Unfortunately The Man isn't paying me to promote his coffee. To ease that pain I look to Scarlet and take solace in the fact that "tomorrow is another day."
...yeah, I went there. I said that.
30 June 2008
Helping out The Man
So it's kind of silly, but I happen to like their coffee. Also it's free, and so if you like coffee perhaps you will enjoy FREE coffee
Unfortunately The Man isn't paying me to promote his coffee. To ease that pain I look to Scarlet and take solace in the fact that "tomorrow is another day."
...yeah, I went there. I said that.
Unfortunately The Man isn't paying me to promote his coffee. To ease that pain I look to Scarlet and take solace in the fact that "tomorrow is another day."
...yeah, I went there. I said that.
28 June 2008
Cameras, not phones!
Quick list of cameras being considered atm:
Nikon D60
Canon Rebel XSi
Pentax K20D
Pentax K200D
And the new frontrunner:
the Olympus E-510!!
Of course there's going to be a successor to this model in August but I'm hearing it will cost more. And why shouldn't it, it will be brand new. I'm told that the kit lenses sold with Canons and Nikons are actually not all that great. If the K20D was cheaper I might have leaned more towards buying that as I still have a few K-mount lenses and they would work on the body (right?).
Apparently also worth noting is the number of lenses available to each brand. Canon and Nikon have the most to offer in this category in both current and legacy lenses. Pentax, I believe, has a decent number as well. The Olympus has about 30 lenses I'm hearing; honestly, that sounds like more than enough. My thinking is that there is still a lot of flux in the DSLR world and that the E510 looks like an excellent camera to carry me past that tide.
To close this post out I think I'll mention a website I ran across while researching all these various cameras. It is one that I have come across before for other electronics information and I always find the articles there to be informative and pleasurable to read. This is due in great part because they have an index of each article which allows you to jump to the various sections which might most interest you without having to sift through the rest. I give you:
AnandTech.com
Nikon D60
Canon Rebel XSi
Pentax K20D
Pentax K200D
And the new frontrunner:
the Olympus E-510!!
Of course there's going to be a successor to this model in August but I'm hearing it will cost more. And why shouldn't it, it will be brand new. I'm told that the kit lenses sold with Canons and Nikons are actually not all that great. If the K20D was cheaper I might have leaned more towards buying that as I still have a few K-mount lenses and they would work on the body (right?).
Apparently also worth noting is the number of lenses available to each brand. Canon and Nikon have the most to offer in this category in both current and legacy lenses. Pentax, I believe, has a decent number as well. The Olympus has about 30 lenses I'm hearing; honestly, that sounds like more than enough. My thinking is that there is still a lot of flux in the DSLR world and that the E510 looks like an excellent camera to carry me past that tide.
To close this post out I think I'll mention a website I ran across while researching all these various cameras. It is one that I have come across before for other electronics information and I always find the articles there to be informative and pleasurable to read. This is due in great part because they have an index of each article which allows you to jump to the various sections which might most interest you without having to sift through the rest. I give you:
AnandTech.com
20 June 2008
EL OH EL
So, you remember that phone I JUST told you about that I fixed? Yeah, um...
...it broke again.
True story. Perhaps a sign? Who can say. I don't really want to buy another place holder phone, but if this thing just keeps on breaking....*sigh*.
Anyone know where I can buy an inexpensive N82? Because that's kind of what I want now.
...it broke again.
True story. Perhaps a sign? Who can say. I don't really want to buy another place holder phone, but if this thing just keeps on breaking....*sigh*.
Anyone know where I can buy an inexpensive N82? Because that's kind of what I want now.
He is Ninja
and he's pretty darn funny. Here's a link to the first video of his that I saw:
Ask a Ninja: What is Podcasting?
He's got, like, 70-80 clips of fairly hilarious material. Srsly.
Also interesting to watch, and subscribable in iTunes, is the podcast GeekBrief. I'm not sure if it was something wrong with my computer or if there was some kind of glitch in iTunes, but I had to download an episode and then click the 'subscribe' button beside that to get the subscription. Clicking the normal subscribe button on the main iTunes listing timed out a couple of times. Weird, that.
17 June 2008
OY!
I've run across a few interesting things lately, this time intangibles.
