Made in the USA

Information Systems Technologist

thenness — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:40:36 +0000

I am currently searching for a position in a progressive business facing the challenges related to satisfying the needs of more customers or clients. I want to exercise and expand the skills I’ve developed over two decade of experience. I am recognized among my peers for my abilities in merging new technologies with legacy systems, data collection and conversion, network security enhancement, web service development, and problem solving.

My skill set includes:

Linux Server & Desktop
Windows 7/XP/98
HTML
CSS
JavaScript

Visual Basic
C# / .NET
C/C++
Perl
PHP

MS Office
OpenOffice
ERP
MySQL
CAD

If you are an employer or know of an employer who is looking for someone with these skills, please contact me at henness@charter.net

Also view my resume. Information_Systems_Support_Technologist

Tracy Henness

Flash Problems in IE9

thenness — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:14:30 +0000

One of my co-workers came to me yesterday about a problem on his home computer. He bought a new computer recently with Windows 7 and is experiencing problems rendering web pages in IE9. He was using Google Chrome on his previous computer and didn’t have this problem. But he thinks IE9 has a better bookmark manager, so rather than installing Chrome on his new computer he wanted to know how to solve this problem in IE.

The problem seemed to be related to Adobe Flash since pages that don’t use any Flash render fine and those that do have problems. I did some quick research and found thast this is probably a hardware acceleration issue. This can be resolved by installing updated graphics drivers when or if available, changing the hardware acceleration settings in Internet Explorer, or installing a newer version of Adobe Flash.

Instructions for changing the hardware acceleration settings can be found at support.microsoft.com/kb/2528233.

In my co-worker’s case, he turned off the hardware acceleration with satisfactory results. I advised him that after the next Flash update he should try turning the hardware acceleration back on to see if their update fixed the problem. After all, graphical elements should render better and faster with it turned on.

Tracy Henness

Stores that avoid Christmas

thenness — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:31:05 +0000

Every year about this time (the Christmas Season) I see messages about refusing to buy from stores that do not explicitly acknowledge Christmas. They say to look at the windows and doors for a sign that says “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Christmas” or something similar rather than “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays”. If there is no “Christmas” greeting, then we are to go elsewhere to do our shopping.
The problem is that if we do this the store’s executives will not know that they lost sales because of their stance on avoiding religious references to the holiday, nor will they know how much they lost because of it. If you really want to make an impact, you have to go a step further.
This will inconvenience you. You have to shop and actually make the purchases. Be sure to follow up the transaction with a cheerful “Merry Christmas” and wait for a reciprocal response. If the checker does not give an appropriate response, go right to Customer Service and return your purchase with the statement that you can’t make Christmas purchases where Christmas is not recognized.
There will probably be objection to your reason. Ask to speak to a manager. The idea is not to make a scene, but to let it be known the price of offending Christians to keep from offending atheists and other non-Christians.
And don’t forget to express your wishes for a very Merry Christmas.
Tracy Henness

Toyota Joins Linux Foundation | The Linux Foundation

thenness — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:18:22 +0000

Although Toyota is considered not to be an American company, they do have manufacturing facilities in the USA (see http://www.toyota.com/about/our_business/operationsmap_usa/ for map). Therefore I feel it is appropriate to include them in the Made in the USA blog. Toyota has announced that the Linux operating system and Open Sourse software the wireless technologies use form the basis for their In-Vehicle-Infotainment systems, and has invested significantly in the Linux Foundation. Read more at:
Toyota Joins Linux Foundation | The Linux Foundation.

