Inspirational videos

Here are a couple of inspirational videos for people dealing with cancer:

Randy Pauchs's last lecture

Captain of the Montreal Canadians return from Cancer

Google apps replace Outlook for me

Here are the Google apps that I currently use to replace MS Outlook -
Gmail
Google Calendar
Google Notes
Google bookmarks
I use the customized Google home/start page, with all my apps displayed whenever I log in.
Also Recommended:
Google reader
Google docs and spreadsheet
Now I can access everything from the web, from anywhere. I can backup by exporting. For me, its been a good move and I havn't looked back.
I am also using a PIM called Backpack, which I find useful for sundry todo lists etc.

Getting things done (GTD)

Everything you ever wanted to know about getting things done, and more. Now you can spend lots of time figuring out how to save time (click on title above)

Here is another compendium of GTD tools

Yet another - listible

New blog on ERP 2.0

Here is some of my research on open source and SAAS oriented ERP systems

Photo sites

Here are some photos on flickr (my sister's 50th)

Here are some on the new Google photo sharing site

Gilly

In loving memory of Gilad Schwager 1954 - January 18, 2007.

More interesting web 2.0 stuff

Article on best web 2.0 sites for 2006

http://linux.sys-con.com/read/318320.htm

I have tried some of them out, and they are very interesting. I also really like Google's suite of applications and I am using most of them. I find that I really don't need Outlook any more, and it is more convenient to have all my personal information web based, and accessible everywhere.

Web 2.0 etc

Some genuinely interesting software, in the spirit of Web 2.0:

http://www.vtiger.com/ Excellent open source CRM - try the demo

http://www.weberp.org/ Very good Open source ERP

http://www.ubuntu.com/ Linux for Human Beings

Also check out the LAMP (Apache, Mysql, PHP) , and WAMP stack for running these apps. Can be installed manually or automatically on Linux or Windows.

Fred Blauer's linkedin Profile Business (Social) networking

MS Virtual Server R2 - free download

I recommending checking out this tool from Microsoft for testing new operating systems, environments, and applications. I find it very useful, and its now being offered as a free download from Microsoft.

Evan Blauer in Cancun Mexico

Article taken from McGill Reporter November 24/05:

Answering the call

Hurricane Wilma turns vacationing med student into Doc Holiday

Neale McDevitt | On Friday, October 21, Evan Blauer, a fourth-year medical student at McGill, found himself crammed into a makeshift shelter in Mexico with more than 60 other people. Hurricane Wilma, the most powerful ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin, had slammed into the coast hours earlier and was carving a path of destruction inland. The 280-km winds shrieked, windows shook, plywood creaked and people sat, knees to chest, dripping sweat, too hot and frightened to sleep. It was hard to believe that, less than 48 hours before, Blauer was enjoying a jungle kayak excursion as part of his all-inclusive vacation in Cancun. And the situation was about to get worse.

Hurricane Wilma reached speeds of 280 km/h, the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin. It caused the most destruction in Mexico's Yucatán peninsula, Cuba, and Florida. At least 47 deaths have been reported and the costs of the total damage will likely be around $20 billion. iStock photo

In the middle of the night, a woman began having trouble breathing. Thinking she was hyperventilating, one good, but misguided, Samaritan gave the woman a bag to breathe into. Immediately, her condition got worse.

Blauer's training kicked in. He recognized that the woman wasn't hyperventilating at all; she was having a severe asthma attack. The last thing her oxygen-starved lungs needed was the infusion of carbon monoxide she was getting from the bag. "It actually could have killed her," he says.

Talking with the woman's husband, Blauer learned that she had no history of asthma so she didn't have any medication. Asking around, he located a Ventolin inhaler and administered the medication. He then moved the couple to an empty washroom that was much cooler. The crisis passed and within 45 minutes the woman, a tourist from Leeds, England, was able to talk. Thanks largely to Blauer's quick action the grateful woman would be fine.

But his work wasn't done. A rudimentary infirmary was set up where Blauer worked side-by-side with a pair of vacationing paramedics and two nurses from Memphis. Mostly, they bandaged people cut from broken glass and administered IVs to those suffering from dehydration. One woman was knocked unconscious when she slipped and cracked the base of her skull on the corner of a stair. The team immobilized her and put her in an ambulance that took her to a nearby hospital.

At McGill, where he's currently finishing his clinical rotation, Blauer is used to seeing patients by himself, but the difference in Mexico was that there were no residents to check with. He was on his own. "I got tested," he says. "It was stressful, for sure, but I was confident I could do the job."

For Blauer, getting back home was as much an adventure as living through the category 5 hurricane. In less than 12 hours, he took a winding taxi ride through devastated shanty towns; tried to salvage personal items from the blown out resort where, it was rumored, an alligator was lurking in the lobby; and had a harrowing bus ride to the airport through water that rose to the windshield.

Safe at home in Montreal, Blauer doesn't think twice when asked what he will remember most about his experience. "The local people were amazing," he says. "They could have gouged us when we bought food or took a cab, but they didn't. Everyone really pulled together." He was so impressed that he would return in a second. "I can't wait to go back," he says. "I feel like I owe it to the people."

New theme for FBA site

I changed the theme for my web site today. Do you like it?

Latest discovery

My latest cool discovery is a network media device called dlink DMS-320. It allows me to stream media content like music, photos, and videos thru my TV and Stereo system, all operated by a remote control device. It works very well when you combine it with a media server from TVersity. http://www.tversity.com/
The server software that comes with the unit is inadequate, but the one from Tversity installs as a service on your server, and also allows you to access a lot of free internet radio, and even internet TV stations. Its really simple to setup and use, and quite inexpensive. I have been having a lot of fun with this lately, and highly recommend it. I see a time when I will cancel my basic cable, and get the higher speed internet access from my service provider, which already powers my phone (see my previous post about Vonage) which I am very happy with.

Rob's Graduation

Fred Blauer's Blog

Test for Comments
Here is a new post that should enable you to post comments. I also changed the template. Let me know what you think by posting a comment.

Blues Blauer

Rob and Dad

50th Cake

Karaoke

Fred Mark and Jeff

Blauers

The Freders

Weitzman and katz

50th birthday party

Sarbanes Oxley is becoming a very hot topic

Here are some useful links to get more information:

http://www.isaca.org/template.cfm?section=home

https://www.isaca.org/AMTemplate.cfm?Section=Sarbanes-Oxley2&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11247

http://www.itgi.org/Template_ITGI.cfm?Section=ITGI&CONTENTID=9757&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm

http://www.soxtoolkit.com/

http://www.sox-online.com/acc_aud.html

http://library.telecommagazine.com/data/rlist?t=1091544203_40801156