tghaus

Instant XBox Live Status Gadget - Mac/Safari Only

2009-02-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

Looking to put an XBox Live status gadget on your desktop? Maybe you were hoping to find one for iGoogle? Well, I couldn't find anything decent, but I did figure out the following trick to add a Dashboard gadget.

First, you MUST be using a Mac and Safari for this to work. If you're not using Safari, go open it up now. If you're using Windows—ouch. That's pain dude. Linux - ok I forgive you. Now boot back into OS X.

Ok cool, you are using a Mac and Safari, now:

Step 1: Go to http://1337pwn.com/iphone.php

Step 2: Add gamertags you want to track. The UI is a bit odd - after typing the name of the gamertag you want to track, press the checkmark button. When you are done, press Save.

Step 3: The result will be a simple status gadget displaying the current status of the gamertags you selected. Use the Safari web clip feature to save the a clip of the resulting status tracker to your Dashboard.

In case you don't know what the web clip feature is on Safari, it's the scissors button:

What the F&*#% is the matter with the Safari dev team?

2009-01-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

I wish someone could explain to me the bonehead thinking that went into the most recent version of Safari. Don't get me wrong, I love Safari. It's fast, it's stable. It renders beautifully. And I very nearly forgot how full-on retarded a fresh install of Safari is to use.

I recently had to exchange my normal MacBook Pro for a loaner MacBook to get some servicing done on the former. Using a loaner machine isn't a terribly big deal for me - most of what I do day to day persists remotely, so making the temporary switch is pretty simple. Except for Safari. I mean really, WTF?

Here's what is wrong with a fresh Safari install:

1) NO HOME BUTTON

Yep, that's right. I can't remember in the past 10+ years of web browsing where a browser didn't give you:
a) a home page
b) a way to set that home page
c) a button to go to that home page

This is nearly fundamental to the web browsing experience, and the "geniuses" at the Safari team left it off the default UI. You can of course edit the preferences and add a home button (which I promptly did) - but really. Not putting it on there is simply ridiculous. I can understand letting advanced users take it off, but a novice user really needs it to be on by default, not off.

Example of customizing the toolbar in Safari:

2) NO PREFERENCE ITEM FOR ENABLING THE TAB BAR IF ONLY ONE TAB IS PRESENT

This is ridiculous. You can actually set this setting, but it's damn near impossible to do it. First of all, you have to find a web page that tells you how to do it. (Here's one)

But the instructions are by no means for the faint of heart. First of all, you have to run some sort of Preferences application called Property List Editor. Yeah. Ok. (It's a bit like running the RegEdit program in Windows - in fact it's a LOT like it). Because that makes sense (you know, run a separate app to set the preferences where one of the best things about the Mac UI is that ALL apps have a preferences page in the exact same spot - good UI. Bad UI. Mac Good. Safari. BAD)

Anyway, my favorite part is - the instructions are on the web page you are reading. Presumably you are using Safari of course (if you were using Firefox, you wouldn't really care about configuring Safari, right?) You have to quit Safari to execute the list of instructions. Forget remembering them - they aren't trivial. So you've got to cut and paste the instructions somewhere else just to run them, or launch Firefox (and by the time you do that, I would guess 1/2 of you would just give up and use Firefox and forget about customizing Safari. I don't blame you). Amazingly, it's even worse - this preference actually existed in Safari 2, but disappeared in 3.

Ok, so maybe the Safari team is deprecating the feature - I guess - but why? It's a really good feature to have - for one thing you can't "drag" a window that has only one tab in it to another window (no tab to drag) which I like to do a lot to cut down on extraneous windows (see Item #3). More than that, having the tab bar visible is a good UI affordance, if the Safari team doesn't know about affordances they have some studying to do.

Here's an example of running the stupid Property List Editor to set this preference:

3) NO PREFERENCE ITEM FOR FORCING ALL LINKS TO OPEN IN A TAB

This is yet another baffling decision - the feature is available. But you can't set it. Unless you find some web page that gives you a labyrinthine set of instructions on how to set it. Actually, this is a really easy preference to change - but this time, you have to use the terminal app. You know, cuz one way of setting hidden settings isn't enough - you gotta have two!

Setting the preference in terminal:

So if you want to enable Safari links to be opened in a new tab, regardless of the setting the stupid web developer that thinks they should open in a new window used, you can find out how to do so here.

Nice. Thanks. Would it be that hard to just give me a checkbox in the tabs preference pane Safari team?

4) ENABLE TAB TO SELECT THE NEXT ITEM IN A WEBPAGE

Ok, another big WTF. What else should tab select? This is just silly that it does anything but select the next item in the web page. You know, you're filling out a form, you put in your name or whatever, hit tab to go to the next form field, and blam, the focus is off in never never land. I can't believe that anyone would actually expect that to happen, not after 10+ years where the tab key is pretty the defacto standard for moving the focus - or maybe I'm just windows centric I dunno.

Still, this just seems ridiculous to have set to anything but turned on, and yet amazingly enough, there it is, in the advanced section of the preferences pane no less, you've got to check the box to enable what seems like defacto standard behavior.

Let's hear it for John McCain!!

2008-11-06T21:18:00.001-08:00

I figured it out. And I must say, it was a devious plan indeed. Because until I did figure it out, there was just no way to explain the McCain of the past 4 years.

I really liked the McCain of 8 years ago. He stood for his values. He stood up to his party. He had intelligence, he had wit, he had morals.

Fast forward to 2006, and we now have a man who has gone back on everything he appears to have believed in - or did he? McCain sucked it up enough to win the Republican Nomination, and then, in a move that baffled just about everyone - he picked Sarah Palin as a running mate. It seems unbelievable - how could anyone make such costly political mistakes - especially someone in politics as long as McCain.

It really doesn't make sense until you understand one thing, and one thing alone - He hoodwinked you. He hoodwinked me. He especially hoodwinked the Republicans. And in so doing, John McCain made history.

You see, John McCain KNEW the Democrats needed to win the presidency. Oh sure, McCain might have fought it out with Clinton. But Obama? Just think about it. Obama wins the Democratic nomination, and the next thing you know McCain happens to commit political suicide by picking....Sarah Palin? He threw the election. There is just no other way to explain it.

So, on this day, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, 2 days after the most historic election in history, I thank you John McCain. The Republican Party - the true Republican Party - will likely thank you. The United States thanks you. And the world thanks you.

The Anti-Midas

2008-10-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

Jay's like King Midas as I was told
Everything that he touched turned to gold
He's the greatest of the greater get it straight

-- Peter Piper, Run D.M.C

If you remember 80's rap music, you might remember this little diddy. Unfortunately, George W. Bush is not like Jay. In fact, he's so not like Jay that I'd say he more like the Anti-Midas: everything he touched to turn to lead.

Now, on Friday, old Bushy is going to "speak" to "Americans" (honestly, who can he speak to anymore, does anyone trust him?) -- see reference here: Bush plans economic statement to assure Americans.

