In Honor of Ada Lovelace Day: These Chicks Rule!
In no particular order, here are some awesome women in technology:
All of these women are building things, making noise, improving the world and kicking ass, so go check them out. If you have the opportunity to meet them, do it.
There are so many other women I’d also like to list here, but I’ll have to save a few for next year’s post. 
Andrew Karnavas at The Coffee Groundz, part 1
Check out Runaway Sun’s Andrew Karnavas– LIVE! @coffeegroundz (from the ladies’ room?)
P.S. You get to hear him sing at the end
Upgrading Ubuntu to the Cutting Edge
This is Tech Tip Video Contest Week (March 9 - 13) at LinuxJournal.com!
Want a free 1-year digital subscription to Linux Journal? This is your lucky week. Watch the daily Tech Tip videos this week and collect the secret letters hosts Shawn Powers and/or Mitch Frazier announce during the videos each day. Come this Friday, unscramble the letters to reveal the secret word(s). Everyone with the correct answer who responds by 11:59:59PM U.S. Eastern Standard Time March, Friday 13th, 2009 wins a free digital subscription to Linux Journal — it’s that easy!
Follow this link for further contest details, and good luck!
Texas Chili - No Beans!
I made chili for dinner tonight. I know, I lead a very exciting life.
I don’t normally get so excited about my own cooking (ok, except for the tenderloin, but I digress), but this chili was SO good I have to share.
I found the recipe on this random Texas Chili site, but made a couple modifications based on the ingredients I had. So here goes:
Instead of a fresh jalapeno, I just added a couple of sliced jalapenos out of a can. I used one 2lb+ package of chili meat and just under a pound of stew meat that I chopped up into smaller pieces (because that’s what was in the fridge), and oddly enough the presence of two different sizes/textures of meat was kind of serendipitous. I skipped MSG because - who has that in their pantry anymore anyway? Instead I added a couple generous dashes of Worcestershire sauce (Umami and whatnot). Since the recipe doesn’t specify, I added the tomato sauce can full of water, so about 8oz. Note also that a bouillon cube= a teaspoon of granules. I believe I also forgot the black pepper, but didn’t miss it. The rest is as-is, and I garnished it with more sliced jalapenos, shredded cheese, chopped onions and tortilla chips (skipped the beans). YUM! BTW, this is total man food, so feed it to a dude and he’ll be all kinds of happy.
1984 Texas State Men’s Chili Cookoff Winner
sent by Richard Bull
6 ServingsWinner of the 1984 Texas State Men’s Chili Cookoff. Also won the 1988
Chocolate Bayou Chili Cookoff, York, PA. (Unfortunately, the CBCC has
gone the way of all great ideas that are not left alone.)Ingredients:
3 pounds cubed beef
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons boullion, Beef granules
1 teaspoon boullion, Chicken granules
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons MSG
6 tablespoons chili powder
1 split jalapeno chili pepperBriefly sear meat and then add chili pepper tied in cheese cloth sack, paprika,
onion powder, cayanne pepper, boullion granules, tomato sauce and water to
cover. Simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 hours or so. Add cumin, garlic powder, MSG,
black pepper, and chili powder. Cook for another 30 minutes or until meat is tender.
Remove cheese cloth sack with jalapeno pepper and serve.
Beans, ( I have found pintos to be best) prepared and served on the side to be
added after serving. Same with cheese, onions, or what have you.From: http://www.g6csy.net/chile/recipes/1984%20Texas%20State%20Men%27s%20Chili%20Cookoff%20Winner.txt
The extra-funny thing is that I got this from a random British guy’s site that includes various coverage of Ham radios, fossils, guns and chili peppers. Go figure, a Texan getting a Texas Chili recipe from a Brit.
The Very Ugly Side of Social Networks
Over the summer, I experienced an unpleasant crossover between my online and off-line lives. I feel like it is now appropriate to share my experience in the hopes that others might benefit from some extra knowledge.
I must preface this information with the acknowledgment that I do feel like I am somewhat more careful about my online vs. off-line information sharing than others may be, and yet I still left myself a little too vulnerable, or so it would appear. I am a web geek, so it is my nature to have a very “connected” existence. I put a lot of my life online, and I feel like I am reasonably responsible when it comes to maintaining a healthy amount of distance and restraint in order to protect myself to some extent. Services like Twitter, Brightkite, Dopplr and others make it too easy to expose yourself to unwanted threats, but if you try to be smart about your information stream then I do feel like you can avoid TOO much drama.
