The Inner Id

2009-08-13T10:18:00.002-05:00

I was recently talking with my Dad about the Chevy Volt - before the 230 mpg claim - and how nice it would be to drive my entire commute on electricity only. Yeah, that would be sweet!! The only problem I said was "I couldn't see myself buying and driving a Chevy. My dad, a long time Chevy owner, cocked his head and with a look of "wtf are you talking about Willis?" said "what do you mean?!" I knew instantly I had put my foot in my mouth and needed to retract it quickly. I put on my 'BS' in marketing-hat and said, "The brand just doesn't speak to me."

2009-06-27T09:29:00.001-05:00

A little Starbucks and a BusinessWeek makes for a nice start to my day

2009-04-11T13:51:00.001-05:00

Posted via Pixelpipe.

2009-03-05T20:44:00.002-06:00

I've been using tinychat.com a couple times since it recently debuted a couple weeks ago I think. Perhaps there were similar services before that I didn't know about, but tinychat is fantastic. Its simple, apparently interfaces with twitter - but best of all it provides a quick place to chat online without worrying about which service each person is using. Fantastic! I'm using for team projects in my current class.

2009-02-27T17:10:00.000-06:00

I know some people are complaining about Safari 4's tabs being up on top, but I love it! It saves just a bit more space giving me more viewing room on my laptop screen. It took a little to get used to, but this is a great feature of an even better Safari.

Twitter

2009-02-17T16:15:00.002-06:00

I'll admit I didn't think much of Twitter when it first came out. Heck, I didn't really get the whole fascination with it until just a couple months ago when I decided to sign up to check it out. Usually I sign-up right away for anything new and cool on the web, but Twitter just didn't have an appeal for me.

That is until I clued into companies like 37 Signals, Dimdim, MailChimp and others were using it to communicate with their clients about their respective services. It was suddenly as if their customer service departments were personally messaging me to tell me about service outages or new features I had to go check out right away.

I even follow Minnesota Public Radio's tweets to stay fresh with what is happening back home, or let me know their Budget Hero application has been updated. (I will balance the federal budget!!)

I'm not tweeting all that much - don't want to be one of those people that write about what they eat and when they go to the gym. When I do, I try to keep it professional - dabbling in a little personal branding because you never know what is going to happen.

2009-02-14T20:42:00.001-06:00

Posted via Pixelpipe.

2009-01-27T11:37:00.001-06:00

MailChimp.com answers one of their common questions with a website: Can I use a purchased email list?

Brilliant!

I'm loving my new laptop bag

2009-01-13T20:47:00.003-06:00

Well, its more of a sleeve with a couple of pockets and a shoulder strap.

Like many with corporate jobs and laptops to lug around, I was given a giant leather monstrosity of a bag branded with the corporate logo. But I suffer this affliction no more! I picked up Incase's Nylon Sleeve Plus for Christmas and its been wonderful ever since. Silly how my svelte little sleeve makes me smile a bit inside - especially compared to what my co-workers are lugging around.

Facebook

2009-01-07T19:33:00.001-06:00

Having been the 'fat kid' growing up and being teased through much of elementary and high school, I must admit it gives me a degree of satisfaction to see former tormentors tipping the scales. Shallow and maybe a little mean, but damn it feels good.

Kodak Zx1

2009-01-07T18:28:00.002-06:00

I still have a soft spot for the MinoHD, but this new camera from Kodak is looking really nice. And its water resistant!!

The Porsche Panamera

2009-01-05T11:00:00.002-06:00

Now thats a Porsche I could like....

Flip MinoHD

2008-11-12T19:15:00.003-06:00

I think I'm ready for a Flip now! Who buys video cameras if they're not HD?!

2008-11-04T08:01:00.001-06:00

Blackberry's new icons

2008-10-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm obviously not going to give up my iPhone for a Blackberry - but you have to admit the icons for the new OS and phones is pretty slick. Kind of wish I could have that look and style on my iPhone.

