96% of Homeowners are Morons

OK, so I admit that moron is too strong of a word. But they're certainly missing the boat. I hope you're not one of them. But if you are, there's hope for you yet, keep reading.

These recent survey results surprised me.

"According to the just-released 2004 Ownership and Trend Report from The Home Technology Monitor(TM):

-- 4% of TV homes report owning a DVR (such as TiVO(TM)) -- a figure that
has doubled in the past 6 months;
-- 6% have an HDTV set, up 50% versus six months ago;
-- 18% a VCR/DVD dual deck; and
-- 5% a PC with a TV tuner."

Seriously? Why would so many people want a VCR/DVD combo deck? I knew there wasn't much market penetration of PVRs yet, but I was surprised it was only 4%. I guess we're just a loud 4%! A good PVR (like TiVo) is a life-changing device. I know that sounds like high praise, but it's true. Imagine life without a refrigerator or a car. It's that big of a change.

Get a TiVo. And if you've already got DirecTV, then you can get an integrated DirecTV/TiVo unit for $49! It's a no-brainer. Visit www.tivo.com. Join the revolution. Posted by Chris on 6/30/2004 04:15:00 PM :: Permalink   

Chuck E. Cheese, Pay Attention Please!

It's hard to spend much time in a Chuck E. Cheese "restaurant" even if your child is having a great time. I cannot even imagine having to work there. I'm certain I could find some other way to make money.

Here's what happened this weekend:

From WRAL.com - Angry Mom Flings Pizza At Chuck E. Cheese Character

A teenager dressed as Chuck E. Cheese was pelted with pizza and threatened with a beating Sunday by an angry parent who said the restaurant mascot wasn't paying enough attention to her child.

Macon police reported that a 17-year-old girl was in costume as the pizzeria chain character -- a gray cartoonlike rodent with large front teeth. That's when the 31-year-old Macon woman threw a piece of pizza at her, the report stated.

The woman then allegedly threatened to "whip" the girl when she changed out of the costume.

Posted by Chris on 6/30/2004 12:06:00 PM :: Permalink   

Photo of the Day

Can you love a watermelon too much?

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/29/2004 01:47:00 PM :: Permalink   

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Abandon Internet Explorer!

IE flaw may boost rival browsers | CNET News.com

"A major security hole discovered in Microsoft's Internet Explorer last week has become a golden marketing opportunity for alternative browsers such as Mozilla and Opera that are unaffected by the flaw. "

To be honest, I held on to Netscape for a long time years ago, but finally had to abandon it when it fell behind in compatibility. I've toyed with other browsers lately, but stuck with IE partly because it was less effort than to change and partly because some of my company sites require it. Perhaps now's the time for me to make the switch as well.

Of course, I could just start using Linux exclusively (at least a home). Posted by Chris on 6/29/2004 01:43:00 PM :: Permalink   

Love Actually

Sunday night, Melissa and I actually got to watch a movie at home. This is a rare occasion since the two girls generally keep us busy from morning to night (and even during the night - imagine that). We've got probably almost a dozen DVDs that we haven't even watched yet and I have no idea how many movies we've saved on our TiVo's for later viewing.

We chose to watch last year's Love Actually. It has an ensemble cast including Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant (I'll never understand a man who would cheat on Elizabeth Hurley), and about 500 others. It tells the stories of several different couples love for each other and then they're all loosely tied together. Each story is quite different from the others, but they all seem to show genuine love. It was a good date movie.

I'd probably give it 7 or 8 out of 10, which is right in line with
IMDB's rating. Certainly worth a rental.

But you may end up with this strange song stuck in your head..."I feel it in my fingers...I feel it in my toes....The love that's all around me...And so the feeling grows..." (It's "Love Is All Around")

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/29/2004 10:24:00 AM :: Permalink   

Xbox 2 Specs Leaked

The specs on Xbox 2 have been leaked. Microsoft's next generation console is currently slated for release in late 2005.