Like many Houstonians involved in technology and marketing, I have gotten to know a lot of new people through Twitter, and have participated in meetups and made a lot of good friends. The flip side of this is that I have also become a target for someone who clearly has the intent to harm me and potentially others in our community. I am posting the contents of two emails I received several moths ago. I know who sent them to me, but I will let you all draw your own conclusions. My hope is really just that people learn to be more careful with their on and off-line interactions. Trust your gut instincts about people, but above all, don’t take crap from anyone! I am not going to let this person interfere with my life, and I hope others will be able to do the same
In the interest of privacy I have removed some personal details about a third party mentioned in the email who was quite viciously targeted. The intent was to humiliate this person as well as attack me, my husband and our marriage. Nice try.
Keep in mind that this email was sent to my email address at work.
>On Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 7:58 PM, anonymous.4b3bb6182f <
>anonymous.4b3bb6182f@anonymousspeech.com> wrote:
>
>> Let me start with. You are one of the nicest people around. Kind hearted
>> and a real trip to be around. I am sending this not to hurt you, but to let
>> you know what has been noticed in public places.
>>
>> Have you noticed a certain twitter “friend” who pays an [unusual] amount
>> of attention to you and your husband’s activities? Finds a way to nuzzle his
>> ear in public all for a “photo opportunity” The way she brushed her breasts
>> up against him at the @carolineco opening. Pretty close for a stranger. I
>> saw the way she looked at him there.
>>
>> Everything about her is all about her. She is in love with your husband.
>> She says so in her blog. Maybe you should read her blog. Pay special
>> attention to her pictures. [link and blog details removed]
>>
>> You know what your husband looks like naked. Does that naked man in her
>> pictures look familiar.
>>
>> [personal details removed referencing a specific "tweetup" with only about 20 people in attendance] ever notice that
>> smell in your home before? How about the day you commented that your
>> husband’s car smelled like Armour All or something. She was with him. She
>> was in his car.
>>
>> Just think about what will happen while you are out of town!
I sent the following reply:
>Does the reply work? So seriously? You think this is my husband? Why?
This was the the response:
I’ve been out of the country and am just now reading your reply.
Did you see her blog?
You KNOW it is your husband. It is him with that [adjective removed] whore. I see you have been out of town as well. Look around your home. I would be willing to wager that there is [adjective removed] hair there somewhere. The guest room? On the floor next to your bed? In the kitchen? Better yet try the shower or bath drains.
I’m sure all the beds will have fresh linens!
You are a dear sweet wonderful person. Your husband is a nice chap. He just has very poor taste in his choice of daliance. Maybe we’ll “run into” her at the happy hour @CC? Maybe at BarCamp? Wait, she is ignorant and knows nothing about computers.
I hope your trip was as enjoyable and as productive as mine was.
To the person who sent these: steer clear of me. I won’t always be polite.
Finally, take some advice from one of the smartest women I know:
You get to set limits on and make decisions about constructing your Social (Media) Life™. This applies to both individuals and groups.
Trust your instincts. They work online and In Real Life.
Read the full post. Seriously.
Best Christmas present ever!
I can’t wait to read this! I guess it’s a good thing I am almost finished with the Twilight books. 
Post-election Blues?
We all know one of these people, don’t we?
Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are
Once again, the fine folks at The Onion make my day a little more fun.
There is Only One TRUE Carlie on the Internets
Consider this my official endorsement of Carlie Fairchild as the most significant Carlie on the WHOLE internet.
Also, this video kills me. Does that make me a bad person?
GACL | Linux Journal
Like many others, I am pretty exicted to see what Google and Android will bring to the table in the near-term for the mobile devices market. Tomorrow is the big Google press conference in NYC to unveil the new HTC Dream, which is the first Android-powered mobile phone on the market. Will it be an iPhone killer or will it fade into obscurity? I don’t know about the former, and I certainly hope not the latter.
I suspect the Android platform will give Windows Mobile, Symbian, and iPhone platforms a run for their money, and I look forward to playing with one of these gadgets sooner than later.
In the Open Source community the progress of this platform is pretty exciting, and can do wonders for Linux market share in general. The potential for this new convergence of software (Android, Gears, Chrome, and Linux) is tremendous, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Over at LinuxJournal.com, Doc Searls shares his thoughts on Google’s direction, and like most of Doc’s writing, it is well worth checking out.
Acer Aspire One Review
Check out Geri’s Acer Aspire One review over at LinuxJournal.com. There are some pretty useful comments over there.
I got the Acer Aspire One a few weeks ago, and I love it. If I had to complain about something, it would be the battery life. At just over 2 hours, it leaves a bit to be desired. However, at this price ($329), the incredibly usable keyboard, friendly Linux distro (Linupus Lite), purse friendly size and weight, and slick aesthetics make it a winner. Now I just need to get a slightly larger purse so I can carry it everywhere.
