Manhattan Aerial

Flew into KLGA (La Guardia) for work and got a good view of the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.  Thought I would share.  Maybe one day I'll fly myself. 

Why Mac?

So you can watch this intro once when you boot up for the first time... and never again -- unless you find the source files and recompile the video and audio files into a AVI and upload to YouTube.

Flying DNA

My grandfather, Ray Calvin Murray.  I never met him, but I think I found where my flying interest came from.  Makes me appreciate the technology even more.  I wish I knew more about him.

World Wide Web

For years, I have registered domain names, managed DNS servers and created web sites.  I have always setup public web sites to default to "http://www.domain.com"... but why?

Wikipedia: A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).  The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains com, net and org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the DNS hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open for reservation by end-users that wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, run web sites, or create other publicly accessible Internet resources. The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public.

Everyone knows "www."  For me, the third-level "www" has actually caused problems.  Often, when trying to tell someone to go to a non-www third-level domain (like: "support.domain.com"), some people will inadvertently go to "www.support.domain.com" and end up somewhere they are not supposed to be.  I usually repeat the URL and explain that there is no "www." before the correct third-level domain address.

Instead of forwarding "http://domain.com" to "http://www.domain.com" (like most), set the reverse.  Forward all requests to "http://www.domain.com" to "http://domain.com".

When creating with Wordpress (and Press499.com - which powers this site); this happens automatically.  You may notice this behavior on other popular sites (like http://twitter.com).

Is this the end of "www"?

Avoiding Social Networking

For years I have avoided blogging and social networking. This includes Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and all online communities that promote the distribution of personal information. I believe that some things just don't belong online; but I also believe that it is important to share information (especially if it helps others achieve a goal). I have found a lot of information online that has helped me (both personally and professionally) and I thought that it would be appropriate to return the favor. Since most of my professional career has been working in Information Technology, I have been exposed to many different systems. I see enormous opportunity in Wordpress as a content management system (CMS). Since I have created many websites and blogs for others with Wordpress, I thought it was appropriate that I too was involved using the same system.

I plan to use vanmurray.com as a site to record both personal and professional experiences in hopes that it will help someone achieve a goal.

Lake Seminole Regional

I fished the Lake Seminole BFL Piedmont Division Regional in October, 2008. We stayed on a houseboat at "The Cove at Trails End". We stayed for a week and docked the boat right at the "house". Ended up only catching 2 keepers day 1. Should have stayed in the grass, but we had a good time anyway.