tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-254324952011-07-07T20:21:28.194-07:00The Obligatory Occasional Comments of a Post-Graduate and IT Professional.Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.comBlogger431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-84548207940534329982010-01-24T09:51:00.000-08:002010-01-24T10:03:40.434-08:00

We got this question in the Client InBox this morning. Thought I'd share my response:Q: "For embedding video clips into powerpoints and projecting them, is there any advantage to wmv format compared to mpg format (or visa versa)?"A: Embedding video clips in WMV format will require that the station being used to present isa) A computer running some version of Microsoft Windowsb) Has Windows Media

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-18970988433571934242009-08-23T18:16:00.000-07:002009-08-23T18:16:00.193-07:00

A few months ago, I made a list of some iPhone Apps I thought were pretty cool, even though I don't actually use any of them. After a bit over 1-year of iPhoneage, there are the FREE apps I now use regularly, for different reasons (I only use free apps, because I'm that way). I thought I would give them a brief mention:Facebook - What else is there to say- it's Facebook.Free RSS Reader - An, um

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-25145273406452838242009-08-23T11:49:00.000-07:002009-08-23T12:16:00.452-07:00

I was listening to Leo Laporte (techguylabs.com, twit.tv) today and he brokedown how to get a deal on the iPhone if you are an existing customer... (In my opinion this trick should work with any phone company, but this discussion was specifically in regard to the iPhone).- Call Customer Service (611 for AT&T subscribers) and tell them you're going to go to [insert competing phone company]- You

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-22920820672912373952009-08-18T16:33:00.001-07:002009-08-18T16:41:49.286-07:00

This might only be funny to me:Today a student was trying to play a DVD on the PCs in my computer lab. When it didn't work he asked for help....Me: They set the machines up so they won't play DVD's because they dont want people in here watching movies all dayStudent: Y'all can't watch no YouTube in here?Me: This was before YouTubeStudent: Before YouTube?!?!I was about to say, "yes, you know

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-21612133605380423532009-08-03T16:57:00.000-07:002009-08-18T16:42:04.420-07:00

A former employee left me a voicemail over the weekend (paraphrased):"...I put you down as a reference... I didn't necessarily lie on my application, but I did stretch out a few things and just wanted to give you a heads up..."Only, he didn't mention what he "stretched", so what good did that do? I guess this is what happens when you develop an excellent rapport with your employees and

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-15555658812772231372009-06-23T16:19:00.000-07:002009-08-18T16:41:12.541-07:00

Sometimes I hate myself. That is to say, I hate how nice I am when I don't need to be.Yesterday I somehow* had a couple non-clients wander/corner/trap me in my office, with a series of questions concerning nothing that has anything to do with my job description, services, or expertise. Not only are they not clients, but aren't even qualified to *be* a client (long story). They must have

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-68676387400986437762009-06-18T10:40:00.000-07:002009-06-18T10:59:11.482-07:00

This morning a colleague posted an open plea for ideas of what to do during her upcoming vacation to Maui, Hawaii. This reminded me of what great time I had when I went oh so many years ago! After sending off another one of my trademarked TMI email responses, I decided what the heck- I'll share it with the world as well!DISCLAIMER: I haven't been to Maui since 2002- I don't know what may have

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-72741797527441365322009-04-23T13:07:00.000-07:002009-04-23T13:14:03.586-07:00

(Okay, I lied. This isn't that random)I know I'm in the business of helping people, but sometimes I find myself thinking, "how the f*** did you manage to get into college?!"

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-60573935290729220732009-04-10T14:56:00.001-07:002009-08-23T12:14:46.607-07:00

Recently I gave into inner and outer pressures and joined the iPhone toting masses. Now, not only can I think I look cool every time I pull out my phone, I can go broke slowly with one touch access to the 25,000+ iPhone Apps available on iTunes. Or so it seems...In between putting finger prints on the iPhone, wiping them off, and trying not to be that guy who wants everyone to know he has an

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-56980401035333985232009-03-25T12:42:00.001-07:002009-03-25T13:10:25.463-07:00

Most of the Support Tickets that reach my desk are about the same 4 questions, about 50 times a day. This obviously doesn't count when something actually breaks and our site goes down- then the number shoots up to about 50 times a minute!Occasionally I'll receive a ticket that is so over the top, retarded, or hilarious that it gets passed around the department and IT support circles as comic

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-89695611136789443752009-03-08T09:54:00.000-07:002009-03-08T11:02:50.857-07:00

