Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Meet Mittens (uh . . . Vincent)

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So, uh, I’m not really sure how this happened but Melissa and I (mostly Melissa) got a new cat today. His name is Mittens Vincent. He has a somewhat-rare deformity where the ‘thumb’ of his paw is down where the other ‘fingers’ are instead of further up the leg like on most cats.

I’m still trying to compute how a trip to Men’s Wearhouse to return my tux turned into an adoption trip to the Petsmart next door, but it did.

Anyway, Mittens Vincent—aside from his neat little paw deformity—is your average male orange tabby with white highlights on his feet and belly. He’s about four months old, so he’s still just a kitten. Hopefully, Mei Mei will pick up a slight maternal instinct toward him with a little time . . . but right now we’re just trying to convince Mei Mei that the newcomer is not Satan and need-not be hissed at every time they see one another.

(Update: My wife informed me this morning that ‘Mittens’ was not likely to be his permanant name. Then I found out this evening that he will be called Vincent. The entry has been updated.)

Melissa: Award-Winning Artist

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My talented wife Melissa entered a series of three silver pendants, Transcendence 3, into the Bead Museum DC’s Celebrating Beads competition. She found out a couple of weeks ago that she was a finalist, and tonight was the Passion for Beads Gala at which the winners were announced. Melissa, who insisted that she wasn’t going to win anything, won two things!

Melissa’s piece won 1st Place in the ‘Clay’ category for hobbyists (full-time professional artists are judged separately) AND the Best in Show: Best Handmade Bead award (which was open to both hobbyists and pros).

The photo above/right is of Melissa standing next to two of the three parts of her piece as-displayed at the gala (hers are smaller pieces, right next to her hand, labeled ‘6’).

Political Endorsements & Election Plans

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Since 2004, I have made political endorsements for every general election in which I am eligible to vote. I do not make endorsements in party primaries, since I am not a member of any political party, nor do my endorsements follow any ‘party line’. I tend to the conservative side of the spectrum, so I usually endorse more Republicans than Democrats, but I evaluate each race individually and have endorsed candidates from both parties. My endorsements reflect my personal opinions on each ballot issue presented to the voters in my particular precinct.

I have completed my research and have made my decisions regarding the upcoming elections, which will be on November 4. As such, I will be publishing my endorsements next week. Check back to find out who/what I will be endorsing for the Fairfax County Parks and Park Facilities Bonds Referendum (9/23), U.S. House of Representatives (VA-10th) (9/24), U.S. Senate (VA) (9/25), and President of the United States (9/26). Stay tuned!

Between now and Nov. 4, much of this site’s focus will be election-related (though I will continue making non-election postings as well). Election season on Off on a Tangent culminates with live election-night coverage and results on the evening of Nov. 4. If you’re not yet registered to vote, register. If you won’t be around to vote on Nov. 4, request an absentee ballot now. No matter whether you agree with my upcoming endorsements or not, this is your opportunity as a citizen of the United States to make your voice heard. Don’t underestimate the importance of voting—remember, the 2000 Presidential election came down to less than 400 votes in Florida. This year it could come down to 500 in Colorado, or 200 in Virginia, or 300 in Indiana. Every vote counts!

Great Falls

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I neglected to post this photo when I took it . . . uh . . . August 9. On my first off-read bike excursion after buying my Schwinn Mesa mountain bike, I took the Cross County Trail north from Georgetown Pike into Great Falls National Park. The trail terminates at the Potomac River where the Difficult Run creek meets the Potomac.

Needless to say, it is pretty incredible how much beatiful stuff there is within a short distance of Washington, DC. Even in urban Fairfax County, sights such as this can be found—if you know where to look.

The Sorry State of Smartphones

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I am continually frustrated by the smartphone industry. Smartphones are, essentially, the convergence of what used to be called Personal Digital Assistants (or PDAs) with wireless phone and Internet capability. They can make phone calls, check email, surf the web, and manage your calendars, tasks, and contacts. They can also usually play video and music, take pictures, and synchronize data with your computer. They are extremely useful, if you get yourself into the habit of using them to their fullest capability, but they are simultaneously frustrating.

There are now four major smartphone operating systems that collectively rule the U.S. smartphone market: Apple’s iPhone OS, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, Palm’s Palm OS Garnet, and RIM’s Blackberry OS. Another system, Symbian Foundation’s Symbian, is very popular overseas and holds a majority of the non-U.S. smartphone market (although it is argubly one notch below being a ‘smartphone’ OS, being instead a ‘feature-phone OS’). There are also various small-market Linux-based mobile operating systems, and at least two major Linux-based smartphone operating systems in the works but yet unreleased: The Open Handset Alliance’s Android OS (supported by Google), and Palm’s Palm OS Nova (which might not be its official name when it is released).

I have now had two smartphones—a Palm Treo 650 running Palm OS Garnet and an AT&T 8525 running Windows Mobile Professional 6—and each has been disappointing. I knew their drawbacks when I bought them, but bought them because—when campared to their available competition at the time—they were the lesser of many evils. I am eligible for a discounted phone upgrade on November 24 of this year but, like my two previous smartphones, I find that I will likely have to settle for the lesser of many evils once again.

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Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.