tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81088725337774980872024-02-18T22:24:27.029-05:00UberwaldThe continuing adventures of TomTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-79224493371886175262011-03-14T11:21:00.000-04:002011-03-14T11:21:47.995-04:00Part of why I don't use Facebook much, or blog more...I found this slideshow <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/_Q2RU3Nw0_U/google_to_launch_major_new_social_network_called_c.php">here</a>, in an article about Google not releasing a Facebook replacement, and I think it rings particularly true. If this mythological Google social network could address the "circles" that the somewhat long slideshow goes into clever detail about, I might even consider using it...<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I do recommend spending the 15-20 minutes it might take to read through this, but if your attention and interest aren't held that long, I can give you a brief summary. Everyone has more than one group of associates, and we don't necessarily want all of the people from all of those groups to see all of our online updates and activities. It would be best if there was still a single social resource, but one that takes into account not only these different circles of "friends," family, and associates, but also the closeness that we have with smaller groups within each circle. Well thought out, well presented.<br />
<div id="__ss_4656436" style="width: 477px;"><strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-network-v2" title="The Real Life Social Network v2">The Real Life Social Network v2</a></strong><object height="510" id="__sse4656436" width="477"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/doc_player.swf?doc=vtm2010-100701010846-phpapp01&stripped_title=the-real-life-social-network-v2&userName=padday" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed name="__sse4656436" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/doc_player.swf?doc=vtm2010-100701010846-phpapp01&stripped_title=the-real-life-social-network-v2&userName=padday" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="477" height="510"></embed></object><br />
<div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">documents</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/padday">Paul Adams</a>.</div></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-16357591828999850242011-03-11T21:01:00.000-05:002011-03-11T21:01:26.166-05:00Sparks :)My son, pictured here working on his new laptop before christmas, told me that he'd been wanting a hug all day. Needless to say, I was glad to oblige :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8uAjo7ctG5LmQYRqU_q-dt16niLuTzMwljwf4ptK2q8R8IbgLTX8vTtj6o2PtESL8HUZytyYwd8UeSc-RYTuiHjaHqs6SPrXbzdeOYQAxbg6RHWJWQ1nLZYLvKeedK8BUaqDcj8KjWj8/s1600/100_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8uAjo7ctG5LmQYRqU_q-dt16niLuTzMwljwf4ptK2q8R8IbgLTX8vTtj6o2PtESL8HUZytyYwd8UeSc-RYTuiHjaHqs6SPrXbzdeOYQAxbg6RHWJWQ1nLZYLvKeedK8BUaqDcj8KjWj8/s400/100_0047.JPG" width="600" /></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-19004495818850898272011-03-11T08:37:00.000-05:002011-03-11T08:37:01.673-05:00Back to blogging?<div class="p1">I had a dream this morning that I woke up a little, looked out the window and saw that it was "just" raining, and decided I could get a little more sleep... so when I woke up at my "everything is okay and I can sleep more" alarm time, and looked out the window, the foot of snow was something of a surprise.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OWaUaJqfd5ADYHJrfK37zioHmrdMfZtQF_-kV3Ue72fC-QIWfG1qrS1CzQgcqLbBAfWNPQ5nYGRxApf1LqyD1D3NS6Lu3-ainz1YvkEZvxgVvinJTkDe9BFWYUAuPJmAi01eymHHch8/s1600/IMAG0293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OWaUaJqfd5ADYHJrfK37zioHmrdMfZtQF_-kV3Ue72fC-QIWfG1qrS1CzQgcqLbBAfWNPQ5nYGRxApf1LqyD1D3NS6Lu3-ainz1YvkEZvxgVvinJTkDe9BFWYUAuPJmAi01eymHHch8/s400/IMAG0293.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br />
<br />
This, for whatever reason, reminded me that I haven't been blogging recently, even though I have had quite a few things that I could say. So I thought I'd get a quick start while I wait for a ride on this annoyingly snowy morning.</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-33076476159046605262011-01-31T16:08:00.000-05:002011-01-31T16:08:02.025-05:00Thane said I should post this...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/aG8vy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/aG8vy.png" /></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-23732800449933034262011-01-17T19:56:00.000-05:002011-01-17T19:56:05.713-05:00Reading books in this modern world...I'll admit it. I'm a technophile. The more gadgety goodness I have in my life, the more exciting gadgets I want, and the more I think about the ways in which we can improve the functionality of the gadgets that are out there, setting arbitrary thresholds at which point I plan to dive into the technology, dreaming of the cool stuff we could do if only gadgets would do what I want them to.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKC9ONcyBei2eq2YeLBEfWhabjJSiPWREBdC4nwggIzIgjB3C7E1nNRahJz3o2bYSLto9hlhudgLXvP9sO1zVfyDoX7hlToz4CQ1zllLGOzZET0ZVAulxtlNgZwgDzDRrniK4DeGF7rNI/s1600/sony_reader_prs_505_2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKC9ONcyBei2eq2YeLBEfWhabjJSiPWREBdC4nwggIzIgjB3C7E1nNRahJz3o2bYSLto9hlhudgLXvP9sO1zVfyDoX7hlToz4CQ1zllLGOzZET0ZVAulxtlNgZwgDzDRrniK4DeGF7rNI/s200/sony_reader_prs_505_2.jpeg" width="141" /></a></div>I was a fairly early adopter to the whole e-book thing, though not at the very beginning of the technology's release, like I was with digital cameras (I bought an HP 0.3MP digital camera, with just a few MB of internal storage, back in the mid 90s). I bought a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRS-505#PRS-505">Sony e-Reader PRS-505</a> on the day it was released. I heard the rumor it was out, called the Sony Style store, left class as soon as possible and hightailed it over there just minutes before close. I could rattle off the specs, but if you really care, you can just follow to the wikipedia article I linked for it. It was a thing of great beauty and a tech toy of my dreams at the time. I could download a book from their store, or load a .PDF, .DOC, or .RTF file on it with barely any effort at all. I could have loaded .EPUB books on there too, but I had no source for those really.<br />
<br />
I found a little app that would let me translate fanfics directly from the website they were on into the e-reader format, and little by little my collection of actual ebooks built up. I even discovered that there was a sort of underground trade in books that people transcribed <b>by hand</b> from the original paper copy, including the warnings not to do so, and with the introductions of some typos... even OCR scans of books, which seem to have even more typos than the hand copied ones.<br />