Near the end of the article, it mentions that Bush has spoken 19 of 22 days during the recent crisis. Does anyone think we might be better off if he stopped speaking? Given the track record and all, it doesn't seem to be helping.

Strange FaceBook coincidence

2008-08-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

Whoah. I just checked my Google reader feed for FaceBook friend updates. Exactly two updates. Two different people, at nearly the same instant. Look what they wrote:

(names hidden to protect the innocent)

Now this is patriotism

2008-07-18T22:49:00.001-07:00

None of that bullshit 9/11 crap. Striving to solve real problems, with real solutions, using real goals, that inspire and push us to do better, and be better, is what makes us Americans.

Thank you, Al Gore, for showing us what it is to be an American, by delivering an absolutely stunning speech. Want to see what I am talking about? Watch it here: Al Gore's Climate Challenge.

On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 6304 )

2008-07-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't written here in a while, but this topic deserves some attention.

Summary
In case you haven't heard, the Senate just passed Bill H.R. 6304, which, among other things, grants retroactive immunity to Telecommunications companies that participated in President Bush's the illegal domestic wiretapping program.

The vote results can be viewed here.

In short, the Republicans voted as a whole Yea. The Democrats voted mixed. Notable votes:

Clinton (D-NY): Nay
Obama (D-IL): Yea
McCain (R-AZ): Not Voting
Boxer (D-CA): Nay
Feinstein (D-CA): Yea
Kerry (D-MA): Nay
Kennedy (D-MA): Not Voting

First Of All, What is Wrong With The Democrats?

I'd just like to say if the Democrats had a backbone, and voted like the Republicans, maybe this wouldn't have happened? I feel disgusted. Betrayed. I don't like Republicans. Or Democrats. But at least the Republicans can get ?&!% done. I don't know if I feel the Democrats deserve to be on the floor, or in the White House.

Second of All

I can't believe Obama. He had my vote. UNTIL NOW. I mean what are you thinking you loser. Every other hopeful voted with their conscience. Is voting for retroactive immunity HOPE FOR CHANGE?. You've really angered me, and I really don't know who to vote for this November. I was against Clinton, you seemed the better choice the entire way. And now this.

I don't know what to do - I think I'll go vote for Nader. I hear he is going to run again. At least McCain did the smart thing and didn't vote. He probably had half a conscious in which he knew he shouldn't vote for this bill, but had only two choices: Yea or Abstain.

Sometimes you have to make the hard choices. He did. I don't even think this was a hard choice for you, Obama, so tell, what the hell are you thinking?

UPDATE: Seems I am not the only one. Comments on Obama's blog are not favorable.

Third - Can we PLEASE get rid of Feinstein?

Is Feinstein doing this State (CA) any good? Or is she just an idiot. I think the latter. Can we please get some new blood with a spine, some values, and some guts. Thanks.

(btw, I have so far been admiring Boxer's values. She seems to have once again notched another good move here today)

In Other News...

Nancy Pelosi sure is shaping up to be complete bust, eh? Seems she wants to give ol' Bush-y a fight in the history books, so she cooked up this winner of an idea: Nancy Pelosi vs. the Internet

Save the Children

2007-07-25T23:42:00.001-07:00

Come on man, I thought Al Gore was smarter than that. I just received this email from his campaign:

Dear Taylor,

In order to ultimately force our leaders to take action to solve the climate crisis, we have to use every medium -- including television, radio, and the Internet -- to build public support. And that's just what the Alliance for Climate Protection will do.

The Alliance is a three-year campaign that will push the climate crisis to the top of the nation's agenda using a combination of paid advertising, public service announcements, and grassroots power.

Your voices have carried our movement this far. So as we begin to create our media campaigns, I didn't want to only turn to an advertising firm -- I wanted to turn to you.

If you had 60 seconds to convince all of your friends that they needed to take action to stop the climate crisis, what would you say? How would you get the attention of millions of people all over the world?

Well, now you have the chance! Current TV and the Alliance for Climate Protection have teamed up to sponsor 60 Seconds to Save the Earth.

The premise is simple: make the best 15, 30, or 60-second ad showcasing how you or someone you know is taking action to alleviate the climate crisis -- or create an original, persuasive message that will open eyes, inspire change and empower your audience.

Get the details and create your ad by visiting:

http://www.current.tv/ecospotcontest

After you submit your ad, our panel of celebrity judges will narrow the field to 20 finalists. Then you will be able to help pick the winner through an online vote. The top ads will be aired internationally on Current TV, featured in the Alliance's national campaign, and showcased on MySpace's Impact channel.

In addition, the grand-prize winner will receive a Toyota hybrid car, while three finalists will win Sony electronic products, and 16 semi-finalists will receive T-Mobile Sidekicks.

So get started -- in 60 seconds you can save the planet. Learn about this incredible contest and submit your ad today by visiting:

http://www.current.tv/ecospotcontest

Thank you,

Al Gore

Now dude, seriously. There's basically only two things that motivate Americans.

1) Children
2) War

(See my previous post regarding motivation #2). Seriously, if you want to motivate the American people to side with you on Global Warming, you gotta pitch it as saving the children. We just don't seem to give a #%#$%#@ about anything else.

(See, the Senators on Capitol Hill know what works, why doesn't A.G?)

We need another war

2007-07-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

The current one ain't goin so well, and our sitting President is a self-proclaimed "war-president", and it seems the prevailing trend, at least for the past 20 years, is that war is good for our economy, so the best kind of war to have is one that is against an abstract principle (War on Drugs, War on Terror), thus don't you think we should start another one?

I do. I think we need a

WAR ON GLOBAL WARMING

Ahh wouldn't that be sweet. You can bet we won't be getting one any time soon though.

GTD - another way to have a clean inbox

2007-07-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

Arggh, I have spent a bunch of time arguing this point with a friend, and here is a poll on Lifehacker. And I just saw another one over here. So please, explain to me why is everyone so obsessed with a "clean inbox?!?!?"

The GTD people have hammered the idea of a clean inbox so deep into people's brains, it seems it will never get out!

But wait, there's another way!!

I am fan of the GTD stuff, but keeping my inbox clean seems so ... pedestrian. I hate doing stuff I don't have to do, so please, someone tell me why I have to keep a clean inbox? Here's how to keep it "clean" without having to actually do the "read and archive step" which everyone seems so hung up on.

Step 1. Read unread email.
Step 2. There is NO STEP 2!!!

That's right. Read the email, and let the read vs. unread emails tell you how many new / unread emails you have in your inbox. If you learn to see an inbox with 0 unread emails, regardless of how many read emails it contains, you will see that this is exactly equivalent to archiving the messages into an archive folder, except you don't have to do the archive step.

But what about "in progress in emails" you ask?

Right. Well first of all, at least 50% emails are junk, so you just delete them - this is the same for everyone. Emails that you don't care about (the ones you were going to archive - the majority of the remainder left after deleting junk - you just leave in the box. And the ones you care about - I file them into a ToDo folder. When I get time to do some tasks, I go browse the ToDo folder and there you have it. GTD in a few less steps.