I feel like an idiot

2008-10-06T14:41:00.001-05:00

A week or so ago I picked up some Asian Pears from Costco - amid Will's protests they were too expensive. I haven't had asian pears in years, but remember them being juicy and delicious. So I get them home and quickly bite into one... Its was bland and tasteless... crap! I couldn't tell Will and be 'wrong' or throw them away. So I took one with me everyday for my afternoon snack at work. They were neither pleasant or wholly unpleasant. But a funny thing started to happen as I reached the end of the bunch... they became rather flavourful. OMG - they weren't ripe!!

2008-09-29T17:34:00.001-05:00

I used to be embarrassed that Minnesota voted Jesse Ventura in as Governor.... but Alaska has us beat with Palin.

Wow! Palin the Pathetic

2008-09-27T16:03:00.001-05:00

2.1

2008-09-15T16:00:00.001-05:00

Well worth the wait. Battery life is definitely improved - it last
all day now on a charge.

Favorite new feature is how the podcasts now auto-play the whole list
which is great for music podcasts.

Sent from my iPhone

2008-08-15T07:15:00.000-05:00

To the guy on the bus watching a movie with his laptop... It's called,
get an iPod.

Note to self

2008-08-01T07:18:00.001-05:00

No more connecting flights through Chicago. Ever.

Sent from my iPhone

Perspective

2008-07-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

MacDailyNews: "*Last quarter: Dell posted $16 billion in revenue to make $784 million net quarterly profit. Apple posted $7.46 billion in revenue with $1.07 billion net quarterly profit."

Batman

2008-07-19T08:27:00.000-05:00

Wow! Now that is a good movie - Heath better get an Oscar nom for
that performance. Christian did a great job as well - looking forward
to seeing him in the next Terminator.

Sent from my iPhone

Vivanno

2008-07-17T08:40:00.000-05:00

I got to try out one of the new fruit smoothies from Statbucks last
night. I had the chocolate banana without an espresso shot and it was
rather tasty. I can definitely see myself enjoying these, but way
with a little extra from the espresso - it is Starbucks after all. I
just didn't know I could when I ordered it.

Sent from my iPhone

2008-07-12T15:17:00.000-05:00

I met someone Friday who didn't know what an iPhone was? How is that possible?!?!

Mine should be delivered late next week - I hope.

PS3 Update rocks

2008-07-10T21:38:00.003-05:00

With the latest PS3 update - the one that works - we've now been able to connect both the Apple wireless Mighty Mouse and wireless aluminum keyboard. The experience so far has been really smooth and intuitive - score one of Sony.

2008-07-08T10:51:00.002-05:00

Rogers is totally ruining my iPhone day. The plans totally suck - though the wifi access is a little saving grace - but at least I'd still have a reason to buy something from an Apple Store. Which is by far my favorite store and shopping experience. But now thats gone! How could Apple let it get this far out of control that they decide to not participate?! I get it, but damn't.

2008-07-04T07:52:00.000-05:00

One more week, just one more week.

Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn't one of them - Engadget Mobile

2008-06-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

Rogers announces iPhone 3G plans, unlimited data isn't one of them - Engadget Mobile

It might not be everything we hoped for, but the unlimited WiFi at Rogers and Fido hotspots does it for me!! It won't be long now.

2008-06-11T17:12:00.000-05:00

July 11th cannot come soon enough.

2008-06-01T18:54:00.002-05:00

I love my MacBook Air - absolutely no regrets in getting it. Though it seems to heat up a lot lately, and it didn't when I first got it - but I suppose its to be expected since the case is so small. Not a big deal at all. The lack of a DVD drive has definitely not been an issue - I haven't even 'borrowed' Bills DVD drive for anything. Though the wireless migration from one Mac to the Air was a joke - its was going to take 45 hours to move everything over - (movies and pics take up lots of room). So I just used my iPod to ferry the data over - which was a good exercise in cleaning out junk since the hard drive in this thing is quite a bit smaller than the old iMac.

