July 23, 2005

From all the hype 64-bit computing appears to bring you’d think that
64-bit computing coming to a desktop near you will suddenly make your
life loads easier, let you shrink 4 dress sizes, and allow save you 10
extra hours a week. PC Magazine, in a July 13, 2005 article titled "The
Big Shakeup" proclaimed that 64-bit computing would "bring
unprecedented speed and power". eWeek Magazine, in a
March 2, 2005 article entitled "64-bit Computing is coming to a desktop
near you" says that "They are building it and users will certainly
come". Finally we have 64-bit computing for all our needs!

But is that extra expense and money really worth it? If you are on a
budget, it might be wise to think twice before you launch in though. By
and large, the operating systems for desktops are not 32-bit yet. Even
if they were, the chances you would actually use the capabilities are
highly unlikely at this point. Indeed, a good 32-bit computer with the
standard MS Windows XP Operating system, or an Apple MAC with Tiger or
even an Intel machine with Linux running on it with Open Office are
going to do the job for 90 of us out there.

They key thing is - what are you going to be doing with it? Don’t
get sucked into the hype of more memory, faster processors, better
storage - just think "what DO I do with this thing anyway?" If you are
like most people you probably do the following:

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I stumbled on a woman’s magazine, called Moxie,
a few months ago.   It is a very good e-zine, with excellent reviews
and wonderful writing.  Sadly, the site sits but the actual magazine
appears either dormant or gone.    The writing is very good,
particularly a series of short essays by women called "Real Life".    I
would urge you to just take 5 minutes, click to the essays and read a
few.  You’ll see into other women’s souls like you might not ever have
done before - you might cry, and you might laugh, but in every case
you’ll enjoy them.

Curl up with a cup of coffee, click here for the essays, open your heart and enjoy  "Real Life Essays at Moxie"

I love people because they are what make up the world. It’s not so
much the html code that is the backbone of this blog nor the 0100101
that my typing is converted to and then moves along an Ethernet cable
to some servers that are then served up yummily to your browser when
you click on this link - no. It’s really all about people. Connecting
and interacting. Knowing and being known.

Groups of people can either be a gang, a rabble or…a community. A
community is (in the words of the Wikipedia): “an amalgamation of
living things that share an environment…What characterizes a
community is sharing and interaction in any number of ways.” There
have been some very cool things recently that mark our community, I’m
proud to say that these came from trans-women helping other
trans-women. I hate to “classify” us really. But given that we are
trying to change the view of society of trans-folk (for both the men
and the women) from societal
pariah to really just people, I thought these bore out some highlighting:

* Just recently a sister of ours is heading to get FFS (Facial Feminization Surgery). The word went out into our community that she needs support, encouragement and love as she goes through this very difficult operation. Many sisters responded to cheer her on!!! Image how it makes her feel

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Things I will never for the life of me figure out about being a t-girl…

• You don’t know you have an issue until…you see yourself, or you dress or you do something to affirm yourself as a woman, then, all of a sudden you feel light, fresh, energized, happy, no longer depressed. It’s as if you went from stuffy closet to a green grassed park with blue skies. I will never ever understand this.

• How no matter how amazing another trans-woman can look, she can still totally act like a guy - and how some trans-woman simply can’t get beyond a very plain look, yet are truly feminine to their toes.

• Why society makes such a big deal about something we have no control over - whether Male-to-Female or Female-to-Male. Truly, what we do with who we are is in our control, but how we got here isn’t.

A post I read about babies on a Yahoo! group I belong to reminded me of
something..

babies are so damn cute!

I have two, one is going to college and the other is still in H.S.
When I was younger (and less wrinkled, and saggy, & a bit more
sane)  I purposefully did not trael much in order to be there with
them.  I think I was only about half  successful - oh well.   They have
grown to be amazing women that I adore  and find it an honor and
prvilege to be a parent to.

But Babies really are amazing, think about all that happens to bring
them to a point of oohing and ahhing…if you’ve never had children it
might be hard for you to fully grasp it but they are nothing short of
miracles. 