First off, highly impressed by a little deed undertaken by a good friend of mine, Justin. We were hanging out, enjoying a little lunch and he was telling about his iPod and how the click wheel no longer functioned properly on it. Instead of paying a ton of money to have Apple repair it, or worse, throwing it away, he decided to order a $4 dollar part and fix it himself. He's even taking the opportunity to customize his iPod a little. Good show, says I. I was so impressed by this small act that when I found out the pointer knob on my cell phone was broken I decided to fix it myself instead of haggling with the provider, and/or replacing it. I spent a little over $6.00 for small screwdrivers so that I would be able to open the case and get to the broken knob. A small dab of super glue and 30 minutes setting time later the phone was repaired. It's not pretty but it works.
I'm not concerned with it not looking pristine as I am looking into getting a new phone, one that has a decent camera with it. No, I don't think it will be an iPhone because the camera features on it are woeful and that includes the newly released iPhone with 3G. Front runners right now are both Nokias, the N82 and the N95, though I think I'll have to rethink several things if I were to buy it now. By far more likely is that I'll just keep gathering information and buy something at a later date.
The other thing I have run across recently is really two things: Twitter and Qik. These are interesting web tools to be sure; my personal preference to visit is Qik so far, though as far as use I think I'd probably be more apt to use Twitter. Qik is fascinating. There are thousands of short videos that people stream to the website, of conferences and vacations, parties and music practice, as well as other odd things to make the mind wonder...mostly wonder why anyone would stream that. It's inspiring in some strange ways, to me anyway. I very much like the fact that they are ordinary videos of people around the world and though the language is not understand the humanity comes through. Perhaps the beginnings of globalized thinking will spring from such things. One can hope anyway.
Comments welcome of course, you two :)
First off, highly impressed by a little deed undertaken by a good friend of mine, Justin. We were hanging out, enjoying a little lunch and he was telling about his iPod and how the click wheel no longer functioned properly on it. Instead of paying a ton of money to have Apple repair it, or worse, throwing it away, he decided to order a $4 dollar part and fix it himself. He's even taking the opportunity to customize his iPod a little. Good show, says I. I was so impressed by this small act that when I found out the pointer knob on my cell phone was broken I decided to fix it myself instead of haggling with the provider, and/or replacing it. I spent a little over $6.00 for small screwdrivers so that I would be able to open the case and get to the broken knob. A small dab of super glue and 30 minutes setting time later the phone was repaired. It's not pretty but it works.
I'm not concerned with it not looking pristine as I am looking into getting a new phone, one that has a decent camera with it. No, I don't think it will be an iPhone because the camera features on it are woeful and that includes the newly released iPhone with 3G. Front runners right now are both Nokias, the N82 and the N95, though I think I'll have to rethink several things if I were to buy it now. By far more likely is that I'll just keep gathering information and buy something at a later date.
The other thing I have run across recently is really two things: Twitter and Qik. These are interesting web tools to be sure; my personal preference to visit is Qik so far, though as far as use I think I'd probably be more apt to use Twitter. Qik is fascinating. There are thousands of short videos that people stream to the website, of conferences and vacations, parties and music practice, as well as other odd things to make the mind wonder...mostly wonder why anyone would stream that. It's inspiring in some strange ways, to me anyway. I very much like the fact that they are ordinary videos of people around the world and though the language is not understand the humanity comes through. Perhaps the beginnings of globalized thinking will spring from such things. One can hope anyway.
Comments welcome of course, you two :)
01 April 2008
From the Greensboro News & Record
The following was submitted the N & R recently, and I liked it so much that I decided to come out of my blogging coma and post it for you. Enjoy ;-)
-----
Gas prices are on the rise again, and while price swings will continue, the long-term trend is nothing but up.
There are plenty of ¨villains¨ with their hands in the cookie jar, but the fact is the world´s maximum productive capacity is fast reaching its peak (virtually every Western industrial nation already has and the Middle East is not far behind).
Soon, rising demand will outstrip world supply and $4 gas prices will be fondly remembered like the nickel candy bar.
Many Americans seem unable to accept or deal with this new paradigm and its straightforward solution: Reduce miles driven and/or switch to a higher-mileage car. While some are slowly and grudgingly coming to this realization, many still have one last defence: ¨I can´t afford to trade my gas-guzzler for a more efficient vehicle, I´ll lose too much money,¨ or ¨I´ve already paid off my loan, I can´t afford a new car.¨
If these are your excuses, consider this: If you own a big truck or SUV, it is depreciating rapidly (for example, a basic $31,000 Ford Expedition purchased in 2004 currently has a Kelley Blue Book ¨private sale value¨ of approximately $13,000). That $18,000 is gone forever. In fact, if gas prices continue to rise dramatically, the loss of the ramaining $13,000 isn´t far behind.