(Note: I would prefer to tag my emails, but this is not cross-platform. Every platform, from smartphones to web email recognizes folders so I just use one high level folder next to my inbox to store the ToDo list)

Just like those "clean" freaks - I have a ToDo that is not more than 10 or so emails long. But my inbox? Well thats a few years worth so it's got some 5k messages in it.

If you think about it - this is just the XP style of working. Don't do unnecessary work up front that has neglible cost savings in the future. You'll pay more to do all the book keeping than you get back in the future, and the same reason I don't sort emails - I just search them. The number of times I "go back" to something is orders of magnitude (yes, probably ony 1 in 100) less than how much mail there actually is - so why sort 100 items just to find that one item later? Right. Don't. It's wasted effort.

Thanks for listening.

I am so appalled

2007-07-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

I received a horribly shocking and appaling e-mail recently from someone close to me. We have often disagreed in the past over soci-economic, political and religious positions. That's fine I enjoy a good debate and in particular feel it is very important to be exposed to ideas contrary to one's own.

This particular individual tends to think of himself as a Conservative, though I think he along with much of the rest of the Conservative party has finally realized alliance with Bush is tantamount to political, moral and intellectual suicide. That being said, he regularly regurgitates Conservative think-tank b.s. which I regularly refute with much vigor.

Again, I must repeat that I enjoy this kind of intellectual sparring, it is important to ensure that one's ideals are as highly polished as they can be - not having this kind of regular discourse can lead to lazy, sloppy thinking and reasoning, something which I personally despise.

The problem is the most recent piece of mail I received from this person is extremely disturbing, nearly to the point of no return. While I relish the debate for the sake of debate, I will not do so with a participant who is not equally engaging his/her intellect.

The piece is quite long, so I will quote it in its entirety at the end of this post. It is entitled "Can a Muslim be a Good American". It's premise is that because of inherent beliefs that Muslims hold, they cannot inherently be good Americans.

I am impressed with the person who wrote it - because they obviously understood exactly what they were doing. To hide an illogical and amoral viewpoint within a logical and moral discourse is highly subversive and intelligent. I don't for one second think the originator of this email didn't know precisely the kind of intellectual power required to see through the ruse, and therefore reject it outright, knowing full well that the majority of our populace does not and will not spend (or even possess) the requisite intellectual discipline required to understand, let alone refute, the fundamental argument it presents. I am of course appalled at those who would forward it on, without first analyzing the full impact of its contents, but then again, as I said, it was quite obviously crafted quite intricately to do just that.

Fundamentally, this piece is as Anti-American as it gets. And thats only the beginning. Overall, its arguments are reminiscent of the McCarthy era in which it was pre-supposed that to be a Communist meant you could not be an American. The illogic in that presupposition was of course lost upon those who easily fell into the trap of condemning those who do not think the same as themselves. Fortuitously, we (as Americans and as a Society) were able to overcome that particular set of illogical and amoral thinking, and there it seems the issue laid to rest, dormant in the American psysche only to be tested once again by the appearance of what seems to be yet again an "imminent threat" to the American way of thinking (and life).

Let me spell it out for those who just simply don't seem to get it: To be American is to be free, intellectually, socially, politically, religiously and morally. That means you are free to think, feel, believe in whatever you like. That is American, anyone who tells you otherwise just simply does not understand what it is to be American, or has the the likes of Falwell and Limbaugh on the speed-dial.

Now behavior, that's where things change, (and why we have laws) -- and that is the crux of what causes the problem. When does thought turn into action, and at what point do you stop it.

The Constitution, despite what others may have you believe, is quite clear on this, but that doesn't stop those would rather the world just thought the same as they do. Quite simply you are free to believe in what you like, be it Evolution, Creationism or Death to America. There is no law, no decree anywhere the Constituion that can possibly prevent this - it is protected up and down left and right (that doesn't stop people from trying, and one day they might succeed it seems we must be ever-vigilant).

Moreover, you are even free to SPEAK about that belief and that is protected by the most vaunted of Rights given by our Constitution - the Bill of Rights as the very first thing that was granted, the #1 Right in America, the Freedom of Speech.

So it is painstakingly clear - to hold and share individual, yet differing beliefes, that is American. We can argue all day long how much action is a result of belief, but to be American is to accept that others have the absolute right to believe what they wish. There couldn't be anything more un-American than to suggest otherwise.

Which gets me to this e-mail, which is the source of my disgust and disbelief. It is as anti-American as can possibly be, by suggesting that a set of beliefs, in and of themselves, are in fact anti-American. Remember, no matter what the belief, you, as an American have the right to hold it.

The text of the email I received is:

"CAN A MUSLIM BE A GOOD AMERICAN?

This is something I've wondered about for some time now: How & why do the Muslims hate us & everyone else so much? Doesn't their God teach them to love?
Can a good Muslim be a good American?

I sent that question to a friend who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.
The following is his reply:

Theologically - no. Because his allegiance is to Allah, the moon god of Arabia.

Religiously - no. Because no other religion is accepted by his Allah except Islam (Quran, 2:256)

Scripturally - no. Because his allegiance is to the five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran).

Geographically - no. Because his allegiance is to Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

Socially - no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

Politically - no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and Destruction of America, the great Satan.

Domestically - no. Because he is instructed to marry four women and beat and scourge his wife when she disobeys him (Quran 4:34).

Intellectually - no. Because he cannot accept the American Constitution since it is based on Biblical principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

Philosophically - no. Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

Spiritually - no. Because when we declare "one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in The Quran's 99 excellent names.

Therefore after much study and deliberation....perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both "good" Muslims and good Americans.

Call it what you wish....it's still the truth.

If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with the above statements, perhaps you will share this with your friends. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future.

Pass it on, Fellow Americans.

This war is MUCH bigger than most Americans know or can understand."

Mail User Interface suggestion...

2007-02-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

I was discussing Mail interfaces with my friend last night - about how much Yahoo!'s AJAXy client sucks - I only use it because it is marginally faster overall for reading mail, but it looks (and performs) just like Outlook - UGGH.

I came in to work today and looked at the list of email presented by the client. It look something like this:

Sender	Subject	Date
Kmart	Super Special Deal	Today
Julie	Save the Environment	Today
James E. Lee	Something cool	Today
Buy.com	Super special on HD TVs	Today
Crutchfield	Does your HDTV sound good?	Today
Cindy Gould	Something from mom	Today

Quick - there's two emails in the list I actually care about - which is it?

Right, the one from my friend James, the other from my mom. The other emails are ads, which I don't consider Spam because they are from companies or organizations I have previously had contact with, and so I let them into my email - though I usually delete all that stuff. But it was annoying that amongst the clutter, there was one thing I cared about and the rest I didn't.

MAKE IT MORE OBVIOUS, STUPID

Here's what strikes me - there's an attribute the email I care about that the other emails don't have - and that attribute is trivially detected by - you guessed it - a computer.

