Well, We're All Still Here!!

I'm sure that most of you know by now that the Rapture was supposed to have happened yesterday. We made note of the time at work, 6:00 PM, then found out that it was Eastern time. We'd missed it by an hour, Missouri is in the Central Time Zone. There were no terrible sounds, no planes crashed, none of my co-workers ascended to the Heavens! Still many people were watching, waiting to see if the prediction would come true.

Harold Camping, a religious radio host, predicted that the Rapture would begin at local time on May 21, 2001. The Rapture was supposed to swipe the Globe, happening from time zone to time zone. As each zone reached 6:00 PM the Rapture would begin, some saying as high as 200 million people would be raptured. As the Rapture reached each time zone, Earthquakes greater than the Japanese Earthquake earlier this year were to rock the World. Camping said that five months after the Rapture, the World would finally come to an end in October. In the weeks leading up to the 21st, Media has given ample coverage of the reactions to Camping's prediction for the beginning of the end!

Well, it didn't happen, but that's OK! Camping had made a similar prediction in September of 1994, nothing happened then either. Several Christian groups had said in advance of the impending doom, that they were skeptical of the 5/21/11 date. Some even came right out to denounce, and criticize Camping's claims. I saw an interview with Harold Camping on Fox News when I was getting ready to clock in to work yesterday. He said people had asked him what if it didn't happen? He said, "I can't tell them that." It sounded to me like he was saying he couldn't tell them what if, because it was going to happen for sure. (This is just the felling I got, he didn't actually say that, only what I've quoted.)

Several media outlets tried to get in touch with Camping to get his story about what he thought about his prediction not coming to pass, but he was no where to be found. According to Wikipedia, Camping contacted his daughter on Saturday, the 21st. He said he was, "A little bewildered," that the Rapture hadn't occurred in earlier time zones in the Eastern World. Other than this, very little has been heard from Harold Camping in response to Saturday coming, and going without incident.

Now I know that Mr. Camping had a system, based off numerology, that was supposed to revel the time and date of the Rapture in the Bible. There have been many in recent years that has claimed there is a "Bible Code" that revels secrets of how the World will end. But I'm also pretty sure that the Bible also says that no one will know the exact time of the Rapture, or the end of the Earth. I know I've not read my Bible from cover to cover, some would say that makes me a bad Christian, but I think he's directly contradicting a few other things.

1) Isn't the Anti-Christ supposed to revel himself either before, or during the Rapture?
2) After Rapture, doesn't the Bible say that there will be ten more years till the end of
the World?

Like I said, I'm not a Bible expert, I might be wrong in these points I've made. If I am, please leave me a comment to correct me. I'm not trying to make fun of Mr. Camping, I think he probably did believe that he had predicted the Rapture. That's the problem with religion at times, things don't always work out the way we think they should. That doesn't mean that our faith in God is wrong! And I say faith in God, not religion. I think religion is often used for purposes that God would not like, but he give us free will to make those mistakes. I hope that people are respectful, the media doesn't make a spectacle of this, and that Mr. Camping doesn't let this waver his faith in God. Maybe the Rapture was supposed to be yesterday, but God changed it for some reason? I know some people would say I'm a nut for saying that, but we really don't know. That's one of the most interesting, yet frustrating things about God, we just don't know for certain. That is were faith truly comes in.

I do believe that there will be a Rapture some day, just not yesterday!

The iPad Cometh!!

It's offical, the new Apple iPad is out there!!  I just wanted to let you guys know that Steve Jobs has announced that Apple has developed a tablet device.  It is like an iPhone, I wish it was a full computer, but we'll see what comes out about it in the next few days.  I'll blog more about it tonight when I get off work.  Here's a couple pictures till then!  Enjoy!!!!

The iPad Cometh!!

Is The iTablet Here Yet??

Update:  I guess that Apple either decided to announce on the second day of the event, or I got my days mixed up?  It seems that the tablet may be announced latter today on Jan. 27th.  Also believed to be announced are the 4G iPhones, and some kind of new web based version of iTunes.  Below is my original post, enjoy!!

Is The iTablet Here Yet??