<br />
After a couple of years of using and loving it, it seems my son uses the e-reader more than I do. My job bought me an iPhone, and when that got old they bought me an HTC Evo. Even though those screens are small, I seem to do 85% or more of my reading on that tiny little screen. It's like the old saying in the photography business -- "The best camera for the shot is the one you have with you." The best ebook reader is the one I have with me when I want to read.<br />
<br />
Almost no matter where I am, I have my phone with me. Got 5 minutes to fill waiting in line for lunch or at the bank? Well that's a couple of pages. Got a little bit of time waiting for a virus scan to run, or for an OS to finish installing? That's a couple more pages. Got a long drive and don't feel like watching the road? Okay, I don't really read while operating a motor vehicle, no matter how much that guy at work swears he saw me doing it.<br />
<br />
I read all 9 books of that Callahan's series I mentioned in the earlier post on my phone, and whatever series of books I pick up next will most likely be read there too. That said, let me tell you about the tools I use in my pursuit of literary satisfaction.<br />
<br />
On my Android phone, I use <a href="http://www.aldiko.com/">Aldiko</a>, which is a very nice little free app. There's apparently a "pro" version also, but I can't tell what the difference is, so I'm sticking with the free one for now. When I was an iPhone user, I was a fan of <a href="http://www.lexcycle.com/">Stanza</a>, and I still use that on the iPad from time to time, though Apple's iBooks is pretty good too. My favorite thing about Aldiko is the ability to use the volume control buttons to turn the pages forward and back -- great for reading with gloves on!<br />
<br />
Since these are .EPUB readers, i occasionally have to convert a file over, and I mostly use the command line open source <a href="http://code.google.com/p/epub-tools/">epub-tools</a> to do those conversions, though if you're not a fan of the command line, Lexcycle, makers of stanza, have compiled <a href="http://www.lexcycle.com/faq/how_to_create_epub">a list of tools</a> that you can try for yourself. The advantage of using one of these reader applications and an epub source is that the application remembers what page you were on, even if you forget to plug the phone in and have to replace/recharge the battery.<br />
<br />
While you're getting used to reading on the small screen, I recommend working up to it -- start out with a collection of short stories and read a few pages here and there until you're accustomed to the screen size and the page flipping, work your way up to the bigger books.<br />
<br />
I don't think I could go back to reading paper books in any serious way. A physical artifact that requires me to carry it around? I have too many of those already.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-61018022696877777252011-01-15T16:53:00.000-05:002011-01-15T16:53:10.058-05:00Book Review: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOXqa1z-_hYlC8mV6ZDRG1-M2YF7oBR5g0sg_KEaMkYTQWEN7Z8E-Rv7Q2CiB-rPleIurPJo5B_DcgrdWXkyrpKwNjuDqbFgqnLJ8vumThYB5hX1trH5yl2gX-4dLp9qoONvTerq3hkk/s1600/c1212.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOXqa1z-_hYlC8mV6ZDRG1-M2YF7oBR5g0sg_KEaMkYTQWEN7Z8E-Rv7Q2CiB-rPleIurPJo5B_DcgrdWXkyrpKwNjuDqbFgqnLJ8vumThYB5hX1trH5yl2gX-4dLp9qoONvTerq3hkk/s200/c1212.jpeg" width="123" /></a>I like to think of myself as an avid reader, and sometimes I even follow up on that. Over the last couple of weeks, I've finally been reading a series of books that I've heard quite a bit about, but never actually started until this attempt. "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" by Spider Robinson.</div><br />
This isn't serious sci fi by any stretch of the imagination, and in the author notes it's clear that he wasn't even really trying for sci fi when he started, and some people even wrote him nasty notes about wanting to cancel their subscriptions to the magazine they were published in since they weren't publishing science fiction anymore. But it's still good.<br />
<br />
Over the course of the 9 books that are loosely a part of this series (many of them taking place at Lady Sally's brothel, or in the bars that took over for Callahan's after it was destroyed in the nuclear blast), we meet a few time travelers, witness them all "getting telepathic," get an inside view of things at the weirdest sounding brothel ever, move to Key West, stow a toddler aboard the space shuttle, take on the mob, and generally deal with a lot of weirdness. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Most of the characters can't resist punning at every opportunity, so reading it was a lot like hanging out with my friend John, except that I had to be content with groaning in my head. I do enjoy a good pun now and then, and I'd have read them just for the puns if I'd known about them going into it.<br />
<br />
I don't think my son is old enough to read these just yet, but that's not really a point for or against the stories, just something that's been on my mind since I started reading.<br />
<br />
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy them immensely, but I'm the sort of reader who will re-read his favorites until he wears them out, and then read the ebook equivalent until entropy changes the bits enough for it to be a completely different book. I don't think I'll be re-reading this one, at least not for a long time to come. I'm a huge fan of weird, and these books have it in spades, but since a good bit of it was published in short story form before it was published in book form, there's an awful lot more author notes than I care for. It was a little bit like reading fan fiction, actually... <br />
<br />
So, I guess I would recommend these books if you like puns and are looking for some lighthearted sci-fi ish reading to fill in the space between the serious books. I'm glad I read them, after all...Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0Key West, FL, USA24.5557025 -81.782591424.4776345 -81.8993209 24.633770499999997 -81.6658619tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-5290402056754952942011-01-11T16:37:00.001-05:002011-01-11T16:37:42.676-05:00About a year of ridingI picked up cycling as a hobby and a habit in 2010. I started out riding a beat up 10 speed that was so much too small for me that my 12 year old son rides it now, just back and forth to work. After a month of that I was certain I needed to buy a new bike, and after another month I actually did. My beautiful Trek 3700 and I did quite a bit of riding, but I wasn't really keeping track of it, and that annoyed me.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
