The World According To Kate » geek http://worldaccordingtokate.com Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:25:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Mom’s New Blog http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/06/15/moms-new-blog/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/06/15/moms-new-blog/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:23:29 +0000 Kate Czlapinski http://worldaccordingtokate.com/?p=999 Have I mentioned before that I’m up for Daughter of The Year? Have I also mentioned that I’m a total glutton for punishment? No? I am.

So this should be fun… I’ve set up a little blog for my mom over at http://LindasNovelIdeas.com. We were talking about my blog and she was saying that [...]]]> Have I mentioned before that I’m up for Daughter of The Year? Have I also mentioned that I’m a total glutton for punishment? No? I am.

So this should be fun… I’ve set up a little blog for my mom over at http://LindasNovelIdeas.com. We were talking about my blog and she was saying that she should get a blog and she could maybe write reviews of the books she’s reading and other stuff. And I said OMG! YOU TOTALLY SHOULD! I CAN HOOK YOU UP!!! And now she has a blog. I registered the domain and did the basic set up of it over the weekend and I’m going over my parents’ house tonight to show her the ropes and make any changes that she may want.

This should be interesting- she’s a noob (even though she does work in IT – not that that necessarily means ANYTHING) and I don’t think she really reads any blogs besides my own. It will be fun, though… more fun geek work for me and I always like teaching people stuff. Good times :)

Obviously she hasn’t written anything in it yet and I’m not sure when she’s going to or exactly what she plans on writing about (other than she thought she might talk a little about the books she’s reading – mom’s a big reader), but once she gets started you should check her out, because I’m sure she’ll have lots of good stuff to share. Mom’s a smart lady – she taught me everything I know ;-)

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/06/15/moms-new-blog/feed/ 7 Upgrade to WordPress 2.8 http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/06/13/upgrade-to-wordpress-2-8/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/06/13/upgrade-to-wordpress-2-8/#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:55:31 +0000 Kate Czlapinski http://worldaccordingtokate.com/?p=990 So in case you missed it (for those of you who actually care about this sort of thing), the new version of WordPress was just released in the last couple of days.  It’s version 2.8, Baker – named after Jazz great Chet Baker and, as something of a Jazz geek, I think that alone [...]]]> So in case you missed it (for those of you who actually care about this sort of thing), the new version of WordPress was just released in the last couple of days.  It’s version 2.8, Baker – named after Jazz great Chet Baker and, as something of a Jazz geek, I think that alone is pretty sweet.

I had originally intended to hold off on the upgrade, because I don’t know my head from my ass, and because people often have problems with this sort of thing and I’d read horror stories of some people totally losing their blogs in the upgrade process and I was just not up for that sort of headache.  No, I was going to wait a bit, see what people were saying, do some research and then see if I could persuade my friendly neighborhood IT consultant, Tom, to come over and supervise.  I could lure him in with the promise of beer and/or whiskey and he could watch me make look like an idiot – which is really no different from any other Saturday night at our house.

That was the original plan… but then, WordPress kept mocking me with it’s little warning at the top of my dashboard, saying You’re not using the latest version! (horrors!) Upgrade now! – or something to that effect.  They know perfectly well I can’t resist a free upgrade to the latest and greatest of ANYTHING.  I LOVE new stuff!   And  then I kept reading all these geeky articles telling me why I needed to upgrade to Baker immediately,  but I kept saying “Noo nooo, I’m going to wait and be responsible”, but I just couldn’t do it any longer…  It had been TWO WHOLE DAYS of this kind of torture.

I was backing up my blog this morning through my host just in preparation for when I was going to be responsible and wait for supervision from my neighborhood IT guy, when I noticed that even my host was urging me to upgrade.  It was like some sort of vast geek-wing conspiracy.  I couldn’t hold out a minute longer.  I disabled all my plug-ins (as all the articles I’d read had told me to do) and I just did it.  I hit the button.  It was hot!  You know how I love touching buttons -  I’m getting a little hot just talking about it :)

It was simple (not just hot, but easy too!) and I think it took less than 2 seconds (that’s not hot).   Was it worth it?  Oh yes.  Now I am no longer fighting any temptations.  I’m fully satisfied.  I don’t know how much better it really is than the previous version (Coltrane – love the Jazz names), but I’m just getting started.  It does seem like the admin pages are a little quicker than they used to be.