People have been talking about it for a few years now. Heck, they say that the idea was first proposed around 10 years ago, if not further back in time. What is it? Why an Apple Macintosh computer, that is in the form of a writing tablet! It's really not a new concept. There were tablet computers back in the mid 2000's, some of which were laptops that converted into a tablet PC. They didn't really sale all that well. Maybe that's why Apple never went in that direction?? Since that time people had expected Apple to get on the bandwagon, but it never come about.  Or did they??

Enter The Modbook

The Modbook is made by a company named Axiotron.  What they do is take Macbooks & Macbook Pros made by Apple, and modify them using technologies invented by Wacom.  Wacom is the company that has set the standard for pen tablets, and Pen Tablet screens in graphic arts, and digital photography.  Their Intuos tablets have seen many hours of use in many different graphic arts & photography studios all over the world.  I have a Intuos 3 tablet.  I haven't gotten a chance to use mine a lot, but found it very simple to use, just like putting pen to paper!  Their newer line of Bamboo tablets have replaced their Graphite line for both the office, and home use.  Wacom also makes two different models of Cintiq Pen Tablet Monitors, allowing you to make adjustments & corrections directly on your computer screen.  It's this last technology that the folks at Axiotron is using to make their Modbooks.  They take a Macbook laptop, remove the screen & keyboard.  The screen is replaced by a glass screen that is made to simulate paper, which contains the digitizer technology that Wacom has designed.  The Modbook is the first tablet that has been made for the Mac Operating System.  It is an aftermarket modification of either your existing Macbook, or one that you buy to be modified by Axiotron.

The iTablet??

Could this be the new Apple made Mac Tablet that everyone seems to think will be announced today??  Apple pulled out of Macworld Expo this year, people have spread rumors about the Mac Tablet for so long, and Steve Jobs has a knack to pull the impossible out of his hat!  So why wouldn't people think that Apple will unveil this mythological  creature of the Mac world to throngs of waiting devotees??  The above picture is just one of a seemingly endless array of concept designs, and mock ups of what people think a Mac Tablet would look like.  Would it be a full fledged Mac, or something like the iPhone's big brother??

Size Matters!!

All rumors are pointing to a screen that would be around 10 inches in size.  There have been orders by Apple for all the high quality LED Glass that they can get their hands on in the 10 inch size, so idnustry people think that these orders must be destined to be for the Mac Tablet.  I did here on a recent episode of the Mac Cast podcast, that one web site was suggesting that there would be a 10, and 7 inch Tablet.

Will it run Snow Leopard, or the iPhone OS? Oh My!!

This is the one area that I think might make, or break the Mac Tablet!  Will it run a full version of Mac OS X, or will it be a striped down version?  If it's the latter, it will probably be something very much like the OS running the iPhone.  In fact many people in the Apple know are saying that's exactly what the new tablet will have.  Many of those same people are saying that the tablet wont even be a full computer, but more like a portable entertainment device on steroids.  Apple has been in talks with many publishing companies, people believe to get contracts to bring print material to the new tablet.  This would be in the form of e-books, newspapers, and magazines.  Apple has also been in talks with TV, and movies executives to bring more of this kind of content, possibly streaming over the tablet.  Even more people think that the tablet will have a cell phone data receiver in it, and be tied to a cell phone company for service.  It is also widely reported that the new tablet would use enhanced apps from the Apple App Store, like the iPhone & iPod Touch.  It wouldn't run full Mac apps, or would only run a limited number of specially modified apps.

Other people, although in the minority, have said that it will be a full computer much like the Modbook.  In fact, some people have used the Modbook as the point that Apple should start at.  I love the idea of the Modbook, but I don't have a couple grand laying around the house to buy a Macbook, and get it modified.  So if Apple would do this in house, it would be a wonderful investment in their loyal customers!!  I know that it would probably be an item for a niche market at first, but I think that others would follow shortly.  The rumors of an Apple Tablet go back at least 10 years, so don't the people in Cupertino think it's time to give the people what they want?  Steve Jobs has said that Apple would never make a Netbook, well maybe a Mac Tablet could fill that hole in the line up??  I for one would closely consider a Mac Tablet over either a Netbook, or a Macbook!

What Would I Like To See In The iTablet??

