Carnaval Gold in Brooklyn: Minimal Clothing | Gridskipper

For all of us Brooklynites wishing we were in Brazil this weekend: this is for you! Thanks Gridskipper! Carnaval Gold in Brooklyn: Minimal Clothing | Gridskipper

What am I reading now?

Inkheart! This is one of the scarier books I have read in a long time. Aimed for the younger crowd, Ms. Funke, (The author) achieves a sense of suspense and thrill that is completely engrossing. The premise is pretty cool and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

That Zak is too clever

Zak's fave toy is a squeaky toy that he loves to bite and make squeak. Endlessly. You can imagine how quickly this becomes tiresome. Normally a quick "Come here Zak" is enough to make him drop everything and come running over. My better half quickly scoops up the offending toy and hides it. Done! Irritation over for the night.

Except for last night. Clever boy stopped suddenly when I called him. Turned back, picked up his squeaky plush toy and, head high and tail wagging, trotted over.

Watch out for Zak. One day, he's going to rule the world.

Incredibly cool innovation for tires OR How the real world caught up with Science Ficiton

In Neil Stephenson's book Snow Crash (BTW, one of the greatest reads of all time!) he writes about super cool tires on futuristic cars. Well, Michelin has introduced these amazing no air tires, with telescoping spokes that expand or retract as you go over bumps or potholes. Really cool.

Via Boing Boing: Snow Crash-like wheels from Michelin

Susan Lucci on Ellen

So I'm watching Ellen, as I am wont to do on occasion, and the guest is Susan Lucci. Now, Susan is an attractive woman. The years have done nothing to diminish this. And she is in excellent shape. I am doubtful that there is an ounce of fat on that petite rock hard body. I do have to say this though: her head is just way too large for that body. That girl needs to eat!

What am I reading now?

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Really enjoyable. Reads so easily and smoothly. It feels as if Botswana comes out of the page and embraces you as you read.

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Car of the future?

This has to be the coolest BMW, if not the coolest car, on the planet. Via Autoblog.com

Photo of the Day

IMG_0655
Originally uploaded by hsm.

A goat's head at the base of a lamp in Bryant Park, NYC

Photo of the Day

zak - 01-20-05-010
Originally uploaded by hsm.

Google Suggest

Yet another Google innovation. This time, as you type your search term, a drop down appears suggesting a search with the number of hits that search would produce. Try it here: Google Suggest

There are tons of cool Google experiments over at Google Labs. Check them out at!

Eye of Science

I like to highlight cool and interesting things I find on the web. Sometimes, I'm the only one who thinks they are cool and interesting, and other times not. I'ld like to think everyone will think this is cool and interesting.

This is a gallery of photos taken with an electron microscope. It is wonderful to see how nature is so beautiful on so many levels, even the microscopic. Link: Eye of Science - Gallery

In Canada, they cut out the middleman!

This article is a must read if you are interested in any one of the following:
1. VOIP
2. Wireless sweet spot (as opposed to hotspot)
3. Bypassing ISPs
4. Bypassing the cable companies
5. The 6% Solution (no, not morphine)
7. Making one Linux PDA do the job of two desktops, 1 notebook and 3 phones
8. You're interested in incredibly cool implementations of technology

Actually, you should just go read this article. Fin.
The Limits of SpongeBob SquarePants

About Gmail

I have 6 Gmail invitations. First come, first served. Just leave a comment with your email address for a free gmail account. Link: Gmail

Google Video Search

The Google train just keeps chugging along. It's still in beta but Google has apparently indexed television. Google Video Search

Linux can help me take over the WORLD! hahahahahahahahaha......

Who says geeks have no sense of humor. Link: Linux flash animation

Better Solar Heating

Nothing like a small engineering change to boost efficiency. These circular solar tubes are 40% more efficient and work just as well in the winter as they do in the summer. Nothing like cheap hot water all year long. Via MetaEfficient.