But I'm terrified Apple is going to come out with some MacBook Air/iPhone hybrid sooner than later to make mine look old school way before its prime is over. I'll just have to be content with the new iPhone - now that one is finally coming to Canada.

MSN vs. AIM

2008-05-29T10:15:00.000-05:00

I discovered another difference between Canadians and Americans.
Apparently canucks are all about the MSN messaging and yankees are far
more into AIM. Did not know that. So now I need a stickin' MSN
username, but I'll use Adium and not that crap Microsoft calls MSN
Messenger.

Lost in Translation

2008-05-21T13:06:00.001-05:00

I was asked for a serviette for the first time today, and honestly I
just stared at her for a moment not understanding she was asking for
one of my napkins.

2008-05-19T20:10:00.003-05:00

The Logitech Harmony One universal remote is one hell of a good buy. Its a real universal remote - not like those cheap things that we've all dealt with. The Harmony One isn't a cheap 'remote' but it will sell itself after you go through the setup and use it just once.

So I moved.

2008-04-06T09:39:00.003-05:00

Well I'm in Toronto now and loving it. I endured about a month of mostly just sitting around the condo waiting for something to happen and applying to jobs. Everyone else was off doing their own thing, and me, I was just cleaning up after them. At first I certainly enjoyed not having to head to work, but that feeling soon subsided. After just four weeks 'off' I'm back to the grind, landing my first Canadian job!

Little story: Bill is made a bet with me that I couldn't land a job within four month (July 1) - he's quite the pessimist so from his perspective four months was pretty good odds for him. The wager: if I landed a job he'd get me a MacBook Air, if I didn't, well I'm not sure what I owed him and it doesn't matter now anyhow. I'm typing this out on my new MacBook Air and loving it. Of course I have to fight him for it - its so damn light and the backlit keyboard comes in handy.

Not having a DVD drive, ethernet port or firewire port was a small downer when it came time to transfer files from the iMac, but between an external hard drive and my iPod it wasn't much of a challenge. The hard drive on the MBA is smaller than what I'm used to so I've junked all the junk but I still have 30 GB open.

But wait, there's more. I mentioned during my interview that I'm a Mac user/fan/fanatic/devotee - so guess what they purchased for me?! A MacBook - so in about one week I've received two new Mac laptops. Being able to work on a Mac at the office is a dream come true for me - I'm delighted to finally have the option and the freedom it represents. I know it might be dorky, but it really is a huge perk for me.

So there it is. I'm working again, but on a Mac this time. Kitty is a Canadian immigrant now and loving being back with "mom and dad." Life is good - the wait to get here was long and emotional but its done now.

Google Sites: Hosted Wikis for Group Sites - Rev2.org

2008-02-28T08:20:00.001-06:00

Its about frickin' time JotSpot was taken out of private beta status. How long has it been since the Google purchased the site?! (16 months)

Google Sites: Hosted Wikis for Group Sites - Rev2.org

Second most annoying comment about moving to Canada

2008-02-25T16:16:00.002-06:00

"Do you have to learn a new language?"

Some people even seem confused about what language they actually speak up there.

Dear SuperTarget,

2008-02-24T20:56:00.003-06:00

Oh how I will miss thee. You've been so good to me - most of the time - and though I've enjoyed my visits I couldn't help but smile this evening. You see, I won't be visiting anymore. That was the last time for awhile I'll swipe my shiny red Target card at your register. I'm moving on to a land deprived of SuperTargets or Targets of any kind. Sad, yes I know but I think you'll agree its a small sacrifice I must make. Oh and don't worry about visits to Wal-Mart - that for sure as hell ain't happenin'. Maybe I'll get a chance to visit you in Buffalo. Are you Super in Buffalo? (Is anything super in Buffalo?!)

Thanks again for everything SuperTarget! I'll miss your little lemon poppy seed scones - with the bit of frosting on top. I'm having a couple right now.