So I bought a cheap $13 Bell branded cyclometer to tell me speed and distance (and I've learned since that I had it miscalibrated, but not by much) and I started to be able to see what I was doing, but I wasn't tracking it. So when I noticed my old RA on <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/">dailymile</a> logging his running in early June, I thought I'd give it a shot. And, in a feat that frankly amazes me, I kept up with it the rest of the year. Today I got the year end review, and was impressed more with the coolness of the page they built than my own stats, so I thought I'd share it with you. Clicking on the image should load the full sized version.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSzL0Et8szI/AAAAAAAABLs/_6jBtVbY5Pk/s1600/Daily+Mile+Year+End+Review.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSzL0Et8szI/AAAAAAAABLs/_6jBtVbY5Pk/s640/Daily+Mile+Year+End+Review.png" width="600" /></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-60120121516184636432011-01-06T10:50:00.000-05:002011-01-06T10:50:31.210-05:0030 seconds with the Mac App StoreI realize that everybody and his brother is probably out there writing about the Mac App Store even as I type these words, but what's the point of blogging if it has to be unique? :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSXcCE5pmZI/AAAAAAAABLQ/jTrGvACffi8/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-01-06+at+9.48.55+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSXcCE5pmZI/AAAAAAAABLQ/jTrGvACffi8/s320/Screen+shot+2011-01-06+at+9.48.55+AM.png" width="600" /></a></div><br />
Apple released their Mac OS App Store today, in an effort to annoy IT workers everywhere, and so I restarted my trusty iMac after running the update and gave it a spin. The first thing I noticed is that it looks an awful lot like the iTunes Store inside iTunes. Keeping the interface familiar is likely a good idea for this sort of launch, but I'll be curious to see if it evolves away from that model.<br />
<a name='more'></a>I browsed through the offerings to see if there was anything that interested me, and wasn't sure how I felt when I noticed that it had all of the Apple apps I use (iMovie, Keynote, etc) marked as "installed" already, but I got over the "omg Apple is spying on me" feeling when I saw that Evernote was not marked as installed, so at least they're probably not spying on me "yet."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSXcCWsJsKI/AAAAAAAABLU/Myc6ZuxocM4/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-01-06+at+9.49.19+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSXcCWsJsKI/AAAAAAAABLU/Myc6ZuxocM4/s320/Screen+shot+2011-01-06+at+9.49.19+AM.png" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was pleasantly surprised to find out that all of my apps are up to date, and if this starts tracking third party updates too, well I might lose my worry about the spying altogether. But I might not... Purpl keeps me thinking about my privacy issues a bit more than I used to, but mostly that just means that I'm more likely to be conscious of the trade off when I sacrifice some bit of privacy for some bit of convenience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSXcCtpIcdI/AAAAAAAABLY/m93IVzprtMs/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-01-06+at+9.53.14+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TSXcCtpIcdI/AAAAAAAABLY/m93IVzprtMs/s320/Screen+shot+2011-01-06+at+9.53.14+AM.png" width="600" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I didn't really need any new applications, but I did want to give it a full try, so I went ahead and finally installed TextWrangler, more than 7 years after it was recommended to me by more than one person, and I was amused to see the icon fly in an elegant curve from the App Store to my Dock, where it was ready to launch in moments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Why, an astute reader might ask, did I say that this is an effort to annoy IT workers everywhere? Every time someone does something like this, in an effort to make things easier or mor controlled or more whatever, it dominates the media, with every hack like me expressing their opinions about it for weeks, filling slow news days with recaps of the "issues" it raises. But also it leaves me worried that Apple is moving towards being an even more closed platform than it already was. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If Apple moves to a model on the desktop and laptop that matches their model on the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, they'll be even more safe from malicious programs than they are now, but they'll lose that spark that comes from being able to develop and run open source programs on a system that isn't ugly. I sincerely hope that it only looks like they're making that move and that we're all mistaken about this, but... I just don't know.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All in all? 3/5 stars for the App Store on OS X. Decent and familiar interface, seems like it has potential, feels like it was released too soon.</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-29340362150402072352011-01-02T11:35:00.000-05:002011-01-02T11:35:51.795-05:00First Weird Dream of the New YearI was living in an apartment building, but it was set up more like a hotel. I was out to dinner, but we couldn't pick a theme restaurant, so we were driving around with the radio on. The news broke in... some tyrant had just managed to take over the world, largely due to concessions granted their company by the major nations of the world.<br />
<br />
They were going to thin out the unwanted, those who had no place in the new world they were fashioning. The power was shut off, people were relying on fires, talking about leaving to go to Japan where it was imagined to be different. Kevin seemed to be close to this tyrant, or at least nearby to this tyrant, and various other people appeared briefly... Phil was a zeppelin pilot, mostly covered in soot and speaking with a sort of cockney accent, Thane popped his head out of a ventilation thing on the side of a building, said "damn, still not the right one," and popped back down. Sherri called me on the phone, and we made plans to meet the next day...<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
All work came to a complete stop, and people were forced to compete in various challenges. Somehow, everyone in my building, and maybe even in my city, were in some kind of scavenger hunt, following clues from one landmark to the next, marking them off on a large thin paper.<br />
<br />
The city I was in had elements of most of the places i've lived, and I set out on my bike, following some other guy on a bike. We decided to detour off the streets, take a shortcut through some trees and down a hill, which was sort of like the area in/near the park by where I grew up, only with these huge trees, and I got separated from the other guy when he made the squeeze between trees and I accidentally rode up a half fallen tree and then jumped from it back to the sidewalk.<br />
