Shaine Mata Blog

I've been meaning to buy a book by Paulo Coehlo that I've read rave reviews about from people I follow online. So, as a little reward, I thought to find the least expensive version, either on the Kindle, Nook, or Google Books. The book is the same price on all three. Having an Android tablet, it doesn't really matter to me what format I use, when there is a clear price advantage. However, when the book is the same price across platforms, all sorts of considerations suddenly jump up at me. Here are the things I think about: Where do I have the greatest number of titles already purchased? What platform do I want to keep for the long-term? Which one is DRM free? How easy is it to share? Which has the better Android app? Is the printed version cheaper? Is this something I'd want in the "family library" (Nook)? None of this would have mattered if I could save a dollar. It would be an easy decision. However, given no price advantage, my mind jumps to...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia I've been working with Open Mesh routers at a couple of locations. Thus far, they have been reliable and have pretty good range on their own. Allowing the routers to mesh offers some pretty good advantages for small business. One location where I am using an Open Mesh router has only one router as an access point . We wanted to test it out. I've been meaning to add a second access point for redundancy, though the office is small enough to be covered by the single router. My main motivation is to ensure that wireless coverage stays up should one router fail. That way, I have time to order a replacement while still servicing network clients. In another location, I have three mesh routers. Two are set up as gateways with a third as a repeater. The two gateways are located in areas where I believe most people will use them, near the offices. The repeater is located in a conference room where it extends coverage outside the building. It ...

There are two apps for Android devices that allow you to take notes as handwriting. This is handy in that it can be a little faster than typing, even allowing you to draw figures if needed. The reason handwriting is useful with Evernote is that Evernote is able to recognize and index handwriting found in images, . . . legible handwriting. The ability to find hand written notes through the Evernote search function gives new life to the use of penmanship.  The first handwriting app is Handrite . I like it because it has writing guides that help you more or less keep letters the same size and your writing straight across the page. Handrite is geared towards writing text. You can technically draw items; but, they will be resized to fall within the size of your text.  I default to Handrite whenever I need to jot down something quickly. However, it needs work on tracking your finger movement. Writing in a hurry leaves a mess of sticks and circles. Notes are exportable to Ev...

I'll probably hurt some feelings and cause others to bob their heads in agreement. Faith without works is dead ; similarly, prayer without action is just a bunch of words. You won't get to heaven via prayer group. You must have something that you can claim to have accomplished. I suppose that we should break up prayers into different types. There are the ceremonial prayers where you ask God for his blessing and praise him. You do that out of respect. Basically, this is giving God props for being awesome. There is also the type of prayer where you are asking God for help, whether it be the strength to get through some hardship or whatever; a petition. I have a variation of that kind of prayer I call idle prayer. With petitions, you pray for things like serenity and strength to deal with the challenges before you. You ask for those qualities that will help carry you through to take action. It all comes back to you. If you have pain, pray for endurance until the Ibuprofen ...

I finished reading " The Art of War ". It is available free at Google Books.