Dr. Rick Obituary

Dr. Richard W. Schrieve, MD | Recordnet.com

"A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 10th at 2 p.m. at DeYoung Shoreline Chapel, 7676 Shoreline Dr., Stockton.

If you wish to make a donation in Rick's memory, the family suggests the Assistance League of Stockton. Online guest book at deyoungchapels.com"

Many of us who were fortunate enough to attend the memorial for AlaskaJoe in Modesto were also able to visit with Rick's mother, Carol, and brother, Ron, this weekend in Stockton, CA. For those who don't know, Modesto and Stockton are very near to each other.

Here is a direct link to the Assistance League of Stockton.

HP halts WebOS business, spins off PC unit

Interesting move on HP's part.

Guess buying the dieing Palm company wasn't such a good idea....

Thoughts and wishes for Dr. Rick's family.

You are all invited to send your thoughts and good wishes to Rick's family at ronschrieve at gmail.com (this is Rick's brother, Ron -- email slightly altered to to help foil spam harvesters -- you all know what to do). I know that any memories of Rick or expression of friendship will mean a lot to them.

We will keep you posted with any news or updates we get them.

(email address posted with permission, via Sue)

RIP Dr. Rick

It is with sorrow I must inform everyone that our friend, Dr. Rick Schrieve passed away yesterday.

Memorial Service for Joe in California

Hi all.

There will be a memorial service for Joe in Modesto, CA next Saturday, August 20th at 2:00pm. The location is a clubhouse of an area community. If anyone is interested in going, please let us know via memorial@oncomputers.info so we can let Shana know.

Thanks.

Aaron

Memorial Service for Joe

For those in Alaska, or with the ability to travel to Alaska, there will be a memorial service for Joe on Thursday, 8/11 at 10:30am at Congregation Beth Shalom in Anchorage.

For those not in Alaska, or unable to travel to Alaska, there will also be a memorial service in Modesto, CA. No date has been set yet.

Aaron

AlaskaJoe: From all points on the compass to somewhere in heaven

From his Facebook Page:

"This is Christopher Smith; Shana Smith's husband. With deepest sympathies, Joe Polinsky passed away at 9:20pm August 4th, 2011. We all love him and miss him!"

Rest in peace, Joe.

Good Luck Today Dr. Rick

Well, since we've been mainly concentrating on keeping everyone updated about Joe, we should mention another one of our regulars who is not doing so well. Dr. Rick was recently diagnosed with a dangerous brain tumor and is going under the knife today to attempt to have it removed. Good luck Rick. Hope the surgery is successful.

Joe Update

Unfortunately, not good.

From Shana:

Another update. It looks like we are probably heading to the end. Joe has not been awake more than about an hour or so in the last 2 days. Nothing to eat or drink today. He is on a massive amount of pain medication and still having some breakthrough discomfort. Everyone is doing their best to keep him resting peacefully.

British Library offers e-classics app for iPad. The British Library is making digital copies of more than 40,000 classic books available for the iPad.

From the BBC:

I though this was cool and I don't even own an i pad and it ain't free.

The British Library is making digital copies of more than 40,000 classic books available for the i Pad.

Texts appear in fully digitized form, complete with original page markings and drawings, as opposed to the plain formatting associated with other types of e-books.

All of the works date from the 18th and 19th centuries and include novels, poetry and historical accounts.

Users must pay a monthly subscription of £1.99 to access the full collection.

Joe Update

Well, unfortunately its not good :(
Recently posted on Facebook by Janet Sperber who is currently in Seattle:

Yesterday, Joe really showed signs of his decline. Sores and rashes all over legs and back due to Leukemia. Pain meds every two hrs. This past weekend he did great. We had him out in the sunshine in a wheelchair during BBQ hosted by Elk's Lodge. Yesterday, he was mostly in bed. At this point doctors trying too keep him comfortable. He is aware we are here. No solid food over two weeks. He is dying.

With a followup from Joe's daughter Shana:

This is Shana, my dad is declining rapidly. I will be going back up to be with him tomorrow.

