Five Rings To Bind Them All

In The Lord of the Rings, it only took "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them." For the Olympics, it takes five rings.

But hey, there were far fewer countries in Middle Earth than there are now.

Here's some interesting background on the Olympic rings. I knew some, but not all of this, but my Olympic knowledge probably isn't up to par with the rest of you.

The Olympic Games begin in Athens in 14 days. NBC broadcast schedule. Clear out some space on your TiVos.
Posted by Chris on 7/30/2004 11:04:00 AM :: Permalink   

Dinner with Bill(ionaire) Gates

Jeff Maurone, an intern at Microsoft has an interesting post about his dinner with Bill Gates. He includes an excellent description of this house and some interesting points about Gates. And here's Jeff's brief original account of the dinner which includes a quote from Bill Gates.

Unfortunately, there are no pics there, but I found another site which has some more details a few pictures of his estate.
Posted by Chris on 7/28/2004 10:56:00 AM :: Permalink   

Google Replies!

When Google went down yesterday, I sent them an email. I imagine they must have received thousands of emails, but true to their word, they replied. Now, I realize this is not a personal reply, but I applaud them for tracking my email and replying at all. Especially when the story is now or was on the front page of most news sites.

Here's the email:

Hi Chris,

Thank you for writing to us about your difficulty accessing Google. Recently, many parts of the internet were slowed by the MyDoom virus, which flooded major search engines with automated searches. Fortunately, we were able to quickly identify those queries and block them, so that at no point was Google significantly impaired. A small number of users and networks that were infected with MyDoom may have been blocked temporarily, but service for all of our users has been completely restored.

If you suspect your computer may have been infected with MyDoom, we recommend you do a Google search for 'MyDoom' to find out how you can remove it, and perhaps search for 'antivirus software' to learn how you can protect yourself from such viruses in the future. For a more technical explanation of the virus and how it works, please visit http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2004-07-26

Thanks for using Google and for alerting us to this problem.

Regards,
The Google Team

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
From: Chris Sharpe
Subject: Google down! The sky is next!
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 13:39:35 -0400

Help! Google is down. Here's what I see:

http://www.sharpesrus.com/2004/07/google-fails-me.html

The sky will be falling soon.

--Chris
--
http://www.SharpesRUs.com

Posted by Chris on 7/27/2004 04:34:00 PM :: Permalink   

Rupert Update

If you've even heard of CBS's Survivor, then surely you know who Rupert is. Well, here's an update on what he's up to now. The most striking thing in the article was the fact that he received 87 percent of the voting for the million dollar prize given away at the end of Survivor All-Stars. 87 percent! Talk about a runaway winner.
Posted by Chris on 7/27/2004 09:56:00 AM :: Permalink   

Amish in the City

Take several Amish kids and bring them out to live in a nice house and experience the city. Throw in several other kids that think they're on the next "The Real World" and see what happens. That's the basic premise on UPN's "Amish in the City" which premieres on Wednesday. It's received good reviews (TVBarn) so far. But will the Amish kids change the non-Amish kids or vice-versa? More likely, some of both, I'd guess. Could be interesting... Posted by Chris on 7/27/2004 09:48:00 AM :: Permalink   

Vacation Bible School, Day One

Delaney's account of VBS, day one:

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/26/2004 06:45:00 PM :: Permalink   

Google Fails Me!

"Houston, we have a problem."

It's certainly a red-letter day in the annals of internet history. Today, for the first time in my long, storied use of the service, Google failed me. It's down. Google is down.

How can this be? It's been probably 15 minutes now. 15 minutes without a Google search result. I tried the Firefox Google extension, I tried the Googlebar in IE, I tried the Google web site, but they all fail me.

What will I do now? Dare I use another inferior search engine?

I need to see matches on 'cvs "user variable" optional expand_path' and I need to see them now!

Stay tuned... Posted by Chris on 7/26/2004 11:59:00 AM :: Permalink   

An amusing email story for you (if you haven't seen it already) -

CURTAIN RODS

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of
Chardonnay.