<br />
On the sidewalk, I found something, and said to myself something like, "when you're on a secret mission, always look for rough envelopes." It had a completed star chart in it, and a riddle to solve, and I assumed it to be a secret way to win that challenge and headed back to the building. I didn't want to go into my apartment, so I went to a sort of common balcony area, and after listening to the other people there argue for a bit, pulled out the paper I found as well as my own paper, and discovered that I had no idea what either of them meant.<br />
<br />
I was frantically trying to decipher the clue, which was something about picturing a star in a zodiac constellation, called Susan, and how different it was from my own star and constellation. I still have no idea what that means, because that was when I finally managed to struggle to consciousness, and after taking care of the morning necessities, I started to write this all out. I haven't had a sober dream like that in years...Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com1Somewhere near Saturn, I think47.279229002570816 -72.070312517.471446502570817 -131.8359375 77.087011502570817 -12.3046875tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-260528501720717052011-01-01T23:34:00.001-05:002011-01-01T23:51:55.905-05:00Spotted a rider...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCKGR1H5uDaSvVd58_o7e2qmk4SweHiZj5PbIZSO5NAl6MCYwKFT8zKHJGLFoQ2_oVPTKwTohZNa4JK3xVW_tV5_GzuDr2GHnVJbpEVhbWHUvhpUQ1QlS6RJdYiwNV9KcpsC79HG2DWQ/s1600/IMAG0232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibCKGR1H5uDaSvVd58_o7e2qmk4SweHiZj5PbIZSO5NAl6MCYwKFT8zKHJGLFoQ2_oVPTKwTohZNa4JK3xVW_tV5_GzuDr2GHnVJbpEVhbWHUvhpUQ1QlS6RJdYiwNV9KcpsC79HG2DWQ/s400/IMAG0232.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br />
I saw this guy out riding on New Year's Eve, as I was heading towards the sporting goods store to return a gift. I'll admit to being jealous that he was on a bike and I wasn't :)Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-62711376089527549102010-12-27T23:10:00.003-05:002010-12-27T23:12:47.883-05:00Pic from the parking lot...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Wn96t3fCjf0tjZqWe_nCeeY8n-e9gGhexfbHEgP7-GOutxiGxAyzWOglqogPUPFGIoiXyVMJj-wf4kGt9xmKQmu2LmqCgRHnvochAQUYx0RnzMtZleXtAgENMsTMZyqfDEISeMDQSaI/s1600/Untitled_Panorama1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Wn96t3fCjf0tjZqWe_nCeeY8n-e9gGhexfbHEgP7-GOutxiGxAyzWOglqogPUPFGIoiXyVMJj-wf4kGt9xmKQmu2LmqCgRHnvochAQUYx0RnzMtZleXtAgENMsTMZyqfDEISeMDQSaI/s400/Untitled_Panorama1.png" width="600" /></a></div>Despite my marked preference for riding my bike to work, I've been driving the last week or so, in order that my son not have to lose his love for cycling due to the weather. I snapped these pics (which I combined into a panorama) from where my car was parked. Even though it was just the crummy camera in my phone, I still think this is kind of cool... click on it for a 3000px wide version, leave a comment if you want an 8000+ px versionTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-45453017377212078202010-12-24T18:20:00.000-05:002010-12-24T18:20:31.766-05:00Rays Indoor Mountain Bike Park -- AWESOME.<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TIItuoFJLxI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TIItuoFJLxI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
This place is a lot of fun. I mean, wow. :) <br />
<br />
We got there a little after noon and, except for the break to go grab a really late lunch, were there until almost 9! My sweetie stayed until lunch time when she decided that the park wasn't for her... <br />
<br />
I want to write more, but... i'm really sore and tired of being at the computer. :)Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-60247094731085708072010-12-22T12:31:00.000-05:002010-12-22T12:31:29.232-05:00Holiday SpiritSo my son was just kidnapped by Christmas Carolers... I hope they bring him back in one piece :)<br />
<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KxhjoAR1xks?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KxhjoAR1xks?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0North Pole90 089.999962 -179.996352 90 179.996352tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-57684060054941802662010-12-22T11:16:00.000-05:002010-12-22T11:16:57.973-05:00Things I learned concept not working out for me...So I really want to blog, even though I know I don't have much of an audience right now. And I know that I probably talk to each of my readers on IM or the phone at least once a week, if not once a day, making this a particularly inefficient way of communicating. But I have hopes that I'll find my voice and that this will be something that I want to do, even when I'm busy with other things.<br />
<br />
I liked the idea of the "what I learned today" type of post, and in an environment of 3-4+ posts a day I might try it again... or maybe invite other people to post that sort of thing... but it's not working for right now. It feels forced, and the whole idea of posting at a specific time feels contrived. Maybe once I have readers and things to say, I could make sure that something is posted then, but not the things I learned one. And my link recap failed too -- just too much going on there. I read too many feeds and there are other ways for you to be reading that, including the new sidebar feed for my shared items and the shared item RSS feed and, of course, by subscribing to my shared items in Google Reader. <br />
<br />
I don't really have any hope of comments at this point, so I'm going to just share a list of things that I plan to try:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Original webcomics</li>
<li>Audio podcast of me trying to explain things that probably don't need to be explained</li>
<li>Video podcast of me demonstrating things that probably don't need to be demonstrated</li>
<li>Video podcast of me arguing with people from the internet</li>
<li>Discussion about how much I enjoy spending time on my bicycle</li>
<li>Discussion about what sort of effort I put into maintaining my bicycle</li>
<li>Other bicycle stuff</li>
<li>Explanations, possibly with screenshots, of how to do simple things on your Mac or Windows computer</li>
<li>Explanations, possibly with screenshots, of how to do difficult or pointless but cool things on your Mac or Windows computer</li>
<li>Absurd rants about technology, bicycles, politics, religion, books</li>
<li>Lame attempts at humor</li>