Anyway, that’s my story (exciting,I know).  So, if you’re a WordPress.org user and you’ve been fighting off the temptations of upgrading like I was, I think you should just give and do it.  It will be totally worth it and I promise you you’ll be able to look at yourself in the mirror in the morning.  You’ll be doing victory laps with Baker- not the dreaded walk of shame!

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/06/13/upgrade-to-wordpress-2-8/feed/ 0 My New Blackberry http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/05/22/my-new-blackberry/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/05/22/my-new-blackberry/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 11:27:40 +0000 Kate Czlapinski http://worldaccordingtokate.com/?p=874 So my new toy arrived Wednesday afternoon and completely distracted me from my work for the rest of the day. Why is it that any time I’m having cool, distracting things delivered to my house it’s on a day when I’m working from home? It’s great that I get to play with it immediately, [...]]]> So my new toy arrived Wednesday afternoon and completely distracted me blackberry-curve-8310-1from my work for the rest of the day. Why is it that any time I’m having cool, distracting things delivered to my house it’s on a day when I’m working from home? It’s great that I get to play with it immediately, but how am I supposed to get anything done like that?

The initial set up was fairly simple. If I can do it, anyone can – especially seeing as I’m not really one for reading instructions before jumping into a project…

After the initial set up, my next project was getting the data plan added. This was pretty quick. While I was still logged on to work and couldn’t really do too much with the new toy anyway, I sent a quick e-mail to AT&T’s customer service. I had a response and the shiny new data plan in just a matter of a couple of hours.

That’s when the real fun started. I set up my e-mail, which was waaay easier that I ever imagined and the started downloading apps for the device. I now have the Facebook app, the GMail app, I synced it up with my Google Calendar (which I’ve been using a lot lately and is awesome and highly recommend), Twitterberry – which is so simple and so brilliant ( I also have Twitter linked up with my Facebook, so I can update Twitter from anywhere now and then it will also update my Facebook status – genius) and last but not least, I also downloaded the Pandora app so I can listen to music wherever. These were all free apps, which is awesome -as you’ve probably figured out from reading this, I love free stuff.

Overall, I’m very pleased. It’s just a really neat tool and while I’ve never been a big phone user, I love having access to all this cool stuff at all times. I can’t say I’ll love my new phone bill – with the addition of the shiny new data plan, but I really do think it’s worth it.

Fellow Blackberry owners, any other cool stuff that I should check out for my new toy?

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/05/22/my-new-blackberry/feed/ 6 How Do You Like the New Digs? http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/26/how-do-you-like-the-new-digs/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/26/how-do-you-like-the-new-digs/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 04:35:19 +0000 Kate Czlapinski http://worldaccordingtokate.com/?p=604 So yeah, things seem to be going reasonably well… The move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org was very simple – even for me. This was something I’ve meant to do eventually, but really had no intentions of doing any time in the near future. Unfortunately, though, there have been a few things I’ve been thinking about [...]]]> So yeah, things seem to be going reasonably well… The move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org was very simple – even for me. This was something I’ve meant to do eventually, but really had no intentions of doing any time in the near future. Unfortunately, though, there have been a few things I’ve been thinking about doing with the blog recently that WordPress.com just would not allow and then I saw that Webhostingpad.com was offering a very good price on their hosting packages this weekend only (or that’s what they say), so I thought why not?

Also, check out my Contact page!  You can now e-mail me all your hate mail at this domain – and it ACTUALLY works!

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/26/how-do-you-like-the-new-digs/feed/ 1 This American Life Live! http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/23/this-american-life-live/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/23/this-american-life-live/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:25:40 +0000 http://kpinski77.wordpress.com/?p=561 OK, I’ll admit it…I’m an NPR geek.   I listen all the time – to and from work, all day when I’m working from home, weekend mornings (gotta have my Car Talk)… all the time.   I wasn’t always this way.  I blame Kevin, because he’s the one who really got me started on it.  And I [...]]]> OK, I’ll admit it…I’m an NPR geek.   I listen all the time – to and from work, all day when I’m working from home, weekend mornings (gotta have my Car Talk)… all the time.   I wasn’t always this way.  I blame Kevin, because he’s the one who really got me started on it.  And I must confess, I  do feel like  a better person for it.  I feel like I really know what’s going on in the world around me (even more than I did while I was studying Political Science)… unless it’s celebrity gossip or top 40 radio – I’m not so good at keeping up with that stuff, but again, I feel like a better person for that :)
tallive09_banner2

Tonight, Kevin and I will be attending This American Life Live!.  I’m not exactly sure what to expect, but I’m totally stoked nonetheless. This American Life has always been one of my favorite NPR programs, so this should be pretty sweet.