What can you do? Trade the Expedition for a fuel-efficient alternative. If you can see your way to a midsize (buy a trailer if you move big stuff occasionally), a Chevy Malibu of comparable age and mileage has a private sale value of $8,000.
If a large vehicle is really required, a comparable Dodge Grand Caravan also carries a private sale value in the $8,000 range. Such an exchange via private sales offers the opportunity to make money, and purchase from a used-car lot at least to break even.
Both the Chevy and the Caravan would be cheeaper to maintain, depreciate less and yield significant gas savings. At 15,000 miles per year and $4 per gallon, the Malibu would save $1,328 a year and the Caravan $709. Coupled with liss maintenance and depreciation, annual savings would likely be approcimately $2,825 for the Malibu and $2,100 for the Caravan, or $235 and $175 per month respectively.
Is the SUV really that cool?
By Richard Mearns, Greensboro native.
-----
Gas prices are on the rise again, and while price swings will continue, the long-term trend is nothing but up.
There are plenty of ¨villains¨ with their hands in the cookie jar, but the fact is the world´s maximum productive capacity is fast reaching its peak (virtually every Western industrial nation already has and the Middle East is not far behind).
Soon, rising demand will outstrip world supply and $4 gas prices will be fondly remembered like the nickel candy bar.
Many Americans seem unable to accept or deal with this new paradigm and its straightforward solution: Reduce miles driven and/or switch to a higher-mileage car. While some are slowly and grudgingly coming to this realization, many still have one last defence: ¨I can´t afford to trade my gas-guzzler for a more efficient vehicle, I´ll lose too much money,¨ or ¨I´ve already paid off my loan, I can´t afford a new car.¨
If these are your excuses, consider this: If you own a big truck or SUV, it is depreciating rapidly (for example, a basic $31,000 Ford Expedition purchased in 2004 currently has a Kelley Blue Book ¨private sale value¨ of approximately $13,000). That $18,000 is gone forever. In fact, if gas prices continue to rise dramatically, the loss of the ramaining $13,000 isn´t far behind.
What can you do? Trade the Expedition for a fuel-efficient alternative. If you can see your way to a midsize (buy a trailer if you move big stuff occasionally), a Chevy Malibu of comparable age and mileage has a private sale value of $8,000.
If a large vehicle is really required, a comparable Dodge Grand Caravan also carries a private sale value in the $8,000 range. Such an exchange via private sales offers the opportunity to make money, and purchase from a used-car lot at least to break even.
Both the Chevy and the Caravan would be cheeaper to maintain, depreciate less and yield significant gas savings. At 15,000 miles per year and $4 per gallon, the Malibu would save $1,328 a year and the Caravan $709. Coupled with liss maintenance and depreciation, annual savings would likely be approcimately $2,825 for the Malibu and $2,100 for the Caravan, or $235 and $175 per month respectively.
Is the SUV really that cool?
By Richard Mearns, Greensboro native.
15 January 2008
Robots and music
I honestly don't recall what it was on Youtube that started this line of viewing, but I came across some interesting robot fight videos after seeing some interesting work with Lego's new Mind Storm toy (learning apparatus?). Here is a sample of what I saw:
That's one tough little guy.
Anyone remember Battle Bots? Because it was pretty much awesomebajawsome. (Note: Awesomebajawsome is not actually a word.)
I found a few others, including some clips of Robot Jox. Yeah, there's a movie I'm sure most of you haven't seen or even heard of before. Don't lie, you didn't even know it was a movie. Classic film really, I see it going down....well, yeah.
In case you are interested, here are a few clips of the Lego Mind Storm videos that started me off on my YT bonanza:
Clip1 and
Clip2
That second clip is a crazy one. Someone built a little (relatively) lego car manufacturing plant. Kind of a slow video, but fascinating I thought.
--Robots in music as well--
Well, at least as far as the creation of it goes. I decided that today I would watch some Daft Punk videos. So I typed in Daft Punk and saw some of their music videos. I also came across some weird phenomenon whereby some people have written on themselves...a lot, and choreographed movements and/or a dance in order to present their body lyrics in time with Daft Punk music. So far I've seen a few whole body clips (to the same song it would seem) and a few hand/finger clips. You Daft Punk fans are an interesting bunch. Here's a few clips, and N.B., the body one is probably NSFW.
