:40:13 +0000

Mark your calendars for June 6, 7, 2009 and make plans to attend what could be the largest Civil War reenactment in Maine this year. Confederate and Union, military and civilian reenactors from across New England will participate in two days of Civil War living history to benefit the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore, [...]

I am a Geek!

Michael Johnson — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:57:57 +0000

I AM A GEEK! by The Society for Geek Advancement What can I say, I’m a geek!

Macrium Reflect discussed at AppScout

Michael Johnson — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:45:53 +0000

I’ve been playing with Macrium Reflect for the last few weeks as part of a new backup scheme for my laptop and my wife’s computer. I’m still not settled with my scheme but I love Macrium Reflect and highly recommend it for anyone looking for an easy way to backup and recover from a complete [...]