Sincerely,
Erik

Most annoying comment about moving to Canada

2008-02-19T12:42:00.001-06:00

"Wow, I hope you like the cold."

2008-02-12T12:14:00.000-06:00

It better not be snowing more on March 2nd in Toronto. I'm not interested in that annoyance on my first day.

2008-02-11T10:43:00.001-06:00

Its about damn time! Starbucks is coming out with free Wi-Fi for their US locations in 2008.

Welcome to Canada

2008-02-08T16:15:00.000-06:00

Well the time has finally come. After many months of putting my application together and waiting for an official response, I've been invited to immigrate to Canada. During the wait, the months dragged on and on and now that the time has finally come it feels like its only been a couple of weeks waiting. Today I gave my resignation at work and planned the going-away happy hour. Then on March 2nd, kitty and I are jumping in a packed Coop and driving on through to Toronto. Well, as long as the border officer is nice...

Yes we can

2008-02-04T18:48:00.000-06:00

2008-01-30T08:55:00.001-06:00

Way to go McCain! I don't like you, but I definitely don't like Romney.

Google Gears for Docs - coming soon?!

2008-01-29T12:32:00.001-06:00

Looks like Google Gears might be coming to Google Docs oh so soon! Well, I hope its soon.

I've been using Google Docs more and more - especially for group work in my classes which has been a huge benefit when working with multiple people on one document. Its cool to see sentences come out of no where and appear on the screen.

Such a beautiful graph

2008-01-23T09:11:00.001-06:00

found on AppleInsider.com

iTunes Movie Rentals

2008-01-19T23:16:00.000-06:00

On a cold winter's evening such as the one Minnesota is currently suffering from, going outside really isn't the first thing that comes to my mind. What luck it is that Apple debuted their movie rental service just this week - perfect timing for me to rent a movie from the comfort of my room. No getting bundled in multiple layers, getting the car warmed up and spending $4-5 dollars at Blockbuster and being tempted by high calorie snacks. Just find a movie in iTunes - that was the hard part since the selection is rather slim for the moment, but that will be changing.

I picked out "Live Free or Die Hard" - it wasn't on my list of movies to see but it was the best choice out there for movies that I haven't seen. I'll admit Justin Long tipped the balance, even if just because he plays Mac in the commercials. The movie was all I expected, but it was cute and funny and definitely full of action - it was just right for my night of staying in.

Macs to help Best Buy earnings

2008-01-18T15:04:00.000-06:00

Ok, you know Apple has come along way from the dark days of the 90's when its reported Best Buy is increasing the number of stores stocking Macs in an effort to stabilize earnings.

iTunes movies bigger than HD and Blu-Ray?!

2008-01-17T20:05:00.000-06:00

Wow - who knew that iTunes has sold more movies than HD-DVDs or Blu-Ray movies and in less time. PCWorld breaks out the stats like this:

• HD DVD has sold 2.5 million movies since April 2006 (20 months)
• Blu-ray has sold 6 million movies since June 2006, (18 months)
• Apple has sold 7 million movies since September 2006 (15 months)

So much for thinking iTunes Movies and the AppleTV thingy were a failure. I'm thinking Apple has another hit brewing with movie rentals and the AppleTV Take 2.

Fluid

2008-01-16T21:50:00.000-06:00

Fluid is becoming one of my favorite new utilities. Its similar to Mozilla's Prism concept, in that it turns your favorite web application (such as facebook, Google Reader, and Backpack in my case) and turns them into individual applications on the desktop. That is to say, it devotes the webkit engine behind Safari to a single web site and gets rid of everything else like the address bar, etc. So if I want to check my Google Reader feeds, I just click the icon in the dock and I'm taken straight to my feeds.

At first this idea seemed all too silly - I could just type in the address in Safari and be done with it - but oddly I'm finding the simplicity quite attractive and satisfying. I've got just these three for the moment, but I'm thinking about some of the other Google applications for instance.

