You Won't Find This on a Hallmark

Melissa found this pic while browsing some board. I think it was someone's avatar. Be thankful your child didn't draw this at school.

It just made me laugh out loud. I don't remember anything like that from Big Nutbrown Hare or Little Nutbrown Hare. Posted by Chris on 10/29/2004 10:01:00 AM :: Permalink   

(Sunrise + Plucker + Palm) * RSS = News Nirvana

AvantGo served me well for years as an offline web reader. It allowed me to download specified web pages to my Palm at Hotsync time and read them later whereever I was. Lately, the service just hasn't been what it used to be. But I couldn't find anything I liked to replace it. Until this week...

I had looked several times for a good (and free) RSS reader for my Palm but none measured up. Then I found Sunrise. It's awesome. But let me back up. What's RSS? It stands for Really Simple Syndication and I'll try to give more detail in an upcoming entry. It's an easy and universal way for any site to publish a news feed. You can get RSS feeds from Reuter's News, BBC, Google, Fark, and just about every blog out there (including Sharpes-R-Us). There are several cool features about RSS feeds but I won't get into that now.

If you already know about RSS and have a Palm, go ahead and delete AvantGo. You can do it all with Sunrise. You'll also need Plucker (also free) to view the documents Sunrise creates. Sunrise polls the RSS feeds (or HTML web pages) and converts them to a Palm format and transfers them at Hotsync time. Then you use Plucker on your Palm to view them.

Slick. Posted by Chris on 10/29/2004 09:58:00 AM :: Permalink   

Bill's Birthday, Pumpkin Carving, and Top Blog

Today is Bill Gates' birthday. He's 49. Let's see...according to his current net worth, that means he has earned over $628 million for every year of his life.

Carve pumpkins like a pro this Halloween. Use a Dremel tool. Free templates for downloading, so no artistic skills required whatsoever.

Looking for some interesting web reading? Here's Technorati's list of the Top 100 Blogs. Or for the hot topics of today, look at Daypop's Top 40. Posted by Chris on 10/28/2004 11:56:00 AM :: Permalink   

Google Cheat Sheet

Handy Google Cheat Sheet. But surely, you've committed all of these to memory by now, right my fellow Google Followers?

More explanation of advanced search options. Posted by Chris on 10/28/2004 11:05:00 AM :: Permalink   

The Curse of the Bambino Broken!

Finally, the Red Sox won their first World Series title. They broke The Curse of the Bambino.

Good, now I can sleep at night. And start working on The Curse of the Mummy. Posted by Chris on 10/28/2004 10:41:00 AM :: Permalink   

Lego Robot Beats Mario; Luigi Plots Revenge

I loved Legos as a kid. OK, let's be honest. I still do.

And the Lego Mindstorms series is a really good integration of Legos, robotics, and some simple programming. Too bad this stuff wasn't available when I was a kid. I mean, I built some cool stuff, but I never made a Lego Robot that can beat the first level of Nintendo Super Mario Brothers! Look closely at the picture (slightly larger version available at robot link) and you'll see there's an original NES controller under there and the robot actually plays using it! Posted by Chris on 10/27/2004 10:03:00 AM :: Permalink   

Halloween Webcam

This guy's got a Halloween Webcam that you can control. His house is lit up almost enough to do Chevy Chase proud, but the lights and the webcam are all controllable by you via the website. He uses X10 devices and some Perl code running on an Apache web server.

Apparently, he has very forgiving neighbors. Posted by Chris on 10/26/2004 10:36:00 AM :: Permalink   

Treo 650 Smartphone Needs PostGraduate Work

PalmOne finally officially announced the new Treo 650 Smartphone today. And while it looks to be the most impressive offering to date, it's just not quite there yet. It's smart, but not smart enough. It seems no one can yet get everything just right.

You can follow the link to read all the great features it does have (and there are several) but I'll highlight some of the things it is missing. The biggest two gripes for me are the camera and the lack of WiFi. The camera was rumored to be 1.3MP but is only VGA (640x480 or 0.3MP). Big disappointment. I never thought a camera on a phone would be important to me, but since I've had my Zire 71 with built-in VGA camera, I've used it quite a bit (especially in this blog). Palm should have done better.

The lack of integrated WiFi is also disappointing. Sure it's got BlueTooth and I guess I could take some advantage of that, but I wanted WiFi. What's worse is that I read today that they also would not support WiFi SD add-in cards. So that sounds like you're stuck with BlueTooth for local intranet wireless connectivity.