</ul><div>That's a lot of stuff... I should probably get started.</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com3Cuenca, Ecuador-1.9332268264771106 -79.4970703125-4.6771973264771107 -83.232421812500007 0.81074367352288945 -75.761718812499993tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-26867243004989049872010-12-20T18:39:00.000-05:002010-12-20T18:39:45.019-05:00Things I learned over the weekend... 2010-12-20Again with the learning...<br />
<a name='more'></a>I learned that excited kids getting presents are a lot more fun than bored kids being forced to sit quietly and wait.<br />
I learned that I can, in fact, spend over $200 on groceries in a weekend.<br />
I learned that I need a reminder or something to post these regularly, and that headaches don't go quicklyTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-39559788416285445062010-12-17T23:46:00.000-05:002010-12-17T23:46:13.801-05:00Okay, I'll admit it...I like Christmas music. I don't like it all year, of course. There's something wrong about hearing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" while shopping for Halloween candy, but once we get into that groove between Thanksgiving and New Years, I like to hear a bit of the Christmas cheer. When my friend posted <a href="http://overacandle.com/?p=2349">something about this</a> a couple of days ago, I thought it might be nice for me to talk about it too.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I've been listening to one of <a href="http://broadcaster.pandora.com/t?r=927&c=902000&l=38489&ctl=1BCF11D:CD0DE6C7043F33E8245266FD45B5F63C050542759970026E&">Pandora's Christmas music</a> channels at work for a few days now, and I've had some mixed results. Some people who wander by to ask me about things are excited to hear it, some people just chalk it up to my general craziness, and some people stop to sing along a little bit... it's funny how much of a mixed bag it is. I wonder if more people would like it if it wasn't everywhere so early... One coworker suggested that anybody who worked retail for any length of time can't stand Christmas music anymore, but I've worked at least as much retail as any of them, including as a manager in a toy store during the holidays.<br />
<br />
And much like my friend who got me thinking about it, the old carols are the ones that I like the most, but I have a different secular favorite... sort of an anti-Christmas song, I guess, but one of the greats. Without further ado, I give you my favorite: Father Christmas, by the Kinks.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CjaPXihbORk?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CjaPXihbORk?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-21535147944021803602010-12-17T16:00:00.002-05:002010-12-17T16:00:03.012-05:00Things I've learned in the last 24 hours 2010-12-17I'm pretty sure Tom didn't learn anything today... and then he comes up with all of this:<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul><li>I learned that editing video of the company Xmas party does count as working.</li>
<li>I learned at some point in the last week that <a href="http://papastronsay.blogspot.com/2010/12/taking-christ-out-of-xmas.html">Xmas is a perfectly historically acceptable abbreviation for Christmas that in no way secularizes the holiday</a>.</li>
<li>I learned that not all AA powered LED lights are created equal.</li>
<li>I learned that however many GLBC Christmas Ales I had at the office party was at least one more than I should have.</li>
<li>I learned that I need to attach my helmet to my bike when I get home, so that I remember to put it on in the morning and don't have to run back and get it, leaving my bike leaning somewhere.</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_eP54uqH7ssmEeC-Fuix_6L4Y3TuscFHyxeNUg87rUAmvsgRboNVhKVaqqOzA14_rEsHJZ5gh1tLrikv9UMzm5TOPxOsdOfDrN9TE1xzHZXVh2bUIhAwTwX99GZR4F-j_Rvzmtw5Hvk/s1600/IMAG0187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_eP54uqH7ssmEeC-Fuix_6L4Y3TuscFHyxeNUg87rUAmvsgRboNVhKVaqqOzA14_rEsHJZ5gh1tLrikv9UMzm5TOPxOsdOfDrN9TE1xzHZXVh2bUIhAwTwX99GZR4F-j_Rvzmtw5Hvk/s400/IMAG0187.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0Ampasimena, Madagascar-20.96143961409684 45.52734375-31.174141114096841 30.58593725 -10.74873811409684 60.46875025tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-13839789683331735722010-12-16T16:00:00.002-05:002010-12-16T16:00:01.450-05:00Things I've learned in the last 24 hours 2010-12-16Did Tom actually learn something?<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul><li>I learned that GPGMail works with Apple Mail in Snow Leopard again, that I could in fact locate my keyring, and that signing email is just as dorky as it's always been.</li>
<li>I learned that one of the new buildings the hospital put up is pretty cool looking at night.</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TQlMHxAEE2I/AAAAAAAABHc/aN7RKrTU7wM/s1600/IMAG0186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TQlMHxAEE2I/AAAAAAAABHc/aN7RKrTU7wM/s400/IMAG0186.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<ul><li>I learned that even though it's probably possible to script a rule for Mail to print the daily work spam to PDF and then file the email and open the PDF, it's almost certainly not worth doing.</li>
<li>I learned, as the guy from maintenance keyed into my office in the middle of me changing my pants into the outdoor gear, that they do have keys to our offices.</li>
</ul>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0Vladivostok, Region of Primorsky, Russia43.1306915 131.92382842.8801375 131.456909 43.3812455 132.39074699999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-66536669023133860612010-12-15T17:22:00.001-05:002010-12-15T17:23:19.160-05:00Things I've learned in the last 24 hours 2010-12-15What has Tom learned?<br />
<a name='more'></a><ul><li>I was reminded that I would probably not have a job if everyone just ran windows updates regularly, and kept their software from Adobe up to date. Fortunately I was reminded by circumstances and not a particularly cruel end user :)</li>
<li>I learned that some people would prefer to work harder at something that's broken than let me take some time to try fixing it.</li>
<li>I learned that I can use <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTI2MjAwMTM5?src=global0">Dropbox</a> to keep my chat logs in sync between my laptop and my desktop, and that in doing so be able to figure out what someone said to me about something and at what time. </li>
<li>I learned that I'm going to need some sort of 3:30 alarm if I'm going to hit 4pm for publishing on this daily deal.</li>