How People see You when You Fix Their Computer versus Reality [Humorous Image]

Yes, it is safe for work. It is also way too true. Just keep the cats and coffee out of the way when you open this page.

16 Suspected 'Anonymous' Hackers Arrested in Nationwide Sweep

From Fox news:

Sixteen suspected members of "Anonymous" were arrested this morning in states across the country, from California to New York, in a federal raid on the notorious hacking group.

Met Police accused of phone-hacking inquiry failures

This is big news in the UK. The news of the world paper in the UK got shut down over it. There's also links to more info on the page in the title.

From the BBC:
"The Commons home affairs committee also criticises News International's "deliberate attempts to thwart investigations" into hacking."

Search Engines Ruin our Memory, Make us Smarter

What a strange headline! The article doesn't support the fear mongering aspect of the headline. Changing which information we store is not ruining our memory. Humans are incredibly adaptable. We adapt very quickly to use what helps us and reject what doesn't. At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Another Joe Update

Hi all. I just wanted to give another Joe update.
As luck would have it, my work brought me to Seattle this week, so I had the opportunity to see him. We had a good visit on Sunday, though I would say he was quite a bit tired and had to disappear for a little bit to go lay down and nap. My understanding from Sue is that it was one of his more "up" days. She thinks it was actually the fact that I was coming by that kept him running. Needless to say, when he was dozing off and needed to take a nap, I fully understood. I had actually not expected to be there as long as I was. While I was there, he asked me for assistance getting his laptop connected to a MiFi so he could get online, which I was happy to do for him. He did have a very difficult time typing once we got him in the chat, but he was very happy to be there and at least say hi to everyone and read everyone's best wishes. Please keep that in mind if you see him in there again, please don't rush him. Its possible he may not even say anything at all, but assume he is reading so please go ahead and say hi.

To be honest, if I had not before seen the recently posted picture of him, I don't think I would have recognized him. Besides his beard being shaved off, he has lost a lot of weight.

Unfortunately, during another visit I had with him this week, he wasn't as "spunky". He was very tired, and unfortunately, his health does seem to be declining. Here is a post from his daughter Shana that was put up on Facebook:

This is Shana again. Joe getting very sleepy these days., as is expected. They will be giving him an IV to administer fluids and meds to help with the nausea. Prayers are appriciated. I know if you are on this list, you mean something to my dad and he does to you as well. Thank you for your support in this very difficult time!

Also, if anyone wishes to send a card to him, they can be mailed to:

Seattle VA
1660 S Columbian Way
Seattle WA 98108
Att: Joseph Roy Polinsky CLC #106

Please continue to keep Joe and Sue in your thoughts and prayers.

Aaron

Netflix Users Protest Proposed Price Increases With Social Media Firestorm

During a discussion on this very subject today, we speculated that Netflix had thoroughly vetted this decision before announcing it. Maybe not, considering the reaction. This is one to watch. This is a huge price increase for those who both have one at a time DVD and also use the streaming.

Wi-Fi–Hacking Neighbor From Hell Sentenced to 18 Years

One of the morals of this story is don't use WEP. I know I've been using WPA for years. It is heartening that the victim's boss and associates believed him and helped track down the lowlife. I'd actually call the guy a cyber stalker. Hacker is too good a word to waste on him.

let's hear it for building your own computer!

I know it might be cheaper to buy than building these days. I'm still a die hard builder. Since, I'm a geek my last computer cost me a total of under $60.00 with shipping. Had everything else. OK so it ain't the latest and the greatest. I can go online do email and word process. I've got 2 80 gig HD's 2 GIG's of MEM. threw in an older Nvidia video card. Also, an oldish DVD burner. I'm set.
This MB BTW.

Oracle and Microsoft could cash in big on Android | Wireless - CNET News

Here's an interesting article that Rob sent us in chat today.

From the article: "Both companies are seeking as much as a $20 licensing fee per device from handset makers that choose to use Android. That'd be roughly double the amount that Google makes in search revenue, on average, from every Android device, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg. Google gives away the Android operating system in hopes of generating that revenue."