What would a Mac Tablet have to be for me to buy it?  Well first I'd like a good name!  I think the iTablet, or iSlate would be good choices!  Apple already has name recognition with the "i" branding, that I think it would be a natural inclusion for the Mac Tablet.  Secondly, I want it to run the full Mac OS X operating system.  I love the idea of getting newspapers, magazines, and streaming tv on the iTablet, but why couldn't I also run MS Word, iPhoto, Photoshop, or even my favorite browser Firefox on it??I want something that would be at least the equal of a Macbook, particularly if I'm going to have to pay something even close to a Macbook price for it!!  Third is the issue of it being tied to a cell phone provider.  I hate this idea!!!!  I want a product that I can go buy out right, and not have to have a contract, or you have to pay 3 times as much for it.  I like the idea of making it truly portable by giving it access to the data networks of a cell phone provider, I just don't think it should be the only way to get content on it.  Wi-Fi should be built in!!  You should be able to connect to any Wi-Fi hot spot that you come across.  Also there should be an Ethernet connection so as to hook up to a wired network, or internet service.  If Apple wants to make the tablet able to access mobile networks that's fine, but give us an option to not access them, and still get the same content some other way.  Also don't tie us to one single phone company to get the mobile service through.  Perhaps if AT&T wasn't the sole carrier of the iPhone in the U.S., we wouldn't have had many of the problems that iPhone users have had on their network.  Finally, I'd love for the iTablet to be able to run any program that the full OS X can, plus app store apps too!  I mean would it really be that difficult, or expensive, to make a device that can run OS X & iPhone apps at the same time??  I hope that Apple's answer to that question is no.

In Conclusion

What do I think will happen latter today at Apple's event?  Well, I really don't know!!  Maybe Steve Jobs will unveil the iTablet, or what ever they will call it?  Maybe he wont??  Will I be heartbroken one way or another???  Not really.  If it's not what I want, I might try to save up for a Modbook, if it is, I'd have to save up for it any way!  I'm not even really sure that I would need a portable computer with touch screen capabilities?  Sure it'd be nice, but how much would I really need it??  Unless it's something that just really blows my socks off, I'm probably going to keep fantasizing over that new 13 inch unibody Macbook Pro!!  It's smallish, portable, and got a lot of abilities in it I wish the iTablet would have.  But I fear that it will be an over sized iPod Touch that runs iPhone apps, views e-books, newspapers, magazines, and streams video/t.v.  Too bad if it is!  Apple could have really had something with a full featured 10 inch Tablet Mac Computer!!

Update On The Photo Contest!!

I am very proud to say that 2 of my pictures I entered in the Fair's Photo Contest back in July/ August won ribbons. I included the two pictures at the top of this post.

One (Top Photo) is of my Grandmother, and my little second cousin. He was about 2 at the time, and they were sitting on the back deck at my grandparent's house. It took 2nd place in it's category. The other picture (Bottom) was of an old horse trailer that my grandparents have had behind their barn for years!! I think that old trailer hasn't been moved since I was a little boy. It took 3rd place in it's category.

I'm very excited that I got two ribbons, but all the more so since this was the very first photo contest I'd ever entered. A co-worker & friend of mine also entered some pictures. He won at least one 1st place ribbon, and I think a couple 2nd place ones. This really great picture he took of a friend of his at his families lake house got a Grand Champion Ribbon for it's division!! It was a really cool picture!!

I hope you enjoy my photos! :)

Aries Flies Today!!

Today at the 39b launch pad, part of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a test flight of the Aries 1-X Rocket was successful. The rockets engines fired for 2 minutes, and the flight lasted a total of 6 minutes before landing in the Atlantic Ocean 150 miles from where it took off. NASA officials said that the test flight will give them lots of knowledge about how to improve the Aries 1 rockets

The Aries 1 Rocket is planned to fill several holes in NASA's plans for the future of manned space flight. Firstly the rockets are to replace the aging fleet of Space Shuttles, which were designed & first built in the 1970's. The Aries 1, Orion Crew Capsule, and Aries 5 Heavy Payload Rockets will take crews & supplies between Earth & The International Space Station. Secondly the Aries 1 rocket, along with Orion & Aries 5, are to be the craft to take man back to the Moon. As part of The Constellation Programme, Aries 1 will also for the first time take man to our next closet neighbor in the Solar System, Mars.

With today's successful flight of the Aries 1-X Rocket, NASA is one step closer to ushering in the next era of space exploration.

(All back ground information on The Constellation Programme taken from the NASA website, and information on the Aries 1-X flight from NASA via it's iPhone app)

Just saying hi!