Looking at babies always leads me to the conclusion that we aren’t a
mistake, that we didn’t come from the primordial slime, and that a
Divine Creator has a hand in all this (though I do wish He’d be more
visible at times).

Just for fun, check these babies out :-)  if you don’t oohhh or say
awwww just a leeetle bit, you might wanna check and see if  you have a
pulse!

• Tasmanian Devil Babies 1
• Tasmanian Devil Babies 2
• Cute baby 1
• Cute baby 2
• Cute baby 3
• Cup O’ Kittens
• Kitten fibbin’
• Basket full o’ Kittens
• Puppy eyes
• Pupps

If your a trans-woman by now you’ve learned (or instinctively knew) that asking questions is not only smart - it feels good!

• Where’s the ladies room?
• So where DID you get that dress?
• Umm, I’m lost, can you tell me how to get to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream shop?

If your a trans-guy or a genetic dude you know that asking questions is for whimps! (”Screw that, I’ll find that place if it’s the last thing I do…”(two hours later….)

Admittedly, these are stereotypes! But they are fun when you think about how easily we fall into them…so without further adieu, I bring
you some links with great, great info, for the trans-woman (and anyone else who is curious)

Laura5.com http://65.18.210.96/laura5/index.htm I just found this and I love it! If you live in New England andneed to know some resources (therapists, places to shop, clubbing…) go there - you’ll be delighted

U R Not Alone http://www.urnotalone.com Chat sites vary. Some are good, some are trash. But what they do is help us to connect with like minded folk for community. If your in the closet going stir crazy they might in fact be a lifeline. U R Not Alone is very good chat, as well as having a boat load of other good stuff on it. Great people on the chat line coupled with wise moderators makes for a fun time if you’ve got some minutes to burn (or just need someone to talk to and you have no where else to turn).

Gendertalk http://www.gendertalk.com This is a really neat radio program hosted locally in Boston. Youcan also download info, and get a cool podcast too! Highly Recommended!

4/1/2007 Update
The site, Laura5, has been permanently disabled by the owner.

What if…..

…..it was no mistake I’m transgendered? What if it was no mistake that God had me in contact with certain people who might be seriously struggling…and dying.

…..what if it was no mistake? How would I react then if my life was not a big screw-up but was a big blessing?

…..what would I do if I learned that suffering for being who I am wasn’t something to avoid but something to embrace?

…..What if?

Freescale Semiconductor has something brewing in CPU’s that is making Intel, AMD, and many others sit up and take notice. If you develop compute systems for telecomm, computing or networking
you must have heard of the Freescale (the Motorola semiconductor unit
that got spun out) 8641D CPU. It is an incredibly innovative approach
to computing as it tries to drive overall system performance at the
chip level throughout the system - not just raw horsepower.

This balanced approach comes at an amazing power envelope (think low double digits)

See these links - this thing is very cool:
Freescale gets back in the game
Freescale 8641D datasheet

Sometimes there just can’t be unity…

I spend most of my time looking at technology and how it converges for computing and telecommunications applications. One long standing trend that is now very much in the public eye is: How can one compute architecture possibly be used for both communications AND computing?

While the two share a common need for computing power - the degree of that power, what supports it, what powers it and what cools it differ considerably. In a nutshell:

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  Pull up a chair for coffee, and chit chat on life, gender, technology & our ever changing world.

The main themes of this blog are:

* Life and fun with Gender Identity Disorder (GID)

* Technology and the convergence of Communications and Computing

* Our changing world

Since it’s a personal blog , in some sense I don’t have to have credentials to “write in it”. But, just so you, gentle reader, don’t think I’m just making this stuff up, here are some proof points to help:

* I have GID - which means I’m a person who happens to be transgendered

* I have worked in the computing and communications field for the past 20 years, in Product Marketing, Sales, and Product Development

* I am a human and a Christian, so I’ve seen and learned a few things, and made some colossal mistakes - so who knows maybe I’ll have some useful insights as a result.

Finally I am indebted to Rebecca Blood for her wonderful article on blog ethics. It’s something I’ll be taking to heart as I build what I hope will be a cozy spot for us to sit and chat in the midst of our busy day.