When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells, dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning and mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, and carpets were steam cleaned. Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.

Nothing worked. People stopped coming over to visit...

Repairmen refused to work in the house...The maid quit...

Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out, and eventually, even the local realtors refused to return their calls.

Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.

The ex-wife called the man, and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house.

She listened politely, and said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back...

Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth...But only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed, and within the hour, his lawyers delivered the paperwork.

A week later, the man and his new girlfriend stood smirking as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home...

.....including the curtain rods.

I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU???? Posted by Melissa on 7/24/2004 09:47:00 PM :: Permalink   

Holy Drinkin' Doughnuts, Batman!

Yes, that's right. Drinkable doughnuts (sorta) and of the Kripsy Kreme variety, no less. Krispy Kreme frozen beverages debuted on Wednesday in four flavors.

Double the calories and triple the carbs!

Dr. Atkins just rolled over in his grave. Posted by Chris on 7/23/2004 12:15:00 PM :: Permalink   

True 3D Sound for Everyone

The creator of MP3 technology is now demonstrating new 3D audio technology that may drastically change the way you hear movies.

"The product, which is being touted as true 'three dimensional' audio, marks a substantial break from the way recorded sound has been replicated since Edison first began experimenting with recorded audio."

In today's theaters surround sound can allow you to hear a horse gallop from front to rear or hear gunshots whiz past your head, but the effects are only precise for a fairly small "sweet spot". You have to be sitting in the right place amongst the speakers to gain the maximum effect. This new technology is more precise and can have the same effect for everyone in the audience.

Of course, in order to achieve this you still need large amounts of computing power and "300-400 small speakers". Great, now I only need to buy 294 more speakers and my home theater system will be complete! Posted by Chris on 7/23/2004 11:37:00 AM :: Permalink   

Going To Bat for "TiVo To Go"

TiVo is standing up for your rights. Their upcoming "TiVo To Go" service (which will allow you to transfer programs you've recorded on TiVo to your PC and view or burn them to DVD) is being challenged by the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Football League. They've petitioned the FCC to stop this. But TiVo is fighting back. At least the RIAA isn't involved, yet.

TiVo To Go was scheduled to be available this fall on standalone TiVos. It's likely that the service would lag considerably on DirecTiVo units and this battle may delay things even further.

Labels: tivo

Posted by Chris on 7/22/2004 12:07:00 PM :: Permalink   

Going Once, Going Twice, Gone!

I finally got a couple of items up on eBay. I'm selling my laptop and WiFi card. The printer I got "for free" from Dell really wasn't worth much so I decided to give that away instead of auctioning it.

• Dell Inspiron 8000 Laptop


• Cisco Aironet 350 Wireless Card

Go ahead and bid - you just might get a deal! Posted by Chris on 7/21/2004 10:19:00 PM :: Permalink   

Burn, Baby Burn!

Tuesday was Travis' Birthday, so we gave him a little party earlier this week. Happy Birthday Travis! How old is he? Well, just count the candles.

And here's a tip on birthday candles:

If you're going to put a lot of candles on a cake and basically create a small bonfire, at least make sure all the candles are the same size. We weren't really planning to do this, but found we had enough candles if we used both the tall, thin candles and the shorter, thicker ones together.

So we did.

But once they were all lit (and that required three people), the heat from the shorter ones quickly caused the taller thinner ones to bend in the middle, bringing their flame down to meet the other candles and cake and basically creating a fire hazard. If this weren't funny enough, at just the right moment, "Disco Inferno" began playing over the speakers. "Burn, Baby Burn! Burn, Baby Burn! Disco Inferno!..."

Luckily the fire department was not involved and once Melissa scraped all the candle wax off the cake, the party continued.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/21/2004 12:51:00 PM :: Permalink   

Not the Best Use for WiFi

This is scary. Hospitals are using WiFi for IV drips to cut costs. I'm all for technology, but WiFi is not the best solution for this. It's not even a good solution or a bad solution. It's not even a solution at all. I hope they've got their malpractive insurance paid up.