Other missing things are memory (it was rumored to have twice what was announced) and a voice recorder. The price was not announced since it will be largely determined by the carriers and they have not yet been formally announced.

All things considered and without actually having a hands-on experience with this thing, it sounds awesome! I would love to get rid of a separate phone and Palm PDA and add back wireless Internet access. The jury is still out but here's what may hold me back:

1. Price - price of phone and decent wireless plan may be too much for me right now.
2. Freebie - currently my company pays my cell phone bill so I can be chained to them. This makes #1 even more important since they likely wouldn't pay the bill if I switch carriers.
3. Camera - I'd be disappointed not to step up the resolution from my current Palm Zire 71.
4. Zire 71 - I just really like my current model. And I've already got a nice leather flip case and combo pen/stylus.

Posted by Chris on 10/25/2004 10:47:00 AM :: Permalink   

Next Best Thing to Rosie the Robot

Ok, it's not the Roomba, but it is still very cool. I never thought I'd be drooling over appliances and things to clean with, but here ya go.

Automatic Dust Pan Vacuum - Electric Broom -

I love this. I mean, do you know what kind of mess a 3 year old and an 18 month old leave in their wake after a meal (or after a particularly exciting round of art time - think dried up playdo bits, little pieces of paper torn from the crayon... you get the idea.)?

While I'm at it I'll dream about this one too... ahhh... a vacuum for my duster...

Dust-Eliminating Vacuum Duster at Hammacher Schlemmer Posted by Melissa on 10/20/2004 01:39:00 AM :: Permalink   

Afraid To Blog? Use Kryptonite!

Scoble has a fantastic entry on why companies should blog, why you shouldn't be afraid to blog at work, and just how influential bloggers really are. And don't forget that this whole blogging thing is relatively new. The number of bloggers and their sphere of influence continue to grow at a mind-boggling rate.

Scoble answers the question of how you make your boss "get" weblogging with one word -- Kryptonite. If you don't know the recent story of Kryptonite, follow his links.

Blogs are important. Blogs are powerful. Blogs are fun. Posted by Chris on 10/19/2004 12:50:00 PM :: Permalink   

A Word With The Man Who Changed My Life

OK, so it's not "An Interview with God", but it is an interview with Mike Ramsay, the CEO of TiVo.

It's an interesting read, but no new revelations or specific details. From Engadget.

Labels: tivo

Posted by Chris on 10/19/2004 11:24:00 AM :: Permalink   

Flat screen TV - nothing but trouble

I thought Chris would get a kick out of this article about a young guy whose flat screen Toshiba was sending out an SOS signal strong enough to be picked up by satellite.

He ended up with a contingent of various authorities at his door to answer the distress call.

He was then told to keep his TV off so that he wouldn't have to pay a hefty fine.

That's one feature I didn't even know they had...

CNN.com - Flat-screen�TV emits international distress signal - Oct 18, 2004 Posted by Melissa on 10/18/2004 10:14:00 PM :: Permalink   

"Here sweetie, have your daily dose of lead..."

ConsumerLab.com - Multivitamin review

I guess we will be changing the brand of vitamins that we use for the time being. Hard to believe that a company we have trusted with the health of our girls wouldn't be yanking this product off the shelves and letting the public know. Well, here's my small part in getting the word out - if you are using Gummy Vites, read the link and decide whether you can continue to use the product for your children. Posted by Melissa on 10/18/2004 03:23:00 PM :: Permalink   

Big Bad Hasselblad

Hasselblad has announced their medium format digital camera.

Meet the Hasselblad H1D. This is not a toy. This thing has 22 megapixels, takes images that are 132 megabytes each, and has a 40 gigabyte internal drive for storage.

One would be tempted to say "It don't get any better than this", but of course, it will. Posted by Chris on 10/18/2004 01:20:00 PM :: Permalink   

Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris

Yesterday was Melissa's birthday so we actually managed a night out with the wonderful help of Doug, Lori, and Elizabeth. They took great care of Delaney and Victoria and had a wonderful time while we were celebrating.

Melissa and I went to the recently opened Matisse, Picasso and the School of Paris exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art. I don't know or appreciate art nearly as much as Melissa, but I sincerely enjoyed the exhibit. Pictured above is Degas' sculpture "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen".