Body lyrics to Harder, Better, Faster Stronger.
Confusing fingers interpretation of Technologic.
Who needs network television and it's writers when we such entertaining stuff on YouTube? Later on interwebbers.
PS - I found a clip of a show at the Cat's Cradle that I saw in person!!!! GRAND BUFFET SON! It's not weird if your cool about it.
That's one tough little guy.
Anyone remember Battle Bots? Because it was pretty much awesomebajawsome. (Note: Awesomebajawsome is not actually a word.)
I found a few others, including some clips of Robot Jox. Yeah, there's a movie I'm sure most of you haven't seen or even heard of before. Don't lie, you didn't even know it was a movie. Classic film really, I see it going down....well, yeah.
In case you are interested, here are a few clips of the Lego Mind Storm videos that started me off on my YT bonanza:
Clip1 and
Clip2
That second clip is a crazy one. Someone built a little (relatively) lego car manufacturing plant. Kind of a slow video, but fascinating I thought.
--Robots in music as well--
Well, at least as far as the creation of it goes. I decided that today I would watch some Daft Punk videos. So I typed in Daft Punk and saw some of their music videos. I also came across some weird phenomenon whereby some people have written on themselves...a lot, and choreographed movements and/or a dance in order to present their body lyrics in time with Daft Punk music. So far I've seen a few whole body clips (to the same song it would seem) and a few hand/finger clips. You Daft Punk fans are an interesting bunch. Here's a few clips, and N.B., the body one is probably NSFW.
Body lyrics to Harder, Better, Faster Stronger.
Confusing fingers interpretation of Technologic.
Who needs network television and it's writers when we such entertaining stuff on YouTube? Later on interwebbers.
PS - I found a clip of a show at the Cat's Cradle that I saw in person!!!! GRAND BUFFET SON! It's not weird if your cool about it.
07 January 2008
Links for the crafty folks among us
Hey there blogophiles, greetings! Today, in between checking updates on what the newest showings are at CES, I perused YouTube some. I go through stints where I watch a bunch of stuff on YouTube. Today's finds come from a video I stumbled on by searching for "How to". What I found was a video on how to knit, which I clicked on and watched because I know people who like to knit and wondered if they might enjoy a link to the vid. It's pretty basic stuff that gets covered, so no dice as far as being interesting for my knitting pals, however, it was produced by the following website:
Threadbanger.com
They have a lot of neat things on there. I recommend you visit even if you aren't into personally produced marvels of craft ingenuity. I hope to check it out more as time permits. Maybe I'll finally learn how to sew, eh? Also mentioned in the video were the following sites:
Etsy.com
burdastyle.com
52projects.com
crafster.org
indiecraftshows.com
Burda is a sewing pattern and how-to site. Etsy is an awesome site; people make really cool craft stuff and sell it online. Check that one out for sure. 52 Projects is ...well I`m not exactly sure what it´s all about just yet but it looks like a neat place. Craftster is a hodge podge of how-tos, how I did this, etc. Lastly, Indiecraftshows.com is a listing. Of independent craftshows.
Also I just joined up with Del.icio.us but I haven´t added any links to it yet. Next time perhaps :)
Threadbanger.com
They have a lot of neat things on there. I recommend you visit even if you aren't into personally produced marvels of craft ingenuity. I hope to check it out more as time permits. Maybe I'll finally learn how to sew, eh? Also mentioned in the video were the following sites:
Etsy.com
burdastyle.com
52projects.com
crafster.org
indiecraftshows.com
Burda is a sewing pattern and how-to site. Etsy is an awesome site; people make really cool craft stuff and sell it online. Check that one out for sure. 52 Projects is ...well I`m not exactly sure what it´s all about just yet but it looks like a neat place. Craftster is a hodge podge of how-tos, how I did this, etc. Lastly, Indiecraftshows.com is a listing. Of independent craftshows.
