Hello world!

Most of what I have to say these days can be found on https://twitter.com/m3sweatt or (less frequently) http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mthree/.

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Blogging on MSDN more and more

I’m finding that my time spent blogging is on MSDN, which has been easier given the topics I’ve covered recently. When I have something to say that doesn’t fit there of a personal bent, I’ll post it here.
 
But I can mainly be found at http://blogs.msdn.com/mthree.
Posted in Computers and Internet | 19 Comments

Review of the Sony HDR-HC1 video camera

Den Guru looks at the Sony HDR-HC1E, a $1,200 DV camcorder targeted at prosumers. Although it may be too much for consumers, it’s one of the hottest choices for consumer HD video.
 
 
Posted in Computers and Internet | 6 Comments

Charles McConathy on improving your health

When I first got started in Silicon Valley in the mid-late 80’s, Charles McConathywas one of the first people I met. He founded the very successful and admired MicroNet and was one of the most helpful and konwledgeable people I met on the net – at that time, Compuserve. I first met him at a MacWorld and purchased far too much equipment from him, and recommended his drives at every opportunity. (I was at Digidesign at the time and everyone needed large HDs for their audio files.) He was a great salesman and the support he provided for his products was the best in the business.

A couple of years ago in late 2004, Charles died after a battle with colon cancer. He posted the following message on one of the popular news groups, and I wanted to include it here.

From: mcconathy@promax.com
Subject: [FCP-L] OT: Oprah – September 1, 2004 Segment
Date: September 7, 2004 11:27:10 AM EDT
To: FinalCutPro-L@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: FinalCutPro-L@yahoogroups.com

Do any of know how to get in touch with Oprah group to see if its possible get a tape of the September 1, 2004 segment which I think was based on Healing from the Heart with Mehmet Oz M.D. or if any of you taped it could I get a copy. I have some people I need to share it. Unlike Dr. Phil, Oprah does not offer tapes. Oprah does offer transcripts but that is not the same as a real live video. This doctor showed various organs of the body and how they get diseased and most revealing was his showing what body fat looks like and that some people might have 20 or 30 pounds in their system. I saw the above segment while in the hospital. I was was very impressed.

During my illness with colon and liver cancer I have had time to read and learn more about ways to protect one’s health. Remember it is better to pay the grocer and the gym than to pay the doctor. And it is easier to avoid disease than it is to treat it. Cancer and diabetes are rampant. Do everything you can to protect your health. It is not easy to eat right but its well worth the effort – especially when you consider that a cancer patient will run up bills between $400,000 and $700,000. I thank God I have Medicare that covers much of my costs. But now there is some new bills going through to limit the amount for cancer patients. This could leave some without medial treatment.

As you study and read about health you will find a lot of confusing information in books and on the internet. But if you continue to study you will find a thread of truth that is right for you. One group says don’t use soy products and the other might say they are great. After reading and thinking I tend go with soy products since asians have used them for years and have much less cancer than we do in the USA.

