Cornell business school employees Jon and Lisa thought they were safe. But in one quick click the truth of their affair was revealed. That quick press of the mouse sent all of a steamy and sexual message to every email address on the Cornell University campus. What was meant to be a private “pillow talk” suddenly became a trending topic on Twitter and the web.

It really got me thinking about how communication has changed and how we should change with it. Technology and the advent of email and instant messaging have allowed us to say things and do things we wouldn’t normally consider doing. I’m sure these lovers felt safe emailing their dirty talk back and forth. But were they? Even without accidentally mailing their exchange out how safe was their communication? I guarantee it’s sitting on a server somewhere, now ripe for the plucking by a couple of divorce lawyers.

I’m not casting blame. I’ve made my fair share of bad decisions and being involved with a married woman was one of them. We too were “busted” via online technology. It’s not right, but it happens. Live and learn. Hell, I remember when I was in the military several accidental email communiqués landing in the wrong hands. One of which I thought might end my military career.

I was the editor of a military newspaper and as such, had free and unfettered access to the ‘Net and the email system. My inbox was consistently flooded by things very similar to what I still get today; funny emails, junk, etc. One email really cracked me up though. You clicked on the program and it turned your entire screen flashing red and popped up a box that said “If you DON’T have a small penis, click here.” Well obviously I clicked. There actually was no other option. Suddenly the whole screen starts blinking in neon colors, playing classical music and flashing that “This Guy Has a Small Dick.” I opened this in my office surrounded by coworkers. I laughed it off and after getting over my initial shock everyone had a good time ribbing me about it.

Well I decided I should pass along this little gem of deception to my friends. My buddy Chris was the manager of the local military television stations so I allowed the email system to automatically fill in his address after I simply typed in his name. Mistake. I got a frantic call from some friends who told me there were TWO Chris Kelly’s and guess what? I had just sent the little dick hoax to a Four-Star Army General. Needless to say it was a long few days of waiting to lose my rank…which thankfully never happened. I’m sure that some kindly executive officer saw this and saved my ass. (And if you sir or ma’am ever read this, allow me to take you out for drinks.) To me this could have been just as dangerous and costly as what these two Cornell employees have done. With all this amazing technology comes amazing risk. The point is this; if you don’t want anyone to know, don’t talk about it or put it down to paper or keyboard.

I’ve had to think about this topic a lot as I write and share so much of my life with whoever decides to stop by this site and read about me. Everything online is being stored and saved; my kids can probably find this blog as adults someday and read everything I write. We should all keep that in mind whenever we communicate in today’s World. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Email, Instant Messaging and the like are all great services. But if we ever think we are being discreet while using them we should think again. I know Jon and Lisa will.

I'm back folks - try and control yourselves..

The prodigal redneck hath returned. That’s right ladies and gentlemen – following a six-month hiatus I have returned from the depths of the Deep South with all new tales of trials and tribulation, of the amazing and miraculous…and I will be bringing those to you! So welcome to my new online presence. This is home of the all new HitchRedneck.com. It’s been, and still is, a work in progress…but most labors of love are.

To be quite frank I found myself at critical mass several months back. I was worried that a) I was divulging far too much personal information on the Intertubes… and b) I was fresh out of things to say. I always assumed that would happen and after a year and a half of solid blogging it was time for me to take a little time to reenergize. Fortunately I have amassed a ton of interesting, insightful and occasionally idiotic experiences to share with you. I promise you this time my run will exceed my last blog in content, depth, length and quality. Well…maybe not quality. Who cares, though? I don’t expect to be nominated for a Pulitzer anytime soon. A Nobel Peace Prize maybe…

So check back in and see what all I have planned for this space. It’s an exciting time around here and I’m glad you’re along for the journey. In the meantime keep your ear to the ground, your nose to the grindstone and your digits away from hungry children.

Sweet skins for your electronic devices!

I found a really cool site the other day I want to tell everyone about  – GelaSkins. They sell artist-designed removable skins for laptops, cellphones (iPhones and RAZR’s), iPods, Sony PSP’s, Nintendo DS’s and more. While these things can get a little pricey, they quality and look are awesome. Again, these are artist designed. You want ‘Starry, Starry Night’ to cover your laptop? Done.

They have a ton of modern art from up and coming artists in several mediums – modern, digital, even tattoo artist. They also have some of the classics for you to choose from – Monet, M.C. Escher, Munch and Van Gogh. This is a really sweet way to spruce up an otherwise visually boring device. I’m trying to decide on what to get for my new laptop I just ordered.

Since I mentioned my new laptop (which I got from TigerDirect), let me give everyone who’s not an uber-geek like me a tip. Go to the two big Internet dealers for computer parts, Tiger Direct and NewEgg, and take a look around. These are great technology companies that buy and sell in bulk so you can get GREAT prices. Plus, in most states there’s no tax. (I feel obligated to point out that when filling out your state taxes they DO ask you to list all Internet purchases so you can be taxed on them at that point. Just covering my bases here.)

My new laptop - I am SO stoked!