CoolTechZone-The Ultimate Source of Tech News::Xbox 2 Hardware specifications revealed::

Of course, I just got my Xbox a month ago and since I've modded it and now have many more games than time to play them, I certainly won't be one of the first in line to buy it. It is still uncertain whether or not the Xbox2 will be backwards compatible with Xbox games.

It's also a bit curious to me that while Microsoft has made no effort to prosecute or even slow down hackers of Xbox1, they seem to have taken several steps to make it more difficult to hack Xbox2 (no hard drive, security built-in to processors). Xbox is so far behind PS2, that I would think they would continue to welcome the sales generated by those who buy it for purposes other than gaming.

Though, I realize Microsoft is losing their shirt on the hardware prices alone. Hey, that's another reason to buy one! Posted by Chris on 6/28/2004 10:43:00 AM :: Permalink   

Schlotzsky's Deli

So, here we are at Schlotzsky's. The girls really love the cheese pizza on sourdough here (and mom and dad love the 2.50 kid's meal that they split!).
We checked out their free internet access and then decided to blog from right here. Delaney is ready to go swimming though and some of the keys keep sticking. I really like these Macs (don't tell Chris I said that).

Try the asian chicken wrap - it's delicious!

Labels: family

Posted by Melissa on 6/27/2004 05:29:00 PM :: Permalink   

My 15 Minutes

I haven't had the time to put up much PEZ-related content here yet. I do still collect. I do still display them on the walls of my office. But I'm not following the mailing list or PEZHead community any longer due to lack of time.

Last night, I stumbled across this wonderful page about PEZheads History. Read about how PEZHeads came together nine years ago when the World Wide Web was still in its infancy and it was difficult to find anything PEZ-related on the web except for a scan of the instructions on how to load a dispenser.

Special thanks to Louis Apoldo for putting pen to paper (so to speak) and capturing my 15 minutes of fame!

Another special thanks to Amy Forsyth and later Todd & Misty McAllister for taking on the noble task of updating the PEZ FAQ I started back in August of 1995!

Perhaps in the next couple of weeks I'll find time to put up some PEZ content here. I know you're all on the edge of your seats!

Labels: family, pez

Posted by Chris on 6/25/2004 03:35:00 PM :: Permalink   

Long Live Sesame Street

I snapped this picture after breakfast this morning. Delaney, Victoria, Elmo, and Grover. I recall watching Sesame Street when I was a kid. Big Bird must be getting old by now.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/25/2004 02:31:00 PM :: Permalink   

Ketchup at the Drive-Thru

I think everyone knows what happens at the drive-thru and you don't need me or Joe Pesci to explain it to you. Well, today I visited the drive-thru at the local Hardee's. Lo and behold my food was actually correct and not half-bad, either.

"So what's this about, Chris? You're not going to start blogging what you eat at every meal are you?"

I asked for ketchup at the window. You know, for my fries. When I got back to the office I found **ketchup**! I was given - free of charge - eighteen packets of ketchup. Mind you, it was just me, not the cast of Eight Is Enough. That's a lot of ketchup for one small order of fries.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. At other times I've been to drive-thrus and asked for extra ketchup only to discover that translated into two packets of ketchup.

This whole ketchup post reminds me of a joke I often tell about a family of tomatoes, but I'll save that for another time.

[If you don't get the Joe Pesci reference, Google "joe pesci drive-thru lethal weapon" without the quotes to find an audio clip, but be warned there's ample profanity.]
Posted by Chris on 6/25/2004 02:28:00 PM :: Permalink   

Dell Inspiron 8000 Laptop FOR SALE

I'll soon be putting my Dell Inspiron 8000 Laptop up for sale on eBay. If anyone's interested, speak up and make an offer now. Otherwise, I'll let you know when you can bid on it. I just need to find time to a take a picture of it (the one at left is not actually my laptop, but is the same model) for the eBay description.

Here's the deal - One of the mouse buttons is broken. The mechanism under the button still works, but the plastic button is gone. This doesn't really matter (other than cosmetically) since there's another set of mouse buttons for the touch pad that are not broken. So, the smaller left mouse button intended for use with the touchstick is broken. The larger mouse buttons intended for use with the touchpad are fine.