<li>I learned that the Kensington Multi-Display adapter is cool, but has it's limitations. Like video is really choppy... and it can't do 1200x1600 on the rotated 20" screen. But I can run full screen remote desktop to the win7 machine on my desk and still also use that screen to park things as I'm working.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5sJD1TrH9VPlp2umt4kTpin5rk9Tl43KDTHmiBNPUCsSwCn1C2DKP9OEluHoNu-gFBj9MkGomPz9WxlXxR8lJEDdOwNzq0gEXI2YQIOzSRSF_0hj6mLwNZqr-4uqli95enWBJNi2G8o/s1600/IMAG0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5sJD1TrH9VPlp2umt4kTpin5rk9Tl43KDTHmiBNPUCsSwCn1C2DKP9OEluHoNu-gFBj9MkGomPz9WxlXxR8lJEDdOwNzq0gEXI2YQIOzSRSF_0hj6mLwNZqr-4uqli95enWBJNi2G8o/s400/IMAG0184.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-11726580922766396182010-12-14T16:56:00.002-05:002010-12-14T16:59:55.733-05:00Things I've learned over the weekend 2010-12-14What did Tom learn since he last posted?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul><li>4G started working this weekend, and I learned that 4g is much more responsive for the internet on my phone and via tethering, but makes my phone run like crap.</li>
<li>I learned that snow angels are still fun</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy740BPNfylBtCSl0OC4q-nbARf65Etudhh8kSgOvVuVTw2JetxlTENrZDsEygMv2-hN0W3li7Z-JBe83KPaWlULZvPEe-RFcDcnFRoQRzNDs1xwOZj8mnYKnlmLxKklC9cVpQqZDC3w8/s1600/IMAG0179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy740BPNfylBtCSl0OC4q-nbARf65Etudhh8kSgOvVuVTw2JetxlTENrZDsEygMv2-hN0W3li7Z-JBe83KPaWlULZvPEe-RFcDcnFRoQRzNDs1xwOZj8mnYKnlmLxKklC9cVpQqZDC3w8/s400/IMAG0179.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul><li>I learned that a 12 year old can definitely set up and configure his own laptop, with a bit of guidance</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLyD15MDWyuhZ-mXRDuTOgkNf0OPwxnJ32KHg38OrA1X1me1p6BreRpIkAGWQvWFvF0TKotNpoDnSI7cQv-Ba1viyagyjx8MWOg0KHUqO3P5gsu14bzCDYbYZDmmQcHrniQiJhyphenhyphenc6cvQ/s1600/100_0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLyD15MDWyuhZ-mXRDuTOgkNf0OPwxnJ32KHg38OrA1X1me1p6BreRpIkAGWQvWFvF0TKotNpoDnSI7cQv-Ba1viyagyjx8MWOg0KHUqO3P5gsu14bzCDYbYZDmmQcHrniQiJhyphenhyphenc6cvQ/s400/100_0054.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>I learned that some computers just don't want to work. No matter what you do.</li>
<li>I learned that some snowblowers aren't absolute garbage and will actually move through a pile of snow as tall as they are to clear a driveway.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZF-E2lkkzTWIHkBO2gXtDdsnnBm5RyfIRcevKsQZRkF24I07Wt7ZbjBrxfU6RgvZtJBIYGIz_HXStWYzq93CPZ6FNoR-qUZELyoD4Xga8JGVE33KSjPuWtWvEFXUz_WSH37y6mi2rzQ/s1600/IMAG0181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZF-E2lkkzTWIHkBO2gXtDdsnnBm5RyfIRcevKsQZRkF24I07Wt7ZbjBrxfU6RgvZtJBIYGIz_HXStWYzq93CPZ6FNoR-qUZELyoD4Xga8JGVE33KSjPuWtWvEFXUz_WSH37y6mi2rzQ/s400/IMAG0181.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>I learned that i have 81GB in my "Stuff from Desktop" folder on my computer at work, and 50GB in that folder on my laptop... probably time to clean that up a bit... (down to 67.45GB with a bit of sorting at work!)</li>
</ul><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TQfnkTnaCxI/AAAAAAAABG8/-7IetRauFIA/Screen%20shot%202010-12-14%20at%204.53.48%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6Xbx4JMrTUk/TQfnkTnaCxI/AAAAAAAABG8/-7IetRauFIA/Screen%20shot%202010-12-14%20at%204.53.48%20PM.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><br />
<ul><li>And I learned that people probably want to see pictures wherever possible :)</li>
</ul>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-32595652157123681112010-12-11T22:54:00.002-05:002011-03-11T21:03:44.236-05:00Father/Son Bonding activity...So Sparks is getting a new laptop for Christmas, and because a great deal of the cost of this laptop was paid by his saving up, he knows about it already. His mother (my ex) and I chipped in with him so that he could get a real laptop w/ accidental damage coverage and a warranty that lasted beyond 90 days. It's a great little system and it should last him at least through high school, which was the overall goal.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
He learned that I had the laptop and was "getting it ready" for him, which mostly consisted of letting it sit in a drawer waiting for me to have time, and started giving me a hard time. This opened up a wonderful opportunity to teach him what goes into setting up a new system, and so the two of us headed into my office to get some work done.<br />
<br />
I guess I could go with a much more detailed post, and if anyone wants a ton of detail on how I set up a system for an individual user, I could do that later, but this is about spending the day w/ my son and teaching him a little something. <br />
<br />
We wandered in, got his system set up and carried his mom's virus filled PC up as well. Took a quick detour over to grab some food from the Atrium and we were back getting to work. We still have a bit to do, mostly me installing stuff that I can use to keep an eye on his activity, but it was a great day together, just chilling Father and Son. <br />
<br />
I threw together this slideshow using Picasaweb, just thought it was kind of cool... :)<br />
<br />
<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Ftligman%2Falbumid%2F5549628438552762497%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-21727714181976097602010-12-10T22:47:00.000-05:002010-12-10T22:47:18.069-05:00Daily link catchup 2010-12-10I thought I'd experiment a little bit with this "link catchup" idea, and maybe elaborate a little bit on the posts that I was most interested in. Do a bit of research and see more about it or maybe just explain why it caught my attention.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/10/tuaws-daily-app-inclass/">TUAW's Daily App: inClass</a><br />
<div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p3">I really wish there had been something very similar to this for my laptop when I was actively taking classes. A way to type notes, record audio (maybe video too), attach photos, all the sort of cool stuff that I wanted to get out of the lectures but never bothered, instead typing in a basic text editor (or a wiki, the one time…). That said, this app falls way short of the experience I'd hope for. It's complicated to get your classes set up, annoying to take notes by typing on the ipad, and ridiculous to post your notes to Facebook.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p3">Come to think of it, though, I also wish I'd had the courage or audacity to whip out my camera and take a snapshot or ten of the blackboard when it had really good stuff up there, or of things being projected on the overhead (not powerpoint. think transparencies…)</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/lego_antikythera_mechanism.html">Lego Antikythera Mechanism</a></span></div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p3">I'd never even heard of the original device, but it's impressive as hell. The idea of performing calculations mechanically by the turning of the gears, just amazing. :)</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p3">As it turns out, they're not actually positive what the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism">original machine</a> did because they only recovered bits and pieces from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_wreck">shipwreck of the Antikythera</a>, but all in all it's a pretty neat marvel of ancient technology.</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p3"><u><b>Snow Prank...</b></u></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ibwrPeVr1Oo" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="p3">I'm sorry, but this video is hilarious and I want to rush out and do this to the courtyard outside the building at work the next time it snows. :D</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div><div class="p2"><br />
