Jason L. Froebe: Ramblings of a Geek

Four years ago, brian d foy, created the magazine, The Perl Review, dedicated to the Perl programming language.  Unlike what you may have heard on Slashdot a few days ago, Perl is far from dead. 

I’ve learned more about the Test modules than from Perl Testing: A Developer’s Notebook (Developers Notebook) alone.

Every quarter, I play a little game.   When I receive the email from Brian informing me that the latest issue is available for download, I check my US Mail box to see if the printed issue was already delivered.  Most of the time, I receive the printed issue within a couple days of the email.  One day, I’ll receive the printed issue first.  Observed time can be loopy like that.

I am an avid follower of the magazine and hope to have our MyDatabases as popular as The Perl Review.

Kudos to brian d foy and the article writers!

I just finished the audio book AmerIndian 2192 by J. Scott Garibay while commuting to work.  Garibay is a new author and I have to say I’m very impressed.

The story is easy to follow with the exception of the flashbacks to 20 years prior (during the White Earth massacre segments).  There wasn’t a clear transition between the present and the flashback.  I assume there was in the printed book.  Perhaps a 5 second delay in the audio or similar could be performed in future audiobooks.

I had trouble with dialog of the Admiral Lye character.  He appears to be a cross between Captain Ahab, General Custer and Darth Vader.  I believe that the point of view of such a butcher is alien to the author… making it difficult for the dialog to be largely believable.  Fortunately, the dialog of Admiral Lye is short.  I’m hoping Garibay is able to revisit Admiral Lye in future novels…  the character has a great deal of potential (how did Lye become what he did?).

The AmerIndian Confederacy (AC) was created by the AmerIndian tribals to regain their homeland.  The problem, albeit a minor problem, is that we’re not given any real incite on how they became a power in the universe - it was created twenty odd years prior and now is able to take on Earth?  The AC is a utopian society, a highly successful business, a mercenary group, and a terrorist group.

The premise:

AmerIndian 2192 is a science-fiction novel that explores the intriguing possibilities of Native Americans in mankind’s star flung future. AmerIndian 2192 presents the story of two brothers, Wovoka and Keokuk, restoring the Native American people to a Homeland where their vibrant culture can thrive. Lodge ships, Cybershaman rituals and Tsimshian high technology are all elements in this action-oriented tale of interstellar politics and personal struggles.  — Podiobooks.com

I would put it differently:

AmerIndian 2192 is the story of the rebirth of pre-Columbian Native American culture and a homeland in a far flung galaxy.  The price required by the Grand Fathers nearly destroys the homeland after the Ghost Dance ritual is performed.

The narrator, LeighAnn Garibay, performed quite well but it is obvious she isn’t a professional narrator.  She doesn’t have to be for this novel.  Kudos to her!

The audiobook on Podiobooks.com easily leaves room for a sequel (please let there be one!).  What happens to the UDA, the clones, and the Admiral Lye (sp)?  Does Wovoka ever find peace?  How many of the tribals fail transition to the new life even though they try?  The author has the opportunity to make a “Garibay” universe here.

I would love to see short stories related to AmerIndian 2192 by Garibay and other authors (fan fiction).

I definitely recommend this audiobook!

5-in-1 White Charger/Holder/Fm Transmitter/LCD/Audio for 2.5mm and 3.5 mm/Usb Charger

I was more than a little skeptical at this iPod/mp3 player/cell phone/usb charger & FM transmitter.  There weren’t any reviews that I could find whatsoever on this contraption.  After looking around and seeing other combo units at about $90, I figured, that I would get one of these and worst case, I’d be out $20.

Well, it arrived today when I was working at home.  Of course, I had to take a little time and try it out.  Since I’ve been sick all week, I’m more than a little stir crazy to get out of the apartment even if it was just a jaunt to Starbucks and back.

Hooking it up was simple:

• slide the side grips apart
• insert ipod
• attach ipod cable to bottom of ipod - it is the only cable to attach
• plug into cigarette lighter

To turn it on, you hold down the power button for about 3 - 5 seconds and tune the fm transmitter to the desired channel.

That’s it.  The only downside I’ve found is that the FM tuner doesn’t retain the channel frequency so you will have to tune the FM channel everytime you turn it on.  I consider this a minor downside and one that I can live with.

Hooking up other mp3 players is done by attaching the usb cable to the mp3 player and the audio cable to the mp3 player.   Both cables are provided.  Charging a cell phone will work as long as you have the (not provided) usb <=> cell phone cable.