Also I just joined up with Del.icio.us but I haven´t added any links to it yet. Next time perhaps :)
04 January 2008
Two links before I catch a few winks
Here are two spots within the internet that I came upon today and thought, "Hey, I'll post those for whoever (anyone?) reads my blog." Also, it's easy to find these links when they're all collected in one spot like this. I haven't tried any of the online bookmarking sites yet;I'll have to look into that in the future. Until such time I give you:
--The Carbon Footprint Calculator--
Make sure you have your utility bills handy, or not if you happen to know on average what you pay for them over the course of a year. I wasn't able to try this out yet; I don't pay the bills here so I don't really know what numbers to plug in.
--Bush Railroad--
I'd explain this one, but it's really better if you don't know ahead of time. For those of us who are not big fans of W. Also, this is a video and NSFW if you catch my drift. If not, here's what I mean.
--The Carbon Footprint Calculator--
Make sure you have your utility bills handy, or not if you happen to know on average what you pay for them over the course of a year. I wasn't able to try this out yet; I don't pay the bills here so I don't really know what numbers to plug in.
--Bush Railroad--
I'd explain this one, but it's really better if you don't know ahead of time. For those of us who are not big fans of W. Also, this is a video and NSFW if you catch my drift. If not, here's what I mean.
23 December 2007
A few links
I came across a few interesting things tonight that I thought I'd share with you.
Aptera.com
The first is a vehicle they are planning on making in California. Reservations are being taken now; the site lists an expected price tag of either $26,900 or $29,900 depending on the model you purchase. I like the look myself, but I can see this not being widely popular. Also, it's expensive.
P2pays.org
Pollution Prevention Pays is the North Carolina government's recycling website with all kinds of information on how to recycle just about everything. I ended up here looking for ways to recycle defunct electronics; this site has information on how to do just that and a whole lot more.
StoryofStuff.com
An interesting site that outlines where the stuff that we love to buy comes from, how it is manufactured, distributed and, ultimately, thrown away. I haven't watched the entire clip that loads up when you go to the website, but the introduction was pretty interesting. I'm sure the rest will be good as well.
iRiver Clix 2
I thought I'd include a fun link as well. This is a video review posted by Jenn of Pocketables.net on YouTube. This looks like a great little mp3 player. Lots of interesting features and abilities. I confess kind of sort of wanting one. It might just be what Christmas money goes to. If you like this little gem, you can purchase it on amazon.com and directly from iRiver (the manufacturer) as well.
Aptera.com
The first is a vehicle they are planning on making in California. Reservations are being taken now; the site lists an expected price tag of either $26,900 or $29,900 depending on the model you purchase. I like the look myself, but I can see this not being widely popular. Also, it's expensive.
P2pays.org
Pollution Prevention Pays is the North Carolina government's recycling website with all kinds of information on how to recycle just about everything. I ended up here looking for ways to recycle defunct electronics; this site has information on how to do just that and a whole lot more.
StoryofStuff.com
An interesting site that outlines where the stuff that we love to buy comes from, how it is manufactured, distributed and, ultimately, thrown away. I haven't watched the entire clip that loads up when you go to the website, but the introduction was pretty interesting. I'm sure the rest will be good as well.
iRiver Clix 2
I thought I'd include a fun link as well. This is a video review posted by Jenn of Pocketables.net on YouTube. This looks like a great little mp3 player. Lots of interesting features and abilities. I confess kind of sort of wanting one. It might just be what Christmas money goes to. If you like this little gem, you can purchase it on amazon.com and directly from iRiver (the manufacturer) as well.
22 December 2007
personal post
Today we hit a deer on the way to our yearly family christmas party. Looks like the little bugger did about $3500 dollars worth of damage to my car. Of course, the deer ended up dead so I think we got the better end of the deal. I was asleep at the time so I can't really say for sure how it happened; dad tells us some fool of a deer leaped out a cove of woods and right into the car. Luckily I was the only one injured in any way. According to the P.A. that saw me I have some spasmed muscles to tend to. A few xrays, two minor prescriptions and about 20 minutes later I was back on the way to the Christmas party.
It was really a great party and I am glad we were still able to go. There were several looking back events that I enjoyed very much, including a touching story my mom wrote about the Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause that used to come and hand out presents to everybody. Also included was a video montage that my aunt put together from videos she had taken during these events going back as far as 1986 I believe..maybe it was '87. It was a real treat to see what we all used to look like. After that we watched a slideshow of pictures taken at my cousins wedding, which enjoyed a good deal having been unable to attend the ceremony myself.
All in all a great night. Now if I could just get my back to stop hurting...
