Robertson Adams

Michele and I looked at netbook computers that she could take with her on the road for a couple of months until the need for one became desperate and she bought one - the HP Mini at Best Buy for $279. Out of the box we both thought it was fast enough, sturdy enough and easy to set up.

Right away, an IT specialist at her company helped her install the client software for their Citrix server. Then I removed the "crapware" that HP pre-installed such as Norton Antivirus, AIM and AOL, and installed OpenOffice 3.1, Mozila Firefox and Zonelabs Zone Alarm Internet Suite.

Sometime around the third day of owning this, it became infected with a really crazy virus/Trojan called Total Security, which maquerades as several separate programs under Windows XP. The symptoms are that you'll see a window from "Total Security" pop up automatically warning that your system is infected and you'd better take action. To take action you're supposed to register your copy of this software and enter your credit card. Thank goodness there were some signs that it was a fraud, because 80% of this looks totally legitimate and must trick a lot of people.

I just watched an interesting student-produced video about how to identify Asians by nationality. It only shows that it's nearly impossible to get it right. (MartinOg). Bonus link:Asian facial features. Annoyingly, it's set to auto-play so I have the video after the jump.

I'm trying to get rid of our expensive, flaky DirecTV service which seems to have ballooned from $50 a few years ago to about $90 every month lately with what seems to be fewer channels than ever (We used to get Sundance for free, for example, and now it's missing.). My first reaction was to switch to a broadband internet solution for video but then I saw the fantastic picture and somewhat okay variety of programming coming off the air from the local TV stations for free.

This photo - shot by Michele at a Barack Obama campaign rally in Bayfront Park - has recently shot up to become the most popular item in my Flickr photo gallery. As of May 27 it's had 888 views in about a month.

My friend Lisa Fox is urging South Miami residents to oppose expansion of the attractively brick-paved, but dangerously narrow streets that adorn downtown South Miami. The city council wants to narrow the streets on Sunset Drive all the way to SW 65th Ave., nearly to Ludlam Elementary School. I agree that's going too far. Here's her message to commissioners:

Hello City Commission, Mayor, and City Manager, In follow up about the issue with Sunset Drive relating to bicycle paths, I heard the comments addressing this issue by the commission and by Mr.

It's Nauryz (New Year) in Kazakhstan. Pass the Karagandinskoe beer and put another shashlik (kebab) on the barby.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rga/sets/72157615709154591/

After reading "The Kazakh Orchestra" to my daughter a few too many times, I searched the web for "kylkobyz," "jetigen" and "shankobyz" and found a Kazakh musical group from Astana called "The Magic of Nomads." I e-mailed them to inquire about getting a copy of their album, which they recorded at Abbey Road Studio in 2008.

Charming new wood floors, new appliances in bright and open space, with lush gardens outside. Just steps to pool, parking. Washer and dryer, central air. Two-bedroom, one bath apartment is available now. Walk to South Miami MetroRail, Shops of Sunset. Bike to Matheson Hammock Park. Cats and small dogs are okay. Rent: $1,200 per month.