I love WiFi and use it daily. It works well. It is not secure. It is not always reliable. It's great for surfing the Web and reading email from a laptop free from all cords. But I'd sure hate for my medication and my life to depend on it. Posted by Chris on 7/20/2004 12:10:00 PM :: Permalink   

Welcome Dookies! Here's Your iPod!

Wow.

Incoming freshmen at Duke University will receive a free iPod. Sure, it will initially be loaded with all kinds of Duke orientation stuff, but really, how long will that last? Well, okay, I guess free is relatively meaningless when you're paying $40,000 a year for an education, right?

I do think it's pretty cool though. They'll be able to download lectures and foreign language lessons and such to their 20GB iPods. But it's going to cost them half a million dollars! I don't see their tuition going down in price anytime soon.

In related news, George Washington University decided to license Napster for the entire student body. So now all their MP3 downloads are legal. Perhaps this was cheaper than the potential RIAA litigation? I'm sure it won them a few fans. Posted by Chris on 7/20/2004 11:47:00 AM :: Permalink   

Meet Triceratops

This past Friday Melissa took Delaney and Victoria to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences with some friends. They had a great time meeting all kinds of creatures, especially this triceratops who didn't have much to say and was cordial enough to pose for several pictures.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/18/2004 09:33:00 PM :: Permalink   

Scrunchy Face

My Uncle Travis taught me this face.

Whenever someone says "Smile for the picture", this is the face I make.

Lovely, huh?

Thanks Uncle Travis.

My scrunchy face.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/17/2004 10:44:00 PM :: Permalink   

Apollo 11 History

Today is the anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 Space Flight.

Human Space Flight (HSF) - Apollo History

I came across an interesting story about this mission and the Fisher space pen. Read about how Aldrin used the pen to get the Lunar Module going so that he and Armstrong could return to earth.

Fisher Space Pen


 
(I thought this was a nice picture to include with this post until I noticed that it said 1999 instead of 2004 - so I suppose it is actually the 35th anniversary and not the 30th as it says in the picture.)

Posted by Melissa on 7/16/2004 09:18:00 PM :: Permalink   

I'm an author!

Apparently, I've been writing books on the sly and haven't even been telling myself. 
 
Amazon.com: Books: Oceanside, Harborside
 
Ok, Ok, the more likely explanation is that it's another Melissa Sharpe.  I think my explanation is better, even though I did notice this in the product details:
 
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 2,470,868
 
Gee that's just embarrassing.

Labels: family

Posted by Melissa on 7/15/2004 10:20:00 PM :: Permalink   

Not For Cat Lovers

OK, this video is only 12 seconds long but it's the funniest 12 seconds I've seen in a long time. Keep in mind that I really have no affection for cats.


Posted by Chris on 7/15/2004 10:38:00 AM :: Permalink   

Kevin & Drew Unleashed

If you watched the first season of CBS' The Amazing Race a few years ago, you'll certainly remember Kevin & Drew. They were the frat brothers that made you laugh in every segment. They didn't win, but they were the stars of the show. Now they have their own show on Discovery called "Kevin and Drew Unleashed". I missed the first episode but the second one comes on tonight at 10pm on Discovery Channel. Check it out!
Posted by Chris on 7/15/2004 10:28:00 AM :: Permalink   

Stop Thief! Or I'll Reboot Your Car!

OK, this story really isn't about rebooting your car. Though I imagine if the computers in cars were Microsoft-based they would stop often enough on their own.

Police will soon have a new weapon to stop speeding cars - a gun that uses radio waves to disrupt a car's computer (virtually everything in recent cars is computer-controlled) to the point of turning off the engine. Sounds cool and safer than using bullets or high-speed chases or spike strips and other measures. But imagine if the neighborhood teenage miscreant gets their hands on one of them!

Can EMP weapons at your local Wal-Mart be far behind? The technology is here and some can be built for as little as $400! With more and more reliance on electronics perhaps I should buy stock in Faraday cages.

