Author: Tommy

The time has come It's still quite a ways off, but and I wanted to share the news that I'll be presenting a lecture on PHP at the TCEA annual conference in February. The Texas Computer Educator's Association is a training and advising organization for Texas computer teachers.

My lecture/workshop will focus on PHP and its use in the classroom (specifically high school). I cut my teeth on PHP years ago and I really feel like it is a great way to introduce programming concepts. Instead of the student having to learn a language as well as learn to use an IDE. Instead of fumbling with source, executables, libraries and somewhat cryptic IDE debug messages, PHP allows you to just 'run the source' and instantly you see the fruits of your programming in your web browser.

I think web scripting is also becoming much more relevant than it has been in years past. Instead of making those dumb, boring "cin/cout" programs, students can create dynamic pages for themselves or the school. After learning the basic syntax of C-style programming students are better equipped to move on to Java or C++ after they grasp the basics with PHP.

I'll post more details about the lecture as they emerge, possibly post my Powerpoint slides for your review.

update: My presentation is February 7, 2008 at 4:00p in the Austin Convention Center.

I love Penn and Teller's TV series on Showtime. Unfortunately I don't get Showtime, so I must settle for catching it on YouTube or Google Video. The language is harsh, but the points they make are valid and presented very well. I may not agree with alot of their points, I bet they can probably make just as good of a case in the opposite direction if they chose to do so, but I'd say they're pretty much spot-on with most of their points. I doubt the language is anything you haven't heard before, but I should warn you there's copious amounts of cursing in their dialog.

As you may tell from the title, this episode is about Recycling. It has some very interesting points on the topic. It shows how the US government spends $8 Billion annually in subsidies for the recycling industry. Stipends are rarely ever repealed and almost no industry ever weens itself from government stipends, so I don't see any end in sight. Watch the video, see for yourself. Comments welcome.

Alright, we're all set. You can now post comments in reply to another user's comment. Right now I'm only allowing one level or reply. I might go deeper in the future, just depends on how much use this feature receives. Feel free to comment or reply to someone's comment!

I just got done reinstalling and playing Battlefield 1942. I honestly don't know how this game ever fell out of popularity. I didn't play it as much after I got Call of Duty, but BF1942 is still a blast.

I guess I never liked Battlefield 2 as much. Yeah, I'd play it and it was really fun, but it just wasn't the same. It lacked the simplicity that made 1942 so easy to pick up and play.
Battlefield Vietnam sucked. I think I played it for a good 2 weeks before I reverted back to 1942.
Secret Weapons was a waste. I didn't even bother with it.
Road to Rome was alright, but it really wasn't ever that popular so people never played on those servers as much.
Good ole original Battlefield 1942 is a real gem.

I think it will be remembered for what it did to expanding gameplay. You could trek on foot forever it seemed. Or you could jump in a tank or jeep or some other vehicle and make you way to where you wanted/needed to be. Or you could jump into a plane - my personal favorite. I think the original 1942 had balance that most games lack. Player classes were balanced. The vehicles were all solid. Anti-aircraft was effective. With true teamwork you could easily take down the enemy (unless they had better cooperation).
I love Battlefield and miss not being able to pick up just any game and cream the other guys. C'est la vie.

I just received my newest toy. I got a solar and dynamo powered radio that I bought online. It is the Kaito KA007. It receives AM/FM/TV/SW/VHF, which allows me to receive Air traffic, 2m FM ham radio, National Weather Service and general VHF usage traffic (wrecker, sheriff, highway patrol, etc). Here's a look at the back of the radio.

Right out of the box I gave it about 5 or 6 turns on the hand crank and was able to tune in local FM stations and an AM station while in the basement of the student center. KC9AIC and I then took it outside in the sun to check out the solar capabilities which is when I tested out the world band reception. I was able to hear World Harvest Radio loud and clear under solar power. However, I did notice a bit of drifting as I tuned in world band signals. I've also noticed very little selectivity in FM broadcast reception.

A few things I wish the radio had would be a digital display of the frequency, I wish the AC adapter was built-in so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping up another wall wart (although with solar capabilities, it's not that big of a deal), I also wish there was an external antenna input port for hooking in a better antenna. None of these are really vital, but they'd be nice. These features are found on newer models, but they don't offer wide VHF reception, only weather. So it's all a big tradeoff, which is why I opted for this model.