The Martinez Family Webpage

Yes, I am currently on Twitter. It is kind of adorable that I am able to instantly tell the world what random thoughts I am thinking. Honestly, I was more interested in seeing what all the hype was about. I think I understand now. It is kind of cool, and relatively easy to use. I just go to the site and type in whatever random thing I want to put in there as something that I am currently doing, and wala. Done.

Below should be a sample, but I am not sure it will work. We will see.

And in other news, ummm, that is all.

Technorati Tags: Web Stuff, Twitter

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Gmail Google is hiring developers to work at their email factory. Some of the benefits touted are

Gmail was one of Google’s first experimental forays outside of search, so boundary-pushing is part of our nature. We’ve developed new storage systems (Google never stored large amounts of user data before), new anti-spam systems (using machine learning technologies developed for search), and a new fast, modular, reusable Javascript architecture (Google never ran an AJAX app of this scale before). We try to push product boundaries, too, with lots of storage, integrated chat, and free IMAP — stuff that just makes things better for users, even if it means an untraditional approach to business. And one of the best parts is that when you go out, people you actually know say, “Hey, I used [that thing you built]. It’s cool.” (And then they ask you why Gmail doesn’t have folders.)

I just wish I was smart enough to get a job there. oh-well, another couple years and I should have the programming experience necessary to get hired at a cool company like Google.

Official Gmail Blog: We’re hiring

Technorati Tags: Google, Gmail

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I have been reading lately. Yes, us Soldiers know how to read too.

I recently finished Ray Bradbury’s iconic Fahrenheit 451 (which is incidentally the flash point of paper). What a phenomenal book. I think that this book should be required reading for every high school aged child. It is right up there with Ayn Rand’s Anthem and apparently (though I have yet to read it) Charles Orwell’s 1984. 451 deals with a fireman (though not the kind you would expect) coming to terms with what it means to burn. It is a stark look at a future that is becoming more and more censored. I also just watched Jim Kirby’s This Film Not yet Rated, which is a look into the MPAA. I had not made the censorship correlation until I started reading writing this post.

Anyway, I digress.  451 is amazing. Bradbury’s use of simile and metaphor is habitual, which means it does not sound forced at all, and pictures that would take pages for most authors to paint are beautifully drawn with just a few choice words by Bradbury. It is amazing, the story that is told in this short story. Strunk would be proud. One of my favorite quotes:

“But now nights he lay in his bunk, face turned to the wall, listening to the whoops of laughter below and the piano-string scurry of rat feet, the violin squeaking  of mice, and the great shadowing motioned silence of the hound leaping out like a moth in the raw light, finding, holding its victim, inserting the needle and going back to its kennel to die as if a switch had been turned.”

See what I mean? Absolutely beautiful. And the whole book is chock full of these beautiful sentences.

Because, I read and loved this book so much, I went to Amazon, and ordered Ray Bradbury’s 100 Most Celebrated Tales. I have been told that Bradbury can tell a novel’s worth of story in 10 pages or less. Since these are a compilation Bradbury himself chose, I cannot wait to see what gems I get to read. I think the next one I order will be the Martian Chronicles, as I have been told these are phenomenal short stories. I highly suggest any literary fan, or budding writer read this author and (pardon the pun) take a page from his book. You will not be disappointed. Even if you are not a fan of the stories, his genius with the pen, will leave you wondering how you can write succinctly and eloquently as Bradbury does.

Technorati Tags: Ray Bradbury, Liturature

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Edit Number 7 — So they (RADIUS) claim that a storm knocked one of their satellite dishes out of alignment and that is why  we have had no internet access for these last few days. It should be up in the next 48 hours or so though. Here’s hopin’.

Edit Number 1 — In an attempt to let you in on the secret as early as possible. It has now been about 12 hours since I last tried to connect to RADIUS (read below, you will understand). I am supposed to be having a video chat with my lovely wife and my cute little girl right now, but I still cannot connect. It might be the rain or the wind. I will try again in the morning to see what happens.

In an effort to not loose my sanity as I sit in this wonderful country, I wanted to check my email…to no avail. Apparently the RADIUS (the guys I HAVE to get my internet from (ooh but Steve Monopolies are bad you say, not in this country I respond.)), server is down. I just hope it is up again by tonight before I have a date with my frau via webcam.