Unless you've just come from under a rock, you've probably heard that Apple has upgraded its entire desktop line, including a newer, faster, 24-inch iMac. If you've never seen a 24-inch iMac in person, let me try to put this into perspective-Here's a Hummer with 24 inch spinner rims:Here is a Girl's' Dual-Suspension Mountain Bike with 24-Inch wheels:Here is a 24-inch channel catfish:Here is the

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-57735441548587169772009-02-24T10:15:00.000-08:002009-02-24T10:25:26.303-08:00

A co-worker brought some Crackheads to work today, and there was much rejoicing!"Crackheads are white and dark chocolate covered espresso beans, and dang are they ever tasty! Each 1.3oz box has about 30-32 Crackheads inside, which packs a nice punch of about 200mg of caffeine per box. And 200mg of caffeine is a very sweet treat indeed." (@ thinkgeek.com)

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-38211822092728983232009-02-11T10:47:00.000-08:002009-02-11T10:55:18.155-08:00

I got this email today. Thought I'd share it for my loads of avid readers (even though, anyone reading this, probably knows the answer already)."I have a dumb question..........which is faster kbps or mbps?..."Kbps stands for "kilobits per second," while Mbps stands for "megabits per second" [note the proper capitalization]. These units of measurement address throughput or "bandwidth", which

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-32468001605829113812009-01-18T11:12:00.000-08:002009-01-18T11:30:44.681-08:00

Because I needed to, and because I could not find an existing one, I wrote this "Microwave Terms of Use Agreement". Hopefully someone will find this useful.MICROWAVE TERMS OF USE AGREEMENTPLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY. By using this Microwave (“Microwave”) you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in these Terms and Conditions ("Terms"). This Agreement supersedes all prior or

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-42560473962019222182008-07-10T08:12:00.000-07:002008-07-10T08:36:01.383-07:00

Today I had a visitor who had an ISO file that he made from a DVD and saved onto an external Hard Drive. He wanted to burn it onto another DVD as a "DVD", as opposed to a data disc (I didn't ask what was on it). In my lab the only workstations that burn DVDs are our Macintosh computers (used primarily for video editing, etc.)I'm pretty sure this was the first time anyone ever posed that question

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-51927659859305997952008-05-25T11:48:00.000-07:002008-05-25T16:59:50.329-07:00

The twice-yearly evaluation is a bitter-sweet time for me every 6 months. I had my Annual Evaluation this past week, where we review my work performance, and see if I met my "Goals" that were established in the previous Annual Evaluation.On it, I got excellents in every category, for the third year in a row! "What does that mean?" you ask? It means... um... I can tell people I got excellents in

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-57365962482544411692008-03-16T07:17:00.000-07:002008-04-06T13:26:26.112-07:00

A client sent me this one the other day:"Why the hell has my PC taken to rebooting itself in the middle of the night? It started a couple days ago and I'm figuring there has to be a setting that got changed with an update or some such ridiculousness but how do I make it stop!?!... I shake my fist at you in anger Microsoft." Since I took the time to answer it, I figured I may as well post it for

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-39614525377114888812008-02-05T18:04:00.001-08:002008-04-06T13:27:42.320-07:00

After years of toil and strive, months of red tape, and constant battling against holds out of nowhere...... I went to the Post Office today to pick up a couple thousand dollars worth of unpaid bills. And what to my wondering eyes should appear??...A strange envelope with a cryptic message and ancient symbol...Inside: A call to action- namely, "hey- spend more money"...And finally, the moment

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-49432351429637312442007-12-18T08:43:00.000-08:002007-12-18T09:55:59.786-08:00

For the record, this is not me:**Shingara_Singh (although I kinda wish it was, considering he's on TV and all!)

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-14602620500187909992007-09-22T13:43:00.000-07:002007-09-22T15:17:00.935-07:00

It has been a little over one week since my last post, and wow- what a week it's been! "The job" is quite frantic as of late. I have had a headche for two days and haven't had a good night's sleep in over a week. A literal flood of non-reading adults have taken over my InBox and voicemail with "technical issues" that could clearly be resolved if one would simply RTFS!! But, then again,

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-49538585700222937122007-09-14T16:24:00.000-07:002007-09-14T17:05:58.884-07:00

Hoopmaster Singh here. The last run through the Big Top gave me a lot of hoops to jump through. No flames this time, but there was bucket of "acid" I had to leap over without getting any on me. The following is my progress up to now:*- I went to register for classes last week but it would not give me access to Fall 2007.- I re-filed my Grad Check the other day and waited a few more days before

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-68390263130816731232007-09-13T09:23:00.000-07:002007-09-13T09:43:03.585-07:00

