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New Gallery

Just to let you guys know, I’ve finally added a real gallery to the site. I’ve uploaded quite a few photos to it that I have taken with my new D70. Enjoy!

Gmail – I’ve Figured It Out, Marsha

I’ve been using it for several years now, but some of the features of Gmail have always confused me. I’ve finally figured out the mystery of the extra labels created by my email clients (and what labels really are!), what all the labels are for, and why my config seems a bit different than what is shown. I’ve also figured out how to keep my clients from producing stray labels.

When I first used Gmail, I use just the web client. It was sufficient enough for me and worked just great. Over the years, I’ve switched to using mostly email clients like Thunderbird or my phone. When Google introduced POP access to Gmail, I jumped on instantly. POP isn’t the greatest method, but it allowed me to access my email from Outlook (at the time, I didn’t use Thunderbird yet, nor did I have a smart phone). The POP method finally got on my nerves (lost several emails and couldn’t access them online once I had them on my computer) and I switched back to using the web client.

I moved off to MSMS my Junior year (I’d grown to really love Gmail by then) and discovered that “gmail.com” was blocked. At least, partially. The school never blocked https access to any website (which allowed us to pretty much get around everything, eventually), and since Gmail had https access as an option, I jumped on that.

Summer comes and I discover Thunderbird. Fell in love and started using it with Gmail. Google also introduced IMAP at the time, so the frustration of POP was no more. The only thing was, Thunderbird created extra sent and trash labels. I didn’t notice it at all, however, so it wasn’t a problem.

That winter, I get a smart phone and connect to my Gmail through IMAP through that. Not a biggie, however, it did create another set of labels for sent messages and trash. I started noticing that some email that I sent never showed up in Thunderbird under IMAP. I visited the web client and discovered these extra labels and found those emails. A mystery indeed.

Never solving it, I continued on doing my normal thing of weeding out useless email and cleaning up my inbox. I had my school email forwarded to my Gmail as a paging system, so none of it was ever read except for the headers – if I saw something remotely interesting, I would go to a computer and log in.

Needless to say, this built up and after one and a half years of doing this, my Gmail usage grew to 144mb (only 14%, though). I didn’t know where all my space was being used (not like it was a big issue, though). I discovered 5k+ emails in my “All Mail” label.

Doing some research about IMAP, Gmail, and the whole label system, I finally figured out how labels are used, how they are interpreted in IMAP, why there were so many different labels for the same function (incorrect settings, which, for Trash in Thunderbird, this is a good read), and where my 144mb was.

I’m all happy now with the right labels, correct settings, and a better understanding of Gmail.

Oh, and my Trash is not called Trash – it is called Bin, and I don’t use [Gmail]/Trash, I have to use [Google Mail]/Bin – it has to do with my usage of the UK English in my email rather than US English. Minor thing.

Boycott Fox News

StumbleUpon win. I’ve refused to watch Fox News for the last few years and will always try to change the channel of any TV that has Fox News on it, or request that it be changed.

Embeded, after the tag, is a video from MSNBC that urges all to boycott Fox News on your own television, request that Fox News not be shown in businesses that you frequent, and if they refuse to do so, simply leave and state why you are taking your business elsewhere.

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Scott Roeder, Wiley Drake – More Deaths To Come

Just a few days ago, I posted about the death of George Tiller. One of the most shocking reactions to his death was the public announcement that Tiller’s death was an answer to Wiley Drake’s prayers. This man also announced on Fox News Radio that he is also praying for the death of President Obama. (Audio Clip) He stated that if “[Obama] does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that’s correct.”

When asked who the murder of George Tiller benefited, he stated that “[the pro-life] certainly don’t. Pro-life people certainly don’t. It hurts us. It damages us, but Obama will indeed advance it. This will be one of those crises to take advantage of, and he’s already done that.” Personally, I believed his murder benefited no-one. The pro-life image is marred by this while the pro-choice loses a man who fought, fearlessly and passionately, for woman’s right to have an abortion – for their right to their own body.

George Tiller’s funeral was Saturday. The pews of College Hill United Methodist Church were filled with his family, friends, those who saw or heard his murder, and those who respected and supported George Tiller. American Legion Riders, more than 50, rode across the front of the church. They were there to show respect for his Naval service. The funeral wasn’t without protest, however. A dozen members of the Westboro Baptist Church held signs and sang songs about a block and a half away from the church (there is a state law that prevents protesters from being within 150 feet of a funeral before, during, and after). At the funeral, his daughters revealed that George was a Trekkie. He shared this love for Star Trek with his daughters, often asking them to keep certain lines in their memory. His two favorite lines were “Live long and prosper” and “When going out into the universe, remember: Boldly go where no man has gone before.” These underlined his philosophy and life.

On the subject of George Tiller, his murderer, Scott Roeder, warned that more violence may be coming. “I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal.” The clinic in Mississippi has already asked for federal marshals to protect the workers at the clinic and those who are wishing for an abortion.

No-one should wish death upon anyone. No-one should plan a death or series of deaths. No-one should show extreme disrespect to those who are mourning the death of a loved one, nor picket someone’s funeral. For me, this is another example of where extreme fundamentalism and crazy talk has soured the issue. More reason to solidify my stance against religion in general.

The Road Home

The trip to and from Starkville is full of interesting things. It goes right through the heart of Mississippi through some of the most varying landscape possible. Once you leave the pine belt, it’s all kinda of different farms and different kinds of woods.

Along the way, there are several abandoned buildings, cars, and other things. Some abandoned long ago. Some in the not-so-distant past. Take this sign, for example. It was only a year ago when gas prices were $3.809 a gallon. This was a fairly recent abandonment. The building didn’t look like it was taken over by weeds yet (but the windows were boarded up).

The above ground fuel tanks, however, were starting to rust.

I went up to Starkville this past weekend to meet with friends and collect a few things I had left at the apartment. I thoroughly enjoyed myself over the weekend and feel really refreshed for the rest of the week. Next weekend will bring more photo opportunities. I’ll be visiting Silver Creek and stay the weekend at a friend’s house.

This truck wasn’t abandoned on the side of the road. However, the owner did put it out for sale on the side of the highway. I love old vehicles so I took the chance to get a good shot of it. Either I’m sensitive to the whole car sale thing, or everybody is starting to sell their cars. It must be the economy or something.

Everywhere I looked, cars were for sale. All kinds of cars. New cars and old. Cars in mint condition and cars that can barely run. Sports cars, compact cars, SUVs, and trucks. All were for sale at various prices. And I’m sure they are on sale for various reasons. Some of these vehicles will go on sale indefinitely, begin to rot, and eventually be abandoned and/or forgotten. I still have to locate that abandoned service station with the old 50’s era Chevys. It would make a great addition to this set.

Near the truck was a field with large hay bales and several cows. I originally intended on taking a photo of the field, but ended up taking a photo of the vegetation that was getting in my way (without trespassing, of course). I think this shot turned out just wonderfully in the end and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

This photo just shows the raw beauty of Mississippi’s farm lands. Vast open spaces of varying forms of agriculture. It’s the kind of charm I will miss and cannot get too far away from. I refuse to forget it and I refuse to have it destroyed.

This final photo has nothing to do with the above pictures. It is a picture from early Spring that I never got around to doing anything with. It was from a time when a friend and I went on a hunt for a lockbox in the middle of the woods that someone else on the Internet planted for people to find. It took about an hour and traveling to the Library, searching the Internet, locating a book or two, and combing the woods, but we found the lock box… empty. It was a fun thing to do.

So this is the latest addition to More Than The Camera. I hope you check it out and enjoy these and the rest of the photos in the collection.