I am attempting to write this post before I connect to the internet in an attempt to (here it comes) Blog offline. We will see how that works when I go to save this post.

I started playing basketball again so far three times for a total of about 4 hours in the last 4 days. We will see if I can keep it up. So far the knees and the shoulder are holding up just fine, lending credit to the docs that kept telling me I just needed to rest. Hopefully as I continue to use these pesky appendages, they will stay fine and not painful. I did just get spanked in two extremely embarrassing games against three warrant officers. Military types will know these guys as generally crotchety old men, and these guys are no exception, though they are pretty good at basketball and embarrassed us “young folk quite bad. We will probably never hear the end of it now. But that is of little or no importance, the important thing is that I played and had a good time and am relieving stress as I go. I will definitely have to keep the games rolling. Win or loose, keep going.

Which brings me to my next point. Win or loose, keep going. There is something in everything for everyone. That sounds like a load of horse manure, but in reality, everything must do one thing for everybody, kill you, or make you stronger and smarter for your experinces.

Even this illustrious tour in Iraq has made me stronger on several points.

1. I now know a LOT more about my job than I did before I deployed.
2. I now have a much greater appreciation for the support my family did and has continued to provide me. This is from my parents to Mandi’s parents helping Mandi out with whatever she needed since I have been gone, to the care packages and emails, and mail all my loved ones have sent me during this tour. And of course the constant support my wife has given me both mentally in doing a phenomenal job raising our daughter since I have been gone, to the little notes I get telling me that she is still there holding down the fort, waiting for me to come home. 
3. I now have a more firm grip on reality, and I realize exactly what it is we are doing over here (I will save political discussions for another time, but I have seen a lot of good done in this country).
4. I now can see what “political ramifications” are in relation to — If this happens, then this will happen (again, not talking US politics, I am talking Iraqi).
5. I still don’t like being away from my family.
6. I still don’t like being away from my family.
7. I can see now how to be a better husband and father, and I see what changes I need to make once I get back.
8. As much as it will and does rain in WA and OR, it will never be as bad as the infrequent rain we get here. This place such wet. You can equate it to walking through wet flour.

Overall, we will see what this all means for the redeployed SFC Martinez, but I will tell you I am looking extremely forward to my next assignment instructing at Ft. Huachucah AZ.

Plans for the blog…
I have been thinking, in an effort to spur my creative thinking and in responce to what I will affectionately call “El Jefe”’s daily stories. I have been thinking of starting a story and posting it piece by piece as I write it on the web. Not sure how that will go or what the ramifications will be (anyone who has read my writing will know what I mean by ramifications), but I think it will be fun. Plus, I like writing.

Ok, it is almost chow time, I am hungry, and RADIUS is still not responding. That means the world will have to wait with bated breath to read this breakthrough post until I can get connection again. Wait, can the world wait for something it is unaware of? What would Confucious say? I don’t know…wait and see. See what I mean about ramifications?

Technorati Tags: ScribeFire, offline blogging

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So, I recently was able to get internet in my contained housing unit on the FOB I am currently residing on. I have been downloading and installing all the stuff that I have not been using for a while. 

What this means for you, gentle reader of my Blog, is that hopefully, my posts will be at least slightly more frequent. The reason for this are three fold.

1. I now have internet in my room
2. My morale is higher since I get to video chat with my wife and daughter on a much more frequent basis.
3. I now have ScribeFire (previously Performancing) installed which makes posting to any blog much, much easier. (even though I love WordPress), since I can do it from any page on the internet. Even though I have internet in my room now, having to go through the WordPress admin page means I have to wait for the page to load, and that is time consuming on a slow connection.

I am actually really excited, as I have a lot to say. Mostly reviews about books and movies that I have read or watched, but a lot to say nonetheless. I am not sure if I will do this in one post, two posts, or many posts. That remains to be seen.

What else does this mean? I will be able to roll out updates to this site on a much more frequent basis. I have been playing around with a few different ideas about how best to lay the Blog out, and there are a lot of ideas that I have reference building my own WordPress theme.

I think (therefore I am?) that someone (I would do it if I knew how) should write an offline blog posting program that will synch with said blog when the user reconnects. I am not even really sure how to go about that, but I think that would be a good program to work on. Maybe I can do something with that in my limited knowledge of coding. You can call that the random thought for the day. I know that Google Gears has some functionality that I could use and I seem to recall a program that used to have something like that but you had to pay for it. I will look into it and see what I can find. In the meantime, if there is already a program like this, let me know so I can use it and not have to write my own.