Its still in beta (version 0.6) at the moment, but its been totally stable for me and I hope it only gets better. It does require Leopard, but who isn't using Leopard already?!

Macworld: BusySync

2008-01-16T10:56:00.000-06:00

Macworld has been pretty awesome so far, the Stevenote was fabulous in my opinion. Maybe less than what some people were expecting, but come on - the amount of anticipation that is put on the event its no wonder people are left disappointed. I'm eager to get an AppleTV now, and the iPhone just keeps getting better. Then ofcourse the MacBook Air is pretty sweet, but probably too sweet for me to end up with one anytime too soon. But what really has me excited is the upcoming 2.0 version of BusySync.

Hawk Wings has a nice write up of the version coming out soon. Basically in its current form it allows for iCal syncing between multiple users on a local network. I think with version 1.5 syncing can now happen over the internet without a server sitting in the middle. Pretty nifty and useful for a family or a couple. But the new version coming out takes it up a notch by adding Google Calendar syncing - finally its the best of both worlds. Use whichever one you like and the data is all the same and shareable for everyone. This is definitely on my wish list this year.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

2008-01-14T18:18:00.000-06:00

I caught the first half of the series premiere last night. Interesting enough to watch the second half last night, but not enough to yet call for regular tuning in. Its a wait and see in my book just yet - the TV Squad wonders if Fox's history of canceling sci-fi shows early calls for not tuning it at all just to be disappointed later.

MINI bringing diesel to the States?!?

2008-01-09T12:35:00.001-06:00

Autoblog has put together some clues to speculate MINI might be introducing diesel MINIs to the States at the Detroit Auto show this month. Sweet! Finally we're getting some diesel options to pick from.

Financial Times: Paramount to Switch to Blu-Ray, Killing HD DVD

2008-01-08T09:23:00.001-06:00

Could the high-definition disc 'format wars' be coming to an end? Already? My favorite part of this news is that Microsoft put their eggs into HD-DVD with the Xbox 360 - hehehe. Good for them.

Financial Times: Paramount to Switch to Blu-Ray, Killing HD DVD

via Daring Fireball by John Gruber on 1/7/08

Matthew Garrahan and Mariko Sanchanta reporting for The Financial Times:

Paramount is poised to drop its support of HD DVD after Warner Brothers' recent backing of Sony's Blu-ray technology, in a move that will sound the death knell of HD DVD and bring the home entertainment format war to a definitive end.

[…] Paramount, which is owned by Viacom, is understood to have a clause in its contract with the HD DVD camp that would allow it to switch sides in the event of Warner Brothers backing Blu-ray, according to people familiar with the situation.

(In case you missed it, Warner Brothers did just that last week.)

iTunes movie rentals?

2008-01-07T10:11:00.001-06:00

The big rumor this year is the start of movie rentals via iTunes Media Store - and I can't wait! Though the speculated $3.99 for 24 hours seems a little higher than I might prefer, its still less than the local Blockbuster. And its available instantly! Finally the AppleTV will have purpose.

Stargate Worlds

2008-01-06T11:30:00.000-06:00

My inner geek is having heart palpitations just thinking about Stargate Worlds. I caught the teaser commercial during Friday's Stargate Atlantis episode about this online-multiplayer game coming sometime in 2008. I just hope they have a Mac version ready to go at launch - though of course I could 'use' a nice shiny new whatever-new-Mac-Steve-has-up-his-sleeves.

2008-01-03T22:29:00.000-06:00

Who else is getting excited for the MacWorld Expo?! I am! I am!

January 15th feels like a long way off yet, but I know it will be here soon enough and I have a feeling its going to be a big one. Oh, and who wants to place bets that iPod/iPhone/music news will be at a minimum and saved for a special event a few weeks later? It will be all Mac related news and products - Jobs has lots to cover this year I think.

2 Things that Stink about Canadian Immigration

2008-01-03T18:57:00.000-06:00

First, the application is a pain to complete and put together. Though fortunately its not so complicated as to need a lawyer, but grr I didn't have fun doing it.