Tracy Henness

Replacing a Laptop CPU Cooling Fan

thenness — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:10:22 +0000

Replacing a Laptop CPU Cooling Fan

Bear in mind that there are many variations in the construction of portable computing devices. Clinton Displays cannot be held responsible for any consequential damage to any device or individual as a result of one’s attempt to follow the procedures demonstrated in this video. If you choose to perform a similar operation you are doing so at your own risk.

vaio charger adapter

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Tennessee Wedding Vacation

thenness — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:48:10 +0000

My wife and I recently drove from our northern Illinois home to eastern Tennessee for our nephew’s wedding, and made a little vacation out of the trip. We don’t often get to take vacations, so we wanted to take in some of the sites along the way. However, we could only take a couple of days on either side of the wedding day, so we still didn’t get to do a whole lot. I had investigated a few attractions before we embarked, but we waited until we were on the road before deciding where our first excursion would be. I was leaning toward letting Mammoth Cave be our first stop, but Kathy wasn’t interested in seeing another cave. They all look the same to her. I know all you spelunkers out there will disagree. So we headed toward where one of my maps said Natural Stone Bridge was located, and found a motel a little north of there for the night.

I then went online to get more detailed directions to the Natural Bridge, only to find we were actually 100 miles south of it. The map I printed went to a lesser-known one that was a little harder to get to, and I did finally find the detailed directions to it, and discovered another attraction along the way. So we decided to stop at Cumberland Falls first and then if there was time continue on to the Natural Bridge.

After spending the entire morning there, we decided not to venture to the bridge, but return to the highway and on to eastern Tennessee instead. Once in Jonesborough, TN we toured the downtown historical district for a while, looked around in some of the shops, read some of the commemorative markers, etc. Then we had to get ready for the rehearsal dinner, so that was all the sightseeing we could take in for the day.

The next day, after a late breakfast at the pancake house, we decided to head toward Greenville to view the Andrew Johnson Historic site, but while we stopped for lunch we asked a local about directions to it, and found out that the Iris Festival was going on and it might make finding a place to park a little difficult. We thought he said Irish Festival, so we expected it to be rather festive, active, and crowded. Since we didn’t want to risk being late for the wedding that afternoon, we once again altered our plans, and went to Davey Crockett’s birthplace instead. This was a nice little drive in which we almost ran out of gas, with not a station to be seen along the way. From there we returned to the motel to change clothes for the wedding.

The next day was Sunday, and as is our standard, we went to church, having chosen one in walking distance of the motel, Central Christian on Main Street in the historic district of Jonesborough. When we arrived, three ladies were standing outside the front doors exchanging pleasantries, and interrupted their conversing to greet us warmly and cheerfully. They made sure we felt welcome at their little church. It was a wonderful service, followed by a baptism, for which we couldn’t stay because we had to check out of the motel.

After lunch, we returned to the Greenville area to take in the Andrew Johnson site and the Iris Festival we missed the day before. And although we expected it to be less busy than our perception on an Irish Festival, the Iris Festival is still a big deal in that part of the country. Then it was time to hit the road to return to northern Illinois. We dodged a dinnertime thunderstorm by stopping for dinner at Shoney’s, then drove on to a motel just a little south of Lexington.

Monday was the last leg of the trip, and we planned on stopping at the Ben Hur Museum, which we found to be closed on Mondays, and the Railway Museum, which is also closed on Mondays. Oh, well. I enjoyed the time I got to spend with my wife outside of the caves. After all, it’s not so much about the destination as it is the journey. Make the most of it. Stop and smell the roses. And love the one you’re with.

Tracy Henness

Nativity

thenness — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:32:05 +0000

I don’t go for the pristine, porcelain nativities. When we realize He left the splendor and majesty of the heavenly realms, God could have arranged for Him to be born in a palace, or at least better surroundings than a dirty, smelly, unsanitary stable. Why do you think he chose to do it this way?

Alaska Vacation Video

thenness — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:10:57 +0000

Here is a video I’ve complied of our recent Alaska Vacation. It’s over 13 minutes in length, so give yourself time to view it.

We took many more pictures and videos than what is seen here, so consider this a trailer. Enjoy.

Tracy Henness

Three Orcas

thenness — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:21:54 +0000

I just returned from an Alaskan cruise and wanted to share this video with friends. It’s a shot of three orcas that surfaced near the ship and then swam away. Hope you enjoy it.