After that, we had a long dinner at The Melting Pot and found the girls asleep in bed when we returned! We decided that Doug, Lori, and Elizabeth should come over weekly -- at least! Posted by Chris on 10/16/2004 03:07:00 PM :: Permalink   

DirecTV's Fill-Up Your Tivo Weekend

This weekend DirecTV is offering a free preview of their Total Choice Premier package. This is basically everything except the a la carte channels. You'll get all the movie channels (not PPV) and all the regional sports channels.

It starts at 6am EDT on Friday and ends at 6am EDT on Monday. So clear out some space on the TiVo(s), cruise the channel guide, and set it to record some movies for a rainy day. Don't forget that a couple of the channel will offer movies in Dolby Digital, so make sure your TiVo is set to record that as well (but also be aware that in the past some movies were advertised as DD but were not broadcast that way. I haven't checked lately, but I do recall one of the Starz channels was DD and I think an HBO channel.).

Also the movies typically have "call this 1-800 number to subscribe" banners a few times during the movie. But hey, it's free! And I've still got several movies from the last preview I still haven't watched. Time to get hacking and install TyStudio to burn them to DVD! Posted by Chris on 10/14/2004 11:14:00 AM :: Permalink   

Ride a Rocket Through the Sound Barrier

kevin rose dot com: Cool Rocket Video Posted by Chris on 10/13/2004 10:12:00 AM :: Permalink   

Where You Hang Your Hoe (and Shovel and Rake and...)

Once you own a home and begin to do any yard work, you start to amass a collection of garden tools. You immediately realize you need a shovel and a rake and later add a hoe or an ax. You realize that one shovel does not fit all - you might need a flat shovel, a trench shovel, or just a second shovel for those Saturdays when you have unsuspecting friends around. The list becomes endless. But then, where do you put all these implements of destruction?

Previously I had used the cost-efficient solution of nailing a 2-by-4 to the garage wall and then using 10-penny nails to create custom hangars for each tool. This works fine until your collection of tools outgrows your shrinking wall space. You could buy garden tool hangars at your local home improvement warehouse, but they didn't meet my needs. They would only hold a few tools, often were a fixed distance apart, and weren't built to last. After much searching I found the perfect solution.

These heavy-duty tool racks from Duluth Trading Company are super. They're made from steel tubing with a powder-coated finish. They're even angled slightly to prevent tools from sliding off. You can easily hang 5 or 6 or more tools on each one.

I bought seven of these racks and hung them in two rows in my garage. That allows me to store our 20+ garden tools with room to spare! Just be sure to bolt them securely to the studs or use a solid backer board as I did. Screw the board to the studs and then use lag bolts to attach the tool racks whereever you like on the boards. My garage has moved one step closer to completion. Posted by Chris on 10/13/2004 09:35:00 AM :: Permalink   

Sharpen Your #2's, Time for the GLAT

Move over SAT. Step aside GMAT. Who are you kidding GRE? The GLAT is in town.

So you think you have what it takes to work for Google? Take theGoogle Labs Aptitude Test (GLAT) and find out.

I did well on page one. Posted by Chris on 10/12/2004 04:22:00 PM :: Permalink   

News and Observer Photo

I sure hope this doesn't count against my 15 minutes, but I was in the Business section of the News and Observer today. It's a group shot of me and fellow EMC employees during an all-hands meeting about health care changes for the coming year.

I'm not sure how long the article will be accessible online, but the article is titled "Open Questions". I'm not quoted or anything (nor would I want to be) and there's no mention of me in the article. I just happen to be in the group photo they decided to use for the story. Thus, I think I've still got a few more minutes of fame coming to me.

I'm second from left in the photo. Left of me in the photo is Dave and Tom and Jen are to the right of me.

Labels: family

Posted by Chris on 10/10/2004 11:49:00 PM :: Permalink   

New Gmail Features & Blogger CEO Moves On

[ Yes, it has been a week since the last blog entry. Pardon the interruption. We should be back to our normal schedule now. ]

Gmail just introduced a few new features. Those guys just keep coming up with new stuff. Often times it's something you wanted, but just didn't *know* you wanted it. Of course, that's how TiVo is. Everyone wants, nay needs, it, but they don't all know it yet.

Also, the founder of Blogger has decided to move on to something new.

And while I'm taking about Google, I'll mention the InsideGoogle blog where you can learn about skinning Gmail, the Google Print service, or search for upcoming PageRank changes. Posted by Chris on 10/06/2004 09:39:00 PM :: Permalink   
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