Second, would be the waiting. Its a killer...

2008-01-01T10:55:00.000-06:00

It was about this time a year ago I embarked on a bit of a journey to get in better shape. It was certainly no New Years resolution - the timing was coincidental. Since that time I'm dropped about 40 pounds and three pants sizes, but its still certainly a work in progress. Its a struggle to eat better - or often times just eating less. I love food! But its getting better, and certainly easier. Now its all about turning things up a notch and finally building some muscle. I just don't have any to show and never have - but I know they are there.

2007-12-11T18:06:00.000-06:00

Jericho is finally back on in 63 days. I'm counting down.

2007-11-11T17:07:00.001-06:00

I'm finally on the Leopard, but my subwoofer and some specialty keys on my keyboard didn't make it. :( Guess what is on my Xmas list now.

Update: the specialty keys do in fact work now. Though I'm not 100% sure how I got that to happen.

My blond moment

2007-11-04T15:23:00.001-06:00

I just realized Day Light Savings time is already in effect today.

And that just means I have another hour to wait for Desperate Housewives.

To the stinky guy at the gym...

2007-10-28T17:09:00.001-05:00

...brush your teeth before you workout. You were breathing such a toxic fume it made me feel ill and cut my workout short.

And to the fat guy. I'm thrilled you're working out - it takes a lot of courage and confidence to take the first steps to a healthier body. But for the love of everything holy - stop dressing like you're a 110 lb jogger. Get rid of the sweat band around your head, the short shorts (ahhh!) and the muscle shirts.

2007-10-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Al Gore on winning the Nobel Peace prize.

Long distance relationship

2007-10-11T20:55:00.001-05:00

I finally got to catch Bourne Ultimatum this weekend. This long distance relationship makes it difficult to catch movies together with Bill, but it was worth the wait. Wow - this one was really good - they gave the audience everything we wanted and then some.

Plane conversation

2007-10-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

I have never had a flight conversation before - I'm a quiet guy. But for my inaugraul talk I end up talking cars and refering to bill as my girlfriend. Fun.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Hockey is way more fun than baseball

2007-10-01T21:37:00.001-05:00

Ok, so yes I'm 27 and I've never seen a hockey game in person - but now that I have I'm totally up for another. I had no idea the referees actually stand back and watch the fights - I was in total shock during the first fight of the game. Brutal and so gosh-damn fun!

2007-09-28T08:51:00.000-05:00

In just 7 days I'll be waking up in Toronto...but just for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Hopefully it won't be too much longer and I'll be waking up there everyday. The wait is excruciating.

2007-09-25T18:07:00.001-05:00

I'm ashamed of myself - I downloaded "Gimme More" by Britney Spears.

As bad as the performance was, the song is kind of catchy - but you won't hear it blaring out of the Coop anytime soon. Someone else needs to blaze that path.

I think this guy should get some royalties for giving a better performance - not only does he sing but he SIMULTANEOUSLY plays the piano. I wonder if he can dance?

iPod nano

2007-09-16T19:00:00.001-05:00

I know its a nano, but the new ones are almost too damn tiny. The scroll wheel is half the size of the previous version - that might be an exaggeration, but its noticably smaller.

2007-09-13T22:34:00.001-05:00

The smell of fall is starting to permeate the air. Thoughts of cider
and pumpkins are becoming more frequent. I'm in the mood for sweater
shopping and wearing my rimmed frames - I stick to the rimless all
summer like they'll make me cooler(temp) or something.

And with fall comes better consistency at making it to the gym - fuck
does that hurt. I've been good over the summer but there is certainly
room for improvement.

Toronto beckons. Soon! Very soon now.

2007-09-06T19:11:00.001-05:00

I lost my mobile on Sunday night at a movie theater and now it appears to be on ebay going to the highest bidder. WTF!? So in approximately 4 days, when the auction is nearing completion I will be jumping in at the last minute to put in the highest bid which will hopefully be low - considering dude wants $18 to ship it.