The other thing is that this hard drive is dying. Death by "stiction". So if you leave it running all the time, the drive keeps spinning and you're fine. But when you turn it on, sometimes the hard drive won't spin up. Real annoying. Of course, this can be replaced.

If you're still reading, then here are the other specs:

• 800 MHz Pentium III
  
• 128 MB RAM
  
• 2 Lithium Ion batteries (modular)
  
• 15" LCD screen
  
• Interchangable colored palmrests (woo-hoo!)
  
• 30 GB hard drive
  
• Floppy drive (modular)
  
• CD-RW (modular)
  
• DVD-ROM
  
• Network, Modem, USB, FireWire, Serial, PS/2
  

Come on, make an offer! Posted by Chris on 6/24/2004 03:31:00 PM :: Permalink   

1-800-IMA-SUKR

Theater of the Absurd unearthed a spray that increases your wireless internet speeds.

That's right, this simple spray can change the air around you in a way that only people without common sense can imagine, let alone understand. And if you see any difference after using this, then you probably inhaled too much.

Yeah, but can it cut through a tin can and still slice and dice tomatoes??? If not, Ginsu's still got the upper hand. Posted by Chris on 6/24/2004 10:15:00 AM :: Permalink   

If You're Happy And You Know It

Delaney sings. Victoria claps. You listen.
And even sing along if you wish.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/23/2004 07:32:00 PM :: Permalink   

We are the Church

Delaney sings. You Listen.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/23/2004 07:27:00 PM :: Permalink   

Sharpe Images

Do a Google Image Search for "sharpesrus".

Pretty cool, eh?

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/22/2004 03:47:00 PM :: Permalink   

To WiFi or Not To WiFi?

Well, of course you want WiFi, but here I'm talking about WiFi for your PDA. Well, of course you want that, too, right? But, alas, as the Rolling Stones once belted forth "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Of course, that song goes on to say "sometimes you get what you need". You might not think that applies here. For once you've tasted of wireless Internet access, it's hard to let go.

But on to our story. As Brighthand's Editor-in-Chief Ed Hardy writes:

"When I found out SanDisk was close to releasing a Wi-Fi SD card for a Palm OS model, I called up my local weatherman to find out if Hell had frozen over."

So, yes, it's finally here. But wait. There are caveats. As Brighthand's review of the SanDisk Wi-Fi SD Card for the Zire 71 explains.

This card will only work with the now obsolete Palm Zire 71 (which I have). There will not be a previously promised memory/WiFi combo card. So if I were to purchase this card, I'd have to swap it in and out with my 256MB SD card. Of course, the form factor of the WiFi card wouldn't allow it to stay inserted anyway as it protrudes too much.

What's worse is the description of the non-cooperation (to put it mildly) of PalmOne with SanDisk. PalmOne won't help SanDisk or anyone else with WiFi solutions by fixing a bug since they can fix the bug and sell their own WiFi card. So, except for the Zire 71, you're basically locked into buying PalmOne's WiFi solutions. That stinks of something Sony would do.

So to get WiFi, I could either stick with the Zire 71 and swap cards back and forth and then get a different WiFi solution when changing PDAs. Or I could upgrade to the Zire 72 (better camera, Bluetooth, slightly better processor and OS, more memory, voice recording, but bright blue color and would require a new case) and then be forced to go with PalmOne's WiFi solution - when available. And there's no word on whether they'd have a WiFi/memory combo card either.

Why can't someone just make the ultimate PDA? Is it really that hard to get everything right?

I suppose I'll reference the Rolling Stones once again and sum it up with "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". Posted by Chris on 6/22/2004 11:10:00 AM :: Permalink   

Moblogging

I thought I'd try out this cool mobloging tool called AudioBlogger where I can blog from any phone.



Unfortunately, I can't play it right now to complete the test since my employer's web filtering software deems it unworthy. More testing later... Posted by Chris on 6/21/2004 04:36:00 PM :: Permalink   

I Crown Thee Supercomputer Champion!

The fastest supercomputers battle it out.