Notice that sentence - what stood out? The word attribute, right? Why - because I highlighted it. If I can do that, couldn't the server do the same for the email I care about?

So what's the attribute - well my friend James happens to be IN MY ADDRESSBOOK. Bingo - let's have a feature that highlights emails from people in my addressbook.

This is so straightforward, I am shocked that we have had email for 20 years and to my knowledge this simple, straightforward feature has NEVER been implemented.

Let's take a look at how it might look if it were highlighted:

Sender	Subject	Date
Kmart	Super Special Deal	Today
Julie	Save the Environment	Today
James E. Lee	Something cool	Today
Buy.com	Super special on HD TVs	Today
Crutchfield	Does your HDTV sound good?	Today
Cindy Gould	Something from mom	Today

Ok, quick, which email(s) do I care about?

What do you think? Do you like this approach?

Venezuela Trip

2007-02-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

We just got back from 2 weeks in Venezuela. It was part meet&greet for my new family, and part vacation. I'll write some more about it soon, for now here's some pics:

Update: I've added captions

2007-01-31 Venezuela Trip

Bullsh#t security...

2006-11-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

America the land of the free and the home of the brave...isn't that how the saying goes?

Yeah, right. You can be damn sure that this post is going to attract the attention of the now infamous NSA wire taps. Only non-US citizens are subject to that you say? The jokes on you buddy, another lie from the war mongrels. Not only am I being spied on, but what I say and what I do is being cross-referenced with what I buy, who and where I buy it from, in more detail than you could ever imagine. That's only a fraction of the freedoms you have lost since 9/11. If you want to know more I suggest you read The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind. It's an eye opener.

Is there any sanity left to the way we are handling one scare tactic after another? A quick glance at the TSA's ever increasing list of banned substances leaves only one conclusion: not even close.

You gotta hand it to Bruce Schneier -- he does a great job of criticizing the latest outrage - printing fake boarding passes is ridiculously easy - so shame on those that point out the freakin' obvious - in fact let's put them in jail.

I can't even tell you how many times I have heard how we are "winning against the terrorism", that "freedom is on the march" - you have to be joking. It's cowering in a corner wimpering like a rain soaked dog.

America - land of the once-free and home of the perpetually afraid.

Well, apparently...

2006-10-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

I'm a Ferrari 360 Modena!

You've got it all. Power, passion, precision, and style. You're sensuous, exotic, and temperamental. Sure, you're expensive and high-maintenance, but you're worth it.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Which of course is highly ironic considering I own a corvette!

New Java/Tech blog

2006-09-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to throw out a pointer to a new blog I created to throw out some Java / Tech related thoughts : Thinking In Java.

Shasta Vacation

2006-09-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

It was nice to spend 5 days in Lake Shasta over the Labor Day Weekend with my family. We rented a houseboat from Silverthorn Resort and my cousin brought his ski boat.

4 days in the sun and good times with my family can't be beat. After 1 year of recovering from my motorcycle accident, and 6 months after my shoulder surgery, I was very happy to be able to water-ski and wakeboard once again.

Here are some pictures from our time there:

Of course I need to post one up of me skiing ;-)

Here's the cove where we parked the boat...

Every decision has it's consequences...

Library Lookup

2006-07-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take 2 minutes out of your day to extoll the virtues of LibraryLookup.

A few weeks ago I was browsing Salon and came across a writeup of The End of Faith. It didn't take very long for me to decide I wanted to buy this book, but then I remembered my LibraryLookup tool. 2 clicks later and I had reserved it at my local branch.

Go install the tool - it's very straightforward. Come back here to click on the book link. See if it's at your local library - reserve a copy and you're done. (Incidentally, I didn't actually figure out which system my library uses - 43Folders did it for me in their post)

Feel free to come back here and leave a comment about the book if you read it. So far I have enjoyed it very much - but I doubt highly that it's messge will be heard...

New House Oh My!

2006-06-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well things can move really fast in the real estate world, as we learned painfully just recently -- we were really excited about this TIC we saw on Sunday - and by Wednesday they had accepted an offer! Doh.

But all things happen for a reason, and just today I did a quick search on Craig's list (actually www.housingmaps.com) and found this place on Waller street.

We saw it tonight (same day), put an offer on it, and got word just now that it was accepted. Just one day, from zero to accepted, wow!

See details on the house at http://www.569waller.com/

Local - finally!

2006-05-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

I recently mapped out the location of my new job, Rossy's new job, and our house.

Click this link to see them all on a single map in Yahoo! maps.

Why did I do it? Well I was pretty sure that the locations all form nearly a perfect equilateral triangle, and I was pretty close to right. How cool is that? (Besides the fact that each is less than 2 miles from one another that is!)

New Baby

2006-05-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

So we had a recent addition to the family:

What else to say except we that we are completely stoked?

(thanks to my wife for letting me get this, to James for the great photos, and to Chevy producing something to cure my bike addiction)

Update:

I posted some more photos on my flickr account.

Using Caller-ID - amazing!

2006-03-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

I would just like to take this moment to commend Chase Home Finance. When I call their customer service center it DOES NOT ask me for my account number. Their service only asks me for my billing zip code. After that it immediately proceeds to tell my my balance and next payment due date. Now this is an automatic system that ACTUALLY WORKS!

Considering that I can't be the only person in my zip code to have a Chase Home Finance loan, I presume it is using caller-id from my phone to identify the account and then uses my zip code to verify I am the right person.

Compare this to companies like Cingular - who when I call them, FROM THEIR GODDAMN PHONE, don't initially know who I am and require me to input my phone number in their system to talk to someone, and then when I do talk to someone, somehow the system forgets who I am and then I have to tell the person -- AGAIN.

YME & XBox 360

2006-03-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

At last, I found some concrete evidence that while today one cannot directly browse Yahoo! Unlimited music from the XBox, it is coming!! :) Oh happy day.

Check out this comment :

Hi Joe,

You’ll be happy to know that there are plans to offer a Yahoo! Music add-in for Media Center Edition. Sit tight and we’ll let you know when it’s available.

Per Ian’s comment… I’d be interested to hear if you’re able to use the Network Music feature with your XBox 360. Network Music is based on the UPnP protocol and is modeled after Windows Media Connect in order to play to the XBox 360 and other PlaysForSure devices. However, we’ve heard that MSFT has locked down the XBox 360 so that it only works with Windows Media Conne
- Ryan

From this post over at the Yahoo Music Blog.

Super sweet!

Structured Wiring Project - DONE

2006-03-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

I embarked upon a structured wiring upgrade to my house several weeks ago.

The goals of this project were to:

Bring wired network connections to my front living room
Centralize all wiring (satellite, cable tv, phone, and network)
Get rid of wire clutter

So overall the project has been a smashing success. Due to my bad shoulder (recent surgery) I brought in a contractor to actually run the wires. While I could have done this myself, I could never have done as awesome a job as he did. Money well spent.