It was really a great party and I am glad we were still able to go. There were several looking back events that I enjoyed very much, including a touching story my mom wrote about the Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause that used to come and hand out presents to everybody. Also included was a video montage that my aunt put together from videos she had taken during these events going back as far as 1986 I believe..maybe it was '87. It was a real treat to see what we all used to look like. After that we watched a slideshow of pictures taken at my cousins wedding, which enjoyed a good deal having been unable to attend the ceremony myself.
All in all a great night. Now if I could just get my back to stop hurting...
18 December 2007
Updates for the day
Well good news today everyone, Nokia released a final version of OS2008 for the N800, along with an update for the N810. Of course, not having an N810, I´m not personally overly excited by that second part. However, the update to the 800 version is quite good. The browser seems even snappier than before. New icons and backgrounds are much appreciated. Maemo has also made available several new wallpapers. Aside from not being able to update/reinstall applications I was enjoying on the beta this has been a good update. I´m sure once everyone has satisfied their need to be most current (and I was one of those people to be sure) I´ll be able to get back some of those favored programs. I miss my Battle Gweled :)
On a different note, there was talk today on NPR, I believe on All Things Considered, about treating waste water such that it could be put back into the drinking water system. There was a lot of ¨Eeeewwwwwws¨ and ¨That´s disgusting...¨ from people listening to the show. Even one of the hosts said she was no longer thirsty after hearing the report. Let me give my take on the subject: get over it people. Waste water is already held to stricter standards than your drinking water is. The water that comes out of a waste water plant (so long as it is properly run) is far cleaner than the surface water sources from which many municipalities draw their water. There really wouldn´t need to be too much done in order to make the water that exits a waster water plant potable. I think people ought to look past their silly beliefs and actually consider these kinds of conservation efforts. Our present water supply in much of the United States, to me, makes contemplation and implementation of these sorts of measures requisite.
Fun link of the day: Sweet Daddy D! [link NSFW]
On a different note, there was talk today on NPR, I believe on All Things Considered, about treating waste water such that it could be put back into the drinking water system. There was a lot of ¨Eeeewwwwwws¨ and ¨That´s disgusting...¨ from people listening to the show. Even one of the hosts said she was no longer thirsty after hearing the report. Let me give my take on the subject: get over it people. Waste water is already held to stricter standards than your drinking water is. The water that comes out of a waste water plant (so long as it is properly run) is far cleaner than the surface water sources from which many municipalities draw their water. There really wouldn´t need to be too much done in order to make the water that exits a waster water plant potable. I think people ought to look past their silly beliefs and actually consider these kinds of conservation efforts. Our present water supply in much of the United States, to me, makes contemplation and implementation of these sorts of measures requisite.
Fun link of the day: Sweet Daddy D! [link NSFW]
14 December 2007
Try a little harder
Or perhaps, try in the first place. I have seen many SUVs in the past weeks and it dawned on me that each one is choking the planet a little bit. I´d like to say that´s an overstatement, but those foolish things guzzle down gallons of gas and spit out CO2 at an aweful rate. Why is it that Suzy homemaker has to have a Suburban to cart the kids around (or whatever the newest, biggest thing is in I-need-a-bigger-vehicle-than-you world)? What is she toting around? Apparently people aren´t too worried about the price of gas either. Perhaps having an SUV has become an even greater status symbol than before, as it now has a certain ¨I have enough money to pay for this 12-mph white elephant, and don´t you wish you did too?¨ quality.
I had hoped that after graduating and having a job for a while that I would be able to purchase a smart fortwo; plans have changed and I´m certain that won´t happen now. Why you ask? It´s not as if I drive a behemoth; I drive a little white ´04 Civic. No, I want a Smart so that I can in a little way offset the vehicle purchasing habits of my fellow Americans, knuckle-dragging fools though they may be. I have changed my light bulbs to CFLs and turn off most electrical appliances when I can, unplugging others when that is feasible. There are other things I would perhaps consider if it weren´t for the fact that I live in a rental house. 1/2 flush toilets come to mind. I´m also trying to find a relatively cheap low-flow showerhead. There are some that are around 1.8-1.5 gallons per minute, and with the water problems we´re having in North Carolina that´s highly appealing.
When will people start to wake up and make some changes in their wretched routines?
And to close out, have a look at this interesting mp3 player I came across today. Not a contender in the looks department, but cool nonetheless.