Link: Solar Tubes: Very Efficient Heating: by MetaEfficient

Why Women Live Longer Than Men.

These pictures say it all. Funny: Why Women Live Longer Than Men

Coral: The ultimate in uber-cool

Now granted, only the uber-geek will see how uber-cool this is. And the uber-coolness spans many levels. Let me explain: The Coral network allows you to access any website through a P2P cache. If you've ever visited a site and found it to be down because they exceeded their bandwidth allotment for the month, then Coral can retrieve a copy of this site for you. From their website:

Are you tired of clicking on some link from a web portal, only to find that the website is temporarily off-line because thousands or millions of other users are also trying to access it? Does your network have a really low-bandwidth connection, such that everyone, even accessing the same web pages, suffers from slow downloads? Have you ever run a website, only to find that suddenly you get hit with a spike of thousands of requests, overloading your server and possibly causing high monthly bills? If so, Coral might be your free solution for these problems!

The coolness of course comes from the fact that you may be running a website with low bandwidth, but by utilizing Coral in your links, suddenly the low bandwidth is not an issue anymore and all your viewers/readers see a speed improvement, especially during peak browsing times. The second cool factor is that this technology is based on peer-to-peer networks. Suddenly, a legitimate use for P2P (not that file sharing can't be legitimate, just that usually, it isn't. BTW, there are other legitimate uses for P2P such as Skype.) Finally, I love how easy it is to use Coral. Simply append

.nyud.net:8090

to the end of any URL to see a cached copy. For example: instead of cnn.com, try cnn.com.nyud.net:8090.

Link: Coral: The NYU Distribution Network

Call your dog, he misses you.

For the pet owning ubergeek, now you can track and call your dog whenever you want. This new high-tech collar has a built in GPS and cell phone. Did your dog run too far away to hear you yell "COME"? Just track him on the GPS and call him on his cell! Issue a soft but commanding "Come Home, Zak!" and he'll slowly trot home to you, head high, tail wagging.

File into the "What will they think of next?" folder.


I can't resist: pictures of Zak, sans cell.

Thanks to Gizmodo for this link.
Link: Petsmobility PetCell

Bruner: Check out Tip #19

I'm a geek and I love it. Here is a Gmail tip only a geek would love! BTW, tons of other cool tips on this page too.
Link: Gmail Tips - #19

I Like You.. I really like you...

I don't usually go for stuff like this, but I liked :) this one! So did Deb and she really does have taste. Check it out at: Link: I Like You.. I really like you...

Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

I like my humor. Especially when flavored with tech. This is one of the funnier browser reviews I have read. Check it out at: BBspot - Browser Showdown: Firefox vs. Internet Explorer

GE Monogram Wine Vault

One of the blogs I peruse just for fun is luxist.com. Dedicated to all things insanely expensive, it's just fun to see what new toys I cannot afford. This walk in refrigerated wine cooler can hold over 2000 bottles. It also includes an "Electronic Sommelier". Just in case a real sommelier is not in your budget.

Link: GE Monogram Wine Vault - Luxist - www.luxist.com

Lord of the Rings spoof

This was amusing. Worth 2 minutes of your time.

Lord of the Rings spoof

ESPN.com - NFL - Jet-ting: Hackett resigns under rising pressure

He can call it resigning. I call it good riddance! Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger was hired hours later. Once again, our hopes soar.

ESPN.com - NFL - Jet-ting: Hackett resigns under rising pressure

Texas lawmaker wants to grade kids on weight

It's a sad sad day when the school needs to inform the parents about their child's health and weight.
Blogging Baby - www.bloggingbaby.com

The Rasterbator - and NO, it's not what you think!

Every once in a while, you just stumble across a website and you think: WOW, that's cool. Well, that's what I thought about this website. Who wouldn't love a photo of theirs enlarged to fit an entire wall? (And if it's only me, please don't tell me).



The Rasterbator Via the digital photography weblog.