And also he was able to run them down my wall into a new wall jack in the living room, something I would never have been able to do. The job required drilling a hole through two boards about 6' down from the attic. Due to the tight spaces he had to have a flexible drill bit that was 6' or more long. I don't really know how he did it - but the installation is smooth.

I'll update this post with more pics, but for now, here is the finished structured panel in the storage room. It's going to get a cover right after this post so no unsightly wires will be visible at all.

Update 2006-03-28

Here are the rest of the photos.

This is the exterior of the house, the black cable was already there and is not part of this job. Notice the nice pipe bends :)

And this is one of my new wall jacks, this is in the front which currently has 4 network ports and 2 RG6 terminals (I guess I still need to do some cleanup - it's not so obvious in real life):

Finally, I've had questions about how I found my contractor. I used Service Magic. If you're in the Bay Area, you might want to give the guy I used a call - Paul at Healey Electric.

Westinghouse LVM=42W2 Experience So Far

2006-03-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

I just wrote this up for AVS Forum, so I thought I would post here too:

I made the jump several weeks ago and bought [the Westinghouse LV-42W2] from Crutchfield.

Here is my experience so far (quick summary - I am on the fence, sometimes this set is awesome, sometimes I am quite ready to return it)

- in HD there is no question the set has amazing quality. XBOX360 over component cables is truly astounding and the #1 reason I would keep this set.

- in SD, I think it's as good as you can expect - except I have not figured out what is causing ghosting (see below)

- ps2 (SD over S-Video) looks reasonable but dithering is high - I am willing to accept this is just how the ps2 looks and get over it. I only play one game on the ps2 anymore and grafx are not a high concern here

- DirecTivo - the menuing part is pretty grungy - dithering and aliasing artifacts that I never saw before. I'm not just being picky my wife asked if the set is out of focus. The good news is that TV in general looks good enough that I am not distracted it's just the Tivo interface that looks relatively poor. There are artifacts that I am not quite sure whether they are ghosting or MPG2 artifacts -- see ghosting below.

- Component in from my 6 year old Sony DVD changer caused massive problems. The signal broke up and died. I am willing to accept my changer is old and needs replacement - but I must tell you that it happened *one* time with the XBox 360 so I am suspicious (hard reset aka unplug solved the issue, it hasn't returned in 3-4 days)

- VGA in from my laptop at 1920x1080 works well, but there is again a ghosting problem - see below. Also thanks to the poster of the gray image. I fired it up and sigh I have 2 dead pixels in the corner (not so bad) and also I am not sure it's banding or backlamp uneveness (I think the latter, truthfully, even white doesn't look perfectly even) but I see streaks

- GHOSTING. This one is a major issue. On the VGA inputs any vertical line causes a ghost to appear right next to it, things like icons on a white or grey background are dead giveaways. On S-Video with the Tivo I think I see ghosting but it's hard to tell. If anyone saw Carlos Mencia's special from a week or two ago, he had a silver chair with 4 vertical legs on stage that causes at least 7 repetitions of the vertical signal in certain shots - sometimes when he was several feet away from the chair, the "ghost" stripes from the chair legs went all the way to him. Excruciatingly distracting. Some movies I notice it as well, but again it HAS to be vertical lines. I have not noticed this playing movies from the XBox360 but haven't had the time to analyze carefully.

- LOCKUPS - this may actually get the set on a truck back to the mfr. I have so far recorded three times the set simply would not respond to me. The remote and buttons on the unit were completely unresponsive. unplugging the unit fixed the problem. I thought it might just be initial problems that were lessening over time, ,but it happened again last night.

- Remote sensitivity is poor. You might think this would be ok, but I can tell you it's not the REMOTE's fault, it's the TV. I have a Logitech Harmony and you really have to point the thing at the TV or it does not register (same thing with the MFR remote). Also it's quite often that the TV just ignores the remote until you press it a few more times - this is most noticeable when trying to change inputs.

- Only one picture setting per input. Don't get me wrong, I am happy it at least has memory for picture settings per input, but it's a bit of a problem if you are going to use something like the XBox360 for movies AND games. Games have to brighter esp Project Gotham Racing which provides NO in game controls (unlike Kameo which provides 4-5 presets) for brightness.

Media Center Upgrade

2006-03-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been nearly 10(!) years since I bought a new TV, and over 6 since I bought my last piece of A/V gear...needless to say it's gotten dated.

So I have been spending sleepless nights researching the crap out of the crop of technology - DLP, LCD, Plasma screens, HDTV 1080i/p, HDMI, DVI/HDCP etc. The net effect is that I think right now we are at a stage where the choices are bewildering and confusing, and even a hardcore tech junkie like me is overloaded.

Summary

I still don't think the technology or price points are mature enough that the ordinary consumer should think about buying into this stuff. You absolutely must have an external impetus for doing so, such as -
a) I am a google employee and don't know what else to spend my money on
b) I need to get rid of the 200lb monster in my living room, flat panels are the way to go
c) I need to make my Xbox 360 picture look better and it sure would be cool to hook up my laptop in the living room to a 42" hi-res screen.

If you don't fall into one of the above categories (I happen to fall in two of them, but not the third, guess which two - duh), I suggest you come back next year and see if the industry has gotten it's collective act together.

My choice(s)

I finally decided to buy the Westinghouse 42" LCD TV.

I bought it from Crutchfield because no store carries this set in house and I am going to have to buy it based on extensive research online (using the link above, read the AVS Forum - I highly recommend it). That said, there may be a reason to return it, and Crutchfield offers this ability. If there is something wrong with it in 30 days, the return is free, otherwise if I just decide I want the Sharp 45" LCD then I am going to have to pay return shipping - all in all not a bad deal (oh and normally CF prices are MSRP but this set is not really going for less than MSRP online yet, so at the moment their price is extremely competitive when you consider no tax and no shipping)

I also decided to go for the XBox 360.

Part of this decision rested on it's gaming abilities, part on it's DVD playing abilities (for a small time, it will be the only component in my setup that can actually output anything higher than Standard Definition TV) and part on it's networking capabilities. (Considering that Yahoo! Music Engine just released Version 1.1 which can export it's music as a UPnP source, I am about 99% positive that the Xbox will be able to pick it up and play it -- coolness factor x 10)

If you are thinking to buy this, I recommend not buying the core bundle - it's a bad deal. For $100 more the Live bundle or whatever it is gives you a lot more. Research carefully the options online, many of the online bundles are crap. If you want to track it's availability, BensBargains XBox 360 Tracker rocks.

My Research

In general, I used del.icio.us to track my home theater research.

In particular, I looked at hdtv screens, stands, and a few htpc style options. One of my criteria was to get a 1080p television. This is not only harder than it sounds, it also is frought with peril, and probably deserves a blog post all it's own.

Shoulder Surgery - Right Rotator Cuff Repair

2006-02-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

Everything went very well -- I am home and recovering.

According to the surgeon, he found a small tear and repaired it, exactly as he was expecting, which is good news.