</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-3524799491978693462010-12-10T16:00:00.005-05:002010-12-10T16:00:02.395-05:00Things I've learned in the last 24 hours 2010-12-10<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">What did Tom learn today?</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I learned that posting a recap of every single thing I shared into a single blog post, often with a paragraph about why I thought it was interesting, is way too much. I guess I need to maybe focus on just the couple of links that were most interesting, maybe by following up on them to learn more.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I learned that I want a headphone jack on my keyboard for my desktop. It would be even nicer if it was a Blackberry/iPhone/Android style jack where a single 3.5mm plug did both the audio out and a microphone in.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I learned that 100km from Earth's surface at perigee is considered "orbit" and that this week's Falcon 9 launch put the Dragon orbiter at around 300km. I also learned that perigee refers to the closest the object comes to the surface of earth during the orbit.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I learned that a "Snow Squall" is "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">A <b>snowsquall</b> (or <b>snow squall</b>) is a sudden moderately heavy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Snow">snow</a>fall with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowing_snow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Blowing snow">blowing snow</a> and strong, gusty surface <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Wind">winds</a><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-0" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowsquall#cite_note-0" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></a></sup>. It is often referred to as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiteout_(weather)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Whiteout (weather)">whiteout</a> and is similar to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Blizzard">blizzard</a> but is localized in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Time">time</a> or in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Space">space</a> and snow accumulations may or may not be significant." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowsquall"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Source Link</span></a>. I find this particularly funny because it implies that a blizzard is not localized in time or in space, which sounds to me like blizzards are either infinitely huge or last forever... or bo<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">th :)</span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I learned that complicated background images on your desktop can make it much harder to tell how much dust has accumulated on the screen.</span></li>
</ul>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0Mt Olympus, Olympos 40200, Greece40.0833333 22.3539.9519938 22.116540500000003 40.2146728 22.5834595tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-7534672869313235402010-12-09T22:52:00.003-05:002010-12-09T23:08:05.120-05:00Daily link catchup 2010-12-09I found some great stuff today!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<ul><li><span class="s1"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cyclelicious/~3/-OQr9Dnnl7g/">DC DOT bike safety PSAs</a></span> Some pretty decent videos explaining common bicycle traffic incident names</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1d37ef; font-family: Times;"><span class="s2"><a href="http://lifehacker.com/5709447/wwf-document-format-doesnt-give-you-a-choice-but-to-save-paper">WWF Document Format Doesn't Give You a Choice but to Save Paper</a> </span></span>I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it's another damned file format to support, but on the other hand I'm really sort of annoyed with all of the pointless printing that goes on. Paper is all over the place and I'm sick of it. Also, I think it might be a really funny thing to try championing this file format to the people in charge of becoming more green at my work… that could be hilarious…</li>
<li><span class="s1">SMBC for <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2088"><span class="s2">December 09, 2010</span></a></span> I always thought I was a science advocate, but here I see that I'm actually a scientist. :)</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://www.blameitonthevoices.com/2010/12/time-bomb.html">Time bomb</a></span> I'm not sure how many people would fall for mentos frozen into ice cubes, but I think that I should find out in the interest of science.</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://bitsandpieces.us/2010/12/09/reading-them-the-riot-act/">Reading them the Riot Act</a></span> I think that my son would give me more of those "you're a dork" looks if I started actually reading him the Riot Act. And it's cool to learn where that phrase came from. :)</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/37920/the-50-best-registry-hacks-that-make-windows-better/">The 50 Best Registry Hacks that Make Windows Better - How-To Geek</a></span> Okay, so only about 4 of these seemed all that interesting to me, and only one of those seemed worth turning on, though I can't even remember which one it was….</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://www.onecoolthingaday.com/today/2010/12/8/still-life-totally-brilliant.html">Still life. Totally brilliant.