Does a supercomputer with the name of "Earth Simulator" remind anyone else of a Douglas Adams book series? Posted by Chris on 6/21/2004 12:00:00 PM :: Permalink   

Who'll Stop The Rain?

Apparently Sir Paul McCartney will.

He told the rain to go away and come again another day.

And it did.

Wonder what this will lead to... "Today's weather at the US Open is brought to you by insert sponsor here. And doesn't it look grand!" Posted by Chris on 6/21/2004 11:54:00 AM :: Permalink   

Be Our Guest! Be Our Guest! Be Our Guest!

We've been back from Disney World for a week now and have finally carved out time to post some pictures. There were 13 of us on the trip (though you won't tell that from these photos) and we all had a great time.

Yeah, Victoria had a fever of 103 for the last two days of the trip, but even so, Delaney and Victoria had loads of fun.

Enjoy the 80+ pictures.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/18/2004 11:19:00 PM :: Permalink   

Why Are Repairmen Always Late?

This morning a repairman for the builder was supposed to show up between 9 and 11am. Well, surprise! It's after 11 and no sign of them yet. Late! Melissa had to change her plans and stay home with the girls this morning but planned to go out this afternoon. Now even that is in question.

Surely everyone has experienced this more times than they care to remember. So, I asked Google, "Why are repairmen always late?" and Google returned the Top Secret Code of the Fraternal Order of Independent Contractors.

Now I understand. It's in the training. It's an oath. It's a way of life.

Still doesn't make me happy (to put it mildly). Posted by Chris on 6/18/2004 11:43:00 AM :: Permalink   

Rock a bye...

I suppose all parents have had those moments where you just wish that you were a superhero (for varying reasons of course).

Well, this time my reason was this:

If I were Superman (the superhero of choice for this task), then I could fly really fast around the Earth making it spin in the opposite direction. As we all know, this would cause time to go back.

Then I could look down and notice Delaney's teeny tiny ankle under the rocker and not sit down in it and hurt her precious little foot.

Thank God it's not broken. There is a fairly swollen area with skin torn over it and there is sure to be some nasty bruising in the morning. Ack, my mommy guilt is really working overtime on this one.

Just thought I'd share. (Hey! Chris stepped on her glasses last night, so there, it's not just me!)

Labels: family

Posted by Melissa on 6/17/2004 09:05:00 PM :: Permalink   

Baseball at the DBAP

I took in a Durham Bulls game at the DBAP today. It was fun; I hadn't been to a game there in over a year. There were two short rain delays and the humidity was horrible but we had great seats and there were some exciting plays. The Bulls won 7-4.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/16/2004 09:12:00 PM :: Permalink   

Creater of the World Wide Web Gets Paid - At Last

Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, finally got paid. He received the first Millennium Technology Prize worth $1.2million.

Can anyone imagine a world without the WWW? It is so much a part of my daily life at work and at home. In most eyes, the WWW and email define the Internet. This guy not only invisioned the whole thing, but defined the HTTP protocol, the HTML language, and wrote the first browser.

Hats off to Tim Berners-Lee. He's perhaps the littlest known person who made the biggest change to our life today. Posted by Chris on 6/16/2004 11:20:00 AM :: Permalink   

Another Family Business Comes to an End

Jones Hardware in Wake Forest announced they are closing at the end of this month.

"OK, Chris, but why is that blog-worthy? There are stores closing frequently, especially given the economy of recent years."

Well, Jones Hardware is a family business. Through 4 generations. For ninety-eight years. Yes, they opened in Wake Forest in 1906. But that's not what makes the sad event blog-worthy.

You see, Jones Hardware treated people right. You always got first-class service. Sure, maybe you paid a little more, but until recently you had to drive 20 minutes or more into Raleigh to visit one of the big home improvement stores. You didn't save much money and certainly took more time.

On one occassion, I needed a cotter pin for a tiller I was using. Of course, it had broke during the day and I was already wasting time out of the day to go get a new one. Jones Hardware didn't have the right size in their nuts and bolts collection. But the salesperson went into the back room and removed one from one of the tillers they kept on hand to rent out.