Quick Breakdown of Events:
8:00 am Arrived Hospital, prepped for surgery (IV etc)
8:40 am Anesthesiologist put a nerve block on my shoulder - no feeling at all in my right arm
9:15 am wheeled me to the OR
9:20 am Anesthesiologist says I am going to give you something to relax.....
11:40 am Bizarrre rush of dreams/waking up in recovery room. That is just a strange experience coming out of general anesthesia.
11:41 am Super cold, which is normal
11:45 am Recovered now, waking up, Rossy comes in to see me
2:00 pm After drinking gallons of water and still thirsty, I am ready to go home
2:30 pm Arrive home, rest and recovery for the next 7 days.

Status
So I can get up and do stuff, but my arm is in a sling to prevent my shoulder from moving. Typing is kinda difficult.

I'm also supposed to be hooked up to this pretty cool device.

It keeps constant cold on my shoulder while it heals to reduce swelling and clotting etc. so I'm a bit of a cripple once again.

As usual, I just don't know how people get through this kind of stuff without someone there for you. Hearing from family and friends the night before was very comforting.

But in particular, my wife Rossy is there again, by my side, keeping me comfortable and happy, I can't thank her enough.

Vegas Recommendations

2006-01-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

My friends are spending a weekend in Vegas. I've been there countless times, so this post is for them, a quick set of things that shouldn't be missed.

Performances

Mystere - Saw this the first time November 2005. Fantastic beyond belief. I haven't seen O so I can't compare.
O - Reviews are great, though I've heard from the "locals" it's not as good as Mystere. Still, its ALWAYS sold out. I don't think it could be anything but great.
Blue Man Group - This is just an awesome show - I've seen it twice in fact. You definitely should not miss it. If you do, they are now in a total of 7 cities.

Attractions

Fountains at Bellagio - Best (free) show on the strip hands down. Don't miss it, and frankly, it's hard to miss anyway. Good vantage points are had in front of the portcullis, on the street, and at Olives (in the Bellagio shopping area).
Fremont Street Experience - Located in downtown (old) Vegas, and thus off the "strip" this is a bit harder to get to, but worth it. It's really pretty cool, and if you happen to like poker, Binion's is where most of the tournaments are held.
Star Trek Experience - Pretty fun if you're into SF, but since the Hilton is off the strip, a bit hard to justify the trip. If you do go there, check out the Hilton sports book, it's the biggest in Vegas.

Food

Bellagio Buffet - Easily the best buffet on the strip, it's also one of the most expensive. Go for Sunday brunch. Though they don't serve Mimosas, they do serve unlimited OJ and Champagne. I can't remember ever going and not making my own. And PLEASE don't forget to play Kino. You're in Vegas.
Aureole - 4 story wine cellar located in my favorite casino - Mandalay Bay. What else is there to say? After dinner, make sure to stop by Red Square (see Bars).
Stratosphere - Super chill restaurant with a great view.
Yard Long Margaritas - It's a Vegas thing. Extra credit: find a place that offers an extra shot of everclear for $1.

Casinos

Mandalay Bay - Aureole. Red Square. Awesome decor. Rum Jungle even. With easy travel between Luxor, New York New York, and MGM, this casino is hard to beat and has been my favorite for years. Only drawback is that it's at the far end of the strip. I particularly like taking a break from the action in the round bar located in the center of the casino. If I get tired of that, there's usually live music right near the entrance to the restaurant/bar area.
Palms - Hard to describe why this Casino just clicks. But it does. Spend some time here and I think you'll agree. Hit the club, then some gambling, then go up for a drink and the best view of the strip from the Ghost Bar (see Bars).
New York-New York - Ya just gotta check out the inside, especially the back with authentic steaming manhole covers. It's fun hands down, and if you like Roller Coasters, how about one that goes through the Casino itself?
Bellagio - Predictably upscale. Don't miss the Chihuly sculpture in the lobby, and the ever-changing botanical gardens. If you can afford to shop here, more power to ya.
Venetian - Take a ride in a gondola, or marvel at the unbelievable tile work just off the lobby. This is what you get for $1.1B, and I gotta say, it's pretty damn spectacular. Well worth the visit.

Bars

Red Square - My all time favorite. Where else can you chill your Martini on the 4" x 20' strip of ice embedded in the bar - or drink a bottle of vodka Siberian style in the sub-zero room complete with Siberian Coats and Hats? Not a connoisseur? Try a vodka sampler while you're there.
Ghost Bar - Easily the best view of the city, not to mention the parking lot 24 stories below. Hip bar with a lot of energy - all around cool.
Stratosphere - If you missed eating dinner, it's just as good to have drinks here. Chill spot to enjoy drinks and the view. But honestly, the view is better at the Ghost Bar, and the Stratosphere is too far away from the main action on the strip to make it a worthwhile trip on it's own. The roller coasters here are downright scary.

=== What Not To Do ===

Wynn - There's no reason to go here unless you are a guest. Close your eyes, open them, you'd think you were in the Bellagio.
Lance Burton - Snore. This guy is older than Dick Clark and still looks 30. I call illegal use of botox.
Sahara, Celine Dion, Fashion Mall, M&M Store, Coke Store, Gameworks, Circus Circus, Hard Rock, ...

Getting Better

2006-01-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

I've been getting a lot of questions about how I am doing now that it's been several months since my accident.

So here's a quick post to answer those questions. If you don't feel like reading on, I've often compared my current condition to the well-known 80/20 rule - I've completed 80% of my recovery in 20% of the. I'm fairly convinced the remaining 20% recovery will take 80% of the time.

That said, a few more details are in order. Overall, my condition is improving, and I live with less and less/difficulty every day. For the most part, I am back to my normal life, with fairly little loss of overall ability to do things I used to do.

There's lots of little things, I have to re-learn how to use my thumb so video gaming is in! :) Yay! Tying my shoes was hard but getting easier....fastening buttons is still difficult, but I'll get it.

Strangely, I keep learning about new injuries I suffered - turns out I also fractured a rib on the left side (sometimes I feel like I fractured one on the right side too), and tore my rotator cuff.

Overall, I've been improving day by day or week by week - sometimes it's hard to tell on a short scale but on the longer scale I'm definitely doing better.

Since my pain level keeps decreasing, and my flexibility/Range of Motion keeps increasing, I haven't been too worried about the long term effects - mostly I figure it's going to just take a good amount of stretching and exercise regimens mixed with the best healer of all: time.

That's about it, thanks to everyone that's asked or keeps asking to know how I feel.

Furl Your Firefox Extensions

2006-01-04T23:16:00.000-08:00

I have recently started using Firefox as my default browser. some sites work better with IE, the vast majority work just asor better in Firefox. Plus Firefox is more secure, andsignificantly more features - but only if you can find them!!

That's the topic of this post - I use several different computers, and for whatever reason I also seem to get a new laptop on a regular basis, from spilling coke on it, internal, unexplicable and unpredictable death, job change or whatever. Thus I tend to haveto install stuff I use a lot, including Firefox extensions.

