The blog of Matthew A. Smith and Michael Chappell, on topics from A to Z

Entries from August 2006

Recruitment Update

by Matthew Smith · August 27th, 2006 · 1 Comment

It’s been a few days since my last post. Never fear, I’m still alive and well, although a tad on the stressed out side (which you should find rather odd if you know me) as I am in charge of recruitment. On the bright side, we’re doing quite nicely and I believe I’m still on [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: General

Twelve Year Old Boycotts BPI

by Matthew Smith · August 18th, 2006 · No Comments

The world needs more determined artists like young Amy Thomas. Miss Thomas is protesting against the British Phonographic Industry, the British version of our very own RIAA. The reason? The BPI has decided not to include her latest single in their charts because because of her stance on file sharing! Bravo! Success in the digital [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: Asides · General

And so it Begins

by Matthew Smith · August 18th, 2006 · No Comments

As once said by the great Sir Winston Churchill, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” And on that note, summer break comes to a close. Today marks my last day at Emerson, and tomorrow the first day of [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: Journal

Great Rebuttal to “Liquid Bombs on a Plane”

by Matthew Smith · August 16th, 2006 · No Comments

Just ran across this excellent rebuttal to all the media baloney about these most recent terrorists. A highly recommended article!

[Read more »]

Categories: Asides

Nikon D80 Reviews and Good Reading

by Matthew Smith · August 16th, 2006 · No Comments

Some may remember a recent posting about the new Sony DSLR-A100 (aka Minolta) camera that I almost purchased. I managed to wait around and see what Nikon had waiting in the wings (after their annoying little teaser) and from the look of things it will be worth the wait. According to various sources, the D80 [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: General

This Whole Terror Thing is Getting Ridiculous

by Matthew Smith · August 14th, 2006 · No Comments

Ok, so now we call people terrorists and arrest them for buying a bunch of cell phones. Oh, and then talk about becoming more invasive of personal privacy [via]. Sheesh, what is the world coming too? Seeing as how terrorism is intended to create terror, and we’re becoming more paranoid every day… well - who’s [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: Asides · General · Musings

The Week in Review

by Matthew Smith · August 11th, 2006 · No Comments

It’s another wonderful Friday afternoon, and I feel like making a quick “review” post. Ready?

Dave and Des are engaged! Wow - I knew it was in the works but not when (when a guy follows his woman to another school, what do you expect?). Congrats to them!! (update - the wedding has occurred!)
I went wakeboarding [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: Journal

Why Telephones Use Negative Forty-Eight Volts DC

by Matthew Smith · August 11th, 2006 · 5 Comments

If you’ve been following the random stories throughout the site, you might just remember a mention of my summer co-op job at Emerson Network Power (if not, you can refer to this post). The summer has gone well; I’ve made some cash, learned some new tricks, and added a nice new section to my resume. [...]

[Read more »]

Categories: Journal · Musings · Technology