Finally today "Fall 2007" shows up on my account. So, i should be able to register w/ no problem, right? That is, until I actually try:Apparently THEY didn't get the memo!I put the courses in my "shopping cart"- because well, that's how we roll @ Dino State, and then... I HAVE HOLDS?Aaah- "Pre-payment required". WTF?!?!Yet another round of phone calls repeating everything I've been saying

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-72919838729308477632007-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:002007-09-12T13:38:47.086-07:00

A few days ago mentioned that I got the Upper Division Requirement waived. Yay! This means I only have to retake three (3) courses! Yay! On Monday I went to register for classes, and... hey... wait... "Fall 2007" is not available to me? Boooo!I call the Registration Helpdesk... According the system, I've already graduated, and that's why Fall quarter doesn't even show up on my MyCoyote account!

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-53065921133344831402007-09-07T20:36:00.000-07:002007-09-07T20:41:45.343-07:00

Good news friends! (I guess):Received this morning:Dear S,I have approved your petition to waive the seven-year limit forEDUC 306. If you have questions, please let me know.Dean KAlright that's more like it! I'm eerily upbeat about this whole travesty ordeal thing experience at the moment. Of course, I haven't bought textbook yet either.:ss:

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-28763603177149241052007-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:002007-09-22T15:22:23.614-07:00

A lot of adventure has occurred since my last post over a year ago!So what have I been doing since then? I finished my Thesis, went through the typical reformatting runaround madness, gave the Uni a lot of money in small increments, and finally got my Thesis signed off and and turned in. So I'm done, right? I participated in Commencement ceremonie, had a little soiree with close friends, and

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1153364341553091232006-07-19T19:56:00.000-07:002006-07-19T19:59:01.566-07:00

*Didn't I say this 6 months ago? "For every possible two-character and three-character combination -- including both letters and numbers -- all possible domains are taken. Virtually all English words with four letters are claimed... ...Half of all domains are between nine and 15 characters long; the average length is 13..."Geek out with more interesting stats at this WSJ article.

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1149968360264834652006-06-10T12:26:00.000-07:002006-06-10T12:39:20.286-07:00

As we round out another exciting quarter of ETECness and my first experience in required blogging, I'm now faced with a dilemma- what to do with "All The Great Names..." once this course is over?I could continue to use it as a chronicle of the Thesis experience for all the world to see... I could personalize it and begin to rant on about more personal matters... I could egotistically market my

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1149380534902173962006-06-03T16:51:00.000-07:002006-06-03T17:23:38.396-07:00

I went to the ETEC 699/692 Presentations thing this past Friday. If you were there, you probably saw me in the back taking notes. In addition to it being roughly four hours of non-stop presentations, another thing I didn't anticipate was the wide variety of projects and field work experiences.There were a couple "i made a website for..." projects- but each website was different. Some developed

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1149376938127002332006-06-03T16:14:00.000-07:002006-06-03T16:22:18.143-07:00

I was up on TRACS/WEBREG the other day, and again today, and I noticed an ominous stat, which I've chosen to repost here...Course: ETEC 699 -- MASTERS DEGREE PROJECT Call Number: 30521 Section: 01 Status: OPEN Session: 1 Type: SUP Units: 4.00 Location: UH-043 Site:

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1148923507182509032006-05-29T10:11:00.000-07:002006-05-29T10:25:07.210-07:00

Jim and I were troubleshooting yesterday- and since I could see how he might not be the only one experiencing this problem I thought I'd share our 'discovery': Seems he could not post to my blog and others that use the "word/letter verification" feature.Jim would access the class blogs by logging onto Blackboard, clicking the "BlogList" link, and then clicking on respective URLs from there. Aaah-

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1148563745314795982006-05-25T06:15:00.000-07:002006-05-25T06:29:05.326-07:00

I still say it takes longer than 90 minutes, however... It's not the completing of the IRB application that took forever, it's those pesky related documents!- I created a sample survey which I hope is anywhere close to the actual one when it comes to that stage (ssshhh...)- I decided I do need an Informed Consent form since one of my expected participants, while about to be a college sophomore,

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1147357267196787492006-05-11T07:16:00.000-07:002006-05-11T07:21:07.213-07:00

Something tells me this IRB/Project Proposal appears to be deceptively simple. (i.e. not so)..."The IRB should take about 30 minutes.. the Project Proposal should take about 60..." -- BNTruthfully, I expect to spend at least 2x the suggested 90 minutes to complete this assignment... more to follow... [ss]

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1146631387621282912006-05-02T21:40:00.000-07:002006-05-02T22:01:33.813-07:00