For extensions (and probably in general all software packages although I haven't yet done this), I stumbled upon a great solution: I use Furl to mark each extension I install. When I install an extension I like, I furl it and tag it with the "Firefox Extensions" tag.

On another computer, where I haven't yet installed my favorite extensions, now I can easily find them.

If you want to see which ones I use, just browse on over to my Furl Firefox Extensions.

Motorcycle Crash

2006-01-04T23:03:00.000-08:00

On Friday, August 5, 2005, I was involved in a motorcycle accident travelling south on highway 101 near Millbrae. I was riding my Yamaha R1:

I don't remember the accident (the dent in my helmet is a very probable explanation). I remember riding in the fast lane at about 25-40 with a group of 3 other riders in heavy stop and go traffic. I had just moved up to the rider because I felt the space between me and the car behind me was too close. The next thing I remember is lying on the ground, people telling me to not move, and that emergency help would be there. I wasn't in any pain yet.

After being taken to the Stanford Medical Center

I found that I had sustained the following injuries:
A total of 3 fractured vertebra in my back
Amputation of the tip of my left thumb
Partial loss of feeling in my left shoulder

If you take a look at the picture below, there are three main parts of the vertebra, the meaty round part, the spinal cord just behind the meaty part, and the "wings".

I fractured the C-7 (Cervical) vertebra which is the seventh down fromtop of your head. It's right about at the top of your shoulders. My C-7 fracture was just the wing part.

I had "compression fractures" in the remaining two vertebra. They were T-7 and T-8 (Thoracic) which are just about in the middle of your chest. A compression fracture occurs from pressure created by bending over too much. I did not have any damage due to a hyperextension, which would have been significantly worse. Thefractures consist of small fissures in the "meaty" part of the bone shown above.

Any nerve damage to the spinal cord is what results in paralysis which thankfully you can see I did not have.

Also during the accident the tip of my thumb was torn off. It's the part of your thumb that has your fingernail. I have all three joints and hopefully with some reconstructive surgery I will not suffer too much loss of function.

All in all I consider myself extremely lucky.

I received a lot of support during my stay at the hospital. I never realized how hard something like this could be until going through it. My friends and family made the experience as best as best it could possibly be.

To those that have sent flowers and cards, thank you so much, there have been some tough times in the hospital on drugs and feeling like my world has collapsed around me. You helped so much.

To all those that visited me in the hospital, I never realized how lonely those things are until I was immobile in bed. I probably only spent 1 or 2 hours alone during the entire time, thank you so much - seeing friends and family really makes a difference.

To those that have helped me out with logistics, finding my keys, driver's license, getting my bike out of hock, giving rides to my wife, I owe an especially large debt.

And finally, my wife, who spent every day and every night, who suffered through my down times, and satisfied my every desire without a single complaint. I could not have made it through without her. Rossy you were an angel in my time of need.

Here I am in the hospital about 1 day before I was released (as you can see, Yumi [Sergei's Girlfriend] is helping me to stay in good spirits):

I arrived home last night, Tuesday, August 9, 2005. I am on a fairly moderate diet of pain-killers - percoset and ibuprofin, and working towards a speedy recovery. I must wear a back brace out of bed to prevent me from leaning forward and stressing my fractures. I must wear a neck brace at all times. (Oh, and with this splint on I can still type about 100 wpm) The doctors are saying I will be able to get rid of the braces sometime between 4 and 12 weeks, depending on my recovery.

Thanks again everyone who helped me through this. I'm going to be just fine in very little time.

Manage Mailing Lists using Bloglines Email Subscriptions

2006-01-04T22:59:00.000-08:00

Now that I am an avid fan of Bloglines (if you haven't already done so, setup an account and check it out) the possibilities for RSS feeds/subscriptions have been pouring into my brain.

My latest idea was this: why do I want my Yahoo Groups email notifications pouring into my inbox? Useless clutter, right? Right.

So off I went in search of a way to get an RSS feed for Yahoo Groups. Short answer: it exists, but only for public groups. Most of the ones I belong to are private. :(

Turns out Bloglines has already got you covered. All you need to do is setup an email subscription.

What is an Email Subscription?

I'll let Bloglines cover that:

You can create an unlimited number of special Bloglines email addresses that are tied to your Bloglines account. The email addresses show up as subscriptions in your My Blogs page, and email sent to those email addresses appears as new items.
When you create a Bloglines email address, a subscription is added to your account. If you unsubscribe from that subscription, the email address becomes invalid and mail sent to it will bounce.
Email subscriptions are great for announce-only or broadcast mailing lists that don't provide RSS feeds. They are also useful as temporary email addresses.
To rename or move your email subscriptions, use the 'Edit' link under the 'My Feeds' tab.

How do I set up an Email Subscription?

1. Go to your regular "My Feeds" section in Bloglines.

2. Scroll to the "Extras" part at the bottom.

3. Click on "Email Subscriptions"

4. Name your subscription whatever you want. Bloglines will give you the email address when you are done.

5. Go back to your Yahoo Groups page (or whatever other mailing list you want) and change the notification email address to this address.

6. Done!

Use Bloglines Already!

2006-01-04T22:48:00.000-08:00

If you are here because I recommended you check out Bloglines, congratulations, I really think you're going to love this and wonder why you ever wasted time with bookmarks.

Using Bloglines is super easy, so don't worry if right now you think it's not right for you. It will be....trust me. Without further ado, let's go!

What is Bloglines?

Mainly it's an RSS aggregattor. That means it will take RSS feeds (headline data mostly, but any type of data sent in small chunks of data like Slashdot posts, News headlines, whatever) accumulate them in one place and let you browse them easily. If you like that part enough to start using it, you can figure everything else out on your own.

Setting up Bloglines, in a few easy steps:

Get an account by visiting the Bloglines Registration Site.
Go to my public site. If you already had Bloglines setup, this is pretty much what you would see except with your sites instead of mine.
At the bottom, right click the "Export Subscriptions" link and select "Save Target As...". Save this to a file ("export.xml" is fine) on your desktop.
Log in to your bloglines (which should be empty).
Click the "Edit" link located directly below the "My Feeds" tab.
At the bottom, click on the "Import Subscriptions" button.
In the window to the right, Click the "Browse" button, enter the file you saved, and click the "Import" button.
You are done! Just click the "My Feeds" button. Now you will see all of my Bloglines feeds imported into your Bloglines. You can add/edit/remove these as you like once you get the hang of using Bloglines.