"Hey, don't point that thing at my TiVo!"
Posted by Chris on 7/14/2004 01:28:00 PM :: Permalink   

One Tough Interview

I recall reading somewhere that Google has a higher concentration of PhD's than any other company. They're certainly innovative and while the concept of the work they do is simple, the implementation is not. So it shouldn't really be surprising that their current recruiting process begins with this.

I guess I'm one of the described "engineers who are geeky enough to be annoyed at the very existence of a math problem they haven't solved" and if only I had some free time I'd try to prove the latter half of that quote - "and smart enough to rectify the situation" - as well. Posted by Chris on 7/13/2004 02:53:00 PM :: Permalink   

Beware of Dog!

This morning Melissa looked out the window and saw our neighbor's boxer, Lola, running down the street. Now we don't really know these neighbors and we don't really know the dog either. Typically, she's hooked to a tie-out in their backyard (no fence yet). Before I know it, Melissa's dashed outside and gathered the dog. Did I mention it's a boxer, an excellent guard dog, that we don't really know.

Melissa's cool like that. She cares. She didn't want the dog to get hit by a car or lost. Her clothes got dirty but she put Lola in our backyard. Sierra, our chocolate lab, wasn't too happy about that. Sierra was in her kennel and the barking began.

The neighbors weren't home and Lola had broken their tie-out by pulling the clasp right off the end of the steel cable, so we used our old tie-out to put her back and left them a note.

Anyway, Melissa's cool. I wouldn't have done that -- especially after she snapped at me a few times while trying to hook her up to our tie-out. And Lola's safe. Now when will the neighbor's get a fence?

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/13/2004 10:59:00 AM :: Permalink   

Photo of the Day

Melissa and Delaney planted several sunflower seeds in one of the raised plant beds. Here's one of them. Enjoy!

This small photo really doesn't do it justice. You should see it full-screen in full-resolution.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/13/2004 10:45:00 AM :: Permalink   

Duck, Duck, Goose

Delaney has recently started playing "Duck, Duck, Goose!" And whatever Delaney does, Victoria tries her best to do. The only problem is that Victoria can't say "goose" yet. So when it's her turn to be it, the game goes something like this:

Victoria walks around the circle tapping each person on the head saying "Duck". Eventually, she'll just start running away. When that happens, if you were the last person she called "duck", you're really a "goose" and she's already got a head start on you!

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/12/2004 03:22:00 PM :: Permalink   

Gold Miner

Are you cut out for the hard miner's life? Try your hand (or just your index finger) at being a miner. What level can you reach?

GameRival - Free Online Games! Posted by Melissa on 7/11/2004 10:40:00 PM :: Permalink   

Madison's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Madison!

Delaney and Madison had never actually met, but they had, well, an internet relationship of sorts. They had sent pictures and drawings to each other and even traded some audio recordings via the Net, so when Madison's Birthday Party invitation came Delaney was sooooo excited!

On Saturday we drove over to Burlington and met them for the first time. They were wonderful and Laney and Tori had a great time. Madison was going to sing the National Anthem before the Rookie League Burlington Indians game, but the game got rained out.

But even though the rain dampened the field, it didn't dampen the party at all. The kids had fun in the playground, coloring, eating, opening presents, playing "Duck, Duck, Goose", and hearing Madison sing the National Anthem to us. Delaney can't wait to play with Madison again.

View the Party Pictures

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/11/2004 10:53:00 AM :: Permalink   

Bad Boys, Bad Boys! Whatcha Gonna Do?

Whatcha gonna do when the cops find you? Bad boys, bad boys.

Cops are using some technology to catch car thieves by leaving "bait cars" that have hidden cameras and GPS trackers. I'm not surprised at all and it seems like they could have been doing this a long time ago - it's not cutting edge technology by any means.

Smile, you're 0w3d! - Engadget

The thing I think is neat is that they have the car radio rigged to play the "Cops" theme song once they are surrounded by police.

Can anyone identify who that's a picture of?