But how funny would it be to buy my lost cell phone off ebay, start it up and have my contacts and photos back in my possession again.

UPDATE: I wasn't completely sure I had identified my phone - though I feel it was mine - so therefore felt it inappropriate to claim the item as stolen. And I will never know, as bidding went WAY above what I would pay to get it back. So it was off to T-mobile to get my old Sidekick II up and running again. Its huge, but it does do email and AIM - but it certainly is no iPhone!

2007-08-23T20:54:00.001-05:00

I'll admit it - I don't get Twitter. Am I just getting old and out of touch?! Or does it just not have a point?

2007-08-13T18:18:00.001-05:00

2007-07-04T16:15:00.001-05:00

I spent $43.78 to download and watch the entire first season of Jericho - which had been set to not return to the small screen despite a rather dramatic cliffhanging season finale. Unfortunately I never had or took the opportunity to catch the show when it was aired on TV - between the lack of knowing anything about the show and whenever it aired I just never caught an episode. But from the first show I was hooked, drawn in by the post-apocalyptic drama set in central Kansas.

I caught myself day-dreaming a little bit about how I might survive such a scenario. Ofcourse I've always been one for the 'fantasy' this type - though by no means wishful for it.

I'm looking forward to catching the next eight or so episode that have now been ordered up since CBS headquarters was inundated with tons and tons of peanuts. Hopefully there will be an entire season in the works soon enough.

2007-07-01T21:30:00.001-05:00

I just got back from catching SiCKO - I need to digest it.

iPhone's Best Feature

2007-06-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

iPhone! iPhone! iPhone! I don't think a person could last through the week without hearing about the iPhone - even my mother was up on the news. So today we learned the phone plans with data aren't going to be freakin' outrageous which is good news for everyone. But the best part of the whole news blitz today has been learning consumers will be able to take the phone home and activate it through iTunes - rather than sitting in the store for 30-40 minutes. If only all phones could be self-activated at home through the computer - syncing up addresses, calendar, bookmarks and music. Sweet!

2007-06-13T19:48:00.001-05:00

It took them long enough, but Google finally updated their Blogger Dashboard widget to work with the new Blogger. Now if only I could remember how to make this URL an actual link...

http://www.google.com/macwidgets/

2007-06-10T08:50:00.000-05:00

The 'end' of Tony is near.

UPDATE: I watched the finale last night (a day late, I know). Holy crap! It was pretty damn good, and though the ending might give the finale close one might want, I found it fitting for the story. It never ends, life goes on.

Finally! A Blockbuster Online widget

2007-06-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

The new version is pretty snazzy, now that you can manage the Que.

Hello MINI

2007-06-03T12:11:00.001-05:00

Safari and Google Gears - Coming Soon!

2007-05-31T14:42:00.000-05:00

Sweet! I knew I read that Google Gears worked with Safari - but when I went to download it there was no such luck. Turns out it only works with the latest version of WebKit - so I take it Safari 3 is going to be rockin the Gears.

Now if only Google Documents worked with Safari - here's hoping Leopard and Safari 3 get things straightened all out.

Switching to 2%

2007-05-31T14:03:00.000-05:00

I never really understood why Starbucks used whole milk as the standard with their espresso drinks. Apparently enough people have been requesting lower-fat milk, that Starbucks is going to switch to 2% as their default. The article mentions doing so eliminates 70 calories from a grande latte.

I went through thier nutritional information page a few months ago and realized just how many calories are in some of their drinks. I've been going low-fat, sugar-free and no whip ever since - now I don't feel so guilty when I have a little treat.

"Sicko" - June 29th

2007-05-24T18:52:00.001-05:00

I'll be in line!

A time "blackhole"

2007-05-22T17:13:00.001-05:00

I've been spending way too much time at this - perhaps I should take a few summer courses...