Anyway, have a great day.

Technorati Tags: ScribeFire, WordPress, FireFox, Bloggin

So I realized something tonight. Perhaps something, perhaps nothing.

I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the sky at night. Cigarette dangling languidly from the corner of my mouth. Sometimes I wonder if the people I love are looking at the same stars (obviously in different configuration), then I realize, when I am looking at the stars, it is generally day where all my loved ones are. I still wonder about it though.

I don’t know what I am looking for when I stare. Not sure if there is anything to look for. I guess, it is just nice to see evidence that there is something other than what is being experienced here. I guess I am looking for escape.

That is really all there is to say about that.

I finally upgraded to WordPress 2.3.2. I had to wait for Mr. Fantastico to update itself, then I had to wait for internet access (which is not always available). Upgrading, did fix one problem I was having (I think it was an installation bug, not a WordPress bug). Whenever I post a post, I would get a database error. Fortunately, that is fixed now and no longer an issue.

On another note, CMS Wire reports that WordPress is the most used CMS with a whopping 34% of the top 100 in technorati.

Gotta run to a meeting now, but look at this graph.

There are many, many things that I need to write about.

I finally have an assignment locked in (as close to 100% as the army ever is), for Ft. Huachucah, AZ. The wife and Iare looking pretty forward to that.

I have been watching many movies, and many TV shows (a way to decompress before I rack out for the night).

I am writing to you today about one of the more recent Television shows I have started watching. It is called —

Flight…

of…

the…

Conchords…

As the diliberate misspelling of the word Concord, indicates, this is a sitcom released on HBO that deals with a duo trying to hit it big in New York with their Band Flight of the Conchords.

The TV series (of wich I have watched half of the first season), journeys around New York while Brent and Jermaine attempt to fulfill their perpetual quest of “getting a gig”. The show watches as Bret and Jermaine deal with inept muggers, girls, lack of gigs, girls, their one rabid fan, and girls.

As this is a TV show about a band, they routinely break into song, mostly remaining unnoticed by the individuals they are around, though on occasion, the extras do join in dance.

This is a fresh and interesting show. I find immense enjoyment in watching these short (22 minutes) of skit. The dialog is humorous and original.

Every week Lorelle posts a blog challenge on her blog. These are used, I think, to encourage others to Blog about a wide variety of topics.

Normally I don’t participate, but I think I am going to start. Most of the time they are fun little cahllenges that exercize my mind, and kep a weekly post on this site. So, I am going to start with this weeks. But I am going to cheat. I am supposed to write about fun toys on the internet. Instead, I am going to post examples of what I have done with the one Lorelle posted about.

That is right The Perception Laboratory’s Face Transformer. I may post my own later, but for now, this was fun.

This tool is exceptionally easy to use. All you do is upload a picture in a browser that has Java enabled, that conforms to these guidelines:

You will need to have a digital facial image in Jpeg or Gif format and a Java enabled browser.

For best results you should use a “passport-style” image of the subject facing the camera with the mouth closed and a neutral expression.

You can use any size image, but it will be rescaled to fit in a 640 by 480 pixel window and so this is the recommended resolution.

That is it. Then you just follow instructions and play around. Here is an example of what I did to a picture of my daughter Cierra.

First I took a normal Picture

Then started playing with it. Here is Cierra as a baby.

Then Cierra as drawn by Alfons Mucha.

Then Cierra as a Japanese Manga Cartoon.

And finally, Cierra as a Monkey.

How could I ever change the look of my beautifl baby girl? It was really easy with this cool little program.

I hope you enjoyed this. Go check it out, I had a pretty good time with it. If you post pics to your blog, drop me a comment and I will check it out. I may still write another post to actually answer the challenge. Hmmmm…what to write about?

It snowed last night and stuck for the first time this winter (that we’ve been here for). We had a good two inches on the ground this morning. So, after we got home from Wiggles and Giggles, we bundled up and went outside for our first venture in the snow. Cierra was wary of the cold, wet white stuff at first. But after mommy showed her how to make snowballs and throw them (not at people, yet), she warmed up to playing with the snow. We even made a miniature snowman. She had a blast and was mad when we had to come inside because our hands were all red and our noses were running! Here are the pics I was able to take.