BTW: Can anyone explain what the "0w3d" means in the article link above? I've seen this several times (e.g. "cHix0r" and "w00t") and usually in context of hacking, phone phreaking, IM, or text-messaging. But it hasn't always made sense to me. Got a link that explains it all? Posted by Chris on 7/08/2004 01:51:00 PM :: Permalink   

The Disruption of TiVo

Here's a great article that talks about how a small company of just 300 people has made huge changes. TiVo's financial future is shaky, but their brand recognition is so strong and their technology has such influence that their future should be bright.

He even mentions that some have gone so far to say that companies may begin airing commercials in slow motion so when you fast forward through them, they appear at normal speed. Interesting idea, but I don't think it will ever happen. What has happened, though, is an increase in product placement on television. I'm not fond of that as it's generally distracting to me, but it is impressive the influence TiVo has had on advertising.

Good, honest, Forbes article about What TiVo Teaches Us

Labels: tivo

Posted by Chris on 7/08/2004 10:42:00 AM :: Permalink   

An NC VP?

I'm not big into politics and this blog will never be accused of being political, but I thought I'd at least mention that we may very well have a Vice President from my home state of North Carolina. Today John Kerry announced Senator John Edwards as his running mate.

Are there any jokes there about "The Two Johns" or "Big John and Little John" or something?

Look at the picture at the top of this article, TIME.com: The Veep Pick: Pros and Cons. It sure didn't take them long to get the plane painted. Now if only they could push some worthy bills through Congress that fast! Posted by Chris on 7/06/2004 08:46:00 PM :: Permalink   

Now That's One HOT Phone!

"A Kyocera Wireless 2325 cell phone caused 'fist-size flames' that injured a California teenager earlier this week, a fire investigator said Friday."

Phone battery flames injure teen | CNET News.com Posted by Chris on 7/06/2004 11:17:00 AM :: Permalink   

You know you have to have it...

Only 2 days left - get bidding people!

eBay item 6106204741 (Ends Jul-05-04 23:39:50 PDT) - The Godfather Marlon Brando Bobblehead doll!! No DVD Posted by Melissa on 7/04/2004 01:22:00 AM :: Permalink   

I'm a Little Teapot

Another song from Delaney. We thought we had lost this one, but apparently audioblogger.com was down temporarily and then came back.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/02/2004 06:15:00 PM :: Permalink   

Google Brings Down the Hammer!

Google changed its policy in an attempt to put an end to people profiting from the sale of Gmail invitations. They also aim to prevent people from email squatting (signing up for popular or trademarked email addresses in hopes of selling them to the intuitive owners for a profit).

Google bans Gmail swaps and sales | CNET News.com Posted by Chris on 7/02/2004 10:47:00 AM :: Permalink   

Humpty Dumpty Dreams

Last night, Delaney was awakened several times by her dreams. It went like this:

(Crying) "Daddy! Daddy!" as I enter her room.

"What's wrong, Delaney? Would you like me to fix your covers?"

"I can't tell you how to put me back together again.", whimpering, "I need you to guess."

"OK, have a nice dream. Goodnight."

Ten, maybe fifteen minutes passed and then she was crying out and calling me again. I went back to her room and asked, "Do you need me to put you back together again?"

"Yes."

"OK" and I pretended to fix her.

"How did you do that?" she asked, her crying suddenly a thing of the past.

"Mommies and Daddies can do special things for their kids. Goodnight."

Of course, this morning she didn't recall any of it.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/02/2004 10:15:00 AM :: Permalink   

Photo of the Day

Maybe you can love a watermelon too much.

Those teeth might hurt coming in, but Victoria's not afraid to use them now!

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 7/01/2004 04:38:00 PM :: Permalink   

Portable TiVo?

CNET has a short review of the Archos AV400. This is a portable media center that plays audio, video, displays pictures, encodes MP3's and tries to do everything multimedia related. You can carry this with you in a (large) pocket.

I don't know the Archos will make it or not - and I can't see why I'd be interested in it personally, but I must applaud anything described as providing "TiVo-like functionality".

Labels: tivo

Posted by Chris on 7/01/2004 03:34:00 PM :: Permalink   
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