I got my laptop, a Gateway M-1625 for less than $500. It runs Windows Vista Home Premium  with an AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 2.0GHz processor, 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, and a 250GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive. For the geeks out there it also boasts an 8X multi-format dual layer DVDRW with DVD-RAM and Labelflash™ drive, WXGA (1280 x 800) TFT display, 802.11g wireless LAN, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, 5-in-1 memory card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, and a HDMI connector.

Why so cheap? It’s a refurbished computer. That means that it is still under warranty and the internal workings of the CPU are fine. Someone simply mailed it back due to a cosmetic flaw. That knocked $250 off of the retail price. There are bargains out there. Tiger Direct sells Gateway’s refurbs, Dell sells there own at the Dell Outlet, and Compaq and HP are on NewEgg and Tiger Direct. Take a look around the sites, there are a ton of good deals to be had. We all need them in a timed where our dollar gets less and less.

So give me a shout and let me know if you find any great deals or if you can help me decide which GelaSkin to get!

What Are You Doing?

Let’s continue with our discussion about Web 2.0 sites. Hopefully someone found our last site – Picasa – to be useful and/or helpful. The service I’m going to talk about today is Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging service that ask What Are You Doing?  “What the hell is micro-blogging,” you ask? Micro-Blogging is essentially a miniature blog. You can write little updates about whatever you want and send them out to people who choose to “follow” you. “Following” allows you to see whenever the people you select have posted updates. Of course, people who follow you will see your updates.

That's Twitteriffic!

You can really get some cool implementation into various technologies to keep up with updates as well. You can set all the people you follow or just particular folks to send updates to your cell phone. In fact, you can write and post your own updates via cell phone if you’re so inclined. I have a Twitter application for the iPhone called Twiterrific and one called Twinkle that are both great. No iPhone? You can download one of my favorites called TwitterFox. It’s an addon for Mozilla Firefox that will show updates as people post them in your Firefox Window. OF course, for all the holdouts out there who are still using Internet Explorer, there are a quite a few desktop application for software – there’s a nice list here. Sociagami seems like a really nice one, although I have no personal experience with it. I like the idea of getting all MySpace, FaceBook and Twitter updates in the same place. I might give it a go tonight!

Twitter is not without it’s problems and critics – at times it can be less than perfect. Check out this blog post from Dom Ramsey to hear his take on why Twitter sucks – or just google Twitter Sucks The service essentially grew more quickly than anticipated and at times is unable to bear the weight of all its users. This results in an annoying message about overcapacity or some such garbage. Honestly, it’s hard to tell if Twitter is working diligently to fix this problem – but it IS a free service. So I keep my complaints to a minimum.

This is what the mian page of Twitter looks like

So why use it? I actually was thinking about a friend of mine when I decided to write this post. He’s deployed for 6 months and is away from his family – while nothing can replace a phone call, this is something he could use so his wife and kids could see little updates about what he’s doing. “At the market with a few friends,” “Recording a video to send you,” etc, etc. It’s also a cool way to send neat links to web pages, pictures or whatever you want or find interesting to friends, family and whoever follows you. The key to Twitter is getting more and more people you know to use it – the fun just grows exponentially! Twitter is a service I can’t imagine trying to live without. Give it a chance and I think you’ll feel the same way.

I have spent the last few days getting neck-deep in Web 2.0 sites and software. There’s some really neat stuff out there. For me though, the whole thing has been kind of sad because out of all my friends I’m the ONLY person using most of this stuff. There’s a likely reason for this; either

• I am the lone dork out of my friends
• I don’t actually have friends or…
• My friends are getting too ‘old’ to play on the computer

  No matter the reason, I’m going to pass some sites along to you that I think EVERYONE should try out. I’ll send a site a day along until I’m out. (That might actually take a while.) And for those of you who are uniformed let me give you the skinny on Web 2.0 courtesy of Wikipedia! (Which coincidentally is itself a Web 2.0 site)

   “Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.”

  What does this actually mean? Well, in my opinion Web 2.0 are sites that allow user involvement and updates as well as a lot of social activities. Finding friends online and sharing sites/photos/music, updating information on Wiki’s — all this and a lot more comprimises Web 2.0. Suffice to say, I am a big fan, and I hope you will be too! I really think this is the future of the Web.

There’s no better time to start than right now, so the first site/software I’ll talk about is Picasa. Picasa is a photo program/site that is run by Google. I think it is fantastic in terms of photo management software. All it takes is the software and a Google account – which is free! The software will scan your hard drive and find and organize all the pics on your computer within Picasa. After that, there are a ton of photo editing options as well as the ability to order prints and much more.

But the really cool part is that you can upload albums to the web so that your friends and family can see them also! Also, you can choose who gets permission to your photos if you’re nervous about them floating around the net. A cool thing I noticed the other day was in an album of my kids at the Zoo, Google maps had popped up in the corner of the screen and mapped the location of the zoo as well as noting the time and date of the trip (from the camera’s internal info). That’s awesome.

If you’re interested, just go to Google or click here to download the software and check it out. It’s all free, so you’ve got nothing to lose.