I just happened to click on the post for etec644syoung.blogspot.com before posting this entry… not necessarily a good idea, since I’m now compelled to copy her entry and paste it as my own. That would be rude. However,a) I did just turn it inb) I also feel I’m not “quite there” with itc) I'm certainly not a perfectionist, but will continue working on revising the lit review (I think we all

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1146115760538756272006-04-26T22:24:00.000-07:002006-04-28T07:16:16.306-07:00

"comment on blogs" vs. "write lit review"... hmmm, tough choice! i can see how someone could get hooked on blogs- or more accurately, commenting on other people's blogs. by reading the other blogs+comments i got some good insight into how others are doing... org. issues, timing, deadlines, typos... i don't feel so bad (badly?)i liked susan's photo of neatly stacked printed articles! the "devil

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1145898822249101312006-04-24T10:13:00.000-07:002006-04-24T10:13:42.256-07:00

This weekend was a great weekend to get out, enjoy the nice weather, see the family, and catchup on a lot of necessary projects around the house. Instead, I spent a lot of time beefing up my Lit. Review fodder.I've found that I prefer EBSCOHost over the slew of other online resources available from our Library website. In EBSCO I can narrow my searches to only include "Peer Reviewed" [

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1145631567584479762006-04-21T07:56:00.000-07:002006-05-01T19:58:10.606-07:00

I thought this was funny enough to repost (taken from a comment to a comment on another blog*):"...I refused to allow my photo to be posted because I know how easy it is for images to be manipulated. Sure enough, within a month, I caught a student in my class with another teacher's photo open in Paint, drawing devil horns and a mustache."*(One day I'll figure out how to link to blogs correctly!)

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1145631356896630182006-04-21T07:46:00.000-07:002006-04-21T07:55:56.950-07:00

After reading a few brief descriptions on what/how others completed the first assignment, I'm realizing I did mine all wrong. It will be interesting to see the grade I get. I really need to get a handle on this whole "time-management" thing! :(*No Excuses!* My motto for the next eight weeks.

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1145430410434611922006-04-18T23:58:00.000-07:002006-04-19T00:12:04.313-07:00

"No excuses!" Is what my dad would say on his way out to a field of switchweed...Turned in: Preliminary Thesis, ETEC644"During the development of the project, a number of limitations were noted..."More later. It's late.//oo\\

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1145324728514906452006-04-17T18:17:00.000-07:002006-04-17T18:45:28.530-07:00

I downloaded the IRB form last night. Deceptively short- until you start reading. In addition to everything else that does not apply to my project:8. ATTACHMENTS. I have included copies of all relevant project materials and documents, including (check all that apply):[ ] Surveys, questionnaires, and/or interview instruments.[ ] Informed consent forms or statements.[ ] Letters of approval

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1144889377370612792006-04-12T17:43:00.000-07:002006-04-12T17:49:37.380-07:00

For the last three of four days, all the blogger.com/blogspot.com pages show up in Japanese for me (Bloggers' posts where in Engrish, but everything else showed up in Kanji). I could clunk along, and even reply to postings, based on my understanding of the Blogger UI, but I couldn't figure it out how to turn off Japanese! I tried multiple browsers on several machines and they all show

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1144304961376619942006-04-05T22:16:00.000-07:002006-04-07T09:43:44.503-07:00

My proposed "timeline/deadlines" I hope to complete this dramatic event known as a Masters' Thesis (not to be confused with the massacre of a film, "Timeline" with Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Anna Friel, and Michael Sheen or that TV show with Oliver Platt):IRB Proposal - Apr 14Project Prototype - May 29"Chapter Three" - Jun 30Project Alpha Test - Jul 10Project Beta Test - Jul 17Project

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1144300400361979842006-04-05T21:43:00.000-07:002006-04-05T22:15:41.446-07:00

Welcome to my online journal/calendar and tracking device. On today's show we'll be talking about Micheal Jackson, Java, and 19" CSL Replica Wheels, for M3 and non-M3 BMWs. I mean, My Masters' Thesis. For the first time viewers, my thesis topic is... (drumroll, fade lights)(Working Title) "STANDARDIZATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY METHODS OF TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS"The Party Blurb:"As

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25432495.post-1144217175367943692006-04-04T23:03:00.000-07:002006-04-04T23:06:15.376-07:00

All The Great Names Are Taken I can't believe it. 3 hours of blogger.com surfing and can't find a single name I'd actually *want* to use, that isn't already in use. Shoulda paid for TypePad i guess. [ss]

Shingara Singhhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02416494116892813536noreply@blogger.com0