Michael J. Helgerson » Iowa

My Unabashed Nerdiness.

Michael — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:48:00 +0000

Upon moving to Creston my first priority (after housing) has been the process of procuring an internet connection. To be really honest, it is the only amenity that truly defines the quality of my life.

Yes, I am addicted. No, I am not ashamed. I’m Gen Y, baby!

Anyway, I have not been happy with the offers made to my by the only (two) available internet providers in my new community. I don’t want to pay for cable TV or a landline phone. That makes internet access a bit pricey, I must say. However, I have access to an impressively good wireless network from below, so I have paused my search for another ISP for now.

So, because I lack any television service, I have decided to make a “Media Center” of sorts that will access the internet and generate content that, well, I care about. Thanks to programs like Hulu Desktop and other open source alternatives, this process has been surprisingly simple thus far. That being said, I’m not very far along yet.

To create this media center I am using the Mac that previously was my main computer: my unbound iBook.
“What on Earth is an “unbound iBook?” you ask. The story of this computer is interesting, unique, and most endearing when told using an Animal Rescue metaphor.

When certain well-armed family members of mine lived in Florida, they awoke one morning to find that someone had abandoned a poor little iBook on their front yard. Yes, an Apple laptop was lying next to a tree in their yard. It appeared from initial observations that the laptop was thrown from a moving vehicle and had impacted the tree. The computer’s screen was damaged – trauma suffered through the reckless actions of its previous owner.

Obviously distressed from the experience (and likely the mainspring by which the computer was jettisoned from the vehicle), the computer had issues booting and continually “locked-up”. [I should note at this point that the computer was being operated via an external monitor – the mode by which I still use it today] However, with a bit of TLC (fresh install of the operating system) the computer was up and running like new…less a notebook screen.

Hence it had been “unbound”. It is a bit of a stretch, I know.

But the rest is history. I, with my big heart for Macs, brought the little iBook into my home. Since then, it has been an unequivocally solid computing platform. I am working with Sarah McLachlan to do a commercial raising awareness for half-tops like mine. Support your local Laptop Rescue!

But I digress.

My main point is that I have a lot of time to kill here in C-Town and have been slaying that time with senseless little techno-projects that do very little other than prove to myself that, well, I could do them in the first place. That being said, this won’t be the last of these projects

Turn on. Tune in. And don’t forget to drop me a line in the comments section.

[5] Vigilant Guard.

Michael — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:33:43 +0000

While this post is quite late to the subject, I thought it was worth mentioning. I am sure someone else has already pointed this out.

On June 18th, Iowa kicked off the National Guard’s Vigilant Guard initiative – a measure designed to develop the emergency response capability of the National Guard and local officials. The scenario acted out in Des Moines involved local citizens who pretended to have injuries stemming from the derailment of a train carrying a highly combustible material.

At first I questioned the plausibility of such a scenario in downtown Des Moines. However, the following weekend a train carrying ethanol (an incredibly flammable material) derailed and killed one woman. Quite coincidental, eh?

Well, to say the least, my skepticism has disappeared and I am glad that Iowa’s emergency response officials have been trained to manage situations such as these. With the growing ethanol production industry in Iowa, I have few doubts there will be more opportunities in which these particular skills are called to use.

[1] Ouch.

Michael — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:26:42 +0000

Having lived in Ames for quite a few years, there have been some notable news stories with a local flavor. But, in recent months, there has been a strange trend arising: students young men falling from or within apartment buildings. Having witnessed the aftermath of a neighbor jumping from his own (albeit lower) balcony, I beg the question: why?

Maybe this isn’t atypical in college towns generally, but it seems unprecedented here in Ames. I will be interested (as are some of you) if the City Council of Ames chooses to address this issue – particularly in the student dominated area of Campustown. Perhaps they will outlaw certain building types or accessible balconies altogether? Maybe not?

Will the property manager take steps to reduce this kind of activity? Both the incidents I linked to above occured in Legacy Tower, a property occupied predominantly by ISU students. I don’t think Campustown Properties could have prevented these incidents even if they had tried. Yet, it does present them with a considerable amount of “bad PR”. Thanks to SirTopham (edit: originally from Ron White’s stand-up but still applicable) for the Quote of the Day:

“You can’t fix stupid.”

Update: It seems the young man who fell down the elevator shaft wasn’t an Iowa State student, but was just visiting a friend. Still, quite a concerning piece of news.