If you too are an NPR geek or have any interest in seeing This American Life Live!, you should definitely consider checking it out at a location near you!

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/23/this-american-life-live/feed/ 0 Muahahaha! Human Cloning??? http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/22/muahahaha-human-cloning/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/22/muahahaha-human-cloning/#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:55:26 +0000 http://kpinski77.wordpress.com/?p=548 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fertility-expert-i-can-clone-a-human-being-1672095.html

Dr Zavos, a controversial fertility doctor claims to have cloned 14 human embryos and planted 11 of them into the wombs of 4 women. None of the transfers led to a viable pregnancy, but the doctor fully believes that with intensified efforts the world could see it’s first healthy cloned baby within the [...]]]> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fertility-expert-i-can-clone-a-human-being-1672095.html

Dr Zavos, a controversial fertility doctor claims to have cloned 14 human embryos and planted 11 of them into the wombs of 4 women. None of the transfers led to a viable pregnancy, but the doctor fully believes that with intensified efforts the world could see it’s first healthy cloned baby within the next year or two.

What?

Ummm… anyone see anything wrong with this? While I’m thrilled that it CAN be done (it’s awesome that the technology is out there), I’m not so sure it should be done… Weird.

Hey, on a brighter note we could one day have our own clone army! The future is here.

star_wars_attack_of_the_clones_6

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/22/muahahaha-human-cloning/feed/ 1 iPhone vs. BlackBerry http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/13/iphone-vs-blackberry/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/13/iphone-vs-blackberry/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:48:20 +0000 http://kpinski77.wordpress.com/?p=484 Any opinions? I’m considering upgrading to some form of smartphone, because a) I hate my LG Shine, b) all of my friends have BlackBerrys these days and they text me in paragraph form, so I clearly need a QWERTY keyboard so I can respond to their texts, c) all of my friends have BlackBerrys and [...]]]> Any opinions? I’m considering upgrading to some form of smartphone, because a) I hate my LG Shine, b) all of my friends have BlackBerrys these days and they text me in paragraph form, so I clearly need a QWERTY keyboard so I can respond to their texts, c) all of my friends have BlackBerrys and I just can’t handle the peer pressure and d) I just deserve it, damnit. I’m worth it.

So I’m thinking I’ll probably go with the BlackBerry Curve, but I could also end up getting sucked in and succumbing to the ultra hipness of the iPhone. I’m already on AT&T, so that’s not an issue. HOWEVER, I’m also thinking about switching carriers… Anyone have any opinions on TMobile?

Help me out, folks! I can’t make these kind of decisions on my own :)

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/04/13/iphone-vs-blackberry/feed/ 3 The Logitech Squeezebox Boom http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/03/20/the-logitech-squeezebox-boom/ http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/03/20/the-logitech-squeezebox-boom/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:40:02 +0000 http://kpinski77.wordpress.com/?p=328 Like most people my age, the majority of my music collection is housed on my computer (mp3′s, internet radio subscriptions, etc). However, it’s not always convenient for me to sit at my desktop on my office when I want to listen to music. Sometimes, for example, I might want to listen to music in the [...]]]> Like most people my age, the majority of my music collection is housed on my computer (mp3′s, internet radio subscriptions, etc). However, it’s not always convenient for me to sit at my desktop on my office when I want to listen to music. Sometimes, for example, I might want to listen to music in the kitchen while making dinner or in the living room while flipping through a magazine. In the past if I wanted to do this, I would turn my computer’s volume way up so that it was obnoxiously loud and try to point the speakers in the general direction of where I’d be listening from. This was just no good.

Then one day, I came across the Logitech Squeezebox Boom – the answer to my problems.

I received this godsend for my birthday (something I not so subtly hinted for) and it’s been everything I’d ever hoped for. It was simple to set up, much cheaper than other network music players on the market, is easily moved from room to room, and it plays just about all the music I could ever want – EVERYTHING from my own collection, music from Pandora, Rhapsody, Live365, Slacker, Last.fm, Sirius…the list goes on. It even picks up local stations (I actually spend most of my days working from home listening to NPR through the Squeezebox Boom).

I would highly recommend this device to anyone looking for an affordable, user friendly network music player.

]]> http://worldaccordingtokate.com/2009/03/20/the-logitech-squeezebox-boom/feed/ 0