On another day, Melissa was looking for some oasis (this is the green stuff that soaks up water and goes in the bottom of a vase to hold a flower arrangement in place - I didn't have a clue what it was at the time). We were at Jones Hardware for some other reason (buying plants, I think) and since the flower shops were closed, we asked about oasis. They didn't have it on hand, but later that day the salesperson called us on the phone to tell us he had talked to his wife and she had some at home. If we needed it before the flower shop opened on Monday we could have that.

You just don't get that kind of service at Home Depot or Lowes.

Wake Forest now has both a Home Depot and a Lowe's and there's still another small hardware store downtown, but Jones Hardware will certainly be missed.

The site will soon be a Walgreens. Do you think they'll run home to get some more if they run out of candy bars? Posted by Chris on 6/16/2004 10:39:00 AM :: Permalink   

Mystery Walker - Solved!

The mystery walker we found in our garage has been solved.

As expected, it was Travis's - sort of.

He was feeding Sierra while we were away so he should have been the only one in the garage. He confessed it was his, but we're still not sure why. Apparently someone was throwing it out and he thought he could give it a nice new home.

Perhaps he will provide pictures of him trying it out?

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/15/2004 09:23:00 PM :: Permalink   

Gmail Account

Anyone interested in a Gmail account? I've got a couple of invites left.

I've been using Gmail for a month or so and it's the best online interface I've used. Of course you also get the much touted 1GB of email space.

I'll be giving these away for free (Gmail is in limited beta so you must be invited to sign-up for an account) instead of auctioning them off as I previously reported. Posted by Chris on 6/14/2004 04:41:00 PM :: Permalink   

We're Back!

Yes, we're back from vacation and currently digging ourselves out from under dirty laundry and almost 2000 emails. Hopefully I'll have some real content (including a trip report and pictures) sometime tomorrow. Hopefully.

Hey, I don't get paid to do this, you know. Posted by Chris on 6/14/2004 04:27:00 PM :: Permalink   

The Mystery Walker

Upon returning from our Disney World vacation, we were surprised to find a walker in our garage. We have no idea why this is in our garage or whose it is. We do have an idea who to ask, though, so more on this mystery at a later date.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/12/2004 09:08:00 PM :: Permalink   

On Hiatus

I'll be away for the next week with limited or no Internet access, so don't expect any updates. I'm headed South.

Use this time to catch up on your TiVo recordings, mod your Xbox, or surf other blogs.

Or go outside and get some exercise for goodness sake. ;-)
Posted by Chris on 6/04/2004 04:44:00 PM :: Permalink   

DirecTV Exec Quits TiVo Board

DirecTV exec quits TiVo board - News - ZDNet:

"Since News Corp.'s acquisition of DirecTV, there has been speculation surrounding the solidity of the relationship between TiVo and DirecTV. TiVo executives have acknowledged in the past that DirecTV hasn't endorsed its latest features as quickly as the DVR maker would have liked. "

Yeah, I want my HMO in 4.0 software. Hey, wait a minute. Actually, I don't care so much about HMO now that I'm using XBMC (Xbox Media Center).

But I can't really believe this is good for TiVo, the DirecTV relationship was the best channel they had. As much as I dislike cable companies, TiVo needs to partner with one or all the satellite and cable companies will end up with their own DVRs and where will that leave TiVo?

Labels: tivo

Posted by Chris on 6/04/2004 04:40:00 PM :: Permalink   

"Look Daddy, I Built A Ball Holder!"

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/04/2004 11:07:00 AM :: Permalink   

Up, Up, Up, and Away! go gas prices

Apparently gasoline is lighter than air since gas prices keep going up, up, up, and away. They say that "what goes up must come down", but this trend may break that law.

Prices in Raleigh are hovering right around $2 a gallon. Of course, that's not as bad as it is in Britain where prices hit $5.79 a gallon! But there's help. GasBuddy is a non-profit organization where people around the country (and Canada, as well) report local gas prices. There's a lot of info here.