Below is a list of items that I feel can improve most people’s health…

• If you have an illness Trust in God and never give up hope – take time each day for devotion
• Stress – find ways to reduce stress – very important
• Rest – try to get two hours of your nightly sleep before midnight
• Avoid sugar, coffee, soft drinks, and snack foods – read the labels
• Exercise – at a very minimum walk a mile a day
• Lose weight if needed – be careful of low carb diets like Atkins – they might work now but could have other long term issues
• If you smoke – STOP – Cancer of the lungs is serious – as seen on the Oprah segment first hand
• Take a sack lunch to work versus going for fast food
• Get 20 to 30 minutes of sunshine each day – good for Vitamin D that helps absorption of vitamins
• Keep a window open day and night for fresh air – disease does not thrive in oxygen
• Drink pure water – try to drink 64 ounces a day of pure water – without chlorine or fluoride – I drink spring water
• Be aware of the effects of mercury in your system – avoid certain fish
• Eat more raw foods – cooked food tends to kill enzymes – try to get organically grown produce when possible
• Learn about enzymes and how important they are to your health
• Use flax seed oil on salads with lemon juice – avoid iceberg lettuce – use darker leaf vegatables
• Eat more berries and fruits such bananas, apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and mellon
• Include almonds, sun flower seeds, and cashews in your diet
• Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking
• Use sea salt vs table salt
• Eat less packaged and fried foods
• Drink freshly made vegetable juices – such as blends of carrot, apple, beet, celery, spinach, onion, and garlic
• Avoid or reduce animal fat in your diet – eat more fish or chicken vs beef or pork
• Use almond, soy, or rice milk vs cow milk – cow milk often has hormones and other issues
• Be very careful of the chemicals you use in your home or work
• Study your personal need of supplemental vitamins and minerals
• Have your blood tested – I go to a Natural Doctor that shows me my blood cells on a monitor – very revealing
• Learn to test your silva and urine using PH paper – easy to do – better to be 6 to 7 PH vs acidic – cancer likes acidic
• Depending on your age – get a colonoscopy every five years and regular check ups
• Learn about parasites and yeast and how they affect you
• Remember that a lot of diseases start in the colon and liver – learn how to cleanse your colon and liver
• Learn how to boost your immune system through foods, vitamins, minerals, and herbs

Try researching subjects on Google…its amazing what you can find.

Thanks for your help,

Charles F. McConathy
mcconathy@promax.com

Posted in Health and wellness | 2 Comments

Weekend project: “Easy Button” Hack

Flickr photo pool member TommyBear turned a $5 Staples Easy Button into a switch for his garage door. Here’s how you do it:
 
 
 
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Google: “Paris Hilton of the Tech World” (NPR)

Today on NPR there’s a good story, "Doin’ the Dozens on Google", that looks at the success of Google. My favorite quote of the week:
(Brian Cooley, Editor-at-Large at CNET) said Google is mostly a "perpetual motion machine, succeeding because it succeeds." The Paris Hilton of the tech world.
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How much does spam weigh? (And what to do about it)

Cross post from my business blog, as there may be some interest here. Last week I started a series of posts that provide info, tips and feedback on how Microsoft is meeting some of major issues that impact our customer and partners. Things like PC security, quality and reliability of our products, and issues with email around spam and phsihing.
 
I kicked it off last Friday with my reference to the anti-spyware addition to OneCare, and Windows Defender. I thought that this one would be of interest…
 

Today, it’s about email and how to reduce spam

For more, visit http://blogs.msdn.com/mthree/archive/2006/03/13/550235.aspx.

Posted in Computers and Internet | 2 Comments

Ray Ozzie on the clipboard model for the web

Ray Ozzie is at it with a concept to extend the clipboard user model to the web…
I call this new concept Live Clipboard, because we view “live” efforts as those providing users with seamless end-to-end scenarios that “just work” by weaving together the best of software and the best of services.
 
The Concept Development team has created a screencast of a Live Clipboard demo, and a simple web page-based demo that you can play with.  Hopefully this will convey more vividly some of what I’ve attempted to explain above.
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Talking about Windows Live OneCare – Changes, Changes, Changes

 

As noted on my Microsoft blog this week… 

Windows Live OneCare – Changes, Changes, Changes

Today, we started rolling out a OneCare beta refresh to all our current beta customers.  For those of you that have already received the latest updates, you’ll probably notice some significant changes that we’ve highlighted below.  If your OneCare service hasn’t changed yet – don’t worry – you’ll soon be receiving the latest updates and they’ll be automatically installed, OneCare style. 

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The differences between SDTV and HDTV formats

This week, Xbox’s own Major Nelson posted Show #163 (WMA) The one about HDTV blogcast. It includes an interview with the crew at MS Studios – the group that handles much of the video production services for the company (and quite well, I might add) – providing a blogcast primer of TV formats. If you don’t yet understand the differences between the various HD formats, this is a good reference.
 
For more info, also see HDTV FAQs, HDTV in Plain English, SDTV wiki and HDTV wiki.
 
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