"Sicko" preview

2007-05-21T18:22:00.001-05:00

Oh Tears

2007-05-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

Falwell dead at 73

73 years too long.

Wii, the 'green' game console

2007-02-22T08:59:00.000-06:00

Just read an article on WiiFanboy regarding the power consumption of gaming consoles. Seems the Wii blows the competition clearly out of the water. Now I don't feel so bad leaving it on all the time (in sleep) but maybe we'll shutoff WiiConnect24.

"Meet the Press - For Idiots" Channel

2007-02-21T17:39:00.000-06:00

Success

2007-02-20T19:32:00.000-06:00

Work has been crazy busy and all the homework on top hasn't been helping with the stress levels, but I still managed to learn just enough Flash to make something useful. In our office, we have these three 40" LCDs in the lobby, and I was fortunate enough to get the chance to work with them. Though not incredibly exciting, its my first chance at learning Flash and seeing what it can do.

Anyway, there were more than a few kinks to work out and I still have plenty of little things to learn. But I've managed to build a relatively nice looking movie that fills out the screens (no easy task) and looks good doing it. I have a few guide books to read and I'm taking a two-day class next month - I'll be an old pro in no time.

2007-02-08T19:03:00.001-06:00

Crap! I let me BusinessWeek subscription run out. Damn't!

Here we come Cozumel!

2007-02-06T18:19:00.000-06:00

We finally settled on a vacation spot for some fun in the sun. Its pretty much my first ‘real’ vacation on my own - and the first more-than-a-weekend vacation together with Bill. We’ve planned for seven days at an all-inclusive beach resort, there will be snorkeling, mopeding, site-seeing, para-sailing, and certainly lots of laying around.

Hammer & Coop

2007-02-04T11:34:00.000-06:00

2007-02-03T15:17:00.000-06:00

Work was just a bevy of nightmares these past two weeks. Two major deadlines within days of each other - and the bigger the project and tighter the deadline = the more things that go wrong. And my late nights in the office were completely surpassed by one of my co-workers who was there almost non-stop. I can tell my homework this week suffered a little bit, not too much that I'm going to do bad in the course, but enough to disappoint myself. Ofcourse the week was focused on distribution, not one of the most delightful aspects of marketing thats for sure.

On top of it, our new printer for the office isn't connected to the network just yet - so that means lots of running back and forth between buildings to get anything printed in color. What fun - but it works out since sort of since I haven't made it to the gym in a while. I haven't been doing horrible on that front - just maintaining my current wait during all these late nights and 'some' poor eating - but I swear I watched it.

Holy crap I have to teach myself Flash quick fast and in a hurry. I'm the resident tech-guy at work, so that means anything 'fancy' means I'm it. Not to complain though, looks cool and should be interesting.

They come in colors now to

2007-01-30T08:52:00.000-06:00

As if the iPod shuffle wasn't cute enough, they come in pretty colors now too. Damn't! I just got a shiny new black, 30 gig iPod and I LOVE it! But the shuffle is just too cute for words.

MINI Clubman

2007-01-24T08:35:00.000-06:00

Oh boy oh boy! Its getting closer and closer - but not until after November 2008?!?! That sucks, but how long will we need to wait for a diesel Mini to hit our shores?

2007-01-14T11:49:00.001-06:00

Phil Schiller shows off the iPhone - Hot!!

2007-01-11T08:30:00.001-06:00

2007-01-09T17:29:00.000-06:00

What a great day to get the flu, but apparently there is a rather nasty norovirus running around the county causing quite a ruckus.

2007-01-08T17:34:00.000-06:00

Holy Crap! Tomorrow is the "BIG" day - well, potentially the big day but one can't say for sure until it actually is or isn't but here's to hoping - when at 11am Central Time Steve Jobs walks onto stage about begins his ~2 hour presentation to unleash untold goodness. I have a good feeling about this one - but I'm trying my best not to get my hopes up too high. But Daddy needs a new cellphone - I'm just sayin'.