Just wanted to drop by real quick to say hi! I have some pretty exciting news, I'm going to get to enter 10 pictures in the local Fair's photo contest this year!! I'm not sure that they will win any prizes, though I think I have a couple that could be in contention, I'm mostly hoping for exposure!! There are separate categories for professional photographers, and I'm hoping one of them might notice my work. If they like it well enough, maybe they might try to contact me?? I hope so, I would really like to get a job in photography so I can leave my current one!

Above are 5 of the photos that I'm entering in the contest!! I hope you like them!!!! :) :)

My bad experience with the laptop Friday Night!

This is a blog post that I wrote Friday night while I was setting at a Panera Bread in town. I was actually hoping that when I went to refill my iced tea, someone would steal this laptop computer, I hated it so much at the time! I just hope a friend of mine may be able to works the kinks out of it!!

The Laptop From Hell!!

I totally hate this laptop I have bought! It sucks in every way I could possible imagine. I can’t add any programs to it even as an administrator, I can’t get the anything to work like it’s supposed to, and I only got the wireless Internet to work on it once for maybe 10 minutes. I want to throw it up against the wall so badly!!!! It won’t do anything that I bought it for, except write stuff. Even then it takes Microsoft Word 3-5minutes to start, because each time I start the program it has to re configure it’s self?? I don’t think it’s supposed to do that, or at least it doesn’t on my iMac.

Which leads me to another thing; my Internet at the house has been turned off! I’ll get it turned back on tomorrow, but it really pisses me off that I can’t just leave the Panera Bread I’m at, and go home to hop on the Internet!! I should have gone by the place to pay my bill today, but I thought one more day wouldn’t hurt. Well I guess it did?!! Will I never learn?

Back to this shit computer I’m writing on, I have been setting here wondering if I went to get a refill of tea, would some one do me the favor of stealing this damned thing??!! I started having my doubts about it the night mom picked it up for me, but I thought it might not be as bad as I thought. Well I’ve come to find out its much worse than I thought. What is up with it not allowing me to install programs?? I’ve never seen and Admin not be able to install programs before! I tried to make a new Admin account, but even that didn’t work. I’ll have a friend of mine look at it for me, but I’m considering it hopeless. I think I got swindled. He’s supposed to take a look at putting in a Wi-Fi card for me, something that up till about an hour ago (7:30 pm. CDT) I thought I might not have to do now. Well after tonight’s experiment, I know that I will probably have to get a new card any way. Have I said how much I HATE THIS THING????!!!!!

I wish I had never bought it, and I’ve thought about calling the woman I bought it from to get my money back. It’s been about 3 weeks now, and I bet she’ll say it worked fine when she had it. That’s what she said when I looked at it, and talked to her on the phone about it. Maybe she didn’t know that all this stuff was wrong with it, but I wonder?? I’ve had mostly nothing but trouble out of it every time I’ve used it. How could she have used it much, and not known there was all these problems??

And to make matters worse, I have another friend that just bought a really nice brand new Acer Laptop! It’s so much nicer than this piece of crap; it would insult the Acer to compare the two. My friends computer has 4GB of ram, mine has 512MB; his has a 2.0 or 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, mine is a 1GHz Pentium 3m; he has a 15 or 16in LCD screen, mine’s only maybe 12-13in; his has a CD/DVD burner, I got an external CD drive with mine; His screen is just a screen, mine turns into a tablet computer with a touch screen that doesn’t work as a touch screen!. He paid a little over $600 for his; I paid $240 for mine. I think considering how much better my friends computer is, I shouldn’t have paid almost a third what he paid for his, and there’s a lot of things I can’t do with mine right now because it says I don’t have access??

I really wish I could take a hammer to this computer right now! Instead of writing this on my blogs on MySpace & Blogger, I have to write it in Microsoft Word. Normally I’d take it home, put the file on my USB Flash Drive, and use my iMac to copy it to those blogs. But I can’t since my Internet service has been cut off till tomorrow!!

It’s getting close to closing time for Panera Bread, about 15 minutes. As they will soon be asking me to leave, and this post is oh so long, I will bring it to an end soon. I just so wish I had not bought this computer, it’s turning into another Metz Handle Flash experience. If your one of my close friends from the last few years, you know what I’m talking about. But since no one reads my bogs, not even my close friends of the last few years; everyone should be on the same page here.