Papa est mort ce matin.
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Dad died in his bed this morning. My mom called me at 5 this morning to let me know Dad was having trouble breathing and to let me know she was calling the ambulance to take my father to the hospital. I beat the ambulance to their house. He was snoring with much difficulty and was not awake. Within a minute or two of the paramedics arriving, no pulse could be found and, with my mom & I’s permission for an attempt to save his life, they were not able to revive him to take him to the hospital. Dad … Continue reading

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My brother died today
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(I originally posted this on Facebook, but decided to add it here too.) I wrote this during the day to try to cope with this news but chose not to make it public until everyone in the family was aware of the news. My brother died today. I really don’t know how to deal with the grief I’m feeling. For the last 30 years, we’ve been in a love-hate relationship. We had a lot of ups and downs over the years. But through it all, I still loved him and I hope he knew that. I’m sitting here reminiscing about … Continue reading

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Blocking of networks…
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View the fact that I have had to block so many specific IP addresses during the last few months, I have now switched tactics and I am now blocking entire networks based on the IP addresses.  For example: if an IP address such as 185.156.1.155 (Moscow, Russia) attempts to compromise my website, I now unilaterally block the entire network that it originated from (185.156.0.0 – 185.156.3.255, aka spacecorp.ru).  I am also actively blocking sites which enable those who wish to hide their malicious activities.  From the recent blocked attempts I’ve seen from additional IP addresses originating from networks I’ve blocked, … Continue reading

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Some people don’t understand this domain name is not for sale:
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What part of this page (http://ddt.com/about-ddt-com/) do some people simply do not understand? I am continuously amazed at the complete lack of work some people put into researching whether a domain name is for sale or not. It is truly sad that a so-called businessperson has so little ability to do less than 1 minute of research. There is one line on that page that is so simple to understand: “This domain is still in use by its owner for email and other support services. It is not for sale.” The latest excuse was that the page was read, but … Continue reading

Posted in Rants, Webpage | 2 Comments

Chez David is back!
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Chez David is back online after a fairly long and unexpected hiatus. My previous provider decided to shut down back in the fall of 2017 without warning and as a result I lost everything including backups of my site. From now on in, I’ll be backing up my site on a personal server on a regular basis. A lot of my posts will slowly rise like phoenixes as I copy them from web.archive.org one at a time. I love that site. It’s helped me recover a lot of stuff I thought was gone forever. I’m not sure if I’ll be … Continue reading

Posted in Personal, Rants, Webpage | 2 Comments

Inter-University Cooperation
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Okay, this stems from having to spend more money than I needed to a couple of weeks ago: You would think that Ohio University located in Ohio, would possibly work with a student (me) from Kent State (also located in Ohio) in purchasing academic-license software. Did I mention I’m an alumnus of Ohio University? Oh well, it cost me $30 more at the local student bookstore that was more than willing to accept my KSU id. Maybe OU has a special deal where Microsoft that says they can’t sell to anyone that is off-campus. Maybe OU just plain doesn’t like … Continue reading

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Why are public libraries so important?
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Public libraries serve many purposes. In times of old, they served as the repositories of knowledge and wisdom. Today, they serve as portals to the world’s knowledge through books, magazines, video, and the internet. More than ever, libraries are under financial attack. Interestingly, when people need them the most is when their budgets are placed on the cutting blocks and chopped down. When people are out of work or face financial hardships, that is when they turn to their libraries. Libraries supply everyone with a way to search for work through the internet. Libraries give internet access to those who … Continue reading

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The right to own what you buy in this digital age.
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The right of first sale. You bought a software package a few years back. You came home & installed it on your computer. Now you want to buy a different software package because it is more up to date. You decided to go with a completely different software package simply because it has more bells & whistles than your original software package or maybe it’s just easier to use. Chances are, you will be able to uninstall the original software package and remove it from your computer system completely. BIG HOWEVER: you are not going to be able to re-sell … Continue reading

Posted in Libraries, Personal, Rants, Software | 1 Comment

Why use a multi-monitor setup?
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Some of my friends see my computer setup, then look at me like I’m nuts. Let me explain: I have three monitors dedicated to one computer on my desk. It may seem excessive, but for me it has become so normal, that it drives me nuts when I don’t have a minimum of two screens anywhere. I spend so much time doing school work on my computer that having the extra screens makes it useful. I usually keep my email program on my left screen. My main screen will be what I’m currently working on, and the right screen will … Continue reading

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Open Source Software
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Years ago, there were several concepts when it came to software available to the computer user: commercial, shareware, and freeware. Commercial software was the kind you bought before you could use it. Shareware was the kind you could use and if you liked it, you were expected to pay for it (it used to be cheap in cost) on your honor if you continued to use it. Freeware was that kind of a software that someone wrote and simply wanted to pass it around and let others enjoy its use. At first shareware worked quite well. I myself have paid … Continue reading

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