Would you pay $2.09 when you could go a few miles and pay $1.82? You could save $3-4 or more on a tank of gas. GasBuddy links to sites for several different locations where you can view and report the gas prices at different stations throughout the city. Here's the direct link for Raleigh.

Just make sure you don't use 2 gallons of gas driving around looking for the cheapest place to buy gas. Those 2 gallons just cost you more than you "saved" by shopping around! Posted by Chris on 6/04/2004 10:23:00 AM :: Permalink   

Summer Fun

"What's this in here? It sure feels wet."

"Come on Victoria, I'll hold your hand and we'll get wet together."

"See, Victoria, I told you it would be fun!
Wait! Why are you walking away?"

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 6/03/2004 10:48:00 AM :: Permalink   

Sony Exits U.S. Handheld Market

From Brighthand: Sony Exits U.S. Handheld Market

"Today Sony announced that it will no longer develop and sell Clie handheld models to the United States market, at least for the foreseeable future."

Dave, looks like you won't be getting that Palm Desktop upgrade for Clie models you've been waiting for. Wanna buy my Zire 71? Posted by Chris on 6/02/2004 11:40:00 AM :: Permalink   

Report Littering

Last week, I was sitting at a stoplight in traffic (something I do often out of necessity) and the SUV in front of me tossed a cigarette butt out the window. Now I'm not a smoker, but if you want to smoke in your car on your time, that's fine with me. But don't throw your trash out the window!

Since I was at a standstill right behind him, I took out my Palm and jotted down the license plate. Then I went to the NCDOT's Swat-A-Litterbug page and reported the incident. I've also added a link in the sidebar for future convenience.

You, too, can report littering on our roads and the vehicle registrant will receive a letter in the mail informing them of NC littering laws and fines. Do your part to help keep NC clean!

But don't get out of your car and confront the person mano-a-mano, or you may get more than you bargained for.

<-- This has been a Public Service Announcement. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging. --> Posted by Chris on 6/02/2004 11:13:00 AM :: Permalink   

More Copy Protection in the Works

CNET reports on more copy protection in the pipeline from the recording industry (full article)

"The recording industry is testing technology that would prevent consumers from making copies of CD 'burns,' a piracy defense that could put some significant new restrictions on legally purchased music."

Now how long after the release will a crack be ready? A week? Two weeks? A month? For every encryption technology there is a decryption technology - it just takes someone with the motivation, skill, time, and equipment to find it. Then they spread it to everyone for free.

The restrictions on iTunes are easily worked around by burning a copy of the songs to CD in audio format, then ripping them again with your favorite encoder (LAME). Now you've got an MP3 or OGG or whatever you like with no restrictions on it.

When will they learn? Posted by Chris on 6/02/2004 10:57:00 AM :: Permalink   

Simple Chronicle

A friend and co-worker, Sri, recently setup his own blog. Give him a look at Simple Chronicle. And be sure to visit his blog in a couple of weeks for updates from his trip to India. Posted by Chris on 6/02/2004 10:48:00 AM :: Permalink   

Start Your Own ISP

In Leo's news today, he points us to a great article (see item #5) about turning your Linksys 802.11g wireless router into a full-service broadband ISP.

So, perhaps this is my next modification project? These things are even cheaper than the $150 Xbox which can also run Linux. Computers just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. Except the ones I want to buy - which still run $1500-$3000 for some reason.

Hmmmm, I wonder how many people in my neighborhood would be interested in dropping Time Warner? Maybe.....everyone! Posted by Chris on 6/01/2004 12:13:00 PM :: Permalink   

Xbox Online

This past weekend, I also completed the wiring to get my Xbox hooked to my LAN. Now it's much easier to transfer files back and forth and we already viewed a whole slideshow of Disney pictures from our last visit on the big TV screen. I've still got some more work to do with streaming music and then playing with free Xbox Live alternatives (like XBConnect and Xlink Kai).

This time things went much smoother than with my previous attempt. Even the work in the attic wasn't too bad and I did it early enough in the day that it wasn't stifling hot.

Now, who wants to bring their Xbox over and system-link on my network? Posted by Chris on 6/01/2004 10:55:00 AM :: Permalink   
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