</a></span> Some cool sculpture/still life photos. Love the candle :)</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/16/view/12476/bend-desk.html">bend desk</a></span> Okay, so I want something like this. And I've wanted it for a long long time. But I want mine to be pressure sensitive, even to my finger touch, and work w/ a stylus for even more pressure sensitivity (think about how pencil lines look different depending on how hard you press), and I want it to be at least 120dpi. Not that I can even imagine what hardware would be necessary to realize my dream on that one… But this prototype is a step in the right direction :)</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://gizmodo.com/5707782/googles-android-maps-app-will-load-faster-work-offline-and-play-nicely-with-the-compass">Google Maps for Android Now Faster, Smoother, in 3D and Works Offline</a></span> I can't wait to see this one. Working offline would be cool, especially to speed up starting the app, and the buildings are always cool.</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/manifold_clock.html">Manifold clock</a></span> I'm no slave to the clock, and I don't actually like having one in a predictable place that I can see just by looking in that direction, but if I had a lobby to decorate, I'd love to put something like this there.</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Battery-Powered-Mobile-Party-Sound-Systems/">Off-Grid Party Sound Systems</a></span> Over the summer I started participating in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3082935471">Critical Mass</a>, and for the Halloween ride I wanted a sound system. I managed to hook up some computer speakers to my phone and get playback that didn't totally suck, but this would have kicked ass :) Though for what it looks like this guy's project cost, I'd hope it got a great deal of awesome…</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/2010/12/09/white-trash-repairs-historical-thursday-release-the-bunnies/">Historical Thursday: Release The Bunnies!</a></span> A sort of entertaining look in the sort of ecological disaster that can happen when you allow people to bring their pets when they move to a new continent.</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://www.kidglue.com/2010/12/09/geminid-meteor-shower-and-lunar-eclipse-2010-the-best-show-on-earth/">Geminids Meteor Shower and Lunar Eclipse 2010</a></span> So the kid will be at his Mom's house, but he might actually be awake for school already… and I think I can maybe drag my butt in to work early to see about watching these from a spectacular vantage point…</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/mEawu.jpg">Teleportation discovered!?</a></span> Apparently it's a) really easy to create fake newspaper clippings, b) annoying when I complain about there not being any way to teleport home, and c) funny to substitute "hardon" for "hadron" </li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Relentlesslyoptimistic/~3/uJKqSnIR9Y4/fox-news-reposts-obama-article-from-onion-without-mentioning-that-its-a-joke.html">Fox News Reposts Obama article from Onion without mentioning that it's a joke.</a></span> Oh no! Fox News doing something stupid and inflammatory? What is the world coming to? :)</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BicycleDesign/~3/TWqi1gI5Olk/">Mr. Freehand’s homebuilt carbon bikes</a></span> Just found this site today, and wow are these cool. The guy made these bike frames with no power tools and they are unbelievably cool looking. There's a link to some great pics both of the finished bikes and the process.</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BicycleDesign/~3/UIJfBKtk0Bs/">Urban concept bikes, a watch, and an e-velomobile</a></span> I linked this one because I want to think more about the "push rod drive train." At first glance it looks like it's just like the old locomotives were (at least in cartoons) and I bet that's a whole lot less messy than a chain… Unfortunately the author's site appears to be designe for people with even more bandwidth than I seem to be able to muster at home. I have to remember to talk to my bike peeps about this one.</li>
<li><span class="s1"><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Relentlesslyoptimistic/~3/sJzLx4C7qKE/you-can-swim-as-fast-in-snot-as-in-water-if-you-want-to-1996-post-reblogged.html">You can swim as fast in snot as in water. If you want to. </a></span> I shared this one because I remember the Mythbusters testing it too :)</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1d37ef;"><a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/12/space_x_launches_commercial_space_f.html">Space X launches commercial space flight</a> </span>Cool!!!!</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1d37ef; font-family: Times;"><span class="s2"><a href="http://www.commutebybike.com/2010/12/09/repeat-after-me-winter-commuters-arent-heroes/">Repeat After Me: Winter Commuters Aren’t Heroes</a> </span></span>A lot of people give me strange looks or even stranger comments when they hear that I'm planning to keep riding my bike to work all winter. And since I've made it through a serious winter storm already, I don't see why I'd stop now. It's not that cold for a short ride, and it's a whole lot more fun to ride my bike than to drive my car, though I guess I am a little worried about damaging my bike in the snow and hope that I don't have to replace the whole drivetrain when the nice weather comes back. A lot of people were envious of me in the storm even, as I rode my bike right past their parked car on my 30 minute ride home, and they had me to think about for another hour or two as they were stuck in unmoving gridlock. Ride your bike folks, it's not that hard :)</li>
</ul><div>Pro tip -- you can hold CTRL when you click on any link to open it in a new tab BEHIND the current one. Great for stacking up a lot of things so that they can load in the background.</div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8108872533777498087.post-11840083473982700582010-12-09T15:55:00.000-05:002010-12-09T15:55:42.022-05:00Things I've learned in the last 24 hours 2010-12-09A few of the things Tom learned today:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<ul><li>cvt <horizontal pixels=""> <vertical pixels=""> will give you the custom modeline for setting up output. For example, "cvt 1920 1080" will give you the proper numbers to set up the display on the new HD panel for displaying public information. Guessing at the proper modeline numbers will give you something that causes the screen to flash like crazy.</vertical></horizontal></li>
<li>I confirmed what I suspected, that 65" LCD panels are really really heavy.</li>
<li>I learned that sometimes people who make fun of you for being prepared will ask to borrow the very thing they teased you about.</li>
<li>I learned that a 60" screen is too big for the lobby outside the library</li>
<li>I learned that remotes really don't ever stay where you put them.</li>
<li>Most importantly, I learned that you shouldn't eat a whole box of rotini fast, even if you're hungry.</li>
</ul>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13202108574402881019noreply@blogger.com0