Top 5 Reasons to use Bloglines:

Save time! Don't visit every site you like every day or even multiple times a day. Do it all in one place.
Remove head knowledge! You automatically know if there is new content and how much new content there is! This single feature not only relieves your brain from having to remember what articles you read where, but saves you immense amounts of time. With all that time, you have MORE time to read other interesting stuff you never would have before.
Track Packages! This is amazing. Put a package in and track it using bloglines. Remember, Bloglines remembers the last information you saw, so if the package changes location, you'll know immediately.
Discover the Tail! Ever hear that phrase about Web content and Web accesses? It says that the Web usage has a long "tail". What this means is that besides the big popular news items, there's also a lot (a LOT) of little content too. Because you can keep track of any site automatically, even if the traffic is low, you'll know immediately when new articles are available.
Get Mobile! This works so well when you are on the road if you have a mobile phone which can browse the internet. Bored at the airport? Read the latest updates on bloglines!

James Lee, a friend of mine also has blogged about why he switched to Bloglines, in case you need some more convincing ;-).

Motorola MPX220

2006-01-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

So I bought a Motorola MPX220. Here's my review: it rocks!

I won't bother linking to any of the zillion places you can buy it, but it's available either thru Cingular (my carrier) or through Amazon or through a billion other places (if you don't already use Froogle and Pricegrabber you really should).

I also am not going to bother making a serious review, since there are many many reviews online. I think the most detailed I found to date is here on Smartphonethoughts.

What I will do is highlight what I think are it's strengths and weaknesses (no more than 5 each to keep this one short)

Strengths

The screen. It's awesome, beautiful, and high res.
Contacts. They sync perfectly with outlook and integrate very well with apps on the phone. I especially like the manner in which you select contacts. If you know T9, Motorola has their own version of this technology, except when you are searching for a contact, you start hitting letters and names, parts of names, etc. are all displayed in a list. As you keep hitting more letters, the list gets whittled down to the remaining possibilities. Example: Hitting 7 (pqrs), 2 (abc), 8 (tuv) matches both Paul and Raul.
Voice Recognition. There is no training. It will recognize names (first or last) in your contacts without any special training. It's not 100%, but it works great and once you get used to it (speak slowly, pause between word/names) and also it's better to use the full name of the contact, it works wonderfully in the car!
Doom. 'Nuff said.
MP3 player. 1GB miniSD cards just came out and are rumored to work with the '220. The sound quality is fantastic. I highly recommend getting the motorola headphones/headset so far I have only found them at BestBuy.
Home screen (yeah it's 6, but I had to sneak this in). It's fully customizable using an XML file which defines the graphics and colors for an entire scheme. On the home screen, status indicators such as date, time, number of messages, MRU Application List, all are implemented via customizable (via the XML file) plugins, and app developers can write whatever they want (can you say RSS?). This site has some kickass home screens.

Weaknesses

Bluetooth is difficult to set up for ActiveSync.
Power/USB connectors are proprietary.
Syncing mail can only be scheduled 15 min/30 min/1 hour etc. It'd be better if I could schedule more frequent intervals during the day, and less at night (syncing sucks battery life big time)
Doesn't come with a synchronize application for Outlook Notes. Fortunately there is a great one here but it costs $12.95.
Camera sux. But I never wanted one anyway.

Wine Clubs

2006-01-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

Following up on my love of wine, recently I have joined two wine clubs.

They are :

1. Martin Ray : I've been a fan of Martin Ray since discovering it when it used to be the Martini & Pratti winery. The best thing about going there in person is the 2 liter jug of red wine tapped from the barrel for $12.

2. Beringer : Yes, a little more commodity than I normal go for, Beringer does have some great reserve wine (the mid-range is nothing to write home about though). Join the club for a minimum shipment of ~$40, and you get your reserve wine tasting fees back + a good discount. All in all a sweet deal.

I'll have more to say on my favorite hidden wineries in the future...

Update:

I ditched the Beringer club as I figured I would, not worth the money. Instead I have invested in:
Folie A Deux

Aerating Wine Funnel

2006-01-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

While on a recent wine trip to the Napa Valley, I stumbled upon this little gem:

After buying it on site, I found it at Amazon.

Update: You can now find it at Pottery Barn also.

Writing Your Resume In HTML

2006-01-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

References: PDF 995 Mozilla

I'd like to suggest that there is, contrary to popular belief, more than one program that can be used to write your resume.

I won't promise you that along the way you're not going to run into a few bumps. What I can promise is there are alternatives, and if you like to keep current on Web technologies, maybe there is something you can learn too.

For the past I-don't-know-how-many years, my resume has always been in Word format. It's the de-facto, if frustrating, standard enforced by practically every company and recruiter in the known world today.

What, might you ask, is wrong with this? Here are a few examples:

o Semantic overlap of data and presentation
o Differing file formats for differing versions
o Bloated format (big files)
o Publishing to the web is terrible
o Word is not FrameMaker

So I decided after one too many fights with Word to make it display my resume the way *I* wanted and not the way *it* wanted, I would take back control of my resume!

HTML and CSS

By now you're thinking sure HTML, what's the big deal? And CSS too even that has been around for a few years so what.

Well, CSS and HTML are the first steps towards what Tim Berners Lee views as the next revolution in web technology, the semantic web.

With CSS, you can write clean HTML and not worry about the formatting. If you tag the HTML data in the right way, it is possible to tinker with the look of your document in a clear and consistent manner, and the end results can be spectacular!

I'll have more to say on CSS in the future. But for now let me illustrate the benefits I achieved by sitting down to write my resume in HTML plus CSS:

o File size - 15Kb vs. 35 kb
o Ubiquitous - everyone has a web browser
o Clean separation of data and formatting
o Web ready

So what are the drawbacks?

o People still expect Word format.

Well most people still expect a resume in Word format. My answer is to send them a pdf which I create using PDF 995, a free driver that creates PDF documents, a file format nearly as ubiquitous as Web Browsers and Word documents.

o Ease of Editing.

Personally I prefer to edit my HTML by hand, since most tools still generate far too much garbage HTML for my liking. But if you absolutely must edit something using WYSIWYG, try the Mozilla suite of products, their composer tool is just what your're looking for and it's free (as in beer).

I hope you see that there are some good reasons to consider writing your resume in HTML and CSS. Stay tuned for more ruminations on CSS, including some links to some sites that show the amazing potential of CSS.

Password Management Software

2006-01-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

I simply must make mention of this little software gem called Roboform.

If you've become inundated with passwords over the past few years like I have, you're likely to appreciate the power of this piece of software.

I found it because I imagined writing some software that could manage my passwords in a secure form, especially in a portable manner using a pen-drive, and then selling that software to make millions.

Turns out someone already did exactly what I had imagined and more, and although not perfect, it meets all expectations and then some. I highly recommend you look at it too. It's free for the first 30 days, after that it will continue to manage 10 passwords -- not nearly enough for me so I actually kicked in the $40 to buy it outright.

Just a quick break down of some of it's main features:

Manage all of your passwords securely

Site login is only one click away

Keep passwords on your computer

Keep passwords on a removable drive - use securely at any computer

Unobtrusive and easy to use UI

Easily generate cryptographically secure passwords

Master key unlocks all passwords

Fill any kind of form prevalent on the web with your personal info including name, address, phone, email, credit card (including security panel code!) and more

2004-07-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

A quick post of me at my wedding in Venezuela.