It's not a house plant, it's a keychain plant!

How cool is this? Awesome! :)

Link: Akihabara News : Key chain plants

What am I reading now?

The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Aimed at the younger audience, I found them incredibly fun and enjoyable. They are especially well suited for reading aloud.

Strongly recomended. Barnes & Noble / Amazon

Can a faucet be cool?

This faucet can. Nothing new about the infrared sensor to turn on automatically. What is cool is that it charges itself when you use it. It's almost like a perpetual engine. Engineering genius.

Faucets Reviews

MetaEfficient

I love it when I stumble across a website that fits so neatly into my idealogy/reality/aspirations for life. Metaefficient is such a website. I've just discovered it. Be assured that as I peruse the contents of this site, I will link to articles I find of interest.

Link: MetaEfficient

The iPod Shuffle - Marketing Genius

So it's been a few days since the iPod Shuffle has been out and apparently, they are selling like hotcakes. Proof that Steve is a genius. He has the buying public convinced that the Shuffle is a must buy. The following was on the back of promotional tees at MacWorld:

Why shuffle?
Sometimes it's good to mix things up. With iPod shuffle your music is never the same experience twice. How does it know which song to play next? Can it read your mind? Can it read your moods? Load it up. Put it on. See where it takes you.

240 songs a million different ways.

The Shuffle does not have a screen. You press play and it either plays the songs in order, or turn on shuffle, and it plays them in random order. The entire ad/marketing campaign is aimed at convincing everybody that this is a feature! Unbelievably, the adoring public is buying it as the stores can't keep the Shuffle in stock.

For me, a screen is a must! I have to be able to choose the track or playlist. But Steve almost convinced me that the Shuffle is a must buy! Luckily, sanity returned a few days later! Close call.

It's not a bug, it's a feature! Pure Genius.

Link: The Apple Store - iPod Shuffle

Darth Tater

This is too awesome! I want one!

Link: Yahoo! News - Darth Tater from Hasbro

What is a Creative Commons License?

If you scroll to the very bottom of this page, you will notice a copyright tag that I've put on the content of this page. Thanks to the people at Creative Commons, I can post on my site how I want my content used.

The Creative Commons license is not a full copyright. It's not in the public domain either. A quote from their website:

Creative Commons defines the spectrum of possibilities between full copyright — all rights reserved — and the public domain — no rights reserved. Our licenses help you keep your copyright while inviting certain uses of your work — a "some rights reserved" copyright.

Why is this important? I don't really know completely. Partially, I feel that it gives me control over my content. That's an empowering feeling. And somehow, it fits into the altruistic nature of the internet.

The process is super-easy. You simply answer a few questions as to how you want your work used, and it automatically generates a license with instructions on how to use it. It took all of five minutes. I chose the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike copyright.

Learn More about Creative Commons here.

I reformatted my hard drive and I've lost all my music. Is there anyway I can get them off my iPod?

How many times have you heard that? Well I've always thought that the only way was to buy add-on software like xplay. But apparently there is a workaround that costs nothing. Found on Apple's discussion boards no less. Enjoy. Link

Goodbye Gus and Millie

As of yesterday, Gus and Millie have found a new home.  Good luck Giovanni. Take good care of them, they're good chinchillas.

What I'm reading now....

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud. This is one cool book. Could not put it down and tons better than that Harry Potter crap (that I also read, don't get me wrong! ;) ) Still, this is superior literature and highly enjoyable.

Barnes & Noble /Amazon

Heart Wrenching Anguish

Jets Lose. I just want to scream endlessly into the night. The agony is unbearable. It feels like your heart has been ripped from your chest. I know! I know! It's a trivial sports game. Well, it's not when you're emotionally invested. Then it sucks!

Paul Hackett should be fired for his lousy and conservative play calling in the 4th quarter. He sucks.

Doug Brien sucks too!

AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

Chickpea Ragout

Many of you know that I cook. Many of you know that I am an absolute snob about how good something must taste to be considered worthy of my time ;) . This is a delicious chickpea ragout (stew) recipe from my hero: Jacques Pepin. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and it's ready in another 20 minutes. Yummy! Thanks Jacques. Link to printer friendly recipe.

Link: KQED: Jacques Pepin: Fast Food My Way: Recipes: Chickpea Ragout

MS Word tip

As a software trainer, it seems I've seen all there is to see in basic programs like MS Word. However, every once in a while, I stumble across a new feature or I learn something new and then my joy knows no bounds. :)

MS Word has a built in thesaurus. To access it, select the word for which you need a synonym or antonym and press shift+F7. Make sure you choose the correct meaning before choosing the synonym. Enjoy.

Your PC is infected and you don't even know it...

Scary headline? These are some of the claims Dvorak makes in his PC Magazine article. No solutions are offered but it is an iteresting read. Apparently the only solution is to become a Mac user. But maybe not for long.

Link

CNN.com - Swiss banks publish Holocaust era accounts

Interesting news. Survivors and their heirs have only six months to submit a formal claim. It seems to me it should be the same number of years the Swiss banks held back this info. The list of claimants is available at http://www.crt-ii.org.
link

Altoids MP3 player

I don't know what's up with using Altoids cans for these hacking projects, but they are minty strong. Here's a build your own MP3 player using an Altoids can.

iPod in my car? But I don't have a BMW!

Well, you don't need a BMW. Clarion has this amazing in-dash multimedia station with iPod integration. Built in DVD, and a great touch panel screen. Cost? Don't know yet. Drop a comment if you know. Check it out here. Pictures here.

But wait! There's more: DensionUSA also has an iPod connectivity kit.

And yet another car connectivity kit, this time from the folks who gave us insanely overpriced audio cables: Monster. Check it out here.

Which Web Browser?

There is only one answer to this question, and that answer is Firefox . If you are still using IE, you are exposing yourself to the most insecure / unstable web browser available. Do yourself a favor; go ahead and download the fastest, most feature rich and stable web browser available today.

After installing, visit this page to get started, Tips & Tricks (advanced), and this page to learn about some really cool mouse shortcuts.

Mod the Xbox without opening it up!

To all my Xbox owning peeps, here are step-by-step instructions on softmodding the Xbox. Boot Linux, or use it as your home media center without ever having to crack the case open.
Link

The full review of the iPod Shuffle

The Mossberg Solution -- Personal Technology from The Wall Street Journal. Apparently, the previous post was just the conclusion of the review. Here's the whole thing.

iPod Shuffle review

Gizmodo : Mossberg Reviews the iPod Shuffle The fact that the new $99 iPod Shuffle has no screen seems like a bad design choice for me. But who am I to argue with Steve Jobs who has had some amazing product hits since he came back. Here's a review from Gizmodo with some interesting points.....

chrisdiclerico.com :: blahblahblog :: iPod Altoids battery pack v2

This is a cool hack for all you iPod/Dremmel owners (Bruner). :)

Annoyances.org - What's the difference between Windows XP Home and Professional editions?

I've often been asked what the difference is between Windows XP Home and Pro (Josh). My standard answer has always been a simplified: "Home has limited support for networking". Here's a detailed answer thanks to the fine folks over at O'reilly and Annoyances.org.

GeodSoft How-To: Common and Bad Passwords

GeodSoft How-To: Common and Bad Passwords Is your password on this list? You can bet almost anything that every word on this list is in every hacker/crackers' dictionary.

For advice on good passwords, check out Password Advice.

del.icio.us Bookmarks

del.icio.us is a great tool. It allows you to upload your bookmarks and thus have them available regardless of which computer you are using. But that is not the feature that I love. I love the fact that all the links in everyone's bookmarks are public. This allows you to browse the websites others have deemed worthy of bookmarking. Really Really interesting. I visit it everyday looking for another worthy site to browse.