I had hoped that after graduating and having a job for a while that I would be able to purchase a smart fortwo; plans have changed and I´m certain that won´t happen now. Why you ask? It´s not as if I drive a behemoth; I drive a little white ´04 Civic. No, I want a Smart so that I can in a little way offset the vehicle purchasing habits of my fellow Americans, knuckle-dragging fools though they may be. I have changed my light bulbs to CFLs and turn off most electrical appliances when I can, unplugging others when that is feasible. There are other things I would perhaps consider if it weren´t for the fact that I live in a rental house. 1/2 flush toilets come to mind. I´m also trying to find a relatively cheap low-flow showerhead. There are some that are around 1.8-1.5 gallons per minute, and with the water problems we´re having in North Carolina that´s highly appealing.
When will people start to wake up and make some changes in their wretched routines?
And to close out, have a look at this interesting mp3 player I came across today. Not a contender in the looks department, but cool nonetheless.
Back to the technics
Okay, so I'll have to go back to being a bit of a gadget geek. I just flashed my N800 with the beta OS2008 available from Nokia. I have a mac so it was a little harrowing. Hell, at one point I thought I had bricked my new toy, and that made me a very sad and angry panda. However, after a few moments of rest, my tablet decided that it would in fact turn on again and complete the upgrade. I'm pleased so far. Web browsing is a lot more enjoyable. Youtube.com actually loads up in a decent time frame and the videos from it are pretty darn good considering. I can only hope that the flash support will improve as time goes on. Perhaps when the official 2008 is released it will be more gooder. Yes, more gooder.
I haven't tried video on it yet. I'll give that a go here in a bit and see how the videos I have already converted to play work out. There is new codec support in OS2008 so I might be able to get better looking vid on here. Only time and the desire to geek out some will tell :)
That's all for now. Have a good one!
I haven't tried video on it yet. I'll give that a go here in a bit and see how the videos I have already converted to play work out. There is new codec support in OS2008 so I might be able to get better looking vid on here. Only time and the desire to geek out some will tell :)
That's all for now. Have a good one!
10 December 2007
Study Break
I'm taking a break from studying to give my brain some time to relax and so that I can post something on here. Still working on what it is this blog should be about...so far it's been about tech, specifically the Nokia internet tablets. My N800 is shipping now, so I'll post something on that later when it actually arrives.
I don't want to talk about techy stuff for this post though. Let's give musical instruments a go. For instance, have you ever heard of a Guqin or a Guzheng? These are ancient stringed instruments from China. There are variations of the two in surrounding Asian countries, but I have been unable to find videos/music clips of these with music that I enjoy listening to. So I have stuck with the Chinese instruments. In a completely different vein from these two strings is an instrument that was recently developed in Switzerland in 2000. It's called a Hang (pronounced hung), from a word in the local dialect meaning 'hand'. In manufacture and sound it resembles steelpan drums of the Caribbean, though the method of playing differs, resulting in compositions that are quite unique from those of steelpan. It is a difficult and expensive instrument to procure, which is perhaps why groups of the instrument are not played together as is often the case with steelpans.
Here is a collection of some videos I have found on YouTube showing off the three instruments I have very briefly talked about above, as well as other traditional instruments that intrigue me. I'm sure it would take you a while to view all of them, but if you have a few minutes check out one or two of the clips. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I have. À Bientôt!
I don't want to talk about techy stuff for this post though. Let's give musical instruments a go. For instance, have you ever heard of a Guqin or a Guzheng? These are ancient stringed instruments from China. There are variations of the two in surrounding Asian countries, but I have been unable to find videos/music clips of these with music that I enjoy listening to. So I have stuck with the Chinese instruments. In a completely different vein from these two strings is an instrument that was recently developed in Switzerland in 2000. It's called a Hang (pronounced hung), from a word in the local dialect meaning 'hand'. In manufacture and sound it resembles steelpan drums of the Caribbean, though the method of playing differs, resulting in compositions that are quite unique from those of steelpan. It is a difficult and expensive instrument to procure, which is perhaps why groups of the instrument are not played together as is often the case with steelpans.
Here is a collection of some videos I have found on YouTube showing off the three instruments I have very briefly talked about above, as well as other traditional instruments that intrigue me. I'm sure it would take you a while to view all of them, but if you have a few minutes check out one or two of the clips. Hopefully you'll enjoy them as much as I have. À Bientôt!
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