Tags: Picasa, Web, Web 2.0, Photography, Photos, Software

So I’m in Atlanta for the next few days working on a new web project that I think has a ton of potential. I’ve been on camera tonight making a huge fool of myself, which I’m sure everyone (except me) will laught at one day soon. I’d tell you more about it, but I’m not allowed to disclose much about what we’re up too until it launches. Also they haven’t told me everything about it….so I don’t even know all the ins and outs. I guess it’s one of those ‘need to know basis’ things – and I don’t need to know.

Anyway, I hope it all plays out like I want it to, and maybe I’ll end up here in Atlanta for good. I could use the change. It’s always good to shake things up a little bit and get reinvigorated about life. That sounds like what I need. That or a chuckabowkoo – def. a swift spiritual kick to the head that alters one’s reality forever. (Courtesy of John Cusak in Gross Pointe Blank.)

So that’s where it stands at this moment. I’ll be filming more in the morning, so I’ll see if I can get a clip or a screenshot or something to send across for everyone to check out. Until then, take it easy!

Logitech Orbit QuickCam

I went out a few days ago and picked up a really cool (and somewhat pricey), shiny new toy – the LogiTech Orbit Quickcam AF. I don’t really know why I bought it. I think I just wanted to spend some money and try out some new gear. I mean, it did give me something to do. Besides, I have a few plans.

I have to start off by saying that I’ve never owned a webcam before. Something about my computer watching me kind of freaks me out a bit. And the cam doesn’t comfort me much in that regard. It has a setting that causes the camera to follow you around the room – I swear the thing has a mind of its own. Needless to say, watching porn at the computer is out of the question. Not that I ever did that, though…

I dabbled a bit with Oovoo and a couple other chat clients that can use the cam and so far so good. I actually shot a video message off to an old friend on FaceBook just a few minutes ago and all went well. So now I guess I can start sending out some video blogs so you all can see my pretty mug. Contain your excitement!

If anybody out there uses their webcams, give me a shout. We can chat and maybe I’ll think of some really cool, creative way to get my $100 back out of this thing.

Errrr….I finally got my new iPhone update this morning. The problem was that it ‘bricked’ my phone for most of the day. So I was frustrated to say the least. I did get up and running at about 6 p.m. and it is freakin’ sweet! The Twitter and Facebook apps are stellar. Twitteriffic is just great. I already have a quickly growing unhealthy addiction to Twitter, this app is going to just push me right over the edge.

There are several really nice looking games out as well, something the iPhone has been sorely missing. Since you pay for most of them I’ll just wait until more reviews are in. If anyone has purchased any drop me a note and let me know what ya’ think.

Despite the fact Apple dropped the ball a bit with the planning and implementation of this whole thing, I am still satisfied and impressed. I am up-to-date. That makes me so happy, I could…well, do what this guy did.

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Show me the IPhone!

So I was stoked about the new IPhone coming out. Well, not really the new phone itself. Honestly, I don’t use my first generation IPhone for surfing enough to justify spending a LOT more money on a faster data speed. And the Global Positioning System, well….it doesn’t even do turn-by-turn directions. I don’t need a GPS that’s sole purpose is to monitor my movements. That’s just creepy.

On the flip side I am extremely excited about the software upgrade to 2.0. The application store is open and I’ve downloaded the apps I want, but my stinkin’ phone hasn’t updated yet! THANKS A LOT APPLE! I love your product, and you have great support…but don’t toy with my emotions by letting me download software that I can’t use on the device. It should all just come out at once, right? Maybe I need to just step away from the CPU for a bit.

If anyone cares about the release of the new phone, stores in the U.S. will be opening in about one hour on the east coast. You can check out non-stop coverage by the Grand-Poobah of Geeks, Leo Laporte. He’s been streaming video since 1 p.m. yesterday and is still going strong – 24 straight hours of IPhone coverage! It’s Geek heaven! Check him out a Tech Guy Labs.

I was just contemplating how much our lives will change over the course of the next 40 years or so. First there was the Industrial Revolution, then the great Technological Revolution, and I believe we are soon to enter the next large revolution — a Biotech Revolution. Essentially Nanotechnology and Biology are going to change the ways in which we function and live, as well as expand our life expectancies exponentially. Don’t believe me? Shop around a bit for yourself! Check out the “Futures in Biotech” podcast with my buddy Leo Laporte over at Twit.tv. Or do some googleing on the subject. It’s fascinating stuff that’ going to be the next big thing to impact our world.

On a much lighter note, and gave in and picked up a new HD DvD drive! But wait! HD DVD is dead! What are you thinking? Well, here’s a great deal for anyone who fits the criteria.

1. I didn’t have a next-gen drive yet; Blue-Ray or HD

2. I had an HDTV (720p) and an XBox 360

3. I was bored.

So, I went and picked up the HD add-on drive from my 360. Now I realize that HD discs aren’t being produced anymore, but hear me out on this. I can buy movies on clearance for dirt cheap right now, and I’ll pick up a handful of films that I enjoy enough to watch on multiple occasions. But more importantly, this drive (when connected via HDMI) is an upscaling DVD player. And here’s the best part: it now costs only $49.99. And that comes with a free film. That’s a steal. So I highly recommend picking one up if you’re in the market.